Islam

Muslim Woman Denied Request to Wear Hijab in Court

July 12, 2002

Source: The Plain Dealer

On July 12, 2002 The Plain Dealer reported that "more than 50 Muslims and community leaders gathered in front of the Justice Center [in Cleveland, Ohio] to protest the jail's refusal to let an Islamic woman wear a head covering in court...    Depriving Aisha Samad of her hijab, an object with social, religious and sexual implications, was akin to demanding that a non-Muslim woman strip to the waist in public, one protester said... Samad's scarf and other belongings were taken as part of standard procedure... Rufus Sims, an...

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Controversy Over Participation in Interfaith Service

July 12, 2002

Source: The New York Post

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/45304.htm

On July 12, 2002, The New York Post reported that the "Lutheran minister suspended for taking part in an interfaith prayer service for families of Sept. 11 victims said yesterday that he had no regrets... 'I feel that I've acted with integrity,' said the Rev. David Benke, pastor of Brooklyn's St....

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Central Florida Religious Leaders Meet to Discuss Religion and Public Education

July 12, 2002

Source: The Orlando Sentinel

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-locrelschools12071202jul12.story?coll=orl%2Dhome%2Dheadlines

On July 12, 2002 The Orlando Sentinel reported that "religious leaders from a spectrum of faiths met Thursday night in a Winter Park [Florida] church to grapple with the contentious issue of religious faith and public education... Panelists agreed that teaching about...

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Book to Focus on Religious Diversity of Ohio

July 12, 2002

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

On July 12, 2002 The Columbus Dispatch reported that "the Interfaith Association of Central Ohio... and the Religious Experience Advisory Council of the Ohio Bicentennial Commission are planning [a new] book, Religion in Ohio: Over 200 Years of Experiences... As the state approaches 200, Christian and Jewish bodies remain prominent, but now they have plenty of company. [The] book for Ohio's bicentennial in 2003 also will discuss the beliefs of American Indians, Baha'is, Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, Muslims, Sikhs and...

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Islamic Council Files Profiling Complaint Against Greyhound Buses

July 12, 2002

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58462-2002Jul11.html

On July 12, 2002 The Washington Post reported a passenger and American citizen "of Middle Eastern descent was ordered off a Greyhound bus last month at the terminal in the District, prompting a complaint of ethnic profiling yesterday from... the Council on American-Islamic Relations...

...

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Religious Centers Grow with Northern Virginia Population

July 11, 2002

Source: The Washington Post

On July 11, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "followers of the Baha'i faith plan to begin construction this summer on their first center in Northern Virginia, an 18,000-square-foot building in Sterling that would serve the religious and community needs of more than 1,000 people... Local Baha'is held a groundbreaking ceremony in May. Several said they anticipate that construction will begin soon and hope that the center will open as early as next summer... Baha'is have only recently experienced the kind of growth...

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California Governor Sings Bill to Help Protect Integrity of Halal Products

July 9, 2002

Source: Los Angeles Times

On July 9, 2002 the Los Angeles Times reported that "a bill making it a misdemeanor to sell food products falsely labeled as halal, or sanctioned by Islamic law, was signed into law Monday by Gov. Gray Davis [of California]... during a news conference at the Islamic Cultural Center in Los Angeles... 'Halal is the Islamic equivalent to the Jewish kosher, and therefore a sacred necessity for the Islamic faithful,' Davis said... The law establishes a penalty of as much as 90 days in jail and a $600 fine for...

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Muslim Legal Defense Fund Formed to Represent Muslim Americans

July 8, 2002

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-islam08.html

On July 8, 2002 the Chicago Sun-Times reported that "a network of Muslim attorneys across the nation has formed the Muslim Legal Defense and Education Fund to give legal representation to the more than 1,400 Muslims who have been detained by the U.S. government since Sept. 11, organizers said Sunday... The defense fund now is representing...

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Groups Work to Alleviate Troubling Discrimination in Southern California's Housing

July 8, 2002

Source: Los Angeles Times

On July 8, 2002 the Los Angeles Times featured an article on discrimination faced by Muslim Americans and South Asian Americans when renting apartments in Southern California. "Anxiety... heightened in May when the FBI issued a memo saying terrorists might target apartment buildings with explosives... The Los Angeles Police Department followed that memo by releasing a list of guidelines that encouraged owners to be more vigilant about prospective tenants... Some housing advocates and civil rights attorneys worry that the...

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Muslims Continue to be Detained and Deported

July 8, 2002

Source: The South Florida Sun-Sentinel

On July 8, 2002 The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that "Since Sept. 11, the Immigration and Naturalization Service has rounded up hundreds of Muslims, including an estimated dozens in South Florida, as part of far-reaching terror investigations... Some of those detained were held for months before their release or deportation. None is known to have been charged with any terror-related activity... According to Amnesty International, which sued the government and received a list of 718 detainees in January,...

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California Parents File Complaints Over Teachings about Islam

July 6, 2002

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

On July 6, 2002, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that "a Christian law firm is suing a San Francisco Bay Area school district, alleging it violated the Constitution with its way of teaching the Islamic religion to students. At issue is a world history lesson conducted at Excelsior School in the Byron Union School District... in October 2001. In a seventh-grade class, students reportedly were required to participate in various exercise simulations including selecting a Muslim name, wearing traditional Muslim...

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

July 6, 2002

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On July 6, 2002 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch featured an article on the interfaith bridges being built at the City Museum in St. Louis's Salaam-Shalom Circus, "a year-round circus class with Muslim and Jewish children and their parents." The participants come from the Central Reform Congregation where "parents eagerly embraced the chance for an interfaith experience... Their partners in the interfaith bridge building are parents and children from Clara Muhammad School... Along the way, the parents have even invited one...

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Muslim Advocacy Group Backs Jewish and Muslim Police Deputies Fighting Uniform Policy

July 6, 2002

Source: The Chicago Tribune

On July 6, 2002, The Chicago Tribune reported that "two Cook County sheriff's police deputies will be allowed to wear religious head coverings while on duty, the sheriff's office announced Friday, apparently resolving a controversy that tested the limits of religious freedom on the job... Sgt. Larry Davidson, an Orthodox Jew, will be permitted to wear his yarmulke, and Crystal Clark, a Muslim, will be allowed to wear a scarf. But both must cover their religious headwear with a department-issued cap or hat."

Appeals Court Rules "Under God" in Pledge of Allegiance Unconstitutional

July 6, 2002

Source: The Providence Journal

http://www.projo.com/opinion/contributors/content/projo_20020706_cthicks6.835aa.html

On July 6, 2002, The Providence Journal featured an editorial by Prof. Douglas Hicks of the University of Richmond entitled "Let's Pledge to Respect Differing Beliefs." The piece emphasizes that "'One nation under God' means different things to different Americans... Both critics and supporters of the...

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