My Letter-to-the-Editor of the Kansas State Collegian

I am curious to see if they will post or print this:

This letter is in response to the typical Collegian puff-piece on the visit of Zamfara, Nigeria’s governor, Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi, to KSU. The propagandists at the Collegian should be aware that its readers generally have access to Google. Google "Zamfara Nigeria Sharia Law" and behold what pops up.

For example there is the story of Bariya Magazu, a seventeen-year-old girl who received 100 lashes for having pre-marital sex. The young mother claimed she was forced to have sex with three men by her father. The men swore they were innocent and therefore walked. This is because under Sharia Law a woman's word counts for little compared to the claims of her rapist(s):

http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/Nigerian-Girl-Flogged.htm

A New York Times article from 1999 describes how Zamfara was transformed into a medieval theocracy. Myra Gordon's good friend, Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi, is quoted:

""Shariah is not going to cause havoc to the country,"" he said from his official residence, where a mosque is being built in the courtyard. "It will bring peace and unity here. It is entirely a local affair." "Shariah is fundamental human rights," he added. "Now we are in a democracy. Whatever we want, we have the right to." So if he wants to flog seventeen-year-old mothers, that is his "right."

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E5DD1E3EF93BA35751C1A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all

To "honor" this creature with a memorial service at the MLK, Jr. bust is reprehensible. But, I wouldn't expect anything less from the associate provost for diversity.

Grant Jones
Ph.D. student, American History

Update: Kansas State University has posted an official announcement on the Nigerian Islamist's visit. The university's president, Jon Wefald, will be welcoming the delegation from Zamfara. Shaking hands dripping in blood, all in a day's work for the modern college administrator:

"His Excellency Alhaji Mahmud Aliyu Shinkafi will be on campus Monday, May 12, according to Myra Gordon, associate provost for diversity and dual career development. Members of the governor's delegation include his wife, Her Excellency Aisha I B Babangida; Musa Zubair, chief of staff to the governor; Ali Bako, principal private secretary to the governor; Garba Mohammed, special adviser to the governor on livestock development; Dr. Sani Bako, consultant, livestock development; and Muktari Shinkafi, a businessman in Zamfara State."

"The governor and his delegation are coming to see U.S. style beef production at K-State's Beef Cattle Institute. They will meet with Dan Thomson, assistant professor of clinical sciences and director of the Institute, and other K-State faculty."

"President Jon Wefald will welcome the Nigerian delegation to campus. Other activities will include a memorial service for Shinkafi's late brother, who graduated from Fort Hays State University in 1976. This service will begin at 4 p.m. with a processional from the K-State Alumni Center to the bust of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. outside Ahearn Field House."

Update II: Diversity provost Myra Gordon's good friend, Mahmud Aliya Shinkafi has his own views on "diversity:"

Even as prominent and respected Muslims try to douse the serious situation, those who started the fire are still trying to sell snake oil. As calm was returning to the country, Deputy Governor Mamuda Aliyu Shinkafi of Zamfara State, where the Sharia penal code reared its head in 1999, issued a ‘fatwa’ (religious decree) saying: “It is binding on all Muslims wherever they are, to consider the killing of the writer as a religious duty. …. Just like the blasphemous Indian writer Salman Rushdie, the blood of Isioma Daniel can be shed.”

Provost Gordon and Kansas State University President Jon Wefald have some lovely friends. Apparently murder, death threats, stoning women to death, and flogging unwed mothers is alright with the leaders of K-State; just so long as the atrocities are committed in a diverse manner. Isioma Daniel was a Nigerian journalist who has since had to move to Norway in order to escape Shinkafi's death fatwa.

I am thinking about showing up to the service honoring this villain to take place at K-State on Monday at 4:00 PM. I just don't want to be stoned for asking non-diverse questions. There is no information on whether Isioma Daniel will be attending the ceremony honoring his would-be killer.


Crossposted at The Dougout