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| Edited By: DNA Web Team |Source: DNA Web Desk |Updated: Jan 10, 2023, 11:55 AM IST
Muslim students and agencies were left outraged after a professor in the United States showed her classroom paintings of Prophet Muhammad during an art history class, where she was talking about Islamic art with her students.
The professor was teaching a history class at Hamline University in Minnesota in the United States, when she touched on the topic of Islamic art and displayed two paintings of Prophet Muhammad in her classroom, sparking a wave of outrage.
As per New York Times reports, the incident took place last year on October 6, when the female professor of Hamline University named Erika Lopez Prater displayed two paintings of the prophet – one dating back to the 14th century (created by Persian scholar Rashīd al-Dīn) while the other made in the 16th century (by Mustafa ibn Vali).
The adjunct professor told The New York Times that she was aware that a lot of Muslim students in her class might take offence to the paintings, which is why she had warned the class beforehand and even mentioned a disclaimer in her syllabus.
Due to the major outcry against Prater because of the Prophet Muhammad paintings, she was fired from Hamline University after students in her class lodged a complaint against her. It must be noted that according to the norms of Islam, any photo or painting of Prophet Muhammad is considered sacrilege.
In one of the Town Hall meetings conducting a review of the incident of Professor Erika, one Muslim speaker said that showing photos of Prophet Muhammad inside a classroom is “worse than praising Adolf Hitler.”
The adjunct professor issued an apology to Hamline University, and wrote, “I would like to apologize that the image I showed in class made you uncomfortable and caused you emotional agitation.”
Professor Erika Lopez further wrote, “It is never my intention to upset or disrespect students in my classroom. I (let) the class know ahead of time…I did not try to surprise students with this image, and I did my best to provide students with an out.”
