“School Days and Our Caged Youth: Rollins College and the Radical Islamic Deception”
Editor’s Note: Excellent articles by our friends Jacob Engels of The Central Florida Post and Meira Svirsky and William Nardi of The Clarion Project and Siraj Hashmi of Red Alert Politics.
ROLLINS COLLEGE SUSPENDS STUDENT AFTER HE CHALLENGED RADICAL MUSLIM HATE SPEECH
The school’s academic double standard and complacency with dangerous hate speech is on full display.
By Jacob Engels
Not even a year after Radical Islamic terrorist Omar Mateen killed 49 people at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, Rollins College officials are punishing a Christian Conservative student who challenged a liberal Muslim professor and radicalized Muslim student during a conversation on the application of Sharia Law.
Marshall Polston confirmed to the Central Florida Post that Professor Areeje Zufari, who teaches a “Muslim Humanities” course at Rollins, has made outlandish claims against him and even filed a false police report.
Early on in the class, Polston said he realized the professor was harboring Anti-Christian beliefs, demonstrated by the professor’s assertion that the crucifixion of Jesus was a hoax and that his disciples did not believe he was God.
“It was very off-putting and flat out odd. I’ve traveled the Middle East, lectured at the Salahaddin University, and immersed myself in Muslim culture for many years. Honestly, it reminded me of some of the more radical groups I researched when abroad.”
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.” Regardless, to assert the contrary as academic fact is not supported by the evidence.
Polston says that he challenged her on this point during a class discussion and after that, Professor Zufari promptly failed him on a major essay and refused to provide input as to why she issued a 52% grade for the 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.”
This is when we step into the Twilight Zone. The teacher then reported Polston to the “Dean of Safety” at Rollins and cancelled class because she claimed he was making her feel “unsafe.”
When classes resumed, the professor decided to focus on a hot-button issue, the application of Sharia Law. During the discussion, according to Polston, another student made a shocking statement.
The student, a yet to be identified Muslim male, is said to have showcased a very strict adherence to the Quaran in previous group talks. But this time, he went too far for many students in the classroom.
“He stated that a good punishment for gays, adulterers, and thieves was the removal of a certain body part, as determined by Sharia law. It took a few seconds for me to realize that he actually said that, especially after what this community has faced with the tragic loss of life at Pulse,” explained Polston.
The Muslim college professor jokingly responded to the student that he was “in time-out” or something to that effect, and should remain quiet for a few minutes. Several students, of both Islamic and Christian backgrounds, thought the teacher should have reported the incident, but the request fell on deaf ears.
One student, who asked to remain anonymous, even reported the incident to the F.B.I., figuring it was better to say something than just ignore it.
That’s when Polston was summoned to the Dean of Safety’s office to discuss his probable suspension and how he was making Rollins College “unsafe” because of his difference of opinion with Professor Zufari and the hard-line Muslim student who displayed Islamic Fascist sympathies.
“They made it clear that they had not gotten a report about what the student said, and were more concerned about the danger I was causing to the campus. What danger? A difference of opinion in a college classroom is nothing out of the ordinary and certainly not dangerous. It was surreal and degrading. The bad grade was upsetting, but they were literally refusing to acknowledge the dangers posed by someone who advocated chopping off body parts on campus.”
The Central Florida Post reached out to the elite college’s media relations team several times earlier this week and never received anything back. We also texted the professor, who refused comment and seemed upset that she was being asked about the incident.
Now we have learned that Polston has been suspended from the school and ordered not to appear on campus or have any contact with Professor Zufari. That letter can be seen below.
Professor Zufari has also filed a police report with the Winter Park Police Department, claiming Polston violated the order and showed up to class on Thursday to harass her, according to documents obtained by the Central Florida Post.
This appears impossible however, as Polston confirms to us that he was with his elderly grandfather and traveling to Daytona Beach for the opening of Embry Riddle College’s MicaPlex during the hours the class was held.
He has even provided a receipt from a restaurant in Orlando’s Dr. Phillips area, and stills of video surveillance showing him purchasing food during the time of the class as well.
“I will be releasing witness statements shortly proving I could not have been where Professor Zufari said I was Thursday night. It’s shameful that she lied to the police.”
Polston at the Dr. Phillips Chipolte during class.
Given the evidence we have gathered, and the refusal of either the professor or Rollins College to address this matter, we believe that Rollins College should immediately suspend Professor Zufari and open an investigation into what actually happened.
Central Florida faith leader Peter Vivaldi agrees.
“Obviously Rollins College has an agenda when it comes to Religious Freedom. Apparently freedom of speech is not allowed on campus, unless it offends Christian beliefs.”
The Central Florida Post has tried numerous times to obtain comment from Rollins College, Professor Zufari, and the Winter Park Police Department to no avail.
We will update you as this story develops.
Jacob Engels is an Orlando based journalist whose work has been featured and republished in news outlets around the globe including Politico, InfoWars, MSNBC, Orlando Sentinel, New York Times, Daily Mail UK, Associated Press, People Magazine, ABC, and Fox News to name a few. Mr. Engels focuses on stories that other news outlets neglect or willingly hide to curry favor among the political and business special interests in the state of Florida.
Suspended for Challenging Radical Islam
BY MEIRA SVIRSKY Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Update: Here is a copy of the email that Polston sent to Zufari that most likely contributed to his suspension.
A Christian student was suspended from his Florida university after he challenged the views of his Muslim humanities professor and those of a radical Muslim student, wrote investigative reporter Jacob Engels in the Central Florida Post.
The professor, Areeje Zufari, of Rollins College located just outside Orlando, has a history of accusations of radicalism enumerated in a law suit filed by an FBI source and from her role as a leader in the Islamic Society of Central Florida.
Twenty-year-old sophomore Marshall Polston’s troubles began when Zufari began making disparaging statements about Christianity, claiming the religion’s most basic beliefs were a hoax.
Zufari asserted that Jesus was not crucified and his followers did not believe he was God.
“It was very off-putting and flat out odd. I’ve traveled the Middle East, lectured at the Salahaddin University, and immersed myself in Muslim culture for many years. Honestly, it reminded me of some of the more radical groups I researched when abroad,” Polston said.
“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,” he added.
After Polton challenged Zufari during a class discussion on these assertions, Zufari failed him on a major essay and refused to explain the reason.
“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,” he said.
That prompted Zufari to report Polton to the college’s “dean of safety” who cancelled class due to claims that Polton made Zufari feel “unsafe.”
Zufari’s next class centered around the topic of the application of sharia law.
During that discussion, Polston reports that a Muslim student “stated that a good punishment for gays, adulterers and thieves was the removal of a certain body part, as determined by sharia law. It took a few seconds for me to realize that he actually said that, especially after what this community has faced with the tragic loss of life at Pulse.”
Polston says Zufari joked with the student and put him in a “time out,” telling him to remain quiet for a few minutes. A number of students – Christian and Muslim –requested that Zufari report the incident, which she refused to do. One student ended up reporting the exchange to the FBI.
After the class, Polston was called into the dean of safety’s office to discuss his suspension.
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“They made it clear that they had not gotten a report about what the student said, and were more concerned about the ‘danger’ I was causing to the campus,” Polston reported. “What danger? A difference of opinion in a college classroom is nothing out of the ordinary and certainly not dangerous. It was surreal and degrading. The bad grade was upsetting, but they were literally refusing to acknowledge the dangers posed by someone who advocated chopping off body parts on campus.”
According to the suspension order, Polston was not allowed to be on campus or have any contact with Zufari. After the suspension, Polston decided to take his grandfather to Daytona Beach. Zufari, however, filed a police report that he had actually showed up to class to harass her. However, photos from security cameras show Polston at an Orlando restaurant at during the same time as Zufari’s class.
Polston, hired an attorney and is scheduled to appear at the university today (March 28) for a hearing about his status as a student and will hold a news conference after the hearing.
Professor Zufari’s History of Radicalism
In 2007, a lawsuit named Zufari as having an affair with and possibly being secretly married to radical Islamist Maher Ghawji .
The suit was filed based on information gathered over a number of years by Ghawji’s wife, Rosine Ghawji, who starting working as a source for the FBI after she became alarmed at her husband’s radicalism and virulent anti-Semitism.
Ghawji was tied to the Muslim Brotherhood and donated thousands of dollars to charities funneling money to al-Qaeda. Zufari was named in the lawsuit as an accomplice to Ghawji in indoctrinating Rosine’s two young children with radical Islamist beliefs, among other activities. The two also made trips to Seattle, where court documents say they conducted “targeting and surveillance” of American interests.
In addition, the FBI found that Ghawji made contact with terrorist groups in the Middle East.
As a leader of in the Islamic Society of Central Florida, Zufari also led an effort to bring a radical anti-American and anti-Semitic imam to the U.S. for a three-day conference. Sheikh Abdur-Rahman Al-Sudais’ entrance to the U.S. was opposed by anti-hate groups, citing his comments on Saudi TV in which he called for death to Americans and the annihilation of Jews.
Zufari argued at the time that it would be “un-American” for authorities to deny his entrance to the U.S.
Zufari also promoted an event at the Islamic Society which featured radical Islamist preacher Siraj Wahhaj, who was listed as a co-conspirator by the U.S. Attorney in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.
William Nardi contributed to this report.
Conservative wins: Student reinstated after suspension for debating professor
It may have been an ugly turn of event, but for Marshall Polston, a win is a win.
Polston, a second-year student at Rollins College, was re-instated from his suspension for challenging his Muslim professor on her assertion that Jesus’s crucifixion was a hoax and his divinity was not recognized by the disciples.
Polston, who’s a Christian and conservative, spoke to Red Alert Politics on Wednesday after his case was reviewed by the administration and said he felt “pretty good” with how it went.
The Central Florida Post obtained a copy of Rollins’ official re-instatement letter indicating that Polston was “Not Responsible” for any of the charges levied against him, including physical, mental, and verbal abuse as well as his behavior.
Kenneth Lewis, an attorney representing Polston, released a statement praising the school for their decision to overturn his suspension.
Siraj Hashmi is the assistant editor at Red Alert Politics. He was born in Hartford, CT where he grew up. He also lived in Lahore, Pakistan during a part of his childhood. He has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Dickinson College.
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