Fayneese Miller, president of Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, will retire at the end of the next school year. Earlier this year, Miller found himself embroiled in controversy after the school refused to renew the contract of an assistant teacher who showed students historical images of the Prophet Muhammadoffending a Muslim student.
“I hope that when you report on my retirement, you will also recognize that you have reported a false narrative,” Miller said at a press conference Monday announcing his impending departure, reported. Sahan Diary, a digital publication from Minnesota. “Hamline University believes in academic freedom. We believe in freedom of expression. We believe in all of these things, and Hamline University has never violated anyone’s academic freedom.
The school made headlines following an online lesson taught by Erika López Prater on October 6, 2022. The teacher warned students before introducing the footage during the lecture, so as not to offend anyone who thinks depictions of Muhammad are idolatrous. The 14th century artworks included in the lesson were all used as devotional objects by observant Muslims and were examples of a little-known facet of Islamic art history. Some even obscured Muhammad’s face with a veil.
But when Aram Wedatalla, president of the Hamline Muslim Student Association and student in the class, complained, López Prater lost his job.
The Prophet Muhammad in the Cave of Hira, page from a manuscript of Hamla-yi Haidari (circa 1725). Museum of Asian Art in San Francisco, gift of George Hopper Fitch.
The university sent a college-wide email describing the lesson as “undeniably inconsiderate, disrespectful and Islamophobic”, and the Oracle, the student newspaper, ran an editorial titled “Incidents of Hate and Discrimination.” Later, Miller co-wrote another email to the school community claiming that “respect for observant Muslim students in this class should have replaced academic freedom.”
The resulting firestorm was sparked by Christiane Gruber, an art historian specializing in depictions of Muhammad, who wrote an article in defense of López Prater for New Lines Magazine. Nearly 20,000 people have signed it Change.org petition demanding the professor’s reinstatement. The school has been criticized for what was seen as censorship and, as PEN America called it “one of the most flagrant violations of academic freedom in recent memory”.
Even a muslim group came out in support by López Prater, with the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) issuing a statement defending the lesson against accusations of Islamophobia and demanding that the professor be returned to her job.
Hamline’s board and Miller then issued a statement calling his use of the word “Islamophobic” a misstep and reaffirming his commitment to academic freedom. In his exit speech, Miller denied any wrongdoing.
Hamline University of Minnesota. Photo courtesy of Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota.
“No one was fired for showing an image, no academic freedom was violated,” Miller insisted on Monday. “I was eager to tell the story. But I know I’m going to get in trouble if I do.
After López Prater was ousted, the former professor filed a lawsuit against the university in January, alleging religious discrimination, breach of contract and defamation. His lawyers argued that by calling the lesson “Islamophobic”, Hamline harmed López Prater’s career prospects and his chances of obtaining a tenure-track position at another institution.
“During their conversation, Wedetalla did not imply that López Prater had surprised the students by showing the paintings. Instead, Wedetalla was furious that López Prater had shown the pictures to anyone. By his statements and his actions, Wedetalla wanted to impose his specific religious views on López Prater, non-Muslim students, and Muslim students who did not oppose images of the Prophet Muhammad – a privilege granted to no other religion or religious belief in Hamline,” the trial said.
The lawsuit was originally filed in federal court, before moving to state court in February and returning to federal court last month, according to the Minnesota News Station. SQUARE 11. (In the process, López Prater dropped his breach of contract claims.)
Miller, who became Hamline’s first black president in July 2015, described his retirement as “one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made” at the press conference. She added that being separated from her much older husband, who lives in Vermont, during the pandemic has put a strain on her marriage and her family.
“There’s more I could say, but know that I leave my heart when I leave Hamline University,” Miller added.
But it’s not clear that the decision to leave Hamline was entirely his.
Fayneese Miller is retiring as president of Hamline University of Minnesota following controversy surrounding a professor who lost her job after showing devotional images of the Prophet Muhammad in an art history class . Photo courtesy of Hamline University, St. Paul, Minnesota.
A reporter at yesterday’s press conference claimed that Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told him that Miller’s retirement was in fact a forced resignation. In a vote, the majority of the permanent faculty had called on the president to resign.
“Everyone knows me,” Miller replied. “I’m never forced to do anything I don’t want to do. And so I wouldn’t characterize my withdrawal as that. She noted that while the majority of voting faculty called for his resignation, there were also some 50 or 60 faculty members who either did not attend the meeting or abstained from voting, and accused the media of to have distorted the facts.
“You have all been terrible to me. I’ll just say that. You accused me of all kinds of things that I didn’t do,” Miller told reporters. “I got beat up in the media and so at some point, you know, you have to watch this and leave, is that good for the institution?”
Hamline will conduct a national search for Miller’s successor.
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