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Ramadan in America, 2002

November 8, 2002

Source: The Buffalo News

On November 8, 2002 The Buffalo News reported that "Ramadan, the holiest of months for Muslims, began this week. And the next four weeks of fasting, praying and reflection is a special time for the several million American Muslims still under the public microscope. 'With everything going on,' said Hodan Hassan, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Muslim Relations based in Washington, 'I think people have been looking forward to Ramadan to recharge their batteries.' In the last eight weeks, [Western New York] area Muslims...

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Ramadan Prayers in Public Schools

November 7, 2002

Source: nbc4columbus

http://www.msnbc.com/local/wcmh/a1382279.asp

On November 7, 2002 nbc4columbus reported that "a group of Muslim students walked out of their classrooms Thursday at Brookhaven High School because they said they were not allowed to pray. Columbus Public Schools spokesman Michael Straughter said the district is not saying the students can't pray, but just not during instructional time. Brookhaven officials said individual prayer time will be allowed, but not...

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Sikh Educator Appointed Head of Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School

November 7, 2002

Source: The Boston Globe

On November 7, 2002 The Boston Globe reported that "as the newly appointed head of... the Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School [MA]... [Siri Akal Singh] Khalsa is leading a community of 175 students on this 37-acre wooded campus tucked off Beaver Street. He said he is the only practicing Sikh who is employed as a head of school in this country. The 53-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y., native has more than a quarter-century of teaching experience:  He taught in the New York public schools, served as an assistant head at a Quaker boarding...

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Ramadan in America, 2002

November 6, 2002

Source: Chicago Tribune

On November 6, 2002 the Chicago Tribune reported that "leaders of the country's estimated 7 million Muslims are using the traditional month of prayer and fasting as a signature event to introduce their non-Muslim neighbors to their Islam--the global religion of peace and mercy. The hope is a month of open houses at mosques, interfaith dinners and community presentations during Ramadan might lead to a better understanding of one of the world's great faiths. The trend of opening up Ramadan and using it as a springboard is readily...

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Seattle Muslims Reach Out with Ramadan

November 6, 2002

Source: The Seattle Times

On November 6, 2002 The Seattle Times reported that "local Muslims are seeing the holy month of Ramadan -- which was expected to begin last night with the sighting of the new moon -- as an opportune time to organize their growing and diverse community and to reach out to the broader public. In the year since Sept. 11, Muslims here as well as nationwide have come under intense scrutiny. Locally, the attention flared again with the Oct. 24 arrests of John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, suspects in the recent East Coast...

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Ramadan in America, 2002

November 6, 2002

Source: MSNBC

http://www.msnbc.com/news/830635.asp?0dm=C19ON

On November 6, 2002 MSNBC reported that "as Ramadan gets underway, the war on terror heats up and military action against Iraq looms, Muslim communities across America are on a PR mission to explain what their religion is all about. From political fundraisers and food drives to open houses at Mosques, grass roots Muslim groups are working hard to shake off the bad image Islam earned in many Americans’ eyes...

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Chevrolet Sponsorship of Christian Rock Worship Tour Debated

November 5, 2002

Source: USA Today

On November 5, 2002 USA Today reported that "as the fastest-growing segment of the music industry, Christian music has advertiser appeal. But Chevrolet's sponsorship of a music-and-worship tour [Chevrolet Presents: Come Together and Worship] has some observers wondering whether a line has been crossed. Although Chevy has sponsored events such as gospel's Stellar Awards, this sponsorship's blending of the sacred and the commercial has raised hackles inside and outside the Christian community. [However,] Rubel Shelly, minister at the...

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Religion, the U.S. Constitution, and Public Schools in Utah

November 5, 2002

Source: The Salt Lake Tribune

http://www.sltrib.com/2002/nov/11052002/utah/13588.htm

On November 5, 2002 The Salt Lake Tribune reported that "rather than shy away from discussing religion and the tensions that sometimes rise between people of different faiths, some Utah educators are teaching students to engage in a respectful religious debate. That is why four schools are among the 11 in the nation selected to participate in a pilot project to transform how schools...

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Religion's Role in John Allen Muhammad's Sniper Case

November 4, 2002

Source: The Associated Press

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/94125_washmuslims04.shtml

On November 4, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "the arrest of John Muhammad in the D.C.-area sniper shootings sent shock waves through the Puget Sound region's Muslim community. Not because they knew him, but because they'd never heard of this guy who called himself a Muslim. Muhammad, who lived in Tacoma and Bellingham, converted to Islam and changed his last...

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American Muslims: The New Generation

November 4, 2002

Source: USA TODAY

On November 4, 2002 USA Today reported that Asma Gull Hasan "wrote her own book about the Muslim community in the USA, offering an insider's view of its history and inner dynamics, from Pakistani immigrants such as her parents (her dad's a physician) to black converts and others who identify with Islam. She weaves her own story into the narrative. American Muslims: The New Generation, was published in 2000. But it has found a growing mainstream audience since last year's terrorist attacks, when the nation's attention became...

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Former President George Bush Condemns Stereotyping of Arab-Americans

November 3, 2002

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On November 3, 2002 The Houston Chronicle reported that "former President George Bush on Saturday condemned intolerance and stereotyping that have hurt Arab-American families in the wake of the terrorist attacks... at the... Inter-Continental Hotel as part of the Arab-American Cultural and Community Center's annual gala. Bush said he wanted to use the opportunity to 'condemn intolerance (and) condemn the stereotyping that has hurt so many American families.' Bush mentioned the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing to exemplify how...

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Religion and Politics in Iowa and Tennessee

November 2, 2002

Source: The Commercial Appeal

On November 2, 2002 The Commercial Appeal reported that "gubernatorial candidate Phil Bredesen blasted a recent Republican mailing as 'a blatant appeal to religious bigotry and hatred' because it questions teaching about world religions in Nashville schools. Bredesen, speaking to the Nashville Downtown Kiwanis Club Friday, said he was 'disgusted' by the mailer... A spokesman for Bredesen's Republican opponent, Van Hilleary, denied a role in sending the mailing. The direct-mail ad pictures a statue of Buddha and says that '...

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Pre-Game Prayer in New Orleans Hornets Basketball Game

November 2, 2002

Source: The Times-Picayune

On November 2, 2002 The Times-Picayune reported that "when the New Orleans Hornets brought professional basketball back to town Wednesday with an opening-night win over the Utah Jazz in the New Orleans Arena, buried in the package was an unusual practice in modern professional sport: a public, pre-game prayer offered on behalf of thousands of diverse fans. Jews, Muslims and Buddhists are likely to be part of the mix, along with Christians of many denominations, said the Rev. David Arceneaux, the Hornets' unpaid team chaplain...

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Religious Groups Speak Out Against War with Iraq: Nov. 2002

November 2, 2002

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On November 2, 2002 the St. Petersburg Times reported that "as general secretary for the National Council of Churches, [Robert] Edgar is a leader in the increasingly broad religious opposition to war on Iraq. Some are calling the movement the biggest show of solidarity against war since Vietnam. Some faiths have been silent on the war. Jewish organizations have remained mostly mum on the issue. Some of them fear that support for the war would be interpreted as pro-Israeli or anti-Palestinian. Imam Muhammad Musri, president...

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