[FairfieldLife] 'Madison Lecturer Cleared to Teach Course on Islam'

Tue, 11 Jul 2006 11:13:10 -0700

9 AM Tuesday July 11, 2006
UW lecturer cleared for course on Islam
ANITA CLARK [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 
A controversial lecturer who was cleared Monday to teach a course on Islam at UW- Madison said he's pleased with a review that found no fault with his plans for the class.
"I don't blame them for taking a look," instructor Kevin Barrett said after the university announced he would, as planned, teach a course this fall called "Islam: Religion and Culture."
Barrett drew criticism after sharing his views in a Milwaukee radio interview June 29 that U.S. government officials and the CIA orchestrated the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He is co-founder of the Muslim- Jewish-Christian Alliance for 9/11 Truth, a group of scholars, activists and religious leaders urging an investigation of the possibility of official complicity in the attacks.
UW-Madison Provost Patrick Farrell said Monday he and other university officials met with Barrett, reviewed his reading list for the course and consulted student evaluations that praised Barrett for his teaching.
"To the extent that his views are discussed, Mr. Barrett has assured me that students will be free - and encouraged - to challenge his viewpoint," Farrell said.
He also noted UW-Madison's tradition of protecting classroom _expression_ and encouraging students' critical thinking by allowing analysis of controversial ideas.
"We cannot allow political pressure from critics of unpopular ideas to inhibit the free exchange of ideas," Farrell said. "That classroom interaction is central to this university's mission and to the expansion of knowledge."
Nevertheless, that political pressure continued Monday. Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, condemned the decision and said it will make it easier for him to fight for university administrative cuts in the next budget.
Matt Canter, a spokesman for Gov. Jim Doyle, said, "Everyone knows that Governor Doyle would have come to a different conclusion on this matter, but the governor recognizes the university has the legal authority to make their own personnel decisions."
Mark Green, the Republican candidate for governor, issued a statement calling Barrett "as unfit to teach our students as a math professor who would tell us that two plus two equals five."
Barrett said he made no changes in his course plan or reading list as a result of the university review. Two weeks of the 15-week class will address contemporary political issues, with one week devoted to the war on terrorism, he said. Five books are required reading; two more are recommended.
He said he's tried to use the attention to share his message. "It's just absolutely urgent that this country recognize the fraud that was perpetrated on us by the official 9/11 report," he said. "We need a new investigation and we need it now."
He has a one-semester, half- time appointment as an associate lecturer with a salary of $8,247.

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