BioNTech Founders Awarded Germany’s Federal Cross of Merit

Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin have been awarded the German order of merit for their role in the development of the BioNTech-Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. It was the first of a host of vaccines to be granted certification in the EU, in late December 2020, marking a significant step in winning the battle against Covid-19.  Türeci and Şahin are a couple that…

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Islamo-leftism versus Islamophobia : The ideological polarization of French Academia

After the attacks on “Islamo-leftism” in French University , comes the fight against Islamophobic scholars. On March 4 2021, two professors of the Political Science Institute of Grenoble were targeted by accusations of “Islamophobia” and “fascism” . The professors’ names were anonymously posted at the main entrance of the Institute with the slogans “fascists are…

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Austria’s Observatory for Political Islam and Securitization of Islam

In July of 2020, Austria’s minister for integration, Susanne Raab, announced the opening in Vienna of the Observatory for Political Islam (‘Dokumentationsstelle Politischer Islam’). The objectives of the new institution are “ to prevent p extremism” and to “ensure independence of science and research”1 in order to fight against “Political Islam”. Lorenzo Vidino, Director of…

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“Islamo-leftism”, Culture War and Academic Freedom: It’s All about Islam

On February the 14th, Frédérique Vidal, the French Minister for Higher Education made controversial declarations on “Islamo-leftism” – Islamo-gauchisme – and its negative influence on Universities during a TV interview. She even stated that French University (including academics and some students organisations) could deliberately promote it. A few days later, during a debate in the Assemblée Nationale, Vidal…

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