Muslims leaders call on Jerry Falwell to retract his statement, and ask president, Christian
groups to speak out.

A major American Muslim group on Wednesday demanded an apology from the Rev. Jerry Falwell for statements he made on Beliefnet suggesting Muslims be excluded from federal faith-based initiative money because, Falwell said, the religion is "bigoted."

The Council on American Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group based in Washington, sent
Falwell a letter asking that he apologize and open a dialogue with Muslims to help prevent
future "incidents of this type." Falwell was unavailable late yesterday and had not yet seen
CAIR's letter, according to his spokeswoman, Laura Swickard.

CAIR--the most outspoken organization for Muslim American civil rights--is part of a coalition
that had endorsed Bush during the campaign. They also had offered what communications director Ibrahim Hooper called "cautious support" of the faith-based initiative.

But Hooper said Wednesday that the group will have to re-evaluate its stance on the issue if
Christian leaders fail to speak out against Falwell and his statements. In the letter, CAIR
called Falwell's statements "offensive" and warned that his "rhetoric could lead to discrimination and even physical attacks against Muslims in North America."

In defining who should receive faith-based funding, Falwell told Beliefnet that Muslims should
be disqualified from receiving the money because their faith teaches "hate."

"I think that when persons are clearly bigoted towards other persons in the human family, they
should be disqualified from funds. For that reason, Islam should be out the door before they
knock," Falwell continued.

With much fanfare, President Bush fulfilled a campaign promise last month when he created the
White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Under the initiative, faith-based
charities would be allowed to compete for government funds, as long as they can prove
effective in fighting social problems. But already, the plan is devolving into a catfight between religious groups anxious over various issues.

The two main concerns of conservative Christians: that the money would come with strings
attached, and that such a program would have to offer money to religions outside the
mainstream--out of both fairness and the need to pass constitutional muster. The comments by
Falwell and others, including Pat Robertson, critical of the initiative, show what a minefield
Bush has entered, and raise serious questions about the political viability of the plan as crafted.

Muslim leaders on Monday said they are worried about the effect that Christian conservatives
will have on shaping the faith-based plan. Others challenged Bush to disassociate himself from
Falwell and Robertson--both of whom have said they do not want minority faiths such as Hare
Krishnas and Scientologists to be eligible for the money.

"He is such a prominent figure in the Christian community that it makes it all the more
disturbing," said Hooper, of CAIR. "We'll wait and see if other Christian leaders repudiate
these remarks. If there is silence, we'll have to interpret that as an agreement." [ http://www.beliefnet.com/ ]