What Will Happen to Jonathan A.C. Brown at Georgetown?

Hat tip JNS

“I’ll answer your question for you,” Brown told Lee. “The fact that there was slavery is a wrong. Okay. If you’re a Muslim, the prophet of God … had slaves. He had slaves. There’s no denying that. Are you more morally mature than the prophet of God? No, you’re not.” 

“I hope Iran does some symbolic strike on a base, then everyone stops,” Brown wrote.

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce held another round of hearings this week, focused on campus anti-Semitism and violent protests, among other things, and brought in three heads of universities to testify. They were: Rich Lyons, Chancellor of  UC Berkeley, Felix Matos Rodriguez, Chancellor of the City University of New York, and Robert Groves, Interim President of Georgetown University. They faced hard questions from the Republican members of the committee and struggled to avoid making any gaffes as their colleagues did when testifying before them. From the clips I have seen, it was pretty much the standard dedication to free speech, protecting all students, blah blah blah.

One interesting fact did come out during the questioning of Georgetown’s Robert Groves. Georgetown, which has had its share of anti-Semitism and pro-Palestinian disruptions, is also home to the Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Islamic Civilization, within the School of Foreign Service. The center is an Islamist trojan horse led by Jonathan A.C. Brown, a Muslim convert, son-in-law of deported terrorist supporter, Sami al-Arian, and a man who has made waves with his comments excusing Islamic slavery and more recently, expressing the desire that Iran would make “a symbolic” attack on a US base in the Middle East in response to our taking out their nuclear facilities. Groves told the committee that Brown was no longer the chair of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Georgetown and that the university was reviewing the details of the case. Brown remains as chair of the Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Islamic Civilization. 

I understand the free speech argument, at least within the context of criminal law. I am not arguing that Brown should be arrested for the things he has said. Even after teaching part-time in universities for 20 years, I am still trying to get my head around the universities’ concept of free speech. I cannot count the number of universities whose officials have condemned something one of their faculty members has said, especially in regards to anti-Semitism, yet defend the right of the professor to say it, and that it is protected by academic freedom. How many times have we heard a university president, chancellor, or spokesperson say that what Professor S and So said did not “represent the values of the university” (whatever they are)? 

Going back to free speech under criminal law, where do we draw the line? Criminal law does have lines that define when free speech does not apply. You cannot threaten the life of the President of the United States (or anyone else, for that matter). You cannot directly incite violence (by “directly” I mean that you urge others to attack someone, and it takes place right then and there. Of course, there is the fire in the movie house example. But returning to the universities, at what point does a university fire a faculty member for what they say-on or off campus, in or out of a classroom? At what point does a university have the right to terminate an employee whom it deems has brought discredit to the school?  (In my opinion, there are thousands of professors around the nation who have brought discredit to their schools.)

I suppose it could be said that in our country, protected speech vs unprotected speech can be a thin line. But there has to be a line. Where is it?

If a professor starts each class by yelling, “Heil Hitler” with his right arm raised and praises Hitler and the Holocaust in class or anywhere else, is the university bound to keep him or her on the faculty in the name of free speech and academic freedom?

 What if the professor openly supports slavery, segregation, or the killing of black people? (Professor Brown has excused slavery under Islam because the Prophet Mohammad practiced it. He has since tried to walk it back, but his comments are well documented.)

Here, I would add that  Brown’s wish that Iran would make a “symbolic” attack on a US base in the Middle East can be compared to anti-US statements made by thousands of US professors every day.

So what we have today are professors supporting the very people (Hamas) who carried out one of the most atrocious mass slaughters in modern history on October 7, 2023, professors who are screaming, “Globalize the intifada”, who are inciting the occupations and disruptions on our campuses, the disruption of Jewish events, the bullying and harassment of Jewish students, and in some cases, actively participating. 

And let us not forget those who demonize all white people as being inherently racist. Some of these folks are even white themselves. (“Self-hating whites”?) How does this contribute to Americans coming together? How does this contribute to a harmonious campus where students of all races and backgrounds can study, learn, and have a great social life? 

So what will happen to Jonathan Brown at Georgetown? I seriously doubt he will be fired altogether. The university has taken cosmetic action, and Brown will remain just as all the others around the country will remain in their posts. But make no mistake: Jonathan Brown has seriously embarrassed his university, not just recently, but for several years. Amid all the talk about free speech and academic freedom, the leaders of Georgetown University should not forget that fact. They can go on and on that his statements do not reflect the “values of the university”, but if they keep people like that on the payroll, then indeed they do.

Source: http://garyfouse.blogspot.com/2025/07/what-will-happen-to-jonathan-ac-brown.html