This essay, on a controversy over an image depicting Muhammad,, was my Observer column this week. It was published 8 January 2023, under the headline “An art treasure long cherished by Muslims is deemed offensive. But to whom?” It is a beautiful painting found in a 14th-century Persian manuscript, the “Compendium of Chronicles”, a history of Islam. It shows the Prophet Muhammad receiving his first Quranic revelations from the angel Gabriel. Christine Gruber, professor of Islamic art at the University of Michigan, describes it […]

Categories: Atheism & Religion, Culture & Books, Free Speech • Tags: academic freedom, blasphemy, censorship, depicting muhammad, diversity, hamline university, islam, muhammad, religious freedom