“The only good is knowledge, and the only evil is ignorance.”

— Socrates, d. 399 B.C.E.

All of us came to Stanford for one reason: the attainment of knowledge. Stanford is a bastion of learning; Stanford is a place where scholars in all academic fields can achieve their full potential and pass on knowledge to the next generation of thinkers. Knowledge is powerful.

Which is why I am a little suspicious of a non-academic — in this case, an adult-film star — teaching the Stanford community a lesson on Islam.

In his op-ed last Friday [“Racism and intolerance: disappointing at a liberal university,” Feb. 15], Mr. Michael Lucas viciously disparaged Islam as a religion of “backwardness and hate.” Yes, everybody has a right to free speech. However, when publishing at Stanford, one must uphold the academic standards of this University. It is unfair and a disservice to the University, faculty and students to lie about the facts. The Quran did not “torment humanity” for 1,400 years; in fact, it gave women the right to divorce before any other world religion. It is not true that Muslim women “cannot go to school” or are “barred from public life” — Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Turkey have all had heads-of-state who have been women, something even America cannot claim about itself. And contrary to Mr. Lucas’s claim, Islam does not “suppress every progressive thought” — in fact, during the European “Dark Ages,” Islamic scholars were the leading authorities in science, mathematics, philosophy and literature.

What is most troubling about Mr. Lucas’s comments, however, is his failure to differentiate between the religion of Islam itself and the way certain communities have applied it. An isolated action in the Muslim community does not necessarily represent the Islamic religion. Just as Christianity cannot and should not be defined by Crusades, the Inquisition or the institutional slavery of non-Europeans for over 300 years, Islam cannot be defined by the Taliban or state-sponsored government actions. Islam, like all world religions, is not a monolithic concept.

Although his academic credentials are dubious, I would have applauded Mr. Lucas for focusing on a subject he is very experienced with: sexual health. Yet instead of using the power of his knowledge to convey to readers the importance of safe sex, Mr. Lucas decided to impose his misguided opinions about Islam on the Stanford student body.

I am confident that the Stanford community did not buy into Mr. Lucas’s absurd remarks on Islam. But I would encourage Mr. Lucas to bridge the gap in his own knowledge rather than asking that the “hole” in our education be brought to the attention of the Stanford faculty. In fact, I would be curious about where Mr. Lucas attained his mastery of Islam. In a university setting, students and professors must study for years before they can become an authority on any subject; listening to a few lectures and reading a single book about Islam does not justify making sweeping generalizations about a whole religion. Knowledge does not come cheaply; it is earned through years of rigorous study and genuine scholarship.

If we allow anybody to express their opinion on anything, then we are losing our integrity as an academic institution. Freedom of speech should not be confused with freedom to tell untruths. As students at Stanford, we are expected to abide by the Stanford Fundamental Standard, which states that we must show respect for morality and personal honor. I am not angry at Mr. Lucas for his contemptuous words or scornful attitude; I am only disappointed that he was dishonest in his writing and unjust in his portrayal of Islam.

Although Mr. Lucas could have used his position as a safe-sex activist in the adult-entertainment business to further advocate positive change, he instead chose to incite hatred through deceit. Although Mr. Lucas was provided with the chance to inspire the hearts of hundreds of Stanford students, he instead opted to disparage them for their “wanton impudence.” I am shocked that Mr. Lucas demonstrated such an utter disdain for knowledge. It is a shame that at a center of learning, we invited a master of ignorance: an individual who answers before he hears, opposes before he understands, and judges what he does not know.

Mohammad Ali is a contributing writer to The Daily and a member of the Class of 2010.