I'm delighted to pass along this item from free speech historian Jacob Mchangama, author of Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media, head of the Justitia think tank, and a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression:
Hamline University has received considerable backlash for not renewing the employment of a scholar who showed an allegedly "Islamophobic" image of the Prophet Muhammad during an art history class. The university did so, even though the adjunct professor gave ample warnings before and during the class that the image would be shown.
According to an email sent to faculty and students co-signed by the university's president, respect for Muslim students "should have superseded academic freedom."
This is dangerous, particularly for Muslims. By internalizing religious blasphemy norms Hamline has not only repudiated academic freedom, but also played into the hands of religious fundamentalists whose main victims are the very Muslims that Hamline says it wants to protect. The furor caused Hamline´s Board of Trustees to issue a statement on January 13th in which it promises to review its policies with a view to "Upholding academic freedom and fostering an inclusive, respectful learning environment for our students are both required to fulfill our Mission". That Hamline is reviewing its policies and seeking to learn from the debacle it has brought upon itself is a welcome step in the right direction.
The most important lesson to be learned is that academic freedom and tolerance are not conflicting values. In particular subjecting academic freedom to religious blasphemy norms, is a retrograde step betraying a disturbing lack of understanding of how such norms erode and threaten both tolerance and academic freedom.
According to The New York Times, Hamline's decision followed a complaint from a young black Muslim female student of Sudanese origin, who felt that the image targeted both her religion and race and made her feel like she didn't belong. It is understandable that an undergrad student from a minority background might feel insecure and vulnerable when foundational parts of her identity, normally taboo, are being discussed freely in class. But the antidote to feelings of insecurity and marginalization should not be the imposition of religious orthodoxy.
A closer look at how blasphemy norms operate in many Muslim-majority countries demonstrates that they're weaponized to protect oppressive religious and political authorities and disproportionately target heterodox Muslims, religious minorities, and freethinkers.
