Islam

9/11 Memorials and Interfaith Services in Southern California

September 9, 2002

Source: Los Angeles Times

On September 9, 2002 the Los Angeles Times reported that "hundreds [of 9/11 memorials] will be held in places of worship and in public places across Southern California in the next few days to mark the Sept. 11 anniversary. The largest inter-religious gathering in Orange County will be A Prayer Service for Peace at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at St. Columban Church in Garden Grove. Jewish, Islamic and Buddhist leaders will join bishops and other local heads of major Christian denominations for an interfaith service.

Pennsylvania Chapter of CAIR Hold Interfaith Service to Commemorate 9/11

September 9, 2002

Source: The Patriot-News

On September 9, 2002 The Patriot-News reported that "the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations hosted the service [at the Interfaith Center of Greater Harrisburg] to promote unity among faiths. Imam Mohammad Naseem urged those attending to introduce themselves and their families to their neighbors, offer their neighbors help and say they can call anytime."

Long Island's Muslim Community Reaches Out

September 9, 2002

Source: Newsday

On September 9, 2002 Newsday reported that "amid the carnage of last year's terror attacks, many American Muslims have found themselves both victims and on the defense, struggling to explain the essence of Islam to a hurt and bewildered public. As the nation prepares to observe the first anniversary, more than 100 members of Long Island's Muslim community gathered at the Islamic Center in Westbury [New York] yesterday to express their continued outrage and soothe their own pain."

Internal Dispute within American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee

September 9, 2002

Source: Pacific News Service

http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html

On September 9, 2002 the Pacific News Service reported that "a dispute within the ranks of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) has raised tensions in the Arab American community at a particularly sensitive time, reports Arab-American Business magazine... Since Sept. 11, the ADC -- the largest nationwide Arab organization -- has taken the lead in protesting unfair targeting and...

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Educating Against Suspicion

September 8, 2002

Source: The Boston Globe

On September 8, 2002 The Boston Globe reported that "a year after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, [Muslim, Arab, and Sikh people]... who initially aroused suspicion among some residents and law enforcement officials now find themselves - some reluctantly - in the role of educators, all the while enduring long stares and even longer searches at airport security checkpoints. Islamic leaders said their role has become more crucial as a result of the terrorist attacks, especially in the predominantly white Boston [...

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Iowa City Muslims and Arabs Comment Positively on Local Response, but Local Universities Experience Backlash

September 8, 2002

Source: Iowa City Press-Citizen

http://www.press-citizen.com/news/090802arabs.htm

On September 8, 2002 Iowa City Press-Citizen reported that "some members of the Muslim and Arab communities in Iowa City say the local response has been overwhelmingly positive. Despite the mostly positive reaction in Iowa City, the local community was not immune from some negative backlash. A Press-Citizen survey of Big Ten schools the week after Sept. 11 found threats or incidents of...

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Long History of Islam in America

September 8, 2002

Source: In These Times

On September 8, 2002 In These Times, a publication of the Institute for Public Affairs, featured an article entitled "The Forgotten History of Islam in America." The article begins with concerns that "Christian fundamentalists... have seized upon 9/11 to fire a fusillade of invective at the religion of Islam... Far too little media coverage since 9/11 has focused on the country's broader indigenous Islamic constituency. Yet the appeal of Islam in America is undeniable - indeed, it is the country's fastest-growing religion... The...

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Reports on Anti-Muslim Violence

September 8, 2002

Source: The Boston Herald

On September 8, 2002 The Boston Herald reported that "the Massachusetts attorney general's office obtained four civil rights orders, punishable by up to five years in prison, against anti-Muslim offenders. Nationally, state and local prosecutors have brought charges in about 70 cases, including the slayings of seven people perceived as Muslims. The Department of Justice investigated about 350 allegations of threats and violence and brought federal charges in 10 cases. In one case, Zachary J. Rolnik, a publishing executive...

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Religion and Education Post-9/11: Advocates Switch Sides

September 8, 2002

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On September 8, 2002 The San Francisco Chronicle reported that "the Thomas More Law Center, a Michigan-based Christian rights foundation, filed a federal suit this summer on behalf of two families. It charges Contra Costa County's Byron Union School District with violating students' constitutional rights after a seventh-grade class used the workbook Islam: a Simulation of Islamic History and Culture. Religion in the schools has long been a thorny issue. This time, however, some advocates have switched sides....

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Many American Muslims Still Targeted and Fearful

September 8, 2002

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On September 8, 2002, The Houston Chronicle reported that for "American Muslims, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks launched an ordeal that continues to this day... Targeted by hate crimes, fearful of being mistaken for terrorist sympathizers, worried about what the future holds if the United States goes to war with Iraq, many in Houston's 300,000-member Muslim community have seen their comfortable lives eroded by uncertainty and fear...    Nationally, a recent poll found 48 percent of Muslims queried felt their lives had...

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Polls Indicate Americans Still Struggling Over Muslim Identity

September 8, 2002

Source: The Sun News

On September 8, 2002 The Sun News reported that "Muslim-Americans became the targets of scrutiny, criticism and even violence after Sept. 11, but a surprising thing has now happened: The elevated profile seems to have improved Americans' perceptions of them, according to a Knight Ridder poll. For many, though, it is an uneasy accommodation. The poll found that many Americans are struggling to distinguish their positive inclinations toward Muslims living in the United States from their suspicions of those living abroad. That tension is...

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Working Toward Peace

September 8, 2002

Source: The Boston Herald

On September 8, 2002 The Boston Herald reported on Masjid al-Quran, which "has been partnered [since 1997] with a Reform Jewish congregation in Newton, Temple Shalom, through Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries [CMM], an interfaith coalition working in 18 communities in Greater Boston [Massachusetts]. They enlisted the help of CMM and the Public Conversations Project [PCP], a Watertown-based nonprofit, to structure the dialog. 'I think 9-11 brought home to people how dangerous and frightening it is for groups of people who don...

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Jewish Buddhists Reinterpret Psalms

September 8, 2002

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On September 8, 2002 The San Francisco Chronicle reported that "studying the violent passages in the Psalms, Norman Fischer saw something none of us can deny. Judaism and Christianity -- just like the Muslim faith -- can be used to justify the killing of innocents in the name of God. Fischer tries to reconcile all this in Opening to You: Zen-Inspired Translations of the Psalms. Meanwhile, another popular Buddhist teacher with Jewish roots and a Bay Area address is out with his own book of interfaith inspiration...

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