Not a senior academic like my esteemed colleague @DonnachaDCU & others but as a @LawGovDCU teaching assistant I instilled in my students values of discussion, debate, objectivity & questioning narratives - high academic principles preached&practiced by my colleagues. Here& #39;s why: https://twitter.com/DonnachaDCU/status/1384068458808180736">https://twitter.com/DonnachaD...

Born/brought up in Gulf, I grew up aspiring for freedom of expression/speech & wanted to be part of a society which promotes + preserves these values. I tried as a journalist but sadly it didn& #39;t work out due to authoritarian societies I lived in. Reason of doing PhD + teaching

in Ireland is entirely out of desire & respect for academic objectivity/freedoms here. To participate & promote free thinking & not blindly accepting what& #39;s given as "truth". While doing tutorials in SEM 1&2, I showed my students all sides of story & encouraged them to debate &

form their own opinions while respecting that of others. I didn& #39;t care if govts abroad, incl authoritarians, will try to curtail/cancel learning bcoz it doesn& #39;t suit their narrative. Imagine if this is taken away, how ignorant Irish/foreign students will be? It& #39;s imperative that

we defend + protect freedom of academic speech & objectivity in its entirety & reject all threats of censorship & cancel culture to preserve our values. It is all or none. There& #39;s no mix & match approach. There are no allies/enemies. Our standard should be objectivity & fairness.

If @DCU is forced to alter their curriculum by https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇬🇪" title="Flagge von Georgien" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Georgien">/https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇺🇦" title="Flagge der Ukraine" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge der Ukraine"> govts bcoz it upsets them, can& #39;t imagine teaching MENA politics & terrorism studies as that will upset states like https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇮🇱" title="Flagge von Israel" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Israel">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇸🇦" title="Flagge von Saudi-Arabien" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Saudi-Arabien">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇮🇷" title="Flagge von Iran" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Iran"> etc. or groups like #ISIS/AQ. Where do we draw the line? Will teaching be based on embassy communiqués?

Rarely raise my voice & express opinions but I& #39;m compelled to speak out bcoz this threatens not just my future academic career & that of others but the very discipline of academia. Freedoms we have today is a result of hard work & sacrifices of scholars (past/present). We got to

cherish & preserve it. If today it is @DCU, tmrw it will be unis elsewhere in Ireland & Europe. Resist interference from all sides. END #CancelCulture.