Tag: Justice

Against Campus Militarization and Repression

We Condemn the Militarization of Campuses and Repression of Students, Faculty, and Staff Demanding an End to the US-Supported Israeli Genocide of Palestinians, “Disclosure and Divestment” from Israel, and “Re-investment” in our communities. We demand that Duke disclose its holdings and divest from all financial and academic projects that support the Zionist settler-colonial project and re-invest in the workers who make our communities places we call home. We demand a commitment to free thinking and dissent on campus and off, and reversal of the increased militarization and securitization of campuses.

Duke University Academics and Staff for Justice in Palestine Stands with Gaza Solidarity Encampments

We insist that universities and colleges allow all community members including students to freely express their ideas and opinions rather than actively repress them; demilitarize our campuses and refrain from militarizing and policing them further; outline a policy for the future protection of speech, including and especially dissent; take seriously campus demands that universities and colleges divest from companies supporting the military-industrial complex and Israeli state violence, genocide, apartheid, and occupation; and
take seriously campus demands that universities and colleges boycott Israeli institutions through the BDS campaign.

An Analysis of Shi’ite Political Thought

Imam Ali recognized the mutual rights of the ruler and ruled, the sanctity of contracts, especially with the enemy, and freedom of speech as the cornerstones of Shite political philosophy. Understanding Shi’ite political thought is impossible without considering the doctrine of justice and its consequences such as the right to an uprising against unjust rulers, which is crystallized in Imam al-Hussein b. Ali’s maxims and teachings. Ayatollah Khomeini’s political theory is in the absolute minority not only in the history of Shi’ite fiqh but also in contemporary Shi’ite fiqh.

Statement on Palestine

The atrocities we have witnessed on and after October 7th did not happen in a vacuum. We condemn the brutal and inhumane attacks against civilian lives and call for an immediate ceasefire. The situation is a crime against humanity and an ethnic cleansing. The Duke University Faculty for Justice stands in solidarity with those fighting for anti-colonial liberation, including the freedom struggle in Palestine. Over two million people, nearly half of whom are children, have been entrapped in an open-air prison, given very little freedom of movement in and out.