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...

Source: The Reporter

http://www.thereporter.com/Specials/9Eleven/pg01a.html

On September 11, 2002 The Reporter in Vacaville, California reported that "when local Sikh-Americans found their sacred temple sullied in July with black spray-painted profanity and the message, 'go back where you belong,' they simply removed it and went about the business of living their religion... Tolerance for their fellow men, including the ignorant, is part of being Sikh... said...

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 Houston Chronicle

On September 10, 2002 The Houston Chronicle reported that "speaking at a senior citizen center Monday, [Dr. Navinderdeep Singh] Nijher... one of the first physicians to arrive at the burning remains of the twin towers... recalled the backlash of hate he and other Sikhs faced from fellow Americans in the wake of the attacks... When he walked into the drugstore to get film developed from Ground Zero, the store clerk mistook him for a Muslim. 'When I presented the pictures to the drugstore clerk, I asked him how much it would...

Source: Star Tribune

On September 10, 2002 the Star Tribune reported on the Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers (MAP) which, "since 1995, has used nonviolence to promote peace... As the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks nears, MAP is finalizing plans for a peace observance at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in Loring Park in downtown Minneapolis... Its member organizations range from the Minnesota Council of Churches and Minnesota Jews for a Just Peace to Veterans for Peace and Soka Gakkai International-USA/MN, a Buddhist organization."

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On September 10, 2002 The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "with the one-year anniversary of Sept. 11 coming up Wednesday, the two groups [Fayette's Muslim community and Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Fayetteville] wanted people to come together instead of allowing perceptions to keep them apart. 'The demographics are changing, and we're an example of that,' said Soumaya Khalifa, head of the Islamic Speakers Bureau and one of the service's organizers. 'It's the changing face of America, but...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On September 9, 2002 the Los Angeles Times reported that "hundreds [of 9/11 memorials] will be held in places of worship and in public places across Southern California in the next few days to mark the Sept. 11 anniversary. The largest inter-religious gathering in Orange County will be A Prayer Service for Peace at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at St. Columban Church in Garden Grove. Jewish, Islamic and Buddhist leaders will join bishops and other local heads of major Christian denominations for an interfaith service.

Source: The Patriot-News

On September 9, 2002 The Patriot-News reported that "the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations hosted the service [at the Interfaith Center of Greater Harrisburg] to promote unity among faiths. Imam Mohammad Naseem urged those attending to introduce themselves and their families to their neighbors, offer their neighbors help and say they can call anytime."

Source: Newsday

On September 9, 2002 Newsday reported that "amid the carnage of last year's terror attacks, many American Muslims have found themselves both victims and on the defense, struggling to explain the essence of Islam to a hurt and bewildered public. As the nation prepares to observe the first anniversary, more than 100 members of Long Island's Muslim community gathered at the Islamic Center in Westbury [New York] yesterday to express their continued outrage and soothe their own pain."

Source: In These Times

On September 8, 2002 In These Times, a publication of the Institute for Public Affairs, featured an article entitled "The Forgotten History of Islam in America." The article begins with concerns that "Christian fundamentalists... have seized upon 9/11 to fire a fusillade of invective at the religion of Islam... Far too little media coverage since 9/11 has focused on the country's broader indigenous Islamic constituency. Yet the appeal of Islam in America is undeniable - indeed, it is the country's fastest-growing religion... The...

Source: The Boston Herald

On September 8, 2002 The Boston Herald reported on Masjid al-Quran, which "has been partnered [since 1997] with a Reform Jewish congregation in Newton, Temple Shalom, through Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries [CMM], an interfaith coalition working in 18 communities in Greater Boston [Massachusetts]. They enlisted the help of CMM and the Public Conversations Project [PCP], a Watertown-based nonprofit, to structure the dialog. 'I think 9-11 brought home to people how dangerous and frightening it is for groups of people who don...

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On September 8, 2002 The San Francisco Chronicle reported that "the Thomas More Law Center, a Michigan-based Christian rights foundation, filed a federal suit this summer on behalf of two families. It charges Contra Costa County's Byron Union School District with violating students' constitutional rights after a seventh-grade class used the workbook Islam: a Simulation of Islamic History and Culture. Religion in the schools has long been a thorny issue. This time, however, some advocates have switched sides....

Source: The New York Times

On September 8, 2002 The New York Times reported on "the Rev. William Crawford, the senior pastor at Larchmont Avenue Presbyterian Church, and Jeffrey Sirkman, rabbi at Larchmont Temple, friends and religious leaders who have taken their relationship to local airwaves in hope of spreading the word a little wider. On television, they are the Reverend and the Rabbi. Their show: 'Faith and Eggs,' which began in December. Mr. Crawford and Rabbi Sirkman, however, are also firm believers in the value of other faiths and what they...