Source: Los Angeles Times

On March 25, 2003 the Los Angeles Times printed an editorial stating that "as the war in Iraq began last week, state and local leaders put police forces and emergency workers on alert against terrorist attacks. In Los Angeles, they also announced they would beef up their investigation and prosecution of hate crimes, a clear message that homeland security extends to Muslims and Arab Americans... Most recently, police are investigating as a hate crime the Feb. 22 beating of an 18-year-old Arab American by a pack of 30 young men in...

Source: National Council of Churches

On March 25, 2003 the National Council of Churches reported that "in a free society, all are responsible. That was among observations of four panelists - all religious leaders opposed to the war on Iraq - at a March 25 forum, 'From Winning the War to Winning the Peace: An Interfaith Dialogue on Resistance and Reconciliation...' More than 100 people filled the 'Great Choir' of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City for the forum, held in the early days of the war. 'This forum offers us a chance to reflect...

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/104-03252003-63529.html

On March 25, 2003 The Associated Press reported that "although it will take time to determine if war in Iraq sparks an increase in bias crimes in New Jersey, a group of the state's religious and ethnic leaders is not waiting to find out... 'Whatever is happening on other shores, we need to be on guard here in New Jersey and throughout the U.S.,' said Shai Goldstein,...

Source: Daily News

On March 24, 2003 the Daily News reported that "whether Christian, Jew, Buddhist, animist, Muslim or a practitioner of any other faith, Muriel Stockdale believes we're more alike than different... Though we may be divided by what we believe, we're united in our devotions to those beliefs, Stockdale said... That's why Stockdale, 50, has joined fellow filmmakers Manech Ibar and Casey Meade Rothstein-Fitzpatrick, both 27, to create 'New York Spirit,' a documentary of how we pray."

Source: The Interfaith Alliance

Source: LA Daily News

On March 24, 2003 the LA Daily News reported that "although there's been no surge in hate crimes in the city since the war in Iraq began, Mayor James Hahn and other local leaders counseled tolerance Monday among the Los Angeles' many diverse communities... 'In this time of heightened anxiety and uncertainty, it's important to stay true to who we are as a people and as city,' Hahn said. 'No matter how stressful these times are, there is no excuse for anyone to treat anyone as a scapegoat or to rely on stereotyping...' Councilmen Dennis...

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On March 23, 2003 the St. Petersburg Times printed an editorial stating that "to get a job as a residential counselor/houseparent at the United Methodist Children's Home in Decatur, Ga., you have to be at least 21 years old, a high school graduate and 'a professing Christian.' The job announcement goes on to explain that while non-Christians 'have done much good in our world,' the Children's Home is 'an agency of a Christian Church' and in order to preserve that identity, only Christians will be hired... You have to appreciate...

Source: The Argus

On March 23, 2003 The Argus reported that "Japanese-American civil rights groups are joining Muslim and interfaith groups outraged over new wartime security measures calling for Arab immigrants seeking political asylum in the United States to be locked up until the government can verify their reasons for coming here... Officials with the Department of Homeland Security say the measures announced last week also are being taken to 'advise members of the Iraqi community of the FBI's responsibilities in protecting them from hate crimes...'...

Source: The Boston Globe

On March 23, 2003 The Boston Globe reported that "months of walking down a cold, dirty, traffic-clogged stretch of Massachusetts Avenue in North Cambridge transformed Christopher Penczak into an urban pagan... Already a practicing witch, Penczak, like most pagans - those who practice earth-based religions - deeply reveres forests and pastures, not trash-littered sidewalks and MBTA bus depots. His spirit felt trapped by the concrete, but his brain had no intention of abandoning a hard-won job at a city recording studio. So he decided...

Source: News Observer

http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2366598p-2207123c.html

On March 23, 2003 the News Observer reported that "the United States is waging a war fraught with religious overtones, but leaders of Triangle churches, synagogues and mosques [in NC] are steering far clear of the fray. On the first weekend of war in Iraq, they are sticking to eternal themes of peace and love, saying the politics of war have no place in the pulpit. The reasoning is...

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/la-me-sublopez23mar23,0,5305794.column

On March 23, 2003 the Los Angeles Times reported that "they've been gathering every Friday morning at 7 o'clock since Sept. 11, 2001, trying to keep the world from unraveling... Muslim and Jew, Hindu and Christian, Buddhist and Sufi, one of these and one of those. It's a Los Angeles crowd, for sure, and a nice idea... Love, peace, common ground... this flock of clergy and...

Source: Newsday

On March 23, 2003 Newsday reported that "in the midst of the weak U.S. economy and in the aftermath of Sept. 11, the EEOC has seen a spike in workplace bias complaints nationwide - but particularly in the categories of age and religious discrimination, which have skyrocketed... Although the filing of a complaint does not necessarily mean that anti-bias laws have been violated, age discrimination cases rose 14.5 percent in 2002 to nearly 20,000 nationwide compared with the preceding year. Some experts say the increase indicates that older...

Source: The Boston Globe

On March 22, 2003 The Boston Globe reported that "the protesters who gathered on City Hall Plaza for the city's first interfaith antiwar march yesterday joined hands and prayed aloud to Jehovah, to Allah, to Jesus, and to Buddha for peace in Iraq. Then, in unison, they condemned the man they say is the real ultimate power behind the war: George W. Bush... Led by four Buddhist monks, nearly 200 protesters chanted songs, banged drums, and stuck daffodils in their hair as they walked from Cambridge to Copley Square, past the State...

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12067-2003Mar22.html

On March 22, 2003 The Washington Post reported that "so far, nothing exists of the Muslim Youth Camps of America except the name and some preliminary sketches of a main lodge with a domed prayer hall. Yet, the proposal to build a $2 million Islamic summer camp in Iowa has become a kind of Rorschach test -- a hazy picture in which supporters and opponents see...

Source: Buffalo News

On March 22, 2003 the Buffalo News reported that "in the nearly five years that the Rev. Stepan Kuklich has donned his gold-embroidered robe to stand behind the wooden screen and sing Sunday Mass in Ukrainian, his unusual American congregation has pleased and surprised him. 'They don't speak Ukrainian at all and they come and they pray,' Kuklich said at the end of one service with air scented with incense and the sound of bells from the altar. 'I'm just glad that they find a way to be part of the church...' When Kuklich first arrived...