PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS: Amid a firestorm of contention, several hundred people heard Geert Wilders, a controversial Dutch parliamentarian, speak last night at Temple University.
During his approximately 30-minute speech, Wilders called the Quran "an evil book" and said that the United States was facing Islamization.
A question-and-answer session was cut short, and Wilders was escorted out of the lecture hall after some students began shouting insults at him.
Before the speech, held in Anderson Hall, more than 50 protesters had denounced the appearance of Wilders at the school.
Members of All Sides, an organization that seeks to promote peace between Israel and Palestinians, held pink pom-poms and shouted, "Hey Hey, HO, HO, this racist bull----'s got to go."
Standing next to them with signs decrying Wilders' views were members of the Student Senate, Democratic Socialists and the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance.
"Wilders speaks out about free speech while at the same time banning the Quran," said Megan Chialastri, vice president of All Sides.
"Banned books are not free speech and there is no way around that," Chialastri said.
"This is hate speech at its core," said Monira Gamal-Eldin, president of the Muslim Students Association. Protesters, But No Incidents, Greet Anti-Islamist at Temple >>> Christine Olley | Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Hat tip: Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch>>>
