cair-net Digest of: get.1701_1800
Topics (messages 1701 through 1800):
CAIR-NET: Muslims, Jews See a Chance for Goodwill/Karen Hughes Gets an
Earful
1701 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Spreading the Koran/More Hispanic Women Converting to Islam
1702 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Islamic Women's Groups Proliferating/Woman Assaulted, Called
'Sand N**ger'
1703 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Ask Congress to Send Torture Ban to President
1704 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Report Confirms Muslims Were Profiled/New Law Exempts Spies
from Privacy Act
1705 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Iraq War Dead Porn Site Leads to Obscenity Arrest
1706 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: U.S. Muslims Urged to Help, Pray for Quake Victims
1707 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: AZ Muslim Assaulted by Teens Shouting Religious Slur
1708 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: U.S. Mosques Call for Quake Aid/Elderly Man Assaulted Outside
AZ Mosque
1709 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: U.S. Muslim Medical Volunteers Sought for Quake Relief / MD
Police Release Sketch of Mosque Vandalism Suspect
1710 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Iftar Held on Capitol Hill/CAIR Condemns New Orleans
Beating/Growing Role of Islam in Latino Culture
1711 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: U.S. Muslims Pledge $20 Million in Quake Aid
1712 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: U.S. Muslims Use Hands-On Approach to Quake Aid
1713 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Muslim Charities Re-Emerge for Quake Victims / Muslim
Hurricane Evacuees Urged to Convert / Synagogue Welcomes Muslim Speaker
1714 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Muslims, Mormons Will Fly Aid to Quake Victims / Muslim
Athletes Balance Spirituality with Sports
1715 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: VA Prison Agrees to Facilitate Islamic Prayers / OH Muslims
Feed the Homeless / US Muslims Play Role in Worldwide Relief Efforts
1716 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: 'God is Not a Terrorist' / OH Volunteers Sought to Pack Quake
Aid / NY Broker Claims Anti-Muslim Bias
1717 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CA Muslims to Feed the Homeless / OH Muslims Plan Quake
Fundraiser / Philly Police Ban Beards, Hijab
1718 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: U.S. Troops Use Burned Afghan Bodies as Propaganda / CAIR
Calls for Policy, Training Review
1719 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Muslim Officer Files Bias Complaint / Muslim Program Upsets
Parents / Halal Food Option Grows
1720 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Anti-Islam 'Comic Books' Given to CA Students / IN Parent:
'I'm not prejudiced, but...' / Quake a Neglected Catastrophe
1721 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: After Arson, GA Mosque Rebuilds / OH Paper Responds to
Concerns About Cartoon / CA Muslim B-Ball Star Finds Peace
1722 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: MD Muslim Gets $16K for Post-9/11 Firing / CA Muslims,
Christians, Jews Share Prayer Space / Chicago's First Muslim Funeral Home
1723 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Announces Scholarship to Honor Rosa Parks / Plan Exempts
CIA from Abuse Ban
1724 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Director Attends State Department Iftar
1725 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: FL Religious Holidays Banned After Muslims Ask for Eid /
Sample Eid News Release / CA Muslim Convert Dies in Iraq
1726 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Each U.S. Mosque Urged to Raise $1,000 for Ramadan Campaign
1727 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: American Muslims May Exceed U.S. Quake Relief Pledge / NY
Muslims to Host Officials at Iftar / CAIR-CT Wins Accommodation for
Fasting Students
1728 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CA Muslims to Call for Urgent Quake Aid / Reject Legalizing
CIA Torture / MI Muslims to Hold Ramadan Food Drive
1729 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: O'Reilly Says Muslim Holiday 'Absurd in a Judeo-Christian
Country' / IL College Pulls Photo Exhibit After Muslim Protest / CA
Latinos Embrace Islam
1730 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Asks U.S. Muslims to Collect Quake Aid on Eid
1731 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Condemns New Delhi Bombings / Quake Aid Delayed /
Latinos Convert to Islam
1732 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: U.S. Muslims Eager to Help Fight Terror / 'Law of the Jungle'
in Quake Zone
1733 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Register Online for CAIR's Dec. 3 Banquet in VA
1734 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: NJ Muslims 'Profiled' for Praying at Giants Stadium
1735 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Boston Islamic Society Expands Libel Suit / FL Religious
Holiday Ban Draws Heat / Canadian Muslim Group Urged to Let Women Vote
1736 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Launches 'Pray for Understanding' Campaign After NJ
'Profiling' Incident
1737 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Seeks Applicants for Rosa Parks Scholarship / FL Council
Race Marred by Remarks on Ethnicity / CIA Holds Suspects in Secret
Prisons
1738 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: FL Muslims Seek Reinstatement of Christian, Jewish School
Holidays
1739 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: How Many American Muslims? / CAIR-San Antonio Director
Shatters Stereotypes / School Holiday Ban Sparks Hateful Grandstanding
1740 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Quake Victims Remembered at Eid / New Orleans Muslims
Celebrate Post-Katrina Eid / Mistake to Cancel Religious Holidays
1741 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Muslims Torn Between Civil Liberties, Social Concerns / DHS
Urges Muslim Fliers to Register / FBI Patriot Act Plan Concerns
Lawmakers
1742 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Urges DHS Protection for Pakistanis in U.S. Impacted by
Quake / Cheney Fights Torture Ban
1743 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Calif. Synagogue that Hosted Islamophobe Urged to Invite
Muslim Speaker
1744 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Calls for 'Dialogue and Mutual Respect' in France /
Muslims Outraged at DHS Official's Comments
1745 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Calls for FBI Probe of Shooting Near PA Mosque
1746 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Condemns Jordan Bombings / NJ Muslim Councilman Attacked
in Fliers / More Profiling at Giants Stadium / TX Muslim School Prayer
Limits Alleged
1747 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: TX, VA Muslims Lose 16 Relatives in Jordan Blasts / CAIR
Offers Condolences for Filmmaker's Daughter
1748 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Celestica Fires, Suspends More Minnesota Muslims
1749 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Offers Condolences to Jordanian Ambassador / Networks
Urged to Honor Akkad by Airing His Films
1750 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: PA Bigots Don't Like to Vote in Mosque / NJ Muslim Becomes
Mayor / More Profiling at Giants Stadium?
1751 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: U.S. Imams Help Fight Terror / FL Muslims Sponsor
Thanksgiving Baskets for Needy / NY Traffic Cops Ask Muslims About Citizenship
1752 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: DC Radio Host Who Smeared Islam Moves to Boston / Pipes Has
'Problem' with Voting at PA Mosque / U.S. Muslim Groups Cleared in
Senate Probe
1753 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: French Ambassador to Speak at DC Forum on Riots
1754 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: NY Muslims to Discuss Concerns with FBI / CAIR-FL Rep
Profiled - In a Good Way / Quake Relief Compassion Fatigue?
1755 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Urge Congress to Reject Patriot Act Reauthorization
1756 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: PA Muslims to Address Mosque Voting Objections / A Muslim
Response to Prager's 'Five Questions'
1757 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Participates in Dialogue with European Muslims
1758 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Welcomes Ruling on CA School Lesson About Islam /
Terrorism is Islam's Enemy Too / AL Sunnis, Shias Work together
1759 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: C-SPAN2 to Air CAIR Forum on French Riots / CAIR Chairman:
Taking Back Islam / Incitement: Cal Thomas - Islam a Religion of Satan?
1760 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: French Ambassador Says 'Religion Played No Role' in Riots /
U.S. Muslim Scout Troops Increasing
1761 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Meadowlands Sets Aside Prayer Spaces at Stadium for Muslims
1762 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: When U.S. Bars Its Doors to Foreign Scholars / Diverse Faiths
Unite in Thanks
1763 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Catholics Share Mass With Muslims / Celestica and Muslim
Employees Unable to Reach a Compromise
1764 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: PA Mosque Helps Foster Understanding / CA Religious Community
Rallies for Quake Aid / Incitement Watch
1765 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Calls for Release of UK 'Bomb Al-Jazeera' Memo / Islamic
Credo Helps Ease Holiday Hunger
1766 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Registration Deadline Approaching for CAIR Dinner / Native
Deen to Perform
1767 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Rep to Appear on MSNBC / Krauthammer Says Quran
'Inspires Barbarism' / Profiling Will Not Make Us Safer / Torture,
American-Style
1768 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Oppose Surveillance Powers in Patriot Act / CAIR-FL Rep
Appointed to Diversity Council / FBI Asked to Probe Disappearance / Daniel
Pipes Smears Muhammad Ali
1769 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Last Day to Register for CAIR Dinner in DC / CAIR Calls for
Release of All Iraq Hostages / Pipes Appreciates 'Spirit' of Islam-Hater
1770 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Launches Patriot Act Blog
1771 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Love for Jesus Can Bring Christians, Muslims Together /
CAIR-CAN to Fight for Religious Freedom at McGill / Zero Tolerance for
Torture
1772 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: 'Sleeper Cell' Awakens Fears in Muslim Viewers / CAIR-NY
Helps Train Gitmo Lawyers / Quran Sponsors Needed
1773 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: DC-Area Muslims to Call for Release of VA Man Held in Iraq
1774 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Calls for Release of Iraq Hostages / Almost 1,000 Attend
CAIR-DC Dinner / NJ Muslims Complain of DMV Hijab Removal
1775 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Director to Attend OIC Summit / A 'Christmas' Tree is a
Christmas Tree / CAIR-NJ Meets with FBI
1776 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Decision Expected Today in NC Quran Oath Controversy / IL
Mosque Defaced / CA Islam Test Sparks Complaint
1777 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Breaking News - No Convictions Against Al-Arian
1778 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Muslims Welcome Al-Arian Verdict / Jews, Muslims Fight for
'Christian' Christmas
1779 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Hajj Publicity Resource Kit
1780 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: NC Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over Quran Oaths / Congress Agrees
to Reauthorize Patriot Act / House Accepts McCain Torture Ban
1781 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: VA Muslims, Quakers to Hold Vigil for Iraq Hostages / 80K
Names on Terror Watch List / IL Muslim Faced 'Bigotry' at Work
1782 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: UT Muslim Scouting Part of National Trend / VA Muslims,
Quakers Pray for Safety of Hostages
1783 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Hosts Yemeni Judge Who Challenged Extremists / Selling
Liquor Creates Conflict for Muslims / Mary Holds a Special Place for
Muslims
1784 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Call Congress on Torture, Patriot Act, Immigration / Homeless
See Good in Islam / Muslim Family Says Break-In Was Hate Crime
1785 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: FL Muslims to Offer Reward for Info on Double Homicide /
Commercializing Islam / Billboard's Arab Images Called Racist
1786 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: FBI Grills Calif. Muslim High Schooler About 'PLO' Doodle
1787 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: FL School OKs Muslim Holiday / Israeli Consul Takes Jab at
Muslims / Steinem Swings at Hef, Hits Islam
1788 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: ACLU to Appeal NC Quran Oath Ruling / Bush Lets U.S. Spy on
Callers Without Courts / Groups Question FBI Interrogation of CA Muslim
Student
1789 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Applauds Senate Defeat of Patriot Act Extension
1790 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Post-9/11 Travel a Challenge for U.S. Muslims / Attacks Stall
Boston Mosque Project / Petition: Free Sami Al-Arian
1791 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR-CA Rep Offers 'Islam 101' at Synagogue / MN Guard Troops
Train at 'Fake Iraqi Village' in MS / Jewish Leaders Rethinking
Alliance with Evangelicals
1792 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Issues Travel Advisory for U.S. Muslims
1793 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: FBI Asked to Help Find Missing CA Muslim Doctor / Stamps
Honor Muslim Festivals
1794 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Ohio Muslims React to Explosion at Cincinnati Mosque
1795 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Australian Muslim Scholar Denied U.S. Entry / Reward Offered
for Info on OH Mosque Bombings / Bias Complaint Filed Against FL Subway
Restaurant / Car of Missing CA Muslim Found in Estuary
1796 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Files Freedom of Information Request on Wiretaps
1797 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Bombed OH Mosque to Hold Prayer Vigil / FL Officer Probed in
Muslim Rights Complaint / CAIR-LA Completes Training for Police
1798 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: U.S. Muslims Face Searches After Toronto Visit / Islamic
Scholar Denied Entry into U.S. / New Rules on When, Where TX Muslim
Students Can Pray / Prayer Vigil at Bombed OH Mosque
1799 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: DC Muslims React to Secret Radiation Monitoring
1800 by: CAIR
---------------------------------
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/4/05
*
Hadith:
The Gates of Paradise are
Open
*
CAIR-Chicago:
Muslims to Mark
Ramadan with Homeless
-
Chicago
Muslims to Hold Interfaith Iftar
*
CAIR-FL:
Muslims, Jews See a
Chance for Goodwill (Tampa Trib)
-
MN:
Muslims, Jews
Sampling Each Others' Faiths (Star Trib)
-
MD:
UMBC
Jews, Muslims Join for Food Program (Jewish Times)
*
ISLAM-OPED:
Karen Hughes Gets an Earful,
But is Her Boss Listening?
-
Dean Commemorates the Start of
Ramadan
*
Ramadan Media
Round-Up:
-
NY:
Joy of Ramadan Heartens
Area's Muslims
-
CO:
Family Joins Muslims
to Mark Month of Ramadan
-
NJ:
Fasting has
Spiritual Meaning for Muslims
-
NY:
Ramadan A
Challenge For Muslim Teens
-
FL:
Young Muslims Feed Faith
During Ramadan
*
Firms Apologize For Ad
Offensive to Muslims (Stars and Stripes)
-
Military
Porn-for-Gore Scandal
Harms America's Image
*
MI:
Family Seeks
Answers in Deportation (Detroit News)
*
TN:
Islamic Students
Seek Resolution Against Terror (Jackson Sun)
*
WA:
A Look at
American Muslim History (Seattle PI)
-
CAIR-CA:
U.S.
Muslims Call for Renaissance in Islam
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: THE GATES OF PARADISE
ARE OPEN -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "When Ramadan begins,
the gates of Paradise are opened."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Hadith 122
A man once asked the Prophet what deed would allow him to enter Paradise.
He replied: "Stick to fasting, as there is no equivalent to
it."
Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 3, Number 107A
-----
CHICAGO
MUSLIMS TO MARK RAMADAN WITH HOMELESS-
TOP
Downtown Islamic Center to host daily open house meals
(CHICAGO, IL, 10/04/05) - The Chicago office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced today that a prominent local
Chicago Mosque will mark the month of Ramadan with daily open house
meals, or iftars, for neighbors and the homeless.
WHAT: Ramadan Open House Meal
WHEN: Sunset (6:30 p.m.), October 4th-November 2nd.
WHERE: Downtown Islamic Center, 231 S State, Chicago, IL. 60604
"Ramadan is a time of giving and sharing," said Ahmed Rehab,
CAIR-Chicago Director of Communications. "It is not just food that
we wish to share, but ourselves as well. One of the many reasons why we
fast is to think of those who are deprived by partially sharing in their
deprivation. It is therefore befitting of this great season of charity
and human camaraderie that we welcome into God s house not only our
neighbors, but also those who don't have a home."
Ramadan is the month on the Islamic lunar calendar during which Muslims
abstain from food, drink and other sensual pleasures from break of dawn
to sunset.
CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, is headquartered
in Washington, D.C., and has 31 regional offices and chapters nationwide
and in Canada.
CONTACT: Ahmed Rehab, 312-212-1520, 847-971-3963;
communications@cairchicago.org;
Yaser Tabbara, 312-718-3725;
director@cairchicago.org
SEE ALSO:
CHICAGO
AREA MUSLIMS TO MARK RAMADAN WITH INTERFAITH DINNER -
TOP
Suburban mayors, chief of police, village trustees, and neighbors to join
in breaking of the fast
(Chicago, IL, 10/04/05) The Chicago office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced that the Muslim community in
Chicago's Southwestern Suburbs is marking the start of Ramadan by opening
its doors to neighbors, interfaith leaders, law enforcement and elected
officials. Mayors, village trustees, and chiefs of police from Burr
Ridge, Hinsdale, Oak Brook, Willowbrook, Darien, and Westmont are
expected to attend the iftar meal (breaking of the fast) hosted by the
community s Muslim Educational & Cultural Center of America
(MECCA).
WHAT: Community Interfaith Ramadan Meal hosted by MECCA
WHEN: Wednesday, October 5, Reception, 4:30-5:30; Program 5:30-6:30;
Dinner 6:30
WHERE: Ashton Place, 341 75th St. Willowbrook, IL
CONTACT: Ahmed Rehab, 312-212-1520, 847-971-3963;
communications@cairchicago.org;
Yaser Tabbara, 312-718-3725;
director@cairchicago.org;
Hani Atassi, MECCA 630-661-6275
-----
MUSLIMS AND JEWS
SEE A CHANCE FOR GOODWILL -
TOP
Michelle Bearden, Tampa Tribune, 10/4/05
http://www.tampatrib.com/MGBY0J5NDEE.html
TAMPA - He's the spokesman for an Islamic organization; she's a
rabbinical chaplain at a hospital.
But Ahmed Bedier and Kate Fagan have something in common today: They're
both observing the holiest time on their respective faith calendars, with
Monday's sunset onset of the month of Ramadan and the Jewish High Holy
Days.
The last time this unusual religious confluence occurred was in the
1970s, when the observances fell at the same time for three consecutive
years beginning in 1973. Their timing is based on two different lunar
calendars: Muslims are marking the year 1426, while in the Jewish
calendar, which combines the sun and moon, it is year 5766.
"Something like this doesn't happen very often," said Fagan,
who works at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg. "That's why
we're going to take full advantage of the timing of our two holidays as
an opportunity to build community and understanding."
Next week, Tampa Bay area Jews and Muslims will take an unprecedented
step toward changing attitudes between two faith groups with a violent
global history.
Fagan and Bedier were among those who recently formed Serving the One, a
local interfaith group aimed at bringing together people of diverse
faiths. Members seized upon the timing of these two sacred observations
for their first public event.
On Oct. 13, the group will sponsor a Breaking the Fast meal on the St.
Petersburg campus of the University of South Florida. For Jews, that day
will mark Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, when observers fast from
sunrise to sundown and pray to God for forgiveness for the promises they
have broken. Yom Kippur concludes the High Holy Days. For Muslims, who
also fast in the daylight hours during Ramadan, it will be the middle of
their holy month.
"This is a catalyst for us to come together," said Bedier,
spokesman for the Tampa chapter of the Council on American Islamic
Relations. "We're living in trying times. Instead of always focusing
on what makes us so different, we want to concentrate on how we're
alike." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MN: MUSLIMS,
JEWS SAMPLING EACH OTHERS' FAITHS -
TOP
Matt McKinney, Star Tribune, 10/4/05
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5649837.html
The sun dropped below the horizon Monday evening and a group of
Macalester students idled together in twilight, some to celebrate the
beginning of Ramadan, others to mark the opening of Rosh
Hashanah.
It doesn't usually start this way, with Muslims and Jews sharing their
traditions with one another, but this year's unusual timing of two major
holidays offered a new perspective on ancient beliefs, said the
students.
"It's great just to have some people who have faith," said
Mashal Saif, a senior at the St. Paul college. "It doesn't matter if
it's your faith. It's people you can be religious with."
The students' evening of joint prayer and observation came about because
of a rare convergence between the timing of the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan, which begins today in some parts of the world and Wednesday in
others, and the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, observed as a two-day
holiday that began Monday night.
The timing will happen only two or three times in most people's
lifetimes.
The rarity is because the Muslim holiday is scheduled according to the
lunar calendar and so migrates throughout the commonly used solar
calendar, falling about 13 days earlier each year. The Jewish holiday,
meanwhile, always comes at the end of the summer to coincide with harvest
time.
This year's coincidental timing of the two faiths' major holidays -- it
won't happen again for 33 years -- has religious leaders encouraging
their followers to use the occasion to build bridges.
The call met receptive minds in Saif, a Muslim and native of Pakistan,
and Gretchen Solomon, a leader of the Jewish student group.
Their plan was simple. Share an evening observation together after
sunset. Make some new friends, share a meal and see what comes of it.
(MORE)
---
UMBC JEWS,
MUSLIMS, JOIN FOR FOOD PROGRAM -
TOP
Andrew Scherr, Jewish Times, 9/23/05
http://www.jewishtimes.com/scripts/edition.pl?now=9/26/2005&stay=1&SubSectionID=48&ID=2666
For students like Rella Kaplowitz, Jerad Bates and Junaid Hassan, eating
on campus at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, was often a
hassle.
As two Orthodox Jews who observe kashrut and an observant Muslim who
maintains hallal dietary laws, the three found little to eat in campus
dining halls and cafes. Their meal choices were limited to cereals,
instant soups, chips, ice cream and a small selection of microwaveable
frozen meals.
But that all changed after the three students worked with university
administrators to open the "Kosher/Hallal Corner" this fall
semester. Located in UMBC's Commons, the central food court on the
university's Catonsville campus, the stand carries a rotating stock of
more than 40 types of frozen kosher meals, as well as ready-made items
that students can eat on the run between classes.
"The major thing is that there will be an increased variety,"
said Mr. Bates, a senior. He has been living on campus since his freshman
year and said that eating for him before this year was often "an
inconvenience."
"Now, you won't get bored of keeping kosher. It will actually be
something that may be enjoyable and very doable," he said. Although
the new stand offers kosher food, there is still no kosher meal plan at
UMBC. The stand is operated by Sodexho USA, the campus food
provider.
Other than Morgan State University, UMBC is the only major college in the
Baltimore metropolitan area without a kosher meal plan. Towson and
Hopkins universities have a kosher meal plan, as does Goucher
College.
"It's about promoting diversity and catering to the needs of the
student body," said UMBC Hillel director Rabbi Amos Levi, who said
the university's Jewish student population stands at around 1,000. When
he pushed the administration for a kosher meal plan in the past, he said
he "got nowhere."
-----
ISLAM-OPED: KAREN HUGHES GETS AN EARFUL, BUT IS
HER BOSS LISTENING? -
TOP
ISLAM-OPED is a national syndication service of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) designed to offer an American Muslim
perspective on current political, social and religious issues. ISLAM-OPED
commentaries are offered free-of-charge to one media outlet in each
market area. Permission for publication will be granted on a
first-come-first-served basis.
CONTACT:
ihooper@cair-net.org
TEL: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726 (c)
Please consider the following commentary for publication.
-----
KAREN HUGHES GETS AN EARFUL, BUT IS HER BOSS LISTENING?
By Parvez Ahmed
WORD COUNT: 663
[Parvez Ahmed, Ph.D., is board chairman of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil
rights and advocacy group. He may be contacted at:
pahmed@cair-net.org. For a photo
of Parvez Ahmed, go to:
http://cair.com/default.asp?Page=Board&person=Parvez
]
Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes is on a mission to change Muslim
hearts and minds. Since taking up her post in early September, she met
with American Muslim leaders in Chicago before embarking on a
"listening tour" of the Middle East.
Media reports from that tour indicate that she got an earful of both
complaints and advice. Some complaints, mostly about the war in Iraq
and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, were predictable. But who could
have predicted that Hughes would hear women in Saudi Arabia dismiss the
notion that they are in a perpetual state of oppression. One audience
member told Hughes, "The general image of the Arab women is that she
isn't happy. Well, we're all pretty happy."
Perhaps the most revealing moment of the tour came when Hughes met with
Turkish women. Once again, anger was directed at America's war of
choice in Iraq. A Kurdish human rights activist captured the concern of
Muslim women in the region. She said, "War makes the rights of women
completely erased, and poverty comes after war - and women pay the
price." Hughes' answer: "To preserve peace sometimes my country
believes war is necessary." One attendee shot back: "War is not
necessary for peace. We can never export democracy and freedom from one
country to another."
In Egypt she heard from a teacher at the American University in Cairo
who said, "U.S. policies unfortunately have been very negative in the
region because of Palestine...They have been blinded. It's a pity."
Another common complaint lodged against the Bush administration was its
treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. Hughes was quick to point out
that the prisoners in Camp X-Ray have been visited by the International
Red Cross and they have retained their right to worship "using their
own Qurans."
This answer missed the point made by many Muslims, and echoed by major
international human rights organizations, that holding prisoners
incommunicado is itself illegal under international law.
Finally, the issue of growing Islamophobia and anti-Americanism also
got significant play during Hughes' Mideast tour. As in Chicago, so too
in Cairo, she heard calls for mounting a united front against extremism
in all its forms.
To her credit, Hughes comes across in meetings as a person genuinely
interested in hearing opposing views. She passionately defends her
boss, President Bush, without being dismissive of opinions that paint
the president's policies in less than sympathetic terms.
But her effectiveness as a goodwill ambassador for the United States
will now depend on her ability to walk into the Oval Office and explain
to the president that public relations efforts are doomed for fail if
they are not tied to policy changes that impact realities on the
ground. That was the message she heard from American Muslim leaders,
and from activists and ordinary Muslims from Riyadh to Ankara.
Amany Fikri writing in the Egypt's Al-Wafd said, "Her real task is in
Washington...withdrawing American troops from Iraq and rebuilding what
was destroyed...Play the role of an honest broker (in the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict)...Most importantly to end America's
support for non-democratic governments and regimes in the Arab region."
U.S. policy-makers are nowhere near addressing these core issues, and
consequently, we are nowhere near to improving our nation's image in
the Muslim world.
After meeting with the head of Al-Azhar, one of the most prestigious
Islamic religious institutions, Hughes made some poignant remarks in
concurrence with Sheikh Tantawi. She said, "All divine religions are
built on a spirit of love and it is important that all of us work
together to fight extremism." The challenge will be transform this
noble aspiration into a global reality.
For Karen Hughes to succeed in changing Muslim hearts and minds, she
must use her newfound knowledge to focus attention on the hearts and
minds of those who formulate American policies that impact ordinary
Muslims worldwide. As an Arabic editorial in Al-Khaleej newspaper
summarized: "She has to start her mission from Washington, not from
Cairo, Riyadh or any other Muslim capital."
SEE ALSO:
DEAN COMMEMORATES THE START OF RAMADAN -
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October 4, 2005
Contact: Amaya Smith, 202-863-8148
Washington, DC - Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean
issued the following statement today to commemorate the start of
Ramadan:
"Today Muslims in America and around the world mark the first day of
Ramadan, a month of contemplation, self-sacrifice, and affirmation of
our commitment to our fellow man.
"The month of Ramadan marks the revelation of the first verses of the
Quran, which made the principles of peace and charity the foundation of
Islam. This time is honored by a month of prayer and fasting, reminding
us all to give thanks for our own blessings while renewing our
commitment to ending poverty and hunger.
"We must renew our commitment to protecting civil liberties and
expanding religious tolerance in our nation. And we should each take
this time to fight hunger and poverty in our own communities.
"On this first day of Ramadan, my family and I express our best wishes to Muslims in America and around the world."
Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee,
www.democrats.org
-----
RAMADAN MEDIA ROUND-UP -
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NY: JOY OF RAMADAN HEARTENS AREA'S MUSLIMS -
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Christine Fennessy, Democrat & Chronicle, 10/4/05
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051004/NEWS01/510040331/1002/NEWS
Imagine if you could capture and bottle the excitement of a Christmas
season. Then, for a month, you opened it up and let it wash all over
you.
That's how Annie El-Amin feels about Ramadan, the holy month of Islam that begins today or tomorrow.
"Ramadan is like a 30-day Christmas," said El-Amin, who works as a
secretary at the Islamic Center of Rochester. "It's like waking up
every day charged and excited, with the spirit of giving, learning,
charity, patience and perseverance."
The first date of Ramadan coincides with moon sightings. "Some will
start celebrating (today), some will start after that," said Iman
Mohammed Shafiq of the Islamic Center of Rochester.
El-Amin planned to awaken this morning at 4:45 a.m. She said breakfast
would have been prepared last night. She and her husband would eat,
drink juice and read the Quran, the holy book of Islam. And then,
before the sun rose at 7:12 a.m., they would pray.
They will fast until the sun sets at 6:46 p.m. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
FAMILY JOINS MUSLIMS WORLDWIDE TO MARK MONTH OF RAMADAN -
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Jean Torkelson, Rocky Mountain News, 10/4/05
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/religion/article/0,1299,DRMN_61_4130042,00.html
Mohammad Noorzai remembers his early days in Denver, when he used to be
"Mr. Executive with a suit and tie" and wiring money to his scattered
and war-torn family from Afghanistan. He always maneuvered to get in
the line of a certain foreign exchange banker.
He noticed that she didn't seem to mind.
"She thought I was some rich Arab guy," he grins.
"No I didn't!" Anisa Noorzai protests, laughing.
They agree, however, that his courtly maneuvers morphed into a date for
breakfast - "still our favorite meal of the day" - and led to their
marriage of 18 years.
With their two kids, family businesses and now, long ties to Denver,
the Noorzai marriage is in one sense a story of the new face of Islam
in America. It also reflects an unusual religious journey - hers, from
a Lutheran childhood in Ca�on City, and his, from a well-to-do Muslim
family in Afghanistan.
The journey took them both to Islam, and today, the Noorzais are
preparing together for Ramadan, Islam's worldwide month of fasting and
restraint that begins at sundown on the cusp of the new moon, which was
expected to rise Monday night.
Ramadan requires good deeds and forbids food, drink and sexual
relations during daylight hours as a way of purification and drawing
closer to God. (MORE)
---
NJ: FASTING HAS SPIRITUAL MEANING FOR MUSLIMS -
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Justin Vellucci, APP, 10/4/05
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051004/NEWS/510040402
For Balkees Pareen, fasting is more than a battle between restraint and hunger.
When the soft-spoken Keansburg teenager first fasted four years ago for
the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, set to begin today, she found herself
filled with empathy for those without the luxury of three meals a day.
She also sees the annual practice as a spiritual and cleansing one that enables her to focus more on her faith.
"It felt really peaceful," said Pareen, 16, who immigrated to the
United States from Pakistan about six years ago. "When you pray, you
feel so relaxed. Nothing really happens. It just gives you more peace
in life."
During the holiday, millions of American Muslims - thousands from
Monmouth and Ocean counties - will rise before dawn each morning to eat
breakfast, the last food they will enjoy until the sun sets again in
the evening. Their daylong fasting ritual, a tradition dating back to
the prophet Mohammed, is set to continue day in and day out through
Nov. 2, the last day this year of Ramadan.
But, for many Muslims, the benefits and meanings behind the fasting may be as varied as the tradition is long.
"It teaches you discipline and it tells you to (refrain) from food,
water, anything which is allowed during normal days and normal times,"
said Ziaulhaq Zia, chairman of the board of trustees at the Islamic
Center of Ocean County. "By doing that, it also gives you a strength -
a strength in your faith, a strength in yourself, self-confidence that
you can really control your will, control yourself."
The practice, which can be both physically and spiritually purifying,
also encourages Muslims to be generous and charitable, Zia said.
"Regardless of all of this . . . the reason we fast is because this is a command from God," he said. "That's the bottom line."
The experience of Ramadan, however, seems to harbor communal meanings as well as religious ones.
Though fasting is clearly an individual and personal experience, many
Muslims cast the holiday in collective terms - children being taught
about the foundations of Islam, family and friends gathering in large
numbers to break fast together after dusk.
It's that sense of warmth and community that permeates organizations
like the United Muslim Family Association, a group of roughly 100
families from Monmouth and Middlesex counties that meets at Matawan
Regional High School.
"Socializing is important for us (so) once a week, we get together,"
said Mohamed Ismail Ali, an Aberdeen resident, area teacher and the
group's president.
But they do more than that.
While mothers sit and talk in their native Urdu or Arabic, and dozens
of Muslims young and old line mats for the 1:30 p.m. call to prayer,
children from toddlers to teens sit in classrooms learning about their
faith, culture and heritage. (MORE)
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NY: RAMADAN A CHALLENGE FOR MUSLIM TEENS -
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Connie Nogas, Press & Sun-Bulletin, 10/45/05
http://www.pressconnects.com/today/news/stories/ne100405s194826.shtml
BINGHAMTON -- Sardar Khan is typical of many Binghamton High School
students. The junior likes to hang out with friends, participate in
Tech Club and other activities, and play sports after school. He's a
receiver and part of the kickoff squad for the Patriots football team.
But starting today, he can't pause for even a sip of water, no matter
how hot and sweaty he gets during football practice. Today is the start
of Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims, including Khan, who fast from
sunrise to sundown.
"It's a test of your individual self-discipline," said Khan, 15. "It
helps with the rest of your life. You get through the struggles of the
rest of your life easier because you go through the hardship of
fasting."
Khan and other Muslim students in the Southern Tier straddle two
worlds. On one hand, they live in the Muslim world of fasting, prayer
and reading the Quran. On the other, they live in the American teenage
world of school, friends and finding their place in the world. Students
of other non-Christian faiths such as Judaism can face similar
challenges.
"There's a desire to live their faith in a way that serves as a good
example to others," said James Carpenter, an assistant professor in the
School of Education and Human Development at Binghamton University.
"But students still want to be popular and have friends and fit into
the social world of school."
No one is sure exactly how many Muslim students attend public schools
in the Tier. Imam Kasim Kopuz, the spiritual leader of local Muslims,
estimated more than 100 Muslims attend public schools throughout the
Tier, with most attending Binghamton High School. Schools do not track
students by religion.
The Tier is becoming more diverse, and that's being reflected in the
schools, Carpenter said. Binghamton High School, for example, has
students from around the globe.
That diversity shows up on the football field, said Douglas Stento, the
team's coach and the district's safe and drug-free schools coordinator.
Binghamton's team includes players from Vietnam, Russia, Ukraine, Haiti
and Pakistan, where Khan was born.
The more diverse a school is, the more likely students will accept students from different countries, Stento said.
For example, Binghamton natives on the football team reach out to help
immigrants such as Khan understand the complexities of the game. Khan
had not played football before moving to Binghamton.
Both sides learn from each other, Stento said. Khan learns about an
American sports tradition. His teammates learn about Islam and how Khan
lives his faith. (MORE)
---
YOUNG MUSLIMS FEED FAITH DURING RAMADAN -
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James D. Davis, Sun-Sentinel, 10/4/05
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cramadanoct04,0,2677003.story
Hafiz Muhammad Khan is only 18, but, leading prayers in his dark blue
robes, he shows the calm confidence of believers many years older.
"All-lahhh hu-Akbaaaaar [God is Great]," his tenor voice intones during
recent evening prayer. The dozens of worshipers at the Pembroke Pines
mosque follow his lead, touching foreheads to the striped carpet, then
sitting up.
Throughout, Khan leads with quiet authority, having memorized the Quran
as a child. His knowledge and maturity have earned him a position of
authority at Darul Uloom Islamic Institute.
He gives a bashful smile in discussing his leadership later. But he
adds that in the United States, which often values pleasure over piety,
it takes determination to follow a spiritual path.
"It comes down to an individual decision," says Khan, who was raised in
Karachi, Pakistan. "But I think America is good for Islamic society.
You can do any kind of prayers you want."
As the nation's Muslims prepare today for Ramadan, young people like
Khan strive to balance dual identities as Americans and as Muslims.
They are aided by their mosques, and their parents. But not by Islamic
cultures, as their Arab, Pakistani and other elders were.
Starting when the first sliver of the new moon is sighted -- for some
mosques, last night; for others, probably tonight -- Ramadan is
recognized as the month when God dictated the Quran to Muhammad.
Muslims focus on that event by fasting, putting aside food and drink
until sundown.
Their young people have no problem sampling Western diversions: TV,
movies, iPods, cell phones, Web sites, Internet chats. But they stop at
things like alcohol and American society's fixation on sexuality.
And although it may seem rigorous to outsiders -- praying, fasting,
attending mosque services -- young Muslims say they look forward to
Ramadan. (MORE)
-----
FIRMS APOLOGIZE FOR AD THAT MAY BE OFFENSIVE TO MUSLIMS -
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Stars and Stripes, 10/4/05
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=31993
The manufacturers of the military's new tilt-rotor aircraft, the
Osprey, apologized Friday for advertisements deemed offensive to
Muslims that appeared in two magazines.
Boeing and Bell Helicopter apologized for the ad, which shows U.S.
special operations forces rappelling from an Osprey onto the roof of a
mosque.
The ad ran in the Armed Forces Journal a month ago, and in the National Journal last week.
"The CV-22 advertisement that appeared in the National Journal is
clearly offensive and did not proceed through the normal channels
within Boeing before production," Boeing said in a statement on its Web
site.
"We consider the ad offensive, regret its publication and apologize to
those who like us are dismayed with its contents," said Mary Foerster,
Vice President of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems Communications.
"Unfortunately despite our best efforts to have the ad replaced, a
clerical error at the National Journal resulted in its publication this
week."
Mike Cox, a Bell vice president, told The Seattle Times that "the
[Bell] people who approved this didn't have authority to approve it."
The statements were released Friday in response to complaints from the
Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington-based Islamic
civil-liberties group. The building depicted in the ad has an Arabic
sign that translates as "Muhammad Mosque," according to the council.
Armed Forces Journal is a monthly magazine for officers and leaders in
the United States military community. Similarly, National Journal is
published for people who have a professional interest in politics,
policy and government.
SEE ALSO:
ANOTHER REASON TO HATE -
TOP
Omaha World-Herald, 10/3/05
http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=608&u_sid=2033464
Even as the U.S. State Department evaluates a new report that argues
there is extensive hostility abroad to America and its policies and
actions, the situation worsens.
The report was compiled by a nine-member advisory committee, which
traveled in the Persian Gulf, Egypt and Great Britain to gather its
information. What it found was that, in the aftermath of the invasion
of Iraq, the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib and the controversy
over prisoners at Bagram and Guantanamo Bay, "America is less a beacon
of hope than a dangerous force to be countered" which "diminishes our
ability to champion freedom, democracy and individual dignity."
It's hard to be seen as a champion of individual dignity when repulsive
and graphic digital photos, allegedly taken by American soldiers in
Afghanistan and Iraq, are displayed on an Internet porn site. The
photos show dead bodies and body parts, burned, disembowled or
otherwise mutilated.
Floridian Chris Wilson, 27, says his site exists for men to post nude
photos of their wives and girlfriends, "amateur" pornography. He
asserted that 30,000 U.S. military people subscribe, and several
thousand have sent him pictures from overseas, not all of them violent
or bloody. The porn is free to those who send digital photos he can
post.
Pentagon officials have decried the gruesome photos. But, because
military personnel in the pictures can't be identified and when, where
and by whom they were taken is unknown, no criminal charges are
possible. If the people in the photos could be identified, military
leaders said they could face lesser charges, such as conduct unbecoming
an officer or enlisted person.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a U.S. anti-discrimination
group, said the images could inflame insurgents and leave the mistaken
impression that Americans are gloating over war casualties. (MORE)
-----
DEARBORN FAMILY SEEKS ANSWERS IN DEPORTATION -
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Family, Arab-American leaders are angry over how a man convicted in '87 drug case was treated.
Norman Sinclair, The Detroit News, 10/5/05
http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0510/04/B01-336267.htm
Fatme Zahr of Dearborn and her son, Rasha, 10, tearfully bemoan the
fate of their husband and father, Mosbah Mahmoud Zahr, who was deported
to Lebanon after spending five months in U.S. custody.
When federal agents arrested businessman Mosbah Mahmoud Zahr at his
Dearborn home as he left for work early one morning in April, it was
the last time his four terrified American-born children saw their
father.
On Sept. 20, the family was shocked to learn that Zahr, 51, who has
lived in the area for 25 years, was deported to Lebanon the night
before after being in federal custody for five months. They also were
told he was in a hospital suffering from complications from a diabetic
condition.
Agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of
Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported Zahr because of a 1987
conviction on cocaine possession charges in state court. Even though
Zahr was legally deported, the way he was treated is drawing
consternation from his family and some community groups.
Arab-American leaders have denounced the way the owner of an Inkster
dry cleaning business was suddenly arrested, detained in faraway
lockups and whisked out of the country without the notification of his
family and without a change of clothes.
Zahr's lawyer, David Steingold, accuses the government of violating
Zahr's right to due process and of victimizing his family, now
destitute without his support. Steingold said for the five months
before he was deported, Zahr was locked up in Battle Creek and even
farther away in Sault Ste. Marie.
During that time, Steingold said he was prevented from filing a court
challenge because the government had refused since April to let him see
Zahr's file, or even the deportation warrant. The American Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee denounced what officials there called
inhumane and heavy-handed tactics.
"I am stunned by this case," said Imad Hamad, regional director of the
anti-discrimination group. He met last week with Rob Baker, the top
local official in charge of detention and deportations.
"Under the law they had the right to deport him, but the way the situation was handled was uncalled for," Imad said.
"It was totally unnecessary. It caused severe trauma to the kids and the family. I feel sorry for the kids and his wife."
Steingold said the government could have served his client with a
deportation warrant, giving him notice to wind up his business affairs,
prepare his family, and report for deportation.
"Mr. Zahr was never hiding. He was buying a home in his own name. He
paid his taxes," Steingold said. "He is married to a U.S. citizen, his
four children are Americans. His oldest daughter has Down's syndrome,
and he had to drive her to school every day and take her for medical
appointments."
Baker said Zahr had been ordered deported in 1991 after he served a
three-year prison sentence. He was given a $2,500 bond in 1992 while he
appealed the deportation. When his appeal was denied in 1996 he was an
illegal resident, Baker said.
-----
ISLAMIC STUDENTS SEEK RESOLUTION AGAINST TERRORISM -
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Wendy Isom, Jackson Sun, 10/4/05
http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051004/NEWS01/510040304/1002
Concerned with interfaith relations in the aftermath of terrorist
attacks, Islamic students at the University of Tennessee Martin have
rallied for a Student Government Association resolution to denounce
terrorism.
The declaration drafted by Islamic students was unanimously approved by the school's SGA senate.
David Belote, interim vice chancellor for student affairs and an SGA
advisor at UTM, said Monday he was confident that the Islamic students
set an SGA precedent with their group declaration.
Emre Serbest, an Islamic student and UTM senator for the College of
Business and Public Affairs, made a rousing presentation on the
school's senate floor about the importance of passing the declaration.
"I was exceedingly impressed with Emre and how he presented the information," Belote said.
Serbest spoke to his peers Sept. 22 about interfaith tensions and
increased prejudice against Muslims since the rise of terrorist attacks
around the world.
These attacks, Serbest said, "have created a strong urge in good
Muslims to defend themselves and their peaceful faith against
accusations of violent crimes that they have not committed, and
provocative, radical extreme thoughts that they do not endorse."
A segment of the resolution statement reads: "We pray for the immediate
defeat of these evildoers who call themselves 'Islamic' and yet do
everything that Islam rejects and forbids." (MORE)
-----
A LOOK AT AMERICAN MUSLIM HISTORY -
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John Iwasaki, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 10/4/05
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/243300_ramadan04.html
A traveling exhibit on Muslim history in the United States, curated by
the descendant of a Georgia slave, looks back at mostly obscure lives
and little-known contributions of American followers of Islam since the
1700s.
But the archival photos and documents in the show, which opened Monday
in Seattle, have modern-day implications, curator Amir Muhammad said.
The Washington, D.C., resident created the exhibit especially "for
immigrant Muslims to understand American Muslim history," he said. "It
connects people. A lot of people don't know that Muslims were part of
the American fabric."
The exhibit is a photocopy of the actual one currently on display at
the Smithsonian's Anacostia Museum and Center for African American
History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
Ayesha Anderson saw the exhibit at a Muslim conference in Chicago in 2003 and had tried ever since to bring it to Seattle.
"I feel like a mother who's been in labor. This is my baby," said
Anderson, a Kent resident who was joined in the effort by Benjamin
Shabazz, imam of the Al Islam Center of Seattle.
The collection includes copies of letters, pages from diaries, notices
of runaway slaves and other documents that reveal the presence of
Muslims in American slavery, some of whom had been educated in Africa.
(MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MUSLIM AMERICANS CALL FOR RENAISSANCE IN ISLAM -
TOP
Michel W. Potts, New America Media, 10/3/05
http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=4b9c92074d3ee0e6299dbf57da128d74
ANAHEIM, Calif. - After the greater Muslim community of Southern
California donated a reported $420,000 to the Council of
American-Islamic Relations during its tenth annual banquet, held Sept.
17 at the Anaheim Convention Center here, keynote speaker Prof. M.
Cherif Bassiouni presented them with a challenge and a proposal.
A Distinguished Research Professor at the DePaul University's College
of Law, Bassiouni noted in his speech how former attorney general John
Ashcroft had publicized the presence of sleeper cells in the country,
increasing fear among the American public and consequently fostering
more prejudice against Muslim Americans.
"When you look at these cases (in which Ashcroft claimed that home
grown terrorists across the country had been arrested), you will find
in all of these cases that charges were never proven," he pointed out
to the audience.
All Americans, irrespective of religion, "have a big challenge ahead of
us," he argued. "The challenge is to restore the rule of law to this
country...It is obvious that if you have a system where the rule of law
prevails, or where the rule of law can be bent, or where the rule of
law can be politicized, then you are going to find victims and, right
now, the victims are the Muslims."
Bassiouni proposed that Muslims in this country seriously consider
forming a national council of learned Muslims scholars. "What we really
need to do is to start a movement what I would call a renaissance of
Islam," he proclaimed.
Muslims who have lived in the United States for any length of time
"have done little to denounce the so-called Muslim regimes all over the
world, who have been nothing else but corrupt and inefficient, (and) we
have done little to denounce the type of backward-ism in the name of
Islam that have we seen by many persons whose knowledge of Islam is
limited," he added.
"And we have said and done very little to engage ourselves in the
renaissance of Islam in the Muslim world. Maybe now the time has come.
Maybe this is the challenge. Maybe this is the best thing that would
have happened to Muslims, to be kicked in the back after 9/11 and to
wake up."
One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of the Bridge
Builder Award to David Stacy, a Christian who agreed to uproot his life
and live in a large Muslim community for 30 days in Dearborn, Mich., as
part of a Fox Channel documentary that attempted to portray what it is
like to be a Muslim in America. (MORE)
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
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URL:
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-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/5/05
*
Hadith:
Bad Behavior Defeats the
Purpose of Fasting
*
CAIR:
Spreading the
Koran (Hartford Courant)
-
Ramadan:
Celebrate the
Quran
-
CAIR-CA:
Mosques Reach Out to
Non-Muslims
-
CAIR-CA:
A
Season to Put Spirituality First (SF Chron)
-
CAIR-Sacramento:
Faiths Share Holy
Month (Sac Bee)
*
FL:
More
Hispanic Women Converting to Islam (Miami Herald)
*
Book:
Muslim
Chaplain Recalls Guantanamo Abuses (AP)
*
FL:
Kids
Embrace Fasting with a Fervor (St. Pete Times)
-
TX:
Ramadan
Connects Islamic Faithful (Daily Texan)
-
OR:
Muslim,
Christian Cross Faith Divide (Oregonian)
-
President Bush Extends
Ramadan Greetings to Muslims
*
TN:
Muslim
Students Get Resolution Opposing Terror
*
FL:
Muslim Inmate Sues County
Jail (Orlando Sentinel)
*
17,000 Bosnian Serbs Linked to
Srebrenica Massacre (AP)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: BAD BEHAVIOR DEFEATS
THE PURPOSE OF FASTING -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever does not
give up telling lies, (committing) evil deeds and speaking harshly to
others, God is not in need of his (fasting)."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadith 83
VERSE OF THE DAY: FASTING TEACHES SELF-RESTRAINT
"O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you as it was
prescribed for those before you so that you may learn
self-restraint."
The Holy Quran, 2:183
-----
CAIR: SPREADING THE KORAN -
TOP
Group Offers Free Copies To Non-Muslims To Counter Negative
Publicity
FRANCES GRANDY TAYLOR, Hartford Courant, 10/5/05
http://www.courant.com/features/lifestyle/hc-koran.artoct05,0,3657737.story
As the most sacred holiday in the Islamic calendar, the holy month of
Ramadan is marked by fasting during daylight hours and special evening
prayers in the mosque. Reading the Koran during Ramadan, which began
Tuesday night with the appearance of the new crescent moon, is an
essential part of the observance.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, one of the largest Muslim
advocacy organizations in the United States, is sponsoring a campaign
called "Explore the Quran." The goal is to give the general
non-Muslim public a greater familiarity with Islam's holy book by
offering it free. The council has received more than 20,000 requests for
free Korans since the campaign began in mid-July.
"Explore the Quran" is CAIR's attempt to counter what the
organization regards as continuing negative publicity surrounding the
Koran, including the alleged desecration of the holy book at Guantanamo
Bay and Abu Ghraib prisons. Those who request a Koran receive a thick
hardcover book with English translation next to the Arabic on each
page.
"We felt the best way to respond was to give Americans the
opportunity to read the Koran for themselves," said Rabiah Ahmed, a
spokeswoman for CAIR. "The response has been overwhelmingly positive
and very heartwarming."
The requests have come from Christian ministers who want to learn more
about Islam, students, professor, atheists, prisons and police and
government officials in communities with a significant Muslim population.
. .
Muhammed Ali, president of the Islamic Information Center in Bristol,
called CAIR's campaign "a beautiful thing - to put the book in the
hands of people. ... It's our job as Muslims to spread the word as we
understand it. . ."
To obtain a copy of the Koran, call the Council of American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR), request online at
www.cair-net.org/explorethequran/
or call 800-784-7526.
SEE ALSO:
RAMADAN: CELEBRATE THE QURAN -
TOP
Sohair Sultan, Trinity Tripod, 10/4/05
http://www.trinitytripod.com/media/paper520/news/2005/10/04/Features/Ramadan.Celebrate.The.Quran-1008843.shtml
Editor's Note: Sohaib Sultan is the Muslim Chaplain of Trinity College.
Additionally, the (S) that is written after the Prophet Mohammed is
mentioned signifies in Arabic, "salah'llahu alayhee wa salam," which in
English means 'peace be upon him.'
Every year Muslims from all over the world and from all ethnic and
economic backgrounds begin fasting from sunrise to sunset everyday
during a most blessed month in the Islamic tradition, known as Ramadan.
But, what makes Ramadan a blessed month? Why do Muslims fast during
this month? What are the spiritual benefits of fasting? All these
questions and more are addressed in this article that introduces you to
a month long spiritual journey that over 1.4 billion Muslims engage in
worldwide.
The Quran says, "It was the month of Ramadan in which the Quran was
revealed from on high as a guidance for humanity and a self-evident
proof of that guidance, and as the standard by which to discern the
true from the false..." (2:185). So, the entire month of Ramadan is in
essence a celebration of the Quran's revelation, which is described as
a "Guide and Mercy for those who do good." (Quran 31:3). Ramadan
celebrates God's Mercy by which, Muslim believe, the Divine sent a
guiding light in the Quran that leads human soul towards the path of
good and virtue and protects the human soul from evil and vice. (MORE)
---
CAIR-CA: MOSQUES REACH OUT TO NON-MUSLIMS -
TOP
Various open houses intended to educate public, dispel stereotypes
Jonathan Jones, The Argus, 10/5/05
http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_3088408
Ramadan is coming to a mosque near you. And you're invited.
Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic calendar, begins today. It is a
time for Muslims to abstain from food, drink and other "worldly
pleasures" from dawn until dusk.
But Ramadan also is a time for generosity and being a better father, mother, child and neighbor.
And this year, mosques throughout the Bay Area are hoping their
neighbors get to know them a little better. Next weekend, many mosques
are holding open houses for non-Muslims to celebrate the iftar, the
meal served during Ramadan at the end of each day after the sun sets to
break the fast.
Coordinated efforts by the Council on American-Islamic Relations and
local mosques, the open houses and iftar dinners are part of an effort
by Bay Area Muslims to educate others about their faith and dispel
stereotypes. . .
Safaa Ibrahim of CAIR said mosques traditionally hold open houses
during Ramadan. But this year, local Islamic leaders are making an
extra effort to reach out.
"It becomes, considering 9/11, really important to get to know the
community," she said. "It's no different than a church potluck or a
family potluck dinner . . .with a little zest of culture." (MORE)
---
CAIR-CA: A SEASON TO PUT SPIRITUALITY FIRST -
TOP
Fasting is part of holidays for Jews, Muslims and Christians
Cicero A. Estrella, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/5/05
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/05/BAG4AF2KF91.DTL
A rare convergence of holy days has Jewish, Muslim and Christian
congregations celebrating in different ways almost simultaneously --
and all with periods of fasting.
With the Jewish High Holy Days and the month-long Muslim celebration of
Ramadan beginning within days of each other this week, millions of
people around the world will forgo food and drink in a bid for
spiritual growth. In addition, Eastern Orthodox Christians will fast
starting Nov. 15 to celebrate Advent, the 40 days leading to Christmas.
. .
For Safa Ibrahim, who is no relation to Hakam, Ramadan provides the chance to reacquaint with family and friends.
"The rest of the year you're always so busy. It's rush, rush," said the
executive director of the Bay Area chapter of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations. "You take a step back during Ramadan and
rekindle relationships." (MORE)
---
CAIR-SACRAMENTO: FAITHS SHARE HOLY MONTH -
TOP
By Jocelyn Wiener, Sacramento Bee, 10/4/05
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/religion/story/13665454p-14508265c.html
Jewish people will pray and eat apples and honey. Muslim people will
pray and break their all-day fasts with dates. Some call it
coincidence; others say it's divine intervention.
Either way, it doesn't happen often.
Today is the first day of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. It is also
the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, at least for some.
Because it begins when Muslims first see the new moon, Ramadan will
begin Wednesday in some parts of the world.
Because the two faiths follow different calendars, the sacred months
seldom coincide. The last time it occurred was more than three decades
ago.
For many local religious leaders, the moment seems ripe with
possibility to mend frayed ties between the two communities. Halfway
across the world, news reports describe daily losses of Palestinian and
Israeli lives. Local leaders say starting a dialogue this month may be
the antidote.
Dexter McNamara, executive director of the Interfaith Service Bureau in
Sacramento, said he thinks the parallel holidays may be a bit of
"divine whimsy."
"This can be a freak of the calendar, or it can be an opportunity to
learn about each other," he said. "It's really up to us to make that
decision."
Some local religious leaders said that in recent years they have begun
to reach out to each other's faiths in new ways. People need to
recognize the commonalities of the two religions, they said.
"Along the line, somehow, I don't know where the difference came from,"
said Hamza El-Nakhal, president of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations of the Sacramento Valley, "but we are all so similar."
El-Nakhal said that in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, he joined
Christian and Jewish leaders in the Woodland and Davis area in creating
an interfaith group - Children of Abraham. Sacramento has a similar
group. (MORE)
-----
MORE HISPANIC WOMEN CONVERTING TO ISLAM -
TOP
ALEXANDRA ALTER, Miami Herald, 10/5/05
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12820867.htm
Ask Melissa Matos why she converted to Islam, and you'll likely get an
answer that spans 13 centuries. She may refer to seventh century
Arabia, where Muslims believe the Prophet Mohammed received the Koran
from the angel Gabriel. Or she might describe Islam's golden age in
medieval Spain. Or she'll recall Sept. 11, 2001, when fear and
curiosity drove her to read about Islam on the Internet.
Matos, who comes from a family of Seventh-day Adventists from the
Dominican Republic, has answered the question countless times since
converting to Islam in April. She now covers her hair, prays five times
a day, and today will observe Ramadan, a month of fasting, prayer and
reflection, which began at sundown.
''Sometimes it does get a little difficult,'' said Matos, a 20-year-old
political science student at Florida International University who lives
with her parents in Miramar. ''I feel alienated from my family and my
old friends, but Islam is so beautiful, it's worth it. And with
Ramadan, I'm just doing it by myself, just me and God.''
Though Hispanic women make up a small fraction of the nation's 6
million Muslims, those converting to Islam are exerting influence
beyond their numbers, teaching Spanish-Arabic classes, forming
Hispanic-Muslim organizations and distributing the Koran in Spanish.
Matos, for one, plans to organize a lecture series this semester at FIU
on the religion's little-known history in Latin America, including two
lectures that will be in Spanish, she said.
Some have founded support networks. Piedad, a network of Muslim women
that seeks to educate Spanish-speaking communities about Islam, has
more than 344 members nationally. Other groups, like the Latino
American Dawah Organization, which was formed in 1997, promote the
legacy of Islam in Spain and Latin America.
''It's a movement that is growing, particularly in urban areas,'' said
Manuel Vasquez, a professor of religion at the University of Florida.
''It's part of the cross-fertilization that's occurring among immigrant
groups.''
There are some 40,000 Hispanic Muslims in the United States, according
to a spokesman for the Islamic Society of North America. The largest
populations live in New York, Texas, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami,
American Muslim organizations say. (MORE)
-----
MUSLIM CHAPLAIN RECALLS GUANTANAMO DEAL -
TOP
BEN FOX, Associated Press, 10/4/05
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/12817254.htm
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Army Capt. James Yee had just arrived at the
U.S. prison for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay when he got his first
hint of trouble.
The man Yee would replace as Muslim chaplain showed him around the
high-security base on the eastern edge of Cuba, and gave him a warning.
"This is not a friendly environment for Muslims, and I don't just mean
for the prisoners," Yee recalled hearing from the outgoing chaplain.
"You need to watch your back."
The exchange, which Yee recounts in a new book on his experiences at Guantanamo, would prove to be prophetic.
The new chaplain soon grew increasingly disturbed by the treatment of
prisoners and what he perceived as military hostility to Muslim
personnel at the base. Yee's biggest shock came later, when he was
arrested on suspicion of espionage and held in solitary confinement for
76 days.
The case unraveled and authorities eventually dismissed the charges.
Yee received an honorable discharge from the service and now lives in
Washington state, but he was left with deep concerns about the
treatment of prisoners in the U.S. war on terror and anger over his own
treatment at the hands of military authorities.
"What happened to me was a gross miscarriage of justice," he said
Tuesday in a phone interview from New York, where he was promoting his
book, "For God and Country," which went on sale this week. "I don't
want what happened to me to ever happen to anyone else."
Since the dismissal of the criminal charges in March 2004, Yee, 37, has
appeared at events around the country to promote racial and religious
tolerance, but he has avoided discussing details about his experiences
in Guantanamo, his arrest and eventual exoneration. (MORE)
-----
FL: KIDS EMBRACE FASTING WITH A FERVOR -
TOP
Many of them are making the sacrifice even though Islamic law does not require them to do so until they reach puberty.
By SHERRI DAY, St. Petersburg Times, 10/5/05
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/10/05/Tampabay/Kids_embrace_fasting_.shtml
TAMPA - Nedaa Oriyanerass is 9. Her friend Rahma Elmohd is 11. They
talk on the phone about how to handle temptation. Maybe by shopping.
Maybe by playing Pictionary.
Last fall, only four days into the month of Ramadan, Nedaa broke her
fast early. It was just too hard to go all day without food and water.
But this year she has her friend Rahma as a mentor.
Islamic law does not require such young ones to sacrifice for Ramadan.
But like many Muslim children around the world, Nedaa longs to observe
the religion's customs and traditions.
"I want to make our god, Allah, proud," she said, her eyes brightening.
The two girls plan to fast from sunrise to sunset for all of Ramadan, which began Tuesday.
Nedaa has one day under her belt. Twenty-nine more to go.
"I'm fasting right now, and it feels good," Nedaa said late Tuesday.
"It wasn't hard. Right now, I'm playing, and I don't feel like I'm
fasting. It's fun." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
TX: RAMADAN CONNECTS ISLAMIC FAITHFUL -
TOP
Muslims use holy month to focus on self-discipline
Alan J. Williams, Daily Texan, 10/5/05
http://www.dailytexanonline.com/media/paper410/news/2005/10/05/Focus/Ramadan.Connects.Islamic.Faithful-1009663.shtml
Nearly 50 men, young and old, stood shoulder-to-shoulder in a wooden
house on Nueces Street. In concert, they dropped to their knees, and
touched their heads against the soft green carpet in prayer.
Students join together at the Neuces Masjid to share in iftar, the meal
after evening prayers during Ramadan that breaks their day-long fast.
Facing east toward Mecca, the men knelt and bowed their heads repeatedly in the evening prayer, known as Maghrib.
"I love Ramadan. There is definitely a strong feeling of brotherhood,"
said Imran Vohra, a UT biomedical engineering senior. (MORE)
---
OR: MUSLIM, CHRISTIAN CROSS FAITH DIVIDE -
TOP
A minister and head of an Islamic trust urge the faithful to break bread during Ramadan
NANCY HAUGHT, Oregonian, 10/5/05
http://www.oregonlive.com/living/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/living/1128510299298040.xml&coll=7
If you pay federal income tax and you have at least one friend that you
like despite your differences, you may be two steps closer to
understanding Ramadan.
The Muslim month of fasting, which begins today in Oregon and Southwest
Washington, is a lot like April 15, says Wajdi Said, executive director
of the Muslim Educational Trust.
"Everyone knows that's the day on which you give the government what
you owe," he says. "Ramadan is the time in which you give God what you
owe."
And what does a Muslim owe God?
"Much more than fasting," Said says. "Ramadan is not just a month to
re-evaluate yourself, to hold yourself accountable, to make a roadmap
to felicity, to piety, to self-consciousness. It is a time to be
mindful of the people around you; and here (in the Northwest) the
people around you are not all Muslims."
Which brings us to the part about friends, and the lessons of one
particular friendship, between Said and the Rev. Hector Lopez, who is
Central Pacific conference minister of the United Church of Christ.
The two men, both leaders in their own religions, say their friendship
began four years ago, before -- actually two days before -- the
terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
On Sept. 9, 2001, Said and Gail Ramjan visited Ainsworth United Church of Christ to talk about Islam.
The congregation listened attentively, but Lopez heard his heart
speaking. He and Said began a friendship that grew under the fire of
9/11 and the hope and hostility that has come and gone in
Muslim-Christian relations since that fateful day.
"Wajdi is like a brother to me," Lopez says. (MORE)
---
BUSH EXTENDS RAMADAN GREETINGS TO MUSLIMS AROUND THE WORLD -
TOP
President praises Muslims' contributions to America at outset of holy month
http://usinfo.state.gov/mena/Archive/2005/Oct/04-892369.html
President Bush sent greetings to Muslims in the United States and
throughout the world October 4 as they begin the observance of the holy
month of Ramadan. He praised Muslims' commitment to spiritual growth
and charity during this season and welcomed the contributions that
Muslims have made to American society.
"Throughout our history, America has been blessed by the contributions
of people of many different faiths. Our Muslim citizens have helped
make our Nation a stronger and more hopeful place through their faith,
generosity, and compassion," he said in a press statement.
Following is the text of the statement:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
October 4, 2005
RAMADAN
Laura and I send warm greetings to Muslims in the United States and
throughout the world as they begin the observance of Ramadan.
The month of Ramadan, which commemorates the revelation of the Qur'an
to the prophet Muhammed, is the holiest month of the Muslim year. It is
a special time of reflection, fasting, and charity. It is also a time
of spiritual growth and prayer and an occasion to remember the less
fortunate by sharing God's gifts with those in need.
Throughout our history, America has been blessed by the contributions
of people of many different faiths. Our Muslim citizens have helped
make our Nation a stronger and more hopeful place through their faith,
generosity, and compassion.
May this be a blessed Ramadan for Muslims in the United States and around the world. Ramadan mubarak.
GEORGE W. BUSH
-----
TN: ISLAMIC STUDENTS AT UTM GET RESOLUTION OPPOSING TERRORISM -
TOP
http://www.volunteertv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3935392
JACKSON, Tenn. A resolution denouncing terrorism approved by the
University of Tennessee at Martin Student Government Association was
drafted by Islamic students.
After an impassioned speech by Emre Serbest, an Islamic student and
member of the S-G-A Senate, the chamber unanimously approved the
declaration.
Serbest said the rise in terrorist attacks worldwide created the need for Muslims to defend themselves and their faith.
Part of the resolution reads: "We pray for the immediate defeat of
these evildoers who call themselves 'Islamic' and yet do everything
that Islam rejects and forbids."
-----
FL: MUSLIM INMATE SUES SEMINOLE COUNTY JAIL -
TOP
Gary Taylor, Orlando Sentinel, 10/5/05
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/seminole/orl-jailsuit0505oct05,0,7409336.story
An inmate has filed a federal lawsuit against the Seminole County Jail,
claiming his rights are being violated because as a Muslim he is not
allowed to practice his Islamic religion.
In his suit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Orlando, Ernesto J.
Holmes also points out that Jewish inmates in the county jail suffer
similar violations of their rights.
The suit was filed as followers of both religions begin observance of the most holy days of the year.
For Muslims, the holy month of Ramadan began Tuesday. For 30 days, they refrain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset.
The 10-day Jewish High Holy Days began at sunset Monday with Rosh
Hashana and will end with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the most
solemn day of the Jewish year.
Holmes complains in his suit that he is not provided the Muslim Juma
prayer service on Fridays, does not receive Islamic materials or a
prayer rug and is not provided with a daily menu to assure that he does
not consume pork products, a violation of the Islamic faith. (MORE)
-----
BOSNIAN SERB PANEL LINKS 17,000 TO ROLES IN SREBRENICA MASSACRE -
TOP
ASSOCIATED PRESS, 10/5/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/05/international/europe/05bosnia.html
BANJA LUKA, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Oct. 4 (AP) - A Bosnian Serb
commission said Tuesday that it had identified more than 17,000 people
who had taken part directly and indirectly in the Srebrenica massacre
in 1995, the worst slaughter of civilians in Europe since World War II.
The commission, which has been compiling the report since 2003, said
the names would not be released publicly. Instead, they will be turned
over to the state prosecutor's office for review and possible charges.
The panel said it had submitted the report to the office of the top
international official in Bosnia, Paddy Ashdown, who requested it as
part of efforts to bring to justice those responsible for the massacre
of up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys toward the end of Bosnia's civil war.
The panel said 19,473 members of various Bosnian Serb armed forces and
civilians had taken part in the massacre, and of those, 17,074 had been
identified by name. About 24,000 Bosnian Serb troops converged on
Srebrenica, a United Nations-designated haven for Bosnian Muslims
seeking refuge from the Serbs. (MORE)
-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/6/05
*
Hadith:
Fasting is a
Shield
*
CAIR-San Antonio
Hosts Ramadan
Media Breakfast
-
CAIR-IL:
Homeless
Invited to Iftar (Sun-Times)
*
VA:
Pakistani-American
Confronts Military Recruiters
*
NY:
Islamic
Women's Groups Proliferating (Newsday)
-
Brochure:
Women Friendly
Mosques
-
Women and Islam:
the
Real Deal
*
MA:
Governor's
Speech Reinforces Fear of Muslims (Globe)
*
IA:
Middle Eastern Woman
Assaulted, Called 'Sand N**ger'
-
CT:
Muslim Veggies Pass
Inspection
*
CAIR:
Boeing,
Textron Apologize for an Ad (WSJ)
-
Boeing
Apologizes for 'Offensive' Ad (Post-Disp)
*
DC:
House Democratic
Leader's Statement on Ramadan
-
Rep. McCollum:
Celebrating the Holy
Month of Ramadan
-
Support H.R. 465 -
House 'Ramadan'
Resolution
*
PA:
Swarthmore
Gets $1 Million for Islamic Studies (AP)
-
MN:
College
Adding Arabic to Language Camp (AP)
*
Pentagon Analyst
Guilty in
Israeli Spy Case (Wash Post)
*
Documentary:
Three
Faiths, One God
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY:
FASTING IS A SHIELD -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) told his followers: "God
said: 'Every action of the son of Adam is for him except fasting, for
that is solely for Me. I give the reward for it.' The fast is a shield.
If one is fasting, he should not use foul language, raise his voice (in
anger), or behave foolishly. If someone reviles him or fights with him he
should say, 'I am fasting' (instead of responding in kind).
Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 3, Number 107A
-----
CAIR-SAN
ANTONIO HOSTS RAMADAN MEDIA BREAKFAST
-
TOP
A MONTH OF RAMADAN
San Antonio Current, 10/6/05
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15334329&BRD=2318&PAG=461&dept_id=482778&rfi=6
"Without communication and connections we are hurting
ourselves," said Surwat Husain at a recent media breakfast sponsored
by the Council of American-Islamic Relations to launch Ramadan.
Ramadan, the month-long Muslim observance, began on Tuesday, October 4.
Over the next 30 days, practicing Muslims will fast from sunrise to
sunset, and focus on learning about their faith, performing good works,
and teaching others about Ramadan and Islam.
Husain, the president of CAIR's San Antonio chapter, outlined common
misperceptions about Islam. "When we are accused of trying to
convert America, it's not true," said Husain, an immigrant from
Pakistan who has lived in the U.S. for 30 years. "The problem is we
believe a lot in what we hear and we don't look for the
truth."
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-CHICAGO:
MUSLIMS INVITE THE HOMELESS TO JOIN IN RAMADAN SUNSET MEAL -
TOP
RUMMANA HUSSAIN, Chicago Sun-Times, 10/5/05
http://www.suntimes.com
The Downtown Islamic Center is inviting the homeless to join Chicago area
Muslims when they break their fast at sunset every day during the holy
month of Ramadan.
The mosque, 231 S. State, has always encouraged its neighbors to eat
"iftar" -- or the meal breaking the fast at Ramadan. But it's
the first time the "open houses" are targeting those without
shelter.
"Since the very beginning, the Islamic tradition has worked to
cultivate in Muslims a compassionate outlook toward serving the poor and
the needy. . . . The Quran is replete with verses that urge the faithful
to reach out to the destitute," said Ahmed Rehab, spokesman for the
Council on American-Islamic Relations in Chicago.
"One of the many blessings of the fasting ritual is understanding
firsthand what it is like to suffer deprivation from the basic sensual
pleasures of life. This in turn makes Muslims genuinely appreciate the
predicament of those who are less fortunate than they."
The world's 1.2 billion Muslims are supposed to abstain from eating and
drinking from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan.
In the United States, Ramadan began Tuesday evening, but today is the
first day most Muslim Americans will begin fasting.
CONTACT: Ahmed Rehab, 312 212-1520, 847 971-3963;
communications@cairchicago.org;
Yaser Tabbara, 312 718-3725;
director@cairchicago.org
-----
ISSUES OF WAR
AND FREE SPEECH ROIL GMU CAMPUS -
TOP
Echoes of the '60s Follow Arrest of Pakistani American Student Protesting
Near Military Recruiters
Tara Bahrampour, Washington Post, 10/6/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/05/AR2005100502106.html
More than 100 George Mason University students and faculty members
gathered on campus yesterday for a teach-in, six days after an
undergraduate was arrested in a confrontation with military recruiters
there.
Tariq Khan, 27, said he was standing near the recruiters' table in the
multipurpose Johnson Center at lunchtime last Thursday, holding fliers
and wearing signs, including one on his chest that read "Recruiters
Lie, Don't Be Deceived." One of the recruiters, plus another man who
said he was a Marine, began yelling at him, he said, adding that the
Marine ripped off his sign. Khan said that after a campus police officer
asked for identification, which he didn't have with him, he was arrested,
taken to the Fairfax County police department and charged with
trespassing and disorderly conduct.
Khan, a Pakistani American who grew up in Sterling and served four years
in the U.S. Air Force, said the recruiters, and later the campus police,
made disparaging comments to him about Middle Easterners.
(MORE)
-----
ISLAMIC WOMEN'S GROUPS
PROLIFERATING -
TOP
MARY VOBORIL, Newsday, 10/6/05
http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/newyork/nyc-rama1006,0,5975337.story
Daisy Khan isn't surprised to find that Islamic women began organizing in
the days after 9/11, even in such far-flung states as South Dakota and
Minnesota.
But she is surprised that, given the ever-more-public concerns they share
as Muslim women, "we haven't all come together before now. Because
I'm finding that much of what I am thinking, others are thinking the same
thing."
A major coming together of Muslim women in the United States, however,
may take place sometime in 2006 at an ambitious, first-of-its-kind
conference that Khan, executive director of the American Society for
Muslim Advancement, has just begun to organize. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
WOMEN FRIENDLY
MOSQUES AND COMMUNITY CENTERS -
TOP
To download a PDF copy of the brochure's text, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/pdf/intro.pdf
http://www.cair-net.org/pdf/text.pdf
---
WOMEN AND ISLAM: THE REAL
DEAL -
TOP
By Kourosh Safavi, Daily Aztec, 10/6/05
http://www.thedailyaztec.com/media/paper741/news/2005/10/06/Opinion/Women.And.Islam.The.Real.Deal-1011356.shtml
In this day and age, it's saddening to witness people basing knowledge on
stereotypes while nobody takes the time to seek the truth for
themselves.
Unfortunately, since 9/11, stereotyping, mainly in regard to the issue of
terrorism, has targeted Islam. But with the latest developments of the
new Iraqi constitution, the public is now scrutinizing women's rights in
Islam.
As a Muslim, I have no problem with people criticizing the way Muslim
women are treated in the so-called "Islamic States." There's no
doubt some of the laws in these countries are oppressive toward women and
it's completely understandable for people to think women have fewer
rights in these countries. The problem lies in the fact that - out of
their ignorance - the majority of people equate these laws with the
teachings of Islam.
To view a religion fairly, one must judge it solely on its founder's
teachings and the way it was implemented during the founder's time. It's
evident throughout history that when teachings are changed and people
begin to follow what others say, the original beliefs become corrupt.
This misguidance is then mistaken for truth. (MORE)
-----
GOVERNOR'S SPEECH
REINFORCES FEARS -
TOP
Missy Ryan, Boston Globe, 10/6/05
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/10/06/distressing_words_for_muslims/
Mahmud Jafri, a Shi'ite Muslim who was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and
arrived in the United States 31 years ago, is adamant when he says he
wants to be viewed as an American.
''We are Americans who happen to be Muslims," said Jafri, who is
president of an Oriental rug company and active in Republican politics in
Dover.
Jafri and fellow trustees of the Islamic Masumeen Center of New England
in Hopkinton, one of the region's few Shi'ite mosques, were among the
Boston-area Muslims who were alarmed by Governor Mitt Romney's recent
call for heightened surveillance of certain Muslims to ensure national
security.
''We should not be identified by our faith [or] by the acts of a minute
minority who [do] not represent mainstream Islam in any way, form, or
shape," Jafri said. ''I don't think America is about
that."
Romney's suggestion that surveillance of certain mosques should be
increased, made in a Sept. 14 speech on homeland security to the
conservative Heritage Foundation, prompted a backlash from local Islamic
associations, civil liberties groups, and religious organizations.
(MORE)
-----
RIGHTS CRIME ALLEGED -
TOP
Mark Bosworth, Daily Iowan, 10/5/05
http://www.dailyiowan.com/media/paper599/news/2005/10/05/Metro/Rights.Crime.Alleged-1009492.shtml
Authorities say a Coralville man spewed an ethnic epithet at a woman of
Middle Eastern descent before punching her in the face at an Iowa City
bar over the weekend.
Troy Anderson, 24, faces the charge of assault causing bodily injury in
violation of civil rights - more commonly known as a hate crime - as a
result of the alleged Oct. 1 attack.
The unidentified female complainant was leaving the patio area of the
Deadwood Tavern, 6 S. Dubuque St., around 9:30 p.m. when Anderson, 2310
12th St., allegedly started to address her with slurs, said Iowa City
police Lt. Jim Steffen.
Then, authorities say, Anderson allegedly called the woman a "sand
nigger" and punched her in her left eye, knocking her to the ground.
The woman sustained a variety of injuries, including a chipped tooth, red
eye, and a cut nose, police said. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
DATASHAK PASSES INSPECTION -
TOP
By JOSH MROZINSKI, Middletown Press, 10/05/2005
http://www.middletownpress.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15332384&BRD=1645&PAG=461&dept_id=10856&rfi=6
EAST HADDAM -- Mojibur Rahman smiled on Tuesday as he described a visit
by a U.S. Department of Agriculture investigator.
For the past two weeks Rahman, who emigrated from Bangladesh in 2001, has
been concerned that something was wrong with the vegetables he was
growing at Darul Uloom Shadybrook on Town Street.
Rahman, like the other members of the community and even Internet
bloggers, could not understand why the federal government would be
interested in a nutritious vegetable grown in India and
Bangladesh.
As FBI agents seized a computer and documents from the farm on Sept. 23,
USDA investigators from Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services
seized datashak seeds and the plant that is also known as
Amaranth.
Authorities also took a small amount of squash and okra.
But the veil of mystery and uncertainty lifted on Tuesday when USDA agent
James Finn said that tests showed the farm's datashak was safe to eat and
did not have any diseases.
Finn could not be reached for comment.
"He said your vegetable is good," said Rahman, who speaks
broken English.
Finn also told Rahman that he should call USDA authorities before he
grows the datashak. Documents provided to Rahman explain why authorities
pounced on the farm.
According to the USDA Emergency Action Notification paper, the datashak
was imported from Bangladesh but a permit for its shipment was not
issued, meaning that federal and Bangladeshi authorities did not inspect
the packages of seeds.
If a permit for a foreign plant is not acquired then authorities can
seize the plant or delay it from entering the United States, according
USDA regulations. (MORE)
-----
BOEING, TEXTRON
APOLOGIZE FOR AN AD -
TOP
Jonathan Karp, Wall Street Journal, 10/6/05
http://online.wsj.com/public/us
WHAT DESCENDS "from the heavens" and "unleashes
hell?"
Boeing and Textron intended the answer to be their revolutionary
tilt-rotor aircraft, the V-22 Osprey, which is designed to drop troops
into battle zones. Instead, it was an ad for the aircraft that struck
like a bolt from the blue.
Appearing in an issue of National Journal two weeks ago, the ad kicked up
a cultural dust storm by depicting an assault on a mosque under an
apocalyptic headline that used the heaven-and-hell theme.
After a complaint last week from the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, a Washington advocacy group, Boeing, Textron's Bell Helicopter
unit and the magazine each quickly apologized. The defense companies said
that the ad was "offensive" and hadn't been properly vetted,
while the magazine said that a clerical error resulted in the ad's
publication despite efforts to pull it. . .
Boeing and Textron's Osprey ad was timed to coincide with the Pentagon's
decision in late September to approve full production for the aircraft.
What appeared in the National Journal was meant to be an early version of
an ad designed to show the Osprey's ability to whisk troops to the heart
of a battle, Textron's Bell unit says. The photograph of the street
scene, featuring a building with Mohammed's Mosque inscribed in Arabic,
was taken at a movie set in Texas. A separate photo of soldiers
rappelling off a wall was doctored to look as if they were descending
from the new plane.
For reasons that haven't fully been explained, the ad ended up being sent
to various publications without being checked. "The normal approval
process just fell apart," Bell spokesman Bob Leder says.
A Boeing employee approved the ad without putting it through the usual
vetting process, Boeing says. As soon as Boeing's corporate office
learned about it, Boeing asked Bell's ad agency to destroy the prints and
replace the ad, Ms. Foerster says. Bell scrambled and managed to pull it
from a number of publications, though it slipped into the National
Journal and, without causing a stir, several weeks earlier in the
narrowly distributed "Armed Forces Journal."
SEE ALSO:
BOEING
APOLOGIZES FOR "OFFENSIVE" AD -
TOP
Philip Dine, POST-DISPATCH, 10/5/05
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/nation/story/A7B4C8F5022FCEC3862570910076D2DA?OpenDocument
Boeing Co. is apologizing for an ad that ran under its name in recent
weeks in three magazines.
The ad for the CV-22 or Osprey, a product of Boeing and Bell Helicopter,
shows members of the armed forces descending by rope from a plane onto a
mosque surrounded by smoke and fire.
The top of the full-page ad reads, "It descends from the heavens.
Ironically it unleashes hell."
The bottom of the ad says: "Before you hear it, you see it. By the
time you see it, it's too late. The CV-22 delivers Special Forces to
insertion points never thought possible. It flies faster. It flies
farther. It flies quieter. Consider it a gift from above."
Because of human error, the ad never went through the proper Boeing or
Bell approval processes and wasn't cleared for publication, both
companies said.
"It was clearly offensive," Boeing spokesman Paul Guse in St.
Louis said Wednesday. "It's indefensible."
Sources at the companies said that an advertising firm on the Osprey
account produced the ad and an employee in a joint position for Boeing
and Bell approved it, despite not being authorized by the two contractors
to approve advertising. (MORE)
-----
PELOSI STATEMENT ON RAMADAN -
TOP
http://democraticleader.house.gov/press/releases.cfm?pressReleaseID=1210
Wednesday, October 5, 2005
Contact: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider, 202-226-7616
Washington, D.C. - House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the
following statement in recognition of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan,
which begins today:
"As Muslims around the world recognize the holy month of Ramadan, we
take this opportunity to celebrate the contributions of millions of
Muslim Americans. They enrich our country while deepening America's
respect for Muslims here at home and around the world. As they observe
this sacred month, they honor Islam's teachings of self-discipline,
compassion and commitment to family.
"As we celebrate Ramadan, we are reminded that we are a country of
many faiths, and as such, we must continue to work to promote religious
tolerance; our diversity as a nation is one of our greatest
strengths."
SEE ALSO:
CELEBRATING THE HOLY
MONTH OF RAMADAN -
TOP
http://www.mccollum.house.gov
Washington, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04) issued the
following statement to celebrate the commencement of the holy month of
Ramadan from October 5th through November 3rd.
"I wish all Muslim families a very special and peaceful Ramadan. At
the start of this month of spiritual reflection and renewal, I hope
Minnesotans of all faiths have the opportunity to learn about Ramadan
from our Muslim friends and neighbors. Minnesota's Muslim community is
strong, vibrant and growing. It is an honor and privilege to celebrate
the month of Ramadan in Minnesota communities."
Congresswoman McCollum is an original co-sponsor of H.R. 465, a
resolution recognizing the commencement of Ramadan and commending Muslims
in the United States and throughout the world for their faith. The text
of the resolution is below.
SUPPORT H.R.
465 - HOUSE 'RAMADAN' RESOLUTION -
TOP
http://capwiz.com/cair/callalert/index.tt?alertid=8054916&type=CO
-----
SWARTHMORE
GETS $1 MILLION FOR ISLAMIC STUDIES PROGRAM
-
TOP
Associated Press, 10/5/05
http://www.pennlive.com/newsflash/pa/index.ssf?/base/news-31/1128541442275790.xml&storylist=
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Swarthmore College has received a $1 million donation
to boost its Islamic studies program, school officials announced
Wednesday.
Bruce Jay Gould, a retired Philadelphia cardiologist who graduated from
Swarthmore in 1954, said in a statement that he earmarked the gift for
Islamic studies because understanding Muslim civilization is vital to
living in today's world.
The funds will establish the Bruce Jay Gould Endowment for Islamic
Studies, which will serve as the cornerstone of an eventual $5 million
endowment for the program. The endowment will support courses and other
activities related to Islam in such departments as religion, political
science, history and sociology/anthropology. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CONCORDIA
COLLEGE ADDING ARABIC TO LANGUAGE CAMP
-
TOP
Associated Press, 10/6/05
MOORHEAD, Minn. - Concordia College is adding Arabic to the list of
languages the school offers at its renowned language and cultural
programs in northern Minnesota.
Arabic will be taught starting in July at the Concordia Language Villages
program, officials said. The addition of Al-Waha, The Oasis, was expected
to be announced Thursday in Washington, D.C.
Executive Director Christine Schulze said she hopes the two, two-week
Arabic sessions next summer will draw about 150 students. The new village
will be on leased property near Vergas and will teach U.S. students ages
8 to 18.
Several of the Moorhead school's villages are built on the shores of
Turtle River Lake near Bemidji. Others are leased in several northern
Minnesota locations, as well as one in Savannah, Ga. Another may be
started in New Hampshire, Schulze said.
The Arabic immersion courses will include colloquial phrases in several
dialects and will also include study of the Muslim faith and current
events.
-----
DEFENSE
ANALYST GUILTY IN ISRAELI ESPIONAGE CASE -
TOP
Jerry Markon, Washington Post, 10/6/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/05/AR2005100501608_pf.html
A Defense Department analyst pleaded guilty yesterday to passing
government secrets to two employees of a pro-Israel lobbying group and
revealed for the first time that he also gave classified information
directly to an Israeli government official in Washington.
Lawrence A. Franklin told a judge in U.S. District Court in Alexandria
that he met at least eight times with Naor Gilon, who was the political
officer at the Israeli Embassy before being recalled last
summer.
The guilty plea and Franklin's account appeared to cast doubt on
long-standing denials by Israeli officials that they engage in any
intelligence activities in the United States. The possibility of
continued Israeli spying in Washington has been a sensitive subject
between the two governments since Jonathan J. Pollard, a U.S. Navy
intelligence analyst, admitted to spying for Israel in 1987 and was
sentenced to life in prison.
-----
THREE
FAITHS, ONE GOD: JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, ISLAM
-
TOP
Three Faiths, One God: Judaism, Christianity, Islam (APT Exchange;
release: Oct. 1, 2005) thoughtfully examines the religious beliefs and
practices shared by Jews, Christians and Muslims to illustrate how many
individuals in the Abrahamic faith communities are dealing with
historical conflicts, yet remain dedicated to facilitating understanding
and respect.
Three Faiths, One God: Judaism, Christianity, Islam -- offered in two
versions: a two-hour program or two one-hour specials -- is produced by
Auteur Productions Ltd., presented by Connecticut Public Television
(CPTV) and distributed nationally by American Public Television
(APT).
For more information on the documentary, contact Lee Newton, CPTV, (860)
275-7285 or email
lnewton@cptv.org.
Also, visit
www.cptv.org or
www.3faiths1God.com
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
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-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
CAIR ACTION ALERT #472
ASK CONGRESS TO SEND TORTURE BAN TO
PRESIDENT
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/06/05) - CAIR today urged American Muslims and
other people of conscience to call their elected representatives and ask
that a ban on torture by U.S. military personnel be sent to President
Bush for his signature.
The Senate voted 90-9 on Wednesday to back an amendment to a $440 billion
defense appropriation bill that would prohibit the use of "cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" against anyone in U.S.
government custody anywhere in the world. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), a
former prisoner of war in North Vietnam, sponsored the
amendment.
SEE: "Senate Adds Ban on Torture to Bill"
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2002542695_torture06.html
A similar House bill does not have the anti-torture language. The two
versions will now go to a joint House-Senate committee that will work to
reconcile the differences.
"The McCain anti-torture amendment will help to correct the negative
perception of our nation created by abuse scandals in Iraq, Afghanistan
and Guantanamo Bay," said CAIR Government Affairs Director Corey
Saylor.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell wrote a letter to Sen. McCain in
support of the anti-torture amendment. Powell wrote:
"Our troops need to hear from the Congress, which has an obligation
to speak to such matters under Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution.
I also believe the world will note that America is making a clear
statement with respect to the expected future behavior of our soldiers.
Such a reaction will help deal with the terrible public diplomacy crisis
created by Abu Ghraib." Twenty-eight other senior retired military
officers expressed their support for McCain's amendment.
SEE: "Letter from General Colin Powell to Sen. McCain"
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/politics/12825913.htm
Earlier this year, CAIR and other groups called for an independent 9/11
commission-style investigation into the use of torture by American
military personnel.
SEE:
http://www.cair-net.org/antitorture/
ACTON REQUESTED:
Contact your elected representatives and ask them to ensure that the
McCain anti-torture amendment remains part of the final Defense
Appropriation bill that Congress will send to President Bush.
To contact your elected representatives,
GO TO:
http://capwiz.com/cair/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=8088021
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Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
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-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/7/05
*
Hadith:
Mercy, Forgiveness and
Freedom from Hell
*
CAIR-FL:
Schools Move to End
Holidays (Tampa Tribune)
- FL:
Schools May Drop Religious
Holidays (SP Times)
*
CAIR-OH:
Helping Muslim
Kids Be Proud (Plain Dealer)
-
CAIR-OH:
Muslims Explain
Meaning of Fast (Plain Dealer)
*
NJ:
Report
Confirms Muslims Were Profiled (Star-Ledger)
-
NJ Muslims Feel Vindicated by
Report (AP)
-
Profiling No Tool in Thwarting
Terror (SF Chron)
*
New Law Will Exempt Spies from Privacy Act
(UPI)
*
Bush Speech:
Doing the
9/11 Time Warp Again (NY Times)
-
Sounding Old Themes on Iraq
(NY Times)
-
Transcript:
Bush Discusses War on Terrorism (Wash Post)
*
McCain Anti-Torture Amendment:
End the Abuse (Wash Post)
-
No Room for Torture (Boston Globe)
-
Fighting for an Ideal (LA Times)
-
Action:
Ask Congress to Send Torture Ban to President
*
Book:
Muslim Chaplain Cites Anti-Islam Zeal (Miami Herald)
-
James Yee,
In His Own Words (Miami Herald)
*
MO:
Potluck Unites Jews, Muslims (Columbia Missourian)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: MERCY, FORGIVENESS AND FREEDOM FROM HELL -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "(The month of
Ramadan's) beginning is mercy, its middle is forgiveness and its end is
freedom from Hell."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 614
The Prophet also said: "There are two pleasures (waiting) for the
fasting person, one (comes at) the time of breaking his fast, and the
other (comes) when he meets his Lord."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Hadith 584
-----
CAIR-FL: SCHOOLS MOVE TO END HOLIDAYS -
TOP
Marilyn Brown, Tampa Tribune, 9/7/05
http://tampatrib.com/News/MGBSMUQHGEE.html
TAMPA - Rather than recognize some religious holidays and not others,
Hillsborough schools may drop all of them except the winter break at
Christmas.
A proposed calendar for 2006-07 eliminates the October day off for
students coinciding with Yom Kippur and the April days off on Good
Friday and Easter Monday.
Instead, students would get three secular holidays -- Feb. 19 for
President's Day, March 16 as the Friday before spring break and April
27, the midpoint between spring break and the end of school.
"This is a fair calendar," said Ken Otero, the district's chief of
staff designee. "No one can say this favors one religious group over
another."
The group that sparked the change is not pleased.
"It was not our intention to cause anyone to lose their religious
holidays," Ahmed Bedier, Florida spokesman for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, said Wednesday. "This is something we don't
want."
Bedier and others from the Muslim community made an impassioned plea to
the Hillsborough School Board in December for recognition of their holy
days. They asked for a nonstudent day on Nov. 4 of this year for
students to observe Eid al-Fitr, a holy day marking the end of Ramadan,
and that another holy day in January, Eid al-Adha, be noted on
teachers' calendars.
About 30,000 Muslim families live in Hillsborough County, Bedier said,
although he doesn't know how many of their children attend public
schools.
District officials contend that no religious holiday is recognized, but
some student days out of school have been coordinated with Christian
and Jewish holidays.
This school year, for example, the district's spring break coincides
with Good Friday and Easter Monday. Yom Kippur on Oct. 13 was labeled a
"nonstudent, nonteacher day."
SEE ALSO:
SCHOOLS MAY DROP RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS -
TOP
Melanie Ave, St Petersburg Times, 10/7/05
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/10/07/Hillsborough/Schools_may_drop_reli.shtml
TAMPA - There may be no day off next school year for the Jewish holiday
of Yom Kippur. Also on the chopping block are vacation days for the
Christian faith's Good Friday and the Monday after Easter.
After considering a request to recognize a Muslim school holiday, the
Hillsborough County School Board next week will discuss ending student
days off on all religious holidays, whether they be Christian, Jewish
or Muslim.
The only religious holiday not affected will be Christmas, which occurs during the school district's winter break.
"From my initial look, it's a good way to respect diversity of all faiths," said board chairwoman Candy Olson.
There are numerous religions and even more holidays, said board member
Jennifer Faliero. She asks how a school district can observe some and
not others.
"It's in the best interest of schools not to coincide days off with too many holidays," Faliero said.
While educators said their proposed 2006-07 calendar will treat all
faiths the same, some local Muslims fear a backlash from people angry
about their holidays being converted to school days.
Parent Joan Zaki, who lobbied board members for greater acceptance of
Islamic holidays, said it was not her intent to have everyone's
holidays taken away.
"Muslims don't need any more negative attention than we're getting,"
said Zaki, the only Muslim and dissenting member of the district's
calendar committee. "We were just trying to get equal treatment."
Zaki and Ahmed Bedier, with the Council on American-Islamic Relations,
asked the board about a year ago to include a Muslim holiday in the
calendar. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-OH: HELPING ISLAMIC KIDS BE PROUD OF IDENTITY -
TOP
Tom Feran, Plain Dealer, 10/7/05
http://www.cleveland.com/living/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living/1128678162307920.xml&coll=2
The way it started out, the way it was originally written, the child in
the story only had to deal with a basic fear shared by kids everywhere.
That maybe, because he wasn't exactly like them, he wouldn't be liked
or accepted by his peers.
But events took a hand, and the story subtly changed in a way its author could not have foreseen.
Instead of just worrying about being accepted by his grade school
classmates, the boy in her story has to face the real fear that
something bad might happen to him because of who he is, an American
Muslim.
His fictional story is told in a book called "My Name Is Bilal," newly
published by Boyds Mills Press. Its author, Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin, is an
Ohio pediatrician and former Westlake resident who wrote it out of
necessity -- first for her own three children, but now for a much wider
audience.
"I had taken some time off from my practice when I had my kids," she
told me, "and I was trying to look for books that would reflect Islamic
themes or Muslim-American characters. . ."
Bilal, the boy in her story, hides his religion and calls himself Bill
to be accepted by classmates. But he struggles with his deception until
a teacher gives him a book about Bilal ibn Rabah -- a beloved figure in
Islamic history who withstood religious persecution to make the first
Islamic call to prayer.
Mobin-Uddin, 38, submitted her manuscript five months before the
terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists on Sept. 11, 2001. Resulting
fears and stereotypes gave more importance and urgency to the book's
message of understanding and tolerance, and only the need to illustrate
it as a children's book delayed publication.
"Kids have different challenges now," Mobin-Uddin said. "We had people just not knowing what Islam was."
She got used to answering questions while attending Marion Catholic
High School, where her parents felt that people who respected God would
respect her and her own faith.
She earned undergraduate and medical-school degrees at Ohio State
University and did her internship and residency in Cleveland, at
Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, while her husband, Cleveland
native John Kashubeck, was getting his training at Mt. Sinai Hospital.
They now live in the Columbus suburb of Dublin.
She has a second children's book in the works, does community work and speaking engagements through her Web site,
www.asmamobinuddin.com, and serves as vice president of the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. (MORE)
ALSO SEE:
MUSLIMS TO EXPLAIN MEANING OF THEIR FAST DURING RAMADAN -
TOP
Cleveland Plain Dealer, 10/7/05
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1128677560307920.xml&coll=2
Local Muslims began fasting from dawn to dusk Wednesday when a new
crescent moon signaled the start of Ramadan, Islam's holiest month.
The faithful are trying to be especially pious this month and to
refrain from food, drink, smoking and sex - all the sensual pleasures -
during daylight.
They are also trying to explain to the wider community who they are and what they believe.
This Saturday, for example, the Muslim Student Association at Case
Western Reserve University will join non-Muslim students for a
Fast-a-thon, a single day of fasting and fund raising for area food
banks.
It's one way to share the Muslim belief that fasting fosters self-restraint and compassion for the hungry, student leaders say.
Many of the interfaith events inspired by Ramadan center on the nightly
iftar, or the breaking of the fast. You're welcome there, and with the
kids:
On Oct. 15, the Cleveland office of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations will hold its second annual Sharing Ramadan Community Dinner
in the student center of the Metro Campus of Cuyahoga Community
College. The program starts at 6:30 p.m. Call 216-830-2247. (MORE)
-----
REPORT BACKS CHARGES THAT N.J. MUSLIMS WERE PROFILED -
TOP
Rick Hepp, Star-Ledger, 10/7/05
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-3/112866313196640.xml&coll=1
A confidential federal review has concluded that the state's
counterterrorism agents filed 140 intelligence reports into a
crime-fighting database with no grounds for suspicion other than the
suspects' Muslim faith.
The report, issued this week, backs State Police contentions that the
computer entries made by New Jersey's Office of Counter-Terrorism
amounted to improper profiling of suspects. Because of this concern,
State Police had barred counterterrorism agents from making entries
into the database and on Monday removed 14 troopers who had been
assigned to that office.
"The submissions, as presented, neither described any specific
terrorist or other criminal activity nor contained the necessary
factual information on which a determination of reasonable suspicion
could have been determined," according to the U.S. Department of
Justice-approved report, a copy of which was obtained by The
Star-Ledger. The report added that the State Police apparently "acted
responsibly in removing the 140 submissions" from their database.
The findings will be used by Attorney General Peter Harvey in a report
he is expected to issue by Oct. 17 on standards for identifying
potential terrorists. Harvey and State Police Superintendent Rick
Fuentes believe the federal review affirms their decision to distance
the State Police from Counter-Terrorism, according to top law
enforcement officials.
The State Police move to reassign the troopers drew an angry response
from acting Gov. Richard Codey, who said he was tired of a "turf
battle" being waged between the state's top terror-fighting units.
Codey on Tuesday issued an executive order removing Harvey's authority
over the day-to-day operations of the Office of Counter-Terrorism.
Nearing the end of a series of federally mandated reforms to rid the
State Police of racial profiling practices, the attorney general and
State Police feared the computer entries could make it appear they
condoned profiling. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MUSLIMS FEEL VINDICATED BY REPORT FINDING PROFILING BY NJ ANTI-TERROR COPS -
TOP
WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press, 10/7/05
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--muslims-profiling1007oct07,0,2242180.story
DATELINE: NEWARK, N.J. - Muslims say a federal report supporting
charges that New Jersey counterterrorism officials were compiling
reports on Muslims solely because of their religion confirms what they
have been claiming for years.
"This shouldn't surprise anyone," said Yaser El-Menshawy, chairman of
the Majlis Ash-Shura of New Jersey, the state's council of mosques.
"Although it's wrong and it's bad law enforcement, Muslims understand
that we have fewer rights than anyone else right now. I'm sure people
in law enforcement realize that and know they can get away with things
with Muslims that they can't with any other group." (MORE)
---
RACIAL PROFILING NO TOOL IN THWARTING TERRORISM -
TOP
Mike German, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/7/05
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/10/07/EDGPFF3EB81.DTL
Ever since Islamic extremists attacked the London mass-transit system
this summer, calls have increasingly gone out for adding racial
profiling to the U.S. arsenal of counterterrorism security measures.
Proponents of racial profiling ridicule the New York Police
Department's decision to conduct random bag searches in the subway as a
politically correct waste of time, because Girl Scouts and grannies get
subjected to searches while "everyone knows" that the terrorists who
are trying to kill us are Muslim men. They suggest targeting Muslim men
for extra scrutiny would be a more productive use of our
counterterrorism resources.
But a quick look at population statistics shows that racial profiling
will likely be just as unproductive as random searches. The tragic
shooting of a Brazilian electrician who was mistaken for an Arab
terrorist by British undercover policemen demonstrates the difficulty
of identifying race by merely looking at someone. But even if police
here in the United States could be trained to properly identify Arab
Americans on sight, only about 1 in 4 would actually turn out to be
Muslim. The vast majority -- 63 percent, according to a 2002 Zogby
poll, are Christian. So much for the clash of civilizations.
If you wanted to stop Muslims here in America you'd have better luck
targeting South Asians (such as Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshi and
Afghans), who make up the largest percentage (33 percent) of the
American Muslim population, according to statistics compiled by the
U.S. Department of State. Southeast Asians make up an additional 1.3
percent. Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer suggested that by
profiling Muslims, we can exempt all East Asians from suspicion, but I
have a feeling most police officers would have as much trouble
distinguishing East Asians from South Asians as they do Arabs from
Brazilians. (MORE)
-----
NEW LAW WILL EXEMPT SPIES FROM PRIVACY ACT -
TOP
SHAUN WATERMAN, United Press International, 10/6/05
An intelligence bill currently before the Senate would authorize a
four-year experiment, during which intelligence and other federal
agencies would be exempted from some Privacy Act provisions and able to
freely share information about Americans -- if it is relevant to a
foreign intelligence, counter-terrorism or anti-proliferation activity.
Privacy and civil liberties advocates immediately condemned the
legislation. "This punches yet another enormous hole through the
Privacy Act," ACLU Legislative Council Tim Sparapani told United Press
International.
Others were more sanguine. Angeline Chen, who teaches national security
law at George Mason University, said she felt the authors of the
provision were "Trying to strike a balance" between privacy and the
need to share information identified by several inquiries into the
failure to interdict the Sept. 11 plot.
The bill, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 was
voted out by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence last week and
is currently pending in the Senate.
The committee report accompanying the bill notes that the "Information
Sharing Working Group," made up of representatives from U.S.
intelligence and law enforcement agencies and from the Departments of
Defense and Homeland Security, had recommended the changes last year.
The report notes that "Certain provisions of the Privacy Act could
prevent the sharing of intelligence information within the executive
branch," adding that under current law, information about a U.S. person
held by one government agency cannot be shared with another agency
without the person's permission.
That restriction is part of a raft of provisions in the 1974 act, which
governs every aspect of the way U.S. agencies gather, store and use
personal data about Americans.
Though there are 12 exceptions to the restriction on data sharing,
including for information used "to support a civil or criminal law
enforcement activity under certain proscribed conditions," the report
says there is no such exemption for intelligence.
Section 307 of the new intelligence bill creates one, exempting all 15
U.S. intelligence agencies -- and the departments and offices that
house them -- from this requirement. Under the provision, intelligence
agencies can also ask for records from non-intelligence agencies -- and
be entitled to get them -- if the information relates to terrorism.
If in doubt about whether information is covered, agency heads can
consult either the attorney general or the director of national
intelligence.
No court order or other judicial instrument is required, but, to get
records from a non-intelligence agency, the director of the agency that
wants the records must put the request in writing. (MORE)
-----
PRESIDENT BUSH'S MAJOR SPEECH: DOING THE 9/11 TIME WARP AGAIN -
TOP
New York Times, 10/7/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/07/opinion/07fri1.html
Yesterday, the same day New Yorkers were warned there was a "specific
threat" of a bombing on their subways, President Bush delivered what
the White House promoted as a major address on terrorism. It seemed, on
the surface, like a perfect topic for the moment. But his talk was not
about the nation's current challenges. He delivered a reprise of his
Sept. 11 rhetoric that suggested an avoidance of today's reality that
seemed downright frightening.
The period right after 9/11, for all its pain, was the high point of
the Bush presidency. Four years ago, we hung on every word when Mr.
Bush denounced Al Qaeda and made the emotional - but, as it turned out,
empty - vow to track down Osama bin Laden. Yesterday, it seemed as if
the president was still trying to live in 2001. It was eerie to hear
him urge Americans to take terrorism seriously. There wasn't any reason
to worry about that even before subway riders were being told about the
threat of a terrorist attack on their commute home.
He seemed to be reading from a very old and familiar script as he
revealed that terrorists recruit "disillusioned young men and women,"
some of whom build weapons based on information available on the
Internet. He shared his conviction that "it is cowardice that seeks to
kill children and the elderly with car bombs." He said his team was
"reforming our intelligence agency" and reorganizing government for "a
broad and coordinated homeland defense." (MORE)
ALSO SEE:
PRESIDENT BUSH'S MAJOR SPEECH: SOUNDING OLD THEMES ON IRAQ -
TOP
New York Times, 10/7/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/07/opinion/07fri2.html
We've lost track of the number of times President Bush has told
Americans to ignore their own eyes and ears and pretend everything is
going just fine in Iraq. Yesterday, when Mr. Bush added a ringing
endorsement of his own policy to his speech on terrorism, it was that
same old formula: the wrong questions, the wrong answers and no new
direction. (MORE)
---
TRANSCRIPT: BUSH DISCUSSES WAR ON TERRORISM -
TOP
Washington Post, 10/6/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/administration/bushtext_100605.html
President Bush, speaking at the National Endowment for Democracy
Thursday, said that the United States and its allies have disrupted 10
al Qaeda plots since Sept. 11, 2001, including three plots to attack
inside the United States. Here is a transcript of Bush's remarks.
-----
END THE ABUSE -
TOP
Washington Post, 10/7/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/06/AR2005100601580.html
THE SENATE has taken a major step toward stopping the most damaging and
shameful American conduct during the war on terrorism. An amendment to
the defense appropriations bill offered by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)
and approved Wednesday night by the resounding vote of 90 to 9 would
end four years of uncertainty about the rules for the military's
treatment of detainees. It would also close the loophole that
administration lawyers improperly opened for the CIA in an anti-torture
treaty the United States ratified a decade ago, by prohibiting "cruel,
inhuman and degrading" treatment for all prisoners held in U.S. custody.
If upheld by the House, Mr. McCain's amendment would curtail, at last,
the policy of abuse adopted by the Bush administration for detainees in
the war on terrorism. It would mandate an end to the hundreds of cases
of torture and inhumane treatment, many of them qualifying as war
crimes, that have been documented by the International Red Cross and
the Army itself at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in Afghanistan and Iraq,
and elsewhere. Improper practices approved by Defense Secretary Donald
H. Rumsfeld for the Guantanamo Bay prison and subsequently exported to
Iraq, such as stripping prisoners naked and threatening them with dogs,
would be out of bounds. Such conduct is not permitted by the U.S. Army
Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation, which conforms with the
Geneva Conventions and which, under the McCain amendment, would set the
standard. Also out of bounds would be the even harsher methods approved
by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and used by the CIA on
detainees it is holding in secret locations abroad, such as simulated
drowning and mock execution. With the endorsement of a long list of
senior retired military officers, including Colin L. Powell, former
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Senate has sent a clear
message that such practices are a dangerous departure from decades of
past practice and an unacceptable violation of American values. (MORE)
ALSO SEE:
NO ROOM FOR TORTURE -
TOP
Boston Globe, 10/7/05
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/10/07/no_room_for_torture/
FOR 18 months, Congress and the world have known that something has
been terribly wrong at Guantanamo and in the detention centers in Iraq
and Afghanistan, where US troops have tortured and killed detainees in
violation of US and international law. Finally, the Senate has acted,
by an impressive 90-9 vote, to end the confusion over the rules of
military interrogation. Instead of threatening to veto the measure, as
his staff has done, President Bush should embrace it as evidence that
the military will correct abuses and hold itself to a high standard.
(MORE)
---
FIGHTING FOR AN IDEAL -
TOP
Los Angeles Times, 10/7/05
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-bush07oct07,0,1128228.story
The McCain amendment - also supported by another military veteran, Sen.
Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) - would recommit the U.S. to adherence to the
Geneva Convention's treatment of detainees. The administration's claims
that "unlawful combatants" are not entitled to Geneva Convention
protections are specious both legally and morally.
The photos from Abu Ghraib and the tales of mistreatment of detainees
at Guantanamo Bay, in Iraq and Afghanistan have badly stained the U.S.
image. The contention of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) that those we
brand terrorists are not entitled to treatment accorded prisoners of
war drags this country down to the lowest level of those we fight.
(MORE)
---
ACTION: ASK CONGRESS TO SEND TORTURE BAN TO PRESIDENT -
TOP
http://capwiz.com/cair/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=8088021
-----
CHAPLAIN CITES ANTI-ISLAM ZEAL -
TOP
Carol Ronseberg, Miami Herald, 10/7/05
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12839676.htm
As a Muslim chaplain, Army Capt. James Yee made sure terrorism suspects
at Guant�namo Bay, Cuba, got pork-free halal meals and rugs for
five-times-a-day prayer and wrote rules for soldiers to treat Islam's
holy book, the Koran, with dignity.
But, while the U.S. captain was held on suspicion of espionage, the
military took away his Koran, refused him a prayer rug at a Navy brig
-- and even for a few days fed him routine military rations featuring
Islam's forbidden bacon and ham.
Nine months after Yee, 37, took an honorable discharge from the
military, the West Point graduate lays out what he sees as painful
ironies in his 240-page memoir, For God and Country: Faith and
Patriotism, which went on sale Thursday.
In the book, Yee describes how he went from educating Guant�namo guards
about the Islamic indignity of strip searches to enduring them himself
-- in a yearlong odyssey of suspicion that, he says, was fueled by
anti-Muslim zeal among fellow troops at the Pentagon's premier prison
in southeast Cuba. (MORE)
ALSO SEE:
JAMES YEE, IN HIS OWN WORDS, FROM HIS NEW BOOK, FOR GOD AND COUNTRY -
TOP
Miami Herald, 10/7/05
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/religion/12837035.htm
James Yee, in his own words, from his new book, For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire:
On his role as Muslim chaplain at Guantanamo:
"My experience had taught me how little cultural understanding of Islam
most military leaders had . . . I saw myself helping bridge that divide
and in the process helping the detention operation be more successful."
'I became concerned that the role of the Muslim chaplain existed solely
so that the camp command could publicly claim to be adhering to the
Geneva Conventions and respecting Islam, not because of a genuine
desire to respect the prisoners' right to practice their faith."
On guard-captive tensions over Islam:
"A guard had dropped a detainee's Qur'an during a cell search, and the
prisoners were beginning to riot. You could always sense a riot
brewing, like a storm in summer, even from far beyond the bounds of
Camp Delta. . . . The noise was deafening and spread from cell to cell
and block to block."
"I had been warned to expect a certain level of animosity, but I never
thought that U.S. soldiers would systematically use Islam as a weapon
against prisoners and that it would be accepted by the command. I was
incredulous."
On distrust of Muslim members of the U.S. military there:
"The troopers who were the most paranoid and hostile toward me were
those who most vigorously believed that all the detainees were al-Qaeda
and many had planned the September 11 attacks."
"I was sure that I was being imprisoned in large part because I had
fought so hard to ensure the detainees at Guantanamo were given the
things they needed to practice their religion, yet here I was being
denied those things myself."
-----
POTLUCK ATTEMPTS TO UNITE JEWS, MUSLIMS -
TOP
John Parks, Columbia Missourian, 10/7/05
http://columbiamissourian.com/news/story.php?ID=16427
More than 50 Muslims and Jews gathered in MU's Gwynn Hall on Thursday
night to break their fasts for the day and share their beliefs with one
another.
The potluck dinner, sponsored by Boone Tikkun, was held on the second
day of Ramadan, a month-long period of fasting and reflection for
Muslims, and on Gedalya, a minor Jewish fast day that follows Rosh
Hashana.
"It is incumbent on all of these faiths to build bridges in the
community," said Abdullahi Ibrahim, who attends the Islamic Center of
Central Missouri.
The point of the evening was to bring together Jews and Muslims in a
social setting where they could learn about and from one another, said
Amy Damashek, a member of Boone Tikkun, which takes its name from a
Hebrew word meaning "to heal, repair or transform the world."
"I think it would be great if there was more trust and solidarity among
Jews and Muslims," Damashek said. "I hate to say we're enemies, and I
would like to see them as allies."
Many of the attendees took time to discuss their beliefs and gain a deeper understanding of one another.
"We come to share some stories of our fasting and some stories of our
faiths," said Emin Kopili, secretary at the Islamic Center of Central
Missouri. "We can learn from each other. It is an enriching
environment."
Many questions were specific to religion, but discussions at the dinner also touched on political issues.
"If Americans speak out, and if Jews and Muslims speak out about what
they think, they could have a large impact on what the U.S. is doing in
the Middle East," Damashek said.
"It is not far-fetched to say small meetings can contribute over there," said Kapili, referring to tensions in the Middle East.
Last year, Boone Tikkun and the Muslim Students Organization sponsored
a discussion about the possibilities for peace in the Middle East,
moderated by one Jewish professor and one Muslim professor. The groups
also cosponsored an event that brought an Israeli woman and a
Palestinian woman to MU, where they spoke about the personal cost of
the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
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URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/8/05
*
Hadith:
Fasting is More Than
Avoiding Food and Drink
*
ISLAM-OPED:
Mideast Tour Leads Hughes Back
to Oval Office
-
CAIR-OH:
Muslims Explain Faith to
Others (Col Disp)
*
LA:
Local Islamic
Centers Aid Hurricane Evacuees (Advocate)
*
FL:
Iraq War Dead Porn Site Leads
to Obscenity Arrest (Orlando Sent)
-
CAIR Calls for Pentagon
Probe
*
Pentagon Seeks U.S.
Informants on Insurgencies (Reuters)
*
Former Marine Claims Platoon
Committed Atrocities in Iraq (AP)
-
Talk Show Host Backs
Torture (Media Matters)
-
Action:
Ask Congress to Send Torture Ban to
President
*
Powerful Quake Rocks
Pakistan, Afghanistan, India
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: FASTING IS MORE THAN
AVOIDING FOOD AND DRINK -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Fasting is not (just
abstaining) from eating and drinking, but also from vain speech and foul
language."
"Perhaps a fasting person will gain nothing from his fast save
hunger, and perhaps the one who stands to pray at night will gain nothing
from his standing except sleeplessness."
Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 3, Number 132A
The Prophet also said: "Actions are judged (by God) according to the
intention behind them, and everyone is (rewarded for) what he
intended."
Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 3, Number 113C
-----
ISLAM-OPED: HUGHES' MIDDLE EAST TOUR LEADS HER
BACK TO OVAL OFFICE -
TOP
PARVEZ AHMED, Chicago Sun-Times, 10/8/05
http://www.suntimes.com/output/otherviews/cst-edt-ref08b.html
Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes has been on a mission to change
Muslim hearts and minds. Since taking up her post in early September, she
met with American Muslim leaders in Chicago before embarking on a
"listening tour" of the Middle East. . .
To her credit, Hughes comes across in meetings as a person genuinely
interested in hearing opposing views. She passionately defends her boss,
President Bush, without being dismissive of opinions that paint the
president's policies in less than sympathetic terms.
But her effectiveness as a goodwill ambassador for the United States will
now depend on her ability to walk into the Oval Office and explain to the
president that public relations efforts are doomed if they are not tied
to policy changes that impact realities on the ground. That was the
message she heard from American Muslim leaders, and from activists and
ordinary Muslims from Riyadh to Ankara. . .
For Hughes to succeed in changing Muslim hearts and minds, she must use
her newfound knowledge to focus attention on the hearts and minds of
those who formulate American policies that impact ordinary Muslims
worldwide. As an Arabic editorial in Al-Khaleej newspaper summarized:
"She has to start her mission from Washington, not from Cairo,
Riyadh or any other Muslim capital."
Parvez Ahmed,
pahmed@cair-net.org, is board
chairman of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation's
largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group.
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-OH: AT RAMADAN, MUSLIMS EXPLAIN
FAITH TO OTHERS -
TOP
Felix Hoover, COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 10/7/05
http://www.dispatch.com/news/religion/faith-story.php?story=dispatch/2005/10/07/20051007-C1-02.html
Local Muslims and future leaders of Ohio's farm and food industries broke
the ice at a Downtown mosque last week before breaking bread together at
a restaurant in Clintonville.
Members of Ohio Leadership Education and Development, an 18-month program
offered by the Ohio State University Extension, visited the Islamic
Center on E. Broad Street as part of their introduction to different
faiths.
"Our intent is to interact and to bring diversity to our
leaders," said Alice Black, program director. "It's important
that they're exposed to different cultures."
Whether initiated by Muslims or others, such interfaith discussions are
on the rise, especially at Ramadan, the holiest month in Islam. Under the
Islamic calendar, which operates on the lunar year, Ramadan falls about
11 days earlier each year in relation to the solar calendar.
This year, the holy month began at sundown on Tuesday, ushering in a
period of abstinence from food, water and pleasures from dawn to sunset.
In the evening, Muslims break the fast and engage in special prayers in
addition to the normal ones.
When the leadership program's 29-person caravan arrived, worshippers at
the mosques had just finished the Asr prayer, the third of five daily
prayers that are mandatory for Muslims.
The visitors went to one of the classrooms for an overview of Islam by
Abdonasser Abdouni, acting vice president of the Islamic Foundation of
Central Ohio.
The leadership group, most of whose members are Christians, had visited
Congregation Tifereth Israel, just a few buildings west of the Islamic
Center, and had been briefed on Judaism before heading to the
mosque.
"It was very interesting to discover there were more similarities to
the three religions than I realized," said Carol Haramis, a member
of the leadership group from Peninsula, about 130 miles northeast of
Columbus in Summit County.
Jennifer Nimer, civil-rights director for the Ohio chapter of the Council
on American-Islamic Relations, and Dalia Mohammad, office manager, helped
Abdouni field questions, as did Amna El-Tayeb, a Muslim in the leadership
program. . .
CAIR-Ohio's annual community iftar, which will be held at the Ohio Union
on N. High Street, has experienced geometric growth in its six
years.
"We started with 20; now we're expecting 500-600," said Ahmad
Al-Akhras, president of the council.
The idea is to establish more intimate ties and to counter messages that
stereotype Muslims as terrorists, he said.
"Our biggest enemy is ignorance," Al-Akhras said. "We need
the larger community to feel they have Muslim brothers and sisters living
among them."
Personal relationships enable intercultural education and help promote
the notion that the face of America is not just Judeo-Christian, but
Judeo-Christian-Islamic, he said. . .
Locally, CAIR is encouraging non-Muslims to take advantage of the Explore
the Quran campaign, which permits those outside the faith to receive a
free copy of Islam's holy text. Requests can be made via
www.cair-net.org/explorethequran/
"Learn for yourself; we are not pushing anything on you,"
Al-Akhras said.
-----
LOCAL ISLAMIC
CENTERS AID HURRICANE EVACUEES -
TOP
CHUCK HUSTMYRE, Advocate, 10/8/05
http://2theadvocate.com/stories/100805/rel_rel003.shtml
After riding out the brutal winds of Hurricane Katrina at her home in New
Orleans, Rita Jenkins thought she and her family had weathered the worst
the storm had to offer.
Then came the flood.
"That water just shot in and filled the streets," Jenkins
recalled. "It was time for us to go."
Jenkins and 17 members of her family piled into three cars and headed for
higher ground. They intended to go to a little town -- Jenkins said she
can't remember which one -- just past Lafayette, but they took the wrong
exit off the interstate and ended up in Baton Rouge at the Islamic
Complex on East Washington Street. There they sought directions, but
found refuge instead.
Like their Christian and Jewish counterparts throughout Baton Rouge and
the surrounding area, the Islamic Complex and the nearby Islamic Center
of Baton Rouge mobilized to help those forced to flee the New Orleans
area. Soon the effort drew outside support, becoming an example of
interfaith cooperation.
Jenkins and her family were among nearly 100 New Orleans evacuees the
Islamic Complex took in after Hurricane Katrina.
According to Mahmoud Jehad, an imam at the Islamic Center of Baton Rouge
on West Chimes Street, the first night after the hurricane struck, 150
evacuees crowded into the center seeking shelter. Within a few days, that
number had risen to more than 500, he said.
Many of those who found help at the Islamic Center and at the Islamic
Complex were not Muslim.
Jehad said the faith of the evacuees was not important, only that they
were in need. "It's a major tenet of Islam, kindness to fellow
humans," he said. "We seek to help everybody."
Imam Fahmee Sabree, of the Islamic Complex on East Washington Street,
said the vast majority of people who sought refuge at the complex were
Christian. (MORE)
-----
WAR-DEAD WEB SITE LEADS TO POLK OBSCENITY
ARREST -
TOP
Anthony Colarossi, Orlando Sentinel, 10/8/05
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/technology/orl-obscene08_105oct08,0,4482964.story
Polk County officials arrested a Lakeland man on obscenity charges Friday
after investigating his graphic Web site, which has gained international
attention for allowing U.S. soldiers to post pictures of war dead on the
Internet.
The charges against Christopher Michael Wilson, a former police officer,
are likely to reignite the debate about obscene material in the Internet
age. It also raises questions about whether the federal government played
a part in motivating the prosecution.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said late Friday that the 300
obscenity-related charges against Wilson all involve sexual content on
his Web site -- and not graphic war-scene images posted by
soldiers.
"It is the most horrific, vile, perverted sexual conduct," Judd
said. "It is as vile, as perverted, as non-normal sexual conduct,
which rises to the level of obscenity, as we've ever
investigated."
Late last week, U.S. Army officials said they could not confirm whether
photographs on Wilson's Web site, presumably showing Iraqi and Afghan war
dead, were actually posted by U.S. soldiers.
An Islamic civil-rights group was disappointed that the Army did not
pursue criminal charges. Last week, Ibrahim Hooper, a Council on
American-Islamic Relations spokesman, said: "For this to be treated
in a manner that suggests the Army does not take this seriously is only
going to further harm our nation's image and interests around the world,
particularly in the Muslim world."
Wilson, 27, was letting soldiers access normally paid portions of his
site in exchange for graphic war-scene shots or proof that they were
fighting in the Middle East, for instance. Late Friday, Wilson's site,
which the Orlando Sentinel will not name, still had grisly images of war
dead.
Judd said none of the 20 films and 80 photos that brought about the
charges involves pictures of war dead. But Judd confirmed that his
detectives did speak with officials with the U.S. Army Criminal
Investigation Division before arresting Wilson on Friday. (MORE)
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org
SEE ALSO:
CAIR CALLS FOR PENTAGON
PROBE, SAYS PRACTICE MAY VIOLATE INTERNATIONAL LAW -
TOP
http://cair.com/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1792&theType=NR
-----
PENTAGON SEEKS U.S.
INFORMANTS ON INSURGENCIES -
TOP
David Morgan, Reuters, 10/7/05
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N07276617.htm
WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Pentagon officials said on Friday they
could fight insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan more effectively if
Congress would allow intelligence operatives to hide their identities
from potential informants in the U.S. Muslim population.
Civil liberties advocates say the Pentagon is simply using troubles
abroad to reacquire domestic espionage powers that Congress revoked in
the wake of Vietnam-era abuses.
They warn that any change in the law would erode privacy protections,
especially for Muslim American citizens and resident aliens with personal
ties to countries at the forefront of the U.S. war on terrorism.
Four years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Defense Department is
seeking congressional approval for a change in a 1974 privacy law that
would allow its intelligence operatives to approach citizens and resident
aliens inside the United States without revealing their government
credentials.
The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has backed the Pentagon's
request in its fiscal 2006 intelligence spending authorization bill,
which could be taken up by the full Senate later this month. . .
The proposed change drew a cool reception from an organization that
represents an estimated 7 million American Muslims.
"This has a back-alley, dead-of-night feel to it that I don't think
would be received well by the Muslim community," said Ibrahim
Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American Islamic Relations.
Lisa Graves of the American Civil Liberties Union scoffed at a defense
official's assertion that the proposed change would not allow for carte
blanche Pentagon spying inside the United States.
"That's some spin," Graves said. "The change would allow
them to gather information on Americans surreptitiously. If it walks like
a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck."
-----
FORMER MARINE IN IRAQ CLAIMS IN BOOK
THAT HE AND HIS PLATOON COMMITTED ATROCITIES -
TOP
JOELLE DIDERICH, Associated Press, 10/7/05
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051007/ap_on_re_eu/france_iraq
PARIS (AP) - A former U.S. Marine in Iraq alleges that his battalion
committed atrocities against Iraqi civilians during the U.S.-led invasion
in 2003, including shooting unarmed protesters.
Jimmy Massey, a staff sergeant who was in the Marines for 12 years and
served three months in Iraq before being honorably discharged with
post-traumatic stress syndrome, details the allegations in his book
``Kill! Kill! Kill!'', written with the French journalist Natasha
Saulnier and published in France.
A Pentagon spokeswoman said Massey's complaints had already been
investigated and found to be unsubstantiated.
Massey said he was in charge of a platoon in the 3rd Batallion of
Regimental Combat Team 7, responsible for setting up checkpoints and
providing armed cover against terrorists and insurgents.
He alleges that over a period of a month and a half in 2003, his platoon
killed more than 30 civilians in Iraq. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
BECK TO PURPORTED TORTURER:
"I APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICE" -
TOP
http://mediamatters.org/items/200510070011
After devoting a portion of the October 6 broadcast of his nationally
syndicated radio show to discussing pending legislation that would
prohibit "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment"
of detainees held by the U.S. government, Glenn Beck interviewed a caller
who claimed to have worked as an "intelligence officer" and to
have "extracted intelligence" from U.S.-held prisoners by
torturing them. The caller said his preferred methods of torture included
burning the retinas of prisoners' eyes with high-powered halogen lamps
and blowing out prisoners' eardrums with high-pressure water and air. He
also claimed to have known "a contractor that did drilling on live
teeth." After hearing the caller describe these torture techniques,
Beck responded, "I've got to tell you, I appreciate your
service." During the interview, Beck asked the caller if he ever had
trouble sleeping at night. When the caller answered, "No," Beck
responded, "Good for you." He later added, "[W]hen all is
said and done, I'm glad people like you are on our side."
The caller identified himself only as "Mitch," a name he later
admitted was false. (MORE)
---
ACTION: ASK CONGRESS TO SEND TORTURE BAN TO
PRESIDENT -
TOP
http://capwiz.com/cair/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=8088021
-----
POWERFUL QUAKE ROCKS
PAKISTAN, AFGHANISTAN, INDIA -
TOP
CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press, 10/8/05
DATELINE: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake
reduced villages to rubble in Pakistan and India on Saturday, killing
hundreds of people. Pakistan's army described the damage as widespread
and said it included villages buried in quake-induced
landslides.
Pakistan's Geo television quoted Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan, the Pakistani
army's chief spokesman, as saying 1,000 people were feared dead.
Pakistani army officials who flew over quake-hit areas reported seeing
hundreds of flattened homes in villages north of the capital
Islamabad.
"The damage and casualties could be massive and it is a national
tragedy," Sultan told The Associated Press. "The is the worst
earthquake in recent times."
The U.S. Geological Survey said on its Web site the quake hit at 8:50
a.m. local time and had a magnitude of 7.6. It was centered about 60
miles northeast of Islamabad in the forested mountains of Pakistani
Kashmir.
Damage was extensive in Kashmir, the disputed Himalayan territory divided
between India and Pakistan. Officials in the Indian-controlled portion
reported 157 killed, including 14 soldiers who perished in a landslide.
At least 600 were injured.
Air force and army soldiers helped civilian authorities rescue people
trapped under buildings. Telephone lines were down. Bridges had developed
cracks, but traffic was passing over them.
At least 100 people died in Mansehra district in Pakistan's North West
Frontier Province, and 70 percent of mud-brick homes in quake-hit areas
collapsed, said Asif Iqbal, the provincial information minister. Casualty
tolls from other districts were being compiled.
In eastern Afghanistan, an 11-year-old girl was crushed to death when a
wall in her home collapsed, said police official Gafar Khan.
The quake brought down a 10-story apartment building in Islamabad and
dozens of people were feared trapped in the rubble. Rescuers pulled out
at least 20 injured people. Some residents were Westerners, a building
employee said. (MORE)
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
CAIR ACTION ALERT #473
U.S. MUSLIMS URGED TO HELP, PRAY FOR S. ASIA QUAKE
VICTIMS
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/9/05) - CAIR today called on American Muslims
and other people of conscience to help the victims of yesterday's massive
earthquake in South Asia.
The Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group asked those
wishing to offer earthquake relief to visit the web site of a Muslim task
force set up to help alleviate the suffering caused by Hurricane
Katrina.
Relief organizations associated with the
Muslim Hurricane Relief Task
Force (
www.mhrtf.net ) are
offering aid to areas of Pakistan, Afghanistan and India devastated by
the 7.6-magnitude earthquake that left at least 30,000 people
dead.
The Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America (APPNA) has also
established the "
APPNA Earthquake Relief Fund 2005."
Checks may be sent to: APPNA Earthquake Relief Fund 2005, 6414 S.
Cass Avenue, Westmont, IL, 60559 TEL: 630-968-8585, E-Mail:
appna@appna.org (APPNA is seeking
physician volunteers to help in the earthquake areas.)
CAIR urged Americans of all faiths to pray for those killed, injured or
left homeless by the earthquake.
"Just as Americans came together to help the victims of recent Gulf
Coast hurricanes, we must do whatever we can to help those suffering from
natural disasters in other parts of the world," said CAIR
Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.
ACTION REQUESTED:
1. Go to
www.mhrtf.net or
www.appna.org to find Muslim relief
groups offering aid to quake victims.
2. Contribute in any way you can. Monetary contributions are best, but
you can also donate supplies or volunteer your time.
3. Pray for the victims.
- PLEASE POST, COPY AND DISTRIBUTE -
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/9/05
*
Hadith:
God Rewards Service to
Others
*
AZ:
Muslim Assaulted by Teens Shouting
Religious Slur
*
UT:
'Explore the Quran'
Offers
Muslim Holy Book -
Free
*
Chaplain Yee's Test of
Faith (Washington Post)
*
AL:
Muslim
Athletes Adapt During Ramadan Fast
*
Muslims are Right at Home
in the U.S. (SF Chronicle)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: GOD REWARDS SERVICE TO
OTHERS -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "A man felt very
thirsty while he was traveling. He came across a well, went down into the
well, quenched his thirst and came out. He then saw a dog panting and
licking mud because of excessive thirst. He said to himself, 'This dog is
suffering from thirst just as I did.' So, he went down the well again,
filled his shoe with water and (gave it to the dog). God thanked him for
that (good) deed and forgave him (his sins)." The people then asked
the Prophet: "Is there a reward for us in serving animals?" He
replied: "Yes, there is a reward for serving any (living
beings)."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Hadith 646
-----
PHOENIX MUSLIM ASSAULTED BY TEENS
SHOUTING RELIGIOUS SLUR -
TOP
Islamic civil rights group seeks FBI hate crime
investigation
(PHOENIX, AZ, 10/9/05) - The Arizona office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-AZ) today called on local and national
law enforcement authorities to investigate a possible bias motive for an
attack on a Phoenix Muslim by teenagers who allegedly shouted a religious
slur.
(
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: The victim will be available to media outlets
at CAIR-AZ's Phoenix office later today.
CONTACT CAIR-AZ
Communications Director Nure Elatari, 602-312-2223, or CAIR-AZ Civil
Rights Director Salam Safi, 480-600-0008, for more information.)
CAIR-AZ says the attack on an elderly Muslim of Somali heritage wearing
Islamic attire took place late Thursday after he left Ramadan
"taraweeh" prayers that are held each night during the
month-long fast.
According to the victim, the attackers shouted "f**king Muslim"
just prior to the assault. They were later apprehended and reportedly
given citations for misdemeanor assault. The victim was taken to a nearby
hospital for treatment of a broken arm.
"Given the circumstances of the attack, a possible bias motive
should be considered and investigated thoroughly," said CAIR-AZ
Communications Director Nure Elatari. "People of all faiths should
feel secure when visiting a house of worship." She urged the FBI to
add its resources to those of local authorities investigating the
incident.
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and
chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
CONTACT: CAIR-AZ Communications Director Nure Elatari,
602-312-2223; CAIR-AZ Civil Rights Director Salam Safi, 480-600-0008;
Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah
Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
'EXPLORE THE QURAN' OFFERS MUSLIM HOLY
BOOK - FREE -
TOP
Deseret Morning News, 10/9/05
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,615156203,00.html
As the most sacred holiday in the Islamic calendar, the holy month of
Ramadan is marked by fasting during daylight hours and special evening
prayers in the mosque. Reading the Quran during Ramadan, which began
Tuesday night with the appearance of the new crescent moon, is an
essential part of the observance.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, one of the largest Muslim
advocacy organizations in the United States, is sponsoring a campaign
called "Explore the Quran." The goal is to give the general
non-Muslim public a greater familiarity with Islam's holy book by
offering it free. The council has received more than 20,000 requests for
free Quran since the campaign began in mid-July.
"Explore the Quran" is CAIR's attempt to counter what the
organization regards as continuing negative publicity surrounding the
Quran, including the alleged desecration of the holy book at Guantanamo
Bay and Abu Ghraib prisons. Those who request a Quran receive a thick
hardcover book with English translation next to the Arabic on each
page.
"We felt the best way to respond was to give Americans the
opportunity to read the Quran for themselves," said Rabiah Ahmed, a
spokeswoman for CAIR. "The response has been overwhelmingly positive
and very heartwarming. . ."
To obtain a copy of the Quran, call the Council of American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR), request online at
www.cair-net.org/explorethequran/ or call (800) 784-7526.
(MORE)
-----
A CHAPLAIN'S TEST OF FAITH -
TOP
As the Army's Case Against Muslim James Yee Collapsed, His Own World Was
Crumbling, Too
Ray Rivera, Washington Post, 10/9/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/08/AR2005100801314_pf.html
His wife held the gun in one hand and two bullets in the other.
With the release of the book last week, the former Muslim Army chaplain
and West Point graduate breaks his long silence on the government's case
against him and how it drove his family to within a trigger's pull of
tragedy.
Yee was arrested Sept. 10, 2003, on allegations of spying and aiding the
enemy while assigned to minister to Muslim detainees at Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba. The news made international headlines, and soon word spread that he
was the leader of a terrorist spy ring.
The military eventually dropped all charges. . .
An Unfriendly Atmosphere
On his arrival at Guantanamo, the outgoing Muslim chaplain left him with
a warning: "This is not a friendly environment for Muslims, and I
don't just mean for the prisoners."
Yee says he soon came to believe that Islam was used as a weapon against
the detainees who practiced it. Guards, he writes, would frequently
gather around the cell blocks and mock the prisoners during daily
worship. Korans were often ripped and the bindings broken during cell
searches.
As detainees confided in him, he heard more stories of insults to his
religion taking place in the interrogation rooms. One detainee complained
that some of the prisoners were forced to sit in the center of a Satanic
circle drawn on the floor, outlined by lit candles. They were ordered to
bow down as interrogators shouted, "Satan is your God, not Allah!
Repeat after me!"
Yee said he initially found the complaints hard to believe. "But
many detainees corroborated these stories, and translators" with the
intelligence section "often confirmed them." (MORE)
-----
MUSLIM
ATHLETES ADAPT TO ON-FIELD CHRISTIAN CULTURE -
TOP
MIKE PERRIN, Birmingham News, 10/9/05
http://www.al.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/sports/1128849862213560.xml&coll=2
Haneef Haqq has clearly fit in with his Jacksonville State University
football teammates, despite the differences between his Islamic faith and
the Christian customs practiced on the team.
The players elected the linebacker from Huntsville as team captain this
season.
Haqq (pronounced hock) is acutely aware that as a Muslim, he is in the
minority in Alabama and on the football team.
"My beliefs are Islamic, but I haven't had any problems fitting in
or being comfortable in my surroundings," he said. "It's been
pretty easy.
"There's always curiosity. I help them understand what it is we
believe, what it is we do. The religion is so misunderstood because of
some extreme issues in some other countries."
Religious differences sometimes do pose issues for Muslim
athletes.
Haqq is coping with the physical rigors of football during the holy month
of Ramadan, when Muslims fast during daylight hours for the entire month,
which began this year on Wednesday.
"I've had games when I was fasting where I felt like I was just
dead," Haqq said. "Then, I've had some games where I felt my
body was an efficient machine, burning what it needed.
"I may lose a few pounds, but all together I don't think it affects
my performance too much."
Haqq said his coaches are sensitive to his ritual. "They are very
supportive of me and what I believe in," he said. "They
accommodate me in any way they can."
Haqq's brother Hamid played football for the University of Alabama and
lived with another Muslim player, Saleem Rasheed, who now plays in the
NFL. "Their coaches used to bring them food just before the sun came
up and they ate then," Haneef Haqq said. "It's something a lot
of Muslim athletes face. It's not too difficult to do."
(MORE)
-----
ARABS, MUSLIMS ARE RIGHT
AT HOME IN THE U.S. -
TOP
Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/9/05
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/09/ING5FF355J1.DTL
As undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, Karen Hughes is trying
her best to convince the Muslim world that the United States is
misperceived. The other day, she addressed Egyptian students at American
University in Cairo. Hughes, who helped get George W. Bush elected to the
presidency, told the collegians that "the heart of the American
dream" is "You can work hard, you can get an education, and you
have an opportunity to improve yourselves."
But her generalities bypassed the best argument: that the United States
is home to an increasingly significant -- and politically powerful --
Arab and Muslim community.
An estimated 6 million Muslims and 3.5 million Arabs live in the United
States. (There is overlap between these two groups -- not all Arabs are
Muslims, and fewer than 20 percent of Muslims are Arab). The numbers
suggest a rich American story:
Arabs and Muslims are an integral part of the United States, having
immigrated here since its founding. Christopher Columbus stepped off the
Santa Maria with an Arabic-speaking interpreter, Luis de Torres.
Generations have been born and raised in the United States, and, like
Jews and Italians and Irish, have adopted American values: hard work,
freedom of speech, freedom of religion. Arabs and Muslims believe in
democracy, and millions of them would die to defend it. (MORE)
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/10/05
*
Hadith:
When Afflicted
with Calamity
*
CAIR-AZ:
Elderly Man Assaulted Outside Mosque (KPHO-TV)
*
CAIR-FL:
Disasters Give Ramadan Charity a Focus (Times-Union)
*
U.S. Mosques Call for South Asian Quake Aid (AP)
-
HOW TO HELP
-
MD: Muslim Charities Answer Call After Quake (Balt Sun)
-
US Mosques Offer Prayers, Help for Quake Victims (VOA)
-
U.S. Muslims Donate Aid for Asian Quake (AP)
-
NY: Islamic Center Makes Appeal for Quake Victims
-
NY:
Rochester Pakistanis Frantic for Families
-
Pakistani-Americans Make Quake Relief Effort (Daily Times)
-
CA: Muslims, Pakistanis Move to Aid Victims (Daily News)
-
CA: Inland Muslims, Hindus Help Out (Press Enterprise)
-
MI: Pakistani Americans in Detroit Help Quake Victims (AP)
-
NY: Pakistani Immigrants Mobilize to Assist Victims (NYT)
-
NY: Relatives Struggle with Loss (Newsday)
*
CA: Mosque Renovations Finished in Time for Ramadan
-
AK:
Alaska Muslims Mark Ramadan (KTUU)
-
CA: Muslim Students Hold 'Fast-a-Thon'
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: WHEN AFFLICTED WITH CALAMITY -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Those who say, when
afflicted with calamity, 'To God we belong and to Him we return,' (will
receive) blessings and mercy from God, and they are the ones who
receive guidance."
Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 4, Number 19
The Prophet also said: "When death overtakes the people (in a disaster) and you are one among them, show steadfastness."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 14
-----
CAIR-AZ: ELDERLY MAN ASSAULTED OUTSIDE A MOSQUE -
TOP
KPHO-TV, 10/9/05
http://www.kpho.com/Global/story.asp?S=3957310
(CBS 5 News)--An elderly man was assaulted by a group of teenagers
after leaving a mosque. The council on American Islamic relations is
calling on authorities to investigate the attack as a hate crime.
This is the holy month of Ramadan and some are afraid to attend the
mosque. It was in the parking lot near 32nd and McDowell where an
elderly man was attacked and berated by religious slurs.
The victim had his arm broken, threw a translator he tells us he was
leaving the mosque after prayer. He was wearing traditional Muslim
clothing when he was attacked by four teenagers.
The council on American Islamic relations says the teens were cited for
misdemeanor assault. They're calling for this to be investigated as a
hate crime.
They went on to say it was not just a bunch of teenagers who decided to
take some aggression out. It was targeted to a specific person of a
specific religion.
CBS 5 News is told the teens also threw beer bottles at others near the mosque.
CONTACT CAIR-AZ Communications Director Nure Elatari, 602-312-2223, or CAIR-AZ Civil Rights Director Salam Safi, 480-600-0008
-----
CAIR-FL: DISASTERS GIVE RAMADAN CHARITY A FOCUS -
TOP
JEFF BRUMLEY, The Times-Union, 10/10/05
http://
www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/101005/met_19989462.shtml
Parvez Ahmed, a Jacksonville resident and chairman of the
Washington-based Council on American Islamic Relations. . .said such
outpourings of sympathy and charity fit well with the purpose of
Ramadan, which is to remind Muslims to obey God and help their
neighbors.
"The prophet Muhammad said you serve God by serving his creation, and
there is no better time to serve creation than when people are in great
need," Ahmed said. (MORE)
-----
MOSQUES CALL FOR AID FOR VICTIMS OF SOUTH ASIAN QUAKE -
TOP
ALEX VEIGA, Associated Press, 10/9/05
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/12861019.htm
LOS ANGELES - Worshippers who gathered for daily Ramadan services at
mosques around the United States were urged to lend prayer and donate
money to victims of the devastating earthquake that struck South Asia.
One aid group, Burbank, California-based Islamic Relief USA, managed to
raise about $130,000 ([euro]107,000) from mosques around the country
since the magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck early Saturday, said Mohamed
Abulmagd, general manager of the group's U.S. office.
"We are asking for about $2 million from communities here in the United
States," Abulmagd said. "It's Ramadan and people go to the mosque every
night for prayer, so a lot of mosques are calling the community to
respond and these (donations) are sent directly to us."
The group has issued a worldwide appeal to the Islamic community to
raise $10 million ([euro] 8.23 million) for victims of the temblor,
which rocked parts of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. So far,
authorities say more than 20,000 people were killed.
Many Pakistanis in the United States have had trouble reaching anyone
in the rural areas of Pakistan where most of the damage appears to have
occurred and can only wait for word about loved ones, Abulmagd said.
"We don't know anyone who has a confirmed loss," Abulmagd said,
referring to his Southern California-based staff. "But we're sure there
will be because this toll is very high."
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations on Sunday also urged people to help relief groups.
"Just as Americans came together to help the victims of recent Gulf
Coast hurricanes, we must do whatever we can to help those suffering
from natural disasters in other parts of the world," Ibrahim Hooper,
the group's spokesman, said in a statement. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
HOW TO HELP -
TOP
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=293&theType=AA
Relief organizations associated with the Muslim Hurricane Relief Task Force (
www.mhrtf.net)
are offering aid to areas of Pakistan, Afghanistan and India devastated
by the 7.6-magnitude earthquake that left at least 30,000 people dead.
The Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America (APPNA) has
also established the "APPNA Earthquake Relief Fund 2005." Checks may be
sent to: APPNA Earthquake Relief Fund 2005, 6414 S. Cass Avenue,
Westmont, IL, 60559 TEL: 630-968-8585, E-Mail:
appna@appna.org (APPNA is seeking physician volunteers to help in the earthquake areas.)
---
CHARITIES ANSWER CALL AFTER QUAKE IN PAKISTAN -
TOP
GREG BARRETT, Baltimore Sun, 10/10/05
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.md.charity10oct10,1,6026126.story
Faiz Rehman was writing at his computer at 3 a.m. Saturday when a
message popped up. Pakistan had been devastated by a magnitude-7.6
earthquake, the worst on record ever to hit his home nation.
By daybreak, Islamic and Pakistani-American organizations in the
Maryland region were planning a conference call to discuss relief
efforts. By yesterday afternoon, the groups - including several from
the Baltimore area - had raised $118,000.
Rehman, president of the National Council of Pakistani Americans, said he thought they would have raised more.
"But we had only known about the earthquake for a few hours," said
Rehman, of Washington. "I am positive that within the next few days we
will come up with more money, much more."
The earthquake in northern Pakistan is believed to have killed 20,000 to 30,000 people.
Participating in the conference call and fundraising were Baltimore's
new Islamic Community Center, the Islamic Society of Baltimore, the
Maryland Muslim Council, and the Baltimore County Muslim Council, along
with national groups such as the Chicago-based Association of Pakistani
Physicians of North America.
Donations came in pledges as small as $10 and as large $10,000, said
Dr. Abdul Rashid Piracha, president-elect of the physicians
association. The fund will be managed by the group, which plans to send
doctors to devastated areas and to buy food, medicine and blankets.
(MORE)
---
US MOSQUES, CHURCHES OFFER PRAYERS, HELP FOR QUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
Mike O'Sullivan, Voice of America, 10/10/05
http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-10-10-voa2.cfm
Indian and Pakistani communities around the United States have joined
the relief effort for victims of the massive earthquake north of
Islamabad. Islamic and Christian organizations are offering prayers and
collecting funds for the victims.
In the Los Angeles suburb of Artesia, known as Little India, people
with relatives in the stricken region are closely monitoring news
reports on television.
In South Los Angeles, worshippers attending daily services for Ramadan,
a time of prayer and fasting, also turned their thoughts to the
earthquake victims.
Many with relatives in the region have been unable to contact them. But
immigrant Javed Iqbal reached his father in Pakistan, and was relieved
to learn he is safe.
"He's about 76-years-old, and he said he has never seen something like this before," Mr. Iqbal says.
The Los Angeles-based organization, Islamic Relief, has launched a $10
million appeal for emergency assistance, and allocated $ 4 million for
immediate relief work. Spokeswoman Clareen Menzes says the organization
has centers operating in the stricken region.
"And they house about 100 full-time employees. So, we were already
there, and we're on the scene doing a needs assessment," MS. Menzes
says.
Spokesmen say Islamic Relief's healthcare center in the Neelum Valley
in Kashmir has treated more than two-thousand victims of the earthquake.
The Washington-based Council on American Islamic Relations urged American Muslims Sunday to contribute to the relief effort.
---
U.S. MUSLIMS DONATE AID FOR ASIAN QUAKE -
TOP
REBECCA SANTANA, Associated Press, 10/10/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/10/AR2005101000162.html
TRENTON, N.J. -- Kosar Kazmi planned to journey to Pakistan after
getting devastating news from a brother _ many of their relatives had
been killed in the earthquake.
Kazmi said his mother, a brother, the brother's wife and two kids, and
an aunt and her two sons all were killed when the tremor hit.
"I'm trying to help my family that's still there," said Kazmi, 32, of
New Milford, who was to fly on Sunday. "Most of them are injured.
They're on the ground outside."
As relatives in the United States mourned victims of the deadly South
Asian earthquake, worshippers on Sunday prayed and donated tens of
thousands of dollars for relief efforts.
Aid group Islamic Relief USA raised about $130,000 from those attending
Ramadan services after the earthquake struck Saturday. The
7.6-magnitude quake near the Pakistan-India border killed at least
20,000 people and the death toll was expected to rise.
"Ramadan is the month of mercy and encourages Muslims to give to the
poor," said Mohamed Abulmagd, general manager of the group's U.S.
office in Burbank. "Now, with this crisis, I expect they will give more
for this cause."
The group put out a call to the Muslim community for $10 million
worldwide, he said. It hopes to raise about $2 million from communities
in the United States. Earthquake victims need tents, blankets and
medical supplies, Abulmagd said. (MORE)
---
ISLAMIC CENTER MAKES APPEAL FOR EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS -
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WROC-TV, 10/9/05
http://www.wroctv.com/news/story.asp?id=20305&r=l
Local Muslims are praying for the victims of the South Asia earthquake. The death toll could surpass 20,000.
A Rochester man with family in Kasmire, the hardest hit area, talked
about the disaster at the Islamic Center Sunday night, where members
gathered for Ramadan evening prayers. Sareer Fazili was able to locate
relatives, but he says living conditions are deplorable.
"Some towns only have mosques and schools standing. Homes have been
destroyed. So people have been living in the elements," Fazili said,
adding that the weather is fall-like in the region. (MORE)
---
PAKISTANIS HERE FRANTIC FOR FAMILIES -
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Fernando Diaz, Democrat and Chronicle, 10/10/05
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051010/NEWS01/510100325/1002/NEWS
(October 10, 2005) - Leaders of the Islamic Center of Rochester and the
Pakistani community were reeling Sunday, a day after an earthquake in
Pakistan claimed more than 20,000 lives.
Salahuddin Malik, chairman of the council of trustees at the Islamic
Center, first witnessed the devastation on satellite television after
beginning his fast for Ramadan at 5 a.m. Saturday.
He saw a 10-story building in Islamabad fall to the ground. "It was absolutely gone," he said.
The next thing the Kashmir native did was call his brother, who lives there, to find out that he was safe and unharmed.
Aided by satellite television and limited telephone contact with
relatives near the area, many local Pakistanis have been trying to
reach family members in the Northwest Frontier Province, where the
quake was centered.
One local family that Malik spoke with lost three relatives.
"It has been a terrible experience," said Muhammad Shafiq, director of
the Islamic Center, who added that he's afraid the death toll will
continue to climb.
The largest segment of the local Islamic community is from Pakistan,
and "I think they are facing trouble to see exactly what happened in
the small villages; most of the homes are made of mud and straw,"
Shafiq said. (MORE)
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PAKISTANI-AMERICANS MAKING AN EFFORT AT QUAKE RELIEF -
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Daily Times, 10/10/05
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_10-10-2005_pg7_36
WASHINGTON: The Pakistani-American community is mounting a spirited
effort to raise funds to help the government back home in dealing with
the unprecedented human emergency created by the massive earthquake,
which devastated Kashmir and parts of Pakistan.
Several organisations, including the Association of Pakistani
Physicians of North America (APPNA) and the Association of Pakistani
Professionals (AOPP), are making efforts to raise funds. The Pakistan
embassy, the Pakistani consulate and the UN mission in New York have
set up special emergency help lines and are appealing to the community
to make generous donations. Arrangements have been put in place to
grant immediate visas to journalists and others who wish to proceed to
Pakistan to inspect the devastation caused by the earthquake, measured
at 7.6 on the Richter Scale.
The Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called on
American Muslims and other "people of conscience" to help the victims
of the tragedy in South Asia. The Muslim Hurricane Relief Task Force is
offering aid to areas of Pakistan, Afghanistan and India devastated by
the earthquake, which left at least 30,000 people dead. "Just as
Americans came together to help the victims of the recent Gulf Coast
hurricanes, we must do whatever we can to help those suffering from
natural disasters in other parts of the world," said CAIR
Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. (MORE)
-----
LOCAL MUSLIMS, PAKISTANIS MOVE FAST TO AID VICTIMS -
TOP
Alex Dobuzinskis, Daily News, 10/10/05
http://www2.dailynews.com/news/ci_3101988
Shocked by the devastation of a massive earthquake along the
Pakistan-India border, Pakistani-Americans and other Southern
California Muslims fasting for Ramadan moved quickly Sunday to raise
more than $350,000 for the stricken region.
In the Burbank offices of Islamic Relief USA, workers gave up their
weekend to come into the office and take donations. By Sunday afternoon
the group had collected more than $350,000 over the Internet and from
mosques.
"We are very sad for the people," said Mohamed Abul-Magd, general
manager of the charity. "We pray for the people who are dead and the
victims there, but at the same time we work hard to help them as much
as we can." (MORE)
---
INLAND MUSLIMS, HINDUS HELP OUT -
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BETTYE WELLS MILLER, Press-Enteprise, 10/10/05
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_iequake10.8ef52e7.html
Hours after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake wiped out villages along the
India-Pakistan border, Inland Muslims, Hindus and others with family in
the region began raising thousands of dollars to help survivors of
Saturday's quake.
Muslims gathered for Ramadan prayers at the Islamic Center of Riverside
on Saturday donated about $20,000 for relief after learning that one
member lost five members of his family in the quake, said Mustafa Kuko,
director of the center.
Kuko said the center will continue to raise money through the end of
Ramadan, the holiest month of Islam. He said the center has not decided
whether to forward the money to Islamic Relief, an international
organization with an office in Burbank, or to relief agencies in
Pakistan.
The Pakistan Society of Southern California, based in Redlands, will
use a previously scheduled event planned for the end of Ramadan as a
fund-raiser for earthquake relief, said Dr. Mohammad Aslam, the group's
president. (MORE)
---
PAKISTANI AMERICANS IN METRO DETROIT WORK TO HELP EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
Associated Press, 10/10/05
http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw122439_20051010.htm
DETROIT (AP) -- After many busy signals and an unanswered telephone
call, Ihtesham Shahid finally heard from his sister via e-mail.
"We are fine after the earthquake," she wrote from Islamabad, Pakistan.
Shahid, of Canton Township, is among the Pakistani Americans living in
Metro Detroit who spent the weekend trying to get in touch with family
and friends in Pakistan following a Saturday earthquake in South Asia
that killed at least 20,000 people.
Many prayed for loved ones, watched news coverage and worked to send help to those in their homeland.
Michigan is home to a growing Pakistani community, with 54,631 Asian
Indians, up from 23,845 a decade earlier, according to U.S. Census
Bureau. (MORE)
---
PAKISTANI IMMIGRANTS RECEIVE SCANT INFORMATION BUT MOBILIZE TO ASSIST VICTIMS OF QUAKE -
TOP
MICHELLE O'DONNELL, New York Times, 10/10/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/10/nyregion/10family.html
For 18 hours after a powerful earthquake hit Pakistan early Saturday,
Mohammad Javed Iqbal, a livery cabdriver in New York City, tried in
vain to telephone his relatives.
But phone lines into their town of about 30,000 in the North-West
Frontier Province were jammed or not working for hours, he said.
Finally, he reached his son Bahadur Khan, 25, who, weeping, told him
how two cousins, Aurang Zad Khan, 70, and Aujaman Ara, 35, were unable
to flee their crumbling home when the quake struck.
"The wall collapsed on them and they died," Mr. Iqbal, 66, said
yesterday in the section of Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn known as
Little Pakistan.
His eyes brimmed with sadness and fury above his flowing white beard as
he described how their bodies were pulled from the rubble. "Now the
women and children are under the sky, they are living outside."
Across the New York metropolitan region, where an estimated 120,000
people of Pakistani descent live, many echoed Mr. Iqbal's experience in
struggling to learn the fate of family and friends caught in the
earthquake. It has not been easy. (MORE)
---
ANXIOUS NY RELATIVES STRUGGLE WITH LOSS, CONCERN FOR FAMILIES -
TOP
CHRISTINE ARMARIO, Newsday, 10/10/05
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lipaki104463655oct10,0,7589594.story
Isma Chaudhry's family in Islamabad fetched kitchen knives and forks to
help dig for buried survivors in a collapsed apartment building next
door after Saturday's quake in Pakistan.
Asma Ejaz and Javed Igbal's relatives began trying to comprehend the
loss of loved ones: a student killed when a landslide hit her bus; a
banker about to leave for work, crushed by his house.
And Safdar Chadda's family, living in a house made of mud and stone in
the capital of Kashmir - reportedly the worst hit region of the 7.6
magnitude quake - had still not been heard from since the disaster.
"My heart is sinking," Chadda said yesterday, after several attempts to reach his relatives by phone.
New York residents with ties to Pakistan clung to any bit of
information about the fate of relatives yesterday, watching television,
making phone calls, and gathering at mosques to pray and brainstorm how
they could help from so far away.
"I know those streets," Chaudhry, of Manhasset, said outside the
Islamic Center of Long Island. "I have shopped in those areas. Any one
of my relatives could be over there. I wish we could do something."
(MORE)
-----
MOSQUE RENOVATIONS FINISHED IN TIME FOR RAMADAN -
TOP
By Marshall Allen, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, 10/10/05
http://www2.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_3102679
SAN GABRIEL -- Islamic architecture and modern technology are renewing
pride and religious identity at a local mosque, where a yearlong
renovation project was completed in time for the holy month of Ramadan.
For 25 years, Masjid Gibrael, which is named for the angel Gabriel,
looked like a nondescript storefront in the 1300 block of Las Tunas
Drive.
But in the past year, it has been transformed. It has nearly doubled in
size and now a wood-and-plaster minaret, about 2 feet in circumference,
towers 20 feet above the building topped with a small copper dome.
The mosque's front wall features arched window facades and a scalloped
top that is trimmed with lights. The sunlight glistens off a copper
dome, 6 feet high and 12 feet around, that sits atop the building.
(MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MUSLIM HOLY MONTH UNDER WAY -
TOP
Natasha Rasheed, KTUU, 10/9/05
http://www.ktuu.com/cms/templates/master.asp?articleid=265&zoneid=1
Anchorage, Alaska - The massive earthquake hit just days after the holy
month of Ramadan started. Sunday marks day six of that holy month for
Muslims, in which they fast from sun up to sun down. It's a rare
glimpse into a group of people from all over the world, united by
religion.
The call to prayer is not in Egypt, Afghanistan or anywhere in the Middle East, but here in Anchorage.
"It's really important to bring this small community together," said Omar Sharif (right), imam of the Anchorage Mosque.
The handful of families crowd into this small mosque to break a fast
that has lasted since the early morning hours. Muslims fast from sun up
to sun down, a practice that goes on for 30 consecutive days.
"We do a lot of donations in Ramadan as well because we can feel how
you feel when you really starve so we can donate to people who don't
have enough food in some countries. We can really feel how they feel so
we can donate more to them," said Mya Win (right), who moved to
Anchorage from Burma.
According to Muslims, it's a way to strengthen your faith in God. The
people at the mosque are from all walks of life. Some are recent
converts, others exchange students. They come from all countries,
including Burma, Pakistan, Egypt and Africa, all united under the
religion of Islam.
"Especially in Alaska, we are a very small community in here so it's
very, very important to stay together, to pray as well as doing other
community stuff," said Win. (MORE)
---
MUSLIM STUDENT ASSOCIATION INVITES NON-MUSLIMS TO JOIN IN FAST-A-THON -
TOP
Maria Kornalian, Daily Aztec, 10/10/05
http://www.thedailyaztec.com/media/paper741/news/2005/10/10/City/Students.Can.Get.A.Feel.For.Events.Celebrating.Ramadan-1014704.shtml
She wakes up to eat before the sun comes up, often times it's yogurt,
and she drinks lots of water and goes back to bed before waking up
again for school. She doesn't eat again until around 6:30 p.m.
Flodia Ndoci, international studies junior at UCSD, is a practicing
Muslim student and October is Ramadan, the Muslim month for fasting.
Ramadan began on Tuesday and lasts until Nov. 2.
Ndoci said she believes Ramadan serves a great purpose in the Islamic faith.
"What you're doing when you're fasting (is) you're giving up something
that you do every day," 20-year-old Ndoci said. "The whole point of it
is that you're giving up something that's normal, so after you're done,
you can give up something that's harder."
The practice requires that for one month nothing is to be placed in
one's mouth while the sun is up. Ndoci said one's body gets used to the
fasting routine.
"It's really all in your head," she said. "It's not that hard (and) you get used it."
It's optional to wake up in the morning before the sun is up, Ndoci said, and it's recommended to do so.
"For health reasons, if you wake up before the sun goes up, it helps you throughout the day," she said.
The Muslim Student Association is inviting non-Muslims to fast for one
day at a fast-a-thon they're holding on Oct. 17 at Casa Real in Aztec
Center. This is the biggest event MSA will be holding during October
for Ramadan. (MORE)
-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS
- 10/11/05
*
Verse:
With Every
Hardship Comes Relief
*
MD:
Police Release Sketch of
Suspect in Mosque Vandalism (WP)
*
CAIR-OH:
450
Attend 'Sharing Ramadan' Iftar Dinner
*
CAIR-Cleveland
to Host
Ramadan Interfaith Banquet
-
CAIR-Cincinnati:
Muslims Feed Needy
During Ramadan
*
CAIR-Philly:
Area Groups
Kick in With Range of Aid
-
CAIR-FL: Doctor
Feels Quake Suffering from Afar
*
APPNA:
Muslim
Health Care Volunteers Sought for Quake Relief
-
IMANA:
Muslim Medical Assoc. Establishes Quake Relief Fund
-
ICNA Relief Allocates $500K for Quake Aid
-
Islamic Relief Responds to Quake with $10M Appeal
-
UMAA Establishes Disaster Relief Fund
-
American Muslims Raise Funds for Asia Quake Victims
-
PA:
Muslims Rally to Aid Earthquake Victims
-
NY Muslims Aid Pakistani Earthquake Victims
-
MI Muslims Mobilize Quake Aid (Free Press)
-
PA Muslims Reach Out To Earthquake Victims (KDKA)
-
CA:
Hidaya Foundation Organizes Quake Relief (CBS)
-
WI: Madison Muslim Community Coordinating Local Help
-
NJ: Muslim Groups Ask for More Quake Aid (AP Press)
-
IL:
Valley Muslims Collect Aid for Quake Victims
-
FL:
Local Muslims Collect Funds for Quake Relief (FL Today)
*
CAIR: FL Website 'Swapped War Photos for Porn' (Telegraph)
-
Boeing/Bell Mosque Attack Ad: Unleashing Hell (New Rep)
*
PA:
Ramadan Helps Converts Feel Less Like Outsiders (Post-Gaz)
*
MA: Muslims Invite Public to Ramadan Meal (Republican)
-
TX:
Baylor Students Get Glimpse of Ramadan (Waco Trib)
-
CAIR: Hold a 'Sharing Ramadan' Iftar
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: WITH EVERY HARDSHIP COMES RELIEF -
TOP
"Behold, with every hardship comes relief. Verily, with every hardship
comes relief! Therefore, when you are freed (from distress), remain
steadfast, and strive to please your Lord."
The Holy Quran, 94:8
-----
MUSLIM CENTER VANDALISM -
TOP
Washington Post, 10/11/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/10/AR2005101001467.html
Montgomery County police released a computer-generated sketch yesterday
of a man sought in connection with vandalism at a Muslim center in
Silver Spring.
Police say a Star of David was painted Sept. 22 next to the sign of the
Muslim Community Center in the 15200 block of New Hampshire Avenue. A
line was also spray-painted across the word "Muslim."
The vandal is believed to be a white man about 40 years old, about 5
feet 5 inches tall, with blue eyes and a heavy build. Police said he
was wearing a wig with dreadlocks when he vandalized the mosque. He
fled in a yellow 1994 or 1995 Isuzu Trooper with a Maryland tag. A
female was in the passenger seat.
-----
450 ATTEND CAIR-OHIO 'SHARING RAMADAN' IFTAR DINNER -
TOP
(COLUMBUS, OH, 10/11/05) - The Columbus office of CAIR-OH hosted its
7th Annual "Sharing Ramadan" Iftar Dinner on Sunday, October 9, at Ohio
State University.
Among the 450 attendees were several elected officials, including the
mayor of the city of Columbus, the city attorney and Franklin County
commissioners. Several of the officials presented proclamations
congratulating the Muslim community and recognizing the month of
Ramadan.
I-CAIR Awards were presented to local community members for their
lifelong service to the community. In addition, CAIR presented a Bridge
Builder award to Dave Stacey, a man from West Virginia who participated
in the television show "30 Days" and lived as a Muslim for a month. His
experience caused him to shed many of his stereotypes about the Muslim
community.
"Ramadan is a month of spirituality, mercy, and kindness," said
CAIR-Ohio Civil Rights Director, Jennifer Nimer. "We were happy to be
able to share some of the traditions of Ramadan with our neighbors from
different faiths."
CONTACT: Dalia Mohammad, e-mail:
office@cair-ohio.com; Jennifer Nimer, e-mail:
jennifer@cair-ohio.com; Ahmad Al-Akhras, e-mail: ahmad@cair-ohio.com
-----
CAIR-CLEVELAND TO HOST RAMADAN INTERFAITH BANQUET -
TOP
(CLEVELAND, OH, 10/11/2004) - On Saturday, October 15, the Cleveland
office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OHIO) will
host its 2nd Annual Ramadan Iftar Banquet. Participants will include
members of the local interfaith community. ("Iftar" is the meal eaten
after sunset each day during the Islamic fast of Ramadan.)
WHEN: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2005
TIME: Registration 5:30-6:30; Program begins 6:30 PM
WHERE: Cuyahoga Community College, Student Center Cafeteria, 2900 Community College Ave. Cleveland Ohio
CONTACT: CAIR-OHIO, Cleveland office, Julia A. Shearson, Director,
216-440-2247 or 216-830-2247; E-Mail:
Julia@cair-ohio.com
"The month of Ramadan is a time of charity, humility and spiritual
renewal," said Isam Zaiem, Chairman of the Cleveland office of
CAIR-OHIO. "This event is a wonderful chance for people of all faiths
to get to know their Muslim neighbors."
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-OH: MUSLIMS FEED NEEDY DURING RAMADAN -
TOP
(CINCINNATI, 10/11/05) - On Sunday, October 9, the Cincinnati office of
the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Ohio (CAIR-Ohio) and Malik
Islamic Center marked the Muslim fast of Ramadan by providing hot meals
to more than 400 residents of that city's Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.
Ramadan is the month on the Islamic lunar calendar during which Muslims
abstain from food, drink and other sensual pleasures from break of dawn
to sunset. It began earlier this month with the sighting of the new
crescent moon.
"Caring for the less fortunate in our community is an important and
rewarding experience, one emphasized in the Islamic faith," said
CAIR-Cincinnati Director Karen Dabdoub. Dabdoub quoted Islam's Prophet
Muhammad who said Ramadan "is the month of sharing with others." He
also said: "A man has sinned if he neglects to feed those in need."
CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, is headquartered
in Washington, D.C., and has 31 regional offices and chapters
nationwide and in Canada.
CONTACT: Karen Dabdoub, 513-281-8200, E-Mail:
karen@cair-ohio.com; Brent Meyer, 513-276-1600, E-Mail:
meyer_brent@hotmail.com
-----
CAIR-PHILLY: AREA GROUPS KICK IN WITH RANGE OF AID -
TOP
Donations, prayers and visits to the affected area to volunteer are part of the local effort.
Mike Benner, Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/11/05
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/nation/12870933.htm
Groups in the Philadelphia area, like many around the world, are
rushing to organize relief efforts to Pakistan, urging people to donate
money, time and prayers for those whose lives have been devastated by
Saturday's 7.6-magnitude earthquake.
CAIR-Philly, the local branch of the Council on Islamic-American
Relations, is urging American Muslims and other individuals of
conscience, via e-mail and other publicity efforts, to contribute
through local organizations. Groups such as the Foundation for Islamic
Education in Villanova and the Muslim Society of Delaware Valley in the
city's Kensington section will take donations during community iftaars,
nightly meals that celebrate the breaking of fasts during Ramadan.
Adeeba Al-Zaman, director of communications for CAIR-Philly, said the
Villanova mosque collected several thousand dollars Sunday night.
Mohammad Aziz, president of the Islamic Society of Greater Valley Forge
Mosque, called donors' generosity "heartbreaking." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-FL: DOCTOR FEELS PAIN FROM AFAR -
TOP
Pakistanis in S. Florida mourn losses
Alva James-Johnson, Sun-Sentinel, 10/11/05
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cpakistan11oct11,0,2803479.story
Dr. Sultan Sultan's voice cracked and his eyes welled with tears Monday
as he counted the family members that he lost in the earthquake in
Pakistan. But it was the death of his medical school friend that broke
his heart.
Dr. Khan Pervez remained in Pakistan to care for the poor while other
doctors were building better lives in America, Sultan said. Pervez died
with his wife and three children, casualties in one of the worst
disasters in the country's history.
"I feel guilty and wish I could be there to help," said Sultan, 50, an
internist with a private practice in Margate. "But my brother said
there's nothing I could do if I come, just send the money to help the
people."
Sultan told his story during a prayer service and news conference at a
mosque in Miami Gardens where a group of Muslim Americans launched a
fund-raising effort to benefit earthquake victims in Pakistan.
Participating organizations included the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, the Islamic Circle of North America and the Association of
Pakistani Physicians of North America.
"This is the month of Ramadan, and Muslims have to give a percentage of
their assets to charity," said Altaf Ali of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations. "This is a time when every Muslim will have
an opportunity to give." (MORE)
-----
MUSLIM HEALTH CARE VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT FOR QUAKE RELIEF -
TOP
The Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America (APPNA), (
www.appna.org
) along with other Muslim medical associations, is seeking health care
professionals interested in going to Pakistan to provide assistance to
victims of the recent earthquake.
Please forward the following information as soon as possible to:
fc2020@columbia.edu, copy to:
appna@sbcglobal.net
Name:
Address:
City:
State:
ZIP:
Office Phone:
Office Fax:
Home Phone:
Home Fax:
E-Mail:
Primary Specialty:
Secondary Specialty:
Notice Required:
Length of Potential Stay:
Able to bring, arrange or carry medicines and other medical supplies:
Knowledge of and/or preference for any of the affected areas:
SEE ALSO:
IMANA ESTABLISHES SOUTH ASIAN EARTHQUAKE RELIEF FUND -
TOP
http://www.imana.org/
The Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA) is working
with the Pakistani Islamic Medical Association and APPNA to provide
medicine, tents, blankets and other medical supplies for local doctors.
Shiraz Malik
Executive Director
Islamic Medical Association of North America
101 W. 22nd Street, Suite 106, Lombard, IL 60148
Phone: 630.932-0000 ~ Fax: 630.932-0005
E-mail:
shiraz.malik@imana.org ~ Website:
www.imana.org
---
ICNA RELIEF ALLOCATES $500K FOR QUAKE AID -
TOP
The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA RELIEF/HELPING HANDS) has now
allocated $500,000 to respond to the emergency in Pakistan.
CONTACT: Irfan Khurshid, 718-658-7028; Farhan, 732-713-7465
Fazal Rahman, Tel. 905-257-9997
www.reliefonline.org
---
ISLAMIC RELIEF RESPONDS TO QUAKE WITH $10 MILLION APPEAL -
TOP
http://www.irw.org/asiaquake/
Islamic Relief has launched a worldwide $10 million appeal for
emergency disaster relief for earthquake victims. Of this, $4 million
has already been allocated for immediate relief projects.
ISLAMIC RELIEF USA
1919 W Magnolia Blvd
Burbank, CA 91506
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 6098
Burbank, CA 91510
Toll Free: 1 (888) 479-4968
Tel: 1 (818) 238-9520
Fax: 1 (818) 238-9521
E-Mail:
info@irw.org
Media Contacts:
Arif Shaikh
Media and Public Relations Manager
Islamic Relief
E-Mail:
arif@irw.org
(310) 351-3931 mobile
---
UMAA ESTABLISHES DISASTER RELIEF FUND -
TOP
The Universal Muslim Association of America (UMAA) has established the
Pakistan Earthquake Disaster Relief Fund. UMAA is a tax-exempt
organization (tax-exempt number: 11-367-9225). The tax-deductible
donations can be by check made out to: UMAA Pakistan Earthquake Relief
Fund, P.O. Box 414, Burtonsville, MD 20866.
CONTACT: Dr. Parvez Shah
Chief Coordinator
UMAA Office Phone: 410-584-7254
Cell: 646-932-8622
---
AMERICAN MUSLIMS RAISE FUNDS FOR ASIA QUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
Turkish Weekly, 10/10/05
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=20599
Islamic charities in the United States have issued urgent appeals for
donations to help victims of the devastating earthquake that battered
South Asia, boasting prompt response.
"We've raised 100,000 dollars online in less than 24 hours," Arif
Shaikh, a spokesman for the international charity Islamic Relief US
branch, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The Islamic Relief, which has launched a 10 million dollar appeal,
operates a health clinic in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir that has
treated some 2,000 people.
Between 30,000 and 40,000 people were killed in an earthquake measuring
7.6 on the Richter scale that centered on an area north of Islamabad,
wiping entire towns off the map in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir and
burying victims in tombs of mud and rubble, according to Pakistani and
international officials.
Pakistan called it the worst disaster in its history as the casualty toll continued to rise.
Shaikh said non-governmental organizations in the United States had
asked the charity to deliver donations of medicine and medical supplies
to affected areas.
Islamic Relief has three full-time offices in Islamabad, Neelum Valley,
and Muzaffarabad, near areas hardest hit by the disaster.
"Our staff is on the ground conducting a needs-assessment," Shaikh said.
Islamic Relief has worked in Pakistan since 1992 on emergency relief, development and disaster preparedness projects.
Its work is heavily focused on the areas that have been badly affected
by the new disaster, including Muzaffarabad and Bagh where Islamic
Relief has several projects.
More Donations
The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) said on its Web site it was
donating 250,000 dollars to the relief effort and had sent the head of
its relief operations to Pakistan.
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the
main Islamic civil rights and advocacy group, called on American
Muslims and other people of conscience to help the quake victims.
"Just as Americans came together to help the victims of recent Gulf
Coast hurricanes, we must do whatever we can to help those suffering
from natural disasters in other parts of the world," CAIRO spokesman
Ibrahim Hooper said in a press release posted on the group's Web site.
He said those wishing to help should direct contributions to the Muslim
Hurricane Relief Task Force (MHRTF), a group formed by US Islamic
charities after Hurricane Katrina struck the southern US coast in
August. (MORE)
---
DELAWARE MUSLIMS RALLY TO AID EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051011/NEWS/510110340/-1/NEWS01
HOW TO HELP
Contact The Islamic Society of Delaware at 733-0373.
The following nearby Pennsylvania groups also are collecting funds,
according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations' Philadelphia
office. Checks should be designated "earthquake aid," and all donations
are tax-deductible.
o The American Muslim Society of the Tristate Area and The Foundation
for Islamic Education, both at 1860 Montgomery Ave., Villanova, PA
19085.
o Islamic Society of Greater Valley Forge, 958 Valley Forge Road, Devon, PA 19333.
o Muslim Society of Delaware Valley, 2209 N. Front St., Philadelphia, PA 19133.
---
LOWER HUDSON VALLEY MUSLIMS AID PAKISTANI EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
MERYL HYMAN HARRIS AND SUZAN CLARKE, JOURNAL NEWS, 10/11/05
http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051011/NEWS02/510110348/1020/NEWS04
Houssain Din is leaving for Pakistan tomorrow after learning that 26 of
his family members in Prim Koot were among the estimated 21,000 people
who perished during the 7.6-magnitude earthquake that struck the
country Saturday.
"My wife's family is more affected. Their family, their brother, three
children, their sister with the six children, their cousins, brothers,
they're all dead," Din, who worships at the Masjid Darul Ehsan mosque
in Suffern, said yesterday.
Malika Niazi, who runs an Islamic school in Cortlandt with her husband,
heard from her father in Rawalpindi that his home and others there and
in Islamabad were spared for the most part, though many people they
know were not.
"The loss is great in the villages, where the houses are not made very
strong," she said. "A lot of the poor people are suffering."
How to donate:
Donations for the earthquake victims may be sent to the following organizations
o Upper Westchester Muslim Society, 401 Clairmont Ave., Thornwood, NY 10594.
o Westchester Muslim Center, 22 Brookfield Road, Mount Vernon, NY
10552. Checks can be made out to EDHI, a Pakistani charitable
foundation.
o The American Red Cross accepts contributions to its International
Response Fund, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013, or visit
www.redcross.org.
o The Muslim Hurricane Relief Task Force at
www.mhrtf.net and the Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America, at
www.appna.org, are coordinating relief efforts.
---
MICHIGAN MOBILIZES QUAKE AID -
TOP
NIRAJ WARIKOO, Detroit Free Press, 10/11/05
http://www.freep.com/news/metro/qfamilies11e_20051011.htm
Though the quake erupted half a world away, its effects rippled across
a state that has seen a 128% increase in its Indian and Pakistani
populations from 1990 to 2000. There are now almost 59,000 Michigan
residents with roots in those two countries.
In Southfield, the Pakistan Association of America is working on
creating a Web site and toll-free phone number that people can call to
donate money for relief, said association president Naveed Ashraf.
"There's a new horror story every time you call" Pakistan, Ashraf said Monday. "Pakistan has never needed help as it does now."
To that end, Ashraf planned to meet late Monday evening with other
Pakistani Americans to discuss how to mobilize the community. In
Canton, Muslims at a mosque with large numbers of Indians and
Pakistanis are planning to hold a fund-raiser today; they're hoping to
sponsor at least 140 families with $250 each for tents and food, said
Canton attorney Haaris Ahmad.
And across Michigan, doctors with the Association of Pakistani
Physicians of North America are working on sending medical relief teams
to their homeland, said Ranna Akbar, a Saginaw physician with the
Chicago-based group. As of Monday, the association already had raised
$150,000, said Rashid Piracha, a doctor from West Virginia who is
president-elect of the group.
Local groups that are helping
Here is information on some of the groups trying to help victims of the earthquake.
The Pakistan Association of America, based in Southfield, is accepting donations. Visit
www.paamich.org
for more information. Or mail cash donations to Pakistan Association of
America, Pakistan Relief Fund, 20700 Civic Center Drive, Suite 170,
Southfield 48076.
The Islamic Association of Greater Detroit is holding a fund-raiser
Oct. 23. The mosque is at 879 W. Auburn Road, Rochester Hills.
Admission is $50 per family. Contact your local mosque for more
information on fund-raisers.
More ways to help
The Pakistan Red Crescent and Indian Red Cross are working on search
and rescue efforts. Call 800-435-7669 to donate money. Contributions to
the International Response Fund may be sent to local American Red Cross
chapters or to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, P.O.
Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. People wanting to donate can also
visit
www.redcross.org.
Life for Relief and Development is seeking money, tents, blankets, plastic sheets and nonperishable foods. Go to
www.lifeusa.org or call 800-827-3543.
The government of Pakistan is accepting donations at its embassy in
Washington, D.C. Make checks payable to the President's Relief Fund and
send them to the Embassy of Pakistan, 3517 International Court NW,
Washington, DC 20008.
The Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America is also helping in relief efforts. Visit
www.appna.org for more information, or mail checks to APPNA, 6414 S. Cass Ave., Westmont, IL 60559.
---
LOCAL PEOPLE HOPING TO REACH OUT TO EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
KDKA, 10/10/05
http://kdka.com/local/local_story_283205242.html
Pittsburgh (KDKA) Local people with friends and family in the earthquake zone have been calling home.
The Islamic Center of Pittsburgh is kicking off a series of fundraisers for the relief effort. (MORE)
---
LOCAL MUSLIM GROUP ORGANIZES PAKISTAN QUAKE RELIEF -
TOP
Ann Notarangelo, CBS-5, 101/10/05
http://cbs5.com/topstories/local_story_283201526.html
(CBS 5) Donations have been coming in steadily to the Hidaya
Foundation. They've asked for warm clothing, blankets and shoes since
winter is coming to Pakistan.
People have been extremely generous. What's a little more difficult to
come by in some parts of South Asia, however, is information.
Many who are sending donations to Pakistan have family still living
there. For the most part, cell phones seem to be working in Islamabad
and people here are able to get updates.
Fremont resident Nashaba Rahman got word her immediate family is OK but
some in-laws are missing and presumed dead. Her sister has described
utter devastation. "(She said) it's too hard to see sometimes," said
Rahman. "Kids are coming out in pieces, little bodies lined up in their
school uniforms, it's very depressing."
Information is scarce - or non-existent from the small towns in the
northern part of Pakistan. The president of the Hidaya Foundation,
which spearheads charitable projects in Pakistan, India and other
countries, says people are resigned they may have to wait a week or
more to learn the fate of their loved ones. Roads must be reopenend, so
people can get into the devastated areas and report back who survived
and who did not. (MORE)
---
MADISON MUSLIM COMMUNITY COORDINATING LOCAL HELP -
TOP
Many Family Members Affected By Pakistani Earthquake
http://www.channel3000.com/news/5082495/detail.html
MADISON, Wis. -- Local families with loved ones in Pakistan and India
are pitching in to help any way they can after the devastating
earthquake.
The tears, devastation and heartache reach across thousands of miles to Madisonian Mohammed Hashim.
His family lives in Southern Pakistan.
Luckily they are OK.
But his army brother Cpl. Tariq was sent to the front line.
"He's probably coordinating all the efforts," said Hashim. "Probably
doing some excavations, probably him and his people will be picking up
bodies." (MORE)
---
MUSLIM GROUPS ASK FOR MORE QUAKE DONATIONS -
TOP
MICHELLE SAHN, Asbury Park Press, 10/11/05
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051011/NEWS/510110319
Local Muslims are being asked to donate much more than usual during
this year's observance of Ramadan, in order to help the victims of the
earthquake that struck South Asia on Saturday.
"This is special," said Ziaulhaq Zia, chairman of the Islamic Center of
Ocean County. "This is such a big tragedy, so we're asking people to do
much more, as much as they can." (MORE)
---
VALLEY MUSLIMS COLLECT AID FOR QUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
Steve Lord, BEACON News, 10/11/05
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/top/2_1_AU11_QUAKE_S1.htm
AURORA - Fortunately for Shahed Siddiqui, the waiting was not long.
Within a day of news of the devastating, 7.8-magnitude, earthquake that
hit northern Pakistan on Saturday, he found out that his relatives who
might have been in the quake were uninjured.
"My mother called me, and we heard they were OK, by the grace of God," said Siddiqui, a 25-year resident of Aurora.
That's because he and most of his family come from the southern part of
Pakistan, near Karachi, where the quake had little effect. But in the
northern part of the country, the quake claimed more than 20,000 lives,
perhaps half of those in the Kashmir region of the country, not too far
from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. (MORE)
---
LOCAL MUSLIMS COLLECT FUNDS FOR QUAKE RELIEF -
TOP
J.D. GALLOP, FLORIDA TODAY
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051010/BREAKINGNEWS/51010013
Like they did for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami,
local Muslims - including Pakistanis - have begun collecting relief
funds at the Melbourne mosque as the death toll continues to mount from
last week's deadly quake that leveled villages in Pakistan and struck
portions of India.
"They are in our prayers," said Dr. Syed Murshid, a 41-year-old native
of Pakistan and an optical electronics professor at Florida Tech in
Melbourne. "We are gathering some local funds at the local mosque. Last
week during the Friday service we collected about between $1,000 to
$1,500." (MORE)
How to help:
Those interested in donating to the earthquake relief fund can call the
Islamic Society of Brevard Mosque at (321) 984-4129 to leave a message.
-----
WEBSITE 'SWAPPED WAR PHOTOS FOR PORN' -
TOP
Catherine Elsworth, Telegraph, 10/11/05
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/11/website11.xml
The operator of a website which allegedly allowed American soldiers to
post gruesome photos of Iraqi war casualties for access to pornography
has been arrested on obscenity charges.
Christopher Wilson faces more than 300 charges relating to the distribution of obscene material.
The charges are not connected to the grisly war pictures which appeared on the site, only its sexual context.
A military investigation of the site was launched after complaints from
groups such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which wrote
to Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary.
Several of the photos showed men wearing what appeared to be US
uniforms, standing over charred corpses and mutilated bodies. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
BOEING/BELL MOSQUE ATTACK AD: UNLEASHING HELL -
TOP
The New Republic, 10/11/05
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20051017&s=notebook101705twp
It descends from the heavens. Ironically it unleashes hell." So read
the ad depicting Special Forces troops rappelling from one of the
military's new tilt-rotor CV-22 Ospreys onto the roof of a domed
building labeled, in Arabic, mohammed mosque. Indeed, the ironies here
are plentiful. After the ad was published in the National Journal,
sparking outrage from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Osprey
manufacturers Boeing and Bell Helicopters issued an apology. But the ad
had already run last month in the Armed Forces Journal and Air Force
Magazine--and apparently no one thought to apologize to that particular
readership. As for descending from the heavens, the Osprey family of
military planes has an unfortunate history of doing so unintentionally:
Over the course of their 15-year development, Ospreys have crashed four
times, killing 30 servicemen. Finally, in a spectacular case of poor
timing, the ad's debut in the National Journal coincided with the
kickoff of public diplomacy czar Karen Hughes's "listening tour" of the
Middle East, which was designed in part to help dispel the impression
that Americans are at war with Islam (an impression that hasn't been
helped by stories about American troops attacking mosques in Falluja
and elsewhere). "By the time you see it, it's too late," the Osprey ad
copy also read. The same could be said of U.S. efforts to rehabilitate
its image in the Muslim world.
-----
FOR MUSLIM CONVERTS, RAMADAN OFFERS A CHANCE TO GATHER WITH OTHERS OF ISLAMIC FAITH -
TOP
Jacqueline Shoyeb, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10/10/05
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05283/585675.stm
As the sun's final rays faded into a purple glow last Wednesday night,
the corner of Bigelow Boulevard and Parkman Avenue came alive as men
and women wearing colorful head scarves poured into the Oakland mosque.
They traded Arabic greetings of peace and praise to God as they entered the brick building for prayer.
Chantal Blake of Friendship stood in a circle with other young women in
head scarves wearing loose robes that hid their shape or casual jeans.
It's Ramadan, the Muslim holy month spent in fasting and worship. Mrs.
Blake and others gathered at the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh mosque to
wait for the sun to dip below the horizon, signaling the time to break
their daylong fast from food and drink, and then pray.
But unlike most of the Muslims there, the 22-year-old New York City
native was not born into the faith. She's a convert, and this is her
third Ramadan.
Among the estimated billion Muslims worldwide celebrating the second
week of Ramadan are a growing number of converts like Mrs. Blake, or,
as most prefer to be called, reverts because they feel they are
reverting back to the faith they lost after being born into a
non-Muslim family or society.
In the United States, an estimated 20,000 people convert to Islam each
year, according to a 2001 study on mosques by the Council on
American-Islamic Relations. Locally, the number has been growing
quickly in the greater Pittsburgh area, which has an estimated 8,000 to
10,000 Muslims, said Yusuf Ali, president of the Islamic Council of
Greater Pittsburgh. (MORE)
-----
MUSLIMS INVITE PUBLIC TO MEAL -
TOP
ANGELA CARBONE, Republican, 10/11/05
http://www.masslive.com/metrowest/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1129016408213190.xml&coll=1
WEST SPRINGFIELD - During Ramadan, the local Islamic Society of Western Massachusetts again is reaching out to the community.
The Islamic Society is inviting people to share the breaking of the
fast with them, called the "Iftar," at sunset every Saturday in Ramadan
at the Islamic Center, 377 Amostown Road.
A special interfaith Iftar Party, is scheduled for Oct. 20.
More than 1 billion Muslims around the world observe the holy month of
Ramadan, which began Oct. 5, by fasting from dawn to sunset, and
gathering for prayers and a light meal with family and friends in the
evening. It is a time of contemplation and worship.
Muslims believe that during this ninth month of the Islamic calendar
year the Koran was sent down to earth to the prophet Muhammad.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, one of the largest Muslim
advocacy organizations in the United States, in September announced an
initiative, "Sharing Ramadan," in which it is helping local Muslim
communities organize "Iftars" for their areas. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
BAYLOR STUDENTS GET GLIMPSE OF RAMADAN -
TOP
Terri Jo Ryan, Tribune-Herald, 10/11/05
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/10/11/20051011wacramadan.html
A rich, throaty rumble rose from the two dozen men seated on the carpet
at the Islamic Center of Waco. While they reaffirmed their allegiance
to God and the teachings of his prophet, Muhammed, in a chant more than
14 centuries old, they had company at the area's original mosque.
Baylor associate professor Chris Van Gorder's world religions class was sitting in on the Jummah, the weekly prayer meeting.
Ramadan started Oct. 4, so a lesson on Islam's holiest month - a time
of sacrifice, charity and introspection - was in order, Van Gorder said.
More than 30 students, many visiting a mosque for the first time,
listened to Firasath Riyaz, a Baylor University student seeking his
masters degree in computer science, who provided the guest sermon.
Drawing parallels between the faith systems of the "people of the book"
(Jews and Christians) and Muslims, who follow the Quran, Riyaz
discussed the health benefits as well as spiritual bonuses of the
month-long fast associated with Ramadan.
Quoting almost as much from the New Testament as he did from his own
holy book - which many Muslims read cover-to-cover this month - Riyaz
said that the discipline offered by the Quran helps Muslims maintain
God-centered lives.
Students also met Abdul Haleem, 75, a Pakistani visitor to the Waco
mosque, who led some of the group prayers as a guest imam. He memorized
the Quran at age 10, said mosque president Al Siddiq, and can recite it
on request.
Siddiq said that his congregation is not only interested in hosting
students who want to learn more about Islam, but in inviting the
"neighbors" to dinner.
It is traditional during Ramadan for Muslims to abstain from food,
drink and other sensual pleasures from the break of dawn to sunset. The
special period ends Nov. 3.
They traditionally break their fast in the evening with dates,
following the custom of the prophet Muhammad, and then a post-sunset
meal, known as iftar, with family and friends.
The Islamic Center of Waco and the Islamic Center of Hewitt are making
a special effort this month to help Americans of all faiths meet their
Muslims neighbors by taking part in a Ramadan "iftar," or fast-breaking
meal after sunset.
Nationwide, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national
Muslim advocacy organization, conducts an annual "Sharing Ramadan"
outreach effort designed to combat religious and cultural prejudice in
American society.
According to the Washington-based civil rights and advocacy group,
anti-Muslim bias decreases when people have access to accurate
information about Islam and are able to connect on a personal level
with ordinary Muslims. (MORE)
---
HOLD A 'SHARING RAMADAN' IFTAR -
TOP
For a step-by-step guide to hosting a "Sharing Ramadan" Iftar, go to:
www.cair.com/sharingramadan05.pdf
-----
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To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/12/05
*
Hadith:
Help Alleviate the
Suffering of Others
*
Help CAIR Raise $1 Million
During Ramadan
*
CAIR:
Ramadan
Iftar Held on Capitol Hill
-
CAIR Condemns Beating by New
Orleans Police
*
CAIR-FL Describes
Muslim Response to Asia Quake
-
CAIR-OH:
Muslim
Community Prays for Quake Victims
-
CAIR-Chicago:
Ramadan and
the White Sox
*
ACTION:
Ask President, Congress to Boost Quake
Aid
-
GA:
Muslims Respond with Aid,
Hugs (Atlanta Journal)
-
CA:
Inland Muslims Boost Relief
Effort (PE)
-
Hawaii Muslims Organize Aid for Quake
Victims
-
VA:
Muslims Help Quake
Victims (Times Mirror)
-
NY:
Victims in Ramadan
Prayers (Newsday)
*
Charities Report Low Donations
for Quake Victims (Wash Post)
*
NY:
Growing
Role of Islam in Latino Culture
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: HELP ALLEVIATE THE
SUFFERING OF OTHERS -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "He who alleviates
the suffering of a brother (in this) world, God will alleviate his
(suffering on) the Day of Resurrection."
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1245
-----
HELP CAIR RAISE $1 MILLION
DURING RAMADAN -
TOP
http://www.cair.com/ramadan2005/
-----
RAMADAN IFTAR HELD ON
CAPITOL HILL -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/12/05) - Almost 100 congressional staffers,
American Muslim community leaders and diplomats from Islamic-majority
nations turned out last night for the third annual Ramadan
"iftar," or fast-breaking meal, on Capitol Hill.
The iftar, held in the Rayburn House Office Building, was co-sponsored by
11 House members and coordinated by the Washington-based Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), America's largest Muslim civil
liberties group. It featured the breaking of the fast, the Islamic sunset
prayer (maghrib) and remarks by CAIR officials and representatives of
House members.
Following introductory remarks by CAIR Communications Coordinator Rabiah
Ahmed, the council's Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor thanked the
attendees and said the annual iftar offers an excellent opportunity for
Muslim leaders and congressional staffers to network on issues of mutual
concern.
"This annual tradition is designed to foster greater understanding
of Islam and the Muslim community on Capitol Hill," said CAIR
Executive Director Nihad Awad, who spoke at last night's event. "It
is also intended to show appreciation for congressional staffers who have
been working closely with American Muslims."
CAIR has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is
to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil
liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote
justice and mutual understanding. To read CAIR's Mission, Vision
Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor,
202-646-6039 or 571-278-4658, E-Mail:
csaylor@cair-net.org; Ibrahim
Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah
Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
SEE ALSO:
CAIR CONDEMNS BEATING BY NEW ORLEANS
POLICE -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/12/05) - A prominent national Islamic civil rights
and advocacy group today condemned the beating of a 64-year-old retired
school teacher who was repeatedly punched by New Orleans police on
Saturday.
In a statement, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) said:
"The brutality exhibited by police officers in their mistreatment of
Robert Davis cannot be justified and should be condemned by all those who
seek justice in our society."
Davis, who is African-American, said he was out to buy cigarettes in the
French Quarter when he was beaten by three white officers and then
arrested. Police alleged that Davis was intoxicated, a charge he denied.
The incident was caught on videotape and has sparked a nationwide
outcry.
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and
chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah
Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR-FL DESCRIBES MUSLIM
RESPONSE TO ASIA QUAKE -
TOP
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/sfl-pakistan-video,0,3631031.wmvfile
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-OH:
MUSLIM COMMUNITY DEALS WITH UNCERTAINTY, PRAYS FOR ITS HOMELAND -
TOP
Sherri Williams, Columbus Dispatch, 10/11/05
http://www.dispatch.com/national-story.php?story=dispatch/2005/10/11/20051011-A1-02.html
The tragedy has been more than a news story in Columbus' Muslim
community, said Ahmad Al-Akhras, president of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations' Ohio chapter.
"It was mentioned in the mosque (Sunday)," he said.
"This is the time of Ramadan, when people gather in the evening for
prayer. People were praying for the victims and their
families."
For Altaf Wani, 54, television images of crumbled buildings and crushed
homes were the only connection he had to his wife, Gulzar, 53, who also
was in Kashmir visiting her family, and to Manzoor, his
brother.
"We did not know what to think. There were all kinds of fears coming
into our minds," Wani said, including their two children, Baraq, 24,
and Najum, 18. "We were very anxious. We did not know what was going
on."
Wani talked to his wife nearly 10 hours after he learned of the
earthquake. Mrs. Wani, a senior research associate in radiology at Ohio
State, was not injured.
"Finally, we were relieved," said Wani, a radiology professor
at the university. "But we are still very sad. A lot of our brethren
have perished, and there is extreme misery."
Mrs. Wani is expected back at the family's Northwest Side home next
month.
The Pakistani community is turning its pain into action and mobilizing
fundraising efforts for their devastated homeland.
Dr. Shahid Sheikh, associate professor of pediatrics at Ohio State, is
the president of the local chapter of the Association of Physicians of
Pakistani Descent in North America.
The group already had raised $3,500.
Because Pakistan lacks the infrastructure, equipment and resources to
deal with such a disaster, relief will be critical to victims, said Dr.
Asma Mobin-Uddin, vice president of the Ohio chapter of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations.
"People were trying to lift cement with their bare hands," said
Mobin-Uddin, who has family in Pakistan and visited the country in
March.
"You know there were people under the cement buildings after the
earthquake. Help could be there if they had machinery to get out people
who otherwise may have been unable to make it."
---
CAIR-CHICAGO:
JEWISH SOX FANS FACE A RARE DILEMMA -
TOP
DAVE NEWBART, Chicago Sun Times, 10/12/05
http://www.suntimes.com/output/sox/cst-nws-soxyom12.html
It was almost a game-day decision for Sox fan Jonathan Greenspahn. He
struggled until late Tuesday to decide whether to attend tonight's
American League Championship Series game, which falls on Yom Kippur, the
holiest day of the year in the Jewish calendar.
In the end, the season ticket holder, a managing partner in Le Lan
restaurant, sold his tickets, opting to skip the game.
Jewish rabbis -- from reform to orthodox -- said Tuesday it's not allowed
under Jewish law to attend the game -- or even to watch it on TV. .
.
Meanwhile, Muslims, who are celebrating the holy month of Ramadan, have
less to worry about. Muslims are required to pray five times a day, plus
an additional sixth "communal'' prayer, said Ahmed Rehab, spokesman
for the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
However, that sixth prayer -- which takes place at 8 p.m. at most mosques
in the area -- is not mandatory.
"There is nothing that suggests that we can't watch the game,''
Rehab said. He knows a group of five Muslims who plan to watch it, and
then pray together afterward. (MORE)
-----
ACTION: ASK PRESIDENT, CONGRESS TO BOOST AID FOR
QUAKE ZONE -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/12/05) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) today urged American Muslims and other people of conscience to
call their elected representatives, including President Bush, to ask that
the U.S. government provide more aid for areas traumatized by the South
Asia earthquake.
The 7.6 magnitude earthquake devastated the region and may have claimed
40,000 lives. According to the United Nations, up to 2 million people
have been made homeless by the earthquake. Thousands of refugees are
living in flimsy shelters as temperatures are dropping.
The United States has provided eight military helicopters and made an
initial contribution of $50 million.
ACTON REQUESTED:
Follow the link below and send messages to your elected officials asking
them to make more aid available to victims of the earthquake.
GO TO:
http://capwiz.com/cair/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=8108511
CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor, 202-488-8787 or
571-278-4658, E-Mail:
csaylor@cair-net.org
SEE ALSO:
GA: COMMUNITY RESPONDS WITH
DONATIONS, HUGS -
TOP
BRIAN FEAGANS, Atlanta Journal, 10/12/05
http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/gwinnett/1005/12quake.html
Natives of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan are helping pay for flights
back home. They are holding relief fund-raisers at county mosques,
temples and restaurants this week. And they are giving grieving relatives
such as Awan something he can't get from his own family right now:
hugs.
Fazal "Fazi" Khan, project director of the Norcross-based A
Grain of Hope Foundation, embraced Awan before the two even spoke outside
his apartment Tuesday. Khan, a Norcross print shop owner who has lived in
metro Atlanta for nearly 20 years, spent Tuesday trying to drum up
donations and visiting families who had lost loved ones. A Grain of Hope
raised about $20,000 by Tuesday and was collecting winter clothes,
sleeping bags and medical supplies that will be flown into Pakistan, Khan
said.
The tragedy came during the holy month of Ramadan, when many Muslims
believe they should be most generous. Khan had feared collections would
be slow in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. But he found otherwise.
"Thanks to God, people are generous," Khan said. "They
donated before and they are donating again." (MORE)
---
CA: INLAND MUSLIMS BOOST RELIEF EFFORT -
TOP
BETTYE WELLS MILLER, Press-Enterprise, 10/11/05
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_D_relief12.13169e40.html
Inland Muslims will continue raising money for Pakistan earthquake
victims during prayer services on Friday as Islamic relief groups in the
United States coordinate the delivery of aid to staff and partner
agencies in the Himalayan region.
American Muslims, many with family in South Asia, will play an important
role in fund-raising for victims of Saturday's catastrophic earthquake,
Inland residents and others said.
"Many people have lost family," said Shakeel Syed, executive
director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California. "Many
have family there who are helping others who have been displaced. And the
majority (of Muslims) here are fairly resourceful."
The Islamic Shura Council of Southern California, an organization of
mosques and Islamic centers, has asked members to focus Friday sermons on
the role everyone can play in alleviating suffering and to give
generously to earthquake-relief efforts.
The council also will sponsor a fundraising dinner on Nov. 13 and will
send a delegation of Southern California Muslims to Pakistan later this
week to determine what help is needed now and long-term.
The quake struck four days after the start of Ramadan, the holiest month
of the Islamic calendar.
Ramadan is a month of daylight fasting and prayer. It also is a time in
which Muslims are called to be especially mindful of the needs of others,
Syed said by phone, and a time in which acts of charity are believed to
elicit greater reward.
Most mosques began raising money immediately, Inland Muslims
said.
Many are still raising money for victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes as
well and sent money to relief groups helping tsunami survivors in South
Asia.
Southern California Muslims have raised more than $5 million for
hurricane victims so far, Syed said.
"It is overwhelming," Kalim Farooki, chairman of the Islamic
Society of Corona-Norco board of trustees, said of the relief need for
victims of tsunamis, hurricanes and now the earthquake along the
India-Pakistan border. "Life is a test. We should never see this
calamity as punishment. It is an opportunity for people with means to
help people who are suffering."
The center has raised several thousand dollars for earthquake victims so
far, Farooki said by phone.
In Temecula, Muslims sent food and clothing to the Gulf Coast for
Hurricane Katrina victims and now are raising money for Pakistanis who
lost everything in the quake, said Mahmoud Harmoush, director of the
Islamic Center of Temecula Valley.
Representatives of the Michigan-based LIFE for Relief and Development and
Islamic Relief in Burbank will be at the mosque this weekend to accept
donations, Harmoush said by phone.
The two groups are among four recommended by the Shura Council. The
others are Islamic Circle of North America Relief of Jamaica, N.Y., and
Human Assistance and Development International of Culver City.
(MORE)
---
HAWAII MUSLIMS ORGANIZE FUNDRAISING FOR
QUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
Hawaii Channel, 10/11/05
http://www.thehawaiichannel.com/news/5085674/detail.html
HONOLULU -- Muslims in Hawaii have launched a fundraising drive for the
victims of the South Asia earthquake that left more than 30,000 people
dead.
KITV accepted an invitation to be present at a special gathering of the
Muslim Association of Hawaii at the Muslim mosque in Manoa.
Muslims gathered in Manoa to pray in the sacred month of Ramadan. It is
the month of forgiveness, the month to draw closer to Allah. Muslims fast
from sunrise to sunset. They prayed at the mosque before breaking their
fast. On Monday night, they prayed for the earthquake victims.
Khan is from Pakistan. He has family there and knows the stricken area
well. He is one of perhaps 300 Pakistanis in Hawaii among about 1,500
Muslims.
For Khan the pictures of the damage are especially meaningful.
"Communications is very difficult over there. Transportation is not
good over there. So, they require immediate help," Khan said.
"It is most important to help them. To immediately help
them."
It is not the first fundraising effort by the Muslim Association of
Hawaii. They recently raised $65,000 for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
(MORE)
---
VA: MUSLIMS HELP QUAKE
VICTIMS -
TOP
Loudon Times Mirror, 10/11/05
http://www.timescommunity.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=15369651&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=506037&rfi=6
During a break between Ramadan holy month prayers Sunday night at the All
Dulles Area Muslim Society Center, worshipers dug deep to help their
brethren devastated by the weekend earthquake in Pakistan and India. More
than 95 percent of Pakistanis are Muslims.
"Prayers were made for the victims," said spokesman Shirin
Elkoshairi. "It was wrapped in the same prayer that everyone was
doing.
---
NY: VICTIMS IN RAMADAN
PRAYERS -
TOP
ZACHARY R. DOWDY JR, Newsday, 10/12/05
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-liquak124465763oct12,0,1743106.story
Ramadan at the Islamic Center of Long Island always draws hundreds to its
post-fast feasts. Its solemn prayers and community events are a mainstay
for area Muslims as they observe Islam's holiest month in the spirit of
goodwill.
Last night's prayers, with nearly 400 attending the Westbury mosque, had
an added dimension. There were calls for mercy and charity on behalf of
thousands killed and injured by the earthquake that struck Pakistan and
Kashmir last weekend.
Orderly rows of worshippers, young and old, faced Mecca in prayer,
bending and then kneeling in unison.
The tragedy, which has taken between 20,000 and 40,000 lives and
destroyed entire villages, has been exacerbated by torrential rain and
near-freezing night climes.
Islamic Center members said last night they plan fundraising events and a
trip to the devastated area to deliver needed supplies. (MORE)
-----
CHARITIES REPORT LOW DONATIONS FOR
QUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
Jacqueline L. Salmon, Washington Post, 10/12/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/11/AR2005101101884.html
The massive earthquake that killed an estimated 30,000 people in South
Asia has kindled an outpouring of cash from Muslim communities here and
elsewhere but has elicited a far more feeble response from many other
donors, aid groups say.
After donating about $1.3 billion to help the victims of the devastating
Southeast Asia tsunami and then contributing $1.7 billion to support
relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina, many donors appear to be running
out of steam.
"Each time, the response is not as brisk as it was the previous time
around," said Akhter Mohammed, chief executive of Interaction, a
Washington-based group that represents 165 international relief agencies,
many of which are assisting in relief efforts for earthquake victims. .
.
Agencies and charity researchers say "donor fatigue" might be
part of the problem. The third major disaster within a year simply is not
registering with Americans as strongly as did the previous two. .
.
By contrast, the South Asia earthquake is generating a passionate
response among Pakistani and Muslim communities because such a large area
affected was in Pakistan.
At Ramadan prayer services Monday night, worshipers at the All Dulles
Muslim Area Society in Sterling donated $40,000 in cash and checks to
Islamic Relief, a California relief group. Another collection will take
place during Friday services at the mosque.
Close to 40 percent of its members have roots in Pakistan, India and
Kashmir, said Parvez Khan, operations manager for the mosque.
"It hits home for everyone," he said.
-----
RELIGION, CULTURE MIX
AT ITFAR DINNER -
TOP
After Ramadan Dinner, Students Discuss Growing Role of Islam in Latino
Culture
Lauren Melnick, Columbia Spectator, 10/12/05
http://www.columbiaspectator.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/10/12/434ccd7e69d50
Students came together to break their Ramadan fast over an iftar dinner
and stayed for halal tex-mex in Lerner.
The mix of the two unlikely meals represented the blend of cultures at
Tuesday night's "Latinos in Islam: Rediscovering our Roots."
The event was organized to educate attendees about the role that Islam
has played in Latino culture and the growing Latino Muslim
population.
The program, which was scheduled to coincide with both Ramadan and Latino
Heritage Month, was organized at the suggestion of Hernan Guadalupe,
director and founder of the Latino Muslim Outreach Program and a recent
Muslim convert.
"We believe [Latino Muslim culture] to be an interesting topic which
hasn't really been discussed over the years," said Guadalupe.
"My goal is to have people really enjoy the information and walk out
knowing something new about Islam and about being Latino."
Originally from Ecuador and a native Spanish speaker, Guadalupe said he
was raised in a strong Catholic household. It was not until his junior
year of college in 2001 that he converted to Islam. In March 2005, he
co-founded the LMOP, a New Jersey-based grassroots organization that aims
to introduce more Latinos to Islam and clarify misconceptions and
stereotypes about Islam.
Guadalupe attributed the appeal of Islam to "the clarity,
simplicity, and satisfaction of this way of life," and said some
Latinos converted because they "were not satisfied with the religion
or way of life bestowed upon them by their culture."
(MORE)
-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AMERICAN MUSLIMS PLEDGE $20 MILLION IN AID FOR
QUAKE VICTIMS
Leaders to Hold News Conference Calling for Formation of Presidential
Ad-Hoc Committee
(WASHINGTON, DC - 10/12/05) -- On Thursday, October 13, more than
a dozen major American Muslim groups will hold a press conference to
announce their pledge to raise $20 million to provide relief to the
victims of the devastating earthquake in South Asia.
The leaders will also call on President Bush to form an ad-hoc committee
comprised of U.S. governmental and American Muslim non-governmental
relief agencies to offer coordinated relief to earthquake
victims.
They will also announce that the Muslim Hurricane Relief Task Force,
which originally formed in response to Hurricane Katrina, would become a
permanent coalition. Members of the re-named
American Muslim Task
Force for Disaster Relief (AMTFDR) have already dispatched teams to
conduct needs assessments and provide direct assistance to earthquake
survivors throughout the region.
WHAT: News Conference Announcing $20M Pledge for Quake Victims
& Calling on President to Form Ad-Hoc Committee
WHEN: Thursday, October 13, 2005 at 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: Lisagor Room, National Press Building, Washington,
DC
Official reports indicate that at least 40,000 people have been killed in
the devastating earthquake that shook Pakistan, Kashmir, India and
Afghanistan. U.N. officials report that at least 3.5 million people are
now homeless and vulnerable to infections and disease.
Member relief organizations include (in alphabetical order): Hidaya
Foundation, Indian Muslim Relief Committee, Islamic Relief Worldwide,
ICNA Relief, KindHearts, Life for Relief and Development, and the Zakat
Foundation. Other professional foundations -- including the Association
of Pakistani Physicians of North America (APPNA) and the Islamic Medical
Association of North America (IMANA) -- are organizing American Muslim
physicians to travel to the region and offer medical
assistance.
"A coordinated program between all Muslim organizations in North
America will help improve the quality of service to provide immediate
assistance to the affected people in the region," ISNA President
Muhammad Nur Abdullah said.
Other task force members include: Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR), Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Muslim Alliance in North
America (MANA), Muslim American Society (MAS), Muslim Public Affairs
Council (MPAC), and Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA), Freedom and
Justice Foundation, and National Council of Pakistani Americans
(NCPA).
Additional groups who agree to the taskforces guidelines will be added as
the relief efforts develop. The Taskforce guidelines for collection and
distribution of funds will focus on financial transparency and
accountability as set forth in relevant government regulations and
standards.
CONTACT:
Edina Lekovic, 213-383-3443 or 310-560-4898,
communications@mpac.org
Mohamed Elsanousi, 317-839-1803,
melsanousi@isna.net
Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726,
ihooper@cair-net.org
Arif Shaikh, 310-315-3931,
arif@irw.org
-----
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http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/13/05
*
Verse:
Righteousness
Defined
*
Help CAIR Raise $1
Million During Ramadan
*
NY:
U.S.
Muslims Use Hands-On Approach to Quake Aid (NYT)
-
U.S. Muslims
Mark Ramadan with Charity (Wash File)
-
US
Indians, Pakistanis Reach Out Together (DNA)
-
OH:
Islamic
Center Sets Earthquake Fund
-
CA:
Far Away
Disaster Stirs South Bay Compassion
-
MI:
Muslims to
Raise Money for Earthquake Aid
-
MA:
Muslims Join Relief Efforts During Ramadan
*
IL: Muslim Citizenship Pushed During Ramadan (Chicago Trib)
*
CO:
Jews, Muslims Explore Common Threads (Denver Post)
*
IN: Muslim Teacher Says Faith Cost Him His Job
-
CO: Albertsons Manager Accused of Insulting Muslims
*
Fisk: Iraq has Descended into Anarchy (Independent)
-
Iraqi Civil War Seems Inevitable (Knight Ridder)
-
Detainee Forced to Bark Like Dog Sues for Freedom
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: RIGHTEOUSNESS DEFINED -
TOP
"It is not righteousness that you turn your faces toward East or West;
but it is righteousness to believe in God, and the Last Day, and the
angels, and revelation, and (God's) messengers; to spend of your
substance out of love for Him for your relatives, for orphans, for the
needy, for the wayfarer, for those who seek assistance, and for the
freeing of human beings from bondage; to be steadfast in prayer and
practice regular charity; to fulfill the contracts that you have made;
and to be firm and patient in distress, in adversity, and throughout
all times of peril. Such are the people of truth, the God-fearing."
The Holy Quran, 2:177
-----
HELP CAIR RAISE $1 MILLION DURING RAMADAN -
TOP
http://www.cair.com/ramadan2005/
-----
FROM A STATEN ISLAND MOSQUE, QUAKE AID THAT'S MADE TO ORDER -
TOP
ANDREA ELLIOTT, New York Times, 10/13/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/13/nyregion/13relief.html
A pair of trucks rumbled along the broken roads of Kashmir on Tuesday,
carrying yet another load of food, clothes and makeshift tents into the
earthquake zone. But unlike so many of the anonymous donors thousands
of miles away, the source of this aid, a mosque, was boldly advertised
on the trucks' red-lettered banners: "Masjid Al-Noor, Staten Island,
New York."
"We had great difficulty spelling Staten Island on the phone," said
Suhail Muzaffar, 53, a stately former professor and Pakistani immigrant
who is chairman of the mosque's board of trustees, and runs a thriving
export company on Staten Island.
Mr. Muzaffar's point was not pride but control. He wrote up a shopping
list based on cellphone calls from victims trapped in the mountains to
relatives who worship at his mosque. He rented the trucks and ordered
the banners himself, through connections in his family's Pakistani
hometown, Rawalpindi. And he enlisted a Pakistani charity he knew to
carry the order through.
Only in this way, he said, could he and other members of his mosque
feel sure that their $12,000 in hard-earned donations would reach the
people they were trying to help.
Relief experts say the mosque's control of its beneficence illustrates
a new trend in global charity: many donors are no longer content to
write checks and hope for the best. Fears of inept government
bureaucracies, official corruption, and charities that engage in fraud
have led to an increasingly hands-on approach by donors, from the lone
cabdriver to the boards of many foundations. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
AMERICAN MUSLIMS OBSERVE HOLY MONTH OF RAMADAN -
TOP
Daylong Fasting, Donating to Charity Mark Observance
Afzal Khan, Washington File, 10/12/05
http://usinfo.state.gov/usinfo/products/washfile.html
(Scroll down to "Latest News.")
Washington -- Millions of American Muslims began observing the holy
month of Ramadan on October 5 after the new crescent moon was sighted
the evening before. Many of them are fasting from dawn to dusk and
attending special evening prayers to read chapters from the Quran.
President Bush on October 4 sent greetings to Muslims in the United
States and throughout the world as they began their observance of
Ramadan. He praised American Muslims for their commitment to spiritual
growth and charity during the holy month and welcomed the contributions
they have made to American society. (See related article.)
During Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, Muslims also
meditate on how to become more virtuous persons as well as caring
citizens who help those who are poor and needy.
Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Washington-based Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said this year's Ramadan has become
a month of charity and giving more than ever before because of natural
disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the massive earthquake in
Pakistan and parts of India and Afghanistan.
"The benefits of Ramadan are being better understood because those who
are fasting can appreciate the suffering of the victims of these
natural disasters, many of whom are hungry and without shelter," Hooper
said. (MORE)
---
US INDIANS, PAKISTANIS REACH OUT TOGETHER TO QUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
Uttara Choudhury, DNA, 10/12/05
http://dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=5404
NEW YORK: Indians and Pakistanis living in the US needed no coaxing to
come together to raise medicines, blankets and cash donations for
relief work in the aftermath of Saturday's massive earthquake. Syed
Asif Alam, chief of the Association of Pakistani Physicians (AOPP),
said that the Indian and Pakistani communities in the US had raised
thousands of dollars and were hoping to reach a target of one million.
"We have the same concerns for missing family members and friends at
home. We are pooling our resources to raise cash for people back home,"
said Alam. "It is a time for unity. The quake has left so many kids
without a family, so many families without a home. We need to do our
bit to rebuild," he said. Mosques throughout the US have been making
collections at prayers as well as setting up counselling services for
workers out here who are making frantic phone calls to trace their
families and cope with loss.
Jackson Heights has one of the United State's largest Indian and
Pakistani populations and the council believes more than 5,000 of its
residents' family may have affected. Collection buckets for donations
have been placed in all the main council buildings.
"My colleagues and I have collected cash, medicines and blankets. We
will distribute the relief supplies in Kashmir and Pakistan's North
West Frontier Province," said Arvind Joshi, a naturalised American
engineer who was born in Mumbai.
The Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called on
American Muslims to help the quake victims. "Just as Americans came
together to help the victims of the recent Gulf Coast hurricanes, we
must do whatever we can to help those suffering in South Asia," said
Ibrahim Hooper , spokesman for CAIR. (MORE)
---
WEST CHESTER ISLAMIC CENTER SETS EARTHQUAKE FUND -
TOP
Peggy McCracken, Journal News, 10/12/05
http://www.journal-news.com/hp/content/news/stories/2005/10/12/hjn1013islam_s.html
HAMILTON - The death toll from Pakistan's worst earthquake is stirring
the hearts and purse strings of people worldwide. Locally, the Islamic
Center of Greater Cincinnati in West Chester Township has established
an earthquake relief fund.
Contributions will be funneled to the Association of Pakistani
Physicians of North America, based in Chicago. Dr. Rashid M. Khan, a
member of the local mosque and the APPNA, said the agency will
effectively distribute donations.
"They have a very long record in charitable work," said Khan. "They
have people working on the ground there. By not going through the
government there is no red tape. Our goal is to reach real people,
reduce the overhead, get the money and food directly to the people.
"This will get the money to the people as fast as possible, at least 90 cents on the dollar," he said.
Khan - who lost 19 extended family members, as well as former medical
school classmates, in the disaster - is hoping the community will be
generous. The APPNA plans to send financing to the area Friday.
Donations will continue to be collected through the Muslim holy period
of Ramadan, said Shikila Ahmad of the Islamic center, located at 8092
Plantation Drive. No collection goal has been set. . .
Donations are tax deductible. They will be collected at Friday Prayers
and throughout the month of Ramadan at various mosque functions.
Donations may also be given to the "Islamic Center Pakistan Earthquake
Fund" at any Fifth Third Bank location.
---
A FAR AWAY DISASTER STIRS SOUTH BAY TO COMPASSION -
TOP
Andrea Sudano, Daily Breeze, 10/13/05
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/1777996.html
Torrance resident Shahid Khan feels helpless.
A good friend in Pakistan was killed when his home collapsed after
Saturday's 7.6-magnitude earthquake. Khan's mother-in-law now sleeps in
a tent outside her damaged home.
His countrymen are cold and hungry, but Khan is fighting the instinct
to go home. Instead, he has joined the ranks of South Bay residents
lending support -- monetary and spiritual -- to earthquake victims
halfway around the world.
"I am kind of holding out here," Khan said. "I can't be much of a
practical use there. Maybe if I can be here and work in the community
and get some people to send them money ..."
The 49-year-old father of two plans to donate money to the Islamic
Center of South Bay in Lomita, where he comes to worship, pray and
break his daily fast during Ramadan, which began last week.
His affected family and friends have a special place in his prayers,
especially during this time of the year, traditionally reserved by
Muslims for reflection, contemplation and renewal. (MORE)
---
LOCAL MUSLIMS TO RAISE MONEY FOR EARTHQUAKE AID -
TOP
Chad Swiatecki, Flint Journal, 10/12/05
http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-32/1129132246171470.xml&coll=5
GENESEE COUNTY - The Flint Islamic Center will collect donations at its
Saturday service for relief efforts in areas of Pakistan recovering
from last weekend's earthquake that killed more than 30,000 people.
Center director Abdelmajid Jondy said about 15 percent of the center's
membership is from Pakistan, but most are from areas far from the bulk
of the earthquake's damage. (MORE)
---
AREA MUSLIMS JOIN RELIEF EFFORTS DURING RAMADAN -
TOP
Margaret Smith, Littleton Independent, 10/13/05
http://www2.townonline.com/littleton/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=344005
As news reports tell of increasing death tolls after an earthquake in
Pakistan and India, area Muslims are giving donations and remembering
victims in their prayers.
Collection drives at mosques in the region and throughout the world are
coinciding with the observance of Ramadan, when Muslims are asked to
help those in need.
"During the holy month of Ramadan, we get a good crowd every night,
especially on the weekends," said Farook Taufiq, a board secretary for
the Islamic Society of Greater Lowell mosque in Chelmsford. "It's
during the month of Ramadan that we are supposed to be more generous,
so we set aside money for that purpose."
Taufiq said a collection drive for earthquake victims - many of whom
are Muslims - started during the Ramadan evening prayer session Monday
and is expected to continue for the next two weeks. (MORE)
-----
MUSLIM CITIZENSHIP PUSHED -
TOP
Initiative focuses on area immigrants during holy month
Gerry Doyle, Chicago Tribune, 10/13/03
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/southsouthwest/chi-0510130183oct13,1,5579806.story
As Muslim immigrants throughout the state gather to celebrate the holy
month of Ramadan, a network of faith-based and social-service groups
hopes they will consider a pressing secular issue: citizenship.
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights plans to
address worshipers during services, distributing information and
encouraging them to become citizens. Organizers say that speaking out
during such an important time in the Muslim calendar will prevent those
who need help from slipping through the cracks.
"This initiative is not specifically a faith-based one," said Hatem
Abudayyah of the Arab-American Action Network, a coalition member.
"Ramadan allows us to reach Muslims more easily."
There are about 1.6 million immigrants in Illinois, said Diego
Bonesatti, field director of the New Americans Initiative, which is
overseen by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
Several hundred thousand are Muslim immigrants or their children, he
said.
Bolstered by $3 million in state funds, the coalition, formed in
February, wants to connect with the nearly 350,000 immigrants who are
eligible for residency and help them navigate the system.
The bureaucracy surrounding citizenship can take months to penetrate,
and some immigrants are bilked by scam artists, coalition members said.
Those complexities and setbacks can put off many who might otherwise
become citizens, they said.
"For decades, the state has been a Mecca of opportunity," said Sheikh
Kifah Mustapha of the Mosque Foundation in Bridgeview. "By being a U.S.
citizen, we fulfill our civic duties. ... Different cultures and ethnic
backgrounds will add to the community."
The coalition is working with several area Muslim groups on the
project. Non-Muslim religious groups, including the Catholic Church,
are contributing to the overall effort as well, said Karla Avila of the
New Americans Initiative. Other immigrant communities such as Mexicans
and Africans in Chicago are involved, she said, adding that the program
is the first of its kind in the United States.
Coalition officials expect to get data at the end of this week on the
number of people who have started the process of becoming citizens as a
result of the outreach effort.
Citizenship is crucial, coalition officials say, in becoming part of
the United States' social fabric. "It brings a sense of permanence,"
said Mehrdad Azemun of the coalition. "And for a lot of people in the
Muslim community, it means they cannot be deported." (MORE)
-----
JEWISH, MUSLIM CONGREGATIONS EXPLORING COMMON THREADS -
TOP
Eric Gorski, Denver Post, 10/13/05
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3110123
Boulder - For a service celebrating the second day of the Jewish New
Year, it was an unusual choice of music: a Sufi Muslim chant with
lyrics in Hebrew and Arabic:
"Allah Hu Allah la illah ha il Allah Elohim Echad Elohim Gadol"
Roughly translated, Jews and Muslims could agree on this one critical point: There is one God, and he is great.
This scene last week at Boulder's Pardes Levavot, a Jewish Renewal
congregation, recognized an unusual convergence: For the first time in
33 years, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish High Holy
Days have collided on the calendar. A Philadelphia rabbi, Arthur
Waskow, is promoting it as "God's October Surprise," an opportunity to
find peace and reconciliation. (MORE)
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MUSLIM TEACHER SAYS HIS FAITH, ETHNICITY COST HIM HIS JOB -
TOP
Maureen Hayden, Courier & Press, 10/13/05
http://www.courierpress.com/ecp/news/article/0,1626,ECP_734_4154027,00.html
An assistant professor at the University of Evansville is suing the
school, contending he was denied tenure because he is a practicing
Muslim of Middle Eastern descent.
The university, in turn, is denying the allegations, saying it is the
instructor's lack of teaching skills, not his religion or ethnic
origin, that caused the school not to renew his contract. Al Zeiny, an
assistant professor of civil engineering, filed the lawsuit late last
week in U.S. District Court in Evansville. Zeiny, who has a Ph.D. in
civil engineering from the University of California-Irvine, filed the
lawsuit after he was told he would be given a "terminal contract" and
not be invited to return to the university to teach for another year.
Zeiny has been teaching at UE since August of 2002. In the lawsuit, his
attorney, Andrew Dutkanych III, contends Zeiny was denied tenure and
was subject to derogatory remarks because of Zeiny's religion and
ethnicity. Zeiny, who is a naturalized American citizen of Egyptian
descent, alleges unnamed persons at the university made "searching
inquiries" about his opinion of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, and
alleges the chairman of his department made questionable comments about
the "non-American" and "non-Christian" sounding names of his children.
SEE ALSO:
EMPLOYEE ACCUSES ALBERTSONS MANAGER OF INSULTING MUSLIMS -
TOP
KIRSTEN ORSINI-MEINHARD, Coloradoan, 10/12/05
http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051012/BUSINESS/510120332/1046
Fort Collins resident Fahim Saleem was on the verge of tears when he asked his dad to pick him up from work last Thursday.
The 19-year-old's father, Nawab Saleem, immediately offered to take his son to the doctor.
But it wasn't a physical illness that worried Fahim Saleem.
The Front Range Community College student claims a manager at
Albertsons, 1636 N. College Ave., where he works in the fuel center,
had insulted his religion. He has since quit his job because of it.
The incident has left Fahim Saleem and his family shaken. Nawab Saleem
is planning to gather other members of the Muslim community to picket
the store later this week if he does not receive an apology from the
company.
He also plans to e-mail the chief executive officer of Albertsons,
Lawrence Johnston, to ask for an apology and is considering filing a
complaint with the Better Business Bureau.
Nawab Saleem already has spoken to another manager at the Albertsons on
North College Avenue about the incident, but he said the manager acted
hostile and would not listen to him.
"I will do everything I can to bring this to the attention of people,"
said Nawab Saleem, who owns a small business close to Albertsons on
North College.
"This is a wonderful country, and this should not be happening in this country."
Managers at Albertsons directed all questions to the company's corporate headquarters.
In an e-mail statement, Director of Public Affairs Danielle Killpack
said: "Albertsons respects the religious beliefs and practices of all
associates and customers. We take allegations such as this very
seriously, and we are currently looking into this matter. We will
address it appropriately after we are fully informed and have received
all of the facts."
The company would not comment further and did not release the names of the managers involved.
The incident centered around Ramadan, the holiest month of the year in
the Islamic calendar, which is marked with prayer and fasting between
sunrise and sunset.
Nawab Saleem left a message for his son's manager at Albertsons to ask
if it would be possible to give Fahim Saleem fewer night shifts during
the holiday, because he would be weak after fasting all day.
The manager did not respond to the message, but instead, began speaking
badly about the Muslim faith when she saw Fahim Saleem the next day, he
claims.
Later that day, when Fahim Saleem and his father returned to the store
at the request of another manager to speak about the incident, Nawab
Saleem claims the manager became angry at the two for pursuing the
issue and asked Fahim Saleem to return to work. (MORE)
-----
IRAQ HAS DESCENDED INTO ANARCHY, SAYS FISK -
TOP
Nigel Morris, Independent, 10/13/05
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article319160.ece
Most of Iraq is in a state of anarchy, with insurgents controlling
parts of Baghdad just half a mile from the so-called Green Zone, an
Independent debate was told last night.
Robert Fisk, Middle East correspondent for The Independent, whose new
book The Great War for Civilisation: the Conquest of the Middle East
has just been published by 4th Estate, painted a picture of deepening
chaos and misery in Iraq more than two years after Saddam Hussein was
toppled.
He said that the "constant, intensive involvement" in the Middle East
by the West was a recurring pattern over centuries and was the reason
why "so many Muslims in the Middle East hate us". He added: "We can
close doors on history. They can't."
Fisk doubted the sincerity of Western leaders' commitment to bringing
democracy to Iraq and said a lasting settlement in the country was
impossible while foreign troops remained. "In the Middle East, they
would like some of our democracy, they would like a couple of boxes off
the supermarket shelves of human rights as well. But I think they would
also like freedom from us."
Recalling the sight of an immense US convoy rolling into the country's
capital, he said: "A superpower has a visceral need to project military
power. We can go to Baghdad, so we will go to Baghdad."
He told the debate in London: "The Americans must leave Iraq and they
will leave Iraq, but they can't leave Iraq and that is the equation
that turns sand to blood. At some point, they will have to talk to the
insurgents.
"But I don't know how, because those people who might be negotiators �
the United Nations, the Red Cross � their headquarters have been blown
up. The reality now in Iraq is the project is finished. Most of Iraq,
except Kurdistan, is in a state of anarchy."
He said that the portrayal of Iraq by Western leaders � of efforts to
introduce democracy, including Saturday's national vote on the
country's proposed constitution � was "unreal" to most of its citizens.
In Baghdad, children and women were kept at home to prevent them from
being kidnapped for money or sold into slavery. They faced a desperate
struggle to find the money to keep generators running to provide
themselves with electricity. "They aren't sitting in their front rooms
discussing the referendum on the constitution."
With insurgents half a mile from Baghdad's Green Zone, Fisk said the
danger to reporters from a brutal insurgency that did not respect
journalists was increasing. "Every time I go to Baghdad it's worse,
every time I ask myself how we can keep going. Because the real
question is � is the story worth the risk?"
He attacked television reporters for flinching from depicting the
everyday bloodshed on the streets of Iraq. "You can go and see Saving
Private Ryan or Kingdom of Heaven � people have their heads cut off.
When it comes to real heads being cut off, you can't. I think
television connives with governments at war." He added: "Newspapers can
tell you as closely as they can what these horrors are like."
Asked if the "anger and passion" he felt over the events he witnessed
had affected his objectivity, he said: "When you are at the scene of a
massacre, you are entitled to feel immense anger and I do."
He rejected suggestions that graphic pictures of the dead in newspapers
took away their dignity. He said: "My view is the people who are dead
would want us to record what happened to them."
Most of Iraq is in a state of anarchy, with insurgents controlling
parts of Baghdad just half a mile from the so-called Green Zone, an
Independent debate was told last night.
Robert Fisk, Middle East correspondent for The Independent, whose new
book The Great War for Civilisation: the Conquest of the Middle East
has just been published by 4th Estate, painted a picture of deepening
chaos and misery in Iraq more than two years after Saddam Hussein was
toppled.
He said that the "constant, intensive involvement" in the Middle East
by the West was a recurring pattern over centuries and was the reason
why "so many Muslims in the Middle East hate us". He added: "We can
close doors on history. They can't." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
THE U.S. SAYS THIS IS THE FUTURE OF IRAQ'S ARMY. IF SO, CIVIL WAR SEEMS INEVITABLE -
TOP
TOM LASSETER, KNIGHT RIDDER, 10/13/05
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/world/12887753.htm
Swadi Ghilan's two sons were dropping their sister off at high school
earlier this year when a carload of Sunni Muslim insurgents pulled up
and emptied their AK-47s into their bodies. In broad daylight his
children were torn to pieces, their blood splashed against the
windshield as they screamed and died.
Ghilan is a major in the Iraqi army and a Shiite Muslim, the sect that
makes up some 60 percent of Iraq's population. Now, more than ever, the
grieving father says he wants to hunt down and kill not only Sunni
guerrilla fighters but also Sunnis who give those fighters shelter and
support. By that, he means killing most Sunnis in Iraq.
"There are two Iraqs; it's something that we can no longer deny,"
Ghilan said. "The army should execute the Sunnis in their neighborhoods
so that all of them can see what happens, so that all of them learn
their lesson."
The Bush administration's exit strategy for Iraq rests on two pillars:
an inclusive, democratic political process that includes all major
ethnic groups and a well-trained Iraqi national army. But a week spent
eating, sleeping and going on patrol with a crack unit of the Iraqi
army - the 4,500-member 1st Brigade of the 6th Iraqi Division -
suggests that the strategy is in serious trouble. Instead of rising
above the ethnic tension that's tearing their nation apart, the mostly
Shiite troops are preparing for, if not already fighting, a civil war
against the minority Sunni population.
Ghilan's army unit is responsible for security in western Baghdad,
where many Sunnis live. But the soldiers are overwhelmingly Shiite,
and, like Ghilan, they're seeking revenge against the Sunnis who
oppressed them during Saddam Hussein's rule. (MORE)
---
DETAINEE WHO WAS FORCED TO BARK LIKE A DOG SUES FOR HIS FREEDOM -
TOP
CAROL ROSENBERG, Knight Ridder, 10/12/05
http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/12885673.htm
MIAMI - (KRT) - A New York law group has filed suit seeking release of
Guantanamo captive Mohammed al-Qahtani - the Saudi man who was
subjected to some of the most intensive, Pentagon-approved
interrogation tactics as a suspected 20th hijacker in the Sept. 11,
2001, terrorist attacks.
Al-Qahtani's case focused attention on the prison in June when Time
magazine published excerpts from a military log of his Guantanamo Bay,
Cuba, interrogation - showing that U.S. troops told him to bark like a
dog and left him to urinate on himself.
In the log, U.S. interrogators describe how they ratcheted up
techniques on their captive during 50 days starting in November 2002 to
extract a confession - by using sleep deprivation, leaving him strapped
to an intravenous drip without bathroom breaks and having him strip
naked.
Attorney Gita Gutierrez at the New York Center for Constitutional
Rights said this week that she filed al-Qahtani's habeas corpus
petition in U.S. District Court in Washington once his father, in Saudi
Arabia, empowered the firm to act on his son's behalf.
No lawyer has met the captive yet, although Gutierrez said she hoped to
travel to the Navy base in Cuba in coming weeks to see him. (MORE)
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
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URL:
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-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS
- 10/14/05
*
Verse:
God Grants
Manifold Increase
*
Help CAIR Raise $1
Million During Ramadan
*
CAIR-FL:
Synagogue Welcomes
Muslim Speaker (SP Times)
-
MD: Jews,
Muslims, Gather for Joint Holidays
*
CAIR-TX
Offers Students
'Islam 101'
*
Editorial:
Islam is
Not the Enemy (SF Chronicle)
*
Muslim
Charities Re-Emerge for Quake Victims (NYT)
-
IL:
Muslim Groups Collect Online for Quake Relief
-
U.S. Muslims Mobilize Widely and Quickly
-
American Muslims Pledge $20M for Quake Victims
-
MD:
Islamic Center Aids Quake Relief Effort
-
WA:
Local Pakistanis' Hearts, Dollars Go to Victims
-
VA: Local Muslims Pray for Those in Quake Zone
-
OH: Muslims Here Raise Money for Kashmir
-
CA:
South Asian, Muslim Agencies favored (SJMN)
*
LA: Muslim Hurricane Evacuees Urged to Convert (Baptist Press)
-
KS: Muslim View of Jesus: a Prophet Respected, Revered
*
VA/NC:
Muslim Beauty Queen Glad to Honor Her Faith
*
VA: ADAMS Center Holds Interfaith Iftar (Connection)
-
NH:
Muslims Observe Ramadan (VOA)
*
Muslims No longer Strangers in Ireland (Chicago Sun-Times)
-
Muslims Celebrate 50 Years in Korea
*
Vatican Pledges to Work with Muslims (AP)
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: GOD GRANTS MANIFOLD INCREASE -
TOP
"The Parable of those who spend their possessions for the sake of God
is that of a grain of corn out of which grow seven ears, in every ear a
hundred grains: for God grants manifold increase to whom He wills; and
God is infinite, all-knowing.
The Holy Quran, 2:261
"You can never attain righteousness unless you give (freely) that which you love; and whatever you spend, God knows it well."
The Holy Quran, 3:92
"Believe in God and His messenger and spend in charity out of that of
which He has made you trustees, for those of you who believe and spend
in charity shall be richly rewarded."
The Holy Quran, 57:7
-----
HELP CAIR RAISE $1 MILLION DURING RAMADAN -
TOP
http://www.cair.com/ramadan2005/
-----
CAIR-FL: SYNAGOGUE WELCOMES MUSLIM SPEAKER -
TOP
The director of a local Islamic group stresses the similarities of both religions during their observance of holy days.
Shannon Tan. Petersburg Times, 10/14/05
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/10/14/Northpinellas/Synagogue_welcomes_Mu.shtml
CLEARWATER - Thursday was Yom Kippur, Judaism's holiest day, and it also happened to be one of the blessed days of Ramadan.
Ahmed Bedier, director of the Central Florida office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, was invited to speak at Congregation Beth
Shalom. Rabbi David Weizman suggested that he speak on the afterlife,
but Bedier had a different idea.
"We're all starving," Bedier noted, as both Jews and Muslims were fasting Thursday.
Religion can divide people or bring them together, Bedier said. He
chose to unite the group Thursday by discussing the similarities
between Judaism and Islam.
"We don't have to talk about whether to resolve the Middle East conflict today," he joked.
Bedier pointed out that both religions share a true belief in God.
Muslims and Jews believe in prophets and messengers. They fast. They
give alms. They pray.
He told a story about how the prophet Mohammed was told by God to pray
50 times a day. Then Mohammed met Moses, who pointed out that Jews pray
only three times a day. After some negotiating, God agreed to let
Muslims pray just five times a day.
Fascinated, the group of more than 35 people peppered Bedier with questions.
Why the name Ramadan? Are there religious differences between the
Shiites and the Sunnis? Are all Muslims Arab? When you say praise
Allah, is Allah God? What are your prayers like? (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MD: JEWS, MUSLIMS, GATHER FOR JOINT HOLIDAYS -
TOP
Andrew Scherr, Jewish Times, 10/14/05
http://www.jewishtimes.com/News/5104.stm
Last Monday night, Oct. 10, Jewish and Muslim students at Johns Hopkins
University learned they have a lot in common. For instance, the two
groups have coinciding holidays, Yom Kippur and Ramadan, both of which
involve fasting. In addition, they seem to share a mutual desire to
learn about each other, as well as a penchant for kosher Chinese food.
At the height of the midterm season, 165 students broke away from their
textbooks to attend the second annual High Holy Day/Ramadan Banquet.
Co-sponsored by the Jewish and Muslim student associations at Hopkins,
the event took place in the midst of the Jewish High Holidays and the
holy Muslim month of Ramadan. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-TX: AWARENESS WEEKS STARTS WITH 101 -
TOP
Marla Last, NT Daily, 10/11/05
http://www.ntdaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/10/11/434b54693158e
The Muslim Holiday of Ramadan opened NT's third annual Islam Awareness
Week. Students have several opportunities to become more aware of
Islam, beginning with the "Islam 101" seminar Monday in Terrill Hall.
"The seminar should clear up misconceptions and answer questions for
Islamic awareness," said Muslim Student Organization President Rabeya
Baehri, Denton senior. Baehri also spent part of her life in Bangladesh.
Eric Meek, vice president of the Council of American Islamic Relations
in the Metroplex, lead the seminar by informing the audience about the
basics of Islamic beliefs and way of life. Meek now goes by the Muslim
name Khalil, after he converted from Christianity to Islam in 1989. He
is part of the Council of American Islamic Relations as well as
president of his mosque in Lewisville.
The Council of American Islamic Relations did a nation wide survey to
find out America's attitude toward Islam and found out that the more
people know about the religion and rituals, they more they respect it,
according to Khalil.
In the seminar, he explained the monotheistic belief of Islam following the idea "No God but the God."
"Islam is defined as a peaceful or willful submission to the will of God," Khalil said.
The belief of the prophet Muhammud was discussed in the lecture and the
studies of the Qur'an. As part of their religious culture, Muslims pray
five times a day.
"While I am on campus, I go to the One O'Clock Loung to pray," said
Muslim Student Association Vice-President Ayman Taleb, Richardson
junior.
According to Khalil, Muslims believe that by asking for God's
forgiveness, they will be forgiven on judgment day. Muslims see
judgment day as a base for whether or not someone believes in the
oneness of God and that they are found accountable for doing so.
Khalil believes he was born Muslim, but didn't realize it until his
college graduation. He attended NT with hopes of becoming a Baptist
minister, but came in contact with a Muslim roommate and found interest
in comparing their religions. With all the interpretations he found and
by studying, Khalil soon realized that a religious awakening was bound
to change him. (MORE)
-----
EDITORIAL: ISLAM IS NOT THE ENEMY -
TOP
The San Francisco Chronicle, 10/14/05
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/10/14/EDGKVF7QQ41.DTL
MOST AMERICANS must realize by now that President Bush will claim
almost anything to justify the constantly escalating tragedy of his
Iraq policy. So atop his long refusal to drop the implied linkage of
Saddam Hussein to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Bush's
vision of an attempt to create a "radical Islamic empire that spans
from Spain to Indonesia" is not surprising.
The president shared his scary thought in a speech last week to the
National Endowment for Democracy in Washington. He thus sought to
inject the fear of total jihadist victory across the Muslim world into
the argument for keeping major U.S. military forces fighting and dying
in the unpopular mess his 2003 invasion of Iraq has created.
This Bush approach to shoring up fast-eroding public support for the
war has at least a couple of problems. It undercuts the moderate
Muslims who must form the basis of any realistic hope for spreading
democracy in their parts of the world. The frightful terms with which
Bush warns of rampant Islamism recall the "yellow peril" that once
obsessed U.S. opponents of immigration from Asia, and the tales of
Mohammedan conquest that fueled the Crusades. Bush's simplistic
focusing of American distrust on the very peoples he seeks to enlist
for democratic reform -- making them part of the supposed future
"empire" -- is no way to win friends in that part of the world. (MORE)
-----
MUSLIM CHARITIES RE-EMERGE FOR QUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
Stephanie Strom, New York Times, 10/14/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/14/international/asia/14charity.html
All across America, Muslim charities, many of which have shunned the
spotlight since 9/11 lest they attract unwanted law enforcement
attention, are now stepping up their efforts to raise money for the
victims of the earthquake that crumbled the northernmost corner of
Pakistan.
In many cases, they have been more successful than their mainstream
charitable counterparts, many of which have said that donors are not
responding to their appeals for contributions for Pakistan.
Islamic Relief, one of the largest Muslim charities in the United
States, had raised almost $1 million online alone through Wednesday, or
about 10 times the amount raised by Save the Children. Other
organizations reported similar success.
"Donors are responding really well," said Arif Shaikh, a spokesman for
Islamic Relief. "A lot of mosques have been collecting money on our
behalf, and our phones have been ringing off the hooks with people
wanting to make contributions."
Mohammed Alomari, deputy director of programs at Life for Relief and
Development, a Michigan-based nonprofit organization founded by Iraqi
Americans after the 1991 Persian Gulf war, said donations from
individuals and other non-Islamic organizations have been "pretty good,
considering all the other emergencies we've had this year."
After the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the F.B.I. cracked down
on several Muslim charities in the United States, contending that they
served as financial conduits for terrorist operations. The Justice
Department froze the assets of several Muslim organizations, and at
least two prominent Muslim donors who contributed to those
organizations were arrested.
Those actions caused great bitterness and wariness about giving among
Muslims, whose leaders often note that the government has not publicly
provided evidence for its suspicions.
Most of the donations Life for Relief and Development has received for
Pakistan so far have come in the form of goods like tents, blankets and
medical supplies, which is one way for donors to ensure their
contributions do not end up underwriting bombs or buying guns.
"Donors may have those kinds of concern in other instances, but I don't
think that's the case in this instance," Mr. Alomari said. "Given how
many people have been asked to give for other disasters this year - the
tsunami, the famine in Mali and Niger, Hurricane Katrina and Rita - it
may just be easier right now to donate items."
Several factors beyond religious solidarity are helping to propel the
donations from the Muslim community, officials of the charities say.
For one, the earthquake struck during the holy month of Ramadan, one of
the two biggest giving periods on the Muslim calendar and a traditional
time for thinking of the poor.
Beyond that, many of the Muslim nonprofit groups here have established
operations in Pakistan and thus are logical candidates for charity.
Islamic Relief, for instance, has more than 100 staff members in
Pakistan, and Life operates programs there ranging from water
purification to rebuilding schools. Both organizations worked in
Southeast Asia after the tsunami and in the Gulf Coast area after
Katrina.
The enormousness of the disaster in Pakistan, too, has overcome the
fears of Muslim donors that their contributions might be considered
financing for terrorist organizations by the American government.
"I think the sheer scale of the suffering we're seeing is prompting
people to put aside whatever caution they might have had since 9/11 and
dig deep to do whatever they can," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for
the Council on American-Islamic Relations. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
IL: GROUPS COLLECT ONLINE FOR EARTHQUAKE RELIEF -
TOP
Duaa Eldeib, Algonquin Countryside, 10/13/05
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-story/localnews/current/al/10-13-05-713731.html
Less than a week after a devastating earthquake hit South Asia, the
death toll soars to 42,000. Villages in northern Pakistan, India,
Kashmir and Afghanistan were leveled, leaving millions homeless. With
hailstorms hindering the relief effort, victims hang onto their lives
with what little hope they have left. They turn to the generosity of
others in hopes of survival.
Several organizations in the area, including the following, have
mobilized to offer help to the region. Many have arranged to collect
donations through their Web sites as the fastest, most efficient way to
help.
Islamic Relief Worldwide has launched a $10 million appeal for the
victims of the earthquake. Of this, $4 million has already been
allocated. In partnership with AmeriCares, Islamic Relief is sending a
shipment of United-Nations-World-Health-Organization-approved emergency
medical kits. The shipment was scheduled to leave Tuesday from
AmeriCares' warehouse in Amsterdam. To donate online, please go to
www.irw.org.
Islamic Relief Worldwide will be the key organization collecting
donations at the Council of American Muslim Professionals' dinner 6
p.m. Oct. 23. The South Asia Earthquake Relief Dinner will be held at
Indian Garden in Chicago. The cost is $21. Please R.S.V.P. at
www.campnet.net.
The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago is making
nightly appeals for donations. In addition to raising money for
survivors, the council is also working on providing crucial help for
the tens of thousands who are buried under the rubble, that includes
arranging for search and rescue teams with K-9 dogs, as well as heavy
equipment and carrying helicopters.
Kareem Irfan, past chairman of local Council of Islamic Organizations
and member of the national board, said "Because there is a strong
Pakistani population in the suburbs, everyone I have talked to has been
impacted in some way. It's important that as Americans we pull together
and response across the country." To donate online, go to
www.ciogc.org. Mail donations to 330 E. Roosevelt Road, Suite G5, Lombard IL 60148 or call (630) 629-7490 or visit
www.ciogc.org.
The Chicago office of the Council of Islamic-American Relations is
calling not only for donations to charities that will help the victims
of the earthquake, but also grassroots efforts by individuals to ensure
help goes where it's needed.
Act! Act! Act! is an effort asking Chicago area residents to e-mail and
call their state and federal representatives, asking for helicopters
and K-9 rescue teams to be sent to Pakistan to search for survivors in
hard-to-reach, or demolished areas.
"Donations only help those who've been excavated," said Ahmed Rehab,
the council's Chicago spokesman. "That's why we're pursuing this, so we
can still save more lives."
Rehab said he is also contacting imams at local mosques in efforts to
make Friday a day of prayer and donation day for victims of the
earthquake. (MORE)
---
U.S. MUSLIMS MOBILIZE WIDELY AND QUICKLY FOR QUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
Muslims Weekly, News Report, Jehangir Khattak, Oct 13, 2005
http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=60bc212de62c9badabf595ebfeaa049d
NEW YORK -- Saddened and moved by the shocking horrors of the massive
earthquake that wiped out completely or partially several cities,
towns, villages and hamlets in northern Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, the
Pakistani and Muslim community across North America has swung into
action by launching major fundraising campaigns.
Major American Muslim organizations have announced to cut big checks to
provide relief to the millions of their brethren in the foothills of
Himalayas. Important Islamic groups have pledged to raise well over $12
million in the coming days and weeks. The total tally of fundraising is
expected to rise substantially as figures from many parts of the
country and the funds raised at local levels are yet to come. (MORE)
---
MUSLIM AMERICANS PLEDGE $20 MILLION FOR SOUTH ASIAN QUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
Major Muslim-American groups create cooperative aid coalition
Christine A. Terada, Washington File, 10/13/05
http://usinfo.state.gov/usinfo/products/washfile.html
(Scroll down to headline.)
Washington -- Leaders from member organizations of the American Muslim
Taskforce for Disaster Relief (AMTFDR) gathered at a press conference
October 13 in Washington to announce their pledge to raise $20 million
in aid for victims of the South Asian earthquake.
The 7.6-magnitude earthquake swept across central Afghanistan to
western Bangladesh on October 8, killing more than 30,000 people,
injuring more than 45,000, and leaving approximately 3.5 million
homeless. Its epicenter was in Muzaffarabad, the capital of
Pakistan-administered Kashmir. (See related article.)
President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have pledged $50
million in disaster assistance, helicopters, and fixed wing aircraft to
help the victims of the disaster. Secretary Rice detoured her trip to
Central Asia October 12 to visit Pakistani leaders and American troops
who are providing transport to the injured in the area affected by the
earthquake. (See related article.)
Ahmed Younis, director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, called the
AMTFDR pledge effort a "cooperative attempt by the American Muslim
community to provide relief in the most efficient and most abundant
manner possible for the brothers and sisters of humanity that have
suffered as the result of the significant earthquake in South Asia."
A second leader who also spoke at the press conference, Sayyid Syeed,
who is the secretary-general of the Islamic Society of North America,
reminded journalists that the earthquake struck during the Islamic holy
month of Ramadan. "Muslims are in the mood of giving" and will be
especially motivated to respond to relief efforts during Ramadan, he
said.
Syeed said the tragedy has created an excellent opportunity to improve
the American image in the Muslim world. The AMTFDR, he said, is "most
qualified to establish bridges between the Muslim world and America."
Younis shared these sentiments, saying how the pledge "really
underscores the importance of the charitable organizations of the
American Muslim community."
Another AMTFDR member organization, Islamic Relief USA, is also a
member of the U.N. Economic and Social Council and has operated
development projects in Pakistan since 1992. With three offices near
the earthquake-affected areas, in Islamabad, Neelum Valley, and
Muzaffarabad, Islamic Relief announced in a statement released at the
press conference that their emergency response team was able to reach
the affected area within one hour after the earthquake hit. The release
also noted that their organization immediately allocated $4 million to
Pakistan following the disaster.
Mohamed Aboulmagd, a representative of the organization, told those at
the press conference that the AMTFDR task force is a "good step" toward
improving cooperation among American Muslims.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations' government relations
director, Corey Saylor, agreed with Aboulmagd on the need to mobilize
and cooperate. He said that although providing relief is not the
purpose of his organization, "our faith compels us to help out in
humanitarian events." (MORE)
---
MD: ISLAMIC CENTER AIDS EARTHQUAKE RELIEF EFFORT -
TOP
Fund created to help victims in Pakistan
Monique Lewis, Daily Times, 10/14/05
http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051014/NEWS01/510140301/1002
SALISBURY -- Ahmad Hassan, a police inspector in Muzaffarabad, Azad
Kashmir, was lucky to be 200 miles away on vacation with in-laws, said
his cousin, Dawood Ahmad of Salisbury, on Thursday.
Hassan was fortunate not to be counted among the thousands of victims
who were killed or are suffering the aftermath of Saturday's 7.2
magnitude earthquake in Pakistan's Himalayan region.
Hassan was shaken and in tears because so many children are without parents, Ahmad said.
"His police station and everything is gone," he said. "It's going to be
a long recovery. It is not a one-day, two-day or three-day job."
Ahmad is a member of the Islamic Center of Salisbury that set up a fund
Wednesday to aid the victims devastated by the earthquake. (MORE)
---
WA: LOCAL PAKISTANIS' HEARTS, PRAYERS, DOLLARS GO TO EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
Janet I. Tu and Tan Vinh, Seattle Times, 10/14/05
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002559947_quakeaid14m.html
Before picking up his daughter from preschool yesterday at the Islamic
School of Seattle, Elias Ibrahim adds a blanket to a mound of donated
supplies for victims of the Pakistan earthquake. Donated items included
a wheelchair, sleeping bags and tents.
Since Ramadan began early last week, Iqbal Abbasi has gone often to
Idriss Mosque in the Northgate area for the special prayers that are
said during this holiest of Islamic months.
In the past few days, even more prayers are being said: for victims and
survivors of the devastating Pakistan earthquake. And with the prayers
and worries have come efforts to relieve the suffering.
At the center of the mosque's fund raising is Abbasi, 56, of Everett,
who grew up in a village that's been demolished and who still has loved
ones in the area.
"The main thing is to heal people through spiritual prayer or
thoughts," said Abbasi, a director of the Islamic Center of Washington,
which operates Idriss Mosque. "At the same time, what we need to do is
to take care of the surviving families."
Since Saturday's earthquake, local Pakistanis and Muslims -
individually and in groups - have taken action, sending money, setting
up bank accounts for donations, organizing fund-raising dinners,
soliciting corporate and personal donations and arranging airlifts of
medicine and other supplies. Starting today and continuing this
weekend, many mosques in the area are expected to intensify efforts to
gather donations. (MORE)
---
VA: LOCAL MUSLIMS PRAY FOR THOSE IN QUAKE ZONE -
TOP
During holy month, they're reaching out to the people of Asia
OSITA IROEGBU, TIMES-DISPATCH, 10/14/05
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1128767533100
Listen: Imam (Spiritual Leader) Shaheed Coovadia recites the opening prayer for Ramadan, followed by an English translation
Pakistani-born Kausar Khan is trying to come to grips with what has happened to her family and her country.
At least one in her extended family is dead in the massive earthquake
that struck her homeland. She fears for the lives of others.
After a prayer session at a local mosque Wednesday night, Khan headed
home with her husband, Majid Khan. The timing of the quake, she said,
deepens its impact on many of her faith.
Muslims are in the second week of the month of Ramadan, when members of
the religion worldwide concentrate on their faith through prayer and
fasting. This year, many keep in mind the devastation that has left
tens of thousands in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan dead and countless
others homeless.
"It's a mixed emotion," Kausar Khan said Wednesday. Resting her cheek
in her palm, she stared into the night with her wide, brown eyes. "This
kind of thing tells us that the ultimate power takes care of things,
and we are nothing."
In the middle of the taraweeh, or nightly prayer in observance of
Ramadan, an extra supplication is given most nights for the victims and
survivors of the earthquake. (MORE)
---
OH: MUSLIMS HERE RAISE MONEY FOR KASHMIR -
TOP
Robert Smith, Plain Dealer, 10/14/05
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1129282980204761.xml&coll=2
The local Muslim community is rallying to try to help victims of
Saturday's earthquake in South Asia by raising money and awareness.
The main event is planned for 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, when a
community of mosques will host an earthquake fund-raiser at the Islamic
Society of Akron and Kent, 152 E. Steels Corners Road, near Blossom
Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls. The program will include an iftar
dinner, the traditional fast-breaking at the end of a Ramadan day.
Organizers hope people of all faiths attend. Proceeds will go toward
relief efforts in and around the Himalayan region of Kashmir.
"The whole atmosphere is very gloomy there," said Dr. Marina Magrey, a
Cleveland doctor whose family lives in Indian-controlled Kashmir and is
active in relief efforts. "People are scared. Hospitals are filled with
injured people with nowhere to go." (MORE)
---
CA: SOUTH ASIAN, MUSLIM AGENCIES FAVORED -
TOP
Katherine Corcoran, Mercury News, 10/14/05
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_valley/12900027.htm
With American generosity being tapped for a third unfathomable disaster
in less than a year, traditional organizations such as the Red Cross
are seeing a drop in donations, but Muslim and South Asian charities
are seeing an outpouring of help.
The Red Cross of Santa Clara Valley couldn't provide exact numbers, but
spokeswoman Cynthia Shaw said donations to help victims of the 7.6
earthquake in Kashmir are far behind the $500,000 collected locally in
the first five days after Hurricane Katrina.
Only one person has called about holding a fundraiser for the Saturday
earthquake, which is believed to have killed 25,000 people and
displaced millions, compared with dozens of calls for Katrina
fundraisers almost immediately after the Aug. 29 hurricane hit the U.S.
Gulf Coast.
"Normally things pick up by this time, and they haven't," Shaw said.
"Donor fatigue is something we're very concerned about. We've even seen
it with Katrina. Already people are getting Katrina'd out and getting
on with their lives."
But the news is much better for the local Hidaya Foundation and
Southern California-based Islamic Relief, both of which are reporting a
dramatic response.
"The whole community has been very supportive," said Nabil Sheikh,
office manager at the Hidaya Foundation, a Santa Clara-based non-profit
supporting educational and social welfare projects in Pakistan, India
and Bangladesh. "People of all walks of life are there, giving their
own clothing and their own blankets." (MORE)
-----
LA: VOLUNTEER'S QUERY TO MUSLIM FAMILY YIELDS POSITIVE RESPONSE -
TOP
Tammi Ledbetter, Baptist Press, 10/13/05
http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/bpnews.asp?ID=21846
KENNER, La. (BP)--Charmaine Fenstermacher had just three Gospel tracts
left to share with families lined up to receive food from Southern
Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers in Kenner, La.
"As a car pulled up, we'd say, 'Hi, how are you? Do you want some
lunch?'" Fenstermacher, of Southlake, Texas, recounted. When asked,
"How are you doing?" some of the displaced Louisianans told how
Hurricane Katrina had left them destitute and hungry.
"I had three tracts left and I was using them sparingly," Fenstermacher
said, as many of the evacuees had already heard the Gospel at some
point in the post-Katrina disaster relief efforts. "Some of them wanted
to talk and it was so nice to hear what they had to say," though many
of their stories began running together as they told of coping with the
disaster.
When a black sedan rolled to the front of the line, Fenstermacher
recognized the family to be of Middle Eastern descent. "The mother was
wearing a beautiful, silk gown with gold threads. It was covering her
arms as she reached out for food. She told me they had lost everything
in the hurricane."
Fenstermacher, a 53-year-old homemaker, is still amazed at the encounter God gave to her.
"I reached in and handed them lunch and we talked a little since there
was a long line ahead of me. It surprised me the things I asked because
I'm not normally so bold. 'Do you know Jesus?'" she asked the man, his
wife and their teenage son, uncertain of the response she would get.
(MORE)
SEE ALSO:
KS: MUSLIM VIEW OF JESUS: A PROPHET RESPECTED, REVERED -
TOP
Mario Sequeira, Johnson County Sun, 10/13/05
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15373436&BRD=1459&PAG=461&dept_id=506062&rfi=6
Saldana grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and majored in poetry and
literature at Middlebury College, Vt. In 1999, she won a Thomas Watson
Fellowship to pursue a project that combined two very dear interests -
poetry and Christianity - and traveled through Egypt, Syria, Jordan and
Turkey.
It was during a stay in Bethlehem that her interest in Islam was
aroused. She asked a Muslim guard how a Muslim could protect the
birthplace of Jesus.
"He is our prophet too," the man replied.
She traveled in regions where Muslims and Christians had been living
together for hundreds of years, where churches had been converted into
mosques, where the Muslim call to prayer went out even as church bells
pealed.
"It occurred to me that I knew nothing about Islam and that I really
couldn't understand Christianity completely without confronting Islam,"
Saldana recounted to the Harvard University's Harvard Gazette. . .
Saldana said she realized that at that grass-roots level, not only was
there no Muslim-Christian conflict but a hospitable reception toward
Christians.
So what were Muslims to make of a Christian evangelical calling for the
assassination of the head of a country, someone asked at the Village
Church session.
Muslims idealized Christianity and, because of their deep love of
Jesus, they believe real Christianity is the Christianity given by
Jesus, Saldana replied.
"(They believe) anything (done) in the name of Christianity that is evil must be misinterpreting Christianity," she said. . .
Christians tend to have a stereotyped view of Muslims, she said. "I've
been to Damascus and seen the minaret of Jesus on a mosque. People
might forget that. We tend to remember the awful extreme things easier
than the simple things.
"I don't think many people know the respect Muslims have for Jesus." (MORE)
-----
VA/NC: BEAUTY QUEEN GLAD TO HONOR HER FAITH -
TOP
Pamela J. Podger, Roanoke Times, 10/14/05
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/36214
Excited and jittery, Anisah Rasheed of Roanoke pondered a fashion
dilemma that few beauty queens have faced before: Matching her
coronation gown with her hajib, a headscarf worn by Muslim women.
Rasheed, 20, was crowned Miss A&T for 2005-06 on Thursday night in
a sparkling fishtail gown -- with a tiara glittering over her golden
hajib -- during homecoming ceremonies at North Carolina A&T State
University.
University officials say Rasheed is the first Muslim selected as campus
queen by the 11,000-student school. She'll be featured, along with
others from black colleges and universities, in an upcoming issue of
Ebony magazine.
Rasheed was elected at a forum in April, competing against eight women
in the categories of talent, formalwear, speech and debate. She said no
one has made an issue of her faith or covering her body with
traditional garb.
"Once you learn to accept yourself, it washes away everyone's opinions
about you and lets you do what you will in life," she said. "I'm glad
I'm a role model for Muslims, but it is for everyone who faces
challenges. It is about being confident." (MORE)
-----
VA: SHARING THEIR FAITH AT ADAMS CENTER -
TOP
ADAMS Center mosque members and members of churches from other faiths share their beliefs and learn about Ramadan.
Erika N. Cotton, The Connection, 10/13/05
http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=57228&paper=66&cat=104
For millions of Muslims around the world, Oct. 3 signified the start of Ramadan, the holiest month of the year for them.
During Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating or drinking anything from
dawn until sunset every day for 30 days. They begin their fast with a
meal called suhoor in the early morning and end with iftar in the
evenings.
"It's a purification of your heart and body and mind and it gives you
satisfaction. When we fast we thank [the] Almighty and think of those
who don't have anything to eat," said All Dulles Area Muslim Society
(ADAMS) Center mosque member Munawar Ashraf of Herndon at an Interfaith
and Hispanic Heritage Ramadan Iftar Saturday. "The Quran tells us [to
think about] all humanity, all people, . . . like your brothers and
sisters."
FARHANAHZ ELLIS, ADAMS Center Interfaith chairperson, said the ADAMS
Center holds the Interfaith Iftar, to give Muslims and non-Muslims an
opportunity to share their beliefs and gain a greater understanding of
each other so that they can unite to help the greater community.
For her, it's a special time of the year.
"It's a time to get empathy and understand how other people go through
life," Ellis said. "Someone once told me that even when you fast for
Ramadan, it's easier. You know when you start and when you end. There
are millions of people who are in Ramadan permanently because they
don't have the means." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
NH: NEW HAMPSHIRE'S MUSLIMS OBSERVE RAMADAN -
TOP
Faiza Elmasry, Voice of America, 10/13/05
http://www.voanews.com/english/AmericanLife/2005-10-13-voa24.cfm
There are large, well-established Muslim American communities across
the country& in California, New York, Michigan and here in
Washington DC. They have their own well funded Islamic Centers and
mosques where members can gather and worship together. They also have
easy access to a variety of ethnic markets and grocery stores.
In cities like Manchester, New Hampshire, home to just a few dozen
Muslim families, Muslims find their own ways to celebrate not only
their religious traditions, but their cultural diversity as well. (MORE)
-----
MUSLIMS NO LONGER STRANGERS IN IRELAND -
TOP
Cathleen Falsani, Chicago Sun-Times, 10/14/05
http://www.suntimes.com/output/falsani/cst-nws-fals14.html
One of the first things we noticed as we drove through the gates of the
Islamic center complex was a sign advertising its restaurant, the Olive
Tree. All are welcome, for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the sign
beckoned. And they deliver, too.
When I placed a call to the Islamic center -- one of two official
mosques in Dublin and one of about 10 in the north and south of Ireland
(including a Muslim meeting house in rural County Cavan not far from my
grandmother's home) -- I wasn't sure what to expect. Even in Chicago,
my calls sometimes receive a mixed reception.
It's understandable. American Muslims, too often, are put in the
position to defend themselves and their faith against the violent
actions of a few scoundrels who claim their murderous actions are done
in the name of Islam. More often than not, reporters call only when
something's wrong. So I was surprised -- stunned, really -- when I rang
the Dublin mosque late one afternoon, introduced myself as an American
religion writer and asked if I could come the next morning to speak to
someone about what life is like for the Muslim community in Ireland.
Without a moment's hesitation, the friendly man on the other end of the
phone said, in typical Irish form (although he said it with a heavy
Malaysian accent), "You're more than welcome." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MUSLIMS CELEBRATE 50 YEARS IN KOREA -
TOP
The Chosun Ilbo, 10/14/05
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200510/200510140006.html
It was half a century ago that two Muslims, Imam Zubercoch and Abdul
Rahman, fought for peace in the Korean War as part of the UN forces and
in the process introduced Islam's holy book, the Koran, to Korea. On
Friday, the country celebrated the golden anniversary of their mission.
Sponsored by the Korea-Middle East Association, prominent figures in
Korea's Islamic community along with foreign dignitaries and Korean
lawmakers gathered to commemorate the anniversary.
Muslims came together to say evening prayers before breaking their fast
during the holy month Ramadan with the "iftar" meal. Though such
observances seem alien to many, Islam is said to be the fastest growing
religion on earth and followed by one-fifth of the world population.
Korea now has some 100,000 Muslims, more than 30 percent of whom are
Koreans. That Islamic fundamentalists were behind major terrorist acts
worldwide has meant that many ordinary Muslims face discrimination. But
religious leaders insist Islam is a peaceful faith.
"It's a shame that many Koreans associate Islam with terrorism. Those
terrorists have nothing to do with our religion. It's wrong to say they
are Islamic fundamentalists, they are just from anti-American or
anti-Israeli groups. Islam's ideologies are peace, equality and
brotherhood," one said. (MORE)
-----
VATICAN PLEDGES TO WORK WITH MUSLIMS -
TOP
Associated Press, 10/14/05
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/12901796.htm
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican sent a message to Muslims on Friday for the
end of Ramadan, pledging to keep up momentum for closer relations begun
by the late Pope John Paul II and to work for "greater justice and
enduring peace."
The traditional message, signed by the head of the office for
interreligious relations, Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, said "it was
faith in God and confidence in humanity that impelled the late pope to
engage in dialogue. . ."
"Let us, as Christians and Muslims, show that we can live together in
true fraternity, striving always to do the will of Merciful God who
created humanity to be one family," the message said.
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/16/05
*
Hadith:
Honey and the Quran
*
CAIR-Philly Offers 'Understanding Islam'
Course
-
CAIR-FL:
Muslims, Jews Hold
Fast-Breaking Banquet
*
UT:
Muslims, Mormons Will Fly
Aid to Quake Victims
-
MI:
Islamic Center Collects
Funds for Quake Victims
-
NY:
Personal Ties Feed Local
Pakistani Relief Effort
-
HI:
Muslims Gather in Prayer for
Devastated Region
-
WA:
Muslims Respond
with Prayers and Donations
-
OH:
Pakistan Group to Host
Event for Quake Victims
-
Guidance to
Promote
& Protect Charitable Giving
*
PA:
Muslim
Athletes Balance Spirituality with Sports
-
49ers Muslim Middle
Linebacker
-
VA/MD:
Guiding Muslim Youth
During Ramadan's Fast (RNS)
-
CA:
Getting a Small Start on
Islam's Fasting Ritual
*
FL:
Muslim Restaurant
Owners Have Ramadan Challenge
-
NJ:
Businesses Cater to
South Asian Traditions
*
MN:
Female Muslim Comic Shatters
Stereotypes (Star Trib)
*
Yee:
Muslim Army Chaplain
Recalls 'Devastating' Ordeal (AP)
*
Our Diplomats' Arabic
Handicap (Washington Post)
-
Al-Azhar Boycotts US Over Visa
Denial
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: HONEY AND THE QURAN -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Make use of the two
remedies, honey and the Quran."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1196
VERSE OF THE DAY: HEALING FOR MANKIND
"And (consider how) thy Lord has inspired the bee: 'Prepare for
thyself dwellings in mountains and in trees, and in what (beekeepers) may
build (for thee by way of hives); and then feed on all manner of fruit,
and follow humbly the paths ordained for thee by thy Lord.' (And lo!)
there issues from within their bodies a fluid of many hues, wherein there
is healing for mankind. In all this, there is a message indeed for people
who think!"
The Holy Quran, 16:68-69
SEE ALSO:
WHAT IS APITHERAPY?
http://www.apitherapy.com/
-----
CAIR-PHILLY OFFERS 'UNDERSTANDING ISLAM' COURSE
-
TOP
Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/15/05
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/entertainment/12907418.htm
Islam Course
"Understanding Islam & Muslims through History &
Jurisprudence." Foundation for Islamic Education, 1860 Montgomery
Ave, Villanova; 215-592-0509. 7-9 p.m. Mons & Weds, & 10:30
a.m.-12:30 p.m. Sats. Registration required.
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-FL: MUSLIMS,
JEWS HOLD FAST-BREAKING BANQUET -
TOP
CAIR Central Florida Director Ahmed Bedier appeared on NBC's Tampa
affiliate WFLA to discuss an interfaith community fast-breaking event
that brought Tampa Bay Muslims and Jews together to celebrate the
confluence of their holy months of Ramadan and Tishri.
CAIR-FL co-sponsored the event, which was hosted and organized by
'Serving the One.' Serving the One is a diverse interfaith group made up
of committed individuals dedicated to building bridges of understanding.
Ahmed Bedier is a founding member of Serving the One.
WATCH THE VIDEO NEWS CLIP:
Broadband (High-speed)
http://www.cairfl.org/video/051014_wfla_sto_iftar_hi.wmv
Dial-up (low speed)
http://www.cairfl.org/video/051014_wfla_sto_iftar_lo.wmv
---
CAIR-CA: NON-MUSLIMS INVITED
TO JOIN CELEBRATIONS MARKING RAMADAN -
TOP
Cicero A. Estrella, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/15/05
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/15/BAGOEF8UP81.DTL
As part of their commemoration of Islam's holiest month, Bay Area mosques
are inviting non-Muslims to learn more about Islam during five Ramadan
dinner celebrations this weekend.
Organizers hope the outreach will help break down stereotypes about their
faith.
"We're inviting people into our centers so they can see how we
worship and talk to us," said Dian Alyan, outreach director for the
Muslim Community Association in Santa Clara. "That's the best way to
understand what Islam stands for."
Alyan said the participating mosques -- which also includes the Islamic
Society of San Francisco, Belmont's Yaseen Foundation, Fremont's Islamic
Society of East Bay and San Jose's South Bay Islamic Association -- had
held similar open houses in recent years.
The collaboration, which is meant to reach a larger number of people,
will provide five locations around the Bay Area from which to choose. The
Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is
co-sponsoring the Santa Clara event. (MORE)
-----
UT: MUSLIMS, MORMONS WILL FLY AID TO
EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (October 16, 2005) - International relief and
development organization Islamic Relief, in conjunction with the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is sending a cargo plane filled
with emergency relief supplies to assist the victims of the South Asia
earthquake. The Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA) is
also assisting in the effort.
The cargo plane will leave Salt Lake City International Airport at 4:00pm
on Monday, October 17, and arrive in Islamabad, Pakistan, at 9:00pm on
Tuesday, October 18.
WHAT: Press Conference to announce airlift that will carry emergency aid
to earthquake victims in Pakistan.
WHEN: Monday, October 17, 2005, 4:00pm
WHERE: Airort cargo area, Salt Lake City International Airport
WHY: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be providing
the contents of the shipment from its welfare and humanitarian
storehouses, IMANA will be helping cover a part of the transportation
costs, and Islamic Relief will be distributing the aid items through its
staff in the affected areas in Pakistan.
The contents of this shipment includes: tents, medical disposable
modules, shovels, hygiene kits, first aid modules, warm jackets,
blankets, wheelchairs, walkers, crutches, Atmit powdered milk, and
dialysis machines.
Media Contact:
Arif Shaikh
Media and Public Relations Manager
Islamic Relief
arif@irw.org
(310) 351-3931 mobile
SEE ALSO:
MI: ISLAMIC CENTER COLLECTS
FUNDS FOR QUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
Kalamazoo Gazette, 10/15/05
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-15/112937167912510.xml&coll=7
Although Pakistani authorities have ended rescue operations looking for
survivors of the Oct. 8 earthquake in the Kashmir region, survivors will
need food, shelter and warm clothing for many months.
To that end, the Kalamazoo Islamic Center is collecting donations to be
used for relief efforts. The goal is to raise $50,000.
More than $31,000 was pledged as of Friday, said Gulnar Husain, a
spokeswoman for the effort.
---
NY: PERSONAL TIES FEED LOCAL PAKISTANI
RELIEF EFFORT -
TOP
CAROL EISENBERG, Newsday, 10/15/05
http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/newyork/politics/nyc-pak1015,0,2689587.story
From the old Pakistani enclaves of Brooklyn to the spanking new mosques
of Bay Shore, Muslims gathered Friday to mourn, to pray and to collect
money.
"Everyone is very, very shaken up," said Dr. Hafizur Rehman, a
pediatrician from Bay Shore whose family comes from the
earthquake-devastated region near Islamabad. "Nearly everyone here
has family or friends who perished in the quake. Nearly everyone is
participating in the relief effort."
Rehman, like a half dozen local doctors, has signed on with medical teams
going to Kashmir to tend the injured through the Islamic Medical
Association of North America. Other groups are collecting medical
supplies, while virtually every mosque in New York is collecting money,
blankets and clothing.
But many fear that their efforts will not be enough to stave off
thousands of additional deaths among homeless survivors.
"The size of this disaster is beyond comprehension," Pakistani
Consul General Haroon Shaukat said Friday at a news conference with local
Pakistani leaders to underscore the scope of the disaster.
Describing the millions now living out in the open in plunging nighttime
temperatures, Shaukat said: "I plead with people to give generously.
There are millions of people out in the open. We need blankets, tents,
clothing, furnaces."
Mohammad Razvi, executive director of the Council of People's
Organization, a Pakistani group, thanked people for their generosity, but
urged them to give more. "Millions will not solve this," he
said. "We need billions." (MORE)
---
HI: ISLE MUSLIMS GATHER IN PRAYER FOR
SUPPORT OF DEVASTATED REGION -
TOP
Mary Adamski, Star Bulletin, 10/16/05
http://starbulletin.com/2005/10/16/news/story06.html
The Friday prayer service at the Manoa mosque focused on the 2.5 million
people left homeless by the Oct. 8 earthquake in northern Pakistan. For
many local residents, the prayer is personal.
"I called immediately. Our families are fine," said A. Karim
Khan of Pearl City. One of about 300 island Muslims with Pakistani roots,
Khan was relieved to determine that his brothers and sisters and his
wife's parents are safe. "Old buildings from the 18th and 19th
century went down," said Khan, a Leeward Community College history
professor, who is from Peshawar.
"Natural disaster knows no boundaries," said Lt. Col. Bader
Uzzaman of the Pakistan army, who joined more than 200 local Muslims at
the weekly service.
"There has to be collective response. That's the challenge the world
is facing in the recent events, the tsunami in Asia, the hurricanes in
North America. Human beings are the same and their needs are the same
wherever disaster strikes." Uzzaman is here to attend a course at
the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, where representatives of
several nations address regional and global security issues from
terrorism to natural disaster.
"The military has been involved in a big way" in rescue and
relief efforts in the "difficult to access" mountainous region
of Kashmir, said Uzzaman. "We're grateful for the help" as
other countries have responded. He is watching television coverage from
his homeland. His family is safe in Lahore.
As people left the service, they put currency in the hands of Hakim
Ouansafi. He said non-Muslims as well as members have contributed to the
relief fund of the Muslim Association of Hawaii. The goal is to match the
$65,000 collected at the mosque for Hurricane Katrina victims in
Mississippi and Louisiana. The money will go to agencies with U.S.
government backing, he said. Information is found on the Islamic Center
Web site:
www.iio.org. (MORE)
---
WA: MUSLIMS RESPOND WITH
PRAYERS AND DONATIONS -
TOP
Krista J. Kapralos, Herald, 10/15/05
http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/05/10/15/100loc_quake001.cfm
---
OH: PAKISTAN GROUP TO HOST EVENT
FOR VICTIMS OF EARTHQUAKE -
TOP
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1129369011179171.xml&coll=2
The Pakistan American League of Northeast Ohio is hosting a
fund-raiser for earthquake victims Monday night at the Islamic Center of
Cleveland, 6055 West 130th St., Parma.
The 6:30 p.m. program will include a Ramadan iftar dinner, the
traditional breaking of the daily fast. People of all faiths are welcome.
Donations will go toward relief efforts in Pakistan, where tens of
thousands were killed, injured and left homeless by an Oct. 8
earthquake.
For more information, call Zia Khan at 330-562-9650.
---
GUIDANCE TO PROMOTE &
PROTECT CHARITABLE GIVING -
TOP
http://www.muslimadvocates.org/news_more.php?id=12_0_3_0_M
Earthquake & Hurricane Relief Efforts: Guidance to Promote &
Protect Charitable Giving
Download a copy of this Guidance here.
Following the tsunami in Southeast Asia, the hurricanes that hit the Gulf
Coast and now, the earthquake in South Asia, Muslim Americans have opened
their hearts and wallets and supported these vital relief and
reconstruction efforts. It is important to donate, and we encourage
Muslim Americans to donate generously to help the victims of these
natural disasters.
But it also important that Muslim Americans take steps to select
reputable relief and charitable organizations in order to ensure that
donations go where they are intended. Our efforts must always be mindful
of the post-September 11th laws intended to stop the flow of funds for
improper purposes.
To address these concerns, Muslim Advocates issues this
guidance:
Tax Exempt Charitable Contributions: If an individual donor seeks to
claim a charitable contribution on the donor's tax returns, the donation
must be made to a U.S.-registered charity that has been granted 501(c)(3)
tax exempt status. (To determine if the organization is a U.S.-registered
tax exempt charity, ask the organization, or go to
www.guidestar.org, an online
database of IRS-recognized charities.) (MORE)
-----
MUSLIM ATHLETES
BALANCING SPIRITUALITY WITH SPORTS -
TOP
During Ramadan, they must fast regardless of demands on the body.
Romy Varghese, Morning Call, 10/16/05
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_5fastingoct16,0,4354210.story
Zohayr Jaffer caught passes, faked out teammates and was repeatedly
crushed to the turf at the Parkland High School football
practice.
After 20 minutes, the 16-year-old junior varsity player, his jersey
streaked with dirt, was sweating. And when the coach called for a water
break, he trotted over with the other players to one of the three water
stations.
But instead of joining the boys who clustered around the orange coolers
and gulped water from each refill, one after the other, Jaffer wiped his
face with the end of his shirt. As the boys flipped their paper cups into
a large bin, Jaffer pulled on his helmet and headed back to the
field.
Jaffer is fasting during Ramadan, one of the holiest months in the lunar
calendar of Islam. Fasting is considered one of the five pillars of
Islam, and during Ramadan, this means no food or water during daylight
hours. It does not matter that Jaffer is in the throes of a football
season that demands strenuous activity six days a week.
Balancing the requirements of their faith and their teams is a situation
faced by many young American Muslims who observe Ramadan. In an area with
a Muslim population in the thousands, and about three hundred children
taking weekend Islamic lessons, several coaches have grown increasingly
aware of some of their players' spiritual duties And it's something the
coaches would like to know more about.
For Jaffer, known as "Zeus" to his teammates, the hardest part
is not drinking. But he said he only considers the weight of his
obligation once he breaks his fast at sundown with his family.
"You feel the fulfillment," he said, "and you feel really
good to eat and relax."
Challenges for athletes
Ramadan, which started Oct. 5 this year, is a time for Muslims to feel
closer to God through prayer and self-restraint. Barring some exceptions,
fasting is obligatory for Muslims who reach adolescence. Often, younger
children join everyone else in their household since "it's a
beautiful atmosphere" similar to Christmas, said Fatima El-Turky,
who teaches youth religion classes at the Islamic Center of the Lehigh
Valley in Whitehall Township. Generally, family members wake up before
dawn to eat a small meal, called suhoor, and pray; after sunset, they
break the fast with a meal called iftar, which often consists of several
dishes, drinks and desserts. . .
Mohamed Turki, a Muslim and a doctor at St. Luke's Hospital and Health
Network, said athletes who fast during Ramadan and engage in activity
before they break their fast run a high risk of dehydration and problems
associated with it, such as muscle cramping. He said he would advise them
to "not play as intensely" and to consider their individual
cases - a kicker, for instance, wouldn't be affected as much as a player
who's in constant action.
Unfounded fears?
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington, D.C., advocacy group
Council on American Islamic Relations, said fears of dire consequences
from fasting are unfounded.
Muslims in areas that are more humid, hot and with longer daylight hours
have fasted for the past 1,400 years, Hooper said.
The group encourages parents to discuss Ramadan with teachers to
demystify the observance. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
49ERS MUSLIM MIDDLE LINEBACKER -
TOP
Star-Telegram, 10/16/05
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/football/12917815.htm
The 49ers have lost leading tackler Jeff Ulbrich for the season after he
opted for surgery on a torn left biceps. Middle linebacker Saleem Rasheed
will replace Ulbrich in the starting lineup. Rasheed, a devout Muslim, is
in the midst of Ramadan, the month-long holiday that includes fasting
during daylight hours. Rasheed's hydration during Ramadan always has been
a hot-button topic, especially on game days, since he was acquired as a
third-round draft pick in 2002.
---
VA/MD: GUIDING MUSLIM YOUTH
DURING RAMADAN'S FAST -
TOP
Andrea Useem, Religion News Service, 10/15/05
http://www.cleveland.com/living/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living/1129375919108860.xml&coll=2
Christmas has Santa Claus and costumed pageants; Easter has pastel
baskets and chocolate bunnies. Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting that
began last week, has yet to acquire such a sugary, child-pleasing
veneer.
During the holy month, many Muslim kids across the country exhibit a
self-discipline not often associated with children as they aspire to
abstain from food and drink, just as their parents and older siblings
do.
While this desire to please God is admirable, Muslim leaders say that
young people are not small adults and shouldn't be treated as such. Aware
of this, Muslim youth leaders across the country are working especially
hard this Ramadan to meet the special needs of young children and
teenagers. (MORE)
---
CA: GETTING A SMALL START ON
ISLAM'S FASTING RITUAL -
TOP
Muslims aren't obliged to abstain from daytime eating during Ramadan
until puberty. But some youngsters hunger to ease into the
tradition.
Patricia Ward Biederman, Los Angeles Times, 10/15/05
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-beliefs15oct15,1,926742.story
Nine-year-old Danya Maryam Aleem sat among her classmates at New Horizon
School-Los Angeles a few days after the start of the holy month of
Ramadan. The third- and fourth-graders had just finished praying, and now
they began their lesson in Islamic studies with school Principal Shahida
Alikhan.
Like 8-year-old classmate Kevin Karidjan, Danya was one of a handful of
youngsters who proudly wore stickers on their blue school shirts. Bearing
a photo of the holy city of Mecca, the stickers read: "I am
fasting."
During Ramadan, adult Muslims around the world abstain from food, drink
and other sensual pleasures from sunup to sundown. But according to
Islamic law, no Muslim need fast until he or she reaches puberty.
Children are not required to fast, nor are the terminally ill, pregnant
women or those traveling long distances.
But Muslim educators such as Alikhan and others believe that Ramadan, the
month in which God revealed the Koran to the prophet Muhammad, is an
ideal time to give children their first experience of fasting, one of the
five pillars of Islam. (The other four are believing in one God; praying
five times a day; giving alms each year; and making a pilgrimage to
Mecca, Saudi Arabia, at least once in a lifetime.) (MORE)
-----
FL: MUSLIM RESTAURANT OWNERS
HAVE EXTRA CHALLENGE DURING RAMADAN -
TOP
Cary McMullen, Ledger, 10/15/05
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051015/NEWS/510150441/1021
Even before you step inside Zohra's restaurant, piquant smells greet you.
The special items on today's menu include cream of carrot soup and
chicken crepes.
Lunch guests haven't arrived yet, and Zohra's owner, Sarah Bajwa, shows a
visitor around as the kitchen staff prepares the food. Normally, Bajwa
would sample the dishes, but for the next three weeks she will merely
observe as customers in the bright dining areas eat and walk away
satisfied.
Bajwa and her husband, Hafeez Bajwa, are observant Muslims, and during
the holy month of Ramadan, they strictly follow the requirement to fast
from sunrise to sunset. That means as they run their restaurants, Zohra's
in Lakeland and Lavender n Lace Tea Room in Lake Alfred, they are
surrounded all during the day with food they cannot taste.
According to the prescriptions of the Quran, the Islamic scriptures,
adult Muslims are not even to drink liquids and are to refrain from
smoking and sexual relations during the daylight hours. The only
exceptions are for the elderly, the infirm or those with conditions that
make fasting unwise, such as pregnant women.
Ramadan began on Oct. 4 and concludes with the sighting of the next new
moon, probably Nov. 3. In addition to fasting, Muslims use the month to
engage in deeper spiritual practices, such as prayer and giving to
charity. A festive holiday, the Eid al-Fitr, marks the end of
Ramadan.
Muslims say the daytime fast during Ramadan is not easy but is manageable
and that it has important spiritual benefits, such as increasing
discipline and gratitude. For Muslims who own restaurants, like the
Bajwas, the temptations and the discipline needed to resist them can be
even greater.
"You come to work and you are smelling this food, and you want a cup
of tea," laughs Sarah Bajwa. "In the morning it's not so bad,
but by midday you feel a little weak."
Things are a little easier for Saqib Khan, a Lakeland physician who also
owns Cafe Roti, an Indian-cuisine restaurant next door to his clinic near
Lakeland Regional Medical Center. Khan regularly walks over to the
restaurant during the day, but the lunchtime buffet of tandoori chicken
and basmati rice steaming in the chafing dishes isn't as much of a
challenge to resist as other forbidden practices such as gossiping, he
says.
---
NJ: WITH GROWING SOUTH ASIAN
POPULATION, BUSINESSES ARE CATERING TO DIFFERENT TRADITIONS -
TOP
NAVID IQBAL, DAILY RECORD, 10/16/05
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051016/NEWS01/510160346/1005
PARSIPPANY -- Two days before her wedding, Ami Desai of Denville was
getting henna tattoos on her hands at Zari Boutique on Route 46.
Her wedding to Naufel Tajudeen of South Brunswick was to take place on
Saturday at the Birchwood Manor in Hanover. One of the events in the
couple's four-day wedding celebration was catered by The Moghul
Restaurant of Morristown.
Desai and Tajudeen are some of the many South Asians who are getting
married or getting ready for their weddings by using the growing number
of businesses in Morris County that cater to South Asians, or Desis, the
colloquial term that means "from the homeland" of the Indian
subcontinent.
Even when compared to increasingly elaborate American ceremonies, Desi
weddings tend to be grand events where even relatives of relatives are
invited, said Saaima Saiyed, who is the publisher of a South Asian
fashion and wedding magazine called Shaadi Style.
"I think if someone were to imagine or describe a 'typical Desi
wedding' they would say it was a wedding consisting of a week's worth of
events and catering to 500, if not 1,000-plus people," Saiyed
said.
-----
MN: FUNNY WOMAN, SERIOUS ACTIVISM HUMOR,
POLITICS ARE BOTH PART OF ACTIVIST'S LIFE -
TOP
Doug Grow, Star Tribune, 10/14/05
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5670262.html
Reality keeps messing with my deeply held stereotypes.
Stereotype: Muslim women in traditional garb are not exactly rib-tickling
funny.
Reality: Farheen Hakeem is a stand-up comic who wears a hijab (head
scarf) and modest garb.
"You don't wear a bikini with a hijab," said Hakeem of her
attire.
Hakeem, who has been doing comedy for six years, was the Green Party's
candidate for mayor of Minneapolis in last month's primary election. She
finished third, behind Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin and
Mayor R.T. Rybak, but got a surprising 14 percent of the vote and a ton
of comic material.
"I'm not the sort who thinks all white people look alike,"
Hakeem said, "but I have to say that R.T. and McLaughlin do look
pretty similar. If you gave R.T. a bad haircut and caught McLaughlin
stepping out of a yoga class, I don't think you could tell them
apart."
Hakeem, 29, laughs at how both Rybak and McLaughlin have tried to get her
endorsement since the primary. She's having no part of it. "Why
would I endorse anyone who can't pronounce my name?" she asked.
(MORE)
-----
MUSLIM ARMY CHAPLAIN RECALLS
'DEVASTATING AND FRIGHTENING' ORDEAL -
TOP
MELANTHIA MITCHELL, ASSOCIATED PRESS, 1/16/05
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Muslim_Chaplain.html
SEATTLE -- As a Muslim chaplain, Army Capt. James Yee thought he would
have a positive influence at the U.S. prison for terror suspects at
Guantanamo Bay.
Instead, he became a suspect, himself.
Once a soldier praised for his services, Yee was arrested on suspicion of
espionage and held in solitary confinement for 76 days. He was later
cleared in the investigation, but says his case should be a warning to
others.
"My faith in Islam and my patriotism, my willingness to advocate for
American values, diversity and religious freedom was under fire,"
Yee told The Associated Press in a recent phone interview from New York,
where he was promoting his book, "For God and Country."
(MORE)
-----
OUR DIPLOMATS' ARABIC HANDICAP -
TOP
Jennifer Bremer, Washington Post, 10/16/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/15/AR2005101500104.html
Karen Hughes, the new head of public diplomacy for the Bush
administration, came back from the Middle East last month chastened by
the communications chasm looming between the region's public and
ourselves. She had seen firsthand that there are few quick fixes in the
Middle East. But we do have one simple option that could move us a big
step forward: teaching our diplomats to speak Arabic.
At a time when the U.S. government has an urgent need both to understand
what's being said in the Arab world and to express our own views clearly,
surely every U.S. embassy in the Mideast is staffed with at least several
American diplomats who speak Arabic, right? Well, no. Four years after
9/11, we're still a very long way from achieving this fundamental goal,
as the State Department's internal performance reviews and interviews
with human resource and language training staff make clear. Policy is not
the problem: State Department planning documents call for increased
Arabic language capabilities in the Foreign Service. The problem is that
the way we're going about meeting this goal guarantees failure.
Not ready for prime time: Level 3 designates moderate fluency in a
language, but you couldn't ask a diplomat who speaks Arabic at that level
to appear before a camera on al-Jazeera TV and speak articulately about
U.S. policy in the Middle East, the author says. (Thirteen/wnet New
York)
To understand why requires a safari into the bureaucratic undergrowth, so
grab your machete. The Foreign Service classifies language ability into
five levels, with "1" being the lowest (able to handle only the
very simplest social situations) and "5" the highest (a level
rarely assigned to anyone but a native speaker).
From a public diplomacy standpoint, the key distinction is between a
"3" and a "4." We have a fairly good supply of 3's in
Arabic, almost 200 as of August 2004 (the latest State Department data
available). A level 3 can handle one-on-one situations, or something like
a ministry meeting in a subject area they know well. But a level 3
speaker would flounder in a complex situation. If you put a 3 in a public
meeting where many excited people are speaking on top of one another, for
example, or in a coffee shop conversation with college students arguing
about religion and the state, he or she would be lost. Double the
difficulty if the diplomat has been trained only in Modern Standard
Arabic, a formal dialect very different from the colloquial dialects that
people actually speak (see sidebar). But these are precisely the kinds of
situations that our Middle East diplomats must be equipped to
handle.
Speaking, moreover, is generally harder than listening. No responsible
person would ask a 3 to speak before an unfriendly crowd at the local
university (or at the embassy gates), much less put a 3 in front of a
television camera and expect a clear, engaging and cogent discussion of
U.S. Middle East policy in Arabic. For that you need a 4, and preferably
a 4+ or a 5. So how many of these 4 and 5 level speakers do we have in
Arabic? As of August 2004 -- 27. At the highest levels (4+ and 5), we
have a grand total of eight individuals worldwide. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
AL-AZHAR BOYCOTTS US OVER VISA DENIAL -
TOP
http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2005-10/15/article06.shtml
CAIRO, October 15, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) - Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, the
highest seat of religious learning in the Sunni world, has decided to
shun American officials and freeze cooperation with all US institutions
after Washington denied one of its senior officials an entry
visa.
"Grand Imam Sheikh Mohammad Sayyed Tantawi decided to ban US
officials from entering the headquarter of Al Azhar Sheikhdom in Cairo
suspended cooperation with official American institutions,"
well-placed sources told IslamOnline.net on Saturday, October
15.
"He also decided not to send Al-Azhar scholars to the US in the
future even if Washington granted them entry," they added.
After weeks of procrastination, the US Embassy in Cairo refused to give
Sheikh Abdul Hamid Al-Atrash, the head of Al-Azhar Fatwa Committee, an
entry visa, giving no reasons.
Sheikh Tantawi had nominated the prominent scholar to give lectures and
sermons at a number of American Islamic centers during the Muslim holy
month of Ramadan. (MORE)
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/17/05
*
Verse:
God Responds to the
Distressed Soul
*
Save This Date:
Dec. 3 CAIR Annual
Dinner in VA
-
Donate the Cost of a
Ramadan Meal to CAIR
*
CAIR:
VA
Prison Agrees to Facilitate Islamic Prayers
-
CAIR
Correctional Institution's Guide to Islam
*
CAIR Rep Discusses Iraq on C-SPAN's 'Washington Journal'
*
CAIR-CA:
Muslims Invite Neighbors to Share Ramadan (SJMN)
-
CAIR-OH Feeds the Homeless
*
US Muslims Play Role in Worldwide Relief Efforts (KUNA)
-
CA:
Relief Effort Gains Momentum (Stanford Daily)
*
CA:
Graffiti on Sikh Property May Have Targeted Muslims
*
IL:
Muslims Encouraged to Become U.S. Citizens (Defender)
*
AL:
Center Hopes Others Explore Islam (Huntsville Times)
-
CT:
'Taste of Ramadan' Reflects Islamic Faith
-
CA:
Reporter Experiences Ramadan Fast (La Voz)
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: GOD RESPONDS TO THE DISTRESSED SOUL -
TOP
"Who is it that responds to the distressed (soul) when it calls out to
Him, and who removes the ill (that caused the distress), and has made
(mankind) inherit the earth? Could there be any divine power other than
God? How seldom do you keep this in mind!"
The Holy Quran, 27:62
HADITH OF THE DAY: GOD HEARS THE OPPRESSED
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Three people will not
have their supplications rejected (by God): a fasting person until he
breaks his fast, a just ruler and an oppressed person."
Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 3, Number 132
-----
SAVE THIS DATE: DEC. 3 CAIR ANNUAL DINNER IN VA -
TOP
On December 3, 2005, CAIR will hold its 11th annual banquet at the
Marriott Crystal Gateway in Arlington, Va. For more information please
e-mail:
events@cair.com
SEE ALSO:
DONATE THE COST OF A RAMADAN MEAL TO CAIR -
TOP
Help CAIR reach its goal of raising $1 million during the month of
Ramadan by donating the cost of one missed meal for yourself or your
family. To Donate, and to learn why you should donate, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/ramadan2005/
-----
CAIR: PRISON AGREES TO FACILITATE PRAYER -
TOP
Accommodations include finding a chaplain to monitor the Muslims' services.
Laurence Hammack, Roanoke Times, 10/17/05
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/wb/xp-36620
Officials at Wallens Ridge State Prison have taken steps to accommodate
Muslim inmates who complained about not being allowed to pray at the
maximum security prison.
Some inmates also claimed they received death threats from a guard who
had recently returned from military service in Iraq with a hatred for
Muslims.
Both issues were discussed during a recent meeting between prison
officials and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, according to
Noman Bajwa, civil rights coordinator for the group.
Bajwa said he was assured that prison officials would look for a
volunteer chaplain to monitor Friday services for Muslims. That would
allow the gatherings to be held in the prison gymnasium, as they are
for inmates of other religions. Prison officials also agreed to provide
small towels for Muslims to use as prayer rugs, which previously had
not been allowed outside their cells.
As for the guard accused of threatening inmates, Bajwa said he was told
that the state Department of Corrections had taken disciplinary action.
Prison spokesman Larry Traylor said he could not comment on personnel
matters.
After the council expressed concerns about the treatment of Muslim
inmates at the Wise County prison earlier this year, Department of
Corrections Inspector General June Kimbriel and Wallens Ridge Warden
David Robinson met with Bajwa in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 7.
"I'm pleased that they did make the effort to come," Bajwa said.
"Obviously it's a long trip from Big Stone Gap to Washington. But for
now we have to wait until they fulfill the commitments that were made
to us during that meeting."
Traylor described the meeting as "cordial and productive." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR: A CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION'S GUIDE TO ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS PRACTICES -
TOP
In response to the growing number of inmates discovering and embracing
Islam as a form of rehabilitation, this pamphlet is designed to help
correctional institution's and officer's (who may also be Muslim).
Prayers, diet, incense, and head-cover's are a few of the issues
discussed. 24 pages, 9" x 4", soft-cover. Discount for correctional
personnel or inmates. Price is $3.00 + $1.42 shipping and handling.
To Order, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/comersus/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=6
-----
CAIR REP DISCUSSES IRAQ ON C-SPAN'S 'WASHINGTON JOURNAL' -
TOP
CAIR Research Director Dr. Mohamed Nimer appeared Sunday morning on C-SPAN's 'Washington Journal.' To view the segment, go to:
http://c-span.org/ Click on "Washington Journal" and then on "Washington Journal Entire Program (10/16/2005)." Dr. Nimer's segment begins at 2:05.
-----
CAIR-CA: MUSLIMS INVITE NEIGHBORS TO RAMADAN -
TOP
Howard Mintz, Mercury News, 10/17/05
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_valley/12922848.htm
As the sun set Sunday evening, Bay Area Muslims were both celebrating
Ramadan and making sure they were working hard to educate their
neighbors about their culture and religion.
In Santa Clara, hundreds gathered at the Muslim Community Association
mosque for dinner, prayers and an ongoing attempt to erase
misconceptions about Islam. For Khaled Ejaz, the growth of the event is
essential for his community.
``Breaking the prejudice after 9/11 is very important for us,'' said
Ejaz, who had a table of Korans in different languages, from French to
Burmese, set out for review.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations sponsored similar events over
the weekend at five Bay Area mosques, including a dinner Sunday at the
South Bay Islamic Association in San Jose and a similar gathering in
San Francisco. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-COLUMBUS FEEDS THE HOMELESS -
TOP
(COLUMBUS, OH, 10/17/05) - On Sunday, October 16, the Columbus office
of CAIR-Ohio marked the Muslim fast of Ramadan by providing hot meals
to some 180 residents of the YWCA Family Center, a newly-built shelter
for homeless families.
More than 20 volunteers from the local Muslim community participated in
the event. Due to the overwhelming interest among Muslims to serve the
community at all times of the year, not just during Ramadan, CAIR-Ohio
has decided to serve at the shelter on a monthly basis.
"Helping those less fortunate in the community is emphasized in Islam,"
said CAIR-Ohio Civil Rights Director Jennifer Nimer. Nimer quoted
Islam's Prophet Muhammad who said: "He who eats his fill while his
neighbor goes without food is not a believer." He also said, "A person
has sinned if he neglects to feed those in need."
CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, is headquartered
in Washington, D.C., and has 31 regional offices and chapters
nationwide and in Canada. The Ohio Chapter of CAIR has 3 offices -
Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati.
CONTACT: Jennifer Nimer, 614-451-3232, E-Mail
jennifer@cair-ohio.com; Dalia Muhammad, 614-451-3232,
office@cair-ohio.com
-----
US MUSLIMS PLAY ROLE IN RAMADAN CHARITY, WORLDWIDE RELIEF EFFORTS -
TOP
Aya Batrawy, Kuwait News Agency, 10/17/05
http://www.kuna.net.kw/home/story.aspx?Language=en&DSNO=779544
WASHINGTON, Oct 17 (KUNA) -- As news of the devastating earthquake in
Pakistan began to trickle in through the media, Muslims across the
United States were digging deep into their wallets to raise money for
the victims, many of whom were Muslim.
American Muslims have already contributed millions of dollars for
victims of the earthquake and as donations of money, food, medical
supplies and other needed goods continue to be made from individuals
and mosques around the country, the long-term contribution from this
minority group is expected to climb beyond the initial USD 50-million
aid package offered by the US government. Despite chaos and confusion
on the ground following the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that rocked
Pakistan-administered Kashmir last week killing at least 38,000 people,
relief operations by Muslims in the United States have been quick,
organized and steadfast.
"Donations have been really good," said Dr. Pirachi Abdul Rashid, the
incoming president of the Association of Pakistani Physicians of North
America (APPNA), a group comprised of Pakistani Muslim doctors in the
United States hoping to collect over a million dollars for the relief
effort.
In the first 48 hours after news of the earthquake broke, APPNA alone
had raised over USD 200,000 and sent USD 70,000 dollars worth of
medical supplies to the hardest hit areas, according to Dr. Pirachi who
is traveling to Pakistan with a team of American Muslim doctors to
provide medical assistance for the thousands injured.
Non-Muslim aid organizations complained that donations for this latest
disaster were lower than expected, blaming the low charity in the
United States on "donor fatigue" following relief efforts in the
aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami last year.
On the other hand, US-based Muslim groups and mosques across the
country are experiencing a surge in donations this month, partly
because it is the duty of Muslims to give zakat (alm) during the
current holy month of Ramadan. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CA: EARTHQUAKE RELIEF EFFORT GAINS MOMENTUM -
TOP
Anne Ritchie, Stanford Daily, 10/17/05
http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page=content&id=18151&repository=0001_article
Members of the student group Pakistanis at Stanford (PAS) launched a
formal relief effort Wednesday night to benefit the victims of the Oct.
8 earthquake in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The 7.6 quake killed an
estimated 38,000 people, leaving at least 62,000 others injured.
The relief effort, which can be accessed at the PAS Web site -
http://pas.stanford.edu - has already generated over $4,000 in donations, according to PAS member and relief organizer Uzair Nasim, a junior.
"Nearly $1,400 has been donated online, $1,000 was collected from
various dorms the very night we launched our effort, $1,000 was donated
by members of the Islamic Society and the rest was given by people to
our members over the last few days," he said.
Sohail Razzaq, a freshman PAS member and relief organizer from Karachi,
Pakistan, commented on the University community's reaction to the
fundraiser.
"The response from the student body and faculty has been thoroughly encouraging," he said. (MORE)
-----
CA: RACIST GRAFFITI DISCOVERED ON SIKH PROPERTY IN LODI -
TOP
Layla Bohm, News-Sentinel, 10/15/05
http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2005/10/15/news/3_graffiti_051015.txt
The crudely painted black, red and green swastikas and letters came as
a shock this week to Lodi Sikhs who regularly gather at their property
on the corner of West Lane and Armstrong Road.
For David Hill, chair of Lodi's Breakthrough Project, the graffiti can't be tolerated.
That's just garbage," he said in a raised voice Friday as he looked at
a damaged tractor trailer. "It's intimidation, which is just what
(vandals) want."
Who painted the swastikas and letters that stand for "white power" is
not known. The vandalism appeared this week on the Sikh property,
including the trailer, a fence and a closed fruit stand that is visible
to a steady stream of traffic moving between Lodi and Stockton. . .
Hill has been active in the Breakthrough Project since 1998, when the
group formed after a cross was burned at Tokay High School. He hasn't
seen many other acts of graffiti recently, but he keeps an eye on the
area near S-Mart Foods, 610 W. Kettleman Lane.
He suspects the graffiti at the Sikh site may have actually targeted
the Muslim community, which has been in the national spotlight since
June, when five Lodi men were arrested during a terror investigation in
the city. (MORE)
-----
IL: MUSLIMS ENCOURAGED TO BECOME U.S. CITIZENS -
TOP
Maria Hegstad, Chicago Defender, 10/17/05
http://www.chicagodefender.com/page/local.cfm?ArticleID=2606
Nourelsuda Sublaban, who immigrated from Jordan to the United States
four years ago with her children, enjoys the benefits of U.S.
citizenship.
"Citizenship is very important because [now] I have Medicare . . . I [can] go to doctor, I [can] go to hospital," she said.
It also means she can get back into the country if she travels abroad.
Muslim and Arab community leaders touted these and other benefits
available to American citizens during a news conference last week and
urged Muslim immigrants to seek the protections that citizenship
provides.
"Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, our Muslim brothers and sisters
have been under [suspicion,]," said Karla Avila, program director for
the New Americans Initiative. Citizenship is "the only way they can
protect their civil rights."
-----
AL: CENTER HOPES OTHERS EXPLORE ISLAM -
TOP
SHELBY G. SPIRES, Huntsville Times, 10/16/05
http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/1129473901230410.xml&coll=1
Auayoob Karimi hopes Huntsville families who want to learn about Islam
will come to the Alabama Islamic Education Center of Alzahra.
The 5-year-old center, which just opened in a new location at 8200 S.
Memorial Parkway, was established to show people what Islam means in
terms of spirituality and culture. The center held an open house on
Saturday.
"We are open to anybody who wants to learn, no matter their age or
background," said Karimi, who is a native of Bahrain and has been
studying automotive engineering at the University of Alabama in
Huntsville.
Karimi wants the center to become a focal point and an outreach tool
for Islam in North Alabama and especially the almost 400 Islamic
families in Huntsville. "People can come here to support each other,"
he said. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CT: 'TASTE OF RAMADAN' REFLECTS ISLAMIC FAITH -
TOP
SARA CAPOZZI, Herald, 10/17/05
http://www.newbritainherald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15399755&BRD=1641&PAG=461&dept_id=10110&rfi=6
NEWINGTON -- Hundreds gathered at Newington High School for the "Taste of Ramadan" celebration Saturday evening.
In its seventh year, the event was sponsored by The Islamic Association
of Greater Hartford, the Muhammad Islamic Center of Hartford and the
Muslims Coalition of Connecticut.
The free event opened with speeches by Muslim community leaders and
included videos on Islamic culture, activities and crafts for children,
displays of books and other items, prayer and food from around the
world.
---
RAMADAN: A STUDENT'S JOURNEY WITH THE ISLAMIC FAITH -
TOP
Kharman Aidun, La Voz, 10/17/05
http://www.lavozdeanza.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/10/17/4352965c07ee8
The first day I wore the hijab to work, one of my managers looked at me
in shock and asked if I was really going to wear it. When I asked if
that would be a problem, he shook his head and told me he wasn't
allowed to have a problem with it.
I had decided that when Ramadan came I was going to live like a Muslim
for one week, and in order to do this effectively, I packed some
clothing and moved in with my friend Hala Hyatt and her family. (MORE)
-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS
- 10/18/05
*
Verse: The
Greatest Losers
*
ISLAM-OPED: God is
Not a Terrorist
*
CAIR-OH, APPNA-OH
Seek
Volunteers to Pack Quake Aid
-
TX:
Muslims Reach Out to Quake Victims (Star-Telegram)
-
MO: St. Louis Muslims Offer Quake Aid
-
CAIR-FL: Fast Brings Students Together for Fundraising
*
CAIR-SFBA: Bay Area Mosques Share Ramadan
-
CAIR-LA Co-Sponsors James Yee Speaking Tour
-
CAIR-FL Rep Comments on Iraqi Constitution
-
'Kudos' to CAIR-FL for Synagogue Talk
*
NY Real Estate Broker Claims Anti-Muslim Bias (NY Post)
-
Anti-Muslim Politician Cost Me 1M - Broker (Daily News)
*
MD: Teaching Teachers About Islamic Faith (Balt Sun)
*
MI: Dinner Program Examines 'Women in Islam'
-
NC:
Jews, Muslims Gather to Heal (News & Observer)
-
OH: Mosque is Muslim Melting Pot (Plain Dealer)
-
FL: Muslim Cross-Country Runner Adjusts to Fast
*
Iraqis Say Civilians Killed in U.S. Raids (Wash Post)
-
Sharon Grabs More W. Bank Land than Returned in Gaza
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: THE GREATEST LOSERS -
TOP
"Say (O Muhammad): 'Shall we tell you who are the greatest losers in
whatever they may do? (It is) those whose efforts have been wasted in
(the pursuit of no more than) this world's life, while they thought
they were acquiring good by their works?"
The Holy Quran, 18:103-104
"By (the token of) time (through the ages). Surely mankind is in a
state of loss, except those who have faith and do righteous deeds, and
(join together) in the mutual teaching of truth and patience in
adversity."
The Holy Quran, Chapter 103
-----
ISLAM-OPED: GOD IS NOT A TERRORIST -
TOP
ISLAM-OPED is a national syndication service of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) designed to offer an American Muslim
perspective on current political, social and religious issues.
ISLAM-OPED commentaries are offered free-of-charge to one media outlet
in each market area. Permission for publication will be granted on a
first-come-first-served basis.
CONTACT:
ihooper@cair-net.org
TEL: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726 (c)
Please consider the following commentary for publication.
---
GOD IS NOT A TERRORIST
Unearthing Our Common Humanity
By Ahmed Rehab
WORD COUNT: 567
[Ahmed Rehab is communications director for the Chicago office of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest
Muslim civil rights and advocacy group. He may be reached at:
communications@cairchicago.org ]
Religious extremists waste no time declaring natural disasters to be
God's punishment. The divine motivations they cite are different, but
they invariably reflect personal religious or political agendas.
On different occasions, these extremists of different faiths said
Hurricane Katrina was America's punishment for pressuring Israel to
leave Gaza, for the invasion of Iraq or for domestic "immorality."
Such zealots invoke God's name to reinforce their own demands, without
that God is not their personal lobbyist. A just God, and Muslims know
one of God's 99 Names is "The Just," does not punish thousands of
innocent human beings for the acts, good, bad or indifferent, of a few.
God is not a terrorist.
Any person of faith will strive to reconcile the death and destruction
caused by natural disasters like Katrina, or the recent earthquake that
devastated parts of South Asia, with God's justice and love for
humanity.
Islam, like other faiths, provides answers based on hope and inspiration, not anger and vengeance.
The Quran, Islam's revealed text, describes God's ultimate justice on
Judgment Day, when everyone will be shown their past deeds. "Then,
whoever has done an atom's weight of good shall see it, and whoever has
done an atom's weight of evil shall (also) see it there." (99:6-8)
Few watching the riveting television images of Americans being pulled
from rooftops in New Orleans, or Pakistanis sifting through the rubble
of a devastated village, could help but think of our common humanity
and the petty nature of our differences.
How is a Pakistani mother's agony over her lost child different from
that of a Katrina survivor suffering the same terrible loss? The two
women may dress differently, but their faces show the same grief. One
speaks Urdu and the other English, but they weep in the same language.
These two natural disasters broke through more than just levees and
layers of earth; they ripped through layers of politics and culture
that distort our perception of each other.
Wonders can happen when we focus on our similarities, not our differences.
Muslims worldwide raised more than a billion dollars for victims of
Hurricane Katrina. In the Middle East, there was an outpouring of
sympathy and prayers for those who had been killed, injured or
displaced on the Gulf Coast.
Across the United States, churches and other houses of worship joined
with mosques to raise funds and rush aid to the earthquake zone. In
both parts of the world, people who viewed each other with suspicion
were moved to reciprocate prayers and generosity, demonstrating that
the so-called "clash of civilizations" is not inevitable or necessary.
Such is the hidden blessing in the horror that is a natural disaster.
Sometimes, it takes the earth literally shaking under our feet to
remind us of our common humanity. Let us all work to make sure there is
a long-lasting positive response to recent suffering.
As God states in the Quran: "Whenever affliction touches a man, he
prays to Us&But as soon as We relieve his affliction he walks away
as if he had never prayed&" (10:12)
We must never walk away from one another's humanity and should always
heed the advice of the Prophet Muhammad, who reprimanded a follower who
said: "O God! Bestow Your Mercy on me and Muhammad only, and do not
bestow it on anyone else." The Prophet told him: "You have limited a
very vast thing (God's Mercy)."
-----
CAIR-OHIO, APPNA-OHIO SEEKS VOLUNTEERS TO PACK QUAKE AID -
TOP
(COLUMBUS, OH, 10/18/05) - CAIR-Ohio and APPNA-Ohio (Association of
Pakistani Physicians of North America) need volunteers in Cleveland to
help pack medical supplies for delivery to the victims of the recent
earthquake in Pakistan. The supplies will be sent to physician teams
going to Pakistan and partnering with local hospitals to bring
expertise and medical relief directly to those in need.
Volunteers may be from a medical or nonmedical background. Medical
personnel will direct the packing, using lists of needed supplies
prepared by APPNA. Nonmedical volunteers will pack the supplies, close
and label boxes and load the boxes into a van for transport.
WHEN: Wednesday, October 19, 2005, from 2:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
WHERE: The Medwish warehouse is located at the Cleveland Clinic Parker
Building, 17325 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, 44112. Directions and
more information about the warehouse can be found at
www.medwish-international.org.
Transportation options: The Islamic Society of Greater Columbus will be
sending a van and have seats available. They will meet at 1 p.m. on
Wednesday, October 19 at the Omar Ibn El Khattab Masjid, located at 580
Riverview Drive, Columbus, OH. The ISGC van plans to return to Columbus
by midnight, insha'allah. Please call 614-397-3693 as soon as possible
to reserve a seat in the van.
Volunteers may also drive on their own using the directions on the
website, but please let a coordinator below know you plan to come.
Other notes: Volunteers who are fasting should consider bringing a packed iftar.
For more information, or to RSVP to volunteer, please contact: Dr. Asma
Mobin-Uddin at 614-560-0272 or call CAIR-Ohio at 614-451-3232.
SEE ALSO:
TX: MUSLIM GROUPS REACHING OUT TO QUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
ELLENA F. MORRISON, Star-Telegram, 10/18/05
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/12931568.htm
Buildings that were under construction when Rehana Kausar left Kashmir
as a child no longer stand, reduced to rubble by the recent south Asian
earthquake.
"These were landmark places," said Kausar, an anesthesiologist with
Harris Methodist Fort Worth hospital and president of the Islamic
Medical Association of North America. "The day I heard they were all
gone, it really affected me."
Kausar left Sunday for the region to offer medical care as part of a
relief team assembled by the medical association, the Irving-based
Islamic charity Baitulmaal and other Islamic groups. The team is part
of an outpouring of support from area Muslims for Kashmir, a remote
region that straddles northern Pakistan and India. The two countries
have fought over Kashmir for decades.
"I can't even imagine what I am going to see," Kausar said Friday.
"There are still going to be bodies. I don't know how I am going to
feel about it."
About 10 medical professionals from across the United States will go to
the region for about two weeks at a time. The first group will arrive
this week in Islamabad, Pakistan's capital. (MORE)
---
ST. LOUIS MUSLIMS OFFER QUAKE AID -
TOP
The Islamic Foundation of Greater St. Louis, in conjunction with the
Association of Pakistani Physicians (APP) and Human Development
Foundation (HDF), recently raised more than $185,000 for earthquake
relief.
Keiser Permenente of California is sending a 15 physcian group, and a
group of 24 physicians from APP and HDF has already reached Islamabad
and were deployed in earthquake stricken areas.
CONTACT: Naseem Shekhani, M.D., 314-255-7409
---
FL: FAST BRINGS STUDENTS TOGETHER FOR FUNDRAISING -
TOP
THERESA BRADLEY, Miami Herald, 10/18/05
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12928710.htm
Just before the sun rose Monday, Amy Cohen chomped on some gummy worms, knowing it would be her last meal for 14 hours.
"You're restraining yourself for a good cause," she told herself as the sun grew strong.
Cohen, 21, a senior at the University of Miami, joined some 400 other
non-Muslim students in refusing food for a day as part of
"Fast-a-Thon," a fund- and awareness-raising Ramadan event.
The UM "Fast-a-Thon" raised $4,000, which will go to help victims of
Hurricane Katrina and last week's South Asian earthquake. It was one of
hundreds of similar events taking place on college campuses during
this, the holiest month of Islam. . .
Devastating natural disasters -- tsunami, hurricane and earthquake
alike -- have this year given an immediate reminder to be mindful of
the many who are suffering, said Altaf Ali, executive director of the
Council on Islamic-American Relations in Florida. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-SFBA: BAY AREA MOSQUES SHARE RAMADAN -
TOP
(BAY AREA, CA, 10/18/05) The San Francisco Bay Area office of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA) and five bay area
mosques opened their doors this past weekend in the spirit of sharing
Ramadan.
CAIR-SFBA co-hosted a Ramadan dinner at the Muslim Community
Association (MCA) and sponsored similar events at the South Bay Islamic
Association (SBIA), Islamic Society of East Bay (ISEB), Islamic Society
of San Francisco (ISSF), and Yaseen Foundation Muslim Community
Association (YFMCA).
Amina Ansari, CAIR-SFBA Program Manager, who helped coordinate the
planning efforts for the five mosques, said the Muslim community has
always reached out to area residents and public officials by hosting
open houses to teach the spirit of Ramadan. She added that this was the
first time that the bay area Muslim community has opened their doors in
unison.
While hundreds gathered in each mosque, the Muslim Community
Association of Santa Clara (MCA) attracted the highest attendance of
almost 400, including public officials, interfaith leaders, educators,
community residents and American-Muslims. Santa Clara Mayor Patricia
Mahan, attended the event along with the office of State Sen. Elaine
Alquist, D-San Jose, who presented a resolution to CAIR-SFBA, the MCA,
and the bay area Muslim community to commemorate Ramadan.
Students from San Jose's Miller Middle School attended the event as an
opportunity to build on their curriculum covering the origins of Islam
and other religions.
CONTACT: CAIR-SFBA Outreach Coordinator, Sameena Usman, and 408-986-9874, E-mail:
sameena@cair.com
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-LA CO-SPONSORS JAMES YEE SPEAKING TOUR -
TOP
http://www.ncrr-la.org/news/yee.html
CAIR-FL REP COMMENTS ON IRAQI CONSTITUTION -
TOP
CAIR Central Florida Director Ahmed Bedier appeared on NBC's Tampa
affiliate WFLA to discuss the referendum vote on the Iraqi Constitution.
WATCH THE VIDEO NEWS CLIP:
Broadband (High-speed)
http://www.cairfl.org/video/051015_wfla_iraq_const_hi.WMV
Dial-up (low speed)
http://www.cairfl.org/video/051015_wfla_iraq_const_lo.WMV\
---
CAIR-FL: TO BUILD A LASTING PEACE -
TOP
St. Petersburg Times, 10/18/05
http://sptimes.com/2005/10/18/Opinion/Judicial_system_s_rac.shtml
(Scroll down.)
Re: Synagogue welcomes Muslim speaker, Oct. 14.
Kudos and hats off to Ahmed Bedier, from the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, and Rabbi David Weizman, from the
Congregation Beth Shalom, for bringing two diverse groups together
through respect and understanding. Such events will build a lasting
peace better than all the militaries in the world.
I only wish I had been in attendance. Maybe these two gentlemen would
consider hosting an event or series of forums for the general public?
Jack Hanel, Indian Rocks Beach
-----
CITY REAL-ESTATE BROKER CLAIMS ANTI-MUSLIM BIAS -
TOP
CYNTHIA R. FAGEN, New York Post, 10/18/05
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/55650.htm
October 18, 2005 -- A real-estate broker claims she was dumped from a
million-dollar deal with the Education Department because City
Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz refused to work with a Muslim, according to
court papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Granite Realty Associates broker Ishan Amatullah said she learned
through a department worker that her services would no longer be
required in negotiating a $1.5 million lease.
SEE ALSO:
NY: ANTI-MUSLIM POL COST ME 1M - BROKER -
TOP
Helen Peterson, NY Daily News, 10/18/05
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/local/story/356802p-304118c.html
A Manhattan real estate broker is claiming in court papers that City
Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz scuttled her deal for an upper East Side
high school lease because she didn't want a Muslim involved.
A spokeswoman for Moskowitz (D-Manhattan) promptly denied the accusations of Ihsan Amatullah.
Amatullah is suing Alexancer Karten, owner of 403 East 76th St. Corp.,
and two agents who eventually brokered the deal for Eleanor Roosevelt
High School.
Amatullah said she identified the E. 76th St. site in 2000 and worked
out a deal with Karten to lease the property to the Board of Ed for
$1.5 million a year.
But on April 1, 2001, she claims, she was told the Board of Education
couldn't afford the deal, according to papers filed in Manhattan
Supreme Court.
Two months later, however, Amatullah said she learned real estate
brokers Julien Studley and Peter Berman were close to making the deal.
(MORE)
-----
MD: TEACHING TEACHERS ABOUT ISLAMIC FAITH -
TOP
MATTHEW HAY BROWN, Baltimore Sun, 10/18/05
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.iftar18oct18,1,6022603.story
The call to prayer echoed through the packed room. While River Hill
High School senior Khalid Shourbaji sang in Arabic, Sayeed Hassan
translated.
"Allahu akbar," repeated Hassan, president of the Dar al-Taqwa mosque,
for the public school administrators at his table. "God is the
greatest. Ash-hadu an la ilaha illa'llah. I bear witness that there is
no god but God."
The sun had fallen over Columbia, and members of the local Muslim
community were settling down to iftar, the meal that breaks the
daylight fast during the month of Ramadan.
On this evening last week, they invited teachers and administrators of
the Howard County public schools system to join them. More than 100
educators packed the room at the Wilde Lake Interfaith Center, where
children who are their students during the day explained to them the
tenets of Islam and the meaning of Ramadan.
"It's one part of a broader effort to let the community know that the
vast, vast majority of Muslims are just like them: law-abiding citizens
who want to contribute to the community," said Rita Sallam, a member of
the Howard County Muslim Council.
"The terrorists that you see on television do not represent Islam. The people in this room are Islam," she said.
Muslims across the country are using Ramadan, the month in which they
believe that God began to reveal the Quran to the prophet Muhammad, as
an opportunity to reach out to the broader community.
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, the
nation's largest Muslim civil-liberties group, co-sponsored an iftar on
Capitol Hill last week for congressional staffers. The Maryland Muslim
Council and the Baltimore Jewish Council are planning a holiday dinner
Thursday in honor of both Ramadan and Sukkot, the Jewish Feast of
Tabernacles. (MORE)
-----
MI: FREE DINNER PROGRAM EXAMINES "WOMEN IN ISLAM" -
TOP
http://www.wmich.edu/wmu/news/2005/10/029.html
KALAMAZOO--The Muslim Students Association at Western Michigan
University presents "From Eve to Aisha: Women in Islam, A Historic
Perspective," a free dinner program with guest speaker Aminah Assilmi
at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, in the East Ballroom of the Bernhard
Center.
Assilmi is an award-winning broadcast journalist and an American
convert to Islam. She is the director of the International Union of
Muslim Women and lives in Arkansas.
The dinner program, which features Middle Eastern cuisine and cultural
exhibits, is free of charge and open to the public, but seating is
limited and reservations are required by Wednesday, Oct. 19. For more
information about the program or to make reservations, visit the WMU
Muslim Students Association on the Web at
www.msa-wmu.org.
Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. There are
approximately seven million Muslims living in United States, and there
is a growing Muslim population at Western Michigan University and in
Kalamazoo. The Muslim Students Association at WMU sponsors two major
events each year designed to help bridge the gap between Muslims and
the non-Muslims and to foster greater mutual understanding.
SEE ALSO:
NC: JEWS, MUSLIMS GATHER TO HEAL -
TOP
THOMASI MCDONALD, News & Observer, 10/18/05
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2818700p-9266404c.html
Ten years ago, Khalilah Sabra could not imagine herself participating in interfaith activities with Jews.
"Although I am not Palestinian, the occupation was like a sore that
would not heal," said Sabra, a Muslim woman living in Raleigh.
In a classic leap of faith, Sabra organized such a gathering Sunday
when about 50 Muslims and Jews participated in a discussion of the two
faiths as part of this month's Ramadan and Rosh Hashana. (MORE)
---
OH: MOSQUE IS MUSLIM MELTING POT -
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Robert L. Smith, Plain Dealer, 10/18/05
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1129627918325450.xml&coll=2
Stepping into a mosque fashioned from a house on Cleveland's West Side,
Ali Omar slips off his shoes and greets Vasil Lamidze with the familiar
Arabic salutation, "As-salaam alaykum" - peace be with you.
The tall man smiles and replies, "Wa alaykum as-salaam" - and peace to you as well.
After that, conversation gets complicated.
For a Somali Bantu like Omar to talk with Lamidze, a Turk from Russia,
an Afghan-American boy of 12 is brought forward. He translates the
Bantu's halting English into Persian for his uncle, Hafizullah
Solemonshah, who speaks Russian to the Turks.
The conversation then reverses, flowing from Russian to Persian to
English, with side discussions in Pashto. Questions wait long minutes
for answers, but there is no other way.
At a fledgling multiethnic mosque in Cleveland's Detroit-Shoreway
neighborhood, members share only their faith. That, and a dream. (MORE)
---
FL: RAMADAN RUNNER -
TOP
ANDREW MIKULA, News-Journal, 10/18/05
http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/EastVolusia/03NewsEAST02101805.htm
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Like all athletes, Ibrahim Isa knows he needs nutrition to compete.
And that presents challenges for the star cross-country runner for New Smyrna Beach High School.
Isa, 17, is a Muslim, and every year during the three-week period of
Ramadan his religion requires him to fast each day from sunup to
sundown.
Food and water can only be consumed in the early morning and late
evening hours. Most 5-kilometer cross country meets are held during the
daylight hours, when Isa's stomach must remain empty.
Even without the athletic challenge, adjusting to the Ramadan fast is never easy, he says.
"It's somewhat psychological, like you feel your stomach start to
tighten up," Isa says of the first week of the Ramadan fast. "Your
body's not used to going without food and gets weak for the first six
or seven days," Isa says. "After that you get used to it."
Still, Isa isn't complaining. He finds fasting during Ramadan to be a
relaxing and joyful experience. And he loves competing. He's a leader
of his squad and considered one of the best runners in the area. (MORE)
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IRAQIS SAY CIVILIANS KILLED IN U.S. RAIDS -
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Ellen Knickmeyer, Washington Post, 10/18/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/17/AR2005101700808.html
BAGHDAD, Oct. 17 -- A U.S. fighter jet bombed a crowd gathered around a
burned Humvee on the edge of a provincial capital in western Iraq,
killing 25 people, including 18 children, hospital officials and family
members said Monday. The military said the Sunday raid targeted
insurgents planting a bomb for new attacks.
In all, residents and hospital workers said, 39 civilians and at least
13 armed insurgents were killed in a day of U.S. airstrikes in Ramadi,
the capital of Anbar province, a Sunni Arab region with a heavy
insurgent presence.
The U.S. military said it killed a total of 70 insurgents in Sunday's
airstrikes and, in a statement, said it knew of no civilian deaths.
At Ramadi hospital, distraught and grieving families fought over body
parts severed by the airstrikes, staking rival claims to what they
believed to be pieces of their loved ones.
In Albu Fahad, a community on the east edge of Ramadi, family members
gathered Monday in a black funeral tent. A black banner listed the
names of the 18 children and seven adults allegedly killed by the F-15
strike. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
ISRAEL REDRAWS THE ROADMAP, BUILDING QUIETLY AND QUICKLY -
TOP
Settler population grows as Sharon grabs more West Bank land than he returned in Gaza
Chris McGreal, The Guardian, 10/18/05
http://www.guardian.co.uk/frontpage/story/0,16518,1594808,00.html
At the northern edge of Jerusalem, on the main road to the Palestinian
city of Ramallah, three towering concrete walls are converging around a
rapidly built maze of cages, turnstiles and bomb-proof rooms.
When construction at Qalandiya is completed in the coming weeks, the
remaining gaps in the 8m (26ft)-high walls will close and those still
permitted to travel between the two cities will be channelled through a
warren of identity and security checks reminiscent of an international
frontier.
The Israeli military built the crossing without fanfare over recent
months, along with other similar posts along the length of the vast new
"security barrier" that is enveloping Jerusalem, while the world's
attention was focussed on the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon's
removal of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip.
But these de facto border posts are just one element in a web of
construction evidently intended to redraw Israel's borders deep inside
the Palestinian territories and secure all of Jerusalem as Israel's
capital, and to do it fast so as to put the whole issue beyond
negotiation. As foreign leaders, including Tony Blair, praised Mr
Sharon for his "courage" in pulling out of Gaza last month, Israel was
accelerating construction of the West Bank barrier, expropriating more
land in the West Bank than it was surrendering in Gaza, and building
thousands of new homes in Jewish settlements.
"It's a trade off: the Gaza Strip for the settlement blocks; the Gaza
Strip for Palestinian land; the Gaza Strip for unilaterally imposing
borders," said Dror Etkes, director of the Israeli organisation
Settlement Watch. "They don't know how long they've got. That's why
they're building like maniacs." (MORE)
-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/19/05
*
Hadith:
Teach
Goodness
*
DC:
Volunteers
Needed for CAIR's Annual Dinner
*
CAIR-Cleveland:
400
Attend 'Sharing Ramadan' Iftar
-
CAIR-OH:
Muslims Plan Fundraiser for Quake Relief
*
CAIR-CA to Hold Capitol Ramadan Reception
-
CAIR-CA: Bay Area Muslims to Feed the Homeless
*
CAIR-FL: Forum Discusses Muslims in SW Fla. (Herald Trib)
-
CAIR-FL: Forum Discusses Islam (Bradenton Herald)
*
OH: Islamic Center's Quake Aid Coincides with Ramadan
-
WI: Muslim Association Urges Earthquake Aid
*
PA: Philly Police Ban Muslim Beards, Hijab (Bloomberg)
-
Female Firefighters Can Take the Heat in Iran (CSM)
*
TN: Ramadan Fast-a-Thon at VU Bridges Cultures
-
MN: Muslim School Teaches Pluralism (Pioneer Press)
*
VA: Doctor Believes N.Va. Muslim Was Tortured (Wash Post)
-
Gitmo Hunger Strikers Fed Via Tubes (Miami Herald)
-
UN Official: US Troops 'Starve Iraqi Citizens' (BBC)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: TEACH GOODNESS -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "God and His angels, the
dwellers of the heavens and of the earth, even an ant in its hole and
fish (in the depths of the sea), invoke blessings on (a scholar) who
teaches people goodness."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 70
-----
DC: VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR CAIR'S ANNUAL DINNER -
TOP
Volunteers are needed for CAIR's annual banquet, to be held Saturday,
December 3, 2005, in Virginia. Please contact CAIR's events department
at 202-488-8787, ext. 6050 or e-mail:
events@cair-net.org
-----
400 ATTEND CAIR-CLEVELAND 'SHARING RAMADAN' IFTAR -
TOP
(CLEVELAND, OH, 10/19/2005) � Some 400 people attended CAIR-Cleveland's
2nd annual "Sharing Ramadan" Iftar Dinner on Saturday, October 15, at
Cuyahoga Community College.
Among the attendees were a number of civic and religious leaders,
including the director of homeland security for the Cleveland police
department; the interfaith director of the Catholic Diocese, as well as
elected officials from around the county. Proclamations were presented
by the offices of US Senator George Voinovich and Governor Bob Taft.
Congressman Dennis Kucinich's office presented a proclamation on
Ramadan to be entered in the Congressional record.
"The month of Ramadan is a time of great thanks for God's mercy," said
Isam Zaiem, chair of the Cleveland office of CAIR-OHIO. "It's also a
chance to explain more about Islam and Muslims in order to promote
understanding and goodwill."
CONTACT: CAIR-OHIO, CAIR-Cleveland Director Julia A. Shearson, 216-440-2247 or 216-830-2247; E-Mail:
cleveland@cair-ohio.com; Isam Zaiem, 216-337-7928, E-Mail:
isamz@sbcglobal.net
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-OH: MUSLIMS PLAN FUNDRAISER FOR QUAKE RELIEF -
TOP
(CLEVELAND, OH, 10/19/05) � On Sunday, October 23, Muslim organizations
throughout Northeast Ohio will co-host a fundraising dinner at the
Islamic Society of Akron and Kent for victims of the October 8
earthquake that struck South Asia.
WHAT: Ramadan Fundraising Dinner for Earthquake Relief
WHEN: Sunday, October 23; Fundraising program begins at 4:30; Dinner to follow.
WHERE: Islamic Society of Akron & Kent, 152 E. Steels Corners Road, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 44223
Participating organizations: Islamic Society of Akron & Kent
(ISAK); Islamic Center of Cleveland; Uqbah Mosque Foundation; Islamic
Society of Northeast Ohio; Masjid Al-Madina; Masjid al-Islam; First
Cleveland Mosque; Muslim Association of Cleveland East (MACE); Islamic
Society of Mansfield; Islamic Society of Youngstown; Unity Center
(Brecksville); Muslim Student Associations of Case Western Reserve,
Akron, Kent State and Cleveland State universities; and the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OHIO).
For further information, contact Dr. Ghulam Mir 330-713-2226 (pager),
ghulamnmir@yahoo.com; Dr. Shameem Ahmed 330-848-7992; Julia A. Shearson 216-830-2247 or 216-440-2247,
cleveland@cair-ohio.com
-----
CAIR-CA TO HOLD CAPITOL RAMADAN RECEPTION -
TOP
(SACRAMENTO, CA, 10/19/2005) - On Wednesday, October 19, the Sacramento
Valley office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV)
and several State Assembly members and senators will hold the 2nd
Annual Capitol Ramadan Reception at the State Capitol.
WHAT: 2nd Annual Capitol Ramadan Reception
WHERE: Basement Rotunda (Cafeteria), State Capitol, Sacramento
WHEN: Wednesday, October 19, 2005, 6 p.m.
Invited guests include senators, assembly members and Legislative staff, as well as Muslim and community leaders.
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, is headquartered
in Washington, D.C., and has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in
Canada. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage
dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build
coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
CONTACT: CAIR-SV Executive Director Basim Elkarra, 916-441-6269, e-mail:
sacval@cair.com
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-CA: BAY AREA MUSLIMS TO FEED THE HOMELESS -
TOP
(SAN JOSE, CA, 10/19/05) - Muslims from around the Greater San
Francisco Bay Area will take part in the 2nd Annual Humanitarian Day
for the Homeless on Saturday, October 22, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
at the Salvation Army building located at 405 North 4th Street in
downtown San Jose.
Muslim organizations will provide hot meals, water, t-shirts, and
hygiene packages to San Jose's homeless community. Last year, the
coalition served more than 800 homeless in San Jose. This year, the
organizers hope to reach out to over a thousand homeless in a similar
undertaking.
The coalition selected the holy month of Ramadan as a global observance
that transcends race and gender in a spirit of love, equality and
respect for each other and all of humanity. This year is unique in that
the holy days of the three Abrahamic Faiths coincide this October; Rosh
Hashanah for Jews, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi for Christians;
and Ramadan for Muslims.
"Ramadan is a time of increased compassion and caring for others. Our
goal is to give the homeless community hope and relief to ease their
struggle," said Habibe Husain, founder of the Rahima Charitable
Foundation, the main organizer of this Humanitarian Day.
WHEN: Saturday, October 22nd, 2005, from 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM
WHERE: Salvation Army, 405 N. 4th St. (just north of Julian Ave.), San Jose
Event Sponsor: Rahima Charitable Foundation
Event Co-Sponsors: American Muslim Voice(AMV), Blossom Valley Muslim
Community Center (BVMCC), Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR-SFBA), Granada Islamic School (GIS), Hidaya Foundation, Islamic
Center of Fremont (ICF), Indian Muslim Relief & Charities (IMRC),
Islamic Networks Group (ING), Islamic School of Stanford, Islamic
Society of East Bay(ISEB), Muslim Community Association (MCA), Northern
American Islamic Shelter for the Abused (NISA), South Bay Islamic
Association (SBIA), Semah, United Muslims of America (UMA), WIS, Yaseen
Foundation & Zaytuna Institute.
CONTACT:
Habibe Husain: Rahima Charitable Foundation (Hours: 12:00 to 4:00 PM), Work: 408-845-0050, E-mail:
mail@rahima.org
Samina Faheem Sundas: AMV, Cell: 650-387-1994, E-mail:
samina_faheem@yahoo.com
Sameena Usman, CAIR-SFBA, Work: 408-986-9874, Cell: 408-394-9892, E-mail:
sameena@cair.com
-----
CAIR-FL: FORUM DISCUSSES ISLAM, MUSLIMS IN SOUTHWEST FLA. -
TOP
JULIA GLICK, Herald Tribune, 10/19/05
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051019/NEWS/510190641/1006/SPORTS
BRADENTON -- With the war in Iraq growing bloodier and terrorists
attacking in Europe and Asia, the growing population of Muslim
residents here worry they will be stereotyped as terrorists.
Anonymous callers have threatened the Islamic Society of Sarasota and
Bradenton. Passers-by often stare or comment at women in head scarves.
Many residents fear reporting anti-Muslim incidents, which have
multiplied throughout the state in the past year, said Ahmed Bedier,
director of the Central Florida Council on American Islamic Relations.
He spoke about people's misconceptions of Islam on Tuesday at a forum
sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Manatee County. About 30
people attended the discussion, held at a local church.
"All religions can be abused and were at one point in history," he
said. "When Osama bin Laden comes on TV or Zarqawi in Iraq says things
about the religion, they are misusing Islam." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-FL: FORUM DISCUSSES ISLAM -
TOP
Violence in religion, Quran among topics approached
CARL MARIO NUDI, Bradenton Herald, 10/19/05
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/12937324.htm
BRADENTON - Because a suicide bomber is a Muslim does not mean Islam is
a religion of violence. That was the message Ahmed Bedier, director of
the Council on American-Islamic Relations, delivered Tuesday at the
League of Women Voters of Manatee County's monthly Hot Topic luncheon.
"You're always reading something negative about Islam," Bedier said.
He said that when we read about or see someone doing something wrong on
television, the person is never identified as a Christian or Jew.
Bedier said the negative attitude toward Islam stems from
misconceptions and stereotypes Muslims have had to deal with for years.
(MORE)
-----
OH: ISLAMIC CENTER'S EARTHQUAKE AID COINCIDES WITH RAMADAN -
TOP
Ken-Yon Hardy, Middletown Journal, 10/19/05
http://www.middletownjournal.com/hp/content/news/stories/2005/10/18/mj1019MUSLIM.html
WEST CHESTER TWP. - An opportunity to help those ravished by a recent
earthquake in Pakistan sparked a local religious group to help.
The Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati Earthquake Relief Committee,
in collaboration with Matthew 25: Ministries, in Cincinnati, shipped
more than 40,000 blankets and a large amount of tents and medical
supplies on Tuesday to help earthquake victims.
"This is an obligation," said Shakila Ahmed, spokeswoman for the
Islamic Center Earthquake Committee, which began collecting items for
victims a week ago.
"We live in a blessed country," she said. "We are blessed with having
our life, our health and our ability to feed our children and there are
many people that were devastated by the earthquake across the globe who
are not going to survive the winter."
The contributions were transported to the Association of Pakistani
Physicians of North America, based in Chicago, which will later send
the supplies to Pakistan.
"The minimum we can do is do what we can in terms of our part," Ahmed
said. "I feel that we are blessed to be able to do this and if we don't
do this, then shame on us."
More than 400 pounds of food also were donated on Tuesday, according to
Ahmed. The Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati plans to give the food
to an area pantry.
"We've also been doing local food drives that will help Reach Out
Lakota, one of our local neighbors," said Samar Kaukab, a member of the
Earthquake Relief Committee. "We're trying to concentrate our efforts
of helping our neighbors both home and afar."
The help from the Islamic Center coincides with the efforts celebrating
the holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth month in the Muslim
calender and is when Muslims concentrate on their faith by fasting and
spending less time on the concerns of their everyday lives, according
to Ahmed. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
WI: MUSLIM ASSOCIATION URGES EARTHQUAKE AID -
TOP
John Potratz, Badger herald, 10/19/05
http://badgerherald.com/news/2005/10/19/muslim_association_u.php
University of Wisconsin students and members of the Muslim Students'
Association congregated in the Humanities building Tuesday to raise aid
and awareness for victims of the catastrophic earthquake that struck
near Pakistan's capitol, Islamabad, less than two weeks ago.
While many efforts have been initiated to help those affected by the
quake, so far total relief for the area has been minimal in comparison
to funds raised for Hurricane Katrina and Southeast Asia tsunami
victims.
-----
PA: PHILADELPHIA TELLS MUSLIM POLICE TO TRIM BEARDS OR LOSE JOBS -
TOP
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aXs4a8QzhAsE&refer=us
Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Philadelphia police officer Kenneth Wallace, a
nine-year veteran of the force, is serving his second month-long
suspension for refusing to shave.
Wallace, a 31-year-old Muslim, has asked for an arbitration hearing to
challenge the department's 1/4-inch limit on the length of beards.
Muslim city workers sued Philadelphia, the fifth-largest U.S. city,
beginning in February to challenge grooming and dress codes they claim
violate their rights to religious expression.
``The Philadelphia community has a very large and visible Islamic
core," said Craig Thorpe, a lawyer for one of the plaintiffs. ``It's
kind of an anomaly that the police department and the fire department
seem to be out of step."
Muslims account for about 2 percent of Philadelphia's 1.5 million
population, almost equal to the 2.4 percent, or 7 million, for the
entire U.S. The city's Muslim population is the 18th largest in the
nation.
Muslim emergency workers have challenged grooming policies in cities
including New York, Washington, D.C., and Detroit, saying the Koran and
other religious teachings require the wearing of untrimmed beards or
head coverings. . .
Women on the Philadelphia force are still barred from wearing the scarf
known as khimar or hijab, which many Muslims believe is mandated by
Allah to show their modesty. Kimberlie Webb, the 43-year-old
Philadelphia police officer represented by Thorpe, is suing for the
right to wear the khimar.
Webb became a Sunni Muslim two years after joining the Philadelphia
force in 1995, according to her federal lawsuit. The department denied
her requests to wear the khimar, made in 1998 and again in 2003, and
threatened Webb with disciplinary action unless she removed the
covering at work, the suit said. . .
Department officials said the scarf posed a safety risk because it
could be grabbed by a suspect. Newspapers and Muslim Web sites reported
on Webb's complaints through 2003. The Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission ruled in her favor that November and urged the department to
relax its rules. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
FEMALE FIREFIGHTERS FIND THEY CAN TAKE THE HEAT IN IRAN -
TOP
Scott Peterson, Christian Science Monitor, 10/19/05
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1019/p01s03-wome.html
Firefighters here in Iran, men and women alike, say men have not
hesitated to help in gender-sensitive situations. "Of course we still
do it," says Ali Aghayari, a mustachioed 25-year veteran of the
department. "It can be a matter of life and death."
But the women think their presence inspires others to take on jobs
usually reserved for men. "100 percent," says Zahra Haji, who has been
with the Karaj force since the women's unit was created three years ago.
The women are part of a department that includes 11 stations and 375
firefighters. Divided into three shifts, they work 24 hours on, 48
hours off.
While they respond to every alarm alongside the men, these women also
describe rescues in which their gender helped get the job done - such
as the time a large woman had fallen into an narrow underground septic
tank, up to her neck in sewage, and needed rescue with a harness and
ropes.
"I've seen them in action and they are good, they are strong -
sometimes they are better than the men," says Mr. Aghayari. When they
are in protective gear, fighting alongside the men, he says he can
barely tell the difference. (MORE)
-----
TN: FAST-A-THON AT VU BRIDGES CULTURES -
TOP
For Ramadan, non-Muslims join in the abstinence
JEANNINE F. HUNTER, Tennessean, 10/19/05
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051019/NEWS06/510190428/1023/NEWS
More than 220 Vanderbilt University students went hungry for a day so that others do not have to.
For the third year in a row, non-Muslim students at Vanderbilt joined
their Muslim classmates by fasting for 12 hours as part of Fast-a-Thon.
Participating students pledged to abstain from food and drink from
sunrise to sunset to raise money from sponsors for a charity.
The event, sponsored by the Muslim Student Association, occurs during
the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, during which Muslims abstain from
eating or drinking anything, including water, from sunrise to sunset.
This year Ramadan started on Oct. 4. In addition to food and drink,
Muslims abstain from other earthly pleasures during the fast, including
sex. Muslims also increase their philanthropy during this month.
Vanderbilt University is among more than 100 colleges and universities
nationwide participating in the fourth annual awareness program. Muslim
students at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville established the event
to encourage collegians to strive to eliminate hunger and homelessness
in their communities.
"This is a time when non-Muslims understand why we fast and what our
values are," said Dina Ghoneim, 23, a medical student from Rochester,
N.Y. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MN: AL-AMAL SCHOOL TEACHES LESSON OF PLURALISM - T
OP
CRAIG WESTOVER, Saint Paul Pioneer Press, 10/19/05
I was reminded of the Pilgrims. Like the Pilgrims of 1620, the pilgrims
with whom I shared the traditional dates and juice of Ramadan also came
to this country seeking religious freedom, a freedom sometimes stifled
in their native countries.
The occasion was a fundraiser for Al-Amal School. A private school in
Fridley, Al-Amal is an accredited, full-time Islamic school serving 370
students from kindergarten through 12th grade. Its mission is preparing
Muslim children for American society while preserving their Islamic
heritage.
Here is the first irony. While public education preaches
multiculturalism, public school policies and the environments they
foster are antithetical to the diversity they preach. Reaction to a
lack of discipline and moral values in government schools, intolerance
for the overt observance of Islamic practices and a lack of academic
rigor are major reasons why Al-Amal was founded 11 years ago, why it is
thriving and expanding, and why it provides a model for a genuine
"public education" system for students of all faiths and economic
levels.
More irony. Although touted as indicative of Minnesota's diversity, the
Muslim community has more in common with conservative Christians than
with the secularized environment fostered by government schools.
Muslims share conservative concerns about public education -- the
exclusion of religion, the teaching of evolution, abortion politics,
sex education and general lack of academic emphasis.
"Al-Amal serves two purposes," Principal Salah Ayari said. "Parents
choose to send their children here to shield them from influences that
are not in keeping with Islamic moral code, but they also want an
education for their children that is academically rigorous. Our goal is
producing individuals who can go out into American society and make
positive contributions without compromising Islamic faith." (MORE)
-----
VA: DOCTOR BELIEVES N.VA. MAN WAS TORTURED -
TOP
Jerry Markon, Washington Post, 10/19/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/18/AR2005101801466.html
An American student charged in an al Qaeda plot to kill President Bush
said his Saudi captors whipped him on the back, punched him in the
stomach and kicked him, according to a doctor who examined the student
and testified yesterday before the judge who must decide if the student
was tortured.
Ahmed Omar Abu Ali also said he was shackled with his arms above his
head for more than seven hours after initially refusing to cooperate
with FBI agents who traveled to Saudi Arabia to interrogate him in
2003, according to the doctor, Allen Keller. Keller, who is program
director of the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture in New
York, examined Abu Ali in April at the request of his attorneys.
"He told me it was excruciatingly painful," Keller testified at a
hearing in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. He said he believes the
alleged mistreatment constituted torture and cited as evidence scars
consistent with whipping that he said he observed on Abu Ali's back.
The testimony means that a judge will have to evaluate the opinions of
clashing experts on a key issue in the high-profile case. Attorneys for
Abu Ali, 24, of Falls Church say that he was tortured in Saudi custody
and that statements that form the crux of the government's case should
be thrown out because they were obtained under duress.
The hearing, which started last week and runs through tomorrow, is to
determine whether Abu Ali's statements to Saudi interrogators will be
admitted into evidence. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
GUANTANAMO HUNGER STRIKERS FED VIA TUBES -
TOP
CAROL ROSENBERG, Miami Herald, 10/19/05
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/12937264.htm
A Washington, D.C., lawyer brought a treat last month for a Kuwaiti
captive held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- an $11 extra-cheese vegetarian
pizza from a takeout place on the Navy base. But Mohammed Daihani, 39,
a father of six, "refused to eat."
'He said that 'The American justice system is like this pizza box,' "
says attorney Thomas Wilner in a federal-court affidavit, quoting his
client. ' 'It looks very good on the outside, but is empty on the
inside. It is nothing but air.' "
Since summer, detainees at the prison for terrorism suspects have been
engaging in a rolling hunger strike whose details are mostly being made
public by their attorneys.
Believed to be the longest such protest, it reached its height Sept.
11, according to Army Lt. Col. Jeremy Martin, when 131 of the 505 or so
prisoners shunned meals. On Tuesday, the military reported that 24
prisoners were refusing food, of whom 22 were "receiving enteral
nutrition," or having nutrition pumped directly into their stomachs.
Martin said by e-mail that no detainee has died at Guantanamo, where,
he said, hunger strikers are not restrained during feedings via a tube
tethered through a prisoner's nose and into his stomach.
Hunger strikers get "excellent medical care in a prudent and
compassionate manner," Martin said, and are showering, exercising and
walking around.
Wilner visited some of his clients last week and reported two were
still being force-fed a formula through the nose. "They look basically
like skeletons, like people you see starving in the Sudan." (MORE)
---
US TROOPS 'STARVE IRAQI CITIZENS' -
TOP
BBC, 10/15/05
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4344136.stm
A senior United Nations official has accused US-led coalition troops of
depriving Iraqi civilians of food and water in breach of humanitarian
law.
Human rights investigator Jean Ziegler said they had driven people out
of insurgent strongholds that were about to be attacked by cutting
supplies.
Mr Ziegler, a Swiss-born sociologist, said such tactics were in breach of international law.
A US military spokesman in Baghdad denied the allegations.
"A drama is taking place in total silence in Iraq, where the
coalition's occupying forces are using hunger and deprivation of water
as a weapon of war against the civilian population," Mr Ziegler told a
press conference in Geneva.
He said coalition forces were using "starvation of civilians as a method of warfare."
"This is a flagrant violation of international law," he added. (MORE)
-----
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To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
U.S. TROOPS USE BURNED AFGHAN BODIES AS
PROPAGANDA
CAIR calls for 'top-to-bottom' Pentagon policy, training
review
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/20/2005) - A prominent national Islamic
civil rights and advocacy group today called on the Pentagon to conduct a
"top-to-bottom" review of policies and training related to
personnel in Muslim countries.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) made that request
following allegations by an Australian television network that U.S.
soldiers burned bodies of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan and then used
the bodies for propaganda purposes.
Australia's SBS television network aired a "Dateline" segment
on Wednesday showing U.S. soldiers burning the corpses of two Taliban
fighters laid out facing Mecca, the focal point of prayer in Islam.
According to the network, the bodies were burned for hygienic reasons,
but a psychological operations unit used the burning to broadcast
taunting messages to other Taliban fighters with loudspeakers.
Military officials called the report "repugnant" and said a
probe has been launched "into alleged misconduct by U.S. service
members, including the burning of dead enemy combatant bodies under
inappropriate circumstances." Afghan authorities demanded punishment
for those responsible and Islamic leaders in that country warned of
anti-American demonstrations.
Under the Geneva Conventions governing the treatment of enemy remains in
wartime, soldiers must ensure that the "dead are honorably interred,
if possible according to the rites of the religion to which they
belonged." Islamic beliefs forbid cremation.
SEE: LA Times -
"U.S. Looks Into Videotaped Desecration of
Taliban Corpses"
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghan20oct20,0,4862635.story
AP -
"U.S., Afghans Probe Alleged Desecration"
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1232744
Reuters -
"Australian TV Shows Footage of Taliban
Burning"
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticleSearch.aspx?storyID=274022+19-Oct-2005+RTRS
SBS -
"Psych War in Afghanistan"
http://news.sbs.com.au/dateline/index.php?page=archive&daysum=2005-10-19
"Given the growing number of such incidents involving American
military personnel worldwide, it is imperative that the Pentagon launch a
top-to-bottom review of policies and training to help prevent the war on
terror from being perceived as a war on Islam," said
CAIR
Executive Director Nihad Awad.
He quoted a saying (hadith) of the Prophet Muhammad, who said: "Do
not abuse the dead, for they have reached the result of what they have
done." (Sahih Al-Bukhari) Islam forbids the mutilation of bodies.
According to Islamic tradition, a body is to be buried as quickly as
possible, after having been washed and wrapped in clean cloth.
Awad said reports of abuses of Muslim prisoners and disregard for Islamic
sensitivities in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanomo Bay's Camp X-Ray are
harming America's image and serving as recruiting tools for terror
groups.
He also warned against the "coarsening" of soldiers' attitudes
toward ordinary Muslims, both overseas and in this country. Awad cited
the label "Hajji" used as a pejorative by U.S. troops in Iraq
and the recent "porn-for-gore" scandal in which U.S. military
personnel used photographs of Iraqi corpses as "currency" to
gain access to Internet pornography.
SEE:
"U.S. Troops Use Photos of Iraqi Corpses to Access
Porn"
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1792&theType=NR
For the latest on that scandal, see:
http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/051018glaser/
"Those who serve overseas will eventually return home and interact with
fellow Americans who are Muslims," said Awad. "Military authorities
should address the issue of Islamophobic attitudes in the ranks before
the problem gets out of hand." He said CAIR has already received at
least one report of an assault on an American Muslim family in
Pennsylvania by a person claiming to be a "Marine."
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices
and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called
CAIR-NET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from CAIR-NET, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/20/05
*
Hadith:
Hatred Destroys
Faith
*
CAIR-IL:
Muslim
Officer in WI Files Bias Complaint
*
IN: Muslim Program
Upsets Parents (NWI Times)
-
NY: Stony Brook
Exams Scheduled on Muslim Holiday
*
CAIR-MD: Queries Rise
on Tunnel Tipster (Balt Sun)
*
CAIR-FL:
Halal
Food Option Grows With Muslim Community
-
NJ: Jail Ends
Kosher and Halal Meals (Herald News)
-
TN: Vanderbilt
Ads Muslim Dining Option
-
FL: Halal Markets Serve
Muslim Needs (Orlando Sent)
*
CAIR-FL:
Muslims,
Jews, Christians Observe Holy Days Together
-
OH:
Muslims Invite Christians and Jews to Iftar
-
CAIR-CA:
Muslims Opens Doors at Interfaith Event
*
Action: Order Eid Stamps Today
*
MI: Islamic Groups Rally for Quake Victims (Detroit News)
-
IL: Muslim Community Rallies to Help Quake Victims
-
Quake Relief Brings U.S. Muslim Women Together
-
How You Can Help
*
Update: Military Porn-for-Gore Scandal
*
North Dakota Is Home to First U.S. Mosque (VOA)
-
DC: Muslim Students Take Part in Photo Exhibit
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: HATRED DESTROYS FAITH -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "(The people of
Paradise) will have neither differences nor hatred amongst themselves;
their hearts will be as (one)."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Hadith 468
The Prophet also said: "The disease of the peoples before you, namely
envy and hatred, has crept to you, and it is the unhappy thing. I do
not say that it shaves off the hair, but it shaves off faith."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1304
-----
CAIR-CHICAGO: ARAB-AMERICAN POLICE OFFICER FILES COMPLAINTS OF RACIAL HARASSMENT -
TOP
He says he faced slurs after the Sept. 11 attacks
BOB PURVIS, Milwaukee Journal, 10/20/05
http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/oct05/364372.asp
Milwaukee's first Arab-American police officer, arrested and later
released in August after he was accused of saying he wanted to shoot up
the district where he worked, has filed complaints saying he faced
harassment following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Ayman Khatib, a Palestinian native who gained U.S. citizenship in 1997
and joined the police force in 2002, made the allegations in complaints
filed with Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development's Equal Rights
Division and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Khatib
claimed in the complaints that he was subjected to racial slurs and
harassment from fellow officers and supervisors and was denied
promotions for which he was qualified.
Many of the slurs are not attributed to specific officers, but he
accuses his field training officer of using slurs when referring to
Khatib. The complaints also say a patrol officer referred to Khatib and
his Indian-American patrol partner as the "Convenience Corner Store
Squad."
The complaints also allege:
Khatib was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder by his
psychiatrist July 29. In a report he submitted the next day about the
exacerbation of a tailbone injury, he made mention of harassment, but
the department failed to look into it. A report he submitted a week
later was similarly ignored.
On Aug. 26, when Khatib met with a city employee to request duty
disability retirement, he told the employee about the harassment.
The city employee claimed Khatib said, "Sometimes I feel like shooting
up District 7." Khatib denies in the complaints that he made that
statement.
Khatib was arrested that night at his apartment complex by a police
tactical squad, according to the complaints. He was booked into the
County Jail and released after posting $150 bail, jail records say.
Deputy District Attorney Jon Reddin chose not to charge Khatib because
the words he was accused of using weren't deemed a "true threat" and
were protected under the First Amendment. . .
Khatib's attorney and the Chicago chapter of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations planned a news conference about the
complaints today.
CONTACT: CAIR-Chicago, Yaser Tabbara, 312-718-3725 or 312-212-1520,
E-mail: director@cairchicago.org; Ahmed Rehab, 847-971-3963 or
312-212-1520, E-Mail: communications@cairchicago.org
-----
MUSLIM PROGRAM UPSETS PARENTS -
TOP
School board to address Porter Lakes issue tonight
ELIZABETH HOLMES, Northwest Indiana Times, 10/20/05
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2005/10/20/news/porter_county/22dab5b9b4a016ed862570a000095404.txt
A presentation about Muslim culture last month to students at Porter
Lakes Elementary School upset parents and sparked an argument about the
role of religion in public schools.
On Sept. 30, a second-grade class and the entire third grade listened
to a cultural presentation by the family of some Muslim students who
are new to the school. In addition to talking about Muslim traditions,
the children were read the book "Ramadan" by Carol Gnojewski.
"The presentation was intended to share information, hopefully to
answer some of the questions children had," Porter Township School
Corp. Superintendent Nick Brown said.
The presentation involved a lot of religious content because religion
is heavily intertwined with the Muslim culture, Brown said.
The religious aspect of the assembly angered parents, who say that
religion has no role in the public school setting. Several parents
intend to discuss the issue at tonight's School Board meeting.
Brown said the assembly was never meant to offend anyone. The school
teaches its students about a variety of cultures with the hope of
widening their world views, he said.
"We have Chanukah presentations, we do Christmas," Brown said. "It falls just within enlightening people."
Porter Lakes Principal Doris Osan brought the presentation to Brown beforehand for approval, which he granted.
"In hindsight, I would still approve a presentation for the students," Brown said. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
NY: EXAMS SCHEDULED ON MUSLIM HOLIDAY -
TOP
Radeyah Hack, Stony Brook Statesman, 10/20/05
http://sbstatesman.org/news/2005/10/20/exams_scheduled_on_muslim_holiday
Muslim students at Stony Brook are disgruntled over midterm exams being
scheduled on the Islamic holiday, Eid-ul-Fitr, which celebrates the end
of the month of Ramadan. Stony Brook has a long tradition of
facilitating students on religious holidays by avoiding scheduling
exams on these days. However, this year, a number of exams were
inadvertently scheduled on the day of Eid-ul-Fitr, placing Muslim
students in a situation where they have to choose between going home to
celebrate with their families, or staying to sit for their exams. (MORE)
-----
QUERIES RISE ON TUNNEL TIPSTER -
TOP
FBI can't confirm account; Associates say Egyptian lied
Matthew Dolan, Baltimore Sun, 10/20/05
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/custom/attack/bal-te.md.threat20oct20,1,5162638.story
Law enforcement officials and members of the local Egyptian community
are raising new questions about an informant who prompted Maryland
officials to close two Baltimore harbor tunnels and a major interstate,
fearing a suspected terrorist attack.
A day after the tunnel closures, the FBI has been unable to corroborate
the account of the informant - an Egyptian who once lived in the
Baltimore area and is now being held in the Netherlands on immigration
violations.
No criminal charges have been filed in the alleged plot to blow up one
of Baltimore's harbor tunnels, the FBI confirmed yesterday.
"I think there is doubt, because nothing happened and nothing else has
been developed to corroborate the account," said a federal law
enforcement official familiar with the investigation.
The informant's motives remain murky. But in interviews yesterday,
associates of the four men detained in the case said they believe they
know the identity of the informant and that he had lied because his
friends failed to get him back into the United States. . .
The Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Affairs issued a
statement yesterday saying said that reasonable precautions should be
taken when there is a confirmed threat. But Shama Farooq, director of
civil rights for the group, urged authorities to use restraint.
"We are concerned when members of a group that is already heavily
profiled are targeted once again for an investigation or arrest that is
based on uncorroborated information from an informant abroad," he said.
(MORE)
-----
HALAL: 'PERMITTED' FOOD OPTIONS GROW ALONG WITH OUR MUSLIM COMMUNITY -
TOP
ALEXANDRA ALTER, Miami Herald, 10/20/05
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/12939127.htm
Early on Friday mornings during Ramadan, Mustafa Nassar, a Miami Lakes
carpet salesman, drives to a slaughterhouse on Okeechobee Road to buy
10 lambs and a cow. One at a time, he draws a knife swiftly across
their throats in a single motion, reciting words that make the kill
lawful in Islam: Bismallah, Allau-akhbar. ``In the name of God, God is
great."
Nassar, who learned the ritual as a boy in the Arab quarter of
Jerusalem, makes sure the blood drains completely from each carcass
before it's dressed and the meat cut and packaged. Then he delivers it
to Masjid Shamsuddin, a tiny storefront mosque in North Miami Beach,
where Una Mohammed-Khan sees that it's distributed to needy Muslim
families.
"We're encouraging them this way to eat halal," said Mohammed-Khan, a Trinidadian-born nurse who lives in Miramar.
Halal, the Muslim equivalent of kosher, follows the teachings of the
Prophet Mohammed: Animals must be killed in God's name with a sharp
knife as painlessly as possible, and all the blood must be drained.
Pork, carrion and alcohol are forbidden.
Ten years ago, access to halal meat was so limited in South Florida
that hand slaughter or vegetarian meals were among the few ways Muslims
here could remain faithful to Islam's dietary laws -- a vital
consideration during the holy month of Ramadan, when daily fasts are
broken with evening feasts.
"It was a huge problem," said Altaf Ali, the South Florida director for
the Council for American Islamic Relations. ``You would find a lot of
Muslims eating kosher because the resources were so limited." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
NJ: JAIL ENDS KOSHER AND HALAL MEALS -
TOP
By KAREN KELLER, HERALD NEWS, 10/19/05
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzNTcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY3OTQ2MTUmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkz
The Passaic County Jail has stopped serving halal and kosher meals to
inmates, breaching federal immigration detention regulations.
An internal jail memo dated Monday stated, "As of 10/17/05 there will
be no more kosher meals. The religious diet tray will be a vegetarian
diet tray." Four inmates, all federal immigration detainees, said the
memo was passed out to them.
The change in food service at the jail comes during Ramadan, Muslim's
holy month, and also as the jail is being audited by the Department of
Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General on complaints by
immigration detainees of poor conditions and abuse.
The audit, which began in July, had halted when Passaic County Sheriff
Jerry Speziale ejected federal investigators from the county jail,
accusing them of arrogance and incompetence. The auditors were allowed
back in last week, and are continuing their investigation this week,
said Bill Maer, spokesman for the Sheriff's Department.
"We are back inside Passaic and working," inspector general spokeswoman Tamara Falkner confirmed.
The food memo prompted a hunger strike of about 20 inmates, the
immigration detainees said in interviews Tuesday. The jail had been
serving halal meals for only the past four months, the detainees said.
For up to two years before that, the jail served no halal meals, said
Peter Ali, a Muslim detainee from British Guyana.
Muslims are the biggest group of federal immigration detainees at the jail that request special meals, said Maer.
Maer confirmed that the jail had recently been ordering prepackaged
kosher and halal meals on a trial basis, but had stopped because it was
deemed too expensive.
Maer played down the memo, saying it was a "kitchen memo" that was not drafted by the Sheriff's Department.
The Passaic County Jail, like all federal immigration detention
centers, is required to provide food that is prepared according to
religious customs, said Tim Counts, a spokesman for federal Immigration
and Customs Enforcement, which falls under the Department of Homeland
Security. (MORE)
---
TN: VANDERBILT ADS MUSLIM DINING OPTION -
TOP
Lisa Guo, Vanderbilt Hustler, 10/20/05
http://www.vanderbilthustler.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/10/20/435704e05a386
Vanderbilt Dining added one more meal option for Muslim students last
Monday: halal tandoori chicken stir-fry, available at Chef James in
Rand Hall. The first option available was a halal gyro on Wednesday
night at Chef James. Halal meat, a term that means lawful in Arabic,
indicates meat that is permissible under Islamic dietary restrictions.
The impetus for halal meat in Rand began when two students, juniors
Shams Quayyum and Taha Jan, approached Frank Gladu, Director of Dining
Services, with the idea.
"The idea started freshman year, when we thought, we're paying money
for the meal plan, so we should be able to eat the food," Quayyum said.
(MORE)
---
FL: MARKETS SERVE MUSLIM NEEDS -
TOP
Sonia Chopra, Orlando Sentinel, 10/20/05
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-orhalal2005oct20,0,3719660.story
Mateen Qadri has lived and worked all over the world, but no matter
where he travels, one of the first things he does is to look for a
grocery store that sells halal meat.
When he moved to Orlando six years ago, Qadri was pleased to discover
that he lived a short distance from Adam Halal Meats & Grocery in
east Orange County.
"The store is invaluable, a big help. Without it, we couldn't eat. We
get everything from there -- beef, chicken, lamb, goat," said Qadri,
50, who owns Magic Fabricators, a workshop that specializes in
ornamental steel and beam work.
"It's a one-stop shopping deal for us. We buy dairy and bakery items, pita bread, rice and spices."
Qadri and his family -- wife Sufura, 45, and three daughters Maliha,
17, Subuhu, 15, and Noor, 10, -- have always eaten halal meat -- the
Muslim equivalent of kosher. (MORE)
-----
MUSLIMS, JEWS, CHRISTIANS OBSERVE HOLY DAYS TOGETHER -
TOP
Confluence of holy days encourages interfaith gatherings
Afzal Khan, Washington File, 10/19/05
http://usinfo.state.gov/usinfo/products/washfile.html
(Scroll down to headline.)
Washington - The rare confluence of Muslim, Jewish and Christian holy
holidays during October and November this year is encouraging
interfaith gatherings across the United States.
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan that began on October 3-4 and ends
November 3-4 has overlapped with the Jewish holy month of Tishri that
began October 3. Jews observe Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Such a confluence has not happened
for more than 30 years. The dates of Ramadan, which follows the lunar
calendar, shift each year because of disparities between the solar and
lunar calendars.
Also, Eastern Orthodox Christians begin fasting on November 15 to observe the Advent, the 40 days leading to Christmas.
American Muslims and Jews are taking advantage of this coincidence of
their holy months to arrange interfaith gatherings across the United
States.
Muslim and Jewish students at Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota,
got together to share a traditional evening meal and pray when Ramadan
began in some parts of the world on the evening of October 3,
coinciding with Rosh Hashanah. They plan to continue such meetings.
At the University of Missouri in Columbia, the Jewish students'
organization Boone Tikkun and the Muslim Students Organization shared a
potluck dinner on October 6. It was the second day of Ramadan for
Muslims and also Gedalya, a minor Jewish fast day that follows Rosh
Hashanah. The point of the evening was to bring together Jews and
Muslims in a social setting where they could learn more about their
religions from one another.
On October 13, the day of Yom Kippur, the University of South Florida,
St. Petersburg, hosted an evening vegetarian meal sponsored by Serving
the One, an interfaith community group. The Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) chapter in Tampa, Florida, and a woman rabbinical
chaplain of a local hospital helped form Serving the One. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
OH: AREA ISLAMIC SOCIETY INVITES COMMUNITY TO IFTAR DINNER -
TOP
Mary Kay Quinn, Beacon Journal, 10/20/05
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/living/community/12949819.htm
CUYAHOGA FALLS - At sunset Wednesday, Muslims at a special Iftar dinner
broke their fast and celebrated friendships with people of many faiths.
About 100 people met at the Islamic Community Center of East Steels
Corners Road for the Iftar -- the evening meal held during the sacred
month of Ramadan. During the ninth lunar month on the Muslim calendar,
the faithful abstain from food and drink during daylight.
The Rev. Joseph Hilinski, director of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese's
Interfaith Commission, said the dinner promotes understanding of a
religion that to many people seems foreboding.
``For people that don't have any awareness of the culture, this is an
entree, this is very human, this is a very normal kind of thing; you
end your day of fasting and celebrate by inviting friends,'' Hilinski
said.
Rabbi David Lipper of Temple Israel said the dinner is one important way that local religious leaders stay in touch.
``This (Islamic) community has become more open and other communities
have become more aware and respectful of each other,'' Lipper said.
The Islamic Society of Akron and Kent will again invite the community
for an Iftar dinner on Sunday. Funds raised will benefit the earthquake
victims in Pakistan and Kashmir. (MORE)
---
CA: MUSLIM COMMUNITY OPENS DOORS -
TOP
Nicole Neroulias, San Mateo County Times, 10/20/05
http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/faith/ci_3134289
LIKE A FLOCK of tropical birds, the bowed heads glittered red, purple,
turquoise and gold. Only upon closer inspection did the scarves reveal
the wearers' Muslim devotion - or the outsiders' respect for the
Ramadan observance.
The Jewish and Christian visitors to the Muslim Community Association
of the Peninsula's Yaseen Foundation open house Saturday let their head
coverings slip while intently following the speakers and prayers at the
Belmont event.
Ramadan, the holy Islamic month that requires followers to fast from
dawn to dusk, began Oct. 5 and will end with the sighting of the new
moon in November. The Yaseen Foundation's open house was one of five
sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, inviting
interfaith groups and community members into Bay Area mosques last
weekend.
"Interfaith is important these days, especially for Muslims, because
the news isn't always so good about Muslims," said Mounzer Arslan,
Yaseen Foundation vice president, known as "Monty" among non-Muslims.
"It gives a wrong name to all of us."
About 50 people attended the Belmont open house, including supportive
clergy from Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, San Bruno's Church of the
Nazarene and San Mateo's Temple Beth El. A handful of visitors,
including San Mateo retired dentist Jack Prost, came to satisfy their
curiosity about Islam.
"We just finished celebrating Yom Kippur and we had a notice in our
synagogue that this was going on all over the Bay Area," Prost said,
eyeing the paper plates of plump dates awaiting the sunset break-fast
portion of the event.
Role of women
The event opened and closed with two of the five daily Muslim prayers.
As the fascinated guests watched, men lined up in front and women in
back, both facing east towards Mecca throughout the devotions.
Between speakers, the audience applauded 9-year-old Sarah Nofal's
rousing song about the Prophet Mohammed's revelation, set to the tune
of "Oh Susannah." Too young for the veil, the Belmont girl stood out in
a bright red coat with a leopard-pattern trim.
The role of women in Islam came up several times during the
question-and-answer session, with the speakers defending their
religion's emphasis on modesty - a view that is supposed to apply to
both sexes, explained Imam Zaid Shakir, of Berkeley.
"If you see a Muslim man with tight jeans on, you should tell him, 'Go back to your religious teacher,'" he told the audience.
Samina Sundas, chair of the Newark-based American Muslim Voice, offered
that she had been raised in Pakistan "like a princess," and agreed with
Shakir that Westerners overlook positive examples of women's rights in
the Muslim world - including female presidents elected in Bangladesh,
Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey - in favor of stereotypes. (MORE)
-----
ACTION: ORDER EID STAMPS TODAY -
TOP
Stamps marking the Islamic Eid holidays are available from the United States Postal Service. To order Eid stamps, go to:
http://shop.usps.com/cgi-bin/vsbv/postal_store_non_ssl/display_products/productDetail.jsp?OID=2689760
Stamps, as well as a free comprehensive catalog, are available by toll-free phone order at 1-800-STAMP-24.
-----
MI: ISLAMIC GROUPS RALLY FOR EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
Delores Patterson, Detroit News, 10/20/05
http://www.detnews.com/2005/oakland/0510/20/B03-354900.htm
ROCHESTER HILLS -- In the aftermath of natural disasters facing
communities around the world, the Islamic Association of Greater
Detroit in Rochester Hills is stepping up to help.
The association teamed up last weekend with Muslim groups across Metro
Detroit to collect goods for Pakistan earthquake survivors. The
one-day, 24-hour relief event produced an outpouring of donations, said
Asad Malik of the Islamic Association, who organized the efforts.
SEE ALSO:
NW SIDE MUSLIM COMMUNITY RALLIES TO HELP VICTIMS OF KASHMIR QUAKE -
TOP
ALAN SCHMIDT, Times Review, 10/20/05
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-story/localnews/current/eb/10-20-05-717530.html
The impact of the earthquake in Pakistan's Kashmir region earlier this
month was felt by the Northwest Side's Islamic community as fundraising
efforts for the victims got under way.
Worshipers leaving the mosque at the Muslim Community Center, 4380 N.
Elston Ave., paused to drop donations into a large collection box in
the center's lobby.
Dr. Habib Abbasi straightened the sign on the box, and then talked for
a moment about how people have responded to the Oct. 8 quake, which had
a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale. As of Monday, the death toll
in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir was estimated at about 40,000. About
65,000 were reported injured, and 2.5 million were left homeless.
Ever since Abbasi, who lives in Skokie, heard news of the quake, he's
been calling family and friends in Pakistan and keeping up on relief
efforts. He has immediate family members living there, but they live in
the southern Pakistan, near Karachi.
Abbasi hosts a weekly radio program that airs Sundays. He said he
received telephone calls from people trying to ship supplies to the
affected area. After a series of calls, a planeload of goods was sent
from Chicago via Pakistan International Airlines. Residents who had
family members in the affected areas were receiving free airfare. (MORE)
---
QUAKE RELIEF BRINGS U.S. MUSLIM WOMEN TOGETHER -
TOP
Allison Stevens, Women's eNews, 10/20/05
http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2496/context/archive
During Ramadan, Muslim women in the U.S. have been mustering aid for
people hurt by the earthquake in Pakistan. Some say the experience will
bring a diverse community closer together.
---
HOW YOU CAN HELP -
TOP
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-story/localnews/current/cg/10-20-05-716927.html
-----
CAN A FLORIDA SHERIFF POLICE OBSCENITY ON THE INTERNET? -
TOP
Mark Glaser, Online Journalism Review, 10/18/05
http://www.ojr.org/ojr/stories/051018glaser/
Investigation stalls in military, media
As for the gory photos on NTFU and other websites, the military said it
could not confirm the authenticity of the photos -- or that U.S.
soldiers had posted them. Army spokesman Paul Boyce told me there
wasn't enough evidence to pursue felony charges.
"If we get specific information, we will certainly look into that as
well," said Boyce. "But at this point, we are pursuing it instead from
a more prudent standpoint by reminding soldiers of our policies dealing
with the use of the Internet, weblogs, digital photos, personal e-mail,
etc."
I asked Boyce whether he had followed up on my previous report for OJR,
which included an e-mail from someone named David Burke, who said he
was a soldier in Iraq and has posted on NTFU under the screen name
"diescreaming." Boyce took note of the information and told me the Army
would check into it.
But critics of NTFU's gory photos and the possible involvement of
soldiers were doubtful that the Pentagon was putting much effort into
the internal investigation. Ibrahim Hooper is the spokesman for the
Council on American-Islamic Relations, which helped bring the
gore-for-porn story to wider attention by sending an open letter to
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Hooper told me he was disappointed
with the Army's investigation.
"[The Pentagon] decided to end whatever efforts they had because they
said they hadn't found any evidence that military personnel were
involved -- even though if you went to the site, somebody sent me one
of the images where the person's name and unit were clearly indicated
in the photograph," Hooper said. "All we can do is bring these things
to the attention of the Pentagon; we can't force them to do it. If they
want to drop it at that point without having really gone into it, then
that's their choice. We stated at the time that we thought it was
premature. There couldn't possibly have been a full investigation in
the time that was allotted and it was sending a negative message."
Meanwhile, rank-and-file soldiers, Bush administration supporters and
military bloggers have been largely silent on the issue, perhaps
preferring not to fuel any possible scandal. Liberal blogger John
Aravosis, conversely, has been stoking the flames by running photos
taken from NTFU, with soldiers visible and gory parts censored. When
the military said it couldn't make felony convictions, Aravosis was
livid. (MORE)
-----
NORTH DAKOTA IS HOME TO FIRST U.S. MOSQUE -
TOP
Susan Logue, Voice of America, 10/20/05
http://www.voanews.com/english/AmericanLife/2005-10-20-voa14.cfm
Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the United States, and there
are more than 1,200 mosques around the country, with at least one in
every state. The vast majority are in major metropolitan areas,
especially in New York and California, but America's first mosque was
built in one of the least populous states - North Dakota.
SEE ALSO:
DC: MUSLIM STUDENTS TAKE PART IN PHOTO EXHIBIT -
TOP
Our Children, Our World
Photography Exhibition
"Our Children, Our World," is a photography exhibition featuring more
than 70 images taken by children from Accra, Ghana; Pinar del Rio,
Cuba; and Washington, D.C. and Gary, Indiana, USA., using traditional
and digital cameras. Children from Sister Clara Muhammad School are
representing Washington, D.C. in this pan-African exhibit. The
exhibition is the result of workshops Port of Harlem magazine
photographer Nestor Hernandez conducted in each of the cities.
The exhibit takes place at:
Children's National Medical Center
The Gallery � First Floor
111 Michigan Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. USA
Opening Reception: Thursday, October 20, 2005 (5:30 p.m.)
After leaving Washington, the "Our Children, Our World," exhibit
continues in Gary, IN Saturday, July 8, 2006 through Saturday, October
28, 2006, as part of the city's centennial celebration. For more
information, visit
www.portofharlem.net/pohevents.html
-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/21/05
*
Verse:
God is Forgiving,
Merciful
-
Hadith:
God Accepts Prayers of Those
Who Show Mercy
*
CAIR-SV
Hosts Iftar at
California State Capitol
-
CAIR-LA President
Receives Award
*
IN:
Parents
Debate Muslim Presentation (NW Indiana Times)
-
Parent:
"I'm not
prejudiced, but. . ."
-
CA:
Anti-Islam
'Comic Books' Given to HS Students
*
Afghanistan:
U.S. Fears
Fallout Over Abuse of Bodies (LA Times)
-
CAIR Rep
Discusses Body-Burning Controversy on NPR
-
US Tries to Limit Damage from Body Burning (Reuters)
-
View the Video (CNN)
*
CAIR-FL:
Earthquake a Neglected Catastrophe (SP Times)
*
TX:
Group Aims to Empower, Support Muslim Women (DMN)
-
MA:
Building Stereotypes, and Breaking Them Down
*
CA:
Jews, Christians, Muslims Meet at Mosque
-
MI:
Mosque Expansion Near Detroit was Overdue (AP)
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: GOD IS FORGIVING, MERCIFUL -
TOP
"When those who believe in Our revelations come to you (Muhammad), say:
'Peace be upon you. Your Lord has decreed for Himself the law of grace
and mercy. If anyone among you commits evil out of ignorance, and
thereafter repents and mends his ways, you will find God Forgiving,
Merciful.'"
The Holy Quran, 6:54
HADITH OF THE DAY: GOD ACCEPTS PRAYERS OF THOSE WHO SHOW MERCY -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) stated: 'God, the Glorious,
said: 'I accept the prayer of one. . .who spends the day remembering
Me; and who is merciful to the poor, the wayfarer and the widows; and
who is merciful to one who is suffering from an infliction. He has a
light like the light of the sun. I protect him by My Glory and the
angels guard over him. I give him light in darkness and sobriety in the
presence of ignorance.''
Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 2, Number 89
-----
CAIR-SV HOSTS IFTAR AT CALIFORNIA STATE CAPITOL -
TOP
(SACRAMENTO, CA, 10/21/2005) - On Wednesday, October 19, the Sacramento
Valley chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV)
and several state assembly members and senators held the 2nd Annual
Capitol Ramadan Iftar (fast-breaking) at the California State Capitol.
The iftar, held in the Rotunda Cafeteria, was co-hosted by 10 state
senators and assembly members and coordinated by CAIR-SV. It featured
the breaking of the fast, the Islamic sunset prayer (maghrib) and
remarks by CAIR officials, interfaith leaders, Assemblyman Dave Jones,
and representatives of the legislature. Assemblyman Jones and Saeed
Ali, Chief of Staff for Senator Richard Alarcon presented CAIR-SV with
Legislature Resolution commemorating Ramadan and contributions of the
Muslim community to this nation.
CONTACT: CAIR-SV Executive Director, Basim Elkarra, 916-441-6269, e-mail:
sacval@cair.com
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-LA PRESIDENT RECEIVES AWARD -
TOP
(PASADENA, CA, OCTOBER 20, 2005) - State Senator Jack Scott, Assembly
Majority Leader Dario Frommer and Assembly member Carol Liu presented
Tahra Goraya with the Nonprofit Executive Director of the Year Award as
part of their sixth annual Women In Business Award Luncheon on October
19 at the Pasadena Hilton. Goraya also serves as the president of the
Southern California Chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR-LA).
Ms. Goraya, a Pakistani-American Muslim and Day One executive director
for nearly five years, was one of twenty-five distinguished women in
private enterprise, science and technology, arts and entertainment to
receive the distinction for her contributions to the community.
"The CAIR-California team congratulates Tahra on her well-deserved
award for her work to improve the lives of youth in our community,"
said Fouad Khatib, Chairman of CAIR-California.
Day One is a seventeen year-old community-based nonprofit organization
whose mission is to provide an organizational structure by which
Pasadena and Altadena will reduce the problems associated with alcohol,
tobacco, and other drug use. Day One convenes, develops, coordinates,
and provides prevention services.
CONTACT: CAIR-LA: Sabiha Khan, (714) 776-1847 or (714) 390-0334
---
CAIR-OHIO WELCOMES NEW DIRECTOR -
TOP
(COLUMBUS, OH, 10/21/05) - The Ohio office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) is pleased to announce that
Adnan Mirza has been hired to fill the position of director for its
Columbus office.
Adnan was awarded a National Merit Scholarship to Eastern Michigan
University where he earned a political science degree. While there, he
was a member of the Comparative Political Internship at the Canadian
House of Commons. After completing his education, Adnan was the Senior
Islamic Banker at University Bank in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
CONTACT: CAIR-Ohio President, Dr. Ahmad Al-Akhras, 614-989-5916, E-mail
ahmad@cair-ohio.com; CAIR-Ohio Director, Adnan Mirza, 614-451-3232,
E-mail
director@cair-ohio.com
-----
IN: PARENTS DEBATE MUSLIM PRESENTATION AT PORTER LAKES ELEMENTARY -
TOP
Mother: Talk was intended to inform students, not push the religion
ELIZABETH HOLMES, Northwest Indiana News, 10/21/05
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2005/10/21/news/porter_county/04301b99485383a1862570a100217a51.txt
PORTER TOWNSHIP | The debate over a Muslim presentation at Porter Lakes
Elementary School spilled over from the School Board meeting into the
hallway Thursday evening, bringing parents from both sides together to
hash out the issue.
Susan Miller approached Ayesha Syed, the mother of two new Muslim
students at Porter Lakes, and tried to explain her reasoning for
adamantly and outwardly opposing a presentation Syed gave to the
students about the Muslim culture.
As each parent's sons played together around them, oblivious of the
extent or the heat of the discussion, Miller insisted to Syed, "This is
not about you."
However, in a way, it was. On Sept. 30, Syed and her Muslim friend,
Ameenah Abdullah, came to the school to talk to a second-grade class
and the entire third grade about the Muslim culture.
The presentation, for students who are the same ages as Syed's
children, was intended to answer questions about the Muslim culture.
The women talked about religion because it is heavily intertwined with
the Muslim culture, and that upset many in the Porter Lakes community.
The issue of allowing such a presentation was not on the board agenda.
However, the public participation portion of the meeting allowed
parents a chance to sound off to the board for future consideration.
The majority of speakers vehemently opposed religion in the public
school setting. Michelle Colvin said her son had questions for her
about Allah that caught her off guard. She said she should have been
notified of the presentation in advance.
Miller touched on another hot issue surrounding the Muslim family --
the creation of a prayer room at the school for the Muslim children,
which school officials will not confirm -- and demanded fair treatment
for all faiths.
"If they're going to cater to one religion, they better cater to all of
'em," she said and asked for an altar to be added for her Catholic son.
Miller's speech, the first of more than a dozen,
garnered an applause and an "amen" from the standing-room-only crowd.
In an interview before the meeting, she said,
"I'm not prejudiced, but I do have a concern when it comes to Muslim people." (MORE) -
TOP
SEE ALSO:
CA: BAPTIST 'COMIC BOOKS' DISTRIBUTED -
TOP
Religious books given to high school students warn of dangers of Islam, homosexuality
Aaron Swarts, Oakland Tribune, 10/21/05
http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_3138271
TRACY - Another church has been vying for the attention of students in the Tracy Unified School District.
On Wednesday afternoon in front of West High School, members of the
Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Tracy handed out "comic books" to
students leaving school.
The small publication warned of the dangers of Islam, homosexuality and
the teaching of evolution, while hailing the importance of traditional
Baptist Christian values. . .
School board member Gerry Machado said he's not concerned by the
handing-out of comic books, noting that the event was an example of
"free speech and the general mood of the country."
"I don't agree with all of the things the church advocates, but I do
agree with some of it," he said. "And I support their freedom of
speech."
Machado added that he "would like to see more tolerance in the world, but that hasn't happened for thousands of years."
Trustee Bill Swenson also said he didn't have a problem with the
demonstration, as long as it didn't cost the district or city money
that could have been used elsewhere. (MORE)
-----
U.S. FEARS FALLOUT OVER REPORTED ABUSE OF BODIES -
TOP
Diplomats try to shield America's image after a video appears to show
troops in Afghanistan setting fire to corpses of slain Taliban fighters.
Richard A. Serrano and John Hendren, Los Angeles Times, 10/21/05
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-desecrate21oct21,1,3766918.story
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration moved swiftly Thursday to curb
international outrage over a report that U.S. troops in Afghanistan
desecrated the bodies of Taliban fighters, setting them ablaze to taunt
militants.
U.S. embassies around the world have been given "instructions to
engage" their host governments to head off anger provoked by a
videotape showing Americans torching the remains of two militants, and
Assistant Secretary of State Karen P. Hughes will address the issue
during a trip to Muslim areas of South Asia, a State Department
official said.
"What we see in this tape is not at all reflective of the values of the
military or of the United States," department spokesman Sean McCormack
said.
The diplomatic reaction accompanied a series of harsh denunciations by
the Pentagon, which has ordered the Army Criminal Investigation Command
to launch an inquiry into the soldiers' actions. Based on the
videotape, the troops appear to be part of a unit that specializes in
psychological warfare.
"The incident, if true, is repugnant, and we look forward to getting to
the bottom of it," said Maj. Matthew McLaughlin, a spokesman for the
U.S. Central Command in Florida, which oversees military activities in
Afghanistan. He said the Army probe would include the incident itself
and any connection it may have to psychological operations.
The unusual U.S. response comes in the midst of an administration
campaign to counter negative perceptions of Americans among Muslims.
The latest incident in Afghanistan could rekindle outrage over the
abuse of prisoners in Iraq and allegations that U.S. troops desecrated
copies of the Koran belonging to detainees at the Guantanamo Bay lockup
in Cuba.
Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, said the video would harm America's image abroad and serve
as "recruiting tools for terror groups." Without a thorough review, he
warned, the U.S.-declared war on terrorism would be viewed even more
strongly in the Muslim world as a "war on Islam."
Awad quoted a hadith, or saying of the prophet Muhammad: "Do not abuse
the dead, for they have reached the result of what they have done."
Awad said bodies must be buried quickly, after they first are washed
and wrapped in a clean cloth - none of which apparently took place in
the incident. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR REP DISCUSSES BODY-BURNING CONTROVERSY ON NPR -
TOP
ARMY EXAMINES ALLEGED ABUSE OF TALIBAN FIGHTERS
Corey Flintoff, NPR, 10/20/05
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4967495
All Things Considered, October 20, 2005 � The U.S. military in
Afghanistan is investigating claims that U.S. soldiers desecrated the
bodies of two dead Taliban fighters and mocked Islamic customs in an
effort to taunt insurgents. U.S. officials worry the reports could
provoke a backlash against Americans in Muslim countries. . .
Ibrahim Hooper is the communications director for CAIR, the Council on
American-Islamic Relations. He says the actions of the psyops team were
a deliberate effort to inflame Muslim sensibilities.
Mr. IBRAHIM HOOPER (Communications Director, Council on
American-Islamic Relations): Muslims, when you bury the dead, you
position them--the bodies facing Mecca. And also, cremation is
prohibited by Islamic tradition. So to have American military personnel
mocking these religious traditions and sensitivities sends a very
negative message to Muslims in Afghanistan and throughout the world.
FLINTOFF: Stephen Dupont told an Australian interviewer that he didn't
believe the men who set fire to the bodies knew they were violating
Muslim traditions, but the psyops soldiers did.
Mr. DUPONT: I think that the psychological operations unit that did the
broadcast of the incident with the Taliban, including some other
broadcasts--I think they're quite well aware of it. These are older
guys. I mean, that's their job. They're psyops, you know; they use this
as a weapon.
FLINTOFF: Major Matt McLaughlin, a spokesman for the Army Central Command, says the Army has launched a criminal investigation.
Major MATT McLAUGHLIN (Spokesman, Army Central Command): These are
extremely serious allegations. That's absolutely unacceptable behavior.
But let us be very clear: It is the policy of the US military to treat
all human remains with absolute respect and dignity, consistent with
the Geneva Convention. Anything else is absolutely unacceptable.
FLINTOFF: A US military official familiar with the issue said the
investigation was ordered by the highest levels of the US command in
Afghanistan, and said the video was regarded as `horrific.'
Ibrahim Hooper says the Council on American-Islamic Relations is
concerned that the incident is one of many that represent a coarsening
of attitudes among US military people who are fighting in Afghanistan
and Iraq. He says his group fears that some returning soldiers may
bring those prejudices home with them.
Mr. HOOPER: We're concerned that you're going to eventually have a lot
of American military personnel coming back from these areas with very
negative attitudes about Islam and Muslims. And what will happen when
these people are interacting with the millions of fellow citizens who
are Muslims? (MORE)
---
US TRIES TO LIMIT DAMAGE FROM TALIBAN BODY BURNING -
TOP
Sue Pleming, Reuters, 10/20/05
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N20555808.htm
WASHINGTON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday tried to
limit damage from television images appearing to show U.S. soldiers
burning the corpses of two Taliban fighters in Afghanistan and using
the incident for propaganda.
U.S. embassies around the world were told to explain that what people
saw in the tape shown on an Australian television report did not
reflect the actions of most of the U.S. military or of U.S. values
overall, the State Department said.
"I saw the news reports and the video myself. These are very difficult
images to see," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, but he
insisted they should be seen as isolated incidents.
Muslim-American groups feared the incident could worsen anti-American
sentiments in Muslim countries where many people perceive the United
States as being culturally insensitive. . .
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington-based civil
rights group, urged the Pentagon to conduct a review of policies and
training related to personnel in Muslim countries.
"Given the growing number of such incidents involving American military
personnel worldwide, it is imperative that the Pentagon launch a
top-to-bottom review of policies and training to help prevent the war
on terror from being perceived as a war on Islam," CAIR Executive
Director Nihad Awad said in a statement.
Awad said reports of abuses of Muslim prisoners and disregard for
Islamic sensitivities in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, were
harming the image of the United States and serving as recruiting tools
for terrorist groups.
---
VIEW THE VIDEO -
TOP
http://www.cnn.com/video/partners/clickability/index.html?url=/video/world/2005/10/20/mcintyre.burned.bodies.ap
Alternative:
1) Go to:
http://www.cnn.com/
2) At "WATCH FREE VIDEO" section, click on "Browse/Search."
3) Enter the search term "Taliban" in "Search Video."
4) Click on "U.S. troops accused of corpse abuse."
-----
CAIR-FL: A NEGLECTED CATASTROPHE -
TOP
Fundraising to help victims of south Asia's massive earthquake doesn't compare to the amounts raised for other recent disasters.
SHANNON TAN, St. Petersburg Times, 10/21/05
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/10/21/Tampabay/A_Neglected_catastrop.shtml
The earthquake flattened Shabnam Khan's childhood village and killed a dozen relatives.
Her sister's mother-in-law died in her bed when the Oct. 8 earthquake
struck Pakistan and India. Her husband, who was out of bed because he
couldn't sleep, lived.
"People in my father's village are living under the sky," said Khan,
38, a native of Pakistan who lives in Valrico. "They don't have
anything."
Khan has raised about $8,000 to send to the remote village near
Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan's portion of Kashmir. Groups in
Tampa Bay also are collecting donations for victims of the disaster,
which killed more than 79,000 people and left another 3.3-million
homeless.
But while the World Health Organization said the catastrophe was bigger
in scale than last year's tsunami, fundraising groups worry about
running into donor fatigue.
Tsunami. Hurricanes. Mudslides. More hurricanes.
"It's really taken the wind out of the donors' sails, so to speak,"
said Zephyrhills resident Sam Abrahani, 54, who is involved in
fundraising for the nonprofit Human Development Foundation.
It doesn't help that some donors may be reluctant to give out of
wariness over where their contributions might end up. After the Sept.
11 attacks, the U.S. Treasury Department froze the assets of several
Muslim charities, alleging that the money was funding terrorist
activities.
"People are afraid to support Islamic charities," said Daniel
Borochoff, president of the Chicago-based American Institute of
Philanthropy.
Borochoff said he is concerned that fewer donations to earthquake
victims may send an unwanted signal to the rest of the world. Aid
efforts after last year's tsunami helped build goodwill in
predominantly Muslim areas in Asia, and the earthquake presents a
similar opportunity, he said.
"It's making us look awful in the Islamic world," Borochoff said. "People may think Americans are only generous with ourselves."
The American Red Cross has raised $1.7-million for the earthquake,
compared with $1.2-billion for Hurricane Katrina and $535-million for
the tsunami.
Ahmed Bedier, Central Florida director of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, said Muslim groups have asked for a list of
acceptable organizations to channel donations, but the federal
government has not provided that information. (MORE)
-----
TX: GROUP AIMS TO EMPOWER, SUPPORT MUSLIM WOMEN -
TOP
300 N. Texans team up to dispel stereotypes, provide social services
JAKE BATSELL, Dallas Morning News, 10/21/05
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-numuslim_21met.ART.West.Edition2.1dec23c8.html
Subservient? Silent? Not at all, these Muslim-American women say.
Many Muslim women in the Dallas-Fort Worth area say that in the four
years since 9-11, they have kept to themselves as they struggled with
such outside stereotypes and internal questions about their identities
as Muslims and as Americans.
But about 300 North Texas women - at least half from Collin County -
are launching a group aimed at raising their public profile: the Texas
Muslim Women's Foundation.
"We are citizens in this country, and we are welcome in this country,"
said Dr. Hind Jarrah of McKinney, the foundation's president. "Our
mission is to empower, promote and support Muslim women."
The group, which formed in August, is among dozens of cultural
organizations scheduled to appear at Saturday's Plano International
Festival at Haggard Park.
Dr. Jarrah, who holds a doctorate in pharmacology from UT Southwestern
Medical Center and also helped start the Arabic Heritage Society in
Dallas, said the foundation would work to serve the needs of local
Muslim women and to dispel prevailing assumptions about them.
"The major stereotype is that Islam does not honor women, that Islam
subjugates women and that women are oppressed by their husbands," she
said. "Islam honors women. Islam, from the very beginning, allowed
women to work, allowed women to trade."
In the highly charged aftermath of 9-11, many Muslim-American women
"went back behind doors," said Nasima Chowdhury, a Plano elementary
special-education instructor and foundation board member.
"They were afraid to come out," she said. "We're trying to change that."
Ms. Chowdhury, originally from Bangladesh, came to Plano more than 20
years ago at age 17 and later attended Collin County Community College.
A married mother of three, she describes herself as "just your regular,
typical American mom."
Despite having lived in Plano for virtually all her adult life, Ms.
Chowdhury felt the sting of prejudice soon after the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks. She said a neighbor in Plano's High Point area showed up at
her door and asked, "How could you do this?"
She said the incident helped her realize that she needed to assert her
identity as a Muslim, as an American and as an "active, responsible
member of society." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
BUILDING STEREOTYPES, AND TRYING TO BREAK THEM DOWN -
TOP
HEBAH M. ISMAIL, Harvard Crimson, 10/20/05
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=509230
One of the hardest things about being a minority is dealing with the
pervasive stereotypes to which others subscribe. I have had to deal
with this my whole life as a Muslim American. In order to combat these
stereotypes, I have always striven to engage in dialogue with others
and educate them about my values and beliefs. Many Muslims I know also
strive for this, both on and off campus. This is hard in and of itself.
Sometimes, a person's preconceived notions about you cannot be
corrected. But when stereotypes are actively promoted, it is almost
impossible to properly inform others. In our society, people are
bombarded on all sides with voices against Islam-such as the ad in the
Salient-and hear few on its behalf. This makes it more likely that
people will believe the stereotypes and see their Muslim friends as the
exceptions to the rule instead of the rule. (MORE)
-----
JEWS, CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS MEET AT MOSQUE -
TOP
Gregory Elder, Redlands Daily Facts, 10/20/05
http://www2.redlandsdailyfacts.com/living/ci_3135760
I am sitting on a carpeted floor in my socks, parked between an
evangelical pastor and a Roman Catholic bishop. Around us, dozens of
men are on their knees praying, facing north-northeast, prostrating
themselves before God.
A chant rises and falls and the devotion is clear. It is the hour of
prayer, and I am once again in a mosque, for the first time since the
Sept. 11 attacks.
It was a historic moment, as I very much doubt that a such a collection
of pastors, clergy and bishops have been assembled in a mosque in the
Inland Empire in any recent memory.
Along with a series of religious leaders, academics and journalists, I
was invited last Saturday to a celebration of the Ramadan festival at
the mosque in Riverside. We met late on Saturday while the annual
Ramadan fast was still in place.
SEE ALSO:
MUSLIM WORSHIPPERS SAY MOSQUE EXPANSION NEAR DETROIT WAS OVERDUE -
TOP
Associated Press, 10/21/05
http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw122917_20051021.htm
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- Growing up in Lebanon, Rayan Dughayli came
across a mosque on nearly every corner. But when he moved to the United
States at 13, it was harder to find one.
Five years later, the Dearborn resident said he eagerly awaited the
construction of the new Islamic Center of America -- the newest
addition among the places of worship along Altar Road.
"Every time I'd pass by," Dughayli said, "I'd look and imagine myself in the mosque."
His wait ended in May, when the new $14 million center opened.
During a break from classes at a nearby community college, he was among
the handful of men recently attending afternoon prayers at the mosque,
the centerpiece of a 70,000-square-foot facility. Also worshipping were
dozens of young people from the center's adjacent grade school.
Ali Kawsan, a 20-year-old Dearborn resident, said having a mosque of
this stature was overdue in Dearborn, a Detroit suburb that's home to
one of the nation's largest concentrations of people with roots in the
Middle East, many of whom are Muslim.
"It's kind of rejuvenated the faith in this community. People say they
can't believe something like this could exist in America," said Kawsan,
a University of Michigan engineering student who also works as a
salesman. "It's a blessing for us to be in a place like this. When I
look around I say, . . . "God is good."'
While the mosque draws up to 900 worshippers each Friday, 4,000 to
5,000 come on holidays, said Eide A. Alawan, who volunteers as the
center's interfaith and outreach liaison.
Besides the mosque, the facility has offices, bathrooms with pre-prayer
washing areas and three banquet halls that can seat more than 1,000
people. The halls are used for funerals, lectures and other events.
They also have been host to thousands of Muslims attending nightly
lectures during the holy month of Ramadan, which started a couple of
weeks ago.
The Islamic Center is one of a growing number of mosques in this country.
The American Muslim population began growing dramatically after 1965,
when President Lyndon Johnson abolished an immigration quota system
that had disproportionately benefited Europeans.
Growth in mosques quickly followed; from 962 in 1994 to 1,209 in 2000,
according to a study by Ihsan Bagby, a professor of Islamic studies at
the University of Kentucky and lead author of the 2001 report "The
Mosque in America: A National Portrait" for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations. (MORE)
-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/23/05
*
Hadith:
Laylat Al-Qadr (Night of
Power)
-
Verse:
Laylat Al-Qadr is the Night of
Peace
*
CAIR-CT:
Pakistani-American Community
Helping Quake Victims
-
CAIR-OH: Supporters Hold
Rally Opposing Deportation
-
CAIR-San Diego Seeks Executive
Director
-
CAIR-Philly:
Historical Islam
Course
-
CAIR-OH:
Children's Book Came Out of
Mother's Concern
-
CAIR-DC:
Ex-Chaplain Sees
Anti-Muslim Feeling
-
CAIR 10th Anniversary Report
Now Online
*
GA:
After Arson, Islamic Center
of Savannah Rebuilds
-
Arson Attack on Swedish
Mosque
*
Ohio Newspaper Responds
to Muslim Concerns About
Cartoon
*
CA:
Muslim B-Ball
Star Finds Peace Through Religion, Charity
-
IN:
Ramadan
Fast is Challenge for Student-Athletes
*
CA:
Muslim,
Christian, Jewish Teens Meet
-
NY:
An Olive Branch Gets Extended,
Embraced (Newsday)
-
GA:
Muslims Try to Banish
Myths (Atlanta Journal)
*
Bahraini Detainee at Gitmo Claims
Sexual Abuse (Arab News)
-
CAIR Anti-Torture Campaign
*
UK Poll:
Huge Majority of
Iraqis Want Coalition to Go
-
Iraq:
Killing of
Contractors Suppressed (Telegraph)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: LAYLAT AL-QADR (NIGHT OF POWER) -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Search for the Night
of Power (Laylat Al-Qadr) in the odd-numbered nights of the last ten days
of Ramadan."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Hadith 234
A wife of the Prophet asked him what prayers she should say on Laylat
Al-Qadr. The Prophet told her to say: "O God, Thou art forgiving and
lovest forgiveness, so forgive me."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 641
VERSE OF THE DAY: LAYLAT AL-QADR IS THE NIGHT OF
PEACE -
TOP
"We have revealed this (Quran) in the Night of Power. And what will
make you understand what the Night of Power is! The Night of Qadr is
better than one thousand months. The angels and the Spirit (Gabriel) come
down with every decree, by the leave of their Lord. That night is the
night of peace, till the break of dawn."
The Holy Quran, Chapter 97 (Al-Qadr)
"We revealed this (Quran) in a blessed night (Laylat Al-Qadr); for
We wanted to forewarn mankind. In that night every matter is decided
wisely."
The Holy Quran, 44:3-4
NOTE: Laylat al-Qadr ("Night of Power" or "Night of
Destiny") marks the anniversary of the night on which the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) first began receiving revelations from God
through the angel Gabriel. Muslims believe Laylat al-Qadr is one of the
last odd-numbered nights of Ramadan. Some Muslims spend the last ten days
of Ramadan in a local mosque. This practice is called
"I'tikaf."
-----
CAIR-CT: PAKISTANI-AMERICAN
COMMUNITY WORKING TO HELP EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
KARIN CROMPTON, The Day, 10/22/05
http://www.theday.com/eng/web/news/re.aspx?re=1c504677-69a7-47f5-8035-d2ec4adffa64
They are huddled in mountaintops, stringing together tents from bedsheets
and the splintered lumber from their shattered homes. Thousands of
victims of the Oct. 8 earthquake in Pakistan are waiting, battling
disease and starvation as another harsh winter approaches.
In America, the Pakistani-American community watches on satellite
channels like PTV Prime - or Pakistani TV - the Internet, and Pakistani
newspapers.
This disaster is their 9/11.
"Everybody," said Badr Malik of Old Lyme, "has a
connection."
Malik is the executive director of the state branch of the Islamic civil
rights organization CAIR, the Council for American-Islamic Relations.
(MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-OH: SUPPORTERS HOLD
RALLY OPPOSING DEPORTATION -
TOP
No charges ever filed, but ex-Kent man is still in jail; `I thought truth
would prevail,' wife says
Rick Armon, Beacon Journal, 10/23/05
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/living/community/12976530.htm
CUYAHOGA FALLS - Her eyes welled with tears.
Michele Swensen doesn't know what's next for her family. Or whether
there's any fight left in her husband.
"I thought it would end differently," she said, shaking her
head. ``I thought truth would prevail, but not in this day and
age."
This weekend marks the third anniversary of her husband Ashraf
al-Jailani's arrest by federal authorities. He remains behind bars at a
federal detention center in York, Pa., although no formal charges have
been filed against him.
Friends and supporters held a rally Saturday afternoon at the Islamic
Community Center on East Steels Corners Road to show their support for
him and to denounce the government for trying to deport him. Swensen and
the couple's three children, Amina, Layla and Sami, were among the 30 or
so people who attended.
The government "really can destroy people," said Julia
Shearson, director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations'
Cleveland office.
Al-Jailani, 41, of Kent, was arrested in October 2002 on suspicion that
he was a member of al-Qaeda and wanted to blow up Akron's GOJO
Industries, his employer at the time. The government apparently no longer
considers him a terrorist, but a 1998 conviction for domestic violence
has threatened his ability to stay in the country.
A U.S. immigration court ruled last week that he cannot seek asylum in
the United States, and he could be deported to his native Yemen on Nov.
17 unless he files an appeal.
Swensen said al-Jailani's absence has been especially hard on the
children. Amina and Laya will miss a father-daughter dance at their
elementary school next week, she said.
"He did nothing wrong and they just want to keep him in jail,"
said 9-year-old Amina, the oldest of the children.
"I don't want him to go to Yemen but I think the options are kind of
limited," Swensen said after the rally. ``Ultimately, the decision
is up to him."
Asked whether she would go to Yemen with her husband, Swensen said she
hasn't made that decision.
She hasn't spoken with al-Jailani since the court ruling. His Akron
attorney Farhad Sethna said he and al-Jailani are still trying to figure
out what to do next.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not return a call seeking
comment.
At the rally, Don Bryant, president of the Greater Cleveland Immigrant
Support Network, nearly broke down as he read a one-page letter written
by al-Jailani before the recent court ruling.
"I must say it is difficult to fathom such abuse and denial of
fundamental due process in a great country like the United States of
America," he wrote. "I quite understand the mentality that was
derived after 9/11, but I must again reiterate my only dilemma is being a
Muslim Arab." (MORE)
---
CAIR-SAN DIEGO SEEKS EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR -
TOP
CAIR-San Diego is seeking a qualified individual to work as a full or
part-time director of its San Diego office. The ideal candidate will have
a university degree and excellent organizational, leadership,
communication, and interpersonal skills. A legal background and previous
experience in community activism and public relations is desired but not
essential.
For more information, or to apply for this position, please e-mail a
resume to:
CAIR_SD_Pres@yahoo.com
---
CAIR-PHILLY: HISTORICAL ISLAM COURSE -
TOP
Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/22/05
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/living/religion/12967301.htm
"Understanding Islam & Muslims through History &
Jurisprudence"; Council on American-Islamic Relations, Phila Chapter
presents. Foundation for Islamic Education, 1860 Montgomery Ave,
Villanova; 215-592-0509 or
cairphilly@cair-philly.org
. 7-9 p.m. Mons & Weds, & 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Sats through
11/7. Registration required.
---
BILAL'S STORY: CHILDREN'S BOOK CAME OUT OF
MOTHER'S CONCERN -
TOP
Tom Feran, RELIGION NEWS SERVICE, 10/22/05
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1128767678751&path=!living!article&s=1037645509005
The way it started out, the way it was originally written, the child in
the story only had to deal only with a basic fear shared by kids
everywhere. That maybe, because he wasn't exactly like them, he wouldn't
be liked or accepted by his peers.
But events took a hand, and the story subtly changed in a way that its
author could not have foreseen.
Instead of just worrying about being accepted by his grade-school
classmates, the boy in the story has to face the real fear that something
bad might happen to him because of who he is, an American
Muslim.
His fictional story is told in a book called My Name Is Bilal, newly
published by Boyds Mills Press. Its author, Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin, is an
Ohio pediatrician who wrote it out of necessity - for her own three
children. Now it's for a much wider audience. . .
Bilal, the boy in her story, hides his religion and calls himself Bill to
be accepted by classmates. But he struggles with his deception until a
teacher gives him a book about Bilal ibn Rabah - a beloved figure in
Islamic history who withstood religious persecution to make the first
Islamic call to prayer.
Mobin-Uddin, 38, submitted her manuscript five months before the
terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists on Sept. 11, 2001. Resulting
fears and stereotypes gave more importance and urgency to the book's
message of understanding and tolerance, and only the need to illustrate
it as a children's book delayed publication.
"Kids have different challenges now," Mobin-Uddin said.
"We had people just not knowing what Islam was."
She has a second children's book in the works, does community work and
speaking engagements through her Web site,
www.asmamobinuddin.com, and serves as the vice president of the Ohio
chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
---
CAIR-DC: EX-CHAPLAIN SEES ANTI-MUSLIM
FEELING -
TOP
FRANCES GRANDY TAYLOR, Courant, 10/22/05
http://www.courant.com/features/lifestyle/hc-yee1022.artoct22,0,5693821.story
Yee's case "is indicative of the post-9/11 climate that American
Muslims have lived under, which is guilty until proved innocent,"
says Arsalan Iftikhar, legal affairs director for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations. "Muslims live with the duality of being
American, being a Muslim and dealing with suspicion because of our
faith."
---
CAIR 10TH ANNIVERSARY REPORT
NOW ONLINE -
TOP
http://www.cair-net.org/pdf/10th_anniversary_report.pdf
-----
GA: AFTER THE ARSON, ISLAMIC CENTER OF
SAVANNAH REBUILDS -
TOP
For two years Muslims have prayed in a small trailer on Old Dutchtown
Road. Friday, they began work on a new mosque.
http://www.savannahnow.com/stories/102205/3379139.shtml
Beneath a towering pair of charred pines, a few dozen men stood before a
cinder block pillar Friday and praised Allah. The pines were lingering
reminders of an act of arson two years ago that destroyed the Islamic
Center of Savannah. The pillar was for hope.
Amid the ashes of the old, it marks the cornerstone where a new mosque
will rise. Friday, the Islamic Center held a groundbreaking for the
planned 11,000-square-foot, $1 million building. It should be ready by
next fall. The event came just after the 2 p.m. Juma prayer, held nearby
in a small trailer. . .
It was an apparent act of hatred that robbed the center of its
space.
In the weeks leading up to the arson, someone shot up the center's doors
and left a threatening note in one member's apartment. Authorities have
no suspects, no new leads, and are no longer actively investigating the
case.
Masood Ahmed, vice chairman of the Islamic Center, said membership has
only increased in the two years since.
Neighbors who barely acknowledged the center showed heart-warming acts of
kindness: The woman to the west brought by a rose bush members planted;
the neighbor to the east let the center use his water any time members
needed it.
Letters came pouring in. "After it happened, we were sad and
disappointed, but when we saw the reaction of the community it gave us
strength," Ahmed said. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
ARSON ATTACK ON MALM�
MOSQUE -
TOP
http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=2346&date=20051022
The mosque in Malm� was the target of a new arson attack just before
midnight on Friday. Several minor fires were started in the main
building, but these were put out quickly by the emergency services after
passers-by had spotted smoke coming out of the building.
One man was taken to hospital suffering from mild smoke injuries. The man
was staying in the mosque temporarily for the Ramadan period and was
sleeping in the building when the fire began.
Someone had broken into the building after smashing a window at the back.
(MORE)
-----
OH: A FEW WEEKS AGO, WE
PUBLISHED A CARTOON LAMPOONING TV EVANGELIST AND... -
TOP
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, 10/23/05
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/opinion/12962519.htm
A few weeks ago, we published a cartoon lampooning TV evangelist and
political activist Pat Robertson's suggestion (which, predictably, he
later disclaimed) that the U.S. should consider assassination of hostile
world leaders. The implication was not that Christians endorse
assassination, but that wing-nuts of Robertson's ilk distort
Christianity.
Just this past Monday, we published a cartoon with the same kind of
twist, except that in place of an allegedly Christian spokesman
distorting Christianity, it involved a Muslim cleric distorting
Islam.
Specifically, Los Angeles Times cartoonist Mike Ramirez had the cleric
saying, "... And then Muhammad said, 'Sow hatred, foment violence
and blow up innocent women and children.' This is the word of
Allah..." (SEE:
http://www.latimes.com/includes/ramirez/ramirez_20051009.gif
)
Then, in a separate quote, the cleric adds: "Okay, maybe it's a
rough translation."
The implication to us -- and, we believe, to the cartoonist -- was not
that Islam endorses terrorism, but that terrorists profane
Islam.
Some of our readers -- most but not all of them members of the Columbus
area Muslim community -- didn't see it that way. Several callers saw the
cartoon as an irresponsible, reckless and sweeping slur on Muslims in
general, a suggestion that Islam is less a religious and moral belief
system than a violent and radical political-terrorist movement.
A couple of the callers acknowledged the irony, and the point, but said
the specific references to the deity and the prophet, particularly during
the Muslim holy time of Ramadan, were untimely and, to some, actively
blasphemous.
It should go without saying there is no such text in the Quran, and these
are not words or ideas spoken to, or by, the prophet of Islam.
That, we thought when we decided to run the cartoon, was precisely the
point.
There are, regrettably, those so-called Christians who insist that Islam
is by nature violent and barbaric (Franklin Graham comes to mind); such
folks might consider a refresher course in the Old Testament -- not to
mention a cursory overview of Western civilization, from the Inquisition
and the Crusades right on through the church's craven complicity in
Hitler's Third Reich. . .
One thing, however, I probably should have anticipated: This cartoon,
whose intended targets are foreign enemies bent on destroying Americans,
our allies and other Muslims who don't support the terrorists' radical
agenda, was taken very personally by people who are not foreign and not
enemies -- they are Americans and members of this community.
If we exercise the right to push the line of free expression, we incur an
obligation not just to respect the right of others to object, but also to
make a genuine effort to understand exactly what they're objecting
to.
The decision to publish the cartoon was mine, and anybody who wants to
discuss it is welcome to do so. Let us hear from you.
Contact Dusty Nix at (706) 571-8528 or
dnix@ledger-enquirer.com
COPY TO:
michael.ramirez@latimes.com
-----
CA: NEW KING SHAREEF
ABDUR-RAHIM FINDS PEACE THROUGH HIS RELIGION AND CHARITY -
TOP
Sam Amick, Sacramento Bee, 10/23/05
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/13758126p-14600343c.html
The surface description of Abdur-Rahim goes as such - nine-year veteran
and one-time All-Star with wondrous individual numbers but nary a winning
season to call his own. Go deeper, and you learn he's a devout Muslim,
the son of an Islamic leader and a schoolteacher. He grew up in Atlanta
as the second-oldest of five children and later grew to be a loyal
husband and father of two children.
Talk to his friends and family, and they'll say what he won't, that he's
one of sport's great humanitarians, using his riches to give back while
succeeding in the business realm in everything from real estate to
television production. As put by one scout whose path crossed
Abdur-Rahim's long ago, "He's the best character guy in the
league." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
IN:
RAMADAN FAST IS CHALLENGE FOR STUDENT-ATHLETES -
TOP
Robert King, Indianapolis Star, 10/22/04
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051022/LIVING/510220361
Fasting between sunrise and sundown is a hallmark of Ramadan, a month
during which Muslims practice self-restraint. The holiday is also a time
to cleanse the body and soul of impurities and refocus on the worship of
God. Children begin to fast once they reach puberty. For kids who
routinely engage in activities that involve physical exertion -- such as
sports or dance -- the self-denial is an especially stern test of their
commitment. (MORE)
-----
CA: MUSLIM, CHRISTIAN AND
JEWISH TEENS MEET AT INTERFAITH YOUTH ICEBREAKER -
TOP
Kim Calvert, Daily Breeze, 10/23/05
http://www.dailybreeze.com/today/articles/1821616.html
Get-acquainted games already were under way when four teenage Muslim
girls, their quiet, dark-eyed beauty framed by traditional head scarves,
arrived Sunday afternoon at Temple Menorah in Redondo Beach.
Their shyness gave way to warm smiles as they were welcomed into the
Jewish synagogue's community room and invited to join 50 other teenage
Jews, Christians and Muslims in an energetic game of
Mingle-Mingle-Mingle, the object being to shake hands with as many people
as possible.
The occasion was the Interfaith Youth Icebreaker sponsored by the South
Coast Interfaith Council, an association of 140 faith-based groups in the
South Bay-Harbor-Long Beach areas of Los Angeles and West Orange
counties. It was inspired by a nationwide effort by Jewish, Muslim and
Christian organizations to encourage peace during a rare convergence of
religious calendars, a time when Ramadan and the Jewish High Holy Days
fell on the same days in October. (MORE_
SEE ALSO:
NY: AN OLIVE BRANCH GETS EXTENDED,
EMBRACED -
TOP
JOSEPH STASZEWSKI, Newsday, 10/23/05
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-limusl234481522oct23,0,6522643.story
Seemi Ahmed had never before stood underneath a Sukkah, much less
contemplated the centuries of Jewish history the wooden structure has
come to represent.
But as the 43-year-old Muslim stepped toward the fragile archway
festooned with branches, leaves, and fruit at Temple Beth El in Great
Neck yesterday, she could almost imagine herself a woman of another
faith.
"I remembered how the Jewish people used to take shelter when they
were nomads," said Ahmed, of Searingtown. "I didn't know much
about this. I wanted to sit and eat in there. It felt so
nice."
For more than 50 Muslims and Jews who attended a unique ceremony at the
temple last night, that was precisely the point - to share the traditions
and rituals of a different faith.
The ceremony, the first of its kind on Long Island, was intended to honor
a rare confluence of holidays: the Jewish fall harvest festival of Sukkot
and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. (MORE)
---
GA: MUSLIMS TRY TO BANISH SOME
MYTHS -
TOP
BILL OSINSKI, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10/22/05
http://www.ajc.com/saturday/content/epaper/editions/saturday/gwinnett_34953e0f613302b70009.html
Falafel and understanding are on the menu when Muslims share a meal and
their faith with non-Muslims.
But whether the setting is a restaurant with Middle Eastern cuisine, a
school classroom, a church or a corporate meeting, area Muslim leaders
are seeking to dispel misconceptions about their religion.
Things just seem to go better, however, when there's a buffet
involved.
"It's amazing how many problems we can clear up just by having a
meal together," said Kemal Korucu, head of the Interfaith Outreach
Committee for the Norcross-based Instanbul Center for Culture and
Dialogue. The center sponsors interfaith dinners in metro Atlanta and
elsewhere in the region. One such dinner was held this past
week.
Such meetings are needed, he said, because of the tendency of some people
to connect the violence going on in parts of the Islamic world with the
religion of Islam.
"As a Muslim, it breaks my heart," Korucu said. "This is
not who we are."
Nevertheless, he added, to him it often seems as if whenever the word
"terrorist" is used in the media, it is preceded by the
adjective "Muslim."
Hence, the campaign to "teach, not preach," as characterized by
Soumaya Khalifa, executive director of the Islamic Speakers Bureau of
Atlanta, an organization dedicated to educating non-Muslims about
Islam.
The Islamic Speakers Bureau sponsored a dinner last week for a group of
about 20 area media representatives. The dinner was scheduled to coincide
with the Muslim holy month known as Ramadan. Several members of the ISB
made presentations in an effort to clear up misconceptions:
Muslims do not value education for women: To the contrary, the Quran
states that it is a "noble act" for a father to educate his
daughters to their highest potential. In some cases Muslim rulers --- for
example, the Taliban in Afghanistan --- have banned women from schools,
but those political and cultural actions conflict with the tenets of
Islam.
Muslims are intolerant of other religions: Actually, Muslims see their
faith as an extension of the Judeo-Christian tradition of monotheism.
Many of the prophets of the old and new testaments, including Abraham,
Moses and Jesus (who is considered a great prophet, though not a son of
God) are accepted and incorporated into the Muslim faith.
Muslim is another word for Arab: Worldwide, only about 18 percent of
Muslims are Arabs. Also, not all Arabs are Muslims; about 15 percent of
Arabs in Egypt, for example, are Christians. The United Stated has about
7 million Muslims.
The Golden Rule is a strictly Christian concept: The Quran states,
"No one truly believes until he wants for others what he wants for
himself."
"Jihad" means holy war: The term "jihad" is actually
"a very beautiful concept that has been turned into an evil
word," according to ISB speaker Jelena Naim. In its literal
religious sense, a "jihad" typically refers to the process in
which a person seeks to cleanse himself or herself of bad habits. In a
broader sense, it can refer to an individual's effort to redress the
wrongs in society. (MORE)
-----
BAHRAINI DETAINEE AT GITMO CLAIMS SEXUAL
ABUSE -
TOP
Mazen Mahdi, Arab News, 10/22/05
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=72096&d=22&m=10&y=2005
BAHRAIN, 22 October 2005 - One of six Bahraini detainees being held at
Cuba's Guantanamo Bay detention center was the subject of sexual abuse
and witnessed at least one act of Qur'an desecration by US soldiers while
being held in Afghanistan, according to a new report.
Bahraini detainee Jumah Al-Dossary who is being held there claimed that
he was subjected to sexual abuse and that he witnessed US soldiers at
Kandahar Air Base in Afghanistan desecrate the Qur'an by cleaning their
boots with pages they had ripped from it.
Al-Dossary, according to the recently declassified report issued by his
lawyer Joshua Colangelo-Bryan, claimed that he was reportedly beaten and
stamped on by eight guards as he was recovering from an earlier stomach
operation.
Al-Dossary, aged 30 now and father to an 11-year-old girl, said that in
early September 2002 he was taken to an interrogation room where four
MPs, with one carrying a video camera, handcuffed and shackled him to the
floor before stripping him naked on orders from a female interrogator
present in the room.
He claimed that the female interrogator stripped and squatted over his
genitals, chest, and face smearing him with her menstrual blood in an
attempt to have him admit links to Al-Qaeda and 9/11 attacks.
(MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR ANTI-TORTURE CAMPAIGN -
TOP
Earlier this year, CAIR and other groups called for an independent 9/11
commission-style investigation into the use of torture by American
military personnel. SEE:
http://www.cair-net.org/antitorture/
Contact you elected representatives to ask that they oppose the use of
torture in any circumstances. GO TO:
http://capwiz.com/cair/home/
-----
HUGE MAJORITY
OF IRAQIS WANT COALITION TO GO -
TOP
Ned Temko, Observer, 10/23/05
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12956,1598908,00.html
The government has been dealt an embarrassing double blow in its battle
to convince the public it is beating insurgency in Iraq and the threat of
terrorism at home, according to confidential reports leaked to today's
newspapers.
One claimed nearly half of all Iraqis sympathised with violent attacks
against British and US coalition troops; another said that at home, Tony
Blair's high-profile strategy to counter the terrorist threat was proving
disjointed and ineffective.
Downing Street, while saying it would not comment on 'allegedly leaked
reports', told The Observer last night that Britain remained firm in its
commitment to stay in Iraq until the elected government felt it was ready
to take over security responsibilities.
The figures on Iraqis' views about attacks on coalition troops came from
a nationwide opinion survey, commissioned by the Ministry of Defence and
leaked to the Sunday Telegraph.
According to the report, fewer than one in 100 respondents felt the
presence of American, British and other allied troops was improving
security in the country.
Forty-five per cent countrywide were said to believe that the attacks on
the troops were justified - a figure that rose to 65 per cent in the
Maysan, one of the provinces policed by the British. No fewer than 82 per
cent, according to the report, declared themselves 'strongly opposed' to
the presence of coalition troops.
SEE ALSO:
US TROOPS FIGHTING LOSING
BATTLE FOR SUNNI TRIANGLE -
TOP
Adrian Blomfield, Telegraph, 10/22/05
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/10/22/wirq122.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/10/22/ixworld.html
The mob grew more frenzied as the gunmen dragged the two surviving
Americans from the cab of their bullet-ridden lorry and forced them to
kneel on the street.
Killing one of the men with a rifle round fired into the back of his
head, they doused the other with petrol and set him alight. Barefoot
children, yelping in delight, piled straw on to the screaming man's body
to stoke the flames.
It had taken just one wrong turn for disaster to unfold. Less than a mile
from the base it was heading to, the convoy turned left instead of right
and lumbered down one of the most anti-American streets in Iraq, a narrow
bottleneck in Duluiya town, on a peninsular jutting into the Tigris river
named after the Jibouri tribe that lives there.
As the lorries desperately tried to reverse out, dozens of Sunni Arab
insurgents wielding rocket launchers and automatic rifles emerged from
their homes.
The gunmen were almost certainly emboldened by the fact that the American
soldiers escorting the convoy would not have been able to respond quickly
enough.
"The hatches of the humvees were closed," said Capt Andrew
Staples, a member of the Task Force Liberty 1-15 battalion that patrols
Duluiya and other small towns on the eastern bank of the Tigris, who
spoke to soldiers involved.
Within minutes, four American contractors, all employees of the
Halliburton subsidiary Kellog, Brown & Root, were dead. The jubilant
crowd dragged their corpses through the street, chanting anti-US slogans.
An investigation has been launched into why the contractors were not
better protected.
Perhaps fearful of public reaction in America, where support for the war
is falling, US officials suppressed details of the Sept 20 attack, which
bore a striking resemblance to the murder of four other contractors in
Fallujah last year.
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
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http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
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cair@cair-net.org
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/24/05
*
Hadith:
The Last Ten
Nights of Ramadan
*
Reasons to Support CAIR:
Civil
Rights
*
Quote:
Muslims Should be
Positive
*
CAIR-CA:
750 Attend
Fast-for-a-Day Ramadan Iftar
-
CAIR-OH: Dinner Raises
Quake Aid
*
CAIR-MD:
Muslim
Receives $16K for Post-9/11 Firing (AP)
*
IL:
Center Plans
First Muslim Funeral Home (Sun-Times)
*
NJ:
Muslims
Gather to Help the Needy (Herald News)
-
MI:
Muslims
Put Focus on Helping Others (Free Press)
*
How the West Came To
Run Islamic Banks (Newsweek)
*
FBI Papers
Indicate Intelligence Violations (Wash Post)
-
MI: Local FBI's
No. 1 Job: Terror War (Detroit News)
*
CA:
Muslims,
Christians, Jews Share Prayer Space (LA Times)
-
PA: Young,
Muslim and American (Patriot-News)
-
MI:
Arab Culture at Home in America (NY Times)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: THE LAST TEN NIGHTS OF RAMADAN -
TOP
Narrated Aisha: "(The Prophet Muhammad) used to exert himself in
devotion (to God) during the last ten nights (of Ramadan) to a greater
extent than at any other time."
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 572
-----
REASONS TO SUPPORT CAIR: CIVIL RIGHTS -
TOP
In the past 11 years, CAIR's Civil Rights Department dealt with, free
of charge, thousands of discrimination cases reported by American
Muslims. CAIR also publishes an annual report on the status of American
Muslim civil rights.
To offer your support, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/ramadan2005/
Scholars have said that
donating to CAIR qualifies for Zakat.
-----
QUOTE OF THE DAY: MUSLIMS SHOULD BE POSITIVE -
TOP
Muslim Student Group Celebrates Islam at Annual Ramadan Night
KEVIN ZELAYA, Daily Nebraskan, 10/24/05
http://www.dailynebraskan.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/10/24/435c5a4a92bfe
After September 11, 2001, Arafa said as director of an Islamic center,
he received 104 calls pledging support for the Islamic community in
various ways.
He also got two threatening calls.
Arafa said Muslims should be positive and not withdraw from any community.
"I decided to live my life as a Muslim focusing on the 104 calls and not the two calls," he said.
-----
CAIR-CA: 750 ATTEND FAST-FOR-A-DAY RAMADAN IFTAR -
TOP
(DAVIS, CA, 10/24/05) - More than 750 people turned out for the annual
Fast-for-a-Day Ramadan Iftar (Dinner) on Friday, October 21, in the
Davis Senior Citizen's Center.
Among the attendees were a number of civic, religious and community
leaders, including Assemblywoman Lois Wolk and elected officials from
Yolo County and the City of Davis.
"The month of Ramadan offers a unique chance for people to reflect on
the blessings bestowed upon them," said CAIR-SV President Hamza
EL-Nakhal. "It is also a chance to build bridges and alliances that can
contribute to creating a sense of community,"
Canned goods were collected and donated to the local shelter, while
donations were collected for the victims of Hurricane Katrina and South
Asian earthquake.
The event was co-sponsored by: UC Davis MSA, Davis High school MSA,
CAIR-Sacramento Valley, UC Davis Office of Community Relations, and Why
Islam.
CONTACT: CAIR-SV, 916-442-6269 or E-Mail: sacval@cair.com
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-OH: DINNER RAISES QUAKE AID -
TOP
Pakistan, Kashmir natives ask crowd to open hearts, wallets for survivors
Sandra M. Klepach, Beacon Journal staff writer
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/12982524.htm
CUYAHOGA FALLS - Although he left Pakistan about 35 years ago, Fareed Siddiq has felt far from his native home this month.
His mother and his three sisters who are still living in Pakistan were
thankfully not affected by the Oct. 8 earthquake that devastated
neighboring areas.
But Siddiq still hurts. From the United States, he cannot assist his
neighbors in rebuilding. He cannot offer even one of the 2.5 million
left homeless warmth from the freezing temperatures.
Siddiq can only write a personal check from his home in Chagrin Falls and encourage others to do the same.
"When you are close, you understand what's going on there," Siddiq
said. "Over here, you're very far away from it.... But it's the people
who are part of our community that have been impacted.
"By giving, we teach our children how to give."
Siddiq shared this plea with about 150 other Islamic believers before
an Iftar dinner Sunday at the Islamic Community Center in Cuyahoga
Falls.
The event, organized by the Islamic Society of Akron and Kent (ISAK),
cost $50 per participant, with money raised benefiting earthquake
victims in Pakistan and Kashmir. . .
"The people in Kashmir and Pakistan are like any other people; they are
people of dignity," he said. "But that's the test from Allah to them --
and the test to us of what we can do."
Isam Zaiem, president of the Ohio chapter of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, told participants their test is much easier.
"It's very easy to ace because all you have to do is give," he said. (MORE)
-----
MD: STORE OWNER AGREES TO PAY FORMER MUSLIM EMPLOYEE WHO WAS FIRED -
TOP
Associated Press, 10/23/05
[
NOTE:
CAIR-MD/VA will provide religious and cultural sensitivity training to Learning How executives. CONTACT: Shama Farooq, 301-986-1900, E-Mail:
shama@cairmd.org ]
COLUMBIA, Md. - The owner of a chain of stores has agreed to pay
$16,000 to a Muslim former employee who complained that she was fired
shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks because of her religious beliefs.
As part of the settlement, which followed an investigation by the State
of Maryland Commission on Human Relations, the owner of the education
supplies store called "Learning How" also sent an apology to the fired
worker, Shabana Ahmed. The owner also agreed to send his managers to
cultural and religious awareness training.
Ahmed, 27, worked as a saleswoman at the company's Columbia store for
several weeks in October 2001. She wore traditional Muslim attire to
work and prayed several times a day in the back of the store. According
to the commission's investigation, company President John Faw Jr.
pulled aside the store manager. The manager told members of the
commission that Faw said, "Are you crazy? ... I can't have her working
here." Ahmed was fired the next day, said Lee Hoshall, assistant
general counsel at the commission. (MORE)
-----
IL: CENTER PLANS FIRST MUSLIM FUNERAL HOME HERE -
TOP
MONIFA THOMAS, Chicago Sun-Times, 10/24/05
http://www.suntimes.com/output/religion/cst-nws-muslim24.html
In the Islamic burial tradition, the bodies of the deceased aren't
embalmed and families do not delay interment by having a wake.
Yet many Muslim families in Chicago find it difficult and expensive to
observe customs with which most funeral homes have limited familiarity.
The Muslim Community Center may soon provide a better option for these
families by building what would be the first funeral home in the city
to cater exclusively to Muslims, planners say. (MORE)
-----
NJ: MUSLIMS GATHER TO HELP THE NEEDY -
TOP
TOM MEAGHER, HERALD NEWS, 10/24/05
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MDYmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY3OTkzMTkmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkz
UNION CITY - For the young Muslims who gathered to feed and clothe the
poor Sunday, the word "community" encompassed more than just those of
their own faith. It meant everyone in need in North Jersey.
On a breezy, overcast morning, Muslims from across the region converged
on a middle school to provide food, blankets, warm clothes and
toiletries to those who might otherwise go without.
Tamara Issak, 19, awoke at 5 a.m. at her home in Wayne to meet some
friends at the Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson. The group
then collected other volunteers and supplies on their way to Islamic
Relief's Humanitarian Day in Union City. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MI: MUSLIMS PUT THE FOCUS ON HELPING OTHERS -
TOP
Homeless given health screenings, advice, clothing and food
ZLATI MEYER, FREE PRESS, 10/24/05
http://www.freep.com/news/religion/ramadan24e_20051024.htm
Beneath a sparse canopy of balloons, inflated for the day's youngest visitors, Khidhir Naeem's voice boomed.
"Good to see you, glad you're here," he said, greeting most of the
hundreds of men, women and children who filed through Detroit's Wigle
Recreation Center Sunday as part of the region's first Humanitarian Day
for the Homeless, organized by Islamic Relief.
They continued past Naeem to the rows of tables, where dozens of
volunteers handed out hygiene kits, containing toothbrushes,
toothpaste, soap and washcloths; bags of socks, gloves and scarves;
warm helpings of food; bottled water, and toys and balloons for the
kids. (MORE)
-----
HOW THE WEST CAME TO RUN ISLAMIC BANKS -
TOP
Giants like Citigroup dominate the sector, through Islamic subsidiaries and hired Sharia scholars.
Owen Matthews, Newsweek, 10/31/05
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9775291/site/newsweek/
How did Western banks come to dominate a market predicated on Islamic
purity? A generation ago, an Islamic bank was just a simple investment
house that, instead of paying interest on deposits, created dividends
by buying and renting out property. "Islam forbids making money on
money," says Alun Williams, marketing director of the new Islamic Bank
of Britain. "But it does allow you to rent, and to trade." Now Western
banks are using that template to pioneer Islamic credit cards, Islamic
mortgages and Islamic bonds (known as sukuks) that during the past year
have financed everything from a $1 billion upgrade of Dubai airport to
Pakistani government debt. As growth picks up in the Middle East, more
and more Muslim-run corporations find they need sophisticated services,
from bond issues to derivatives, that so far only Western banks provide.
The Western banks gain Islamic credibility by hiring top-drawer Sharia
scholars to sit on their boards. "The caliber of your scholars is the
basis on which these [financial products] are marketed," says Majid
Dawood, a London-based consultant on Sharia compliance. Because there
are just a handful of financially literate Islamic scholars in the
market, most sit on the boards of many institutions and can, says
Dawood, command salaries of as much as $88,500 per year per bank. Sheik
Mohammed Taqi Usmani, a former Sharia judge on the Supreme Court of
Pakistan, sits on the board of Citi Islamic, HSBC, Al Baraka and eight
others, and is chairman of the Dow Jones Islamic indexes' Sharia panel.
(MORE)
-----
FBI PAPERS INDICATE INTELLIGENCE VIOLATIONS -
TOP
Secret Surveillance Lacked Oversight
Dan Eggen, Washington Post, 10/24/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/23/AR2005102301352.html
The FBI has conducted clandestine surveillance on some U.S. residents
for as long as 18 months at a time without proper paperwork or
oversight, according to previously classified documents to be released
today.
Records turned over as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit
also indicate that the FBI has investigated hundreds of potential
violations related to its use of secret surveillance operations, which
have been stepped up dramatically since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks but
are largely hidden from public view.
In one case, FBI agents kept an unidentified target under surveillance
for at least five years -- including more than 15 months without
notifying Justice Department lawyers after the subject had moved from
New York to Detroit. An FBI investigation concluded that the delay was
a violation of Justice guidelines and prevented the department "from
exercising its responsibility for oversight and approval of an ongoing
foreign counterintelligence investigation of a U.S. person."
In other cases, agents obtained e-mails after a warrant expired, seized
bank records without proper authority and conducted an improper
"unconsented physical search," according to the documents. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MI: LOCAL FBI'S NO. 1 JOB: TERROR WAR -
TOP
More than 100 agents juggle 300 investigations; Detroit bureau creates full-time al-Qaida squad.
David Shepardson, Detroit News, 10/24/05
http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0510/24/A01-358251.htm
DETROIT -- Four years after the September 11 terror attacks, the FBI
headquarters in Detroit has more than tripled the number of agents
assigned to counterterrorism, becoming one of the nation's largest
anti-terror units.
Most of the investigative efforts are focused on Metro Detroit's large
Arab-American population, one of the biggest concentrations outside the
Middle East. More than 100 agents, analysts and task force officers are
assigned to terror-related squads, and of 29 major terror groups
identified by the U.S. government, the Detroit FBI has active
investigations involving 17.
Eric M. Straus, chief of the counterterrorism unit at the U.S.
attorney's office, said there has been a "dramatic sea change in how we
at the FBI and U.S. attorney's office do our jobs. We've gone from an
old-time law enforcement mentality to an intel/law enforcement
mind-set."
Local Arab-American leaders have mixed feeling about the heightened FBI scrutiny. (MORE)
-----
CA: IRVINE CHURCH HITS A THEOLOGICAL TRIFECTA -
TOP
David Haldane, Los Angeles Times, 10/24/05
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-peeled24oct24,1,1663691.story
There's an Irvine house of worship that changes religions at least once a week.
Irvine United Congregational Church sports golden crosses for Sunday
morning services. Jewish High Holidays see it transformed into a
sanctuary for Congregation Kol HaNeshamah, filled with Torahs, ram's
horns and yarmulkes. And Friday afternoons, worshipers carefully unroll
prayer rugs onto the floor of what becomes the United Mosques of
Irvine.
"Our theology is inclusive," says the Rev. Steven Swope, acting
minister of the Christian congregation that owns the church. He
believes it is one of the few of its kind in the nation with a
tripartite arrangement.
"Jesus is our way," he said, "but other people have other ways. This is our way of living that out."
Although there are increasing examples of Christian and Jewish
congregations using the same worship space, experts say it is far less
common to see either group sharing with Muslims.
Benjamin Hubbard, a professor of comparative religion at Cal State
Fullerton, said the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians had
made Jews and Muslims more wary of each other. And for many
conservative Christians, he said, theological and cultural differences
make closeness to Muslims rare. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
PA: YOUNG, MUSLIM AND LIVING IN AMERICA -
TOP
MARY WARNER, Patriot-News, 10/23/05
http://www.pennlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/living/1129713697293410.xml?pennlivrel&coll=1
Muslims have been fasting during daylight for almost three weeks now,
observing Ramadan in full view of classmates and co-workers. The season
brings into focus what it means to be Muslim in America.
"There's a big dinner that somebody bought for the bunch of residents,
and you're not eating," says Ali Zaidi, 30, who just completed
residency at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. "Ramadan
really brings you out in the forefront."
"I find it among students a great time to teach about Islam," says Sana
Khan, 24, a student at the medical center. "I've never had a reaction
like, 'Oh, that's crazy.' They're always really interested."
Still, Marwa Gomaa, 28, a graduate student at Penn State Harrisburg,
says some people make it obvious that Ramadan "doesn't make a lot of
sense to them."
A group of Muslim students and young professionals gathered recently in
a Hummelstown living room to talk about life in America four years
after 9/11.
Along with Zaidi, Khan and Gomaa were attorney Sakeena Naqvi, 32, who
is Zaidi's wife, and Hoda Bastani, 19, another Hershey Med student.
Their stories paint a mixed picture: tolerant classmates, with their
friendly curiosity, and strangers who make rude gestures; repeated
failures finding work (because of her Muslim head scarf, Gomaa
suspects), and then a boss who freely offered space in his office for
the daily Muslim prayers.
The stories shed light as well on the developing and distinctive flavor of Islam in America. (MORE)
---
MI: A MOSAIC OF ARAB CULTURE AT HOME IN AMERICA -
TOP
EDWARD ROTHSTEIN, New York Times, 10/24/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/24/arts/design/24muse.html
DEARBORN, Mich. - At the heart of the nation's first museum devoted to
the history of Arab-Americans is a mosaic-decorated courtyard
surrounding a small fountain, evoking the traditional courtyard of Arab
lands. A symbol of hospitality, it is also, typically, a feature of
one's home, and this museum is, in its way, a declaration that
Arab-Americans really are at home, not just in Dearborn (where some 30
percent of the 100,000 residents identify themselves as Arab-Americans)
but in the United States itself.
The surest sign of that may be that, like other groups, they have built
this museum honoring their past and their identity. And the
38,500-square-foot, $16 million Arab American National Museum, which
opened in May, is, like other museums of American hyphenation, at once
an assertion of difference and of belonging, a declaration of
distinction and of loyalty. It would be making a political statement
even if it weren't directly across the street from City Hall.
The museum was also designed to reflect the interests of its
constituency: Arab-Americans. That is a source of its strengths, and
suggestive too of its weaknesses: it eagerly wants to celebrate that
identity and create a strong political front; it is less interested in
reflecting on difficulties and making distinctions. Before the museum
was begun, a group of planners, including a sociologist, Anan Ameri,
who became its director, spent six months traveling to Arab-American
communities, soliciting ideas.
"The museum was built to tell our story," Dr. Ameri explained before
leading a critic on a tour. "But before we can tell our story, we have
to know what the Arab-American story is."
"People don't know" was a recurring refrain in these consultations, Dr.
Ameri said. "People don't know" about who we are, went the complaint.
So the museum includes a handsome library and an exhibit chronicling
the arrival of Arabs on American shores, including such unusual figures
as Hadj Ali, a 19th-century Syrian immigrant recruited by the United
States to train camels for the Western deserts. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/25/05
*
Verse:
Never Abandon Hope of God's
Mercy
-
Hadith:
God Created Mercy
*
Top 10 reasons to Support CAIR:
#2 -
Internships
*
CAIR Announces Scholarship
to Honor Rosa Parks
*
MI:
Muslim Convert Faces Lingering
Stereotypes
*
Cheney Plan Exempts CIA From
Detainee Abuse Ban (WP)
-
ACLU:
8 Prisoners Died of
Abuse Overseas
-
CAIR:
Ask
Congress to Send Torture Ban to President
-
CAIR Anti-Torture
Campaign
*
CA:
Sacramento
Muslims Support Pakistan Quake Victims
-
MI:
Fast Aids Victims
of Katrina, Earthquake
-
CT:
Students Help
Pakistan Quake Victims
*
MD:
Speaker Stresses Peace
at Mosque Open House
-
CAIR Guide to
Holding a Mosque Open House/Iftar
*
Muslim Volunteers Needed for W.
Virginia Jail
*
Correction:
Headline Mislabeled State of
Newspaper
*
Russia's Islamophobia
(UPI)
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: NEVER ABANDON HOPE OF
GOD'S MERCY -
TOP
"(Abraham) said: "And who - other than those who have utterly
lost their way - could ever abandon the hope of his Lord's
mercy?'"
The Holy Quran, 15:56
HADITH OF THE DAY: GOD CREATED MERCY -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Verily God created
Mercy. The day He created it, He made it into 100 parts. He kept with Him
99 parts, and sent (just) one part to all His creatures. Had those who do
not believe known of all the Mercy that is in the Hands of God, (they)
would not lose hope of entering Paradise. And had the (believers) known
of all the punishment that is present with God, (they) would not consider
(themselves) safe from hell-fire."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadith 476
The Prophet also described a man who had murdered many people. The
murderer traveled the land asking whether his repentance could be
accepted by God. He was advised to go to a certain village, but death
overtook him on the way. The Prophet said that while dying, the murderer
turned his chest toward the village in which he had hoped that his
repentance would be accepted. This caused the angels of mercy and the
angels of punishment to quarrel among themselves regarding the murderer's
fate.
Prophet Muhammad said: "God ordered the village (toward which the
murderer was traveling) to come closer, and ordered the village (from
which he had departed) to go far away. Then He ordered the angels to
measure the distances between (the man's) body and the two villages. He
was found to be one span closer to the village (he was traveling to), and
was (therefore) forgiven."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Hadith 676
-----
TOP 10 REASONS TO SUPPORT CAIR: REASON #2 -
INTERNSHIPS -
TOP
CAIR's Summer Internship Program has provided paid internships in media,
public relations and civil rights advocacy to more than 200 college
students at CAIR's Leadership Training Center in our Capitol Hill
headquarters. Some of CAIR's past interns have gone on to work for the
White House, State Department and members of Congress.
To offer your support, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/ramadan2005/
Scholars say that donations to CAIR qualify as Zakat.
-----
CAIR ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIP TO
HONOR ROSA PARKS -
TOP
Annual award will assist students in field of civil
liberties
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/25/05) - A prominent national Islamic
civil rights and advocacy group today announced a scholarship to honor
the life and work of Rosa Parks, often called the "mother of the
civil rights movement," who died Monday at the age of 92. The
Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) also
offered its condolences to her family, friends and loved ones.
In 1955, Parks defied a rule requiring African-Americans to yield their
seats to whites on Montgomery, Ala., buses. Her protest triggered a
381-day boycott of buses, organized by Martin Luther King Jr. His protest
movement brought about the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which outlawed racial
discrimination in the United States.
CAIR said in a statement: "Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat
sparked the civil rights movement and continues to inspire all those who
struggle for social justice and equality. It is only fitting that a
scholarship aimed at advancing the cause of human dignity be offered in
her name."
The annual CAIR
"Rosa Parks Civil Liberties Scholarship"
will be offered to students studying in fields that promote civil
rights, social justice and peaceful resolution of conflicts. Details of
the scholarship will be announced at CAIR's annual dinner in Washington,
D.C., on December 3rd.
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and
chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah
Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
MI: MUSLIM CONVERT FACES LINGERING
STEREOTYPES -
TOP
MAGGIE LILLIS, State News, 10/25/05
http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=32611
When David Stepien converted to Islam in September, he knew it would
raise a few eyebrows in his hometown of Pinckney, Mich.
"I can tell you the number of Muslims there and it's zero," he
said. "They thought it was an outrage and had a giant prayer circle
about it. It's kind of funny - a waste of effort - but to each his
own.
"They can have as many prayer circles as they want."
Now Stepien - who was raised Catholic - views experiences like these as
opportunities to bridge a cultural gap, highlighted after the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks. He is celebrating the month of Ramadan for the first
time as a converted Muslim.
"I have a connection in both communities and try to mediate both
ways," said the microbiology junior. "It helps being in a
primarily Christian society to have a dialogue between the
two."
Stepien was introduced to Islam by two Muslim friends and began
researching the religion shortly after. Last year, he attended several
events held by the Muslim Students' Association and he fasted for the
month of Ramadan with them to test his endurance.
Stepien's exposure to adversity is not uncommon for the Muslim community.
Although it's been four years since the attacks, many still feel
discrimination, said Fouad Khatib, chairperson for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, in Southern California.
"The atmosphere hasn't gone back to the level of before 9/11, the
atmosphere is still tense," he said. "It is a religion of
peace. Islam means peace, the word literally means peace.
"The current atmosphere of terrorism overseas is being used to paint
the religion of Islam as a violent religion, which is absolutely
untrue."
CAIR is the largest Islamic civil rights advocacy group in the nation and
handles issues of discrimination in the workplace, travel, government and
private sector, Khatib said. (MORE)
-----
CHENEY PLAN EXEMPTS CIA FROM BILL
BARRING ABUSE OF DETAINEES -
TOP
R. Jeffrey Smith and Josh White, Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/24/AR2005102402051.html
The Bush administration has proposed exempting employees of the Central
Intelligence Agency from a legislative measure endorsed earlier this
month by 90 members of the Senate that would bar cruel and degrading
treatment of any prisoners in U.S. custody.
The proposal, which two sources said Vice President Cheney handed last
Thursday to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the company of CIA Director
Porter J. Goss, states that the measure barring inhumane treatment shall
not apply to counterterrorism operations conducted abroad or to
operations conducted by "an element of the United States
government" other than the Defense Department.
Although most detainees in U.S. custody in the war on terrorism are held
by the U.S. military, the CIA is said by former intelligence officials
and others to be holding several dozen detainees of particular
intelligence interest at locations overseas -- including senior al Qaeda
figures Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Abu Zubaida.
Cheney's proposal is drafted in such a way that the exemption from the
rule barring ill treatment could require a presidential finding that
"such operations are vital to the protection of the United States or
its citizens from terrorist attack." But the precise applicability
of this section is not clear, and none of those involved in last week's
discussions would discuss it openly yesterday. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
ANALYSIS FINDS 21 HOMICIDES
AMONG DEATHS OF U.S. PRISONERS OVERSEAS -
TOP
Associated Press, 10/24/05
http://www.wkrc.com/news/national/story.aspx?content_id=570D05F8-AEFE-41C1-87B2-BA6E934D3D55
WASHINGTON (AP) - At least 21 detainees who died while being held in U.S.
custody in Iraq and Afghanistan were killed, many during or after
interrogations, according to an analysis of Defense Department data by
the American Civil Liberties Union.
SEE: "U.S. Operatives Killed Detainees During Interrogations in
Afghanistan and Iraq,"
http://www.aclu.org/International/International.cfm?ID=19298&c=36
The analysis, released Monday, looked at 44 deaths described in records
obtained by the ACLU. Of those, the group characterized 21 as homicides,
and said at least eight resulted from abusive techniques by military or
intelligence officers, such as strangulation or "blunt force
injuries," as noted in the autopsy reports. (MORE)
---
CAIR:
ASK CONGRESS TO SEND TORTURE BAN TO PRESIDENT -
TOP
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=292&theType=AA
---
CAIR ANTI-TORTURE CAMPAIGN -
TOP
http://www.cair-net.org/antitorture/
-----
CA:
SACRAMENTO COMMUNITY SUPPORTS PAKISTAN QUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
Ras H. Siddiqui, Pakistan Link, 10/24/05
http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=3ecaf9e03801ce6f15f4496f5309bdf1
SACRAMENTO - In an unprecedented display of unity and caring, the greater
Muslim and Pakistani community of the Sacramento region took advantage of
Friday/Juma prayers plus the breaking of the fast Iftar gatherings and
raised just over $100,000 for the victims of the biggest natural disaster
to hit Pakistan after 1970.
Never before has this reporter witnessed such an outpouring of caring
from this community as he did with the twin concern for Hurricane Katrina
and now this disaster in Pakistan. Not since the Bosnia crisis has there
been such unity among Muslims here. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MI: FAST AIDS VICTIMS OF
KATRINA, EARTHQUAKE -
TOP
C.C. Song, Michigan Daily, 10/25/05
http://www.michigandaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/10/25/435dcb0a884e3
Are you hungry?
If you are, Liz Lassiter may make you think twice about running to the
nearest Wendy's by telling you about her experiences with fasting over
the past three years during the Fast-a-thon, an annual event coordinated
by the Muslim Students' Association. Lassiter said she is going to
participate in the program for the fourth year in a row.
"I usually get hungry at around 3 p.m. (when fasting)," she
said. "And in my freshman and sophomore years, I took naps in the
afternoon and woke up after sunset."
In spite of the hunger, she still participates in Fast-a-thon because for
every person that signs up, local businesses make donations to help the
victims of Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Pakistan.
(MORE)
---
CT: WESTCONN STUDENTS REACH
OUT TO HELP PAKISTAN QUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
Heather Barr, News-Times, 10/24/05
http://news.newstimeslive.com/story.php?id=75919&category=Local
DANBURY - Maria Lateef is sure her father would have approved.
Last week, the 21-year-old Western Connecticut State University student
packed a box of her late father's newer wool jackets and shirts to send
to Pakistan to help those affected by the devastating
earthquake.
Her father died Sept. 30, one week before the massive earthquake hit
their native Pakistan.
Maria, her mother and sister also sent silk and embroidered women's
clothing. Maria donated a pink embroidered outfit she received as a
wedding gift.
"It could put a smile on a face," she said.
It is hard to watch the news and see so many Pakistanis without homes,
families, food and water, Maria said.
"They now have nothing."
Western Connecticut State University students in the Honors Student
Organization and the Muslim Student Association have organized a clothing
drive for earthquake victims. (MORE)
-----
MD: SPEAKER STRESSES PEACE AT
MOSQUE OPEN HOUSE -
TOP
ERIN CUNNINGHAM, Herald-Mail, 10/25/05
http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=122820&format=html
Five times each day during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, Dr.
Shahab Siddiqui goes to the Islamic Society of Western Maryland in
Hagerstown to pray.
Praying at the mosque, he said, is more honorable than praying elsewhere.
Some prayers are formal verses; others are more personal.
Ramadan began Oct. 5. The final day is Nov. 4.
During an open house Monday night at the Islamic Society, Muslims and
nonMuslims listened to Imam Yahya Hendi of Frederick, Md., recite verses
from the Koran and talk about breaking religious borders and working
together for peace.
About 100 people gathered around Hendi in a large prayer room. Men and
women entered from separate doors, and most took a seat on the floor
crossing their legs. Everyone removed their shoes.
Hendi, who speaks around the world on Islam and Muslim issues, told the
crowd about three principles: politics of justice, economics of equity
and covenant of community.
He said the world's resources should be distributed in a way that can
help everyone in need. Hendi - a Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University
in Washington, D.C. - believes that communities should join together to
"protect fellow human beings," he said. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR: STEP-BY-STEP
GUIDE TO HOLDING A MOSQUE OPEN HOUSE/IFTAR -
TOP
http://www.cair.com/sharingramadan05.pdf
-----
MUSLIM VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR W. VIRGINIA
JAIL -
TOP
Muslim volunteers are needed to conduct Friday prayer services for Muslim
inmates housed at the Potomac Highlands Regional Jail in Augusta, West
Virginia. For more information about volunteer qualifications and the job
description, please contact Mr. Randy Mann, Community Outreach
Coordinator at 304-228-4477.
-----
CORRECTION: HEADLINE MISLABELED STATE OF
NEWSPAPER -
TOP
A headline in CAIR's October 23, 2005, news briefs incorrectly located
the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer news paper in Ohio. The newspaper is in fact
published in Georgia.
The correct headline should have read: "Georgia Newspaper Responds
to Muslim Concerns About Cartoon." All other information, including
the link to the article, and the editor's contact information was
accurate.
-----
RUSSIA'S ISLAMOPHOBIA -
TOP
Paul Goble, United Press International, 10/25/05
http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20051025-110558-7419r
TARTU, Estonia -- The beatings of Muslims in Sergiyev Posad, the seat of
the Russian Orthodox Church, suggestions by Patriarchate officials that
the Muslims should not be there in the first place, and the efforts of
the militia and prosecutors to downplay this event continue to spark
discussion in the Moscow media.
Perhaps the most complete and certainly the most devastating description
of what has taken place and what it may mean for the future of Russia
appeared in an article by Aleksandr Soldatov entitled "The Mosque
near the Monastery" in "Moskovskiye novosti" last
Friday.
The current scandal began when a group of eight young men broke into the
Muslim prayer house in Sergiyev Posad on Oct. 14, shouting slogans like
"Russia for the Russians" and "There is no place here for
Muslims" and beating the local imam Arslan Sadriyev so severely that
he had to be hospitalized.
When the local militia arrived, they detained several of the attackers
who as Soldatov notes had not bothered to flee the scene of their crimes.
But the militia quickly released them and announced that what had
occurred was nothing more than the hooliganism of those who had had too
much to drink.
In the wake of press reports about the beatings, however, local
prosecutors said they would bring charges against those involved -- but
only for incitement of inter-ethnic hatred rather than for attacking
Muslims. And only on Friday did Sergei Koshman, Moscow oblast, or
region's deputy governor, assure Muslim leaders that the authorities
would punish those responsible for the attack, Islam.ru
reported.
But as Soldatov makes clear, this case involves far more people than
those directly connected with the crime. Radical nationalist groups like
the Union of Orthodox Christians have criticized the very existence of a
Muslim prayer house in the seat of their church, and several Patriarchate
spokesmen have seconded that opinion.
Local government officials have gotten into the act as well. One, quoted
by Soldatov, said that Sergiyev Posad "is an exclusively Orthodox
territory, and the establishment of Muslim cult building here is
impossible," a statement that other officials backed away from after
it drew media criticism. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAIR DIRECTOR ATTENDS STATE DEPARTMENT RAMADAN
IFTAR
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/25/05) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
tonight hosted the State Department's seventh annual "Iftar,"
or Ramadan fast-breaking dinner, in Washington, D.C.
The dinner took place after sunset, in accordance with Islamic practices.
Muslim participants broke the fast with water and dates before performing
their sunset prayers. (Ramadan is the month on the Islamic lunar calendar
during which Muslims abstain from food, drink and sensual pleasures from
break of dawn to sunset.)
Those in attendance at the dinner included Nihad Awad, executive director
of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), as
well as representatives of other local and national Muslim organizations,
Muslim students, diplomats from Islamic countries, and State Department
officials.
In her remarks, Secretary Rice reflected on the meaning of Ramadan and
thanked Muslims for their generosity in donating to relief for victims of
Hurricane Katrina and the recent earthquake in South Asia. She also spoke
about the need to promote universal human rights and mentioned the legacy
of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, who died Monday at the age of
92.
SEE: "Rice Welcomes Muslim Generosity as Reflection of Ramadan
Spirit"
http://usinfo.state.gov/usinfo/products/washfile.html
(Scroll down to headline.)
After dinner, Awad informed Secretary Rice about CAIR's announcement
today of a "Rosa Parks Civil Liberties Scholarship" for
students studying in fields that promote civil rights, social justice and
peaceful resolution of conflicts.
SEE: "CAIR Announces Scholarship to Honor Rosa Parks"
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=55577
"These types of events represent a growing recognition of the
positive role Islamic teachings and American Muslims can play in helping
to promote peace and justice in this country and around the world,"
said Awad. "We appreciate Secretary Rice's efforts to reach out and
dialogue with American Muslim leaders."
CAIR has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is
to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil
liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote
justice and mutual understanding.
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726 or 202-488-8787, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah
Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET,
receive news releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim
positions on issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from CAIR-NET, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS
- 10/26/05
*
Verse:
Good News for
the Humble
-
Hadith:
The Humble will Enter Paradise
*
Top 10 Reasons to Support CAIR: #3 -
Empowerment
*
CAIR-Ohio Elects New President
*
Sample Eid News Release for Use by Local Communities
-
U.S. Muslims to Mark End of Ramadan with Prayers
*
CAIR-FL: Religious Holidays Banned After Muslims Ask for Eid
-
Video: Board Votes to Eliminate Religious Holidays
*
CA: Editorial Notebook - Ramadan for a Novice (Sac Bee)
-
MI: Game Plan for Fasting and Football (NY Times)
*
Spiritual Care: The Islamic Perspective (Knight Ridder)
-
CAIR Health Care Professional's Guide to Islam
*
Editorial: Legalized Torture, Reloaded (NY Times)
-
Editorial: Vice President for Torture (Wash Post)
-
CAIR: Ask Congress to Send Torture Ban to President
-
CAIR Anti-Torture Campaign
*
Judith Miller, Steven Emerson and Daniel Pipes
*
CA: Muslim Women Address Family Planning
-
CA: Muslim Convert Guardsman Dies in Iraq (LA Times)
*
OH:
Muslim Mother Cleared of Neglect Charges (Dispatch)
*
NM:
ACLU Alleges Religious Bias Against Muslim Athlete
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: GOOD NEWS FOR THE HUMBLE -
TOP
"(O Muhammad), give good news (of God's acceptance) to the humble,
whose hearts tremble with awe at the mention of God; who endure
adversity with patience, who establish prayer and spend in charity out
of what we have given them."
The Holy Quran, 22:34-35
HADITH OF THE DAY: THE HUMBLE WILL ENTER PARADISE -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Paradise and (Hell)
argued, and the (Hell) said, 'I have been given the privilege of
receiving the arrogant and the tyrants.' Paradise replied, 'What is the
matter with me? Why do only the weak and the humble among the people
enter me?'"
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Hadith 373
The Prophet also said: "Shall I tell you of the people of Paradise?
They comprise every poor humble person. . .while the people of the fire
comprise every violent, cruel and arrogant person."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadith 651
-----
TOP 10 REASONS TO SUPPORT CAIR: REASON #3 - EMPOWERMENT -
TOP
CAIR conducted get-out-the-vote campaigns in the crucial battleground
states of Florida and Ohio during the 2004 Presidential Election
Campaign, reaching more than 40,000 American Muslims in those states
and ensuring that they voted for the candidates of their choice on
Election Day.
To offer your support, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/ramadan2005/
Scholars say that donations to CAIR qualify as Zakat.
-----
CAIR-OH BOARD ELECTS NEW PRESIDENT -
TOP
(COLUMBUS, OH, 10/26/05) - The Ohio office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) announced the election of Dr.
Asma Mobin-Uddin as the new president of the CAIR-Ohio board, effective
January 1, 2006. Dr. Ahmad Al-Akhras will retire as CAIR-Ohio's
founding president after eight years of service to the American Muslim
community.
"CAIR-Ohio's staff and board members wish to express their heartfelt
appreciation for Dr. Al-Akhras' dedication to our mission of promoting
justice and mutual understanding," said Mobin-Uddin.
Dr. Mobin-Uddin is a pediatrician who was in private practice for
several years. She was a founding member of CAIR-Ohio in 1998 and has
served as its vice president since then. Mobin-Uddin is a member of the
Education Committee of the Interfaith Association of Central Ohio, and
she served on the Executive Committee of the Islamic Foundation of
Central Ohio.
Active in interfaith dialogue, Mobin-Uddin frequently gives talks in
the community about Islam and has published numerous articles and
editorials on Islamic topics. She recently published a children's book,
"My Name is Bilal," about the American Muslim experience.
CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties organization, has 31
offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. The Ohio chapter of CAIR
has three offices - Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati.
CONTACT: Dr. Ahmad Al-Akhras, 614-989-5916, E-Mail:
ahmad@cair-ohio.com; Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin, 614-761-9650, E-mail:
mobin-uddin.4@osu.edu
-----
SAMPLE EID NEWS RELEASE FOR USE BY LOCAL COMMUNITIES -
TOP
ACTION REQUESTED: Modify the CAIR Eid ul-Fitr news release below for
distribution to local media outlets. Just insert local Eid dates,
times, locations, and contact information. Make sure to send a copy to
the main daily newspaper "city desk," TV station "assignment desk,"
radio station "news director," and Associated Press local bureau
"daybook editor." Call each outlet to obtain contact information.
SEND COPIES of local media advisories to:
cair@cair-net.org
---
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- MEDIA ADVISORY -
U.S. MUSLIMS TO MARK END OF RAMADAN WITH PRAYERS -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/26/04) - On November 3rd or 4th (exact date
depends on sighting of the new crescent moon), the Muslim community in
America will celebrate the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan with
communal prayers around the country. (Ramadan is the month on the
Islamic lunar calendar during which Muslims abstain from food, drink
and other sensual pleasures from break of dawn to sunset.)
The prayers mark the beginning of the Eid ul-Fitr (EED-al-FITTER), or
"feast of fast breaking" holiday, in which Muslims exchange social
visits and seek to strengthen bonds of brotherhood in the community.
During this holiday, Muslims greet each other by saying "Eid mubarak"
(EED-moo-BAR-ak), meaning "blessed Eid," and "taqabbalallah ta'atakum,"
or "may God accept your deeds." Many communities also hold
multicultural bazaars and other family activities following the prayers.
Eid ul-Fitr is the first of the two major Muslim holidays. The second
holiday, Eid ul-Adha, comes at the end of the Hajj, or pilgrimage to
Mecca.
WHEN: November 3rd or 4th, 2005 (Because Ramadan is a lunar month, the
actual date is governed by sighting of the new crescent moon.) Prayers
are held early in the morning. Ask local prayer coordinators for exact
dates, times and locations.
WHERE: The Eid prayers are held either in local mosques or in public facilities designed to accommodate large gatherings.
CONTACT: Call local Muslim organizations for details about Eid
celebrations. If there are no known contacts in a particular community,
go to:
http://www.islamicfinder.com/
PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: Each year, Muslims come to the prayers in colorful
attire representative of different areas of the Islamic world. The
prayers themselves are quite visual, with worshipers arranged in neat
rows and bowing in prayer in unison. Participants exchange embraces at
the conclusion of the prayers.
NOTE: Because this is a religious service, reporters and photographers
of both sexes should dress modestly. Some communities may ask female
reporters and photographers to put a scarf over their hair while in the
actual prayer area. Photographers should arrive early to get into
position for the best shots. Photographers are also advised not to step
directly in front of worshipers and to seek permission for close-up
shots. Shots of shoes removed for prayer, and rear-angle shots of
prostrating worshipers are considered inappropriate.
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR-FL: SCHOOL CALENDAR WILL BE STRICTLY SECULAR -
TOP
MELANIE AVE, St. Petersburg Times, 10/26/05
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/10/26/Hillsborough/School_calendar_will_.shtml
TAMPA - Her voice small and hesitant, 11-year-old Rahma Elmohd told
Hillsborough School Board members Tuesday night that she "would like it
a lot" if students could get one day off for a Muslim holiday.
It was not to be.
Nearly a year after local Muslims first asked that an Islamic holiday
be recognized by the school district - just like Yom Kippur for Jews
and Good Friday for Christians - board members voted to end vacation
days for all religious holidays.
The board approved a 2006-07 calendar that substitutes three secular
vacation days for three Christian and Jewish holidays. The vote was
5-1. Board member Carol Kurdell was absent.
About 50 Muslims, many of them women and girls wearing scarves,
attended the packed meeting. They said they were disappointed and
saddened by the board's vote but will continue to ask for recognition.
Several said they worry about a backlash against Muslims.
"We feel like this is an extreme measure," said Ahmed Bedier, Florida
director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "We can't say it
enough, especially to Christian and Jewish folks, our brothers and
sisters in faith: This was not our doing, and we didn't ask for it."
The approved calendar eliminates vacation days coinciding with Yom
Kippur, Good Friday and the Monday after Easter. The days will be
replaced with time off on Washington's Birthday in February and two
days near the end of the school year, which will give students and
teachers a four-day weekend. . .
The calendar changes were recommended by a district committee after
Bedier asked that Eid al-Fitr - the end of the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan - be included. . .
School Board member Carolyn Bricklemyer called the approved calendar
appropriate. "I think we have accommodated people the best we can," she
said.
Bricklemyer was a board member in 2001 when Hillsborough became the
first Tampa Bay area school district to recognize a Jewish holiday with
a day off.
On Tuesday, she said that was a mistake because it opened the door for other religious groups to request vacation days.
"We should not have done that," Bricklemyer said.
Jennifer Faliero was the only board member to vote against the
calendar, saying her colleagues were moving toward suppressing
religious expression.
Faliero dismissed School Board attorney Tom Gonzalez's opinion that recognizing religious holidays violates the Constitution.
"Why can't we recognize Eid?" Faliero asked. "I just don't get it."
Audience members applauded.
Before the meeting, Bedier and Chuck Leigh, president of the Florida
Council of Churches, held a news conference at the School
Administrative Center criticizing the board's stance.
"I think the School Board is doing this for no other reason than to
avoid giving a holiday to the Muslims," said Leigh, pastor of the
Apostolic Catholic Church in Tampa. "Any other reason is eyewash, and I
don't think it fools any of us. . ."
After the vote, dozens of Muslims knelt and prayed toward Mecca outside
the building as part of their sunset ritual of Ramadan. Afterward, they
ate wraps, fruit and dates in the superintendent's conference room to
end their daily fast.
Some board members and administrators joined them.
"You can't be angry," Bedier said. "We have agreed to disagree. There is a calendar vote every year. We'll be back next year."
CONTACT: Ahmed Bedier (CAIR-FL), 813-731-9506, E-Mail:
abedier@cairfl.org
SEE ALSO:
VIDEO: BOARD VOTES TO ELIMINATE RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS -
TOP
http://www.tampabays10.com/video/player.aspx?aid=22525&sid=20404&bw=hi
-----
EDITORIAL NOTEBOOK: RAMADAN FOR A NOVICE -
TOP
Ginger Rutland, Sacramento Bee, 10/25/05
http://www.sacbee.com/content/opinion/story/13766277p-14608450c.html
I attended my first iftar earlier this month.
Iftar is the breaking of the fast that takes place every night in the
homes of observant Muslims during the month of Ramadan. Hosted by the
Sacramento Area League of Associated Muslims, the iftar I attended was
an interfaith event, intended to educate non-Muslims like me about the
significance of Islam's holiest month. . .
It felt like Christmas. Our hosts regaled us with tales of Ramadan back
home in Egypt, Syria and Pakistan. They told us the month is very much
like Christmas, a time when mothers prepare their favorite dishes and
families and friends visit. On the last day of Ramadan, gifts are
exchanged. In fact, in many Muslim countries, Ramadan, like Christmas,
has become the principal shopping season and that has some worried
that, like Christmas, Ramadan will become tainted by commercialism.
But as I've watched the Muslims I know this Ramadan and in the past, it
seems unlikely. The central ritual of Ramadan, the fast itself,
prevents the Muslim holy season from drifting too far from its
spiritual roots.
To deny oneself all food and drink for 12 hours - not even a sip of
water is permitted - is very hard. To do that not just for a day or a
week, but for a full month, represents a commitment to faith that is
rare and precious and real. Certainly, it seems so to someone like me,
who has a hard time walking past the candy vending machine at work,
even after I've just had lunch. So, I left my first iftar impressed and
deeply moved.
SEE ALSO:
MI: FOR FASTING AND FOOTBALL, A DEDICATED GAME PLAN -
TOP
SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN, New York Times, 10/26/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/26/education/26education.html
DEARBORN, MICH. - AT 5 o'clock in the morning on game day, maybe the
last game day of his football career, Ali Ahmad walked from the
overnight darkness into the gleaming marble heart of the Golden Bakery.
He wore his letter jacket from the Dearborn High Pioneers, with an
orange chevron on each shoulder for his two years on the varsity and
the stitching on the back spelling out his nickname, Flea. From a
pocket of his sweats he pulled out a few dollars for a Pepsi and the
meat-and-cheese pie called lahma ma jibini.
Since it was Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of daylight fasting, Ali
would not eat or drink again until the sun set in nearly 14 hours. By
then, Dearborn would be lining up against Crestwood High, knowing that
a victory would put the Pioneers into the state playoffs and a loss
would end the season with a mediocre record of 5-4. Weighing all of 135
pounds, Ali realized that he was not going to play any more football
after high school. He would go back to watching it on television like
the 6-year-old he had been when he discovered this crashing
competition, much to the consternation of his parents, refugees from
the more lethal forms of competition practiced in the Lebanese civil
war.
If the kickoff on this October Friday was delayed a few minutes, Ali
would be able to grab some crackers and a swig of Gatorade from the
trainer. Otherwise, he would wait until halftime, having stashed a tuna
sub in his locker for breaking the fast. As much as football meant to
him, as much as it mattered to win, those things only counted for Ali
if he was also staying true to Allah.
"To get through the fast," he put it, "I concentrate on the game."
The balance Ali struck was nothing unusual here in Dearborn, the center
of the largest Arab community in the Americas. About one-third of the
students at Ali's high school are Muslim, and the proportion is similar
on the football team. Khalil Dabaja at defensive back, Amir Rustom at
linebacker, Mohammad Kassab at nose guard, Hassan Cheaib at fullback -
they all have mastered the rhythms of the twin rituals of Islam and the
gridiron. (MORE)
-----
THE BODY DIES, THE SPIRIT LIVES -
TOP
Helen Gray, Knight Ridder, 10/26/05
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/living/13000261.htm
Syed E. Hasan, Ph.D., Islamic Research Foundation: Spiritual care is very essential, but most people tend to ignore it.
We strive hard to fulfill the needs of our body but rarely do justice
in providing nourishment to our soul. We make conscious efforts to
nurture our body - a physical and mortal entity - by eating wholesome
food, exercising and avoiding smoking and other bad habits.
However, when death occurs the body becomes useless and turns into a
waste that needs to be disposed of (burial, cremation). In contrast we
do not spend as much time and effort in nurturing the soul that does
not die and is everlasting.
According to Islamic principles, the human soul represents a divine
element that is placed inside a growing fetus by one of God's angels.
It stays with the individual for the duration of his life but departs
when he dies.
The best way to take care of our soul is to offer regular prayers and
lead our life in a way that balances the need of body and soul,
tempered with righteousness and piety, seeking God's pleasure.
Muslims are told that those who care only for the body by giving in to
lust and desires or indulging in the materialistic aspects of the world
while neglecting the soul will receive God's wrath. That is why Muslims
forever pray to God asking to " keep us on the straight path, the path
of those whom you have favored and not of those who went astray and
earned your anger" (Qur'an 1:6-7).
SEE ALSO:
CAIR: A HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL'S GUIDE TO ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS PRACTICES -
TOP
https://www.cair-net.org/comersus/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=5
An excellent resource for medical and health professional's in dealing
with Muslim patients. Examines aspects of death, autopsy, circumcision,
illness and treatment, dietary requirements, and select medical
procedures. 20 Pages. Price: 3.00 + $0.60 USPS Shipping and Handling
-----
EDITORIAL: LEGALIZED TORTURE, RELOADED -
TOP
New York Times, 10/26/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/26/opinion/26wed2.html
Amid all the natural and political disasters it faces, the White House
is certainly tireless in its effort to legalize torture. This week,
Vice President Dick Cheney proposed a novel solution for the moral and
legal problems raised by the use of American soldiers to abuse
prisoners and the practice of turning captives over to governments
willing to act as proxies in doing the torturing. Mr. Cheney wants to
make it legal for the Central Intelligence Agency to do this wet work.
Mr. Cheney's proposal was made in secret to Senator John McCain, the
Arizona Republican who won the votes of 89 other senators this month to
require the civilized treatment of prisoners at camps run by America's
military and intelligence agencies. Mr. McCain's legislation, an
amendment to the Defense Department budget bill, would ban the "cruel,
inhuman and degrading" treatment of prisoners. In other words, it would
impose age-old standards of democracy and decency on the new prisons.
President Bush's threat to veto the entire military budget over this
issue was bizarre enough by itself, considering that the amendment has
the support of more than two dozen former military leaders, including
Colin Powell. They know that torture doesn't produce reliable
intelligence and endangers Americans' lives. . .
Mr. McCain was right to reject this absurd proposal. The House should reject it as well.
SEE ALSO:
EDITORIAL: VICE PRESIDENT FOR TORTURE -
TOP
Washington Post, 10/26/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/25/AR2005102501388.html
VICE PRESIDENT Cheney is aggressively pursuing an initiative that may
be unprecedented for an elected official of the executive branch: He is
proposing that Congress legally authorize human rights abuses by
Americans. "Cruel, inhuman and degrading" treatment of prisoners is
banned by an international treaty negotiated by the Reagan
administration and ratified by the United States. The State Department
annually issues a report criticizing other governments for violating
it. Now Mr. Cheney is asking Congress to approve legal language that
would allow the CIA to commit such abuses against foreign prisoners it
is holding abroad. In other words, this vice president has become an
open advocate of torture. (MORE)
---
CAIR: ASK CONGRESS TO SEND TORTURE BAN TO PRESIDENT -
TOP
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=292&theType=AA
---
CAIR ANTI-TORTURE CAMPAIGN -
TOP
http://www.cair-net.org/antitorture/
-----
JUDITH MILLER AND ME -
TOP
John Sugg, Counterpunch, 10/24/05
http://www.counterpunch.org/sugg10252005.html
OK, for a start, there really is no "Judith Miller and me," at least in
the sense that I'd invite her to my birthday party. But I have talked
to her on the phone a few times (nothing to do with Valerie Plame,
Scooter Libby or Karl Rove, however). For a time, our lives were
remotely in each other's gravity, drawn together by a pseudo-journalist
- indeed, a model for what Miller has become - named Steven Emerson. . .
Miller first surfaced on my radar about a decade ago. Her close
confederate was Emerson. Both had been engaged in a furious campaign
attacking virtually every Arab and Muslim voice in America. Emerson -
who also at various times claimed to be a journalist - lost his
foothold as a commentator among most responsible media, especially
after he tried to pin the Oklahoma City bombing on Muslims. . .
My heavily documented revelations about Emerson provoked him to
retaliate via a lawsuit. Noteworthy, the lawyer he went to for advice
was Floyd Abrams, most recently in the news as Miller's attorney.
That's only fitting.
We spent four years litigating with Emerson, and finally prevailed in
both federal and state courts. The final blow to his case came when we
obtained an order compelling him to show proof of his allegations. He
wouldn't - couldn't? - and he ran away.
During the litigation, among the most interesting insights that I
gleaned were reports of meetings held that involved Miller, Emerson,
arch-Islamaphobe Daniel Pipes - and a number of other people we now
call "neo-cons." All of these people had strong ties to the right-wing
Likud party in Israel. Heck, Miller had even sat in on Israeli
"interrogation" sessions of Palestinians; and Emerson provided beds in
his Washington apartment to Likud spooks who slipped into the United
States to try and undermine peace negotiations. (MORE)
-----
CA: MUSLIM WOMEN ADDRESS FAMILY PLANNING -
TOP
Christine Bensen-Messinger, Eureka Reporter, 10/26/05
http://www.eurekareporter.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?ArticleID=5292
More than 100 community residents gathered in the Ingomar Club Tuesday
evening to hear three Muslim women discuss there perceptions of how
birth control and family planning are seen by their fellow Muslims.
The event, hosted by Six Rivers Planned Parenthood, included a
reception, dinner, a moderated panel discussion and an opportunity for
audience members to have their questions answered by the participants.
"The idea is, three people to give three different perspectives," said
Stephanie Foster, the vice president for public policy of Planned
Parenthood. "It is to give people an overarching perspective of Muslim
women." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CALIFORNIA GUARDSMAN WHO OVERCAME ADVERSITY DIES IN IRAQ -
TOP
Rone Tempest, Los Angeles Times, 10/25/05
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-102505calguard_lat,0,5512317,full.story
When a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle during a patrol in
Baghdad, Neubauer became the 1,917th member of the armed forces - and
the 17th California Guardsman - to die in the prosecution of the war
since the U.S. invaded on March 20, 2003. It is the first conflict
since Korea to have taken such a substantial toll on the Guard and
Reserves.
Neubauer, who was 40 when he died, did not fit the image of the wholesome citizen-soldier. . .
Yet his story in the end, from his early days of recovery in 1995 to
his death 10 years later, is one of personal triumph and achievement.
His tale includes more than one surprising turn, the most recent of
which was on the religious front. By January of this year, when he was
sent to Iraq as a Humvee turret gunner with the Modesto-based 1st
Battalion, 184th Regiment, the blond, blue-eyed staff sergeant had
converted to Islam, a fact he seldom mentioned to his fellow soldiers.
. .
He made unlikely friends, including Ashok Desai, a Beverly Hills
property manager and Indian-born Brahmin, with whom he studied world
religions late into the night. "We stayed up discussing Hindu Vedic
literature and the Koran," Desai said.
Partly through these exchanges with Desai, Neubauer became attracted to
Islam, which preaches an abstemious life and forbids the consumption of
alcohol. . .
Neubauer told friends back home that his newfound Islamic faith gave
him empathy for the Iraqi people, particularly women and children.
Military security rules prevented him from praying in Iraq's mosques,
but he sometimes knelt at the side of the road with Iraqis.
"For me, he was the little kid from Colorado who finally had an
opportunity to do good," Desai said. "He felt he was there for the
hearts and minds of the Iraqi people to give them an idea of what
Americans are all about. He really befuddled the Iraqis by praying with
them." (MORE)
-----
OH: MOTHER CLEARED OF NEGLECT CHARGES -
TOP
Judge backs mom who spent years fighting agency's allegations
Encarnacion Pyle, COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 10/25/05
http://www.dispatch.com/emailme/emailme.php?story=dispatch/2005/10/25/20051025-C1-01.html
More than two years, 27 court appearances and tens of thousands of
dollars later, Hadiya AbdulSalaam has won her public fight against
Franklin County Children Services.
In a rare move, Juvenile Court Judge Carole Squire recently set aside a
court order in a childprotection case. A magistrate ruled last year
that the Grandview Heights mother had educationally neglected two of
her five children.
"Emotionally, my family will never be the same," said AbdulSalaam, 49,
who runs a Downtown beauty supply and gift shop. "But the greatest
revenge is living well, which is what we intend to do."
Children Services Director John Saros said he was surprised by the
decision, which effectively clears AbdulSalaam's record of any finding
of educational neglect. "I can't remember any other instance where a
judge has set aside a previous order." (MORE)
-----
NM: ACLU ALLEGES RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE AT NMSU -
TOP
Associated Press, 10/26/05
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico has
filed a grievance against New Mexico State head football coach Hal
Mumme, alleging he discriminated against a now-released Muslim player
by repeatedly questioning him about al-Qaida.
The grievance filed Tuesday on behalf of former Aggie running back
Muammar Ali also alleges the football staff required the team to recite
the Lord's Prayer at the end of each practice.
The grievance seeks a public apology from Mumme and disciplinary action
against him. The ACLU also asked that NMSU provide diversity training
to all students and employees.
The ACLU said Ali does not want to return to the Aggies to play for Mumme.
Ali - highly touted by Mumme and his staff in spring practice - started
this season atop the depth chart against UTEP, carrying the ball seven
times for 21 yards. He suited up the following week against Colorado in
Boulder, but Justine Buries got the starting nod. Ali was not on the
roster for the Aggies' next four games before his Oct. 9 release.
Asked earlier about Ali's diminished role, Mumme said the change was
"performance based." Buries now is among the leading rushers in the
Western Athletic Conference.
Ali's father, Mustafa Ali, said in a telephone call from his California
home that Ali learned he was being released through a message an
assistant coach left on his cell phone. His father said he has been
denied in-person meetings with coaches.
The grievance, written by ACLU staff attorney George Bach of
Albuquerque, said Mumme questioned Ali repeatedly in July about "Islam
and specifically its ties to al-Qaida," the terrorist organization
headed by Osama bin Laden.
Those actions "smack of religious discrimination sufficient to warrant
a complete and immediate investigation by the NMSU Office of
Institutional Equity," the ACLU said. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
CAIR ACTION ALERT #474
EACH U.S. MOSQUE URGED TO RAISE $1,000 FOR RAMADAN
CAMPAIGN
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/26/05) - CAIR is calling on Islamic centers,
mosques and Muslim organizations nationwide to do their part in
supporting its important civil rights and advocacy work by raising at
least $1,000 for the
"$1 MILLION FOR ISLAM IN RAMADAN"
annual fundraising drive. (
Scholars say CAIR is able to receive
Zakat.)
CAIR intends (
inshallah) to raise the much needed $1 million
during Ramadan, the month of giving, and culminating with the
national
fundraising dinner on December 3rd in Washington, D.C. Funds raised
during the campaign will be used to protect the civil and religious
rights of Muslims, defend against defamatory attacks on Muslims and Islam
and promote greater understanding of Islam in our society.
HOW YOUR DONATION HELPS CAIR?
*
$25 will sponsor a copy the Holy Quran sent free-of-charge
to Americans of all faiths interested in learning about Islam as part of
CAIR's "Explore the Quran" campaign. So far, 24,000 Qurans have
been requested, but thousands of these requests await sponsors. Sponsor a
Quran today. See:
www.explorethequran.org
*
$100 will support CAIR's Publications Department that prints and
distributes thousands of free and low-cost booklets to educate American
Muslims about their rights and responsibilities and educate fellow
Americans about Islam and Muslims. CAIR's free publications include the
"Know Your Rights Pocket Guide," and the
"Muslim
Community Safety Kit." Other CAIR publications include a
congressional guide, an annual civil rights report and a media relations
handbook for Muslim activists.
*
$250 will sponsor the compilation and distribution of CAIR's
"American Muslim News Briefs" for a day. CAIR's news briefs
are a must-read for Muslim activists and for media professionals and
other opinion leaders. Preparing each brief requires hours of research
and ongoing subscription to expensive Internet service providers and
media research engines such as Nexis and Factiva. CAIR send 5-7 news
briefs every week.
*
$500 will sponsor the monthly cost of connecting the Muslim
community with its political representatives through web-based tools
such as
Capwiz, an expensive by efficient benefit offered free on
CAIR's website.
*
$600 will sponsor a news conference to announce major American
Muslim initiatives at places known to the media, such as the National
Press Club. CAIR holds several such conferences each year to announce
major news, including the release of its annual civil rights
report.
*
$800 will sponsor an intern at CAIR for a month. CAIR has an
ongoing program to train Muslim interns from across the nation in civil
rights, media relations and political activism.
*
$1000 will sponsor a one-day workshop to offer similar training
for Muslim activists and leaders.
*
$2000 will support CAIR's Civil Rights Department in dealing
with the more than 1500 civil rights complaints received each year.
Dealing with each case requires hours of hard work by CAIR's civil rights
professionals and lawyers.
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED:
1. Organize a fundraising effort after Friday prayers at your mosque
or center. Set a goal of at least $1,000. Explain why community support
is so important to CAIR's work.
2. Donate generously to the campaign yourself. Go to:
http://www.cair.com/ramadan2005/
3. Ask all your friends, relatives and colleagues to donate and
become members of CAIR.
4.
SUBSCRIBE to CAIR-NET at:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net
(Urge people on your personal e-mail list to subscribe as well.)
--- CLIP AND FAX/MAIL/E-MAIL ---
1) ___YES, my Islamic center will raise $__________ for CAIR.
Name of Center:
Contact Person:
Address:
City:
State:
ZIP:
Phone:
E-Mail:
2) ___ I would also like to make a personal donation of:
___ $25 ___ $50 ___ $100 ___ $250 ___$500 ___ $1000
Name:
Address:
City:
State:
ZIP:
Phone:
Fax:
E-Mail:
Payment: ___Check ___VISA ___MasterCard ___Discover ___Money Order
Credit Card Number:
Exp. Date:
Name as on Card:
Signature: ________________________________________________
SEND TO: Membership Dept., CAIR, 453 New Jersey Ave., S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003
FAX: 202-488-0833
E-MAIL:
membership@cair-net.org
- PLEASE ANNOUNCE, POST AND DISTRIBUTE -
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET,
receive news releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim
positions on issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/27/05
*
Verse:
God Creates in Perfect
Proportion
*
Top 10 Reasons to Support CAIR: #4 -
Outreach
*
DC:
Dinner Volunteer Meeting
Oct. 29
*
CAIR-NY:
NY Muslims to Host
Officials at Iftar Dinner
-
CAIR-TX:
Mayor Speaks at
Ramadan Celebration
*
CAIR-CT Wins Accommodation
for Fasting Students
-
CAIR-FL Reacts to Banning of Religious
Holidays
*
CAIR-Cincinnati:
Muslims to Hold 'Sharing'
Ramadan' Iftar
-
CAIR-OH:
TV Show Gives WV Man
Clearer Image of Islam
*
American Muslims
May Exceed U.S. Pledge
for Quake Relief
-
GA:
Muslims Mobilize to Aid Quake
Victims (AJC)
-
MI:
Muslim
Groups Collecting for Quake Victims
-
CA:
Muslim Fundraiser to
Help Kashmir Quake Victims
-
CA:
Christian
Groups Aid Relief Effort
*
Torture:
We Don't Want a Hanoi Hilton
(Wash Post)
-
Action:
Ask Congress to Send Torture
Ban to President
-
CAIR Anti-Torture
Campaign
*
Jihad in Oklahoma? You Got it All
Wrong, Bloggers (DMN)
*
MI:
Lecture on Islamic
Revitalization in Cambodia
-
MI:
Scholar to Speak on
American-Muslim Issues
*
FL:
Muslim Worker Sues for
Discrimination (SP Times)
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: GOD CREATES IN PERFECT PROPORTION -
TOP
"Surely We have created everything in perfect measure and
proportion."
The Holy Quran, 54:49
"Did you think that We had created you without any purpose and that
you would never return to Us for accountability?"
The Holy Quran, 23:115
-----
TOP 10 REASONS TO SUPPORT CAIR: REASON #4 -
OUTREACH -
TOP
CAIR launched an initiative, called "Muslims Care" designed to
promote volunteerism in the American Muslim community. This effort lets
Americans see the true generous and charitable nature of Islam as Muslims
help to feed the poor, rebuild places of worship and generally uplift
local communities through positive actions. See:
www.muslims-care.org
To offer your support, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/ramadan2005/
Scholars say that donations to CAIR qualify as Zakat.
-----
DC: DINNER VOLUNTEER MEETING OCT. 29 -
TOP
Volunteers are needed for CAIR's 11th annual banquet, to be held
Saturday, December 3, 2005, in Virginia. Those wishing to volunteer are
asked to attend a meeting this Saturday, October 29, from 11 a.m.-noon,
at CAIR's Capitol Hill office, 453 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington,
D.C. For more information, please e-mail
events@cair-net.org or call
202-488-8787, ext. 6050.
-----
CAIR-NY: NEW YORK MUSLIMS TO HOST
OFFICIALS AT IFTAR DINNER -
TOP
City, state, federal, and international guests to break Ramadan fast with
Muslim community
(NEW YORK, NY, 10/27/05) - On Thursday, October 27, local and national
public officials will join the Muslim community of New York City to break
their fast during a Ramadan "Iftar," or fast breaking dinner,
at Masjid Al-Fatih in Brooklyn, N.Y. Mayor Bloomberg has also been
invited.
WHEN: Thursday, October 27th, 2005
WHERE: Masjid Al-Fatih, 59-11 Eighth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
CONTACT: CAIR-NY Executive Director Wissam Nasr, 917-751-1017 or
212-870-2002, E-Mail:
director@cair-ny.org
Featured speakers at the dinner include New York City Human Rights
Commissioner Patricia Gatling and civil rights attorney Omar Mohammedi,
as well as representatives from New York's Arab-American, Turkish,
African-American and Latino Muslim community.
In recent years, New York Muslims have enjoyed greater inclusion in the
public life of the city and its institutions. This Ramadan event
highlights the efforts of Muslims to strengthen their bonds with
government representatives in New York.
The event is sponsored by: United American Muslim Association, Muslim
Finance Professionals Association, Women in Islam, ICNA Relief, Council
of People's Organizations, Jamaica Muslim Center, and the New York office
of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY)
SEE ALSO:
TX: MAYOR EULINE BROCK SPEAKS
AT RAMADAN CELEBRATION -
TOP
Michael Hernandez, North Texas Daily, 10/27/05
http://www.ntdaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/10/27/43606181daf4c
The Muslim Student Association had a date with dates, the fruit, in the
Silver Eagle Suite in the University Union last night.
The event Wednesday evening was in honor of Ramadan, the traditional
month of fasting for the Islamic religion. This is the fourth year the
organization has held such an event.
A plate of dates, a fruit that grows on palm trees, sat on each table for
people to eat when the day's fasting was over.
Wednesday's turnout was about 50 people less than last year, said Halil
Okur, Ankara, Turkey graduate student and former vice president of the
Muslim Student Association.
The crowd was made up of about 100 students, teachers, community members
and the Denton Mayor Euline Brock.
"I think [Islam] is an important part of Denton's culture and
life," Brock said. "I'm honored to be invited."
Brock gave a short speech during the event, which also included a
presentation on Ramadan by Iyas Maleh, the president of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, Dallas/Fort Worth chapter. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-OH: CINCINNATI
MUSLIMS TO HOLD SHARING RAMADAN IFTAR -
TOP
People of many faiths will break Ramadan fast with Muslim
community
[CINCINNATI, OH, 10/27/05) - On Sunday, October 30, 2005, the Cincinnati
chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations' Ohio office
(CAIR-Ohio) will host its 2nd annual Ramadan Interfaith Iftar Banquet.
Guests will include public officials, civic leaders and members of the
interfaith community. "Iftar" is the meal eaten after sunset to
break the fast each day during the Islamic month of Ramadan.
WHAT: 2nd Annual Interfaith Ramadan Iftar Banquet
WHEN: October 30, 2005, 5 p.m.
WHERE: Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati
CONTACT: CAIR-OH, Cincinnati, Karen Dabdoub, 513-281-8200, E-Mail:
cincinnati@cair-ohio.com;
Brent Meyer, 513-276-1600
The evening's program will include presentations on Ramadan and
CAIR-Ohio. Ramadan is the month on the Islamic lunar calendar during
which Muslims abstain from food, drink and other sensual pleasures from
break of dawn to sunset.
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-OH: REALITY TV SHOW OFFERS
W.VA. MAN CLEARER VISION OF MUSLIM LIFE -
TOP
Bob Paschen, Columbus Messenger, 10/17/05
http://columbusmessenger.com/101705/eastside/CAIR.htm
Television gave West Virginian David Stacy the image of Muslims as
intolerant terrorists.
It took his participation in a reality TV show, in which he lived with a
Muslim family for 30 days, to change his point of view.
"My images of Muslims were based on Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein
and Mike Tyson," said David Stacy at the Center for American Islamic
Relations' annual Ramadan dinner. "So many people like me used to
watch the news and see the negative pictures of Muslims. It shows you the
power of the magic box."
About 500 people gathered Oct. 9 and watched humorous excerpts of Stacy's
misadventures as a participant in the reality show "30
Days."
Created by Morgan Spurlock, the documentary filmmaker and star of the
movie "Super Size Me," the television show puts Americans in
challenging situations that test their beliefs.
Stacy, a Christian who stereotyped Muslims as repressed terrorists, was
transplanted from West Virginia to the home of a Muslim doctor and his
family in Dearborn, Mich.
The audience laughed as Stacy, wearing traditional Muslim clothing and
head cap, fumbled through morning prayers, was stopped by airport
security, and tried and failed to get Dearborners to sign a petition
prohibiting racial profiling of Muslims.
"There are so many false perceptions" of Muslims, Stacy told
the group. "I truly looked in the mirror and a lot of what I saw I
wasn't proud of."
Stacy said his friends in West Virginia have started calling him
"Muslim Dave."
Though he has gained new friends from his experience on "30
Days," Stacy said he has also "made a lot of
enemies."
Since the show aired nationwide, he has been mailed a glut of anti-Islam
literature and audio tapes. "I'm saving them to burn them and heat
my house this winter."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is a national organization.
Eight years ago, Ahmad Al-Akhras started the CAIR satellite office in
Columbus, the second in the nation.
"Our mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam and encourage
dialogue," Al-Akhras said. "We work for Muslim civil liberties
and to build coalitions that promote justice and mutual
understanding." (MORE)
-----
CAIR-CT WINS ACCOMMODATION FOR
FASTING STUDENTS -
TOP
(NEW LONDON, CT, 10/27/05) - The Connecticut office of the Council
of
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CT) today announced that fasting Muslim
students at a Bridgeport elementary school will no longer be required to
sit in the cafeteria during lunch hour.
CAIR-CT met with school officials after receiving a complaint that the
Muslim students, who are observing the month-long Islamic fast of
Ramadan, had to watch classmates eat their lunch in the
cafeteria.
The school will now allow Muslim students to study in a separate room
under the supervision of teacher during their lunch break. CAIR-CT will
also offer diversity training about Islam at the school.
CONTACT: CAIR-CT Director of Civil Rights Hamza Collins, 860-995-6628,
Badr Malik, 860-575-4400
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-FL REACTS TO BANNING OF RELIGIOUS
HOLIDAYS -
TOP
CAIR Central Florida Director Ahmed Bedier on ABC's Tampa affiliate WFTS
reacting to the Hillsborough School Board's decision to eliminate all
vacation days falling on religious holidays.
GO TO:
http://real.scripps.com:8480/ramgen/tampalive/news/2005/10/1026holidays.rm
-----
AMERICAN MUSLIMS MAY
EXCEED U.S. PLEDGE FOR PAKISTAN QUAKE RELIEF -
TOP
Jehangir Khattak, Muslims Weekly, 10/27/05
http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=0446f1f5c09451c0430d3a514791b060
NEW YORK - The American Muslim community is expected to raise more funds
for the victims of earthquake that struck Pakistan, Kashmir and
Afghanistan on Oct. 8, than the $50 million dollars in aid pledged so far
by the United States government.
More than a dozen national Muslim organizations and groups have already
raised $20 million in relief aid for the earthquake victims in Pakistan
and Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
During interviews with the Muslims Weekly, managers of these Islamic and
Pakistani relief groups and community organizations sounded upbeat while
claiming an overwhelming response to the huge disaster of unimaginable
proportions in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir that has killed 54,197 people as
of Oct. 26.
As the donations of money, food, medical supplies and other needed goods
continue to be made by individuals and mosques around the country, the
long-term contribution from this minority group is expected to climb
beyond the initial $50 million aid package offered by the U.S.
government.
Some Muslims are fearful of donating money to Islamic organizations which
the U.S. government could investigate for terrorist connections so have
contributed large sums to the International Committee of the Red Cross,
Mercy international and many American and United Kingdom groups. If those
sums are included in the total donations, then the Muslims community's
pledges might already exceed the government's aid package.
(MORE)
SEE ALSO:
GA: TRAGEDY OVERSEAS DEEPENS SACRIFICE
-
TOP
BILL HENDRICK, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/living/1005/27lvramadan.html
Charity is an important part of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.
This year, Muslims around Atlanta are mobilizing to send warm clothing to
victims of the devastating earthquake that killed up to some 79,000
people in Pakistan and South Asia on Oct. 8 - just four days after the
start of the holy month of Ramadan, a time of fasting, contemplation and
charity.
Amjad Taufique, a member of the board of trustees of the Islamic Center
of Marietta, said most of the 30 or so mosques in the Atlanta area have
already sent money and now are collecting sweaters, coats, gloves and
other cold-weather items badly needed by refugees and the many thousands
living in early-winter conditions.
Omer Ahmad, president of the Georgia chapter of the American Muslim
Council, said an earthquake relief committee was formed immediately after
the huge temblor struck. He said more than $100,000 has been raised in
metro Atlanta. The funds and clothing, he said, are being channeled
through the Edhi Foundation, the Pakistani President's Fund, the Aga Khan
Foundation and an organization called Hidaya. (MORE)
---
MI: MUSLIM GROUPS
COLLECTING FOR QUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
Citizen Patriot, 10/26/05
http://www.mlive.com/news/jacitpat/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1130340981308870.xml&coll=3
Two area Muslim groups are raising money for earthquake victims in
Pakistan.
The Muslim Association of Jackson Community will host a dinner at 6 p.m.
Sunday at Arbor Hills Country Club, 1426 Arbor Hills Road.
Donations will be accepted by the South Central Michigan Chapter of the
American Red Cross, and 100 percent of each check written will go for
relief efforts. Each guest is asked to contribute at least
$100.
Those who cannot attend but would like to donate can send a check to:
MAJC, 200 Summit Ave., Suite B, Jackson, MI 49204. Specify in the memo
area that it is for earthquake relief.
Dinner reservations are suggested by Thursday with Dr. Mumtaz Memon,
812-8596.
In addition, the Islamic Society of Jackson is taking collections to buy
tents and other items.
Anyone who would like to donate money can send it to the society's
mosque, 410 McNeal St., Jackson, MI 49203. Put "earthquake
victims" in the memo area.
The money will be donated through Islamic Relief, a United Nations
program. For more information, call 784-9104.
---
CA: FUNDRAISER TO HELP
KASHMIR QUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
Todd Milbourn, Sacramento Bee, 10/26/05
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/religion/story/13770451p-14612569c.html
SACRAMENTO - Area Muslim leaders will hold a fundraiser Nov. 1 for
victims of the Kashmir earthquake.
Organizers will collect coats, blankets and other warm clothing articles
to send to homeless victims, who face grave danger as winter
approaches.
The Oct. 8 earthquake has killed more than 50,000 people in the remote
region of Pakistan. Relief officials have complained the world isn't
doing enough to help the victims as fears rise that many who survived the
quake will die of cold, starvation or untended injuries in its
wake.
The event is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Grand Ballroom at 1215 J St. in
Sacramento.
For more information, call 825-0027.
---
CA: MUSLIM RELIEF A
DELICATE MISSION -
TOP
George Watson, San Bernadino County Sun, 10/27/05
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_3154716
For centuries, the arrival of Christians on Muslim soil could be
construed as an attempt to infiltrate the culture and then dominate the
people.
But these days, as a series of epic calamities has rocked several Muslim
nations, causing hundreds of thousand of deaths, Christians are being
welcomed, perhaps like never before.
Two local institutions are helping lead overseas efforts of aid and
reconstruction in such places as Pakistan, Afghanistan and
Indonesia.
Both continue to find leaders of these foreign lands, and foreign
cultures, receptive to opening their borders, even in a post-Sept. 11
world filled with distrust and anger between Eastern and Western
worlds.
"It's really bridging the gap in the small global village among
us," said Dany Doueiri, a Cal State San Bernardino lecturer of
Islamic and Arabic studies.
The two institutions, Loma Linda University and Redlands-based Mission
Aviation Fellowship, can present an important face to dispute a distorted
view that many Muslims have of Americans, Doueiri said.
The key, Doueiri and officials with both institutions said, is refraining
from actions that would anger or embarrass their foreign hosts.
A prime example would be proselytizing. It's why both institutions make
sure everyone understands their missions in Islamic countries are for
relief and assistance, not missionary work.
"It can't be a facade," said Kevin Swanson, president of
Mission Aviation Fellowship, which uses its fleet of small planes to fly
supplies and communication equipment into isolated areas, such as the
current effort in response to the Pakistani earthquake that killed more
than 50,000. "We don't deny the fact that we are Christians, but we
make it known we are there for humanitarian reasons."
(MORE)
-----
TORTURE: WE DON'T WANT A HANOI HILTON -
TOP
Richard Cohen, Washington Post, 10/27/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/26/AR2005102601909.html
Five years ago I went to Vietnam with Sen. John McCain. We went to the
so-called Hanoi Hilton, the jail where American POWs were kept and where
McCain spent much of his 5 1/2 years in captivity, most of the time being
brutalized, some of the time being tortured. It was a dark, fetid place
where waves of claustrophobia washed over me, and I wanted to flee, as
McCain could not have done. "Nice place, huh?" he said to me as
we left. For the stoical McCain, that amounted to a primordial
scream.
I watched McCain closely that day. I know only a few people who were
tortured, and never had I accompanied any of them back to where they were
put through so much pain. McCain is not a let-it-all-hang-out sort of
guy. He does not weep on cue or choke for the cameras. But he does
resolve. Somewhere along the way, he apparently resolved that what
happened to him should not happen to anyone else -- especially at the
hands of Americans.
So McCain's amendment, added to a $440 billion military spending bill,
would ban the U.S. military and other government agencies -- the CIA, for
instance -- from engaging in "cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment" of detainees. The Senate approved the amendment 90 to 9.
Whatever it meant to 89 of the senators, to McCain it was simply a matter
of doing to others what he would have wanted done unto him. It is, in
that sense, a very old idea.
Stunningly, George W. Bush has threatened to veto this measure. Bush has
vetoed not one bill in all of his presidency but would, he says, veto
this one. The threat borders on the preposterous, or maybe the idiotic,
because it is hard to imagine any president vetoing a measure that
forbids torture, given the black eye that the United States has received
over the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad. After that, Bush
would have to issue his veto in the middle of the night and have it
recorded in invisible ink. I'd leave it to Karen Hughes to explain it to
the Islamic world. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR: ASK CONGRESS TO SEND TORTURE BAN
TO PRESIDENT -
TOP
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=292&theType=AA
---
CAIR ANTI-TORTURE CAMPAIGN -
TOP
http://www.cair-net.org/antitorture/
-----
JIHAD IN OKLAHOMA? YOU GOT IT ALL WRONG,
BLOGGERS -
TOP
'Citizen journalists' hurt their cause - and a grieving family
Cathy Young, Dallas Morning News, 10/27/05
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/viewpoints/stories/DN-young_27edi.ART.State.Edition1.c5cc34d.html
On Oct. 1, a tragedy shocked the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman:
21-year-old engineering student Joel Henry Hinrichs III killed himself
with a homemade bomb while sitting on a bench about 100 yards from the
university's football stadium, packed with 84,000 fans.
Since then, this sad event has mushroomed into a story that touches on
some important and controversial issues: vigilance and paranoia in the
age of terrorism and journalistic ethics in the age of the "new
media."
Within days of Mr. Hinrichs' death, a number of Web sites were
speculating that he had planned to blow himself up inside the stadium and
that he was a radical Muslim terrorist. Blog headlines screamed,
"Jihad at the University of Oklahoma?" and "The Oklahoma
suicide bomber."
Bloggers demanded to know why the mainstream media were ignoring the
story, and some supplied a ready answer: The liberals in the media were
afraid to "offend the gods of political correctness" - as
syndicated columnist and blogger Michelle Malkin put it - by calling
attention to Islamic terrorism on U.S. soil.
But was there any substance to the story? Apparently not. According to
the authorities, there is no indication that Mr. Hinrichs was anything
more than a depressed, troubled young man. (MORE)
-----
MI: SPEAKER ILLUSTRATES EFFECTS OF
ISLAMIC REVITALIZATION -
TOP
Jennifer Hoewe, Grand Valley Lanthorn, 10/27/05
http://www.lanthorn.com/news.asp?type=NS&aid=5508
Anna M. Gade presented an insight into the Islamic revitalization in
Southeast Asia when she visited Grand Valley State University on Tuesday.
Gade described the specific customs of Cambodian culture by relating
readings of their holy book the Qur'an.
The memorization of the Qur'an is an important aspect to this religion
throughout portions of Southeast Asia, Gade said. In her recent project,
"Religious Revitalization and Recovery: Cham Muslims in
Cambodia," she explored the development of Islamic revitalization
through Qur'an memorizations.
"The goal of this project is to reflect contemporary Islamic
revitalization in Southeast Asia," Gade said. "This process
reflects the rich diversity of religion and also embraces the Muslim
values of pluralism and respect for difference." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MI: FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR TO SPEAK ON
AMERICAN-MUSLIM ISSUES -
TOP
LTV News, 10/26/05
http://www.ltvnews.com/viewarticle.php?id=3591
A visiting Fulbright scholar from Egypt is based at Lake Superior State
University for the next three weeks as she visits classrooms and
communities to discuss relations between Americans and Muslims.
Rachida El Diwani Ph.D., arrived at LSSU on Oct. 22 and started meeting
students and community members right away. Besides LSSU students and
faculty, El Diwani is meeting with residents at St. Joseph Parish in
Sault Ste. Marie, members of Lake State Elders, and students and staff of
Sault Area High School, Bay Mills Community College in Brimley and North
Central Michigan College in Petoskey.
"She comes to the community as a Fulbright Visiting Specialist,
whose two-fold mission is to help American colleges and universities
enrich their international programs and courses of study, and to provide
opportunities for intensive exposure to the surrounding
communities," said Jason Swedene, LSSU professor of
humanities.
"Current events and ideologies have refocused attentions to the ways
in which Islamic civilizations and the West interact. El Diwani, who
holds a Ph.D. in French literature, will provide insight to students in
subjects as diverse as women in Islam, humanities, French, sociology, and
nursing." (MORE)
-----
FL: EX-EMPLOYEES SUE FOR
DISCRIMINATION -
TOP
BILL VARIAN, St. Petersburg Times, 10/27/05
http://sptimes.com/
TAMPA - Engineer Paul Shams says he couldn't believe the things he heard
while temporarily employed for the Hillsborough County Water Department
as a probationary employee.
His supervisor and co-workers routinely used racially derogatory language
when describing a white staff engineer named Al Martini who is married to
an African woman from Uganda, he said. One told Shams that Martini needed
to be sent back to Africa, that he was a "troublemaker."
Another warned Shams to be wary of Martini because he has mental problems
and might attack for no reason.
Shams says the man who was his direct supervisor ultimately pressured him
to write a phony complaint against Martini he said he knew was untrue.
Shams says he refused, and within a few days was dismissed.
On Wednesday, Shams and Martini filed separate federal lawsuits against
Hillsborough County claiming their First and Fourth Amendment rights to
free speech, religion and association were violated. In addition to the
alleged treatment of Martini, Shams said he too fell into disfavor in the
office when his supervisors learned he was from Iran and is Muslim.
(MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS
- 10/28/05
*
Verse: God
Loves the Equitable
*
Top 10 Reasons to Support CAIR:
#5
-
Anti-Defamation
-
Quran Recipient Thanks
CAIR
*
ACTION:
Reject
Legalizing CIA Torture
-
Iraqi Prisoner Dies During CIA
Interrogation (NPR)
*
CAIR-SV:
Sacramento
Valley Muslims to Call for Urgent Quake Aid
*
CAIR-MI:
Michigan
Muslims to Hold Ramadan Food Drive
-
CAIR-CT:
School Accommodates Fasting Muslim Students
-
CAIR-MD/VA: Muslim Woman Wins Settlement in Suit
-
CAIR-SC: Religious Observances - Eid ul-Fitr
*
CA: Pakistani-Americans Decry Lack of Quake Aid
-
UN Warns Funds Drying Up for Quake Aid (AP)
-
Pakistani-American Docs Mobilize for Relief Efforts
-
ACTION: Ask President, Congress to Boost Quake Aid
-
American Muslim Task Force for Disaster Relief
*
IN: Conflict Over Muslim Students in Elementary School
-
CA:
Student Balance Religion with Sports
*
NJ: Islamic Manuscripts to be Made Available Online
*
MI: Ramadan's a Gift to Muslims and Non-Muslims, too
*
Youssou N'Dour: International Hybrid of Music Inspired by Islam
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: GOD LOVES THE EQUITABLE -
TOP
"It may be that God will grant love (and friendship) between you and
those whom you (now) hold as enemies: for God has power (over all
things); and God is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful. God does not forbid
you to be kind and equitable to those who had neither fought against
your faith nor driven you out of your homes. In fact God loves the
equitable."
The Holy Quran, 60:7-8
-----
TOP 10 REASONS TO SUPPORT CAIR: REASON #5 - ANTI-DEFAMATION -
TOP
Earlier this year, Washington, D.C., radio talk show host Michael
Graham said repeatedly on air: "We are at war with a terrorist
organization named Islam."
In response, CAIR mobilized the community to contact the station and
its advertisers. Thousands of you took positive action, and together we
got results:
"Well they got me," Graham later wrote. "I have been fired for making
the specific comments CAIR deemed 'offensive.'" The Washington Post
reported that, "Graham blamed CAIR for his firing."
To offer your support for CAIR, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/ramadan2005/
Scholars say that donations to CAIR qualify as Zakat.
SEE ALSO:
QURAN RECIPIENT THANKS CAIR -
TOP
The following is a letter CAIR received from a "Quran Project" recipient in Oregon:
"Please allow me to take this opportunity to thank you and the Council
on American-Islamic Relations for the precious gift of the Holy Qur'an.
I must confess my delight at receiving such a physically beautiful
sacred text. I was rather expecting a paperback, thus my delight was
exponentially increased when I noted the quality of the book as well as
the scholarly transliteration and translation.
Please rest assured not that the gift of the text is deeply
appreciated, but the holy book will be treated with the utmost respect
and dignity.
I sincerely hope that the noble effort of the CAIR to introduce people
to Islam on its own terms (as opposed to media and fear-based political
definitions, etc.) meets with success.
Again, thank you for your kindness and generosity."
To SPONSOR or OBTAIN a Quran, GO TO:
www.explorethequran.com
-----
CAIR ACTION ALERT #475: REJECT LEGALIZING CIA TORTURE -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, DC, 10/28/2005) - The Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) today called on all people of conscience to contact
their elected representatives and urge them to oppose Vice President
Cheney's proposal to exempting CIA employees from a proposed
congressional ban on torture of prisoners in U.S. custody.
SEE: "Cheney Plan Exempts CIA From Bill Barring Abuse of Detainees"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/24/AR2005102402051.html
Recently, the Senate overwhelmingly endorsed the proposed law, an
amendment to a $440 billion defense appropriations bill. Sen. John
McCain (R-AZ), a former prisoner of war and a torture survivor,
sponsored the amendment.
Vice President Cheney and CIA Director Porter Goss both proposed
exempting the CIA from the torture ban. Senator McCain rejected the
idea.
According to the Washington Post:
"The CIA has been implicated in a number of alleged abuses in Iraq and
has been linked to at least a few cases in which detainees have died
during interrogations at separate military bases throughout the
country. So far, no CIA operatives have been charged in connection with
the abuse, although a single CIA contract employee is on trial for
involvement in the death of an Afghanistan detainee, and sources have
indicated that a grand jury may be looking at other allegations
involving the CIA."
President Bush says he will veto the appropriations bill if it comes to
him with McCain's torture ban. That would result in the president's
first veto being used to defend the torture of prisoners during
interrogation.
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED:
1) Contact your Representative in the U.S. Congress and ask them send
the McCain anti-torture amendment to President Bush as it is written.
TO CONTACT YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES, GO TO:
http://capwiz.com/cair/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=8088021
SEE ALSO:
THE DEATH OF AN IRAQI PRISONER -
TOP
John McChesney, National Public Radio, 10/27/05
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4977986
All Things Considered, October 27, 2005 � Photographs of grinning GIs
crouched over the iced-down, battered corpse of Manadel al-Jamadi were
among the most horrific images of the 2003 Abu Ghraib prison scandal.
The photos became one of the most powerful symbols for those who
opposed to the American invasion of Iraq.
The Iraqi insurgent died within hours of his capture, while being
interrogated by the CIA. A military autopsy ruled Jamadi's death a
homicide, but no one has been held accountable for his death.
An NPR special report recounts the final hours of Jamadi's life,
compiled from a review of thousands of CIA and military documents.
Interviews with those present the night he died reveal the techniques
used to extract information from Jamadi, and also show a discrepancy
between military police and CIA agents about what happened just before
his death. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-SV: SACRAMENTO MUSLIMS TO CALL FOR URGENT QUAKE AID -
TOP
(SACRAMENTO, CA, 10/28/05) - On Monday, October 31, leaders of the
Sacramento Valley Muslim community, along with representatives of the
Interfaith Service Bureau (ISB), will hold a press conference to
announce an urgent appeal to help victims of the devastating earthquake
in South Asia.
WHAT: News Conference Announcing Quake Aid Appeal and Fundraising Dinner
WHEN: Monday, October 31, 2005, 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: In Front of Sacramento City Hall
CONTACT: CAIR-SV Executive Director Basim Elkarra, (916) 441-6269, e-mail:
sacval@cair.com; ISB Executive Director Reverend Dexter McNamara, (914) 448-2212
The community leaders will also announce a fundraising dinner to
collect monetary donations and clothing to be sent to the devastated
areas. The dinner will held on Wednesday, November 1, from 5-8 p.m., at
the Grand Ballroom, 1215 J Street, Sacramento.
United Nations officials say relief flight to the quake victims may be suspended soon unless more aid is forthcoming.
SEE: "Quake Copters May be Grounded"
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/10/27/so.asian.quake.toll/
Official reports indicate that at least 55,000 people were killed in
the devastating earthquake that shook Pakistan, Kashmir, India and
Afghanistan. Many more may die unless aid reaches them in time.
-----
CAIR-MI: MICHIGAN MUSLIMS HOLD RAMADAN FOOD DRIVE -
TOP
(LATHRUP VILLAGE, MI, 10/28/05) - The Michigan office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) today announced that Metro Detroit
Muslims are preparing a winter food drive to coincide with the last
days of the month-long fast of Ramadan.
Partnering with Sam's Club in Farmington Hills, Mich., the Muslim
community plans to pack and distribute more than $30,000 worth of food
to 16 distribution points in the Metro Detroit and Flint areas.
WHAT: Ramadan Winter Food Drive
WHEN: Saturday, October 29, 10 A.M.
WHERE: Sam's Club, 32625 Northwestern Hwy., Farmington Hills, Mich.
CONTACT: CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid, 248-842-1418
"During Ramadan, Muslims seek to increase their worship, which means
increasing our service to humanity," said CAIR-MI Executive Director
Dawud Walid.
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-CT: SCHOOL ACCOMMODATES FASTING MUSLIM STUDENTS -
TOP
FRANCES GRANDY TAYLOR, Hartford Courant, 10/28/05
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ramadan1028.artoct28,0,6578998.story
Muslim students at a Bridgeport elementary school who observe the month
of Ramadan by fasting will no longer be required to spend lunchtime in
the school cafeteria with other students, following the settlement
Thursday of a complaint against the school by an Islamic advocacy group.
The Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
contacted administrators at the Curiale School after receiving a
complaint that Muslim students were confined to the cafeteria during
lunchtime.
Ramadan is the month in the Islamic lunar calendar during which the
faithful abstain from food, drink and other sensual pleasures from
sunrise to sunset, when the fast is broken.
In past years Muslim children had been permitted to spend the time in
the principal's office or the library, said Hamza Ismail Collins, the
chapter's director of civil rights. This year, they were told to sit in
the cafeteria, he said.
Collins said he received a follow-up call from the school later
Thursday, in which he was told the school will allow the children to
study in a separate room under a teacher's supervision during their
lunch break. (MORE)
CONTACT: CAIR-CT Director of Civil Rights Hamza Collins, 860-995-6628, Badr Malik, 860-575-4400
---
CAIR: MUSLIM WOMAN WINS SETTLEMENT IN SUIT -
TOP
Store agrees to pay $16K for post-Sept. 11 firing
Mike Santa Rita, Howard County Times, 10/27/05
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=573&NewsID=671166&CategoryID=742&show=localnews&om=1
A Muslim woman fired at a Columbia store shortly after the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 has won a settlement from the company that
terminated her employment.
Shabana Ahmed, a Columbia resident, will receive $16,000 in an
agreement reached Sept. 19 with School & Pre-School Supply Center
Inc., of Baltimore County, the owner of Learning How, in Columbia,
according to the settlement.
In November 2001, Ahmed filed a complaint with the Maryland Commission
on Human Relations alleging religious discrimination in the company's
decision to fire her the month before.
The $16,000 represents the amount of salary the company would have paid
Ahmed prior to the time she found new employment after being fired,
said Lee Hoshall, an attorney with the Commission on Human Relations,
which represented Ahmed in the matter.
The company also will provide its staff training in cultural and
religious awareness, and has agreed to apologize in writing to Ahmed
"for the manner in which she was treated by Learning How," according to
the settlement agreement.
Michael Wayland, chief financial officer for School & Pre-School
Supply Center Inc., denied that Ahmed's firing amounted to
discrimination.
"We feel like it was simply a matter of miscommunication," he said. "Ms. Ahmed was let go for budgetary reasons."
Fired in the parking lot
Ahmed, 27, a former biology teacher at Centennial High School, said in
an interview this week that her manager never gave her a good reason
for firing her on Oct. 25, 2001, which made her suspicious.
"The day that I was fired I was just met in the parking lot and told by
the manager that I was no longer working there," she said.
Ahmed contacted the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim
advocacy group based in Washington, whose officials told her to contact
the Commission on Human Relations, she said.
"Since it was right after (the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks) I think they
were inundated with a lot of cases like this," she said. "They told us
to contact the human relations commission first."
After the commission's initial attempts to reach a settlement with
Learning How were unsuccessful, it filed discrimination charges against
the company with the State Office of Administrative Hearings in April
this year, Hoshall said. The settlement was reached Sept. 19. (MORE)
---
CAIR-SC: RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES BEGIN NEXT WEEK -
TOP
The State, 10/28/05
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/13017291.htm
EID EL FITR
Date: Observed Thursday or Nov. 4, depending on the sighting of the new moon.
What it is: This day marks the official end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month.
History: Ramadan and its festive ending, Eid El Fitr, have been
practiced since the beginnings of Islam in the seventh century.
Observance of the holiday is considered one of the seven pillars of
Islam. Eid was developed as a festive conclusion to this holy month.
Modern observance: During Ramadan, Muslims are not permitted to eat,
drink, smoke or partake of many other activities during daylight hours.
Eid is a joyous feast that marks the end of the season of fasting.
Muslim families gather in homes or at mosques to eat elaborate meals,
play games, and give and receive gifts.
Locally: The public is invited to attend a special Eid cultural
festival from 2 to 7 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Lexington Municipal Complex,
1111 Maiden Lane in Lexington. Activities will include storytelling, a
children's program, a show featuring traditional costumes from Muslim
nations and henna art. The event is sponsored by the Midlands chapter
of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
CONTACT: CAIR-SC, 803-210-7355
-----
CA: LOCAL PAKISTANIS DECRY QUAKE AID -
TOP
Second wave of death predicted if relief efforts fail to reach victims
Jonathan Jones, Tri-Valley herald, 10/27/05
http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_3155818
FREMONT - Time is running out. That's the message from Hazem Kira and
other local Pakistani-Americans more than two weeks after a deadly
earthquake devastated the northern part of their homeland.
Kira, a spokesman for the Newark-based Pakistan American Democratic
Forum, said they've collected more than 200 petitions from local
residents urging the Bush administration to dispatch additional
helicopters based in Afghanistan to help transport goods to remote
areas of Pakistan.
"We want to put as much pressure as we can on the U.S. to use its
military resources to help," said Kira, who helped post an online
petition on their local earthquake relief Web
site,www.voiceofpakistan.net.
Although the United States agreed Monday to send nine more helicopters
and medical unit for relief operations - in addition to the 21
helicopters currently in use - Kira said more help is needed to prevent
a second wave of deaths as temperatures plummet in the remote
mountainous regions of Kashmir.
"Practically speaking, it's nowhere near the number they need," Kira
said. "There are some areas that haven't been touched since the
earthquake more than two weeks ago. There is a greater need for
humanitarian assistance." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
UN WARNS FUNDS DRYING UP FOR QUAKE AID -
TOP
ZARAR KHAN, Associated Press, 10/28/05
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1258869
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Helicopters ferrying desperately needed
relief supplies to South Asia's quake survivors will be grounded within
a week and aid operations will be scaled down unless donors make good
on pledges of hundreds of millions of dollars, U.N. officials warned
Friday.
``We need the money now or we will be forced to scale down food
deliveries,'' said Jan Vandemoortele, the U.N.'s humanitarian
coordinator in Pakistan. ``So far, we have been operating on reserves,
and borrowing ... and the pipeline is drying up.''
The warning comes as Pakistani meteorologists forecast a much harsher
than normal winter in the high Himalayan mountains. Mohammed Hanif, a
senior meteorologist at the Pakistan Meteorological Department, said
the agency was expecting 5.52 meters (18 feet) of snow in the region
this winter, compared to 3 meters (10 feet) during a normal winter.
Average temperatures would also be a few degrees below normal, at times
dipping as low as minus 20 Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit).
The U.N. has only received about 20 percent - about US$117 million
(euro96 million) - of the US$550 million (euro453 million) it needs for
the next six months. A donors' conference in Geneva this week netted an
additional US$580 million (euro478.15 million ) in pledges for victims
of the of the devastating Oct. 8 quake, but Vandemoortele said these
pledges ``need to be monetized'' immediately. (MORE)
---
PAKISTANI-AMERICAN PHYSICIANS POUR MILLIONS INTO RELIEF EFFORTS -
TOP
TINI TRAN, Associated Press, 10/28/05
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/13019971.htm
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- The needs were urgent: A field hospital
wanted seven respirators. A health center was begging for
anesthesiology machines. Tetanus shots were in short supply.
Cardiologist Abdul Rashid Piracha quickly put out the word over the
phone and the Internet. Within a day he had everything he asked for,
simply by tapping into a vast network of Pakistani-American doctors -
some 10,000 strong.
Together, these doctors have raised tens of millions of dollars in
donations and medical supplies, and many have come personally to help
South Asia's quake victims.
For all of them, there was a simple reason why.
"This is close to the heart," says Piracha, 65, a native of Quetta who now lives in Princeton, W.Va.
Piracha heads the Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America,
which is working with the Islamic Medical Association of North America
to coordinate a relief effort with local physicians. So far, they have
brought in about 70 doctors from the United States and Canada, many of
them specialists in orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery and pediatrics.
(MORE)
---
ACTION: ASK PRESIDENT, CONGRESS TO BOOST QUAKE AID -
TOP
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=294&theType=AA
-----
AMERICAN MUSLIM TASK FORCE FOR DISASTER RELIEF -
TOP
http://www.amtfdr.net/news.php
-----
IN: MORE CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING IS NEEDED IN PORTER TOWNSHIP -
TOP
Northwest Indiana Times, 10/27/05
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2005/10/27/opinion/times_editorials/ae89bda9d2f46fd6862570a7000182db.txt
The issue: Conflict over Muslim students at Porter Lakes Elementary School
Our opinion: From the looks of things, parents, like their children, need their own program to learn about various religions
Problem solving is a typical skill for schoolchildren to learn so they
can apply mathematics to everyday life. At Porter Lakes Elementary
School, that problem-solving skill is urgently needed for social
studies, too.
Porter Lakes, just outside Lakes of the Four Seasons, is a classic
example of a community in crisis because of a culture clash. The
situation cries out for early intervention before it escalates further.
The most intense hard feelings revolve around diversity --
specifically, the public school's assimilation of Muslim students into
its population.
The principle that no one should be treated differently is a familiar American ideal. But it does not always work in practice.
An Orthodox Jew, for instance, should not be expected to eat food that
isn't kosher. And Muslim students shouldn't be expected to abandon the
traditional hijab, or Muslim head scarf. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CA: STUDENT STRIVES TO BALANCE RELIGION WITH SPORTS -
TOP
Brad A. Greenberg, Daily Bulletin, 10/28/05
http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_3154711
DIAMOND BAR - The football coach hollers, "Water break!" and the
players cluster around blue Powerade bottles. Hytham Elsherif stands
alone and to the side., "Somebody soak him down," an assistant coach
says. He unstraps his helmet so a teammate can squirt water on his
head. He spits repeatedly to keep it from sneaking into his mouth.
Hytham is a unique member of Diamond Bar High School's varsity team --
he is its only Muslim. Because it is Ramadan, the holiest month of the
Islamic calendar, Hytham is fasting from sunrise to sunset each day.
Starving the body for 14 hours is taxing on even the most sedentary.
For a 17-year-old offensive lineman, it seems like a death wish.
"If he wants to play, it's up to him," says his mother, Naglaa
Elsherif. "But he has to follow God's rules -- he has to fast. If he
doesn't have the energy to fast, don't play."
Hytham's is a common dilemma of Muslim-American youths, many of whom
find themselves attending class, studying and competing athletically on
an empty stomach one month a year. (MORE)
-----
NJ: ISLAMIC MANUSCRIPTS TO BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE -
TOP
Maxwell Weidmann, Daily Princetonian, 10/28/05
http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/archives/2005/10/28/news/13650.shtml
Firestone Curator of Manuscripts Don Skemer has organized an effort to
digitize about 200 Islamic manuscripts and electronically catalog more
than 10,000 Islamic manuscripts in the Rare Book Division's collection
during the next four years.
The collection, the largest in North America, ranges in age from the
earliest Islamic texts in the ninth century to pieces written in the
early 20th century during the final collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
"When I first arrived in the early '90s, I realized there were many
manuscripts that had not been catalogued," Skemer said. "The first
cataloguing was nearly 100 years ago in 1906."
Though there have been several updates since then, according to Skemer, the catalog "still needs a lot of work."
By February, Skemer will hire two specialists to begin the online
cataloging. He has also committed a professional digital photography
unit to digitize the selected works. While the electronic catalogues
will appear online as they are completed, Skemer expects the digitized
parts will not be online before 2008. (MORE)
-----
MI: RAMADAN'S A GIFT TO MUSLIMS AND TO SOME NON-MUSLIMS, TOO -
TOP
DAVID CRUMM, FREE PRESS, 10/28/05
http://www.freep.com/news/religion/crumm28e_20051028.htm
The Muslim preacher Hassanain Rajabali addressed 1,000 people at the
Islamic Center of America in Dearborn on Tuesday night for nearly an
hour. But his message rested on six words: "Look at how we carry
ourselves!"
Recognizing the confusion and anxiety about Islam in the United States,
Rajabali urged Muslims, especially during this holy month of Ramadan,
to demonstrate a friendly hospitality in all they do.
"Being in a multicultural society is a great gift from God," he told
the crowd, adding later, "Allah says: We made people different so that
you will know each other."
In his sermon lies one of the gifts of Ramadan to non-Muslim neighbors,
relatives and friends. This certainly is a solemn period of renewal for
Muslims, but it also is a month of overflowing hospitality. (MORE)
-----
YOUSSOU N'DOUR INTERNATIONAL HYBRID OF MUSIC INSPIRED BY ISLAM -
TOP
KELEFA SANNEH, New York Times, 10/28/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/28/arts/music/28yous.html
Everyone likes to be in on a secret. And like lots of the best singers,
Youssou N'Dour knows how to make listeners feel as if they're not just
hearing his music but overhearing it. On Wednesday night, during the
last of a series of Carnegie Hall concerts, Mr. N'Dour took this notion
one step further, explaining to concertgoers that they were hearing
something not really meant for them.
"At first, it was only for me and my family, my friends, the people
around me during the Ramadan," he said, explaining the evening's music.
This was the American live premiere of "Egypt," an ambitious and
graceful song cycle released in America last year by Nonesuch Records.
The album is a collaboration with the Egyptian composer and producer
Fathy Salama.
The album pays subtle tribute to the shape and scope of West African Islam. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
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To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
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-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/29/05
*
O'Reilly:
Muslim Holiday 'Absurd in a
Judeo-Christian Country'
-
FL:
School Board Squashes
Minority Rights (SP Times)
*
IL:
College Pulls
Photo Exhibit After Muslim
Protest
*
CA:
Latinos Embrace
Islam, Pray for Acceptance (LA Times)
-
FL:
More
Hispanic Women Converting to Islam
*
IN:
FBI Probe
Shows No Terrorist Threat at Elem. School
-
IN:
Parents
Debate Muslim Presentation at
School
-
Parent:
I'm not prejudiced, but. .
.'
*
Correction:
Sacramento Muslims to Call for
Urgent Quake Aid
-----
O'REILLY: CLOSING PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR MUSLIM
HOLIDAY "ABSURD IN A JUDEO-CHRISTIAN COUNTRY" -
TOP
Media Matters, 10/28/05
http://mediamatters.org/items/200510280006
On the October 27 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill
O'Reilly called the idea of closing public schools for the observance of
Muslim holidays "absurd in a Judeo-Christian country." O'Reilly
made this remark during a discussion with Hillsborough County, Florida,
commissioner Brian Blair, who opposed the Hillsborough County school
board's decision to keep public schools open on Yom Kippur and Good
Friday during the 2006-2007 school year, a departure from the school
district's earlier practice of closing schools on those days. In December
2004, Hillsborough County Muslims, with the backing of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, asked the school board to close schools on
the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim holy
month of Ramadan. Instead of giving students the day off on Eid Al-Fitr,
the school board voted to keep schools open on Yom Kippur and Good Friday
during the 2006-2007 school year, reasoning that the school district
could close schools on days when a substantial number of students would
be absent but could not close schools specifically for the observance of
religious holidays. The school district will continue its practice of
allowing students to take days off on religious holidays, although
schools will remain open.
From the October 27 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:
BLAIR: Well, in December of 2004, a gentleman representing the Muslim
religion came before the school board and asked if Eid, which I believe
is part of Ramadan, be recognized as an official school holiday. That
went to a subcommittee, a calendar committee that's comprised of 28
members. Where these members come from, we still don't have the exact
answers. I guess they're citizens, friends of the school board members,
various people like this. As a matter of fact, I think there's a Jewish
representative and a Muslim representative on the board. Of the 28, only
12 showed up, as I understand it. They gave them very little feedback
other than the option of taking President's Day and turning it -- they
basically gave --
O'REILLY: So a Muslim wanted a Muslim holiday, which is absurd in a
Judeo-Christian country. I mean, we can't be having Hindu and Buddha. I
mean, come on. I mean, this country is founded on Judeo-Christian
traditions.
BLAIR: Absolutely.
O'REILLY: Those traditions have been in play for more than 200 years.
Christmas is a federal holiday. You know, somebody walks in and says,
"Well, I just moved here and I want, you know, this Shinto
shrine." And you're going, "Well, look, this is a traditional
American situation that we've done for hundreds of years." But now
you knocked it out.
SEND POLITE COMMENTS TO:
oreilly@foxnews.com
COPY TO:
cair@cair-net.org,
abedier@cairfl.org
SEE ALSO:
SCHOOL BOARD SQUASHES MINORITY RIGHTS
-
TOP
St. Petersburg Times, 10/29/05
http://sptimes.com/2005/10/29/Opinion/Florida_redistricting.shtml
(Scroll down.)
Re: School calendar will be strictly secular, Oct. 26.
The recent Hillsborough County School Board decision not to grant a day
for Muslim students to observe Eid al-Fitr and to rescind the day given
for Jewish students to observe Yom Kippur is unfortunate because the
board's action by accommodating only Christian students is thereby a de
facto trampling of minority rights - something the Constitution and Bill
of Rights prohibit.
A December holiday still stands to accommodate Christians. Furthermore,
most Christians in the United States have never observed Good Friday as a
day off. Since Easter always is on a Sunday, that holiday is also not in
jeopardy. So the only negative impacts are on the minority students,
Jewish and Muslim, who only asked for one day for a religious observance.
I hope a constitutional challenge is forthcoming.
-- Rev. Robert L. White, Valrico
-----
IL: HARPER PULLS PHOTO
EXHIBIT UPON MUSLIM PROTEST -
TOP
Michael Puente, Daily Herald, 10/28/05
http://www.dailyherald.com/search/searchstory.asp?id=111643
An art exhibit that included photographs of nude Muslim women wearing
only a head covering was taken down Thursday afternoon just hours after
opening for public viewing at Harper College in Palatine.
Muslim students at the college protested to officials about the pieces on
display in Building C.
Several students say the pieces - some showing young Muslim men with
machine guns - were downright offensive.
"I think they should rip this down," student Matt George
said.
Another student, Hussein Ali, says a number of Muslim students at Harper
now are thinking about leaving.
"The Muslim students are thinking about boycotting Harper because of
this," said Ali, 23, of Schaumburg.
Ahmad Basalat, 21, of Bartlett said the exhibit expressed hatred toward
Muslims.
Rich Johnson, co-coordinator of international students at Harper, said
the exhibit was an event put on in conjunction with the college's art
department.
The school invited Chicago photographer Amir Normandi to exhibit his
works depicting Muslim women in Iran defying the wearing of the
jilbab.
Johnson said he thought the exhibit would be an interesting topic because
it deals with human rights.
Salma Habed, 20, of Hoffman Estates said some of the pieces continued
with the stereotype that Muslim women are oppressed.
"We go to school. We have careers. It's not like we're oppressed
like some people feel for some reason," Habed said.
Before the opening of the exhibit, neither Johnson nor other Harper
officials had an opportunity to view the images.
Johnson and school officials ordered the removal or covering of the
images until further notice because of the uproar. (MORE)
SEND POLITE COMMENTS TO:
pburdick@harpercollege.edu,
dwhite@harpercollege.edu
COPY TO:
cair@cair-net.org
-----
CA: EMBRACING
ISLAM, PRAYING FOR ACCEPTANCE -
TOP
Many Latino Muslims, some raised Catholic, struggle with views of their
new faith on the part of the public -- and their families.
H.G. Reza, Los Angeles Times, 10/29/05
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-beliefs29oct29,1,3351584.story
As a college student in Mexico, Marta Khadija Ramirez was so influenced
by Marxist and existentialist writers that she stopped believing in God.
That changed during a semester at a British school, where she was a
visiting student and three Muslim classmates introduced her to
Islam.
She decided to convert. But imagine the difficulty of a Latina steeped in
Roman Catholic tradition trying to explain Islam to her family in 1983.
And imagine that one of her sisters is a Catholic nun.
"Islam was unknown in Mexico then. It wasn't easy for my family to
accept my decision," said Khadija, the youngest of 11 sisters raised
on a ranch south of Mexico City and now a nurse who lives in Los Angeles.
"My sister the nun was blaming herself for not teaching me enough
about Catholicism."
Muslims throughout the world are observing Ramadan, a month of daytime
fasting and repentance. For many Latino Muslims in Southern California,
it is also a time to celebrate Islam's diversity and their conversion to
a religion still struggling against intolerance in the overwhelmingly
Christian United States. This year, the holy month started the first week
of October. . .
The Los Angeles Latino Muslim Assn., founded in 1999, hopes to find
converts through an outreach program to introduce Islam to the millions
of Latinos living in the city. The group meets at the Islamic Center of
Southern California in Los Angeles, and on Sundays during Ramadan members
break their dawn-to-sunset fast together at the Vermont Avenue facility.
The group also meets at the Masjid Omar, a mosque in Los Angeles. .
.
The association runs Luz del Islam Publishing in Culver City, where
Islamic literature is printed in Spanish. Group members pass out that
material, including a Spanish translation of the Koran, at Latino book
fairs and sponsor mosque tours and seminars for Latinos. They also
provide speakers to Latino student groups at area colleges.
Still, Muslims have to overcome some public perceptions that, Khadija
said, are unfairly colored by "misunderstanding and fear" since
the terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists on Sept. 11, 2001.
Arwa Ayloush, whose name was Vilma Avila before she converted in 1991
while attending the University of Texas, said her parents' initial
apprehension about her new religion stemmed from "fear of the
unknown."
"You just left Laredo and now you're a Muslim. What happened to you,
girl?" is how Ayloush, raised a Jehovah's Witness, described her
family's reaction to her conversion.
Over time, the families of Khadija and Ayloush, a kindergarten teacher
living in Corona, accepted their Muslim identities. Each later married
Muslim men. Ayloush's husband is Hussam Ayloush, executive director of
the Southern California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations. . .
Despite the differences that many U.S. Christians believe separate them
from Muslims, both sides have much in common, Ayloush and the others
said.
"The theological differences are there, but they shouldn't be a
fence that separates us. They should be a bridge instead," Ayloush
said. "I'm a Little League mom. I'm there cheering for my kids who
play sports, like the other moms. The only thing that's really different
about me is the hijab."
SEND COMMENTS TO:
letters@latimes.com
COPY TO:
socal@cair.com
SEE ALSO:
MORE HISPANIC WOMEN
CONVERTING TO ISLAM -
TOP
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-latinomuslims2605oct26,0,754543.story
LATINO WOMEN FINDING A PLACE IN ISLAM
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9352969/
-----
IN: FBI PROBE SHOWS
NO TERRORIST THREAT AT PORTER LAKES -
TOP
Sheriff's cop reprimanded for how he handled situation
ELIZABETH HOLMES, Northwest Indiana Times, 10/27/05
http://www.nwitimes.com/articles/2005/10/27/news/porter_county/e54bb0145f2a2efc862570a70005a140.txt
PORTER TOWNSHIP | On the morning of Oct. 6, Lake County police officer
Mike Hamady ran a check on the license plate of a white van he saw a few
days earlier outside of Porter Lakes Elementary.
Hamady, the father of two children at the school, was shocked by what he
discovered.
The plate was "of interest to the FBI" and referenced a
"terrorist watch list."
"If the FBI puts you on a list, you're somebody, you know what I'm
saying?" Hamady, a cop for 18 years, said.
By that night, the rumors were flying around the Porter Lakes community.
Parents, calling each other at all hours of the evening and the next
morning, had doubts about sending their children to school. . .
The name on the vehicle registration was the same name of a person of
interest -- but there was no indication that the name of the person with
the plate was the same person wanted by the FBI, according to Mike
Higgins, spokesman for the Lake County Sheriff's Department.
"It was a similar name, totally unrelated," Higgins said.
"The plate is not a threat nor is the person owning it or driving.
... It's just an extreme situation."
The FBI concurred. After a thorough investigation, Osborne said,
"The supervisor advised the school that there was no credible
threat."
While there was no problem at the school, there was an issue with Hamady.
By going straight to the superintendent and not his police supervisor, he
was in violation of sheriff's department policy. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
IN: PARENTS DEBATE
MUSLIM PRESENTATION AT PORTER LAKES ELEMENTARY -
TOP
ELIZABETH HOLMES, Northwest Indiana Times, 10/21/05
http://nwitimes.com/articles/2005/10/21/news/porter_county/04301b99485383a1862570a100217a51.txt
PORTER TOWNSHIP | The debate over a Muslim presentation at Porter Lakes
Elementary School spilled over from the School Board meeting into the
hallway Thursday evening, bringing parents from both sides together to
hash out the issue.
Susan Miller approached Ayesha Syed, the mother of two new Muslim
students at Porter Lakes, and tried to explain her reasoning for
adamantly and outwardly opposing a presentation Syed gave to the students
about the Muslim culture.
As each parent's sons played together around them, oblivious of the
extent or the heat of the discussion, Miller insisted to Syed, "This
is not about you."
However, in a way, it was. On Sept. 30, Syed and her Muslim friend,
Ameenah Abdullah, came to the school to talk to a second-grade class and
the entire third grade about the Muslim culture.
The presentation, for students who are the same ages as Syed's children,
was intended to answer questions about the Muslim culture. The women
talked about religion because it is heavily intertwined with the Muslim
culture, and that upset many in the Porter Lakes community.
The issue of allowing such a presentation was not on the board agenda.
However, the public participation portion of the meeting allowed parents
a chance to sound off to the board for future consideration.
The majority of speakers vehemently opposed religion in the public school
setting. Michelle Colvin said her son had questions for her about Allah
that caught her off guard. She said she should have been notified of the
presentation in advance.
Miller touched on another hot issue surrounding the Muslim family -- the
creation of a prayer room at the school for the Muslim children, which
school officials will not confirm -- and demanded fair treatment for all
faiths.
"If they're going to cater to one religion, they better cater to all
of 'em," she said and asked for an altar to be added for her
Catholic son.
Miller's speech, the first of more than a
dozen, garnered an applause and an "amen" from the
standing-room-only crowd. In an interview before the meeting, she said,
"I'm not prejudiced, but I do have a concern when it comes to
Muslim people." (MORE) -
TOP
SEND POLITE COMMENTS TO:
letters@nwitimes.com
COPY TO:
cair@cair-net.org,
communications@cairchicago.org
-----
TOP -
CORRECTION: The item below distributed on 10/28 originally listed
November 1 as falling on Wednesday. November 1 actually falls on Tuesday
of next week.
CAIR-SV: SACRAMENTO MUSLIMS TO CALL FOR URGENT QUAKE AID
(SACRAMENTO, CA, 10/28/05) - On Monday, October 31, leaders of the
Sacramento Valley Muslim community, along with representatives of the
Interfaith Service Bureau (ISB), will hold a press conference to announce
an urgent appeal to help victims of the devastating earthquake in South
Asia.
WHAT: News Conference Announcing Quake Aid Appeal and Fundraising
Dinner
WHEN: Monday, October 31, 2005, 10:00 a.m.
WHERE: In Front of Sacramento City Hall
CONTACT: CAIR-SV Executive Director Basim Elkarra, (916) 441-6269,
e-mail:
sacval@cair.com; ISB
Executive Director Reverend Dexter McNamara, (914) 448-2212
The community leaders will also announce a fundraising dinner to collect
monetary donations and clothing to be sent to the devastated areas. The
dinner will held on Tuesday, November 1, from 5-8 p.m., at the Grand
Ballroom, 1215 J Street, Sacramento.
United Nations officials say relief flight to the quake victims may be
suspended soon unless more aid is forthcoming.
SEE: "Quake Copters May be Grounded"
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/10/27/so.asian.quake.toll/
Official reports indicate that at least 55,000 people were killed in the
devastating earthquake that shook Pakistan, Kashmir, India and
Afghanistan. Many more may die unless aid reaches them in time.
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
CAIR ACTION ALERT #476
CAIR ASKS U.S. MUSLIMS TO COLLECT QUAKE AID ON
EID
Islamic and Pakistani-American groups urge collective educational,
relief efforts
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/30/05) - A prominent national Islamic civil
rights and advocacy group today asked Muslim communities nationwide to
take advantage of the upcoming holiday marking the end of Ramadan to
collect funds for earthquake relief in South Asia.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) joined a number of other
Muslim and Pakistani-American groups that are calling for educational and
fundraising efforts on Eid ul-Fitr, or "festival of fast
breaking," that will take place on November 3rd or 4th, depending on
the sighting of the new crescent moon. Eid ul-Fitr draws large numbers of
Muslims for communal prayers.
CAIR and the other organizing groups seek to raise public awareness of
the continued suffering in areas devastated by the earthquake, inform
Muslims and Americans of all faiths about the need for long-term U.S.
involvement in relief efforts and to reaffirm American Muslim and
Pakistani-American commitment to quake relief and
reconstruction.
"While we will return to our daily routine after a month of
self-denial, millions of people in South Asia will remain without basic
necessities," said CAIR Board Chairman Parvez Ahmed. "We need
to remember the quake victims in our prayers and do our utmost to help
them."
Ahmed added that prayer leaders nationwide can take advantage of the
spirituality of Ramadan, and the large gatherings associated with Eid
ul-Fitr, to remind worshippers about the Islamic tradition of serving God
by serving His creations.
The United Nations has warned of "a second, massive wave of
death" that may result from lack of international donor response to
the destruction of homes, hospitals, schools, water distribution systems,
and roads.
CAIR is a member of the American Muslim Task Force for Disaster Relief
(AMTFDR) that pledged to raise $20 million to provide relief to the
victims of the South Asia earthquake.
SEE: American Muslims Pledge $20 Million in Aid for Quake
Victims
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1812&theType=NR
SEE ALSO: American Muslim Task Force for Disaster Relief
http://www.amtfdr.net/
The Washington-based council has also urged American Muslims and other
people of conscience to call their elected representatives to ask that
the U.S. government provide more relief aid.
SEE: Ask President, Congress to Boost Quake Aid
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=294&theType=AA
CAIR chapters nationwide have helped coordinate the Muslim community's
response to the crisis. For example, CAIR's Sacramento Valley office will
hold a press conference tomorrow to announce an urgent aid
appeal.
SEE: Sacramento Valley Muslims to Call for Urgent Quake Aid
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1839&theType=NR
CAIR has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is
to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil
liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote
justice and mutual understanding.
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726 or 202-488-8787, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah
Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from CAIR-NET, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/30/05
*
Hadith:
Good Deeds Lead to Paradise
*
CAIR Condemns New
Delhi Bombings
*
CAIR Recognizes Rosa
Parks (Dallas Morning News)
-
CAIR-MI:
Follow Her
Vision (Detroit Free Press)
*
NY:
Latinos Convert
to Islam (Journal News)
*
VA/MD:
Quake Aid
to Pakistan Delayed (Wash Post)
*
CA:
Muslims
Hold Drive for Quake Relief
-
NY:
As
Ramadan Ends, Muslims Give to Charity
*
Idaho Muslims
Gather for
Iftar (Idaho State Journal)
-
WA:
Eid al Fitr
Celebrates Gift of Self-Control
*
Incitement Watch:
Why Islam Didn't
Conquer the World
*
NY:
Abuse of
Prisoner's Islamic Books Preceded Beating (NYT)
-
U.S. Soldiers Allegedly Abuse
Afghan Detainees
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: GOOD DEEDS LEAD TO PARADISE -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Who among you has
fasted today?. . .Who among you followed [a funeral procession] today?. .
.Who among you fed a poor man today?. . .Who among you visited an invalid
today?. . .Anyone in whom (these good deeds) are combined will certainly
enter Paradise."
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 505
-----
CAIR CONDEMNS NEW DELHI
BOMBINGS -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/30/05) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) today condemned bomb attacks in New Delhi, India, that left more
than 60 people dead and many more injured.
Simultaneous blasts Saturday evening targeted a bus and two markets
crowded with people shopping for an upcoming Hindu festival. Many of the
victims were women and children.
In a statement, CAIR said: "The cruelty of these brutal acts, and
their timing so as to inflict maximum casualties, is beyond
comprehension. We condemn the bombings, offer condolences to the loved
ones of the victims and call for the swift apprehension and punishment of
the perpetrators.
"No political cause can ever be served by such acts. These actions
will never bring relief to any grievance and will only serve to foster
discord and misunderstanding between people of different
faiths."
In 2004, CAIR launched a petition drive, called "Not in the Name of
Islam," designed to disassociate Islam from the violent acts of a
few Muslims. The petition, signed by some 700,000 Muslims, states in
part: "We refuse to allow our faith to be held hostage by the
criminal actions of a tiny minority acting outside the teachings of both
the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad."
SEE:
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=169&page=AA
That petition was later turned into a television and radio public service
announcement (PSA) distributed in English, Arabic and Urdu.
To view the PSA, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/video/psa.ram
In July, CAIR coordinated the release of a fatwa, or Islamic religious
ruling, against terrorism and extremism issued by the Fiqh Council of
North America and endorsed by hundreds of U.S. Muslim groups, leaders and
institutions.
The fatwa states in part:
"Islam strictly condemns religious extremism and the use of violence
against innocent lives. There is no justification in Islam for extremism
or terrorism. Targeting civilians' life and property through suicide
bombings or any other method of attack is haram - or forbidden - and
those who commit these barbaric acts are criminals, not
martyrs."
SEE:
http://www.cair-net.org/FatwaJuly2005.pdf
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and
chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
-----
CAIR-DFW: CAIR RECOGNIZES
PARKS -
TOP
Dallas Morning News, 10/29/05
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/letters/stories/DN-satletters_1029edi.ART.State.Edition1.86504a1.html
Muslims have a deep appreciation for the work and dedication of Rosa
Parks and others who stand for social equality and justice.
In her honor, the Council on American Islamic Relations has created the
CAIR Rosa Parks Civil Rights Scholarship, aimed at advancing the cause of
human dignity. It will be offered to students studying in fields that
promote civil rights, social justice and peaceful conflict
resolution.
We pray that her life's calling will enlighten us all to continue
striving toward social justice and equality for all people.
Saffia Meek, Council on American-Islamic Relations-D/FW, Dallas
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-MI: FOLLOW HER VISION -
TOP
Detroit Free Press, 10/29/05
http://www.freep.com/voices/letters/etributes29e_20051029.htm
The courageous stance of Rosa Parks benefited not only African Americans,
but all minorities and immigrants who sought and continue to seek
freedom, justice and equality in America.
In later years, after her arrest in Montgomery, Ala., her efforts to
encourage academic excellence among the youths of Detroit and her
activism against the immoral system of apartheid in South Africa are
testaments to her vision and human spirit.
We can only hope that a spirit of reconciliation and respect for our
common humanity can be rekindled. The work of cultivating freedom,
justice and equality in the state of Michigan is needed now more than
ever before.
Dawud Walid
Executive director
Council on American-Islamic Relations -- Michigan
Lathrup Village
-----
NY: SOME LATINOS CONVERT
TO ISLAM -
TOP
MARCELA ROJAS, JOURNAL NEWS, 10/30/05
http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051030/NEWS02/510300319/1028/NEWS12
Aisha Ahmed's decision to convert to Islam and give up Catholicism and
her Puerto Rican birth name, Maritza Rondon, did not come impulsively or
under duress.
She spent five years studying the Quran and hired a teacher to learn
Arabic before she was ready for shahadah, a declaration of faith led by
an imam that is essential to the conversion process.
In the end, Ahmed's decision to become a Muslim and to take a name that
belonged to the Prophet Muhammad's wife, she said, was borne of years of
questioning her Catholic upbringing and discovering that, for her, the
answers were with Islam.
"I have lived a humble and peaceful life since I converted.
Everything is so clear," said Ahmed, 45, of Tarrytown. "I
didn't see in Catholicism the unity and compassion I found in Islam. I
saw more kindness and willingness to give."
Ahmed's change of faith is not unique among her ethnic group today. In
recent years, thousands of Hispanics nationwide have been converting to
Islam, particularly since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when interest
in the religion seemed to gain momentum.
Though precise statistics do not exist, the Council on American-Islamic
Relations estimates there are more than 36,000 Hispanic Muslims in the
nation today. Other estimates raise the total to 75,000. A study the
group conducted also showed that 6 percent of the 20,000 annual converts
to Islam are Hispanic.
Though the numbers are a small fraction of the estimated 6 million
Muslims in the country, it is fast becoming evident that the conversion
rate among this minority group is taking root and that its influence is
being asserted through the formation of Hispanic Muslim organizations -
"dawah," or outreach efforts targeted at Hispanics - and the
distribution of literature and the Quran in Spanish.
"There hasn't been real scientific gauging," said Mohamed
Nimer, research director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
"But Muslim leaders are saying they are seeing more and more Latino
Muslims, especially in New York, California and Florida."
(MORE)
Hispanic Muslim groups' Web sites
Latino American Dawah Organization:
www.latinodawah.org
Piedad:
www.angelfire.com/pq/Andalusia/
Hispanic Muslims:
www.hispanicmuslims.com
Latino Muslim Outreach Program: email address:
PX_LMOP@yahoo.com
-----
VA/MD: QUAKE AID TO
PAKISTAN DELAYED -
TOP
Turned Away at JFK, Cargo to Be Shipped From Baltimore
Tom Jackman, Washington Post, 10/30/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/29/AR2005102901225.html
Three 40-foot tractor-trailers were filled to the top. A box truck,
minivan and an SUV were all packed. And still, there were perhaps a
thousand more boxes stacked up in a warehouse in Sterling yesterday,
filled with medical supplies, clothes, blankets and other goods intended
for earthquake victims in Pakistan.
Dozens of members of the region's Pakistani community gathered at the
Loudoun County warehouse yesterday in their second attempt at sending
badly needed relief to those left injured or homeless by the Oct. 8
earthquake. Last weekend, the group packed a 53-foot tractor-trailer with
supplies and sent it to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport,
thinking its contents would be loaded onto a cargo plane for
Pakistan.
But the airport, and various airlines, were overwhelmed by relief
shipments and turned the massive container away. The trailer was driven
back to the parking lot outside Inter Global Systems' offices, just off
Sterling Boulevard, and yesterday, its contents were divided among three
trailers -- along with another week's worth of donations from
individuals, mosques, businesses, schools and Muslim groups from across
the region. This time, the cargo is destined for ships leaving the Port
of Baltimore.
"It really hurts to see the people suffering" in Pakistan, said
volunteer Rashid Hanif, a physician from Hagerstown. "It's
unbelievable, all the death and tragedy."
Hanif's interfaith community and mosque in Maryland sent an empty box
truck to Sterling, with the express purpose of getting tents to Pakistan.
Tents were the top priority because so many people are left without
shelter as winter approaches in the mountainous area near the Indian
border in the Kashmir region.
Hanif's group bought 250 tents, 100 sleeping bags and 20 boxes of
medicine and other medical supplies. In fact, so many Pakistanis bought
tents to donate to the relief effort that local department stores were
running out, said Farah Chohan, one of the organizers of yesterday's
drive. She estimated that about 1,500 tents were being shipped out of
Sterling yesterday. (MORE)
-----
CA: GROUP HOLDS
DRIVE FOR QUAKE RELIEF -
TOP
FALON MCCAIN, News-Democrat, 10/30/05
http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/local/13035058.htm
Hurricane relief has dominated charitable giving lately, but the Metro
East Interfaith Partnership is making progress trying to aid victims of
the Pakistan earthquake. Mohammed Kibria, a member of the Masjid Islamic
Center and operator of the Psychiatric Hypnosis Healing Center,
established the Pakistan Disaster Relief Fund.
"The drive has been going pretty good," Kibria said. "The
community is really responding. The victims are really in need of
blankets and tents because it's winter over there and snow has started to
fall."
The 7.6 earthquake that hit Pakistan on Oct. 8 killed more than 79,000
people and injured 65,308. The quake destroyed entire villages and left
other areas heavily damaged. Those who survived are in desperate need of
supplies.
Interfaith members will drive relief items to the Pakistan International
Airline in Chicago. The airline has agreed to ship the items free of
charge. Kibria expects everything to be shipped by Thursday.
Dr. M. Khalid, also a member of the local mosque and a physician at
Internal Medicine-Primary Care in O'Fallon, is collecting medicine such
as painkillers and antibiotics for the drive. Dr. Khalid has asked for
samples from other physicians and plans on contacting drug companies.
(MORE)
SEE ALSO:
NY: AS RAMADAN
ENDS MUSLIMS GIVE TO CHARITY -
TOP
HAFSA AMIN, STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE, 10/30/05
http://www.silive.com/living/advance/index.ssf?/base/living/113059710349940.xml&coll=1
Now that the holy month of Ramadan is nearing its last few days, Muslims
will be digging deep into their pockets in order to give zakat, or
charity, to the poor.
Due to the recent natural disasters -- close to home and around the world
-- Muslims have many places to offer their charity, either to help those
who lost their homes because of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita or Wilma, or to
the millions of people left homeless because of the earthquakes in
Pakistan.
"In Ramadan, Muslims place greater importance on helping others and
sharing. This is the month where Muslims try and grab last-minute rewards
from God by giving charity," says Alla Ahmed, an imam from Egypt who
is visiting the Masjid Al Noor mosque in Concord to give lectures about
Islam.
Zakat, along with fasting, is one of the five pillars of the Islamic
faith, the others being belief in one God (the Shahada), daily prayers
(the Salah), and performing pilgrimage to Mecca (the Hajj).
According to Tahir Kukiqi, imam of the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center,
there are three different forms of charity.
Zakat Al Fitr is an obligatory charity that must be given during
Ramadan.
Zakat Al Mehr is also an obligatory charity that can be given any time
during the year.
"This is 2.5 percent of one's savings that have matured over the
past 12 months," explained Kukiqi. "It can be given during any
time of the year but Muslims choose to pay it during Ramadan because the
rewards from God are doubled."
Muslims also offer Sadaqah, a voluntary charity that, depending on one's
income, can be as simple as a meal or given as gifts to other people or
charities. (MORE)
---
ID: RAMADAN: THE
MONTH OF SELF-PURIFICATION -
TOP
Bill Schaefer, Idaho State Journal, 10/29/05
http://www.journalnet.com/articles/2005/10/29/features/faith01.txt
POCATELLO - On a cool October as the sun begins its slow descent below
the horizon against the misty gray skies of Pocatello, a group of people
begin to gather inside two back rooms of a small, wood frame house on
South Fifth Street.
These small, sparse rooms have been converted into a Mosque. They
represent the center of worship for Southeast Idaho's Islamic community.
Muslims from Roberts, Rexburg, Idaho Falls and Blackfoot come to worship
here in Pocatello. They are a melting pot of cultures, from Pakistan,
Palestine, Iraq, Malaysia, all over the world. They are students,
teachers, doctors, engineers, wives and mothers, coming together to
celebrate their faith. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
WA: EID
AL FITR CELEBRATES END OF RAMADAN FASTING, GIFT OF SELF-CONTROL -
TOP
Aziz Junejo, Seattle Times, 10/29/05
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/faithvalues/2002590582_junejocolumn29m.html
The three-day celebration called Eid al Fitr, which marks the end of the
month of Ramadan, has been to me what I imagine Christmas or Hanukkah is
to others of the Abrahamic faiths.
Eid al Fitr is one of two equally major holidays for Muslims around the
world, the other being Eid al Adha, the celebration that marks completion
of the annual Hajj in Mecca.
With the sighting of the new moon in the western sky just after sunset
one night this coming week, Ramadan will end and Eid will begin. During
Eid, Muslims not only celebrate the end of fasting but thank God for the
help and strength he gave them throughout the previous month to practice
self-control as a form of worship.
On the first morning of Eid, we wake up early and take long baths,
preparing ourselves for prayers with extra perfume and fragrances. We
usually have a light snack before going to prayer, as fasting is
forbidden on this special day.
A payment of Zakat al Fitr -- charity for the poor -- which is a pillar
of Islam, is required of every Muslim before Eid prayer. The man of the
house must pay for the immediate members of his family, and this money is
usually given a week or two before the end of Ramadan so it can be
distributed to the needy, thus ensuring that they will have a joyful Eid
celebration. (MORE)
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: WHY ISLAM DIDN'T CONQUER
THE WORLD -
TOP
PAUL AKERS, Free Lance-Star, 10/30/05
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2005/102005/10302005/141401
Probably, Mr. Reader, you did not yesterday wash five times, face Mecca,
sink to your knees, and pray to Allah. Most likely, Ms. Reader, you did
not cover yourself with a burka before venturing out to shop. Probably
neither of you is giving up all food between sunup and sundown during the
ongoing monthlong Ramadan.
For freedom from all of these obligations, you might spare a minute
sometime today, and every October, to say a silent "thank you"
to a gang of half-savage Germans and especially to their leader, Charles
"The Hammer" Martel. . .
Never again did Islamic armies seriously threaten the Great Land of Gaul
and beyond. Martel spent the rest of his life crushing smaller bands of
Arab interlopers. Eventually, the heroes of the reconquista threw the
Moors out of Spain. . .
And what sort of world would that be? Without the Christian quickening of
conscience that helped abolish slavery in England, the United States, and
elsewhere, the Quran-sanctioned institution might be the global norm. An
Emir Ibrahim al-Lincoln would not have issued the Emancipation
Proclamation.
Ever wonder at the hatred of Orthodox Christian Serbs for Muslim
Bosnians? One reason is that the ancestors of the former had to flee
Constantinople when the Muslims overwhelmed the Christian East, killing
or taking into bondage many who remained. The seething anti-Islamic
passions in the Balkans make sense when you consider that the very name
"Slav" comes from "slave."
Women the world over also would be permanent second-class citizens. Many
if not most--observe Saudi Arabia--would be forbidden to drive a car, own
property, or vote. Battered females might well lack legal or other
recourse. (MORE)
SEND POLITE COMMENTS TO:
letters@freelancestar.com
COPY TO:
pakers@freelancestar.com,
edjones@freelancestar.com,
cair@cair-net.org
-----
NY: PRISONER
SAYS ABUSE OF HIS ISLAMIC BOOKS PRECEDED BEATING IN '01 -
TOP
JULIA PRESTON, New York Times, 10/30/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/30/nyregion/30side.html
Long before charges of Koran abuse at Guantanamo Bay were news, Charles
Paige, one of the inmates in a lawsuit against New York City over
practices in its jails, clashed with guards on Rikers Island after, he
said, they mishandled his Islamic books.
Mr. Paige, 46, was in the city jail in December 2001 awaiting transfer to
state prison on a drug charge. Long a devout Muslim, Mr. Paige had been
praying five times a day and going daily to Islamic study classes in the
jail.
On Dec. 4, guards ordered a general search in the cellblock. No stranger
to incarceration, Mr. Paige knew no talking was permitted during the
search. But the officer who came to search his cell, he said, stepped on
his prayer rug. "I informed her she was standing on my rug,"
Mr. Paige, a slight man who weighs less than 130 pounds, recounted in an
interview. He said the officer ordered him to be silent.
A ward captain told the officer to step off the rug, Mr. Paige said. She
did, but she began rummaging through his things, and he protested again.
Other officers took him out of his cell for an hour until the search was
over. When he returned, he said, "My cell was
tossed."
Two books of the Hadith, which has instructional stories from the life of
the prophet Muhammad, were under water in the toilet.
"I felt violated," Mr. Paige said. He marched out of his cell
and started banging on the window of the guard booth. Officers used
pepper spray on him, he said, then dragged him, handcuffed and gasping
from the spray, to a hallway. One officer punched him in the face while
another held him from behind, Mr. Paige said. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
U.S. SOLDIERS ALLEGEDLY ABUSE
AFGHAN DETAINEES -
TOP
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Two U.S. soldiers have been charged with
allegedly assaulting two detainees held at a U.S.-led coalition base in
southern Afghanistan, the military said Sunday.
The two troops allegedly punched the detainees on the chest, shoulders
and stomach while they were being held at a base in Uruzgan province, a
statement said. Neither detainee required medical attention, it
said.
"The command remains committed to investigate all allegations of
misconduct and will hold individuals responsible for their actions
consistent with U.S. military law," Brig. Gen. Jack Sterling, a
deputy coalition commander, was quoted as saying. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 10/31/05
*
Hadith:
Good Wipes Out Evil
-
Verse:
Repel Evil with Good
*
Top 10 Reasons to Support CAIR:
#6 -
Media Relations
*
CAIR:
U.S.
Muslims Eager to Help Fight Terrorism (VOA)
*
CAIR-OH:
Christians, Jews Join
Muslims in Breaking Fast
-
CAIR:
US Muslim
Group Condemns Delhi Bombings
*
'Law of the Jungle' in
Quake Zone (BBC)
-
CAIR Asks Muslims
to Collect Quake Aid on Eid
-
American Muslim Task Force for
Disaster Relief
*
SCOTUS Nominee Supported
Muslim Religious Rights (AP)
*
CA:
Sikhs, Confused with Muslims,
Face Bias
*
Truth About Torture (Newsweek)
-
Patriot Act:
The House's Abuse of
Patriotism (NYT)
-
Books Back Prisoners'
Claims (Newsday)
-
After 3 Years,
Afghan
Writers Freed from Gitmo
*
Prince Charles to
Target U.S. Attitude Toward Islam
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: GOOD WIPES OUT EVIL -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Remain conscious of
God wherever you are. If you follow an evil deed with a good one you will
wipe out (the evil deed); and deal with people with a good
disposition."
AL-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1314
VERSE OF THE DAY: REPEL EVIL WITH GOOD -
TOP
"(Since) good and evil cannot be equal, repel (the evil deed) with
one that is better. Then you will see that he with whom you had enmity,
will become your close friend."
The Holy Quran, 41:34
-----
TOP 10 REASONS TO SUPPORT CAIR: REASON #6 -
MEDIA RELATIONS -
TOP
CAIR representatives have been interviewed thousands of times about
issues of concern to American Muslims by local national and international
radio, print and television media outlets such as CNN, MSNBC, BBC, ABC,
FOX, NBC, CBS, Washington Post, USA Today, New York Times, to name just a
few. (Factiva lists more than 11,000 media mentions of CAIR in just the
past five years.)
To offer your support for CAIR, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/ramadan2005/
Scholars say that donations to CAIR qualify as Zakat.
-----
CAIR: U.S.
MUSLIMS EAGER TO HELP FIGHT TERRORISM -
TOP
Aida AKL, Voice of America, 10/31/05
http://www.voanews.com/english/NewsAnalysis/2005-10-27-voa44.cfm
Four years after the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington,
Many American-Muslims say they are underutilized and sometimes unjustly
targeted in the fight against terrorism. . .
Homeland Security's Daniel Southerland agrees that American-Muslims have
long been active in the fight against terrorism and extremism by reaching
out to the federal government and law enforcement. Consequently, he says,
the United States should do a better job of recognizing their
contributions to American society and ensuring that they are not excluded
from efforts to make the country more secure.
"They want to participate. It's their country as well. We saw that
reaction, for example, after Hurricane Katrina. We had a number of very
generous offers from Arab-American and Muslim-American organizations to
try to help with the relief efforts. And now, of course, they're doing a
great job with the Pakistan earthquake recovery as well. So I think
people need to recognize that we're all in this together. This is a large
community of Americans who want to work together on this process of
keeping our country safe, secure and on the right track."
A Role for U.S. Muslims
Many analysts agree that American-Muslims have an important role to play
in the war on terrorism. Corey Saylor of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations points out that the U.S. Muslim community is prosperous and
practices its faith freely. Because of that, he says American-Muslims
would like the opportunity to help shape the country's image
abroad.
"We'd like to be able to tell that side of the story to the larger
Muslim world because the larger Muslim world has learned about America
through watching our movies. That's not usually the best picture of our
country. It looks very violent and very indulgent. Equally, they learned
about us through the news just like, unfortunately, too many American
learned about Islam through the news." (MORE)
-----
CAIR-OH: LOCAL MUSLIMS
GIVEN SUPPORT AS RAMADAN OBSERVANCE CONTINUES -
TOP
Eileen Kelley, Cincinnati Enquirer, 10/31/05
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051031/NEWS01/510310352/1056
WEST CHESTER - It's Day 27 in the monthlong fast for Muslims
here.
Each day is a reminder of the struggles of the needy. From sun-up to
sundown, believers abstain from not only pleasures in life - but things
as simple as a cup of water.
On Sunday, with the call to prayer signaling the sun had dropped, Muslims
joined a small group of Christians and Jews and broke the fast.
Some reached for pre-poured glasses of water, while others grabbed juice
from mangos. Most ate dates - a long-rooted tradition - for quick energy
before heading off to pray. . .
"We have to do these kinds of things more often," said Wintz.
"It is important to get to know other people; especially in light of
what is going on in the world."
Wintz was one of nearly 150 people who came together early Sunday evening
to break bread with one another when the daylong fast was over.
Sunday's dinner was the second annual Ramadan Interfaith Iftar banquet
hosted by the Muslim civil rights group, the Cincinnati Chapter of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations - Ohio.
SEE ALSO:
US MUSLIM GROUP
CONDEMNS DELHI BOMBINGS -
TOP
Daily Times (Pakistan), 10/31/05
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2005%5C10%5C31%5Cstory_31-10-2005_pg7_44
WASHINGTON: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has
condemned the bomb attacks in New Delhi that left more than 60 people
dead and many more injured.
In a statement issued on Sunday, CAIR said: "The cruelty of these
brutal acts, and their timing so as to inflict maximum casualties, is
beyond comprehension. We condemn the bombings, offer condolences to the
loved ones of the victims and call for the swift apprehension and
punishment of the perpetrators. No political cause can ever be served by
such acts. These actions will never bring relief to any grievance and
will only serve to foster discord and misunderstanding between people of
different faiths." (MORE)
-----
'LAW OF THE JUNGLE' IN
QUAKE ZONE -
TOP
Aamer Ahmed Khan, BBC News, 10/31/05
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4390744.stm
Their story may already have dropped off the front pages and out of TV's
prime-time slots.
But for the survivors of the quake-devastated mountain areas in
Pakistan-administered Kashmir, the battle for survival is getting grimmer
by the minute.
The hills around the capital city of Muzaffarabad are streaming with
desperate survivors making their way to the relief camps set up along the
badly damaged road winding along River Neelum.
Many among them have trekked for two to three days to reach the camps,
only to find supplies short and aid workers - both from the public and
private sector - getting increasingly cynical. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR ASKS U.S.
MUSLIMS TO COLLECT QUAKE AID ON EID -
TOP
Islamic and Pakistani-American groups urge collective educational, relief
efforts
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051030/nysu013.html?.v=31
WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- A prominent national Islamic civil
rights and advocacy group today asked Muslim communities nationwide to
take advantage of the upcoming holiday marking the end of Ramadan to
collect funds for earthquake relief in South Asia.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) joined a number of other
Muslim and Pakistani-American groups that are calling for educational and
fundraising efforts on Eid ul-Fitr, or "festival of fast
breaking," that will take place on November 3rd or 4th, depending on
the sighting of the new crescent moon. Eid ul-Fitr draws large numbers of
Muslims for communal prayers.
CAIR and the other organizing groups seek to raise public awareness of
the continued suffering in areas devastated by the earthquake, inform
Muslims and Americans of all faiths about the need for long-term U.S.
involvement in relief efforts and to reaffirm American Muslim and
Pakistani-American commitment to quake relief and reconstruction.
(MORE)
---
AMERICAN MUSLIM TASK FORCE FOR
DISASTER RELIEF -
TOP
http://www.amtfdr.net/
-----
ALITO STRONG CONSERVATIVE ON
LIBERAL APPEALS COURT -
TOP
DONNA CASSATA, Associated Press, 10/31/05
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/3427273
WASHINGTON (AP) - Samuel A. Alito has been a strong conservative jurist
on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a court with
a reputation for being among the nation's most liberal. . .
In a 1999 case, Fraternal Order of Police v. City of Newark, the 3rd
Circuit ruled 3-0 that Muslim police officers in the city can keep their
beards. The police had made an exemption in its facial hair policy for
medical reasons (a skin condition known as pseudo folliculitis barbae)
but not for religious reasons.
Alito wrote the opinion, saying, ``We cannot accept the department's
position that its differential treatment of medical exemptions and
religious exemptions is premised on a good-faith belief that the former
may be required by law while the latter are not." (MORE)
-----
CA: SIKHS STRUGGLE TO BE ACCEPTED -
TOP
Since 9/11, many have been harassed or threatened
Greg Lucas, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/31/05
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/31/BAGT3FGDR01.DTL
A teenager accosted Sukhdev Singh Bainiwal, 39, at Home Depot, saying he
should take his turban back to the desert where he might actually need
it.
Another time, a fellow driver swerved toward him, saying "Arab, get
out of here." And once, the driver of a car near his rolled down his
window to ask if Bainiwal had told his family he loved them that
morning.
A member of Santa Clara County's Airport Commission and a software
engineer at Sun Microsystems, Bainiwal is a Sikh. He is one of 500,000 in
the United States, some 40,000 in the Bay Area alone, according to area
Sikh leaders. Like many Sikhs, he has been threatened or harassed
repeatedly since Sept. 11, 2001, by people who think he is Muslim and
equate that with terrorism.
Three Sikh cabdrivers have been shot in the Bay Area since then, two
fatally. Someone also shot at the sign for Vacaville's Sikh temple, or
gurdwara. Last year, Molotov cocktails were thrown at the gurdwara in
Stockton, California's oldest. And just this month, the Sikh temple in
Lodi was spray painted with anti-Muslim epithets. (MORE)
-----
TRUTH ABOUT TORTURE -
TOP
A courageous soldier and a determined senator demand clear
standards.
Michael Hirsh, Newsweek, 11/7/05
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9865301/site/newsweek/
Fishback's courage in taking a lonely stand may be paying off. Inspired
by his example, "a growing critical mass of soldiers is coming
forward with allegations of abuse," says Marc Garlasco of Human
Rights Watch, the New York-based activist group that first revealed
Fishback's story. One of them is Anthony Lagouranis, a Chicago-based Army
specialist who recently left the military. He supports Fishback's
contention that abuses in Iraq were systematic-and were authorized by
officers in an effort to pressure detainees into talking. "I think
our policies required abuse," says Lagouranis. "There were
freaking horrible things people were doing. I saw [detainees] who had
feet smashed with hammers. One detainee told me he had been forced by
Marines to sit on an exhaust pipe, and he had a softball-sized blister to
prove it. The stuff I did was mainly torture lite: sleep deprivation,
isolation, stress positions, hypothermia. We used dogs."
(MORE)
SEE ALSO:
PATRIOT ACT: THE HOUSE'S ABUSE OF PATRIOTISM -
TOP
New York Times, 10/31/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/31/opinion/31mon1.html
In the national anguish after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001,
Congress rushed to enact a formidable antiterrorism law - the Patriot Act
- that significantly crimped civil liberties by expanding law
enforcement's power to use wiretaps, search warrants and other
surveillance techniques, often under the cloak of secrecy. There was
virtually no public debate before these major changes to the nation's
legal system were put into effect.
Now, with some of the act's most sweeping powers set to expire at the end
of the year, the two houses of Congress face crucial negotiations, which
will also take place out of public view, on their differences over how to
extend and amend the law. That's controversy enough. But the increasingly
out-of-control House of Representatives has made the threat to our system
of justice even greater by inserting a raft of provisions to enlarge the
scope of the federal death penalty.
In a breathtaking afterthought at the close of debate, the House voted to
triple the number of terrorism-related crimes carrying the death penalty.
The House also voted to allow judges to reduce the size of juries that
decide on executions, and even to permit prosecutors to try repeatedly
for a death sentence when a hung jury fails to vote for death.
The radical amendment was slapped through by the Republican leadership
without serious debate. The Justice Department has endorsed the House
measure, and Representative James Sensenbrenner Jr., the Judiciary
Committee chairman, who is ever on the side of more government power over
the individual, is promising to fight hard for the death penalty
provisions. (MORE)
---
BOOKS BACK FORMER
PRISONERS' CLAIMS -
TOP
JAMES RUPERT, Newsday, 10/31/05
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-woside31,0,1076455.story
PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Former U.S. soldiers at the Pentagon's military
prisons overseas have given evidence that a great many of the captives
in "the global war on terror" are innocent.
In the past year, a former Army interpreter at Guantanamo and an
interrogator at U.S. prisons in Afghanistan have published books on
their experiences that in many ways buttress the accounts of
ex-prisoners such as Afghan writers Badr Zaman Badr and Abdurrahim
Muslim Dost. . .
At Guantanamo in 2003, the bulk of prisoners were either innocent or
irrelevant to the U.S. investigation into terrorist activities,
according to Sgt. Erik Saar, who supervised interpreters in
interrogations there. "We did have some bad guys, and some talkers" who
were giving useful intelligence information, Saar wrote in his book,
"Inside the Wire." "But from what I saw, there weren't many more than a
few dozen such characters at Guantanamo."
Even a prisoner who has convinced his interrogators that he is no
threat to the United States may not be freed. That decision is made at
the Pentagon. But "once the file's in Washington, the decisions are all
political," Saar quoted a military interrogator as saying. Bureaucrats
ask, "Would releasing too many [prisoners] make the Gitmo operation
look bad?" Saar wrote.
---
AFTER 3 YEARS, AFGHAN WRITERS FREED FROM GITMO -
TOP
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-wobadr31,0,2326228.story
-----
CHARLES TO TARGET U.S. ATTITUDE TOWARD ISLAM -
TOP
Andrew Alderson, LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH, 10/31/05
http://washingtontimes.com/world/20051030-115534-6734r.htm
LONDON -- Prince Charles will try to convince President Bush of the
merits of Islam this week because he thinks the United States has been
too intolerant of the religion since September 11, 2001.
The prince, who leaves tomorrow for an eight-day tour of the United
States, has voiced private concerns over Washington's "confrontational"
approach to Muslim countries and its failure to appreciate what he
regards as Islam's strengths.
The prince raised his concerns when he met senior Muslims in London in
November 2001. The gathering took place two months after the attacks on
New York and Washington.
"I find the language and rhetoric coming from America too
confrontational," the prince said, according to one leader at the
meeting.
It is understood that Prince Charles did not -- and does not -- believe
that the actions of 19 hijackers should tarnish the reputation of
hundreds of millions of law-abiding Muslims around the world. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
CAIR ACTION ALERT #477
REGISTER
ONLINE FOR CAIR'S DEC. 3 BANQUET IN VA
Registration is now available online for
CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet,
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice." To
learn more about the dinner, or to register,
GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
SEE ALSO: Invitation Letter from CAIR
Executive Director Nihad Awad
-----
CAIR 11TH ANNUAL BANQUET:
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and
Justice"
WHEN:
Saturday, December 3, 2005
Registration begins at 5:30 p.m., Program begins at 7 p.m.
WHERE: Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway,
Arlington, VA
SPEAKERS:
*
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)
*
Chip Pitts, former Chairman-Amnesty International
* I
mam Siraj Wahhaj
* Program will also feature the "2005 Rosa Parks Civil Liberties
Award Recipient" and the
"2005 Muslim Community Service
Awards"
TICKETS: 65/person; $85/couple; $10/child babysitting
Registration Deadline is Monday, November 28
TABLE SPONSORSHIPS: Family, Non-Profit, Masajid $1000, Business
$2000, Embassies $3000
If you have any questions or would like to make a reservation over the
phone, please call 202-488-8787, or e-mail:
events@cair.com
ACTION REQUESTED:
1.
REGISTER ONLINE by going to:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/reg1.asp
For more information, call 202-488-8787 or e-mail
events@cair.com
2.
LET OTHERS KNOW about the dinner. Contact
events@cair.com to give a list of
people who should be contacted about the dinner.
3.
If you are unable to attend the dinner, but would like to
support CAIR's important work, make a donation at:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/donate.asp
-----
INVITATION LETTER FROM CAIR EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR NIHAD AWAD -
TOP -
REGISTER
As-salaamu alaykum.
May the peace of Almighty God be with you.
On behalf of the CAIR Board of Directors and staff nationwide, it is with
great honor and pleasure that I invite you and your family to the
11th
Annual CAIR Banquet at the
Marriott Crystal Gateway in
Arlington, VA., on
Saturday December 3, 2005.
The banquet is an opportunity to celebrate our community's successes,
listen to inspiring speakers and show your continuing support for CAIR's
work by its dedicated team of staff and volunteers. Guest speakers will
include
Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), annual host of CAIR's
Congressional Iftar, along with
Chip Pitts, former-Chairman of
Amnesty International, and
Imam Siraj Wahhaj.
Each day,
CAIR tirelessly and proudly defends the image of Islam
and protects the rights of Muslims in America by working closely with the
media, public officials, interfaith leaders, and our friends and
neighbors of all faiths, races and backgrounds. Over the years, CAIR has
become the focal point on issues relating to Islam and the American
Muslim community.
How Islam and the American Muslim community are understood and perceived
depends on what we do today. Although our community has made great
strides, there is still a lot more to be done to ensure a more positive
future for Muslims in America.
For example, CAIR recently announced a
"Rosa Parks Civil
Liberties Scholarship," to honor the life of a pioneer in the
civil rights movement. This award will go to a student studying in a
field that promotes civil rights, social justice and peaceful resolution
of conflicts.
We will announce an awardee during the December 3rd
banquet.
Once a year, I ask you to support CAIR's operational expenses in
order for us to continue with our work on your behalf. CAIR cannot
sustain itself without your commitment to the Muslim community and your
continuous financial support. We are 100 percent for you and 100 percent
funded by you.
Don't miss out on this great annual celebration. Make your reservations
today.
CAIR's banquet has been sold out for the last 10
years!
If you cannot join us that evening, you can use the enclosed form to
send us your generous contribution as an investment in the future of
Islam in America.
We look forward to seeing you at CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet on
December 3, 2005!
Best regards,
Nihad Awad
Executive Director
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
TOP -
REGISTER
- PLEASE ANNOUNCE, POST AND DISTRIBUTE -
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- MEDIA ADVISORY -
NJ MUSLIMS 'PROFILED' FOR PRAYING AT GIANTS STADIUM
CAIR to launch Eid ul-Fitr 'Pray for Understanding'
Educational Campaign
(TOTOWA, NJ, 11/1/05) - On
Wednesday, November 2, the New
Jersey and New York offices of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR-NJ/CAIR-NY) will hold a press conference in New York City to launch
a
"Pray for Understanding" educational campaign tied to
the upcoming Islamic holiday of Eid ul-Fitr, or "feast of fast
breaking."
CAIR's campaign was prompted by an incident in which several Muslim
football fans were allegedly profiled by law enforcement authorities for
praying publicly in Giants Stadium during a game in September. The men
report they were detained and interrogated apparently based on their
prayers being perceived as "suspicious behavior" by other
fans.
WHAT:
CAIR News Conference on Profiling, Launch of 'Pray for
Understanding' Campaign
WHEN: Wednesday, November 2, Noon
WHERE: 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 246, New York, NY (120th St. and
Riverside Drive)
CONTACT: CAIR-NY Executive Director Wissam Nasr, 917-751-1017 or
212-870-2002, E-Mail: director@cair-ny.org
"This incident is of particular concern because a recent report
confirmed that a number of New Jersey Muslims have been profiled by law
enforcement authorities solely because of their faith," said CAIR-NY
Executive Director Wissam Nasr.
A federal review concluded that New Jersey counterterrorism agents filed
140 intelligence reports into a database with no grounds for suspicion
other than the suspects' Muslim faith.
SEE: "Report Backs Charges that N.J. Muslims were
Profiled"
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-3/112866313196640.xml&coll=1
At the Wednesday news conference, the detained football fans will
describe the alleged profiling incident, and CAIR representatives will
outline the "Pray for Understanding" campaign.
The campaign itself involves inviting people of all faiths to attend
prayers and other activities associated with the Eid ul-Fitr holiday that
will take place November 3rd or 4th. (The exact date depends on the
sighting of the new crescent moon.)
CAIR has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is
to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil
liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote
justice and mutual understanding.
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah
Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called
CAIR-NET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with
American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our
society.
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/1/05
*
Hadith:
Fasting Leads
to Forgiveness
*
CAIR-DC:
Register Online
for CAIR's Annual Banquet
*
Top 10 Reasons to Support CAIR: #7 -
Civil
Rights
*
CAIR-SV:
Sacramento
Muslims to Hold Quake Relief Event
-
CAIR-OH:
150
Attend CAIR-Cincinnati Interfaith Iftar
-
CAIR-OH:
Ramadan: A Month of Community
-
CAIR-CAN Urges B.C. Muslim Group to Let Women Vote
- '
Women Friendly Mosques' Brochure
-
CAIR: Muslim Group Honors Rosa Parks (Dallas Morn News)
*
MA: Islamic Society Expands Libel Suit (Boston Globe)
*
FL: Religious Holiday Ban Draws Heat (Tampa Trib)
*
WA: Local or Global Moon-Sighting for End of Ramadan?
-
CA: Ramadan Tries Young Muslim Athletes
*
TX:
Town Hall Mtg Eyes Muslims and the West (San Antonio Exp)
-
KS: '
Working Together With a Muslim Work Force'
*
IL: $3 Million Expansion of Des Plaines Mosque (Chicago Trib)
*
MI: SEC Approves Public Offering of Muslim Media Network
*
WA:
Shock at Secret Jailing of Computer Specialist (SPI)
-
Gitmo Lawyer Witnesses Suicide Attempt (Wash Post)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: FASTING LEADS TO FORGIVENESS -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever fasts the month
of Ramadan, obeying all of its limitations and guarding himself against
what is forbidden, has in fact atoned for any sins he committed before
it."
Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 3, Number 109
When the Prophet stated that people would be granted forgiveness on the
last night in Ramadan, he was asked whether it was Laylat al-Qadr
("Night of Power"), he replied: "No, but a workman is paid his full
wages only when he has finished his work."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 617
-----
REGISTER ONLINE FOR CAIR'S ANNUAL BANQUET -
TOP
Registration is now available online for CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet,
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice." To learn more about
the dinner, or to register, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
REMEMBER - CAIR banquets have been sold out every year -
alhamdulillah.
-----
TOP 10 REASONS TO SUPPORT CAIR: REASON #7 - CIVIL RIGHTS -
TOP
Since 1994, CAIR's Civil Rights Department dealt with, free of charge,
more than 16,000 discrimination cases reported by American Muslims.
CAIR also publishes the nation's only annual report on the status of
American Muslim civil rights.
To offer your support for CAIR, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/ramadan2005/
Scholars say that donations to CAIR qualify as Zakat.
-----
CAIR-SV: SACRAMENTO MUSLIMS TO HOLD FUNDRAISING DINNER FOR QUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
(SACRAMENTO, CA, 11/1/05) - On Tuesday, November 1st, the Sacramento
Valley Muslim community and the Interfaith Service Bureau (ISB) will
hold a fundraising dinner to collect monetary donations and clothing to
be sent to areas devastated by the South Asia earthquake.
WHAT: Fundraising Dinner for Quake Relief
WHEN: Tuesday, November 1st, 2005 from 5-8 PM.
WHERE: Grand Ballroom, 1215 J Street, Sacramento.
CONTACT: Basim Elkarra, CAIR-SV Executive Director (916) 441-6269, e-mail:
sacval@cair.com; ISB Executive Director Reverend Dexter McNamara, (914) 448-2212
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-OH: 150 ATTEND CAIR-CINCINNATI INTERFAITH IFTAR -
TOP
(CINCINNATI, OH, 11/1/2005) - The Cincinnati office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) said today that some 150 people,
including public officials, civic leaders and members of the interfaith
community, turned out on Sunday, October 30, for its Annual Sharing
Ramadan Iftar Banquet. ("Iftar" is the meal eaten after sunset to break
the fast each day during the observance of Ramadan.)
"It is important for American Muslims to reach out to their neighbors
of all faiths in an atmosphere of sharing and mutual respect," said
CAIR-Ohio's Cincinnati Director Karen Dabdoub. The evening's program
included presentations on Ramadan and CAIR.
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, is headquartered
in Washington, D.C., and has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in
Canada
CONTACT: Karen Dabdoub, 513-281-8200, E-Mail:
karen@cair-ohio.com; Brent Meyer, 513-276-1600, E-Mail:
meyer_brent@hotmail.com
---
CAIR-OH: RAMADAN: A MONTH OF COMMUNITY -
TOP
KURT MOORE, Marion Star, 10/31/05
http://www.marionstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051026/NEWS01/510260303&SearchID=73225074715388
MARION - Each day for a month, Columbus pediatrician Dr. Asma
Mobin-Uddin has to get up before dawn to eat and doesn't have another
bite until the sun goes down. Even water is not allowed.
It's a period the beginning of which, considering its physical
hardship, the Marion Catholic High School graduate and vice president
of the Ohio Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said
she approaches with a little apprehension. Just the same, Mobin-Uddin
said she considers the holy month of Ramadan to be one of the best
months of the year. (MORE)
---
CAIR-CAN URGES B.C. MUSLIM GROUP TO LET WOMEN VOTE -
TOP
(OTTAWA, CANADA - 31/10/05) - The Canadian Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR-CAN) today called on the B.C. Muslim Association (BCMA)
to respect both the religious and political right of women to vote in
its decision-making process.
According to media and other reports, the BCMA bars women from voting
in its internal affairs, such as the hiring of Imams, or prayer
leaders, for the association's mosques.
The issue surfaced in response to a community disagreement regarding a local Imam.
In a statement released today, CAIR-CAN said:
"While we respect the right of Muslims in British Columbia to resolve
their own internal disagreements, it is unacceptable that women are
denied the right to vote which is given to them by both Islam and
Canadian law.
"Under Islam, the concept of "shura," or mutual consultation on community matters, includes both men and women.
"CAIR-CAN calls on the BCMA to respect the rights given to women under Islam."
For more information, please contact Halima Mautbur at 613-254-9704.
CAIR-CAN
Council on American-Islamic Relations CANADA
P.O. Box 13219, Ottawa, ONT, K2K 1X4
Tel: 1-866-524-0004
Fax: 613-254-9810
URL:
www.caircan.ca
---
'WOMEN FRIENDLY MOSQUES AND COMMUNITY CENTERS' BROCHURE -
TOP
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1632&theType=NR
---
CAIR: MUSLIM GROUP HONORS ROSA PARKS -
TOP
Dallas Morning News, 10/29/05
http://www.dallasnews.com
A leading American Islamic group is creating a scholarship to honor the life and work of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks.
Details are to be announced in December at the annual meeting in Washington, D.C., of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Mrs. Parks, who died Monday, set off the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott
when she refused to yield her seat to a white rider in 1955.
"Rosa Parks ... continues to inspire all those who struggle for social justice and equality," CAIR said.
-----
MA: ISLAMIC SOCIETY EXPANDS LIBEL SUIT -
TOP
Charles Radin, Boston Globe, 11/1/05
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/11/01/islamic_society_expands_libel_suit/
Leaders of the Islamic Society of Boston broadened their defamation
suit yesterday in Suffolk Superior Court to add conspiracy charges
against a group of journalists and scholars who the Muslim leaders
allege sought to ruin the reputations of the society and its leaders
and prevent construction of a major mosque in Boston.
The suit expanded upon and incorporated two previously filed lawsuits
-- the first brought in February against WFXT-TV (Channel 25), and the
second in May against Channel 25 and the Boston Herald. In those
earlier suits, leaders of the Islamic Society charged that reports
broadcast and published in 2003 and 2004 defamed them by falsely
linking them to Islamic terrorist groups.
Yesterday's filing alleged that several nonprofit advocacy groups,
individuals, and reporters, acting out of alleged bias against Muslims,
conspired to defame the society and its leaders.
Among newly named defendants:
Steven Emerson, a Washington-based writer, and his organization, The Investigative Project Inc.;
William R. Sapers, a member of the Board of Trustees of Roxbury Community College;
The David Project Inc., a Boston-based group that focuses on issues
related to the Arab-Israeli conflict, and its director of education,
Anna Kolodner;
Citizens for Peace and Tolerance, a Cambridge-based group that has
questioned whether the leaders of the mosque project were moderate
Muslims; its president, Boston College political science professor
Dennis Hale; and its director, Steven A. Cohen.
The Islamic Society of Boston is the city-designated developer of a $22
million mosque, which is under construction on land next to Roxbury
Community College.
The suit alleges that Sapers initially attempted to undermine the
project by damaging the Islamic Society's relations with the college
through unfounded statements to officials of the college that the
society's leaders were associated with Muslim terrorist organizations.
After that effort failed, the plaintiffs allege, Sapers then turned to
Emerson for assistance ''in an effort to manufacture any negative story
he could come up with to support the effort to undermine the project."
Emerson, a former CNN correspondent who in the mid-1990s won numerous
investigative journalism awards for his documentary ''Jihad in
America," was, by the time Sapers sought him out in 2002, ''widely
regarded as a discredited, biased, self-proclaimed 'expert' on radical
Islam . . . with a known agenda against Muslims," the suit charges.
(MORE)
-----
FL: RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY VOTE DRAWS HEAT -
TOP
MARILYN BROWN, Tampa Tribune, 11/1/05
http://www.tampatrib.com/MGBK8KUOHFE.html
TAMPA -- More than 100 pleading, threatening and indignant e-mails have
streamed into Hillsborough County School Board offices, some calling
board members "gutless," "morons," and "a bunch of wimps."
At issue is the board's vote to drop religious holidays from its school
calendar, a decision that has drawn fire from national media, local
officials and citizens.
Hillsborough School Board members voted Oct. 25 to drop Yom Kippur and
Good Friday from the 2006-07 school calendar, designating no religious
holidays off except Christmas. Students may be absent on their
religious holidays without penalty or restriction on the number of days.
The new policy was sparked last December by a request from local
Muslims for a day off for Eid Al-Fitr, a factor that has seeped into
many of the public responses. (MORE)
-----
WA: MOON CLOUDS CELEBRATION FOR MUSLIM COMMUNITY -
TOP
Janet I. Tu, Seattle Times, 11/1/05
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002596654_eid01m.html
In preparation for Eid al-Fitr, the celebration that ends the holy
month of Ramadan, local Muslims have purchased new clothes, prepared
food and rented a hangar at the former naval station at Sand Point big
enough to accommodate a communitywide prayer service.
But local Muslims, like those across the country, may be celebrating
the holiday on two different days this week - either Thursday or Friday.
Muslims follow the lunar calendar and a religious tenet that says
holidays such as Eid can start only after the sighting of a new, or
crescent, moon.
The question is: Do local Muslims begin celebrating when the crescent
moon is seen by someone in, say, Saudi Arabia? Or only when it's seen
by a Muslim in the United States, which could be on a different night?
In other words, should local Muslims follow a global sighting of the
moon or one closer to home? (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CA: RAMADAN TRIES YOUNG MUSLIM ATHLETES -
TOP
Brad A. Greenberg, San Bernadino County Sun, 11/1/05
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_3170085
DIAMOND BAR - The football coach hollers, "Water break!" and the
players cluster around blue Powerade bottles. Hytham Elsherif stands
alone and to the side.
"Somebody soak him down," an assistant coach says.
He unstraps his helmet so a teammate can squirt water on his head. He spits repeatedly to keep it from sneaking into his mouth.
Hytham is a unique member of Diamond Bar High School's varsity team he
is its only Muslim. Because it is Ramadan, the holiest month of the
Islamic calendar, Hytham is fasting from sunrise to sunset each day.
Starving the body for 14 hours is taxing on even the most sedentary.
For a 17-year-old offensive lineman, it seems like a death wish.
"If he wants to play, it's up to him," says his mother, Naglaa
Elsherif. "But he has to follow God's rules he has to fast. If he
doesn't have the energy to fast, don't play."
Hytham's is a common dilemma of Muslim-American youths, many of whom
find themselves attending class, studying and competing athletically on
an empty stomach one month a year.
A first-generation Egyptian-American, Hytham has sculpted an identity
as an American youth who happens to be a devout Muslim. He is one of an
estimated 10 Muslims in a sea of 3,307 students. But his classmates do
not consider him particularly different except during that one month
each year when they only see him eat at night.
During Ramadan, which this year began Oct. 4 and ends Nov. 3, the 1.3
billion Muslims worldwide who are of age, in good health and not
pregnant are called to abstain from food, drink, cursing and sex during
the day.
Fasting is one of Islam's Five Pillars. Hytham first participated at
age 6. He says it gets easier as the month progresses, that his body
adapts to his inability to make up the lost calories.
The coaches and players say they respect Hytham's religion. His
conviction leaves them in awe. But they are not without concern for the
effect it has on Hytham's performance. (MORE)
-----
TX: TOWN HALL MEETING EYES MUSLIMS AND THE WEST -
TOP
San Antonio Express-News, 11/1/05
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA110105.3B.townhall.17054e78.html
A town hall meeting on "The Future of Western-Muslim World Relations"
is scheduled for 7:30 tonight in St. Mary's SBC Technology Center Room
108.
The meeting will feature an expert on Islam and the Muslim world,
Michael Kraig, who is the director of policy analysis at the Stanley
Foundation in Muscatine, Iowa.
The event is aimed at improving Western-Muslim relations through an initiative called "Hope not Hate."
"The goal of this unprecedented series is two-fold," said Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, the co-chairman of Hope not Hate.
"First, we want to build a bridge of understanding between non-Muslims
and Muslims in the United States, and then extend that bridge of
understanding from the U.S. to the Muslim world," Ahmed said.
SEE ALSO:
'WORKING TOGETHER WITH A MUSLIM WORK FORCE' -
TOP
The Kansas City Star, 11/1/05
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/13047279.htm
"Working Together With a Muslim Work Force" is the topic of a seminar
scheduled for 8-11:30 a.m. Nov. 11 at Kansas City Kansas Community
College. The featured speaker is to be Syafi'i Anwar, executive
director the International Center of Islam and Pluralism in Jakarta,
Indonesia.
The event, which includes panel discussions, costs $35, or $10 for
students. Registration is requested by calling (913) 288-7362 or
sending e-mail to
shawken@toto.net
-----
IL: FAITH FILLS THEIR NEW SPACE -
TOP
$3 million expansion of Des Plaines mosque gives Muslims relief from
crowding, but holiday services already will tax its capacity
Kristen Schorsch, Chicago Tribune, 11/5/05
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0511010153nov01,1,2772933.story
About 50 women and girls lined up shoulder-to-shoulder as prayer began,
clasping their hands near their chests and bowing their covered heads.
The upstairs room in the new Islamic Community Center of Des Plaines
was mostly silent, pierced only by the giggles and faint whispers of
young children.
The women put their hands on their knees and bowed lower, eventually
kneeling on the floor to place their hands and heads on the beige
carpet. Downstairs, men did the same. Together but apart, the men and
women repeated the postures to prayers recited from the Koran, the
sacred text of Islam.
Such gatherings have been easier to accommodate with the $3.2 million
expansion of the center at 480 Potter Rd. Though not large enough to
accommodate the observances this week marking the end of the holy month
of Ramadan, the mosque, completed in August, is about 11 times larger
than the five-room ranch-style house that had been the center's home,
said Ghulam Farooqie, the center's president. (MORE)
-----
MI: SEC APPROVES PUBLIC OFFERING OF THE MUSLIM MEDIA NETWORK, INC. (MMN) -
TOP
Business Wire, 11/1/05
http://home.businesswire.com/
FARMINGTON, Mich. Nov. 1, 2005 - The Security and Exchange Commission
(SEC) has given final approval to Muslim Media Network, Inc.'s
application for permission to sell shares of stock to the public, the
first time it has ever approved such a request from a Muslim media
company.
MMN is now federally approved to offer shares to the public in all 50
states; now it needs state-level approval, which in fact it has already
received in Illinois. MMN is now seeking approval in the other 49
states. The goal of MMN is to sell $10 million worth of stock.
Dr. AS Nakadar, CEO and President of the Board of Directors of MMN,
said, "We are grateful to God Almighty that He helped us achieve our
goals in a relatively short time. The application with the SEC was
filed 7 months ago; our preparations began 8 months before that."
MMN is the owner of the weekly newspaper, The Muslim Observer (TMO).
TMO is the largest subscription-based Muslim weekly in the U.S., and
the only one that has reached all 50 states for the past several years
without a single issue. TMO is in suburban Detroit, and maintains
editorial offices in Las Vegas, Chicago, Houston and Toronto. In a
media market once dominated by ethnically-focused media, TMO has made
its own niche. Its editorials and articles have been picked up several
times by other media outlets, and its publisher and editor have
appeared on television, radio and in the newspapers several times.
-----
WA: COLLEAGUES SHOCKED AT SECRET JAILING OF FORMER UW COMPUTER SPECIALIST -
TOP
ATHIMA CHANSANCHAI, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 10/31/05
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/246531_fast31.html
In the post-9/11, Patriot Act world, people and due process can disappear under a veil of government-sanctioned secrecy.
Taken from his home in July 2004: a former University of Washington
computer specialist and Saudi national whose exiled father is a vocal
critic of their homeland's government. He was targeted for a visa
violation over a previous misdemeanor drug conviction even though
immigration officials focused on his alleged ties to terrorism. Worried
co-workers didn't know what happened until federal agents charged into
their offices days later. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
GUANTANAMO DESPERATION SEEN IN SUICIDE ATTEMPTS -
TOP
One Incident Was During Lawyer's Visit
Josh White, Washington Post, 11/1/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/31/AR2005103101987.html
Jumah Dossari had to visit the restroom, so the detainee made a quick
joke with his American lawyer before military police guards escorted
him to a nearby cell with a toilet. The U.S. military prison at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had taken quite a toll on Dossari over the past
four years, but his attorney, who was there to discuss Dossari's
federal court case, noted his good spirits and thought nothing of his
bathroom break.
Minutes later, when Dossari did not return, Joshua Colangelo-Bryan
knocked on the cell door, calling out his client's name. When he did
not hear a response, Colangelo-Bryan stepped inside and saw a
three-foot pool of blood on the floor. Numb, the lawyer looked up to
see Dossari hanging unconscious from a noose tied to the ceiling, his
eyes rolled back, his tongue and lips bulging, blood pouring from a
gash in his right arm.
Dossari's suicide attempt two weeks ago is believed to be the first
such event witnessed by an outsider at the prison, and one of several
signs that lawyers and human rights advocates contend point to growing
desperation among the more than 500 detainees there. Lawyers believe
Dossari, who has been in solitary confinement for nearly two years,
timed his suicide attempt so that someone other than his guards would
witness it, a cry for help meant to reach beyond the base's walls. . .
Dossari, 26, said U.S. troops have put out cigarettes on his skin,
threatened to kill him and severely beat him. He told his lawyer that
he saw U.S. Marines at Kandahar "using pages of the Koran to shine
their boots," and was brutalized at Guantanamo Bay by Immediate
Response Force guards who videotaped themselves attacking him. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAIR LAUNCHES 'PRAY FOR UNDERSTANDING'
CAMPAIGN
People of all faiths invited to attend end of Ramadan
events
(NEW YORK, NY, 11/2/05) - The New Jersey and New York offices of
the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ/CAIR-NY) today
launched a
"Pray for Understanding" educational campaign
tied to the upcoming Islamic holiday of
Eid ul-Fitr, or
"feast of fast breaking."
At a news conference in New York City, CAIR representatives said the
campaign involves inviting people of all faiths to attend prayers and
other activities associated with the Eid ul-Fitr holiday that will take
place November 3rd or 4th. (The exact date depends on the sighting of the
new crescent moon.) CAIR hopes visitors will take advantage of the
opportunity to learn more about Islamic prayer rituals and to meet
ordinary Muslims.
(Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of the month-long Islamic fast of Ramadan.
Along with communal prayers, many Muslim communities hold multicultural
bazaars featuring activities for children, food from different parts of
the Muslim world and booths offering information about Islam.)
For more about Eid ul-Fitr, see: "Muslim Event Grows with
Population"
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0511020009nov02,1,755322.story
"Research has shown that anti-Muslim prejudice and misunderstanding
decrease in direct proportion to knowledge of Islam and interaction with
Muslims," said CAIR-NY Executive Director Wissam Nasr. "We
invite people of all faiths to seek out and visit an Eid prayer or
celebration in their area to both learn more about Islam and to have some
fun."
He offered two specific Eid events people in New Jersey are invited to
attend:
1)
Eid prayers at 8:30 a.m. on
November 3 or 4 at the
Teaneck Armory on Teaneck Road between Ward Plaza and Liberty Road,
Teaneck N.J. (Local and state politicians are expected to attend.
Visitors are urged to arrive early due to the number of people expected
to attend.) Contact: 201-692-7730, 201-641-2200 or 201-833-2162
2)
Eid celebrations on
Saturday, November 5, in Clifton
Memorial Park at Main Street and Piaget Avenue in
Clifton, N.J.
Celebrations begin at noon and end at 6 p.m. There will be a fireworks
display at sunset. Contact: 973-278-7070
Anyone wishing to attend an Eid event in other areas may go to
www.islamicfinder.com to
locate and contact a local mosque or Islamic center.
CAIR is also urging Muslim communities nationwide to take advantage of
the Eid holiday to
collect funds for earthquake relief in South
Asia.
SEE: "CAIR Asks U.S. Muslims to Collect Quake Aid on
Eid"
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1842&theType=NR
Nasr said CAIR's "Pray for Understanding" campaign was prompted
by an incident in which several Muslim football fans were allegedly
profiled by law enforcement authorities for praying publicly during a
game in Giants Stadium. The men report they were detained and
interrogated apparently based on their prayers being perceived as
"suspicious behavior" by other fans.
SEE: "Muslim Fans Say Giants Stadium Security, FBI Profiled Them
for Praying"
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--giantsstadium-mus1101nov01,0,1783428.story
LATE UPDATE: The FBI now claims the men were detained because they
were "congregating near the main air intake duct" for the
stadium, not because they were praying, even though the area was
accessible to all fans. That area has since been fenced off.
SEE: "FBI: Muslims Detained Were Close to Arena Air
Duct"
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--giantsstadium-mus1102nov02,0,2242182.story
A federal review recently concluded that New Jersey counterterrorism
agents filed 140 intelligence reports into a database with no grounds for
suspicion other than the suspects' Muslim faith.
SEE: "Report Backs Charges that N.J. Muslims were
Profiled"
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-3/112866313196640.xml&coll=1
CAIR has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is
to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil
liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote
justice and mutual understanding.
To read
CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go
to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
- END -
CONTACT: CAIR-NY Executive Director Wissam Nasr, 917-751-1017 or
212-870-2002, E-Mail:
director@cair-ny.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called
CAIR-NET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with
American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our
society.
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS
- 11/2/05
*
Verse:
Good and Evil are a
Test
*
CAIR-DC:
Register Online
for CAIR's Annual Banquet
-
Top 10 Reasons to Support CAIR: #8 -
Education
*
CAIR
Seeks
Applicants for Rosa Parks Scholarship
*
CAIR-Chicago to
Co-Sponsor
Interfaith Gathering
-
IL:
Eid Grows
with Muslim Population (Chicago Trib)
*
CAIR-CA:
Halal
Foods More Widely Available (Mercury News)
-
What is Halal?
-
MN: Muslims
Flock to Restaurants at Sundown (Star Trib)
*
Islam in America
Teaches
Reconciliation (Wash File)
*
FL:
City
Council Race Marred by Remarks on Ethnicity
-
Candidate: 'I don't
want an Indian in my government'
*
WI:
Judge
Dismisses Lawsuit Over Headscarf Removal (AP)
*
CIA Holds Terror Suspects in
Secret Prisons
(Wash Post)
-
Detainee Policy Sharply Divides Bush Officials (NYT)
-
U.S. Denies U.N. Access to Gitmo Detainees (AP/Reuters)
-
Rationalizing Torture (Washington Times)
*
Trinidad: Empowering Women Through Islam
*
Death Toll in Asian Quake Jumps to 73,276 (AP)
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: GOOD AND EVIL ARE A TEST -
TOP
"Every soul shall have a taste of death: and We test you by evil and by good by way of trial: and unto Us you all must return."
The Holy Quran, 21:35
"On the Day of Judgment We shall set up scales of justice so that no
one will be dealt with unjustly in any way; even if someone has an act
(of good or evil) as small as a grain of a mustard seed, We will bring
it to account, and sufficient are We to settle the accounts."
The Holy Quran, 21:47
-----
REGISTER ONLINE FOR CAIR'S ANNUAL BANQUET -
TOP
Registration is now available online for CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet,
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice." To learn more about
the dinner, or to register, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
SEE ALSO:
TOP 10 REASONS TO SUPPORT CAIR: REASON #8 - EDUCATION -
TOP
CAIR distributed more than 8,000 Library Project packages to American
public libraries. These packages contained 18 quality books, videos and
DVDs about Islam and Muslims that are now available to millions of
people around the nation.
To offer your support for CAIR, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/ramadan2005/
Scholars say that donations to CAIR qualify as Zakat.
-----
CAIR SEEKS APPLICANTS FOR ROSA PARKS SCHOLARSHIP -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, DC, 11/2/05) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) announced today that it is seeking applicants for a scholarship
announced recently to honor the life and work of civil rights pioneer
Rosa Parks.
This year's awardee of the annual $1,000 CAIR "Rosa Parks Civil
Liberties Scholarship" will be announced at CAIR's annual dinner in
Washington, D.C., on December 3rd.
Applicants must be enrolled in, or accepted by, a full-time
undergraduate, graduate or professional program of an accredited
university in the United States majoring in a field that promotes civil
rights, social justice and/or the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
They must have a grade point average of 3.0 or above for undergraduate
students or 3.5 or above for graduate students.
The applicants must also have a demonstrated interest in civil
liberties issues. Preference will be given to applicants with past
employment or volunteer experiences indicating such interest.
All applicants must submit two letters of recommendation and an essay
demonstrating knowledge of the civil rights movement and how it relates
to the American Muslim experience.
Application deadline for 2005 is November 21.
To obtain an application form, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/scholarship_criteria_2006.pdf
For more information, e-mail:
scholarship@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR-CHICAGO TO CO-SPONSOR INTERFAITH GATHERING -
TOP
http://www.cairchicago.org/events.php?file=ev_interfaith11102005
WHAT - The Chicago Interfaith Gathering - Diverse Faiths, Shared Values
WHERE: Chicago
WHEN: November 10-11, 2005
CO-SPONSORS:
* CAIR-Chicago
* University of Chicago - Divinity School
* Loyola University - Department of Theology
* DePaul University - Department of Religious Studies
* Catholic Theological Union - Bernardin Center
* Interfaith Youth Core
* Archdiocese of Chicago
* NCCJ - Chicago & Greater Illinois
* Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
* Niagara Educational Services
The Chicago Interfaith Gathering seminars are led by world renowned
scholars and activists. It is cosponsored by some of Chicago's leading
academic institutions and interfaith organizations
See the conference website,
http://www.interfaithgathering.org, for exact session locations, times and other details.
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-CHICAGO: MUSLIM EVENT GROWS WITH POPULATION -
TOP
Margaret Ramirez, Chicago Tribune, 11/2/05
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0511020009nov02,1,755322.story
When Kifah Shukair celebrates the end of the sacred Muslim month of
Ramadan this week, she will rise before dawn with her family and attend
morning prayers. The rest of the day will be spent in a flurry of
festivity--visiting relatives, exchanging gifts, feasting on delicious
foods.
But as Shukair and other Muslims mark the joyful occasion of Eid
al-Fitr, some find themselves longing for the grander celebrations of
their native lands.
"In Muslim countries, it's all around you," said Shukair, a
Palestinian-American who lives in Chicago Ridge. "Everyone everywhere
is glorifying God and you can hear prayers echoing even throughout the
streets. ... Here, we're celebrating and happy and it still feels
festive. But instead of Eid being all around you, it's confined to one
little area."
As the U.S. Muslim population increases, immigrant communities are
striving to make the holy day of Eid as joyful in the U.S. as it is in
their homeland by arranging large gatherings in banquet halls with good
food and warm memories. The wide-ranging efforts to recognize Eid on a
larger scale illustrate the growth and diversity of the Muslim
community as the holiday becomes part of the region's religious fabric
and Islam takes its place as one of the nation's major faiths.
"Back home, we didn't have to have banquets because we had our families
right there," said Zaher Sahloul, president of the Mosque Foundation in
southwest suburban Bridgeview. "Here, the extended family is basically
the community of the mosque. So each mosque has their own Eid banquet
and also each ethnic community has their smaller banquets."
Eid al-Fitr, known as the festival of fast-breaking at the end of
Ramadan, is expected to occur Wednesday or Thursday depending on the
sighting of the new crescent moon.
At the Mosque Foundation, thousands of Muslim families are expected to
crowd into three buildings for Eid prayers on Thursday or Friday
morning and then attend an Eid banquet Saturday. In northwest suburban
Prospect Heights, the predominantly Egyptian-American Al Azhar Islamic
Foundation is renting a hotel banquet hall for Eid prayers and then
heading to a nearby restaurant. And in a relatively new annual
gathering, Latino Muslims are creating their own Eid traditions with a
party that includes a Mexican pinata for children to celebrate the holy
day.
Eid is as sacred to Muslims as Easter and Christmas are to Christians
and Yom Kippur is to Jews. In Muslim countries, Eid is a three-day
holiday when government offices, businesses and schools close. For that
reason, U.S. Muslims sometimes find it hard to observe Eid
appropriately.
"I don't think a lot of people can take three days off from work here,"
said Shukair. "It becomes a little more of a struggle to stay in that
state of mind."
But Shukair also said the struggle to observe Eid here with devotion
and joy has deepened her Muslim faith. As part of home-schooling for
her son Mohammad, 7, she said she taught him about Ramadan, and he was
able to observe the monthlong sunrise-to-sunset fast for the first
time. At one point, he was tempted by a Reese's peanut butter cup, she
said, but he eventually placed it in his mother's lap and walked away.
"Growing up, my parents never really explained why we were fasting,"
she said. "But I try to explain to my son about doing a good fast and
then celebrating the Eid and praying for God's acceptance and
forgiveness."
Ahmed Rehab, communications director for the Chicago office of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations, agrees that a focal point of Eid
celebrations for Muslim immigrants is educating the children. Parents
buy new clothes for them and give such gifts as toys or money.
"Eid is a celebration of their Muslim identity and the central role of
God in our lives as Muslims," Rehab said. "We speak to them of God as a
loving figure who provides for us and cares for us, and who wishes for
us to have a good time as a reward for having patiently endured fasting
Ramadan."
Rehab, who immigrated to Chicago from Cairo, said the holiday also
provides a time to socialize and reminisce about their homeland. "We're
so spread out and just don't have a chance to meet that often. Eid
brings us together," he said.
For Latino Muslims, Eid also provides an opportunity for children to
learn about the Islamic faith while mixing culinary and cultural
traditions, said Ricardo Pena of Bolingbrook. This year, a group of
Latino Muslims will hold its third annual Latino Eid festival Nov. 13
at Chicago's Muslim Community Center. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-CA: HALAL FOODS ARE MORE WIDELY AVAILABLE THAN EVER -
TOP
Sheila Himmel, Mercury News, 11/2/05
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/13059052.htm
Tahir Anwar has lived in San Jose 23 years and eaten only foods
permitted by strict Islamic guidelines. It was not so easy in the
beginning. His parents used to order halal (literally "permitted") meat
from Stockton and Sacramento.
Anwar's father was the first leader, the imam, of the South Bay Islamic
Association. Now Anwar, 28, is the imam. And his observant congregants
can buy meat from half a dozen markets in Silicon Valley, dine at more
than 30 restaurants, eat at one of the six company cafes at Cisco
Systems in San Jose.
They can buy pork-free halal pepperoni pizza and dine at white-tablecloth restaurants.
Halal meat sales have doubled or tripled in the past year at Facciola
Meat of Fremont, says John Rothenberg, a buyer at the Bay Area's
largest meat distributor. The bigger orders have come from workplaces
like Cisco, as well as restaurants and stores, for meat across the
board: chicken, lamb, beef, veal and goat.
An estimated 200,000 Muslims live in the Bay Area, says Safaa Ibrahim,
executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, based
in Santa Clara. Last year, about 100,000 attended the three-day
community celebration of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy
month of Ramadan. This year's celebration begins Thursday or Friday,
depending on when the new moon is sighted, at the Santa Clara County
Fairgrounds. About 100,000 Bay Area residents attend a mosque, but they
don't all follow strict halal practices.
It's getting easier, though, because non-Muslim stores -- including
many Albertsons supermarkets -- are carrying halal products. ``My
grocery store just opened a halal meat section," says Ibrahim, who
shops at International Food Bazaar in Santa Clara, which is owned by
Palestinian Christians.
More Bay Area Muslims are buying halal meat, says Ibrahim, ``because it's readily available." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
WHAT IS HALAL? -
TOP
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/dining/13059029.htm
1. Pronounced hah-LAL, meaning permitted or lawful, as in this verse
from the Koran: ``Eat of that which Allah hath bestowed on you as food
lawful and good.''
2. Foods that are definitely halal: fish, plants that are not
intoxicant, fresh vegetables, fresh or dried fruits, legumes and nuts,
grains.
3. Meat such as beef, lamb, poultry and goat must be raised cleanly and
humanely, and must be zabihah -- slaughtered according to Islamic
rites. A blessing is said by the person performing the slaughter, who
must be a Muslim.
4. Foods not permitted (haram) include pork, alcohol and products made
with non-halal animal content, such as gelatin or a cheese made with
rennet. Halal markets sell permitted cheese and gelatin products.
---
MN: RAMADAN DINING: AFTER SUNSET, A CROWD -
TOP
To break their daily fast during Ramadan, many Muslims flock to a pair
of restaurants owned by two brothers. The food is served hot, but not
until sundown.
Matt McKinney, Star Tribune, 11/2/05
http://www.startribune.com/stories/614/5702935.html
The man in the white chef's hat bustled through the restaurant with
nervous anticipation. Sundown was coming, and people would soon pass
through the front door to break their daily fast. His workers shaved
lamb meat. A son brought a box of tomatoes. They had 15 minutes, maybe
a few more.
"I am ready for everything," said Adel Hegazi, his eyes speaking worry.
Twilight fell on the parking lot outside and the nightly ritual began.
Muslim customers, drawn to this place by Hegazi's specialty Arab foods
and mint tea, arrived to break their daily Ramadan fast. Hegazi
transformed from edgy suitor to gregarious host.
This is what has come of 30 years in the restaurant business for Hegazi
and his brother, Shaker Elsaied, co-owners of Marina Grill & Deli
at University and Lowry Avenues NE. (MORE)
-----
AFRICAN MUSLIM SAYS ISLAM IN AMERICA TEACHES RECONCILIATION -
TOP
Jim Fisher-Thompson and Greg Garland, Washington File, 11/1/05
http://usinfo.state.gov/usinfo/products/washfile.html
(Scroll down to headline.)
Washington -- Islam as practiced in America contains subtle alterations
that change the religion by erasing many of the schisms that plague
Muslims elsewhere, thus promoting reconciliation, says Bayono Valy, a
journalist and researcher who also serves as press officer for the
Islamic Council of Mozambique.
Valy recently led a roundtable discussion at the American Embassy in
Maputo, Mozambique, based on his participation in the Department of
State-sponsored International Visitor Leadership Program.
After touring the United States for three weeks, he argued that
American Muslims offer a model of Islamic reconciliation, whether
divisions are theological or ethnic.
Valy's remarks were reported by the U.S. Embassy in Maputo after its
public affairs section hosted him and about 25 other Muslims and
journalists at an iftar event to break the daytime fast during the
Muslim holy month Ramadan. (MORE)
-----
FL: ORANGE CITY RACE ROCKED BY REMARKS ON ETHNICITY -
TOP
The incumbent's criticism of his Indian-born opponent in a City Council contest raises eyebrows and stirs reaction.
Charlene Hager-Van Dyke, Orlando Sentinel, 11/2/05
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-vsherrill0205nov02,0,1443876.story
ORANGE CITY -- A two-term City Council member has made disparaging
remarks about the ethnicity of his Indian-born opponent in next week's
election.
During a candidate's forum and again in an interview with an Orlando
Sentinel staff writer, Seat 4 incumbent Don Sherrill criticized
challenger Tom Abraham.
Sherrill derided Abraham's accent at a political forum hosted and
videotaped by the John Knox Village retirement community Oct. 12.
"I don't know what to rebut because I don't understand what he was
saying, and I don't mean that facetiously, I really don't understand
him," Sherrill, who wears a hearing aid, told the group of about 40
people.
He added that when Abraham speaks at city meetings, council members are "baffled" by what he says.
In a later interview with the Sentinel, Sherrill said that residents would not vote for Abraham if they saw and heard him.
"I'm usually not prejudiced, but I don't want an Indian in my government," Sherrill said.
"As far as I know he could be a nice guy, but these kind of people get embedded over here. . . . You remember 9-11." (MORE) -
TOP
-----
WI: U.S. JUDGE DISMISSES LAWSUIT OVER HEADSCARF REMOVAL -
TOP
RYAN J. FOLEY, Associated Press, 11/2/05
MADISON, Wisconsin (AP) - A Muslim woman forced to remove her religious
headscarf while visiting a state prison cannot sue the Department of
Corrections or its secretary for damages, a federal judge ruled.
"I am devastated," Cynthia Rhouni of Madison said Wednesday when told of the ruling.
U.S. District Judge John Shabaz dismissed Rhouni's lawsuit late last
week, citing a legal principle that gives protection to state agencies
from lawsuits in federal court.
Rhouni claimed her constitutional right to practice religion was
violated Feb. 3, 2003, when she took her son to visit his father at the
Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin. A security
measure that took effect months earlier banned visitors from wearing
headgear inside state prisons.
Rhouni said two male guards ordered her to take off her religious
headscarf known as a hijab, ignoring her protest of the policy.
She said she was humiliated to be seen without the scarf and filed the
lawsuit against the department, Secretary Matthew Frank and the guards.
It sought a change in the policy on headgear, in addition to
unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
After the lawsuit was filed, Frank changed the policy to allow visitors
to wear headgear as long as it does not conceal their identity.
Visitors also do not have to take off the headgear before passing
through metal detectors. (MORE)
-----
CIA HOLDS TERROR SUSPECTS IN SECRET PRISONS -
TOP
Dana Priest, Washington Post, 11/2/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/01/AR2005110101644.html
The CIA has been hiding and interrogating some of its most important al
Qaeda captives at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe, according to
U.S. and foreign officials familiar with the arrangement.
The secret facility is part of a covert prison system set up by the CIA
nearly four years ago that at various times has included sites in eight
countries, including Thailand, Afghanistan and several democracies in
Eastern Europe, as well as a small center at the Guantanamo Bay prison
in Cuba, according to current and former intelligence officials and
diplomats from three continents.
The Pentagon has declined to identify the detainees at Guantanamo Bay,
most of whom were captured in Afghanistan during and after the 2001 war
there. The Post has compiled a list of names made public thus far,
encompassing 434 men whose identities have appeared in media reports,
on Arabic Web sites...
The hidden global internment network is a central element in the CIA's
unconventional war on terrorism. It depends on the cooperation of
foreign intelligence services, and on keeping even basic information
about the system secret from the public, foreign officials and nearly
all members of Congress charged with overseeing the CIA's covert
actions. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
DETAINEE POLICY SHARPLY DIVIDES BUSH OFFICIALS -
TOP
TIM GOLDEN and ERIC SCHMITT, New York Times, 11/2/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/02/politics/02detain.html
WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 - The Bush administration is embroiled in a sharp
internal debate over whether a new set of Defense Department standards
for handling terror suspects should adopt language from the Geneva
Conventions prohibiting "cruel," "humiliating" and "degrading"
treatment, administration officials say.
Advocates of that approach, who include some Defense and State
Department officials and senior military lawyers, contend that moving
the military's detention policies closer to international law would
prevent further abuses and build support overseas for the fight against
Islamic extremists, officials said.
Their opponents, who include aides to Vice President Dick Cheney and
some senior Pentagon officials, have argued strongly that the proposed
language is vague, would tie the government's hands in combating
terrorists and still would not satisfy America's critics, officials
said.
The debate has delayed the publication of a second major Pentagon
directive on interrogations, along with a new Army interrogations
manual that was largely completed months ago, military officials said.
It also underscores a broader struggle among senior officials over
whether to scale back detention policies that have drawn strong
opposition even from close American allies. (MORE)
---
U.S. DENIES U.N. GROUP ACCESS TO DETAINEES -
TOP
Associated Press and Reuters, 11/2/05
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002598566_gitmo02.html
WASHINGTON - Spurning a request by U.N. human rights investigators,
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday the United States will
not allow them to meet with detainees at the Guant�namo prison for
foreign terrorism suspects.
Rumsfeld also told a Pentagon news conference that prisoners at the
U.S. naval base at Guant�namo Bay, Cuba, were staging a hunger strike
that began in early August as a successful ploy to attract media
attention.
The three U.N. investigators, including one who focuses on torture,
said Monday they would turn down an invitation extended by the Pentagon
Friday to visit Guant�namo unless they were permitted to interview the
detainees. The invitation came nearly four years after the visits were
first requested. (MORE)
---
RATIONALIZING TORTURE -
TOP
David R. Irvine, Washington Times, 11/2/05
http://washingtontimes.com/commentary/20051101-084855-4089r.htm
It is undeniable that Arab regard for our moral leadership in the
Middle East has never been lower. It is undeniable that our government
is more reviled throughout the world than ever before. We are not
winning hearts and minds by degrading and torturing. If anyone believes
that the information gained through torture has been worth the price to
our national honor and capacity to persuade other nations to follow our
lead, it's time for them to produce hard evidence of torture's superior
worth. Our torture policy has been disastrously counterproductive, and
the votes against the McCain amendments fly in the face of our nation's
core Judeo/Christian and -- yes -- Muslim values.
-----
EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH ISLAM -
TOP
Erline Andrews, Trinidad News, 11/2/05
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_woman_mag?id=112858211
"Empower women" and "Islam" are two ideas most people might find
incompatible. But this is a reflection of the many misconceptions about
the religion, says Bibi Neeza Halim, president of ASJA Ladies, a Muslim
organisation that has been working to empower women for more than six
decades.
"Islam is stereotyped as treat(ing women) unfairly," says Halim. "Why
then does it attract women-educated women? Islam is unique. It provides
rights. (Women) can vote, own property, work to help the community and
to be educated at the same time."
ASJA Ladies is the female arm of the Anjuman Sunnat-Ul-Jamaat
Association (ASJA), one of the largest associations in Trinidad and
Tobago, with over 60 mosques throughout the country. (MORE)
-----
DEATH TOLL IN ASIAN QUAKE JUMPS TO 73,276 -
TOP
SADAQAT JAN, Associated Press, 11/2/05
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan's official earthquake death toll
jumped by 16,000, and the country's top relief official warned
Wednesday that it is likely to rise. The announcement, which puts the
official toll at 73,000, brings the central government figures closer
to the number reported by local officials, who say the Oct. 8 quake
killed at least 79,000 people in Pakistan.
"Just imagine how many villages and towns became a heap of rubble and
how many people got buried," said Maj. Gen. Farooq Ahmed Khan told
reporters in the capital.
Khan said 73,276 people have been confirmed dead in Pakistan and
Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, up from the official count of 57,597. In
India's portion of Kashmir, an additional 1,350 people died.
More than 69,000 people had severe injuries, with the total number of injured much higher, the general said.
Khan also warned ``there is likelihood of further increase'' in the death toll. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
BREAKING
NEWS - 11/2/05
*
FL Muslims Seek
Reinstatement of Christian, Jewish School Holidays
*
CAIR-NJ/NY:
Muslims
Detained at Prayer Seek Understanding (Reuters)
-
Video:
Muslims Profiled at Giants Game?
(CNN)
-----
FL MUSLIMS SEEK REINSTATEMENT OF CHRISTIAN, JEWISH SCHOOL HOLIDAYS -
TOP
(TAMPA, FL. 11/2/05) - The Florida office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) today called on the School Board
of Hillsborough County to reinstate Christian and Jewish holidays
recently removed from the 2006/2007 school calendar.
School board members last week voted to eliminate the holidays
following a request by the local Muslim community to schedule a day off
on the Muslim holiday of Eid Al-Fitr.
Speaking before the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners,
CAIR-FL Central Florida Director Ahmed Bedier announced that his group
would officially request the school board to restore the holidays.
Bedier said: "Reinstate Christian and Jewish holidays even if it means
that we don't get our own holiday. . .(as Muslims) we're taught to love
for others what we love for ourselves."
VIEW A CLIP OF BEDIER'S STATEMENT AT:
http://www.cairfl.org/video/051102_hill_cnty_meet2_hi.wmv
Bedier added that the Muslim community opposed the removal of Christian and Jewish holidays from the school calendar.
FOR BACKGROUND, SEE: "Hillsborough School Board Members Vote to End Vacation Days for All Religious Holidays,"
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/10/26/Hillsborough/School_calendar_will_.shtml
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices
and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
CONTACT: Ahmed Bedier, 813-731-9506,
abedier@cairfl.org; Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726 or 202-488-8787, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR-NJ/NY: MUSLIMS DETAINED AT PRAYER SEEK UNDERSTANDING -
TOP
Gelu Sulugiuc, Reuters, 11/2/05
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2005-11-02T203554Z_01_SIB274111_RTRUKOC_0_US-LIFE-MUSLIMS.xml
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Five Muslims who were detained after praying at an
American football game want to turn the incident into a tool to teach
Americans about Islam.
While at a New York Giants against New Orleans Saints game at Giants
Stadium on September 19, the New Jersey residents were removed from
their seats and questioned by FBI agents after other fans saw them bow
to the ground as part of the five-daily Muslim prayers.
"As Muslims, we just have to pray when it's time to pray," Sami Shaban
told a news conference in New York on Wednesday. "We thought nothing of
it. I pray in malls, I pray everywhere."
The 27-year-old law school student said he and his friends were
questioned for about 25 minutes, missing part of the second half of the
game. After they were released, an FBI agent told him they had been
unwitting victims of racial profiling, Shaban said.
The FBI said the men were questioned because they congregated near an
air duct at the stadium, not because they were praying. But the men
dismissed that explanation.
"Let's be real here, if anybody with my description even scratches
their ear, people get nervous," said Mostafa Khalifa, 27, who, like
Shaban, wears a long beard and was among those detained. "I did nothing
wrong, I should not change."
He pointed out that football players often huddle and pray on the
sideline as a teammate attempts a game-winning kick in the waning
seconds of a game.
The fans said they would like to turn the incident into an opportunity to teach Americans about Islamic traditions.
They teamed up with the Council on American-Islamic Relations and
invited anybody interested to join them in celebrating the end of the
Muslim holy month of Ramadan along with thousands of worshipers in New
Jersey on Thursday or Friday.
"We want to stop profiling. The more that people learn about Islam, the
more tolerant they become," said Wissam Nasr, the council's executive
director in New York. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
VIDEO: MUSLIMS PROFILED AT GIANTS GAME? -
TOP
http://www.cnn.com/video/partners/clickability/index.html?url=/video/sports/2005/11/02/snow.muslim.giants.fans.cnn
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/3/05
*
Hadith:
An Easy and Straightforward
Faith
*
Eid Mubarak from CAIR's Board and
Staff
-
TX:
Muslims
Celebrate This Eid with Aid (Houston Chron)
-
CAIR
Asks U.S. Muslims to Collect Quake Aid on Eid
*
CAIR-DC:
Register Online for CAIR's Annual Banquet
*
CAIR-San Antonio Director Shatters Stereotypes
*
How Many American Muslims? (Miami Herald)
-
IN:
Muslim & American (Post-Tribune)
*
MD:
Muslim Leader Continues Effort Over Holidays (Balt Sun)
-
CAIR-FL:
Commission Vocal About School Holidays (Tampa Trib)
-
School Holiday Decision Sparks Hateful Grandstanding
-
Commissioner:
Like 'American' Holidays or Find Another Place to Live
*
CAIR-NJ/NY:
Muslims' Prayers at Game Led to FBI Queries
-
Muslims Pray for Understanding (Herald News)
-
We Felt Like Outsiders, Say Muslims Held at Game (NYT)
*
IN:
Islamic Center Turnout up After July Fire Bombing
-
IL:
Man Pleads Guilty to Lying About Anti-Muslim Firebomb
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: AN EASY AND STRAIGHTFORWARD FAITH -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "(Islam) is spacious
(and has room for relaxation). I have been sent with an easy and
straightforward faith."
Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 2, Number 153
-----
EID MUBARAK FROM CAIR'S BOARD AND STAFF -
TOP
CAIR's board and staff in Washington, D.C., and in 31 chapters and
offices throughout the United States and Canada wish you a blessed and
happy Eid ul-Fitr. May God accept your deeds.
SEE ALSO:
TX: MUSLIMS CELEBRATE THIS EID WITH AID -
TOP
Many forgo traditional gifts to help victims of Asia earthquake
TARA DOOLEY, Houston Chronicle, 11/3/05
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3435069
Any other year, Dr. Kashif Ansari would be celebrating Eid al-Fitr with
a gathering of friends and family. He would be decked out in a new suit
for an elaborate feast and the exchange of gifts, traditions of the
Muslim holiday.
Not this year.
With the start of Eid today, Ansari will observe the traditionally
festive holiday with prayer, as is required by the faith. But there
will be few new clothes or gifts, he said. A banquet will be held as a
fundraiser for survivors of the Oct. 8 earthquake in South Asia that
killed more than 73,000 people and left millions of others homeless,
most in Pakistan.
"None of the families I know are (buying) new clothes," said Ansari,
who is involved in relief efforts through the Association of Physicians
of Pakistani Descent of North America. "In Houston, everybody I talk to
has said, 'No, not this year.'" (MORE)
-----
CAIR ASKS U.S. MUSLIMS TO COLLECT QUAKE AID ON EID -
TOP
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1842&theType=NR
-----
REGISTER ONLINE FOR CAIR'S ANNUAL BANQUET -
TOP
Registration is now available online for CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet,
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice." To learn more about
the dinner, or to register, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
-----
CAIR-TX: WOMAN. MUSLIM. AMERICAN -
TOP
Lisa Sorg, San Antonio Current, 11/3/05
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15501311&BRD=2318&PAG=461&dept_id=484045&rfi=6
In her campaign for social justice, Sarwat Husain shatters the stereotypes
The car had been following Sarwat Husain for more than 10 miles, from
near downtown where she had attended a meeting about the Patriot Act at
the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, almost to Loop 1604. No
matter how Husain detoured or doubled back, the car shadowed her.
At a stoplight, the car pulled alongside hers. "I just kept looking
straight ahead, but I could tell they had rolled down the window and
were screaming at me."
When Husain arrived home, well after 10 p.m., she ran inside. After
about a half hour, she returned to her car to retrieve groceries that
she had left in her haste. "I heard a sound and I thought it was a
gun," she recalls. "I turned and looked and it was two ugly men in the
car. I ran into the house screaming."
Husain called police. When the officers arrived, they found Husain's
home and car peppered with splatches of paint. The men had shot paint
pellets, not bullets, but the police reportedly told her, "Had they hit
you, you would have been hurt."
It is hard to scare Sarwat Husain. An American immigrant from Pakistan,
Husain is president of the San Antonio chapter of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, a Washington, D.C.-based civil rights
organization. She started a monthly newspaper, Al-Ittihaad (Unity),
writes opinion columns in the Express-News, and regularly speaks to
groups ranging from Texas Republicans to Our Lady of the Lake students
to Mensa members.
"The news of the day is, What are the Muslims doing? Who are they
killing today?" she told a room of students at Our Lady of the Lake
University last month. "Islam is the most misunderstood religion in the
West."
In post-9/11 America, all Muslims are under suspicion. The Patriot Act,
which endowed the U.S. government with wide surveillance and detention
powers, codified America's paranoia. The media has further inflamed
passions by portraying Islam as one-dimensional, instead of as a
diverse religion whose sweep from right to left is like that between
evangelical Christians and liberal Episcopalians. (MORE)
-----
THERE ARE MORE MUSLIMS THAN SOME NUMBERS TELL -
TOP
DONNA GEHRKE-WHITE, Miami Herald, 11/3/05
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/13067012.htm
In my neighborhood in far western Pembroke Pines, two of my favorite
supermarket clerks are Muslim. A Muslim family runs the neighborhood
dollar store. A neighbor pasted an Arabic greeting near his front door,
while women wearing hijabs walk in the neighborhood. And the closest
house of worship? A mosque being built in a Pembroke Pines pasture.
As Ramadan comes to a close this week, I think of all the Muslims I now
know -- and how many are probably not being counted in various
religious studies.
That impression was strengthened as I researched my book, The Face
Behind the Veil: The Extraordinary Lives of Muslim Women in America, to
be published in March by Citadel Press.
I found the Muslimah, as Muslim women are called, from coast to coast,
from Las Vegas to Baltimore, from Phoenix to Coral Springs. I found
Muslim women in Washington's Beltway, a South Dakota hamlet, Manhattan
and the Lone Star state.
They grew up in Arkansas, Alaska and Afghanistan. Some converted to
Islam; others are immigrants or the daughters of those from
predominantly Muslim countries.
Their numbers keep growing.
Yet, we do not know exactly how many Muslims are in America. The U.S.
Census does not ask people to name their religion. Many traditional
religious studies still count the U.S. Muslim population at only one
million or two million. In 2001, for example, the American Religious
Identity Survey said that Muslims had more than doubled in a decade to
1.1 million.
However, Ihsan Bagby, an associate professor of Islamic Studies at the
University of Kentucky who has studied U.S. mosques, believes that the
number of U.S. Muslims may actually reach up to six million. Backing
him up is the 2001 Canadian Census. Two percent of Canadians identified
themselves as Muslims. If that same percentage holds true for its
southern neighbor, then about six million Muslims now call the United
States home.
Indeed, statistics from the U.S. Department of State show a dramatic
influx of Muslim refugees arriving to our shores in the last 15 years.
From 1990 to Sept. 30, 2004, the world's turmoil brought us more than
229,000 Muslims from 77 countries -- from little known Uzbekistan
(formerly of the Soviet Union) to the more familiar Afghanistan, Sudan,
Bosnia and Iraq.
By comparison, the State Department recorded that no Muslim refugees arrived in 1988 nor in 1989.
Economic immigration is further fueling the growth of American Islam.
Companies are recruiting techies and engineers from predominantly
Muslim countries. First-generation Muslims are also bringing the rest
of their families here. And more Americans are converting to Islam.
Zuly Martinez told me how lonely it was just five years ago to be the
only Latina at her Houston-area mosque. Since then, she says, many
Latinas have joined, enough to form their own "community." Now the
mosque offers classes in Spanish about Islam.
In rural South Dakota, convert Anisah David found that she wasn't
alone. Other Muslims worship in an old house in nearby Brookings
(population 18,504).
All this suggests that traditional religious studies may not have the most accurate count on Muslims in America. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
IN: MUSLIM & AMERICAN -
TOP
Sharlonda L. Waterhouse, Post Tribune, 11/3/05
http://www.post-trib.com/cgi-bin/pto-story/news/z1/11-03-05_z1_news_01.html
Saara Hafeez, 17, won't spend her senior year at Valparaiso High School swooning over proms and boyfriends.
Dating is against her religion.
And while Hafeez could attend dances with a clique of girls, she
eschews the off-the-shoulder, back-baring attire worn at such soirees.
"It would be forbidden," she confides.
A school day for Hafeez includes studies as well as prayer. She'll chat
with friends and attend movies but turn away at images of sex and
violence.
She's a typical Muslim teen in America walking a line between her Islamic faith and her American culture.
Imam Mongy El-Quesny, spiritual leader of the Northwest Indiana Islamic
Center, estimates that 700 Muslim families reside in the region, many
converging in places like Valparaiso, Highland and Crown Point, where
the mosque is. (MORE)
-----
MD: MUSLIM LEADER CONTINUES EFFORT OVER HOLIDAYS -
TOP
Balto. Co. surgeon began in 1990s to seek Eid al-Fitr school closures
MATTHEW HAY BROWN, Baltimore Sun, 11/3/05
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.eid03nov03,1,7704448.story
The feast with which Muslims will celebrate the end of Ramadan will be bittersweet once again for Dr. Bash Pharoan.
The president of the Baltimore County Muslim Council has campaigned for
years to have the county public schools close in recognition of Eid
al-Fitr, as they did last month for the Jewish holy days of Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur, so that Muslim children can observe one of the
most important holidays in Islam without missing class.
But despite his regular attendance at school board meetings, his
repeated pleas to officials and his membership in the committee that
worked to develop next year's calendar, the schools are scheduled to
open this morning for business as usual.
"It's a matter of fairness," said Pharoan, a Baltimore-area surgeon
with three sons. "The rules should apply for Christians, Jews and
Muslims. The school system is really discriminating against our sons
and daughters based on their religion."
Baltimore County, where school officials say they inherited the
calendar that grants the Jewish holidays and are concerned that adding
more days off would affect their educational mission, is one of several
systems in the state where a growing Muslim population is pressing for
greater recognition. Across the nation, the public-school calendar is
emerging as a new arena for those seeking equal treatment in American
society.
The system does not ask about or keep statistics on the religious
affiliations of its students. Among the general population of Baltimore
County, Christians are in the majority, according to the American
Religion Data Archive at the Pennsylvania State University. Jews
outnumber Muslims by more than 5 to 1.
"It's happening in pockets where there are different groups," said
University of Dayton professor Charles Russo, the author of the
textbook Reutter's The Law of Public Education. "I do think it's going
to be a national issue increasingly as the country grows more diverse."
Results have been mixed. Large Muslim communities in such states as
Michigan and New Jersey have won closings in some of their districts.
The school board of Hillsborough, Fla., attracted national attention
last week when members responded to requests to close schools on Muslim
holidays by ending the practice there of granting days off for Yom
Kippur and the Christian observance of Good Friday.
"What we'd really like to avoid is what we've seen down in Florida,"
said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic
Relations in Washington. "We try to avoid that because, naturally, we
want others to celebrate their religious holidays, but also, it puts
Muslim parents and students in the position of being blamed for the
loss of long-standing accommodations for other students."
CAIR, the largest Muslim civil rights group in the United States, does
not advocate specifically for school closings but lobbies for
accommodations equal to those of other religious beliefs.
"I'm sure that the Jewish community went through this at one point, and
there may be other communities that go through this in the future,"
Hooper said. "The point is that one standard be applied to all faiths,
and that one faith or another not be given preferential treatment and
the accommodation be denied for another." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-FL: COMMISSION VOCAL ABOUT SCHOOL HOLIDAYS -
TOP
MARK HOLAN, Tampa Tribune, 11/2/05
http://tampatrib.com/floridametronews/MGB4QZGWJFE.html
TAMPA - Hillsborough County commissioners this morning asked the
county's public school board to reconsider its decision eliminating
some Jewish and Christian holidays as vacation days.
The board passed a resolution, proposed by Commissioner Brian Blair,
stating that the county has a long history of respecting religious
beliefs as reflected in the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of
Independence and Pledge of Allegiance.
Blair said the school board's Oct. 25 decision, "if left unchallenged,
will affect our entire community for generations to come. . ."
The issue surfaced after Muslims asked for recognition of Eid, which this year is celebrated tomorrow.
Council of American Islamic Relations Director Ahmed Bedier said
Muslims oppose eliminating the Judeo- Christian religious holidays,
even if their holiday isn't yet recognized.
He said Muslims will continue to monitor the school calendar on a
year-by-year basis and accept the status quo, at least until Muslim
representation in the community grows larger.
"We are willing to take it for now," Bedier said.
---
SCHOOL HOLIDAY DECISION SPARKS HATEFUL GRANDSTANDING -
TOP
Tampa Tribune, 11/3/05
http://www.tampatrib.com/News/MGB9ISMBKFE.html
There was no reason to start a holy war in Hillsborough County over
school holidays. For that reason alone, the school board should
reconsider its misdirected decision, which has evoked some ugly
outbursts and is pitting one religion against another. That's not what
local Muslims wanted when they sought a school holiday that would
coincide with Eid Al-Fitr.
The board's decision in attempting not to offend anyone has offended
most everyone and created an unnecessary backlash against Muslims.
Here's what happened: Muslims raised the holiday issue because they
wanted to make sure their children weren't penalized for missing school
to mark the end of Ramadan. The district already had a policy of
allowing students to miss school for religious observances. And
principals and teachers were properly reminded of it.
But the school board, at the urging of a committee, voted to move
holidays that had coincided with Good Friday, Easter Monday and Yom
Kippur, an overreaction. The outbursts and the histrionics began.
Fox News host Bill O'Reilly preposterously
declared that closing schools for a Muslim holiday is ``absurd in a
Judeo-Christian country.'' Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian Blair
echoed the sentiment Wednesday. In an interview with a television
reporter,
Blair said the Muslim holiday shouldn't be recognized,
and those who don't like "American'' holidays should find another place
to live. What ignorance. (MORE) -
TOP
-----
CAIR-NJ/NY: MUSLIMS' PRAYERS AT GAME LED TO FBI QUERIES -
TOP
JOHN CHADWICK, AMY KLEIN and JOHN BRENNAN
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2ODA3MjkyJnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mg
The trouble started after five Muslim men were seen praying inside Giants Stadium before a Sept. 19 football game.
A suspicious spectator notified authorities, who cornered the men in the stands during the game.
"All of a sudden, eight yellow-jacketed security officers come up to
us," said Sami Shaban, one of the five men, and a Mahwah High School
graduate. "They told us, 'Get up."
As the men complied, Shaban said, security guards clutched their arms and other spectators shouted their approval.
"Now I feel safer!" one bellowed.
Several state troopers waited at the bottom of the stairs.
The men were then turned over to FBI agents, five of whom questioned
them for about 30 minutes before escorting them back to the stands
during the game between the Giants and the New Orleans Saints.
Shaban and others, including Mostafa Khalifa of Howell, described the
incident Wednesday during a news conference timed to coincide with the
Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which begins this week. They called on
law enforcement officials to stop racial and religious profiling.
The five men, who are Arab-Americans, gathered shortly after they
entered the stadium to perform one of five required daily prayers.
"I'm as American as apple pie," said Shaban, who was born in New Jersey
and raised in Belleville, Nutley and Mahwah. "Now I'm made to feel like
I'm an outsider for no reason other than I have a long beard or that I
prayed. . ."
A spokesman for a Muslim group that organized the press conference said
the men aren't planning to sue over the experience. Instead, they're
asking non-Muslims to attend an Eid al-Fitr event to learn more about
Islam. The holiday marks the end of Ramadan, a month of fasting and
prayer, and takes place today or Friday depending on the sighting of
the new moon.
One such celebration will be held from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at
Clifton Memorial Park on Main Avenue in Clifton. Thousands of people
are expected to attend.
"Our end goals are to familiarize the American public with Islam," said
Wissam Nasr, executive director of the New York chapter of the Council
on American Islamic Relations. "We want tolerance. It's a pretty simple
request."
SEE ALSO:
MUSLIMS PRAY FOR UNDERSTANDING -
TOP
MAKEBA SCOTT HUNTER, HERALD NEWS, 11/3/05
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzNTkmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY4MDc0MTImeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXky
An education campaign called "Pray for Understanding" also was
announced at the news conference, which was sponsored by the New Jersey
and New York chapters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
The public is invited to attend two large prayer gatherings tied to Eid
ul-Fitr, the last day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which will
occur today or Friday.
"The purpose of this (conference) is to allay some of the concerns that
people had. We want people to understand that Islam is not here to hurt
anyone. I want people to get accustomed to our customs," said Mostafa
Khalifa, 27, of Howell, who also was detained.
The two "Pray for Understanding" events are being held at 8:30 a.m.
today or Friday at the Teaneck Armory, and from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday
at Clifton Memorial Park. For more information call (973) 278-7070.
---
WE FELT LIKE OUTSIDERS, SAY MUSLIM MEN HELD AT GAME -
TOP
ALAN FEUER, New York Times, 11/3/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/03/nyregion/03muslim.html
In "See Something, Say Something" America, it looked like a suspicious
scene: five bearded men praying near a ventilation duct and
food-preparation area in Giants Stadium, during a football game
attended by nearly 80,000 fans. . .
"We were innocent; we did nothing wrong," said Mr. Shaban, who lives in
Piscataway, N.J. "We went to support Katrina and see a game, most of
which we missed."
"I was born and raised in the U.S.A.," he added at another point. "It
makes me feel almost a feeling of disappointment. I'm American as apple
pie. Now I'm made to feel like an outsider for no reason except that I
have a long beard and pray. . ."
As they walked escorted through the parking lot, Mr. Shaban recalled,
one officer remarked, "All it takes is one complaint these days." An
F.B.I. agent who was walking with the group added, "It's a dirty word,
but it's profiling," Mr. Shaban said. . .
Mr. Khalifa said he did not blame the fan who reported them for what he
described as a brief evening prayer in an out-of-the-way spot near Gate
D of Giants Stadium. "We understand the job of law enforcement," he
said, adding that the way the men were taken from their seats,
interrogated and guarded was more of an ordeal than it needed to be.
Wissam Nasr, the executive director of the New York chapter of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations, which organized the news
conference, said his group had no plans to file a lawsuit, adding that
he wanted to "keep things positive." Both Mr. Shaban and Mr. Khalifa
said the incident would not deter them from attending future Giants
games.
He had already demonstrated fluency in Giants history by quoting
chapter and verse on games gone by. When a reporter asked him if, in
fact, he had been praying for the Giants that day, he broke into a
sheepish grin.
"That's between me and God," he joked.
-----
IN: ISLAMIC CENTER TURNOUT UP AFTER FIRE BOMBING -
TOP
Kelsey Peters, Indiana Daily Student, 11/3/05
http://www.idsnews.com/subsite/story.php?id=32277&adid=city
As Ramadan comes to a close, the Islamic Center of Bloomington appears
to have fully recovered from the firebombing this summer and attendance
has even risen in the wake of the apparent hate crime.
"We've definitely had an excellent turnout at the mosque and the
(Muslim Student Union) events we've held during Ramadan," MSU vice
president and senior Shahaab Uddin said. "From the MSU perspective,
(the firebombing) inspired us to reach out and make people aware of
what Islam is. It is a lack of understanding that lead to this action."
After the firebombing, attendance numbers jumped and the incident also
brought in several members who had not been attending regularly. On
Fridays, the Muslim holy day, the center has about 300 community
members attending prayer. About 250 of them are affiliated with IU.
"I think that people were more willing to attend initially after the
incident," said Islamic Center President Shahid Osman. "When a loved
one gets injured, the entire family tends to grow closer to each other
and such was the reaction of the Muslim community."
In the early morning hours of July 9, rocks were thrown through a
lower-level window of the mosque on Atwater Avenue. The firebomb, which
was thrown through the window, consisted of a Mountain Dew bottle full
of a combustible liquid. No one was inside the mosque at the time. A
witness noticed the blaze, and the fire was quickly extinguished,
according to a previous Indiana Daily Student article.
"Cleanup of the mosque itself was not that complicated, but rather the
wait to do the cleanup was complicated," Osman said. "The daily
reminder of coming to a house of God and seeing it damaged made it
difficult for several members to move past it.
"This was greatly eased through the massive outpouring of support for
us and condemnation of the attack from the overall Bloomington
community."
The damage caused by the firebomb was contained to the kitchen area.
The center has replaced the window and blinds. The nearby wall required
some paint, but the structure of the room itself was not compromised.
The repairs, now completed, were covered in full by donations from
community members, interfaith organizations and insurance coverage. . .
An investigation is ongoing, and there is no new information to report
at this time, FBI Special Agent Wendy Osborne said last week. She noted
the incident is still classified as a hate crime.
SEE ALSO:
IL: SUBURBAN MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO LYING ABOUT ANTI-MUSLIM VAN FIREBOMB -
TOP
Associated Press, 11/3/05
http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/local/13073346.htm
CHICAGO - A suburban Chicago man has pleaded guilty to lying to federal
investigators about a friend's involvement in the firebombing of van
belonging to a woman of Arab descent, and federal prosecutors are
insisting that he spend time in prison.
Daniel Alba, 31, of Burbank, admitted Wednesday that he lied to cover
for his friend, Eric Nix, when he was questioned by agents of the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives about the March
2003 bombing. Alba's sentencing is scheduled for February.
Nix, also of Burbank, is accused of tossing a powerful fireworks mortar
shell into the van parked outside the woman's Burbank home during the
early days of the Iraq war. The blast ripped off one door of the van
and shattered several of its windows. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/4/05
*
Verse:
God Relieved Job's
Suffering
-
Hadith:
Help Alleviate the Suffering
of Others
*
CAIR-DC:
Register Online for CAIR's
Annual Banquet
-
Top 10 Reasons to Support CAIR: #9 -
Quran Campaign
*
CAIR:
Scholarship Named
After Rosa Parks (Press-Enterprise)
*
CAIR-NJ/NY:
Muslim
Giants Fan Wants Americans to Learn
-
Editorial:
Suspicions of Profiling
(Star-Ledger)
*
CAIR-FL:
Giving at Heart of Eid Festivities (Sun-Sentinel)
-
WI:
Quake Victims Remembered as Ramadan Ends
-
Eid:
Islam's Day of Joy (News & Observer)
-
AMV Appeal:
'Global Week of Giving' - Nov. 21-27
*
CA:
Despite Our Diversity, Muslims Remain Misunderstood
-
CA:
Mosques See Many Races, Nations (Contra Costa Time)
-
LA:
New Orleans Muslims Celebrate Post-Katrina Eid
*
Editorial:
Mistake to Cancel Religious Holidays (Tampa Trib)
*
Media Watch:
History Channel Premieres 'The Crusades'
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: GOD RELIEVED JOB'S SUFFERING -
TOP
"And (remember) Job, when he cried out to his Lord, "Affliction has
befallen me, but Thou art the Most Merciful of the merciful!" So We
responded to him and removed all the distress from which he suffered;
and We gave him new offspring, doubling their number as an act of grace
from Us, and as a reminder to all who worship Us."
The Holy Quran, 21:83-84
HADITH OF THE DAY: HELP ALLEVIATE THE SUFFERING OF OTHERS -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "He who alleviates the
suffering of a brother (in this) world, God will alleviate his
(suffering on) the Day of Resurrection."
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1245
-----
REGISTER ONLINE FOR CAIR'S ANNUAL BANQUET -
TOP
Registration is now available online for CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet,
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice." To learn more about
the dinner, or to register, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
SEE ALSO:
TOP 10 REASONS TO SUPPORT CAIR: REASON #9 - QURAN CAMPAIGN -
TOP
CAIR initiated the "Explore the Quran" campaign following reports that
the Quran had been desecrated by guards at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo
Bay. To date, more than 23,000 Americans have requested FREE hardcover
English translations of the Quran through this program. See:
www.explorethequran.org
To offer your support for CAIR, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/ramadan2005/
Scholars say that donations to CAIR qualify as Zakat.
-----
CAIR: SCHOLARSHIP NAMED AFTER ROSA PARKS -
TOP
Bettye Wells Miller, Press-Enterprise, 11/3/05
http://www.pe.com/localnews/sanbernardino/stories/PE_News_Local_M_cair04.2d7a413.html
The Council on American-Islamic Relations is accepting applications for
a new scholarship honoring Rosa Parks, whose refusal to give up her
seat on a Montgomery, Ala., city bus 50 years ago sparked the
civil-rights movement. Parks died Oct. 24.
Council officials said they will award a $1,000 annual scholarship to a
college student majoring in a field that promotes civil rights, social
justice or the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
Applicants must have at least a 3.0 grade-point average for
undergraduate students or 3.5 for graduate students, and must have
demonstrated an interest in civil-liberties issues.
Applications are due Nov. 21. The winner will be announced at the council's annual dinner in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 3.
For additional application details, contact the council at
scholarship@cair-net.org or go online to
www.cair-net.org/scholarship_criteria_2006.pdf
-----
CAIR-NJ/NY: MUSLIM GIANTS FAN WANTS AMERICANS TO LEARN -
TOP
RICK MALWITZ, News Tribune, 11/4/05
http://www.thnt.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051104/NEWS/511040427/1001
As a 27-year-old man born and bred in New Jersey, Sami Shaban of
Piscataway figures he's been to every mall in the state. And, as
devoted follower of Islam, "I've prayed in every one of those malls."
For Shaban, prayer sometimes means finding a secluded space at the mall
and bowing toward Mecca, following a pattern of prayer he established
as a child, praying at five points in the day no matter where he might
be.
Through thousands of his prayers nothing would compare to what happened
Sept. 19, when he and four other Muslims were ushered from their seats
at Giants Stadium and questioned by the
FBI, wanting to know why they had prayed in a secluded area at the stadium before the game.
"It is very disappointing that this happened in the United States," said Shaban. . .
He wears his beard deliberately long to illustrate that a devout Muslim
can look The story drew national attention this week, when two of the
five men attended a press conference in New York, hosted by the Council
on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
"This is a teachable moment," said Wissam Nasr, executive director of
CAIR's New York City office. "When you see Muslims praying, it's not a
terrorist act. It's not a prelude to terror. . ."
Fricke, the Muslim chaplain at Rutgers, said he has attended events at
Giants Stadium, and, when necessary, has prayed on a concourse. He said
if he goes to public venues with a group of Muslims they often separate
so as not to draw attention to the group.
"We are aware that it is an odd thing," Fricke said about the practice
of Muslims bowing and praying in public with their foreheads on the
ground.
Fricke said he had no ill will to the person who alerted stadium
authorities, calling it "blameless ignorance. It's an unfortunate sign
of the times."
Noting that Shaban intentionally wears a long beard and Mostafa
Khalifa, who appeared at the CAIR press conference this week, wears an
even longer beard, "These guys, by their own admission, fit the
stereotype," said Fricke.
Fricke also noted the irony of a football fan thinking it odd that five
men were praying together, when, he said, "There are practicing Muslims
playing in the National Football League. They were playing that night."
SEE ALSO:
EDITORIAL: SUSPICIONS OF PROFILING -
TOP
The Star-Ledger, 11/4/05
http://www.nj.com/opinion/ledger/editorials/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1131089488143080.xml&coll=1
The FBI and sports authority officials say no way was the questioning
of five Muslim men at a Giants football game racial profiling. Maybe
not. But yanking them out of their seats long after people had seen
them in group prayer also doesn't seem the "routine, precautionary law
enforcement" that one FBI spokesman called it.
The official line is that the men attracted the suspicion of stadium
security workers, as well as fans, not because they looked Middle
Eastern, not because they appeared to be Muslims, but because they were
praying in an area where the public normally doesn't go - a nook of the
stadium near a main air duct and a food preparation area. This was at a
game shortly after the fourth anniversary of 9/11, when former
President George H.W. Bush was present.
The men were asked a few questions, then offered upgraded seats, but they were watched by the FBI until they left.
Certainly no one wants to chance an evildoer adding something nasty to
the ventilation system. But the part of the stadium by this air intake
duct wasn't off limits to the public that night. It has since been
cordoned off, but if the air duct is a vulnerable zone, that should
have been done long ago. . .
It is clear that praying alone shouldn't be cause for alarm. Neither
should standing near an air duct if it hasn't been put off limits. Two
of the Muslim men say the explanation is profiling. If there is a more
rational explanation, we haven't heard it.
-----
CAIR-FL: THIS YEAR, GIVING AT HEART OF MUSLIMS' EID FESTIVITIES -
TOP
James D. Davis, Sun-Sentinel, 11/4/05
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pied04nov04,0,7900237.story
Eid ul-Fitr, the Festival of Fast-Breaking coming at the end of
Ramadan, is a joyful time of gifts, new clothes and lots of food.
"It's a day of feast, but it's also a day of sympathy," said Altaf Ali,
Florida director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "Even if
you have little, you think of those who have less."
Indeed, as Muslims share with other South Floridians the pains of
recovering from Hurricane Wilma, they are digging deep to send food,
clothes, tents, medicines and other supplies to Pakistan.
The three-day Eid celebration began for most area Muslims on Thursday,
after the sighting of the crescent of the new moon. It ended Ramadan's
daylight fasting and nightly prayer services.
Ramadan is also customarily when Muslims give an offering of 2.5 percent of their savings to the poor.
CAIR has asked mosques nationwide to give that sum, known as the Zakat,
to the relief effort for the Pakistani earthquake victims this year.
"Usually the Zakat is given to people who are suffering in your
location," Ali said. "But it seems that this year, Pakistan is
suffering more than anyone else." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
WI: QUAKE VICTIMS REMEMBERED AS ISLAMIC MONTH OF FASTING ENDS -
TOP
Ramadan takes on poignant meaning for physicians who saw suffering
JAMAAL ABDUL-ALIM, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/4/05
http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/nov05/367970.asp
West Allis - During a recent medical relief trip to the
earthquake-ravaged region of Pakistan, local physician Maqbool Arshad
met a man who lost his son in the calamity that he described as if it
were "Qiyamah" - or the Day of Resurrection.
"His description was so vivid as he was talking to us, it was as if he
was seeing everything unfold in front of his eyes again," Arshad wrote
in a diary of the experience, which lasted five days last week.
"It was as if 'Qiyamah' was unfolding, as mountains were splitting,
rocks fell with thunderous noises and buildings were collapsing," he
wrote. "People were screaming and running all over trying to look for
their loved ones, trying to pull them from the rubble and trying to
help those who were severely hurt or bleeding."
Arshad shared his experience with fellow believers Thursday at the
Eid-al-Fitr, or the ceremony meant to mark the end of the monthlong
Islamic fast of Ramadan.
He was among the 4,000 or so worshippers who gathered for the event,
held in the Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park, where the
prayer leader offered up special supplications on behalf of those
suffering.
---
EID: ISLAM'S DAY OF JOY -
TOP
YONAT SHIMRON, News & Observer, 11/4/05
http://www.newsobserver.com/lifestyles/story/2830961p-9280720c.html
At daybreak Thursday, thousands of Muslims from across the Triangle
converged on the Exposition Center at the State Fairgrounds to
ceremoniously end their monthlong fast and usher in Eid al-Fitr, the
feast of the fast breaking. At the 30-minute communal prayer, men and
women wore new clothes, children were handed balloons and just about
everyone exchanged hugs and kisses. Many Muslims said they looked
forward to three days of celebration, with feasts, family and friends.
WHAT IS IT?
The climactic ending of the monthlong fast of Ramadan is known Eid
al-Fitr (EED al FIH-trr). It is the happiest time of the Muslim year, a
celebration in which Muslims exchange gifts, visit relatives and give
to the needy. Eid al-Fitr is the first of the two major Muslim
holidays. The second, Eid al-Adha, comes at the end of the Hajj, or
pilgrimage to Mecca.
HOW LONG DOES IT LAST?
Traditionally three days, though in accommodation to U.S. work
schedules, many Muslims took off only the first day, Thursday. Mustapha
Bendjellal, a manager at Amana Auto Care Center in Raleigh, said the
entire shop closed down Thursday. It will reopen today.
WHAT IS THE CUSTOMARY GREETING?
"Eid Mubarak," or "blessed eid."
HOW MANY TURNED OUT TO PRAY?
Some guessed the number at 4,000 to 8,000. "I've been here since 1994,
and there are a lot more people," said Adel Fathy of Cary.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Many public and private social events. Aneesah Al-Uqdah of Raleigh was
looking forward to a picnic from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Roberts
Park in Raleigh.
WHAT'S IN IT FOR KIDS?
"The money and gifts are the best part," said 13-year-old Hanan Jaber of Raleigh. "And hanging out with friends."
---
AMV APPEAL: 'GLOBAL WEEK OF GIVING' - NOV. 21-27 -
TOP
November 21st To 27th
http://amuslimvoice.org/html/body_global_week.html
CONTACT: Samina Faheem Sundas, 650-387-1994
-----
CA: DESPITE OUR DIVERSITY, MUSLIMS REMAIN MISUNDERSTOOD -
TOP
Ben Daniel, Mercury News 11/4/05
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/13079157.htm
A month ago, members of Silicon Valley's Christian, Jewish and Muslim
communities gathered in downtown San Jose to observe the Catholic feast
of Saint Francis, the Protestant and ecumenical celebration of World
Communion, the Jewish New Year and the beginning of Ramadan. We
listened as the bells of St. Joseph's Basilica tolled, a shofar sounded
and the prayers for breaking Ramadan's first day of fasting were
recited. Then we ate together, many of us embracing, each of us
welcoming the humanity in the other and blessing one another in the
name of our common God.
The interfaith circle downtown was a beautiful expression of what makes
Silicon Valley a wonderful place to live. We have learned to live
together in peace, not just by accepting one another, but increasingly,
we are learning to celebrate our differences, understanding that
diversity is our greatest strength. It is a virtue worth exporting to
the rest of the world.
Unfortunately, communities where a strong majority celebrates religious
pluralism are rare. Religious intolerance remains a significant problem
in our world. In the United States and in the West, the problem is
especially acute in the ways popular culture misunderstands Islam.
In the imagination of the non-Muslim West the idea that Islam is a
violent religion is seldom questioned. The image of Muslim as terrorist
is almost archetypal. In much of the West it has remained acceptable to
portray Muslims as shady, beady-eyed, gun-toting and crazed -- images
that would make the cast of a minstrel show blush. Pundits in the
Western media have appropriated the vocabulary of Islam and have used
it to describe campaigns of terror, rendering forever sinister words
like jihad, fatwa and Shariah. Pope Benedict XVI chose terrorism as the
topic for his first meeting with Muslim leaders.
Of course, the idea that Islam advocates terrorism any more than do
other religious traditions usually comes as a shock to Muslims, who
almost universally consider aggressive violence done in the name of
Islam to be a distortion of their religion's basic tenets and,
therefore, an abomination. The evidence suggests that Muslims have a
better idea of Islam's peacefulness than does Western popular culture.
(MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CA: MOSQUES SEE MANY RACES, NATIONS -
TOP
Nathaniel Hoffman, CONTRA COSTA TIMES, 11/4/05
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/13074679.htm
They sit munching dates and pizza, baked salmon and sweet, nutty qatayef pancakes.
A Puerto Rican, a Ugandan, a Pakistani, an Indian, a few African
Americans, two Palestinians and a teen from Dubai sip not-too-sweet tea.
A religious service, where worship is often segregated by language,
sect or national origin, would not be the first place to look for
diversity
But among Muslims in the United States, striking diversity has become something to write home about.
"When I go back to Palestine or Jordan, I tell them that Islam in America has a different taste," said Abu-Nidal Tuqan.
Tuqan prays regularly at the Vallejo Islamic Center where American
Muslims hail from every part of the world, mixing languages, cuisine
and culture.
Their faith brings them together as brothers. (MORE)
---
LA: ISLAMIC HOLIDAY -
TOP
Despite thinned ranks amid Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, local Muslims gathered Bruce Nolan, Times-Picayune, 11/4/05
http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1131089173142990.xml
Their community thinned and scattered by Hurricane Katrina, about 1,500
Muslims from around New Orleans embraced with special fervor on
Thursday, inquired about each other's fate since the storm and prayed
together in Kenner in their annual celebration marking the end of the
holy month of Ramadan.
The public gathering for the Eid-ul-Fitr, one of two great feasts in
the Islamic year, was the first since Katrina struck the city Aug. 29.
The relatively small Muslim community, once estimated at about 5,000 to
10,000, was widely dispersed throughout the metropolitan area, which
means many in St. Bernard and New Orleans are now gone from the area,
and many in Metairie have suffered significant damage.
Thursday's gathering for morning prayer was the first time many had a
chance to learn what happened to familiar faces they had come to know
at this event in earlier years. . .
Abdelhafiz Bensrieti, a retired neurologist, said he and his wife were
able to return to their Metairie home earlier than many after the
storm. They began cooking for more than themselves. In short order they
found that a bar on Veterans Memorial Boulevard had become a gathering
place for relief workers and others.
The Bensrietis began taking dozens of meals a day there, based entirely
on the fact that people always seemed to need them, he said.
It was for him just the first act of rebuilding, he said.
"We will rebuild the city together, and we'll offer our hands to people of every faith," he said.
"My kids were born and raised here. I've received a lot from this city. Now it's time to pay it back."
-----
EDITORIAL: OUR POSITION ON SCHOOL HOLIDAYS -
TOP
Tampa Tribune, 11/4/05
http://tampatrib.com/News/MGB1WJ5QLFE.html
Imagine our surprise when Fox commentator Bill O'Reilly said Wednesday
night that The Tampa Tribune is an ally of antireligious zealots who
want to banish any mention of religious holidays in the schools.
This despite two recent editorials criticizing the Hillsborough County
School Board for its tin-eared decision to cancel school holidays
around Easter and Yom Kippur, granting three floating holidays instead.
As our other broadcasting friend Paul Harvey says, here's the rest of the story:
This newspaper has said all along that the school board was making a
mistake to cancel holidays tied to religious holy days. Such an action
fails to recognize the significant underpinning of religion in the
lives of families and communities.
Our opinion remains that the board should restore the holidays and
bring order to the process of determining when religious holidays
create such significant absences that schools cannot properly function.
Eliminating all school holidays tied to religious days was not what
local Muslim leaders sought when they asked that the district grant a
holiday for Eid al- Fitr. Mostly they wanted assurances that Muslim
children wouldn't be penalized for missing school on the holy day that
marks the end of Ramadan.
But with little explanation, the school board decided to purge all
holidays connected to holy days with one exception, Christmas, which
falls during winter break. Now Muslims face an angry backlash for
something they never wanted. Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian
Blair went so far as to suggest that Muslims should leave the country
if they don't love it as is. (MORE)
-----
MEDIA WATCH: THE CRUSADES: CRESCENT & THE CROSS -
TOP
http://www.historychannel.com/crusades/
Premieres: Sunday, November 6 @ 9pm ET/PT
The shadow of war between Christian and Muslim hangs over us today, but
it is a war that began nearly a thousand years ago. By the close of the
11th century, Jerusalem had been in Muslim hands for over 400 years. In
1095 Pope Urban II launched an unprecedented military campaign to seize
it back--a "Crusade" to purge the Holy Land of "the infidel". Over
60,000 Christian warriors would journey 3000 miles and for almost three
years to reclaim the Holy City in the name of God. But their
adversaries, the Turkish warlords of the Middle East would resist them
every step of the way. In a series of epic battles and bloody
massacres, tens of thousands would die as the crusaders inched ever
closer towards Jerusalem.
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
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cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/6/05
*
Verse:
God Forbids Injustice and
Rebellion
*
CAIR-DC:
Register Online for CAIR's Annual
Banquet
*
CAIR:
Muslims Torn Between Civil
Liberties, Social Concern
-
DHS Rights Chief Urges
Muslim Fliers to Register (AP)
-
CAIR-Chicago:
Rep 'OK' with Visa Bias
Against Arab Men
-
IL:
Muslim Traveler
Tells of America's Paranoia (Chicago Trib)
-
IN:
Muslim Family Negotiates
Negative Stereotypes
-
Parent:
'I don't want my children
knowing anything about (Islam)'
*
The FBI's Secret Scrutiny
(Washington Post)
-
FBI Patriot Act Plan Concerns
Lawmakers (AP)
*
CAIR-OPED:
Religious Observances Should Be
Respected (Tampa Trib)
-
CAIR-FL
Rep Discusses Religious Holiday Ban on Fox
*
CA:
Muslims Combat Quake Relief 'Compassion Fatigue' (SJMN)
*
DC:
Ali to Receive Medal of Freedom, Highest Civilian Honor
*
CA:
JDL Mosque Bomb Plotter Killed in Prison (AP)
*
Pssst ... Nobody Loves a Torturer (Newsweek)
-
Outing Secret CIA Jails (Time)
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: GOD FORBIDS INJUSTICE AND REBELLION -
TOP
"God commands doing justice, doing good to others, and generosity to
kith and kin; and He forbids indecency, injustice and rebellion. He
admonishes you so that you may take heed."
The Holy Quran, 16:90
-----
REGISTER ONLINE FOR CAIR'S ANNUAL BANQUET -
TOP
Registration is now available online for CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet,
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice." To learn more about
the dinner, or to register, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
-----
MUSLIMS TORN: CIVIL LIBERTIES OR SOCIAL CONCERNS? -
TOP
JEFF MOSIER, Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-muslimprop2_06tex.ART.State.Edition2.d87eee4.html
ARLINGTON - At a festival celebrating the end of Ramadan, a few
thousand Muslims were greeted last week by a bounce house, sandwich and
hot tea stands and a sign proclaiming "1 Man + 1 Woman = Marriage."
The table promoting this week's vote on an anti-gay marriage amendment
to the state constitution was the latest effort by Tarrant County
Republicans to reach out to disaffected Muslim voters. GOP activists
said Proposition 2 was a good opportunity to emphasize how much
conservative Christians and Muslims have in common.
"We have the same views and the same family values," said Jamal Qaddura, a Muslim and a Republican precinct chairman.
He was one of several conservative Muslim community leaders who
encouraged the party to reach out to other Muslims and attend the Eid
al-Fitr festival Thursday in an Arlington strip mall parking lot.
Rabiah Ahmed, a spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, said support for President Bush has bottomed out among
Muslim voters because of civil-liberties abuses. He cited a roundup of
more than 1,000 Muslim and Arab men in terrorism sweeps that yielded
only immigration violations.
"After 9-11, there has been such a focus on civil-liberties issues that
this has taken the forefront in how people vote," Ms. Ahmed said.
"That's more crucial to them."
Mr. Bush received about 55 percent of the Muslim vote during his first
race for the White House, according to CAIR polling. Four years later,
that number dropped to less than 20 percent - possibly much less,
depending on the polls.
Ms. Ahmed said that civil liberties are likely to be a major concern as
long as persecution of Muslims continues. She cited the cases of Capt.
James Yee, a Muslim army chaplain accused and later cleared of
espionage, and Oregon lawyer Brandon Mayfield, who was detained after
being mistakenly connected to the Madrid train bombing.
CAIR is planning a new poll to determine whether civil liberties are still the top political issue among Muslims.
SEE ALSO:
HOMELAND SECURITY RIGHTS CHIEF URGES MUSLIM FLIERS TO REGISTER -
TOP
WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press Writer
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--muslims-watchlist1106nov06,0,337056.story
WASHINGTON -- The head of civil rights for the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security is urging Muslim air travelers to register with the
federal government before flying, to reduce the chances they might be
stopped at an airport because their name is on or similar to names on
an anti-terrorism watch list.
But Daniel Sutherland admits that doing so won't completely eliminate
the chance that a Muslim traveler will be singled out for closer
scrutiny before or after flying.
Speaking recently at a seminar on Homeland Security sponsored by the
Knight Center for Specialized Journalism, Sutherland said the
department wants to improve its relations with Muslims and
Arab-Americans.
"We need to listen to their concerns," he said. "We need to build a
level of commitment and trust that's unprecedented in our nation's
history, not an `us-versus-them' perception in the community."
One way to do that is by having Muslim and Arab-American travelers
complete a form on the Web page of the Transportation Security
Administration, a division of Homeland Security responsible for
protecting mass transit systems including airports.
The two-page "Passenger Identity Verification Form" asks for personal
information including name, address, birth date, height, weight, eye
and hair color, and requires copies of three of the following
documents: passport, visa, birth certificate, naturalization
certificate, voter registration card, government identity card or
military identity card.
Once completed, the homeland security department shares the information
with airlines, who then are able to compare it against security lists
that might otherwise red-flag a passenger.
The goal is to distinguish a traveler from people whose names _ or
close variations thereof _ appear on federal no-fly lists compiled by
intelligence and law enforcement agencies. It does not remove a name
from the list, but seeks to differentiate between a person of interest
and someone who has no connection with them. (MORE)
On the Net: TSA Passenger Identity Verification Form:
http://www.tsa.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/PIV_Form.pdf
---
CAIR-CHICAGO: KIRK 'OK' WITH VISA BIAS AGAINST SOME ARAB MEN -
TOP
JANET RAUSA FULLER, Chicago Sun-Times, 11/6/05
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-nano06.html
Rep. Mark Kirk of Highland Park made what he admitted were "politically
uncomfortable" remarks Saturday when asked about the difficulties of
the visa process for immigrants entering the United States.
"I'm OK with discrimination against young Arab males from
terrorist-producing states. I'm OK with that," Kirk said. "I think that
when we look at the threat that's out there, young men between, say,
the ages of 18 and 25 from a couple of countries, I believe a certain
amount of intense scrutiny should be placed on them.
"I'm not threatened by people from China. I'm not even threatened by
people from Mexico. I just know where the threat is from. It's from a
unique place, and I think it's OK to recognize that. . ."
Yaser Tabbara, director of the Chicago Council on American-Islamic
Relations, called Kirk's comments "beyond troubling" and demanded an
apology.
"It's one thing for me to hear it from Joe Schmoe on the street and
deal with it as an ignorant attitude, and give that person the benefit
of the doubt," Tabbara said. "It's another, and 100 times more
disturbing and dangerous, to hear something like that spewed out of the
mouth of a public figure, a political representative who represents a
constituency of Americans.
"This, to me, is a manifestation of . . . a classic, malicious, bigoted attitude."
---
IL: TROUBLE AHEAD, TROUBLE BEHIND: AMERICA'S PARANOIA -
TOP
Ahmad A. Ahmad, Chicago Tribune, 11/6/05
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0511060232nov06,1,6491339.story
[Ahmad A. Ahmad is a Tribune editorial assistant.]
I was 18 hours into a train ride from Chicago to New York City. I don't
often get time off, so I decided to visit my sister Abeer and an old
friend.
The Amtrak train was four hours outside New York City when we heard the
conductor's voice on the loudspeaker. He told us the train in front of
us went off the tracks. We were all stuck, somewhere in the middle of
New York state, and we would have to wait for a bus to take us to the
nearest big city.
In this day and age, it's hard for me to travel anywhere.
I am 22 and an editorial assistant at the Chicago Tribune. I have a
passion for photography and reading, and I'm known to play a mean
guitar.
I am also Middle Eastern and I speak with an accent. I've been living in the U.S. for 12 years.
In a post-Sept. 11 world, people give me icy glares. Once, a girl at a
nightclub who at the beginning of the night was into me (or so I
thought) changed her tune when she found out I was from Jordan: "I'm
sick of what you guys are doing to my country. Go back home."
And when I check in at an airport, 8 out of 10 times I get pulled out of line and questioned by authorities.
I was getting sick of it. So a few weeks ago I decided traveling by train would give me less grief. . .
I heard sirens approaching, and the bus suddenly came to a stop on the
side of the highway. Police cars came--so many I couldn't even begin to
count them. The man and his girlfriend ran down the aisle, past me, and
off the bus.
We all stepped out to see what happened.
There was the stranger, pointing to me, "He is going to blow up the Amtrak!"
The man told police he understood Arabic and had overheard my
conversation. He thought I was talking to some terrorist cell when I
was chatting with my mother.
The police put me in the back of their vehicle. Dogs were sniffing
around, and officers from the state Counter-Terrorism Intelligence Unit
were interviewing my fellow bus passengers.
My cell phone was low on battery and had turned off, but they would not
turn it back on. For all they knew, it could have been a bomb. I was
shocked, confused, speechless.
The authorities questioned me for nearly three hours at an Albany
police station. They asked me where I was from, whether I was a United
States citizen, who I knew in New York City, who I worked for, and why
I was traveling alone.
I answered every question in a calm and collected demeanor.
The officers were, for the most part, courteous and understanding of my situation.
One officer, Investigator James L. Rogers of the New York State Police,
would later call me twice to make sure I made it to New York City with
no hassles. Once the police realized the man couldn't actually speak
Arabic, they knew the allegations were baseless, and that he was a
wacko, hell-bent on deporting every Muslim back to the Middle East.
Just when I was leaving, I saw that man again.
He cursed at me and called me a terrorist. "Come and fight me!" he
yelled. "You're lying out of your teeth! You know you want to blow up
the Amtrak!"
I know people say Americans are living in a new America, after what happened on that Tuesday morning four years ago.
For the majority of Muslims, who are peaceful, law-abiding citizens, we, too, are living in a new America.
This is our reality.
---
'WE'RE A GOOD PEOPLE' -
TOP
Porter Township Muslim family negotiates negative stereotypes from new community
ELIZABETH HOLMES, Northwest Indiana Times, 11/6/05
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2005/11/06/news/top_news/a1d46adaeb426c2e862570b10003a27e.txt
PORTER TOWNSHIP | To combat rumors that he and his family were
terrorists, Basit Syed followed the advice of his elders and opened his
home to strangers.
"Let them in the house, let them look in the closets," said his uncle,
Amir Ali, who was visiting from Chicago. "Look around the grounds and
see if there's anything."
The shed behind their ranch-style house, at the end of a gravel road
near Lake Eliza, is not a hiding place for chemicals, Syed was quick to
show. It's a shelter for their pet rooster and rabbit.
He has been as open as he could be with the community. So why, he
wanted to know, was there a Lake County sheriff's police officer
outside his house on several different occasions in October? And why
did parents at Porter Lakes Elementary School believe that a
presentation his wife gave about their religion was an attempt to
convert the children of the school?
To Syed's wife, Ayesha, it's obvious: "This (is) starting because we are Muslims."
Three months ago, the Syed family moved to Porter Township, looking
forward to the quiet countryside. But since their arrival, the rumors
of terrorist ties have arisen.
The reaction surprised the family, largely because they've lived in the region for eight years and have never been bothered.
Basit Syed left Pakistan in 1975 and moved to Chicago; Ayesha Syed
joined him 20 years later. Both were from Karachi, a city of 12 million
people located on the Arabian Sea. Later, the family lived in Portage
and Hammond.
Yet the openness of southern Porter County, along with the reasonably priced houses, appealed to the Syeds.
Last summer, they purchased a home in Porter Township, a rural
community where 98 percent of the 8,500 people are white, according to
the 2000 census. With its spacious kitchen for Ayesha Syed's
curry-laden feasts, three bedrooms and a big, wooded yard for the kids,
it fit them perfectly.
"I want a place where the kids can play without any interruptions. No
drive (-by) shooting, stuff like that," said Basit Syed, a mechanic for
UPS. "Plus, it's peaceful here. I thought nobody (was) gonna bug us."
The Syed children started the school year at Avicenna Academy in
Merrillville, a Muslim school connected to the mosque the family
attends. But Ayesha Syed wanted her children in the public school
setting because of the social benefits and exposure to different
cultures.
They enrolled their children in Porter Lakes Elementary, a school with
430 students near Lakes of the Four Seasons. Nine-year-old Khadija
joined the third grade, her brother, 8-year-old Yaqoob, began second
grade, and her 5-year-old sister, Kulsoom, started kindergarten.
The Syeds were not the first Muslim family at the school, but Khadija
was the first girl to wear a hijab. The head scarf, a sign of her
Muslim faith and a statement of modesty, prompted questions. Why did
she wear it? Did she have hair? Could she ever take it off?
To ease the stress on her daughter and prevent teasing, Ayesha Syed
gave a short presentation on their culture to the entire third grade
and Yaqoob's second-grade class.
As word of the presentation trickled out into the community, some parents were enraged.
Between fears that the Islamic religion was being preached and rumors
of a prayer room -- a portion of the teachers' lounge was set aside for
the children to conduct their daily prayers, an accommodation required
by law -- many in the community reacted.
Angry parents crowded a recent school board meeting to make their concerns known.
"I don't want my children knowing anything about that religion whatsoever," said
Jamye Matlon, mother of two Porter Lakes students. "I don't understand
why they don't go to a private school to begin with." (MORE)
-----
THE FBI'S SECRET SCRUTINY -
TOP
In Hunt for Terrorists, Bureau Examines Records of Ordinary Americans
Barton Gellman, Washington Post, 11/6/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/05/AR2005110501366.html
The FBI came calling in Windsor, Conn., this summer with a document
marked for delivery by hand. On Matianuk Avenue, across from the tennis
courts, two special agents found their man. They gave George Christian
the letter, which warned him to tell no one, ever, what it said.
Under the shield and stars of the FBI crest, the letter directed
Christian to surrender "all subscriber information, billing information
and access logs of any person" who used a specific computer at a
library branch some distance away. Christian, who manages digital
records for three dozen Connecticut libraries, said in an affidavit
that he configures his system for privacy. But the vendors of the
software he operates said their databases can reveal the Web sites that
visitors browse, the e-mail accounts they open and the books they
borrow.
Christian refused to hand over those records, and his employer, Library
Connection Inc., filed suit for the right to protest the FBI demand in
public. The Washington Post established their identities -- still under
seal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit -- by comparing
unsealed portions of the file with public records and information
gleaned from people who had no knowledge of the FBI demand.
The Connecticut case affords a rare glimpse of an exponentially growing
practice of domestic surveillance under the USA Patriot Act, which
marked its fourth anniversary on Oct. 26. "National security letters,"
created in the 1970s for espionage and terrorism investigations,
originated as narrow exceptions in consumer privacy law, enabling the
FBI to review in secret the customer records of suspected foreign
agents. The Patriot Act, and Bush administration guidelines for its
use, transformed those letters by permitting clandestine scrutiny of
U.S. residents and visitors who are not alleged to be terrorists or
spies.
The FBI now issues more than 30,000 national security letters a year,
according to government sources, a hundredfold increase over historic
norms. The letters -- one of which can be used to sweep up the records
of many people -- are extending the bureau's reach as never before into
the telephone calls, correspondence and financial lives of ordinary
Americans.
Issued by FBI field supervisors, national security letters do not need
the imprimatur of a prosecutor, grand jury or judge. They receive no
review after the fact by the Justice Department or Congress. The
executive branch maintains only statistics, which are incomplete and
confined to classified reports. The Bush administration defeated
legislation and a lawsuit to require a public accounting, and has
offered no example in which the use of a national security letter
helped disrupt a terrorist plot. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
FBI PATRIOT ACT PLAN CONCERNS LAWMAKERS -
TOP
HOPE YEN, ASSOCIATED PRESS, 11/6/05
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1153AP_Patriot_Act_Records.html
WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers expressed concern Sunday that the FBI was
aggressively pushing the powers of the anti-terrorist USA Patriot Act
to access private phone and financial records of ordinary people.
"We should be looking at that very closely," said Sen. Joseph Biden,
D-Del., who is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "It appears
to me that this is, if not abused, being close to abused."
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., a member of the Senate Intelligence
Committee, agreed, saying the government's expanded power highlights
the risks of balancing national security against individual rights.
"It does point up how dangerous this can be," said Hagel, who appeared with Biden on ABC's "This Week."
Under the Patriot Act, the FBI issues more than 30,000 national
security letters allowing the investigations each year, a hundred-fold
increase over historic norms, The Washington Post reported Sunday,
quoting unnamed government sources. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-OPED: RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES SHOULD BE RESPECTED -
TOP
Parvez Ahmed, Ahmed Bedier, Tampa Tribune, 11/6/06
http://tampatrib.com/opinion/MGBT0HZJOFE.html
[Parvez Ahmed is the chairman of the board for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, a civil liberties and advocacy group
(E-mail:
pahmed@cair-net.org ). Ahmed Bedier is director for CAIR's Central Florida office in Tampa (E-mail:
abedier@cairfl.org ).]
The Hillsborough County School Board's recent vote to drop Christian
and Jewish holidays from the school calendar creates a very negative
precedent for reasonable religious accommodation in the state's
education system.
The Council on American- Islamic Relations, which has been at the
forefront of the Muslim community's efforts to have Islamic religious
holidays accommodated, is disappointed at the school board's decision
to ban all religious holidays, save Christmas.
Because the removal of religious holidays came on the heels of the
Muslim community's request for inclusion of their religious holiday, we
call on the board to reinstate the Christian and Jewish holidays, even
if it means not granting Muslims their reasonable request.
Our faith teaches us to love for others what we love for ourselves. We
would love to have our holiday recognized in the school calendar
along-side the holidays of people of other faiths. Yet it makes no
sense to us that Christians and Jews should be penalized just because
Muslims are seeking their rightful place within the fabric of our
nation's multifaith society. . .
The First Amendment clause stating that government shall make no laws
"respecting an establishment of religion" ensures that expressions of
faith are not coerced by the state. It was never designed to bar
religious expression or place hardships on people who want to celebrate
their religious traditions.
Allowing students to mark Eid Al- Fitr, Good Friday or Yom Kippur with
their families does not imply establishment of any one religion and
does not infringe upon the citizenship rights of others. These
reasonable accommodations are merely a concrete demonstration of our
nation's rich religious diversity.
Many Muslims are asking themselves whether newly discovered
constitutional concerns are merely a smoke screen to hide anti-Muslim
prejudice. . .
The school board's arbitrary and extreme ruling only serves to increase
hostility toward Muslims, who will be unfairly blamed for the loss of
all religious holidays.
American Muslims are seeking to be included, not to marginalize all
faiths. Give Christian and Jewish students their holidays, even if
Muslim students are denied theirs.
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-FL REP DISCUSSES RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY BAN ON FOX -
TOP
CAIR Central Florida Director Ahmed Bedier appeared on the Fox's
"Heartland program Saturday to discuss a recent decision by the
Hillsborough County School Board to ban all religious school holidays.
Bedier had recently called on the school board to reinstate Christian
and Jewish holidays even if Muslim holidays are denied.
To watch the "Heartland" segment, follow the links below
BROADBAND SPEED:
http://www.cairfl.org/video/051105_fox_heart_school_hol_hi.wmv
DIAL-UP SPEED:
http://www.cairfl.org/video/051105_fox_heart_school_hol_lo.wmv
Bedier also appeared on the Fox News Channel 'Fair & Balanced'
segment. Bedier debated NY attorney Michael Gross on the
constitutionality of religious holidays in public schools.
Bedier advocated that the establishment of religion clause was meant to
"ensure that government does not coerce religion on the people... it
was never intended to eliminate religious expression from our life."
To watch the video segment follow the links below.
BROADBAND SPEED:
http://www.cairfl.org/video/051106_fox_live_school_hol_hi.wmv
DIAL-UP SPEED:
http://www.cairfl.org/video/051106_fox_live_school_hol_lo.wmv
---
SCHOOLS URGED TO RETHINK CALENDAR -
TOP
Hillsborough's superintendent says the elimination of religious holidays has become a distraction.
MELANIE AVE, St. Petersburg Times, 11/5/05
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/11/05/Hillsborough/Schools_urged_to_reth.shtml
TAMPA - It wasn't the hundreds of e-mails. Or pressure from the
Hillsborough County Commission. Or the negative publicity from
"opportunistic talking heads on national TV."
Hillsborough County schools superintendent MaryEllen Elia said the
controversy over the exclusion of most religious holidays from next
year's school calendar has become too much of a distraction from the
education of children.
Because of that, she is recommending the School Board reverse itself and restore some religious holidays.
"This is a time we need to rethink, come back and figure out a way to
make this community whole," Elia said during an impromptu news
conference Friday. "It isn't happening right now."
Last week, a majority of board members approved an academic calendar
for 2006-07 that removed all student vacation days timed for Jewish and
Christian observances. The only exception is Christmas, which falls
during the district's winter break.
The vote came nearly one year after local Muslims first asked that an
Islamic holiday be recognized by the school district, just like Yom
Kippur for Jews and Good Friday for Christians. Elia said she will ask
the district's calendar committee to do more research for the following
school year.
Several board members, who still must approve the change, said they
appreciate Elia's request, especially if it halts anti-Muslim sentiment
and the controversy the issue has sparked. Some letter writers have
told Muslims to go back to their own countries and not to expect
recognition in a "Christian nation."
"When we have name-calling and people making statements not based on
fact, that's not healthy," said board member Jack Lamb. "I support her
recommendation."
Board chairwoman Candy Olson said she hasn't decided how she will vote,
but said she will give the recommendation "a great deal of
consideration."
During a public hearing held before the board's vote for the secular calendar, only a few people spoke against it.
Then Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian Blair denounced the
decision on the Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor. In the days
since, the issue has exploded.
At Blair's urging, county commissioners on Wednesday took the unusual
step of voting to ask the School Board to reconsider its decision. When
Blair made a surprise appearance at Elia's news conference Friday, she
took a swipe at elected officials who have seized on the calendar issue.
"We don't have time for anger, vindictiveness or political
maneuvering," she said. "What have schoolchildren learned from the
community's adults so far on this issue? They've seen far too much
grandstanding, ignorance, bigotry and anger. . ."
The man who first requested the Muslim holiday, Ahmed Bedier, praised
Elia and encouraged board members to embrace the more religious
calendar even though no Islamic holiday is included.
"We didn't think it was fair to make others suffer because of our
request," said Bedier, Florida director of the Council on American
Islamic Relations.
Earlier this week, the group asked the School Board to restore the holidays.
"That's been our position all along," he said. "We've never asked them
to remove anyone else's holiday. We just asked to be included." (MORE)
WHAT'S NEXT
For a second time, the School Board will consider a school calendar
with Christian and Jewish holidays at a 5 p.m. meeting Tuesday at the
School Administrative Center, 901 E Kennedy Blvd.
Superintendent MaryEllen Elia is recommending the board reverse its
vote last week in favor of a secular calendar and approve one that
mirrors the existing calendar, which has days off for Good Friday, Yom
Kippur and the Monday after Easter.
The calendar would go into effect next year.
-----
CA: RELIEF EFFORT -
TOP
Elise Ackerman, Mercury News, 11/4/05
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/13079171.htm
Mohammed Shaffi had steeled himself to speak about the earthquake that
destroyed his home village in Kashmir last month. But when he tried to
take the podium Thursday morning at the First Presbyterian Church in
Palo Alto, he broke into sobs.
"Fifty-two members of my family have died," he said in a choked voice.
The 45-year-old Saratoga grocery store owner covered his face with his
hands.
Samina Sundas, executive director of American Muslim Voice, a
Newark-based advocacy group, had brought Shaffi to the church, along
with several dozen leaders of various religious organizations and peace
groups, to combat the "compassion fatigue" that has undercut relief
efforts in South Asia just as winter sets in.
"The first wave of people who died, we couldn't do anything," Sundas
said. "But we could save the second wave of people who are going to die
because we cannot provide them with food, shelter, water, emergency
needs. . ."
Sundas said she asked other local Pakistanis to speak, but they are too grief-stricken.
Sundas called on Americans to participate in a ``global week of giving'' from Nov. 21 to 27.
Information about donating can be found at
www.amuslimvoice.org.
-----
ALI TO RECEIVE MEDAL OF FREEDOM, HIGHEST CIVILIAN HONOR -
TOP
James R. Carroll, Courier-Journal, 11/4/05
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051104/NEWS0104/511040426/1008/NEWS01
WASHINGTON -- Louisville native Muhammad Ali is to be awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, the
White House announced yesterday.
Ali, 63, the first three-time heavyweight boxing champion of the world,
will be honored along with 13 other recipients by President Bush at a
White House ceremony on Wednesday.
"Muhammad Ali was one of the greatest athletes of all time and an
inspirational figure to millions of people around the world," said
White House spokeswoman Christie Parell. (MORE)
-----
JEWISH DEFENSE LEAGUE'S KRUGEL KILLED IN FEDERAL PRISON -
TOP
Convicted in failed 2001 plot to bomb California mosque
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/11/05/krugel.ap/index.html
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Jewish Defense League figure Earl Krugel, convicted
in a plot to bomb a California mosque and the office of a U.S.
congressman was killed at a federal prison in Arizona, an FBI spokesman
said Saturday.
Krugel, 62, was killed in an assault Friday evening at the Federal
Correctional Institution in Phoenix, said FBI agent Richard Murray.
Murray wouldn't release further details but said federal authorities had opened a homicide investigation.
Krugel's wife, Lola, said FBI investigators told her an inmate had
struck her husband on the head from behind with a cement block.
"Earl never saw it happening," she said. "He was exercising."
He had been at the medium-security prison for three days, according to his sister Linda Krugel, also of Los Angeles.
Earl Krugel, a former dental assistant from Reseda, and late JDL leader
Irv Rubin were arrested in 2001 and charged with conspiring to bomb the
King Fahd Mosque in Culver City and a field office of Republican Rep.
Darrell E. Issa, who is Lebanese-American.
Krugel pleaded guilty in 2003 to one count of conspiracy to violate the
civil rights of worshippers at the mosque and one count of carrying an
explosive device in connection with a conspiracy to impede or injure an
office of the United States. (MORE)
-----
PSSST ... NOBODY LOVES A TORTURER -
TOP
Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek, 11/14/05
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9939154/site/newsweek/
Nov. 14, 2005 issue - As President Bush's approval ratings sink at
home, the glee across the globe rises. He remains the most unpopular
political figure in the world, and newspapers from Europe to Asia are
delighting in his troubles. Last week's protests in Mar del Plata were
happily replayed on televisions everywhere. So what is the leader of
the free world to do? Well, I have a suggestion that might improve
Bush's image abroad-and it doesn't require that Karen Hughes go
anywhere. It would actually help Bush at home as well, and it has the
additional virtue of being the right thing to do. It's simple: end the
administration's disastrous experiment with officially sanctioned
torture. . .
And the incidents clearly go well beyond Abu Ghraib. During the past
few months, declassified documents and testimony from Army officers
make abundantly clear that torture and abuse of prisoners is something
that has become quite widespread since 9/11. The most recent evidence
comes from autopsies of 44 prisoners who have died in Iraq and
Afghanistan in U.S. custody. Most died under circumstances that suggest
torture. The reports use words like "strangulation," "asphyxiation" and
"blunt force injuries." Even the "natural" deaths were caused by
"Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular disease"-in other words, sudden heart
attacks.
Sen. John McCain has proposed making absolutely clear in law that the
United States does not permit the torture of prisoners-returning
America to the position it had taken for five decades. McCain's
amendment, endorsed by Colin Powell, passed the Senate last month by 90
to 9 in a stunning rebuke of administration policy. But Republicans in
the House are trying to kill it. Vice President Cheney is making great
exertions to gut it with loopholes. The White House has threatened to
veto the entire defense budget, to which McCain's proposal was
originally attached, unless his ban is removed. White House spokesmen
don't answer questions about the bill plainly, and Cheney simply
refuses to explain his views at all. (As the writer Andrew Sullivan has
noted, someone needs to remind the vice president that he is an elected
and accountable public servant, not a monarch.) (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
OUTING SECRET JAILS -
TOP
DOUGLAS WALLER, Time, 11/6/05
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1126713,00.html
After the Sept. 11 attacks, the CIA was eager to whisk captured
terrorists off to secret locations around the world where its
operatives could interrogate them out of the reach of the U.S. legal
system and human-rights organizations. But four years later, with about
three dozen of al-Qaeda's most hard-core agents in CIA custody,
America's new spy chief seems less enthusiastic about the leeway his
operatives have had. At a secret briefing for U.S. Senators on Oct. 26,
a senior U.S. intelligence official tells TIME, Director of National
Intelligence John Negroponte was pointedly neutral on Vice President
Dick Cheney's Capitol Hill lobbying to have the CIA exempted from
legislation banning mistreatment of detainees. "It's above my pay
grade," the spymaster said, then artfully dodged another question about
whether the harsher interrogation tactics Cheney wants the agency to be
free to use actually produce valuable intelligence. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/7/05
*
Hadith:
God Rewards Those Who Establish
Justice
-
Verse:
The Unjust Will be Called to
Account
*
CAIR-DC:
Register Online for CAIR's Annual
Banquet
*
NPR:
'I am an American Muslim' (This I
Believe)
*
CAIR Urges DHS Protection
for Pakistanis Impacted by Quake
-
CAIR-Philly Participates in Teacher
Training Workshop
-
CAIR-SC:
Festival to Celebrate the End of
Ramadan
-
CAIR-Chicago:
Institutions Work Toward
Interfaith Relations
-
CAIR-OH:
Turkish Police Partner With Ohio
Officers
*
IL:
Interfaith Bus Tour Lets
Religions Learn from Each Other
*
KY:
Muhammad Ali Center Celebrates Life
of 'The Greatest' (AP)
*
Cheney Fights Against Torture Ban (Wash
Post)
-
McCain Vows to Add Torture Ban to
Legislation (LA Times)
-
Prisoner Accounts of
Detention at
Secret Jails (Wash Post)
-
5
U.S. Soldiers Accused of Detainee
Abuse (AP)
*
France:
'How Much More French Can I Be?'
(Time)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: GOD REWARDS THOSE WHO ESTABLISH
JUSTICE -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "For every day on
which the sun rises, there is a (reward from God) for the one who
establishes justice among people."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Hadith 870
VERSE OF THE DAY: THE UNJUST WILL BE CALLED TO
ACCOUNT -
TOP
"If every person that has done injustice possessed all that the
earth contains, he would be willing to offer it all in ransom to redeem
himself (on Judgment Day) if he could."
The Holy Quran, 10:54
-----
REGISTER ONLINE FOR CAIR'S ANNUAL BANQUET -
TOP
Registration is now available online for CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet,
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice." To learn
more about the dinner, or to register, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
-----
NPR: WE ARE EACH OTHER'S BUSINESS -
TOP
Eboo Patel, National Public Radio, 11/7/05
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4989625
Morning Edition, November 7, 2005 � I am an American Muslim. I believe in
pluralism. In the Holy Quran, God tells us, "I created you into
diverse nations and tribes that you may come to know one another." I
believe America is humanity's best opportunity to make God's wish that we
come to know one another a reality.
In my office hangs Norman Rockwell's illustration Freedom of Worship. A
Muslim holding a Quran in his hands stands near a Catholic woman
fingering her rosary. Other figures have their hands folded in prayer and
their eyes filled with piety. They stand shoulder-to-shoulder facing the
same direction, comfortable with the presence of one another and yet
apart. It is a vivid depiction of a group living in peace with its
diversity, yet not exploring it.
We live in a world where the forces that seek to divide us are strong. To
overcome them, we must do more than simply stand next to one another in
silence. (MORE)
-----
CAIR URGES DHS PROTECTION FOR
PAKISTANIS IMPACTED BY QUAKE -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, DC, 11/07/2005) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) announced that it has joined with almost 50 other groups in
requesting that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant Temporary
Protected Status (TPS) to Pakistani nationals in the U.S. who cannot
return to the parts of their homeland devastated by the recent
earthquake.
TPS is a temporary measure granted to eligible nationals of designated
countries. It is granted where there is evidence of civil unrest,
violence or natural disasters, or where there are extraordinary,
temporary conditions that that make returning to a country impossible or
unsafe.
SEE: "Groups, Lawmakers Want Pakistan on 'Protected Status'
List"
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--pakistanprotected1104nov04,0,426778.story
In 1998, the Clinton administration granted TPS to Montserrat, Honduran
and Nicaraguan nationals after volcanic eruptions and hurricanes
devastated their homelands. In 2001, the Bush Administration granted TPS
to El Salvadoran nationals following two earthquakes.
Currently, there is an effort to grant Guatemalans TPS due to the
environmental disaster there earlier this year. As of January 2005,
nationals of eight designated countries have been able to apply for TPS:
Burundi, El Salvador, Honduras, Liberia, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Somalia,
and Sudan.
CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor, 202-646-6039 or
571-278-4658, E-Mail:
csaylor@cair-net.org
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-PHILLY PARTICIPATES IN TEACHER TRAINING
WORKSHOP -
TOP
On Saturday, November 5, the Philadelphia chapter of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Philly) joined the local chapter of the
Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) to take part in a "What it
Means to be an American" workshop at Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr,
Pennsylvania.
"What it Means to be an American," a national teacher training
workshop, was designed to teach about tolerance and the responsibility
each American has to ensure that constitutional liberties and protections
are enjoyed equally by all.
The six-hour workshop hosted 50 participants from across the nation and
featured discussions on the Constitution during times of crisis, the
Arab-American and American Muslim experience and the history of the
Japanese-American internment camps.
CAIR-Philly representative Iftekhar Hussain shared accounts of the
American Muslim community's experiences following 9/11.
CONTACT: CAIR-Philly Communications Director Adeeba Al-Zaman,
215-592-0509
---
CAIR-SC: JOIN THE FEAST AT CULTURAL FESTIVAL TO
CELEBRATE THE END OF RAMADAN -
TOP
Williesha Lakin, The State, 11/7/05
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/13101222.htm
Those of the Islamic faith are welcoming other Midlands residents to join
the celebration of the end of Ramadan this weekend.
The Muslim Cultural Festival will be Saturday in Lexington.
Offered by the S.C. chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations,
the event will feature traditional food, storytelling, costumes, henna
art and activities for children, including a scavenger hunt. At the
"Bedouin tent," you'll be able to can dress up in costumes and
have your photo taken. Calligraphy and wood engravings will be among the
crafts to check out.
Ramadan is the ninth month in the Muslim calendar and is a period of
fasting and worship. A special feast ends the period.
Given the volatile situations around the world, such an event has even
more importance, says Sabrina Kidwai, media-relations director for
CAIR-SC. "People will see the different cultures and aspects of
Islam through this celebration," she said. "It will educate
Muslims as well as non-Muslims."
The festival will be 2-7 p.m. Saturday at the Lexington Municipal Complex
at 111 Maiden Lane, off South Lake Drive (S.C. 6). Admission is free, but
take cash for food.
For more information, call (803) 210-7355. For more on CAIR, go to
www.cair-net.org.
ALSO SEE:
CAIR-CHICAGO: CHICAGO-BASED INSTITUTIONS WORK
TOWARD INTERFAITH RELATIONS -
TOP
Christian Post, 11/6/05
http://www.christianpost.com/article/education/988/section/chicago-based.institutions.work.toward.interfaith.relations/1.htm
PASADENA, Calif. - Fuller Theological Seminary celebrated the beginning
of its 58th academic year with a special chapel service marked by the
year's theme - "Unity."
Attendants of the Chicago Interfaith Gathering Symposium hope to explore
and build toward solutions to this question at this year's gathering at
the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago Augustana Chapel, Nov.
10-11.
Sponsored by the Lutheran School of Theology at the Chicago Catholic
Theological Union, McCormick Theological Seminary, and the Niagara
Foundation, the event will bring together leaders and members of
different cultures and faiths as a step toward increased tolerance and
cooperation.
The title of the symposium, "Towards Interreligious Dialogue in the
New Millenium," spells out the vision of the organizers.
Acknowledging the growing divisions between peoples of different
religions in the past few years, the Chicago Interfaith Gathering hopes
to bridge some of those gaps by initiating dialogue, and ultimately
understanding, between different groups.
"The core mission of the Chicago Interfaith Gathering is to promote
global networks of interfaith activism and to explore new ways of moving
forward together in cooperation," states the program. "While
acknowledging and honoring our genuine differences, we aim to build on
our shared hopes and values."
The list of local religious and cultural groups that are cosponsoring the
event demonstrates the breadth of involvement from diverse members of the
Greater Chicago area. Academic institutions include Loyola University,
University of Chicago, Depaul University, and the Catholic Theological
Union. Religious and cultural organizations involved in the symposium
include the Council on American Islamic Relations, the National
Conference for Community and Justice, the Interfaith Youth Core, and the
Archdiocese of Chicago's Department of Ecumenical & Inter-religious
Affairs. (MORE)
---
CAIR-OH: TURKISH POLICE PARTNER WITH OHIO OFFICERS
-
TOP
Rachel Dissell, Cleveland Plain Dealer, 11/7/05
http://www.cleveland.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news/1131359746108320.xml&coll=2
As the convoy carrying David Wright wove through bustling Turkish cities,
past the sparkling Aegean Sea and into a countryside rich with
centuries-old architecture, the Bay Village police chief couldn't help
but marvel at the events that brought him halfway around the world as
part of a historic partnership with police officers there.
The 12 Ohio lawmen, including Wright, were escorted by a cadre of
bodyguards as they toured Turkey in 2004, and in each city they were
greeted, fed and indulged like stars.
"It felt like being the president or royalty. Here, I've never been
past Parma Heights or maybe Niagara Falls," he joked.
The trip to the vast country that straddles Europe and Asia was years in
the making and one that solidified a police partnership between a
Midwestern state and a secular Muslim country of 69 million.
For five years, as they discussed police work, their countries and
religion, the members of the two forces had built trust and respect for
each other. Today, 11 Turkish commanders are to arrive in Ohio to study
with police departments around the state. Some will stay for additional
schooling.
The Turkish police have seen firsthand the American democratic model of
policing -- training that they hope will help the huge Turkish force shed
its reputation for rough interrogation, torture and unreasonable arrests
that trample on civil liberties.
And Ohio officers know that Turkey is decades ahead in dealing with the
local seeds of terrorist threats.
Turkish officers can also help Ohio officers better understand the
state's growing Muslim communities, which are estimated to number 150,000
people, according to the local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations. (MORE)
---
IL: INTERFAITH BUS TOUR LETS
RELIGIONS LEARN FROM EACH OTHER -
TOP
Maria Baran, News-Democrat, 11/7/05
http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/13102052.htm
Forty years ago, the Roman Catholic Church issued the declaration
"Nostra Aetate," on its relations with non-Christian
religions.
When the Vatican II document was issued on Oct. 28, 1965, it noted the
"fullness of religious life" and said the Church "rejects
nothing of what is holy and true" in the other religions.
The document's anniversary was discussed as part of an interfaith bus
tour Sunday that visited St. Luke Catholic Church, Agudas Achim-Beth
Israel synagogue in Belleville and the Masjid Islamic Center in
Swansea.
Only through dialogue will society be able to learn more about other
faiths, said Rev. James Margason at the Metro-East Interfaith Partnership
event.
"We still have a long way to go," he said. "Some dialogue
has to continue."
More than 50 people turned out for the bus tour to learn about October's
events in three separate religious traditions.
Mosque member Bashar Murad taught about the Muslim celebration of
Ramadan, which recently ended.
The month of fasting is a way to weaken one's ego, Murad said in the
sparsely-decorated large room with many windows.
Following Muslim traditions, listeners removed their shoes before
entering the mosque and women wore head scarves. They sat on the carpeted
floor.
"We don't reject anything God sends to us," Murad said. In
addition to daily prayers, the mosque holds worship services on Friday
afternoons. (MORE)
-----
MUHAMMAD ALI CENTER IN LOUISVILLE CELEBRATES
LIFE OF 'THE GREATEST' -
TOP
Betsy Vereckey, Associated Press, 11/7/05
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The relationship between this city and native son
Muhammad Ali always comes back to a story, of the brash Olympic boxing
champ then known as Cassius Clay tossing his 1960 gold medal into the
Ohio River in disgust over entrenched racism.
But the story may be apocryphal - Ali later told friends he simply
misplaced the medal - and as the years passed, Louisville and Ali
eventually came to appreciate each other.
Now, Ali's hometown is ready to unveil its most lasting tribute, a museum
celebrating the life of one of the 20th century's most recognizable
figures.
The Muhammad Ali Center opens Nov. 21, chronicling the life of "The
Greatest" inside and outside the ring, emphasizing his peaceful
values and vision of global tolerance, and setting the record straight
about that infamous gold medal.
"People will be surprised when they visit the Ali center," said
museum spokeswoman Jeanie Kahnke. "Many people only know of Ali as a
boxer and a three-time heavyweight champion of the world. What they may
not know about him is how he has been a charitable individual for most of
his life. That has only grown since he has retired from the
ring."
Ali, now 63 and battling Parkinson's Disease, is expected to attend a
star-studded opening gala Nov. 19, along with celebrities Will Smith,
Angelina Jolie, Jamie Foxx, Jim Carrey, James Taylor and B.B. King. The
event is even attracting guests all the way from England, New Zealand,
Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, Jamaica and Barbados.
"There are very few in the world who affect people the way Ali
does," Kahnke said. "We've heard from people who are suffering
from diseases and young kids who were born 15 years after Ali's last
fight. Ali gives them the strength to achieve their own goals and fight
for their own beliefs."
Ali the boxer retired in 1981 with a 56-5 record, 37 knockouts and an
Olympic gold medal. By then, the legendary fighting career was only part
of his story.
He became the world's best-known Muslim, took a peaceful stand against
the Vietnam War that cost him his heavyweight title and has worked in his
later years as a United Nations peace ambassador, helping raise awareness
and money for the world's poorest nations. (MORE)
-----
CHENEY FIGHTS FOR DETAINEE POLICY -
TOP
Dana Priest and Robin Wright, Washington Post, 11/7/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/06/AR2005110601281_pf.html
Over the past year, Vice President Cheney has waged an intense and
largely unpublicized campaign to stop Congress, the Pentagon and the
State Department from imposing more restrictive rules on the handling of
terrorist suspects, according to defense, state, intelligence and
congressional officials.
Last winter, when Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), vice chairman of
the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, began pushing to have the
full committee briefed on the CIA's interrogation practices, Cheney
called him to the White House to urge that he drop the matter, said three
U.S. officials.
In recent months, Cheney has been the force against adding safeguards to
the Defense Department's rules on treatment of military prisoners,
putting him at odds with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and acting
Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon R. England. On a trip to Canada last
month, Rice interrupted a packed itinerary to hold a secure
video-teleconference with Cheney on detainee policy to make sure no
decisions were made without her input.
Just last week, Cheney showed up at a Republican senatorial luncheon to
lobby lawmakers for a CIA exemption to an amendment by Sen. John McCain
(R-Ariz.) that would ban torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners. The
exemption would cover the CIA's covert "black sites" in several
Eastern European democracies and other countries where key al Qaeda
captives are being kept.
Cheney spokesman Steve Schmidt declined to comment on the vice
president's interventions or to elaborate on his positions. "The
vice president's views are certainly reflected in the administration's
policy," he said.
Increasingly, however, Cheney's positions are being opposed by other
administration officials, including Cabinet members, political appointees
and Republican lawmakers who once stood firmly behind the administration
on all matters concerning terrorism.
ALSO SEE:
MCCAIN VOWS TO ADD TORTURE BAN TO ALL MAJOR SENATE
LEGISLATION -
TOP
John Hendren, Los Angeles Times, 11/5/05
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1105mccain-torture05.html
WASHINGTON - Girding for a potential fight with the Bush administration,
supporters of a ban on torturing prisoners of war by U.S. interrogators
threatened Friday to include the prohibition in nearly every bill the
Senate considers until it becomes law.
The no-torture wording, which proponents say is supported by majorities
in both houses of Congress, was included last month in the Senate's
version of a defense spending bill. The measure's final form is being
negotiated with the House, and the White House is pushing for either a
rewording or deletion of the torture ban.
On Friday, at the urging of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, the Senate by a
voice vote added the ban to a related defense bill as a backup.
Speaking from the Senate floor, McCain said, "If necessary - and I
sincerely hope it is not - I and the co-sponsors of this amendment will
seek to add it to every piece of important legislation voted on in the
Senate until the will of a substantial bipartisan majority in both houses
of Congress prevails. Let no one doubt our determination."
The ban would establish the Army Field Manual as the guiding authority in
interrogations and prohibit "cruel, inhumane, and degrading
treatment" of prisoners.
The Bush administration has sought to exempt the CIA from the
ban.
McCain's stature in the fight is enhanced because he was tortured while
he was a prisoner during the Vietnam War. When the Senate voted to
include the ban in the defense spending bill last month, it was approved
90-9.
The House's version of the spending bill does not contain the torture
ban. But Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, the ranking Democrat on the
House Defense Appropriations subcommittee, earlier this week urged his
colleagues to accept the Senate provision.
The provision would reverse the Bush administration's contention that
conditions placed on the treatment of prisoners of war in the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other
international treaties signed by the United States do not apply to
foreigners held overseas. (MORE)
---
PRISONER ACCOUNTS SUGGEST DETENTION AT
SECRET FACILITIES -
TOP
Josh White, Washington Post, 11/7/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/06/AR2005110601049.html
Three Yemeni nationals who were arrested in late 2003 say they were
transferred to U.S. custody and kept isolated in at least four secret
detention facilities that Amnesty International officials believe could
be part of a covert CIA prison system.
The three detainees have not said they were physically abused while in
U.S. custody, but they describe being whisked away in airplanes to
unknown locations where they were interrogated by Americans in civilian
clothes, according to an Amnesty International report. At one prison, the
detainees were guarded by people in all-black "ninja" suits,
who communicated using hand gestures.
During their separate incarcerations, the detainees were never visited by
the International Committee of the Red Cross, never had access to
lawyers, were unable to correspond with their families and had no contact
with the outside world, the report said. Their families believed they
were dead or were told that they had gone to Iraq to fight the United
States.
The accounts, taken in independent interviews by Amnesty International
researchers over the past few months, appear to be consistent with
reports of a network of secret CIA detention facilities, according to the
report. The detainees could not determine where they were because they
were hooded during the flights, but because of the travel time they
assumed they were in Europe or the Middle East, according to Amnesty
International.
---
5 U.S. SOLDIERS ACCUSED OF DETAINEE ABUSE -
TOP
Associated Press, 11/7/05
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Five U.S. soldiers have been charged with allegedly
abusing detainees in Iraq, the military said Monday.
The charges were proffered Saturday against five soldiers from the 75th
Ranger Regiment in connection with a Sept. 7 incident ``in which three
detainees were allegedly punched and kicked while awaiting movement to a
detention facility.''
``Upon discovery of the alleged abuse, officials immediately launched an
investigation which ultimately led to the charges being proffered,'' the
command said.
Names and ranks of the five soldiers were not released and the statement
gave no further details.
Allegations of prisoner abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad gained
international notoriety in 2004 after a number of U.S. military personnel
were charged with humiliating and assaulting detainees at the
facility.
Nine Army reservists were convicted in the scandal.
-----
FRANCE: "HOW MUCH MORE FRENCH CAN I BE?" -
TOP
Medine, Time, 11/14/05
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1126720,00.html
People like me--the descendants of immigrants, whether Arab, black or
Asian--are turning to our roots and embracing our heritage, just the
opposite of what our parents did when they arrived. My grandparents, for
example, who came to France from Algeria to live, work and build a better
life, accepted the role of guest. They did all they could not just to fit
in but to become invisible. Calling attention to themselves usually meant
trouble--endless ID and visa checks from police, racist remarks and
insults--so they avoided that. They tried as much as possible to
integrate, and in doing so shut away their customs, language and
heritage.
I certainly don't belittle their choice. But people of my generation are
not shy about embracing their heritage, and, far from seeking
invisibility, we're standing up to denounce the prejudice and injustice
we face. In my case, Islam is an enormous part of who I am, just as being
French is. The two aren't in opposition or even mutually exclusive. Yet
when you hear the debate in France today, you'd swear they must
be.
The people who live in projects like those where last week's riots raged
are treated as second-class citizens. We have less access to the rights
and services of the republic--schools are run down; job opportunities are
remote. What we do have is a supermarket, a mall for low-cost shops, a
few fast-food joints and maybe a movie complex. That's it. The idea is to
create just enough diversion so we stay where we are. The message is,
Don't come in to mix with the people in the city centers. That's what the
police tell you when they stop you on a bus coming into town: "You
have no business in the center? Then you have no reason to be there. Go
back where you belong."
Before Sept. 11, I would have said this was a kind of residual racism.
The problems people had with us were due to our ethnicity, our skin
color. Today, with many young people returning to religion as they start
searching for their own identities, faith is becoming the difference
that's most often pointed out. I'm not just a black guy or an Arab
anymore; I'm a Muslim. And that's a code word for alien, someone who's
determined not to fit in.
But I was born and raised in France. I've been a citizen since birth. How
much more French can I be? And there are many more people like me, not
just Muslims but blacks, Asians and South Asians. It's time for the
French to reject those outdated labels. And it's time for minorities to
reject the cult of victimization too. Things aren't perfect. There are a
lot of problems. Those problems exploded last week, unleashing the
long-held resentment of people who feel unwanted, scorned and swept into
the margins like so much trash. To change that, the gap between the
banlieue and the rest of France must be bridged. We need to make peace
with the things that make us different. I'm French, I'm Muslim, and there
are millions like me. We live here, and we're not going anywhere. So
let's start getting used to it.
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CA SYNAGOGUE THAT HOSTED ISLAMOPHOBE URGED TO
INVITE MUSLIM SPEAKER
Hate-filled comments on speaker's website compare
Muslims to animals and Nazis
(ANAHEIM, CA, 11/8/2005) - The Southern California office of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today urged a Los Angeles
synagogue that recently hosted the operator of a virulently anti-Muslim
website to invite a Muslim representative who can offer a balancing
perspective on Islam.
CAIR-LA has learned that Robert Spencer, who operates the "Jihad
Watch" Internet hate site, spoke at Temple Shalom for the Arts
during a Yom Kippur event. Spencer's website is notorious for its
depiction of Islam as an inherently violent faith that is a threat to
world peace.
Jihad Watch Board Vice President Hugh Fitzgerald recently wrote on that
site:
"To be sure, plenty of Believers in exotic creeds alien or new to
the West have managed to fit in perfectly well, and be friendly neighbors
and loyal citizens. . .Only one group, only one belief-system,
distinguishes itself by appearing incapable of fitting in. And that is
Muslims, and Islam. . . if one really knew what Islam contained . . .then
how could any decent person remain a Muslim?"
He went on to recommend that western nations be "Islam-proofed the
way a house is child-proofed," compared Muslims to Nazis and urged
that they be boycotted: "
[I]t should not be hard to find ways to
limit the spread or practice of Islam. And if in addition to whatever
local, state and federal government officials do, private parties
simply conduct their own boycott of goods and services offered by
Muslims, in the same way that they would have refused to buy, in
1938, a German Voigtlander camera. . ."
Comments posted on the site are bone-chilling in the raw hatred they
espouse. For example, one poster described Muslims as being like animals,
writing:
"If they want students to learn about Islamic culture,
what's wrong with a simple field trip to the city zoo?"
Other anti-Muslim comments on the Jihad Watch website
include:
*
"Islam strips its followers of all aspects of their
identity and in short converts them into killer-Zombies."
*
"Islam, the preferred religion of criminals."
* "
If Mohammad were alive today and spouting his 'new'
message from God in today's media
he would be identified and branded
as the lunatic that he was and be jailed or
hospitalized."
"We would be glad to suggest the names of credible Muslim scholars
who can offer Temple Shalom's congregation a perspective on Islam that is
not tainted by hatred and bigotry," said
CAIR-LA Executive
Director Hussam Ayloush.
Ayloush also offered to give every member of Temple Shalom a
complimentary copy of the Quran, Islam's revealed text, so they may learn
more about what Muslims really believe. (
A free copy of the Quran
may be ordered or sponsored at:
www.explorethequran.org
)
He also called on Jewish leaders in California, many of whom are close
friends and partners with the Muslim community, to publicly repudiate
those who promote anti-Muslim hatred.
CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 31 offices
and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
- END -
CONTACT: CAIR-LA, Sabiha Khan, 714-776-1847 or 714-390-0334, E-Mail:
socal@cair.com
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called
CAIR-NET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our society.
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from CAIR-NET, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS
- 11/8/05
*
Hadith:
Beware of
Anger
-
Verse:
The
Righteous Control Their
Anger
*
CAIR-DC:
Register Online for CAIR s
Annual Banquet
*
CAIR Calls for Peaceful End to Rioting
in France
*
CAIR:
Muslims
Outraged by DHS Official's Comments
-
CAIR-FL:
Ban on Religious Holidays Stirs Controversy (SP Times)
-
CAIR: Scholarships Honor Rosa Parks' Legacy (Wash File)
-
CAIR-TX: At Ramadan's End, Joy is Tempered by Sorrows
*
CAIR-OH: Nationwide Vigil for Earthquake Victims
-
CAIR-DC Participates in Quake Reconstruction Conference
-
APPNA-NY Quake Fundraising Dinner
*
Pentagon Plans Tighter Control of Interrogation (NYT)
-
Torture, Shaming Us All (Wash Post)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: BEWARE OF ANGER -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Beware of anger, for it is a live coal on the heart of the descendants of Adam."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1331
VERSE OF THE DAY: THE RIGHTEOUS CONTROL THEIR ANGER -
TOP
"(The righteous) are those who spend generously (in the way of God),
whether they are in prosperity or in adversity, who control their anger
and forgive other people, for God loves those who do good."
The Holy Quran, 3:134
-----
REGISTER ONLINE FOR CAIR'S ANNUAL BANQUET -
TOP
Registration is now available online for CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet,
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice." To learn more about
the dinner, or to register, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
-----
CAIR CALLS FOR PEACEFUL END TO RIOTING IN FRANCE - TOP
U.S. Muslim group urges 'dialogue and mutual respect'
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/8/05) - A prominent national
Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called on French
authorities to employ "dialogue and mutual respect" in efforts to end
rioting and violence in suburbs of Paris.
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
joined Muslim leaders in France in calling for an immediate and
peaceful end to the violence. CAIR also called for a national campaign
to address the economic and social marginalization and exclusion that
appear to be the root causes of the violence.
SEE: "Paris Heat Not from Muslims"
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/paris-heat-not-from-muslims/2005/11/07/1131212007304.html
In its statement, CAIR said:
"Dialogue and mutual respect, rather than senseless violence or
repressive tactics, are the only answers to social, political and
economic grievances. Islam seeks just and stable societies and condemns
the wanton destruction of lives and property.
"We agree with French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin who said
Tuesday that, 'The struggle against all discriminations must become a
priority for our national community.'
"It is imperative that people of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds in
France come together to help address critical issues of unemployment,
alienation, racial discrimination, and social integration."
CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 31 offices
and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR: LOCAL MUSLIMS OUTRAGED BY HOMELAND OFFICIAL'S COMMENTS -
TOP
Suzan Clarke and Dwight R. Worley, Journal News, 11/8/05
http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051108/NEWS02/511080348/1018/NEWS02
Local Muslims yesterday reacted with sadness and outrage to a
Department of Homeland Security official's recent urging that they and
Arab-Americans register with the federal government before flying, to
reduce the chance their names are flagged as security risks.
Daniel Sutherland, the department's head of civil rights, made the
comments at an Oct. 20 seminar on Homeland Security sponsored by the
University of Maryland's Knight Center for Specialized Journalism.
Sutherland was responding to a question posed by a reporter who wanted
to know what options were available to Muslims and Arab-Americans who
frequently were targets of additional scrutiny at airports, Valerie
Smith, a spokeswoman for the department, said yesterday.
"Mr. Sutherland was stating that any individual who has concerns about
secondary screenings has this option available to them, but we do not
recommend that all Americans or particular groups of Americans register
in this program, only those individuals who have concerns about
secondary screening could consider this an option," Smith said.
Sutherland's suggestion was that Muslim and Arab-American travelers
complete a form on the Web page of the Transportation Security
Administration, a division of Homeland Security responsible for
protecting mass transit systems, including airports.
But Gilbert Gordon, president of the Jerrahi Mosque in Chestnut Ridge,
said any such program aimed at one specific group could be viewed as
"an invasion of their privacy and an invasion of their civil liberty."
Rather than achieve greater security and improved relations, having
Muslims register would do nothing more than foster "distrust and
animosity between the American government and Muslims," said Gordon,
who lives in Chestnut Ridge.
Dobbs Ferry resident Salem Mikdadi, a board member of the Center for
Jewish-Christian-Muslim Understanding in Irvington, took offense to the
suggestion.
"I don't want to be singled out as someone different. I am an American
like everybody else and my faith is strictly personal," said Mikdadi, a
Muslim who came to the United States from the Palestinian territories
34 years ago. "Singling out individuals or groups of people and
suggesting it's a matter for their convenience to register, a lot of
people might take offense.
"I never dreamt in my life that a day would come where it would be
suggested that I disclose my personal data to the government to
facilitate my travel in a free country," he said. "As much as I value
my safety, there are certain individual freedoms that need to be
respected."
Still, Mikdadi acknowledged that instances of airport workers confusing
Muslims' names with those on the anti-terror lists was an increasing
problem, but he attributed it to poor staff training.
Arsalan Iftikhar, national legal director for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations in Washington, called Sutherland's comments
"counterproductive to DHS's desire to bridge the gap between the Muslim
community and the federal government.
"We think that this will only serve to further alienate the community
and profile lawful Americans," Iftikhar said. He added that all
Americans should be concerned by any action that would allow the
government to archive an individual's personal information.
The two-page Passenger Identity Verification Form asks for personal
information, including height, eye and hair color and copies of at
least three official forms of identification. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-FL: A PERFECT STORM: RELIGION, CULTURE, TIMING -
TOP
Melanie Ave, St Petersburg Times, 11/8/05
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/11/08/State/A_perfect_storm__reli.shtml
TAMPA - Hillsborough County school officials say no issue in recent
memory has generated more controversy than the decision to remove
religious holidays from the school calendar.
The county school board has received hundreds of e-mails since its vote
two weeks ago. National and local media are peppering officials almost
daily with interview requests. Other elected leaders are criticizing
the decision.
"This has become divisive in ways we never intended or imagined," said
superintendent MaryEllen Elia, who wants the board to reverse its
decision tonight and restore the holidays to next year's calendar.
But why has this issue touched such a nerve locally and nationally?
Many school districts, including Pinellas County five years ago,
severed their connection between religious holidays and student
vacations with little or no fanfare.
Scholars and observers say the key reasons are religion, culture and timing.
The fact that a Muslim group's request for a holiday sparked the
calendar change made the issue particularly contentious. The Fox News
Channel's Bill O'Reilly has focused on the involvement of Muslims, many
of whom objected to the removal of all religious holidays and fought to
keep Jewish and Christian observances on the calendar.
"To the average person, the misinformed person, they're thinking the
Muslims somehow are responsible for Christians and Jews losing their
holidays," said Ahmed Bedier, Florida director of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations.
"They're thinking, how dare the School Board get rid of holidays for
the Muslims. If this was a Baptist group coming forward, we would not
be having this conversation."
When University of Florida Islamic studies professor Gwendolyn Zoharah
Simmons heard board members had removed every religious holiday except
Christmas, she said: "Wow."
Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, many Americans have
viewed Islam as a violent religion, she said. News stories about the
war in Iraq and Muslim insurgents killing American soldiers have made
the religion even less popular. (MORE)
---
SCHOLARSHIPS ESTABLISHED TO HONOR ROSA PARKS' LEGACY -
TOP
Muslim group latest to advance "cause of human dignity" in her name
Michael Jay Friedman, Washington File, 11/7/05
http://usinfo.state.gov/usinfo/products/washfile.html
Washington -- The recent announcement of a "Rosa Parks Civil Liberties
Scholarship" established by the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) focuses attention on continuing efforts to honor Parks' legacy
by making higher education available to all Americans.
Regarded by many as the "Mother of the Civil Rights Movement," Parks
died of natural causes on October 24 at her home in Detroit at the age
of 92. (See related article.)
The Rosa Parks Scholarship Foundation, founded in 1980 by the Detroit
News newspaper and the city of Detroit public schools, has awarded more
than $1.5 million to about 750 students. It annually presents
approximately 40 students from Parks' adopted state of Michigan with
$2000 scholarships for use at the university of their choice.
CAIR's $1,000 Parks Civil Liberties Scholarship will be awarded to
students with a demonstrated interest in civil liberties issues and an
ability to show how the civil rights movement relates to the American
Muslim experience.
In a statement announcing the scholarship, CAIR said: "Rosa Parks'
refusal to give up her seat sparked the civil rights movement and
continues to inspire all those who struggle for social justice and
equality. It is only fitting that a scholarship aimed at advancing the
cause of human dignity be offered in her name." (MORE)
To obtain an application form, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/scholarship_criteria_2006.pdf
For more information, e-mail:
scholarship@cair-net.org
---
CAIR-TX: AT RAMADAN'S END, JOY IS TEMPERED BY WORLD'S RECENT SORROWS -
TOP
Sarwat Husain, San Antonio Express, 11/05/05
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/religion/stories/MYSA110505.01R.speakout.69653a3.html
[Sarwat Husain is the chairwoman of the Council on American Islamic Relations in San Antonio. She can be reached at
sanantonio@cair-net.org.]
After fasting the whole month, Muslims celebrate a joyous three days celebration called Eid-ul-Fitr.
Like other festivals, Muslims also buy new clothes, gifts for children and plan for the celebration for days.
This Eid, however, there is a feeling of sorrow and sadness for the
hundreds of thousands of lives that were lost and the continuous
suffering of the survivors due to the natural disasters around the
world in the past two months.
During that time, we have seen hurricanes, earthquakes, volcano
eruptions, drought, floods, landslides and typhoons in Bangladesh,
China, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, U.S.,
El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Paris.
These disasters not only took hundred of thousands of lives and brought
continuous sufferings to the survivors but caused billions of dollars
of economic losses to the world.
Since the start of times, such calamities and disasters have been taking place as a result of the law of nature.
These natural disasters are inevitable and as always can hit anyone, anywhere and anytime with immeasurable and lasting affects.
With all the advances in technology and its impact on globalization,
the world communities have literally become one. What happens in one
area of the world, good or bad, affects the rest of the world.
This is God's way of telling us that life is too short. Nothing is
forever. You will be tested and tried in different ways individually
and collectively. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-OH: NATIONWIDE VIGIL FOR EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
CAIR-Ohio is working with Saquake.org to hold a vigil on November 8th
to mark the one-month anniversary of the devastating earthquake in
South Asia.
The vigil is designed to remember the earthquake victims, draw
attention to the the plight of the survivors and to encourage increased
media coverage of the humanitarian disaster.
WHAT: Vigil for earthquake victims
WHEN: Tuesday, November 8, 2005 (one-month anniversary of the earthquake) at 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Columbus, Ohio: crossing of 15th and High St. at Ohio State University campus
PLEASE COME and SHOW YOUR SUPPORT as cities around the world hold vigils this night at this critical time for the survivors.
For additional details, please see
www.saquake.org or contact Asma Mobin-Uddin 614-560-0272 or Ahmad Alakhras 614-989-5916.
ALSO SEE:
CAIR PARTICIPATES IN CONFERENCE ON QUAKE RECONSTRUCTION -
TOP
WHAT: The objectives for the OPEN US conference are to understand the
challenges posed by the earthquake and assess opportunities and offer
recommendations for improvement over the next year in primarily three
areas: integration of displaced people, infrastructure development and
media awareness.
WHEN: November 13, 2005, 8:30 AM - 1:30PM
WHERE: Conference Venue, The Marvin Center - Grand Ballroom at GWU, 800 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052
To register for the conference visit:
www.openwashingtondc.org
OPEN is a voluntary not-for-profit association dedicated to the
promotion of entrepreneurship and professional advancement within the
Pakistani-American community.
---
APPNA-NY QUAKE FUNDRAISING DINNER -
TOP
WHAT: The New York chapter of THE Association of Pakistani Physicians
of North America (APPNA) will be hosting a fundraising dinner for
Earthquake victims in Pakistan at World Fair Marina. Keynote speaker
will be Lord Nazir Ahmed of the UK. (
www.appna.org)
WHEN: Saturday, November 12th, 2005 Time: 7:00 PM Sharp
WHERE: 1 World's Fair Marina, Flushing, NY 11368, (718) 898-1200
To RSVP, contact Dr. M. Mazhar Haque at 917-517-3720, Dr. Qazi Kamal Haider at 516-225-7852, Dr. Abdul Majeed at 516-655-4134
Minimum $100 per person (All proceeds will be donated to the APPNA-NY earthquake Fund)
-----
PENTAGON PLANS TIGHTER CONTROL OF INTERROGATION -
TOP
Eric Schmitt and Tim Golden, New York Times, 11/8/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/08/politics/08abuse.html
WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 - The Pentagon has approved a new policy directive
governing interrogations as part of an effort to tighten controls over
the questioning of terror suspects and other prisoners by American
soldiers.
Justices to Rule on a Challenge to U.S. Tribunals (November 8, 2005)
Pentagon Charges 5 More in Guant�namo Bay Camp (November 8, 2005) The
eight-page directive, which was signed without any public announcement
last Thursday by Acting Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon R. England,
will allow the Army to issue a long-delayed field manual for
interrogators that is supposed to incorporate the lessons gleaned from
the prisoner-abuse scandals last year.
The Army intends, for example, to ensure that interrogation techniques
are approved, up to the highest levels in the Pentagon, that
interrogators are properly trained and that personnel in the field are
required to report any abuses, Army officials said.
Such changes have been under consideration since the abuses at Abu
Ghraib prison were disclosed in April 2004, and reflect continuing
problems with abuses by troops in Afghanistan and Iraq since then.
The Senate has approved a measure by Senator John McCain, Republican of
Arizona, to ban abusive treatment of prisoners in American custody.
The new interrogations directive is also part of a wider effort by the
Defense Department, which began last December, to review the treatment
of prisoners in military custody.
A second directive, governing all aspects of prisoner detentions, not
just interrogation methods, has caused sharp debate within the Bush
administration. At issue is whether the Pentagon's broad guidelines on
detention should include language from the Geneva Conventions barring
the use of "cruel," "humiliating" and degrading treatment.
Some Pentagon officials said the interrogations directive was issued
now in part to mollify critics in Congress, where new strictures on
intelligence are being debated and where an amendment to a military
spending bill by Mr. McCain would prohibit the use of cruel and
degrading treatment of prisoners.
ALSO SEE:
TORTURE, SHAMING US ALL -
TOP
Richard Cohen, Washington Post, 11/8/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/07/AR2005110701296.html
PETRA, Jordan - Somewhere north of here, Bassam and I switched roles.
He pulled the car over and I took over the driving. The idea was to
keep talking, to fight the painful monotony of the desert road, and so
we talked of family -- Bassam has four children -- and of the economic
situation, his time in Kuwait and finally, because I had been avoiding
the subject, what he thought of America and Americans. This is how Abu
Ghraib came up.
I did not mention the prison near Baghdad where Iraqi prisoners were
abused. Nor did I mention Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the United States
keeps detainees -- forever and ever, it seems. These were places that
Bassam brought up. He was, it was plain to see, confounded and
disgusted by America.
You have to know something about Bassam. He is not partial to Iraqis.
For 30 years he lived in Kuwait. He built an engineering business there
-- something to do with oil wells and power. He had employees and an
office and vehicles. When the Iraqis invaded in 1990, they vandalized
his business. They stole his cars. They wrecked everything he built.
Eventually he returned to Jordan, where he had been born. He is now a
driver.
Bassam's English is pretty good. He had no trouble distinguishing
between Americans and their government. The former he liked, the latter
he did not. It all had to do with Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, these
places of abuse and alleged torture. Here his English started to fail
him. The degradation of Muslims -- not Iraqis, mind you, but Muslims --
appalled him. He started to say why, but he could not. I kept my eyes
on the road as he fumbled for the right words. "We are Muslims," he
said haltingly. I looked over. He was visibly upset.
So was I. I have traveled this region for years and always I kept my
head high as an American. There are things we do not do. There are
things we stand for. Go ahead, hate us for supporting Israel or for
some similar reason, but if you were Bassam -- any Bassam anywhere in
the world -- you had to know that America did not abuse prisoners and
most especially did not torture them. Other governments did that. Not
us. The culprits at Abu Ghraib were punished.
Now, though, we are witnessing a debate in Washington that any American
at one time would have thought impossible: whether to allow "cruel,
inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of persons under custody
or control of the United States government." The words are taken from
the amendment introduced by Sen. John McCain, which would prohibit such
practices. It has passed twice, the first time by 90 to 9, the second
by a voice vote. It has the support of a former POW, McCain; a former
Navy secretary, John Warner; a Reserve military judge, Lindsey Graham
-- and, outside the Senate, former military men such as Colin Powell.
Nonetheless, the administration vows a veto. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR CAIR-NET MEMBERS: Every day, you, your family
and your community benefit from the important information in
CAIR-NET messages. This is information you will not receive from
any other source. Isn't it time you did your part to support CAIR's vital
work? If you are
not a CAIR member, sign up at:
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To make a
one-time donation, go to:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/donate.asp To
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December 3rd in Arlington, Va., go to:
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Do your part
TODAY!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAIR CALLS FOR FBI PROBE OF SHOOTING NEAR PA MOSQUE
Man charged with 'ethnic intimidation' for firing shots at cars
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/9/2005) - A prominent national Islamic
civil rights and advocacy group today called on the FBI to consider
bringing federal charges against a man who allegedly fired dozens of
shots yesterday into cars parked at a Lansdale, Pa., mosque.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said Robert Blackburn,
53, was charged with ethnic intimidation after he used a rifle to shoot
at cars in the parking lot of the North Penn Mosque. No one was injured
in the incident, but police said damage to the cars was likely in
excess of $5,000. Blackburn, who was also charged with criminal
mischief, firearms violations, misdemeanor charges of recklessly
endangering another person, and disorderly conduct, is being held on
$50,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 18.
SEE: "Hatfield Man Charged with Ethnic Intimidation"
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=3618979
CAIR recently reported another anti-Muslim incident in Pennsylvania
during which a Muslim family was assaulted while driving near Blue
Bell, Pa., by a man shouting ethnic and religious slurs such as "dirty
Arabs" and "raghead." Only traffic charges were filed against the
alleged assailant, despite requests to probe the apparent bias motive
for the attack.
The Washington-based council said the growing level of Islamophobic
rhetoric in American society prompts some individuals to turn their
hate-filled views into violent actions.
Just yesterday, CAIR urged a Los Angeles synagogue that hosted a speech
by Robert Spencer, the operator of a virulently anti-Muslim website, to
offer its congregation a more balanced perspective on Islam. Comments
and articles on Spencer's site, which is used as reference by a number
of Islamophobic commentators, compare Muslims to animals and Nazis and
portray Islam as an inherently violent faith that must be confronted.
New comments on that site today include "death to islam (sic)," "islam
must be destroyed..destroy islam (sic)," "ISLAM = DEADLY PARASITE," and
"Islam IS the NAZISM of our generation."
SEE: "CA Synagogue That Hosted Islamophobe Urged to Invite Muslim Speaker"
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1853&theType=NR
"Our nation's religious and political leaders need to speak out
strongly against the Islamophobic rhetoric that can lead to violent
incidents," said CAIR National Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar.
Iftikhar urged that federal charges be considered in the mosque
shooting case.
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices
and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
- END -
CONTACT: CAIR-Philly, 215-592-0509 or 484-716-1226; CAIR-National, Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called
CAIR-NET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from CAIR-NET, go to:
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/9/05
*
Hadith:
Feed the Poor and Needy
-
Verse:
Feed Poor for the Sake of God
*
CAIR Condemns Jordan Hotel
Bombings
*
CAIR-NY to Detail More Profiling at
Giants Stadium
*
Muslim NJ Councilman Attacked in
Fliers
-
PA:
CAIR Seeks FBI
Probe of Mosque Shootings (AFP)
*
CAIR-MI:
Muslims Feed Poor,
Regardless of Beliefs (Detroit News)
*
CAIR-TX:
Muslim
School Prayer Limits Alleged (Dallas Morn News)
*
CAIR-FL:
School Board Says
Secular Calendar Was Mistake (SPT)
-
Board Puts
Religious Holidays Back on Calendar (TT)
-
CAIR-OPED:
Religious Freedom Must be Equal
for All
*
CAIR-Chicago Seeks Meeting
with Rep. Kirk Over Comments
-
Groups Ask Kirk to Apologize
(Daily Herald)
*
CAIR-Chicago:
Photo Exhibit of Muslim Women Causes Stir (ABC7)
*
CAIR-CA:
Muslim Group Honors Bee's Magagnini (Sacramento Bee)
-
CAIR-Sacramento Valley Banquet Almost Sold Out
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: FEED THE POOR AND NEEDY -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "O people! Spread
greetings of peace, feed (the poor and needy), behave kindly to your
relatives, offer prayer when others are asleep, and (thus) enter
Paradise in peace."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 269
When a man complained to the Prophet of having a hard heart, he
replied: "(Then) stroke orphans' heads and feed the poor (to soften
your heart)."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1295
The Prophet also said: "A man has sinned enough if he neglects to feed those in need."
Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 3, Number 100
VERSE OF THE DAY: FEED POOR FOR THE SAKE OF GOD -
TOP
"(The righteous) feed the poor, the orphan and the captive for the love
of God, saying: 'We feed you for the sake of God alone; we seek from
you neither reward nor thanks."
The Holy Quran, 76:8-9
-----
CAIR CONDEMNS JORDAN HOTEL BOMBINGS -
TOP
(WASHINGTON D.C., 11/9/05)- The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) condemned today's bombings at three major Western hotels in the
Jordanian capital of Amman that left at least 18 people dead.
In a statement, CAIR said:
"We condemn the bombings, offer condolences to the loved ones of those
killed and call for the swift apprehension and punishment of the
perpetrators of this awful crime. Such acts of terror are an affront to
all humanity and can never be justified or excused."
In July of this year, CAIR coordinated the release of a fatwa, or
Islamic religious ruling, against terrorism and extremism issued by the
Fiqh Council of North America and endorsed by hundreds of U.S. Muslim
groups, leaders and institutions.
The fatwa states in part:
"Islam strictly condemns religious extremism and the use of violence
against innocent lives. There is no justification in Islam for
extremism or terrorism. Targeting civilians' life and property through
suicide bombings or any other method of attack is haram - or forbidden
. . ."
SEE:
http://www.cair-net.org/FatwaJuly2005.pdf
-----
CAIR-NY TO DETAIL MORE PROFILING AT GIANTS STADIUM -
TOP
WHAT: On Friday, November 11, the New York office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) will hold a press conference to
offer details of more cases of alleged racial and religious profiling
at Giants Stadium.
In a previous incident, five Muslim men were detained after offering
Islamic prayers in public at the stadium. In the latest incident, it is
alleged that six more men were detained and interrogated. None of the
six men were Muslim. Two victims of the alleged profiling will speak at
the press conference.
WHEN: Friday, November 11, Noon
WHERE: The Interchurch Center, 475 Riverside Drive
CONTACT: CAIR-NY Executive Director Wissam Nasr, 917-751-1017, 212-870-2002, E-Mail:
director@cair-ny.org
-----
MUSLIM NJ COUNCILMAN ATTACKED IN FLIERS -
TOP
http://1010wins.com/topstories/local_story_313074922.html
PROSPECT PARK, N.J. A Muslim councilman in Prospect Park has been
attacked in fliers describing him as a criminal and unpatriotic.
Mohamed Khairullah is one of three councilmen being considered to fill the mayor's position.
In the run-up to tonight's decision, many town residents have received anonymous mailings attacking Khairullah.
In the mailings, the councilman was described as _ quoting here _ "a
betrayer living among us.' The flier goes on to say that he would _
quote _ "try to poison our thoughts about our great country."
Khairullah called the mailings a bias crime.
SEE ALSO:
US ISLAMIC GROUP SEEKS FBI PROBE OF MOSQUE SHOOTINGS -
TOP
Agence France Presse, 11/9/05
A leading US Islamic civil rights group Wednesday called on the FBI to
consider bringing federal charges against a man who allegedly shot cars
in a mosque parking lot.
The Council on American Islamic Relations sent a request to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation for an investigation of the shooting at a
mosque in Pennsylvania, the spokesman of CAIR, Ibrahim Hooper, told AFP.
Police officers discovered and arrested a man in the pre-dawn shooting
of two cars in the parking lot of the North Penn Mosque, in Lansdale, a
Philadelphia suburb, the Lansdale police said in a statement Tuesday.
The suspect, a man identified as Robert Blackburn, 53, was arrested
after police discovered him in the vicinity of the shooting, with a
rifle in his car and rounds of live and spent ammunition. . .
Blackburn was arraigned locally on felony charges of ethnic
intimidation, criminal mischief and firearms violations and on
misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment of another person and
disorderly conduct, the police statement said. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-MI: METRO MUSLIMS REACH ACROSS RELIGIOUS AISLE -
TOP
They feed poor, regardless of beliefs
Kim Kozlowski, Detroit News, 11/9/05
http://www.detnews.com/2005/religion/0511/09/B01-376309.htm
On Sept. 11, Khalil Jassemm boarded a plane and flew to Houston for the
day to join 2,000 fellow Muslims offering relief services to Hurricane
Katrina victims.
"We, as a group American Muslims, wanted to show support for the
community there," said Jassemm, the head of Life for Relief and
Development, a Southfield-based nonprofit group that provides
international humanitarian aid.
"We wanted to let people know we were there for them."
Local Muslims, who traditionally give to the needy in their own
community, have been increasingly reaching out to non-Muslims to help
feed the poor and homeless and perform their religious duty to help
others.
Last month, a $30,000 food drive was sponsored by the Tawheed Center, a
mosque in Farmington Hills, and Muslim Family Services in Detroit, in
conjunction with Sam's Club.
Local mosques and charities also have raised $150,000 for Hurricane
Katrina victims, according to Dawud Walid, executive director for the
Council of American-Islamic Relations for Michigan.
"When people come in, we don't ask whether they are Muslim or
non-Muslim," said Ali Ali, director of Detroit-based Muslim Family
Services, which provides marriage counseling and emergency food and
housing assistance.
"We help people regardless of their religion, regardless of their color."
These outreach efforts are becoming more frequent and high-profile
across the country: American Muslims raised $20 million for earthquake
victims in South Asia; fed the homeless in Ohio and Illinois; and set
up a student scholarship in honor of civil rights icon Rosa Parks.
(MORE)
-----
CAIR-TX: MUSLIM PRAYER LIMITS ALLEGED -
TOP
KRISTINE HUGHES, Dallas Morning News, 11/9/05
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-prayer_09met.ART.North.Edition2.3ce2033.html
A public interest law firm says Berkner High in the Richardson school
district is punishing Muslim students who want to pray on campus.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, based in Washington D.C., faxed
a letter to the school Tuesday contending that Berkner recently changed
its practice of permitting students to leave class at prescribed times
to pray in a quiet area of the school. The letter states that school
personnel are "illegally" forcing the students to miss lunch to pray or
to skip their noon prayers entirely.
District spokeswoman Jeanne Guerra said administrators are
investigating the allegations. Principal Dave Casey is on medical leave.
"We just found out about this around noon," Ms. Guerra said Tuesday.
"The district needs time to absorb it, investigate it and find out what
they are asking of us."
The nine-page letter by the fund's litigation director, Derek L.
Gaubatz, says that on Oct. 13, "two assistant principals and a police
officer were waiting for the Muslim students when they went to pray" in
an empty lecture hall. "Moreover, they told them that school policy
prohibited them from praying anywhere on campus."
The letter states the school's policy has since been modified to allow
students to pray discreetly in the library during lunch hour.
That won't work, the letter states, because some students' lunch hours
don't coincide with the proper prayer time. In addition, students who
want to pray aren't allowed to also go to the lunchroom for a meal or
to eat in the library, the letter states.
This violates the students' constitutional rights of religious freedom and speech, the letter states.
The group says the policy appears to be targeted at preventing Muslim prayer. . .
Many Richardson schools have established practices to accommodate such
prayers. Richardson High allows Muslim students to be excused from
class briefly to go to a vacant room to pray.
Berkner has a history of accommodating the needs of Muslim students.
Until two years ago, the school allowed Friday group prayers in an
assembly hall so students wouldn't have to leave campus. Those prayers
were discontinued, though, when officials learned they had expanded to
include a sermon by an imam.
After that, Muslim students were allowed to leave class to pray in quiet corners of the school as needed.
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, an advocacy group in Washington D.C., said the school
probably would not violate the law intentionally.
"These things can be worked out given good will on both sides, so I would imagine it would be fairly quickly reversed," he said.
-----
CAIR-FL: BOARD REVERSES FIELD ON CALENDAR -
TOP
Facing community pressure, the Hillsborough School Board decides a
secular calendar was a mistake and restores religious holidays.
MELANIE AVE, Times Staff Writer
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/11/09/Hillsborough/Board_reverses_field_.shtml
TAMPA - After listening to passionate speeches about God, country,
children and tradition, the Hillsborough School Board restored several
religious holidays to next year's school calendar, reversing a
2-week-old decision that garnered national attention.
By a 5-2 vote Tuesday night, the board adopted a school calendar
similar to the existing one that gives children days off on the Jewish
holiday of Yom Kippur, the Christian Good Friday and the Monday after
Easter.
After 24 people spoke, most of them in favor of religious holidays,
board members embraced superintendent MaryEllen Elia's recommendation
to restore them to the calendar and study the issue further.
A desire to focus on education rather than the controversy over the
calendar was the stated reason for the board's about-face. Four of the
seven board members changed their opinion on the holidays, saying many
people misunderstood what they were trying to do.
"There is so much emotion around this," said board member Carolyn
Bricklemyer, who reversed her vote but said she still felt conflicted.
"I never wanted to be a part of anything this divisive. . ."
Tuesday's vote came a year after the Council on American-Islamic
Relations requested all Hillsborough students be given a day off for
Eid al-Fitr, the end of the 30-day fasting period of Ramadan. The
district's calendar committee studied the issue this summer but
forwarded the secular calendar to the board for approval.
The only dissent came from the committee's lone Muslim member.
When the board approved the secular calendar, local Muslims said they
feared a backlash from people who would view the action as Muslims
causing the end of religious holidays for Jews and Christians.
Many of the 3,500 e-mails received by school officials did in fact
blame Muslims, labeling them as foreigners not deserving of holidays in
the "Judeo-Christian" United States.
The man who made the Muslim holiday request, Ahmed Bedier, Florida director of CAIR, called Tuesday's vote a "temporary fix."
"I'm disappointed but I'm satisfied. We're back at square one," he
said. "If others are getting their holidays it gives us hope we'll get
ours as well someday." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-FL: BOARD PUTS RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS BACK ON SCHOOL CALENDAR -
TOP
MARILYN BROWN, Tampa Tribune, 11/9/05
http://www.tampatrib.com/FloridaMetro/MGBVD997TFE.html
TAMPA -- In the most contentious school board meeting in years, five
Hillsborough County School Board members voted Tuesday night to restore
Good Friday, Easter Monday and Yom Kippur to the 2006-07 school
calendar.
The decision was "bittersweet," said a spokesman for the Muslim
community, whose request to recognize one of their holy days ignited
the public debate.
"It is a temporary solution," said Ahmed Bedier, spokesman for the
Council on American-Islamic Relations. "We've been adamant the last two
weeks that we would give up on our request for a holiday so the other
religions won't lose theirs."
Board members, who vote on a new school calendar every year, agreed the
subject is far from closed, promising more open meetings and community
input before the 2007-08 calendar is decided.
The board has watched incredulously as the issue exploded, drawing more
than 3,500 e-mail messages, many from other states and counties, and
eliciting calls and offers of guest appearances from national media.
On Tuesday night, in speeches ranging from measured eloquence to
threats of apocalyptic proportion, 24 speakers and six of seven school
board members continued a monthlong debate that drew national
attention. . .
The Rev. Robert White of the Brandon Area Interfaith Coalition asked
the board to "look into your hearts -- do the right thing" and give the
Muslims a holiday.
Tempers flared in exchanges involving county Commissioner Brian Blair,
a vocal critic of the decision to eliminate the holidays from the
school calendar. Board member Susan Valdes questioned him about whether
he would ask the county commission to give its employees the religious
holidays off. County, state and federal employees don't have off
religious holidays except Christmas.
Blair continued talking even after board Chairwoman Candy Olson tried
twice to cut off his remarks when they went beyond answering questions.
Clearly angry, board member Carolyn Bricklemyer said she "heard things
from many people that absolutely hurt my heart" and nearly walked out
on some of the speakers. She also took Blair to task for a lack of
respect. For those who sent "orchestrated e-mails" to the board, she
said she quit reading them.
"I'm glad there are not a lot of children here tonight," Bricklemyer said. (MORE)
---
CAIR-OPED: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM MUST BE EQUAL FOR ALL FAITHS -
TOP
PARVEZ AHMED & AHMED BEDIER, Duluth new-Tribune, 11/9/05
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthtribune/news/opinion/13119913.htm
A Florida school board's recent vote to drop Christian and Jewish
holidays from the school calendar creates a very negative precedent for
reasonable religious accommodation in our nation's educational system.
The decision also has a negative impact on Muslim students and families
because it came after a request to include the Islamic holiday of Eid
ul-Fitr on the school calendar. Eid ul-Fitr, or "festival of the fast
breaking," celebrates the end of the monthlong fast of Ramadan.
It makes no sense that Christians and Jews should be penalized just
because Muslims are seeking their rightful place within the fabric of
our nation's multi-faith society. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-CHICAGO SEEKS MEETING WITH REP. KIRK OVER COMMENTS -
TOP
(CHICAGO, 11/9/05) - CAIR-Chicago is seeking to meet with Congressman
Mark Kirk (R-IL) to discuss recent remarks in which he called for
discrimination against young Arab males. SEE:
http://www.house.gov/kirk/
Kirk said at a recent event:
"I'm OK with discrimination against young Arab males from terrorist-producing states. I'm OK with that.
"I think that when we look at the threat that's out there, young men
between, say, the ages of 18 and 25 from a couple of countries, I
believe a certain amount of intense scrutiny should be placed on them.
"I'm not threatened by people from China. I'm not even threatened by
people from Mexico. I just know where the threat is from. It's from a
unique place, and I think it's OK to recognize that."
ACTION REQUESTED:
CAIR-Chicago is asking members of the community to call Congressman Kirk to express their concerns about his remarks.
As always, be FIRM, BUT POLITE.
Washington, DC Office
1717 Longworth HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-4835
Fax: 202-225-0837
Deerfield Office
102 Wilmot Road, Suite 200
Deerfield, IL 60015
Phone: 847-940-0202
Fax: 847-940-7143
Waukegan Office
20 South Martin Luther King Dr.
Waukegan, IL 60085
Phone: 847-662-0101
Fax: 847-662-7519
ONTACT CAIR-Chicago at
communications@cairchicago.org or call as at 312-212-1520.
SEE ALSO:
GROUPS ASK KIRK TO APOLOGIZE FOR REMARKS -
TOP
Congressman declines further comment on anti-Arab comments
Madhu Krishnamurthy, Daily Herald, 11/8/05
http://www.dailyherald.com/search/searchstory.asp?id=115946
Arab-American and immigrant rights groups riled by U.S. Rep. Mark
Kirk's recent comments sanctioning discrimination against Arabs are
asking for a retraction and an apology.
The Highland Park Republican made the controversial statements at a
Saturday symposium on nanotechnology at Northwestern University in
Evanston.
According to a published report, Kirk said: "I'm OK with discrimination
against young Arab males from terrorist-producing states ... I think
that when we look at the threat that's out there, young men between,
say, the ages of 18 and 25 from a couple of countries, I believe a
certain amount of intense scrutiny should be placed on them."
Kirk confirmed Monday the quotes were accurate and his office has
already fielded some calls on the issue. He would not elaborate on his
position on scrutinizing the visa process for Arabs. "I have no further
comment on that," he said.
In his remarks Saturday, Kirk went on to say, "I'm not threatened by
people from China. I'm not even threatened by people from Mexico. I
just know where the threat is from. It's from a unique place and I
think it's OK to recognize that."
His remarks have infuriated some immigrant rights groups.
"We ask for a retraction and an apology and think it is incredibly
counterproductive to make the type of blanket statements that he has,"
said Mehrdad Azemun, senior organizer for the Illinois Coalition for
Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
"It would behoove the congressman to actually meet with immigrants,
including Muslims, Arabs and South Asians from his own district to
actually have a dialogue about these issues."
Ahmed Rehab, a spokesman for the Chicago Council on American- Islamic
Relations, a national Muslim civil rights advocacy group, said Kirk's
comments are irresponsible because his suggestion has not been proven
as an effective way to deal with terrorism. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-CHICAGO: PHOTO EXHIBIT OF MUSLIM WOMEN CAUSES STIR -
TOP
Some students offended by artist's work
Ben Bradley, ABC 7, 11/8/05
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=3617650
November 8, 2005 - A photo exhibit of Muslim women that was displayed
at Harper College in suburban Palatine is causing quite a controversy.
Some Muslim students complain that the pictures portray them as
prisoners of their own religion.
Many Muslim students say since the display went up two weeks ago they
have been getting a lot of strange looks and odd questions from their
classmates. The professional photographer who took the pictures says,
in some ways, that's the point.
The exhibition begins as an artistic display of Muslim women in
traditional dress but quickly evolves into a political statement. A
woman covered from the waist up in a burqa but wearing nothing from the
waist down. Another portrays a face imprisoned by the hajad, or scarf
many Muslim women wear to cover their heads.
"I'm trying to open the window from the Islam of narrow view to a wider view," said the artist, Amir Normandi.
Normandi, himself a Muslim, is telling students his exhibit at Harper
College was intended to draw attention to strict rules in some Middle
Eastern countries that prevent women from being seen in anything but
the strictest of cover in public. The display was dismantled by Harper
College administrators after some Muslim students said they found it
offensive.
"We're walking around and people are looking at us suspiciously, asking
'Is this what Muslim women are like? Are they oppressed?' That directly
offends us," said Sada Ahmed, Harper College student.
"The statement was that people or women wearing the hajad, or veil, are
repressed. These women that are walking around campus don't feel that
way. They feel liberated wearing the veil," said Ahmed Rehab, Council
on American-Islamic Relations. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-CA: MUSLIM GROUP HONORS BEE'S MAGAGNINI -
TOP
Sacramento Bee, 11/8/05
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/religion/story/13830611p-14671279c.html
SACRAMENTO - Stephen Magagnini, a senior writer for The Bee, has been
awarded the "Fairness and Integrity in Media Award" by the Sacramento
Valley chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations.
The award recognizes extraordinary fairness and integrity in covering
events that affect Muslim Americans in the Sacramento Valley.
The group chose Magagnini for his fairness and "passion to educate" in
writing about the Sacramento Muslim community during the past several
years.
Magagnini will receive the award at the organization's third annual fundraising dinner Saturday.
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-SV 3RD ANNUAL BANQUET ALMOST SOLD OUT -
TOP
Purchase your tickets today as space is starting to run out. In the
past two years, only a few tickets were available to be purchased at
the door. Don't take a chance. Reserve your seat online today.
To register, go to:
http://www.cair-california.org/
WHAT: CAIR-SV 3rd Annual Banquet
Restoring the American Dream: Civil Rights and Community Empowerment
WHEN: Saturday, November 12, 2005
Registration at 5 p.m., Dinner and Program at 6 p.m.
WHERE: Sacramento Hilton (Arden West), 2200 Harvard St., Sacramento, CA (916) 922-4700
Confirmed Speakers:
* Dorothy Ehrlich, Executive Director, ACLU-Northern California
* Joe Chip Pitts, Amnesty International
* Rodwan Saleh, President of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston
* Parvez Ahmed, Chairman of CAIR National and various political and religious leaders
Reservations:
Seating is limited, reserve your seat early
Call in advance to reserve or purchase them online
RSVP by Friday, November 11th
Tickets:
$40 per person [$50 at the door, if available]
$400 for table of 10
CONTACT: CAIR-SV, 916-441-6269,
sacval@cair.com
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/10/05
*
Verse:
Purity in This Life
-
Hadith:
Purity is Half of Faith
*
TX, VA Muslims Lose 16
Relatives in Jordan Blasts
-
CAIR Offers Condolences for
Filmmaker's Daughter
*
CAIR-OH:
Muslims Hold
Vigil for Quake Victims
*
CAIR:
PA Man Held in Mosque
Attack (Phil Inquirer)
-
CAIR Wants Bias Motive
Considered (Morn Call)
*
CAIR-Chicago
Angered by Rep's
Remarks (Chicago Trib)
*
CAIR-CAN to Launch French 'Know Your Rights'
Guide
-
CAIR-MI Rep Discusses French Riots on
NPR
-
French Rioters Not Tied to
Islamic Militants (AP)
*
CBS News Looks at FL School
Religious Holiday Ban
-
CAIR-FL:
School Religious
Holidays Restored (AP)
*
TX:
Muslim Prayers Allowed at
School, District Says (DMN)
*
VT:
Islamic Society Claims Campus
Harassment
-
MI:
Man Pleads
Guilty to Threatening Mosque (DOJ)
*
VA:
Muslims Helped Elect New
Governor (Washington Post)
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: PURITY IN THIS LIFE, PROSPERITY IN
THE NEXT -
TOP
"Those who purify themselves (in this life) shall prosper (in the
life to come)."
The Holy Quran, 87:14
HADITH OF THE DAY: PURITY IS HALF OF FAITH -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Purity is half of
faith."
Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 1, Number 6B
-----
TEXAS, VIRGINIA MUSLIMS LOSE 16
RELATIVES IN JORDAN BOMBINGS -
TOP
(WASHINGTON D.C., 11/10/05) - The Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) reported today that Muslim families in Texas and
Virginia lost at least 16 relatives in yesterday's terror attacks in
Jordan.
Nader Akhras, who moved to the United States from Jordan ten years ago,
told CAIR's Dallas/Fort-Worth office (CAIR-DFW) that cousins and other
relatives were attending a family wedding at a hotel in Amman when the
blasts occurred.
The family will hold a news conference this afternoon during which Akhras
will be available for comment. The family will also receive condolences
at 8 p.m. this evening at the Dar Al-Iman Mosque in Arlington,
Texas.
WHAT: Press Conference Regarding Deaths of Arlington Muslim's
Relatives in Jordan bombings
WHEN: Thursday, November 10, 4 p.m. (Central)
WHERE: CAIR-DFW office, 3010 LBJ Freeway, Suite 100, Dallas,
TX
WHAT: Condolence Service
WHEN: Thursday, November 10, 8 p.m. (Central)
WHERE: Dar Al-Iman Mosque, 5511 Mansfield Rd. Arlington, TX
76017
Media will be allowed to attend the condolence service at the mosque. The
Akhras family will be available for interviews at this time.
CONTACT: Saffia Meek, (972) 241-7233, E-Mail:
info@cairdfw.org
In Virginia, the Abu Hwail and Al Alamy families will receive
condolences at the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center beginning tonight and
tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern) The center's address is 3159 Row Street
in Falls Church, Va.
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org
SEE ALSO:
CAIR OFFERS CONDOLENCES ON BOMBING
DEATH OF FILMMAKER'S DAUGHTER -
TOP
American Muslim families reportedly lose 16 relatives in terror
attacks
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/10/05) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) today offered its condolences on the death of Rima Akkad, the
daughter of internationally-known filmmaker Mustafa Akkad, who was killed
yesterday in one of several bomb blasts at hotels in Jordan. CAIR also
offered condolences to American Muslim families in Texas and Virginia
that reportedly lost 16 relatives in the attacks.
Akkad's father was seriously injured in the attacks, but is in stable
condition. He was famous in the Muslim world as the director of the 1977
film "The Message," which was based on the life of the Prophet
Muhammad. Akkad also produced "Lion of the Desert," a film
biography of a Muslim leader who fought the Italian occupation of
Libya.
SEE: "Filmmaker's Daughter Dies in Jordan Blasts"
http://www.upi.com/InternationalIntelligence/view.php?StoryID=20051110-055902-3885r
In a statement, CAIR said: "CAIR's board and staff offer their
sincere condolences to the family and other loved ones of Rima Akkad. We
belong to God, and to Him we shall all return. We also offer condolences
to the American Muslims who lost loved ones in the brutal
attacks."
-----
CAIR-OH: MUSLIMS HOLD VIGIL FOR
QUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
(COLUMBUS, OHIO, 11/10/05) - On November 8, the Columbus office of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations, Ohio (CAIR-OH) and the Ohio
chapter of the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North
America (APPNA-Ohio) held a vigil at the Ohio State University campus in
Columbus to help raise awareness of the plight of victims of the South
Asian earthquake. The vigil was part of an international effort
coordinated by
www.saquake.org.
"This is a critical time for those who have been made homeless by
the earthquake in South Asia," said Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin,
vice-president of CAIR-Ohio. "As winter arrives, many families are
in danger of freezing to death because of lack of shelter and resources.
We are trying to help in whatever ways we can."
Last month, CAIR-OH organized a medical supply packing session during
which more than 40 volunteers from across Ohio packed 8,000 pounds and
almost 200 boxes of medical supplies and equipment for relief efforts in
Pakistan and Kashmir.
Volunteers from CAIR-Ohio, APPNA-Ohio, the Islamic Society of Greater
Columbus, Medhelp of Akron/Cleveland, and others packed supplies at
Medwish International, a medical supply resource in Cleveland that makes
medical supplies available for donation to needy areas around the
world.
APPNA is coordinating the transport of the supplies and equipment packed
in Ohio to needed areas in Pakistan. APPNA physicians providing medical
relief have received and used some of these supplies to treat patients in
earthquake-affected areas. More boxes from this shipment are scheduled to
reach Pakistan this weekend and will be distributed based on
need.
For more information, please contact: Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin,
vice-president of CAIR-Ohio (614-560-0272,
mobin-uddin.4@osu.edu) or
Adnan Mirza, director of CAIR-Ohio (614-451-3232,
director@cair-ohio.com)
-----
PA: HATFIELD MAN HELD IN MOSQUE ATTACK -
TOP
Larry Fish, Inquirer, 11/10/05
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/13130396.htm
While Lansdale police were holding a Hatfield man accused of firing
scores of bullets into cars in a mosque parking lot, mosque members said
they had been the target of a "big-time hate crime."
"The whole community is shocked," said Abdul Hannan, one of the
founding members of the North Penn Mosque, where the attack took place
early Tuesday morning.
"Everyone is very scared," the mosque's imam, Mostafa Hossain,
said. "We are quiet people."
Lansdale police said they arrested Robert Blackburn, 53, on a variety of
charges, including ethnic intimidation. He was intercepted as he started
to drive away from the scene, just after a patrol officer heard heavy
gunfire about 3:45 a.m.
Blackburn was being held in the county prison on $50,000 cash
bail.
The police said Blackburn's Ford Escort held a .22-caliber rifle and
"numerous live and spent .22-caliber rounds of
ammunition."
The FBI has started an investigation, and "will be working closely
with the Lansdale Police Department to determine if any federal
violations have been committed," said FBI Special Agent Jerri
Williams, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia office. . .
Elsewhere in Philadelphia and nationally, monitors say Muslims have been
the target of apparently random but persistent attacks. "On the
national level, we tend to see spikes in these kinds of things during
times of international crisis," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for
the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington.
He said mosque attacks had taken place roughly at the pace of one a month
across the country.
In Philadelphia, Adeeba Al-Zaman is director of communications for the
local chapter of the council. She said a Blue Bell woman recently
reported being harassed by another motorist on Route 202, yelling insults
about "Arabs."
SEE ALSO:
ISLAMIC GROUP WANTS BIAS
MOTIVE CONSIDERED IN LANSDALE CASE -
TOP
Pamela Lehman, Morning Call, 11/10/05
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b3_2mosquenov10,0,6257036.story
A national Islamic civil rights group is asking authorities to file
federal charges against a man who allegedly fired dozens of shots at cars
outside a Lansdale mosque Tuesday morning.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, based in Washington, D.C.,
said the FBI should conduct a probe of the shooting at the North Penn
Mosque, 600 Maple Ave.
On Tuesday, Lansdale police charged Robert Blackburn, 53, of 199 W. Vine
St. in Hatfield Township with ethnic intimidation and related charges
after he allegedly fired 52 shots into two cars parked at the
mosque.
"When there's an apparent bias motive, we always ask that the FBI be
involved," Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Islamic group, said
Wednesday. "This sends a message nationwide that anti-Muslim bigotry
and these motivated attacks won't be tolerated."
FBI agents can also add tremendous resources to the investigation that
may not be available at the local level, Hooper said.
"An FBI investigation adds a sense of urgency to the investigation
of the case and we feel that's appropriate," he said.
(MORE)
-----
CAIR-CHICAGO: MUSLIM
GROUP ANGERED BY KIRK -
TOP
Susan Kuczka, Chicago Tribune, 11/10/05
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/lake/chi-0511100303nov10,1,3119135.story
A Muslim civil rights group demanded an apology Wednesday from U.S. Rep.
Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) for remarks he made condoning discrimination against
some Arabs.
"Our Constitution guarantees that discrimination not be part of the
American tradition," said Ahmed Rehab, director of communications
for the Chicago Council on American-Islamic Relations.
The congressman defended his remarks Wednesday, saying it is crucial for
the United States to protect its borders from foreign
terrorists.
Kirk, a Navy Reserve intelligence officer from the North Shore's 10th
Congressional District, made his comments at a technology conference last
weekend at Northwestern University.
According to a published report, Kirk said: "I'm OK with
discrimination against young Arab males from terrorist-producing states.
I think that when we look at the threat that's out there, young men
between, say, the ages of 18 and 25 from a couple of countries, I believe
a certain amount of intense security should be placed on them.
"I'm not threatened by people from China. I'm not even threatened by
people from Mexico. I just know where the threat is from. It's from a
unique place, and I think it's OK to recognize that."
The comments came after Kirk remarked that China produces 10 times more
engineers than the United States, giving it an economic
advantage.
In a letter faxed Wednesday to Kirk's office, Yaser Tabbara, director of
the Muslim civil rights group, wrote that he was shocked by the
comments.
"It's one thing for me to hear it from Joe Schmoe on the street and
deal with it as an ignorant attitude and give that person the benefit of
the doubt," Tabbara said. "It's another, and 100 times more
disturbing and dangerous, to hear something like that spewed out of the
mouth of a public figure, a political representative who represents a
constituency of Americans. This, to me, is a manifestation of ... a
classic, malicious, bigoted attitude." (MORE)
-----
CAIR-CAN TO LAUNCH FRENCH "KNOW YOUR
RIGHTS" GUIDE AT DINNER -
TOP
The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) is holding
its first-ever fundraising dinner in Montreal to help launch a French
language edition of our popular "Know Your Rights" pocket
guide.
The "Know Your Rights" guide is CAIR-CAN's most requested
publication and is provided free to all Canadians. It informs Canadians
about their rights in various situations of discrimination or
harassment.
CAIR-CAN has also hired Sarah Elgazzar as a Community Outreach Director
for Quebec. Sarah, a well-known trilingual (English, Arabic and French)
community activist in Montreal, will work in solidarity with Quebec
organizations and leaders in the fields of media, human rights and
political advocacy.
CAIR-CAN's fundraising dinner will be held on Sunday, November 20, 2005
and will feature bilingual presentations by Keynote Speakers Maher Arar
and Dr. Monia Mazigh, CAIR-CAN Chair Abdul-Basit Khan and Honourary Chair
Dr. Sheema Khan. CAIR-CAN Executive Director Riad Saloojee will also
speak at the dinner.
The dinner will be held at the Riviera Reception Hall, 7600
Henri-Bourassa East (Anjou), with registration beginning at 5 p.m.
Tickets are $40 per person if bought before November 15, while tickets
bought after that date will cost $50. Child-care services will be
available for $10 per child for those who request it.
To purchase tickets in Montreal, please contact Sarah Elgazzar at
514-246-3498 or by e-mail at
sarahelgazzar@caircan.ca
Tickets can also be purchased at Multivisions Inc. at 851 D�carie, Ville St. Laurent.
To purchase tickets in Ottawa, please contact Omaima Faris at 613-254-9704 or by e-mail at
omaimafaris@caircan.ca
-----
CAIR-MI REP DISCUSSES FRENCH RIOTS ON NPR -
TOP
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5005796
Examining Youth Riots in France
Talk of the Nation, November 9, 2005 � Rioting in France is
spotlighting Muslim youths who don't feel part of French society, even
though they were born and raised there. An alienated Arab population
concerns all of Europe, but much less so in the United States.
Guests:
Molly Moore, Washington Post Paris correspondent
Jocelyne Cesari, visiting associate professor of Islamic Studies at
Harvard University; also an associate professor at the French National
Center for Scientific Research at the Sorbonne, Paris
Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations for the state of Michigan; assistant Imam at the Masjid Wali
Muhommed in Detroit
---
EXPERTS: FRENCH RIOTERS NOT TIED TO ISLAMIC MILITANTS -
TOP
Associated Press, 11/10/05
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/nation/13127901.htm
France has been rocked by riots since Oct. 27, and many of the youths
throwing rocks and gasoline bombs are the French-born children of
immigrants from North Africa and West Africa. The country is home to
more than 5 million Muslims, many living in impoverished housing
projects that have been epicenters of the unrest.
QUESTION
Are Islamic militants groups leading the violence?
ANSWER
French authorities have been cautious about not stigmatizing any groups
in connection with the violence. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin
said "structured gangs" are behind the unrest, and has not made any
reference to extremist Islamic groups. Officials say they have turned
up no link between the rioting and extremist religious groups.
"For the moment, we see no link at all with the networks that we work
on," said Jean-Francois Ricard, a French anti-terrorism judge. Any
speculation about a connection between Islamic terrorism and rioters
would be "premature," he said. (MORE)
-----
CBS EVENING NEWS LOOKS AT FL RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY BAN -
TOP
CAIR-FL assisted CBS Evening News in producing a segment aired
Wednesday about the decision of a Florida school board to first ban,
and then permit religious holidays on the school calendar.
TO VIEW THE CLIP VISIT:
http://www.cairfl.org/video/051109_cbs_scl_hol_hate_hi.wmv
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-FL: SCHOOL RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS RESTORED -
TOP
Associated Press, 11/10/05
(AP) - The Hillsborough County School Board reinstated Good Friday,
Easter Monday and Yom Kippur as school holidays after getting more than
3,500 e-mails from around the country criticizing its earlier decision
to eliminate them rather than add a Muslim holiday.
The School Board voted 5-2 Tuesday night to restore the holidays to the
2006-07 school calendar after a Muslim group said it didn't want its
request to add the Islamic holiday Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of
Ramadan, to result in Christian and Jewish holidays being taken away.
"It is a temporary solution," said Ahmed Bedier, spokesman for the
Council on American-Islamic Relations. ``We've been adamant the last
two weeks that we would give up on our request for a holiday so the
other religions won't lose theirs."
The board's earlier vote had resulted in denunciations on conservative
and Christian talk radio shows nationwide, leading to the e-mail
barrage and impassioned speeches at Tuesday's meeting asking that the
holidays be restored. . .
The Rev. Robert White of the Brandon Area Interfaith Coalition asked
the board to "look into your hearts -- do the right thing" and give the
Muslims a holiday.
-----
TX: PRAYER ALLOWED AT HIGH SCHOOL, DISTRICT SAYS -
TOP
KRISTINE HUGHES, Dallas Morning News, 11/10/05
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/tv/stories/DN-prayer_10met.ART0.North.Edition2.8f2eaa4.html
Richardson school officials say Berkner High School Muslim students who
recently complained that they weren't allowed to pray on campus
misunderstood the staff's instructions.
District officials issued a prepared statement Wednesday responding to
a letter this week from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a public
interest law firm based in Washington, D.C.
The letter asked the school to stop punishing students for praying
during the school day. It detailed an Oct. 13 incident in which
students said they were stopped from praying in an empty lecture hall
by two assistant principals and a police officer. According to the
letter, the school officials told the students that school policy
prohibited them from praying anywhere on campus.
"The letter to us reveals that some of the students perceived that they
were told they could not pray, but that is not the case," Richardson
school district spokeswoman Jeanne Guerra said. "Students have never
been denied the opportunity to pray at Berkner."
Ms. Guerra said the students were told only that they couldn't pray in the lecture hall. (MORE)
-----
VT: ISLAMIC SOCIETY CLAIMS CAMPUS HARASSMENT -
TOP
Derek Schlickeisen, Middlebury Campus, 11/10/05
http://www.middleburycampus.com/media/paper446/news/2005/11/10/News/Islamic.Society.Claims.Campus.Harrassment-1051495.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.middleburycampus.com
In recent weeks, two separate incidents affecting the student-run
Islamic Society's ability to communicate with the Middlebury community
have led the club's leadership to suspect harassment. The events
sparked a condemnation from President Ronald D. Liebowitz and are now
the subject of a Public Safety investigation.
According to Public Safety and Islamic Society Co-Presidents Owais
Gilani '08 and Amro Shurrab '08, an unidentified caller contacted the
Department of Web Services during the week before Fall Break and asked
that the Society's web pages be deleted and its account be closed.
Although clubs normally first approach the IT Helpdesk with requests
regarding changes to their accounts - a fact which, said Gilani and
Shurrab, "should have made Web Services suspicious" - the department
complied with the caller's request and deleted the club's account.
"Since they deleted the account entirely, they could not just put the
site back online," said Gilani. "We lost all of the work we have done
to update the site in the past four years."
Web Services did not provide additional details regarding the incident, citing Public Safety's ongoing investigation.
In a separate incident, the Society's notice board in McCullough
Student Center was stripped bare of photographs, scriptures and
announcements. Said Shurrab, "At first, we thought that someone may
have just made a mistake or that somebody was drunk and had removed
them. However, after the incident with the Web site, we started to
suspect that the two events were related." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
DEFENDANT PLEADS GUILTY TO THREATENING DETROIT MEMBERS OF THE ISLAMIC CENTER OF AMERICA -
TOP
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=56493
Contact: U.S. Department of Justice, 202-514-2007 or 202-514-1888 (TDD); Web:
http://WWW.USDOJ.GOV
WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Justice Department today
announced that Michael Bratisax pleaded guilty in the U.S. District
Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to violating the civil
rights of members of the Islamic Center of America, located in Detroit,
Michigan.
In May 2004, Bratisax sent an e-mail from his home computer in New York
to the Islamic Center of America threatening to kill Muslims. Bratisax
made this threat with the intent to intimidate and frighten the members
of the Islamic Center from practicing their religion.
"The Justice Department is committed to protecting our diverse
religious heritage against acts of criminal bigotry," said Wan J. Kim,
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "All American
families have the right to worship where they choose, undisturbed by
intimidation and racist threats."
The guilty plea results from an investigation by the Detroit Field
Office of the FBI, the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern
District of Michigan, and the Civil Rights Division of the United
States Department of Justice.
-----
VA: MUSLIMS HELPED ELECT NEW GOVERNOR -
TOP
Newcomers Push Outer Suburbs Left
Rosalind S. Helderman, Washington Post, 11/10/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/09/AR2005110902274.html
Not since L. Douglas Wilder's historic run for governor in 1989 has a
Democrat captured a majority of the vote for governor in Loudoun
County. Democrats in Prince William County have been waiting even
longer.
But Virginia Gov.-elect Timothy M. Kaine (D) won both in Tuesday's
election. Republicans needed to win big in the outer suburbs to offset
heavy support for Kaine in areas closer to Washington, and their
failure to do so was one of the keys to the defeat of Republican Jerry
W. Kilgore.
Kilgore slipped in areas where Republicans have been so dominant that
they control the local boards of supervisors, sheriff's offices,
commonwealth's attorney posts and most delegate seats.
Kaine reached out to voters in these rapidly growing outer communities
who are accustomed to the dust and traffic that come with new homes.
The Democratic candidate proposed new tools for local governments to
slow growth if they found that traffic would overwhelm the roads.
"Kaine ran this commercial on a big ad buy that showed bulldozers and
said: 'I hear you. I'm on your side with this,'" said Robert E. Lang,
director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech. "He said what
needed to be said, and he showed those bulldozers -- and people got
that."
Loudoun Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott K. York (I), who parted
ways with the local Republican Party after advocating slowing growth,
called the maneuver a "brave" introduction of a hard issue of concern
only to local voters.
"These are issues that are concerning folks, and it's not about Republicans or Democrats," he said.
Kaine won Loudoun by almost 6 percentage points and Prince William by
2. He bettered Democratic Gov. Mark R. Warner's tallies from 2001 in
the two counties by more than 16,000 votes, while Kilgore added only
4,768 votes over 2001 Republican candidate Mark L. Earley.
More than 23,000 additional votes were cast in the two counties this
year compared with the 2001 statewide elections, a function of the home
construction that has brought thousands of new voters to the region and
made Loudoun one of the fastest growing counties in the country, with
Prince William not far behind.
Loudoun County's Precinct 813, with more than 5,800 registered voters,
backed President Bush over Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) by 53 to 46
percent, but its voters picked Kaine over Kilgore by 55 to 43 percent.
As voters emerged from their polling place at an elementary school,
they were met by representatives of Campaign for Loudoun's Future, a
group advocating restrictions on development. They stood next to a map
of the county showing areas approved for new subdivisions and handing
out stickers saying "Don't Supersize Loudoun."
"To me, the growth issue and the roads issue are almost one and the
same," said David Smith, 46, a resident of the precinct who voted for
Kaine in part because of the issue. "They didn't plan for the growth
here. The roads should have [been] built a long time ago. [If they keep
building] you'll have a quagmire here, and it's really going to hurt
the quality of life."
This precinct had not been drawn when Warner was elected governor --
and not a single home had been built in the massive Lansdowne on the
Potomac development surrounding the school where Smith voted.
Studies show that a larger proportion of new residents moving to the
outer suburbs in the past few years are immigrants, creating a
diversifying population whose voting patterns may have also aided Kaine.
"There has to be a reason for this, and for me the reason is the influx
of the new people, and the biggest chunk of that influx are
foreign-born citizens," said Mukit Hossain, president of the Virginian
Muslim Political Action Committee.
Hossain said his group, which endorsed Kaine, compiled a comprehensive
database of Muslim voters in Virginia, finding that about 15,000 of
49,000 statewide live in Prince William and Loudoun. Many legal
immigrants in the area were turned off by Kilgore's pledges to use
state police to fight illegal immigration and his opposition to a
proposed taxpayer-funded day labor site in Herndon, and voted
accordingly, he said.
The group also endorsed Democratic delegate candidate David E. Poisson,
who unseated Richard H. Black (R-Loudoun), one of the most conservative
House members. Hossain said an analysis of survey data showed that more
than 60 percent of Muslims in Poisson's district voted and that they
supported the Democrat by more than 30 to 1.
"If the politicians have any sense, I'd hope they'd pay attention,"
said Hossain, who also works with the group trying to start the Herndon
center. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CELESTICA FIRES, SUSPENDS MORE MINNESOTA
MUSLIMS
CAIR seeks intervention of state attorney
general
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/11/05) - A prominent national Islamic civil
rights and advocacy group said today that Canada-based electronics
manufacturer Celestica Inc. has allegedly fired or suspended 16 more
Muslim workers at its Minnesota facility over issues related to workplace
religious accommodation.
Muslim workers at Celestica's Arden Hill plant tell the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) that nine employees and contract
workers have been suspended and seven others have been fired in a dispute
over shifting a lunch-break during the recently-concluded Islamic fast of
Ramadan. The employees say they were let go for taking an
"unauthorized break" at sunset, even though they say they had
requested to move their lunch break to that time. (Muslims fast from
break-of-dawn to sunset during the month of Ramadan.)
SEE:
http://www.celestica.com/contact/
CAIR sent a letter today to Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch asking
that he intervene in the case to uphold
Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, which requires an employer to accommodate an
individual's religious practices.
"Celestica needs to seriously address issues related to religious
accommodation in the workplace to prevent these types of incidents from
occurring," said CAIR Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar.
A Celestica spokesperson in Minnesota told CAIR the company has made a
number of accommodations for Muslim workers. She said the suspended
employees were offered an opportunity to return to work.
"Unfortunately, there is a disconnect between what Celestica is
telling us about the accommodations that have been made and what we are
hearing from Muslim employees," said Iftikhar.
At a CAIR news conference in July, Muslim workers said Celestica
terminated or suspended 15 employees and threatened others with
disciplinary action because of their requests to perform
religiously-mandated prayers in the workplace.
SEE: "MN Muslims Say Celestica Doesn't Allow Prayer"
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=37122&theType=NB
SEE ALSO: "CAIR, Minn. Muslims to Call for Celestica Prayer
Accommodation"
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1642&theType=NR
The Washington-based council filed a complaint with the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) over the previous denial of religious
accommodation by Celestica. CAIR has successfully resolved similar prayer
disputes at facilities owned by Dell Inc. and Solectron
Corporation.
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and
chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
- END -
CONTACT: CAIR Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar, 202-415-0799,
E-Mail:
arsalan@cair-net.org;
Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah
Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called
CAIR-NET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with
American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our
society.
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from CAIR-NET, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/11/05
*
Hadith:
Praise God at All Times
*
CAIR Offers Condolences to
Jordanian Ambassador
-
Networks Urged to Honor Akkad by Airing His
Films
-
Bombing Victims Mourned in D.C.
Area (Wash Post)
*
CAIR-FL:
Charter School May Include Muslim
Holiday
*
Accepting Diversity is
Hard but
Necessary (Wash Post)
*
CAIR-CAN Welcomes Review of Ottawa Police
'Profiling' Case
*
Senate Approves Limiting Rights of
Detainees (NY Times)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: PRAISE GOD AT ALL TIMES -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "It is a fine thing
when a believer praises and thanks God if good comes to him, and (also)
praises God and shows endurance when facing hardships."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 537
-----
CAIR OFFERS CONDOLENCES TO
JORDANIAN AMBASSADOR -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/11/05) - Representatives of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) met yesterday with the Jordanian
ambassador in Washington, D.C., to offer the group's condolences over
Wednesday's terror attack on hotels in Amman that left more than 50
people dead.
In the meeting, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad expressed the American
Muslim community's outrage at the attacks and offered the sincere
condolences of the Washington-based civil rights and advocacy group's
board and staff.
SEE ALSO:
NETWORKS URGED TO HONOR MOUSTAPHA AKKAD BY AIRING
HIS FILMS -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/11/05) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) today offered its condolences on the death of
internationally-known filmmaker Moustapha Akkad, who died Friday from
injuries sustained in a bomb blast earlier this week at an hotel in
Jordan. Akkad's daughter Rima also died in the terror attack.
SEE: "Hollywood Producer, Daughter Died in Bombing"
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10002363/
CAIR is also calling on American television networks to air films
produced by Akkad as a tribute to his legacy as cross-cultural pioneer.
Akkad was famous in the Muslim world as the director of the 1977 film
"The Message," which was based on the life of the Prophet
Muhammad. He also produced "Lion of the Desert," a 1981 film
biography of a Muslim leader who fought the Italian occupation of
Libya.
In a statement, CAIR's Southern California Director Hussam Ayloush said:
"Moustapha Akkad's films did much to enhance understanding of Islam
in this country and worldwide. People of all faiths can better understand
Islam's rejection of the fanaticism that prompted these criminal attacks
by watching 'The Message,' which stresses Islam's tolerance. The best way
to honor Moustapha Akkad's life and work is to let Americans learn more
about Islamic and Middle Eastern history by viewing his
films."
Akkad, 75, was born in Syria, but lived in Los Angeles.
---
BOMBING VICTIMS MOURNED IN D.C.
AREA -
TOP
Tara Bahrampour, Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/10/AR2005111002221.html
After thousands of Jordanians took to the streets of their capital
yesterday to protest hotel bombings that killed 59 people there, Muslims
gathered in Falls Church last night to offer condolences to two local
families that lost at least 17 relatives in the attacks.
As men filed in to the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center for evening prayers,
many embraced Allam Hwail and Allam Al-Alami, Palestinian Jordanians who
have known each other for years. It wasn't until yesterday that they
realized that they both were related to the families that had gathered
Wednesday at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Amman for a wedding.
Relatives had traveled from Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, France and
the Netherlands Antilles to attend the wedding. But as guests were
entering the ballroom, a suicide bomber detonated explosives in the
crowd.
"My second cousin . . . my dad's first cousin," said Allam
Hwail, 37, reeling off some of the relatives who were killed -- including
an uncle, the father of the groom.
Addressing more than 200 worshipers last night at the Falls Church
mosque, Sheikh Shaker Elsayed said: "Brother Al-Alami and Brother
Hwail lost 17 members of their family through . . . this senseless act --
people who did nothing but go about celebrating the wedding of their son
and daughter."
Hwail, a furniture store manager who lives in Vienna with his wife and
daughter, said he recognized his sister Iman, 39, on al-Jazeera on
Wednesday and saw that she had facial wounds. Later, he learned that she
had a serious neck injury.
"She's still alive, but she's in the hospital," he said.
"They called me today and said she just opened her eyes. She talked
to my mom."
"My sister, I love her," he said. "I love her to death,
and if something happened to her, I'd be really . . . " He went
silent and began to sob. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-FL: CHARTER SCHOOL MAY INCLUDE MUSLIM HOLIDAY
-
TOP
MICHELE SAGER, Tampa Tribune, 11/11/05
http://news.tbo.com/news/MGB4A5Z0WFE.html
TAMPA - -- The Muslim community failed to get it on Hillsborough County's
school calendar, but at least one public school in the district wants to
recognize the holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
Terrace Community School, a charter school at the Museum of Science &
Industry serving fifth through eighth grades, wants to add a day off next
school year to observe Eid al-Fitr, the holy day at the end of Ramadan.
Principal Gary Hocevar took the proposed calendar to the school's board
Wednesday night.
"Our policy is to celebrate and respect the diversity of our school
and community," he told board members. "I believe this is the
right thing to do. I expect it will be controversial. It would require
you to step out of the box."
Controversy erupted in the district when Muslim representatives asked the
Hillsborough County School Board to amend next year's school calendar to
include the holiday. Instead the board approved a secular calendar that
did not observe any religious holidays other than Christmas, which fell
within the winter break.
This week, after receiving thousands of e-mails and phone calls and much
national news media attention, the board reversed that decision, thus
putting days off for holidays such as Yom Kippur and Good Friday back on
the calendar. It did not include a day off for Eid al-Fitr.
Hocevar said he was inspired to change his school's calendar when a
Muslim student questioned the controversy.
"The student wanted to know why our school didn't respect his
religion when he is expected to respect others'," Hocevar said.
"His point really affected me."
Hocevar did not want to identify the student without his family's
permission.
Charter schools operate as public schools but without many district
restrictions. They are free to create their own calendar, but most
operate on the district's schedule to accommodate school services and
parents who might have children in other schools.
If the charter school board approves the new calendar, it will be the
first time the school's schedule will differ from the district's. The
school's calendar still would include days off for Yom Kippur and Good
Friday.
Ahmed Bedier, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations,
applauded the charter school's board for considering the calendar
change.
"We hope other charter schools and public schools will follow their
great lead," he said.
About 5 percent of the school's 352 students are Muslim. (MORE)
-----
ACCEPTING DIVERSITY IS HARD BUT
NECESSARY -
TOP
Eugene Robinson, Washington Post, 11/11/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/10/AR2005111001504.html
Multiculturalism is such an easy target. The word itself has the whiff of
politically correct bureaucracy, as if it had been coined by committee.
The very concept lacks rigor, since it seems to require deciding exactly
what qualifies as a "culture." And if you want to make fun of
the whole idea, all you need is Google and a little patience. Eventually
you'll find, say, an elementary school where one Muslim kid enrolled and
suddenly the curriculum was changed to include a unit on
Ramadan.
If you look closely at what just happened in France, though, you'll stop
laughing.
The riots in the suburbs of Paris and other French cities ought to wipe
the smirk from the lips of even multiculturalism's smuggest critics.
Those who lobby against bilingual education or get upset when their
children learn about Cinco de Mayo should look at France and realize that
multiculturalism is a lot like democracy -- it's the worst system except
for all the others.
The French example presents an ideal laboratory experiment. France, like
the United States, bases its sense of nationhood on a set of
Enlightenment ideas about the rights of individuals in a society. France,
much more than this country, also draws identity from language and an
ancient cultural heritage.
But then immigrants began to arrive -- mostly former colonials from North
and West Africa, people with darker skin and a different cultural and
religious heritage. France essentially said to the immigrants:
"Look, these are our ideals -- liberty, equality, fraternity. We're
not adding diversity to the list. . ."
The failed French experiment proves that you can't make differences and
disparities disappear simply by ignoring them. Other countries have tried
that approach and likewise have failed. When I covered Brazil in the late
1980s, I was struck by how residents of the violent, desperate
shantytowns were mostly black and the powerful people who ran the society
were almost all white -- yet people insisted there was no racism. Now,
belatedly, Brazil is beginning to try to redress more than a century of
unacknowledged discrimination.
People of different races, backgrounds, cultures, histories and languages
can indeed live together productively and with common purpose. I know
that because we do it here in the United States. It's a messy process,
because it means we have to argue a lot, and many of us resent all the
constant conflict and negotiation that's involved in getting along with
one another. But we manage quite well, especially if you compare our
society to those, like France, that cover their ears and go
"na-na-na-na-na" to avoid hearing complicated truths.
So let's end all this "English-first" nonsense and embrace
Spanish as our second language, since that's what it is. Let's learn more
about those 5,000 years of Chinese history. Let's have the dates of
Ramadan and Eid noted on our calendars. Let's remind ourselves of a big,
important lesson that we've already learned, and that we can teach the
world: Multiculturalism works.
-----
CAIR-CAN WELCOMES REVIEW OF OTTAWA POLICE
'PROFILING CASE' -
TOP
(OTTAWA, CANADA - 11/11/05) - The Canadian Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR-CAN) today said it welcomes the announcement that the
Ontario Human Rights Commission is referring a case of alleged racial
profiling and police brutality by the Ottawa Police to its tribunal for
adjudication.
According to news reports, police officers raided the Ambassador Bar and
Grill restaurant in Ottawa in January 2004 and arrested only non-white
individuals, most of whom were Somali Canadians. Some of those present in
the restaurant at the time have also alleged the police used excessive
force. None of the individuals arrested were ever charged. An internal
investigation by the Ottawa Police has cleared their officers of any
misconduct, however the rights commission has reportedly disagreed with
the investigation's findings.
For media coverage, see:
http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/news/city/story.html?id=51d8c7b8-6c3c-4bd3-bbe1-fa8d3074f75d
"We hope that the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal will carefully
examine this case and determine whether there was any racial profiling or
police misconduct," says Riad Saloojee, CAIR-CAN's Executive
Director. "It is critical that an impartial and independent third
party examines the propriety of police conduct in this
case."
CAIR-CAN had recently asked Ottawa Police Chief Vince Bevan for a meeting
to discuss a number of other complaints that the CAIR-CAN office had
received regarding police misconduct, however the request was
ignored.
Concerns about police misconduct have been mounting with the recent
police raid of an Ottawa Muslim family during the Islamic holy month of
fasting. The family alleges that they were improperly assaulted without
justification by a team of police officers during a family gathering.
Reports indicate that at least three children, including a four-month-old
baby, were hurt in the incident.
For more information, please contact Halima Mautbur at 613-254-9704 or
613-795-2012.
-----
SENATE APPROVES LIMITING RIGHTS OF U.S.
DETAINEES -
TOP
ERIC SCHMITT, New York Times, 11/11/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/11/politics/11detain.html
WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 - The Senate voted Thursday to strip captured
"enemy combatants" at Guant�namo Bay, Cuba, of the principal
legal tool given to them last year by the Supreme Court when it allowed
them to challenge their detentions in United States courts.
The vote, 49 to 42, on an amendment to a military budget bill by Senator
Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, comes at a time of intense
debate over the government's treatment of prisoners in American custody
worldwide, and just days after the Senate passed a measure by Senator
John McCain banning abusive treatment of them.
If approved in its current form by both the Senate and the House, which
has not yet considered the measure but where passage is considered
likely, the law would nullify a June 2004 Supreme Court opinion that
detainees at Guant�namo Bay had a right to challenge their detentions in
court.
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/13/05
*
Verse:
Heavens and Earth Once a Single
Entity
*
DC/VA/MD:
Register Online for CAIR's Annual
Banquet
*
CAIR-FL:
Eid Turnout
Underscores Muslim Presence (SP Times)
*
PA:
Bigots Don't Like to Vote in
Mosque (Morning Call)
-
Official Troubled by Complaints
Over Use of Muslim Hall
*
NJ:
Muslim Becomes Mayor
After Flier Alleges Terror Ties (AP)
*
CAIR-NJ/NY:
Two Men
Allege Giants Stadium Profiling
-
MN:
CAIR Alleges Bias at
Celestica (Pioneer Press)
*
CAIR-Chicago:
Demand Rises for Kirk
Apology (Chicago Trib)
*
CAIR-CAN Seeks Meeting to Discuss Police
Misconduct
*
MA:
Boston Mosque to
Hold Interfaith Thanksgiving Service
-
WI:
Green Bay Muslims Find
Place for Prayer
*
Ibn Battuta:
Muslim Traveler Rivaled
Marco Polo
*
The Debate Over Torture
(Newsweek)
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: HEAVENS AND EARTH ONCE A SINGLE
ENTITY -
TOP
"Are those who are bent on denying the truth not aware that the
heavens and the earth were (once) one single entity, which We then split
asunder? - and (that) We made out of water every living thing? Will they
not then begin to believe?"
The Holy Quran, 21:30
-----
REGISTER ONLINE FOR CAIR'S ANNUAL BANQUET -
TOP
Registration is now available online for CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet,
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice." To learn
more about the dinner, or to register, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
-----
CAIR-FL: MOSQUE'S EID TURNOUT
UNDERSCORES MUSLIM PRESENCE -
TOP
SANDRA THOMPSON, St. Petersburg Times, 11/12/05
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/11/12/Columns/Mosque_s_Eid_turnout_.shtml
Smack in the middle of the controversy over adding a Muslim holiday to
the Hillsborough school calendar, the very holiday in question, Eid
al-Fitr, was celebrated a week ago Thursday.
My daughter and her husband, who were visiting from New York, left at
7:30 a.m. for the mosque at the Islamic Society of the Tampa Bay Area,
the largest mosque in Florida, on E Sligh Avenue.
As soon as they got close, it was clear this was one big holiday. Police
were directing traffic to the parking areas, as the space usually used
for parking had been set up as a carnival for the kids. So many people
had come that the mosque was full, and the lawn all the way up to
sidewalk was being used for the men to pray.
My daughter, who still can't figure out how to wear a scarf, was about to
enter the mosque, and a woman said, "Oh, no, sister, there is no
room."
A tent had been set up for the overflow of women.
The estimate is 7,000 people had come from all over Tampa Bay. There are
other mosques, but many come here to celebrate. It is the one place where
numbers make this holiday feel like one.
My daughter and her husband said that people were dressed all different
ways - Pakistani women in colorful silk, Turkish men in leather jackets,
teenage girls in tight jeans, little girls in party dresses. My
son-law-in-law, who is Egyptian, said he didn't hear much Arabic spoken,
and my daughter was surprised to hear a group of women speaking
Spanish.
Their observations reflect reality. Ahmed Bedier, from the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, told me there are 45,000 Muslims in the Tampa
Bay area. The ethnic breakdown is about 30 percent African-American, 35
percent South Asians (Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and so on) and
25 percent Arab. The rest are converts, including a growing number of
Hispanics, which would explain the Spanish.
At the mosque, my daughter and her husband recognized Bedier from his
photo in newspaper clips I had sent them. He asked for donations for
victims of the earthquake in Pakistan and said that day's goal was
$25,000. They made the goal, Bedier told me this week. They had raised
$50,000 in the few weeks after the earthquake.
I had heard him say on True Talk, the WMNF show he hosts with Samar
Jarrah, that the American Muslim Task Force for Disaster Relief had
pledged $20-million in the two weeks after the earthquake. That was on
top of $10-million it had already raised for Katrina. (MORE)
SEND NOTES OF APPRECIATION THROUGH:
http://www.sptimes.com/letters/
COPY TO:
abedier@cairfl.org,
sandrathompson1@mac.com
-----
PA: WHITEHALL BIGOTS DON'T LIKE TO
VOTE IN THE MOSQUE -
TOP
Paul Carpenter, Morning Call, 11/13/05
http://www.mcall.com/news/columnists/all-5whitehall.4943342nov13,0,4680840.column
The other day, we learned that dozens of people got their shorts in knots
over just one of those 58. Some voters, said a story published Thursday,
were "offended at the idea of voting at a Muslim
mosque."
This was the first time, it was reported, that the Islamic Center of the
Lehigh Valley was used as a polling place.
Betty Hillwig, chief clerk of the county's Election Board, was quoted as
saying a half-dozen voters complained to her about voting in a mosque. A
poll worker, Tina Palagonia, said another 70 complained at the site,
including one with a daughter serving in Iraq, finding it "offensive
to come to an Islamic center to vote."
"I am so upset by that," Hillwig said of the griping. "I
think it's a wonderful place. The people there have been lovely, and I'm
sorry people are unhappy with it."
Also upset was Mohammad Bajwa, president of the Muslim Association of the
Lehigh Valley, who wrote to ask me to visit so we could talk about the
"ignorance and bigotry" facing his congregation.
On that point, he would be preaching to the converted, but I went anyhow.
We were joined by Mohamed Bugaighis, whom I'd met before and greatly
admire. Both have been respected college professors, both were born in
oppressive countries, and both are naturalized American
citizens.
"We're part of the community, and we're as American as anyone
else," Bajwa said. "I have a very close friend. He is a Muslim
and he is also a professor like me. His son is a major over there [in
Iraq]. & Others from this congregation have gone over there working
as translators for the Army."
I asked if they vote.
"Yeah, of course," said Bugaighis. "I never miss. I
appreciate it more than most people because we never had it [in his
native Libya]. We don't take it for granted. We know the sacrifices that
were made to make it possible for us to have the privilege of voting.
& It's our civic duty."
I thought of sacrifices also made to make freedom of religion possible,
in spite of what a few dozen Whitehall Township bigots might
think.
On the walls of the mosque lobby, where the polling place had been, there
are plaques. "What do Muslims think about Jesus?" said one.
"Muslims respect and revere Jesus." I wondered how many of the
other 57 church/polling places in Lehigh County had plaques expressing
respect for Islam.
At a time when some people are fighting and dying in the name of American
freedom, others are displaying bigotry just because a polling place is in
a religious establishment that shares a theology with some of our
adversaries.
I remember World War II, but I do not recall any complaints about voting
in a Roman Catholic Church, even though Adolf Hitler was a Catholic who
was supported by Pope Pius XII - until the tide of war turned, that
is.
I try to imagine what those bigots tell their children after they go home
from voting. Something about upholding American values, no
doubt.
SEE ALSO:
ELECTION OFFICIAL TROUBLED BY
COMPLAINTS OVER USE OF MUSLIM HALL -
TOP
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b6-5pollsnov10,0,4910587.story
-----
NJ: MUSLIM BECOMES MAYOR AFTER
ANONYMOUS FLIER ALLEGES TERROR TIES -
TOP
WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press, 11/13/05
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--muslimmayor-flier1113nov13,0,5973136.story
PROSPECT PARK, N.J. -- The anonymous flier mailed to households days
before a new mayor was to be chosen was direct and devastating in its
claims: A Muslim council member, one of three candidates for the post,
was "a betrayer living among us" with ties to the 9/11
terrorists.
The mailing said Mohamed Khairullah "should not be living in our
clean town" and "will try to poison our thoughts about our
great country."
But the letter failed to derail his candidacy; the Borough Council chose
Khairullah in a 4-0 vote Wednesday night, making him one of only two
Muslim mayors in New Jersey.
"The people of Prospect Park are great people," said
Khairullah, 30, a high school teacher. "I'm just happy to have this
opportunity."
Arab-Americans and Muslims make up about 15 percent of this
half-square-mile borough's population of nearly 5,800; Hispanics account
for about 40 percent, with Caucasians and African-Americans representing
most of the remainder. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-NJ/NY: TWO MEN CHALLENGE
STADIUM DETENTION -
TOP
MAKEBA SCOTT HUNTER, HERALD NEWS, 11/12/05
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2ODE0NDEzJnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mg==
NEW YORK - One week after two Muslim men held a press conference alleging
racial profiling at Giants Stadium, two non-Muslim men have come forward
with similar charges.
Mathew Varughese, 26, of Westchester, N.Y., and Pierre Mainville, 28, of
Stamford, Conn., said Friday that authorities profiled and unfairly
detained them at a Sept. 19 Monday Night Football game between the Giants
and the New Orleans Saints.
"We had the Red Scare of the '20s, the Yellow Scare of the '40s and
now we have the Brown Scare," Varughese, a Manhattan attorney, said
at the noon Harlem press conference, alluding to previous
episodes.
Varughese and Mainville, a financial analyst, said they attended the game
with two other men, and halfway through the second quarter, they were
singled out by security guards, removed from their seats and questioned
by FBI agents and stadium security for about 40 minutes.
A stadium security guard questioned them about their religious
backgrounds and nationality, both men said.
The FBI initially said the men were held because they had been seen
taking pictures of the field, said Varughese. Later, he added, a security
guard told them they had been detained because a fan reported seeing
several Muslim men praying. None of the men had cameras at any time, said
Varughese, and none was Muslim or of Middle Eastern descent.
Varughese is American-born, Protestant and of Indian descent. Mainville
is biracial, Roman Catholic and from Connecticut. The two other men did
not attend the press conference for privacy reasons, Varughese said, but
he described both as American-born and Christian; one is of Indian
descent, the other of Dominican descent. . .
The men said they want to raise awareness about profiling and, hopefully,
help to end it.
"We respect the FBI doing its job, but profiling is illegal and
doesn't make us safer," said Wissam Nasr, executive director of the
New York branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which
sponsored the press conference. "We all remember that day in London
when a Brazilian man was shot dead in the train. That's profiling at its
worst, and that's what happens when countries accept
profiling."
SEE ALSO:
MN: MUSLIM GROUP ALLEGES BIAS AT
CELESTICA -
TOP
Saint Paul Pioneer Press, 11/12/05
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/13147244.htm
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington, D.C.-based
advocacy group, has asked the Minnesota attorney general's office to
intervene on behalf of 16 Muslim workers at the Celestica Inc.
electronics plant in Arden Hills who it says were disciplined for leaving
their jobs for religious observances. The group said the workers were
either suspended or fired earlier this month by the company and an
outside contractor in violation of their civil rights. Celestica and the
outside firm, Adecco Staffing, denied firing workers, but confirmed
employees were disciplined for taking unauthorized breaks. Celestica was
involved in a similar dispute with Muslim workers last summer. About 60
of Celestica's 700 workers in Arden Hills are Muslim.
SEE ALSO: Celestica Fires, Suspends More Minnesota Muslims
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1864&theType=NR
-----
CAIR-CHICAGO: DEMAND
RISES FOR KIRK APOLOGY -
TOP
Chicago Tribune, 11/13/05
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0511130362nov13,1,3901056.story
Twenty-five immigrant and civil rights groups on Friday joined a Muslim
organization in demanding U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) apologize for
remarks he made condoning discrimination against some Arabs.
During a technology conference Nov. 5 at Northwestern University, Kirk
said: "I'm OK with discrimination against young Arab males from
terrorist-producing states."
Kirk, a Navy Reserve intelligence officer, defended his remarks Wednesday
after the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
demanded a retraction and an apology. The 10th District congressman said
it is crucial for the United States to protect its borders from foreign
terrorists.
The groups also calling for an apology include the Jewish Council on
Urban Affairs; the Archdiocese of Chicago's Office of Hispanic Ministry;
the Korean American Senior Center; the United Methodist Church's Northern
Illinois Conference; and the National Arab American Medical Association
of Illinois.
SEE ALSO:
Constituents and Local Organizations Demand Retraction, Apology, and
Meeting
http://cairchicago.org/presscenter.php?file=pr_kirk11112005
-----
CAIR-CAN: BEVAN UNRESPONSIVE TO CHARGES OF 'POLICE
MISCONDUCT' -
TOP
Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen, 11/13/05
http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=857c1045-bdb6-4c5e-92c6-f09f62074f53
A Ottawa-based Muslim advocacy organization says it has been trying since
last spring to arrange a meeting with police Chief Vince Bevan to discuss
complaints from Muslims about "police misconduct."
But the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) says
the chief has ignored its demand for a meeting. "The silence has
been quite troubling," Riad Saloojee, CAIR-CAN's executive director,
said yesterday.
However, David Pepper, the police service's director of community
relations, said he has had "more than three" discussions with
Mr. Saloojee in an effort to set up a meeting.
"There's certainly a willingness to meet," he said. "We've
just been trying to get a date."
Mr. Saloojee said his organization received four complaints from Muslims
earlier this year alleging ill treatment or unresponsive service by
Ottawa police officers.
One involved a 12-year-old boy who was "forcibly removed" from
a school bus after allegedly causing too much noise. The boy's parents
complained that police were "very rough and very abusive" with
their son, said Mr. Saloojee.
In another case, he said, police pulled over a car containing a Muslim
woman and her son. The woman was rushing to pick up medication for her
son, who was having an asthma attack.
The woman alleges that the officer was insensitive to her son's medical
condition and "put her child's life in danger" by delaying her
unnecessarily, Mr. Saloojee said.
In a third case, a Muslim man whose family was being harassed and
threatened by a neighbour alleged that police were slow to react and
unresponsive to his concerns.
The fourth case also involved an allegedly lackadaisical response from
police to complaints about a man who was parading in public with a sign
that accused Muslims of worshipping the devil.
In most of the cases, Mr. Saloojee said, the complainants believe
discrimination was a factor in the police response. (MORE)
-----
MA: ISLAMIC
CENTER PLANS INTERFAITH SERVICE -
TOP
John Hilliard, Daily News, 11/13/05
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=114265
WAYLAND -- Representatives from diverse faiths will mark Thanksgiving
during a service next week at the newly expanded Islamic Center of
Boston.
"The notion of thanks and thanksgiving is very central," said
the Rev. Frank Silva, co-chairman of the Wayland Clergy Association,
adding it is an opportunity to "express the unity that they do
share."
The Interfaith Thanksgiving Service will be held Sunday, Nov. 20, at 7
p.m. at the Islamic Center of Boston, 126 Boston Post Road (Route 20),
Wayland.
Silva, who serves as pastor of the Catholic St. Ann's Parish, said the
service will present readings from Jewish, Muslim and Christian
traditions. Non-denominational presentations will also be given.
(MORE)
SEE ALSO:
WI: LOCAL MUSLIMS FIND PLACE
FOR PRAYER -
TOP
Jean Peerenboom, Green Bay Press-Gazette, 11/12/05
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051112/GPG0406/511120388/1886/GPGlife
About a year ago, Maroof Shah was driving to the mosque in Neenah to pray
for Ramadan. It was winter and snowy, he said. "I got to thinking
about all the families that drive to Neenah or Appleton to pray and
decided to call them and see if we could start a mosque in Green
Bay."
Response was good and for the past year, 25 to 35 families have been
coming to a suite at 2815 Packerland Drive for prayer and other community
activities.
"This has been nice for us, especially during Ramadan, when we pray
often." Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. It is
during this month that Muslims observe the Fast of Ramadan during the
daylight hours and in the evening eat small meals and visit with friends
and family. It is a time of worship and contemplation - a time to
strengthen family and community ties.
The Green Bay families created The Islamic Society of Wisconsin. All have
keys to the center so they can come and pray or learn whenever they want.
(MORE)
-----
MUSLIM TRAVELER WHO RIVALED MARCO POLO -
TOP
Susan Spano, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/13/05
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/13/TRGE6FL6711.DTL
Someday I would like to see the Empty Quarter in the Arabian Desert; the
Syrian trading entrep�t Aleppo; the ancient Persian capital of Esfahan;
Central Asia's Tien Shan mountains; Borobudur Temple on the island of
Java; the Vale of Kashmir in the Himalayas; Mecca; all the great sights
of Dar al-Islam, historically a broad swath of Eurasia and Africa that
was converted and colonized by followers of Muhammad.
Such places are relatively new entries on my must-see list, inspired by a
book I just discovered, "The Adventures of Ibn Battuta: A Muslim
Traveler in the 14th Century."
In it, author Ross E. Dunn, a San Diego State University history
professor, tells the story of an amazing, 24-year road trip that took
Battuta, a young legal scholar, from Morocco to China in the 1300s. The
irony is that I found Dunn's book and started hankering to see Dar
al-Islam's landmarks at an inopportune time for traveling
there.
"The Adventures of Ibn Battuta" was first published in 1986 and
came out this year in a new, revised edition. It spins a wild but
apparently true yarn about a trip that roughly paralleled but in many
ways surpassed that of Marco Polo, the Venetian merchant who took to the
road a generation before Battuta. Both left books about their wanderings
-- the "Book of Marco Polo" and Battuta's "The
Rihla."
Battuta's was a sort of travelogue intended for the Muslim intelligentsia
and was unknown to Westerners until the 1850s, when two French priests
discovered several almost-complete copies in Algeria.
Although "The Rihla" has been translated into English, it is
apparently a difficult read for non- academics. So, Dunn wrote a version
of the narrative, enhanced by the accounts of other medieval travelers,
and his own knowledge of history and geography and travel observations.
(MORE)
-----
THE DEBATE OVER TORTURE -
TOP
Evan Thomas and Michael Hirsh, Newsweek, 11/21/05
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10020629/site/newsweek/
Since 9/11, torture lite has been used by the Americans in the war on
terror. In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, fearful that
another attack was imminent, Vice President Dick Cheney said, "we
have to work... the dark side, if you will." Declared the CIA's then
Counterterror chief Cofer Black: "After 9/11, the gloves came
off." At one point, the Bush administration formally told the CIA it
couldn't be prosecuted for any technique short of inflicting the kind of
pain that accompanies "organ failure" or "death."
(MORE)
-----
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-----
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/14/05
*
Verse:
Faith Leads to
Generosity
*
DC/VA/MD:
Register Online for
CAIR's Annual Banquet
*
CAIR-FL:
Muslims
to Sponsor Thanksgiving Baskets for
Needy
-
CAIR-MI:
Religions
Should Promote Racial Healing (Det News)
-
CAIR-OH
Aids Understanding, Challenges Bias
*
U.S. Imams Tend to Faithful, Help Fight Terror (Time)
*
CAIR:
Race Motivates Most Hate Crimes, FBI Says (AP)
*
NY:
Traffic Cops Ask Muslims About Citizenship (SI Advance)
-
NJ/NY:
More Giants Fans Claim Racial Profiling
*
IL:
Groups Demand Kirk Apology for Arab Remarks (AP)
-
Arab-Americans Advancing Civil Rights (AP)
*
PA:
Voting at Mosque Brings Bias to Light (Morning Call)
*
NJ:
Asian Quake Not an Afterthought, Islamic Relief
-
60 Minutes:
Aftershock in Pakistan (CBS)
*
MN:
Inside the Muslim Mind and the Quran (Star Tribune)
-
CAIR:
Obtain or Sponsor a Free Quran
*
Missionaries Use Businesses in Muslim Countries (NYT)
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: FAITH LEADS TO GENEROSITY -
TOP
"Indeed, man has been created with a restless disposition. When
misfortune touches him, he becomes despondent. But when blessed with
good fortune, he becomes stingy; except those who are devoted to
prayer, remain steadfast in their worship, set aside a share in their
wealth for (the needy), accept the truth of the Day of Judgment, and
who fear the displeasure of their Lord."
The Holy Quran, 70:19-27
-----
REGISTER ONLINE FOR CAIR'S ANNUAL BANQUET -
TOP
Registration is now available online for CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet,
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice." To learn more about
the dinner, or to register, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
REMEMBER, CAIR's banquets have been sold out in past years.
-----
CAIR-FL: MUSLIMS TO SPONSOR THANKSGIVING BASKETS FOR NEEDY -
TOP
(TAMPA, FL, 11/14/2005) - On Tuesday, November 15, 2005, the Florida
office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) will
announce plans by the local Muslim community to sponsor distribution of
Thanksgiving food baskets to low-income families and veterans living in
that state's Hernando County. The announcement will be made at the
Hernando County Commission meeting.
WHAT: CAIR-FL to Announce Muslim Sponsorship of Thanksgiving Food Baskets for Needy
WHEN: Tuesday, November 15, 2005, 9 a.m.
WHERE: Hernando County Courthouse, 20 N. Main Street, Brooksville, FL
The Hernando Food Basket Program is part of CAIR-FL's "Muslims Care" Campaign. See
http://www.muslims-care.org
CONTACT: Ahmed Bedier, 813-731-9506,
abedier@cairfl.org
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-MI: ALL RELIGIONS SHOULD PROMOTE RACIAL HEALING -
TOP
Detroit News, 11/09/05
http://www.detnews.com/2005/editorial/0511/09/A16-376205.htm
Recent events, including the July cross burning outside an
African-American family's home in Dearborn Heights, have reopened the
debate on race relations and highlighted the need to promote tolerance.
Grassroots community and religious leaders need to be at the forefront
of this process of racial healing.
Synagogues, temples, churches and mosques all reach out to an audience
open to spiritual growth. To achieve that growth and plant the seeds of
understanding and cooperation, spiritual leaders of all faiths must
first see the need for extending their own comfort zones.
The Quran, Islam's revealed text, clearly addresses the cure to racial division when it states:
"O mankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female,
and made you into nations and tribes so that you might get to know one
another. Surely the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who
is the most righteous."
Racism is a sign of not recognizing the intrinsic worth of all humans.
If racists saw themselves as human beings first, before their racial or
ethnic affiliations, recognizing the humanity of those outside their
own group would be less of a leap. It is difficult to dehumanize
someone you know as a friend.
Dawud Walid
Executive Director
Council on American-Islamic Relations for Michigan
Lathrup Village
---
CAIR-OH: TAKING CAIR OF WESTSIDE MUSLIMS, ONE GROUP AIDS UNDERSTANDING -
TOP
Bob Paschen, Columbus Messenger, 11/14/05
http://www.columbusmessenger.com/111405/westside/cair.htm
Dini Mohamed was standing in a post-prayer group with Abdoul Shmohamed and Akbar Osman.
"There is always a misconception about Islam being a violent religion," said Shmohamed, "but Islam is about peace."
The three men each said they have heard numerous accounts of violence
and discrimination against Muslims in Columbus. They said employers
have fired Muslims for praying-Islam demands prayer five times per day.
It was reported that a few teachers, as well, have allegedly prevented
Muslim students from praying.
For these and other problems, Akbar Osman said Muslims locally turn for
help to the Center for American Islamic Relations (CAIR) of Ohio.
CAIR Ohio is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower
Muslims to be active in their communities, and to dispel misconceptions
and stereotypes about Islam.
The organization is an affiliate office of CAIR National, which was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1994.
Having completed his Ph.D in civil engineering at Ohio State
University, Ahmad Al-Akhras sat in Columbus watching on television the
fallout surrounding the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995.
"Around the country we were faced with suspicion," said Al-Akhras. "It
immediately it came to mind to blame Arabs or Muslims. People were
beaten up...and (mosques and businesses were) broken into and
vandalized."
He and other Columbus Muslims were concerned that Muslims were getting
a bad reputation, were being endangered, and were being discriminated
at work.
At that time the only CAIR office existed outside the organization's
Washington, D.C. headquarters in northern California. But in June 1998,
Al-Akhras presided over the first meeting of CAIR Ohio.
In the past seven years, the local Muslim-advocacy nonprofit has grown
apace with Columbus's expanding Muslim communities. Estimates now peg
the central Ohio's Muslim population at between 30,000-35,000. There
are 13 mosques in Columbus.
Statewide, 150,000 Muslims call Ohio home. CAIR opened offices in
Cleveland and Cincinnati. As of 2005, 29 CAIR chapters operate
throughout the country. Though numbers vary, it is estimated roughly
6-7 million Muslims live in the U.S.
Sitting in his office on Reed Road in Upper Arlington, Adnan Mirza is
still getting used to his new role as director of CAIR Ohio. (MORE)
-----
MODERATE MUSLIM CLERICS IN THE U.S. TEND TO THEIR FAITHFUL--AND HELP THE FBI FIGHT TERRORISTS -
TOP
DOUGLAS WALLER STERLING, Time, 11/21/05
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1129587,00.html
IT WAS ON SEPT. 10, A DAY SHY OF THE fourth anniversary of the attack
on the World Trade Center, that Imam Mohamed Magid met terrorism's
victims face to face. He was presiding at the funeral on Long Island
for the daughter and son-in-law of Bangladeshi Americans from his
Sterling, Va., mosque. The children, who were at work in the North
Tower, perished in the Sept. 11 attack, but not until this past August
had medical examiners identified enough of their charred tissue and
bone fragments for the parents to hold a funeral. Staring at the two
wooden boxes covered with green embroidered cloth and surrounded by
grieving family members, the Muslim cleric was gripped by both sadness
and rage. "The terrorists who kill in the name of Islam claim they are
the martyrs," Magid told TIME later, the anger still roiling him. "But
the victims are the martyrs. The terrorists are the murderers, and God
will deal with them on Judgment Day."
From his mosque in Virginia, Magid, like many of the some 600 full-time
imams across the country, is fighting his own war against radicals
trying to hijack his religion. For Magid that has meant not only
condemning terrorism but also working closely with the FBI in battling
it. He regularly opens doors for agents trying to cultivate contacts in
his Muslim community, and he alerts the bureau when suspicious persons
approach his congregation. That puts him in a precarious position: How
does he maintain credibility as a spiritual adviser while, in effect,
he is informing on fellow Muslims? To understand that balancing act,
TIME spent two weeks following Magid as he raced from prayer to prayer,
meeting to meeting, in the strange new world of American Muslim
ministry. (MORE)
-----
RACE MOTIVATES MOST HATE CRIMES, FBI SAYS -
TOP
MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer
http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/nation/13165427.htm
WASHINGTON (AP) - Racial prejudice lay behind more than half the 7,649
hate crimes reported to the FBI in 2004, the bureau said Monday. Hate
crimes against black Americans were most prevalent.
The number of race-based incidents rose by 5 percent last year to 4,042
from 3,844. Authorities identified prejudice against blacks in 2,731 of
those crimes, the FBI said.
Overall, the number of hate crimes grew by just 2 percent compared with
the 7,489 in 2003, and there were slight declines in crimes motivated
by bias based on sexual orientation and ethnicity, the FBI said.
The data also showed that crimes against Muslims have leveled off since
a spike following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "We tend to see the
number of bias incidents go in cycles in large part tied to
international events," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council
on American-Islamic Relations. "It has leveled off since 9/11, but
unfortunately at a higher level than prior to 9/11. . ."
Because the number of police agencies reporting varies each year under
the voluntary system established by the Hate Crimes Statistics Act of
1990, officials caution against drawing conclusions about trends in
hate crime volumes between years. They say the figures provide a rough
picture of the general nature of hate crimes.
FBI Uniform Crime Reports:
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm
-----
NY: COPS ALLAY FEARS OF PROFILING -
TOP
Island Muslims claim police had been asking improper questions about their citizenship
REGINALD PATRICK, STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE, 11/12/05
http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1131805025124050.xml&coll=1
Staten Island's top cop yesterday sat down with members of the board of
trustees of Muslim Majlis of Staten Island Inc. to defuse mosque
members' recent concerns about post-Sept. 11 racial profiling by the
city Police Department.
The group owns and operates the Masjid-al-Noor mosque in Concord, the Island's only Pakistani mosque.
Board chairman Suhail Muzaffar said the group requested the sit-down
with Borough Commander Albert Girimonte in reaction to four incidents
over the past 11 months in which cops investigating minor auto
accidents or traffic infractions allegedly asked mosque members
inappropriate questions about their citizenship status.
"The typical question has been: 'Where are you from, where were you
born?'" Muzaffar said. "Two questions that are totally irrelevant at an
accident scene." In one of the incidents near the Staten Island Mall at
Christmastime last year, a female Pakistani wearing a Muslim shawl
repeatedly was asked where she came from, he said.
"This is an educated woman," Muzaffar said. "When a policeman first
asked her where she was from, she told him Staten Island. Then he asked
her where she was born. She told him Pakistan."
There were other incidents in the spring, he said, including the case
of a girl caught crossing against a traffic light in New Springville
being questioned. None of the questioned members were available for
comment.
Girimonte, who spoke to the congregation at the end of the midday
Friday prayer meeting and later sat down for a lunch of sandwiches and
soda, agreed that the interrogation was improper, saying, "Asking a
person at an accident scene where they're from is not necessary" once
identification has been established through a license and auto
registration.
"Once your proper ID is confirmed, all you want to find out is what happened," Girimonte said.
The borough commander, who was joined by Inspector Richard Bruno,
commander of the North Shore's 120th Precinct, said he was "surprised"
by the incidents and vowed to send the message that street cops are to
steer clear of questions about citizenship status.
"This is basically a training issue," Girimonte told mosque members.
"And we'll address it. The police should not be concerned with the
citizenship status of motorists. That's not our bailiwick." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MORE GIANTS FANS CLAIM RACIAL PROFILING -
TOP
JOTHAM SEDERSTROM, NY Daily News, 11/12/05
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/364885p-310664c.html
Four fans celebrating a birthday at Giants Stadium were plucked from
their seats by New Jersey State Police and detained for nearly an hour
as FBI agents probed their religious beliefs, the men charged yesterday.
The alleged racial profiling during the Sept. 19 Giants-Saints game -
the second such charge leveled against the stadium on that day -
humiliated the men and set off a barrage of hateful jibes from fans in
the upper deck, they said.
"When we got the tickets we said, 'This was going to be a day we'll
never forget,'" said Mathew Varughese, a Westchester County lawyer.
"And, indeed, it was a day we'll never forget."
Varughese, 26, an Indian-American, said FBI agents were cordial, but
aggressive as they probed the mens' religious backgrounds and
nationalities before releasing them 45 minutes later.
They also allegedly asked the men - two Indian-Americans, a
Dominican-American and another friend who is multiracial - if they had
cameras or if they had been praying. The friends, all of whom are
Christian, answered 'no' to both questions.
A group of Muslim men have said they were the victims of racial profiling and detained at the game for praying. (MORE)
-----
IL: GROUPS DEMAND KIRK APOLOGY FOR ARAB REMARKS -
TOP
Associated Press, 11/13/05
http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/local_story_317122137.html
(AP) CHICAGO Immigrant and civil rights groups have demanded an apology
from US Representative Mark Kirk for comments he made condoning
discrimination against some Arabs.
In response to a question about the visa process for immigrants, the
Illinois Republican said earlier this month that he's "Okay with
discrimination against young Arab males from terrorist-producing
states."
The twenty-five groups calling for an apology include the Jewish
Council on Urban Affairs and the United Methodist Church's Northern
Illinois Conference. The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater
Chicago has also urged public officials to repudiate Kirk's remarks.
Several days ago, US Senator Barack Obama sharply criticized Kirk. He
says Kirk's comments indicate a cavalier attitude toward civil
liberties.
SEE ALSO:
ARAB-AMERICANS PUTTING NEW URGENCY INTO ADVANCING RIGHTS -
TOP
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05318/606350.stm
Arab-Americans are one of the country's oldest immigrant groups. But
it's only recently -- and reluctantly -- that they've begun to identify
themselves as a minority hurt by discrimination.
The discrimination, some Arab-Americans say, has been particularly
evident since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. And it's being played out
in a host of areas -- from hiring and promotions at work, to portrayals
of Muslims in the U.S. media. (MORE)
-----
PA: VOTING AT MOSQUE BRINGS ISSUES TO LIGHT -
TOP
Morning Call, 11/14/05
http://www.mcall.com/news/opinion/letters/all-pettitnov14,0,2732212.story
The Morning Call reported that one-third of the voters at the Whitehall
Township masjid, or mosque, expressed concern at the voting site. That
is a sad replay of mistaken anger and misplaced anxiety.
Our elders can remind us that Pennsylvania Germans fell under suspicion
during the world wars of the 20th century. Just because the United
States was at war with the German state, was it right to distrust and
demean those of German descent in our Valley? Of course not!
Are not most of the worshipers at the Islamic Center American citizens?
Don't they pay taxes and vote in elections and serve their communities
and work productively in our shared society?
What's to worry about? They don't represent Islamic fundamentalist terrorism any more than my grandparents represented Nazism.
The American values of hospitality and equal opportunity have
cultivated diversity and mutual understanding in this Valley, making it
an increasingly attractive place to live and work.
When folks come to the Lehigh Valley, they become part of American
culture, having invested their lives in making that choice. We owe them
the same respect and dignity that we ask for ourselves.
If it seems awkward to offer that, it is only because we haven't taken the trouble to get to know our neighbors better.
Peter A. Pettit
Allentown
SEE ALSO: WHITEHALL BIGOTS DON'T LIKE TO VOTE IN THE MOSQUE
http://www.mcall.com/news/columnists/all-5whitehall.4943342nov13,0,4680840.column
-----
NJ: ASIAN QUAKE NOT AN AFTERTHOUGHT -
TOP
JACI SMITH, HERALD NEWS, 11/13/05
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MDYmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY4MTU5NjgmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXky
While the earthquake last month in the Kashmir region of Pakistan was
slow to catch the attention of most Americans, it was large in the
minds of Islamic Relief.
The group, which has a new office in Totowa and branches all over the
world, was at the site of the quake an hour after it struck. It has
raised $12 million so far in cash and in-kind donations nationwide for
victims of the temblor, according to the organization.
Saturday marked a high point in the group's efforts, when it announced
that a 747 cargo plane stuffed with emergency aid for victims of the
earthquake in Pakistan would leave John F. Kennedy International
Airport Monday morning. Islamic Relief partnered with another aid
organization, Operation USA, to coordinate the airlift.
The plane was donated by Polar Air/Atlas Air Cargo, with the fuel paid
for by the Disaster Resource Network, part of the World Economic Forum.
The plane is full of medical supplies, medicine, tents and blankets
donated from churches and businesses as far away as California and
Washington, and as close as New York and Rhode Island.
Islamic Relief has been in North Jersey for about six months, but is
already well-known to Muslims in the area. The small Totowa office has
managed to raise $330,000 from the local Muslim community for victims
of the quake, said Islamic Relief Northeast Director Yousef Abdallah.
Despite the American media giving less attention to the breadth of the
catastrophe caused by the quake than other recent natural disasters,
Abdallah said the group has received more aid for the Pakistan quake
than any other emergency for which it has raised money. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
AFTERSHOCK IN PAKISTAN -
TOP
60 Minutes, CBS, 11/13/05
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/10/60minutes/main1036922.shtml
(CBS) Five weeks ago, an earthquake struck Pakistan, and then the event
seemed to disappear. It disappeared from our newspapers, from our
television screens and from our minds.
Perhaps it was just one natural disaster too many this year. But here's
the aftershock: the situation in Pakistan is worsening by the day. The
death toll continues to rise and is now close to 90,000.
Three million people are still living without shelter and a harsh
winter is weeks away. The United Nations says conditions in Pakistan
are worse than after the tsunami and it is the biggest humanitarian
nightmare the UN has ever dealt with.
Correspondent Bob Simon travelled to a remote valley in Pakistan to get
a first-hand look at the devastation, and met a group of extraordinary
New York City paramedics who are saving lives under extreme conditions.
(MORE)
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-----
MN: INSIDE THE MUSLIM MIND AND THE QUR'AN -
TOP
Michael Sells, a prominent professor of Islamic history, is to lecture at Macalester College.
Sharon Schmickle, Star Tribune, 11/13/05
http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/5724596.html
At a time when global political tensions revolve around the clash
between the Western world and militant Muslims, many Americans are
hungry for more knowledge about Islam. In that spirit, Macalester
College has invited University of Chicago Prof. Michael Sells, a
prominent translator of the Qur'an and author of eight books about
Islam, to deliver a lecture Monday in Weyerhaeuser Memorial Chapel.
Q Some Americans would see the title of your lecture, "The Politics of
the Qur'an," as synonymous with the politics of terrorism. How do you
respond?
A One of the big problems in the American society is that people do not
have a sense of what the Qur'an is. So when someone commits an act of
violence and cites a verse from the Qur'an, which seems to justify
violence, then it's easy for people to make the assumption that the
Qur'an is a document of violence. So one thing that needs to happen is
for people to have a general sense of the sacred texts of religious
traditions and to see that there is violence and peace in all of the
sacred texts and that people have justified violence by quoting all of
the sacred texts.
Q Is there a fundamental gap in understanding between Islam and the West?
A There are translation gaps. Muslims approach the Qur'an primarily
through hearing it in Arabic. It's a very different experience than
reading the Bible, and it makes it very difficult for people, when they
pick up a Qur'an and read it, to understand the spirituality that
Muslims feel and sense when they hear the Qur'an.
Q Does that translate into anything practical in terms of our understanding of the Muslim world?
A What's often lost are the deeper feelings of tenderness, of
solidarity with other human beings, of subtlety, of the ability to have
many interpretations. All of these things when they are lost lead then
to a very stereotypical sense ... a narrow, more rigid sense of what
the tradition is. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
OBTAIN OR SPONSOR A FREE QURAN -
TOP
www.explorethequran.org
-----
THEIR MISSION: SPREADING THE WORD THROUGH BUSINESS -
TOP
ANDY NEWMAN, New York Times, 11/14/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/14/giving/14newman.html
TOM SUDYK is not most people's idea of a missionary.
On paper, he looks like a modern global capitalist, which he is. Mr.
Sudyk, an entrepreneur from Michigan, runs, among other things, an
outsourcing company in Chennai, India, providing medical transcribers
and software engineers to American businesses. In six years, the Indian
company -- a subsidiary of EC Group International, a larger outsourcing
company that Mr. Sudyk founded in Grand Rapids -- has grown to 75
employees and is moving into a building triple its present size.
But the Gospel, Mr. Sudyk says, illuminates every aspect of his
business, from its ethics to its help to local ministries to the
technical support it lends a Christian-run vocational school for polio
victims in Chennai. Each afternoon at the Chennai office, there is a
10-minute prayer, and while the prayer is interdenominational,
employees who ask to learn more about Jesus Christ -- as many have --
are gladly accommodated.
"We don't push our religion down their throat," Mr. Sudyk said. "Our
philosophy is that you're not going to talk anybody into it. But they
clearly know it's a Christian-run company."
Christian-run companies are multiplying in just about every corner of
the globe, reshaping overseas mission work. These businesses form a
movement known variously as business as mission, kingdom business and
great commission companies, after the biblical charge to "make
disciples of all the nations."
In Romania, for example, a Californian who runs a Tex-Mex restaurant
and catering hall said that he expected to clear $250,000 in profit
this year, most of which will be donated to local ministries. And in a
Muslim country with a history of hostility to Christianity, a
medical-supply importer from the Midwest leverages the trust she earns
through her business dealings to quietly spread the word.
Some supporters of business as mission set up microlending banks or
fair-trade coffee companies. In countries where there is more hunger
for economic development than for missionaries, some of these
supporters think that a profit-oriented company centered around
Christian values can be a powerful tool for building a Christian
society. A job-creating, taxpaying enterprise, they say, will be more
legitimate in the eyes of locals, harder for a government to expel and
better for the resident economy than one propped up by handouts from
back home.
"The real power of the movement is that it's not donor-funded, it's
basically globally funded," Mr. Sudyk said. "There's no restraint in
the capacity of this system, because you avert the donor and plug into
globalization."
Business as mission grew from a 1980's mission movement to reach people
in the "resistant belt" across North Africa, the Middle East and Asia
where Muslim, Buddhist or antitheistic governments made it hard or
impossible for religious workers to get visas. Missionaries with no
business experience opened travel agencies, Internet cafes and other
small companies, sometimes accused of being little more than fronts for
proselytizing.
"That model was about getting missionaries into these countries by
whatever means you could, whether it's teaching or business or
whatever," said Steven L. Rundle, an associate professor of economics
at Biola University in La Mirada, Calif., and an author of a 2003 book,
"Great Commission Companies: The Emerging Role of Business in Missions."
Now, Professor Rundle said, evangelical groups are recognizing that
mission-minded businesspeople can do things that traditional
missionaries cannot. "The future generation of missionary will be the
rank-and-file businessman," he said. The wheel, he added, has come full
circle: many of the first emissaries of the Gospel were tradesmen, not
priests. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
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cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/15/05
*
Verse:
Man is a Creature of Haste
*
DC/VA/MD:
Register Online for CAIR's Annual
Banquet
*
DC Radio Host Who Smeared Islam
Moves to Boston (Wash Post)
*
Daniel Pipes Has
'Problem' with Voting in PA Mosque (CNS)
-
'Bigots Don't Like to Vote in the Mosque' (Morn
Call)
*
IN:
ISNA Cleared in
Senate Investigation (Indy Star)
-
CA:
Minor
Violations Shown as Victories in Terror War
*
CA:
Frantic Search
for Missing Muslim Doctor (Fox)
*
CA:
Muslims Slam Plan
to Register Air Travelers
*
NJ:
Pakistan's
'Forgotten Tragedy' (Record)
*
White Phosphorus,
Fallujah and Some
Burning Questions
-
Iraqis Say U.S. Soldiers Threw Them
in Lions' Den (AP)
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: MAN IS A CREATURE OF HASTE -
TOP
"Man is a creature of haste. (But in time) I will make obvious to
you (the truth of) My messages. Therefore, you need not be
impatient."
The Holy Quran, 21:37
"God's judgment is (bound to) come. So do not call for its speedy
arrival."
The Holy Quran, 16:1
-----
REGISTER ONLINE FOR CAIR'S ANNUAL BANQUET -
TOP
Registration is now available online for CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet,
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice." To learn
more about the dinner, or to register, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
-----
MR. CONTRITION SKIPS CONCORD FOR
BOSTON -
TOP
Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts, Washington Post, 11/15/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/14/AR2005111401481.html
Michael Graham, the pugnacious radio yakker fired from WMAL-AM this
summer after calling Islam a "terrorist organization," has
landed at a Boston talk radio station.
"All I can say is, somebody better buy Ted Kennedy a drink,"
the former conservative campaign consultant exulted on his Web
site.
We couldn't reach Graham before he debuted his afternoon drive time show
on WTKK-FM yesterday. But in an e-mail to Post columnist Marc Fisher, he
bragged: "Better gig, better station, better time slot, better
money."
In a July 25 WMAL show, Graham repeatedly called the world's
second-largest faith a terrorist group and said "moderate Muslims
are those who only want to kill Jews." The comments drew immediate
complaints from the Council on American-Islamic Relations as well as
advertisers; Graham was suspended, then let go after he refused to
apologize. . .
But Ibrahim Hooper, a CAIR spokesman, said the group will be keeping
tabs. "The radio listeners in Boston will judge what he says, and if
he repeats it I think he'll be repudiated in the same way he was
repudiated by the people in Washington."
-----
PENNSYLVANIA VOTERS DON'T
WANT TO VOTE AT MOSQUE -
TOP
Monisha Bansal, CNS News, 11/15/05
http://www.wdcmedia.com/newsArticle.php?ID=252
2005-11-15 -- (CNSNews.com)-- Some voters in Whitehall Township, Penn.,
were offended that the Lehigh Valley County election board had them vote
at a local mosque on Nov. 8. The county uses 58 religious establishments
for voting, but this was the first year that residents in the 12th
District voted at the Islamic Center of Lehigh Valley.
"Anytime you have people objecting to a voting place merely because
it's an Islamic house of worship, I think that is a symptom of
anti-Muslim prejudice," Ibrahim Hooper of the Washington, D.C. based
Council on American-Islamic Relations, told Cybercast News
Service.
"It's something that religious and political leaders, not only in
Pennsylvania, but nationwide, need to address," he added.
Betty Hillwig, the chief clerk of the county's election board, said the
Islamic Center of Lehigh Valley was generous to offer its space for
voting booths, and that the center would continue to be used in future
elections.
"About a half dozen people called and said they weren't happy about
it, but we were really lucky to be able to use the space," said
Hillwig.
"They just didn't like the fact that it was in a mosque, because
they didn't want to have to visit a Muslim house of worship," said
Hooper.
The Morning Call, which reports Lehigh Valley local news, indicated that
one-third of the voters at the mosque expressed concerns about voting
there.
"It's a political thing, not a religious one. If the mosque is a
radical one, then I've got a real problem with it, and chances are it is.
The people of that community would know what's in their
neighborhood," said Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East
Forum, a think tank promoting American interests in the Middle East and a
critic of radical Islam.
[
NOTE: The Lehigh Valley mosque is a co-sponsor of the recent
fatwa against terrorism and religious extremism issued by the Fiqh
Council of North America. SEE:
http://www.cair-net.org/FatwaJuly2005.pdf
]
SEE ALSO: WHITEHALL BIGOTS DON'T LIKE TO VOTE IN THE MOSQUE -
TOP
http://www.mcall.com/news/columnists/all-5whitehall.4943342nov13,0,4680840.column
-----
INDIANA-BASED ISLAMIC SOCIETY CLEARED IN SENATE INVESTIGATION -
TOP
Robert King, Indianapolis Star, 11/15/05
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051115/NEWS01/511150460
A U.S. Senate committee found nothing "alarming" in the financial
records of the Plainfield-based Islamic Society of North America and
nearly two dozen other Muslim groups the committee reviewed searching
for terrorist connections.
"Of course we were sure that nothing would come out with regard to
ISNA, but it is good to see that they have come to that conclusion as
well," said Louay Safi, executive director of an Islamic Society
program that develops new Muslim leaders.
In seeking the tax records of the Muslim groups in December 2003,
Senate Finance Committee leaders said they would look at the "crucial
role that charities and foundations play in terror financing" and that
"often these groups are nothing more than shell companies."
But almost two years later, the committee has concluded its work with
no plans to issue a report, forward any findings to law enforcement
agents, hold hearings or propose new legislation. . .
The Senate investigation was widely reported, casting doubt on the
Islamic Society at a time many Muslims in the United States were viewed
suspiciously because of the terrorist attacks on Washington, D.C., and
New York City.
Arsalan Iftikhar, national legal director for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, said the Senate Finance Committee had gone
on a "fishing expedition" that did nothing but reinforce the idea that
Muslims are guilty until proven innocent when it comes to terrorism
accusations.
"Unfortunately," Iftikhar said, "I think this is indicative of federal
law enforcement's dragnet against the American Muslim community."
SEE ALSO:
CA: CRACKDOWN ON A MIDDLE EASTERN BANKING SYSTEM -
TOP
Jim Herron Zamora, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/15/05
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/15/BAG8QFOB7A1.DTL
An informal banking system known by Middle Easterners as hawala, which
began centuries ago on the Silk Road and Sahara desert caravans, has
become a target in the war on terror by federal authorities who believe
it allows terrorists to transfer vast sums of money without a trace.
Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the government has moved
aggressively to halt these money transfer services or at least force
them to comply with federal financial reporting laws. The campaign has
resulted in the indictment of 138 people and the seizure of $25.5
million.
Three Bay Area men have been caught up in the crackdown; one of them is
a Castro Valley man scheduled to be sentenced Thursday for illegally
sending money to Sudan. But critics say the government has found no
links to terrorism in any of its cases and has done little more than
shut down mom-and-pop businesses guilty of failing to register their
companies or report their transactions. . .
Arab and Islamic civil rights groups warn that the federal crackdown is
disrupting a vital link between immigrants and their homelands and
fueling mistrust in a community that law enforcement should be working
with to eradicate terrorism.
"It's sending a message to Muslims in America that if you even have the
slightest violation we are going to throw the book at you," said
Arsalan Iftikhar, national legal director for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations in Washington, D.C. "It's ridiculous,
selective prosecution. Routine, minor violations of financial laws by
Muslims are portrayed as victories in the war on terror."
-----
CA: FRANTIC SEARCH FOR MISSING MUSLIM DOCTOR -
TOP
On the Record with Greta
Fox News, 11/14/05
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,175503,00.html
[
NOTE: A flier with information about the missing doctor may be viewed at:
http://www.sbia.info/mambo/content/view/123/65/ ]
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN: Now to California where a frantic search is
underway right now for a missing doctor, 55-year-old Zara Otari (ph)
was last seen leaving her office on Monday. She was on her way to a
medical conference about five miles away but she never made it there.
Joining us live from Mountain View, California is Dr. Otari's daughter Ruby Ali, welcome Ruby.
RUBY ALI, DAUGHTER OF MISSING DOCTOR: Hi, how are you?
VAN SUSTEREN: Very well. Ruby, any tips or hints, anything since your mother disappeared about eight days ago?
ALI: The police have not found anything as of yet but we are still very hopeful that she's alive and she'll come back to us.
VAN SUSTEREN: Ruby your mother has a practice in sort of a low-income area, she helps poor people is that right?
ALI: Yes, my mom always had a passion to help the poor and
underprivileged. That's why she chose to work in the heart of Oakland
where she worked with children and these children, you know, don't have
many resources and my mom has done a lot -- a lot for these children.
VAN SUSTEREN: Your mother left the office about five o'clock, headed
about five minutes away to a meeting. What kind of meeting was she
headed to?
ALI: It was an insurance company meeting. They were going to discuss differences in the insurance plans.
VAN SUSTEREN: And she never made it to that meeting is that right?
ALI: She never made it.
VAN SUSTEREN: What kind of car was she driving?
ALI: She was driving a grey/silver Honda Accord, Model 2001. It had license plates 4MUH810.
VAN SUSTEREN: Is there any reason why your mother would take off, having any problems in her life?
ALI: No. I was -- I just recently got married two months ago. My mom
was ecstatic about it. She was in very high spirits and we come from a
very close traditional family. My mom would never just get up and leave
like that ever.
VAN SUSTEREN: And she and your father have been married about 30 years?
ALI: Yes and they have a very, very close, strong relationship.
VAN SUSTEREN: Has your mother ever been threatened or even followed from work as far as you know?
ALI: Never.
VAN SUSTEREN: Does your mother carry a cell phone?
ALI: My mom always has a cell phone and it's always on when she's out
of the clinic because she always has to attend to patients even during
the middle of the night.
VAN SUSTEREN: Has there been any cell phone activity since she left?
ALI: No, the last cell phone call was made at 1:00 p.m. and she had left the clinic at 5:00 p.m. that Monday.
VAN SUSTEREN: Has she been to her ATM or have any money or jewelry that might be attractive to somebody?
ALI: She had about $650 in her purse on that day but she did not have
-- there's been no usage of any of her credit cards or ATM card.
VAN SUSTEREN: All right, Ruby, we put her picture up as well as we've
described the car. If anyone has any information about Ruby's mother,
Dr. Otari, to immediately call the police. Thank you and good luck Ruby.
-----
CA: MUSLIM ACTIVISTS SLAM PLAN TO REGISTER AIR TRAVELERS -
TOP
Jonathan Jones, Oakland Tribune, 11/14/05
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_3213664
NEWARK - Local Muslim groups expressed concern Friday about a move by
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to urge Muslim air travelers
who are experiencing problems at the airport to register with the
federal government before flying.
Homeland Security officials stressed that they are not encouraging
large numbers of people of any particular race, ethnicity or religion
to register before traveling, only particular individuals who are
having serious problems getting cleared to fly.
U.S. officials said some people have experienced problems getting
cleared to fly as a result of a mistaken match on a no-fly list, and
they may register with the federal government to reduce the chances
they'll be stopped at the airport.
But local Muslim activists said it appears to be another attempt by law
enforcement to single out Muslims and Arab Americans for closer
scrutiny.
"Either nobody should register or all of us should have to register.
Don't single us out," said Samina F. Sundas, executive director for
American Muslim Voice, which set up a hot line for Muslims during the
INS registration after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "Let's
just treat everyone equally."
Federal officials say the registration could help distinguish a
traveler from people whose names - or close variations - appear on U.S.
no-fly lists compiled by intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
(MORE)
-----
PAKISTAN'S 'FORGOTTEN TRAGEDY' -
TOP
MIKE KELLY, Record, 11/15/05
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk0NSZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NjgxNjQ1MSZ5cmlyeTdmNzE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTM=
Yousef Abdallah wants you to know he is looking for tents.
Hundreds of them. Thousands, actually.
This may strike you as odd, especially for a man who commutes from his
home in Lyndhurst to an office on Route 46 in Totowa, where his windows
overlook stores that sell tile and toys. But these days, Abdallah, who
runs the Islamic Relief Services for the northeastern United States,
spends his days worrying about people left homeless by an earthquake on
the opposite side of the world - in Pakistan.
"A forgotten tragedy," he says.
The Oct. 8 earthquake killed more than 73,000 people, injured 128,000
and left a staggering 3 million homeless. Now winter is coming. And,
Abdallah says, "Over there, winter is brutal."
We've learned much about natural disasters in the past 11 months. It
began with the tsunami in Asia. The toll: 200,000 dead. Then came an
African famine. Then Hurricane Katrina. Then a massive quake shook the
Himalayan mountains that divide Kashmir.
Back in Totowa, it is midafternoon Monday. Twelve hours earlier,
Abdallah, born 44 years ago in Ramallah on the Palestinian West Bank
and living in the United States since 1989, was at Kennedy
International Airport to bid farewell to a Pakistan-bound cargo jet
jammed with tents, blankets and medicine. In the office now, he is back
on the phone trying to get more tents.
He is also trying to get the public's attention.
"I have no idea why things are so forgotten over there," he says. "With
the tsunami, there was worldwide attention. With Katrina, the whole
world was watching. I think this may be worse than the tsunami."
He points to a photograph of a woman in Pakistan carrying a small boy. The woman is about to enter a tent.
"It's a mountainous area," he says. "If they don't receive the help they need, many elderly and children will die."
He pauses, then adds: "I don't know why the world is giving them so little attention."
This may be one of the great mysteries as we approach the end of this
tragic year. Why did other disaster area get so much help while
Pakistan got so much less? (MORE)
-----
WHITE PHOSPHORUS, FALLUJAH AND SOME BURNING QUESTIONS -
TOP
Andrew Buncombe and Solomon Hughes, Independent, 11/15/05
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article327094.ece
The controversy has raged for 12 months. Ever since last November, when
US forces battled to clear Fallujah of insurgents, there have been
repeated claims that troops used "unusual" weapons in the assault that
all but flattened the Iraqi city. Specifically, controversy has
focussed on white phosphorus shells (WP) - an incendiary weapon usually
used to obscure troop movements but which can equally be deployed as an
offensive weapon against an enemy. The use of such incendiary weapons
against civilian targets is banned by international treaty.
The debate was reignited last week when an Italian documentary claimed
Iraqi civilians - including women and children - had been killed by
terrible burns caused by WP. The documentary, Fallujah: the Hidden
Massacre, by the state broadcaster RAI, cited one Fallujah human-rights
campaigner who reported how residents told how "a rain of fire fell on
the city". Yesterday, demonstrators organised by the Italian communist
newspaper, Liberazione, protested outside the US Embassy in Rome.
Today, another protest is planned for the US Consulate in Milan. "The
'war on terrorism' is terrorism," one of the newspaper's commentators
declared.
The claims contained in the RAI documentary have met with a strident
official response from the US, as well as from right-wing commentators
and bloggers who have questioned the film's evidence and sought to
undermine its central allegations.
While military experts have supported some of these criticisms, an
examination by The Independent of the available evidence suggests the
following: that WP shells were fired at insurgents, that reports from
the battleground suggest troops firing these WP shells did not always
know who they were hitting and that there remain widespread reports of
civilians suffering extensive burn injuries. While US commanders insist
they always strive to avoid civilian casualties, the story of the
battle of Fallujah highlights the intrinsic difficulty of such an
endeavour.
It is also clear that elements within the US government have been
putting out incorrect information about the battle of Fallujah, making
it harder to assesses the truth. Some within the US government have
previously issued disingenuous statements about the use in Iraq of
another controversial incendiary weapon - napalm. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
IRAQIS SAY SOLDIERS THREW THEM IN LIONS' DEN -
TOP
Associated Press, 11/15/05
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10045146/
WASHINGTON - Two Iraqi businessmen, who were imprisoned by U.S. forces
in Iraq, claimed Monday that American soldiers threw them into a cage
of lions in a Baghdad palace, as part of a terrifying interrogation in
2003.
"They took me behind the cage, they were screaming at me, scaring me
and beating me a lot," Thahe Mohammed Sabbar said in an interview. "One
of the soldiers would open the door, and two soldiers would push me in.
The lions came running toward me and they pulled me out and shut the
door. I completely lost consciousness." (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRENCH AMBASSADOR TO SPEAK AT DC FORUM ON
RIOTS
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/15/05) - On
Monday, November 21,
France's ambassador to the United States will take part in a public
forum, titled
"The Riots in France: Disenfranchisement and
Integration," at the National Press Club in Washington,
D.C.
Ambassador Jean-David Levitte will be joined in the forum by
Nihad Awad, executive director of the
Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and
Muslim Public Affairs
Council (MPAC) Executive Director
Salam Al-Marayati. Awad and
Al-Marayati will have just returned from discussions with Muslim leaders
and government officials in Europe.
WHAT: The Riots in France: Disenfranchisement and
Integration
WHEN: Monday, November 21, 9:30-11 a.m.
WHERE: First Amendment Room, National Press Club, 529 14th Street,
NW, Washington, D.C.
CONTACT: Admission is free, but seating is limited.
Attendees
are required to make a reservation by e-mailing:
events@cair-net.org
The event, part of CAIR's
"American Muslim Policy Forum"
series, will focus on policy implications resulting from the riots
that began in the suburbs of Paris following the electrocution deaths of
two teenagers on Oct. 27. Rioters say they are protesting high
unemployment, discrimination and marginalization in French
society.
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and
chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah
Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list receive news releases
and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on issues of
importance to our society.
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/16/05
*
Verse:
The Righteous Will Inherit the
Earth
*
DC:
Rep. Conyers to Speak at CAIR
Banquet
*
CAIR-NY:
Muslims to
Discuss Concerns with FBI
*
CAIR-FL Rep Profiled -
In a Good Way (St.
Pete Times)
-
CAIR-Chicago to Speak at Forum on
U.S. Muslim Identity
*
Quake Relief:
Compassion Fatigue,
or Something More Ugly?
-
American Muslim Task Force for
Disaster Relief
*
TX:
Anti-Islam Republican
Convention in Texas (Daily Times)
-
Sugg:
Steve Emerson's Jihad Spreads to
Boston
*
IN:
Freshman Reflects on Her
Conversion to Islam
*
Senate Votes to Ban Torture of
Detainees (USA Today)
-
Starving, Tortured Iraqi
Detainees Found (Chicago Trib)
-
Ex-Detainee Says Torture
Widespread in Iraq Bunker
-
Raid on Torture Dungeon Exposes
Iraq's Secret War
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: THE RIGHTEOUS WILL INHERIT THE
EARTH -
TOP
"We wrote in all the books of divine wisdom: My righteous servants
shall inherit the earth."
The Holy Quran, 21:105
-----
DC: REP. CONYERS TO SPEAK AT CAIR BANQUET
-
TOP
Registration is now available online for CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet,
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice." Keynote
speakers include: Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Chip Pitts, former
chairman-Amnesty International, and Imam Siraj Wahhaj.
To learn more about the dinner, or to register, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
-----
CAIR-NY: MUSLIMS TO DISCUSS
CONCERNS WITH FBI AT TOWN HALL MEETING -
TOP
WHAT: NY Muslims Meet with Representatives of FBI Joint Terrorism Task
Force
WHEN: Wednesday, November 16, 7:30 p.m. (after Isha prayers)
WHERE: Dar Al-Dawah, 35-13 23rd Avenue, Astoria, N.Y.
Possible topics of discussion:
* Local Muslim experiences and concerns
* Protecting civil rights
* Ideas for improving relations with law enforcement authorities
* Ideas for improving community safety and security
CONTACT: CAIR-NY Executive Director Wissam Nasr, 917-751-1017 or
212-870-2002, E-Mail:
director@cair-ny.org
SPONSORS: Dar Al-Dawah/MAS-Queens, CAIR-NY, ICNA Relief, Arab American
Association of New York, Majlis-Ashura of Staten Island
-----
CAIR-FL: TRYING TO
TEACH, NOT PREACH -
TOP
Ahmed Bedier, who sparked a move to get Muslim holidays on the school
calendar, works to promote understanding.
SHERRI DAY, St. Petersburg Times, 11/16/05
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/11/16/Tampabay/Trying_to_teach__not_.shtml
TAMPA - He sat in a conference room at Tampa General Hospital, surrounded
by Christian chaplains in training.
The lone Muslim in the group, Ahmed Bedier was there to teach.
"What comes to mind when you hear the word Islam or Muslim?" he
asked, scanning the room.
No one answered, but he knew what they wanted to say.
It was okay to be offensive, he told them.
"Terrorists," several said at once.
Bedier smiled. Now they were getting somewhere.
"After that, what else?" he asked.
At ease, group members spit out responses.
"Oppressive," they said. "Aggressive."
"Dangerous." "Uneducated."
Then it was time for Bedier, who is Central Florida director for the
Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR, to speak.
"Imagine if you put yourself in a Muslim's shoes in America these
days, and you go to Wal-Mart and everybody thinks that about you. It's
not a comfortable feeling."
Bedier, 31, had only just begun. He works daily to dispel stereotypes and
seek equal treatment for Muslims who face discrimination.
Recently, his push to include Islamic holidays on the Hillsborough County
public school calendar launched a national debate. In October, when the
board voted to cancel all religious holidays, Bedier was at the forefront
of the discussion again, urging restoration of Judeo-Christian holidays.
Muslim inclusion, he said, should not harm others.
But Bedier isn't giving up. He has already vowed to try again next
year.
Many local Muslims are glad he's on duty.
"He at least speaks and brings out their issues," said Mohammad
Sultan, imam for the Islamic Society of Tampa Bay Area Mosque in Tampa.
"They see at least some kind of hope. . ."
Seeking purpose, he began to spend more time at a mosque, the Islamic
Society of Pinellas in Pinellas Park. In 2000, he vowed to read the Koran
every day and committed to becoming an observant Muslim.
As Bedier's faith deepened, he questioned his decision to remain in a
non-Muslim country. Around him were myriad temptations.
Ultimately, Bedier decided to stay - but to work on behalf of Islam and
American Muslims. He volunteered at his mosque, which eventually led to
work with CAIR.
His first brush with the media came after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The St. Petersburg Times called his mosque to learn how it felt to be a
Muslim in America in such times. Bedier offered to share his view. When
CAIR opened a Tampa office in December 2003, he became
director.
He sold his business, got rid of the BMW and now listens to the Koran
from the CD player of a Chrysler minivan.
"He's very strong in what he does," said Ibrahim Hooper,
national communications director at CAIR's Washington, D.C.,
headquarters. "I wish I had him here in Washington, but then I don't
know what we'd do in Florida. . ."
Local religious and political leaders applaud his efforts.
"I've been able to see his heart and know that he really is looking
for peace and understanding amongst people," said Rabbi Kate Fagan,
a chaplain at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg.
Hillsborough County School Board member Doretha Edgecomb has learned that
Bedier is not always as serious as his subject matter. In October, she
watched him deliver lighthearted banter as emcee of CAIR's
banquet.
"I was just really shocked," she said. "I had not seen
that side of him. The next time we need a funny emcee, I'm going to
remember him."
Bedier so impressed the Rev. William Baugh, director of pastoral care at
Tampa General Hospital, that the minister invited him to conduct
hospital-wide diversity training.
Even people who disagree with Bedier wind up speaking well of
him.
Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian Blair, who supported the
restoration of a Judeo-Christian public school calendar, calls him a
"nice person" and a "gentleman."
"He smiles a lot, and he says he loves Jesus," Blair said,
noting Bedier's explanation that Muslims revere Jesus, too.
After meeting Bedier, Pinellas Park resident Mike Allen temporarily
withdrew an anti-Islamic display from his yard. It featured a toilet and
a promise to flush the Koran to protest terrorism.
Allen said he took it down because he thought Bedier was a nice person. .
.
Bedier accepts his call to activism and has no plan to back
down.
"I'm doing it because I have to, not necessarily because I want
to," Bedier said. "There's a lot of work that needs to be done,
and Muslims are now feeling empowered. They know that somebody's got
their back."
SEND NOTES OF APPRECIATION TO:
http://www.sptimes.com/letters/
COPY TO:
sday@sptimes.com,
abedier@cairfl.org
SEE ALSO:
MPAC, ISPI TO HOLD "AMERICAN MUSLIM
IDENTITY" CONFERENCE IN CHICAGO ON NOV. 19 -
TOP
(Washington, DC - 11/15/05) -- On Saturday, November 19, the
International Strategy and Policy Institute and the Muslim Public Affairs
Council will co-host a one-day conference in Chicago, IL to address the
"American Muslim
Identity: Present and Future."
The conference will address crucial issues facing the American Muslim
community -- including "Defining the Muslim American Identity,"
"Muslim American Identity on Campus," and "Effective
Political Engagement" -- in a gathering of academics, community
leaders, and students.
Confirmed speakers include:
* Dr. Suleyman Nyang, author of "Islam in America" and
professor of African Studies at Howard University
* Dr. Maher Hathout, Senior Advisor to MPAC
* Salam Al-Marayati, MPAC Executive Director
* Edina Lekovic, MPAC Communications Director
* Ahmed Younis, MPAC National Director
* Ahmed Rehab, CAIR-Chicago Communications Director
* Professor Inamul Haq, Professor East-West University and Benedictine
University
* Faiyaz Husain
In his keynote address, Dr. Nyang will address the topic of
"Transforming Self-Identity of Muslims: A Comparison Between the
U.S. and Europe." Additionally, ISPI will present its annual
Lifetime Achievement Award to Professor Asad Husain.
AMERICAN MUSLIM IDENTITY: PRESENT AND FUTURE
November 19, 2005
1:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Benedictine University
Sholl Auditorium
5700 College Road, Lisle, IL 60532
Conference $15 / Conference & Dinner $50
Join MPAC and ISPI for this important event! Register for the Conference
at
ispi786@comcast.net. Also visit
www.mpac.org for more
information.
CONTACT: Edina Lekovic, 213-383-3443,
communications@mpac.org
-----
COMPASSION FATIGUE -- OR SOMETHING MORE
UGLY? -
TOP
ROBERT L. JAMIESON Jr., SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 11/15/05
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/jamieson/248391_robert15.html
More than 70,000 people lost their lives when a great quake shook
northern Pakistan and parts of India a month ago.
Such devastation would be akin to the populations of Bainbridge Island
and Bremerton getting wiped out in a blink.
Seattle moved to help the faraway quake victims, as did the rest of
America.
Well, sort of.
For a disaster that exacted such a loss of life, the response has paled
in comparison with other recent cataclysms.
"Disappointingly, there has been a low attendance for all our local
Seattle relief events," laments the Seattle media and film
organization Tasveer. It helped to put on a vigil at the University of
Washington last week, on the one-month anniversary of the Pakistan
quake.
Tasveer, which puts a lens on South Asian issues, did have successful
fund-raisers after last December's tsunami in Southern Asia.
These days, however, the organization is seeing public apathy in the face
of the recent catastrophe.
According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Americans doled out $1.3
billion for victims of the tsunami.
They forked out about $2 billion after Katrina struck, a healthy
outpouring for a disaster right in our own back yard.
And in the aftermath of the Pakistan quake? How does a paltry $13 million
in private donations sound?
From where I sit, it looks as if people are wearying of disaster upon
disaster. Compassion fatigue may -- just may -- be taking root.
George Rupp, president of the International Rescue Committee, doesn't
fully buy that line of thinking. Speaking in The New York Times, he said,
"I think Westerners identified with the first photos that came
in" of tsunami damage and victims.
In light of the response after the Oct. 8 Southern Asia quake, Rupp said:
"I don't think it is donor fatigue. I think it is donor
identification."
Donor identification is a polite phrase dripping with political
correctness. Unvarnished, it means people feel inclined to help folks who
look like them or who they feel walk in their shoes.
Remember when Western countries appeared more outraged by the ethnic
slaughter in the former Yugoslavia than by the genocidal blood bath in
Rwanda or the Congo?
The public identified with one set of people more readily than
another.
When it comes to the quake in Pakistan, the victims, sad to say, just
don't play to a warm-and-fuzzy type. They are brown and veiled. They are
Muslim, a word that carries baggage these days. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
AMERICAN MUSLIM TASK FORCE FOR
DISASTER RELIEF -
TOP
http://www.amtfdr.net/
-----
ANTI-ISLAM REPUBLICAN CONVENTION IN
TEXAS -
TOP
Khalid Hasan, Daily Times, 11/16/05
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2005%5C11%5C16%5Cstory_16-11-2005_pg7_47
WASHINGTON: A convention of a group of Republicans was due to take place
in Texas on Tuesday that critics and concerned Muslims have denounced as
anti-Islam.
The group, which calls itself Cherry Tree Republicans, charges that
Muslims are bombing Israel, Jordan, England, Spain, France, and that Al
Qaeda has training camps "as close as Mexico and South
America". "Our borders," the convention literature states,
"are crossed by thousands illegally every week, including illegal
aliens from Afghanistan, Indonesia, Iran and Syria."
According to Cherry Tree Republicans from President Bush's home state and
political base, "The key to understanding extremist Muslims is to
understand their history. They do not think like we in the west. They are
not afraid to die. The inevitability of war, lust for combat and
exaltation in death is unlike our western way of
thinking."
Muslims, the group claims, either want to "convert us or kill
us". It goes on to say that "Islam teaches that Muslims must
wage war to impose Islamic law on non-Muslim states". American
Muslim groups are said to be engaged in a "huge cover-up of Islamic
doctrine and history", and "today's jihadi terrorists have the
same motives and goals as the Muslims who fought the Crusaders". The
group says that Muslim persecution of Christians has continued for 13
centuries and still goes on. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
STEVE EMERSON'S JIHAD SPREADS TO BOSTON -
AND HITS A WALL -
TOP
John Sugg, 11/7/05
http://www.johnsugg.com/2005/11/boston_legal.html
The two star witnesses never took the stand at the trial of Sami
Al-Arian. That's just terrible for those seeking courtroom entertainment
- like slicing Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort out of the novels. All
you're left with are ancillary bit-part characters.
Fortunately, one of the stars - the ersatz "expert" on
terrorism, Steven Emerson - likely will get a chance to testify someday
soon. It will happen in Boston, in a sequel with remarkable similarities
to the Tampa case. Prominent Muslim leaders from the Islamic Society of
Boston have sued Emerson, several reporters and their allies for libel,
charging that a conspiracy fabricated stories about terrorist connections
in an effort to prevent construction of a large mosque.
Before we head to Beantown, let's sharpen the picture about what's
playing in Tampa. The absence of the other leading player - Al-Arian
himself, the arch-villain or nationalist hero, depending on your POV -
was a matter of strategy. Al-Arian's lawyers contend the government
didn't prove squat, at least in terms of showing the Palestinian academic
actually committed something approaching a crime. Thus, no reason for him
to testify.
Al-Arian desperately wanted to testify - indeed, his yearning to tell his
side caused friction on the defense team. And he was willing to brave the
prosecutors' cross-examination, which undoubtedly would have been laden
with fact-anemic smear and guilt-by-association, as has been their style
in court.
"This prosecution is un-American," Linda Moreno, one of the
professor's attorneys, told me. "It strikes at the heart of our
Constitution and the protections all persons in this great country enjoy.
The government's case is built on the words of Dr. Al-Arian and nothing
else. This is an indictment by innuendo and, in this country, we require
proof beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime has occurred. There has been
no such showing in this case. Dr. Al-Arian has battled for the hearts and
minds of Americans and his weapons have been his words and
ideas."
That's something Al-Arian's real foes - the Likud extremists in Israel -
can't abide. So, beginning more than a decade ago, an all-out campaign to
stifle Arab and Muslim voices in America began. As for the absence of
Emerson in the prosecution's case, spectators have a right to wonder:
Since he claims to have unearthed an ungodly conspiracy (against Israel,
not America, but don't let such quibbling get in the way of hating all
Arabs), why didn't the federal prosecutors, with all of the flourish of
Eliot Ness, bring in such a renowned "authority" on the case as
Emerson?
One probable answer: Nothing would have been better insurance of
Al-Arian's acquittal than Emerson having to reveal the truth - about
himself, his motives for launching the anti-Arab pogrom, and his
backers.
As one former AP reporter, Fred Bayles, once told me after he backed off
using Emerson as a source in a terrorism series: "My opinion was
that the real story wasn't about Muslim plots but who the hell is Steve
Emerson." (MORE)
-----
IN: FRESHMAN REFLECTS ON HER
CONVERSION FROM CHRISTIANITY TO ISLAM -
TOP
Grace Low, Indiana Daily Student, 11/16/05
http://www.idsnews.com/subsite/story.php?id=32589&adid=features
Euphoric. That's how Laila Prescott felt when she put on the hajab for
the first time. The hajab, or head-covering, is central to the identity
of many Muslim women and represents Islam's overwhelming respect for
women and reverence of modesty.
"I didn't want to take it off," Prescott said. "It just felt right."
The soft-spoken freshman officially converted from a Christian upbringing to Islam on Feb. 11.
Having spent most of her teenage years going to school and working in a
predominantly Muslim portion of Detroit, Laila was accustomed to Muslim
culture but didn't know very much about Islam.
During her senior year of high school, she worked at the gym in the
local community center along with three young Muslim men who would
eventually become some of her closest friends. Her curiosity about
Islam was sparked by a lighthearted comment made by her boss that those
three men "were the only ones there that she didn't have any dirt on."
Their lifestyle of avoidance of alcohol, tobacco, sex and impropriety
intrigued Laila. (MORE)
-----
SENATE VOTES TO BAN TORTURE OF TERRORISM DETAINEES -
TOP
John Diamond, USA TODAY, 11/15/05
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-11-15-detainees_x.htm
WASHINGTON - The Senate passed a defense bill Tuesday that would ban
torture of terrorism detainees and grant them limited access to federal
courts.
By an 84-14 vote, the Senate passed an amendment that would allow the
roughly 500 detainees at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to
appeal convictions by military tribunals if they face the death penalty
or at least 10 years in prison. The appeals would be heard in federal
court. Detainees also would be allowed to appeal their designation as
enemy combatants.
The proposal would allow the court review in place of the right to file
habeas corpus petitions in federal courts, a right affirmed by the
Supreme Court in 2004. The Bush administration has said the detainees
have no right to appeal. Tuesday's vote set a middle ground.
The proposal by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was attached to a defense
bill that passed 98-0. The amendment asks President Bush to push Iraq
to take over its own security and get U.S. troops home as soon as
possible.
Another provision passed this month would ban cruel and inhuman
treatment of prisoners and establishes the Army Field Manual as the
government wide guide for all interrogations. Sen. John McCain,
R-Ariz., the sponsor, was tortured during the more than five years he
spent in a North Vietnamese prison during the Vietnam War. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
STARVING IRAQI DETAINEES FOUND, ALLEGEDLY TORTURED -
TOP
Liz Sly, Chicago Tribune, 11/16/05
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002626321_iraq16.html
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's new security forces are routinely abusing and
torturing detainees in ways reminiscent of those used by the
notoriously brutal regime of Saddam Hussein, according to Iraqi
government officials, human-rights groups and victims of the abuse. . .
The discovery by U.S. forces earlier this week of an Interior Ministry
bunker crammed with at least 161 malnourished detainees bearing signs
of torture has illustrated the scale of the problem, which threatens to
undermine the new democracy the United States is trying to build in
Iraq.
On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari ordered an inquiry
into the circumstances of the detainees, who were held in the mostly
Shiite Baghdad neighborhood of Jadriyah.
Some of them had been paralyzed by the beatings they had received, and
in some cases their skin was peeling off, according to Deputy Interior
Minister Hussein Kamal.
"This sort of behavior completely undermines everything the Iraqi
government stands for and everything the coalition came here for," said
Lt. Col. Frederick Wellman, a spokesman for the division of the
multinational force in Iraq that is responsible for training Iraq's
police. (MORE)
---
EX-DETAINEE SAYS TORTURE WIDESPREAD IN IRAQ BUNKER -
TOP
Michael Georgy, Reuters, 11/16/05
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/BAK657747.htm
BAGHDAD, Nov 16 (Reuters) - An Iraqi student who said he was held with
prisoners in an Interior Ministry bunker described on Wednesday how he
was hung blindfolded in excruciating positions and called a "Sunni dog"
by his Shi'ite interrogators.
He was speaking after more than 170 detainees were discovered in the
bunker on Sunday night during a raid by U.S. troops who were searching
for a missing teenage boy.
"They blindfolded me and tied my hands behind my back and then hung me
by a ceiling hook. My shoulders and arms felt like they would come
off," the former detainee, who asked to be identified only by his
initials, M.I., told Reuters.
"Other times we had to stand up straight and not move for 10 straight hours or face more torture." (MORE)
---
RAID ON TORTURE DUNGEON EXPOSES IRAQ'S SECRET WAR -
TOP
Kim Sengupta, Independent, 11/16/05
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article327331.ece
The raid was at a building in central Baghdad. Men armed with automatic
rifles burst in and made their way to a set of underground cells where
they found 175 people huddled together. They had been captured by
paramilitaries and tortured. The terrified, mainly Sunni, captives had
been held in an office of the Iraqi interior ministry, and the rescue
party were Iraqi police and American soldiers.
Yesterday, 24 hours later, the Prime Minister, Ibrahim Jaafari,
promised an investigation after the shocking demonstration of how
paramilitary units working for the government, and death squads
allegedly linked to it, are waging a savage war in the shadows. . .
The raid on the interior ministry bunker took place after Iraqi police
called in US help when their search for a missing 15-year-old boy took
them to the ministry dungeons at Jadriyah, one of many unofficial
prisons throughout the country.
Brigadier General Karl Horst of the US 3rd Infantry Division, who was
involved in the operation, said the prisoners were "in need of medical
care".
The Iraqi police were more forthcoming. "These men were in a very bad
way. They have obviously been tortured, some had been there a long time
and they were very frightened," said an officer calling himself Yasin.
He would not give any other name: "I don't want to end up in one of
these rooms myself."
Although the US forces had ridden to the rescue on this occasion, many
of these units have been created, trained and armed by the Americans.
According to reports, $3bn (�1.7bn) out of an $87bn Iraq appropriation
that Congress approved last year was earmarked for the creation of
paramilitary units to fight the insurgency. Vincent Cannistraro, the
CIA's former head of counter-terrorism, said: "They set up little teams
of [Navy] Seals and special forces with teams of Iraqis, working with
people who were in senior intelligence under the Saddam regime."
Iraqi politicians in the new regime have repeatedly accused the CIA of
refusing to hand over control of the recreated Iraqi intelligence
service to the Iraqi government, and the paramilitaries are run by
Adnan Thabit, allegedly a former CIA "asset". (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
CAIR ACTION ALERT #478
ACTION: URGE CONGRESS TO REJECT PATRIOT ACT
REAUTHORIZATION
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/17/2005) - CAIR today called on American
Muslims and other people of conscience to contact their elected
representatives and urge them to vote against the USA PATRIOT Act
Reauthorization Report.
This report is billed as a compromise between different versions of
Patriot Act reauthorization approved by the House and Senate. However,
none of the reasonable privacy protections contained in the Senate
reauthorization bill are in the compromise report.
Without these minimal changes, law enforcement authorities will be
allowed to continue unwarranted searches. Given recent revelations of FBI
actions, sections 215 and 505 should be amended to require a connection
between an individual's private records and a suspected
terrorist.
A bipartisan group of senators said today they will try to block the
act's reauthorization to protest the elimination the Senate-mandated
protections against "unnecessary and intrusive government
surveillance."
SEE: "Senators Threatens to Hold Up Patriot Act Reauthorization
Over Surveillance Protections"
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1322716
SEE ALSO: "The FBI's Secret Scrutiny"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/05/AR2005110501366.html
The House of Representatives will likely vote Friday on this issue. The
U.S. Senate will most likely vote within a week.
ACTON REQUESTED:
CONTACT your elected representatives to ask that they vote against
the USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization Report. An e-mail may not be read in
time. By calling, you will get the direct attention of a congressional
staff person.
GO TO:
http://capwiz.com/cair/callalert/index.tt?alertid=8254346&type=CO
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT CAIR Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor, 202-488-8787 or 571-278-4658, E-Mail:
csaylor@cair-net.org
- PLEASE ANNOUNCE, POST AND DISTRIBUTE -
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET,
receive news releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim
positions on issues of importance to our society.
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/17/05
*
Hadith:
The Just will be Near God
*
DC:
CAIR Banquet to Feature
Community Service Awards
-
French Ambassador to Speak at DC
Forum on Riots
*
CAIR-Philly:
PA Muslims to
Address Mosque Voting
Objections
*
CAIR-OH:
Muslims Meet with Ambassador
Boucher
*
CAIR:
Muslim Enterprise
Employee in MO Allowed to Pray
*
ISLAM-OPED:
A Muslim Response to Prager's
'Five Questions'
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: THE JUST WILL BE NEAR GOD -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The Dispensers of
Justice will be seated on pulpits of light beside God. . .(They are)
those who do justice in their rulings, in matters relating to their
families and in all that they undertake to do."
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 844
VERSE OF THE DAY: SPEAK FOR JUSTICE
"Show forgiveness, speak for justice and avoid the
ignorant."
The Holy Quran, 7:199
-----
DC: CAIR BANQUET TO FEATURE COMMUNITY
SERVICE AWARDS -
TOP
Registration is now available online for CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet,
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice." The banquet
will feature the "2005 Muslim Community Service
Awards."
To learn more about the dinner, or to register, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
NOTE: Volunteers are needed for the dinner. E-Mail:
events@cair-net.org
SEE ALSO:
FRENCH AMBASSADOR TO SPEAK AT DC FORUM ON
RIOTS -
TOP
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1870&theType=NR
WHAT: The Riots in France: Disenfranchisement and Integration
WHEN: Monday, November 21, 9:30-11 a.m.
WHERE: First Amendment Room, National Press Club, 529 14th Street, NW,
Washington, D.C.
CONTACT: Admission is free, but seating is limited. Attendees are
required to make a reservation by e-mailing:
events@cair-net.org
-----
PA
MUSLIMS TO ADDRESS MOSQUE VOTING OBJECTIONS -
TOP
CAIR-Philly, Islamic leaders to issue call for interfaith
unity
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/17/2005) - On Monday, November 21,
representatives of the Philadelphia office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Philly) and the Lehigh Valley Muslim
community will hold a news conference in Whitehall, Pa., to call for
interfaith unity after some voters objected to using a local mosque as a
polling station.
At the news conference, CAIR-Philly and the Muslim leaders will urge
people of all faiths to visit area mosques to learn more about Islam and
the state's Islamic community. They will also ask Pennsylvania's elected
officials to reject attempts to marginalize or demonize
Muslims.
WHAT: Muslims Respond to Objections Over Voting in Mosque
WHEN: Monday, November 21, 11:30 a.m.
WHERE: Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley, 1988 Schadt Avenue,
Whitehall, PA
CONTACT: Adeeba Al-Zaman, 215-592-0509 or 484-716-1226, E-Mail:
adeeba@cairphilly.org
This year, the Lehigh County Election Board selected the Muslim
Association of Lehigh Valley (MALV) mosque as the polling place for the
newly created 12th District. (SEE:
www.malv.org/ ) The mosque was one of
some 58 religious sites selected as polling places.
According to media reports, at least 70 people complained about voting in
the MALV mosque, including one with a daughter serving in Iraq who found
it "offensive to come to an Islamic center to vote."
FOR BACKGROUND, SEE:
"Pennsylvania Voters Don't Want to Vote at
Mosque"
http://www.wdcmedia.com/newsArticle.php?ID=252
SEE ALSO:
"Whitehall Bigots Don't Like to Vote in the
Mosque"
http://www.mcall.com/news/columnists/all-5whitehall.4943342nov13,0,4680840.column
MALV has been making positive contributions to Lehigh Valley since the
mid-1990s and is a co-sponsor of the recent fatwa against terrorism and
religious extremism issued by the Fiqh Council of North America. SEE:
http://www.cair-net.org/FatwaJuly2005.pdf
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and
chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah
Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR-OH: MUSLIMS MEET WITH AMBASSADOR BOUCHER -
TOP
(COLUMBUS, OH, 11/17/05) - Representatives of the Ohio office of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) and the central Ohio
Muslim community met yesterday with Ambassador Richard Boucher in
Columbus.
Participants in the 2-hour meeting discussed issues of importance to Ohio
Muslims, including America's deteriorating relationship with the Islamic
world. Ambassador Boucher shared information about recent efforts at
outreach to Muslim nations by Under Secretary of State for Public
Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes.
"These types of meetings provide an opportunity to exchange views
and to help provide viable options for improving America's image in the
Muslim World," said CAIR-Ohio President Ahmad Al-Akhras.
CONTACT: CAIR-OH President, Ahmad Al-Akhras, 614-989-5916, E-Mail:
ahmad@cair-ohio.com
-----
CAIR: MUSLIM ENTERPRISE EMPLOYEE IN
MO ALLOWED TO PRAY -
TOP
Following intervention by CAIR, a Muslim employee at an Enterprise
Rent-a-Car facility located near the Kansas City, Mo., airport will now
be allowed to pray in the workplace.
The employee approached CAIR after his manager allegedly prevented him
from praying or breaking his Ramadan fast. Enterprise Regional General
Manager Brad Barackman helped resolve the case by offering reasonable
religious accommodation as required by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964.
CAIR publishes a booklet, called "An Employer's Guide to Islamic
Religious Practices," designed to prevent these incidents from
occurring. The guide is available at:
https://www.cair-net.org/comersus/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=3
-----
ISLAM-OPED: A MUSLIM RESPONSE TO DENNIS PRAGER'S
'FIVE QUESTIONS' -
TOP
ISLAM-OPED is a national syndication service of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) designed to offer an American Muslim
perspective on current political, social and religious issues. ISLAM-OPED
commentaries are offered free-of-charge to one media outlet in each
market area. Permission for publication will be granted on a
first-come-first-served basis.
CONTACT:
ihooper@cair-net.org
TEL: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726 (c)
Please consider the following commentary for publication.
---
A MUSLIM RESPONSE TO DENNIS PRAGER'S 'FIVE QUESTIONS'
By Hussam Ayloush
WORD COUNT: 846
[Hussam Ayloush is executive director for the Southern California office
of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA). He can be reached
at socal@cair.com. CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and
advocacy group.]
In a recent commentary, radio talk show host Dennis Prager posed five
questions that "that law-abiding Muslims need to answer for Islam's
sake, as well as for the sake of worried non-Muslims."
SEE: "Five Questions Non-Muslims Would Like Answered"
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-op-prager13nov13,0,1904398.story
Prager said his questions were prompted in part by recent rioting in
France "by primarily Muslim youths," despite the fact that
neutral experts say the violence had little to do with Islam and it was
Muslim leaders who ultimately helped quell the violence.
Faulty premise aside, here are answers to Prager's questions:
Q: Why are you so quiet (about terrorism carried out in the name of
Islam)?
A: One might argue that Muslims could do more to get their anti-terror
message out. But to say Muslims have been quiet about their unequivocal
condemnation of terrorism is a gross misrepresentation of the facts and
reeks of Islamophobia.
It was after all a coalition of American Muslim groups that issued what
was perhaps the first condemnation of the 9/11 attacks. The Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) also published a full-page
advertisement condemning the attacks.
Muslims have consistently condemned suicide bombings in the Middle East,
attacks on the London transportation system, the bombing of hotels in
Jordan, and many similar outrages.
Muslims scholars recently issued a fatwa, or Islamic religious ruling,
condemning terrorism and religious extremism. (See: www.cair.com ) Muslim
groups in Texas and Arizona held anti-terror rallies. In Jordan huge
demonstrations were held against the recent terror attacks. Muslims in
Lebanon demonstrated against the terrorist assassination of former Prime
Minister Rafik Harriri.
Outrage can be expressed in many ways. Public demonstrations are merely
one of many different methods available to oppose terrorism.
Q: Why are none of the Palestinian terrorists Christian?
A: Robert Pape in his book, "Dying to Win - The Strategic Logic of
Suicide Terrorism," shows that between 1982 and 1986, 71 percent of
the Lebanese suicide attackers were Christians and 21 percent
Communists/Socialists. Pape states, "Of the 384 attackers for whom
we have data, 166 or 43 percent were religious, while 218 or 57 percent
were secular. Suicide terrorism is not overwhelmingly a religious
phenomenon." It is a response to occupation.
Inquiring minds might also consider the suicide bombings carried out by
non-Muslim groups such as the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, the religious
orientation of the abortion clinic bomber or the depredations of Serbian
forces during the Bosnian conflict.
Q: Why is only one of the 47 Muslim-majority countries a free
country?
A: Muslim majority countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and
Turkey among many others having held free elections and being governed by
popularly elected governments will dispute the charge that they are not
"free."
Moreover, only in the past 50 years, have more than half of the
Muslim-majority nations been freed from their European colonizers.
Despite winning this freedom, most continued to be client states of their
former colonizers who through the imposition of dictatorial regimes
maintained control, some even to this day.
Opposition to such lack of freedom is generally Islamically-oriented.
Lack of freedom in Muslim nations is in spite of Islam, not because of
it.
Q: Why are so many atrocities committed and threatened by Muslims in the
name of Islam?
A: All major faiths have people who commit, or have committed atrocities
in the name of their religion. But no faith should be held responsible
for the crimes of a few individuals. It seems Prager believes that any
act by Muslims should be blamed on Islam. Just as we do not blame the
Crusades or the Israeli atrocities on the faiths of Christianity and
Judaism, we ask others to offer the same respect for our faith.
Again quoting Pape, "The world's leading practitioners of suicide
terrorism are the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka - a secular, Marxist-Lennist
group drawn from Hindu families."
Q: Why do countries governed by religious Muslims persecute other
religions?
A: While there are areas of the Muslim world in which religious freedom
is not granted to all citizens, it is unfair to claim that this
phenomenon as a problem unique to Islam. Blaming persecution of
minorities on Islam is akin to blaming slavery and segregation on
Christianity. Choosing the Taliban as an example of religious intolerance
in Islam is disingenuous, because the Taliban's religious perspective has
been rejected by mainstream Muslim scholars and Muslims
worldwide.
Every religious group has a responsibility to challenge hate by their
fringe groups. It is unproductive to single out Muslims while remaining
silent about the extremists of other faiths who vilify the faith of Islam
without similar repudiation from Prager and others.
Dealing with the impact of war, poverty, racism, and injustice is our
collective duty. To achieve solutions to these real problems we need
voices that accentuate our common humanity, not use opportunistic smears
of an entire faith to further their parochial agenda.
I would offer a challenge to Mr. Prager. Are you willing to enter into a
real dialogue, not an exercise in one-upmanship, with mainstream Muslims?
If so, CAIR stands ready to facilitate that dialogue, just as I did when
I appeared recently on his program.
We await your response.
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAIR PARTICIPATES IN DIALOGUE WITH EUROPEAN
MUSLIMS
U.S.-sponsored gathering focused on Muslims in the
West
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/18/05) - Representatives of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) participated this week in a
U.S.-sponsored conference in Belgium, titled "Muslim Communities
Participating in Society," that brought together American, Belgian
and European Muslim leaders.
CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad and Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar
joined some 100 other Muslim leaders, activists, Imams, business people,
elected officials, media professionals, students, educators, and artists
to discuss common concerns and mutual interests of the Islamic
communities in the United States, Belgium and Europe. Discussion topics
included Muslims and civic life, media portrayals, women's issues, youth
development, and economic opportunity.
SEE: "Dearborn Mayor Attends Islam Conference in
Belgium"
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-29/1132318742311270.xml&storylist=newsmichigan
The conference, sponsored by U.S. envoy to Belgium Ambassador Tom
Korologos, resulted in proposals for sister city agreements, exchange
programs and business initiatives. Belgium is home to more than 400,000
Muslims, mainly from Morocco and Turkey.
"We were honored to be a part of such a ground-breaking dialogue and
hope this conference can serve as a prototype for similar gatherings in
Europe and North America," said CAIR's Iftikhar.
Both Awad and Iftikhar will offer a briefing on the conference
during a forum sponsored by CAIR at the
National Press Club in
Washington, D.C., on Monday, November 21. The forum, titled
"The Riots in France: Disenfranchisement and Integration,"
will also feature presentations by France's
Ambassador Jean-David
Levitte and Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) Executive Director
Salam Al-Marayati. Al-Marayati also attended this week's
conference in Belgium.
WHAT: The Riots in France: Disenfranchisement and
Integration
WHEN: Monday, November 21, 9:30-11 a.m.
WHERE: First Amendment Room, National Press Club, 529 14th Street,
NW, Washington, D.C.
CONTACT: Admission is free, but seating is limited. Attendees are
required to make a reservation by e-mailing:
events@cair-net.org
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and
chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah
Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from CAIR-NET, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/18/05
*
Hadith:
Help
Others to Receive God's Blessings
*
CAIR:
Deadline
Approaching For Rosa Parks Scholarship
*
CAIR
Welcomes
Ruling on CA School Lesson About Islam
*
CAIR-IL:
Legislators
Urged To Require Profiling
Stats
-
CAIR-CA:
Forum Targets Hate
Crimes (Asian Week)
*
ISLAM-OPED:
Terrorism is
Islam's Enemy Too
*
AL:
Sunni,
Shia Muslims Work Together (Huntsville Times)
-
Survey:
Shiite
Muslims Unlikely to Report Bias (RNS)
*
MD: Interfaith Class
Explores Islam (Herald)
-
NY:
Jewish, Muslim Interfaith Program Opens Eyes
-
MA: Muslim-Christian Dialogue Group Celebrates 15 Years
-
NJ: Jewish, Muslim Teens Help Homeless Family
*
NY: Afghan Cabbie Returns $350K in Diamonds (AP)
*
MI: 2nd Defendant Pleads Guilty to Threatening Muslims
*
Detainee: We Were Tortured at Gitmo (Gulf Daily News)
-
Russian Muslims Flee Persecution to U.S. (Wash Post)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: HELP OTHERS TO RECEIVE GOD'S BLESSINGS -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Do not hold back (from
giving to people and helping them), or God will withhold (His mercy and
blessings) from you."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Hadith 513
-----
DEADLINE APPROACHING FOR ROSA PARKS SCHOLARSHIP -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, DC, 11/18/05) - The application deadline is approaching
for a CAIR scholarship announced recently to honor the life and work of
civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks.
This year's awardee of the annual $1,000 CAIR "Rosa Parks Civil
Liberties Scholarship" will be announced at CAIR's annual dinner in
Washington, D.C., on December 3rd.
Applicants must be enrolled in, or accepted by, a full-time
undergraduate, graduate or professional program of an accredited
university in the United States majoring in a field that promotes civil
rights, social justice and/or the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
They must have a grade point average of 3.0 or above for undergraduate
students or 3.5 or above for graduate students.
The applicants must also have a demonstrated interest in civil
liberties issues. Preference will be given to applicants with past
employment or volunteer experiences indicating such interest.
All applicants must submit two letters of recommendation and an essay
demonstrating knowledge of the civil rights movement and how it relates
to the American Muslim experience.
Application deadline for 2005 has been extended to November 25.
To obtain an application form, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/scholarship_criteria_2006.pdf
For more information, e-mail:
scholarship@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR WELCOMES RULING ON CALIF. SCHOOL LESSON ABOUT ISLAM -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/18/05) - A prominent national Islamic civil
rights and advocacy group today welcomed a ruling by the Ninth U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals that rejected claims that students at a
California school were being "indoctrinated" during lessons about Islam.
The court rejected a lawsuit by two Christian families that accused the
Byron Union School District of unconstitutionally endorsing religious
practices. "The Islam program activities were not overt religious
exercises that raise Establishment Clause concerns," said the
three-judge panel.
In 2003, a U.S. District Judge ruled in favor of the school district. Thursday's appeals court decision upheld that ruling.
SEE: "Court Clears School of Pushing Religion with Lesson on Islam"
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/18/BAGLFFQENB1.DTL
"We welcome the court's recognition that the learning process can
include information about different faiths and cultures without being
considered an endorsement of a particular set of religious beliefs or
practices," said CAIR Board Chairman Parvez Ahmed.
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices
and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441,
E-Mail: rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR-CHICAGO: LEGISLATORS ARE URGED TO REQUIRE STATISTICS ON MIDDLE EASTERNERS -
TOP
Deborah Horan, Chicago Tribune, 11/18/05
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/southsouthwest/chi-0511180249nov18,1,6230592.story
Citing examples of racial profiling, Muslim and civil rights activists
told a legislative committee Thursday that police in Illinois should be
required to add a category of "Middle Eastern" to those they use to
track who is stopped by officers.
That suggestion was part of legislation drafted by the American Civil
Liberties Union to help monitor police behavior toward people of Middle
Eastern descent as well as other minorities. The legislation, not yet
introduced in the General Assembly, would amend a 2003 statute that
outlines racial data police officers should collect during traffic
stops.
Many police agencies in Illinois log the race of drivers they pull
over, but "Middle Eastern" is not among the listed ethnicities. People
of Middle Eastern descent are often logged as Caucasian, activists
said, so racial profiling of the community remains hidden.
"How can we fix a problem if we don't have a way to monitor it?" said
Christina Abraham, civil rights coordinator at the Chicago chapter of
the Council on American-Islamic Relations, testifying before the
Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee. Abraham listed several incidents
in which Chicago police officers allegedly mistreated Arab-Americans in
ways she said constituted racial profiling. In November 2004, Chicago
police arrested Ahmed Awad, a Bridgeview-based physical therapist born
in Egypt. He alleged no reason was given for his arrest and that he was
called "jihadi" and "bin Laden" when he asked to pray during his
incarceration.
"They fingerprinted me. My wife and kids were crying. They didn't know where I was," Awad said outside the hearing.
Earlier this year, Abraham said, Ahmed Aduib, 19, of Algerian descent,
was pulled over by police, who asked if he was Palestinian. The officer
allegedly told Aduib that "Palestinian car dealers sell stolen cars,"
and took him to a police station.
A Chicago police spokeswoman could not be reached about the alleged incidents. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-CA: OCA/ALLSTATE FORUM TARGETS HATE CRIMES -
TOP
JONATHAN LEE BARNATO, Asian Week, 11/18/05
http://news.asianweek.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=77755e9847bad99498041c0bd53fec7a&this_category_id=170
In the spirit of its mission to fight for equality for Chinese and
Asian Pacific Americans, the Organization of Chinese Americans-Greater
Sacramento Chapter, hosted its second OCA/Allstate Hate Crimes
Awareness and Prevention Forum last month.
Sponsored by the Allstate Foundation, OCA-GSC President Linda Ng opened
the forum to a full house. The diverse audience included Sacramento's
APA population, Muslims, Sikhs, gay people and law enforcement
officials.
Assemblyman Dave Jones highlighted the need for better awareness,
collaboration and prevention of hate crimes, especially in light of the
history of significant hate crimes in the Sacramento area.
Moderating the panel was Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney
Alice Wong. Panelists included Sacramento Police Chief Albert Najera,
Council on American-Islamic Relations President Hamza El-Nakhal, former
Sacramento Mayor Jimmie Yee, Fox-40 Reporter Lonnie Wong and Marghe
Covino, president of ACCT (The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender
Ambassadors Project).
Chief Najera spoke of the Sacramento Police Department's effort to work
with the community to respond to hate crimes. El-Nahkal spoke of his
Muslim American community's experience and response after 9/11,
particularly the misunderstanding that America had of Islam and Muslim
Americans. (MORE)
-----
ISLAM-OPED: TERRORISM IS ISLAM'S ENEMY TOO -
TOP
ISLAM-OPED is a national syndication service of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) designed to offer an American Muslim
perspective on current political, social and religious issues.
ISLAM-OPED commentaries are offered free-of-charge to one media outlet
in each market area. Permission for publication will be granted on a
first-come-first-served basis.
CONTACT:
ihooper@cair-net.org
TEL: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726 (c)
Please consider the following letter for publication.
-----
To the editor:
TERRORISM IS ISLAM'S ENEMY TOO
By Ahmed Rehab
WORD COUNT: 196
[Ahmed Rehab is communications director for the Chicago office of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago). He can be reached
at
communications@cairchicago.org or 847-971-3963. CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy group.]
Those who portray terrorism as an "Islamic" phenomenon should pay more
attention to current events. On Friday, terrorists targeted worshipers
at two Iraqi mosques, murdering more than 70 innocent Muslims.
These viscous attacks on Muslims at prayer were just the latest in a
long list of such violent acts carried out in Iraq, Jordan and other
parts of the world. Muslims have been the targets of terrorists more
often than people of any other faith.
Also on Friday, suspected Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka hurled
grenades at a mosque packed with worshippers, killing at least four
people. And in Amman, thousands of Jordanians protested the recent
terror attacks that killed 59 people, mainly Muslims, in that city last
week.
Islamophobic pundits should recognize by now what Muslims already know,
that terrorism is Islam's enemy too. Terrorists should be viewed as
members of organized crime, made unique only by their attempts to gain
legitimacy through false invocations of faith.
Only when terrorists are viewed as common criminals can the so-called
clash of civilizations be replaced by a cooperation of civilizations
against the barbarity and cowardice that is the hallmark of terrorism.
-----
AL: SUNNI, SHIA MUSLIMS IN HUNTSVILLE WORK TOGETHER -
TOP
Kay Campbell, Times Faith & Values, 11/18/05
http://www.al.com/living/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/living/1132308950302880.xml&coll=1
News broadcasts from Iraq report Sunni and Shia, or Shiite, Muslims
attacking each other as each group struggles for supremacy in the
nascent government.
The conflict, local Muslim leaders say, is not representative of usual Sunni-Shia relations.
In Huntsville, Sunnis and Shias work together to hire Quran scholar
Mohamed Nasr, who is also an officer in the U.S. Army, to teach their
children their sacred text and Arabic, the language of the book.
News from Muslim countries around the world tells of places where the
local interpretation of Islam sanctifies oppression of women and
violence toward both infidels and Muslims.
In Huntsville, devout Muslims work to explain that the Prophet Muhammad
delivered a message and example of mercy to enemies and respect for
women, and that both Sunni and Shia Muslims who follow the teachings of
the Quran do the same.
"What happened the other day in Jordan is against all humanity, against
the soul of Islam," said Aladin Beshir on Friday. Beshir is a NASA
engineer who is an active member of the Huntsville Islamic Center on
Sparkman Drive.
And just as Protestants and Catholics the world over watched the old
troubles in Ireland and England with sorrow, Muslims of all sects watch
the internecine violence in the Middle East, saddened by murder that
violates the teachings of the Quran.
"I want to emphasize that, just like the Protestant and Catholic
warfare in England, the warfare in Iraq is in reality not about
religion, but about power and politics," Beshir said.
Beshir, who considers himself a Sunni Muslim, Islam's majority
denomination, met Friday at the Alabama Islamic Education Center of
Fatimah Zahra, or Alzahra, a Shiite mosque on Memorial Parkway, to
explain Sunni and Shia practices with Nasr and with Imam Mohammad
Razavi.
SEE ALSO:
SURVEY: AMERICAN SHIITE MUSLIMS UNLIKELY TO REPORT DISCRIMINATION -
TOP
Andrea Useem, Religion News Service, 11/17/05
http://religionnews.com/
A new survey shows American Shiites are unlikely to report anti-Muslim
hate crimes or other forms of discrimination and many say they face
religious hostility when attending Sunni-dominated mosques in the
United States.
Nearly 80 percent of American Shiites who were victims of "post 9-11
discrimination" reported the incidents either to family members or no
one, according to the nationwide survey, the first of its kind to
document the political and religious experiences of American Shiites.
The American Shi'a Muslim Survey was sponsored by the Qunoot
Foundation, a Washington-based nonprofit that released its findings
Saturday (Nov. 12) at a conference.
The survey found that few American Shiite victims reported such
incidents to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a
national advocacy group that seeks to represent all American Muslims.
Last year, CAIR processed nearly 1,700 reported cases of anti-Muslim
discrimination or hate crimes, according to its 2005 annual report. The
council does not keep track of whether victims are Sunni or Shiite,
said Rabiah Ahmed, a spokeswoman for the organization. (MORE)
-----
INTERFAITH CLASS EXPLORES ISLAM -
TOP
Erin Cunninghan, Herald, 11/18/05
http://www.herald-mail.com/?module=displaystory&story_id=124879&format=html
Sunny Harrell explored Judaism and Christianity in September, but she
was especially interested in learning about Islam during a Thursday
evening class.
Islam was the third in a series of religions taught at the Hagerstown
YMCA and coordinated by The Interfaith Coalition of Washington County.
Harrell, of Hagerstown, said it was the images of Muslims, terrorists
and discussion about faith and terrorist bombings that drove her to
learn more. From what little she knew, she believed Islam was a
peaceful religion - a point Dr. Karen Gray, who lead the Thursday
class, emphasized.
"After Sept. 11, 2001, Americans distrusted Muslims, so I saw this
(course) as an opportunity to learn more about Islam along with people
of all religions," Harrell said.
Gray talked to a group of more than 50 people for nearly two hours
about the history of Islam and its common ground with other religions,
like Judaism and Christianity. Gray, a Hagerstown resident, teaches
lifelong learning courses at Hagerstown Community College and other
institutions, and is a religious scholar trained at Harvard Divinity
School in Boston, Mass.
Larry Barkdoll, of Berkeley Springs, W.Va., said he is a follower of
Baha'i - a religion founded on the spiritual unity of all faiths. He
was especially interested in hearing the similarities among the many
religions.
"There are many paths to God," said Karin Nowack of Hagerstown.
Glenn Rohrer of Boonsboro said he grew up Christian, but attended
Gray's lecture because he believed it was increasingly important to
understand other religions.
"It seems like it would be good to understand the different religions,"
he said. "I was surprised at how many things came out tonight that I
learned in seminary. There are a lot of similarities."
Gray said the group was not expected to take away a complete knowledge
of Islam from the lecture, which covered an extensive amount of
material very quickly.
But Lieba Cohen of Hagerstown said she believes she has a better
concept of the philosophy of Islam and a broader understanding of the
religion from an intellectual standpoint.
"You just get to think about it," she said. "After this, you really get
to read up on it. You are just getting a little nugget here."
ALSO SEE:
JEWISH, MUSLIM INTERFAITH PROGRAM OPENS EYES -
TOP
Carol Eisenberg, NY Newsday, 11/17/05
http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/queens/nyc-lilect1117,0,1310819.story
Sumaiya Abedin had never heard a rabbi speak.
Nor, to be honest, was it a big priority for the Muslim teenager.
"I thought we were, like, two very different sects," said Abedin, a
16-year-old from Woodside, Queens, who wears a white scarf, dresses
modestly and attends a private Islamic school. "I thought we thought
about very different things."
But Abedin said she came away with a different impression Wednesday
after listening to Rabbi Marc Schneier of the Hampton Synagogue in
Westhampton speak of the ties binding the two religions that trace
their ancestry to the Biblical patriarch Abraham.
Schneier's talk to several hundred students at the Razi School in
Woodside was the first in a series by rabbis, imams, priests and
ministers to parochial schools sponsored by Religions In Dialogue, a
new Queens-based organization founded by Jewish and Muslim lay people
dedicated to interfaith education.
"It was really beautiful," Abedin said. "I didn't know we had so much in common with the Jewish people."
Schneier, who also heads the New York Synagogue in Manhattan, began by
recounting the story from Hebrew Scriptures about how Abraham's
mistress, Hagar, and their son, Ishmael, wandered in the wilderness
without water, until Hagar prayed for mercy for her son. Schneier told
how "God opened Hagar's eyes and she saw before her a well of water."
The well was always there -- Hagar had only to open her eyes, Schneier
suggested. Similarly, he said, Muslims and Jews must open their eyes to
their "shared hopes and hungers, and fears and feelings."
"As Muslims and as Jews, we are guilty of overlooking the obvious," he
said. "Not only do we share a common faith as the children of Abraham,
but we also share a common fate." (MORE)
---
MUSLIM-CHRISTIAN DIALOGUE GROUP CELEBRATES 15 YEARS -
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Townonline, 11/17/05
http://www2.townonline.com/hudson/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=370194
Long before Muslim-Christian relations became front page news, on Nov.
16, 1989, Muslim and Christian New Englanders gathered for their first
inter-religious dialogue.
Last week, the group met at The Islamic Center of Boston in Wayland to
celebrate more than 15 years of forging strong relationships between
members of the two faiths.
The dialogue meets three times each year, with the location alternating between a church and an Islamic Center.
Co-sponsored by The Massachusetts Council of Churches and The Islamic
Council of New England, the dialogue was later expanded to include
co-sponsorship by the Office of Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs
of Archdiocese of Boston.
Dr. A. Karim Khudairi, co-chairman of the Interfaith Committee of the
Islamic Council of New England noted: "The Muslims in the United States
are a minority faith community living in a Christian-dominated society.
The Islamic Council of New England felt the need to communicate and
cooperate with people of other faiths."
In the mid-1980s, the Islamic Council helped initiate two inter-religious dialogues, but by 1987 both had ceased to meet.
In 1988 a new Muslim-Christian dialogue was planned, with the
co-sponsorship of Massachusetts Council of Churches under the
leadership of the Rev. Dr. Diane Kessler, executive director. (MORE)
---
JEWISH AND MUSLIM TEENS HELP AMERICAN HOMELESS FAMILY -
TOP
Chris Sagona, Montclair Times, 11/16/05
http://www.montclairtimes.com/page.php?page=10799
Aviva Bannerman, a 17-year-old Conservative Jew, has an unusual interest: hanging out with Muslims.
Bannerman, along with nine of her Jewish friends and their 10 new
Muslim friends, are out to prove the world wrong about Jewish/Muslim
relations.
Their focus?
Helping an American family that's homeless.
The 20 teens found one another through Matt Kamin, executive director
of PERC, a Union City homeless shelter, which sponsors Project Provide
a Home. Kamin and Amal Abdallah, who bring Muslim volunteers to the
shelter to help prepare meals, came up with the idea of teenage Jews
and Muslims working together after a teen said she was surprised to
find out Kamin was Jewish.
After telephone calls to two religious high schools, Kamin and Abdallah
received referrals for 20 teens who were anxious to meet one another.
Bannerman, a Montclair resident, who attends Solomon Schechter Day
School in West Orange, knew she wanted to be a part of the project as
soon as her teacher mentioned it. Never having met a Muslim on a
personal level before, she remembers the first day well.
"When I walked into the first meeting, all the girls were all sitting
in a semi-circle," said Bannerman. "Seeing the Jews and Muslims side by
side I immediately noticed all the visual differences. The Jews had
their hair messily thrown in a loose ponytail or bun, while the Muslims
were wearing hijabs, head coverings&some were brown or blue or
white and silky&some with rhinestone sparkly looking things. It
really makes them look classy. "
She wasn't expecting that some would have accents, she said.
"And I didn't realize how religious the Muslim girls would be,"
Bannerman said. "But then it occurred to me that if we were Orthodox
Jews, we would be all covered, too."
The girls have learned to be sensitive to one another. When meeting
during Ramadan, the Jewish girls decided to forgo lunch. To observe
kosher tradition, the Muslim girls serve vegetables.
There's only one rule: no talking about politics. It doesn't matter,
they say, the girls all want to talk about teenager things such as
music, movies and shopping as well as their cultural traditions. (MORE)
-----
CABBIE FINDS $350,000 IN DIAMONDS IN CAB, RETURNS THEM TO PASSENGER -
TOP
Associated Press, 11/17/05
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176015,00.html
LOS ANGELES - A pouch of diamonds left in a taxi could have gone a long
way toward helping a Los Angeles cab driver achieve his dreams.
But he didn't keep the diamonds. He contacted the passenger who left them.
It turns out they belonged to a New York jeweler, and were worth 350-thousand dollars.
The cabbie, Haider Sediqi, discovered the pouch after dropping off a
passenger at Los Angeles International Airport. When he opened it, he
found about 100 diamonds, plus a cell phone bill.
He called the number and arranged to meet the owner at the airport police station to return the diamonds.
The cabbie is an Afghan immigrant with two children and a pregnant
wife. He says he never considered keeping the gems - even though his
wife loves diamonds and he dreams of opening a restaurant.
In his words, "God is up there. He always watches."
-----
SECOND DEFENDANT PLEADS GUILTY TO THREATENING DETROIT MEMBERS OF THE ISLAMIC CENTER OF AMERICA -
TOP
US Newswire, 11/16/05
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=56848
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Justice Department today
announced that John Barnett pleaded guilty on November 15, 2005, in the
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to violating
the civil rights of members of the Islamic Center of America, located
in Detroit, Michigan.
In May 2004, Barnett sent an e-mail from his home computer in North
Salem, New York to the Islamic Center of America threatening to hunt
down and kill Muslims. The email "from" line indicated that Barnett
sent the email, and he confirmed to the FBI that the threatening email
message was in fact sent by him. In court papers filed yesterday,
Barnett admitted that he made this threat with the intent to intimidate
and frighten the members of the Islamic Center from practicing their
religion. Barnett pleaded guilty to one count of violating 18 U.S.C.
section 247(a)(2)(b), which covers damages to religious property.
Barnett's offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in
custody-prison.
"All Americans have the right to worship where they choose, undisturbed
by intimidation and racist threats," said Wan J. Kim, Assistant
Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Justice Department
is committed to prosecuting anyone who threatens to commit or commits
acts of criminal bigotry."
United States Attorney Stephen J. Murphy for the Eastern District of
Michigan stated, "Threats against a person based upon the person's free
exercise of religious beliefs undermine the foundations upon which
democracy is built."
The guilty plea results from an investigation by the Detroit Field
Office of the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District
of Michigan, and the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice
Department.
-----
WE WERE TORTURED AT CAMP -
TOP
Kanwal Hameed, Gulf Daily News, 11/18/05
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=127178&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=28243
ALLEGATIONS of torture, beatings, humiliation and desecration of the
Quran were made yesterday by three Bahrainis released from Guantanamo
Bay earlier this month. US prison guards interrupted prayers by
stepping on detainees' heads, stamped on copies of the Quran, threw the
Quran in the toilet and physically assaulted those who did not follow
orders, they said.
It was the first time the three Bahrainis have spoken publicly about
their incarceration since they arrived back in Bahrain on November 5.
(MORE)
SEE ALSO:
REVIVAL OF COSSACKS CASTS MUSLIM GROUP OUT OF RUSSIA TO U.S. -
TOP
Peter Finn, Washington Post, 11/18/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/17/AR2005111702014.html
KRASNODAR, Russia - Thousands of Muslims from a small ethnic group
known as the Meskhetian Turks are fleeing this Black Sea region for the
United States. The exodus is caused by what human rights groups call a
campaign of persecution sanctioned by local authorities and spearheaded
by the Cossacks, a Russian militia that fought for the czars and is
being revived.
In the past year, just more than 5,000 Meskhetian Turks have resettled
in the United States as refugees, and 4,400 have approval to immigrate,
according to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Another 7,000 have filed
applications that U.S. officials are reviewing.
"I call it soft ethnic cleansing," said Alexander Ossipov, an analyst
at the Institute for Humanities and Political Studies in Moscow. "The
local authorities decided which ethnic groups were desirable and which
were not. It's government based on a racist ideology."
The United States has criticized actions of the Krasnodar authorities
in State Department human rights reports and at meetings of the
55-country Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Russian officials in the south say the Meskhetian Turks are foreigners
who have no right to remain in Russia. They play down reports of
Cossack violence.
In interviews, leaders of the Meskhetian community expressed dismay
that the Russian government has not curbed the actions of the local
authorities and has said it intends to formalize the role of the
Cossacks as an auxiliary force in law enforcement nationwide.
President Vladimir Putin has proposed a law that would allow Cossacks
to serve in special units in the military, assist the police and work
in border control, counterterrorism and counter-drug operations.
Political analysts predict the legislation will pass in the next few
months.
"There is a long-felt need to confer a legal status on the activity of
Cossack units," Putin said in May at a meeting with Cossack leaders.
"Cossacks serving in Cossack units keep law and order."
The Cossacks' reemergence is part of a broader revival of vestiges of
the Russian past, both czarist and Soviet, that for many people invoke
national greatness and patriotism, a goal of the Kremlin. The trend
began under President Boris Yeltsin in the 1990s and has continued
under Putin. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/20/05
*
Hadith:
Teach and Make Things Easy
*
DC/VA/MD:
Register Online for CAIR's Annual
Banquet
*
DC:
C-SPAN2 to Air CAIR Forum on French
Riots
*
CAIR Board Chairman:
Taking Back
Islam (Utne Magazine)
-
CAIR-St. Louis Holds 'Know Your Rights'
Workshop
-
CAIR-FL:
Questions
Bring More Questions (SP Times)
-
CAIR-LA:
Assumptions About
Muslims are Off the Mark
-
Incitement:
Cal Thomas -
Islam
a Religion of Satan? (WTOP)
*
MD:
Muslims Attend U.S. Naval Academy
(Baltimore Sun)
-
6
Million American Muslim Stories
Waiting to be Told (LAT)
-
Do We Look at
Muslims Through Distorted Lenses?
*
CAIR:
U.S. Muslim
Groups Cleared (Washington Post)
-
MI:
Detroit 'Sleeper
Cell' Prosecutor Faces Probe (WP)
*
Donors Pledge $3.4 Billion in
New Quake Aid (AP)
-
Study Deflates Myths About Euro
Muslims (The Star)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: TEACH AND MAKE THINGS EASY -
TOP
Narrated Aisha: "Whenever (the Prophet Muhammad) was given the
choice of one of two matters, he would choose the easier of the two, as
long as it was not sinful to do so. But if it was sinful, he would not
approach it."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadith 147
When the Prophet (peace be upon him) sent two envoys to Yemen, he told
them: "Make things easy for the people and do not put hurdles in
their way. Give them glad tidings and don't make them (hate to do good
deeds). You both should work in cooperation and mutual
understanding."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Hadith 284
The Prophet also said: "God did not send me to be harsh, or cause
harm, but He sent me to teach and make things easy."
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 707
-----
REGISTER ONLINE FOR CAIR'S ANNUAL BANQUET -
TOP
Registration is now available online for CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet,
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice." To learn
more about the dinner, or to register, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
-----
DC: C-SPAN2 TO AIR CAIR FORUM ON FRENCH
RIOTS -
TOP
On Monday, November 21, beginning at 9:30 a.m. (Eastern), C-SPAN2 will
air live CAIR's forum at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on
the recent riots in France, featuring the French ambassador and Muslim
leaders recently returned from dialogues with European Muslims. (
The
forum may be viewed live via the Internet. Go to
http://www.c-span.org/watch/cspan2_rm.asp
at the time of the forum.)
SEE SCHEDULE:
http://inside.c-spanarchives.org:8080/cspan/schedule.csp
FOR INFORMATION ON THE FORUM, GO TO:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1878&theType=NR
WHAT: The Riots in France: Disenfranchisement and Integration
WHEN: Monday, November 21, 9:30-11 a.m.
WHERE: First Amendment Room, National Press Club, 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, D.C.
CONTACT: Admission is free, but seating is limited. Attendees are required to make a reservation by e-mailing:
events@cair-net.org
-----
TAKING BACK ISLAM -
TOP
Parvez Ahmed says it's time to declare a jihad on extremism
David Schimke, Utne Magazine, December 2005
http://www.utne.com/pub/2005_132/features/11859-1.html
In the wake of the terrorist attacks that shook London's transit system
on July 7, a proclamation against all things extremist was drafted by a
group of North American Muslim scholars and signed by some 250 Islamic
organizations. It was not the first time mainstream Muslims had issued
such a condemnation. In the aftermath of 9/11, a similarly worded
statement barely registered a blip on the mass media's blood-soaked
radar screen. . .
In this interview, we talk with commentator and writer Parvez Ahmed
about Islam, how radicals have twisted its central message, and what
can be done to prevent impressionable Muslims from turning to violence.
Parvez Ahmed
Parvez Ahmed is a board member for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which, according to the organization's Web site (
http://cair.com),
was set up to "enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue,
protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions
that promote justice and mutual understanding." His writing, published
on the op-ed pages of American newspapers coast to coast, addresses
common misconceptions about Islam and Muslims and, more recently, has
focused on the fight against extremism. In 2002 the American Civil
Liberties Union recognized Ahmed's work with a regional Civil Liberties
award.
What are the most common misconceptions non-Muslims have concerning mainstream Islam?
Common misconceptions include the following: Muslims worship a
different God. Muslims do not have respect for other religions. Muslims
do not treat women properly. Muslims are violent. People also forget
about the spiritual nature of Islam. Often, it seems that this religion
is just a matter of following certain rules. But all things ritualistic
have a spiritual meaning.
Like many religions, it's about fortifying the soul to help a person navigate the day to day.
Yes. And that guidance is, first and foremost, doing things that earn
the pleasure of God, which in turn helps your fellow human beings.
Because, on a very basic level, no one can live well if somebody else
is not living well.
What about extremists who cloak themselves in the Islamic faith? What
do they commonly misunderstand or misinterpret about the Muslim
religion?
The central misinterpretation is the lack of understanding about how
the Koran talks about living with others. There is also a tendency to
take religious verses completely out of context or take them too
literally. The Koran is not just a series of literalisms, and that's
why people have to be guided by religious scholars. None of the people
who are extremists or terrorists -- and who claim the Muslim faith or
the Islamic faith -- are scholars of the religion. . .
You've written that young Muslims must be presented with an alternative
ideological discourse to counterbalance radical influences. What are
the first steps in this process?
There is a concept in Islam called itijihad. The root word of itijihad
is jihad. Itijihad simply means a struggle or striving to reinterpret
and reunderstand the traditions in the context of contemporary times. I
think Muslims are beginning to do that. We are beginning to see how
religion can play essential roles in the life of a Muslim without
sacrificing any of the modern context. In other words, Muslims do not
have to live in isolation to be good Muslims.
What role can Western governments play in this shift?
A first step would be for Western governments, the United States
especially, to embrace and amplify mainstream Muslim voices and give
them credibility by engaging them -- inviting them to the United States
to speak with policymakers, interfaith leaders, scholars, and the
public. Once those voices find that they are being embraced by
mainstream society, I think they will be amplified. One of the
fundamental grievances that many Muslims have would be that we are not
given importance. That is the feeling that really alienates the youth.
We are not given respect. We do not have a situation of hope. Once that
changes, the extremists will be increasingly demarginalized. . .
What can average Americans do to assist in this effort?
They can start by refusing to accept the connection between religion
and terrorism. When Timothy McVeigh [bombed the federal building in
Oklahoma City], we did not describe that as Christian terrorism, and
justifiably so. When a Jew assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in
Israel, we did not describe that as Jewish terrorism, and justifiably
so. Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. It's just terrorism.
Second, I urge people to visit mosques and Islamic centers. There is no
substitute for actually going out and meeting Muslims and spending some
time with them and learning about their faith from them directly. Most
mosques that I know of have an open-door policy, especially if you go
there on a Friday afternoon, which is the day of congregation for
Muslims. You will be able to meet a broad cross-section of Muslims; you
will be able to interact with men, women, and children. That will be
much more meaningful and fruitful than simply reading something on
paper or on an Internet site. Third, invite a Muslim community leader
or an Islamic scholar to speak at your church or at a community
organization gathering or wherever you and your friends meet. That
dialogue will make its way back to the Muslim community and reinforce
our view that we are on the right path.
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-ST. LOUIS HOLDS 'KNOW YOUR RIGHTS' WORKSHOP -
TOP
(ST. LOUIS, MO, 11/20/05) - The St. Louis office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-St. Louis) held a "Know and Understand
Your Rights" workshop Friday at Darul Islam Masjid.
Attorney Denise Lieberman, past legal director of ACLU of Eastern
Missouri and currently a lecturer in the Washington University School
of Law, gave a lecture that included discussion of the Patriot Act and
an individual's legal obligations and rights.
The lecture was followed by a question and answer session in which many of the almost 50 attendees participated.
CONTACT: Kamal Yassin, 314-477-8407
---
FL: QUESTIONS BRING MORE QUESTIONS -
TOP
St. Petersburg Times, 11/19/05
http://www.sptimes.com/
Re: Islam's ambassador.
Kudos to Sherri Day for the informative article on Ahmed Bedier,
Central Florida director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR). We need more such articles on leaders of different cultures and
religions. The comments of non-Muslims on Bedier's character impressed
me except for the comments made by Norm Gross, the head of PRIMER, a
pro-Israeli organization.
Gross said to the reporter: "We're asking questions that we'd like to
get answers to, and we haven't been able to. What is his mission? Who
funds him? Let them tell us."
Those of us who have been reading his many letters to the editor are
asking the same questions about his organization, PRIMER. I wonder to
whom "we" refers?
Arthur Hebert, Largo
SEE: CAIR-FL: TRYING TO TEACH, NOT PREACH
Ahmed Bedier, who sparked a move to get Muslim holidays on the school calendar, works to promote understanding.
SHERRI DAY, St. Petersburg Times, 11/16/05
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/11/16/Tampabay/Trying_to_teach__not_.shtml
---
ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT MUSLIMS ARE OFF THE MARK -
TOP
Hussam Ayloush, Sunday Gazette-Mail, 11/20/05
http://wvgazette.com/section/Perspective/2005111923
[Hussam Ayloush is executive director for the Southern California
office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. He may be reached
at:
socal@cair.com ]
In a recent commentary, radio talk show host Dennis Prager posed five
questions "that law-abiding Muslims need to answer for Islam's sake, as
well as for the sake of worried non-Muslims."
Prager said his questions were prompted in part by recent rioting in
France "by primarily Muslim youths," despite the fact that neutral
experts say the violence had little to do with Islam and it was Muslim
leaders who ultimately helped quell the violence.
Faulty premise aside, here are answers to Prager's questions:
Q: Why are you so quiet [about terrorism carried out in the name of Islam]?
A: One might argue that Muslims could do more to get their anti-terror
message out. But to say Muslims have been quiet about their unequivocal
condemnation of terrorism is a gross misrepresentation of the facts and
reeks of Islamophobia.
It was, after all, a coalition of American Muslim groups that issued
what was perhaps the first condemnation of the 9/11 attacks. The
Council on American-Islamic Relations also published a full-page
advertisement condemning the attacks.
Muslims have consistently condemned suicide bombings in the Middle
East, attacks on the London transportation system, the bombing of
hotels in Jordan, and many similar outrages.
Muslim scholars recently issued a fatwa, or Islamic religious ruling,
condemning terrorism and religious extremism. (See: www.cair.com)
Muslim groups in Texas and Arizona held anti-terror rallies. In Jordan,
huge demonstrations were held against the recent terror attacks.
Muslims in Lebanon demonstrated against the terrorist assassination of
former Prime Minister Rafik Harriri.
Outrage can be expressed in many ways. Public demonstrations are merely
one of many different methods available to oppose terrorism. (MORE)
SE ALSO:
INCITEMENT WATCH: CAL THOMAS - ISLAM A RELIGION OF SATAN? -
TOP
Cal Thomas, WTOP, 11/14/05
http://audio.wtopnews.com/nov2005/1114_thomas.ram
"One would like to see those Muslims, we are repeatedly told are
peaceful, rise up to expose those who are not, but we continue to wait
for that day to happen. Any religion that justifies the killing of
innocent civilians, especially children, is a religion of Satan, not
God. Such a twisted religion deserves not just condemnation but
isolation. The West had better realize that such people will not be
deterred with niceties uttered by US officials. They must be defeated
and shown that nothing they do will cause us to surrender to their
barbaric ways or change our policies to match theirs."
SEND POLITE NOTES TO WTOP:
http://www.wtop.com/index.php?nid=56
COPY TO:
cair@cair-net.org
-----
FOR MUSLIM MIDS, UNIFORMITY IN DUTY - BUT NOT IN BELIEFS -
TOP
Bradley Olson, Baltimore Sun, 11/20/05
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/ideas/bal-id.mids20nov20,1,1851341.story
Before Maksudal Ali decided to attend the U.S. Naval Academy, he
struggled with a few questions: If the time came, could he kill a
fellow Muslim?
Would he be able to fit his faith's requirements into the rigid structure of a military academy? Would he face bigotry?
Eventually, he made his way to Annapolis and is now one of 10 Muslim midshipmen among 4,200 student officers.
Although Ali rates his experiences on campus as positive, he said there
are pressures unique to Muslims at the academy. Chief among them is
preparing for a military career at a time when the nation is suffering
casualties at the hands of extremists who say they are acting in the
name of Islam.
There are other challenges, such as the difficulty of fasting for
Ramadan - which ended earlier this month - or meshing a Muslim's
five-times-a-day prayer obligations with the busy schedule of a
midshipman, or attending an institution where most of his peers have
had little exposure to Islam. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
6 MILLION MUSLIM STORIES WAITING TO BE TOLD -
TOP
Diane Winston, Los Angeles Times, 11/20/05
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/sunday/commentary/la-op-faithfront20nov20,0,932897.story
KARIMA ALAVI, an American convert to Islam, has a quick comeback for
critics of hijab, the head covering worn by Muslim women: Get over it!
"People make assumptions when they look at me because of the fabric on
my head," Alavi told a group of journalists attending a seminar this
month on media coverage of Islam and Muslims in the United States. "I
was at a Dunkin' Donuts in Virginia, and a man was staring at me.
Finally he came over and said, 'How could you?'"
Alavi is a program director at Dar al Islam, an Islamic education
center in Abiquiu, N.M. Her forthright manner neatly skewers facile
assumptions about Muslim womanhood. But the discrepancies between fact
and fiction extend far beyond Americans' misconceptions.
At the five-day seminar at USC, I discovered how little I knew about
the estimated 6 million Muslims in our midst. My biggest surprise was
how passionately committed second-generation Muslim Americans are to
social justice and political activism.
These Gen-Xers, similar to the cohort of 20- and 30-something
Christians and Jews, confirm the findings of two recent studies on
religion and young adults conducted by the Higher Education Research
Institute at UCLA and by Anna Greenberg for Reboot, a nonprofit
organization. This generation, the studies found, is spiritually
oriented, even religiously committed, and socially progressive. (MORE)
---
DO WE LOOK AT MUSLIMS THROUGH DISTORTED LENSES? -
TOP
Tom Schaefer, Wichita Eagle, 11/19/05
http://www.kansas.com/mld/eagle/living/religion/13205766.htm
"What did the Muslims say about the bombings in Jordan?"
That was the question I was asked when I returned to Wichita from a
five-day seminar in Los Angeles on "Covering Islam and Muslims in
America."
I was among 25 newspaper, radio and television journalists who met with
Muslim leaders, university scholars and everyday folk who are followers
of the Islamic faith. The event, sponsored by the Western Knight Center
for Specialized Journalism, was at the University of Southern
California.
Even when questions about terrorism weren't asked, they hung in the air:
"Terrorists/extremists have turned Islam's ideal of peace and harmony
on its head," said Aslam Abdullah, editor of the weekly Muslim Observer
newspaper and one of the first speakers at the seminar.
And it wasn't the last time the assertion -- and condemnation of terrorism -- would be made.
Yet, despite such condemnations by various Muslim groups and
individuals at this gathering and since 9/11, their voices tend to get
lost in the cacophony of media coverage of terrorism.
No wonder a survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the
Press found that 45 percent of Americans have a negative view of Islam:
Terrorism has corrupted non-Muslims' perceptions of Muslims.
Should we be surprised? After all, people often view a religion through distorted lenses. (MORE)
-----
CAIR: U.S. MUSLIM GROUPS CLEARED -
TOP
Senate Panel Finds Nothing 'Alarming' in Financial Data
Mary Beth Sheridan, Washington Post, 11/19/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/18/AR2005111802651.html
The Senate Finance Committee has wrapped up a high-profile
investigation into U.S. Muslim organizations and terrorism financing,
saying it discovered nothing alarming enough to warrant new laws or
other measures, officials said.
The inquiry, which took nearly two years, was highly unusual in that
the committee pored through private financial information held by the
government. The panel had asked the Internal Revenue Service for the
financial records and donor lists of two dozen Muslim charities, think
tanks and other organizations. Nine were based in the D.C. area.
"We did not find anything alarming enough that required additional
follow-up beyond what law-enforcement agencies are already doing," Sen.
Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), the committee chairman, said in a
statement this week.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the U.S. government has frozen
millions of dollars in assets allegedly linked to al Qaeda or other
terrorist groups and shut down some of the biggest U.S.-based Islamic
charities. In launching their inquiry in December 2003, Grassley and
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the committee's ranking Democrat, expressed
concern about "the crucial role that charities and foundations play in
terror financing."
Some Muslims, however, protested that the Senate investigation unfairly cast a cloud over many groups.
"It was really just a fishing expedition," said Ibrahim Hooper,
spokesman at the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "They didn't
catch any fish." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
DETROIT 'SLEEPER CELL' PROSECUTOR FACES PROBE -
TOP
Grand Jury Considering Indictment for Misconduct
Peter Slevin, Washington Post, 11/20/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/19/AR2005111900952.html
Once trumpeted as one of the Justice Department's significant triumphs
against terrorism, the case targeting the so-called "Detroit sleeper
cell" began less than a week after the attack on the World Trade
Center. It was only after a jury convicted two men of supporting
terrorism that the flimsiness of the government's case became clear.
As hidden evidence spilled out and the Justice Department abandoned the
effort, federal investigators began to wonder whether the true
conspiracy in the case was perpetrated by the prosecution.
Now a federal grand jury in Detroit is investigating whether the lead
prosecutor, Richard Convertino, or anyone else should be indicted for
unfairly tipping the scales.
It is a highly unusual case. No charges have been brought and many
details remain secret, but information in public documents and
testimony in U.S. District Court in Detroit suggest an effort by
federal prosecutors and important witnesses to mislead defense lawyers
and deceive the jury. U.S. District Judge Gerald E. Rosen said the
government acted "outside the Constitution." (MORE)
-----
DONORS PLEDGE $3.4 BILLION IN NEW QUAKE AID FOR PAKISTAN -
TOP
PAUL HAVEN, Associated Press, 11/19/05
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - The world pledged a whopping $3.4 billion in
new quake aid for Pakistan at a make-or-break donor conference
Saturday, but aid groups warned that much of the promises were loans
that will heap more debt on the impoverished country.
Pakistan nonetheless hailed the conference as a success, with President
Gen. Pervez Musharraf thanking the nearly 80 attending nations and
international agencies for ``helping Pakistan in this hour of need.''
He said the gesture "will never be forgotten."
The conference followed weeks of largely unheeded warnings from the
United Nations and aid groups that thousands could die of hunger,
exposure and disease unless money arrives before the harsh Himalayan
winter. Hundreds of thousands of survivors face a season of suffering
as temperatures dip well below freezing in the mountains, with children
and the elderly most at risk.
Acute respiratory illnesses are on the rise among the 3 million people
whose homes were destroyed by the 7.6-magnitude quake on Oct. 8, and
there have been outbreaks of diarrhea, scabies, tetanus and other
diseases. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
STUDY DEFLATES MYTHS ABOUT EURO MUSLIMS -
TOP
Haroon Siddiqui, The Star, 11/20/05
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1132441821123&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795
Some key components of Europe's anti-Muslim rhetoric - at times echoed
in Canada and, more so, in the United States - have been discredited.
Take the following:
It is alleged that Muslims in Europe are recipients of and hence unduly
influenced by foreign funding, a code word for petro-dollars from Saudi
Arabia.
It is said that radical foreign-born imams (clerics), are a source of
militancy and should be deported. Some have been, particularly from
France.
Given Europe's large Muslim population of about 15 million, the
continent is a battleground of the war between Islam and the West.
All these assertions are alarmist nonsense, says a soft-spoken American
political scientist, after extensive research in France, Germany,
England, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. In her new book The
Islamic Challenge: Politics and Religion in Western Europe (Oxford), as
well as in telephone and e-mail conversations over the last week, Jytte
Klausen of Brandeis University has outlined conclusions that puncture
popular myths. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS 11/21/05
*
Hadith:
Promoting
Good and Preventing Evil
*
DC/VA/MD:
Register Online
for CAIR s Annual Banquet
*
CAIR:
French
Ambassador Says "Religion Played No Role" in Riots
-
Link: CAIR's
Forum on French Riots on CSPAN
*
CAIR-CAN
Calls
on Canadian Govt to Ban CIA "Rendition" Jets
*
U.S.
Muslim Scout Troops Increasing (Washington Post)
-
OK:
Governor's Council Backs Holidays for Islamic Students
*
Alito Often Ruled for Religious Expression (NY Times)
*
CA: Muslims Help Boost Market for Goat Meat (LA Times)
*
IL: Schakowsky Blasts Kirk's Remarks on Arab Males
*
Canada: '
Me and the Mosque' Premieres Wednesday
-
CAIR Distributes 'Women friendly Mosques' Brochure
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: PROMOTING GOOD AND PREVENTING EVIL -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) related a parable comparing
those who obey God's commands to those who do not. He said they are
like people who draw lots for seats in a ship:
"Some of them got seats in the upper part, and the others in the lower.
When the latter needed water, they had to go up to bring water (and
that troubled the others), so they said, 'Let us make a hole in our
share of the ship (and get water) saving those who are above us from
troubling them.' So, if the people in the upper part left the others do
what they had suggested, all the people of the ship would be destroyed,
but if they prevented them, both parties would be safe."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Hadith 673
-----
REGISTER ONLINE FOR CAIR S ANNUAL BANQUET
TOP
Registration is now available online for CAIR s 11th Annual Banquet,
American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice. To learn more about
the dinner, or to register, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
-----
FRENCH AMBASSADOR: "WE ARE BACK TO NORMAL" -
TOP
BARRY SCHWEID, Associated Press, 11/21/05
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/world/13225644.htm
WASHINGTON - The violence that swept predominantly Muslim communities
in some 300 cities and towns in France for three weeks has abated and
"we are back to normal," French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte said
Monday.
He said mostly teenagers had acted out of social and economic hardship. "It was not about the role of Islam in France," he said.
"We never saw any link, direct or indirect," the French diplomat said. "Religion played no role."
"We know that jihadists are recruiting teenagers, but this has nothing
to do with the general unrest in those neighborhoods," he said. The
teenagers want to be considered 100 percent French, he said. "They want
full equality."
Levitte also suggested "the word 'riot' is a bit too strong" to
describe the disturbances and that while thousands of automobiles were
destroyed and scores of police officers injured, there were only a
handful of fatalities, in contrast to the 1992 Los Angeles riots that
left 55 people dead and $1 billion in property damage.
The French have invoked those riots in the past, by way of criticizing
U.S. policies. In 1992, then President Francois Mitterrand suggested
that France would avoid such strife because of its generous social
programs.
Levitte said that with job programs, scholarships and improved housing,
the French government is engaged in trying to improve their living
conditions. He spoke at a forum sponsored by the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim Public Affairs Council
(MPAC).
Nihad Awad, executive director of CAIR, said the outbreak was a signal
that discrimination has to be fought at all levels. He called on the
French government to show the young Muslims that "society is with them,
not against them."
Salam al-Marayati, executive director of MPAC, said "people want to
live the French dream, the American dream, not the French nightmare."
"We are not immigrants anymore," he said. "We are second, third and fourth generation."
But the Muslims in Europe are not regarded as full-fledged Europeans, he said.
And while "we agree that this is not a religious conflict," al-Qaida
and other groups can exploit these people if their social and political
situations are not improved, he said.
ALSO SEE
CSPAN LINK TO CAIR'S FORUM ON FRENCH RIOTS -
TOP
On Monday, November 21, French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte spoke
about the recent riots in the French suburbs at a panel organized by
the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The discussion titled, "The
Riots in France: Disenfranchisement and Integration" took place at
the National Press Club and was aired live on CSPAN-2.
To watch, visit:
rtsp://video.c-span.org/project/ter/ter112105_riots.rm
-----
CAIR-CAN CALLS ON CANADIAN GOVERNMENT TO BAN CIA "RENDITION" JETS -
TOP
(Ottawa, Canada - 21/11/05) - The Canadian Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR-CAN) is demanding the federal government ban CIA
"rendition" jets from entering Canada to ensure Canada is never
complicit in torture.
According to news reports, a private jet belonging to the U.S. Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) may have landed in St. John's, Newfoundland
as recently as last Friday.
For media reports, please see:
http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=8872b742-3b32-47d1-95ae-a76554124c20
In September 2002, a similar CIA jet was allegedly used to transport
Maher Arar, a Canadian Muslim, from the U.S. to Jordan. Arar was then
driven to Syria for torture and a year-long imprisonment. He has since
become one of the most widely publicized victims of "extraordinary
rendition," the practice of sending detainees to countries that torture their prisoners.
In a statement released today, CAIR-CAN said:
"One Canadian citizen, Maher Arar, has already suffered a horrific
experience as result of the "extraordinary rendition" process. The
Canadian government must uphold its obligations under international law
to ensure that Canada is never complicit in torture by participating in
extraordinary renditions or allowing Canada to be used to ferry any individual to torture.
"CAIR-CAN calls on the Canadian government to ban the CIA "rendition"
jets from landing anywhere in Canada, and to investigate whether Canada
was ever used to transport detainees to torture."
According to news reports, Iceland, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Italy and
Denmark have all launched investigations into whether the CIA used
airports in their countries to transport detainees to torture.
- END -
For more information, please call Halima Mautbur at 613-254-9704 or 613-795-2012.
-----
MUSLIM YOUTH FIND A BRIDGE IN A U.S. TRADITION: SCOUTING -
TOP
Tara Bahrampour, Washington Post, 11/21/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/20/AR2005112001310.html
Standing before 100 or so girls in green, brown and blue Girl Scouts
vests, Sarah Hasan, the leader of Brownie Troop No. 503, explained the
Islamic Ramadan fast.
"We're not allowed to eat or drink anything from dawn to dusk for a
whole month," she said, noticing that some girls looked shocked. "It's
a month to be grateful for all the things that you have."
Ramadan, which fell this year in October and November, ends with a big
feast called Eid al-Fitr. Last week, five Girl Scout troops from the
All Dulles Area Muslim Society in Sterling hosted an Eid party for five
Herndon area troops, their mothers and troop leaders, to share a meal
and help demystify Muslim cultural and religious traditions.
The annual event, in its fifth year, was one of the activities many
Muslim families -- especially those with one or more immigrant parents
-- say are important to help integrate their sons and daughters into
the rituals of American childhood.
For many Muslim children, living in the United States means constantly
balancing between being an observant Muslim and an American kid --
identities that aren't always in sync.
"Unlike where we grew up [in Muslim countries], when they walk out the
door, they're seeing something different from what we teach them,"
Hasan said. "So you can't say, 'That's just the way it is.' It's always
like, 'But why? But how?' "
Many Muslim immigrants have sought to bridge their old and new worlds
since they began coming to the United States in large numbers during
the 1960s. But since Sept. 11, 2001, as they have faced increasing
hostility and scrutiny, parents and community leaders say, cultural
integration is more vital than ever.
"How do we deal with harassment, post-9/11? That's part of our
education program: letting people know who Muslims are," said Rizwan
Jaka, president of the Muslim society and a Cub Scout den leader. Like
anyone else, he said, Muslims "want to be sure [our children] grow up
with good character and good citizenship," and they seek out activities
accordingly.
In the Washington area, home to about 250,000 Muslims from several
countries, those activities include scouting, basketball, football,
cricket and table tennis. The Muslim society's center, which attracts
Muslims from across Virginia, the District and Maryland, has hosted
Muslim comedians and Muslim concerts and held interfaith exchanges with
churches and an Eid festival with a moonbounce.
"This is part of the normal progression of our community," Jaka said.
"They're wholesome community activities that are compatible with who we
are, which is wholesome Americans."
Many on the Muslim society's board are, like Jaka, younger than 35 and born in the United States to immigrant parents.
"We've gone through the system here, so we have a better idea of what
our young people are facing," he said. "As other mosques progress and
more young people take over, you'll see more transformation toward
that."
U.S. Muslim scout troops have been increasing in the past two decades,
said Donald York, director of the relationship division of the Boy
Scouts of America: 112 troops with 1,948 members are chartered through
an Islamic school or mosque.
"What's happening now in the Islamic community is very similar to what
was happening in the 1920s and '30s in Boy Scouts . . . with the Jewish
community," York said. "They used scouting to assimilate their young
people into America." York said scouting values -- which include an
adherence to faith -- mesh well with Muslim ones. "Islamic families and
clergies want the same thing for young people," he said. "They want
them to grow up in their faith and learn their histories and cultures,"
he said. "Things like trustworthy, obedient, clean and helpful" --
elements of Scout Law -- "these are predominant Muslim ideas. They're
very attractive to an Islamic family."
A spokeswoman for Girl Scouts of the United States of America said the
organization does not ask scouts' religious affiliation but does
encourage spirituality. Troops often meet in churches, synagogues, and,
increasingly, mosques.
"It's a pretty common thing," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the
Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations. "In fact, we
did an ad campaign trying to show Muslims as regular people, and that
was one of the things we showed: a Muslim Girl Scout troop in
California."
Most Muslim children attend public schools and absorb American culture
there, Hooper said. But people whose children attend Islamic school or
are home-schooled also say connections with non-Muslims are important.
(MORE)
SEE ALSO:
OK: GOVERNOR'S COUNCIL BACKS HOLIDAYS FOR ISLAMIC STUDENTS -
TOP
Judy Gibbs Robinson, The Oklahoman, 11/19/05
http://www.newsok.com/article/1682319/
The Governor's Advisory Council on Ethnic American Affairs wants to
make it easier for Muslim children to get excused from school on their
faith's two most important holidays.
Council members voted unanimously Friday to send a letter to every
Oklahoma school district providing the dates for Eid al-Fitr and Eid
al-Adha, explaining their importance to the Islamic faith and
requesting that Muslim children receive excused absences on those days.
"This is a very contentious issue in our part of the state, and you
have to do it district by district," said council chairman Sandra Kaye
Rana of Tulsa.
Every school district sets its own attendance policies and decides
whether religious holidays are excused or unexcused absences, said
council member Malaka Elyazgi of Norman.
"It's our responsibility to let them know it's our holiday; it's a
religious holiday. Most districts excuse it, but we want to have
something more formal," she said. (MORE)
-----
ALITO OFTEN RULED FOR RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION -
TOP
NEIL A. LEWIS, New York Times, 11/21/05
http://nytimes.com/2005/11/21/politics/politicsspecial1/21religion.html
Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. has compiled a brief but unmistakable record,
lawyers and analysts say, that makes him a leader in the camp of
conservative theorists and judges who believe federal courts have been
too quick to limit religious activities in public life.
During his 15 years sitting in Newark as a member of a federal appeals
court, Judge Alito has sided almost uniformly with those who have
complained vigorously in recent years that zealousness in enforcing the
Constitution's separation of church and state has unfairly inhibited
religious practices.
Judge Alito, President Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court, has ruled
in favor of allowing local governments to set up Nativity scenes
alongside nonreligious symbols and ruled against a school district that
wanted to prevent an evangelical group from sending home fliers to
elementary school children. He has also ruled in favor of Muslim police
officers in Newark who said the department's policy against wearing
beards violated their religious rights. Both supporters and opponents
say he has the potential to become the most aggressive supporter of
religious liberty on the court, moving it toward greater deference to
religious practices.
He is inclined to the view of the First Amendment that the government
is not intended to be hostile to religion, said Douglas W. Kmiec, a law
professor at Pepperdine University in California. It is intended to be
accommodating when it can. (MORE)
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CA: AMERICANS ACQUIRING TASTE FOR GOAT -
TOP
Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times, 11/21/05
For many Californians, goat has become the other red meat.
Curried goat and birria stew have become fixtures on the menus of local
restaurants. Markets catering to Muslims and Latinos do brisk business
selling fresh goat meat. Even the meat section of the upscale Whole
Foods Market in Glendale now peddles the commodity.
Goat meat imports to the U.S. jumped about 140% over a seven-year
period ending in 2003. Now some California farmers see gold in goat.
They are expanding their herds, hoping to cash in on consumers'
broadening tastes.
"As goat producers, we are standing in one of the most enviable
positions of any agriculture industry in the United States," said
Marvin Shurley, president of the American Meat Goat Assn. in Sonora,
Texas. "High demand for our products and livestock prices are unmatched
within the history of our industry."
Some 40% of the goat meat consumed in the U.S. is imported from
Australia and New Zealand. The remainder is produced by farmers with
herds ranging from 15 to 8,000 animals.
That means the burgeoning goat business is not large enough to mimic
the milk industry's with a "Got Goat?" slogan or to tweak the cheese
industry's marketing campaign: "California: It's the goat."
In a recent report, the University of California's Small Farm Center in
Davis said the state was well-positioned to capture a large share of
the goat meat market. California's dry, mild climate favors raising
goats. Pasture and leftover farm produce provide excellent feed sources.
In California and across the nation, the fast-growing Muslim, Latino
and Asian communities are pushing up the demand for one of the most
widely consumed meats in the world. There are about 35 million
foreign-born U.S. citizens, and many of those are from goat-eating
nations, said Richard Machen, a professor and livestock specialist at
Texas A&M University's Agricultural Research and Extension Center
in Uvalde, Texas.
Many consumers get their fresh goat from places like Islamic Meat and Poultry Co. in Stockton.
Jalal Sbeta, the shop's owner, slaughters about 300 goats a week,
shipping the meat to markets patronized by Muslims in Northern
California.
Sbeta, a native of Libya, gets help from Poncho the Goat, a loyal ram
who several times a day leads a small group of kid goats through a
narrow alley to the slaughterhouse door. Poncho leaves the animals
inside and trots back to a cozy corral while a worker slits the throats
of his former charges. Their skinned carcasses are then placed in cold
storage.
Each animal is slaughtered according to Islamic halal rules that
require the recitation of God's name before the animal is killed. After
that, the animal is hung by a hind leg to allow the blood to drain from
the body. At one point, the slaughterhouse worked with a rabbi to
produce a line of kosher lamb. (MORE)
-----
IL: SCHAKOWSKY BLASTS KIRK'S REMARKS ON ARAB MALES -
TOP
RUMMANA HUSSAIN, Chicago Sun-Times, 11/20/05
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-kirk20.html
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) said Saturday she was "deeply
offended" that her colleague Mark Kirk thinks it's "OK" to discriminate
against young Arab males, and she joined a diverse group of immigrants'
rights supporters in demanding an apology from the Republican
congressman.
"No one should be OK with discrimination," Schakowsky said to an
applauding, standing-room-only crowd at the Illinois Coalition for
Immigrant and Refugee Rights convention at Navy Pier.
"It is comments like this, which characterize an entire group of
people, that represent the kind of thinking that ultimately led to the
internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II."
When Kirk, of Highland Park, was asked about the difficulties of the
visa process for immigrants at a nanotechnology conference at
Northwestern University earlier this month, he said, "I'm OK with
discrimination against young Arab males from terrorist-producing
states. I'm OK with that."
He continued: "I think that when we look at the threat that's out
there, young men between, say, the ages of 18 and 25 from a couple of
countries, I believe a certain amount of intense scrutiny should be
placed on them. I'm not threatened by people from China. I'm not even
threatened by people from Mexico. I just know where the threat is from.
It's from a unique place, and I think it's OK to recognize that."
Schakowsky is the second Illinois politician to publicly criticize Kirk
for his remarks. U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) also blasted Kirk
recently, characterizing his statements as showing a "cavalier attitude
towards civil liberties."
"I say, 'Apologize, Congressman Kirk,'" Schakowsky said as thousands of
immigrants cheered. "Being OK with discrimination gives the OK for
people inside and outside our communities to distrust young Muslim men,
or those who appear to be Arab or Middle Eastern or Muslim or
darker-skinned or foreign-speaking." (MORE)
-----
CANADA: 'ME AND THE MOSQUE' PREMIERES WEDNESDAY -
TOP
Erin Morrison, The Leader-Post, 11/21/05
http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/news/story.html?id=8f88ce32-a2e8-4d97-847d-492d84d3be95
Regina's Mosque and Islamic Centre was a source of comfort for Zarqa
Nawaz; and then a source of frustration; and then a source of material
for her latest film, which will premiere Wednesday night across the
country.
The hour-long documentary, Me and the Mosque -- created for CBC and
Vision TV as part of the National Film Board's Reel Diversity program
-- centres on Nawaz as a Muslim woman, trying to find a place in her
home mosque in Regina.
Woman pray behind the men according to Islamic rule, but in Regina's
mosque, like many others across North America, physical barriers began
to crop up in between the two genders, pushing women out of the prayer
hall.
"I had always had a great relationship with the mosque and the Muslim
community," Nawaz said. "When these changes began to happen, I felt I
had to speak up."
A seasoned journalist and filmmaker, she decided to question the
separate rooms and balconies women were being banished to. A goal, she
said in the film, was to embarrass her community into making positive
changes.
Aimed at both Muslims and non-Muslims, the film follows Nawaz as she
travels to Canadian mosques that are struggling with gender issues, and
speaks to experts who shed light on which Muslim practices find basis
in the Koran, and which are social constructs.
"I think I wanted to show non-Muslims that the solutions lie within our
own community and within our own faith," she said, although she added
that she is aware that the documentary runs a risk of showing the
Muslim community in a poor light. . .
Before the documentary was finished, Nawaz was forced to admit that her
tactic of embarrassing the community into change was not necessary --
the Regina Mosque has changed of its own volition.
Ahmed Aboudheir was recently elected to the presidency of the Islamic
Association of Saskatchewan, and with the new administration, came a
new understanding of separating the sexes.
"From Islamic point of view," he said, "there is no evidence that this should be the case."
Regina's mosque has been restructured, so that women can participate
fully. "All the committees now have many women," said Aboudheir. "...
They build the community and they are very protective." Aboudheir added
that the community is finding the skills of the women in the
congregation to be invaluable, noting that this year's festival at the
end of Ramadan was the most successful in the history of the mosque,
thanks to an organizing committee run by three women.
"Communities can come to their own realizations," said Nawaz. "I think that was an important lesson for me to learn."
The film will debut on Vision TV, before being shown on CBC. The
premiere is set for Wednesday night, at 9 p.m. "We've put the film in a
very good prime-time slot," said Nokes. "... we have very high
expectations for it."
SEE ALSO:
CAIR DISTRIBUTES 'WOMEN FRIENDLY MOSQUES' BROCHURE -
TOP
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1632&theType=NR
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS 11/22/05
*
Verse/Hadith:
Cooperate In
Righteousness
*
DC/MD/VA: Native Deen to
Perform At CAIR Banquet
*
NJ:
Meadowlands
Sets Aside Prayer Spaces at Stadium for Muslims (AP)
*
CA:
Campus
Greek Life Could Get Islamic Touch (LA Times)
-
FL: Don t Scrub
Culture from Schools (Charleston Gazette)
*
MA:
Judge
Allows Suit Challenging Sale of Land for Mosque (Boston Globe)
*
IL: Muslim
Americans Discuss Their Struggles (Daily Herald)
*
Incitement Watch:
Offensive
Time Cartoon of the Week
-----
VERSE OF THE
DAY: COOPERATE IN RIGHTEOUSNESS -
TOP
"Cooperate with one another in righteousness and piety, and do not
cooperate in sin and transgression."
The Holy Quran, 5:2
HADITH OF THE DAY: THE PROVISION OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
A man once asked the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to pray for him
because he was about to embark on a journey. The Prophet said: "May
God grant you the provision of righteousness...And may He make it easy
for you to do virtuous deeds, wherever you may be."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 235
-----
NATIVE DEEN TO
PERFORM AT CAIR BANQUET -
TOP
Registration is now available online for CAIR s 11th Annual Banquet,
American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice. Keynote speakers
include: Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Chip Pitts, former chairman-Amnesty
International, and Imam Siraj Wahhaj.
To learn more about the dinner, or to register, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
NOTE: Volunteers are needed for the dinner. E-Mail:
events@cair-net.org
-----
MEADOWLANDS
SETS ASIDE PRAYER SPACES AT STADIUM FOR MUSLIMS -
TOP
Wayne Parry, Associated Press, 11/22/05
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--giantsstadium-mus1122nov22,0,3421834.story?coll=ny-region-apnewjersey
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) _ The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority says
it will provide a special area for anyone who wants a place to pray while
at Giants Stadium or the Continental Airlines Arena _ a reaction to
Muslim groups' outcries after several fans who prayed at a New York
Giants game were detained and questioned by the FBI in
September.
Sohail Mohammed, the lawyer for the Totowa-based American Muslim Union,
met Sunday with officials from the sports authority, the FBI and private
companies that work at the Meadowlands to educate them about Islam and
the cultural and religious practices of Muslims.
Five Muslim men attending the Sept. 19 Giants game against the New
Orleans Saints were detained and questioned for about a half hour by the
FBI after they were observed praying at the stadium. The men claimed they
were singled out because of their faith, but the FBI said the men were
flagged by stadium security because they were in a sensitive area near
the stadium's main air intake duct.
Former President Bush was on hand that night as part of a fundraising
campaign he and former President Clinton were leading for victims of
Hurricane Katrina.
The men were allowed to return to the stadium, but in different seats,
and were escorted to their cars when they left.
George Zoffinger, the sports authority president, said space will be set
aside at the stadium and the arena for anyone of any faith who wishes to
pray. The exact spots have not yet been designated, he said.
"I think we did this thing exactly right," Zoffinger said.
"We took it seriously. We did not like the connotation that we were
profiling. We weren't.
"With this agreement, we hope we've created an atmosphere where
anyone can come to our facilities and feel comfortable," he
said.
Mohammed said anyone who wants to use the prayer areas should approach
stadium security, who usually wear yellow jackets emblazoned with the
words "Event Staff," who will then direct them to the
appropriate areas.
Word of the agreement is to be circulated to mosques and Islamic centers
throughout the state this week, he said.
Mohammed said sports authority staff said they also may extend prayer
areas to the Meadowlands Racetrack.
"I told them you won't get many Muslims using that area because
gambling is forbidden in Islam, but I understand there is quite a bit of
praying going on among the track patrons while the horses are
running," he joked.
-----
CAMPUS GREEK LIFE
COULD GET ISLAMIC TOUCH
TOP
Jenny Jarvie, Los Angeles Times, 11/22/05
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-sorority22nov22,0,556864.story?coll=la-home-nation
Tottering on stilettos, Amira Shalash, a freshman at the University of
Kentucky, tossed back her long, tousled hair and tugged at the neckline
of her sweater, which had slipped off her shoulder.
Giggling, her friends -- who wear hijabs, traditional Muslim head scarves
-- teased her that she was not dressed modestly enough.
The nine young women were gathered to learn about the nation's first
Islamic sorority.
The motto of Gamma Gamma Chi: "Striving for the pleasure of Allah
through Sisterhood, Scholarship, Leadership and Community
Service."
The sorority, whose national chapter is in Greensboro, N.C., hopes to
establish its first campus chapter at the University of
Kentucky.
Taking a seat at the introductory meeting, Boushra Aghil, a 20-year-old
junior in an olive green shirt and black hijab, studied the sorority's
gold brochure. She was curious about how Gamma Gamma Chi would reconcile
Islamic morals with sorority life -- and the party atmosphere associated
with it.
"My parents would never, ever let me join a regular sorority,"
Shalash said. "I don't know any Muslim sorority
girls."
Yet many young Muslim women are intrigued by the concept. Since Gamma
Gamma Chi was founded seven months ago, Muslim students from 14 states --
and from Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates -- have e-mailed the
sorority's national headquarters in Alexandria, Va. The biggest response
came from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, a city with a Muslim
population of about 2,500.
The idea for Gamma Gamma Chi came from Imani Abdul-Haqq, a 34-year-old
business administration major at Guilford College in Greensboro. She
hopes to establish chapters in every region of the United States by 2015.
(MORE)
ALSO SEE:
DON T SCRUB CULTURE
FROM SCHOOLS -
TOP
Dawn Miller, Charleston Gazette, 11/19/05
http://www.wvgazette.com/section/Columns/200511185
Do all adults become morons when they enter a school debate? Consider the
Hillsborough School Board in Florida. They recently voted to remove all
religious holidays from the school calendar.
Instead of Good Friday and Easter Monday for Christians and Yom Kippur
for Jews, schools would take off on Washington's birthday and two
nondescript days near the end of the school year. Christmas falls
conveniently during a winter break.
People might believe school officials when they say they're just trying
to be fair to students of all religions by adopting a calendar that
acknowledges none and is used by other school systems.
Never mind the fact that the school board developed this concern only
after Muslims asked schools to take off the Eid ul-Fitr, a holiday
marking the end of Ramadan, a month of reflection and daytime fasting.
Muslims traditionally feast on all kinds of good food with family and
friends on this day.
Schools are obligated to keep free of espousing any religion. They must
never proselytize.
But to try to exist as if students do not come from families where
religious observances are important shows a particular degree of laziness
or disrespect.
This is a very old problem. In his new memoir, "Mirror to
America," revered American historian John Hope Franklin tells of a
similar reaction by the University of Kentucky in 1949. History teacher
Lyman Johnson applied to graduate school. UK rejected Johnson, a black
man. Johnson sued, with help from Thurgood Marshall.
In court, UK officials argued that the school could no more offer
graduate study to Johnson than anyone else. Rather than accept an
African-American, the school insinuated that it would rather offer no
graduate studies.
Marshall asked for and got a summary judgment. The judge ordered UK to
admit Johnson.
It is difficult to believe that a school system today would react the
same as in 1949. Can these Florida schools honestly argue that ignoring
the culture of all students is fair? Rational? Educationally
sound?
Easter belongs to the majority, but no one is oppressed or cajoled into
turning Christian just because they have that day off from school. Just
because Yom Kippur or the Eid ul-Fitr are important to a smaller fraction
of the population is no reason not to accommodate them. (MORE)
-----
JUDGE
ALLOWS SUIT CHALLENGING BRA S SALE OF LAND FOR MOSQUE -
TOP
Charles A. Radin, Boston Globe, 11/22/05
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/11/22/judge_allows_suit_challenging_bras_sale_of_land_for_mosque/
A state judge has allowed a lawsuit to proceed that seeks to invalidate
the city's sale of Roxbury land at deep discount to a Muslim society that
is building a mosque on the property.
Mission Hill resident James C. Policastro sued in an attempt to undo the
Boston Redevelopment Authority deal with the Islamic Society of Boston,
saying the sale violated provisions of the US and Massachusetts
constitutions, which prohibit government from establishing or unfairly
assisting religious institutions.
If Policastro prevails in his lawsuit, it could create a serious problem
for the already financially troubled mosque project. Construction has
slowed because of the apparent inability of the Islamic Society to raise
sufficient funds.
According to its documents, the BRA sold land at Roxbury Crossing valued
at $401,187 to the Islamic Society in exchange for $175,000 and an
agreement from the society that it would provide a series of benefits to
the community.
The benefits would include lectures on Islam and development of an
Islamic law library at Roxbury Community College, adjacent to the mosque
site.
The society was to use the land for a $22 million mosque and cultural
center, but decided to attempt to build only the mosque for now, at a
cost of $14 million, according to an official deeply involved in the work
who was interviewed by the Globe late last month. (MORE)
-----
MUSLIM AMERICANS
DISCUSS THEIR STRUGGLES
TOP
Sara Hooker, Daily Herald, 11/20/05
http://www.dailyherald.com/search/searchstory.asp?id=123611
Under the still-lingering clouds brought by the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks, more than 100 people met Saturday in Lisle to ask, can a person
be both Muslim and American?
As a new generation of Muslim Americans reaches adulthood, members say
they often feel pressure to state what they believe.
The pressure, explored in a Saturday afternoon lecture at Benedictine
University in Lisle, sometimes is societal in nature and sometimes come
from their own parents whose beliefs are often dramatically
different.
The question becomes:
Are you like me: your parents who are immigrants? Or are you like them:
your neighbors and friends who are American? said Edina Lekovic,
communications director for the Muslim Public Affairs Council. It s an
artificial contrast or an artificial separation.
For Muslims born in America, this is the only country they ve known,
compared to their parents who immigrated here and often have an
allegiance to their homeland, she said.
The challenges are different, Lekovic said, and sometimes Muslim
Americans have to decide which one they are at that moment.
(MORE)
-----
INCITEMENT
WATCH: OFFENSIVE TIME CARTOON OF THE WEEK -
TOP
http://www.time.com/time/cartoons/20051118/3.html
SEND POLITE NOTES TO:
letters@time.com
COPY TO:
cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Ave., S.E.
Washington, DC 20003
Tel: (202) 488-8787, (202) 744-7726
Fax: (202) 488-0833
Email:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS 11-23-05
*
Hadith: Racism
Rejected
*
CAIR-AZ Hosts
Business Networking Lunch
*
CAIR-SFBA:
Missing
Person, Missing Attention
*
When U.S. Bars
Its
Doors to
Foreign Scholars (CSM)
*
FL: Diverse Faiths
Unite In Thanks (SP Times)
*
PA:
Muslim
Leaders Reach Out To Voters Critical Of Station (Morning Call)
*
NJ:
Meadowlands
Stadium to Add a Worship Area (Star Ledger)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY:
RACISM REJECTED -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) once told a companion: "You
are not better than people (of other races) unless you excel them in
piety."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1361
-----
CAIR-AZ HOSTS
BUSINESS NETWORKING LUNCH -
TOP
(PHOENIX, AZ, 11/22/05) - On November 21, 2005 The Arizona Chapter of the
Council on American- Islamic Relations (CAIR- AZ) hosted a business
networking lunch from 12:30- 2 PM at the Garden Room of the EconoLodge
Hotel.
The purpose of the event was to acquaint the audience with CAIR-AZ and
its function as a civil rights and outreach organization. Attendees
included law enforcement officials from the cities of Phoenix, Tempe,
Chandler and Scottsdale, business owners, state officials and Muslim
community leaders.
Nure Elatari, Program and Media Director, made a short presentation on
Muslims in America, followed by a presentation by Salam Safi, Civil
Rights Director, on CAIR-AZ's accomplishments in the last year. The event
concluded with lunch and an informal discussion.
Contact: Nure Elatari (602) 262-2247 or (602) 312-2223, Email:
director@cairaz.org; Salam Safi (480) 600-0008, Email:
affairsdirector@cairaz.org
-----
CAIR-SFBA:
MISSING PERSON, MISSING ATTENTION -
TOP
(Oakland, CA 11/22/05) The San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA) is urging Bay Area
media, law enforcement and public officials to escalate attention and
effort in locating a missing person. Dr. Zehra Attari has been missing
since Monday, November 7th and is grieved by her husband, two daughters
and son.
It is the second week anniversary since Dr. Attari has been missing.
There are no solid leads in the investigation thus far. The
family fears that as time is passing, it will become more difficult in
locating the San Jose wife and mother. We re doing our best to hold
on, says Dr. Attari s husband Tasadduq Attari, but more needs to be done
and not enough attention is being given to my wife s disappearance.
Frustrated by the lack of immediate response for her mother, Dr. Ruby Ali
pleads for collective involvement in the search for Dr. Attari. No one is
giving us information about what happened to her. I'm sure people out
there have seen my mom. How could she just disappear? That's not
possible."
Dr. Zehra Attari, a 55-year old Indian-American pediatrician was last
seen at her clinic located on 2700 International Blvd. in Oakland at 5:00
pm on Monday, November 7th. She was headed towards Alameda Alliance
for Health to attend a meeting, but never arrived. Her bag and keys
along with $700 cash was left in the clinic. When her medical
assistant called her cell phone at around 6:05 pm it appeared to be
turned off. No one has been able to contact her since. She was
wearing a light blue long-sleeved knit sweater with navy blue pants,
black shoes and black glasses. She was driving a silver 2001 Honda
Accord, license plate #4MUH810.
An initial $10,000 reward put up by the family last week has been matched
by community donations to $20,000 over the weekend.
Anyone who has any information or would like to help in the search is
asked to call (408) 476-6723 or (510)557-6695.
Further information can be viewed at
www.zehraattari.com
-----
WHEN U.S. BARS
ITS DOORS
TO
FOREIGN SCHOLARS -
TOP
Alexandra Marks, Christian Science Monitor, 11/23/05
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1123/p02s01-uspo.html
Concern is mounting that the US government is using antiterror laws -
namely, the Patriot Act - to revive a now-discredited practice common
during the cold war: the prevention of foreign intellectuals who are
critical of administration policies from entering the country and sharing
their views with Americans.
The practice, called ideological exclusion, became illegal in 1990. But a
recent lawsuit - brought by the American Association of University
Professors (AAUP), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the PEN
American Center under the Freedom of Information Act - is asking the Bush
administration to explain its decisions to revoke or deny visas to
several foreign scholars, and why they don't violate free-speech
protections.
"This is about free speech, the purpose of colleges and
universities," says Donna Euben, counsel for the AAUP in Washington.
"We're not challenging the [USA Patriot Act] itself. We're just
asking for information about its application to these particular scholars
where there is no evidence that they have supported terrorism in any
way."
In their suit, the groups cite the cases of several foreign scholars.
One, Tariq Ramadan, is a prominent Swiss Muslim scholar who has condemned
terrorism and routinely come to the United States on speaking tours in
the past. In 2004, as he was preparing to take up a teaching post at the
University of Notre Dame, his visa was revoked. The US government gave no
formal reason, but press reports suggested the denial was based on
"antiterrorism law." Another scholar, Dora Maria Tellez, is a
former Nicaraguan government official who more than a decade ago was
involved in the overthrow of the US-backed Somoza regime. She had been
lined up to teach at Harvard University, but last January her visa was
denied.
Administration officials aren't commenting on either case because the
matter is now in the courts. But those who support the government's
actions say it has a right and a duty to protect national security at a
time of war. If it's concerned that a foreign national may promote ideas
or activities that are antithetical to US interests, it has every right
to deny that individual entry - and without an explanation.
The controversy is the latest illustration of the potential clash between
commonly accepted civil rights and governmental efforts to protect
national security. At the center of the debate about ideological
exclusions is a little known provision of the Patriot Act, called Section
411. It allows the government to refuse admission to foreign nationals
who, in the government's view, "have used [their] position of
prominence within any country to endorse or espouse terrorist activity,
or to persuade others to support terrorist activity or a terrorist
organization in a way the Secretary of State has determined undermines
United States efforts to reduce or eliminate terrorism."
Administration critics have no problem with the idea of excluding
terrorists or people who espouse it. But they're concerned the government
has now so broadly defined "terrorism" that even people who
have openly condemned it but are critical of US policies are now being
denied entry. (MORE)
-----
DIVERSE FAITHS UNITE IN
THANKS -
TOP
Sherri Day, St. Petersburg Times, 11/23/05
http://www.sptimes.com/
TAMPA - Thanksgiving and its tasty trimmings came early this year at the
Islamic Society of Tampa Bay Area Mosque.
The mosque partnered with the Council on American-Islamic Relations
Tuesday afternoon to host its third annual community Thanksgiving meal.
After the dinner, mosque leaders and the Brandon Area Interfaith
Coalition planned a Thanksgiving Interfaith Service, one of several
community worship experiences held Tuesday throughout the bay
area.
Although the coalition has been holding interfaith holiday services for
the last decade, Tuesday marked the first time the event came to the
mosque on Sligh Avenue and Orient Road.
"The hope is to show thanks to God by sharing his bounty, and thank
people for being supportive of us in times of hardship, and just share
something with each other," said Mohammad Sultan, the mosque's imam.
"Food brings people together."
Later, at the service, members of diverse faiths would share their
perspectives on thanking their creators - a rabbi reciting a Jewish daily
prayer of thanks, a Christian minister taking up an offering for the
mosque's clinic and for disaster relief in Pakistan.
But first, there was a feast that would have made Julia Child
proud.
Muslim women served more than 700 heaping plates of baked chicken, tossed
salad, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, stuffing and turkey.
Seated side by side at the dinner tables were Jews, Christians, Bahais,
Quakers and Muslims.
Bob and Margaret Mitchell, members of the First United Church of Tampa,
came to the event to learn more about Islam and Muslim culture.
"We're all going to live in this community and we need to be
supportive of each other," said Margaret Mitchell, 73, who is also
president of the Temple Terrace Women's Club. "It's worth getting
out and getting to know and understand that there may be some
differences, but they're also some similarities."
Nearby, three University of South Florida students talked about the
subtle slights they often receive when they wear the hijab, the head
scarf worn by many observant Muslim women. They saw the community meal as
an opportunity to dispel stereotypes, share their faith and learn about
others.
"Jews, Christians and Muslims gathering in one place together is a
huge step," said Radia Adyel, 22, a native of Morocco and third-year
marketing major. "Even if the government does not get along, it does
not mean the people are not getting along. Just like the Chinese people
say, the 1,000-mile journey starts with one step."
Across town at Congregation Schaarai Zedek, a Jewish synagogue in South
Tampa, hundreds of the faithful filed into an interfaith Thanksgiving
service with Palma Ceia United Methodist Church.
A Jewish children's choir sang songs about peace in Hebrew, English and
Arabic. Palma Ceia's Extreme Youth Band performed contemporary Christian
songs. Clergy from both congregations said prayers and expressed goodwill
at continuance of a five-decade fellowship.
"Our two congregations have done this in the spirit of sharing for
the past 51 years... not just as Christians and Jews but more importantly
as Americans," Rabbi Richard Birnholz said.
The rabbi urged the congregation to show gratitude. In his Thanksgiving
sermon, the Rev. Kevin James reminded worshipers that the best is yet to
come.
Interfaith services are necessary, the clergy members said, because they
help tear down walls and show people from different religious backgrounds
how much they have in common.
"Our mission is to increase the understanding and compassion among
the various faith groups and celebrate the diversity of our
community," said the Rev. Robert White, a coalition member and
chaplain at Tampa General Hospital. "Through this we hope to have a
more peaceful community and a greater understanding of
people."
-----
MUSLIM
LEADERS REACH OUT TO VOTERS CRITICAL OF STATION
-
TOP
Romy Varghese, Morning Call, 11/22/05
http://www.mcall.com/all-b4_5muslims-4rnov22,0,7904397.story
Officials at the Islamic Center of the Lehigh Valley encourage those who
felt offended voting there earlier this month to visit and meet
Muslims.
More outreach efforts are in the works as well, Muslim leaders said at a
news conference Monday at the Whitehall Township facility.
Officials of other organizations attended and spoke about the Muslims'
charitable services to the Valley.
''We have seen the Islamic center take a responsible role in the
community,'' said the Rev. Christine Nelson, executive director of the
Lehigh County Conference of Churches.
The gathering, co-organized by the Islamic advocacy group Council on
American Islamic Relations in Washington, D.C., was held to dispel
misconceptions voiced by dozens of Whitehall residents who voted at the
Islamic center for the first time two weeks ago.
About 70 of 234 voters a poll worker encountered Election Day said they
were offended about voting at a mosque. One mentioned having a daughter
serving in Iraq.
Mohamed Bugaighis, a trustee for the Muslim Association of the Lehigh
Valley, which runs the center, said Monday that ''we have nothing to do
with Iraq.''
''We have stood strongly against terrorism,'' said association President
Mohammad Bajwa.
Officials were happy to oblige the request of Lehigh County's election
board to use the facility for a polling place, they said. Members even
provided tea and coffee that day, which ''reflects our generosity to the
community,'' Bugaighis said.
He encouraged people, particularly those who had made disparaging
comments, to come to the center's community dinners every third Saturday
of the month and to attend the next open house, which may occur in
March.
Members are also looking into setting up a booth at the Lehigh Valley
Mall and advertising on a billboard to provide more information on Islam.
They plan to approach churches in the Valley and offer to make
presentations on Islam, said Waseem Akhter, who works on the outreach
committee.
Also at the news conference, representatives of the Sixth Street Shelter
and KidsPeace, as well as the Conference of Churches, spoke of the
Islamic center's unsolicited contributions to their endeavors.
-----
NJ:
MEADOWLANDS STADIUM TO ADD A WORSHIP AREA -
TOP
Jeff Diamant and Russell Ben-Ali, Star-Ledger, 11/22/05
http://www.nj.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-0/1132712110107110.xml&coll=1
In what may be the first such designation in the nation, the New Jersey
Sports and Exposition Authority will set aside areas at Giants Stadium
and Continental Airlines Arena for fans who want to pray, officials said
yesterday.
The decision, which follows the detention of five Muslim men who were
seen kneeling in prayer at a Sept. 19 Giants game, was hailed by stadium
officials and Islamic leaders.
"I think that we handled this situation with sensitivity, and it's
the right thing," said George Zoffinger, the sports authority's
president and chief executive. "We reached out to the people in the
community who felt offended and we put in an expert on both Muslim
culture and religion to address all our staff in terms of the
sensitivities involved.
"And we agreed to set aside a place where people can, in fact go,
and pray."
Zoffinger said stadium and arena staff are still trying to determine
which areas would be set aside and when they would open. Once the areas
are designated, fans of any faith who wanted to pray could approach
stadium staff, who usually wear yellow jackets with the words "Event
Staff" emblazoned on them, and be directed to the appropriate
areas.
Sami Shaban, one of the Muslims who had been questioned and detained,
praised sports authority officials for the step.
'I think it's a very good start. I really appreciate it. I love the fact
that we have a place to pray. That is an amazing step, I really like it.
It was not our main aim, though. Our main aim was to bring to light and
educate people about what it is we're supposed to do, that (our praying)
is not suspicious behavior and we shouldn't have been treated like
this."
Shaban and four other men were questioned by the FBI and stadium security
after they were observed praying as a group during the Giants-New Orleans
Saints game. Former President George H.W. Bush was attending the football
game as part of a fundraising campaign for Hurricane Katrina
victims.
The men called the incident an example of religious profiling, an
allegation the FBI and sports authority denied. During a news conference
earlier this month, the men called for better awareness of Islam and the
Muslim culture through a "Pray for Understanding"
campaign.
The sports authority, in response, said its staff was schooled to be
sensitive to religious groups and that the men were praying in a spot
that, while public, was in an area near a major ventilation duct to the
stadium.
In the aftermath, the two sides helped craft the agreement that was
announced yesterday.
"We've had prayer spaces allocated in hospitals, in airports and
universities, places like that, and sometimes they're for Muslims but,
more often, they're interfaith prayer areas," said Ibrahim Hooper,
spokesman for the Council of American-Islamic Relations. "This is
the first time I know of there's been a space allocated for Muslim prayer
in a sports stadium." (MORE)
-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS 11-24-05
* Hadith: The Importance of Charity
* CAIR-FL: Catholics Will Share Mass With Muslims
* CAIR-DC: What's 'Reasonable Accommodation' Of Workers' Beliefs?
* NJ: Putting a Face on the Arab World (NJ.com)
* CA: Missing Doctor Still Sought By Her Family (Mercury News)
* GA: Bad Timing for Islam Assembly? (Citizen)
* Many Religions See Signs in Pomegranates (Oregonian)
* America's Brand in the Global Market (Chron of Higher Ed)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: THE IMPORTANCE OF CHARITY
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The believer's shade on
the
Day of Resurrection will be his charity." Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 604
The Prophet also said: "Every act of goodness is charity." Sahih
Muslim,
Hadith 496
-----
CAIR-FL: CATHOLICS WILL SHARE MASS WITH MUSLIMS
Miami Herald, 11/24/05
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13239685.htm
GMuslims and Catholics will share Thanksgiving Day Mass at 10 a.m.
todayat
St. Katharine Drexel Catholic Church, 2700 Glades Cir., Weston.
This is the second year that Muslims have been invited to the service.
Last
year's Mass drew 400 to 500 people, the Rev. Paul Edwards said.
An invitation was extended to the Muslim community following an opinion
piece that Edwards wrote regarding attacks on Catholic churches in
Iraq.
After the piece's publication, Edwards was contacted by a
representative
from a local Islamic group.
''We spoke and I invited them to Thanksgiving Day Mass so we can
establish
connections with other,'' Edwards said.
The Mass will be a traditional Catholic service, with a greeting from
Altaf
Ali, director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, South
Florida
Office, Edwards said. For information, call 954-389-5003.
ALSO SEE:
WMNF 88.5FM ran a piece on CAIR-FL and ISTABA's Thanksgiving Community
dinner and Interfaith Service. To listen follow the below link:
http://www.cairfl.org/audio/cair-fl_thanksgiving_dinner_service.wma
-----
CAIR-DC: WHAT'S 'REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION' OF WORKERS' BELIEFS?
Manufacturer Celestica and its Muslim employees have been unable to
reach a
compromise.
H.J. Cummins, Star Tribune, 11/23/05
http://www.startribune.com/stories/168/5744860.html
It was a modern manipulation of time -- the end of daylight savings
this
fall -- that created a problem with ancient Muslim prayers at an Arden
Hills electronics manufacturer.
For Ibrahim Roble and his Muslim co-workers at Celestica, the clocks'
"falling back" Oct. 30 brought darkness an hour earlier and pulled
their
sunset prayer -- the fourth of five every day -- into their work hours.
Roble says the group came up with a suggestion to allow them to add
that
prayer at work without costing the company any time.
The company says it came up with a better plan that asked for a little
flexibility from both sides.
But the national Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in
Washington
said the company plan is not good enough, and it might be filing a
series
of religious discrimination complaints with the federal Equal
Employment
Opportunity Commission.
Welcome to the Melting Pot of the 21st Century.
The law on this -- both state and federal -- is pretty simple,
enforcers
say: Employers must accommodate employees' religious beliefs, as long
as
the requests are reasonable and do not create a hardship for the
company.
The questions, always, are what's reasonable and what's a hardship?
Roble, a native of Somalia and a 10-year employee, said the sunset
prayer
flap was just the culmination of four months' friction with the
company,
owned since 2004 by Toronto-based Celestica.
This is Roble's story: He worked 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays through
Sundays
building circuit boards.
Oct. 30 brought Roble two big problems. He was among the Muslim
employees
who saved their half-hour lunch break until 5 p.m., to break their
all-day
fast together the last day of the Muslim holiday Ramadan. The company
did
not approve that.
That was also the day that sunset dropped back from about 6 p.m. --
during
his personal time -- to about 5 p.m. -- company time.
The Muslims on Roble's shift told the company they want to split their
15-minute afternoon break into two pieces, using half for their
afternoon
prayers and the other half for their sunset prayers.
The company denied that request, he said.
He and six others were suspended indefinitely without pay the next
week.
Nine temporary employees also were fired for defying the company's
prayer
time rules, he said. CAIR said 26 temporary or permanent employees have
been fired or suspended so far.
There's a 10-minute window for the sunset prayer, Roble said, "and in
our
faith if you don't pray at the right time you are not complying with
the
faith."
They're not asking for any favors, or any extra time off, said Roble,
who
is married and has three children.
"We work in discreet stations, no assembly line. That would be zero
hardship to the company, I would say," Roble said. "The company was
forcing
us to choose either our financial stability or our faith."
Celestica spokesperson Lisa Muenkel described the plant's work
differently:
"The manufacturing operation is a progressive line, with workstations
or
steps or processes that need to be done to build a product.
"To be a highly efficient, manufacturing environment, when you have 500
employees, if everyone started taking 10 minutes off when they wanted,
the
process would definitely break down," said Muenkel, in Rochester, Minn.
In Arden Hills, Celestica added a second prayer area and extended break
times by 10 minutes a day to help their Muslim employees combine breaks
with prayers, she said. The company also made Friday lunch times more
flexible to meet particular prayer needs, she said.
"We have a lot of different employees from a lot of different
cultures,"
Muenkel said. Celestica employs 45,000 worldwide. "We felt like we had
done
everything we reasonably could without jeopardizing business and
customer
needs."
Celestica can and should do more, said Arsalan Iftikhar, national legal
director at CAIR.
"The problem is that Muslim prayer times come at certain times,"
Iftikhar
said. "If my prayer time is at 5 o'clock, and you extend my 3:30 break
by
10 minutes, that doesn't really do me any good."
CAIR recently negotiated prayer times for Muslim employees at a Dell
computer plant in Nashville, Tenn., he said.
"Dell will give them break times that coincide with their prayer times,
and
everyone is happy," he said. (MORE)
-----
PUTTING A FACE ON THE ARAB WORLD
Mitchell Maddux and Eman Varoqua, NorthJersey.com, 11/24/05
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2ODIxNTY4JnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mg==
Arab-Americans want Governor-elect Jon Corzine to create a special
commission that would have a greater say over what New Jersey
schoolchildren are taught about the Middle East.
The Arab Heritage Commission would advise the state Department of
Education
on how to ensure that public school courses accurately depict Arabs and
present a deeper, balanced picture of their predominately Islamic
societies.
"In today's world - where the Mideast is at the center of so many
foreign
policy and domestic issues - it is more important than ever for
American
students to have more in-depth knowledge about the [region] and the
people
who live there," said Maha Munayyer Kabbash, an attorney in Morris
County
who sits on the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee's board.
Kabbash said she wants New Jersey's students to learn more about the
"culture, ethnic diversity, music and family life that puts a face on
the
Arab world," at a time when popular misconceptions about the Middle
East
are dominated by "images of oil and terrorism."
Among those championing the idea are several prominent members of New
Jersey's Arab-American community. One is Randy George, the mayor of
North
Haledon.
Proponents include both Arab Christians and Muslims.
The push to create the advisory commission is the latest step by
Arab-Americans to secure a greater voice in New Jersey's public
discourse
and political life.
New Jersey has one of the nation's largest Arab-American communities.
The
Council on American-Islamic Relations estimates there are 250,000
Arab-Americans living in the state; the Census Bureau puts the number
at
80,000.
The proposal is not without precedent. New Jersey already has two
similar
educational commissions - one focusing on the Holocaust and another on
Italian-Americans. (MORE)
-----
MISSING DOCTOR STILL SOUGHT BY HER FAMILY
Linda Goldston and Mary Anne Ostrom, Mercury News, 11/24/05
http://news.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=us/0-0&fp=43856d20e8619491&ei=a_6FQ5rBOJXUFJaP9JEF&url=http%3A//www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/13240384.htm&cid=1102581191
Facing their first Thanksgiving without her, the family and friends of
a
missing San Jose pediatrician renewed their plea Tuesday for the
public's
help in finding Dr. Zehra Attari.
Attari, who lives in San Jose but had an office in West Oakland,
disappeared Nov. 7 after leaving her office to attend a medical
conference
in Alameda, about five miles away.
``No concrete leads have come in,'' said her daughter, Dr. Ruby Ali.
``I
feel frustrated that we don't have her back.''
The family said the ``America's Most Wanted'' television show has taped
a
segment on their mother's case but was unsure of its air date. And the
San
Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
joined the family Tuesday in asking law enforcement to ``escalate
attention
and effort'' in locating Attari.
``The more we can get the word out, somebody might hear about her story
and
we can find and bring her home,'' said Sameena Usman, outreach
coordinator
for the private non-profit civil rights group.
Oakland police said they remain hopeful the case can be resolved and
have
sought help from the U.S. Marshal's Office and the FBI, said Oakland
Deputy
Police Chief Howard Jordan.
``We are pursuing every possible avenue to ensure we find this
doctor,''
Jordan said Tuesday. ``Three of my investigators are in San Jose right
now
meeting with San Jose police to coordinate our efforts.''
At the family's request, Jordan said Oakland investigators met with
Attari's husband, Tasadduq, in San Jose on Monday night. Previous
interviews had been held at Attari's office on International Boulevard
in
Oakland.
It was just after 5 p.m. and raining hard when Attari walked out of her
office at 2700 International Boulevard on Nov. 7 to drive to Alameda
Alliance for Health at 1240 S. Loop Road in Alameda.
She was last seen wearing blue pants, a blue sweater and black shoes.
She
has black hair and brown eyes, is 5 feet 4 and weighs about 135 pounds.
The
license plate number of her 2001 gray Honda Accord is 4MUH810.
Jordan said police are still waiting to hear if Attari's cell phone and
credit cards have been used since she disappeared. Subpoenas have been
issued for the information, he said.
-----
BAD TIMING FOR ISLAM ASSEMBLY? - TOP
John Thompson, The Citizen, 11/22/05
http://www.thecitizen.com/?q=node/1383
An assembly at Whitewater Middle School that featured facts about the
Islam
religion has raised some eyebrows of parents at the school.
Shortly before Veterans Day, the school staged an assembly for seventh
graders at the school that featured a speaker providing facts and
figures
about the world’s second-largest religion.
School spokesperson Melinda Berry-Dreisbach said she had heard some
complaints about the assembly and said a letter had been sent home to
parents the day before the talk telling what the discussion involved.
She added that discussion of the world religions is part of the Quality
Core Curriculum and that Whitewater also plans to have speakers on
Judaism
and Christianity.
“We’re talking about sending a letter out sooner, so if parents don’t
want
their children to participate, they’ll have more time to decide,” she
said.
Social Studies Coordinator Cathy Geis said students study the Middle
East
in seventh grade and discussion of the region’s religions have taken
place
over a number of years.
A Free Speech writer in this issue objected to the school assembly
being
presented so close to an American holiday for veterans, some of whom
have
fought Islamic extremists in the Middle East.
-----
FRUIT OF FAITH: MANY RELIGIONS SEE SIGNS IN POMEGRANATES
Nancy Haught, The Oregonian, 11/24/05
http://www.oregonlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/living/1132100719242521.xml?oregonian?lvls&coll=7
Next time you're wandering the produce aisle, pick up a pomegranate and
treat yourself to a lesson on world religions. Beneath that smooth, red
and
bitter skin lie hundreds of tiny scarlet seeds and almost as many
religious
associations.
"People use whatever is at hand to express their religious beliefs,"
says
Frank A. Salamone, an authority on religious symbols and a professor at
Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y. Centuries ago, in the Fertile
Crescent,
where so many religions arose, the pomegranate was at hand. By its very
nature, it lent itself to religious symbolism.
"The pomegranate is red, and so is blood," Salamone says. "It has a lot
of
seeds and is an obvious symbol of fertility." It's beautiful, strong
and
delicate, and its juice has healing properties, he says. "It says a lot
of
different things all at once. People bring meaning to it."
Ancient Persians painted pomegranates on their shields for protection
in
battle. In Greek and Roman myths, it was the pomegranate that seduced
Persephone, the goddess of fertility, into marrying her kidnapper,
Hades,
god of the underworld.
Here in the midst of November National Pomegranate Month is a look at
what
this well-rounded fruit portends in Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism,
Christianity and Islam. . .
JUDAISM
In Genesis, the first book of the Torah, the fruit that prompted Adam
and
Eve's expulsion from Eden may have been the pomegranate, some scholars
say.
It's not likely, they argue, that apples flourished in that first
garden.
Later, the Hebrews searched for the Promised Land, looking for a list
of
clues to prove they had arrived. The list? Wheat and barley, vines and
figs, olives and honey and pomegranates. The round red fruit with its
own
crown, or calyx, decorated the robes of Jewish priests and some of the
pillars in the temple in Jerusalem. Tradition says that each
pomegranate
holds 613 seeds, or arils, one for each commandment in the Torah.
Today,
pomegranates are often part of Rosh Hashana celebrations, their seeds
embodying the hope that the new year will be fruitful.
CHRISTIANITY
Pomegranates figure in many religious paintings by the likes of Sandro
Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci, often in the hands of Mary or the
infant
Jesus. The fruit, broken or bursting open, is a symbol of the fullness
of
his suffering and resurrection. In the famous "Unicorn Tapestries,"
which
date from about 1500 and reside now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's
Cloisters, pomegranates may represent Christ and the need to look
inside
for the blood that redeems believers. What seems to be the blood of the
unicorn is red pomegranate seeds, perhaps an illustration of the belief
that from the blood of martyrs flow the seeds of faith. In
Christianity,
pomegranate seeds were often compared to individual believers, gathered
into one community of faith.
ISLAM
According to the Quran, the gardens of paradise include pomegranates.
It is
important, tradition says, to eat every seed of a pomegranate because
one
can't be sure which aril came from paradise. The prophet Mohammed is
said
to have encouraged his followers to eat pomegranates to ward off envy
and
hatred.
-----
AMERICA'S BRAND IN THE GLOBAL MARKET
Burton Bollag, Chronicle of Higher Education, 11/25/05
http://chronicle.com/
BEST CASE: The 2015 "Open Doors" report, the Institute of International
Education's annual survey of student exchange, registers a milestone
that
many doubted they would ever see again: five straight years of strong
growth in foreign-student enrollment.
After all, the 6-percent drop in international enrollments in the
2003-4
academic year — the first decline since 1971-72 — came as a jolt to
many
educators. It was, however, not completely unexpected. The drastic
tightening of America's visa policy after September 11, 2001, caused
long
and humiliating delays and uncertainty for foreign students and
scholars
already accepted by American institutions. Though the welcome was
withdrawn
only temporarily, the effects of doing so lingered long after.
Compete America, a coalition of more than 200 corporations,
universities,
research institutions, and trade associations, warned in a press
release in
2004 that, upon finding a "You're not welcome" sign at U.S. consulates,
many foreign students "are choosing to go elsewhere, be it Vancouver,
or
Oxford, or Sydney."
The U.S. government listened and moved quickly to fix the visa
problems.
Then, in 2009, a new administration established a national program to
attract foreign students. Under the plan, a partnership of federal and
state governments, as well as higher education and business, helped
shape a
unified national and state policy toward foreign students and scholars
—
including an easing of the off-campus-work ban for foreign students.
The group also devised overseas recruiting strategies, including the
establishment of a national merit-scholarship program for overseas
graduate
students in technical and strategic fields, such as engineering and
chemistry, where foreign students were lacking. (Such a national policy
had
long been advocated by Nafsa: Association of International Educators
and
other groups to counter well-established national recruitment efforts
by
Australia, Britain, Germany, and other leading higher-education
venues.)
A reduction of tensions in the Middle East following the establishment
of a
Palestinian state and the gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq
also
led to a significant falloff in anti-American rhetoric in the Muslim
world.
Enrollment of students from the Middle East and Africa increased in the
United States, following special incentives and the growth in the pools
of
collegegoers in those countries, which have traditionally sent few
students
here.
Reduced international tensions also led to strong growth in the
overseas
activities of American institutions, which established more
partnerships
and even some overseas campuses to win even more foreign students.
Over the last decade, China, India, South Korea, and other countries
made
great strides in developing their own graduate schools. But by
maintaining
its investments in research and higher education, the United States
continues to attract some of the best students from those countries.
"Education and research will become more dispersed and networked,"
Debra W.
Stewart, president of the Council of Graduate Schools, predicted 10
years
ago. But she correctly observed that if American higher education
remained
open to the world and adequately backed financially, "the United States
would continue to be a central node." (MORE)
-----
SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
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To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
.
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS -
11/25/05
*
DC/VA/MD:
Register Online for CAIR's Annual
Banquet
*
CAIR-Philly:
Islamic Center Helps Foster
Understanding
-
CAIR-NJ/NY:
Place of Prayer at Stadium
Welcomed
*
CAIR-DC:
French Ambassador
Says Islam Played No Role in Riots
-
MN:
U.S. Outdoes Europe at Helping
Muslims Into Mainstream
*
CA:
After Two Weeks, Bay Area
Pediatrician Remains Missing (AP)
*
CA:
Religious
Community Rallies for Pakistan Quake Relief
*
Incitement Watch:
'Butchery of Islam
has Resurfaced'
*
Mir Amir Ali:
Educating Others about
Islam was His Mission
*
Thanksgiving in the CIA's
Secret Prisons (ABC)
-----
REGISTER ONLINE FOR CAIR'S ANNUAL BANQUET -
TOP
Registration is now available online for CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet,
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice." To learn
more about the dinner, or to register, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
-----
CAIR-PHILLY: ISLAMIC CENTER OF THE LEHIGH
VALLEY TAKES THE LEAD IN FOSTERING UNDERSTANDING -
TOP
The Morning Call, 11/25/05
http://www.mcall.com/news/opinion/all-editorial2nov25,0,5360361.story
A number of people with misconceptions about the Islamic Center of the
Lehigh Valley complained about voting on Nov. 8 at a Whitehall Township
mosque. The Muslim Association of the Lehigh Valley, which runs the
center, is to be commended for reaching out to the community on a timely
basis for a better understanding about Islam and its members' stance
against terrorism.
Prior to the general election, there already were about 40 churches and
synagogues used by the Lehigh County Election Board as polling places. So
it made sense to turn to the mosque for its consent to be used as a
polling place when the number of voters in the 7th District grew too
large to be accommodated at Whitehall High School.
A portion of the voting precinct became the new 12th District, voting at
the mosque on Schadt Avenue. Fortunately, Betty Hillwig, chief clerk of
the county election board, remains determined to keep the polling place
at the mosque despite complaints that poll workers and she received on
election day.
On Monday, the Muslim Association of the Lehigh Valley and the Islamic
advocacy group Council on American Islamic Relations in Washington, D.C.,
held a news conference at the Whitehall facility to dispel
misconceptions. The center has no involvement in Iraq, said Mohamed
Bugaighis, a trustee for the Muslim Association. Added association
President Mohammad Bajwa, "We have stood strongly against
terrorism."
Representatives of some community organizations also attended the
gathering Monday, to speak on behalf of the Muslim Association's role as
a good neighbor in the community, including the Rev. Christine Nelson,
executive director of the Lehigh County Conference of Churches.
Representatives from the Sixth Street Shelter in Allentown and KidsPeace
spoke of the Islamic center's unsolicited contributions. (MORE)
FOR BACKGROUND, SEE:
MUSLIM LEADERS REACH OUT TO VOTERS CRITICAL OF STATION
http://www.mcall.com/all-b4_5muslims-4rnov22,0,7904397.story
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-NJ/NY: PLACE OF PRAYER AT STADIUM WELCOMED
-
TOP
RICK MALWITZ, News Tribune, 11/24/05
http://www.thnt.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051124/NEWS01/511240433/1005
When two of the losingest teams in the National Football League meet
Sunday at Giants Stadium, an area will be set aside for something both
teams would likely welcome. Prayer.
Beginning with the game between the Jets and New Orleans Saints - which
have each lost eight of 10 games this season - an area will be set aside
for people of all faiths "for personal relection," according to
the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority.
Setting aside space at Giants Stadium and the Continental Airlines Arena
follows an incident Sept. 19 when five Muslims were questioned by the FBI
after their prayer near an air duct at the stadium raised
suspicion.
"This is a good gesture on their part. I hope it will be an example
to all sports teams," said Mostafa Khalifa of Howell, one of the
five men who missed much of the Sept. 19 game while they were questioned
by authorities.
"This is a great step for all religions," said Sami Shaban of
Piscataway, who organized the trip to the game when scarce tickets to a
Giants home game were made available after the game was moved from New
Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
"We live in a changing society, we are trying to be as respectful as
possible to all of our patrons," said George R. Zoffinger, president
and CEO of the authority.
"We reached out to the community that felt offended, and we
consulted with other religious people as well. This will be a space
available for everyone to come and reflect in their own personal manner.
It is not specific to any one religion or denomination," Zoffinger
said.
A press release by the Sports and Exposition Authority did not use the
word "prayer," using "reflection" instead.
The space will be called the "Quiet Space." It will resemble
places available at hospitals and airports, although the exact location
has not yet been identified. Fans wanting to know its location will be
instructed to ask personnel with Event Staff uniforms.
Shaban and Khalifa, whose friendship began when the two attended Rutgers
University, adhere to the beliefs of the Muslim faith, which calls on
believers to pray five times a day, during specific windows of
time.
They are not subtle prayers: During the prayer, they go to their knees,
press their foreheads to the ground and pray in the direction of
Mecca.
On their way to their seats at the Sept. 19 game, the five Muslims went
to an isolated area of the stadium, not knowing it was near an air duct
which draws fresh air into indoor spaces in the stadium. The game was
played during a period of heightened alert, eight days after the
anniversary of 9/11, with former President Bush in attendance to
publicize a Katrina relief fund.
"We responded to a suspicious activity," said FBI
spokesman.
The five Muslims were ushered from their seats by uniformed personnel.
"Clearly, we looked like criminals, said Shaban, who, like Khalifa,
wears his beard long.
Shaban and Khalifa said an issue that lingers is the one of
"profiling." They suggested that five Christians praying in an
isolated area of the stadium would not have raised the same
suspicions.
The two participated in a Nov. 2 news conference in New York, hosted by
the Council on American-Islamic Relations, whose executive director,
Wissam Nasr, said, "This is a teachable moment. When you see Muslims
praying, it's not a terrorist act." (MORE)
-----
CAIR-DC: FRANCE 'NORMAL' -
TOP
Washington Times, 11/24/05
http://washingtontimes.com/world/20051123-101618-4156r.htm
French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte insisted this week that the rioting
that racked Paris and other towns for three weeks had nothing to do with
Islam, even though the violent protests broke out in predominately Muslim
neighborhoods.
"We are back to normal," he told a Washington forum organized
by the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Public
Affairs Council.
Mr. Levitte said the teenagers responsible for torching thousands of
vehicles and injuring dozens of police officers were angered by a lack of
economic opportunities, the Associated Press reported.
"It was not about the role of Islam in France," he said.
"We never saw any link, direct or indirect. Religion played no
role." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
U.S. OUTDOES EUROPE AT HELPING MUSLIMS
INTO THE MAINSTREAM -
TOP
Omar Jamal, Star Tribune, 11/23/05
http://www.startribune.com/stories/562/5744703.html
The recent deaths of two teenagers in a Paris suburb, and the subsequent
string of riots and carnage, sparked debates about whether similar riots
could happen in the United States.
Most of the people involved in the riots were of Muslim background, and
therefore everyone had doubts about the real cause of the unrest. Almost
6 million French Muslims and Arabs are concentrated in the Paris
suburbs.
I am afraid that, considering the current political climate and lack of
international political astuteness, it is possible that people with the
same ethnicity and religious background would take to the streets in the
major cities of both Europe and the United States.
But there is a difference between immigrants in the United States and
those in Europe. Past riots in the United States and the more recent ones
in Europe have virtually the same cause: years of resentment and
discrimination. But in the United States, immigrants in general, and
Muslim immigrants particularly, are far more integrated than any
immigrants in Europe, not to mention France. This crucial difference is
deeply rooted in the history and psychologies of the communities on both
sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
Some people have called the French riots a European intefadeh, and also
allege some element of terrorism, although there has not been any shred
of evidence for that. (MORE)
-----
CA: AFTER TWO WEEKS, BAY AREA
PEDIATRICIAN REMAINS MISSING -
TOP
JUSTIN M. NORTON, Associated Press, 11/25/05
http://
www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/13251197.htm
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dr. Zehra Attari's husband asked her many times to
give up her pediatric medicine practice in a tough section of Oakland,
but she always refused. She said her work was too important.
Now, Tasadduq Attari wonders if his wife's decision to stay has something
to do with her disappearance. Attari was reported missing on Nov 7.
Thought to have been carrying only petty cash and a cell phone, she has
been gone for more than two weeks.
"I want her to come home right away," said a worried Tasadduq
Attari, sitting in the living room of the couple's simply decorated
Silicon Valley home. "People keep on calling, people keep on looking
and people keep on praying for her."
Zehra Attari, 55, left her Oakland medical office at 5 p.m. on a Monday.
Office workers watched as she got into a gray 2001 Honda Accord and drove
off, presumably to a medical conference in Alameda. The diminutive doctor
- who stood just 5'1 - was wearing a blue turtle neck sweater, navy blue
pants and black glasses.
Attari never made it to the conference, where she was scheduled to
discuss possible changes in health insurance plans. Her badge was left
untouched at the meeting, and she was reported missing by her husband
that night.
Tasadduq Attari said he immediately knew something was wrong because his
wife kept a routine schedule. She woke at the same time every day to make
the hour-plus commute to Oakland and came home in the early evening.
Every 10 days, she went to the hospital to check on patients. Her family
and co-workers knew in advance about the afternoon conference she was
scheduled to attend. (MORE)
* Zehra Attari Hotline: The family has asked anyone with information
about Attari's disappearance to call 1-877-4-ATTARI.
* On the Net: Oakland Police:
www.oaklandpolice.com
* South Bay Islamic Association:
http://www.sbia.info/
-----
CA: RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY
RALLIES FOR PAKISTAN QUAKE RELIEF -
TOP
Joyce Tsai, CONTRA COSTA TIMES, 11/24/05
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/13252239.htm
The Oct. 8 earthquake in Pakistan dealt a heavy blow to that country --
killing tens of thousands and destroying the homes of millions, leaving
them homeless.
But that wasn't the end of the suffering. The first cold snap of winter
ushered in a more gradual but still fatal threat. It could deliver a slow
death for hundreds of thousands trapped in the mountains with few
supplies needed to survive the brutal cold, say relief
organizers.
"It's two or three weeks now that the winter has set in, and it's
getting colder and colder. ... It's starting to snow," said Dr.
Mubasher Rana a Pakistani-American doctor from Walnut Creek. "A lot
of places are below freezing, especially at night."
Snow will soon blanket the Himalayas, which are dotted with remote
villages devastated by the quake. Villagers cut off from aid cannot be
easily reached due to inaccessible roads and fractured infrastructure.
Nature's forces might show no mercy once again.
"We may see another 100,000 or more dead by the time the winter is
over," Rana said.
Rana is one of many individuals working with an alliance of Tri-Valley
religious congregations to deliver aid during the harsh winter. The
Interfaith of San Ramon Valley group consists of 15 Tri-Valley religious
communities, including the Islamic Center of the San Ramon Valley. The
group is working with the Milpitas-based Muslim relief organization
Hidaya Foundation to send a 40-foot container of winter clothing and
supplies to Pakistan by Tuesday. (MORE)
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: 'BUTCHERY OF ISLAM HAS
RESURFACED' -
TOP
WESTERN APPEASEMENT WILL ONLY EMBOLDEN ISLAMIC TERRORISTS
Tribune-Georgian, 11/25/05
http://www.tribune-georgian.com/articles/2005/11/25/news/opinion/letters/1letter11.25.txt
The violence and butchery of Islam has resurfaced. After six centuries of
lying dormant like smoldering algae in the cesspools of the world, these
creatures from the black lagoon of history have returned, and they are
using the same weapon that they used in the dark ages: terrorism. It's
the only weapon they have because they have been busy spending the last
six centuries mutilating their own kind, killing members of their own
families and strapping bombs to fools to be able to take a long hard look
at themselves and wonder why it is that they can't even make an
automobile or build a building that won't fall down during an
earthquake.
SEND POLITE COMMENTS TO:
rachelh@tds.net,
editor1@tds.net
COPY TO:
cair@cair-net.org
-----
MIR AMIR ALI: EDUCATING OTHERS ABOUT ISLAM WAS
HIS MISSION -
TOP
LISA DONOVAN, Sun-Times, 11/23/05
http://www.suntimes.com/output/obituaries/cst-nws-xali23.html
It was 1979, and world attention was on the Islamic revolutionaries who
had stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and taken 63 Americans hostage.
Mir Amir Ali pored over newspaper reports and instantly found his life's
mission: To educate people about Islam.
"He was in Saudi Arabia working at the time, and while he was there,
he was thinking more and more about this, how people are misinformed
about Islam and what people read in the newspapers [is] not correct about
Islam. He wanted to establish an organization to tell people about
it," said his wife, Mary Ali, who with her husband raised four
children in the Chicago area.
Indeed, Mr. Ali already had followed the teachings of Islam, which
includes educating -- not necessarily converting -- non-Muslims about his
faith. (MORE)
-----
THANKSGIVING IN THE CIA'S SECRET
PRISONS -
TOP
Detainees Responsible for Terror Attacks Get Bare Minimum to Ensure They
Stay Alive
BRIAN ROSS, ABC News, 11/24/05
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Thanksgiving/story?id=1342154
Nov. 24, 2005 - A can of Ensure is the highlight of Thanksgiving for the
dozen or so top al Qaeda terrorists in the CIA's secret overseas
prisons.
Besides the repetitive playing of rap music, they have been made to talk
by harsh treatment that includes water boarding, in which water is poured
over the face to make them think they are drowning.
"The person believes they are being killed, and as such it really
amounts to a mock execution," said John Sifton, the Afghanistan
researcher at Human Rights Watch.
The inmates rarely see daylight, and the CIA gives them the bare minimum
to make sure they do not die in U.S. custody. That includes the cans of
Ensure and shots of vitamin B12. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/27/05
*
Verse:
Feed the Needy
-
Hadith:
God Rewards Feeding the Hungry
*
DC/VA/MD: Register Online for CAIR's Annual
Banquet
*
CAIR
Calls for Release of UK 'Bomb Al-Jazeera' Memo
-
Al-Jazeera Staffers Start 'Don't
Bomb Us' Blog
*
CAIR-FL:
Islamic Credo Helps Ease Holiday
Hunger (SP Times)
-
CAIR-Chicago:
Sikhs Facing Bias Need
Support (Religion News)
*
Supreme Court Nominee Shows Strong Support for
Faith Claims
*
KY:
Muslim Sorority Plans Kentucky Chapter
(Herald-Leader)
-
NJ:
Princeton's Rare Islamic
Texts to Go Online (AP)
-
Commission
Rejects Monitoring of 'Pro-Arab Bias' on Campuses
*
Pentagon Expanding Domestic Surveillance Activity (Wash Post)
*
Iraq Abuse as Bad Now as Under Saddam - Former PM (Reuters)
-
Burning of Taliban Bodies 'Not a Crime' (Independent)
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: FEED THE NEEDY -
TOP
"Have you seen the one who denies the Judgment (to come)? It is he who
drives away the orphan with harshness and does not encourage feeding
the needy."
The Holy Quran, 107: 1-3
HADITH OF THE DAY: GOD REWARDS FEEDING THE HUNGRY -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) quoted God as saying: "O son
of Adam, I asked you for food and you fed Me not." (The person) will
respond: "O Lord, how could I feed You when You are the Lord of the
worlds?" (God) will then say: "Did you not know that My (hungry
servant) asked you for food and you fed him not? Did you not know that
had you fed him you would surely have found (the reward for doing so)
with Me?"
Hadith Qudsi 18
The Prophet also said: "Feed the hungry, visit the sick and set free the captives."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Hadith 552
-----
REGISTER ONLINE FOR CAIR'S ANNUAL BANQUET -
TOP
Registration is now available online for CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet,
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice." To learn more about
the dinner, or to register, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
-----
CAIR CALLS FOR RELEASE OF UK 'BOMB AL-JAZEERA' MEMO -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/27/2005) - The Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) today called on British authorities to release the
full contents of a memo that allegedly revealed plans last year by
President Bush to bomb the Arabic television station al-Jazeera in
Qatar.
According to media reports, the memo contains detailed information
about an April 2004 White House meeting during which British Prime
Minister Tony Blair attempted to persuade President Bush not to bomb
al-Jazeera.
SEE: "The Leak that Revealed Bush's Deep Obsession with al-Jazeera"
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/iraq/story/0,12956,1651882,00.html
"Bush Plot to Bomb al-Jazeera is a Conspiracy Theory, Says Blair"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/11/27/njaz27.xml
"This disturbing allegation damages our nation's image and undermines
America's promotion of democracy and press freedom in the Middle East,"
said CAIR Board Chairman Parvez Ahmed. "One of the best ways to put
this issue to rest is to release the memo so that everyone can decide
for themselves whether the allegation is credible or part of a
conspiracy theory."
Ahmed added that information relating to national security could be removed from the memo prior to publication.
Earlier this year, CAIR hosted a conference in Washington, D.C., called "
Islamophobia and Anti-Americanism: Causes and Remedies,"
that brought together scholars, researchers, religious leaders, and
community activists to discuss issues related to the twin phenomena of
growing anti-Muslim bigotry in the West and increasing anti-American
sentiments in the Islamic world.
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices
and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org
SEE ALSO:
AL-JAZEERA STAFFERS START 'DON'T BOMB US' BLOG -
TOP
http://dontbomb.blogspot.com/
-----
CAIR-FL: ISLAMIC CREDO HELPS EASE HOLIDAY HUNGER -
TOP
In a growing effort, local Muslims honor the call for charity by helping to feed the area's needy during Thanksgiving.
JEAN JOHNSON, St. Petersburg Times, 11/25/05
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/11/25/Hernando/Islamic_credo_helps_e.shtml
For the fifth consecutive year, the Muslim community of Hernando County
has used the Thanksgiving holiday to do its part to combat hunger.
It's a tradition that now has traveled well beyond the borders of Hernando.
It all started in 2001 when Thanksgiving and Ramadan, the Muslim holy
season, fell about the same time for the first time in years. Dr. Adel
Eldin, a local cardiologist, was looking for a way to make the American
holiday extra special that year, coming on the heels of the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks.
"A lot of charity goes on during Ramadan," Eldin said. "You must share with others; it is a duty."
In his ongoing relationship with the United Way of Hernando County,
Eldin had come across many people in need, and he began building what
has become a team of people who want to help bring food to the needy.
That first year, the team consisted mainly of Eldin and his wife,
Ghada, and family, who gave the United Way $3,000 to create
Ramadan-Thanksgiving food baskets using Publix groceries. The donation
enabled them to offer 100 food baskets.
By the second year, the team included community leaders and fellow
American Muslims who helped gather data, each bringing a list of needy
Hernando residents. Eldin's office staff and patients also pitched in.
"It was so wonderful to see people pitching in with $10 in the very beginning," said the 43-year-old father of three daughters.
After the second successful year, the Council on American-Islamic
Relations in Florida liked the idea and got involved, inviting
participation by all of its chapters.
"Giving is very much a part of our faith, and Islam teaches us that in
order to serve God you have to serve humanity," said Ahmed Bedier,
CAIR's director in Central Florida. "This is a part of Islamic
tradition, and regardless of (one's) faith we recognize them as
brothers and sisters in humanity and we have to do our part in serving
them."
Muslims in other parts of the country, following Eldin's lead, are
doing different things: food baskets, dinners, vouchers. This year,
CAIR launched a campaign encouraging Muslim communities to do whatever
they can during the Thanksgiving period, including donating money or
volunteering to help those in need.
Last year, when other parts of the country began joining in, "we hoped it would be contagious," said Eldin, "and it was."
This year, four or five counties in Florida are participating. Muslims
in Hillsborough County, for example, sponsored a community Thanksgiving
dinner this week. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-CHICAGO: GROUP IS SEEKING UNDERSTANDING -
TOP
KABUIKA KAMUNGA, Religion News Service, 11/26/05
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/living/religion/13255093.htm
WASHINGTON -- Facing mounting discrimination since the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks, a number of Sikh-American groups have begun a
campaign to explain their religion to the American public and to
differentiate their beliefs from those of Muslims.
There have been more than 600 reported instances of discrimination and
violence against Sikhs since Sept. 11, 2001, according to the Sikh
American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Because Sikh men wear
turbans in accordance with their religious tradition, they often have
been misidentified as Muslims and Arabs, leading some people to believe
they are allied with the al Qaeda terrorist network.
"My son and his friends were so badly harassed just because they [wear]
the turban," said Ladi Kaur, a Rockville, Md., woman who owns an
auto-parts wholesale firm and is a member of the Sikh community. "They
are American children with . . . a different faith. . ."
"Discrimination hasn't really decreased at all; it has just changed,"
said Rajbir Datta, associate director of Sikh American Legal Defense
and Education Fund, an organization that provides pro-bono attorneys to
Sikhs. "[Immediately after 9-11] it was violence, murder, aggravated
assaults; now [it is being] kicked out of airplanes, out of security
points in buildings."
Datta said only a fraction of discrimination incidents are reported.
Besides being profiled at security checkpoints, Sikhs also face
discrimination at work, at motor-vehicle departments that don't allow
turbans to be worn in drivers'-license pictures and in courtrooms that
do not allow hats, including turbans. . .
Sarkar said Sikh children are cutting off their hair to try to avoid
discrimination, even though cutting hair is prohibited in Sikhism. They
are scared, she said, and want to be like everybody else. Ahmed Rehab,
communication director for the Chicago chapter of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group,
said many non-Muslim Arabs suffer the same stereotyping as the Sikhs.
"We have changed our mission statement from defining our constituency
as Muslims to those who have Islam imputed upon them," Rehab said. "So
if a Sikh comes to me, he's been discriminated as Muslim, therefore I
will help him." (MORE)
-----
ALITO HAS PROVED A FRIEND TO RELIGION -
TOP
Supreme Court nominee's rulings show strong support for faith claims
David G. Savage, Orlando Sentinel, 11/27/05
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.alito27nov27,0,6734381.story
WASHINGTON // If there is a sure winner in the cases decided by Judge
Samuel A. Alito Jr., it is freedom of religion - any religion.
During his 15 years as an appellate judge, President Bush's Supreme
Court nominee has written decisions in favor of Muslim police officers
in Newark, N.J., who wore beards, an American Indian from Pennsylvania
who raised sacred black bears, and a Jewish professor who said she was
pushed out of her job for refusing to attend faculty events on Friday
evenings and Saturdays, her Sabbath.
"Intentionally pressuring a person to choose between faith and a career
... by manipulating the job requirements" is a form of illegal
discrimination based on religion, Alito wrote in ruling for Gertrude W.
Abramson, the professor. (MORE)
-----
KY: MUSLIM SORORITY PLANS UK CHAPTER -
TOP
Raviya H. Ismail, HERALD-LEADER, 11/27/05
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/local/13266185.htm
Take away the sorority house and alcohol-drenched co-ed parties. Keep
elements of sisterhood and community service. Now add the tenets of
Islam.
The University of Kentucky is slated to become the site of the first
campus chapter of Gamma Gamma Chi -- the only Muslim sorority in
America.
"We were thinking about what we could do for girls because we knew our
parents wouldn't let us join a sorority," said Boushra Aghil, 20, a
junior majoring in secondary education.
"We always had an idea to do something like that but we needed
something established already to get our foot in the door," added Amira
Shalash, 18, a freshman majoring in communications. "I don't think we
could do it ourselves."
Both women became interested in the idea of a Muslim sorority on UK's
campus after a friend told them of Gamma Gamma Chi, which was
established last April by Althia Collins and Imani Abdul-Haqq, a
mother-daughter team from Virginia and North Carolina. On Nov. 6,
Collins was on campus for a "Gold Presentation" which is the equivalent
of Rush week at traditional sororities.
SEE ALSO:
NJ: PART OF PRINCETON'S RARE ISLAMIC TEXTS COLLECTION TO GO ONLINE -
TOP
WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press Writer
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--islamicmanuscript1125nov25,0,2027221.story
PRINCETON, N.J. -- When a Muslim cleric or scholar painstakingly wrote
down a copy of the holy Quran in the 9th century, he couldn't possibly
have imagined how long his work would survive _ or what is about to
happen to it.
The ornate Quran, written in lavish ornamental Kufic script on delicate
paper, is part of the largest collection of Islamic manuscripts in
North America, amassed mostly by a Princeton University alumnus in the
late 1800s and given to the university in 1942.
Numbering more than 10,000 texts, the collection is an invaluable
source of insight into Islamic life through the centuries, including
handwritten interpretations of the Quran and Islamic law, treatises on
philosophy, science, art and medicine, as well as literature including
poetry and history.
Now the university is starting a four-year project to categorize the
entire collection, and digitize and post online about 200 of the most
important works so that scholars around the world can study them. (MORE)
---
CALLS TO MONITOR PRO-ARAB BIAS REJECTED -
TOP
Ori Nir, Forward, 11/25/05
http://forward.com/articles/6934
WASHINGTON - Members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights rejected
calls from Jewish organizations last week for federal oversight of
government-funded Middle Eastern studies programs at American
universities.
At a November 18 hearing devoted to the issue of antisemitism on
college campuses, the commission heard from three representatives of
the Jewish community who argued that many Middle Eastern programs are
biased against Israel. They sought the commission's support for
legislation that would restrict Middle Eastern studies programs
receiving federal funding.
The main proposal, which Jewish groups have been lobbying Congress to
write into law, would be the establishment of an "advisory board" to
monitor Middle Eastern studies departments and report to the Department
of Education on whether these departments are balanced in their
teaching of regional affairs. The advisory board would include
political appointees.
Citing academic freedom, universities strongly oppose the proposal.
At last week's hearing, members of the civil rights commission made it
clear that they do not see any role for government in the classroom.
Commission members were not even willing to endorse the position that a
university ought to have a "balanced" curriculum in such departments.
"I am extremely nervous about the idea of administrative oversight on
university campuses," said Abigail Thernstrom, the commission's vice
chair, who moderated the hearing.
"You really don't want university administrators walking into
classrooms and deciding whether what the professors are teaching is
acceptable or unacceptable," she said. Her comments were echoed by
other members of the commission. (MORE)
-----
PENTAGON EXPANDING ITS DOMESTIC SURVEILLANCE ACTIVITY -
TOP
Fears of Post-9/11 Terrorism Spur Proposals for New Powers
Walter Pincus, Washington Post, 11/27/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/26/AR2005112600857_pf.html
The Defense Department has expanded its programs aimed at gathering and
analyzing intelligence within the United States, creating new agencies,
adding personnel and seeking additional legal authority for domestic
security activities in the post-9/11 world.
The moves have taken place on several fronts. The White House is
considering expanding the power of a little-known Pentagon agency
called the Counterintelligence Field Activity, or CIFA, which was
created three years ago. The proposal, made by a presidential
commission, would transform CIFA from an office that coordinates
Pentagon security efforts -- including protecting military facilities
from attack -- to one that also has authority to investigate crimes
within the United States such as treason, foreign or terrorist sabotage
or even economic espionage.
The Pentagon has pushed legislation on Capitol Hill that would create
an intelligence exception to the Privacy Act, allowing the FBI and
others to share information gathered about U.S. citizens with the
Pentagon, CIA and other intelligence agencies, as long as the data is
deemed to be related to foreign intelligence. Backers say the measure
is needed to strengthen investigations into terrorism or weapons of
mass destruction.
The proposals, and other Pentagon steps aimed at improving its ability
to analyze counterterrorism intelligence collected inside the United
States, have drawn complaints from civil liberties advocates and a few
members of Congress, who say the Defense Department's push into
domestic collection is proceeding with little scrutiny by the Congress
or the public.
"We are deputizing the military to spy on law-abiding Americans in
America. This is a huge leap without even a [congressional] hearing,"
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a member of the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence, said in a recent interview. (MORE)
-----
IRAQ ABUSE AS BAD NOW AS UNDER SADDAM -FORMER PM -
TOP
Reuters, 11/26/05
LONDON, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Abuse of human rights in Iraq is as bad now
as it was under Saddam Hussein, if not worse, former prime minister
Iyad Allawi said in an interview published on Sunday.
"People are doing the same as (in) Saddam Hussein's time and worse. It
is an appropriate comparison," Allawi told British newspaper The
Observer.
"People are remembering the days of Saddam," said Allawi, a secular
Shi'ite and former Baathist who is standing in elections scheduled for
Dec. 15. "These are the precise reasons why we fought Saddam Hussein
and now we are seeing the same things.
"We are hearing about secret police, secret bunkers where people are
being interrogated," said Allawi in an apparent reference to the
discovery of a bunker at the Shi'ite-run Interior Ministry where 170
men were held prisoner, beaten, half-starved and in some cases tortured.
"A lot of Iraqis are being tortured or killed in the course of interrogations." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
BURNING OF TALIBAN BODIES 'NOT A CRIME' -
TOP
By Daniel Cooney, Independent, 11/27/05
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article329586.ece
The US military yesterday said four soldiers would face disciplinary
action over the burning of the bodies of two Taliban rebels in
Afghanistan, though it denied they had committed a criminal act and
said their main motive was hygiene.
Television footage, shown first in Australia of American soldiers using
the cremation to taunt other Islamic militants caused Muslim outrage
across Afghanistan. Islam bans cremation and the footage of about five
soldiers in military fatigues standing near the bonfire in which the
bodies were burning drew comparisons in Afghanistan with the
photographs of US troops abusing Iraqi prisoners at Baghdad's Abu
Ghraib jail.
Major-General Jason Kamiya, commander of the US-led coalition, said the
two officers who ordered the burning would be officially reprimanded
but he insisted they were unaware of doing wrong. He also said they
would be reprimanded for using loudspeakers to taunt Taliban rebels
whom they believed were lingering in a nearby village.
"Our investigation found there was no intent to desecrate the remains,
but only to dispose of them for hygienic reasons," General Kamiya said.
The footage, filmed by a cameraman-reporter embedded with the unit,
threatens to undermine public support for the war against insurgents,
four years after US-led forces toppled the repressive Taliban regime.
(MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
CAIR ACTION ALERT #479
REGISTRATION DEADLINE APPROACHING FOR CAIR'S ANNUAL BANQUET
UPDATE: "Native Deen" to perform at Dec. 3 dinner.
See:
http://nativedeen.com/
The
registration deadline for CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet,
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice," has been
extended to
Wednesday, November 30.
REMEMBER: Past dinners have all been sold out and no tickets will be
available at the door. To register online, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
or
www.cair.com
---
CAIR 11TH ANNUAL BANQUET:
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice"
WHEN: Saturday, December 3, 2005 (Registration begins at 5:30 p.m., Program begins at 7 p.m.)
WHERE: Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA
SPEAKERS:
* Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)
* Chip Pitts, former Chairman-Amnesty International
* Imam Siraj Wahhaj
* Program will also feature the "2005 Rosa Parks Civil Liberties Award Recipient" and the "2005 Muslim Community Service Awards"
TICKETS: $65/person; $85/couple; $10/child babysitting
TABLE SPONSORSHIPS: Family, Non-Profit, Masajid $1000, Business $2000, Embassies $3000
(
Halal meat for the dinner is being provided by Midamar Corporation,
the pioneer and leader in Halal food services since 1974. Midamar
serves Halal meat to hotels, catering companies, restaurants,
government institutions, and retail stores across North America and
worldwide. Products may be ordered online at
www.midamarhalal.com or by calling 1-800-362-3711.)
ACTION REQUESTED:
1.
REGISTER ONLINE TODAY by going to:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/ If you would like to make a
reservation over the phone, call 202-488-8787, or e-mail:
events@cair.com
2.
LET OTHERS KNOW about the dinner. Contact
events@cair.com to give a list of people who should be contacted about the dinner. Also send this notice to your personal e-mail list.
3.
IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND THE DINNER, but would like to support CAIR's important work, make a donation at:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/donate.asp
4.
TO REGISTER BY FAX, fill out the form below and FAX TO 202-488-0833.
--- CLIP AND FAX/E-MAIL ---
____
YES, I will attend. Charge my credit card $______ for _____ seats.
___
SORRY,
I will not be able to attend. But I would like to support CAIR's
important work defending the image of Islam and the rights of Muslims
by charging a donation of $______ to my credit card.
Name of Person Purchasing Tickets:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip:
Daytime Phone:
Names of Other Attendees:
Payment: ___Check ___VISA ___MasterCard ___Discover
Card Number:
Exp. Date:
Name as on Card:
Signature: ________________________________________________
FAX TO: 202-488-0833, E-MAIL:
events@cair-net.org
- PLEASE ANNOUNCE, POST AND DISTRIBUTE -
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET,
receive news releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim
positions on issues of importance to our society.
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/28/05
*
Verse:
Evil and Good are Not Equal
*
King Abdullah II to Address CAIR
Banquet by Video
*
CAIR Rep
to Discuss
Prager's 'Five Questions' on MSNBC
*
Profiling 'Them' Will Not Make 'Us'
Safer (Chicago Trib)
*
Bloodless Autopsies Honor Religious
Boundaries (SF Chronicle)
*
Torture,
American-Style
(Washington Post)
-
Why Torture Ban Should be a Priority
(Rocky Mtn News)
-
In Terror Cases,
Administration Sets Own Rules (NYT)
-
Action:
Reject Legalizing American Torture
*
MI:
Muslim Sues Over Mistreatment in Jail (Detroit News)
*
Iraq:
The Truth About the Assault on Fallujah (Independent)
-
Video Shows UK Guards Shooting Iraqi Civilians
*
Incitement Watch:
Krauthammer Says Quran 'Inspires Barbarism'
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: EVIL AND GOOD ARE NOT EQUAL -
TOP
"The only duty of the Messenger is to pass on My Message. God knows all
that you reveal and all that you conceal. Say: 'Evil and good are not
equal, even though the abundance of the evil may dazzle you. So be
conscious of God, O people of understanding, that you may prosper.'"
The Holy Quran, 5:99-100
-----
KING ABDULLAH II TO ADDRESS CAIR BANQUET BY VIDEO -
TOP
King Abdullah II of Jordan will address CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet,
"American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice," in a 10-minute
video.
OTHER DINNER UPDATES:
1. The registration deadline for the dinner has been extended to
Wednesday, November 30. REMEMBER: Past dinners have all been sold out
and no tickets will be available at the door. To register online, GO
TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/ or
www.cair.com
2. Native Deen will perform at the dinner. See:
http://nativedeen.com/
-----
CAIR REP TO DISCUSS PRAGER'S 'FIVE QUESTIONS' ON MSNBC -
TOP
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8063292/
CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush is scheduled to appear
tonight (11 p.m. ET) on MSNBC's "The Situation with Tucker Carlson" to
discuss Dennis Prager's "Five Questions Non-Muslims Would Like
Answered."
SEE: A Muslim Response to Prager's 'Five Questions'
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=38209&theType=NB
-----
PROFILING `THEM' FOR TERRORISM WILL NOT MAKE `US' SAFER -
TOP
Dawn Turner Trice, Chicago Tribune, 11/28/05
http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/premium/printedition/Monday/metro/chi-0511280225nov28,1,4116707.column
To a guy like U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), profiling--attempting to
sort out criminals and non-criminals based on racial, ethnic or age
considerations--seems to be a perfectly reasonable and efficient tool
in "the war on terror."
I suppose Kirk sees it this way: Why should we inconvenience most
Americans, or infringe on their rights, when we already know that the
next "terrorist" in America will be a young Arab male?
Earlier this month, Kirk was speaking at a technology conference at
Northwestern University when he said he was OK with discriminating
against young Arab males from terrorist-producing countries as long as
it means keeping America safe.
Kirk has continued to stand by his comments despite Arab-American groups pressing him to apologize.
The scary truth is that many Americans feel this same way.
Advocating racial profiling isn't just an incendiary issue; it simply
doesn't make sense. If you say it's OK to discriminate against some
Muslims trying to enter the country, then how long before American
Muslims would see their rights whittled away?
And who would determine how far the discrimination would go? Would it
be OK to hold a person in a prison camp without charges for a few years?
Racial profiling goes beyond nonsensical. It's downright dangerous. And not just for Muslim men, but for us all. (MORE)
SEND NOTES OF APPRECIATION THROUGH:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/site/chi-lettertotheeditor,1,5676846.customform
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org,
dtrice@tribune.com
-----
CUTTING EDGE, WITHOUT A SCALPEL -
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Bloodless autopsies can solve mysteries while honoring religious boundaries
Benjamin Pimentel, San Francisco Chronicle, 11/28/05
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/28/BUG3BFOAE573.DTL
For many people of different faiths, cutting up a corpse to figure out
how a person died is an invasive, even offensive, procedure.
In some cases, as with Muslims and Jews, autopsies may violate their religious laws.
But technology companies are stepping in with a more acceptable
alternative to traditional autopsies, using sophisticated scanning and
three-dimensional computer systems.
Silicon Graphics Inc. manager Afshad Mistri demonstrated one such
system on a recent morning in Mountain View, standing in front of a
theater screen displaying the fuzzy image of a woman who was killed in
a car accident in Sweden.
Another SGI engineer moved the cursor across the corpse, revealing the
next layer, an image of the woman's skeleton clearly showing her broken
bones.
"Now you are starting to see the bone structure," Mistri said. "Let's
zoom in on the skull area. ... You can easily see areas of interest.
The data is right there. ... Her jaw is very badly mashed. ... Cause of
death was a broken neck."
"No one wants a family member autopsied," Mistri, SGI's senior manager
of advanced visualization, said. "If you've got a grandmother who is 94
years old and she dies of old age, why go through the trauma?"
The rules on when a body must undergo an autopsy vary by country and
legal jurisdiction. In California, Hank Greely, a professor of law at
Stanford University said, coroners are required by law to investigate
suspicious deaths. The process could include performing autopsies.
Advances in 3-D computing and computerized tomography, or CT-scans,
which use special X-ray equipment to create a detailed cross-sectional
view of a body part, combined with the arrival of massive memory and
processing power, have led to the rise over the past five years of
virtual autopsy technology. . .
The two-day conference in Sydney underscored the growing role of
technology in making postmortems more acceptable to religions that have
strict rules on how to treat their dead.
For example, in the Jewish faith, every part of a deceased person's
remains must be buried, including the blood. Islam requires the
immediate burial of a dead person, which becomes a problem for a
traditional autopsy, which can take several days.
"The burial practice of Islam and Judaism are not greatly different,"
said Graham Segal, a barrister-at-law and chairman of the Sydney
conference. (MORE)
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TORTURE, AMERICAN-STYLE -
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David Luban, Washington Post, 11/27/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/25/AR2005112501552.html
The real torture debate, therefore, isn't about whether to throw out
the rulebook in the exceptional emergencies. Rather, it's about what
the rulebook says about the ordinary interrogation -- about whether you
can shoot up Qatani with saline solution to make him urinate on
himself, or threaten him with dogs in order to find out whether he ever
met Osama bin Laden. And the trouble is that this second debate is so
wrapped up in legalisms, jargon and half-truths that it is truly hard
to unravel.
The most recent issue is Arizona Sen. John McCain's amendment to a
defense appropriations bill, designed to plug loopholes in current
anti-torture law. It has passed the Senate, and the House is scheduled
to vote on it sometime next month. President Bush has responded that we
do not torture, we treat prisoners humanely, and we follow our legal
obligations. But what, exactly, are the politicians arguing about?
The starting point is the U.N. Convention Against Torture, a treaty
that the United States ratified in 1994. Under the convention, we
agreed to criminalize overseas torture -- official torture was already
a crime within the United States -- and to "undertake to prevent . . .
other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment"
(CID, for short) that "do not amount to torture." Many of the
controversial U.S. methods are CID, sometimes called "torture lite."
CID includes techniques used in Guantanamo: 18- to 20-hour-a-day
questioning for 48 out of 54 days, blasting prisoners with strobe
lights and ear-splitting rock music, menacing them with snarling dogs,
threatening to hurt their mothers, and humiliations such as leading
them around on leashes Pfc. Lynndie England-style, stripping them naked
in front of women, or holding them down while a female interrogator
straddles them and whispers that we've killed their comrades.
All of these methods were used on Qatani, and documented in the Army's
Schmidt report (PDF), which was commissioned in response to FBI
allegations of abuses at Guantanamo. (Most of the report, co-authored
by Lt. Gen. Randall M. Schmidt, remains classified, so we do not know
whether the classified portions contain worse.)
Methods like these were banned in U.S. criminal investigations years
ago, because, in the Supreme Court's language, they "shock the
conscience." Assaults on human dignity are not who we are or what we
stand for. Given the U.S. commitment under the torture convention to
"undertake to prevent" CID, why are we using it abroad in cases that
have nothing to do with ticking time bombs? Why does the president
still insist that we're following our legal obligations, and that we
treat detainees humanely?
It depends what you mean by "legal obligations" and "humanely." A quick
glossary of the unique Bush administration definitions might help.
Cruel, inhuman or degrading. In the Bush lexicon, these words have no
meaning outside U.S. territory because we have no obligation to prevent
such methods from being used in interrogations performed outside the
United States and its possessions. That was Attorney General Alberto
Gonzales's startling argument at his confirmation hearing, and it goes
like this: Before the Senate ratified the torture convention, it added
the reservation that CID means the cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment forbidden by our Constitution. But the Supreme Court has
held, in other unrelated contexts, that the Constitution does not apply
outside U.S. territory. Therefore, the administration maintains,
outside U.S. territory (including the U.S. military base in Guantanamo,
on the island of Cuba) anything goes except outright torture.
This was not at all what the Senate meant, according to Abraham Sofaer,
the State Department's legal adviser when the Reagan administration
signed the Convention Against Torture in 1988. In a letter this past
January to Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat, Sofaer explained
that the purpose of the Senate's reservation was to ensure that the
same standards for CID would apply outside the United States as apply
inside -- just the opposite of Attorney General Gonzales's conclusion.
The point was to define CID, not to create a gaping geographical
loophole.
This is the loophole that McCain, a Republican, is trying to close. His
amendment requires that the ban on CID not be "construed to impose any
geographical limitation." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
WHY TORTURE BAN SHOULD BE A PRIORITY -
TOP
Rocky Mountain News, 11/28/05
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/editorials/article/0,2777,DRMN_23964_4270960,00.html
In a remarkable story published on Thanksgiving, The New York Times
revealed that the Bush administration "decided to charge (suspected
terrorist) Jose Padilla with less serious crimes because it was
unwilling to allow testimony from two senior members of al-Qaida who
had been subjected to harsh questioning . . ."
Harsh questioning - as in what most of us would describe as torture, or at least its close cousin.
One of the two al-Qaida honchos, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, has in fact
become the poster boy for "waterboarding," a technique of submerging a
prisoner's face in water so he experiences the sensation of drowning.
News reports have said Mohammed, the alleged architect of 9/11, was
subjected to this treatment after his capture in early 2003.
Did the use of such rough techniques on al-Qaida leaders save America
from an attempted terrorist attack by Padilla, as some defenders of the
interrogation policies may well contend? We may never know, since the
actual charges against Padilla are unrelated to the bombing plots
described by Justice Department officials after his arrest three years
ago. As far as we're concerned, however, the use of torture doesn't
become acceptable just because someone may be able to point to valuable
information obtained through its use.
It goes without saying that torture sometimes produces useful
revelations. The more important question is whether the dangers of
embracing physical coercion on prisoners outweigh the likely benefits.
And we believe the answer to that is yes, they do.
Among those dangers: Torture makes prisoners talk, but in the process
produces much unreliable, bogus information, too; torture dehumanizes
both its victims and those who inflict it, and leads the latter down a
slippery slope of moral corruption; and finally, torture provides the
enemy with justification for tormenting our own captured men and women.
Given such risks, the brutalization of prisoners should be outlawed
even for the likes of Mohammed. The Senate approved such a ban earlier
this month (although with Colorado Sen. Wayne Allard dissenting). Now
it's time for the House to follow suit. (MORE)
---
IN TERROR CASES, ADMINISTRATION SETS OWN RULES -
TOP
ADAM LIPTAK, New York Times, 11/27/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/27/national/nationalspecial3/27enemy.html
The Bush administration argues that judges should have essentially no
role in reviewing its decisions on handling terror suspects.
---
ACTION: REJECT LEGALIZING AMERICAN TORTURE -
TOP
http://capwiz.com/cair/issues/alert/?alertid=8088021&type=CO
CAIR ANTI-TORTURE CAMPAIGN
http://www.cair-net.org/antitorture/
-----
FORMER TERROR SUSPECT SUES COUNTY -
TOP
Arab immigrant imprisoned 3 years in 9/ll probe claims he was fed pork and forced to strip naked.
David Shepardson, Detroit News, 11/28/05
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051128/METRO/511280372/1003
DETROIT-- A former Detroit terror suspect has filed a federal lawsuit
against Wayne County, claiming sheriff's deputies routinely mistreated
him and subjected him to regular strip searches.
Karim Koubriti filed suit against the county and five unnamed deputies, along with a deputy identified only as Rojo.
"The actions of the Wayne County Sheriff's Department were completely
outrageous," said a Detroit lawyer for Koubriti, Ben Gonek. "They only
added more insult to the injuries he was already sustaining by the
federal government."
Koubriti, a Moroccan immigrant, claims he was forced to eat pork --
even though it violates his religious beliefs as an observant Muslim.
He was "repeatedly subjected to unlawful and unnecessary strip searches
designed to humiliate and degrade him because of and in retaliation for
his religious beliefs," the lawsuit states.
Other detainees were only forced to strip to their underwear, Koubriti
said in an affidavit. Just the four terror suspects were required to
strip naked -- while as many as six deputies watched, he said.
Koubriti said he was held in isolation for 23 hours a day during his three years of custody and was never allowed to exercise.
Koubriti was arrested Sept. 17, 2001, at a southwest Detroit apartment
and charged, along with three other Arab immigrants, with operating a
covert terror cell plotting attacks here and abroad.
The June 2003 convictions were overturned last year after a federal
review found prosecutors had withheld evidence from the defense,
preventing Koubriti and the others from getting a fair trial. A federal
grand jury is investigating the conduct of the former lead prosecutor.
(MORE)
-----
OFFICIAL SECRETS, LIES, AND THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ASSAULT ON FALLUJAH -
TOP
Raymond Whitaker and Marie Woolf, Independent, 11/27/05
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article329622.ece
Nobody outside the Westminster village would recognise the names of
David Keogh and Leo O'Connor. One is a former Cabinet Office official,
the other a researcher for an MP who lost his seat at the last
election. But the crime of which they are accused concerns two men who
are firmly in the public eye: Tony Blair and George Bush.
On Tuesday, Mr Keogh, 49, the civil servant, and Mr O'Connor, 42, who
worked for the former Labour MP Tony Clarke, will appear at Bow Street
magistrates' court in London. Mr Keogh is charged, under the Official
Secrets Act, with sending the researcher a transcript of an April 2004
meeting at the White House between the Prime Minister and the
President. When the document was shown to Mr Clarke, then MP for
Northampton South, he returned it to Downing Street.
All that occurred well over a year ago. Despite the eminence of those
taking part in the discussion, the transcript did not carry the highest
classification, and the case might have attracted relatively little
attention were it not for subsequent events. On Tuesday, the Daily
Mirror reported that Mr Bush had told Mr Blair in April last year that
he wanted to bomb the studios of al-Jazeera, the Arabic-language
satellite channel which has consistently challenged the White House
line on Iraq.
With its Arab cameramen and reporters, al-Jazeera, based in the Gulf
state of Qatar, has been able to go where embedded Western reporters
dare not. At the time of the White House meeting, it was broadcasting
bloody footage from within Fallujah, then under assault by US forces.
Added to the channel's role as the outlet for statements by Osama bin
Laden and his lieutenants, and its coverage of on-camera executions of
Western hostages by al-Qa'ida followers, it was not surprising that Mr
Bush might have been angry with al-Jazeera.
According to the Mirror, Mr Blair dissuaded the President from any
attack on the TV station. It reported conflicting views on whether Mr
Bush might have been joking or not - even if he had been prepared to
disregard the international outrage it would have caused, Qatar is a
key Middle East base for the Americans - although it is possible that
he was suggesting a clandestine bombing. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
VIDEO PROMPTS PROBES INTO SECURITY IN IRAQ -
TOP
By Sean Rayment, LONDON DAILY TELEGRAPH, 11/27/05
http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20051126-115232-9399r.htm
LONDON -- A video appearing to show private security guards in Baghdad
randomly shooting Iraqi civilians has sparked two investigations after
it was posted on the Internet.
The video, which first appeared on a Web site that has been linked
unofficially to Aegis Defense Services -- one of the biggest security
companies operating in Iraq -- contained four separate clips, in which
security guards open fire with automatic rifles at civilian cars.
All of the shooting incidents apparently took place on "route Irish," a road that links the airport to Baghdad.
The road has acquired the dubious distinction of being the most
dangerous in the world because of the number of suicide attacks and
ambushes carried out by insurgents against coalition troops. In one
four-month period earlier this year, it was the scene of 150 attacks.
In one of the recorded attacks, a Mercedes is fired on at a distance of
several hundred yards before it crashes in to a civilian taxi.
In another clip, a white civilian car is raked with machine gun fire as
it approaches an unidentified security company vehicle. Bullets can be
seen hitting the vehicle before it comes to a slow stop.
There are no clues as to the shooter but either a Scottish or Irish
accent can be heard in at least one of the clips above Elvis Presley's,
"Mystery Train," the music which accompanies the video. (MORE)
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: KRAUTHAMMER SAYS QURAN 'INSPIRES BARBARISM' -
TOP
http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/400rhqav.asp
The norm, however, is how the majority of prisoners at Guantanamo have
been treated. We give them three meals a day, superior medical care,
and provision to pray five times a day. Our scrupulousness extends even
to providing them with their own Korans, which is the only reason
alleged abuses of the Koran at Guantanamo ever became an issue.
That
we should have provided those who kill innocents in the name of Islam
with precisely the document that inspires their barbarism is a sign of the absurd lengths to which we often go in extending undeserved humanity to terrorist prisoners.
SEND POLITE COMMENTS TO:
editor@weeklystandard.com
COPY TO:
cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
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Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/29/05
*
Verse:
Good Deeds
are a Source of Hope
-
Hadith:
Practice What You Preach
*
Only 2 Days Left to Register for CAIR's Banquet
*
CAIR-FL Rep Appointed to Diversity Council
*
CAIR Board Chairman to Speak at MPAC Convention
-
Transcript of CAIR Rep on MSNBC's 'The Situation'
*
Action: Oppose Surveillance Powers in Patriot Act
-
CO: Refusal to Present ID Sparks Test of Rights
*
CAIR-CA Asks FBI to Probe Disappearance of Muslim Doctor
*
CAIR: Update on the 'Gore-for-Porn' Scandal (Rolling Stone)
*
NY:
Bosnian Refugees Offer Blood to ID War Victims (AP)
*
CIA Director: 'Torture is Counterproductive' (ABC News)
-
Iraqi Military Accused of Slayings (NYT)
-
Iraqi Officials Claim Torture (Knight Ridder)
*
Incitement Watch: Daniel Pipes Smears Muhammad Ali (NY Sun)
-
ADC: Pipes Smears Arabs, Muslims (Herald News)
*
NJ: Mosque Leader's Father is Mourned (Herald News)
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: GOOD DEEDS ARE A SOURCE OF HOPE -
TOP
"Wealth and children are an adornment of this world's life, but good
deeds, the fruit of which endures forever, are of far greater merit in
thy Lord's sight, and a far better source of hope."
The Holy Quran, 18:46
HADITH OF THE DAY: PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "When God intends good
for a servant of His, He uses (that person) for good." He was then
asked: "How does God use (someone for good)?" The Prophet replied: "He
enables (the person) to do good deeds."
Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 4, Number 15
The Prophet also related the story of a person punished by God who was
asked by the other inhabitants of Hell: "What is wrong with you? Didn't
you order us to do good deeds and forbid us to do bad deeds?" That
person replied: "Yes, I used to order you to do good deeds, but I did
not do them myself. And I used to forbid you to do bad deeds, yet I
used to do them myself."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Hadith 489
-----
ONLY 2 DAYS LEFT TO REGISTER FOR CAIR'S ANNUAL BANQUET -
TOP
The registration deadline for CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet, "American
Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice," is Wednesday, November 30.
REMEMBER: Past dinners have all been sold out and no tickets will be available at the door. 1. To register online, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/ 2. To make a reservation over the phone or by e-mail, call 202-488-8787, or e-mail:
events@cair.com
-----
CAIR-FL REP APPOINTED TO DIVERSITY COUNCIL -
TOP
(MIAMI, FL, 11/29/05) - The Florida office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) announced today that its executive
director has been selected to serve on the Broward County Diversity
Advisory Council. Altaf Ali was appointed to the advisory council by
the Broward County Board of Commissioners.
Throughout the program year, advisory council members will collect and
analyze information on ethnic and cultural issues, and disseminate
reports to the Broward County Commission and other interested parties.
The council will also develop conferences, seminars and other
community-based programs designed to promote ethnic and cultural
understanding in the County.
"This appointment provides an excellent opportunity to serve the
residents of Broward County and to help facilitate better communication
between elected officials and local ethnic and cultural groups," said
CAIR-FL Executive Director Altaf Ali.
CONTACT: Altaf Ali at 954-298-8214
-----
CAIR BOARD CHAIRMAN TO SPEAK AT MPAC CONVENTION -
TOP
CAIR Board Chairman Parvez Ahmed will address the fifth annual
convention of the Muslim Public Affairs Council on December 17th in
Long Beach, Calif.
SEE:
http://www.mpac.org/home_article_display.aspx?ITEM=843
SEE ALSO:
TRANSCRIPT: CAIR REP DISCUSSES ISLAM ON MSNBC -
TOP
"The Situation with Tucker Carlson," 11/28/05
Host: Tucker Carlson
Guest: CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8063292/
CARLSON: (AUDIO GAP) why is so much blood spilled in the name of Islam,
and why aren`t Muslims protesting terrorism by the millions in the
streets? We`ll get answers to some of those questions. Questions on the
minds of non-Muslims next.
Plus, looking for a conservative alternative to children`s books? How
about the story of two boys who struggle to start a lemonade stand in a
liberal land? We`ll talk to the author of, "Help, Mom, There Are
Liberals Under my Bed" when THE SITUATION returns.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENNIS PRAGER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: These are honest questions. I
don`t know the answer to the question that I have posed. Why are there
-- I need to know, why don`t you have the sense that your religion
isn`t looking good because of all the evil done in its name?
Don`t you want to -- don`t you want to go into the street and say, "No,
This is not right, this is -- Allah is not blessing these people?"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARLSON: That was nationally syndicated radio talk show host Dennis
Prager. He wrote an article in "The L.A. Times" earlier this month,
entitled five questions non-Muslims would like answered. Here to answer
those questions, Hussam Ayloush. He`s executive director from the
Southern California Office of Council on American-Islamic Relations. He
joins us now live from Anaheim, California.
Mr. Ayloush, thanks a lot for coming on.
HUSSAM AYLOUSH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA OFFICE, COUNCIL
ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS: My pleasure. Good evening.
CARLSON: Good evening. You, I think, are familiar with the questions.
Want to put them up on the screen for our viewers, who maybe didn`t see
our earlier segment.
I just want to start with the first question, which I found really
compelling. And it`s why are Muslims so quiet, that is, so quiet in the
face of really this unending series of terror attacks perpetrated by
Muslims in the name of Islam since 9/11?
I can only think of two mass demonstrations, spontaneous
demonstrations, where thousands of people got into the streets and
said, "Not in my name." And they are recently in Jordan, when Zarqawi
from Iraq bombed what turned out to be a Muslim wedding, Jordanian
wedding, and then demonstrations that took place in Beirut after
President Ariri was killed by Muslims. But I can`t think of massive
spontaneous demonstrations to protest acts of terror against
non-Muslims the past 40 years, and I don`t understand why.
AYLOUSH: Actually there were a lot of protests, even immediately after
September 11, but protests and vigils are not the only way to
demonstrate our faith against those terrorist attacks. There were many,
many statements from every single scholar of Islam that I know of, in
and outside of America.
CARLSON: Yes, and they`re not working. They`re not -- I understand, you
make a fair point. That`s not the only way to get things done, you are
right. But those statements from isolated imams, and because Islam is
not hierarchical, you know, there`s no central church to issue any
statement. They haven`t worked very well, obviously. Right?
And so why haven`t -- you did see demonstrations when Muslims were
killed by Muslims. Why haven`t you seen those when Muslims kill non-
Muslims?
AYLOUSH: Two premises we need to be aware of. First, these were not
isolated. Every Islamic institution in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and
Egypt, all the mainstream ones, have condemned the act of terrorism, in
a very clear-cut way.
In the U.S., it was condemned very clear-cut by the American Muslim
organizations. That`s the first premise. The second premise is 1.3 or
1.4 billion Muslims do not feel they need to condemn every act of
crime, of terrorism committed by anyone who claims to be Muslim.
CARLSON: OK. How about one? How about a single one? I don`t remember --
look, here`s what Mr. Prager said. He said, and I think it`s a very
good point, 1982, in Lebanon, then occupied by the Israelis, the
Israeli army, led by Ariel Sharon, allowed these phalanges (ph)
lunatics to shoot up two refugee camps at Saburn Shatilla (ph) and
killed a lot of people, and it was horrible.
And Israeli citizens reacted to those massacres by going out in the
streets and saying, "You`re doing this in our name. Or it appears that
you`re doing it in our name, and we don`t like it."
And why haven`t you seen anything like that take place in any Islamic capitol? Doesn`t that trouble you a little bit?
AYLOUSH: No. There were a lot of writings, a lot of vigils, in Tehran,
in Iran itself, immediately, a week after the September 11 attacks.
Thousands of young Iranians went out in the street in support of
America and the Americans.
Well, the question could be asked also to Mr. Prager himself. When the
Israeli massacre against Palestinians happened, it happened in the name
of the Jewish state, obviously not presenting the good teaching of
Judaism, but did Mr. Dennis Prager himself went out on the streets,
condemning those acts?
CARLSON: No, he probably -- I doubt he did, because I don`t think those
are his politics. But a lot of Israelis did. There was, as you know,
the peace now movement in Israel, without getting caught up in the
Israel thing. But there`s a very vibrant left wing in Israel that is
constantly protesting, tens of thousands of them, as you know, against
any sort of overreach by the Israeli army.
But I want to get to a second question that bothered me personally that
he asked. And that is, why are Islamic countries typically so
intolerant of other religions? I`m thinking now of Saudi Arabia, which
if any place, it really is the seat of Islam. Mecca and Medina, the
holy cities, are there.
And it is illegal to proselytize Christianity there. There are no
mosques and no churches in Saudi Arabia, as it is illegal to
proselytize, I believe, throughout the Islamic Middle East. Why is
that? And are you bothered by it?
AYLOUSH: Actually, the example you picked of Saudi Arabia is a very
unique example. There are over 57 countries that claim to have a Muslim
majority in them, and in all of these countries, I have visited dozens
of them, churches and mosques are side by side. Muslims, Christians
share holidays.
CARLSON: How about Saudi Arabia? Should Christians be able to practice
their religion openly in Saudi Arabia? What is your opinion?
AYLOUSH: Well, the thing is, Saudi Arabia is a very unique example, for many reasons. One is...
CARLSON: What do you think?
AYLOUSH: Personally, I think Christians who live in Saudi Arabia should
be entitled to the right to practice their religion. And by the way,
many of them, because I visited Saudi Arabia, and I have Christian
friends from Lebanon, and many of them practice religion in the privacy
of their homes.
I would wish for them -- if Saudi Arabia is in need of people, of
workers, who not Muslims, to work there, the least Saudi Arabia should
do is to allow them to practice.
CARLSON: Well, good for you.
AYLOUSH: You cannot have it both ways. I don`t think we can have it both ways.
CARLSON: Well, good for you. Hussam Ayloush, joining us tonight from Anaheim, thanks a lot. I appreciate it.
AYLOUSH: My pleasure. Thank you very much.
---
CAIR ACTION ALERT #480 -
TOP
OPPOSE UNSUPERVISED SURVEILLANCE POWERS IN PATRIOT ACT
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/29/05) - CAIR is urging American Muslims and
other people of conscience to continue voicing opposition to the
unsupervised domestic surveillance powers contained in the USA Patriot
Act. A House-Senate compromise renewing the Patriot Act was derailed
just before Thanksgiving. The renewal process will be concluded within
the next few weeks. Sixteen provisions of the Patriot Act are due to
expire at the end of December.
Six Senators, three Republicans and three Democrats, announced their
opposition to the late-November deal. Senate majority leader Bill Frist
says he expects the legislation's Senate opponents will filibuster it
if their civil liberties concerns are not addressed.
Two Patriot Act provisions of great concern are Sections 215 and 505.
Section 215 allows law enforcement to acquire a search warrant for "any
tangible thing." It also forbids the warrant's recipient from telling
anyone about the warrant. CAIR and other civil liberties groups support
a Senate provision that would have required that the government show
that a person whose records are sought has some connection to a terror
suspect. Currently, law enforcement officials must merely say the
records are needed for an ongoing investigation.
Under Section 505, National Security Letters (NSL) can be authorized by
FBI field inspectors. NSLs allow access to such records as financial,
business dealings, telephone calls, e-mails, web sites visited, and
Internet searches. They do not require a judge's approval and are
typically presented to employers or internet service providers who are
then prohibited from informing anyone of the request, even their own
lawyers. The Washington Post recently reported that a stunning 30,000
such letters are being issued annually.
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS REQUESTED:
1) Contact your elected representatives and ask them to ensure that any
deal on the Patriot Act includes the following modifications:
a. Law enforcement authorities should be required to prove that a
person whose records are sought has some connection to a terror suspect.
b. There must be a meaningful right to challenge Patriot Act orders.
Recipients of these orders should be allowed to share the information
with their lawyers.
TO CONTACT YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES, GO TO:
http://capwiz.com/cair/issues/alert/?alertid=8278381&type=CO
2) Put your cell phone to good use.
Call all of your friends and family members and ensure that they
contact their elected officials. Act as a facilitator. You can enter
their zip code into our website at
http://capwiz.com/cair/dbq/officials/
and get the names and contact information of their representatives (1
Member of the U.S. House and 2 Members of the U.S. Senate).
3) Push your community leaders to action.
Give your local Imam a copy of this release and ask him to use it as
talking points for a Friday sermon. Ask if your local leaders and
organizations can send this release over their e-mail lists.
4) Attend your senators' and representative's town meeting.
Congress is currently on Thanksgiving recess. Call your officials
in-state offices and ask where they are slated to appear. Arrange for
people to attend and urge the official to support the Patriot Act
modifications discussed above.
5) Express your concern in a letter to the editor of your local newspaper.
A visit to the paper's website or a call to their office's will provide
the details as to the right length for the letter (usually fairly
short) and where to send it.
SEE ALSO:
CO: REFUSAL TO PRESENT ID SPARKS TEST OF RIGHTS -
TOP
By Karen Abbott, Rocky Mountain News
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4274023,00.html
Federal prosecutors are reviewing whether to pursue charges against an
Arvada woman who refused to show identification to federal police while
riding an RTD bus through the Federal Center in Lakewood.
Deborah Davis, 50, was ticketed for two petty offenses Sept. 26 by
officers who commonly board the RTD bus as it passes through the
Federal Center and ask passengers for identification. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-SFBA ASKS FBI TO PROBE DISAPPEARANCE OF MUSLIM DOCTOR -
TOP
(SANTA CLARA, CA, 11/29/05) - The San Francisco Bay Area office of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA) today urged the FBI
to investigate the recent disappearance of Dr. Zehra Attari.
An online petition drive has been launched to seek the FBI's assistance in the case. See:
http://www.petitiononline.com/thattari/
Dr. Zehra Attari, a 55-year old Indian-American pediatrician was last
seen at her clinic in Oakland at 5 p.m. on Monday, November 7th. She
was headed to Alameda Alliance for Health to attend a meeting, but
never arrived. Her bag and keys, along with $700 in cash were left in
the clinic. When her medical assistant called her cell phone at 6:05
p.m., it appeared to be turned off. She was wearing a light blue
long-sleeved knit sweater with navy pants, black shoes and black
glasses. She was driving a silver 2001 Honda Accord, license plate
#4MUH810.
An initial $10,000 reward offered by the family last week has been matched by community donations.
Anyone who has any information, or would like to help in the search, is
asked to call (408) 476-6723 or (510)557-6695. More information can be
viewed at
www.zehraattari.com
CONTACT: CAIR Civil Rights Coordinator, Sajidah Wahdy, 408-986-9874, E-Mail:
nocal@cair.com
-----
IS CHRIS WILSON FACING JAIL OVER AMATEUR SMUT OR DEAD IRAQIS? -
TOP
David Kushner, Rolling Stone, 11/29/05
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/8878187
Not long ago, Chris Wilson was just another anonymous geek making a
modest living off amateur porn. Today he's the most notorious man
online.
The twenty-eight-year-old founder of *****, a site where guys swap
sexually explicit shots of their wives and girlfriends, was arrested in
October at his Lakeland, Florida, home -- a raid in which Wilson was
cuffed and his computer seized.
Now he's out on bail and possibly facing life in prison after being hit
with one of the stiffest obscenity charges in the history of the Net.
But there's burgeoning doubt over which dirty pictures really landed
him behind bars: the site's quotidian porn or its hundreds of graphic
images, allegedly uploaded by U.S. soldiers, of dead Iraqis.
There's little question that the site is disturbing. Polk County
Sheriff Grady Judd calls it "so perverse and outrageous and
unconscionable, I believe it would have shocked the conscience of the
most liberal people in the United States." But who really engineered
the arrest: local authorities or those in the highest reaches of
government?
To many, this case, which some liken to 2003's "flag-draped coffin"
controversy, raises serious questions about the public's perception of
war and the future of free speech on the Internet. "It creates the
possibility for censorship . . . based on the standards of the least
tolerant community," says Kurt Opsahl of the Electronic Frontier
Foundation, a nonprofit digital-rights group.
For Wilson, the saga started with credit-card problems. After launching
the site, he began getting e-mails from soldiers who couldn't join
because of bank-verification issues. So Wilson told them that if they
could provide photographic proof that they were in Iraq, he'd let them
on for free.
At first the photos he received were benign, such as soldiers posing by
their tanks and barracks. But then came the gore. One picture shows a
severed head floating in a bowl of blood. Another, a dismembered arm. A
particularly gruesome photo shows a child with bloody pulp where his
face used to be.
Though Wilson says he was shocked when he first saw the photos, he
empathized with the soldiers' desire to show the realities of service.
Rather than censoring the images, he created a separate forum for them,
quoting a line from Life, when the magazine published war-dead photos
during the Spanish Civil War: "Dead men have indeed died in vain if
live men refuse to look at them."
Wilson never requested photos of the dead, but news of the site soon
broke with the "bodies-for-porn" sound bite. Likely fearing another Abu
Ghraib, the Army launched an inquiry into whether the images
constituted a felony. But the photos couldn't be verified, and Wilson
fell outside military jurisdiction. Though the postings from soldiers
could be a violation, says Army spokesman Paul Boyce, "we can't enforce
the Uniform Code of Military Justice on civilians." The military
inquiry was done. But then the cops showed up.
Polk County has a history of being tough on porn, and local officials
insist the pictures of war dead were not the reason for the arrest.
"Our charges were not related to the notoriety brought to that Web
site" by the war-dead photos, says Chip Thullberry of the local state
attorney's office. But both Thullbery and Judd say that information
from Wilson's arrest has been shared with the military. Given that the
government took his computer, it could now identify -- and prosecute --
soldiers who e-mailed photos to the site. Boyce, however, denies
knowing of a military connection to the case. "I'm not aware of any
communications from [the prosecution]," he says.
Given the enormity and unique nature of the charges against Wilson
(previous obscenity cases against porn masters have been ruled
unconstitutional or dismissed), his attorney Lawrence Walters finds the
dissociation hard to believe. "There may be a political undercurrent
here," he says. "To what extent was this mandated by the military using
the local state attorney as a pawn?"
He's not the only one raising this question. When news of the photos
first broke, Arsalan Iftikhar of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations sent a letter to Donald Rumsfeld demanding an investigation.
Iftikhar now believes Wilson's arrest was a "politically motivated"
solution. "It wouldn't surprise me," he says, "if the charges were
there to deflect from the issue at hand: the violence suffered by the
Iraqi people."
An anonymous source, claiming Pentagon access, went further: "Once the
deputy chief of staff got word, a call was made to the Florida
prosecutor and the governor, who of course is related to the president.
A day later, [Wilson was] arrested." (MORE)
-----
DROP OF BLOOD BEGINS NATIONAL DRIVE TO ID BOSNIA'S VICTIMS -
TOP
CARA ANNA, Associated Press, 11/29/05
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/connecticut/ny-bc-ct--refugeeblood1129nov29,0,1310902.story
ALBANY, N.Y. -- The bodies were left in remote mass graves, dumped into
wells, left in the woods. But even a decade later, they're not beyond
recognition.
Now refugees from the war that tore apart the former Yugoslavia will
line up over the next two weeks across America to offer drops of their
blood in an effort to identify more than 26,000 victims through DNA
testing.
The national campaign is the first one launched here by the
International Commission on Missing Persons, founded a decade ago to
untangle the names, numbers and faces behind the ethnic rivalries that
killed 260,000 people and drove 1.8 million from their homes.
Giving blood is simple, but the ICMP knows the emotions behind it are not.
"They lost their sons, husbands, fathers, brothers. Mostly it was men,"
says ICMP spokeswoman Doune Porter, speaking by phone from Sarajevo.
"On a certain psychological basis, they know missing family members
must be dead. But until they're identified, there's always part of the
brain that says they know, but they don't really know. Do you know what
I mean? It's incredibly painful."
The campaign begins this week in Syracuse, N.Y., and Des Moines, Iowa,
and will spread to other communities with large numbers of refugees:
Atlanta; Chicago; Dallas; Hartford, Conn.; St. Louis; Erie, Pa.;
Richmond, Va.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Grand Rapids. Mich.; and Bowling
Green, Ky. (MORE)
-----
CIA DIRECTOR: 'TORTURE IS COUNTERPRODUCTIVE' -
TOP
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1353449
Nov. 29, 2005 - In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with ABC News'
Charles Gibson, CIA Director Porter Goss spoke about the agency's role
in a post-9/11 world and responded to allegations that his agency uses
torture to extract intelligence from detainees.
The following is an excerpt of the interview transcript:
CHARLES GIBSON: Let me ask you about torture. You said the other day the CIA does not do torture, correct?
PORTER GOSS: That is correct.
GIBSON: How do you define it?
GOSS: Well, I define torture probably the way most people would - in
the eye of the beholder. What we do does not come close because torture
in terms of inflicting pain or something like that, physical pain or
causing a disability, those kinds of things that probably would be a
common definition for most Americans, sort of you know it when you see
it, we don't do that because it doesn't get what you want. We do
debriefings because debriefings are the nature of our business, is to
get information. We want accurate information and we want to make sure
that we have professional people doing that work, and we do all that,
and we do it in a way that does not involve torture because torture is
counterproductive.
GIBSON: We [ABC News] reported in the past two weeks about having
talked to a number of people who have worked and did work in this
agency, about six progressive techniques, each one harsher than the
last, to get terrorists to talk, including things like long-term
standing up, sleep deprivation, exposure for long periods of time to
cold rooms or something called "water-boarding," which involves
cellophane over the face and water being poured on an individual. Do
those things take place?
GOSS: I've got to say there is a huge amount of disinformation out
there on this whole subject because probably there's not very much
accurate information available. And the reason there's not very much
accurate information available about how we do debriefings and how we
deal with people who are in detention is very simply, if we told you
how we do that, we would be telling them, and that would lose the edge.
GIBSON: You know what water-boarding is though, right?
GOSS: I know what a lot of things are, but I'm not going to comment. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
SUNNIS ACCUSE IRAQI MILITARY OF KIDNAPPINGS AND SLAYINGS -
TOP
Dexter Filkins, New York Times, 11/29/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/29/international/middleeast/29security.html
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Nov. 28 - As the American military pushes the largely
Shiite Iraqi security services into a larger role in combating the
insurgency, evidence has begun to mount suggesting that the Iraqi
forces are carrying out executions in predominantly Sunni neighborhoods.
Hundreds of accounts of killings and abductions have emerged in recent
weeks, most of them brought forward by Sunni civilians, who claim that
their relatives have been taken away by Iraqi men in uniform without
warrant or explanation.
Some Sunni men have been found dead in ditches and fields, with bullet
holes in their temples, acid burns on their skin, and holes in their
bodies apparently made by electric drills. Many have simply vanished.
Some of the young men have turned up alive in prison. In a secret
bunker discovered earlier this month in an Interior Ministry building
in Baghdad, American and Iraqi officials acknowledged that some of the
mostly Sunni inmates appeared to have been tortured.
---
IRAQI OFFICIALS CLAIM TORTURE; OF PRISONERS IS WIDESPREAD -
TOP
Leila Fadel, Knight Ridder, 11/29/05
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/13277769.htm
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraqi authorities have been torturing and abusing
prisoners in jails across the country, current and former Iraqi
officials charged.
Deputy Human Rights Minister Aida Ussayran and Gen. Muntadhar Muhi
al-Samaraee, a former head of special forces at the Ministry of the
Interior, made the allegations two weeks after 169 men who apparently
had been tortured were discovered in a south-central Baghdad building
run by the Interior Ministry. The men reportedly had been beaten with
leather belts and steel rods, crammed into tiny rooms with tens of
others and forced to sit in their own excrement.
A senior U.S. military official said he suspected that the abuse wasn't isolated to the jail that the U.S. military discovered.
Mr. Ussayran said abuse was taking place across the country.
In five visits to a women's prison in Baghdad's Kadhimiya district over
more than three months, the Human Rights Ministry found that women were
being raped by male guards, Mr. Ussayran said. That problem continues.
One woman told the Human Rights Ministry that she was raped seven times
on the seventh floor of the Interior Ministry, which is notorious to
some Iraqi Sunni Muslims and home to intelligence offices. The Human
Rights Ministry investigated that, and Mr. Ussayran said the problem
had been rectified.
No one was able to estimate the extent of the abuse, but the Iraqi
government expects the results of the investigation into the Baghdad
secret prison and into other prisons by the end of the week, Laith
Kubba, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, said Saturday.
The secret jail was discovered as U.S. officials are training Iraqi
forces to take over security as a prelude to withdrawing U.S. troops.
But evidence of widespread abuse of prisoners, especially a pattern of
Shiite Muslim troops abusing Sunni captives -- would raise new
questions about whether Iraq's U.S.-backed government seeks to end the
abuses of Saddam Hussein's regime or to exact revenge for them.
Iraq's insurgents are mainly Sunnis, who ruled the country under Saddam
and now are blamed for bombing Shiite mosques, markets and schools.
(MORE)
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: DANIEL PIPES SMEARS MUHAMMAD ALI -
TOP
http://www.nysun.com/article/23682
"Awarding of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Muhammad Ali
gratuitously celebrated a man profoundly opposed to Mr. Bush's own, his
party's, and the country's principles. It represents, I submit, the
nadir of his presidency."
SEE ALSO:
NJ: KHAIRULLAH FLIER MORE THAN GUTTER POLITICS -
TOP
Herald News, 11/29/05
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNCZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NjgyODAxNg==
Re "Rotten language from the political gutter" (editorial, Nov 18.) The
editors should be applauded for a principled denunciation of the
vicious and hate-filled flier sent to damage Prospect Park's new mayor,
Mohamed Khairullah. The writer is absolutely right to call it a new low
in what is supposed to be a civilized political discourse. . .
This attack is no different than countless other incidents against
Arabs and Muslims - whether it be racial profiling, employment
discrimination, or statements made by public officials such as U.S.
Rep. Peter King, who claimed that "80-85 percent" of American mosques
were harbors for potential enemies from within.
Although several New Jersey officials, including Sen. Jon Corzine and
Congressman Bill Pascrell Jr. denounced this statement, King suffered
no real consequences.
The point of the letter writer, people like King, and columnists
like Daniel Pipes, is to smear all Arabs and Muslims and intimidate
them from engaging with their fellow citizens. The targeting of Khairullah is a direct message to other Arabs and Muslims who may wish to engage in the political process. . .
Salaheddin Mustafa, vice president, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, N.J. chapter
-----
NJ: MOSQUE LEADER'S FATHER IS MOURNED -
TOP
Makeba Scott Hunter, Herald News, 11/29/05
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2ODI3OTE1
PATERSON - Sheik Mohamed Qatanani, dressed in a dark gray suit, sat
solemnly at his desk on Monday afternoon, surrounded by bookshelves of
hardbound texts inscribed in Arabic.
It was an apt place for the imam, or religious leader, of the Islamic
Center of Passaic County to reflect upon his father and teacher, Hassan
Ahmed Qatanani, a religious leader and Islamic scholar who died Sunday
in Jordan.
"He was a strange man in this world," said Qatanani, bowing his head.
"He never complained any day about anyone or any issue. He was always
satisfied with anything God gave him.
"He taught me to serve people and to love people. He taught me that all
human beings are brothers and sisters, and that we have to take care of
our brothers and sisters."
Qatanani was the third of his father's eight children and in observance
of Muslim law, the Islamic Center of Passaic County is presiding over a
three-day period of mourning, which began on Sunday and ends today in
honor of the imam's father.
Because Muslims are required to bury their dead within 24 hours of
death, the post-burial mourning period is the time when family and
friends of the deceased reflect upon the life of an individual and
grieve.
Sunday night between 500 and 600 people showed up at the mosque to pay
their respects. A similar turnout was expected tonight, said Mohamed El
Filali, the center's outreach director. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 11/30/05
*
Verse:
No Soul Will Be Wronged
*
LAST DAY to Register Online for CAIR's
Annual Banquet
*
CAIR Calls for Release of All
Iraq Hostages
*
CAIR-CA:
Divers to Search for
Missing Doctor (Mercury News)
-
CAIR-CA:
Missing
Doc's Family Seeks FBI Help (CBS5)
*
CAIR-LA:
Video of
'Answering Questions About Muslim Politics'
*
PA:
Man Charged in
Mosque Shooting (CBS3)
-
MA:
Muslim Student
Reports Verbal Attack (Crimson)
-
MO:
Somali Cab Driver Attacked
(KMBC-TV)
*
MI:
Arabs Don't Feel France's Alienation Here (Free Press)
-
MPAC:
Survey on Attitudes of American Muslim Youth
*
IL:
Program Helps Jewish-Muslim Relations (Chicago Trib)
-
MA:
Book Club for Christian, Jewish, Muslim Women (CSM)
*
Incitement Watch:
Pipes Appreciates 'Spirit' of Islam-Hater
*
Rumsfeld:
No Obligation to Stop Iraqi Torture (Wash Post)
-
Iraq Fails to Deliver Results of Torture Probe (AP)
-
U.S. Covertly Pays Iraqi Papers to Publish Positive News (LAT)
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: NO SOUL WILL BE WRONGED -
TOP
"Be conscious of the day when you will all be brought back to God; when
every soul will be repaid in full for what it has earned, and none will
be wronged."
The Holy Quran, 2:281
-----
LAST DAY TO REGISTER ONLINE FOR CAIR'S ANNUAL BANQUET -
TOP
TODAY is the last day to register online for CAIR's 11th Annual Banquet, "American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice."
REMEMBER: Past dinners have all been sold out and no tickets will be available at the door. 1. To register online, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/ 2. To make a reservation over the phone or by e-mail, call 202-488-8787, or e-mail:
events@cair.com
-----
CAIR CALLS FOR RELEASE OF ALL IRAQ HOSTAGES -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/30/05) - A prominent national Islamic civil
rights and advocacy group today called for the immediate release of
five people, including one American, taken hostage recently in Iraq.
Four of the hostages are Christian aid workers and the fifth is a
German archaeologist.
In its statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said:
"We call for the immediate and unconditional release of every hostage
currently held in Iraq and urge all parties to refrain from actions
that may harm or endanger civilians, whether Western or Iraqi."
This year, CAIR launched a public service announcement (PSA) campaign,
called "Not in the Name of Islam," designed to clearly disassociate
Islam from the violent acts of a few Muslims. The PSAs were distributed
nationwide and viewed by millions of Americans. Arabic and Urdu
subtitled versions were also made available to television stations in
Muslim countries. The CAIR PSA campaign was an outgrowth of an online
petition drive of the same name.
CAIR also coordinated the recent release of a fatwa, or Islamic
religious ruling, condemning terrorism and religious extremism issued
by American Muslim scholars and endorsed by hundreds of Islamic groups
and institutions.
To read the fatwa, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/FatwaJuly2005.pdf
To read the "Not in the Name of Islam" petition, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=169&theType=AA
To view the CAIR PSA, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/video/psa.ram
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices
and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR-SFBA: DIVERS TO SEARCH FOR MISSING DOCTOR -
TOP
Linda Goldston, Mercury News, 11/30/05
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_valley/13290590.htm
When the rainy weather clears, Oakland police will send divers into an
estuary to search for the car of a missing San Jose physician.
Surface and fly-over searches were conducted of the Oakland estuary
shortly after Zehra Attari disappeared on Nov. 7. But those searches --
and numerous ground searches -- have turned up no sign of the
55-year-old pediatrician.
"We're hoping something breaks pretty soon," Oakland Deputy Police
Chief Howard Jordan said Tuesday. "We had an extensive search after
this happened but we will be sending some divers in there."
Attari, who lived in San Jose but worked in Oakland, disappeared after
leaving her office on International Boulevard to attend a meeting in
Alameda, about five miles away. Neither she nor her 2001 Honda Accord
-- with license plate 4MUH810 -- have been seen since she drove away
just after 5 p.m. on that rainy Monday night.
"She's been missing for three weeks now, and we don't know where she
is," said Sameena Usman, outreach coordinator for the San Francisco Bay
Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "The only
way to get to the root of this is to get the FBI involved."
On behalf of Attari's family, the private, non-profit civil rights
organization began an online petition drive late Monday asking that the
FBI "get fully involved in searching for Dr. Zehra Attari." The
petition is addressed to numerous public officials, including Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and California's two
U.S. senators. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-SFBA: MISSING DOCTOR'S FAMILY ASKS FOR HELP FROM FBI -
TOP
CBS5, 11/29/05
http://www.cbs5.com/localwire/localfsnews/bcn/2005/11/29/n/HeadlineNews/MISSING-DOCTOR/resources_bcn_html
It has been more than three weeks since the disappearance of an Oakland
pediatrician and the doctor's family is pleading for public support to
urge the Federal Bureau of Investigation to become involved in the
search.
Although investigators have not yet indicated that Dr. Zehra Attari,
was abducted, an online petition is being circulated nationwide,
arguing that it is imperative that the FBI join the search since Dr.
Attari may have been taken outside of the state.
"Because so much time has elapsed," the petition reads, "and Dr. Attari
could have been moved to any location within or outside the state of
California, it is imperative that a federal agency such as the FBI gets
immediately involved in her search."
According to Safaa Ibrahim, executive director of the Bay Area chapter
of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, her organization is
utilizing its massive contact list to help the family distribute the
petition requesting the FBI's help.
"It is part of the outreach for our community," said Ibrahim, adding
that Attari was an Indian-American Muslim who might have been targeted
because of her race or religious beliefs. "If it does turn out to be a
hate crime we want to be involved.''
Ibrahim said the petition, which already has more than 1,500 signatures, will be sent to local police chiefs and politicians.
"Our national office will be distributing it as well," she said. "We
were involved (in the search) right from the beginning, and slowly it
has grown into a more aggressive campaign.''
A 55-year-old pediatrician who lives in San Jose and works in Oakland,
Attari was last seen around 5 p.m. on Nov. 7 when she left her office
at 27th Avenue and International Boulevard in Oakland to drive to a
medical conference on South Loop Road in Alameda.
But she never made it to the conference and her husband called San Jose
police that night to report her missing, police said. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-LA: ANSWERING QUESTIONS ABOUT MUSLIM POLITICS -
TOP
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10254576/
Nov. 28: Why are so many atrocities committed in the name of Islam and
why don't Muslims stage massive protests against terrorism? The
Situation's Tucker Carlson puts those tough questions to Hussam
Ayloush, the head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations for
Southern California.
-----
PA: MONTGOMERY COUNTY MAN CHARGED IN MOSQUE SHOOTING -
TOP
Lesley Van Arsdall, CBS3, 11/29/05
http://kyw.com/topstories/local_story_333161940.html
(CBS 3) NORTH PENN - A National Islamic Civil Rights group wants the
F.B.I. to bring federal charges against a man accused of firing shots
into parked cars at a Montgomery County Mosque.
53-year-old Robert Blackburn tried to hide his face and said nothing as he was led to and from court Tuesday afternoon.
Police say Blackburn allegedly fired more than 50 shots at two cars
parked in the North Penn Mosque. When they caught up with him he was
dressed in his hunting gear with a .22 -caliber rifle in his car along
with several rounds of ammunition.
An officer testified to seeing Blackburn and his car in the Mosque parking lot minutes after the shots were fired.
Tuesday, a judge ruled there was more than enough evidence to hold him
for trial on charges of ethnic intimidation and reckless endangerment.
"We're very glad that the ethnic intimidation charge was held. That's
the main charge that we were most concerned about," stated Montgomery
County Assistant District Attorney Carolyn Flannery. "These people were
being targeted because of their religion and that's something we just
can not stand for. We're looking forward to trial." (MORE)
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE CASE, SEE:
MAN HELD ON INTIMIDATION CHARGE
JOHN ANASTASI, The Intelligencer, 11/29/05
http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/113-11302005-577344.html
SEE ALSO:
MA: STUDENT REPORTS VERBAL ATTACK -
TOP
REED B. RAYMAN, Harvard Crimson, 11/28/05
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=510136
A Harvard senior filed a report with the Cambridge Police Department
(CPD) last week that said she was the victim of a racially motivated
verbal attack. The report said the attack was directed at her because
of her Muslim background, and the incident has sparked concern among
Muslim students and other student organizations on campus.
Huma Farid '06 said that as she was walking on Quincy Street past
Lamont Library at around 6 p.m. last Monday, she was speaking with her
father on her cell phone when she heard screaming from a group of women
across the street.
"As I got towards them, it got louder and louder, and I could hear the
words-they were screaming 'filthy Jew-hater,'" she said. "I kept
walking, and this one woman kept repeating the words over and over
again. I turned around, and this woman-in her 40's, middle aged,
white-was chasing me."
Farid-who wrote in an e-mail that she believes she was targeted because
she "wears Hijab and thus looks obviously Muslim"-said that she ran
across the street, where she bumped into friends who escorted her back
to her room in Eliot House. (MORE)
---
MO: CAB DRIVER ATTACKED AT COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA -
TOP
Police Analyze Surveillance Video
http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/5421322/detail.html
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A local cab driver is recovering after being punched hard enough to send him to a hospital.
Jama Ali is a Somali immigrant with a wife and two children who has
been driving a cab for two years. Ali told KMBC's Dan Weinbaum that he
was at the Country Club Plaza looking for a fare late Sunday night when
he was attacked.
Ali said he was waiting for a customer outside the old KC Masterpiece
restaurant when he encountered three large men. One of the men punched
Ali so hard, the cab driver fell to the ground.
Ali said he doesn't understand why he was attacked.
"I don't remember anything before the fighting -- I don't remember
anything," Ali told KMBC in an interview from his hospital room.
Ali's left eye is swollen shut from the punch. He said he is in pain, but is expected to recover. (MORE)
-----
MI: METRO ARABS DON'T FEEL FRANCE'S ALIENATION, DISCRIMINATION HERE -
TOP
NIRAJ WARIKOO, 11/28/05
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005511280338
Abed Hammoud had an OK life in France. After graduating with an
engineering degree from a top university in Lyon, the Arab immigrant
secured a job at a heating and cooling company.
But despite his achievements, Hammoud sensed he would never be
considered French. At work, he said, he was referred to as "the
Lebanese guy." His Arab friends struggled to find work. And Hammoud saw
how hard it was for people like him to enter politics and start
businesses.
So in 1990, he left France for the United States. In just over a
decade, the Dearborn resident earned master's degrees in law and
business, became a Wayne County assistant prosecutor and emerged as an
activist recognized nationwide for politically organizing Arab
Americans.
"It's easier here," said Hammoud, a 39-year-old married father of two
sons. "People are more open. ... In France, you're never considered
French" if you're of Arab descent. (MORE)
ALSO SEE:
SURVEY ON ATTITUDES OF AMERICAN MUSLIM YOUTH -
TOP
(Washington, DC - 11/29/05) -- On Wednesday, November 30, the Muslim
Public Affairs Council will announce the findings of a national poll of
American Muslim youth at press conferences in Washington, DC and Los
Angeles. Among the findings of the poll is that more than half (54%) of
American Muslims between the ages of 14-26 feel no conflict between
their Muslim identity and their American identity.
WHAT: PRESS CONFERENCE ON MUSLIM AMERICAN YOUTH POLL
WHEN: Wednesday, November 30, 2005
WHERE: Washington, DC - National Press Building, West Room at 9:30 a.m.
EST; Los Angeles Islamic Center of Southern California at 9:00 a.m.
PST, 434 S. Vermont Ave., LA, CA
CONTACT: Edina Lekovic, 213-383-3443,
communications@mpac.org
-----
IL: PROGRAM AIMS TO BREAK CYCLE OF JEWISH-MUSLIM CONFLICT -
TOP
Lisa Fleisher, Chicago Tribune, 11/30/05
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0511300311nov30,1,755320.story
Rachel Havrelock was heartbroken when the sound of National Guard
helicopters, beating the air over violent student protests after the
second intifada, broke her concentration during her 2002 doctoral exams
at the University of California at Berkeley.
She thought she had left the Israeli-Palestinian conflict behind after
studying in Tel Aviv and Ramallah. But the thumping of helicopters made
clear the conflict had become an explosive issue on American campuses,
too.
Now a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Havrelock
hopes to inspire her students to talk, instead of shout, about the
Middle East through a new program on Jewish-Muslim studies.
The program, offered jointly by UIC and the Chicago-Kent College of
Law, is touted as unique because it features a dedicated visiting
professorship, an annual course and community outreach aimed at
fostering communication between the two groups. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MA: FAITHFUL BUILD BRIDGES WITH BOOKS -
TOP
How a post-9/11 book club brought Christian, Jewish, and Muslim women together.
Jane Lampman, Christian Science Monitor, 11/30/05
http://csmonitor.com/2005/1130/p14s02-lire.html
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. - Laughter rings out in the salmon-colored living room
of the parsonage at First Church in Cambridge, Mass. More than a dozen
women - Christian, Jewish, and Muslim - are sharing insights garnered
from "Gilead," a 2004 novel about the faith and struggles of a
Christian minister in Iowa.
The easy camaraderie as they discuss their distinctive approaches to
prayer reflects three years of monthly meetings of the Daughters of
Abraham, as they call themselves. The book club has explored the realms
of the three monotheistic faiths - and blossomed into comfortable
relationships that reach into each other's daily lives.
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: FALLACI - 'THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS GOOD ISLAM' -
TOP
IN SPEECH, FALLACI RAILS AGAINST MUSLIM IMMIGRATION
JACOB GERSHMAN, New York Sun, 11/30/05
http://www.nysun.com/article/23705
Frail, slight, and dying of cancer, Oriana Fallaci told a Manhattan audience on Monday that
she hates Islam and fears that Muslim immigration poses a greater danger to the West than Islamic terrorism.
The Italian journalist and author, who came out of retirement after
September 11, 2001, to sound the tocsin on what she viewed was a clash
of civilizations, said in a lengthy speech that she doesn't believe in
the existence of moderate Islam.
"There is no such thing as good Islam," she said, crouching over
a microphone, her voice tobacco-cured, her English heavily accented.
She compared the Koran, the Islamic holy book, to Hitler's "Mein Kampf"
and said she opposed the notion of dialogue between followers of Islam
and other religions. . .
She received a standing ovation when she was introduced and slightly
less enthusiastic applause when she finished speaking. Some of the
audience had left during her speech. . .
Daniel Pipes, who was also in the audience, said he appreciated her "spirit" but said her position was too extreme. (MORE)
-----
RUMSFELD'S WAR ON 'INSURGENTS' -
TOP
Dana Milbank, Washington Post, 11/30/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/29/AR2005112901405.html
When UPI's Pam Hess asked about torture by Iraqi authorities, Rumsfeld
replied that "obviously, the United States does not have a
responsibility" other than to voice disapproval.
But Pace had a different view. "It is the absolute responsibility of
every U.S. service member, if they see inhumane treatment being
conducted, to intervene, to stop it," the general said.
Rumsfeld interjected: "I don't think you mean they have an obligation to physically stop it; it's to report it."
But Pace meant what he said. "If they are physically present when
inhumane treatment is taking place, sir, they have an obligation to try
to stop it," he said, firmly. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
IRAQ FAILS TO DELIVER RESULTS OF TORTURE PROBE -
TOP
SAMEER N. YACOUB, ASSOCIATED PRESS, 11/30/05
http://www.suntimes.com/output/iraq/iraq30b.html
BAGHDAD, Iraq-- Iraqi government officials failed Wednesday to deliver
the promised results of an investigation into alleged torture at an
Interior Ministry jail in Baghdad.
U.S. and Iraqi forces discovered 173 malnourished Iraqi detainees when
they went into the facility on Nov. 13. Some inmates showed signs of
torture, U.S. and Iraqi officials said. A U.S. general was so concerned
with what he found that he took immediate control of the jail but the
military has released few details about it since. (MORE)
---
U.S. MILITARY COVERTLY PAYS TO RUN STORIES IN IRAQI PRESS -
TOP
Mark Mazzetti and Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times, 11/30/05
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-infowar30nov30,0,5638790.story
WASHINGTON -- As part of an information offensive in Iraq, the U.S.
military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written
by American troops in an effort to burnish the image of the U.S.
mission in Iraq.
The articles, written by U.S. military "information operations" troops,
are translated into Arabic and placed in Baghdad newspapers with the
help of a defense contractor, according to U.S. military officials and
documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
Many of the articles are presented in the Iraqi press as unbiased news
accounts written and reported by independent journalists. . The stories
trumpet the work of U.S. and Iraqi troops, denounce insurgents, and
tout U.S.-led efforts to rebuild the country.
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAIR LAUNCHES PATRIOT ACT BLOG
Website focused on unsupervised surveillance
powers
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/1/05) - The Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) today launched a "blog," or Internet journal,
focusing on the negative civil liberties impact of the USA Patriot Act
currently up for renewal in Congress.
CAIR's blog, located at
http://cairpatriotact.blogspot.com/,
offers information about the unsupervised domestic surveillance powers
contained in the legislation and suggests ways in which voters can
express their concerns to elected officials. It will be updated daily
with new information. (Automatic updates can be sent to newsreader
software using the Atom URL:
http://cairpatriotact.blogspot.com/atom.xml
For newsreader information, go to:
http://www.atomenabled.org )
In 2003, CAIR joined five other advocacy and community groups in
mounting a constitutional challenge to the section of the Patriot Act
that vastly expanded the FBI's power to spy on ordinary people.
SEE: "CAIR Joins First Legal Challenge to Patriot Act"
http://cair.com/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1018&theType=NR
Sixteen provisions of the Patriot Act are due to expire at the end of
December. A House-Senate compromise on renewal was derailed just before
Thanksgiving. The renewal process will be concluded within the next few
weeks.
CAIR, which has long been working to include civil rights protections
in the bill, says the Patriot Act provisions of greatest current
concern are Sections 215 and 505.
Section 215 allows law enforcement to acquire a search warrant for "any
tangible thing." It also forbids the warrant's recipient from telling
anyone about the warrant. CAIR and other civil liberties groups support
a Senate provision that would have required that the government show
that a person whose records are sought has some connection to a terror
suspect. Currently, law enforcement officials must merely say the
records are needed for an ongoing investigation.
Under Section 505, National Security Letters (NSL) can be authorized by
FBI field inspectors. NSLs allow access to such records as financial,
business dealings, telephone calls, e-mails, web sites visited, and
Internet searches. They do not require a judge's approval and are
typically presented to employers or internet service providers who are
then prohibited from informing anyone of the request, even their own
lawyers. The Washington Post recently reported that 30,000 such letters
are being issued annually. (The Justice Department has taken issue with
that claim.)
"CAIR's new blog is part of our final push in an ongoing effort to
make sure the renewed Patriot Act protects civil liberties, just as it
seeks to protect national security," said CAIR Government Affairs Director
Corey Saylor.
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices
and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
- END -
CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor, 202-646-6039 or 571-278-4658, E-Mail:
csaylor@cair-net.org; Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called
CAIR-NET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from CAIR-NET, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 12/1/05
*
Verse:
God is
All-Embracing in His Love
*
King
Abdullah II to Address CAIR Banquet by Video (Petra)
*
Islam-Oped:
Jesus
Can Bring Christians, Muslims Together
-
MA:
Christian
and Muslim Women Create Faith Quilts
*
CAIR-CA:
FBI Should
Join Hunt for Doctor (Mercury News)
*
CAIR-CAN:
Muslims
to Fight for Religious Freedom at McGill
-
Canada:
York
Students Ask For Religious Accommodation
*
Sidestepping
Courts in the War on Terrorism (LA Times)
-
Zero Tolerance for Torture
(Inquirer)
-
Secret U.S. Prisons in Europe Draw Ire (NY Times)
*
The Case of the 'Bomb Al-Jazeera' Memo (Newsweek)
*
Faith in Love:
Can religion Make or Break a Relationship?
*
MN: Winter Means Adjustments for Somali Immigrants (AP)
*
Incitement Watch: Complaints Follow Talk on Islam
-
Smerconish: Public Prayer by Muslims 'Wrong'
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: GOD IS ALL-EMBRACING IN HIS LOVE -
TOP
"Behold, it is He who creates (man) in the first instance, and He (it
is who) will bring him forth anew. He alone is truly-forgiving,
all-embracing in His love."
The Holy Quran, 85:13-14
-----
KING ABDULLAH II TO ADDRESS CAIR BANQUET BY VIDEO -
TOP
Jordan News Agency, 12/1/05
http://www.petra.gov.jo/nepras/2005/Dec/01/29179300.htm
(Petra)-- His Majesty King Abdullah II will address the 11th Annual
Banquet of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on Saturday by
video. "Proceeds of the activity will go to support CAIR's activities
in the next year," CAIR said in a statement. Since its establishment in
1994, CAIR has worked to promote a positive image of Islam and Muslims
in America and empower the American Muslim community and encourage
their participation in political and social activism.
SEE: "American Muslims: Partners for Peace and Justice"
http://www.cair-net.org/2005banquet/
-----
ISLAM-OPED: LOVE FOR JESUS CAN BRING CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS TOGETHER -
TOP
IMPORTANT NOTE: This commentary was very popular with readers
when it was first distributed before Christmas last year. It is being
offered again this year for those publications that were unable to
publish it previously.
ISLAM-OPED is a syndication service of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) designed to offer an American Muslim perspective on
current political, social and religious issues. ISLAM-OPED commentaries
are offered free-of-charge to one media outlet in each market area.
Permission for publication will be granted on a first-come-first-served
basis.
Please consider the following commentary for publication.
CONTACT:
ihooper@cair-net.org
TEL: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726 (c)
---
LOVE FOR JESUS CAN BRING CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS TOGETHER
By Ibrahim Hooper
Word Count: 569
[Ibrahim Hooper is National Communications Director for the
Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the
nation's largest Muslim civil liberties group. He may be contacted at:
ihooper@cair-net.org ]
"Behold! The angels said: 'O Mary! God giveth thee glad tidings of a
Word from Him. His name will be Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, held in
honor in this world and the Hereafter and in (the company of) those
nearest to God.'"
Before searching for this quote in the New Testament, you might first
ask your Muslim co-worker, friend or neighbor for a copy of the Quran,
Islam's revealed text. The quote is from verse 45 of chapter 3 in the
Quran.
It is well known, particularly in this holiday season, that Christians
follow the teachings of Jesus. What is less well understood is that
Muslims also love and revere Jesus as one of God's greatest messengers
to mankind.
Other verses in the Quran, regarded by Muslims as the direct word of
God, state that Jesus was strengthened with the "Holy Spirit" (2:87)
and is a "sign for the whole world." (21:91) His virgin birth was
confirmed when Mary is quoted as asking: "How can I have a son when no
man has ever touched me?" (3:47)
The Quran shows Jesus speaking from the cradle and, with God's
permission, curing lepers and the blind. (5:110) God also states in the
Quran: "We gave (Jesus) the Gospel (Injeel) and put compassion and
mercy into the hearts of his followers." (57:27)
As forces of hate in this country and worldwide try to pull Muslims and
Christians apart, we are in desperate need of a unifying force that can
bridge the widening gap of interfaith misunderstanding and mistrust.
That force could be the message of love, peace and forgiveness taught
by Jesus and accepted by followers of both faiths.
Christians and Muslims would do well to consider another verse in the
Quran reaffirming God's eternal message of spiritual unity: "Say ye:
'We believe in God and the revelation given to us and to Abraham,
Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and
Jesus, and that given to (all) Prophets from their Lord. We make no
distinction between any of them, and it is unto Him that we surrender
ourselves.'" (2:136)
The Prophet Muhammad himself sought to erase any distinctions between
the message he taught and that taught by Jesus, who he called God's
"spirit and word." Prophet Muhammad said: "Both in this world and in
the Hereafter, I am the nearest of all people to Jesus, the son of
Mary. The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different,
but their religion is one."
When Muslims mention the Prophet Muhammad, they always add the phrase
"peace be upon him." Christians may be surprised to learn that the same
phrase always follows a Muslim's mention of Jesus or that we believe
Jesus will return to earth in the last days before the final judgment.
Disrespect toward Jesus, as we have seen all too often in our society,
is very offensive to Muslims.
Unfortunately, violent events and hate-filled rhetoric around the world
provide ample opportunity for promoting religious hostility. And yes,
Muslims and Christians do have some differing perspectives on Jesus'
life and teachings. But his spiritual legacy offers an alternative
opportunity for people of faith to recognize their shared religious
heritage.
America's Muslim community stands ready to honor that legacy by
building bridges of interfaith understanding and challenging those who
would divide our nation along religious or ethnic lines.
We have more in common than we think.
SEE ALSO:
CHURCH COLLABORATES WITH BDF MUSLIMS TO CREATE A FAITH QUILTS -
TOP
Lexington Minuteman, 12/1/05
http://www2.townonline.com/lexington/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=379930
Early next year more than 50 spectacular Faith Quilts will be exhibited
as part of a month-long celebration in Greater Boston called: "Faith,
the Arts and Community." The exhibit will be at the Boston Center for
the Arts Cyclorama, April 6-9, along with a variety of performances and
events including poetry workshops, music, song and dance, dialogues and
conversations, and other artistic and educational expressions of faith
traditions.
The Faith Quilts Project is in its third and final year. Thirty-five
quilt-makers are working with faith communities and interfaith youth
and adults including African American and Southeast Asian Muslims,
Turkish Muslims, Bahai's, Native Americans, Mormons, Wiccans,
Buddhists, Evangelical Christians, Seventh-Day Adventists, Secular
Humanists and more, on collaborative quilts which explore their faiths
and explain it to the wider world.
Included in the exhibit will be a two-part quilt that's being made
collaboratively by members of Follen Unitarian-Universalist Church in
Lexington and their long-time dialogue partners at the Boston Dialogue
Foundation (BDF). BDF brings together Turkish Muslims in the Boston
area and sponsors many interfaith exchanges. BDF's President, Imam
Salih Yucel, and Follen Church's Parish Minister, Reverend Lucinda
Duncan, initiated the UU-Muslim dialogue effort in the summer of 2001,
not knowing how important the dialogue work would become just a few
months later. Imam Salih spoke at a prayer vigil at Follen Church on
the evening of 9/11.
The pair of quilts made by the UU and Muslim women will signify their
shared commitments and dreams, as they have been identified through
dialogue. When the quilts are hung together they will connect two
halves of the globe, conveying a sense of wholeness. The UU flaming
chalice will be depicted with flames in the shape of Turkish tulips
that symbolize a reaching toward the heavens to Allah. A bridge will
run across the two quilts with arches that hold symbols that will
include representations of peace, justice, faith and spirituality.
After the quilts are exhibited with each other at the Boston Center for
the Arts, one will hang at the Boston Dialogue Foundation and one will
hang in Follen Church.
(MORE)
-----
CAIR-CA: FBI SHOULD JOIN HUNT FOR S.J. DOCTOR -
TOP
Scott Herhold, Mercury News, 12/1/05
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/columnists/13300087.htm
Dr. Zehra Attari is -- or was -- a meticulous woman. When she got
behind the wheel of her gray 2000 Honda Accord, she locked the door,
fastened her seat belt and often called her husband on her cell phone.
That call didn't happen the evening of Monday, Nov. 7, as the San Jose
resident left her medical office in Oakland around 5 p.m. to drive five
miles to a medical insurance conference in Alameda.
Attari generally drove out the wrong way on a one-way alley behind her
office at 27th Avenue and International Boulevard. A nursing teacher
saw her get into the car that night. But this time, if she left by the
alley, it was the wrong way to nowhere.
"How does a person disappear into thin air?" asks Annie Dandavati, a
leader in the Indian community in San Jose. "I think that's the
ultimate question. . ."
So we're back at square one: The Council on American-Islamic Relations
has begun an online petition asking that the FBI get involved in the
case. Among other things, they're worried by the possibility that Dr.
Attari was singled out because of her race or Muslim religion.
The outreach director for CAIR, Sameena Usman, told me that the
threshold for FBI involvement was evidence of foul play. But there's a
more fundamental reason why the CAIR petition is right: The FBI has the
resources to solve this one. And this is no case to forget. A doctor
shouldn't disappear into thin air.
-----
CAIR-CAN: MUSLIMS TO FIGHT FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AT MCGILL UNIVERSITY -
TOP
(OTTAWA, CANADA � 01/12/05) � On December 2, the Canadian Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) and the McGill University chapter
of the Muslim Students Association (MSA) will hold a press conference
to discuss their next action in fighting for religious freedom and the
accommodation of religious rights at McGill University.
The University has said it will not accommodate religious rights and
evicted its Muslim students from their prayer room in June 2005.
Hundreds of students were left to pray Islam's five daily prayers
outside or in hallways.
EVENT: Press Conference
DATE: Friday, December 2, 2005
TIME: 11:30 a.m. � 12:15 p.m.
PLACE: 2nd floor, The University Center, 3480 McTavish St., McGill University
PARTICIPANTS: Idil Issa, Spokesperson, MSA chapter at McGill; Mohamed
Sheibani, President, MSA National; Sarah Elgazzar, Community Relations
Director, CAIR-CAN; Riad Saloojee, Executive Director, CAIR-CAN
NOTE: Friday Jumaa prayers will begin at 1 p.m. and are held in the
same building on the 3rd floor of the University Center. The prayers
offer photo opportunities and background sound. Please note, however,
that this is a religious service. Photographers are advised not to step
directly in front of worshippers and to seek permission for close-up
shots. Shots of shoes removed for prayer, and rear-angle shots of
prostrating worshipers are considered inappropriate.
For English media inquiries, please contact Halima Mautbur at
613-795-2012. For French media inquiries, please contact Sarah Elgazzar
at 514-738-6566.
ALSO SEE
YORK STUDENTS ASK FOR RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION -
TOP
Excalibur, 11/30/05
http://www.excal.on.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1186&Itemid=2
In light of Christian and Jewish holy days being accommodated at York, Muslim students are asking for similar consideration.
Ahmed Habib, vice-president equity for the York Federation of Students
(YFS), sent a letter earlier this month to Sheila Embleton, York's
vice-president academic, asking that York not hold classes during the
Eid Al Adha and Eid Al Fitr Muslim holy days.
"Despite the fact that we've been told by [York president] Lorna
Marsden that it's a matter to be brought to Senate, we still feel that
the York administration can support an initiative to grant Muslim holy
days to students as a way of promoting equity and inclusivity in our
community," says Habib.
Nancy White, York's media relations director, referred concerns about
religious holidays to a report that the Senate Committee on Curriculum
and Academic Standards (CCAS) released earlier this year. CCAS examined
the question of religious holidays after professor David Noble
challenged York's accommodation of Jewish holy days in 2004.
"The report recommended that there be no change to this practice on
those days," says White. "The decision not to hold classes on Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur has been a long-standing tradition at York
since 1974. The idea of not holding classes on these dates was
originally a student senator's idea," she adds. (MORE)
-----
SIDESTEPPING COURTS IN THE WAR ON TERRORISM -
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Richard B. Schmitt, Los Angeles Times, 11/30/05
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-terror30nov30,1,7862391.story
WASHINGTON - The timing of the government's indictment last week of
terror suspect Jose Padilla, after holding him more than three years
without charges, seemed hardly coincidental.
The Supreme Court was being asked to review the Padilla matter, which
has sparked a national debate over the treatment of terrorism suspects
who are U.S. citizens. By filing criminal charges against him, the
Justice Department was reducing the chance that the high court would
rule against the government in his case.
It's an increasingly common strategy in the Bush administration's legal
war on terrorism: avoiding review by the federal courts whenever
possible.
As the government has tried to maximize its power to track down,
question and incarcerate suspects here and abroad, it has come to view
the courts as a sort of new domestic threat that often affords
prisoners more rights than officials feel they legally deserve. Barely
a year ago, the Supreme Court gave terrorism suspects broad rights to
challenge the government in court.
In the wake of that and other rulings, authorities have moved
repeatedly to avoid judicial review by changing the status of
prisoners, shipping them overseas or making adjustments in the
conditions of their confinement - sometimes days before suspects were
to appear in court.
The administration is also considered likely to support legislation,
already passed by the Senate, that would greatly limit the rights of
detainees and undo much of the 2004 high court ruling for future cases.
Critics say that these and other tactics amount to a kind of legal dodge ball with the Constitution. (MORE)
ALSO SEE:
ZERO TOLERANCE FOR TORTURE -
TOP
Mary Shaw, Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/1/05
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/opinion/13298714.htm
AFTER THE photos from Abu Ghraib sickened the nation and the world last
year, George W. Bush assured us that it was merely the work of "a few
bad apples," and that "this country does not believe in torture."
In fact, on June 26, 2004, in a statement commemorating the U.N.
International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Bush proclaimed
that "freedom from torture is an inalienable human right, and we are
committed to building a world where human rights are respected and
protected by the rule of law."
Those are some noble words, George. But talk is cheap. If Bush stands
so firmly against torture, why then has he threatened to veto a defense
spending bill if it includes Sen. John McCain's amendment prohibiting
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of any detainee held by the U.S.
government?
And if, as Bush insists, "this country does not believe in torture,"
why has Vice President Cheney (emphasis on "vice") been spending so
much time lobbying Congress to exempt the CIA from any anti-torture
legislation?
It seems the real "bad apples" are a bit farther up the tree than they would like us to believe.
With these efforts to legitimize torture, the Bush administration is
further damaging our country's reputation while also putting our own
citizens at risk. How could we expect an enemy to refrain from
torturing any U.S. soldier or civilian who might be captured when we
have set the trend?
Some Americans believe that torture is sometimes necessary to protect
us from terrorism. They like to raise the "ticking time bomb" scenario,
in which a bomb is set to explode, and the captured terrorist refuses
to divulge the bomb's location. (MORE)
---
REPORTS OF SECRET U.S. PRISONS IN EUROPE DRAW IRE AND OTHERWISE RED FACES -
TOP
Ian Fisher, New York Times, 11/30/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/01/international/europe/01cia.html
ROME - It is not only anger that is rising in Europe over possible
secret American prisons on the Continent, kidnappings of terror
suspects and transfers of prisoners on C.I.A. airplanes.
There is also looming embarrassment, with suspicion that Americans, in
many cases, operated with the knowledge or consent of local governments.
''Someone knew,'' said Daria Pesce, the lawyer for a former C.I.A.
station chief in Milan, one of 22 Americans formally charged in the
kidnapping of an Islamic militant from there to Egypt in 2003. ''I
don't think that it is possible that an American comes into Italy and
kidnaps someone. It seems really unlikely.''
In the last few weeks, a confusing -- and combustible -- array of
allegations has been hardening into fact in the European mind, all
pointing to a worry that people here, largely skeptical of America's
effort to prevent terrorism, may be more involved in that project than
thought, and in several ways.
The immediate furor was set off by a report that since the Sept. 11
terror attacks, the Central Intelligence Agency has created a covert
prison system in eight countries, including several in Eastern Europe.
There have been subsequent reports that C.I.A. planes have made stops
in various European countries.
The flights have raised questions of whether they carried suspects
bound for secret American prisons, though the flights do not prove that
such transfers took place.
The concern is not limited to covert prisons, though. The biggest
question is about so-called extraordinary renditions, or transfers, in
which terror suspects captured abroad are sent by the United States to
their home countries or to third countries, some of which have records
of torturing prisoners.
The operations are by nature secret, so it has been hard to separate
facts from the speculative murk around them. But the questions are
fueled by some concrete evidence: hundreds of recorded flights by
C.I.A. planes and at least one kidnapping, the one in Italy, documented
in detail by prosecutors.
The questions seem likely to dominate the visit to Europe next week of
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. They will focus on just how active
America has been in the capture and transfer of terror suspects on
European soil. (MORE)
-----
THE CASE OF THE SECRET MEMO -
TOP
Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball, Newsweek, 11/30/05
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10269701/site/newsweek/from/RSS/
A British government crackdown on government leaks may have backfired
by calling world attention to an ultrasensitive secret memo whose
alleged contents have embarrassed President George W. Bush and strained
relations between London and Washington. The document allegedly
recounts a threat last year by Bush to bomb the head office of the
Arabic TV news channel Al-Jazeera.
U.K. authorities consider the memo, described as minutes or a
transcript of an April 16, 2004, White House meeting between Bush and
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, so diplomatically sensitive that
Blair's attorney general last week warned U.K. media by e-mail that
they could face prosecution under the country's draconian Official
Secrets Act if they reported on its contents. But all the legal threat
appeared to do was call more attention to the still-mysterious document
and, at a minimum, appear to confirm its existence.
Bush administration officials initially dismissed the memo's
allegations about Bush's threat against Al-Jazeera as "outlandish."
U.S. officials later suggested that if Bush did talk with Blair about
bombing Al-Jazeera, the president was only joking. Asked directly today
about Bush's purported threat to bomb Al-Jazeera, White House press
secretary Scott McClellan said: "Any such notion that we would engage
in that kind of activity is just absurd." McLellan did not respond to
follow-up questions as to whether Bush actually said what the memo says
he did.
But a senior official at 10 Downing Street, Blair's official residence,
who insisted on anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject,
recently seemed to give credence to the Al-Jazeera threat. The official
told NEWSWEEK London Bureau chief Stryker McGuire: "I don't think Tony
Blair thought it was a joke." (MORE)
-----
FAITH IN LOVE; CAN RELIGION MAKE OR BREAK A RELATIONSHIP? -
TOP
Andrea Lorenz, Kansas City Star, 12/1/05
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/living/13293991.htm
We all have dealbreakers. Maybe yours is "no smokers" or "no Democrats."
I've heard "no redheads" and "no jocks."
But what happens when faith is the dealbreaker?. . .
To find out how single people in the Kansas City area are approaching
the faith-testing world of premarital communications, we asked a few
how they deal - with or without dealbreakers.
Sally Salah, 25, Kansas City
Biology graduate student at Central Missouri State University
Muslim
Q: How do you approach finding a partner?
A: Normally he wouldn't come straight to me. He would go through the
family first We'd do sort of a background check on the family and
stuff, then after that we communicate one way or the other. And of
course, we're never alone in that sense. He would come to our house or
telephone or e-mail communications probably. Our parents have to be
aware of everything that's going on.
What sort of things are you looking for in someone?
You know because he has the same faith, you know all our morals, all
ourvalues are the same A lot of the big questions couples would have to
normally go through, I don't even have to worry about that stuff. It's
a given Personally, I don't like to think I'm a very picky person,
although my mom would like to argue otherwise.
-----
WINTER MEANS DIFFERENT ADJUSTMENTS FOR SOMALI IMMIGRANTS -
TOP
Associated Press, 12/1/05
http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/13299805.htm
MINNEAPOLIS - There's good news for Minnesotans: Long-range weather
predictions indicate this winter will bring temperatures slightly above
average.
But for Somali immigrants accustomed to a hot climate, even a warm winter in Minnesota can send shivers down the spine.
Saeed Fahia, executive director of the Confederation of Somali
Community in Minnesota, said the cold and wind can be "shocking," while
the snow and ice is "frightening."
When asked what was most remarkable about his first encounters with
winter, he lifted the leg of his pants to reveal a pair of white long
johns.
"The strangest things," he said of the warmer layers. "I avoid them myself, as long as possible."
He said that during winter, many Somalis may drift into a sedentary,
indoor routine that has led to an increase in sickness and obesity in
the community.
December also disrupts the Muslim daily prayer routine, said Fahia, who
has been in the United States for 15 years and in Minnesota for eight.
In Somalia, which is near the equator, Muslim prayers linked to sunrise
and sunset occur at almost the same time of day, all year round. But in
places like Minnesota, those times vary with the seasons.
And with additional prayers scheduled for noon and midafternoon, a
shortened winter day for Minnesota Muslims can become filled with
devotions.
On the other hand, Fahia said, when Ramadan comes in the winter, its
requirement of sunup-to-sundown fasting is relatively easy. Ramadan in
summer, with 15 hours of daylight, is more difficult. (MORE)
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: COMPLAINTS FOLLOW TALK ON ISLAM -
TOP
Shawn Vestal, Spokesman Review, 12/1/05
http://spokesmanreview.com/local/story.asp?ID=104162
A speaker at North Idaho College who declared that Islam is a religion
of world domination committed to the death of Christians and Jews has
riled up some students, who say the speech fed false stereotypes.
Chuck Missler, who spoke on "The Threat of Radical Islam," said he's
just trying to tell the truth about a grave threat to America.
"We're not speaking out against Muslims in general," said Missler, who
runs a worldwide Christian ministry from Post Falls. "But the
leadership has a definite agenda, and it's the destruction of America."
Stefano Carrera, an NIC student who complained to the school about the
speech, said it reflects a regional problem of poor understanding of
other cultures and ethnicities.
"Certain people are just tired of all the hatred being presented at
most of the churches in Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene," said Carrera,
who was born in Trinidad and Tobago and who holds Swiss and American
citizenship. "What these religious groups are doing is, 'I'm better
than you are.' & It's like a football game. . ."
Missler was brought to NIC by the College Republicans.
"They say Islam is a religion of peace," Missler said during the
speech, according to a recording of the event. "That's nonsense. Islam,
the Quran is a warrior's code for world conquest, from cover to cover.
Check it out. Read it yourself."
The speech attracted almost 250 people, and the reactions have been
mixed. Shelly Hands, the leader of the campus Republicans, said critics
claimed Missler was hateful and have called her group a cult for
bringing him to campus. (MORE)
ALSO SEE:
SMERCONISH: PUBLIC PRAYER BY MUSLIMS 'WRONG' -
TOP
http://mediamatters.org/items/200511300005
On the November 23 broadcast of Fox News' The Radio Factor, guest host
Michael A. Smerconish took issue with a recent decision by the New
Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority to provide a designated prayer
area at Giants Stadium. The decision was in response to a September 19
incident involving the FBI's detention and questioning of five Muslim
men who were observed praying near the stadium's main air duct during a
New York Giants football game. Smerconish stated: "I just think that's
[the men's public praying] wrong. I just think they're playing a game
of, you know, mind blank with the audience. And that they should know
better four years removed from September 11."
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 12/2/05
*
Hadith:
God Has 99 Names
*
CAIR-NY Helps Train
Gitmo Lawyers
-
Pentagon:
Old Rules on
Prisoners Don't Apply (SFC)
-
Islam Put on Trial in Terror Cases
(Pacific NS)
*
CAIR:
More Sponsors Needed for Quran Requests
*
CAIR:
'Sleeper Cell' Awakens Fears in Muslim Viewers (DFP)
-
Screenwriter:
TV Can Boost Image of Muslims (USA Today)
*
NY:
Visit to Mosque a Leap of Faith (Journal News)
-
FL:
An American Muslim Girl (St. Petersburg Times)
*
VA:
Prison Needs Muslim Religious Volunteer
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: GOD HAS 99 NAMES -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "(God) has 99 names.
Anyone who memorizes them will enter Paradise. He is God, other than
whom there is no god, the Compassionate, the Merciful, the King, the
Holy, the Source of Peace, the Preserver of Security, the Protector,
the Mighty, the Overpowering, the Great in Majesty, the Creator, the
Maker, the Fashioner, the Forgiver, the Dominant, the Bestower, the
Provider, the Decider, the Knower, the Withholder, the Plentiful Giver,
the Abaser, the Exalter, the Honorer, the Humiliator, the Hearer, the
Seer, the Judge, the Just, the Gracious, the Informed, the Clement, the
Incomparably Great, the Forgiving, the Rewarder, the Most High, the
Most Great, the Preserver, the Sustainer, the Reckoner, the Majestic,
the Generous, the Watcher, the Answerer, the Liberal, the Wise, the
Loving, the Glorious, the Raiser, the Witness, the Real, the Trustee,
the Strong, the Firm, the Patron, the Praiseworthy, the All-Knowing,
the Originator, the Restorer to Life, the Giver of Life, the Giver of
Death, the Living, the Eternal, the Self-sufficient, the Grand, the
One, the Single, He to Whom men repair, the Powerful, the Prevailing,
the Advancer, the Delayer, the First, the Last, the Outward, the
Inward, the Governor, the Sublime, the Amply Beneficent, the Accepter
of Repentance, the Avenger, the Pardoner, the Kindly, the Ruler of the
Kingdom, the Lord of Majesty and Splendor, the Equitable, the Gatherer,
the Independent, the Enricher, the Depriver, the Harmer, the
Benefactor, the Light, the Guide, the First Cause, the Enduring, the
Inheritor, the Director, the Patient."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 724
-----
CAIR-NY HELPS TRAIN GITMO LAWYERS -
TOP
(NEW YORK, NY, 12/2/05) - The New York office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) recently helped train lawyers who
will be working with detainees at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The Center for Constitutional Rights invited CAIR-NY Executive Director
Wissam Nasr to brief some 50 attorneys on basic Islamic beliefs and
practices and on issues such as Islamic jurisprudence, gender
relations, Muslim history, and the impact of American policies in the
Muslim world.
"We appreciate the opportunity to help some of our nation's best lawyers to better understand Islam and Muslims," said Nasr.
CAIR has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission
is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect
civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that
promote justice and mutual understanding.
CONTACT: CAIR-NY Executive Director Wissam Nasr, 917-751-1017 or 212-870-2002, E-Mail:
director@cair-ny.org
SEE ALSO:
PENTAGON OFFICIALS SAY OLD RULES ON PRISONERS DON'T APPLY -
TOP
Charles Burress, San Francisco Chronicle, 12/2/05
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/02/BAGNPG1SUM1.DTL
As the Bush administration faces mounting international criticism on
alleged torture, "disappeared" prisoners held at secret CIA facilities
and denial of due process for detainees, two Pentagon policymakers
appeared at UC Berkeley this week to justify administration prison
policies.
How can the Pentagon say forcible shaving of a Muslim prisoner's beard
"falls within 'humane' and outside of 'cruel and degrading'?" asked a
skeptical audience member Thursday.
"It's simply outside my understanding of the plain English definitions of the words."
Christina Filarowski-Sheaks, a former interrogation trainer at
Guantanamo, said shaving off a Muslim's beard or playing loud music
fall far short of the "customary understanding" of cruel and degrading
treatment, which is banned by the Geneva Conventions.
The officials' appearance at UC's Goldman School of Public Policy
reflected Pentagon efforts to win public support and correct what it
sees as public misunderstanding of Bush administration treatment of
prisoners in the war on terror. (MORE)
---
ISLAM PUT ON TRIAL IN TERRORISM CASES, U.S. MUSLIMS SAY -
TOP
Paolo Pontoniere, Pacific News Service, 12/1/05
http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=626af5d0e2191bdbb03fe12aaa65ae8a
A growing number of legal experts and Muslim civil rights advocates say
that U.S. prosecutors are using jurors' ignorance of Islam as a way to
get convictions in terrorism cases.
-----
CAIR: MORE SPONSORS NEEDED FOR QURAN REQUESTS -
TOP
As of today, CAIR has received 24,336 requests from Americans of all
faiths for free Qurans through our "Explore the Quran" campaign. So
far, CAIR has mailed out some 11,000 Qurans. Another 7,500 will be
mailed soon to those who have requested a free Quran.
More requests are being received every day. Be part of CAIR's effort to
educate America about the Quran and Islam. We need you to sponsor
copies of the Quran to make sure that anyone who requests a Quran will
receive one.
To SPONSOR a free Quran, go to:
www.explorethequran.org
-----
'SLEEPER CELL' AWAKENS FEARS IN MUSLIM VIEWERS -
TOP
DAVID CRUMM, Detroit Free Press, 12/2/05
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051202/NEWS05/512020314
"Sleeper Cell," a 10-hour thriller about American Muslim terrorists
that's set to debut at 10 p.m. Sunday on Showtime, contains some of the
most disturbing depictions of Muslims ever shown on American television
and already has religious leaders bracing for a possible upswing in
bigotry.
The series is being promoted across metro Detroit with provocative
billboards warning that in any U.S. neighborhood there may be "Friends,
Neighbors, Husbands, Terrorists."
"This is an extremely frustrating situation," Eide Alawan of Dearborn,
a prominent Muslim spokesman in Michigan, said after previewing the
series' first episode this week. "As Muslims, we have to get very busy
to counter the violent images people will be seeing."
On Thursday, Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the national Council on
American-Islamic Relations, based in Washington, D.C., said his group
is concerned about the potential impact as the series unfolds.
"We're ambivalent about it, because they did consult with Muslims as
they made this and they had some Muslims on the writing staff. But
we've seen the final product and it's mixed. There's some good in it
and there are stereotypes, too. What worries us is that the stereotypes
may stick in viewers' minds more than the balancing perspectives in the
series."
In the first hour alone, the troubling images include a Muslim father
killing his teenaged daughter for sleeping with a boyfriend and Muslims
burying a friend, who they believe has betrayed them, to his neck and
stoning him to death as he screams for mercy. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
TV CAN BOOST IMAGE OF MUSLIMS -
TOP
Kamran Pasha, USA Today, 12/2/05
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-12-01-muslims-tv-edit_x.htm
[Kamran Pasha, a former journalist, is a screenwriter in Los Angeles for Sleeper Cell.]
The recent images of Muslim youths torching cars and spreading general
mayhem throughout France raise a troubling question: Can it happen here?
As an American Muslim, my instinct is to deny that such a cataclysm is
possible in the USA. But these tragic events are forcing Muslims to
confront the reality that we are facing a major crisis of identity.
Unlike our alienated European counterparts, American Muslims tend to be
prosperous and well-integrated into our communities. Even so, we are
trapped in the ghettoes of our own minds. By silencing ourselves, we
have enabled inaccurate and hostile images of Muslims to crystallize in
America. We must put forth a new image as trustworthy, smart and loving
people who are neighbors and not enemies.
The African-American community understood how critical the portrayal of
"ordinary people" on TV was to reshaping flawed perceptions of minority
groups. When The Cosby Show aired in 1984, many Americans still held
stereotypical views of blacks as unemployed and dangerous. That
negative image was broken. Viewers could see inside the home of an
African-American family that looked nothing like the stereotypical
images that were often portrayed in the news.
The same attitude shift can happen today if Americans are invited to
look into the lives of American Muslims in a positive, far more
accurate way. After decades of Hollywood images depicting Muslims
solely as terrorists, creating a balanced portrayal of Islam will take
time. (MORE)
-----
NY: VISIT TO MOUNT VERNON MOSQUE A LEAP OF FAITH -
TOP
CANDICE FERRETTE, JOURNAL NEWS, 12/2/05
http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051202/NEWS02/512020353/1028/NEWS12
MOUNT VERNON - Mary Joyce Beringer wrapped a red, floral scarf around
her head and made sure she removed her shoes before she entered the
Westchester Muslim Center yesterday morning.
It's not what she would've done on any Sunday at the Larchmont Avenue
Church, her parish, but she wanted to be as respectful as possible.
The gesture was well-received.
"We need to know about each other, regardless of what we believe in. We
need to understand and love each other," said Beringer, 70, one of the
10 members of the Larchmont/Mamaroneck Interfaith Council who visited
the mosque yesterday to learn more about Islam.
The council, comprising some 30 residents drawn from several churches
and synagogues in Long Island Sound shore communities, aims to educate
members and villages through educational forums, presentations and
field trips to different houses of worship, said Mary Lee Berridge, the
council president.
Yesterday, all 10 members - all women - covered their heads and sat on
the blue carpet inside the mosque as representatives from the Muslim
center talked to them about rituals, parts of the Quran - the Islamic
holy book - and daily prayer. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
FL: AN AMERICAN GIRL -
TOP
SUSAN ASCHOFF, St. Petersburg Times, 12/2/05
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/02/Floridian/An_American_girl.shtml
After a year of study, the Hillsborough School Board recently decided
to no longer tie vacation days to religious observances. Board members
left Christmas Day as part of the winter break, but removed the Jewish
Yom Kippur and Christian Good Friday from school calendars. The board
also rejected a request from area Muslims to add a day off for Eid
al-Fitr.
A more secular calendar, board members reasoned, would separate church and state and not favor some faiths over others.
Area Muslims feared they would somehow be blamed because they began the
discussion by asking for Eid al-Fitr. They were. More than 3,500
e-mails and phone calls protested the change, some of them suggesting
Muslims were not Americans and had no right to even ask.
After a raucous meeting Nov. 8, the school board voted to reinstate Yom
Kippur and Good Friday and not add Eid al-Fitr. A number of speakers
implied that if a person is not a Christian, he or she is not an
American.
Meet Sarah Zaki. She is one of the estimated 30,000 Muslims in the Tampa Bay area. She is an American. (MORE)
-----
VA: PRISON NEEDS MUSLIM RELIGIOUS VOLUNTEER -
TOP
Wallens Ridge State Prison in Big Stone Gap, Virginia is looking for a
"Muslim Religious Volunteer" to "provide accurate, timely and secure
religious information, and rituals so that inmates can rehabilitate
themselves through spiritual activities."
CONTACT: Mr. Louis Cei, Director of Special Programs and Volunteer
Services, Virginia Department of Corrections at 804-674-3296, ext.
1046, E-Mail:
louis.cei@vadoc.virginia.gov
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
- MEDIA ADVISORY -
DC-AREA MUSLIMS TO CALL FOR RELEASE OF VA MAN HELD HOSTAGE IN
IRAQ
Interfaith groups to urge immediate release of local
Christian peace activist
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/3/2005) - On
Sunday, December 4,
local and national Muslim and Christian leaders will hold a news
conference in Washington, D.C., to call for the immediate release of a
local peace activist taken hostage recently in Iraq.
WHAT: Interfaith News Conference Calling for Release of Virginian
Held Hostage in Iraq
WHEN: Sunday, December 4, 12:30 p.m.
WHERE: National Headquarters of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR), 453 New Jersey Avenue S.E., Washington, D.C.
CONTACT: CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper,
202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org
The interfaith leaders will urge the kidnappers to release
Tom
Fox, 54, of Clear Brook, Va., and all other hostages in Iraq. Fox has
been active in Virginia's Quaker community and is one of four members of
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) kidnapped last Saturday by a group
calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade. The kidnappers have
threatened to kill the hostages unless all prisoners in U.S. and Iraqi
detention centers are released.
SEE: "Va. Man Foresaw Dangers in Iraq"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/30/AR2005113002134.html
The Sunday news conference is being co-sponsored by the Washington-based
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), All Dulles Area Muslim
Society (ADAMS) and Langley Hill Friends Meeting in McLean, Va., of which
Fox is a member.
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and
chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
- END -
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called
CAIR-NET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with
American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our
society.
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from CAIR-NET, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 12/4/05
*
CAIR Annual Dinner a
Success
*
CAIR Calls for Release of Iraq
Hostages
*
CAIR-Chicago:
Discrimination Fails Us
All (Sun-Times)
-
NJ:
Muslims Complain of Hijab
Removal at DMV (AP)
-
CAIR Report on DMV Religious Accommodation
Nationwide
*
CAIR-LA:
'Sleeper Cell'
Hero Fails to Win Over Muslims (Balt Sun)
-
Muslim Screenwriter Helped Pen
'Sleeper Cell' (LA Times)
-
Muslims in a Post-9/11 America
(Post-Dispatch)
-
Islam Q&A
*
Brzezinski:
Don't Equate 'Islamic Radicalism' with Communism
-
White House Seeks Deal on Torture Ban (LA Times)
-
Repair the Patriot Act to Protect Freedoms (Oregonian)
-
Visit CAIR Patriot Act Blog
-
State Dept. Checks Citizen Reps' Political Views (KR)
*
Islam-Oped:
Jesus is Unifying Factor for Christians, Muslims
-
Hathout:
Answers to Five 'Repulsive' Questions
*
CAIR-CAN:
McGill Muslims Launch Human-Rights Complaint
*
Commentary:
God Uses Disasters to Test Our Conduct
-
MA:
Burned Mosque Feels Renewed Spirit (The Republican)
-
CT:
AIDS Patient Turns to Islam (Norwich Bulletin)
-----
CAIR ANNUAL DINNER A SUCCESS -
TOP
Sold-out crowd of almost 1,000 helps raise more than $1.2 Million
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/4/05) - Almost 1,000 people turned out last night
for the annual fundraising dinner of the Council on American Islamic
Relations (CAIR) and helped raise a total of more than $1.2 million to
support the group's civil rights and advocacy work on behalf of the
American Muslim community. The sold-out dinner was the culmination of a
$1 million fundraising campaign that began during the recent Islamic
fast of Ramadan.
"We thank all those who contributed to our campaign and we pledge to
work daily to earn the community's continuing support," said CAIR Board
Chairman Parvez Ahmed.
-----
CAIR CALLS FOR RELEASE OF IRAQ HOSTAGES -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/4/05) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) today held a news conference at its national headquarters in
Washington, D.C., to call for the release of members of the Christian
Peacemakers Teams recently taken hostage in Iraq.
In his prepared statement, CAIR Board Chairman Parvez Ahmed said:
"The hostages in Iraq are longtime friends of the Muslim community. On
numerous occasions they stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Muslims
advocating for their causes - from forming human-shields in Iraq before
the U.S. invasion, to protecting the honor and property of the
Palestinian people.
"Those who left the comfort of their homes to advocate for the rights
of others that do not share their faith, ethnicity or language should
be celebrated and honored by Muslims, not humiliated by being made
captives or, God forbid, killed. This is a universal human ideal and a
cherished principle of Islam.
"As a leader of the American Muslim community and the head of America's
largest Islamic civil liberties group, I make a personal appeal to the
captors of the four members of the Christian Peacemakers Teams -
release our brothers in humanity immediately and unconditionally. We
also make this call to the captors of all those, of any faith,
currently held hostage in Iraq.
"Taking hostages and threatening to kill them brings no honor to Islam, Muslims or to the people of Iraq.
"Again I ask the captors to release our brothers so that they can
continue to advocate for the cause of justice in Iraq and elsewhere,
just as they have done in the past.
"God says in the Quran: 'O you who have attained to faith! Be ever
steadfast in your devotion to God, bearing witness to the truth in all
equity; and never let hatred of anyone lead you into the sin of
deviating from justice. Be just: this is closest to being
God-conscious.' (Quran, 5:8)
"In another verse, God states that whoever kills a human being, it
shall be as if he had killed all of humankind, and anyone who saves a
life, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all humankind."
(Quran, 5:32)
CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said: "The group that these hostages
belong to exposed abuse of detainees in Iraq long before the Abu Ghraib
scandal became public." Awad mentioned this fact because the kidnappers
are demanding the release of all detainees in Iraqi or American custody
in that nation.
Awad also translated into Arabic CAIR's statement calling for the release of the hostages.
Speakers at today's news conference included representatives of CAIR,
the Washington-area Muslim community, All Dulles Area Muslim Society
(ADAMS), and Langley Hill Friends Meeting in McLean, Va., of which one
of the hostages (Tom Fox) is a member.
CAIR has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission
is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect
civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that
promote justice and mutual understanding.
CONTACT: CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR-CHICAGO: DISCRIMINATION FAILS US ALL -
TOP
Ahmed M. Rehab, Chicago Sun-Times, 12/4/05
http://www.suntimes.com/output/letters/cst-edt-vox04a.html
(Scroll down.)
Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) believes peace activists from Egypt should be
greeted at O'Hare Airport with a hefty dose of institutionalized
discrimination. Their offense? Being of the same age group and national
origin as Mohamed Atta. "I'm OK with discrimination against young Arab
males from terrorist-producing states," says Kirk.
A Sun-Times Editorial ["Telling it like it is," Nov. 9] endorses this
view. It does not matter if you are a doctor from Jordan here to attend
a neurological conference. It does not matter if you are an investment
banker from Saudi Arabia here to create business opportunities. What
does matter is where and when you were born; that is sufficient to
render you suspect and qualify you for "intense scrutiny."
It comes as no surprise that Kirk's comments have spurred an outcry in
Illinois. A coalition of 27 prominent organizations that include
Muslim, Arab, Korean, Hispanic, Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran and Filipino
groups, as well constituents of Kirk's 10th district, have joined
voices to demand an apology.
So let's tell it like it is. In this country, discrimination has only
ever been an acceptable recourse for the unimaginative and the
uninspired. As we battle a ruthless and resolute enemy, we need to
focus our national security measures on that which works: gathering
enough hard intelligence to nab individual culprits. We should not
adopt sloppy and desperate measures that implicate the entire class of
people whose phenotype or passport a culprit happens to share.
Ahmed M. Rehab,
Council on American-Islamic Relations, Chicago
SEE ALSO:
NJ: MUSLIM WOMEN COMPLAIN ABOUT HEAD-SCARF REMOVAL AT DMV -
TOP
WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press, 12/4/05
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--muslims-motorvehi1204dec04,0,5317760.story
NEWARK, N.J. -- Despite a policy that allows motorists to wear
religious head coverings in their driver license photos, some Muslim
women complain that workers at the state Motor Vehicle Commission
continue to require them to either remove their head scarfs or pull
them back so that a substantial amount of hair is showing.
After several of the women complained, the motor vehicle agency wrote
several letters of apology, and promised to redouble its efforts to
make sure all its employees are familiar with guidelines on head
coverings, and apply them equally to everyone. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR REPORT ON DMV RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION NATIONWIDE -
TOP
Last year, CAIR issued a nationwide review of religious accommodation
in requirements for driver's license photographs. The report, titled "
Religious Accommodation in Driver's License Photographs: A Review of Codes, Policies and Practices in the 50 States,"
was prompted by complaints from Muslim women drivers who faced
difficulties wearing Islamic head scarves in license photographs. The
full report may be obtained at:
http://www.cair-net.org/downloads/driversphoto.pdf
-----
CAIR-LA: ISLAMIC ACTION HERO FAILS TO WIN OVER MUSLIMS -
TOP
Matthew Hay Brown, Baltimore Sun, 12/4/05
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.sleepercell04dec04,1,223317.story
LOS ANGELES // In his first days out of prison on charges he'd rather
not talk about, the new Muslim television character Darwyn al-Hakim
barges into a Southern California synagogue during prayers, tails a
teenager targeted for a grisly death and joins in the stoning murder of
a fellow terrorist accused of betraying the cause.
He also reports back on his activities to his colleagues in the FBI.
In al-Hakim, played by University of Maryland graduate Michael Ealy,
the creators of the new Showtime series Sleeper Cell say they have
developed America's first Muslim action hero: an undercover anti-terror
agent who infiltrates a band of bad guys bent on destruction in the
name of Islam.
The introduction of a Muslim hero is good news, say Muslim leaders who have followed the development of the series.
It's the rest of the production that concerns them. They say the
10-part series, which debuts at 10 o'clock tonight, perpetuates
misconceptions about Islam and terrorism while portraying American
Muslims as untrustworthy and potentially dangerous.
Sleeper Cell depicts the terrorist as next-door neighbor: Faris
al-Farik, the leader of the unit, passes as a Jewish security expert
who coaches a Little League team. Bosnian immigrant Ilija Korjenic is a
high school science teacher. Blond, blue-eyed Thomas Allen Emerson
manages a bowling alley.
In their spare time, they're bringing stonings and honor killings to Southern California.
Given the increase in anti-Muslim discrimination since the attacks of Sept. 11, Sabiha Khan says, the message is unhelpful.
"We are living in the real world where terrorism is definitely
impacting all of our lives -- especially an American Muslim life," said
Khan, who consults on television and movie productions as
communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations
in Southern California.
"What if I go down the street, or my brother goes down the street, or
my father goes down the street, goes to the post office?" she asked.
"Is somebody thinking, 'Is he an undercover terrorist, part of an
elaborate cell? You know, they seem normal, and they do everything that
Americans do. ... ' "
Khan's concerns go to a larger frustration among American Muslims about
the depiction of Islam in popular culture. Seldom are major Muslim
characters in television or films anything but terrorists, as in the
films Executive Decision, True Lies and The Siege.
The depiction of an American Muslim family as a sleeper cell in the
series 24 this year sparked outrage. Fox ultimately aired a statement
read by star Kiefer Sutherland telling viewers that the American Muslim
community denounces and resists terrorism.
Even Sayid Jarrah, the generally sympathetic character on the ABC
television series Lost, is a former torturer who fought in the
Republican Guard of Saddam Hussein.
"Historically, representations of Muslims and Arabs in popular culture
have not been good," said Ibrahim Hooper, national spokesman for the
Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington.
"We saw a bit of a reluctance after 9/11 to do any portrayals of
Muslims, Arabs, Arab-Americans," Hooper said. "I think people were
quite cognizant of the fact that any negative portrayals could further
stir up discrimination and bias against ordinary American Muslims and
Arab-Americans.
"We're starting to see a shift away from that reluctance now, and we
have to monitor the portrayals to make sure that the portrayals are
balanced, that they're not stereotypical, and they are a true
reflection of the reality of the American Muslim experience and an
objective portrayal of Islam." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
GROUNDED IN BELIEF -
TOP
As a Muslim, scriptwriter Kamran Pasha brings insights to "Sleeper Cell," a cable series about L.A.-based terrorists.
Lynn Smith, Los Angeles Times, 12/4/05
Review: Paul Brownfield on 'Sleeper Cell'
http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/cl-ca-sleeper4dec04,2,2008355.story
On Judgment Day, screenwriter Kamran Pasha believes he will be
accountable - not only for how he kept his faith but also for how he
used his talent. Those same motivations might drive another Muslim as
far away from Hollywood as he could get, yet Pasha spent most of the
past year helping pen Showtime's "Sleeper Cell," an action thriller
about an American Muslim who infiltrates an L.A.-based terrorist cell.
The nine-part miniseries, which debuts tonight, stars Oded Fehr as
Farik, the disciplined, stone-cold leader of the cell, and Michael Ealy
as Darwyn, a warmblooded, jazz-loving Muslim and undercover FBI agent.
The other international members of the cell include Christian (Alex
Nesic), a French skinhead; Ilija (Henri Lubatti), a war-ravaged
Bosnian; and Tommy (Blake Shields), the son of a Berkeley professor.
As the members plot the destruction of local landmarks, they are shown
performing religious rituals, dealing with sexual desire, and
disciplining one another for infractions of their moral code. Along the
way, they run into other Muslims who illustrate current issues: a USC
student reluctantly recruited to import chemicals for a dirty bomb; a
soldier who secretly trains would-be insurgents; a visiting Yemeni
scholar who argues that the Koran forbids terrorism.
As the sole Muslim on the six-member writing team, Pasha hoped that by
fleshing out the characters drawn to violence, he would be able to make
nuanced distinctions for the public between them and mainstream Muslims
like himself. Four years after 9/11, Americans are not only ready for
three-dimensional portrayals of terrorists, they are "starving" for
them, Pasha said. (MORE)
---
STILL US AND THEM? -
TOP
Tim Townsend, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/special/muslims.nsf/0/0943DE530BB5EA21862570CC00672F16
The history of the United States is filled with ethnic and religious
groups assimilating into the American mainstream, and Muslims are no
different - except in one regard. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the specter of
terrorism has loomed, and individual American Muslims are paying a
price.
They are living through a time in which Islam is being examined like never before by a skeptical but curious public.
"We are now, whether we like it or not, in the spotlight," said Sheikh
Mohammad Nur Abdullah, imam and director of the Islamic Foundation of
Greater St. Louis.
In St. Louis and across the country, American Muslims have a lot to say
about how they believe they are perceived by their non-Muslim neighbors
in a post-Sept. 11 world. "Those 19 hijackers happened to be Muslim,"
they often hear themselves telling non-Muslims, "but they did not act
for me. They may have claimed to act in the name of Islam, but they did
not act for Islam."
Islam, they say again and again, had nothing to do with that day.
So, for the last four years, the United States - their own country -
has been an interesting place for American Muslims. They have been
harassed, questioned and eyed suspiciously - not just by the government
- but by their neighbors and co-workers, and especially, they say, by
some in the media. (MORE)
---
ISLAM Q&A -
TOP
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/special/muslims.nsf/0/4DCDDBA8E3D0233D862570CC00676ED6
Q: What do Muslims believe?
A: The faith that Muslims practice is called Islam, which means
"submission to God." Muslims believe in one God, which, translated into
anglicized Arabic, is Allah. One of the five pillars of Islam is the
Shahada, the Muslim declaration of faith: There is no god but God, and
Muhammad is his messenger. The other four pillars are prayer, fasting,
charity and pilgrimage. (MORE)
-----
DO THESE TWO HAVE ANYTHING IN COMMON? -
TOP
President Bush has equated Islamic radicalism with communism. Is the comparison sound? Is it wise?
Zbigniew Brzezinski, Washington Post, 11/4/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/02/AR2005120201308.html
America would be better served if Bush avoided semantic traps that
create uncertainty about our true motives or fuel the worst suspicions
regarding U.S. strategy in the Middle East. Neither Islamophobic
terminology nor evocations of the victorious struggle with communism
help generate a better public understanding of what policies are needed
in order to pacify the Middle East and to speed the fading away of
terrorism, whose origins lie mostly in that region of the world.
Americans need to hear more of what Bush was saying not long ago to the
United Nations and less of what he has been propagating lately in the
United States.
Zbigniew Brzezinski was national security adviser to President Jimmy
Carter. He is a professor of American foreign policy at Johns Hopkins
University's School of Advanced International Studies and a trustee of
the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
SEE ALSO:
WHITE HOUSE SEEKS DEAL ON TORTURE BAN -
TOP
Janet Hook, Los Angeles Times, 12/4/05
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-torture4dec04,0,7193295.story
WASHINGTON - After threatening the first veto of the Bush presidency
over efforts to outlaw the torture of military prisoners, the White
House has backed away from a showdown and is now seeking a compromise
with Congress.
A White House spokesman said Saturday that national security advisor
Stephen Hadley had met three times over the last month - most recently
Thursday night - with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chief sponsor of an
amendment setting new restrictions on U.S. treatment of war prisoners.
A McCain aide confirmed that the subject of those talks was the
anti-torture amendment, which passed the Senate by a landslide despite
heavy opposition from the White House and personal lobbying by Vice
President Dick Cheney.
"They [administration officials] have assured me this will get worked
out," said a senior Senate Republican aide who, like others, did not
want to be identified because the matter was still being negotiated in
private. "It passed the Senate 90-9, and everyone agrees that if it
came to a vote in the House, it would pass overwhelmingly. The trend
lines are all in the Senate direction."
If the White House capitulates or makes major concessions to McCain, it
would be a significant retreat for an administration that argued
vehemently that the measure would limit the president's flexibility in
fighting terrorism.
The strong sentiment in Congress points to continuing concern about the
erosion of America's moral authority following abuses at the Abu Ghraib
prison in Iraq, the denial of U.S. court trials to detainees at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and other allegations of prisoner mistreatment.
(MORE)
---
REPAIR THE PATRIOT ACT TO PROTECT FREEDOMS -
TOP
Oregonian, 12/4/05
http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/113348492673440.xml&coll=7
Thanks to six senators who balked, Congress still has a chance to alter the anti-terror law to protect civil liberties
W hen members of Congress return from their Thanksgiving recess, their
highest priority will be repairing and extending the USA Patriot Act.
They came dangerously close to muffing this job in their big rush to go
home for the holiday. They almost reauthorized a version of the
sweeping anti-terrorism law that weakened citizen protections while
beefing up government powers.
Thankfully, common sense and cool heads prevailed and the subject was
set aside until the Senate and House reconvene on Dec. 12. This time,
they need to get it right.
---
VISIT CAIR PATRIOT ACT BLOG -
TOP
http://cairpatriotact.blogspot.com/
---
STATE DEPARTMENT CHECKS CITIZEN REPRESENTATIVES' POLITICAL VIEWS -
TOP
GOVERNMENT: Before private American citizens go overseas to represent
the U.S., they are vetted to ensure their views mesh with those of the
administration.
WARREN STROBEL AND JONATHAN LANDAY, KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/13318931.htm
WASHINGTON - The State Department has been using political litmus tests
to screen private American citizens before they can be sent overseas to
represent the United States, weeding out critics of the Bush
administration's Iraq policy, according to department officials and
internal e-mails.
In one recent case, a leading expert on conflict resolution who is a
former senior State Department adviser was scheduled to participate in
a U.S. Embassy-sponsored videoconference in Jerusalem last month, but
at the last minute he was told that his participation no longer was
required.
State Department officials explained the cancellation as a scheduling
matter. But internal department e-mails show that officials in
Washington pressed to have other scholars replace the expert, David L.
Phillips, who wrote a book, "Losing Iraq," that's critical of President
Bush's handling of Iraqi reconstruction.
"I was told by a senior U.S. official that the State Department was
conducting a screening process on intellectuals, and those who were
against the Bush administration's Iraq policy were not welcomed to
participate in U.S. government-sponsored programs," Phillips said.
"The ability of the United States to promote democracy effectively
abroad is curtailed when we curtail free speech at home, which is
essential to a free society," he said. (MORE)
-----
UNIFYING FACTOR: LOVE FOR JESUS CAN BRING CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS TOGETHER -
TOP
Ibrahim Hooper, Sunday Gazette-Mail, 12/4/05
http://wvgazette.com/section/Perspective/2005120325
"Behold! The angels said: 'O Mary! God giveth thee glad tidings of a
Word from Him. His name will be Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, held in
honor in this world and the Hereafter and in [the company of] those
nearest to God.'"
Before searching for this quotation in the New Testament, you might
first ask your Muslim co-worker, friend or neighbor for a copy of the
Quran, Islam's revealed text. The quotation is from verse 45 of chapter
3 in the Quran.
It is well known, particularly in this holiday season, that Christians
follow the teachings of Jesus. What is less well understood is that
Muslims also love and revere Jesus as one of God's greatest messengers
to mankind.
Other verses in the Quran, regarded by Muslims as the direct word of
God, state that Jesus was strengthened with the "Holy Spirit" (2:87)
and is a "sign for the whole world." (21:91) His virgin birth was
confirmed when Mary is quoted as asking: "How can I have a son when no
man has ever touched me?" (3:47)
The Quran shows Jesus speaking from the cradle and, with God's
permission, curing lepers and the blind. (5:110) God also states in the
Quran: "We gave [Jesus] the Gospel [Injeel] and put compassion and
mercy into the hearts of his followers." (57:27)
As forces of hate in this country and worldwide try to pull Muslims and
Christians apart, we are in desperate need of a unifying force that can
bridge the widening gap of interfaith misunderstanding and mistrust.
That force could be the message of love, peace and forgiveness taught
by Jesus and accepted by followers of both faiths. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
ANSWERS TO FIVE 'REPULSIVE' QUESTIONS -
TOP
Maher Hathout, Los Angeles Times, 12/4/05
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-op-faith4dec04,0,183165.story
[Maher Hathout is senior advisor to the Muslim Public Affairs Council
and a spokesman for the Islamic Center of Southern California.]
ON NOV. 13, Current's Faith Front featured an essay by contributor
Dennis Prager, "Five questions non-Muslims need answered." Maher
Hathout, spokesman for the Islamic Center of Southern California,
replies:
Prager's attempt to make America's more than 6 million Muslims feel
like culprits was repulsive, but for the sake of argument, let's
examine the questions to which he requested a response.
* "Why are you so quiet?"
Like an urban myth, the idea that Muslims have been mute since 9/11
plagues us. Prager knows that mainstream Muslims have issued
condemnations of terrorism ad nauseam, and American Muslim scholars
even issued a fatwa against terrorism this summer. The organization I
advise (the Muslim Public Affairs Council) last year put together an
integrated, grass-roots campaign to fight terrorism and extremism. The
problem isn't how loud we are but how deaf some people can be. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-CAN: MCGILL MUSLIMS LAUNCH HUMAN-RIGHTS COMPLAINT -
TOP
INGRID PERITZ, Globe and Mail, 12/3/05
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20051203.wxmuslims1203/BNStory/National/
Montreal - Muslim students at McGill University say they've been forced
to perform their daily prayers in hallways, in stairwells, even on the
increasingly damp and snowy lawn of the main downtown campus. Now, they
say, they want to come in from the cold.
In the latest chapter of a long-simmering feud with McGill, a group of
Muslim students filed a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights
Commission that alleges the university is violating their rights by
failing to provide them with prayer space.
The dispute tests the limits of religious accommodation at one of
Canada's best-known and diverse universities, which insists its mission
is secular. And it marks the second human-rights complaint by Muslim
students demanding a dedicated prayer space at a university in Quebec.
"This is an issue of basic human rights and human dignity, and believe
me there is no dignity in having to pray in a dirty hallway," said
Sarah Elgazzar, a former McGill student and spokeswoman for the
Canadian Council on American Islamic Relations, which participated in
yesterday's complaint. (MORE)
-----
GOD USES DISASTERS TO TEST OUR CONDUCT -
TOP
Mahmood Jawaid, Gazette-Mail, 12/4/05
http://wvgazette.com/section/Columns/200512036
Recent disasters in New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina
sparked a debate among the religious extremists. They blamed Katrina on
our foreign policy or on our immorality.
If Katrina is to be blamed for our foreign policy, then who is to be
blamed for the tsunami in the Indian Ocean and the earthquake in
Pakistan?
On the other hand, if it is to be blamed for our immorality, then why,
we must ask, were San Francisco and Las Vegas spared from this disaster?
Yes, the natural disasters, be it Katrina in New Orleans, the tsunami
in the Indian Ocean, or the earthquake in Pakistan, have a spiritual
dimension, but not what the religious extremists interpret it to be.
From the Islamic perspective, all the events happening in this universe
do not only have a physical reason but also have God's ordained
purpose. In fact, the creation of the universe itself has an ordained
intent. It has been created with the ultimate purpose of testing our
conduct in this life. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MA: MOSQUE FEELS RENEWED SPIRIT -
TOP
BEA O'QUINN DEWBERRY
http://www.masslive.com/hampfrank/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1133599782265870.xml&coll=1
SPRINGFIELD - A year ago on Dec. 8, a fire set by teenage delinquents
destroyed Al-Baqi Islamic Center on Union Street, leaving worshippers
distraught over their fate.
But from the ashes has emerged a sense of renewal for the future, said
Imam Rasul F. Seifullah, spiritual leader of Al-Baqi, in a recent
interview at Al-Baqi's temporary home within Mohammed's Mosque No. 13
on State Street. "We have been blessed," Seifullah said. (MORE)
---
WILLIMANTIC MAN WITH AIDS: 'NOW I'M DYING TO LIVE' -
TOP
JASON TSAI, Norwich Bulletin, 12/2/05
http://www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051202/NEWS01/512020301/1002
WILLIMANTIC--Larry Drummond rises before daybreak these days to an
unfamiliar room in an unfamiliar town and orders his broken body out of
bed.
From his hoarse throat, he forces an alhamdulillah, the Muslim prayer uttered upon awakening.
While using the toilet, the 46-year-old glances at his lesioned face, which is scarred from scuffles of years past.
He returns bedside to tuck his stiff legs into a kneeling position.
They were hardened one bleak day, 26 years ago, when he set himself on
fire.
Then he prostrates himself to the East, lowering his swollen belly to
the ground -- the AIDS medication, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C
engorging his liver.
He prays.
"Me having AIDS and finding Islam is the best things that has ever
happened to me," the Hartford native said. "I once had a monster inside
me, and a crook and a thief inside me. AIDS taught me to be humble, and
to change. . ."
"AIDS came to me first. Then Islam a few years later," said Drummond,
who wears a kufi skull cap and prostrates five times a day. He reads
from a well-leafed Quran every day -- a habit from his prison days.
"I'd tried everything else, and Islam finally kept me in check." (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 12/5/05
*
Hadith:
Celebrate God's
Glory
-
Verse:
Hymn the
Praises of Thy Lord
*
CAIR
Director to Attend
OIC Summit in Mecca
*
CAIR
Awards
Rosa Parks Scholarships
-
CAIR-LA:
Students
Form Muslim Group (NC Times)
-
CAIR-OH:
A 'Christmas'
Tree is a Christmas Tree (Enquirer)
*
CAIR-NJ:
Muslims
Discuss Concerns with FBI, US Attorney
-
NJ:
Religious Meals Still On
the Menu (Herald News)
*
CAIR:
Muslim,
Christian Leaders Appeal for Hostages' Release (AP)
-
CAIR
Urges
Release of Iraq Hostages (Islam Online)
-
US Muslim
Group Urges Release of Hostages (AFP)
*
Case
Shows U.S. Outsources Interrogation (SL Dispatch)
-
McCain
Says He Won't
Back Down On Torture Ban (AP)
-
We Have Ways of Making You
Talk (LA Times)
*
Washington Post's
Response
to DOJ Patriot Act Letter
-
Dodd:
Patriot Act Must Change
(Greenwich Time)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: CELEBRATE GOD'S GLORY -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Whatever you say in
celebration of God's glory, majesty and oneness, and all your words of
praise for Him, gather around the Throne of God. These words resound
like the buzzing of bees, and call God's attention to the person who
uttered them. Don't you wish to have someone there in the presence of
God who would call attention to you?"
Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 4, Number 99
VERSE OF THE DAY: HYMN THE PRAISES OF THY LORD -
TOP
"Then hymn the praises of thy Lord, and seek forgiveness of Him, for He is ever ready to show mercy."
The Holy Quran, 110:3
-----
CAIR DIRECTOR TO ATTEND OIC SUMMIT IN MECCA -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/5/05) - The head of a prominent national Islamic
civil rights and advocacy group will attend an upcoming summit of the
57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to be held later
this week in the Muslim holy city of Mecca.
Nihad Awad, executive director of the Washington-based Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), will take part in the two-day summit
that organizers say is focused on restoring Islam's true image as a
religion of moderation. (Awad will be available for media interviews
during the summit. Contact Ibrahim Hooper at 202-488-8787 or
202-744-7726.)
Other issues up for consideration at the summit include the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the war in Iraq, providing women a larger
role in Muslim societies, Islamophobia, economic and social reform,
problems faced by Muslim minorities in the West, and the creation of a
fund for humanitarian relief.
SEE: "Muslims Leaders Tackle Extremism at Mecca Meeting"
http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-12-05T051411Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-226353-1.xml
An OIC spokesman said a "Mecca Declaration," which contains the "true
principles and common vision of a moderate Islam," will be submitted to
the summit for approval. The Islamic leaders will also receive a report
that includes input from a meeting of Muslim scholars and intellectuals
held in Mecca last September. CAIR's Awad participated in that meeting.
Awad also represented CAIR at a U.S.-sponsored conference in Belgium,
titled "Muslim Communities Participating in Society," that brought
together American, Belgian and European Muslim leaders. The conference
was sponsored by U.S. envoy to Belgium Ambassador Tom Korologos.
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices
and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR AWARDS ROSA PARKS CIVIL LIBERTIES SCHOLARSHIPS -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/5/05) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) awarded two "Rosa Parks Civil Liberties Scholarships" to Muslim
students at its annual dinner on Saturday.
The scholarship, recently announced by CAIR to honor the life and work
of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, is offered to students studying in
fields that promote civil rights, social justice and peaceful
resolution of conflicts.
This year's scholarship recipients are Allison Carpenter, a law student
at the University of Pennsylvania of Law School, and Taiyyaba Qureshi,
a political science and religion major at the University of North
Carolina-Chapel Hill. Carpenter received a $1,000 award and Qureshi
received $500.
"We hope these awards will help both students carry forward the civil
rights movement sparked by Rosa Parks' courageous actions," said CAIR
Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices
and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR-LA: STUDENTS FORM MUSLIM GROUP AT MISSION HILLS HIGH -
TOP
Brenda Duran, NC Times, 12/5/05
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/12/05/news/inland/12405193032.txt
SAN MARCOS ---- There is one day that will always stand out in the mind
of Mission Hills High School senior Dina Hamideh ---- the day she
decided to publicly display her faith at school.
On April 4 of this year, Hamideh showed up for class for the first time
wearing a "hijab," a head scarf that represented her Muslim faith and
her vow of modesty.
The action sparked more than curiosity from her peers.
"People started coming up to me and asking me tons of questions," said
Hamideh, who wears her hijab to basketball and hockey practice. "They
started telling me how much they respected me and respected my
religion, it was awesome."
Prompted by the reaction and their faith, Hamideh and senior Raihna
Siddiq decided to create the Muslim Student Alliance group at Mission
Hills ---- the only club of its kind in North County.
The club's goal is to teach others about Islam, involve students in
community service and help dispel misconceptions created by the recent
negative portrayal of Muslims in the world, said Siddiq.
"We want to teach others that not all Muslims are terrorists," said
Siddiq, who serves as president of the club. "We want to show them we
are nice, peaceful people."
Sabiha Kahn, spokeswoman for the Southern California Council on
American-Islamic Relations, said schools that provide a place for
Muslim teenagers to congregate provide a crucial element in helping
Muslim teens better express their identity. Such organizations also
help dispel the negative image of Muslims that followed the 9/11
terrorist attacks, she said.
There are more than 600,000 Muslims living in Southern California, according to the council.
In 2004, reports of hate crimes and civil rights cases involving
Muslims in Southern California increased 38 percent, according to the
council's 2004 report. The increase is the biggest recorded by the
organization in its seven years of existence, the report states.
"During these times, it's hard to be a Muslim teenager," said Kahn.
"It's hard to be proud of your identity when there is so much
misinformation. It really takes courage for some to step up to the
plate." (MORE)
-----
CAIR-OH: A 'CHRISTMAS' TREE IS A CHRISTMAS TREE -
TOP
Enquirer, 12/5/05
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051205/EDIT01/512050317
The current debate over renaming Christmas trees is foolish. It is
political correctness run amok, and it is unfortunate that the rhetoric
over whether to change references of "Christmas" to "holiday" is even
being considered. They are not interchangeable. Retailers make big
money with "holiday" sales this time of year. That's fine. Leave
Christmas trees out of it.
Across the United States, the name "Christmas" in Christmas trees has
come under fire. A Christian group in Boston threatened to sue the city
after it named its Christmas tree a "Holiday" tree. But last week in
Washington, officials came to their senses and changed the "Capitol
Holiday Tree" to the "Capitol Christmas Tree."
Hurrah for common sense.
Let's be clear. Christmas is a holiday for Christians, when believers
celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus. Calling it what is, is not meant
to slight those who don't believe as Christians do.
Karen Dabdoub, president of the Council on American-Islamic Relations,
was right when she told the Enquirer: "Who are we fooling? The Jews
don't put up a tree for Hanukah; the Muslims don't put up a tree for
Ramadan. It doesn't take away from my celebration of my holiday for
other people to celebrate their holiday. I don't want anybody's
holidays to be watered-down. I think they're all wonderful." (MORE)
-----
CAIR-NJ: MUSLIMS DISCUSS CONCERNS WITH FBI, US ATTORNEY -
TOP
(TOTOWA, NJ, 12/5/05) - Representatives of the New Jersey office of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ) and of that state's
Muslim community met recently in Newark with the US attorney and the
FBI to discuss issues of mutual concern.
"We had a very positive and productive meeting based mutual respect and
commitment to cooperation," said CAIR-NJ President Ahmed Al-Shehab.
Other meetings are being planned to implement cooperative initiatives
between the New Jersey Muslim community and law enforcement agencies.
CAIR-NJ will also conduct ongoing cultural and religious sensitivity
trainings for those agencies.
CONTACT: CAIR-NJ, 908-938-5990
ALSO SEE:
NJ: RELIGIOUS MEALS STILL ON THE MENU -
TOP
Karen Keller, Herald News, 12/3/05
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzNTcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY4Mjk1NjMmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkz
Religious meals have continued to be served to inmates at the Passaic
County Jail, despite an internal memo in October that they would cease,
an official said Friday.
Sheriff's Department spokesman Bill Maer said that at no time did the
jail stop halal meals - food that meets the dietary criteria of the
Islamic faith. There are between 40 and 50 Muslim inmates at the jail
who have requested halal food, according to Mohamed El Filali, outreach
director for the Islamic Center of Passaic County.
"They're definitely serving them for the people that are Muslim," said El Filali on Thursday.
What has changed at the jail is where the meals are prepared. They used
to be prepared by Aramark, a Philadelphia-based food service, Maer
said. Now religious meals are prepared in the jail's kitchen to save
money, he said. Halal meals cost $3.50 to make, compared with $1.20 per
non-halal meal, said Maer.
In October, the Herald News reported that the jail had stopped serving
halal meals. An internal memo dated Oct. 19 said the jail would
discontinue serving halal and kosher meals, and instead provide a
vegetarian diet tray with a layer of plastic wrap under and over the
meal. Muslim inmates said the addition of plastic wrap did not meet
their religious needs. (MORE)
-----
U-S MUSLIM AND CHRISTIAN LEADERS APPEAL FOR HOSTAGES' RELEASE -
TOP
Associated Press, 12/5/05
http://www.wboc.com/Global/story.asp?S=4199873&nav=MXEFM7m7
WASHINGTON- American Muslim leaders are calling for the immediate
release of four Christian peacemakers who've been held hostage for more
than a week in Iraq.
Al-Jazeera reports the kidnappers are threatening to kill American Tom
Fox and his British and Canadian colleagues unless Iraqis are released
from American and Iraqi jails by Thursday.
At a Washington, D-C news conference, the executive director of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations stressed that Christian
Peacemaker Teams are not missionaries. Instead, he said they "have
stood shoulder to shoulder with Muslims advocating for their causes."
Local Islamic clerics said killing the hostages would be a serious offense to Muslims and all humanity.
They were joined by the leader of Fox's Quaker congregation in
Virginia, who said that Fox is a "man of God" who would want his
captors to be understood rather than vilified or harmed.
ALSO SEE:
US MUSLIM GROUP URGES RELEASE OF IRAQ HOSTAGES -
TOP
Islam Online, 12/5/05
http://www.islam-online.net/English/News/2005-12/05/article01.shtml
WASHINGTON/BAGHDAD, December 5, 2005 (IslamOnloine.net & News
Agencies) - The leading US Muslim civil liberties group has called for
the immediate release of four Christian peace activists kidnapped in
Iraq and threatened with murder.
"Those who left the comfort of their homes to advocate for the rights
of others that do not share their faith, ethnicity or language should
be celebrated and honored by Muslims, not humiliated by being made
captives or, God forbid, killed," Parvez Ahmed, chairman of the Council
on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told a news conference Sunday,
December 4.
"As a leader of the American Muslim community and the head of America's
largest Islamic civil liberties group, I make a personal appeal to the
captors of the four members of the Christian Peacemakers Teams -
release our brothers in humanity immediately and unconditionally," he
said in a statement posted on CAIR's Web site.
The four activists, two Canadians, a Briton and an American, are
associated with the US and Canada-based Christian Peacemaker Teams
opposed to the US-led occupation of Iraq.
In a video that appeared on Al-Jazeera television, kidnappers said that
unless all detainees in Iraqi and coalition prisons were released by
December 8, they would kill the American Tom Fox, 54; Briton Norman
Kember, 74; and two Canadians, James Loney, 41 and Harmeet Singh
Sooden, 32. They were kidnapped in Baghdad on November 26.
Speakers at the news conference included representatives of CAIR, the
Washington-area Muslim community, All Dulles Area Muslim Society
(ADAMS), and Langley Hill Friends Meeting in McLean, Va., of which Fox
is a member. (MORE)
---
US MUSLIM GROUP URGES RELEASE OF HOSTAGES IN IRAQ -
TOP
Agence France Presse, 12/4/05
WASHINGTON - A group representing Muslim citizens in the United States
called on Sunday for the release of four Christian peace activists
kidnapped in Iraq and threatened with murder.
The four activists, two Canadians, a Briton and an American, are
associated with the US and Canada-based Christian Peacemaker Teams
opposed to the US-led occupation of Iraq.
"Those who left the comfort of their homes to advocate for the rights
of others that do not share their faith, ethnicity or language should
be celebrated and honored by Muslims, not humiliated by being made
captives or, God forbid, killed," said Parvez Ahmed, chairman of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations in a statement.
"This is a universal human ideal and a cherished principle of Islam."
In a video that appeared on Al-Jazeera television, kidnappers said that
unless all detainees in Iraqi and coalition prisons were released by
December 8, they would kill the American Tom Fox, 54; Briton Norman
Kember, 74; and two Canadians, James Loney, 41 and Harmeet Singh
Sooden, 32. They were kidnapped in Baghdad on November 26.
Also on Sunday, Christian Peacemakers said the families of the four
hostages had filmed video messages to their captors asking for their
freedom. (MORE)
-----
CASE SHOWS U.S. OUTSOURCES INTERROGATION, SOME SAY -
TOP
Jon Sawyer, St. Louis Dispatch, 12/3/05
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/nation/story/7AAD47E2FDCA2072862570CC006B6EC3?OpenDocument
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - As Attorney General Alberto Gonzales stumbled through
an awkward pre-Thanksgiving defense of the administration's
counter-terrorism legal strategy, he couldn't know that a jury in an
Alexandria, Va., federal court was about to give that strategy a boost.
Gonzales was explaining why the government had decided after three
years to try suspected terrorist Jose Padilla in federal court - and
drop the most notorious of charges that Gonzales's predecessor, John
Ashcroft, had announced with such fanfare in 2002, that Padilla was
conspiring to unleash a "dirty" radioactive bomb on American civilians.
Lawyers familiar with the case quickly noted what Gonzales tried hard
to evade: that the "dirty bomb" allegations relied on information
obtained during aggressive interrogation by U.S. intelligence personnel
of senior al-Qaida members, using techniques that prosecutors were
loathe to expose to cross examination in open court.
A few hours later, across the Potomac River in Virginia, a verdict was
delivered in another terrorism case against a U.S. citizen in which
interrogation was at issue. But in that case, the questioning was done
by foreign authorities and became key evidence used to convict the
defendant, Ahmed Abu Ali, 24, of conspiring to assassinate President
George W. Bush and hijack commercial airliners.
The government's victory laid out a prosecutorial road map for getting
around the legal and public-relations sensitivities in dealing with the
tough tactics used to gather evidence against terrorist suspects. The
case against Abu Ali was based almost entirely on Abu Ali's confession,
obtained not under the rules governing U.S. police procedures but
behind closed doors in Saudi Arabia, a nation long associated with
torture and abuse.
The prosecution of Abu Ali was headed by Paul McNulty, U.S. attorney
for the eastern district of Virginia and the man just nominated as
deputy attorney general. He issued a statement after the verdict
declaring that the case "firmly established Abu Ali as a dangerous
terrorist who posed a grave threat to our national security." A
Washington Post editorial hailed "an outcome that has happened too
infrequently in the war on terrorism: a conviction in a major case
following the regular rules."
Yet to members of the local Muslim community, and at least some
independent observers, what happened in the Alexandria courtroom - and
to Abu Ali - was anything but "regular." (MORE)
ALSO SEE:
MCCAIN SAYS HE WON'T BACK DOWN ON TORTURE BAN -
TOP
Associated Press, 12/5/05
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-mccain5dec05,1,6592976.story
WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain, who was tortured as a prisoner of war in
Vietnam, said Sunday that he would refuse to yield on his demands that
the White House agree with his proposed ban on the use of torture to
extract information from suspected terrorists.
"I won't," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press" when asked whether he
would compromise. He is insisting on language that no person in U.S.
custody should be subject to "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment."
The Arizona Republican said he had met several times with national security advisor Stephen Hadley on the issue.
Hadley, on ABC's "This Week," repeated President Bush's assertion that
the United States did not torture and followed international
conventions on the treatment of prisoners.
McCain, although saying he would not compromise on the torture
language, said he and Hadley were in discussions "about other aspects
of this to try to get an agreement." He did not elaborate.
McCain, a Navy flier who was captured by the North Vietnamese and
tortured during the Vietnam War, sponsored an anti-torture measure that
passed the Senate by a 90-9 vote.
But the White House said it could not accept restrictions that might
prevent interrogators from gaining information vital to the nation's
security and threatened a presidential veto of any bill with McCain's
language.
---
WE HAVE WAYS OF MAKING YOU TALK -
TOP
Al Martinez, Los Angeles Times, 12/5/05
http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-et-martinez5dec05%2C0%2C130266.column
Good news for the friends of human misery: Torture is back in the limelight. We're debating whether or not it's a good thing.
If you're one of those weepy liberal types, you're probably thinking
that there should never be a debate on the moral rectitude of something
so reprehensible as jerking fingernails from an enemy's hands or
applying electric shocks to his genitals. It's just plain wrong, I hear
you cry.
That's because you don't understand the intricacies of democracy.
At the moment, you see, there are no definitive guidelines in America
for what is and what isn't torture. For some, being forced to watch
Jerry Springer might constitute cruel and inhumane punishment, but for
viewers with marginal IQs it's a joyful experience. It's all a matter
of need and preference.
I realize that both the Geneva Convention and the U.N. charter pretty
much define torture as having to do with pain, but the matter still
seems to baffle many among our leaders in the nation's capital.
One can pretty much track our attitude on torture back to Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who suggested that guidelines laid down
by the Geneva Convention didn't apply to those we assume to be members
of Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The men in custody are not technically
POWs since what we're doing is more a liberation than a war, despite
their similarities. The prisoners are only uncooperative liberatees, so
to speak, and don't qualify for coverage under the rules of formal
killing.
As Vice President Dick Cheney once remarked, sometimes you just have to
work "the dark side" to convince the reluctant to be more candid with
our interrogators.
It seems to me that the best way to clarify the debate would be to
specify what constitutes torture in the new America and what should
therefore be avoided when working the Cheney shadows. (MORE)
-----
WASHINGTON POST'S RESPONSE TO DOJ PATRIOT ACT LETTER -
TOP
Washington Post, 12/5/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/05/AR2005120500215.html
A 10-page letter from the Justice Department to the House and Senate
Judiciary Committee chairmen, dated Nov. 23 and distributed widely this
week, took issue with a Nov. 6 article in The Washington Post about the
FBI's use of "national security letters" under the Patriot Act. The
Washington Post published an article about the Justice Department
letter on Wednesday and washingtonpost.com reprints it today in full.
What follows is The Post's reply to assertions that the article
contained "many ... distortions and falsehoods":
The Justice Department did not authorize interviews for the disputed
article before it appeared or respond to questions sent by email.
The Nov. 23 letter to Congress from Assistant Attorney General William
E. Moschella said The Post created the false impression that national
security letters empower the FBI "to listen to phone calls or read
emails."
The article in fact said the reverse: "A national security letter
cannot be used to authorize eavesdropping or to read the contents of
e-mail." (MORE)
ALSO SEE:
DODD: PATRIOT ACT MUST CHANGE -
TOP
Michael Dinan, Greenwich Time, 12/4/05
http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/local/scn-gt-patriot3dec04,0,2408907.story
Sen. Christopher Dodd is calling for major revisions to a federal law
that broadly expanded federal agents' investigative powers when it was
passed a month after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"I still believe strongly that we should do what we can to ferret out
the terrorists that put the country at risk, but not do so at the risk
of basic rights of people in this country," Dodd, D-Conn., said of the
Patriot Act. "It's not a question of choosing between doing what we can
and making a choice about civil liberties. We're not flipping a coin
here. The law enforcement agencies in this country can still do their
job."
The senator's comments come as a Fairfield County man emerges as the
central figure in a court battle over the constitutionality of aspects
of the Patriot Act, in a case closely followed by a number of
Connecticut organizations.
Dodd's comments also reflect the thin line -- between ensuring national
security and safeguarding civil liberties -- that legislators now tread
as the Senate and House of Representatives struggle to reach an
agreement on reauthorizing provisions of the Patriot Act that are set
to expire Dec. 31.
As now written, the USA PATRIOT Act -- an acronym for Uniting and
Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to
Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism -- grants FBI officials unprecedented
leeway in investigations.
Under the landmark law, FBI field inspectors may demand and permanently
store information -- in the name of national security -- about an
individual's residence, medical, e-mail, Internet use, telephone,
income, travel, purchasing, investment and reading records. The FBI
doesn't need to show that a person is suspected of terrorist activity
to obtain the information -- only that he or she is "relevant" to an
investigation.
Individuals under investigation never know they're being tracked and,
as the Patriot Act now stands, the FBI's demands receive neither
judicial nor congressional review. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 12/6/05
*
CAIR 'Explore the
Quran' Project
*
NC:
Decision Expected
Today in Quran Oath Controversy
-
CAIR Asks N.C. Judges to Allow
Use of Quran in Oaths
*
CAIR-Chicago:
Mosque Near Loop
Defaced (Chicago Tribune)
- CA:
Islam Test Sparks Complaint
*
Muslim Women:
Not
Ignorant, Not Helpless (Newsweek)
*
Poll Shows Allies' Divide on
Question of Torture (AP)
-
Torture:
Sullying Our Reputation (Chicago
Trib)
-----
CAIR 'EXPLORE THE QURAN'
PROJECT -
TOP
To obtain or sponsor a FREE Quran, go to:
www.explorethequran.org
-----
NC: DECISION EXPECTED TODAY IN
QURAN CONTROVERSY -
TOP
Eric Collins, News-Record, 12/6/05
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051206/NEWSREC0101/512060314
[
CAIR Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar is available for media
interviews on this issue. He may be reached at 202-488-8787 or
202-415-0799. E-Mail:
arsalan@cair-net.org
]
RALEIGH -- A Superior Court judge today is expected to decide whether
people can give a courtroom oath on a non-Christian text, an issue that
spurred national debate this summer.
The anticipated decision comes about four months after the American
Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina filed a lawsuit asking a judge
to clarify that state law allows people to swear on religious texts
other than the Christian Bible.
The lawsuit followed an outcry this summer over the inability of
Muslims to be sworn in Guilford County courts using the Quran. The
matter surfaced when the county's two top judges turned down a gift of
Qurans from a Greensboro Islamic center after deciding that an oath on
the Quran is not a legal oath. State law refers to someone laying his
hand on the "Holy Scriptures," which they interpret to mean the
Christian Bible. The law also allows someone to affirm to tell the
truth while holding their hand upraised.
When the state Administrative Office of the Courts declined to
intervene, the ACLU took the issue to court, arguing that the term
"Holy Scriptures" is broad enough to include many religious texts.
Initially, the state attorney general's office argued in court papers
that the ACLU lacked the right to sue because there is no controversy
to settle between the parties.
That led the ACLU to add Greensboro Muslim Syidah Mateen as a
plaintiff. In 2003, the 41-year-old appeared as a witness in a domestic
violence protection order hearing but was not allowed to take an oath
on the Quran as she preferred. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR ASKS N.C. JUDGES TO ALLOW USE OF QURAN IN OATHS -
TOP
http://cair.com/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1625&theType=NR
FROM A 6/21/05 CAIR NEWS RELEASE - "By stating that only one book
qualifies as 'Holy Scriptures,' the court may be making an
inappropriate endorsement of a single set of religious beliefs," said
CAIR Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar. "Eliminating the opportunity to
swear an oath on one's own holy text may also have the effect of
diminishing the credibility of that person's testimony."
Iftikhar said CAIR will offer a free copy of the Quran to any judge in
North Carolina or throughout the United States for use in oaths or for
personal awareness of the holy text. Judges or other court officials
may order a free Quran by visiting:
www.explorethequran.org
-----
CAIR-CHICAGO: MOSQUE NEAR LOOP DEFACED -
TOP
Jason George, Chicago Tribune, 12/6/05
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0512060181dec06,1,6119843.story
A Greektown mosque and restaurant was vandalized during the weekend,
leaving worshipers wondering why their house of worship was targeted.
"Viva Mexican. Isan Diablo," was written in red marker more than 30
times Saturday morning on the walls of Kabab Corner, 760 W. Jackson
Blvd., and of the mosque in the restaurant's basement that is popular
with cabdrivers.
Copies of the Koran were also placed in trash bags, and the pulpit
where sermons are delivered was turned on its side, said Mohamed
Addelrahim, the owner.
"This could be an issue of a disgruntled employee. But seeing as how
they wrote `diablo' in a mosque, it could very well be a hate crime
too," said Ahmed Rehab, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic
Relations in Chicago, a Muslim advocacy group. Rehab is Addelrahim's
cousin.
"Diablo" is Spanish for "devil. . ."
The vandalism is being investigated as a criminal defacement of
property, not as a hate crime, said John Mirabelli, a Chicago police
spokesman.
He added that he does not suspect a current or former employee. "I don't have a employee who does this," Addelrahim said.
He's worried that "Isan"--not a relevant word in either Spanish or English--is a misspelling of "Islam."
"I think they didn't know how to spell Islam," he said Monday. "I
haven't threatened anyone. I just want to have a nice place the
cabdrivers can come to. I want it to be a home for them."
SEE ALSO:
CA: ISLAM TEST SPARKS COMPLAINT -
TOP
Buckeye incident points out need for understanding state regulations
Rob Rogers, Record Searchlight, 12/6/05
http://www.redding.com/redd/nw_educational/article/0,2232,REDD_17530_4292624,00.html
When the complaints come, administrators say, they try to listen.
Last week, Kay Amour, whose granddaughter attends Buckeye Middle School
in Redding, called Principal Laura Kelly after Amour saw a test on
Islam her granddaughter had taken in a world history class.
"She seemed kind of upset about that, and that kind of surprised me," Kelly said.
Answering a parent's or grandparent's complaint over what's taught in
the classroom is part of being a school principal or district
superintendent. Objections to teaching about Islam don't happen often,
but a handful of administrators in the Redding area have dealt with
such questions before.
Amour couldn't be reached for comment regarding her complaint.
When Diane Kempley, who is now superintendent of the Redding School
District, was principal at Sequoia Middle School, she received one or
two complaints a year about curriculum, many in reference to teaching
Islamic history.
Some of it was timing. Kempley became principal in 2000, a year before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
"Mainly, it's because of what's happening in the Middle East right now," she said of the complaints. (MORE)
-----
REFORM: NOT IGNORANT, NOT HELPLESS -
TOP
The West is focused on the extreme cases of oppression against Muslim women. But there's another world out there.
Lorraine Ali, Newsweek, 12/12/05
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10315096/site/newsweek/
Dec. 12, 2005 issue - If I'd never known a Muslim woman, I'd probably
pity any female born into Islam. In America we've come to see these
women as timid creatures, covered from head to toe, who scurry rather
than walk. They have no voices, no rights and no place outside the
home. But I grew up around secular Muslims (my father was an Iraqi
Shiite) in Los Angeles, stayed with ultrareligious relatives in Baghdad
and met dozens more Muslim women on travels through the Middle East.
I've watched them argue politics with men at the dinner table in
Baghdad, slap husbands on the back of the head for telling off-color
jokes in Egypt and, at a recent Arab Women's Media Conference in Amman,
fiercely debate their notions of democracy from under higabs and J.
Lo-inspired hairdos.
The West's exposure to Muslim women is largely based on Islam's most
extreme cases of oppression: Taliban-dominated Afghanistan,
Wahhabi-ruled Saudi Arabia and postrevolutionary Iran. Under those
regimes, women were and are ordered to cover. Many Afghan women are
forbidden to attend school, and no Saudi woman is allowed to drive. Yet
despite the spread of ultraconservative versions of Islam over the past
few decades, these societies are not the norm in the Muslim world. In
Egypt, female cops patrol the streets. In Jordan, women account for the
majority of students in medical school. And in Syria, courtrooms are
filled with female lawyers. "Women are out working, in every
profession, and even expect equal pay," says Leila Ahmed, Harvard
Divinity School professor and author of "Women and Gender in Islam."
(MORE)
-----
POLL SHOWS DIVIDE ON QUESTION OF TORTURE -
TOP
WILL LESTER, Associated Press, 12/6/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/06/AR2005120600110.html
Most people in eight countries that are American allies don't want the
United States conducting secret interrogations of terror suspects on
their soil, an AP-Ipsos poll found.
Anxiety about recent reports of secret prisons run by the CIA in
eastern Europe has been heightened by the ongoing debate on the use of
torture. The poll found Americans and residents of many of the allied
countries divided on the question of torture, with about as many saying
it's OK in some cases as those saying it never should be used.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is traveling in Europe this
week, said Monday the United States is following all laws and treaties
on the treatment of terrorism suspects and has shared intelligence with
its allies that has "helped protect European countries from attack,
saving European lives."
Like other U.S. officials, Rice has refused to answer the underlying
question of whether the CIA operated secret, Soviet-era prisons in
Eastern Europe and whether CIA flights carried al-Qaida prisoners
through European airports. She said the U.S. "will use every lawful
weapon to defeat these terrorists."
About two-thirds of the people living in Canada, Mexico, South Korea
and Spain said they would oppose allowing the U.S. to secretly
interrogate terror suspects in their countries. Almost that many in
Britain, France, Germany and Italy said they feel the same way. Almost
two-thirds in the United States support such interrogations in the U.S.
by their own government.
Officials with the European Union and in at least a half-dozen European
countries are investigating the reports of secret U.S. interrogations
in eastern Europe. The EU has threatened to revoke voting rights of any
nation in the European Union that was host to a clandestine detention
center.
After the report of secret prisons overseas, President Bush said, "We do not torture."
U.S. military forces have held hundreds of suspects at known
installations outside the United States, including at the U.S. naval
base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The U.S. has adopted aggressive
interrogation techniques since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks -
techniques some fear occasionally cross the line into torture.
"I thought we were the good guys," said Alan Schwartz, a political
independent who lives near Buffalo, N.Y. "I thought we were the ones
with the high standards."
Almost four in 10, 38 percent, in the United States said they thought
torture could be justified at least sometimes. About one-fourth said it
could be justified rarely, and 36 percent said it could never be
justified.
About four in 10 in Mexico and France said torture is never justified.
About half in Britain, Spain, Germany and Canada felt torture could
never be justified, while only one in 10 in South Korea said torture is
never OK, according to the polls of about 1,000 adults in each of the
nine countries.
They were conducted between Nov. 15 and Nov. 28. Each poll had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
The strongest opposition to torture came in Italy, where six in 10 said it is never justified. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
SULLYING OUR REPUTATION -
TOP
Joseph S. Nye Jr., Chicago Tribune, 12/6/05
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0512060214dec06,1,5512862.story
The Senate overwhelmingly has passed a measure sponsored by Sen. John
McCain (R-Ariz.) that would ban "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment" of anyone in the custody of the United States military.
The Bush administration has threatened a veto, and Vice President Dick
Cheney has been lobbying for an exemption for the CIA.
McCain's amendment to this year's military spending bill would restrict
interrogation techniques to those authorized by the Army Field Manual.
The 90 favorable Senate votes included knowledgeable hawks such as
Sens. John Warner (R-Va.) and Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.), and the
amendment has been endorsed by former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff Colin Powell and John Shalikashvili.
Why oppose a measure that says we should live up to our ideals, as well
as the Convention Against Torture that was negotiated by the Reagan
administration and ratified by the Senate? . . .
We can learn a lesson from the past. During the Vietnam War, the United
States was also widely unpopular around the world. Protesters filled
the streets to demonstrate against our policies. The song that the
demonstrators sang, however, was not the communist "Internationale,"
but rather Martin Luther King's "We Shall Overcome." At the same time
that our government policies made us unpopular, the openness of our
civil society made aspects of America attractive. Today, there is no
way to take back the pictures of a soldier holding a Muslim on a leash
or a hooded prisoner standing on a box with wires dangling from his
body, but the fact that we have a free press, independent courts and a
Congress willing to confront the executive and reaffirm the values
expressed in the ban against torture provides us a similar measure of
soft power.
Since the House of Representatives has not passed an amendment to the
appropriations bill that bans torture, the fate of the Senate measure
will be determined by a conference committee of the Senate and the
House in the coming weeks. It will have to weigh the administration's
opposition to the investment in our soft power that John McCain's
amendment represents. The Senate's affirmation of the ban on torture is
an important message to the world. What a pity it would be if the
administration or the conference committee should step on it.
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
BREAKING NEWS - 12/6/05
NO CONVICTIONS AGAINST AL-ARIAN
http://tbo.com/
TAMPA - A federal jury Tuesday either failed to reach a verdict or
found
former USF professor Sami Al-Arian not guilty of several charges
related to
the terrorism-support trial. The judge declared a mistrial on the
charges
where no verdict was reached.
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 12/7/05
*
Verse:
All Things Glorify God
*
CAIR:
Jews, Muslims Fight for
Christian Christmas (RNS)
-
Western Muslims:
Can We Talk?
(IHT)
*
AMT:
American Muslims Welcome Al-Arian Verdict
*
Quote of the Day:
'The Evidence Just Wasn't There'
*
CAIR-FL:
Not Guilty Verdicts Are Setback for U.S. (NY Times)
-
Ex-Professor Cleared On Some Terror Charges (AP)
-
Al-Arian Case Seen as Patriot Act Test (Wash Post)
*
Ex-St. Louisan Caught in Post 9/11 Net (Post-Dispatch)
-
Randall 'Ismail' Royer's Letter from Prison
*
Hentoff:
Patriot Act Needs to be Squashed (Eagle Tribune)
*
Abuse 'Widespread' in Iraqi Prisons (CSM)
-
CIA 'Emptied Secret Jails' Before Rice Trip
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: ALL THINGS GLORIFY GOD -
TOP
"The (heavens), the earth and all beings therein declare His glory.
There is not a single thing that does not celebrate His praise, but you
(O mankind) do not understand their hymns of His glory."
The Holy Quran, 17:44
"Do you not see that God is the One Who is praised by all beings in the
heavens and on earth? Even the birds (praise Him) as they spread out
their wings. Each one knows its own (mode of) prayer and praise."
The Holy Quran, 24:41
"Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High, Who has created all things and perfected them."
The Holy Quran, 87:1-2
To obtain or sponsor a FREE Quran, go to:
www.explorethequran.org
-----
CAIR: JEWS, MUSLIMS JOIN FIGHT FOR CHRISTIAN CHRISTMAS -
TOP
Andrea Useem, Religion News Service, 12/7/05
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/180/story_18045_1.html
The movement defending Christmas as a Christian holiday has attracted
some unlikely allies: religiously observant Jews and Muslims.
Their support bucks the assumption that religious minorities prefer a
neutral approach to the season, desiring "Happy Holidays" instead of
"Merry Christmas" at retail checkout lines or "Frosty the Snowman" over
"O Holy Night" at public school concerts. Motivations differ, with
Jewish leaders calling retailers' omission of "Christmas" an ominous
sign for a country that used to consider itself "Judeo-Christian."
Muslim leaders offer a more strategic reason: establishing firm ground
on which to make their own holiday demands.
Scholars say the ballooning controversy and the unusual alliances
taking shape illustrate the challenge an increasingly multicultural
society faces trying to accommodate many religious expressions.
Islamic support for Christmas stems in part from religious doctrine.
While observant Muslims can follow the teachings of the Prophet
Muhammad in respecting Jewish and Christian holidays, they say they
have little motivation to value Santa-based winter holiday celebrations.
When it comes to Christmas, "the more religious it is, the more
acceptable it is to Muslims," said Ahmed Bedier, director of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations' Central Florida office.
But there is also the issue of Islamic self-interest.
Bedier's organization recently requested that a school board near
Tampa, Fla., include a one-day Muslim holiday alongside Christian and
Jewish holidays. When the school board voted instead to scrap all
religious holidays, Muslim groups -- along with their Christian
counterparts -- protested. The holidays, at least the Christian and
Jewish ones, were reinstated.
"We would like to see one standard applied in terms of recognizing
religious holidays," said Ibrahim Hooper, national communications
director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Muslims, he said, would welcome religious Christmas displays -- for
example at a public library -- as long as Eid al-Adha, the upcoming
Muslim holiday marking the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, was recognized
in the same space.
SEE ALSO:
WESTERN MUSLIMS: CAN WE TALK? -
TOP
Geneive Abdo, International Herald Tribune, 12/7/05
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/07/opinion/edabdo.php
BRUSSELS - The U.S. ambassador to Belgium hosted an extraordinary event
here recently, one that exposes the shortcomings of the Bush
administration's militarized "war on terrorism." He organized a
conference with Muslims to hear about their lives in the West.
Ambassador Tom Korologos and other U.S. officials intervened at times,
but mostly they were more like flies on the wall as Muslims from the
United States and Europe - activists, journalists and lawyers -
discussed their concerns among themselves, talking about Islam and
their experiences practicing their religion in Western societies. There
were no self-declared "experts" and no interpreters speaking about
Islam on behalf of Muslims with whom they have little real contact.
That was the foremost reason that this conference was more effective
than most sponsored by branches of the U.S. government, or even by
Washington-based research institutes, and why its approach should be
used as a model for understanding how Western governments can begin to
address the increasing isolation of Muslims living in the West.
But there were others: For one, the conference addressed the underlying
reasons for the increasing alienation of Muslims in the United States
and in Europe. It asked Muslims to identity why they feel they are
targets of discrimination. Is it the media, generally biased against
them? Is it their lack of participation in their respective societies?
For another, Muslims from the United States were asked to compare their
lives with those of their Belgian co-religionists. Who suffers more
from bigotry in the media? Who is targeted more by law enforcement? Is
it one's socio-economic background that determines the degree of
integration?
Perhaps surprisingly, young American Muslims learned from their Belgian
peers that economically the Americans might be better off. Their
parents struggled as immigrants, but managed to climb the social
ladder, and the immigrants' children are now doctors and lawyers. Some
of the Belgians, however, were born to parents who emigrated from
Morocco or other Muslim countries for low-paying jobs. One young
Moroccan woman explained that her mother, even after years of living in
Belgium, is still illiterate. And unlike many Muslim-American
participants who grew up in America's suburbs, the Belgians were reared
in urban ghettos.
"European Muslims came from more trying backgrounds," said one American
Muslim, who is a representative of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, a 10-year-old advocacy group based in Washington. "Our
parents came from affluent backgrounds. Over 60 percent of American
Muslims have an average annual salary of $62,000," he said. (MORE)
(Geneive Abdo, a fellow at the Joan B. Kroc Institute at the University
of Notre Dame in Indiana, is completing a book on Muslims in America.)
-----
QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'THE EVIDENCE JUST WASN'T THERE' -
TOP
8 TIMES, AL-ARIAN HEARS 'NOT GUILTY'
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/07/Tampabay/8_times__Al_Arian_hea.shtml
As it turned out, the great majority of jurors wanted to acquit
Al-Arian and the three co-defendants on all charges. . ."Of course, we
hate terrorism," said Ron. "But the evidence making these guys
terrorists just wasn't there."
-----
AMERICAN MUSLIMS WELCOME AL-ARIAN VERDICT -
TOP
Jury's decision viewed by Muslims as vindication of justice system
Washington, D.C., Dec. 7, 2005 - The American Muslim Taskforce for
Civil Rights and Elections (AMT), a coalition of 11 major Muslim
organizations, today welcomed Tuesday's verdict in the case of Florida
professor Sami Al-Arian and three co-defendants who were found not
guilty on a number of counts related to supporting terrorism, perjury
and immigration violations.
"The verdict in this case could have a global impact on winning the
hearts and minds of Muslims by demonstrating that America is a nation
in which the judiciary can be independent of political pressures, and
citizens serving on juries can reach a verdict based on the evidence,
not on fear or prejudice," said AMT Chairman Dr. Agha Saeed, who was a
character witness for Al-Arian. "This is a victory for all those who
support due process and a vindication of America's finest ideals and
principles."
Saeed thanked the academics, journalists, lawyers, religious leaders,
activists and other concerned citizens who stood with Al-Arian and
supported his legal rights.
"This verdict has created a reservoir of goodwill for the United
States. Our government should use this moment to team up with American
Muslims in building bridges with the Islamic world," said Saeed.
He urged President Bush to respect the verdict and to let Al-Arian
become a living symbol of America's open, pluralistic and justice-based
society. Such a gesture will allow America to credibly advocate for the
right to free speech in countries around the world that lack such
freedoms.
CONTACT: Dr. Agha Saeed, 510-299-9313
The American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT) is an
umbrella organization represented by: American Muslim Alliance (AMA),
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Circle of North
America (ICNA), Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Muslim
Alliance of North America (MANA), Muslim American Society (MAS), Muslim
Ummah of North America (MUNA), Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC),
Muslim Student Association - National (MSA-National), Project Islamic
Hope (PIH), and United Muslims of America (UMA)
SEE ALSO:
NOT GUILTY VERDICTS IN FLORIDA TERROR TRIAL ARE SETBACK FOR U.S. -
TOP
Eric Lichtblau, New York Times, 12/7/05
http://nytimes.com/2005/12/07/national/nationalspecial3/07verdict.html
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 - In a major defeat for law enforcement officials, a
jury in Florida failed to return guilty verdicts Tuesday on any of 51
criminal counts against a former Florida professor and three
co-defendants accused of operating a North American front for
Palestinian terrorists.
The former professor, Sami al-Arian, a fiery advocate for Palestinian
causes who became a lightning rod for criticism nationwide over his
vocal anti-Israeli stances, was found not guilty on eight criminal
counts related to terrorist support, perjury and immigration violations.
The jury deadlocked on the remaining nine counts against him after
deliberating for 13 days, and it did not return any guilty verdicts
against the three other defendants in the case.
"This was a political prosecution from the start, and I think the jury
realized that," Linda Moreno, one of Mr. Arian's defense lawyers, said
in a telephone interview. "They looked over at Sami al-Arian; they saw
a man who had taken unpopular positions on issues thousands of miles
away, but they realized he wasn't a terrorist. The truth is a powerful
thing."
Federal officials in Washington expressed surprise at the verdict in a case they had pursued for years. . .
For the local Muslim community, the verdicts are "a huge relief, and
people are just jubilant," said Ahmed Bedier, director of the Tampa
chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Mr. Bedier, who attended much of the trial, said he had doubted whether
Mr. Arian could receive a fair trial in Tampa, especially in light of
the publicity his case had generated, but "the jury proved us wrong,"
he said in a telephone interview.
"This was a very important case for us in that it tested both the
Patriot Act and the right to political activity," Mr. Bedier said. "The
jury is sending a statement that even in post-9/11 America, the justice
system works, the burden of proof is on the prosecution, and political
association - while it may be unpopular to associate oneself with
controversial views - is still not illegal in this country."
SEE ALSO:
EX-PROFESSOR CLEARED ON SOME TERROR CHARGES -
TOP
Mitch Stacy, Associated Press, 12/7/05
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/12/07/fla_ex_professor_cleared_of_some_terror_charges/
TAMPA, Fla. - In a stinging defeat for federal prosecutors, a former
Florida professor accused of helping lead a terrorist group that has
carried out suicide bombings against Israel was acquitted on nearly
half the charges against him Tuesday, and the jury deadlocked on the
rest. . .
The case against Sami Al-Arian, 47, had been seen as one of the biggest
courtroom tests yet of the Patriot Act's expanded
search-and-surveillance powers.
"This shows we have faith in the American justice system," said Ahmed
Bedier, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which
had supported Al-Arian. "This has shown that America is not only the
best country in the world, but the jurors proved that we also have the
best justice system."
---
FLA. PROFESSOR IS ACQUITTED IN CASE SEEN AS PATRIOT ACT TEST -
TOP
Spencer S. Hsu and Dan Eggen, Washington Post, 12/7/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/06/AR2005120601012.html
A federal jury acquitted former Florida professor Sami al-Arian
yesterday of conspiring to aid a Palestinian group in killing Israelis
through suicide bombings, dealing the U.S. government a setback in its
efforts to use secretly gathered intelligence in criminal cases against
terrorism suspects.
The trial was a crucial test of government power under the USA Patriot
Act, which lowered barriers that had prevented intelligence agencies
from sharing secretly monitored communications with prosecutors. The
case was the first criminal terrorism prosecution to rely mainly on
vast amounts of materials gathered under the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act (FISA), whose standards for searches and surveillance
are less restrictive than those set by criminal courts.
The Tampa jury deliberated 13 days before rejecting arguments laid out
over five months by prosecutors that the former University of South
Florida computer engineer and three co-defendants conspired with
leaders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad -- which the United States has
designated a terrorist group -- providing it money, strategy and
advice. The accusations were based on 20,000 hours of phone
conversations and hundreds of faxes secretly monitored beginning in
1993.
Al-Arian, 47, was found not guilty on eight of 17 counts, including
conspiracy to maim or murder. Jurors deadlocked on the rest of the
charges, including ones that he aided terrorists.
Al-Arian wept and was hugged by attorney Linda Moreno after the
verdict, according to news accounts, before returning to jail, where he
will wait as prosecutors decide whether to retry him on the counts that
resulted in deadlock.
Two co-defendants, former Florida graduate student Sameeh Taha
Hammoudeh and Chicago dry cleaner Ghassan Zayed Ballut, were acquitted
of all charges. The jury acquitted a third man, Hatim Naji Fariz,
manager of an Illinois-based Muslim charity, of 25 counts, and failed
to reach a verdict on eight others.
Juliette Kayyem, a terrorism legal analyst at Harvard University's
Kennedy School of Government, said the outcome shows that U.S. juries
can seriously consider both government accusations of terrorism and any
evidence.
"This case has been sort of a tortured case for the United States,"
said Kayyem, a Justice Department official from 1995 to 1999. "But the
truth is that it never seemed that the evidence was that strong -- at
least that the public evidence was that strong against him. . ."
Outside the courtroom, Ahmed Bedier, regional director of the Council
on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights group,
praised the al-Arian verdict. Al-Arian, a Kuwaiti-born Palestinian, had
become a controversial symbol for advocates of academic and speech
freedom and for American Muslims who support the Palestinian cause.
"It will not only restore faith in the justice system by American
Muslims but also by Muslims all over the world who doubted justice in
America," Bedier said. "This sends a very positive message that Muslims
can receive a fair trial in America."
-----
PATRIOT ACT NEEDS TO BE SQUASHED -
TOP
Nat Hentoff, Eagle Tribune, 12/7/05
http://www.ecnnews.com/cgi-bin/15/etstory.pl?-sec-Editorial+fn-hentoff.1206
With parts of the Patriot Act required to be reauthorized by Dec. 31,
the Bush administration pushed hard to get it done before Thanksgiving
recess. But a House-Senate conference committee draft report has been
blocked by a coalition of Republican and Democratic senators who have
pledged to stop a reauthorization conference bill unless significant
changes are made when Congress reconvenes Dec. 16.
Dec. 15 is Bill of Rights Day, celebrating the first 10 amendments to
the Constitution, without which our founding document would not have
become the law of the land.
Begun in Northampton, Mass., in November 2001, the Bill of Rights
Defense Committee, led by Nancy Talanian, has allied with the American
Civil Liberties Union and a range of conservative libertarian
organizations. Currently among those insisting on essential Patriot Act
reforms are the American Conservative Union, the American Library
Association, and such business groups as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
and the National Association of Manufacturers.
These business organizations have joined with civil libertarians to
focus on the Patriot Act's sweeping expansion of government powers to
obtain a huge range of personal information by claiming only that the
records are "relevant to an authorized investigation" on terrorism.
-----
EX-ST. LOUISAN CAUGHT IN POST 9/11 NET -
TOP
Jon Sawyer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 12/6/05
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/special/muslims.nsf/0/3F8E56E0467DCBA1862570D0001F5989
Randall "Ismail" Royer saw himself as a bridge, a white Muslim convert
from suburban St. Louis uniquely positioned to help other Americans
understand his faith.
The U.S. government had a different view - that Royer was part of a shadowy band of Islamist extremists, bent on holy war.
In legal terms, the government view prevailed.
Royer, 32, now sits in a Pennsylvania medium-security federal prison.
He's serving a mandatory 20-year term after pleading guilty of using
firearms in support of a militant Muslim group battling Indian forces
over the disputed territory of Kashmir.
But while officials including then-Attorney General John Ashcroft
hailed Royer's guilty plea last year as a victory in the U.S. war on
terrorism, the plea agreement acknowledged no act or plot against U.S.
interests here or abroad. Under the plea deal, other charges that could
have sent Royer to prison for life were dropped.
Federal prosecutors defend the long sentences meted out to Royer and
others in what became known as the "Virginia Jihad" cases, also called
the "paintball cases" because defendants had played war games at local
paintball courses.
But to Royer and his family, and to many Muslims around the country,
the disposition of the cases sent a different signal - one of a
government overreaching when national fears run high, and understanding
low.
Royer still sees himself as uniquely positioned to drive that message home to non-Muslims who haven't experienced it firsthand.
"I think the American people need to be concerned," Royer said in a
letter to the Post-Dispatch from prison that arrived this week,
"because once the system is bent to start putting a minority in prison,
the system stays bent." (MORE)
ALSO SEE:
RANDALL "ISMAIL" ROYER'S LETTER FROM PRISON -
TOP
St Louis Post Dispatch, 12/7/05
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/special/muslims.nsf/0/BDC2BFBAF0B56954862570CF00600431
"I believe and have always believed, that al Qaida belongs to a sect
called the Khawaarij, an extremist sect that is known for killing
Muslims, and declaring them to be disbelievers for any sin, large or
small, thus authorizing their murder. I ask Allah to guide them and
hope they repent.
"Islam is far from that. It is a simple religion, in which the soul
gives up the worship of all gods but God, then tries his best to
perform good deeds for His sake, and leave off bad deeds for His sake.
To respect and love his parents, family and neighbors, and to speak
true and pleasant words, and to give to the poor, and establish justice
and peace in the earth. War is sometimes inevitable, but it should be a
last resort, and clear, nearly universal boundaries must be respected,
after which peace - the default - must be established. It might seem
for the average American that Islam over-emphasizes violence (I'm sure
the impression is mutual for many Iraqis, and others), but most of the
"third world" is rent by instability, including the Muslim world, so
this impression is simplistic.
"I am an American, have not stopped and never will stop being an
American. I wish only the best for my land in this life and in the
next. Islam does not belong to the East or West, because God created us
all. A civilizational conflict, which seems to be where we're headed,
would be a tragedy and a waste, especially considering how much we have
to learn from one another. (MORE)
-----
ABUSE 'WIDESPREAD' IN IRAQI PRISONS -
TOP
Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor, 12/7/05
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1207/p01s02-woiq.html
BAGHDAD AND CAIRO - After a US raid on a secret Iraqi government jail
last month revealed some detainees were tortured and abused there,
Interior Minister Bayan Jabr insisted abuse claims were exaggerated and
that torture will not be tolerated in the new Iraq.
US soldiers and some Iraqi officials disagree. They say not only is
prisoner abuse widespread, but that much of it is carried out by Mr.
Jabr's subordinates. Efforts to bring the problem under control during
the past year have largely been frustrated by indifference from senior
Iraqi officials, they say.
Privately, half a dozen US officers have acknowledged to the Monitor that prisoner abuse by Iraqi police is common.
ALSO SEE:
CIA 'EMPTIED SECRET JAILS' BEFORE RICE EUROPE TRIP -
TOP
Alec Russell Kate Connolly, Telegraph, 7/12/05
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/12/07/wrice07.xml
The CIA last month emptied two secret prisons in Eastern Europe of
terrorist suspects in a frantic effort to defuse the "rendition"
controversy ahead of Condoleezza Rice's visit to Europe, sources in the
agency have claimed.
Eleven leading al-Qa'eda suspects were transferred to a new CIA
facility in North Africa, current and former officers told ABC
television.
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
CAIR
HAJJ
PUBLICITY RESOURCE KIT
When
modifying the news releases, include references to local Hajj
activities and contact information for local spokespeople. Send to the
newspaper "city editor," television station "assignment editors" and
radio station "news directors." Just call each media outlet to get the
contact information.
IMPORTANT: Also send to the "daybook editor" at the nearest Associated Press bureau. See:
http://www.ap.org/pages/contact/contact.html
CONTENTS:
*
U.S. Muslims to Leave for Hajj
*
Hajj Q&A
*
Sample Eid ul-Adha Mosque Open House Media Advisory
*
Steps Necessary to
Hold a Mosque Open House
*
'Welcome to Our Mosque' Brochure
-----
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -
TOP
U.S. MUSLIMS TO LEAVE FOR HAJJ
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/8/2005) - Thousands of American Muslims
will soon travel to take part in religious observances associated with
the annual Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca.
The Hajj will take place in the second week of January.
Hajj is one of the "five pillars" of the Islamic faith. (The other
pillars include a declaration of faith, daily prayers, offering regular
charity, and fasting during the month of Ramadan.) Pilgrimage is a
once-in-a-lifetime obligation for those who have the physical and
financial ability to undertake the journey.
When the main portion of the pilgrimage is completed, Muslims worldwide gather for communal prayers on the first day
(January 10*) of
Eid ul-Adha (EED-al-ODD-ha), the second of the two major Muslim holidays.
The obligatory and optional activities of Hajj include:
* Entrance into a state of self-control called
"ihram,"
during which pilgrims are forbidden to harm living creatures, even
insects or plants, or raise the voice in anger. The state of ihram is
signified (for men) by the wearing of two pieces of unsewn white cloth.
This clothing signifies the equality of all before God. No specific
clothing is prescribed for female pilgrims.
* Circling (
"Tawaf") of the "
Ka'aba,"
the stone building Muslims believe was originally built by Abraham and
his son Ishmael. The Ka'aba is viewed as the first sanctuary on earth
dedicated to the worship of the One God. It is a symbol of unity for
Muslims because all prayers, wherever they are performed, are oriented
in the direction of the Ka'aba.
* The
"Sa'i," or "hastening" between two small hills near the Ka'aba, to commemorate Hagar's search for water to offer her son Ishmael.
* The
"Day of Arafah" on
January 9.* Arafah is a mountain and its surrounding empty plain near
Mecca. On this day, the climax of the Hajj season, pilgrims assemble
for supplication to God.
* The
stoning of three pillars representing Satan's temptation of Abraham. The stoning indicates the pilgrim's rejection of evil deeds.
*
Cutting the hair to symbolize the completion of Hajj.
*
Sacrifice
of an animal to help the poor, and in remembrance of Abraham's
willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael at God's command. The meat is
distributed to relatives and to the needy.
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices
and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
(* Because the beginning of Islamic lunar months depends on the actual
sighting of the new crescent moon, the start date for Hajj and Eid
ul-Adha may vary.)
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441,
E-Mail: rahmed@cair-net.org
---
Q: WHAT DOES THE QURAN SAY ABOUT HAJJ?
A: In the Quran, Islam's revealed text, God says: "Thus We settled
Abraham at the site of the House (the Ka'aba) (saying): 'Do not
associate anything with Me, and purify My house for those who walk
around it, and those who stand there (praying), and those who bow down
on their knees in worship. Proclaim the pilgrimage among mankind: they
will come to you on foot and on every lean (beast of burden); Let them
come from every deep ravine, to bear witness to the advantages they
have, and to mention God's name on appointed days..." Chapter 22,
Verses 26-28
Q: WHAT DO MUSLIMS BELIEVE THEY GAIN FROM HAJJ?
A: The main benefit of Hajj for many people is the sense of purification, repentance and spiritual renewal it instills.
Q: WHY DOES HAJJ BEGIN ON A DIFFERENT DAY EACH YEAR?
A: Because Dhul-Hijjah is a lunar month, it begins about eleven days earlier each year.
Q: WHY DO MUSLIMS SACRIFICE A LAMB OR OTHER ANIMAL DURING THE FESTIVAL OF EID UL-ADHA?
A: The sacrifice commemorates the Prophet Abraham's readiness to
sacrifice his son, identified in Islam as Ishmael, at God's request.
This is not a blood offering. In the Quran God states: "Neither their
meat nor their blood ever reaches God, but heedfulness on your part
does reach Him." (Chapter 22, Verse 37) The meat is distributed to
relatives and to the needy.
Q: IS HAJJ AN OBLIGATION ON ALL MUSLIMS?
A: Yes, but only for those who are physically and financially able to make the trip.
Q: WHAT ARE THE MOST VISUALLY STRIKING ASPECTS OF HAJJ?
A: All pilgrims must do "tawaf," or circling the Ka'aba. This
obligation creates a stunning scene as thousands of people circle the
building at all times of the day and night. Also, the standing at
Arafah on the 9th day of the Islamic month of Dhul-Hijjah presents a
scene in which several million people all dressed alike and with the
same intention to worship God, gather on a barren plain.
Q: HOW SHOULD FRIENDS AND CO-WORKERS INTERACT WITH SOMEONE GOING ON HAJJ?
A: Hajj is a high point in a Muslim's life. Questions are welcome
and congratulations are in order. Most communities welcome visitors at
Eid ul-Adha prayers. Just ask a Muslim friend to act as an escort and
guide. -
TOP
---
-
MEDIA ADVISORY -
TOP
LOCAL MUSLIMS TO HOLD MOSQUE OPEN HOUSE
Event to feature food, tours and exhibits for people of all faiths
On January ___, the Muslim community in [name of local
community] will celebrate the end of the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, or
Hajj, with a mosque open house. The open house is scheduled to coincide
with the Islamic holiday of Eid ul-Adha (EED-al-ODD-ha), or "festival
of the sacrifice," which comes at the end of the pilgrimage. At the
evening event, people of all faiths will be able to sample foods from
around the Muslim world, take a guided tour of the mosque and browse
through informational displays of books and other items explaining the
basics of Islam.
Eid ul-Adha commemorates the Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice
his son Ishmael at God's command. The holiday is celebrated with the
prayers, small gifts for children, distribution of meat to the needy
and social gatherings. During this holiday, Muslims exchange the
greeting "Eid Mubarak" or "blessed Eid."
(Each year, more than two million Muslims go on Hajj. There are
[number] of Muslims in [local community], an estimated seven million in
America and some 1.2 billion worldwide.)
WHEN: January ___, [Time Period]
WHERE: [Address and Directions]
COST: Free of Charge
CONTACT: For information, call [local contact].
NOTE: Because this is a house of worship, reporters and
photographers of both sexes should dress modestly. That means no shorts
for men or short skirts for women. Female reporters and photographers
may be asked to put a scarf over their hair while in the actual prayer
area. Photographers are advised not to step directly in front of
worshipers and to ask permission for close-up shots.
- END -
---
STEPS NECESSARY TO HOLD A MOSQUE OPEN HOUSE -
TOP
1.
PREPARE the members of your local community by
explaining the necessity of building a positive image of the mosque in
the surrounding area. Let them know that experience of other
communities has shown that a positive neighborhood image offers many
benefits. Ask for input concerning the details of when and at what time
the open house should be held. There are no hard and fast rules for
such things.
2.
INVITE local community leaders, clergy,
law enforcement officials, activists, and government officials.
Remember to invite the mayor, congressional representatives, the chief
of police and members of the city council. These people should all
receive written invitations. Follow up with a personal phone call.
Letters are not enough.
3.
PUBLICIZE the event by
sending a well-written news release (see sample) to the local media.
You may also place paid advertisements in the local newspaper. Send the
news release to the religion calendar editor, the city editor and the
feature editor at the newspaper. Send a release to the assignment
editor at the local television stations. Also send copies to news
directors at the local radio stations. Send announcements to local
churches.
4.
INFORM your guests of mosque etiquette
before they arrive (see "Welcome to Our Mosque" brochure). This will
make them feel at ease and avoid embarrassment. Be ready to answer
questions about prayer, separation of men and women and other common
issues.
5.
CLEAN the mosque. The first impression is
one that will last. Make sure bathrooms are spotless. Have a mosque
clean up day prior to the open house.
6.
SET UP a
reception area where guests can be received, told about mosque
etiquette and served refreshments. Have greeters at the door to direct
arriving guests. Have knowledgeable people conduct tours of the
facility. Do not leave guests alone to wander about the mosque. Give
each guest a name tag. Make sure sisters are available to make female
guests feel welcome.
7.
SELECT literature to be given to the guests. Do not push materials on guests. Let them select what they wish to read.
8.
POST signs at appropriate locations in the facility.
9.
PRAY that your efforts will open the hearts of your guests. -
TOP
-----
WELCOME TO OUR MOSQUE -
TOP
We hope you enjoy your visit.
Q: WHAT IS A MOSQUE?
A: A mosque is a place of worship used by Muslims. The English word
"mosque" is derived from its Arabic equivalent, "masjid," which means
"place of prostration." It is in the mosque that Muslims perform their
prayers, a part of which includes placing the forehead on the floor.
Q: HOW IS A MOSQUE USED?
A: Mosques play a vital role in the lives of Muslims in North
America. The primary function of the mosque is to provide a place where
Muslims may perform Islam's obligatory five daily prayers as a
congregation. A mosque also provides sufficient space in which to hold
prayers on Fridays, the Muslim day of communal prayer, and on the two
Muslim holidays, called Eids, or "festivals."
Q: IS A MOSQUE A HOLY PLACE?
A: A mosque is a place that is specifically dedicated as a place of
prayer. However, there is nothing sacred about the building or the
place itself. There is no equivalent of an altar in a mosque. A Muslim
may pray on any clean surface. Muslims often pray in public places.
Q: HOW BIG ARE MOSQUES?
A: In North America, mosques vary in size from tiny storefronts
serving a handful of worshippers, to large Islamic centers that can
accommodate thousands.
Q: DO MOSQUES WELCOME VISITORS?
A: Mosques in North America welcome visitors. Tours can be arranged
at most facilities. It is always best to call mosque administrators
before arrival. They will want to make sure your visit is enjoyable.
Q: WHAT ARE THE DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF A MOSQUE?
A: The "musalla," or prayer hall, in each mosque is oriented in the
direction of Mecca, toward which Muslims face during prayers. In North
America, Muslim worshippers face northeast. Prayer halls are open and
uncluttered to accommodate lines of worshippers who stand and bow in
unison. There are no pews or chairs. Members of the congregation sit on
the floor.
Because Muslim men and women form separate lines when they stand in
prayers, some mosques will have a balcony reserved for the use of
women. Other mosques will accommodate men and women in the same prayer
area, or they may have two separate areas for men and women.
Q: WHAT ELSE IS IN THE PRAYER AREA?
A: All mosques have some sort of "mihrab," or niche, that indicates
which wall of the mosque faces Mecca. The mihrab is often decorated
with Arabic calligraphy. Its curved shape helps reflect the voice of
the imam, or prayer leader, back toward the congregation. Many mosques
also have a "minbar," or pulpit, to the right of the mihrab. During the
Friday prayer service, the imam delivers a sermon from the minbar.
Q: WHAT ABOUT CHILDREN IN THE PRAYER AREA?
A: Children will often be present during prayers, whether
participating, watching or imitating the movements of their elders.
Their presence continues the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad, who
behaved tenderly toward children. The Prophet sometimes carried one of
his grandchildren on his shoulder while leading the prayer and was also
known to shorten the prayer if he heard a baby cry.
Q: WHAT MIGHT I HEAR DURING MY VISIT?
A: You might hear Muslims exchanging the Islamic greeting, the
Arabic phrase "as-salaam alaykum" ("peace be with you"). Muslims return
this greeting by saying, "wa alaykum as-salaam" ("and with you be
peace").
You might also hear the call to prayer. The call, or "adhan," contains the following phrases (in Arabic):
God is most great, God is most great.
God is most great, God is most great.
I bear witness that there is no god but God.
I bear witness that there is no god but God.
I bear witness that Muhammad is a messenger of God.
I bear witness that Muhammad is a messenger of God.
Hasten to prayer, Hasten to prayer.
Hasten to success, Hasten to success.
God is most great, God is most great.
There is no god but [the One] God.
All Muslim prayers begin with recitation of Al-Fatihah, the opening chapter of the Quran:
In the name of God, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful.
Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds.
The Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.
Ruler of the Day of Judgment.
Only You do we worship, Only You we ask for help.
Show us the straight path.
The path of those whom You have favored, not that of those who earn Your anger, nor those who go astray.
Q: WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THE BUILDING?
A: Many mosques have a minaret, the large tower used to issue the
call to prayer five times each day. In North America, the minaret is
largely decorative. Facilities to perform "wudu," or ablutions, can be
found in all mosques. Muslims wash their hands, faces and feet before
prayers as a way to purify and prepare themselves to stand before God.
Wudu facilities range from wash basins to specially designed areas with
built-in benches, floor drains and faucets.
Bookshelves are found in most mosques. They contain works of Islamic
philosophy, theology and law, as well as collections of the traditions
and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. Copies of the Quran, Islam's
revealed text, are always available to worshippers.
Calligraphy is used to decorate nearly every mosque. Arabic quotations
from the Quran invite contemplation of the revealed Word of God. Other
common features found in the mosque are clocks or schedules displaying
the times of the five daily prayers and large rugs or carpets covering
the musalla floor. Many American mosques also have administrative
offices.
Q: IS A MOSQUE USED EXCLUSIVELY FOR PRAYER?
A: Though its main function is as a place of prayer, the mosque
plays a variety of roles, especially in North America. Many mosques are
associated with Islamic schools and day care centers. Mosques also
provide diverse services such as Sunday schools, Arabic classes,
Quranic instruction, and youth activities.
Marriages and funerals, potluck dinners during the fasting month of
Ramadan, and Eid prayers and carnivals are all to be found in North
American mosques. They are also sites for interfaith dialogues and
community activism.
Many mosques serve as recreational centers for the Muslim community and
may have a gymnasium, game room and weight equipment, as well as a
library and classrooms.
Q: DO MOSQUES HAVE SPECIAL RULES?
A: Men and women should always dress conservatively when visiting a
mosque, covering their arms and legs. Examples of inappropriate
clothing would be shorts for men and short skirts for women.
Shoes are always left at the entrance to the prayer area so as not to
soil the rugs or carpets. Shelves are usually provided to hold shoes.
Women may be asked to cover their hair when visiting a mosque. Many
mosques have scarves on hand for visitors to borrow, but it is better
to bring a head covering in case none are available.
Visitors to mosques should behave as they would when visiting any
religious institution, but they should feel free to ask questions about
the mosque, its architecture, furnishings, and activities. Muslims are
happy to answer questions about their religion. -
TOP
-----
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET,
receive news releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim
positions on issues of importance to our society.
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 12/8/05
*
Verse:
Do Not Break Your Oaths
*
NC:
Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over
Quran Oaths
-
CAIR Asks N.C. Judges to Allow
Use of Quran in Oaths
-
CAIR 'Explore the
Quran' Project
*
From Any Angle,
Profiling is Still Wrong
(Chicago Trib)
*
Post-9/11,
US Muslim Charities Work is at Risk (Reuters)
-
Senate Committee Renews 'Fishing Expedition' (Indy Star)
*
CAIR-FL:
Al-Arian Verdict a 'Turning Point' for Muslims (SPT)
-
CAIR-FL Rep Reacts to Al-Arian Verdict on Fox
*
U.N. Says Ban on Torture Casualty of War on Terror (AP)
-
House Accepts McCain Torture Ban (Bloomberg)
-
Rice's Torture Denial Leaves Loopholes (AP)
-
CAIR Anti-Torture Campaign
*
House, Senate Agree to Reauthorize Patriot Act (AP)
-
CAIR Patriot Act Blog
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: DO NOT BREAK YOUR OATHS -
TOP
"Do not break your oaths after having (freely) confirmed them and after calling on God to be witness to your good faith."
The Holy Quran, 16:91
"In fact, those who sell the covenants of God and their own oaths for a petty price shall have no portion in the hereafter."
The Holy Quran, 3:77
-----
NC: JUDGE DISMISSES LAWSUIT INVOLVING COURTROOM OATHS -
TOP
Eric Collins, News-Record, 12/8/05
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051208/NEWSREC0101/51208007/1001/NEWSREC0201
[
NOTE: CAIR Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar is available for media interviews on this issue. He may be reached at 202-488-8787 or 202-415-0799. E-Mail:
arsalan@cair-net.org ]
A judge today dismissed a lawsuit prompted by outcry over the inability
of Muslims to be sworn in Guilford County courts using the Quran, a
lawyer in the case said.
In throwing out the case, Superior Court Judge Donald L. Smith decided
that no controversy existed because the plaintiff was still able to
affirm she could truthfully testify despite not being allowed to swear
on the Quran, attorney Seth Cohen said.
The plaintiffs in the case were the American Civil Liberties Union of
North Carolina and Greensboro Muslim Syidah Mateen. The defendant was
the state of North Carolina because the plaintiffs were asking to
clarify a state law referring to someone laying his hands on the "Holy
Scriptures."
Guilford Senior Resident Superior Court Judge W. Douglas Albright and
Guilford Chief District Court Judge Joseph E. Turner believed an oath
on the Quran is not a legal oath based on their interpretation of that
law.
In the suit, Mateen alleged she had appeared as a witness in a 2003
court hearing but was not allowed to take an oath on the Quran as she
preferred.
Cohen, the ACLU's attorney, said the group would discuss whether to appeal Smith's ruling.
Smith has not yet made the ruling final by signing an order as of Thursday afternoon.
SEE ALSO:
CAIR ASKS N.C. JUDGES TO ALLOW USE OF QURAN IN OATHS -
TOP
http://cair.com/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1625&theType=NR
FROM A 6/21/05 CAIR NEWS RELEASE - "By stating that only one book
qualifies as 'Holy Scriptures,' the court may be making an
inappropriate endorsement of a single set of religious beliefs," said
CAIR Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar. "Eliminating the opportunity to
swear an oath on one's own holy text may also have the effect of
diminishing the credibility of that person's testimony."
Iftikhar said CAIR will offer a free copy of the Quran to any judge in
North Carolina or throughout the United States for use in oaths or for
personal awareness of the holy text. Judges or other court officials
may order a free Quran by visiting:
www.explorethequran.org
---
CAIR 'EXPLORE THE QURAN' PROJECT -
TOP
To obtain or sponsor a FREE Quran, go to:
www.explorethequran.org
-----
FROM ANY ANGLE, RACIAL PROFILING IS STILL WRONG -
TOP
Dawn Turner Trice, Chicago Tribune, 12/8/05
http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/premium/printedition/Thursday/metro/chi-0512080327dec08,1,1348006.column
Since a couple of Mondays ago when I wrote a column on why profiling
young Arab men is not only nonsensical but also dangerous, the response
from readers has been steadily flowing in.
The original column followed comments made by U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk
(R-Ill.), who said in a speech that it was OK to profile young Arab men
applying for visas. All for national security.
The e-mails I received fell into two distinct camps. The first camp
included readers with names such as John, David, Joseph, Gary, Jim and
Richard, among many others, who wrote to say how wrong I was and that
profiling was the only way to stop "them" from hurting "us."
Camp No. 2 included people with names like Ahmed, Ali, Talat, Malek,
Taufiq, Ajaz, among many others, who wrote to thank me for, in essence,
being so smart. (MORE)
SEND NOTES OF APPRECIATION TO:
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SEE ALSO:
ARABS--FROM FASCINATION TO HATRED TO TOLERANCE -
TOP
Jason George, Chicago Tribune, 12/8/05
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0512080160dec08,1,3971159.story
It was 112 years ago that an Egyptian Muslim climbed the stairs of a
newly constructed minaret along the Chicago lakefront and sang out
"Allah Akbar" to a crowd of enchanted, and puzzled, spectators.
Islam's Arab emissaries were an uncommon sight when they appeared as
part of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The Bedouin camel
boys, the Algerian theater and the scandalous "danse du ventre" (belly
dance) only heightened the fascination with the Middle East.
How much has the understanding of Arabs and Muslims in Chicago advanced since then?
According to some, not far enough. Interviews show they feel as though
they are under suspicion by large parts of the public, especially since
the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
And it's no different nationally. According to a USA Today/CNN/Gallup
Poll taken in July, of the 1,006 adults polled, 53 percent said Arabs,
even those who are U.S. citizens, should undergo more-intensive
security checks when boarding an airplane in the United States. About
46 percent said that Arabs and Arab-Americans should carry a special ID.
Other observers said that there is great acceptance of Muslims in Chicago, which just finished celebrating Arab Heritage month.
In interviews, Arabs have expressed frustration, ambivalence and gratitude toward this city. Here are four of those voices.
THE STUDENT
When Manar Kandil arrived at the University of Illinois at Chicago in
August, she came bearing traditional freshman worries like: How far is
my dorm from my classes? Will my professors be tough?
Kandil, an 18-year-old Egyptian-American, had another question: Would she find anyone like her?
"The first thing I did was try to go everywhere and look for Arabs,"
she said of her first days on campus. "Every person I saw with a scarf
on, I was like, OK, are you Arab?"
Find them she did. "Within two weeks I met so many Arabs," she laughed.
But she met two groups, she said.
"There is always going to be a group of Arabs that are proud to be
Arab, and they try to uphold the Arab culture. And then there is that
group that they try as much as they can not to associate with being
Arab," she said. "Initially it was kind of frustrating to see people
who are like, My name is Mo, not Mohammed."
Sitting in the university's student center, Kandil said this experience has made her faith stronger.
For Kandil, that means no dating or alcohol. Prayer time comes five
times a day. It also means decorating her dorm room and acting like an
average teenager.
"My father continually tells us take the good from both cultures," she said. "They wanted us to strike a balance. . ."
THE DOCTOR
Dr. Abdulgany Hamadeh counts his blessings.
His three healthy children not only have friends at their Islamic
school in Bridgeview, they also go to neighborhood birthday parties and
play sports near their Burr Ridge home. And the hours the physician
puts in at a successful pulmonary and sleep-disorder practice allow
them to enjoy the finer things.
Such a life was not even a dream 24 years ago, when Hamadeh emigrated from Syria.
"When I came here, my main goal was to get the best education I can get," said Hamadeh, 45. "Later on, I decided to stay here."
He is a proud Arab-American who argues that integration is key to
Arabs' being accepted here. "I think it's wrong for communities to stay
together and just stay enclosed, because it gives that wrong
impression. The Arab communities should come out," the physician said.
He's trying to help further this by working with local Islamic and
Syrian organizations that do community outreach. He's also part of a
group of suburban Muslims who plan on building a new mosque, far from
Chicago's Arab neighborhoods.
"We live in this society, and we are a part of it, and we have to act in a way that's responsible," he said.
SEND NOTES OF APPRECIATION TO:
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-----
POST-9/11, US MUSLIM CHARITIES FEAR WORK IS AT RISK -
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Caroline Drees, Reuters, 12/7/05
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2005-12-07T190030Z_01_SIB767655_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-CHARITIES.xml
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a country seared by the September 11 attacks,
Muslim American charities and donors say they live in constant fear of
frozen funds, indictments and even closure, regardless of whether they
have done anything wrong.
The case of former Florida university professor Sami al-Arian, who was
acquitted on several charges of funding terrorists on Tuesday after
almost three years in jail, highlights and underscores these concerns.
While government prosecutors said Arian provided money and support to
Palestinian Islamic Jihad for terrorist activities, the defendant said
any money he sent to the group was for charity. Arian remains in prison
because the jury deadlocked on some charges and he could be retried.
"Donors and charities have a lot of things to fear," said Jihad Smaili,
a lawyer for KindHearts, an Ohio-based charity founded as a vehicle for
Islamic donations. "It's not just fearing substantiated accusations
that a charity may be connected to a terrorist group, but also fearing
the mere suspicion, or a witchhunt."
Imad ad-Dean Ahmed, head of the Islamic American Zakat Foundation, said
donors were "concerned about donations being frozen and not getting to
the intended destination, even when the organization may eventually be
cleared." Giving alms, known as "zakat," to the needy is a requirement
in Islam.
Muslim charitable giving has been in the spotlight since authorities
discovered al Qaeda and other militants had abused charities to fund
attacks. Three major U.S. Muslim charities have been shut down and
hundreds of millions of dollars have been blocked as a result of
counterterrorism efforts.
"Each day you would hear that someone has been arrested or some charity
has come under scrutiny, so initially it was very difficult and sent a
chilling message to the community," said Sayyid Syeed, secretary
general of the Islamic Society of North America, one of the largest
U.S. Muslim groups.
Charities must be on guard on several fronts. They must make sure they
do not accept funds from anyone identified as a suspected terrorist,
which they say can be difficult when many donations come as $10 or $20
bills given by anonymous donors at religious services.
They must also ensure that none of their employees or board members are
affiliated in any way with thousands of individuals or groups
designated as militant by the U.S. government.
Once they raise money, charities must make certain none goes to a
project or person linked to militants or banned groups. In regions
where Islamic militant groups often have significant charitable
operations, U.S. charities say it can be hard to distinguish good
apples from bad. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
SENATE KEEPING MUSLIM INQUIRY OPEN DESPITE ANNOUNCING ITS END -
TOP
Robert King, Indianapolis Star, 12/8/05
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051208/NEWS01/512080434/1006
A U.S. Senate committee is pressing ahead in its two-year-old
investigation of 25 Muslim groups -- including one from Plainfield --
despite a statement last month that nothing "alarming" had been found
in tax records to tie them to terrorism.
The Senate Finance Committee began its probe of the Muslim groups,
including the Plainfield-based Islamic Society of North America, with a
December 2003 request that the Internal Revenue Service provide
confidential tax documents submitted by the groups.
It was looking for evidence that the groups had financially supported terrorist groups.
Last month, Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican Finance Committee
chairman from Iowa, announced the probe had ended. In a written
statement, Grassley said, "We did not find anything alarming enough
that required additional follow-up beyond what law enforcement agencies
are already doing."
But Grassley's committee issued a new statement this week saying its
lack of action does not mean the groups had been "cleared." The
committee, the statement said, "will continue to gather information and
examine the operations of the charities."
Sayyid M. Syeed, the Islamic Society's secretary-general, called the turn of events "very strange."
"Either they should come up with something as quickly as possible or
they should not keep something like this hanging," Syeed said. "It is
quite damaging. It is not right."
Syeed said he is confident there is nothing inappropriate in ISNA's operations.
Arsalan T. Iftikhar, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, a Muslim civil rights group that was not being reviewed,
called the new statement by the Finance Committee "completely
contradictory" to its announcement last month and the "reinitiation of
a fishing expedition."
-----
CAIR-FL: VERDICT A 'TURNING POINT' FOR MUSLIMS -
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BILL COATS, St. Petersburg Times, 12/8/05
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/08/Tampabay/Verdict_a__turning_po.shtml
All over Tampa Bay, word of Sami Al-Arian's acquittals spread from Muslim to Muslim.
The cell phone of Osama "Sam" Mustafa, a Palestinian-American from
Riverview, chimed with the news at the Al-Aqsa Coffee House in Temple
Terrace, where Mustafa was enjoying the flavored smoke of a "hookah"
water pipe.
"He was the symbol of the Palestinian community here," Mustafa said. "We can hold our heads up high now."
Several leading area Muslims voiced a common theme Wednesday in the
wake of Tuesday's verdicts: The Al-Arian case, like the Sept. 11
attacks before it, had cast all local Muslims under suspicion, imposing
caution and worry on their psyches. Tuesday's verdicts - which included
eight acquittals and nine mistrials for Al-Arian - restored a sense of
freedom.
"A lot of people I saw yesterday, they were very patriotic," said Ahmed
Bedier, local director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
"It was kind of a turning point in the community." (MORE)
ALSO SEE:
CAIR-FL REP REACTS TO AL-ARIAN VERDICT ON TAMPA FOX AFFILIATE -
TOP
CAIR Central Florida director Ahmed Bedier appeared on 'Your Turn w/
Kathy Fountain" on FOX Tampa affiliate WTVT to offer reaction and
commentary on the Al-Arian verdict. Other guests on the show included
former federal prosecutor Steve Crawford, (joining by phone) Al-Arian's
co-Attorney Linda Moreno, (joining by phone) and Juror #32.
To Watch the show, follow the below link:
http://www.cairfl.org/video/051207_wtvt_urturn_arian.wmv
-----
U.N. SAYS BAN ON TORTURE BECOMING CASUALTY -
TOP
EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press, 12/7/05
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_UN_US_Human_Rights.html
UNITED NATIONS -- The U.N. human rights chief warned on Wednesday that
the global ban on torture is becoming a casualty of the "war on
terror," singling out reported U.S. practices of sending terrorist
suspects to other countries and holding prisoners in secret detention.
Louise Arbour's comments sparked an immediate rebuke from U.S.
Ambassador John Bolton, who said it was "inappropriate and illegitimate
for an international civil servant to second-guess the conduct that
we're engaged in in the war on terror, with nothing more as evidence
than what she reads in the newspapers."
Bolton said it would be far more appropriate if Arbour had used Human
Rights Day to talk about "the real human rights problems that exist in
the world today." He did not elaborate on the problems.
Arbour told reporters she chose the theme of "terrorists and torturers"
to mark Saturday's annual commemoration of the U.N.'s adoption of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 because of concerns that
the absolute ban on torture, once believed to be unassailable, is under
attack.
"The absolute ban on torture, a cornerstone of the international human
rights edifice ... is becoming a casualty of the so-called `war on
terror,'" she said.
Her comments came as the Bush administration faces questions about U.S.
practices in the pursuit of terrorists, including whether the CIA has
run secret prisons on European soil or mistreated prisoners during
clandestine flights in and out of Europe.
SEE ALSO:
HOUSE ACCEPTS MCCAIN TORTURE BAN -
TOP
Bloomberg, 12/7/05
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aMIQOxXrXJj8&refer=us
Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- House Republicans today agreed to accept Senator
John McCain's measure barring mistreatment of enemy combatants in U.S.
custody, rejecting White House efforts to have the legislation exempt
the Central Intelligence Agency, according to two congressional
officials.
---
RICE'S TORTURE DENIAL LEAVES LOOPHOLES -
TOP
She says cruel practices are off-limits, but cites no examples
ANNE GEARAN, Associated Press, 12/8/05
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051208/NEWS07/512080456/1009
KIEV, Ukraine -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave the Bush
administration's most comprehensive accounting yet of U.S. rules on the
treatment of prisoners in the war on terrorism Wednesday, but her
assurances left loopholes for practices that could be akin to torture.
(MORE)
---
CAIR ANTI-TORTURE CAMPAIGN -
TOP
http://www.cair-net.org/antitorture/
-----
HOUSE, SENATE REACH AGREEMENT TO REAUTHORIZE PATRIOT ACT -
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JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press, 12/8/05
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1386374
House and Senate negotiators reached an agreement Thursday to extend
the USA Patriot Act, the government's premier anti-terrorism law,
before it expires at the end of the month. But a Democratic senator
threatened a filibuster to block the compromise.
"I will do everything I can, including a filibuster, to stop this
Patriot Act conference report, which does not include adequate
safeguards to protect our constitutional freedoms," said Sen. Russ
Feingold, D-Wis., who was the only senator to vote against the original
version of the Patriot Act. . .
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said the deal should satisfy everyone. "This
agreement both preserves the provisions that have made America safer
since 9/11 and increases congressional and judicial oversight, which
should alleviate the concerns of those who believe the law enforcement
tools endanger civil liberties," he said.
But the American Civil Liberties Union immediately denounced the deal,
calling on lawmakers to reject the legislation because it intrudes too
far into the privacy of innocent Americans.
"This sham compromise agreement fails to address the primary
substantive concern raised by millions of Americans, as well as civil
liberties, privacy and business organizations and lawmakers from both
sides of the aisle and in both chambers," said Caroline Fredrickson,
the ACLU's Washington legislative office director. . .
Congress overwhelmingly passed the Patriot Act after the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks. The law expanded the government's surveillance and
prosecutorial powers against suspected terrorists, their associates and
financiers.
The compromise also makes changes to national security letters, an
investigative tool used by the FBI to compel businesses to turn over
customer information without a court order or grand jury subpoena.
Under the agreement, the reauthorization specifies that an NSL can be
reviewed by a court, and explicitly allows those who receive the
letters to inform their lawyers about them.
---
CAIR PATRIOT ACT BLOG -
TOP
http://cairpatriotact.blogspot.com
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
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URL:
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-----
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 12/9/05
*
Hadith: Free
the Captives
*
VA:
Muslims,
Quakers to Hold Vigil for Iraq Hostages
*
DC: CAIR
Rep
Participates in Forum for Chinese Imam
*
Islam-Oped:
Al-Arian
Verdict a Victory for Common Sense
*
US Terror Watch List
80,000 Names Long (AFP)
-
Thousands
Mistakenly Matched to Watch Lists (CNET)
*
CAIR:
Inaccurate
Accusations Against Muslims (DC Examiner)
-
CA:
Moderate Muslims are the
Majority
-
Quote:
'24' Actor Says Don't' Stereotype Muslims
*
NC: Judge Dodges Issue of Quran Oath in Court (News-Record)
*
IL:
Muslim Says He Faced 'Bigotry' at Work (Chicago Tribune)
-
The Workplace Bias Breakdown (Washington Post)
*
New Mideast Movies Focus on Muslims' Points of View (AZ Rep)
*
Canada: Questions Raised After Muslim Killed by Police (CBC)
*
Qaeda-Iraq Link U.S. Cited Tied to Coercion Claim (NYT)
-
How Common is US Abuse of Detainees? (CSM)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: SET FREE THE CAPTIVES -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Feed the hungry, visit the sick and set free the captives."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Hadith 552
When a military commander at the time of the Prophet once ordered a
soldier to kill a prisoner, that soldier said: "By God, I will not kill
my prisoner, and none of my companions will kill his prisoner." When
news of the incident reached the Prophet, he raised both his hands and
said twice: "O God! I am free from what (the commander) has done."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 5, Hadith 628
-----
VA: MUSLIM, QUAKERS TO HOLD VIGIL FOR IRAQ HOSTAGES -
TOP
The All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) and the Langley Hill Friends
Meeting (Quaker Church that hostage Tom Fox of Clear Brook, Va.,
attended) will hold an Interfaith Vigil at the ADAMS Center on Friday
Dec 9, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The interfaith gathering will offer prayers and ask for the safe
release of Tom Fox and all other hostages in Iraq and for peace in the
region.
WHEN: Friday Dec 9, 2005 5:30 pm to 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: ADAMS Center, 46903 Sugarland Drive, Sterling, VA (ADAMS Center
is located one mile south of Route 7 and one block west of the
intersection of Dranesville Road and Sugarland. From the Dulles toll
road, take exit 11 [Fairfax County Parkway North], then take a left on
Wiehle Avenue, a right on Dranesville Road, a left on Sugarland Road,
and a left into the ADAMS parking lot after one block.)
CONTACT: Mr. Mukit Hossain, 703-507-7223 and Mr. Shirin Elkoshairi, 571-217-9286
-----
CAIR REP PARTICIPATES IN FORUM ON RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY -
TOP
CAIR Civil Rights Manager Khadija Athman participated yesterday in a
panel discussion hosted by the Department of State's International
Visitor Leadership Program for Imam Ma Guiyue of China. The Imam is in
the United States to learn about issues related to religious diversity,
religious freedom and tolerance.
Panel members discussed how laws protecting religious freedom in the
United States impact members of their faith and how organizations such
as CAIR work to protect those freedoms. The discussion also touched on
how religious organizations are working to foster tolerance of other
religious traditions.
Representatives of Christianity and Native American religious traditions also took part in the discussion.
-----
ISLAM-OPED: AL-ARIAN VERDICT A VICTORY FOR COMMON SENSE -
TOP
ISLAM-OPED is a national syndication service of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) designed to offer an American Muslim
perspective on current political, social and religious issues.
ISLAM-OPED commentaries are offered free-of-charge to one media outlet
in each market area. Permission for publication will be granted on a
first-come-first-served basis.
CONTACT: ihooper@cair-net.org
TEL: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726 (c)
Please consider the following commentary for publication.
---
AL-ARIAN VERDICT A VICTORY FOR COMMON SENSE
By Parvez Ahmed
WORD COUNT: 690
[Parvez Ahmed, Ph.D., is board chairman of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil
rights and advocacy group. He may be contacted at: pahmed@cair-net.org.
For a photo of Parvez Ahmed, go to:
http://cair.com/default.asp?Page=Board&person=Parvez ]
Former Attorney General John Ashcroft once hailed the arrest of Sami
Al-Arian as "a milestone in the war on terror." This week, 12 ordinary
Americans, none of whom shared the former University of South Florida
professor's religion or ethnic origin found no evidence to back up that
claim, declaring Al-Arian not guilty on eight charges, including
conspiring to commit murder abroad, money laundering and obstruction of
justice.
The overwhelming majority of jurors wanted to acquit Al-Arian of all
charges, but were blocked by a couple of hold-outs. "Of course, we hate
terrorism," said one juror. "But the evidence making these guys
terrorists just wasn't there."
This verdict means a lot to the American Muslim community and should
mean a lot to our fellow Americans. The jurors sent a clear message
that even in the post 9/11 era, and despite rising Islamophobia,
Americans can be fair and are not ready to shred the Constitution.
Benjamin Franklin's warning, that those who seek temporary safety by
giving up their liberties deserve neither safety nor liberty, may ring
hollow in the halls of power, but were clearly understood by the
jurors. The Al-Arian verdict is not a loss in the war on terror. It is
a victory for the American judiciary and for common sense.
One does not have to share Al-Arian's sometimes controversial views to
support his and every American's, right to hold opinions not shared by
the majority.
The real loser in this saga may be fear. It was fear that lead to the
passage of the Patriot Act that was used by the prosecution to develop
its case against Al-Arian. It is fear that is preventing Congress from
reforming the Patriot Act despite, the fact that the Justice Department
has yet to demonstrate how the Act's more controversial features
actually help in nabbing terrorists.
Millions of Americans in nearly 400 cities and four states have
supported resolutions denouncing several controversial provisions of
this act, such as Sections 213, 215, 411, 505, 802, and 805.
Al-Arian's trial was a test for the Patriot Act and relied on
information gathered under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act,
using their less restrictive standards for searches and surveillance.
Since Al-Arian's arrest, many American Muslims feared for their
freedoms. They feared to donate money to legitimate charities and they
feared to associate with other Muslims. It is our hope that the
Al-Arian verdict inspires all Americans to overcome those fears.
But the Al-Arian saga is not over. The government may retry him on the
charges for which the jury could not reach a decision. He may also face
deportation, although it is not clear for what reasons.
In welcoming the verdict, Agha Saeed, speaking for a coalition of 11
major Muslim organizations, said: "The verdict in this case could have
a global impact on winning the hearts and minds of Muslims by
demonstrating that America is a nation in which the judiciary can be
independent of political pressures, and citizens serving on juries can
reach a verdict based on the evidence, not on fear or prejudice."
The Justice Department should respect this sentiment and the verdict
reached by Al-Arian's peers by releasing him so that he may resume a
normal life, or as close to normal as possible after such an ordeal.
Al-Arian joins the ranks of other Muslims who have been wrongly accused
of being terrorists. Where can former Army chaplain and West Point
graduate James Yee go to regain his reputation after being falsely
accused of treason? Where might Oregon attorney Brandon Mayfield
reclaim his good name after being falsely linked by the FBI to the
Madrid train bombings? How does Sami Al-Hussayen resume a normal life
with his family after being found not guilty of 'aiding terrorists'?
Reuniting Al-Arian with his family will give America the credibility to
advocate for the right to free speech and free association in nations
that lack such freedoms. Vengeful or vindictive actions, such as
deporting or retrying Al-Arian, will only serve to reinforce
anti-American stereotypes.
Freedom is not about waving a flag, but about upholding the principles of freedom and justice for which that flag is a symbol.
-----
US TERROR WATCH LIST 80,000 NAMES LONG -
TOP
AFP, 12/8/05
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051208/pl_afp/usswedenattackstravel
STOCKHOLM (AFP) - A watch list of possible terror suspects distributed
by the US government to airlines for pre-flight checks is now 80,000
names long, a Swedish newspaper reported, citing European air industry
sources.
The classified list, which carried just 16 names before the September
11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington had grown to 1,000 by the
end of 2001, to 40,000 a year later and now stands at 80,000, Svenska
Dagbladet reported.
Airlines must check each passenger flying to a US destination against
the list, and contact the US Department of Homeland Security for
further investigation if there is a matching name. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
TENS OF THOUSANDS MISTAKENLY MATCHED TO TERRORIST WATCH LISTS -
TOP
Anne Broache, CNET News, 12/6/05
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-5984673.html
WASHINGTON--About 30,000 airline passengers have discovered since last
November that their names were mistakenly matched with those appearing
on federal watch lists, a transportation security official said Tuesday.
Jim Kennedy, director of the Transportation Security Administration's
redress office, revealed the errors at a quarterly meeting convened
here by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Data Privacy and
Integrity Advisory Committee.
Kennedy said that travelers have had to ask the TSA to clear their
identities from watch lists by submitting a "Passenger Identity
Verification Form" and three notarized copies of identification
documents. On average, he said, it takes officials 45 to 60 days to
evaluate the request and make any necessary changes.
Travelers have been instructed to file the forms only after
experiencing "repeated" travel delays, he said, because additional
screening can occur for multiple reasons, including fitting a certain
profile, flying on a one-way ticket or being selected randomly by a
computer. (MORE)
-----
CAIR: INACCURATE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST MUSLIMS HURT UNITY -
TOP
Ibrahim Hooper, Washington Examiner, 12/8/05
http://www.dcexaminer.com/articles/2005/12/08/opinion/op-ed/48oped8hooper.txt
In a recent Examiner op-ed by Lawrence Haas of the Committee on the
Present Danger, Haas falsely claimed that American Muslims have not
spoken out against terrorism.
In fact, it was a coalition of American Muslim groups that issued what
was perhaps the first condemnation of the Sept. 11 attacks. The Council
on American-Islamic Relations also published a full-page advertisement
condemning those attacks and offering condolences to the victims.
CAIR and other Muslim organizations in this country have consistently
condemned violence against civilians, whether it is suicide bombs in
the Middle East, attacks on churches in Pakistan, the bombing of hotels
in Jordan or similar outrages.
In 2004, CAIR launched a petition drive, called "Not in the Name of
Islam," designed to disassociate Islam from the violent acts of a few
Muslims. The petition, signed by some 700,000 Muslims, states in part:
"We refuse to allow our faith to be held hostage by the criminal
actions of a tiny minority acting outside the teachings of both the
Quran and the Prophet Muhammad."
CAIR turned that petition into a television public service announcement
that was distributed nationwide and viewed by millions of Americans.
Arabic and Urdu subtitled versions were also made available to
television stations in Muslim countries.
Haas makes a number of other false and defamatory claims. For example,
he repeats the long-discredited allegation that CAIR's executive
director called the prosecution of those who carried out 1993 World
Trade Center bombing "a travesty of justice." He said no such thing.
He also disparaged the recent fatwa, or Islamic religious ruling,
condemning terrorism and religious extremism issued by American Muslim
scholars. The fatwa - the release of which was coordinated by CAIR -
states:
"In the light of the teachings of the Qur'an and Sunnah we clearly and strongly state:
1. All acts of terrorism targeting civilians are haram (forbidden) in Islam.
2. It is haram for a Muslim to cooperate with any individual or group that is involved in any act of terrorism or violence.
3. It is the civic and religious duty of Muslims to cooperate with law
enforcement authorities to protect the lives of all civilians."
The fatwa is hardly "lukewarm" in its condemnation of terrorism. (To
read the fatwa or the "Not in the Name of Islam" petition, or to view
the CAIR PSA, go to www.cair.com.)
Let us all do our utmost to avoid the perpetual civilizational and
religious conflict sought by extremists of every faith. Let us instead
seek the mutual respect that leads to interfaith understanding.
Ibrahim Hooper is national communications director for the
Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation's
largest Muslim civil liberties group.
SEE ALSO:
CA: MODERATE MUSLIMS -
TOP
Iftekhar Hai, San Mateo County Times, 12/9/05
http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/faith/ci_3290172
POLITICIANS and scholars say moderate Muslims are critical of victory
in the war on terror, but there is a troubling lack of clarity about
who moderate Muslims are and what they believe, religiously and
politically.
Human nature is to define "moderate" in terms of someone "just like
us." In today's climate, defining a moderate Muslim often depends on
the conservative backgrounds of those making the judgment, particularly
Congressman Tom DeLay, the Rev. Pat Robertson, the Rev. Jerry Falwell,
historian Bernard Lewis, policy analyst Daniel Pipes and syndicated
columnist Charles Krauthammer.
America's own foreign policy also plays a critical role in shaping the
definition. For many, the litmus test for a moderate Muslim is tied to
rubber stamping the U.S. government's position on Israel, Kashmir and
Iraq.
Secular fundamentalists and neo-cons say a moderate Muslim must believe
not in integration, but in assimilation - to be secular to the point of
being anti-religious. Someone who accepts a position against wearing
hijab, which they define as a sign of oppression, although most Muslim
women do not wear it and many who do consider it an expression of
religious freedom.
Truly moderate Muslims are those who live and work within societies,
seek change from below, reject religious extremism, consider violence
and terrorism to be illegitimate. We are thinkers who interpret and
reinterpret Islam in relationship to the religious, social and
political realities of their times and in the context of the
international affairs. We believe in the revelations that came to the
Jewish tribes in the Torah and the Christians in the Gospels.
Moderates in Islam, as in other faiths, are the majority. We represent various religious sects and economic rungs. (MORE)
Iftekhar Hai, a South City resident, is president of the United Muslims
of America Interfaith Alliance. He and three other local columnists
take turns writing for the Faith page.
---
QUOTE: '24' ACTOR SAYS DON'T' STEREOTYPE MUSLIMS -
TOP
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/entertainment/13346275.htm
Kiefer Sutherland: "I think the Muslim community within the United
States is an incredibly vital, important aspect of this culture -- and
to talk about any one group because of the actions of a few and lump
them as a larger group is a very dangerous, dangerous situation."
-----
NC: JUDGE THROWS OUT QURAN SUIT -
TOP
Eric Collins, News-Record, 12/9/05
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051209/NEWSREC0101/512080330
GREENSBORO -- A judge on Thursday threw out a lawsuit spurred by outcry
over the inability of Muslims to use a Quran for courtroom oaths, a
lawyer in the case said.
Superior Court Judge Donald L. Smith decided that the American Civil
Liberties Union of North Carolina and Greensboro Muslim Syidah Mateen
failed to show that an actual legal controversy exists between them and
the state of North Carolina.
The judge did not address whether state law allows people to use
non-Christian texts for oath-taking, the main issue the ACLU wanted
resolved.
"We're disappointed the judge did not reach the merits (of the case),"
said ACLU lawyer Seth Cohen, who confirmed Thursday's ruling. "We're
confidant we would have won on the merits."
He said the organization planned to discuss whether to appeal the decision. (MORE)
-----
IL: U.S. SUIT CLAIMS AUTONATION BIAS -
TOP
Chicago Tribune, 12/9/05
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0512090216dec09,1,5970346.story
Federal civil rights lawyers on Thursday sued AutoNation Inc. for
alleged racial harassment at the company's former Kia dealership in
Elmhurst. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Chicago office
said an investigation into a complaint by former AutoNation sales
associate Halit Macit found "rampant bigotry" based on his Muslim
religion and Turkish national origin, and against other
African-American, Hispanic and Indian employees. AutoNation sold the
dealership three years ago, and the current owner is not named in the
suit. An AutoNation spokesman said the company is committed to a
workplace free of discrimination.
SEE ALSO:
THE BIAS BREAKDOWN -
TOP
Asians and Blacks Lead in Perceived Discrimination at Work
Amy Joyce, Washington Post, 12/9/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/08/AR2005120802037.html
Fifteen percent of all workers say they have been discriminated against
in their workplace during the past year, according to a new Gallup
Organization poll.
The survey was conducted to discover workers' perceptions of
discrimination in their workplaces during a year that marks the 40th
anniversary of the formation of the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The
EEOC's chairwoman, Cari M. Dominguez, said the information will help
the agency compare employee perceptions of discrimination with
complaints actually filed with the agency.
For example, 31 percent of Asians surveyed reported incidents of
discrimination, the largest percentage of any racial or ethnic group,
with African Americans the second-largest group at 26 percent. But
Asians generally file fewer discrimination complaints than other
groups, according to the EEOC.
"We need to go back and track . . . what are the differences" between
people's perception of discrimination and the actual filings, Dominguez
said. "Then we can do a better job of outreach."
The survey was reported on the day Best Buy Co., the nation's largest
electronics retailer, was sued by six current and former employees who
claim they were passed over for promotions and raises based on their
sex, race and ethnicity, and when the EEOC filed a class-action lawsuit
in Chicago against AutoNation Inc., alleging that the auto retailer
subjected employees at its Elmhurst, Ill., Kia dealership to racial,
national origin and religious harassment.
The EEOC suit was based on a complaint of discrimination filed by Halit
Macit, a former sales associate with AutoNation, who said he was
routinely harassed by a manager based on his Muslim religion and
Turkish national origin.
The EEOC's investigation also concluded that other nonwhite employees
were harassed at the dealership and threatened that if they complained
about the harassment, they would be fired. AutoNation sold the
dealership to the Napleton Fleet Group, which was not named in the
lawsuit, according to the EEOC. (MORE)
-----
NEW MIDEAST MOVIES FOCUS ON MUSLIMS' POINTS OF VIEW -
TOP
Bill Muller, Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/preview/articles/1209mullercol1209.html
From Three Kings to Jarhead, Hollywood movies about the Middle East have mostly examined the American experience.
It makes sense, especially when you can hire such stars as George
Clooney to play a rule-breaking U.S. military officer (Three Kings) and
Jake Gyllenhaal to play a green Marine sniper during the Persian Gulf
War (Jarhead).
Recently, however, studios are buying or making movies about the "other side" of the conflict, with stories about Muslims.
The films include Syriana, about a fictional Arab nation entangled in
big-oil politics; Paradise Now, about two Palestinian suicide bombers
and Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World, which stars Albert Brooks
as a comedian assigned by the U.S. government to discover what Muslims
find funny.
Along the same lines is Munich, a Steven Spielberg movie (opening Dec.
23) about the aftermath of the 1972 Olympics, during which 11 Israeli
athletes were killed by Palestinian terrorists. (MORE)
-----
CANADA: QUESTIONS RAISED AFTER MUSLIM KILLED BY POLICE BULLET -
TOP
CBC News, 12/8/05
http://www.cbc.ca/montreal/story/qc-stab20051208.html
Members of Montreal's Muslim community are raising serious questions after a man was shot dead during a scuffle with police.
Hannas Mohamed, 25, was killed last week after allegedly stabbing a police officer.
Mohamed had just finished morning prayers at the local mosque and was wearing his traditional robes, according to friends.
He was on his way home when he came across police.
The officer was stabbed right after he had arrested another man on suspicion of fraud.
"Many of his friends called me personally to tell me this is not
compatible with the personality of this man," said Salam El-Menyawi,
head of the Muslim Council of Montreal.
El-Menyawi is meeting with police to find out more about what happened.
Police won't be able to say much while the case is under investigation. The Quebec City police force is investigating the case.
El-Menyawi wants to raise questions about racial profiling.
"I'm asking the police department to assure the Muslim community
because this is an issue of real concern," he said Thursday. (MORE)
-----
QAEDA-IRAQ LINK U.S. CITED IS TIED TO COERCION CLAIM -
TOP
DOUGLAS JEHL, New York Times, 12/9/05
http://nytimes.com/2005/12/09/politics/09intel.html
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 - The Bush administration based a crucial prewar
assertion about ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda on detailed statements
made by a prisoner while in Egyptian custody who later said he had
fabricated them to escape harsh treatment, according to current and
former government officials.
The officials said the captive, Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi, provided his
most specific and elaborate accounts about ties between Iraq and Al
Qaeda only after he was secretly handed over to Egypt by the United
States in January 2002, in a process known as rendition.
The new disclosure provides the first public evidence that bad
intelligence on Iraq may have resulted partly from the administration's
heavy reliance on third countries to carry out interrogations of Qaeda
members and others detained as part of American counterterrorism
efforts. The Bush administration used Mr. Libi's accounts as the basis
for its prewar claims, now discredited, that ties between Iraq and Al
Qaeda included training in explosives and chemical weapons. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
HOW COMMON IS US ABUSE OF DETAINEES? -
TOP
Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 12/8/05
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1208/p01s02-usmi.html
WASHINGTON - Any analysis of America's record on detainee abuse in the
war on terror begins with a single set of numbers: Amid the handling of
an estimated 70,000 detainees, military officials say they have found
fewer than 600 credible allegations of abuse.
It is a rate of 1 investigation for more than 100 detainees, and for
the Pentagon, it is a point of pride - apparent proof that abuses are
the work of a misguided few.
Outside the Pentagon, however, those numbers - and the positive
assessment - are open to doubt. As the world, and increasingly the
country's lawmakers, look at how America has treated those captured in
the war against terror, many have come to the conclusion that, as one
expert puts it: "The one thing we know is that we don't know
everything." (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 12/10/05
*
CAIR-FL:
Muslims
Celebrate Al-Arian Verdict (Tampa Trib)
-
CAIR-Sacramento Valley Annual
Fundraising Banquet
-
CAIR-OH:
Leave Christmas
Alone (Washington Times)
-
James Yee Speaks at CAIR-Houston
Dinner (H Chron)
*
Va. Muslims, Quakers Pray for
Safety of Hostages (Wash Post)
-
WV:
Bridge-Building
Imam Graduates from Seminary
*
UT:
Muslim Scouting is Part of a National Trend (SL Trib)
*
OH:
Muslim Charity Calls for Fairness (Toledo Blade)
-
MA:
Islamic Center Refutes Ties to Terror
*
MA:
Plans for Islamic Center Draw Lots of Fire
*
CAIR:
Frustrations Best Addressed By Community Involvement (AP)
-----
CAIR-FL: LOCAL MUSLIMS CELEBRATE WIN IN TRIAL'S WAKE -
TOP
CHRIS ECHEGARAY, Tampa Tribune, 12/10/05
http://tampatrib.com/FloridaMetro/MGBSWTTF1HE.html
TEMPLE TERRACE - For Hatim Fariz, the oud - incense - smelled sweeter
and the lamb tasted better in the wake of his acquittals on
terrorism-related charges.
Fariz went table to table, hugging and shaking hands at a community
celebration Friday at the Islamic Community of Tampa on 130th Avenue.
"This feels good," Fariz said. "I am not going to sit down until I feed
all my guests first. It's all good right now. I feel very fortunate."
Fariz, a former office manager at a medical clinic in Spring Hill, was
acquitted of 25 charges, and no verdict was reached on eight others.
He didn't want to talk about that. He wanted to rejoice.
More than 150 people, Muslims and non-Muslims, attended Friday's
celebration to bring together supporters of Fariz, Sami Al-Arian,
Ghassan Ballut and Sameeh Hammoudeh - the four co-defendants in federal
court. None was convicted.
On Friday night, Latinos, whites, Christians, Jews - mostly activists -
said only Al-Arian's presence could have made the event better. The
former University of South Florida professor remains imprisoned as
prosecutors decide whether to pursue the charges that weren't decided.
. .
Before dinner, Ahmed Bedier, spokesman for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations' central Florida chapter, was asked to give
the sermon.
He said Muslims must participate in all levels of society: politics,
education and law enforcement. He mixed humor with his message.
"Yes, I asked them to work in the FBI," Bedier said. "But as agents, not as informants."
"In the name of God, open the doors of goodness, of peace," a dozen Muslims sang in Arabic.
SEE ALSO:
CAIR SACRAMENTO VALLEY ANNUAL FUNDRAISING BANQUET -
TOP
Ras H. Siddiqui, Pakistan Link, 12/10/05
http://pakistanlink.com/Community/2005/Dec05/09/02.HTM
Under the theme of "Restoring the American Dream: Civil Rights and
Community Empowerment", the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) of the Sacramento Valley (SV) held its Third Annual Banquet on
Saturday, November 12, 2005 at the Hilton Sacramento Arden West, to
show its support groups its accomplishments and to recognize its
friends in California's Capital region who have helped CAIR in its work
during the past year. (MORE)
---
CAIR-OH: LEAVE IT ALONE -
TOP
John McCaslin, Washington Times
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20051208-111021-8902r_page2.htm
Now its Muslims in America coming to the defense of Christians who want to call a Christmas tree by its name.
We turn to Cincinnati Enquirer and a newspaper editorial that calls the current debate about renaming Christmas trees "foolish."
"It is political correctness run amok, and it is unfortunate that the
rhetoric over whether to change references of 'Christmas' to 'holiday'
is even being considered," the newspaper's editors write. Actually,
it's beyond consideration.
In Boston, a Christian group has threatened to sue after city fathers
renamed their Christmas tree a "holiday" tree. Here on Capitol Hill, at
least, smarter heads prevailed and changed the "Capitol Holiday Tree"
back to the "Capitol Christmas Tree."
But our favorite quote is compliments of Karen Dabdoub, president of
the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington. She tells the
Enquirer: "Who are we fooling? The Jews don't put up a tree for
Hanukkah; the Muslims don't put up a tree for Ramadan. It doesn't take
away from my celebration of my holiday for other people to celebrate
their holiday." (MORE)
---
CAIR-HOUSTON: VISITING AUTHOR HAS FULL AGENDA IN HOUSTON -
TOP
ZEN T. C. ZHENG, Houston Chronicle, 12/8/05
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/memorial/news/3507959.html
Former U.S. Army Muslim chaplain James Yee, who was accused of
espionage but later vindicated, will be in Houston Friday, part of his
crusade to "urge the nation to find a balance between national security
and safeguarding civil liberty. . ."
On Saturday, Yee will speak at the annual gala of the Houston Chapter
of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national civil rights
advocacy group. The event will begin at 6:15 p.m. at The Westin Oaks
hotel, 5011 Westheimer.
Tarek Hussein, president of the 2,000-member Houston chapter of Council
on American-Islamic Relations, said he believes Yee's presence in
Houston will be educational.
"We would like people to learn from his experience and remember that a
patriot like him could be abused just like too many Muslims were
mistreated after 9/11," Hussein said.
"We have seen the American commitment to religious freedom threatened
and eroded. Chaplain Yee's story tells us that it's up to the
determination of each citizen to defend our constitutional rights."
(MORE)
-----
VA. MUSLIMS AND QUAKERS PRAY TOGETHER FOR SAFETY OF HOSTAGES -
TOP
Amy Gardner, Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/09/AR2005120902003.html
As the deadline for hostage Tom Fox's execution approached in Iraq,
Muslims and Quakers gathered at a Sterling mosque yesterday afternoon
to pray together for his safe return and that of three other Western
peace activists kidnapped in Baghdad two weeks ago.
A group calling itself the Swords of Righteousness Brigade has declared
that the four hostages will die today if the United States and Britain
do not release Iraqi prisoners.
Out in the corridor of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society Center, it
was impossible to distinguish Muslim from Christian among the shoes
stacked on the shelves. Inside the main hall, the same was true among
the 50 or so worshipers who gathered at the center in eastern Loudoun
County to send what they said was a message of peace and unity around
the globe.
Organizers translated a message from Fox's blog,
http://waitinginthelight.blogspot.com
, into Arabic and sent it to al-Jazeera television, which they hoped
would broadcast it in the Middle East. They also invited
representatives of other Arab media to the vigil. Organizers included
members of the ADAMS Center and the Langley Hill Friends Meeting in
McLean, where Fox is a member.
"We are trying to send a signal of goodwill and community," said Mukit
Hossain, a member of the ADAMS Center's board of trustees. "Hopefully,
the captors would think that by releasing these people, they would not
only do a good thing, but they would also be seen favorably by a lot of
people." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
WV: BRIDGE-BUILDING IMAM GRADUATES FROM SEMINARY -
TOP
Bob Schwarz, Gazette-Mail, 12/10/05
http://wvgazette.com/section/Faith%20&%20Community/2005120923
Imam Mohammad Jamal Daoudi isn't an engineer, but he has been studying bridge-building lately.
The spiritual leader of the South Charleston-based Islamic Center of
West Virginia recently earned a doctor of ministry degree from the
United Theological Seminary, a Dayton, Ohio, institution more
accustomed to granting degrees to Christian clergy.
He and 15 other clergy - all the others Christian, almost all from West
Virginia - will receive their degrees at a graduation ceremony at 1:30
p.m. Dec. 17 at Christ Church United Methodist. He'll be wearing his
traditional Islamic robes and a doctoral hood.
Daoudi's doctoral project/thesis was on "Bridge-Building Between Islam
and Christianity: A Case Study Between the Islamic Center of West
Virginia and St. John's Episcopal Church."
-----
UT: MUSLIM SCOUTING IS PART OF A NATIONAL TREND -
TOP
Jessica Ravitz, Salt Lake Tribune,
http://www.sltrib.com/faith/ci_3296182
Other adolescent girls might have cowered when they noticed the stares
in their school hallways. Aisha Hassan decided to embrace them. "That's
right, look at me," she remembers thinking, throwing her arms out and
flashing a big, bright smile - befitting the movie star she pretended
she was.
But even Aisha, a now-17-year-old Somalian who immigrated to Utah by
way of Pakistan five years ago, has had her insecure moments. No way
around it, she's different. Her culture, religion, skin color and - not
least of all - the way she dresses set her apart. Being Murray High
School's only Muslim girl who wears "hijab," the traditional head
covering, can take a toll.
"Sometimes you need others to help you," she says. "Others to tell you they feel the same way."
That support has now cropped up in, of all places, an American
tradition: the Girl Scouts of the USA. Troop No. 496, about 30 members
strong, is Utah's first Muslim Girl Scout troop. Officially launched
this past fall, the group accommodates Seniors, like Aisha, all the way
down to Brownies. Some are immigrants, others American-born. And though
their roots reach out to places as far-flung as Bangladesh, Iraq, Laos
and Egypt, their common faith brings them together. . .
"We incorporate Islam into our troop meetings, and we get to meet new
Muslim people," Hanna Omar, 13, explains. "And you get to do everything
others get to do, so it's just as much fun for us as it is for anyone
else."
Although the national organization does not keep track of troops based
on religion, a quick search online shows that Troop No. 496 is part of
a trend. Groups like it are taking hold across the nation, in states as
various as Michigan, Virginia, California and Oklahoma. In fact, a
second troop, reserved for Seniors, also has formed locally. And Muslim
Scouting isn't just for girls. The Boy Scouts of America report 112
troops, including one in Utah, that are chartered to Muslim schools or
mosques. (MORE)
-----
OH: MUSLIM CHARITY CALLS FOR FAIRNESS INQUIRY FOUND NO LINK TO TERRORISM -
TOP
DAVID YONKE, Toledo Blade, 12/9/05
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051209/NEWS10/512090347
A board member of a Toledo-based Muslim charity said yesterday that a
Senate panel's two-year investigation into possible terrorist links,
which ended recently with no allegations of wrongdoing, was
"reminiscent of the McCarthy era."
Jihad Smaili, a Toledo native and Cleveland lawyer, said at a news
conference yesterday in KindHearts' West Toledo offices that the U.S.
Senate Finance Committee made a public announcement in 2003 that it was
investigating 25 U.S. Muslim groups, but never announced that it ended
the inquiry two weeks ago with no evidence of wrongdoing.
In the meantime, some potential KindHearts donors were scared off by
the investigation and the charity's reputation was hurt by "false
allegations" and "guilt by association," Mr. Smaili said.
He likened KindHearts' predicament to that of innocent Americans
accused of being communist sympathizers during the McCarthy era in the
1950s.
"To put it simply, KindHearts is not connected in any way with a terrorist group or individual," he said.
When the Senate committee announced its investigation in 2003, Mr.
Smaili said he wrote to the chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa),
and to each panel member inviting them to tour KindHearts' Toledo
offices and to examine the charity's books. But he never received a
response.
It would be helpful and fair to the groups investigated if Senator
Grassley would announce that he found no connection to terrorists, Mr.
Smaili said.
"We have been vindicated by our government, yet there are still those
who want to accuse our organization of wrongdoing," he said. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MA: ISB REFUTES TIES TO TERRORISM -
TOP
Andrew Shapira, Daily Free Press, 12/9/05
http://www.dailyfreepress.com/media/paper87/news/2005/12/09/News/Isb-Refutes.Ties.To.Terrorism-1126531.shtml
The Islamic Society of Boston has been accused recently of having
terrorist connections, which has slowed construction of a new mosque.
After accusations of terrorist ties were leveled at the Islamic Society
of Boston by two Boston media outlets over the past two years, the ISB
has announced that it is fighting back.
In a series of reports dating to October 2003, the Boston Herald and
FOX25 alleged that the ISB was providing funds to fundamentalists
overseas.
But in a lawsuit filed on Halloween this year, two ISB leaders, Dr.
Yousef Abou-Allaban and Dr. Osama Kandil, insisted that the allegations
were part of a coordinated attack on Boston's Muslim community intended
to derail the construction of a $22 million mosque and cultural center
in Roxbury.
The lawsuit is an expansion of two previous lawsuits by Abou-Allaban
and Kandil to include other members of an alleged conspiracy against
the ISB. The new litigation seeks damages for defamation and argues
that the media outlets and others conspired to deprive the plaintiffs
"of their basic rights of free association and the free exercise of
their religion." (MORE)
-----
MA: PLANS FOR ISLAMIC CENTER IN ALLSTON DRAW LOTS OF FIRE -
TOP
Auditi Guha, Allston-Brighton Tab, 12/9/05
http://www2.townonline.com/allston/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=386996&format=text
Muslim developers proposing an Islamic Center at the American Legion
building at 186 Chestnut Hill Ave. drew a surprising number of
objections from neighbors at the John J. Carroll community room, packed
with 50 people and a Christmas tree.
Meeting Monday to discuss two development proposals, the Chestnut Hill
Avenue Taskforce got more than it bargained for in a three-hour meeting
that had sentiments running high - not all of them positive.
Boston University professor and longtime Allston resident Abder Mohamed
waxed eloquent on the values that Islam propagates, with a quote from
the Koran, in his bid for a local Islamic Center at the American Legion
building.
It recently sold for $1 million to developer Anwar Faisal of Alpha Management Corp. of Allston.
"The best thing about America is there are so many different people and
wonderful cultures living together," Mohamed said. "I've been here 25
years and I see a lot of churches and temples, and I believe that my
family should have a cultural center that will teach them [our culture]
and to respect all religions and keep them away from vice. People from
[all over the world] who are of Islamic faith want to be a part of the
community. The cultural center would support them and be open to
everybody."
His speech was cut short for questions and comments, and some of residents were upset.
"We are refugees. We have no home," said Kopelev Michail, who
translated at the meeting. "We also want to be in a community and live
in peace, but we didn't have the opportunity to profess and serve our
religion like you.
"We don't want things contrary to our beliefs." (MORE)
-----
TRAINING TO STOP LONDON-STYLE ATTACK IN AMERICA: 'WILL WE BE NEXT?' -
TOP
SHARON COHEN, Associated Press, 12/10/05
http://www.picayuneitem.com/articles/2005/12/11/news/21threat.txt
U.S. Muslims may be frustrated with anti-Muslim rhetoric and some
government policies, but those are issues best addressed through
community involvement and political participation, says Ibrahim Hooper,
spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
"I think Muslims feel part of the American social fabric," he says.
"They are better able to practice their faith here than in some parts
of the so-called Muslim world."
American Muslim scholars recently have spoken out, too, issuing an
edict denouncing violence. "There is no justification in Islam for
extremism or terrorism," they wrote. "Targeting civilians' life and
property through suicide bombings or any other method of attack is
haram - or forbidden." (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 12/12/05
*
Hadith: The
Prophet's Example
*
CAIR
Hosts Yemeni
Judge Who Challenged Extremists
-
CAIR-CAN
Seeks
Inquiry Into Death (Gazette)
-
CAIR:
Common Sense Prevails in Al-Arian Trial
*
U.S. Muslims: From Unseen to Highly Visible (Seattle Times)
-
CA: Selling Liquor Creates Conflict for Muslims
-
MA: Burned Mosque Offers Thanks (Republican)
-
MI: Ford Grants Target Anti-Muslim Bias (AP)
*
Mary Holds a Special Place for Muslims (Chicago Trib)
*
Torture and the Constitution (Wash Post)
-
Sen. Frist Sees Deal Torture Ban (Reuters)
-
Victim: 'They Would Cut Me 30 Times in Two Hours'
*
Was Focus Of Patriot Act Debate a Dodge? (LA Times)
-
CAIR Patriot Act Blog
*
Military's Info War is Vast and Secretive (NYT)
-
Poll: Most Iraqis Oppose Presence of U.S. Troops (AP)
*
Abuse Cited In 2nd Iraqi Jail (Wash Post)
*
Australia: Anti-Muslim Riots
*
Watchword of the Day:
Beware the Caliphate (IHT)
-
Danish Official:
Islam is a 'Terrorist Movement'
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: THE PROPHET'S EXAMPLE -
TOP
When the Prophet first received God's revelation, he was so disturbed
by the experience that he said to his wife: "O Khadija, what is wrong
with me?" He then told her everything that had happened and said: 'I
fear that something may happen to me." Khadija replied: "God will never
disgrace you, because you keep good relations with your relatives,
speak the truth, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guest
generously, and assist (those afflicted by calamity)."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Hadith 111
The Prophet Muhammad also said: "A leader is a shield for (the people).
. .If he enjoins God consciousness. . .and dispenses justice, there
will be a (great) reward for him. And if he enjoins otherwise, it
rebounds on him."
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 851
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CAIR HOSTS YEMENI JUDGE WHO CHALLENGED EXTREMISTS -
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(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/12/05) - The Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) was honored today to host Yemeni Judge Hamoud
Abdulhameed Al-Hitar at its Capitol Hill headquarters.
Al-Hitar is head of the court of appeal for Sana'a and Al-Jawf and
president of both the Intellectual Dialogue Committee and the Yemeni
Human Rights Organization. He is touring the United States as a
participant in the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor
Leadership Program.
Al-Hitar is known for his efforts to challenge the ideology of extremists through the use of basic Islamic source materials.
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-CAN: ISLAMIC RELATIONS COUNCIL SEEKS INQUIRY INTO DEATH -
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The Gazette, 12/12/05
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=ea742d16-51ab-4caf-bc97-9350af48c4ce
The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations has called for a
public inquiry into the death of a Muslim man shot dead by Montreal
police on Dec. 1. Police said Mohamed-Anas Bennis, 25, stabbed one of
their officers in the Cote des Neiges district before the constable
fatally shot the assailant. But Bennis's family has so far refused to
believe this account, saying the man would never have attacked a police
officer. Because the Surete du Quebec and Montreal police were
involved, the investigation of the shooting is being conducted by
Quebec City police.
---
CAIR: COMMON SENSE PREVAILS IN AL-ARIAN TRIAL -
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PARVEZ AHMED, Tampa Tribune, 12/12/05
http://tampatrib.com/opinion/MGB8CZ5T3HE.html
[Parvez Ahmed, Ph.D., is board chairman of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil
rights and advocacy group. He may be contacted at: pahmed@cair-net.org ]
Former Attorney General John Ashcroft once hailed the arrest of Sami
Al-Arian as "a milestone in the war on terror." Last week 12 ordinary
Americans, none of whom shared the former University of South Florida
professor's religion or ethnic origin, found no evidence to back up
that claim. They declaring Al-Arian not guilty on eight charges,
including conspiring to commit murder abroad, money laundering and
obstruction of justice.
This verdict means a lot to the American Muslim community and should
mean a lot to our fellow Americans. The jurors sent a clear message
that even in the post 9/11 era, Americans are not ready to shred the
Constitution. (MORE)
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MUSLIMS: FROM UNSEEN TO HIGHLY VISIBLE -
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Seattle Times, 12/12/05
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2002678353_islameddem12.html
FOR decades , the small number of Muslims in our country moved quietly
through the daily routines of American life - the women grocery
shopping, shuttling kids, many hidden behind their veils; the men
working, studying, reaching like other immigrants for better lives.
Then came the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the words Islamic and
terrorist began to run together as if there were no difference at all.
Certainly, the hideous fact that 19 hijackers of Muslim faith would
brutalize American civilians would reverberate many years. It has. It
will. But we can't go on like this, misunderstanding, fearing, knowing
so little about one another.
The U.S. Census Bureau does not directly ask about religious
affiliation, but the best estimate from a large national survey says
there are roughly 3 million American Muslims. Other studies say the
number is twice that. The first marks on a painted portrait of this
important cultural group reveal a population that is young,
preponderantly male and well-educated:
* The median age of Americans is 43; American Muslims' median age is
28, according to "Religion in a Free Market," by Barry Kosmin and
Ariela Keysar, a book to be published in 2006.
* Forty-eight percent of the U.S. population is male, compared with 62 percent of Muslim Americans, the book says.
* One-third of Americans are college graduates; 46 percent of Muslim Americans have a college degree.
To understand Muslim America is to distinguish carefully between Middle
Easterners and Muslims. Many Middle Easterners are not Muslim; many
Muslims are not Middle Easterners.
"Immigration from South Asian and Arab countries began in larger
numbers in the 1960s and grew through the 1990s," says Ihsan Bagby,
author of several studies on Muslim mosques in America. "Among the
immigrants was a large percentage of Christians, especially from
Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and Palestine."
Today, roughly 33 percent of U.S. Muslims are from South Asia -
Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Perhaps 30 percent are African
Americans; a considerable number are converts to the religion along
with their children. One-fourth are Arabs.
Muslims tend to be urbanites, flocking to New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit and surrounding suburbs. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
SELLING LIQUOR CREATES RELIGIOUS CONFLICT FOR MUSLIMS -
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Cecily Burt, Oakland Tribune, 12/12/05
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_3301887
AMIN NAGI finally came to terms with his Islamic beliefs and left the
liquor business to run a convenience store. (Nick Lammers - Staff)
OAKLAND - Amin Nagi tried for years to reconcile his Islamic faith with
owning a liquor store. In the end, the internal struggle and family
pressure proved too much.
Nagi sold the store this year and opened a bright, airy Super Discount
mart in Oakland's Fruitvale district. He sells loads of stuff -
baseball caps, helium balloons, luggage, clothes, watches. Noticeably
absent: liquor. He is finally at peace with his beliefs, which forbid
association with alcohol.
But for hundreds of other liquor store owners in Oakland's poorest
neighborhoods, many of whom are Yemeni immigrants, the internal
struggle goes on.
The conflict gained nationwide attention after two West Oakland liquor
stores - owned by Muslims - were vandalized last month by suspected
Black Muslims who chided the stores' owners for selling alcohol. The
attacks were caught on a store surveillance camera.
It is "haram" - unlawful under the laws of Islam - to drink alcohol,
but that has not prevented Muslim merchants from selling and making
money off it.
"Our religion does not allow us to sell alcohol, but we have many
excuses to do it," said Mohamed Saleh Mohamed, president of the
Yemeni-American Grocers Association. (MORE)
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ISLAMIC CENTER OFFERS ITS THANKS -
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Patrick Johnson, Republican, 12/11/05
http://www.masslive.com/hampfrank/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1134290477319200.xml&coll=1
SPRINGFIELD - A little more than a year after arson destroyed their
Union Street mosque, members of the Al-Baqi Islamic Center yesterday
offered thanks to those who have helped with the rebuilding.
At a gathering at Shriners Hospital for Children, Al-Baqi members
welcomed people of different faiths who helped out in its time of need.
"It's a great day," said Mujahid Aleem of Al-Baqi. "Out of adversity comes a great opportunity."
The mosque was destroyed in a Dec. 8, 2004 fire, set by seven teenage boys during a break-in.
Homeless for a year, the mosque recently purchased a 2.7-acre parcel on
Boston Road, where it intends to build a mosque. Imam Rasul F.
Seifullah, spiritual leader of Al-Baqi said from the tragedy of the
fire came an opportunity for the mosque to face new challenges.
"We were settled there. We were cozy, maybe too settled," he said. "Allah said enough of that. You need to start moving." (MORE)
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MI: FORD GRANTS TARGET ANTI-MUSLIM BIAS AT U-M -
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Associated Press, 12/12/05
http://wwmt.com/engine.pl?station=wwmt&id=21746&template=breakout_state.html
ANN ARBOR (AP) - The Ford Foundation is giving $100,000 each to the University of Michigan campuses in Ann Arbor and Dearborn.
The grants are for projects aimed at combating anti-Muslim, anti-Jewish and other forms of bias.
The two Michigan campuses are among 27 higher education institutions
getting the grants. They're part of the foundation's two-year Difficult
Dialogues initiative.
The foundation says the projects seek to promote academic freedom and constructive dialogue on college campuses.
-----
MARY HOLDS A SPECIAL PLACE FOR MUSLIMS -
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Hesham A. Hassaballa, Chicago Tribune, 12/11/05
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0512110193dec11,1,5512860.story
[Hesham A. Hassaballa is a Chicago doctor and freelance writer.]
There's something about Mary.
Dec. 8 will always have a special place in my heart. It's the Feast of
the Immaculate Conception, and even though I am not Catholic, I have
fond memories of that day because it meant an extra day off at
Marquette University, a Jesuit institution where I was a student.
I had thought Dec. 8 celebrated the conception of Jesus Christ. I was
surprised to learn that the Immaculate Conception was that of the
Virgin Mary. It was a pleasant surprise because the Koran also contains
the story of the birth of the Holy Virgin.
"My Lord, I devote what is in my womb exclusively to the service of
God, so accept this from me, for You are the all-hearing, the
all-knowing," Mary's mother says in the Koran. She was expecting to
have a boy, whom she would dedicate to the priesthood at the Temple in
Jerusalem. Yet, "when she gave birth to [a girl], she said, `My Lord, I
have given birth to a girl ... And I have named her Mary, and I commend
her and her progeny to Your protection from Satan the accursed'"
(3:35-36).
Muslims hold Mary in high esteem. The Koran states that God "accepted
her with a gracious reception and caused her to grow up beautifully"
(3:37). The angels, speaking to Mary, tell her, "God has chosen you and
purified you and chosen you over the women of all peoples" (3:42).
She is the only woman mentioned by name in the Koran, and an entire
chapter, Chapter 19, is named after her. Moreover, the Koran sets Mary
as the ultimate example of an ideal believer. Thus, whenever I think of
the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, my heart stirs with happiness,
for I love and revere the Virgin Mary very much.
Throughout history, there have been countless sightings of the Holy
Virgin by myriad believers. The Portuguese village of Fatima has become
a major pilgrimage site for Catholic faithful because of several
sightings, officially endorsed by the Catholic Church, of the Holy
Mother by three small children in 1917. Chicago had its own "little
Fatima" at the Fullerton Avenue underpass of the Kennedy Expressway,
which attracted waves of awestruck believers.
But why is the Virgin Mary, who plays a small role in the Gospel
accounts of Jesus, the object of so much love, adoration and reverence
for more than 2 billion Muslims and Christians across the world? (MORE)
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TORTURE AND THE CONSTITUTION -
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Washington Post, 12/11/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/10/AR2005121000934.html
DOES THE Constitution permit the use of "waterboarding," or simulated
drowning, to extract information from people detained by the
government? To most Americans, the very question may sound ludicrous.
Waterboarding, after all, has been recognized as a torture technique
since the time of Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition. U.S. soldiers
who were caught using it on enemy insurgents in the Philippines, in
1901, or the Vietnam War, in 1968, were prosecuted. When suffocation by
water was used by foreign governments, such as the Augusto Pinochet
dictatorship in Chile, the State Department didn't hesitate to call it
torture.
Yet the Bush administration sees it otherwise. Not only have senior
officials denied that CIA interrogation techniques, which are known to
include waterboarding, constitute torture, but administration lawyers
argue that the practice doesn't necessarily violate the lesser
international legal standard of "cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment." In ratifying the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel
Inhuman and Degrading Treatment in 1994, the Senate defined "cruel,
inhuman and degrading" as any practice that would violate the Fifth,
Eighth or 14th amendments. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pledged
during her tour of Europe last week that administration policy was to
prohibit all U.S. personnel from breaking that standard, presumably
including those who staff secret CIA prisons. Since the administration
continues to maintain that it is not legally bound by the
constitutional test outside the United States, Sen. John McCain
(R-Ariz.) is pressing legislation that would make that purported policy
a law.
What Ms. Rice's statements concealed is that administration lawyers
have concluded that waterboarding and other CIA pressure methods don't
necessarily violate the Constitution. Case law, they say, doesn't offer
a clear guide to what actions represent a clear breach. The standard,
they say, is flexible. In the case of a terrorist who may have
information that could save thousands of lives, goes the administration
reasoning, extreme measures might be acceptable. That's why, when he
was asked about waterboarding and a series of other abusive acts during
his confirmation hearing earlier this year, Attorney General Alberto R.
Gonzales testified that "some might . . . be permissible in certain
circumstances." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
SEN. FRIST SEES DEAL ON BILL TO BAN TORTURE BY US -
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Patricia Zengerle, Reuters, 12/11/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/11/AR2005121100367_pf.html
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Congress will reach an agreement with the White
House on a defense bill that would ban the torture and inhumane
treatment of detainees, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said on
Sunday.
Frist said on Fox News Sunday that negotiators were discussing the issue of "degrading" suspects.
The amendment, pushed by Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, had
passed the Senate with a 90-9 majority, but the White House fiercely
opposed it. Vice President Dick Cheney led an unsuccessful bid to
exempt the CIA from the torture ban, saying it would hinder the war on
terrorism.
"I think there will be clarification of what we mean, how aggressive
can one be to get information?" said Frist, who did not specify what
would be banned.
"What does degrading mean? Do you not want to degrade a terrorist, not
hurt them, but degrade them, if they are going to take out your family,
if they are going to assassinate you? That's the question that is being
worked out," he said.
Frist voted for the amendment pushed by McCain, who was tortured while a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
"An agreement will be reached and we will come to some understanding
which will allow us in ways consistent with our values, that is legal,
to get the appropriate information to protect us," the Tennessee
Republican said. (MORE)
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TORTURE VICTIM: 'THEY WOULD CUT ME 30 TIMES IN TWO HOURS' -
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Genevi�ve Roberts, Independent, 12/12/05
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/article332481.ece
Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi is accused by the US government of planning
a dirty bomb attack in America. He says he was tortured until he
admitted the crime.
He was arrested at Karachi airport in April 2002, with a passport under
the name of Fouad Zouawi, a friend, and with a ticket to Zurich and
then on to London.
In documents compiled by the human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith,
he describes an encounter with someone he believes to be an MI6 officer
and details the horror of his torture. Mr Habashi says the officer told
him 'I'll see what we can do with the Americans'. "They gave me a cup
of tea with a lot of sugar in it. He said 'Where you're going you need
a lot of sugar'."
He was taken to Morocco and questioned, then tortured after refusing to admit links al-Qa'ida links.
"They took the scalpel to my right chest. One of them took my penis in
his hand and began to make cuts. I was in agony. They must have done
this 20 to 30 times in maybe two hours. They would do it to me about
once a month."
The treatment continued in the so-called "Prison of Darkness" in Kabul, where he was kept from January to May in 2004.
"The US military told us 'Bin Laden had his laugh on 9/11 so it is now
our time to have our laugh'," he said. "They would hang me up. I was
allowed a few hours' sleep on the second day, then I was hung up, this
time for two days. My legs had swollen. My wrists and hands had gone
numb.
"Then I was taken off the wall and left in the dark. There was loud
music, Slim Shady and Dr Dre, for 20 days. I heard this non-stop over
and over, and they changed the sounds to horrible ghost laughter and
Halloween sounds. The only light I saw came from guards using
flashlights to bring inedible food.
"I lost 20kg in the weeks of my stay. They used to come and weigh us
every other day; it seemed like they were making sure we were losing
weight."
Benyam Mohammed al-Habashi is accused by the US government of planning
a dirty bomb attack in America. He says he was tortured until he
admitted the crime.
He was arrested at Karachi airport in April 2002, with a passport under
the name of Fouad Zouawi, a friend, and with a ticket to Zurich and
then on to London.
In documents compiled by the human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith,
he describes an encounter with someone he believes to be an MI6 officer
and details the horror of his torture. Mr Habashi says the officer told
him 'I'll see what we can do with the Americans'. "They gave me a cup
of tea with a lot of sugar in it. He said 'Where you're going you need
a lot of sugar'."
He was taken to Morocco and questioned, then tortured after refusing to admit links al-Qa'ida links. (MORE)
-----
WAS FOCUS OF PATRIOT ACT DEBATE A DODGE? -
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Richard B. Schmitt, Los Angeles Times, 12/11/05
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-patriot11dec11,1,4400276.story
WASHINGTON - As lawmakers debated the renewal of the USA Patriot Act in
recent months, critics of the terrorism-fighting law focused on
potential abuses stemming from a section they dubbed the "library
provision."
That section, which has been in effect, alarmed civil libertarians
because it granted the government broad powers to obtain records about
individuals in terrorism investigations - even from libraries,
bookstores and other places that might reveal personal habits.
But now, as Congress prepares to vote on extending key parts of the
Patriot Act - with what civil libertarians say are few substantive
changes to protect the rights of ordinary citizens - some critics of
the act are asking whether they miscalculated.
Although focus has been on extending the act, the library provision has
turned out to be rarely used by authorities. Instead, the tool of
choice for federal agents has been a more obscure measure, a form of
administrative subpoena known as a national security letter.
Unlike the library provision, national security letters have been used
thousands of times, although that fact has until very recently been
virtually lost amid the intense discussions on renewing the
controversial law.
The kinds of information the government can obtain through national
security letters includes requiring telephone companies, Internet
service providers, banks, credit bureaus and other businesses to
produce often comprehensive and detailed records about their customers
or subscribers. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR PATRIOT ACT BLOG -
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http://cairpatriotact.blogspot.com/
-----
MILITARY'S INFORMATION WAR IS VAST AND OFTEN SECRETIVE -
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Jeff Gerth, New York Times, 12/11/05
http://nytimes.com/2005/12/11/politics/11propaganda.html
The media center in Fayetteville, N.C., would be the envy of any global communications company.
In state of the art studios, producers prepare the daily mix of music
and news for the group's radio stations or spots for friendly
television outlets. Writers putting out newspapers and magazines in
Baghdad and Kabul converse via teleconferences. Mobile trailers with
high-tech gear are parked outside, ready for the next crisis.
Bundles of newspapers await readers at a Baghdad newsstand. Iraqi
readers expressed surprise some articles were written in the United
States.
A group of Afghans listened to iPod-like devices, made by Zvox. They
were paid for by the United States and contain civic messages
consistent with American interests.
The center is not part of a news organization, but a military
operation, and those writers and producers are soldiers. The
1,200-strong psychological operations unit based at Fort Bragg turns
out what its officers call "truthful messages" to support the United
States government's objectives, though its commander acknowledges that
those stories are one-sided and their American sponsorship is hidden.
"We call our stuff information and the enemy's propaganda," said Col.
Jack N. Summe, then the commander of the Fourth Psychological
Operations Group, during a tour in June. Even in the Pentagon, "some
public affairs professionals see us unfavorably," and inaccurately, he
said, as "lying, dirty tricksters."
The recent disclosures that a Pentagon contractor in Iraq paid
newspapers to print "good news" articles written by American soldiers
prompted an outcry in Washington, where members of Congress said the
practice undermined American credibility and top military and White
House officials disavowed any knowledge of it. President Bush was
described by Stephen J. Hadley, his national security adviser, as "very
troubled" about the matter. The Pentagon is investigating.
But the work of the contractor, the Lincoln Group, was not a rogue
operation. Hoping to counter anti-American sentiment in the Muslim
world, the Bush administration has been conducting an information war
that is extensive, costly and often hidden, according to documents and
interviews with contractors, government officials and military
personnel.
The campaign was begun by the White House, which set up a secret panel
soon after the Sept. 11 attacks to coordinate information operations by
the Pentagon, other government agencies and private contractors.
In Iraq and Afghanistan, the focus of most of the activities, the
military operates radio stations and newspapers, but does not disclose
their American ties. Those outlets produce news material that is at
times attributed to the "International Information Center," an
untraceable organization.
Lincoln says it planted more than 1,000 articles in the Iraqi and Arab
press and placed editorials on an Iraqi Web site, Pentagon documents
show. For an expanded stealth persuasion effort into neighboring
countries, Lincoln presented plans, since rejected, for an underground
newspaper, television news shows and an anti-terrorist comedy based on
"The Three Stooges." (MORE)
ALSO SEE:
MOST IRAQIS OPPOSE U.S. TROOPS, POLL SAYS -
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Will Lester, Associated Press, 12/12/05
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2005-12-12-iraq-us-force_x.htm
WASHINGTON (AP) - Most Iraqis disapprove of the presence of U.S. forces
in their country, yet they are optimistic about Iraq's future and their
own personal lives, according to a new poll.
More than two-thirds of those surveyed oppose the presence of troops
from the United States and its coalition partners and less than half,
44 percent, say their country is better off now than it was before the
war, according to an ABC News poll conducted with Time magazine and
other media partners. (MORE)
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ABUSE CITED IN 2ND JAIL OPERATED BY IRAQI MINISTRY -
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Ellen Knickmeyer, Washington Post, 12/12/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/11/AR2005121101002.html
BAGHDAD, Dec. 11 -- An Iraqi government search of a detention center in
Baghdad operated by Interior Ministry special commandos found 13
prisoners who had suffered abuse serious enough to require medical
treatment, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Sunday night.
An Iraqi official with firsthand knowledge of the search said that at
least 12 of the 13 prisoners had been subjected to "severe torture,"
including sessions of electric shock and episodes that left them with
broken bones.
U.S. Deaths in Iraq
A look at the fallen troops' home towns, ages, service categories and other particulars, as announced by the Defense Department.
Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants face charges related to the 1982
execution of about 150 people in the Shiite town of Dujail. Get
background, photos and video about the trial.
"Two of them showed me their nails, and they were gone," the official
said on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.
A government spokesman, Laith Kubba, said Sunday night that any
findings at the prison would be "subject to an investigation," but he
declined to comment on the allegations.
The site, which was searched Thursday, is the second Interior Ministry
detention center where cases of prisoner abuse have been confirmed by
U.S. and Iraqi officials.
U.S. troops found the first site last month when they entered an
Interior Ministry building in central Baghdad to look for a Sunni Arab
teenager they believed had been detained, officers said at the time.
Several prisoners at that site appeared to have suffered beatings, and
many were emaciated, U.S. and Iraqi officials and witnesses said.
-----
SYDNEY ANTI-MUSLIM RIOTS STRIKE FORCE FORMED -
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12/12/05
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=136058140&p=y36x587zx
Police formed a strike force today to track down the instigators of a
day and night of racial riots that left more than 30 people injured in
a string of Sydney beachside suburbs.
"Let's be very clear, the police will be unrelenting in their fight
against these thugs and hooligans," New South Wales state political
leader Morris Iemma said.
Racially motivated rioting erupted yesterday after thousands of drunken
white youths attacked police and people of Middle Eastern appearance at
Cronulla beach in southern Sydney. It spread later with retaliatory
attacks by groups of youths of Arab appearance who stabbed one man and
smashed dozens of cars.
The violence shocked this city of four million which prides itself on being a largely harmonious cultural melting pot.
Sydney's Daily Telegraph tabloid's front page headline, over a picture
of white youths attacking a man of Arab appearance on a train, read:
"Our disgrace."
Iemma said the riots, "showed the ugly side of racism in this country".
Prime Minister John Howard condemned the rioting, but added: "I do not accept that there is underlying racism in this country."
Iemma said Muslim leaders and community leaders from the suburbs hit by
rioting would meet later today in a bid to ease tensions and prevent a
recurrence of the violence. (MORE)
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WATCHWORD OF THE DAY: BEWARE THE CALIPHATE -
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International Herald Tribune, 12/11/05
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/11/news/letter.php
WASHINGTON Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said it in a speech last
Monday in Washington and again on Thursday on PBS. Eric Edelman, the
under secretary of defense for policy, said it the week before in a
roundtable at the Council on Foreign Relations. Stephen Hadley, the
national security adviser, said it in October in speeches in New York
and Los Angeles. General John Abizaid, the top American commander in
the Middle East, said it in September in hearings on Capitol Hill.
Vice President Dick Cheney was one of the first members of the Bush
administration to say it, at a campaign stop in Lake Elmo, Minnesota,
in September 2004.
The word getting the workout from the nation's top guns these days is
caliphate - the term for the seventh-century Islamic empire that
spanned the Middle East, spread to Southwest Asia, North Africa and
Spain, then ended with the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258.
Islamic specialists say the word is a mysterious and ominous one for many Americans, and that the administration knows it.
"They recognize that there's a lot of resonance when they use the term
'caliphate,"' said Kenneth Pollack, a former CIA analyst and now a
scholar at the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution. Zbigniew
Brzezinski, President Jimmy Carter's national security adviser, said
that the word had an "almost instinctive fearful impact. . ."
A number of scholars and former government officials take strong issue
with the administration's warning about a new caliphate, and compare it
to the fear of communism spread during the Cold War. They say that
although Al Qaeda's statements do indeed describe a caliphate as a
goal, the administration is exaggerating the magnitude of the threat as
it seeks to gain support for its policies in Iraq.
In the view of John Esposito, an Islamic studies professor at
Georgetown University, there is a difference between the ability of
small bands of terrorists to commit attacks across the world and global
conquest.
"It is certainly correct to say that these people have a global design,
but the administration ought to frame it realistically," said Esposito,
the founding director of Georgetown's Center for Muslim-Christian
Understanding. "Otherwise they can actually be playing into the hands
of the Osama bin Ladens of the world because they raise this to a
threat that is exponentially beyond anything that Osama bin Laden can
deliver."
ALSO SEE:
THE DANISH PEOPLE'S PARTY'S NEW SPOKESMAN ON EDUCATION AFFAIRS DESCRIBES ISLAM AS A TERRORIST MOVEMENT -
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Copenhagen Post, 12/12/05
http://www.cphpost.dk/get/92733.html
A few days after the Danish People's Party (DF) punished its Copenhagen
mayoral candidate for publishing racist remarks on her website,
removing her from the post as the party spokesman on educational
affairs, her successor went ahead and described the Muslim religion as
a terrorist movement.
Defeated mayoral candidate Louise Frevert's website compared Muslims
with tumours, causing a public outrage. Though she blamed the statement
on her website editor, DF punished her by removing her from a number of
spokesman posts in parliament, including the one on educational
policies.
Her replacement, Martin Henriksen, however, has also been criticised for having a website that is equally anti-Muslim.
'From its beginning, Islam has been a terrorist movement,' Henriksen
stated on his website, warning against letting Muslims run for office
in parliament and municipal councils.
'It's well known that Islam is lying low, well-knowing that no Islamic
group or state has the military power it takes to conquer us. The goal
we know, the method is to quietly take over and infiltrate our
democratic institutions,' Henriksen said on his website.
Danish converts to Islam get their share of the blame as 'moral criminals'.
'These young Danes, who turn their backs on their heritage and thereby
all of us, are committing an indescribable moral crime,' the website
stated.
The website was discussed in a DF parliamentary group meeting last
Thursday, where Henriksen said he had received full backing from his
fellow party members.
'It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that an MP from the Danish
People's Party is critical of Islam. It's a part of the party's policy,
so I'm not removing anything from my website,' Henriksen told national
broadcaster DR.
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 12/13/05
*
Hadith:
Praise God for Providing
Shelter
-
Verse:
Proclaim the Bounty of Your Lord
-
NV:
Homeless See Good in Islam
(Review-Journal)
*
CAIR 'Explore the Quran' Campaign
*
Action:
Call Congress on Torture, Patriot Act, Immigration
*
OH:
Muslim Family Says Break-In Was Hate Crime (NBC4)
-
IL:
Misconceptions Can Lead to Hate Crimes
*
Youth Seek to Maintain Muslim Identity (Seattle Times)
-
A Muslim in America (Seattle Times)
*
Bush Presses for McCain Torture Accord (NY Times)
-
Why is Torture Wrong? (The New Republic)
-
CAIR Anti-Torture Campaign
*
DC/MA:
$40 Million Gift to Support Study of Islam
*
Australian Unrest Spreads to Other Cities (AP)
-
Missionaries in 'Muslim City in Africa' (BP)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: PRAISE GOD FOR PROVIDING SHELTER -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "When you go to bed,
say, 'Praise is due to God Who fed us, provided us drink, met our needs
and provided us with shelter, for many a people there is none to meet
their needs and none to provide shelter.'"
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1255
VERSE OF THE DAY: PROCLAIM THE BOUNTY OF YOUR LORD -
TOP
"Soon your Lord shall grant you something with which you will be
well-pleased. Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter (and
care)? Did He not find you lost and gave you guidance? Did He not find
you destitute and made you self-sufficient?
"Therefore, do not treat the orphan with harshness and do not repulse
the petitioner (unheard), but proclaim the bounty of your Lord."
The Holy Quran, 93:5-11
SEE ALSO:
NV: HOMELESS SEE GOOD IN ISLAM -
TOP
Lynnette Curtis, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 12/3/05
http://www.iviews.com/Articles/articles.asp?ref=LV0512-2861
For the past few days, homeless mother Galadrial Neece-Estrada and her
family have been sleeping someplace they would never have imagined - at
a southeast Las Vegas mosque.
Neece-Estrada, her boyfriend and their two sons, 2-year-old Aden Cooper
and 8-month-old Austin Cooper, are spending a week at the mosque as
guests of the Islamic Society of Nevada.
"I've been reading up on Ramadan (the Muslim holy month) in the
classroom where we sleep," the 26-year-old mother said. "The longer I'm
there, the more I realize how beautiful the (Islamic) religion is."
It may seem like an unlikely place for a homeless family with no
religious affiliation to end up, even temporarily. But society director
Aslam Abdullah said taking care of others is what religion is all about.
"If God's creations can't find a place in the house of God, then what's the use?" he said.
Abdullah volunteered the mosque to Family Promise, a nonprofit
organization that works with about 20 local places of worship
representing eight different faiths to help homeless families.
Each church, mosque or other "faith house" takes in up to four
families, providing meals and beds, for a week at a time. When the week
ends, the families move on to the next host until they eventually
transition into regular housing.
Family Promise Director Terry Lindemann said the idea behind the
program is to allow homeless parents to spend their days looking for
work instead of worrying about how they will eat or where they're going
to sleep. . .
Abdullah said he was motivated to join Family Promise not by a desire
to change negative stereotypes about Islam, but to practice its beliefs.
"It is the obligation of every religious community to do what we can to help those who are suffering," he said.
-----
CAIR 'EXPLORE THE QURAN' CAMPAIGN -
TOP
http://www.cair-net.org/explorethequran/
Obtain or sponsor a FREE Quran.
-----
CAIR ACTION ALERT #481 -
TOP
CALL CONGRESS TODAY ABOUT TORTURE, PATRIOT ACT, IMMIGRATION
Last chance in 2005 to let Congress hear your concerns!
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/13/05) - CAIR is urging American Muslims
and other people of conscience to take advantage of a final opportunity
to support civil liberties, oppose the use of torture by American
personnel and insist on workable immigration reform by contacting their
elected representatives before Congress goes out of session in the next
few days.
Votes are expected on a number of crucial issues, including:
1. Civil Liberties Protection in the Patriot Act Reauthorization
The House will most likely take up the Patriot Act conference report on
Wednesday, December 14. A vote to prevent Sen. Russ Fiengold's
threatened filibuster in the Senate will probably occur Friday. A
filibuster, essentially an extended debate, would prevent any vote on
the Patriot Act, since Senate rules provide that a vote can only occur
once a debate is completed. Senate leadership needs 60 votes to prevent
a filibuster.
SEE ALSO: CAIR's Patriot Act Blog
http://cairpatriotact.blogspot.com/
2. Anti-Torture Measures
Sen. John McCain's measure prohibiting the use of "cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment" against anyone in U.S. government
custody anywhere in the world has strong Senate support. The
administration, using Vice-President Cheney as point, is lobbying
against the measure. President Bush has threatened to use his
first-ever veto to protect torture.
3. Immigration Reform
Secure borders and enforcement of immigration law are important.
However, legislation currently before the House is ill-considered.
Among other concerns, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal
Immigration Control Act (H.R. 4437) empowers low-level law enforcement
officers to deport, without a hearing, anyone within 100 miles of the
border that the agent thinks is undocumented.
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED:
1. Follow the link provided below and make the calls to your elected
officials. (We are requesting phone calls because e-mails and faxes may
not be read until after this week.) It is easy and effective.
You will be asked only for your ZIP code (to prove that you are a
constituent) and where you stand on an issue. You need not be an
expert, only concerned.
TO CONTACT YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES, GO TO:
http://capwiz.com/cair/callalert/index.tt?alertid=8313031&type=CO
SAMPLE PHONE CALL SCRIPT:
"As your constituent, I am asking your office to do the following things:
"1) HOUSE: Oppose final Patriot Act reauthorization until it includes
more civil liberties protections like those contained in the Senate
version of the bill. SENATE: Support Senator Feingold's efforts to
enhance the civil liberties protections in the Patriot Act. Please vote
against cloture.
"2) HOUSE AND SENATE: Support sending Senator John McCain's anti-torture language to the President without any modifications.
"3) HOUSE: Vote against HR. 4437, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism
and Illegal Immigration Control Act. The bill is not a comprehensive
solution. Comprehensive immigration reform can be dealt with in 2006.
[This bill is not before the Senate.]"
2. Put your cell phone to good use.
Call all of your friends and family members and ensure that they
contact their elected officials. Act as a facilitator. You can enter
their ZIP code into our website at
http://capwiz.com/cair/dbq/officials/
and get the names and contact information of their representatives (1
Member of the U.S. House and 2 Members of the U.S. Senate).
3) Push your community leaders to action.
Give your local Imam or community a copy of this alert and ask him/her
to use it as talking points for a Friday sermon. Ask if your local
leaders and organizations can send this release over their e-mail lists.
-----
OH: WOMAN CLAIMS BURGLARY WAS HATE CRIME -
TOP
Police: Victim Also Harassed By Telephone
NBC4, 12/12/05
http://www.nbc4i.com/news/5518013/detail.html
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A family's home was burglarized over the weekend.
Now, the Muslim family claims the robbery was racially motivated.
The family left their east side home for one day. When they returned,
they found that everything inside the home had been stolen or damaged,
NBC 4's Duarte Geraldino reported.
Police are investigating the break-in as a hate crime.
"What if they come again and start shooting? These people have no
heart, I swear," the resident said. "We bought gifts. It's gone. Almost
$12,000 listed from my house is gone already."
Police said the intruders entered through the back door and also stole her car.
"Everything. Everything. They filled my car with stuff and gone," she said.
In the last year, police said, they've been to the house several times.
Records indicate the victim has also been the target of phone
harassment. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
IL: MISCONCEPTIONS OF MUSLIMS CAN LEAD TO HATE CRIMES -
TOP
Jonathan Jacobson, Daily Illini, 12/13/05
http://www.dailyillini.com/media/paper736/news/2005/12/13/News/Misconceptions.Of.Muslims.Can.Lead.To.Hate.Crimes-1127826.shtml
When Amina Butt leaves her home every morning, she makes sure she is
covered by a hijab, a headscarf Muslim women wear. It covers the hair
and often falls down around the shoulders. This characteristic makes
the Muslim religion very clear and can occasionally make Muslims a
target.
"In the beginning, I was always paranoid," said Butt, a sophomore in LAS.
Her paranoia may have been warranted. According to the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, hate crimes against Muslims went up 1,600 percent
from 2000 to 2001, arguably as a result of Sept. 11.
"Muslim women have more fear because of the way they dress," said
Mujahid Al-Fayadh, imam at the Central Illinois Mosque and Islamic
Center. (MORE)
-----
FOR MUSLIMS, TRAVELING THE AMERICAN ROAD -
TOP
Seattle Times, 12/13/05
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2002679978_muslimed13.html
A growing desire among young Muslims for strong cultural ties was on
display among the hundreds who gathered in Chicago last month to
discuss ways to maintain their Muslim identity and keep pace with
American trends.
Muslims are members of the world's fastest-growing faith, a religion
largely made up of moderates yet one that has been exploited by
dangerous extremists. As a result, synergy between being Muslim and
being American can be difficult. But Muslims "are Americans because we
believe in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights just as we are
Muslims because we believe in God and the Quran as the word of God to
man," said Maher Hathout, a senior adviser to the Muslim Public Affairs
Council, to the Chicago attendees.
"The synergy between our Muslim identity and American identity can
revive our dynamic understanding of Islam and, at the same time,
contribute positively to America's pluralism," Maher said. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
A MUSLIM IN AMERICA -
TOP
Jafar Siddiqui, Seattle Times, 12/13/05
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2002679974_siddiqui13.html
How does it feel to be a Muslim in America these days?
I am frequently asked this question. Sometimes I am asked by people who
want to hear how grateful I am to be a part of this free nation, this
land of opportunity. Sometimes by people who wish to join me in
condemning the party in power - but almost never by people who wish to
help get us all back on the track of high moral standards.
How does it feel to be a Muslim in America today?
Our world is very insecure. Sheikh Ibrahim, who is a prominent and
respected Somali Muslim leader, was taken away late in November as he
was at Sea-Tac International Airport, returning home from Texas.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took him away on grounds of
irregularities on his immigration forms; the Joint Terrorism Task
Force, having orchestrated the whole charade, was sniffing close by.
More recently, a Microsoft employee was also "disappeared" by the
authorities. (These days, it's hard to say who the moving force is
behind such actions.) Nobody seems to know why, except the poor fellow
is believed to be a Muslim of Syrian descent. (MORE)
-----
BUSH PRESSES FOR MCCAIN TORTURE ACCORD -
TOP
New York Times, 12/13/05
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1213congress-torture13.html
WASHINGTON - President Bush said Monday that he was "confident" that he
could reach an agreement with Sen. John McCain over limits on U.S.
interrogations of captives in the fight against terrorism.
"We want to make sure we're in a position to be able to interrogate
without torture (because there are) people who still want to hurt us,"
Bush said.
McCain has pressed for the restrictions, which the Senate approved, to
be adopted in talks with the House and the Bush administration.
Bush's remarks hinted at what appear to be the White House objectives
in the tense talks that started with Vice President Dick Cheney's
demand that intelligence agents be exempt from the measure. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
THE ABOLITION OF TORTURE -
TOP
Andrew Sullivan, The New Republic, 12/19/05
http://www.tnr.com/user/nregi.mhtml?i=20051219&s=sullivan121905
Why is torture wrong? It may seem like an obvious question, or even one
beneath discussion. But it is now inescapably before us, with the
introduction of the McCain Amendment banning all "cruel, inhuman, and
degrading treatment" of detainees by American soldiers and CIA
operatives anywhere in the world. The amendment lies in legislative
limbo. It passed the Senate in October by a vote of 90 to nine, but
President Bush has vowed to veto any such blanket ban on torture or
abuse; Vice President Cheney has prevailed upon enough senators and
congressmen to prevent the amendment--and the defense appropriations
bill to which it is attached--from moving out of conference; and my
friend Charles Krauthammer, one of the most respected conservative
intellectuals in Washington (and a New Republic contributing editor)
has written a widely praised cover essay for The Weekly Standard
endorsing the legalization of full-fledged torture by the United States
under strictly curtailed conditions. We stand on the brink of an
enormously important choice--one that is critical, morally as well as
strategically, to get right. . .
In order to retain fundamental American values, we have to banish from
the United States the totalitarian impulse that is integral to every
act of torture. We have to ensure that the virus of tyranny is never
given an opening to infect the Constitution and replicate into
something that corrupts as deeply as it wounds. We should mark the
words of Ian Fishback, one of the heroes of this war: "Will we confront
danger and adversity in order to preserve our ideals, or will our
courage and commitment to individual rights wither at the prospect of
sacrifice? My response is simple. If we abandon our ideals in the face
of adversity and aggression, then those ideals were never really in our
possession. I would rather die fighting than give up even the smallest
part of the idea that is `America.'" If we legalize torture, even under
constrained conditions, we will have given up a large part of the idea
that is America. We will have lost the war before we have given
ourselves the chance to win it.
---
CAIR ANTI-TORTURE CAMPAIGN -
TOP
http://www.cair-net.org/antitorture/
-----
SAUDI GIVES $20 MILLION TO GEORGETOWN -
TOP
Caryle Murphy, Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/12/AR2005121200591.html
A prominent Saudi businessman said yesterday that he is donating $20
million each to Georgetown and Harvard universities for the study of
Islam and the Muslim world as part of his philanthropic efforts to
promote interfaith understanding.
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, a member of the Saudi royal family, said in
a telephone interview from the Saudi capital of Riyadh that he also has
donated $15 million to establish the Middle East's first two centers
for American studies, at universities in Beirut and Cairo.
"As you know, since the 9/11 events, the image of Islam has been
tarnished in the West," said Alwaleed, who is chairman of the
Riyadh-based Kingdom Holding Co. and has extensive business holdings in
Europe and the United States.
He said his gifts to Georgetown and Harvard will be used "to teach
about the Islamic world to the United States," and the new programs at
American University in Beirut and American University in Cairo will
"teach the Arab world about the American situation."
The $20 million gift to Georgetown is the second-largest ever received
by the Jesuit-run university, school officials said. It will be used to
expand the activities of the university's 12-year-old Center for
Muslim-Christian Understanding. (MORE)
-----
AUSTRALIAN UNREST SPREADS TO OTHER CITIES -
TOP
MIKE CORDER; Associated Press, 12/13/05
The racial unrest that broke out in Sydney's beachside suburbs over the
weekend has spread to two other large Australian cities, where people
of Middle Eastern descent were assaulted by whites, police said Tuesday.
In New South Wales, where Sydney is located, lawmakers scheduled an
emergency session of the state Parliament to consider legislation
cracking down on the rioters who rampaged through the city's suburbs
for two straight nights, the region's premier said. . .
The rioting began Sunday on Cronulla Beach when about 5,000 white
youths, many drunk and wrapped in Australian flags, attacked people
believed to be of Arab or Middle Eastern descent after rumors spread
that Lebanese youths had assaulted two lifeguards earlier this month.
SEE ALSO:
HUSBAND & WIFE IMPARTING FAITH IN HEAVILY MUSLIM CITY IN AFRICA -
TOP
Manda Gibson, Baptist Press
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=22261
Mike and Molly Turner serve as strategy coordinators in a capital city
in Northern Africa, where the overwhelming majority of people follow
Islam, while some hail from a cultural Christianity but don't have a
personal relationship with Jesus. Evangelical Christians make up a much
smaller segment of the populace.
The Turners, who have been missionaries for more than five years,
adopted the strategy-coordinator role about a year ago. As strategy
coordinators, they do ministry much like a healthy church would, Molly
says. They look at the community, assess its needs and look for ways to
meet the lost. But they don't do it alone. They're building a strong
team -- joined by other missionaries, African believers, volunteers and
even a Southern Baptist church that works with them in the coordinator
role. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 12/14/05
*
Hadith:
A Trustworthy Merchant
-
Verse:
A Bargain That Can Never Fail
*
FL Muslims to Offer Reward for
Info on Double Homicide
*
CAIR:
House Passes
Patriot Act Conference
Report
*
Do New Army Rules Circumvent
McCain Torture Ban? (NYT)
-
CAIR Anti-Torture Campaign
*
CAIR-FL:
Supporters Say Let
Al-Arian Out (SP Times)
-
Supporters Rally for
Al-Arian's Release
*
CAIR-FL:
Pluralism is an Important American
Tradition
*
USA Today:
Commercializing
Islam
-
VA:
Fixings for a Turkish
Meal (Wash Post)
*
Billboard's Arab Images
Called Racist (USA Today)
*
Govt Releases Revised
Antiterrorism Regulations
-
Is the Pentagon Spying on
Americans? (NBC)
*
Khan:
Contrasts in Acceptance
of Islam in Belgium, America
-
CAIR Participates in
Dialogue with European Muslims
*
U.S. Envoy Calls Iraqi
Torture Severe (Wash Post)
*
Woman Found Alive 63 Days After
Quake (BBC)
*
Israel to Build in West Bank Settlements
(AP)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: A TRUSTWORTHY MERCHANT -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "A truthful and
trustworthy merchant is associated with the prophets, the upright and the
martyrs."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 850
The Prophet was also asked what type of earnings are best, and he
replied: "A man's work with his hands and every (permissible)
business transaction."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 846
VERSE OF THE DAY: A BARGAIN THAT CAN NEVER FAIL -
TOP
"Those who follow God's revelation, are constant in prayer and spend
(in charity) on others, (both) secretly and openly, out of what We
provide for them as sustenance - it is they who may look forward to a
bargain that can never fail."
The Holy Quran, 35:29
-----
FL MUSLIMS TO OFFER REWARD FOR INFO ON
DOUBLE HOMICIDE -
TOP
CAIR-FL will also ask authorities to rule out possible bias
motive
(TAMPA, FL, 12/14/05) - On Thursday, December 15, the Florida
office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) will hold a
news conference to call for an investigation to rule out a bias motive in
a recent double homicide in St. Petersburg. The civil rights and advocacy
group will also announce a reward for information leading to the
apprehension and conviction of the perpetrators.
For details on the news conference, CONTACT: Ahmed Bedier (CAIR-FL),
813-731-9506, E-Mail:
abedier@cairfl.org
CAIR-FL officials say aspects of the case that cannot be revealed because
of concerns that the ongoing investigation might be compromised, could
point to a possible bias motive.
SEE: "Two Mall Workers Found Dead in Their Apartment"
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=22329
CAIR-FL's news conference will take place just prior to a funeral for one
of the victims.
-----
CAIR: HOUSE PASSES PATRIOT
ACT CONFERENCE REPORT -
TOP
http://cairpatriotact.blogspot.com/
-----
NEW ARMY RULES MAY SNARL TALKS WITH MCCAIN
ON DETAINEE ISSUE -
TOP
ERIC SCHMITT, New York Times, 12/14/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/14/politics/14detain.html
The Army has approved a new, classified set of interrogation methods that
may complicate negotiations over legislation proposed by Senator John
McCain to bar cruel and inhumane treatment of detainees in American
custody, military officials said Tuesday.
The techniques are included in a 10-page classified addendum to a new
Army field manual that was forwarded this week to Stephen A. Cambone, the
under secretary of defense for intelligence policy, for final approval,
they said.
The addendum provides dozens of examples and goes into exacting detail on
what procedures may or may not be used, and in what circumstances. Army
interrogators have never had a set of such specific guidelines that would
help teach them how to walk right up to the line between legal and
illegal interrogations.
Some military officials said the new guidelines could give the impression
that the Army was pushing the limits on legal interrogation at the very
moment when Mr. McCain, Republican of Arizona, is involved in intense
three-way negotiations with the House and the Bush administration to
prohibit the cruel treatment of prisoners.
In a high-level meeting at the Pentagon on Tuesday, some Army and other
Pentagon officials raised concerns that Mr. McCain would be furious at
what could appear to be a back-door effort to circumvent his intentions.
(MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR ANTI-TORTURE CAMPAIGN -
TOP
http://www.cair-net.org/antitorture/
-----
CAIR-FL: SUPPORTERS:
LET AL-ARIAN OUT -
TOP
Kevin Graham, St. Petersburg Times, 12/14/05
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/14/Tampabay/Supporters__Let_Al_Ar.shtml
TAMPA - Upset that Sami Al-Arian remained in federal prison after a jury
last week couldn't convict him on terrorism-related charges, civil rights
activists and family friends called on President Bush to step
in.
"I think you owe one to Dr. Sami," Pilar Saad, an Al-Arian
family spokeswoman, said to Bush in front of microphones and television
cameras.
The former University of South Florida professor mobilized Muslims across
the state to vote for Bush, she said, and now it's time for the president
to return the favor.
More than 30 people, including Al-Arian's wife, Nahla, and daughter
Leena, gathered on the steps of the federal courthouse in downtown Tampa
on Tuesday to demonstrate. They called on the U.S. government to respect
jurors' verdicts and not retry Al-Arian and one co-defendant on
deadlocked charges or try to deport Al-Arian.
Saad said he has earned the right to be a U.S. citizen - a status federal
officials have denied him. He's encouraged fellow Muslims to be patriotic
and participate in democracy, she said.
Until federal prosecutors decide their next step, Al-Arian should be
released, said members of the Friends of Human Rights group, which
organized the gathering.
"Pull back those bars and let those men go home to their
families," said Warren Clark, pastor of First United Church (UCC) of
Tampa. "It has been long enough, and they have suffered
already."
Sameeh Hammoudeh, one of Al-Arian's three co-defendants, remained in
prison after jurors acquited him and Ghassan Zayed Ballut of all charges.
Hammoudeh has been in jail since 2003.
Because of a plea agreement in June, Hammoudeh and his wife will soon be
deported back to Ramallah, Palestine. The couple was convicted on federal
tax, immigration and mortgage fraud charges.
Al-Arian, Ballut, Fariz and Hammoudeh were on trial for six months,
accused of financing and promoting Middle East terrorism. Al-Arian was
acquitted on eight of 17 charges, and Fariz was acquitted on 25 of 33
charges.
One remaining charge against Al-Arian and Fariz, a racketeering
conspiracy charge, carries a potential life sentence.
Ahmed Bedier, local director of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, said jurors sent a message with their verdicts.
"The jury has assured he is not a threat to society," Bedier
said. "He should be released right away."
ALSO SEE:
SUPPORTERS RALLY FOR
AL-ARIAN'S RELEASE -
TOP
Elaine Silvestrini, Tampa Tribune, 12/13/05
http://news.tbo.com/news/MGBI2TIL6HE.html
TAMPA - About two dozen supporters of Sami Al-Arian rallied for his
release Tuesday, and urged federal authorities not to re-try the former
college professor on terrorism-related charges.
A jury last week acquitted Al-Arian on eight criminal charges and
deadlocked on nine others. The Justice Department is considering trying
Al-Arian again on the charges on which the jury deadlocked. Authorities
may also deport Al- Arian, a Palestinian born in Kuwait.
In the meantime, Al-Arian is being detained without bail. His attorney,
William Moffitt, said Tuesday he plans to file a motion soon seeking his
release.
Al-Arian's wife, Nahla, and daughter, Leena, did not speak, but were
among the demonstrators who gathered Tuesday afternoon outside the
federal courthouse. The protesters waved signs reading, "The Jury
Has Spoken. No New Trial," "Let Sami Out," and ``Respect
the Jury. Release Al-Arian."
The Rev. Warren Clark told the gathering, ``We say, release Dr. Sami
Al-Arian from jail." He urged the federal officials not to seek
another trial or deport Al-Arian.
"Don't put our community and these families through any more
suffering," he said. "Don't waste any more of our tax money on
this ... Spend the money where it is needed."
Ahmed Bedier, spokesman for the Council on American Islamic Relations,
said the jury's decision ``sends a positive message about the greatness
of America and the greatness of the American judicial
system."
-----
PLURALISM HAS LONG BEEN AN IMPORTANT AMERICAN
TRADITION -
TOP
Sun Herald, 12/14/05
http://www.sun-herald.com/NewsArchive2/121405/op1.htm
More than a month has passed since the Hillsborough County school board
reversed itself and reinstated Yom Kipper, Good Friday, and the Monday
after Easter as official school holidays.
The conflict began when a Muslim American, Ahmed Bedier, born in Egypt,
decided to politely ask Hillsborough school officials to add some Muslim
holidays to the school calendar. The school officials spent more than a
year thinking about what to do.
Eventually, rather than accept what is known as traditional American
"pluralism," which includes respect for all faiths and
cultures, school officials decided to ignore Bedier's request to give
students time off for Eid Al-Fitr. Later they decided to eliminate the
traditional Christian and Jewish holidays as well. . .
The more we hear about Muslim bombers who kill themselves and others,
believing the murder of people is Allah's bidding and a quick path to
heaven, the more people fear all Muslims. . .
After the school board's initial reaction, Ahmed Bedier not only withdrew
his request for a Muslim holiday, he urged officials to restore the
Jewish and Christian holidays. After that happened he said he still hoped
the Muslim holidays would someday be recognized. A gracious
viewpoint.
-----
COMMERCIALIZING ISLAM -
TOP
Souheila Al-Jadda, USA Today, 12/14/05
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-12-13-arab-barbie-edit_x.htm
This holiday season, as girls in the West find neatly wrapped Barbie
dolls under their Christmas trees, Arab girls in the Middle East will be
gifted Fulla dolls for the Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday in early January.
Children are usually given new clothes, money and toys during this
four-day celebration, which marks the end to the annual Muslim pilgrimage
to Mecca.
Barbie's newest competition, Fulla, is named after a sweet smelling
flower and is the hottest selling doll to hit the Mideast markets. .
.
With a global market of more than 1.25 billion Muslims, entrepreneurs and
corporations, in the East and the West, have realized that huge financial
gains can be made by selling Islamic values.
In France, a fast-food restaurant opened in Paris that serves only halal,
or Islamically butchered meat. All its business practices conform to
Islamic law. The workers at the restaurant are all Muslim, and female
employees even wear the head scarves despite French laws that prevent
women from wearing them in some public institutions.
The Muslim customers seem to like having their meals catered to their
religious practices.
"Before opening this restaurant, we did not have much choice,"
one diner told Abu Dhabi TV. "We used to go to McDonald's and order
only fish sandwiches. Thank God this restaurant is now
open."
The Dutch brewing company Heineken has released a non-alcoholic malt
drink, Fayrouz, which means turquoise. By coincidence, one of the most
popular modern Lebanese singers in the Arab world is named
Fayrouz.
The Korean telecommunications company LG Electronics sells cellphones
that point the faithful toward Mecca, Islam's holiest site, for their
five daily prayers.
Even in the USA, companies are beginning to target American Muslims,
whose population is estimated to be 4.6 million. In 2003, the greeting
card giant Hallmark added Islamic holiday cards to its list of products
for the Ramadan and Eid holidays.
But how far is too far when it comes to selling religion cheap? Does all
this commercial activity marketing Islamic products reduce the religion
to mere profit margins? And what do Muslim scholars think about this
phenomenon?
ALSO SEE:
FIXINGS FOR A TURKISH MEAL -
TOP
Renee Brooks Catacalos, Washington Post, 12/14/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/13/AR2005121300309.html
It's best to start a visit to Amity Halal Meat & Grocery at the back
of the store, in front of the sparkling meat cases. Here customers order
thin, boneless "beefsteak" from the rib-eye ($5.95 per pound)
or single-boned lamb chops called pirzola ($9.99 per pound), both great
for grilling, or whole, naturally raised chickens ($1.49 per pound). The
shop's expert butchers hand-cut and package it all, even sprinkling the
meat with oregano for an authentic Mediterranean touch.
"All our meat is halal," says owner Turgay Polat, referring to
the ritual slaughter required by Islamic law, a process similar to kosher
slaughter. Beef, lamb and chicken are delivered several times a week from
a farm in Pennsylvania. "We never use frozen meat."
(MORE)
-----
BILLBOARD'S ARAB IMAGES SPARK
ACCUSATION OF RACISM -
TOP
Donna Leinwand, USA Today, 12/14/05
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-12-13-billboard-outrage_x.htm
An anti-terrorism campaign by a group that wants tighter restrictions on
driver's licenses has angered Arab-Americans who say that an image on a
planned billboard -- an Arab man holding both a grenade and a license --
is racist.
The billboard is the work of the New York-based Coalition for a Secure
Driver's License, which plans to post an ad with the controversial image
this month near North Carolina's state Capitol building in Raleigh. A
second billboard is scheduled to be installed in late December or early
January in Albuquerque, says coalition President Amanda Bowman.
She says the group is putting billboards in states it believes have
particularly lax policies for scrutinizing applicants for driver's
licenses.
The campaign comes about seven months after Congress passed the Real ID
Act, which calls for states to adopt a uniform way of authenticating
documents that people use to obtain driver's licenses. The measure was
aimed at closing gaps in state driver's licensing systems that have made
it easy for illegal immigrants and others to get licenses by presenting
fake IDs and fraudulent documents.
"I think it's an important message to get out to North Carolinians
that they have a driver's license that is vulnerable to getting into the
wrong hands," Bowman says. "A driver's license functions as the
internal passport in the U.S. . ."
Tuesday, the coalition removed Arabic writing from a draft version of the
billboard after receiving what Bowman describes as "thoughtful
letters that say the writing could be construed as inflammatory."
(MORE)
-----
U.S. GOVERNMENT RELEASES REVISED
ANTITERRORISM REGULATIONS -
TOP
Ian Wilhelm, Philanthropy.com, 12/12/05
http://philanthropy.com/pcgi2-bin/printable.cgi?article=http://philanthropy.com/free/update/2005/12/2005120502.htm
The U.S. Department of Treasury today released new guidelines to help
nonprofit groups prevent their charitable funds from unwittingly being
used to support terrorists.
The new guidelines, which are voluntary standards for foundations and
charities to follow, replace ones Treasury issued three years ago, to
much criticism. InterAction, the Council on Foundations, and other
associations that represent nonprofit groups objected to the department's
suggested rules, saying they would stifle international philanthropic
efforts.
The protests prompted Treasury to meet with nonprofit officials to
discuss their concerns, but the agency has insisted that guidelines are
necessary to prevent violent acts. . .
The department will accept comments on the voluntary rules until February
1, after which it will release a finalized version of the guidelines. The
document -- "U.S. Department of the Treasury Antiterrorism Financing
Guidelines: Best Practices for U.S.-Based Charities" -- is available
on the Web at
http://www.treasury.gov/offices/enforcement/key-issues/protecting/docs/guidelines_charities.pdf
ALSO SEE:
IS THE PENTAGON SPYING ON AMERICANS?
-
TOP
Secret database obtained by NBC News tracks 'suspicious' domestic
groups
Lisa Myers, Douglas Pasternak, Rich Gardella, NBC, 12/13/05
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10454316/
WASHINGTON - A year ago, at a Quaker Meeting House in Lake Worth, Fla., a
small group of activists met to plan a protest of military recruiting at
local high schools. What they didn't know was that their meeting had come
to the attention of the U.S. military.
A secret 400-page Defense Department document obtained by NBC News lists
the Lake Worth meeting as a "threat" and one of more than 1,500
"suspicious incidents" across the country over a recent
10-month period.
"This peaceful, educationally oriented group being a threat is
incredible," says Evy Grachow, a member of the Florida group called
The Truth Project.
"This is incredible," adds group member Rich Hersh. "It's
an example of paranoia by our government," he says. "We're not
doing anything illegal."
The Defense Department document is the first inside look at how the U.S.
military has stepped up intelligence collection inside this country since
9/11, which now includes the monitoring of peaceful anti-war and
counter-military recruitment groups.
"I think Americans should be concerned that the military, in fact,
has reached too far," says NBC News military analyst Bill
Arkin.
The Department of Defense declined repeated requests by NBC News for an
interview. A spokesman said that all domestic intelligence information is
"properly collected" and involves "protection of Defense
Department installations, interests and personnel." The military has
always had a legitimate "force protection" mission inside the
U.S. to protect its personnel and facilities from potential violence. But
the Pentagon now collects domestic intelligence that goes beyond
legitimate concerns about terrorism or protecting U.S. military
installations, say critics. (MORE)
-----
CONTRASTS IN ACCEPTANCE MARK ISLAM
IN BELGIUM AND AMERICA -
TOP
Muqtedar Khan, Delaware Online, 12/14/2005
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051214/OPINION07/512140346/1108/OPINION
I recently participated in a dialogue between American and Belgian
Muslims in Belgium (Nov. 16-18), co-hosted by U.S. Ambassador to Belgium
Tom Korologos and Ambassador Claude Mission, the director general of the
Royal Institute for International Relations. An interesting group of 32
American Muslim scholars and intellectuals, community leaders,
journalists and activists joined 70 of their counterparts from the
Belgian Muslim community to discuss their mutual condition and explore
possibilities for further dialogue and civic cooperation.
Belgium has a population of ten million and 5 percent of them -- more
than 500,000 -- are Muslims. Muslims also constitute about 20 percent of
the population of Brussels, the capital of the European Union. More than
300,000 Belgian Muslims are of Moroccan ancestry and more than 160,000
are Turkish. The rest include Balkan Muslims, South Asians and some
non-Moroccan Arabs.
Like in France, Muslims in Belgium have enough presence to now become the
"other" against whom Belgian indigenous identity is
constructed. Repeatedly one heard Muslim and non-Muslim Belgians refer to
even second-generation Turkish and Moroccan Muslims as
"foreigners" or immigrants even though they were Belgian-born,
Dutch- and French-speaking legal citizens. (MORE)
ALSO SEE:
CAIR PARTICIPATES IN DIALOGUE
WITH EUROPEAN MUSLIMS -
TOP
http://www.cair.com/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1878&theType=NR
-----
U.S. ENVOY CALLS TORTURE SEVERE
AND EXTENSIVE AT 2 IRAQI PRISONS -
TOP
Ellen Knickmeyer, Washington Post, 12/14/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/13/AR2005121300429_pf.html
BAGHDAD, Dec. 13 -- U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad on Tuesday described
torture cases discovered in Iraqi police prisons as both extensive and
severe, saying more than 120 abused detainees had been found in the two
centers run by the Shiite-led government that have been inspected so
far.
Khalilzad rejected Interior Ministry officials' suggestion that any
mistreatment of prisoners had been mild, saying the abuse found was
"far worse than slapping around."
U.S. and Iraqi authorities said the latest search, an inspection of an
Interior Ministry special commando unit's detention center in Baghdad on
Thursday, found 13 men who required immediate medical treatment among
more than 600 detainees in badly crowded conditions. An Iraqi official
who U.S. authorities have said had firsthand knowledge of the search said
12 of the men had been subjected to torture that included broken bones,
pulled fingernails, cigarettes stamped into skin and electric
shocks.
Khalilzad said at a news conference that more than 100 of roughly 170
detainees found last month in the first surprise raid on an Interior
Ministry prison had been abused. Officials and witnesses at the time
spoke of seeing a number of beaten, emaciated men at that center, a
previously secret, underground facility in Baghdad holding mostly Sunni
Arabs. Interior Minister Bayan Jabr said then that only seven torture
cases had been found in the November raid.
In Thursday's inspection, roughly 20 to 25 detainees showed signs of
abuse, Khalilzad said.
----
QUAKE SURVIVOR AMAZES DOCTORS -
TOP
Zulfikar Ali, BBC News, 12/13/05
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/4525710.stm
Naqsha's muscles have stiffened in the foetal position she was found in.
Doctors say it is a miracle.
Naqsha Bibi, 40, was recovered alive from the debris of a collapsed house
in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on 10 December.
The unexpected rescue came more than two months after the 8 October
earthquake destroyed large parts of Indian and Pakistan-administered
Kashmir and northern areas in Pakistan.
Naqsha Bibi, now under hospital treatment, is suffering from muscle
stiffness and is so weak that she can barely talk.
She weighs under 35kg - about half the weight of an average woman her
size.
But since being brought to Muzaffarabad, the capital of
Pakistani-administered Kashmir, she has been put on a liquid diet and is
showing signs of recovery.
Doctors say that on Tuesday morning she gave them a smile.
-----
ISRAEL TO BUILD IN WEST BANK SETTLEMENTS -
TOP
Josef Federman, Associated Press, 12/13/05
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel has approved construction of hundreds of new
homes in West Bank settlements, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday,
confirming what would be a violation of the U.S.-backed peace plan. .
.
The U.S.-backed road map peace plan aims for the establishment of an
independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. In the interim, Israel is
required to freeze construction in all Jewish settlements, including the
largest ones that it says it wants to hold onto under a future peace
deal.
However, Israel has not fulfilled this commitment, and construction has
continued since the road map was approved in June 2003. The Palestinians
also have failed to meet their obligation to dismantle armed militant
groups.
Asked for comment, U.S. Embassy spokesman Stewart Tuttle reiterated
Washington's position that Israel must ``stop the settlement expansion in
addition to removing illegal outposts.''
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FBI GRILLS CALIF. MUSLIM HIGH SCHOOLER ABOUT
'PLO' DOODLE
Civil rights groups demand school board hearing,
disciplinary action
(SACRAMENTO, CA, 12/15/05) - The
Lawyers' Committee for Civil
Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCR) and the
Sacramento
Valley office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV)
today questioned why Elk Grove School District officials allegedly
allowed FBI agents to interrogate a 16-year-old student without first
notifying his parents.
The FBI interview concerned a doodle of the word "PLO"
(referring to the Palestine Liberation Organization) that the student had
scribbled on a binder two years earlier.
Administrators at Calvine High School apparently violated a school board
policy that requires a student's parents be informed whenever a law
enforcement officer requests an interview on school premises. The boy's
family suspects that the teacher who had initially confronted the student
about the drawing reported him to the FBI, chilling his right to freedom
of speech at school.
On September 27, 2005, the student was pulled out of class and taken to a
room in which two men identifying themselves as FBI agents were waiting
to speak with him. The agents asked the student to recount an incident
that had occurred two years earlier in a math class. He told the agents
that his teacher had reprimanded him for having scrawled the letters
"PLO" on his binder. The teacher said that anyone who supported
the PLO was a terrorist.
The FBI allegedly asked how the student knew about the PLO, whether he
was familiar with the investigation of several Muslims in Lodi, whether
he had ever traveled to Palestine, and whether he had pictures of
terrorists on his cell phone. (In fact, the student had only a picture of
a mosque as his phone's background display.) The entire experience left
the student badly shaken, and he has since been hesitant about expressing
his political views in any context.
"It's outrageous that the FBI dragged this student out of class to
interrogate him about a two-year-old doodle on a notebook," said
Shirin Sinnar, an attorney at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil
Rights. "The FBI should not be interviewing kids about their
political views, and schools should not be short-circuiting the
involvement of parents in such a frightening situation."
"The practice of interrogating minors, without their parents
present, is totally unacceptable and stresses the importance of better
training for agents," said
CAIR-SV Executive Director Basim
Elkarra. "Unfortunately, this disturbing incident will only
serve to undermine efforts to build better relations between law
enforcement agencies and the Muslim community."
Elkarra asked that those responsible for the incident be
disciplined.
To obtain a copy of the letter that LCCR and CAIR sent to the Elk
Grove School Board, contact Alexandra Gross, LCCR Communications
Coordinator, at 415-543-9444. Contact Basim Elkarra at (916) 441-6269, or
E-Mail:
sacval@cair.com
- END -
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and
chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah
Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called
CAIR-NET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with
American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our
society.
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from CAIR-NET, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS
- 12/15/05
*
Verse:
Adore God
Alone
*
CAIR-OH
President
Joins Board of State NAACP
*
CAIR-FL: School
OKs Muslim Holiday (Tampa Trib)
-
SC:
Muslim Claims USC Holiday Policy Unfair
-
PA: Students to Visit Mosque (Reporter)
*
CAIR-FL: Israeli Consul Takes Jab at Muslims
-
CAIR-FL: 2 Slayings Worry Muslims (Tampa Trib)
*
CAIR: Steinem Swings at Hef, Hits Islam (Daily News)
*
CAIR-LA Discusses Immigration Law at Forum
-
CAIR-SV Offers Presentation on Islam
*
Torture: Exploding the 'Ticking Bomb' Argument (Slate)
-
McCain, Bush Agree on Torture Ban (CNN)
-
CAIR Anti-Torture Campaign
*
NY:
Judge Asked to Bar Muslim Border Detentions
*
Commentary: Islam's Democratic Past (LA Times)
-
Muslim Conspiracy Just Nonsense (Star)
*
Islam Recognizes Jesus (Daily News Journal)
-
Study: Evangelical Views on Islam Changing (RNS)
-
DC:
Muslims to Fill in on Christmas (Jewish Week)
*
Jazz Meets Islam (NY Press)
*
Australia:
Muslim Women's `Veils Torn Off'
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: ADORE GOD ALONE -
TOP
"Among His signs are the night and the day, as well as the sun and the
moon: (Therefore) do not adore the sun or the moon, but adore God, who
has created them both - if it is Him whom you (truly) worship."
The Holy Quran, 41:37
"O mankind! Adore your Guardian-Lord, who created you and those who
came before you, that you may have the chance to learn righteousness."
The Holy Quran, 2:21
-----
CAIR-OH PRESIDENT JOINS BOARD OF STATE NAACP -
TOP
(COLUMBUS, OH, 12/15/05) - CAIR-Ohio Board President Dr. Ahmad
Al-Akhras was recently installed on the executive committee of the Ohio
Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP). Al-Akhras joins the NAACP board for a 2-year term.
"I am excited to be a part of the oldest civil liberties group in
America and among friends who share many of the same challenges that we
face as Muslims," said Al-Akhras.
In her letter of invitation, Ohio Conference NAACP President Sybil
Edwards-McNabb wrote: "We look forward to your added expertise as the
NAACP. . .moves to the 'next level' in addressing the concerns of
disparate and inequitable treatment of blacks and other minorities
including the poor and disenfranchised."
For more information, contact CAIR-OH at 614-451-3232.
-----
CAIR-FL: SCHOOL OKS MUSLIM HOLIDAY -
TOP
Michelle Sager, Tampa Tribune, 12/15/05
http://news.tbo.com/news/MGB7N5XJ8HE.html
TAMPA - Terrace Community School has became the first public school in
Hillsborough County to give students a day off for the Muslim holiday
marking the end of Ramadan.
During their monthly meeting Wednesday, board members for the charter
school approved the 2006-07 school calendar, which includes a day off
for the Eid al-Fitr holiday. About 5 percent of the school's 352
students are Muslim.
Principal Gary Hocevar said he received little reaction.
"I received one positive feedback and one negative feedback. Neither
were parents," he told board members. "I was a bit surprised, but I
guess we've done our homework and we're doing the right thing."
The proposal to establish the holiday at the school at the Museum of
Science & Industry on East Fowler Avenue came after controversy
erupted in the school district.
ALSO SEE:
WIS VIEWER CLAIMS USC RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS POLICY UNFAIR -
TOP
Angie Goff on USC employee disgruntled with holiday policy
WisTV, 12/13/05
http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4241060
A WIS viewer says his work isn't being fair when it comes to religious holidays. Khalid Al-Amoudi works at USC.
He e-mailed WIS about being forced to take unpaid leave to celebrate
his Muslim holiday, and found out later the office did not make workers
going to a Christmas party do the same.
He asks, "If I had to take unpaid holiday to attend a religious
celebration, how come every one else gets to attend a Christmas party
without having to take any time off?"
He doesn't observe Christmas. Instead, at the beginning of November, he
celebrates the holy month of Ramadan, which he calls, "one of the
pillars of Islam."
When he asked for a few hours off for the holiday, he got them, but, "I
was shocked that I was required to take unpaid leave." (MORE)
---
LESSONS ON ISLAM -
TOP
Mark D. Marotta, Reporter Online, 2/15/2005
http://www.thereporteronline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15758292&BRD=2275&PAG=461&dept_id=466404&rfi=6
A Jan. 4 visit by about 40 North Penn High School students to the North
Penn Mosque is among the ways area schools teach about Islam.
The field trip will take place almost exactly two months after two cars parked at the mosque were vandalized by gunfire.
Because of that Nov. 8 incident Robert Blackburn 53 of Hatfield faces
charges of ethnic intimidation criminal mischief recklessly endangering
another person disorderly conduct and possession of an instrument of
crime. A formal arraignment in county court is scheduled for Jan. 27.
In the days following the shooting incident Niaz Hannan an 18-year-old
seminary student whose family lives in North Wales said the mosque
would sponsor interfaith meetings to discuss prejudice and that local
schools would be invited to learn more about the Muslim community.
Brian Knaub a social studies teacher at North Penn said students taking
world religion classes will be going to the mosque on the morning of
Jan. 4.
Additionally a group of eighth-graders from a Reconstructionist
synagogue in Fort Washington will visit on Jan. 22 said Kareem Afzal
the mosque's youth group coordinator.
He added that young people from the mosque will make a presentation
about Islam to the visitors followed by a time for discussion and
questions.
Afzal said that the mosque was also trying to arrange a visit by Pebble Hill Interfaith Church in Doylestown Township.
He called the upcoming visits "an incredibly positive development." (MORE)
-----
CAIR-FL: ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL TAKES JAB AT MUSLIMS -
TOP
Christopher O'Donnell, Herald Tribune, 12/15/05
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051215/NEWS/512150385
SARASOTA COUNTY -- In a visit to Sarasota this week, Israel's leading
Florida diplomat said that Muslims will never accept Jews and
Christians in the Middle East.
Yitschak Ben Gad, consul general of Israel to Florida and Puerto Rico,
said Muslims will always regard people of other faiths as second-class
citizens.
"They hate the Christians in Lebanon and they hate the Jews in Israel," Ben Gad said.
Ben Gad was in Sarasota to meet with local Jewish groups and U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Longboat Key.
In an interview Tuesday, the diplomat, who has written three books on the Middle East, was far from conciliatory.
"I'm not saying all Muslims are terrorists, but I can say something else: All terrorists are Muslims," Ben Gad said.
His words brought a sharp rebuke from Ahmed Bedier, Central Florida
director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an
American-Muslim civil rights advocacy group.
"When high-level diplomats make remarks like this, it has a direct
effect on anti-Muslim sentiments and anti-Muslim hate crimes," Bedier
said. "People believe what their leaders say and it could push them
over the edge to commit a violent act based on hatred."
Bedier cited passages and chapters in the Quran that honor and elevate
Christians and Jewish people and their prophets. He also pointed out
that Muslims are allowed to marry Christians and Jews.
"It's unfortunate that someone in such a high position lacks some of the basic understanding of the Muslim faith," Bedier said.
ALSO SEE:
CAIR-FL: 2 SLAYINGS WORRY MUSLIMS -
TOP
Chris Echegaray, Tampa Tribune, 12/15/05
http://news.tbo.com/news/MGBG5GVF8HE.html
TAMPA - In the back of their minds, Muslims are wondering whether the
two mall workers found slain Dec. 7 were victims of a hate crime.
The Muslim men, Ikbalhusen Kurban Vakil, 52, of India, and Ali Asghar,
35, of Pakistan, were found in the apartment they shared. The manner of
death has not been released.
Today, Ahmed Bedier, spokesman for Central Florida's Council on
American-Islamic Relations, will pose the question to St. Petersburg
authorities at an 11 a.m. news conference at Brandywine Apartments,
where they lived.
Bedier said the council and the Muslim community are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.
"These two men were hardworking, peaceful men who were loved," Bedier
said. "Family back home depended on them. We are hoping this will help
police, and we will share some other things."
However, police Sgt. Mike Puetz said, "There is nothing that we've
learned through the investigation, at this point, that suggests these
murders are in any way a hate crime." (MORE)
-----
CAIR-DC: STEINEM SWINGS AT HEF & HITS ISLAM -
TOP
NY Daily News, 12/15/05
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/374953p-318629c.html
Feminist icon Gloria Steinem didn't make any friends in the American
Muslim community yesterday with her attack on aging swinger Hugh Hefner
in The New York Observer.
"I think Gloria Steinem should know better," said Edina Lekovic of the
Muslim Public Affairs Council, after Steinem claimed Hef's
multi-girlfriend lifestyle is "Moslem."
"Her most glaring error is that having girlfriends outside of marriage
is hardly encouraged by Islam, and secondly, polygamy is practiced by
less than 2% of the global Muslim population."
Ibrahim Hooper, communications director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, agreed.
"Any time an opinion leader uses a reference to Islam as a pejorative,
we would have concerns about that," Hooper told me. "Muslims are
getting tired of references to their beliefs or practices - or alleged
beliefs or practices - as a way of digging at other people."
The 71-year-old Steinem was quoted by Observer writer Sheelah Kolhatkar
as slagging off the 79-year-old, divorced Playboy founder: "He's such a
jerk. He's so pathetic. ... Now's he's going around with four young
women in their 20s instead of just one. It's sort of Moslem,
actually."(MORE)
-----
CAIR: IMMIGRATION LAW ENFORCEMENT -
TOP
Associated Press, 12/15/05
The proposal by the Orange County sheriff to enter into an agreement
with the federal government to enforce immigration laws will be
discussed at an event sponsored by local groups including the ACLU of
Southern California, Anti-Defamation League Orange County/Long Beach
Region, Los Amigos of Orange County, South Asian Network, Santa Ana
LULAC Council 147, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Location: Santa Ana College, Dunlap Hall, Room D-106, 1530 W. 17th St., Santa Ana, California
Contacts: Elizabeth Brennan (ACLU), (213) 977-5252
ALSO SEE:
CAIR-SV OFFERS PRESENTATION ON ISLAM -
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Presentation focused on basic Muslim beliefs and practices
(SACRAMENTO, CA, 12/15/05) - Last weekend, the Sacramento Valley office
of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV) conducted a
presentation about Islam to the Certificate of Ministry Studies (CMS),
a program at the Pacific School of Religion, part of UC Berkeley
Graduate Theological Union. The presentation was held at the Pioneer
Congregation Church in Sacramento.
CAIR-SV Executive Director Basim Elkarra offered a presentation
designed to help make the future Ministers aware of the fundamentals of
Islam and a brief overview of Islamic History.
Topics addressed in the presentation included the basic tenets of the
Islamic faith, the status of women in Islam, and the diversity of the
American Muslim community. A question-and-answer session followed the
presentation.
The CMS program is for adults who are either exploring the idea of
ministry as a vocation, testing their interest in pursuing a Master of
Divinity degree, or doing extended continuing education. It's a
two-year program, with all of its courses on weekends and for three
weeks during the summers. There are three program locations-Berkeley,
Sacramento, and Claremont, CA.
CONTACT: Basim Elkarra, 916-441-6269, Email: sacval@cair.com
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TORTURE FOR DUMMIES -
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Exploding the "ticking bomb" argument.
Michael Kinsley, Slate, 12/13/05
http://www.slate.com/id/2132195/nav/tap1/
What if you knew for sure that the cute little baby burbling and
smiling at you from his stroller in the park was going to grow up to be
another Hitler, responsible for a global cataclysm and millions of
deaths? Would you be justified in picking up a rock and bashing his
adorable head in? Wouldn't you be morally depraved if you didn't?
Or what if a mad scientist developed a poison so strong that two drops
in the water supply would kill everyone in Chicago? And you could
destroy the poison, but only by killing the scientist and 10 innocent
family members? Should you do it?
Or what if an international terrorist planted a nuclear bomb somewhere
in Manhattan, set to go off in an hour and kill a million people.
You've got him in custody, but he won't say where the bomb is. Is it
moral to torture him until he gives up the information?
Questions like these have been pondered and disputed since the
invention of the college dorm, but rarely, until the past couple of
weeks, unstoned. Now the last of these golden oldies-about the
terrorist who knows where the bomb is set to go off-is in the news. Not
because it has happened, but because of Sen. John McCain's proposed
legislation forbidding the use of torture by the United States
government. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MCCAIN, BUSH AGREE ON TORTURE BAN -
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GOP officials say the two sides have reached a tentative deal
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/15/torture.bill/
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- After months of opposition, the White House agreed
Thursday to Republican Sen. John McCain's call to ban torture by U.S.
personnel.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Virginia, and
McCain, R-Arizona, met with President Bush to discuss the deal, which
Warner said he expects to be finalized by the end of the day.
After the meeting, McCain said "this is a done deal."
Warner called it "landmark legislation" and lauded McCain for "staying
the course." He said the Senate and House would vote on the ban soon.
Republican officials said the tweaked version of the bill will include
everything that McCain initially requested. His initial bill called for
banning all U.S. personnel from engaging in "cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment" of detainees. (MORE)
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CAIR ANTI-TORTURE CAMPAIGN -
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http://www.cair-net.org/antitorture/
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GROUP ASKS JUDGE TO PROHIBIT MUSLIM DETAINMENT AT BORDER LATER THIS MONTH -
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WSTM, 12/15/05
http://www.wstm.com/Global/story.asp?S=4249370&nav=2aKD
BUFFALO, N.Y. A federal judge in Buffalo is being asked to prohibit
border officials from detaining Muslims who will be coming back from a
religious conference later this month in Toronto.
The New York Civil Liberties Union made the request in court today.
The group filed the suit on behalf of American Muslims who were
detained after attending last year's conference. Some were held for
hours while being fingerprinted and photographed.
Border agents have attended at least two training sessions since the
incident and the Muslim Public Affairs Council has said that progress
has been made in improving policies that protect civil rights.
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COMMENTARY: ISLAM'S DEMOCRATIC PAST -
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Reza Aslan, Los Angeles Times, 12/15/05
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-aslan15dec15,0,1918117.story
[REZA ASLAN is the author of "No god but God" (Random House, 2005)]
THIS WEEK, a joint statement attributed to five insurgent groups in
Iraq warned that the Iraqi elections are "a satanic enterprise" and
that any Muslim who takes part in the voting violates "the legitimate
policy approved by God." The fact is, not only is voting an eminently
Islamic act, Islam introduced the concept of popular sanction over the
government in a wide swath of the world.
In pre-Islamic Arabia, the homeland of the Prophet Muhammad, the
responsibility for maintaining order fell upon the sheik, or chief of
the tribe. This was not an inherited office; the Arabs held enormous
contempt for the hereditary kingdoms of the neighboring Persian and
Byzantine empires. Rather, the sheik was elected through the conferring
of an oath of allegiance, or bay'ah, which was given to the man, not
the office. This oath was pledged by every member of the tribe and
could be withdrawn if the sheik failed in his duty to protect the needs
and interests of his fellow tribesmen.
When the Prophet Muhammad left Mecca for Medina to establish a
radically egalitarian community the likes of which had never been seen
in Arabia, he adopted the oath of allegiance for converts to his
movement. Indeed, the shahadah, or Muslim profession of faith ("There
is no god but God, and Muhammad is God's messenger"), became in effect
a new and distinctly Muslim version of the Arab oath of allegiance.
However, the bay'ah did not become a specifically political tool until
after the prophet's death in AD 632.
Because Muhammad did not officially choose a successor, it fell to the
community he left behind to decide who should lead them. Unsure how to
proceed with such a momentous decision, the community fell back on the
tribal tradition that had been sanctioned in Medina. They called,
first, for a shura, or consultative assembly, of Muslim elders to
choose a new leader. Speeches were delivered, political alliances
formed and, ultimately, a consensus reached: The choice was Muhammad's
closest friend and advisor, Abu Bakr, who became known as Khalifat
Rasul Allah, "the successor to the messenger of God" - caliph, in
English.
Yet the selection of Abu Bakr was meaningless until the entire Muslim
community pledged an oath of allegiance to him. In fact, Abu Bakr's
appointment as caliph was delayed because partisans of Muhammad's
nephew and son-in-law, Ali, refused to swear allegiance. It was only
after this powerful faction, the Shi'atu Ali, or the Party of Ali
(a.k.a. the Shiites), relented and took the oath that Abu Bakr was
allowed to assume his leadership role. (MORE)
ALSO SEE:
MUSLIM CONSPIRACY TO RULE WORLD JUST NONSENSE -
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Haroon Siddiqui, The Star, 12/15/05
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1134559791566&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795
We had Wahhabism. We had the madrassas. We had the houris of Heaven. Now we have the caliphate.
Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld et al have been raising the spectre of a
worldwide Islamic rule by a caliph, as envisaged by Osama bin Laden,
Abu Musab Zarqawi and other terrorists.
The chances of a caliphate coming are zero. But raising its spectre
helps keep Americans scared. Never mind that, just as the reasons given
for the Iraq war proved false, the explanations offered for terrorism
have not met the test of time either.
When 15 of the 19 terrorists of 9/11 turned out to have been Saudis,
Washington and its apologists blamed Wahhabism, the essentialist Islam
practised in Saudi Arabia. The problem with that theory was that the
Saudi ruling family, the guardians of Wahhabism, was and remains the
staunchest ally of the U.S. and guarantor of its energy needs.
We were also told that terrorists were hatched primarily in
Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere in religious schools. But we know
now that most of those who bombed Bali, Jakarta, Istanbul, Amman, etc.
were not graduates of those schools. Nor were those responsible for the
train bombings in Madrid and London. They were Muslims born or raised
in Europe.
So were the two Britons who went to Israel in 2003 to be suicide
bombers. So was the man who murdered Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh in
2004. So have been some of those turning up in Iraq to join the
insurgency.
The third theory was that suicide bombers were inspired by Islam's
promise of a Paradise full of virgins. That may have motivated the
religiously inclined but not others, certainly not women bombers, who
had no such sexual favours to look forward to in Heaven.
Now comes the caliphate - from the Arabic word, khil'afah, rule by a
khaleefah, successor to the Prophet Muhammad, who died in 632 A.D.
A caliphate is an ideal Islamic polity governed by God's law. But a
debate has raged for 1,400 years over whether it's a religious
requirement or just a tool to regulate social order and public welfare.
Is it local or worldwide? There's no consensus. (MORE)
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ISLAM RECOGNIZES JESUS AS ONE OF THE PROPHETS -
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Sid Sajid, Daily News Journal, 12/15/05
http://dnj.midsouthnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051215/OPINION03/512150328/1014
To the editor,
As the Christmas holiday approaches, Christians around the world get
ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him). But
Christians are not the only ones who love and revere Christ. Muslims
recognize Jesus as a great prophet, as Islam is a religion which
requires belief in not only the prophethood of Muhammad but all the
prophets of God, including Jesus Christ (Qur'an 2:137).
While many Christians believe that Jesus ascended to heaven upon
crucifixion, 200 million Ahmadi Muslims around the world (about 10
percent of the Muslim population), believe that Jesus did not die an
accursed death on the cross. He survived the ordeal, and upon revival
in the sepulcher, he migrated east to Kashmir, India, to fulfill his
mission of preaching to the lost tribes of Israel.
The Holy Book of Islam, the Quran, relates in detail the story of
Jesus, including his birth, mission as a prophet to the Israelites, and
his crucifixion and later migration. Three of its Surahs (chapters)
Aale-Imran, Al-Maida and Maryam are so named because of their
references to Jesus and his work. There are about 90 verses spread
across 15 Surahs of the Quran that refer to Jesus. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
NEW STUDY SHOWS CHANGING EVANGELICAL VIEWS ON ISLAM SINCE 9/11 -
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Religion News Service, 12/15/05
http://www.religionnews.com/press02/PR121405.html
North Bellmore, NY, Dec. 14, 2005- After the 9/11 terrorists attacks on
the U.S., evangelical leaders--from Franklin Graham to Jerry Vines of
the Southern Baptist Convention-- emerged as the strongest critics and
even antagonists of Islam. Numerous surveys have likewise found
evangelicals in general to have more negative views on Islam than other
Americans. This rhetoric is reflected in evangelical books and articles
that have been published in the last decade, but particularly since
9/11. .A new study by Richard Cimino, editor of Religion Watch
newsletter, finds that this discourse sheds as much light on how
evangelicals view the challenges of pluralism and relativism in
American society as it does about their views on Islam. The study,
entitled, "No God In Common: American Evangelical Discourse on Islam
After 9/11," is published in the December issue of the Review of
Religious Research.
Through conducting an analysis of popular evangelical books published
before and after 9/11, the study finds that most of the post-9/11
literature draws sharper distinctions between Islam and Christianity,
as well as asserting that Islam is essentially violent. This polemic
against Islam takes three forms: evangelical apologetics to prove the
truth of Christianity against Islam; prophetic literature linking Islam
as the main protagonist in end-times scenarios; and charismatic
literature applying "spiritual warfare" teachings to Islam. The growth
of evangelical apologetics against Islam is especially prevalent, with
a new breed of ex-Muslim evangelicals issuing sharp critiques that
stress the radical separateness of Christianity from Islam.
The article concludes that new patterns of interaction between Islam
and Christianity and greater pluralism in American society are
challenging evangelical identity, leading to the erection of new
boundary markers between evangelicalism and other religions. These new
boundaries can strain interfaith relations yet they may also strengthen
evangelical identity.
A longer and modified version of the article is available free of charge on the Religion Watch website; just click on:
http://www.religionwatch.com/doc/2005-Cimino-Evangelicals-Islam.pdf For an interview with Richard Cimino, call (516) 781-0835.
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SERVICE DAY WELCOMES MUSLIMS, HINDUS, OTHER FAITHS -
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Paula Amann, Washington Jewish Week, 12/15/05
http://www.washingtonjewishweek.com/main.asp?SectionID=4&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=4503&TM=803.124
Visiting the sick, feeding the hungry and helping the homeless 9 it's all in a day's work for close to 1,000 area volunteers.
A hundred shy of that number converged on the Washington DC Jewish
Community Center last Dec. 25 for a holiday tradition: Jews stepping in
for staff at local nonprofits, so that the staffers can spend Christmas
with their families.
This month, organizers hope to swell the ranks of volunteers for the
19th annual December 25th Community Service Day with an influx from
other faiths, including Muslims, Hindus and Bahai.
"Everyone can celebrate service," said project director Lavinia Balaci,
who helped put out the call to other religious groups. "People can come
together for the good of the Greater Washington community, regardless
of race or religious affiliation. Our volunteers give the most
important gift of all 9 their time and caring for people who need some
special attention on Dec. 25."
At the All Dulles Area Muslim Society Center, which has seven branches
in Northern Virginia, interfaith chairperson Farhanahz Ellis is
recruiting people for the project, which will fan out to at least 34
area nonprofits.
"We see it as a good opportunity for our youth," said Ellis, adding
that she is also urging parents and families to take part. "We want to
instill in them the idea of community 9 not just the Muslim community,
but the community at large." (MORE)
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JAZZ MEETS ISLAM -
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Howard Mandel, NY Press, 12/15/05
http://www.nypress.com/18/50/listings/Howard%20Mandel.cfm
Persian classical music would seem far from avant-garde jazz. But that
assumption underestimates how iconoclastic jazz improvisers really are,
and how adaptive masters of ancient disciplines can be.
Proof: "Tabligh," a 90-minute concerto for edgy jazzers and open-minded
Middle Eastern instrumentalists composed by trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith,
who triumphantly realized the work December 1 at Merkin Hall. An
11-part piece with five sections representing Muslim calls to prayer,
"Tabligh" (a term for the propagation and dissemination of Islam)
mixed-without trying to smoothly match-Smith's burnished horn and
expert accompaniment of pianist Vijay Iyer, bassist John Lindberg and
drummer Nasheet Waits with episodes by Kurdistani-born Alan Kushan on
sentir (trapezoid hammered dulcimer), Iranian Amir Koushkani on tar
(long-necked fretless three-string lute), and Turk Saam Schlamminger on
clay and frame drums. Performed without a pause, the music was dramatic
yet meandering. Never hurried or predictable, its sources and
destinations were just beyond the grasp at times. But they were not
less attractive for being mysterious, oblique or elusive.
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ARAB WOMEN'S `VEILS TORN OFF' -
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Natalie O'Brien, Deborah Hope, The Australian, 12/16/05
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17583852%255E2702,00.html
ARABIC community members say they have been targeted in a spate of race
attacks that have reportedly included women having their veils torn off.
Arabic talkback radio in Sydney was jammed yesterday with callers
complaining they had been assaulted in the aftermath of the racial
violence that erupted on the weekend at Cronulla and Maroubra.
However, police said they were unaware of the incidents.
There were also unconfirmed reports of people of Middle Eastern descent
needing medical treatment after being bashed in the street.
Voice of Islam morning talkback host Abraham Zoabi said there were a lot of complaints about attacks, particularly on women.
"Women had been complaining that they were pushed around and spat on.
Others said they had their scarves removed by force," Zoabi said.
The callers said the attacks had occurred in Bankstown, Yagoona and the city.
Zoabi said he hoped this weekend would be quieter and the attacks would stop.
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS
- 12/16/05
*
Verse:
The Most
Beautiful Message
*
CAIR 'Explore the Quran'
Campaign
Update
*
NC: ACLU to Appeal
Quran Oath Ruling (News-Record)
*
Bush Lets U.S.
Spy on Callers Without Courts (NY Times)
-
NDP:
Canadians' Info Vulnerable Under Patriot Act
-
CAIR Patriot Act Blog
*
Editorial: Ban Torture. Period. (NY Times)
-
CAIR Anti-Torture Campaign
*
CAIR-CA: Groups Question FBI Interrogation of Muslim Student
-
FBI Questions Student Over 'PLO' Doodle (LA Times)
-
Groups Criticize FBI's Questioning of Teen (AP)
-
Schools Face Rights Issue in FBI Chat (Sacramento Bee)
*
CAIR-FL: Reward Announced for Info on Double Homicide
-
Video: Reward Offered for Info on Killer (WTSP)
-
Police Discount Hate Crime Angle in 2 Slayings (SP Times)
*
CAIR-OH: Immigration Reform Challenged (Plain Dealer)
*
Islam-Oped: Al-Arian Jurors Not Ready to Shred Constitution
*
Will U.S. Muslims Be Detained After Canadian Conference? (AP)
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MESSAGE -
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"God has revealed (from time to time) the most beautiful message in the
form of a Book consistent within itself (yet) repeating (its teachings
in different ways)."
The Holy Quran, 39:23
-----
CAIR 'EXPLORE THE QURAN' CAMPAIGN UPDATE -
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QURAN REQUESTS TO DATE: 24,802
QURANS SHIPPED TO DATE: 13,700
More sponsors are needed to make sure everyone who requests a Quran will receive one. Please donate TODAY!
To sponsor or obtain a FREE Quran, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/explorethequran/
-----
NC: ACLU TO APPEAL QURAN RULING -
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Eric Collins, News-Record, 12/16/05
http://www.news-record.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051216/NEWSREC0101/512160306/1001/NEWSREC0201
GREENSBORO -- Officials with the American Civil Liberties Union of
North Carolina said Thursday that they will appeal last week's ruling
regarding courtroom oaths.
The ACLU had filed a lawsuit on behalf of its roughly 8,000 members
asking the court to clarify that state law allows people to use
non-Christian religious scriptures for oath-taking.
Greensboro Muslim Syidah Mateen, who joined the suit, claimed she was
harmed in 2003 when a judge did not allow her to take an oath on the
Quran when testifying in a Guilford County courtroom.
However, Superior Court Judge Donald L. Smith tossed out the lawsuit on
Dec. 8, deciding that the plaintiffs lacked a legal controversy.
The judge determined that because Mateen testified that day, no legal controversy remained.
She used the part of the state law that allows someone to affirm to
tell the truth while holding their hand upraised, rather than swearing
on the King James Bible available in the courtrooms.
ACLU lawyer Seth Cohen said Thursday that the organization disagrees
with the judge's finding and he is confidant they will win in the N.C.
Court of Appeals. (MORE)
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BUSH LETS U.S. SPY ON CALLERS WITHOUT COURTS -
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JAMES RISEN and ERIC LICHTBLAU, New York Times, 12/16/05
http://nytimes.com/2005/12/16/politics/16program.html
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 - Months after the Sept. 11 attacks, President Bush
secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on
Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of
terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily
required for domestic spying, according to government officials.
A Half-Century of Surveillance (December 16, 2005) Under a presidential
order signed in 2002, the intelligence agency has monitored the
international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of
hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without
warrants over the past three years in an effort to track possible
"dirty numbers" linked to Al Qaeda, the officials said. The agency,
they said, still seeks warrants to monitor entirely domestic
communications.
The previously undisclosed decision to permit some eavesdropping inside
the country without court approval was a major shift in American
intelligence-gathering practices, particularly for the National
Security Agency, whose mission is to spy on communications abroad. As a
result, some officials familiar with the continuing operation have
questioned whether the surveillance has stretched, if not crossed,
constitutional limits on legal searches.
"This is really a sea change," said a former senior official who
specializes in national security law. "It's almost a mainstay of this
country that the N.S.A. only does foreign searches."
Nearly a dozen current and former officials, who were granted anonymity
because of the classified nature of the program, discussed it with
reporters for The New York Times because of their concerns about the
operation's legality and oversight.
According to those officials and others, reservations about aspects of
the program have also been expressed by Senator John D. Rockefeller IV,
the West Virginia Democrat who is the vice chairman of the Senate
Intelligence Committee, and a judge presiding over a secret court that
oversees intelligence matters. Some of the questions about the agency's
new powers led the administration to temporarily suspend the operation
last year and impose more restrictions, the officials said. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
NOVA SCOTIANS STILL VULNERABLE AS U.S. PATRIOT ACT IS EXTENDED -
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NDP News Release, 12/13/05
http://www.halifaxlive.com/content/view/270/2/
NDP House Leader and Justice Critic Kevin Deveaux is calling on the
Minister of Justice, Michael Baker, to release his Department's plans
for protecting Nova Scotians who have personal information stored in
American data bases - accessible to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
under section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. Last Thursday negotiators for
the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives agreed to extend the
major powers of the Patriot Act which were due to expire at the end of
the month, for another four years. Under the Patriot Act U.S. security
agencies can access individual personal information contained in
records held by any American-based company.
Yesterday it was reported that the Government of Canada has proposed
allowing federal departments to cancel contracts with U.S. based
companies that may, under the Patriot Act, have access to information
on individual Canadians. Currently, some programs like the federal
student loan program are administered by American-based companies.
(MORE)
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CAIR PATRIOT ACT BLOG -
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http://cairpatriotact.blogspot.com/
-----
EDITORIAL: BAN TORTURE. PERIOD. -
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New York Times, 12/16/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/16/opinion/16fri1.html
It should have been unmitigated good news when President Bush finally
announced yesterday that he would back Senator John McCain's proposal
to ban torture and "cruel, inhuman or degrading" treatment at United
States prison camps. Nothing should be more obvious for an American
president than to support a ban on torture.
But this is the president who scrapped the rules on the decent
treatment of prisoners in the first place and whose lawyers concocted
memos on legalizing torture. On closer inspection, the feeling of
relief faded fast. . .
What is at stake here, and so harmful to America's reputation, is the
routine mistreatment of prisoners swept up in the so-called war on
terror. The Senate voted 90 to 9 for the McCain measure without the
extra baggage. And the House passed a nonbinding resolution supporting
it. Both should stand firm. The nation and its fighting men and women
need moral clarity, not more legalistic wiggle room.
SEE ALSO:
CAIR ANTI-TORTURE CAMPAIGN -
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http://www.cair-net.org/antitorture/
-----
CAIR-CA: CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS QUESTION FBI INTERROGATION OF MUSLIM STUDENT -
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Jason Kobely, KXTV, 12/15/05
http://www.kxtv10.com/storyfull2.aspx?storyid=14824
Video Report
http://www.kxtv10.com/video/player2.aspx?aid=24268&bw=
Area civil rights groups are angry after a Muslim Elk Grove high school
student was taken out of class and questioned by FBI agents over a
three letters he scrawled on his binder two years ago.
Calvine High School student Munir Raseh, 16, said he was pulled out of
class on September 27 and questioned by two men who identified
themselves as FBI agents. Raseh said the men asked him about a 2003
incident, when a math teacher at another school reprimanded the teen
for writing the letters "PLO" on his binder.
"Basically, the teacher said he saw the PLO and said it was a terrorist
organization and that the people that run it are all terrorists," Raseh
said.
Raseh told the agents that while the letters did represent the
controversial Palestinian Liberation Organization, the letters were
merely the result of doodling.
The FBI then allegedly continued with the questioning, asking Raseh how
he knew about the PLO, whether he was familiar with the terror-related
investigation of several Lodi Muslims, whether he had ever traveled to
Palestine, and whether he had pictures of terrorists on his cell phone.
Raseh had a picture of a mosque as his phone's background display.
"I was shocked," Raseh said. "I was born in California. I'm an American
citizen." Raseh believes his math teacher contacted the FBI about the
incident.
Representatives of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and the
Sacramento Valley office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
are now asking why school officials allowed the questioning without
notifying the teen's parents.
Basim Elkarra, head of the CAIR, said both the FBI and school
administrators went too far. "The district violated their own policy by
not informing Munir's parents," Elkarra said.
A district statement said officials are investigating the allegations. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
FBI QUESTIONS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT OVER 'PLO' DOODLE -
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Eric Bailey, Los Angeles Times, 12/16/05
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/state/la-me-doodle16dec16,1,1441958.story
SACRAMENTO - Civil rights groups criticized the FBI and a suburban
school district Thursday for allowing federal agents this fall to
question a 16-year-old high school student who had doodled "PLO" on his
binder two years ago.
A pair of FBI agents interviewed Munir Mario Rashed, a junior at
Calvine High School, about the Palestine Liberation Organization and
whether he had pictures of suicide bombers stored on his cellphone.
Munir, a fourth-generation Palestinian American, said he told agents
that the only photo he carried on his phone's screen was of a mosque.
"I was scared," he said Thursday, recalling the Sept. 27 meeting. "I didn't know what was going on or what I had done wrong."
The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and the Council on
American-Islamic Relations of Sacramento sent a letter of protest
Thursday to the Elk Grove School District, complaining that
administrators had violated a district policy requiring that parents be
notified before law enforcement officials interview a student. (MORE)
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GROUPS CRITICIZE FBI'S QUESTIONING OF TEENAGER FOR SCRIBBLING 'PLO' -
TOP
DON THOMPSON, Associated Press, 12/15/05
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/12/15/state/n180438S81.DTL
SACRAMENTO, (AP) -- Civil rights groups said a teenager's free speech
rights were violated when a suburban school district let the FBI
question him for scribbling the initials "PLO" on a school binder two
years ago.
The family of the boy, now 16, and the civil rights groups said Elk
Grove School District officials violated their own policy by allowing
the questioning Sept. 27 without informing his parents.
The Calvine High School student, who is not being named because of his
age and because he doesn't face any charges, was questioned by the FBI
about the Palestine Liberation Organization. He was also asked if he
had ever traveled to Palestine, and if he knew about the FBI's
investigation of alleged terrorist activity among the Muslim community
in Lodi, about 35 miles south of Sacramento, the civil rights groups
said.
The FBI said it was told the boy had pictures of suicide bombers on his
cell phone, but the rights groups said the phone only had a picture of
a mosque as its background display. The boy, a fourth generation
American of Arab descent, also said he was asked how long he had been
in the United States.
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area
and the Sacramento Valley office of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations protested the incident Thursday to the district's school
board. A spokeswoman for the groups said the letter of complaint was
delayed because they had to confirm the district's policy was violated.
The FBI questioning "is particularly intimidating for a 16-year-old,
especially when it occurs on school grounds," the groups said in the
complaint. "As a result of this experience, (the boy) is now much more
hesitant about expressing his political views in any context." (MORE)
---
ELK GROVE SCHOOLS FACE RIGHTS ISSUE IN FBI CHAT -
TOP
Elizabeth Hume, Sacramento Bee, 12/16/05
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/education/story/13985705p-14819209c.html
Elk Grove Unified School District officials are investigating whether
the parents of a 16-year-old Palestinian American were properly
notified when the FBI interviewed him at school after receiving a
complaint he had pictures of suicide bombers on his cell phone and the
letters "PLO" on his binder.
The district's actions come after it received a letter Thursday
condemning the Sept. 27 interview. The letter was written on behalf of
the student, Munir Mario Rashed, by the Sacramento Valley chapter of
the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Lawyers' Committee
for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area condemning the
interview. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-FL: REWARD ANNOUNCED FOR INFO ON DOUBLE HOMICIDE -
TOP
CAIR-FL yesterday announced a $10,000 reward by Tampa Bay Muslims for
information leading to the capture and conviction of those responsible
for the murder of two area Muslims. The double homicide occurred last
week in St. Petersburg, Florida.
To Watch the clip on the reward and news conference, go to:
http://www.cairfl.org/video/051215_bay9_reward4info.wmv
SEE ALSO:
CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP OFFERS REWARD FOR INFORMATION THAT CAN LEAD POLICE TO KILLER -
TOP
http://www.tampabays10.com/video/player.aspx?aid=23996&sid=22614
---
POLICE DISCOUNT HATE CRIME ANGLE IN 2 SLAYINGS -
TOP
But an Islamic advocacy group says the brutality in the Muslim men's deaths suggests hate. Police have no suspects.
ALEX LEARY, St. Petersburg Times, 12/16/05
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/16/Southpinellas/Police_discount_hate_.shtml
ST. PETERSBURG - Police remain unsure who killed two Muslim men in
their apartment last week but said Thursday it does not appear to have
been a hate crime, as an Islamic advocacy group suggested.
"There is nothing associated with the mode of death that would indicate
to us this is a hate crime," police spokesman Bill Proffitt said a few
hours after the Council on American-Islamic Relations held a news
conference outside the Tyrone area apartment.
Homicide Sgt. Mike Puetz reasserted that sentiment and said that before
motives can be established, a suspect has to be identified.
"It's sort of like putting the cart before the horse," he said.
Ahmed Bedier, a CAIR leader in Tampa, said he learned the slayings of
Ali Asghar and Ikbalhusen Kurban A. Vakil were quite brutal. "They were
killed in a very violent way that was very hateful," he said.
Police have only said they were killed by blunt trauma.
The violent nature coupled with a sometimes hostile reception Muslims
have received in recent years, Bedier said, lends weight to the bias
theory, though he stressed it was only a possibility. . .
Police have no suspects in the case and have released little
information, including how the men were killed, saying it could
compromise the investigation.
Proffitt said police were invited to attend the 11 a.m. news conference
but passed because the hate crime angle is unsubstantiated. Still, he
commended CAIR for offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to
an arrest and conviction in the case. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-OH: OHIOANS ATTACK REFORM PROPOSAL -
TOP
Michael Sangiacomo, Plain Dealer, 12/16/05
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1134725918149830.xml&coll=2
A hotly debated immigration reform bill in Washington puts an estimated
quarter-million illegal or undocumented immigrants in Ohio - and about
10 million in the nation - in the government's cross hairs.
One of the most controversial passages of the bill was changed Thursday
by Republicans after wrangling on the floor of the U.S. House of
Representatives.
As originally proposed by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, Republican of
Wisconsin, any undocumented immigrant in the United States could be
charged with an aggravated felony. He lowered the proposed violation
from a felony to a misdemeanor. . .
One of the more controversial aspects of the bill would make it a crime
for anyone to help an undocumented immigrant - including family
members, churches and charities.
Julia Shearson, director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
office in Cleveland, said a bus driver giving a ride to an illegal
immigrant could be prosecuted. (MORE)
-----
ISLAM-OPED: JURORS NOT READY TO SHRED THE CONSTITUTION -
TOP
Parvez Ahmed, Sun-Sentinel, 12/16/05
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-89forum12dec16,0,5428092.story
[Parvez Ahmed, Ph.D., is board chairman of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, the nation's largest Muslim civil rights
and advocacy group. E-mail: pahmed@cair-net.org. ]
Former Attorney General John Ashcroft once hailed the arrest of Sami
Al-Arian as "a milestone in the war on terror." Last week, 12 ordinary
Americans, none of whom shared the former University of South Florida
professor's religion or ethnic origin found no evidence to back up that
claim, declaring Al-Arian not guilty on eight charges, including
conspiring to commit murder abroad, money laundering and obstruction of
justice.
The overwhelming majority of jurors wanted to acquit Al-Arian of all
charges, but were blocked by a couple of hold-outs. "Of course, we hate
terrorism," said one juror. "But the evidence making these guys
terrorists just wasn't there."
This verdict means a lot to the American Muslim community and should
mean a lot to our fellow Americans. The jurors sent a clear message
that, even in the post 9-11 era and despite rising Islamophobia,
Americans can be fair and are not ready to shred the Constitution.
(MORE)
-----
MUSLIM GROUP ASKS U.S. JUDGE TO BAN BORDER SEARCHES AHEAD OF TORONTO CONFERENCE -
TOP
Associated Press, 12/15/o05
http://www.brandonsun.com/story.php?story_id=13524
(AP) - A group of Muslim-Americans asked a federal judge Thursday to
allow them to travel to a religious conference in Toronto later this
month without being fingerprinted, photographed and held for hours at
the border, like they were on the way home from last year's gathering.
In a case that weighs the government's anti-terrorism efforts against
the rights of its citizens, the New York Civil Liberties Union argued
on the group's behalf for a court order prohibiting border agents from
stopping and searching Muslim-Americans based solely on their
attendance at the annual Reviving the Islamic Spirit conference in
Toronto on Dec. 23-29.
Homeland Security officials acknowledged subjecting those who attended
last year's conference to lengthy security checks upon their return to
the United States, but said they had reason to believe that people
associated with terrorism planned to attend the conference or others
like it.
NYCLU lawyer Christopher Dunn accused the government of trampling the
plaintiffs' right to practise religion in the name of homeland security.
"We fully respect the government's concerns about terrorism. That does
not mean, however, that the constitution disappears at the border,"
Dunn said. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
BREAKING NEWS:
NJ
Muslim Critic of Airport Detentions is Detained, Wayne Parry,
Associated Press, 12/16/05
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAIR APPLAUDS SENATE DEFEAT OF PATRIOT ACT
EXTENSION
Islamic advocacy group says civil liberties protections must be
strengthened
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/16/05) - A prominent national Islamic civil
rights and advocacy group today applauded the U.S. Senate's vote to
reject reauthorizing several provisions of the USA Patriot Act because of
civil liberties concerns.
By a vote of 52 to 47, Senate supporters of the act were unable to obtain
the 60 votes necessary to overcome a threatened filibuster. Several
controversial provisions of the Patriot Act are due to expire at the end
of this month. SEE:
"
Senate
Blocks Extension of Patriot Act"
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a
statement:
"We applaud the Senate's decision to reject reauthorization of the
Patriot Act unless it has stronger protections for the civil liberties of
all Americans. Everyone wants to increase national security, but that
goal need not be achieved by sacrificing constitutional
rights."
The Washington-based group noted that just today, media reports indicate
that President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency
(NSA) to eavesdrop on Americans without first obtaining court-approved
warrants. SEE:
"
Bush
Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts"
CAIR said the two Patriot Act provisions of greatest concern to civil
libertarians are Sections 215 and 505.
Section 215 allows law enforcement to acquire a search warrant for
"any tangible thing." It also forbids the warrant's recipient
from telling anyone about the warrant. CAIR and other civil liberties
groups support a Senate provision that would have required that the
government show that a person whose records are sought has some
connection to a terror suspect. Currently, law enforcement officials must
merely say the records are needed for an ongoing investigation.
Under Section 505, National Security Letters (NSL) can be authorized by
FBI field inspectors. NSLs allow access to such records as financial,
business dealings, telephone calls, e-mails, web sites visited, and
Internet searches. They do not require a judge's approval and are
typically presented to employers or internet service providers who are
then prohibited from informing anyone of the request, even their own
lawyers. The Washington Post recently reported that a stunning 30,000
such letters are being issued annually.
SEE: CAIR Patriot Act Blog,
http://cairpatriotact.blogspot.com/
Earlier this week, CAIR issued an "action alert" calling on
Muslims and other people of conscience to oppose reauthorization of the
Patriot Act and to support Sen. McCain's anti-torture amendment, which
was accepted yesterday by President Bush.
"We would like to thank all those who contacted their elected
representatives to express their opinions on these important
issues," said CAIR Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor.
"The results demonstrate clearly that your voice is being
heard." Saylor also thanked the diverse coalition of groups that
worked to strengthen civil liberties protections in the Patriot
Act.
SEE:
"
Action:
Call Congress on Torture, Patriot Act, Immigration"
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and
chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
- END -
CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor,
202-646-6039 or 571-278-4658, E-Mail:
csaylor@cair-net.org; Ibrahim
Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah
Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called
CAIR-NET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with
American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our
society.
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from CAIR-NET, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 12/18/05
*
Hadith:
Travel in Search of
Knowledge
*
CAIR-NJ:
Post-9/11 Travel a
Challenge for U.S. Muslims
-
NJ:
Muslims
Say Trust Remains Elusive (Daily Record)
-
CA:
Muslim Conference
Frustrated by Airport Security (AP)
-
CAIR Pocket Guide:
Your Rights
as an Airline Passenger
*
MA:
Attacks Stall Boston Mosque
Project (Boston Globe)
-
CAIR-MI:
Letter Spread Misunderstanding
of Muslims
*
MD:
Muslim Leader Forges Interfaith
Accord (Washington Post)
-
WV:
Imam Daoudi - Faithful People in
a Violent Age
*
Petition:
Free Sami Al-Arian
*
Bush Says He Ordered Domestic
Spying (New York Times)
-
CAIR-CA:
Why Bypass FISA
Court? (Sacramento Bee)
*
CAIR:
No One Can Be
Excluded from God's Love (Atlanta Journal)
-
Islam-Oped:
Jesus Can Bring Christians,
Muslims Together
-
PBS Tonight:
'Judaism,
Christianity, Islam' (NYT)
-
CT:
Yale's Islamic Chaplain
Preaches Sense about Islam
*
KS:
Muslim Youths: A Test of
Faith (Wichita Eagle)
*
American Comedy Pokes Fun at US
Ignorance of Islam (Reuters)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: TRAVEL IN SEARCH OF KNOWLEDGE -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "If anyone travels on
a road in search of knowledge, God will cause him to travel on one of the
roads of Paradise."
Sunan of Abu Dawood, Hadith 1631
A man once asked the Prophet to pray for him because he was about to
embark on a journey. The Prophet replied: "May God grant you the
provision of righteousness. . .and may He make it easy for you to do
virtuous deeds, wherever you may be."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 235
-----
CAIR-NJ: YEARS AFTER 9/11, TRAVEL
CHALLENGE FOR MUSLIMS -
TOP
Sarah N. Lynch, Daily Record, 12/18/05
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051218/NEWS05/512180349/1008/NEWS01
Kathie Shadeed has stopped taking her three children to meet daddy at the
airport.
She always used to pick up her husband, Ahmad, who runs a travel agency
and has to make frequent trips from their home in Jersey City to Saudi
Arabia and Egypt.
But Sept. 11, 2001, has made his ability to travel much more difficult,
he says, and his struggle goes beyond the metal detectors and baggage
checks endured by every traveler.
As the passengers from the return flight exit the plane and pick up their
luggage, Kathie Shadeed and her children have learned to expect that
daddy won't be among them.
"Many years down the road, it will be someone else they do this to,
and it's sad because nobody deserves this when you have your kids waiting
there for you and they haven't seen their father," she
said.
"You sit there and you wait and wait, and the plane empties out, and
he's not on it ... He's been detained."
Ahmad Shadeed, 49, is an American citizen and he has been living in New
Jersey since 1980. After Sept. 11, 2001, however, his wife cannot
remember a single time when he has not been detained either at Newark
Liberty or at John F. Kennedy international airport.
The couple don't really like to talk about it. It's too painful for them,
although Ahmad has given his wife an inkling of what goes on behind the
closed doors while she sits for three hours in the terminal.
"They don't even do anything. They put you in a room. They don't
even do anything. Absolutely not. They just put you in a room and say,
'Where are you coming from?'" she said.
Ahmad Shadeed says he tries to remain strong. He knows the constant
delays he experiences when he travels are driven by fear. Like many
Muslims, he almost has come to expect it.
"I feel raped every time I go into the airport. My freedom is taken
away from me," he said. "It hurts me very much ... and it's not
easy, but what do you want me to do?"
Stories of Muslim-Americans detained at airports or stopped on highways,
tunnels and bridges abounded immediately after 9/11.
The American Civil Liberties Union also has been hearing less and less
about Muslims who say they are frequently stopped during their travels
either abroad or at home, according to Reena Arya of the ACLU in
Newark.
Silence does not mean the problems have gone. Some who spoke with the
Road Crew said travel conditions have not changed much.
In fact, the most recent report released by the Council on
American-Islamic Relations shows that between 2004 and 2003, incidents of
harassment, violence and discrimination against Muslims rose 49
percent.
The biggest change that Muslims face when driving or flying is in their
attitudes.
"People have gotten used to going through the process. It's
become like the norm," said Ahmed Al-Shehab, who works with the
Council on American- Islamic Relations in Totowa.
"The Muslims are getting stopped, and they say, 'I'm a Muslim, so
I'm going to get profiled.'" (MORE)
SEND COMMENTS TO:
http://www.dailyrecord.com/customerservice/forms/letters.htm
SEE ALSO:
NJ: MUSLIMS SAY
TRUST STILL REMAINS ELUSIVE -
TOP
Many feel suspicion, trampled rights persist in post-9/11 U.S.
LORRAINE ASH, DAILY RECORD, 12/18/05
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051218/NEWS01/512180357/1005
Yursil Kidwai's mother still tells him to shave his beard."She
thinks it makes me look more like a terrorist," said the 27-year-old
Pakistani-American, a computer expert who grew up in Paramus.
"She thinks it makes me look more like a suspicious figure because I
fit some stereotype of the people you see on TV who do these horrible
things."
Four years after Al-Qaida launched its surprise assault on the United
States and almost three years into the war in Iraq, American Muslim
communities in North Jersey and nationwide still are explaining
themselves. Still trying to fill voids of ignorance with information
about Islam. Still worrying about the erosion of the civil liberties that
inspired them or their parents to come to the United States in the first
place. (MORE)
SEND COMMENTS TO:
http://www.dailyrecord.com/customerservice/forms/letters.htm
---
CA: MUSLIM CONFERENCE
FRUSTRATED BY AIRPORT SECURITY -
TOP
Associated Press, 12/18/05
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20051218.wmuslim1217/BNStory/International/
Long Beach, Calif. - Muslim leaders who gathered Saturday to discuss
their role in combatting extremism within the Islamic community
complained that two scheduled speakers missed the event after being
detained at Los Angeles International Airport.
"People are upset," said Salam Al-Marayati of the Muslim Public
Affairs Council, which organized the conference. "On one hand the
U.S. government is asking us to do more, but on the other they are
preventing us from doing our work." (MORE)
---
CAIR: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AS AN AIRLINE
PASSENGER -
TOP
As an airline passenger, you are entitled to courteous, respectful and
non-stigmatizing treatment by airline and security personnel.
You have the right to complain about treatment that you believe is
discriminatory.
If you believe you have been treated in a discriminatory manner,
immediately:
1) Ask to speak to a supervisor.
2) Ask if you have been singled out because of your looks, dress, race,
ethnicity, faith, or national origin.
3) Ask for the names and ID numbers of all persons involved in the
incident.
4) Ask witnesses to give you their names and contact information.
5) Write down a statement of facts immediately after the incident. Be
sure to include the flight number, the flight date, and the name of the
airline.
6) Contact CAIR to file a report. If you are leaving the country, leave a
detailed message, with the information above, at 202-488-8787. Ask to
speak to the "Civil Rights Department." You may also file a
report on-line at
www.cair-net.org.
You may obtain a FREE CAIR "Know Your Rights Pocket Guide" at:
https://www.cair-net.org/comersus/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=1020
(Call 202-488-8787 to request bulk orders.)
-----
MA: PRAISED AS BEACON, MOSQUE PROJECT STALLS AMID RANCOR -
TOP
Allegations said to harm funding for Roxbury center
Yvonne Abraham and Stephen Kurkjian, Boston Globe, 12/18/05
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/12/18/praised_as_beacon_mosque_project_stalls_amid_rancor/
Boston's new Mosque and Cultural Center was meant to be a beacon of
tolerance, a symbol of understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims.
Instead, the unfinished red-brick shell at Roxbury Crossing has become
just the opposite.
Conceived before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and blessed
by the city, the mosque has been beset by challenges. A Mission Hill
man is suing the city, alleging that the land deal that got the project
underway was unfair. Others have accused officials of the
Cambridge-based Islamic Society of Boston, which is building the
mosque, of sympathizing with Islamic extremists.
The accusations have battered the project. Donations have slowed to a
trickle and Islamic society officials blame the allegations of
extremism, which they have vehemently denied, for deterring
benefactors. The funding difficulties have all but halted construction
and forced the society to seek bank loans to complete the project, a
step they had long hoped to avoid, given Islam's prohibition on
charging and paying interest. However, those loans were denied, society
officials said.
Mosque supporters say the harm done goes beyond bricks and mortar, that
the rancor surrounding the project has deepened suspicions between
Muslims and non-Muslims. The Roxbury site has become a setting for
conflicts that extend far outside the neighborhood, into issues of
constitutional rights, Middle East politics, and national security.
"One of the major objectives of this project was to be interaction
between Muslims and non-Muslims in recognition that there is a lot of
misunderstanding among Americans about Islam, and quite frankly among
Muslims about American culture and society," said Salma Kazmi,
assistant director of the Islamic Society of Boston. "This feeds a lot
of resentment and mistrust, the sense of people generally being against
us. It's not a healthy environment. . ."
In October, Islamic Society officials filed a lawsuit because of media
reports and statements by various groups linking mosque officials to
terrorist groups. The defendants include The Boston Herald, WFXT-TV
(Channel 25), the David Project, a pro-Israel group, and Steven
Emerson, a specialist on terrorism. In the suit, the Islamic Society
vehemently denies any connection to radical Islam. The suit alleges
that the David Project, reporters, and others joined together "in a
concerted, well-coordinated effort to deprive . . . members of the
Boston-area Muslim community of their basic rights of free association
and the free exercise of their religion" under the Constitution. . .
Mosque supporters describe the efforts to link mosque officials to
Islamic radicalism as intolerance at best, a witch hunt at worst. . .
"I'm not aware that any formal charges have been brought against
anybody at the mosque, said Gail Marcinkiewicz, spokeswoman for the FBI
in Boston. . .
The difficulties surrounding the project have raised concerns among
Muslims in the area, who thought the new mosque was to have symbolized
"the Muslim community coming into its own in Boston and in
Massachusetts," said Hamza Pelletier, a Muslim political activist.
"While some people might say there is a constitutional backing for what
they're doing, it seems that it's more a front for people [who want] to
disrupt the progress of the Muslim community in Boston," Pelletier
said. . .
"Muslims are very upset," said Mushtaque Mirza, an Indian Muslim who
has been active in the community for 30 years. ''Muslims finally had a
feeling this is really a mosque, with a dome structure, a minaret.
Anybody would feel it's discrimination that when it comes to the
mosque, it is always depicted as [supporting] terrorism." (MORE)
SEND COMMENTS TO:
letter@globe.com
COPY TO:
cair@cair-net.org
BY MAIL:
Letters to the Editor, Boston Globe
P.O. Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819
BY FAX: (617) 929-2098
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-MI: LETTER SPREAD MISUNDERSTANDING OF MUSLIMS -
TOP
Muzammil Ahmed, Holland Sentinel, 12/16/05
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/stories/121605/opinion_20051216020.shtml
[
Muzammil Ahmed is a member of the board of directors for the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Michigan.]
The recent letter that your newspaper elected to print from Keith Jones
(Sentinel, Dec. 5) demonstrated poor editorial judgment and contributes
to a climate of ignorance and misunderstanding about Muslims in America.
Mr. Jones is clearly a person who was disturbed by a previous article
in your paper. This prompted him to write an alarmingly hateful letter
about Muslims. Rather than rely upon what Muslims themselves believe in
their own religion, he was presumptuous enough to cite Islamic texts
out of context and state what he thinks Muslims believe. His main
contention is that "Islam is not a religion of peace. It's a religion
of forced submission."
This conclusion stated by Mr. Jones is an invitation to hate Muslims.
If a similar letter were submitted about other religious or ethnic
groups, most editors would use good judgment and discern that the
writer is not participating in any constructive dialogue.
Islamic civilization has stretched over many centuries and over many
continents. It holds perhaps the greatest examples of coexistence
between religions during the centuries of rule in Spain and India.
Islam has flourished because it accepts diversity and requires just
dealings with people of all faiths. The Quran states, "We have made you
into nations and tribes that you may know each other" and constantly
admonishes all people to deal justly with one another. The Quran also
states that there is no compulsion in religion.
As with any religious text, the Quran has portions that can be
misquoted and taken out of context. Numerous detractors of Muslims have
used this tactic to argue that Muslims are evil or dangerous. On the
contrary, Muslims have many of the same concerns as most Americans.
Muslims are an integral part of American society, and over 5 million
count it as their home. They believe in the same God as that of the
Christians and Jews, and share the same core values. Americans should
learn about their fellow Muslim neighbors from reliable sources rather
than from individuals with an ax to grind.
The Council on American Islamic-Relations-Michigan strongly believes in
the right of all American to speak their minds. However, responsible
media outlets should set standards that preclude the publication of
hate-mongering speech or blatant misstatements of fact. Local
newspapers are an asset to the community and should be used to promote
dialogue and discussion.
-----
MD: MUSLIM LEADER FORGES INTERFAITH ACCORD -
TOP
Popular Imam Boosts Islam in Md., Beyond
Fredrick Kunkle, Washington Post Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/17/AR2005121701008.html
He is a devout Muslim who speaks both Arabic and Hebrew. He quotes the
Torah almost as well as the Koran and once protested the threatened
removal of crucifixes at Georgetown University. He is a Palestinian by
birth who believes in Israel's right to exist.
He wishes that the media paid more attention to his message that Islam,
Christianity and Judaism share more similarities than differences, but
he is not always good at returning their calls. He keeps a couple of
bottles of cologne in his Toyota Camry because his 14-hour days keep
him on the go and, well, you never know when you need a quick splash of
Hugo Boss or Gucci.
Yahya Hendi is not your average imam.
At a time when his adopted country is engaged in a struggle with
terrorism driven by Islamic extremists, Hendi, senior imam of the
Islamic Society of Frederick County, preaches interfaith understanding
and calls on fellow Muslims to rescue their religion from extremists.
That message has helped him open doors to senior government officials
searching for ways to build better relationships in the Islamic world.
The State Department calls on him to host visiting Islamic clergy, and
news organizations dial him up for comment, usually after a terrorist
attack.
Part of the attention comes with being the first full-time Muslim
chaplain at GU, which also was the first such post in the United
States. Hendi teaches theology there and also serves as a chaplain at
the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. And he teaches an
introduction to Islam class in Rockville for Johns Hopkins University's
Evergreen Society for older adults.
As the senior imam of the Islamic Society, Hendi also has shaped the
growing Islamic presence in the outer Maryland suburbs. After years of
holding services in a doctor's waiting room, a hotel ballroom and
wherever else there was space, his congregation recently opened the
doors of its first permanent mosque. Hendi lives with his wife and four
children in Frederick. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
WV: IMAM MOHAMMAD JAMAL DAOUDI: LIVING AS FAITHFUL PEOPLE IN A VIOLENT AGE -
TOP
Gazette-Mail, 12/18/05
http://sundaygazettemail.com/section/Columns/200512176
Delivered by Imam Mohammad Jamal Daoudi as part of a lecture series at First Presbyterian Church
"And convey unto them, setting forth the truth, the story of the two
sons of Adam - how each offered a sacrifice, and it was accepted from
one of them whereas it was not accepted from the other. And Cain said:
I will surely slay thee. Abel replied: Behold God accepts only from
those who are conscious of Him. Even if you lay your hand on me to slay
me, I shall not lay my hand on you to slay you: behold I fear God the
Sustainer of all the worlds." (The Holy Quran Chapter 5- Verse 27-28)
Follow Abel, not Cain (MORE)
-----
PETITION: RESPECT THE COURT VERDICT, FREE SAMI AL ARIAN -
TOP
http://new.petitiononline.com/imaseerf/petition.html
To: Dear Attorney General Gonzales,
As a US citizen I am most concerned about preserving the American way
of life which, above all, includes rule of law and equal justice for
all.
On Tuesday, December 6th, a Tampa, Florida jury acquitted Al-Arian of
eight of the 17 counts against him, including a key charge of
conspiring to maim and murder people overseas. The jury had deadlocked
on other charges 10 to 2 in Al-Arian's favor.
Two of Al-Arian's co-defendants were acquitted entirely, and a third
was acquitted on most counts, with jurors deadlocked on several others.
In the end, not a single guilty verdict was returned after a lengthy
trial that included more than 80 witnesses and 400 transcripts of
intercepted phone conversations and faxes.
A headline in the Washington Post, dated Dec 14, says it all: "Ex-Professor Won Court Case but Not His Freedom".
I fully appreciate your efforts to keep America safe but it should not be at the expensive of equal justice for all.
This has been one of costliest courts cases in the history of Florida,
if not the Untied States. Investigative journalist John Sugg has
estimated that the decade-long investigation and trail of Al-Arian has
cost the taxpayers more than fifty million dollars. It would make no
sense to spend millions more.
I emphatically urge you to respect the verdict and to let Al-Arian
become a living symbol of America's open, pluralistic and justice-based
society. Such a gesture will allow America to credibly advocate for the
right to free speech in countries around the world that lack such
freedoms.
-----
BUSH SAYS HE ORDERED DOMESTIC SPYING -
TOP
DAVID E. SANGER, New York Times, 12/18/05
http://nytimes.com/2005/12/18/politics/18bush.html
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 - President Bush acknowledged on Saturday that he
had ordered the National Security Agency to conduct an electronic
eavesdropping program in the United States without first obtaining
warrants, and said he would continue the highly classified program
because it was "a vital tool in our war against the terrorists."
In an unusual step, Mr. Bush delivered a live weekly radio address from
the White House in which he defended his action as "fully consistent
with my constitutional responsibilities and authorities."
He also lashed out at senators, both Democrats and Republicans, who
voted on Friday to block the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act,
which expanded the president's power to conduct surveillance, with
warrants, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The revelation that Mr. Bush had secretly instructed the security
agency to intercept the communications of Americans and terrorist
suspects inside the United States, without first obtaining warrants
from a secret court that oversees intelligence matters, was cited by
several senators as a reason for their vote.
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-CA: SOME UNSURPRISED, SOME SHOCKED, SOME SUPPORTIVE OF EAVESDROPPING -
TOP
Sam Stanton and Jim Sanders, Sacramento Bee, 12/17/05
http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/13989545p-14823023c.html
President Bush's secret decision to allow the government to spy on some
Americans' phone calls and e-mails without court approval shocked many
political leaders in Washington, D.C., but peace activists and civil
libertarians said the revelation was hardly surprising. . .
"It's disturbing that the government is bypassing the extremely low
threshold of the FISA court to do whatever it wants to spy on
Americans," said Basim Elkarra, executive director of the Sacramento
Valley office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "FISA
almost never turns down any requests to tap phones, and you can
retroactively file with FISA, you can file for a warrant after the
fact." (MORE)
-----
CAIR: HONORING MANY PATHS -
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Some say religious inclusivity is necessary in a shrinking world, but those who practice it sometimes pay a steep price
John Blake, Atlanta Journal, 12/17/05
http://www.ajc.com/living/content/epaper/editions/saturday/faith_values_343af8ade56b71e11021.html
In the post-Sept. 11 world, people are urged to respect and learn about
other faiths. But those calls for tolerance come with a dilemma for
those who cross religious boundaries. How can one accept the legitimacy
of other faiths without betraying one's own?. . .
Critics also say the calls for tolerance don't acknowledge the profound
differences among varying faiths. How can a Hindu, for example, accept
a Christian who says Mahatma Gandhi was consigned to hell because he
didn't accept Jesus as his savior? How can a Muslim accept non-Muslims,
who are considered infidels? How can a Jew even talk about God with
Buddhists when the Buddha didn't believe in a personal God?. . .
Ibrahim Hooper, a Muslim leader, says Islam also reflects this
inclusive view of other faiths. It shares a veneration of Jesus with
Christians, though it does not believe he is the Son of God.
Hooper, a spokesman for the Washington-based Council on
American-Islamic Relations, a national civil liberties group, says a
good Muslim "cannot exclude anyone from God's love or God's acceptance."
Hooper cites a verse that appears in the Quran (2:136), the holy text of Islam:
"Say ye: 'We believe in God and the revelation given to us and to
Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses
and Jesus, and that given to (all) Prophets from their Lord. We make no
distinction between any of them and it is unto Him that we surrender
ourselves." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
ISLAM-OPED: JESUS CAN BRING CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS TOGETHER -
TOP
http://cair.com/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=38299&theType=NB
---
LOOKING FOR SIMILARITIES WHERE OTHERS SEE DIFFERENCES -
TOP
ANITA GATES, New York Times, 12/17/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/17/arts/television/17fait.html
Analyzing religion isn't just for the pious anymore. Since the World
Trade Center towers were blown away in the name of God four years ago,
since the journalist Daniel Pearl and numberless others have been
murdered by men and women who seem to believe that heaven will reward
their actions, Americans have been forced to acknowledge that religious
differences kill, even (or maybe especially) in the 21st century.
Some people believe that basic tolerance of others' religions is the
answer. Sam Harris, the author of the current best seller "The End of
Faith" (Norton), recommends abolishing all forms of religion. The
thought-provoking PBS documentary "Three Faiths, One God: Judaism,
Christianity, Islam" goes in another direction. It sets out to prove
that the three world faiths involved in current global conflicts are
really one big religion. So let's just call ourselves Abrahamic, shake
hands and relax. (MORE)
THREE FAITHS, ONE GOD: JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, ISLAM
http://www.thirteen.org/watch/program_info.php?program_id=22130&episode_num=101
(Check local listings.)
This program examines the religious beliefs and practices shared by
Jews, Christians and Muslims. It illustrates how many in the Abrahamic
faith communities are dealing with historical conflicts and charts
their dedication to facilitating understanding and respect, capturing a
broad range of voices and ideas from everyday people and respected
scholars in the interfaith field. (Part 1of 2) (Closed Captioning)
(Stereo)
---
CT: YALE'S FIRST-EVER ISLAMIC CHAPLAIN PREACHES SENSE ABOUT ISLAM -
TOP
Regina DeAngelo, New Haven Advocate, 12/15/05
http://newhavenadvocate.com/gbase/Lifestyle/content.html?oid=oid:137034
One of the most recognizable things about the ubiquitous For Dummies
book series is the spike-haired cartoon character who pops up wearing
various expressions. Sometimes he is pointing a finger at a salient
word-balloon; sometimes he is looking concerned; sometimes he is
getting an eraser thrown at his head. The eraser to the head connotes
"heads up, kid." It is placed next to paragraphs in which something is
cleared up or debunked; it's the Dummies ' series trademark logo for
"Get it right (dummy)."
When it comes to religion, especially the widely misunderstood religion
of Islam, many could benefit from an eraser to the head. Scholars have
obliged recently, lobbing shots into the English-speaking world with
books like Karen Armstrong's best-selling Islam in 2000; two others by
John L. Esposito and Bernard Lewis, in 2002; Islam for Dummies by
Malcolm Clark in 2003; and in May 2004, with The Koran for Dummies, by
Sohaib Sultan, the Islamic chaplain at Yale.
The Koran is an ancient, holy and serious book, not what one would
expect wrapped in the often flip, cartoony Dummies style. But Sultan
saw opportunity when he was approached to write this book. After a
little hesitation some Koranic scholars disapproved he listened to his
conscience. It said, "If you pass this up, you will have lost a great
opportunity to introduce one of most misunderstood religions to the
American public."
Sohaib Sultan is not the picture of Koranic scholar. A short,
good-natured grad student from Indiana, he recently became, at age 25,
the first-ever Islamic chaplain at Yale. He has been studying the
Koran, in Arabic, since childhood, spending six years with Koranic
scholars in Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries. He is now working
on his master's degree in Islamic studies and Christian-Muslim
Relations and Islamic Chaplaincy at the Hartford Seminary.
The response to his book, he says, has been overwhelming. "So many
Muslims have written to me: 'Thank you for writing this book,' or 'I
didn't know this about my religion.'"
Non-Muslims have also sent encouraging words, but not always. While
taking questions on radio call-in shows, Sultan has found that some
people "feel, sadly, more comfortable saying things about Islam that
are dead wrong and stereotypical, because they feel more accepted
saying those things. Questions such as, "Why does your religion
sanction the murder of innocent people?"
"At least they're telling me what they think," says Sultan. "At least I can help debunk the misunderstandings." (MORE)
-----
KS: MUSLIM YOUTHS: A TEST OF FAITH -
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Wichita teenagers learn to blend their faith's traditions and customs as they interact with non-Muslim peers.
JOE RODRIGUEZ, Wichita Eagle, 12/17/05
http://www.kansas.com/mld/eagle/living/religion/13425894.htm
The challenges arise at different times for 17-year-old Aneesa Malik,
as it does for other Muslim youths. It may come midday, when she leaves
a Northeast Magnet High School classroom for a required prayer.
Or when she finds out what's on the menu in the school cafeteria,
making sure she has alternative lunch plans on days when pork is served.
Or when she goes to the movies with friends and has to bring along her 13-year-old brother, in part to chaperone.
The challenges are similar for other second-generation Americans --
blending the traditions and customs from previous generations with
those of society at-large. (MORE)
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AMERICAN COMEDY POKES FUN AT US IGNORANCE OF ISLAM -
TOP
Heba Kandil, Reuters, 12/17/05
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=filmNews&storyID=2005-12-17T101124Z_01_KRA736605_RTRIDST_0_FILM-LEISURE-MUSLIMS-FILM-DC.XML
DUBAI (Reuters) - It may seem odd for an American to go to Asia, and
not the Middle East, to learn about Islam after the September 11, 2001
attacks by al Qaeda.
But U.S. comedian Albert Brooks said this peculiarity underscores the
basic premise of his satirical film "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim
World," which pokes fun at U.S. ignorance about Arabs and Muslims.
The 19 suicide hijackers who struck New York and Washington in 2001 all
hailed from the Middle East, which is also the birthplace of Islam.
"One of the subtle things I think the movie was trying to say is that
the U.S. government really makes no distinction ... between Arab
Muslims and South Asian Muslims," Brooks told Reuters in an interview
in the Gulf Arab emirate.
"To the United States -- and it's unfortunate -- all Muslims are the same. Once 9/11 happened, they're afraid of all of them."
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 12/19/05
*
Hadith: Prayer
Removes Sin
*
CAIR-CA Rep Offers 'Islam
101' at Synagogue
-
FL:
Muslims, Jews Learn from Each Other (Sun-Sent)
-
MD: Web Site Helps Muslims Learn About Judaism (Balt Sun)
*
MS: MN Guard Troops Train at 'Fake Iraqi Village' (AP)
*
Quake Relief: OH Doc Tells of Desperate Needs (Columbus Disp)
-
WA:
Embracing a Sister Village in Need (Seattle Times)
*
LA: Muslim Vows to Rebuild Life in Post-Katrina New Orleans (TP)
*
FL: Mosque Grand Opening is Realization of Dream (Sun-Sent)
*
U.S. had Secret Afghanistan Prison, Group Says (Reuters)
-
McCain Concedes U.S. Torture Ban Not Absolute (AP)
-
CAIR Anti-Torture Campaign
*
Once-Lone Foe of Patriot Act Has Company (NY Times)
*
Jewish Leaders Rethinking Alliance with Evangelicals (G&M)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: PRAYER REMOVES SIN -
TOP
Narrated Rabi'ah ibn Ka'b: "I was with God's Messenger (peace be upon
him) one night and I brought him water. . .He said to me: 'Ask
(anything you like).' I said: 'I ask your company in Paradise.' (The
Prophet) replied: 'Then help me to achieve this for you by devoting
yourself often to (acts of prayer).'"
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 235
The Prophet also said: "Make frequent prostrations before God, for you
will not make one prostration without God raising you a degree and
removing a sin from you because of it."
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 234
-----
SHINING A LIGHT ON ISLAM -
TOP
Presentation aims to dispel common misconceptions
JULIA REYNOLDS, Monterey Herald, 12/19/05
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/local/13441358.htm
"We're here to extend our mutual Semitic warmth," Maurice Schoenbrum
beamed, as congregation members of Temple Beth El in Salinas joined
with local Muslims to learn about Islam.
Schoenbrum, who organized the 1�-hour Sunday program as part of the
temple's adult education series, smiled over the fact that several
dozen people made it through Sunday's storms to hear
Safaa Ibrahim, executive director of the Bay Area chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, or CAIR.
"People say Islam is either the simplest religion on earth or the
most complicated," Ibrahim told the group, depending on how deeply one
delves into studying the Quran's verses.
What she offers, she said, is "Islam 101."
Ibrahim, who was born in Cairo, raised in the United States and now
lives in Rio Del Mar, took over as head of CAIR's Santa Clara-based
offices in July. She is the chapter's first female director, and her
presentation was part of CAIR's mission to educate Americans about
Islam.
She also hopes to challenge the false impressions of Islam held by many.
"Unfortunately, terrorism speaks louder than the peaceful voices of
Islam," Ibrahim said, because the media reports a few extremist
Muslims' acts of violence far more often than "mainstream" Muslims'
acts of peace.
An example of skewed reporting, she said, is a recent Barbara Walters
story about concepts of heaven and hell. Walters interviewed a rabbi
and a Catholic priest, but the report showed only a would-be suicide
bomber to represent Islam, Ibrahim said.
The real Islam, she said, is "contradictory to what is being carried out by a few criminals in the world."
Temple Beth El's rabbi, William Greenebaum, said he realized as Ibrahim
spoke that Judaism and Islam have much in common, such as observing
Mondays and Thursday as holy days, or the religions' deep connections
to Abraham.
"Constantly, as you were speaking," he told Ibrahim, "I was thinking,
yes, we have the same things. We could probably worship together."
(MORE)
SEE ALSO:
FL: DIFFERENT FAITH GROUPS SHARE MEAL, BELIEFS AT MUSLIM CENTER -
TOP
Leon Fooksman, Sun-Sentinel, 12/19/05
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pinterfaith19dec19,0,5760621.story
Sitting across from a candlelit table Sunday night, Afsar Khan, a Muslim, and Janet Bleshman, a Jew, looked for common ground.
"We are so similar," Bleshman, of Boynton Beach, told Khan, of West
Palm Beach, as they shared a meal of curry chicken, mixed vegetables
and rice.
"Yes, we are all children of Abraham," Khan said.
The two women were among the several hundred people gathered for an
interfaith meal at the Muslim Community of Palm Beach County center.
The meal was the latest exchange between Muslims, Jews and Christians
started more than five years ago to erase stereotypes and develop
friendships.
The organizers gave the visitors a tour of the center's mosque,
introduced them to their leaders and explained the principles of Islam.
They wanted the outsiders to have a newfound respect for their religion
in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"Since then, people are afraid of us," said Wasi Khan, an organizer.
"People have misconceptions of us. They don't know who we are. They
don't know how we pray and what we do at our services. We have to
change that."
Islam, organizers said, is a peaceful religion that respects all humans and animals.
A group from the Muslim Community center last spring went to a
synagogue west of Boynton Beach to celebrate a Passover meal and learn
about Judaism. Now, the same group intended to showcase their beliefs
and food to Jews and Christians. More exchanges are planned next year.
Although many visitors to the center on Sunday were highly educated and
already knew much about Islam, they said face-to-face discussions are
essential to breaking down hostilities often common among religions.
(MORE)
---
MD: FAITH-BASED WEB SITES HELP SPREAD THE WORD -
TOP
MATTHEW HAY BROWN, Baltimore Sun, 12/19/05
Rockville -- As he sat down recently to teach a new Pakistani colleague
about Judaism, Ari Alexander logged on to MyJewishLearning.com.
It wasn't the first time Alexander, co-executive director of Children
of Abraham in New York, turned to the Rockville-based Web site for help
explaining his faith. Both in his work with the Muslim-Jewish
organization and his private life, he has frequently recommended
MyJewishLearning.com for its comprehensive and pluralistic presentation
of Jewish religion, history and culture.
"It's the best resource on the Internet for learning about Judaism,"
Alexander said. "I'm happy to share it with Muslims who are having the
first experience with Judaism, and I use it myself for my own ongoing
education." (MORE)
-----
MINNESOTA GUARD TROOPS GET REALISTIC TASTE OF WAR -
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ASSOCIATED PRESS, 12/19/05
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/13440736.htm
CAMP SHELBY, Miss. - As Minnesota National Guard troops prepare for
tours in Iraq, they're getting some of the most realistic training
available.
At Camp Shelby, Miss., the 2,600 Minnesota troops -- part of
Minnesota's largest overseas deployment since World War II --
participate in scenarios carried out in a fake Iraqi village.
Local Arab Americans and other residents are paid $12.47 an hour to
play Iraqi villagers or insurgents, and a makeshift mosque, fake
storefronts and harmless mortars help simulate the kind of urban
warfare the troops will encounter in Iraq. (MORE)
-----
OH: BACK FROM PAKISTAN, DUBLIN DOCTOR TELLS OF DESPERATE NEEDS -
TOP
Sherri Williams, COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 12/18/05
http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2005/12/18/20051218-C1-02.html
In northeast Pakistan, where a mammoth earthquake has turned buildings
into heaps of rubble, any standing structure can help save a life. For
Dr. John Kashubeck of Dublin, it was an abandoned school in Nardajain
along the Indian-Pakistani border, where he and two paramedics treated
people injured by an earthquake that left 73,000 people dead and 3.3
million homeless.
Although Kashubeck arrived in Pakistan two weeks after the Oct. 8 earthquake, the devastation and death were still fresh.
"You'd still smell the bodies," said Kashubeck, 39, an emergency
medicine specialist. "The wind would blow, and you could smell them."
The quake, which the United Nations has said caused a logistical
nightmare, leveled villages and has caused a continuing medical and
housing crisis. It rocked the Kashmir region, especially near the city
of Muzaffarabad.
Boulders toppled from high mountains and blocked roads. Unpaved paths made it difficult to reach those in need, Kashubeck said.
Kashubeck, whose wife, Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin, is of Pakistani heritage,
traveled to the country with the Association of Physicians of Pakistani
Descent of North America. The group of 3,000 physicians is working to
establish a health-care network and housing for the earthquake's
homeless.
The more than 90 members of the Ohio chapter have raised $62,000. Some
of the money has been used to buy weatherproof tents for the homeless.
. .
Now there is fear that more will die of exposure to the harsh winter
cold and snow, Kashubeck said. The average low temperature in
Muzaffarabad is 39 degrees for December, according to the World
Meteorological Organization. But temperatures sometimes dropped into
the teens at night in the mountainous area, Kashubeck said.
"People are homeless. Winter is there. They are going to die of
exposure," he said. "After winter, the survivors are going to face a
tremendous rebuilding effort."
The Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent adopted the Kathai
village, along the India-Pakistan border; and the Ohio chapter is
working to develop housing there, said Dr. Shahid Sheikh, the chapter
president.
Relief organizations, including Oxfam America, an international relief
agency, have lamented the low financial contributions to earthquake
relief. The effort to rebuild the ruined areas of Pakistan is more than
a one month venture, Sheikh said, and the country still needs the
world's help. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
WA: EMBRACING A SISTER VILLAGE IN NEED -
TOP
Janet I. Tu, Seattle Times, 12/18/05
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002690080_pakistan18m0.html
PUTHIAN, Pakistan - They meet atop a hill of rubble, this Seattle-area
printing company owner who grew up privileged in Pakistan, and the
Pakistani villager who lost her daughter and her house in the October
earthquake.
Kamran Salahuddin has traveled more than 9,000 miles from his home in
Redmond to this remote village in the foothills of the Himalayas, and
to the doorstep of Hafeeza Zaheen.
Only there is no doorstep. Hafeeza's front door now rests atop the rubble that once was her family's small house.
Like most of the other buildings in this village of 1,000, it was
destroyed. And among the estimated 80,000 killed in the quake were
Hafeeza's 5-year-old daughter, Sultana, and six other village children
who couldn't run fast enough from their schoolhouse before it collapsed.
"She's gone," Hafeeza says. Now "I only have two."
The Pakistan Association of Greater Seattle hopes to raise $1 million
by next September for its Sister Village Project, with all donations to
its Earthquake Relief Fund to go toward the project. Founded in the
early 1990s, the association is primarily a social and cultural
organization for the Puget Sound area's Pakistani Americans. Estimates
vary on the community's size, from 1,400 according to the 2000 census,
to 4,000 according to the association.
Donations to the fund are accepted at any local U.S. Bank branch. The association is applying for 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.
Kamran, himself a parent of two young children, has heard many such
stories since he arrived here. Of the human losses he can do nothing.
But of the losses of shelter, clothing and a normal way of life, he
intends to do a great deal.
Kamran is director of the Pakistan Association of Greater Seattle,
which has taken the first steps to adopt the entire village complex of
Bugna, of which Puthian is a part. The goal is to get residents of
greater Seattle involved as well, embracing the Bugna Village Complex
as Seattle's sister village.
The association hopes its effort will spread nationwide, with Pakistani
associations in other U.S. cities also adopting one of the thousands of
mountain villages damaged by the quake. (MORE)
More information:
www.pakistanseattle.com
---
LA: IMMIGRANT WILL REBUILD ADOPTED HOME -
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Aneela Shuja, Times-Picayune, 12/19/05
http://www.nola.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-0/113497621082770.xml
After 9/11, a question that often arose in the living rooms of my
Pakistani-American friends was, "Can we think of New Orleans as home
anymore?" Many of these friends had resided in New Orleans for 30-some
years and couldn't see themselves going back to Pakistan. And so they
questioned their uncertain future in a city they had grown to love.
Eventually, they stayed on because they knew that New Orleans is not
home to just one culture and one faith. They stayed on because New
Orleans is home.
And now we face the aftermath of Katrina. In our living rooms we have
gathered again to discuss our future. Should we leave or stay? My close
friends, with the exception of one whose husband's company transferred
him to another city, have decided to remain in New Orleans.
We have sunk our roots in this great city and our children know no
other home. Much like the pilgrims who endured hardship in order to
create an identity for themselves, we, too, will remain here. (MORE)
-----
FL: MOSQUE GRAND OPENING IS REALIZATION OF A DREAM -
TOP
Chris Young, Sun-Sentinel, 12/19/05
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cmosque19dec19,0,4346403.story
MARGATE � Hassan Rustam had a dream, to have a mosque in Margate.
Rustam was the imam, or religious leader, of a Muslim congregation
without a permanent home. He died in 2002, but his dream finally came
true this year.
The Masjid Jamaat Al-Mu'mineen opened in September, just in time for
Ramadan, the month of fasting. The congregation threw a grand opening
celebration Sunday with prayers, speeches from local Muslim leaders and
Margate officials, and plenty of food. . ."
At the celebration, children in the mosque's madrassah, religious
school, recited verses from the Quran, and Margate Vice Mayor Frank
Talerico presented a service award to the group.
A number of Holiday Springs residents showed up, as well, including
Gerry and Justin Mehler. Some of their neighbors had protested the
building of the mosque at city meetings, they said. But after Hurricane
Wilma, members of the congregation went door to door in the condo
community, giving people coffee, soup, spaghetti and snacks.
"They've been wonderful," Gerry Mehler said. "It reinforces my belief
that people are people. They are a good part of our community."
-----
U.S. HAD SECRET AFGHANISTAN PRISON, GROUP SAYS -
TOP
Reuters, 12/1/05
http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/12/18/afghan.prisons.rb.reut/index.html
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- A human rights group said Sunday that the
United States operated a secret prison for terrorism suspects as
recently as last year in Afghanistan, where detainees where subjected
to torture and other mistreatment.
The Bush administration has faced international criticism over
detainees after a November 2 Washington Post article said the CIA held
dozens of terrorism suspects in secret prisons called "black sites" in
countries around the world, including eastern Europe.
Human Rights Watch said eight detainees now held in the U.S. military
facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have told their attorneys that they
were arrested separately in countries in Asia and the Middle East and
flown to Afghanistan at various times between 2002 and 2004.
The men were taken to a prison near Kabul where they were shackled to
walls, kept in darkness for weeks, deprived of food and water for days
at a time, bombarded with loud rap and heavy metal music, and punched
and slapped during questioning by U.S. interrogators, the group said.
"The prison may have been operated by personnel from the Central
Intelligence Agency," the New York-based group said in a report
released Sunday. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MCCAIN CONCEDES U.S. TORTURE BAN NOT ABSOLUTE -
TOP
Associated Press, 12/19/05
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0512190125dec19,1,20626.story
WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain, who pushed the White House to support a
ban on torture, suggested Sunday that harsh treatment of a terrorism
suspect who knows of an imminent attack would not violate international
standards.
McCain (R-Ariz.) said legislation before Congress would establish in
U.S. law the international standard banning any treatment of prisoners
that "shocks the conscience," including mock executions.
Asked on ABC's "This Week" whether such treatment of a terrorism
suspect who could reveal information that could stop a terrorist
operation would shock the conscience, McCain said it would not.
"In that million-to-one situation, then the president of the United
States would authorize it and take responsibility for it," McCain said.
"We've gone a long way from having that kind of scenario to having
prisons around the world, to the renditions, to the things that have
been done which are, in my view, not appropriate," he said.
McCain said he is confident Congress will set the interrogation procedures all U.S. agencies will follow. (MORE)
---
CAIR ANTI-TORTURE CAMPAIGN -
TOP
http://www.cair-net.org/antitorture/
-----
CAIR PATRIOT ACT BLOG -
TOP
Once-Lone Foe of Patriot Act Has Company (New York Times)
http://cairpatriotact.blogspot.com
-----
RETHINKING AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE -
TOP
SHIRA HERZOG, Globe and Mail, 12/15/05
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20051215/COSHIRA15/TPComment/
George W. Bush's declining fortunes just may have an unanticipated
domestic consequence: Influential Jewish leaders are openly questioning
their community's alliance with evangelist Christians in support of
Israel. This debate comes not a moment too late.
The close relationship dates back a decade but has become more visible
since Mr. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon assumed their
offices in 2001. As the Christian right achieved political prominence
and intensified its lobbying on Israel's behalf, even liberal Jewish
groups turned a blind eye to the relationship's questionable religious
underpinnings and domestic ramifications.
Then, last month, Abe Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League and Rabbi
Eric Yoffe of the Reform movement publicly railed against the
"Christianization" of America and blasted the religious right's efforts
to impose its beliefs through legislation and state instruments. These
attacks may undermine the unholy alliance on Israel - and that angers
many American Jews.
What's the problem with the passionate support of Israel by millions of
Americans? To begin with, it's hard to ignore the theology driving
evangelical Christians: They believe Israel's sovereignty and a Jewish
presence in all of God's Promised Land (including the West Bank and
Gaza Strip) are essential preludes to Christ's second coming.
(Evangelist preachers usually leave out a critical piece: Jews who
don't convert to Christianity will die in the final Battle of
Armageddon.) So it's no surprise that evangelist Christian groups
comprising millions of voters encourage Jewish immigration to Israel,
support West Bank settlements and lobby Washington against a
Palestinian state. In recent years, smaller Christian Friends of Israel
groups have been formed in Canada (in co-operation with B'nai Brith),
the Philippines and Singapore.
For Israeli right-wing ideologues, the alliance has obvious political
benefits. They ignore the end-of-time apocalyptic context because
evangelical Christian support reinforces their battle against further
withdrawals. What's astonishing is the open embrace the Christian right
enjoys from other Israeli religious and political leaders who argue
that, in the hardball game of public opinion, congressional votes and
foreign aid, they'll take support wherever they can find it. They add
they can no longer count on historic allies such as American liberals
and mainstream Catholic and Protestant churches, who've turned their
back on Israel and overtly support the Palestinians.
Critics who've argued that this perspective is short-sighted and
inimical to Israel as well as the Jewish community's domestic
well-being have been silenced in an unusual convergence of
circumstances: an ideological president, a Republican Congress, Israeli
vulnerability to terrorism and the fearful post-9/11 atmosphere. Mr.
Bush's pro-Israel stand stems largely from his religious beliefs and
Christian support (most U.S. Jews support the Democrats; the Christian
right makes up the Republican Party's largest voting bloc).
Evangelical Christians' inclusion of Islamism in the "forces of evil"
suited both the domestic neo-conservative discourse and Israel's
interest in creating a shared anti-terrorism agenda. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAIR ISSUES TRAVEL ADVISORY FOR U.S.
MUSLIMS
'Civil Rights Hotline' created for Hajj pilgrims, Canada conference
attendees
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/20/05) - A prominent national Islamic civil
rights and advocacy group today issued a travel advisory for Muslim
citizens who will be attending a conference in Canada this weekend or
participating in the upcoming Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. (The Hajj
will take place in the second week of January. Some 10,000 American
Muslims go on
Hajj
each year.)
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is
concerned that American Muslim travelers returning to the United States
will be singled out by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
officials for special security checks and fingerprinting based solely
on their attendance at both religious events.
CAIR created a
"Civil Rights Hotline" (1-800-784-7526) and a downloadable
border incident report form for those who believe their constitutional rights have been violated by CBP personnel.
Last year, dozens of American Muslim citizens said they were targeted
for security checks, fingerprinting and photographs based on their
attendance at an
Islamic conference in Canada. Many American Muslims will attend that same conference this year.
SEE:
"American Muslims Sue DHS Over Border Detentions"
SEE ALSO:
"NYCLU Seeks Court Order Against Conference-Related Searches"
"Americans of all faiths should be free to travel without fear of being
singled out based solely on their religious practices or associations,"
said CAIR Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar.
Iftikhar said CAIR is asking those traveling to the conference or going on Hajj to download an incident report form from
http://www.cair.com/downloads/borderincident.pdf and to keep it handy for the return trip to the United States.
He said anyone who believes their constitutional rights have been
violated is urged to call CAIR's hotline at 1-800-784-7526. During
business hours, the hotline number rolls over to CAIR's Washington,
D.C., switchboard. After hours, a recording will give cell phone
numbers for CAIR civil rights staff. CAIR's Civil Rights Department may
also be reached by e-mailing:
civilrights@cair-net.org. (CAIR's
"Your Rights and Responsibilities as an American Muslim" pocket guide will also be distributed at the Toronto conference.)
FOR BACKGROUND, SEE:
"U.S. Muslims to Leave for Hajj"
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its
mission
is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect
civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that
promote justice and mutual understanding.
- END -
CONTACT: Arsalan Iftikhar, 202-488-8787 or 202-415-0799, E-Mail:
arsalan@cair-net.org; Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called
CAIR-NET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from CAIR-NET, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS -
12/20/05
*
Verse:
Seek
God's Help with Patience, Prayer
*
CAIR-CA:
FBI
Asked to Help Find Missing Muslim Doctor
-
CA:
Community
Sends Relief to Quake Victims
*
CAIR-Houston
Activist
Workshops
*
Muslims Celebrate
Christian
Meaning of Christmas
-
Stamps
Honor Muslim Festivals (Mail Trib)
-
CAIR-OH:
Tolerance is Urged (Sunday Oklahoman)
-
Islam's Happy Faces (MSNBC)
*
FBI Watched Activist Groups,
New Files Show (NY Times)
*
FL:
Al-Arian Wants Charges Dropped (SP Times)
*
Canada:
Candidate Denies Pro-Islamic Remarks
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: SEEK GOD'S HELP WITH PATIENCE, PRAYER -
TOP
"Seek (God's) help with patient perseverance and prayer."
The Holy Quran, 2:45
------
CAIR-CA: FBI ASKED TO HELP FIND MISSING MUSLIM DOCTOR -
TOP
(SANTA CLARA, CA 12/20/05) - On Wednesday, December 21, the San
Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR-SFBA) will hold a press conference to present a petition asking
that the FBI get involved in the case of Dr. Zehra Attari, a local
Muslim physician who has been missing for six weeks.
WHEN: Wednesday, December 21, 2005, 11 a.m.
WHERE: CAIR-SFBA Office, 3000 Scott Blvd., Suite 212, Santa Clara, CA
CONTACT: (408) 986-9874, RSVP by emailing nocal@cair.com (Because of space limitations, the event is not open to the public.)
Dr. Zehra Attari, a 55-year old Indian-American pediatrician, was last
seen at her clinic located on 2700 International Blvd. in Oakland on
Monday, November 7, 2005, at 5pm. She was wearing a light blue
long-sleeved knit sweater with navy blue pants, black shoes and black
glasses. Attari was driving a silver 2001 Honda Accord, license plate
#4MUH810.
SEE: Family of Missing Doctor Demands Answers from Oakland Police"
http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=4260123&nav=9qrx
The family has offered a $20,000 reward for any information that could help locate Dr. Attari.
TAKE ACTION: Anyone who has any information or would like to help in
the search is asked to call (408) 476-6723 or (510)557-6695.
Further information can be viewed at
www.zehraattari.com
SEE ALSO:
SACRAMENTO COMMUNITY SENDS RELIEF TO QUAKE VICTIMS -
TOP
Volunteers needed to help load container with relief supplies
(SACRAMENTO, CA. 12/20/2005) - On Wednesday, December 21, members of
the Sacramento Valley community will begin loading a container of
winter clothing and relief supplies destined for earthquake victims in
Kashmir.
Loading of the container:
WHERE: 1401 North B Street, Sacramento (Next to Loaves and Fishes)
WHEN: Wednesday Dec. 21 and Thursday Dec. 22, 10 A.M. to 4 P.M.
SHIPPING: The container will leave Sacramento for Bay Area on Thursday, Dec. 22 at 4:00 PM.
CONTACT: Naeem Syed, (916) 257-1364 or Bashir Choudry (916) 429-1000
-----
CAIR-HOUSTON: ACTIVIST WORKSHOPS AT THE TX CONVENTION -
TOP
WHAT: CAIR-Houston, along with the Freedom and Justice Foundation, will
host workshops on practical ways to "put faith in action" during the
upcoming Texas Dawah Convention V, "Muhammad in the 21st Century: What
Would He Have Done?"
WHEN: December 22-26, 2005
WHERE: The George R. Brown Convention Center, 1001 Avenida de las Americas, Houston, TX
For more information visit:
http://www.themasjid.org/txdawah/
-----
MUSLIMS CELEBRATE THE CHRISTIAN MEANING OF CHRISTMAS -
TOP
Morning Call, 12/19/05
http://www.mcall.com/news/opinion/anotherview/all-quote-b-a-adec20,0,4426865.story
The Christmas holiday is coming upon us, with colorful lights, joyful
carols and people going to churches to celebrate the birth of Jesus
(Prophet Isa). It is well known, particularly in this holiday season,
that Christians follow the teaching of Jesus. What is less well
understood is that Muslims also love and revere Jesus as one of God's
greatest messengers to mankind.
The personality of Jesus plays a central role in Islam. Muslims believe
that God delivered the Gospel - Injeel to Jesus, just as he did Ta'wrat
with Moses and the Old Testament (Zabur) to David and the Koran to
Prophet Muhammad. It is critical for Muslims and non-Muslims to
understand that a person is not considered a Muslim unless he or she
believes in Jesus, and Islam is the only religion that testifies to
Christianity.
Islam also assigns a very high degree of respect to the mother of
Jesus, Mary (Mariam). There is an exclusive chapter in the Koran on the
mother of Jesus by the name of ''Sura-e-mariam.'' The life of Jesus
Christ is a momentous event for Christians and non-Christians alike.
Jesus Christ's birthday is a signpost, and of all the great people born
through the ages, imagine that Jesus is so important that his life
divides time between B.C. and A.D.
Both Muslims and Christians can learn a lot from Christmas. This annual
celebration is the victory of paganism over the religion of Jesus and
no one disputes that many of its symbols came from the pagan religions
rather than the birth or teaching of Jesus Christ. The incorporation of
these pagan rituals with Christianity has taken a toll by corrupting
the original Christian principles of spirituality, simplicity,
humbleness, kindness and generosity.
Christmas is an awesome time of year, but the irony is that Prophet
Jesus and his teaching are becoming more and more absent from the
celebrations. However, there is a positive side of Christmas becoming
increasingly secular. I think it's awesome that Christmas brings some
of the greatest truths of the gospel to light. If it were not for the
Christmas or Thanksgiving holidays, family relationships would be worse
than they are. In fact, these are the only times that many families
make an attempt to mend broken relationships. (MORE)
ALSO SEE:
SINCE YOU ASKED: STAMPS HONOR MUSLIM FESTIVALS -
TOP
Bob K., Mail Tribune, 12/19/05
http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2005/1219/local/stories/15local.htm
We buy our stamps from the USPS by mail. Recently, they substituted a
stamp for our "Christmas theme" request. It is a 37-cent green one,
with Arabic script in the shape of a Christmas tree. At the top is
"Eid" and at the bottom, the word "GREETINGS." We have no idea what the
Arabic script says. Do you? Can you find out from your references? And,
what is meant by "Eid?"
To issue such a stamp at this CHRISTmastime and in the midst of high
tensions with Arab nations and Muslims seems to me to be in poor taste
(at best) and insulting to Christians. I ask "What is our government
thinking, if at all!!!
We have strongly hesitated to use these stamps on our Christmas mailings of cards and letters. Thanks.
That was no substitution, Bob, it's part of a regularly rotating collection in the Holiday Celebration Series.
The Eid stamp, introduced Sept. 1, 2001, commemorates the two most
important festivals - or "eids" - in the Islamic calendar: Eid al-Fitr
(which celebrates the end of the fasting of Ramadan) and Eid al-Adha
(which celebrates both the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca and the
willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son at God's command).
According to usps.com: "On these days, Muslims wish each other "Eid
mubarak," the phrase featured in Islamic calligraphy on the stamp. "Eid
mubarak" translates literally as "blessed festival," and can be
paraphrased as "May your religious holiday be blessed." This phrase can
be applied to both Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha."
The script is in more the shape of the top of a minaret than a
Christmas tree - though timed similarly, the festivals have nothing to
do with Christmas. The artwork for the stamp was done by renowned
Muslim-American calligrapher Mohamed Zakariya of Arlington, Va.
---
CAIR-OH: TOLERANCE IS URGED BY LEADERS OF MANY RELIGIONS -
TOP
Judy Gibbs Robinson and Penny Cockerell, Sunday Oklahoman, 12/18/05
http://newsok.com/theoklahoman/main/
Respecting other religions is what started the Christmas vs. Happy Holidays brouhaha in the first place.
Yet some members of other faiths are perhaps more tolerant of Christmas than those who aim to protect them.
Quang Pham, a member of the board of deacons of the Giac Quang Buddhist
Temple in Oklahoma City, said he is happy to exchange "Merry Christmas"
greetings. Karen Dabdoub, president of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations in Washington, recently told the Cincinnati Enquirer it was
silly for Boston to rename its giant, lighted fir tree the "Capitol
Holiday Tree."
"Who are we fooling?" Dabdoub asked. "The Jews don't put up a tree for
Hanukkah; the Muslims don't put up a tree for Ramadan. It doesn't take
away from my celebration of my holiday for other people to celebrate
their holiday."
The offense goes both ways. Some say the attacks from supporters of the term "Christmas" have at times been downright hateful.
Groups such as the American Family Association have urged nationwide
boycotts against large retail chains that avoid using the word
"Christmas." (MORE)
-----
ISLAM'S HAPPY FACES -
TOP
Owen Matthews and Lorien Holland, MSNBC, 12/19/05
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6733345/site/newsweek/
The year to come will witness changes both long-term and short, sharp
and dramatic. Here are 10 leaders, scientists, executives and artists
who will be at the forefront of it all.
Call them the new faces of the Islamic world. Malaysia's Prime Minister
Abdullah Badawi, 65, and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 50, are two
Muslim leaders who have set out to prove that Islamic societies can be
tolerant, democratic and prosperous-and that they can co-operate,
instead of clash, with more developed Western countries. The nations
they lead may be on different sides of the world, but the two prime
ministers share similar challenges as they attempt to define what it
means to be a modern Muslim nation. First, they are searching for ways
to transcend fundamentalist doctrines-or what Abdullah calls
"extremists on both sides [who] will drive our civilizations apart."
But both men are also finding that the real key to creating a
functional Muslim society lies not in theorizing, but in the nuts and
bolts of good governance-promoting economic and judicial reform,
stamping out corruption, opening their economies to competition and
investment. Their shared goal is to ensure that while Islam is a part
of their nation's identity, it does not set the entire agenda.
-----
F.B.I. WATCHED ACTIVIST GROUPS, NEW FILES SHOW -
TOP
Eric Lichtblau, New York Times, 12/19/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/20/politics/20fbi.html?hp&ex=1135141200&en=171df5b870cdd147&ei=5094&partner=homepage
WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 - Counterterrorism agents at the Federal Bureau of
Investigation have conducted numerous surveillance and
intelligence-gathering operations that involved, at least indirectly,
groups active in causes as diverse as the environment, animal cruelty
and poverty relief, newly disclosed agency records show.
F.B.I. officials said Monday that their investigators had no interest
in monitoring political or social activities and that any
investigations that touched on advocacy groups were driven by evidence
of criminal or violent activity at public protests and in other
settings.
After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, John Ashcroft, who was then
attorney general, loosened restrictions on the F.B.I.'s investigative
powers, giving the bureau greater ability to visit and monitor Web
sites, mosques and other public entities in developing terrorism leads.
The bureau has used that authority to investigate not only groups with
suspected ties to foreign terrorists, but also protest groups suspected
of having links to violent or disruptive activities.
But the documents, coming after the Bush administration's confirmation
that President Bush had authorized some spying without warrants in
fighting terrorism, prompted charges from civil rights advocates that
the government had improperly blurred the line between terrorism and
acts of civil disobedience and lawful protest.
One F.B.I. document indicates that agents in Indianapolis planned to
conduct surveillance as part of a ''Vegan Community Project.'' Another
document talks of the Catholic Workers group's ''semi-communistic
ideology.'' A third indicates the bureau's interest in determining the
location of a protest over llama fur planned by People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals.
The documents, provided to The New York Times over the past week, came
as part of a series of Freedom of Information Act lawsuits brought by
the American Civil Liberties Union. For more than a year, the A.C.L.U.
has been seeking access to information in F.B.I. files on about 150
protest and social groups that it says may have been improperly
monitored. 9MORE)
-----
AL-ARIAN WANTS CHARGES DROPPED -
TOP
Meg Laughlin, St. Petersburg Times, 12/20/05
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/20/Hillsborough/Al_Arian_wants_charge.shtml
TAMPA - As Sami Al-Arian sits in jail awaiting the government's next
move, his lawyers filed a motion Monday asking federal authorities to
dismiss the nine remaining charges against him.
In Al-Arian's recent six-month trial on 17 federal charges, the former
University of South Florida professor was acquitted of eight counts and
the jury hung on the remaining nine, saying there wasn't enough
evidence to convict him.
Federal prosecutors must decide whether to retry him, but his lawyers argue that there's little point in doing that.
"Dr. Al-Arian was acquitted of the charge that he conspired to murder
and maim outside the United States," said Al-Arian's attorney, Linda
Moreno. "This is the overarching conspiracy charge which pervades all
of the others in this case, making it impossible to convict on the
others."
After almost three years in jail, Al-Arian was tried from June 6 to
Dec. 6, accused of conspiring to raise money for the violent acts of
the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Israel and the occupied territories.
No matter what, he faces deportation.
Aside from the conspiracy counts, the jury hung on an immigration fraud
charge that was based on federal prosecutors' claim that Al-Arian
failed to disclose his association to the PIJ and other organizations
on immigration forms.
Federal immigration officials say that even if all the charges against
Al-Arian are dismissed, including the immigration charge, he will still
be deported after an immigration hearing.
"We have a lower standard of proof for making these decisions than the
courts do. We are not looking at guilt beyond a reasonable doubt in
order to deport Dr. Al-Arian," said Pam McCullough, a spokeswoman for
Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Al-Arian remains in the Orient Road Jail in Hillsborough County. (MORE)
-----
LIBERAL CANDIDATE DENIES PRO-ISLAMIC REMARKS -
TOP
Chris Clay, Mississaugua News, 12/20/05
http://www.mississauganews.com/mi/news/story/3229133p-3738054c.html
The Mississauga-Erindale federal Liberal candidate vehemently denies
allegations he made pro-Islamic remarks during his victory speech at
the nomination meeting earlier this month.
Omar Alghabra, 36, said the allegations were simply "not true" and were "false and inaccurate.
"I didn't say a thing about Muslims or Islam in my acceptance speech,"
said Alghabra, who took 488 of the 773 votes cast at the meeting Dec. 2.
"I don't agree with mixing politics and religion. Yes, I'm a Muslim,
but I'm also a Liberal, a man and an engineer. The whole thing is
untrue."
In a press release issued by the Canadian Coalition For Democracies
yesterday, the organization alleges Alghabra said, "this is a victory
for Islam. Islam won. Islamic power is extending into Canadian
politics. . ."
Reached by phone in Ottawa, former Mississauga-Erindale MP Carolyn
Parrish, who was at the meeting, said she didn't hear Alghabra make any
religious or incendiary comments during his speech. . .
Alastair Gordon, president of the Canadian Coalition For Democracies,
described his organization as a non-partisan, multi-ethnic body that
supports a free and open democratic process locally and abroad.
He said religion should stay out of the secular world and that he would
have been equally offended if similar remarks, which he admits to
hearing second-hand from several sources, had come on behalf of any
religion. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OHIO MUSLIMS REACT TO EXPLOSION AT CINCINNATI
MOSQUE
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/21/2005) - Later this morning, the Ohio office
of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) will hold a news
conference outside a Cincinnati mosque damaged by an explosion late
Tuesday.
WHAT: Ohio Muslims React to Explosion at Cincinnati Mosque
WHEN: Wednesday, December 21, 11 a.m.
WHERE: Islamic Association of Cincinnati, 3668 Clifton Avenue,
Cincinnati, Ohio
CONTACT: CAIR-Cincinnati Director Karen Dabdoub, 513-604-4444,
E-Mail:
karen@cair-ohio.com
The FBI and local authorities are investigating one or more explosions
that damaged the Islamic Association of Cincinnati, also known as the
"Clifton Mosque." No injuries were reported.
SEE:
"Mosque
Door Damaged by Explosion"
CAIR said vandalism or other possible bias-related incidents have
been reported recently at mosques in Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas,
Nebraska, California, and New York. The Washington-based group is urging
Muslim institutions nationwide to review security procedures using advice
contained in CAIR's
"Muslim Community Safety Kit." (See
excerpts from the kit below.)
The safety kit may be obtained
free
of charge online or by e-mailing:
pubs@cair-net.org (Include name,
address and phone number when requesting the safety kit.)
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and
chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its
mission is
to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil
liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote
justice and mutual understanding.
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah
Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
EXCERPTS FROM CAIR MUSLIM COMMUNITY SAFETY
KIT
REPORT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY IN YOUR COMMUNITY
Muslims must do their part to ensure the safety and security of our
nation. If anyone notes suspicious persons or activities in their
community, they should report it immediately to the local Field Office of
the FBI. SEE:
http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm
DEVELOP A LEGAL CONTACT LIST
Develop a list of attorneys who are willing to be consulted by the Muslim
community in response to backlash incidents. Ask Muslim attorneys to
volunteer their services to community members during this time of
crisis.
DEVELOPING POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES
Community leaders should immediately coordinate meetings between
representatives of the Muslim community and local state and national law
enforcement agencies. These meetings should focus on ways in which the
community can help national security and on how authorities can protect
Muslims and Arab-Americans from harassment and discrimination.
MEET WITH ELECTED OFFICIALS TO DISCUSS COMMUNITY CONCERNS
Delegations of Muslim representatives should schedule meetings with
local, state and national elected representatives or their key staff to
discuss community concerns. To find out who represents your area on the
national level, go to:
http://www.capwiz.com/cair/home/
BUILD COALITIONS WITH INTERFAITH AND MINORITY GROUPS
Similar meetings should be coordinated with representatives of local
interfaith and minority groups. These meetings should focus on building
lines of communication and support, and hearing from these groups how
they deal with discrimination and bigotry.
MEET WITH LOCAL SCHOOL PRINCIPALS TO DISCUSS STUDENT SAFETY
Representatives of the Muslim community should meet with local school
administrators to discuss safety plans for students and to sensitize the
administrators to harassment of Muslim students.
Obtain copies of CAIR's "Educator's Guide to Islamic Religious
Practices" by contacting CAIR or e-mailing:
pubs@cair-net.org
BUILDING AN EMERGENCY CONTACT LIST
Community leaders should develop emergency e-mail and phone contact lists
to be used in case of an incident that threatens the community's safety.
Local imams, Islamic center board members, and Muslim activists should be
on the lists.
A second list should be developed containing contact information for all
local law enforcement agencies.
HOLD A COMMUNITY MEETING TO INFORM OTHERS OF SAFETY GUIDELINES
Call for a meeting of the local Muslim community to discuss the
information outlined in this kit. The meeting should take place at a
local mosque or Islamic center and should be advertised using the
emergency contact list.
ESTABLISH A COMMUNITY SUPPORT NETWORK
Establish a network of community members who can offer emotional and
material support to those who may be the victims of hate crimes or
discrimination. Victims should not be left alone to deal with the
negative impact of such incidents.
REACTING TO INCIDENTS OF ANTI-MUSLIM HATE
If you believe you have been the victim of an anti-Muslim hate crime or
discrimination, you should:
1. Report the incident to your local police station and FBI office
IMMEDIATELY. Ask that the incident be treated as a hate crime. Ask
witnesses to give you their name and contact information.
2. Inform CAIR even if you believe it is a "small" incident.
Incidents may be reported online at:
http://www.cair-net.org/ireport/
or TEL: 202-488-8787, FAX: 202-488-0833, E-MAIL:
cair@cair-net.org
3. Document the incident. Write down exactly what was said and/or done by the offender. Save evidence. Take photographs.
4. Act quickly. Each incident must be dealt with when it happens, not when convenient.
5. Decide on the appropriate action to be taken. Consider issuing a
statement from community leaders, holding a news conference, organizing
a protest, meeting with officials, or starting a letter writing
campaign.
6. Mobilize community support. Contact CAIR and a local mosque or organization.
7. Stay on top of the situation.
8. Announce results. When the incident is resolved, make an
announcement to the same people and organizations originally contacted.
CAIR MOSQUE SECURITY GUIDELINES
Areas of Vulnerability:
* Mosques located in isolated areas.
* Mosques left unattended for extended periods of time.
* Mosques with unsecured doors and/or windows.
* Absence of a burglar alarm system.
* Heavy exterior vegetation (shrubs, etc.) in which criminals may hide.
* Absence of exterior lighting.
Take the following safety measures:
* Build good relationships with neighbors of the mosque. Invite them to visit your center.
* Try to have people attend the mosque as much as possible. Activity deters perpetrators.
* Make an appointment with the community relations officer of your
local police department to tour your center and make suggestions on
improving mosque security.
* Request additional police patrols in the vicinity of your center.
Special attention should be paid to times of darkness and during
prayers.
* Consider creating a security committee at your mosque.
* Post mosque members at entrances and parking areas during prayer times.
* Report suspicious packages to police. Do not touch them.
* Install perimeter floodlights outside the mosque.
* Install fire and burglar alarm systems.
* Replace hollow core doors with more secure solid doors.
* Install burglarproof bars on screens and large vents. (Note -
Research local ordinances before beginning security renovations. For
example, window bars should not limit evacuation in case of fire.)
* Trim shrubs and vines to reduce areas of concealment.
* Participate in neighborhood watch programs.
* Document descriptions of suspicious people or vehicles.
* Make duplicates of all important papers, computer disks and records.
* Remove potential fire hazards, such as trash and debris.
* Consider installing security cameras.
RESPONDING TO BOMB THREATS
1. Distribute written instructions on handling bomb threats.
2. Keep the caller on the line as long as possible. Ask that the
message be repeated. Record or write down everything that is said.
3. Ask for the location of the bomb.
4. Inform the caller that the detonation of a bomb could hurt many innocent people.
5. Pay attention to background noises such as music, which may give a clue to the caller's location.
6. Listen closely to the caller's voice. Make note of accents, voice quality (calm, excited) or speech impediments.
7. Report the threat immediately to the local police, ATF and FBI. Have
appropriate phone numbers listed in written instructions.
8. If the threat comes in the form of a letter, save all materials,
including the envelope. Handle the letter as little as possible.
9. Search the interior and exterior of the mosque. Evacuate the building if a suspicious package or device is found.
SUSPECT LETTERS AND PACKAGES
* What to look for:
* Name and title of addressee are not accurate.
* No return address, or the sender is not known to the addressee.
* Handwriting is distorted.
* Unprofessionally wrapped, uneven, bulky, lopsided.
* Contains bulges or soft spots.
* Poorly wrapped package is marked "Fragile-Handle With Care," "Rush,"
or has unusual restrictions such as "Personal" or "Private."
* Excess amount of postage.
* Protruding wires or tin foil.
* Package makes a buzzing or ticking noise, a sloshing sound, or emits an odor.
What to do:
DON'T open the package or letter.
DON'T put it in water or in a confined space such as a drawer.
DO isolate the article and secure the immediate area.
DO open windows if possible to help vent potential explosive gases.
DO contact your local police department and Postal Inspector.
-----
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list receive news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 12/21/05
*
Verse:
Speak for
Justice
*
Support CAIR's
Important Work
*
CAIR-Houston:
Australian
Muslim Scholar Denied Entry
-
CAIR:
Muslims Should Document Border Incidents (AP)
*
CAIR Offers Reward for Info on OH Mosque Bombings
-
Mosque Bombing Condemned (Cincinnati Enquirer)
-
Video of CAIR News Conference Held at Mosque
-
Sen. Voinovich's Statement on Mosque Bombing
-
Rep. Chabot's Statement on Mosque Attack
*
CAIR-AZ Reps Meet with FBI
*
CAIR-FL Announces Bias Complaint Against Restaurant
*
CA: Car of Missing Muslim Doctor Found in Estuary (AP)
*
FL: Al-Arian Supporters Hold Vigil at Jail (Tampa Trib)
-
Mixed Results in Legal Fight Against Terror (Reuters)
*
CAIR: Jesus Can Bring Together Christians, Muslims
-
CAIR-LA:
Is 'War on Christmas' a Threat? (OC Reg)
-
Visions of Jesus Vary (Knight Ridder)
*
Spy Court Judge Quits in Protest (Wash Post)
-
Spying Program Snared U.S. Calls (NY Times)
*
CAIR Patriot Act Blog
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: SPEAK FOR JUSTICE -
TOP
"Show forgiveness, speak for justice and avoid those who choose to remain ignorant."
The Holy Quran, 7:199
-----
SUPPORT CAIR'S IMPORTANT WORK -
TOP
The important work listed below can only be carried out with your support. If you are not already a CAIR member, go to:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
If you would like to make a secure online contribution to CAIR, go to:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/donate.asp
-----
CAIR SEEKS EXPLANATION FOR EXCLUSION OF AUSTRALIAN SCHOLAR -
TOP
(HOUSTON, TX, 12/21/05) - The Houston office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Houston) today called on the Bush
administration to explain why a well-known Islamic scholar was denied
entry into the U.S.
Yahya Ibrahim, a Canadian-born resident of Australia, was reportedly
barred from entering the United States earlier this week while
traveling to speak at a conference that begins tomorrow in Houston.
(SEE: Texas Dawah Convention V, http://www.themasjid.org/txdawah/ ) He
was denied entry when he landed in Michigan and was later put on a
plane to Canada.
Ibrahim says he was not given a reason for the denial of entry into the
United States. He spoke at the same event last year without incident.
CONTACT: CAIR-Houston Board Member Kaleem Siddiqui, 210-884-5335;
CAIR-Houston Civil Rights Director Halimah Shaheed, 713-838-2247
SEE ALSO:
MUSLIMS SHOULD DOCUMENT BEING SINGLED OUT BY BORDER OFFICERS, COUNCIL SAYS -
TOP
LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press, 12/20/05
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--muslimtravel1220dec20,0,5798489.story
WASHINGTON -- Muslim-Americans trying to re-enter the United States
after international travel should record instances in which they're
singled out as security risks, a civil rights groups said Tuesday.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations asked traveling Muslims to
record any examples of excessive security checks or fingerprinting when
returning from a religious conference in Canada this weekend or from
the annual hajj to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, next month.
Last year, three dozen Muslim-American men and women were searched,
questioned, fingerprinted and photographed without explanation at two
western New York border crossings after returning from a from an
Islamic conference in Toronto.
No one in the group was charged, and the civil rights council filed a
lawsuit against the Homeland Security Department in response. The
lawsuit is ongoing.
"Americans of all faiths should be free to travel without fear of being
singled out based solely on their religious practices or associations,"
council legal director Arsalan Iftikhar said in a statement Tuesday.
(MORE)
-----
CAIR OFFERS REWARD FOR INFO ON OHIO MOSQUE BOMBINGS -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/21/2005) - The Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) today announced a $5,000 reward for information
leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators of a double
bombing late yesterday that damaged an Ohio mosque.
The FBI and local authorities are investigating two explosions that
damaged the Islamic Association of Cincinnati, also known as the
"Clifton Mosque." No injuries were reported.
SEE: "Two Explosions Reported at Ohio Mosque"
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1428576
CAIR's Ohio office held a news conference this morning inside the
mosque with local and national law enforcement authorities, interfaith
leaders and elected officials.
Vandalism or other possible bias-related incidents have been reported
recently at mosques in Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, Nebraska,
California, and New York. The Washington-based group is urging Muslim
institutions nationwide to review security procedures using advice
contained in CAIR's "Muslim Community Safety Kit." (See excerpts from
the kit below.)
The safety kit may be obtained free of charge by e-mailing:
pubs@cair-net.org (Include name, address and phone number when
requesting the safety kit.) It may also be ordered at:
https://www.cair-net.org/comersus/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=1021
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices
and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the
understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties,
empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and
mutual understanding.
To read CAIR's Mission, Vision Statement and Core Principles, go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/default.asp?Page=About
CONTACT: CAIR-OH President, Ahmad Al-Akhras, 614-989-5916, E-Mail:
ahmad@cair-ohio.com; CAIR-Cincinnati Director Karen Dabdoub, 513-604-4444, E-Mail:
karen@cair-ohio.com; Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
SEE ALSO:
MOSQUE BOMBING CONDEMNED -
TOP
William A. Weathers and Eileen Kelley, Cincinnati Enquirer, 12/21/05
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051221/NEWS01/312210016
CLIFTON - More than two dozen religious leaders and public officials
gathered at the Islamic Association of Cincinnati Mosque this morning
to condemn the Tuesday night bombing of the group's buildings.
The religious leaders called the incident a despicable hate crime that will not be tolerated in the Greater Cincinnati area.
"What happened here last night was wrong, hateful and evil,'' said Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk.
Rabbi Abie I. Ingber, president of the Greater Cincinnati Board of
Rabbis, called the bombing incident "a deplorable act toward everyone"
in the Greater Cincinnati community.
"The Muslim community is deeply concerned about this event and we are
hoping that it can be quickly determined who committed the crime,'' Dr.
Inayat Malik, president of the Islamic Educational Council, said in a
statement.
Stanley Borgia, special agent in charge of the Cincinnati FBI office,
said the investigation has not yet determined a motive for "the crime
of violence against the Islamic Center. The intent of perpetrators is
unclear,'' he said. . .
This morning's press conference was organized by the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. (MORE)
---
NEWS CONFERENCE HELD ABOUT BOMBS AT MOSQUE -
TOP
Jenell Walton, WCPO, 12/21/05
http://www.wcpo.com/news/2005/local/12/21/mosque.html
Local religious, political and law enforcement leaders held a press
conference Wednesday morning concerning Tuesday night's pipe bombing at
a Clifton mosque.
The FBI says the incident has not been classified as a hate crime, but it will be looked at as such. (MORE)
---
SEN. VOINOVICH'S STATEMENT ON MOSQUE BOMBING -
TOP
Statement of Sen. Geoge V. Voinovich (R-OH) on Ohio Mosque Bombing:
http://voinovich.senate.gov/
"We all should be outraged about what has occurred. We live in a nation
where we respect religious freedom, the religion of others, and their
place of worship. I am confident that the Cincinnati community will
come together to express their displeasure, outrage, and discourage
this from happening not only in Mosques but in any place of worship."
---
CONGRESSMAN STEVE CHABOT - STATEMENT REGARDING ATTACK ON THE ISLAMIC ASSOCIATION OF CINCINNATI MOSQUE -
TOP
http://www.house.gov/chabot/
"Our nation was founded with a strong commitment to religious liberty.
It is essential that people be allowed to practice their faith without
fear of violence because of their beliefs or ethnic background. I'm
confident that the efforts of our local and federal law enforcement
officials will lead to the apprehension of the criminals responsible
for this abhorrent act."
-----
CAIR-AZ REPS MEET WITH FBI -
TOP
(PHOENIX, AZ, 12/21/05) - On Tuesday, December 20, representatives of
the Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR-AZ) met with special agents from the Phoenix office of the FBI.
The purpose of the meeting was to help build bridges between the local
Muslim community and law enforcement officials. FBI officials said they
are working hard on an extensive community outreach program to Arizona
Muslims. They also said that speakers were available to speak to the
Muslim community on a variety of topics.
"The meeting was very positive and I am optimistic about the current
and future relationship that we share with the FBI," said CAIR-AZ
Director Nure Elatari.
CONTACT: Nure Elatari (602) 262-2247 or (602) 312-2223, E-Mail:
director@cairaz.org; Bushra Khan (602) 262-2247, Email:
officemanager@cairaz.org
-----
CAIR-FL ANNOUNCES BIAS COMPLAINT AGAINST TAMPA RESTAURANT -
TOP
Muslim customer allegedly denied accommodation, verbally harassed
(TAMPA, FL, 12/21/05) - The Florida office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) today announced the filing of a
public accommodation discrimination complaint by a Muslim man who says
he was denied service at a local franchise of a national restaurant
chain because of his race, religion or national origin.
The Tampa resident, who is of Middle Eastern origin, says a Subway
restaurant shift manager told him, "I am not going to make you a
sandwich." When the Muslim customer asked why he was being denied
service, the manager allegedly became verbally abusive and ordered him
to leave the restaurant.
At a press conference earlier today, the victim noted that the
restaurant served at least two other customers while this incident took
place, and that other customers were served immediately after him.
CAIR-FL has obtained an affidavit from an eyewitness who says the Muslim customer remained calm throughout the incident.
A complaint has been filed with the Florida Commission on Human
Relations, the City of Tampa and the local and national offices of
Subway.
CONTACT: Ahmed Bedier, CAIR Central FL Director, 813-731-9506, E-Mail:
abedier@cairfl.org; Areeb Naseer, CAIR FL Legal Advisor 619-301-9091, E-Mail:
anaseer@cairfl.org
-----
CA: CAR BELONGING TO MISSING DOCTOR FOUND IN OAKLAND ESTUARY -
TOP
Associated Press, 12/21/05
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/13455488.htm
ALAMEDA, Calif. - A car belonging to a pediatrician who had been
missing for more than a month was removed from the Oakland Estuary,
police said.
A body was found Tuesday night inside Zehra Attari's car, Alameda
police Lt. Arturo Fuentes said. Authorities could not immediately
confirm the identity of the body.
Attari, 55, disappeared Nov. 7 after leaving her Oakland office,
presumably to attend a medical conference in Alameda, about five miles
away, authorities said.
She never showed up at the conference, and her husband, Tasadduq
Attari, reported her missing that night. Her family offered a $20,000
reward for information leading to her safe return.
Police had conducted previous searches of the Oakland Estuary before finally finding the car Tuesday. (MORE)
-----
AL-ARIAN SUPPORTERS HOLD VIGIL AT JAIL -
TOP
Tampa Tribune, 12/21/05
http://news.tbo.com/news/MGB1LE82HHE.html
TAMPA - About 30 people held a candlelight vigil Tuesday outside the
jail where Sami Al-Arian remains a prisoner while government lawyers
ponder whether to retry him on terrorism charges.
On Dec. 5, a federal jury acquitted Al-Arian on eight charges and
deadlocked on nine other counts that he was part of a North American
cell of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
He remains at the Orient Road Jail while federal prosecutors decide whether to retry him or possibly deport him.
Supporters said Tuesday that prosecutors should respect the jury's
decision and release the former University of South Florida professor.
"Not guilty. Not guilty. Not guilty. Eight times," said the Rev. Warren
Clark, who met with Al-Arian before the vigil. "It is time to honor the
verdict of the jury and let these men go," he said, referring to
Al-Arian and co-defendant Sameeh Hammoudeh, who was released to
immigration officials.
SEE ALSO:
MIXED RESULTS IN LEGAL FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM -
TOP
Deborah Charles, Reuters, 12/20/05
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-12-20T162331Z_01_EIC058921_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-USA.xml
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Four years after September 11, the Bush
administration has claimed some legal victories in its war on
terrorism, but critics say there have been few major convictions and
not a single trial of anyone caught trying to carry out an attack.
-----
LOVE FOR JESUS CAN BRING TOGETHER CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS -
TOP
Ibrahim Hooper, Jupiter Currier, 12/21/05
http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/editorials/article/0,,TCP_24460_4330074,00.html
[Ibrahim Hooper is National Communications Director for the
Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the
nation's largest Muslim civil liberties group. He may be contacted at:
ihooper@cair-net.org ]
"Behold! The angels said: 'O Mary! God giveth thee glad tidings of a
Word from Him. His name will be Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, held in
honor in this world and the Hereafter and in (the company of) those
nearest to God.'"
Before searching for this quote in the New Testament, you might first
ask your Muslim co-worker, friend or neighbor for a copy of the Quran,
Islam's revealed text. The quote is from verse 45 of chapter 3 in the
Quran.
It is well known, particularly in this holiday season, that Christians
follow the teachings of Jesus. What is less well understood is that
Muslims also love and revere Jesus as one of God's greatest messengers
to mankind.
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-LA: IS 'WAR ON CHRISTMAS' A THREAT OR 'SILLY NOTION'? -
TOP
ANN PEPPER, Orange County Register
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_906930.php
A poster at one of Sandy Mohachy's favorite stores proclaims "Feliz Navidad" and "Happy Hanukkah" but not "Merry Christmas."
"How depressing it is," says Mohachy, 62, of Newport Beach. "How can we
Christmas shop if the stores aren't recognizing Christmas?"
Mohachy stands with those fighting what they believe is a conspiracy to
abolish Santa, Christmas trees, even the word "Christmas."
Leaders of a national campaign noisily sounding that battle cry have
been met by those who point to Christmas decorations, music, shopping
and church celebrations, calling the issue a trumped-up salvo in the
ongoing culture wars.
Generals on the battleground include James Dobson, whose motto is
"Merry Christmas, it's OK to say it," and Jerry Falwell, whose Liberty
Counsel is running a "Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign."
Fox News Channel anchor John Gibson has written "The War on Christmas:
How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than
You Thought. . ."
Leaders from Orange County's Jewish and Muslim faith groups say they don't oppose the recognition of Christmas, either.
"We don't want anyone's holiday watered down," said Sabiha Khan,
spokeswoman for the Council on American Islamic Relations in Orange
County. "They are all wonderful. . . . A lot of Muslim families like to
go out into neighborhoods and see the decorations." (MORE)
---
FROM FAITH TO FAITH, VISIONS OF JESUS VARY -
TOP
BILL TAMMEUS, Knight Ridder Newspapers, 12/21/05
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/13457155.htm
Christians, however, aren't the only ones thinking about Jesus. He's
also on the minds of adherents of many religious traditions. And their
answers to Jesus' questions vary widely. Here is some of what they say:
ISLAM
Muslims call Jesus Isa (variously spelled Issa or I'sa) and call him a
highly honored prophet, though not divine. The Qur'an mentions Jesus
many times and includes a story of his virginal birth. Islam believes
Jesus was calling people to surrender to God, which is what the word
"Islam" means. So they view him as a Muslim, even though he lived
hundreds of years before Muhammad. Although they believe Jesus
performed miracles, they deny he was crucified. Rather, they say, God
merely made it appear so to Jesus' enemies. Muslims believe Jesus
ascended bodily to heaven.
Syed E. Hasan, chairman of the Department of Geosciences at the
University of Missouri-Kansas City and a member of the Islamic Research
Foundation, calls it "an absolute requirement of the Islamic faith to
believe in him and the message he brought." But Hasan notes that "Islam
rejects the concept of Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and
emphasizes the oneness or unity of God." (MORE)
-----
SPY COURT JUDGE QUITS IN PROTEST -
TOP
Jurist Concerned Bush Order Tainted Work of Secret Panel
Carol D. Leonnig and Dafna Linzer, Washington Post, 12/21/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/20/AR2005122000685_pf.html
A federal judge has resigned from the court that oversees government
surveillance in intelligence cases in protest of President Bush's
secret authorization of a domestic spying program, according to two
sources.
U.S. District Judge James Robertson, one of 11 members of the secret
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, sent a letter to Chief Justice
John G. Roberts Jr. late Monday notifying him of his resignation
without providing an explanation.
Two associates familiar with his decision said yesterday that Robertson
privately expressed deep concern that the warrantless surveillance
program authorized by the president in 2001 was legally questionable
and may have tainted the FISA court's work. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
SPYING PROGRAM SNARED U.S. CALLS -
TOP
JAMES RISEN and ERIC LICHTBLAU
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/21/politics/21nsa.html
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 - A surveillance program approved by President Bush
to conduct eavesdropping without warrants has captured what are purely
domestic communications in some cases, despite a requirement by the
White House that one end of the intercepted conversations take place on
foreign soil, officials say. (MORE)
-----
CAIR PATRIOT ACT BLOG -
TOP
http://cairpatriotact.blogspot.com/
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAIR FILES FOIA REQUEST ON SECRET
WIRETAPS
Request seeks legal basis for President Bush's orders,
list of those targeted
(WASHINGTON D.C., 12/22/05) - A prominent national Islamic civil
rights and advocacy group today announced the filing of a Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) request for all government records relating to
President Bush's post-9/11 executive orders authorizing electronic
surveillance of Americans and others in the United States without first
obtaining court approval, as required by the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act (FISA).
Media reports indicate that in some cases, the secret surveillance
program intercepted purely domestic communications, despite White House
assurances that at least one end of the intercepted communications was
overseas. SEE:
"
Spying
Program Snared U.S. Calls"
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed
the FOIA request with the CIA, the Department of Defense and the
Department of Justice, including the FBI.
In the request, CAIR asked for: 1) "Records concerning the
'authority' of President Bush to delegate or personally authorize
electronic surveillance without obtaining a court order as required by
FISA." and 2) "Any and all lists of natural persons, both
American and foreign nationals, who have been or are currently being
eavesdropped without proper FISA approval."
"It is the duty of all those who value the Constitution to state
that no one, not even a president, is above the law," said
CAIR
National Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar.
"President Bush's wiretapping policy is not only an apparent
violation of existing law, it also gives carte blanche for spying,
without legal oversight, on any American," said
CAIR Executive
Director Nihad Awad. "Such wide-ranging and unrestricted powers
are an invitation to abuse of constitutional rights and freedoms, and
should be of concern to everyone in a society based on respect for the
law." Awad added that such unrestricted surveillance powers could be
expanded and used to spy on those who hold dissenting political
views.
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and
chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its
mission is
to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil
liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote
justice and mutual understanding.
- END -
CONTACT: Arsalan Iftikhar, 202-488-8787 or 202-415-0799, E-Mail:
arsalan@cair-net.org; CAIR
Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor, 202-646-6039 or 571-278-4658,
E-Mail:
csaylor@cair-net.org;
Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail:
ihooper@cair-net.org; Rabiah
Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail:
rahmed@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called
CAIR-NET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with
American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our
society.
To contact the moderator of the list, e-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from CAIR-NET, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 12/22/05
Breaking News:
FBI Offers $15k Reward for
Info on Mosque Bombing
*
Hadith:
Don't Delay
Giving in Charity
*
CAIR-LA: Messages
from 'Munich' (USA Today)
*
CAIR-OH:
Mosque to
Hold Interfaith Prayer Vigil
*
OH Mosque
Bombings an Attack on All of Us (Enquirer)
-
Leaders Decry Ohio
Mosque Complex Blasts (AP)
-
Muslims
Buoyed by Support after Mosque Attack
-
Sen. DeWine's
Statement on OH Mosque Bombings
-
Ohio
Governor Bob Taft's Statement on Bombings
-
Mosque Blasts Put
Others in Area on Alert (Cox)
*
CAIR-FL:
Muslim
Man Alleges Bias at Subway (SP Times)
-
Officer Investigated
in Rights Complaint (Tampa Trib)
-
Video:
CAIR-FL
Discussing Subway Bias Incident
*
CAIR-LA
Completes
Diversity Training for Police Officers
-
NY:
Police
Covertly Join in Protest Rallies (NYT)
*
CAIR-CAN
Calls
for Safeguards on Security Powers
*
Senate Passes Patriot
Act Extension
-
Methodist
'Amen' for Outcome of Al-Arian Trial
*
MD:
Muslims Again
Seek School Eid Holidays (Balt. Sun)
BREAKING NEWS:
FBI OFFERS $15K REWARD FOR INFO ON MOSQUE
BOMBING -
TOP
http://www.wcpo.com/news/2005/local/12/22/mosque.html
The FBI has announced it's offering a $15,000 reward to anyone who has
information that leads to an arrest and conviction in Tuesday's mosque
bombing in Clifton.
That amount is in addition to the $5,000 of reward money already
offered
by The Council on American Islamic Relations and by
Crimestoppers.
-----
HADITH OF
THE DAY: DON'T DELAY GIVING IN CHARITY -
TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) once had several coins that he
asked his wife to distribute in charity. But due to the Prophet's illness
at the time, she did not have an opportunity to give out the coins. When
the Prophet learned of this, he asked for the coins, placed them in his
hand, and then said: "What would God's Prophet think if he were to
meet God, who is Great and Glorious, while (still) possessing
these?"
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 586
The Prophet also said: "Give charity without delay, for it stands in
the way of calamity."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 589
-----
CAIR-LA: MESSAGES FROM
'MUNICH' -
TOP
By Anthony Breznican, USA TODAY, 12/22/05
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2005-12-21-munich_x.htm
Steven Spielberg's new film, Munich, is provoking responses much more
formidable than the typical thumbs-up or thumbs-down that most movies
get.
The movie, which opens in limited release Friday, is largely
fictionalized but inspired by a series of assassinations in the 1970s. At
least nine men were killed who were suspected of having ties to Black
September, the Palestinian terrorist group that orchestrated an attack
during the 1972 Munich Olympics. The terrorists kidnapped and killed 11
Israeli athletes.
Israel has never formally accepted responsibility for the revenge
killings. But Spielberg's film postulates that the Olympic terrorist
attack and the eye-for-an-eye violence that followed upped the ante in
the long-running conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and spilled
over into radical Muslim hatred toward the United States, in part for its
support of Israel.
In the film, which stars Eric Bana (Troy, Hulk) as head of an undercover
Mossad strike force directed to kill men accused of plotting terrorism,
Spielberg raises doubts about retribution as he explores whether the hit
squads created more terrorism by killing the innocent along with the
guilty. The film simultaneously implies parallels with today's U.S. war
on terrorism, asking by way of allegory whether a military presence in
the Middle East stamps out extremism or fertilizes it.
Spielberg has curtailed the usual press blitz for the film, but because
he finished the movie in early December, dozens of private screenings
have been held in the USA, mostly for Jewish and Arab-American groups,
foreign-policy wonks and reporters. . .
The Israeli consul general in Los Angeles, Ehud Danoch, attacked the
movie in The New York Times, saying it tried to create
"equivalency" between the Olympic terrorists and the Israeli
government. . .
The film's efforts to humanize Palestinians - not the terrorists who
kidnapped the athletes, but other Palestinian targets who the film
suggests may or may not have had a hand in the attack - is an element
that some Arab-American groups appreciated.
At one point, Bana's character demands proof that the men he has killed
were terrorists, but he gets none.
"Previously, movies dealing with Arabs, Muslims and Palestinians
have always had the stigma that they are automatically guilty," says
Hussam Ayloush, Southern California's executive director of the Council
on American-Islamic Relations. "This film moves the issue closer to
a more neutral stance."
Ayloush also praised Spielberg for a scene in which Palestinian militants
unwittingly find themselves sharing a Greek safe house with the Israeli
assassins (who present themselves as Basque separatists who have no
quarrel with them). In a bull session with his Palestinian counterpart
(portrayed by Omar Metwally), Avner listens to his argument for the right
to a homeland that sounds eerily like the Israeli point of
view.
"It shows the Palestinians are not fighting Israel because they hate
Jews or because they are intrinsically violent," Ayloush says.
"Everybody has a right to a homeland." (MORE)
-----
CINCINNATI
MOSQUE TO HOLD INTERFAITH PRAYER VIGIL -
TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/22/2005) - The Ohio office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) announced that an Interfaith
Prayer Vigil will be held at 8 p.m. tonight at the Islamic Association of
Cincinnati mosque. The vigil is open to the public and representatives of
various religious traditions take part in the event. The mosque is
located at 3668 Clifton Ave. in Cincinnati.
WHAT: Mosque Interfaith Prayer Vigil
WHEN: Thursday, December 22, 8 p.m.
WHERE: Islamic Association of Cincinnati, 3668 Clifton Ave.,
Cincinnati
CONTACT: CAIR-Cincinnati Director Karen Dabdoub, 513-604-4444, E-Mail:
karen@cair-ohio.com
The FBI and local authorities continue to investigate the explosions that
damaged doors Tuesday night at the Islamic Association of Cincinnati,
also known as the "Clifton Mosque." No injuries were
reported.
CAIR said vandalism or other possible bias-related incidents have been
reported recently at mosques in Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, Nebraska,
California, and New York. The Washington-based group is urging Muslim
institutions nationwide to review security procedures using advice
contained in CAIR's "Muslim Community Safety Kit."
-----
EDITORIAL:
BOMBING AN ATTACK ON ALL OF US -
TOP
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051222/EDIT01/512220302
If the person or persons who pipe-bombed a Clifton mosque hoped to
terrorize the Islamic congregation or divide our community along
religious lines, it grossly backfired.
Religious leaders, elected officials, law enforcement and ordinary
citizens rushed to show solidarity with Muslims here. The members of the
mosque are not outsiders. They are us. It is the bomber or bombers who
are the aliens. The slithery attack was made under cover of darkness
Tuesday night. The antidote to such poisonous hate is the universal
condemnation that quickly followed. America's great strength is its
refusal to let bigotry divide us as a city, a region or a nation. .
.
The bomb attacks were particularly offensive in Clifton, one of the
region's most religiously and culturally diverse neighborhoods. That
gaslight stretch of Clifton Avenue is lined with Catholic and Protestant
churches, and farther south are Hebrew Union College and Hillel House.
Dr. Majid Qureshi, one of the founders of the Clifton mosque, related how
the mosque and Unitarian Church share parking, and during the mosque's
reconstruction, the Church of the Nazarene welcomed Islamic worshippers
to hold services in the church basement. "We are a peaceful people
in a peaceful community," Qureshi said. . .
It is especially important since 9/11 that it be known that our Islamic
community condemned those crimes and others committed by terrorist
imposters who kill in the name of Islam, and that all decent people here
regard an attack on the Muslim members of our community as an attack on
all of us. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
LEADERS DECRY OHIO
MOSQUE COMPLEX BLASTS -
TOP
TERRY KINNEY, ASSOCIATED PRESS, 12/22/05
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Mosque_Explosions.html
CINCINNATI -- The mayor, the Roman Catholic archbishop and a rabbi were
among the religious and civic leaders who stood together Wednesday to
denounce the bombing of an Islamic center.
Two explosive devices inflicted minor damage to the entrances of
adjoining mosques Tuesday night, about two hours after prayers had ended.
No one was injured.
"We're all here in solidarity to speak out against this despicable
act," Mayor Mark Mallory said. "From a community standpoint, we
need to make it clear that this type of criminal activity will not be
tolerated."
Stan Borgia, agent in charge of the FBI's Cincinnati office, said
investigators had not finished analyzing debris from the scene. He
declined to describe the bombs or their level of sophistication.
(MORE)
---
MUSLIMS
BUOYED BY COMMUNITY SUPPORT AFTER MOSQUE ATTACK -
TOP
WCPO, 12/21/05
http://www.wcpo.com/news/2005/local/12/21/mosque_folo.html
It has been just a little more than 24-hours since a Cincinnati mosque
was attacked with two pipe bombs.
But investigators are saying very little about what they have learned so
far.
9News spoke to the FBI about Wednesday night ago and what they're able to
share isn't much.
But 9News does know part of what they're doing includes piecing bomb
fragments back together.
They won't speculate on who might be responsible but 9News spoke to a
terrorism expert who says the use of a pipe bomb can say a lot about the
person using it.
After two loud blasts, it became a quiet scene Tuesday night at the
mosque in Cincinnati.
Investigators set out to determine who detonated two pipe bombs at the
mosque.
But on Wednesday morning members of the Islamic Association of Cincinnati
made a little noise of their own as they immediately began patching up
the damage.
Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, along with leaders from other faiths,
stood firmly behind the Islamic association.
"People really have just come out in force behind the Muslim
community on this and expressing their support," said Karen Dabdoub,
of the Islamic Association of Cincinnati. (MORE)
---
SEN. DEWINE'S
STATEMENT ON OH MOSQUE BOMBING -
TOP
"I was deeply disturbed and saddened to learn of the bombing of the
Islamic Association of Cincinnati Mosque. I have asked the Director of
the FBI to use all of available resources to solve this crime, and have
also asked to be updated during the course of this investigation. My wife
Fran and I express our deepest sympathy to those who have been impacted
by this violent act."
Senator Mike DeWine
---
TAFT
EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER EXPLOSIONS AT ISLAMIC MOSQUE -
TOP
COLUMBUS (December 21, 2005) -- Ohio Governor Bob Taft today issued the
following statement following reports of two explosions at the Islamic
Association of Cincinnati mosque last night.
"At a time of year when we wish for and celebrate peace, I am deeply
disturbed by the explosions at the Islamic mosque and the likelihood that
they were purposely set off. As authorities have yet to confirm the
nature or motives of the explosions, we can be thankful that no one
suffered any injuries.
"I have authorized the Ohio Highway Patrol and Ohio's Homeland
Security team to assist the FBI and Cincinnati law enforcement as the
investigation moves forward. I ask all Ohioans to keep the members of the
Islamic Association of Cincinnati in their thoughts and
prayers."
---
MOSQUE BLASTS PUT
OTHERS IN AREA ON ALERT -
TOP
West Chester Police increase patrols near Islamic Center
Cameron Fullam and Andrea Yorke, Cox News Service, 12/22/05
http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/daily/1222islamic.html
The effects of two explosions at a mosque complex in Cincinnati have
affected mosques in southwestern Ohio.
West Chester Police have increased patrols at the Islamic Center of
Greater Cincinnati off Tylersville Road simply as a
"precaution."
"We are aware of what had occurred and we are going to provide some
additional protective services to the Islamic Center until we get more
information," said West Chester Police Chief John Bruce. "It's
just a precaution."
West Chester's Sgt. Brian Rebholz said officers will drive by the Islamic
Center more often during their shifts.
The bombs went off just after 10 p.m. Tuesday night in a building owned
by the Islamic Association of Cincinnati, reported WKRC-TV, Channel 12.
The building is on Clifton Avenue near the University of
Cincinnati.
-----
CAIR-FL:
MUSLIM MAN ALLEGES DISCRIMINATION AT SUBWAY -
TOP
JENNIFER LIBERTO, St. Petersburg Times, 12/22/05
http://www.sptimes.com/2005/12/21/Hillsborough/Muslim_man_alleges_di.shtml
TAMPA - His regular late night munchy spot in North Hyde Park called out
to Larbi Tizaoui when he got off a long shift at 2 a.m. one Friday in
November in search of a steak and cheese sandwich, light mayo.
He left empty handed.
Tizaoui, 28, of South Tampa says he has often bought early morning
sandwiches at the 24-hour Subway restaurant inside a Radiant/BP gas
station on the corner of Howard Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard.
The cab driver says he stopped there on Nov. 11 to pick up a sandwich for
his wife, and a manager named "Leonard" refused to make him
one. The manager said the store was closed and told Tizaoui he didn't
have to give him a reason for not serving him.
Tizaoui says he was discriminated against, because of his race, religion
and origin. Tizaoui is Muslim and hails from Tunisia, although he has
lived in the United States for about five years.
"I wasn't given any good reason for being denied services,"
said Tizaoui who at the time had asked the manager if he "wasn't
white enough?"
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) held a press conference
Wednesday morning across the street from the Subway to highlight the
incident and the complaints they have filed in an effort have the
incident investigated. They're asking for a formal apology and some
agreed upon compensation for Mr. Tizaoui for his emotional
distress.
"It's shocking that in the year 2005 that these acts of
discrimination continue to happen," said Ahmed Bedier, CAIR
spokesman. He said his organization has spent the last month researching
and investigating the encounter.
A manager at the Subway location said he couldn't comment about the
situation. However a corporate spokesman in Milford, Conn., said Subway
had received a complaint about the incident.
"At Subway, we take every customer concern seriously and are looking
into the situation at this time," spokesman Robert Wilson
said.
On the night of the incident, Tizaoui's wife, Rebecca Tizaoui, who is
Caucasian and has lived in Tampa for 10 years, went back to the same
Subway and was in the process of being served a sandwich when she asked
about the incident.
She said the manager told her that her husband had been rude. The manager
also became "defensive" and "started making excuses,"
said Rebecca Tizaoui, 23. He offered to make her a free sandwich, which
she refused.
"I was embarrassed and ashamed of my race," said Rebecca
Tizaoui who has been married for four years. "Racism still exists
here in 2005."
CAIR filed a complaint with the internal affairs of the Tampa Police
Department, because at the time of the incident, a uniformed police
officer was in line getting a sandwich and also helped the manager force
Tizaoui out of the restaurant, according to letter CAIR gave to the
city.
"A complaint about the incident has been made, and the department is
reviewing it to determine whether there is cause for investigation,"
said Tampa police spokesman Joe Durkin. (MORE)
ALSO SEE:
OFFICER
INVESTIGATED IN RIGHTS COMPLAINT -
TOP
Chris Echegaray, Tampa Tribune, 12/22/05
http://news.tbo.com/news/MGBZ62ELIHE.html
TAMPA - A Tampa police officer is under investigation for a possible
role in booting an Arab cabdriver from a Subway sandwich shop.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations complained to the city about
the officer and filed a public accommodation complaint against a
convenience store, citing state and federal Civil Rights Act violations.
The complaints stem from Larbi Tizaoui's visit to the Radiant Food
Store/Subway shop at Kennedy Boulevard and Howard Avenue in the wee
hours of Nov. 11. Tizaoui, 28, a native of Tunisia, was in line to get
a sandwich for his sick wife, who needed food to take with medicine.
Tizaoui said a white shift manager served two customers ahead of him.
When it was Tizaoui's turn, the manager told him, "I am not going to
make you a sandwich," and he said the store was closed, Tizaoui said.
"I was in shock, and I couldn't believe it," Tizaoui said at a news conference Wednesday across from Radiant.
The complaint states that a police officer in the store started yelling
at Tizaoui to leave or be arrested. He went home and told his wife,
Rebecca - who is white - what happened. She went to the store and the
shift manager, identified as "Leonard" in the complaint, told her he
did not serve Tizaoui because he was rude. He offered a free sandwich,
but Rebecca Tizaoui refused, according to the two-page complaint.
The Council on American-Islamic relations sent a letter about the
incident to Mayor Pam Iorio's office, and she forwarded it to the
police department's internal affairs division. Police spokesman Joe
Durkin confirmed Wednesday that Officer Robert Newberry will be
investigated in connection with the complaint, which also was filed
with Florida's Commission on Human Relations. (MORE)
---
VIDEO: CAIR FL ON FOX, NBC DISCUSSING DISCRIMINATION CASE -
TOP
On Wednesday, December 21st, the Florida office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) held a news conference to announce
the filing of a public accommodation discrimination by a Tampa Muslim
man against a Subway Restaurant.
To view video segments covering the news conference and the incident please follow the below links:
VIDEO: FOX Tampa affiliate WTVT:
http://www.cairfl.org/video/051221_wtvt_subway.wmv
VIDEO: NBC Tampa affiliate WFLA Ch. 8
http://www.cairfl.org/video/051221_wfla_subway.wmv
-----
CAIR-LA COMPLETES DIVERSITY TRAINING FOR POLICE OFFICERS -
TOP
(ANAHEIM, CA, 12/22/2005) - The Southern California office of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) recently completed
several diversity training sessions for almost 600 police officers and
employees of the Anaheim Police Department.
The training, called "What you Should Know About Islam and Muslims,"
addressed the basic tenets of the Islamic faith, Islam's stance on
violence and terrorism, the diversity of the American Muslim community
and ways to enhance relationships and understanding between American
Muslims and law enforcement.
The sessions also included information about topics such as dress, gender relations, language and perception of law enforcement.
"We are grateful for the opportunity to help build better relations and
mutual understanding between the Muslim community and our local police
department and officers," said Ra'id Faraj, Public Relations Director
for CAIR-LA.
CONTACT: Sabiha Khan, CAIR-LA at (714) 776-1847 or E-mail: socal@cair.com
ALSO SEE:
NEW YORK POLICE COVERTLY JOIN IN AT PROTEST RALLIES -
TOP
Jim Dwyer, New York Times, 12/22/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/22/nyregion/22police.html?hp&ex=1135227600&en=c298d636b33c8c10&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Undercover New York City police officers have conducted covert
surveillance in the last 16 months of people protesting the Iraq war,
bicycle riders taking part in mass rallies and even mourners at a
street vigil for a cyclist killed in an accident, a series of
videotapes show.
In glimpses and in glaring detail, the videotape images reveal the
robust presence of disguised officers or others working with them at
seven public gatherings since August 2004.
The officers hoist protest signs. They hold flowers with mourners. They
ride in bicycle events. At the vigil for the cyclist, an officer in
biking gear wore a button that said, "I am a shameless agitator." She
also carried a camera and videotaped the roughly 15 people present.
Beyond collecting information, some of the undercover officers or their
associates are seen on the tape having influence on events. At a
demonstration last year during the Republican National Convention, the
sham arrest of a man secretly working with the police led to a bruising
confrontation between officers in riot gear and bystanders.
Until Sept. 11, the secret monitoring of events where people expressed
their opinions was among the most tightly limited of police powers.
Provided with images from the tape, the Police Department's chief
spokesman, Paul J. Browne, did not dispute that they showed officers at
work but said that disguised officers had always attended such
gatherings - not to investigate political activities but to keep order
and protect free speech. Activists, however, say that police officers
masquerading as protesters and bicycle riders distort their messages
and provoke trouble. (MORE)
-----
CAIR-CAN CALLS FOR REINSTATEMENT OF SAFEGUARDS ON SECURITY POWERS -
TOP
http://caircan.ca/itn_more.php?id=2191_0_2_0_M
The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) is
calling on the federal government to restore court-ordered warrants as
a mandatory requirement before police can eavesdrop on the private
conversations of Canadians.
"It is time for Prime Minister Paul Martin to uphold his promises to
Canadian voters by restoring the privacy rights of all Canadians and
reinstating the legal requirements that once protected Canadians
against the abuse of police powers," says Riad Saloojee, CAIR-CAN's
executive director.
Under the Anti-Terrorism Act, security officials are no longer required
to obtain court-ordered warrants before eavesdropping on private
conversations that either originate or terminate outside of Canada.
The Canadian Security Establishment, an intelligence agency that tracks
communications, now only requires the approval of the Minister of
Defence before intercepting international calls.
It was revealed in today's New York Times that an American surveillance
program captured purely domestic communications, despite a White House
requirement that one end of the conversation take place outside the
United States.
See:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-security-eavesdropping-calls.html
In that story, telecommunications experts admitted the difficulty of
ascertaining whether an individual was physically inside the U.S. when
making a phone call or sending an e-mail.
"It is clear that the Canadian program of eavesdropping on
international calls must be re-evaluated given the potential for abuse,
lack of accountability, and now, lack of technical reliability," added
Saloojee.
Saloojee called on the Prime Minister and all party leaders to make
their positions on security issues affecting the rights of Canadians
known before Election Day.
For more information, please contact Halima Mautbur at 613-254-9704 or 613-795-2012.
-----
SENATE PASSES PATRIOT ACT EXTENSION -
TOP
http://cairpatriotact.blogspot.com
SEE ALSO:
MUSLIMS NOT ONLY ONES HEARTENED BY AL-ARIAN TRIAL -
TOP
Palm Beach Post, 12/21/05
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/opinion/epaper/2005/12/21/m11a_web_letters_1221.html
Regarding the front-page story on the outcome of the al-Arian trial
("No terror conviction for ex-USF professor," Dec. 7): We have been
able to follow the trial closely with the help of church friends on the
other side of the state. It seemed very unlikely that Sami al-Arian
could get a fair trial in Tampa. It became clear, however, that despite
spectacular charges, there was no real case against him. Even
prosecution witnesses ended up helping the defense.
On Dec. 7, both The New York Times and The Washington Post included
quotes from Ahmed Bedier, regional director of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil-rights group. His words in
the Times: "The jury is sending a statement that even in post-9/11
America, the justice system works." The quote in the Post: "It will not
only restore faith in the justice system by American Muslims but also
Muslims all over the world who doubted justice in America. This sends a
very positive message that Muslims can receive a fair trial in America."
To Mr. Bedier's words, we add our own heartfelt United Methodist "Amen."
MIRIAM and HARVEY HOLLAND
Port St. Lucie
-----
BOARD FORMS AD HOC SCHOOL CALENDAR COMMITTEE -
TOP
Four Balto. County board members will address holiday debate for 2007-2008 schedule
Liz F. Kay, Baltimore Sun, 12/22/05
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.calendar22dec22,1,7356358.story?coll=bal-education-top
Baltimore County school board members hope that a new committee will
help resolve the debate over how religious holidays are recognized
during the school year.
Board president Thomas G. Grzymski announced the formation of the ad
hoc committee at the board's Tuesday meeting, following nearly two
years of testimony by members of Baltimore County Muslim Council about
Muslim holidays and more recently from others about the failure to
adequately label Christmas and Easter on the school calendar.
County schools have closed on the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashana and
Yom Kippur for the past 10 years because some schools had sizable staff
and student absences on those days. The Muslim group has lobbied to
cancel classes on two Muslim holy days, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha.
"Certainly we spend an awful lot of time talking about calendar issues,"
Grzymski said. "We would like to try to end that."
The committee of four school board members plans to report its
suggestions at a public session in about 45 days, said Luis Borunda, a
board member who is chairman of the group.
"It's an attempt for the board to have input," Grzymski said yesterday.
"We as a board have never given specific direction to the
superintendent as to what we wanted to do with the calendar."
Superintendent Joe A. Hairston will give those instructions to the
committee of parents, students and school system staff members
appointed to develop the schedule. The school board will then vote on
the proposed calendar a year in advance. This year's committee, which
will draw up the 2007-2008 calendar, has not been selected.
Borunda, who joined the school board in August 2004, said yesterday that the committee would review the entire calendar.
"I think a lot of the decisions that have been made by previous boards
may or may not reflect the thoughts and wishes of the board as it
exists today," he said.
After Tuesday's meeting, Muslim Council president Bash Pharoan
summarized an argument he's often repeated at school board meetings:
"Either you put religion in school equally, or you take it out," he
said.
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS
BRIEFS - 12/23/05
*
Verse:
Jesus Honored in This World and the
Next
*
OH:
Faiths Gather in Prayer at Bombed
Mosque (Enquirer)
*
TX/MI:
Islamic Scholar Denied
Entry into U.S. (AP)
-
Islamic Teacher Will Miss Lecture
(Houston Chronicle)
*
U.S. Muslims Face Searches After Toronto Visit (AP)
-
CAIR Issues Travel Advisory for U.S. Muslims
*
Judge:
Unable to End 'Unlawful' Detention (Wash Post)
-
Spy Court Judge Often Ripped Post-9/11 Detentions (WP)
*
TX:
New Rules on When, Where Muslim Students Can Pray (DMN)
*
CA:
No Signs of Foul Play in Death of Muslim Doctor (AP)
*
Islam-Oped:
Muslims Revere Reason for Christmas (OC Register)
-
Christians Find Muslim Allies to Defend Christmas
*
Canada:
Pro-Islamist Words Dubbed a 'Smear' (Toronto Star)
*
US Halts Arabic Mag Meant to Boost US Image (Reuters)
*
DC:
Indicted Officials May Sue Pro-Israel Lobby (Forward)
-
Christian Right Leader Warns Foxman on Israel
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: JESUS HONORED IN THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT -
TOP
"Behold! The angels said: 'O Mary! God giveth thee glad tidings of a
Word from Him. His name will be Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, held in
honor in this world and the Hereafter and in (the company of) those
nearest to God.'"
The Holy Quran, 3:45
-----
FAITHS GATHER IN PRAYER -
TOP
Eileen Kelley, Cincinnati Enquirer, 12/23/05
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051223/NEWS01/512230402
[CONTACT: CAIR-Cincinnati Director Karen Dabdoub, 513-604-4444, E-Mail:
karen@cair-ohio.com ]
CLIFTON HEIGHTS - They vowed to go about their daily lives and not let
the bombs - detonated just 46 hours earlier - shatter their faith in
God and their community.
Thursday evening, strangers of all ages and religions joined Muslims
gathered at the Islamic Association of Cincinnati in a show of unity
among people, regardless of their faith.
Just before the day's last call to prayer, 38 male Muslims entered the
first floor of the Clifton mosque and prayed. Within 15 minutes after
the prayers were said, an additional 300 men and women joined the
Muslims in the mosque for an interfaith prayer vigil.
The turnout was well beyond what anyone expected - only 60 seats had been set aside.
"It is very heartwarming here, my brothers and sisters," Mohammad
Shamma, chairman of the Islamic Association of Cincinnati, said near
the start of the one-hour vigil, which included prayers and words of
encouragement and support from Buddhists, Christians and Jews.
On Tuesday night, two pipe bombs left outside two doors to the mosque
blew out windows and a door and knocked out heavy masonry within the
foundation.
No one was injured and no arrests have been made, but the shock from
the attack has been difficult to shake, many at the vigil said. (MORE)
-----
TX/MI: ISLAMIC SCHOLAR DENIED ENTRY INTO U.S., OFFICIALS SAY -
TOP
Associated Press, 12/22/05
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/13467637.htm
[CONTACT: CAIR-Houston Board Member Kaleem Siddiqui, 210-884-5335;
CAIR-Houston Civil Rights Director Halimah Shaheed, 713-838-2247]
HOUSTON - An Islamic scholar traveling to a religious conference in
Houston was denied entry this week into the United States, officials
said.
Yahya Ibrahim, a Canadian citizen who resides in Australia, was
scheduled to speak this weekend at the Texas Dawah Convention V in
Houston. But Customs and Border Protection officials denied him entry
Monday night when he landed in Detroit, said Chief Ron Smith, a Customs
and Border spokesman.
"The only information I can give out is that he was denied entry under the Immigration Act," Smith said.
No contact information was immediately available for Ibrahim, who flew
to Canada after learning he was not allowed into the United States,
Smith said.
Officials with the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the
scholar told them he was detained for five hours and given no reason
for being refused entry. Kaleem Siddiqui, a spokesman for the council's
Houston office, said the organization was contacting congressmen and
other authorities for an explanation. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
ISLAMIC TEACHER WILL MISS LECTURE HERE -
TOP
Set to speak at Texas conference, he was denied entry to U.S. at Detroit airport
EDWARD HEGSTROM, Houston Chronicle, 12/23/05
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3543965.html
A Canadian Islamic teacher scheduled to speak at an upcoming Houston conference has been barred entry to the United States.
Yahya Ibrahim arrived at the Detroit airport Monday, where an
immigration inspector denied him entry. Ibrahim, who was traveling from
Australia, could not be reached for comment.
He was scheduled to speak at the Texas Dawah Convention, an annual
event for Muslims expected to attract 4,000 participants from across
the country. The government confirmed that Ibrahim was denied entry,
but refused to say why.
"We don't release specific details of the reason for denial," said John
Mohan, spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Washington.
Mohan confirmed that Canadian citizens are not required to carry visas
to enter the United States, but he said they can still be denied entry.
"Suffice it to say the burden of proof is always on the alien," Mohan
said. He would not specify what it is immigrants must prove.
Conference organizers have asked for a better explanation.
"The message (Ibrahim) promotes is the message of peace and
moderation," said convention director Waleed Dasyouni. "Turning him
away sends the wrong message." (MORE)
-----
U.S. MUSLIMS FACE SEARCHES AFTER TORONTO VISIT -
TOP
CAROLYN THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_PrintFriendly&c=Article&cid=1135291812058&call_pageid=968332188492
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A judge Thursday refused to prohibit U.S. border
officers from conducting potentially lengthy security checks on
Muslim-Americans on their way home from a religious conference in
Canada that begins Friday.
The New York Civil Liberties Union sought the court action on behalf of
five New York residents who were among dozens of people fingerprinted,
photographed, questioned and delayed for up to six hours at the border
following last year's "Reviving the Islamic Spirit" convention in
Toronto.
U.S. District Judge William Skretny, while characterizing last year's
stops as "understandably frustrating," disagreed with the NYCLU's
contention that they violated the group's constitutional rights to
practice religion and avoid unlawful searches.
"Plaintiffs were delayed for an extended period of time and subjected
to unexplained inspection techniques that were inconvenient and made
them feel uncomfortable," Skretny wrote. "The government readily admits
that plaintiffs' experience at the border was not ideal ... As
unfortunate as this incident may have been, I find that it was not
unconstitutional."
The NYCLU sought the injunction preventing similar inspections based
solely on attendance at this year's conference as part of a lawsuit
that also sought the destruction of any personal information collected
during the stops.
In addition to denying the injunction, Skretny dismissed the case altogether.
NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman promised an appeal, saying a
decision allowing such searches "without an iota of suspicion of any
wrongdoing" could not be allowed to stand.
"We're shocked that the court has approved this unprecedented expansion
of government authority to treat U.S. citizens as terrorists simply
because they exercise their fundamental right to attend a religious
conference," Lieberman said. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR ISSUES TRAVEL ADVISORY FOR U.S. MUSLIMS -
TOP
'Civil Rights Hotline' Created for Hajj Pilgrims, Canada Conference Attendees
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=58451
Contact: Arsalan Iftikhar, 202-488-8787 or 202-415-0799; Ibrahim
Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726; Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or
202-439-1441, all of CAIR
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A prominent national Islamic
civil rights and advocacy group today issued a travel advisory for
Muslim citizens who will be attending a conference in Canada this
weekend or participating in the upcoming Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca.
(The Hajj will take place in the second week of January. Some 10,000
American Muslims go on Hajj each year.)
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is
concerned that American Muslim travelers returning to the United States
will be singled out by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
officials for special security checks and fingerprinting based solely
on their attendance at both religious events.
CAIR created a
"Civil Rights Hotline" (1-800-784-7526)
and a downloadable border incident report form for those who believe
their constitutional rights have been violated by CBP personnel.
Last year, dozens of American Muslim citizens said they were targeted
for security checks, fingerprinting and photographs based on their
attendance at an Islamic conference in Canada. Many American Muslims
will attend that same conference this year.
"Americans of all faiths should be free to travel without fear of being
singled out based solely on their religious practices or associations,"
said CAIR Legal Director Arsalan Iftikhar.
Iftikhar said CAIR is asking those traveling to the conference or going on Hajj to download an incident report form from
http://www.cair.com/downloads/borderincident.pdf and to keep it handy for the return trip to the United States.
He said anyone who believes their constitutional rights have been
violated is urged to call CAIR's hotline at 1-800-784-7526. During
business hours, the hotline number rolls over to CAIR's Washington,
D.C., switchboard. After hours, a recording will give cell phone
numbers for CAIR civil rights staff. CAIR's Civil Rights Department may
also be reached by e-mailing:
civilrights@cair-net.org.
(CAIR's "Your Rights and Responsibilities as an American Muslim" pocket
guide will also be distributed at the Toronto conference.)
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada.
-----
UNABLE TO END 'UNLAWFUL' DETENTION, JUDGE SAYS -
TOP
Josh White, Washington Post, 12/23/05
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/22/AR2005122202118.html
A federal judge in Washington ruled yesterday that the continued
detention of two ethnic Uighurs at the U.S. prison facility at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is "unlawful," but he decided he had no authority
to order their release.
U.S. District Judge James Robertson criticized the government's
detention of Abu Bakker Qassim and Adel Abdu Hakim, who have been
jailed at Guantanamo for four years; they have been cleared for release
because the government has determined they are not enemy combatants and
are not a threat to the United States. But Robertson said his court has
"no relief to offer" because the government has not found a country to
accept the men and because he does not have authority to let them enter
the United States. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
SPY COURT JUDGE OFTEN RIPPED POST-SEPT. 11 DETENTIONS -
TOP
Carol Rosenberg, Knight Ridder, 12/22/05
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/13463808.htm
The federal judge who quit the nation's secret spy court in protest
over the Bush administration's covert domestic wiretaps has been one of
the judiciary's most active and feisty critics of the Guant�namo Bay
detention facility in Cuba, where the United States has held hundreds
of foreigners for years without charge.
Despite his resignation from the spy court, U.S. District Judge James
Robertson, 67, remains on the federal bench and is expected to issue
another ruling in a Guant�namo case later this week.
The 11-member Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court is perhaps the
most secretive in America, created by the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act (FISA). It reviews U.S. government requests for
surreptitious eavesdropping to gather intelligence on potential U.S.
enemies. Last year, according to a report to Congress, it received
1,758 warrant requests -- and approved all but four.
President Bush set off a political and civil liberties firestorm
Saturday by confirming a New York Times story that he had secretly
authorized the eavesdropping of some calls from the United States to
abroad, as well as some e-mail, without seeking warrants, as part of a
National Security Agency program to gather intelligence on Al-Qaida.
Bush administration officials cited the need for ``agility" in
bypassing the FISA court -- despite its ability to obtain warrants
after the fact. Now, the Senate Judiciary Committee is calling hearings
to examine Bush's assertion that his war powers permitted him to
authorize the eavesdropping program, which he did more than 30 times.
"Apparently Judge Robertson did not want to aid and abet criminal NSA
electronic surveillance," the New York Center for Constitutional Rights
said in a statement. The center has alleged for four years that Bush
has been overstepping his war powers in his Guant�namo and
enemy-combatant practices. (MORE)
-----
NEW RULES OUTLINE WHEN, WHERE MUSLIMS CAN PRAY -
TOP
KRISTINE HUGHES, Dallas Morning News, 12/22/05
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/richardson/stories/DN-muslimprayer_22met.ART.North.Edition2.102ca3ad.html
Last month, Richardson school officials said that Berkner High Muslim
students who had complained that they weren't allowed to pray on campus
simply misunderstood staff instructions.
But documents released Wednesday say that an acting principal told
Berkner High staff in October to not allow students to leave classrooms
to pray.
In November, The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a Washington, D.C.,
law firm, complained to Richardson administrators that a group of
Berkner Muslim students were being punished for exercising their right
to pray on campus.
In a letter sent to Becket on Friday, school district attorney Mia
Martin said instructions e-mailed to school staff in October by acting
principal Ed Yartym led to "some confusion at the campus."
However, Mr. Yartym never intended to prohibit students from praying, Ms. Martin added in the letter released by Becket.
Mr. Yartym's e-mail, obtained by Becket, told staff that no groups were
to be treated differently than any other with regard to prayer.
"No students are to be allowed to leave [their] classroom at any time
to go pray," because that would constitute special accommodations, the
e-mail read.
District spokeswoman Jeanne Guerra could not comment on the letter or
e-mail and said she couldn't reach district administrators Wednesday.
The district is on winter break.
The e-mail went on to say that students would not be given passes to
leave classrooms to pray but that they could pray during lunch in the
library or cafeteria but not travel between the two locations.
A subsequent e-mail from Mr. Yartym to staff said students who want to assemble to pray must leave the building.
As a result, a group of students said they were being forced to choose
between eating lunch and praying the midday prayer required by their
faith, or not praying at all. Muslims pray five times daily toward
Mecca in Saudi Arabia, Islam's holiest site.
The students' families retained The Becket Fund to negotiate with the district.
Becket representatives said the school's policy was a violation of the
students' constitutional right to express their religious beliefs.
In the letter to Becket, Ms. Martin said Muslim students will be able
to pray on campus at the prescribed times, and she outlined how that
will take place.
Now the students have some certainty, said Derek L. Gaubatz, Becket's director of litigation.
"All students win when the school district recognizes its obligation to
accommodate private student prayer," he said. "The First Amendment is
alive and well again at Berkner High."
The new guidelines say:
o Students may pray in the empty hallway next to the cafeteria after
lunch, but if the group becomes too large, the cafeteria monitor may
stagger the times students gather.
o October through March, when a prayer falls during fifth-period class,
students may pray outside the classroom in the nearest alcove just
after the tardy bell.
o Prayers should be completed as quickly as possible to minimize lost class time. (MORE)
-----
NO APPARENT SIGNS OF FOUL PLAY IN DEATH OF SJ DOCTOR -
TOP
Associated Press, 12/23/05
A 55-year-old pediatrician whose body was recovered from her submerged
car in the Oakland Estuary was buried Thursday, after an autopsy
revealed that she probably did not die as a result of foul play.
The family of Dr. Zehra Attari quickly held the burial at Oak Hill
Cemetery in San Jose, in keeping with a Muslim tradition that calls for
the dead to be buried within 72 hours.
Attari apparently got lost after taking a wrong turn on her way to a
medical conference on Nov. 7 and accidentally drove into the estuary
that separates Alameda from Oakland, authorities and family members
said.
Police, who previously had searched the water, located Attari's gray
2001 Honda Accord on Tuesday night. They acted on a tip that was
e-mailed to the family from a woman who said she saw Attari driving
around the area and appeared to be looking at addresses on buildings.
(MORE)
-----
ISLAM-OPED: MUSLIMS REVERE REASON FOR CHRISTMAS -
TOP
Jesus is considered a prophet, and the Quran recalls his virgin birth
IBRAHIM HOOPER, Orange County Register, 12/23/05
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/opinion/columns/article_911110.php
[ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ibrahim Hooper is national communications director
for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR),
the nation's largest Muslim civil-liberties group. He may be contacted
at:
ihooper@cair-net.org ]
"Behold! The angels said: 'O Mary! God giveth thee glad tidings of a
Word from Him. His name will be Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, held in
honor in this world and the Hereafter and in (the company of) those
nearest to God.'"
Before searching for this quote in the New Testament, you might first
ask your Muslim co-worker, friend or neighbor for a copy of the Quran,
Islam's revealed text. The quote is from verse 45 of chapter 3 in the
Quran.
It is well-known, particularly in this holiday season, that Christians
follow the teachings of Jesus. What is less well-understood is that
Muslims also love and revere Jesus as one of God's greatest messengers
to mankind.
Other verses in the Quran, regarded by Muslims as the direct word of
God, state that Jesus was strengthened with the "Holy Spirit" (2:87)
and is a "sign for the whole world." (21:91) His virgin birth was
confirmed when Mary is quoted as asking: "How can I have a son when no
man has ever touched me?" (3:47)
The Quran shows Jesus speaking from the cradle and, with God's
permission, curing lepers and the blind. (5:110) God also states in the
Quran: "We gave (Jesus) the Gospel (Injeel) and put compassion and
mercy into the hearts of his followers." (57:27)
As forces of hate in this country and worldwide try to pull Muslims and
Christians apart, we are in desperate need of a unifying force that can
bridge the widening gap of interfaith misunderstanding and mistrust.
That force could be the message of love, peace and forgiveness taught
by Jesus and accepted by followers of both faiths. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CHRISTIANS FIND SURPRISING ALLIES IN FIGHT TO DEFEND CHRISTMAS -
TOP
Any kind of worship can only be good, Muslims, Jews say
Jenny Jackson, Ottawa Citizen, 12/23/05
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=61a5e445-73ea-4669-a54e-fb9b70b7fedd&k=28550
Christian groups battling the "war on Christmas" have found surprising
allies in some Jewish and Muslim groups, especially in the United
States, who say any religion is more hospitable than aggressive
secularism.
"It is assumed that Muslims would object to someone saying, 'Merry
Christmas.' In fact, we don't," says Ibraham Hooper, of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations.
Muslims are sympathetic toward the urge to worship and believe that a
society with more spirituality, rather than less, can only be good, he
says. . .
. . .Mr. Hooper says people of other faiths simply want the same
freedom to celebrate their religious holidays that Christians have. "We
don't seek public recognition," he says of Muslims, "but as the
community is growing and maturing, we ask to be recognized. In terms of
numbers, we would ask the same respect." So if a community was largely
Muslim, would its public school close for Ramadan? No, but a good many
students might not be in class.
The council's central Florida office recently asked that a school board
near Tampa include a one-day Muslim holiday alongside Christian and
Jewish holidays. When the school board voted instead to scrap all
religious holidays, Christian groups protested -- but so did Muslims.
The Christian and Jewish holidays were reinstated. "We have dropped it
for now," says Mr. Hooper. "We'll come back to it when things have
cooled down. It can't be discussed rationally at this point."
He added: "We would like to see one standard applied in terms of recognizing religious holidays." (MORE)
-----
CANADA: PRO-ISLAMIST WORDS DUBBED A `SMEAR' -
TOP
ANDREW CHUNG, Toronto Star, 12/23/05
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1135291812605&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home
The incendiary words came flying out of an exuberant, cheering crowd,
words exalting the rise of Islamic power in Canadian politics.
Now they're being called an election smear that involves Islam and
might have lasting repercussions for Muslims who have only recently
become active in Canadian politics.
The fiery phrases, immediately attributed to Omar Alghabra - the rookie
candidate who had just won the Liberal party nomination in
Mississauga-Erindale - were soon making the rounds on the Internet,
then became the subject of a news release from an outspoken group that
seeks to expose radical Islam.
"This is a victory for Islam .... Islamic power is extending into Canadian politics," Alghabra was reported to have said.
The problem is that Alghabra and others who were there - including
outgoing Mississauga MP Carolyn Parrish - insist he didn't say them. A
Toronto Star reporter covering the event also heard no such thing.
But the damage has been done, Alghabra believes. And the contentious
words, he said, are a dirty political smear attacking his background.
"It's very emotional for me," said Alghabra, a self-described secular
Muslim. "The closest thing I can think of is rape. It's the closest
thing I can imagine. Where people are allowed to say things that are
completely lies, offensive and outrageous, I can't believe it." His
campaign is pondering legal action.
Parrish said it's an election smear that could deter Muslims from
participating in the election process. "It might cause them to step
back and say, `I don't want the spotlight on me, I don't need this
crap.'"
So far, it's been a tenuous beginning for Muslims in federal politics.
In the 2004 election, a record 10 Muslim candidates ran and three were
elected, including the first Muslim woman, Yasmin Ratansi. More than 80
per cent of eligible Muslims voted. . .
As minority groups increasingly get involved in the electoral process,
damage from Internet blogs or news releases that misinterpret or
misconstrue their views can easily throw a campaign off course.
According to information pieced together by the Toronto Star, some
members of the Canadian Coptic Centre, an Egyptian church in
Mississauga where the nomination meeting was held, left feeling
offended.
Some went to the Internet and posted the statements and who they thought made them. (MORE)
-----
US HALTS ARABIC MAGAZINE MEANT TO BOOST US IMAGE -
TOP
Saul Hudson
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N22352695.htm
WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The United States has suspended
publishing a lifestyle magazine aimed at improving America's image
abroad among young Arabs, in a further sign of troubled U.S. public
diplomacy efforts.
The State Department, which sponsors the $4.5 million annual
publication and distribution throughout the Arab world of the
Arabic-language magazine "Hi," said on Thursday it stopped the presses
because it was unclear how widely it was read.
A series of studies in the United States have criticized U.S.-funded
Arabic-langauge media, such as Radio Sawa and the satellite TV station
Alhurra, for failing to attract a large audience. (MORE)
-----
DC: INDICTED OFFICIALS CONSIDER SUING PRO-ISRAEL LOBBY -
TOP
ORI NIR, Forward, 12/23/05
http://forward.com/articles/7052
WASHINGTON - Two former employees of the nation's main pro-Israel
lobby, who are facing trial for allegedly receiving classified
information and relaying it to foreign diplomats and the press, are
considering lawsuits against the lobbying powerhouse.
Steve Rosen, former director of foreign policy at the American Israel
Public Affairs Committee, and Keith Weissman, Aipac's former Iran
analyst, are considering suing Aipac over its stopping payments of
legal fees to their attorneys, sources close to the two said. They are
also considering a defamation suit against Aipac, if they are
exonerated, for accusing them of unbecoming conduct.
Indications that Rosen and Weissman were preparing to sue Aipac have
caused the collapse of negotiations between their attorneys and Aipac's
attorneys over the lobby's coverage of the two men's legal fees,
sources close to both sides said.
To the dismay of many Aipac members and supporters, relations between
Aipac's leadership and its two former employees have deteriorated
sharply in recent months, to the point of bitter exchanges of
accusations and threats of legal action.
The hostility between the two dismissed officials and Aipac's
leadership is expected to peak at the two men's trial, scheduled to
start in late April 2006. Defense attorneys will try to establish that
the men were following the organization's routine practice and that
Aipac's top officials were fully aware of their actions. "The evidence
in this case will show that Dr. Rosen and Mr. Weissman always acted in
Aipac's interests, never were on their own and acted with the knowledge
and approval of their superiors," Rosen's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, told the
Forward.
Aipac's top officials, by contrast, are attempting vigorously to
distance the agency from its ex-employees, maintaining that the reason
Rosen and Weissman were fired in March was "conduct that was not part
of their job, and beneath the standards required of Aipac employees,"
said Patrick Dorton, a spokesman for Aipac.
SEE ALSO:
CHRISTIAN RIGHT LEADER WARNS FOXMAN ON ISRAEL -
TOP
JENNIFER SIEGEL, Forward, 12/23/05
http://forward.com/articles/7059
According to one prominent Christian evangelical, support for Israel
may go on the chopping block if Jewish leaders persist in publicly
criticizing the religious right.
Don Wildmon, president of the evangelical American Family Association,
had sharp words for the national director of the Anti-Defamation
League, Abraham Foxman, during the December 5 broadcast of his daily
radio program: "The more [Foxman] says that 'you people are destroying
this country,' [the more] some people are going to begin to get fed up
with this and say, 'Well, all right then. If that's the way you feel,
then we just won't support Israel anymore.' "
Wildmon's comment is the latest thrust in an ongoing duel between
liberal Jewish leaders and the religious right after Foxman condemned
what he called a campaign "to Christianize America" in a November 3
speech at the ADL's national commission meeting. Foxman specifically
mentioned reports of alleged religious coercion at the U.S. Air Force
Academy and continued pressure for federal funding of faith-based
initiatives as sources of concern.
On November 19, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform
Judaism, condemned "zealots" on the "religious right" who spend more
time fueling "anti-gay bigotry" than fighting poverty and other social
ills.
In recent weeks, cultural conservatives have struck back, in particular
by launching a public campaign, led by Fox News commentator Bill
O'Reilly, in opposition to an alleged "war on Christmas." Religious
activists threatened to boycott major retailers such as Macy's and
Wal-Mart for allegedly removing the word "Christmas" from store
greetings and decorations.
In the U.S. House of Representatives last week, Virginia Republican Jo
Ann Davis introduced a resolution that "strongly disapproves of
attempts to ban references to Christmas," which passed 401-22 - and the
"yeas" included votes by 17 Jewish legislators.
In contrast to Wildmon's reaction to the ADL's criticism, other
religious right leaders said that evangelical support for Israel was
not linked to harmony on domestic issues.
"Our support for Israel relies on our understanding of biblical truth
and that's a strong foundation that can't be shaken by Abe Foxman's
fantasies," Gary L. Bauer, president of the American Values
organization, told the Forward. "I think we'd be much better off to
spend our energy on how we can continue to work for Christian and
Jewish reconciliation, rather than to fall into the trap of getting
into a mud-wrestling match with Mr. Foxman, who has a lot of experience
in that venue."
David Neff, editor of Christianity Today magazine, told the Forward
that he believes Bauer's view predominates among evangelicals, who have
traditionally supported Israel for both political and theological
reasons. Certain evangelicals believe that the return of Jesus will be
preceded by the homecoming of Jews to Israel. (MORE)
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
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E-mail:
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DC MUSLIMS REACT TO REPORT OF SECRET RADIATION
MONITORING
No court orders obtained for monitoring of mosques,
Muslim homes, businesses
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/23/2005) - Leaders of the Washington-area
Islamic community will hold a news conference this afternoon to offer
their reaction to the reported secret monitoring of radiation levels at
more than 100 Muslim homes, businesses and mosques in the capital region
and in other areas nationwide.
WHAT: Muslims React to Secret Radiation Monitoring
WHEN: Friday, December 23, 4 p.m.
WHERE: CAIR Capitol Hill Headquarters, 453 New Jersey Avenue S.E.,
Washington, D.C.
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726; Nihad Awad, 703-851-4051;
Rabiah Ahmed, 202-439-1441
According to an exclusive online article by
U.S. News & World
Report:
"In search of a terrorist nuclear bomb, the federal government since
9/11 has run a far-reaching, top secret program to monitor radiation
levels at over a hundred Muslim sites in the Washington, D.C., area,
including mosques, homes, businesses, and warehouses, plus similar sites
in at least five other cities, U.S. News has learned. In numerous cases,
the monitoring required investigators to go on to the property under
surveillance, although no search warrants or court orders were ever
obtained, according to those with knowledge of the program. Some
participants were threatened with loss of their jobs when they questioned
the legality of the operation, according to these accounts. . . No dirty
bombs or nuclear devices have ever been found - and that includes the
post-9/11 program. 'There were a lot of false positives, and one or two
were alarming,' says one source. 'But in the end we found
nothing.'"
SEE:
"
Nuclear
Monitoring of Muslims Done Without Search Warrants"
In a statement, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) said:
"This disturbing revelation, coupled with recent reports of
domestic surveillance without warrant, could lead to the perception that
we are no longer a nation ruled by law, but instead one in which fear
trumps constitutional rights.
"All Americans should be concerned about the apparent trend toward a
two-tiered system of justice system, with full rights for most citizens,
and another diminished set of rights for Muslims."
Awad noted that just yesterday, a judge refused to prohibit U.S. border
personnel from singling out American Muslims on their way home from a
religious conference that begins today in Canada.
SEE:
"
U.S.
Muslims Face Searches After Toronto Visit"
SEE ALSO:
"
CAIR
Issues Travel Advisory for U.S. Muslims"
Also yesterday, CAIR announced that it filed a freedom of information
(FOIA) request over President Bush's post-9/11 executive orders
authorizing electronic surveillance of Americans and others in the United
States without first obtaining court approval, as required by the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). CAIR says it may file a similar
request for documents relating to the radiation monitoring.
SEE:
"
CAIR
Files FOIA Request on Secret Wiretaps"
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 31 offices and
chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its
mission is
to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil
liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote
justice and mutual understanding.
- END -
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list receive news releases
and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on issues of
importance to our society.
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.cair-net.org
-----
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