Source: The Buffalo News

On November 8, 2002 The Buffalo News reported that "Ramadan, the holiest of months for Muslims, began this week. And the next four weeks of fasting, praying and reflection is a special time for the several million American Muslims still under the public microscope. 'With everything going on,' said Hodan Hassan, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Muslim Relations based in Washington, 'I think people have been looking forward to Ramadan to recharge their batteries.' In the last eight weeks, [Western New York] area Muslims...

Source: The Boston Globe

https://bostonglobe.newspapers.com/search...

Source: nbc4columbus

http://www.msnbc.com/local/wcmh/a1382279.asp

On November 7, 2002 nbc4columbus reported that "a group of Muslim students walked out of their classrooms Thursday at Brookhaven High School because they said they were not allowed to pray. Columbus Public Schools spokesman Michael Straughter said the district is not saying the students can't pray, but just not during instructional time. Brookhaven officials said individual prayer time will be allowed, but not...

Source: White House

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/11/20021107-11.html

On November 7, 2002 the White House released remarks issued by President Bush during an Iftaar dinner. Bush stated, "Islam is a religion that brings hope and comfort to more than a billion people around the world. It has made brothers and sisters of every race. It has given birth to a rich culture of learning and literature and science. Tonight we honor the traditions of a...

Source: Reuters

Source: The Washington Post

On November 6, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "ever since [9/11], young Muslims who work for a government that is vigorously waging a war on terrorism -- acts often committed in the name of Islam -- have faced the unusual challenge of being in the middle of the battle. On the eve of Islam's holy month of Ramadan... five Washington area Muslims who work for the federal government discussed the impact of last year's terrorist attacks. They spoke of living amid two countervailing winds, one bringing acts of kindness and...

Source: The Seattle Times

On November 6, 2002 The Seattle Times reported that "local Muslims are seeing the holy month of Ramadan -- which was expected to begin last night with the sighting of the new moon -- as an opportune time to organize their growing and diverse community and to reach out to the broader public. In the year since Sept. 11, Muslims here as well as nationwide have come under intense scrutiny. Locally, the attention flared again with the Oct. 24 arrests of John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, suspects in the recent East Coast...

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/la-me-ramadan6nov06,0,4407742.story

On November 6, 2002 the Los Angeles Times reported that "each evening for a month, a handful of teenage boys across Southern California will recite from memory a chapter of the Koran -- Islam's holy book -- to crowds gathered at mosques. Just one of these evening prayers can take up to 90 minutes. By the end of the 30 days of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month that began at sundown...

Source: MSNBC

http://www.msnbc.com/news/830635.asp?0dm=C19ON

On November 6, 2002 MSNBC reported that "as Ramadan gets underway, the war on terror heats up and military action against Iraq looms, Muslim communities across America are on a PR mission to explain what their religion is all about. From political fundraisers and food drives to open houses at Mosques, grass roots Muslim groups are working hard to shake off the bad image Islam earned in many Americans’ eyes...

Source: The Baltimore Sun

http://www.sunspot.net/bal-md.islam06nov06.story

On November 6, 2002 The Baltimore Sun reported that "for many Baltimoreans, Imam Mohamad Bashar Arafat is the public face of Islam. The bearded, thoughtful Syrian native was the first Muslim leader many local political, civic and religious leaders turned to as they scrambled to fathom the intricacies of Islam after the terrorist attacks in September last year. His message: Islam, Judaism and...

Source: The Plain Dealer

On November 6, 2002 The Plain Dealer reported that "in eighth grade, [Meghan O'Connor] walked to her neighborhood Catholic school, St. Wenceslas, in a plaid uniform skirt. At 20, she was a party girl and single mother. Today, she covers her hair with the hijab, the traditional scarf that signifies modesty for Muslim women. 'The women's issue was huge for me,' O'Connor said. 'I found that all the pressure to look thin and the lines fed to us - equal opportunity to expose our bodies - weren't good for me. As I studied, Islam...

Source: Chicago Tribune

On November 6, 2002 the Chicago Tribune reported that "leaders of the country's estimated 7 million Muslims are using the traditional month of prayer and fasting as a signature event to introduce their non-Muslim neighbors to their Islam--the global religion of peace and mercy. The hope is a month of open houses at mosques, interfaith dinners and community presentations during Ramadan might lead to a better understanding of one of the world's great faiths. The trend of opening up Ramadan and using it as a springboard is readily...

Source: The Boston Globe

On November 6, 2002 The Boston Globe reported that "President Bush sent greetings to Muslims in America and around the world yesterday as they began the holy fasting month of Ramadan, calling Islam 'a peace-loving faith.' Bush, who stresses that the war on terrorism launched after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States in not aimed at Muslims but only those who have 'hijacked a great religion,' thanked Muslim nations for their support."

Source: White House

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/11/20021105-3.html

On November 5, 2002 the White House issued a press release of President Bush's greetings on Ramadan. It read, "I send greetings to Muslims in the United States and around the world as you observe the holy month of Ramadan. Islam is a peace-loving faith that is practiced by more than one billion people, including millions of American Muslims. These proud citizens contribute to...

Source: The Associated Press

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/94125_washmuslims04.shtml

On November 4, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "the arrest of John Muhammad in the D.C.-area sniper shootings sent shock waves through the Puget Sound region's Muslim community. Not because they knew him, but because they'd never heard of this guy who called himself a Muslim. Muhammad, who lived in Tacoma and Bellingham, converted to Islam and changed his last...