Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 10, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that "during the month of Ramadan, two Muslim teenagers on the Magnolia High School basketball team have to execute something tougher than a crossover dribble: playing hoops in the afternoon after going all day without food or water. Talal Trablci and Khalid Khoudari, who play on the freshman-sophomore team in Anaheim, won't be alone in competing on an empty stomach. Hundreds of Muslim high school athletes, sprinkled on teams throughout Southern California, face the same...

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On December 8, 2000, the St. Petersburg Times reported that Muslim students have developed tactics for surviving the day without food during Ramadan. " 'We've all learned little tricks,' said Naveed Kamal, a 16-year-old senior in a private Muslim school, the Universal Academy of Florida. 'Eating yogurt, Gatorade and Power Bars at suhur helps.' 'Gyro meat is especially long-lasting,' said 15-year-old Ossama Elsham, a fellow student. Both also attend classes at USF. Muslims worldwide, including 5.5-million in the United States,...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 8, 2000, The Los Angeles Times reported that "an Islamic holiday display now shares a patch of grass in Mission Viejo with Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus, marking what Muslim leaders say is the first time in California that the holy month of Ramadan has received equal billing with Christmas on public space. The small billboard shows a photograph of the Kaaba--the central shrine of Islam in Mecca, Saudi Arabia--with a message: 'Season's Greetings.' A caption under the photo reads 'The First House of Worship on Earth.'...

Source: The Boston Globe

On December 6, 2000, The Boston Globe reported that "the Palestinian-Israeli battles that have convulsed the Middle East since late September have sparked the most intense wave of assaults on Jews and Jewish institutions worldwide since World War II, Jewish leaders say. In France, more than 50 synagogues have been attacked, some more than once, according to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, one of several organizations monitoring the events. Most assaults were fire bombings, but there also have been numerous stonings, targeting students...

Source: The Washington Post

On December 4, 2000, The Washington Post reported that "during Ramadan, which started on Nov. 27, Muslims don't eat or drink from the time the sun pops up until it slinks away at night...Every night, friends and family gather to break the fast at a really big meal called an iftaar. At the end of Ramadan, people have a huge party called an Id-al Fitr, which basically is a great time to fill up on sweets and open gifts. Thousands of Muslim children at schools around Washington are honoring this holy month. Younger kids don't have...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 3, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that "Biola University in La Mirada is set to hold the region's first major town hall meeting on the crisis Monday with Jews, Muslims and Christians. The Christian university's forum--expected to draw 3,000 people under the eyes of extra security guards--will attempt to move beyond finger-pointing to discuss concrete peacekeeping ideas. It reflects what organizers say is the small beginning of a return to dialogue, two months after the outbreak of violence that froze the peace...

Source: Star Tribune

On December 2, 2000, the Star Tribune reported that "Muslim cabdrivers who object to transporting alcohol for religious reasons complain they are being forced to choose between their faith and their livelihoods at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Under airport policy, drivers must accept passengers who are carrying liquor--often bought at airport duty-free shops in the United States and abroad--or wait as long as four hours for another fare. Officials of the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) said that drivers can...

Source: The Buffalo News

On December 2, 2000, The Buffalo News reported that "the first of this winter's major religious holidays got under way across the country this week with the start of Ramadan, as diverse Muslim communities began celebrating their holy month of fasting...The month begins with the sighting of the new moon, so although most Muslims began fasting Monday, others started Tuesday. There are an estimated 6 million Muslims in the United States. While many Muslims in the Middle East traditionally break the fast by sharing a special holiday...

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On December 1, 2000, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that "Dr. Salma Ahmad serves on the emergency room staff of Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis and on the faculty of the Washington University School of Medicine. Despite a busy life as an emergency room physician, university professor and president of a small company, Dr. Salma Ahmad takes time to share facts and dispel myths about her Islamic faith. Ahmad is chairwoman of the organizational committee of the Women's Interfaith Conference in St. Louis-an annual...

Source: The Baltimore Sun

On December 1, 2000, The Baltimore Sun reported that Muslims who are fasting during Ramadan look forward to the feast which will break the fast at sunset each evening. "Most Muslims observe iftar - the breaking of the fast - with family and friends. But at the al-Ramah mosque in Woodlawn, iftar is a communal feast, an increasingly popular means of breaking the fast. Each evening after prayers, about 250 sit down to a free dinner, usually a savory Indian or Pakistani meal, with the spices toned down for a congregation that includes...

Source: The Washington Post

On November 28, 2000, The Washington Post reported that an increasing number of schools in Washington, D.C. are incorporating lessons about Islam and Muslims into the curriculum. "Educators said they are careful to keep the lessons focused on information rather than religious preaching. But they added that with thousands of Muslim students now attending Washington area schools, basic knowledge of Muslim students and their holidays is needed, especially during a time of tense conflict in the Middle East...Some Muslim...

Source: The Denver Rocky Mountain News

On November 28, 2000, The Denver Rocky Mountain News reported that "Ramadan began Monday for the 1.1 billion followers of Islam - 15,000 of whom who live in Colorado. But Ramadan has another side - after dusk. That's when Muslims break each day's fast with a feast. The Jodehs decided to end the first day of Ramadan with four special friends, all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 'The first night of Ramadan is special, and the tradition is to invite your most dear family and friends. I can't...

Source: The Seattle Times

On November 28, 2000, The Seattle Times reported that "Americans' idea of Muslims and their holidays has been bound up far too much in politics. Americans have associated Muslims with terrorists and fanatics, partly because our longtime support of Israel has made America a target of such fanatics, and because violence makes news. Hollywood, always on the lookout for the politically acceptable villain, has often cast Muslims in that role. But the Islamic belief, which recognizes Mohammed as the greatest in a line of prophets that...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On November 28, 2000, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "as the Islamic world begins its observance of Ramadan, a monthlong period of fasting during daylight, more Americans are conscious of the Muslims among them," according to Ibrihim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic relations. "A new U.S. postage stamp to commemorate Eid, the Islamic holiday breaking the Ramadan fast, is a positive sign of Muslim's acceptance in America, Hooper said. The commemorative...

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

On November 27, 2000, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that "the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins today and marks the revelation of Islam's sacred scriptures to the Prophet Mohammed, is a period of abstinence, spiritual reflection and renewal. For many American Muslim parents, it is also an opportunity to share the history, traditions and beliefs of their religion with their children's schools...Fasting students often are excused from gym class or other strenuous activities. And many schools make offices or vacant rooms...