Civic

Controversy over Required Reading on Islam at University of North Carolina

August 7, 2002

Source: The Washington Post

On August 7, 2002, The Washington Post reported that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill "is asking all 3,500 incoming freshmen to read a book about Islam and [now] finds itself besieged in federal court and across the airwaves by Christian evangelists and other conservatives... The university chose 'Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations'... because of intense interest in Islam since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks...   To the university's faculty and some students, the dispute is about upholding UNC's...

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DC Area Mosque Finalizes Plans for Free Health Clinic

August 6, 2002

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47560-2002Aug5.html

On August 6, 2002 The Washington Post reported that in Silver Spring, Maryland, in the greater Washington DC metro area, "members of the Muslim Community Center are finalizing plans to open a free clinic within their bronze-domed mosque complex... The characteristics of the Muslim community in the Washington area are changing. Now Muslims from 10 to 20 countries...

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Florida Court Rules Vouchers for Religious Schools Unconstitutional

August 6, 2002

Source: Los Angeles Times

On August 6, 2002 the Los Angeles Times reported that "a few weeks after the Supreme Court upheld the use of school vouchers, a Florida judge ruled Monday that the nation's only statewide voucher program violates the Florida Constitution because it gives tax money to religious schools... In his ruling, state Circuit Judge P. Kevin Davey in Tallahassee declared that the Florida Constitution is 'clear and unambiguous' in its prohibition on the use of public funds to aid any church, sect, religious denomination or sectarian...

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Government Must Return Eagle Feathers for Native American Religious Practice

August 6, 2002

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=16684

On August 6, 2002 The Associated Press reported that "the government must return eagle feathers to a descendant of American Indians so he can use them in religious practices... In a case that weighed freedom of religion against the government's ability to protect bald and golden eagles, the full 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday upheld a lower...

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Civil Rights Activists and Others Flock to Dearborn to Talk with Arab-American and Muslim Leaders

August 5, 2002

Source: The Detroit Free Press

http://www.freep.com/news/metro/center5_20020805.htm

On August 5, 2002 The Detroit Free Press reported that "attracted by its large Arab-American population, human rights activists and others are flocking to Dearborn and other pockets of metro Detroit to learn about and work with a community that has drawn increasing national attention since Sept. 11... In the last week, the visitors are young activists from across the country who are...

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Editorial Addresses Criticisms of Interfaith Events and an Alternative

August 4, 2002

Source: The Providence Journal-Bulletin

On August 4, 2002 The Providence Journal-Bulletin featured an editorial response by Charles Haynes, of the First Amendment Center, to recent criticisms of Interfaith events. "In the long shadow of Sept. 11, Americans are rediscovering what most of the world has never forgotten: religious differences matter... In reality, for most Jews, Christians, Muslims and others, it does matter what you believe... Ignoring religious differences doesn't work... [The] alternative is for Americans to address religious differences...

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Update: Hindus, Muslims, and Vegetarians Sue McDonald's over Use of Beef Flavoring in Fries

August 3, 2002

Source: The Dallas Morning News

On August 3, 2002 The Dallas Morning News reported that Muslims suing McDonald's for their use of non-halal beef flavoring on their french fries opted out of the settlement negotiated by other angry groups including Hindus. "About 2,000 Muslims let the court know they would opt out of the settlement... Formal meetings between the two sides" will continue.

Interfaith Group Builds Houses in Atlanta

August 3, 2002

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On August 3, 2002 The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "for the next seven Sundays, an interfaith group of 400 Baha'i, Baptist, Episcopal, Jewish, Methodist, Muslim, Seventh-day Adventist and Unitarian congregation members will build a house on behalf of Atlanta Habitat for Humanity... They also are getting to know each other... Habitat started building interfaith houses a couple of years ago, but nothing as inclusive as this project, said Larrie Martin, executive director for Atlanta Habitat...

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American Muslims Boycott New York Post

August 2, 2002

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

On August 2, 2002 The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that "hundreds of Muslim and Arab-American vendors in New York are boycotting the New York Post, accusing Rupert Murdoch's tabloid of bias against Muslims...    Posters urged people to stop buying, selling or even reading the Post, in light of the 'increasing level of hatred' in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attack on the United States by Arab hijackers."

Appeals Court Rules "Under God" in Pledge of Allegiance Unconstitutional

July 31, 2002

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=16657

On July 31, 2002, The Associated Press reported that "Attorneys general from 48 states and two territories are calling on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision that declared the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional... In a letter to the Court of Appeals, the attorneys general said the decision is legally flawed and the matter...

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Pagan Pride Across the U.S., 2002

July 29, 2002

Source: The Dover Bureau

http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2002/07/29pagangatherings.html

On July 29, 2002 The Dover Bureau reported that "on Sept. 15, pagans from Delaware and nearby states will descend on Legislative Mall for a public display of pride... Visitors to Pagan Pride Day will see is a display of posters explaining paganism, along with workshops, speakers and children's activities. .. Dover's Pagan Pride Day is...

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American Hindus Protest Sadhvi Ritambara's Appearance in Queens

July 29, 2002

Source: Newsday

http://www.newsday.com/mynews/ny-nyhind292802785jul29.story

On July 29, 2002 Newsday reported that "tensions among Hindus have broken into the open in Queens, coming to a head at a protest outside a prominent Flushing temple where about 50 protesters decried the appearance of a right-wing Indian activist... Sadhvi Ritambara of New Delhi, well-known in India for calling for the notorious 1992 destruction of a Muslim mosque in [India]... arrived in...

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California City Brings Together Leaders of Diverse Faiths to Dedicate National Motto

July 29, 2002

Source: The Bakersfield Californian

http://www.bakersfield.com/local/story/1505644p-1623213c.html

On July 29, 2002 The Bakersfield Californian reported that in Bakersfield, California "a ceremony in the council chambers will formally dedicate... 'In God We Trust'... the words that were mounted last week above the city seal behind the council dais... And representatives of the city's Islamic, Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, Jewish, American Indian, Catholic and...

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Muslim and Jewish Children Share Salaam-Shalom Circus in St. Louis

July 29, 2002

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On July 29, 2002, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that 17 children from Circus Salaam Shalom, an Muslim-Jewish interfaith troupe, performed their first public show "before a boisterous crowd of about 100 at the City Museum... Circus Salaam Shalom translates as peace in Arabic and Hebrew, respectively, and works from the concept that it's easier to understand someone once you've stood on their shoulders, leaped through their arms or dangled from their body... In May, the children performed privately at their respective...

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