There are few important events in last 8-15 years regarding clash in academia and journalism between Western and Muslim Culture. And I refer here to the publishing in the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo cartoons of Islamic prophet Muhammad and the office in Paris being the target of a deadly terrorist attack in January 2015.

A lot of articles and open letters were written in the aftermath about the stigmatization of French Muslims in the light of the attack (https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/lup/publication/8875480) and about the journalism freedom of expression (https://academic.oup.com/hrlr/article-abstract/18/2/267/5004703)

We see lately similar events and discussions and debates moving into academia, due to events and articles like the one below

https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2022/12/24/professor-fired-for-showing-art-class-image-of-muhammad-with-his-face-visible-something-not-unusual-in-the-history-of-islamic-art-students-and-university-go-wild-with-crazy-allegations-of-islamop/

This fall, an instructor at Hamline University, in Minnesota, was teaching global art history. For one class, the instructor was discussing Islamic art and included a screen image of Muhammad, the founder and prophet of the Muslim faith. The instructor had warned students of her plan.

One or more students complained about the image, because for many Muslims visual depictions of the Prophet Muhammad are strictly forbidden and seen as a violation of faith

This event was followed by a lot of articles in the press and debates about ‘Academic Freedom vs. Rights of Muslim Students’

So, what is academia freedom? One definition is like as closer to the topic of this paper is

‘Academic freedom is the principle of freedom of expression for scholars engaged in discipline-related teaching, learning, research, publication, and service. Academic freedom is the foundation of intellectual discovery; it ensures an open search for knowledge and “nourishes the environment within which students develop critical habits of mind” [1] essential to the citizenry of a democratic society. Academic freedom entails both rights and responsibilities.’ (https://www.oah.org/about/governance/policies/academic-freedom-guidelines-and-best-practices/)

In this case, according to Aljazeera newspaper (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/18/us-professor-sues-university-over-prophet-muhammad-image-row) the national headquarters for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was involved in debate and draw up a distinction between showing depictions of the Prophet Muhammad for academic purposes as opposed to in a negligent or malicious context.

I believe that it is a difficult as an educator or people manager to be aware of cultural differences and sensitivities and maybe a better solution is to assess impact of the action taken (like above showing the picture of the art showing the Prophet Muhammad) by involving the people from respective culture ahead of the event.