Rev. Robertson to speak at Whig-Clio

The Rev. Pat Robertson, a leading Christian evangelist who holds controversial views on topics such as Islam and homosexuality, has accepted an invitation from the American Whig-Cliosophic Society to speak on campus.

Robertson founded the Christian Coalition of America and made an unsuccessful bid for the 1988 Republican presidential nomination.

As host of the highest-rated Christian talk show in history, Robertson has called Islam a religion that seeks to control, dominate or "if need be, destroy" others, according to The New York Times.

News of Robertson's invitation has elicited a negative response from students who characterize his views as little more than hate speech.

"It's a big mistake to give a bigot a pulpit to speak," said Taufiq Rahim '04, chair of the governance board of the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding.

Rahim said there will be some type of demonstration against Robertson's talk.

Whig-Clio president Andrew Bruck '05 said though he anticipates protests, he believes Robertson should be allowed to speak.

"Anyone has the right to be upset," Bruck said. "Pat Robertson has certainly said things that many people consider to be offensive."

"But Whig-Clio was founded on the principle of free speech," Bruck said, "and Pat Robertson is an eminent enough political figure that it warrants him speaking on campus."

Whig-Clio also invited controversial New Jersey Poet Laureate Amiri Baraka, who some say wrote verses suggesting that Jews were told to stay home on Sept. 11, 2001. Baraka declined the request to speak on campus in January.

As is the case with Robertson, Bruck defended Baraka's right to speak.

"Regardless of whether one agrees with his political beliefs . . . Mr. Baraka is an important public figure whose views deserve to be heard," Bruck wrote in a letter to The Daily Princetonian. "More speech, not less, is the appropriate response to the poet laureate's comments."

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Rahim said though he believes the entire political spectrum should be represented in University lectures, no level of influence justifies Robertson's extremist views.

"It's often, in many societies, that people who have hate appeal to certain people," he said. "It doesn't change what he says."

Bruck said he issued the invitation after being approached by a Whig-Clio member who had a contact close to Robertson.

At Sunday's meeting of the Whig-Clio Governing Council, some members said they would protest the speech but nobody was opposed to inviting him, Bruck said.

"Students can decide for themselves whether it's constructive or hate speech," Bruck said.

The lecture, which is slated for April 1, will focus on the role of religion in American politics and will conclude with a question-and-answer session.