Robert Gordon University strips Donald Trump’s honorary degree

• Posted on December 10, 2015
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

Donald Trump has been stripped of his honorary degree by a Scottish university after he called for Muslims to be banned from entering the US.

The US presidential hopeful was awarded an honorary DBA by Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen in 2010.

But the university said Mr Trump’s comments had been “wholly incompatible” with its ethos and values.

Mr Trump has also been dropped as a business ambassador for Scotland by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

He had been appointed as a GlobalScot ambassador by Labour’s then first Minister Jack McConnel in 2006, but a Scottish government spokeswoman said Mr Trump’s “recent remarks have shown he is no longer fit to be a business ambassador for Scotland”.

A spokesman for Robert Gordon University said: “In 2010 Robert Gordon University awarded an honorary DBA to Mr Donald Trump, in recognition of his achievements as an entrepreneur and businessman.

“In the course of the current US election campaign, Mr Trump has made a number of statements that are wholly incompatible with the ethos and values of the university. The university has therefore decided to revoke its award of the honorary degree.”

Mr Trump, whose mother was from the Isle of Lewis, is seeking the Republican nomination for next year’s US presidential election.

He called for a ban on Muslims entering the US following a mass shooting in San Bernardino.

The billionaire property tycoon owns a golf course in Aberdeenshire and the Turnberry course and hotel in Ayrshire.

A petition calling for him to be banned from entering the UK because of his remarks has passed 300,000 signatures.

Among those to have signed the petition was Nabeel Shaikh, the general secretary of the Glasgow Central Mosque, who said Mr Trump’s comments were “just as extreme” as the Islamic State terror group.

-BBC