Source: IslamOnline.net

http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2004-01/02/article02.shtml

On January 2, 2004 IslamOnline.net reported, "Over 6,000 people from all over North America will head Friday, January 2, to Toronto to attend the second annual 'Reviving the Islamic Spirit' conference. The conference, organized by a group of young, active Muslim students and news activists, is counted as the largest held across Canada. The conference hosts a...

Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/printedition/search/sfl-jholsjan02,0,2158551.story

On January 2, 2004 the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported, "France is considering breaking centuries of European tradition by making an Islamic feast and a Jewish holy day official school holidays, making official something that had become a de facto tradition across much of the continent. Surprisingly, the idea...

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47150-2004Jan1.html

On January 2, 2004 The Washington Post printed an interview with Yale Law professor Amy Chua, who argues that the United States "may be the least well-equipped nation in the world to manage the kinds of group hatreds that threaten Iraqi society today. Because of our beliefs in the "melting pot" and the United States' own relatively successful -- though halting...

Source: Contra Costa Times

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/7605012.htm

On December 31, 2003 the Contra Costa Times reported, "Bay Area Muslims joined others around the country Tuesday to protest the French government's proposal to ban the wearing of 'conspicuous' religious clothing such as Muslim head scarves and Jewish skullcaps in public schools. Rallying in front of the French Consulate in San Francisco, 15 women wearing the head covering,...

Source: Tolerance.org

http://www.tolerance.org/news/article_tol.jsp?id=918

On December 31, 2003 Tolerance.org published an editorial by Christopher Scheer accusing the Los Angeles Times Staff Writer Julie Tamaki of lazy, biased, and inaccurate reporting in her recent article "Muslims Ponder Postwar Iraq." According to Scheer, Tamaki's article on the annual convention of the Muslim Public Affairs Council focuses on a single and unrepresentative panel from the...

Source: The Tampa Tribune

http://www.tampatrib.com/FloridaMetro/MGAPE00UUOD.html

On December 31, 2003 The Tampa Tribune reported that "four-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, a long- shot White House candidate, is campaigning aggressively for the Muslim vote on a platform built around immediate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. Kucinich brought his message to Tampa on Tuesday in a tour of the Islamic Society of Tampa Bay Area and a speech to about 100...

Source: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

http://www.nccbuscc.org/comm/archives/2003/03-250.htm

On December 31, 2003 the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops reported, "The Mid-Atlantic Dialogue of Catholics and Muslims, sponsored by the Islamic Society of North America, Plainfield, Indiana, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Washington, DC, has finished a sixty-five page study resulting from discussion over an eight-year...

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3358363.stm

On December 30, 2003 the BBC News reported, "The head of one of the world's most prestigious centres of Islamic learning has upheld the right of France to ban headscarves in state schools. The Grand Sheikh of the al-Azhar mosque in Egypt, Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, was speaking after talks with French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy...Speaking in Cairo in the presence of Mr Sarkozy, Sheikh Tantawi said the veil was...

Source: The Pakistan Link

http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=bccf247450c351ed99a8e800e963d88d

On December 30, 2003 The Pakistan Link reported that The Council on American Islamic Relations raised over $100,000 at its first annual fundraising banquet for its Faith in Action theme. They were supported by the local interfaith effort (Abrahamic religions) and Asian groups, especially Japanese Americans and...

Source: Beliefnet.com

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/137/story_13798_1.html

On December 30, 2003 Beliefnet.com posted an Associated Press article that reported, "Advocates for Muslim religious freedoms brought a petition and letters to the French consulate Tuesday, protesting that country's proposed ban of Islamic head scarves and other religious symbols in public schools...Ghazi Khankan, executive director of the New York chapter of the Council on American...

Source: Slate

http://slate.msn.com/id/2093315/

On December 30, 2003 Slate published an article on lessons Americans can learn from the proposed French ban on religious garb. The article notes that many Americans of faith are victims of employment discrimination because of their religious practices. The article outlines several cases of religious discrimination involving religious head coverings and the inability of employees to take time off for religious observances. It concludes, "...

Source: Pittsburgh Business Times

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2003/12/29/focus1.html

On December 29, 2003 the Pittsburgh Business Times reported that finding a balance between respecting religious diversity in the workplace and conducting business is becoming an important endeavor for employers. "The events of Sept. 11, 2001, have raised the awareness of religion in the workplace... Since the terrorist attacks, the Equal Employment...

Source: The Associated Press

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/features/religion/la-me-beliefs27dec27,1,4445205.story?coll=la-news-religion

On December 27, 2003 the Los Angeles Times reported, "A recent Barna poll found that significant numbers of Americans embrace beliefs that are 'logically contradictory,' blending different faith views to create unorthodox religious viewpoints. 'Mix and match spirituality, I call it,' said...

Source: The Telegraph