What: Press Conference
When: Thursday, September 2, 2010 1:00 pm
Where: National Press Club 529 14th Street NW Washington, DC 20045
Why: The controversy over the Park 51 Project (Islamic Center in Lower Manhattan) is indicative of a general rise in racist bigotry towards people of color in this country. While the issue has its particular and unique distinctions, it cannot be separated from the rising violence against African Americans and Latinos, or the increasingly inflammatory rhetoric and exclusionary politics driving the national debate on immigration.

No single person or organization can be said to represent all American Muslims, but this hasn’t stopped the media turning Park51 into a potent
symbol.

Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is first and foremost a time for spirituality and purity, according to survey results released today (2nd September 2010) by SingleMuslim.com, the world's leading internet-based matrimonial service for the Muslim community.

By Rabbi Marc Schneier and Imam Shamsi Ali
As American Muslims observe the last days of Ramadan and American Jews prepare to begin their observance of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, members of both faiths--and all Americans-- are being confronted with a responsibility to speak out in defense of the values of religious liberty and mutual understanding upon which this country was founded.

By Michael M. Grynbaum - NY Times
The imam behind the proposed Islamic center near ground zero, Feisal Abdul Rauf, told a Middle Eastern newspaper that he believed election-year politics had stoked the debate over the project and blamed a “tiny, vociferous minority” for leading the opposition, in his most expansive comments yet on the controversy.