She said Islam stands for the promotion of peace and understanding among men and that any Muslim who does anything contrary to this fundamental Islamic principle contravenes the tenets of Islam. She referred to the religiously-based violence in Northern Nigeria between Muslims and Christians as a result of religious intolerance. This is part of Food for Thought , a four-year old community dialog program. The meeting format includes a dinner preceded by a moment of silence. The purpose is to help people understand others who differ politically or religiously.
Groups meet ten times, and then decide whether to continue or disband.
The original plaques contained a quotation from Gen. Robert E. Lee and included symbols of the Confederate battle flag and seal of the Confederacy. They decided that he could freely practice his humanism and could organize a group within the prison's Education Department. In 1998-SEP, a federal district court ruled that Humanism is a religion. But they decided that denying Kalka access to the prison chapel did not prevent him from practicing his humanist beliefs. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia agreed with the lower court.