Source: The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/29/nyregion/29MAYO.html
On March 29, 2003 The New York Times reported that "mayor Michael R. Bloomberg prayed and pleaded yesterday with dozens of Muslim worshipers in Queens, urging them not to view the city's fight against terrorism and the nation's war with Iraq as anti-Islamic... Bringing what he called a message of peace, a sliver of which he tried to deliver in Arabic, Mr. Bloomberg set out to remind the city's more than 600,000 Muslims that they, too, are New Yorkers, whose voices and faith are as welcome as any other's... Mr. Bloomberg said the visit also represented a broader outreach effort that includes a citywide survey of Muslims and Arabs now under way to help the police and other authorities identify reports of discrimination and harassment."