Wheaton college plans to fire an African American professor this week who last month wrote on her Facebook Page that Christians and Muslims believe in the same God. The censorship reflects the degradation of Christianity among Americans
By Ray Hanania
Larycia Hawkins
A lot of people wonder what would happen to Jesus if he lived in today’s world. I know one thing. They wouldn’t allow him to enroll at Wheaton College in Illinois, where any Christian-like gestures to “Muslims” are greeted with severe punishment.
Wheaton College in Illinois (not Massachusetts) is a religious institution founded by Wesleyans, who are an evangelical Protestant religious group, which traces its heritage to John Wesley. Wesley is the founder of the Methodist movement, which came out of the Church of England in the mid-1700s.
Last month, an African American Christian professor at Wheaton College, Larycia Hawkins, posted a statement on her Facebook Page showing support for Muslims who were being victimized by racism in America. Many Americans wrongly blame all Muslims for the acts of extremists who unjustifiably claim authority to speak for Islam.
RAY HANANIA — Op-Ed writer, author, radio host, podcaster
Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.
Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992 at the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began writing in 1975 publishing The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper (2004-2007).
Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues as Special US Correspondent for the Arab News ArabNews.com, at TheArabDailyNews.com, and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday, the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronical, and Arlington Heights Daily Herald.
Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.
His writings have also been honored by two national Awards from ADC for his writing, and from the National Arab American Journalists Association.
Hanania is the US Special Correspondent for the Arab News Newspaper, covering Middle East and Arab American issues. He writes for the Southwest News newspaper group writing on mainstream American issues.