Source: The Houston Chronicle

On October 6, 2002 The Houston Chronicle reported that "more than 100 Muslims demonstrated outside a local CBS affiliate Saturday to protest a 60 Minutes interview in which the Rev. Jerry Falwell brands the prophet Muhammad a 'terrorist.' According to an article on the CBS Web site, the comments appear in a segment on Falwell and conservative Christians' support of Israel, and their belief that 'the turmoil in the Middle East is a harbinger of the second coming of Christ.'"

Source: The Charlotte Observer

On October 6, 2002 The Charlotte Observer reported that "the director of the Islamic Center of Charlotte is stuck in Saudi Arabia. The prayer leader at the Islamic Society of Gastonia has been deported. Their absences are creating hardships in their Muslim communities while raising further allegations that the government treats Muslims unfairly. Ammar Alyounes, director of the Islamic center, flew to Saudi Arabia in May for an annual three-week trip to renew his Saudi citizenship papers and refresh his U.S. work visa. He's...

Source: The Boston Globe

On October 6, 2002, the Boston Globe reported the launch of ArchNet.com, the largest Web source on Islamic architecture, on Sept. 27 by Harvard, MIT, and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. "The site, seeking to capitalize on the growing interest in Islam, invites cultures and societies across the world to fish through the 600,000 images, papers, and documents. 'ArchNet is extremely inclusive, we want to show the plurality that exists in the Muslim world,' said Shiraz Allibhai, the site's managing director."

Source: American Muslim Council

On October 6, 2002 Eric Erfan Vickers, Executive Director of the American Muslim Council issued a press release that stated, "I expect this nation to demand decency in the public discourse over religion. I expect my country to hold our heroes sacrosanct, and I expect America to have the politeness to say it is sorry when it makes a mistake, even a well-intentioned one. I expect this from leaders chosen under a democracy that contains a Bill of Rights, and I expect it as well from the everyday people whose spirit of being...

Source: The Associated Press

On October 4, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "more than 300 university and college presidents have signed a petition calling for 'intimidation-free' campuses so pro-Israeli students will not be hassled for their beliefs, a Jewish advocacy group said Friday... 'In the past few months, students who are Jewish or supporters of Israel's right to exist... have received death threats and threats of violence,' the petition says... Muslim advocates and some educators are concerned the petition, which will be released Monday by...

Source: The Anti-Defamation League

http://www.adl.org/PresRele/DiRaB_41/4168_41.asp

On October 4, 2002 The Anti-Defamation League issued a press release that "strongly condemned Rev. Jerry Falwell’s statement that the Prophet Mohammed 'was a terrorist' and called on him to apologize to the followers of Islam. Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement: The Rev. Jerry Falwell has once again demonstrated his intolerance by his outrageous...

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

On October 4, 2002 The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that "the Postal Service issues its holiday stamps in October to continue interest in collecting. Next Thursday, four holiday stamps, all 37 cents, will be issued commemorating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and the Muslim Eid. Contemporary Christmas stamps, featuring snowmen, will be issued later."

Source: The Associated Press

On October 3, 2002 The Associated Press reported that :The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued a rental car agency, accusing it of discriminating against a Muslim woman who was told she couldn't wear a head scarf at work. The lawsuit against Alamo Rent-A-Car and its Florida-based parent, ANC Rental Corp., is based on a complaint by Bilan Nur of Phoenix."

Source: The Associated Press

On October 3, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "a charity founded by Pat Robertson is to receive $500,000 in the first wave of grants under President Bush's 'faith-based initiative,' which the religious broadcaster had criticized. In March, Robertson said on his '700 Club' television show that the program to give federal money to religious organizations that provide social services was a 'Pandora's box' that could make legitimate religious charities dependent on government and finance cults that 'brainwash' prospective...

Source: Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30047-2002Oct1.html

On October 2, 2002 Washington Post reported that "search-and-seizure operations carried out [by federal agents] at Muslim homes and organizations across Northern Virginia... [were] aimed at gathering information on possible financial links to Middle Eastern terrorist groups. But while much about the operation remains murky, one aspect is drawing increased attention...

Source: Buffalo News

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20021002/1036867.asp

On October 2, 2002 Buffalo News reported that "religious leaders from a variety of faiths gathered outside the Lackawanna Mosque on Tuesday to pledge their support for the local Muslim community in response to the arrests of six Lackawanna men charged with supporting the al-Qaida terrorist network... religious leaders said they wanted to make a statement as a preventative measure...

Source: The Muslim Public Affairs Council

http://www.mpac.org/

In a press released dated October 2, 2002 the The Muslim Public Affairs Council stated that "(MPAC) has prepared a position paper to examine the relationship between the fact that we are Muslims and we are patriotic Americans. This means that we are patriotic Americans in spite of being Muslims. This notion, that Islam is actually incompatible with Americanism, or patriotism, seems to be the preponderant notion among most Americans,...

Source: Religion News Service

On October 2, 2002 Religion News Service reported that "more people learned of [Carlton Pearson's] 'gospel of inclusion'... [which] says simply, 'I exclude nobody from the redemptive work of the cross.' Pearson says he thinks the focus of many of his evangelical brethren, who believe a personal confession that Jesus is savior gains one entrance to heaven, has been wrongly placed... 'I believe that Jesus redeemed the entire world,' not just particular brands of Christians. While Pearson's doctrine of inclusion has motivated the...

Source: India Tribune

On October 1, 2002, the India Tribune reported that "in a spontaneous outpouring of sympathy, thousands of followers of Swami Narayan gathered at the BAPS Temple [in Edison, NJ] and expressed their shock and sorrow over the terrorist attack on the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, [the main temple of the Swami Narayan movement in India]... Similar outpourings of sadness were seen on September 24 at more than 30 temples and over 200 centers of the Bochaswanwasi Shree Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha, commonly...

Source: Religion News Service

http://www.ucc.org/news/r081602f.htm

On October 1, 2002 Religion News Service reported that "since Sept. 11, universities throughout the country have been scrambling to hire experts on Islam to bolster departments of religion or Middle East studies. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill just added a second Islamicist to its department of religious studies. Edward Curtis will teach about Islam among African-Americans. The university is also...