Judaism

Neighborhood Jews, Hindus and Muslims Come Together to Play Basketball

August 14, 2002

Source: New York Daily News

On August 14, 2002 the New York Daily News reported on a new basketball league experiment in Midwood, New York. The area has "long an enclave of Orthodox and conservative Jewish families - and, more recently, thousands of Pakistani Muslims and Indian Hindus... As waves of hatred and terror continue to flare in the Middle East, they are an experiment in peace." The league is a joint effort of the Council of Pakistan Organization and local Police. "'If they play together, they live together, spend hours together, the hatred may...

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Washington Mosque Invites Neighbors for Celebration of Thanks

August 13, 2002

Source: The Seattle Times

On August 13, 2002, The Seattle Times featured an editorial on the activities of a Seattle Mosque. "The Idriss mosque in the Northgate area reached out to its neighbors and the community at large after Sept. 11, even after enduring attempts to vandalize and burn down the mosque. Mosque leaders and members helped to explain Islam to people suddenly fearful of it... And the community, including members of many faiths, reached back, some even watching the mosque 'round-the-clock to prevent any further attacks...    On Sunday,...

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The Catholic Church Rethinks Relationship with Jewish Communities

August 13, 2002

Source: The Boston Globe

On August 13, 2002 The Boston Globe reported that "the Catholic Church, which spent hundreds of years trying forcibly to convert Jews to Christianity, has come to the conclusion that it is theologically unacceptable to target Jews for evangelization, according to a statement issued yesterday by organizations representing US Catholic bishops and rabbis from the country's two largest Jewish denominations...  The declaration, which was negotiated by the bishops and an organization representing Conservative and Reform rabbis,...

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Post Office Stamps Recognize Religious Diversity of America

August 13, 2002

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On August 13, 2002 the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "stamps honoring Muslim, Jewish and African-American holidays will be reissued this fall, the Postal Service said Monday... The Eid stamp commemorates the two most important festivals... in the Islamic calendar: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha...    Eid al-Fitr signifies the feast of breaking the fast, marking the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting. Eid al-Adha comes at the end of the hajj - the annual period of pilgrimage to Mecca...    The Hanukkah...

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American Muslims Plan 'National Day of Unity and Peace' for September 11

August 9, 2002

Source: CAIR

On August 9, 2002, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) reported on their release of a web site "designed to allow local mosques, churches, synagogues, and other religious institutions to register their participation in a September 11th national 'Day of Unity and Prayer' commemorating the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon."
SEE: http://www.cair-net.org/dayofunity/

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Controversy over Required Reading on Islam at University of North Carolina

August 7, 2002

Source: The Washington Post

On August 7, 2002, The Washington Post reported that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill "is asking all 3,500 incoming freshmen to read a book about Islam and [now] finds itself besieged in federal court and across the airwaves by Christian evangelists and other conservatives... The university chose 'Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations'... because of intense interest in Islam since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks...   To the university's faculty and some students, the dispute is about upholding UNC's...

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Universities Seeing Increased Interest in Religious and Middle Eastern Studies

August 6, 2002

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/metro/0802/06arabic.html

On August 6, 2002 The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "in the post-Sept. 11 world... the demand is high for experts in Middle Eastern studies, religion and languages. Schools that had seen limited student interest in basic religion, philosophy and history courses are finding their classes overbooked since the Sept. 11 attacks and escalating...

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American Jewish and Muslim Comedy Duo Perform Across Nation

August 4, 2002

Source: The Boston Globe

On August 4, 2002, The Boston Globe reported on the comedy duo, Rabbi Bob Alper and Egyptian-born Ahmed Ahmed, who "are touring with a show called 'One Arab. One Jew. One Stage'... Although the show's content is not political, Alper says that audiences are delighted just to see a Jewish and an Arab comic appearing together... Ahmed calls the show 'a gesture of peace.'"

Atlanta Area Religious Leaders Plan to Come Together for Service

August 4, 2002

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/news/0802/04teranniversary.html

On August 4, 2002 The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America will be commemorated with tolling bells, common prayers and moments of silence... Sept. 11 is expected to be a time for public grieving and spiritual connection... Muslim...

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Editorial Addresses Criticisms of Interfaith Events and an Alternative

August 4, 2002

Source: The Providence Journal-Bulletin

On August 4, 2002 The Providence Journal-Bulletin featured an editorial response by Charles Haynes, of the First Amendment Center, to recent criticisms of Interfaith events. "In the long shadow of Sept. 11, Americans are rediscovering what most of the world has never forgotten: religious differences matter... In reality, for most Jews, Christians, Muslims and others, it does matter what you believe... Ignoring religious differences doesn't work... [The] alternative is for Americans to address religious differences...

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New Survey Shows Intermarriage Affects Jewish Identity

August 3, 2002

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On August 3, 2002 The Houston Chronicle reported that a new "survey of students entering college shows 92.6 percent of those with two Jewish parents identify as Jews, but there's a notable drop-off if the parents are intermarried...    Among students with a Jewish mother and gentile father, 37.8 percent considered themselves Jewish. That drops to 15.3 percent when the father is Jewish and the mother gentile... Forty percent of students from mixed marriages listed no religious identification."

Interfaith Group Builds Houses in Atlanta

August 3, 2002

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On August 3, 2002 The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "for the next seven Sundays, an interfaith group of 400 Baha'i, Baptist, Episcopal, Jewish, Methodist, Muslim, Seventh-day Adventist and Unitarian congregation members will build a house on behalf of Atlanta Habitat for Humanity... They also are getting to know each other... Habitat started building interfaith houses a couple of years ago, but nothing as inclusive as this project, said Larrie Martin, executive director for Atlanta Habitat...

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Philadelphia Reform Synagogue Perseveres with Zoning Discrimination Suit

July 31, 2002

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=16659

On July 31, 2002 The Associated Press reported that Congregation Kol Ami continues to fight its lawsuit against a suburban Philadelphia township charging that the township "discriminated against [the] Reform Jewish congregation in a zoning decision... The case may later test the constitutionality of the 2000 Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons...

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Muslim and Jewish Children Share Salaam-Shalom Circus in St. Louis

July 29, 2002

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On July 29, 2002, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that 17 children from Circus Salaam Shalom, an Muslim-Jewish interfaith troupe, performed their first public show "before a boisterous crowd of about 100 at the City Museum... Circus Salaam Shalom translates as peace in Arabic and Hebrew, respectively, and works from the concept that it's easier to understand someone once you've stood on their shoulders, leaped through their arms or dangled from their body... In May, the children performed privately at their respective...

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