Because she showed a picture of the prophet Mohammed in her course, American professor Erika López Prater lost her job. A student later complained to the administration, who deemed the incident Islamophobic.
As the “New York Times” reported, the American professor had shown the work from the 14th century in her course on global art history. The students were also shown an image of Buddha. As López Prater was aware that students might have concerns, she asked them in advance to contact her in such a case. Nobody used it. However, on the day of the presentation, she again pointed out that the image of the prophet was being treated and anyone who wanted to could go.
Images like “blasphemy”
The background is that many Muslims view images of the prophet as “blasphemy”. In 2015, fanatics used caricatures of Mohammed as the basis for an arson attack on the editorial office of the satirical magazine ‘Charlie Hebdo’ in Paris. The photo that the professor showed at Hamline Private University in St. Paul, Minnesota, was not a caricature, but dates from 1306. It shows the angel Gabriel bringing the first revelation of the Quran to the prophet Mohammed.
Is respect for Muslims more important than academic freedom?
After the American professor showed the photo, a student of the program later complained to the administration. Other Muslim students who did not participate in the course support her in this. The class was an attack on their religion, it said. There must be consequences to that. The university’s board even assessed the incident as clearly Islamophobic and wrote an email to students and teachers. The professor was fired, even though the work is regularly discussed at art history seminars.
debates erupted
The president of the private university also co-signed an email advocating respect for Muslim students “should take precedence over academic freedom”. “There are many Muslim scholars, experts and art historians who don’t believe it was Islamophobic,” said a professor of religion at Hamline University, which has only about 1,800 students, according to “Bild.” The writers’ association PEN America called it “one of the most blatant violations of academic freedom in recent memory”.
The clear majority of Bild readers also do not think the professor’s resignation is justified. In an online poll, 95 percent of 16,912 people voted to allow such works to be shown at a university (as of January 9, 9 p.m.). Five percent, on the other hand, think that the work should not have been shown in the course.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
