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Ramadan in Murfreesboro, Tenn. – NYTimes.com

Ramadan in Murfreesboro, Tenn. – NYTimes.com. Id al-Fitr — the end of Ramadan’s monthlong fasting and sacrifice — has turned out to be an especially joyous holiday for the Islamic American community of Murfreesboro, Tenn. Hundreds of worshipers were finally able to occupy their new suburban mosque this month, prevailing in their constitutional right after a two-year assault of bigotry, persistent court challenges, arson and a bomb threat at the construction site.

Six N.Y. Senators Don Hoodies for #Trayvon Martin

Six N.Y. Senators Don Hoodies for Trayvon Martin — Daily Intel. In Albany yesterday, the six hooded lawmakers read off a list of black men killed by New York police, tracing responsibility back to Rudy Giuliani. “It is horrific what happened to Trayvon,” Adams added. “But it happens every day in the city of New York.”

Sotomayor Nomination

Frank Rice has a good piece on the Sotomayor nomination today, and how it the process highlights how difference is threatening to some people, even though difference is becoming more normative. See also Stewart and Colbert. Unfortunately, while Rich focuses on Latino/a aspects, I think he misses the larger issue of how we all fear difference. For example, this type of fear applies to Muslims, but also emanates from Muslims. Hopefully, the recent experiences with Pres. Obama and Sotomayor help highlight how we fear difference and how we can overcome it.