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MADISON, WI (AP) -- A part-time instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison taught the first class of his course on Islam Tuesday after drawing intense scrutiny for his belief the U.S. government orchestrated the Sept. 11 attacks. Days before the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks, Kevin Barrett touched only briefly on them but told students the subject would be covered in discussions in early November during his twice-a-week course, "Islam: Religion and Culture." Barrett, castigated by some legislators after his views were publicized over the summer, used self-deprecating humor as he began the class, describing himself as an Irish...

MILWAUKEE - A university instructor who came under scrutiny for arguing that the U.S. government orchestrated the Sept. 11 attacks likens President Bush to Adolf Hitler in an essay his students are being required to buy for his course. The essay by Kevin Barrett, "Interpreting the Unspeakable: The Myth of 9/11," is part of a $20 book of essays by 15 authors, according to an unedited copy first obtained by WKOW-TV in Madison and later by The Associated Press. The book's title is "9/11 and American Empire: Muslims, Jews, and Christians Speak Out." It is on the syllabus for Barrett's...

IN TUESDAY'S newspaper, one of the voices in "Voice of the People" - the letters section - came from Michael Meeropol, who in 1973 earned a Ph.D. in economic history from UW-Madison. Meeropol, who today is chairman of the department of economics at Western New England College, wrote in defense of UW-Madison retaining instructor Kevin Barrett in the wake of Barrett's controversial views of the 9/11 attacks being publicized. "I do not agree with UW instructor Kevin Barrett's assertions about the 9/11 atrocity," Meeropol wrote. "However, I think it is crazy and counterproductive to attempt to have him fired. In...

MADISON, WI (AP) -- A University of Wisconsin instructor under fire for his views on the Sept. 11 attacks sent a sarcastic letter to Gov. Jim Doyle this week, a spokesman for the governor said Friday. Doyle's office has forwarded the July 5 letter from Kevin Barrett to UW-Madison Provost Patrick Farrell, who is reviewing whether Barrett should be allowed to teach a course on Islam this fall, said Doyle spokesman Matt Canter. "This further highlights the governor's concerns about whether somebody who is touting these outlandish views is fit to teach in the classroom," said Canter, who released a...

Muslim cleric: "If I were allowed to pray for a non-Muslim, I would have prayed for the soul of the Nazi leader, who barbecued [the Russians] and the Jews" MEMRI thanks to Robert Spencer "Islamophobia is the biggest threat to peace in the world today." -- U.S. "academic" Kevin Barrett in Iran's state-run PressTV "Saudi Cleric and Poet Muhammad Al-Farraj Lauds Hitler for "Barbecuing" Russians and Jews," from MEMRI, September 19: Following are excerpts from a poem recited by Saudi cleric Muhammad Al-Farraj, which aired on Shada TV (via the Internet) on September 19, 2013. Muhammad Al-Farraj: this is a...

Unfortunately, I saw this coming. It is the inevitable downside to Jessica McBride's outing of 9/11 crackpot Kevin Barrett and his enablers within the University of Wisconsin system. By definition, a true kook refuses to acknowledge that he (or she) is a kook. A kook's world view is that everybody else in the world is either uninformed, ignorant, a dupe of the government or just plain crazy. No amount of discussion will ever dissuade your true kook. True kooks also crave attention. I think this is because your true kook probably gets bored sitting around wearing a bed sheet talking...

According to Kevin Barrett, the US government planned and carried out the 9/11 attacks, the World Trade Center imploded due to explosives set up ahead of time in the buildings, Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone's plane crash was no accident, and Osama bin Laden has probably been dead since 2001. Mr. Barrett is not a radical anarchist or a teenager peddling conspiracy theories; he's a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin, Madison - a fact that has outraged some state politicians. The case has drawn national attention and provided grist for conservative talk-show hosts, while the university has been deluged with...

Following a thorough review, University of Wisconsin-Madison Provost Patrick Farrell today announced that lecturer Kevin Barrett will teach, as scheduled, a class titled "Islam: Religion and Culture." Barrett's remarks regarding his theories on the events of Sept. 11 recently drew widespread attention and criticism. As a result, Farrell, along with Gary Sandefur, dean of the College of Letters and Science, and Ellen Rafferty, chair of the department of languages and cultures of Asia, met with Barrett. They reviewed his course syllabus and reading materials and examined his past teaching evaluations. "There is no question that Mr. Barrett holds personal opinions...

Wis. prof compares Bush to Hitler October 11, 2006 MILWAUKEE -- A University of Wisconsin instructor who has come under scrutiny for saying that the U.S. government orchestrated the Sept. 11 attacks compares President Bush to Adolf Hitler in an essay that his students are being required to buy. The essay, ''Interpreting the Unspeakable: The Myth of 9/11,'' is part of a $20 book of essays, according to an unedited copy. The book is on the syllabus for the twice-a-week course, Islam: Religion and Culture, being taught by part-time instructor Kevin Barrett. Barrett is active in a group called Scholars...

Wisconsin's Ward Churchill? UW-Madison lecturer on Islam is leading 9/11 conspiracy theorist who thinks the U.S. government blew up the Trade Center and wrote letter discussing Bush execution ++++++++++audio coming soon How is UW-Madison lecturer Kevin Barrett like Ward Churchill? Actually, he's not. He's whackier. Churchill believes the terrorists caused the World Trade Center attacks. He just thinks they were justified in some manner. And now the university where he has tenure in Colorado is trying to fire him. Remember how upset we all got about Churchill, who was just a prof from another state who was in town for...

Through his "charm offensive," Iranian President Rouhani got a "deal" with the P5+1 negotiators to diminish and then eliminate sanctions without significantly reducing Iran's ability to develop nukes. Today, Press TV posted an article titled Zionists seek wars of aggression. Charmin Works!Press TV is a 24-hour English language news organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). Its headquarters are located in Tehran, Iran. . . . Press TV is state-funded[11] and is a division of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). The Press TV article purports to be an "approximate transcript" of an interview with "Kevin Barrett, editor with Veterans Today, Madison," Wisconsin, about Western threats...

A state representative is calling for the immediate dismissal of a UW-Madison lecturer who said on a radio talk show Wednesday that U.S. government officials and the CIA orchestrated the attacks of Sept. 11. Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, said Kevin Barrett should be barred from teaching an introductory course on Islam this fall because of remarks he made on a WTMJ-AM (620) show hosted by Jessica McBride. Barrett is co-founder of the Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance for 9/11 Truth, a group of scholars, activists and religious leaders urging an investigation of the possibility of official complicity in Sept. 11. Among other things,...

<p>Controversial UW-Madison Instructor Kevin Barrett has attempted to have a Lithuanian immigrant deported from her Madison home.</p> <p>But federal officials told 27 News Jekaterina Bittar, 45, resides here legally.</p> <p>And a Dane County judge has labeled Barrett's repeated, unsubstantiated accusations of theft against Bittar as "rabid."</p>

The latest in the academic follies comes from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where the administration has cleared the way for an instructor to teach his belief that the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were plotted by the US government to create an excuse for war... Kevin Barrett, an instructor at the University of Wisconsin and the head of something called the Muslim-Jewish-Christian Alliance for 9/11 Truth, thinks otherwise. On the group's website, he claims there is "compelling evidence" that the attacks were planned by the United States. This fall, Barrett is...

Many people in Madison will welcome the news that Kevin Barrett has been allowed to teach a course on Islam at the UW. Most will see it as a triumph of academic freedom. Others will rejoice because they believe what Barrett alleges: that the terrorist attack of Sept. 11 was "an inside job" and a "gargantuan, Satanic lie" concocted by the U.S. government to wage an endless war. I, however, will not be one of those celebrating. Barrett's accusations about Sept. 11, as most of us well know, have no grounding in reality, forensic evidence or common sense. But by...

Wis. lawmakers want univ. instructor fired 35 minutes ago More than 60 state lawmakers are urging the University of Wisconsin-Madison to fire an instructor who has argued that the U.S. government orchestrated the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. A letter sent Thursday and signed by 52 Assembly representatives and nine state senators condemns a decision to let Kevin Barrett teach an introductory class on Islam this fall. UW-Madison Provost Pat Farrell launched a review after Barrett spoke last month on a talk show about his views that the terrorist attacks were the result of a government conspiracy to spark war in...

Former University of Wisconsin lecturer Kevin Barrett said Thursday he will travel to Morocco in an attempt to find and interview a man accused of hijacking an airplane and flying it into the World Trade Center. Barrett, widely known and criticized for his 9/11 conspiracy theory, announced at the state Capitol that he will head to Casablanca this Sunday and try to locate Saudi Arabian pilot Waleed al-Shehri. The 9/11 Commission has said al-Shehri stabbed two unarmed flight attendants and crashed a plane into the World Trace Center five and a half years ago. According to Barrett, al-Shehri is alive...

Earlier this month, the folklore department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison sponsored an event billed as "9/11: Folklore and Fact." Held in the university's social sciences building, two leaders in what is known as the "9/11 Truth"—Kevin Barrett and James Fetzer—came to discuss their notion that 9/11 resulted not from the actions of al Qaeda, but from a Bush Administration conspiracy. As Barrett has claimed on many occasions, he doesn't "believe, but knows that 9/11 was an inside job." Considering this event was sponsored and hosted by an institution that is funded by taxpayer dollars, the residents of Wisconsin have...

Wisconsin's version of Ward Churchill, ultra left wingnut Kevin Barrett, has accused Wisconsin Congressman Ron Kind (D-WI03) of promulgating "an act of war propaganda whose knowing transmission arguably constitutes a war crime." Barrett sent out the following press release via email: ------------------------------------------------------- Barrett to Kind: Retract "Wiped off the Map" Lie! For Immediate Release - June 27, 2008 Contact: Dr. Kevin Barrett; 608-583-2132, kbarrett@merr.com Rolf Lindgren; 608-279-5889, rolfusaugustusadolphus@yahoo.com Kevin Barrett, the peace candidate for Congress who is challenging pro-war Democratic incumbent Ron Kind in Wisconsin's District 3, has written to Kind demanding that he retract his false and libelous statement...

<p>A University of Wisconsin-Madison lecturer who has sparked controversy by teaching that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were an inside job lashed out Sunday at public officials who have questioned his right to teach.</p> <p>Speaking at a gathering at UW-Milwaukee, Kevin Barrett took aim at state Rep. Stephen Nass (R-Whitewater), U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-Wis.) and Gov. Jim Doyle.</p>