Civic

Sikhs Must Trade Turbans for Hair Nets in Public Schools

May 17, 2004

Source: Beliefnet.com

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/146/story_14604_1.html

On May 17, 2004 Beliefnet.com posted an Associated Press article that reported, "Sikh school boys must exchange their turbans for a hair net when a new law banning religious apparel in France's public schools takes effect in September, Education Minister Francois Fillon said Monday, shocking representatives of the Sikh community. Muslim girls can only wear bandannas in schools that...

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Muslims and Jews Walk for Peace

May 17, 2004

Source: Muslim Wakeup!

http://www.muslimwakeup.com/mainarchive/000816.php#more

On May 17, 2004 Muslim Wakeup! reported, "The Interfaith Peace Walk for Jewish Muslim Reconciliation began at Al-Aqsa Islamic Society, an predominantly Arab-American community in North Central Philadelphia on May 2nd... The guest speakers were the founders of the Jewish-Muslim Peace Walk, from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Rabbi Lynne Gottlieb is a multitalented artist and human rights...

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Debate Over Education Reform Bill Highlights Role of Religion in Public Square

May 17, 2004

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://search.csmonitor.com/search_content/0517/p10s01-woeu.html

On May 17, 2004 The Christian Science Monitor reported, "A recently passed higher education reform bill has thrust Turkey into a raging political debate, once again highlighting the secular country's continuing struggle with defining the role of religion in the public sphere. The bill deals in large part with reorganizing the board that oversees Turkey's...

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Muslim Chaplain Says He Will Quit if Crosses are Removed from Classrooms

May 14, 2004

Source: The National Catholic Reporter

http://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives2/2004b/051404/051404n.php

On May 14, 2004 The National Catholic Reporter reported, "Georgetown University’s Muslim chaplain has said that if the university were to ever remove crucifixes from its classrooms, as some students and even faculty have proposed, he would resign. 'I will not continue to be at Georgetown if that cross is removed,'said Imam Yahya Hendi in Rome...

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Interfaith Leaders Respond to Violence in Iraq

May 14, 2004

Source: The Providence Journal

http://www.ricma.org/media-Interfaith.htm

On May 14, 2004 The Providence Journal reported on an interfaith prayer service held at the First Baptist Church of America to reflect on the recent events in Iraq: "The vigil was sponsored by the Rhode Island State Council of Churches. Nine ministers, including the leader of the Muslim American Dawah Center of Rhode Island, spoke, prayed and sang. Imam Farid Ansari, of the Dawah Center, shared his unique...

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CAIR Launches "Not in the Name of Islam" Campaign

May 14, 2004

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25782-2004May13.html

On May 14, 2004 The Washington Post reported, "A national Muslim advocacy group announced yesterday that it is asking Muslims around the world to sign an online petition condemning terrorism as 'un-Islamic' and a betrayal of their faith. The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations said that its petition, titled 'Not in the Name of Islam,' is "...

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Update: Controversy Over the Headscarf Nears Resolution in OK

May 14, 2004

Source: News OK

http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=1238720

On May 14, 2004 News OK reported, "A settlement on a lawsuit involving a Muslim girl suspended twice for wearing a head scarf awaits approval of the Muskogee School Board, court records reflected Thursday.

Nashala Hearn, an 11-year-old sixth-grader at Ben Franklin Science Academy, was suspended twice in October for wearing the religious scarf, or hijab, to school.

The...

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Muslims, Sikhs, and Law Enforcement Officials Build Bridges in Utah

May 13, 2004

Source: The Deseret News Publishing Company

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595062821,00.html

On May 13, 2004 The Deseret News Publishing Company reported, " J.B. Singh's pet peeve is being associated with Osama bin Laden because of his beard and turban. Apart from the fact he's not a terrorist, Singh is also a Sikh, not a Muslim. Muslim Suzanne Montgomery says she's sometimes treated like she's unintelligent, just because she chooses to dress in traditional...

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Editorial: School Board Must Accept Non-Sectarian Prayers

May 12, 2004

Source: The Herald Tribune

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040512/OPINION/405120687/1030

On May 12, 2004 The Herald Tribune published an editorial insisting that the the Manatee County School Board should firmly commit to non-sectarian prayers. "Essentially, the board members must honor the pledge they made last summer to drop the use of the Lord's Prayer and switch to a nonsectarian invocation. If they fail...

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Asra Nomani Leads a "Moral Jihad" for Women's Rights in Islam

May 11, 2004

Source: The Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04132/314380.stm

On May 11, 2004 The Post-Gazette reported on Asra Nomani, an American Muslim reporter at the Wall Street Journal, and "her moral jihad against the leadership of the Islamic Center of Morgantown, which she has taken to the editorial pages of The Washington Post and The New York Times. By her account, puritanical Arabs, whom she labels Wahhabis, a disputed and pejorative term for the strict strain of...

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Prayer Breakfast Snub Brings Muslim Leader into the News

May 10, 2004

Source: The Oregonian

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1084190134254120.xml

On May 10, 2004 The Oregonian reported, "The question took Shahriar Ahmed by surprise. The president of Bilal Mosque in Beaverton was looking for an elevator at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center when a security guard approached him: 'Aren't you the guy who was disinvited from the prayer breakfast?' A week earlier, organizers of...

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Muslims Feel Threatened Over Prayer Controversy

May 9, 2004

Source: The International Herald Tribune

http://www.iht.com/articles/518546.html

On May 9, 2004 The International Herald Tribune reported, "For the population of Hamtramck, a city of 23,000 near Detroit, the battle of the loudspeaker, which the City Council approved Tuesday, has revealed a crossfire of religious, ethnic and lifestyle grievances, aggravated by the lingering memories of Sept. 11, 2001, which left many Muslims here feeling they were under suspicion. . Once an enclave...

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Petition Aims to Halt Prayer Call in Michigan

May 8, 2004

Source: The Detroit Free Press

http://www.freep.com/news/locway/call8_20040508.htm

On May 8, 2004 The Detroit Free Press reported, "A petition drive began Friday to stop a new law that will allow mosques in Hamtramck to broadcast the Muslim call to prayer over loudspeakers. Organizers say they are certain they'll get the required 552 signatures to force the City Council to reverse its April 27 decision. 'There are some people, including Muslims, who don't want the...

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Rabbi Calls for Theology of Religious Pluralism

May 7, 2004

Source: The Hartford Courant

http://www.ctnow.com/news/local/hc-rabbirudin.artmay07,1,4048574.story?coll=hc-headlines-local

On May 7, 2004 The Hartford Courant reported, "Rabbi A. James Rudin, senior interreligious advisor of the American Jewish Committee, said Thursday that the "politics of piety" is emerging in this country, gradually blending religion and politics, and threatening the wall of separation between church and...

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Controversy Over the Call to Prayer Continues in MI

May 6, 2004

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/features/religion/la-na-mosque6may06,1,4762580.story?coll=la-news-religion

On May 6, 2004 the Los Angeles Times reported on the continuing controversy over the call to prayer in Hamtramck, "The City Council in this community of 23,000 last week approved the mosque's request to amplify the traditional call to prayer. The imam says the chant, which lasts about a minute and a...

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