THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XI, Issue # 171, August 13, 2009
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
TERRORIST IN THE IVORY TOWER?
By Cinnamon Stillwell
NORTH AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION & THE ISLAMIST FIFTH COLUMN: ISLAMIST PENETRATION OF THE
FACULTIES OF CANADIAN & AMERICAN UNIVERSITY MIDDLE EAST STUDIES PROGRAMS -- THE CASE OF UNIVERSITY OF
OTTAWA PROFESSOR HASSAN DIAB & HIS FRIENDS, SYMPATHIZERS, & SUPPORTERS ON THE ACADEMIC LEFT IN CANADA
& THE U.S.A. -- THE DISTURBING PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR OF THE MIDDLE EAST STUDIES ESTABLISHMENT -- UNINFORMED,
KNEE JERK DEFENSE OF PROFESSORS ACCUSED OF TERRORIST TIES & BACKGROUNDS
FULL STORY:
Do the ranks of Middle East Studies Professors in North American universities include terrorists? If the
allegations against University of Ottawa Professor Hassan Diab are proved true, the answer will be yes.
Diab, a Lebanese-born dual Canadian citizen and author of Beirut: Reviving Lebanon's Past, is a lecturer in
Sociology at the University of Ottawa and, until recently, taught a part-time Summer introductory sociology course
at Carleton University in Ottawa. His job ended last month, following allegations by French authorities that Diab
was the leader of a commando team that perpetrated the 1980 bombing of the Rue Copernic Synagogue in Paris.
The bombing, which was attributed to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Special Operations
(PFLP-SO), a splinter group of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), killed three Frenchmen and an Israeli
woman and wounded 20.
At the request of French authorities, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested Diab in November, 2008. He's
since been granted bail on numerous conditions, including wearing an ankle bracelet and only leaving his house
escorted by one of the five people who posted his $250,000 bail.
French authorities who seek to extradite Diab for trial in France accuse him of making and planting the bomb used
in the attack. According to Canwest News Service:
"Diab resembles police sketches of the synagogue
bomber; his handwriting matches that of the bomber;
he has been identified by intelligence sources and
former friends as having been a member of the PFLP;
and his Lebanese passport, which he reported
stolen, was used to get into France at about the time
of the 1980 bombing."
Diab maintains his innocence. As reported in a National Post editorial:
"Evidence from the files of the old East German secret
police, the Stasi, leaves little doubt that someone then
going by the name 'Hassan Diab' was responsible for
the bombing. The French investigating authorities are
certain they have found the right man, and have
witnesses who are prepared to say so, as well as other
evidence implicating the Ottawa prof. But Mr. Diab,
who has a common Lebanese name, insists that he is a
wholly innocent victim of mistaken identity."
Furthermore, Diab's friends and colleagues insist that he is a peaceful, non-violent man who has never shown
anti-Semitic or anti-Zionist leanings.
Predictably, Carleton University's decision to terminate Diab has caused an uproar among his academic peers. The
Canadian Association of University Teachers issued a statement condemning Diab's "unjust termination" ". . . in
the strongest possible terms." An August 1, 2009, Ottawa Citizen op-ed signed by 30 members of Carleton's
Department of Sociology and Anthropology described Diab's firing melodramatically, labeling it "an attack on
widely held democratic values, and on the need to achieve justice through the law and due process" and "a bleak
chapter in the story of injustice and discrimination in the dark shadow of 9/11." The op-ed stretches credulity by
blaming the allegedly repressive, post-9/11 political atmosphere in "George W. Bush's America" for the firing — of
a Canadian.
But Carleton University only employed Diab to teach a single course for several weeks during the Summer while
the regular instructor was on leave. Diab taught a similar course at Carleton earlier and was reinstated, even after
his arrest in November, 2008. It wasn't until July, 2009, that Carleton terminated his contract, citing a desire to
provide students with "a stable, productive academic environment that is conducive to learning." Carleton was
under no obligation to continue employing Diab and, as the authors of the op-ed themselves admit, "reasonable
restrictions are, and should be, placed on those accused of violent crimes." Given that Diab is charged with murder
and attempted murder, Carleton's decision to end his employment would seem to be a "reasonable restriction."
Moreover, it's difficult to imagine any other profession in which an employee would not face similar consequences
under such circumstances.
The op-ed's authors deploy another common tactic of the academic Left: blaming purportedly omnipotent Jewish
organizations for Diab's firing. His termination happened to follow a B'nai Brith press release objecting to his
employment at Carleton. His defenders cast this fact in a sinister light, accusing the University, without evidence,
of "succumbing to political pressure."
They imply that B'nai Brith was out-of-line for expressing concern that Diab might be a threat to "the safety and
security of the community," ignoring that the terrorist attack at hand targeted a synagogue. If such charges had
involved an attack against another minority group, it's doubtful these academics would object to such concerns.
Diab has yet to stand trial, but the reaction of his academic peers has been revealing. It demonstrates a knee-jerk
opposition to authority, an arrogant rejection of accountability, and a dangerous naiveté towards the dangers of
Islamic terrorism. Rather than expressing shock and horror that one of their own may have been involved in a
heinous crime, they immediately jumped to his defense. But what will they do if the allegations against Diab prove
true?
A look at the past may prove instructive. This isn't the first time the Middle East Studies establishment has rallied
around a beleaguered professor accused — or even convicted — of terrorism charges. Nor is it the first time such
academics have acted as cohorts or apologists for those with proven Islamist sympathies. Consider these past
examples:
Three University of South Florida Middle East Studies Professors (Ramadan Abdullah Shallah, Bashir Musa
Mohammed Nafi, and Sameeh Hammoudeh) were charged with racketeering and conspiracy to murder in 2003.
Afterwards, all three were praised by their fellow Middle East Studies faculty members and described as
"scholarly" and "highly respected." Shallah, one of the founding members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), is
now in Damascus, Syria, the organization's headquarters, and serves as PIJ's Secretary-General and Leader. He's
one of the FBI's most wanted terrorists.
Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and History at New York University Zachary Lockman testified on behalf
of Arabic translator Mohamed Yousry, who was on trial for aiding and abetting Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind
Sheikh. Lockman called Yousry's conviction in 2005 "ludicrous" and described him as "a very sweet,
mild-mannered guy."
Rahman's attorney, radical Leftist Lynne Stewart, was convicted of similar charges for sneaking messages from
the imprisoned Sheikh to members of the terrorist group Gama'a al-Islamiyya. Stewart has since become a
frequent speaker at conferences on "academic freedom," alongside various Middle East Studies Professors.
California State University, Sacramento, Sociology Professor Ayad Al-Qazzaz once featured Stewart as a guest
on his cable television show. To hear Al-Qazzaz tell it, Stewart was "falsely accused of helping terrorists."
University of Michigan History Professor Juan Cole has spoken at numerous fundraising events for the Council
on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), an unindicted co-conspirator in the case against the Hamas-founded Holy
Land Foundation.
John Esposito, Founding Director of the Saudi-funded Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian
Understanding at Georgetown University, is known for his vigorous defense of radical Islamists, including former
University of South Florida Computer Science Professor Sami Al-Arian, who was convicted in 2006 for supporting
Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Speaking at a CAIR fundraiser in 2007, Esposito described Al-Arian as "a very good
friend of mine," along with expressing his "solidarity" with both CAIR and the Holy Land Foundation.
Viewing the Middle East Studies establishment's support for Diab against this background reveals a disturbing
pattern. The presumption of innocence is one thing. Blindly throwing one's support behind any colleague accused
of terrorist ties is another.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorism & American Homeland Security
The Islamist Fifth Column -- America's Internal Enemies:
Disloyalty, Subversion, Sedition, & Treason
Education, Training, & America's Schools:
Institutions of Elementary, Secondary, & Higher Education
International Politics & World Disorder:
War & Peace in the Real World
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
Counterterrorism & U.S. National Security
U.S. National Security Strategy
American Foreign Policy -- The Middle East
Cinnamon Stillwell is the West Coast Representative for Campus Watch, a project of the Middle East Forum. She
can be reached at stillwell@meforum.org.
The foregoing article by Ms. Stillwell was originally published in Front Page Magazine, August 13, 2009, and
can be found on the Internet website maintained by the Middle East Forum, a foreign policy think tank which seeks to
define and promote American interests in the Middle East, defining U.S. interests to include fighting radical Islam,
working for Palestinian Arab acceptance of the State of Israel, improving the management of U.S. efforts to promote
constitutional democracy in the Middle East, reducing America's energy dependence on the Middle East, more robustly
asserting U.S. interests vis-ŕ-vis Saudi Arabia, and countering the Iranian threat.
(Article URL: http://www.meforum.org/article/2434/ terrorist-in-the-ivory-tower)
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
August 13, 2009
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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