From Stuff:
Waikato University has abruptly pulled a student’s thesis from its library after complaints from the subject of the research – a right-wing extremist.
The thesis, exploring satanic and neo-Nazi themes, had already been marked and published, earning its author top marks.
It is a highly unusual move to remove a student’s work after publication.
The thesis, published six months ago and titled Dreamers of the Dark: Kerry Bolton and the Order of the Left Hand Path, a Case-study of a Satanic/Neo Nazi Synthesis, was submitted as part of a Masters degree by philosophy and religious studies student Roel Van Leeuwen.
Bolton describes the (MA level) thesis as “a poorly contrived smear-document” which, according to Stuff , “made him feel literally and physically [sic] sick”.
Some alleged background on Bolton is available from anti-racist website Fight Dem Back!, including the following:
- 1980 — Founded the Church of Odin. This was based on worship of the ancient Viking pantheon and stressed “Loyalty to Race and Culture”. Jews were explicitly banned from membership and material referred to “…a scummy tribe of Hebrews”. Left it after it wasn’t doing what he had hoped. He has also been a Mormon in the past and claims to be a Christian as of 2004….
- 1998 — Produced magazine The Nexus which contained adverts for Waffen SS patches, advert for Australian Occult Nazi Metal band “Spear of Longinus”, reviews of international Nazi mags, anti-Jewish articles, obituaries for Nazi general Otto Remer and Satanist La Vey etc….
- 2004 — Satanist.net still listed information about Bolton’s Satanic organisations Ordo Sinistra Vivendi, The Black Order and The Order of the Left Hand Path.
Bolton maintains a website, where he rails against “Zionist Smear-Mongering Posing as ‘Scholarship'” (Van Leeuwen’s supervisor, Dov Bing, is Jewish and pro-Israel). Bolton also publishes some correspondence with Van Leeuwen, in which Van Leeuwen agrees to remove certain passages from his thesis, while not conceding any libel.
Van Leeuwen, meanwhile, has a long-standing personal interest in the esoteric. According to this website,
Roel van Leeuwen is a graduate student in History, with a particular interest in military history and alternative spiritualities. He is currently working towards his Ph.D. thesis, ‘Child of Earth: the Legacy of Dr Robert Felkin’ and the History of Esoteric Societies in New Zealand. As well as his academic interests, Roel is, or has been, a member of various Orders and Societies in New Zealand since 1987. These include the Builders of the Adytum, SRIA and Order of the Table Round.
(Hat tip: Bulldada Newsblog)
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