Free Speech Org FIRE: 1,000+ Supporters Slam Hamline U. for Firing Prof Who Showed Image of Muhammad in Class

More than 1,000 supporters of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) have sent letters to Hamline University protesting the school’s decision to fire an art professor who showed an image of Islam’s prophet Muhammad in class.

Over 1,000 FIRE supporters are calling out the university’s administration for deciding not to renew an instructor’s contract after he showed an image of Muhammed in class, the organization told Breitbart News.

FIRE has also criticized Hamline for hiding social media posts critical of the school. The organization added that on January 23 it will be sending a mobile billboard to the university’s campus with a message about art censorship.

Hamline University, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, has fallen under scrutiny after dismissing an art history instructor over “Islamophobia,” after a student complained about him showing a medieval depiction of Muhammad in class.

The university reacted to complaints from Muslim students, saying, “respect for the observant Muslim students in that classroom should have superseded academic freedom.”

FIRE responded to the decision, saying that the university has not only violated the instructor’s academic freedom, but has also created a “chilling effect” among faculty, who may now choose to “avoid discussion of difficult subjects” rather than risk nonrenewal if someone complains.

“Hamline has both violated the academic freedom of this instructor by nonrenewing them for their pedagogically relevant teaching and created an impermissible chilling effect among all faculty, who may choose to censor their teaching rather than face nonrenewal,” the organization said.

In a letter, FIRE also called on the university to “immediately reinstate the instructor and reaffirm its commitment to academic freedom.” The organization also requested a response no later than January 9.

After the school did not respond, the organization plans to move forward with bringing a billboard to campus.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.