Controversial religious pamphlets on campus have sparked strong criticism of their distributor, and of City College for allowing the literature to continue being distributed.

“I’m very offended to be a part of a college that condones that type of literature,” said political science professor Manoutchehr Eskandari. “This has no place on a campus calling itself a place of education,” he added.

However, Ben Partee, dean of educational program, insisted that the pamphlets are protected by freedom of speech, and that the vendor has yet to break any of its distribution procedures.

“It will sicken you how far people can go on with their First Amendment rights, but it’s law-we have to follow it,” Partee said.

“The literature I have is the relationship with almighty God,” said the vendor, Paul Mikoleit. Mikoleit said that he has distributed the free pamphlets on campus for the past nine years.

Mikoleit considers the booklets to be neither racist nor hateful.

The president of the Middle East Study club, Kay Zare, disagreed.

“It’s not an issue of free speech,” Zare said. “There’s a discussion we have to have as a college, whether at some point that crosses the line from free speech to hate speech,” he added. “Some of the sharper aspects of racism are subtle.”

Zare continued, “It’s outrageous that more people aren’t pissed off over this.”

The pamphlets, distributed by Chick Publications, are 3-by-5 inch booklets that refer to Allah, the Muslim god, as a “moon god that doesn’t care if you live or die.”

In the pamphlets, the Muslim Prophet Muhammad is referred to as an “antichrist,” who “went to bed with a little girl who still played with dolls,” referring to Muhammad’s wife Khadijah.

In a pamphlet aimed at black readers, a grandmother tells her grandson that Muhammad was a white man, adding, “It was Muslim slavers who went through African villages stealing our people.”

“It’s definitely hate speech,” said Gabriel Fanelli, a Middle East Studies major. “Personally, I’m a Christian, (but) it offends me and my Muslim friends,” he added.

Attempts to reach Chick Publications were not immediately returned.

“If you look at any history book, you can see what they promote is blatantly wrong and shouldn’t be handed out,” Fanelli said.

Despite recent criticism, Amy Collins, a student program advisor for the Office of Student Life, said that very few students over the years have expressed concern over the booklets.

Collins said that any vendor who follows the distribution procedures can come to campus, as long as what they offer is free.

“We would never stop a group of Muslims to set up a table of their own,” Partee said.

Eskandari, however, opposed this idea, saying, “What are we trying to promote, mutual hate literature? Would that be fair and balanced?”

Partee, who reiterated the fact that he’s not a religious expert, said that he didn’t find anything offensive in the titles of the pamphlets.

“I don’t know what’s offensive to others,” Partee said. “It’s hard for me to make a judgment call,” he added.

Partee said that students first have to stop at the vendor, pick up a booklet and read its contents in order to find materials that they may find offensive.

“It doesn’t matter if pamphlets aren’t open,” Eskandari said. “If (hate literature) was wrapped in a nice wrapper, would it be ok?”

The vendor, Mikoleit, said that attempts were made five years ago to limit the amount of days he was allowed to distribute his material. City College now only allows him on Thursdays.

He said that the school did so because, “They don’t believe in the relationship with almighty God.”

Partee, however, denied that Mikoleit’s stand was singled out. He said that the reason for the decrease was that other vendors, including the military, wanted to use the space as well.

He then explained that, according to the distribution procedures, vendors are required to present their materials from behind a table, and not engage students unless they stop at a booth-rules that he said Mikoleit has abided by.

“No one is tying you down and telling you that you have to read this,” Partee said. “You can just put it down. If I saw something that offended me, I’d just keep walking.”

Opponents, however, want further clarification on the distribution procedures, which state, “Materials should be consistent with generally accepted standards of good taste as appropriate to (the) college community.”

“This means the college approves the message. Ergo, why are they here?” Eskandari said.

Eskandari, who is also the faculty advisor for Phi Theta Kappa, said that the honor society helped the college earn a “No place for hate” certification from the Anti-Defamation League in the Spring 2007 semester. He thinks that distribution of the pamphlets goes against this.

Calls to the Anti-Defamation League were not immediately returned.

Mikoleit is usually stationed in front of the cafeteria on East Campus on Thursdays.

-Eryn Burkhart contributed to this report