Mount Royal University (MRU) will disgrace itself if it allows this guy to be honoured with a Calgary Peace Prize on May 18.

“The 2023 Calgary Peace Prize will recognize Mohammed El-Kurd for his exemplary contribution toward peace and justice in the struggle for a more humane, dignified, and free life for oppressed people in Palestine and beyond,” reads the promo.

After being called out, MRU is trying to distance itself from having anything to do with the award.

Yet MRU won’t denounce this Palestinian anti-Semitic activist — who pays tribute to terrorists and portrays Jews as demonic on his massive social media platforms — being hailed as righteous.

El-Kurd pines for slow torturous deaths of Jews. This award is some sick interpretation of his contribution to peace and justice.

But El-Kurd’s fanaticism goes deeper.

On May 5, El-Kurd’s Instagram posted pictures of “martyrs” — three Hamas terrorists killed in the West Bank during a May 4 Israeli Security Forces raid. Why?

On April 7 the Hamas trio massacred three members of a British-Israeli family — Lucy Dee and her daughters Maia, 20, and Lucy, 15.

They were driving through the Jordon Valley, headed to a holiday, when shot a total of 22 times with a Kalashnikov assault rifle — first while driving, then at close range after the vehicle crashed.

Shockingly, MRU President and Vice-Chancellor Timothy Rahilly distanced the publicly-funded institution from this horrific decision to award El-Kurd.

The promo to sign up for the virtual event — with MRU’s logo — was on MRU’s website.

“Why is Mount Royal University giving any honour, let alone a peace prize, to a peddler of anti-Semitic hate like Muhammed El-Kurd?” asked HonestReporting Canada’s (HRC) Executive Director and human rights expert Mike Fegelman in an April 26 letter to Rahilly.

No, no, this has nothing to do with MRU, said Rahilly after receiving the complaint and a protest petition with more than 1,000 signatures.

“In response to HRC’s alert regarding the Calgary Peace Prize, we wish to clarify that the Calgary Peace Prize is not an initiative of Mount Royal University, but rather an independent initiative of a faculty member,” wrote Rahilly on May 10.

“In order to make this more clear, Calgary Peace Prize content no longer resides on MRU’s website.”

Why did it take a complaint for MRU to scrub the website?

Why did a professor feel comfortable using MRU’s platform?

The Jerusalem Post reported that the International Legal Forum (ILF) — a group of lawyers and activists — called on MRU to “immediately revoke” the award.

The ILF cited numerous examples of El-Kurd’s anti-Semitic stamens including his praise of the terrorists who murdered the three women last month.

The Calgary Jewish Federation repeated the call.

“We are deeply concerned that the Calgary Peace Prize has been awarded to someone who has repeatedly made antisemitic statements,” the federation said in a statement. “This is a serious matter that should not be ignored.”

MRU dug in and danced around it’s responsibility to do the right thing.

“Views expressed through academic initiatives and events hosted and led by faculty members do not represent the views of Mount Royal University,” reads a statement to the Western Standard from MRU Thursday.

“Faculty members are entitled to the academic freedom to engage in research, teaching and discussion without institutional censorship.”

“Mount Royal University is committed to serve as an inclusive forum for respectful debate to advance knowledge and understanding, and denounces hate speech and antisemitism in all of its forms.”

Not all of it. The evidence lies in not condemning this award.

There’s a fine line — that has been crossed — between academic freedom and honouring someone who promotes violence and hatred.

And what the hell is being taught in some MRU classrooms?

Are Jews safe from anti-Semitic ideology there?

MRU associate sociology professor Muhannad Mark Ayyash is listed as the contact to get in on the big award night.

Ayyash is also an anti-Israeli activist whose writings reflect anti-Semitic views. As a contributor to several publications, he accuses Israel of practicing apartheid.

He wrote an opinion article for Aljazeera “When will the settler colonial siege of the Gaza Strip end?”

“This is a siege whose end goal is, not just the weakening, but the eradication of all Palestinian resistance.”

No wonder Ayyash is a big fan of El-Kurd.

El-Kurd has a huge following — 700,000 on Instagram and 250,000 on Twitter.

His posts falsely accuse Israel of being guilty of apartheid and call it a settler-colonialist state.

He’s the Palestinian correspondent for The Nation Magazine.

In 2021, El-Kurd and his twin sister Muna El-Kurd were listed among Time’s most 100 most influential people in the world.

In an April 30 interview with Novara Media, El-Kurd claimed Israel harvests organs of dead Palestinians.

That lie was clearly meant to incite fear and hatred.

Zionists have an “unquenchable thirst for Palestinian blood,” he wrote Sept 26, 2021.

In July, 2022 El-Kurd posted a revolting drawing on Instagram by Palestinian artist Azeez Azeez whose collection portrays anti-Jewish imagery.

This one was Palestinian Authority (PA) Civil Affairs leader Hussein al-Sheikh shaking hands with a soldier wearing a Star of David armband.

The Israeli soldier had a long nose, a demonic face, purple eyes, yellow skin and sharp teeth.

El-Kurd celebrates terrorists by posting their pictures.

“Even worse he uses his large platform to glorify acts of Palestinian terrorism,” noted HonestReporting in a video on El-Kurd.

It goes beyond El-Kurd’s tribute to the “martyrs” who murdered three civilian females.

“He has sung the praises of Palestinian terrorists, sharing a photo of Laila Khaled,” said HRC.

Laila Khaled was a senior member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Someone should tell MRU Canada recognizes the PFLP as a terror group.

In 1969, Khaled was involved in a terrorist highjacking of an Israel-bound airplane, then again in 1970 in another attempted highjacking.

Wrote El-Kurd when he posted her photo: “Palestinian women have always been a vital part of resisting the Israel occupation. It is about time we celebrate them.”

Khaled condemned the Palestinian Authority for not being “brave enough” to escalate the Second Intifada, a five-year Palestinian terror campaign during which more than 1,000 Jews were murdered.

El-Kurd called for a Third Intifada.

Meanwhile, Rahilly, too timid to denounce Jew-hating El-Kurd, wanted HRC to know MRU supports Jews.

“This is reflected in out 40-plus year commitment to supporting and hosting the annual Holocaust Education Symposium on our campus,” he wrote.

“We will continue to listen, learn and actively engage with the Jewish community as we move forward.”

Just not this time.

The now removed 2022 Calgary Peace Prize post on MRU’s website stated MRU “will recognize” the award.

So what made MRU wipe its hands clean of it this year?

Are we to believe that suddenly one professor gets to make the decision all by himself?

Shame on you MRU.