College begins effort to fire professor for comment on Islam

Wheaton College, an evangelical Christian university outside Chicago, says it is taking steps to fire Dr Larycia Hawkins, who wrote on the social media site on December 10 that she was donning the hijab headscarf during the period of advent before Christmas as a sign of solidarity with Muslims.

Hawkins began to wear a hijab to show solidarity with Muslims who she felt were being persecuted in wake of the San Bernardino shootings and the terror attacks in Paris. “It was simply a Facebook post inviting people into a bigger narrative about embodied solidarity with Muslims, who are now being maligned and mistreated for their religious devotion”. “And as Pope Francis stated last week, we worship the same God”.

Wheaton confirmed in its statement that Hawkins then received a notification from provost Stanton Jones on Monday announcing that termination-for-cause proceedings had begun.

This development comes, according to the college, after Hawkins “declined to participate in further dialogue about the theological implications of her public statements”.

“Following Dr. Hawkins’ written response on December 17 to questions regarding her theological convictions, the College requested further theological discussion and clarification”.

“While Islam and Christianity are both monotheistic, we believe there are fundamental differences between the two faiths, including what they teach about God’s revelation to humanity, the nature of God, the path to salvation and the life of prayer”, Wheaton College said in a statement.

The Chicago Tribune reported that Hawkins had been asked to affirm the college’s statement of faith four times since she started teaching at Wheaton College nine years go.

“The Notice is not a termination”, Wheaton College officials wrote in a statement.

A spokeswoman for Hawkins didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment on the college’s move.