Interfaith

Controversy Over Participation in Interfaith Service

July 12, 2002

Source: The New York Post

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/45304.htm

On July 12, 2002, The New York Post reported that the "Lutheran minister suspended for taking part in an interfaith prayer service for families of Sept. 11 victims said yesterday that he had no regrets... 'I feel that I've acted with integrity,' said the Rev. David Benke, pastor of Brooklyn's St....

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Appeals Court Rules "Under God" in Pledge of Allegiance Unconstitutional

July 7, 2002

Source: The Denver Post

On July 7, 2002, The Denver Post reported that "when he was a child growing up in Los Angeles, Kanya Okamoto left out the words 'under God' when he recited the Pledge of Allegiance because the God referred to didn't fit with his Buddhist beliefs... Now, as minister of Tri State/Denver Buddhist Temple in downtown Denver, [Colorado] Okamoto still doesn't see the need for having that phrase in the pledge... 'But there are Buddhists who disagree with me,' he said. 'They have grown up with the phrase. That's OK...

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New Jersey Quakers Share Meeting House with Jewish Congregation

July 7, 2002

Source: The New York Times

On July 7, 2002 The New York Times reported that at Chatham, New Jersey's Quaker meetinghouse "for seven years, Quakers here have shared their space with Jews, allowing the practice of two distinct religions under one roof... 'The Quakers are an incredibly generous group,' said Deborah Fineman, president of Congregation Beth Hatikvah, which meets on Fridays and Saturdays before vacating for Quaker worship on Sunday. 'They've allowed us to make a home.'"

California Parents File Complaints Over Teachings about Islam

July 6, 2002

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

On July 6, 2002, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that "a Christian law firm is suing a San Francisco Bay Area school district, alleging it violated the Constitution with its way of teaching the Islamic religion to students. At issue is a world history lesson conducted at Excelsior School in the Byron Union School District... in October 2001. In a seventh-grade class, students reportedly were required to participate in various exercise simulations including selecting a Muslim name, wearing traditional Muslim...

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Muslim and Jewish Children Share Salaam-Shalom Circus in St. Louis

July 6, 2002

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On July 6, 2002 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch featured an article on the interfaith bridges being built at the City Museum in St. Louis's Salaam-Shalom Circus, "a year-round circus class with Muslim and Jewish children and their parents." The participants come from the Central Reform Congregation where "parents eagerly embraced the chance for an interfaith experience... Their partners in the interfaith bridge building are parents and children from Clara Muhammad School... Along the way, the parents have even invited one...

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Long Island Teachers Take Seminar on Islam

July 5, 2002

Source: Newsday

On July 5, 2002 Newsday reported that due to immigration, more Muslim students are attending Jericho High School in a predominantly Jewish area of Long Island, NY. "Hoping to learn more about a religion that for many Long Islanders remains steeped in mystery, and sometimes outright suspicion,... about a dozen Jericho social studies teachers spent two days this week attending a 15-hour seminar on Islam at the high school... The seminar, which included sections on Islamic phrases, the role of women, the history shared by Jews, Christians...

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Immigrants Become Citizens on July 4

July 5, 2002

Source: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/77353_citizen05.shtml

On July 5, 2002 The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that this fourth of July in Seattle, "311 immigrants from 65 countries celebrated becoming American citizens at the Ethnic Heritage Council's 18th annual naturalization ceremony... The event drew hundreds more spectators and a long list of speakers,...

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Appeals Court Rules "Under God" in Pledge of Allegiance Unconstitutional

July 3, 2002

Source: Los Angeles Times

On July 3, 2002, the Los Angeles Times reported that last week's two U.S. court rulings concerning religion in the public square demonstrate the strong "disagreements over the relationship between God and public life in America... First, a federal appeals court ruled that religion could not be part of a daily ritual of public school life... The next day, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that religious schools could receive public school dollars... The Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, executive director of the Washington-based Interfaith...

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Muslim Advocacy Group Backs Jewish and Muslim Police Deputies Fighting Uniform Policy

July 3, 2002

Source: The Council on American-Islamic Relations

On July 3, 2002 The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a press release "condemning a decision by Illinois' Cook County Sheriff's Department to strip police powers from an Orthodox Jewish deputy after he refused to remove his yarmulke, or religious skullcap, while on duty... The Washington-based Islamic advocacy group says it has offered to take up the case of the Jewish deputy, who was reassigned to clerical duties one day after CAIR offered public support for a Muslim deputy who is being...

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Popular Charismatic Christian Leader Condemns Muslims as Evil

July 3, 2002

Source: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram

On July 3, 2002 The Fort Worth Star-Telegram featured an article on a gathering in Dallas of thousands of Christians to applaud the words of Benny Hinn, a celebrated faith healer, as he explicitly condemned Islam. "Several area ministers, joining the Grapevine-based Pentecostal on stage last week at American Airlines Center in Dallas, clapped and nodded their approval. The line between Christians and Muslims, they said later, is the difference...

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Appeals Court Rules "Under God" in Pledge of Allegiance Unconstitutional

June 30, 2002

Source: Statesman Journal

http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=44359.

On June 30, 2002, the Statesman Journal of Salem, Oregon featured an article on the recent Pledge of Allegiance ruling. "The decision created instant furor, in part because the pledge is an American icon. But it may have just as much to do with people’s relationship with God — or lack thereof... In America, God means different...

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Hindu Group Shares Space with Episcopal Church in Florida

June 29, 2002

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On June 29, 2002 the St. Petersburg Times reported that "in the classrooms of a small Episcopal church... Hindu members of the Swadhyaya movement (pronounced Swad-HI-ya), a sect little more than 50 years old... chant and study... The arrangement is treated with aplomb by the two vastly different religious communities... The St. Petersburg Swadhyayees have met since the late 1980s. The group, one of 350 in the United States, started with two people. Today there are 50 families, which include many children. Members come from...

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Conference Brings Together Diverse Religious Leaders for Training

June 29, 2002

Source: Newsday

On June 29, 2002 Newsday reported on an interfaith conference in New York City designed to help religious leaders "sustain their post-9/11 ministry." The conference was attended by "approximately 800 priests, pastors, imams, rabbis and other spiritual leaders from the metropolitan area... 'Leaders of faith communities are the first line (of defense) in mental health,' said Rabbi Stephen Roberts, president of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains, who chaired the daylong conference sponsored by the American Red Cross last month...

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Church in New York State Sponsors Muslim Refugee Family

June 29, 2002

Source: The Buffalo News

On June 29, 2002 The Buffalo News reported that various congregations in Western New York State "have come to the aid of refugees from some of the most dangerous parts of the world to assist them as they start a new life in the area... St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church... in the Town of Tonawanda recently heeded the call when it sponsored a four-member family from Bosnia. The church was expecting a Christian family, but the family is Muslim... 'As Christians we are all called to love all people, regardless of background...

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