Civic

St. Petersburg Holds Interfaith Memorial

September 12, 2002

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On September 12, 2002 the St. Petersburg Times reported that "a prayer breakfast sponsored by St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker and the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce offered the opportunity for interfaith prayer. Held at the St. Petersburg Hilton, the event underscored a renewed commitment to faith in this country, Baker said. Ronald Tihal, 71, a Hindu and a retired headmaster from Guyana, South America, was among more than 400 people who attended the service sponsored by the St. Petersburg Ministerial Association,...

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

September 12, 2002

Source: National Council of Churches

http://www.ncccusa.org/news/02news83.html

On September 12, 2002, the National Council of Churches issued a press release stating that "forty-nine heads of American Protestant and Orthodox churches and organizations and of Roman Catholic religious orders today announced opposition to U.S. military action against Iraq... In a letter to President Bush, the church leaders acknowledged that [Saddam] 'Hussein poses a...

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Wiccan High School Student Wins Right to Wear Religious Symbol

September 12, 2002

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=16948

On September 12, 2002 The Associated Press reported that in North Texas, a "Waxahachie High School freshman Rebecca Moreno, suspended for wearing the pentagram jewelry, had been forced to wear it hidden under her blouse in order to return to class... [Rebecca] whose family practices a pagan religion won the right yesterday to wear her pentacle necklace in...

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Hate Crimes Increase; Civic and Religious Leaders Struggle Over Political Differences

September 12, 2002

Source: The Associated Press

On September 12, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission reported the highest increase in hate crimes in its 21 years of record keeping. In all, there were 118 suspected hate crimes targeting Middle Easterners and Muslims in the three months after Sept. 11 compared with 14 in all of 2000, the commission said. Religious and civic leaders who founded the [Muslim -Jewish Dialogue] group met just prior to the terrorist attacks - and then saw dialogue turn into bitter debate as some...

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Profile of a Washington Sikh's Experience after 9/11

September 11, 2002

Source: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/86493_history11.shtml

On September 11, 2002 The Seattle Post-Intelligencer featured the article "In Their Words: Proud Sikhs can't forget the backlash," which highlights the experiences and opinions of a Sikh-American in Washington state. "'Jathedar' Sidhu prays at Gurudwara Singh Sabah of Washington, the Renton Sikh Temple. Sidhu is a postal worker who has cried for his love for America -...

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Building Understanding in Pittsburgh

September 11, 2002

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On September 11, 2002 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on "Farooq Hussaini's... devotion to building understanding between Christians, Jews and Muslims. 'Before Sept. 11, it was this beauty that I was discussing. After Sept. 11 ... I am faced with a situation where people think I follow an ugly religion,' said Hussaini, the volunteer director of interfaith relations for the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh. 'Farooq has been heroic," said Rabbi James Gibson of Temple Sinai in Squirrel Hill, who considers Hussaini a close...

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Muslims and Discrimination

September 11, 2002

Source: The Daily Telegraph

On September 11, 2002 The Daily Telegraph reported that "when it comes to everyday life, the state - from police to teachers and airport security guards - has often bent over backwards to avoid discrimination against Muslims. In fact, many conservative commentators have accused the authorities of excessive tact. Where there have been acts of clear discrimination, they have often been driven by the fears of private individuals. A number of foreign-looking passengers have been thrown off US flights since September 11 after...

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Muslim Clergy Man Denied Bail in Oregon

September 11, 2002

Source: The New York Times

On September 11, 2002 The New York Times reported  that a "Muslim clergyman arrested by a federal terrorism task force on Sunday as he tried to board a plane to the Middle East was denied bail... after a customs inspector testified that two of his bags had contained traces of explosives... The clergyman, Sheik Mohamed Abdirahman Kariye, a naturalized American citizen from Somalia, is being held on two charges of Social Security fraud... More than 100 people from mosques around the Pacific Northwest turned out today in support...

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Chicago Judge Allows Prayer at Memorial Ceremony

September 11, 2002

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=16939

On September 11, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "a federal judge... refused to halt the planned reading of a prayer at Mayor Richard M. Daley's public gathering... to remember the terrorist attacks of last Sept. 11, rejecting an atheist's claim that the prayer is unconstitutional. 'These religious aspects, however, occur separately and apart from any...

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California Sikhs Determined to Continue Efforts of Community Involvement a Year After 9/11

September 11, 2002

Source: The Reporter

http://www.thereporter.com/Specials/9Eleven/pg01a.html

On September 11, 2002 The Reporter in Vacaville, California reported that "when local Sikh-Americans found their sacred temple sullied in July with black spray-painted profanity and the message, 'go back where you belong,' they simply removed it and went about the business of living their religion... Tolerance for their fellow men, including the ignorant, is part of being Sikh... said...

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Update: Balbir Singh Sodhi Remembered

September 11, 2002

Source: The Arizona Republic

On September 11, 2002 The Arizona Republic printed an editorial which stated, "it is fitting and important that all Americans take time today to mourn the victims of last Sept. 11 and to give sober reflection to the challenges America will face in coming years. At the same time, it's important also for residents of the East Valley to take a little time to reflect on our area's own particular additional sadness, the senseless murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi. After Sodhi was killed, there was a strong demonstration of sympathy for...

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Update: Providence Kirpan Case Against Sher Singh

September 11, 2002

Source: Zwire

On September 11, 2002 Zwire reported on Sher JB Singh, who "a year ago... was pulled off an Amtrak train in Providence, R.I., and arrested amid a crowd of angry people and racial slurs. He was accused of being a terrorist. His photo appeared in newspapers and on television, linked with words like 'suspicious' and 'weapon.' Now, Singh, a devout Sikh originally from Chandigarh, Punjab, in northern India, works to educate others about the meaning and importance of turbans and ceremonial knives. He is not angry at the police or government, despite...

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Muslims Bear Multiple Burdens

September 11, 2002

Source: The Boston Globe

On September 11, 2002 The Boston Globe printed an editorial which stated, "[American Muslims] have had to bear multiple burdens. They suffered human losses and will again. They suffered from growing suspicion about "sleeper cells" in their midst. They suffered government raids on their homes and their educational and charitable institutions. There were secret detentions, profiling, and secret evidence used against many of them; devices that stretched our constitutional limits to accommodate urgent security concerns. So let us...

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National Library Project to Provide Information about Islam

September 10, 2002

Source: Los Angeles Times

On September 10, 2002 the Los Angeles Times reported that "using a successful Southern California program as a model, an Islamic advocacy group launched a campaign [Library Project] Monday to combat myths and misinformation about Muslims that many believe have become more prevalent since Sept. 11. The national campaign, in which the public can purchase a package of 18 books and videotapes for donation to a local library, is a response to attacks against the Muslim religion and a...

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Interfaith Peacemakers in Minnesota Remember September 11

September 10, 2002

Source: Star Tribune

On September 10, 2002 the Star Tribune reported on the Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers (MAP) which, "since 1995, has used nonviolence to promote peace... As the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks nears, MAP is finalizing plans for a peace observance at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday in Loring Park in downtown Minneapolis... Its member organizations range from the Minnesota Council of Churches and Minnesota Jews for a Just Peace to Veterans for Peace and Soka Gakkai International-USA/MN, a Buddhist organization."

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