Crystal Unclear

Photo by Jack GouldCrystal Cathedral Ministries officials announced they are investigating claims that the Reverend Robert H. Schuller has relied on a Muslim affairs adviser with ties to American neo-Nazis.

The investigation follows revelations in the OC Weekly that adviser William W. Baker is a former chairman of the neo-Nazi Populist Party (Stan Brin's "Hour of White Power," Feb. 15). In his 1982 book Theft of a Nation, Baker opined that the "Zionist state of Israel . . . should be dismantled and eventually eliminated." Baker said this was necessary to bring "true justice and real conciliation" to the Middle East.

Ministry spokesman Larry Sonnenburg said, "Dr. Schuller recently met with his close friend, the consul general of Israel in Los Angeles, Yuval Rotem, and showed the Weekly article to him. Rotem is looking into the matter and will advise Dr. Schuller."

Early this week, the link between the Crystal Cathedral website (www.crystalcathedral.org) and Baker's Christians and Muslims for Peace website (www.campintl.com) was removed.

Despite the gravity of the charges against Baker, Sonnenburg insists Schuller doesn't have an anti-Semitic bone in his body. "His public association with Jewish leaders in Israel and in the United States is a matter of public record," said Sonnenburg. "The message of hope we present transcends political and geographical lines."