Another shameful moment for the Anti-Defamation League: The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) made its apology yesterday in a newsrelease that stated: "(The ADL) is respectful of the Shahada, the Muslim Declaration of Faith, which is expressed by millions of Muslims around the world…It was never our intent to offend anyone and we apologize to those who took offense." On Saturday, the Southern California office of the Council onAmerican-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) demanded that the ADL apologize to Muslims for "hate-filled Islamophobic rhetoric" distributed by one of its California offices. A news release distributed by the ADL's Orange County/Long Beach RegionalOffice referred to the Islamic declaration of faith, or shahada, as an "expression of hate" that is "closely identified" with terrorism and is offensive to Jewish Students." The shahada, "There is no god but God and Muhammad is the Messenger of God," is the core Muslim belief in the oneness of God and is one of the "five pillars" of Islam. No person can be a Muslim without believing in the shahada. The ADL made its original offensive statements in reference to acontroversy started by right-wing and pro-Israel groups over the decision by Muslim students at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) to wear stoles bearing the shahada at weekend graduation ceremonies. The stoles in question also said in Arabic: "God, increase my knowledge." Opponents falsely claimed that the stoles are an expression of support for terrorism.