I hope I have made it clear in my previous postings on this subject that I do not oppose free and open inquiry into any religion. The concern we raised in our initial letter, and which we continue to emphasize, is about the source of the funding for the proposed chair in Islamic Studies at Huron College, which is affiliated with The University of Western Ontario.
Because I was the primary signer of the initial letter, my name appears in this article quite a bit. Let me make clear, though, that even the initial letter was a group effort.
From the article,
The UWO-affiliated college is caught in the crossfire of a decision to accept money from Muslim groups -- one local, one international -- to help fund a new chair in Islamic studies. Critics say there's a link to violent jihadism there and the $2 million could influence school courses and choice of chair. Huron College insists neither is true.
Based on numerous items, I am concerned about the quality of the "due diligence" performed by Huron College in their investigation into the nature of the source of funding for this endowed chair. I really hope they will re-open the question for discussion and additional input.
Huron College doesn't care what you think. If you start posting this on prospective student boards or send it to Macleans, you might have a chance. Also, you could sue them; people tend to pay attention to lawyers. Maybe you could inform the Huron alumni and see if they will reconsider any potential donations.
Posted by: Qbert | June 02, 2011 at 05:00 PM