Job Discussion Forums

[Tomton]

Well younggeorge I only know what I have read in the papers and on this board. She may be a very nice person but she is also a very naive individual. The cartoon row has been front page news in UAE for several weeks and she must have known the public feelings against them. Either naive or trying to further inflame (perhaps not the right word!) the situation. Let's watch this space to see how she reacts once she's back in the land of the free.

[KiteBiker]

Well, since it has been asserted we don't know anything about this professor [and therefore shut up] here is what I've found. Although the Zayed U. website has nixed her profile out of existance, Google was nice enough to cache it for us. Here it is.

---------

EDITED OUT BY MOD

suffice to say that she had the proper credentials and experience.

---------

[KiteBiker]

this came from an anonymous source on the web at

http://uaecommunity.blogspot.com/2006/02/professor-sacked-for-displaying.html

Posted by Anonymous on 09 February, 2006 14:41
i know ms claudia. she showd the cartoon and explain danish people felt that this was freedom of expression but that the cartoons were actually offensive. she wanted her students to make a essay using the style they were learning in class called cause and effect, the causes of the problem and effects of it. she never insulted Islam. never. she is married to a Muslim and her children is muslim. the students had misunderstood her because they have low level english and they were offended of seeing the cartoons in class even though most of everyone had seen them on the net anyway. cladias only stupidity was bringing up something so controversial in an enviroment rife with suspicion of outsiders and in such a controversial topic. she is innocent, as is the supervisor sacked with her according to todays gulf news. the students and people of UAE are now spreading lies about her that she insulted islam, and that her husband is divorce her over the issue but it is a lie. this is a huge misunderstanding and has caused people from all over the Arab world to want the non-Muslims to get out. I spoke to her and miskeena she said this has not shaken her love for Islam or for Arab people. But she was foolish to show the drawings in class here and she feel bad that the other man was fired do to her. this is dangerous topic, which is why I posted anonymous.


Just thought it would be useful in this discussion.

[younggeorge]

Tomtom: naiive is a good word. Even if her story does come out in the USA later, which I doubt, trying to clear her name later is very different from cynically planning it in the first place.

Kitebiker: "so shut up" was not the intended implication, I was just responding to tomtom's accusation, one which would make no sense at all to anyone who knows Claudia.

By all means continue the discussion, but you all know you can't believe eveything you read in the papers, and there's not much more information available, is there? Kitebiker's done well to find that blog entry - though it's obviously not all the work of one writer.

[Bindair Dundat]

[SandyM]

So she was only trying to teach 'cause and effect', was she? It does seem to have had a greater effect than she had anticipated. Should have checked that lesson plan with the supervisor first ... Now it's 'past and present' or 'future conditional', perhaps.

What would she use to teach 'compare and contrast'? Mohammed and Jesus?

[younggeorge]

[Tomton]

[KiteBiker]

SandyM wrote:
[What would she use to teach 'compare and contrast'? Mohammed and Jesus?

well, how about this one, Shaytan and Satan. There is a difference. She may have been more successful on that one, if she dearly wanted to bridge cultural gaps

younggeorge:
do you know this Ms. Kiburz? Often times the accusations are more revealing of the accusers than the accussed, but Tomtom's charge is still well within the realm of possibility. The anonymous quote offered does place some doubt on his assertion, though, which is why I posted it.

Does anyone know whether she has contributed to this forum at all?

Also, have a look at this voice of reason from Egypt.

http://bigpharaoh.blogspot.com/

I find it a refreshing reminder that not all voices native to the Middle East are ignorant and narrow minded.

[younggeorge]

[veiledsentiments]

That would be good news if the supervisor is allowed to stay. It would suggest a certain amount of movement towards allowing common sense to prevail.

Thanks for the update YG.

VS

[KiteBiker]

Good news indeed!

"One small step for man ... one giant ... "

[Atassi]

[Miss TESOL]

As this is a subscriber only publication, I've copied this article below. "Sensitivity Training" is on the horizon at ZU. V. interesting! . . .

http://chronicle.com/daily/2006/02/2006021504n.htm

American Professor Is Fired at University in United Arab Emirates for Using Controversial Cartoons in Class

By KATHERINE ZOEPF


American Professor Is Fired at University in United Arab Emirates for Using Controversial Cartoons in Class
By KATHERINE ZOEPF


Claudia Kiburz, who taught English at Zayed University, a women's institution in Dubai, shared the cartoons with her students as part of a class discussion about freedom of expression, the news reports said.

The cartoons originally appeared in a Danish newspaper last September, and they have since sparked violent demonstrations in many parts of the Muslim world. On Tuesday two people were killed in Lahore, Pakistan, during a protest against the cartoons, the Associated Press reported. In Islamabad, Pakistan, meanwhile, a crowd of more than 1,000 people, mostly students, broke into an enclave housing a number of embassies, but no one was injured, the AP said.

After Ms. Kiburz showed the cartoons, one of her students complained to the university administration, the local news accounts said, and news of the case spread quickly, angering many parents. The chancellor of Zayed University, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan, who is also the Emirates' minister of education, fired Ms. Kiburz, saying that her actions had "nothing to do with the freedom of expression," the news reports said. Ms. Kiburz's supervisor, Andrew Hirst, was also removed.

"Despite the freedom of expression and tolerance that we have in our country and all academic institutions, the professor of English at Zayed University has no right to behave like this," Sheikh Nahyan said in a written statement that was published in local newspapers. "We can never accept any offenses against Islam, or any of its teachings and noble values."

According to the university's catalog, Ms. Kiburz holds a master's in education from the State University of New York at Albany.

Neither she nor Mr. Hirst, who is British, could be reached for comment despite repeated attempts over several days. The university's provost, who was initially described as the official responding to reporters' inquiries, did not answer repeated requests for comment.

A friend of Ms. Kiburz's, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the dispute, said in an e-mail message that the professor preferred to remain silent about her experience until she had had a chance to tie up her affairs in the United Arab Emirates and leave the country.

A magazine based in the Emirates, 7Days, reported that Zayed University was considering instituting sensitivity-training sessions for foreign professors.

[DesertStar]