Source: The Washington Post

On September 14, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "Americans toward the end of the 20th century began reexamining their religious affiliations with intensity after an unprecedented growth of 'nontraditional' U.S. faiths, said Diana L. Eck, founder of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University. No longer were Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Muslims 'just on the other side of the world,' Eck said. Now they were 'neighbors across the street, and the encounter of people of other religions [became] more prevalent.' This trend...

Source: The Washington Post

On September 14, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "at least a dozen murders are being investigated as hate crimes by [Texas] authorities. Families of those victims say they share the grief of the families of those who perished at the World Trade Center and Pentagon and who were aboard the jetliners that crashed that day. But amid the commemorations and observances of the first anniversary of Sept. 11, they feel forgotten. Representatives of the national charities say the issue is not so simple. The September 11th Fund...

Source: Equal Time

http://eastbay.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2002/09/16/smallb3.html

On September 13, 2002 Equal Time reported that "few U.S. employers list the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur as employee holidays. The same goes for Ramadan, the most religiously significant time of year for the world's 1 billion Muslims. But as the workplace has become more racially, ethnically and religiously diverse, firms have tried to...

Source: Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0913/p10s04-comv.html

On September 13, 2002 the Christian Science Monitor reported that "the impulse to place collective blame for 9/11 on [Muslims and Americans of Middle Eastern background] groups has surfaced in acts of prejudice and, sometimes, violence. But... there have also been acts of kindness and reassurance by Americans determined to show their Muslim neighbors or colleagues that they are...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On September 13, 2002 The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "the White House expects the Senate to vote soon for a long-delayed bill to make it easier for faith-based groups to seek federal support for programs to help the needy. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said the Senate would vote on the bill during the end-of-session rush if the two senators could obtain unanimous consent from their colleagues for strict limits on debate time and the number of amendments."

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

On September 12, 2002 The Columbus Dispatch reported that "wile most Americans waved flags yesterday, some raised questions.�For those people, yesterday marked a solid year of swimming upstream. And the current of patriotism and anger at outsiders has been strong... Ohio State University offered several ways to think about Sept. 11 yesterday. Starting at 8:46 a.m., the time that the first plane hit the World Trade Center, a military flag ceremony by the university's ROTC units, punctuated by a 21-gun salute, offered a...

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On September 12, 2002 the St. Petersburg Times reported that "a prayer breakfast sponsored by St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker and the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce offered the opportunity for interfaith prayer. Held at the St. Petersburg Hilton, the event underscored a renewed commitment to faith in this country, Baker said. Ronald Tihal, 71, a Hindu and a retired headmaster from Guyana, South America, was among more than 400 people who attended the service sponsored by the St. Petersburg Ministerial Association,...

Source: Newsday

On September 12, 2002 Newsday reported that "from Battery Park to Bayside to Brooklyn Heights, many New Yorkers who said they rarely attend religious services came together yesterday to remember and to reflect. They said they came to grieve for those who were lost. They came to affirm the resolve to go on living. Most of all, they said they came to try to understand what had happened and to learn to cope with what they fear could happen again. Not all the gatherings around the city were organized. Interfaith pastor Eleni Marudis held...

Source: The Plain Dealer

On September 12, 2002 The Plain Dealer reported that "throughout the [Northeast Ohio] region - in a Muslim mosque in Parma, at a Jewish candle-lighting ceremony downtown and in a daylong Buddhist walk of remembrance crossing nearly the entire city - people of all faiths joined in gestures of unity and respect... as thousands of worshippers gathered in special services, prayer vigils and communitywide events to commemorate the anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in American history."

Source: The Associated Press

On September 12, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission reported the highest increase in hate crimes in its 21 years of record keeping. In all, there were 118 suspected hate crimes targeting Middle Easterners and Muslims in the three months after Sept. 11 compared with 14 in all of 2000, the commission said. Religious and civic leaders who founded the [Muslim -Jewish Dialogue] group met just prior to the terrorist attacks - and then saw dialogue turn into bitter debate as some...

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On September 11, 2002 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on "Farooq Hussaini's... devotion to building understanding between Christians, Jews and Muslims. 'Before Sept. 11, it was this beauty that I was discussing. After Sept. 11 ... I am faced with a situation where people think I follow an ugly religion,' said Hussaini, the volunteer director of interfaith relations for the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh. 'Farooq has been heroic," said Rabbi James Gibson of Temple Sinai in Squirrel Hill, who considers Hussaini a close...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On September 11, 2002 The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "Cable television news shows and talk-radio programs have criticized the Quran. The Rev. Franklin Graham called Islam "wicked, violent and not of the same God" to which Christians pray. Jerry Vines, the former president of the Southern Baptists, said the Prophet Muhammad was a "demon-possessed pedophile." In some places, the vitriol spilled into violence, even though most Muslims condemned the actions of al-Qaida. But there was another...

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=16939

On September 11, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "a federal judge... refused to halt the planned reading of a prayer at Mayor Richard M. Daley's public gathering... to remember the terrorist attacks of last Sept. 11, rejecting an atheist's claim that the prayer is unconstitutional. 'These religious aspects, however, occur separately and apart from any...

Source: The Arizona Republic

On September 11, 2002 The Arizona Republic printed an editorial which stated, "it is fitting and important that all Americans take time today to mourn the victims of last Sept. 11 and to give sober reflection to the challenges America will face in coming years. At the same time, it's important also for residents of the East Valley to take a little time to reflect on our area's own particular additional sadness, the senseless murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi. After Sodhi was killed, there was a strong demonstration of sympathy for...

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On September 11, 2002 The Houston Chronicle printed an editorial which stated, "my heroes have become those who make meaningful public effort toward dialogue, who find strength and vitality in variations, who do not live by fear. And there seem to be more of these people visible in Texas this year, because we are desperate for them. Consider the Texas Folklife Festival in San Antonio. Lebanese dancers annually aligned with German polka bands. Why did it suddenly give us goose bumps, after 30 years of celebrations? Consider...