cair-net Digest of: get.1901_2000

Topics (messages 1901 through 2000):

CAIR-NET: CAIR Calls for Probe of U.S. Role in Israeli Prison Attack
	1901 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: WA Judge Establishes Policy on Hijab in Court / CA Muslim 
Teen Arrested Over Fender Bender
	1902 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Lawmaker Sent 'Beware of Islam' E-Mail to Constituents / Many 
African-American Inmates Converting to Islam
	1903 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Attacker Runs Down Canadian Muslim After Shouting Racial 
Slurs
	1904 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: New U.S. Iraq Atrocity Alleged / Work Starts on MD Islamic 
High School
	1905 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: U.S. Muslim Leaders Meet with Rice, Hughes / Anti-Arab 
Rampage at MI Gas Station
	1906 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Calls for Release of Afghan Christian
	1907 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Jailed FL Muslim Told 'We Don't Need Reason to Hold You' / NJ 
Officials Won't Back Arab-American Candidate / Interest in Learning 
Arabic Soars / Montreal Mosque Vandalized
	1908 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Muslims to Join DC Rally for Immigrant Rights / Evangelicals 
Most Distrustful of Muslims
	1909 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: U.S. Muslims Gain Foothold in Politics / MI Mosque Vandalized 
/ Man Guilty of Scamming VT Muslims
	1910 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Dems Dump Arab-American Candidate / Guilty of 'Flying While 
Muslim' / Claims of Atrocities by U.S. Soldiers Mount
	1911 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: TX Muslim Says Court Banned Hijab / CAIR, DOJ Offer 
'Challenging Hate' Workshop
	1912 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Arab-Americans Denounce Dumping NJ Candidate / Schumer 
Compares Arabs to 'Skinheads' / Islam, Bioethics Converge
	1913 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Corzine Told of Arab-American Candidate's 'Political 
Lynching' / CAIR Rep Discusses 'Integration' at French Forum
	1914 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Welcomes Release of Journalist Jill Carroll in Iraq
	1915 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Carroll's Release Elates U.S. Muslims / Bookstores Won't 
Carry 'Cartoon' Magazine / Apostasy and Religious Freedom
	1916 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Islamic Women Liked as Leaders / U.S. Deserter Tells of 
Atrocities
	1917 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: MN Police Reach Out to Muslims / NC Muslim Cemetery Nearly 
Full / Hispanic Muslim Says Islam is Diverse / Leaving Islam is Not a 
Capital Crime
	1918 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: FBI Asked to Probe FL Mosque Vandalism / Pakistani-American 
Doctors to Lobby Congress / 1,000 Turn Out for CAIR-MI Dinner
	1919 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Muslim Student Attacked on Texas Campus / Action: Support 
Comprehensive Immigration Reform
	1920 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Boykin Promotion Would Send 'Negative Message' to Muslims / 
Muslim Congressional Staffers Hold Inaugural Event
	1921 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: NJ Centers Help Muslim Domestic Abuse Victims / TX Muslims to 
Call for Tolerance After Baylor Attack
	1922 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Offers Reward for Info on Baylor U Assault
	1923 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Hispanic Missionaries Used to Target Muslim Countries
	1924 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Female Muslim Judge Takes the Bench in MI / Schizophrenic Man 
Jailed as 'Terrorist' in FL / CA Convert Finds Peace in Islam
	1925 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: NJ Mosque Officials Allege 'Profiling' During Bridge Stop / 
Jury Awards Profiled Passenger $27.5 Million
	1926 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR-CA Calls on DOJ to Protect Rights of Muslim Teen / MI 
Mosque Proposal Exposes Fears
	1927 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Spanish Muslim Denied Entry to U.S., Jailed in Florida
	1928 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: DHS to Review Case of Spanish Muslim Detained in FL / VA 
Muslim Jiffy Lube Employee Allowed to Wear Hijab
	1929 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Muslim Woman's Ordeal Prompts Federal Inquiry / CAIR Rep 
Speaks at West Point
	1930 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Welcomes Resolution of Al-Arian Case
	1931 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Shia, Sunni Labels Irrelevant in U.S. / TV Skewing Americans' 
View of Islam
	1932 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CA Muslims to Rally in Support of Teen / Cubans Converting to 
Islam / NPR Program Seeks Questions About Quran
	1933 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Seeks Info on U.S. Muslim Detained in Bangladesh
	1934 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Terror List Snags Americans with `Wrong' Name / Muslim 
Students Battle Prejudice
	1935 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: FL Bills Would Block Aid to International Students / Muslim 
Women Fight to Exercise Away From Men
	1936 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: IL Police Ripped Off Muslim Girl's Hijab / 5 Truths About 
Darfur / VA Muslims Host Passover Seder in Mosque
	1937 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Michigan Prof Tells Muslim Students to Leave America
	1938 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Condemns Attack on Egyptian Resort / IL News Conference 
for Muslim Who Had Scarf Removed by Police
	1939 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: MSU Prof Apologizes for 'Intemperate' E-Mail / Americans 
Would Vote for Muslim President
	1940 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: MI Workout Chain to Accommodate Muslim Privacy Concerns
	1941 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: FBI Asked to Probe Attack on Georgia Muslim Family
	1942 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Offers Reward for Info About Attack on GA Muslims / Help 
End the Crisis in Darfur
	1943 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Calls for New Trial After Lodi Juror Disavows Verdict
	1944 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Shots Fired Into Maryland Mosque / CAIR asks FBI to 
Investigate Possible Bias Motive
	1945 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Asks Why No Muslim Groups to Speak at Darfur Rally
	1946 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: FBI to Probe Possible Anti-Muslim Bias in MD, GA / Event Aims 
to Boost Understanding of Faith
	1947 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: AZ Muslims Accosted by 'United 93' Viewers / OH Muslims 
Sponsor Darfur Prayer
	1948 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: IL Muslim Confronts Needs of City / Government Creating 
'Climate of Torture'
	1949 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Muslims to Protest Wachovia's Closure of Charity Account
	1950 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: AZ Muslims Worried by Tirade after Film / NJ Muslim Cabbie 
Returns $2K to Passenger
	1951 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Welcomes Darfur Peace Accord Brokered by State Dept.
	1952 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Attack on TX Mosque Probed as Hate Crime / VA Bank Riles 
Muslim Activists / 'United 93' Stirs Up CA Muslims
	1953 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Action Alert - Urge Wachovia to Explain Account Closures of 
Muslims
	1954 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Wachovia Agrees to Review its Closing of Muslim Charity 
Accounts / Call Lawmakers to Oppose Anti-Palestinian Law
	1955 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Muslims Concerned 'United 93' Creates Anti-Islam Sentiment / 
Groups Call on DOE to Include Muslim Holidays in Calendar
	1956 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Hitchens Calls Prophet 'Epileptic Plagiarist' / NJ Muslims, 
MADD Want Tougher DWI Law
	1957 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Calls for Special Counsel on NSA Phone Date Spy Program
	1958 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Asks Muslims to Support Family of Slain VA Officer / 
Islam-Oped: A Sensible Way to Describe Terrorists
	1959 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Discipline Sought for MI Prof Who Wrote Islamophobic E-mail
	1960 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Urge Elected Officials to Probe NSA Surveillance / FBI Asked 
to Release Data on CA Muslims
	1961 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Clothing Options for Muslim Women Come Into Vogue / IL 
Muslims, Officials to Discuss Citizenship Delays
	1962 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Vandals Shatter Front Door of Milpitas Mosque / Muslims 
Provide Diversity Training on Islamic Culture
	1963 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Supports Call to Close Gitmo / Muslims, FBI Seek to 
Build Trust Strained by 9/11
	1964 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: KY Muslim Student Harassed After Challenging School Prayer / 
Texans Turning Muslim? / CA Latino, Muslim Youths Share Their Heritage
	1965 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Delegation Meets with US Ambassador in UAE
	1966 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: U.S. Muslims Say 'Siege' of Palestinians Must End
	1967 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Canada Mosque Vandalized with Anti-Muslim Posters / FL Judge 
Orders Release of Saudi Students Who Rode School Bus
	1968 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Keith Ellison May Become Congress's First Muslim / Special 
Meals for Muslim Military Personnel
	1969 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Launches 'Muslims Care' Volunteerism Campaign
	1970 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Is Islam Misunderstood in America? / Alleged AIPAC Informant 
Promoted
	1971 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Rights Being Stripped Away / Bigoted Cartoon / Feminism Can't 
Solve All
	1972 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Film Could Stir Anti-Muslim Violence / How US Marines 
Massacred 24 Iraqi Civilians / Indonesian Earthquake Relief / Trial Opens 
Window on Shadowing of U.S. Muslims
	1973 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: AZ Alamo Guilty of Post-9/11 Backlash / 'Rock Against Islam' 
in OR / DC Muslims 'Race for the Cure' / CAIR-FL to Announce Bias 
Complaint
	1974 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Calls on Rumsfeld to Resign Over Iraq Massacre
	1975 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Fears Hamper U.S. Muslims' Travel / CAIR Offers Training on 
Islam for Marines, DHS / FL Teacher Discriminates Against Muslim Girl
	1976 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Muslim Congressional Aides Taking a Stand / CA Mosque to Host 
Town Hall Mtg with CAIR, FBI / IA Mosque Vandalized / New Reports Say 
US Troops Killed More Civilians
	1977 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Canadian Muslims Relieved Terror Attacks Averted
	1978 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Toronto Mosque Vandalized After Terror Arrests / Muslim 
Graduates Walk Fine Line Between Religion, Culture / Minuteman Protest 
Meeting of Muslims, Latinos
	1979 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Latinas Adopt Islam / Army to Omit Ban on 'Humiliating 
Treatment' / Muslims Group Encourages Volunteer Work / Buchanan: The 
Persecution of the Palestinians
	1980 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: FBI Says CA Muslims Aren't Monitored / Ask Friends, Family to 
Join CAIR-NET
	1981 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Canadian Muslims to Seek Summit on Extremism / First Marine 
Base Mosque Dedicated / Halal Burrito / Ann Coulter Says 9/11 Widows 
'Enjoying Their Husbands' Deaths'
	1982 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Hopes Zarqawi's Death Leads to Decreased Violence / CA 
Mosque Vandalized / Canadian Muslim School Vandalized
	1983 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR Condemns 'Massacre' of Palestinian Family / NY Law Would 
Allow Profiling of Muslims
	1984 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Knife-Wielding Attacker Threatens Canadian Imam / CAIR Renews 
Call to Close Gitmo Prison Camp / CAIR-CAN Meets with Canadian Prime 
Minister
	1985 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: First Challenge to NSA Wiretapping is Today / After 9/11, 
Arab-Americans Fear Police Acts / NJ Muslim Scout Troop Not So Different
	1986 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: 'Marines' Cheer Song About Killing Iraqi Civilians
	1987 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Hate Message Left Near AZ Mosque / For U.S. Muslims, an 
Aversion to Nursing Homes
	1988 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Pentagon Calls Online Song 'Insensitive,' 'Inappropriate'
	1989 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: 'Hadji Girl' Marine Apologizes to Muslims
	1990 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CA Attacker 'Hated Muslims' / AZ Islamic Sites Targeted / 
U.S. Muslims Held By Israelis / CA Jury Awards $61M to FedEx Workers 
Called 'Terrorists'
	1991 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Shut Down the Gitmo Gulag / TX Man Wrongfully Deported Waits 
for Visa / Opposition to FL Mosque Adds to Legacy of Racism
	1992 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: Misogyny Not Accepted in Islam / Muslims Look to 
African-Americans for Guidance on Rights
	1993 by: Ibrahim Hooper

CAIR-NET: Questions Over Use of Israeli Info Against TX Islamic Charity 
/ U.S. Muslim Clerics Seek a Modern Middle Ground
	1994 by: Ibrahim Hooper

CAIR-NET: Muslims, Arab-Americans Sue Over Re-Entry Procedures / 
Pro-Israel Lobby Targets Professor Juan Cole
	1995 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: US Wants to Close Guantanamo - Bush / Quit Distorting 
Muslims' Record / Chopra: Try Listening to Muslim World
	1996 by: CAIR

CAIR-NET: CAIR to Host Capitol Hill Panel on Closure of Gitmo Prison 
Camp
	1997 by: Ibrahim Hooper

CAIR-NET: A Veil Doesn't Mean 'Oppressed' / MD School Board May 
Continue Muslims' Prayer Release
	1998 by: Ibrahim Hooper

CAIR-NET: US Muslims React to Miami Terror Arrests
	1999 by: ihooper.cair-net.org

CAIR-NET: Media Asked Not to Call Miami Terror Suspects 'Muslims'
	2000 by: Ibrahim Hooper


 
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CAIR CALLS FOR PROBE OF U.S. ROLE IN ISRAELI PRISON ATTACK

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/16/2006) - A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called for an independent investigation of allegations that America played a role in an Israeli attack on a Palestinian prison that came 10 minutes after U.S. and British monitors withdrew from the facility.

The 10-hour assault resulted in the deaths of three Palestinians and sparked protests throughout the Occupied Territories. Both the United States and Britain denied cooperating with Israel, despite the short time period between the withdrawal of the monitors and what was apparently a pre-planned attack.

SEE: Britain and US Complicit in Jericho Raid, Says Abbas (Independent)

"The fact that the assault came just minutes after the withdrawal of American monitors creates the impression that there was coordination with the Israeli military," said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

He said that impression, if left unaddressed by an independent investigation, can only serve to reinforce the perception in the region that our nation's foreign policy serves Israeli, not American, interests.

SEE: Lebanese Forces Block U.S. Embassy Protest (AP)

Awad cited a new study published by the Harvard University John F. Kenney School of Government, titled "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy," that asks the question: "Why has the US been willing to set aside its own security and that of many of its allies in order to advance the interests of another state?"

The report also states:

"...the United States has become the de facto enabler of Israeli expansion in the occupied territories, making it complicit in the crimes perpetrated against the Palestinians. This situation undercuts Washington's efforts to promote democracy abroad and makes it look hypocritical when it presses other states to respect human rights."

An edited version of the report was published in March 23rd issue of he London Review of Books.

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 32 offices, chapters and affiliates 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
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/

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/17/06

* Hadith: What is Faith?
* WA: Head Judge Establishes Policy on Hijab in Court
* CA: Muslim Teen Arrested Over Fender Bender (ABC)
* CA: Mosques Open House Educates About Islam (OC Reg)
            - MI: Events to Educate Public About Islam
            - CA: Local Muslims Say Outreach Needed
            - DC: Christian Ministers Decry Denigration of Prophet
            - Pope: Christians, Jews, Muslims Must Work Together
            - NC: Muslims to Help Build Homes for Hurricane Victims
* AL: Kids Can Pray, Play at New Islamic Center (Birmingham News)
* CAIR Wants Probe of US-Israeli Collaboration (CNS News)
* CA: Informant's Credibility Under Fire in Lodi Case (SF Chron)

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HADITH OF THE DAY: WHAT IS FAITH? - TOP

A person once asked the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): "What is faith?" The Prophet replied: "When a good deed becomes a source of pleasure for you and an evil deed becomes a source of disgust, then you are a believer."

Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 8

To learn more about the Prophet Muhammad, go to: www.cair.com/Muhammad

-----

WA: HEAD JUDGE ESTABLISHES POLICY ON HIJAB IN COURT - TOP
CAIR applauds new policy allowing religious accommodation

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/17/06) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today applauded a new policy established by the City of Tacoma Municipal Court allowing religious attire to be worn in courtrooms.

The new policy issued by Presiding Judge Arthur "Jack" Emery, was the result of an incident earlier this year in which a Muslim woman was ejected from another judge's courtroom for refusing to remove her religiously-mandated headscarf. CAIR intervened on behalf of the woman, who later received an apology from the court.

SEE: WA Judge Apologizes for Ejecting Muslim Woman from Court
http://cair.com/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1970&theType=NR

In a March 9 memorandum to municipal court judges and staff, Judge Emery wrote: "This will confirm that no person shall be excluded from a courtroom for wearing attire for religious or medical purposes. The appropriateness of all other attire is within the Judge's discretion."

Judge Emery also told CAIR that the court is also pursuing an educational program regarding religiously-mandated attire.

"We thank Judge Emery for his efforts to provide religious accommodation in Tacoma courtrooms," said CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. "It is important that everyone's religious practices be respected, and it particularly important that they be respected in a court of law."

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 32 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-Seattle President Rami Al-Kabra, 206-349-5995, E-Mail: info@cairseattle.org; Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair-net.org

-----

CA: MUSLIM TEEN ARRESTED OVER MINOR FENDER BENDER - TOP
Dan Noyes, ABC, 3/17/06
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=i_team&id=4000500

Mar. 16 - KGO - A Northern California police department is being accused of ethnic and religious discrimination in its handling of a minor hit and run involving a Muslim family. The I-Team has been studying the records and police audiotapes in the case.

The central question in this story is why. Why are the Davis Police and Yolo County prosecutors spending so much time, effort and tax money going after a teenage girl and her family for a minor fender bender?

Jamal Buzayan thought he was living the American dream. He emigrated from Libya 30 years ago, became a research scientist at U.C. Davis, and earned good money in local real estate. Then, one night last summer, the police came to his door.

Jamal Buzayan, arrested teen's father: "The other officer came in and went this way and he put his hand on the gun."

It all began six days before in a parking lot. According to a police report, two witnesses spot the Buzayan's SUV moving near a sedan -- they "do not see contact between the two vehicles," but notice some damage to the car as the family's SUV pulls away. The witnesses leave a note for the sedan's owner, Adrienne Wonhof. With the help of Davis police, she reaches the Buzayans.

Adrienne Wonhof, hit and run victim:: "They said they hadn't hit anybody's car, and that they didn't think that they did it."

Jamal Buzayan: "Her bumper is much lower than my bumper."

The damage to the two vehicles doesn't seem to match, and no one in the family recalls any collision, but Jamal writes a check for $870 anyway.

Jamal Buzayan: "And the lady came and took it on the tenth and cashed it and it was over with."

That's what he thought. Police recordings of interviews with the Buzayans explain why the trouble had just begun. (MORE)

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CA: MOSQUES HOST OPEN HOUSE THIS WEEKEND TO EDUCATE ABOUT ISLAM - TOP
Ann Pepper, Orange County Register, 2/16/06
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1054076.php

Ever since the deadly rioting over the caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad left non-Muslims puzzled by the extent of the outrage, local Muslims have sought ways to increase understanding on this issue between themselves and the larger community.

The result is this weekend's open house program: "Who is Prophet Muhammad?" covering why more than 1.3 billion people describe Muhammad as a teacher, role model and messenger of God and why Muslims believe he is being defamed.

"We would like to cordially welcome our neighbors to learn more about this remarkable man who changed the course of history through establishing a moral code and initiating social and political reform," said Issam Karkoutli of Mission Viejo.

The event will be held at three mosques, and could feature speakers, videos, displays, mosque tours, refreshments and the opportunity to meet local Muslims. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

EAST LANSING EVENTS SEEK TO EDUCATE PUBLIC ABOUT ISLAMIC FAITH - TOP
Kathleen Lavey, Lansing State Journal, 2/17/06
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060317/LIFE04/603170338/1084/life

For local Muslims, much of the news these days is simply bad.

The war in Iraq, entering its fourth year, seems to be degenerating into civil war between two Muslim sects.

Controversy, sometimes accompanied by violence, has continued over Danish political cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.

And last week, a poll commissioned by the Washington Post found that 46 percent of Americans now have a negative view of Islam - more than in the period right after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The animosity is a two-way street, said Mohammed Ayoob, professor of international relations and coordinator of the Muslim Studies program at Michigan State University.

"The continuing support to Israel, the invasion of Iraq and the general orientation of American policy is perceived by Muslims as anti-Muslim," Ayoob said. "The solution here is that we come to know each other better."

Three East Lansing events aim to increase understanding of Islam and the Muslim world. . . (MORE)

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CA: LOCAL MUSLIMS SAY OUTREACH NEEDED - TOP
Jonathan Jones, Daily Review, 3/17/06
http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_3612098

FREMONT - The first time Glenn Koehler can remember learning about Muslims and the Islamic faith came in September 1972, when a Palestinian terrorist group called Black September murdered 11 Israeli hostages during the Olympics in Munich, Germany.

"Then the second was Sept. 11," Koehler said. "So there's really been no pleasant introductions."

Koehler is a 58-year-old Fremont engineer. He describes himself as a Lutheran, politically conservative and a registered Republican who gets much of his news from the Drudge Report, Michael Savage and the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal advocacy group for Christian rights. He does not have Muslim friends, and agrees with the statement that Muslims teach their children to hate unbelievers, Muslims value life less than other people, and that Islam teaches violence and hatred.

Koehler is not alone. Two polls released this week indicated that almost half of Americans have a negative perception of Islam and that one in four of those surveyed have extreme anti-Muslim views.

An independent survey by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) shows that 23 to 27 percent of all Americans believe Muslims value life less than other people and that Islam teaches violence and hatred. The survey also showed that only 6 percent of Americans have a positive first impression of Islam and Muslims.

A similar poll released by the Washington Post and ABC News found that one in four Americans "admitted to harboring prejudice toward Muslims," and that 46 percent had a negative view of Islam, a 7 percent jump since the months after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (MORE)

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CHRISTIAN MINISTERS UNITE TO DECRY DENIGRATION OF PROPHET - TOP
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=62542

WASHINGTON, March 17 /U.S. Newswire/ -- [Following is a op-ed by Archbishop George Augustus Stallings, national co-president, American Clergy Leadership Conference, archbishop and founder, Imani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation, Washington, DC.]

The recent cartoon denigration of the messenger of Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him) by a Danish newspaper has unleashed a furor in the Islamic world of dramatic proportions. Why could journalism not have been more circumspect in taking on such a behemoth?

Man's inhumanity toward man is most often expressed in acts committed out of philosophical and religious ignorance. What is sacred to one believer may have no special significance to an adherent of another faith. When one crosses the line and disrespectfully treads upon the sanctum sanctorum of another man's belief, rationality is jettisoned and ruminating about what could have been avoided is an exercise in futility.

The American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC), which is rapidly becoming the nation's largest interreligious and interracial coalition of Christian ministers, has taken the high road in an effort to bring about greater civility, sensitivity and awareness among Muslims, Jews and Christians. The organization has brought thousands of interreligious clergy to visit Israel and Gaza in more than a dozen delegations over the past 3 years to interface with the children of Abraham in constructive dialogue, leading participants to a greater understanding and appreciation of each other's faith. It should now be obvious that lasting peace requires more than weapons, walls and diplomacy. It is tragic when religion engenders such conflict, for the true practice of the teachings of our great faith traditions would lead each of us to be peacemakers. . .

We issue a call from Jerusalem to all religious leaders of good will- Muslims, Christians and Jews- to come forward to demonstrate faith that brings respect and dignity for all. The conclusion of yet another interreligious pilgrimage reminds us once again of the urgent need for dialogue and understanding on all sides. ACLC calls upon faith leaders to sow such seeds of love and respect that will bring healing to the land.

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CHRISTIANS, JEWS, MUSLIMS MUST WORK TOGETHER: POPE - TOP
Reuters, 3/16/06
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-03-16T145536Z_01_L16779859_RTRUKOC_0_US-POPE-JEWS.xml

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Christians, Jews and Muslims must work together to promote peace and teach respect for religions and their symbols, Pope Benedict said on Thursday.

In reference to a wave of violence over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad, but also to attacks in recent months on churches, mosques and synagogues in several countries, the Pope said religious leaders had a responsibility to "work for reconciliation through genuine dialogue".

"Judaism, Christianity and Islam believe in the one God ... It follows, therefore, that all three monotheistic religions are called to cooperate with one another for the common good of humanity, serving the case of justice and peace in the world," he told a visiting delegation of the American Jewish Committee.

"This is especially important today when particular attention must be given to teaching respect for God, for religions and their symbols, and for holy sites and places of worship," he said.

The Pope has condemned the cartoons, whose publication first in a Danish newspaper and later in other European papers sparked worldwide protests by Muslims who believe it is blasphemous to depict the Prophet.

But he also said violent protests against the perceived offence were wrong.

In the wake of the unrest, Roman Catholic and Jewish leaders agreed earlier this month to widen their two-way dialogue to involve Muslims.

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INTERFAITH GROUP PLANS TO BUILD HOMES FOR FAMILIES LEFT HOMELESS BY HURRICANE - TOP
Yonat Shimron, News and Observer, 3/17/06
http://www.newsobserver.com/667/story/418924.html

Steve and Nancy Dilger have always given generously to causes they believe in. But after Hurricane Katrina hit, they both thought money was not enough.

They wanted to give of themselves.

For Nancy, a homemaker, that was easier. She joined one of the support circles formed around families who relocated to Raleigh after the Aug. 29 hurricane destroyed their homes.

Now Steve, a custom home builder, may be finding his niche. On March 27, he and 17 builders and workers, mostly from Raleigh, will drive to Gulfport, Miss., to build three homes in one week.

A private man who prefers crunching numbers to choosing words, Dilger is a Roman Catholic who shies from bold pronouncements about his faith.

"I see that suffering and I want to help end it -- you know?" he said.

Not being a stickler for dogma or denomination, Dilger has dubbed the group the "Raleigh Interfaith Builders Task Force." As of this week, 65 volunteers have signed up. They include three real estate agents, two Christian ministers, a schoolteacher and a landscaper. The group includes mostly Baptists and Catholics -- the largest denominations in Wake County. But a handful of Muslims, a Buddhist and a Jew are also among them. (MORE)

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AL: NEW ISLAMIC CENTER PROVIDES PLACE FOR CHILDREN TO PRAY, PLAY - TOP
GREG GARRISON, Birmingham News, 3/17/06
http://www.al.com/living/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1142590660109270.xml&coll=2

Laith Dahhan, Mohsin Janjua, Shahnoor Shan and Judge Ali aren't yet teenagers, but they like to get together for a good game of pool.

Now Muslim youth have a place to hang out, shoot pool, play air hockey and learn about the Qu'ran, the Islamic holy book.

Dahhan, 8, a student at Shades Cahaba Elementary School; Janjua, 11, a student at Riverchase Middle School; Shah, 12, a student at Simmons Middle School; and Ali, 9, a student at Cahaba Heights, worked on their billiards skills Sunday afternoon on a table in a new youth center affiliated with the Muslim American Society.

This week, the Birmingham Islamic Center dedicated a portion of its Hoover prayer hall, which has been open since 2003 at 3233 Oak Hill Drive, for the youth program. It's the 30th such youth chapter nationally of the Muslim American Society. A grand opening ceremony was held Sunday, with children gathering to eat snow cones and drive small motorized toy cars.

The youth center will be open tonight between 6 and 8:30 p.m., and on Saturday afternoon and evening, between the times Muslims are required to do their five daily prayers. Rules posted in the game room at the new Muslim youth center instruct children to honor the name of Allah before and after they play, and to stop playing when they hear a call to prayer.

"We are hoping kids can have fun and get Islamic information through this center," said Ahmad Hammoud, a spokesman for the Birmingham Islamic Center. (MORE)

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ISLAMIC GROUP WANTS PROBE OF ALLEGED US-ISRAELI COLLABORATION - TOP
Susan Jones, CNSNews.com, 3/17/06
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=\Politics\archive\200603\POL20060317b.html

(CNSNews.com) - A Washington-based Islamic advocacy group is calling for an independent investigation into allegations that the United States colluded with Israel in its attack on a Palestinian prison in the West Bank on Tuesday.

Israeli troops stormed the prison in Jericho just minutes after U.S. and British monitors left the facility -- because of deteriorating security, they said.

Both the U.S. and Britain have denied coordinating the departure of the prison monitors with Israel, but the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said questions about that must be put to rest.

"The fact that the assault came just minutes after the withdrawal of American monitors creates the impression that there was coordination with the Israeli military," said Nihad Awad, CAIR's executive director.

Awad said an independent investigation is necessary to confirm the facts of the case -- otherwise, the incident will only "reinforce the perception in the region that our nation's foreign policy serves Israeli, not American, interests." (MORE)

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INFORMANT COMES UNDER FIRE -- SAYS 3 TERRORISTS WERE IN LODI - TOP
Defense says claims call credibility of key witness into question
Demian Bulwa, San Francisco Chronicle, 3/17/06
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/03/17/MNG0RHPSO81.DTL&hw=INFORMANT+COMES+UNDER+FIRE+SAYS+TERRORISTS+WERE+IN+LODI&sn=001&sc=1000

The credibility of an FBI informant at the center of a federal terror investigation in Lodi came under attack Thursday with the disclosure that he told FBI agents that he had seen three men on the FBI's list of most wanted terrorists in the San Joaquin County city.

According to FBI reports, the informant, Naseem Khan, recalled seeing Osama bin Laden's chief deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in Lodi in 1999. He said he also spotted Abdelkarim Hussein Mohamed al-Nasser, a suspect in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers military housing complex in Saudi Arabia, and Ahmed Mohammed Hamed Ali, a suspect in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya.

Khan, 32, is the key witness against Hamid Hayat, a 23-year-old Lodi man accused of supporting terrorism by attending a training camp in Pakistan in 2003. Hayat is on trial in U.S. District Court in Sacramento along with his 48-year-old father, who is charged with lying about his son's alleged camp attendance.

In December 2001, Khan was sent as a paid FBI informant to Lodi, where the Pakistan native and former fast-food worker had lived in the late 1990s before moving to Oregon. He befriended Hayat in the summer of 2002 before secretly recording their conversations. Hayat was arrested last June after returning from a two-year trip to Pakistan.

The FBI reports were made public in a filing late Thursday by defense lawyers, who are asking for access to portions of the reports that are redacted. The reports were given to the defense Thursday morning, three days after Khan testified that he had seen al-Zawahiri in Lodi. Under the law, that testimony compelled prosecutors to turn over any related reports.

The FBI reports show that in late 2001, before beginning his assignment in Lodi, Khan told FBI agents about seeing the three suspected terrorists two years earlier. He also accused the owner of a Lodi store that sells Indian spices and the owner of a market in Stockton of laundering money for terrorist organizations, among other claims. (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

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AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/18/06

* Hadith: No Racism Allowed in Islam
* CAIR-St. Louis: Muhammad Lecture at Dar-Ul-Islam
            - CAIR-CA: 250+ Attend Terrorism Panel
* CAIR-Seattle: Head Coverings Can Go to Court (News Trib)
            - CA: Muslim, Son Say They were Booted from Flight
* CO: Lawmaker Sent 'Beware of Islam' E-Mail to Constituents (AP)
            - Offensive E-Mail Exposes Trend (Daily Reporter-Herald)
* WI: Many African-American Inmates Converting to Islam
* A Growing, Confusing Market for Halal Food (RNS)
* U.S. Catholic Bishops to U.S. Gov't: Engage with Islam
* Study: U.S. Mideast Policy Motivated by Pro-Israel Lobby

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HADITH OF THE DAY: NO RACISM ALLOWED IN ISLAM - TOP

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said in his last sermon: "All mankind is from Adam and Eve. An Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab have any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over a black, nor a black has any superiority over a white - except by piety and good action."

Abu Dharr said the Prophet told him: "You are not better than people (of other races) unless you excel them in piety."

Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1361

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CAIR-ST. LOUIS: MUHAMMAD LECTURE AT DAR-UL-ISLAM - TOP
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 3/18/06
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/religion/story/D827504375E6A97586257135000701BC?OpenDocument

BALLWIN - Nargis Virani, professor of Arabic language and literature at Washington University, will give a lecture titled "The Life of the Prophet: 'The Best Model' for the Believer in Times of Success and Challenges" on Friday at 7 p.m. The St. Louis Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is sponsoring the lecture, which will be held at Dar-Ul-Islam mosque, 517 Weidman Road in Ballwin. For more information call the chapter at (636) 207-8882.

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-CA: 250+ ATTEND TERRORISM PANEL - TOP

(SACRAMENTO, CA, 3/18/2006) - More than 250 turned out on Friday for a panel discussion on the sociological impact of terrorism, titled: "How Terrorism Affects Our Lives."

The panel was made up of Sacramento Bee Senior Writer Steve Magagnini, Edina Lekovic, the director of communications for the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), and former Guantanamo Bay Chaplain Yusuf Yee.

Panel members shared their perspectives on different aspects of how terrorism is covered in the media and its impact on different communities, and perceptions of Muslims and Islam, particularly in relation to international acts of terrorism and U.S. policies. The evening concluded with a question and answer session.

The event was hosted by the Sacramento Valley office the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV), The Council of Sacramento Valley Islamic Organizations (COSVIO), the Sacramento Region chapter of the Muslim American Society (MAS-SR), the California State University, Sacramento, and Muslim Students' Association (MSA).

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WA: HEAD COVERINGS CAN GO TO COURT - TOP
The News Tribune, 3/18/06
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/5597251p-5031271c.html

Tacoma Municipal Court judges have clarified rules on appropriate attire in their courtrooms two months after one of them kicked a Muslim woman out of court because she declined to remove her traditional head scarf.

A ruling by Presiding Judge Jack Emery means hijabs, yarmlukes and other religious head coverings are OK even though hats generally are not allowed in municipal courts.

"This will confirm that no person shall be excluded from a courtroom for wearing attire for religious or medical purposes," Emery wrote in a memorandum to municipal court judges and staff members. "The appropriateness of all other attire is within the judges' discretion."

In January, Municipal Court Judge David Ladenburg drew criticism for ordering Puyallup resident Mujaahadid Sayfullah out of his courtroom because she wouldn't take off her hijab.

Many judges prohibit the wearing of hats or other head coverings in their courtrooms, a regulation that springs from a traditional show of respect for the authority of the court.

Sayfullah complained, saying Ladenburg had violated her religious freedoms. The national Council on American-Islamic Relations took up her cause and sent a letter to the court asking it to reconsider its policy.

Ladenburg later apologized, and the municipal court judges agreed to review their rules.

In an interview Friday, Emery said his memorandum does not change any rules - "we never had a policy that would discriminate" - but simply clarifies that religious freedoms trump other decorum rules.

"The higher courts have been pretty adamant about religious attire," he said.

Ladenburg was unavailable for comment Friday.

Rami Al-Kabra, president of the Seattle chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, called Emery's announcement a victory for religious freedom.

"This doesn't just pertain to Muslims. This covers all religions," Al-Kabra said. "This is a very good reaction to the whole situation." (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

HAYWARD MUSLIM, SON SAY THEY WERE BOOTED FROM FLIGHT - TOP
Matt O'Brien, Daily Review, 3/17/06
http://www.insidebayarea.com/localnews/ci_3614141

HAYWARD - A Muslim father and son from Hayward filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation this week, accusing airline attendants of booting them off a flight because of their appearance.

Fazal Khan, 59, and his son, Mohammed Khan, 28, boarded a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Oakland on Jan. 31 wearing traditional South Asian tunics, white skullcaps and loose trousers. Both men also have long beards.

Before takeoff, attendants asked the Khans to vacate their seats and escorted them back to the terminal, said their lawyer, Shirin Sinnar of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights in San Francisco.

"They were essentially told, `You can't take this flight because the flight attendant is uncomfortable,"' Sinnar said.

The plane was operated by SkyWest Airlines, a regional feeder airline that serves as a carrier for some flights booked with the United Express service of United Airlines.

United Airlines spokesman Jeff Green said his company was "fully investigating" the allegations this week. Utah-based SkyWest is responsible for staff on the aircraft, he said.

SkyWest spokeswoman Sabrena Suite said Friday that the regional airline also is looking into the complaint, adding "there is no room or excuse for discrimination" at SkyWest.

Sinnar said the Khans do not know of anything, other than their attire, that could have agitated the female flight attendant, who apparently expressed concern to the terminal crew about their presence.

"When they got on the plane, she helped them with their bags. That was their only interaction," Sinnar said. (MORE)

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PASTOR: LAWMAKER SENT EARLIER E-MAIL ABOUT MUSLIMS - TOP
Associated Press, 3/17/06
http://cbs4denver.com/local/local_story_076213107.html

(AP) LOVELAND, Colo. A legislator who apologized for an e-mail suggesting black hurricane victims were lazy sent an earlier e-mail that said devout Muslims could not be patriotic Americans, a minister said Friday.

Pastor Jeff Wright of Heart of the Rockies Christian Church in Fort Collins said he received the e-mail about Muslims from Rep. Jim Welker in May 2004. He said he was so offended that he called Welker and then met with him at the lawmaker's request.

"For a member of the state Legislature to send that really surprised me," he said.

The e-mail about Muslims was first reported in the Loveland-Reporter Herald on Friday. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

E-MAIL EXPOSES TREND - TOP
Kate Martin, Daily Reporter-Herald, 3/17/06
http://www.lovelandfyi.com/Top-Story.asp?ID=4402

To a Fort Collins pastor, Rep. Jim Welker's e-mail conflict sounds familiar.
Nearly two years ago, the representative from House District 51 sent an e-mail to constituents titled "Beware of Islam in America."

Fort Collins pastor Jeff Wright of the Heart of the Rockies Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) said he thought someone else sent the message, not an elected representative.

"The content of the e-mail is so vitriolic and misinformed that I questioned whether Rep. Welker had actually sent it," Wright wrote May 18, 2004, in an e-mail.

Wright met with Welker in person to see if he did send it, and he said Welker acknowledged sending it, Wright said. . .

Excerpts from Welker's e-mails

o Subject: Beware Of Islam In America

Date: May 13, 2004

Text excerpt: "Oxymoron: Can a devout Muslim be an American patriot and loyal citizen? ... Politically, no. Because he must submit to the mullah, who teaches annihilation of Israel and destruction of America, the great Satan."

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WI: ISLAM AND THE BLACK INMATE - TOP
Many convert while behind bars
SHEILA B. LALWANI, Milwaukee Journal, 3/18/06
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=408883

Cloaked in a spring green jumpsuit, Paul Butler walks into a cloistered room at the Racine Youthful Offenders Correctional Facility, bows his forehead to the ground and prays.

The room is slightly cluttered and a little dingy. He doesn't notice.

"Allahu Akbar!" Butler says in Arabic, which in English translates to "Allah is the greatest." "Allahu Akbar."

Unbeknown to his family and friends in Milwaukee, Butler, 20, is no longer a Baptist but a convert to Islam.

Butler, convicted in 2005 on charges of possession of a firearm by a felon, says he converted to Islam several months ago, finding a sense of unity and brotherhood that was absent from his life.

When Muslims from the Racine Islamic Center come to the prison for prayers, Butler rarely ignores the opportunity for fellowship.

"It's amazing how much Muslims respect each other," he says. "You need that support from one another."

The situation at the Racine prison points to a larger trend happening across the country: Islam is the fastest growing religion among young, incarcerated African-Americans.

Through Islam, they say they found brotherhood, a sense of belonging and racial acceptance.

Some figures suggest that one out of three African-Americans in federal prison are Muslim and most converted during their imprisonment.

The trend has become so prominent that the Islamic Society of North America, a national association that supports and promotes Muslims in the United States, plans to hold a conference in Illinois in April on the growth of Islam in prisons. (MORE)

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A GROWING, CONFUSING MARKET FOR HALAL FOOD - TOP
Mariam Jukaku, Religion News Service, 3/18/06
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/17/AR2006031701632.html

Tapping into a growing Muslim American population, the market for food products lawful to eat under Islamic regulations has boomed, with some industry leaders predicting billions of dollars in U.S. sales.

But different interpretations of what Muslims consider halal, or religiously sanctioned, has led to confusion, misunderstanding and even fraud, prompting some states to step in with regulations. (MORE)

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U.S. CATHOLIC BISHOPS TO U.S. GOV'T: ENGAGE WITH ISLAM, PROTECT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM - TOP
Catholic News Service, 3/17/06
http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=19090

WASHINGTON (Catholic Online) - The bishops of the United States have called on the U.S. Congress develop policies that build understanding and engagement with Islamic leaders and promote religious freedom for Christians in countries with Muslim majorities, and offered specific recommendations to move toward those goals.

"Constructive and respectful dialogue with Islam is imperative in today's world," said Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on International Policy. "Rather than deploring a clash of cultures, we need to foster cultures of dialogue and respect as keys to justice and peace." (MORE)

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STUDY: U.S. MIDEAST POLICY MOTIVATED BY PRO-ISRAEL LOBBY - TOP
Shmuel Rosner, Haaretz, 3/17/06
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/695227.html

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Middle East policy is not in America's national interest and is motivated primarily by the country's pro-Israel lobby, according to a study published yesterday by researchers from Harvard University and the University of Chicago.

Observers in Washington said yesterday that the study was liable to stir up a tempest and spur renewed debate about the function of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee lobby. The Fatah office in Washington distributed the article to an extensive mailing list.

"No lobby has managed to divert U.S. foreign policy as far from what the American national interest would otherwise suggest, while simultaneously convincing Americans that U.S. and Israeli interests are essentially identical," write the authors of the study. (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

-----

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AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/19/06

* CAIR-AZ Job Opening: Civil Rights Director
* CAIR-LA: Four Locals Close to the War (OC Register)
* CAIR-CAN: Attacker Runs Down Muslim After Shouting Racial Slurs
* FL: Was Indictment of Muslim Misleading? (St. Pete Times)
* CA: Muslim Cabbies Change Course of Woman's Life

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CAIR-AZ JOB OPENING: CIVIL RIGHTS DIRECTOR - TOP

CAIR-AZ is looking for an experienced and enthusiastic person for the position of Civil Rights Director. For more information about the position, e-mail: chairman@cairaz.org Copy to: info@cairaz.org

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CAIR-LA: FOUR LOCALS CLOSE TO THE WAR - TOP
MICHAEL CORONADO, Orange County Register
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/homepage/article_1059182.php

Three years after the beginning of the Iraq war, many in Orange County still have personal bonds to the conflict.

A grieving father asks if the death of his son, Lance Cpl. Derek L. Gardner, 20, was worth it. Marine wife Sara Cragholm is proud of what her husband, Lt. Michael Cragholm, and his Marines are accomplishing in Iraq. In Mission Viejo, Ed Tackett is designing equipment to protect and repair the nation's soldiers. And Hussam Ayloush is fostering better American-Islamic relations in Orange County. . .

Trying to provide insight into Muslim world

The work that Hussam Ayloush does is markedly more difficult these days.

Fostering better American-Islamic relations in Orange County in the shadow of the conflict in Iraq, the Dubai ports controversy and the Abu Ghraib prisoner-abuse scandal has grown more complicated.

Ayloush is the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Southern California.

His days are spent at conferences, schools and meetings - anywhere he can share views on Islam, the war and Arab culture.

American credibility in the Middle East is not good, he said. Likewise unfortunate is the way some Americans view Muslims. Three years after the war, he said, he is not optimistic but he still works to bolster understanding.

"Muslims are very proud to be Americans," he said. "If I didn't believe I was making a dent, I wouldn't be here."

PHOTO OF HUSSAM AYLOUSH:
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/homepage/slideshow_1059182.php?pos=4

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ATTACKER RUNS DOWN CANADIAN MUSLIM AFTER SHOUTING RACIAL SLURS - TOP
CAIR-CAN calls for hate crime charge in University of Toronto attack

(OTTAWA, CANADA, 3/19/06) � The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) today called on law enforcement authorities to treat an attack on Muslim students at the University of Toronto (UT) as a hate crime and to bring the strongest possible criminal charges. CAIR-CAN is also calling on the university to take concrete steps to address racial hate and Islamophobia on campus.

Several witnesses told CAIR-CAN that a man attempted to run down four Muslim students with his car on the university campus on Sunday after yelling racial slurs at them. One of the students was reportedly hit by the car and taken to a nearby hospital by paramedics. The alleged attacker sped away.

"The University of Toronto has been known for its tolerance and accommodation of religious needs. Now the university must take a strong stand to show that all forms of hate and racism, including Islamophobia, will not be tolerated on its campus," said Riad Saloojee, CAIR-CAN's executive director. He added that the university must take action to ensure the safety of its Muslim students.

In a prior complaint, a female Muslim student at the university told CAIR-CAN she was pushed and called a terrorist on March 7. Earlier complaints received by CAIR-CAN concerned at least two different flyers promoting Islamophobia that were distributed at both York University and the University of Toronto.

The victim of the March 7 incident told CAIR-CAN that she believed a "Know Radical Islam" weeklong event organized by a student group at the university in February may have also contributed to the recent rise of Islamophobia on campus.

For more information about allegations of Islamophobia on campus, see: http://www.caircan.ca/itn_more.php?id=2383_0_2_0_C

Last week, CAIR-CAN sent a letter to David Naylor, president of the University of Toronto, asking that the university take a strong stand against hate. CAIR-CAN reiterated that request this weekend.

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 32 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-CAN, Halima Mautbur at 613-795-2012; CAIR-DC, Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair-net.org

Council on American-Islamic Relations - CANADA
Tel: 1-866-524-0004
Fax: 613-254-9810
URL: www.caircan.ca

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FL: WAS INDICTMENT MISLEADING? - TOP
When the government charged Sameeh Hammoudeh with terrorism-related activities, it used transcripts from wiretaps that may have been unfairly edited.
MEG LAUGHLIN, St. Petersburg Times, 3/18/06
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/03/18/Hillsborough/Was_indictment_mislea.shtml

On that chilly day three years ago when Hammoudeh was arrested, two FBI agents handcuffed him and drove him to FBI headquarters for questioning. Hammoudeh said the agents told him he was not their target, but that they wanted him to aid their investigation. They asked him to provide information about how he helped Sami Al-Arian, a former professor at the University of South Florida, get money to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad after 1994.

The U.S. government has designated the PIJ a terrorist organization. The group has claimed responsibility for the deaths of hundreds of people in Israel and the occupied territories.

In 1995, it became illegal for people in the United States to provide funds, goods or services to the organization. Because Hammoudeh worked with Al-Arian, prosecutors focused on money Hammoudeh was sending to the occupied territories, in an attempt to link Al-Arian to the PIJ after 1994. Hammoudeh's indictment accused him of "transferring monies and funds . . . for the purpose of promoting PIJ activities."

Summaries of the wiretapped conversations that the government used to justify this accusation seem to undercut the charges. (MORE)

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CA: MUSLIM CABBIES CHANGE COURSE OF WOMAN'S LIFE - TOP
Berkeley legal assistant converts to Islam, plans journey to Afghanistan
By Kristin Bender, Chico enterprise Record, 3/19/06
http://www.chicoer.com/news/bayarea/ci_3618593

BERKELEY - As a legal assistant in a law firm representing East Bay taxi drivers, Jane Stillwater built friendships with many Afghans who drive cabs locally.

She found them warm and hardworking, kind and unassuming.

Stillwater, a free-spirited woman who has lived in Berkeley for 40 years, felt at home among her new friends.

Slowly, she also started learning about their faith and, after years of research and study, she converted to Islam a year ago.

"I figured it would be the one thing that I could do that would really (upset) President George Bush," she said with a slight laugh.

In all seriousness, she said she accepted the faith because it meshed with her core belief that life is about trying to be a good person. (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

-----

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AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/20/06

* Verse: 'Let There be No Compulsion in Religion'
* Iraq: New U.S. Atrocity Alleged (ABC News)
            - Bloody Video Prompts Massacre Probe
* Iraq: 'Black Room' a Grim Portrait of U.S. Abuse (NYT)
* CAIR-MD/VA: Work Starts on Islamic High School
* CA: 250 Turn Out for 'Who is the Prophet Muhammad?' Event
            - MI: Muslim Scholars Discuss Danish Cartoons with Public
            - CA: Muslims, Christians, Jews at 'Celebration of Abraham'
* FL: Passover Seder Brings Together Jews, Christians, Muslims
* CA: Muslims Say Bush Betrayed Them on Iraq War
* AZ: Publishing House Seeks Muslim Writers
* India: Remains of Massacred Muslims Found in Garbage Dump (NYT)
            - Backgrounder: CAIR Applauds Denial of Visa to Modi

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VERSE OF THE DAY: 'LET THERE BE NO COMPULSION IN RELIGION' - TOP

"If it had been the will of your Lord that all the people of the world should be believers, all the people of the earth would have believed! Would you then compel mankind against their will to believe?" The Holy Quran, 10:99

"(O Prophet) proclaim: 'This is the Truth from your Lord. Now let him who will, believe in it, and him who will, deny it.'" The Holy Quran, 18:29

"If they turn away from thee (O Muhammad) they should know that We have not sent you to be their keeper. Your only duty is to convey My message." The Holy Quran, 42:48

"Let there be no compulsion in religion." The Holy Quran, 2:256

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DID MARINES COMMIT CRIME IN IRAQ CIVILIAN DEATHS? - TOP
JONATHAN KARL, ABC News, 3/20/06
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/IraqCoverage/story?id=1743981&page=1

WASHINGTON, March 19, 2006 - A bloody videotape shot by a local Iraqi journalism student has prompted the Pentagon to launch a criminal investigation into an incident that left at least 15 Iraqi civilians dead in the city of Haditha.

The details of what happened four months ago in Haditha are just now coming to light with the release of the videotape by an Iraqi organization called Hammurabi Human Rights.

The tape shows the bloodied and bullet-marked homes that had been allegedly stormed by the Marines, and includes comments by local residents.

"This is my father," a boy says on the tape. "He didn't do anything wrong. Why did they kill him?"

The video shows the bodies of some of the dead, including one of three children killed.

"These are children," one man on the tape says. "Are you telling me these are terrorists?". . .

"We launched an investigation of our own with the help of a human rights group," said Aparisim Ghosh, a writer for Time. "We spoke to some eyewitnesses. And it turns out all the people killed were killed by the Marines in small arms fire and, in a few instances, by an explosive that was tossed into the home by the Marines themselves." (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

BLOODY VIDEO PROMPTS MASSACRE PROBE - TOP
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=1745817

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IN SECRET UNIT'S 'BLACK ROOM,' A GRIM PORTRAIT OF U.S. ABUSE - TOP
ERIC SCHMITT and CAROLYN MARSHALL
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/international/middleeast/19abuse.html

As the Iraqi insurgency intensified in early 2004, an elite Special Operations forces unit converted one of Saddam Hussein's former military bases near Baghdad into a top-secret detention center. There, American soldiers made one of the former Iraqi government's torture chambers into their own interrogation cell. They named it the Black Room.

In the windowless, jet-black garage-size room, some soldiers beat prisoners with rifle butts, yelled and spit in their faces and, in a nearby area, used detainees for target practice in a game of jailer paintball. Their intention was to extract information to help hunt down Iraq's most-wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, according to Defense Department personnel who served with the unit or were briefed on its operations.

The Black Room was part of a temporary detention site at Camp Nama, the secret headquarters of a shadowy military unit known as Task Force 6-26. Located at Baghdad International Airport, the camp was the first stop for many insurgents on their way to the Abu Ghraib prison a few miles away.

Placards posted by soldiers at the detention area advised, "NO BLOOD, NO FOUL." The slogan, as one Defense Department official explained, reflected an adage adopted by Task Force 6-26: "If you don't make them bleed, they can't prosecute for it." According to Pentagon specialists who worked with the unit, prisoners at Camp Nama often disappeared into a detention black hole, barred from access to lawyers or relatives, and confined for weeks without charges. "The reality is, there were no rules there," another Pentagon official said.

The story of detainee abuse in Iraq is a familiar one. But the following account of Task Force 6-26, based on documents and interviews with more than a dozen people, offers the first detailed description of how the military's most highly trained counterterrorism unit committed serious abuses.

It adds to the picture of harsh interrogation practices at American military prisons in Afghanistan and Guant�namo Bay, Cuba, as well as at secret Central Intelligence Agency detention centers around the world.

The new account reveals the extent to which the unit members mistreated prisoners months before and after the photographs of abuse from Abu Ghraib were made public in April 2004, and it helps belie the original Pentagon assertions that abuse was confined to a small number of rogue reservists at Abu Ghraib. (MORE)

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CAIR-MD/VA: WORK STARTS ON ISLAMIC HIGH SCHOOL - TOP
Nation's Reaction to 9/11 Spurred Annapolis Group's Idea for Expanded Mission
Daniel de Vise, Washington Post, 3/20/06
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/19/AR2006031901085.html

Construction has begun on a 20-acre campus near Annapolis that will house an Islamic high school, a television station, athletic facilities and eventually a college, according to project directors.

Mohammad Arafa, executive director of the Islamic Society of Annapolis, said the Mekkah Learning Center will be the first Islamic high school in the region. Work will progress on the $8 million project only as fast as donations permit; religious law forbids the society to take out a loan with interest.

The school will complement two established Islamic schools in the region, Al-Huda School in College Park and Al-Rahmah School in Baltimore, each serving a few hundred students up to the middle-school grades. Arafa said he has the support of 22 Muslim leaders across Maryland.

He envisions the campus as a means "to help our children to be Americans and Muslims without having to compromise their identity" and as a place where Muslims and non-Muslims can gather to bridge their differences. . .

Arafa cannot predict when classes will begin on the site, southwest of where Crain Highway meets Interstate 97. The next wave of fundraising will pay for grading work and a septic system. School organizers hope they can offer classes in fall.

The first building will house a prayer hall, assembly rooms and space for two ninth-grade classes, one for boys and one for girls. Arafa hopes to add one grade each year, eventually serving 250 to 300 students. Plans call for 171,000 square feet of building space.

If all goes as planned, he said, the school will be a place "where you can give me the child at 3 years old and he can finish with a PhD."

Shama Farooq, civil rights director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations for Maryland and Virginia, said Arafa is probably correct in predicting that the school will draw students from the broader Baltimore-Washington region.

"Obviously, people are sending their children to Islamic middle schools, and they're trying to find Islamic high schools as well," she said. "I know of people who drive their children 30, 40 miles to private schools."

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CA: UNDERSTANDING THE UPROAR - TOP
Orange County Register, 3/20/06
http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/homepage/article_1060563.php

The Islamic Institute of Orange County in Anaheim and the Orange County Islamic Foundation in Mission Viejo hosted "Who is the Prophet Muhammad?" on Sunday to increase understanding of the rioting over caricatures of the prophet.

In Anaheim, above, about 250 people attended to hear speakers, ask questions and share food with the Islamic community.

The Islamic Society of Orange County, 9752 13th St., Garden Grove, will host a similar event Saturday with talks by Islamic scholar Muzammil Siddiqi at 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Registration: (714) 531-1515.

SEE ALSO:

MI: SCHOLARS DISCUSS DANISH CARTOONS WITH PUBLIC - TOP
LAURA MISJAK, The State News, 3/20/06
http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=35276

Debate has yet to cease about the 12 Danish cartoons that depicted the Muslim prophet Muhammad in a derogatory manner.

Students, residents and media took their shoes off in the entrance of the Islamic Center of Greater Lansing on Saturday afternoon and took a seat to hear the perspectives of six scholars.

The cartoons, which were published last month, have ignited protests and caused about 50 deaths throughout the world.

Farhan Abdul Azeez, president of the Muslim Students' Association, said the tension of the cartoons will end only after people are educated about other faiths, adding that events like having the speakers at the center will help make the public more aware of that.

"We need to turn this negative into a positive by educating people," Azeez said. "Once you educate people, things will change." (MORE)

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CA: RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY CELEBRATED - TOP
SCOTT JASON, Mercury-Register, 3/20/06
http://www.orovillemr.com/news/chico/ci_3619860

Muslims, Jews and Christians ate dinner together Sunday night as a way to learn about each others' similarities and bring the groups together.
About 160 people gathered at First Christian Church as part of the second annual Celebration of Abraham.

Christianity, Islam and Judaism all have roots to Abraham.

The celebration event started last year and was attended by more than 200 people, said Julie Hilton Danan, a committee member. (MORE)

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FL: INTERFAITH PASSOVER SEDER IN WEST PALM BRINGS TOGETHER JEWS, CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS - TOP
Leon Fooksman, Sun-Sentinel, 3/20/06
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pseder20mar20,0,2163008.story

WEST PALM BEACH � They came to banish stereotypes, find common religious threads and seek friendship in unlikely spiritual places. Wearing skullcaps, hats and dapper suits, Jewish, Christian and Muslim believers entered the temple, sat next to each other, and plunged into a biblical story intended to bridge their differences.

That was the scene Sunday afternoon at the first joint interfaith Passover Seder at Temple Israel, which drew more than 120 people to learn the rituals of the Jewish observance marking the Israelites' passage out of ancient Egypt. The gathering was in many ways, organizers said, a reminder of something often obscured by religious sectarianism: The story of the Exodus doesn't contain just a Jewish focus but universal themes on liberation from slavery and political oppression that other faiths can appreciate.

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CA: EAST BAY MUSLIMS SAY BUSH BETRAYED THEM ON IRAQ WAR - TOP
Jonathan Jones, Mercury-Register, 3/20/06
http://www.orovillemr.com/news/bayarea/ci_3620959

FREMONT - For Agha Saeed, national chairman of the Newark-based American Muslim Alliance, the decision to endorse a candidate in the 2000 presidential election was not one of his shining moments.

The alliance, along with several other Muslim organizations, endorsed George W. Bush. Saeed believes those endorsements helped seal the election for Bush in Florida, where more than 6,000 Muslims voted for him.

"We made that decision based on his public promises," Saeed said. "Now there is a great sense of betrayal."

That sense of betrayal, which began with the enactment of the Patriot Act and INS registration, intensified with the Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq, Saeed said.

"It's not just disapproval," Saeed said. "This is a problem that's going to affect the next generation. Who's going to clean up this mess?"

Now, on the third anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq - after the scandals involving the American-run prison at Abu Ghraib and the country's descent into civil war - Muslim Americans' criticism of the Bush administration's handling of the war has increased.

Many Muslim Americans believe the U.S. occupation is the primary problem in Iraq and said they believe the Bush administration needs to implement an exit strategy. (MORE)

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AZ: PUBLISHING HOUSE SEEKS MUSLIM WRITERS - TOP
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/3/prweb360583.htm

TEMPE, ARIZONA (PRWEB) March 20, 2006 -- Attention English-language Muslim novelists, short story writers, playwrights, and poets: A publishing house has been created just for you.

"Islamic writers in English had few options," explains Linda "Widad" Delgado, founder of Muslim Writers Publishing. "There are places for scholarly work, but I want to help Islamic literary writers find outlets for their work."

A retired police sergeant and author of several novels, Delgado became a Muslim several years ago. Read the story of her journey to Islam at http://www.muslimwriterspublishing.com/reversion/

Taking note of the enormous barriers in the traditional American book publishing world, and the stigmas attached to the subsidy alternatives, Delgado set up her company as a traditional Muslim publishing business. Delgado uses a team of some of the publishing industry's most respected experts to produce the book and jumpstart its marketing. Delgado has established overseas distribution, printing and sales through a network of contacts throughout the Muslim world, and has researched the publishing industry in depth. "This system allows unknown authors to compete as equals," Delgado said. "We will choose books that are worthy of finding audiences, and able to reach a market; the authors don't have to be established celebrities and superstars." . . .

MWP does not publish erotica, full-color interiors, or manuscripts promoting hate or violence.

Journalists: Delgado is available for interviews. Call 480-894-6014; http://www.MuslimWritersPublishing.com

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GRISLY DISCOVERY REOPENS OLD WOUNDS IN VILLAGE IN INDIA - TOP
HARI KUMAR, New York Times, 3/20/06
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/20/international/asia/20gujarat.html

PANDARWADA, India - One afternoon in March 2002, amid one of the worst outbreaks of sectarian violence in recent Indian history, 26 Muslim men and women were hacked to death by a mob of Hindu hard-liners as others hid in the wheat fields behind their homes in this dusty village. The victims' relatives saw the horror unfold.

The police removed the bodies, and the people of Pandarwada, in the western state of Gujarat, never again saw their dead. Nor, in the absence of burials, could they properly mourn.

Though DNA tests were ordered on several skulls and bones found in December in an isolated garbage dump near here, there seems little doubt that the bones are the remains of the villagers massacred four years ago.

Even the police, who say the people who dug up the remains conducted illegal exhumations intended to disturb the peace, acknowledge that the bones are probably the remains of the Pandarwada dead.

The discovery of the remains has reignited tensions over how officials in Gujarat, a state led by Hindu nationalists, handled a wave of riots in response to reports that a Muslim mob set fire to a train in February 2002, killing 59 Hindu pilgrims. The violence convulsed the state for days and persisted for months; at least 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed.

The chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, was criticized for not doing enough to stop the carnage. He has since been accused of not doing enough to bring people who committed crimes to justice. (MORE)

BACKGROUNDER: CAIR APPLAUDS DENIAL OF VISA TO NARENDRA MODI - TOP
http://cair.com/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1500&theType=NR

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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

-----

To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org

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AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/21/06

* Verse/Hadith: Be Courteous to One Another
* DC: Muslim Leaders Meet with Rice, Hughes, NSC Officials
* MI: Anti-Arab Rampage at Gas Station (Detroit Free Press)
* CAIR-CAN: Hit-Run Attack on Canadian Muslim (Star)
            - Profile of CAIR-CAN Spokeswoman (Montreal Gazette)
* CAIR-CA Asks County to Drop Charges Against Muslim Teen
* CAIR-AZ: Muslims Meet Congressman to Discuss Ousted Doctor
            - CAIR-Philly 'Know Your Rights' Seminar
* CAIR-Chicago Mobilizes Muslim Voters for Primary Election
* NY: CAIR-OH Rep to Discuss 'Justice in Difficult Times'
            - CAIR-MI Rep to Speak About Islam at Local Church
* Pro-Israel Lobby in U.S. Under Attack (UPI)
* Iraq: Civilian Massacre by U.S. Troops in Haditha? (Time)

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VERSE OF THE DAY: BE COURTEOUS TO ONE ANOTHER - TOP

"When you are offered a (courteous) greeting, answer with a greeting still more courteous, or (at least) of equal courtesy. God takes careful account of all things."

The Holy Quran, 4:86

Sponsor or obtain a FREE Quran at: www.explorethequran.org

HADITH OF THE DAY: COURTESY AND CORDIALITY

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "...you should show courtesy and be cordial with each other, so that nobody should consider himself superior to another nor do him harm."

Riyadh-us-Saleheen, Number 602

Sponsor or obtain FREE information about the Prophet Muhammad at: www.cair.com/Muhammad

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DC: MUSLIM LEADERS MEET WITH RICE, HUGHES, NSC OFFICIALS - TOP

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/21/06) - Members of the United States Institute of Peace U.S.-Muslim World Advisory Committee met yesterday in Washington, D.C., with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes and top officials of the National Security Council, including Senior Director Michael Doran.

The meetings focused on issues such as the American Muslim community's role in outreach efforts to the Islamic world, how to address growing levels of Islamophobia in the West, Muslim condemnations of terrorism and religious extremism, and proposals for joint initiatives.

Muslim participants included representatives from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID), and the Islamic Center of America in Michigan.

"We thank the United States Institute of Peace for bringing together American Muslim leaders and senior government officials," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad, who took part in yesterday's meetings. "It is our hope that such dialogues will continue in the future with other elected and administration officials."

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MI: REDFORD TWP. RAMPAGE IS CALLED ETHNIC INTIMIDATION - TOP
ZLATI MEYER, Detroit Free Press, 3/21/06
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060321/NEWS02/603210421/1004/NEWS

A 26-year-old man has been accused of smashing up a Redford Township gas station staffed by Arab Americans and threatening to kill employees.

The incident is suspected of being one of several acts of ethnic intimidation in metro Detroit in recent months.

A preliminary exam for Stephen Lauderback of Redford Township is scheduled for today before 17th District Judge Karen Khalil.

He is charged with arson, malicious destruction of property, assault with a dangerous weapon and ethnic intimidation. Lauderback is in the Wayne County Jail.

According to Police Sgt. David Kutek, Lauderback walked into the BP gas station and convenience store at 5 Mile and Beech Daly shortly before 1:30 p.m. March 8.

Police said Lauderback took a steel pipe and a steel rod out of his backpack and started hitting merchandise, displays and an employee, a 21-year-old Dearborn Heights man.

He also allegedly accused the Arab Americans in the store of being in Al Qaeda, according to the police report.

Kutek said employees reported Lauderback saying: "For every soldier who dies, 10 of you should burn in World War III." (MORE)

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CAIR-CAN: CAMPUS HIT-RUN RAISES RACIAL TENSIONS - TOP
ISABEL TEOTONIO, Toronto Star, 3/21/06
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1142894779666&call_pageid=968350130169&col=969483202845

A hit-and-run at the University of Toronto last weekend has done little to quell fears of rising Islamophobia or smooth tensions with some in the Muslim community.

While anti-Muslim sentiment does not appear to be a factor in the Sunday attack - as it apparently was in other recent incidents - race did play a role.

Several groups are now asking both the police and university to take action.

Witnesses say that on Sunday about 3 p.m., four men were walking north on Huron St. and were returning to a Muslim theology seminar hosted by the al-Maghrib Institute, which was being held in one of the university's buildings.

The four Somali men, three of whom are Ryerson University students and one of whom attends U of T, spotted a white man urinating against a building. The white man, who appeared intoxicated, began yelling racial slurs at the group, witnesses said.

One of the young black men approached the white man, and a shouting match ensued, followed by the black man kicking the white man's car.

The four men then continued on their way and the man got into his silver Acura Integra, gave chase and swerved onto the sidewalk, recalled one of the four who asked not to be identified. The driver then turned his car onto Russell St. and waited for the men to cross, he said.

"We tried to cross the street and then he came really fast toward us," recalled the Ryerson student, adding the driver was still screaming racial slurs at them through the window. "Then my friend got hit and fell on the floor." . . .

However, the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations called on Toronto police to treat the incident as a hate crime and lay criminal charges.

The council asked the university to address racial hate and Islamophobia.

"There's no doubt that the act was racially motivated," said Riad Saloojee of the council.

"We've yet to see any concrete action being taken by the university and we'd like to see recognition of this problem." (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-CAN: A CONDUIT FOR UNDERSTANDING - TOP
ALANA COATES, Montreal Gazette, 3/18/06
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/saturdayextra/story.html?id=f0323723-10be-44f4-afb6-f11dafef0388

Sarah Elgazzar is striving to bridge the gap between Muslims and non-Muslims in Montreal.

Raised in a small town in rural Ontario, this Muslim woman, 24, began her campaign for social justice while studying neuropsychology at McGill University.

Last year, she was involved the long battle for a prayer room for Muslim McGill students, acting as a liaison between the students and the administration.

The fight is not over; Muslim students are still praying in a hallway.

Today, Elgazzar gives workshops to companies, organizations and health-care workers in a bid to educate and sensitize non-Muslims to the religion of Islam and its followers.

The most common misconceptions she encounters are usually about the status of women in Islam and about reasons for wearing the hijab. Many people are surprised to discover how similar Islam is to Christianity and Judaism, she said.

It was during one of these workshops that Elgazzar landed a job as a psychologist and educator helping troubled teens at Batshaw Youth and Family Centres.

In addition, she's a coordinator and spokesperson for the Canadian Council for American-Islamic Relations and a volunteer at the Amal Centre for Women, an organization working to end violence against women in the Muslim community. (MORE)

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CAIR-SV ASKS COUNTY TO DROP CHARGES AGAINST MUSLIM TEEN - TOP
Honor student arrested following minor fender bender car accident

(SACRAMENTO, CA, 3/21/06) - The Sacramento Valley office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV) today called on Yolo County officials to drop all charges against Halema Buzayan, a 16 year-old Muslim honor student was arrested following a minor car accident last year.

FOR BACKGROUND ON THE CASE, SEE: Muslim Teen Arrested Over Minor Fender Bender

"Halema is an outstanding community member respected for her volunteer and charity work. It is unfortunate that that the county spent so much time, money and effort to prosecute Halema for an incident that was already dealt with in a civil matter," said CAIR-SV Executive Director Basim Elkarra.

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 32 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; Email: sacval@cair.com

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CAIR-AZ: MUSLIMS MEET WITH CONGRESSMAN TO DISCUSS OUSTED DOCTOR - TOP

(PHOENIX, AZ, 3/20/06) - On Monday, March 20, representatives of the Arizona chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-AZ), along with members of the local Muslim community, met with Rep. Ed Pastor regarding the ouster of Dr. Nadeem Hassan from the United States.

According to an article in the January 28 issue of the Arizona Republic: "Hassan had lived in the United States for more than 15 years, and practiced medicine at Maricopa Medical Center under a temporary-work permit. He applied for permanent residence in 2002 and, last year, sued the government for its delayed handling of the green-card request. He and his wife, Amber, also sought visas so they could travel in December to Mecca for the Muslim pilgrimage known as hajj.

"The Hassans were granted visas. Last week, while they were still overseas, Citizenship and Immigration Services, or CIS, denied the green card and revoked their travel authorization, leaving them stranded. When the Hassans returned Jan. 18 to New York, they were held by Customs and Border Protection agents who threatened to jail them unless they voluntarily left the country. They flew to Pakistan. Hassan has no criminal record and is not charged with terrorism."

Rep. Pastor said in Monday's meeting that he was aware of the concerns of the Muslim community regarding the civil liberties of each individual. He stated: "People fought many battles to uphold and protect these liberties and freedoms and we must take care of them."

Rep. Pastor also mentioned that he voted against the Patriot Act twice, and strongly believes that violating the constitutional rights of individuals will not win the war on terror.

"We were honored that Congressman Pastor took the time to meet with us. Hopefully this meeting will assist in producing a positive outcome in Dr. Hassan's case," said CAIR-AZ Director Nure Elatari.

CONTACT: Nure Elatari (602) 312-2223, E-Mail: director@cairaz.org; Bushra Khan (602) 262-2247, Email: officemanager@cairaz.org

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-PHILLY 'KNOW YOUR RIGHTS' SEMINAR - TOP

(PHILADELPHIA, PA, 3/21/06) - Join us for an educational seminar by attorney Yahya John Vandenberg who will outline your rights as an American.

WHAT: Know Your Rights Seminar
WHEN: Friday, March 24, 2006, 6:30 PM (after Maghreb prayers)
WHERE: Al-Hamd School: 28 Salem Church Road, Newark
SPONSORS: Council on American-Islamic Relations-Philadelphia (CAIR-Philly) and Al-Hamd School
CONTACT: Adeeba Al-Zaman, CAIR-Philly, 215.592.0509; Shazya Mirza, Al-Hamd: 302.690.0374

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CAIR-CHICAGO MOBILIZES MUSLIM VOTERS FOR PRIMARY ELECTION - TOP

CHICAGO (03/21/2006) - The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) has been mobilizing Muslim voters to actively participate in today's primary election in Illinois.

CAIR-Chicago made nearly 800 phone calls, reaching out to registered voters in the third congressional district, as a part of a large "Get Out the Vote" campaign.

Volunteers have been making phone calls over the weekend and weekday nights, reminding constituents that their votes in this upcoming election are vital.

Today, CAIR-Chicago volunteers are knocking on doors in the third congressional district, reminding voters to cast their ballots.

"We want all eligible members of the Muslim community to cast their ballots, regardless of which candidates they vote for," said CAIR-Chicago Governmental Relations Coordinator Sadiya Ahmed.

Ahmed noted that the third congressional district is one of the most hotly contested races in the Illinois primary elections and of concern to the Muslim community. The district houses one of the largest mosques in the Chicago metropolitan area, as well as one of the nation's largest Muslim communities.

CONTACTS: Ahmed Rehab, CAIR-Chicago, (312) 212-1520, (847) 971-3963, E-Mail: communications@cairchicago.org

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NY: CAIR-OH REP TO DISCUSS 'STANDING FOR JUSTICE DURING DIFFICULT TIMES' - TOP

The Manhattanville Muslim Students Association Invites you to the MSA's Annual Basma T. Wahhaj Lecture

WHEN: Tues Mar 21, 6 pm - Reid Hall, Manhattanville, NY
SPEAKER: Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin, President of the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OH)
TOPIC: "Standing for Justice During Difficult Times"

For Further Info: 914-323-5134

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-MI REP TO SPEAK ABOUT ISLAM AT LOCAL CHURCH - TOP

WHEN: Thursday, April 6, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Hope United Methodist Church, 26275 Northwestern Hwy, Near Lahser Rd., Southfield, MI 48076 (Kendrick and Lynette Adkins Building, W. Jean Lewis Room E205/206)
SPEAKERS: Dawud Walid, Executive Director for the Michigan Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI); Imam Abdullah El-Amin, Executive Director of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan; Rev. Dr. Carlyle F. Stewart III, Senior Pastor; Rev. Angelo B. Henderson, Clergy Advisor; Barbara Talley, Peace Center Director; Dayse Andrews, Facilitator

For information call: 248.356.1020 Ext 137, E-mail: peacecenter@sbcglobal.net; Dawud Walid, 248.569.2203

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PRO-ISRAEL LOBBY IN U.S. UNDER ATTACK - TOP
United Press International, 3/20/06
http://www.upi.com/InternationalIntelligence/view.php?StoryID=20060320-124726-1902r

WASHINGTON, March 20 (UPI) -- Two of America's top scholars have published a searing attack on the role and power of Washington's pro-Israel lobby in a British journal, warning that its "decisive" role in fomenting the Iraq war is now being repeated with the threat of action against Iran. And they say that the Lobby is so strong that they doubt their article would be accepted in any U.S.-based publication.

Professor John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago, author of "The Tragedy of Great Power Politics" and Professor Stephen Walt of Harvard's Kenney School, and author of "Taming American Power: The Global Response to U.S. Primacy," are leading figures American in academic life.

They claim that the Israel lobby has distorted American policy and operates against American interests, that it has organized the funneling of more than $140 billion dollars to Israel and "has a stranglehold" on the U.S. Congress, and its ability to raise large campaign funds gives its vast influence over Republican and Democratic administrations, while its role in Washington think tanks on the Middle East dominates the policy debate.

And they say that the Lobby works ruthlessly to suppress questioning of its role, to blacken its critics and to crush serious debate about the wisdom of supporting Israel in U.S. public life.

"Silencing skeptics by organizing blacklists and boycotts -- or by suggesting that critics are anti-Semites -- violates the principle of open debate on which democracy depends," Walt and Mearsheimer write. (MORE)

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IRAQ: COLLATERAL DAMAGE OR CIVILIAN MASSACRE IN HADITHA? - TOP
Last November, U.S. Marines killed 15 Iraqi civilians in their homes. Was it self-defense, an accident or cold-blooded revenge? A Time exclusive
TIM MCGIRK, Time, 3/19/06
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1174649-1,00.html

The incident seemed like so many others from this war, the kind of tragedy that has become numbingly routine amid the daily reports of violence in Iraq. On the morning of Nov. 19, 2005, a roadside bomb struck a humvee carrying Marines from Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, on a road near Haditha, a restive town in western Iraq. The bomb killed Lance Corporal Miguel (T.J.) Terrazas, 20, from El Paso, Texas. The next day a Marine communique from Camp Blue Diamond in Ramadi reported that Terrazas and 15 Iraqi civilians were killed by the blast and that "gunmen attacked the convoy with small-arms fire," prompting the Marines to return fire, killing eight insurgents and wounding one other. The Marines from Kilo Company held a memorial service for Terrazas at their camp in Haditha. They wrote messages like "T.J., you were a great friend. I'm going to miss seeing you around" on smooth stones and piled them in a funeral mound. And the war moved on.

But the details of what happened that morning in Haditha are more disturbing, disputed and horrific than the military initially reported. According to eyewitnesses and local officials interviewed over the past 10 weeks, the civilians who died in Haditha on Nov. 19 were killed not by a roadside bomb but by the Marines themselves, who went on a rampage in the village after the attack, killing 15 unarmed Iraqis in their homes, including seven women and three children. Human-rights activists say that if the accusations are true, the incident ranks as the worst case of deliberate killing of Iraqi civilians by U.S. service members since the war began. (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

-----

To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/22/2006) - A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called on the government of Afghanistan to release Abdul Rahman, a man facing the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says the man's conversion is a personal matter not subject to the intervention of the state. SEE: Afghan Christian Could Face Death

In its statement, CAIR said:

"Islamic scholars say the original rulings on apostasy were similar to those for treasonous acts in legal systems worldwide and do not apply to an individual's choice of religion. Islam advocates both freedom of religion and freedom of conscience, a position supported by verses in the Quran, Islam's revealed text, such as:

1) 'If it had been the will of your Lord that all the people of the world should be believers, all the people of the earth would have believed! Would you then compel mankind against their will to believe?' (10:99)
2) '(O Prophet) proclaim: 'This is the Truth from your Lord. Now let him who will, believe in it, and him who will, deny it.'' (18:29)
3) 'If they turn away from thee (O Muhammad) they should know that We have not sent you to be their keeper. Your only duty is to convey My message.' (42:48)
4) 'Let there be no compulsion in religion.' (2:256)

"Religious decisions should be matters of personal choice, not a cause for state intervention. Faith imposed by force is not true belief, but coercion. Islam has no need to compel belief in its divine truth. As the Quran states: 'Truth stands out clear from error. Therefore, whoever rejects evil and believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold that never breaks.' (2:256)

"We urge the government of Afghanistan to order the immediate release of Mr. Abdul Rahman."

Before issuing its statement, CAIR consulted with members of the Fiqh Council of North America, an association of Islamic legal scholars that interprets Muslim religious law.

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 32 offices, chapters and affiliates 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

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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

-----

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/

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/22/06

* Hadith: Service and Humility
* CAIR-CAN: McGill U Asked to Respect Ruling on Muslim Prayer
            - Canada: Montreal Mosque Vandalized for 4th Time (CBC)
* CAIR-OH: Take a Tour of Cincinnati Mosque
            - CAIR-CA: 'Islam and the West' Town Hall Forum
            - CAIR-CA Wants Charges Against Muslim Teen Dropped
* NJ: Governor, Senator Won't Back Arab-American Candidate (AP)
* Interest in Learning Arabic Soars (Los Angeles Times)
* FL: Jailed Muslim Told 'We Don't Need Reason to Hold You'
            - DC: Muslim Legal Conference
            - CA: Informant's Tactics Are Questioned
* MN: Student Upset by Quran Presentation (WCCO)
* Study: US Sets Aside Own Security for Israel's (CS Monitor)

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HADITH OF THE DAY: SERVICE AND HUMILITY - TOP

When asked what the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did while in his house, his wife Ayesha relied: "He used to keep busy serving and helping members of the household."

Anas bin Malik related that: "(Even the humblest) maid servant of Madina would take the Prophet's hand and take him to any place (for the redress of her grievances)."

Riyadh-us-Salaheen, Hadiths 605 and 606

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CAIR-CAN: MCGILL UNIVERSITY MUST RESPECT COMMISSION'S RULING ON PRAYER - TOP
ACCOMMODATION - TOP
Quebec Human Rights Commission finds denial of prayer accommodation discriminatory

(OTTAWA, CANADA � 22/03/06) � The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) is calling on McGill University to respect today's decision by the Quebec Human Rights Commission (SEE: http://www.cdpdj.qc.ca/en/home.asp) which ordered another Quebec university to respect the basic human rights of Muslim students by accommodating their prayer requirements. McGill University has refused to provide adequate prayer accommodations.

CAIR-CAN filed a human rights complaint against McGill on behalf of Muslim students in December 2005 for failing to provide religious accommodation, such as a multifaith or separate prayer space.

"We welcome today's decision by the Commission, which reaffirms that educational institutions must respect Quebec's Charter of human rights and freedoms, and guarantee religious accommodation for Muslim students," says Riad Saloojee, CAIR-CAN's executive director. "We call on McGill University to implement today's decision and move immediately to accommodate the needs of its students."

Sarah Elgazzar, CAIR-CAN's spokesperson, says Muslim students at McGill are likely to be reassured by today's decision. "McGill University has a responsibility to allow its students to practice their religion with dignity," says Elgazzar, a former McGill student who was forced to pray in dirty hallways after the university evicted the students from their prayer room.

For more information about the complaint against McGill, which is still pending, please see: http://www.caircan.ca/itn_more.php?id=A2159_0_2_0_M

Today's decision by the Commission was rendered in relation to the situation at the �cole de technologie sup�rieure. The Commission stated that the university's claims to being a secular institution � a defence also used by McGill University � does not absolve the school from its duty to accommodate the religious practices of its students.

�cole de technologie sup�rieure had confiscated its Muslim students' prayer mats and claimed, like McGill University, that students could use empty areas, such as hallways, empty classrooms or stairwells to perform their prayers. The Commission found this did not meet the duty to accommodate students' rights to practice their religion "in conditions that respect their right to the safeguard of their dignity."

For more information, please contact Sarah Elgazzar at 514-776-6566 or Halima Mautbur at 613-795-2012.

SEE ALSO:

CANADA: MONTREAL MOSQUE VANDALIZED - TOP
CBC News, 3/22/06
http://www.cbc.ca/montreal/story/qc-mosque-060322.html

For the fourth time in recent weeks, vandals have targeted a Montreal-area mosque, this time smashing several windows with rocks at a St. Michel mosque early Tuesday morning.

Imam Said Jazari says his is the fourth mosque in the Montreal region to be hit since the global controversy over the publishing of cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad.

From Feb. 9, 2006: Police increase security at Laval mosques

Jazari organized a demonstration against those cartoons last month.

"We get threats on the phone," Jazari says. "They tell us they're going to attack the mosque, they're going to attack us." . . .

"Today it's rocks coming through the windows," he says. "But tomorrow it could be bullets."

The mosque is now installing security cameras inside the building and in the back alley.

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CAIR-OH: TAKE A TOUR - TOP
KATIE KELLEY, CIN WEEKLY, 3/22/06
http://www.cinweekly.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060322/LIFE08/603220331/1065

The Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati has been in West Chester Township for more than 10 years, but to many local residents it remains a mystery.

It doesn't have to, however. You can gather a group of your friends or members of your place of worship and receive an interesting, thorough and informative tour from an employee or volunteer with the center.

Volunteer Karen J. Dabdoub, who directs the Council on American-Islamic Relations Ohio Chapter - Cincinnati Office as her day job, guided the group tour I attended. She touched on everything from the history of the building and artwork to common misconceptions about Islam.

Ready for a tour? Don't go in clueless: With help from Dabdoub and tour coordinator Shakila Ahmad, we compiled these tips and highlights so you'll be well prepared. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

CAIR PARTICIPATES IN 'ISLAM AND THE WEST' TOWN HALL FORUM - TOP

(SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 3/23/06) - The San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA), along with members of the local Muslim community, will take part in a town hall forum titled "Islam and the West" to air March 23rd on CBS 5.

Ken Bastida and Dana King anchor this hour-long CBS 5 News Special with panelists Jane Wales, CEO and President of the World Affairs Council; Beshara Doumani, Professor of the World Affairs Council; Richard Sklar, Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations; Khalil Bendib, an American Muslim Cartoonist based in Berkeley; and Abbas Milani, Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution. The panelists were asked various questions regarding the war in Iraq, the Sunni/Shia issues, the Danish cartoon controversy, and predictions for the coming year.

Safaa Ibrahim, Executive Director for CAIR-SFBA, was asked to speak about the Muslim community in America and the status of women in Islam. CAIR also conducted a poll of Bay Area Muslims asking their views on issues ranging from the Iraq war, Islam and culture and experiences living in America.

See also the video blog Behind the Scenes: The Making of "Islam and the West."

CAIR has 32 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.

For more information, please contact: Sameena Usman, Outreach Coordinator at 408-986-9874 or sameena@cair.com

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CAIR-SV: COUNCIL WANTS CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST MUSLIM TEEN - TOP
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=i_team&id=4013294

Mar. 21 - KGO - Strong reaction over an ABC7 News I-Team report about a Muslim teen prosecuted for a minor car accident. A civil liberties group says the Davis Police Department is guilty of discrimination and they want the case dropped. But not only is the Yolo County D.A. going forward with the case, it's trying to silence the I-Team.

It all started with a minor fender bender. Two witnesses say they saw the SUV owned by Jamal Buzayan hit another car in a parking lot. Sixteen-year-old Halema Buzayan and her mother Najat were inside.

Buzayan says his wife was driving that day, but no one recalls a collision. He decides to put the matter to rest and writes a check to cover the damage anyway.

Jamal Buzayan, father of arrested teen: "And the lady came and took it on the tenth and cashed it and it was over with."

But that was just the beginning. The Davis Police Department decided to investigate. They interview the Buzayans and conclude that their daughter Halema was driving the family SUV. Police show up at night to arrest the teenager, booking her in her pajamas while her parents look on.

Jamal Buzayan: "I was really scared of them because both had hand on gun."

Halema Buzayan, arrested teen: "He takes my fingerprints and every time he pushes down, he pushed down really hard and he tells me, 'tell the truth, tell the truth, that's all you have to do,' and he just seems so angry with me."

The Yolo County District Attorney decided to prosecute. But their aggressive tactics are raising questions.

Dean Johnson, ABC7 legal analyst: "It's really about whether the officer violated Halema's civil rights in the larger sense of undertaking this investigation, prosecution and arrest because of her ethnic or religious background."

Both the police chief and district attorney refused to be interviewed.

Now a civil liberties group is saying they went too far. The Council on American Islamic Relations is demanding Yolo County drop the charges.

Basim Elkarra, Council on American Islamic Relations: "The community is wondering why this is happening. Is this selective enforcement? Because, there are many other cases, many hit and run cases, that are never prosecuted so why go after this honor student?" (MORE)

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TERROR FEARS DRAG CORZINE, MENENDEZ INTO ARAB CANDIDATE'S RACE - TOP
WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press, 3/22/06
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--arabcandidate-ter0322mar22,0,7811522.story

NEWARK, N.J. -- Two weeks ago, fear of an Arab company taking over operations at U.S. ports led to the collapse of the deal. Now an Arab-American businessman's candidacy for county office is drawing concern from Democrats who fear he is sympathetic to suicide bombers.

In northern New Jersey's Arab-American community _ one of the nation's largest _ anger is rising over what some consider a renewed wave of anti-Arab bias.

Two years ago, Sami Merhi, a Lebanese-born businessman from Totowa, narrowly lost a bid to run as the Democratic Party's candidate for Passaic County freeholder because of remarks he made in 2002 that some interpreted as sympathetic to Palestinian suicide bombers.

This year, he won the party's blessing to run for the seat, but now finds himself dogged by the same comments, and facing opposition from Gov. Jon S. Corzine and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez because of them.

"I feel like every other person in this community feels _ every one of us is becoming another Dubai," Merhi said, referring to the Arab country whose bid to take over U.S. port operations was derailed amid a storm of controversy. "It's not fair and it's not American. America is 'us.' You can't remove anyone from the 'we."' . . .

Aref Assaf, president of the Paterson-based American Arab Forum and a friend of Merhi's, said yanking the endorsement would be akin to hanging out a sign reading, "Arabs need not apply."

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INTEREST IN LEARNING ARABIC SOARS - TOP
Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times, 3/22/06
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-arabic22mar22,0,4072351.story

Coming of age during the 9/11 attacks and war in Iraq, some of the students in UCLA's advanced Arabic class want to launch diplomatic or military careers. Others seek to delve into the Koran and Islamic culture. And some simply love a mind-stretching, tongue-twisting challenge.

No matter the reasons, they help fuel a trend that has made Arabic the fastest-growing spoken language of study at U.S. colleges and universities.

Just as the teaching of Russian took off after the launching of the Sputnik satellite in 1957, more colleges than ever are starting or expanding courses in Arabic. Schools such as UCLA, UC Berkeley, USC and Pasadena City College report waiting lists for classes, with most of the demand coming from students whose families have no ties to the Islamic world. (MORE)

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FL: WE DON'T NEED REASON TO HOLD YOU, HAMMOUDEH TOLD - TOP
MEG LAUGHLIN, St. Petersburg Times, 3/22/06
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/03/22/Tampabay/We_don_t_need_reason_.shtml

Immigration and Customs Enforcement lawyers argue they can hold someone six months without justifying it.

TAMPA - Government attorneys finally told Sameeh Hammoudeh, Tuesday, the main reason they're keeping him imprisoned: because they can.

This explanation was their response to a lawsuit filed by Hammoudeh's lawyer, Stephen Bernstein, against U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and others.

The suit claims that Hammoudeh's continued incarceration in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement wing of the Manatee County Jail is unconstitutional because he has been acquitted in the Sami Al-Arian case and received no jail time in a separate tax fraud case, in which he agreed to be deported.

But government attorneys argued in their written response Tuesday that the overriding reason Hammoudeh remains in jail is because ICE can legally keep him for six months, according to a U.S. Supreme Court decision. . .

Tuesday, on the eve of his habeas corpus hearing, Hammoudeh, who has been incarcerated for more than three years, issued this statement in a phone call to the St. Petersburg Times: "The Department of Justice and Homeland Security are working without a code of ethics and with total disregard for the truth, public opinion and human rights.

"I do not see a difference between their conduct and that of any third world oppressive regime. I hope the judge will stop this inhumane treatment."

Government attorneys declined to comment.

SEE ALSO:

DC: MUSLIM LEGAL CONFERENCE - TOP

You are cordially invited to attend "Advancing Justice & Empowering the
Community," a conference jointly held by the National Association of
Muslim Lawyers (NAML) and the National Muslim Law Students Association (NMLSA).

The conference will take place March 31-April 2, 2006 at the George
Washington University Law School.

Online registration and information about the conference is available at: www.namlnet.org

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CA: INFORMANT'S TACTICS ARE QUESTIONED - TOP
Rone Tempest, Los Angeles times, 3/22/06
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-lodi22mar22,1,6963225.story

SACRAMENTO - Posing as a computer expert with a "secret agenda" to support Muslim causes, the FBI's undercover informant offered to send money from a Lodi, Calif., man to a Pakistani political party, according to transcripts of a recorded conversation introduced Tuesday in a federal terrorism trial.

Defense attorneys described the statements as part of a pattern of provocative and extremist comments that informant Naseem Khan made to win the confidence of the two defendants.

Khan was testifying Tuesday for the first time since his sensational statement last week that he had frequently seen Al Qaeda's No. 2 leader at the Lodi mosque in 1999.

"When it came to expressing extreme radical Islamic views, it was the government's informant who set the stage. His words were far more extreme than anything my client said," said attorney Johnny L. Griffin, who represents Lodi ice cream truck driver Umer Hayat, 48, the man Khan approached about sending money to Pakistan. (MORE)

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MN: ROSEVILLE STUDENT UPSET BY QURAN PRESENTATION - TOP
Bridgette Bornstein, WCCO, 3/22/06
http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_081114537.html

(WCCO) Roseville, Minn. Officials at Roseville Area High School apologized to a Muslim student who was upset by a librarian's classroom presentation involving The Quran.

The 14-year-old student said the librarian was making a presentation about censorship to her freshman English class and brought out several books, including the Muslim book of prayer.

As part of the presentation, the librarian used a box decorated with colored construction paper that was meant to look like flames, the student said.

The student said the librarian tossed The Quran into the box, as if to symbolize burning it.

"His actions were definitely what I thought was wrong, and it hurt me," said the student, who did not want to be identified.

The student viewed that as a disrespectful way to handle the book, and was also offended by how the librarian described it.

"He took the book and he threw it, and while he was talking about the book, his main perspective of the book was that it was a pro-terrorist book," she said.

The school district said the role-playing exercise was intended to show what censorship is like, but officials agreed that was not an appropriate way to do it. (MORE)

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STUDY ALLEGES US SETS ASIDE OWN SECURITY INTEREST FOR ISRAEL'S - TOP
Tom Regan, Christian Science Monitor, 3/21/06
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0321/dailyUpdate.html

A research paper by two leading American political scientists alleges that the US relationship with Israel is not good for US security, and that the Israeli lobby in the US, particularly the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee, has helped exaggerate to the US media and public the importance of making the protection of Israel a key part of US foreign policy.

John J. Mearsheimer, a professor of political science and a co-director of the Program on International Security Policy at the University of Chicago, and Stephen M. Walt, academic dean of the Kennedy School, published their paper, "The Israeli Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy," on the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University website. A shorter version was also published by the London Review of Books. (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

-----

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/

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/23/06

* Verse: The Quran is a Reminder
* CAIR-DC: Muslims to Join Rally for Immigrant Rights
* Analysis: Evangelicals Most Distrustful of Muslims (IPS)
            - CA: Babies, Bigotry and 9/11 (Washington Post)
* Lodi Trial Juror: Government Case is Weak
            - CA: Judge Urges Release of Muslim Fundraiser (AP)
* WI: Filmmakers Focus on Muslim College Experience
            - MA: Muslims Respond to Port, Cartoon Uproar
* IA: Muslim Camp Lease Signed (Gazette)
* MD Conference: Justice in Christianity and Islam
* Canada: Out with Haraam, in with Halal (Winnipeg Sun)
            - CAIR-CAN: School Told Muslim Prayer 'a Right'

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VERSE OF THE DAY: THE QURAN IS A REMINDER - TOP

"We have not sent down the Quran to thee to be (an occasion) for thy distress, but only as a reminder to those who stand in awe (of God)."

The Holy Quran, 20:2-3

To sponsor or obtain a FREE Quran, go to: www.explorethequran.org

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CAIR-DC: MUSLIMS TO JOIN RALLY FOR IMMIGRANT RIGHTS - TOP

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/23/2006) - On Monday, March 27, a coalition of groups urging immigration reforms that will treat immigrants humanely and provide undocumented workers with a path to citizenship will hold an interfaith prayer service and rally in Washington, D.C. Similar events are scheduled to take place that day in communities across the nation. SEE: http://www.cirnow.org/content/en/events_main.htm

WHAT: Rally calling for a path to citizenship for the undocumented, family reunification, worker rights, the Dream Act and other basic civil liberties.
WHERE: West Lawn of the United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.
WHEN: March 27, 2006, 11 a.m. (One hundred interfaith religious leaders will gather in front of the Dirksen Senate Office Building between 12:30 and 1 p.m.)

The event is organized to coincide with Monday's Senate Judiciary Committee review of Chairman Specter's recommended immigration reform measures.

CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor, 202-488-8787 or 571-278-4658, E-Mail: csaylor@cair-net.org

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EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS MOST DISTRUSTFUL OF MUSLIMS - TOP
Jim Lobe, Inter Press Service, 3/22/06
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=32604

WASHINGTON, Mar 22 (IPS) - Evangelical Protestants tend to view Islam much more unfavourably than do mainline U.S. Protestants and Catholics, according to a new analysis of recent public opinion surveys published here Wednesday by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

The analysis, much of which is based on findings of a major poll carried out last summer by the Pew Research Centre for the People & the Press, found that a strong plurality of 50 percent of white evangelical Protestants believe that Islam "is more likely than others to encourage violence among its believers", while only about a third of mainline Protestants and Catholics accepted that view.

It also found that attitudes towards Muslim-Americans and Islam tended to be affected by four key factors -- education, age, knowledge of Islam and personal acquaintance with Muslims.

Non-Muslim citizens were significantly more likely to think favourably of both Muslims and Islam if they had a personal acquaintanceship with Muslim-Americans, had achieved a higher level of education, acquired some independent knowledge about Islam, and if they were younger. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

BABIES, BIGOTRY AND 9/11 - TOP
Richard Morin, Washington Post, 3/23/06
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/22/AR2006032202205.html

The ugly wave of anti-Arab feelings immediately after Sept. 11, 2001, may have been responsible for a sharp increase in the incidence of premature and low-birth-weight babies born to women of Arab descent in the United States in the months that followed the terrorist attacks.

The evidence is circumstantial but compelling, epidemiologist Diane S. Lauderdale of the University of Chicago says in the latest issue of Demography. (MORE)

SEE: Birth Outcomes for Arabic-Named Women in California Before and After September 11

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HAYAT TRIAL JUROR: GOVERNMENT CASE IS WEAK - TOP
Mark Hedlund, News 10, 3/22/06
http://www.news10.net/storyfull2.aspx?storyid=16609

A juror dismissed from the Lodi terrorism case said she believes defendant Hamid Hayat is innocent of the key charges against him.

"The government at this point hasn't proven it to me," said Andrea Clabaugh. "I see nothing to show he did what they say he did." She was referring to the charge of Hayat providing material support to terrorists by allegedly training at an al-Qaida camp in Pakistan.

Clabaugh, 39, was excused from the jury after a motion by the defense to dismiss her. At first federal Judge Garland Burrell denied the motion but changed his mind Wednesday. At the mid-morning recess in the case, Clabaugh was told she was free to go. One of the alternate jurors was immediately put in Clabaugh's place. . .

During the trial, FBI agents have admitted that besides Hamid Hayat's own confession, they have no evidence to prove he actually attended or trained at a terrorism camp. The other key evidence comes from a paid FBI informant and a series of conversations he secretly recorded between Hayat and himself. That informant is Naseem Khan, 32, who befriended the Hayat family after he went to Lodi specifically to infiltrate Lodi's Muslim community. In those conversations, the men frequently talked about their support for the Taliban and Hayat's plans to go through training.

"I got a picture of a young kid trying to impress an older young man (Khan)," said Clabaugh. "It doesn't mean those are things he'd actually follow through on. It could be just a young guy trying to impress another guy." Hamid Hayat is 23. As for the informant himself, Clabaugh said her impression of his credibility is neutral.

"I think he (Khan) wanted to give the FBI information," she said. "Whether he legitimately obtained that information, I don't know." (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

JUDGE URGES RELEASE OF CHIEF FUNDRAISER FOR ISLAMIC CHARITY - TOP
Associated Press, 3/23/06
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-holy23mar23,1,1645629.story

A federal magistrate has recommended that a leading fundraiser for an Islamic charity allegedly linked to terrorists should be released from detention after nearly two years.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Johnson filed his recommendation Tuesday for the release of Abdel-Jabbar Hamdan, 45.

It was not immediately clear late Wednesday whether Hamdan had been released.

The recommendation must be approved by another judge.

Hamdan, who also founded a mosque in Anaheim, was arrested on immigration charges in July 2004 as federal authorities unsealed an indictment against the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development. (MORE)

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WI: FILMMAKERS FOCUS ON MUSLIM COLLEGE EXPERIENCE - TOP
Kellie Bramlet, Marquette Tribune, 3/23/06
http://www.marquettetribune.org/291910318186872.bsp

Milwaukee should get ready for its close-up - shooting for "Generation Jazba," an independent film about Muslim college students in Milwaukee, is tentatively scheduled to begin in May of 2007.

Writer and director Brooke Maroldi and producer Allyson Bahr said they plan to show the movie at prominent independent film festivals including Tribeca, Sundance and Toronto, among others. In order to help reach this goal they are a holding a fundraiser tonight, where promotional material for the movie will also be shot, according to a press release.

Based on a story by Qudsia Sethi, the film follows the lives of a group of Muslim college students living in Milwaukee as they struggle to find their place in a world between their Muslim roots and American society.

Their goal is "to portray a minority in a way that's realistic and fair and give people a lot to think about," Maroldi said. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

MA: MUSLIMS RESPOND TO PORT, CARTOON UPROAR - TOP
By Joyce Kelly, Shrewsbury Chronicle, 3/23/06
http://www.townonline.com/shrewsbury/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=454995&format=text

The deal may be over, but the reverberations of the Bush administration's thwarted attempt to allow an Arab company to manage operations at six of the nation's ports left shockwaves in Congress.

And the maelstrom has sent powerful tremors through the Muslim-American community as well.

Local Muslim leaders believe that the continuing uproar over the Dubai World Ports deal is simply "another opportunity to bash the Arabs and Muslims."

"To us, drops keep falling, things keep on adding up, one thing after another," said Malik Khan, president of the Islamic Center of Boston in Wayland.

Constant media coverage of the most inflammatory news, such as the melee resulting from the Danish press' publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed with an atomic bomb in place of a turban, has only created more animosity toward Muslims here and abroad, said Mohamed Lazzouni, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Al-Hamra Academy in Shrewsbury.

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IA: MUSLIM CAMP LEASE SIGNED - TOP
Frank Gluck, The Gazette, 3/22/06
http://www.crgazette.com/2006/03/22/Home/muslimcampleasesigned.htm

NORTH LIBERTY, IA - An organization planning a Muslim youth camp on the shores of Coralville Lake has signed a lease of up to 25 years with the federal government, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced this afternoon.

Muslim Youth Camps of America (MYCA) now has full rights to be on the land and, once it works out details with county and state regulators, can begin building at any time.

The organization has up to five years to begin building before the Corps of Engineers would reconsider the lease. If, after five years, MYCA shows it is progressing in a "satisfactory" fashion, a 20-year lease would be offered.

Plans for the $934,000 facility call for lodging up to 60 campers ages 10 to 17 -- 40 in cabins and 20 in tents -- plus staffers during summer, and up to 40 per night in the off-season.

The proposal has been a controversial one. Many neighbors have complained that the development would overwhelm the rural Johnson County roads leading to the facility and that the proposed buildings would mar the scenic nature of the spot.

A minority of other camp opponents have tried to block construction by evoking the specter of terrorism. (MORE)

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MD CONFERENCE: JUSTICE IN CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM - TOP

WHAT: P. Francis Murphy Conference on Justice and Peace
WHEN: Saturday, March 25, 2006, 9:30 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.
WHERE: Bon Secours Spiritual Center, 1525 Marriottsville Road, Marriottsville, MD

SPEAKERS:

* Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, retired Bishop of Detroit,
* Imam Yahya Hendi, Muslim Chaplain at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and Imam of the Islamic Society of Frederick

Reflecting on the concept and practice of justice in Christianity and Islam: What is our common ground? Are there differences? How are we all called to work together for justice and peace in our world?

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OUT WITH HARAAM, IN WITH HALAL - TOP
DAVID SCHMEICHEL, Winnipeg Sun, 3/23/06
http://winnipegsun.com/News/Manitoba/2006/03/23/1501197-sun.html

Members of Manitoba's Muslim community know well the pressures of a diet grounded in religion, since even the most indifferent still avoid the No. 1 taboo: pork, and its many byproducts.

"Of course, you can find exceptions to every rule, but even the most marginally practising Muslim will usually abstain from pork," says Shahina Siddiqui, president of the Islamic Social Services Association of Canada.

The many dietary guidelines Muslims are expected to follow are broken down into two groups: foods that are lawful (halal), and foods that are forbidden (haraam).

Pork tops the haraam list, but Muslims are also forbidden from consuming intoxicants (including alcohol and non-medicinal drugs), foods containing blood, and meat from carnivorous animals, animals that die of natural causes, animals with claws, and animals that slither on their stomachs.

"Islamic dietary restrictions are based on the premise that health and life come first," Siddiqui says. "It's explained in the Qur'an (Islam's sacred book) ... anything that is harmful to the human body or a threat to human life is forbidden."

The restrictions also apply to substances that aren't specifically mentioned in the text, but have subsequently been found to be harmful (think cigarettes, meat tainted by disease, and genetically-modified foods that cause illness), she notes.

As in the Jewish faith, there are laws outlining the means by which food must be prepared, and although there are similarities, these are not quite as stringent as those prescribed by the Talmud. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-CAN: PRAYER 'A RIGHT' FOR MUSLIMS, QUEBEC SCHOOL TOLD - TOP
Andy Riga, CanWest News Service, 3/23/06
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=9925b92d-a95b-424e-a480-b5aafd73273f

MONTREAL - Muslim leaders were cautiously optimistic yesterday after the Quebec human rights commission told a Montreal engineering school it must allow Muslim students to pray in dignity, though it is not obliged to provide them with their own special prayer space.

In 2003, 113 Muslim students filed a human rights complaint against the Ecole de technologie superieure after it blocked Muslim students, who must pray five times daily, from doing so in hallways and stairwells.

A group of Muslim students filed a similar, pending human rights complaint against McGill University in December after that university took away its prayer space.

In the ETS case, "the students have a right to pray and the school has the responsibility, the duty, to accommodate them," commission president Marc-Andre Dowd told reporters. Students should not be forced to decide between school and their religion, he added. . .

The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations, which filed the McGill complaint, praised the ETS decision and called on McGill to immediately offer a quiet, clean prayer space, perhaps a multi-faith one. Council spokesperson Sarah Elgazzar, a former McGill student, said McGill's Muslim students must now pray in "dirty, dusty hallways."

McGill spokesperson Jennifer Robinson said the school is reviewing the ETS decision. (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

-----

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AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/24/06

* Hadith: Love Each Other
* CAIR-MI: Mosque Vandalized, Worshippers Harassed
* CAIR: Man Guilty of Scamming Vermont Muslims (Free Press)
            - FBI: Guilty Plea in Scam Case
* CAIR-FL: David Cole to Speak at Annual Banquet April 1
            - CAIR-CAN: Don't be Fearful of Dubai (Globe & Mail)
* U.S. Muslims Gaining Foothold in Politics (USA Today)
            - PA: Forum Will Explore Islam in America
            - NC: Muslims Reach Out (News & Observer)
* CA: Makers of Halal Foods Gather at Trade Show (LA Times)
* Resources: Islam and Apostasy

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HADITH OF THE DAY: LOVE EACH OTHER - TOP

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "(Offer greetings to each other) and rancor will disappear. Give gifts to each other and love each other, and hatred will disappear."

Al-Muwatta, Volume 47, Hadith 16

To learn more about the life and legacy of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), go to: www.cair.com/Muhammad

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CAIR-MI: BANGLADESHI MOSQUE IN MICHIGAN VANDALIZED - TOP
Bangla Patrika in Voices That Must Be Heard, News Report, Abu Taher Translated from Bangla by Moinuddin Naser, Mar 23, 2006
http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=c07c3bbde4f65a60d06fe10e30eeda1d

NEW YORK - Several unidentified teenagers reportedly vandalized a mosque in Hamtramck, Michigan last week. Many consider this as another racial bias act against Muslims.

According to a report, local Bangladeshis in Hamtramck alleged that several teenagers threw bricks and shoes at the mosque.

Abdul Mutallib, an Islamic devotee who goes to the mosque often, said that a group of 15- and 16-year-old teenagers threw their shoes at the mosque, and mocked fellow devotees who visited the mosque.

Don Clini, an FBI official, told Bangla Patrika that several officials have been entrusted with the responsibility of continuing the investigation and discussing the incident with Bangladeshi devotees and local police. . .

Bangladeshi Muslims said that aside from the mocking, some people in the locality also started harassing the devotees of the mosque. A few days before the vandalism incident, a Bangladeshi imam was attacked.

The Michigan Department of Civil Rights expressed its concern, saying that anyone responsible for racial attacks will face the law.

Director of Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Dawud Walid condemned the incident and demanded a thorough investigation to punish those responsible for the crime.

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CAIR: MAN GUILTY OF SCAMMING VT. MUSLIMS - TOP
Erica Jacobson, Burlington Free Press, 3/24/06
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060324/NEWS01/603240318/1009&theme=

A man who defrauded at least 45 victims throughout the United States, including two in Vermont, by exploiting the Islamic tenet of aiding stranded travelers has pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Mobile, Ala., according to the FBI. . .

Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Washington, D.C.,-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he received complaints about Agbareia starting 15 years ago. In the years since, Hooper said the group has taken dozens of complaints from Muslims around the country and estimated the amount Agbareia collected to be in the hundreds of thousands.

Hooper said he thought people believed Agbareia's stories because they played off the strong Islamic tradition of helping travelers in need.

"It was believable," Hooper said. "It was something that was doable for people. We had cab drivers taking out personal loans to send money to him.

"He was just taking advantage of that tradition of generosity."

Hooper said the council "tried mightily" over the years to have Agbareia arrested, but his scam was so widespread that no one agency could bring all the reports together.

Agbareia was first indicted in U.S. District Court in Burlington on March 10, 2005, but that case remains sealed. Agbareia was then indicted by a federal grand jury in Alabama in May, arrested in Canada as that country tried to deport him to Israel and extradited to the United States on Jan. 20.

He pleaded guilty on March 3 in federal court in Mobile, and will be sentenced there July 10. Zouhair Youssei Hissy, Agbareia's accomplice, remains in custody in Canada awaiting extradition to the United States on identical charges.

Hooper said Agbareia's capture was a relief but has left questions unanswered, especially about the man's religious beliefs.

"Who knows what he is?" Hooper said of whether Agbareia is a Muslim. "If he is, he's not a good one."

SEE ALSO:

FBI NEWS RELEASE: GUILTY PLEA IN ISLAMIC SCAM CASE - TOP

(March 22, 2006) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Albany, New York Division and the Mobile, Alabama Division announce the March 3, 2006 guilty plea of Mohammed Mustafa Agbareia. Agbareia pled guilty to one count of wire fraud in violation of U.S.C. Title 18 �1343. Agbareia was indicted by the District of Vermont on March 10, 2005, and by a Federal Grand Jury in Mobile, Alabama on May 26, 2005. Zouhair Youssei Hissy was also indicted in Mobile on that same date.

Agbareia was arrested in Canada pending his unrelated deportation to Israel. Agbareia waved extradition and was sent to the United States on January 20, 2006. Agbareia entered a guilty plea on March 3, 2006 in Mobile, Alabama case. Hissy is awaiting extradition to the United States from Canada. . .

There were at least 45 victims throughout the United States and this scam involved over 10,000 solicitations for money.

"We would like to thank the FBI for working with CAIR and the Muslim community to bring this con artist to justice after so many years of abusing the Islamic tradition of helping those in need," said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Awad offered special thanks to the FBI Albany Division, Burlington, Vermont Resident Agency and to its Mobile Division, both of which were instrumental in the investigation and prosecution of the case.

CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, had been receiving reports of the con artist's activities for a number of years and had issued numerous alerts to Muslims worldwide about this method of operation.

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CAIR-FL: DAVID COLE TO SPEAK AT ANNUAL DINNER APRIL 1 - TOP

The Florida office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Cordially invites you to attend its Annual Fundraising Banquet.

WHEN: SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 2006 (Registration 6 p.m., Dinner & Program 7 p.m.)
WHERE: Signature Grand, 6900 State Road 84, Davie, FL

GUEST SPEAKERS:

* David Cole - Professor at Georgetown University Law Center and volunteer attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights
* Azhar Usman - One of the world's few American Muslim standup comedians
* Rodwan Saleh - President of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston
* Dr. Parvez Ahmed - Chairman, CAIR National

Tickets: $50 per person, ($65 at the door, if available), $450 for table of 10
Childcare available for $10 per child. Call in advance to reserve

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call: 954-272-0490, E-Mail: info@cairfl.org, URL: http://www.cair-florida.org/

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-CAN: DON'T BE FEARFUL OF DUBAI - TOP
Sheema Khan, Globe and Mail, 22/03/06
http://www.caircan.ca/op_ed.php

(Dr. Khan is the Honorary Chair of CAIR-CAN)

This is a confident society, buoyed by hard work, discipline and dreams. Nonetheless, the collapse of the Dubai Ports deal has left a bitter aftertaste. There is no doubt, in the minds of many here, that the issue was driven by racism.

"Other foreign-owned companies run U.S. ports -- but they were not Arab. That is the message. And we got it," said a recent Gulf News editorial. Even General John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, criticized opposition to the Dubai Ports deal, calling it "Arab and Muslim bashing." U.S. lawmakers have pandered to domestic fears while shoring up security credentials in preparation for the November mid-term elections. "Retaliation precipitated by Congress will not only harm U.S. employers but employees as well," warned the U.S. Chamber of Congress, adding that the imbroglio does nothing for confidence in the U.S. economy. . .

Now those same U.S. lawmakers are scrambling at damage control. More than a week ago, four GOP congressmen visited Dubai, reiterating that the UAE remained one of America's strongest allies in the fight against terrorism. Furthermore, Dubai services more U.S. military ships than any country in the world. "This country is not part of the problem, rather it is part of the solution," asserted Congressman Phil Gingrey. Long term, it seems the U.S. has more to lose. In a prescient editorial prior to the Dubai Ports fiasco, the Khaleej Times noted that the growing economies of China and India, for example, are only too willing to welcome investments from the Gulf region. A shift in economic focus in Gulf investments from the West to the East "could have important political and economic implications in the years to come."

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AMERICAN MUSLIMS GAINING A FOOTHOLD IN POLITICS - TOP
By Jill Lawrence, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-03-23-american-muslims-cover_x.htm

TEANECK, N.J. - The mayor of nearby Prospect Park is a 30-year-old high school business teacher with a young son. He was a volunteer firefighter at 18 and has been active in his community ever since. But when he sought the mayor's office last fall, voters received anonymous fliers calling him a "betrayer" tied to the 9/11 terrorists.

Why? Because he is a Syrian-born Muslim named Mohamed Khairullah.

"I was worried for my family," Khairullah says. "Any crazy person could have just driven by and done something. But we just had faith and went on doing what we had to do." The result: he got the job, open because the previous mayor had moved away, and now is running to keep it.

The 9/11 attacks have had a curious double-edged impact on the political emergence of American Muslims. They are up against more stereotyping and backlash, which they perceived recently in the furor over a Dubai company's thwarted plan to take over port operations in several U.S. cities.

At the same time, the 9/11 attacks jolted Muslims into realizing that they needed to make themselves known to their neighbors and heard by their government. They are voting, running for office and getting more involved in civic and political life at every level, from PTAs and school boards to town councils and state legislatures. At least two - Texas Republicans Amir Omar and Ahmad Hassan - are running for U.S. Congress.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which promotes Muslim political activity, has opened 23 of its 31 U.S. chapters since 9/11. In the 2004 election, two studies found, one in five Muslim voters were first-time voters.

"There was a silver lining. We became more public," says Aref Assaf, president of the New Jersey-based American Arab Forum.

This large-scale entry of Muslims into public life is not only testing the courage of Muslim candidates and the tolerance of voters. It's also prompting politicians to take notice of a community that has growing clout and is open to appeals from both parties. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

PA: FORUM WILL EXPLORE ISLAM IN AMERICA - TOP
Public Opinion, 3/24/06
http://www.publicopiniononline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060324/NEWS01/603240314/1002

CHAMBERSBURG - Wilson College in Chambersburg will host the 2006 Orr Forum on Religion on Monday.

This year's forum will focus on "Islam in America: Challenges and Opportunities."

A free, all-day event, the forum questions the common assumption that Islam is foreign to American culture and explores the Islamic community's vital and growing impact on American society.

Workshops and discussions will move beyond common images of Islam in search of the faithful practices and ordinary lives of more than 5 million Muslim Americans. (MORE)

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NC: MUSLIMS REACH OUT - TOP
Yonat Shimron, News & Observer, 3/24/06
http://www.newsobserver.com/667/story/421450.html

Like many newcomers, Muslims who settled in the Triangle hoped for a life of peace and prosperity.

Few expected to become public relations specialists. But that's the role many have taken on in a quest to defend their faith.

It started with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and continued with the ongoing war in Iraq.

More recently, their diplomatic skills were put to the test when Mohammed Taheri-azar ran down some students in the heart of the UNC-Chapel Hill campus and said the Quran justified his actions.

In each instance, individual Muslims served as ambassadors of their faith, explaining how it had been misused by others. The Islamic Association of Raleigh has gained expertise in the public arena, working to improve understanding in the community. The association quickly called a press conference after the incident at UNC. Leaders condemned Taheri-azar's religious interpretation and said their faith prohibits violence against innocent people.

"When we first came we felt so comfortable here, we said 'Ahhh! This is what we were looking for,'" said Fiaz Fareed of Raleigh, a native of India. "We never thought we'd have to do our own research into the Quran."

On Saturday, the Islamic Center held an open house in response to the uproar over cartoon images of the Prophet Muhammad that were published in a Danish newspaper. For some, the open house provided yet another opportunity to engage non-Muslims. To prepare, leaders of the Islamic Center devoted three months to lectures and sermons on the Prophet Muhammad, long before most people had become aware of the cartoon controversy. The idea was to provide Muslims a refresher course on the man whose revelations ushered in the faith. (MORE)

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CA: IN PRAISE OF FAITH-BASED FOOD - TOP
Makers of provisions adhering to Islamic and Jewish laws gather in Anaheim. Their products' special qualities attract varied tastes.
Jerry Hirsch, Los Angeles Times, 3/24/06
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ethnic24mar24,1,325342.story

Muslims and Jews might not agree about much that goes on in the Middle East, but when it comes to food, they're warming up.

Food processing companies of both faiths came together Thursday at the World Ethnic Market show in the Anaheim Convention Center to pitch such delicacies as halal chicken samosas and kosher Italian sausage to retailers from Albertsons to Wild Oats. The trade show, which continues today, is the nation's first to pair food produced according to the laws of Islam and Judaism, organizers said. (MORE)

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RESOURCES: ISLAM AND APOSTASY - TOP

Freedom of Expression in Islam
Mohammad Hashim Kamali, Islamic Text Society, 1997
http://www.globalwebpost.com/farooqm/study_res/islam/freedom/kamali_freedom.doc

[Dr Mohammad Hashim Kamali is Professor of Law at the International Islamic University Malaysia where he has been teaching Islamic law and jurisprudence since 1985. Among his other works published by the Islamic Texts Society is Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence.]

Mahmassani has observed that the death penalty was meant to apply, not to simple acts of apostasy from Islam, but when apostasy was linked to an act of political betrayal of the community. The Prophet never killed anyone solely for apostasy. This being the case, the death penalty was not meant to apply to a simple change of faith but to punish acts such as treason, joining forces with the enemy and sedition.

The late Ayatollah Mutahhari highlighted the incompatibility of coercion with the spirit of Islam, and the basic redundancy of punitive measures in the propagation of its message. He wrote that it is impossible to force anyone to acquire the kind of faith that is required by Islam, just as 'it is not possible to spank a child into solving an arithmetical problem. His mind and thought must be left free in order that he may solve it. The Islamic faith is something of this kind.'

Selim el-Awa discusses the issue of apostasy at length, declaring that 'there is an urgent need to reinterpret the principles contained in the Qur'an and Sunnah'. He cites the fact that the Qur'an is completely silent on the death penalty for apostasy, and that the evidence in the Sunnah is open to interpretation.

El-Awa elaborates that the death penalty in the Sunnah is not designed for apostasy per se but for high treason, or hirabah, that is, when apostasy is accompanied by hostility and rebellion against the community and its legitimate leadership. . .

The Prophet did not treat apostasy as a proscribed offense (hadd), but, on the contrary, pardoned many individuals who had embraced Islam, then renounced it, and then embraced it again. . .

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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

-----

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AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/26/06

* Verse: Try to Excel One Another in Good Works
* CAIR: Guilty of 'Flying While Muslim' (NY Daily News)
* CAIR-CA: Davis Prosecution Sparks Bias Claim (Sac Bee)
            - CA: Gag Order Imposed in Davis Discrimination Case
* CAIR-LA: USAID Meets with Muslim Relief Groups
* NJ: Dems Dump Arab-American Candidate (AP)
            - NJ: Muslim Scouts Do Their Duty (Home News Trib)
* CAIR: Graham Not Holding Back on Islam (Star-Telegram)
* Scholars' Attack on Pro-Israel Lobby Met With Silence (Forward)
            - Professor Says American Publisher Turned Him Down
            - U.S. Opposes Israeli Depositions in AIPAC Case (JTA)
* Iraq: Claims of Atrocities by U.S. Soldiers Mount (The Times)
            - Did Marines Murder 23 Iraqi Civilians? (Independent)

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VERSE OF THE DAY: TRY TO EXCEL ONE ANOTHER IN GOOD WORKS - TOP

"If God had so willed, He could have made all of you a single nation. But He willed otherwise in order to test you in what He has given you. Therefore try to excel one another in doing good works. Ultimately you all shall return to God; then He will show you the truth of those matters in which you dispute."

The Holy Quran, 5:48

To sponsor or obtain a FREE Quran, go to: www.explorethequran.org

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CAIR: AN INNOCENT MAN'S LIFE LEFT IN RUINS - TOP
RUSS BUETTNER, DAILY NEWS, 3/26/06
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/403186p-341350c.html

Adam Blake thinks he was guilty of only one thing: trying to fly while Muslim.

Blake has lived a legal nightmare in the post-9/11 era. Born and raised in the Bronx, Blake was held without bail for three months and has been unable to work for nearly a year because federal officials have kept his identification. A pretrial report even alleged he belonged to a terrorist organization, court records show.

Arsalan Iftikhar, the national legal director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations . . . added that Blake's experiences sound like too many other examples of Muslims being unnecessarily detained since 9/11. "The American Muslim community feels as though they have been under siege by an overzealous Justice Department," said Iftikhar. "Unfortunately, the vast majority of these cases turn out to be nothing more than minor civil violations." (MORE)

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CAIR-SV: DAVIS PROSECUTION SPARKS BIAS CLAIM - TOP
Pamela Martineau, Sacramento Bee, 3/24/06
http://sacbee.com/content/news/story/14234344p-15055948c.html

Some Davis community members say the case is an example of overzealous prosecution of people of color by Davis police and Yolo County prosecutors.

Others say it is a case of misdemeanor hit-and-run that has been handled like other cases of its kind.

Today, a Yolo County Superior Court juvenile judge is scheduled to hear the case involving the prosecution of a 16-year-old Muslim girl in Davis for a fender bender in a supermarket parking lot last summer.

The main issues are who was driving the large sport-utility vehicle that reportedly bumped another car and why the incident, which had been resolved financially between the parties, was prosecuted.

The Sacramento Valley Office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has called on Yolo County officials to drop the case, as have other community leaders, including Cecilia Escamilla-Greenwald, chairwoman of the Davis Human Relations Commission. (MORE)

SEE ALSO;

GAG ORDER IMPOSED IN DAVIS DISCRIMINATION CASE - TOP
REBECCA ADLER, Daily Democrat Staff Writer
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/news/ci_3639516

A parking lot fender bender last summer has led to the arrest of a 16-year-old girl and a possible discrimination lawsuit against the Davis police department. . .

Police said she was justifiably arrested based on substantial evidence, including witness statements, a photo lineup and inconsistent statements from the family.

But Buzayan told The Sacramento Bee his family is being discriminated against because of their Muslim beliefs. The Sacramento Valley Office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has taken up the case, asking officials to drop the charges against the teenager.

The civil liberties group said most hit-and-run cases of this nature are never prosecuted, especially in cases where the parties have reached a financial agreement. (MORE)

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CAIR-LA: USAID MEETS WITH MUSLIM RELIEF GROUPS - TOP

(ANAHEIM, CA - 03/26/06) - On March 24, the Southern California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) hosted a roundtable discussion between Southern California Muslim relief organizations and Walid Maalouf from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) at the CAIR office in Anaheim. The purpose of the meeting was to continue the dialogue between the American Muslim community and government agencies such as USAID.

To learn more about USAID, visit: http://www.usaid.gov

CONTACT: CAIR-LA, Sabiha Khan, 714-776-1847 or 714-390-0334, E-Mail: socal@cair.com

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NJ: DEMS DUMP ARAB-AMERICAN CANDIDATE OVER TERROR COMMENTS - TOP
WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press, 3/25/06
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--arabcandidate-ter0325mar25,0,1187791.story

TRENTON, N.J. -- Passaic County Democrats removed an Arab-American freeholder candidate from their ticket Saturday amid a furor over comments he made four years ago that some interpreted as sympathetic to suicide bombers.

"I'm in shock, feeling betrayed," said Sami Merhi, a Lebanese-born businessman from Totowa. "They should be ashamed of themselves."

At issue are comments Merhi made at a September 2002 fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-Paterson. In his remarks, Merhi condemned the Sept. 11 terrorists as "cold-blooded murderers" and "crazy fanatics." When asked if he would apply the same label to Palestinian suicide bombers who target Israelis, Merhi said, "I can't see the comparison."

In an interview with The Associated Press earlier this week, Merhi said the point he was trying to make was that while all murder is wrong, the World Trade Center attack was mass murder on an unprecedented scale. It also was an attack in which his godson was killed.

After narrowly losing out on the party's nod in 2004 because of the comments, Merhi was endorsed by the party last week.

But after top Democrats, including Gov. Jon S. Corzine and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) weighed in, saying they opposed his candidacy, Passaic County party leaders scheduled a meeting to reconsider their endorsement.

Merhi said he appealed to party leaders during Saturday's meeting to support him and accept his explanation that his comments had been wrongly interpreted. He said he opposes terrorism in all its forms, and that killing innocent people is always wrong.

But he said party chairman John Currie told him, "We love you. We all like you. But this is about politics."

Currie did not immediately return messages left at his office and home Saturday.

Aref Assaf, a Palestinian activist and friend of Merhi, said he appealed to Currie as the chairman was walking into the meeting to support Merhi.

"He said, `This isn't about justice; it's about politics. Sami made a political mistake and he has to pay for it,"' Assaf recalled. "I knew he was done right then."

The party then withdrew its endorsement of Merhi and chose Joanne Graziano, a Hawthorne school board member, to run in his place.

"They have insulted an entire community," said Merhi, who runs a medical marketing firm with his business partner, an Israeli Jew. "I have done nothing to deserve this insult." (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

NJ: MUSLIM SCOUTS DO THEIR DUTY - TOP
DEBORAH LYNN BLUMBERG, Home News Tribune, 3/26/06
http://www.thnt.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060326/NEWS/603260466/1001

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - The boys of Troop 114 hike, canoe and help fix trails at Scout camp in northwestern New Jersey. They earn patches, sing songs and hoist tents in the woods.

"The coolest thing is the camping and all the activities we do," said Scout Atif Salahudeen, 12, of Lawrenceville. "We're independent for a while."

But unlike most other Boy Scouts, Atif and his fellow 35 troop members take time out during camp to pray five times a day. In the mess hall they dine on halal food, and during weekly troop meetings at the Noor-Ul-Iman School off Route 1 they recite the Pledge of Allegiance and the Boy Scout Oath after a prayer to Allah. (MORE)

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CAIR: GRAHAM'S SON NOT HOLDING BACK ON ISLAM - TOP
Jim Jones, Star-Telegram, 3/25/06
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/living/religion/14176450.htm

When I heard the Rev. Franklin Graham speak in New Orleans two weeks ago, he focused on proclaiming the saving power of Jesus Christ with only a hint of criticism of Islam.

"Muhammad didn't die for your sins," he told thousands at the New Orleans Arena. "Buddha didn't die for your sins; Krishna didn't die for your sins. It's Jesus."

But while in New Orleans, Graham again blasted the Muslim faith under the glare of television lights as he told ABC's Nightline that he hasn't changed his mind about Islam, which he called "a very evil and wicked religion" in 2001.

"I know about Islam," Graham said March 15 on Nightline. "If people think Islam is such a wonderful religion, just go to Saudi Arabia and make it your home. Just live there. If you think Islam is such a wonderful religion, I mean, go and live under the Taliban somewhere. I mean, you're free to do that."

Graham, 53, is making a name for himself in the shadow of his famous father, the Rev. Billy Graham, but he's doing it in a different way. He's brasher, blunter and much less politically correct. Unlike his father, who never uttered a discouraging word against Islam or any other faith, Franklin Graham has joined Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson, the Rev. Jerry Falwell and others as being among the most outspoken against Islam.

After Sept. 11, 2001, he told NBC News: "We're not attacking Islam, but Islam has attacked us. The God of Islam is not the same God. He's not the Son of God of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It's a different God, and I believe it is a very wicked and evil religion."

Graham also has said he disagrees with President Bush's statements that Islam is a peaceful religion.

In several interviews, Graham has said the Quran, the holy book of Islam, teaches violence. Also, he says Muslim leaders have failed to speak out enough in criticism of Islamic terrorism.

Ibraham Hooper, spokesman for America's largest Islam advocacy group, the Council on American Islamic Relations, said Graham is helping divide the faith community.

"If he's going to step into the role played by his father, I think he's going to have a very difficult time," Hooper said this week. "Billy Graham had a long record in public life, and I have not heard one word from him in a critical way about Islam or any other faith. Instead, he positively asserted his own beliefs."

Hooper said Franklin Graham is paying no attention to the many efforts by his organization and other Islamic groups that have denounced suicide bombings and other Islamic terrorist acts. (MORE)

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SCHOLARS' ATTACK ON PRO-ISRAEL LOBBY MET WITH SILENCE - TOP
Ori Nir, Forward, 3/24/06
http://forward.com/articles/7548

WASHINGTON - In the face of one of the harshest reports on the pro-Israel lobby to emerge from academia, Jewish organizations are holding fire in order to avoid generating publicity for their critics.

Officials at Jewish organizations are furious over "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy," a new paper by John Mearsheimer, a top international relations theorists based at the University of Chicago, and Stephen Walt, the academic dean of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. In their report - versions of which appear on the Kennedy School Web site and in the March 26 issue of the London Review of Books - the scholars depict "the Israel lobby" as a "loose coalition" of politicians, media outlets, research institutions, Jewish groups and Evangelical Christians that steers America's Middle East policy in directions beneficial to Israel, even if it requires harming American interests.

Despite their anger, Jewish organizations are avoiding a frontal debate with the two scholars, while at the same time seeking indirect ways to rebut and discredit the scholars' arguments. Officials with pro-Israel organizations say that given the limited public attention generated by the new study - as of Tuesday most major print outlets had ignored it - they prefer not to draw attention to the paper by taking issue with it head on. As of Wednesday morning, none of the largest Jewish organizations had issued a press release on the report. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

PROFESSOR SAYS AMERICAN PUBLISHER TURNED HIM DOWN - TOP
By Ori Nir, Forward, 3/24/06
http://forward.com/articles/7550

John Mearsheimer says that the pro-Israel lobby is so powerful that he and co-author Stephen Walt would never have been able to place their report in a American-based scientific publication.

"I do not believe that we could have gotten it published in the United States," Mearsheimer told the Forward. He said that the paper was originally commissioned in the fall of 2002 by one of America's leading magazines, "but the publishers told us that it was virtually impossible to get the piece published in the United States."

Most scholars, policymakers and journalists know that "the whole subject of the Israel lobby and American foreign policy is a third-rail issue," he said. "Publishers understand that if they publish a piece like ours it would cause them all sorts of problems." (MORE)

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U.S. OPPOSES DEPOSITIONS IN AIPAC CASE - TOP
http://www.jta.org/page_view_breaking_story.asp?intid=1938

The U.S. government opposes allowing testimony from Israeli officials at the classified information trial of two former AIPAC staffers. Lawyers for Steven Rosen, the pro-Israel lobby's former foreign policy director, and Keith Weissman, its former Iran analyst, asked the court in a motion to be considered Friday to allow three Israeli diplomats to be deposed in the case. The defense wants the Israeli depositions because they will assert that Rosen and Weissman never acted as Israeli agents.

The government opposes the depositions as "irrelevant" because it's not alleging that Rosen and Weissman acted as Israeli agents, but simply that they conspired to receive and transmit classified information.

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IRAQ: CLAIMS OF ATROCITIES BY SOLDIERS MOUNT - TOP
Hala Jaber and Tony Allen-Mills, Sunday Times, 3/26/06
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2103695,00.html

THE villagers of Abu Sifa near the Iraqi town of Balad had become used to the sound of explosions at night as American forces searched the area for suspected insurgents. But one night two weeks ago Issa Harat Khalaf heard a different sound that chilled him to the bone.

Khalaf, a 33-year-old security officer guarding oil pipelines, saw a US helicopter land near his home. American soldiers stormed out of the Chinook and advanced on a house owned by Khalaf's brother Fayez, firing as they went.

Khalaf ran from his own house and hid in a nearby grove of trees. He saw the soldiers enter his brother's home and then heard the sound of women and children screaming.

"Then there was a lot of machinegun fire," he said last week. After that there was the most frightening sound of all - silence, followed by explosions as the soldiers left the house.

Once the troops were gone, Khalaf and his fellow villagers began a frantic search through the ruins of his brother's home. Abu Sifa was about to join a lengthening list of Iraqi communities claiming to have suffered from American atrocities.

According to Iraqi police, 11 bodies were pulled from the wreckage of the house, among them four women and five children aged between six months and five years. An official police report obtained by a US reporter for Knight Ridder newspapers said: "The American forces gathered the family members in one room and executed 11 people."

The Abu Sifa deaths on March 15 were first reported last weekend on the day that Time magazine published the results of a 10-week investigation into an incident last November when US marines killed 15 civilians in their homes in the western Iraqi town of Haditha.

The two incidents are being investigated by US authorities, but persistent eyewitness accounts of rampaging attacks by American troops are fuelling human rights activists' concerns that Pentagon commanders are failing to curb military excesses in Iraq. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

DID AMERICAN MARINES MURDER 23 IRAQI CIVILIANS? - TOP
Raymond Whitaker, Independent, 3/26/06
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article353678.ece

US military investigators are examining allegations that Marines shot unarmed Iraqis, then claimed they were "enemy fighters", The Independent on Sunday has learned. In the same incident, eyewitnesses say, one man bled to death over a period of hours as soldiers ignored his pleas for help. (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

-----

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AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/27/06

* Verse: Bear Abuse with Patience
* CAIR-MI: Bassiouni to Speak at Annual Dinner
            - CAIR-San Diego: Screening of 'Muhammad' Documentary
* ID: CAIR, DOJ Offer 'Challenging Hate' Workshop
            - Minuteman: 'I View Islam as the Scourge of the Earth'
* TX: Muslim Woman Says Court Banned Hijab (Daily News)
* Justice Scalia Slams Detainee Rights (Reuters)
* NC: Military's 'Good Muslim' to Speak at Duke (Herald-Sun)
            - NC: Rally Planned to Support UNC Muslims (ABC)
* CA: Relentless Attack on Muslims (Monterey Herald)
            - CO: MEMRI's Systematic Distortions (Rocky Mtn News)

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VERSE OF THE DAY: BEAR ABUSE WITH PATIENCE - TOP

"Bear patiently with what they say (against you) and leave their company in a polite manner."

The Holy Quran, 73:10

To sponsor or obtain a FREE QURAN, go to: www.explorethequran.org
To learn more about the life and legacy of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), go to: www.cair.com/Muhammad

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CAIR-MI: BASSIOUNI TO SPEAK AT ANNUAL DINNER - TOP

WHAT: The Michigan Office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) invites you to attend its Annual Fundraising Banquet on April 1.

Guest speakers will include:

* M. Cherif Bassiouni, Research Professor of Law at DePaul University
* Nihad Awad, CAIR Executive Director
* David Stacy, featured guest in FOX's documentary "30 Days"

WHEN: Saturday, April 1, 2006 (Registration 6:30 p.m., Program 7:30 p.m.)
WHERE: The Islamic Center of America, 19500 Ford Rd, Dearborn, MI
TICKETS: $35 per person (Child care available for $7 per child.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Call 248-569-2203, e-mail: director@cairmichigan.org

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-SAN DIEGO: PUBLIC SCREENING OF PBS 'MUHAMMAD' DOCUMENTARY- TOP
Programs will focus on life and legacy of Islam's Prophet Muhammad

(SAN DIEGO, CA, 3/27/06)- On Monday, March 27, the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-San Diego), in conjunction with the Muslim Student Association of San Diego State University, will sponsor a free public screening of a portion of the PBS documentary "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet."

WHEN: Monday, March 27, 2006, 6 P.M.
WHERE: Casa Real, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego
CONTACT: CAIR-San Diego Director of Public Relations Edgar Hopida, 619.913.0719, E-Mail: ehopida@gmail.com; SDSU Muslim Student Association President Kourosh Safavi, Email: tr8oy@yahoo.com

SEE: www.cair.com/Muhammad

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ID: CAIR, DOJ OFFER 'CHALLENGING HATE' WORKSHOP - TOP

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/27/06) - On Saturday, March 25, CAIR Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor and Department of Justice Community Relations Service Northwest Region Director Rosa Melendez presented a workshop, titled "Challenging Hate and Stereotypes in a Time of Crisis," at the University of Idaho. Saylor discussed rising levels of Islamophobia, basic Muslim beliefs and advocacy strategies for promoting mutual understanding.

The workshop was part of the university's 2nd annual "Finding the Center" human rights conference. The mayor and chief of police of Pullman, Wash., the police chief of Moscow, Idaho, and the head of the Latah County Human Rights Taskforce were among the conference participants.

"We appreciate the opportunity to partner with the Department of Justice in challenging stereotyping and other forms of bias," said Saylor.

SEE ALSO:

INCITEMENT WATCH: MINUTEMAN SAYS ISLAM IS 'SCOURGE OF THE EARTH' - TOP

LOCAL GROUP JOINS ILLEGAL-IMMIGRANT WATCH
Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/27/06
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/14194093.htm

Its border-control campaign was born a year after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with the Tombstone (Ariz.) Militia, which evolved into the national Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. The mission of the controversial organization - and of loosely allied groups such as Ryan's - is to keep out illegal immigrants it believes could be terrorists, drug traffickers or disease carriers and who depress U.S. wages, founder Chris Simcox says. . .

Last April, at the group's monthlong Minuteman Project, 1,200 volunteers converged along 23 miles of the Arizona border and reported 200 attempted crossings to the U.S. Border Patrol, Simcox said. Their role is reconnaissance, he said. The Minutemen do not become physically involved. . .

Monitors from the Southern Poverty Law Center have reported the presence of self-declared white supremacists at Minuteman border events. Simcox acknowledges that he sent a half-dozen groups home last year. . .

"It really burns me," said Frank Shiery, 47, whose wife had to wait nine months to emigrate from China on a fiancee visa.

But that's not the main reason the martial-arts instructor, from Willow Grove, will patrol the Canadian border from a Mohawk reservation in New York next month. He fears Islamic terrorists.

"I view Islam as the scourge of the earth," Shiery said. "It is pure unadulterated evil."

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TX: MUSLIM WOMAN CLAIMS OPPRESSION IN COURT - TOP
Scott E. Williams, Daily News, 3/27/06
http://news.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=143a1ae3f7b34de3

GALVESTON - A woman in court March 15 for a child support hearing said she wound up battling religious oppression from the presiding judge and a court bailiff.

Karwana Boyd said she was wearing a hajib, a headscarf worn as a sign of humility by Muslim women.

Its not a fashion statement, she said.

Boyd was at the Sam Popovich annex, waiting for child support Judge Doretha Henderson, when bailiff Clint Wayne Brown asked her to remove her head covering.

Brown told The Daily News the woman was not wearing a hajib, but a tight headscarf.

Brown asked her to remove the covering, and when she refused, he waited for the judge to arrive.

Judge Henderson, a traveling judge who presides over child support courts in six counties, said Boyd was one of two women in court that day claiming Muslim religious reasons for their headwear.

"I know what a hajib is," Henderson said, "and this was not a hajib. She said she was Muslim, but was not wearing a traditional Muslim headscarf."

Henderson and Brown both also denied Boyd's claim that the woman was threatened with jail over her refusal to remove the headwear.

Boyd said, "He said if I didn't take it off, I was risking going to jail for violating the courtroom's rules.

Boyd ultimately addressed the judge directly, and Henderson said she instructed Boyd to wait in the hall until her case was ready.

"That was the extent of our conversation," Henderson said.

Boyd said she was filing a complaint with the civil rights division of the state attorney general's office.

"I see this as nothing short of discrimination," she said. (MORE)

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U.S. HIGH COURT JUDGE SAID TO SLAM DETAINEE RIGHTS - TOP
Alister Bull, Reuters, 3/26/06
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N26392292.htm

WASHINGTON - U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia dismissed the idea that Guantanamo detainees have constitutional rights and called European concerns over the issue hypocritical, Newsweek magazine reported on Sunday.

The comments, which Newsweek said were recorded at a private appearance by Scalia in Switzerland on March 8, emerge before a Supreme Court hearing this week on a legal challenge by a Guantanamo prisoner against U.S. military tribunals.

"War is war, and it has never been the case that when you captured a combatant you have to give them a jury trial in your civil courts," Scalia said in the talk at the University of Freiburg, according to Newsweek. "Give me a break."

Court officials were not immediately available for comment.

Ethics experts said the impression that Scalia had already made up his mind before the hearing should mean that he will voluntarily drop out of the proceedings. However, Newsweek said he did not refer specifically to this week's case.

"He should remove himself when there is a reasonable doubt of his impartiality," said Father Robert Drinan, a professor of law at Georgetown University and long-standing human rights campaigner, who teaches judicial ethics.

"It should logically be a reason for his recusal but I don't think he'll do it ... he's so stubborn" said Drinan.

Scalia caused an outcry in 2004 for refusing to recuse himself from an energy policy case involving Vice President Dick Cheney, following the disclosure that they had been on a duck-hunting trip together the year before.

Scalia, asked at Freiburg whether detainees at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have protections under international conventions, gave the suggestion short shrift. (MORE)

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NC: MILITARY'S 'GOOD MUSLIM' TO SPEAK AT DUKE - TOP
Paul Bonner, The Herald-Sun, 2/26/06
http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-717240.html

DURHAM -- He was acting for his God and country, former Capt. James Yee said, when he fulfilled the mission he was given by the Army, to be a chaplain to Muslim soldiers and detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

His country then jailed him for 76 days on espionage suspicions that eventually evaporated, although he was jailed under maximum security, including solitary confinement. The government's suspicions were born of his commanders' inability to reconcile two attributes he combines easily, he says: He is a devout convert to Islam and at the same time a proud and patriotic American.

On Thursday, Duke University's Human Rights Initiative and other campus organizations and programs will sponsor a conversation with Yee. He also will sign copies of his book, "For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire," which will be sold at the auditorium by The Regulator Bookshop. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

RALLY PLANNED TO SUPPORT UNC MUSLIMS EYEWITNESS NEWS - TOP
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=local&id=4028118

CHAPEL HILL - Students and faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill are planning a candlelight vigil Monday night to show support for Muslim students.

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CA: RELENTLESS ATTACK ON MUSLIMS - TOP
Moustafa Bayoumi, Monterey County Herald, 3/27/06
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/14196147.htm

Muslim-bashing has become socially acceptable in the United States.

A new Washington Post/ABC News poll found that 46 percent of Americans hold negative perceptions of Islam, 7 percentage points higher than after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The poll also discovered that a third of the respondents have recently heard prejudiced comments against Muslims. Even more depressing is that one in four openly acknowledges harboring prejudice toward Muslims.

Is this surprising? Unfortunately, it's not. The vilification of Islam and Muslims has been relentless among segments of the media and political classes for the last five years.

The dangerously popular right-wing columnist Ann Coulter, for example, routinely drums up racist diatribes against Muslims. She questioned the "personal hygiene and grooming" of Muslims in a recent column. What other group can be so openly and maliciously maligned in American mainstream discourse today?

During the whole Dubai ports deal debacle, even Democratic leaders engaged in unfounded scare mongering to score political points.

And it continues. Colorado Rep. Jim Welker, a Republican, was recently discovered to have sent an e-mail to his constituents titled: ''Beware of Islam in America." The text of his e-mail read, in part, "Can a devout Muslim be an American patriot and loyal citizen? Politically, no. Because he must submit to the mullah, who teaches annihilation of Israel and destruction of America, the great Satan."

This is rubbish, of course, but such bigoted ideas continue to thrive, leaving many American Muslims politically fatigued. (MORE)

[Moustafa Bayoumi is a professor in the English Department at Brooklyn College, City University of New York, and co-editor of "The Edward Said Reader."]

SEE ALSO:

MEMRI'S SYSTEMATIC DISTORTIONS - TOP
Rima Barakat, Rocky Mountain News, 3/27/06
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/speak_out/article/0,2777,DRMN_23970_4572560,00.html

[Rima Barakat is a Denver-area Muslim activist.]

MEMRI claims to be an independent nonpartisan research institution. One of the co-founders of the organization, Yigal Carmon, is a retired Israeli military intelligence Colonel. Checking the MEMRI website, I found it served up blatant, unbalanced propaganda and was littered with inflammatory articles aimed to incite hate and bigotry toward any person whom MEMRI considers anti-Israeli or anti-Zionist.

Academics as well as professional journalists have repeatedly censured the organization's quality and integrity. Brian Whitaker of the Guardian questioned the honesty of some "translations" posted by MEMRI. Whitaker, specifically, referred to an interview with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Sheikh Ekrima Sabri by Al-Ahram Al-Arabi in Oct. 2000 - the same interview quoted by the ADL, the AJC and Carroll.

Al-Ahram: Q: How do you deal with the Jews who are besieging al-Aqsa and are scattered around it?

A: I enter the mosque of Al-Aqsa with my head up. . .I have never greeted them when I came near one. I never will.

MEMRI's version: Q: How do you feel about the Jews?

A: I have never greeted a Jew when I came near one. I never will. They cannot even dream that I will. The Jews do not dare to bother me.

It is worthy to note that Carmon has admitted this "translation" mistake. Still, it remains uncorrected on his website. (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

-----

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AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/28/06

* Verse: God Shows the Right Path
* CAIR-PA: Forum Addresses Negative Perceptions of Islam
            - CAIR-DC: No Earthly Penalty for Converts
            - CAIR-FL Rep Recipient of Americans United Award
            - CAIR Rep to Speak at DC Islamic Education Conference
            - CAIR-CAN Fourth Annual Toronto Fundraising Dinner
* NJ: Arab-Americans Denounce Dumping Candidate
            - NY: Sen. Schumer Compares Arabs to 'Skinheads'
* TN: Locally Based Web Site Among Top Muslim Sites
* PA: Islam, Bioethics Converge at Penn State Forum
* Judge May Dismiss AIPAC Classified Info Case (JTA)

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VERSE OF THE DAY: GOD SHOWS THE RIGHT PATH - TOP

"It is up to God to show you the right path, when there exist some crooked ways. If God wanted, He could have guided you all."

The Holy Quran, 16:9

HADITH OF THE DAY: YOU HAVE GUIDED ME ON THE RIGHT PATH

When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) woke up, he would say: "O God, I seek Your forgiveness of my sins, and ask for Your mercy. O God, increase me in knowledge, and let not my heart deviate after You have guided me on the right path."

Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 4, Number 121

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CAIR-PA: WILSON FORUM ADDRESSES NEGATIVE PERCEPTIONS OF ISLAM - TOP
Public Opinion Online, 3/28/06
http://www.publicopiniononline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060328/NEWS01/603280303/1002

Samia Malik has not experienced any difficulty practicing her Islamic religion since she migrated in 1975 to the United States from Madras, India, but she has received her share of prejudicial remarks.

Sometimes, she gets death threats by e-mail and suspicious stares from others whenever she goes to public places, including the grocery store. Often, she says, Americans' perceptions of Muslims are tainted by negative portrayals in the media, especially in the aftermath of Sept. 11.

Malik said she did not know a lot about Islam when she arrived in the United States, but she realized the necessity of educating herself.

"When I came here, I knew I had to study Islam and study my religion. I had to teach my children about it. There's a lot of pressure put on us," Malik said. "A lot of people of Islamic religion have changed their name so they aren't identified as Muslim."

Malik, director of education for the Council on American-Islamic Relations' Central Pennsylvania chapter, was among panelists on hand Monday at Wilson College's 43rd annual Orr Forum on Religion.

This year's forum, "Islam in America: Challenges and opportunities," sought to move beyond the conventional perception of Islam as a foreign phenomenon by examining the challenges and opportunities facing the community in the United States. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

NO EARTHLY PENALTY FOR CONVERTS, LOCAL IMAM SAYS - TOP
David Yonke, Toledo Blade, 3/28/06
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060328/NEWS10/603280395/-1/RSS

A person cannot be forced into being a Muslim, and neither should someone be punished for peacefully abandoning the faith, according to Imam Farooq Abo-Elzahab.

"The penalty is up to God in the hereafter, but there is no penalty on this Earth for apostasy," Imam Farooq said yesterday. He called the Afghan government's charges against Abdul Rahman "a kind of nonsense, a misinterpretation of Islam."

The imam pointed to Chapter 2, verse 255, in the Qur'an, or Islamic holy book: "Let there be no compulsion in religion."

Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, said "it is the position of the scholars we've consulted that an individual's choice of faiths is not a matter for state intervention. If the state were to intervene, it would have to be like any other legal system in the world: It would have to be tied to some act of treason or hostile behavior."

CAIR issued a statement Friday calling for the Afghan government to release Mr. Rahman. (MORE)

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CAIR-FL: AMERICANS UNITED GIVES ANNUAL ORCHIDS AND ONIONS AWARDS - TOP

The South Pinellas Chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State awarded its Orchids and Onions at its annual meeting Saturday, March 25. Americans United is a national organization that works to promote religious tolerance and the separation of church and state.

Orchids are given in recognition of work promoting the protection of the separation of church and religious tolerance. Two Orchids were awarded this year. Rebecca Steele, West Coast Director of the Florida ACLU was recognized for her efforts on behalf of protecting our civil liberties and for heading up the State ACLU's religious freedom campaign.

Ahmed Bedier, Director of the Central Florida Office of the Council on American - Islamic Relations was recognized for his courageous work promoting accuracy in the understanding of the Muslim community. Bedier has successfully worked to diffuse tense situations, often by personally talking with those disparaging the Muslim Community.

Onions are awarded to those who threaten religious freedom and civil liberties. Onions were awarded to Joe Kaufman chairman of Americans Against Hate. Through innuendo, guilt by association and excessive rhetoric Kaufman uses his web site to wage a campaign of hatred and intolerance against Muslims. The second Onion was awarded to Hillsborough County Commissioner Rhonda Storms for being a consistent voice against natural human rights and our constitutional rights of free speech and expression.

Contact: Rev. Harold Brockus, President South Pinellas Chapter, Americans United, (727) 867-6317

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DC: CAIR REP TO SPEAK AT 'ISLAMIC EDUCATION IN AMERICA' CONFERENCE - TOP

WHAT: On April 6, CAIR Reseach Director Dr. Mohamed Nimer will speak at Georgetown University's "Islamic Education in America" conference. This conference will bring together scholars, policy experts and educators to critically examine the landscape of education within the American Muslim community, its future direction and the way it is represented.

WHEN: Thursday, April 6, 8:30 a.m. - 7:00pm
WHERE: McShain Lounge, Georgetown University.
RSVP at http://www12.georgetown.edu/sfs/rsvp/cmcu

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CAIR-CAN'S FOURTH ANNUAL TORONTO FUNDRAISING DINNER - TOP
"Defending Civil Liberties: Keeping Canada Strong and Free"

WHAT: On Saturday, May 6, CAIR-CAN'S will host its fourth annual Toronto fundraising dinner with the theme, "Defending Civil Liberties: Keeping Canada Strong and Free." Speakers include Dr. Abdul Hakim Jackson, professor at the University of Michigan, Riad Saloojee, Outgoing Executive Director of CAIR-CAN, Karl Nickner, Incoming Executive Director of CAIR-CAN, Abdul-Basit Khan, CAIR-CAN Chair, and comedian Preacher Moss.

WHEN: Registration at 5:30 p.m., dinner begins at 6 p.m.

WHERE: Toronto Congress Centre, 650 Dixon Rd.
See our flyer: http://www.caircan.ca/downloads/2006dinner.pdf

Tickets: $60 in advance, $80 after April 30, $500 for table of 10. To get your tickets please call 416-732-2965 or email toronto@caircan.ca. Limited childcare available with advance registration.

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ANGRY ARABS DENOUNCE DUMPING MERHI - TOP
Cristian Salazar, Herald News, 3/27/06
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MDYmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY5MDU2NDUmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkz

Arab-Americans from both political parties expressed outrage and sadness a day after Passaic County Democrats pulled their support from Lebanese-born freeholder candidate Sami Merhi.

Merhi was booted from the party ticket on Saturday when Democratic Party leaders feared that comments he made in 2002 about Palestinian suicide bombers would hinder their election chances in November.

"It's a sad day for Muslims, it's a sad day for Arabs, and a sad day for immigrants in general, and for any community that wants to participate in the great political process in the U.S.," said Sohail Mohammed, a Clifton-based general counsel for the American Muslim Union, speaking by phone Sunday.

Mohammed argued that voters, not party leaders, should have had the opportunity to decide whether Merhi deserved the freeholder seat.

The controversy reminded Sherine El-Abd, of Clifton, of why she left the Democratic Party in 1984, when she was working for Walter Mondale's failed presidential bid.

"He returned money to Arab-Americans because they were Arab," said El-Abd, the chairwoman of the state Arab American Republican Caucus, in a phone interview.

El-Abd said her bad experience with Mondale made her a Republican for life, so she wasn't surprised by what the Democrats did to Merhi.

"I just know that this is how the Democrats work," she said. "They are full of rhetoric, but when it comes to genuine concern for minorities, they are missing in action." (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

NY: SEN. SCHUMER COMPARES ARABS TO 'SKINHEADS' - TOP

SENATORIAL METAPHORS
The Weekly Standard, 3/27/06
http://weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/011/986xfpik.asp?pg=2

Don't look now, but we think Charles Schumer just compared Arab businessmen to skinheads.

According to a piece in the New York Observer last week, Schumer's beating the drums to kill the Dubai ports deal "came under fire from many quarters, with some critics suggesting that opposition to the deal was driven by xenophobia or anti-Arab racism. Mr. Schumer heatedly disputes that view. 'Let's say skinheads had bought a company to take over our port,' he said. 'I think the outcry would have been the same.'"

So why exactly do businessmen who happen to be Arabs deserve to be compared with skinheads, Mr. Schumer?

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TN: LOCALLY BASED WEB SITE AMONG TOP MUSLIM SITES IN ENGLISH - TOP
Clint Cooper, Chattanooga Times Free Press, 3/28/06
http://www.timesfreepress.com/

One of the world's top two online Islamic directories in English originates in Chattanooga.

The site, www.2muslims.com, recently was ranked second among such directories by Alexa.com, a California-based company best known for providing information on Web traffic to sites in its index, according to webmaster Abdou Kittah.

"I never dreamed of it being like this," the Syria native said. "Now, other (sites) that I have used as resources are coming to us, asking if they can link to us, asking if they can be our partner."

With more than 150,000 HTML pages, the site offers visitors not only educational materials about the Islam faith but a plethora of other categories such as a shopping center, classified-ad section, gallery of photos and images, collection of tools and games for children, and various Internet and webmaster tools. (MORE)

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PA: ISLAM, BIOETHICS CONVERGE AT PENN STATE FORUM - TOP
Chris Rosenblum, Centre Daily, 3/28/06
http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/14201602.htm

UNIVERSITY PARK -- Women in northern Tanzania weigh their faith and family planning and choose sterilization.

Islamic scholars debate notions of abortion and fetal rights.

Muslim physicians wrestle with the use of frozen embryos for medical research.
For 90 minutes on Monday morning, discussion of these topics filled a meeting hall in the Nittany Lion Inn, as about 50 theologians, historians, social scientists and physicians gathered for "Islam and Bioethics: Concerns, Challenges and Responses."

The two-day academic conference aims to explore Muslim attitudes toward issues such as contraception and end-of-life care. Sponsored by Penn State, it continues today and is open to the public. . .

Dr. Farhat Moazam, a Pakistani physician and visiting scholar at Penn State, said she hopes the conference dispels the idea of monolithic Islamic beliefs on complex issues such as health care and medical ethics.

"I think the importance of this is people in North America probably don't realize how much discussion and debate are going on in Muslim countries," Moazam said. (MORE)

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AT LIVELY HEARING IN AIPAC CASE, JUDGE HINTS HE COULD DISMISS CASE - TOP
Ron Kampeas, JTA, 3/27/06
http://jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=16457&intcategoryid=5

ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 27 (JTA) - A federal judge has hinted that he might dismiss the classified-information case against two former officials of the pro-Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Hearing a defense motion for dismissal last Friday, District Judge T.S. Ellis III expressed reservations about the breadth of a never-used 1917 statute at the core of the case.

"What I'm really expressing discomfort about is that it's always nice to have a clear precedent to follow," he said. "I think we are in new, uncharted territory, so I'm going to consider this matter very carefully."

Ellis gave the sides until this Friday to submit additional arguments, but the smiles around the defense table suggested they had fared better than expected at the hearing.

Steve Rosen, AIPAC's former foreign policy director, and Keith Weissman, its former Iran analyst, were indicted last August on charges that they relayed classified information to fellow AIPAC staffers, journalists and diplomats at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. (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

-----

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AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/29/06

* Hadith: The Golden Rule
* CAIR Rep Discusses 'Integration' at French Forum
            - CAIR-Cleveland to Hold Civil Rights Banquet
            - CAIR-MI to Hold Fundraiser
            - CAIR-LA: Get Past Hate Rhetoric
* CAIR-NJ Meets Governor to Discuss Dropped Candidate
            - NJ: Corzine Told of 'Political Lynching' (AP)
            - NJ: Some Ill-Timed Remarks End (NY Times)
            - NJ: Action Against Merhi A Political Lynching (Record)
* CO: Lawmaker Who Sent Anti-Muslim E-Mails Doesn't Get It
* MN: Muslim Woman Lawyer Stands for Islam (Star Tribune)
            - CA: Hazy Case Against Lodi Man (SF Gate)
            - NY: Coast Guard Discriminates on Head Covers (Newsday)
* Storm Intensifies Over Israel Lobby Paper (Financial Times)
* Americans' Call for Removal of Iraqi PM (Independent)
            - US Admits Attack Target Contained a Mosque (Telegraph)
* Italy: Teaching Islam Makes Berlusconi 'Shudder'

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HADITH OF THE DAY: THE GOLDEN RULE - TOP

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever wishes to (enter Paradise)...should treat people as he wishes to be treated by them."

Sahih Muslim, Hadith 852

The Prophet also said:

"If you are pleased with what God has (given you), you will be the richest of men. If you are kind to your neighbor, you will be a believer. If you like others to have what you want for yourself, you will be a Muslim."

Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1334

"Do you know who will go first on the Day of Resurrection to the shade of God?...Those who when given what is right accept it, when asked for something give freely and who judge in favor of others as they do for themselves."

Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1042

"None of you will have faith until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself."

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Hadith 12

To learn more about the life and legacy of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), go to: www.cair.com/Muhammad

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CAIR REP DISCUSSES 'INTEGRATION' AT FRENCH FORUM - TOP

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/29/06) - CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad speaks today at a forum in France on "Integration and the Sense of Belonging." Awad's presentation at the conference, organized by France's Foundation for Political Innovation, will focus on the experience of the American Muslim community.

SEE: http://www.fondapol.org/agenda-futur.jsp

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-CLEVELAND TO HOLD ANNUAL CIVIL RIGHTS BANQUET - TOP

(CLEVELAND, OH, 3/29/06) - On April 30, the Cleveland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Cleveland) will hold its Fourth Annual Banquet and Fundraiser, with the theme "Upholding the Truth and Defending the Constitution."

Janis Karpinski, former US Army commanding general of Abu Ghraib and outspoken critic of current Iraq policy, is a keynote speaker at the event. James Yee, former military Chaplain at Guantanamo Bay will discuss his highly-acclaimed book "For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire." Marc Rotenberg, president and executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), will explain his organization's pioneering work to protect the privacy rights of ordinary Americans.

WHAT: CAIR-Cleveland 4th Annual Banquet & Fundraiser
WHEN: Sunday, April 30, 2005 from 4:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. (Reception 4 - 5 p.m.)
WHERE: Embassy Suites Hotel, 5800 Rockside Woods Blvd., Independence, Ohio

CAIR-OHIO President, Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin will give a briefing on CAIR's accomplishments and the challenges facing Muslims in America.

CONTACT: Julia A. Shearson, 216-830-2247 or 216-440-2247, E-Mail: cleveland@cair-ohio.com; Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin, E-mail: asma@cair-ohio.com

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-MI: MUSLIM GROUP TO HOLD FUND-RAISER SATURDAY - TOP
Detroit Free Press, 3/29/06
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060329/NEWS02/603290380/1004

A Muslim civil rights group will hold its annual fund-raising banquet Saturday in Dearborn.

The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations will hold a dinner at the Islamic Center of America, 19500 Ford Road.

The keynote speaker will be Cherif Bassiouni, distinguished research professor of law and president of the International Human Rights Law Institute. He will speak about advocating for freedom, justice and religious liberty.

For more information, contact CAIR Michigan at 248-569-2203 or visit www.cairmichigan.org.

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CAIR-LA: GET PAST HATE RHETORIC - TOP
Sabiha Khan, Ventura County Star, 3/27/06
http://www.venturacountystar.com/vcs/opinion/article/0,1375,VCS_125_4577561,00.html

Re: Terry Paulson's March 27 essay, "A Muslim Luther needed":

Would it be right for anyone to judge Christianity based on the murderous acts of Slobodon Milosevic who killed thousands of Muslims in Christ's name? Would anyone judge Judaism based on the daily murderous acts of settlers taking away land from Christian and Muslim Palestinians? Would anyone judge the West and Christianity based on imperialism, slavery, colonialism or the Crusades? The answer to these questions are, of course, no.

Isn't it arrogant and condescending to label 1.5 billion people on this Earth backward? Intelligent and rational Americans would be hard-pressed to believe Islam is the only religion that has wacko followers.

The world's Muslims and Islam's leading scholars have and continue to condemn terrorism committed in Islam's name. Why do certain people continue to malign an entire religion based on the acts of extremists? Is it acceptable today to demonize and dehumanize Muslims based on a combination of ignorance, lies and distortions. It is just too easy to strip people's humanity away, rather than educate oneself about the truth.

The truth is that the world's 1.5 billion Muslims live in peace and follow the teachings of the Quran and Prophet to live a righteous life. Hate and murder is a human phenomenon committed by people of all backgrounds. We need to get past hateful rhetoric that divides people along religious lines and really listen to moderate and reasoned voices that espouse harmony, not a culture clash, for the sake of the future of our children and our world.

[The writer is the communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Southern California.]

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CAIR-NJ MEETS WITH GOVERNOR TO DISCUSS DROPPED CANDIDATE - TOP

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/29/06) - A representative of CAIR's office in New Jersey (CAIR-NJ) participated in a meeting yesterday with Governor Jon S. Corzine to discuss the Arab-American candidate in that state who was dropped from a ticket over remarks he made in 2002. Representatives of several Arab-American groups also participated in the meeting. (See articles below.)

CONTACT: Government Affairs Director Corey P. Saylor, Tel: (202) 488-8787, x3221, (571) 278-4658, E-Mail: csaylor@cair-net.org

SEE ALSO:

NJ: ARAB-AMERICANS TELL CORZINE OF CANDIDATE'S 'POLITICAL LYNCHING' - TOP
WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press, 3/29/06
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--arabcandidate-ter0329mar29,0,3022807.story

NEWARK, N.J. -- Arab-American leaders told Gov. Jon S. Corzine that dumping a Lebanese-born candidate for a county office because of comments he made about terrorism amounted to "political lynching," and asked the governor for help fighting what they feel is a renewed climate of Arab-bashing.

At a private meeting Tuesday night with the governor in the Statehouse, eight Arab-American community leaders protested the treatment of Sami Merhi of Totowa. Merhi was chosen by Passaic County Democrats to run for freeholder, then dumped from the ticket a week later over comments he made in 2002 that some interpreted as sympathetic to suicide bombers.

Merhi reiterated that he has always condemned terrorism in all forms. When he said he could not see the comparison between the Sept. 11 hijackers and Palestinian suicide bombers, he meant that while all murder is wrong, the 9/11 attacks were mass murder on an unprecedented scale.

Corzine and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez publicly opposed Merhi's nomination, citing the comments.

"This is not about a freeholder seat," Merhi said Wednesday. "This is about my integrity."

Participants at the meeting did not ask Corzine to try to reinstate Merhi to the ticket. Rather, they asked him to visit Arab-American communities on a regular basis, appoint qualified Arab-Americans to state commissions and agencies, and work to reduce negative stereotyping of Arab-Americans and Muslims.

But the governor did not make specific promises, they said. (MORE)

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YEARS OF POLITICAL SERVICE VS. SOME ILL-TIMED REMARKS - TOP
Peter Applebome, New York Times, 3/29/06
http://select.nytimes.com/2006/03/29/nyregion/29towns.html

PATERSON, N.J. - SITTING at the back of a Lebanese restaurant in South Paterson in his crisp gray suit, cellphone incessantly beeping, Sami Merhi cites the Constitution, reflects on family, tells an immigrant's success story, muses ruefully about lessons learned.

"My grandfather told me this is the only place on earth where you will never feel a stranger," said the most famous almost-freeholder in Passaic County history. "And I believe it."

He says it in the present tense, though it's impossible to imagine the thought without a jagged edge. A week ago Mr. Merhi won a prize that loomed incredibly large to someone who immigrated from Lebanon 29 years ago: the endorsement by Democratic Party leaders as the party's nominee for Passaic County freeholder.

Within days, he was being denounced as a terrorist sympathizer. ("Defender of suicide bombers gets Dem nod in Passaic," ran the headline over an item in the widely read PoliticsNJ Web site last week.) A week later, after his candidacy became part of the parry and thrust in the United States Senate race and after his party's statewide leaders, Senator Robert Menendez and Gov. Jon S. Corzine, said they could not support it, the endorsement was rescinded.

You can read two stories into the life of Sami Merhi. The first is told over 29 years in which he has prospered as a widely respected businessman and community leader. He is president of a local hospital, an energetic Democratic fund-raiser, a member of the Passaic County Counterterrorism Task Force. In this one, Mr. Merhi, 57, seems about as radical as a piece of pita bread.

The second is told in a portion of a single day reported in The New York Times four years ago, when he made remarks that were, at the very least, politically insensitive and tin-eared about terrorism -- a topic on which no Arab-American can ever afford to hit a wrong note. Not surprisingly, the one day has obliterated the 29 years.

Even his strongest supporter, United States Representative Bill Pascrell Jr., says Mr. Merhi made insensitive remarks and then failed to minimize the damage by undergoing the American political ritual of abject apology. But if Mr. Merhi falls short as a politician, he has succeeded as an educator -- the public lynching he has undergone over the past week or so has been a vivid lesson in how little margin for error an Arab politician has.

"This has gotten so far out of control I really can't believe it," said Harvey Sussman, who is Jewish and has been a friend and sometime business associate of Mr. Merhi. "This is a peaceful, learned man. I've known him for 20 years, and I've never heard a single prejudiced remark. I wish he were in the U.N., because he's the kind of person who could get respect from both sides."

MR. MERHI's problems date to remarks he made in April 2002 before and during a fund-raiser he organized for Mr. Pascrell. In them, while he condemned violence "whether it's committed by a person, a group or a state," he spoke of the frustrations and feelings of despair that drive suicide bombers and of the need for both sides to listen to each other in the Middle East. Mr. Pascrell criticized the remarks the next day.

And in the most problematic remark, after calling the 9/11 attackers "coldblooded murderers," he was asked if that applied to suicide bombers. "I can't see the comparison," he said. He said this week that because he lost a godson on 9/11 and his country was attacked, he was affected personally by one event, so that he couldn't compare it to the other. He said he wasn't minimizing the evil of suicide bombers and opposed all forms of terrorism.

Friends tend to accept that explanation. Others accuse him of changing his story when it's convenient. (He was also accused of comparing Ariel Sharon to Adolf Hitler -- something others, not he, said at a rally the same day.) (MORE)

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ACTION AGAINST MERHI IS A POLITICAL LYNCHING - TOP
Aref Assaf, The Record, 3/28/06
http://bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNCZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NjkwNTc3Ng==

WE ARE SAD but not surprised that Sami Merhi has been removed from the Democratic Party's slate of freeholder candidates for Passaic County. Under pressure, Passaic County Democrats voted to replace Merhi with another candidate.

Political lynching of Arab-Americans is now an accepted practice. Every Arab-American is now Sami Merhi. The sense of being unwanted, unfit and outcast cannot simply be promoted as a reasonable price for political expediency or electoral considerations. The prevailing sense of letdown in the Arab-American community will require a period of mourning and also reflection.

As John Currie, the Passaic County party chairman, was entering the headquarters to chair the meeting to decide Merhi's future, I asked him to please vote for and support him, for he is both deserving of the post and a loyal citizen. The chairman's response was, "It is not about justice and fairness; it is about politics."

I interrupted him, "But, Chairman, politics is supposed to render justice possible."

Instead of responding to my assertion, he said, fully cognizant of the presence of the media and other supporters, "Sami Merhi has committed a political mistake and he has to pay for it."

I knew then that Merhi's political aspirations had already been decided, by Sen. Robert Menendez. I knew then that regardless of Merhi's strong appeal for fairness and understanding, the judgment had already been passed down.

As a besieged community, we must resign ourselves to the reality that Arab-Americans are now facing a three-headed monster called profiling. One followed the tragic and horrible attacks of 9/11, when a community of 9 million Arab and Muslim citizens became the subject of intense and unconstitutional racial profiling. The second phase manifested itself in the economic profiling of Arabs as happened in the Dubai port deal, when Sen. Frank Lautenberg compared transferring port management to Dubai to transferring it to the "devil."

Now, when Arab-American citizens wish to serve their community and their country, we take their money and then expediently offer them as sacrifice for the "good" of the party.

This is political lynching of the worst kind. (MORE)

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DEMS: LAWMAKER WHO SENT QUESTIONABLE E-MAILS DOESN'T GET IT - TOP
Denver Channel, 3/28/06
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/8321747/detail.html

DENVER -- A GOP lawmaker who distributed e-mails questioning the character of some blacks and Muslims should not expect to silence his critics by saying he did not agree with the messages, two Democratic legislators said Tuesday.

Rep. Jim Welker, R-Loveland, apologized two weeks ago for forwarding an e-mail to other lawmakers and constituents suggesting some black victims of Hurricane Katrina were lazy.

After the apology, another e-mail forwarded by Welker surfaced; it questioned whether devout Muslims could be patriotic Americans. Welker has said he did not remember sending it.

Welker told The Associated Press his mistake was not disclosing he did not write the e-mails.

"It's part of free speech in America. When I read things in the newspaper, there are things I agree with and things I disagree with. It's an opportunity to pass on information. It's up to the reader to agree or disagree," he said.

Reps. Angie Paccione and Mike Merrifield said Welker had missed the point.

"He just doesn't get it," said Paccione, a Fort Collins Democrat. "It wasn't a mistake for him not to disclose, it's a mistake for a legislator to send it in the first place. It's not illegal, it's inappropriate. . ."

The e-mail about Muslims said in part, "Can a devout Muslim be an American patriot and loyal citizen? ... Politically, no. Because he must submit to the mullah, who teaches annihilation of Israel and destruction of America, the great Satan." (MORE)

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MN: STANDING FOR ISLAM - TOP
Pamela Miller, Star Tribune, 3/28/06
http://www.startribune.com/10031/story/336754.html

When Sumbal Mahmud grows weary of people assuming she's non-American and calling her views on the Iraq war un-American, she's tempted to bring out her plaques.

The plaques, which laud her "all-American" mock-trial victories at Hamline University in St. Paul -- as well as other awards she won there, at Osseo High School and at the University of Minnesota Law School -- have come to stand for far more than the honors they chronicle.

"When someone wants to question how American I am, I can say, 'I played along with the best of them. I have these plaques to prove it,'" she said. "All-American. That's me."

Mahmud, 28, is the public face of the Islamic Center of Minnesota.

In the past few years, especially since the Iraq war began, she has faced challenges she could not have imagined back in the 1990s at Osseo High. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

CA: HAZY CASE AGAINST LODI MAN - TOP
Demian Bulwa, San Francisco Chronicle, 3/29/06
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/03/29/LODI.TMP

Sacramento -- Returning to Lodi last summer after a two-year trip to Pakistan, Hamid Hayat was grilled by FBI agents who suspected he might be a terrorist. But the young man didn't seem to understand he was in trouble.

He was questioned three times in the course of a week. When agents told him he had failed a lie-detector test, he confessed to attending a terrorist training camp in Pakistan.

But as Hayat sat in a lobby in the bureau's Sacramento office, eating pizza and waiting to confess further, he invited the lead agent on his case to a party -- a reception to be held when his Pakistani bride arrived. He also complimented the agent on his shoes.

Such unusual details have infused the trials of Hayat and his father, which reached a critical point Tuesday when prosecutors wrapped up their six-week case before a pair of juries in U.S. District Court. The younger Hayat, 23, is charged with supporting terror by attending a paramilitary camp in late 2003 and with initially lying about it; Umer Hayat, 48, is charged with lying about his son's training.

Prosecutors rested after revealing a far murkier case than the government had laid out in documents supporting the charges.

The government showed that Hamid Hayat held some radical and anti-American views. Their last witness was a Defense Department analyst who said Tuesday that Hayat's description of the camp during his disputed confession -- he said it was in a mountaintop clearing outside the Pakistani city of Balakot -- was consistent with satellite images, which showed a "possible" camp in the area.

One of the prosecution's main witnesses, however, was an aggressive informant who raised eyebrows when he reported having seen Osama bin Laden's chief deputy at a Lodi mosque as late as 1999 -- a sighting that national security experts doubt was genuine.

Prosecutors also were forced to rely on the defendants' videotaped confessions, which they called "the meat of the case" but which featured conflicting and sometimes bizarre details. (MORE)

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NY: NYCLU CLAIMS COAST GUARD DISCRIMINATES ON RELIGIOUS HEAD COVERS - TOP
Newsday, 3/28/06
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--religiousdiscrimi0328mar28,0,5281039.story

NEW YORK - The U.S. Coast Guard is accused in a lawsuit of discriminating by requiring anyone seeking a merchant marine license to submit photographs showing no religious head coverings.

The lawsuit, brought Tuesday by the New York Civil Liberties Union in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, says the Coast Guard began enforcing the regulation after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The civil rights group brought the claim on behalf of Khalid Hakim, a devout Muslim who has served in the merchant marine while working for private shipping companies since 1973.

Before September 2001, he regularly received licenses after submitting photographs in which he wore his religious hat, called a kufi, the lawsuit said. After Sept. 11, though, the Coast Guard said he would have to remove the headdress to get a license, it added.

The lack of a license left him unable to work as a merchant marine, the NYCLU said. (MORE)

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STORM INTENSIFIES OVER ISRAEL LOBBY PAPER - TOP
Guy Dinmore, Financial Times, 3/27/06
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/b6d10d64-bddf-11da-a998-0000779e2340.html

The furore ignited by two eminent professors from Harvard and Chicago who have challenged the value of the US-Israeli relationship deepened on Monday as the head of the Brookings Institute forcefully rejected their claims that his prestigious Washington think-tank was part of the "pro-Israel chorus".

Professors Stephen Walt of Harvard and the University of Chicago's John Mearsheimer have kicked up a storm in academic and political circles with publication of an 83-page paper called "The Israel Lobby" in which they argue that the "unwavering support" of the US for Israel cannot be justified on strategic or moral grounds and is a result of a powerful and pernicious "lobby".

Part of that lobbying influence, they claim, extends deep into the US political system, namely the Washington think-tanks -- not only the neoconservative and right-wing institutions, but also liberal Brookings.

"What was once a non-partisan policy institute is now part of the pro-Israel chorus," the professors wrote, taking aim at Brooking's Saban Centre for Middle East Studies and in particular its main donor, Haim Saban, an Israeli-American businessman, and its director, Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel. (MORE)

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AMERICANS' CALL FOR REMOVAL OF IRAQI PM THREATENS RIFT WITH SHIAS - TOP
Patrick Cockburn in Arbil, Independent, 3/29/06
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article354245.ece

President George W Bush has made it clear that he does not want Ibrahim al-Jaafari to remain prime minister of Iraq in a move likely to increase hostility between the US and the Shia community.

Mr Bush has written to the Shi'ite leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the head of the Shi'ite Alliance asking him to nominate somebody else for the post. "The Americans are very firm about this," said a senior official. "They don't want Jaafari at any price." (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

US ADMITS ATTACK TARGET CONTAINED A MOSQUE - TOP
Francis Harris, Telegraph, 3/29/06
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/03/29/wirq29.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/03/29/ixnewstop.html

Iraqi and American special forces who attacked an insurgent headquarters in Baghdad were not aware that their target contained a mosque until after the battle, America's most senior soldier said yesterday.

General Peter Pace, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, was responding to 48 hours of unremitting criticism over the controversial raid, which Iraqi radicals claim resulted in the deaths of 21 unarmed worshippers and an imam. (MORE)

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ITALY: TEACHING ISLAM MAKES BERLUSCONI SHUDDER - TOP
Daily Telegraph, 3/29/06
http://www.nysun.com/article/30020

ROME - Silvio Berlusconi has said he doesn't want Italy to become a multi-ethnic country, drawing applause from his coalition partners and strong criticism from the opposition.

"We don't want Italy to become a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural country" he said. "Those foreigners who are here must adopt themselves to our laws and our way of life."

He said proposals by Italian communists to teach Islam alongside Christianity in schools "is stuff that makes me shudder." (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

-----

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/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/30/2006) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today welcomed the release of American journalist Jill Carroll who was abducted January 7th in Iraq while on assignment for the Christian Science Monitor newspaper.

SEE: Carroll Says Captors Treated Her Well

In January, CAIR sent a delegation to Iraq to make a public appeal for Carroll's release. CAIR's office in her home state of Michigan issued a similar appeal.

SEE: Muslim Americans Seek Reporter's Release
SEE ALSO: Michigan Group Appeals for Release of Kidnapped Journalist

"We welcome Jill Carroll's release and hope this positive development leads to a situation in which all other hostages currently being held in Iraq are released immediately and unconditionally," said CAIR Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor. Saylor was part of the delegation CAIR sent to Iraq seeking Carroll's freedom.

Along with the delegation to Iraq, CAIR also coordinated a joint appeal by national Muslim leaders calling for Carroll's safe return to her family.

SEE: U.S. Muslim Leaders Call for Release of Journalist in Iraq

In December, CAIR held a news conference at its national headquarters in Washington, D.C., to call for the release of four members of the Christian Peacemakers Teams also taken hostage in Iraq. Three of those hostages were rescued recently. A fourth hostage, an American, was killed by his kidnappers.

SEE: CAIR Calls for Release of Iraq Hostages

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 32 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 Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor, 202-488-8787 or 571-278-4658, E-Mail: csaylor@cair-net.org; CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid, 248-569-2203 or 248-842-1418; CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair-net.org; CAIR Communications Coordinator Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail: rahmed@cair-net.org

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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

-----

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/

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/30/06

* Verse: God's Evident and Hidden Favors
            - Hadith: The One Most Favored by God
* CAIR-OH Helps Bring Bridges TV to Columbus
* CAIR-MI: Carroll's Release Elates Muslims (Free Press)
            - CAIR: Reaction to Reporter Carroll's Release (CNN)
* CAIR: Faith by Force Not True Belief (Tucson Citizen)
            - CAIR-FL: Making Peace Elusive (Orlando Sentinel)
            - Islam-Oped: Fighting Islamophobia a Top Priority
* Borders, Waldenbooks Won't Carry 'Cartoon' Magazine (AP)
* VA: Islam's Liberation of Women (W&M News)
* IN: Mr. Syeed Goes to Washington (Indy Star)
* NJ: Merhi Flap Affects Corzine (Herald News)
            - Merhi: Democratic Party Gave Me a Raw Deal (Record)
* Halal Foods Benefit from Surge in Muslim Consumer Power
* Resources: Apostasy and Religious Freedom

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VERSE OF THE DAY: GOD'S EVIDENT AND HIDDEN FAVORS - TOP

"Do you not see that God has subjected to your (use) all that is in the heavens and in the earth, and has lavished on you His evident and hidden favors? Yet there are some people who still argue about God without knowledge, without guidance or an enlightening Book."

The Holy Quran, 31:20

HADITH OF THE DAY: THE ONE MOST FAVORED BY GOD - TOP

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) quoted God as saying: "Truly of those devoted to Me, the one I most favor is a believer who is of meager means and much given to prayer, who has been particular in the worship of his Lord and has obeyed Him inwardly, who was obscure among people and not pointed out, and whose sustenance was just sufficient to provide for him yet he bore this patiently."

Hadith Qudsi, Number 26

To learn more about the life and legacy of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), go to: www.cair.com/Muhammad

To sponsor or obtain a FREE Quran, go to: www.explorethequran.org

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CAIR-OHIO HELPS BRING BRIDGES TV TO COLUMBUS - TOP

(COLUMBUS, OHIO, 3/30/2006) - CAIR-Ohio's Columbus Director Adnan Mirza met recently with officials from Bridges TV and local cable television executives to discuss bringing the station to the Columbus Muslim community as a free basic channel. Bridges TV (http://www.bridgestv.com) is the first-ever American Muslim television network in English.

Central Ohio Time-Warner Cable customers are being urged to call 614-481-5050 to request that Bridges TV be carried on their free, basic cable package.

CONTACT: CAIR-Ohio Director Adnan Mirza, 614-451-3232, E-Mail: director@cair-ohio.com

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CAIR-MI: CARROLL'S RELEASE ELATES LOCAL MUSLIM LEADERS - TOP
Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 3/30/06
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060330/NEWS11/60330010

Michigan Muslims who pushed hard for the release of kidnapped journalist Jill Carroll - were thrilled to learn Thursday that she is free and safe. . .

On Jan. 19, Muslims gathered at a mosque in Canton to denounce her kidnapping and call for her immediate release. The gathering was organized by Dawud Walid, head of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.

"The taking of hostages," is clearly un-Islamic, Walid said Thursday morning. Moreover, Carroll was an innocent journalist and a non-combatant, he said.

Two officials with the council's national office traveled to Iraq on Jan. 21 to try and win her release. It was all part of a major effort by Muslims to free her.

"We were ecstatic when we heard the news this morning," Walid said Thursday. "We are truly grateful to God that our prayers have been answered."

Walid hopes that when Carroll returns to the United States, Muslims "may have the opportunity to greet her and share in the celebration of her homecoming."

SEE ALSO:

CAIR: REACTION TO REPORTER CARROLL'S RELEASE - TOP
CNN, 3/30/06
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/03/30/carroll.reaction/

Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said that the group welcomes Carroll's release as "a positive development and we hope it leads to the release of all hostages currently held in Iraq. . .We hope that we had at least some small part in winning her release and convincing the kidnappers their actions were counterproductive to the interests of the people of Iraq."

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CAIR: FAITH BY FORCE NOT TRUE BELIEF - TOP
Parvez Ahmed, Tucson Citizen, 3/29/06
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/

[Parvez Ahmed is the board chairman of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Washington, D.C.]

The Council on American-Islamic Relations calls on the government of Afghanistan to release Abdul Rahman, a man facing the death penalty for converting from Islam to Christianity.

Rahman's conversion is a personal matter that should not be subject to state intervention.

Islamic scholars say original rulings on apostasy were similar to those for treasonous acts in legal systems worldwide and do not apply to an individual's choice of religion.

Islam advocates freedom of religion and of conscience, a position supported by the Quran:

* "If it had been the will of your Lord that all the people of the world should be believers, all the people of the earth would have believed! Would you then compel mankind against their will to believe?" (10:99)

* "This is the Truth from your Lord. Now let him who will, believe in it, and him who will, deny it." (18:29)

* "If they turn away from thee (O Muhammad) they should know that We have not sent you to be their keeper. Your only duty is to convey My message." (42:48)

* "Let there be no compulsion in religion." (2:256)

Faith imposed by force is not true belief, but coercion. Islam has no need to compel belief in its divine truth.

As the Quran states: "Truth stands out clear from error. Therefore, whoever rejects evil and believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold that never breaks." (2:256)

We urge the government of Afghanistan to order the immediate release of Abdul Rahman.

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-FL: MAKING PEACE ELUSIVE - TOP
Christopher W. Cusano, Orlando Sentinel, 3/30/06
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/orl-le30_406mar30,0,2704403.story

[Christopher Cusano is the Orlando Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations].

In response to David Knechel's Sunday letter to the editor, "Religion of peace?":

Throughout time, claimed adherents to a religion have been engaged in actions of violence that not only dwarf the condemning of authors but the atrocities of 9-11.

Across the belt buckle of the infamous Nazi SS was written "Gott mit uns" -- "God is with us." Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf: "I am convinced that I am acting as the agent of our Creator."

Hitler's actions cost the world 60 million people, of whom 37 million were civilians.

In 1811, John Quincy Adams wrote, "The whole continent of North America appears to be destined by Divine Providence to be peopled by one nation, speaking one language, professing one general system of religious and political principles . . . for the common happiness of them all, for their peace and prosperity, I believe it is indispensable that they should be associated in one federal Union."

What followed were 11 million Native Americans killed to fulfill our "manifest destiny."

There are Muslims around the world calling back their brethren to the peaceful way of life, which was revealed as a mercy to mankind, sacrificing their time, money and energy. By continuing to demonize the religion that has raised humankind from the shackles of immorality, brought peace to violence-torn areas and prescribed women's political rights 1,400 years ago based on the actions of those who have fallen from its doctrine, we only make the path toward peace more elusive.

Muslims unconditionally denounce terrorism and invite people of conscience to seek and embrace the truth.

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ISLAM-OPED: MUSLIMS AND NON-MUSLIMS CAN WORK HARDER TO SEE THE OTHER SIDE - TOP
Fighting Islamophobia should be a top priority
Fredericksburg, 3/30/06
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2006/032006/03302006/175209

[PARVEZ AHMED is board chairman of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.]

WASHINGTON--The recent hysteria surrounding the approval of a Dubai firm to manage parts of several American ports demonstrates how fear of Islam, or "Islamophobia," can overpower rational discourse and harm our nation's true interests.

What would normally have been a routine business deal with a stable ally turned into a political fiasco that sent a "no Arabs or Muslims need apply" message to our partners in the Middle East and beyond.

Indications of how politicians were able to exploit the Dubai ports deal appear in two new polls on attitudes toward Islam. These troubling poll results should serve as a wake-up call for all Americans who value our nation's tradition of religious tolerance and who seek to improve our sagging image in the Muslim world.

The polls, one by the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the other by The Washington Post and ABC News, indicate that almost half of Americans have a negative perception of Islam and that one in four of those surveyed consistently believe stereotypes such as: "Muslims value life less than other people" and "The Muslim religion teaches violence and hatred."

The Post-ABC poll found that one-fourth of Americans "admitted to harboring prejudice toward Muslims," which experts said is "fueled in part by political statements and media reports that focus almost solely on the actions of Muslim extremists."

CAIR's survey also showed that the majority of Americans have little or no knowledge about Islam.

A majority of the respondents in CAIR's survey said they would change their views about Islam and Muslims if they perceived that Muslims condemned terrorism more strongly, showed more concern for issues important to ordinary Americans, worked to improve the status of women, and worked to improve the image of America in the Muslim world.

The results of both polls suggest that education is the key to decreasing anti-Muslim prejudice and that Muslims must do a better job of letting fellow Americans know what is being done to address their concerns. (MORE)

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BORDERS, WALDENBOOKS WON'T CARRY MAGAZINE - TOP
Carolyn Thompson, Associated Press, 3/29/06
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/3757662.html

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Borders and Waldenbooks stores will not stock the April-May issue of Free Inquiry magazine because it contains cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that provoked deadly protests among Muslims in several countries.

"For us, the safety and security of our customers and employees is a top priority, and we believe that carrying this issue could challenge that priority," Borders Group Inc. spokeswoman Beth Bingham said Wednesday.

The magazine, published by the Council for Secular Humanism in suburban Amherst, includes four of the drawings that originally appeared in a Danish newspaper in September, including one depicting Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban with a lit fuse.

Islamic tradition bars depiction of Muhammad to prevent idol worship, which is strictly prohibited.

"What is at stake is the precious right of freedom of expression," said Paul Kurtz, editor-in-chief of Free Inquiry. "Cartoons often provide an important form of political satire ... To refuse to distribute a publication because of fear of vigilante violence is to undermine freedom of press _ so vital for our democracy."

Bingham said the decision was made before the magazine arrived at the company's stores. Borders Group, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., operates more than 475 Borders and 650 Waldenbooks stores in the United States, though not all regularly carry the magazine.

"We absolutely respect our customers' right to choose what they wish to read and buy and we support the First Amendment," Bingham said. "And we absolutely support the rights of Free Inquiry to publish the cartoons. We've just chosen not to carry this particular issue in our stores." (MORE)

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SONN LECTURES ON ISLAM'S LIBERATION OF WOMEN - TOP
Emily Fraser, W&M News, 3/29/06
http://www.wm.edu/news/?id=5720

The Muslim Student Association kicked off Islam Awareness Week in March with a lecture by Tamara Sonn, the College's Kenan Professor of Humanities, Religious Studies. Titled "Women in Islam: Tradition and Change," the lecture tackled many misconceptions about the treatment of women in the Islamic faith.

Sonn introduced her topic with a complaint. "Everyone is always coming up to me and saying, 'I don't really know much about Islam, but I sure don't like how they treat their women,'" she said. "People always want to hear about 'women in Islam,' so I usually turn it around and say, OK, but first, you tell me about 'women in Christianity.'"

Sonn explained that "there are very few things you can say about all Muslim women. How can you characterize one half of one fifth of the world's population?" she asked.

But then, diving into the true subject of her talk, she explained that "the Qur'an has a great deal to say about women-and it has a great deal to say that is positive about women." Sonn spent the remainder of her lecture explaining the truly progressive nature of the Qur'an in the context of the highly patriarchal society within which it developed. (MORE)

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MR. SYEED GOES TO WASHINGTON - TOP
Robert King, IndyStar, 3/29/06
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060329/NEWS01/60329025/1006/NEWS01

The leader of a Plainfield-based Muslim organization with a national profile is moving to Washington to head an effort to improve interfaith cooperation and educate government officials about Muslim issues.

Sayyid Syeed will give up his post as secretary general of the Islamic Society of North America based in Plainfield to open the organization's first Washington office.

The move comes as Syeed and ISNA, which hosts the nation's largest Muslim convention each year in Chicago, have been trying to help American Muslims weather the storms following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Frequently, that task has kept Syeed flying between Indianapolis and Washington to meet with government officials and interfaith organizations. The Washington office should make the organization's mission easier, said Louay Safi, who directs ISNA's leadership development programs.

ISNA's headquarters will remain at its current location just off I-70 in Plainfield. A search to find a successor to Syeed should produce a new secretary general within a few months, Safi said. The post will be held on an interim basis by Ahmed El Hattab, who currently heads ISNA's development foundation.

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MERHI FLAP AFFECTS CORZINE - TOP
Cristian Salazar, Herald News, 3/30/06
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2OTA3MzQyJnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mg==

Gov. Jon S. Corzine took a step toward patching up relations with offended Arab-Americans when he met with Sami Merhi and community leaders in Trenton Tuesday, after the Passaic County Democrats booted Merhi from their freeholder ticket last weekend.

But the controversy over whether the Lebanese-born Merhi, of Totowa, was fit to run for office because of a 2002 remark about Palestinian suicide bombers that some interpreted as support for terrorism has rapidly spilled into Arab-American communities nationwide and across the Internet. The fallout from the Democrats' action, however, may be felt in November's elections, said Arab-Americans and political commentators from across the country.

"The Democratic Party has embraced the idea that painting Arabs as terrorists is a good campaign slogan for them. This is unacceptable at any level," said Nidal Ibrahim , executive director of the Arab American Institute in Washington, D.C., before entering the Tuesday meeting with Corzine, who had removed his support from Merhi's candidacy.

Ibrahim pointed out that a common theme of Arab-baiting ran through the Merhi controversy and the recent Dubai ports dispute. In that case, both Democrats and Republicans vociferously attacked putting Arabs in charge of American ports. The Arab-American community was further offended, according to Ibrahim, by Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., comparing Arabs with skinheads while discussing the Dubai ports deal.

"Bigotry disguised in the form of politics cannot be tolerated, and it's something that needs to be recognized and addressed by the party leadership," Ibrahim said of Democrats. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

DEMOCRATIC PARTY GAVE ME A RAW DEAL - TOP
Sami Merhi, Bergen Record, 3/30/06
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzOTcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY5MDY5NTcmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNA==

BORN AND RAISED in Brooklyn, Jude Safi was an ambitious and assertive young man. An avid sports fan, he rooted for his beloved Yankees and Knicks. He graduated from Staten Island College with a degree in business finance. Jude's diligence and determination were rewarded when he secured a position with Cantor Fitzgerald as an equity trader.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Jude was among the approximately 3,000 people to perish at the World Trade Center. Jude was one month shy of his 25th birthday. A life full of promise and potential was tragically taken away. He was my godson. His family and I miss him dearly.

The heinous acts perpetrated by a bunch of thugs, or more appropriately, a band of cowards, on that ill-fated day were abhorrent and unforgivable. I vehemently condemn terrorism because it goes against everything I believe in.

Of the many lessons I imparted to my godson and my three children, one was that violence is never the answer. As a student of history, I fully understand that it has never accomplished anything positive. Therefore, I subscribe to the nonviolent philosophy of Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela.

I came to this country via Lebanon. The impetus behind my migration was the boundless opportunities that this magnificent country has to offer. Back in my native country, I fell in love with what John Locke and later Thomas Jefferson would espouse: life, liberty, and what I refer to as the pursuit of justice. Upon arriving on America's shores, I was eager to raise a family and fulfill the American Dream.

I am motivated by a quote from the Bible that says, "to whom much is given, much is required." After providing for my family, I felt a burning desire to devote my life to humanitarian efforts. Consequently, I decided to dedicate half of my time to charitable organizations.

My commitment to seek joy in what I can give and not in what I can get inspired me to get involved in politics. As an immigrant who pulled himself up from his bootstraps, I believed it could be a noble profession.

For more than 20 years I volunteered my time and money to various Democratic campaigns. In 2004, I decided to toss my hat in the ring and seek a seat on the Passaic County Board of Freeholders. (MORE)

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HALAL FOODS TO BENEFIT FROM SURGE IN MUSLIM CONSUMER POWER - TOP
Dominique Patton, AP-Food and Technology, 3/30/06
http://www.ap-foodtechnology.com/news/ng.asp?n=66740-malaysian-kasehdia-tesco-halal

The rise in Muslim purchasing power and growth in consumer-led movements will give Asian food makers with halal certification access to new markets, believes a halal industry expert.

Nordin Abdullah, executive director of Malaysian Kasehdia, the media company behind the upcoming World Halal Forum, says that producers of halal foods should look to European markets for new growth opportunities.

"There may be only 30 million Muslims in Europe but they have huge purchasing power in comparison with those in the Middle East or North Africa," he told AP-Foodtechnology.com.

"In France, for example, the second and third generation Muslims are no longer happy eating what their parents bought in the local stores. They want pizzas and hotdogs that are certified halal."

"A hotdog from Malaysia is highly unlikely to reach the European market. But a halal hotdog is in demand from a growing niche market," Abdullah points out.

And although a growing number of western food makers offer halal-certified products, particularly the larger ones like Nestle, many fail to understand the requirements. (MORE)

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RESOURCES: APOSTASY AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM - TOP
http://lsinsight.org/articles/Current/Apostasy.htm

Although medieval Christian Europe practiced coercion to force reverse conversions to Christianity, modern societies recognize the freedom of religion of all citizens. Muslim scholars have the obligation to reconsider modern reality and reject any attempt to revive historical claims rooted in classical jurisprudence that are clearly at odd with Qur'anic principles and Islamic spirit, and with modern society and international conventions and practices. It would be a tragedy, for both social peace in Muslim societies and world peace in an increasingly diverse global society, if religious communities embrace practices that limit freedom of religion, and adopt measures that rely on coercion to maintain the integrity of religious communities.

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CAIR
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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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AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/31/06

* Hadith: Self-Help Encouraged
* CAIR Rep Discusses Journalist's Release on 'Nightline' (ABC)
            - CAIR-MI: Muslims Worked For Carroll's Release (Free Press)
            - Newspaper Says Muslim Leaders Helped Win Release (CSM)
* CAIR: International Scam Targeting Mosques Broken (AP)
* CAIR: Many Muslims Condemn Persecution (Wash Post)
            - CAIR: Local Muslims Support Release (Wichita Eagle)
* MI: Terrorism Prosecutor Charged With Lying (Free Press)
* DC: Muslim Shares Views on Life in United States (Wash File)
            - VA: ADAMS Mosque Builds Bridges (Connections)
* CA: Pakistani Cricketers to Appear at Quake Relief Dinner
* Blair Lectured by Pupils at Islamic School (Independent)
* Poll: Islamic Women Liked as Leaders (UPI)
* U.S. Deserter Tells Of Atrocities

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HADITH OF THE DAY: SELF-HELP ENCOURAGED - TOP

A man came to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and begged for something from him. The Prophet asked the man: "Have you nothing in your house?" The man replied: "Yes, a piece of cloth, a part of which we wear and a part of which we spread (on the ground), and a wooden bowl from which we drink water." The Prophet asked the man to bring him these items. He then auctioned them off to the highest bidder and gave the money to the man who was begging, saying: "Buy food...and give it to your family, and buy an axe and bring it to me."

When the man brought the ax, the Prophet fixed a handle on it with his own hands and said: "Go, gather firewood and sell it, and do not let me see you for a fortnight." The man went away and gathered firewood and sold it. When he had earned enough money, he bought food and clothing. The Prophet then said to him: "This is better for you than having begging (be held against you) on the Day of Judgment."

Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith 664

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CAIR DIRECTOR DISCUSSES JOURNALIST'S RELEASE ON 'NIGHTLINE' - TOP

HOW JILL CARROLL WAS FREED
ABC News "Nightline," 3/31/06
http://ahmedbedier.com/video/060330-abc-nightline-awad-on-jill.wmv

NIHAD AWAD (COUNCIL ON AMERICAN ISLAMIC RELATIONS)

Our message was very clear that we're coming to Iraq on behalf of 8 million American Muslims, and Jill Carroll and her family and her friends. She's a good friend to the Iraqi people. Her history, her writing shows that. And she should not be taken as hostage. In fact, we said hostage taking is wrong and doesn't benefit the Iraqi people. We said that in Arabic, we said that on the mainstream and most credible news networks in the area.

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-MI: MICHIGAN MUSLIMS WORKED FOR CARROLL'S RELEASE - TOP
Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 3/30/06
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/14226525.htm

DETROIT - From holding news conferences to making a hazardous trip to Baghdad, Iraq, Muslims in Michigan and across the United States launched an extraordinary campaign to help secure the release of kidnapped journalist Jill Carroll.

During the three months that she was held hostage, Muslims - with their words and their actions - organized for her freedom and condemned the kidnapping as un-Islamic. Some even worked their political and religious contacts inside Iraq. American Muslims have called for the freeing of hostages before. But this time, they went all out.

"We decided, `enough is enough,'" Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy group, said Thursday. "We had to go the extra mile." (MORE)

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NEWSPAPER EDITOR SAYS MUSLIM LEADERS HELPED TO WIN REPORTER'S RELEASE - TOP
WRIC, 3/31/06
http://www.wric.com/Global/story.asp?S=4702679&nav=0Rcx3aIN

BOSTON - Her boss at the Christian Science Monitor says Jill Carroll's release came with the help of a "chorus" of condemnation from leaders in the Muslim world.

Richard Bergenheim, editor of the Monitor, says it's a chorus that "has been louder and louder" than any that's been heard "for some time."

Carroll, who'd been held by kidnappers for three months, was released Iraqi roadside today.

Speaking to reporters in Boston, Bergenheim said there were "absolutely no" negotiations for her release.

He says the newspaper will continue to try to give voice to the estimated 30 Iraqis a day who are kidnapped. He says the Monitor "will not let these people be forgotten" -- and that the Iraqi people "have a right to live in safety."

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FBI: INTERNATIONAL SCAM TARGETING ISLAMIC MOSQUES BROKEN - TOP
Garry Mitchell, Associated Press, 3/31/06
http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2006/03/31/fbi_international_scam_targeting_islamic_mosques_broken/

MOBILE, Ala. --An international wire fraud scheme targeting Islamic institutions with a phony stranded-traveler plea, netting only small sums but hitting multiple victims over many years, has been disrupted by the arrest of its mastermind, the FBI says.

Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts Islamic advocates say Mohammed Mustafa Agbareia, who was arrested in Canada and pleaded guilty March 1 in Alabama to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, may have scammed more than $1 million from mosques and Islamic groups over nearly two decades.

He will be sentenced July 10 by U.S. District Judge Charles Butler in Mobile, where he is in the custody of federal marshals.

Agbareia is accused of claiming to be with a Saudi development bank investing in local Islamic society projects. Eventually he would contact Islamic leaders asking for money, saying he was stranded at an airport in Canada or another distant location and needed money wired.

Agbareia manipulated the Islamic tenet of lending aid to a stranded traveler, the FBI says.

He would always ask for $1,000 to $1,500 -- amounts small enough to "pass under the radar" of local authorities, said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Washington, D.C. (MORE)

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MANY MUSLIMS CONDEMN PERSECUTION - TOP
Rami Fakhouri, Washington Post, 3/31/06
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/30/AR2006033001756.html

The apparent failure of both Muslim leaders and common Afghans to condemn the cries for Abdul Rahman's execution was a sad reminder of the shortcomings of intolerant societies, and Richard Cohen's disgust was justified ["Unfathomable Zealotry," op-ed, March 28].

But Mr. Cohen's claim that no cries of outrage have been heard anywhere in the Muslim world is misleading. Strong, unequivocal condemnations of Mr. Rahman's prosecution have been issued by several major Muslim organizations in the West, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils and two Canadian Islamic groups.

Although members of these groups do not reside in Afghanistan, they are an equally important part of the Muslim world, as are the hundreds of millions of Muslims living in areas outside the Middle East. Overlooking the statements of several large and influential Islamic groups does a disservice to millions of tolerant Muslims.

SEE ALSO:

LOCAL MUSLIMS SUPPORT RELEASE - TOP
Wichita Eagle, 3/31/06
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/editorial/14225895.htm

On behalf of the Islamic Society of Wichita, I would like to respond to the letter "Afghanistan case raises questions" (March 26 Reader Views). The Council on American-Islamic Relations already released a statement in regard to Abdul Rahman, the Afghan man who was threatened with death for converting to Christianity. The Islamic Society of Wichita concurs with and supports the statement by CAIR, which said:

"Islamic scholars say the original rulings on apostasy were similar to those for treasonous acts in legal systems worldwide and do not apply to an individual's choice of religion. Islam advocates both freedom of religion and freedom of conscience, a position supported by verses in the Quran, Islam's revealed text, such as:

'If it had been the will of your Lord that all the people of the world should be believers, all the people of the earth would have believed! Would you then compel mankind against their will to believe?' (10:99)

'(O Prophet) proclaim: "This is the Truth from your Lord. Now let him who will, believe in it, and him who will, deny it." '(18:29)

'If they turn away from thee (O Muhammad) they should know that We have not sent you to be their keeper. Your only duty is to convey My message.' (42:48)

'Let there be no compulsion in religion.' (2:256)

"Religious decisions should be matters of personal choice, not a cause for state intervention. Faith imposed by force is not true belief, but coercion. Islam has no need to compel belief in its divine truth. As the Quran states: 'Truth stands out clear from error. Therefore, whoever rejects evil and believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold that never breaks.' (2:256)"

The CAIR statement went on to urge the government of Afghanistan to order Rahman's immediate release. He was released Monday.

Tammy Sabrah is with the Islamic Society of Wichita

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MI: TERRORISM PROSECUTOR IS CHARGED WITH LYING - TOP
Detroit Free Press, 3/30/06
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060330/NEWS05/603300462/1007

Richard Convertino, whose 14-year career as a star federal prosecutor earned him commendations for winning high-profile cases, now faces federal prosecution himself, accused Wednesday of lying to a jury to win terrorism convictions in the first trial to result from the federal 9/11 probe.

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AMERICAN MUSLIM SHARES VIEWS ON LIFE IN UNITED STATES - TOP
Mark Betka, Washington File, 3/30/06
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=March&x=20060330180753AMakteB0.2795221&t=livefeeds/wf-latest.html

Washington -American Muslims seek the same opportunities and face the same challenges all Americans do as they pursue their hopes and aspirations of achieving the "American Dream," says Tina Kareema Dauod.

Dauod, a graduate student and State Department "citizen ambassador," discussed her experiences as a Muslim American and her work to build bridges between Americans and Muslims worldwide in a March 30 webchat marking the close of Women's History Month.

Dauod is a student of Arabic linguistics at Georgetown University in Washington. She also works for the U.S. Department of State on public diplomacy initiatives involving the Middle East and outreach programs to Muslims around the globe. Dauod is a first-generation American of German and Arab descent who is also a practicing Muslim.

"The road to dialogue is two ways: we need to understand one another, and others need to understand [the United States] in this ever-increasing globalized world," said Dauod, echoing earlier statements by Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes. "There may be differences, but in fact I believe that the world can and is coming closer together," Dauod said.

The webchat attracted a diverse and geographically dispersed audience. Questions were submitted from online participants in the Middle East, Europe, South, Central, and East Asia and Africa. Dauod particularly focused on the concerns and questions from young participants, such as those representing their schools in Tajikistan and Bangladesh. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

LOCAL MOSQUE OPENS DOORS, BUILDS BRIDGES - TOP
Kim Centazzo, Connection Newspapers, 3/29/06
http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=63613&paper=67&cat=104

Girl Scouts Maryan Cattaneo and Hidayah Jaka welcomed members and guests to an Open Houses of Faith event at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center in Sterling, Tuesday, March 21. The two girls stood behind a table filled with boxes of cookies and a sign-in sheet.

"This is a way for people to learn more about religion," Jaka said.

Open Houses of Faith, coordinated by Girl Scout volunteers, is an educational program, which began in February to educate the Washington, D.C.,-metropolitan area communities about different faiths and religions practiced here.

ADAMS CENTER executive director Imam Mohamed Magid welcomed guests to the interfaith program.

Religious and nonreligious members of the community packed into the auditorium to listen to speakers. Women drew flowers on children's hands with henna, a temporary ink. ADAMS Center children danced and sang traditional songs.

Magid emphasized the importance of education and understanding of different cultures and religions.

"By knowing one another, we can reverse the stereotypes," Magid said. (MORE)

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FORMER PAKISTAN CRICKET TEAM CAPTAINS TO VISIT BAY AREA FOR EARTHQUAKE BENEFIT DINNER - TOP
PR Newswire, 3/31/06

BURBANK, Calif., -- In conjunction with the Bay Area Muslim community, Islamic Relief, an international relief and development organization will be holding a fund-raising benefit dinner this Saturday, April 1, to help the victims of the devastating earthquake in Pakistan.

The earthquake that struck the South Asian subcontinent last October has affected over 3 million people. Islamic Relief continues to operate long-term sustainable development projects to ensure that the millions who have been left homeless are not forgotten. Islamic Relief has collected aid worth over $30 million (cash and in-kind) thus far, and its projects have benefited over 340,000 people.

Islamic Relief has established shelters, mobile health clinics, and water and sanitation facilities throughout the earthquake-affected areas. Approximately 1.7 million people have also benefited from Islamic Relief's Road Re-Opening and Access Project, which has cleared landslides to open roads for aid to be delivered to the affected areas.

Guest speakers at the benefit dinner include Moin Khan and Rashid Latif, former captains of the Pakistan National Cricket Team. Khan and Latif are on a six-city tour with Islamic Relief to bring awareness to the needs of earthquake victims and raise desperately needed funds.

An Islamic Relief representative who visited the earthquake affected areas will also be attending the benefit dinner. Media professionals are encouraged to attend the event, and interviews can be arranged with the speakers.

WHAT: Benefit Dinner for Pakistan Earthquake Victims
WHEN: Saturday, April 1 at 6:30 pm
WHERE: Chandni Restaurant, 5748 Mowry School Rd. Newark, CA 94560

CONTACT: Munir Iqtish of Islamic Relief, cell, +1-408-505-2941, munir@irw.org

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BLAIR LECTURED BY PUPILS AT ISLAMIC SCHOOL - TOP
Andrew Grice, Independent, 3/31/06
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article354792.ece

Tony Blair was warned the presence of British troops in Iraq was fuelling terrorism when he met moderate Muslim leaders on his visit to Indonesia.

The Prime Minister's plans to build bridges as he visited the most populous Muslim nation suffered when he was confronted about Iraq.

After talks in Jakarta, Din Syamsuddin, head of the 30 million-strong Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second-biggest Muslim group, said the Islamic representatives told Mr Blair: "The British Government must pull its troops out of Iraq because Iraq's occupation will only stimulate radicalism, extremism and terrorism."

Azyumardi Azra, an Islamic scholar, said he told the Prime Minister "his foreign policies were not making the world any safer".

When Mr Blair visited an Islamic boarding-school, Rezar Rizky, 13, was cheered when he asked him: "Will you ask your best friend George Bush to stop the war in Iraq?" The Prime Minister replied: "I think we will not agree about Iraq and the decision to remove the government there."

He added: "Whatever we thought about the original decision to remove Saddam [Hussein], today we should work with the UN and with other countries to make sure Iraqi people get the same rights as we have in the UK and you have here."

Anissa At Muzir, 17, said she agreed with some of what Mr Blair said but disagreed with his views on Iraq. "His answer is not so satisfactory," she said. "Justice should be applied in a true sense."

Another student asked Mr Blair how he would feel if he were an Iraqi civilian who had had relatives killed in the conflict.

Mr Blair replied: "You feel very strongly that what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan was wrong. I understand that. But in those countries now people can vote and their government should decide what's right and what is wrong." (MORE)

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POLL: ISLAMIC WOMEN LIKED AS LEADERS - TOP
United Press International 3/30/06
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060330-024731-6523r

PRINCETON, N.J., March 30 (UPI) -- The majority of respondents in all but one of eight mostly Islamic countries surveyed in a Gallup Poll agree women should have leadership roles.

The majority range was wide, from 54 percent in Egypt to 92 percent in Lebanon. Only Saudi Arabia, with 40-percent approval, fell below the 50-percent mark.

Other countries included Turkey at 86 percent; Iran 78; Morocco 74; Pakistan 58; and Jordon 55. Overall, about nine out of 10 of those asked in Lebanon and Turkey agreed that women should be allowed in leadership positions.

Gallup World Poll surveys were conducted in eight countries between August and October last year asked respondents to agree or disagree on the supposition that "Women should be allowed to hold leadership positions in the Cabinet and national council."

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U.S. DESERTER TELLS OF ATROCITIES - TOP
Andrew Davidson, CNEWS, 3/31/06
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/03/30/1512671-cp.html

TORONTO - A "trigger-happy" U.S. army squad leader shot the foot off an unarmed Iraqi man and soldiers kicked a severed head around like a soccer ball, a U.S. war deserter told an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing Thursday.

Joshua Key, the first U.S. deserter with combat experience in Iraq to apply for refugee status in Canada, told the board he witnessed numerous atrocities committed by U.S. forces while serving eight months as a combat engineer.

Key, 27, said he was never trained on the Geneva Convention and was told in Iraq by superior officers that the international law guiding humanitarian standards was just a "guideline."

"It's shoot first, ask questions later," Key said of his squad's guiding principles. "Everything's justified."

Key is one of five members of the U.S. armed forces asking for asylum in Canada.

But the Oklahoma native is unique in that he is the only applicant that has combat experience in Iraq, said Key's lawyer, Jeffry House. The other are seeking asylum in Canada to avoid being sent there, he said.

"He has boots-on-the-ground experience about what the actual conduct of the war in Iraq is," House said outside the hearing.

With visible bags under his eyes, Key told the hearing he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and frequently has nightmares over what he witnessed in Iraq.

He recalled participating in almost nightly raids on homes of suspected insurgents in Ramadi and Fallujah as a member of the 43rd Combat Engineer Company.

He said that while the raids seldom turned up anything of interest, he often saw soldiers ransack the homes and steal jewelry or money, while superior officers looked the other way.

He also said several Iraqis were shot dead, and that they were cases of soldiers "shooting out of fear and inventing reasons afterward." (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

-----

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AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/2/06

* Hadith: Don't Dispense with God's Blessings
* 500 Turn Out for CAIR-FL Dinner
            - CAIR-DC: U.S. Muslims Can Spread Word of Democracy
            - CAIR-DC: U.S. Muslims Worked on Carroll's Behalf (NYT)
            - CAIR-Chicago Conducts Training for ICE Officers
            - CAIR-CA: Muslims of Lodi Stereotyped
            - CAIR-OH: Religious Leaders Endorse 'Guest Worker'
            - CAIR-OH Supports Muslim TV Network
            - CAIR-DC: Critic Should Practice What He Preaches
* Bassiouni: Leaving Islam is Not a Capital Crime (Chicago Trib)
* NC: Regions Only Muslim Cemetery is Nearly Full (Observer)
            - MN: Police to Reach Out to Muslims, Somalis (Pioneer Press)
            - MI: Hispanic Muslim from Texas Says Islam is Diverse
* Incitement: Islam Brings Misery, Backwardness - Mark Steyn
* Russia: Most 'Islamic Terrorism' Cases Fabricated (Wash Post)

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HADITH OF THE DAY: DON'T DISPENSE WITH GOD'S BLESSINGS - TOP

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Once while Job was taking a bath. . .a great number of golden locusts started falling on him and he began collecting them in his clothing. His Lord called him: 'O Job! Did I not make you rich enough to dispense with what you see now?' Job said: 'Yes, O Lord! But I cannot dispense with Your Blessings.'"

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Hadith 585

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500 TURN OUT FOR CAIR-FL DINNER - TOP

(DAVIE, FL, 4/2/2006) - A sold-out audience of more than 500 people turned out for CAIR-FL's annual fundraising dinner on Saturday in Davie. Special guests included Professor David Cole of Georgetown University Law Center, Muslim comedian Azhar Usman, as well as interfaith and community leaders. The event raised more than $200,000 to help carry out CAIR's mission of promoting justice and mutual understanding.

SEE ALSO:

CAIR: BALANCING SECURITY NEEDS - TOP
Florida Times-Union, 4/2/06
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/040206/opi_21506638.shtml

It's healthy to debate the balance between the desire for safety and need for freedom. Both needs are legitimate and neither should predominate.

That debate was illustrated Thursday evening in the auditorium of the Times-Union at a forum sponsored by the Florida Center for Public and International Policy at the University of North Florida. . .

All Muslims are not our enemies; neither are all Arabs. Americans of Arabic descent must not be profiled for no reason.

In fact, Muslim-Americans can help spread the word of American democracy overseas, but only if they can speak with some legitimacy, not if they are being harassed at home.

Parvez Ahmed of the Council on American-Islamic Relations recently conducted seminars for law enforcement agents. He also traveled to the Middle East to speak about building bridges of understanding with America.

Yet when he returned home, he was singled out at an airport and questioned.

Americans must develop more knowledge of world cultures and be able to distinguish our friends from the few dangerous enemies.

And we must continue to debate, struggling to find that balance between security and freedom.

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CAIR: FREED REPORTER IN RECOVERY IN U.S. ZONE IN BAGHDAD - TOP
EDWARD WONG, New York times, 4/1/06
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/01/world/01carroll.html

Jill Carroll, the American reporter who was released Thursday after three months in captivity, spent Friday recovering in the heavily fortified Green Zone where the American Embassy is housed, despite a warning from her captors to avoid the area and not to cooperate with American officials. . .

American Muslim groups had worked hard on her behalf. Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations, said his group and many others were spurred to action because Ms. Carroll was a journalist, one who had gained a reputation in Iraq and Jordan for reports that were sensitive, even sympathetic, to people in the Arab world.

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CAIR-CHICAGO CONDUCTS SENSITIVITY TRAINING FOR ICE OFFICERS - TOP

(Chicago, IL, 4/2/2006) - The Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) conducted sensitivity training recently for some 30 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and administrators in Chicago.

CAIR-Chicago's presentation focused on basic Islamic beliefs and practices, including discussion of misconceptions about the concept of Jihad and the religious attire of Muslim women.

"Both sessions were a great opportunity to address a lot of common misconceptions about Islam and Muslims," said Christina Abraham, Civil Rights Coordinator of CAIR-Chicago. "It is important that any law enforcement officer be educated about the communities they interact with on a daily basis."

The session was a proactive effort to familiarize ICE officers with Islam. Presenting to the officers were CAIR-Chicago Civil Rights Coordinator Christina Abraham and Prison Project Coordinator Mariyam Hussain.

CONTACT: Civil Rights Coordinator Christina Abraham, 312-212-1520; or Director of Communications Ahmed Rehab, 312-212-1520

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CAIR-CA: WHEN THE TERROR CASE IS OVER, HOW WILL LODI BE REMEMBERED? - TOP
Layla Bohm, News-Sentinel, 3/31/06
http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2006/03/31/update/1_terror.txt

Al-Qaida. Osama bin Laden. Terror camps. FBI investigation. Lodi. For 10 months, those words have frequently been used when the city of Lodi is mentioned in local, national and even national news. Sometimes residents' far-off acquaintances joke about it, and sometimes online bloggers cast the city as a hotbed of terror. . .

But it may take a while for Lodi's Muslim community to move beyond a stereotype that has lumped them all together under a cloud of terrorism allegations, said a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"People are talking about leaving; they want to leave the state," said Basim Elkarra, executive director for the organization's Sacramento branch. "They thought they could live out their American dream in Lodi but now they can't." (MORE)

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CAIR-OH: RELIGIOUS LEADERS ENDORSE 'GUEST WORKER' - TOP
GREGORY KORTE, Cincinnati Enquirer, 4/1/06
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060401/NEWS01/604010396/1056

A broad group of Cincinnati religious leaders met Friday to urge Congress to pass an immigration bill that provides "a path for citizenship" for illegal aliens. . .

Karen Dabdoub, president of the Cincinnati Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the battle goes beyond legislation. She lamented what she called "rising xenophobia" in America.

"We are all of immigrant descent," she said. "The only difference is how far back that immigrant status goes in our families."

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CAIR-OH: COUPLE HOPE NETWORK BRINGS UNDERSTANDING - TOP
Tim Feran, COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 3/31/06
http://www.dispatch.com/features-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/03/31/20060331-B10-00.html

A long car ride on I-90 in northern Ohio usually produces nothing more exciting than a sore back.

But in the dark months after Sept. 11, 2001, one couple's drive on that stretch of road led to something far more positive: Bridges TV, the first English-language cable TV network devoted to Muslim and Arab issues.

The network, which made its debut Nov. 30, 2004, recently premiered locally on WOW's digital basic lineup on Channel 694. . .

The network is trying to plug into central Ohio groups. Coming this summer, Bridges TV plans a weekly show featuring the Columbus Somali community, and the network has equipped the central Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations with a broadcast-quality camera to enable the group to shoot events in Ohio and feed it to the national audience.

"It really fills a void," said Adnan Mirza, director of the local Council on American-Islamic Relations chapter. "There's a clear disconnect between popular American media and Muslim audience. The nice thing is, this is not just for the Muslim audience. It gives a clear understanding of the issues to viewers and an opportunity to speak for ourselves." (MORE)

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CAIR DEFENDS ITSELF - TOP
Ibrahim Hooper, Washington Times, 3/31/06
http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20060330-085453-6556r.htm

[Ibrahim Hooper is national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.]

In his commentary ("Cancer in its midst", Op-Ed, yesterday), M. Zuhdi Jasser states that he hopes and prays "for some counter-movement within my faith which will push back all this darkness" of terrorism, in apparent blissful ignorance of the fact that American Muslim groups have consistently and repeatedly condemned terrorism in all its forms.

It is particularly ironic that he believes this "counter-movement" will start with "what is most basic - the common truth that binds all religions: 'Do unto others, as you would have them do onto you.' The Golden Rule."

Just the day before publication of Mr. Jasser's commentary, the headline item on the Council on American-Islamic Relation's daily e-mail, distributed throughout North America and the Muslim world, was headlined "The Golden Rule." It offered several hadiths, or traditions of the prophet Muhammad, such as: "Whoever wishes to (enter Paradise) ... should treat people as he wishes to be treated by them."

Mr. Jasser also smears CAIR for "doing absolutely nothing about the most vile hate-speak and actions toward Jews and Christians in the Muslim world."

Perhaps he missed CAIR's: 1) condemnations of attacks on Christians in Yemen and Pakistan, 2) statements against suicide bombings in places such as Haifa and Jerusalem, 3) coordination of an Islamic religious ruling (fatwa) against terror and religious extremism, 4) distribution of public service announcements condemning terrorism, 5) online promotion of the "Not in the Name of Islam" petition drive, or 6) CAIR's recent condemnation of a plan by an Iranian newspaper to solicit cartoons denying the Nazi Holocaust.

In that condemnation, CAIR said: "The Holocaust, like all other acts of genocide, represents one of the lowest moments in human history and should not be the subject of derogatory cartoons. One cannot demand responsible behavior from others while at the same time acting irresponsibly."

Maybe he also missed CAIR's proactive educational campaigns designed to offer peaceful alternatives to violent responses prompted by recent controversies over allegations of Quran desecration in Guantanamo and the publication of offensive cartoons by a Danish newspaper.

Mr. Jasser should visit www.cair.com/Muhammad and www.explorethequran.org to educate himself about the reality of the American Muslim community's true response to violent events.

Mr. Jasser should practice what he preaches. The Web site for his own group is long on talk and short on the kind of positive actions and initiatives taken by CAIR.

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LEAVING ISLAM IS NOT A CAPITAL CRIME - TOP
M. Cherif Bassiouni, Chicago Tribune, 4/2/06
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-0604020336apr02,1,3345595.story

A Muslim's conversion to Christianity is not a crime punishable by death under Islamic law, contrary to the claims in the case of Abdul Rahman in Afghanistan. . .

Turning away from Islam, which is translated as apostasy, would not have been considered a crime, except the Prophet Muhammad (praise be upon him) in the 7th Century applied the death penalty to a Muslim who turned away from Islam. Historians of the Sunnah, the tradition established by the Prophet and deemed binding upon all Muslims, failed to note a significant fact about that case--that person not only had a change of faith, but decided to join the enemies of Islam at a time of war, thus making it a crime of high treason. Such a crime exists in all legal systems, many with the death penalty.

The Prophet's application of the death penalty was used by Muslim scholars in combination with the verse cited above as a legal basis for making apostasy, namely, change in religious belief, a crime punishable by death. These scholars have overlooked the passage to the enemy at a time of war, which was the most important element in the Prophet's decision in that case. They have also overlooked two important factors.

The first relates to the Koran, the highest binding source of Islamic law, which contains a fundamental principle stated in unequivocal terms: "Let there be no compulsion in religion," Surat Al-Baqarah, verse 256. Surely this overarching principle cannot be transgressed by forcing a person under penalty of death to espouse Islam even after such a person professes to have renounced it.

The second overlooked factor relates to the Prophet's Sunnah, which is the second source of law. In another case, the Prophet reached a different outcome. In this case, which shows the considerate and gentler face of Islam, a man was brought to the Prophet and accused of turning away from Islam. He was seen throwing his spear into the sky and screaming, "I want to kill you God!" The Prophet inquired of the man if that was true, and then asked for his reasons. The man said that God had killed his beloved one that he was soon to marry, and that he wanted to kill God for that. The Prophet, addressing the accusers, said, "Is it not enough for you that he believes in God enough that he wants to kill him?" And he let the man go. (MORE)

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NC: REGION'S ONLY MUSLIM CEMETERY IS NEARLY FULL - TOP
D�NICA COTO, Charlotte Observer, 4/1/06
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/14238652.htm

Space is tight at the only Muslim cemetery in the Charlotte region, and finding a new burial ground has turned into a frustrating quest.

About 100 plots remain at the Muslim cemetery in east Gastonia, and it will likely reach capacity in the next several years, said Hossam Shoukry, the cemetery's treasurer. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

MN: POLICE TO REACH OUT TO MUSLIMS, SOMALIS - TOP
Lee Egerstron, St. Paul Pioneer Press, 4/1/06
http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/14237433.htm

The Minnesota Public Safety Department awarded a $250,000 grant to the St. Paul Police Department and partnering organizations for an outreach program with Muslim and Somali communities.

Police will work with the St. Paul Intervention Project and the Minnesota Chapter of the Muslim American Society of America to develop the program, which will address issues like domestic assault and challenges facing women. Police Chief John Harrington announced the outreach program Friday morning.

The project is an outgrowth of a master's thesis by Assistant Chief Dennis Jensen titled "Enhancing Homeland Security Efforts by Building Stronger Relationships Between the Muslim Community and Local Law Enforcement."

Its goals include boosting immigrant understanding of the criminal justice system and increasing the Muslim community's role in "affecting positive change" in various ways, such as reporting crimes, seeking protection and intervention by police, volunteer community policing and through battered women's advocacy and support services.

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MI: ISLAM IS RELIGION OF DIVERSITY, SPEAKER SAYS - TOP
By Chris Meehan
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1143890464185810.xml&coll=7

Juan Galvan told the crowd at Western Michigan University that his own ethnic background reflects the changing profile of modern Muslims.

As he opened his presentation to members of WMU's Muslim Student Association, Galvan said that Islam is a religion of many faces, races and nationalities. "The most ironic thing about today is that a Mexican-American Muslim from Texas is about to speak with a group of people who live in Michigan," he said at the MSA banquet, held March 24.

Here he was, Galvan said, a Hispanic Muslim appearing at a Midwestern university to speak to young Muslims who hailed from many lands.

"It is through God's mercy, love, blessing and grace that we meet today," he said. "And, for this opportunity to meet with you, I thank you."

Galvan grew up Catholic in a small Texas town. He converted to Islam in college a few years ago after meeting a man who explained, among other things, that Spain was a Muslim country for more than 700 years and that "thousands of Spanish words have Arabic roots." (MORE)

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INCITEMENT WATCH: ISLAM BRINGS MISERY, BACKWARDNESS - MARK STEYN - TOP

IF YOU CAN'T JOIN 'EM, BEAT 'EM
Mark Steyn, Western Standard, 4/10/06
http://www.westernstandard.ca/website/index.cfm?page=article&article_id=1568

I used to date a Muslim gal. Don't think I've ever mentioned that before. I was going to, once. It was a year or so after September 11, and the editor of the National Post was noting that some Muslim lobby group had just given me the Islamophobe-of-the-Month award for the umpteenth time. I was under the misapprehension that, if you win six months in a row, you get the Lincoln Town Car and two weeks in St. Lucia, but my boss seemed to think it less of an occasion for congratulation.

"I'm not Islamophobic," I protested. "I've dated Muslim women. I'm very partial," I added, lapsing into a modified bit of Brit vernacular, "to Islamototty."

"Under no circumstances are you to say that in print," he said sternly. ("Totty" is Britspeak for "hot babe" or "hot babes." The form can indicate singular or plural, as in "I went to a party at this duke's pad. Talk about your posh totty." Would have been nice in Austin Powers, but it may postdate Austin's sixties' heyday.) . . .

She was a residually observant Muslim, in the way that there are many Anglicans who go to church at Christmas and Easter and would still wish their children to be Christened and eventually married in church. Which makes her much more of a "moderate Muslim" than, say, Dr. Wafa Sultan, the Syrian-American psychiatrist from Los Angeles who, at great personal risk, took on some A-list Sunni scholar live on Al Jazeera the other week. Dr. Sultan was on splendid form, booting every one of Professor Jihad's points into touch, scoffing at the rationale behind the many Muslim "grievances," pointing out the backwardness and misery and oppression that attend the advance of Islam. (MORE)

NOTE: Mark Steyn is a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. Send POLITE comments to:

E-MAIL: shuntley@suntimes.com (Editorial Page Editor Steve Huntley)
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org, mark@steynonline.com

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RUSSIA: STALINISM FOREVER - TOP
Anna Politkovskaya, Washington Post, 4/1/06
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/31/AR2006033101584.html

MOSCOW -- We are using Stalin's methods again, this time to fight terrorism. I am writing for this American newspaper on a subject that one can no longer write about in Russia -- islamskiy terrorizm, or Islamic terrorism cases. There are hundreds of such cases going through the courts in our country. Most of them have been fabricated by the government so that the special services can demonstrate how "effective" Russia is in fighting terrorism and so that President Vladimir Putin has something with which to impress the West. (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

-----

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/

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/3/06

* Hadith: Tears are a Mercy from God
* CAIR Employment Opportunities
            - Civil Rights Director/Staff Attorney
            - Director of Development
* CAIR-FL: FBI Asked to Probe Mosque Vandalism
* CAIR-DC: Pakistani-American Doctors to Lobby Congress
* More than 1,000 Turn Out for CAIR-MI Dinner
            - CAIR-FL Rep on Freedom of Religion
* CAIR-LA: FBI to Host Town Hall Meeting
* CAIR-OH Takes Part in Walk for Peace (Enquirer)
* DC: GU Prof to Speak at Muslim Congressional Staffer Event
* NJ: 9/11 Detainees Say They Were Abused With Dogs (NY Times)
            - CA: Early Case Against Hayats is Diminished (Sac Bee)
* VT Muslims Targeted By Scam Artist (AP)
* New Christian Pro-Israel Lobby
            - Report on Effect of Israel Lobby (Wash Post)
            - Israel and Moral Blackmail (Antiwar.com)

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HADITH OF THE DAY: TEARS ARE A MERCY FROM GOD - TOP

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "If, through fear of (displeasing) God, tears - even the size a fly's head - fall from any believer's eyes. . .he will be kept away from Hell."

Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1433

When he was questioned about weeping over the death of his grand-daughter, the Prophet said: "(Tears are) a mercy that God has placed in the hearts of His servants. And surely God bestows mercy upon those who are merciful to His servants."

Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 4, Number 21

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CAIR-DC JOB OPENINGS: CIVIL RIGHTS DIRECTOR AND STAFF ATTORNEY/ DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT - TOP

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is seeking applications for the following positions:

CIVIL RIGHTS DIRECTOR AND STAFF ATTORNEY - TOP

The ideal candidate is a licensed attorney who has background and experience in the fields of civil rights, immigration, constitutional and employment law. Working knowledge of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (especially Title VII) and other constitutionally protected activities is required.

The candidate shall have good interpersonal, leadership and organizational skills. The candidate should have demonstrated familiarity with Westlaw and other legal search engines. Successful applicant shall also have good research and writing skills that are needed in the preparation of the annual Civil Rights report and other reports related to the department.

Qualifications: Law degree from an ABA accredited school required. Licensed to practice law (Virginia, Maryland and DC highly preferred) and 1-2 years experience in the area of civil rights/employment/immigration law highly recommended. Good interpersonal, communication skills and a team player. Excellent verbal and written communications skills required.

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT - TOP

The successful candidate should be a motivated self initiator who can plan, develop, and maintain a comprehensive private and public sector development and fund-raising program that will actively raise funds for CAIR.

Qualifications: The ideal candidate will be a creative, self-motivated, strategic thinker with ability to meet people with ease; ability to write and edit effectively; ability to communicate the written and spoken work with tact, diplomacy, and/or authority when necessary; good organizational skills, well disciplined, able to meet deadlines, self starter, able to work under pressure of many priorities and deadlines; ability to work well effectively with volunteers; thorough understanding of CAIR and its programs and projects, as well as regional and national markets; knowledge of marketing strategies and techniques; knowledge of long-range planning process; good managerial skills; Must have highly developed interpersonal skills. Minimum of four years experience including knowledge of Annual Giving, Capital Campaign, Foundation/Corporate solicitations, Deferred Giving, Communications and Special Events.

TO APPLY for either position: All those interested and eligible to work in US (Citizens or proper work visa holders) are encouraged to apply in confidence via email to: hr@cair-net.org, or by fax 202 488 0833. No phone calls please. When applying via email please ensure to write the position title of the position that you are applying for in the subject line of the email.

By Mail to
HR Department - CAIR
453 New Jersey Ave SE
Washington DC 20003

Salary Range: Based on skills and experience
CAIR is an equal opportunity employer and offers an excellent health and dental benefit for its full time employees.

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CAIR-FL: FBI ASKED TO PROBE FL MOSQUE VANDALISM AS POSSIBLE HATE CRIME - TOP
'Osama Binleden' spray-painted on Islamic Center of South Florida

(MIAMI, FL, 4/3/2006) - The Florida office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) today called on local and national law enforcement authorities to investigate vandalism at one of that state's mosques as a possible hate crime.

Officials of the Islamic Center of South Florida (IFSF) under construction in Sunrise, Fla., reported to CAIR-FL that vandals spray-painted "Osama Binleden" on one of the outside walls of the facility sometime overnight. The perpetrators also damaged an electrical box at the site.

"The nature of the graffiti in this incident would seem to indicate the possibility of a bias motive," said CAIR-FL Executive Director Altaf Ali. "We urge the FBI to assist local law enforcement authorities in resolving this case and assuring the security of Florida Muslims."

Ali also called for additional police patrols outside Islamic institutions in South Florida. (There are an estimated 70,000 Muslims in the South Florida area.)

Two weeks ago, officials of the Darul-Uloon Islamic center in Hollywood, Fla., reported that vandals scrawled unintelligible graffiti on the exterior wall of that facility. CAIR-FL received reports of similar acts of vandalism at five other South Florida Islamic centers last year.

The Washington-based group is urging Muslim institutions nationwide to review security procedures using advice contained in CAIR's "Muslim Community Safety Kit." That 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.)

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 32 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: Altaf Ali, 954-298-8214, altaf@cair-florida.org; Ahmed Bedier 813-731-9506, abedier@cair-florida.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

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PAKISTANI-AMERICAN DOCTORS TO LOBBY CONGRESS - TOP
3rd Annual APPNA 'Day on the Hill' will focus on civil rights

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/3/2006) - On Thursday, April 6th, the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America (APPNA) will hold a "Day on the Hill" lobbying effort in Washington, D.C., focused on the defense of civil rights. SEE: http://www.appna.org/Day-on-the-Hill.id.231.htm

The event, organized in cooperation with the Pakistani American Public Affairs Committee (PAKPAC) and other Pakistani and Muslim civil rights organizations, is a key component of APPNA's Spring Meeting April 6-9 in the nation's capital. SEE: http://www.appna.org/APPNA-Spring-meeting-Washington-DC.id.64.htm

APPNA's "Day on the Hill" will begin with a two-hour "Effective Advocacy at the Capitol by Physicians" information and training session from 7 to 9 a.m. at the Wardman Park Marriott Hotel. Training session participants will learn lobbying tips from congressional staffers and from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

At 9:30 a.m., buses will leave the hotel for Capitol Hill. From 10 a.m. to noon, APPNA members and other concerned Pakistani-Americans will meet their elected representatives.

Racial profiling, the NSA wiretapping controversy and closure of American Muslim charities will be key topics of discussion, along with ongoing visa issues faced by Pakistani physicians, students and professionals. Pakistan earthquake relief efforts and ongoing need of relief aid will also be addressed.

Each member of Congress will be asked to support mandating judicial review of the NSA spy program by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court and to write a letter to Treasury Secretary Snow asking him to improve the Voluntary Best Practices for the US Based Charities. Senators will be asked to support the End Racial Profiling Act (ERPA) of 2005, Senate Bill 2138.

Following the lobbying meetings, APPNA will honor a number of elected officials at a 1 to 2 p.m. reception in Room 2325 Rayburn House Office Building.

On April 7th, APPNA will host a 9 a.m. to noon Leadership Training Seminar conducted by CAIR at the Wardman Park Marriott Hotel, 2660 Woodley Road NW, Washington, D.C.

"Each year, APPNA's 'Day on the Hill' offers an excellent opportunity for Pakistani-Americans to discuss issues of importance with their elected representatives," said APPNA President Dr. Abdul R. Piracha.

APPNA is a non-partisan social, educational and charitable organization for physicians of Pakistani heritage.

CONTACT: A.R. Piracha of APPNA, 304-320-2635, arpiracha@yahoo.com; Saud Anwar, info@pakpac.net; Nasir Gondal, 917-860-0808, nmgondal@aol.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor, csaylor@cair-net.org, 202-488-8787

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MORE THAN 1,000 TURN OUT FOR CAIR-MICHIGAN DINNER - TOP

(LATHRUP VILLAGE, MI - 4/3/06) - More than 1,000 people turned out on Saturday for the annual banquet and fundraiser for the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI).

The keynote speaker for the event was Dr. M. Cherif Bassiouni, distinguished research professor at DePaul University. Other speakers included CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad and David Stacy, featured guest on FX's "30 Days" program.

"This event was a great success and offered us the opportunity to share our successes as well as further articulate the vision and future plans of our organization," said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid.

Contact CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid, 248-569-2203, E-mail: director@cairmichigan.org

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-FL REP ON FREEDOM OF RELIGION - TOP

CAIR-FL Tampa Director Ahmed Bedier appeared over the weekend on Baynews 9 Political Connections' Soapbox to express his views on Freedom of Religion, Islam and the case of Afghanistan's Abdul Rahman.

TO WATCH THE VIDEO SEGMENT, CLICK BELOW:
http://ahmedbedier.com/video/060403-bedier-religious-freedom.wmv

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CAIR-LA: FBI TO HOST TOWN HALL MEETING - TOP

FBI NEWS RELEASE: The FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, in partnership with members of the FBI's Multi-Cultural Advisory Committee in Los Angeles, is hosting a town hall meeting on Saturday, April 8th, 2006, announced J. Stephen Tidwell, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles. The meeting will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Exposition Park Community Center, located at 3980 South Menlo Avenue in Los Angeles. The purpose of the meeting is to provide a forum wherein the FBI can address issues of public concern and answer questions posed by members of the community in an informal setting.

The Multi-Cultural Advisory Committee (MCAC) was formed to create an environment in which relationships are formed based on mutual respect and understanding, and through which dialogue is facilitated, between the community and the FBI. The FBI's responsibility in upholding the Constitution and civil rights of American citizens is better understood through the channels of communication that exist through organizations like the MCAC. MCAC, which will co-host the meeting, includes members from the following organizations:

* Bahai Faith- Beverly Hills Spiritual Assembly
* Muslim Public Affairs Council
* Council of Pakistan American Affairs
* Masjid Al-Fatiha of America
* Council on American Islamic Relations
* Maleki Foundation
* Free Muslims Coalition.
* Omar Ibn Al Khattab Foundation
* Inter Religious Federation for World Peace,
* Council of Pakistan-American Chamber of Commerce
* Iranian American Lawyers' Association,
* Pakistan-American Business Executives
* Islamic Society of Orange County,
* Shura Council of Southern California
* Islamic Center of Southern California
* Sikh Society
* LA County Sheriff's Advisory Council
* Syriac Orthodox Foundation
* LA Latino Muslim Association
* US COPTS Association

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CAIR-OH: 'PATH FOR PEACE' WINDS THROUGH CORRYVILLE, CLIFTON - TOP
Jessica Brown, Cincinnati Enquirer, 4/4/06
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060403/NEWS01/604030333/1056

EAST WALNUT HILLS - As people fight bloody wars in the name of religion, Teresa Robinson of Anderson Township talked to her daughter on Sunday about the importance of being peaceful.

"If someone does something bad to you, don't ever think it's because of you or because you did something wrong," she told 10-year-old Eryn. "Think that it's because of something wrong with them. I think that's what it means to be peaceful."

The Robinsons belong to the New Thought Unity Center, a church in East Walnut Hills. They were among a group of 300 Muslims, Christians and Jews who took part Sunday in the 3.8-mile Abraham Path for Peace Walk.

The walk marked the close of a 64-day national peace campaign called the Season for Nonviolence.

"I don't have to change the world. I just have to deal with me," Robinson said. "Most people just want to live peacefully and want community. That's what this peace walk is about."

The walk began at the Unity Center and wound through Corryville and Clifton, ending at the Islamic Association of Cincinnati's mosque.

Sponsored by New Thought Unity, the walk was intended to unite people of different faiths and spread a message of love and peace in the community. It is one of many local "Abraham Walks" organized around the world in reference to the Abraham Path Initiative, named for the prophet who is believed to be a spiritual forefather to Jews, Christians and Muslims.

The walks contrast with conflicts involving religion that rage in the Middle East, organizers said.

"That is about people who want to say 'I'm right, everyone else is wrong,'" said Montgomery resident Karen Dabdoub, a Muslim and member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "This is about us getting together as members of the human race." (MORE)

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DC: GU PROF TO SPEAK AT MUSLIM CONGRESSIONAL STAFFER EVENT - TOP

On April 5, the CONGRESSIONAL MUSLIM STAFFER'S ASSOCIATION (CMSA) will hold a viewing of portions of the PBS documentary "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet" followed by a discussion with the documentary's producer and a noted scholar of Islamic history.

WHO: John Voll, Professor of Islamic History, Georgetown University; Alex Kronemer, Producer "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet"
WHEN: Wednesday, April 5th from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.
WHERE: 2226 Rayburn HOB
Lunch will be served.

This CMSA inaugural event is free and open to all Members, staff, and press.

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9/11 DETAINEES IN NEW JERSEY SAY THEY WERE ABUSED WITH DOGS - TOP
Nina Bernstein, New York Times, 4/3/06
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/03/nyregion/03detain.html

The photograph, seen worldwide, is one of the defining images from Abu Ghraib: a dog strains at its leash, lunging at a terrified prisoner in an orange jumpsuit. One United States military dog handler was recently convicted of abusing detainees at Abu Ghraib, the prison in Iraq, and the court-martial of another is to start in May.

But for Ibrahim Turkmen and Akhil Sachdeva, the image evokes something closer to home: the dogs used inside the Passaic County Jail in New Jersey. The two men, plaintiffs in a pending class-action lawsuit known as Turkmen v. Ashcroft, were among hundreds of immigrant detainees held in the Passaic jail for months after 9/11 before they were cleared of links to terrorism and deported on visa violations.

Until now, lawsuits brought by former detainees against top American officials have focused attention on the maximum security unit of a federal detention center in Brooklyn where the Justice Department's inspector general found widespread abuse. But today in Toronto, as Mr. Sachdeva, a Canadian citizen born in India, gives his first deposition for the class-action lawsuit, the spotlight will shift to the New Jersey jail.

There, about 400 of the 762 mainly Muslim detainees rounded up in the United States after 9/11 were held. The lawsuit charges that the detainees' confinement was arbitrary, illegally based on their religion or national origin, and that guards routinely terrorized them with aggressive dogs. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

EARLY CASE AGAINST HAYATS IS DIMINISHED - TOP
Stephen Magagnini, Sacramento Bee, 4/2/06
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/ongoing/investigation/story/14238029p-15058569c.html

When the FBI's four-year undercover operation in Lodi's Pakistani community climaxed last June, the government thought it had struck gold in the war on terrorism.
Court documents show the FBI believed agents might have unearthed an al-Qaida cell that stretched from the San Joaquin Valley farm town all the way to Osama bin Laden.

"Wildcat," their undercover operative, placed al-Qaida's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri in Lodi in the late 1990s and added that three of the Taliban's top leaders had come to Lodi on a fundraising or money-laundering mission.

During more than a dozen hours of interrogation by FBI agents in June, Lodi ice cream truck driver Umer Hayat, 48, and his son Hamid, 23, spoke of half a dozen Lodi youths - including Hamid - who supposedly had undergone terrorist training and would take out hospitals and federal buildings on orders from an imam at the Lodi Muslim Mosque, according to an FBI summary.

Ultimately, only the Hayats themselves were arrested on terrorism-related charges.

And last week, as prosecutors rested their high-profile case against the father and son, the scenario seemed far less clear-cut.

Seven weeks into the trial, prosecutors have not raised the specter of co-conspirators or produced independent evidence that Hamid Hayat ever attended a terrorist training camp.

On Thursday, as the Hayats' defense got under way, the government agreed to stipulate there is no evidence to support claims that al-Zawahri ever came to Lodi. (MORE)

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VT. MUSLIMS TARGETED BY SCAM ARTIST - TOP
Associated Press, 4/3/06
http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060403/NEWS/604030350/1004

ESSEX - Taysir Al-Khatib thought the prayers of himself and fellow members of the Islamic Society of Vermont were being answered. The group would be able to hire a full-time imam and start a religious school.

Al-Khatib, the society's treasurer, got a call from a man who identified himself as a Saudi banker. The man said he wanted to help the Islamic Society with those projects and in the opening of a cemetery.

But within days, Al-Khatib realized he was out $2,200 and the purported benefactor was nowhere to be found.

The FBI says Al-Khatib had been targeted by Mohammed Mustafa Agbareia, a confidence man who has scammed Muslims across the country by preying on their religious teaching that they have a duty to help travelers in need.

Agbareia, whose age and real nationality the FBI has not released, told Al-Khatib of his plans to visit Vermont. Days later Agbareia called again to say he was stranded in Toronto because the bags containing his extra money had been lost on the trip from Saudi Arabia.

"He presented himself like you could believe him," Al-Khatib said. "This guy is a real professional." (MORE)

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NEW CHRISTIAN PRO-ISRAEL LOBBY AIMS TO BE STRONGER THAN AIPAC - TOP
Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz, 3/4/06
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/701583.html

NEW YORK - Televangelist John Hagee told Jewish community leaders over the weekend that the 40 million evangelical Christians in the United States support Israel and that he plans to utilize this power to help Israel by launching a Christian pro-Israel lobby.

The lobby, called, is slated to launch in July, during a Washington conference in which hundreds of American evangelicals are slated to participate, Hagee said at a meeting of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, which represents 52 national Jewish groups. He also discussed the lobby with Israel's consul general in New York, Aryeh Mekel.

Hagee said his group would be a Christian - and more powerful - version of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a large pro-Israel lobby, and would target senators and congressmen on Capitol Hill. A quarter of congressmen are evangelicals, and many American legislators represent regions that include a large evangelical population, he said.

Hagee - the founder and senior pastor of the evangelical Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, that claims an active membership of more than 18,000 - said the lobby's activities would be a "political earthquake."

SEE ALSO:

REPORT ON EFFECT OF ISRAEL LOBBY DISTORTS HISTORY, CRITICS SAY  - TOP
Michael Powell, Washington Post, 4/3/06
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/02/AR2006040201039_pf.html

Two prominent academics, a dean at Harvard and a professor at the University of Chicago, have stirred a tempest by writing a paper arguing that the Israel lobby often persuades the United States to set aside its own security to pursue the best interests of Israel.

"No lobby has managed to divert U.S. foreign policy as far from what the American national interest would otherwise suggest, while simultaneously convincing Americans that U.S. and Israeli interests are essentially the same," the authors wrote in a paper posted on the Web site of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

"The United States has a terrorism problem in good part," they add a few pages later, "because it is so closely allied with Israel, not the other way around.". . .

And they are not without academic support. Juan Cole, a professor of Middle Eastern studies at the University of Michigan, suggests the authors make commonplace points -- that U.S. Middle East policy is driven disproportionately by those who favor Israel, and that this lobby resorts to all manner of vile accusations to discredit opponents.

"There's nothing intellectually wrong with arguing that U.S. policy in the Middle East is dislodged from its natural moorings by the power of a domestic constituency," Cole said. "But most people are timid -- they don't want to be smeared and risk having their lives ruined." (MORE)

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ISRAEL AND MORAL BLACKMAIL - TOP
The Israel lobby is bringing out the big guns
Justin Raimondo, anti-war.com, 4/3/06
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=8796

The reaction to a pathbreaking - or, rather, taboo-busting - study of how and why Israel's interests came to be substituted for America's national interests in Washington policymaking circles, "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy," [.pdf] by John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, has confirmed, in part, its thesis.

"The Lobby," as the authors call it, effectively works to control the debate over our Israel-centric policy in the Middle East by ensuring that there is no debate. Congress has been captured through their exemplary use of pressure tactics, and the editorial pages of the nation's newspapers and magazines are also dominated by the Israel-Firsters, where the same imbalance prevails. In a hint of what these two distinguished scholars had to go through to get their study published, they aver: "It is hard to imagine any mainstream media outlet in the United States publishing a piece like this one."

It turns out that, before turning to Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government - where Walt is academic dean (albeit not for long) - they attempted to get a version of their study published in an American magazine:

"John Mearsheimer says that the pro-Israel lobby is so powerful that he and co-author Stephen Walt would never have been able to place their report in a American-based scientific publication. 'I do not believe that we could have gotten it published in the United States,' Mearsheimer told the Forward. He said that the paper was originally commissioned in the fall of 2002 by one of America's leading magazines, 'but the publishers told us that it was virtually impossible to get the piece published in the United States.' Most scholars, policymakers and journalists know that 'the whole subject of the Israel lobby and American foreign policy is a third-rail issue,' he said. 'Publishers understand that if they publish a piece like ours it would cause them all sorts of problems.'"

Mary-Kay Wilmers, editor of the London Review of Books - which published a shortened version - tells the Guardian that the piece "was originally written for, but rejected by, the Atlantic Monthly and picked up by the LRB, when Wilmers 'became aware of its existence.'"

In an important sense, then, it appears that, like Palestine, the American literary and political scene is Israeli-occupied territory. As Mearsheimer and Walt point out, academia, too, suffers from the pro-Israel version of the Inquisition, suffering extensive efforts to "police" campuses for evidence of "anti-Israel" sentiments. As if to verify this charge, the authors have run smack up against the campus Thought Police, with Harvard University taking the unusual step of pulling its logo from their piece, altering and making a boilerplate disclaimer more prominent, and finally announcing that Walt would be resigning shortly from his post as academic dean. (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

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AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/4/06

* Verse: Never Let Hatred Make You Depart from Justice
* CAIR: Muslim Student Attacked on Texas Campus
            - CAIR-FL: Vandals Scrawl 'Osama Binleden' on Mosque
* Action: Support Comprehensive Immigration Reform
* CAIR-CA: Gag Order Denied in Fender Bender Case
* CAIR-OH: Americans Need to Learn Other Languages
            - MI: State to Get Arabic Language Grant (Free Press)
* TV Comedy to Feature Pakistani Muslim (Daily Variety)
            - U.S. Muslim TV Network Expands into Canada

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VERSE OF THE DAY: NEVER LET HATRED MAKE YOU DEPART FROM JUSTICE - TOP

"O you who believe. . .never let the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to Piety."

The Holy Quran, 5:8

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CAIR: MUSLIM STUDENT ATTACKED ON BAYLOR CAMPUS - TOP
Tim Woods, Tribune-Herald, 4/4/06
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/04/04/04042006wacmuslimearly.html

A national champion for the rights of followers of Islam today asked that Waco law enforcement officials aggressively pursue Saturday night's attack on a Muslim Baylor University student on campus as a hate crime.

"Law enforcement authorities and university officials need to treat this disturbing incident with the seriousness it deserves," said Council on American-Islamic Relations communications director Ibrahim Hooper. "Local, state and national leaders also need to speak out against the rising level of Islamophobic hate in our society that can lead to such attacks."

Hooper also called on the FBI to investigate the incident as a hate crime.

Two recent polls indicate that almost half of Americans have a negative perception of Islam and that one in four of those surveyed have "extreme" anti-Muslim views, CAIR officials said.

A Baylor senior of South Asian heritage who was active in Muslim-Christian relations was attacked on the school's campus Saturday night, suffering multiple injuries.

Chief Jim Doak of the Baylor Department of Public Safety has confirmed that police were alerted about the attack and that the incident is being investigated, but he has refused to release further details. Neither Doak nor a university spokeswoman could immediately say whether the alleged attack will be investigated as a hate crime.

The Baylor DPS web site indicated that the attack occurred near Draper Hall between 8:45 and 9 p.m.

Rabiah Ahmed, a spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based CAIR, said the victim called them Monday and said a man, thought to be in his 30s, grabbed her hijab, an Islamic head scarf, and threw the woman to the ground. As he did, the attacker allegedly yelled anti-Muslim and ethnic slurs at the woman including "Arabian (expletive)" and "(expletive) Muslims."

When the woman screamed, her attacker reportedly slapped her and kicked her multiple times in the ribs, according to Ahmed. An emergency room examination found bruises and a dislocated shoulder, Ahmed said. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-FL: VANDALS SCRAWL 'OSAMA BINLEDEN' ON SUNRISE MOSQUE - TOP
NBC6, 4/4/06
http://www.nbc6.net/news/8462654/detail.html

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Members of a South Florida mosque are calling on local and federal authorities to investigate what they believe is a hate crime.

The Islamic Center of South Florida reported that vandals spray-painted the walls of a mosque under construction in Sunrise with the words "Osama Binleden."

Altaf Ali, of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the vandalism was discovered on Monday.

"When I saw this, I said to myself, 'Here is another example of the ignorance within our community,'" Ali said.

Ali said he is asking for additional police patrols outside Islamic institutions in South Florida.

"Unfortunately, we've seen these kinds of incidents happen over and over," he said. "Last year we had five incidents of vandalism at the Islamic center in South Florida. This year, actually two weeks ago, there was another incident involving vandalism at the Islamic center in Hollywood. Vandals spray-painted graffiti on the walls. So, of course, this is very disturbing to us because this is a place of worship. I think Muslims should have the freedoms to express their faith as any other individuals in this community." (MORE)

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CAIR ACTION ALERT #490 - TOP

SUPPORT COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM

(WASHINGTON, DC, 4/4/2006) - CAIR today called on American Muslims and other people of conscience to urge their elected officials to support humane and comprehensive immigration reform.

Last year, the U.S. House passed legislation addressing security concerns only. The Senate will be voting on its own version of immigration legislation this week.

Effective reform will address security concerns while simultaneously reforming our nation's broken immigration system.

The following reforms should be included in any comprehensive immigration reform legislation:

* A path to citizenship for immigrants earned through working, paying taxes and learning English
* Measures that regulate wages and working conditions to protect workers from being exploited
* A way to keep families intact.
* Security measures that detect and exclude terrorists while respecting basic legal protections such as judicial review and uniform enforcement of laws

Any measures punishing religious leaders for humanitarian acts toward undocumented workers, such as providing food and water, should be excluded.

"Anti-immigrant bigotry and xenophobia should not be allowed to dominate this debate," said CAIR Government Affairs Director Corey Saylor. "America's laws should reflect our nation's humanitarian ideals and immigrant origins."

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED:

Call your U.S. Senators and ask them to support immigration reform that addresses security concerns while simultaneously reforming our nation's broken immigration system.

TO CONTACT YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES, GO TO (Talking points and advice for making an effective call are provided at the website.): http://capwiz.com/cair/callalert/index.tt?alertid=8653051&type=CO

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CAIR-CA: GAG ORDER DENIED IN FENDER BENDER CASE - TOP
Dan Noyes, ABC, 4/3/06
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=i_team&id=4051404

Apr. 3 - KGO - It's been two-and-a-half weeks since we first told you about the extraordinary measures Davis Police and Yolo County prosecutors are taking to prosecute a Muslim teenager for a minor fender bender. The girl and her family were back in court today, fighting for their right to talk about what happened to them.

Gag orders in juvenile cases are normally used to protect the young person's identity, but Yolo County prosecutors pushed for one today to prevent the girl and her family from talking to us.

This is the seventh time Halema Buzayan's had to appear in court in this case -- the seventh time. She's had to skip class at Davis High where she's an honor student. It's the seventh time her father has had to miss work as a research scientist at U.C. Davis.

Jamal Buzayan, Halema's father: "I think they have an agenda that is not to serve justice, but to try to handle us in a way that will break us.". . .

The case has gotten the attention of the nation's Muslim community. Basim Elkarra is with the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Basim Elkarra, Council On American-Islamic Relations: "The community is outraged, everyone is shocked. Why, why so many hearings, why take it to this level?" (MORE)

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CAIR-OH: NEED IS SEEN FOR AMERICANS TO LEARN OTHER LANGUAGES - TOP
Kurt Moore, The Marion Star, 4/3/06
http://www.centralohio.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/BE/20060403/NEWS01/604030317/1002&template=BE

MARION - Americans can talk the talk at home, but can they do it in other nations as well?

Both the promises of a global economy and the threat of global terrorism are pushing the discussion as national leaders and foreign policy experts begin asking that question. Locally the answer is mixed.

Foreign language teachers are seeing a steady stream of students, especially in Spanish as Marion County and the state and country see an increasing number of Hispanic immigrants.

However, some languages seen as critical - such as Arabic and Chinese - are lacking locally, as one professor suggests that Americans are already behind the curve. Also, for high schools to widen what they offer it will take money - one thing many schools are lacking.

Recent discussion has been inspired by the National Security Language Initiative, a plan launched by President George W. Bush to further strengthen national security and prosperity through education, especially in developing foreign language skills.

The president is requesting $114 million in the 2007 fiscal year to fund the effort, which aims to dramatically increase the number of Americans learning critical languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Russian and others.

The need was highlighted in 2005 when government inspectors said thousands of hours of spy tapes in Arabic could not be deciphered because of a lack of Arabic translators. There are also fears that mistranslation in certain circumstances could lead to international incidents.

Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin, president of the Ohio Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, remembers watching news coverage of Iraqis voting in their country's January's election. She heard a voter repeat the phrase, "Bism Allah Al-Rahman Al-Raheem."

A correspondent translated it as "Thank God for this democracy." The correct translation is "In the name of God, the merciful." The phrase, commonly known as the Basmalah, is the first verse of the Islamic holy book, the Quran.

"Whoever translated it definitely put a political stand on it," she said.

Mobin-Uddin, a former Marion resident and Marion Catholic High School graduate, said she believes a need exists for better communication between the United States and the Arab world. She said focusing on such languages as Arabic could foster improved diplomacy. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

EMBRACING ARABIC: STATE TO GET LANGUAGE GRANT - TOP
Emilia Askari, Detroit Free Press, 4/4/06
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060404/NEWS05/604040601/-1/BUSINESS07

If she didn't live in Dearborn, Emily Schloff might not have had the opportunity to study Arabic.

Unlike Spanish and French, it's not widely taught. And even though it is an elective offered in schools in Dearborn, which has one of the largest Arab-American communities in the country, plenty of people go through life there without knowing the language.

But for 16-year-old Emily, whose family is of German and English descent, taking Arabic has been beneficial.

"It's kind of cool to go through different parts of Dearborn and be able to read the signs," she said.

President George W. Bush would like a lot more students to follow her example.

That's why Michigan is on target to receive an annual grant of about $700,000 for up to 16 years to pay teacher salaries and other costs of teaching Arabic to students in grades K-12 and college, a federal official said Monday. (MORE)

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CW IN 'ALIENS' TERRITORY - TOP
Josef Adalian, Daily Variety, 4/4/06
http://www.variety.com/av_result.asp?articleid=VR1117940926

The CW is showing some edge, greenlighting production on a half-hour comedy pilot about a Muslim foreign exchange student who moves in with a Wisconsin family.

Dubbed "Aliens in America," the single-camera laffer from "Just Shoot Me" scribes Moses Port and David Guarascio will begin production in June and is in contention for a midseason slot on the CW. NBC Universal Television Studio is producing. . .

"Aliens" is set in Altoona, Wis., where Justin Hobgood is an awkward, lanky 16-year-old having trouble fitting in at school. His mom hears about the school's foreign exchange program and signs up her family, figuring the new arrival will give her son a hipness transplant.

Things don't go as planned, however, when the exchange student turns out to be a Pakistani Muslim who wears a kufi on his head and a shalwar kameez over his body.

SEE ALSO:

BRIDGES TV EXPANDS TO BASIC CABLE AND INTO CANADA - TOP
Expansion gives unprecedented voice to Arab and Muslim Americans/Canadians
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060404/phtu009a.html

DETROIT, April 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Bridges TV has transitioned from a premium pay channel to basic cable on several cable and satellite systems, including WOW! Cable, Buckeye Cable, Shrewsbury Cable, Verizon FiOS TV and Globecast Satellite. This covers cable markets in Detroit, Chicago, Toledo, Columbus, Boston, Dallas, Tampa and Washington D.C. Bridges TV has also been approved by the Canadian Radio & Television Commission (CRTC) to start broadcasting in Canada, where it will soon launch on Rogers Cable. The Ford Motor Company of Dearborn, Michigan has made this expansion possible with a charter sponsorship.

The launch of Bridges TV as a free channel on basic cable comes at a time when Middle Eastern and South Asian communities around the world are in the spotlight. Most recently, the controversy around the management of American ports by Dubai Ports and worldwide protests against the publication of satirical cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad have highlighted deep divisions between Western and Middle Eastern/South Asian cultures. (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

-----

To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org

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AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/5/06

* Verse: Remember God
* CAIR-DC Summer Internship Program
            - CAIR Job Opportunity: Chapter Director
* CAIR-CA Meets with State Dept. Delegation from Germany
* CAIR: Boykin Promotion Would Send 'Negative Message' to Muslims
            - VA: Rivals Attack Nod to Outspoken Army General
* DC: Muslim Congressional Staffers Hold Inaugural Event (Roll Call)
* TX: Muslim Student Believes Attacker Came From Off Campus
            - TX: Muslim Student Reports Attack on Baylor Campus (AP)
* FL: Vandals Deface Mosque Under Construction (Sun-Sentinel)
            - FL: Vandalism at Sunrise Mosque Feared a Hate Crime (CBS)
* MN: American Imam on MPR
* GA: School Teaches Arabic, Diversity (Atlanta Journal)
            - Yale University Develops Online Arabic Library
* Flashback: Muslims Protected Rwandan Massacre Victims (NYT)

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VERSE OF THE DAY: REMEMBER GOD - TOP

"Remember Me, and I will remember you."

The Holy Quran, 2:152

HADITH OF THE DAY: REMEMBER GOD'S GLORY

A person once said to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): "The laws of Islam are too much for me, so tell me something that I can follow easily." The Prophet told him: "Let your tongue be always busy remembering God's beauty, majesty and glory (dhikr)."

Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 4, Number 99

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CAIR-DC SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM - TOP

WHAT: Exciting, 10-week, paid internship opportunity for high school graduates available at America's largest Muslim civil liberties group. The program focuses on civil rights, public relations, research, community outreach, and government affairs.

WHO: CAIR is looking for dedicated men and women who want to become the next generation of Muslim leaders in America. To receive a stipend, applicants must be U.S. citizens, permanent residents or have the appropriate visas and/or work permits. Interns are responsible for arranging their own housing.

WHERE: CAIR National Headquarters on Capitol Hill.

WHEN: The internship program runs from the 1st Monday of June to the 3rd Friday of August, 2006, 40 hours per week minimum commitment. Application deadline: April 30, 2006. For an Application, e-mail internship@cair-net.org or call 202-488-8787, ext. 6052.

SEE ALSO:

CAIR JOB OPPORTUNITY: CHAPTER DIRECTOR - TOP
CAIR is seeking a full-time Chapter Director based in Washington, D.C.

Chapter Director: The successful candidate will be responsible for developing, coordinating and supporting CAIR's chapters nationwide. The coordinators responsibilities will include but not be limited to: Publicize and organize new chapters in different states across the US, Communicate with existing chapters on current issues and activities, Organize training for chapter personnel, Organize chapter events/assist chapters in their events.

This position requires extensive travel on weekends.

Qualifications: The ideal candidate should have substantive (3-5 years) organizational and supervisory experience. The applicant should be a self starter with excellent oral communication skills in English. The ability to work quickly and well under pressure, along with building positive community relationships is desired. A college degree in management or related field is preferred. Must be willing to travel when required.

TO APPLY: All those interested and eligible to work in US (Citizens or proper work visa holders) are encouraged to apply in confidence via email to: hr@cair-net.org, or by fax 202 488 0833. No phone calls please. When applying via email please ensure to write the position title of the position that you are applying for in the subject line of the email.

By Mail to
HR Department - CAIR
453 New Jersey Ave SE
Washington DC 20003

Salary Range: Based on skills and experience

CAIR is an equal opportunity employer and offers an excellent health and dental benefit plan for its full time employees.

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CAIR-SV MEETS WITH STATE DEPARTMENT DELEGATION FROM GERMANY - TOP

(SACRAMENTO, CA, 4/5/06) - On Monday, April 3, the Council on American-Islamic Relations Sacramento Valley Chapter (CAIR-SV) met with a delegation German political and cultural leaders to examine educational and immigrant issues. The delegation was invited to the United States under the auspices of the Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program.

The objective of the meeting was to examine the integration of immigrants into the social, economic, and political fabric of the U.S. and the relationship between the U.S. government and the Muslim community in the post-9/11 era.

"It is our hope that the experience of the American Muslim community can serve as a model for the Muslim minorities throughout Europe," said CAIR-SV Executive Director Basim Elkarra.

The delegation included a member of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, a policy advisor to a member of the European Parliament, a member of the Greens Party, and a professor of multicultural education.

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 32 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: Basim Elkarra, 916-441-6269, E-Mail: sacval@cair.com

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CAIR: ALLEN'S LETTER TOUTING GENERAL STIRS UP RELIGION, POLITICS - TOP
Dale Eisman, Virginian-Pilot, 4/5/06
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=102558&ran=222029

WASHINGTON - His career apparently stalled after superiors chided him for casting the war on terrorism in religious terms, Army Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin on Tuesday was caught up in a campaign for the U.S. Senate and a budding contest for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

A letter from U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., urging Boykin's promotion and transfer to a high-profile assignment drew howls of outrage from a potential Democratic challenger to Allen.

Boykin's past comments about Muslims "are inappropriate and reckless, and George Allen knows it," said Harris Miller, one of two Democrats vying for their party's nomination to oppose Allen's re-election. . .

Boykin, the Pentagon's deputy undersecretary for intelligence, has kept a low profile since the Defense Department inspector general concluded in 2004 that he violated regulations by failing to get clearance for speeches he made - in uniform - in several churches.

Referring to a Somali warlord, who had said God would shield him from American troops, Boykin told congregants that "I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol."

Boykin later insisted that his references to an idol referred to the warlord's corruption. He is not "anti-Islam," he insisted.

In a three-page letter sent last week to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Allen urged Boykin's appointment to head the U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa, Fla. The command is home for the military's most elite fighters and has been prominent in the terror war.

Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Boykin's promotion "would send a negative message to the Muslim world." (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

VA: RIVALS ATTACK ALLEN'S NOD TO OUTSPOKEN ARMY GENERAL - TOP
Peter Hardin, Times-Dispatch, 4/5/06
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137835152670

WASHINGTON - Sen. George Allen caught some political flak yesterday for backing a controversial Army general to lead the U.S. Special Operations Command.

Allen's difference of opinion with fellow Virginia Republican Sen. John W. Warner, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, gave Allen foes some ammunition.

Allen recommended Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin for the special-operations post in Tampa, Fla. Boykin is the Pentagon's deputy undersecretary for intelligence.

He drew criticism in 2003 after making church speeches in which he painted the war on terrorism as a Christian fight against Satan and suggested that Muslims worship idols. He later apologized for the characterizations.

Warner made clear this week that Boykin is not among those he'd recommend for the job, and Allen foes highlighted Warner's stance yesterday.

"I agree with Senator Warner that General Boykin is not the right person for the job, and as senator, I will never play political games with the security of our citizens," said Democrat Harris Miller. He hit Allen for a "divisive and partisan approach" and labeled Boykin's past comments "reckless." (MORE)

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DC: MUSLIM STAFFERS GROUP TO SCREEN DOCUMENTARY - TOP
Roll Call, 4/5/06
http://www.rollcall.com/

[NOTE: Dozens of staffers representing both houses of Congress attended today's event.]

The new Congressional Muslim Staffers Association aims to "increase outreach and awareness" with its first event today.

The event, which will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. in room 2226 of the Rayburn House Office Building and include lunch, will be a screening of the PBS documentary "Muhammed: Legacy of a Prophet," produced by Alex Kronemer.

The documentary chronicles the life of Muhammed and interviews modern Muslims about what Muhammed means to them.

Following the screening, Kronemer and Islamic History professor John Voll of Georgetown University will be available for a question and answer discussion.

The newly formed association is a small group of Muslim staffers on Capitol Hill who meet to discuss issues of faith and community.

Jameel Aalim-Johnson, who appears in the documentary and says he is the temporary president of the association, said that members wanted to form the association because "most people still don't know that much about Islam."

He said the association was spurred on especially in the wake of the Danish cartoon scandal to educate people about the religion and the followers of Muhammed and to dispel what he called some of the "misinformation put out by people who are against Islam." (MORE)

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MUSLIM STUDENT BELIEVES ATTACKER CAME FROM OFF CAMPUS - TOP
Tim Woods and Terri Jo Ryan, Waco Tribune, 4/5/06
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/04/05/04052006wacmuslim.html

A Muslim woman who said she was assaulted on the Baylor University campus Saturday night said Tuesday that she doesn't believe her attacker is a Baylor student.

Nohayia Javed, a 19-year-old senior who has been at Baylor since 2003, said she was attacked near the Draper Academic Building about 8:45 p.m. by a clean-shaven white man in his 30s, weighing about 200 pounds, with buzz-cut blondish-brown hair. She said he was wearing jeans and steel-toed cowboy boots.

The incident, which wasn't reported immediately, has sparked the condemnation of the Washington, D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights organization. The group's communications director, Ibrahim Hooper, said law enforcement officials, including the FBI, should investigate the attack as a hate crime.

Javed, a Chicago native of South Asian heritage, said that as she was walking Saturday night from the Student Union Building to her dorm room in Dawson Residence Hall, a man grabbed her hijab - a Muslim head scarf - and pulled her to the ground while making anti-Muslim and ethnic slurs "in a really Southern, very pronounced, noticeable accent."

She said the man told her to keep quiet or he would kill her. She added that the quickness and ferocity of the attack shocked her into silence.

"But when he dug his nails into my chest, reflexively I screamed," Javed said. "And once I started screaming, I could not stop."

She said her attacker responded to her screams by slapping her and kicking her multiple times in the ribs before running away.

"I could tell that he wasn't familiar with campus because he didn't seem to know where to run," she said. "He ran in a kind of circle before he found his way out."

Baylor's interim vice president for student life, Dub Oliver, said Baylor's Department of Public Safety was notified of the reported assault at about 5 p.m. Sunday. He said "the university is treating this incident very seriously and is in the process of investigating the matter in cooperation with law enforcement agencies."

CAIR spokeswoman Rabiah Ahmed said the group's legal affairs office contacted the FBI and asked them to investigate the matter as a hate crime. The FBI's Web site states that to qualify as a hate crime, "the offender's criminal act must have been motivated, in whole or in part, by his/her bias." (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

MUSLIM STUDENT REPORTS ATTACK ON BAYLOR CAMPUS - TOP
Associated Press, 4/5/06
http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4726996&nav=1TjD

WACO, Texas Baylor University police are investigating a report by a Muslim student who says she was attacked on campus.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations has asked the F-B-I to investigate the attack as a hate crime.

The student says was walking alone Saturday night when a white man grabbed her head scarf. He threw her on the ground and yelled ethnic slurs at her.

The man slapped her face, kicked her ribs and threatened to kill her if she made noise.

The student reported she screamed and he ran away. She was able to drive to the emergency room and was treated for a dislocated shoulder and other injuries.

Baylor is the world's largest Baptist university.

In a statement today, Baylor officials said the university is "treating the reported incident very seriously."

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CAIR-FL: VANDALS DEFACE MOSQUE UNDER CONSTRUCTION - TOP
Sun-Sentinel, 4/5/06
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-c3bdig05apr05,0,3846159.story

Police are investigating on Tuesday the defacement this week of a mosque under construction, as members of the local Muslim community called for the matter to be handled as a hate crime.

The words "Osama binleden" were discovered spray-painted on a wall Monday morning at the Islamic Center of South Florida, under construction in the 5400 block of Northwest 108th Avenue, according to Sunrise Police spokesman Lt. Robert Voss.

A report for criminal mischief was filed Monday evening.

The Florida office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations released a statement calling for both Sunrise police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to pursue the matter as a hate crime, saying the nature of the graffiti indicated a specific bias.

Voss said his department had not yet been in contact with the federal agency, as the investigation had just been initiated.

SEE ALSO:

VANDALISM AT SUNRISE MOSQUE FEARED A HATE CRIME - TOP
Carey Codd, CBS, 4/4/06
http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_094160235.html

Members of a Sunrise mosque are asking the public and the FBI to get involved in investigating an act of vandalism on their building this week.

Monday, the words 'Osama Binleden' were found spray-painted on one of the Islamic Center of South Florida's walls located at 5457 Northwest 108th Avenue in Sunrise. An electrical box was also found damaged at the site of the building, which is still under construction. Officials believe the vandalism was done sometime overnight and fear this might be a possible hate crime.

For this reason the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) have become involved and are publicly requesting that federal and local agencies get involved in investigating this as a possible hate crime.

"The nature of the graffiti in this incident would seem to indicate the possibility of a bias motive," said CAIR-FL Executive Director Altaf Ali. "We urge the FBI to assist local law enforcement authorities in resolving this case and assuring the security of Florida Muslims."

CAIR is also asking for increased police patrols outside Islamic institutions in South Florida. (MORE)

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AMERICAN IMAM - TOP
Minnesota Public Radio, 4/3/06
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/04/03/midmorning2/

Midmorning talks with an American Muslim cleric about the climate for Muslims under the Patriot Act, and America's perception of the Islamic faith.

Guests: Imam Johari Abdul-Malik: Chair of the Coordinating Council of Muslim Organizations and head of government relations for the Muslim Alliance of North America. He was the first Muslim to serve as a chaplain in higher education, at Howard University.

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SCHOOL TEACHES ARABIC, APPRECIATION OF DIVERSITY - TOP
Bob Andres, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/5/06
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/northfulton/stories/0405arabic.html

The Amana Academy, a tuition-free, public Fulton County charter school in Roswell, is believed to be the only elementary school in Georgia to offer Arabic language studies.

Principal Shereen Salam is quick to point out that Amana Academy is not an Arab or Muslim school.

"A firm command of Arabic is only one of our mission statements," she said.

Salam wants the school to appeal to mainstream students. She believes that immersing children in a diverse environment at a young age is the best way for them to understand and appreciate other cultures, and helps to bridge cultural barriers.

The school uses the Georgia Elementary School Foreign Languages Model for teaching the Arabic language, offering 30 to 45 minutes of mandatory Arabic language instruction each day.

Arabic is one of the hardest languages to learn, experts say. Reading is from right to left, and the symbols in its 28-character alphabet bear no resemblance to the ABCs.

Arabic is one of six official languages of the United Nations, and teaching it, Salam says, provides one of the skills students need to become world leaders. According to a recent story in the Los Angeles Times, Arabic is the fastest-growing spoken language of study at U.S. colleges and universities. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

YALE UNIVERSITY DEVELOPS ONLINE ARABIC LIBRARY - TOP
David Shelby, Washington File, 4/4/06
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2006&m=April&x=20060404173417ndyblehs0.1197016

Washington -- Library administrators at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, are cataloging Middle Eastern journals from libraries in the United States, Europe and the Middle East and converting Arabic-language texts to a digital storage medium in a project to create a virtual library of Middle Eastern culture.

Project manager Ann Okerson said technological developments during the past 15 years have changed the way information is published, collected and shared. But even though many Western libraries have been working to make their collections accessible on the Internet for more than a decade, she says, the Middle East is at the beginning of that process. (MORE)

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FLASHBACK: MUSLIMS PROTECTED RWANDA MASSACRE VICTIMS - TOP
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/khtml/2004/04/05/international/20040406_RWAN_AUDIOSS.html

A New York Times report from the 10-year anniversary of the Rwanda massacres.

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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

-----

To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org

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AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/6/06

* Verse: A Reward That Will Never Fail
* CAIR-CA to Host Youth Media Activism Workshop
* CAIR-DFW: TX Muslims to Call for Tolerance After Baylor Attack
            - FBI Joins Baylor Police in 'Hate Crime' Investigation
* CAIR-FL: Mosque Defacing Part of Ongoing Hate Spree
* CAIR-Chicago: Student Project Bring Jews, Muslims Together
            - CA: Shared Belief of Tolerance (Tribune News)
* NJ: Centers Help Muslim Domestic Abuse Victims (Herald News)
* MD: Candidate Hopes to Encourage Muslim Voters (Wash Post)
* MN: Scarves Given Out to Raise Awareness about Islam (Star Trib)
            - TX: Muslims Open Doors to Share Faith (Dallas Morning News)
            - NE: Somali Refugees Add to Cultural Mix
* IL: Profs Spark 'Israel Lobby' Firestorm (Chicago Trib)
* Amnesty: Front Companies Used in Secret Flights to Torture

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VERSE OF THE DAY: A REWARD THAT WILL NEVER FAIL - TOP

"Say thou (O Prophet Muhammad): 'I am but a mortal like you. It has been revealed to me that your God is the One God. Go then straight toward Him and seek His forgiveness.' Woe unto those who ascribe divinity to aught beside Him (and to) those who do not spend in charity and who even deny the truth of the life to come. (But) for those who have attained to faith and work deeds of righteousness is a reward that will never fail."

The Holy Quran, 41:6-8

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CAIR-SFBA TO HOST YOUTH MEDIA ACTIVISM WORKSHOP - TOP

(SANTA CLARA, CA, 4/7/06) - On April 22, the Council on American-Islamic Relations San Francisco Bay Area (CAIR-SFBA) will host the second of a quarterly series of Youth Leadership Workshops to be held at the Muslim Community Association at 3003 Scott Boulevard in Santa Clara.

CAIR-SFBA's "Intro to Media Activism" workshop will focus on introducing Muslim youth to an overview of print, radio, film, internet, and television media. The workshop will involve group activities and a field trip to tour the NBC3 studio in San Jose.

The workshops are designed to encourage civic, social and political activism in Muslim youth of America. This 2006 youth educational initiative will conclude later in the year with the CAIR-California 2nd Annual Youth Leadership Conference to be held at the state capitol in Sacramento, California!

Speaking to our group will be Zaki Hasan, a filmmaker and teacher at SJSU, Jonathan Jones, journalist for the Argus, Gina Hotta from KPFA Radio, and a panel of Muslims media activists from the Bay Area.

REGISTER TODAY: $10/per person, limited seating (covers lunch and field trip, no one will be turned away for lack of funds)

WHAT: Youth Leadership Workshop Series, 2nd Session: Intro to Media Activism
WHEN: April 22, 2006, 10 AM - 5 PM (registration begins at 9:30 AM)
WHERE: Muslim Community Association, 3003 Scott Blvd. Santa Clara. Women's Lounge
WHO: Open to all high school students and first years of college.
CONTACT: Amina Ansari, Program Manager at amina@cair.com or 408-986-9874

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CAIR-DFW: TX MUSLIMS TO CALL FOR TOLERANCE AFTER BAYLOR ATTACK - TOP

(DALLAS, TX, 4/6/2006) - On Friday, April 7, the Dallas-Fort Worth office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-DFW) will hold a news conference in Waco, Texas, to call for increased efforts to promote racial and religious tolerance following a recent assault on a female Muslim student at Baylor University.

The perpetrator of the attack reportedly used racist and anti-Muslim slurs, which prompted the FBI to offer its assistance in the investigation.

WHAT: CAIR-DFW News Conference on Racial and Religious Tolerance
WHEN: Friday, April 7, 10 a.m.
WHERE: Islamic Center of Waco, 2725 Benton Drive, Waco, Texas
CONTACT: CAIR-DFW Director Saffia Meek, (972) 241-7233, 972-841-5067

Speakers at Friday's news conference will include representatives of CAIR-DFW, the local Muslim community and Baylor University.

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 32 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.

SEE ALSO:

FBI JOINS BAYLOR POLICE IN 'HATE CRIME' INVESTIGATION - TOP
Monica Oritz Uribe, Waco Tribune, 4/6/06
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/04/06/04062006wacfbimuslimstudent.html

The FBI is now assisting Baylor University police in investigating Saturday's reported assault of a Muslim student on campus.

Chief Jim Doak of the Baylor Department of Public Safety announced the collaboration Wednesday, said Baylor spokeswoman Lori Fogleman.

"We have had an FBI representative on campus with us throughout the day and will continue to work with the agency as this process goes forward," Doak said Wednesday.

Nohayia Javed, 19, a Chicago native of South Asian heritage, Sunday reported to Baylor police that she had been assaulted the night before by a white man in his mid-30s.

She said the man made anti-Muslim and ethnic slurs "in a really Southern, very pronounced, noticeable accent" as he pulled her to the ground kicking, slapping and digging his nails into her skin.

Al Siddiq, a leader of the local Muslim community and president of the Islamic Center of Waco, said Wednesday that he was relieved to learn the FBI had joined the investigation. He said it was a sign that the Baylor administration was "no longer in denial that this is a hate crime."

Siddiq said campus administrators had not initially given the incident enough attention or concern because the student assaulted was not "a blond, white girl."

Meanwhile, officials from the Dallas office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations are heading to Waco on Friday to make their own assessment of the situation, he added.

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CAIR-FL: MOSQUE DEFACING PART OF ONGOING HATE SPREE - TOP
Ashley Fantz, Miami Herald, 4/6/06
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/14273637.htm

The weekend defacing of a Muslim prayer hall and a new audit of hate crimes against Jews brought into relief the continuing threats against Muslim and Jewish houses of worship in South Florida.

On Sunday, volunteers for the Islamic Center of South Florida discovered that vandals had sprayed the words "Osama BinLeden" in yellow paint on a wall of their new school, gymnasium and prayer hall, which are under construction in the 5400 block of Northwest 108th Avenue in Sunrise.

"Incidents like this aren't going to stop us," said Syed Rahman, a spokesperson for the center. ``If anything, this will underscore the importance of reaching out to the different religious communities so that we all come together to denounce acts of hate.''

The Anti-Defamation League released an audit on Wednesday indicating that hate crimes against Jews increased statewide last year, from 173 in 2004 to 199 in 2005.

In Weston alone, between January 2005 and March 2006, a dozen bomb threats were made to synagogues, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office.

One temple director contacted by The Miami Herald, who asked that his name not be published, said a school at his synagogue regularly conducts bomb drills.

''There are religious customs,'' said Andrew Rosenkranz, the Anti-Defamation League's Florida regional director. "Unfortunately, in the world today there is another custom -- and it's security. Everyone has got to do it."

FIVE INCIDENTS

At least five incidents of vandalism in South Florida involved mosques or places of Muslim worship last year, said Altaf Ali, of Pembroke Pines.

The 41-year-old is the Florida director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Founded in 1994, the national organization monitors hate crimes against Muslims, which have been on the rise since Sept. 11. (MORE)

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CAIR-CHICAGO: INCHING TOWARD UNDERSTANDING - TOP
Tara Malone, Daily Herald, 4/6/06
http://www.dailyherald.com/story.asp?id=174847

Born in Belarus and raised in Buffalo Grove, surrounded by Jewish immigrants like himself, Jacob Katz grew up knowing little of Islam and less of Muslims.

Television shows and movies taught Sharif Murphy about Judaism, a lesson the Muslim man from Hoffman Estates knew was incomplete.

Naperville's Julia Geynisman tired of watching Jewish and Muslim students clash, driven by tensions rooted thousands of miles away in the Middle East.

Together, these University of Illinois at Chicago students are trying to unravel the knot of conflict among Jews and Muslims one conversation at a time.

Katz, Murphy and Geynisman are among the suburban students trying to get students at the Chicago campus talking about what they share, rather than shouting about what they don't. . .

"It's a good starting point, but it should definitely not be where the dialogue ends," said Ahmed Rehab, executive director for the Council on American Islamic Relations in Chicago. "The goal is to build enough trust where the two groups can talk about issues that are very important to both of them." (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

SHARED BELIEF OF TOLERANCE - TOP
Nick Wilson, Tribune News, 4/6/06
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/14276456.htm

About 50 people, mostly students, attended the invite-only event Wednesday. Organizers limited the size to keep the discussion intimate, said teacher Geoffrey Land, who helped students put together the program over the last three months.

The panel talked about the differences and commonalities among Islam, Christianity and Judaism.

The speakers addressed how religion can divide and unite people, depending on how it's interpreted. (MORE)

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CRISIS CENTERS HELP MUSLIM WOMEN AND OTHERS SUFFERING FROM DOMESTIC ABUSE - TOP
Makeba Scott Hunter, Herald News, 4/6/06
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzNTkmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY5MTIwNjQmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkz

Founded in fall 2004, WAFA House (Women Against Family Abuse) is a privately run domestic violence crisis center based in Paterson that caters primarily to the needs of women of South Asian, Arabic and/or Muslim descent. The Arabic word "wafa" translates to "sincerity," "faithfulness" or "to have hope," and the organization has come to be known as a place where a Muslim woman can find all three.

The rate of domestic abuse in the Muslim community is about the same as in the general population -- about 18 percent, according to a 2000 study performed by Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., a rate comparable to the national average. It tends, however, to be more hidden, says Dorria Fahmy, WAFA's founder and executive director.

"There is a mindset that you don't talk about things outside of the home," says Fahmy, explaining the thinking that inhibits some women from seeking help. "There is concern that taking these issues outside of the community somehow contradicts religious teachings."

The need for organizations like WAFA House is especially great in New Jersey, which is home to an estimated 10 percent of the U.S. Muslim population, according to the New Jersey branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"The issues that we face are quite unique," says Lakshmi Rajagopal, a coordinator at Manavi, New Jersey's oldest Muslim-focused domestic abuse center. "Among those are the dynamics of violence in the community. The way that violence manifests requires an understanding of the culture, the family structures and the people that abuse comes from." (MORE)

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MD: CANDIDATE HOPES TO ENCOURAGE MUSLIM VOTERS - TOP
Nancy Trejos and Tim Craig, Washington Post, 4/6/06

Tufail Ahmad, a Montgomery County businessman and community leader, will announce on Tuesday that he is running for an at-large seat on the Montgomery County Council, according to a statement put out by his campaign.

Ahmad, a Pakistani American and Democrat, is the latest in a string of minorities hoping to be elected to the council this year.

The council currently has just one non-white member, Tom Perez (D-Silver Spring), the son of Dominican immigrants.

But Perez may run for state attorney general instead of seeking reelection to the council.

Ahmad, of Potomac, has said in the past that he hopes his entry into the race will encourage more Muslims -- a growing segment of the county population -- to vote.

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SCARVES GIVEN OUT TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT ISLAM - TOP
Aisha Eady, Star Tribune, 4/6/06
http://www.startribune.com/462/story/354038.html

The scarves distributed outside the Coffman Memorial Union building were part of an effort to promote a Thursday night lecture, "Gender Equity in Islam and America" by Dr. Lisa Zainab Killinger, sponsored by the Muslim student group Al Madinah.

Both events were designed to help women of other religions to understand what it might feel like to be Muslim in the United States, said student event planner Susan Samaha.

Alexandra Mayo-Cullen, who works in Human Resources at the U, said that before taking a hijab she felt the custom was "a little bit oppressive because I don't see the men wearing it." But after talking with the students, who dressed her in the hijab, she looked pleased.

SEE ALSO:

MUSLIMS OPEN DOORS TO SHARE THEIR FAITH - TOP
Beth Freed, Dallas Morning News, 4/6/06
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/collin/plano/stories/DN-nuplislamic_06cco.ART.North.Edition2.9ff99af.html

Even though the Islamic Association of Collin County did not use the word "diversity" to describe its open house, it showed up in true form.

"We hope this will be a beneficial, informative exercise," said Abdul Khan, an organizer of the open house.

The Sisters Committee greeted visitors and provided a plastic bag for the removal of shoes. Removing one's shoes satisfies two purposes in Islamic worship. First, worship requires ablution, or self-cleansing. Muslims typically wash their face, hands, arms and feet before praying so that they are rid of any impurities in the presence of Allah (God). Second, the removal of shoes also protects the plush carpet of the prayer rooms, which have no seats or pews to disguise tread on the floor.

Visitors toured the facility, which features calligraphy of Quranic phrases painted on the walls, arabesque domes and decorated arches. Islam forbids representations of Allah or his prophet Muhammad, because Muslims distinguish between worshipping the creator and the creation. In Islam, men and women worship separately. Separate kitchens, bath areas and classrooms also accommodate this practice.

Muslims believe that men and women both have power and responsibility, but that it differs, said Noor Sadeh, who presented a lecture titled "Women in Islam" and participated in the panel discussion. She said most Muslim women do not feel inferior to their husbands. They are educated, work and have their own money, which their husband is not entitled to.

Ms. Sadeh said many Muslim women do not feel oppressed by their traditional dress - the hijab or headscarf and covering clothing - but they feel reassured that a man talks to them because of how they think, not how they look.

Khalil Meek , who presented "The Commonalities of Religions," grew up planning to be a Baptist preacher, which his presentation style reflected. In his talk, Mr. Meek detailed that Muslims believe in such biblical figures as Adam, Noah and Jesus.

He said the goal of his talk was to "break the ignorance that feeds negative stereotypes."

A question-and-answer session followed the presentations. Some visitors came to the table with serious concerns about violence in the world.

All of the speakers expressed the sentiment that some Muslims can twist their faith to validate their actions, but that terrorists around the world are not practicing the faith as it should be. (MORE)

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SOMALIAN REFUGEES ADD TO COMMUNITY'S CULTURAL MIX - TOP
Barb Bierman Batie, Lexington Clipper Herald, 4/6/06
http://www.lexch.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16429164&BRD=284&PAG=461&dept_id=558509&rfi=6

LEXINGTON - In a community where the ethnic mix has grown exponentially since 1990, human service agencies are gearing up for the arrival of another group of immigrants.

Friday Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. hosted a cultural awareness seminar focusing on the newest wave of immigrants, those from Africa, particularly Somalian refugees.

Conducting the seminar was Fardusa Council, a native of Somalia and a Tyson employee specializing in ethnic awareness.

Council, the daughter of Somalian diplomats, noted her family moved around a lot, spending time in India and all over Europe. She arrived in Nebraska with her Air Force husband and prior to joining Tyson, worked for the Lutheran Refugee Resettlement Program. She has been in Norfolk working with Somalian immigrants in that community and when the Tyson facility closed there, she accepted a transfer to Tyson's Emporia, Kan., plant. She will continue to assist Tyson plants around the country as more Somalians and other Africans immigrant to the United States. (MORE)

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2 PROFS SPARK POLITICAL FIRESTORM - TOP
Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune, 4/6/06
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0604060188apr06,1,7426220.story

A University of Chicago professor has ignited an intellectual firestorm in halls of ivy and corridors of power with an essay in a highbrow British journal.

Writing in the London Review of Books, John Mearsheimer, a U. of C. political scientist, and his academic partner, Harvard University professor Stephen Walt, offered a simple diagnosis for what ails U.S. foreign policy.

How did we get involved in a seemingly endless Iraq war? Why are we reviled in Muslim countries and targeted by terrorists?

"Why," they asked, "has the United States been willing to set aside its own security in order to advance the interests of another state?"

Mearsheimer and Walt say a vocal and well-financed lobby--made up of Jewish organizations and Christian fundamentalists, political fundraisers, media outlets and neo-conservatives--gets Washington to slavishly do Israel's bidding.

Mearsheimer and Walt's thesis, published late last month, has provoked both applause and a torrent of criticism. It also has inspired several spinoff counter-conspiracy theories.

When Walt recently stepped down as dean of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, some speculated he was forced out because the university was taking heat for their essay, "The Israel Lobby." Harvard published a news release saying the change long had been in the works. Both Harvard and the U. of C. have argued universities must be a forum for controversial ideas like those discussed in the essay. (MORE)

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USA: FRONT COMPANIES USED IN SECRET FLIGHTS TO TORTURE AND "DISAPPEARANCE" - TOP
Amnesty International, 4/5/06
http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGAMR510542006

Amnesty International today released a new report which exposes a covert operation whereby people have been arrested or abducted, transferred and held in secret or handed over to countries where they have faced torture and other ill-treatment. The report describes how the CIA has used private aircraft operators and front companies to preserve the secrecy of "rendition" flights.

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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

-----

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/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/7/2006) - A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator of a recent assault on a female Muslim student at Baylor University in Texas.

The Dallas-Fort Worth office of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-DFW) made that announcement at a news conference held this morning in Waco, Texas, to call for increased efforts to promote racial and religious tolerance following the Saturday night assault.

In that incident, a Baylor University senior of South Asian heritage says she was attacked while walking through the university's campus. The perpetrator of the attack reportedly used racist and anti-Muslim slurs, which prompted the FBI to get involved in the investigation.

SEE: Muslim BU Student: Need for Greater Tolerance is Crucial

"We ask anyone with information about this case to come forward and help bring the perpetrator to justice," said CAIR-DFW Board Member Mustafaa Carroll. He said the identity of the informant may be kept confidential.

Carroll also thanked Baylor University officials and law enforcement authorities for their support.

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 32 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
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/

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/9/06

* Hadith: Whoever Plants a Tree is Rewarded by God
* CAIR-CA Youth Member Dreams of Being a Lawyer (Sac Bee)
* CAIR: Reward Offered in Attack on TX Muslim Student
            - CAIR-Philly Holds 'Muhammad' Open House
            - CAIR-OH: 'Muhammad' Screening Sunday (Enquirer)
* TX: Hispanic Missionaries Used to Target Muslim Countries
* MA: Court Rules for Muslim Inmate (Boston Globe)
            - CA: Muslim City Worker Claims Religious Harassment
            - CA: FBI Seeks to Address Muslim Civil Rights Concerns (AP)
* Book Review: American Muslim Women's Lives Explored
            - IL: Muslim Woman Offers Prayer to Open State Senate
* MD: Muslim Groups Offer Health Fair (Baltimore Sun)

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HADITH OF THE DAY: WHOEVER PLANTS A TREE IS REWARDED BY GOD - TOP

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "(Whoever) plants a (fruit-bearing) tree gains a reward (from God equal to that of) a charitable gift for what is eaten from the tree (including what is stolen by others and what animals eat). (Even) such losses will be counted as a charitable gift on his part."

Sahih Muslim, Hadith 735

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PORTRAITS: 'I KNOW WHO I AM' - TOP
Bob Sylva, Sacramento Bee, 4/9/06
http://www.sacbee.com/content/lifestyle/story/14240390p-15060177c.html

Her name is Annem Khan. She is 17, a senior at St. Francis High School. She is a Muslim girl who prays five times a day, who also text-messages her friends. She embodies a bold, old sensibility.

"Whenever you see some Muslim reference, it's always negative," she says. "It's always about a terrorist. That's what makes the news. That's what's exploited. It reflects badly on the millions of Muslims in the world who are disgusted with the violence."

Given that unfortunate distortion, Annem is not afraid to be a defender of the faith. "I get a lot of questions," she says. "I'm very open about my religion. I'm very comfortable with who I am. I am not the stereotypical image that you see." . . .

Annem, a youth member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, is active in the Sacramento Area League of Associated Muslims and works after school at a local law firm. "Nothing prevents a Muslim woman from going into the world to realize her dreams," says Annem. Her dream is to be a lawyer. (MORE)

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CAIR: REWARD OFFERED IN ATTACK ON MUSLIM BAYLOR STUDENT - TOP
Terri Jo Ryan, Waco Tribune-Herald, 4/8/06
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/04/08/04082006wacmuslimPress.html

The national board of the Council on American-Islamic Relations on Friday announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the man who assaulted a female Muslim student at Baylor University on April 1.

The Dallas-Fort Worth office of the Washington-based advocacy group called for increased efforts to promote racial and religious tolerance.

"We ask anyone with information about this case to come forward and help bring the perpetrator to justice," said Mustaffa Carroll, a CAIR-DFW board member who took part in a Friday morning news conference at the Islamic center of Waco.

Pakistani-American senior Nohayia Javed said she was attacked while walking through the university's campus. Her assailant also reportedly used racist and anti-Muslim slurs, which prompted the FBI to get involved in the investigation.

Rene Salinas, the San Antonio-based FBI agent who is in charge of the case, said the preliminary investigation into the allegations of a hate crime continues. The offer of a reward will be beneficial to the case, he added, in generating tips from those who may have witnessed something that could lead to the prosecution of Javed's alleged attacker. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-PHILLY: AREA MUSLIM GROUP PLANS SATURDAY 'OPEN HOUSE' - TOP
KYW's Karin Phillips
http://www.kyw1060.com/pages/23022.php

A local Muslim civil liberties organization is holding a town hall meeting Saturday in the Lehigh Valley as a direct response to the Prophet Muhammed cartoon controversy.

The mosque open house and town hall meeting at the Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley in Whitehall, Pa. is just part of a long-range "positive response" by the Council for American-Islamic Relations to the Muhammed cartoon controversy.

Adeeba Al-Zaman is with CAIR-Philadelphia:

"It was launched shortly after the whole cartoon controversy. We thought that this was a way for us to teach people who the Prophet Muhammed was and what his life entailed and what his legacy entailed. It's really in response to the cartoon controversy, but it's something much more -- wider and more long-reaching."

There will be discussions with Muslim educators, a presentation by school children, a film, and other events, all centering around the life and mission of the Prophet Muhammed.

Al-Zaman says to expect a number of town hall meetings, discussions and film viewings throughout the region over the next several months.

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CAIR-OH: MUHAMMAD SCREENING SUNDAY - TOP
The Cincinnati Enquirer, 4/9/06

The Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati will show the PBS documentary, "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet," at 3 p.m. Sunday, followed by a question and answer session.

The center, 8092 Plantation Drive, West Chester, will also be open for guided tours. The event, co-sponsored by the Council on American Islamic Relations, is part of a campaign by the organization to educate people about Muhammad in light of the violence surrounding the cartoons published in Europe.

Information: (513) 755-3280.

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TX: BLENDING IN AND SPREADING THE WORD - TOP
Abe Levy, Express-News, 4/9/06
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA040906.01A.missionaries.3572fdf.html

Carlos Charco bought a turban, tunic and sandals on the first day of a short mission trip three years ago in a West African country.

He wanted to blend into this Sahara Desert region, far from Mexico's Pacific coast, where he grew up. Far from the San Antonio seminary where he was studying Christian theology.

The new duds and his mestizo features - black hair and brown skin - matched those of the Arab community there. Nearly everyone assumed he was Muslim.

"It was an advantage as a missionary that I'm not white and my eyes were not blue or green," said Charco, a San Antonio pastor who's preparing - along with his wife, Viviana, of South America - to be missionaries in a Muslim country.

They are part of a rising evangelical movement of Latin-American missionaries going to areas that are the least Christianized in the world.

They believe their skin tone and non-Western background give them advantages in Muslim countries over Anglo missionaries, who are held back by post-9-11 hostilities.

Yet, for some U.S. Islamic leaders, the emergence of Latino missionaries only adds to the tension and distrust of evangelicals who they say periodically invent new ways to conceal unwanted requests for Muslims to convert. . .

This approach, even if led by Latinos, still draws skepticism from some Muslims who have seen a variety of methods by Christians seeking the same objective of conversion, said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group in Washington.

Men growing beards. Women wearing head coverings. Bibles placed on wooden stands like Korans. Churches built to resemble mosques.

"It's a new twist on an old approach," Hooper said. "They want to appear as Muslim as possible to kind of blur the lines."

Hooper said he doesn't believe humanitarian help from evangelical mission groups is unconditional.

"If the Bible is handed out with a sack of rice, they're going to take the sack of rice and the Bible if their kids are starving," he said. "We have no problem with someone coming to a Muslim and saying, 'I think Christianity is better.' But we object to going into a vulnerable population with a disproportionate power relationship." . . .

Muslim skepticism is fueled in part by the fact that major U.S. Islamic charity groups have been shut down by U.S. law enforcement officials, said Ingrid Mattson, Islamic studies professor at the Hartford Seminary in Connecticut.

The crackdown has come due to concerns about terror links to Islamic charities, she said, prompting U.S. officials to freeze their assets.

"This is creating a huge amount of bad will," she said. "This also helps further the agenda of the American Christian evangelical groups, because it makes it impossible for (Islamic charities) to help their fellow Muslim countries and easy for Christian groups to go there." (MORE)

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COURT RULES FOR MUSLIM INMATE - TOP
Jonathan Saltzman, Boston Globe, 4/8/06
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/04/08/court_rules_for_muslim_inmate/

The state's highest court ruled yesterday that the prison system had failed to justify denying special meats to a Muslim inmate on Islamic feast days. The decision pointed out that the Massachusetts Constitution goes further than the US Constitution to protect the religious freedom of prisoners. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

CA: MUSLIM CITY WORKER CLAIMS RELIGIOUS HARASSMENT - TOP
DAVID RYAN, Napa Valley Register, 4/8/06
http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2006/04/08/news/local/iq_3377219.txt

A city of Napa engineer charges in a recent civil rights lawsuit that he's being harassed at his job because he is a Muslim -- and he says his treatment briefly affected the city's water supply. (MORE)

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FBI SAYS GOVERNMENT WORKING TO KEEP INNOCENT OFF SECURITY WATCH LISTS - TOP
JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, Associated Press Writer
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/04/08/state/n164806D62.DTL

FBI officials told members of Southern California's Muslim community Saturday that the government is working to keep innocent people off of its anti-terrorism watchlists.

Shortcomings in the screening process to prevent terrorists and criminals from entering the country are "a real concern," said J. Stephen Tidwell, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles office.

"There are many agencies working on that very situation ... to make sure that the databases are correct and that we're only filtering out the persons of real concern," Tidwell said.

He spoke at a public meeting hosted by the bureau's Multi-Cultural Advisory Committee, composed of members from local religious and cultural groups. (MORE)

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BOOK REVIEW: AMERICAN MUSLIM WOMEN'S LIVES EXPLORED - TOP
Mary Welp, Courier-Journal, 4/8/06
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060408/FEATURES06/604080390/1010/FEATURES

Donna Gehrke-White, a reporter for The Miami Herald, has attempted to do for Muslim women what Studs Terkel once did for American workers. When it was published in the '70s, Terkel's Working was a revelation, a catalogue of the worldview of citizens rarely heard from or represented in any previously existing literature: washroom attendants, steelworkers, gravediggers, piano tuners. While many of the interviews followed a similar pattern, beginning with mundane workplace details, then gradually moving on to the workers' philosophy of life, readers came to count on the insight they knew Terkel would deliver -- his way of eliciting from each worker something about his or her search for meaning in all of those hours per week given over to the daily grind.

Like Terkel, Gehrke-White, a former Courier-Journal reporter, has divided her book into sections: the New Traditionalists, the Blenders, the Converts, the Persecuted and the Changers. She has sought to give voice to the women themselves, letting them tell their own stories of belief and practice.

Gehrke-White based her project on the idea that American Muslim women (or Muslimah), the most diverse and best-educated group of Muslims in the world, might lift the shroud of obscurity that covers their Middle Eastern and European counterparts. She wanted to discover why, against so many odds, American Muslim women don't give up their faith -- why and how they find solace in Islam, sometimes even after escaping its more extremist inceptions abroad. While many of the reasons are similar to those given by women of other faiths (such as community, solidarity and social outreach) and are therefore not surprising, others shed much-needed light on a subject that, to much of the non-Muslim population, remains a mystery. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

IL: FAITH IN POLITICS - TOP
JANE HUH, State Journal-Register, 4/9/06
http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/83172.asp

Maryam Mostoufi, chaplain to the Islamic Community of Greater Springfield, prayed for state legislators before they began legislative business on a recent day in the Illinois Senate.

"We ask that you (God) open our hearts and minds that we may rededicate our work in the Senate to you," she invoked. "That we might see each act, each word, each effort as a form of worship to you."

Mostoufi's prayer is not out of the ordinary. It has been Statehouse tradition to invite spiritual leaders from throughout Illinois to open each legislative chamber's session with a prayer. But the noteworthy aspect about Mostoufi's invitation is that she was the first woman to invoke a Muslim prayer in the Senate, which has no Muslim legislators. There are no Muslim lawmakers in the House, either. (MORE)

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MD: MUSLIM GROUPS OFFER HEALTH FAIR - TOP
Baltimore Sun, 4/9/06
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/howard/bal-ho.colwest09apr09,0,4775231.story

The Howard County Muslim Foundation and the Islamic Society of Baltimore will sponsor their third health fair, open to everyone, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. today at the Bain Center, 5470 Ruth Keeton Way.

Screenings and counseling will be provided by physicians, social workers and volunteers. Screenings will be free; a limited number of mammograms and blood screenings will be available. Short seminars will focus on topics such as healthy living, cancer prevention, smoking cessation, stress management, heart disease and child health services.

Information: www.hcmcmaryland.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: http://www.cair-net.org

-----

To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org

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AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/10/06

* Hadith: The Quran is Proof for or Against You
            - CAIR-Philly Co-Sponsors 'Muhammad' Event
* CAIR-FL: Schizophrenic Man Jailed as 'Terrorist'
* CAIR-MI: Protest Coalition Heads to Capital (Free Press)
            - Immigrant Supporters Rally in Detroit (AP)
* CAIR-MI: Trying Again for Warren Mosque (Free Press)
* CAIR-CAN: Canadian Troops Must Not be Complicit in Torture
* WA: Prison Term for Cross Burning (Seattle Times)
* MI: Female Muslim Judge Takes the Bench (Arab American News)
            - MA: First Muslim Sorority Hopes to Form Chapters
* CA: Convert Finds Peace in Islam (Monterey Herald)
* CA: Prosecution Sees Setback at Terror Trial (NY Times)
* Official: U.S. Backing Somali Militants (AP)

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HADITH OF THE DAY: THE QURAN IS PROOF FOR OR AGAINST YOU - TOP

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The Quran is a proof on your behalf or against you."

Sahih Muslim, Hadith 97

To sponsor or obtain a FREE Quran, go to: www.explorethequran.org

To learn more about the life and legacy of the Prophet Muhammad, go to: www.cair.com/Muhammad

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-PHILLY: VALLEY MUSLIMS OPEN DOORS TO UNDERSTANDING - TOP
Group's annual event held early, to counter cartoon controversy.
Sam Kennedy, Morning Call, 4/9/06
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1_5muslimapr09,0,1407362.story?coll=all-news-hed

The Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley had been planning to have its annual open house later in the year. But it decided to move up the date, to Saturday, because of the worldwide controversy ignited earlier this year by the publication of cartoons depicting Islam's prophet, Muhammad. . .

At Saturday's event, which was held at the association's mosque in Whitehall Township, the focus was on Muhammad. Speakers quoted from the prophet's teachings in the Quran and described his life and impact on the world.

About 200 people attended. Roughly half were non-Muslims, including many Christians from various churches throughout the region. . .

Saturday's event was co-sponsored by several Muslim groups in addition to the Muslim association, including the Islamic Education Center of Pennsylvania and Al Ahad Islamic Center, both of Allentown, the Stroudsburg Islamic Center and the Council of American Islamic Relations in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia group is part of the national council, which is organizing outreach events nationwide. (MORE)

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CAIR-FL: DEFEAT OF PASSION - TOP
Justin George, St. Petersburg Times, 4/10/06
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/04/09/Tampabay/He_ended_up_in_jail__.shtml

TAMPA - When he's not in a cell as wide as he is tall, Nabil Mouad uses one of his two free hours a day playing the only sport available in jail, basketball. All the while, he wishes he could play soccer, which was his life, his dream, his goal.

"When I have a problem," he said, "I play soccer and I feel free."

But soccer is also in part how Mouad, a 20-year-old Moroccan in the United States illegally, ended up in an orange jail suit, pink plastic slippers and constraining cuffs in a Falkenburg Road Jail interview room, explaining how his passion for the sport, mixed with mental illness, led to a bizarre clash with the University of South Florida soccer coach.

Locked down 22 hours a day with no possessions besides a Koran and a bedsheet to kneel on for prayer, Mouad has been isolated for his own protection. In the minds of other inmates, his Muslim faith and the report that he threatened to "blow up" the coach add up to terrorist - about as popular as a child molester behind bars, jail Capt. Tom Bliss said.

Mental health workers say Mouad's story is common: A man suffering from schizophrenia has no family support, stops taking his pills and gets entangled in the justice system. But what makes him different, they say, is his racial and religious background in the post-9/11 world, where no threat can afford to be taken lightly. His advocates wonder if jail is really where he belongs.

"It's just sad that he would be treated as some sort of criminal or terrorist," said Ahmed Bedier, director of the Tampa branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. (MORE)

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CAIR-MI: PROTEST COALITION HEADS TO CAPITAL - TOP
Rally pushes for immigrant rights
Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 4/10/06
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060410/NEWS05/604100412/-1/BUSINESS07

On the eve of a national protest expected to be held today in Washington, a diverse group of Michiganders gathered Sunday night in front of a Detroit church to rally for immigrant rights.

Chanting "We are America," hundreds stood on the steps of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in southwest Detroit to protest legislation that would criminalize many in their communities. They listened to Latino, black, Arab-American, and Muslim leaders who voiced their support for immigrant rights.

"We're trying to be together, to make it happen," said Cristino Herrera, 29, a construction worker from Detroit at the rally. "We are not criminals ... we're paying taxes and raising families."

At the end of the protest, Herrera and about 100 other protesters boarded two buses headed for Washington, where thousands are expected to take part in a massive rally today at the nation's capital.

An anonymous flyer circulated at the rally, advocated that immigrants and others stay away from work or school today as part of a nationwide protest. None of the speakers at the rally, however, endorsed the call. Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength (MOSES), a coalition of faith-based groups in metro Detroit, organized the rally.

It was joined by a broad spectrum of groups: the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS), Latin Americans for Social and Economic Development, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

SEE ALSO:

IMMIGRANT SUPPORTERS RALLY IN DETROIT - TOP
Michael J. Feeney, Associated Press, 4/10/2006
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/business/index.ssf?/base/news-33/1144631053318150.xml&storylist=mibusiness

DETROIT - Immigrant rights advocates rallied a few blocks from the bridge to Canada, voicing their opposition to efforts in Congress that would make it a crime for an undocumented alien to be in the U.S.

It came on a nationwide day of protests against the legislative proposal.

About 100 people gathered Sunday night outside Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, where they heard from U.S. Rep Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick. The rally included representatives of black, Hispanic, Arab and Muslim advocacy groups.

The event also served as a send-off for two busloads of people heading for a national immigration rights rally in Washington on Monday. . .

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Latin Council for Latin American Advancement, Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, and Council on American-Islamic Relations were among the groups represented at the rally.

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CAIR-MI: TRYING AGAIN FOR WARREN MOSQUE - TOP
Group to ask city panel tonight to approve its plan
Detroit Free Press, 4/10/06
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060410/NEWS04/604100402/1006

An Islamic organization is set to ask Warren officials again for a chance to build the city's first mosque.

Steve Elturk, president of the Islamic Organization of North America, said Wednesday that he plans to go before the Planning Commission tonight to seek approval to build a mosque and the organization's headquarters on Ryan Road, just south of 12 Mile. The commission voted 6-3 against the proposal on March 16.

The commissioners who voted against the proposal said their concerns included traffic, parking spaces and the possibility that the mosque would broadcast calls to prayer that might disrupt the neighborhood. Elturk said he had no intentions of using a loudspeaker to announce the calls to prayer. He said the commission was discriminating against him and the organization.

Elturk declined to comment further until after the meeting.

He previously said he was considering filing suit against the city on grounds that the commission violated his civil rights. No suit has been filed. The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is aware of the situation. (MORE)

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CAIR-CAN: PARLIAMENT MUST ENSURE CANADIAN TROOPS NOT COMPLICIT IN TORTURE - TOP

(OTTAWA, CANADA - 10/04/06) - The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) today called on members of Parliament to ensure that Canadian troops are not complicit in the torture of Afghani prisoners.

The call came after the release today of two new reports by human rights organizations and legal experts that Canadian soldiers could find themselves charged with war crimes in the International Criminal Court because of a government approved agreement on the handling of Afghani detainees.

The agreement, made by Canadian General Rick Hillier last year, sees Canadian soldiers giving their captives to local Afghan authorities. Human rights organizations have condemned the inhumane treatment of prisoners by Afghan officials.

"It is imperative that all members of Parliament examine this issue when debating Canada's involved in the war in Afghanistan today," says Karl Nickner, CAIR-CAN's Executive Director. "Canada has a responsibility under international law to ensure that Afghan detainees captured by Canadian soldiers are not handed over to torture."

International law requires Canada to ensure that detainees are not subjected to inhumane treatment, whether they are given to Afghan authorities or if they are transferred to third parties. Canadian soldiers could be charged with war crimes if they knowingly hand detainees over to possibility of torture.

At a community event this weekend, General Rick Hillier "challenged" Canadian Muslims to join the Canadian Armed Forces. Karl Nickner, CAIR-CAN's Executive Director, today challenged General Hillier, "Canadian Muslims have no hesitation in ensuring that Canada is safe and secure. But the real challenge for our country is to both ensure that our troops do not engage in possible war crimes and to instead participate in the real reconstruction and development of Afghanistan."

For more information, call Halima Mautbur at 613-795-2012.

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

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WA: PRISON TERM FOR CROSS BURNING - TOP
Seattle Times, 4/8/06
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002918530_dige08m.html

A 19-year-old Lynnwood man was sentenced to three months in prison, three months of house arrest and three years of probation in U.S. District Court Friday for lying to a federal grand jury about his involvement in a July 2004 cross burning in Edmonds.

According to U.S. District Court documents, Joseph Lin pleaded guilty in December to lying about his involvement in a cross-burning incident that apparently began as an argument among friends. Authorities investigated it as a hate crime because of the victims' Middle Eastern roots.

Prosecutors said Lin and Jayson Russell, 19, of Snohomish, were part of a group of teens that burned a cross on the lawn of an Edmonds home, but those two lied to a federal grand jury about their participation.

Several of the other participants have pleaded guilty to civil-rights charges and have been sentenced in state court. Russell is scheduled to be sentenced June 2.

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MI: FIRST FEMALE MUSLIM TAKES THE BENCH - TOP
Arab American News, 4/10/06
http://www.arabamericannews.com/newsarticle.php?articleid=4910

DETROIT - As the first Arab American to sit on the 3rd Circuit Court of Wayne County, Charlene Mekled Elder knows she plays an important role. Not only does she carry the weight of serious decision making, but she serves as a role model for Middle Eastern women around the globe.

Appointed to the Wayne County 3rd Circuit Court by Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, Elder embarks on a new phase in her career at the age of 36 - marked by a balanced commitment to her profession, her family, and her community. Also, she is the first Arab-American female judge in this circuit to speak Arabic fluently.

Elder's press release says she is also the first female Muslim to hold a judicial position in the country.

Judge Elder brings to the bench a solid legal background and a diverse upbringing. Wayne County has the largest concentration of Arab Americans outside the Middle East, roughly 350,000 and Michigan is home to approximately 400,000 citizens of Muslim faith.

Known to many as a high achiever, Judge Elder never opted for the easy road. At the prime age of 22, Elder set out to have a career, a marriage and children. Today, she has all three as a judge, wife to the deputy CEO of Wayne County, Azzam Elder, and mother of four children, Madina 12, Nozmi 10, Yasmine 9, and Adam 7.

When off the bench, she coaches her youngest son's soccer team and participates in the sporting events of her other three children. She volunteers time for various notable civic organizations including but not limited to the Dearborn Rotary Club, the Girl Scouts of America and the Islamic Center of America.

"In an era where society struggles to raise good kids, and many have to choose between careers and family, or raising a family or getting an education, Judge Elder seems to have found a way to do it all," said Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano. . .

Governor Granholm believes in principled candidates who bring strength and diversity to the bench. As the first female Governor of the State of Michigan, Governor Granholm believes in actions to inspire and empower woman all around the world. The appointment of Judge Elder was an easy decision because of all the hard work and yes, it's also nice to make history. . .

[Investiture of Judge Elder with Governor Jeniffer Granholm will be held on April 12, 2006, at 4pm, at the Fordson High School auditorium in Dearborn.]

SEE ALSO:

FIRST MUSLIM SORORITY HOPES TO FORM CHAPTERS ACROSS USA - TOP
Donna Leinwand, USA Today, 4/9/06
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-04-09-muslim-sorority_x.htm

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Christine Ortiz slips quietly from the Muslim prayer room on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and into a group of squealing young women. Some of them are Ortiz's Muslim sisters, the undergraduate pals who embraced her when she converted to Islam from her family's Roman Catholicism.

Less than a year after she graduated from MIT, Ortiz, 23, has returned to campus on a chilly night to help introduce them to a new concept in Muslim sisterhood: the first Muslim-oriented sorority, Gamma Gamma Chi.

The sorority, which was formed last year, has no campus chapters but is trying to drum up interest with informational meetings across the nation. It aims to be a sorority unlike almost all others by adhering to principles of Islam: no alcohol and no casual mixing between men and women.

Ortiz is a member of Alpha Phi, one of five traditional sororities at MIT. She says she wants her Muslim girlfriends to have the sorority experience without having to compromise their religious values. In theory, the existing sororities' policies are in line with Muslim beliefs, but in reality, she says, the sorority culture at MIT and other campuses "unfortunately is based on men and alcohol."

Muslim women at MIT, the University of Kentucky, Rutgers, the University of Maryland-Baltimore and the University of Southern California have expressed interest in Gamma Gamma Chi, says founder and President Althia Collins, who owns an educational consulting business in Alexandria, Va.

Collins and her daughter Imani Abdul-Haqq, both Muslim converts, created the sorority in 2005. (MORE)

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CA: CONVERT FINDS PEACE IN ISLAM - TOP
Haron Nichols looked into religion after Sept. 11
Andre Briscoe, Monterey Herald, 4/10/06
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/local/14307202.htm

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, Aaron Eugene Nichols, then 17, did what many in the United States couldn't think of doing: He embraced Islam.

"I wanted to know both sides of the story. I wasn't just going to believe what I heard on TV," said Nichols, now 21, who has changed his name to Haron, Arabic for Aaron.

"Everybody was saying how Islam and Muslims were terrorists, so I wanted to find out for myself. I was taught to think for myself, not to believe what others tell me. And I found out it was the complete opposite," said the Monterey man.

Just as the events of Sept. 11 changed America, they also changed Haron and many other Americans who have accepted Islam and become Muslims, said a local imam.

Abdellah Khidar, who heads the Islamic Society of Monterey County's mosque in Seaside, said that in the years since the attack he has seen a greater interest by Americans in Islam.

"It's true, after 9/11 there was a big change," said Khidar, a native of Morocco. "Before 9/11 there wasn't that much interest from Americans about Islam. But since then I have been asked to give speeches at universities, schools, even synagogues. Many who have wanted answers to questions about Islam have converted. Not just Haron."

Khidar took over as imam at the Seaside mosque last year and has seen at least 20 Americans of different ethnic backgrounds convert to Islam, including one man who works at the Defense Language Institute.

"The most important thing is that Americans have opened up," he said. "They are eager to learn the truth about Islam."

To Haron's friends and family, initially, the words Muslim or Islam were considered synonymous with terrorism. Haron was brought up Christian, though he never seriously practiced the faith. (MORE)

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PROSECUTION SEES SETBACK AT TERROR TRIAL IN CALIFORNIA - TOP
Randal C. Archibold, New York Times, 4/10/06
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/10/us/nationalspecial3/10lodi.html

SACRAMENTO - The federal terrorism trial that has been going on here for the past several weeks has not lacked for surprises. Its shockers have included word of a sighting of one of the world's most sought-after terror suspects in a town not far away and the last-minute discovery of a surreptitiously recorded tape.

Unfortunately for the prosecution, which is trying a father and son -- the son on charges of attending a terrorist training camp in Pakistan and lying about it, the father on charges of lying about the son's activities -- the twists have come at its expense. (MORE)

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OFFICIAL: U.S. BACKING SOMALI MILITANTS - TOP
Chris Tomlinson, Associated Press, 4/10/06
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/3782265.html

NAIROBI, Kenya - The United States is backing a new coalition of Somali militants fighting Islamic extremists for control of the lawless nation's capital, a U.S. official said, as both sides prepared for a battle that could explode in widespread violence.

Clan leaders have put aside their traditional rivalries to take on the extremists, whom they describe as terrorists. The extremists, though, say they can offer unity and order after decades of chaos in Somalia.

Residents say both sides have recently received an infusion of cash and weapons as they face off for control of the country, which has had no central government since warlords divided it into clan-based fiefdoms in 1991.

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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

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AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 4/11/06

* Hadith: God is Generous
* CAIR-OH to Moderate FBI Town Hall Mtg on Bridges TV
            - CAIR-Chicago Hosts Programs on Islam in America
            - CAIR: Reward Offered For Tips on TX Attack
            - CAIR-CA: Immigrants Demand Rights (Sac Bee)
* NJ: Mosque Officials Allege 'Profiling' During Bridge Stop
            - CA/TX: Jury Awards Profiled Passenger $27.5 Million
* Hijab: It's Not Just About Modesty (APP)
* NJ: Muslims Center Their Attention on Vineland
            - MS: Muslim Community Struggles to Survive
            - MI: Warren Board Approves Mosque Plan (Free Press)
* AIPAC Lobbyists' Prosecutors Point to Spy Case (Wash Post)
* EU: Lexicon to Shun Term 'Islamic Terrorism' (Reuters)
* Torture: 'People Were Begging For Mercy' (Guardian)
* DC: Islamic Relief Discusses Impact of Drought in Africa
            - IN: DePauw to Host Conference on Islam, Catholicism

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HADITH OF THE DAY: GOD IS GENEROUS - TOP

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "If anyone transgresses and receives punishment in this world, God is too just to repeat the punishment of His servant in the next (life). And if anyone transgresses and God conceals it and forgives him, He is too generous to go back on a thing He has forgiven."

Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1023

To learn more about the life and legacy of the Prophet Muhammad, go to: www.cair.com/Muhammad

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CAIR-OH DIRECTOR TO MODERATE FBI TOWN HALL MEETING ON BRIDGES TV - TOP

(COLUMBUS, OHIO 4/11/06) - CAIR-Ohio's Columbus Director Adnan Mirza will host an upcoming FBI town hall meeting on Bridges TV. The meeting, scheduled to air May 15 at 9 p.m. (EST), will create a forum for Muslims to ask FBI Chief Legal Counsel Paul Moskal to address areas of concern to them and their communities. This will be televised nationally on Bridges TV and it is open to the public.

"Our goal is to foster a better relationship between the American Muslim community and law enforcement authorities through communication and understanding," said Mirza.

To participate in the event, submit questions via e-mail to: http://www.bridgestv.com/AskFBI.asp by Thursday, April 13, 2006.

CONTACT: Adnan Mirza, 614-451-3232, E-Mail: director@cair-ohio.com, or Muzzammil S. Hassan, 716-662-5321, E-Mail: mohassan@bridgestv.com

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CAIR-CHICAGO HOSTS 6-WEEK SERIES ON ISLAM IN AMERICA - TOP

(CHICAGO, IL, 4/11/2006) - The Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago), along with Elderhostel, will host a lecture series titled, "Building Bridges to Islam."

The all-day program will be held every Wednesday from April 5 to May 10, 2006.

Participants are treated to two interactive lectures on Islam and Muslims, a Q&A town hall session, a tour of the mosque, a Muslim prayer service, and a Middle-Eastern dinner.

CONTACT: CAIR-Chicago's Executive Director, Ahmed Rehab, 847-971-3963, E-Mail: communications@cairchicago.org or 312-212-1520

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CAIR: REWARD OFFERED FOR TIPS ON ATTACK OF MUSLIM STUDENT - TOP
Meredith Amos, Lariat, 4/11/06
http://www.baylor.edu/Lariat/news.php?action=story&story=40136

The Council on American Islamic Relations is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the alleged attacker of Muslim student Nohayia Javed, the group announced Friday.

Javed said she was walking to her dorm when a man assaulted her April 1, throwing her to the ground and kicking her while making anti-Muslim slurs.

San Antonio-based FBI agent Rene Salinas said he could not discuss any developments in the case Monday, but he said the investigation was ongoing.

"We're glad there is a reward being offered and hope it will encourage witnesses to come forward," he said. (MORE)

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CAIR-SV: IMMIGRANTS AROUND NATION OPPOSE BILL, DEMAND RIGHTS - TOP
Erika Chavez and Laurel Rosenhall, Sacramento Bee, 4/11/06
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/14241673p-15061112c.html

Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets in more than 120 cities across the country Monday, in what was billed as a National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice.

From Pensacola, Fla., to Sacramento, in Arizona as well as Atlanta, peaceful protesters chanted, marched and waved signs demanding rights for immigrants, legal or not.

The protests were the latest chapter in a burgeoning backlash against proposed immigration law changes. . .

The march from Southside Park to the state Capitol also included about 30 members of local Muslim groups, said Basim Elkarra, executive director of the Sacramento Valley chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. He said members of his group as well as the UC Davis Muslim Students Association wanted to show they share the Latino community's concern about immigration proposals.

"This is an issue that affects everyone - Latinos, Muslims, Asians," Elkarra said. "Part of the debate has been very racist. ... The same folks that are attacking our community are attacking the immigrants and Latino communities. We're concerned about the direction of the debate." (MORE)

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NJ: MOSQUE OFFICIALS CRITICIZE THEIR DETENTION IN BRIDGE STOP - TOP
Elizabeth Llorente, The Record, 4/11/06
http://www.bergen.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2OTE1NjI3JnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mg==

Top officials of the Darul Islah mosque in Teaneck allege that Triborough Bridge police unjustly detained them Sunday morning after stopping the driver for reportedly speeding.

They say the police overreacted - dispatching five patrol cars and lining the driver, Syed Haszari, and his five passengers along the side of the road in handcuffs, before releasing them about an hour later without explanation. They charge that it happened because they are Muslims. . .

"They saw six men with beards in a car, early in the morning, three of them had prayer caps, and they thought, 'There go Osama bin Laden's people,'" said Waheed Khalid, a mosque spokesman who was not involved in the incident. "This is clearly a matter of profiling; the speeding charge is just something they cooked up, I believe.

"We want to know why his name was flagged in the computer," Khalid said. "This has happened to Muslims and Arabs, their names are put on 'watch lists.' And then they are treated like criminals, in this case, during a routine traffic stop. It is inexcusable."

Sweeney declined to talk further about the incident or comment about the men's accounts. . .

The men said they were handcuffed and taken to a TBTA station at Manhattan Plaza, one of two service buildings near the bridge. Haszari's van was removed from the bridge by a TBTA tow truck, they said. They said they saw police search it before it was towed away, but police would not comment on that accusation.

"That is a clear violation," Khalid said. "They just can't search a vehicle like that, not after a routine speeding stop."

The men said they spent about a half hour at the station as Haszari answered a series of questions about his immigration status, employment and other personal information.

"I am a neurosurgeon. I pay my taxes. I have never even gotten as much as a speeding ticket in my life," said Mohammad F. Padela, the mosque president. "I was disgusted and angry. There we were, handcuffed and made to stand on this highway, and people passed by and stared at us like we were criminals. Even some members of our mosque who were driving by there at the time saw us in handcuffs and called our imam." (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

TX: JURY AWARDS SOUTHWEST PASSENGER $27.5 MILLION - TOP
Tammy Fonce-Olivas, El Paso Times, 4/11/06
http://www.elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060411/NEWS/604110351/1001

A California woman of Iranian descent arrested in El Paso three years ago after Southwest Airlines employees accused her of assaulting a flight attendant and interfering with a flight should receive $27.5 million in damages for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution, an El Paso jury decided.

El Paso lawyer Enrique Moreno said the verdict showed that jurors agreed that his client, Samantha Carrington, was wrongfully arrested on Oct. 7, 2003, when a flight to Houston from Los Angeles made a scheduled stop in El Paso.

"In the evidence it came out that one of the flight attendants stated that Ms. Carrington reminded her of a terrorist, and in our views she was the victim of profiling stereotypes and discrimination," Moreno said.

The verdict was issued late Friday in County Court-at-Law No. 5.

The airline plans to appeal the verdict, Beth Harbin, a Southwest spokeswoman in Dallas, said Monday.

"We certainly don't agree with this particular verdict. The verdict was not based on all the available facts because those facts were not presented to the jury for their consideration. We will appeal," Harbin said.

According to court documents, the jury found the airline caused Carrington to be maliciously prosecuted and falsely imprisoned. The jury also found that Carrington's conduct did not contribute to her arrest and prosecution.

Moreno said the verdict sends a national message about racial profiling.

"I think all of us are concerned about security, but I think the lesson -- and I think it's a national lesson -- is you can't have uncontrolled power that affects individual rights. ... they (jurors) were not going to let a company simply under the guise of security fly and trample on a person's rights," Moreno said. (MORE)

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IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT MODESTY - TOP
The hijab enhances the beauty of character, say Muslim women
Deborah Lynn Blumberg, Asbury Park Press, 4/9/06
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060409/NEWS03/604090507/1007/NEWS02

Many non-Muslims interpret the headscarves Islamic women wear as a symbol of oppression. But for Itidal Hashif, 17, and other local Muslim youth, covering their heads is a show of faith that can enhance character over physical beauty.

"It's a huge responsibility," said Hashif, a student at South Brunswick's Noor-Ul-Iman school. "It's about behavior and modesty. You're basically representing the religion and everything it embodies."

Most conservative Muslim-American girls wear a headscarf full-time once they reach puberty. In Arabic, the word "hijab" means covering or barrier and describes the concept of modest dress and behavior written about in the Quran and Hadith, sayings and practices of the prophet Muhammed. In Western countries, the word "hijab" has become synonymous with "headscarf."

With scarves that vary in design, shape and size, and with multiple ways of securing them with decorative pins and creative layering and wrapping techniques, hijab is a religious commitment, but it's also an accessory, the girls said.

"You have to match the headscarf with everything you're wearing," said Hashif, who added that scarves become part of a woman's outfit. "Wearing hijab becomes like putting on your shoes," Hashif said. "It feels so normal."

Kholoud Shaheen, 18, a classmate of Hashif's, has worn a headscarf for the last six years. At her Princeton home, Shaheen, whose family is from Egypt, sifts through drawers stuffed with white, black and blue cotton head coverings.

Most days, Shaheen wears white, her favorite hijab color, but on Fridays she'll wear a headscarf with a more intricate design for afternoon prayer. Every Muslim woman has her own preferred style, Shaheen said.

Most Muslim-American schools require girls from around grade four on to wear hijab. This year, administrators at Noor-Ul-Iman held the first-ever hijab party for fourth-grade girls at the start of the school year to celebrate the pupils' coming of age.

Women who wear a headscarf full-time remove it only at home, where male relatives are allowed to see them without the covering. They also go without it at all-female gatherings. (MORE)

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N.J. MUSLIMS CENTER THEIR ATTENTION ON VINELAND - TOP
Saba Ali, Press of Atlantic City, 4/10/06
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/cumberland/story/6118242p-6117052c.html

BRIDGETON - Each weekday morning Ghada Salah leaves her home in Bridgeton before 7 a.m. With her two teenage children and four others from neighboring families in tow, she makes the one-hour commute so that they can all attend the Islamic school in Philadelphia, where she also teaches.

Muslims living in Cumberland County have always had to travel far to find services that follow their religious requirements.

They travel to Philadelphia for schools and events, to Cherry Hill for meat that is butchered in a particular way and to Atlantic City to eat at restaurants or shop at businesses that sell Muslim fashions.

However, that could all change in the coming years as the Bridgeton Islamic Center plans on building a multimillion dollar center and school building in Vineland.

The school, which will accommodate grades six through 12, will fill the gap that has left Muslims in southern New Jersey having to choose between public schools and attending school in another state.

For Ghada Salah and other families in and around Bridgeton, the extra 100 miles on their cars are worth it for her children to learn in an environment that shares the values they are taught at home.

"It benefits them, to be around other children like themselves. They don't feel alone, especially when we are almost the only Muslim family out here," she said.

Dr. Hassan Salah and his brethren hope that a center such as the one they plan to bring will attract more Muslim families to the area.

"It's a rural area, you don't expect people to come. But when you establish a mosque and a school it attracts families, businesses, employment opportunities to bring in families," said Dr. Salah, a local pediatrician and who leads prayers at the Bridgeton center.

The national Mosque Study Project shows that 37 percent of mosques (Islamic centers) were located in rural or suburban areas outside cities.

The study was conducted in 2000 and is part of a larger study on American congregations coordinated by Hartford Institute of Religious Research.

The Association of Religious Data Archives shows that the Muslim population in New Jersey was at 120,724 in 2000, which is the fifth largest among the states. The survey is taken every ten years. The U.S. Census is prohibited by law to ask about a person religious affiliation. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

MUSLIM COMMUNITY STRUGGLES TO SURVIVE - TOP
Nikki Davis Maute, Hattiesburg American, 4/10/06
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060410/NEWS01/604100323/1002

COLUMBIA - Nearly five years after the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, a small Islamic community located some 25 miles west of Hattiesburg struggles to maintain its ground.

A drop in enrollment at the New Medinah community's Islamic school, the delay in developing an industrial park and no new families moving to the Marion County community has stretched the group's resources.

"We are trying to hold our own here," said Alvin Shareef, imam and principal of the New Medinah School System. "Since 9-11 it's been very difficult. Any time there's a crime committed by a Muslim, there seems to be an attitude among some people that all Muslims are guilty. If a Christian commits a crime, all Christians are not equally condemned."

After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001, New Medinah residents did not face the same suspicions and backlash that many other Muslims across the United States encountered.

"People knew us as neighbors and business associates before they knew us as Muslims," Shareef said. "So when this attack happened, we were spared that."

At New Medinah there are no new faces, but the same 12 families continue to live and work the land.

Still, Shareef sees a renewal ahead, pegged to the 20th anniversary of the self-sufficient community, which is about halfway between Columbia and Sumrall.

A three-day retreat in late May is expected to draw upwards of 200 people - both Muslims and non-Muslims alike - locally and nationally. (MORE)

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WARREN BOARD APPROVES MOSQUE PLAN - TOP
Dan Cortez, Detroit Free Press, 4/11/06
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060411/NEWS04/604110408/1006

The Warren Planning Commission voted 5-3 Monday night to approve the Islamic Organization of North America's plan to build the first mosque in the city.

The vote came minutes after an initial 4-4 vote that would have led to an automatic tabling for two weeks until the next commission meeting. The matter is being monitored by the U.S. Department of Justice to ensure the civil rights of the organization and its president, Steve Elturk, are not violated.

Nearly two hours of discussion from residents and commission members preceded the votes. One resident wanted a guarantee from the organization that it wouldn't have ties to terrorists.

The Islamic Organization of North America bought the building in August, and received a variance on Jan. 25 from the city's Zoning Board of Appeals to open the center in a commercially zoned area. That variance also said the center could not place a loudspeaker on the building to broadcast the five daily calls to prayer.

Despite the written agreement, at the March 13 planning commission meeting, several residents and commissioners cited the external loudspeaker, parking and traffic concerns. It rejected the proposal, 6-3. Elturk addressed some of the concerns and presented his plans to the board again.

City spokesman Joe Munem said Monday that the Justice Department sent a letter to the city, informing it that the situation was being monitored. Elturk said two members of the department called him after his first proposal was rejected.

Commission members voting against the mosque said there was no discrimination, but that they were worried about traffic issues. The site is on Ryan, just south of 12 Mile.

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LOBBYISTS' PROSECUTORS POINTING TO SPY CASE - TOP
Walter Pincus, Washington Post, 4/11/06
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001423_pf.html

Federal prosecutors have reached back 60 years to a case involving a convicted Soviet spy as a precedent for indicting two former lobbyists for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) under the 1917 Espionage Act for receiving and transmitting national defense information.

The spy, Mikhail Gorin, a Soviet citizen, came to the United States in 1936 as an employee of Intourist, the Moscow-run tourist agency, whose salary was paid by the Russian government, according to court documents in the early-1940s case. In the indictment and in the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Gorin was referred to as "the agent of a foreign nation."

After being convicted and losing his appeal in the Supreme Court, Gorin was sent back to the Soviet Union rather than having to serve his six-year sentence in a U.S. jail.

The Gorin case was cited in an unusual Justice Department filing last week in the case of Steven J. Rosen and Keith Weissman, former lobbyists for AIPAC who were indicted last August for receiving classified information in conversations with U.S. government officials and passing it on to journalists and Israeli Embassy officials.

The filing was ordered by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, who wanted the government to deal with constitutional issues raised by the defense in arguments on March 24 to dismiss the charges.

Ellis said that although the espionage statute had been around for almost 90 years, there were few precedents he could follow and that Rosen and Weissman were the first non-government employees to be indicted for receiving and transmitting national defense information orally.

The case has drawn attention from First Amendment lawyers because the judge, the prosecutors and the defense attorneys have all noted that the two lobbyists, in receiving and disseminating classified information, are doing what journalists, academics and experts at think tanks do every day. (MORE)

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EU LEXICON TO SHUN TERM "ISLAMIC TERRORISM" - TOP
Mark Trevelyan, Reuters, 4/11/06
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-04-11T090341Z_01_L22771047_RTRUKOC_0_UK-SECURITY-EU-LANGUAGE.xml

BERLIN - The European Union, tiptoeing through a minefield of religious and cultural sensitivities, is discreetly reviewing the language it uses to describe terrorists who claim to act in the name of Islam.

EU officials are working on what they call a "lexicon" for public communication on terrorism and Islam, designed to make clear that there is nothing in the religion to justify outrages like the September 11 attacks or the bombings of Madrid and London.

The lexicon would set down guidelines for EU officials and politicians.

"Certainly 'Islamic terrorism' is something we will not use ... we talk about 'terrorists who abusively invoke Islam'," an EU official told Reuters.

Other terms being considered by the review include "Islamist", "fundamentalist" and "jihad". The latter, for example, is often used by al Qaeda and some other groups to mean warfare against infidels, but for most Muslims indicates a spiritual struggle.

"Jihad means something for you and me, it means something else for a Muslim. Jihad is a perfectly positive concept of trying to fight evil within yourself," said the official, speaking anonymously because the review is an internal one that is not expected to be made public.

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'PEOPLE WERE BEGGING FOR MERCY' - TOP
Owen Bowcott, Guardian, 4/11/06
http://www.guardian.co.uk/egypt/story/0,,1751289,00.html

To stave off madness, Maajid Nawaz organised daily races between two pebbles flicked haphazardly across the floor of his solitary confinement cell. By night, he studied the stars through a skylight in the roof of his Egyptian prison. He had no lights, no toilet and no sheets. For months he talked to himself; his only other constant companions were cockroaches.

Under interrogation, along with two other Britons, he was forced to listen to the screams of inmates as they were tortured. One colleague, Reza Pankhurst, had electric shocks administered to him. Another, Ian Nisbet, was beaten. All were forced to sign confessions that they say were fictitious.

Their introduction to the Egyptian penal system started with a jarring awakening in the early hours of April Fool's Day 2002, as state security officers bearing machine guns burst into their homes to arrest them. Four weeks ago, they were released. They have returned to Britain with a unique insight into the relationship between the United Kingdom and one of its closest allies in the Middle East. (MORE)

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WWC HOSTS DISCUSSION ON THE HUMANITARIAN IMPACT OF DROUGHT IN AFRICA - TOP

WHAT: The Woodrow Wilson Center (WWC) holds a discussion with Hany Gawad El Banna, president and co-founder of Islamic Relief Worldwide, on "The Humanitarian Impact of Drought in the Horn of Africa."

WHEN: April 13, 2006

WHERE: WWC, One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, Ronald Reagan Building, 1300
Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.

CONTACT: 202-691-4000; http://wilsoncenter.org

SEE ALSO:

DEPAUW TO HOST TWO-DAY SYMPOSIUM: 'ROMAN CATHOLICISM AND ISLAM AS TRANSCIVILIZATIONAL POLITICAL PHENOMENA' - TOP
http://www.depauw.edu/news/index.asp?id=17379

Greencastle, Ind. - DePauw University will hosting a symposium, "Roman Catholicism and Islam as Transcivilizational Political Phenomena," on April 24-25, 2006. The event will feature scholars from Rutgers, Georgetown and Pepperdine Universities, the University of Nevada- Las Vegas and members of the DePauw faculty. The sessions all take place in the Emerson Room of the Walden Inn Conference Center and are free and open to the public.

Sponsored by the Lee G. Hall Distinguished Visiting Professorship in Political Science, the symposium will bring together several of the nation's leading experts on religious politics in the contemporary world. "These scholars will compare and contrast the political roles of Islam and Catholicism: two monotheistic religious traditions with strong missionary histories, which promote values and beliefs held to be universal," states Ted G. Jelen, Lee G. Hall Distinguished Visiting Professor of Political Science at DePauw University. "Adherents of both traditions are politically consequential actors in diverse national and regional settings throughout the world."

Professor Jelen (seen at right) adds, "This symposium will compare and contrast the political role of each tradition in different national, regional and global political contexts, and will pose the question of the comparability of political impact of Islam and Catholicism. The symposium participants will consider whether, and to what extent, the Catholicism/Islam comparison can provide material for more general theories of sacred politics."

For further information, contact Professor Jelen by sending an e-mail here or call (765) 658-4754.

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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

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