Interfaith

American Muslims Celebrate Eid ul-Adha Nationwide

March 11, 2002

Source: The Tampa Tribune

On March 11, 2002, The Tampa Tribune reported that "about 3,500 members of Tampa's Islamic community gathered at Riverfront Park [in Tampa] on Sunday and spoke about their religion and the importance of being part of America... 'Muslims are, by and large, peaceful and loving people,' said Husain Nagamia, chief of cardiac surgery at Tampa General Hospital and chairman of the Tampa Bay Muslim Alliance, which has 25,000 members... The sixth annual Islamic Charity Festival, marking Eid Al-Adha, the Muslim day of sacrifice, drew...

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Long Island Interfaith Couples Face Challenges

March 10, 2002

Source: Newsday

On March 10, 2002, Newsday featured an article on interfaith marriages in Long Island, New York. "For members of some faiths - particularly Catholics and Jews, whom clergy members say comprise the majority of Long Island's interfaith marriages - there are hard choices to be made... Msgr. Donald Beckmann, diocesan director of interreligious and ecumenical affairs for the Diocese of Rockville Centre... said, 'the most contentious issue becomes the issue of faith in raising the children.... These issues come up because they affect the wider...

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Rhode Island Town Debates Town Hall Display on Islam

March 9, 2002

Source: Los Angeles Times

On March 9, 2002, the Los Angeles Times reported that "an Islamic art exhibit in Town Hall [in Riverton, RI] was removed then put back on display after a dispute over whether the show violated the separation of church and state... Town Administrator James Towers ordered the posters removed [on] the first day of the exhibit's planned two-week run, after some residents and town employees complained... Three days later, Town Solicitor James Donnelly concluded the poster display was educational and didn't violate the...

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Christian Orthodox Patriarch Visits US

March 9, 2002

Source: Los Angeles Times

On March 9, 2002, the Los Angeles Times reported that "Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, concluding a three-day visit to Washington, told Cardinals William Keeler of Baltimore and Theodore McCarrick of Washington that... persistent and historic theological differences must not harm relations between the Eastern and Western churches... Bartholomew made clear that he did not intend to try to bridge those differences... But he said both sides must make distinctions between 'essential and nonessential differences so that the...

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Update: Hindus, Muslims, and Vegetarians Sue McDonald's over Use of Beef Flavoring in Fries

March 9, 2002

Source: The New York Times

On March 9, 2002, The New York Times reported that "the McDonald's Corporation plans to issue an apology and pay $10 million to vegetarian and religious groups for using beef flavoring in its French fries. The action is part of a proposed settlement of lawsuits charging that the company misled consumers... According to a draft of the settlement, 60 percent of the payment would go to vegetarian groups, with the rest going to groups devoted to Hindus and Sikhs, children's nutrition and assistance, and kosher dietary...

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Controversy Over Islamic Cemetery in an Atlanta Suburb

March 6, 2002

Source: The Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0203060179mar06.story?coll=chi%2Dnewsnationworld%2Dhed

On March 6, 2002, The Chicago Tribune featured the story "Plan for Islamic cemetery makes waves in Georgia." It reported on the plans to construct a 1,500 plot burial ground that have met with much local opposition. A mosque and educational center had been built in the same area...

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Arab-Americans Eager to Discuss Love of Food

March 6, 2002

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0306/p11s02-lifo.html

On March 6, 2002, The Christian Science Monitor reported that "with heightened interest in the Arab-American community since Sept. 11, and with Middle Eastern immigrants more eager to tell their neighbors who they truly are, the time may be right for food to fulfill - once again - its role as the great door-opener between newcomers and mainstream America... In fact, by simply...

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California Parents File Complaints Over Teachings about Islam

March 4, 2002

Source: USA TODAY

On March 4, 2002, USA TODAY reported that "parents in two California school districts have launched an effort to have a seventh-grade social studies textbook altered or removed, charging that it contains Islamic information that amounts to proselytizing... The Pacific Justice Institute, a non-profit legal defense organization specializing in religious issues and parental rights, filed two administrative complaints on behalf of parents in the San Luis Coastal Unified and Lemon Grove school districts. Complaints may be filed in at least...

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Los Angeles Hospital Trains Chaplains from Diverse Religions

March 3, 2002

Source: Los Angeles Times

On March 3, 2002, the Los Angeles Times featured an article on UCLA Medical Center's Spiritual Care Unit. The unit is "the hospital's chaplaincy training program... The full-time staff [at the hospital] includes a priest, a minister and a rabbi, with Muslims and Buddhists on call. Fifteen years ago, when the program was new, the full-time staff consisted of one Baptist minister... These days, religious diversity is redefining hospital chaplaincy work. While the patient directory at UCLA is usually about 65% Christian, the number...

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Fremont, California: A Study in Diversity

March 3, 2002

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/03/03/MN13263.DTL

On March 3, 2002, The San Francisco Chronicle featured the article "Global Suburb: Far East, Middle East and old East Bay all meet in Fremont." The article noted that the city of Fremont has been transformed by immigration: "Baptist churches have been reincarnated as Sikh and Hindu temples. ... Cricket has overtaken bowling as the sport of...

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Atlanta Assembly Addresses Interfaith Dialogue and Public Policy

March 2, 2002

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On March 2, 2002, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "about 60 Atlanta community leaders from across the religious spectrum met... to get to know each other's faiths... The assembly was an outgrowth of a group started by President Eisenhower in the 1950s. The national American Assembly... meets biannually to debate and form consensus around U.S. policy... The regional assembly is new. Its first topic was planned long before Sept. 11 --- back when leaders decided to tackle the increasing...

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Citizens Act Locally to Support Muslim Neighbors

March 1, 2002

Source: Spirituality and Health

The Spring 2002 edition of Spirituality and Health featured a story on the "huge outpouring of support" from the community after a window at the Islamic Center of Toledo was shot on September 11 in an act of vandalism. Cherrefe Kadri, president of the large mosque, said "YES-FM, a Christian radio station in the Toledo area, had contacted me, wanting to do something... They called out on the airwaves for people to come together at our center to hold hands, to ring our mosque, to circle our mosque, holding hands, to pray for...

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