POSTED: 6:10 p.m. EDT August 27, 2002
UPDATED: 6:18 p.m. EDT August 27, 2002
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- UNC Chancellor James Moeser defended the school's choice of a controversial book for incoming freshmen.
The book, Approaching the Quran, is at the center of the controversy. The book, which contains passages from the holy book of Islam, is a summer reading requirement for incoming freshmen. Last month, three unnamed freshmen and the Family Policy Network, a conservative Christian organization, filed a lawsuit over the assignment.
Speaking to the National Press Club in Washington, Moeser said he stands behind the choice in the name of academic freedom.
"Even if this were the wrong book, even if I totally disagreed with the faculty of Carolina about the book, I should have defended their right to choose the book as a matter of academic freedom," he said.
Moeser said the university's integrity had not been compromised by the choice.