An academic at a university in Turkey’s western province of Aydin has been suspended pending an investigation after he allegedly mocked verses of the Islamic holy book on social media, Takvim newspaper reported.
The unnamed academic was removed from duty at Aydin Menderes University on Wednesday after the university rector, Cavit Bircan, filed a criminal complaint against him, Takvim said.
"As a result of an investigation it was found that the academic in his social media postings made a mockery of Quranic verses and shared posts which contain pejoratives and insults that are not befitting an academic,” Bircan said in a statement.
Bircan was appointed the rector of Aydin Menderes University in 2014 by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who issued a decree in July stripping the country’s education watchdog of much of its supervisory powers and giving himself sole authority to appoint university rectors. [Ahval] Read more
