Oxford professor cleared of 'Islamophobia' still fearful of attacks

Human rights scholar Steven Greer said he was forced to wear a disguise and carry a weapon for his own protection after undergraduates at the University of Bristol Law School complained that elements of his course were ‘racist’ and ‘discriminatory’.

Mr Greer has since been appointed by the Oxford Institute for British Islam (OIBI), an independent Muslim think tank and research academy, as its research director.

The backlash began when a teaching slide that mentioned the 2015 terror attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo – a magazine that had published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad – was described as “Islamophobic rhetoric.”

And a lecture which included “well-attested observations” about the inferior treatment of women and non-Muslims in Islamic states, and the tough penalties handed out under sharia, was said to be “bigoted and divisive”.

Professor Steven Greer (Image: SWNS)

Mr Greer, a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and of the Royal Society of Arts, was fully cleared of all wrongdoing last year.

A five-month inquiry, led by a senior academic at Bristol University, found each of the accusations to be baseless.

But the “scurrilous falsehoods by a handful of illiberal students” still led to the removal of the material from the course and left him fearing for his reputation and his life.

Mr Greer, a grandfather-of-three, was so scared for his own safety that he went into hiding.

He grew a long bushy beard and disguised himself in public with false glasses and a pulled-up hoodie to obscure the rest of his face.

He also carried a “sturdy” umbrella and a screwdriver in case he was attacked.

Professor Greer, 66, a leading authority on human rights, particularly with respect to counter-terrorism legislation, said: “I had until last year enjoyed a wonderful career and I believe I had earned the respect of students, colleagues and peers all over the world.

“Almost overnight, however, my name became synonymous with bigotry, racism and Islamophobia – especially on social media - because of a handful of malicious students who set out to ruin my life.

“I was vilified, and my name and reputation were dragged through the mud.

“For my own safety I was forced to act like a fugitive - simply for including academically authoritative, fact-based information in my course that a few militant students took objection to.”