University Sued for Assigned Reading of an Islamic Book, State Committee Votes to Stop Funds
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The UNC is being sued for assigning a book on Islam as required summer reading for incoming freshmen |
GREENSBORO,
North Carolina, Aug 9 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The
University of North Carolina is being sued by conservative Christian
organizations and three unnamed UNC students over a book on Islam
assigned as required summer reading for incoming freshmen.
In
addition, the North Carolina House Appropriations Committee voted
64-10 Wednesday, August 7, to ban the use of public funds to the
university unless other religions get equal time, as some members
attacked university officials over the reading assignment.
"If
you stop and think about what 9/11 meant to this country - homeland
security, guards everywhere," said Rep. Wayne Sexton,
R-Rockingham. "Just think of what it costs to protect ourselves
from this faction, and here we are promoting it."
In
a lawsuit filed July 22, the Mississippi-based American Family
Association Center for Law & Policy and the Virginia-based Family
Policy Network, asked the university to drop the requirement for
incoming freshmen to read "Approaching the Qur'an: The Early
Revelations" by Michael Sells, a professor of comparative
religion at Haverford College, arguing the requirement violates the
First Amendment right to religious freedom, contending it is
unconstitutional for a publicly funded university to require students
to study a specific religion, and that the assignment "will have
the effect of endorsing, advancing, and indoctrinating students in the
religion of Islam."
Family
Policy Network president Joe Glover goes further, arguing that
"Approaching the Qur'an" is "a one-sided presentation
of Islam that entirely leaves out Suras 4, 5 and 9" - passages
that contain exhortations to kill infidels and that have served as
inspiration or justification for some terrorists, reports the Washington
Post.
Responding
to criticism by Glover that the university is biased towards Islam
because UNC was attempting to show Islam in a favorable light while
ignoring passages calling for violence, Carl W. Ernst, a professor of
religious studies at UNC who recommended "Approaching the
Qur'an," said Glover is the one with a biased view of Islam.
"It's
easy to take phrases out of context from any sacred book," he
said. "This is part of a long history of anti-Islamic bias that
is akin to anti-Semitism, or even racism."
Sells,
in an opinion article in the Post Thursday, August 8,
commented, “Behind the lawsuit is an old missionary claim that Islam
is a religion of violence in contrast to Christianity, a religion of
peace. In effect the plaintiffs are suing the Qur’an on behalf of
the Bible. They cite verses that demand slaying the infidel - case
closed.
“But
most Muslims interpret these in the context of early war between
[Prophet] Muhammad [Allah’s Peace and Prayers Be upon Him]'s
followers and their opponents. They no more expect to apply them to
their contemporary non-Muslim friends and neighbors than most
Christians and Jews consider themselves commanded by God, like the
Biblical Joshua, to exterminate the infidels.
“Like
some Christians who may see themselves as new Joshuas, some Muslims
portray the West as equivalent to those who attacked Muhammad and his
followers and call for jihad. But we can only identify and counter
them if we avoid assuming all Muslims interpret the Qur’an in the
same way.
“The
plaintiffs boast that Jesus never commanded his followers to kill the
unbelievers but told them to leave punishment for the afterlife. But
scriptures relate to violence in complex ways. During the Inquisition,
killing a heretic was considered to be more compassionate than
allowing him to lead others to damnation. Gospel passages that have
helped inspire compassion have also been used to justify persecution
of Jews. The Qur’an is read by the Taliban and by the Muslims who
were persecuted by the Taliban. Verses that inspired Gandhi are cited
by those who recently massacred unarmed Muslims in India.
“In
a college course on Western civilization, students are more likely to
read Biblical passages from Exodus than the gruesome accounts of
slaughter in Joshua. Do such selections present a deceptively benign
view of the Bible?” Sells queried in the paper.
Glover, for his part, said his organization does not oppose the
teaching of Islam and that universities should offer such courses as
electives.
"Approaching
the Qur'an" is "not a bad book, as far as it goes," he
said as quoted in the Post. The real problem, he said, "is
not the sin of the author, it's the sin of the university, which knows
this book presents nothing controversial about Islam… Anybody who
has read this book and this book alone is still going to be ignorant
about why people are killing other people in the name of Allah."
On
August 2, attorneys for the university filed motions to throw out the
lawsuit and disqualify the plaintiffs, arguing the unnamed students
have no grounds under court rules to remain anonymous, and that they
could not prove they have any reason to think they will be harmed -
physically or mentally - if they are identified, reports news
agencies.
Michael
DePrimo, attorney for the plaintiffs and the American Family
Association Center for Law & Policy, disagrees.
"There
is no reason whatsoever to reveal their true identities in this
instance, especially with all the violence accompanying Islamic
fundamentalism," said DePrimo, who said he is not suggesting
every Muslim is violent, "But there are those out there who have
shown themselves to be extremely violent."
The
students are identified only as John Doe No. 1, an evangelical
Christian; John Doe No. 2, a Roman Catholic; and Jane Roe, who is
Jewish.
UNC
officials, for their part, said they are confident the assignment does
not violate the Constitution, commenting that the subject of Islam is
timely and informational because interest in Islam since the September
11 terrorist attacks has become intense, and that the reading
requirement is not intended to promote Islam.
"We
chose the book because since September 11 many of us have wondered
what the core teachings of Islam really are," UNC Chancellor
James Moeser said in a statement reported by USA Today.
"We're not spoon-feeding [students] a set of beliefs. We're
asking them to read and tell each other what they think."
In
light of the lawsuit, however, the university has already amended the
summer reading requirement policy on the book, saying students who are
offended can submit a one-page paper stating their objections.
But
the university has received complaints and is being targeted by
Christian evangelicals and other conservatives in the media.
Bill
O'Reilly, of the Fox News Network, compared the reading assignment to
teaching Adolf Hitler’s "Mein Kampf" in 1941 and
questioned the purpose of making freshmen study "our enemy's
religion."
The
Rev. Franklin Graham, who gave the invocation at U.S. President George
W. Bush's inauguration, has denounced Islam as an "evil"
religion. But despite the furor those remarks caused, Graham repeated
in radio and television appearances this week that the Qur’an
preaches violence and that terrorism is supported by
"mainstream" Muslims around the world, reports the Post.
In
the Post opinion article, Sells says that “spokesmen for the
Family Policy Network and Pat Robertson wave isolated verses of the
Qur’an to prove their point that it commands Muslims to slay
unbelievers. For them, Islam is clearly our enemy.
“If
we cannot always tell them by name or appearance, shall we require
them to wear some kind of sign? In Bosnia, such reckless notions led
some Christians to attack defenseless Muslim neighbors. Yet many of
those same Muslims held candles in solidarity with Christians after
September 11. They refused to lose their souls to a reflexive hatred
of the Christian religion.”
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