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Hindu Festival Celebrated in Queens Despite Security Concerns

March 31, 2002

Source: Newsday

On March 31, 2002, Newsday reported that "more than 2,000 Hindus celebrated the start of their new year by showering each other with powder, symbolizing renewal, and parading along Liberty Avenue... Organizers said the Police Department cautioned against using powder in this year's festival, because of the anthrax scare last fall. But that did not keep celebrants from dousing themselves with baby powder and other powders in many hues and squirting themselves with colored water... City Councilman Allan Jennings, a Democrat who represents...

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Passover in America, 2002: Interfaith Seders

March 30, 2002

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On March 30, 2002, The St. Petersburg Times featured the article "seder helps bridge gap between two faiths" on the Seder organized by members of the Women's Guild at St. Anthony Catholic Church in St. Petersburg, FL. The event was conducted in partnership with "Sally Charloff... and Gloria Goldman... [from] Temple Beth David Jewish Center... [who] led and assisted the Guild women in conducting this traditional Passover meal... During the seder ceremony, Goldman recited the Hebrew prayers while Charloff read the English...

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Native Americans Protest Federal Task Force Decision

March 30, 2002

Source: The Boston Globe

On March 30, 2002, The Boston Globe reported that "as farmers cheered, federal officials let the water flow yesterday from a canal into fields for the first time since last summer, when irrigation was halted amid fears about endangered sucker fish... Members of two Indian tribes chanted and banged drums to show their concern that the Bush administration is favoring the needs of farmers over their own. The fish are considered sacred to tribes in the Klamath Basin."

Jewish Students Prepare Passover Packs for U.S. Millitary Personnel

March 30, 2002

Source: The Times-Picayune

On March 30, 2002, The Times-Picayune featured an article on the "180 Passover packs sent by Conservative Jewish college students to soldiers, sailors and airmen stationed far away from home... The packs contain a seder plate, a personal note from the student and a Haggadah, the ancient narrative that tells the Passover story... Military officials said food could not be included, so it's up to the armed forces to provide the gefilte fish, matzo and other traditional foods... Students assembled the kits during a recent...

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New York Catholic Ritual Takes on New Significance

March 30, 2002

Source: The New York Times

On March 30, 2002, The New York Times featured an article on the Good Friday procesion across the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. "Following a man carrying a simple wooden cross, more than 2,000 people walked across the bridge toward ground zero. They walked in the hope that grafting Jesus' journey onto the geography of contemporary tragedy, they could find some comfort and meaning from the tenets of their faith: his death and resurrection... The walking of the Stations of the Cross [is] an annual Good Friday ritual that a lay...

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Naval Academy to Rethink Required Mealtime Prayer

March 30, 2002

Source: The Baltimore Sun

On March 30, 2002, The Baltimore Sun reported that the Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD may have to rethink their required mealtime prayer because of a pending case in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. "In January, a federal judge ruled that the Virginia Military Institute's practice of leading cadets in a mealtime grace - nearly identical to the academy's - violates separation of church and state... The case highlights the tensions between constitutional protections of religious freedom and the military's often conservative...

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A "Taste" of Religious Diversity

March 29, 2002

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On March 29, 2002, The San Francisco Chronicle featured a story about a Thai Temple's food and fundraising efforts. "Neighborhoods have food secrets that aren't really that secret to people who have lived there for a while. ... The buffet of Thai food set out every Sunday morning by members of the Wat Mongkolratanaram in Berkeley is one of those finds. From about 9 a.m. until the food runs out at 2 or 3 p.m., members of the Thai Buddhist temple offer an expansive lunch to the public. They have been cooking and serving...

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"Women in Religion" Conference Addresses Religious Tolerance and Women's Rights

March 28, 2002

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0328/p11s02-lire.html

On March 28, 2002, The Christian Science Monitor featured the article "Rethinking Religious Tolerance." The article reported that "in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks,... many a public forum has emphasized that world peace may hinge on growing acceptance of religious traditions that once seemed threatening or just unfamiliar... Yet for those committed to universal...

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American Muslim Wins Elected City Position in Georgia

March 28, 2002

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On March 28, 2002, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "six months after Sept. 11, Clarkston [GA] voters ignored ethnic stereotypes and elected an American Muslim of African and Middle Eastern ancestry to fill a seat on the Clarkston City Council... Abdul Akbar won 66 percent of the votes cast for an at-large seat on the six-member council during a special election last week... Akbar's long-term goal is a modest one. 'I want to be remembered as the regular person who connects with...

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