Professor Censored For Exhibiting Mohammad Cartoons

It is the unalterable mission of the academy to challenge age-old dogmas, except for the age-old dogmas of fundamentalist Islam, which are invioable.

The professor in question put the cartoons behind a curtain to prevent offense from those who might probably would were just itching to be offended. But that wasn't enough.

At the height of the international controversy surrounding the Mohammed cartoons, adjunct professor of geography Karen Murdock was concerned that most students at Century had not even seen the cartoons and would therefore be unable to evaluate them intelligently. On February 7, she posted the drawings, related newspaper articles, and blank comment sheets on a bulletin board near her office where various faculty members post items of interest. The cartoons were repeatedly and anonymously torn down, and she replaced them each time. Finally, she says, her academic division head, David Lyons, removed the cartoons himself, and Vice President of Student Services Mike Bruner asked that she not repost them. Vice President of Academic Affairs John O’Brien then called a meeting with Murdock...

Murdock has expressed great frustration with the situation. “We are a college. We are supposed to be a forum for the free exchange of ideas,� she said. “If we can’t talk about this controversy at a college, where are we supposed to talk about it?� She continued, “We are supposed to be able not merely to deal with controversy but actually to welcome it!�...

Academics revere Darwin, even though most of them don't really even understand evolution, simply because he was a brave free-thinker who didn't flinch from challenging the orthodoxies of Christian churches.

But offending Christian sensibilities is one thing. It's required that we throw off the shackles of this racist, repressive religion if we're ever to achieve full social justice and enlightened progressivism. But offending Muslim sensibilities... well, that's just not nice.

Thanks to Craig.

posted by Ace at 12:41 PM

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