Source: Detroit Free Press

http://www.freep.com/news/metro/cooper31e_20050331.htm

On March 31, 2005 the Detroit Free Press reported, "Mary Almanza died in February at the age of 109, having lived to see her faith grow from a marginalized anomaly to one of the most influential movements in African-American history. Born in 1895 in South Carolina, Almanza, the daughter of a former slave, eventually migrated to Detroit. She was working in Eastern Market in 1930 when...

Source: Lexington Herald Leader

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/local/11263451.htm

On March 30, 2005 the Lexington Herald Leader reported, "in response to a growing Muslim population in Central Kentucky, the University of Kentucky Hospital is offering a workshop to help employees better understand Islam so they can treat Muslim patients with respect for their religion. Yesterday, Chih Ian Lee, a training specialist for UK's Human Resource Development...

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4392657.stm

On March 30, 2005 BBC News reported, "Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has indicated that he might be prepared to follow a softer line in tackling the restive south.

Mr Thaksin, addressing a parliamentary session which is debating the southern violence, said he would provide more education and development in the area.

He said he had had time to reconsider his approach to...

Source: The Oregonian

Source: The Washington Times

http://www.washtimes.com/world/20050329-125828-1853r.htm

On March 29, 2005 The Washington Times reported, "The condemnation of Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda by the Islamic Commission of Spain on the first anniversary of the train bombings in Madrid that took 200 lives is making waves throughout the Muslim world. The Spanish commission's fatwa, or condemnation, follows other signs of the kind of public theological debate rarely seen in...

Source: WCAX-TV News

http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=3124675

On March 29, 2005 WCAX-TV News reported, "the Vermont Legislature is considering a bill that would accommodate the Muslim funeral tradition of burying their dead without a casket. Some members of Vermont's Muslim community are upset about current law that requires the dead to be buried in a casket, which is in turn sealed in an air-tight concrete vault. The bill would remove prohibitions on the burial of...

Source: Expatica

Source: Contra Costa Times

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/11248494.htm

On March 28, 2005 the Contra Costa Times reported, "many U.S. Muslims, especially those who have grown up in this country, are asking the same questions. They are successful, professional women who chafe at having to pray in dark, secluded rooms at their local mosques while men enter through the front doors and worship in comfort. They are professors at U.S. universities...

Source: The Washington Times

http://washingtontimes.com/metro/20050328-123558-6916r.htm

On March 28, 2005 The Washington Times reported, "Virginia Commonwealth University has tightened security because of threats against a faculty member who led a mixed-sex prayer service that drew harsh criticism throughout the Muslim world. The precautionary measures were taken the week after Islamic studies professor Amina Wadud led 80 to 100 men and women in...

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0328/p11s01-wogi.html

On March 28, 2005 The Christian Science Monitor reported, "During her pilgrimage to Mecca, Asra Nomani was surprised when men and women prayed all together; in her mosque in the US, women weren't allowed in the same room.

That experience fueled her personal jihad (or struggle), which, she says, is to reclaim the rightful role of women in Islam given by the prophet...

Source: Tallahassee Democrat

http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/local/11246733.htm

On March 28, 2005 the Tallahassee Democrat reported, "Akeem Muhammad, a Muslim serving a life sentence in state prison, said he shouldn't be handcuffed and shaved against his will just because he doesn't want to. In fact, Muhammad believes 'shaving one's face violates the tenets of Islam,' he said in a letter to the Tallahassee Democrat... Sorry, said a prison...

Source: Kerala Next.com/India News

http://www.keralanext.com/news/indexread.asp?id=163454

On March 27, 2005 India News reported, "About thirty four terracotta temples of 18th century at Pathra in Midnapore district of West Bengal have an unlikely saviour - a Muslim clerk who fought against communal tension, apathy and negligence to ensure that they survive for posterity. For Yasin Pathan, the man who looks after these temples, the mysterious temples have been a...

Source: Reuters

Source: The Telegraph

Source: The Associated Press

http://news.mainetoday.com/apwire/D892R2PO1-84.shtml

On March 26, 2005 The Associated Press reported, "[A] Portland mosque is not the only one to spring up in an unusual location as northern New England's Muslim population grows. In Colchester, Vt., Muslims converted the former offices of a computer repair company into a mosque. Its neighbors are a recording studio and swimsuit factory. In New Hampshire, the Islamic Society of Greater...