nus joint letter on muslim professor’s unschooled remarks

by Dr Khoo Hoon Eng

THE Facebook post by Associate Professor Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied, which included statements disparaging lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, was misinformed and hurtful (“Protests over NUS don’s Facebook post”; last Saturday).

His rhetoric referring to young people who are gay or lesbian as “misled”, and likening LGBT people or those who support them to “cancers”, seems calculated to invoke a sense of self-righteousness or even disgust towards LGBT people.

As Prof Khairudin is a person in a position of authority, his public statements signal to LGBT students or staff who might be supervised by him that they may not be respected as human beings, and so may create a hostile working and learning environment antithetical to the principles of a university or equitable workplace.

While he is entitled to hold these views, his position of responsibility places limits on the appropriateness of certain forms of expression of them.

Prof Khairudin’s argument that parents and teachers should correct “wayward” children incorrectly assumes that sexual orientation is a choice.

Countless studies in psychology, psychiatry and physiology have shown that this is not true. Gay children cannot be taught to be straight, quite aside from the fact that there is no demonstrable need to convert them.

Although Prof Khairudin is not a psychologist, he is a social scientist and should be aware of this body of well-studied research.

His conclusion that liberal Islam and lesbianism can be stopped “through education and reasoned arguments” is wrong.

It can be demonstrated that “education and reasoned arguments” worthy of great universities invariably have the effect of eroding, correcting and reversing most theories, both in science and in ethics, that do not have their basis in rigorous scientific and social research.

We are encouraged that the National University of Singapore remains supportive of all its diverse members, regardless of their race, language, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political beliefs.

While we may not agree with Prof Khairudin’s views, we defend his right to hold them even as we point out the falsehoods that he is perpetuating and the hurtful language he is using. We hope he will reflect on his tolerance of people of other races/faiths and extend that tolerance to those of a different sexuality to him, like the wise teacher we assume he usually is.

This letter carries the names of 86 faculty members, staff and students at the National University of Singapore and Yale-NUS College.

(source, emphasis mine)

This is the alleged facebook post by Dr Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied:

(source)

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