Islam

San Diego Muslims Troubled by Lack of Response from Mayor

October 12, 2001

Source: Los Angeles Times

On October 12, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "leaders in San Diego's Muslim community are perplexed by Mayor Dick Murphy's delay in meeting with them to discuss vandalism against the Islamic Center and alleged harassment of Muslim children in school."

Muslims of US Navy Aid Search to Understand Islam

October 12, 2001

Source: The Arizona Republic

On October 12, 2001, The Arizona Republic reported that after the terroist attacks of September 11 on board the USS Enterprise "crewmates stared, silence replaced greetings and life for some of the 50 or so Muslims aboard this U.S. aircraft carrier changed. Soon enough, the giant ship's Muslim chaplain said, there was curiosity, questions and a search for understanding. 'More questions have come up, and people want to understand how, why and what is Islam about as a religion,' said Lt. Muhiyyaldin, the chaplain. 'I applaud them...

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Boston's Religious Leaders Condemn Backlash

October 12, 2001

Source: The Boston Herald

On October 12, 2001, The Boston Herald reported that "more than 30 religious leaders gathered in Boston yesterday to renew their calls for calm amid a backlash against Muslims and Arab-Americans."

Christian Tract Defaming Islam Distributed to Ohio Homes

October 12, 2001

Source: The Columbus Dispatch

On October 12, 2001, The Columbus Dispatch reported that "some members of central Ohio's Somali community say they're irate about a Christian tract distributed in the Westerville area that attacks Islam. The tract, from Chick Publications in Ontario, Calif., is in cartoon form. Panels show Muslims...threatening to kill critics or vowing to topple Christianity and take over America. Other Chick publications assert ...certain Catholic practices were inspired by Satan or by pagans; and that Jews who reject Jesus will go to hell...

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Islamic Studies Professor Speaks at Interfaith Forum

October 12, 2001

Source: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On October 12, 2001, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi', a professor of Islamic Studies and co-director of the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at the Connecticut seminary, tried to explain the diversity within Muslim religion, culture and history...The forum, titled "Violence and the Sacred: An Interfaith Response to Recent Terrorism," attracted nearly 600 people."

Muslim Scholars Respond to Bin Laden's Call for "Jihad"

October 11, 2001

Source: Newsday

On October 11, 2001, Newsday reported that "Saudi scholar Abdul Al-Mutairi asserts, 'In reality, Islam recognizes extremism as a disease.'" The article continues to report that "after the United States began its military attack... a tape emerged of bin Laden...in which he urged the Muslims to fight a "jihad" against Americans." The article's author Professor Ibrahim Negm explains that "in Islamic law, for a claim to be religiously credible, it has to echo two things: the Quran, the Muslim holy book, and the Sunnah, the sayings of the prophet...

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Leader of Harlem Mosque Attacked

October 11, 2001

Source: Newsday

On October 11, 2001, Newsday reported that "the leader of an East Harlem mosque told police he was attacked by three teenagers with a wooden stick...The 35-year-old man, who is black and not Middle Eastern, told police he was inside the Islamic Cultural Center" at the time of the attack.

Muslim Women Find Empowerment and Fear in Hijab

October 11, 2001

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On October 11, 2001, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that "a growing number of Muslim women in St. Louis say they choose to wear scarves...to define their sexuality on their own terms...Many women who choose to cover themselves consider aspects of Western culture oppressive - starving to be thin, buying creams to look young and dressing to attract men...Several Muslim women said other people have been surprised to learn that they choose freely to don the hijab and aren't forced into it."

Editorial on Islam as American

October 10, 2001

Source: Newsday

On October 10, 2001, Newsday featured an editorial emphasizing that "the roots of Islam run deep in America, dating back nearly as far as Judaism and Christianity." The editorial concluded that "Islam in the United States is as old as the United States. It is American, not something foreign to America."

Editorial Praises American Muslims

October 10, 2001

Source: Los Angeles Times

On October 10, 2001, the Los Angeles Times featured an editorial that began "as Osama bin Laden's call for all Islam to rise up in holy war against the United States echoes chillingly worldwide, it is heartening to hear increasing numbers of American Muslims denounce fundamentalist hatemongering. These moderates deserve strong encouragement as they seek to define their faith's proper place in America and to shape Islam for the world."

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