The Disturbing Case of Professor Nicholas Damask

As one who has been observing the campus dynamics since 2006 (as a teacher at UC Irvine Extension), I have seen  worrisome signs that not only the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but also Muslim student dynamics had the potential to explode. Though universities have so far been able to avoid tragedies because of these issues, I firmly believe the potential is there. In fact, I have been warning about the potential at UC Irvine, a hot spot of anti-Israel agitation that has often spilled over into anti-Semitism.

Now comes the case of political science Professor Nicholas Damask at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona. Damask raised the ire of one of his Muslim students when he put three questions on a test that the student deemed offensive to Islam. Damask was scolded by his employers and had to write a letter of apology to the student. That has proved insufficient as Damask has received numerous death threats to him and his family. At the bottom of this post is the email of the college president. I urge readers to send him (polite) letters of support for Professor Damask.

Robert Spencer has all the details in this piece he has written in PJ Media.

https://pjmedia.com/culture/robert-spencer/2020/05/08/arizona-muslim-students-threaten-to-kill-prof-for-suggesting-islam-is-violent-n389324

I normally don't pay much attentions to those Rate My Professor web sites, but if you look at Damask's, he gets rave reviews from his students.

https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tid=652072

In my view, the administration at Scottsdale CC has acted in a  cowardly way, but I am hardly surprised. No doubt they have several lefties in their faculty who throw in all kinds of offensive garbage into their classes about American imperialism, racism, anti-Christianity, anti-West etc etc. See how far a conservative student would get complaining about that.

As Spencer points out, the three questions Damask put on the test and their answers are demonstrably true.  Since when does a professor, who supposedly enjoys "academic freedom", not have a right to state something that is true and can be corroborated with empirical evidence? Do I blame the student in question for feeling uncomfortable? No, but I do condemn those unknown persons who have threatened death to the professor and his family.

Let us assume for the sake of argument that, God forbid, Damask and/or members of his family were murdered over this issue. What kind of discussion do we have then-especially the good folks at Scottsdale CC? Will the school and students discuss the three questions and whether they have, indeed, been proven true? Again, the questions:

• Who do terrorists strive to emulate? A. Mohammed
• Where is terrorism encouraged in Islamic doctrine and law? A. The Medina verses [i.e., the portion of the Qur’an traditionally understood as having been revealed later in Muhammad’s prophetic career]
• Terrorism is _______ in Islam. A. justified within the context of jihad.

Keep in mind, this is not the judgment of Damask or Robert Spencer. The sources are the Islamic texts themselves. Damask, Spencer and others merely take their own words (the texts) and deeds. It is not a blanket condemnation of all Muslims, nor should it be. But as the old saying goes, "It is what it is."

I assure you that if worse came to worse, no such discussion would take place. The individual would be condemned and everybody would point out that it had nothing to do with Islam. CAIR would send speakers to the school to give a presentation on how Islam is a religion of peace that has been misinterpreted both by its enemies and those who carry out atrocities in its very name. I have heard it so many times it almost becomes laughable, but so many gullible young people in our universities are listening to this garbage and believing it.

Meanwhile, many of the same people who are complaining about the Damasks of the world are guilty of propagating a different kind of hate on campuses across the nation-anti-Semitism (Thank you, pro-Palestinian movement). How do they get away with it? The same way, they get away with attacking people like Nicholas Damask.

Here is the email for Steven Gonzalez, the chancellor of Scottsdale CC. At this critical time, Professor Damask needs public support. I will be writing in his behalf. I hope you do as well.

Steven.Gonzalez@domail.maricopa.edu. * Correction: Steven.Gonzales@domail.maricopa.edu

It is spelled with an "s" at the end, not a "z".