Source: Salon.com News

http://salon.com/news/feature/2001/09/13/backlash/index.html

On September 13, 2001, Salon.com News featured the article "Anti-Arab passions sweep the U.S." This article stated, "Within hours of the destruction of the World Trade Center, the Net was flooded with hysterical anti-Arab sentiment. It did not take much longer for the attacks on the streets to begin. On Wednesday alone, the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee confirmed 30...

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On September 13, 2001, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on an interfaith service that gathered Milwaukee's diverse religious communities, "Drawn by a common quest for healing, justice and peace..." Speakers included "mainline Christians, Jews, Muslims, a Sikh, a Buddhist, a Baha'i, a Hindu and a Quaker." The article quoted religious leaders in their prayers of peace and unity, including Rev. Tonen O'Connor of the Milwaukee Zen Center. "'The Buddha perceived, not that we could be one, but that we are one. In our essence...

Source: Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

http://www.rac.org//news/091301.html

On September 13, 2001, Reform Jewish leaders expressed outrage at reports of attacks against Muslim Americans and Arab Americans. In a joint statement from the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie and Rabbi David Saperstein wrote: "At times such as these—and we pray that there will no more such times—it is especially important that...

Source: The Kansas City Star

On September 13, 2001, The Kansas City Star reported that "Kansas Citians of many races and religions are reaching out to area Muslims, offering support in response to backlashes that began after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon." Following a series of threats reported by local media, the Islamic Society of Greater Kansas City has since received phone calls from people who wish to apologize for the intolerance of others and to offer their support. Many of these callers were from area churches. The article...

Source: The American Muslim Council

http://www.amconline.org/cgi-bin/release/viewnews.cgi?newsid1000401100,42056,

On September 13, 2001, The American Muslim Council issued a press release declaring Friday as a "day of Mourning." A joint statement of major Muslim organizations wrote, "We condemn in the harshest terms the cowardly and senseless acts of terror perpetrated against innocent American citizens, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, in...

Source: The New York Times

On September 13, 2001 The New York Times reported that the backlash following the terrorist attacks are impacting "the lives of ordinary Arab- and Muslim-Americans -- and surprisingly, those who are neither Arab nor Muslim but look to untutored American eyes as if they might be." The article mentioned numerous incidents against Muslims, as well as "people who had nothing to do with the Islamic world but who might appear alien to untutored American eyes. Indian women chose not to wear their flowing, pajama-tunic outfits. Sikh men,...

Source: MSNBC

http://www.msnbc.com/news/628302.asp?0dm=C19QO

On September 13, 2001, MSNBC featured an opinion piece by Ira Rifkin. He noted, "Remember, New York is a polyglot. Many Arab-Americans and Muslim-Americans undoubtedly were among the tens of thousands who worked at the World Trade Center, and may have died there Tuesday. The damage done to Islam in America, and probably across the Western world, is incalculable. It appears that terrorists who hijacked the Koran to cloak...

Source: Portland Press Herald

On September 13, 2001, The Portland Press Herald reported that "Muslims in Portland received an outpouring of community support Wednesday - a day when many feared they would be targeted for harassment, violence or worse. Community leaders made a public plea Wednesday to guard against potential acts of prejudice, hatred and violence toward Maine's Muslim population in the wake of Tuesday's terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. Nearly 500 people gathered on the steps of City Hall Wednesday for an interfaith show...

Source: American Jewish Committee

http://www.ajc.org/press/default.htm?show.asp?ID=255

On September 13, 2001, The American Jewish Committee issued the following statement: "The catastrophic terror inflicted on American soil must not become an occasion for stereotyping or scapegoating. Jewish history makes us painfully aware that, too often, times of crisis provide opportunities for expressions of bigotry. An entire people or religion should never be implicated because of the...

Source: The Boston Globe

On September 13, 2001, The Boston Globe reported on the arrest, and subsequent release, of a Sikh man yesterday. Religion reporter Michael Paulson wrote, "The man on the Amtrak train from Boston had a green turban on his head, a long beard on his chin, and a blade strapped to his chest, and apparently, that was enough evidence for federal and local authorities." (The blade was a kirpan, a ceremonial sword worn by Sikhs.) The article noted that as the man was arrested, "teenagers shouted, 'Let's kill him,' and a woman yelled, 'Burn...

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

On September 13, 2001, The Christian Science Monitor reported on the acts of goodness that have followed the terrorist attacks. "From the terror comes humanity. Thousands of New Yorkers line up to give blood. A Presbyterian church hands out cups of cold water to parched walkers stranded in the city. Medical students volunteer their services at hospitals. The largest Jewish temple in New York asks a Christian minister and a Muslim holy man to participate in Rosh Hashana, part of the Jewish High Holidays, to show that...

Source: Council on American-Islamic Relations

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On September 13, 2001, The San Francisco Chronicle reported on Interfaith events in the Bay Area in which people of "a wide range of traditions called for a large outdoor interfaith memorial service where residents could mourn for the victims as well as meditate on the impact of racism." The article quoted Charles Gibbs of the United Religions Initiative: "'We need to draw distinctions between people who are dedicated to violence regardless of religion and people who are dedicated to peace regardless of their religion.'"...

Source: Reuters

September 13, 2001, Reuters. Ari Fleischer, White House spokesman, announced that President Bush had declared Friday, September 14 as a day of prayer and remembrance. "Fleischer said Bush planned to attend a prayer service in Washington Friday and to urge U.S. citizens to take time out of their day to attend services at churches, synagogues and mosques 'to pray for our nation, to pray for the families of those who were victimized by this act of terrorism.'"

Source: MSNBC

http://www.msnbc.com/news/628515_asp.htm

On September 13, 2001, MSNBC continued their coverage of backlash against Muslims, Arab-Americans, and Sikhs. The web site offers an overview of some of the incidents, as well as local coverage of reports of an attack on Sikh Gurdwara in Sacramento and an attempted firebombing of the Islamic Society of Denton, Texas.