In this KSTP ABC5 broadcast entitled “Muslim Leaders Speak On Hamline University Professor Who Showed Image Of The Prophet Muhammad,” we learn that the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is happy that art history professor Erika Lopez Prater is out of a job.
“Islamophobia takes in many forms… CAIR-MN Executive Director Jaylani Hussein said. “It’s important to remember that academic freedom is not absolute and universities have the right to restrict speech that promotes hate or discrimination.”
The Islamophobia to which he is referring is when Adjunct Professor Prater showed a picture of the prophet of Islam in her global art history course.
On October 6, Prater was teaching an online class about Islamic art that was part of a wider curriculum on world art. She chose a 14th-century depiction of the angel Gabriel delivering the Prophet’s first revelation.
Conscious that in some branches of Islam it is blasphemous to look at any image of the Prophet, Professor Prater gave students two minutes to look away from the screen or log out before she projected the image onto her presentation. – Daily Mail
In an unexpected plot twist, someone was offended.
Aram Wedatalla complained to the Hamline University administration on her way to teaming up with CAIR. You really must catch her act here at 1:10. At one point, it almost appears that Jaylani Hussein is about to step in and stop Wedatalla from chewing up the scenery.
The term “leader” in the headline of the KSTP’s report might translate to “friend of KSTP,” because the station’s own report challenges the idea that Jaylani Hussein is some kind of leader.
The Muslim Public Affairs Council issued a statement in support for the professor and urged the university to reverse its decision, saying in part “The painting was not Islamophobic…. In fact, it was commissioned by a fourteenth-century Muslim king in order to honor the Prophet… misusing the label ‘Islamophobia’ has the negative effect of watering down the term and rendering it less effective in calling out actual acts of bigotry.”
The Daily Mail sums it up:
Hamline University has been eviscerated for pandering to students’ whims and tossing out seasoned professionals…
Jaylani Hussein is kind of on his own here. But he has an answer:
I will say that there are some opinions in the Muslim majority world that may see this acceptable. And I don’t want to dismiss that in any way. But the majority of the Muslim umma and across the world do not accept this.
Thanks for not dismissing it.
As he is saying this, he turns away from the camera, and talks to the kids behind him, apparently endeavoring to give the impression that he is indeed a leader and he knows what he is doing.
It remains true that CAIR uses its media access to attack individuals or groups at a rate approaching three times a month. As of January 11, 2023, CAIR has attacked people three times this month, with this gratuitous swipe at Erika Lopez Prater being the latest.
