San Francisco State University (SFSU) is facing widespread backlash for its investigation into Professor Maziar Behrooz, an Iranian Muslim himself, after a Muslim student complained about a picture of Prophet Muhammad shown in his Islamic history class in the Fall of 2022. The move has been criticized as an attack on academic freedom and a capitulation to political correctness.
RAIR Foundation Behrooz, a dedicated academic, now finds himself under the unjust scrutiny of a left-wing university, all because of a picture he showed in his classroom. It is appalling that despite having shown the same image for years without any issue, Behrooz is now being subjected to a targeted investigation solely for exercising his First Amendment right to academic freedom. This blatant disregard for his rights is an egregious example of the kind of intolerance and censorship that has been creeping into our educational institutions.
The controversy stems from the Muslim student’s complaint that the image of Prophet Muhammad was offensive, even though similar images are widely sold in Tehran and displayed in the homes of Shi’ite Muslims. The notion that Behrooz should be penalized for teaching this image’s historical and cultural context is absurd and represents an attack on free speech and academic freedom.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has rightly called for the case to be dropped and highlighted the importance of using “possibly sensitive materials” in teaching history. Penalizing somebody for doing so is a gross violation of the First Amendment and a betrayal of the principles of academic freedom.
This controversy follows a disturbing pattern of attacks on academic freedom. A similar incident at Hamline University resulted in a professor losing their job for showing images of Prophet Muhammad in an art history class. It is essential that SFSU stands up for academic freedom and drops this ill-conceived investigation. Anything less would betray the principles of free speech and intellectual inquiry that are at the heart of our democracy.
The left and Islam share a sinister goal – to force the world into submission to their ideology, using either brute force or coercive tactics. Leftist activists, politicians, and organizations are complicit in this jihad against free speech by using the term “Islamophobia” as a tool to silence any criticism of Islam. This is akin to the Islamic concept of blasphemy and is creeping into Western law.
This one is Mongol art that’s why they put Mongol features on Prophet Mo as Genghis Khan’s hordes had just then sacked Baghdad and massacred thousands of Muslims. For some reason, they made our Prophet resemble their Mongol leader.
The real Prophet Mo looked somewhat similar to the other link I shared. He was a desert Arab all right.
FACT: Throughout Islamic history, depictions of Muhammad in Islamic art were rare. Even so, there exists a “notable corpus of images of Muhammad produced, mostly in the form of manuscript illustrations, in various regions of the Islamic world from the thirteenth century through modern times
This one is believed to be most accurate.
https://collectionapi.metmuseum.org/api/collection/v1/iiif/841475/2064915/main-image
My family had a traditional scroll with a very similar portrait of Prophet Mo. It was 150 years old so people were drawing up the Prophet even in 19th century.
My uncle completely burned that scroll in a fit of Mulla craziness. He was a radical Islamist with a capital I. I was a child. Didn’t understand then why he had to destroy a family treasure.
Very interesting anecdote from your childhood. And yet despite the insanity of your uncle’s violent reaction you still cannot look past it to discern the underlying madness of its faux theology and anti-human enjoinders. May the Almighty yet bring you enlightenment.
Am I not enlightened enough? C’mon. 😋
There was no one quite like my uncle. But I’ve seen worse. If anyone wants to know what MEDIEVAL means, they should travel to my ancestral village in Skardu.