Islam

Hate Crimes Increase; Civic and Religious Leaders Struggle Over Political Differences

September 12, 2002

Source: The Associated Press

On September 12, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission reported the highest increase in hate crimes in its 21 years of record keeping. In all, there were 118 suspected hate crimes targeting Middle Easterners and Muslims in the three months after Sept. 11 compared with 14 in all of 2000, the commission said. Religious and civic leaders who founded the [Muslim -Jewish Dialogue] group met just prior to the terrorist attacks - and then saw dialogue turn into bitter debate as some...

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Interfaith Memorials in Ohio

September 12, 2002

Source: The Plain Dealer

On September 12, 2002 The Plain Dealer reported that "throughout the [Northeast Ohio] region - in a Muslim mosque in Parma, at a Jewish candle-lighting ceremony downtown and in a daylong Buddhist walk of remembrance crossing nearly the entire city - people of all faiths joined in gestures of unity and respect... as thousands of worshippers gathered in special services, prayer vigils and communitywide events to commemorate the anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in American history."

Religious Services in New York: One Year Later

September 12, 2002

Source: Newsday

On September 12, 2002 Newsday reported that "from Battery Park to Bayside to Brooklyn Heights, many New Yorkers who said they rarely attend religious services came together yesterday to remember and to reflect. They said they came to grieve for those who were lost. They came to affirm the resolve to go on living. Most of all, they said they came to try to understand what had happened and to learn to cope with what they fear could happen again. Not all the gatherings around the city were organized. Interfaith pastor Eleni Marudis held...

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Muslim Clergy Man Denied Bail in Oregon

September 11, 2002

Source: The New York Times

On September 11, 2002 The New York Times reported  that a "Muslim clergyman arrested by a federal terrorism task force on Sunday as he tried to board a plane to the Middle East was denied bail... after a customs inspector testified that two of his bags had contained traces of explosives... The clergyman, Sheik Mohamed Abdirahman Kariye, a naturalized American citizen from Somalia, is being held on two charges of Social Security fraud... More than 100 people from mosques around the Pacific Northwest turned out today in support...

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Muslims and Discrimination

September 11, 2002

Source: The Daily Telegraph

On September 11, 2002 The Daily Telegraph reported that "when it comes to everyday life, the state - from police to teachers and airport security guards - has often bent over backwards to avoid discrimination against Muslims. In fact, many conservative commentators have accused the authorities of excessive tact. Where there have been acts of clear discrimination, they have often been driven by the fears of private individuals. A number of foreign-looking passengers have been thrown off US flights since September 11 after...

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Building Understanding in Pittsburgh

September 11, 2002

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On September 11, 2002 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on "Farooq Hussaini's... devotion to building understanding between Christians, Jews and Muslims. 'Before Sept. 11, it was this beauty that I was discussing. After Sept. 11 ... I am faced with a situation where people think I follow an ugly religion,' said Hussaini, the volunteer director of interfaith relations for the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh. 'Farooq has been heroic," said Rabbi James Gibson of Temple Sinai in Squirrel Hill, who considers Hussaini a close...

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Muslims Bear Multiple Burdens

September 11, 2002

Source: The Boston Globe

On September 11, 2002 The Boston Globe printed an editorial which stated, "[American Muslims] have had to bear multiple burdens. They suffered human losses and will again. They suffered from growing suspicion about "sleeper cells" in their midst. They suffered government raids on their homes and their educational and charitable institutions. There were secret detentions, profiling, and secret evidence used against many of them; devices that stretched our constitutional limits to accommodate urgent security concerns. So let us...

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Vitriol Against, and Interest in, Islam Increased

September 11, 2002

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On September 11, 2002 The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "Cable television news shows and talk-radio programs have criticized the Quran. The Rev. Franklin Graham called Islam "wicked, violent and not of the same God" to which Christians pray. Jerry Vines, the former president of the Southern Baptists, said the Prophet Muhammad was a "demon-possessed pedophile." In some places, the vitriol spilled into violence, even though most Muslims condemned the actions of al-Qaida. But there was another...

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Looking for Heros in Texas

September 11, 2002

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On September 11, 2002 The Houston Chronicle printed an editorial which stated, "my heroes have become those who make meaningful public effort toward dialogue, who find strength and vitality in variations, who do not live by fear. And there seem to be more of these people visible in Texas this year, because we are desperate for them. Consider the Texas Folklife Festival in San Antonio. Lebanese dancers annually aligned with German polka bands. Why did it suddenly give us goose bumps, after 30 years of celebrations? Consider...

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A Muslim American Reflects

September 10, 2002

Source: Sunspot.net

On September 10, 2002 Sunspot.net printed an editorial which stated, "I am an American. I was growing up in Chicago while the Huxtable children were growing up, at the same time, on my television. I have seen my beloved Boston Celtics play their final game in the original Boston Garden and have dreamed of playing wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills. I have interned for two U.S. senators, one of whom now serves as this country's attorney general. As I finish my final year of law school at one of this country's finest institutions, I...

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Anti-Muslim Backlash Fading but Discrimination Ever Present

September 10, 2002

Source: The Arizona Republic

On September 10, 2002 The Arizona Republic reported that "the attacks sparked a wave of genuine patriotism not seen since World War II. But like the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Sept. 11 attacks also sent a powerful tremor through society's cultural fault lines, unleashing a backlash against Muslims, Arabs and Middle Eastern-looking people reminiscent of the intolerance directed at Japanese-Americans six decades earlier. 'The number of serious incidents has gone down dramatically,' said Hodan Hassan, a...

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Heroic Sikh Doctor Recalls Post-9/11 Backlash

September 10, 2002

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On September 10, 2002 The Houston Chronicle reported that "speaking at a senior citizen center Monday, [Dr. Navinderdeep Singh] Nijher... one of the first physicians to arrive at the burning remains of the twin towers... recalled the backlash of hate he and other Sikhs faced from fellow Americans in the wake of the attacks... When he walked into the drugstore to get film developed from Ground Zero, the store clerk mistook him for a Muslim. 'When I presented the pictures to the drugstore clerk, I asked him how much it would...

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Lawsuit Alleging Mistreatment in Prison

September 10, 2002

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=16935

On September 10, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "according to a lawsuit filed on his behalf... an Egyptian national who was detained after the Sept. 11 attacks was prevented from practicing his Muslim faith, denied access to a lawyer for two weeks and given repeated body cavity searches while in a federal prison in Louisiana. Prison officials also...

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Reports on Anti-Muslim Violence

September 10, 2002

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On September 10, 2002 the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel printed an editorial which stated, "in late August, police arrested a Florida podiatrist who had in his possession 20 homemade bombs and two anti-armor rockets (among other weapons) and a list of 50 Muslim places of worship. Since Sept. 11, more than 1,700 anti-Muslim incidents have been documented by the Council on American Islamic Relations. Since many of them go unreported, the actual number is likely much higher. In a recent poll, CAIR found that 57% of American...

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National Library Project to Provide Information about Islam

September 10, 2002

Source: Los Angeles Times

On September 10, 2002 the Los Angeles Times reported that "using a successful Southern California program as a model, an Islamic advocacy group launched a campaign [Library Project] Monday to combat myths and misinformation about Muslims that many believe have become more prevalent since Sept. 11. The national campaign, in which the public can purchase a package of 18 books and videotapes for donation to a local library, is a response to attacks against the Muslim religion and a...

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