By Margaret Stafford
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The Associated Press
An art professor will sue her Minnesota university for firing her after including an image of the Prophet Muhammad in a world art course after a Muslim student complained, her lawyers said Tuesday.
Erika López Prater claims that Hamline University, a small private school in St. Paul, subjected her to religious discrimination, defamation, and damaged her professional and personal reputation.
The institution admitted to having taken a "false step" and advanced that it will hold public conversations about academic freedom.
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“Throughout his administration, Hamline referred to the actions of Dr. López Prater as 'undeniably Islamophobic,'″ her lawyers alleged in a statement.
"Comments like these, which have now made headlines around the world, will follow López Prater throughout her career, potentially resulting in her inability to obtain a position at any institution of higher learning." they added.
In Minnesota, a lawsuit can be started by serving a summons and a complaint on the accused party.
Lawyers for Lopez Prater said Hamline University was notified Tuesday and will soon be filed with the court.
Aram Wedatalla.Kerem Yücel / Minnesota Public Radio via AP
Hamline University President Fayneese Miller and Chair of the Board of Trustees Ellen Watters released a joint statement Tuesday saying that recent “communications, news and opinion pieces” have led the school to “ review and reexamine our actions.”
“Like all organizations, we sometimes make mistakes,” the text states, “in the interest of listening to and supporting our Muslim students, language was used that does not reflect our feelings about academic freedom.
Based on everything we have learned, we have determined that our use of the term
Islamophobic
was therefore misleading."
The statement does not refer to the lawsuit, but indicates that the university strongly supports academic freedom, which must coexist, he adds, with support for students.
The university plans to hold two public conversations in the coming months, one on academic freedom and student care and another on academic freedom and religion.
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López Prater showed a 14th-century painting of Muhammad during a class on Islamic art in October.
For many Muslims, visual depictions of Muhammad violate their faith in him, which López Prater knew.
According to the lawsuit, López Prater's course syllabus included a note stating that students would view images of religious figures, including Muhammad.
It also included an offer to work with those who would feel uncomfortable watching them.
He also warned the class before showing the depiction of Muhammad.
In interviews with the media last week, the teacher stated that her objective was to teach students the "rich diversity" of attitudes towards this type of image.
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López Prater said that she and the director of the department discussed the possibility of teaching a new course, but after the student's complaint, she was told that "her services were no longer necessary."
Hamline's president said the professor's contract was not renewed after the fall semester.
The lawsuit alleges that instead of acknowledging that López Prater displayed the images for an academic purpose, the university chose to impose the student's religious opinion on other students and employees.
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The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national Muslim civil rights group, on Friday disputed the belief that Lopez Prater's behavior was Islamophobic.
He said that professors who analyze images of Muhammad for academic purposes are not the same as "Islamophobes who display them to offend."
In a press conference organized last week by those who support the dismissal of López Prater, the student who filed the complaint stated that she had never seen a performance of Muhammad until the October class.
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“It breaks my heart to have to be here to tell people that something is Islamophobic and actually hurts all of us, not just me,” said Aram Wedatalla, president of the Hamline Muslim Student Association.
“Higher education is about learning and growing.
We have certainly learned and continue to grow as we generate new knowledge to share with the community,” she said.