Source: The Washington Post

On September 19, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "local Muslim leaders said that weekend vandalism in which racial obscenities and swastikas were spray-painted on a wall of a new mosque in Sterling [Virginia] would not delay its opening in October. Adams Center leaders had increased security at the nearly completed mosque... around Sept. 11[2002]... [but] when nothing had happened by Friday, they relaxed security measures. On Sept. 11, 2001, vandals spray-painted violent messages on walls, carpets and doors of another...

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=16986

On September 19, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "six Maine families joined yesterday in a lawsuit that seeks to force the state to pay for their children's tuition at religious schools. The lawsuit, filed in Cumberland County Superior Court, is the first of three planned by a Washington, D.C., legal advocacy group that hopes to use a recent U.S....

Source: The Associated Press

On September 18, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "about 100 Houston-area Muslims peacefully protested an adult cinema Wednesday, upset over a film advertised as Sex Life of the Prophet Muhammad in a weekly newspaper. Several of the protesters acknowledged they had not seen the film, citing religious beliefs that prevented them from entering the building. The theater's manager, who declined to give his name, said the owner contracted an exclusive run of the film. Some protesters agreed the theater had a right to...

Source: The Arizona Republic

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/local/9_16_02mesa.html

On September 16, 2002, The Arizona Republic reported that "the family of Balbir Singh Sodhi held a memorial program Saturday to honor the slain Sikh and other backlash victims stemming from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks... About 500 attended the Balbir Singh Sodhi Embrace Diversity Memorial Event at Mesa's Red Mountain Park... Since Sodhi's death, 16 other backlash deaths have been...

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On September 16, 2002 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that "about a hundred people... gathered Sunday at the Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis... for an interfaith prayer service to honor the Sept. 11 victims and express religious solidarity against terrorism. While St. Louis-area Muslims say they have generally been treated well, several people who attended the service expressed dismay at what they say is a growing backlash against Islamic communities across the country. According to a USA Today-CNN-Gallup...

Source: The Stamford Advocate

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-sikh1sep16.story?coll=stam%2Dnews%2Dlocal%2Dheadlines

On September 16, 2002 The Stamford Advocate reported that "about 200 Sikhs from Fairfield County [CT] gathered to remember victims of terrorism and hate crimes. Across the country, several Sikhs have been attacked or killed in the past year... Mayor Alex Knopp thanked the Sikh community...

Source: Newsday

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-attacks-arizona-shooting0915sep14.story?coll=sns%2Dap%2Dnation%2Dheadlines

On September 15, 2002 Newsday reported that "hundreds of people attended a memorial vigil Saturday night [in Mesa, AZ] for a gas station owner fatally shot just days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks... The two-hour memorial took...

Source: The New York Times

On September 15, 2002 The New York Times reported on "a memorial, given by the Upper Westchester Muslim Society... The moderator, Asser Tantawi, took the podium and called the Sept. 11 attacks 'an act of evil which happened a year ago that has absolutely nothing to do with our religion or faith.' Mr. Tantawi then used an example, not from the Koran, but from mainstream American life. 'How many of you remember 'Eight is Enough?' ' he asked. His reference was to the television series from the late 1970's, but his point was that...

Source: The Associated Press

On September 15, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "a memorial vigil was held Saturday night for a Mesa gas station owner shot days after last year's terrorist attacks on the East Coast. The Balbir Singh Sodhi Embrace Diversity Memorial event took place at a Mesa park about a mile from where Sodhi was shot. An estimated 800 people attended the two-hour program, delivered from a large stage that featured a collage in the shape of an American flag with the words "Embrace Diversity." Statements were read from President...

Source: The Washington Post

On September 14, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "at least a dozen murders are being investigated as hate crimes by [Texas] authorities. Families of those victims say they share the grief of the families of those who perished at the World Trade Center and Pentagon and who were aboard the jetliners that crashed that day. But amid the commemorations and observances of the first anniversary of Sept. 11, they feel forgotten. Representatives of the national charities say the issue is not so simple. The September 11th Fund...

Source: The Washington Post

On September 14, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "Americans toward the end of the 20th century began reexamining their religious affiliations with intensity after an unprecedented growth of 'nontraditional' U.S. faiths, said Diana L. Eck, founder of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University. No longer were Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Muslims 'just on the other side of the world,' Eck said. Now they were 'neighbors across the street, and the encounter of people of other religions [became] more prevalent.' This trend...

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On September 13, 2002 The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "the White House expects the Senate to vote soon for a long-delayed bill to make it easier for faith-based groups to seek federal support for programs to help the needy. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said the Senate would vote on the bill during the end-of-session rush if the two senators could obtain unanimous consent from their colleagues for strict limits on debate time and the number of amendments."

Source: Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0913/p10s04-comv.html

On September 13, 2002 the Christian Science Monitor reported that "the impulse to place collective blame for 9/11 on [Muslims and Americans of Middle Eastern background] groups has surfaced in acts of prejudice and, sometimes, violence. But... there have also been acts of kindness and reassurance by Americans determined to show their Muslim neighbors or colleagues that they are...

Source: Equal Time

http://eastbay.bizjournals.com/eastbay/stories/2002/09/16/smallb3.html

On September 13, 2002 Equal Time reported that "few U.S. employers list the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur as employee holidays. The same goes for Ramadan, the most religiously significant time of year for the world's 1 billion Muslims. But as the workplace has become more racially, ethnically and religiously diverse, firms have tried to...

Source: The Associated Press

On September 12, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission reported the highest increase in hate crimes in its 21 years of record keeping. In all, there were 118 suspected hate crimes targeting Middle Easterners and Muslims in the three months after Sept. 11 compared with 14 in all of 2000, the commission said. Religious and civic leaders who founded the [Muslim -Jewish Dialogue] group met just prior to the terrorist attacks - and then saw dialogue turn into bitter debate as some...