Moore also accused U.S. District Judge Myron H. Thompson, who has ordered the monument removed by Wednesday, of "callous disregard for the people of Alabama," and challenged the authority of federal courts to interfere with the state's legal system.

"They have no power, no authority, no jurisdiction to tell the state of Alabama that we cannot acknowledge God as the source of our law," he said.

Moore said that he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court today to direct Thompson to withdraw his order to remove the monument. Moore said he also plans to appeal to the Supreme Court a federal appeals court ruling last month that upheld Thompson's order. The appeals court ruling compared Moore's stance in the case to the defiance of such pro-segregation, southern governors as George C. Wallace of Alabama and Ross R. Barnett of Mississippi.

Thompson had no public comment on Moore's statement, according to a spokeswoman for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. But Alabama Attorney General William H. Pryor Jr. (R) issued a statement saying he would "exercise any authority provided to me" to bring the state into compliance with the federal court order.

"I will not violate nor assist any person in the violation of this injunction," Pryor said.

Thompson has said that fines of about $5,000 a day could be imposed against the state if his order is not carried out by the Wednesday deadline. He also issued official notifications of the order to 13 other state officials, including Pryor and Gov. Robert R. Riley (R).

Moore's assault on what he called Thompson's "unlawful dictates" and his "abuse of power" was the latest episode in a colorful judicial career in which the Ten Commandments has figured prominently. As an Alabama circuit court judge, Moore placed a hand-carved, wooden plaque of the Ten Commandments behind the bench in his courtroom, an action that sparked several lawsuits.

In his 2000 campaign for the post of chief justice of the supreme court, Moore depicted himself as the "Ten Commandments Judge."

Moore had the Ten Commandments monument installed in the rotunda of the state judicial building on the night of July 31, 2001. The installation was filmed by Coral Ridge Ministries, an evangelical Christian media organization that has used proceeds from the sale of the film to pay Moore's legal expenses.

Thompson ruled last November that the installation of the monument in the rotunda, where it is visible to all visitors to the judicial building, violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment. A three-judge panel of the Atlanta-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit unanimously affirmed Thompson's ruling last month.

That "some government acknowledgements of God" are permissible, the appeals court said, "does not justify under the establishment clause a 5,280 pound granite monument placed in the central place of honor in a state's judicial building."

Apparently anticipating possible defiance by Moore, the appeals court judges also warned, "We do expect that if he is unable to have the district court's order overturned through the usual appellate processes, when the time comes Chief Justice Moore will obey that order. If necessary, the court order will be enforced. The rule of law will prevail."

In his statement, Moore echoed arguments that he has unsuccessfully made in court during the case. He said the Alabama constitution invokes "the favor and guidance of Almighty God" and is "the basis of our justice system."

"Separation of church and state never was intended to separate God from our government; it was never meant to separate God from the law," Moore said. "The very purpose of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution was to allow the freedom to worship God, but today that freedom is being taken from us by federal courts who misuse the First Amendment as a sword to take away our rights, instead of a shield to preserve them for us."

Some of Moore's supporters have threatened to try to block removal of the monument. Asked during an interview with Fox News whether he approved of such tactics, Moore said, "As long as it's peaceful, I don't have any objection to civil disobedience."

In a related case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit refused yesterday to reconsider an earlier ruling allowing a decades-old Ten Commandments plaque to remain on the facade of a courthouse near Philadelphia. The court ruled that the plaque was not an endorsement of religion because the country commissioners who wanted to keep it were motivated by historic preservation desires.