Evolutionary biologist and contentious atheist Richard Dawkins believes the students trying to suppress free discourse on college campuses may be “less intelligent” than their peers.
“There seems to be a tendency among some students – perhaps the less intelligent – to suppress free speech,” Mr. Dawkins said in an interview with the Australian on Monday. “I hope it doesn’t last long.”
He added that “incitement to violence” is the only incident in which speech should be curtailed.
Mr. Dawkins also weighed in on the West’s reluctance to criticize Islam, calling it an “absurd double standard” in the context of its willingness to demean Christianity.
“People are terrified of being thought racist,” he said. “There’s an awful confusion in many people’s minds. They think Islam is a race, which of course it isn’t. If you criticize Islam you are often accused of racism, which is absurd. I’m all for offending people’s religion. I think it should be offended at every opportunity.”
“There’s a tendency among liberals in the West to bend over backwards because they’re terrified of being called racist,” he said. “Islam gets a free pass.”
Mr. Dawkins, who authored “The God Delusion” and “The Selfish Gene,” lamented the West’s lack of pride in its achievements.
“We should have a sense of identity as rationalists,” he said. “We should be more proud of that and it should take on the gentle decency of the Church of England.”
• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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