WHO BELONGS?
Classroom incident and administrative response raise questions for Muslim students.
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After a professor shared depictions of the Prophet Muhammad in a class, Muslim community members at Hamline were left feeling shocked and unsupported.
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Conversations and action have ensued, with a community conversation planned for two months after the initial incident, on Dec. 8.
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Administration and faculty remain hopeful for a more nuanced approach to future conversations; while many students are less optimistic.
Student and community’s response to classroom incident
Hamline undergraduate students received an email from the Dean of Students on Nov. 7, condemning an unnamed classroom incident as “undeniably inconsiderate, disrespectful and Islamophobic.” In the month since, the email and the event it references have reignited discussions about the persistence of such incidents at Hamline.
The email, signed by Dr. David Everett, Associate Vice President of Inclusive Excellence at Hamline, did not identify the nature or date of the incident.
The Oracle has since learned that the event in question occurred on Oct. 6, when a professor shared two depictions of the Prophet Muhammad in class, while discussing Islamic art. One was a 14th century depiction of the Prophet and the other was a 16th century depiction of the Prophet with veil and halo.
Within Islam, there are varying beliefs regarding whether the representation of the Prophet Muhammad is acceptable. The majority of those practicing Islam today believe it is forbidden to see and create representations of Prophet Muhammad.
Aram Wedatalla, a Hamline senior and the president of Muslim Student Association (MSA), was in the class at the time the photos were shared.
“I’m like, ‘this can’t be real,’” Wedatalla told the Oracle. “As a Muslim, and a Black person, I don’t feel like I belong, and I don’t think I’ll ever belong in a community where they don’t value me as a member, and they don’t show the same respect that I show them.”
Deangela Huddleston, a Hamline senior and MSA member, also shared her thoughts with the Oracle.
“Hamline teaches us it doesn’t matter the intent, the impact is what matters,” Huddleston said.
After class, Wedatalla spoke to the professor but did not feel that the conversation was productive.
Wedatalla emailed MSA’s leadership team and members of the Hamline administration on Oct. 7, the day after the incident. On this same day, she met with President Fayneese Miller. Dean of Students Patti Kersten also called Wedatalla and apologized for her experience.
The event and initial response
The professor of the class emailed Wedatalla that Saturday, Oct. 8.
“I would like to apologize that the image I showed in class on [Oct. 6] made you uncomfortable and caused you emotional agitation. It is never my intention to upset or disrespect students in my classroom,” the professor wrote in the email to Wedatalla, who shared it with the Oracle.
The professor shared the depictions over a Powerpoint through a Google Meet online class. The Oracle has acquired this recording through a student in the course who wishes to stay anonymous.
In the video of the class, the professor gives a content warning and describes the nature of the depictions to be shown and reflects on their controversial nature for more than two minutes before advancing to the slides in question.
The Oracle was able to identify these two images using video of the lecture. The first was a 14th century depiction of the Prophet receiving his first revelation from the archangel Gabriel, created by Rashīd al-Dīn, a Persian Muslim scholar and historian.
The other depicts the Prophet with a veil and halo. It was created by Mustafa ibn Vali in the 16th century as part of an illustration of the Siyer-i Nebi (the Life of the Prophet), an earlier, Ottomon Turkish epic work on the life of Muhammad.
“I am showing you this image for a reason. And that is that there is this common thinking that Islam completely forbids, outright, any figurative depictions or any depictions of holy personages. While many Islamic cultures do strongly frown on this practice, I would like to remind you there is no one, monothetic Islamic culture,” the professor said before changing to the slide that included these depictions.
In the Oct. 8 email to Wedatalla, the professor stated that they “[let] the class know ahead of time” what would be shown and to give students time to turn off their video.
“I did not try to surprise students with this image, and I did my best to provide students with an ‘out,’” the professor wrote in the email.
“I also described every subsequent slide I showed with language to indicate when I was no longer showing an image of the Prophet Muhammad. I am sorry that despite my attempt to prevent a negative reaction, you still viewed and were troubled by this image.”
MSA students and their advisor Nur Mood, Assistant Director of Social Justice Programs and Strategic Relations, met with members of the administration on Oct. 10 to discuss the incident and how to move forward.
“This [incident is] much deeper and it’s something that in a million years, I never expected that it would happen here at Hamline. I hope this is the last time I see something similar to this,” Mood said in a Dec. 2 interview with the Oracle. “There’s a lot of apologies all happening, but the harm’s done. I think we should have started more focused about the healing process.”
After initial response, Muslim students report patterns of administrative delays and silence
The Nov. 7 email from the Dean of Students also outlined a plan to address Islamophobia, with steps including an in-progress forum on Islamophobia and a reporting form. In the future, the responses to “bias and hate incidents” will come from the Office of Inclusive Excellence, Everett wrote.
Wedatalla and other MSA members had hoped that the email would include reference to past Islamophobic incidents on campus and include resources for students, which she mentioned to Everett and Kostihova in a Nov. 3 email.
Hamda Osman and Ubah Omar, both Hamline seniors and MSA members, told the Oracle that they were disappointed that the email didn’t include resources, as other recent incident response emails have.
MSA held a meeting on Nov. 10 to discuss the incident and the institutional response. The 33 attendees included Everett, Dean of Students Patti Kersten, Interim Provost Andy Rundquist, Chaplain Kelly Figueroa-Ray and Assistant Director of Social Justice Programs Nur Mood and students.
Multiple students at the meeting expressed frustration at repeated incidents of intolerance and hate speech in recent years, and asked about new forms of intervention.
Kersten noted that Hamline is in the process of rolling out a “diversity component” for new students beyond orientation. Mood suggested that all faculty could be required to take a training on Islamophobia.
Attendees also discussed the delayed email from the Dean of Students. Kersten clarified that the official determination of the recent incident was that it was an act of intolerance, it would not be classified as a hate crime, which the university is required to send emails about.
In an interview with the Oracle on Nov. 11, Everett stated that the email delay was impacted by a need to establish follow-up for faculty and steps moving forward, areas the administration had to fill in gaps as they collected input from the “collective MSA.”
“All of those things needed to take place and so that was more of a contributing factor to the timing of when the email went out, versus whether it was deemed a hate crime or not,” Everett said. “In lieu of this incident, it was decided it was best that this faculty member was no longer part of the Hamline community.”
As of Dec. 6, it is unclear what process the professor was afforded to respond to allegations.
Faculty received an email on Nov. 29 from the Office of Inclusive Excellence regarding this semester’s final Community Conversation which will focus on Islamophobia. This event will be led by Jaylani Hussein, the Executive Director of Minnesota’s chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations.
Mood recognizes that this is only another step in the process of making the campus more inclusive.
“I work with the leadership team, to make Hamline a place that Muslims – faculty, staff or students – are proud of and I want to be part of that. I’m very optimistic about this and hopefully we’ll get to that place,” Mood said.
A multifaceted discussion
The professor was unable to conduct a full interview with the Oracle at this time but gave a statement and shared academic resources about depictions of Islamic art.
“My perspective and actions have been lamentably mischaracterized, my opportunities for due process have been thwarted, and Dr. Everett’s all-employee email accusation that ‘undeniably… Islamophobic’ actions undertaken in my class on Oc. 6 have been misapplied,” they wrote.
During their Oct. 6 lecture, they outline how this restriction of showing depictions of holy beings in Abrahamic religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam is based in the Second Commandment, which in Abrahamic traditions has been understood by some as an injunction against idolatry and even representational religious imagery.
Other disciplines share these depictions for academic purposes, such as Hamline Professor of Religion Mark Berkson, whose teaching and research specializes in Asian religions, Islam and comparative religion. [A commentary from Berkson about this topic can be read here.]
”I think a situation like this with this amount of complexity calls for a thoughtful conversation before any conclusion is reached, where all sides have a chance to weigh in. And where administrators would seek the knowledge and counsel of people with expertise in this area before taking steps that would impact anybody,” Berkson said. “I think there were problems with the response, but I really believe in my heart, everyone was well-intentioned in this.”
Members of MSA, while initially expressing frustration and hesitation towards reporting future incidents to the administration, say they will continue to bring up the issues they see on campus.
Corrections: The print edition of this article included an infographic which misidentified the date of the Community Conversation; the Community Conversation will be held Dec. 8 at 3 p.m.
An earlier version mischaracterized an MSA student’s current opinion.
On Jan. 23, Hamline Oracle staff learned of inaccuracies in their reporting about how the depictions were shown in class. In its initial coverage of the incident, The Oracle describes that López Prater gave a content warning for more than two minutes prior to showing images of the Prophet Muhammad. The Oracle has issued this correction as the depictions were already visible on screen in thumbnails.
MP • Jan 18, 2023 at 10:52 am
My wife and I are Hamline alumni (87 and 88). I am embarrassed to be associated with Hamline. All of the Hamline leadership team involved with this should be fired immediately! They have stained Hamline nationally and internationally. Now the fired professor is going to sue Hamline, and likely win. I question the wisdom of paying the Hamline President 500K+ a year for this failed leadership. Shame on you Hamline. Now we have to redo our estate plan.
Cam • Jan 13, 2023 at 5:11 pm
As an alum, I just want to know how somebody can sit through MULTIPLE warnings that the image is coming up and still get upset by it. This is just anger for the sake of anger. My disappointment in the administration for bending over backward in a heartbeat is immense. My degree is a joke now. The professor did nothing wrong.
Mara Robins • Jan 12, 2023 at 6:28 pm
As a current student, what does the future of Hamline hold for the students and staff? The amount of decisions I now have to reconsider is saddening… I guess I should’ve listened to grandma about the U of M
Stacey • Jan 12, 2023 at 11:27 pm
As a former student, here’s what I’d suggest – follow this line of thinking to its logical conclusion. There’s almost nothing you can say that isn’t offensive to someone. There were people who lost their minds over red Starbucks holiday coffee cups. Make complaints. Inundate the administration with the most nitpicky, asinine complaints you can think of. Force them to make a choice – either these issues require thoughtful debate; or, fire the offending instructors; or, admit you bungled this whole situation from the get-go and are too proud to walk back now.
Two Hamlines. • Jan 12, 2023 at 12:34 pm
I worked too hard for too many years at Hamline to earn my two degrees. Now this? How am I supposed to explain to future employers that Hamline was different back then, not so long ago, in the early aughts? As an undergrad, my entire experience was rooted in learning how to tangle with uncomfortable ideas, to think critically about diverse and challenging viewpoints. My classmates and I loved it whenever our professors shocked our young minds to the core with jarring ideas (they didn’t even need to warn us). Isn’t that the whole point of a liberal arts education? I’m finally at a place in my life financially where I could give back to Hamline, but no way I’m throwing away that money–not until this issue is addressed. As a once proud Piper. I hang my head in shame until those who are responsible for this travesty resign.
Nothing New • Jan 13, 2023 at 10:36 am
As a graduate of the early aughts absolutely nothing has changed. Hamline administration was just as cowardly and simple minded then as they are now. With 4 years as a student and 7 years as staff at Hamline, I witnessed repeated bungling of sensitive issues over and over again. Hamline administration rules from a place of fear. They fear their students and fear their donors, and they will trample any faculty and staff that gets in the way of that fear. This isn’t the first time, this is just the most newsworthy. There are a lot of great things about Hamline, like that they heavily serve first generation college students, have excellent faculty and a diverse student body. But the administration has always been a heavy liability.
Diana Chavez • Jan 11, 2023 at 12:32 pm
Sadly, we live in a world where marginalized groups are tired of being treated as outsiders, tired of being discriminated against. Apologies aren’t enough, and blood must be drawn. Nowadays, especially on college campuses, feelings rule supreme and words sometimes lose their meaning. This is how a professor who is respectfully teaching the importance and value of Islamic art is fired, then tarnished as Islamophobic.
Diana Chavez • Jan 11, 2023 at 12:30 pm
Barring a professor of art history from showing this painting, lest it harm observant Muslims in class, is just as absurd as asking a biology professor not to teach evolution because it may offend evangelical Protestants in the course.
Dr P David MacGuire • Jan 11, 2023 at 10:49 pm
This whole mess created a disturbing precedent, where indeed Evangelicals and other conservative Christians and those of any other faith may now legitimately contest the inclusion of anything they might feel uncomfortable about. This seems to have been committed because of fear more than any respect, and taking counsel from your fears of Muslims is definitely Islamophobic.
Katherine • Jan 10, 2023 at 10:15 pm
I am a Presidential Scholar class of ’91 who graduated Phi Beta Kappa with Honors in International Studies and I am very proud to be a Hamline Piper. Given the current situation, I call for the IMMEDIATE RESIGNATION of President Miller, her entire Staff and Advisory Board, and the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts.
Hamline, you are better than this!
I am also willing to help as needed to work with other alumni to assist in interviewing future candidates for all of these positions.
HoneyDo • Jan 10, 2023 at 8:48 am
The fact that religious sensitivities are given any attention at all at a university, a place of science, is bull. Before showing the picture, the instructor had given students who might feel violated the opportunity to leave the room. Everyone stayed. This made it easier for them to feel uncomfortable and complain afterwards.
Their religious feelings hurts the freedom.of art, culture and science. The only ones who should be kicked out of the university for this incident are the complainers, who are obviously unsuitable personalities and unreasonable to fellow students.
The consequence of the management is also simply absurd.
Anon • Jan 9, 2023 at 11:04 pm
Many commenters here have illustrated the issue with the administration’s decision with such clarity and insight that I feel no need to do so myself, but I would like to comment to show my support for the professor.
BT • Jan 9, 2023 at 10:54 pm
The episode is appalling, but in reading these comments, another thing disturbs me: many commentators are blaming the student who made the initial complaint. Students are allowed to complain, to become confused by new information or ideas, to get things wrong. That’s part of the educational process. The villain in this story is not the student, nor is it the instructor, who comes off as an exemplary art history teacher if the reported details are accurate. The villains are the dean, the Inclusion VP and the college president. They evidently fail to comprehend fundamental tenets of a liberal arts education, they do noyt support their faculty at all, they have severely damaged the reputation of the school and they have publicly slurred a faculty member to boot, possibly exposing the school to lawsuits and de-accreditation. If the board of trustees wants to salvage the university, they should consider immediately removing those three from the school, and fund a community effort to enshrine and teach academic freedom and critical inquiry as core values of the institution.
Alum '15 • Jan 10, 2023 at 8:06 am
As an alum, I think this is an important comment. There are a few issues. The president has said that academic freedom is not a priority, and in doing so espoused a principle (to not offend a religious group in class) that is simply not sustainable. Even worse, it appears she really believes this. That means she doesn’t believe in one of the basic tenants of higher education. Second, the vice president handled the situation so poorly and it appears he too believes that not causing “harm” should “supersede academic freedom.” That is offensive to higher education and to Hamline. Third, the Oracle took down Professor Berkson’s letter (which is offensive to both journalism and the Oracle’s proud history). This suggests it is a wider campus culture.
The faculty should be stepping forward and voting no confidence in the leadership. If they don’t the board of trustees should.
Kim Hirsch class of '92 • Jan 9, 2023 at 8:56 pm
I don’t know what I can add of substance that hasn’t already been said – there are some really thoughtful commenters that spelled the situation out quite clearly. I feel the need to say, though, that I feel ashamed to be an alum of Hamline this week. I hope that the adjunct goes to an institution that wants its students to learn to seek and question. Clearly, Hamline is no longer such a place. Good luck attracting the kind of faculty that could help to restore what’s been lost.
Anon • Jan 9, 2023 at 5:42 pm
I think the underlying story here goes beyond religious vs. academic freedom. It is the undervaluing of adjunct professors and their increased use in higher education to cut costs (not just at Hamline) particularly in the less profitable subjects (such as, art history where the graduates aren’t going into higher paying jobs and thus providing more alumni dollars). Hamline didn’t ask this professor back because they treat adjuncts as disposable rather than valuable, contributing members of the community. When I was at Hamline, adjuncts were organizing to get basic worker’s rights. It is a shame this is happening at Hamline where the professors I encountered were probably on the higher percentile of being sensitive to these matters and both their impact and intent. (I took Mark Berkson’s evening Islam class). The party at fault here is the administration. I would put less blame on the student because most college students really are still very young and new to the world. Youthful outrage is important, some of the greatest accomplishments of our society have come from young people speaking up. It just seems to be misapplied here. I also think it could be hard to speak up before or during the class even if she did read the syllabus and was paying attention to the disclaimer at the start of the lecture because it’s hard to stick your neck out in a group setting especially if you are in the minority and the power dynamic is imbalanced. Overall, I think the conversation should be about how college administrations are facing financial trouble at institutions that don’t have big endowments or massive state funding and the poor decision making that has resulted from these pressures. We need small universities in order to have a diverse ecosystem of higher education. Otherwise the options are going to be essentially Amazon University. *Submitting anonymously because sharing your opinion on the internet is a hellscape.
John Doe • Jan 9, 2023 at 4:22 pm
What a sad episode for Hamline.
As a brown skinned immigrant I was inclined to be sympathetic to challenges Ms Medatalla faced on campus. But she picked the wrong fight, for the wrong reasons, and in the process victimized an innocent professor. This wasn’t even a deliberate provocation like the Hebdo cartoons (which we still tolerate within the norms of our diverse, liberal society). Her over the top reaction only created a widely publicized debacle that hurt public perception of tolerance within Islam. And this episode will follow her in her career.
As for the campus “leadership”. What do we make of their spineless capitulation? Or their so called “principles” which are devoid of any of the moral clarity or justice they seem to imagine championing. They will look back on this in shame.
Milton • Jan 9, 2023 at 3:22 pm
And to the students at Hamline: I am sorry that your leadership has made your college the laughingstock of the nation. You deserve better.
Sarkin Yaki • Jan 11, 2023 at 8:35 am
Okay.
Joy Wentworth Thompson '92 • Jan 9, 2023 at 12:39 pm
At this moment I am embarrassed to be a graduate of Hamline and I am ashamed of my university.
I have to assume that the student who originally complained about seeing the artwork deliberately did not look away, after being given plenty of opportunity to do so, only so that she could complain about it later. The professor here has done nothing wrong. Some portions of a religion have rules for their adherents; those rules do not apply to others and that is in no way due to a lack of respect or otherwise. The president and dean of Hamline apparently do not understand this (or do not want to appear to), and do not expect the students to understand it. This is unacceptable.
I had hoped my child would at least consider Hamline for her upcoming college education. No longer.
Joseph Palm • Jan 9, 2023 at 10:50 am
Given the extensive cautions by Dr. Prater before showing the image, the caveat in her syllabus and the fact the mortally offended student didn’t express any objections until after the image was shown it seems that Ms. Wedatalla was lying in wait to be offended. A university is a place to freely explore the realm of ideas. It’s amazing Hamline didn’t even try to defend one of its staff for sensitively doing the work she was supposed to as an academic.
Axwell Sonster • Jan 9, 2023 at 10:19 am
Former student here (not using my real name). I and others I’ve spoken with in the alumni circle are absolutely baffled by this reaction. The professor should have never been fired. The administration is so petrified of losing their already shrinking diversity base that they immediately took action without any care about how bad it would make them look, ironically making them look worse.
More than that, I am *extremely* disappointed that, as someone who also was part of the Oracle that they would completely and utterly bend the knee to President Miller’s clearly unjustified and out of line reaction to this whole ordeal. She should be the one being questioned and potentially fired, not the professor who gave more than enough warning. What kind of journalists back away from the truth? Who lose their backbone out of “fear of hurting someone ” when this whole situation has absolutely hurt the reputation and actual livelihood of a professor simply doing their job and expanding academic ideas. It’s an absolute tragedy.
Bryn Harding • Jan 9, 2023 at 11:32 pm
Exactly. The Oracle was serious about journalistic and editorial integrity while I was there. It was an anmazing community I got to be a part of for the four years I contributed. Despite not having a journalism program, Hamline consistently turns out great journalists—all thanks to the English dept and lessons learned working at the Oracle. People I worked with are at the NYT and NPR now.
I was deeply saddened to see the national story, but reading about the decisions made by the current staff of this paper to remove a published opinion were the most disheartening aspect of all.
The Oracle has always been student-run, faculty-advised. The freedom to make big mistake is what made working there so special-and why we took what we did so seriously.
I hope these young reporters and editors learn from this and do better in the future. If not, if removing informed op-ed’s under pressure from weaponized “hurt,” is the future of public discourse, we are in peril.
M • Jan 9, 2023 at 10:08 am
The absolute state of this. Imagine thinking your version of Islam is better than the one from Muslims from centuries ago. That you’re more pious that the artists and philosopher that spent hours researching and painstakingly depicting the life story of their most holy figure, The Prophet, with all the best materials the age in which these two paintings were made could provide. That you know better than the scholars that have looked upon this figure and saw a representation of the story of the origin of their religion and considered it a treasure. That’s what this student thought, as if they were the first devout Muslim to ever see that image. I would definitely be embarrassed if I were this person.
AtheosThinker • Jan 9, 2023 at 8:50 am
Education has been under attack in egregious ways for the past 10 or so years as Hamline University “offended” student(s) and weak-kneed “leaders” have exhibited here. The various comments, especially from other legitimate educators are the answer. Hamline University educators and others like them need to stand up and speak up, informally and formally, to redirect education back to a true learning environment where knowledge is the gem not the poison.
Fred • Jan 9, 2023 at 12:28 am
Assuming the reporting here and in the NYT today is accurate, I am embarrassed to be an alum of Hamline – a fact I will be reluctant to share going forward. Hopefully Dr López Prater is off to a deserving institution where she can freely engage in the intellectual pursuit of her field of expertise. Perhaps the Hamline admin officials responsible for this total lack of judgement should consider moving on as well.
Steve Wilson • Jan 8, 2023 at 11:07 pm
There are 2 points I want to bring from a diff perspective.
1. First one is weaponization of Islamophobia. Any phobia of any religion need to be addressed in society but Islamists started objecting to any criticism of Islam and started branding any rational critique of Islam or its practices as Islamophobia. This became a art form and more and more mulsims try to use this as a weapon to silence others and become extremely sensitive about thier religion. some US congres reps also joined the band wagon and trying to bring legislation. CAIR and other islamis orgs use Islamophibia weapon to demonize countries like Israel or India and US liberal believe them. Now that the game is played in US universities, you see first hand how this is done by Iskamists. Just read the commend from CAIR direct to understand the temerity of that fellow to compare proffessors action to supportin hitler
2. Point 2 is student activism which used to be a genuine fight again societal injustices, now is used to gain gainful employment in Social justice organizations, admiited to top colleges who get hoodwinked by the woke warriors or join politics.
Dr Faiyaz Khan • Jan 8, 2023 at 9:30 pm
Ms. Wedatalla is not the victim in this situation. The precautions were all there. Her, her fellow students, and the institutions behavior is frankly disgusting. Maybe I was fortunate that my research (Organic Chemistry) never intersected with my Islamic faith, but the erosion of academic freedom must be opposed vehemently nonetheless.
It’s already difficult to keep the faith, and your actions do not help. You’ve brought shame to Sunni’s around the globe. Hamline: If you do not reinstate Dr Prater, forget about chasing tuition money, your institution will be perceived as fraudulent and become a red mark on the resumes of all your graduates and faculty for eternity.
Dylan Carate • Jan 8, 2023 at 9:14 pm
What does around comes around. If the story is accurate the instructor went above and beyond what she really had to do in an institution of higher education that values learning. My guess is that this student was not paying attention and didn’t bother to read the syllabus (two strikes against her) and then all of a sudden wants to make a mess of the class and the life of this instructor. All insightful intellectual arguments aside, and they are spot on by the way, this incident will be like kryptonite to this student going forward. She’ll get some protagonism now but that will fade to reality and most cautious industries (she is a business major by the way; go figure) will steer clear of wanting to hire her. Kharma is still alive. And shame on Hamline. I can’t imagine this is going to help your enrollments.
Richard Mahony • Jan 8, 2023 at 6:22 pm
Islam is no more a monolith than is Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, or any other of the organised religions. If the complaining student is from Sudan, then it’s likely she belongs to Sunni Islam following the Maliki School of jurisprudence, influenced by one of the two main Sudanese Sufi traditions. The first depiction of Mohammed of Mecca and Medina comes from 14th century Persia, which follows Shiite Islam. Many Sunnis regard Shiites as heretics. So what the student is objecting to is the Islamic faith of others, which she regards as antipathetic to her own.
James • Jan 8, 2023 at 5:10 pm
Perhaps Hamline needs to decide if it wants to be an institution of higher learning, committed to academic freedom and the pursuit of knowledge…
…or a madrasah.
Goran Ubip • Jan 8, 2023 at 9:22 pm
Dear Hamline students,
Hamline is likely to lose the accreditation. Without accreditation, your degree will be worthless. I feel so sorry for you, as by and large this mess is not your fault.
You have to do what you have to do to save the time and money you invested in your education so far. I will not tell you what to do just be aware that transfering out is still s option, and many universities will still accept you with open arms. That will not be the case once Hamline loses its accreditation.
Sincerely,
Jean
David G Gaydos • Jan 8, 2023 at 3:06 pm
Apparently the complaining student Aram Wedatallam failed to read her class syllabus. Typical. By signing the syllabus she agreed to that which offended her. Reinstate Dr. López Prater!
Erin Jennifer • Jan 12, 2023 at 8:39 pm
I don’t have anything to say that hasn’t already been said, but I am calling on Hamline to make this right. I earned my masters degree from Hamline in 2017. I’m appalled at the knee jerk reaction of the administration. I’ve always been very proud of my degree and my university, but this incident makes so many of us alumni ashamed and embarrassed to to be associated with Hamline. I feel for the professor.
David • Jan 8, 2023 at 2:37 pm
“In the video of the class, the professor gives a content warning and describes the nature of the depictions to be shown and reflects on their controversial nature for more than two minutes before advancing to the slides in question.”
The student who alleges to be offended, had an objective warning and signal to look away if they thought it could be offensive to them. Lots and lots of sign-posts they ignored. The only one to blame for being offended here is the students themselves.
How can a University staff member or individual students declare themselves the sole arbiters of what is and is not religiously offensive?
The teacher who was fired has grounds to sue the students and the president for libel and defamation.
Lmoc • Jan 8, 2023 at 2:27 pm
Shame on the university for not standing by a basic tenet of US academic freedom.
Shame on the student who signed up to a US university and is not willing to accept this tenet.
It is also sad that if the university stood by the professor they probably would still be in news due to a protest arranged via social media that would have attracted a national crowd.
Nina • Jan 8, 2023 at 2:10 pm
I’m sure you’re just as concerned about impact rather than intent when it comes to your practicing Christian students, or your practicing Jewish students, right…right…?
The hypocrisy here is appalling. Absolutely appalling. That a university is imposing an Islamic blasphemy code on all its professors and students because one silly, sad attention seeking student whined and had a tantrum.
Good to know, however, that Hamline University students aren’t people we want to hire. What you’re teaching, what you’re producing, is not something we want in our organizations and institutions.
Beth Mow • Jan 8, 2023 at 1:18 pm
If the student HAD been paying attention then she would have heard and seen the teachers warnings. I am completely gobsmacked with the schools reaction.
Edmund Tyler • Jan 8, 2023 at 11:56 am
Sounds like the professor did everything right and respectfully and was executed without fair trial. Take responsibility of yourself and simply don’t look at the computer screen. Nobody forced you to look at it. A quote from Edward Ahmed Mitchell, “If you drink a beer in front of me, you’re doing something un-Islamic, but it’s not Islamophobic. if you drink a beer in front of me because you’re deliberately trying to offend me, well then maybe that has an intent factor”. The intent was clearly educational and not meant to be harmful. It’s a wonderful thing that the student felt that she could stand up for herself and had the resources to take action, but this was not the right time to use that power.
Charles Clayton • Jan 8, 2023 at 11:26 am
Will the Hamline Administration now be firing professors who:
1) Teach evolution (fundamentalist Christians find this offensive)
2) Teach about religious celebrations like Xmas or Easter (Jehovah’s Witnesses find this offensive)
3) Teach about the nutrition content of meat (Seventh Day Adventists find this offensive)
4) Teach about the engineering of dams or highways (Neo-Pagans find the destruction of the natural world to be offensive)
The list goes on.
Discrimination or Islamophobia are horrible things…but showing an ancient artistic image IN AN ART CLASS after numerous trigger warnings is neither discriminatory nor anti-Muslim. I cannot believe the firing of the professor was even considered, let alone completed.
The offended student is going to have a difficult time in life if she cannot accept the fact that we are a pluralistic society that does not, or should not, put any religion or belief system on a pedestal. She can worship as she pleases at home or in a place of worship, just like the rest of us.
Rudy • Jan 8, 2023 at 10:14 am
The administration’s response in this is really concerning. The professor seems to have given students advance notice in the course syllabus and plenty of time prior to showing the actual image. I really hope many tenured faculty are speaking up on this. It underlines our university system’s over reliance on and abuse of adjunct faculty. What message does this give to future prospective faculty: that the university doesn’t value academic freedom.
Sebastian Davis • Jan 8, 2023 at 10:10 am
It’s sad when villagers get to impose their views to such an extent that history and facts are ignored. I suspect that the complainant went looking for a cause to light a torch for. All she and her supporters have done is reveal their true natures as in the story of the scorpion and the frog.
Vivek • Jan 8, 2023 at 9:14 am
The fact that Hamline University’s management chose a knee-jerk reaction to placate Wahabbi-influenced fundamentalists rather than take the opportunity to educate on the actual diverse and pluralistic history of the Islamic world is, unfortunately, the real act of Islamophobia.
Ben Lowsen • Jan 6, 2023 at 6:03 pm
Assuming this reporting is substantially complete and correct, the student complainant is way out of line and the administrator who decided to fire the adjunct should themself be fired instead. Same for whoever pulled the responding Oracle piece.
Theodore Sternberg • Jan 6, 2023 at 12:11 am
Nice. You fire a serious teacher of art history, and continue employing illiterate diversity enforcers like the guy who wrote this…
“In lieu of this incident, it was decided it was best that this faculty member was no longer part of the Hamline community.”
….
Elyse Semerdjian, PhD • Jan 5, 2023 at 9:42 pm
I am a professor who has been teaching Islamic history for 22 years. In those years I have actively taught against Islamophobia and hatred of Muslims. Showing a 14th century representation of the Prophet Muhammad in an art history course, an image that represents the moment of prophecy on Mount Hira is the direct opposite of Islamophobia. It represents the Angel Gabriel reciting Qur’an 96:1 “Recite in the name of your Lord,” the first prophetic revelation. We aren’t talking about offensive representations of the Prophet in Charlie Hebdo or Jyllands-Posten here. The manuscript was created by Muslims for Muslims and in a Muslim Empire. One could imagine that 14th century Muslim painter being fired if he worked at Hamline today because oddly a Minnesota university has embraced a more Muslim fundamentalist stance than the Persian Mongols. It might sound funny to imply the Mongols were more tolerant of freedom of expression than Hamline, yet history has now proven that to be the case.
I have taught this image in my own classroom and the unnamed professor at Hamline showed far more sensitivity than even I have by contextualizing the image by offering students the opportunity to not view the painting if they didn’t want to (which seemed overly generous to me), and he acknowledged the discomfort it could cause some in the classroom. To allow a group of Muslims to label this image Islamophobic and a symbol of hate and discrimination when it was a religiously inspired text (the jami’a al-tawarikh), is not only ahistorical, but irrational because it ignores the facts. The student in question was allowed to opt out of educating herself and apply her modern conservative and frankly uninformed sensibilities to a premodern text. Importantly, she spoke on behalf of Islam as if it belongs solely to her. No all Muslims share her views on this subject. And that was the entire point of the exercise for Muslims have always been diverse. Respectful images of the Prophet, like the one taught at Hamline, were historically acceptable and proliferate in the historical record. Clearly, at Hamline, ignorance and fundamentalism of both Muslim and DEI varieties reign.
AtheosThinker • Jan 9, 2023 at 8:41 am
You are another who brings pure legitimacy to this issue, thank you for speaking out. 100% agree. In a rudimentary view, Education is about learning things you don’t already know. The student is the smaller issue. The University leaders in power have caused the most damage and their continued stonewalling is backfiring on them.
Greg Molenaar • Jan 12, 2023 at 2:11 pm
I just saw a televised GBNews program about a midwestern university firing an Art History professor displaying a slide of an early historic artwork of The Prophet Mohammed (with cautions ahead for those who might be offended).
Coincidentally we received a brochure from Hamline in the mail today, suggesting my son should investigate Hamline for his college work.
As long as the current administration Keeps their unworthy positions, there is not a Fatwa Chauncey in Hades that we will send tuition or donations to Hamlin.
I was ashamed to see televised a photo of the “Old Main” building where I attended, where my older sister graduated, and where my father set up the first campus radio station (maybe 80 years ago)!
Seems the wrong class of people are now in charge at Hamline, and need to be let go. I would be proud to contribute to that ceremony with a bucket of feathers for at least four.
Please add my name to the 78 other signatures I have just read and invite me to drum roll as they are escorted away.
(How about replacing Hamline’s President with the art prof they dismissed without a hearing)?
Martin • Jan 5, 2023 at 12:03 am
Greetings from Europe, where we had the Charlie Hebdo thing a while ago. The news reached me via my RNS subscription, and I was shocked to learn how your administration decided to ‘respect’ the ‘feelings’ of the MSA’s ‘complainer-in-chief.’ From my perspective, this looks like nothing less than a Muslim neo-komsomol of a sort. Shame on the student community for not realising this, double shame on the university administration for their fully inadequate decision to throw out their colleague.
Mohamed Esa • Jan 3, 2023 at 1:02 pm
As a Muslim and a professor here in the USA, I am so disgusted by the administration’s decision to fire the professor. They have no clue what “Islamophobia” really is. I guess that they have had real Islamophobic incidents before that they didn’t address and now were looking for an escape goat and found this very caring and excellent professor to blame. The irony is that the two images were crated by Muslims in Islamic times and under Islamic rule. I guess the “radical students” in the MSA at Hamline have issued a Fatwa against the professor similar to the one that Iran issued against Salman Rushdi, not to kill the professor but to fire them. Instead of playing the offended “kids” they should have started a conversation about “Halal and Haram in Islam” and why the depiction of prophets (not only Muhammad) is frowned upon by some Muslims. The professor was aware of that and they offered an “out” to the students. Professors who teach film (I am one of them) do that all the time when we teach films with scenes of rape, bloody violence, or explicit sexual content, for instance. So what is next at Hamaline? Fire cinema professors for showing films that have scenes like those or films in which the N-word is used or when biologists teach about evolution, nutritionists about obesity, sociologist about sexuality, etc. Shame on these short-sighted administrators and these radical students.
AtheosThinker • Jan 4, 2023 at 3:42 pm
Thank you for speaking up. You offer some unique legitimacy. Especially important is your point of what is real Islamophobia, of which I admittedly know only a bit about (to “offended” students—-but I’m willing to learn!) A colleague of mine who emigrated to the USA has told me stories of real Islamophobia and it’s a far cry from choosing to view a couple photos. I truly think universities need to go back to being run by Educators, not by self-serving cowardly capitalists with graduate degrees.
Ben Pickles • Jan 1, 2023 at 9:07 am
Ho, ho! Wahhabism encroaches once again, does it, in its bid to colonise and monopolise the Islamic faith? The image in question was produced by a Muslim artist with the approval of his Muslim patron at the time and countless of his co-religonists since. That is historical fact and part of Muslim tradition, whether you like it or not. Wahhabists are no different to the Zionists in Israel who attempt to suppress all archaeological evidence that suggests that Palestine was ever a centre of any culture other than nationalist, monotheistic Judaism. Extremists like these are a kind of religious Gestapo or SS. The tragedy for Islam is that most Muslims seem either powerless or unwilling to stop this insinuation, which seems to be because.too few moderate Christians are willing to reach out to them to try to achieve a mutual understanding and respect between the two faiths. Therefore, they feel constantly threatened and embattled, and look to those who appear to offer a defence. (Consider the Nationalist population of Northern Ireland, who, despite being terrorised by the IRA, clove to them for protection against the British security forces.) The irony is that inclusivity for Muslims is very much required, but not on the narrow, intolerant terms demanded by the Wahhabi and their acolytes. That will only deepen the crisis.
Aaron • Jan 1, 2023 at 8:11 am
There needs to be more discussion about the role of President Miller in accusing – incorrectly – a faculty member of Islamophobia, overriding faculty without due process, and the troubling message sent by her statement. That is alarming. She is the academic leader.
Shocked Faculty • Dec 31, 2022 at 8:13 am
I am a tenured associate professor at the flagship campus of a major state university system. Quite frankly, I am impressed by the faculty’s care in providing an out to students who might be offended by the images shown as well as notifying the students that the potentially offensive images are no longer on screen. At this point, we must ask the question: why didn’t the students simply minimize their screens given ample warning?
Shame on Hamline for caving to the belligerent students. They chose to see the images and thus have no right to complain.
AtheosThinker • Jan 1, 2023 at 4:56 pm
Spot on. I come from an era you may appreciate, when students were purposefully challenged by educators…students learned how to have civil discourse, learn “NEW” information, and, perhaps at times even a good argument with a professor! EDUCATION. I think this trend on some college campuses the past 10+ years has been a detriment to EDUCATION, coupled with the shift from Educators running universities to corporate minded political leaders who too willingly, too often thrown Educators to the “student(s)” who seem bent on remaining Un-Educated to any view than their own.
T Nails • Dec 30, 2022 at 10:05 pm
“Hamline teaches us it doesn’t matter the intent, the impact is what matters,” Huddleston said.
When it comes to grievance, reconciliation and or punishment, intent is everything. It’s the difference between a lethal accident, manslaughter and murder; borrowing and theft; assaulted due to mistaken identity or lynched because of racism; misrepresenting your age or statutory rape; choosing to live inside a bubble or seek out truths.
Intent is the stuff of character or lack there of. Did the professor intend to harm or elucidate? If it were the former, why would he have given potentially offended students fair warning? If it’s the latter, is he justified to include an iconic work in the annals of Islamic Art? Did the complainant experience irreparable psychological harm or cannot fathom a day without finding grievance real or imagined and will make someone pay? Does the publicity fuel his ego and a lust for activist notoriety? Or does he really feel he’s protecting people from some kind of unspecifiable injury?
Intent is everything when it comes Wedatalla. Is he having flashes of PTD, unable to sleep, migraines, and bleeds from his eyes? Or did he stumble upon an easy untenured target? We must also examine the intent of Everett. Immediately branding Berkson’s actions as “undeniably Islamophobic..” is a broad accusation, so vague as to deny Berkson an opportunity to defend himself count by count? But in the playground of mob ruled hysteria, the broader the better. Is this why they denied Berkson any semblance of due process? In a proper investigation, allegations of Islamophobia require specific instances Islamophobic acts as well as showing intent to denigrate based on one’s religion.
How is showing a respectful depiction of Mohamid after giving students fair warning, in a world where the prohibition of his visual representation is not universally shared amongst all Muslims, in any way Islamophobic? Surely, there are more effective ways of expressing one’s fear and hate of Muslims.
So Ms. Huddleston, to parrot such an empty notion that intent doesn’t matter, only impact, makes me sad in that your humanity quite possibly has regressed by virtue of your instruction at Hamline. Have you pondered that to only measure impact is to succumb to materialism and sidestep moral scrutiny.
To ignore one’s intent is to ignore their soul. Read the Koran. Mohammid had much to say on this. And perhaps, you, along with Wedatalla, will understand that ruining a man’s career without considering their intent is way outside the edicts of Islam.
Ben Pickles • Jan 1, 2023 at 11:10 pm
‘To ignore one’s intent is to ignore their soul.’ Exactly. Is Islam a religion, or a narrow-minded, legalistic formula used to suppress or intimidate? Muslims need to take great care that their faith does not degenerate into a pseudo-moral dictatorship where the individual’s conscience no longer matters. Where does a personal relationship with God fit into that? Islam, by its nature, is a political system as it has a bearing on how an entire society is run, which is a reason it has difficulty coping inside other cultures. That does not mean, however, that it cannot be politicised.
AtheosThinker • Dec 30, 2022 at 10:01 am
Others her have made great, thoughtful comments.
The golden nugget should have been learning something new – perhaps the offended student(s) could have taken the opportunity in class to respectfully explain to others why the imagery, if used with malicious intent, could be used for negative reasons. The professor clearly had benign intent. I’m not really clear what the offended student(s) intent here is.
Pure shame on the corporate administrators for shackling education to save their own hides.
Ben Pickles • Jan 1, 2023 at 11:15 pm
To answer the question you raise, I would say that the ‘offended’ students’ intent here is purely political, and this shows the tremendous danger in which Islam is placing itself as a faith.
Paul • Dec 30, 2022 at 9:31 am
Does the Hamline community realize what a laughingstock they are? Muslim academics all over the world are embarrassed to be associated with the delicate flowers at Hamline who purport to speak for their faith.
Leo • Jan 3, 2023 at 9:04 am
The Hamline University administration has made itself the object of ridicule and contempt. It is unbelievable that people who have no notion of academic freedom, the First Amendment, and he Universal Declaration of Human Rights (not to speak of art history) can lead a university. This reflects very poorly on Hamline, its administration and its students.
Marvin Williams • Dec 30, 2022 at 9:28 am
As a St. Paul resident for decades, this event is not surprising. Any and all teachers who display competency will be removed. All teachers and administration who are fearful of being outside the group-think and demonstrate obedient support of the “current thing” will be safe. Parents must learn to say NO to their narsasistic children and NO to the grifters who have overtaken the schools.
Theo Van Gogh • Dec 30, 2022 at 9:16 am
Go to Wikipedia and search on “Depictions of Muhammad.” Excellent information. But hurry, before Muslim censors get to it.
Matt Thomas • Dec 29, 2022 at 8:20 pm
Looks like The Oracle moderators censor free speech just like the AVPIE does.
Nice
Will this be posted or denied like my other post?
Ryan • Dec 29, 2022 at 7:49 pm
Hamlin needs to disband the AVPIE and fire the administration that let this profrssor go. If you can’t preserve academic free thought, you are not a University
Mary • Dec 29, 2022 at 3:59 pm
We don’t live in an Islamic society. Our universities are supposed to be places where we expand our knowledge and challenge ourselves to see things in new perspectives. If these students can’t handle that they shouldn’t be attending a US university. Better to attend university in an Islamic country so they can be sure their beliefs will be reinforced and their feelings won’t be hurt.
Diego • Dec 30, 2022 at 5:49 pm
There’s a difference between challenging your beliefs and being mocking. If a Christian saw something mocking Jesus there would be more of a backlash
Loren • Jan 1, 2023 at 2:02 pm
The professor was not “mocking” Mohamed.
Adjunctprof • Jan 1, 2023 at 3:14 pm
Except there was not any mocking with respect to the professors presentation…
Ben Pickles • Jan 2, 2023 at 12:16 am
Where, in this case, has anything been mocked? The material the professor used was produced by Muslims for Muslims without, it seems, any negative reaction at the time. Are we then talking about Muslims in the past mocking those in the present? Beware the Wahhabists. They are at loggerheads not only with other societies and cultures around the world today, but with their own historical tradition. They are entirely destructive.
Susan • Jan 2, 2023 at 2:13 am
Were those depictions mocking? How? I thought they were just illustrations that sometimes The Prophet has been represented by Muslim artists.
Emma • Jan 20, 2023 at 11:08 am
Sure some christians would complain but would not be fired nor be censored. Monty Python’s film Life of Brian, offended some christians who spoke out & the film was one of thier top earners, still played to today. But that is what living in a diverse multi culture environment is, you have choices – see the movie or dont see the movie, choose to be offended or choose not to be offended, because being offended in in the mind of the offended.
Ben Pickles • Jan 2, 2023 at 1:29 am
Even if we were living in an Islamic society, it doesn’t necessarily follow that this kind of material would never be used at a university. Please don’t assume that Islamic culture is unfailingly repressive and intolerant. The very image that has caused this fake controversy is a reflection of a degree of artistic freedom in itself. There have existed Muslim states that have been, by the standards of the day, broad-minded and liberal, and which compare well historically to many Christian nations. Those who have kicked up this fuss want to deny that, and we should not play into their hands.
Tim • Jan 8, 2023 at 3:42 pm
You couldn’t be more wrong. If a Christian objected to someone questioning his or her faith, he or she would have been vilified and been accused of — would you believe — trying to suppress free speech. Same as most any other religion. But Islamists want insulation no other religion is given by inventing the word “Islamophobia” and trying to promote any criticism of Islam as racism. This is a dirty trick, because Islam is a religion, not a race or ethnic group. Conversely, in most Islamic countries, there is little or no tolerance of other religions or non-believers.
Former Religion Student • Dec 29, 2022 at 1:35 am
This is an embarrassing take from Hamline.
As a semi-recent graduate (and former TA) from Hamline’s Religion department, there’s personally no question in my mind regarding the level of competency and care that the faculty puts into every lesson they give to students. Any dispute against that minimizes the amazing work that they do to create some of the best and most enriching classes that Hamline has to offer its students.
To start, I’m really not sure what this student expected when signing up for a class about Islamic art. I have personal experience with this class, as I was one of the first students to take it when it was initially offered. From what I took out of the experience, it was a tremendous lens into the beauty and history of Islam, and the class really dug into the rich variety of thought and perspectives that have existed amongst Islam’s practitioners since its beginnings.
In that regard, no class taught in Hamline’s religion department should ever flirt with a theological lesson on “this is right/this is wrong.” The idea that it’s not going to go that way is clearly presented at the very beginning of almost all religion courses at Hamline. Instead of that approach, it’s always about digging deeper into “here’s why this group thinks this is right or wrong, here’s why this group thinks otherwise.” The courses are lessons on history and human belief. They are not vehicles for sharing or spreading beliefs.
Based on how this interaction seemed to have gone, it sounds like it was presented in textbook fashion to all other Hamline Religion classes. Unfortunately though, this student that raised an issue afterwards seemed to want a class that only celebrated and spread their form of Islam – damn the rest of it.
Why, when going into a class about Islamic Art, would you expect that every historical piece of art and architecture that you’re presented with is going to align with your vision of Islam? Furthermore, why would they have to? Because you’d feel uncomfortable otherwise?
Personally, from my experience being a Jewish student in Hamline’s Religion courses, I’m really no stranger to topics and discussions that are uncomfortable. I understand the value of that discomfort – when we separate ourselves from the things that make us uncomfortable, we will never see things outside of our own perspective. In doing so, we ultimately don’t learn anything. I’ll paraphrase the old adage – you really won’t learn anything without first being uncomfortable.
For example, my own personal beliefs dictate never hearing or speaking the sacred Hebrew name of God out loud. I personally find a lot of value and power where others may not find any in that name.
The thing is, it’s a name that’s uttered aloud and written out a lot in academic contexts, and I honestly have no right (despite any of my personal beliefs around it) to dictate whether a person says it or if others around me hear it or read it, just because it’s a name that makes me uncomfortable to hear.
Even more, if someone were to say it in a lecture to discuss or explain it in an academic context, I’m especially not hurt by that. If I ever feel so compelled, I’ll make it up to myself spiritually afterwards. There’s more value around the word in the context that it’s presented in than just how uncomfortable I am in that moment.
But, if someone were to come up to me and just start saying the name without any basis or context besides saying it to me because I’m a Jew, then that’s where I’d see a huge issue. At that point, there’s no context besides trying to insult.
I have dealt with both of those scenarios in my life. Because of that, I can say in full confidence that there’s no equating those two in the level of impact that they had on me. Discomfort from something presented in an academic context is not even remotely the same as discomfort from someone trying to purposefully be insulting.
I can relate to this student in never feeling like you truly belong to the same crowd as any of the other students in any classroom that you stepped foot in. Because of that shared experience, I think this particular situation about this piece of art should be the least of our collective worries when dealing with the intolerance and bigotry that actually DOES happen on Hamline’s campus.
My point here is really just to say that it’s horrible, disappointing, and shameful that Hamline decided to go ahead without any due process for this professor before giving them the boot. From everything that’s been said and studied around what happened in this situation, it was really all by-the-books, and this is ultimately a case of someone getting mad because they found an opportunity to get mad.
An exercise in patience, understanding, and tolerance for beliefs that aren’t exactly your own are things that the Qur’an teaches quite thoroughly, but in case this student wasn’t able to pick those notes up when studying their own holy book (that they seem to believe in so piously), thankfully Hamline’s Religion Department has always done a damn good job of teaching those lessons too.
It’s a shame that those lessons got lost on someone who refused to try and listen and who worked so hard to be upset and find a situation that they could exploit for some short-lived attention instead.
It’s also a shame that Hamline’s administrators are staying doing what they do best in times of “crisis” – emphasizing short term profits over long term benefits. We can now add this to the list of times the administration has failed their terrific Religion Department.
In case this student wants to brush up on some of the teachings of the Qur’an, I’ll end my notes with this passage from Surah Al-Ma’idah that sums up a good point about tolerance and justice (transl. by Muhammad Asad):
“O you who have attained to faith! Be ever steadfast in your devotion to God, bearing witness to the truth in all equity; and never let hatred of any-one lead you into the sin of deviating from justice. Be just: this is closest to being God-conscious. And remain conscious of God: verily, God is aware of all that you do.”
(Qur’an 5:8)
P.S., I find it fascinating how Hamline handles “justice” – that a teacher can do their job and get immediately fired for it due to one complaint about the content of their lesson, but our lacrosse team is able to hurl racial slurs at one of their teammates and they’ll still get a standing ovation from our president at a charity event the next day (not to mention that the prez was fully aware of that situation at the time).
None of us should have to remind the administration as to what an actual hate crime looks like at a private liberal arts college. They should be smart enough to know.
In case they need it spelled out for them though:
– Teaching about a spectrum of religious beliefs and learning about other practiced forms of religious beliefs is: not a hate crime.
– Trying to censor and remove any mention of those religious beliefs because they don’t align with yours is: a hate crime.
Gearey Halverson • Dec 30, 2022 at 12:50 am
Well said. (Hamline alum, philosophy, 1975)
Diego • Dec 30, 2022 at 5:53 pm
Being critical of one person doesn’t mean you have to reject everything or discredit peoples work. If I write something on why peanut butter blossom cookies are the best cookies and you write something that says hey I don’t agree with your article that doesn’t mean you hate me. Take the criticism and move on it’s not personal
Ben Pickles • Jan 2, 2023 at 1:56 am
I think this is an excellent comment. It pinpoints the crucial distinction between deliberate offence and objective academic analysis. It also clarifies the very serious problems this most unfortunate university will have given itself by taking the course of action it has.
Emma • Jan 20, 2023 at 11:35 am
The administration did a disservice to the student as well. How will this student of business ever function after she leaves Hamline? How will she survive in a diverse multicultural environment where the rights of others to freedom of expression, speech & religion trump her strict beliefs? Did they help to understand the very foundation & principals of the constitution her adopted nation was founded? The importance of tolerance of differing beliefs? She spend her life traumatized.
Roger • Dec 28, 2022 at 7:41 pm
The school is completely WRONG for caving in to these absurd assertions; firing the professor only proves education has been ruined by an unending supply of cowardly administrators.
Here I am forced to agree with an article in the Washington Examiner.
This was an Art class, the professor chose pertinent examples, and their inclusion was appropriate.
While I do not doubt the sincerity of this young person’s reaction, this is not a theocracy. Your reaction should be discussed in your community but my thought is, this is your problem to get over not society’s.
From the 2-3 articles I’ve read, nothing inappropriate was done, no disrespect was given. These works were considered best exemplars by the professor, a trained, accredited professional.
The University was wrong to fire this professor over this complaint.
This should have been a teachable moment; here we render unto Caesar, your personal beliefs and observances should be heard, and your objection taken under advisement.
The bottom line is this is a secular nation, the University was wrong to fire this professor over a religious complaint.
Eric Kelvin • Dec 28, 2022 at 1:25 am
Now, so I understand correctly from what I read. There was advance notice given to ALL students in advance that there may be some images that may be disturbing, etc, actually I will quote this article:
“the professor gives a content warning and describes the nature of the depictions to be shown and reflects on their controversial nature for MORE THAN TWO MINUTES before advancing to the slides in question”
(To the person who is reading, here is a fun Thought Experiment-
Turn off you tv, music, or whatever necessary to have focus. Don’t worry you can turn it/them back on in a few minutes.
Take your phone out.
Set the timer for 2 minutes
Sit still and do something, like, enjoy the silence, until alarm goes off.
Is it over like this professor’s career? Good.
Resume your distractions)
Yet Aram Wedatalla, a student who attended the ONLINE course didn’t get the 2-minute buzzer? A student who JUST HAPPENS to also be President of Muslim Student Association (MSA).
So, again let me make sure I understand correctly what I read.
A student who is president of the MSA in an UNNAMED (I’ll get to that in a moment) class didn’t get informed AT ALL that there may be a possibility that some images the class they may seem may be uncomfortable or objectionable? Never given notice or afforded any ability to avert gaze, turn off the class video stream and go audio only? Why didn’t this student do that, are they vision impaired? No. If they were vision impaired, they wouldn’t have seen the images to begin with and no issue. But this student isn’t blind.
So…. Skip the class altogether, with no penalty? Because that would be considered religious intolerance if the student skipped and been later punished by professor. Nope, seems Aram Wedatalla stayed thru the online class till the end and even talked to the former professor. Again I quote:
“After class, Wedatalla spoke to the professor but did not feel that the conversation was productive.”
How-so? How was it unproductive? What questions did Aram ask? What answers did Aram receive? Obviously, there is a record of this conversation somewhere. so where is it? The class WAS online and there are mechanisms in place for potential issues such as these accusations raise, to protect both student and teacher. And how do we know she felt it was unproductive? Did the Oracle get this “unproductive” statement directly? If so, where is your follow-up question.. LIKE THE ONE I JUST OFFERED YOU ABOVE???????
Moving on…
(more quoting of your piece)
–
“I’m like, ‘this can’t be real,’” Wedatalla told the Oracle. “As a Muslim, and a Black person, I don’t feel like I belong, and I don’t think I’ll ever belong in a community where they don’t value me as a member, and they don’t show the same respect that I show them.”
This can’t be real? Why? Again, does she deny being informed these images were to be shown? Was she in some situation personally (yes I am reiterating this point) where she was unable to turn it off and instead go play CandyCrush? Or tweet something? But then able come back and have an “unproductive” (a very subjective word, btw) online chat with the professor?
(quote)
–
“Deangela Huddleston, a Hamline senior and MSA member, also shared her thoughts with the Oracle.
“Hamline teaches us it doesn’t matter the intent, the impact is what matters,” Huddleston said”
No. Hamline doesn’t. I know this because I wanted to know what university that would teach a class that tells their students to never ever do anything in life as everything in life causes an impact. There may be a college out there in this world that has such a class or mission statement, but according to their own website Hamline isn’t it.
So, besides me hoping that she graduates after attending imaginary classes, what does that statement even mean? Is she on this planet? In this reality? That is the most absurd, yet most relevant(but for the reason she may think) blurb I have read this year. That’s saying A LOT.
By her logic:
-Should all Jewish people demand paintings in museums (I say museums for a reason) because Jesus for instance is not part of their religion or vice-versa? To have all Christmas themed music, commercials, advertisements not be played or aired during Channukah? As it again is not of their faith and also disruptive to their children’s ability to understand their holiday? Or again, vice-versa?
-Should a victim from a car accident, have all future cars outlawed because seeing one may cause anxiety?
-Parents of a plane crash victim sue to ground all future flight, or at the very least ban commercial advertising, so not to be reminded?
These last two examples I gave I can respect, even partially understand that someone would attempt. Because there is some REAL impact in them.
Not the intent, it’s the impact that matters.
Ok…
Where is and what is, the impact here?
Was someone raped?
No.
Attacked?
no
Killed?
No.
Ridiculed even?
No.
Perhaps biased against?
No.
Spitballs in class?
Where is the impact??
Or perhaps this last quote from your piece may answer that:
“The Nov. 7 email from the Dean of Students also outlined a plan to address Islamophobia, with steps including an in-progress forum on Islamophobia and a reporting form. In the future, the responses to “bias and hate incidents” will come from the Office of Inclusive Excellence, Everett wrote.
Wedatalla and other MSA members had hoped that the email would include reference to past Islamophobic incidents on campus and include resources for students, which she mentioned to Everett and Kostihova in a Nov. 3 email.”
Wow. Islamophobic. Bias. Hate. Hefty words. Used for hefty things.
And resources for what exactly? If Wedatalla is speaking of crisis resources, they are only generally offered when there has been a mass tragedy, whether it be campus or workplace shooting, transportation tragedy, serial killer on the prowl. That kind of thing. There has been no mass event concerning this online class. Actually, no event at all had Wedatalla and the professor had a meeting with the Dean, and both argued their side? Was that done? First? If not, why not? Do we no longer respect or understand what position’s responsibilities and duties are anymore? Or are these same people also Islamophobic as this professor? If so, why are they all not under some ridicule, suspension, firing?
Staying on the resources comment. Perhaps Wedatalla said that because the university doesn’t provide any, or any that is easily accessible. So, I went back to the university’s site and looked.
-For reference to whoever sees this, their mission statement and diversity/statement are on homepage top right under “about Hamline” tab(a lot of honorable material but nothing intentVimpact)
-if you want to doublecheck what they teach it’s top middle under “Academics” (again no class on intentVimpact)
So where is the resources? Well, where they should be, at least for those not attending the university, in the directory listing. Which can be found two different places on the homepage. And at the bottom of every page I viewed was a directory link.
I have to stress here, that Wedatalla may still have a legit claim about resources. As typically any college of worth has an internal (think student’s handbook) sites, etc. I can only make observation on what I see. And what I saw was easy to find.
It sounds like I am taking sides here, doesn’t it? Well, NO!!
That is the entire reason why I turned a comment into a novel.. was to be clear, very, very clear on my points. Now if this professor (probably former, if not soon-to-be) is guilty of showing pics of the Prophet during an online macrame’ class then yes, 1 and Done! Out the door they go! There is no way to explain that..it’s macrame’.
But I’m leaning on that tool the generation (whose kids are on that campus) still uses, critical thinking. And I’m sorry. No.
Arama Wedatalla is not saying everything. Or this paper didn’t print everything because of bias. Above I pointed out a few gaps. Honestly, I could have pointed out more opportunities missed here. But I want to give the paper a pass. Simply on the basis it was more informative and better written than the MSN “piece” that brought me here.(aren’t you lucky). So, I strike that one up to just missed opportunities and a commentor playing armchair quarterback on Kimia Kowsari’s piece. As far as the gaps and questioning not given.
An Art History professor teaches the history of art. This involves pieces hanging all around the world. So shocker! That involves using visuals. Not macrame’.
The Muslim faith has a wide range of interpretation about how the image of the Prophet issue should be addressed. And they range from looking the other way to killing the person creating(keyword) it. Should this Art History Professor (easy guess, could be totally wrong) be grateful for losing their job since they weren’t killed??
Should the student be punished for knowing there was a warning and failed to act? Instead sitting through it in order to THEN claim offense? (the Qur’an has thoughts about that as well)
Should any of this had even been an issue?
Because that chat with the professor.. it’s an mp3 or .wav file somewhere.
Someone needs to interview Aram Wedatalla again.
The overreaction this university has done on this, whether guilt nor innocent. Is shameful and embarrassing to each member involved. Lynch Mob and Scapegoat mentality is what Hamline reeks of right now. Find yourself again. Remember your own words on that homepage. Don’t make me quote them.
Is it safer to let go of the accused rather than do a thorough, truthful investigation? Is it out of fear of being accused of the same 3 hefty above? Should there even be teachers anymore? Or students for that matter? Where does it stop, the capitulation?
I do not, for 1 split-second for any expression of intolerance. There is so much real hate in this world we simply, like population, have barely any room for more. So if this is truly a example of those 3 hefty words. I will be the first to applaud Hamline for quashing it so fast. But to all involved, from student to Chancellor, be sure your ducks on this are in a row. You have my attention. And by the looks, you’ll have many other as well. That will ask better questions, have bigger platforms, and have even bigger wallets.
Can you afford that?
Ben Pickles • Jan 3, 2023 at 10:35 pm
“I’m like, ‘this can’t be real,’” Wedatalla told the Oracle. “As a Muslim, and a Black person, I don’t feel like I belong, and I don’t think I’ll ever belong in a community where they don’t value me as a member, and they don’t show the same respect that I show them.” Isn’t this what the whole business is really about? Never mind the picture.
Joachim C Martillo • Dec 27, 2022 at 8:27 am
This is a test comment, which is intended to determine whether I can post from my network.
gary fouse • Dec 26, 2022 at 11:39 am
So now that the professor has been fired despite making apologies, the Hamline community would do well to reflect on what freedom of expression means. The intent was not to offend anyone but rather to educate about Islamic art. The images of Mohammad were not insulting, just that Islam prohibits showing images of their prophet.
As far as the office of DEI is concerned, if they want to find examples of religious bigotry, the kind of bigotry that injures certain groups of people, they might do well do check out the Koran and its many references to Jews and Christians. Those verses are being acted upon around the world as we speak.
Jen • Dec 24, 2022 at 4:45 pm
If the teacher gave you a warning ahead of time, allowed you to opt out of seeing the painting, then how does this warrant termination of employment? What did the teacher do wrong? How is showing a painting made by a muslim artist, made for muslim artists, revering the prophet islamophobic? Addressing islamophobia on campus does not mean that we must adopt conservative islamic beliefs. Islam is a diverse and large religion with many different viewpoints not just one.
Lindsay • Dec 24, 2022 at 12:37 pm
Tolerance is wonderful! I hope that alcohol is also banned on campus, as Islam bans its consumption. Evolution should also not be taught; I know some Christians find that offensive. Archaeology and anthropology syllabuses also need to be altered to be sensitive to the various timelines of human civilization asserted in religious texts near and dear to students. Inclusivity above all!
Jonah • Dec 23, 2022 at 2:06 pm
What a disgusting example of entitlement and intolerance. These students should be ashamed of themselves – they had an opportunity to explore the complexity of Islamic history and culture, and they chose to destroy a professor’s career rather than challenge themselves. I don’t know how anyone could read this story and feel anything other than contempt for such spoiled little brats.
TJ • Jan 3, 2023 at 4:07 pm
I never considered myself to be Islamophobic, nor have I believed that there is deliberate and systematic campaign by Muslims to Islamicize western countries and cities. Maybe the students at Hamline’s MSA are begging me to reconsider? Attempting to destroy an art history professor’s reputation and career is no less vile than the Taliban destroying the Buddhas of Bamiyan. If the students had access to the original Rashid al-Din manuscript, would they seek to destroy it?
Religious extremism has no place at the university. Open-minded, highly educated persons, are not so easily offended. Spread your wings.