Scottish university withdraws Donald Trump's honorary degree
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LONDON: A Scottish university on Wednesday revoked an honorary degree it awarded to Donald Trump amid an outcry over a call by the Republican presidential candidate to bar Muslims from entering the United States.
“In the course of the current US election campaign, Trump has made a number of statements that are wholly incompatible with the ethos and values of the university,” said a spokesman for Robert Gordon University in a statement.
“The university has therefore decided to revoke its award of the honorary degree.”
Also read: From White House to neighbourhood churches, all condemn Trump
The university, based in the northern Scottish city of Aberdeen, awarded Trump an honorary doctorate of business administration in October 2010.
Earlier, the Scottish regional government sacked Trump as a business ambassador, saying the property tycoon was “no longer fit” to hold the position.
The billionaire, who has ancestral roots in Scotland, owns golf courses and hotels in the country.
A call by Trump for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” provoked widespread criticism in Britain, and a petition to bar the billionaire from the United Kingdom has attracted more than 235,000 signatures in 24 hours.
World leaders, fellow Republicans, along with “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling condemned comments by US presidential hopeful Donald Trump for his comments.
Also read: Trump worse than Voldemort, says J.K. Rowling
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, in a post on Twitter, said “Mr Trump, like others, is feeding hatred and misinformation. Our only enemy is radical Islam.”
Earlier, two international refugee organizations also rejected Trump's comments, saying US presidential campaign rhetoric threatens resettlement efforts. Muslims in Pakistan and Indonesia also denounced it.
Despite broad public outrage at many of his remarks, the billionaire real estate mogul is ahead in polls of likely Republican voters and is the clear frontrunner to secure the Republican nomination as presidential candidate in 2016.
