Art instructor who showed images of Prophet Muhammad in class sues Hamline University;

[question everything]

Full headline: Art instructor who showed images of Prophet Muhammad in class sues Hamline University; school officials say calling it Islamophobic was flawed

A former art instructor who showed images of the Prophet Muhammad in class has sued Hamline University, saying administrators defamed her and reneged on an offer to teach in the spring semester.

Attorneys for Erika López Prater announced Tuesday that she had sued the university for defamation, religious discrimination and breach of contract, among other things. Less than two hours later, the university's president and board chair said in a joint statement that they had "learned much" about Islam and that the previous decision to describe the incident as Islamophobic was "flawed."

The St. Paul private college found itself at the center of a painful debate over academic freedom and religious tolerance this month as news of the university's decision not to renew López Prater's contract spread across the globe. Instructors rallied around López Prater, saying the university's decisions could have a chilling effect on professors who teach controversial material. A prominent local Muslim organization supported administrators, saying they had to act to protect students with diverse religious beliefs while a national Muslim group said it didn't consider the teacher's conduct wrongful.

Scholars and religious leaders have sometimes disagreed about whether Islam permits images of the Prophet Muhammad. Some Muslims argue that the images are strictly prohibited to avoid idolization. Others have images of the prophet in their homes.

During a class in October, López Prater showed two centuries-old artworks that depict the prophet receiving revelations from the angel Gabriel that would later form the basis for the Qur'an. López Prater said she provided a disclaimer in the syllabus for the course and spent "at least a couple minutes" preparing students for the images. One of her students, Aram Wedatalla, president of the Muslim Student Association, said she heard the professor give a "trigger warning," wondered what it was for "and then I looked and it was the prophet."

In the lawsuit, attorneys for López Prater said she shared her syllabus with a department chair and others at Hamline University and no one raised concerns about her decision to show the images.

More..

https://www.startribune.com/art-instructor-who-showed-images-of-prophet-muhammad-in-class-sues-hamline-university/600244244/

[intheflow]

1. Yay!!!

[3Hotdogs]

2. How da fuck, does anyone know what the prophet looked like to know

that any image looked like what he looked like?

News flash: There ain't no magic guy in the sky.

[ancianita]

3. This is a PR move by the university to damp down Muslim outrage and negative publicity.

This professor will get compensated for what the university's done more in its own interest than in the historical interest of academic freedom, the foundation of university education.

[twodogsbarking]

4. Many people cannot accept mysteries so they embrace lies.

[geardaddy]

5. Muhammed isn't Allah

He was an actual dude. But otherwise, yeah, how would anyone be sure what he looked like?