Klaus Kinzler is one of two professors accused of Islamophobia at Science-Po Grenoble.

On Europe 1, he denounces the lack of support from some of his colleagues.

Assuring that he is "not afraid", he says he wants to continue to "defend freedom in academia".

INTERVIEW

Tension is mounting within the Grenoble Institute of Political Studies.

While recent weeks have been marked by the debate on "Islamo-leftism" in universities, the establishment is in the grip of a heated debate after accusations of Islamophobia targeting two professors.

An investigation was opened by the prosecution in particular for "public insult" and "degradation" after the names of these two professors were publicly displayed at the entrance of the institution.

On Europe 1, Klaus Kinzler, one of the two professors targeted, agreed to review the events, denying any Islamophobic remarks and regretting the lack of support from his colleagues. 

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"A smear and defamation campaign on Facebook" 

For this German teacher who has been teaching at the IEP for 25 years, it all started in November.

The controversy concerning him would have arisen after an informal working group, made up of teachers and students, to prepare for the week of "Equality and against discrimination".

"I had registered to prepare a thematic day under the title: racism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism (...). I intended to challenge in the discussion with my colleague and my students this alignment of these three terms in a single theme", he told on BFMTV. 

After a controversy between teachers, it was then that a "radicalized" part of the students "launched a campaign of denigration and defamation on Facebook, making me a right-wing extremist and an Islamophobe".

"They tried to punish me"

But more than the attitude of these students, Klaus Kinzler castigates that of his colleagues, "a good part of whom do not or not really support me".

The latter, he believes, "are very far to the left and rather have sympathies for those who defend the term Islamophobia". 

"They tried to punish me," he continues.

"And it's not the students, but my colleagues, for expressing a different opinion from the far-left doxa in this chapter."

And to assure: "I never said anything Islamophobic". 

"I don't want to over-dramatize"

Returning to the posters mentioning his name, the German teacher assures us that this does not “move him too much”.

"The methods of the UNEF and of the most extremist students have not changed for 50 years," he puts into perspective.

"There is nothing very new."

And Klaus Kinzler, refusing any parallel with the situation of Samuel Paty, assassinated in October.

"It's a debate between academics, I don't want to over-dramatize," he replies.

“What I regret is that I am not supported by most of my colleagues, who are closer to these extreme students than to me, who have been a staunch centrist liberal for 40 years. 'scares, much more than the students did. "

"I am not afraid at all", continues Klaus Kinzler, questioned about a possible feeling of insecurity.

"I was not threatened, neither physically, nor by letters," he says, recounting receiving hundreds of "extremely positive, supportive" emails.

The teacher is reluctant to file a complaint against the students.

“Why punish students who are young, immature, sometimes stupid?” He asks.

"I have nothing against them. Me, I like young people and I like to discuss with them."

"Stay upright and defend freedom"

"I almost want to file a complaint against those of my colleagues who, publicly, have baselessly accused me of harassment and violent moral injury, only because I expressed a dispute in an internal dialogue by email with a colleague ", concludes Klaus Kinzler, who confides his doubts about the attitude to adopt in the coming days.

"I kinda want to cut myself off from that, I'm not far from farting a cable. But at the same time, I want to go all the way, to stay upright and defend freedom in academia. "