Brandeis University has decided to not award a women's rights activist with an honorary degree due to her stance on Islam, Reuters reported.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a former Dutch parliamentarian, has referred to Islam as a "nihilistic cult of death" and is a strong critic of the religion's treatment of women.
The advocate for women's rights was raised in a strict Muslim family, which forced her to undergo genital mutilation and forced marriage. In her 30s, she decided to renounce her faith.
"She is a compelling public figure and advocate for women's rights, and we respect and appreciate her work to protect and defend the rights of women and girls throughout the world. We cannot overlook certain of her past statements that are inconsistent with Brandeis University's core values," the university said in a statement on Tuesday. "We regret that we were not aware of these statements earlier."
The university is referring to comments Hirsi Ali made in a 2003 interview, claiming the prophet Mohammed could be considered a pedophile according to modern standards, and calling the religion "a destructive, nihilistic cult of death" in a 2007 interview.
Once the private school announced their plan to award her a degree, the Council on American-Islamic Relations sent a letter to the university's president, Frederick Lawrence, suggesting the move was "unworthy of the American tradition of civil liberty and religious freedom."
Nihad Awad, the organization's national executive director, claimed bestowing Hirsi Ali with the degree "is equivalent to promoting the work of white supremacists and anti-Semites."
Hirsi Ali, an atheist, could not be reached for comment by Reuters.
Brandeis University, located in the Boston suburb of Waltham, was founded in 1948 with a Jewish tradition, according to it's website. It currently has around 3,600 undergraduate students.
