Paul Derengowski, Ph.D.
From 2008 to nearly the end of 2011, I taught several classes at Tarrant County College. My specialties were Bible History, Philosophy, and World Religions. In November 2011, two radicalized Muslim students, whom some believed were planted in my World Religions class to cause trouble, decided I did not have the authority to stand before the World Religions class and read the Koran, much less answer the questions they asked about in a previous class on Islam. So, they spent the latter class hour ranting and raving. When all of that was reported to school officials, suddenly I became the scapegoat, which led to a forced resignation. Subsequently, one tabloid after another printed articles that have appeared ever since on the Internet, as they regurgitated and spun each other’s “journalism” into a web about me and that class that amounted to nothing more than lies and deceit. Therefore, I decided to allow several of the students I had taught over the years speak for themselves, as well as in my behalf. Of course, there will always be the naysayers out there who will not listen, regardless of the testimony. They epitomize what it means to be a “bigot,” or the very word too many wish to use as a label these days to demonize or defame those who are not as themselves.