- The Washington Times - Tuesday, February 28, 2017

An Oxford University student who is training to be a Church of England priest claims his professor denied him the ability to subject Islam to rigorous scrutiny.

Shahriar Ashrafkhorasani, 33, has issued a formal complaint against a professor who allegedly singled him out during class and said: “Everybody can ask a question except you,” due to his probing questions. The Iranian-born man, a master’s student in applied theology, converted from Islam last summer.

“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,” Mr. Ashrafkhorasani said, The Times of London reported Saturday.

The newspaper said three students have confirmed Mr. Ashrafkhorasani’s version of events.

Oxford University responded to a request for comment by stating, “All complaints made to the proctors’ office are treated with the utmost seriousness and with the interests of the student paramount.”

Michael Nazir-Ali, a former Bishop of Rochester who worked at the university, told the newspaper that an “atmosphere of wanting to be politically correct” has affected the institution “as a whole.”

• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.

Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

Please read our comment policy before commenting.

Click to Read More and View Comments

Click to Hide