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The assigned book
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NORTH
CAROLINA, August 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies)- New students at
the University of North Carolina will participate in discussion groups
on Islam's holy text after a court refused to halt a summer reading
program ruling that having them read about the Qur’an did not
threaten religious freedoms, the BBC reported.
About
3,500 students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
started debating the book, as demonstrators gathered nearby to protest
against the assignment, it said adding that a Christian organization
had accused the university of unconstitutionally promoting one
religion at the expense of others.
Trouble
started when the students at Chapel Hill were assigned to read about
130 pages of professor Michael Sells's book, "Approaching the
Qur'an", for the university's summer course.
Officials
said that a student could decline to read the book, however, they
would have to write an essay explaining why, reported the BBC.
Attorneys
for a conservative Christian group, the Virginia-based Family Policy
Network, and three unidentified U.N.C. freshmen-- one an evangelical
Christian, one Roman Catholic and one Jewish -- filed a lawsuit last
month contending the assignment was unconstitutional provisions
against state-sponsored religion and sued the University, said the
BBC.
But
last Thursday, US District Court Judge Carlton Tilley Jr. refused to
grant a temporary restraining order, said the Council on American
Islamic Relations (CAIR) on their website.
Network
President Joe Glover said the lawsuit forced the university to change
its program from a required reading and discussion to a voluntary
program. University Chancellor James Moeser said the program was never
required in the first place, and was intended to stimulate critical
thinking in freshmen. He said opponents of the program
"consistently missed the point...", reported CAIR.
"Learning
in a university setting involves the ability to confront other
viewpoints," said Celia Lata, the assistant attorney general
representing the university. "A university that exposes students
only to what they already know or believe would not equip them to live
in the world..."
Although
the study and teaching of Islam in U.S. universities has increased in
popularity since 11 September, conservatives and Christian religious
groups have allegedly linked Islam to terror.
The
summer reading program and the ensuing court battle made for an
unusual orientation at UNC. Journalists squeezed into rooms with
students on Monday, August 19, to cover the discussions, which
suddenly became national news, said the BBC.
U.N.C.-Chapel
Hill religious studies professor Carl Ernst said he recommended the
book -- written by Haverford College religion professor Michael Sells
-- in the hope that it would teach new students about a religion that
puzzles many Americans, it added.
The
16 students in Ernst's discussion group talked about afterlife,
Judgment Day and how passages from the Qur’an relate to Christianity
and religions more familiar to the students.
They
also played a CD that accompanies the book, listening to readings of
Holy Quran from different parts of the world.
Speaking
to the New York Times, Chip Cook, 18, said: “I never really knew
what the Qur’an was or what it said before this. Now I feel like I
have a better understanding of where my Muslim friends are coming
from.”
Ernst
said he had no regrets about his recommendation. “The class worked
out better than I had expected. The students were engaged and I feel
like we opened them up to a cultural experience they've never had
before,'' he said, reported the Times.
“The
media attention probably got the students to read more seriously than
they would have otherwise.”
The
return to school in Chapel Hill was a strong contrast to the days
after Sept. 11, when students and faculty members on this campus, like
those on many others across the country, rushed to prove their
tolerance toward Islam, said the Times.
After
the attacks, hundreds of students wore Islamic dress for a day, at the
suggestion of the student president, to show sympathy with their
Muslim peers.
Students
flooded courses on Islam and the Middle East, and the university set
about hiring an Islamic studies specialist.
The
discussion groups today were intended to build on that interest.
"The whole idea is that this is the first step toward
understanding a culture we don't know anything about and to get
students to ask their own questions," Chancellor Moeser said in
an interview with the Times.
In
one group, students said they were excited to learn about Islam and
surprised to find parallels between it and Christianity. "I
thought it was going to be some off-the-wall religion," said Matt
Campbell, New York Times reported.
“From
what I knew from the news, I would have perceived them to be a violent
people," said Mary Allison Lee, "so I see one thing on TV,
and another in the book.” She added, “I'm not sure what to
think.”
The
Book ‘Approaching the Qur’an: The Early Revelations’, is
translated by Michael Sells. It consists of thirty five suras from the
Quran, that largely focus on the experience of the divine in the
natural world and the principle of moral accountability in human life,
the university said on their website.
Sells,
the editor and translator of Approaching the Qur’an, is a
distinguished professor of religion at Haverford College. A widely
published author and highly regarded expert on Islamic literature.
Sells
provides clear translations of the original Arabic, brief commentaries
on each sura, and a concise introduction to the Qur’an’s literary
and historical context, the site said.
