Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On June 21, 2001, The San Francisco Chronicle reported on the Al-Fatiha Foundation, an organization started by Faisal Alam, who is gay and Muslim, to help others like him reconcile their faith and their sexuality. "Islam, like many religions, condemns homosexuality ...The mere existence of the group upsets orthodox members of the Islamic faith...In addition to the nine chapters, Al-Fatiha has a half-dozen Internet list servers." Al Fatiha's website can be found at www.al-fatiha.net...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On June 20, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "Federal Express Corp. must allow employees to wear beards for religious reasons, the U.S. District Court in Augusta has ruled. The decision came after [Muslim] Khaleed Abdul-Azeez filed a complaint through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claiming that the company violated his religious beliefs and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with its policy prohibiting employees in customer-contact positions from wearing beards."

Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 19, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "southland Muslim and Jewish leaders decided...to restart a troubled interfaith dialogue group after Mideast tensions moved the Islamic side to freeze the effort last month...The group...has lost members in the last several months as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict stoked emotions and suspicions on both sides." Many, however, believe that the issues need to be squarely addressed in interfaith dialogue.

Source: The Plain Dealer

On June 18, 2001, The Plain Dealer reported that Cleveland is "becoming a magnet for Indian-American doctors....Nationally the Asian Indian community doubled in size last decade, to about 1.7 million people...It was the fastest growing Asian group in Ohio, reaching...39,000 people. Nationally, 4.5 percent of all doctors are of Indian ancestry...Their numbers grow with proximity to Cleveland...One in 15 Ohio doctors is Indian-American...In no other city, arguably, is such a high proportion of the Indian community licensed to practice...

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

On June 17, 2001, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Linda Hauber, 29, who has become an observant Muslim. "Her rejection of Catholocism; the head scarf; her avoidance of church weddings and funerals...Christmas and Easter gatherings -- all have distanced her from family and old friends...The lingering estrangement arose not simply because [of] her conversion, but also because of her devout observances of Islamic convention."

Source: Newsday

On June 16, 2001, Newsday reported on an interfaith marriage panel, "which brought together four interfaith couples and four clergy members earlier this month at Huntington Congregational Church in Centerport [New York]." Among other things, the panelists discussed wedding ceremonies, raising children, cultural differences, and all that interfaith marriages can teach a couple.

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On June 16, 2001, The Houston Chronicle reported that "as the water from Tropical Storm Allison began to recede...a flood of donations and volunteers rushed into the fellowship hall of St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic Church [in Houston] to help a trained troupe of parishioners activate a shelter for the American Red Cross...This 'miracle' was repeated throughout the Houston area last week as houses of worship became sanctuaries for residents fleeing the floods...Organizations such as churches, mosques and synagogues are...

Source: The Orange County Register

http://www.ocregister.com/local/books00615cci2.shtml

On June 15, 2001, The Orange County Register reported that "Muslims disappointed with inadequate and offensive books on Islam at local libraries have responded overwhelmingly to an Anaheim [California] advocacy group's Sponsor Your Local Library drive to improve collections on the Islamic faith. The Council on American-Islamic...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On June 14, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "some graduates of Atlanta's W.D. Mohammed High School are getting a chance to...immerse themselves in Islamic and Arabic studies at two Muslim universities overseas." In four years, 100 students from throughout the United States have participated. "They go to submerge themselves in Muslim cultures. They go in search of a more intensive Quranic education."

Source: India Abroad

http://www.indiaabroaddaily.com/2001/06/13/13shape.html

On June 13, 2001, India Abroad reported that "former US president Bill Clinton told a large gathering of Indian Americans [in New York City] that the course of the 21st century would be shaped by, among other things, what happens in India...He was delivering the keynote address at a dinner concert organized...

Source: The New York Times

On June 13, 2001, The New York Times reported that "although a Saudi terrorist was saved from the death penalty by the deadlock of a New York jury yesterday, American Muslim leaders said the man's trial still posed difficult political and religious questions. Recent surveys have found that most American Muslims support capital punishment. "Emotionally," however, "it's easier to accept the idea of a Muslim in prison than the idea of a Muslim killed by a non-Muslim state," said a professor of Islamic law at the UCLA School of Law. "...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 12, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "the Supreme Court strengthened the free-speech rights of religious groups...ruling that a Christian youth group must be permitted to hold an after-school Bible study class in a public elementary school...The court's opinion stressing the rights of religious advocates should give a boost to President Bush's 'faith-based' initiative...In dissent, Justice David H. Souter said the ruling appears to stand 'for the remarkable proposition that any public school opened for civil...

Source: The Washington Post

On June 12, 2001, The Washington Post reported that "public schools throughout the Washington area have increasingly allowed religious activities on their campuses, a practice that was reaffirmed yesterday when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Christian youth group could hold after-school meetings at a public school in Upstate New York." An ACLU legal director in the area said the decision "reaffirms what people understood. They have to treat all clubs equally, including nonreligious clubs and religious clubs."

Source: The New York Times

On June 11, 2001, The New York Times reported that the lawyers of Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali, who was convicted in the 1998 bombing of the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, tried to enter as evidence in his trial copies of a "Teach Yourself" handbook on Islam for each of the 12 jurors. The trial, the defense attorney argued, is about Americans' perceptions of Muslims. Prosecutors objected, but the judge eventually allowed the books to be admitted.

Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 10, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported on Iranian immigrant and Muslim Dariush Farshidian, who was "weary of four years in INS detention both on Terminal Island and in Bakersfield, [California]...He needed $5,000 to post bond." In a letter to fellow Iranian Pooya Dayanim, Farshidian asked for help, conveying his "anger at U.S. treatment of INS detainees and his fear of imprisonment, if not execution, by Iranian officials...Several members of the Iranian Jewish community [including Pooya] quickly rallied to Farshidian's...