Islam

Religious Diversity in Arkansas

November 24, 2001

Source: The North West Arkansas Times

On November 24, 2001, The North West Arkansas Times featured an article on the research conducted by a Pluralism Project student affiliate that mapped religious centers in Arkansas. The article reported that Barbee compiled profiles of Buddhist and Islamic centers in Arkansas, including Wat Buddhasamakeedham, a Thai Buddhist temple, the Islamic Center of Northwest Arkansas, and the Ecumenical Buddhist Society of Little Rock. Eric Barbee, a student at the Divinity School of Harvard, is working on a master's in...

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Interfaith Services Raise Questions for Clergy Members

November 24, 2001

Source: The Washington Post

On November 24, 2001, The Washington Post reported that "the events of Sept. 11 prompted an unprecedented number of interfaith services nationwide, featuring leaders of different religions praying for peace and remembering the more than 4,100 terrorist attack victims. But some religious leaders have questioned the appropriateness of their clergy participating in such gatherings...'The basic question is: Does my participation enhance my witness of Jesus Christ or obscure it?' said the Rev. Karl K. Schmidt, pastor of Bethany...

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Rev. Franklin Graham Criticizes Islam

November 24, 2001

Source: Star Tribune

On November 24, 2001, The Star Tribune reported, "The Rev. Franklin Graham said in Minneapolis this week that he is concerned with the way Islamic law is enforced in several countries, and not with the people or the faith itself." However the article continued by quoting Graham as saying, "'I believe it is a very evil and wicked religion,'" with reference to Islam. "Aly R. Abuzaakouk, executive director of the American Muslim Council, said that Graham's remarks have caused pain and confusion 'and are in stark contrast to the unity and...

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Ramadan and Thanksgiving

November 23, 2001

Source: The Kansas City Star

On November 23, 2001, The Kansas City Star reported that "this year, Thanksgiving fell during the month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. So [in Kansas City] the Papa family, of the Islamic faith, broke their fast with a traditional holiday meal. But across town, Mustafa Hussein will have nothing to do with Thanksgiving. The holiday has Christianity as its root, he says, and to celebrate it is to betray his own Islamic heritage." The article also reported that although most Muslims in the area usually...

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California Students Gather for Ramadan Prayers

November 23, 2001

Source: Los Angeles Times

On November 23, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that at lunchtime during Ramadan at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School a group of students gathers for prayers. "This year, these students, ages 14 to 18, are determined to stand up for their faith through prayer in this quiet yet public way. They say that praying together during Ramadan is one way they can show their commitment to a religion that has recently become the most discussed, criticized and defended of any in the world."

Ramadan and Thanksgiving

November 23, 2001

Source: The New York Times

On November 23, 2001, The New York Times featured a story on the Bashir family who, in observance of Ramadan "waited until sunset... [before] they gathered around the dining room table with other relatives, Muslim, Christian and Jewish, offering thanks in their suburban Chicago home... While some Muslim Americans believe that Thanksgiving conflicts with their religion, many, like the Bashirs, observe the holiday, saying that, of all the American holidays, Thanksgiving is most in harmony with the teachings of Islam."

Editorial: "Anti-terrorism laws singling out Arab Americans destroy trust."

November 23, 2001

Source: The Detroit Free Press

http://www.freep.com/voices/columnists/ehamad23_20011123.htm

On November 23, 2001, The Detroit Free Press featured an editorial by Imad Hamad, regional director for the American Arab Discrimination Committee. It read, in part: "The question of trust between the Arab-American community and the rest of society seems certain to haunt us for a long time to come, in the wake of the appalling terrorists attacks. Our country has been...

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Minnesota Family Makes Islamic School a Priority

November 23, 2001

Source: Star Tribune

On November 23, 2001, the Star Tribune featured a story on a Muslim Family in Minnesota that has decided to send their two young daughters to a Muslim school where the girls "learn Arabic and Islamic studies as part of a full curriculum, and they wear a uniform that includes the traditional hijab."

Ramadan and Thanksgiving

November 22, 2001

Source: The Washington Post

On November 22, 2001, The Washington Post reported that "the similarity between the Southern Maryland Islamic Center's Interfaith Ramadan Thanksgiving Dinner and the original event that inspired it did not go unmentioned by one event host" who said "'the first Thanksgiving was a way for two cultures to join and to share food with families and to give thanks for all the blessings of friendship... Things have not changed so much that this cannot be done today as well'...Many local religious leaders said they felt it was important...

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EEOC Reports, Responds to Workplace Bias After September 11

November 22, 2001

Source: The Boston Globe

On November 22, 2001, The Boston Globe reported, "Workplace bias claims jump after September 11." The article noted, "The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has received 123 complaints of workplace bias nationwide against Muslims between Sept. 11 and Nov. 20, up from 47 for the same period last year. Alarmed by the increase, the EEOC joined this week with the US Justice and Labor Departments in urging employers to promote tolerance on the job." Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, now a professor at Brandeis University was...

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Muslim Women Converts Speak Out

November 21, 2001

Source: The Seattle Times

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134369191_ramadan21m.html

On November 21, 2001, The Seattle Times reported that "as Ramadan begins its second week,...[female] Muslim converts find the Islamic holy month a welcome opportunity to reflect on their faith and their roles as women in the faith — issues they've thought about often since Sept. 11. And they also find themselves trying to explain or defend their...

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Growing Muslim Community at Home in Amarillo, Texas

November 21, 2001

Source: The Chicago Tribune

http://chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0111210252nov21.story?coll=chi%2Dnewsnationworld%2Dhed

On November 21, 2001, The Chicago Tribune reported that "in Amarillo [Texas] as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began, the rodeo crowned a new steer-roping champion and the Kiwanis Club sponsored a Bible-reading marathon. Such is life in this city of 220,000, a Bible Belt town in cowboy boots...

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Interfaith Thanksgiving, 2001

November 21, 2001

Source: Newsday

http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/ny-nyseas212473093nov21.story?coll=ny%2Dnews%2Dprint

On November 21, 2001, Newsday reported that "gratitude for life is the focus this year as families celebrate Thanksgiving in the wake of terrorist attacks on the United States and a later plane crash that together took the lives of thousands...Live and let live may well be the motto of the newly formed Coalition of...

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Dearborn Community Forum Addresses Discrimination

November 21, 2001

Source: The Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/2001/metro/0111/21/a03-349230.htm

On November 21, 2001, The Detroit News reported that "Arab Americans in Metro Detroit have been the targets of discrimination following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the Justice Department vowed Tuesday night to fight it. At a community forum that drew about 100 people at Dearborn's main Public Library, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, Ralph Boyd Jr., noted that...

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