Harvard student’s jehad speech sparks off debate

Yasin changed his title to ‘‘Of Faith and Citizenship’’ and heightened some references to the Sept 11 attacks, but his text remained largely intact. ‘‘I am one of you. But I am also one of ‘them,’ ’’ he said referring to his dual identities as a practising Muslim and American citizen.

He said he chose the word ‘‘struggle’’ deliberately and went on to condemn misuse of the term. “Jehad is a word that has been corrupted and misinterpreted, both by those who do and do not claim to be Muslims. And we saw, last fall, to our great national and personal loss, the results of this corruption,’’ he said.

Yasin defined the true meaning of jehad as ‘‘the determination to do right, to do justice even against your own interests’’ and as ‘‘an individual struggle for moral behaviour.’’

Yasin’s choice of the Arabic word, which also has been defined as ‘‘holy war’’ and used by Muslim fundamentalists to justify terrorism, had led some critics to denounce him as a terrorist sympathiser.

But the former Harvard Islamic Society president received the continued backing of university president Lawrence Summers. Yasin also appeared on national TV to defend remarks that few people outside the selection committee were allowed to read before the commencement.

Yasin looked relieved to have the dispute and four years at Harvard behind him. An entire section of students, rose to give him a standing ovation, while others whooped in support.

Scores of other students wore red, white and blue ribbons to express their opposition to the speech, and circulated leaflets comparing Yasin’s statements to quotations about terrorism, such as one by President Bush: ‘‘You’re either with us or against’’ us in the fight against terror.

‘‘It was very thoughtful,’’ said Ursula Zaluar, a Brazilian woman whose husband received a master’s degree in public administration. ‘‘I liked it very much. It made me think.’’

But others sat silently, hands clasped in their laps afterward. ‘‘I don’t think it belonged here today,’’ said a woman whose daughter graduated with Yasin and who declined to give her name.

(LATWP)