Civic

Muslim Girl Scouts

February 11, 2004

Source: Muslims Wake Up!

http://www.muslimwakeup.com/mainarchive/000538.php#more

On February 11, 2004 Muslims Wake Up! reported, "Eight teenage girls sat, legs crossed under them, in a circle on a carpeted floor in a quiet room of the Muslim Youth Center in the south of Brooklyn. They talked about school and other things concerning teenaged girls. Almost all of them were old enough to wear a hijab, the traditional headscarf of their religion, and many did. That...

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Buddhists Petition Against Pledge Clause "Under God"

February 11, 2004

Source: Tricycle

http://www.tricycle.com/p_articles_id_178.html

On February 11, 2004 Tricycle reported that "the law firm Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft LLP of New York will be filing an Amicus Brief on behalf of Buddhist temples and organizations who wish to assert that the words 'under God' in the pledge are an affront to their non-theistic beliefs and those of many Buddhist Americans." The article contains a letter from Cadwalader inviting American Buddhist...

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New Jersey Pastor Promotes the Needs of Immigrants

February 11, 2004

Source: The Worldwide Faith News

http://www.wfn.org/2004/02/msg00083.html

On February 11, 2004 The Worldwide Faith News reported, "Concerned about a growing backlash against immigrants, a United Methodist pastor is leading a clergy effort in New Jersey to focus on discussion instead of discrimination. The Rev. Myrna Bethke, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Freehold, said the community has become increasingly polarized since local government officials shut down a 'muster...

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Update: Locals Protest Alabama Ban on Headscarves in License Photos

February 11, 2004

Source: The Huntsville Times

http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/107652521415511.xml

On February 11, 2004 The Huntsville Times reported that "dozens of people were expected to attend a legislative committee meeting here today to protest a Department of Public Safety order preventing Muslim women from wearing head coverings in their driver's license photos. Farook Chandiwala, a member of the Human Rights Committee of...

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Greek Orthodox Leaders Sue Main Church

February 11, 2004

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-orthodox4feb04,1,927071.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

On February 11, 2004 the Los Angeles Times reported, "A group of Greek Orthodox lay leaders in the United States sued the church Tuesday, charging that it had violated its own charter by allowing the Istanbul, Turkey-based ecumenical patriarch to exercise too much power over the...

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Southern CA Muslims Register to Vote on Eid

February 9, 2004

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-hajj2feb02,1,2929458.story

On February 9, 2004 the Los Angeles Times reported that "thousands of Southern California Muslims gathered Sunday to mark one of their most important holidays and the end of hajj, the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca. They came — young and old, men and women — to celebrate Eid al-Adha, a holiday that honors Abraham, the prophet who was willing to sacrifice his son at...

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Parents Sue Over Right to Distribute Religious Jellybeans

February 9, 2004

Source: The First Amendment Center

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=12633

On February 9, 2004 the The First Amendment Center reported that "parents have sued a suburban school district because a kindergarten teacher stopped their daughter from distributing bags of jellybeans with an attached prayer to her classmates. Allen and Sheila Wuebben of suburban Kettering say the school's policy of prohibiting students from distributing religious literature...

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The Ten Commandments Return to Alabama

February 8, 2004

Source: The First Amendment Center

http://www.fac.org/rel_liberty/publiclife/news.aspx?id=12618

On February 8, 2004 The First Amendment Center reported that "the Ten Commandments are back in the Alabama Judicial Building, this time in an exhibit that opened Feb. 5 and features seven other historical documents.

The display stands just across the rotunda from the spot once occupied by a 5,300-pound granite monument to the commandments that cost Roy...

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Lieberman Failed to Get Support From Jewish Voters

February 8, 2004

Source: Haaretz

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/391716.html

On February 8, 2004 Haaretz reported, "A little more than a year ago, when Senator Joseph Lieberman announced he would seek his party's nomination as its candidate for president of the United States in the 2004 elections, his confidants said they were concerned the American public wasn't yet ready to accept a Jewish president. Lieberman whipped out surveys he had commissioned that indicated only a very small...

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Interfaith Statement Against Gay Marriage

February 7, 2004

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/02/07/leade

On February 7, 2004 The Boston Globe published the text of an Interfaith Statement against gay marriage, reading in part: "Today, the Roman Catholic Dioceses of the state of Massachusetts joined with over 3000 other religious communities within the state to offer a joint statement in support of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union...

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AJC Supports Lawsuit by Wiccan Priestess

February 5, 2004

Source: The Herald

http://www.heraldonline.com/local/story/3305241p-2949326c.html

On February 5, The Herald reported that "the American Jewish Congress has filed a brief with the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to support a lawsuit brought by a Great Falls woman prohibiting specific Christian references in council prayers. The brief, filed Tuesday by the organization's chief lawyer, Marc Stern, said the use of specific faith preference in town council...

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Wiccan Priestess Charges Town Council With Violating Church and State Prohibitions in SC

February 5, 2004

Source: The Herald

http://www.heraldonline.com/local/story/3305241p-2949326c.html

On February 5, 2004 the Herald reported that, "the American Jewish Congress has filed a brief with the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to support a lawsuit brought by a Great Falls woman prohibiting specific Christian references in council prayers. The brief, filed Tuesday by the organization's chief lawyer, Marc Stern, said the use of specific faith preference in town...

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Sikh Leader Appeals to UN: Treat Sikhs as Religious and Cultural Minority

February 5, 2004

Source: The Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/475954.cms

On February 5, 2004 The Times of India reported, "Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gurcharan Singh Tohra has made an appeal to United Nations (UN) secretary general Kofi A Annan to issue an advisory note to all countries, especially France, to treat Sikhs as religious and cultural minority and to give them all facilities guaranteed under the UN declarations...

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Members of Congress Speak Out Against French Ban

February 4, 2004

Source: The Sikh Coalition

http://www.sikhcoalition.org/HondaEhlers.asp

On February 4, 2004 The Sikh Coalition reported that Congressmen Mike Honda (D-CA) and Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) sent a memo to members of Congress and urged them to sign onto a letter to the French Government. This letter expresses concern over the French ban of articles of faith in schools. The letter reads, in part: "On February 10, 2004, the French Parliament will vote on legislation to restrict religious...

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