Here's a good one. (I'd link to a different source but some censorship is ongoing. Also I may be lazy.)
University art history instructor tells his students multiple times he's going to show some famous historical Islamic art that features Muhammed and allows any student to not view this if they choose. Doesn't matter, someone complains and the
Vice President for Inclusive Excellence announces it was "undeniably Islamophobic" to show Islamic art created by Muslims:
Several weeks ago, Hamline administration was made aware of an incident that occurred in an online class. Certain actions taken in that class were undeniably inconsiderate, disrespectful and Islamophobic. While the intent behind those actions may not have been to cause harm, it came at the expense of Hamline's Muslim community members. While much work has been done to address the issue in question since it occurred, the act itself was unacceptable.
The school later announces that Islamic religious beliefs are not to be questioned on campus:
Hamline University is composed of people with diverse views, expectations, and interactions. This community generates different lived experiences that must all be acknowledged and respected. We understand and appreciate that tough, but important questions will arise in our community and we need to address them head-on.
Yet, because we are human, no matter how hard we try to educate on tough issues, we will make mistakes. While some are borne of ignorance, that is never an acceptable excuse. We must always try to do better, be better. We must also take responsibility for our actions, especially when others find them offensive.
It is never our intention to deliberately harm others. Yet, this harm is real and, when we harm, we should listen rather than debate the merits of or extent of that harm. We must always strive to do better, to listen more, and to not knowingly offend.
Our Muslim students, staff, and faculty are hurting. The classroom incident is only one of several instances in which their religious beliefs have been challenged. There are other instances that have occurred on our campus where they have been verbally attacked. This is not okay.
And that Islamic beliefs trump the academic freedom of non-Muslims:
We believe in academic freedom, but it should not and cannot be used to excuse away behavior that harms others.
We have learned, over many years, that knowledge can be shared in a multitude of responsible, thoughtful, and respectful ways. Our response to the classroom event does not disregard or minimize the importance of academic freedom. It does state that respect, decency, and appreciation of religious and other differences should supersede when we know that what we teach will cause harm.
Given the complexity of our various histories, it is imperative that we find ways to teach difficult material. In the spirit of academic freedom, we do not suggest that some material be stricken from our classrooms and not shared with students. This does not generate new knowledge. We do suggest that the indefensible can be taught as well as material that offends – but how we teach it, and how we share images and content, matters.
It is not our intent to place blame; rather, it is our intent to note that in the classroom incident—where an image forbidden for Muslims to look upon was projected on a screen and left for many minutes—respect for the observant Muslim students in that classroom should have superseded academic freedom.
The school goes on to cancel the contract of the instructor for sharing historical Islamic art in an art history class:
The instructor was released from their spring term teaching at Hamline, and its AVPIE went on the record as stating: "It was decided it was best that this faculty member was no longer part of the Hamline community."
The Chair of the schools religion department wrote to the campus paper that this was all very stupid for an endless number of reasons and also outlined the history of Islamic depictions of Muhammed (full thing is at the link):
Another possibility is that the very act of displaying an image of Muhammad is itself Islamophobic. But if this were the case, there are a number of very disturbing implications. First, it would mean that anybody who showed these images in a classroom, a book, or on their wall, would be an Islamophobe. Any scholar who wrote a book about Islamic art and included these images for discussion or analysis would be an Islamophobe. Even Muslims (and, as we will see, many Muslims throughout history have created and enjoyed these images) would be Islamophobic if they did this. Second, it would mean that these images could never be seen by, or shown to, anybody. In effect, it would require an erasure of an entire genre of Islamic art.
Should no student be able to see this art? And what would it mean for a liberal arts institution to deem an entire subject of study prohibited?
Finally, it seems that the interpretation of the administrators means that if an act is prohibited to members of a particular religion, then everyone has to incorporate that prohibition into their own lives.
...
Ultimately, Islamic images of the Prophet Muhammad are part of the historical record, and an academic art historian who teaches Islamic art must acknowledge and discuss this in some way. Students would be deprived of an illuminating part of Islamic art history if they were not taught about this material, which, according to Dr. Gruber, "is considered by many individuals—including Muslim believers, artists, curators, scholars, collectors, and philanthropists—a global artistic patrimony that is increasingly at risk today." Furthermore, if an art historian were to conclude that images of Muhammad are forbidden, they would be privileging the interpretation of some Muslims over others. It is not up to academics to make judgments about which forms of a religion are correct and which artworks must be purged from the historical record. We must present a religious tradition and its artistic heritage in all of its richness and diversity. While some Muslims believe that figural representations of the Prophet Muhammad are forbidden, others in the past and present do not. It is thus incumbent on a professor to teach the material and convey the full range of artistic expression, as the Hamline faculty member seems to have done.
This incident reminds us that the study of religion is not only fascinating and thought-provoking but is also essential to understanding and skillfully navigating the challenges of living together in a multifaith society. This includes engaging with diversity within faith traditions and not labeling the teaching of an Islamic artistic masterpiece an incident of "hate and discrimination."
After publishing this, there were further complaints and the campus paper deleted it explaining that they don't allow themselves to be a platform for creating "trauma" and that this is not up for debate so apparently they'll delete anything they've published if you just complain:
The Oracle is Hamline's independent, student-run newspaper. One of our core tenets, to minimize harm, exists for us to hold ourselves accountable for the way our news affects the lives of individual students, and the Hamline community and student body as a whole. Those in our community have expressed that a letter we published has caused them harm. We have decided, as an editorial board, to take it down.
In no way are any of us on this staff or on the Editorial Board experts about journalism or trauma. We are, however, dedicated to actively supporting, platforming and listening to the experiences and voices of members of our community.
We are a student publication that is here to provide a space to elevate the voices of students. Our work is of no value if at any time our publication is participating in furthering harm to members of our community.
Our website acts as a space to widely share information and as a digital archive. We believe that what we publish is a matter of public record that reflects and includes the viewpoints of our community that creates space for having conversations in the open that would otherwise be left in private. We hope these conversations can lead to transparency and accountability. However, our publication will not participate in conversations where a person must defend their lived experience and trauma as topics of discussion or debate.
Pulitzer Center describes minimizing harm as having "compassion and sensitivity for those who may be adversely affected by news coverage." We will continue to consider and scrutinize our coverage and angles to elevate the stories of members of our community. It is not a publication's job to challenge or define sensitive experiences or trauma. If and when situations arise where these stories are shared, it is our responsibility to listen to and carry them in the most supportive, respectful, safe and beneficial way for the story's stakeholders and our readers.
We have learned and experienced from our first day at Hamline, a liberal arts institution, the importance of seeing things from a nuanced perspective. However, trauma and lived experiences are not open for debate.
This all gets my maximum rating:
