Morgan Marietta, former dean of the University of Texas at
Austin, asserted that many higher education institutions in the United States
are spreading a “very dishonest” version of Islam and, in his view, fostering a
pro-Islamic political movement within the country.
In his speech, Marietta described Islamism—which he
differentiated from Islam as a religion—as “a political movement whose goal
would be to impose the Muslim faith by force” and warned of a sector that, he
said, supports violence to achieve those ends, which he considered unacceptable
and dangerous for Americans.
The former dean raised specific concerns about the
consequences of these ideas: he mentioned extreme practices—such as the denial
of education to women, their subordination to their husbands, and violence
against LGBT people—and affirmed that normalizing radical praise or slogans in
university settings (for example, slogans that justify attacks on homosexuals)
amounts to "injecting poison" into students' education.
"Any professor who allows this to happen without
correcting it is being dishonest," Marietta argued, insisting that failing
to warn young people about the real danger posed by those who are praised in
certain speeches constitutes, in his words, suicidal behavior for the country.
The former dean's tone was one of urgent rebuke toward
academics and educational institutions that, according to him, fail to counter
or contextualize discourse that could glorify violent actors.