Apostate accuses Oxford University of Islamic Bias

It’s like this across college campuses everywhere. Sharia in the West.

A trainee Church of England priest at Oxford University has accused it of discrimination and bias after he says he was told he could not ask a lecturer critical questions about Islam. The student has filed a formal complaint to the university’s proctors’ office in which he claims the lecturer pointed at him in a seminar and said: “Everybody can ask a question except you.”

Read Sunday Times interview (click here)

Apostate accuses Oxford University of Islamic Bias

By Wilson Chowdury, February 26, 2017:

A Muslim background believer who is an ordained for the Church of England (CofE) and is hoping to attain a curacy later this year on completion of his studies, has blown the lid on Islamic discrimination that has infiltrated one of the UK’s most recognized education establishments.

Shariar Ashrafkhorasani (33 years) who is near completing his Applied Theology Masters a pre-requisite for trainee CofE priests, at Oxford University says that he was prevented from asking critical questions about Islam, during a lecture.

On the Suggestion of the BPCA, Mr Ashrafkhorasani has filed a formal complaint to the university’s proctors’ office in which he claims the lecturer pointed at him in a seminar and said: “Everybody can ask a question except you.” An early complaint was met with no investigation and only simple apology for any hurt caused, we have been told.

The lecturer, Minlib Dallh, is a research fellow at Regent’s Park College in Oxford on a project about love in religion part-sponsored by the King of Jordan.

Mr Ashrafkhorasani, who studies at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, alleges the lecturer refused to allow him to ask critical questions about the description of Islam as a religion of peace and love, that Mr Dallh was expounding on. He believes that Mr Dallh became cold and distant after being advised by Mr Ashrafkhorasani that he was a convert from Islam who had been persecuted in Iran. This discussion took place during a coffee break just before the final session of the lecture when the offensive targeting of Mr Ashrafkhorasani took place, during Q&A.

Three other students who were at the same lecture have also written to the proctors office to confirm Mr Ashrafkhorasani’s version of events.

Mr Ashrafkhorasani said:

“The lecture was at best a very poor Islamic apologetic, and at worst academically dishonest and misleading. While the government is rightly concerned about Islamophobia, there is no concern whatsoever for Christianophobia.”

BPCA put Mr Ashrafkhorasani in contact with the Sunday Times, who interviewed, Michael Nazir-Ali, former Bishop of Rochester and until last year a senior fellow at Wycliffe Hall. He said: “There is an atmosphere of wanting to be politically correct. It is very widespread in the university as a whole.

“If people are taking money from these sources, that can limit the critical approach to the study of Islam and Muslim civilisation generally.”

In the same Sunday Times article, Robert Ellis, the principal of Regent’s Park College, said: “The college strongly rejects any assertion that donors have any influence over the quality of scholarship and direction of research at the centre, or that philanthropic funding in any way compromises academic discussion and argument.”

The Sunday Times also shared a comment from Oxford University, a representative said: “All complaints made to the proctors’ office are treated with the utmost seriousness and with the interests of the student paramount.”

Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, said:

” We have been advised that Mr Dallh, after expounding his lecture prohibited only Shariar from speaking during a Q&A. Shariar though upset complied with this request for the benefit of Oxford University.

“At the end of the session to highlight his chagrin and share his opinion. Shariar asked for an opportunity to speak but was interrupted several times by university tutors and even a Church of England tutor, all of whom had no sympathy for Shariar.

“This is despite Shariar having very obvious personal and emotive experiences regarding the topic of discussion, having quit Islam because of the hate ideology he found within it.

“If anything as a Muslim background believer his contribution to the discussion will have been very thought provoking and relevant.

“If the speaker had such fragile sensibilities then was it appropriate for him to speak on a topic that can ignite passions in such a way.

“The reaction by both university staff and Mr Dallh was simply an act of religious censorship.

“Any limitation on free speech should only be made when it incites violence or unequivocally provokes direct and harmful discrimination against a vulnerable minority.

“From the accounts shared by Shariar and other students this did not occur.

“The reaction by the university seems disingenuous apparently they made no attempt to investigate the matter and sought no resolution to the complaint. I hope that their insouciance was not triggered by deeper immoral designs based on funding from the King of Jordan.

“The university either does not know about or wilfully ignores the need to condemn religious prejudice, which kills and blights the lives of millions.

“Universities should be places for open debate without restraint, this produces confident students who can handle any argument instead of creating a new wave of conformists.”

On BPCA suggestion Shariar re-opened his complaint and we helped him contact the Sunday Times. Our hope is that his story will highlight the level of hostility towards anybody with even the slightest opposition to the current interfaith dialogue which is embraced by the Church of England.