Source: The Hartford Courant
On February 28, 2003 The Hartford Courant reported that "with Americans on the alert for terrorists and a war looming in Iraq, Muhammad Amir and his colleagues attracted more attention than they bargained for as they passed through Connecticut on a religious walk from New York to Boston... State police received several 911 calls Thursday afternoon as Amir and a small group of men wearing beards, turbans and Muslim dress walked along Route 6 near the Bolton Ice Palace and a pizza parlor... Amir said police have stopped his group every day since they began their journey Jan. 27 from Mount Vernon, N.Y. And it was no different in Bolton... Amir and two other men in the group are from Pakistan and the rest are from New York state. He said they were sent by their religious order, the Tablighi Jamaat, to stage a nonmilitant, nonpolitical walk from New York to Boston to visit Muslims in these areas and urge them to live according to Islam. He said they have been explaining Islam to those they meet along the way and urging Muslims they encounter to practice the religion more fully."