How did you prepare the teachers leading the discussion groups?
We emphasized the basic principles of teaching about religion in a public setting. This is language endorsed by the Supreme Court. We teach about religion, instead of teaching religion, which is what churches and religious communities do. We did draw attention to the fact that there is a heritage of anti-Islamic prejudice that is comparable to anti-Semitism and racism that needs to be critically examined. This means that we should try to give the opportunity to understand Islam in its own terms without simply taking the opinions of people who are against it.

In addition, we'd like to emphasize that Islam is not something that just appeared suddenly from foreign shores. It has been part of American history for at least two centuries, and part of European history for over a thousand years...there have been Muslims in America, including a very famous one in North Carolina, Omar Ibn Sayyed [Said] who, in the early 1800s, wrote his autobiography in Arabic while enslaved on a North Carolina plantation. An exhibit at the Ackland Art Museum at UNC includes a photograph of Omar Ibn Sayyed and a document in his handwriting, in Arabic, that is actually an Arabic translation of "The Lord's Prayer" from the New Testament, that includes blessings on the Prophet Muhammad.

Has Islam been demonized since Sept. 11?
Islam has been demonized for a long time in European history. But I think that there has been an understandable concern that if you have a horrifying event taking place with people who quote from a particular text to justify themselves, people turn for answers to try to understand -- was there something about that text that caused this to happen?

Historical texts written centuries ago are not the cause of contemporary conflicts. They can be used to justify all different types of things, but if you want to understand contemporary conflicts, you need to understand contemporary history, and that is a separate issue.

Is there only one way to interpret the Qur'an?

There are many ways of interpreting any sacred text. One of the virtues of Michael Sells's book is that he not only draws attention to the multiple interpretations that have existed within the Islamic tradition, but also provides, in some cases, as many as three different translations of the same text, just to indicate how rich and ambiguous it can be...Some people will say there's only one meaning to a text, and they will tell you what it is. From the viewpoint of the study of religious history, we are well aware that there are many, many different interpretations. And we wish to point this out as a simple fact of history and sociology to our students. That way, I think, they will be much better equipped to deal with the complexity of these subjects in their own lives.

Most people are aware that there are many different types of Christianity, some of which differ dramatically on central issues of theology and interpretation. Likewise, it's important to point out that Islam is not a monolithic tradition. There are critical issues upon which major groups disagree, and this has been part of their history, as well.

By opening up just this first glimpse into the sacred scriptures of Islam, we also want to open up students to the diversity of opinions that have existed within that tradition.

In assigning this text to entering freshmen, are you promoting Islam?
We are not promoting any religion. We are simply saying something I believe is irrefutable: Islam has been an important part of history in society, and for us to pretend otherwise would be foolish. An educated person ... needs to know about the history of religion in order to understand the way the world works -- and, indeed, our own society works -- as Islam increasingly becomes recognized as a part of American society.

Assigning APPROACHING THE QUR'AN is really about what kind of world we live in. In that respect, I don't believe there is any basis for criticizing it on the grounds that it might advance one religion over another. It is a part of a serious and responsible evaluation of the educational needs of today.

What does the public debate about the assignment say about the state of education and American culture?
Summer reading programs have been in existence for 20 or 30 years. But I think this attracted so much interest precisely because it is a sacred scripture. It's clearly one with which most people are very unfamiliar. The debate, in my mind, more than amply justifies the original decision to assign this text. We hoped, through the Summer Reading Program, to introduce a book that would stimulate discussion about serious ideas and engage students with the wider world. I think we've done that. If we can find a book next year that will come anywhere close to generating this kind of discussion, we'll be happy.

You teach a course on religion, fundamentalism and nationalism. Knowing what you know, would you have predicted there would be an attack against a Western country based on Islam -- an act of retribution against American or Western values?
I don't think anyone was in a position to predict the attacks of Sept 11. The key factor was an extremist group, unlike many other extremist groups, that had a massive amount of funding and a base in a collapsing country from which to operate with near impunity. I certainly did not predict that the al Qaeda group would be operating to such an incredibly disastrous extent. We had studied the pronouncements of Osama bin Laden in some of my classes five years ago, and we considered him -- at least I did -- to be an extremist like Timothy McVeigh. But I didn't anticipate that he would have the material access to carry out his violent fantasies.