The Professor Hawkins Controversy: On Why Wheaton College Has No Business Telling Muslims What They Believe
Written by David Fitch on January 12, 2016 It’s always dangerous to comment (or make judgments) on conflicts internal to a particular community. You don’t have inside information. You have no access to the relational dynamics internal to the matter. So much of what is going on has little or nothing to do with what is actually being said publically. This is why I prefer to not speak as an outsider on who’s wrong or right in the Wheaton College conflict over the suspension and potential firing of Prof. Larycia Hawkins. Instead I’d like to comment on two specific parts of the controversy: the wearing of a hijab by a Christian, and the statement “Christians and Muslims worship the same God” which professor Hawkins declared on FB. And then I’d like to make a general recommendation to Wheaton as an alumnus of that esteemed institution. On wearing a hijab, I believe this reflects a posture of being “with” those among us who are under duress, even persecution, for their beliefs an...