April 12: UCLA: Totalitarian Islam's Threat to the West

Student of Objectivism alerted me to the following event - some of you might find this of interest:

http://studentofobjectivism.blogspot.com/2007/04/free-public-event-totalitarian-islams.html

PDF Flyer

From the Iranian hostage crisis to September 11 to the London subway attacks to the Iraqi insurgency—it is clear the West faces a grave threat from a committed enemy. Conventional wisdom holds that the enemy is a rogue group of fanatics, who have hijacked a great religion in order to justify their crimes. It tells us there is no way to permanently eliminate these violent groups, that we have entered an "age of terror" and that we must give up the desire for a decisive victory.

But is the conventional wisdom right? Join us for a panel discussion titled "Totalitarian Islam's Threat to the West."

A distinguished panel of Middle East experts will provide new and illuminating answers to the most important questions of our time: Is the West ready to concede victory so easily? Are the terrorists a fringe group of fanatics, or are they part of a much wider ideological movement? What threat do they pose to the West? What can the West do to ensure victory? Is peace possible?

While the experts will answer these complex questions from diverse points of view, they all agree on one thing: the real threat is Islamic totalitarianism, and the right response necessitates engaging in a principled, ideological battle to defend the West from the jihad declared against it.

Panelists:
Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum
Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute
Wafa Sultan, writer and commentator
Moderated by Edwin A. Locke

Location and Details:
UCLA campus
Moore Hall 100 [map]
Los Angeles, California 90024
7:00 PM

Parking:
Purchase parking for Structure 6 at parking information kiosk:
400 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90024 [map]


UPDATE via a nudge from Student of Objectivism:

There's an announced protest against the event


UPDATE

Reports on last night's event from Infidels are Cool (includes video of the brief disruption) and Student of Objectivism.

Note that the Student of Objectivism link includes a link to the Ayn Rand Institute's web site, where there is supposedly a video of the event, but it does require registration. I hope the ARI will post the video without registration - or perhaps even puts it up on YouTube.

UPDATE

Student of Objectivism now has a link to an Ayn Rand Institute page that allows viewing of the full video of the event without requiring registration: Link (note: requires RealPlayer)

Both Infidels are Cool and Student of Objectivism are continually updating their posts with more info, so I suggest to everyone to go there for updates.

UPDATE

Daniel Pipes, one of the speakers at the event, posts his own thoughts on the event.