Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

On June 21, 2002 The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on the Jain Forum for Friendship in California where "more than 150 eligible men and women - all followers of Jainism, an Indian religion with strict interpretations of pacifism, ecological awareness, and vegetarianism - came to mix and mingle in Long Beach on a recent weekend at the first Jains singles conference... 'This is for our generation, which is caught between cultures,' said Komal Shah, 28, co-chair of the Jain Forum for Friendship... The meeting was...

Source: The Boston Globe

On June 8, 2002 The Boston Globe reported that "this weekend the Jain Center of Greater Boston will welcome hundreds [of] people to celebrate Pratistha Mahotsava, the ceremonial consecration and installation of two marble statues at the Cedar Street temple [in Norwood, MA] they have occupied since 1981. A variety of public cultural events are set for this weekend, including a vegetarian dinner and dance performances and speakers at Sharon High School... The center has grown not through evangelism, but immigration. The group was...

Source: Star Tribune

On June 8, 2002, the Star Tribune reported that "at a time when India and Pakistan are again on the verge of war, immigrants from those countries have found in Minnesota a home where friendship can supplant hatred... Which isn't to say that issues of religion and nationalism don't sometimes intervene. But the unifying threads of language, food, music and culture often transcend those issues... Indians and Pakistanis began making the Twin Cities home after 1965, when immigration laws were relaxed... The most recent influx has...

Source: Sacramento Bee

http://www.eeoc.gov

On May 27, 2002 the Sacramento Bee reported that "the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is moving to stem the rise of workplace discrimination against Muslims, Arabs, South Asians and Sikhs.

The EEOC has instituted a new data base code... [to] track the number of charges received by members of these groups who believe they are experiencing what the agency calls 'backlash discrimination' as a result of the events of Sept. 11... As...

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

On May 10, 2002, The Columbus Dispatch reported "Group Unites Eight Faiths for Mutual Enlightenment." It reported on the efforts of the Interfaith Association of Central Ohio: "Members of the 17-year-old association think that the community's religious tolerance, though a good start, isn't enough. 'We need to move beyond that to understanding and respect,' said Tarunjit Butalia, a spokesman for the association and representative of the Sikh community." The article noted that "The association also benefits from having been...

Source: The North Jersey News

Source: The Oregonian

On February 1, 2002 The Oregonian featured an editorial on a meeting in Clatskanie, OR that was "sponsored by a Portland-based Zen Buddhist group, the Zen Community of Oregon, to explain its plans to remodel a former elementary school into a monastery and seminary. But many objected to adding the Zen sanctuary to the community's eight churches... 'Our goal is to protect those that have not yet accepted Christ,' said Loren Dummer, the Assembly of God pastor. He worried that that the Zen Buddhists, who are not evangelical, would try to...

Source: The Hartford Courant

On December 23, 2001, The Hartford Courant featured the editorial "My Fake Christmas" by Sonia Shah, the daughter of immigrants from India, and a member of the Jain religion. "There are 3 million followers of the Jain religion worldwide... As the Jain daughter of Indian immigrants growing up in suburban Connecticut," Shah and her siblings "yearned" for Chritsmas celebration and so every year her Jain parents provided the family with e tree, presents, and other festivities.

Source: No source given.

On September 24, 2001, the Jain Society of Metropolitan Washington's web site highlighted fundraising efforts for victims of the September 11 attacks. "We encourage you all to donate generously. Our country needs the support of every individual. Many of us have given donations for the Gujarat Earthquake Relief but now this tragedy has happened in our country, and its time for us to help our fellow citizens... We have placed a Bandhar in the Temple for receiving donations to help the victim's families of WTC and Pentagon attack...JAINA has...

Source: Messenger-Inquirer

http://www.messenger-inquirer.com/columnists/owen/3382699.htm

On July 28, 2001, the Messenger-Inquirer reported on the growing religious diversity in the Bible Belt. "About 200 Jains and about as many Sikhs live in west-central Kentucky and Tennessee now... Bowling Green has 2,000 actively practicing Muslims, mostly Bosnian immigrants... Nashville has about 24,000 Hispanics, compared to 2,700 a decade ago." Thomas Russell and...

Source: Jain Digest

In its summer 2001 issue, Jain Digest reported that "Jains of North America made history on May 22, 2001 [when they]...received the unprecedented recognition and honor of delivering a prayer in the US House of Representatives" in celebration of the 2600th birthday of Lord Mahavir, the last of the revered Jinas who spread the Jain message. "After the prayer, congressman Frank Pallone, Jr....paid tribute to the Jain philosophy of non-violence."

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On July 1, 2001, The San Francisco Chronicle reported on "William Claassen, a self-described 'nomadic pilgrim.'...Claassen spent 2 1/2 years traveling around the world, visiting 40 monasteries in 12 countries. He broke bread with Greek Orthodox monks on Mount Athos, walked with Catholic brothers in Spain, watched whirling dervishes in Turkey, meditated with Zen monks in Japan and sat at the feet of Hindu gurus and Jain pujaris in India."

Source: Newsday

On May 22, 2001, Newsday reported that "evidence of the explosive growth of Queens' Indian population is showing up in neighborhoods across the borough, way beyond the borders of the community's historical base in Jackson Heights...The population growth is welcomed by Indian community and religious leaders who have learned that higher population numbers can be translated into a stronger political base, better social services and wider opportunities for future generations."

Source: The Tennessean

http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/01/04/03998820.shtml?Element_ID=3998820

On April 7, 2001, The Tennessean reported on Jainism, "a world religion that sprung from ancient India." It "has elements of Hinduism and Buddhism, but its stress on personal responsibility, nonviolence and other doctrines make it a faith in its own right." There are about 25 Jain families...

Source: The Tennessean

http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/01/04/03814884.shtml?Element_ID=3814884

On April 1, 2001, The Tennessean reported that the Bible Belt is now home to "Six Buddhist communities. Five Jewish congregations. Five Islamic mosques. A Baha'i center. A Hindu temple and a Hindu ashram, or teaching abode. Plus assorted Sikhs and Jains...Others exist, too." Tom Russell, a...