U.S. Religious Leaders Want State Department's Muslim Website Removed
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"We're not promoting a religion. We're describing the lives of Americans," said Boucher |
WASHINGTON,
July 26 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A group of U.S. religious
leaders has asked the State Department to remove from the Internet a
website that seeks to educate foreign audiences about Muslim
life in the United States, according to a letter seen Thursday, July
25, 2002.
The
group wrote to Secretary of State Colin Powell last week expressing
"profound concern" about the site, claiming it violates
constitutional provisions requiring the separation of church and
state.
"Insofar
as we are aware, no similar website has been established by the
department with respect to any other religious group, creating a sense
of government preference for one religion over all others," the
groups said in the July 19 letter, a copy of which was obtained by
Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Department
spokesman Richard Boucher denied there was anything improper about the
website or U.S. efforts to inform foreigners about Muslim
life in the United States.
The
group – David Harris of the American Jewish Committee, Richard Land
of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission at the Southern Baptist
Convention and Nina Shea of Freedom House's Center for Religious
Freedom – also expressed concerns about a list of U.S. Muslim
groups contained on the site.
"By
associating itself with selected Islamic
groups and not others, the department creates the impression of
endorsing particular interpretations of Islam," they claimed.
The
site "Muslim
Life in America" http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/muslimlife
, was created last year after the September 11 attacks as part of
wider efforts to explain that the U.S.-led war on terrorism was not a
war against Islam and that Muslims can and do worship freely in the
United States.
The
website, which is not linked to the State Department's home page but
is accessible through a sister site, points out that the United States
"is a country of many religions" and that religious freedom
was a hallmark of the country's founding.
The
religious leaders also objected to State Department plans to fund a
new organization, the "Council of American Muslims for
Understanding," that is aimed at promoting a positive image of Islamic
life in the United States.
"In
sum, through the initiatives that it is undertaking, the State
Department places our government in the position of appearing to
endorse a particular faith group as making uniquely noteworthy
contributions to American life," they said.
"These
actions, taken together, constitute a dangerous breach of the
principle of separation of church and state that is the premier
protector of our religious liberties," they added, urging the
State Department to "turn back from this unprecedented and
untenable course."
State
Department spokesman Richard Boucher declined to comment on the
letter, but denied there was anything improper about the website or
U.S. efforts to inform foreigners about Muslim life in the United States.
"Muslim
life in America is something that is often misunderstood overseas, and
we think it's entirely appropriate to put out information on this
subject," Boucher said.
"We're
not promoting a religion," he said. "We're describing the
lives of Americans."
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