Interfaith

Interfaith Walking Meditation for Peace in Seattle

December 31, 2001

Source: The Seattle Times

On December 31, 2001, The Seattle Times reported that "several hundred people are expected to gather at Seattle's Green Lake for an interfaith Walking Meditation for Peace. They will say goodbye to a year they say was filled with too much blood spilled, and they'll pray for peace among religions in 2002... This will be the third annual walk and the first one featuring prayers from seven faiths... This year, more local religious institutions are involved, representing Quakers, Catholics, Sikhs, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists,...

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Renewed Hope for Jewish-Muslim Relations in America

December 30, 2001

Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 30, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "as 2002 dawns, relations between Jews and Muslims... in the United States are tense at best, murderous at worst... In this country, the Jewish community has been resentful at the failure of Muslim organizations to condemn terrorist attacks in Israel, and these groups are angry that U.S. Jewish groups haven't spoken out about the plight of the Palestinians. In the midst of this grim standoff, at least a few hopeful signs exist that relations between Jews and Muslims in...

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Religion Reporters Identify Sept. 11 Terror Attacks as Top Religion Story

December 29, 2001

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On December 29, 2001, The Houston Chronicle reported that "the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and their aftermath dominated the Top 10 religion news stories of 2001 in a survey of religion reporters... The Islamic terrorist [Osama bin Laden] showed 'how easily religion and religious fervor can be hijacked to serve political ends, substituting hatred and intolerance for the compassion encouraged by all of the world's religions,' one voter stated... [In the survey], the top story selected by newswriters was the attack and the...

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San Diego Baha'i Community Sponsors Dialogues on Race

December 28, 2001

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

On December 28, 2001, The San Diego Union-Tribune featured an article on a series of interfaith dialogues offered this fall to promote peace and harmony. "The dialogues were sponsored by the Office of Race Unity of the Baha'is of North County... Baha'is, believing that racism is an obstacle to world peace, founded the Institute for the Healing of Racism nationally a decade ago. The local dialogues are based on the institute's programs." A new series of dialogues will begin January 14, 2002.

Editorial: "Protecting communities from the tenacity of hate"

December 28, 2001

Source: The Seattle Times

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/134383747_hateop28.html

On December 28, 2001, The Seattle Times featured an editorial by Pramila Jayapal, "Protecting communities from the tenacity of hate." She writes, "On Dec. 13, a 47-year-old Sikh man was shot to death at the gas station he owned in New Haven, Conn. Eight days before that, the offices of the Arab American Action Network in Chicago were set...

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New York Religious Centers Join Together at New Year's Eve

December 27, 2001

Source: Newsday

On December 27, 2001, Newsday reported that "at 6 p.m. New Year's Eve, church bells, gongs, organs and even shofars, or ram's horns, will sound from the five boroughs to Battery Park, from Rockville Centre to Riverside Drive, as thousands of houses of worship [in New York] commemorate the victims of terrorism and offer prayers for peace, say organizers from the Partnership of Faith, an 11-year-old consortium of churches, temples and mosques... Those in mosques and synagogues that don't have bells are being asked to offer symbols and prayers...

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The Spirit of Giving at Christmas

December 26, 2001

Source: The Hartford Courant

On December 26, 2001, The Hartford Courant featured an article on the Christmas dinner and gift giving for those in need at the Shiloh Baptist Church in Hartford, CT. "What distinguished this dinner from previous years, was the increase in the number of volunteers, said the Rev. King T. Hayes, pastor of Albany Avenue church. Forty-eight had signed up to help Hayes said... 'Some are Jewish, some from the Unitarian Church and they are of all races... The bottom line is helping somebody. They feel the joy of helping somebody.'"

Grants to Houses of Worship Damaged by Hate Crimes

December 24, 2001

Source: UPI

http://upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=24122001-033546-7201r

On December 24, 2001, UPI reported on the "Fund to soothe wounds of hate." It noted that "A Sikh temple in Palermo, N.Y., and an Episcopal church in Hanna City, Ill., will receive cash gifts from a unique Boston fund this Christmas ... The Boston Piano Religious Trust gives $500 grants to houses of worship damaged or destroyed in hate crimes." Gobind Sadan USA, a Sikh center in New York, and St. John's...

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The "Sacred Sites" of Houston

December 23, 2001

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On December 23, 2001, The Houston Chronicle featured an article on the "Sacred Sites" of Houston, TX. "Houston has thousands of houses, centers and buildings of worship and prayer for literally every faith known: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and others. What it does not have is the large-scale, sacred architecture built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and found in older, major cities like New York, according to Stephen Fox, a Rice University architectural historian... Compared with those other...

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Holidays and Increasing Diversity at Religious Private Schools

December 22, 2001

Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 22, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "December is the time at Christian private schools for lessons and carols, for Advent wreaths and archangels--whether you're Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu or still sampling religions. Although some prep schools remain enclaves for certain faiths and cultures, other religiously affiliated schools enroll students of all traditions while making no apologies for holding to the schools' holiday heritages... 'Most schools, even though they may want to ground children of that...

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Update: Support for Family of Balbir Singh Sodhi

December 21, 2001

Source: 12News.com

http://www.12news.com/headline/Sodhi_12212001.html

On December 21, 2001, 12News.com reported "Slain Sikh's Family Receives Outpouring of Community Support." It noted that "More than 10,000 people have sent letters, notes and e-mails of sympathy to the family of Balbir Singh Sodhi since the Sikh was shot to death at his Mesa store in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Mesa United Way officials added to those condolences Thursday,...

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Wisconsin Learns More About Wicca

December 20, 2001

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

http://www.jsonline.com/lifestyle/religion/dec01/6854.asp

On December 20, 2001, The MIlwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "Wiccans and followers of other nature-based faiths across Wisconsin are reaching back to the dawn of time today to celebrate the winter solstice with sunlight, songs, flames, feasts and prayerful reverence... The Wiccan religion has caught the public's attention in recent weeks because of controversy over...

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South Asian Solidarity After September 11

December 20, 2001

Source: The New Republic

http://www.thenewrepublic.com/122401/diarist122401.html

The December 24, 2001 edition of The New Repbulic features the article "All for One." The article details the "post-September 11 paradox" of "South Asian" identity. It continues, "While the war on terrorism has inflamed religious and national divisions on the subcontinent ... in the United States it has probably done more to unify America's disparate South Asian communities than any...

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