Source: Los Angeles Times

On February 9, 2003 the Los Angeles Times printed an editorial by Mohamed A. Najmi stating that "today the United States reverberates with drumbeats of war, first against Osama, and now against Saddam. But there also is a dark, palpable aspersion against Islam. As Americans hear of terror erupting from all corners of the globe, U.S. Muslims are made to feel as if they have something to explain: Are they responsible for what is being done in the name of their religion?... In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, tragedy, a new...

Source: Bay News

http://www.baynews9.com/NewsStory.cfm?storyid=13247

On February 9, 2003 the Bay News reported that "the Hajj is an annual pilgrimage for Muslims and is considered one of the five pillars of Islam. Ahmed Bedier from the Florida Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations... says it’s unfortunate that America is linking terrorism to Hajj... 'It saddens us and is a disappointment that it’s the reason for raising the alert,' Bedier said...

Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/107815_mecca08.shtml

On February 8, 2003 Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that "the Islamic School of Seattle created a mini-Mecca yesterday, with more than 60 students and parents participating in a model hajj, the annual pilgrimage to holy sites in Saudi Arabia... As nearly 2 million Muslims descend on Mecca today for the five-day pilgrimage, the Islamic School conducted its yearly re-...

Source: The Boston Globe

On February 8, 2003 The Boston Globe printed an editorial that stated, "the latest FBI order comes on the heels of revelations that the bureau has been secretly enlisting campus police officers at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and elsewhere to 'keep tabs' on faculty, staff, and students studying in Massachusetts and around the United States... Some Justice Department officials have dubbed these tactics 'community outreach' - a chance for the FBI to alert Iraqis to civil rights matters and to assist them if they...

Source: The Arizona Republic

On February 8, 2003 The Arizona Republic reported that "four years ago some Pakistani Muslims living in the Phoenix area started serving meals at homeless shelters, building homes with Habitat for Humanity and pitching in around the community wherever they could... They saw it as a way to give back to their adopted country, a country where they have prospered. It was also a way to educate others about a culture and religion most Americans know little about... But that changed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when,...

Source: The Boston Globe

On February 7, 2003 The Boston Globe reported that "A former state prison imam has been barred from ministering to inmates after reportedly saying even Muslims opposed to terrorism 'admire and applaud' the Sept. 11 highjackers. Warith Deen Umar, 58, who retired from his $67,919-a-year prison job in 2000, won't be allowed in the system he has tried to visit at least three or four times, state prison spokesman James Flateau said... Umar declined comment yesterday through a spokeswoman at his home. But he told WRGB-TV the Wall Street...

Source: Orlando Sentinel

On February 7, 2003 the Orlando Sentinel reported that "agents in the FBI's 56 field offices will begin taking their own census of Muslims and their places of worship as part of the nation's antiterrorism effort -- a mandate that has ratcheted up the fear level in Central Florida's Muslim community... The FBI said mosques are included in the survey to protect the Muslim community from hate crimes. But civil-rights advocates in Central Florida and nationwide accused the government of profiling and said the FBI's plans are spreading...

Source: Muslim Journal

On February 7, 2003 the Muslim Journal reported that the showing of BILALIAN, a documentary produced by Aminah Abdul-Jabbaar, will kick off African/Black History Month across the country "with screenings in Boston, Mass., at Harvard University, in the Virgin Islands, Portland, Ore., Milwaukee, Wisc., at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee Union, in Pittsburg, and again in New York City." The film explores the origin of the term BILALIAN, a term used by Wallace Deen Mohammed for members of the Nation of Islam, but has now fallen...

Source: Muslim Journal

On February 7, 2003 Muslim Journal reported that the members of the International League of Muslim Women in Syracuse are reaching out to non-Muslim members of their community by bringing food to seniors in nursing homes, private homes or residential facilities for the physically challenged.

Source: Mercury News

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/5127725.htm

On February 7, 2003 the Mercury News printed an editorial stating that, "[Republican Howard Coble,] a North Carolina congressman understandably drew San Jose Rep. Mike Honda's ire and Arab-Americans' criticism this week after he said the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II was for their own good... Coble's ignorance of history and of constitutional...

Source: Star-Telegram

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/5128251.htm

On February 7, 2003 the Star-Telegram reported that "employment discrimination complaints climbed more than 4 percent last year to 84,442 filings, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported Thursday... The biggest increases for the 2002 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, came from allegations of religious discrimination. They were up 21 percent from 2001, to almost 2,600 complaints... 'While...

Source: The Charlotte Observer

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/5117163.htm

On February 6, 2003 The Charlotte Observer reported that "two N.C. members of Congress came under fire Wednesday for comments that Islamic groups and others say they find insulting... In remarks about domestic security threats, Rep. Sue Myrick of Charlotte said, 'Look at who runs all the convenience stores across the country...' And Rep. Howard Coble of Greensboro defended World War II...

Source: The Muslim Public Affairs Council

http://www.mpac.org/home_article_display.aspx?ITEM=398

On February 6, 2003 The Muslim Public Affairs Council reported that "MPAC finds [Coble's] statements unacceptable and believes it disqualifies Rep. Coble from his political position. Not only has the United States apologized to Japanese Americans for their unjust internment and dispossession during WW2, but our nation has paid reparations to that community and educated...

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On February 5, 2003 The San Francisco Chronicle reported that "a Missouri-based regional airline fired a San Bruno pilot a week after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks because he is Muslim, a federal agency has concluded... Mohammed Shanif Hussein, 28, was wrongfully terminated by Trans States Airlines Inc. on Sept. 18, 2001 based on his religion, according to a finding by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission... The ruling allows Hussein to file a federal civil-rights suit against the airline...

Source: Fox News

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,77677,00.html

On February 5, 2003 Fox News reported that "a congressman who heads a homeland security subcommittee said on a radio call-in program that he agreed with the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II... A fellow congressman who was interred as a child criticized Coble for his comment on Wednesday, as did advocacy groups... Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C., made the remark Tuesday on WKZL-FM when a...