The US Supreme Court on October 4 refused to hear an appeal from the City of Newark, N.J., effectively upholding a federal appeals court decision to block the Newark Police Department from disciplining two Muslim officers, Faruq Abdul-Aziz and Shakoor Mustafa, who refused to shave their ... beards. The two Muslim officers had challenged a Newark Police Department policy requiring officers to shave their beards, saying that the department interfered with their religious practices. They sued the City of Newark when they were threatened with termination for refusing to shave. (Source: The Radiance Viewsweekly, 17-23 October, 1999)