Tag: universities

Pakistan: Professor Sentenced to Death Following Blasphemy Charges

Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are among the world’s most egregious tools of religious repression. They enable abuse, mob violence, and the targeting of individuals and religious minorities (including Christians) for criminal prosecutions that carry life sentences and death penalties.

Pakistani professor Junaid Hafeez, for instance, is imprisoned and sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy. 

In 2013, police in Punjab Province arrested Hafeez, who was then an academic in his twenties. The professor has remained incarcerated ever since.

In 2019, a court sentenced Hafeez to death under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws following a trial whose delays spanned several years. The trial finally took place inside a high-security prison amid fears of mob violence. Hafeez’s appeal has yet to be heard.

According to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), 

In March 2013, authorities arrested Hafeez, a lecturer at Bahauddin Zakariya University, after his students accused him of blaspheming Islam on social media. In 2014, authorities placed him in solitary confinement after other prisoners repeatedly attacked him. That same year, two gunmen shot to death Hafeez’s lawyer, Rashin Rehman, in his office.

In December 2019, a district and sessions court in Multan sentenced Hafeez to death for “insulting the Prophet Muhammad” (Sec. 295-C PPC). He was also sentenced to life in prison for “desecrating the Qur’an” (Sec. 295-B PPC) and 10 years’ imprisonment for “intending to outrage religious feelings” (Sec. 295-A PPC). United Nations experts swiftly condemned Hafeez’s sentence.

Prior to his arrest, Hafeez received a master’s degree in the United States on a Fulbright Scholarship. He specialized in American literature, photography, and theatre.

On February 26, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement about Hafeez’s case. In it, HRW said:

“Junaid Hafeez’s case is emblematic of the unjust and abusive nature of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should quash Hafeez’s conviction and safely release him and others held under the blasphemy laws.”

The blasphemy laws, section 295-C, and other provisions of Pakistan’s penal code carry what is effectively a mandatory death sentence. Although there have been no executions, several people are currently on death row, while dozens are serving life sentences for related offenses. Hundreds have been charged under the law in the past three decades.

On February 27, the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) submitted an official contribution to the U.N. Special Rapporteur regarding summary, extrajudicial, or arbitrary executions in Pakistan. In it, the ECLJ denounces the mandatory and automatic imposition of the death penalty for blasphemy against Islam in the country:

Those accused of blasphemy in Pakistan are sentenced to death by hanging. The death penalty, let alone by hanging, is egregious and disproportionate in blasphemy cases. It clearly amounts to torture. Notably, the Pakistani government has never carried out the death sentence in blasphemy cases. However, the accused spend years on death row. Additionally, many accused, their families, and communities have faced mob violence…

The authorities have also failed to stop mob attacks by private actors, such as fundamentalist individuals and organizations in blasphemy cases. In many cases, mobs gather and attack the accused, their families, and their communities. Where the accused are arrested and tried, fundamentalist organizations continue to pack the courtrooms to intimidate judges. As a result, trial courts rarely acquit the accused, leaving their fate up to the higher courts.

Even an accusation of blasphemy can provoke mob violence against victims, as well as their families and the wider Christian community. On Aug. 16, 2023, allegations of blasphemy against two Christian residents in Jaranwala (Faisalabad district of Punjab Province) led to a Muslim mob vandalizing and destroying over 20 churches and more than 80 Christian houses.

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Deranged ‘Transgender’ Student at University of Michigan Tells Right-Wing Comedian Alex Stein to ‘Watch Out for a Hole in the Neck!’ During TPUSA Campus Event

An unhinged student at the University of Michigan, who is allegedly transgender, was caught on video making a death threat against conservative comedian Alex Stein, telling him to “watch out for a hole in the neck” in an obvious reference to the assassination of Charlie Kirk, during a Turning Point USA campus event.

The threat took place during a Turning Point USA “Pick Up the Mic” free speech event earlier this month, modeled after Kirk’s famous campus discussions.

In the video posted by Stein on X on Tuesday, the student engaged Stein on topics including affirmative action, DEI policies, and meritocracy.

After the exchange, as the student walked away, he delivered the ominous line, “Watch out for a hole in the neck.”

The comment is a clear reference to Kirk, who was assassinated in September by a gunman who shot him in the neck.

Tyler Robinson, 23, has been arrested and charged with the shooting. He was living with his transgender furry boyfriend at the time of the murder.

The threat was made in front of a crowd of students with security present, yet the individual simply walked off without consequences.

The University of Michigan student newspaper, The Michigan Daily, covered the event but focused its outrage on Stein, accusing him of making “racist remarks” during the debates, while barely addressing the student’s explicit threat.

The paper described the comment as an “allusion to the killing of TPUSA co-founder Charlie Kirk” but downplayed any real concern, noting the student “walked away from Stein without confronting any TPUSA event staffers or police officers.”

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Ohio University referendum demanding divestment from Israel garners 86% support from student body

Ohio University students recently voted in favor of a referendum demanding the school divest from Israel despite state law prohibiting such action.

The Student Senate voted unanimously in favor of Senate Bill 2526-11 on March 18, which calls on the school to both divest from Israel bonds and companies related to the country and make information pertaining to its investments publicly available, according to the student newspaper The Post.

The bill, drafted in part by the school’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, received unanimous support from the Student Senate before going to a referendum put before the student body, in which it garnered 86 percent support.

Prior to the vote, the SJP chapter hosted an “Educational Forum,” during which it informed students about “OU’s investments into genocide, repressive laws, and the referendum vote.”

The legislation was also endorsed by a number of other left-wing groups, including Amnesty International OU, OU Ohio Student Association, OU Black Panther Party Legacy, Sunrise Athens, OU Young Democratic Socialists of America, OU Publius, Southeast Ohio Jewish Voice for Peace, and OU Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine.

“This issue is not exclusive to Students for Justice in Palestine,” SJP board member Henry Turner said ahead of the vote. “There are many, many community and student organizations that are passionate about this issue and want to end the university’s complicity in acts of genocide and apartheid.”

SJP celebrated the passage of the measure, writing on Instagram, “This fight is not over. We must keep pressure on the university to listen to student voices. Stay transparent. End complicity in genocide.”

Despite the results of the vote, school officials have pointed out that Section 9.76 of the Ohio Revised Code prohibits Israeli-related divestments.

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DEI? UC Berkeley Sociology Department Chooses Transgender Activist As Commencement Speaker

The University of California, Berkeley’s Department of Sociology will host Alex Hanna, a transgender activist and AI researcher, as its Commencement speaker, according to a report from Campus Reform.

According to the department’s announcement, Hanna’s work as the director of research at the Distributed AI Research Institute focuses on how AI technologies “exacerbate racial, gender, and class inequality through their data practices and effects on labor.”

This is sadly typical for Berkeley, which consistently promotes DEI and Cultural Marxism.

This speaker calls himself transgender despite the fact that he is a biological male.

“In 2021, Hanna co-founded the “Alex and Demiana Hanna Pride Scholarship” at the University of Wisconsin at Madison Department of Sociology for active “LGBTQ” advocates.”

“The scholarship awards $2,000 to a sociology major who is actively committed to and engaged in activities that advocate for and support the LGBTQ community.”

In other words, this is pure DEI, something which is un-American and unpopular.

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Trouble in Virginia: Leftists Pay Canvassers To Gain college student support for Democrat Gerrymandering

According to a recent report at Campus Reform, “Left-wing activists are paying canvassers to promote a Democrat-led redistricting effort on Virginia college students, according to a recent job posting.”

This listing, posted on Indeed, sought applicants for a “Community Canvasser – Vote YES on Redistricting” position.

The goal would be to support a Democrat plot to “support a gerrymandering referendum in the upcoming election.”

The listing read like a typical far-left campaign pitch, saying “With Trump and MAGA-controlled legislatures in other states working to rig congressional maps, Virginians are at risk of having their voices diminished in Washington,” the post claims. “Virginians vote April 21st on a constitutional amendment that gives voters, not politicians, the power to protect fair representation for Virginia.”

As has been reported extensively, this gerrymandering proposal in VA would redraw congressional districts to favor the Dems.

This job mentioned is being pitched by a group known as “The Outreach Team, which advertises itself as “the national engine of campaigners and organizers powering the progressive movement” on its web page. It boasts of its partnerships with a number of prominent left-wing organizations, including Planned Parenthood, the NAACP, and the Biden-Harris campaign.”

In other words, this is a grassroots leftist effort to skew the elections towards the Democrats and put them at an advantage over Republicans.

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Young woman says Canadian university banned her for listening to a conversation about Iran war

A Canadian woman says she has been banned for life from the University of Guelph in a violation of her Charter rights because she overheard a private conversation that her father had about the Iran war with some Muslims.

Sarah Dotzert, a young conservative activist, posted a YouTube video about her ordeal through her organization, Unify Action. She explains just how far the university went in political correctness by banning both her and her father.

“I’m about to expose the reality of what it’s like to work on university campuses in Canada. I just banned from ever setting foot on the University of Guelph ever again. No joke, this is not a lie. That thumbnail was real – I actually got banned,” she said.

According to Dotzert, she received a letter in the mail from the university titled “notice of trespass.”

The letter reads, as noted by Dotzert:

Dear Sarah,

As a result of your actions on March 6, 2026, this letter serves as a notice of trespass. The University of Guelph and all associated properties are private property. Presently, you are not a registered student, staff, or faculty member at the University of Guelph and are therefore prohibited from entering all University of Guelph properties. Should you be found in violation of this order, you will be charged under the Trespass to Property Act by the Campus Safety Office. This prohibition is in effect for an indefinite period from the date of this letter. A copy of this notice will be forwarded to the Guelph Police Service for their records. If you have any questions, please contact me directly.

— Director of Campus Security

According to Dotzert, she did nothing that would have warranted her being banned from campus. She says that on March 6 at around 7 p.m. she was attending a “private religious function” at the university. She noted that the event was open to the public as well as “non-students,” so she was “free to attend.”

Dotzert said that as her father was dropping her off in the parking lot, he started a conversation with some other girls next to them. Dotzert said that for context the girls “were Muslim.”

“His opening question was, ‘What do you guys think of the war in Iran?” to the girls.

“Immediately, they take it hostile. On his part, he was not hateful, judgmental, or offensive in any way. He makes conversation with everyone … He was simply trying to talk … But they were offended. The conversation lasted minute, maybe two minutes,” Dotzert recounted.

According to Dotzert, she “took no part in it” and was already out of the car and “walking away.”

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Russia Bans Stanford University as an ‘Undesirable Organization’

Russia is cleaning house.

Under Vladimir Putin’s rule, the Russian Federation has been cracking down on Western Globalist entities, banning them as ‘Undesirable Organizations’.

We are talking about George Soros’ Open Society Foundations; Human Rights Watch; Amnesty International; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; RAND Corporation – the list is much, much longer.

US educational institutions are also included in this list, such as Yale University; UC Berkeley; George Washington University; Brigham Young University; Bard College…

And today, news arose that Russia has also declared Stanford University to be ‘undesirable’ and banned it.

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US-Israeli Strikes on Iran’s Universities Signal Higher Ed No Longer Off-Limits

Throughout their war on Iran, the U.S. and Israel broke many norms of military engagement, such as systematically targeting academic institutions in Iran. Universities became a major casualty, and explicit acknowledgements by Israeli leaders and some U.S. public figures clarified that these institutions were not collateral damage, but rather, intended targets. There are no definitive figures as to the number of higher education institutes targeted, but Iran’s science minister, Hossein Simaei Saraf, has said more than 30 universities have been bombed.

“It is truly unbelievable that in the 21st century, in the age of human rights, in the age of international law and international humanitarian law, civilian locations and civilians are being targeted,” Simaei Saraf told reporters upon inspecting the ruins of the Laser and Plasma Research Institute at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran on April 4.

“It is regrettable that our adversary has gone back to the Stone Age rather than us coming from the Stone Age,” he said, a reference to Donald Trump’s infamous threat against Iran. Simaei Saraf added that the international community is deprived of Iran’s human potential when the country’s scientific centers become targets in military campaigns.

Founded in 1960 as the National University of Iran, Shahid Beheshti University (SBU) is known for its robust law, literature, and architecture departments. The U.K.-based QS World University Rankings has ranked Shahid Beheshti University 214th in Asia among 1,534 universities listed regionally. Mir-Hossein Mousavi, a former presidential candidate and leader of the 2009 Green Movement who has been under house arrest since 2011, is an SBU alumnus.

The most shocking incident in this string of attacks was the bombing of Tehran’s Sharif University of Technology, often referred to as Iran’s MIT. In the early hours of April 6, U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on the southern parts of the iconic campus destroyed several buildings, including the Philosophy of Science Group, High-Performance Computing Center, and Information and Communication Technology Center.

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Portland college to host ANTIFA TRAINING on terrorism and radicalization

Lewis and Clark College, a private institution in Portland, Oregon, is hosting an Antifa-affiliated anarchist symposium aimed at teaching individuals how to organize violent direct actions and avoid prosecution in order to effectively fight back against the US government.

The Transformative Action and Abolition Symposium, titled “Bad Trouble” and organized by the school’s Antifa-aligned Prison Abolition Club, is scheduled to run from April 13 to April 15. Antifa is a US-designated terrorist organization.

Journalist Andy Ngo first highlighted the event in a post on X, describing it as “Antifa terrorism and radicalization training.” He noted that attendees are explicitly directed to “wear a mask” and that one session involves reading claims of responsibility from anarchist blogs while learning how to help “comrades” evade arrest. Ngo, senior editor at The Post Millennial, tagged Education Secretary Linda McMahon and US Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, noting that the college receives some federal funding.

The event flyer features radical imagery such as a burning police vehicle with smashed windows, a gas can, flames, bolt cutters, and barbed wire. It asks attendees to “wear a mask please,”  a common tactic used by Antifa militants to evade detection at events.

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King’s College accused of ‘dumbing down’ after overlooking poor grammar to be more ‘inclusive’

A top university wants to scale back traditional exams and overlook grammar mistakes in a bid to be more ‘inclusive’.

King’s College London, part of the elite Russell Group, is overhauling assessment to ‘validate diverse knowledge systems and lived experiences’.

In addition, it has introduced new shorter word limits on essays, to prevent students being ‘overburdened’.

Lecturers have branded the overhaul ‘dumbing down’, while students have criticised the word caps in an open letter.

In a recent presentation of the changes, staff were told to give students a ‘choice in assessment formats’, such as coursework.

The new framework discourages ‘over-reliance’ on exams, with ‘more options’ added to how students can be assessed.

One of the slides shown to staff with the heading ‘equality, diversity and inclusion’ stated they should ‘focus on ideas, not grammar’.

It also said assessment should be ‘culturally responsive’ and ‘reward the use of culture, language and identity’.

Marking should be ‘inclusive’ and ’embrace linguistic diversity’, the slide said.

In a separate announcement, students were also told some of their essays will be capped at 1,300 words – down from 2,000 currently, to reduce academic stress.

However, this backfired when students slammed it in an open letter, saying it would stop them properly exploring their subjects.

One King’s College academic, who asked to be anonymous, said: ‘This whole framework, dreamt up by middle management to justify their existence, is about sending a message about which side of the culture war the university is on.

‘They seem to be claiming students are snowflakes and can’t cope, but students have set up a petition against it.

‘These young people are looking at the tough labour market and they haven’t got time for all this.

‘This is management trying to be ‘down-with-the-kids’ and classically getting it wrong’.

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