In a very interesting story from the front lines of America's campuses, a college student was suspended from school after his Muslim professor was offended that he as a Christian called out his professor falsely teaching against Jesus' divinity and challenged her to prove her points instead of proselytize:
A student says he was suspended from Rollins College for challenging his Muslim professor’s anti-Christian assertions, including her claim that Jesus’ crucifixion never took place.
Twenty-year-old Marshall Polston, a sophomore at the private, Florida-based four-year college, said that the professor of his Middle Eastern Humanities class also told students that Jesus’ disciples did not believe he was God.
Polston, an avid traveler and self-described Christian, has toured the Middle East and is familiar with the Muslim culture.
“Honestly, it reminded me of some of the more radical groups I researched when abroad,” Polston told the Central Florida Post about his professor’s comments on Jesus.
“Whether religious or not, I believe even those with limited knowledge of Christianity can agree that according to the text, Jesus was crucified and his followers did believe he was divine… that he was ‘God,’” he continued. “Regardless, to assert the contrary as academic fact is not supported by the evidence.”
Polston, in a message to The College Fix on Saturday, said he stands behind his assertions in the Post article. He said he is upset he was suspended and has hired an attorney.
“Our university should be a place where free-speech flashes and ideas can be spoken of without punishment or fear of retribution,” Polston told The College Fix. “In my case it was the total opposite. … I came forward with the story because I know so many other students like me suffer under today’s liberal academic elite.”
The professor, Areej Zufari, as well as a campus spokesperson, could not be reached by The College Fix late Sunday. However, the Central Florida Post reports that it tried numerous times to obtain comment from Rollins College and Professor Zufari to no avail.
Polston claims the situation began after he challenged Zufari’s assertions about Jesus and his disciples. Polston said this challenge led Zufari to file a complaint with a campus dean, claiming he made her feel “unsafe.”
Next, Polston received a 52 percent on a major essay.
“I was upset, understandably. I’ve never gotten anything less than straight A’s, so I was really interested in figuring out how to possibly improve or at least understand the grade,” Polston told the Post.
On another day during the course, Zufari led a discussion about the application of Sharia Law. Polston claims that during this discussion, a male Muslim student said gays and adulterers should be beheaded under Sharia Law.“I spoke out to the professor about the grade and subsequently the decapitation comments made by the student,” Polston told The Fix. “The statement by the conservative Muslim student met such fear by some that one of the students reported it to the FBI. Later, I was reported by the professor to the dean of campus safety. The situation was surreal. We’ve already had one too many attacks in Orlando and as an avid traveler I realized this was the perfect example of ‘see something, say something.’”
Zufari, for her part, posted on Facebook to the ACLU of Florida, complaining about an unnamed student that is “making my life hell this semester. This one is spewing hatred at me, de-railing class, and just sent me a hateful email threatening me…I want to know if there is a way to hold the individual responsible for his harassment and hate speech. Any ideas? Thank you!”
According to the March 24 suspension letter, Polston’s “actions have constituted a threat of disruption within the operations of the College and jeopardize the safety and well-being of members of the College community and yourself.”
Those alleged actions are not spelled out within the document. Nonetheless, Polston was given strict directions not to set foot on campus or have any contact with Zufari in the letter.
However, claims that Polston violated the terms of his suspension and came to harass the class this past Thursday were lodged. A campus safety report obtained by The College Fix states:
“Student ______ stated to me that she looked out the back glass door of the classroom and saw Mr. Polston staring into the room. He briefly stopped then proceeded on his way. Campus safety was immediately notified and responded at 19:36 hours. A search was conducted but Mr. Polston was not found. Ms. Zufari’s students were upset and did not feel comfortable being in the class. Ms. Zufari dismissed her class early at 20:07 hours.”
Polston has completely refuted these claims, however, offering video footage of his whereabouts — at a restaurant over a half-hour away from the school.
As for Rollins College, this isn’t the first time its officials have acted unfavorably toward Christian students.(source)
This story strikes close to me because of my experiences as a graduate student. You can read the full story here, but the shortened version of it is that I went through many difficulties, including nearly being kicked out of graduate school because I refused to give my consent to Islamic teachings in an academic environment. That was back in 2010. I can only imagine what things are like in academic today, especially in light of all this "social justice warrior" and "safe space" nonsense.
My experiences in school taught me a lot. I commend what this man is going through because he is literally watching, as I did in my case, what he knew/thought he knew was going to be his life's path (at least for the current time) get completely shredded right before his eyes. In my case, because my degree was so specialized as I had intended to further pursue my field, my situation in graduate school left me like a fish out of water. Not knowing where to go or what to do, it took me a long time to finally figure out what steps I needed to take. That said, I do not regret my decision and if I had to go back and do it again, I would do it again. I learned a lot of lessons from the whole experience as well.
In terms of my field, the point remains as true then as it does now, and that is to hold fast to one's principles if one truly believes in them as a matter of faith. I do not speak here of quantitative facts that are matters of scholarly documentation- for example, arguing that Cleopatra was in Egypt during the time of the Islamic conquests when she clearly could not have been. What I speak of is divinely revealed truth, and specifically my being a Christian in a predominately Muslim environment.
Professor Areej Zufari, who had the student suspended
Here at Shoebat.com we speak a lot about Christian persecution, but much of this also happens inside the classroom as well except their is no blood or weapons involved (for now). The martyrdom one suffers is a "white martyrdom," where you are ostracized from your peers and your ability to progress academically is intentionally destroyed so you cannot receive your degree, which now puts you in a difficult situation because it interrupts your ability to take care of yourself. While in the old world death was the end to a man's physical life by violence, here the violence is directed against a man's ability to care for himself so that he cannot grow and instead will be destroyed by environmental factors. It is the same intended effect but by different means. The fact that Muslim professors are put into positions of academic power is only going to exacerbate this, because they will use their positions of power to preach Islam as well as executed the violence of Islam against non-Muslims in a "socially acceptable" way when they refuse to submit to Islam intellectually.
This brings up a larger point, which is the decline of the higher education system reflective of the spiritual and moral decline of the entire western world. This has been going on for years, but the fact is that college in America has basically reached a point where the value one puts in will not generate a return on investment that in most cases is worth the time or money spent either on the same subject in another country or program, or that could not be spent building a successful business or other endeavor that would likely yield higher payoffs because all that college does today is to inculcate the status quo of thought and values held by contemporary society into the students. This decline is not per se caused by Islam but other factors, namely the western world's refusal to love God and return to Him. Islam's rise in the west is no different than its rise anywhere else in the world, as it is not truly taking over but rather filling the vacuum left by the western world's decadence and apathy.
A vile photo, but something that if you were to say is vile in public, you would be at the very least socially ostracized. In some areas, you might be put in jail. The fact that the West cannot call evil for evil permeates throughout the entire society. If we cannot say as a culture that such a photo above is evil without making oneself a permanent outcast, why is it a surprise that Islam, a religion which feeds on moral decay in formerly Christian societies like how mushrooms feed on decaying organic material, is growing in society?
However, do not think what this student is going through right now is something normal. In fact, it is very common to societies going through the process of Islamization. In fact, throughout history there were many Christians who were persecuted, harassed, and even killed for speaking their minds. The example which comes to my mind first are the Martyrs of Cordoba, who were a series of over 20 people who were imprisoned, tortured, and murdered in a series of horrible ways not because they actually refused to convert to Islam in all cases, but because at the very least they refused to make intellectual or social acts of submission to Islam that would derogate their Catholic Faith. For them, it was better to suffer and die than to dishonor Christ.
Sts. Eulogia and Lucretia, two of the martyrs of Cordoba
Whether it is today or back then, nothing has changed in essence except for the actors, places, and spaces. The way to fix the current system in the university, such as with what this student is going through, is actually not to fix it at all but rather to simply remove oneself from it and not "play" because you cannot win. The system itself is rigged in order to give a predetermined answer, reflecting what we have been saying here over and over, and that is that the rise of Islam was predicated upon the Muslims being invited in with the help of many people who publicly speak against them in order to intentionally cause a backlash and subsequently, a social rift which they and their compatriots could exploit to increase their own power. These people, just like with the apostate Count Julian in the past who assisted with the Muslim invasion of Spain, are giving the Muslims power because they see them as a tool for political leverage. They do not care about the consequences of their actions at all or who they may affect, because their eyes are solely fixed on acquiring power in this life and they will use any tool and destroy anybody if they think it will benefit them. This is again why the Catholic Faith is so important and why it is so targeted by such people, because it is the only spiritual, social, cultural, and temporal obstruction to executing their license in society.
As such, the rise of Islam in the West cannot be stopped until the West gets its spiritual house in order. This cannot be said enough. Just like the canary in a coal mine, one might look at the rise of Islam in a similar way, for while the religion is itself poisonous, just like the canary in the coal mine the rise of Islam is also an indicator of the spiritual decline of a Christian people turned to apostasy.
So speaking from my advice based on experience when faced with an evil like this student, don't back down from the fight but rather run at it and attack it even harder and stand stronger. Just as when a flame is put to a block of ice and temporarily melts it only to refreeze even harder, set your will as resolute and your face like flint, for if you are doing the Lord's will, then your efforts will never be in vain and when all is said and done, no matter what you may face, you will not be put to shame.
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