Yale University Press has come under harsh criticism for excising images of the prophet Muhammad from a book it is publishing.
The American Association of University Professors chastised the university publisher for “acceding to the anticipated demands” of terrorists, The New Haven Register reported.
Jytte Klausen’s book, “The Cartoons That Shook the World,” focuses on the controversy surrounding Danish newspaper cartoons of Muhammad that sparked violent protests among Muslims when published in 2005. Klausen is a Danish-born professor of politics at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.
The AAUP said the university press’s move “parallels prior restraint on speech” and the removal of the pictures runs counter to the principles of academic freedom.
The Register reported the university press spoke to two dozen consultants before deciding to eliminate the 12 Danish drawings Klausen’s book focuses on, along with any historical image of the prophet.