The Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University In Washington, D.C., describes itself as the only academic center in the U.S. that focuses only on the Arab world, from Morocco to the Persian Gulf. Osama Abi-Mershed is its director.

The Carolina-Duke-Emory Institute for the Study of Islam is a joint project of three southeastern universities. Its principal focus is on Islam overseas.

The American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council serves Muslim military personnel and veterans. Executive director is Qaseem Ali Uqdah. Contact through the website.

Read a Beliefnet column from 2000 on how multiple religions see sports.

Read a July 17, 2008 Pew Forum research report on the different religious views on stem cell research.

Read an Aug. 29, 2008, American Forces Press Service story from the U.S. Department of Defense about Muslim chaplains.

Read an essay about Islam and the death penalty written by Aslam Abdullah and posted by Beliefnet.com.

The Salam Institute for Peace and Justice in Washington, D.C., seeks to bridge differences between Muslims and non-Muslims, both in the West and elsewhere. Its activities include a peacebuilding intervention and training program. Mohammed Abu-Nimer is director and co-founder.

J. Dudley Woodberry is professor of Islamic studies at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif. He co-edited Muslim and Christian Reflections on Peace: Divine and Human Dimensions.