ST. PAUL, Minn. — A part-time art instructor sued Hamline University, saying she was subjected to religious discrimination and defamation that damaged her professional and personal reputation. Erika Lopez Prater asked for $350,000. She had shown a centuries-old artwork depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad in a global art lecture. A Muslim student, Aram Wedatalla, objected that she was offended because of a belief that Muhammad should never be depicted. The university responded by telling Lopez Prater that she wouldn’t be rehired. The depiction was part of an October lesson on Islamic art. Lopez Prater said she knew that visual depictions of Muhammad violate many Muslims’ faith, so she warned the class ahead of time and invited anyone who might be offended to leave. None did. She also said her syllabus had been submitted ahead of time through university channels.
Lopez Prater. Taught a single global art history course at Hamline on semester-by-semester contracts.
Hamline profile
Hamline in St. Paul, enrollment 3,800, was founded in 1854 in Red Wing and is Minnesota’s oldest university. It’s a Methodist-affiliated private college. In 1880 it relocated to a 77-acre prairie halfway between the Minneapolis and St. Paul downtowns.
Campus centerpiece. Old Main.