Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 12, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "the Supreme Court strengthened the free-speech rights of religious groups...ruling that a Christian youth group must be permitted to hold an after-school Bible study class in a public elementary school...The court's opinion stressing the rights of religious advocates should give a boost to President Bush's 'faith-based' initiative...In dissent, Justice David H. Souter said the ruling appears to stand 'for the remarkable proposition that any public school opened for civil...

Source: The New York Times

On June 11, 2001, The New York Times reported that the lawyers of Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali, who was convicted in the 1998 bombing of the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, tried to enter as evidence in his trial copies of a "Teach Yourself" handbook on Islam for each of the 12 jurors. The trial, the defense attorney argued, is about Americans' perceptions of Muslims. Prosecutors objected, but the judge eventually allowed the books to be admitted.

Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 10, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported on Iranian immigrant and Muslim Dariush Farshidian, who was "weary of four years in INS detention both on Terminal Island and in Bakersfield, [California]...He needed $5,000 to post bond." In a letter to fellow Iranian Pooya Dayanim, Farshidian asked for help, conveying his "anger at U.S. treatment of INS detainees and his fear of imprisonment, if not execution, by Iranian officials...Several members of the Iranian Jewish community [including Pooya] quickly rallied to Farshidian's...

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

On June 10, 2001, The San Francisco Chronicle reported on a parking lot that lies below St. Paul's United Methodist Church and Al-Masjid Ul-Jame, "a bustling mosque run by the Islamic Society of the East Bay [California]...The landscaped lot is shared by the Methodists, who use it Sunday mornings, and the Muslims, who fill it up for Friday prayers...This island of interfaith real estate found its way into a new book by Harvard University professor Diana Eck, titled A New Religious America."

Source: The Washington Post

On June 10, 2001, The Washington Post reported that "A baccalaureate will be held...for graduating seniors of Gar-Field, Hylton and Potomac high schools, as well as for private school and home-schooled students, at Christ Chapel" in Woodbridge. "The baccalaureate, a religious service for graduates, will include participation by Christian, Jewish and Muslim speakers."

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

On June 9, 2001, The Salt Lake Tribune reported that "vandalism of churches...is increasingly becoming a fact of life for Utah congregations of all faiths." Catholic churches, Mormon chapels, and Muslim mosques have all been victims of vandalism. Religious leaders have speculated that the cause is boredom, a grudge, "an increasing sense of adolescent alienation from religion in general," or "society's moral and spiritual erosion."

Source: Evesindia

http://www.evesindia.com/fashion&beauty/feature/indian-clothes.html

On June 9, 2001, Evesindia reported that Indian clothing is being worn by increasing numbers of American women.

Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 9, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported on how Muslims worldwide celebrate the birth of the prophet Muhammed. At Momin Lodge in Torrance, California, 1,500 Muslims celebrated his birthday by singing praises to Muhammad and sharing a communal meal. To Muslims in Culver City, however, "ignoring the prophet's birthday represents [their] expression of devotion and love...The diverse approaches in the Southland this week reflect a debate that has raged for centuries within Islam" over whether to celebrate the prophet's birthday...

Source: Newsday

On June 9, 2001, Newsday reported on The Faith Science Gospel Home in New York. "The church, which was started less than eight months ago, doesn't have a permanent meeting place." The congregants "are Jews, Muslims and Christians...They are from Long Island, Queens, Staten Island, Bergen County, N.J., even as far away as Baltimore...They are African-Americans, Hispanics and whites...The informal services are more like graduate-level college seminars, with congregants discussing and debating scriptural ideas, finding common ground in their...

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On June 8, 2001, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "clergy, law enforcement officials and families of gunshot victims [will] try to bring home the hard realities of violence by mounting Milwaukee County's first 'Ceasefire Sabbath.' More than 60 churches, synagogues and mosques will hold services or events where lay and ordained speakers will talk about the need to curb gun violence."

Source: The New York Post

On June 7, 2001, The New York Post reported that "more than 100 Asian-immigrant students at Lafayette HS in Brooklyn signed a petition yesterday, complaining that their school isn't safe - after a Pakistani native was beaten by bullies. The students and the father of the victim say they're being picked on because of their religion and ethnicity."

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On June 7, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported on "the Davis Academy students who held a rally last week to protest a Taliban requirement that minority Hindus wear yellow armbands to distinguish them from Muslims." Davis is a Reform Jewish school in Atlanta.

Source: The Star-Ledger

http://www.njo.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/elections/ledger/137a647.html

On June 7, 2001, The Star-Ledger reported on Bret Schundler, a Republican candidate for governor of New Jersey. "Schundler was the keynote speaker at an April 28 gathering of the American Muslim Alliance's New Jersey chapter...He shared the podium with AMA President Agha Saeed...In addition to Saeed, several other...

Source: The Press-Enterprise

On June 6, 2001, The Press-Enterprise reported on the Islamic Academy of Riverside, California. "Being a nonprofit organization, the school is always in want of money...Fund-raisers, tuition and volunteerism have helped keep the doors of the academy open...Paying tuition and making donations, however, don't deter" parents from sending their children to the school, which they see as providing "spiritual and religious nourishment, a key factor missing in public schools."

Source: Los Angeles Times

On June 6, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "a landmark Muslim-Jewish dialogue group in Los Angeles has stopped meeting after Islamic leaders requested a freeze amid outrage in their community over Israeli behavior in the Mideast...Muslims complained that they felt they were expected to...condemn Palestinian violence without Jews doing the same for Israeli excesses. Jewish leaders expressed frustration that Muslims were not self-critical enough." Five Jewish leaders sent a letter to the senior advisor to the Muslim council...