Oberlin College “Suspends” Prof. Mahallati: Background and Implications

Description

A roundtable discussion with Benjamin Baird, Lawdan Bazargan, Susannah Johnston, Clifford Smith, and Benjamin Weinthal.

In late November, Oberlin College suspended Professor Mohammad Jafar Mahallati, the Nancy Schrom Dye Chair of Middle East and North Africa Studies, who is accused of covering up Iran’s 1988 prison massacres. This ended Mahallati’s decades of teaching at Oberlin and Columbia University. How did this very rare victory for sanity occur? Why did it take place now? What might it mean?

Benjamin Baird, a U.S. Army veteran, heads MEF Action. Lawdan Bazargan, a former political prisoner in Iran, is a member of the Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists (AAIRIA). Susannah Johnston, a former Congressional staffer, is an investigative reporter for Focus on Western Islamism. Clifford Smith, a former Congressional staffer, heads MEF’s Washington Project. Benjamin Weinthal covers Middle East affairs for The Jerusalem Post, frequently contributes to Fox News digital, and is an MEF Writing Fellow.