Muslim students are crying censorship after the University of Southern California’s provost took down historical documents that call for Muslims to kill Jewish people from the now defunct Muslim Student Association’s website. The documents come from the hadiths, the words of Muhammad not included in the Quran.

The provost said that “the passage cited is truly despicable.” But the Muslim Student Union at USC accused the university of censorship.

Is a threat to kill that appears in religious scriptures — in particular at a time of war and terrorism when that threat is actually being carried out — protected speech? Or can it be viewed as an incitement to kill? First Amendment experts at FIRE and elsewhere might care to shed more light on this incident.