Source: Mercury News

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/editorial/4175623.htm

On September 29, 2002 Mercury News reported that "nearly a month after a Hindu man allegedly tried to rape a Muslim girl while spewing hateful epithets, many Bay Area Indo-American Muslims and Hindus are still divided over the significance of the crime. Within the somewhat estranged communities, the meaning of the Palo Alto incident has transcended the facts stated by...

Source: Newsday

http://www.newsday.com/mynews/ny-qlpgaq2943247sep29.story

On September 29, 2002 Newsday reported that "with an elephant head and human form, Ganesha represents the universality of creation. He is much beloved and is a favorite with Hindus and non-Hindus alike. Business moguls to taxi drivers carry his image on their car dashboards, and whenever Hindus buy a store or a house or start any new venture - be it a marriage or a business partnership...

Source: State-Times/Morning Advocate

On September 28, 2002 the State-Times/Morning Advocate reported on different religious traditions and their beliefs about cremation. It stated, "cremation is common among Eastern religions. Hindus in India have crematoriums that are open all the time. The families quickly prepare the body, and family and friends go to the funeral pyre. Since the Buddha was cremated, most Buddhists follow this example. In Islam, cremation is forbidden, based on rituals regarding the dead found in the Quran and Sunnah. Muslims consider...

Source: India Abroad

On September 27, 2002 India Abroad reported that "Indian American community organizations across the country organized prayer meetings to pay homage to victims of the 9/11 terrorist strikes, and to offer prayers and support to their families. These included the Indian Association of North Texas, Indian American Cultural Association in Atlanta, Georgia, Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sansstha and the Indian Christian Forum."

Source: India Abroad

On September 27, 2002 India Abroad reported that "the Texas chapter of the Chinmaya Mission Houston hosted a delegation of university professors and high-level administrators from Saudi Arabia, and presented to them a lesson on the fundamentals of Hinduism... The 10-member delegation was on tour of the United States under a project titled 'Religious Pluralism and American Education,' sponsored by the State Department's bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and coordinated by the Institute of International Education."

Source: India Abroad

On September 27, 2002 India Abroad reported that "Mumbai-based literacy movement Pratham, a non-governmental organization, took a step towards its stated goal of 'Every child in India, in school and learning well', by raising over $25,000 at a Gala Night organized by its New York-New Jersey-Connecticut volunteers. Pratham ambassador and Bollywood [Bombay's Hollywood] legend Waheeda Rehman was chief guest at the September 2 event at Liberty House, Jersey City."

Source: The Association of Indian Muslims of America

In a press release dated September 26, 2002 The Association of Indian Muslims of America stated that "We the Association of Indian Muslims of America, Washington, DC, have been shocked to learn of the horrible terrorist attack on the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. On behalf of about 150,000 Indian Muslims in US, we categorically condemn this most reprehensible and cowardly attack, in the strongest possible terms. The violent attack on civilians, especially inside a place of...

Source: Chicago Daily Herald

On September 23, 2002 the Chicago Daily Herald reported that "the growing diversity in the Streamwood, Bartlett and Hanover Park area is reflected in the variety of places of worship. Swami Narayan Temple - the largest Hindu temple in the Northwest suburbs - is in Bartlett. So is the only Jain temple in Illinois... and a Lutheran Christian Church that caters primarily to Chinese and Taiwanese members opened in Streamwood about five years ago... True Light Lutheran Christian Church draws from the greater Chicago area, where...

Source: LowellSun.Com

http://www.lowellsun.com/Stories/0,1413,105%257E4746%257E877914,00.html

On September 23, 2002 LowellSun.Com reported that "[the Hindu Temple], located at 50 Stedman St, was recently sold for $1.5 million to BAPS Northeast, an international organization that operates 345 Hindu temples worldwide. The group has already renovated the inside of the structure and opened the temple hall on Saturday. The opening marks the second Hindu...

Source: The Associated Press

On September 22, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "Minnesota's religious landscape became more diverse in the 1990s, although the state remains mostly Lutheran and Catholic, according to a survey of U.S. religious institutions. From 1990 to 2000, the state has seen double digit percentage increases for Jews and the Latter-day Saints. Muslims were also counted in significant numbers for the first time. The research also found that Minnesota has more evangelical Christians and fewer mainline Protestants... Minnesota is...

Source: Copley News Service

On September 21, 2002 Copley News Service reported that "Ravi Shankar, India's most celebrated composer and instrumental performer, Friday became the first musician to receive the U Thant Peace Award. The award, established in 1982 and named after the former secretary-general of the United Nations, has been presented previously to Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu and Pope John Paul II. It is given to individuals who exemplify the spiritual ideals of U Thant and who have...

Source: St. Petersburg Times

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/about/film10.html

On September 20, 2002 St. Petersburg Times reported that "about 40 local Hindus picketed WEDU-Ch. 3's offices on North Boulevard [in Tampa, FL], protesting the airing of the documentary Soul of India. The protesters said the hourlong TV program was biased... [and] focuses on Hindu extremists in Gujarat, where many of them are from. WEDU wasn't the only station to be hit with protests....

Source: The Commercial Appeal

On September 19, 2002 The Commercial Appeal reported that "for more than a year, Loganathan Chinnasamy and his crew have labored at the Indian Cultural Center's temple in Eads [TN]. The nine men left their homes in India to decorate a Hindu house of worship modeled after one of their homeland's most revered temples. 'Our temple is a slightly smaller version of Sri Venkateswara in Thirumala, India,' explained Dr. Prasad Duggirala, a physician in Ripley and chairman of the board of trustees of the Indian Cultural Center and...

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/4102992.htm

On September 19, 2002 The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that "unknown to most passengers on the Atlanta-to-Philadelphia flight, the marshals upon landing... seized an Indian passenger from first class and silently whisked him away in handcuffs. Far from being a terror suspect, the second detainee turned out to be a former U.S. Army major and military doctor from Lake Worth, Fla., where he has...

Source: The Washington Post

On September 14, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "Americans toward the end of the 20th century began reexamining their religious affiliations with intensity after an unprecedented growth of 'nontraditional' U.S. faiths, said Diana L. Eck, founder of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University. No longer were Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Muslims 'just on the other side of the world,' Eck said. Now they were 'neighbors across the street, and the encounter of people of other religions [became] more prevalent.' This trend...