UNC/Islam Controversy Update and FAQ

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 12, 2002
NEWS CONTACT: Joe Glover – 804-419-4483 ext. 456

GREENSBORO, NC ““- A hearing will occur this week at the Federal District Court in Greensboro in the case of a lawsuit against the University of North Carolina at Chapel-Hill, alleging the school is infringing upon the religious free exercise of its students and violating the establishment clause of the United States Constitution by forcing incoming freshmen and transfer students to study Islam against their will.

This update is intended to briefly explain what is expected this week, and to provide answers to frequently asked questions regarding the controversy. Media outlets needing additional information should contact one or both of the contacts listed at the top of this release.

Q: Who will argue the case for the plaintiffs Thursday?
A: The organization that filed the suit against UNC is the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy. Chief Counsel Steve Crampton and attorney Michael DePrimo will argue the case in court on Thursday.

Q: Who are the plaintiffs?
A: Three students at the University are listed as plaintiffs, along with two leaders of the conservative Christian group Family Policy Network (FPN). The student plaintiffs are unnamed in court documents, while FPN Board Chairman Terry Moffitt and the group’s North Carolina state director James Yacovelli are listed as taxpayer/alumnus and taxpayer, respectively.

Q: What is Family Policy Network’s relationship to the case?
A: Technically, FPN has no direct relationship to the lawsuit, since the organization would have no legal standing in such a case. However, the state and national leaders of FPN sought out the student plaintiffs in the case and introduced them to the attorneys who are now representing them. Also, FPN Board Chairman Terry Moffitt FPN North Carolina state director James Yacovelli are listed as plaintiffs. FPN brought national attention to the UNC/Islam controversy when leaders of the group appeared on thousands of network radio and television stations, and in newspaper stories throughout the region. The group successfully used the media appearances to seek out potential plaintiffs to sue the University. FPN President Joe Glover then interviewed the students and connected them with a legal non-profit organization they selected to represent the students in court.

Q: Has UNC amended its policies to allow students to “opt-out?”
A: No. The administration developed an “option” to reading the book. However, all students were still being required to sit under the Islamic discussion groups on August 19th. Those who object on religious grounds would be required to defend their reason for refusing the book in a one-page written essay, which the University said would be shared with fellow students and faculty members. The “option” of defending religious objections for not reading the book brought greater criticism than the actual reading assignment. It would serve to pit students with religious views contrary to Islam against fellow students, faculty and members of the administration who either ascribe to Muslim views or sympathize with those who do. What began as forced indoctrination with a pro-Islamic text, turned worse when the administration asked religious “objectors” to identify themselves and defend their own deeply-held religious beliefs.

Glover said, “We had hoped the University would see the error of its ways and correct this wrong without going to court. Unfortunately, the controversy only emboldened them to further divide students along the lines of their deeply held religious beliefs. It’s really too bad it had to come to this.”

In recent weeks, FPN representatives have criticized UNC’s requirement for incoming freshmen and transfer students to read an Islamist’s commentary on parts of the Koran and attend a discussion about the book on August 19. Despite a defensive posture from the UNC administration and a promise that the requirement would not be changed in light of any threat of legal action, public pressure appears to have caused some concern. In what seems to have been a move to insulate the University from legal harm, the school changed the Summer Reading Program’s web site last week to require students who object to the assignment on the basis of their own beliefs to defend their religious objections.

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For more information related to this issue, see:

Daily Tar Heel: Summer Reading Choice Prompts Lawsuit Threat:
http://www.dailytarheel.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2002/07/18/3d36c0f96495e

FPN News Release: UNC Wants ‘Objectors’ to Defend Religious Views
http://www.dailytarheel.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2002/07/18/3d36c0f96495e

High Point: Christian group considers lawsuit over requirement:
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=4692021&BRD=1332&PAG=461&dept_id=414366&rfi=8

FoxNews: University’s Quran Reading Stirs Controversy:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,57093,00.html

UNC Summer Reading Program Islam requirement:
http://www.unc.edu/srp/

The Chapel Hill News: FPN Chairman Terry Moffitt ‘ashamed’ of UNC:
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/Issues/2002/06/02/news04.html

FPN’s first news release on UNC/Islam controversy:
http://familypolicy.net/nc/unc-islam.shtml

News & Observer article about Islam requirement controversy:
http://newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/1406152p-1440245c.html