“While it might seem an odd juxtaposition to have the adhan chanted in the same tower from which bells toll daily (and twice on Sundays!), it is actually in keeping with the university’s commitment to fostering the spiritual development of all students," Sapp wrote. "The chanting of the adhan communicates to the Muslim community that it is welcome here, that its worship matters, that these prayers enhance the community and that all are invited to stop on a Friday afternoon and pray."

By Thursday afternoon, the university had reversed itself. “Duke remains committed to fostering an inclusive, tolerant and welcoming campus for all of its students,” spokesman Michael Schoenfeld said in a statement. “However, it was clear that what was conceived as an effort to unify was not having the intended effect.” There will still be a call to prayer, but it will be delivered from the quad in front of the chapel.

Omid Safi, who directs the Duke Islamic Studies Center, said he was disappointed but told me there had been "numerous verified instances of credible threats" against members of the university community.

"My disappointment is primarily directed toward people who find it acceptable to have recourse to violence, even the threat of violence, to make the point they want to make—particularly if they see these threats as being substantiated by their own religious conviction," Safi said. "We all know about the Muslim community having our crazies, but it seems like we don’t have a monopoly on it."

Safety of students is an understandable reason for caution, though Duke's half-measure seems unlikely to pacify malevolent objectors: There's still a public call to prayer, after all. Meanwhile, the threat of violence has triumphed over the right to religious expression. At a time when much of the world, appalled by the Charlie Hebdo massacre, is rightly standing up for the right to say things that offend Muslims, a peaceful gesture by Muslims has been quashed by a threat of violence—much of it emanating from Christians.

The fierce backlash against the original announcement was led by Franklin Graham, son of Billy (but no relation to me), who posted this on Facebook:

If it weren't so malicious, this might be amusing—though it should be clear that he nowhere called for violence or threats against the university.

The idea that Christianity is doomed if a Muslim call to prayer is heard once a week from the monumental, 210-foot Gothic Christian chapel that dominates the campus is, on face, silly. There's a Christian dean in charge of religious life and weekly Sunday services at the Chapel. The daily 5 o'clock carillon recital (often including hymns and other Christian sacred music) from the tower is loud enough that it interrupted the history of Islam class I had next door. It ought to go without saying that the awful acts of terrorists in Paris and elsewhere do not represent Muslim students and staff at Duke.