Source: Religion Link

http://www.religionwriters.com/public/tips/010504/010504a.shtml

On January 5, 2004 Religion Link reported, "A year from now, and after untold campaign speeches and news stories, the United States will either have a new president, or voters will have returned George W. Bush to the White House for a second term. But the next 12 months will feature more than the usual intense campaigning. Experts say that more than perhaps any other...

Source: The Cleveland Plain Dealer

http://www.cleveland.com/religion/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living/107296383830590.xml

On January 4, 2004 The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, "All over Northeast Ohio, in secular institutions and in Episcopal, United Methodist, Congregational, Baptist and Catholic settings, spiritual seekers are rediscovering the path of the labyrinth as a source of reflection... Northeast Ohioans seeking ways to...

Source: Muslim Wake Up!

http://www.muslimwakeup.com/mainarchive/000496.php#more

On January 4, 2004 Muslim WakeUp! published an article by Asra Q. Nomani on her battle to allow female Muslims to pray beside men in her West Virginia mosque. Nomani writes that "excluding women ignores the rights the prophet Muhammad gave them in the 7th century and represents 'innovations' that emerged after the prophet died. I had been wrestling with these injustices for some time...

Source: Contra Costa Times

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/7631118.htm

On January 4, 2004 the Contra Costa Times reported that 200 people gathered at Islamic center in Oakland for an interfaith service for victims of the earthquake in Bam, Iran. Speakers came from Temple Sinai and Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church in Oakland, the Islamic center and the Oakland Coalition of Congregations. In the past week, the Islamic center has raised $86,000 as well as...

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/features/religion/la-op-skube4jan04,1,3032143.story?coll=la-news-religion

On January 4, 2004 the Los Angeles Times published an editorial by Michael Skube on religion and tolerance: "If religion gives lives meaning — and for billions it does — it does not always bring us peace and mutual understanding. In France, President Jacques Chirac wants no large crucifixes, no skullcaps...

Source: The Straits Times

http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/world/story/0,4386,228145,00.html

On January 3, 2004 The Straits Times ran an Agence France Presse article that reported, "If a Muslim headscarf is an expression of faith, so is a monk's habit or a crucifix and they should be on equal footing, said German President Johannes Rau, prompting fury from Roman Catholic politicians and clerics. Mr. Rau has appealed for all religions to be treated...

Source: The Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/12/31/wscarf131.xml

On January 3, 2004 The Telegraph ran an opinion piece by Stella White, a Catholic woman from Kent who wears the hijab, or veil. She writes, "To liberated Westerners, the hijab, or veil, is a stain on womankind. It symbolises the crushing of the female spirit and is the mark of slavery, transforming a woman into a passive lump who is only allowed...

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.post-gazette.com/localnews/20040103muslimschoollocal7p7.asp

On January 3, 2004 The Associated Press reported on Congregation Beth T'Fillah of Overbrook Park, a synagogue currently leasing out its classroom space to NSA Educational Learning Center, a small Muslim school for pre-kindergartners through eighth graders in its second year of operation. "The partnership between the school and synagogue, perhaps a model...

Source: Toronto Star

Source: Yahoo! News

Source: IslamOnline.net

http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2004-01/02/article02.shtml

On January 2, 2004 IslamOnline.net reported, "Over 6,000 people from all over North America will head Friday, January 2, to Toronto to attend the second annual 'Reviving the Islamic Spirit' conference. The conference, organized by a group of young, active Muslim students and news activists, is counted as the largest held across Canada. The conference hosts a...

Source: Muslims Weekly

http://www.indypressny.org/article.php3?ArticleID=1224

On January 2, 2004 Muslims Weekly reported, "The Muslim Student Association (MSA) at Stuyvesant High School, deemed one of the best public high schools in the nation, launched an effort to implement Arabic as an elective into their foreign language curriculum. The students hoped to raise $20,000 before the Jan. 9, 2004 deadline in order to begin classes in Sept. 2004. The fund will be used...

Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/printedition/search/sfl-jholsjan02,0,2158551.story

On January 2, 2004 the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported, "France is considering breaking centuries of European tradition by making an Islamic feast and a Jewish holy day official school holidays, making official something that had become a de facto tradition across much of the continent. Surprisingly, the idea...

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47150-2004Jan1.html

On January 2, 2004 The Washington Post printed an interview with Yale Law professor Amy Chua, who argues that the United States "may be the least well-equipped nation in the world to manage the kinds of group hatreds that threaten Iraqi society today. Because of our beliefs in the "melting pot" and the United States' own relatively successful -- though halting...

Source: Public Broadcasting Service

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week718/cover.html

On January 2, 2004 Public Broadcasting Service reported that the Justice Department has begun a "sensitivity training" program for FBI agents and local police in hopes of improving relationships with Muslim and Arab-American communities. The program includes teaching police to be sensitive to some of the Muslim cultural differences that have in the past lead to...