Hamline University professor who showed image of the Prophet Muhammad sues ex-employer

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A former professor at Hamline University sued her ex-employer, alleging religious discrimination and defamation, after her teaching contract was not renewed. Her termination had been the result of a class presentation during which she displayed an image of the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam.

Key Players 

Erika López Prater was an adjunct professor of art history at Hamline. 

Aram Wedatalla, an undergraduate student studying business at Hamline, serves as the president of the university’s Muslim Student Association (MSA). 

Fayneese Miller has been the president of Hamline since 2015. A social psychologist, she specializes in the psychological development of adolescents. 

Further Details

Many depictions of the Prophet exist throughout the world, including one etched in marble in the outside frieze of the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington. Nevertheless, images of the Prophet remain a highly contested issue and have even fueled violence. For instance, in 2015, terrorists attacked the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical weekly magazine, for publishing cartoons that mocked the Prophet, among other caricatures on its covers, killing 12 with gunfire, Reuters reported. 

On Oct. 6, 2022, during a virtual lecture, López Prater delivered a content warning before showing two artistic depictions of the Prophet Muhammed. 

According to The Oracle, the student newspaper at Hamline, the first image, created by Rashid al-Din in the 14th century, depicted the Prophet receiving his first revelation in the Compendium of Chronicles. The second image, a 16th century painting entitled The Life of the Prophet, created by Mustafa ibn Vali, shows the Prophet with a veil and halo. 

After the class at issue, a lecture recording was shared with The Oracle, though not published. The newspaper reported that during the presentation, just before the images were shown, López Prater stated, “I am showing you these things 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. … I would like to remind you there is no one, monothetic Islamic culture.” However, the university administration denied this account, telling The Chronicle of Higher Education that “the images were already on screen from the moment that the lecture began.”

Wedatalla, who had been in the class at the time, said that while watching the presentation, she thought, “this can’t be real. … 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.” 

After class, Wedatalla spoke to López Prater but said she did not feel the conversation was productive, The Oracle reported.

The next day, Wedatalla emailed MSA leadership and Hamline administrators. Patti Kersten, the dean of students, called Wedatalla to apologize for the incident, and the student also met with Miller. 

On Oct. 8, López Prater emailed Wedatalla. In this email, shared with The Oracle, López Prater stated, “I would like to apologize that the image I showed in class … made you uncomfortable and caused you emotional agitation. It is never my intention to upset or disrespect students in my classroom.” She added that, in order to avoid any sort of trouble, she had tried to describe “every subsequent slide [she] showed with language to indicate when [she] was no longer showing an image of the Prophet Muhammad.” 

Two days later, MSA students met with Hamline administrators to discuss the incident and how to move forward. 

On Nov. 7, Kersten sent an email to undergraduate students condemning an unnamed classroom incident as “undeniably inconsiderate, disrespectful, and Islamophobic,” outlining a plan to address any future incidents of Islamophobia, which included a reporting form and a university forum. MSA members expressed disappointment to The Oracle that the email did not include resources for students. 

On Nov. 11, David Everett, the associate vice president of inclusive excellence at Hamline, announced the university had “decided it was best that this faculty member was no longer part of the Hamline community,” The Oracle reported.  

Outcome 

López Prater’s dismissal results in Free Speech uproar, Miller defends decision

Free Speech supporters publicly opposed López Prater’s dismissal. 

On Dec. 9, as Miller began to come under pressure, she defended the decision, stating that “respect for the observant Muslim students in that classroom should have superseded academic freedom,” Inside Higher Ed reported.  

Opposition to the university’s action continued to grow. Numerous academics and civil rights groups began to voice their strong support for López Prater. On Dec. 23, PEN America called Hamline’s actions “one of the most egregious violations of academic freedom in recent memory.”

López Prater sues Hamline on the basis of religious discrimination and defamation

On Jan. 17, 2023, Minnesota law firm Fabian May & Anderson published a press release announcing a lawsuit filed in state court on behalf of López Prater, alleging that Hamline’s actions caused her “significant damage” in both the short and long term. 

In response, Miller and Ellen Watters, chair of the university’s board of trustees, stated that they had “determined that our usage of the term ‘Islamophobic’ was flawed” and that “higher education is about learning and growing. We have certainly learned and continue to grow as we generate new knowledge to share with all of our Hamline community.”

Hamline faculty votes to demand Miller’s resignation 

On Jan. 24, after returning to campus from winter break, Hamline’s faculty voted 71 to 12, with eight abstentions, for a statement calling on Miller to resign, The Nation reported. 

Faculty members told news outlets that Miller’s mishandling of the incident had divided the university, and that new leadership was needed. As of Jan. 27, 2023, there were no further developments.