Source: International Herald Tribune

https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/08/opinion/IHT-religious-freedom-...

Source: The Age

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/07/1073437342609.html

On January 8, 2004 The Age ran an opinion piece by Fatima Shah, spokeswoman for women's affairs for the Australian Muslim Public Affairs Committee, in which she argued in defense of the burqa: "Whilst the mystique of the veiled Arab woman has captured the imagination of countless Western writers and travellers, it has also captured the unwanted attention of a number of leftists...

Source: Valley News Dispatch

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleynewsdispatch/lifestyles/s_173629.h tml

On January 8, 2004 the Valley News Dispatch reported, "Music's power to heal and inspire is about to have a worldwide stage...World-renowned conductor Gilbert Levine, known as 'the Pope's maestro,' will lead the Pittsburgh Symphony in what promises to be a historic concert, carrying a theme of reconciliation, celebrating the silver jubilee...

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3376633.stm

On January 8, 2004 the BBC News reported, "Muslim leaders have accused Robert Kilroy-Silk of 'anti-Arab and anti-Muslim views' after a newspaper piece entitled 'We Owe the Arabs Nothing'. The Muslim Council of Britain denounced the BBC discussion show presenter's piece as a 'gratuitous anti-Arab rant. In the Sunday Express piece, the former Labour MP referred to Arabs as 'suicide bombers, limb-amputators, women...

Source: Yahoo! News

Source: Channel News Asia

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/65199/1/.html

On January 7, 2004 Channel News Asia ran an Agence France Presse article that reported, "Leading Muslim cleric Yussef al-Qaradawi has threatened legal action if France adopts a law banning the Islamic headscarf in schools, warning such measures only breed extremism. 'If the law is passed, we will seek to file a legal complaint because this law will be in...

Source: CBC News

http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/01/06/muslim_chaplain040106

On January 6, 2004 CBC News reported, "The Canadian Forces' first Muslim chaplain began work this week at the Edmonton Garrison, bringing a little more religious diversity to the military. Capt. Suleyman Demiray, 37, is a Turkish-born Muslim cleric, or imam, who came to Canada 10 years ago and pursued a Masters degree from Carleton University in Ottawa. While he's happy to finally be on...

Source: Mid Day

http://web.mid-day.com/news/nation/2004/january/73070.htm

On January 6, 2004 Mid Day reported, "The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) was vandalised by about 250 members of the Sambhaji Brigade, a sister organisation of the Maratha Mahasangh, over a book written on Shivaji by James Laine. It is not known which specific passages provoked the group. It is known, however, that they ransacked BORI because Shrikant Bahulkar, a Sanskrit...

Source: CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/01/06/gitmo/index.html

On January 6, 2004 CNN reported, "The U.S. military no longer has a Muslim cleric at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, ministering to the religious needs of the more than 600 detainees there, and has no plans to provide a new cleric of any faith, a Pentagon official said Tuesday.

The official said there has been no cleric for the detainees in nearly four months, since the September 10 arrest of Muslim chaplain...

Source: Muslim Wakeup

http://www.muslimwakeup.com/mainarchive/000502.php#more

On January 6, 2004 Muslim Wakeup ran an opinion piece by Al-Muhajabah in which she writes, "There's a lot of debate among Muslims over who to vote for in the 2004 presidential primaries. The two candidates with the most support among Muslims are Howard Dean and Dennis Kucinich. While some Muslims believe that Dean has the best positions on the issues, many more Muslims are supporting Dean...

Source: Tehran Times

Source: The Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/2004/religion/0401/06/d03-28211.htm

On January 6, 2004 The Detroit News reported, "The Islamic Center of America plans to unveil its gleaming new $12 million mosque in Dearborn this summer — part of an Arab-American religious and cultural facility that the group said will eventually be the largest in North America. The mosque marks the center’s expansion beyond the building it has been using in Detroit for 40...

Source: Religion Link

http://www.religionwriters.com/public/tips/010504/010504a.shtml

On January 5, 2004 Religion Link reported, "A year from now, and after untold campaign speeches and news stories, the United States will either have a new president, or voters will have returned George W. Bush to the White House for a second term. But the next 12 months will feature more than the usual intense campaigning. Experts say that more than perhaps any other...

Source: Muslim Wake Up!

http://www.muslimwakeup.com/mainarchive/000496.php#more

On January 4, 2004 Muslim WakeUp! published an article by Asra Q. Nomani on her battle to allow female Muslims to pray beside men in her West Virginia mosque. Nomani writes that "excluding women ignores the rights the prophet Muhammad gave them in the 7th century and represents 'innovations' that emerged after the prophet died. I had been wrestling with these injustices for some time...

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/features/religion/la-op-skube4jan04,1,3032143.story?coll=la-news-religion

On January 4, 2004 the Los Angeles Times published an editorial by Michael Skube on religion and tolerance: "If religion gives lives meaning — and for billions it does — it does not always bring us peace and mutual understanding. In France, President Jacques Chirac wants no large crucifixes, no skullcaps...