July 7, 2002

Richard Woodward article, in light of Jewish Museum's new exhibit New York: Capital of Photography, on influence Jews have had on photography in 20th century, especially in capturing New York; photos (M)

Somini Sengupta Coping column on Bengali-American Seema Ahmed, 18, who, with dozen other Queens girls, has made video under auspices of South Asian Youth Action about how Muslim girls in America are being treated in aftermath of September 11 terrorist attacks; drawing (M)

Hajji Abdul Qadir, Afghan vice president, is assassinated in Kabul, and stability of Hamid Karzai's American-backed government is thrown into question; Qadir and his driver are shot outside his office by gunmen lurking nearby; gunmen escape and police, suspecting conspiracy, detain Qadir's entourage of bodyguards and seal off Kabul's main streets; Qadir, longtime warlord from eastern Afghanistan, was pivotal figure in government, largely because he was one of few Pashtuns to join Karzai in effort to unite country's major ethnic groups; government is dominated by minority Tajiks; photos (M)

Prairie churches of North Dakota that were built by homesteaders in 1880's are rapidly vanishing; flight of people from North Dakota countryside has been silently devastating to obscure but historically significant rural architectural heritage; former church members and neighbors rally to halt their demise; some restore them out of their own pockets and resurrect them for weekly services; others band together to open them for special occasions; survey in 1998 by North Dakota Historical Society found at least 400 of state's 2,000 historic church buildings have been abandoned, and that 78 percent of them were in one-silo towns of 2,500 people or fewer; photos (M)

Lewis Beale article about Reign of Fire, latest in post-apocalypse movie genre, directed by Rob Bowman; recalls earlier movies about destruction of civilization and subject's continuing popularity in post-9/11 world; photos (M)