Source: Herald-Leader

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/local/4640933.htm

On December 1, 2002 the Herald-Leader reported that "born Michaela Colleen Jeffries, the Somerset, [Kentucky] resident and former Seventh-day Adventist converted to Islam in June, about a year after a tour of the Middle East led her to begin studying the Koran. 'Islam has given me an inner peace,' said Saleem, author of the autobiography Grasping for Love, about surviving...

Source: The Gazette

http://www.crgazette.com/go_article/0,1336,46478%252D11,00.html?cks=0

On November 30, 2002 The Gazette reported that "Jews will celebrate Hanukkah through Dec. 7. Buddhists will then sit in meditation to honor Rohatsu on Dec. 8, the day that commemorates the enlightenment of Buddha. Next comes the end of Ramadan, Yule, Christmas and finally, at the end of the month, Kwanzaa. These are important days within several religious...

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55273-2002Nov29.html

On November 30, 2002 The Washington Post reported that "in a score of speeches since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the president has called for tolerance of Muslims, describing Islam as 'a faith based upon peace and love and compassion' and a religion committed to 'morality and learning and tolerance.' But a large number of foreign policy hawks -- some of them...

Source: Newsday

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-limosq293024235nov29,0,1664916.story

On November 29, 2002 Newsday reported that "nearly a decade ago, the Long Island Muslim Society bought two small houses on a busy street in East Meadow and began holding prayer services there. Now the Islamic group of about 40 families, mostly of Bangladeshi origin, wants to tear down the houses and build a new mosque and school in their...

Source: The Times-Picayune

On November 28, 2002 The Times-Picayune reported that "ever since the Sept. 11 attacks in America by Islamic extremists, Aneela Shuja of Kenner, a Muslim, has been on a mission to dispel the stereotypes and fear in the community about people of her faith. 'I felt somebody had to speak up or something bad was going to happen,' Shuja, 42, said. 'It is a calling for me. I have been encouraged to do this.' She's traveled around New Orleans talking at local public and Catholic schools and churches, to priests and politicians to...

Source: Austin American Statesman

On November 28, 2002 Austin American Statesman reported that "at Barsana Dham [in Texas], a Hindu temple, there were gathered a Roman Catholic bishop, an Episcopalian priest, Protestant ministers of various stripes (Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, Unitarian and Baptist), a Jewish rabbi, Buddhist monks, a Muslim imam -- and more. That's not all. There were about 1,000 black people, brown people, yellow people and white people, men, women and children, and everybody took off their shoes in respect for Hindu ways."

Source: USA TODAY

On November 27, 2002 USA TODAY reported that "the volunteers who serve meals at the First Congregational Church in Washington, D.C., also give sustenance to another ideal -- this is a country where Muslims and Christians live and work together. Imam Johari Abdel-Malik and the Rev. Graylan Hagler conceived the idea of a Muslim-Christian volunteer effort early this fall. 'We are a community under siege after Sept. 11,' says Abdel-Malik, who is a Muslim chaplain at Howard University. 'We need to come out of our bubble. This is a good...

Source: Chicago Daily Herald

On November 27, 2002 the Chicago Daily Herald reported that "a smorgasbord of religions will emphasize the spiritual side of Thanksgiving next week. Participants in the DuPage Interfaith Thanksgiving Service will include Muslims, Catholics, Jews, Zoroastrians, Hindus, Sikhs, Bahais and theosophists. The annual service began in the early 1990s after members of the DuPage Interfaith Resource Network decided they could find common ground in recognizing that Thanksgiving goes deeper than turkey and football. The ceremony will...

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/329/metro/Law_shares_prayers_feast_hope_with_Muslims+.shtml

On November 27, 2002 The Boston Globe reported that "wearing a gold crucifix and a flowing black robe with red trim, Law removed his shoes. Then, as the imam chanted the sunset prayers, the bishop knelt with his forehead just inches from the carpet and offered praise to Allah. No doubt, Law looked out of place...

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/11/26/MN224441.DTL

On November 27, 2002 The San Francisco Chronicle reported that "hate crimes against Muslims soared after Sept. 11, according to an FBI report released Monday that also shows that most hate offenses in 2001 were committed against African Americans. The FBI's annual statistical report showed that hate crimes in the United States increased...

Source: Education Week

http://www.edweek.org/ew/newstory.cfm?slug=13ramadan.h22

On November 27, 2002 Education Week reported that "when school administrators acknowledge students' needs and accommodate them, it makes it easier to practice a religion that many other Americans find unfamiliar, students say. Muslim activists agree that U.S. school systems' awareness and understanding of the religion are growing. This year, the news media are paying heightened...

Source: The Denver Post

On November 27, 2002 The Denver Post printed an editorial that stated, "the FBI's annual survey of hate crimes released Monday showed that in the aftermath of 9/11, threats, beatings and discrimination against people of Middle Eastern descent, Muslims and South Asian Sikhs (often mistaken for Muslims) rocketed more than 1,600 percent during 2001 to 481 incidents. That's significant, because with only 28 such crimes tallied in 2000, Muslims were barely on the radar screen the year before. In Colorado, hate crimes against Muslims...

Source: CAIR-CAN [Council on American-Islamic Relations-Canada]

http://www.caircan.ca/aa_more.php?id=P186_0_3_0_C

On November 26, 2002 CAIR-CAN [Council on American-Islamic Relations-Canada] released a statement "asking Canadians to thank CFMT (OMNI) for their unqualified apology regarding recent statements made by Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart. CAIR-CAN filed a CRTC complaint on November 16th, 2002 regarding a November 10 broadcast by televangelist Jimmy Swaggart on CFMT...

Source: The Denver Post

On November 26, 2002 The Denver Post reported that "an increase in hate crimes against Colorado Muslims in 2001  mirrored the sharp rise nationwide in hate crimes against people of the Islamic faith. Seventeen hate crimes against Muslims were reported in the second half of 2001, including the months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. In contrast, there were no reported anti-Islamic hate crimes in Colorado in 2000 and the first half of 2001... Hate crimes increased nationally...

Source: Connecticut Post

On November 25, 2002 the Connecticut Post reported that "Habitat for Humanity of Greater Bridgeport [CT], using for the first time, an interfaith coalition of support, will have a two-story, four-bedroom house for Sundus, her parents and five siblings sitting on the property. Salem Lutheran will be teamed with members of Al-Aziz Islamic Center, Congregations B'nai Israel and Rodelph Sholom and Shiloh Baptist Church, all of Bridgeport, and Congregation Beth El of Fairfield. Habitat executive director Bob Knebel said the organization...