Source: Muslim Public Affairs Council

http://www.mpac.org/home_article_display.aspx?ITEM=898

On June 13, 2006 the Muslim Public Affairs Council reported, "Today, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) ran a full-page advertisement on the op-ed pages of the New York Times calling for the elimination of torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment as part of U.S. policy. The ad is signed by 27 religious leaders, including Nobel laureates Pres. Jimmy Carter and Elie Weisel, and Dr. Maher Hathout, Senior Advisor to the Muslim Public Affairs Council and author of 'In Pursuit of Justice: The Jurisprudence of Human Rights in Islam.' The ad states: 'Torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions, in their highest ideals, hold dear. It degrades everyone involved - policy-makers, perpetrators and victims. It contradicts our nation's most cherished ideals. Any policies that permit torture and inhumane treatment are shocking and morally intolerable. Nothing less is at stake in the torture abuse crisis than the soul of our nation. What does it signify if torture is condemned in word but allowed in deed? Let America abolish torture now - without exceptions. Furthermore, in a troubling development, for the first time in our nation's history, legislation has now been signed into law that effectively permits evidence obtained by torture to be used in a court of law.'"