major funding for "religion & ethics newsweekly" is provided by the lily endowment, an indianapolis-based private family foundation dedicated to its founders' interest in religion, community development, and education. additional funding by mutual of america, designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we're your retirement company. and the corporation for public broadcasting. >> welcome. i'm bob abernethy. it's good to have you with us as we begin this 15th year of "religion and ethics newsweekly." we will have a story on the large-scale operation now large-scale operation now under way by religious groups to help those hurt by hurricane irene. but first, as the 10 year anniversary of september 11th nears, we begin our special coverage of the lingering consequences for the still grieving families, for interfaith relations and for american muslims. u.s. islamic groups are calling for an investigation of the new york city police department after the associated press reported thatndercover officers conducted wide-ranging surveillance of daily life in muslim neiborhds and mosques. according to the ap, a program known as the demographics unit maintained a list of "ancestries of interest." that list included predominantly muslim countries as well as american black muslims. the nypd said it does not employ undercover officers unless it has been informed of possible illegal activity. meanwhile, according to a new poll out this week from the pew research center, 52% of american muslims believe members of their faith are singled out by the government for terrorist surveillance. and more than 40% said they personally experienced harassment in the past year. but despite that, the survey found no indication of increased alienation among muslim americans. a majority, 52%, said they are satisfied with the current direction of the country, compared to only 23% of the general public. en years after 9/11, relations between muslims and non-muslims in the u.s. rema complicated. in many areas, tensions have been on the rise. there has been sharp controversy surrounding a proposed islamic center near ground zero. and, according to pew, proposed mosques in 36 other locations have also encountered community resistance. there's also been a growing debate over islamic religious law, or shariah. measures to restrict or ban the use of shariah have been introduced in nearly two dozen states. yet in other areas, the last ten yearsave brought a new spirit of dialogue and cooperation. kim lawton has our report. >> reporter: as muslims were observing ramadan, an unlikely group gathered in syracuse at the islamic society of central new york mosque. christian, jewish, buddhist, hindu, and bahai women joined their muslim friends for the traditional iftar meal that breaks the daytime fast. the event was organized by women transcending boundaries or wtb, a grassroots group that started in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. these women didn't know each other ten years ago, and they admit they probably still wouldn't. but 9/11 changed everything. >> wtb took a negative, you know, a really tragic, tragic situation and made something positive from it. >> the relationships with these women have enriched my life enormously, have expanded my view of the world in a way that i would never have known before. >> reporter: experts say the attacks of 9/11 have had a dramatic impact on interfaith relations in america. but that impact has been felt in complicated and sometimes contradictory ways. on one hand, there has been an unprecedented wave of new interfaith activities, with muslims playing key roles. at the same time, however, there's been a growing wave of religious division and public distrust of muslims. >> no mosques, not here, not now, not ever. >> the attacks on the world trade center and the pentagon and the repercussions of that trauma put islam front and center for everyone, everyone in the religious world, and so without 9/11 we would not have had to confront islam, frankly. >> reporter: scott appleby is director of the kroc institute for international peace studies at the university of notre dame. >> there developed a variety of initiatives around the country, interfaith dialogue groups meeting together in parishes or in synagogues or in mosques. >> reporter: in syracuse, betsy wiggins says she feels like she was living in a bubble before 9/11. she was raised presbyterian and attends a united methodist church. after the 9/11 attacks, she was disturbed by reports of a backlash against local muslim women. betsy's husband, jim, had been active in interfaith efforts. at his encouragement, she called the imam at the local mosque. >> and i said, "i am ignorant about islam, far more ignorant than i want to be, and i want to do something, and i'm especially concerned about muslim women. can you tell me someone i can talk to?" >> reporter: the imam put her in touch with danya wellmon. wellmon had grown up methodist, but after a time of spiritual searching converted to islam in 1992. she says the days after 9/11 were difficult for members of her mosque. >> we did get the phone calls, the harassment. many muslim families kept their children home from school, you know, there was the name calling. i know myself, i was run off the road one time and called a terrorist, and it was very scary. >> reporter: wellmon says she was surprised but pleased to get wiggins's call. p>> oh, gosh, we talked for hous on the phone, and then she invited me to her house for coffee to, you know, carry on, to carry on this conversation. >> she parked right outside there, and she sat in the car for a while, and i could see that she was anxious. she had never met me before, so i went outside, and i just extended my hand and i said, "please come in," and she took my hand. >> reporter: the conversation in wiggins's breakfast nook also went on for hours. >> we talked about the things that women are concerned about. we talked about our community, we talked about our families, we talked about this pervasive atmosphere of ignorance and violence and how troubling it was to see it surface in our community. >> we both decided, gee, this conversation really should go beyond the both of us. >> reporter: they each invited nine friends to join them at wiggins's house two weeks later. two weeks after that, 40 women came, and they knew they had struck a chord. they decided to formalize the group and called it women transcending boundaries. today, there are more than 500 women on wtb's listserve. they learn about one another's faith traditions through building relationships. the conversations are open and honest. the group uses what it calls a strict "ouch" policy. >> if anyone feels offended or hurt by anything they can just say, "ouch," and we stop and we say, "what is it?" and that person can say, "that really hurt my feelings." >> i think we provided that space and that venue for many women to have the opportunity to come together of different traditions and to really get to know one another. >> reporter: while the past decade may have brought new interfaith understanding, it has also brought expanded interfaith tensions. >> islam has taken the place of the soviet union as the next great enemy of the free world, and partly that's understandable given al qaeda, given the threat of islamic radicalism, the proliferation of jihadist movements. but, of course, those movements are a tiny mirity of the 1.5 billion muslims in the world. >> reporter: earlier this year, the house committee on homeland security held a series of controversial hearings examining what it called "radicalization" in the american muslim community. >> al qaeda is actively targeting the american muslim community for recruitment. >> reporter: high profile protests against a proposed islamic center near the site of ground zero stoked tensions, as did widely-reported campaigns to burn qurans. meanwhile, more than 20 states have debated measur that would bar judges from considering shariah or islamic law. the polarization has seeped into many local communities. >> they want to change our country. >> reporter: in nashville, tennessee, zainab elberry is a muslim activist who has been involved in interfaith work for more than 30 yearáy she says in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 she was heartened by the flood of support from the community. she received many invitations from religious groups that wanted to know more about her faith. >> by that time islam was known to america with a bang, unfortunately, and at that point i tried my best to educate and to share information with as many people as possible. >> reporter: she says interfaith relations were largely good. but then things began to change about two years ago. in several u.s. communities, including her own, anti-islamic groups began spreading a message alleging that muslim extremists were plotting a stealth campaign to take over america. >> it was really disheartening. was sad, and i really was a little scared, to be honest with you. >> reporter: in the town of mufreesboro, just outside nashville, there were sustained protests and vandalism surrounding the proposed expansion of the islamic center. tennessee legislators debated a measure that would have criminalized the practice of shariah, with some politicians even questioning whether islam should be considered a religion. >> we are muslims, but we are also part of the community. it could be me today. it could be another denomination or another religion tomorrow, so we cannot allow that to happen. >> reporter: appleby blames the media for helping to foment a negative atmosphere. >> there's a general climate that's sour in our country, and many people have recognized it, and of course interfaith dialogue, constructive relationship between christians and muslims, that suffers in a climate like this. >> reporter: yet, in some cases, the challenges have generated new interfaith projects. in response to the king hearings, a broad coalition of top religious leaders formed a new initiative called "shoulder to shoulder," which they said would promote tolerance. in syracuse, women transcending boundaries is trying to put dialogue into action. wtb has gotten involved in a host of service projects, such as a community garden for refugee women. on this day, women from bhutan were picking fresh vegetables to feed their families. >> we don't speak their language, but from our smiles, our reaching out to them, they feel welcome. >> reporter: last year around the anniversary of 9/11, wtb organized a weekend of service projects around the area. they called it acts of kindness or "aok!" weekend. this year, they're working with several community groups for an even bigger "aok!" ent. >> we have so much more that we can build here, something positive, than to, you know, stay focused on what divides us. >> reporter: and they believe that should be the ultimate message of 9/11. i'm kim lawton in syracuse, new york. ever since 9/11 there has been debate over what should happen at ground zero, not least, over how to honor those whose remains may never be identified, or may never e found. right now, the plan is to create a 9/11 museum seven stories underground, separated by a huge wall from the place where the medical examiners are trying to identify the remains. but there will be nothing like a tomb a sacred space -- where people can go to remember those they lost. and, as bob faw found, many of the victims' relatives yearn for that. >> reporter: on that terrible day ten years ago, when new york city firefighters began responding to the attacks, firefighter scott kopitko found his spot taken by a new recruit. >> he was in his position. >> all right. so scott bumped him off the truck. he told him to get off the truck, you're in my spot. >> as scott climbed the stairs of the south tower to rescue people, it collapsed. kopitko, 32, was killed, his remains never found. in his fost hills, new york, hometown, kopitko is now honored at a small plot lovingly tended by his stepfather. it is the only memorial the family has, and they say it's not enough. >> we've never been able to fully go through the normal process of death where you bury your loved one, you grieve, you remember all the good times. this -- we've been stunted in the middle. we know our son is dead, but we've never been able to lay him to rest. >> it's like being deprived of something, like a meal or a loved one that you had. you don't have that final solution. i mean, it's insane. you have no idea what we go through. >> i think we live in a country where we assume we will be given proper burials. that's not, but they weren't. the 9/11 dead were scooped out of the site very quickly with bulldozers and backhoes and dumped into trucks and barges. >> on 9/11, diane horning lost her 26-year-old son, matthew, who was working on the 95th floor of the north tower. she and some other families have fought hard to get the remains moved to a common burial site. >> we just want what every person in this country gets, which is a decent, respectful burial, which is what we gave osama bin laden. i'm not angry that he had a burial with rites and rituals. i think that shows a common decency, and we want the same. >> despite intense efforts to find all the remains, the fact is of the 2,753 murdered at the world trade center, the remains of more than 40% have not been identified. when the 9/11 memorial opens september 11, there will be no common burial site for the remains. thousands of unidentified bone and body fragments will be placed near the museum behind a wall with an inscription from virgil reading, "no day shall erase you from the memory of time." there scientists will continue trying to identify the remains. james young is an expert on memorials. >> oncthe families know that the remains are right nearby, for them the memorial experience then maybe is just a little bit too close to the forensic work going on in the medical examiner's office. they look at that big wall, and that's all they can think of, not just what's behind it but that my loved one's remains have not been identified yet. i have nothing to show. >> disaster ministries expert peter gudaitis counseled scores of relatives on proper arrangements. >> it's been a very difficult path to follow, because there are religious accommodations that families expect and deserve and by law actually have a right to. at the same time, there are all sorts of complicated impracticalities to what remains that is identified, who are the custodians of those remains, and what are remains? >> in a public letter, family members involved in the memorial planning process defend what is being done here, insist it is what most families want, and argue that since the remains will not be part of the museum's space proper nor seen by the public, that those remains are being treated with the utmost care, respect and reverence. but the plan to shelter remains underground near the museum where officials are considering charging an admission fee has troubled many. diane horning says she won't go to the memorial. >> i don't think there's much dignity in that memorial at all. i will never go to it. i would recommend that no one go to it. i think that it is a commercial enterprise. the most important thing is the building, not the people. i find that unethical, to take my son's remains, the remains of the people with whom he died, and have it be a draw in a museum, in a pay-to-view museum. >> the mercers say they won't visit the site of the remains. >> they're just pushing us aside. move out of the way, we want to get this done now. these men were heroes. after 9/11, the first responders, the -- new york city had them and the world had them walking on water. now they're going to put them seven sries below ground level. it's a disgrace to these men, a total disgrace. >> at the site of mass murder, whether at the memorial for victims of the oklahoma city bombing, ground zero or the pentagon, victims are honored, memorialized, sites where great evil have been committed, but also consecrated, made into sacred ground given the bloodshed. >> i for one don't believe there is an intrinsic sacredness in any site. we make them sacred in our visits. these sites become part of a national civic religion, in a way. >> the 9/11 victims will be honored at the new 9/11 memorial with their names placed alongside two pools built in the footprint of the twin towers. hundreds of memorials to the victims of 9/11 have been built in the last ten years. in haslet, new jersey, in the shadow of the goalposts where he played high school football, victim steve patterson is remembered. in guatemala, four houses have be constructed in matthew horning's name, and along the boardwalk at the new jersey shore he so loved there is a bronze memorial plaque. what is needed now, says his mother, is a final resting place, like the tomb of the unknown soldier. >> i think that this tomb of the unknown should have been accessible to everyone, because it is something that happened to everyone. we have all changed, and i would like this ability to pay respect, to contemplate. >> that was the way i was brought up, have some place where you can honor the remains of your loved ones. there's no honor there. no place i can go in private, on the holidays. >> we know what happened to our scott, but i don't feel he's at rest, and we can't be at rest. >> ten years later, then, despite painstaking labor here, and all the effort to respect the wishes of surviving relatives, what seems clear is that no memorial can bring complete comfort, much less serve as a final resting place. >> there is that sense of yearning, that loss, that reopened wound, this scab, you know, wound. it's this kind of wound in the city that's never been healed. it is a constant reminder that there's still a chance that they could find some part of their loved one but that it's not complete. nothing's complete. the journey isn't complete. >> and until it is, no matter how successful this memorial, some will continue waiting quietly with their memories and pain or tenderly maintain their own tributes for loved ones who disappeared on 9/11, and who they fear are disappearing again. for "religion and ethics newsweekly," this is bob faw in new york. in other news, as severe flooding crippled parts of the east coast this week, faith groups were among those who quickly mobilized to help the victims of hurricane irene. the storm affected 13 states, killing more than 40 people and causing widespread power outages that continued throughout the week. experts estimate the hurricane left at least $7 billion worth of damage. in vermont, many towns were completely surrounded by water, and aid groups had to airlift supplies to the isolated residents. north carolina also suffered millions of dollars worth of damage and in virginia, at one point, more than one million people were without electricity. moderate flooding and downed trees also left many in that state stranded. one of the major emergency relief efforts in the country has been organized by the southern baptist convention. as of last year, the sbc had trained more than 82,000 disaster relief volunteers, all over the country. we caught up with an sbc chain saw crew near richmond, virginia, cutting up two huge trees irene had taken down. most of the men and women are retirees, over 60, from sbc churches all around virginia. they do the work free of charge. meanwhile, also in richmond, another sbc crew prepared up to 6,000 meals a day, frozen chili, rice a and the red cross and packed by the sbc in insulated boxes, each with 200 servings. red cross drivers haul the boxes away, to schools and community centers. sbc crews from around the country also went to new york ten years ago to feed ground zero rescue workers. sbc relief crews partners not only with the red cross and the salvation army but also with local government and fema, the federal disaster relief agency, church and state, working together, no questions asked. finally, on our calendar this week, hindus around the world began celebrating the 10-day festival of ganesha chaturthi. the holiday marks the birthday of lord ganesha the popular elephant-headed god of wisdom and gd fortune. clay figures of the deity are made as objects of devotion. that's our program for now. i'm bob abernethy. you can follow us on twitter and facebook, find us on youtube, and watch us anyti, anywhere on smarthones and iphones. there's also much more on our web site about 9/11, including an archive of a decade's worth of our stories and more of our interviews with religious leaders, scholars, and theologians. you can commt on all of our stories and share them. audio and video podcasts are also available. join us at pbs.org. as we leave you, more celebrations of ganesha chaturthi. major funding for "religion & ethics newsweekly" is provided by the lily endowment, an indianapolis-based private family foundation dedicated to its founders' interest in religion, community development, and education. additional funding by mutual of america, designing customized individual and group retirement products. that's why we're your retirement company. the estate of william j. carter the jane henson foundation, and the corporation for public broadcasting.