Fundamentalist Christian Professor's Class Becomes Holy War of Touchiness
Paul Derengowski was an adjunct religion professor at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, Texas. Now he's resigned, in protest of another protest about his class. This story is completely bananas. Here's a breakdown, from Inside Higher Ed:
- Paul Derengowski teaches a "world religions" class. Last month, two of his Muslim students decided they didn't like the way he was teaching, and "disrupted his class and then walked out" in protest one day.
- Reportedly, the two students said Derengowski "did not have the right to read from the Koran." Well, that's crazy, right? But!
- Paul Derengowski runs this website, in addition to teaching. It is a crazy fundamentalist Christian website! It lists Islam as a "cult," (first sentence of the "Islam" section: "The founder of Islam ('to submit') is none other than the person of Muhammad") along with Mormonism and atheism. Atheism, well known cult. Hmm. It also prominently features this new video, "Paul Derengowski a victim of Sharia law at Texas college." Texas, well known center of Sharia law. Hmm.
- Paul Derengowski is at least as much of a crazy fundamenalist as the students who protested him, in other words.
- But Paul Derengowski was so mad that the school didn't follow his recommendation to "suspend [the protesters] with a failing grade" that he resigned.
- And now, "the class has been reworked and there is no Islamic component to it." The world religions class. Okay.
I guess the takeaway from all this is, Fuck God.