It's not clear why the Kerry-Edwards campaign selected Hestenes to give the convention benediction. A transcript of her Monday night remarks was not immediately available.

For Tuesday's benediction, the Kerry-Edwards campaign selected Imam Yahya Hendi, the Muslim Chaplin of Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

While published reports indicate that Imam Hendi's message over the years has largely been one of religious tolerance, he protested loudly when counterterrorism probers raided Virgina's International Institute of Islamic Thought in March 2002.

Telling the Washington Post he was "outraged" by the search at the institute, Imam Hendi complained: "It is a positive landmark. It introduces America to Muslims ... and introduces Islam to America, to help America understand us."

A few months earlier Imam Hendi had been critical of President Bush for not emphasizing religious tolerance in his Sept. 20, 2001, speech to Congress.

"I need to hear him more clear in terms of his message to the American people," he complained to ABC News. "Because there are 240 cases so far of Muslims being attacked, being discriminated against. I needed more - a clear message to the American people from him."

The Democratic National Convention Committee, which publishes the speakers schedule on a daily basis, was unable to provide NewsMax with the names of benediction speakers for Wednesday and Thursday nights.

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