Penn State Professor Asks Students To Defend Taliban, Explain How They Are ‘Not A Terrorist Organization’
Conservative voices across social media have directed criticism towards Penn State following a leaked assignment that shows a professor asking students to write a paper defending the Taliban.
The assignment’s topic reads ‘Explain why the Taliban are not Terrorists’ and says “You are not allowed to answer this question in any other way. Any attempt to avoid the answering this prompt as written, or trying to argue otherwise will result in a failing grade.”
Political influencer Candace Owens tweeted a link to the screenshot, saying, “THIS IS INSANE.”
This is INSANE🚨🚨.
Penn State first assignment of the semester:“Explain why the Taliban is NOT a terrorist organization. You are not allowed to answer this question in any other way. Any attempt to avoid answering or try arguing otherwise will result in a failing grade” https://t.co/hrmnC23aEb
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) January 13, 2022
One user asked Penn State, “Why is one of your classes teaching students the the Taliban IS NOT a terrorist organization? Asking for all the Gold Star Families whose children’s graves and memories you just spit on.”
Why is one of your classes teaching students the the Taliban IS NOT a terrorist organization? Asking for all the Gold Star Families whose children's graves and memories you just spit on. pic.twitter.com/NB1NSX3NQA
— Hi (@hollis4congress) January 13, 2022
Another Twitter user said the assignment showed “complete ignorance” and was “Anti American.”
The Professor that created the assignment, Christopher Cook, has defended the Taliban multiple times on his Twitter account. Earlier this week, Cook said, “I am going to guess there is a Venn Diagram between the people who struggled understanding why the Taliban were not terrorists for the lat 20 years and those who think there can be justified violence against the American government.”
I am going to guess there is a Venn Diagram between the people who struggled understanding why the Taliban were not terrorists for the lat 20 years and those who think there can be justified violence against the American government. pic.twitter.com/jUFuHg39Zc
— Christopher R. Cook (@ProfessorCook_) January 2, 2022
It seems that the Professor has used this assignment before. In a tweet from the Fall of 20201, Cook boasted about his edgy assignment, calling the Taliban “insurgents.”
Do you think any of my students will see this before Sunday’s deadline? The one where I ask them to tell me why the Taliban are *not* terrorists. https://t.co/fjDgCSjaR5
— Christopher R. Cook (@ProfessorCook_) August 26, 2021
Stay tuned to The Scoop for any updates.
