The Trump administration is calling on the University of North Carolina (UNC) and Duke University to revise their joint Middle Eastern studies program or lose taxpayer funding. According to the Department of Education, the program offers very few, “if any,” programs focused on the historic discrimination against religious minorities in the Middle East, and lacks balance, focusing on the “positive aspects of Islam” while having an “absolute absence” of a similar focus on the positive aspects of Christianity and Judaism.
The U.S. Department of Education says that Duke and UNC are misusing a federal grant to advance “ideological priorities,” and is ordering the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies (CMES) to revise its joint program by September 22 or risk losing federal funding, according to a report by the Associated Press.
“The Duke-UNC CMES appears to lack balance as it offers very few, if any, programs focused on the historic discrimination faced by, and current circumstances of, religious minorities in the Middle East, including Christians, Jews, Baha’is, Yadizis, Kurds, Druze, and others,” states the Department of Education in an August 29 letter.
“Also,” added the letter, “there is a considerable emphasis placed on the understanding the positive aspects of Islam, while there is an absolute absence of any similar focus on the positive aspects of Christianity, Judaism, or any other religion or belief system in the Middle East.” – READ MORE