DURHAM, N.C. (AP) – Before it unraveled, a plan to use Duke University’s chapel tower in a call to prayer for the school’s Muslim community was meant to promote religious unity and pluralism.
One administrator explained in a newspaper column that “at Duke University, the Muslim community represents a strikingly different face of Islam than is seen on the nightly news: one that is peaceful and prayerful.” Religious pluralism is part of the school’s mission, wrote Christy Lohr Sapp, Duke Chapel’s associate dean for religious life.
But after a flurry of objections arrived by phone and email – along with reported security concerns – Duke canceled a plan to have members of the Muslim Students Association read a moderately amplified call to prayer from the tower for about three minutes each Friday.
Instead, Muslims will gather for their call to prayer in a grassy area near the 210-foot gothic tower before heading into a room in the chapel for their weekly prayer service. Michael Schoenfeld, Duke’s vice president for public affairs and government relations, said it would be up to the students if they want to use some sort of amplification.
The original plan drew the ire of evangelist Franklin Graham, who urged Duke alumni to withhold support because of violence against Christians he attributed to Muslims. Schoenfeld said emails and calls came from alumni and others in the community.