Professor suspended for saying Christians and Muslims worship the ‘same God’
December 17, 2015
307 1 minute read
A major evangelical Christian university has suspended a tenured professor
A major evangelical Christian university has suspended a tenured professor after she argued that Christians and Muslims “worship the same God” and donned a hijab to express solidarity with Muslims.
Dr. Larycia Hawkins, a tenured political science professor at Wheaton College in Illinois, took to Facebook to vent her frustration about the growing list of anti-Islam incidents in the United States since the terrorist attacks in Paris. Hawkins, herself a Christian at the evangelical school, declared that she would wear a hijab throughout the Christian season of Advent “in human solidarity with [her] Muslim neighbor.”
Hawkins’ actions and comments, especially her insistence that Muslims and Christians worship the same God, immediately stirred controversy at the theologically conservative school, prompting her to write another postin which she explained her position is “one held for centuries by countless Christians.
her defense apparently was not enough to convince officials at Wheaton, however. The school released a statement on December 15 announcing her suspension.
Despite the administration’s decision, Wheaton students and alumni are already rallying to Hawkins’ defense. Over 450 students have joined a private Facebook group in support of the professor.