A public university in San Francisco, California, sparked criticism for allegedly planning to investigate an associate professor of history after showing an image of the Prophet Muhammad while teaching Islamic history.
The historical image that Professor Maziar Behrooz showed to his Fall 2022 class is displayed at holy shrines in Iran. No matter. One student complained, so the SFSU administration has sprung into action. The Hamline U scandal all over again. https://t.co/8qn1UJsYuq
— Timur Kuran (@timurkuran) April 7, 2023
The news came a few months after Hamline University, a private liberal arts university in Minnesota, was condemned for reportedly refusing to renew an art professor’s contract for showing a painting depicting the Prophet Muhammad in an Islamic arts class.
The incident occurred in the fall of 2022 when Iranian historian and educator Maziar Behrooz was teaching a course covering the history of the Islamic world from 500 to 1700 CE at the San Francisco State University (SFSU).
Campus free speech? California university investigates Iran-born professor for showing students Muhammad art | Just The News https://t.co/3ueLkEIbJ8
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) April 8, 2023
The cause of the controversy was a drawing of the Prophet Muhammad that Behrooz showed as part of his class. Even though Behrooz has used the same artwork for years in teaching Islamic history, one of his students, a devout Muslim, took issue with the drawing and vehemently objected to it outside his class.
The student claimed it was forbidden to depict or portray the Prophet Muhammad in any shape or form. While artworks portraying the Prophet are prohibited in many Islamic countries and denominations, this rule is not uniform, as Behrooz argued.
Someone hand the kid a tissue
— Ginny Celano (@CelanoGinnyGin) April 7, 2023
Behrooz explained to the university’s history department chair that the devout Muslim student’s view was not uniform among all Muslims, adding that the type of drawing he showed in his class could be normally seen and even bought at markets near holy shrines in Tehran.
He also argued that Shia Muslims, which form the majority in countries such as Iran, have drawings of the Prophet Muhammad pasted on the walls of their homes. Behrooz was born in Tehran and has written many books covering many events in Iran’s modern history, such as Iran at War and Rebels with a Cause.
"This is the first time that this has happened," Behrooz said. "I was not prepared for somebody to be offended in a secular university, talking about history rather than religion."
Despite his arguments, however, the student raised their complaint not just to Behrooz’s chair but also to the other "authorities higher up" at the SFSU. Behrooz said the university’s Office of Equity Programs & Compliance informed him last March of an investigation, and he was invited to attend a Zoom meeting regarding the incident.
I took Prof. Behrooz's class on the history of Islam back in 2002, one of the best courses I took at SFSU.
That he's being re-educated for showing an image of Muhammad is outrageous. @SFSU should be ashamed for giving in to anti-free speech fanatics.— Kevin Pua (@kevin_pua) April 6, 2023
SFSU’s actions were condemned by groups such as the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which previously wrote about the Hamline University incident and even described the complaint against Behrooz as “Déjà vu.”
“Academic freedom necessitates that faculty members receive substantial breathing room to determine how to approach subjects and materials relevant to their courses rather than allowing administrators, students, legislators, or outside authorities to unduly influence those decisions,” FIRE said in its letter to the SFSU.
Issues surrounding academic freedom and showing images depicting the Prophet Muhammad has become contentious in recent years. In October 2020, the world was shocked upon hearing about a Chechen Muslim refugee murdering and beheading a French secondary school teacher for showing cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad during a civics class.
