Source: The Press Enterprise

On September 1, 2002 The Press Enterprise reported that "at least 8,000 U.S. women have become Muslims since Sept. 11, according to annual projections by the academic Hartford Institute for Religious Research. Conversion rates for all Muslims have quadrupled in the past year, some clerics report. Conversion has brought inner joy but external harassment, some [California] Inland women say. Three of them declined to be interviewed because of anticipated fallout from neighbors, employers or family members. Two asked not to be...

Source: Newsday

On August 18, 2002 Newsday reported on "the Hindu festival of Raksha Bandhan... The holiday commemorates the enduring relationship between brother and sister, and the sister's gift of the rakhi [a wristband] is her way of honoring her brother's role as her lifelong protector... [The brother], in turn, presents his sister with a gift of jewelry, or clothing, to honor her."

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On August 13, 2002 The Atlanta Journal and Constitution featured a story on young Muslim girls and wearing hijab in Georgia. "Eager to start fifth grade, Mariam Arshad's first day of school Monday at Smoke Rise Elementary School was also something of a coming of age... Monday was the first day Mariam, a 10-year-old Muslim who lives in Stone Mountain, [Georgia] began to wear her head scarf in the public - beyond family events with other Muslims... Emory Law professor Abdullahi An-Naim said that the challenge for...

Source: The New York Times

On August 11, 2002 The New York Times reported that Sultaana Freeman, an American-born Muslim woman, "had no trouble getting a Florida driver's license last year even though she insisted on being photographed in a veil that reveals only her eyes...    After Sept. 11, however, state officials had a change of heart. In December, they said her license would be revoked if she refused to be re-photographed without the veil. Instead of complying, Ms. Freeman gave up her license - and then sued the state to get it back...    ...

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On August 3, 2002 The Houston Chronicle reported that a new "survey of students entering college shows 92.6 percent of those with two Jewish parents identify as Jews, but there's a notable drop-off if the parents are intermarried...    Among students with a Jewish mother and gentile father, 37.8 percent considered themselves Jewish. That drops to 15.3 percent when the father is Jewish and the mother gentile... Forty percent of students from mixed marriages listed no religious identification."

Source: Rediff.com

http://www.rediff.com/us/2002/jul/27us.htm

On July 27, 2002, Rediff.com reported that when Sadhvi Rithambara, a former prominent Hindu politician in India, spoke at reception, in Queens, New York, "40-odd angry demonstrators protested her presence with placards accusing her of communal bloodshed... Watching the demonstrators was a visibly shaken Uma Mysorekar, president of the Hindu Temple Society... ' The temple did not know she was going to speak. They just...

Source: The Plain Dealer

On July 25, 2002, The Plain Dealer reported that in response to an Ohio county's refusal to allow a female prisoner to wear her hijab, "a prison-issue navy hijab will now be provided to any female inmate who requests one, jail director Kenneth Kochevar said...    'Since we allow head coverings for male inmates, it only seemed right to do the same for the women,' Kochevar said... The new policy was devised after Kochevar consulted with jails in Chicago, Cincinnati and Columbus. The head coverings will be about the size of...

Source: The Deseret News

On July 20, 2002 The Deseret News reported  that "Wat Dhammagunaram, the Layton [Thai] Buddhist Temple and Monastery... will be providing women with a chance to experience life in a [Buddhist] monastery...    Starting Friday... and continuing through Sunday afternoon, women of all ages and religious backgrounds can wear white clothing, observe the Eight Precepts, practice meditation and learn more about the Buddhist tradition."

Source: Rosie Magazine

http://www.rosiemagazine.com/people/0202_extraordinary.html

On July 15, 2002 the Rosie Magazine included the story "Lessons from a Muslim mom," a profile of Samira Hussein as part of the Extraordinary People feature. "As a child, Samira Hussein was a war refugee. As an adult, she was the victim of hate crimes. Now she's determined to teach kids about a culture few of us understand."

Source: Omaha World-Herald

Source: The Plain Dealer

On July 12, 2002 The Plain Dealer reported that "more than 50 Muslims and community leaders gathered in front of the Justice Center [in Cleveland, Ohio] to protest the jail's refusal to let an Islamic woman wear a head covering in court...    Depriving Aisha Samad of her hijab, an object with social, religious and sexual implications, was akin to demanding that a non-Muslim woman strip to the waist in public, one protester said... Samad's scarf and other belongings were taken as part of standard procedure... Rufus Sims, an...

Source: New Jersey Law Journal

Source: The Washington Post

On June 29, 2002, The Washington Post featured an article on an Orthodox Rabbi convicted of sexual abuse. "While sexual abuse of minors by priests has shaken the Roman Catholic Church this year, a smaller-scale but still painful scandal over sexual abuse by a charismatic rabbi has reverberated through the nation's Orthodox Jewish community... A jury of six men and six women in central New Jersey found Rabbi Baruch Lanner, 52, guilty of abusing two teenage girls... Once a rising star among Jewish educators, Lanner had...

Source: Observer News

http://www.observernews.com/stories/current/news/062802/omar.shtml

On June 28, 2002 Observer News of Northern Virginia featured a profile of Manal Omar, who lives in Reston and who grew up in Northern Virginia after her parents emigrated from Palestine. Manal is "an economic researcher at the World Bank.. [and a] vocal advocate of women's rights... Her interest in locally based advocacy has brought her...

Source: The New York Times

On June 27, 2002 The New York Times reported that "a Muslim woman who says the state [of Florida] is violating her religious rights in demanding that she remove her veil for a driver's license photograph will be in court this week to try to regain her driving privileges" without having to re-take her current license photograph.