Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/114153_tl126.shtml

On March 26, 2003 the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that "McDonald's has 30 days to make payments, after a Chicago judge yesterday approved a final list of 23 vegetarian, Hindu, kosher and children's organizations that will split $10 million from the global hamburger hawker... Three Seattle residents -- a Hindu, a Sikh and a non-Hindu vegetarian -- were named plaintiffs in...

Source: Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/archives

On March 26, 2003 the Chicago Tribune reported that "with reports of hate crimes against Muslim Americans rising in the region, Chicago's top FBI agent vowed Tuesday to aggressively investigate possible race-related incidents even as the agency continues to pursue terror suspects and question Iraqi immigrants... Thomas J. Kneir, special agent in charge of the FBI's Chicago office... spoke at a news conference attended by...

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/104-03252003-63529.html

On March 25, 2003 The Associated Press reported that "although it will take time to determine if war in Iraq sparks an increase in bias crimes in New Jersey, a group of the state's religious and ethnic leaders is not waiting to find out... 'Whatever is happening on other shores, we need to be on guard here in New Jersey and throughout the U.S.,' said Shai Goldstein,...

Source: Los Angeles Times

On March 25, 2003 the Los Angeles Times printed an editorial stating that "as the war in Iraq began last week, state and local leaders put police forces and emergency workers on alert against terrorist attacks. In Los Angeles, they also announced they would beef up their investigation and prosecution of hate crimes, a clear message that homeland security extends to Muslims and Arab Americans... Most recently, police are investigating as a hate crime the Feb. 22 beating of an 18-year-old Arab American by a pack of 30 young men in...

Source: The Associated Press

Source: WMTV

On March 25, 2003 WMTV reported that "religion and the law are sometimes seen as contending powers in a society. But today, we found special members of those communities who are serving as pillars - striving to uphold diversity in Maine... 'Our pledge is that any violence against any of our religious committees who are members of Interfaith Maine will be considered violence against all of us,' says Abraham Peck, of Interfaith Maine... a group that brings different religions together -- from Christianity and Judaism, to Bahai and Buddhism, and...

Source: National Council of Churches

On March 25, 2003 the National Council of Churches reported that "in a free society, all are responsible. That was among observations of four panelists - all religious leaders opposed to the war on Iraq - at a March 25 forum, 'From Winning the War to Winning the Peace: An Interfaith Dialogue on Resistance and Reconciliation...' More than 100 people filled the 'Great Choir' of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City for the forum, held in the early days of the war. 'This forum offers us a chance to reflect...

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

On March 24, 2003 the Chicago Sun-Times reported that "the Council of Religious Leaders of Metropolitan Chicago will hold an interfaith prayer service for peace... at St. James Episcopal Cathedral, Wabash and Huron... The council includes bishops and leaders of diverse religious groups, including Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago; bishops of the Episcopal and United Methodist churches; various Protestant, Eastern and Orthodox Christian leaders; the head of the Chicago Board of Rabbis;...

Source: National Council of Churches

http://www.ncccusa.org/news/03news23.html

On March 24, 2003 the National Council of Churches issued a joint statement with Secretary Generals of the Islamic Circle of North America and the Islamic Society of North America. It stated, "we are deeply saddened that military action against Iraq has begun. We pray now for a quick conclusion to this war, for the loss of as few lives as possible, and for peace. In the darkness of war, let us be...

Source: The Interfaith Alliance

Source: Star-Telegram

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/5468577.htm

On March 24, 2003 the Star-Telegram reported that "more than three dozen children heard from [Stan] Strauss, who investigates hate crimes for the Dallas office of the FBI. As the war in Iraq continues, some Muslims are concerned that they could become victims of harassment and hate crimes similar to ones that occurred during the first gulf war... Agents who spoke at the mosque also explained the FBI's efforts to interview...

Source: News Observer

http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2366598p-2207123c.html

On March 23, 2003 the News Observer reported that "the United States is waging a war fraught with religious overtones, but leaders of Triangle churches, synagogues and mosques [in NC] are steering far clear of the fray. On the first weekend of war in Iraq, they are sticking to eternal themes of peace and love, saying the politics of war have no place in the pulpit. The reasoning is...

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/la-me-sublopez23mar23,0,5305794.column

On March 23, 2003 the Los Angeles Times reported that "they've been gathering every Friday morning at 7 o'clock since Sept. 11, 2001, trying to keep the world from unraveling... Muslim and Jew, Hindu and Christian, Buddhist and Sufi, one of these and one of those. It's a Los Angeles crowd, for sure, and a nice idea... Love, peace, common ground... this flock of clergy and...

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On March 23, 2003 the St. Petersburg Times printed an editorial stating that "to get a job as a residential counselor/houseparent at the United Methodist Children's Home in Decatur, Ga., you have to be at least 21 years old, a high school graduate and 'a professing Christian.' The job announcement goes on to explain that while non-Christians 'have done much good in our world,' the Children's Home is 'an agency of a Christian Church' and in order to preserve that identity, only Christians will be hired... You have to appreciate...

Source: Boston Globe

On March 23, 2003 the Boston Globe reported that "At Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee, 90 miles west of Boston, a rally of 2,000 antiwar protesters included three-dozen who locked arms to block the main road leading into the base... Organized by the Western Massachusetts American Friends Service Committee, protesters entwined themselves in yellow, red, and blue yarn, to symbolize the "web of justice," they said. Committed to civil disobedience, they ignored the police countdown that gave them 2 minutes, then 1 minute, then 30...