CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina - The group that sued to stop the University of North Carolina from assigning first-year students a book about the Quran is now taking aim at the school's plans to hold an Islamic awareness week next month.
The American Family Association's Center for Law and Policy filed an amended court complaint last week to try to block the state-financed university from hosting seminars and round-table discussions on Islam on Nov. 11-15.
"There's a lot more going on than we thought there was when we first filed our complaint," said Michael DePrimo, an attorney for the conservative Christian group.
"The issue is whether or not the university is advancing the religion of Islam, and clearly they are," he said.
The group filed its first complaint after the university's Chapel Hill campus asked all 4,200 incoming freshmen and transfer students to read and be prepared to discuss "Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations," by Michael Sells.
It said the requirement amounted to state sponsorship of religion. The court ruled in favor of the university on Aug. 19, hours before the sessions were to begin and they went forward as scheduled.
The university has 20 days to respond to the amended complaint. The issue will be decided in a federal district court in Greensboro.
"We will respond appropriately and in a timely fashion," said the university's General Counsel Susan Ehringhaus, who declined further comment.