Private liberal arts college Hamline University reportedly refused to renew the contract of an art history professor for showing images of medieval and Renaissance Islamic art depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
#Exclusive: An instructor who showed a painting of the Prophet Muhammad was publicly impugned & fired by Hamline University, Minnesota.
Detailed reporting & analysis in @newlinesmag by Islamic art professor Christiane Gruber on the incident & implications https://t.co/HrhTY1sK1v— Hassan I. Hassan (@hxhassan) December 22, 2022
According to an article written by Professor Christiane Gruber, a professor of Islamic art at the University of Michigan, Hamline University’s student publication, The Oracle, published an article regarding two incidents on its Saint Paul campus. While the first incident was described as “indubitably homophobic,” the second was “Islamophobic.” Both were reported as “incidents of hate and discrimination.”
Reports say that the professor warned the students in the online class about two minutes before showing the art, allowing students to turn off their cameras if they chose to. One of the students complained about the inclusion of the painting in the university’s session on visual art, which includes analysis and discussion about a painting showing the Prophet Muhammad. The student pressed the school’s administrators for a response.
The incident sparked extensive media coverage and administrative commentary at the university, with Hamline University’s associate vice president of inclusive excellence (AVPIE) calling it “undeniably inconsiderate, disrespectful and Islamophobic.” The professor in question was reportedly not given any opportunity to explain the lecture and activities.
On December 6th, a professor of religion who teaches Islam at Hamline University tried to explain the incident and the issue of creating art depicting the Prophet Muhammad in Islam by publishing an extensive essay at The Oracle. The essay was taken down two days later. However, Reason Magazine, a libertarian magazine, was able to obtain a copy of the deleted essay and publish it in their article regarding the incident.
The president and AVPIE of Hamline University wrote two emails regarding the incident in response to the essay. The second follow-up email said, "respect for the observant Muslim students in that classroom should have superseded academic freedom.” The deletion of the article and the two emails written by the university’s top administrators raised concerns about freedom of speech and academic freedom at the university.
PEN America, a literary organization in the United States, wrote a statement on its website condemning Hamline University’s actions towards the fired arts history professor.
@PENamerica’s excellent statement condemning the dismissal of @HamlineU professor for showing medieval painting of Prophet Mohammad: https://t.co/HjxcH1d4Rt
— Amna Khalid (@AmnaUncensored) December 24, 2022
“If these reports are accurate, Hamline University has committed one of the most egregious violations of academic freedom in recent memory,” Jeremy Young, senior manager of free expression and education at PEN America, said about the incident.
The painting that became a central point in the issue was an artwork depicting the Prophet Muhammad receiving the first revelation through the Angel Gabriel (also called Jibreel in Islam). The event was considered one of the most important events in Islam, and a 14th-century Muslim vizier and historian created the artwork.
Christiane Gruber has created a petition and open letter for Hamline University's Board of Trustees
Please sign and share widely. The dismissal of a faculty member for covering this essential topic with care and forethought is apsurd and chillinghttps://t.co/xL7KDfcnNu— Kristian Petersen (@BabaKristian) December 24, 2022
Showing depictions of the Prophet Muhammad in academic settings has become a contentious issue in the debate surrounding Islamophobia. Last November, a schoolteacher from Australia was embroiled in a controversy over showing a satirical cartoon depicting Muhammad in class.
