Has the world gone mad? Or only academia?
Posted by Richard on July 11, 2006
Speaking of moonbats, LGF posted a chunk of the press release from the University of Wisconsin-Madison explaining why Kevin Barrett would be teaching an introductory class on Islam. Barrett, a convert to Islam, believes that al-Qaeda is a CIA front and that the Bush administration blew up the World Trade Center towers. The UW-Madison Provost decided to let this whack job teach his theories to young skulls full of mush in order to defend free speech (emphasis added by LGF):
Farrell notes that a broader issue at play in the Barrett case is the UW-Madison’s long tradition of protecting classroom expression and encouraging students’ critical thinking by allowing analysis of even the most controversial ideas.
“We cannot allow political pressure from critics of unpopular ideas to inhibit the free exchange of ideas. That classroom interaction is central to this university’s mission and to the expansion of knowledge. Silencing that exchange now would only open the door to more onerous and sweeping restrictions,” he says.
“It is in cases like this – difficult cases involving unconventional ideas – that we define our principles and determine our future,” Farrell adds. “Instead of restricting politically unpopular speech, we will take our cue from the bronze plaque in front of Bascom Hall that calls for the ‘continual and fearless sifting and winnowing’ of ideas.”
I saw part of an interview with Barrett on Fox News earlier. He struck me as a committed Islamofascist (Wahhabi or Salafist), not just a tin-foil-hat nutjob like Spooked. Of course, I could be wrong. Heck, Spooked is a pseudonym — Kevin Barrett could be Spooked!
I want to ask UW-Madison Provost Patrick Farrell how he plans to promote free speech, explore "even the most controversial ideas," and stick it to "the man" next: A class on World War II and Nazi Germany taught by a Holocaust denier? A course covering the Civil Rights movement taught by a Klansman?
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