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by This past Thursday (October 27), an art exhibit titled Amir Normandi, No Veil is Required at Harper College in Chicago was taken down after only a few hours on display. Several Muslim students complained about the artwork, which consisted of photographs of women in hijab and burqas, some of whom were in various states of nudity. 'The Muslim students are thinking about boycotting Harper because of this,' said Hussein Ali, 23. Ahmad Basalat, 21, said the exhibit expressed hatred toward Muslims. Rich Johnson, co-coordinator of international students at Harper, said that the school ordered the removal of the offending images because of the controversy. 'This exhibit is not the type of artwork that the college endorses or advocates,' said College spokesman Phil Burdick. 'If this exhibit offends the sensibilities of any person or ethnic group, we deeply apologize.'
In a previous news post, an art exhibit entitled A Knock on the Door displayed controversial artwork at Ground Zero on 9/11 2005 under the premise that the U.S. government as well as conservative groups were attempting to stifle freedom of expression. Controversial artwork of this type is seldom removed for being offensive, and the First Amendment is oft cited as a bulwark against criticism. Is Harper College's removal of No Veil Required a justified act of honest religious sensitivity that they would extend to any other religious group, or are they caving in to political correctness?
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Different venue
I think there is a significant difference between an art show in a public place and an art show in a college. The college is privately owned and should have the right to display or not display mostly whatever they administration dictates. Like most institutions that rely on public perception, it makes sense that they wouldn't want to alienate a portion of their faculty and student body. So, they end up being very PC. That might not make it logically "justified," but at least it is consistent. Something like Piss Christ can't really be compared, as it wasn't displayed in an institution of "higher learning" that had an enrollment to maintain and so couldn't reasonably be expected to have any real requirements other than getting a permit (or whatever else might be required by the laws of the land).
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Or.... by milhous :: NR6 :: Show
Or in this day and age of Terror, could the school be looking out for the interests of their students, fearful that the display could bring Jihad against their college?
Afterall, the art exhibit was displayed for at least a couple of hours. Someone at the school had to approve the initial display, which clearly is against Muslim beliefs.