We covered this story when it happened last year. This is an update.
The Star Tribune reports:
Hamline University reaches settlement with instructor who showed images of Prophet Muhammad in classHamline University reached a settlement this week with a former art history instructor whose contract wasn’t renewed after she showed centuries-old artworks in class that depicted the Prophet Muhammad.The details of the settlement between the St. Paul private school and former adjunct instructor Erika López Prater are under seal and are expected to remain so indefinitely, according to Rebeccah Parks, a spokesperson for the U.S. District Court in Minnesota.López Prater had sued the private school, which has a long history of connections to the United Methodist Church, for religious discrimination. Her case had placed the university at the center of an uncomfortable debate over academic freedom, Islamophobia and religious tolerance.López Prater was working as an adjunct professor at the university in the fall of 2022 when she showed students two centuries-old artworks depicting the Prophet Muhammad. One showed the prophet — including his face — as he received a revelation from the Angel Gabriel that would later form the basis of the Qur’an. The second showed a similar moment, but with the prophet’s face veiled and his image surrounded by a halo.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.López Prater has 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.” Wedatalla contacted university administrators to raise concerns.
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