A professor at Wheaton College, an evangelical Christian school, has decided to leave the school, after her comments that Muslims and Christians worship the same god angered school officials.
Professor Larycia Hawkins, tenured in political science and the first tenured black professor at Wheaton, first made the comment in a Facebook post from Dec. 10, when she announced that she would wear a hijab during the Christmas advent season to show support for Muslims facing Islamaphobia and discrimination.
The school claims in a recent statement that Hawkins is in hot water—not for her choice to wear hijab, but because her “theological statements seem inconsistent with Wheaton’s doctrinal convictions,” according to Reuters.
In other words, the school disagrees with Hawkins’ theological point that Muslims and Christians worship the same god.
Last month the school’s provost recommended that Hawkins be fired. But Saturday night, according to TIME, he emailed the school saying he revoked this recommendation, apologized to Hawkins, and asked for her forgiveness. Of course, school and professor have now agreed to part ways amicably, but this hasn’t kept the school free from scandal. Many professors are upset and confused about how the whole situation unfolded, and the school is about to embark on a $175 million fundraising campaign.
Many of Hawkins fellow faculty members have taken to Facebook, this time in solidarity with her. Some professors have posted photos of themselves holding up signs saying, “We support Dr. Hawkins.”