Beth Henary, editorial assistant

IT'S BEEN SAID that it is important to know one's enemies. By requiring freshmen to read parts of the Koran this year, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, may be trying to do just that. But though this year's selection for the summer reading program may be well intended, some students and others with interests in UNC are trying to stop the program from going forward.

This summer, incoming freshman at UNC must read "Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations," edited and translated by Haverford College religion professor Michael Sells. The book includes selected suras from the Koran and is accompanied by a CD with recitations from the book. Students must write a one-page "response" to "Approaching the Qur'an," guided by a set of study questions. Study questions include, "Now that you have read parts of the Koran, do you think more Americans should read all or parts of the book?" and "How does the sound [of a recitation from the CD] seem to you to create meanings and effects that are not present when you just read the text alone?" Mandatory discussion sessions are scheduled during orientation in mid-August. Students who find the work offensive for religious reasons may submit a one-page paper on why they chose not to read the book.

Representing three freshmen, one Jewish and two Christian, as well as a UNC alum and a North Carolina citizen, the American Family Association's Center for Law and Policy has sued the school, seeking an injunction to halt this required

"We are not in favor of the school's mandating the reading of any religious document," says Stephen M. Crampton, chief counsel for the Center for Law and Policy. This includes, he adds, the Bible. The Mississippi-based American Family Association describes itself as an organization that "exists to motivate and equip citizens to change the culture to reflect Biblical truth."

"[The school has] required the students to read a strongly pro-Islam interpretation of the Koran, which includes only about one-third of the suras," Crampton continues.

UNC disagrees. In earlier correspondence with an individual concerned about the program, Chancellor James Moeser wrote that the school was not "spoon-feeding [students] a set of beliefs. We're asking them to read and tell each other what they think. . . . We offer the summer reading this year in . . . [the] spirit of seeking understanding--not in advocacy of Islam over Christianity or Judaism or any other religion." Not reading the book, Moeser has written would be a "missed opportunity" for students.

The lawsuit contends that the book omits suras that command the execution of non-believers, such as sura 9:5, which includes the words, "Fight and slay the pagan wherever you find them." A press release from the Center for Law and Policy earlier this week sarcastically referred to Sells as an "Islamicist" and criticized UNC for picking a book on Islam that excludes passages like sura 4:89, which states that "those who reject Islam must be killed."