“Debate over cultural center near ground zero, upcoming 9/11 anniversary have many ... - Bend Bulletin” plus 1 more

Debate over cultural center near ground zero, upcoming 9/11 anniversary have many ... - Bend Bulletin

Posted: 06 Sep 2010 03:55 AM PDT

American Muslims ask: Will we ever belong?; Debate over cultural center near ground zero, upcoming 9/11 anniversary have many on edge | Nation/World | The Bulletin

Debate over cultural center near ground zero, upcoming 9/11 anniversary have many on edge

By Laurie Goodstein / New York Times News Service

Published: September 06. 2010 4:00AM PST

Carlos Ortiz / New York Times News Service

Eboo Patel, center, is founder and director of Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based community service program that tries to reduce religious conflict. Patel says he is "more scared than I've ever been — more scared than I was after September 11."

For nine years after the attacks of Sept. 11, many American Muslims made concerted efforts to build relationships with non-Muslims, to make it clear they abhor terrorism, to educate people about Islam and to participate in interfaith service projects. They took satisfaction in the observations by many scholars that Muslims in America were more successful and assimilated than Muslims in Europe.

Now, many of those same Muslims say that all of those years of work are being rapidly undone by the fierce opposition to a Muslim cultural center near ground zero that has unleashed a torrent of anti-Muslim sentiments. The knifing of a Muslim cab driver in New York City has also alarmed many American Muslims.

Eboo Patel, a founder and director of Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based community service program that tries to reduce religious conflict, said, "I am more scared than I've ever been — more scared than I was after September 11."

That was a refrain echoed by many American Muslims in interviews last week. They said they were scared not as much for their safety as to learn that the suspicion, ignorance and even hatred of Muslims is so widespread.

Some American Muslims said they were especially on edge as the anniversary of 9/11 approaches. The pastor of a small church in Florida has promised to burn a pile of Qurans that day. Muslim leaders are telling their followers that the stunt has been widely condemned by Christian and other religious groups and should be ignored. But they said some young American Muslims were questioning how they could simply sit by and watch the promised desecration.

The great mosque debate seems to have unleashed a flurry of vandalism and harassment directed at mosques: construction equipment set afire at a mosque site in Murfreesboro, Tenn; a plastic pig with graffiti thrown into a mosque in Madera, Calif.; teenagers shooting outside a mosque in upstate New York during Ramadan prayers. It is too soon to tell whether hate crimes against Muslims are rising or are on pace with previous years, experts said.

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Israeli cultural institute to open in Budapest - AP - msnbc.com

Posted: 01 Sep 2010 08:11 AM PDT

Bela Szandelszky / AP

Former Soviet political prisoner, Israeli politician and chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel (Sochnut) Natan Sharansky is seen beside "Srulik", an illustrated character who symbolizes Israel after announcing the opening of the new Israeli Cultural Institute, housed in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, Sep. 1, 2010. The World's first Israeli Cultural Institute will open its gate for the public on Friday. During the Holocaust some 550,000 Jews were killed, while some 100,000 Jews live in the country today, mostly in Budapest. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Officials say the world's first Israeli cultural institute will be opening in Budapest.

Director Gabor Balazs says the aim of the institute opening to the public Friday is to show the diversity of Israel's "mosaic-like" culture, including works and performances by Jews, Christians, Arabs and other writers and artists.

Natan Sharansky of the Jewish Agency says the institute was set up in Hungary partly because of the country's large Jewish community, estimated at 100,000.

Local Jewish businessmen and entrepreneurs have also partnered with his agency, which deals with Israel's relations with Jews abroad.

Israeli cellist Hillel Zori is due to perform at the institute on Saturday with Hungarian Roma pianists.

Cultural

Monday, September 6, 2010