Ali Faruk grew up as a Muslim in an Indian-American military family in Northern Virginia. Soldiers and police officers routinely showed up in uniform for Friday prayer services at Dar AlNoor Islamic Community Center in Woodbridge, sometimes carrying their service weapons. “It really wasn’t a big deal,“ said Faruk, who works as a policy analyst for the Virginia Interfaith Center in Richmond.

South Florida Republicans held a weekly meeting at a gun range, shooting at targets including cut-outs of a Muslim holding a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

MALIK KHAN Barack Obama’s Cairo speech, in terms of substance, was ground-breaking. An American president quoting from the Quran and reliving his own experience in Muslim Indonesia lectured moderates and hard liners alike in the region. His skillful drawing of attention toward Muslim contributions to science and civilization, and repeated references to Islamic tenets, exhibited a positive shift while addressing the Muslim world. His message was well-received and sounded genuine—as did the spontaneous applause from the audience, punctuated by the odd shout of “We love you.“

Leaders of Richmond’s Muslim community said they are pleased with President Barack Obama’s speech yesterday in Cairo, not just because they’re Muslims but also because they’re Americans. “There’s a lot of excitement,“ said Imam Ammar Amonette of the Islamic Center of Virginia. Obama “addressed both the American Muslim community and our history and our part in America, as well as acknowledged the Muslim world as a whole and the need for a new beginning of mutual respect and recognizing problems.“

“This cycle of suspicion and discord must end,“ Obama said in a widely anticipated speech in one of the world’s largest Muslim countries.

President Barack Obama began his latest bid to open a dialogue with the Muslim world by seeking the counsel of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, home to Islam’s two holiest sites in Mecca and Medina.

A lawyer representing a Muslim group denied rezoning for a mosque by the Henrico County Board of Supervisors says the action represents religious discrimination. The suit filed in Henrico Circuit Court says the board’s refusal to rezone 3.6 acres at Impala Place and Impala Drive was “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable.“ The complaint doesn’t mention religious discrimination, but attorney Henry L. Marsh III said he plans to bring up that argument in a federal suit.

Watch Richmond-area Muslims celebrate Eid ul-Adha at the Arthur Ashe Center.

Today, as Muslims around the world celebrate the holiday Eid al-Adha, known as the Feast of Sacrifice, thousands of Richmond-area Muslims will gather at the Arthur Ashe Center for a morning prayer service.

Today, as Muslims around the world celebrate the holiday Eid al-Adha, known as the Feast of Sacrifice, thousands of Richmond-area Muslims will gather at the Arthur Ashe Center for a morning prayer service. The holiday comes at the end of the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. According to Islamic teachings, the hajj is a spiritual journey that cleanses the soul and wins absolution. Yesterday, nearly 3 million Muslims converged on Mount Arafat, a rocky desert hill outside Mecca to perform the ritual of forgiveness marking the climax of the hajj.