Salman Rushdie to deliver first Leiden Freedom Lecture
On Friday 18 June, essayist and author Salman Rushdie will deliver the first Leiden Freedom Lecture. The lecture is an initiative of Leiden University, the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and the Municipality of Leiden. The three partners’ intention with this lecture series is to reiterate the strong identification that Leiden University has traditionally had with the concept of freedom. This initiative also aims to emphasise the importance of freedom for science and democracy, and to keep the discussion on freedom alive.
Joint initiative
The three partners have jointly taken the initiative to instigate an annual Freedom Lecture. The first lecture is being organised by Leiden University, as part of the celebrations for the University’s 87th lustrum in 2010. From the earliest times, the city of Leiden itself has had a close association with the practice of freedom. The University is an embodiment of this association; it was a gift to the city from William the Silent in 1575, in gratitude for the city’s role in the country’s fight for freedom. This culminated in the Relief of Leiden on 3 October 1574, that marked an important juncture in the resistance of the Netherlands against the Spanish occupation. The liberation of the beleaguered city is still celebrated in Leiden every year on 3 October.
University motto: Praesidium Libertatis
Given the history, it is no surprise that the University’s motto should be Praesidium libertatis (bastion of freedom). Freedom also features in the emblem of the city of Leiden: Haec libertatis ergo ("For the sake of liberty"). Science can only thrive in an atmosphere of freedom. The academic freedom to carry out research and to seek new explanations without the intervention of rulers, religious assumptions or prejudice, is a necessary precondition for progress and prosperity.
Freedom and democracy
But the concept of freedom also plays an important role in democracy. The freedom of citizens to take decisions and to vote according to their own beliefs and conscience, freedom of expression and the remaining constitutional freedoms are and will remain the foundation stone of society in a democratic legal state. Freedom can never be taken for granted, but, like equality and fraternity, has to continuously be given new impetus.
Champion of liberty
Essayist and author Salman Rushdie (1947) is a fervent champion of freedom of expression. He has written a number of novels, including Midnight's Children (1981, winner of the Booker Prize 1981 and the Booker of Bookers Prize 1993) and The Satanic Verses (1988). This last work so incensed the Iranian ayatollah Khomeini (1902-1989) that he issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death. As a result, Rushdie spent the next ten years in hiding.
Register for the lecture
The lecture will be held on 18 June 2010. The programme starts at 15.00 hrs in the Pieterskerk in Leiden, and will end at 17.30 hrs.
Leiden Freedom Lecture fully booked.