- Dr Larycia Hawkins will join the University of Virginia as a visiting fellow
- Hawkins sparked controversy at an Illinois Christian college after wearing hijab and asserting that Christians and Muslims worship same God
- She was teaching political science at Wheaton College when she posted her views on Facebook
- Wheaton College announced last month that it and Hawkins reached a 'confidential agreement' for her to leave
- As the Abd el-Kader Visiting Faculty Fellow, she will research relationships between religions and races
A professor who sparked controversy at an Illinois Christian college after asserting that Christians and Muslims worship the same God is joining the University of Virginia.
Dr Larycia Hawkins, who left Wheaton College earlier this year after refusing to stop wearing a hijab, has been named the 'Abd el-Kader Visiting Faculty Fellow', which is named for the 19th-century Islamic scholar and leader.
The university's Institute of Advanced Studies in Culture said Thursday in a statement[3] that Ha wkins will research relationships between religions and races.
Dr Larycia Hawkins, who left Wheaton College after refusing to stop wearing a hijab and insisting that Christians and Muslims worship the same god, has been named the 'Abd el-Kader Visiting Faculty Fellow'
The University of Virginia's (pictured) Institute of Advanced Studies in Culture said Thursday in a statement that Hawkins will research relationships between religions and races
James Davison Hunter, executive director and founder of the institute, said in the statement: 'Professor Hawkins brings keen insights into the intersections of religion and race and will greatly enrich our scholarship in this area.
'We're fortunate to have the opportunity to welcome her here.'
The tenured political science professor agreed to leave her position in a settlement with Wheaton College after she was suspended by the private eva ngelical Christian institution for wearing an Islamic headscarf, worn by some Muslim women to counter what she called 'vitriolic' rhetoric against Muslims.
Wheaton announced last month that it and Hawkins reached a 'confidential agreement' for her to leave.
Hawkins had announced on Facebook in December that she would wear a hijab over the holidays to show solidarity with other Muslims.
The Christian professor wrote that it was her duty to love others, adding that Muslims and Christians 'worship the same God'.
In the controversy that followed, the school suspended her and initiated termination-for-cause proceedings, but nearly 80 faculty members stepped in, asking Wheaton to restore Hawkins.
Because Hawkins failed to clarify the differences between the two religions, Wheaton found her to be in conflict with its statement of faith, according to the Chicago Tribune[4].
The college then reportedly suggested she resign and proposed they revoke her tenure for two years while she engaged in conversations about her faith.
In December, just weeks after the San Bernardino terror attack and the anti-Muslim sentiment that followed, Hawkins wrote a post on Facebook announcing her decision to wear a hijab in the spirit of Advent.
The post read: 'I don't love my Muslim neighbor because s/he is American. I love my Muslim neighbor because s/he deserves love by virtue of her/his human dignity.
'I stand in human solidarity with my Muslim neighbor because we are formed of the same primordial clay, descendants of the same cradle of humankind--a cave in Sterkfontein, South Africa that I had the privilege to descend into to plumb the depths of our common humanity in 2014.
Hawkins, who became the first African-American tenured professor at Wheaton College, agreed to leave her position in a settlement with the college after she was suspended for wearing an Islamic headscarf
Wheaton College (pictured) announced last month that it and Hawkins reached a 'confidential agreement' for her to leave
'I stand in religious solidarity with Muslims because they, like me, a Christian, are people of the book. And as Pope Francis stated last week, we worship the same God.'
The Chicago Tribute reported that Wheaton Provost, Stanton Jones, then wrote an email apologizing to question the sincerity of her faith.
He wrote: 'I asked Dr. Hawkins for her forgiveness for the ways I contributed to the fracture of our relationship, and to the fracture of Dr. Hawkins' relationship with the college.
'While I acted to exercise my position of oversight of the faculty within the bound s of Wheaton College employment policies and procedures, I apologized for my lack of wisdom and collegiality as I initially approached Dr. Hawkins, and for imposing an administrative leave more precipitously than was necessary.'
In 2013 she became Wheaton College's first female African-American tenured professor.
While at UVA, she will focus on the relationship between black theology and the rhetoric, policies, and agendas of African-American organizations and movements.
The University of Virginia enrolls more than 20,000 undergraduate and graduate students per year.
And nearly 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students attend Wheaton College, which is roughly 30 miles from Chicago.
References
- ^ Valerie Edwards For Dailymail.com (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Associated Press (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ statement (www.iasc-culture.org)
- ^ Chicago Tribune (www.chicagotribune.com)
