Source: U.S. Newswire

On October 23, 2002 U.S. Newswire reported that "the Anti-Defamation League condemned the distribution of offensive hate materials, which occurred at the mosque of the Muslim Association in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Monday. ADL Regional Director Jonathan Bernstein stated, 'we are deeply concerned about the distribution of hate materials at a mosque. No religious community should be targeted for hate nor should a group of people be scapegoated for a few individuals' actions. We offer our support to the Muslim community.'"

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/business/1002/22muslim.html

On October 22, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "a Muslim from Houston has filed a lawsuit saying Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A's corporate purpose to glorify God discriminates against its non-Christian employees. Aziz Latif, 25, says he was fired a day after he refused to pray to Jesus Christ during a training session in November 2000."

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On October 22, 2002 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "the Waukesha School Board [WI] president is pushing a requirement for all students to study different religions in high school. In a memo to School Board members, William Domina said he wanted every student in the district to graduate with a basic knowledge of religions including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. 'Without this basic understanding, I am concerned that we have not provided our children with a full and complete education and that...

Source: The Associated Press

On October 22, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "Federal authorities and police are investigating as a hate crime the dropping of hundreds of anti-Muslim leaflets in the yard of a [Hawaiian] Islamic center, the FBI said Monday. The leaflets were thrown into the fenced yard of the mosque of the Muslim Association of Hawaii around 8 a.m. Monday, said Daniel Dzwilewski, special agent in charge at the bureau's Honolulu division."

Source: Newsday

On October 21, 2002 Newsday reported on the "thousands of newcomers who live or worship in this spectacularly polyglot stretch of Flushing, which boasts Hindu and Buddhist temples, mosques, synagogues, Sikh gurdwaras as well as historic Catholic and Protestant churches dating, in a few cases, to the 17th century. In many ways, Bowne Street is a microcosm of the changing spiritual landscape of New York, which is being reordered by the powerful engines of immigration and globalization. If not quite a new Mecca or a Jerusalem, the New...

Source: The Washington Post

On October 20, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "a Howard County [Maryland] Muslim congregation is edging closer to reality -- and with it, hopes of becoming a more integral part of the community's daily fabric. After bouncing among facilities for their prayers and gatherings since the early 1990s, members of Dar Al-Taqwa are just months away from a building permit to erect the county's first mosque. The worship center... will be a place to call their own, to teach Arabic to their children and to honor the customs and...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On October 20, 2002 the Los Angeles Times reported that "more than 1,500 Somali refugees [arrived] in this fading industrial city about 30 miles north of Portland. The large influx of families -- most of them Muslim -- from East Africa came swiftly, in just 18 months. For longtime residents and newcomers alike, the sudden population shift has brought a sense of mutual culture shock. At Frenchy's Barber Shop, a one-chair establishment... 'Frenchy' Langlois said he was 15 when he hopped a train in French-speaking Canada 48...

Source: The Times-Picayune

On October 19, 2002 The Times-Picayune reported that "Bruce Feiler, [author of Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths], is urging followers of the three major mono-theistic faiths to... [talk] to one another. 'Abraham is a potential unifier because he stands before the creation of the three major religions,' Feiler said during a recent talk held at Temple Shalom in Colorado Springs, which houses a joint Conservative-Reform Jewish congregation."

Source: The Washington Post

On October 19, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "two recent meetings in Washington -- one hosted by Muslims and the other by a Jewish congregation -- illustrate the heightened interest in exploring theological issues generated by the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001. The gathering was the first of 100 interfaith 'Abraham Summits' planned for Nov. 8 to 24 in communities across the country in connection with [Bruce Feiler's new book, Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths]. The book examines the man revered...

Source: The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

On October 18, 2002 The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that "about 150 civic leaders, architects and the charity's employees gathered on weedy industrial land on the eastern edge of Little Rock. Their heads bowed, they prayed Jewish, Muslim and Christian prayers and blessed the roughly 27 acres that bulldozers will begin transforming next year... For Heifer International, a Little Rock-based world relief organization, the blessing marked the first time the organization publicly acknowledged that its...

Source: The Press Enterprise

On October 18, 2002 The Press Enterprise reported that "Lake Elsinore's City Council [CA] recently decreed that all mention of religious figures, including Jesus Christ and Allah, be deleted from their meeting's opening invocation. The prayers may acknowledge a supreme being, but not by name. On the other side of the debate are the cities of San Bernardino and Temecula [CA], which also invite local clergy to open their meetings. Neither city is willing to tell a pastor how to pray."

Source: The Buffalo News

On October 17, 2002 The Buffalo News reported that "in a gesture of good will and outreach to the Yemeni community, the Lackawanna School Board held its regular monthly meeting Wednesday night at the Yemenite Benevolent Association, drawing both compliments and questions from Yemeni parents. The meeting... was attended by the usual participants and observers at School Board meetings, as well by as about three dozen men, women and children from the local Muslim community. In a statement that drew great applause, Jim Tatko, a...

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On October 17, 2002 The Houston Chronicle reported that "dozens of volunteers from a variety of faiths gathered Sunday at a West Houston mosque to sew lap quilts for the elderly. Hunched over sewing machines, or cutting and pinning fabric, Muslims labored alongside Jews and Christians as part of a two-day, citywide effort by Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston to break down religious barriers by engaging in simple acts of charity and finding a common thread of humanity."

Source: The Washington Post

On October 15, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "Falwell apologized over the weekend for calling Muhammad, the founder of Islam, a 'terrorist' in an interview broadcast Sept. 30 by the CBS News program '60 Minutes.' 'I sincerely apologize that certain statements of mine... were hurtful to the feelings of many Muslims. I intended no disrespect to any sincere, law-abiding Muslim,' the Southern Baptist minister said."

Source: The Washington Post

On October 15, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "a recent series of disparaging remarks about Islam by the Rev. Jerry Falwell and other evangelical Christian leaders have sparked riots in India, helped religious parties win elections in Pakistan and undermined public sympathy in Islamic countries for the U.S. war on terrorism, experts said yesterday. 'Jerry Falwell makes a statement, he pleases his constituents, then he says he's sorry and apparently thinks that's the end of it,' said Akbar Ahmed, chairman of Islamic...