The Yacovelli v. Moeser case, also known as the UNC-Qur'an Controversy, was a result of a summer reading program for new students implemented by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2002 that was objected to by several groups.
Professor Carl W. Ernst of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) was asked if there was a good translation of the Qur'an that would be suitable for its Summer reading program of 2002.
[4] In July The O'Reilly Factor covered the controversy[3][5] followed in August the television shows Good Morning America and Nightline[3] as the time of the reading program approached.
[6] Under pressure, the university changed the implementation of the program for the incoming class of 4,200 freshmen and transfer students by asking those who objected to reading the book to write a one-page essay explaining their reasons.
[7] Ultimately 2,260 freshmen took part on August 19 (after a court case ruled in favor of the university)[8] in some 160 small group discussions led by one or more of 178 faculty and staff.
[6][10][11][12] A conservative-Christian activist group, the Family Policy Network, filed suit in the U.S. District Court, Middle District of North Carolina, on July 22, 2002, representing several students who were allowed to remain anonymous seeking a preliminary injunction to keep UNC from conducting its summer program, alleging that it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and abridged students' rights to free exercise of religion by obliging them to study Islam against their will.
Furthermore, listening to Islamic prayers in an effort to understand the artistic nature of the readings and its connection to a historical religious text does not have the primary effect of advancing religion.
A revised challenge by the American Family Association's Center for Law and Policy, who had represented FPN all along, was filed in 2004, [Yacovelli v. Moeser, 2004 U.S. Dist.