Press Releases
Hiring the Enemy?
WASHINGTON, D.C.,
September 29, 2022
Foxx and Banks Question Oberlin College’s Relationship with Iranian Regime
Foreign influence on college campuses is a serious problem. Billions in federal funds are given to colleges and universities every year. Congress must exercise its authority to ensure these funds are not used to bolster our nation’s adversaries. Moreover, Congress has a responsibility to ensure that foreign money is never used to influence curriculum or spread propaganda on our college campuses. That is why Republicans on the Education and Labor Committee are sounding the alarm on Oberlin College professor Mohammad Jafar Mahallati’s ties to the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Oberlin’s decision to whitewash Mahallati’s past. In Case You Missed It, via Fox News, Education and Labor Committee Republican Leader Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) sent a letter to Oberlin College demanding answers on Oberlin professor Mohammad Jafar Mahallati’s ties to the Iranian regime.
By Benjamin Weinthal September 28, 2022 Two Republican lawmakers from the Committee of Education and Labor called for an inquiry Wednesday into Oberlin College’s religion studies professor Mohammad Jafar Mahallati due to his reported ties with the world’s worst state-sponsor of terrorism, the Islamic Republic of Iran and his alleged role in the cover-up of a massacre of up to 5,000 Iranian political prisoners, Fox News Digital can exclusively report. "Mr. Mahallati’s current association with and his open loyalty to the Iranian regime causes serious national security concerns. It also puts into question Oberlin’s reporting of foreign funding: any omissions from this report would violate section 117 of the Higher Education Act, "wrote Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind and Rep Virginia Foxx, R-NC in a letter to Oberlin College President Carmen Twillie Ambar and Oberlin’s Board of Trustees. … According to the letter, there are questions "whether the Iranian regime played a role in his [Mahallati] employment at Oberlin and whether federal taxpayer dollars should be provided to a college that goes to such great lengths to protect and defend an Iranian regime affiliate." … The congressional letter stated "Mr. Mahallati’s connections with one of America’s chief adversaries are not a secret. Indeed, Mr. Mahallati served as Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations from 1987 to 1989. … Congresswoman Foxx told Fox News Digital "Oberlin College is plagued by its own ivory tower ignorance and its stark unwillingness to denounce Mohammad Mahallati’s ties to Iran’s maligned regime raises serious concerns over national security and the ideals of an institution receiving millions in U.S. taxpayer dollars. At best, it’s blind ignorance. At worst, it’s an illustration that Oberlin gives priority to providing academic refuge to a man whose interests are aligned with terrorists instead of rejecting interference from foreign governments. We look forward to their responses to this inquiry." The letter asked Oberlin College to provide the following information within the next two weeks: Mahallti’s course syllabi and whether Oberlin College has "received any funding or in-kind contributions from the Islamic Republic of Iran or from individuals or entities linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran." … Both Banks and Foxx also requested "all documents and financial statements related to his professorship." Read the full article here. |
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