cair-net Digest of: get.501_600
Topics (messages 501 through 600):
CAIR-NET: IL Hospital Sued for Post-9/11 Firing of Muslim Worker
501 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Israel Gets Pay Increase, Government Workers Don't
502 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Md. Men Charged With Anti-Muslim Hate Crime
503 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Judge Denies NYC Secret Evidence Request
504 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Muslims Counter Ignorance with US Library Campaign
505 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: How Long Must Muslims Apologize?
506 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Con-Artist Who Defrauded Muslims Caught
507 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Israel Cost U.S. Taxpayers $1.6 Trillion Since 1973
508 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Bush's Frightening Middle East Appointment
509 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Muslims Criticize Portrayal of "Jesus" in TV Ad
510 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: U.S. Muslims Opt for Home Schooling
511 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Fla. Muslims to Voice Civil Rights Concerns at Town Hall
Meeting
512 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Imams Urged to Announce INS Registration Program
513 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: US Filmmakers Tread Carefully in Mohammed Bio
514 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: General Sees Scant Evidence of Threat in U.S.
515 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Immigrants Say INS Deadline Unfair
516 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Muslims Ask INS to Extend Registration Deadline
517 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Lott Should Resign From Senate Post Say Muslims
518 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Armenia Dropped From INS Registration List?
519 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Network Pressured Over Portrayal of Muhammad
520 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Man Gets 6-1/2 Years For Attack On Mosque
521 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CA Townhall Meeting on INS Detentions
522 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: INS "Roundup" Targets Muslims, Says Islamic Advocacy Group
523 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Groups Protest INS Detentions of Muslim Immigrants
524 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Cartoon Portrays Prophet Muhammad as Terrorist
525 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Civil Liberties Groups File Lawsuit Over Mass INS Arrests
526 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: FBI Seeks Data on Foreign Students
527 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: IL Center Vandalized/U.S. Uses "Stress and Duress"
528 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Republican Group Asked to Remove Anti-Islam Link
529 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Republican Website Removes Anti-Islam Link
530 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Islam and Human Cloning - Resources
531 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Post Slams INS Arrests/Human Cloning Denounced
532 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: U.S. Had Key Role in Iraq Arms Buildup
533 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Co-Sponsors INS Registration Survey
534 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: URGENT Announcement About INS Registration
535 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Florida Journalist Mocks Arabs, Muslims
536 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Canadians Alienated by U.S. Travel Indignities
537 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Florida Journalist Suspended Over Biased Comments
538 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: $15 Billion Asked of U.S. Taxpayers by Israel
539 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Penn. Islamic Center Vandalized
540 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR-FL to Seek Suspension of INS Special Registration
541 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Hispanic Muslims - "From Mexico to Mecca"
542 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Stimulate America's Economy, Not Israel's
543 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Columnist, Cartoonist Seek "Payback" Against Muslims?
544 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Israel Wants More Than Total US Aid Budget
545 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Relief Sought for Muslim Family Facing Deportation
546 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Case Against FL Muslim Crumbles Amid Lies
547 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: INS Grants Parole to DE Muslim with Sick Children
548 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: U.S. Muslims Go on Hajj as Nation Heads to War
549 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Muslim Stops Synagogue Torching
550 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Israeli at US Aid Talks Implicated in Massacre
551 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Antiwar Activists Prepare for Weekend of Protests
552 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Rights Abuses Feared in Terror War
553 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Western Union Blocks Funds Over Name "Muhammad"
554 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Five Countries Added to INS Registration
555 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: FL Religious Leaders Asked to Repudiate Anti-Muslim Church
Sign
556 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Israel to Kill In U.S., Allied Countries
557 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Muslims Attend White House Briefing on INS Registration
558 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: U.S. Detains Nearly 1,200 During Registry
559 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Florida Church to Launch Anti-Muslim Web Site
560 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: W.Va. Mosque Crash May Be Bias-Related
561 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: FBI Looks at Mosque Crash/FL Christians Reject Hate
562 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Christian Coalition Forum to Feature "Muslim-Bashers"
563 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: NJ Detainees' Hunger Strike Enters 2nd Week
564 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Daniel Pipes Says ALL Muslims Must be Watched
565 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Task Force Formed to Defend Elashi Family
566 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Muslim Leader Kept From Return to U.S.
567 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: The FBI Says, Count the Mosques
568 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Travel Advisory Issued for U.S. Muslims
569 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: FBI Urged to Rescind Mosque Tally Policy
570 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Gen. Schwarzkopf Skeptical of U.S. War on Iraq
571 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Opens New Office in Texas
572 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Israeli General to Lecture Congress on "Combat Ethics"
573 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Brookings Scholar Detained by INS
574 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Anti-Muslim Stickers Sold at Right-Wing Conference
575 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: The Other Face of Fanaticism
576 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: U.S. Muslims' Growing Voice
577 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Muslims Pray for Shuttle Crew/Sample Eid Advisory
578 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: EEOC Sides with Muslim Workers in CA and IL
579 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Anti-Islam Hate Preached to U.S. Christians
580 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Bush Seeks Israeli Advice on 'Targeted Killings'
581 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Arizona FBI Asked to Investigate Anti-Muslim Threat
582 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Ask Elected Officials to Block INS Registration Funding
583 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Right-Wing Group Asked to Reject Anti-Muslim Bigotry
584 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Don't Link Hajj to Terrorism Say Muslims
585 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: U.S. May Seek Wider Anti-Terror Powers
586 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Bush and Sharon Nearly Identical on Policy
587 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Muslim Lawmakers Take Office in Missouri
588 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Monitoring Mosques a Loss of Freedom for All
589 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: NYPD Spying Power Widens/Belgium OKs Sharon Lawsuit
590 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: CAIR Launches National Ad Campaign
591 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Orange Alert for Civil Rights/Internment for U.S. Muslims?
592 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Bush-Sharon Doctrine/Scrutiny Awaits Returning Pilgrims
593 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Patriot II Would Infringe on Basic Liberties
594 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Electronic Tracking System Monitors Foreign Students
595 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: U.S. Officials Says Syria, Iran Will be Next
596 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: FL Man Faces Jail for Anti-Muslim Hate Crime
597 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: FBI Request for Mosque List Condemned
598 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Muslims Concerned Over Arrest of Florida Professor
599 by: CAIR
CAIR-NET: Muslim Girl Scouts Featured in National Ad Campaign
600 by: CAIR
---------------------------------
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ILL. HOSPITAL SUED FOR POST-9/11 FIRING OF MUSLIM WORKER
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/3/02) - The Chicago office of a prominent
national
Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today announced the filing of a
lawsuit against a hospital in a western suburb of that city for what it
says was the discriminatory post-9/11 termination of a Muslim employee.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations - Chicago (CAIR-Chicago) says
the
suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
Illinois - Eastern Division, alleges that Advocate Good Samaritan
Hospital
in Downers Grove, Ill., fired the Muslim environmental services
technician
five days after the 9/11 attacks because hospital staff were "nervous"
about his presence and "did not feel safe with him around." (Good
Samaritan
Hospital is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
and
the United Church of Christ. SEE:
http://www.advocatehealth.com/gsam/about/)
The termination occurred following a meeting on September 16, 2001, in
which the plaintiff was allegedly questioned about his national and
ethnic
origins and his views on the 9/11 attacks. After the meeting, security
officers escorted him to his locker and then out to his car.
The plaintiff, who is a green card holder of Iraqi origin, filed a
charge
of religious and national origin discrimination with the EEOC in March
of
this year and received notice of his "right to sue" in September.
"Discriminatory treatment based on religion and ethic origin must never
be
tolerated. Good Samaritan Hospital needs to deal with this incident to
ensure that it is not repeated," said CAIR-Chicago board member Kamran
Memon, the attorney who filed the lawsuit.
The plaintiff seeks reinstatement and back pay, as well as unspecified
compensatory and punitive damages for emotional distress and
inconvenience
caused by the hospital's discriminatory actions.
Last month, the FBI released its annual survey of hate crimes that
showed
an increase of more 1,600 percent in the number of bias-related
incidents
against American Muslims, Arabs or those perceived to be Middle
Eastern.
SEE THE FBI REPORT AT: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/01hate.pdf
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-MAIL:
cair@cair-net.org; Kamran Memon, 312-961-2354, E-MAIL:
discrimination@hotmail.com
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive
news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to CAIR-NET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
CAIR ACTION ALERT #354
ISRAEL GETS PAY INCREASE, GOVERNMENT WORKERS DON'T
Contact your representatives to demand that tax dollars be used to
support
Americans, not a brutal foreign occupation
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/3/02) - CAIR is calling on people of conscience
to
contact their elected representatives to protest plans to provide an
additional $14 billion in grants and loan guarantees that will offer
economic support for Israel's brutal occupation of the Palestinian
people.
Israel is today expected to submit a request for that aid to National
Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. President George Bush is likely to
approve the request. Congress could finalize the aid package within 3-6
months.
SEE: "U.S. expected to approve $14 billion aid request,"
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=%20234132
"It is unconscionable for any elected representative of the American
people
to contemplate taking hard-earned taxpayer dollars that are desperately
needed in this country, and sending them to support the brutal military
occupation of a foreign country," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad
Awad.
Awad added that the aid increase would be doubly harmful in that the
perception of American one-sided support for Israel harms America's
image
and interests worldwide.
The request for increased aid to Israel comes after President Bush said
budget constraints forced him to reduce the pay increase for government
workers. On Friday, the president announced he was using his authority
to
change workers' pay structure in times of "national emergency or
serious
economic conditions" to limit raises to 3.1 percent.
"A national emergency has existed since Sept. 11, 2001…Such cost
increases
would threaten our efforts against terrorism or force deep cuts in
discretionary spending or federal employment to stay within budget.
Neither
outcome is acceptable," wrote the president in a letter to
congressional
leaders. (Associated Press, 11/30/02)
Israel's request for more tax-payer dollars, on top of the billions
that
already go to that country, also comes as citizens in many American
states
face service reductions due to massive budget deficits.
According to the Dec. 9 issue of Time magazine: "The states are running
an
aggregate deficit that is expected to reach $ 68 billion by June 30…In
the
meantime, the states have pressed Washington for money to pay for
things it
has demanded--among them, homeland-security initiatives, election
reform
and broader Medicaid benefits for the poor. Beset by federal deficits,
the
Bush Administration is unlikely to provide much help at a time when it
is
focused on tax cuts and a possible war with Iraq."
Any additional funds for Israel, a nation with one of the highest per
capita incomes in the world, could be used to offset economic loses
from
the Palestinian uprising against the occupation.
Over just the past two weeks, those killed by Israeli occupation
soldiers
included a number of Palestinian children, the drummer who wakes people
up
for the morning Ramadan meal, an elderly woman taking a taxi home after
a
medical check-up, a 68-year-old father crushed to death in his
demolished
home, and a British United Nations worker shot in the Jenin refugee
camp.
In addition, olive trees uprooted from Palestinian orchards were sold
illegally to Israelis, Israeli soldiers forced a Palestinian man to
strip
naked at gunpoint and walk like a dog, Israeli occupation authorities
said
they plan to demolish many Palestinian homes in the city of Hebron, a
group
of U.N. workers demanded that Israel stop the harassment of United
Nations
staff, and a World Food Program warehouse in a Palestinian refugee camp
was
demolished.
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)
GO TO http://capwiz.com/cair/home/ to send a pre-formatted message to
your
elected representatives.
- PLEASE POST, COPY AND DISTRIBUTE -
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12/3/2002
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: GOOD CONDUCT
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: 4301 SPONSORSHIPS
* RESOURCES: ASSOCIATION OF LATIN AMERICAN MUSLIMS (ALAM)
* DC-AREA MUSLIMS TO MARK END OF RAMADAN FAST
* CARTOON UNFAIR TO MUSLIMS (Philadelphia Inquirer)
* MD MEN CHARGED WITH ANTI-MUSLIM HATE CRIME, ASSAULT (Baltimore Sun)
* MAN PAYS FINE FOR DISORDERLY CONDUCT INVOLVING MUSLIM (AP)
* CAIR TEAMWORKS OFFERS DARTMOUTH DIVERSITY TRAINING WORKSHOP
* CAIR-DFW ACTIVITIES:
- Department Store Reinstates Muslim Employee
- Billboard to Publicize PBS Documentary on Prophet Muhammad
- 146 Library Packages Sponsored in North Texas Area
* IMAMS OF INANITY (Washington Post)
* DECEMBER 6TH IS BABRI MOSQUE DAY
- Muslims to Mourn Anniversary of Mosque Destruction (AP)
* SURVEILLANCE TACTICS VICTIMIZE U.S. MUSLIMS (Newsday)
* MIDDLE EAST ROUND-UP:
- Israeli Troops Kill 95-Year-Old Palestinian Woman (Reuters)
- Child Slain As Israelis Open Fire at Busy Market (Wash. Post)
- U.N. Employees Send Israel Protest Petition (Reuters)
- Palestinians Sit Tight in 'Abandoned' Homes (The Times)
- U.N.: Israel Destroyed WFP Food Warehouse (UPI)
- Family Tells How Israelis Buried Deaf Father Alive (Independent)
- Arabs and Palestinians to outnumber Israeli Jews in 20 years (AP)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: GOOD CONDUCT
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The best person is
someone
who has a long life and whose action and conduct are good."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 32
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: 4301 SPONSORSHIPS
CAIR's Library Project has received 4301 sponsorships for $150 book and
tape packages on Islam to be placed in libraries across the country.
Take
part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library
package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
RESOURCES: ASSOCIATION OF LATIN AMERICAN MUSLIMS (ALAM)
Call Abdur-Rahman Campos, 301-270-0040
-----
DC-AREA MUSLIMS TO MARK END OF RAMADAN FAST
Thousands of Local Muslims to Celebrate End of Month-Long Fast with
Prayers
and Multicultural Carnival at the Washington DC Convention Center (Hall
A)
WHAT: On Thursday December 5, 2002 or Friday, December 6, 2002 (Based
on
moonsighting), the Muslim community in the Washington DC Metro area
will
celebrate the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan with communal
prayers
and a multicultural bazaar. People of all faiths are encouraged to
attend
and sample the diversity of Islamic culture. There will be an exhibit
and
Open House for Churches, Synagogues, and other Religious groups from
2-5 p.m.
WHEN: Thursday December 5, 2002 or Friday, December 6, 2002 (Based on
moonsighting)
1st prayer: Community gathers at 7 a.m.; 1st Prayer begins at 7:30 a.m.
2nd prayer: Community gathers at 8:15 a.m.; 2nd Prayer begins at 8:30
a.m.
3nd prayer: Community gathers at 9:15 a.m.; 3rd Prayer begins at 9:30
a.m.
4th prayer: Community gathers at 10:20 a.m.; 4th Prayer begins at 10:40
a.m.
If the celebration is on Dec. 6, there will also be a Friday Prayer
Service
at 12:30 p.m.
Festival and Bazaar begins at 8 a.m. and ends at 6 p.m.
WHERE: Prayer with thousands of People at: Washington DC Convention
Center,
Hall A, 900 9th St NW, Washington DC 20001
Main Sponsors: ADAMS, Dar Al-Hijrah, Masjid Muhammad, & Manassas Mosque
&
Dar Al-Noor & Southern Maryland Islamic Center
Local Co-Sponsors: Masjidush-Shura, Howard University Muslim
Community, Coordinating Council of Muslim Organizations of the
Washington
DC Metro Area, Masjid Mustafa, Islamic Education Center (IEC), Masjid
Al-Islam,
National Co-Sponsors: CAIR, AMC, MPAC, ASM, and MAS
CONTACT: Primary Contact Shad Imam: 571-236-4279, Secondary Contact:
Mohamed Elrafai - 703-450-4340
-----
THREE MEN CHARGED WITH COMMITTING HATE CRIME, ASSAULT Baltimore Sun,
12/3/02
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-ar.digest03dec03.story
Annapolis police charged three men with assault and committing a hate
crime
yesterday, alleging that they attacked a Middle Eastern cab driver,
made
ethnic slurs and told him to go back to his country.
Charged with felony and misdemeanor assault and a hate crime were Ray
Charles Bailey, 21, of Southern Hills Drive in Arnold; David Jacob
Grobani,
19, of Mago Vista Road in Arnold; and Robert Jason Canter, 20, of Sun
Valley Drive in Annapolis.
Police said they were called to the Amoco station at 1207 Forest Drive
at
4:37 a.m., where they saw three men, who appeared to be drunk, standing
near a Middle Eastern man whose face was bleeding. The victim and a
witness
told officers that the three men got into his taxi and wanted to go to
Arnold. But the driver refused, saying he was off-duty. The driver told
police he believed the men were too unruly. Police said the men became
angry, punched and kicked the cabdriver, hit him with a glass bottle
and
beat him with a broomstick. During the attack, police said, the men
made
ethnic slurs.
The victim was identified as Muhammad Suhail Raza Malik. Police said he
was
hospitalized and in fair condition.
Name of motorcycle driver involved in crash released
A motorcycle driver was reported in critical but stable condition
yesterday
at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, after his vehicle crashed into the
side of
a minivan early Sunday.
Police identified the driver as Mark William Harrell, 32, of the 400
block
of N. Patuxent Road, Odenton. They said his motorcycle was traveling
north
on Piney Orchard Parkway approaching Waugh Chapel Road at 1:54 a.m.
-----
MAN PAYS FINE FOR DISORDERLY CONDUCT INVOLVING MUSLIM
Associated Press, 12/3/02
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A retired serviceman who harassed a Muslim
student
because of the man's Islamic dress admitted in court he was wrong. He
paid
$101.50 in fines and court costs on a disorderly conduct charge in
Knoxville City Court on Monday.
"I was upset and disorderly," said James N. Campbell, 60. "I pleaded
guilty
to that."
Campbell still faces criminal charges related to the first arrest.
Officers
found four knives in a canvas bag he carried into his first court
appearance on the disorderly conduct charge last month. New charges
were
filed against him then.
Campbell's troubles began Oct. 14 when he encountered a 26-year-old
University of Tennessee student in Muslim dress as the student walked
to
the campus library. Campbell said he berated the student harshly about
Islam.
Campbell continued as the student went into the library and sought
help.
When police officers found Campbell, he continued his tirade on Islam
and
was arrested…
-----
CARTOON UNFAIR TO MUSLIMS
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 12/3/02
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/4651987.htm
Scroll down to letter.
I was deeply disturbed by the outrageously bigoted, inflammatory,
anti-Muslim cartoon published on Thanksgiving Day that effectively
accuses
all Islam of fanaticism, extremism and misogyny.
Mr. Auth has clearly slept through a continued outcry of Muslim voices
around the world condemning terrorism and fanaticism. He dismisses out
of
hand hundreds of millions of religiously committed Muslim women living
socially fulfilled lives.
This cartoon is fodder for intolerance and xenophobia - a terribly sad
message from the editors on this day of open-hearted gratitude for our
spiritual freedom.
Steven Rosenzweig
Philadelphia
TO VIEW THE DEFAMATORY CARTOON, GO TO
http://www.ucomics.com/tonyauth/2002/11/28/
Auth's work appears five times a week in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Meet Tony Auth: http://www.ucomics.com/tonyauth/bio.phtml
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)
E-MAIL COMMENTS TO: lswanson@phillynews.com, csatullo@phillynews.com,
inquirer.letters@phillynews.com, tauth@phillynews.com,
hkestenbaum@phillynews.com, content@uclick.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
(NOTE: If you already sent the newspaper a complaint, send a follow-up
note
to ask what action they are going to take to mitigate the harm caused
to
inter-faith relations by the cartoon.)
-----
CAIR TEAMWORKS OFFERS DARTMOUTH DIVERSITY TRAINING WORKSHOP
CAIR's TeamWorks diversity training division recently conducted a
half-day
sensitivity training workshop for Dartmouth College in Hanover, New
Hampshire. Some 25 college directors, advisors, faculty, graduate and
undergraduate students participated in the half-day training workshop.
TeamWorks Director Nancy Hanaan presented a Campus and Classroom
Sensitivity
Training workshop called "Understanding Islam and Muslims," which
included
an overview of basic Islamic beliefs and practices, discussion on myths
and
stereotypes regarding Islam and Muslims, and accommodation suggestions
for
Muslim students and faculty on campus. The workshop included question
and
answer sessions, group exercises and an ABC News Hajj video
presentation.
As the United States becomes increasingly ethnically diverse in recent
years, classrooms and campuses nationwide have been impacted by this
new
multiculturalism. It is now time to explore and appreciate our
religious
and cultural diversity. Dartmouth College has demonstrated their desire
to
improve the working relationship and productivity of a multi-ethnic and
culturally diverse environment through education," Said Nancy Hanaan
Serag.
TeamWorks: Solutions for Today's Diversity offers several training
programs
available for a wide range of environments and needs. For more
information,
contact: Nancy Hanaan Serag at 202-488-8787, ext. 6052,
nserag@cair-net.org
or teamworks@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR-DFW ACTIVITIES:
DEPARTMENT STORE REINSTATES MUSLIM EMPLOYEE
(HOUSTON, TEXAS) - A Foley's Department Store in Houston, Texas, has
informed the Dallas/Fort-Worth office of the Council on
American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR-DFW) that it will reinstate a Muslim woman who was
wrongfully terminated from employment. The termination resulted from
the
Muslim woman refusing to remove her headscarf to comply with the
corporate
dress policy. The termination was in violation of Title VII of the 1964
Civil Rights Act, which states that "employers must accommodate an
employee's religious practices unless doing so would cause undue
hardship
to the employer."
Foley's has agreed to reinstate the Muslim woman and compensate her for
lost wages since the wrongful termination. CAIR-DFW will work with
Foley's
to ensure that the necessary materials and training is provided to
eliminate similar situations in the future.
---
LOCAL BILLBOARD TO PUBLICIZE PBS DOCUMENTARY ON PROPHET MUHAMMAD
CAIR-DFW is sponsoring a billboard at the intersection of I-35E and
Beltline Road. Thousands of commuters pass this intersection each day.
The billboard will read the following:
ONE MAN WHO CHANGED THE WORLD
Watch KERA 13, Dec. 18 at 8 pm
"Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet"
The billboard will run from Dec. 5-9.
SEE: http://www.pbs.org/muhammad/
---
146 LIBRARY PACKAGES SPONSORED IN NORTH TEXAS AREA
Local Muslims have sponsored 146 library packages for North Texas
public
and high school libraries during the blessed month of Ramadan. Please
visit
http://www.cairdfw.org to see a list of available libraries to be
sponsored
in Texas.
More than 200 public and high school libraries in North Texas have been
contacted and said they are willing to accept CAIR's Library Package.
CONTACT CAIR-DFW: (214)636-6525 or email info@cairdfw.org
-----
IMAMS OF INANITY
Richard Cohen, Washington Post, 12/3/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1157-2002Dec2.html
Back in October the Rev. Jerry Falwell called Muhammad, the founder of
Islam, a terrorist. This set off riots in India and may have
contributed to
the good showing of religious parties in the Pakistani election. About
two
weeks after he made the remark, Falwell retracted it. I think Falwell
is an
idiot. I will issue a retraction later...
After Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush went out of his way to emphasize
that
the enemy of the United States was not Islam but extremists who in no
way
were representative of the religion. He has repeated this message over
and
over, recently distancing himself from the anti-Islamic remarks of
certain
conservative Christian leaders -- Falwell, Robertson and the Rev.
Franklin
Graham, the son of Billy Graham. Franklin Graham called Islam "evil."
Oddly enough, Bush is in somewhat the same position as certain
political
leaders in the Muslim world. He too is finding it awkward to deal with
crackpot religious leaders. America's religious fundamentalists are
Bush's
core political constituency. He relied on them in South Carolina, for
instance, to defeat Sen. John McCain in the Republican presidential
primary.
This is a dicey situation. The last thing the United States needs is
for
the war against terrorism to become one between Christianity and Islam
--
or, if you wish, the Judeo-Christian culture and the Muslim one. If
that is
allowed to happen, then Muslims who abhor Osama bin Laden and all he
stands
for will be compelled to take sides on the basis of religion, not
ideology
or politics. That would be disastrous.
But just as I and others have held certain Islamic regimes -- Egypt,
Saudi
Arabia, etc. -- responsible for the hate speech of religious leaders,
so
will Bush be held responsible for the rantings of Falwell, Robertson,
Graham and others. After all, they are not peripheral figures. They are
now
mainstream religious leaders, courted by political leaders of both
parties
(especially the GOP) and treated with great, if undeserved, respect.
Bush
felt close enough to Franklin Graham, whose father has been a longtime
Bush
family friend, to have asked him to speak at his inauguration…
It is easy enough to have fun with such nonsense, but the situation is
in
fact sad. Falwell, Robertson and Graham are among the most famous
ministers
of our time, replacing the learned and, yes, liberal ones who offered
the
nation moral instruction during the civil rights era and the Vietnam
War.
Now we have preachers who do not counsel toleration and understanding,
but
a sort of bigotry -- an ugly and sweeping vilification of a whole
people,
in the manner of the very Islamic radicals they condemn.
Now I must make my retraction. Okay, Falwell is not an idiot.
-----
DECEMBER 6TH IS BABRI MOSQUE DAY
Three major Indian Muslim organizations in the US, the Association of
Indian Muslims (AIM,) the Indian Muslim Council-USA (IMC-USA) and the
Indian Muslim Relief Committee (IMRC) are calling upon the Muslims in
the
U.S. to observe December 6th as Babri Mosque day.
This call has been endorsed by the national Muslim organizations in the
U.S. including the American Muslim Alliance (AMA), the American Muslim
Council (AMC), the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the
Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), the Islamic Society of North
America (ISNA) and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC).
STATEMENT:
On December 6th 1992, ten years ago, the world looked the other way as
a
democracy of millions allowed a few thousand to demolish its most
prized
possession: a pluralistic and tolerant ethos.
Defying the orders of the Supreme Court of India and their own promise
to
the nation, the Hindutva fascist forces demolished the historic Babri
mosque that was built to honor the great enlightened emperor Babar.
Many
Indian stalwarts, including the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi,
consider
the poet-warrior king to be one of the greatest Indian heroes.
Not a single unit of the country's mighty military was called, no
special
commandos were rushed to the spot and no effective resistance offered
by
the police forces present, as a mob of vandals, egged on by their
Hindutva-fascist demagogues (that included L.K. Advani, who has
subsequently risen to become India's current Deputy PM), pulled down
the
historic four hundred year old Mosque with axes and scythes in broad
daylight.
Dome by dome and wall by wall, India's secularism was hammered upon
until
it was nothing but rubble. Each brick was then assiduously removed -
some
taken home as souvenirs, as if the perpetrators feared that the
centuries
old pluralistic tradition might somehow arise out of the rubble and
stake
its claim again…
For Additional Information, Please Contact:
Shaik Ubaid
Indian Muslim Council - USA
http://www.imc-usa.org
516-567-0783
media@imc-usa.org
SEE ALSO:
INDIA'S HINDUS TO CELEBRATE, MUSLIMS TO MOURN ANNIVERSARY OF MOSQUE
DESTRUCTION AMID HIGH SECURITY
PRAJNAN BHATTACHARYA; Associated Press, 12/3/02
LUCKNOW, India - Hindu nationalists were preparing celebrations to mark
the
anniversary of their demolition of a 16th-century mosque in northern
India,
a controversial event that set off religious violence across the nation
and
led to at least 2,000 deaths a decade ago.
Muslims will be mourning the anniversary this Friday.
Police will be on alert, concerned about recent attacks by suspected
Muslim
militants on Hindu temples. And there are fears that Hindu-Muslim
clashes
this year in the western state of Gujarat - the worst religious
violence
since the nationwide rioting a decade ago - may be sparked again by
memories of what happened at the town of Ayodhya on Dec. 6, 1992. The
hard-line World Hindu Council said it will organize indoor celebrations
of
what it calls "Victory Day," marking the destruction of Ayodhya's Babri
Mosque, and light bonfires to send prayers and offerings to Hindu gods.
Instead of wearing new clothes and holding feasts to mark the end of
the
fasting month of Ramadan on Friday, Muslims will fly black flags from
mosques and minarets in Ayodhya, in the northern Indian state of Uttar
Pradesh…
In 1992, a Hindu mob that had gathered in Ayodhya tore down the Babri
Mosque stone by stone with the intention of replacing it with a Hindu
temple.
Hindu nationalists claim that a 16th-century Muslim Mogul ruler,
Emperor
Babar, built the mosque on the site of a destroyed Hindu temple marking
the
birthplace of Rama, who Hindus believe was an incarnation of the god
Vishnu.
The destruction of Babri followed months of campaigning by Lal K.
Advani, a
Hindu nationalist who is now the country's deputy prime minister. His
followers want India to be a Hindu state rather than a secular one.
-----
SURVEILLANCE TACTICS VICTIMIZE U.S. MUSLIMS
Shaker A. Lashuel, Newsday, 12/2/02
Shaker A. Lashuel heads the Yemeni-American League in New York. This is
from the Pacific News Service.
http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-vplas033029327dec03,0,4980632.story
I am proud to be an American citizen, but this former land of refuge is
increasingly unrecognizable.
Ethnic profiling, unchecked surveillance, secret detentions and
psychological intimidation of Arab and other Muslim Americans already
have
reached levels that many of us knew previously only under repressive
Mideast regimes.
During World War II, the United States government isolated tens of
thousands of Japanese Americans in concentration camps. Today,
Americans
reflect on that part of history with shame.
True, Muslims are not being herded into concentration camps. Instead,
we
are being placed into an information-age corollary - a system of
digital
surveillance that amounts to psychological apartheid. The fact that
Iraqi
immigrants will be under surveillance by intelligence agencies is
making
headlines around the world. But this is nothing new. Immigrants from
various Mideast countries already have been subjected to repeated FBI
visits, wiretapping and interrogations. Since Sept. 11, 2001, Arab and
other Muslim communities have lived in fear…
This shameful chapter is being written in fine print within a flurry of
U.S. Justice Department directives and legislation creating a new,
powerful, domestic-security apparatus. But the message is clear for the
Muslim- and Arab-American community. The fine print says our liberties
are
suspended…
I am proud of being a citizen, not because of the country's power, but
because of what America has symbolized for millions like me who sought
refuge and renewal in this great land. No bigot, no John Ashcroft and
certainly no George W. Bush will be able to take that pride away from
me.
-----
MIDDLE EAST ROUND-UP:
ISRAELI TROOPS KILL PALESTINIAN WOMAN, 95-WITNESSES
Mohammed Assadi, Reuters, 12/3/02
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli soldiers on Tuesday shot dead a
95-year-old Palestinian woman who was taking a taxi home after a
medical
check-up in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian witnesses and
medics said.
They said troops opened fire on the van the woman was riding in when it
tried to bypass rubble that Israeli forces had used to block the road
between Ramallah and her home village of Atara…
Medics said the woman, Fatima Hassan, who was on her way home from a
medical clinic, was hit by a bullet in the back and that two other
women in
the taxi were wounded…
Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said: "We condemn this war
crime
of killing in cold blood a 95-year-old woman and we hold Israel fully
responsible..."
Troops have maintained a blockade of Palestinian areas during much of
the
two-year-old Palestinian uprising for independence, and people caught
trying to bypass army checkpoints have faced injury or death. The
Palestinians call it collective punishment. Israel says it is
self-defense.
---
MERCHANT'S SON SLAIN AS ISRAELIS OPEN FIRE AT BUSY JENIN MARKET
Molly Moore, Washington Post, 12/3/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A866-2002Dec2.html
JENIN, West Bank, Dec. 2 -- Mutaz Odeh, 15, left home this morning with
extra money in his pocket in hopes of buying sweets to sell at his
father's
stand in downtown Jenin. He returned home with a bullet through his
lower
back, shot dead by Israeli soldiers who, witnesses said, opened fire on
a
marketplace swarming with children on their way to school and bustling
with
people buying supplies for the feast that ends the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan.
---
U.N. EMPLOYEES SEND ISRAEL PROTEST PETITION
Reuters, 12/3/02
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A group of 64 U.N. workers based in Israel, the
West
Bank and Gaza Strip issued a petition Tuesday calling on Israel to stop
what they said has been the harassment, beating and killing of United
Nations staff.
"For two years, United Nations staff have been subject to escalating
harassment and violence by Israel's military, so that the protection
supposed to be afforded by the blue letters of the U.N. is being
steadily
eroded," said the petition, released in Gaza...
The petition was issued two weeks after Israeli soldiers battling
Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin shot dead
Iain
Hook, a project director for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency
(UNRWA)…
Relations between Israel and U.N. agencies have been rocky for decades.
In the current Palestinian uprising for statehood, U.N. officials have
accused the army of firing on health clinics, schools, ambulances and
other
installations run by U.N. agencies…
The signatories of the petition said they were writing in their
personal
capacities.
They included citizens of the United States, Britain, Ireland, Germany,
France, Australia, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Finland, Spain,
Jordan, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, Tanzani, Luxembourg and Colombia.
---
PALESTINIANS SIT TIGHT IN 'ABANDONED' HOMES
Stephen Farrell, The Times, 12/3/02
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-500925,00.html
IN A doomed Palestinian house, the Salaimi family sits waiting for
Israeli
bulldozers to arrive on land that they say their family has owned for
five
generations.
The feast to end Ramadan is close, but the Salaimis are not
celebrating.
The Israeli military has just told them that their home is among 15 to
be
demolished to allow Jewish settlers to walk in safety to a nearby
shrine.
This is in the divided city of Hebron, already one of the most violent
Arab-Jewish faultlines in the West Bank, where 450 settlers live among
130,000 Palestinians in an atmosphere of mutual hatred and distrust...
Israeli newspapers report that the settlers plan to build a 1,000-flat
housing block.
---
U.N.: ISRAEL DESTROYED WFP FOOD WAREHOUSE
William M. Reilly, United Press International, 12/3/02
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20021202-023431-1898r
UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was
concerned at Israel's demolition of a World Food Program warehouse in
the
northern part of the Gaza Strip over the weekend, a spokesman said
Monday.
"He supports the request by WFP that the government of Israel
thoroughly
investigate this incident," which occurred Saturday night, Annan's
chief
spokesman, Fred Eckhard, said.
"The secretary-general once again calls on the Israeli authorities to
live
up to their commitments and obligations to facilitate emergency
humanitarian assistance in the occupied Palestinian territory."
The Rome-based WFP in Jerusalem urged the Israeli government "to
observe
humanitarian principles" and compensate the agency for its losses.
The U.N. agency said 537 metric tons of food aid, valued at $271,000,
was
being stored in Jaballah…
---
FAMILY TELLS HOW ISRAELIS BURIED DEAF FATHER ALIVE
Justin Huggler, The Independent, 12/3/02
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=357935
Beside the pile of flattened concrete, all that was left of his home,
Maher
Salem described yesterday how his 68-year-old father was killed when
the
Israeli army demolished the house on top of him. When he found his
father,
Mr Salem said, the old man's head was "like a bar of chocolate, it was
only
two centimetres thick".
---
ISRAELI ARABS AND PALESTINIANS SET TO OUTNUMBER ISRAELI JEWS WITHIN 20
YEARS
STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press, 12/3/02
JERUSALEM (AP) - A demographic study released Tuesday shows the Jewish
population outside Israel declining and predicts that in Israel and the
Palestinian territories, Arabs will outnumber Jews by the year 2020.
The survey, commissioned by a new Jerusalem-based institute chaired by
former Mideast peace negotiator Dennis Ross, says the world Jewish
population stands at 12.8 million, with 5 million in Israel and 7.8
million
elsewhere.
While the number of Jewish Israelis has doubled since 1970, boosted by
a
million immigrants from the former Soviet Union, the Jewish population
overseas has shrunk by 2.2 million, much more than the number of
emigrants
to Israel…
-----
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-----
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http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12/4/2002
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: KINDNESS TO ANIMALS ENCOURAGED
* INCITEMENT WATCH: IN ISLAMIC COUNTRIES, DOGS DREAM OF AMERICA
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: 4313 SPONSORSHIPS
* JUDGE DENIES NYC SECRET EVIDENCE REQUEST (AP)
- Lawyer Can Seek Release of U.S. 'Enemy Combatant' (Reuters)
- Important Reminder on Deadline for INS Registration
* LETTERS: CARTOON ON ISLAM WAS DEEPLY OFFENSIVE (Phil. Inquirer)
* U.S. LOANS TO ISRAEL (Washington Times)
- Israel's Role in China's New Warplane (Asia Times)
* EEOC: JOB DISCRIMINATION UP SINCE 9/11 (AP)
- Hospital Accused of Discrimination (Chicago Tribune)
* COLUMN A SLUR ON MUSLIM COMMUNITY (Orange County Register)
* MUHAMMAD'S WIVES: BACKGROUND YOU NEED TO KNOW (Orlando Sentinel)
* CITY COUNCIL VOTES FOR ANTI-WAR RESOLUTION (Michigan Daily)
- 83% of Turks Oppose Use of Military Bases to attack Iraq (AP)
- US Religious Leaders Urge Bush to Avert War with Iraq (AFP)
- Bush Appoints Special Envoy for Free "Iraqis"
* VANDALS AGAIN WRECK FAMILY'S RAMADAN SIGN (Chicago Tribune)
* BUSH ORDER: CIA CAN KILL AMERICANS IN AL QAEDA (AP)
* A SWEET AND SALTY END FOR RAMADAN (Los Angeles Times)
- Tasting Allah's Sweet Bounty (Newsday)
- LI'S Muslim Kids Tough Out Fasting (Newsday)
- Ramadan Gathering Attracts Diverse Crowd (The State)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: KINDNESS TO ANIMALS ENCOURAGED
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "A prostitute was
forgiven
by God (for her past sins), because, passing by a panting dog near a
well
and seeing that the dog was about to die of thirst, she took off her
shoe,
and tying it with her head-cover, she drew out some water for (the
dog). So
God forgave her because of that."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Hadith 538
When the Prophet Muhammad was asked: "Is there a reward for us in
helping
(or being kind to) animals?" He replied: "Yes, there is a reward for
helping any (living creature)."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Hadith 646
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: IN ISLAMIC COUNTRIES, DOGS DREAM OF AMERICA
Kathleen Parker, Orlando Sentinel, 124/02
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-edpparker04120402dec04,0,6710027.column
In trying to understand why our enemies hate us so much, perhaps we're
making things too complicated. Maybe we're trying too hard in our
quaintly
American way to rationalize the irrational. Maybe they're just crazy.
It's a possibility. To my mind it's a certainty. Let me sum up my
thinking
in a word: Snoopy.
We Westerners are passionate dog lovers; our enemies are passionate dog
haters. We are the nation of Benji, Rin Tin Tin, Lassie, Lady and the
Tramp
and Snoopy. Those who despise and wish to destroy us are the nations
of:
Oh, boy, there's a cute little doggy. Let's kill it!...
ACTION REQUESTED: (NOTE: As always, be POLITE. This is a syndicated
column.
Watch for its appearance in your local newspaper._
SEND COMMENTS TO: kparker@orlandosentinel.com,
insight@orlandosentinel.com,
jhealy@orlandosentinel.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: 4313 SPONSORSHIPS
CAIR's Library Project has received 4313 sponsorships for $150 book and
tape packages on Islam to be placed in libraries across the country.
Take
part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library
package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
JUDGE DENIES NYC SECRET EVIDENCE REQUEST
Associated Press, 12/4/02
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal judge has refused the city's request to
present
secret evidence in its effort to lift restrictions on police
surveillance
of political groups.
Lawyers for the city had argued that the case involved issues of
``national
security,'' but Judge Charles Haight rejected the request Tuesday as
``unusual'' and ordered both sides to return to court Dec. 11.
The police department is seeking the right to conduct undercover
investigations of political groups when there is no evidence of a
crime.
Currently, officers must first seek permission from a three-member
panel…
In September, the department argued in court papers that the panel
hinders
the hunt for terrorists who use mosques and Islamic institutes to
shield
their activities.
SEE ALSO:
LAWYER CAN SEEK RELEASE OF U.S. 'ENEMY COMBATANT'
Gail Appleson, Reuters, 12/4/02
NEW YORK, Dec 4 (Reuters) - In a blow to the government's efforts to
restrict the rights of accused "enemy combatants" in its war on
terrorism,
a U.S. judge ruled on Wednesday an imprisoned suspect has the right to
legal counsel and that defense lawyers can challenge his detention.
Although the judge held that the president has the power to imprison
enemy
combatants, he found that Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen accused of
plotting
to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb," was entitled to certain rights.
The
judge did not rule on whether there was sufficient evidence to support
President George W. Bush's finding that Padilla is an "enemy combatant.
The 102-page decision by U.S. District Judge Michael Mukasey comes as
U.S.
courts grapple with sticky, and often untested, efforts by the Bush
administration to deal with terrorism. Mukasey is the chief trial judge
in
Manhattan federal court.
His ruling follows a July opinion issued by a federal appeals court in
Virginia that held that a different American-born prisoner imprisoned
as an
enemy combatant could not have access to lawyers. That prisoner, Yaser
Esam
Hamdi, was captured in Afghanistan and the circumstances in his case
are
somewhat different than those surrounding Padilla.
The same appeals court also ruled that a federal public defender could
not
seek Hamdi's release.
---
IMPORTANT REMINDER ON DEADLINE FOR INS REGISTRATION
Immigration and Naturalization Service's Special Registration Call-In
Male, nonimmigrant aliens who are nationals or citizens of Iran, Iraq,
Libya,
Syria or Sudan, 16 years of age or older, and entered the U.S. on or
before
September 10, 2002, must register with the INS between November 15 and
December 16, 2002. Male, nonimmigrant aliens who are nationals or
citizens
of Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North
Korea,
Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, or Yemen, 16 years
of
age or older, and entered the U.S. before September 30, 2002, must
register
with the INS between December 2, 2002 and January 10, 2003. Please
distribute this information as widely as possible.
For the most up-to-date information regarding Special Registration
procedures, office hours, or designated ports for departure, please
consult
the INS web page at http://www.ins.usdoj.gov, or call the National
Customer
Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.
-----
LETTERS: CARTOON ON ISLAM WAS DEEPLY OFFENSIVE
Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/4/02
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/4659470.htm
Below is a sampling of local response to Tony Auth's Nov. 28 cartoon.
The
Inquirer has received more than 300 letters from around the country and
abroad criticizing it.
---
Tony Auth's Nov. 28 cartoon depicting Islam as an intolerant religion
is
deeply offensive and contributes to the climate of hostility against
innocent American Muslims.
I highly doubt that the Inquirer would publish Mr. Auth's cartoon if he
had
drawn a picture of a priest saying "Catholicism is tolerant - tolerant
of
priests who rape and molest children," or a rabbi saying "Judaism is
tolerant - tolerant of soldiers attacking teenage boys armed only with
rocks, tolerant of settlements dispossessing Palestinian land, tolerant
of
assassination of political leaders...."
The Inquirer has a responsibility to behave in a manner that supports
interfaith respect so as to promote peace among Muslims, Christians and
Jews, regardless of the shameful behaviors perpetrated by a minority in
each religion. In printing Mr. Auth's cartoon, the newspaper fell
woefully
short of that obligation.
Zafar Hasan
Philadelphia
---
TO VIEW THE DEFAMATORY CARTOON, GO TO
http://www.ucomics.com/tonyauth/2002/11/28/
Auth's work appears five times a week in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Meet Tony Auth: http://www.ucomics.com/tonyauth/bio.phtml
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)
E-MAIL COMMENTS TO: lswanson@phillynews.com, csatullo@phillynews.com,
inquirer.letters@phillynews.com, tauth@phillynews.com,
hkestenbaum@phillynews.com, content@uclick.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
-----
U.S. LOANS TO ISRAEL
Washington Times, 12/3/02
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20021130-7348426.htm#2
The article "Israel seeks military aid increase" (Nation, Wednesday),
which
tells of an Israeli request for loans and grants totaling $14 billion,
mentions that Israel never has defaulted on a loan.
Friends of Israel never tire of saying that Israel has never defaulted
on
repayment of a U.S. government loan, but it would be equally accurate
to
say Israel has never been required to repay a U.S. government loan.
The truth is complex, and designed to be so by those who seek to
conceal it
from the U.S. taxpayer.
Most U.S. loans to Israel are forgiven, and many were made with the
explicit understanding that they would be forgiven before Israel was
required to repay them. By disguising as loans what in fact were
grants,
cooperating members of Congress effectively exempted Israel from the
U.S.
oversight that would have accompanied the loans…
SEE ALSO: "ISRAEL GETS PAY INCREASE, GOVERNMENT WORKERS DON'T"
Contact your representatives to demand that tax dollars be used to
support
Americans, not a brutal foreign occupation
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=124&page=AA
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)
GO TO http://capwiz.com/cair/home/ to send a pre-formatted message to
your
elected representatives.
---
ISRAEL'S ROLE IN CHINA'S NEW WARPLANE BY DAVID ISENBERG
David Isenberg, Asia Times, 12/4/02
http://atimes.com/atimes/China/DL04Ad01.html
The recent unveiling (sort of) of China's first domestically designed
(sort
of) fighter jet was the culmination of a long saga of international
military-hardware wheeling and dealing that has seen US-designed or
-funded
high-tech weaponry fall into the hands of potential military rivals.
The showpiece of many years' work, dating back to the late 1980s,
recently
happened - albeit unobserved - when China confirmed the existence of,
but
did not unveil, the Jian-10 fighter jet. It had been reported that the
J-10
(F-10 being the export version, using North Atlantic Treaty
Organization
designation) would be shown in public for the first time during the
fourth
China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition (Airshow China
2002)
held in Zhuhai in southern Guangdong province from November 4-10, but
the
plane did not appear.
The J-10 is a multi-role single-engine and single-seat tactical
fighter,
with a combat radius of 1,000 kilometers. Although billed as a
domestically
produced fighter, in truth the J-10 could not have happened without the
help of other countries, especially Israel…
-----
EEOC: JOB DISCRIMINATION UP SINCE 9/11
SIOBHAN McDONOUGH, Associated Press, 12/4/02
WASHINGTON (AP) - A museum is accused of firing an Afghan-American
Muslim
man on the basis of his national origin and religion shortly after the
Sept. 11 attacks.
A manufacturer allegedly fired a naturalized U.S. citizen of
Palestinian
descent within days of Sept. 11 for no other reason than his national
origin.
These cases are reflected in separate lawsuits filed by the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission based on Sept. 11 backlash,
highlighting
discrimination based on national origin.
Complaints of discrimination based on national origin have risen 20
percent
over the last eight years, the EEOC said Tuesday.
The agency attributed the rise to hostility to Muslims and Middle
Easterners after the Sept. 11 attacks, increasing numbers of immigrants
in
the labor force and other population changes.
``Most people think about race and gender discrimination - national
origin
discrimination doesn't come to mind, but it's having a greater impact
on
the workplace,'' EEOC spokesman David Grinberg said Tuesday as the
agency
announced its Web site's new user-friendly explanation of how
discrimination law works. It can be found at http://www.eeoc.gov.
The Sept. 11 reaction has also caused problems for Sikhs, Asians and
Arabs.
Between Sept. 11, 2001, and November of this year, 688 charges have
been
filed by people of these national origins and others alleging Sept. 11
backlash discrimination - some relating to religion…
SEE ALSO:
EEOC UPDATES ANTI-BIAS RULES
Kirstin Downey, Washington Post, 12/4/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5995-2002Dec3.html
Amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iraq and
continued
concerns about terrorism, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission
has renewed its message to employers that it is illegal to discriminate
against foreign-born workers.
The agency issued updated anti-bias guidelines yesterday that
underscore
its post-Sept. 11 message to employers -- particularly small businesses
--
that they are responsible for unfair actions taken against workers on
the
basis of national origin. The guidelines had last been issued in 1980,
and
there has since been a marked increase in immigrants in the workforce.
The
agency has posted on its Web site hypothetical examples of what would
be
considered illegal activities. It cited, among others, a Christian
Egyptian
who is harassed by co-workers about his Arab ethnicity but whose
employers
do not intercede on his behalf, a Lebanese cabdriver dismissed because
customers said they were afraid to ride with him and harsher
disciplinary
treatment given to Muslims than workers of other faiths…
Three weeks ago the agency reached a $ 35,000 settlement with a
kidney-dialysis center in North Carolina where an employee said she had
been subjected to a hostile work environment after last year's
terrorist
attacks. The worker, a licensed practical nurse, told the agency she
converted to Islam shortly before the attacks and began wearing a
religious
scarf to work within a month after Sept. 11, 2001. She said her
employer
said her appearance was frightening the center's mostly elderly
patients,
and she quit. The commission said she had in effect been forced to
quit...
---
HOSPITAL ACCUSED OF DISCRIMINATION
Native of Iraq fired after 9/11
Richard Wronski, Chicago Tribune, 12/4/02
http://www.chicagotribune.com
A Middle Eastern man who is a Muslim and a former employee of Good
Samaritan Hospital has sued the Downers Grove facility, alleging
discrimination in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The lawsuit is the second in five months against a member of the
Chicago
area's largest hospital network. Saad Mahdi, 31, an Iraqi native , was
dismissed by Good Samaritan because the hospital staff was nervous
about
his presence and "did not feel safe with him around," according to a
civil
rights lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court. The hospital denied
it
discriminates. The lawsuit alleged the firing occurred after a meeting
on
Sept. 16, 2001, in which hospital staff questioned Mahdi about his
Iraqi
origin and his views on the terrorist attacks.
The lawsuit was filed by the Chicago office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, a national Islamic and civil rights
advocacy
group based in Washington.
Kamran Memon, Mahdi's attorney and a council board member, said Tuesday
that the lawsuit seeks reinstatement and back pay, as well as
unspecified
damages for emotional distress and inconvenience…
In a statement issued Tuesday by the hospital, Good Samaritan's
administration denied any discrimination based on religion or national
origin and said the hospital "welcomes a diverse workforce…"
Before the Sept. 11 attacks, Mahdi said, there were no problems with
his
job performance or with other employees.
Afterward, "people looked at me like I'm a bad person because I am Arab
and
Muslim," he said Tuesday.
On Sept. 11, Mahdi watched television reports with other employees in
the
hospital cafeteria, according to the lawsuit.
One employee questioned Mahdi about the terrorism and "why Muslims and
Arabs would do such things," the lawsuit said. The employee told others
she
did not feel safe with Mahdi around, and other workers "became hostile"
toward Mahdi, who is not a U.S. citizen.
Five days later, in a meeting with supervisors, Mahdi said he was asked
about his ethnic background and what he thought of the attacks.
"He replied that the attacks were bad," the lawsuit said.
Afterward, Mahdi was escorted from the hospital and told he could not
work
there for the time being. Days later, he returned twice and asked about
his
job but was never reinstated, his lawsuit said…
-----
COLUMN A SLUR ON MUSLIM COMMUNITY
Hussam Ayloush, Orange County Register, 12/1/02
http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=14266§ion=COMMENTARY&year=2002&month=12&day=3
Ayloush is executive director of the Southern California chapter of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations.
In his recent column ("Muslim leaders should get off the fence," Nov.
24),
Steven Greenhut tries to put suspicion on the local American Muslim
community as being duplicitous. By citing half-truths, omitting
information
and using questionable sources, Greenhut's column qualified more as
yellow
journalism.
If you take a closer look at his arguments, Greenhut is exposed for his
own
hypocrisy. He demands that Muslims "stop tolerating those clerics who
preach venom against Israel," but on the other hand, he insists that
Muslims "show more respect for the rights of people who criticize
Islam,
even if they criticize it in crude and unfortunate tones." This seems
to be
a double standard.
When dealing specifically with the topic of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, it is obvious that Greenhut confuses criticism of Zionism
with
anti-Semitism. Zionism is a political ideology whose tentacles are
rooted
in racism. The Zionist movement practically translated into the
uprooting
of homes and lives of the indigenous people - the Palestinians - in
favor
of European settlers who claim their ancestors used to live there about
2,000 years ago.
The fact that those invaders were Jewish and the victims were
Palestinian
Christians and Muslims does not make this conflict a religious one, as
many
extremists from all sides would like to insist. It remains a national
struggle, supported by people of all faiths, to end a racist
occupation…
The Muslim community recognizes that hate speech and violence do exist
against all religions and races. The Council on American-Islamic
Relations
(CAIR) and the Muslim community stand on our record of condemning all
forms
of terrorism, racism and bigotry, including anti-Semitism. CAIR
recently
condemned an anti-Semitic white supermacist Web site and an
Arab-American
newspaper that was publishing the infamous "Protocols of the Elders of
Zion." Yet Greenhut did not mention this.
Instead, Greenhut quotes one of the world's leading Islamophobic
hatemongers. Throughout his career, Daniel Pipes has exhibited a
troubling
bigotry toward Muslims and Islam. In 1983, a Washington Post book
review
noted that Pipes displays "a disturbing hostility to contemporary
Muslims.
He professes respect for Muslims but is frequently contemptuous of
them.
... [His book] is marred by exaggerations, inconsistencies and evidence
of
hostility to the subject…"
And what is Pipes up to today? Pipes has established the infamous
"Campus
Watch," which places any scholar who remotely criticizes Israel's
apartheid
policies on a McCarthyite blacklist. So much for the freedom of speech
Greenhut claims to cherish.
We in the Muslim community take very seriously our responsibility to
stand
up for the truth and against injustice, irrespective of who the
perpetrators or victims are. It is the American way, the right thing to
do
and our core value: "O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice as
witnesses to God, even as against yourselves or your parents or your
kin
(Koran 4:135)."
-----
MUHAMMAD'S WIVES: BACKGROUND YOU NEED TO KNOW
Parvez Ahmed, Orlando Sentinel, 12/4/02
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-edpahmed04120402dec04,0,6846801.story
Parvez Ahmed is communications director for the Florida chapter of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation's largest Muslim
advocacy
group.
When the Nigerian journalist Isioma Daniel wrote that Muhammad, the
prophet
of Islam, would want to take one of the body-flaunting beauties in the
Miss
World pageant as his wife, Isioma was, besides exhibiting
insensitivity,
factually incorrect.
Muhammad's 12 wives, although not all married to him at the same time,
were
modest, courageous, independent, outspoken, righteous, patient and
loyal.
They were not known for their physical beauty -- certainly not the kind
that is flaunted in public…
Why did Muhammad marry 12 women? John Esposito, in Islam: The Straight
Path, writes, "As was customary for Arab chiefs, many were political
marriages to cement alliances. Others were marriages to the widows of
his
companions who had fallen in combat and were in need of protection."
Muhammad was far ahead of his time by marrying Khadija, a widow and an
independent business owner 15 years older than he was, as his first
wife.
This monogamous relationship, which lasted nearly 25 years, until
Khadija's
death, was contrary to the then-Jewish, Christian and Arab traditions
that
allowed for unlimited wives.
Perhaps even more eye-opening was the fact that Muhammad took Sawda as
his
second wife when she was a 65-year-old widow. This marriage came as a
great
surprise to Muhammad's contemporaries, who usually took wives for their
wealth or beauty, rarely out of compassion and affording security to
women.
In fact, all but one of Muhammad's wives were widows, and many of them
were
over the age of 40 when they married him.
Two of Muhammad's marriages have come under particular attack from
those
who never lose an opportunity to promote Islamophobia, much like the
idolaters of Muhammad's time. Even in their enmity, the Meccans of
Muhammad's time never accused him of moral ineptitude.
The current charge that Muhammad took his third wife, Aisha, when she
was a
minor is based on apocryphal traditions. The preponderance of evidence
suggests that Aisha was between 16 and 19 years old when she married
Muhammad…
To avoid the kind of excesses that we saw in Nigeria, both Muslims and
non-Muslims need to know the traditions of the other more thoroughly.
Perhaps one place to start is with the figure of Muhammad.
Karen Armstrong, in an upcoming PBS documentary titled Muhammad (to be
aired Dec. 18), says, "Muhammad was a man who faced an absolutely
hopeless
situation…Single-handedly in a space of 23 years he brought peace and a
new
hope to Arabia and a new beacon for the world."
CONTACT: http://www.cair-florida.org
EMAIL: pahmed@cair-florida.org
-----
CITY COUNCIL VOTES FOR ANTI-WAR RESOLUTION
Christopher Johnson, Michigan Daily, 12/3/02
http://www.michigandaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2002/12/03/3dec4b98bfdfc
Voices arguing against the nation's movement toward war found a
sympathetic
audience at the Ann Arbor City Council meeting last night. Joining 21
other
cities, including Washington and Detroit, the council voted 7-1 in
favor of
a resolution against war with Iraq.
Councilwoman Heidi Cowing Herrell (D-3rd Ward) pitched the proposed
resolution as a means to support local representatives in higher
government
who oppose the war.
"This is a question that concerns the whole nation," she said. "If we
go to
war there will be economic impacts on our community. There will be
members
of our community who will serve in the armed forces…"
SEE ALSO:
83 PERCENT OF TURKS OPPOSE USE OF MILITARY BASES TO ATTACK IRAQ
Associated Press, 12/4/02
WASHINGTON (AP) - The following is a summary of results for Turkey from
the
2002 Global Attitudes Survey by the Pew Research Center for the People
and
the Press, based in Washington.
Opinion on the United States, Iraq and War on Terror:
-The U.S. image in Turkey has declined sharply over the past two years.
Just 30 percent of Turkish respondents have a favorable view of the
United
States, while 55 percent have an unfavorable view (42 percent very
unfavorable). That is a marked change from 2000 when 55 percent held a
favorable view of the United States.
-Nearly three-quarters of Turkish respondents (74 percent) say the
United
States does not take into account the interests of countries like
theirs in
formulating foreign policy; just 16 percent believe the United States
is
attentive to the interests of others. This is consistent with opinion
in
many parts of the world, including most nations in Eastern Europe and
the
Middle East.
-There is significant opposition in Turkey to the war on terror, and
even
broader opposition to Turkey playing a role in any conflict in Iraq. By
more than six-to-one (83 percent to 13 percent), Turkish respondents
oppose
allowing the United States and its allies to use bases in Turkey to
launch
military action against Iraq.
SEE: http://www.people-press.org
---
US RELIGIOUS LEADERS URGE BUSH TO AVERT WAR WITH IRAQ
Agence France-Presse, 12/4/02
NEW YORK, Dec 4 (AFP) - A group of progressive US Christian, Jewish and
Muslim leaders urged President George W. Bush Wednesday to avert a war
with
Iraq, insisting that failure to do so would violate his religious
beliefs.
The group, Religious Leaders for Sensible Priorities, ran a full- page
ad
in The New York Times featuring a photo of the US president under the
words: "Jesus changed your heart. Now let him change your mind."
"President Bush, we beseech you to turn back from the brink of war on
Iraq," the text, signed by some 200 people, urged.
"Your war would violate the teachings of Jesus Christ. It would violate
the
tenets, prayers and entreaties of your own United Methodist Church
bishops."
"You've proclaimed the crucial role of faith in your life, and you've
said
that people of faith are often 'our nation's voice of conscience.'
Listen
to our voices now."
The religious officials acknowledged that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein
"is a
cruel tyrant," but insisted that "a war on the country he rules is not
just
a war. It will be an unprovoked, pre-emptive attack on a nation which
is
not threatening the United States…
---
BUSH APPOINTS SPECIAL ENVOY FOR "FREE IRAQIS"
STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY
The President announced today the appointment of Dr. Zalmay Khalilzad
as
his Special Envoy and Ambassador at Large for Free Iraqis. As Special
Envoy, Dr. Khalilzad will serve as the focal point for contacts and
coordination among Free Iraqis for the United States Government and for
preparations for a post-Saddam Hussein Iraq. Dr. Khalilzad will
continue as
the Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan to ensure that the
United
States' commitment to working in partnership with the Afghan Government
remains firm and resolute.
Dr. Khalilzad also serves as Special Assistant to the President and
Senior
Director for Southwest Asia, Near East and North African Affairs,
National
Security Council. Dr. Khalilzad will relinquish this position so as to
devote full time to Afghanistan, Free Iraqis, and outreach to the
Muslim
community. Dr. Khalilzad will continue to serve as Special Assistant to
the
President and Senior Director for these matters.
Web site: http:/ /www.whitehouse.gov/
-----
VANDALS AGAIN WRECK FAMILY'S RAMADAN SIGN
Chicago Tribune, 12/4/02
http://www.chicagotribune.com
Vandals smashed a Ramadan holiday sign belonging to a Palos Hills
Muslim
family Monday night for the third time since the Islamic holy month
began
in November, but police said Tuesday they would not consider the
incident a
hate crime unless threats were made.
"I came home at 11:15 (p.m.). My headlights illuminated it, and it was
in
pieces," said Erin Rose-al-Ashqar, a Muslim convert whose husband is
Palestinian. "It just made me really sad." Police are trying to catch
the
vandals, said Deputy Chief Steve Good, but for now the incidents are
not
considered hate crimes.
"We treat their crimes the same as anyone else's," he said.
Rose-al-Ashqar said the family will put up a new sign this week marking
the
end of Ramadan.
Three weeks ago, Rose-al-Ashqar arrived at her Palos Hills home to find
a
similar green twinkling sign broken in the yard. A second sign was
stolen
two days later.
The family put up a third sign less than a week after the second one
disappeared. That sign was destroyed between 8:30 and 11:15 Monday
night,
Rose-al-Ashqar said.
-----
BUSH ORDER: CIA CAN KILL AMERICANS IN AL QAEDA
John J. Lumpkin, Associated Press, 12/4/02
U.S. citizens working for Al Qaeda overseas can legally be targeted and
killed by the CIA under President Bush's rules for the war on
terrorism,
U.S. officials say.
That authority is granted under a secret finding, which Bush signed
after
the Sept. 11 suicide hijackings, that directs the CIA to covertly
attack
operatives of the terrorist organization anywhere. The authority makes
no
exception for Americans, so permission to strike them is understood
rather
than specifically described, officials said…U.S. officials said few
Americans are working with Al Qaeda, but they have no specific
estimates.
The CIA already has killed one American under this authority, although
U.S.
officials maintain that he was not the target.
On Nov. 3, a missile from a CIA-operated Predator drone aircraft
destroyed
a carload of suspected Al Qaeda operatives in Yemen. The target of the
attack, a Yemeni named Ali Qaed Sinan al-Harthi, was the top Al Qaeda
operative in that country. Efforts by Yemeni authorities to detain him
had
previously failed.
But the CIA didn't know a U.S. citizen, Yemeni-American Kamal Derwish,
was
in the car. He died, along with al-Harthi and four other Yemenis.
The Bush administration said the killing of an American in this fashion
was
legal...
-----
A SWEET AND SALTY END FOR RAMADAN
Charles Perry, Los Angeles Times, 12/4/02
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-ramadan4dec04.story
THIS is the final week of Ramadan, the month when Muslims fast during
the
daylight hours. What does a Pakistani restaurant do during the fast?
"Oh, we stay open for lunch during Ramadan," says Sajjad Prenjee, the
chef
and owner of Asian Kitchen in Culver City. "We don't cater exclusively
to
Muslims."Then at 3:30 or so we close for dinner prep, and we start
serving
dinner at sundown. In addition to the regular menu we have a buffet.
Usually we don't have a buffet at dinner, but, during Ramadan, people
are
pretty hungry, they want to get something right away…"
At home, the classic Id-ul-Fitr dish is shir khurma, a sort of pudding
made
from thickened milk and seviyan, a very fine vermicelli that you can
buy in
Indian markets, usually ready-toasted for use in this dish. An ordinary
seviyan pudding is eaten year-round, but shir khurma is richer, made
with
more nuts and other ingredients such as dried fruits and usually given
a
golden glow by adding saffron.
This is the dish served after returning from prayers on Id-ul-Fitr and
to
guests throughout the holiday. It is a somewhat liquid cousin to rice
pudding, tasting of concentrated milk and roses. Many versions include
dried fruit ("khurma" means date), but Prenjee's does not, making for a
restrained and elegant dish dominated by the flavor of almonds,
pistachios
and saffron.
---
Shir khurma
Total time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6
Note: Sajjad Prenjee uses no raisins or dates in his version of this
dish
and sprinkles saffron over the surface, rather than mixing it in. To
make
powdered saffron, dry 8 saffron threads in a skillet over low heat for
a
few minutes and grind them in a mortar. Toasted seviyan is sold in
Indian
markets; you can substitute fine vermicelli fried in a little butter
until
golden. In place of rose essence, also sold in Indian markets, use a
teaspoon of rosewater.
3 cups milk
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup seviyan or browned vermicelli, broken into short pieces
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup ground pistachios
1 drop rose essence
Powdered saffron
1. Bring the milk and condensed milk to a boil in a saucepan over
medium
heat and simmer 15 minutes. Add the seviyan, almonds and pistachios and
return to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 20 minutes,
stirring
occasionally. Halfway through, stir in the rose essence. The dish
should
have the consistency of a thin porridge.
2. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle the saffron evenly over the
surface while still hot.
SEE ALSO:
TASTING ALLAH'S SWEET BOUNTY
Muslims end Ramadan fasting with Eid al-Fitr holiday feasting
Ramin Ganeshram, Newsday, 12/4/02
http://www.newsday.com/features/food/ny-fdrama3029401dec04.story
Well before the sun rises on Eid al-Fitr, the last day of Ramadan,
Parveen
Choudhry and her family go to their local mosque to say special
prayers.
They return home to eat semair, a sweet vermicelli pudding that
symbolizes
the sweetness of Allah's bounty…
Carolyn Naseer also brings her local food customs to the festivities. A
Pennsylvania native who now lives in Middle Island, Naseer celebrates
with
her husband, Mukkaram, infant son, Zayne, and close friends. The native
sweet she brings to the Eid al-Fitr table is all-American apple pie.
"One of the nice parts of Eid is to get together with loved ones and
prepare food together," Naseer said. "It's a good way to feel
fellowship
with others and the joy for life that Ramadan symbolizes."
This dessert originated in Egypt and has become popular throughout the
Arab
world as a traditional Eid al-Fitr sweet. It is adapted from a recipe
in
"Egyptian Cooking: A Practical Guide" (Hippocrene) by Samia Abdennour.
Umm Ali (Ali's Mother)
1 pound phyllo dough
1 cup mixed nuts
1 tablespoon grated coconut
1 cup whole milk
1 cup condensed milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter or fresh cream
Place the phyllo dough 1 or 2 sheets at a time in a 425-degree oven for
1
to 2 minutes, or until they are dry and crisp. Crush the sheets with
your
fingers and place in a lightly greased baking dish. Mix nuts and
coconut
and scatter on top. Warm milk and condensed milk together and pour over
the
coconut mixture. Dab with butter or cream and bake in a 400-degree oven
until top is browned. Makes 4 servings.
---
LI'S MUSLIM KIDS TOUGH OUT FASTING
Martin C. Evans, Newsday, 12/4/02
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lirama1204.story
During this holiday season, the aroma of chocolate chip cookies fills
the
hallways Farheen Shaikh walks on her way to her driver's ed class at
Half
Hollow Hills High School East.
"They smell so good," the 17-year-old said. "The rest of the food in
the
cafeteria isn't so tempting, but the chocolate chip cookies are really
great, so I miss them the most."
The scent of cookies and other treats in schools across Long Island has
been particularly trying for Muslim students during the past several
weeks
because of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. During Ramadan,
Muslims
beyond the age of puberty are expected to shun food and beverages -
even
water - from before sunup to sundown as an act of heightened piety.
But in recent years, Ramadan has come at a time when non-Muslims are
gorging on turkey, holiday cookies and other Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and
pre-Christmas goodies.
"Every class is having a party and they're walking around with
chocolates
or ice cream, and they say 'come on, have some,'" said Saadia Zainul,
17,
of Half Hollow Hills High School West. "School is one of the hardest
places
to fast."
Fasting is meant to encourage a sense of moral introspection and
deepened
piety.
And because Ramadan's prohibitions go beyond the avoidance of food
alone,
many students say schools - with their multiple temptations - are a
particularly difficult place in which to comply.
That is because Ramadan fasting forbids not only eating, but bans the
use
of the body for unsavory practices.
That means no cursing. No angry retorts. No listening to gossip or
obscene
lyrics. And no fighting. Muslim children are even expected to turn the
other cheek when they are picked upon...
---
RAMADAN GATHERING ATTRACTS DIVERSE CROWD
Muslims' traditional fast-breaking meal is celebrated in community
center
CHRISTINA LEE KNAUSS, The State (Columbia, SC), 12/4/02
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/4661142.htm
The spiraling call to Muslim prayer and the scents of exotic food
filled
the air Tuesday night inside a community center at the end of Oak
Street
near Benedict College.
Members of the Columbia-area Muslim community, along with guests from
other
faith traditions, had come together to celebrate an iftar, the
traditional
fast-breaking meal held at sunset of each day during the Islamic holy
month
of Ramadan. The event attracted a racially diverse crowd of more than
90,
which included people from Yemen, Egypt, Pakistan, India, and Africa.
Ages
ranged from toddlers to senior citizens. Tables at the back of the room
were filled with traditional dishes from India, Pakistan, African
countries
and other nations, as well as traditional Southern food such as fried
fish
and red velvet cake.
Many of the dishes were made with different kinds of rice, a staple of
iftar meals. The rice was mixed with chicken, different vegetables,
fish,
and other foods.
One of the most popular desserts was gajar ka halva, a sweet souffle
made
of carrots, sugar, cream and nuts which is popular in India and
Pakistan.
After the meal, the crowd listened to speeches about dealing with
issues of
tolerance and religious fundamentalism, both in Islam and other faiths,
as
well as poetry recited in Urdu, Arabic and English.
Imam Omar Shaheed of Masjid al-Muslimin in West Columbia gave a short
talk
about how important it was for Muslims to focus on the prophet
Muhammad's
words of peace, tolerance and love for all people.
"The best way of trying to live together in the world would be by
living
what we claim to believe," Shaheed said.
Mehdia Abedin of Turbeville said Ramadan and the celebration helped her
focus on the blessings that surround her every day.
"I'm just thankful for everything we have here -- this is such a
beautiful
country and this helps to remind us of it," Abedin said. She came to
the
U.S. from India 28 years ago…
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12/5/2002
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: PUNISHMENT FOR MISTREATING ANIMALS
* MUSLIMS COUNTER IGNORANCE WITH US LIBRARY CAMPAIGN (CS Monitor)
* STOP CALLING ISLAM THE ENEMY (Inter. Herald Tribune)
* DEARBORN SCHOOLS SHUT DOWN FOR MUSLIM HOLIDAY
- Schools Grant Religious Days for Muslims (St. Pete. Times)
- With Ibn Battuta, No Journey Is Too Far (Washington Post)
* MUSLIMS LOOK TO SKY FOR END OF RAMADAN (Sun-Sentinel)
* NORTH AMERICAN 'HALAL' MARKET GROWING (AP)
* SAME HOUSE, DIFFERENT FAITHS (USA Today)
* ANTI-US ANGER GROWS AMONG ARAB MODERATES (CS Monitor)
- World Survey Says Negative Views of U.S. Rising (NY Times)
- U.S. Policy has Taken Anti-Arab, Anti-Islam Turn (Modesto Bee)
* PRESIDENT SENDS EID GREETINGS TO MUSLIMS
* NPR EXAMINES SIGNIFICANCE OF PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA
* SECURITY TIGHT AHEAD OF MOSQUE DEMOLITION ANNIVERSARY (AP)
* ISRAEL 'TO INCREASE SETTLEMENTS' (Herald Sun)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: PUNISHMENT FOR MISTREATING ANIMALS
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "A woman was punished
(by
God) because of (her cruelty toward) a cat. She had neither provided
her
with food nor drink, nor set her free so that she might eat the
creatures
of the earth."
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1047
-----
MUSLIMS COUNTER IGNORANCE WITH US LIBRARY CAMPAIGN
Jane Lampman, Christian Science Monitor, 12/5/02
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1205/p14s02-lire.html
To help counter what it sees as "a rising tide of anti-Muslim rhetoric"
in
US society, a national Islamic civil rights group has come up with a
particularly American response. It has launched a grass-roots campaign
to
get Muslims to sponsor educational materials for local public
libraries.
The goal is to place a package of books, videos, and audio cassettes -
called "Explore Islamic Culture and Civilization" - in as many of the
country's 16,000 libraries as possible. "It's important that Americans
know
what Islam stands for," says Nihad Awad, executive director of the
Council
on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). "The lack of timely and accurate
books in libraries ... [results in a] knowledge gap that leads to
increased
misunderstanding and produces unnecessary divisions between people of
faith."
Soon after the Sept. 11 attacks, Americans rushed to bookstores in
search
of information on Islam. Over the past year, many books that Muslims
consider distortions or outright attacks on the faith have hit the
market,
with authors plying their views on TV and radio. Evangelist Franklin
Graham
condemned the faith as "evil" during interviews related to his latest
book.
Pat Robertson has criticized President Bush for distinguishing between
Islam and those who "have hijacked a great religion." Some political
conservatives have recently joined the bandwagon.
CAIR has put together an 18-item package on Islam and Muslims that it
considers accurate and accessible for adults and children. Library
visitors, for example, can select from the most respected English
translation of the sacred text - "The Meaning of the Holy Quran," by
Abdullah Yusuf Ali; biographies of the prophet Muhammad; videos on
Islamic
culture and civilization; an award-winning children's book on Ramadan;
books on gender issues in Islam; and even "The Complete Idiot's Guide
to
Understanding Islam…"
CAIR also recently published a guide to Islam on this continent - "The
North American Muslim Resource Guide" (Routledge) - which describes the
history of Islam in the US and Canada and the makeup of Muslim
communities.
"Every night somewhere a program defames Islam," Omar Ahmad of CAIR
told a
Muslim audience earlier this fall. "This is our time and we must
deliver
our message…"
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
STOP CALLING ISLAM THE ENEMY
William Pfaff, International Herald Tribune, 12/5/02
http://www.iht.com/articles/79102.html
PARIS - A part of the neoconservative intelligentsia in Washington is
trying to turn the Bush administration's "war against terrorism" into a
war
against Muslim civilization and the Islamic religion.
Such influential figures as Eliot Cohen of the Johns Hopkins School of
Advanced International Studies and Kenneth Adelman of the Defense
Department advisory policy board, a former Reagan administration
official,
criticize President George W. Bush for his efforts to assure Muslims
that
his war is against terrorism, not against their religion.
The Bush critics say Islam itself is America's enemy because Islamic
religion and civilization are intolerant, hostile to Western values,
proselytizing, expansionist and violent.
Their implicit argument is that Islam was hostile to the West before
Israel
came into existence, hence that the Israel-Palestine conflict has
nothing
to do with Islam's crisis with the West. This is a novel argument
likely to
leave many unconvinced.
A segment of the evangelical Protestant community in the United States
adds
to this an assertion that Islam is "evil." That is the view of the
clergyman who was part of the Bush inauguration in 2001.
Cohen, Adelman and their fellows in the U.S. policy community have yet
to
explain what they mean about war against Islamic civilization - against
the
second largest religious community on earth, with more than a billion
adherents on six continents. One would have thought that President Bush
already has his hands full with Iraq and Al Qaeda.
These intellectuals have fallen into Samuel Huntington's pernicious
fallacy
that civilizations, which are cultural phenomena, can be treated as if
they
were responsible political entities. They identify the members of
Islamic
civilization not in terms of their actions but in terms of what they
are...
-----
DEARBORN SCHOOLS SHUT DOWN FOR MUSLIM HOLIDAY
Associated Press, 12/5/02
DEARBORN, Mich. - The 17,600 students who attend school here will have
the
rest of the week off as part of a break timed to the Muslim celebration
of
Eid Al Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan.
Dearborn Public Schools is one of the few districts in the country to
give
students time off during the Islamic festival.
The city is home to one of the country's largest concentrations of Arab
Americans, and many are followers of Islam. Though district officials
were
cautious about saying the break is for celebrating Eid, they
acknowledged
they base days off on when attendance is expected to be low, such as
the
Christmas holiday.
This is the second consecutive year that Dearborn schools has scheduled
days off during Eid, The Detroit news reported. They estimate that
between
30 and 40 percent of their student body practices Islam…
Dearborn's break was hailed by the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, a
civil rights group that said it often gets complaints about school
districts that aren't sensitive to Muslim holidays.
"We have to congratulate them on their openness to the Islamic
religious
community," said spokesman Ibrahim Hooper.
Eid will be celebrated either Thursday or Friday, depending on whether
the
new moon was sighted on Wednesday night.
SEE ALSO:
SCHOOLS GRANT RELIGIOUS DAYS FOR MUSLIMS
MELANIE AVE, St. Petersburg Times, 12/5/02
http://www.sptimes.com/
TAMPA - Just in time for the end of the Muslim observance of Ramadan,
Hillsborough school officials have decided they no longer will penalize
high school students who take time off to observe a religious holiday…
Muslim leaders said they support the policy change and consider it a
move
toward giving their faith equal consideration in the public schools.
It's also timely. The Muslim celebration of Eid al-Ftr, which marks the
end
of Ramadan, could begin Friday, depending on the moon.
"This is a good step," said Mohamed Sultan, the director and imam of
the
Islamic Society of Tampa Bay. "We live in a diverse society.
Accommodations
are greatly appreciated…"
---
WITH IBN BATTUTA, NO JOURNEY IS TOO FAR
Darragh Johnson, Washington Post, 12/5/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8446-2002Dec4.html
First came the exotic locales, the distant geographies: Tangier.
Alexandria. Damascus. Baghdad.
Then came mention of luxurious goods: Ripe tangerines. Green cardamom.
Burnt-orange turmeric.
Next, these fourth-graders at Annapolis's Key School were stepping into
the
dusty shoes of 21-year-old Ibn Battuta as the 14th-century Moroccan man
made his hajj across North Africa, to Mecca, and then kept going. By
the
time he returned home, he was a 64-year-old man. "I didn't think it was
gonna be interesting," remembered Richard Karsten, 9, as he led a
discussion of Islamic metalwork with three classmates. "I thought Ibn
Battuta [IH-bin Buh-TOO-ta] was a funny name, and I was confused."
"I'd never heard of Islam before this," said Rachel Davis, 9, a
voracious
reader who seeks out adventures and devours new discoveries. "I thought
there was just Christian and Jewish. I hadn't heard of anything else."
"That's what I thought, too," added classmate Nick Dickenson.
But soon the students were making up dances inspired by Islamic art,
which
they practiced, barefoot, in their jeans. They pounded rhythms on clay
pots
and Egyptian drums, and they learned the song "Tafta Hindi" on their
recorders.
And as the Muslim world and Islamic beliefs have lately become more
integral than ever to politics and international diplomacy, and as
President Bush threatens war on Iraq, the fourth-graders at Key have
spent
the last two months exploring every part of that world and its
culture...
-----
MUSLIMS LOOK TO SKY FOR END OF RAMADAN
James D. Davis, Sun-Sentinel, 12/5/02
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/religion/search/sfl-sightingdec05.story
Ramadan ends with the new moon this week -- Muslims agree on that. But
who
says when that happens? There's the rub.
You can look into the night sky to see the crescent moon, signaling the
start of Eid ul-Fitr, the closing feast of Ramadan. Or you can ask your
local imam. Or phone a national organization. Or check a Web site.
Muslims find the answer all four ways, depending on who they believe
has
the right to declare the end of Ramadan, a month of fasting and prayer.
It
makes for interesting debates among the faith's 1.2 billion believers,
who
have never settled on a fixed date for the holiday.
With the reported sighting of the new moon by people in several nations
on
Wednesday -- especially Saudi Arabia, the homeland of the faith -- many
area mosques began hurried preparations for celebrations this morning…
Other mosques will continue to follow a ruling made last month by
American
Islamic organizations that the crescent would not be visible on this
continent until tonight at the earliest. Among them is the School of
Islamic Studies in Sunrise, which by Wednesday evening had not changed
its
Eid plans for Friday.
Knowing the exact time of Eid ul-Fitr each year is crucial because
Muslims
are ordered not to fast during that day. Believers await the Eid with
anticipation, say local and national leaders. They keep close to
phones,
faxes and Web sites, then race with preparations for prayers at the
local
mosques…
-----
NORTH AMERICAN 'HALAL' MARKET GROWING
RACHEL ZOLL, Associated Press, 12/4/02
NEW YORK - Shaida Khan once had to carry an entire raw lamb, chopped up
and
wrapped, on a long subway ride from Manhattan to Queens.
"I was so exhausted," Khan recalled. "I said, 'I'm never doing that
again."'
That was nearly two decades ago, when Khan could find only one store in
New
York that sold food for observant Muslims. This year, when Khan makes
her
traditional biryani - meat, rice and yogurt - for the Muslim feast of
Eid
al-Fitr starting Friday, she won't have to travel far for the
ingredients.
As the U.S. Muslim population has grown in recent years, so too have
the
number of North American businesses that produce and sell foods that
meet
Muslim dietary requirements called halal.
Halal beef patties and fast-food style chicken nuggets can now be found
on
the shelves of Pathmark and other grocery chains, and the attention
American Muslims received after Sept. 11 only raised awareness of the
industry's sales potential, drawing newcomers to the field.
Halal producers reported brisk sales of fresh chicken and meat just
before
the Eid, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan…
The exact size of the halal market in North America is not known.
The Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America, among the few U.S.
groups that certify halal producers, has authorized more than 200 North
American businesses, ranging from small producers to corporations whose
product lines include goods for export to Muslim countries.
"There's a tremendous demand," said Mohamed Sadek, the international
program director for the council, which allows certified producers to
use
its symbol - a crescent and letter "M" - on packaging…
The halal industry, however, poses some special challenges.
Islamic dietary laws are complex, especially when applied to mass food
production. Religious scholars have different interpretations of the
rules,
as do many rank-and-file Muslims who accept various practices depending
on
the traditions of their native country.
Some will only eat animals slaughtered by hand by a Muslim who recites
a
blessing in the name of Allah as he kills the animal. All the blood
must
then be drained from the carcass before it is processed.
However, other Muslims will accept mechanical slaughter in poultry
processing, for example, as long as the blessing is said while the
animals
are killed. Another group prefers that the plant where the food is
produced
faces Mecca, Islam's holiest site. And some believe the blessing for
the
animal need only be said just before eating…
The federal government does not enforce religious dietary laws, but can
file charges of misbranding if companies misrepresent their products,
said
Matthew Baun, a spokesman for the inspection office of the U.S.
Department
of Agriculture…
On the Net:
Midamar: http://www.midamarhalal.com/
Al Safa Halal: http://www.halalsafa.com/
Islamic Food and Nutrition Council: http://www.ifanca.org/
-----
SAME HOUSE, DIFFERENT FAITHS
Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA Today, 12/4/02
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2002-12-04-faith-life-cover-usat_x.htm
For millions of Americans, December is an extended toast to every
holiday's
highlights.
Christmas is coming. The feast of Eid al-Fitr, concluding Muslims'
month-long Ramadan fast, is this week. Hanukkah's final candles are lit
Friday. Sunday is Bodhi Day, marking the anniversary of the
enlightenment
of the Buddha.
But when religious pluralism hits home -- 22% of U.S. households now
have
more than one faith under one roof -- the party's over for a growing
number
of families. Divorce is three times more prevalent in interfaith
families
with children than in same-faith households, according to the first
national statistical look at the issue. The American Religious
Identification Survey 2001 (ARIS) finds that of all U.S. adults who
have
had children with someone of another faith, 10% are divorced, compared
with
3% for parents of the same faith...
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic
Relations,
says Muslim men, who are permitted in their religion to marry outside
the
faith, have trouble in custody disputes in U.S. courts. They are
responsible for raising Muslim children, he says, but "we find the
father's
faith and ethnicity are used against him."
-----
ANTI-US ANGER GROWS AMONG ARAB MODERATES
Nicholas Blanford, Christian Science Monitor, 12/5/02
http://www.csmonitor.com/search_content/1205/p01s03-wome.html
If the United States wants to gauge the extent of anti-American
sentiment
in Lebanon, it needs look no further than its embassy's efforts in the
past
few weeks to host iftars, the evening fast-breaking meal during the
Muslim
month of Ramadan. Just nine of 80 invitees attended a Monday-night
iftar.
Most observed a boycott of the event in protest of US Middle East
policies…
But the anger toward the US is not confined to Muslims. Even in secular
institutions such as the American University of Beirut, the increase in
anti-Americanism has been fairly dramatic, according to Professor
Sadowski.
"One shouldn't think it's associated only with Islam. It's a much
broader
phenomenon," he says.
Hold a conversation with a Lebanese, or any Arab for that matter, and
they
will generally say that they have nothing against the American people,
it's
Washington's specific Middle East policies that they resent.
But Sadowski, himself a US citizen, says he believes that tolerance
toward
Americans is "clearly eroding." "There is a growing sense that opposing
US
policy as an American citizen is not enough to let you off the hook. It
won't be much longer before just having an American passport is enough
to
be targeted," he says.
SEE ALSO:
WORLD SURVEY SAYS NEGATIVE VIEWS OF U.S. ARE RISING
ADAM CLYMER, New York Times, 12/5/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/05/international/05SURV.html
While people in most non-Muslim countries continue to view the United
States favorably, negative opinions have increased in most nations over
the
past two years, according to public opinion surveys in 44 countries…
Favorable views of the United States declined in the past two years in
Britain from 83 to 75 percent and in Germany from 78 to 61 percent,
while
they increased in Russia from 37 to 61 percent. There were also
striking
increases in favorable opinions in Uzbekistan, from 56 to 85 percent,
and
in Nigeria, from 46 to 77 percent.
The United States-led campaign against terrorism was opposed by most
people
surveyed in several nations with Muslim majorities. The percentages
opposed
were 79 percent in Egypt, 85 percent in Jordan, 64 percent in
Indonesia, 56
percent in Lebanon, 64 percent in Senegal, 58 percent in Turkey and 64
percent in Indonesia. Pluralities took that view in Pakistan -- 45
percent
-- and Bangladesh -- 46 percent...
---
U.S. POLICY HAS TAKEN ANTI-ARAB, ANTI-ISLAM TURN
DAVID WESTPHAL, Modesto Bee, 12/1/02
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/5430929p-6416555c.html
Even as the American government issues new warnings about al-Qaida
terrorism and prepares for a seemingly inevitable war against Iraq,
Arabs
in Egypt and the wider Middle East grow ever more livid at U.S.
policies
they perceive as arrogant, duplicitous and religiously biased…
-----
PRESIDENT SENDS EID GREETINGS TO MUSLIMS
To view the President's video greeting, go to:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/ramadan/20021204-ramadan.v.smil
The text of the message may also be read on the White House website at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/ramadan/eid_greeting.html
-----
NPR EXAMINES SIGNIFICANCE OF PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA
All Things Considered, National Public Radio, 12/4/02
http://www.npr.org/ramfiles/atc/20021204.atc.05.ram
Commentator Murad Kalam made a pilgrimage to Mecca for Ramadan, and saw
diversity there. He says he realized that the values of Mecca --
acceptance
of all as equals -- are American values.
-----
SECURITY TIGHT ACROSS INDIA AHEAD OF MOSQUE DEMOLITION ANNIVERSARY
NEELESH MISRA, Associated Press, 12/5/02
NEW DELHI, India (AP) - Thousands of armed security personnel patrolled
communal hotspots across India on Thursday ahead of the 10th
anniversary of
the demolition of a 16th century mosque by Hindu extremists.
Friday's anniversary holds added tension because it falls on the start
of
Islam's Eid al-Fitr festival.
Muslims form 12 percent of the 1 billion population and are the largest
minority in Hindu-majority India, where religious violence has been
escalating and sectarian tension politicized.
Islamic anger continues over the Dec. 6, 1992, wrecking of the Babri
mosque
in Ayodhya, 550 kilometers (345 miles) east of New Delhi.
Hindu mobs, claiming that the mosque had been built on the birthplace
of
one of their gods, Rama, tore it down with spades, crowbars and bare
hands.
Fierce riots consequently swept India and killed at least 2,000 people,
most of them in Bombay, the country's financial capital.
On Thursday, police in Bombay frisked passengers at bus and railroad
stations, tightened security around public places and urged residents
to be
vigilant. Police Commissioner M.N. Singh said authorities feared more
attacks to coincide with the anniversary of the mosque demolition…
Meanwhile, Hindu hard-liners were preparing to hold rallies and marches
in
several cities and towns to celebrate the demolition anniversary as a
"victory day" for their faith.
Security was tight in Ayodhya, where officers, wary of potential
troublemakers, stopped hundreds of buses and trucks at the town's
entrance.
Tension was also high in the western state of Gujarat, where more than
1,000 people were killed in religious riots last February through May.
Thousands of paramilitary soldiers on Thursday patrolled streets in
Ahmadabad, Gujarat's most populous city and the hub of this year's
bloodshed.
The World Hindu Council, which is being investigated over its role in
the
demolition, said it would hold two processions in Ahmadabad on Friday.
Some
50 members of the council held a rally Thursday to protest against a
directive from the Election Commission to hold low-key programs. That
rally
was guarded by nearly 500 police officers to prevent any violence.
Many Muslims in the city said they would stay indoors.
"We will prefer to remain at home rather than falling into their trap
of
provocation," said fruit vendor Yunus Mohammad.
-----
ISRAEL 'TO INCREASE SETTLEMENTS'
Herald Sun, 12/4/02
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,5612341%5E401,00.html
THE Israeli housing ministry and the Settlers Council have drawn up a
plan
for increased settlement activity in the West Bank over the next three
months, the Israeli daily Maariv has reported.
The plan reportedly provides for dozens of new houses to be built in 14
different settlements.
The newspaper says the plan was drawn up during a meeting between
Settlers
Council chairman Bentzi Lieberman and Avi Moz, the director general of
the
housing ministry.
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12/7/2002
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: KINDNESS EVEN TO ANTS
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* MEDIA REQUEST: IRAQI-AMERICAN FAMILY WITH MEMBER IN MILITARY
* HOW LONG MUST MUSLIMS APOLOGIZE? (Toronto Star)
* IN U.S., MUSLIMS ALTER THEIR GIVING (Washington Post)
* SHARON SAYS US AID ON ITS WAY (Jerusalem Post)
- Israeli Raid in Gaza Kills 10 Palestinians (Wash. Post)
- The Israelization of America (Antiwar.com)
- U.S. backs Israeli "Self-Defense" (Reuters)
* TORTURE COMMON IN UZBEKISTAN, U.N. ENVOY REPORTS (LA Times)
* MUSLIMS GATHER FOR FESTIVITIES, PRAYER (San Jose Mercury News)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: KINDNESS EVEN TO ANTS
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Once while a prophet
amongst the prophets was taking a rest underneath a tree, an ant bit
him.
He, therefore, ordered that his luggage be taken away from underneath
that
tree and then ordered that the dwelling place of the ants should be set
on
fire. God sent him a revelation: 'Wouldn't it have been sufficient to
burn
(the) single ant (that bit you)?'"
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Hadith 536
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
MEDIA REQUEST: IRAQI-AMERICAN FAMILY WITH MEMBER IN MILITARY
A major American media outlet wishes to contact Iraqi-American families
with a son or daughter in armed forces.
E-MAIL: bkpatrick@aol.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
-----
HOW LONG MUST MUSLIMS APOLOGIZE?
Riad Saloojee, Toronto Star, 12/6/02
http://www.torontostar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1035775248823
Riad Saloojee is executive director of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, Canada.
As Al Qaeda's spree of senseless slaughter threatens to continue
unabated,
Muslims everywhere find themselves bound to an unending logic of denial
and
dissociation.
Precisely because Osama bin Laden speaks in the name of Islam, Muslim
communities have been galvanized into action.
If Muslims do not provide their own lived narrative of Islam, their
faith
will continue to be hijacked by a band of violent, narrow-minded
bigots…
The post-9/11 world has put a greater onus on Muslims.
Often, however, this has been a case for more than just great
expectations.
Even though Canadian Muslims unequivocally condemned the killing of
innocents in the name of Islam - a fact that was prolifically covered
in
the from coast to coast - the charge of a complicit silence was
frequently
levied against them.
Muslims, it was alleged, remained silent and said little. A corollary,
and
recurrent theme, was that Canadian Muslims were slow to prove their
loyalty
and patriotism.
In short, Muslims were held to a more rigorous standard than their
compatriots - and found to come up short…
The blame game continues. Even now, with every new attack, pundits sit
in
ivory towers of self-righteousness and demand fresh new condemnations
from
innocent bystanders.
Many requests are so harsh, so venomous, that no amount of condemnation
will ever suffice. We are witnessing, instead, the politics of ethical
one-upmanship that asserts a quota on morality but, in reality, corners
the
market when it comes to moral chauvinism.
Rarely, for example, is the U.S. brought to task for creating the Bin
Laden
Frankenstein, supporting and arming him to the teeth.
Nor is Russia asked to apologize for invading Afghanistan, brutalizing
it
for a decade, and creating a climate of internecine warfare and
extremism.
Or, for that matter, is Israel called on to rectify its brutal and
morally
unjustifiable occupation that provides fuel to these twisted
conflagrations
of hatred. Indeed, one detects through these omissions that the
apportioning of blame to Muslims en masse has an ugly racial face…
-----
IN U.S., MUSLIMS ALTER THEIR GIVING
Those Observing Islamic Tenet Want to Aid Poor but Fear Persecution
Alan Cooperman, Washington Post, 12/7/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21277-2002Dec6.html
During every Ramadan, the Islamic holy month that this year ended
Thursday,
there is a surge of charitable giving by American Muslims fulfilling
their
annual religious obligation to donate 2.5 percent of their net wealth
to
the poor.
But this year, there is a difference in the pattern of giving:
According to
U.S. Muslim charities, many Muslims made their gifts anonymously or in
cash. They contributed less to mosques and international humanitarian
groups -- but more to organizations that defend the civil liberties of
Muslim Americans…
Muslim community leaders attributed these shifts to fallout from the
Bush
administration's crackdown on charities suspected of diverting funds to
al
Qaeda and other terrorist groups. Following the terrorist attacks of
Sept.
11, 2001, the administration shut down three of the five largest
international Islamic humanitarian organizations operating in the
United
States and froze about $8 million of their assets. The groups have
appealed, so far without success…
While zakat can be given at any time of year, Ramadan is the
traditional
season for one of the world's oldest systems of redistributing wealth.
The 1,300-year-old formula for how much a Muslim must give away can be
complex -- 5 percent of the produce from irrigated fields and 10
percent
from unirrigated fields, for example. But religious scholars advise
most
modern Muslims to donate 2.5 percent of their savings, excluding homes
and
business assets…
Some of the money is going to civil rights groups, such as the
Washington-based Council on American Islamic Relations, which
dramatically
demonstrated the financial wherewithal of the Muslim community by
taking in
$523,000 at a single night's dinner in Los Angeles on Oct. 19 and
$650,000
at a similar fundraiser a week later in Tysons Corner.
In the past eight weeks, CAIR has raised close to $2 million, double
what
it received in donations in all of 2001, said its chairman, Omar Ahmad.
"There's a shift in priorities," said Hussam Ayloush, director of
CAIR's
Southern California office. "People may be giving less to what they now
consider secondary causes, such as expanding the local mosque, and they
are
shifting to giving more money to defend basic rights and public
relations…"
Several Islamic charities that emphasize transparency have sprung up
this
year. But they are still tiny and little known compared with the three
aid
agencies shut down by the government -- the Holy Land Foundation for
Relief
and Development, Benevolence International Foundation and Global Relief
Foundation -- which together had raised more than $20 million annually.
One of the new charities, Dallas-based KinderUSA, distributes aid to
needy
children in the Palestinian territories. It says it ensures that no
money
goes astray by giving out vouchers that can be redeemed only for food
and
clothing at selected stores in Gaza and the West Bank…
-----
SEE: "ISRAEL GETS PAY INCREASE, GOVERNMENT WORKERS DON'T"
Contact your representatives to demand that tax dollars be used to
support
Americans, not a brutal foreign occupation
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=124&page=AA
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)
GO TO http://capwiz.com/cair/home/ to send a pre-formatted message to
your
elected representatives.
SHARON SAYS US AID ON ITS WAY
CALEV BEN-DAVID, Jerusalem Post, 12/6/02
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1039065109310
American aid in the form of loan guarantees and funds earmarked for
security will be arriving "in the very near future," Prime Minister
Ariel
Sharon told a gathering of newspaper editors at the annual "Kaf-Tet
B'November" press conference at Tel Aviv's Beit Sokolow on Thursday.
At the conference, commemorating the 1947 UN partition plan, Sharon
added
that the aid is unconditional and not linked to his Wednesday night
speech,
in which he outlined his vision of a diplomatic process that would
culminate in a Palestinian state…
SEE ALSO:
ISRAELI RAID IN GAZA KILLS 10 PALESTINIANS
U.N. Condemns Killing of 2 Employees
Molly Moore, Washington Post, 12/7/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20550-2002Dec6.html
JERUSALEM, Dec. 6 -- Israeli military forces launched a tank and
helicopter
attack on a refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip early this morning,
killing 10 Palestinians, including two local U.N. employees, according
to
the Israeli military and Palestinian officials…Palestinian officials
said
most were civilians, including a U.N. school teacher who died when
shrapnel
pierced her neck while she was inside her home. At least 10 other
Palestinians were wounded, according to hospital authorities.
The attack, which occurred at the close of Eid al-Fitr, the final day
of
the Ramadan month of fasting, drew criticism from U.N. officials as
well as
from the leader of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat.
"This loss of civilian lives of people working for a humanitarian U.N.
agency, is completely unacceptable," Peter Hansen, who heads the U.N.
Relief and Works Agency in Gaza and the West Bank, said from Geneva. "I
must condemn what appears to be the indiscriminate use of heavy
firepower
in a densely populated area…"
---
THE ISRAELIZATION OF AMERICA
James Brooks, Antiwar.com, 12/7/02
http://www.antiwar.com/orig/brooks1.html
US officials recently announced the somewhat jarring news that Israeli
security forces will be training American soldiers in the techniques of
urban warfare. Apparently Israel's illegal thirty-five year occupation
of
Palestine has enabled it to perfect tactics that our troops will need
in a
'possible' war on Iraq.
Most informed Americans will receive this news with a sense of both
foreboding and dislocation. The brutal tactics of the Israeli "Defense"
Forces have been denounced for decades by human rights groups, the
United
Nations, and scores of foreign governments. Is this how we want our own
troops to fight? Our sense of dislocation (even "topsy-turvy") in
greeting
this news traces to something else; the fact that Israel has always
been
our client, not the other way around. Why are the Israelis now teaching
us?
Is this really something new, or is it merely an unusually explicit
lesson
in the continuing education of American power by the Israeli vanguard?
Who
has been learning from whom in this "special relationship"?
Over the past half century, Israel's organized terror against
Palestinian
civilians has moved from the relatively secret operations of special
Israeli army and paramilitary units to globally televised depredations
wrought with helicopter gunships, state-of-the-art tanks, and F-16
fighters. In the process, massacres like those perpetrated in the old
days
by Israeli army units at Deir Yassin and Qibya have been dwarfed, in
terms
of casualties, scope, and property damage, by today's daily and
indiscriminate destruction in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Crimes
that Israel once felt compelled to hide from the world are now on full
display, vigorously defended by the Israeli government…
Our politicians have also learned much by example from our close and
"special" relationship with the government of Israel. For decades, our
pols
have used cant, dissimulation and fraud to excuse Israel's most
egregious
crimes. In the process, much has been learned about how to turn acts of
wanton destruction into a noble defense of freedom. Israel's
willingness to
keep 'pushing the envelope' of state terror has been invaluable in this
process, training both American pols and media in the arts of
propaganda
required to justify ever-larger crimes.
Meanwhile, the American populace has been steadily learning to accept
Israel's gross violations of human rights, international law, and
common
decency as "necessary for peace and security", justified by "Israel's
right
to defend herself". This lesson in moral decay and desensitization is
proving handy indeed, as the current US administration seeks to extend
American hegemony in the Middle East by a new war of occupation…
Just as Israel depends on billions of dollars annually from a compliant
US
government to maintain its military occupation and indifference to UN
resolutions and international law, America's power axis also thrives on
a
steady flow of wealth from a similarly remote and supine source - the
American people. And just as Israel makes it a point to occasionally
disobey the orders of its US sponsors, so American politicians at the
pinnacle of power pointedly disregard the many voices of the people
that
call for justice and peace. During consideration of the recent
Congressional resolution supporting war on Iraq, Democracy Now reported
that citizen messages to Congressional offices of both chambers and
both
sides of the aisle were running 10 to 1 against the resolution.
Naturally,
both the House and Senate passed the measure by overwhelming margins.
The
reply to the American public was clear; "We watch our push-polls. Pay
your
taxes and shut up…"
While American power has in general been a very attentive student of
Israeli policy and practice, there is one crucial lesson at the back of
Israel's textbook that remains unlearned: Israel's approach will never
create peace or achieve a just solution…
By following Israel's lead (which is constitutionally averse to just
solutions) in the "war on terror", we ensure that the war will never be
won
and will never end. Increasingly, we suspect that our leaders may
understand this lesson, too. And they're getting ready to send another
14
billion dollars in shiny red apples (disguised as new loan guarantees
and
military aid) to their beloved teachers in Jerusalem.
---
U.S. CHIDES ISRAEL FOR KILLINGS, BACKS SELF-DEFENSE
Jonathan Wright, Reuters, 12/7/02
WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The United States on Friday chided Israel
for
killing Palestinian civilians and destroying Palestinian homes but said
Israel had a right to self-defense.
Israeli troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships swept into the
Bureij refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Friday, sparking a gunbattle
in
which 10 Palestinians were killed, Palestinian witnesses and medics
said.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher declined to comment on the
incident but repeated standard U.S. criticism of Israeli conduct in the
West Bank and Gaza.
"We've made quite clear ... that the Israelis need to be aware of the
consequences of their actions. We have indeed been quite open about our
concerns about the Israeli activities, particularly the civilian
casualties
that have resulted from many of the Israeli actions," he said.
"We've seen a number of people hurt and killed, old people, young
people as
well. We've made our concerns clear about demolitions of houses, for
example."
On Tuesday Israeli troops shot dead a 95-year-old Palestinian woman
whose
taxi bypassed a checkpoint.
"We've also made clear that, as a friend and an ally and a democracy,
we'll
support Israel. We'll support Israel's right to defend themselves,"
Boucher
said.
The Bush administration, as it has pulled back from direct involvement
in
efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has largely
abandoned
the old practice of commenting on particular confrontations…
-----
TORTURE COMMON IN UZBEKISTAN'S PRISONS, U.N. ENVOY REPORTS
Los Angeles Times, 12/7/02
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-uzbek7dec07,0,668312.story
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan -- A U.N. envoy wrapped up a two-week inspection
of
Uzbekistan's prisons Friday by saying he found widespread signs of
torture,
even though he was denied full access to two of the country's most
notorious jails.
"Torture, as far as I can see, it is my impression, is not just
incidental
but...is systemic," Theo van Boven told a news briefing. There was no
immediate reaction from President Islam Karimov's government…
He said the forms of torture used by authorities included beatings,
electric shocks, immersion of the victim's head in water and
suffocation
with plastic bags.
Van Boven said he found that families and relatives of those arrested
often
were threatened with torture and rape.
-----
NOTE: Many newspapers across America published articles about prayers
and
festivities marking the end of Ramadan. The articles were too numerous
to
include. Below is an example of what was published:
MUSLIMS GATHER FOR FESTIVITIES, PRAYER
Cecilia Kang, San Jose Mercury News, 12/7/02
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/4687890.htm
Marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, thousands of Muslims from
around the Bay Area gathered Friday at the Santa Clara Convention
Center
for prayer and celebration.
Dressed in their best traditional garb from Pakistan, Egypt and Jordan,
parents took the day off from work and plucked their children out of
school
to reunite with old friends and relatives and attend the daylong
festivities organized by the South Bay Islamic Association.
And like last year, the event took on special importance for the more
than
150,000 Muslims who live in the Bay Area. After the attacks of Sept.
11,
2001 and as the United States heads into a possible war against Iraq,
many
Muslims saw the holiday not only as a day of celebration but also as a
time
of reflection…
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
CAIR GOOD NEWS ALERT #355
CON-ARTIST WHO DEFRAUDED MUSLIMS CAUGHT
Canadian authorities seek evidence from those who were targeted
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/8/02) - CAIR today announced that a suspected
con-artist who preyed on Muslim communities worldwide for more than a
decade has been apprehended by Canadian police. In cooperation with
Canadian authorities, CAIR is also calling on those who were defrauded
to
present evidence to local police, who will in turn offer that evidence
to
their Canadian counterparts.
The alleged con-artist's primary method of operation was to place phone
calls claiming to be a well-known Muslim leader, official or scholar
stranded at an airport after his money, passport and tickets had been
stolen or lost. He would ask the intended victim, typically a leader or
activist in a local Muslim community, to wire cash through MoneyGram or
Western Union to help him out of the crisis. After receiving the funds,
he
would disappear.
The impostor, a 37-year-old Israeli national named Mohammed Mustafa
Agbareia who was arrested December 5 on fraud charges, used this
technique
to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from Muslim individuals and
institutions in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and the
Islamic world.
"Victims of this scam should immediately contact their local law
enforcement authorities, inform them of the Canadian arrest, file a
police
report or update the report they filed in the past, and request that
the
report be forwarded to Canadian officials in charge of the case.
Without
this evidence, the alleged con-artist may be released on bail and will
again have an opportunity to flee the country and defraud more innocent
people," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.
"We would also like to thank Canadian authorities, particularly the
Toronto-area Orangeville Police Service, for their diligence and
professionalism in helping bring this man to justice," said Awad. CAIR
had
over the years issued several alerts to Muslims about the con-artist
after
receiving many complaints from those who had been defrauded.
ACTION REQUESTED:
Those targeted by the con-artist are requested to have local officials
contact the Orangeville Police Service regarding case number
OV02009218.
(IMPORTANT NOTE: Send CAIR copies of your police report and contact
information for local authorities.)
CONTACT:
Inspector Wayne Davis or Constable Faron Rahn
Orangeville Police Service
9 Centre Street
Orangeville, Ontario, L9W 2W9
Tel: 519-941-2522
Fax: 519-941-1279
E-Mail: admin@orangevillepolice.com
- PLEASE POST, COPY AND DISTRIBUTE -
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12/9/2002
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: MORE KINDNESS TO ANIMALS
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: 4462 SPONSORSHIPS
* UNDERSTANDING MUHAMMAD (Christian Science Monitor)
- Dec. 18 on PBS: 'Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet'
* INQUIRER EDITOR RESPONDS TO COMPLAINTS ABOUT CARTOON
* ISRAEL COST U.S. TAXPAYERS $1.6 TRILLION SINCE 1973 (CS Monitor)
- Israel Gets Pay Increase, Government Workers Don't (CAIR)
- On Anti-Semitism and Criticism of Israel (Chicago Tribune)
- Neoconservatives Consolidate Control over Mideast Policy (FPIF)
- Elliott Abrams: Bush's New Man for the Middle East (JTA)
- Israel Pulls a Fast One - and Gets Caught (Antiwar.com)
- On Remote Hilltops, Israelis Broaden Settlements (Wash. Post)
* ASHCROFT VS. CIVIL LIBERTIES (Washington Times)
- Public Resists Big Brother Approach to Terrorism (KC Star)
* ATTACKING HATE CRIMES (Newsday)
* INDIAN MUSLIMS VOW TO OUST RULING PARTY IN GUJARAT (Reuters)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: MORE KINDNESS TO ANIMALS
A companion of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "We were
traveling with the (Prophet)…(when) we saw a bird with her two young
chicks, and we captured (the chicks). The mother bird came and began to
spread her wings (to distract attention away from her chicks). The
Prophet
came and said: 'Who has made this bird miserable by snatching her
chicks?
Return her chicks to her.'"
Sunan of Abu Dawood, Hadith 1131
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: 4462 SPONSORSHIPS
CAIR's Library Project has received 4462 sponsorships for $150 book and
tape packages on Islam to be placed in libraries across the country.
Take
part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library
package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
UNDERSTANDING MUHAMMAD
Alexander Kronemer, Christian Science Monitor, 12/9/02
http://csmonitor.com/2002/1209/p09s02-coop.html
Alex Kronemer, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, is a coproducer
of
the new PBS documentary 'Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet.'
WASHINGTON - It has become a familiar headline: A religious cleric
rejects
calls for tolerance and understanding and castigates a US president; an
argument is made that peace will only come when nonbelievers convert;
and
American values of pluralism and religious freedom are fundamentally
questioned.
Yet in recent weeks, these headlines aren't being generated by distant
Muslim fanatics, but by some of the most respected Christian leaders in
America.
Pat Robertson has taken issue with the president, after Mr. Bush
recently
reaffirmed his belief that Islam is a peaceful religion that has a
welcomed
place among the other faiths practiced in America.
In rejecting the president's words, Pat Robertson and other Christian
leaders once again are asserting that Muslims are dangerous, Islam is
fundamentally warlike, and that Muhammad was primarily a military
leader.
These assertions, of course, tap into the fears of many Americans. As
one
of the coproducers of a new PBS documentary airing on Dec. 18 titled,
"Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet," I have become well acquainted with the
story of Muhammad and believe that the program will shed light on a
debate
that is currently generating only heat…
All religious scripture is subject to interpretation, therefore all can
be
misused. We need only go back a couple of dozen years to the Jim Crow
era
to find examples of how Christianity was shamefully misused and
distorted.
Then, Biblical scripture was routinely cited (most notably, Genesis 9)
as
the divine basis for racial separation and superiority. The most famous
American terrorist organization, the KKK, used overtly Christian
symbolism
and scripture to justify its decades-long campaign of violence, murder,
and
intimidation in pursuit of its goals of turning America back into a
"true"
Christian nation…
Historical context must likewise be remembered when judging Muhammad.
The
notion that Muhammad was a man of war as contrasted Jesus or Moses, as
Jerry Falwell recently asserted, ignores the fact that Muhammad fought
only
a handful of battles in his lifetime, resulting in barely 1,000
casualties
on all sides.
This might be compared to such Biblical figures as David, who is
praised in
I Samuel 18 for killing his "tens of thousands," famously earning the
murderous jealousy of Saul who only killed his "thousands"; or to
Moses,
who in the book of Numbers 31 chastises his army for sparing the women
and
children of the vanquished Midianites.
To compare Muhammad to Moses or Jesus, or against some contemporary
standard, is meaningless and anachronistic. The world that Moses and
Muhammad lived in was lawless and violent, different from even the
Roman
dominated world in which Jesus lived. Strong vested interests opposed
the
monotheism each preached, genocide was commonplace, slavery was taken
for
granted. Women had few rights, and might was the only law.
In this context Muhammad and Moses and all the other Biblical figures
sought to create a new society based on justice and on the belief in a
compassionate God. Their achievements in accomplishing this in lasting
ways
form the only relevant contemporary standard by which they can be truly
judged…
At a time when so many voices are creating division and conflict,
people
not just from several different faiths, but from these three faiths in
particular - Christianity, Islam, and Judaism - have come together and
proven that pluralism is alive, understanding is still possible, and
tolerance is not beyond our furthest hopes.
SEE ALSO: DEC. 18 ON PBS: 'MUHAMMAD: LEGACY OF A PROPHET'
http://www.pbs.org/muhammad/
-----
INQUIRER EDITOR RESPONDS TO COMPLAINTS ABOUT CARTOON
The following is a letter to CAIR from Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial
Page
Editor Chris Satullo concerning a recent Tony Auth political cartoon
that
many Muslims viewed as defamatory toward Islam. See the cartoon at:
http://www.ucomics.com/tonyauth/2002/11/28/
"We at The Inquirer Editorial Board regret that so many people derived
pain
and offense from Tony Auth's cartoon of Nov. 28. We do feel that much
of
the response stems from a misreading of the cartoon, a misunderstanding
produced by viewing the cartoons outside its original news context. But
that does not eliminate the distress we feel at hearing that many
Muslim
Americans experienced the cartoon as an attack on them. One of our
goals as
an Editorial Board is to confront and criticize religious and ethnic
bias,
not to perpetuate it.
"Allow me to review a couple of key points that…seem in danger of being
forgotten:
"1) The subject of this dialogue is a cartoon, not an editorial. Tony
Auth's cartoons represent his views as an individual commentator, not
those
of The Inquirer. Cartoons are, by definition, visual exaggerations
meant to
comment on the most recent news. No single cartoon can be taken as
indicative of the cartoonist's life philosophy; each one is better
understood in the context of the news event that triggered it.
"The paper's viewpoint is expressed in written editorials. Our
editorial
position since Sept. 11 has been clear: We are against targeting of or
recriminations against Muslim Americans or Arab Americans; we have
opposed
vigorously the violation of the civil liberties of some Muslim
Americans by
law enforcement.
"2) Beyond that distinction between editorials and cartoons, it should
be
noted that Tony Auth's cartoons since Sept. 11 have made similar points
against recriminations and civil liberties violations. My favorite was
one
last Dec. 23, depicting the Three Wise Men (who, after all, were from
Arabia) being patted down at a checkpoint outside the manger in
Bethlehem.
Furthermore, the notion expressed in many e-mails that Mr. Auth is
wildly
anti-Palestinian is based on a very selective reading of his work over
time. He has drawn cartoons critical of Yassir Arafat, the PLO and
suicide
bombers, it is true. But just as often he has been critical of Israeli
leaders and soldiers. His instinct is to hold up to scrutiny anyone on
either side whose most recent moved the Middle East toward bloodshed,
not
peace. He is frequently criticized by some of our Jewish readers as
being
wildly anti-Israel. Such dramatic variations in response are not
unusual
in a situation as emotional and polarized as the West Bank. No
cartoonist
worth his salt can afford to remain silent on important topics because
of a
fear his work will be misunderstood or misrepresented.
"3) The person speaking in the Nov. 28 cartoon is clearly meant to
depict
an Arab sheik, not a generic Muslim. The cartoon is a criticism of the
hypocrisy on terrorism and the repressive tendencies of certain
authoritarian Arab regimes in the Middle East. It is not meant as
indictment of Islam. Tony's point is that the image of Islam in the
Western
world is "hijacked" when repressive political leaders claim the faith
as
justification for their policies. I'm not suggesting that everyone must
agree with his point; obviously, some would disagree. But this cartoon
was
certainly not intended as the wholesale indictment of Islam that some
people, encountering it out of context, take it to be. Could the
intent
have been made clearer in the wording inside the balloon? Possibly.
"4) What was the context? The cartoon came on the heels of several days
of
headlines about the possibility that Saudi Arabian charities had
funneled
money to al-Qaeda. The reference to "terrorist charities" in the
cartoon is
an explicit allusion to that news context. I understand your point that
for
many Muslims in America, given some of the rhetoric that's been leveled
against domestic charities and mosques as terrorist fronts, it was hard
to
see this allusion as being merely about the reports from Saudi Arabia.
This
is particularly true when someone sees the cartoon in isolation a week
after it was published.
"Let me conclude by expressing again how distressing this
misunderstanding
has been for us at the paper, particularly Tony. As I mentioned, he is
out
of the country at the moment, which is why I am responding on his
behalf.
The depth of emotion expressed in some of the e-mails is impossible to
ignore. If nothing else, this incident has given us an even deeper
understanding of how difficult and stressful the times have become for
adherents of Islam in America…"
SEND CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENTS TO: csatullo@phillynews.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
-----
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)
GO TO http://capwiz.com/cair/home/ to demand that your tax dollars not
be
sent to support Israel's brutal military occupation of the Palestinian
people.
ISRAEL COST U.S. TAXPAYERS $1.6 TRILLION SINCE 1973
ECONOMIST TALLIES SWELLING COST OF ISRAEL TO US
David R. Francis, Christian Science Monitor, 12/9/02
http://csmonitor.com/2002/1209/p16s01-wmgn.html
Since 1973, Israel has cost the United States about $1.6 trillion. If
divided by today's population, that is more than $5,700 per person.
This is an estimate by Thomas Stauffer, a consulting economist in
Washington. For decades, his analyses of the Middle East scene have
made
him a frequent thorn in the side of the Israel lobby.
For the first time in many years, Mr. Stauffer has tallied the total
cost
to the US of its backing of Israel in its drawn-out, violent dispute
with
the Palestinians. So far, he figures, the bill adds up to more than
twice
the cost of the Vietnam War.
And now Israel wants more. In a meeting at the White House late last
month,
Israeli officials made a pitch for $4 billion in additional military
aid to
defray the rising costs of dealing with the intifada and suicide
bombings.
They also asked for more than $8 billion in loan guarantees to help the
country's recession-bound economy.
Considering Israel's deep economic troubles, Stauffer doubts the Israel
bonds covered by the loan guarantees will ever be repaid. The bonds are
likely to be structured so they don't pay interest until they reach
maturity. If Stauffer is right, the US would end up paying both
principal
and interest, perhaps 10 years out…
Other US help includes:
o US Jewish charities and organizations have remitted grants or bought
Israel bonds worth $50 billion to $60 billion. Though private in
origin,
the money is "a net drain" on the United States economy, says Stauffer.
o The US has already guaranteed $10 billion in commercial loans to
Israel,
and $600 billion in "housing loans." Stauffer expects the US Treasury
to
cover these.
o The US has given $2.5 billion to support Israel's Lavi fighter and
Arrow
missile projects.
o Israel buys discounted, serviceable "excess" US military equipment.
Stauffer says these discounts amount to "several billion dollars" over
recent years.
o Israel uses roughly 40 percent of its $1.8 billion per year in
military
aid, ostensibly earmarked for purchase of US weapons, to buy
Israeli-made
hardware. It also has won the right to require the Defense Department
or US
defense contractors to buy Israeli-made equipment or subsystems, paying
50
to 60 cents on every defense dollar the US gives to Israel.
US help, financial and technical, has enabled Israel to become a major
weapons supplier. Weapons make up almost half of Israel's manufactured
exports. US defense contractors often resent the buy-Israel
requirements
and the extra competition subsidized by US taxpayers.
o US policy and trade sanctions reduce US exports to the Middle East
about
$5 billion a year, costing 70,000 or so American jobs, Stauffer
estimates.
Not requiring Israel to use its US aid to buy American goods, as is
usual
in foreign aid, costs another 125,000 jobs.
o Israel has blocked some major US arms sales, such as F-15 fighter
aircraft to Saudi Arabia in the mid-1980s. That cost $40 billion over
10
years, says Stauffer.
SEE ALSO:
"ISRAEL GETS PAY INCREASE, GOVERNMENT WORKERS DON'T"
Contact your representatives to demand that tax dollars be used to
support
Americans, not a brutal foreign occupation
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=124&page=AA
---
ON ANTI-SEMITISM AND CRITICISM OF ISRAEL
Emily L. Hauser, Chicago Tribune, 12/9/02
http://www.chicagotribune.com
Does anti-Semitism exist? Of course. There have always been people who
object to the peculiar religion of the Jews. People who believe that we
are
by nature power-hungry, evil…
We take the easy way out when we conflate criticism of Israel's
government
with anti-Semitism. If all criticism of Israel comes from a place of
baseless hatred (or, in the case of Jews who express it themselves,
typical
self-loathing) then we needn't consider it, hold it to the light and
examine its contents. The accusation of anti-Semitism thus consistently
serves to paralyze thought within the Jewish community, as McCarthyism
once
did within American society…
---
NEOCONSERVATIVES CONSOLIDATE CONTROL OVER U.S. MIDEAST POLICY
Jim Lobe, Foreign Policy in Focus, 12/6/02
http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2002/0212abrams.html
Neoconservative hawks in the administration of President George W. Bush
have won a major battle against the State Department in the fight for
control of U.S. Mideast policy with the surprise appointment of
Iran-Contra
figure Elliott Abrams to the region's top policy spot in the National
Security Council (NSC).
For the first time, someone who has publicly assailed the
"land-for-peace"
formula that has guided U.S. policy in the Arab-Israeli conflict since
the
1967 war has been appointed to a top spot in Mideast policy.
Abrams, appointed by the White House December 2, 2002, first came to
national prominence as a controversial political appointee in the
Reagan
administration. He later pleaded guilty to lying to Congress regarding
the
Iran-Contra scandal, and has also opposed the Oslo peace process and
called
for Washington to "stand by Israel," rather than act as a neutral
mediator
between Israel and the Palestinians.
In Present Dangers, a book produced by the Project for the New American
Century (PNAC) in 2000, Abrams outlined a new U.S. Mideast policy that
called for "regime change" in Iraq and for cracking down on the
Palestinian
Authority. Foreshadowing the current U.S. policy based on superior
military
power, Abrams recommended that in the Middle East "our military
strength
and willingness to use it" should be the "key factor in our ability to
promote peace."
"Yet another American Likudnik is moving to a position where they
control
Washington's agenda in the Mideast," said Rashid Khalidi, a Mideast
historian at the University of Chicago. "This is a tragedy for the
Israeli
and American people." Likud is the rightwing Israeli party headed by
Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon…
Abrams will replace Zalmay Khalilzad, a prominent foreign policy
strategist
whose views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are considered much
more
neutral than Abrams'…
---
ELLIOTT ABRAMS: FAMILIAR FIGURE IS BUSH'S NEW MAN FOR THE MIDDLE EAST
Matthew E. Berger, Jewish Telegraph Agency, 12/82
http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?strwebhead=Abrams+is+point+man+on+Mideast&intcategoryid=5
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 (JTA) - When Jewish leaders plan their first meeting
with the National Security Council's new director for the Middle East,
there will be little need for introduction: The American Jewish world
knows
Elliott Abrams and - possibly more importantly - Abrams knows them.
Named last week as the NSC's senior director for Near East and South
Asian
affairs, Abrams is a familiar face in the Jewish world for his work on
Soviet Jewry and issues of international religious freedom.
Abrams, 54, also made headlines for pleading guilty to two counts of
withholding information from Congress as part of the Iran-Contra
scandal
during the Reagan administration…
Abrams is expected to play a large role, together with National
Security
Adviser Condoleezza Rice, in guiding Middle East policy at a crucial
time.
Concern has been mounting that the administration could veer off the
course
Bush set forth in a landmark June 24 speech that called for new
Palestinian
leaders uncompromised by terrorism and the establishment of a
Palestinian
state within three years, provided the Palestinians meet certain
conditions.
Recent events, including the prominent U.S. role in drafting a "road
map"
toward Mideast peace, have raised fears that pressure will be placed on
Israel to end settlement development and withdraw its military from the
West Bank, even before the Palestinians end their attacks on Israel.
That's why it's so crucial to have someone who thinks like them in a
position of influence, American Jewish leaders say…
Abrams is viewed as a strong proponent of Israel's security. Colleagues
say
his views are similar to those of Paul Wolfowitz, the hawkish deputy
defense secretary…
---
ISRAEL PULLS A FAST ONE - AND GETS CAUGHT
Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, 12/9/02
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/justincol.html
The Israelis are riding high, these days - but not, perhaps, for long.
Ever
since 9/11, the Israeli government and its American amen corner have
been
making the point that Israel's fight is now America's fight, and this
argument has met with some success…
Congress is practically Israeli-occupied territory, and the Bushies are
in
their back pocket: however, there are still some elements of the
American
public who have not been brought to heel, and this, we are told, shows
that
"Israel has cause for concern."
It seems that only half of the "influentials" - professionals in the
media,
politics, and academia, and others who regularly follow the news - take
the
Israel-can-do-no-wrong line. The Israelis and their American supporters
find this worrisome, as well they should. In spite of a constant
drumbeat
of pro-Israel propaganda, a well-organized cadre of American boosters,
and
the slavish support of our government, still a great many Americans are
able to think clearly and critically about our troublesome "ally." As
Ha'aretz puts it:
"For every individual that supports Israel, there is another who
opposes
it. This is happening at time when the Palestinians are at a
disadvantage
in public relations, when the president has openly declared his support
for
Israel and Israel's political lobby is at its height."
Those numbers are bound to get worse as news of the latest Israeli
caper
hits the headlines. It really wasn't such a hot idea for the Mossad to
recruit Palestinians into a phony Al Qaeda cell in Gaza. It was too
easy to
trace the cell-phone calls and emails back to Israel, as well as
Germany
and Lebanon...
---
ON REMOTE HILLTOPS, ISRAELIS BROADEN SETTLEMENTS
Molly Moore, Washington Post, 12/8/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24478-2002Dec7.html
MIGRON, West Bank -- Seven months ago, the only signs of civilization
atop
this desert hillock 10 miles north of Jerusalem were a cellular
telephone
antenna and a small maintenance shed.
Today, a smooth asphalt ribbon winds up the rocky hillside to one of
the
West Bank's newest Jewish settlements: 33 house trailers set amid
freshly
planted slabs of lawn turf, a modest synagogue, a boisterous nursery
school
and a children's playground.
In the past two years -- since the start of the Palestinian uprising
and
the subsequent election of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon -- the
number of new settlement outposts has exploded in the West Bank, far
outstripping the pace of growth before 2001, according to records kept
by
several monitoring organizations…
-----
ASHCROFT VS. CIVIL LIBERTIES
Nat Hentoff, Washington Times, 12/9/02
http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20021209-1359934.htm
During her term as U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Mary Jo White, a tough
prosecutor, convicted more than 30 terrorists and indicted Osama bin
Laden.
She has now joined critics - across the political spectrum - of some of
Attorney General John Ashcroft's policies.
Speaking before the New York City Bar Association, she questioned - as
reported in the New York Daily News - Mr. Ashcroft's policies such as
detaining immigrants in secret proceedings. "Secrecy," she said, "is
the
enemy of democracy."
But most remarkable in the rising resistance around the nation to Mr.
Ashcroft's far-reaching expansion of electronic surveillance - and
lowering
of judicial supervision in some of his edicts - is the ferment at the
grass-roots.
In February, some 300 teachers, lawyers, doctors, retirees, students
and
nurses in Northampton, Mass., formed the Bill of Rights Defense
Committee.
Through the committee's Web site (www.bordc.org), similar committees
have
formed nationwide. Now, 15 town or city councils - from Takoma Park,
Md.,
to Santa Fe, N.M. - have passed resolutions by those local committees.
On Oct. 30, for example, Santa Fe's City Council enacted "a resolution
supporting the Bill of Rights and civil liberties for Santa Feans." It
instructs the city's congressional delegation to "actively monitor the
implementation of Mr. Ashcroft's USA Patriot Act, any new Executive
Orders…and actively work for the repeal of those portions that violate
the
guaranteed civil liberties enumerated in the Bill of Rights…"
The legacy of committees that defend the Bill of Rights now stems back
to
the pre-American Revolutionary Committees of Correspondence, initiated
in
Boston in 1767 by Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty.
In 1805, the impact of those committees was emphasized in Mercy Otis
Warren's "History of the Rise and Progress and Termination of the
American
Revolution."
"Perhaps no single step contributed so much to cement the union of the
colonies, and the final acquisition of independence, as the
establishment
of Committees of Correspondence. This supported a chain of
communication
from New Hampshire to Georgia that produced unanimity and energy
throughout
the continent," Warren wrote.
Through these committees, Sam Adams and other patriots reported on the
assaults on Americans' liberties by the king, his ministers and his
officers and governors in the colonies.
Now, largely through the Internet, contemporary Committees of
Correspondence - though not achieving "unanimity" among Americans - are
encouraging more citizens to question whether the Bush administration
is
indeed securing the liberties we are fighting to protect from the
terrorists. As a high-school student told the Madison, Wis., City
Council:
"We need to be more than passive observers of history, because the
decisions made right now are our future."
SEE ALSO:
PUBLIC RESISTS BIG BROTHER APPROACH TO BATTLING TERRORISM
RICK MONTGOMERY, Kansas City Star, 12/9/02
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascitystar/news/4696562.htm
The message from ordinary Americans to Washington is becoming clear:
Root
out terror, but don't root through our trash cans.
Of all the measures advanced by the Bush administration to protect the
homeland, two landed with a public relations thud, analysts say,
because of
fears of Uncle Sam peeking into the private lives of law-abiding
citizens.
Congress last month killed Operation TIPS. The Justice Department
initiative had sought to enlist thousands of workaday Americans to keep
eyes peeled and to report suspicious activity to the FBI.
A similar fate may await Total Information Awareness, the Defense
Department's much-maligned research effort, observers say.
To track the habits of potential terrorists, the Pentagon proposes to
develop a central database of public and private records -- including
prescriptions, library accounts and credit card transactions -- of
everyone
in the country…
According to David Cole, professor of constitutional law at Georgetown
University, the public has good reasons to limit the federal
government's
power to "snoop" on the citizenry -- even if such concerns appear mute
when
it comes to investigating Muslim immigrants and noncitizens.
"What the government has principally done is sacrifice the liberties of
immigrants," he said. "That's a much easier call for the public and an
easy
call for politicians.
"Only when those sacrifices are applied to U.S. citizens do they become
major issues…"
-----
ATTACKING HATE CRIMES
Activists call for better defining, reporting of bias attacks
Tina Susman, Newsday, 12/8/02
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-ushate083037774dec08.story
In the collective mind of Brooklyn's Bangladeshi community, there's
little
doubt that the murders of Mizanur Rahman and Mohammed Hossain were
motivated by religious and ethnic hatred. Both men, killed three months
apart earlier this year, were attacked by several Hispanics who pounded
them ferociously with wooden clubs but stole nothing. Rahman's
attackers
also used chair legs and bamboo sticks to beat him. Hossain's killers,
after hitting him repeatedly with a baseball bat, stabbed him several
times.
If those incidents weren't proof of rising animosity toward
Asian-American
Muslims, community leaders say, another beating two weeks after
Hossain's
murder was. On Nov. 24, Abdul Muhit, who immigrated to Brooklyn from
Bangladesh eight years ago, was jumped by two Hispanic men a few blocks
from where Rahman was slain.
"They weren't saying anything. They were laughing," said Muhit, who was
carrying about $70 when he was knocked to the ground from behind. In an
attack lasting about three minutes, Muhit said his glasses were smashed
into his face, leaving shards of glass in his eyes, and his nose was
split
open, but nothing was stolen. "They wanted to try more torturing, but
they
couldn't because I was shouting," Muhit said. Police, though, say there
are
too many unknowns to call any of the three attacks hate crimes,
highlighting what special-interest groups say is the weakness of the
1990
federal Hate Crimes Statistics Act.
The idea behind the act was local law enforcement could better stem
such
crime if they knew where it was occurring and who most of the
perpetrators
and victims were. But although the act requires the Department of
Justice
to compile an annual record of hate crimes nationwide, critics say the
resulting numbers are far from accurate because local law enforcement
agencies are not required to submit reports and because police use wide
discretion in determining what is a hate crime.
Religious, ethnic and gay organizations say factors from victims' fears
of
reporting such crimes to police indifference in pursuing them add to
the
problem.
The hate crimes report for 2001, released by the FBI on Nov. 25, cited
a 17
percent increase over 2000 in such crimes. That included an alarming
1,600
percent increase over 2000 in attacks on individuals, businesses or
organizations identified with Islam, a jump attributed to post-Sept. 11
bias…
-----
INDIAN MUSLIMS VOW TO OUST RULING PARTY IN GUJARAT
Sanjeev Miglani, Reuters, 12/9/02
AHMEDABAD, India, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Indian Muslim groups said on Monday
the
community would vote in large numbers against ruling Hindu nationalists
in
Gujarat this week, hoping to prevent them returning to power in a state
divided by religious strife.
"The vote is our only weapon against this madness," said Sayeed Sahidar
Rehman, a former city councillor in Gujarat's main city of Ahmedabad,
referring to riots earlier this year in which at least 1,000 people,
mostly
Muslims, were killed…
Muslims make up only 10 percent of Gujarat's 33 million voters, but
community leaders are counting on a strong turnout to swing the outcome
in
a close race between the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
and
the main opposition Congress…
Thursday's election, a battle between the two powers that dominate
India's
national politics, is seen as a litmus test of the popularity of a wave
of
Hindu nationalist revivalism pushed by the BJP that rules Gujarat and
the
federal government…
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12/10/2002
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: CHANGING EVIL
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: 4469 SPONSORSHIPS
* RESOURCES: CORNELL UNIVERSITY STUDY ON AMERICAN MUSLIMS
* BUSH'S FRIGHTENING MIDDLE EAST APPOINTMENT (Salon.com)
- Dalai Lama Troubled by Treatment of Palestinians (PRNewswire)
- Israel Silent on Food Warehouse Razing (AP)
* US AND UK ADMIT LACK OF 'KILLER' PROOF (Guardian)
- How did Iraq Get its Weapons? We Sold Them (Sunday Herald)
- Celebrities Protest Attack on Iraq (LA Times)
* COLUMBUS HATE CRIMES INCREASED AFTER 9/11 (Columbus Dispatch)
* MUSLIM SHOP'S PORK, ALCOHOL BAN SPARKS FRENCH DEBATE (Reuters)
- Anti-Islam Rife in Europe (Reuters)
- French Muslims Get Single Representative Body (AFP)
- Jewish Groups Seek to Ban Book on Mideast Conflict (Reuters)
* LETTERS: MUSLIMS DIDN'T BLOODY THOSE BORDERS FIRST (Wash. Post)
- Targeting U.S. Muslims is Form of Ethnic Cleansing (Indy Star)
* INS REMINDS FOREIGN VISITORS OF REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT
- Registration Alert Worries Foreigners in Fla. (Sun-Sentinel)
* TAMPA BAY MUSLIMS REACH OUT TO COMMUNITY WITH DOCUMENTARY
- "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet" Preview in Maryland
* DESPITE DEADLY RIOTING, MANY HINDUS AND MUSLIMS GET ALONG (AP)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: CHANGING EVIL
The Prophet Muhammad Peace be upon him) said: "He who sees something
evil
should change it with the help of his hand (through action); and if he
does
not have enough strength (to do that), then he should (change it) with
his
(speech); and if he does not have strength enough to do that, (even)
then
he should (abhor the evil) in his heart; and that is the least of
faith."
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 16
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: 4469 SPONSORSHIPS
CAIR's Library Project has received 4469 sponsorships for $150 book and
tape packages on Islam to be placed in libraries across the country.
Take
part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library
package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
RESOURCES: CORNELL UNIVERSITY STUDY ON AMERICAN MUSLIMS
http://www.bridges.tv/American_Muslims/american_muslims.html
-----
BUSH'S FRIGHTENING MIDDLE EAST APPOINTMENT
Gary Kamiya, Salon.com, 12/10/02
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2002/12/10/abrams/index_np.html
By naming Iran-contra rogue Elliot Abrams its top policy advisor on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the White House is signaling a hard
pro-Sharon line that could prove disastrous.
--
What crook, rogue and hard-line reprobate from the Republicans' glory
years
will President George W. Bush exhume next? It's hard to say -- he seems
to
have already hired them all…
Abrams fits right into the Bush White House, and not just because he
almost
went to jail for a scandal so much bigger and nastier than Whitewater
it's
embarrassing even to mention them in the same breath. Like the Big
Three in
the Bush Tetrarchy -- Rice, Rumsfeld and Cheney -- Abrams is a hawk,
unabashed about using American power unilaterally. Like them, his
worldview
has been shaped by a black-and-white Cold War ideology in which
stopping
Communist or leftist expansion by any means necessary was America's top
priority…
Just as the Cold War hawks could not distinguish between legitimate
Third
World national liberation movements and The Communist Menace, so today
they
can't distinguish between the real political, national and economic
grievances that help drive Muslim and Arab rage and The Islamic Menace,
a
reified version of Samuel Huntington's "clash of civilizations." Now
add to
this a hard-line, politically useful commitment to Israel's security
(more
accurately, to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's vision of a secure Israel)
and
a Likud-like belief -- perhaps also influenced by some ill-understood
Bernard Lewis -- that the Arabs are all talk and that a taste of the
lash
will send them cowering back into their tents. Taken together, you have
the
explanation not just for the Bush administration's unprecedented
pro-Israel
policies, but its apparent unconcern that invading Iraq could cause
terrorism, like the 21st century's Black Death, to finally and
definitively
infect the religious fanatics among the world's powerless.
Considering this mindset, and the considerable political importance
Bush
attaches to the fervently right-wing Christian evangelicals who believe
that Israel must be supported at all costs in order for the rapture to
take
place, the appointment of Elliot Abrams to the U.S.'s top Middle East
policy position may not seem surprising. Abrams, like the Pentagon's
Paul
Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, is a hard-line Israel supporter who has
cast
doubt on the value of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and warned
the
U.S. not to strengthen the Palestinians at the expense of Israelis…
SEE ALSO:
DALAI LAMA TROUBLED BY ISRAEL'S TREATMENT OF THE PALESTINIANS
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dalai Lama, Tibet's
spiritual
leader and one of the world's most recognized moral authorities, is
"particularly troubled" by the suffering of the Palestinians at the
hands
of the Israelis, Scott A. Hunt notes in his new book The Future of
Peace:
On the Front Lines with the World's Great Peacemakers.
At the advice of one of the highest officials in the Dalai Lama's
government, Hunt went to the Holy Land to "figure out what can be done"
to
end the violence in that land. In the course of his investigation, Hunt
traveled throughout Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. He
interviewed Hanan Ashrawi, and two Israeli political leaders, Uri
Avnery
and Shulamit Aloni. He also met hundreds of civilians and soldiers on
both
sides. His book shows the clear blueprint to peace in that region.
The Dalai Lama abhors violence from all quarters. He has been extremely
supportive of Judaism and Jewish people throughout the world. He holds
that the Wailing Wall is one of the most sacred spots on earth. After
visiting the Holy Land, though, he could not help but notice the dire
poverty and social instability facing the Palestinian people, as
opposed to
the relative comfort and wealth in Israel proper. He notes that this
inequality does not contribute to a culture of peace…
---
ISRAEL SILENT ON FOOD WAREHOUSE RAZING
ASSOCIATED PRESS, 12/10/02
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Israel-Food-Destroyed.html
BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip (AP) -- It was considered a routine operation,
similar to many Israeli army forays into Palestinian areas over the
past
two years -- locate a building believed to be used by terrorists and
destroy it.
This three-story building in this northern Gaza town, however, had
enough
flour, cooking oil and rice stored on its ground floor to feed 38,000
people for a month. The goods belonged to the U.N.-affiliated World
Food
Program.
Israeli troops blew it up anyway.
Nearly two weeks after that Nov. 30 incident, the Israeli military has
yet
to provide a detailed explanation, and aides to Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon say they would not comment until the military does…
-----
US AND UK ADMIT LACK OF 'KILLER' PROOF
Julian Borger, Nick Paton-Walsh, Ewen MacAskill, Richard Norton-Taylor
The Guardian, 12/10/02
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,857147,00.html
The US and Britain lack "killer" intelligence that will prove
conclusively
that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction, according to sources in
London
and New York.
"If we had intelligence that there is a piece of weaponry at this map
reference, we would tell the inspectors and they would be there like a
shot," a source said.
After handing over 12,000 pages of documentation to UN weapons
inspectors,
Iraq challenged the US and Britain to produce evidence that it still
has
weapons of mass destruction.
The US and Britain will insist the onus is on Iraq to prove that it has
no
weapons of mass destruction, as it claims, rather than for them to
prove
that it does. Whitehall sources yesterday stood by their claims that
Iraq
has weapons of mass destruction and that this was "based not on what we
say
but on what we know".
But they said that passing the intelligence to the UN chief weapons
inspector, Hans Blix, would alert the Iraqis to the activities of US
intelligence and might jeopardise its secret sources…
SEE ALSO:
HOW DID IRAQ GET ITS WEAPONS? WE SOLD THEM
Neil Mackay and Felicity Arbuthnot, Sunday Herald
http://www.sundayherald.com/27572
THE US and Britain sold Saddam Hussein the technology and materials
Iraq
needed to develop nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass
destruction.
Reports by the US Senate's committee on banking, housing and urban
affairs
-- which oversees American exports policy -- reveal that the US, under
the
successive administrations of Ronald Reagan and George Bush Snr, sold
materials including anthrax, VX nerve gas, West Nile fever germs and
botulism to Iraq right up until March 1992, as well as germs similar to
tuberculosis and pneumonia. Other bacteria sold included brucella
melitensis, which damages major organs, and clostridium perfringens,
which
causes gas gangrene.
Classified US Defence Department documents also seen by the Sunday
Herald
show that Britain sold Iraq the drug pralidoxine, an antidote to nerve
gas,
in March 1992, after the end of the Gulf war. Pralidoxine can be
reverse
engineered to create nerve gas…
---
CELEBRITIES WILL ISSUE A STATEMENT TODAY PROTESTING AN ATTACK AGAINST
IRAQ
Hilary E. MacGregor, Los Angeles Times, 12/10/02
http://www.calendarlive.com/printedition/calendar/cl-et-macgregor10dec10.story
More than 100 Hollywood actors, producers and directors will out
themselves
today as antiwar activists. Mike Farrell, Alfre Woodard, Ed Begley Jr.,
Tony Shalhoub and others will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. at Les
Deux
Cafes in Hollywood to issue a statement protesting the costs and risks
of
going to war with Iraq. Calling themselves Artists United to Win
Without
War, the celebrity signatories to the statement range from Gillian
Anderson
and Kim Basinger to Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne and Michael Stipe.
Denouncing war talk in Washington "alarming and unnecessary," the
simple,
five-paragraph declaration urges the disarming of Iraq through "legal
diplomatic means."
"We are patriotic Americans who share the belief that Saddam Hussein
cannot
be allowed to possess weapons of mass destruction. We support rigorous
U.N.
weapons inspections to assure Iraq's effective disarmament," the
statement
reads. "However, a preemptive military invasion of Iraq will harm
American
national interests. Such a war will increase human suffering, arouse
animosity toward our country, increase the likelihood of terrorist
attacks,
damage the economy, and undermine our moral standing in the world…"
-----
COLUMBUS HATE CRIMES INCREASED AFTER 9/11
Jeb Phillips, Columbus Dispatch, 12/9/02
http://www.columbusdispatch.com
Search using the term "hate crimes."
Very quietly in the past week, the Muslims who were driven out of the
Islamic Center on E. Broad Street have been coming back to pray.
Last December, vandals ripped out carpet, desecrated Qurans, clogged
drains
and tore out pipes. But the center has been rebuilt, said Jad Humeidan,
executive director of the Ohio chapter of the Council on
American-Islamic
Relations. "They said they were the oldest center in central Ohio and
they
were going to stay," he said.
The vandalism was one of the highest-profile hate crimes last year in
Columbus. According to figures recently released by the FBI, it was
part of
a national trend.
Columbus had five crimes motivated by religious bias in 2000. In 2001,
Columbus had 22, more than any other city in Ohio -- and most came
after
the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. That's the most startling jump in local
hate
crimes, and at the same time the most explainable, experts said.
"It was 9/11," said detective Wes Johnson, who investigates hate crimes
for
the Columbus Division of Police. "It caused a lot of dislike toward the
Islamic community. We saw a lot of property damage and a lot of
threatening
situations."
The increase was nationwide: Anti-Muslim incidents were up 1,600
percent
from the 2000 numbers. Locally, the crimes could be classified as
minor,
Johnson said -- a slur shouted out of a car, graffiti or other
vandalism.
As with the Islamic Center, many of those affected shrugged off the
intimidation and tried to move on with their lives, he said…
-----
MUSLIM SHOP'S PORK, ALCOHOL BAN SPARKS FRENCH DEBATE
Catherine Bremer, Reuters, 12/10/02
PARIS (Reuters) - A supermarket in a Paris suburb has caused a furor
among
some shoppers and incurred the wrath of the mayor by stripping its
shelves
of alcohol and pork to appeal to the largely Muslim local community.
The mayor of Evry, southeast of Paris, said the new owners who took
over
the Franprix store in October risked turning the town into a ghetto by
selling only halal meat slaughtered according to Muslim rules and
banishing
taboo products…
The new owners, Mohamed and Abdel Djaiziri, said they would sooner lose
the
Franprix franchise than reverse their new policy.
"It was necessary to change the business to adapt to a primarily Muslim
clientele. If we lose the Franprix sign, it's not important. What's
important is that we keep doing good business," Abdel Djaiziri told
Liberation, the daily newspaper.
"We asked for a certificate to guarantee our meat is halal. That's
incompatible with selling pork. Is that against the law?"…
France has taken in many immigrants from its former North African
colonies,
and its estimated 5 million Muslims make up the country's
second-largest
religious group.
SEE ALSO:
ANTI-ISLAM, ANTI-SEMITISM RIFE IN EUROPE
Reuters, 12/10/02
BRUSSELS, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Islamophobia and anti-Semitism fuelled by
the
September 11 attacks and the Middle East conflict are in danger of
becoming
acceptable in Europe, the European Union's racism watchdog warned on
Tuesday.
Presenting its report on racism in the EU, the European Monitoring
Centre
on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) called on leaders of the 15-nation bloc
to
deal with the underlying social and economic factors it said were
fuelling
racial prejudice.
"Now it seems legitimate to have anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic views on
some
issues because people have mixed up the whole issue," said Bob Purkiss,
chairman of the EUMC.
"The danger is...how it has now embedded itself."
In the wake of the September 11, 2001, hijacked airliner attacks on
U.S.
cities, people who "looked Muslim," mainly women wearing headscarves,
became the victims of anti-Islamic sentiment, the report said…
The report also focused on problems faced by immigrants in the labour
markets, saying they were often paid less and given less attractive
jobs
than EU citizens with the same skills.
Migrants faced problems ranging from direct racism such as verbal abuse
in
the workplace to indirect discrimination in the form of unrealistic
language requirements.
---
FRENCH MUSLIMS TO GET SINGLE REPRESENTATIVE BODY
HUGH SCHOFIELD, Agence France Presse, 12/10/02
France's five million Muslims are for the first time to be organised
within
a single representative body authorised to press their interests before
the
government, under an agreement signed Monday by the country's three
main
Muslim groups.
The deal was revealed in a television interview Monday evening by
Interior
Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who said it would give "our compatriots of
the
Muslim confession the right to live out their faith just like
Catholics,
like Jews and like Protestants."
According to the minister, the structure of the new body will be
finalised
by the end of the year. It will include women, but all influence from
foreign countries or governments will be strictly prohibited, he said.
The
announcement is the culmination of several years of efforts to
establish a
proper line of contact between successive governments and the country's
second largest religious community, with the clear if unspoken aim of
encouraging a homegrown, liberal version of Islam…
France is a rigidly secular state, and it regulates its relations with
the
other main religions through official bodies of the type it now wants
to
create for Islam.
Monday's agreement was signed by what Sarkozy described as the "three
major
groupings of Muslims in France": the Paris mosque, the National
Federation
of Muslims in France and the Union of Islamic Organisations in France.
However the representatives of five mosques, including the main mosques
in
France's second and third cities Lyon and Marseille, said they had been
cut
out of the arrangement in secret talks conducted "in order to allow
Sarkozy
a quick success."
The minister said the new body's statutes would "conform to the rules
of
the republic," and its leadership would be part elected and part
appointed.
This is to ensure that minorities, and especially Muslim women, are
fully
represented.
"What we should be afraid of is Islam gone astray, garage Islam,
basement
Islam, underground Islam. Not the Islam of the mosques, open to the
light
of day," the minister said…
---
JEWISH GROUPS SEEK TO BAN BOOK ON MIDEAST CONFLICT
Joelle Diderich, Reuters, 12/10/02
PARIS (Reuters) - Jewish organizations have called for a ban on a novel
by
a teen-age girl about the Middle East conflict they say glorifies
Palestinian suicide bombers and fuels racial hatred.
French publisher Flammarion said Tuesday it had been deluged by
protests
since publishing last month a translation of "Sognando Palestina"
("Dream
of Palestine") by 15-year-old Randa Ghazi as part of a series of books
aimed at adolescents.
The book was originally published in Italian in March. Ghazi, born in
Italy
of Egyptian parents, depicts teen-agers caught up in the Palestinian
uprising for independence. One of the characters blows himself up,
killing
five Israeli soldiers.
The anti-racist group LICRA called on the French government Tuesday to
ban
the book under publishing laws destined to protect young readers, but
said
it did not plan to fight the novel in court.
The Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center and France's CRIF
umbrella
group of Jewish organizations urged Flammarion and its Italian parent
company, Rizzoli Corriere della Sera, to withdraw the book.
They called on French Web sites and the French and German arms of
Internet
retailer Amazon.com to stop selling the novel…
French courts recently threw out a bid to ban a book by Italian author
Oriana Fallaci criticizing Islamic fundamentalism and acquitted French
writer Michel Houellebecq of inciting racial hatred after he called
Islam
"the stupidest religion."
An official at Flammarion, which is also Houellebecq's publisher, said
Ghazi's book portrayed both extremists and moderates and therefore did
not
constitute an incitement to hatred and violence…
-----
LETTERS: MUSLIMS DIDN'T BLOODY THOSE BORDERS FIRST
Washington Post, 12/10/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32916-2002Dec9.html
Charles Krauthammer should be congratulated for dismissing as absurd
the
question of whether Islam is inherently violent [op-ed, Dec. 6].
Unfortunately, he did not consider the history of Islam's "bloody
borders."
If they are bloody, it is because, over the past 200 years, they have
been
repeatedly violated by outsiders who sought to dominate Muslim people
and
appropriate their resources.
It was not Chechens who invaded and conquered Russia, nor did the
Afghans,
the Egyptians or the Pakistanis ever invade Britain. No Palestinians
ever
took over any Jewish villages in Russia, Poland or Germany. The Iranian
secret police backed no military coups against Dwight D. Eisenhower,
and
the Egyptians did not conspire with the Colombians to reconquer the
Panama
Canal. No Arab corporations covet oil in Texas or Alaska; Arab forces
do
not maintain bases in Europe or North America; Arab aid has never
supported
military dictators in Spain, Peru or Cuba.
The notion that Muslim alienation is rooted in an obsession with
recovering
the glory of Islam's medieval golden age -- and is thus entirely
"their"
problem -- is ludicrous. The sorry history of modern Western intrusion
into
the Middle East is far more relevant to our current crisis, whatever
Mr.
Krauthammer and the rest of the neoconservative punditry would have us
believe.
STEVE VINSON
New Paltz, N.Y.
SEE ALSO:
TARGETING U.S. MUSLIMS IS FORM OF ETHNIC CLEANSING
Shahid Athar, Indianapolis Star, 12/10/02
http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/5/007174-7645-022.html
Shahid Athar, M.D., is an Islamic writer and speaker.
After the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, attacking Islam and Muslims became
the
fashionable sport for the radio, television and print media. This year,
instead of Ramadan and Eid greetings, Muslims are receiving vicious and
poisonous articles, speeches and e-mails by those who are supposed to
"love
thy neighbors."
Islam-phobic writers and "religious" leaders are striving to become
clones
of Steve Emerson, the terrorism "expert" who had suggested that the
Oklahoma City bombing was done by Muslims.
While Islam is being portrayed as a religion promoting violence and war
(Cal Thomas column, Dec. 4), the FBI reports there is a 1,600 percent
increase in hate crimes against Muslims and Arabs since 9/11. Those
involved in such hate crimes are motivated by evangelists and
anti-Islamic
elements in the media.
The Rev. Jerry Falwell called Mohammad "a terrorist," and said that
Islam
was evil. Pat Robertson called Islam the enemy and said Muslims are
"worse
than the Nazis."
What is the purpose of such unwarranted and hateful attacks on Islam
and
Muslims? Ostensibly, they can only be read as the prelude to a
Bosnia-style
ethnic cleansing in the United States. However, I believe Americans are
wise enough not to allow the hate mongers to disturb the peace in our
country.
Karen Armstrong, a well-known British writer on Islam, herself a
Christian,
asks this piercing question (Sept. 17, Time magazine): "If Islam is so
bad,
as projected by the media, how come it is still growing so fast in the
West?"
I add this question: Where is the sword of Islam now? Islam is a
religion
of peace, but Muslims have not been left in peace for a long time by
the
crusaders of the past and the present. Armstrong notes that "Islam is
not
addicted to war, and jihad is not a pillar of Islam." All of the 30 or
so
battles in the life of the prophet Muhammad were defensive wars imposed
on
Muslims by unbelievers.
Cal Thomas calls Islam "a religion of war," but it was not the Muslims
who
used the atomic bomb on Japan and Agent Orange in Vietnam. It was not
the
Muslims who killed millions of Jews and Poles in World War II; nor did
they
conduct genocide of American Indians.
Perhaps Thomas and other Islamophobes need to heed Armstrong's advice
and
not read out of context the verses of Quran (i.e. 4:90) that appear to
promote violence. Armstrong says these verses were revealed to
Muhammad,
asking him not to give up against the terrorists of that time who were
persecuting Muslims. If read out of context, biblical and other
scriptural
verses that appear to promote violence can also be found -- for
example,
Deuteronomy 7:1-2, Numbers 31:17-18 and Deuteronomy 20:10-17.
The attacks on Islam and Muhammad, which started 1,423 years ago, will
continue. The hatemongers of the past and present will become history
but
the names of Muhammad, Moses and Jesus will continue to be remembered
and
respected until the end of this Earth.
-----
INS REMINDS CERTAIN TEMPORARY FOREIGN VISITORS OF EIGHTEEN COUNTRIES OF
REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) reminds certain
temporary
foreign visitors of eighteen countries of a new requirement to register
with INS. This registration is part of the second phase of the National
Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), being implemented by
the
INS to fulfill a Congressional mandate to implement a comprehensive
entry-exit program by 2005…
Temporary foreign visitors who are citizens or nationals of Iran, Iraq,
Libya, Sudan or Syria who were admitted to the United States as
non-immigrants on or before September 10, 2002, and who plan to stay in
the
United States until at least December 16, 2002, must register with
their
local INS office by December 16, 2002.
In addition, temporary foreign visitors who are citizens or nationals
of
Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea,
Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, or Yemen who were
present in the United States as non-immigrants before October 1, 2002,
and
who plan to stay in the United States until at least January 10, 2003,
must
register with their local INS office by January 10, 2003.
This requirement only applies to males 16 years or older. Most
individuals
are students, individuals in the U.S. on extended business travel, or
individuals visiting family members for lengthy periods. The
requirement to
register with INS does NOT apply to U.S. citizens, lawful permanent
residents (green card holders), refugees, asylum applicants, asylum
grantees, and diplomats or others admitted under "A" or "G" visas.
Failure to register constitutes a failure to maintain nonimmigrant
status
and is a criminal violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
This
is one of several notices to protect the national security of the
United
States by enrolling additional temporary foreign visitors in NSEERS.
For a list of local offices or sub-offices in respective states, please
visit the INS website at www.ins.gov/graphics/fieldoffices/alphaa.htm.
Individuals may also call the INS Service Center at 800-375-5283.
SEE ALSO:
REGISTRATION ALERT WORRIES FOREIGN CITIZENS IN S. FLORIDA
Tanya Weinberg, Sun-Sentinel, 12/10/02
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-sregister10dec10,0,3839372.story
As word spreads of a new regulation requiring men from certain
countries to
register with the federal government, calls from South Florida Arabs
are
flooding the office of Hollywood attorney Mazen Sukkar.
"They're frantic," said Sukkar, who published a notice in a local
Arabic
paper. "They're asking, are they going to arrest us, are they going to
detain us, and we don't know the answers."
The Department of Justice says new reporting requirements for citizens
of
17 Muslim countries and North Korea could root out potential
terrorists.
Critics counter that those people will never come forward, some adding
that
the policy could even create a self-fulfilling prophecy by further
alienating Muslim communities. Others call the requirement politically
motivated and point to the notable absence on the list of Saudi Arabia
and
Egypt, strategically important American allies, and also home to all
but
one of the Sept. 11 hijackers.
"I can see what they're trying to do as far as national security, but
the
people who we want to get are not going to show up. They're not
worrying
about their [immigration] status," said Miami immigration attorney Anis
Saleh. "If you're going to blow yourself up in six months, who cares if
you're [complying with INS] or not?"…
"What's troubling about it is it's selectively targeted and
specifically at
Arab countries, with the exceptions of those we feel diplomatically we
cannot impose this on," said David Cole, a Georgetown University law
professor.
"It's a form of ethnic profiling," said Cole, whose book in progress,
Enemy
Aliens, asserts that now, as in past eras of national fear, immigrants'
liberties are the first to go.
"We're going to treat as suspects a whole group of people based simply
on
national origin," Cole said. "That's not a terribly effective means of
policing because it's remarkably over-inclusive and very likely to do
long-term damage to relationships of the type that law enforcement
currently needs to strengthen with those very communities. It would be
far
better to get those within the community to identify any potential
perpetrators…"
-----
TAMPA BAY MUSLIMS REACH OUT TO COMMUNITY WITH DOCUMENTARY
Local Muslims are using a PBS documentary to raise public awareness,
build
bridges and sensitize Professionals.
(PINELLAS PARK, FL,) The Islamic Society of Pinellas County and Eckerd
College have teamed up in cooperation with The Islam Project, to offer
the
local community a chance to prescreen the upcoming PBS documentary
film,
"Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet." The Islam Project is a community
engagement campaign that uses the broadcast premiers of two PBS
documentaries as springboards for strategic community building, public
awareness, and educational efforts on the subject of Islam.
The prescreening event will be held on the campus of Eckerd College on
Thursday December 12, 2002 starting with registration and refreshments
at
6:00 p.m. the film will begin at 7:00 p.m. followed by a brief speech
from
Special Guest Jameel Johnson (Aide to U.S. Congressman Meeks), followed
by
and open dialogue.
This event requires RSVP, anyone who wants to attend must call (727)
824-7900, or email their information to legacy@bedier.com.
Contact: Ahmed Bedier Tel: (727) 512-3916
Press Kits with Q&A are available; please call to request a packet.
SEE ALSO:
"MUHAMMAD: LEGACY OF A PROPHET" PREVIEW IN MARYLAND
Filmmakers Michael Wolfe and Alex Kronemer of Unity Productions
Foundation
will be available to hear comments in an open forum after a preview of
the
upcoming PBS documentary "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet."
WHEN: 6-8 p.m., December 15
WHERE: Islamic Education Center, 7917 Montrose Road, Potomac, Maryland
-----
DESPITE DEADLY RIOTING, MANY HINDUS AND MUSLIMS STILL GET ALONG AS AN
INDIAN STATE HEADS FOR CRUCIAL ELECTIONS
LAURINDA KEYS, Associated Press, 12/10/02
AHMADABAD, India (AP) - Ten months ago when sectarian violence wracked
this
city and mobs killed hundreds, Hindus and Muslims in one poor
neighborhood
helped save one another from the flames.
Now they say will unite again - this time at the ballot box on Thursday
in
a vote that will test India's religious tolerance.
In the February violence, a gang of Hindus from outside the community
burned and beat to death about 100 people of both faiths in the Naroda
Patiya slum. Most of the more than 1,000 who lived there escaped.
They returned after the bloodshed, rebuilt their community and now face
elections in Gujarat state.
"Everybody ran away together. We'll vote together," said Jayeda Banu,
35, a
Muslim whose family lives next door to that of Kamlaben Jethabhai, 60,
a
Hindu.
"There's no difference here between Muslims and Hindus. Whatever
happens we
are all living together," Jethabhai said.
Like many others in this impoverished quarter, both live in new
concrete
homes built by the Islamic Relief Committee - a charity that chose to
ignore religious differences in its post-riot reconstruction work.
Hindu nationalists whose rhetoric helped fuel religious riots for three
months this year are trying retain power when voters elect a new
legislature for the western state of Gujarat…
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)
CONTACT TV Guide Channel to politely request that they withdraw the ad.
Contact:
Mr. Bill Rosolie
VP, National Cable Advertising Sales Director
TV Guide Channel
1211 Avenue of the Americas, 28th Fl
New York, NY 10036
FAX: 212-852-7323 E-MAIL: bill.rosolie@tvguide.com,
robert.belbruno@tvguide.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
---
MUSLIMS CRITICIZE PORTRAYAL OF "JESUS" IN TV AD
Christ shown gambling with devil in sports bar on TV Guide Channel
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/11/02) - A prominent national Islamic civil
rights
and advocacy group today criticized as "tasteless and insensitive" a
television commercial promoting professional wrestling that shows
"Jesus"
gambling with the devil in a sports bar.
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said
the
ad, currently airing on the TV Guide Channel, shows a blond man dressed
in
white and illuminated by a shaft of light discussing the upcoming World
Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) "Armageddon" pay-per-view event with a
devil-like figure. The "devil" says, "We've been hyping this
[Armageddon]
for two millennia." At the end of the commercial, he asks the "Jesus"
figure, "Do you want to go double or nothing on the Saints?"
(SEE: http://www.wwearmageddon.com/ and
http://www.tvguidemediasales.com/channel/default.asp)
"This kind of tasteless and insensitive portrayal of Jesus, peace be
upon
him, is an insult to the deeply-felt beliefs of Muslim and Christian
Americans. We ask that TV Guide Channel and the WWE withdraw the
commercial
and apologize to viewers," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.
Awad
added that Muslims revere Jesus as a prophet of God and called on
Christian
leaders to join in his defense.
Awad quoted a verse from the Quran, Islam's revealed text, which
states:
"Behold! The angels said 'O Mary! God giveth thee glad tidings of a
Word
from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus the son of Mary, held in honor
in
this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to
God.'" (Chapter 3, Verse 45)
In another verse, the Quran states: "Say ye: 'We believe in God and the
revelation given to us and to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the
Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all)
Prophets
from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and it is
unto
Him that we surrender ourselves.'" (Chapter 2, Verse 136)
He also quoted the Prophet Muhammad who said: "Both in this world and
in
the Hereafter, I am the nearest of all people to Jesus, the son of
Mary.
The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but
their
religion is one." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Hadith 652)
There are an estimated seven million Muslims in America and some 1.2
billion worldwide.
- END -
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12/11/2002
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: PRAYERS WASH AWAY SINS
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* MEDIA REQUEST: INS REGISTRATION INTERVIEW
* BROTHERS SENTENCED FOR RACIAL ATTACK (AP)
* SUSPECTED CON-ARTIST ORDERED HELD IN CANADA
- Con-Artist Who Defrauded Muslims Caught (CAIR)
* U.S. MUSLIMS OPT FOR HOME SCHOOLING (MSNBC)
- RESOURCES: MUSLIM HOME SCHOOL NETWORK & RESOURCE
* ANTI-ISLAM RHETORIC UNDERCUTS MODERATES (Los Angeles Times)
- Even the Quakers had Nixon (Indianapolis Star)
* NEW TOOLS FOR DOMESTIC SPYING, AND QUALMS (New York Times)
* FATWA VICTIM OR A FRAUD? (New York Times)
* IN INDIAN ELECTION, HATE IS PART OF PLATFORM (Washington Post)
* ISRAEL CENSORS BAN MOVIE BY ISRAELI ARAB (AP)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: PRAYERS WASH AWAY SINS
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) told his companions: "If one
of
you had a stream running at his door and bathed in it five times every
day,
do you think any dirt would be left on him?" His companions answered:
"No
dirt at all would be left." To which the Prophet replied: "That is what
the
five (daily) prayers are like, with which God washes away your sins."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Hadith 506
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to send accurate and objective
information
about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
MEDIA REQUEST: INS REGISTRATION INTERVIEW
A major American media outlet would like to conduct an on-camera
interview
with anyone in the Washington, D.C., area who is required to register
with
and be fingerprinted by the INS. Contact: elaine.quijano@turner.com
Copy
to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
BROTHERS SENTENCED FOR RACIAL ATTACK
Associated Press, 12/11/02
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Two Blount County brothers who claimed they
beat up
a motel employee last year because they thought he was an Arab and a
Muslim
were sentenced to federal prison.
Travis Lynn Kitts, 23, was sentenced Tuesday to 36 months in prison and
Jason Brandon Kitts, 22, received a 20-month sentence.
They pleaded guilty Sept. 11 to willfully injuring a person because of
his
race, religion or national origin - a federal hate crime.
They said they were angry over the terrorist attacks on New York and
Washington, D.C., when they assaulted Jacob George Mathew, 19, and his
mother, Mary George, on Sept. 24, 2001.
The brothers were staying at a Alcoa motel where Mathew worked with his
parents. Mathew had asked the brothers to come to the office to pay for
damages to their room.
"During (his) arrest, Jason Brandon Kitts made an unsolicited and
spontaneous comment to the police, 'Why can they blow us up and get
away
with it, but we get in trouble for assaulting them?"' FBI Agent Stan
Ruffin
wrote in affidavit filed with the court.
Mathew is neither from the Middle East nor a Muslim. He is an American
citizen, born in the United States, to parents who are from India...
-----
SUSPECTED CON-ARTIST ORDERED HELD IN CANADA
http://www.orangevillepolice.ca/pressrel.htm
Press Releases - Contact - P.C. Scott Davis, Community Services / Media
Relations Officer - 519-941-2522 or scottdavis@orangevillepolice.ca
The arrest of a Brampton man on December 5th 2002, by the Orangeville
Police Service, has sparked international interest. Mohammed Mustafa
AGBARIA, 37, is facing fourteen fraud related criminal charges in
connection with money transactions made through a local Western Union
outlet. Police allege that he is using forged passports from Columbia
and
Israel in order to receive cash from England, Belgium and Germany.
The investigation commenced in late September when Western Union
officials
alerted police as to the suspicious circumstances surrounding the
accused's
attendance at their local outlet. Several International Law Enforcement
Agencies, including the FBI and RCMP, were contacted regarding Agbaria
and
his activities. He was ultimately located and arrested at a Brampton
Immigration Office.
The accused appeared in Orangeville court on December 9th, 2002, and
was
ordered held in custody. He returns to court on December 17th, 2002.
At the time of his arrest, Agbaria was at large on a conditional
release as
a result of similar charges laid by Peel Regional Police last December.
He
is scheduled to answer to those allegations on February 25th, 2003 in a
Brampton court.
SEE ALSO: CON-ARTIST WHO DEFRAUDED MUSLIMS CAUGHT
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=125&page=AA
-----
U.S. MUSLIMS OPT FOR HOME SCHOOLING
Parents cite post-Sept. 11 fears, cultural issues
Lalita Aloor, MSNBC, 12/9/02
http://www.msnbc.com/news/840205.asp
Dec. 9 - Sharifa Abukar teaches at a public school in San Diego, but
she
says she wanted more for her four children. "I wanted to go beyond the
curriculum taught in public schools and teach my children character
building, too," says Abukar, who like many Muslim parents believes that
home schooling provides a shield from a permissive culture and a haven
in a
sometimes hostile post-Sept. 11 America.
"HOME SCHOOLING makes it easier for us to introduce our religious
values
into the curriculum and protect our children from undesirable peer
pressure
in public schools, while ensuring that they receive a quality
education,"
says Abukar, whose children are well settled in their careers today.
Religious freedom, dissatisfaction with public schools, an inability to
afford private schools, clashing cultures and a Sept. 11 backlash all
are
reasons cited by Muslims who home school their children…
"The numbers have certainly increased over the past year," says Abdul
Malik, director of the Council on American Islamic Relations in New
York,
who estimates that nearly 1.5 million Muslim children are being home
schooled nationwide…
SEE ALSO:
RESOURCES: MUSLIM HOME SCHOOL NETWORK & RESOURCE
http://www.muslimhomeschool.com/
-----
ANTI-ISLAM RHETORIC UNDERCUTS MODERATES
Salam Al-Marayati, Los Angeles Times, 12/10/02
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-marayati11dec11,0,3809441.story
Salam Al-Marayati is executive director of the Muslim, Public Affairs
Council, which is holding an interfaith panel, discussion on religious
extremism Dec. 21. Web site: www.mpac.org.
Now kill all the boys and all the women who have had sexual
intercourse. --
Numbers 31:17
Don't think that I came to bring peace on earth! No, rather, a sword.
--
Matthew 10:34
*
When such violent Old and New Testament verses are quoted, they usually
are
put in proper historical context. Yet the same standard of
interpretation
is not applied when the Koran is quoted. In fact, it's not even
allowed.
And Islam is called the violent faith. Because of the terrorist attacks
of
Sept. 11, there seems to be open season on Muslim history and sacred
texts.
I can understand this knee-jerk response to extremism; if I were not a
Muslim, I would have similar sentiments. But rather than dealing with
the
complex realities of the world by oversimplification of Islam and
Muslims,
we need to adhere to a common standard of measuring religious attitudes
and
combating religious extremism from all quarters…
Preaching to Muslims about the need to modify their faith is about as
outlandish as Protestants preaching to Catholics about priestly
celibacy or
Muslims demanding that Judaism be separated from Zionism to remove the
terrorist threat from extremist Israeli settlers in the West Bank and
Gaza
Strip.
When violent biblical references are brought up, the usual response is
that
the era of Christian and Jewish violence is long past and that Islam is
the
problem today. But violence inspired by religious ideology is timeless
and
afflicts everyone; why not address the issue across the board? Ireland
and
the former Yugoslavia come to mind.
Let me offer an opinion on those who pontificate on the need for
reforming
Islam: Your simplistic "solutions" have undermined the authentic and
invaluable work of Muslim reformists. When Deputy Defense Secretary
Paul D.
Wolfowitz praises those he calls "moderate" Muslims, that in itself
marginalizes the people he is promoting...
SEE ALSO:
EVEN THE QUAKERS HAD NIXON
Dan Carpenter, Indianapolis Star, 12/11/02
http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/4/007414-4484-021.html
A fair, realistic appraisal of centuries-old, human-developed,
inevitably
inconsistent religious systems should produce at least a grudging
tolerance
on the part of non-members. That is pretty much what two of the three
great
Abrahamic faiths are enjoying nowadays in the American political arena.
Judaism is allowed its David, who slew his tens of thousands.
Christianity
is not called to account every day for its witch hunts and Crusades.
Jews
aren't suspect because of the spy Jonathan Pollard. American Christian
clergy aren't required to denounce the Lebanese Phalangists. The pope
isn't
blamed when Notre Dame can't cover the spread against Navy.
But for Islam, notwithstanding its teachings of peace and charity, it
is
open season.
Never welcomed by conservative America, despite the rather conservative
lifestyle followed by many of its devotees, Islam has been dragged
through
the blood and rubble of terrorism with less and less subtlety since
Muslim
madmen flew airliners into American buildings last year.
At first, lip service was paid to the legitimacy of the religion and
the
presumed loyalty of 6 million American Muslims. President Bush asked
that
this law-abiding minority not be made to feel guilty by association.
But
the rumblings on the right began immediately, and now they're at an
all-out
roar…
-----
NEW TOOLS FOR DOMESTIC SPYING, AND QUALMS
MICHAEL MOSS and FORD FESSENDEN, New York Times, 12/10/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/10/national/10PRIV.html
But across the country, sometimes to the dismay of civil libertarians,
law
enforcement officials are maneuvering to seize the
information-gathering
weapons they say they desperately need to thwart terrorist attacks.
From New York City to Seattle, police officials are looking to do away
with rules that block them from spying on people and groups without
evidence that a crime has been committed. They say these rules, forced
on
them in the 1970's and 80's to halt abuses, now prevent them from
infiltrating mosques and other settings where terrorists might plot…
Still, civil libertarians increasingly worry about how law enforcement
might wield its new powers. They say the nation is putting at risk the
very
thing it is fighting for: the personal freedoms and rights embodied in
the
Constitution. Moreover, they say, authorities with powerful technology
will
inevitably blunder, as became evident in October when an audit revealed
that the Navy had lost nearly two dozen computers authorized to process
classified information.
What perhaps angers the privacy advocates most is that so much of this
revolution in police work is taking place in secret, said Cindy Cohn,
legal
director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which represented Reef
Seekers.
"If we are going to decide as a country that because of our worry about
terrorism that we are willing to give up our basic privacy, we need an
open
and full debate on whether we want to make such a fundamental change,"
Ms.
Cohn said…
-----
FATWA VICTIM OR A FRAUD?
Mystery Enshrouds Kola Boof, Writer and Internet Persona
JULIE SALAMON, New York Times, 12/11/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/11/books/11BOOF.html
Who is Kola Boof?
She might be, as she claims, the object of a fatwa ordering her death
because of her vehement criticism of the Muslim government in her
native
Sudan. Or she might be, as some have suggested, an author trying to
bring
attention to her books by fabricating a provocative public persona,
using
the specter of fatwa as a marketing ploy. Either way, the Kola Boof
story
demonstrates how flashpoints are reached in cyberspace, the new forum
for
underground literature and politics, where fact and myth become
indistinguishable and publicity campaigns become a kind of performance
art.
Without the imprimatur of a major publisher or a mainstream review or a
public appearance, she has managed to instigate anger and discussion
about
her work…
-----
IN INDIAN ELECTION, HATE IS PART OF PLATFORM
Rama Lakshmi, Washington Post, 12/11/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37251-2002Dec10.html
Nine months ago, as Gujarat was being riven by religious violence that
followed the killing of the Hindus, Waghela stormed the same streets
with a
mob of Hindu men wearing orange bandanas and armed with swords, sticks
and
gasoline, according to witnesses and police records. Shouting angry
slogans
at Muslim residents, Waghela allegedly ordered the mob to loot and
destroy
their homes, leaving them homeless for months.
"For three days, Waghela and his men looted and burnt our homes. For
eight
months, we lived in relief camps because of him," said Nasir Khan, a
complainant. "Now he tells Hindus he is their protector against us.
Where
do we run for cover if he gets elected?"…
-----
ISRAEL CENSORS BAN MOVIE BY ISRAELI ARAB
YOAV APPEL, Associated Press, 12/10/02
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's censorship board banned a movie produced by
an
Israeli Arab that depicts events in the West Bank Palestinian town of
Jenin
during an Israeli military offensive in April, a board official said
Tuesday.
The body banned the movie "Jenin, Jenin" because it falsely
demonstrates
fictional events as truth, spokeswoman Sonya David-Elmalea said. The
movie
is "propaganda that represents a biased view of the group with whom
Israel
finds itself at war," she added.
Israeli media say the movie upholds Palestinian claims that Israeli
soldiers carried out atrocities during the battle in Jenin.
The Israeli public would find the movie extremely offensive and "may
mistakenly think that Israeli soldiers are intentionally,
systematically
carrying out war crimes," David-Almalea said…
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
HEADLINES:
* FLA MUSLIMS TO VOICE CIVIL RIGHTS CONCERNS AT TOWN HALL MEETING
- Fla. Muslims, Police Discuss Civil Liberties (AP)
- I-Drive Gift-Shop Tycoon Indicted (Orlando Sentinel)
- 3 Medical Students: Their Wait Continues (St. Pete Times)
-----
FLA MUSLIMS TO VOICE CIVIL RIGHTS CONCERNS AT TOWN HALL MEETING
(ORLANDO, FLA., 12/12/02) - On Saturday December 14, the Florida
chapter of
the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL), together with
other
national civil rights, advocacy and faith-based groups, will hold a
news
conference and town hall meeting in Orlando to voice concerns about the
post-9/11 curtailment of civil liberties in that state.
The recent arrest of Jesse Maali, a prominent American Muslim
businessman
in Orlando, prompted the news conference. Local Muslim leaders have
expressed concerns that Maali's arrest and prosecution may be tainted
by
Islamophobic or anti-Arab bias.
"Muslims in Florida are very concerned that they are being stereotyped,
profiled and viewed with suspicion by law enforcement authorities. We
are
part of the social and religious fabric of this nation and demand that
we
be treated with fairness and justice," said CAIR-FL Executive Director
Altaf Ali.
NEWS CONFERENCE
WHERE: MECCA, 1021 N. Golden Rod Rd. Orlando, FL.
WHEN: December 14, 12 p.m.
WHO: Representatives from American Muslim Alliance, American Muslim
Association of North America, American Muslim Council, Council on
American-Islamic Relations, Islamic Circle of North America, Islamic
Society of North America, Islamic Society of Central Florida, Muslim
American Society, Muslim Public Affairs Council, Tampa Bay Muslim
Alliance.
TOWN HALL MEETING
WHERE: MECCA, 1021 N. Golden Rod Rd. Orlando, FL.
WHEN: December 14, 1 p.m.
PANELISTS: Representatives from American Civil Liberties Union,
American
Muslim Alliance, American Muslim Association of North America, American
Muslim Council, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Islamic Circle
of
North America, Islamic Society of North America, Islamic Society of
Central
Florida, Muslim American Society, Muslim Public Affairs Council, NAACP,
and
Tampa Bay Muslim Alliance.
- END -
CONTACT: Altaf Ali, 954-298-8214, E-MAIL: altaf@cair-florida.org;
Parvez Ahmed
Director of Communications, pahmed@cair-florida.org
SEE ALSO:
MUSLIMS, LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS DISCUSS CIVIL LIBERTIES
DAVID ROYSE, Associated Press, 12/12/02
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradentonherald/news/local/4720212.htm
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Many Muslims in Florida fled repressive Middle
Eastern
regimes where people were watched by the government, and sometimes
taken
away for questioning with no explanation.
Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 were linked to Arab
terrorists, some Muslims say they've endured similar treatment in
America.
"It's really creating deja vu all over again," said Hashem Mubarak, a
Panama City cardiologist originally from Syria. Mubarak was one of
several
Muslim-Americans from around Florida who talked Wednesday to each other
and
to law enforcement officials about their treatment by fellow residents
and
police investigating the Sept. 11 terrorists' ties to Florida.
With the nation bracing for possible war with the Muslim country of
Iraq,
Mubarak and others in the working group fear treatment of
Muslim-Americans
will get worse before it improves.
"The war with Iraq is about to take place and we can safely say there
are
going to be repercussions in our community," said Altaf Ali, the
executive
director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Davie.
Members of the panel, brought together by Florida State University's
Center
for the Advancement of Human Rights and the Florida Commission on Human
Relations, said that they must reach out to other Floridians to tell
Muslims' story, to make their neighbors realize that they too are
Americans
and also are afraid of terrorism.
But it's not just their neighbors and people who might commit hate
crimes
that Muslim-Americans say they have to worry about. It's also the
police.
The panel sounded off to representatives of the Florida Department of
Law
Enforcement about the need for police to have more cultural sensitivity
and
agreed to make that a focus as the group continues to try to address
Muslim
concerns in Florida…
The working group will conduct a two-year project aimed at identifying
problems in how Muslims are perceived and treated in Florida and
suggest
improvements, said Mark Schlakman, the center's director for the
program…
---
I-DRIVE GIFT-SHOP TYCOON INDICTED IN FEDERAL COURT
Henry Pierson Curtis, Orlando Sentinel, 12/12/02
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-locmaali12121202dec12,0,5060157.story
Orlando gift-shop magnate Jesse Maali was indicted Wednesday in federal
court in Orlando on 55 counts of hiring illegal aliens and laundering
money
to pay them.
Also indicted were five associates involved in running Maali's seven
Bargain World stores in Orange and Osceola counties. The case drew
widespread attention after the millionaire Palestinian-American
businessman's Nov. 14 arrest when a prosecutor accused him of having
financial ties to groups advocating violence in the Middle East.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia Hawkins Collazo failed to back up that
claim at a bail hearing. But U.S. Magistrate David A. Baker still set
bail
at $10 million, a record for Central Florida…
---
3 MEDICAL STUDENTS: THEIR WAIT CONTINUES, LONG AFTER OURS ENDED
MARY JO MELONE, St. Petersburg Times, 12/12/02
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/12/12/Columns/Their_wait_continues_.shtml
You remember the day. Three months ago, precisely. A year and a day
after 9/11.
You remember the TV pictures shaking slightly from the bounce of the
helicopter hovering above, the two cars below on Alligator Alley
looking
bug-sized, and the outsized anxiety in the voice of the TV reporter.
You remember how fear reigned for 17 hours.
Three Muslim men, medical students on their way to Miami, were pulled
over
for what they supposedly said hundreds of miles north at a Shoney's
restaurant in north Georgia, just off Interstate 75. Another patron
said
she heard them talking about a terrorist attack planned to take place
in Miami.
And you remember how the ruckus turned out to be about nothing.
Even the traffic stop the police finally made in Florida was based on
bad
information. A toll collector said the men ran the tollbooth without
paying. A security camera tape later showed just the opposite.
Three months is a long time, long enough, certainly, to formally clear
a
man's name or charge him with a crime. But a remarkable thing has
happened
-- and not happened -- in the case of Ayman Gheith, Omar Choudhary,
Kambiz
Butt, American citizens all.
When they were let go, the matter should have ended.
It didn't.
At last report, the Collier County sheriff was still wanting to
question
the men.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has continued to investigate --
what,
nobody knows. The bureau turned over its findings last week to Joseph
Campbell, the district attorney in the county where the three men were
overheard.
Campbell, in turn, hasn't looked at the report. "I haven't even opened
the
envelope," he said this week.
And he feels no rush to decide whether to charge the men or not. He
sounded
downright annoyed when I pressed him. "It'll be several months, I can
assure you," he said.
When I suggested that the three men had the right to have their names
cleared, Campbell blew me off. "They're not arrested, are they?"…
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
CAIR ACTION ALERT 356
IMAMS URGED TO ANNOUNCE INS REGISTRATION PROGRAM
Those who fail to register on time may face deportation
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/12/02) - CAIR is calling on all local imams,
khatibs
and community leaders to make the announcement below after Friday
prayers
about the new Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) registration
requirement for nonimmigrant visa holders from 18 primarily Muslim
countries. This announcement should also be posted in a prominent
public
location in all mosques, Muslim schools and Islamic centers.
ANNOUNCEMENT: INS REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT FOR NONIMMIGRANT VISA
HOLDERS
According to the new regulation, all male nonimmigrant visitors to the
United States who are nationals or citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria
or
Sudan, 16 years of age or older, who entered the U.S. on or before
September 10, 2002, must register with the INS by December 16, 2002.
Male nonimmigrant aliens who are nationals or citizens of Afghanistan,
Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar,
Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, or Yemen, 16 years of age or
older,
and who entered the U.S. before September 30, 2002, must register with
the
INS by January 10, 2003.
IMPORTANT: Failure to register by the deadlines may make those who fit
the
above criteria SUBJECT TO DEPORTATION.
If you are out of status and appear to register you may be detained
while
the INS conducts a background check.
The requirement to register with INS does NOT apply to U.S. citizens,
lawful permanent residents (green card holders), refugees, asylum
applicants, asylum grantees, diplomats, or others admitted under "A" or
"G"
visas. Most of those affected are students, businessmen and family
visitors.
NOTE: If you are in the process of applying to become a legal permanent
resident (green card holder) and your application is still pending, YOU
ARE
STILL REQUIRED TO REGISTER. Failure to register may result in
deportation.
Full information about the new regulation including the list of
designated
INS offices where temporary visitors can register is available on the
INS
website at www.ins.usdoj.gov. A more detailed announcement, in both
English
and Arabic, can also be found at http://www.cair-net.org.
- PLEASE POST, COPY AND DISTRIBUTE -
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12/12/2002
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: KINDNESS TO WIVES
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: 4481 SPONSORSHIPS
* CAIR REPS FEATURED ON CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION PANEL
* US FILMMAKERS TREAD CAREFULLY IN MOHAMMED BIOGRAPHY (Reuters)
- Charleroi Native Shaped 'Muhammad' (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
- Muslim Group to Screen Documentary on Mohammed (SP Times)
* RACIAL DISCRIMINATION OR NATIONAL SECURITY? (American-Statesman)
- Student Sues Over Aviation Radio Arrest (Reuters)
* GROUP MAY BOYCOTT IMAGE AWARDS OVER 'BARBERSHOP' (Reuters)
* NEARLY ALL 9/11 DETAINEE CASES CLOSED, U.S. SAYS (AP)
* BALTIMORE CITY COUNCIL SAYS NO TO WAR (WBAL)
* WE'LL ALL BE UNDER SURVEILLANCE (Village Voice)
* HARD-LINE PRO-HINDU RHETORIC COLORS INDIAN ELECTIONS (CS Monitor)
* THE COST OF ISRAEL IS MORE THAN MONETARY (CS Monitor)
- New Bush Pick Splits Mideast Watchers (Forward)
* CON MAN HELD FOR DEFRAUDING MUSLIMS (Arab News)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: KINDNESS TO WIVES
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) told his companions: "The best
of
you are those who are best to their wives."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 962
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: 4481 SPONSORSHIPS
CAIR's Library Project has received 4481 sponsorships for $150 book and
tape packages on Islam to be placed in libraries across the country.
Take
part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library
package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
CAIR REPS FEATURED ON CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION PANEL
CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUES FACING IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights invites you to hear three panel
discussions focusing on civil rights issues in your community.
Community
leaders will share information about a variety of issues, including
education, voting, labor, and post-9/11 concerns.
WHEN: Friday, December 13, 2002, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
WHERE: Brooklyn Marriott, 333 Adams Street, A/C/F to Jay St./Borough
Hall
Panel I: Immigrant Issues Emerging from the 107th Congress and Recent
Executive Actions & Judicial Decisions
Margie McHugh, New York Immigration Coalition
Stanley Mark, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Joe Semidei, Committee for Hispanic Children and Families
Mayra Peters-Quintero, Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund
Panel II: Post-9/11 Civil Rights Issues and Disaster Relief Benefits
Concerns
Muzaffar Chisti, Migration Policy Institute, NYU School of Law
Emira Habiby Browne, Arab-American Family Support Center
Bobby Khan, Coney Island Avenue Project
Omar Mohammedi, Council on American-Islamic Relations
Hiram Monserrate, New York City Council
Margaret Chin, Asian Americans for Equality
May Chen, Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees
(UNITE)
Panel III: Statewide Civil Rights Issues and Post-9/11 Issues for
Immigrant Communities
Setsuko Nishi, New York Advisory Committee
Gloria Lopez, New York Advisory Committee
Ghazi Khankan, New York Advisory Committee [Khankan is the director of
CAIR-NY.]
Gregory Rabb, New York Advisory Committee
*A reception with light refreshments will follow the panel discussions.
The Commission is an independent, bipartisan fact-finding agency of the
federal government. Learn more at http://www.usccr.gov.
-----
US FILMMAKERS TREAD CAREFULLY IN MOHAMMED BIOGRAPHY
Martha Graybow, Reuters, 12/12/02
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=1897002
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The two-hour documentary, "Muhammad: Legacy of a
Prophet," airing on U.S. public broadcasting stations on Dec. 18,
charts
how Mohammed became one of the most important figures in world history.
Orphaned as a child, he became a successful merchant who at age 40,
according to Islamic belief, was struck by a revelation from God. Over
the
next 23 years he brought peace to warring tribes of Arabia and
established
Islam.
"This man's life is pretty exciting actually. It's a cracking good
yarn,"
said co-producer Michael Wolfe, who along with another co-producer,
Alexander Kronemer, is an American convert to Islam. "Islam aside, the
life
of Mohammed has been called one of the great biographies of the world."
The documentary weaves the story of Mohammed with interviews with
scholars
and modern-day U.S. Muslims…
The documentary comes at a time when Americans are on edge about more
potential terror attacks and concern over Islamic extremism is running
high.
Mohammed's name often is invoked in discussions about Islam, but many
Americans know little about who he was, Schwarz said. Just last month,
Nigeria's plans to stage the Miss World pageant ended in bloody riots
after
a journalist enraged Muslims by suggesting Mohammed would have approved
of
the beauty pageant and might even have married one of the contestants.
But although the filmmakers rejiggered some elements of the documentary
after Sept. 11 and the film includes a discussion about the role of
women
and charges of anti-Semitism in Islam, the documentary only lightly
touches
on other politically sensitive issues such as the rise of Islamic
fundamentalism…
The filmmakers decided to address Sept. 11 by interspersing
biographical
details of Mohammed's life with the interviews with U.S. Muslims that
touch
on the attacks. The documentary tells the stories of Muslim Americans
including a New York City fire marshal, the chief of staff for a U.S.
congressman, and a critical care nurse in Dearborn, Michigan.
The filmmakers also took that approach in part because they wanted to
flesh
out Mohammed without showing pictures of him. While some images of
Mohammed
do exist, the filmmakers did not include them because many Muslims
believe
such images are offensive. Mohammed opposed idolatry and did not want
to
become an object of worship himself…
SEE ALSO: MUHAMMAD: LEGACY OF A PROPHET
http://www.pbs.org/muhammad/
CHARLEROI NATIVE SHAPED 'MUHAMMAD' PROGRAM
ROB OWEN, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12/12/202
http://www.post-gazette.com/tv/20021212owen1212fnp1.asp
On Sept. 11, 2001, Charleroi native Alexander Kronemer was in an
editing
booth in San Francisco working on the PBS documentary "Muhammad: Legacy
of
a Prophet" (9 p.m. Wednesday, WQED)…
Kronemer, who is Muslim, said one of the difficult tasks in telling the
story of Muhammad was finding a way to depict it visually.
In Islam, pictures or re-enactments of Muhammad and his close
companions
are not allowed, Kronemer said. To overcome that challenge, Kronemer
and
company decided to marry the historical with stories of Muhammad's
present-day followers who pattern their lives after his example.
"We call it history in the present tense," he said. "We're telling a
1,400-year-old story, but telling it through the contemporary lens, not
of
people today looking back, but people today whose lives in some way
help us
tell the story about that man 1,400 years ago."
"Legacy of Faith" includes interviews with a Brooklyn firefighter who
converted to Islam as a young man, a congressman's chief-of- staff and
a
nurse in Michigan, many of whose patients are Muslim immigrants.
"Anybody who knows the story of Moses would find the story of Muhammad
quite familiar," Kronemer said. "It's the story of a man trying to form
a
new religious identity, of a lawgiver trying to pull a group of unruly
people into some kind of new identity…"
---
MUSLIM GROUP TO SCREEN PBS DOCUMENTARY ON MOHAMMED
ERIC DEGGANS, St. Petersburg Times, 12/12/02
http://www.sptimes.com
At a time when hate crimes against Muslims are on the rise and
prominent
American Christians such as Jerry Falwell are saying Muslim prophet
Mohammed was a "terrorist," the need to spread understanding and
promote
dialogue regarding the Muslim faith may be greater than ever.
That's why the Pinellas Park-based mosque the Islamic Society of
Pinellas
County has teamed with Eckerd College to present a free, advance
screening
of the PBS documentary Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet, scheduled for 7
tonight at the college's Dendy-McNair Auditorium. The film, which airs
at 9
p.m. Wednesday on WEDU-Ch. 3, weaves the story of Mohammed's life
during
the seventh century with a look at how modern-day Muslims across the
world
reflect his teachings in their lives. Jameel Johnson, chief of staff
for
Rep. Gregory Weldon Meeks, D-N.Y., is featured in the documentary and
will
speak at tonight's event.
Those who wish to attend are asked to RSVP by calling (727) 824-7900.
-----
RACIAL DISCRIMINATION OR NATIONAL SECURITY?
David Hafetz, AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 12/12/02
http://www.austin360.com/statesman/editions/thursday/news_2.html
American Airlines is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a Muslim
family
who was removed from an Austin flight because the company says evidence
in
its defense concerns national security and should be kept secret.
In effect, the airline is taking the unusual step of asking a federal
judge
to decide a case on evidence that neither the plaintiffs, Mohammed Ali
Ahmed and his four children, or his lawyers would ever see.
The Ahmed family was removed from Austin-to-Chicago Flight 572 early on
Sept. 29, 2001. Ahmed and his children, ages 7 to 12, were on their way
to
attend the funeral of Ahmed's father-in-law.
American says it made the request to seal its evidence at the urging of
the
federal government.
"We're simply following the direction of the government," American
spokeswoman Andrea Rader said.
Lawyers for Ahmed and his children say the airline's request would
deprive
their clients of their right to know and dispute evidence against them.
"Talk about blind justice," said Wayne Krause, who works for the Texas
Civil Rights Project, which is representing the Ahmeds. "We have to
argue
against a position where we don't know what the position is…"
SEE ALSO:
STUDENT SUES OVER AVIATION RADIO ARREST
Gail Appleson, Reuters, 12/12/02
NEW YORK, Dec 12 (Reuters) - An Egyptian student jailed after the Sept.
11
attacks on the suspicion he had an aviation radio in his hotel room
sued
the Hilton Hotels Corp and an FBI agent on Thursday, alleging they
caused
his false arrest.
Abdallah Higazy, who was imprisoned for more than a month, asked for
for
$20 million in punitive and compensatory damages. The lawsuit, filed in
Manhattan federal court, also named as defendants the Hilton's
Millennium
Hotel, where Higazy was staying, and two of its security guards.
Spokesmen for the hotel and the FBI could not be reached for comment.
Higazy, 31, was arrested after authorities were told the ground-to-air
radio was found in his room overlooking the site of the airliner attack
on
the World Trade Center. He was released on Jan. 16 after another hotel
guest, a pilot, came forward and claimed the radio. The criminal
complaint
was dismissed against him at that time.
"There is no question he was set up," Robert Dunn, one of Higazy's
lawyers,
told a news conference. He said he is also considering suing the
government.
Ronald Ferry, who was a security guard at the Millennium Hotel, pleaded
guilty in February to wrongfully telling FBI agents that he had found
an
aviation radio inside a locked safe in the graduate student's room.
Ferry
was named as one of the defendants in Higazy's suit…
-----
GROUP MAY BOYCOTT IMAGE AWARDS OVER 'BARBERSHOP'
Dan Whitcomb, Reuters, 12/12/02
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=1892720
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Muslim civil rights group threatened on
Wednesday
to boycott the NAACP Image Awards and picket the offices of its title
sponsor, Nationwide Insurance, over the nomination of an actor who
ridicules civil rights figures in the hit film "Barbershop."
Najee Ali, national director of Project Islamic Hope, said the
nomination
of Cedric the Entertainer for best supporting actor in the movie
"Barbershop" shows that the NAACP had "lost its way."
"The people putting on the show have forgotten what the Image awards
are
truly about," Ali said. "The Image awards were started 30 years ago in
Sammy Davis Jr.'s living room because African Americans were tired of
always playing buffoons."
Ali said his group was seeking a meeting with the NAACP but would
organize
a boycott if its demands were not met.
Those demands, he said, would include a "balanced" show that paid
tribute
to Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, two of the civil rights
figures
made fun of during "Barbershop..."
The jokes that have riled black leaders, including Ali and the Rev.
Jesse
Jackson, come from the shop's veteran barber, Eddie, played by Cedric
the
Entertainer, who believes there are things black Americans will only
say in
private.
One is that Rosa Park's intentions were less than noble when she
refused to
move from a public bus seat reserved for whites. Parks' action is
viewed as
a key moment in U.S. civil rights history. Other jokes dealt with
Martin
Luther King, Jr...
Los Angeles-based Project Islamic HOPE describes itself as a non-profit
civil rights group that fights poverty, hunger and social injustice.
-----
NEARLY ALL 9/11 DETAINEE CASES CLOSED, U.S. SAYS
CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press, 12/12/02
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Attacks-Investigation.html
WASHINGTON - Most of the more than 900 people arrested in the
far-reaching
federal investigation that followed the Sept. 11 attacks have been
deported, released or convicted of relatively minor crimes not directly
linked to terrorism, according to the Justice Department.
An additional undisclosed number - most likely in the dozens - were
held as
material witnesses, people the government asked a court to detain
because
they may have direct knowledge or connection to terrorism. Some are
possibly still being held.
At the request of The Associated Press, the Justice Department has
provided
its most thorough public accounting of the people arrested in the
immediate
aftermath of the attacks. Only six of the 765 people arrested by the
federal government on immigration violations still are held by the
Immigration and Naturalization Service. The rest have been deported or
are
free in the United States awaiting a final decision on whether they can
stay. Some will be permitted to remain in this country because they
cooperated in the investigation, Justice Department officials say…
The effort has drawn criticism from public interest groups, which are
battling the government in court to obtain disclosure of the names and
circumstances of those arrested - many of whom spent weeks or months in
custody for relatively minor offenses.
Critics are concerned that such mass arrests, even in time of war,
could be
a prelude to more serious threats against civil liberties and
constitutional rights.
"I believe the administration has already overstepped its bounds, and
we
should take it to task for that now," said Geoffrey Stone, law
professor at
the University of Chicago. "We as a nation do not want to wait to raise
the
cry until after the government has moved to more extreme measures…"
Steven Shapiro, national legal director for the American Civil
Liberties
Union, said it is clear that dozens of people with no connection to
terrorism "just got caught up in this dragnet."
He said the sweep was comparable, on a lesser scale, to previous U.S.
actions such as internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II
and
blacklists of suspected communists during the Cold War…
Counting local and state detentions, about 1,200 people were rounded up
in
the terrorism investigation shortly after the attacks. The government
continues to resist releasing the names of any detainees, which 22
public
interest groups are seeking through lawsuits in federal court.
Officials
say al-Qaida and other groups could find out how the United States
tracks
down terrorists or learn other secrets if the names were made public...
-----
BALTIMORE CITY COUNCIL SAYS NO TO WAR
Council Members Pass Resolution Opposing Iraqi War, 12/10/02
http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/1830438/detail.html
BALTIMORE -- Baltimore City says "no" to war with Iraq.
On Monday night, the City Council passed a resolution officially
declaring
that the city is against a possible war.
The resolution says the Bush administration is in violation of
international law in its military stance against Iraq. It also says the
United States should work with Iraq through the United Nations and that
war
should be used only as a last resort for international conflicts.
-----
WE'LL ALL BE UNDER SURVEILLANCE
Nat Hentoff, Village Voice, 12/6/02
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0250/hentoff.php
Orwell died in 1950. Prophetic as he was in 1984, however, he could not
have imagined how advanced surveillance technology would become. His
novel
is now being actualized in real time at the Defense Department, headed
by
the Washington press corps's favorite cabinet officer, the witty Donald
Rumsfeld.
John Markoff of The New York Times broke this story on February 13,
when he
wrote that retired admiral John Poindexter, national security adviser
for
President Ronald Reagan, "has returned to the Pentagon to direct a new
agency that is developing technologies to give federal officials access
to
vast new surveillance and information-analysis systems…"
Without any official public notice, and without any congressional
hearings,
the Bush administration-with an initial appropriation of $200
million-is
constructing the Total Information Awareness System. It will
extensively
mine government and commercial data banks, enabling the FBI, the CIA,
and
other intelligence agencies to collect information that will allow the
government-as noted on ABC-TV's November 14 Nightline- "to essentially
reconstruct the movements of citizens." This will be done without
warrants
from courts, thereby making individual privacy as obsolete as the
sauropods
of the Mesozoic era. (Intelligence from and to foreign sources will
also be
involved.)
Our government's unblinking eyes will try to find suspicious patterns
in
your credit-card and bank data, medical records, the movies you click
for
on pay-per-view, passport applications, prescription purchases, e-mail
messages, telephone calls, and anything you've done that winds up in
court
records, like divorces. Almost anything you do will leave a trace for
these
omnivorous computers, which will now contain records of your library
book
withdrawals, your loans and debts, and whatever you order by mail or on
the
Web…
-----
HARD-LINE PRO-HINDU RHETORIC COLORS INDIAN ELECTIONS
Scott Baldauf, Christian Science Monitor, 12/12/02
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1212/p07s02-wosc.html
Ten years ago last week, Hindu rioters tore down a 600-year-old Muslim
mosque in India's most populous state. At the time, most Indian
politicians
decried it - and the subsequent riots that claimed the lives of 6,000
nationwide - as acts of Hindu chauvinism.
Today, many of those same Indian politicians have taken up that
chauvinism
as the driving force of Indian politics.
Just how far Hindutva, or Hindu-ness, can continue as a national
political
force will be seen in a series of state elections starting today in the
western state of Gujarat. Even after Hindu-Muslim riots this past
spring
killed 1,000 Gujaratis - mostly Muslims - the two main parties,
Congress
and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are unapologetically trying to
out-Hindu each other, fielding candidates who pledge to protect the
Hindu
way of life. The Gujarat campaign concluded Tuesday with incendiary
speeches by two local BJP officials. "Muslims and the police will kill
the
Hindus," if the BJP is not reelected, Jaydeep Barot told a large crowd
of
Hindu farmers. Another BJP official in Gujarat called the political
campaign a religious war.
"There is no doubt that if the BJP wins big, there will be BJP
functionaries who will try out the same thing in other states," says
Kanti
Bajpai, political scientist at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New
Delhi.
"But now in addition to communal riots, the politicians will also see
terrorism as a permanent communal divide, so that the majority Hindus
feel
constantly under threat..."
-----
THE COST OF ISRAEL IS MORE THAN MONETARY
Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/search_content/1211/p08s01-cole.html
Regarding the Dec. 9 "Economic Scene" column "Economist tallies
swelling
cost of Israel to US" (Work&Money): If Americans were not constantly
subjected to a veritable blitzkreig of pro-Israel propaganda by
mainstream
press and broadcast news organizations, they might have noticed that,
but
for the cost of supporting Israel's illegal and brutal occupation of
1967
Palestine, nearly a million unemployed Americans would probably not be
losing their unemployment benefits just three days after Christmas.
SEE: "Economist tallies swelling cost of Israel to US"
http://www.csmonitor.com/search_content/1209/p16s01-wmgn.html
They might also notice that the Israeli government's request for
additional
aid, above and beyond the $ 3 billion to $ 7 billion it receives
annually
from American taxpayers, is money that would go a long way toward
funding
the much-needed repair of America's dilapidated schools (not to mention
a
host of other infrastructure projects currently on hold), or toward
funding
prescription drug coverage for older Americans, many of whom must
choose
between eating and paying bills.
Please continue to publish articles that ask hard questions about the
"special relationship" Israel enjoys with the purses and bank accounts
of
honest, hard-working American taxpayers.
Michael Gillespie
SEE ALSO:
NEW BUSH PICK SPLITS MIDEAST WATCHERS
ORI NIR, FORWARD, 12/13/02
http://www.forward.com/issues/2002/02.12.13/news7.html
WASHINGTON - Elliott Abrams's appointment as the White House's point
man on
the Middle East is being seen as good news by those who reject American
attempts at "even-handedness" in the region and bad news by those who
support the role of the United States as "honest broker..."
Abrams was appointed last week by National Security Advisor Condoleezza
Rice. Abrams will be responsible, a White House statement said, for
"Arab-Israel relations and U.S. efforts to promote peace and security
in
the region…"
But some administration officials and Middle Eastern affairs experts
are
questioning the appointment. "This is an odd appointment, of someone
with
very hawkish views and little experience on the region. With so many
candidates, I wonder why" it was Abrams who was chosen for the
position,
said a State Department official, who like nearly all Abrams critics
interviewed for this story - both in government and in Washington's
shadow
government of think tanks and lobby groups - spoke on condition of
anonymity…
Abrams has been outspoken in his skepticism toward recent
Israeli-Palestinian peace-making efforts. In his writings he has
frequently
put the peace process in quotation marks. In an essay published in a
2000
book, "Present Danger," Abrams wrote that American interests do not lie
in
"subordinating all other political and security goals to the 'success'
of
the 'peace process.'"
In October 2000, he wrote for the online publication Beliefnet.com:
"After
a decade of self-delusion, American Jews must face up to reality. The
Palestinian leadership does not want peace with Israel and there will
be no
peace." In that article, Abrams criticizes dovish American Jewish
organizations for adhering to the "peace process" and compliments those
who
took a more hawkish line, expressing unqualified support for Israel's
tough
response to Palestinian violence. "Let's stop this flight from reality
before it does even more harm to Israel," Abrams writes, "let's stop
pushing for more talks and offer instead something simpler and more
valuable: solidarity and support." He adds: "The years of U.S. pressure
on
Israel... must end."
Another article, published in March 2001 on Beliefnet.com following
Ariel
Sharon's election as prime minister, praises Sharon as the embodiment
of an
approach of "firmness and resistance to violence or the threat of
violence." In that article, Abrams went as far as to compare Sharon to
Winston Churchill. Just as Sharon resigned from his position as defense
minister in Menachem Begin's government for his indirect responsibility
for
the Sabra and Shatilla massacre of Palestinians in Lebanon in 1982,
Abrams
writes, so was Churchill forced to resign as first lord of the
admiralty
for his responsibility for the World War I fiasco in Gallipoli. "Yet 24
years later, when his nation found itself in a crisis threatening its
survival, Great Britain turned to Churchill again," writes Abrams…
-----
CON MAN HELD FOR DEFRAUDING MUSLIMS
Mutlak Al-Baqami, Arab News, 12/12/02
http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=21008
RIYADH, 12 December 2002 - Canadian police have arrested a suspected
con
man known as Mohammed Mustafa Agbareia, who has allegedly embezzled
hundreds of thousands of dollars by impersonating Saudi officials and
other
Muslim personalities worldwide.
Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American Islamic
Relations
(CAIR), said that the Canadian authorities held the 37-year-old Israeli
national on Dec. 5 on fraud charges. The Saudi Embassy in Washington
and
the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah had earlier warned against
dealing
with the impostor.
The con man's modus operandi was to place phone calls claiming to be a
well-known Muslim leader, official or scholar stranded at an airport
after
his money, passport and tickets had been stolen or lost.
He would ask the victim, typically a leader or activist in a local
Muslim
community, to wire cash through MoneyGram or Western Union to help him
out
of the crisis. After receiving the funds he would disappear…
Orangeville Police said it would issue a statement on the arrest of the
con
man within two days.
SEE: CON-ARTIST WHO DEFRAUDED MUSLIMS CAUGHT
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=125&page=AA
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12/13/2002
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: IT IS BETTER TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* GENERAL SEES SCANT EVIDENCE OF THREAT IN U.S. (New York Times)
* '365 DAYS AND COUNTING' OF HADDAD DETENTION (Business Wire)
* VISITORS FROM 18 NATIONS FACE SCRUTINY (Philadelphia Inquirer)
* MUSLIM HIP-HOP GROUP RAPS FOR ALLAH (AP)
* ARREST OF ALLEGED CON MAN A RELIEF TO MUSLIMS (Canadian Press)
* FANNIE MAE TO OFFER MORTGAGES FOR MUSLIMS (Dallas Morning News)
* CAIR-SO. CALIFORNIA: A CASE STUDY (WRMEA)
* POLL COULD SEAL FATE OF MUSLIMS (Sydney Morning Herald)
- Indian Muslims Flee Homes Fearing Poll Result (Reuters)
* PALESTINIANS MEET DEATH IN BID FOR BETTER LIFE (Reuters)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: IT IS BETTER TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "…wealth is (like) green
and
sweet (fruit), and whoever takes it without greed, God will bless it
for
him, but whoever takes it with greed…will be like someone who eats but
is
never satisfied…The upper (giving) hand is better than the lower
(receiving) hand."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadith 448
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
GENERAL SEES SCANT EVIDENCE OF THREAT NEAR IN U.S.
ERIC SCHMITT and PHILIP SHENON. New York Times, 12/13/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/13/politics/13HOME.html
WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 - The nation's top general for domestic security
says
he has seen little evidence to suggest an imminent terrorism threat
inside
the United States by members of Al Qaeda's network, and warns against
using
"McCarthyism" in combating terror.
"I am not aware of a significant threat to this nation" from so-called
sleeper cells, said the officer, Gen. Ralph E. Eberhart.
General Eberhart, who as head of the military's newly created Northern
Command oversees the Pentagon's contribution to domestic
counterterrorism
efforts, expressed concern that undetected terrorist cells could be
operating in the United States and plotting new attacks…
The comments by the general, a four-star Air Force officer who has
access
to much of the same intelligence that President Bush receives, may be
reassuring to a public made jittery by repeated terrorism alerts from
Washington. But they appeared to contradict pronouncements from senior
law
enforcement officials, including Attorney General John Ashcroft, of an
impending threat of domestic terrorist attacks…
General Eberhart said he was increasingly confident that if terrorist
cells
were in the United States, law enforcement would ferret them out before
they struck. But he said there was a natural tension between a need for
aggressive pursuit of terrorists on one hand and, on the other, a need
for
caution that there be no abridgements of civil liberties - "some of the
things we did in the 50's with McCarthyism, which I think was a very
sad
chapter in our history."
"We just have to be very, very careful that we don't misread some
things we
see, that we don't jump to conclusions," he said...
-----
'365 DAYS AND COUNTING' OF HADDAD DETENTION
BUSINESS WIRE, 12/13/02
http://www.businesswire.com
Haddad, Family, Friends and Community Decry Incarceration
Marking the first year in detention for Ann Arbor Pastor Rabih Haddad,
arrested in front of his wife and children two days before the Muslim
Eid
holiday on December 14, 2001, the Free Rabih Haddad Committee (FRHC) is
sponsoring a rally.
DATE: Saturday, December 14
TIME: Noon to 1:00 pm
LOCATION: Ann Arbor Federal Building, 5th and Liberty
CITY: Ann Arbor, Mich.
"Rabih and his wife Salma still feel America provides the best
environment
to live and raise their children," stated Kristine Abouzahr,
Spokeswoman
for the Committee. "Even though Rabih has suffered the worst
humiliation
and character assassination, he knows that the American people and the
US
Constitution will be the ultimate judge in ending his ordeal," she
added.
"As Americans, we want our government to protect us from national
security
threats," stated Homam Albaroudi, Spokesman for the Committee. "But in
this
case, after one year of this unjust detention of a true humanitarian,
the
government has made a grievous error and must come clean," he added.
Haddad's family and friends will be available for comment at the
conclusion
of the rally. The full copy of Haddad's statement will be distributed
and
is available by contacting the above representatives of the Committee.
CONTACT: Free Rabih Haddad Committee, Nazih Hassan, 734/754-0802 or
Homam
Albaroudi, 734/276-0694
SOURCE: Free Rabih Haddad Committee
-----
VISITORS FROM 18 NATIONS FACE SCRUTINY
Thomas Ginsberg, Philadelphia Inquirer, 12/13/02
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/local/4728163.htm
With little publicity, the Bush administration is about to declare a
number
of Arab and Muslim foreigners deportable if they fail to report for
fingerprinting, photographing and questioning by Monday.
Male visitors 16 and older from five Middle Eastern and North African
countries must register at the nearest Immigration and Naturalization
Service office by Dec. 16. Men from 13 other countries in the Middle
East,
Africa and Asia must register by Jan. 10.
Prompted by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the registration was
ordered last month by Attorney General John Ashcroft for citizens
visiting
from those 18 countries because they "meet a combination of
intelligence-based criteria [and] are identified as presenting elevated
national security concerns." About 10,000 men nationwide will be
affected.
It is the first phase of a four-year program ordered by Congress to
track
roughly 35 million temporary foreign visitors entering the United
States
each year.
But as the deadline looms, critics are questioning the effectiveness
and
fairness of the first phase. While rushing to alert people about the
requirement, they said many men as of this week still did not know
about it
or were unsure whether it applied to them...
Making matters worse in Philadelphia, fears were stoked after a
Moroccan
immigrant who showed up to register on Dec. 2 was held briefly for an
alleged visa violation and now could be deported…critics said rampant
rumors about the Moroccan man were scaring others from registering and
perhaps might reduce turnout further for a program the government
called
essential to national security.
-----
MUSLIM HIP-HOP GROUP RAPS FOR ALLAH
WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press, 12/12/02
NEWARK, N.J. - This is one hip-hop group that puts The Prophet before
the
profit.
Native Deen, named after the Arabic word for "religion" or "way of
life,"
sings solely about Islamic topics.
The trio charges only $600 per show, and won't perform where alcohol is
served or where mixed dancing is permitted.
They strive to be role models for young music fans who might otherwise
be
drawn to gangsta rap or other explicit forms of entertainment, and hope
to
educate others about their religion. "Islam is our daily life," said
Joshua
Salaam, 29, a Camden native who now lives in the Washington, D.C.,
suburbs.
"That's the difference between Muslims and non-Muslims. It forms what
you
do, who you are, what you eat, when you sleep, how you pray,
everything. We
just sing about what we know, and who we are."
There is a niche for what they do. Religious performers sold nearly
$918
million worth of recordings last year, accounting for 6.7 percent of
the
global $13.7 billion market, according to the Recording Industry
Association of America. Most of those were by Christian acts; the
association did not have an estimate of how many were by Islamic
artists.
Native Deen is working on its first album, and is seeking a record
contract. But it has released many singles and cassettes independently
and
over the Internet, enough to gain them a steady following that keeps
hiring
the trio to perform at mosques, weddings and conferences. They most
recently performed before 400 teens at the Muslim Youth Center in
Brooklyn,
N.Y.
The group uses only percussion and voices, in deference to a debate in
religious circles as to whether wind and stringed instruments are
forbidden
under Islam. Given the self-imposed limitations, their music is
surprisingly rich, with layers of tonal beats driven by electronic
rhythms
and multi-tiered vocal tracks.
Their lyrics touch on topics like the tensions between Islamic and
secular
lifestyles, pride in Islamic culture, and meeting religious
obligations.
The chorus of their signature song goes, "M-U-S-L-I-M, I'm so blessed
to be
with them."
Another track, "Hellfire," details the worldly struggles of a
half-hearted
Muslim who drifted away from his faith and into materialism and drugs,
before realizing the error of his ways and begging forgiveness from
Allah.
"A lot of folks in the Muslim community recognize the need for Muslim
media," said Yaser El-Menshawy, chairman of Majlis Ash-Shura of New
Jersey,
a Muslim religious council. "The kids want something to listen to. If
you
don't give them something that conforms to Muslim guidelines, they'll
find
something else…"
The three still have their day jobs. Salaam has a degree in criminal
justice and works in the civil rights division of the Council on
American
Islamic Relations, one of the country's most respected Muslim
organizations. Ahmad, a Connecticut native, lives in the Washington
area
and works as a web designer. Muhammad is a lifelong Baltimore resident,
where he works as a project manager for a technical company.
Native Deen's fan base is almost exclusively Muslims, although they say
they would like someday to have a greater reach and spread knowledge of
Islam to those of other faiths…
On the Net:
SEE: http://www.nativedeen.com
-----
ARREST OF ALLEGED CON MAN IN ONTARIO A RELIEF TO MUSLIM COMMUNITIES
WORLDWIDE
The Canadian Press, 12/12/02
TORONTO (CP) _ The arrest of an alleged international con man has
sparked
relief in Muslim communities worldwide, a North American Islamic leader
said Thursday.
The con artist allegedly made phone calls claiming to be a well-known
Muslim leader, official or scholar stranded at an airport after his
money,
passport and tickets had been stolen or lost, according to victims.
He would then ask the intended victim, typically a leader or activist
in a
local Muslim community, to wire cash to help him out of the crisis.
After
receiving the funds, he would disappear. "This is wonderful. This
wicked
person has been preying on Muslim communities for more than a decade,''
said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, in a phone interview from Washington.
"I estimate he was conning between $1,000 and $3,000 a day. He has
stolen
millions of dollars in his more than a decade of preying on our
communities.''
Since the arrest was made by Orangeville, Ont., police, there have been
jubilant calls from as far away as Australia, Denmark, Saudi Arabia,
Latin
America and all over North America, Awad said…
The man had been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in
the
United States, by Interpol, the international police agency, and by
various
police agencies in the Middle East, Colombia, Denmark and Canada.
Council spokesperson Ibrahim Hooper praised the work of the Orangeville
police, particularly Const. Faron Rahn.
Mohammed Mustafa Agbaria, 37, a Brampton, Ont., resident, was arrested
on
Dec. 5. He faces 14 fraud-related criminal charges and is to appear
again
in court next Tuesday.
-----
FANNIE MAE TO OFFER MORTGAGES WITH NO INTEREST PAYMENTS FOR MUSLIMS
Anuradha Raghunathan, Dallas Morning News, 12/13/02
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dallas/business/stories/121302dnbusmuslim.29edd.html
Fannie Mae, the nation's largest source of home loan funds, is
partnering
with an Islamic finance company to offer home mortgages to the tune of
$10
million to Muslim families.
The model is structured so observant Muslims can buy homes without
making
interest payments, according to American Finance House Lariba, which
will
offer the financing in partnership with Fannie Mae. The payment or
collection of interest is against Islamic law.
The home-financing model _ referred to as the Lariba _ is available in
29
states…
The LARIBA model allows Muslim families to buy a home based on market
rentals for similar properties in a neighborhood. The purchase is
characterized as a joint investment by the Islamic finance company and
the
Muslim purchaser.
The monthly payments are comparable in cost to conventional mortgage
payments. General industry standards of creditworthiness apply,
Abdul-Rahman said.
-----
CAIR-SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA:
A CASE STUDY IN ACHIEVING THE ORGANIZATIONAL HOLY GRAIL
Issam M. Nashashibi, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Jan/Feb
2003
http://www.wrmea.com/
Approximately 1,500 people attended the annual banquet. Some attendees
traveled from as far away as Arizona and Nevada-a considerable
endorsement
for the five-year-old Southern California chapter of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
That evening, attendees contributed over $530,000 to the chapter. Not
only
is that more than enough for its annual budget, but it represents yet
another record in an economic environment where charitable donations
are
expected to fall by more than the 2.3 percent decline experienced last
year, according to the Dec. 2, 2002 issue of Newsweek.
By any measure, these achievements are clear proof of an organizing
success
about which many more established groups can only dream. This triumph
means
that the chapter must be doing things, not only right but also well.
Like a
successful business that meets its customers' needs, the CAIR chapter
must
be fulfilling its community's expectations and touching people's lives
to
be able to motivate its constituency and receive these unmistakably
powerful endorsements.
Such accomplishments cannot be achieved haphazardly; they must be based
on
a prescription of "organizing for success." As a management analyst who
is
both an organizing "consumer" and part-time "community service
activist,"
this writer believes that the formula includes a well-orchestrated
meshing
of four ingredients: a defined but flexible strategy to implement a
clear
vision; a community service culture; decentralized organization; and
effective and frequent communications with its target audiences. These
ingredients are outlined below.
CAIR starts with a clear and simple vision that is the cornerstone of
any
successful strategy: promoting better understanding between Muslims and
non-Muslims, as well as advancing and defending Muslim Americans' civil
rights. To implement this vision, CAIR's strategy is to build strong
relations with like-minded civil rights organizations and empower the
community at all levels…
From its inception, CAIR has addressed the tough tasks of empowering
community members by holding seminars on media, lobbying, public
speaking
and organizing. It has also organized voter registration drives and
town
hall meetings with public officials. One advantage of these town hall
meetings is that the work of public officials is demystified as
community
members are able to address the officials directly and simply. In
addition,
the chapter serves individual community members through a focused and
effective response to civil rights and discrimination challenges…
Although some contend that CAIR's success lies in its religious appeal,
this does not square with donation trends, or the fact that various
area
mosques and other Muslim organizations are vying for the same funds.
What is clear is that the most effective route to activism success must
be
that an organization touches people's lives through community
service-be it
defending Muslim civil rights, empowering community members or easing
their
children's time at school through better tangible Muslim images and
sensitivity training. That is a lesson we all can learn.
-----
POLL COULD SEAL FATE OF MUSLIMS
Amy Waldman in Pavagadh, Sydney Morning Herald, 12/13/02
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/12/1039656171127.html
The Muslims of the village of Pavagadh in Gujarat are free to come
home,
Manoj Joshi said. But they must agree to certain conditions first.
No more misbehaving with, or marrying, Hindu women. No more illegal
activities like betting, and the 156 Muslims who lived in the village
of
about 4000 people must learn to "live like a minority".
"Don't try to dominate the Hindus," warned Mr Joshi, a shopkeeper and
member of the fundamentalist World Hindu Council…
For many the election is the latest test of whether India's future will
be
as a secular society, in which its 130 million Muslims have equal
rights
and protections, or a communal one, in which they live at odds with,
and
perhaps at the mercy of, its 820 million Hindus.
No one is more concerned about the outcome than Gujarat's Muslims, who
feel
their livelihoods and security may depend on the results. The violence
was
led by Hindu nationalist groups closely linked to the Bharatiya Janata
Party, which governs Gujarat and also leads the national coalition.
Initially the state government did little to check the violence, which
on
some occasions was led by party leaders…
SEE ALSO:
INDIAN MUSLIMS FLEE HOMES FEARING POLL RESULT
Thomas Kutty Abraham, Reuters, 12/13/02
AHMEDABAD, India, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Several hundred Muslims fled their
homes on Friday in India's Gujarat state, scene of the country's worst
religious bloodshed in a decade, fearing renewed violence as Hindu
nationalists looked set to win a state poll.
Exit polls after Thursday's voting showed the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP)
retaining power, although the official result was not due until Sunday
and
the main opposition Congress party dismissed the exit polls saying it
had
won the election.
"We do not want this BJP government," 50-year-old labourer Mahmood Ali
said. "If they come back there'll be more riots.
"Last time I voted for the BJP because they had promised us a burial
ground. Instead of giving us a burial ground they turned the area into
a
killing field…"
Up to 400 Muslims from an area that saw some of the worst violence this
year shifted to safer Muslim-dominated areas ahead of Sunday's expected
announcement, Muslim residents said, adding they would return after a
few
days if there was no violence…
Some analysts say the extent of a BJP win over Congress, which called
the
poll a battle for the soul of a secular India, would be crucial to
whether
the party seeks to push its hardline stand elsewhere ahead of the
national
election and in a string of state polls over the next year...
-----
PALESTINIANS MEET DEATH IN BID FOR BETTER LIFE
Nidal al-Mughrabi, Reuters, 12/13/02
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Poverty and despair drove Ahmed
al-Astal to try to sneak across a frontier where an infiltrator's life
can
end in the flash of a tank shell.
Astal was one of five unarmed Palestinians, all members of an extended
family in the Gaza Strip, killed by an Israeli tank Thursday as they
tried
to cross a border fence and find work in Israel.
"He told me he was going to earn a good living for our children,"
Astal's
wife, Wafa, told Reuters Friday.
"He promised us a better life and he lost his own," she said, cradling
a
3-year-old child in her arms. The couple have three other children aged
between 7 and 10.
Unemployment in the Gaza Strip and West Bank has rocketed to 65 percent
since the start more than two years ago of a Palestinian uprising for
statehood that led Israel to largely stem the flow of Palestinian
workers
into the Jewish state…
In Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Jonathan Peled called
the
killings a "tragic event" but added: "They were five suspicious persons
in
a prohibited area."
Inside the Astral family home -- which lacks electricity and where
mattresses strewn on a cement floor serve as beds -- a widow
contemplated a
bleak future.
"Is this a life? It is no life," she said. "He was the sole supporter
of
the family. Who is going to take care of us now?"
-----
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-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12-15-2002
HEADLINES:
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* WIFE OF CANADIAN DETAINED, DEPORTED BY U.S. TO HOLD VIGIL
- Rally Set to Support Muslim Activist (Detroit Free Press)
* FOREIGN STUDENTS, VISITORS CITE NEW TROUBLES (Miami Herald)
- Mosques to Propagate INS Requirement (UPI)
- Immigrants Say INS Deadline Unfair (Bradenton Herald)
* MUSLIMS SAY THEY'VE BEEN UNDER ATTACK IN FLORIDA (Miami Herald)
- Fla. Islamic Groups Voice Frustrations (Orlando Sentinel)
* PATRIOT ACT CHALLENGED IN OAKLAND (San Jose Mercury News)
* IS THE ISSUE PARKING OR PREJUDICE? (New York Times)
- Anger Over Plan to Build Muslim Camp in Iowa (AP)
* DOCUMENTARIANS TO ENLIGHTEN AMERICANS ABOUT PROPHET (Mercury News)
- PBS Bio Succeeds Even Without Its Big Star (Wash. Post)
* ISRAEL HARASSES MUSLIM CONVERTS (Haaretz)
* INDIA'S BJP IN LANDSLIDE WIN IN GUJARAT (Reuters)
* BEER, PORK AND MINI-SKIRTS: CHINESE REVOLUTION HITS KABUL (AFP)
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
- MEDIA ADVISORY -
WIFE OF CANADIAN DETAINED, DEPORTED BY U.S. TO HOLD VIGIL
Monia Mazigh to call for monthly vigil until her husband is released
WHAT: On Monday, December 16, Monia Mazigh will be attending a
candlelight
vigil on Parliament Hill to call for the release of her husband Maher
Arar.
Arar, a Canadian citizen, was detained in the United States en route to
Canada and deported, first to Jordan, then to Syria. He has been in
jail
for the past 73 days and is currently being held in Syria.
Monia Mazigh will attend the vigil with her two young children. Maher
Arar's brothers, Bassam, Taoufik, and Samir will be in attendance.
Monia
Mazigh will speak briefly at 5 pm. She will ask Canadians to hold a
monthly vigil until her husband is released.
WHEN: Monday, December 16th, 2002
WHERE: Parliament Hill, Ottawa
The Centennial Flame in front of the Peace Tower
TIME: Vigil begins at 4 p.m., Monia Mazigh to speak at 5 p.m.
-END-
CONTACT: Naeem Saloojee at 613-254-9704; E-mail: Canada@cair-net.org
SEE ALSO:
RALLY SET TO SUPPORT MUSLIM ACTIVIST
Haddad has been jailed a year on visa charge
TAMARA AUDI, Detroit Free Press, 12/14/02
http://www.freep.com/news/metro/haddad14_20021214.htm
Supporters of Rabih Haddad, the Ann Arbor Muslim activist and charity
fund-raiser who has been detained in the terrorism investigation, will
hold
a rally today -- the one-year anniversary of his arrest.
Haddad was picked up by federal officials when his charity, Global
Relief,
was targeted by President George W. Bush's administration as a possible
supporter of terrorism. But the government has yet to charge Haddad
with
any terrorism-related crimes. He is being held on a visa violation. His
supporters have argued that he was a victim of an overzealous
government
campaign to target Muslims after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Haddad is being held in the Monroe County Jail. His wife and five
children
are allowed half-hour visits, twice a week.
The rally -- "365 Days and Counting, Where Is Rabih, Where Is Justice?"
--
will feature speakers from the American Civil Liberties Union,
immigration
lawyers, Haddad family members and local politicians, organizers said.
The event is being organized by the Free Rabih Haddad Committee and is
scheduled to run from noon to 1 p.m. outside the federal building in
Ann
Arbor, at Fifth and Liberty streets…
-----
FOREIGN STUDENTS, VISITORS CITE NEW TROUBLES
ALFONSO CHARDY, Miami Herald, 12/15/02
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/4742127.htm
As immigration authorities respond to terrorist threats by more closely
scrutinizing men from countries with large Muslim populations, foreign
students and visitors in South Florida and elsewhere are feeling the
impact.
At the University of Miami, for example, four students -- two from
Saudi
Arabia, one from Iran and one from Lebanon -- were stuck in their home
countries this fall, unable to return because of visa problems.
At Florida Memorial College, a student from The Gambia in Africa was
delayed because U.S. authorities wanted proof that he had paid for his
aviation-school course.
At Miami-Dade Community College, a half-dozen foreign students were
unable
to start classes because they couldn't get visas. Some of the students
stranded abroad have given up and opted instead to study at
universities in
Beirut and Cairo or schools in Australia, Britain or New Zealand,
academic
officials say.
The students' problems are only one example of the crackdown's effect.
Among the others:
* Nonimmigrant men from 18 designated countries are required to
register
with the Immigration and Naturalization Service -- some by Monday, some
by
Jan. 10 -- because of new regulations. The Justice Department also is
planning to announce soon that men from three more countries must
report
between Jan. 13 and Feb. 21, according to Miami immigration lawyers who
received notice of the planned order. The countries on the list have
large
Muslin populations or poor relations with the United States.
* Many arriving travelers from the Middle East are being delayed at
airports and borders while immigration inspectors question them
closely.
A Jordanian business executive who arrived in late November told The
Herald
that he was pulled out of the regular immigration line and held for
more
than two hours while he was questioned, fingerprinted and photographed
at
Miami International Airport...
---
MOSQUES TO PROPAGATE INS REQUIREMENT
ANWAR IQBAL, United Press International, 12/14/02
Muslim community leaders are asking leaders at mosques across the
United
States to urge Muslims to register with the Immigration and
Naturalization
Service.
The INS recently decided to require nonimmigrant visitors from 18
primarily
Muslim countries to register with the department. There are hundreds of
mosques across the United States for an estimated 7 million Muslims in
the
country.
"These announcements should also be posted in a prominent public
location
in all mosques, Muslim schools and Islamic centers," said Ibrahim
Hooper of
the Council on American-Islamic Relations...
---
MANATEE IMMIGRANTS SAY INS DEADLINE UNFAIR
IRINA SLUTSKY, Bradenton Herald, 12/14/02
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/4737008.htm
As the Monday deadline looms for a regulation requiring men from some
Middle East countries to register with the federal government, local
critics say the law is unfair and discriminatory.
Bradenton resident Khalid Abdul Salaam, a U.S. citizen, is worried for
his
Arabic brethren from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria - the five
countries on the list. Their identities and fingerprints are run
through
criminal, terrorist and immigration databases.
"It's unfair," Salaam said. "If they're going to do it for selected
countries, they should do it for all countries." The Department of
Justice
chose Dec. 16 as the deadline for reporting requirements for citizens
of
the five countries, explaining the regulation as a way to catch
potential
terrorists. The requirement is for men, born in or before 1986, with
non-immigrant status…
Tampa immigration attorney Neil Lewis said government officials are
shooting themselves in the foot with this recent requirement.
"The INS is blowing a golden resource here," Lewis said. "Everyone who
reports is going to be a good guy, the bad guy is not going to report."
Toufick Etyem, a U.S. citizen and former imam for a local mosque, said
that
many of the local Arabs he knows who may have to register are afraid to
speak out against it for fear of being deported.
Another problem local Arabs are reporting is that hardly anyone knew
about
the registration requirement. Lewis said he found out about the
requirement
on Nov. 22.
"This is incredibly short notice, this is discriminatory," Lewis said.
"There may be a valid reason for it, but I wish they would be nice to
the
good guys - offer them coffee while they wait, make them feel
comfortable.
Instead they are threatening to take people into custody and other
things.
These are the people that may have information the INS may want, like
rumors of plots against the U.S."
Lewis said one of his clients went in to register and waited for two
hours.
He was then told to return the next day and again waited for three
hours.
"I called him and told him to leave because I was afraid he would be
detained," Lewis said.
Other attorneys throughout the nation are advising their clients to do
the
same, a representative of the Capital Area Immigrants' Rights group
said.
INS officials said those who willfully fail to comply with the
registration
program could be deported, fined, jailed or barred from future
immigration
benefits…
-----
MUSLIMS SAY THEY'VE BEEN UNDER ATTACK IN FLORIDA
MIKE SCHNEIDER, Miami Herald, 12/15/02
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/4742138.htm
ORLANDO - Three Muslim men are detained and released along Florida's
Alligator Alley after a Georgia woman claims she overheard them talking
about a terrorist plot.
A University of South Florida professor is suspended after appearing on
a
national TV show and being questioned about alleged links to
terrorists.
A prominent Palestinian-American tourist shop owner in Orlando arrested
on
immigration violations is accused of financially supporting groups that
advocate violence in the Middle East -- allegations later dismissed by
a
federal magistrate.
These three incidents are only the most-publicized examples of how
Muslims
have been harassed and intimidated in Florida since Sept. 11, leaders
of
local and national Islamic groups said Saturday at a conference in
Orlando.
About 200 Muslims from across the state attended the daylong meeting
sponsored by seven Muslim groups that looked at ways to protect civil
liberties for Muslims...
There have been 183 incidents of hate crimes against Muslims in Florida
since Sept. 11, said Altaf Ali, executive director of the Florida
chapter
of the Council on American-Islamic Relations…
SEE ALSO:
ISLAMIC GROUPS VOICE FRUSTRATIONS TOGETHER
Stephanie Erickson, Orlando Sentinel, 12/15/02
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-locrally15121502dec15.story
Every day, five times a day, they stand shoulder to shoulder, unifying
the
rich, the poor, the happy and the sad, and then kneel in prayer to
Allah.
On Saturday, Central Florida Muslims welcomed leaders from top Islamic
groups across the country to join them.
They recited verses from the Quran, ate curry chicken and rice pudding,
and
then, they listened. They heard each other's frustrations, shared
perspectives and vowed to unify to end discrimination against Florida
Muslims.
Now, they hope to unite blacks, Christians, Hispanics and others in
their
fight. The national leaders directed Central Florida Muslims to build
alliances with other groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union
and
the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, to
visit
churches and synagogues, and to convince law enforcement of the need to
have more cultural sensitivity…
-----
PATRIOT ACT CHALLENGED IN OAKLAND
Dana Hull, San Jose Mercury News, 12/15/02
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/4744299.htm
The Oakland City Council will take up the contentious issue of the USA
Patriot Act on Tuesday. Council members Nancy Nadel and Ignacio de la
Fuente will introduce a resolution to oppose the Patriot Act on the
grounds
that it violates individuals' civil rights…
Congress overwhelmingly passed the anti-terrorism legislation shortly
after
the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon,
making it easier for police and other law enforcement officials to
monitor
phone conversations, track e-mail and obtain certain confidential
records.
Supporters say the expanded authority is critical to the effort to
prevent
future terrorist acts on U.S. soil.
A coalition of Oakland organizations, including Filipinos for
Affirmative
Action and Centro Legal de la Raza, have endorsed the resolution, and
supporters will gather on the steps of City Hall before the council
meeting
begins.
In recent months, more than a dozen cities across the country have
discussed the Patriot Act at length…
-----
IS THE ISSUE PARKING OR PREJUDICE?
DONNA KUTT NAHAS, New York Times, 12/15/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/15/nyregion/15MOSQ.html
A MUSLIM congregation's plan to raze two houses it owns here and build
a
mosque and a school in their place has drawn protests from some
residents
who worry about increased traffic. But a whiff of post-Sept. 11
anti-Muslim
prejudice clings to the controversy, sharpening the anxiety for those
who
are concerned that it will broadcast an image of a bigoted East Meadow…
Though many residents say the new mosque would cause intolerable
congestion, no one was complaining about the three nearby churches,
which
have a combined membership more than double the Muslim society's 150
members.
But traffic is clearly not East Meadow residents' only concern. At
least a
dozen who asked not to be identified admitted to anti-Muslim feelings
and
said they were strongly opposed to the mosque because it's a mosque.
"They have a past history of being violent, and they have a current
history
of being violent, too, and of having radical groups," said Louis
Darienzo,
a portfolio manager from East Meadow. "I'm sure most of them are
peace-loving, but I'm thinking in the back of my head, 'Are they
practicing
a false religion?' You just don't know."
Judy Fredrickson, who lives around the corner from the proposed mosque,
maintained that "freedom of religion is important," but added, "because
of
9/11, I hope all they want to do here is worship."
Norma Gonsalves, the Nassau County legislator whose district includes
East
Meadow, acknowledged that a few angry anti-Muslim comments were shouted
when Muslim society officials appeared to defend their proposal at a
public
meeting on Nov. 26 sponsored by the Council of East Meadow Community
Organizations. But Ms. Gonsalves said the jeers were not representative
of
the community's true sentiments…
Ms. Gonsalves said she was concerned that the anti-Muslim remarks of
some
residents would "paint East Meadow with a broad stroke" of religious
bias
and scar the community…
SEE ALSO:
RESIDENTS ANGERED OVER PLAN TO BUILD MUSLIM CAMP ON LAKESHORE
TODD DVORAK, Associated Press, 12/14/02
NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa (AP) - A plan to build the nation's first Muslim
summer
camp on a wooded hill overlooking Coralville Lake has angered residents
who
say it would threaten the environment, their rural lifestyle and - a
few
say - the nation's security.
Concern among homeowners started in 1999 when the Cedar Rapids-based
Muslim
Youth Camps of America filed an application to lease 106 acres along
the
manmade reservoir. And for a few, the Sept. 11, terrorist attacks on
the
World Trade Center and Pentagon added a new dimension.
The property, managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, served for
decades as a summer retreat for Girl Scouts, but has been vacant since
a
1990 fire destroyed the camp's rustic lodge.
Plans now under review include 10 new cabins, a caretaker's residence
and
paved parking for 66 vehicles, a beach and boat docks.
The centerpiece is a 17,500-square-foot lodge with meeting rooms,
restrooms
and dining and kitchen facilities that could be used year-round for
conferences, weddings and weekend retreats, but not for overnight
stays.
"It will not just be for summer camp," said Manzoor Ali, chairman of
the
board of directors Muslim Youth Camps of America, a nonprofit he
likened to
the YMCA. "Nor it is exclusively for Muslims either.
"We will open it to people of all creeds to get to know and better
understand one another. It will have a lot of beneficial uses," he
said…
But it's not the project's well-intentioned mission that has neighbors
campaigning against it…
For a few, opposition transcends trees, sewer systems and noise.
Resident Bob Lisenbee said he questions the wisdom of a camp for
Muslims at
a time of heightened tension between the United States and Muslim
extremist
groups and Middle Eastern countries.
"I have no doubt it will draw people from all over the world, and I
think
we have to think about security," said Lisenbee, who lives nearby. "Not
everyone thinks of the United States in the best eyes. In this day and
age,
we have to think about those kinds of things."
At least two people have submitted written comments stating similar
objections during the public comment phase of the review, said Karen
Haggerty, project manager for the corps.
Ali isn't bothered by such remarks, and said his group has not heard or
received any racially tinged opposition to the plans.
-----
DOCUMENTARIANS HOPE TO ENLIGHTEN AMERICANS ABOUT PROPHET
Richard Scheinin, San Jose Mercury News, 12/14/02
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/living/4738956.htm
Wednesday, on more than 300 PBS television stations around the country,
the
two-hour ''Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet'' will be broadcast to
millions of
viewers. It's an event: The first U.S.-made, historical documentary on
the
man, born nearly 1,400 years ago, whose example and teachings inspire
more
than a billion people worldwide, including millions in the United
States...
The producers of the documentary, four years in the making, faced
interesting challenges: There are no reliable images of Muhammad
because
the prophet opposed idolatry and didn't want to become an object of
worship. How then, to make a documentary with human faces? By filming
Muslims today, the producers decided…
SEE ALSO:
PBS BIOGRAPHY SUCCEEDS EVEN WITHOUT ITS BIG STAR
Caryle Murphy, Washington Post, 12/14/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52861-2002Dec13.html
How do you produce an engaging two-hour biography of one of the most
influential men in world history without showing his image?
The producers of "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet," a PBS documentary
premiering Wednesday about the Arab desert trader whose religious
experiences led to the founding of Islam, have smartly overcome this
cinematic challenge.
Combining symbolic images from the desert landscape in which Muhammad
lived
almost 1,400 years ago, contemporary footage of Muslims visiting
Islam's
holy sites and, most importantly, interviews with American Muslims
about
what Muhammad means to them, the film offers an absorbing rendition of
his
life story…
-----
ISRAEL HARASSES MUSLIM CONVERTS
CONVERTED TO ISLAM? - THE GOVERNMENT WILL SEND YOU TO A PSYCHIATRIST
Joseph Algazy, Haaretz, 12/12/02
http://oznik.com/words/021212.html
The Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Religious Affairs are doing
all
they can to prevent official recognition of Jews who convert or marry a
Muslim. At the Interior Ministry, the Population Registry dismisses
documents from the Shara'aite court and requires converts to Islam to
show
a conversion document from the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Those who
turn to the Ministry of Religious Affairs have to suffer harassment and
humiliation, after which they are given nothing. The Association for
Civil
Rights is considering an appeal to the Supreme Court…
A neighborhood rabbi, who asked to remain anonymous, told Haaretz that
he
understands how the heads of the ministries must feel, and what makes
them
heap difficulties in the way of Jews who "ask to convert their religion
and
lose their soul. Those clerks perform a very great mitzvah," the Rabbi
said. A veteran Shara'aite litigator has told Haaretz that until a few
years ago he did not encounter great difficulties in registering
conversions and marriages that were ruled on by the Shara'aite court.
In
his experience, he said, until about three years ago, a Jew that
converted
to Islam was given a hearing at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, or
at a
rabbinical court, to ascertain the decision was made out of their own
free
will, and in an attempt to dissuade them. In some cases they were
required
to present a document from the military. The Shara'aite litigator
considers
the toughening of policy to be influenced by the general atmosphere of
intolerance currently prevalent in Israel.
-----
INDIA'S BJP IN LANDSLIDE WIN IN GUJARAT
Myra MacDonald and Thomas Kutty Abraham, Reuters, 12/15/02
NEW DELHI/AHMEDABAD, Dec 15 (Reuters) - India's ruling Bharatiya Janata
Party swept to victory on Sunday in Gujarat state after a hardline
Hindu
campaign which pitted Hindus against Muslims in a region still reeling
from
bloody religious violence.
The BJP, which denied allegations of complicity in the killings of
Muslims
in the violence which erupted in February, beat expectations by winning
126
seats in the 182-seat assembly.
Critics accused it of whipping up Hindu fear of Muslims, who make up
nine
percent of Gujarat's population, to win the election, where it
presented
itself as the protector of Hindus against Islamic Pakistan and radical
Muslim militants.
"This is a victory over dead bodies. This victory signifies the death
of
humanity," said Shankersinh Vaghela, state leader of the opposition
Congress party, which won only 51 seats…
-----
BEER, PORK AND MINI-SKIRTS: CHINESE REVOLUTION HITS POST-TALIBAN KABUL
BARRY NEILD, Agence France-Presse, 12/15/02
KABUL, Dec 15 (AFP) - A mini-skirted Chinese waitress serves Tsing Tao
beer
to customers chowing barbecued pork to karaoke anthems -- Kabul's
newest
dining experience is enough to make the any remaining Taliban
supporters
head for the hills. The unassumingly named Chinese Restaurant has been
a
runaway success since opening its doors and firing up its woks in the
Afghan capital last month. Reservations, says manager Wang Wentian, are
a
must.
Needless to say, most Kabul citizens would have a few reservations at
visiting an eatery where, before last year's collapse of the hardline
Taliban regime, staring at the staff would probably have been enough to
warrant severe punishment. But, says Wang, the restaurant stands at the
vanguard of a bold new wave of Chinese investors poised to help
themselves
to a highly lucrative market -- even if the raised hemlines of his
staff
have raised a few eyebrows…
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
U.S. MUSLIMS ASK INS TO EXTEND REGISTRATION DEADLINE
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Armenia added to "Special Registration" list
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/16/02) - A prominent national Islamic civil
rights
and advocacy group today called for an extension of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) deadline for registration of nonimmigrant
visa
holders from Muslim countries. That request comes as three more nations
have been added to the INS list.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has learned that the
Department of Justice will today announce the addition of Saudi Arabia,
Pakistan and Armenia to the existing list of 18 primarily Muslim
nations
(and North Korea) whose citizens must appear at INS offices for
interviews,
photographs and fingerprinting.
Under the little-publicized directive, male visa-holders 16 and older
from
five Middle Eastern and North African countries must register at the
nearest INS office by today. Male visa-holders from 13 other countries
in
the Middle East, Africa and Asia must register by Jan. 10, 2003.
Citizens
of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Armenia who entered the United States on
or
before Sept. 30, 2002, must now appear for "special registration" by
Feb.
21, 2003.
SEE: SPECIAL REGISTRATION PROCEDURES FOR CERTAIN NONIMMIGRANTS
http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/lawenfor/specialreg/index.htm#what
U.S. DENIES ENTRY TO CANADIAN SCIENTIST
Islamic scholar refuses to be fingerprinted
http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=17821659-9802-41b6-a413-38a2bc87e42f
Some 10,000 men from the initial 19 designated nations are required to
register. An unknown number of men will be affected by today's
directive.
Those who fail to register by the deadline may face deportation.
"The government has done little to spread the word in the Muslim and
Arab-American communities about the requirement to register. Many
people
may unwittingly place themselves in the position of being deported
merely
because they lack information about the INS order," said CAIR
Governmental
Affairs Director Jason Erb.
Erb expressed concern about reports that a number of those who complied
with the order have been detained based on visa technicalities. He also
said some registrants report being asked inappropriate questions about
their mothers and fathers, credit card information, and even the
contents
of their pockets.
"This seems to be another in a series of 'dragnet' policies that target
law
abiding visitors. These policies are an ineffective and inefficient use
of
law enforcement. They create unnecessary fear and apprehension among
visitors to our nation. People are either uninformed or confused about
the
orders. We need more time to educate our community about the
registration
program," said Erb. He added that those who must register should
consult an
immigration attorney prior to their interview with the INS.
In Friday's New York Times, the nation's top general for domestic
security
said he sees little evidence to suggest a terrorism threat from inside
the
United States and warned against using "McCarthyism" in combating
terror.
Gen. Ralph E. Eberhart told the Times, "I am not aware of a significant
threat to this nation [from sleeper cells]."
- END -
CONTACT: Jason Erb, 202-438-2080; Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or
202-744-7726, E-MAIL: cair@cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive
news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to CAIR-NET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12-16-2002
HEADLINES:
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* WARNER BROS. SAYS NO "ALLAH" CHARACTER IN "MATRIX RELOADED"
* LOTT SHOULD RESIGN FROM SENATE POST SAY MUSLIMS (CAIR)
* PENTAGON DEBATES PROPAGANDA PUSH IN ALLIED NATIONS (New York Times)
* BUSH FAVORS SPECIAL AID TO ISRAEL (Haaretz)
- Consultants Tell Israel's Amen Corner: "Pipe Down!" (Antiwar.com)
* FILM TO FIGHT FEAR OF ISLAM (Detroit Free Press)
- A Visual, Thoughtful Examination of Islam (Los Angeles Times)
* PUT OFF BY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, MORE MUSLIMS HOME-TEACH (Chicago Tribune)
* FRIENDS PLAN VIGIL FOR CANADIAN HELD IN SYRIA (Globe and Mail)
* CAIR-CAN CONDEMNS HATEFUL REMARKS BY AHENAKEW
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to send accurate and objective
information
about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
WARNER BROS. SAYS NO "ALLAH" CHARACTER IN "MATRIX RELOADED"
CAIR has received a number of e-mails from concerned Muslims who were
informed that the new Warner Bros. Pictures film "Matrix Reloaded" has
a
character called "Allah."
SEE: (http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/)
After being contacted by CAIR, Warner Bros. officials say there is not,
and
never has been such a character in the film, despite what is being
reported
on movie-related web sites.
-----
LOTT SHOULD RESIGN FROM SENATE POST SAY MUSLIMS
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/16/02) - The Council on American-Islamic
Relations
(CAIR), a national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group, today
called on
Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) to resign from his leadership post in the Senate
because of statements and past actions that may be viewed as supportive
of
racial segregation.
A statement issued today by CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad read in
part:
"To be effective in public service, a political leader must maintain
the
confidence of the electorate and be untainted by perceptions of bias or
prejudice. Unfortunately, whatever is in Senator Lott's heart, his
statements and past actions can be construed as being supportive of
racial
segregation.
"His apologies should be duly noted. But what would be sufficient
contrition for a private citizen is insufficient for the leader of one
of
our nation's most powerful legislative bodies. Senator Lott should step
down from his leadership post in the United States Senate."
The controversy over Lott's stand on racial issues began earlier this
month
at a 100th birthday party for Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-MS). Lott said
Mississippians were proud to have voted for the one-time segregationist
when he was a candidate for president in 1948. "And if the rest of the
country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems
over
all these years either," Lott told the audience. He has since
apologized
for those remarks.
Following the revelation of Lott's comments, reports of other
statements
and actions have surfaced that seem to indicate insensitivity to racism
in
our society.
According to Time magazine: "Lott helped lead a successful battle to
prevent his college fraternity from admitting blacks to any of its
chapters."
SEE: "Trent Lott's Segregationist College Days,"
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,399310,00.html
Newsweek magazine now reports Lott making a racially-charged joke
during a
campaign tour.
SEE: "A Man Out of Time," http://www.msnbc.com/news/847736.asp?0cv=KA01
- END -
CONTACT: Jason Erb, Governmental Affairs Director, 202-438-2080;
Ibrahim
Hooper, Communications Director, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-MAIL:
cair@cair-net.org
-----
PENTAGON DEBATES PROPAGANDA PUSH IN ALLIED NATIONS
THOM SHANKER and ERIC SCHMITT, New York Times, 12/16/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/16/international/16MILI.html
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 - The Defense Department is considering issuing a
secret directive to the American military to conduct covert operations
aimed at influencing public opinion and policy makers in friendly and
neutral countries, senior Pentagon and administration officials say.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has not yet decided on the
proposal,
which has ignited a fierce battle throughout the Bush administration
over
whether the military should carry out secret propaganda missions in
friendly nations like Germany, where many of the Sept. 11 hijackers
congregated, or Pakistan, still considered a haven for Al Qaeda's
militants.
Such a program, for example, could include efforts to discredit and
undermine the influence of mosques and religious schools that have
become
breeding grounds for Islamic militancy and anti-Americanism across the
Middle East, Asia and Europe. It might even include setting up schools
with
secret American financing to teach a moderate Islamic position laced
with
sympathetic depictions of how the religion is practiced in America,
officials said…
-----
ACTION REQUESTED:
Send a letter to your elected representatives.
GO TO: ISRAEL COST U.S. TAXPAYERS $1.6 TRILLION SINCE 1973
http://capwiz.com/cair/home/
BUSH FAVORS SPECIAL AID TO ISRAEL
Aluf Benn, Haaretz, 12/15/02
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=241003
U.S. President George W. Bush supports conferring special American aid
to
Israel to help the country cope with its current economic difficulties.
While Bush, in a discussion with Jewish leaders last week, did not go
into
details about Israel's recent assistance request to his administration,
participants in the conversation said there appears to be little doubt
about the president's commitment to granting the aid.
A delegation of senior Israeli officials will leave for Washington soon
to
discuss the request with U.S. counterparts. Israel has asked for $4
billion
in a special defense grant as well for American agreement to confer
loan
guarantees of between $8 billion and $10 billion.
This special assistance would be added to the United States' annual aid
package to Israel, which is comprised of $2.16 billion in defense
assistance and $480 million for economic-civilian spheres...
SEE ALSO:
CONSULTANTS TELL ISRAEL'S AMEN CORNER: "PIPE DOWN!"
But will their advice be taken?
Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, 12/16/02
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/justincol.html
A group of pro-Israel political consultants, the Israel Project, is
telling
partisans of the Jewish state to kindly shut up about their fulsome
support
for Gulf War II - lest they give the show away. A memo entitled
"Talking
About Iraq," directed at American Jewish leaders, as well as Israelis,
advises:
"Let American politicians fight it out on the floor of Congress and in
the
media. Let the nations of the world argue in front of the UN. Your
silence
allows everyone to focus on Iraq rather than Israel."
"If your goal is regime change, you must be much more careful with your
language because of the potential backlash. You do not want Americans
to
believe that the war on Iraq is being waged to protect Israel rather
than
to protect America."
If you guys just keep quiet, those stupid Americans may not notice that
they're fighting, dying, and paying for your wars.
-----
FILM TO FIGHT FEAR OF ISLAM
Dearborn gets peek tonight at powerful new documentary
David Crumm, Detroit Free Press, 12/16/02
http://www.freep.com/news/religion/islam16_20021216.htm
In a tough Brooklyn accent, a heroic New York firefighter who looks
like a
cross between Charlton Heston and Sylvester Stallone tells TV viewers
that
his deep faith as a Muslim inspires him to save lives.
In Ann Arbor, 36 college students are finishing months of work with
their
professor to present a new Islamic exhibit at the University of
Michigan
Museum of Art. Its centerpiece is a dazzling blue bowl with graceful
Islamic inscriptions.
And in thousands of towns nationwide, sets of new books and videos
about
the 1-billion-member faith will show up on public library shelves in
coming
months, courtesy of donors to a nonprofit project called Explore
Islamic
Culture and Civilization.
"With all the misunderstanding and fear about our faith right now, it's
so
important that people learn the truth about Islam," said Eide Alawan, a
Dearborn Muslim who is coordinating the preview of a
multimillion-dollar
PBS documentary, "Muhammad," tonight in Dearborn. The film, which
features
the heroic New York fireman as well as Dearborn nurse Najah Bazzy, airs
nationally on PBS at 9 p.m. Wednesday and on Detroit's WTVS-TV (Channel
56)
at 9 p.m. Sunday…
SEE ALSO:
A VISUAL, THOUGHTFUL EXAMINATION OF ISLAM
HOWARD ROSENBERG, Los Angeles Times, 12/16/02
http://www.calendarlive.com/printedition/calendar/cl-et-howard16dec16.story
Crackpot preacher Jerry Falwell in October called Muhammad -- founder
and
chief prophet of Islam -- a "terrorist."
Falwell declared on "60 Minutes" that he'd read enough of Muhammad's
history to know that "he was a violent man, a man of war." The planet's
most quotable Christian added that "Jesus set the example for love, as
did
Moses. And I think that Muhammad set an opposite example." An
inevitable
public outcry forced a tepid apology from Falwell, who said, gee whiz,
he'd
intended "no disrespect to any sincere, law-abiding Muslim." And if you
believed that...
Look, Falwell is Falwell, a Beavis-and-Butthead-rolled-into-one whose
smiley-face harangues against those he titles "pagans" deliver
notoriety
and national media to his doorstep. Hadn't he earlier held
"abortionists,"
feminists, gays and his other favorite scapegoats partially accountable
for
the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the U.S.?
Before his analysis of Muhammad is dismissed entirely, though, it's
appropriate to note, as many have, that most global terrorists appear
to be
followers of Islam. Can this be a coincidence? If the religion that
Muhammad created 1,400 years ago is as peaceful as Muslims and others
say
it is, why do so many see in it a call to extremism and violence? Just
as
European fanatics of an earlier age found in Christianity a motivation
for
the Crusades, the Inquisition and other forms of aggression,
persecution
and brutality.
That question resonates louder than ever.
So right on cue is the two-hour "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet," a
candid,
thoughtful, flowing, visually stunning film by Michael Wolfe, Alexander
Kronemer and Michael Schwarz that is as timely as documentaries get,
even
though much of it was shot prior to Sept. 11. It premieres at 9 p.m.
Wednesday on KCET-TV…
-----
PUT OFF BY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, MORE MUSLIMS HOME-TEACH
Deborah Horan, Chicago Tribune, 12/16/02
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-0212160217dec16,1,389255.story
Ibrahim Imam, 9, starts his school day at 8:30 a.m. sharp. Like other
4th
graders, he studies math, science, reading and cursive writing. He also
practices Arabic and recites the Koran.
And, like a small but growing number of Muslim pupils in Chicago and
nationwide, he learns each subject in his living room seated across a
desk
from his mom.
Seema Imam started home-schooling her son two years ago, after she
decided
that Ibrahim was doomed to the margins of public school life in Hickory
Hills and in danger of internalizing negative ideas about his religion.
She cites one illuminating incident. Teachers at her son's elementary
school trying their best to include Muslim culture in the curriculum
celebrated Ramadan by bringing ice cream sundaes to her son's class.
Muslim
children observing the monthlong fast couldn't eat the treat.
"Though they try to understand our kids, they just don't," said Imam, a
devout convert to Islam who wears the head-to-toe hijab. "Our kids are
involved in other people's holidays, then our holiday is misunderstood
or
left out."
Like their Christian counterparts, Muslims who choose home schooling
often
do so to escape exposure to sex, drugs and violence. They want to
instruct
their children in Islam, Arabic and Islamic civilization, subjects left
out
of ordinary public curricula.
They worry that their kids will feel excluded in classrooms where
pupils
draw reindeer and color Easter eggs but have never heard of qataif, a
Muslim pastry eaten during the holy month of Ramadan, when the daily
fast
is broken after sundown with a family meal. Since Sept. 11, parents are
anxious their children will be exposed to slurs and harassment...
-----
FRIENDS PLAN VIGIL FOR CANADIAN HELD IN SYRIA
PETER CHENEY, Globe and Mail, 12/16/02
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20021216/UARARN/International/international/internationalAmericasHeadline_temp/2/2/6/
A gathering on Parliament Hill today will mark the latest installment
in
the long, strange story of Maher Arar, an Ottawa engineer who has spent
nearly two months in a Syrian jail after being deported by U.S.
immigration
officials during an airport stopover.
Mr. Arar's supporters, who are scheduled to hold a vigil in front of
the
Parliament buildings this afternoon, say Mr. Arar's treatment at the
hands
of U.S. officials is "an insult to Canadian sovereignty," and are
demanding
that answers finally be given in the mysterious case.
"The whole thing is ridiculous," said Riad Saloojee of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations. "This man is a Canadian citizen, and the
U.S.
just made him disappear. We still don't know what happened…"
-----
CAIR-CAN CONDEMNS HATEFUL REMARKS BY AHENAKEW
Ahenakew should issue unqualified apology, says national organization
(OTTAWA, CANADA - 16/12/02) - The Canadian office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) today condemned recent hateful
comments by David Ahenakew directed against Jews and other ethnic
communities.
Mr. Ahenakew was quoted in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix as stating:
"That's
how Hitler came in. He was going to make damn sure that the Jews
didn't
take over Germany and Europe. That's why he fried six million of those
guys, you know. Jews would have owned the goddamned world. And look
what
they're doing. They're killing people in Arab countries."
Mr. Ahenakew also reportedly said: "My great-grandson goes to school
here
in Saskatoon. These goddamned immigrants -- East Indians, Pakistanis,
Afghanistan, whites and so forth -- call him a dirty little Indian.
He's
the cleanest of the old goddamn works there..."
In a statement released today, CAIR-CAN wrote:
"Canadian Muslims join all Canadians and First Nations people in
condemning
recent remarks by David Ahenakew as hateful and completely
inappropriate.
"We hope that an unqualified public apology will be immediately
forthcoming."
- END -
CONTACT: Naeem Saloojee at 613-254-9704; E-mail: Canada@cair-net.org
-----
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https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12-17-2002
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: THE PATH TO KNOWLEDGE IS MADE EASY
* LIBRARIANS EXPRESS APPRECIATION FOR CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* ARMENIA DROPPED FROM INS "SPECIAL REGISTRATION" LIST?
- INS Order Prompts Big Lines, Anger (Los Angeles Times)
- INS Rule Brings Arrests in O.C. (Orange County Register)
- Muslim Men Swamp Immigration Office (New York Times)
* GOOD NEWS: TV GUIDE CHANNEL CANCELS "JESUS" AD
* CAIR-CAN DEMANDS APOLOGY FROM ALLIANCE MP
* THE LANGUAGE OF ISLAM HAS BEEN HIJACKED (Globe and Mail)
* PBS DOCUMENTARY 'MUHAMMAD' A REVELATION (San Francisco Chronicle)
* FBI CONTACTS IRAQI IMMIGRANTS IN AREA (Dallas Morning News)
* JUDGE TOSSES USF SUIT AGAINST AL-ARIAN (Tampa Tribune)
* "WAR ON TERROR" INFRINGING HUMAN RIGHTS-UNHCR (Reuters)
* HINDU MOBS ATTACK A MOSQUE IN GUJARAT (AP)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: THE PATH TO KNOWLEDGE IS MADE EASY
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "He who treads the path
in
search of knowledge, God will make that path easy."
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1245
-----
LIBRARIANS EXPRESS APPRECIATION FOR CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
CAIR has received a number of letters of appreciation from libraries
nationwide that have received our 18-item "library packages" containing
books, videos and audio cassettes about Islam and Muslims. To date,
4495
library packages have been sponsored.
A library director in Rhode Island writes: "This letter is to
acknowledge
your generous gift and the monumental effort CAIR is making on behalf
of
the Muslim community…Your collection of materials will assist to
broaden
[readers'] horizons and expand their understanding of Islam and
Muslims."
A deputy city librarian in Milwaukee wrote: "We are grateful for the
books
and videos, which will support our own efforts in building our
collection
of Islamic materials."
From Michigan: "I can't thank you enough for the wonderful collection
that
you sent us!"
From Wisconsin: "We thank you very much for your thoughtful and
well-informed choices of materials. They were chosen with a public
library
audience in mind."
CAIR's goal is to send accurate and objective information about Islam
to
America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
ARMENIA DROPPED FROM INS "SPECIAL REGISTRATION" LIST?
CAIR reported yesterday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) added
three
nations, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Armenia, to the list of countries
whose
citizens in the U.S. must register under the INS "Special Registration"
directive.
SEE: http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/lawenfor/specialreg/index.htm
That announcement was based on the DOJ's AG Order No. 2636-2002, which
states: "This notice is applicable to certain nationals and citizens of
Armenia, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia who entered the United States on or
before September 30, 2002…"
Some media outlets reported that Armenia was included in the list, but
others listed only Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
The Armenian Embassy told CAIR that it had received verbal assurances
that
Armenia will not be included on the INS list.
A news release yesterday from the Armenian Assembly of America stated:
FEDERAL REGISTER MISTAKE OUTRAGES ARMENIAN COMMUNITY
Washington, DC - A spokesman from the U.S. Department of Justice
confirmed
reports today that Armenia is not on the list of countries whose
non-immigrant male nationals over the age of 16 residing in the U.S.
must
register with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Armenia's
name was mistakenly included in the Federal Register issued December
16.
The Federal Register is the official daily public record charged with
publishing such notices.
The Armenian Assembly has been assured that this mistake will be
corrected
as soon as possible...
SEE ALSO:
INS ORDER PROMPTS BIG LINES, ANGER
Teresa Watanabe and Jennifer Mena, Los Angeles Times, 12/17/02
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-register17dec17.story
Confusion over the new orders in particular roiled the Armenian
American
population, which is heavily concentrated in Southern California.
The confusion began when the Justice Department published a notice in
the
Federal Register that added Armenia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to the
list
of 18 nations whose nationals are required to register…
The listing provoked an explosion of protest from Armenian
organizations
here, who said members of their communities had no links to terrorism.
Late Monday, federal officials announced that Armenians were not being
subjected to the new requirement after all.
Asked if the notice had been published in the Federal Register by
error,
Justice Department spokesman Bryan Sierra said: "I can't say it was a
mistake. I can only tell you there are only two countries being added"
--
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia…
The Council on American-Islamic Relations has asked immigration
officials
to extend the registration deadline to give people more time to learn
about
the new requirements and comply with them…
Some of those who sought to register -- INS officials declined to say
how
many -- were taken into custody, including several who said they were
establishing legal residency…
---
INS RULE BRINGS ARRESTS IN O.C.
Mostly Muslim men are nabbed during registration process.
ALDRIN BROWN, ANN PEPPER, and DENA BUNIS, Orange County Register,
12/17/02
http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=16527
SANTA ANA - At least 22 men from Arab or Islamic countries were
arrested
Monday as they went to the Immigration and Naturalization Service's
Santa
Ana office to register under a new program aimed at improving screening
of
foreign visitors in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, police
officials confirmed.
The men were among an estimated 7,200 foreigners who have been ordered
to
register with the INS under the National Security Entry-Exit
Registration
System - the immigration agency's first step toward a system for
monitoring
all visitors…
The registration program has been decried by civil libertarians and
other
critics who argue that only law-abiding foreigners were likely to show
up
to register. Some also called the process discriminatory because only
males
from mostly Arab or Islamic nations are being targeted.
"It's primarily focused on one group instead of the 350,000 illegal
immigrants who are in this country," said Sabiha Khan, spokeswoman for
the
local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "This goes
against everything this country stands for."
CAIR officials have called for an extension of the Dec. 16 deadline; an
INS
spokeswoman said the government plans none…
---
MEN FROM MUSLIM NATIONS SWAMP IMMIGRATION OFFICE
JOHN M. BRODER with SUSAN SACHS, New York Times, 12/17/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/17/politics/17IMMI.html
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 16 - Lines began forming before dawn today outside
the
downtown federal building here as hundreds of men from five Muslim
countries showed up to register with immigration authorities under a
sweeping national dragnet designed to identify potential terrorists…
Jason Erb, government affairs director for the Council on
American-Islamic
Relations, said the program had been poorly publicized and asked for an
extension so people who were unaware of the requirement could
voluntarily
appear.
"The government has done little to spread the word in the Muslim and
Arab-American communities about the requirement to register," Mr. Erb
said.
"This seems to be another in a series of dragnet policies that target
law-abiding visitors. These policies are an ineffective and inefficient
use
of law enforcement…"
-----
GOOD NEWS: TV GUIDE CHANNEL CANCELS "JESUS" AD
Last week, CAIR criticized as "tasteless and insensitive" a television
commercial promoting professional wrestling that showed "Jesus"
gambling
with the devil in a sports bar.
SEE: MUSLIMS CRITICIZE PORTRAYAL OF 'JESUS' IN TV AD
Christ shown gambling with devil in sports bar on TV Guide Channel
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=31504&page=NB
In response to the many complaints about the ad, TV Guide Channel
wrote:
"Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding your concerns
over
the promo for the World Wrestling Entertainment event "Armageddon". The
particular promo you mention was canceled on Friday Dec. 13. We
encourage
you to contact World Wrestling Entertainment to voice your grievance
over
the original ad. Once again, thank you for contacting us and we look
forward to your continued viewing enjoyment of TV Guide Channel."
SEND COMMENTS TO: TVGCFeedback@tvguide.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR-CAN DEMANDS APOLOGY FROM ALLIANCE MP
John Cummins' office replies 'Get a life' when invited to Maher Arar
vigil
(OTTAWA, CANADA - 12/17/02) - A prominent national Islamic advocacy
organization today called on John Cummins, member of Parliament of
Delta-South Richmond, B.C., to apologize for remarks made by his office
when Cummins was invited to a silent vigil for Maher Arar, a Canadian
citizen deported illegally by the U.S. to Syria. In response to the
invitation, Cummins' office replied by email, "Get a life."
While detained in the U.S., Arar was denied access to Canadian
officials,
prevented from calling his family, and tried through a non-transparent
process without a lawyer present. In violation of international law, he
was
deported to Jordan and then to his place of birth, Syria, where he
currently being held.
In a statement released today, CAIR-CAN wrote:
"The statement by Mr. John Cummins' office is outrageous and deeply
insulting. It demonstrates a callous indifference to the plight of Mr.
Arar and his family. It is, moreover, a clear breach of Mr. Cummins'
duties as a public official. We call on Mr. Cummins to offer an
immediate
and unqualified apology to Maher Arar's family and the Canadian public.
"Recent statements by Stephen Harper, Diane Ablonczy, Stockwell Day,
and
now John Cummins, clearly demonstrate that the Canadian Alliance party
has
failed in its duty as the official opposition to defend the rights of
Mr.
Arar. Instead of taking the government to task for failing to secure
the
release of a Canadian citizen, the party has been quick to condemn Arar
in
the face of his illegal deportation, lack of a fair trial, and in the
absence of any definitive evidence linking him to terrorism.
"Canadian Muslims are calling on Canadian Alliance leader Steven Harper
to
account for what is, apparently, a troubling trend of two-tiered
justice
when it comes to the rights of a Canadian Muslim and Arab."
ACTION REQUESTED (Be firm, but POLITE):
CONTACT Steven Harper and John Cummins.
E-mail: Harper.S@parl.gc.ca, Cummins.J@parl.gc.ca
Telephone or Fax:
Stephen Harper
Tel: (613) 996-6740
Fax: (613) 947-0310
John Cummins
Tel: (613) 992-2957
Fax: (613) 992-3589
DEMAND an immediate apology from John Cummins for the remarks made by
his
office yesterday.
COPY Canada@cair-net.org on all correspondence.
CONTACT CAIR-CAN: Riad Saloojee at 613-254-9704
E-mail: Canada@cair-net.org
-----
THE LANGUAGE OF ISLAM HAS BEEN HIJACKED
SHEEMA KHAN, Globe and Mail, 12/17/02
Sheema Khan is chair of the Council on American-Islamic Relations,
Canada.
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20021217/COSHEEMA/Headlines/headdex/headdexColumnists_temp/11/11/14/
Chronic abuse of Islamic terminology can only contribute to the
widening
gulf between the "West" and the Muslim world. Whereas Muslims attach a
rich, historical legacy to words such as fatwa or jihad, current
discourse
insists on their interpretation on Western terms.
Consider Ken Wiwa's thoughtful essay on the Nigerian strife in these
pages.
Unfortunately titled "Jihad versus Miss World" -- a play on Benjamin
Barber's 1992 essay Jihad vs. McWorld -- the use of "jihad" was meant
to
capture the anger of Nigeria's Muslims.
As Mr. Barber himself acknowledged, jihad "is a rich word whose generic
meaning is 'struggle' -- usually the struggle of the soul to avert
evil"
and that "strictly applied to religious war, it is used only in
reference
to battles where the faith is under assault." Ironically, Mr. Barber
insisted on using his own interpretation, however inaccurate, arguing,
"My
use here is rhetorical, but does follow both journalistic practice and
history." This approach was echoed in his 2001 essay Ballots vs.
Bullets,
in which jihad is understood not as part of Islam but as
"disintegrative
tribalism and reactionary fundamentalism..."
But misuse of Islamic terminology is not confined to the West. Osama
bin
Laden has sanctified mass murder by his use of such terms as fatwa and
jihad and by deviously manipulating the rich legacy of these concepts.
Such misappropriation of Islamic terms requires Muslims to step forward
and
reclaim the authenticity of their own language…
The Koran refers to the power of language: A good word is analogous to
a
tree, with firm roots in the ground, spreading its branches to the
heavens,
providing fruit and shelter to many. A harmful word is akin to a sickly
plant, with shallow roots, yielding bitter fruit.
We can continue to use superficial, injurious terminology to the
detriment
of many. Or we can insist on using accurate language, firmly rooted in
universal concepts that nourish the desire for fair and frank debate.
-----
PBS DOCUMENTARY 'MUHAMMAD' A REVELATION
Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle, 12/17/02
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/12/17/DD244427.DTL
In the past year, he has been called a "man of war" by Jerry Falwell,
"a
robber" by evangelist Pat Robertson and "demon-possessed" and "the
first
Muslim terrorist" by other extremist critics. The Islamic prophet
Muhammad
has become a target in a post-Sept. 11, 2001, world where people are
looking for easy answers to explain a religion that is followed by 1.2
billion people. "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet," which PBS (including
KQED-TV) is airing on Wednesday night at 9 p.m., will be a revelation
for
anyone not familiar with the life of a man who brought monotheism to
Mecca
1,400 years ago and changed the course of human history.
Muhammad was a humble man who was orphaned at an early age and who
strongly
identified with the poor and disadvantaged. At age 40, after marrying
and
having children, he began receiving the word of God, who commanded him
to
spread the message of this new faith called Islam -- but Muhammad was
condemned by nearly everyone in Mecca. Especially scornful were
businessmen
who profited from the traffic of worshipers who came from around the
Arabian Peninsula to see the hundreds of idols then in the city.
After learning of plans to assassinate him, Muhammad fled to Medina,
where
he could practice and preach in peace -- a journey and transformation
that
still inspires Muslims today, including Najah Bazzy, a Michigan nurse
who
is one of several American Muslims interviewed in "Muhammad: Legacy of
a
Prophet." The intimate discussions with Bazzy, New York City
firefighter
Kevin James (a convert to Islam), architect Daisy Khan and
congressional
staffer Jameel Johnson humanize the religion and its prophet…
By juxtaposing the story of Muhammad with the stories of Bazzy and
others,
by showcasing commentary from eloquent experts such as author Karen
Armstrong and Hamza Yusuf Hanson (who co-founded the Zaytuna Institute
in
Hayward), "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet" succeeds in dispelling the
false
myths that Falwell and others would like to propagate.
Did Muhammad hate Jews? No. As Armstrong reminds viewers, Muslims view
Jews
as "People of the Book" who follow a religion that -- like Islam -- is
monotheistic and linked to Abraham. The documentary explains that there
was
an incident in Medina in which one Jewish tribe -- betraying the
agreement
they had signed with Muhammad -- sided with Meccans bent on killing the
prophet, and the tribe's men were put to death, but this was an
isolated
act and Jews continued to live in Medina.
Muhammad created rights for women, Armstrong and others point out. And
he
picked up arms only to defend his faith and his life -- and, in fact,
preferred peace agreements over battle and forgiveness over revenge.
During
his years as a prophet, Muhammad discouraged people from revering him
and
even drawing his image, saying that such sentiments were misplaced and
that
Muslims' attention should be focused instead on prayer and helping
those
who were less fortunate...
Riveting, informative and inspiring, "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet"
should
almost be required viewing for non-Muslims. It sets the record straight
about a man who has been demonized by those who know little to nothing
about the substance of his life or his message. And it makes clear that
Islam is a peaceful religion followed by people who are devoted to
faith
and helping others, even if some adherents (such as Osama bin Laden)
distort its teachings...
-----
FBI CONTACTS IRAQI IMMIGRANTS IN AREA
Todd Bensman, Dallas Morning News, 12/15/02
http://www.dallasnews.com/latestnews/stories/121502dnmetiraqis.5baae.html
DALLAS _ Hadi Jawad, an American citizen of Iraqi descent, takes pride
in
his strong pacifist ideals and links to various peace groups that have
been
demonstrating against possible war in Iraq.
But last week, he wasn't sure if it was his heritage or anti-war
activities
that put him on the FBI's radar screen. Two FBI agents visited with
Jawad
for two hours at the offices of the Dallas Peace Center _ a
conversation he
said seemed intended to recruit him as an informant.
The visit by the agents, whom he described as polite, well-spoken and
almost apologetic, disturbed Jawad. "It reminds me of what was done to
the
Chinese community during the Korean War and the Japanese during the
second
war," Jawad said, referring to controversial government surveillance
programs that led to detentions and later targeted anti-war activists
in
the 1960s. "It's spooky in that sense. I was spooked to hear the same
justifications and dogma."
FBI officials say that agents have begun making contacts among hundreds
of
Iraqis living in North Texas. It's part of a new nationwide domestic
intelligence-gathering effort to recruit informants and identify
saboteurs
working for Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
Several Iraqi immigrants living in the region say that FBI agents
contacted
them and requested information about suspicious activities or
affiliations
of associates, taking notes and carefully observing their living
arrangements.
The new monitoring program could include wiretaps and other forms of
surveillance if deemed appropriate, as well as detention if authorities
believe laws may have been broken, FBI officials in Washington say…
-----
JUDGE TOSSES USF SUIT AGAINST AL-ARIAN
BEN FELLER, Tampa Tribune, 12/17/02
http://tampatrib.com/floridametronews/MGATPLLET9D.html
TAMPA - The University of South Florida won't get what it wanted from a
federal judge: clarity about whether firing an accused supporter of
terrorism would violate his First Amendment rights and leave the school
vulnerable to a damaging lawsuit.
U.S. District Judge Susan Bucklew on Monday dismissed the university's
lawsuit against Sami Al-Arian, a Palestinian activist and suspended
computer science professor. USF hoped Bucklew would clarify the
constitutional issues so it could proceed with confidence in firing
Al-Arian.
But, in essence, Bucklew said the court has no role in a university
labor
dispute. She tossed USF's suit before hearing the merits of the case.
The school must decide whether to appeal her ruling, fire Al-Arian as
planned or - in the least-likely option - return him to the classroom…
-----
"WAR ON TERROR" INFRINGING HUMAN RIGHTS-UNHCR
Reuters, 12/17/02
HELSINKI, Dec 17 (Reuters) - The U.N's human rights chief said on
Tuesday
that the U.S.-led "war on terror" was hurting human rights and
exacerbating
prejudices around the world.
"The war on terrorism has had some damaging effects, I would suggest,
on
human rights standards across the world," United Nations High
Commissioner
for Human rights Sergio Vieira de Mello told a news conference in
Helsinki.
Governments across the globe have invoked the "war on terror,"
announced by
U.S. President George W. Bush after September 11, 2001 attacks in the
United States, to justify activities that de Mello said are damaging
human
rights in the industrialised and developing worlds…
The U.N. human rights chief echoed the worries expressed by his
predecessor
Mary Robinson last month about the rise in discrimination against
Muslims.
"Arabs and Muslims at large are experiencing increasing incidents of
racial
discrimination...Singling out, finger pointing and...even in some
instances
(violence)," he said…
-----
VIOLENCE ERUPTS IN GUJARAT AS HINDU MOBS ATTACK A MOSQUE
RUPAK SANYAL, Associated Press, 12/17/02
AHMADABAD, India - Police fired shots in the air to disperse violent
Hindu
and Muslim mobs in western Gujarat state the night after the governing
Hindu-nationalist party was returned to power, police said Tuesday.
Three people were seriously injured in violence that broke out
overnight
Monday in Vadodara, 110 kilometers (65 miles) east of Gujarat's
commercial
capital, Ahmadabad. The skirmishes began when Hindus celebrated their
victory in last week's state legislature elections.
Police first tried to scatter the rampaging mobs with bamboo
truncheons,
but later fired several rounds in the air to restore order, said D.D.
Tuteja, Vadodara commissioner of police. Four other people who received
minor injures were discharged from the hospital after treatment, Tuteja
said.
Paramilitary troops were deployed in the Machhipeeth and Yakubpura
neighborhoods of Vadodara, he said.
A group of Hindus attacked a mosque in Yakubpura late Monday night,
which
led to a retaliatory attacks by Muslims…
Vadodara and Ahmadabad were among the cities that witnessed the worst
Hindu-Muslim rioting that swept Gujarat earlier this year, claiming
more
than 1,000 lives, mostly those of Muslims.
-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12/18/2002
HEADLINES:
* NETWORK PRESSURED OVER POSITIVE PORTRAYAL OF MUHAMMAD
* VERSE OF THE DAY: GOD FORGIVES ALL SINS
* QUOTE OF THE DAY: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* GOOD NEWS: MUSLIM WORKERS IN DE WIN RIGHT TO ISLAMIC ATTIRE
- Muslim Garb a Liability in Job Market (Globe and Mail)
* CANADIAN MP OFFERS APOLOGY FOR ASSISTANT'S REMARK
- Alliance MP, Staffer Apologize for E-mail (Toronto Star)
* NO STRAIGHT ANSWER FROM THE FEDS ON ARMENIAN FUROR (LA Times)
- Anger Over INS Arrests (LA Times)
* SPARE A THOUGHT FOR IRAQI CIVILIANS (Toronto Star)
- Projection for Fall of Hussein Disputed (Washington Post)
- Most Unconvinced on Iraq War (LA Times)
* SAMOAN POLICY WOULD BAN ARAB AMERICANS (AAI)
* WHITE HOUSE PLAYS DOWN PROPAGANDA BY MILITARY (New York Times)
* AL-ARIAN VOWS TO FIGHT UNTIL HE WINS (St. Petersburg Times)
- USF's Judicial Rebuff (St. Petersburg Times)
* ISRAEL'S POLICIES ON PALESTINIANS IMPERIL ITS SOUL (Capital Times)
* JOURNALISTS ARE UNDER FIRE FOR TELLING THE TRUTH (Independent)
* A PORTRAIT OF THE PROPHET BEHIND ISLAM (New York Times)
-----
CAIR ACTION ALERT #356
NETWORK PRESSURED OVER POSITIVE PORTRAYAL OF MUHAMMAD
"Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet" Airs Tonight on PBS
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/18/02) - CAIR has learned that PBS is receiving
heavy
pressure from those who object to the positive portrayal of the Prophet
Muhammad in the documentary, "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet," to be
broadcast beginning tonight on that network.
American Muslims and other people of conscience are asked to contact
the
network to offer thanks for the decision to air the program and to urge
that PBS not buckle under the pressure being exerted by bigots and
Islamophobes.
A San Francisco Chronicle review of the documentary called it
"riveting,
informative and inspiring." The reviewer said: "Muhammad: Legacy of a
Prophet" should almost be required viewing for non-Muslims. It sets the
record straight about a man who has been demonized by those who know
little
to nothing about the substance of his life or his message. And it makes
clear that Islam is a peaceful religion followed by people who are
devoted
to faith and helping others, even if some adherents (such as Osama bin
Laden) distort its teachings..."
SEE:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/12/17/DD244427.DTL
On the other hand, in yesterday's New York Post, Muslim-basher Daniel
Pipes
suggested that the network be sued for its positive portrayal of the
Prophet.
SEE:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12172002/postopinion/opedcolumnists/64772.htm
ACTION REQUESTED:
1. Go to the PBS website to learn more about "Muhammad: Legacy of a
Prophet."
http://www.pbs.org/muhammad/
2. Find out which station in your area will air the program.
http://www.pbs.org/whatson/index.html
3. Contact friends, relatives and co-workers to ask them to watch.
4. Watch the program yourself.
5. Contact PBS to thank them for airing the program.
http://www.pbs.org/aboutsite/emailform.html
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: GOD FORGIVES ALL SINS
"Say: 'O you servants of Mine who have transgressed against your own
souls!
Despair not of God's mercy, for God forgives all sins. Verily, He is
the
Forgiving the Merciful.'"
The Holy Quran, Chapter 39, Verse 53
-----
QUOTE OF THE DAY: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE
http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20021218-20449597.htm
"There is a reluctance in Washington that borders on paralysis to face
up
to the principal obstacle to rapprochement with the Arab world in
particular and the larger Muslim community in general, and that is the
conviction that the United States and Israel are now as one to prevent
the
emergence of a Palestinian state."
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
GOOD NEWS: MUSLIM WORKERS IN DE WIN RIGHT TO ISLAMIC ATTIRE
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/18/02) - The Council on American-Islamic
Relations
(CAIR) today announced that three female Muslim workers in Delaware
will
now be allowed to wear hijab, or religiously-mandated head scarves.
The women, employed by Comcast Cable Communications in New Castle,
Del.,
were told to remove their scarves in October of this year after the
company
implemented a new dress code policy. One of the Muslim women was even
sent
home for not being in compliance with the new policy.
Comcast told the women they would be allowed to wear their scarves if
they
provided written documentation that the heard scarf is a religious
requirement.
Following discussions with CAIR, Comcast agree to provide religious
accommodation for the Muslim employees.
A Comcast official wrote in a letter to the Islamic civil rights group:
"We
recognize that our continued growth and business success depends on the
development and utilization of the full range of the company's human
resources and full utilization of all segments of the available
workforce
in which we operate our businesses."
CONTACT: Hassan Mirza, CAIR Civil Rights Department, 202-488-8787 or
202-262-0686
SEE ALSO:
MUSLIM GARB A LIABILITY IN JOB MARKET, STUDY FINDS
Women wearing traditional head scarves turned away by prospective
employers
GRAEME SMITH, Globe and Mail, 12/18/02
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20021218/UHIJAM/national/national/nationalTheNationHeadline_temp/5/5/25/
Employers in Canada's most diverse city often reject women wearing
Muslim
head scarves in favour of identical candidates who don't, according to
an
undercover study of hiring practices released yesterday.
Researchers chose three pairs of fake job applicants to visit 16
factories,
fast-food outlets, and retail stores in Toronto. They selected pairs of
women who seemed virtually the same: Their résumés, ages, races,
accents,
countries of birth and experience in Canada were nearly identical…
More troublesome than the bare statistics are the stories of women
whose
aspirations are crushed, said Judy Vashti Persad, who worked on the
research for a community group called Women Working with Immigrant
Women.
"It really affects the self-esteem and confidence of these women," Ms.
Persad said...
-----
CAIR-CAN GOOD NEWS ALERT #89
CANADIAN MP OFFERS APOLOGY FOR ASSISTANT'S REMARK
CAIR-CAN welcomes apology, calls on party to 'reclaim role as official
opposition'
(OTTAWA, CANADA) - The Canadian office of the Council on
American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR-CAN) today announced that John Cummins, member of
Parliament of Delta-South Richmond, B.C., has offered his "unreserved
apologies" for recent comments made by a member of his office. In
response
to an invitation to a silent vigil for Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen
deported illegally by the U.S. to Syria, an assistant in Cummins'
office
replied by email, "Get a life."
The apology was issued after Mr. Cummins' office received many
complaints
from outraged Canadians following an action alert issued by CAIR-CAN.
Cummins himself wrote to CAIR-CAN stating:
"I understand that my assistant has apologized to you for his response.
It
in no way reflects my views and clearly was an error of judgement on
his
part. Please accept my unreserved apologies for his response."
"I wish you a happy season and I join your prayer for the family of Mr.
Arar."
"Canadian Muslims are encouraged that Mr. Cummins has taken ownership
of
the offensive comment issued by a member of his office and has offered
an
unqualified apology," said CAIR-CAN Chair Sheema Khan.
Khan added, "We hope that this incident, along with public pressure,
will
be a wake-up call for the Canadian Alliance to reclaim its role as the
official opposition and to defend the rights of all Canadian citizens."
CONTACT: Riad Saloojee at 613-254-9704; E-mail: Canada@cair-net.org
SEE ALSO:
ALLIANCE MP, STAFFER APOLOGIZE FOR E-MAIL
ANDREW CHUNG, Toronto Star, 12/18/02
http://www.torontostar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1035775707543&call_pageid=968332188774&col=968350116467
OTTAWA - A staff member from Canadian Alliance MP John Cummins' office
e-mailed NDP Leader Alexa McDonough's office with the message "get a
life"
in reply to an invitation to a candlelight vigil for Maher Arar, a
Canadian
accused of having terrorist links and deported by the U.S. to Syria.
McDonough attended the Ottawa vigil on Monday night along with about 40
people, including Arar's wife Monia Mazigh. Invitations to the event
were
sent to all MPs by an assistant to McDonough. The Canadian chapter of
the
Council on American-Islamic Relations called the curt response from
Cummins' office "outrageous."
"Here's a woman with small children, who hasn't seen her husband for
three
months. To get such an insensitive reply from an MP's office was
outrageous," said Sheema Khan, the council's chairperson…
Arar, 32, was detained last September in New York while en route to
Canada.
Critics were outraged he was deported to Syria, not Canada.
-----
NO STRAIGHT ANSWER FROM THE FEDS ON ARMENIAN FUROR
Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 12/18/02
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez18dec18.story
Just when it looked like the federal government might have to put a
barbed
wire fence around the city of Glendale for reasons of national
security,
good news arrived Monday from the crime busters at the U.S. Justice
Department.
Armenian nationals do not -- repeat, DO NOT -- have to report to the
Immigration and Naturalization Service for fingerprinting and
registration.
It was all a mistake, and Armenians can now return to their normal
activities.
Or maybe it wasn't a mistake. I can't tell, and the really frightening
thing is that the Justice Department can't seem to tell either. After
rescinding the order calling for Armenians to fall in line and be
accounted
for, a Justice Department spokesman was asked by The Times about the
goof,
and here's what we got out of him:
"I can't say it was a mistake."
Well then what was it? And if they couldn't get this right, and
couldn't at
least come up with a credible lie, why should we assume the feds are
capable of getting anything else right when it comes to homeland
security?
This all began late last week when Armenia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan
were
added to a list of 18 mostly Muslim nations whose nationals are
required to
register if they're male, 16 or older, and here as students or
visitors.
This requirement sent the nation's 1.5 million Armenian Americans into
a
frenzy, and California, home to half of them, led the outrage
campaign...
SEE ALSO:
ANGER OVER INS ARRESTS
Jennifer Mena, Los Angeles Times, 12/18/02
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-detain18dec18.story
In peaceful Irvine, where Iranians who fled the Ayatollah Khomeini
established a tight-knit community of professionals and young families,
the
last thing anyone expected was to be tossed in jail.
On Tuesday -- the day after dozens of immigrants from Middle Eastern
countries and Sudan were taken into custody during a government
registration process -- residents like Ahmad Mesbah were filled with
sadness and anger.
"We suffered a lot, and that is why we are here. We love the United
States,
so this has been frustrating," said Mesbah, who helps lead monthly
networking meetings for Iranian professionals. "There's also something
ironic about it. This affects the cream of the crop who came here. We
are
scientists, doctors, engineers." The registration, mandated for people
from
Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria who are in the United States on
temporary visas, led to the detention on immigration violation charges
of
as many as several hundred, some who had nearly completed the process
for
legal residency, friends and relatives said.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Immigration and Naturalization
Service refused to say how many people had been apprehended in
California
or around the country in connection with the registration process.
Santa
Ana police said as many as 40 people detained at the INS center there
were
booked into the city jail Monday. Police in Los Angeles could not
provide
an arrest figure.
But in Westwood, Irvine and other communities with large numbers of
Iranian
immigrants, and on Persian-language local media, accounts of detentions
were widespread. Local attorneys and callers to radio stations offered
accounts of relatives', some of whom had not been to their native
countries
since childhood, being jailed and placed at risk of being deported.
As some scrambled to bail out jailed relatives, others sought ways to
pressure the government to change course. A lawsuit seeking an
injunction
to halt the registration was filed in Santa Ana.
Persian-language radio stations buzzed with commentary. And an Iranian
attorney conducted a vigil outside the INS office in Los Angeles.
"I have seen with my own eyes at least 450 people being detained just
yesterday [at the INS office in Los Angeles]. They handcuffed them and
walked them away," said attorney Soheila Jonoubi.
"These people came in voluntarily. They wanted to comply with the law.
This
is the worst violation of human rights."
Most of those detained posted bail, but now face deportation hearings.
-----
SPARE A THOUGHT FOR IRAQI CIVILIANS
Riad Saloojee, Toronto Star, 12/18/02
http://www.torontostar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1035775702611&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795
Riad Saloojee is executive director of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, Canada.
We are witness again to the Pavlovian dance of death between U.S.
President
George W. Bush and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. To and fro, back and
forth - and the knot in the pit of my stomach tightens daily. In the
lull
between the deadlines, the diplomatic rhetoric, the threats, the
machismo,
I can smell the onset of another inevitable war.
And while the points-counterpoints of power are repeated daily, I
wonder
what the Iraqi people are thinking and feeling - caught, yet again, in
no-man's land. Their voicelessness should be ringing in our ears.
Poised to
endure the full brunt of another war, I fear for them most of all.
Theirs
will be the greatest collateral damage, and more. It is innocent Iraqis
who
have endured the horrific, unimaginable suffering of a decade-long
sanctions policy…
For all its trappings, power can be punctured by a simple query: If
Saddam
poses a threat to human life by his power, his greed, his ambition, his
alleged amassing of weapons of mass destruction - and if we profess
care
for the protection of human life - how can we allow sanctions to kill
4,500
children a month?
Truth is stranger than fiction. And much more tragic.
SEE ALSO:
PROJECTION ON FALL OF HUSSEIN DISPUTED
Ground Forces Chiefs, Pentagon at Odds
Thomas E. Ricks, Washington Post, 12/18/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4096-2002Dec17.html
With war possible soon in Iraq, the chiefs of the two U.S. ground
forces
are challenging the belief of some senior Pentagon civilians that Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein will fall almost immediately upon being
attacked
and are calling for more attention to planning for worst-case
scenarios,
Defense Department officials said.
The U.S. war plan for a possible attack on Iraq, which has been almost
a
year in the making, calls for a fast-moving ground attack without an
overwhelming number of reinforcements on hand. Instead, some follow-on
troops would be flown into Iraq from outside the region. Among other
things, this "rolling start" would seek to achieve tactical surprise by
launching an attack before the U.S. military appears ready to do so.
In addition, the plan calls for some armored units, instead of
traveling a
predetermined distance and pausing to allow slow-moving supply trucks
to
catch up, to charge across Iraq until they run into armed opposition
and
then engage in combat, officials said.
Those aspects of the plan, which appear riskier than usual U.S.
military
practice, worry the chief of the Army, Gen. Eric Shinseki, and the
commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. James L. Jones, defense officials
said.
Shinseki and Jones, who as service chiefs are members of the Joint
Chiefs
of Staff, have questioned the contention of Deputy Defense Secretary
Paul
D. Wolfowitz and other top officials that Hussein's government is
likely to
collapse almost as soon as a U.S. attack is launched, the officials
said.
The two generals are concerned that the Wolfowitz school may
underestimate
the risks involved, the officials said. They have argued that planning
should prepare thoroughly for worst-case scenarios, most notably one
that
planners have labeled "Fortress Baghdad," in which Hussein withdraws
his
most loyal forces into the Iraqi capital and challenges the United
States
to enter into protracted street fighting, perhaps involving chemical or
biological weapons…
-----
MOST UNCONVINCED ON IRAQ WAR
Two-thirds believe Bush has failed to make the case an attack would be
justified. Many think weapons are there, but they want proof.
Maura Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 12/17/02
http://www.latimes.com/la-na-iraqpoll17dec17,0,7613324.story
WASHINGTON -- Despite a concerted effort by the Bush administration,
more
than two-thirds of Americans believe the president has failed to make
the
case that a war with Iraq is justified, according to a Los Angeles
Times poll.
The overwhelming majority of respondents - 90% - said they do not doubt
that Iraq is developing weapons of mass destruction. But in the absence
of
new evidence from U.N. inspectors, 72% of respondents, including 60% of
Republicans, said the president has not provided enough evidence to
justify
starting a war with Iraq.
The results underscore the importance of the outcome of U.N. arms
inspections underway in Iraq if the Bush administration expects to gain
clear public support for an attack…
The poll also found that support for a possible war appears to be
weakening, with 58% saying they support a ground attack on Iraq. In an
August Times poll, 64% said they would support a ground attack. Last
January, after President Bush first denounced Saddam Hussein in his
State
of the Union address, the Times and other polls found support for
military
action greater than 70%...
-----
DISCRIMINATORY SAMOAN POLICY WOULD BAN ARAB AMERICANS
WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Under current American Samoan
policy, Arab Americans including Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, OMB
Director Mitch Daniels and Senator-Elect John Sununu are banned from
entering the island. On Aug. 7, American Samoan Attorney General Fiti
Sunia issued an alert denying entrance to all persons of "Middle
Eastern
descent." Once more, the Attorney General cited the U.S. State
Department
as the cause of this discriminatory policy. The alert states, "because
of
reports from the U.S. State Department, until further notice or written
approval from the Attorney General, American Samoa will no longer issue
entry permits to any individual of Middle Eastern Descent." The
discriminatory policy came to light after the Samoa News reported that
a
Samoan citizen of Middle Eastern descent filed a lawsuit to force a
repeal
of the policy.
The Samoan alert goes further, institutionalizing and outlining the
manner
in which ethnic profiling should be used in order to keep all persons
of
Middle Eastern descent, regardless of nationality, from entering the
island. It orders officials to "take special note of arriving
passengers
and all other individuals seeking entry to the territory for persons
with
middle eastern surnames and features."
CONTACT: Jenny Salan of Arab American Institute, 202-429-9210; E-mail:
jsalan@aaiusa.org
-----
WHITE HOUSE PLAYS DOWN PROPAGANDA BY MILITARY
ERIC SCHMITT, New York Times, 12/18/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/17/international/17MILI.html
WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 - The White House today distanced itself from a
secret
Pentagon directive that would authorize the military to carry out
covert
operations to influence public opinion and policy makers in friendly
and
neutral countries.
The White House spokesman, Ari Fleischer, acknowledged that there was
widespread recognition throughout the Bush administration that the
United
States had to work harder "in better communicating America's message of
hope and opportunity."
But Mr. Fleischer told reporters they should not presume that the
Pentagon's idea had advanced very far and cautioned that President Bush
would not approve of anything that involved lying...
-----
AL-ARIAN VOWS TO FIGHT UNTIL HE WINS
ANITA KUMAR, St. Petersburg Times, 12/18/02
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/12/18/TampaBay/Al_Arian_vows_to_figh.shtml
TAMPA -- Palestinian professor Sami Al-Arian vowed Tuesday to fight the
University of South Florida until he prevails against school officials
he
says are punishing him for political motives.
Al-Arian, placed on leave by the school more than a year ago, won a
small
victory a day earlier when a federal judge refused to rule on USF's
question about whether firing him would violate his constitutional
right to
free speech.
"Nobody is going to force me to leave because somehow they don't like
me or
like my politics," Al-Arian said. "I don't want any person to dictate
to me
where I should or shouldn't work."
His attorney, Robert McKee, urged USF to drop its effort to fire the
tenured computer science professor. He said it would prevent more
negative
publicity, a damaging censure from the American Association of
University
Professors and further waste of state money.
He said taxpayers should lobby USF president Judy Genshaft to reinstate
Al-Arian. He also criticized the $1.6-million contract that Genshaft is
expected to receive today.
"We suggest that the enormous amount of tax dollars the university
contemplates spending to continue its persecution of Dr. Al-Arian would
be
better spent on scholarships or on research or even to fund president
Genshaft's huge pay increase," McKee said.
USF has spent more than $85,000 on the case. Al-Arian has spent about
$30,000, McKee said.
SEE ALSO:
USF'S JUDICIAL REBUFF
St. Petersburg Times, 12/18/02
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/12/18/Opinion/USF_s_judicial_rebuff.shtml
Last August, in a move that revealed her own misgivings about the case,
University of South Florida president Judy Genshaft asked a Tampa judge
to
determine whether it would be proper for her to fire professor Sami
Al-Arian, whose ties to Middle Eastern terrorist groups have
precipitated a
drawn-out controversy. Trolling the courts for political cover is an
abuse
of the judicial system, and it was good to see U.S. District Judge
Susan C.
Bucklew, in appropriately curt form, dismiss USF's gambit as
inappropriate.
If Genshaft believed her own party line -- that Al-Arian, through his
conduct and statements in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks,
violated the terms of his employment -- then the USF president simply
would
have fired Al-Arian and trusted the outcome to the courts. If Al-Arian
had,
as USF charged, created a threat to the campus and led people to
believe he
was speaking on behalf of the university, then Genshaft wouldn't need
to
shop around for judicial advice on the legality of her case. USF's
lawyers
-- and Genshaft herself -- are handsomely paid to make those kinds of
judgment calls. (Genshaft is in line for a 37-percent salary increase
and
an array of new perks from a university board that has pressed her to
fire
Al-Arian.)…
-----
ISRAEL'S POLICIES ON PALESTINIANS IMPERIL ITS SOUL
Rev. Bruce Burnside, Capital Times, 12/14/02
http://www.madison.com/captimes/opinion/column/guest/38695.php
Increasingly we have witnessed vanishing hope and mounting fear.
We felt it on a rooftop with villagers in Kufr Laqif, watching military
planes explode flares all around the houses throughout the night, and
we
experienced it with a brave, gentle man forced to beg settlers day
after
day for permission to harvest his own olives, which are now enclosed by
settlement fences.
We met it in the eyes of a dispirited family of 10, made to live in a
metal
shipping container after Israeli bulldozers demolished their house
three
times.
We walked through it at the Jenin refugee camp after children and
adults
were mercilessly buried alive by bulldozers crushing homes into a
landscape
that now looks like moon craters.
We were told about it by a man at church in Bethlehem who sat between
his
mother and brother, "feeling the warmth leave their hands" after
Israeli
assassins shot them in their home.
We saw it at Jayus, where Israeli soldiers launched tear gas and
bullets
into a peaceful protest against the building of an apartheid wall to
encircle the West Bank. It will make the Berlin Wall look like a snow
fence
in comparison.
We heard it from children, learning too much hatred and too little
justice.
We endured it at endless roadblocks designed for humiliation, not
security,
which prevent Palestinian travel from village to village, students from
going to school, workers getting to jobs, sick reaching hospitals,
families
seeing family, markets being reached. ... We viewed it in landscapes
strangled by hundreds of illegal Israeli settlements that devour not
just
Palestinian land and economy but hope itself…
-----
JOURNALISTS ARE UNDER FIRE FOR TELLING THE TRUTH
Robert Fisk, The Independent, 12/18/02
http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=362545
First it was Roger Ailes, the chairman of the Fox News Channel, who
advised
the US President to take the "harshest measures possible" against those
who
attacked America on 11 September, 2001.
Let us forget, for a moment, that Fox News's Jerusalem bureau chief is
Uri
Dan, a friend of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the author of
the
preface of the new edition of Sharon's autobiography, which includes a
revolting account of the Sabra and Chatila massacre of 1,700
Palestinian
civilians and Sharon's innocence in this slaughter. Then Ted Koppel,
one of
America's leading news anchormen, announced that it may be a
journalist's
duty not to reveal events until the military want them revealed in a
new
war against Iraq…
In Canada, the situation is even worse. Canwest, owned by Israel Asper,
owns over 130 newspapers in Canada, including 14 city dailies and one
of
the country's largest papers, the National Post. His "journalists" have
attacked colleagues who have deviated from Mr Asper's pro-Israel
editorials. As Index on Censorship reported, Bill Marsden, an
investigative
reporter for the Montreal Gazette has been monitoring Canwest's
interference with its own papers. "They do not want any criticism of
Israel," he wrote. "We do not run in our newspaper op-ed pieces that
express criticism of Israel and what it is doing in the Middle East..."
But now, "Izzy" Asper has written a gutless and repulsive editorial in
the
Post in which he attacks his own journalists, falsely accusing
reporters of
"lazy, sloppy or stupid" journalism and being "biased or anti-Semitic".
These vile slanders are familiar to any reporter trying to do his work
on
the ground in the Middle East. They are made even more revolting by
inaccuracies…
-----
A PORTRAIT OF THE PROPHET BEHIND ISLAM
ALESSANDRA STANLEY, New York Times, 12/18/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/18/arts/television/18WATC.html
It would be fair to say that the most important invisible figure on
American television is Muhammad, the seventh-century prophet who
founded
Islam. Even many educated PBS viewers know very little of his story,
yet
his legacy is felt in some form every day in the United States as well
as
in the rest of the world.
Sept. 11, 2001, sharpened the nation's scrutiny of Islam, but it did
not
spawn a thoughtful, comprehensive television biography of Muhammad
himself.
It is a significant lapse, as if Muslims were to study Christianity
without
any notion of how Jesus lived and died. PBS seeks to fill the gap
tonight
with a two-hour documentary, "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet." It
evocatively if sparingly lays out the biographical material unfamiliar
to
most Americans: Muhammad's childhood as an orphan in Mecca, his
marriage to
a wealthy widow almost twice his age, his visions of the Angel Gabriel,
his
military battles and his victory over Arab paganism.
Perhaps understandably, given the climate after Sept. 11, the film also
seeks over and over to reassure viewers who fear a link between the
Koran
and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. Steering viewers away from
considering terrorism, the filmmakers illustrate Muhammad's teachings
by
focusing on a cozy, comforting portrait of Muslim communities in
America.
Heartwarming depictions of a Muslim New York City firefighter, a
hijab-wearing nurse in Dearborn, Mich., and a black Muslim Capitol Hill
staff member in Washington, packaged around glowing testimonials by
clerics
and academics, turn the Muhammad story into a lengthy infomercial for
Islam…
There is no question that Muslim-Americans live more uneasily these
days.
Earlier this month, the Rev. Pat Robertson, the television evangelist,
criticized President Bush for not recognizing that Islam, as he put it,
was
"violent at its core."
The documentary seeks to answer Mr. Robertson and his ilk, and it is
equally careful not to offend Muslim sensibilities. Islam forbids any
portrait or depiction of Muhammad, making a film biography an exercise
in
abstract expressionism.
For all its tiptoeing through history, however, the documentary is well
worth watching both as the first serious attempt to tell the story of
Muhammed on television and also as a testimony to the hypersensitivity
of
our times...
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS: 12-19-2002
HEADLINES:
* CAIR DECRIES INS ARRESTS AS 'COUNTERPRODUCTIVE'
- INS Arrests Hundreds From Mideast, Africa (LA Times)
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: 4498 SPONSORSHIPS
* MAN GETS 6-1/2 YEARS FOR ATTACK ON MOSQUE (Seattle Times)
* 5 BROTHERS CHARGED WITH AIDING HAMAS (NY Times)
* THE NYPD WANTS TO WATCH YOU (Village Voice)
-----
NATIONAL MUSLIM GROUP DECRIES INS ARRESTS AS 'COUNTERPRODUCTIVE'
(Washington, D.C., 12/19/02) - A national Islamic civil rights
organization
today called "counterproductive" the detention of hundreds of Muslim
men by
the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The Washington
D.C.-based
Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) has received numerous
reports
of arrests of Muslim immigrants as they attempted to comply with a
federal
order to register with local INS offices.
"The arrests send a chilling message to the Muslim immigrant community
that
if you comply with the INS order, you may find yourself in indefinite
detention. Rather than appearing as a routine administrative measure,
the
federal order now looks to many as a roundup of Muslim men," said CAIR
Executive Director Nihad Awad.
"The new INS registration policy is counterproductive to the efforts of
increasing our country's national security and instead creates further
resentment among American Muslims and the wider Muslim world," Awad
added.
In an effort to adequately educate the community on the
little-publicized
INS directive, CAIR sent a letter on Monday to the Justice Department
requesting an extension of the INS deadline for registration of
nonimmigrant visa holders from Muslim countries.
END
For more information, contact Jason Erb, (202) 438-2080.
SEE ALSO:
INS ARRESTS HUNDREDS FROM MIDEAST, AFRICA
Megan Garvey, Martha Groves, Henry Weinstein, Los Angeles Times,
12/19/02
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/12/19/MN33452.DTL
Los Angeles -- Hundreds of men and boys from Middle Eastern and African
countries were arrested by federal immigration officials in Southern
California this week when they complied with orders to appear at INS
offices for a special registration program.
The arrests drew thousands of people to demonstrate here Wednesday.
Immigration and Naturalization Service spokesmen refused Wednesday to
say
how many people the agency had detained, what the specific charges were
or
how many were still being held. But officials speaking anonymously said
they would not dispute estimates by lawyers for detainees that the
number
across Southern California was 500 to 700. In Los Angeles, as many as
one-fourth of those who showed up to register were jailed, lawyers
said...
Many of those arrested, according to their lawyers, had already applied
for
green cards and, in some instances, had interviews scheduled in the
near
future. Although they had overstayed their visas, attorneys argue,
their
clients had already taken steps to remedy the situation and were
following
the regulations closely.
"These are the people who've voluntarily gone" to the INS, said Mike
Manesh
of the Iranian American Lawyers Association. "If they had anything to
do
with terrorism, they wouldn't have gone."
Immigration officials acknowledged Wednesday that many of those taken
into
custody this week have status-adjustment applications pending that have
not
yet been acted on...
At the rally, which police officials estimated drew about 3,000
protesters
at its peak, some carried signs bearing such sentiments as "What Next?
Concentration Camps?" and "Detain Terrorists not Innocent
Immigrants..."
Relatives and lawyers of those arrested locally challenge that
rationale
for the latest round of detentions. One attorney, who said he saw a
16-year- old boy pulled from the arms of his crying mother, called it
madness to believe the registration requirements would catch
terrorists.
"His mother is 6 1/2 months pregnant. They told the mother he is never
going to come home -- she is losing her mind," said attorney Soheila
Jonoubi, who spent Wednesday amid the chaos of the downtown INS office
attempting to determine the status of her clients...
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: 4498 SPONSORSHIPS
CAIR's Library Project has received 4498 sponsorships for $150 book and
tape packages on Islam to be placed in libraries across the country.
Take
part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library
package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
MAN GETS 6-1/2 YEARS FOR ATTACK ON MOSQUE
Ray Rivera, Seattle Times, 12/18/02
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134598086_mosqueassault18m0.html
In what federal officials are calling the harshest penalty for a
post-Sept.
11, 2001, hate crime, a Snohomish man has been sentenced to 6-1/2 years
for
an assault on a Seattle mosque two days after the terrorist attacks.
Patrick Cunningham, 54, admitted to trying to set fire to parked
vehicles
at the Islamic Idriss Mosque and to threatening two worshippers with a
loaded .22-caliber pistol as they confronted him.
In an emotional proceeding before U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein
yesterday, Cunningham said that on the night of the assault he was
intoxicated, delusional and distraught over the terrorist attacks. He
apologized to his victims and thanked God "for intervening" before
things
got worse.
Cunningham maintains he fired his pistol only once as a warning.
Prosecutors say he fired three additional times but the weapon
misfired. No
one at the Northgate mosque was injured.
"But for a weapon that misfired, we'd be standing here talking about
homicide," said assistant U.S. Attorney Don Currie...
He later wrote letters of apology to the mosque and to Issa Qandeel and
Mu-awyah Al-Fanash, the men who confronted him in the parking lot, said
his
lawyer, Olaf Hansen. Qandeel told the judge yesterday that Cunningham's
actions should not be excused just because he was distraught over Sept.
11,
in the same way the terrorists' actions should not be excused because
they
believed the U.S. had harmed their people.
But, Qandeel added, "Hatred will not be driven out by hatred; it can
only
be driven out by love. I really hope for the lightest sentence you can
give
him from the bottom of my heart..."
-----
5 BROTHERS CHARGED WITH AIDING HAMAS
Judith Miller and Eric Lichtblau, New York Times, 12/19/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/19/national/19INDI.html
Federal officials intensified their pursuit of terrorist financing
today
with the arrests of four brothers in Dallas who investigators said used
their computer business to funnel money to a leader of the Islamic
militant
group Hamas.
The four brothers, including one who led an Islamic charity in Texas
that
the authorities say was a front group for terrorist financing, also
illegally shipped computer goods to Libya and Syria despite their
official
designations as state sponsors of terrorism, prosecutors said.
Officials
filed charges against a fifth brother, the brothers' company and a
Hamas
leader overseas and his wife. The charges were part of a flurry of
activity
by federal officials, who have vowed to shut down the money pipeline
between American financiers and global terrorists...
Arab-American leaders said the arrests and warrants would fuel the
perception among Islamic residents that legitimate charities and
businesses
were being singled out for harassment by law enforcement officials.
Tamir Ayad, executive director of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations, said of the brothers who were
arrested: "These are very well-known, well-liked, well-respected,
generous
people. I think these charges are a terrible mistake, and we're really
just
hoping they get their fair day in court to prove their innocence..."
-----
THE NYPD WANTS TO WATCH YOU
Chisun Lee, Village Voice, 12/19/02
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0251/lee.php
As the nation's largest law enforcement agency-nearly twice the size of
the
Federal Bureau of Investigation-the New York City Police Department
could
be the biggest Big Brother of all. Yet it faces quite a stumbling
block. A
long-standing federal order, imposed after a landmark lawsuit revealed
rampant surveillance abuses of political activists, prevents the NYPD
from
spying on whomever it wants.
Now the NYPD is fighting to gut the order and get its old powers back.
Police currently cannot investigate people who are exercising their
constitutional rights, no matter how unpopular the cause, unless there
is
some indication of a crime. Street protesters are the most obvious
beneficiaries. But also covered are those who pray, attend community
meetings, write editorials, or express their views in almost any other
way.
The police department insists it needs broader authority to hunt
terrorists, who may masquerade as regular law-abiding folks until the
moment they strike. But if police win this bid, the followers of
"extremist
Muslim fundamentalism" they have mentioned won't be the only ones in
their
sights. Everyone becomes fair game...
A more predictable consequence, should the NYPD succeed in erasing
restrictions on spying, is the icy effect it will have on legal
protest.
"It's been hard enough to bring out community members who've been
affected"
by post-September 11 policies targeting Middle Eastern immigrants, says
Monami Maulik of Desis Rising Up and Moving, a Queens-based group
organizing for South Asian immigrant rights. If police can legitimately
investigate protesters, "it's going to get much more difficult for them
to
go public," she says, claiming that two immigrant rights activists she
knows have already been detained by the INS...
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CA EMERGENCY TOWNHALL MEETING ON INS REGISTRATION POLICY
WHAT: A coalition of community based organizations in southern
California
is hosting an EMERGENCY TOWNHALL MEETING today, Friday, December 20
regarding the new INS registration requirements.
Under the new INS regulations, all male visitors age 16 and older from
Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria were ordered to register in person
with
the INS by Monday, December 16, 2002 . Men from 13 other countries must
register by January 10; and men from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan must
register by February 21.
Media reports indicate that there are over 1,000 people, mostly
Muslims, in
Southern California that have been detained due to these policies. (See
FAMILIES OF JAILED MIDDLE EASTERN IMMIGRANTS SAY RIGHTS VIOLATED,
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/12/20/state0333EST0014.DTL)
Come together with leaders and members of the Muslim, Arab, South
Asian,
Iranian, and Asian communities to discuss a plan of action in response
to
the latest INS regulations and detentions. Lawyers for the detainees
and
national civil rights organizations will also be speaking.
* Meet with the lawyers and organizations handling these issues
* Get an update on the new INS rules
* Show support for the detainees and their families
* Voice your views about the new INS rules
* Participate in formulating a collective response
WHEN: Friday, December 20 at 5 P.M.
WHERE: Sequoia Conference Center
Lexington room (upstairs)
7530 Orangethorpe Avenue
Buena Park, CA 90621
- END -
CONTACT: Sabiha Khan, CAIR - Southern California, (714)
776-1847
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
CAIR ACTION ALERT #357
INS "ROUNDUP" TARGETS MUSLIMS, SAYS ISLAMIC ADVOCACY GROUP
Muslims urged to contact their elected officials
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/20/02) - A prominent national Islamic civil
rights
organization today expressed "shock and dismay" at what appear to be
actions by the Justice Department targeting the American Muslim
community
with the recent arrests, detentions, and treatment of Muslims in Texas
and
California.
The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based
Islamic civil rights and advocacy group, is calling on people of
conscience
nationwide to contact elected officials to express concerns over the
detention of hundreds of Muslims and Arab Americans by the INS. CAIR
has
received numerous reports Muslim immigrants being arrested as they
voluntarily attempted to comply with a federal order to register with
local
INS offices. The overwhelming majority were held in detention centers
despite the fact that they had pending applications for lawful
permanent
resident status.
Throughout the country immigration lawyers are reporting that their
clients
are being asked questions about mosque attendance, their political
views
and other personal information. Media reports indicate that some are
being
strip-searched, shackled and given inadequate clothing.
CAIR also questioned the manner of the arrests of four well-known,
respected members of the Dallas, Texas community. Ghassan, Bayan,
Basman,
and Hazim Elashi were arrested in pre-dawn raids on their homes in
front of
their wives and children. As in past raids in northern Virginia, media
had
prior knowledge of the raids and filmed the pre-dawn actions as they
were
happening.
In both cases the government employed totally unnecessary and
sensational
measures to arrest people who are well-known to the government and who
have
been very cooperative in past government inquiries. Relatives of the
Elashi brothers said that just a few months ago they appeared for
fingerprinting without incident, and there is nothing to indicate that
they
would not have reported again if they were
asked to come in.
"While the American Muslim community supports all actions that will
safeguard our country's security, there is now a sense among many that
the
Justice Department considers Muslims guilty until proven innocent. The
country needs to have a critical assessment of whether or not Justice
Department policies are really increasing the security of the country
or
are just publicity stunts," said Executive Director Nihad
Awad.
ACTION REQUESTED:
1. (As always, be POLITE.) Contact President Bush to ask that he stop
John
Ashcroft and the Justice Department from infringing on the human and
civil
rights of the American Muslim community.
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500
E-MAIL: president@whitehouse.gov COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
COMMENT LINE: 202-456-1111 FAX: 202-456-2461
A FORM LETTER IS AVAILABLE AT: http://www.cair-net.org/html/capwiz.html
2. Contact your representatives and ask that they contact the President
to
review the way in which the Department of Justice is treating Muslims
and
Arabs in America.
CONTACT INFORMATION AND LETTER FOR YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IS AVAILABLE AT:
http://www.cair-net.org/html/capwiz.html
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS: 12/20/2002
HEADLINES:
* CAIR LIBRARY SPONSORSHIPS: 4514
* GROUPS PROTEST DETENTIONS OF MIDDLE EASTERN MEN IN US (AFP)
- Hundreds Of Muslim Immigrants Rounded Up In Calif. (Reuters)
- Families Of Jailed Middle Eastern Immigrants Say Rights Violated
(AP)
- INS Detentions Are A Bust (LA Times)
* W.D. MOHAMMED TO RECEIVE CAIR LEADERSHIP AWARD
* ICNA/MAS HOLD JOINT CHICAGO CONVENTION
* MUSLIMS AFFECTED BY "NO FLY" LIST ASKED TO CONTACT CAIR
* VA ISLAMIC CULTURAL CENTER VANDALIZED IN POST 9/11 BACKLASH RELOCATES
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: 4514 SPONSORSHIPS
CAIR's Library Project has received 4514 sponsorships for $150 book and
tape packages on Islam to be placed in libraries across the country.
Take
part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library
package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS PROTEST DETENTIONS OF MIDDLE EASTERNER MEN IN US
Agence France Presse, 12/20/02
LOS ANGELES - US civil rights groups and Muslim leaders on Thursday
slammed
a new US anti-terrorism measure under which Middle Eastern men are
forced
to register with the authorities and be fingerprinted.
They called on Washington to scrap the "flawed and misguided" programme
aimed at men from the Middle East, North Africa and North Korea
following
the arrest of scores of immigrants who turned up to register under the
new
rules.
The Los Angeles Times said Thursday that as many as 500 to 700 men and
boys
over the age of 16 had been detained in southern California alone when
the
deadline for the first wave of registrations expired on Monday. The
detentions sparked an angry street protest in Los Angeles on Wednesday
by
thousands of Iranian-Americans protesting what they branded the unjust
detentions of their loved ones.
The head of the Southern California American Civil Liberties Union
(ACLU)
said Thursday that the crackdown on alleged visa overstayers by the
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was a breach of civil
rights.
The actions "only serve to underscore the fact that some people in the
administration still don't understand the values we are all fighting to
protect," said Ramona Ripston, calling for the system to be scrapped...
---
HUNDREDS OF MUSLIM IMMIGRANTS ROUNDED UP IN CALIF.
Jill Serjeant, Reuters, 12/20/02
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20021219/wl_nm/attack_immigration_dc_4
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hundreds of Iranian and other Middle East
citizens
were in southern California jails on Wednesday after coming forward to
comply with a new rule to register with immigration authorities only to
wind up handcuffed and behind bars.
Shocked and frustrated Islamic and immigrant groups estimate that more
than
500 people have been arrested in Los Angeles, neighboring Orange County
and
San Diego in the past three days under a new nationwide anti-terrorism
program. Some unconfirmed reports put the figure as high as 1,000.
The arrests sparked a demonstration by hundreds of Iranians outside a
Los
Angeles immigration office. The protesters carried banners saying
"What's
next? Concentration camps?" and "What happened to liberty and
justice?..."
One activist said local jails were so overcrowded that the immigrants
could
be sent to Arizona, where they could face weeks or months in prisons
awaiting hearings before immigration judges or deportation.
"It is a shock. You don't expect this to happen. It is really putting
fright and apprehension in the community. People who come from these
countries -- this is what they expect from their government. Not from
America," said Sabiha Khan of the Southern California chapter of the
Council on American Islamic Relations...
---
FAMILIES OF JAILED MIDDLE EASTERN IMMIGRANTS SAY RIGHTS VIOLATED
Sandra Marquez, Associated Press, 12/20/02
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/12/20/state0333EST0014.DTL
Los Angeles - Gisroo Mohajeri clutched her pregnant belly on the steps
of
the downtown federal building and uttered a mother's lament: "I feel so
guilty," she sobbed.
Earlier this week, Mohajeri had urged her 16-year-old, Iranian-born son
to
voluntarily register with immigration officials under a new program.
But
now he faces deportation proceedings.
Mohajeri and relatives of the hundreds of Middle Eastern men and teens
who
have recently been detained say they feel betrayed by the country that
once
offered them a safe haven. Even worse for many family members is the
feeling that they acted as unknowing accomplices to the U.S.
government. "I
blame myself. Why I brought my son here and put him in jail. Why? Just
because I followed the law," Mohajeri cried. "I made a mistake..."
---
INS DETENTIONS ARE A BUST
Los Angeles Times, 12/20/02
www.latimes.com
In the aftermath of 9/11, the national consensus was that the
Immigration
and Naturalization Service had to have better control over who was in
the
country legally or illegally. However, it was important that regaining
control of immigration not trample on human rights, especially of those
already caught in the INS paperwork limbo as they became permanent
legal
residents.
For people who voluntarily showed up to register at INS offices in
Southern
California this week, the system seems to have buckled. Reports in The
Times and other media say that hundreds of men, from teens on up, were
handcuffed, shackled and, according to their lawyers, even hosed down
in
jail. INS spokesperson Francisco Arcaute denies that the detainees were
hosed down but admits that "following standard procedures, those who
were
transported from one location to another may have been
belly-handcuffed."
Most important for national security, after an experience like this,
can
the INS expect that people will show up for the next registration...?
Consider, for example, the suit filed in Cleveland by four men who went
to
register and were detained. "The three men," the Plain Dealer reports,
"responded to an amnesty offer from the INS last year and admitted that
they were in the country illegally, paid a fine and filed for permanent
residency. They are still waiting for the paperwork to come through and
therefore are technically in violation of immigration laws."
The INS and the Justice Department need a much better way to do
business.
-----
W.D. MOHAMMED TO RECEIVE CAIR LEADERSHIP AWARD
WHAT: In recognition of his years of leadership in the American Muslim
community, Imam W.D. Mohammed will receive an award from the Council On
American Islamic Relations at an event in San Jose, California on
December
27th.
The event, titled "Fostering Muslim Unity", will feature a talk by Imam
Mohammed, leader of the Chicago-based Muslim America Society, on issues
facing the American Muslim community.
"Imam Mohammed's leadership over the years has proven invaluable to the
growth and success of the American Muslim community," said CAIR
Chairman of
the Board Omar Ahmad.
WHEN: Friday, December 27th at 6:30 P.M
WHERE: MCA Islamic Center - 3003 Scott Blvd., Santa Clara, CA
For more information, contact CAIR Northern California at 408-986-9874
or
email: cair_nca@cair-california.org
Sponsored by: MCA, SBIA and MAS
-----
ICNA/MAS HOLD JOINT CHICAGO CONVENTION
WHAT: Winter vacation is around the corner and so is the annual joint
Muslim American Society (MAS) /Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA)
convention, from December 25th-29th in Chicago. In an exercise of
Islamic
unity, MAS and ICNA are joining together to bring you several days of
wholesome Islamic socializing, education, shopping, and entertainment.
Register now, bring your family, and enjoy the convention's diverse
array
of events and programs.
--Attend a variety of specialized mini-conferences and programs: youth,
sisters, da'wah, leadership, Islamic sciences, and more
--Earn a MAS Freedom Foundation training certificate in civics and
activism
--Earn a training certificate in broadcasting media
--Watch movies at the Islamic film festival, with education and
entertainment for the whole family
--Visit our Health & Wellness fair, staffed by the Muslim Medical
Association, the Heart Association, the Diabetes Association, the
Sickle
Cell Association, and the American Cancer Association
--Watch a civil rights debate: "Is America's 'War on Terrorism' Eroding
Our
Civil Liberties?"
WHEN: December 25th to December 29th
WHERE: Rosemont Convention Center - Chicago, Illinois
For more information, visit http://www.masnet.org/ and register online
now
for a 25% discount! Illinois and Minnesota residents receive an
additional
discount.
-----
MUSLIMS AFFECTED BY "NO FLY" LIST ASKED TO CONTACT CAIR
The CAIR Civil Rights department is requesting that persons who have
experienced difficulty traveling due to the appearance of their name on
a
"no fly" list to contact the office at (202) 488-8787 ext. 3282 or
email
ljaghlit@cair-net.org.
-----
VA ISLAMIC CULTURAL CENTER VANDALIZED IN POST 9/11 BACKLASH RELOCATES
The Islamic Cultural Center of Alexandria, VA has relocated to a larger
space in the heart of the "Old Town" district. The center,(formally Old
Town Islamic Book Store) was vandalized in the immediate aftermath of
the
9/11 attacks. For the past four years, the cultural center has been
successful in educating Americans about Islam through distribution of
free
Holy Qurans, various books, tapes and brochures.
For more information, contact Hazem Barakat at (703) 836-2000 or visit
the
Islamic Cultural Center at 1512 King Street, Alexandria, VA
Email: IslamicCulturalC@aol.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
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SYNDICATED CARTOON PORTRAYS MUHAMMAD AS TERRORIST
Prophet of Islam shown driving nuke-laden Ryder truck
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/22/02) - A national Islamic civil rights and
advocacy
group today expressed outrage at a Doug Marlette syndicated editorial
cartoon, headlined "What Would Mohammed Drive?" showing the Prophet
Muhammad driving a nuclear bomb-laden truck similar to that used by
Timothy
McVeigh in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
SEE: http://www.cair-net.org/images/mohammeddrive.gif
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
called
for an apology from Marlette's syndicator, Tribune Media Services, and
from
his employer, the Tallahassee Democrat.
The cartoon is apparently a play on a recent light-hearted public
debate
over what kind of car Jesus would drive. Its publication comes
following
worldwide outrage over a similar accusation of terrorism against
Muhammad
by American evangelist Jerry Falwell.
"Defamatory attacks on Islam and on the Prophet Muhammad by media
outlets
or religious leaders only serve to harm our nation's image worldwide
and
divide America along religious lines. Unfortunately, it now seems to be
'open season' on Islam in certain religious and political circles,"
said
CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. Awad also objected to what he
termed a
"racist and stereotypical" portrayal of "Muhammad." (Muslims object to
any
visual representations of the Prophet.)
"By learning more about the Prophet Muhammad, people of conscience will
discover that he was a prime example of tolerance and mercy," said
Awad. He
suggested viewing the documentary, "Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet,"
aired
recently on PBS.
The cartoon is the latest in a series of negative religious portrayals
addressed by CAIR. The group recently protested the depiction of a
Jesus-like figure in a TV Guide Channel commercial promoting
professional
wrestling. After being contacted by many concerned Muslims, the network
cancelled the commercial. (Muslims revere Jesus as a prophet of God.)
Hundreds of Muslims also contacted the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper
to
protest another editorial cartoon that linked Islam with intolerance
and
violence. The newspaper later issued a clarification of the
cartoonist's
intent.
- END -
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE. Hostile comments will only
serve
to further harm the image of Islam and Muslims.)
Contact the Tallahassee Democrat to request an apology for their
defamatory
attack on the Prophet Muhammad.
Mary Ann Lindley
Editorial Page Editor
Tallahassee Democrat
277 N. Magnolia Drive
Tallahassee, FL 32301
TEL: (850) 599-2100
E-MAIL: mlindley@taldem.com, inquiry@dougmarlette.com,
ddwilliams@tribune.com, wmahoney@tribune.com, mpope@taldem.com,
mlindley@taldem.com, tdedit@taldem.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive
news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to CAIR-NET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
-----
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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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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CIVIL LIBERTIES GROUPS FILE LAWSUIT OVER MASS INS ARRESTS
(WASHINGTON, DC, DEC. 24, 2002) - The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee (ADC), Alliance of Iranian Americans (AIA), Council on
American
Islamic-Relations (CAIR), and the National Council of Pakistani
Americans
(NCPA) today announced the filing a class action lawsuit against
Attorney
General John Ashcroft and the Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS).
The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Central
District of California, asserts that the INS unlawfully arrested large
numbers of people, December 16th through December 18th in Los Angeles
as
they came forward to voluntarily comply with new "special registration"
requirements. Four of the hundreds of individuals arrested as a result
of
the new INS policy are co-plaintiffs, along with two others who are
afraid
to register due to the illegal arrests.
The lawsuit takes issue with four aspects of the recent arrests and
seeks
an immediate injunction to avoid similar detentions during upcoming
registrations scheduled for January 10, 2003 (citizens of 13 countries
including Afghanistan, Algeria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen) and
February 21, 2003 (citizens of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia):
1. The arrests were illegal because the government did not obtain the
necessary arrest warrants;
2. It is unlawful and unjust to arrest and deport people who are
eligible
to apply to legalize their status based on family relationships or
their
employment;
3. Some detainees with avenues available to legalize their status are
being
detained without bail or bail hearings;
4. The fear of mass illegal arrests created by these detentions will
obviously inhibit compliance by people facing similar registration
deadlines in the near future.
The groups are seeking:
1. An injunction ordering the government not arrest any additional
persons
in the "special registration" process without appropriate arrest
warrants
as required by existing federal laws;
2. An injunction preventing the deportation of detainees who have
avenues
available to legalize their status; and
3. An injunction requiring that the INS not hold detainees without bond
or
bond hearings if the detainee has available a mechanism to legalize
their
status.
Although the special registration policy has been presented as a
national
security measure designed to counter potential terrorist threats, the
INS
has been using the registration process to not only enforce immigration
law
but to arrest and deport people who have complied with the law at every
stage and are on the road to becoming permanent residents.
The effort to deport law-abiding people who could just as easily be
allowed
to continue the immigration process seriously undermines prospects for
future compliance and constitutes an absurd waste of resources. The
mass
arrests have further eroded confidence in the fairness of the INS and
immigration system among Arab and Muslim communities.
Dec. 16 was the first in a series of deadlines for special
registration,
which are set to culminate in 2004 with the registration of all foreign
nationals in the United States. The mass arrests which took place in
Los
Angeles last week, and the lawsuit filed today, have profound
significance
for the future of the registration process in many immigrant
communities,
and immigrants' rights in general.
The lead attorneys in the case are Peter A. Schey and Carlos R. Holguin
of
the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. Other co-counsel
include several attorneys in the ADC Legal Department, Babak Sotoodeh
of
AIA, Khurrum Wahid of CAIR, Joannie Chang of the Asian Law Caucus, and
several California law firms.
- END -
CONTACT: Hussain Ibish (ADC) 202-438-7297; Khurrum Wahid (CAIR)
917-972-0680, Ibrahim Hooper (CAIR) 202-744-7726; Lead counsel for
plaintiffs, Peter Schey (323) 251-3223
-----
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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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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12/25/2002
HEADLINES:
* VERSE/HADITH OF THE DAY: JESUS, SON OF MARY
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* RESOURCES: ISLAMFINDER.ORG
* FBI SEEKS DATA ON FOREIGN STUDENTS (Washington Post)
- Many Tools of Big Brother Are Up and Running (NY Times)
* AN ARAB-AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND ITS LEGIONS OF FBI WATCHERS (U.S.
News)
* FL NEWSPAPER RESPONDS TO OUTRAGE OVER CARTOON
* RIGHTS GROUPS SUE OVER IMMIGRANT ARRESTS (AP)
- Groups Ask Court to Halt Detention of Visitors (Mercury News)
- Is This a Way to Ease Muslim Fears? (ABCNEWS.com)
* AMERICAN SAMOA BANS NATIONALS FROM 23 COUNTRIES (Morning Herald)
* BANKS SHUT OF PTECH ACCOUNTS (Boston Globe)
* CITIES URGE RESTRAINT IN FIGHT AGAINST TERROR (New York Times)
- Crossing Swords With General Ashcroft (Village Voice)
* ANTIWAR VOICES RAPIDLY BECOMING A CHORUS (Star Tribune)
* CHRISTMAS BRINGS DIFFERENT EMOTIONS FOR JEWISH/MUSLIM KIDS (Wash.
Post)
-----
VERSE/HADITH OF THE DAY: JESUS, SON OF MARY
"Behold! The angels said: 'O Mary! God giveth thee glad tidings of a
Word
from Him. His name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honor
in
this world and the Hereafter, and of (the company of) those nearest to
God.'"
The Holy Quran, Chapter 3, Verse 45
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Both in this world and
in
the Hereafter, I am the nearest of all the people to Jesus, the son of
Mary. The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different,
but
their religion is one."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Hadith 652
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
RESOURCES: ISLAMFINDER.ORG
Desktop Traveler / Where to Pray
Ernest Beck, Wall Street Journal, 12/24/2002
Site: IslamicFinder.org Description: Run by nonprofit group "dedicated
to
serving Islam on the Internet." Ease of Use: Extensive, easy-to-use
site
with global mosque finder, prayer times and a compass to locate Makkah
(a.k.a. Mecca) -- the city toward which prayers are directed. Comment:
Ultimate Islam: Everything from history to beliefs, plus downloadable
calls
to prayer from holy sites.
-----
FBI SEEKS DATA ON FOREIGN STUDENTS
Dan Eggen, Washington Post, 12/25/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35355-2002Dec24.html
The FBI is asking colleges and universities around the country to
provide
the government with personal information about all foreign students and
faculty, prompting objections from some schools and higher education
groups
that view the request as illegal.
The FBI says it needs the information to determine whether foreign
students
or teachers have ties to known or suspected terrorists. FBI and Justice
Department officials say recent antiterrorism language in the USA
Patriot
Act allows schools to provide the data without notifying those
involved.
But one prominent higher education group has told its members that
providing the information would violate federal law. The U.S.
Department of
Education also indicated in a general advisory this year that some of
the
information now sought by the FBI cannot be provided without a court
order
or subpoena…
The FBI's request comes as schools are scrambling to provide similar
information to another agency, the Immigration and Naturalization
Service,
which is building a database to track the more than 200,000 foreign
students who enroll in U.S. schools each year…
Before the Patriot Act took effect, the law governing the privacy of
student records, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, allowed
schools to provide only "directory information," such as names, ages
and
birthdates, to law enforcement officers. Even then, the law required
schools to obtain students' consent for providing such information
without
a court order, legal experts said…
SEE ALSO:
MANY TOOLS OF BIG BROTHER ARE UP AND RUNNING
JOHN MARKOFF and JOHN SCHWARTZ, New York Times, 12/24/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/23/technology/23PEEK.html
In the Pentagon research effort to detect terrorism by electronically
monitoring the civilian population, the most remarkable detail may be
this:
Most of the pieces of the system are already in place.
Because of the inroads the Internet and other digital network
technologies
have made into everyday life over the last decade, it is increasingly
possible to amass Big Brother-like surveillance powers through Little
Brother means. The basic components include everyday digital
technologies
like e-mail, online shopping and travel booking, A.T.M. systems,
cellphone
networks, electronic toll-collection systems and credit-card payment
terminals…
Total Information Awareness could link for the first time such
different
electronic sources as video feeds from airport surveillance cameras,
credit
card transactions, airline reservations and telephone calling records.
The
data would be filtered through software that would constantly look for
suspicious patterns of behavior...
-----
AN ARAB-AMERICAN COMMUNITY AND ITS LEGIONS OF FBI WATCHERS
Bay Fang, U.S. News & World Report, 12/30/02
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/021230/usnews/30michigan.htm
DEARBORN, MICH.--Assad has lived here for 12 years, in this little
brick
house off the main street in this Detroit suburb. His children,
6-year-old
Fatima and 3-year-old Hassan, were born here. He owns a thriving
million-dollar company. But in the past few months, tired of being
harassed
and afraid he no longer be-longs, Assad has been building another house
and
another business--in Lebanon. "I want to be prepared for the worst," he
says. "When I came here, I thought I would spend the rest of my life
here.
I thought of the U.S. as heaven on earth. But not anymore."
The war on terror--the domestic version--is being fought on these
streets.
This city of 100,000 is home to approximately 30,000 people of Middle
Eastern descent, the largest concentration of Arab Muslims in the
country.
On Warren Avenue, kebab shops nestle next to car dealerships. The
American
flag flies high above Lebanese bakeries. And residents like Assad work
to
live their lives and raise their families in peace and freedom.
Roundup.
Those freedoms are precisely what law enforcement authorities say they
are
trying to protect as they continue to chase leads in the largest
investigation in the nation's history. Since Congress passed the USA
Patriot Act a little over a year ago--which gave authorities more power
to
investigate--federal and state police have rounded up and questioned
men
from Middle Eastern countries, tapped phones, and detained thousands of
people secretly. These tactics, they say, have resulted in arrests of
alleged terrorists in Portland, Ore., and Buffalo.
Last week, U.S. Customs Service agents raided businesses and homes here
in
Dearborn and arrested seven people who they allege may have helped
transfer
money to Yemen. But one attorney who has met with the men says they
were
arrested after they tried to register their money-transfer business
with
authorities. Community leaders say the matter is overblown. "This is
another case of linking all criminal behavior with terrorism because
the
suspects happen to be Arab or Muslim Americans," says Haaris Ahmed,
director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Michigan.
Many ordinary people in these communities have had their lives turned
inside out by the investigations. Before the recent arrests, dozens of
young men here had disappeared over the past year, detained on
immigration
violations and quietly deported…
-----
FL NEWSPAPER RESPONDS TO OUTRAGE OVER CARTOON
LAMPOONING IS AN AMERICAN TRADITION, AND SO IS EDITING
John Winn Miller, Tallahassee Democrat, 12/24/02
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/opinion/4801712.htm
The Tallahassee Democrat has become the center of a national
controversy
again and this time it doesn't involve football. Instead it is our
cartoonist Doug Marlette who is drawing fire.
Doug did a cartoon depicting a man driving a rental truck loaded with
explosives under the caption: "What would Mohammed Drive?" The Democrat
has
not printed the cartoon and won't in the future. But it was
automatically
posted to our Web site briefly until I ordered it removed.
SEE CARTOON AT: http://www.cair-net.org/images/mohammeddrive.gif
SEE ALSO: SYNDICATED CARTOON PORTRAYS MUHAMMAD AS TERRORIST
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=995&page=NR
First let me explain our relationship with Doug. He works for us and
his
cartoons carry the Tallahassee Democrat name. He is also a syndicated
cartoonist and has a daily cartoon strip, Kudzu. We do not control or
have
rights to his outside work. He sends us his cartoons and we decide
whether
to print them or not. Other news organizations make their own
independent
decisions, too.
So we edit only the material we run. Unbeknownst to me, we had an
automatic
system that placed all of Doug's political cartoons on our Web site.
When
that happened with the bomb cartoon, we were flooded with thousands of
e-mails and phone calls demanding an apology.
That's not going to happen. We did not publish the cartoon and we won't
because I don't think it is particularly funny. And I frankly am uneasy
about making fun of religious icons in the Democrat. We have run
cartoons
making funs of priests because of their actions in the abuse scandal -
but
not because of their religion. There were some cartoons that we did not
run
because we thought they crossed the line of good taste. Different
editors
draw that line in different places.
However, I defend Doug's right to ridicule anyone. This is an honored
American tradition. Granted, good comedy like his often depends on
exaggerations. But he does have some fair basis for satire in this
case.
While the vast majority of Muslims are a peaceful people and preach a
peaceful religion, there are some who have subverted the message of the
prophet Mohammed for their own violent purposes.
There are Muslim clerics who encourage suicide bombers with promises of
martyrdom for the slaughter of innocents. Other Muslim leaders believe
they
have the right to order a Fatwa, the sanctioned murder of someone like
Salmon Rushdie, just because of his ideas. Lampooning fanatics who
believe
they have a religious basis for murder is fair game.
This is not to say that only Muslims have violent or intolerant
adherents.
Christians, Hindus, Jews - you name the religion - we all have stains
like
the Inquisition or brutal persecutions upon us. So to anyone who was
offended by Doug's cartoon, I'm sorry. But I do not apologize for his
right
to make a point, even if it makes some people mad.
SEND POLITE COMMENTS TO:
Mr. John Winn Miller
Executive Editor
Tallahassee Democrat
277 N. Magnolia Drive
Tallahassee, FL 32301
TEL: (850) 599-2100
E-MAIL: jwmiller@taldem.com, mlindley@taldem.com,
inquiry@dougmarlette.com,
ddwilliams@tribune.com, wmahoney@tribune.com, mpope@taldem.com,
mlindley@taldem.com, tdedit@taldem.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
-----
RIGHTS GROUPS SUE OVER IMMIGRANT ARRESTS
ROBERT JABLON, Associated Press, 12/25/02
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Immigrant-Arrests.html
LOS ANGELES - Groups representing Muslims and Arab-Americans,
Iranian-Americans and Pakistani-Americans have sued the government
seeking
an injunction to bar future arrests under rules adopted in the
aftermath of
the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
The suit, which seeks class-action status, also asked a federal court
to
prevent the detention without bond or deportation of detainees who
"have
avenues available to legalize their status."
At least 400 men were arrested in Southern California for visa
violations
when immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sudan and Syria went to
Immigration and Naturalization Service offices last week to register as
required under the new policy. Many claimed the violations were due to
slow
paperwork processing by the INS. Most of those arrested were in
Southern
California, where all but 23 had been released by last week. However,
many
of those released still face immigration hearings and some could face
deportation.
The arrests prompted outrage and protests, especially by
Iranian-Americans
who charged that many of those held were in the process of becoming
legal
residents and were arrested without warrants or access to legal help.
"They're doing everything that the government wants them to do...and
they're being detained. There's no due process," said Jason Erb of the
Washington, D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, one of
the
groups that filed the suit Tuesday.
"We're not challenging the right of the government to keep track of
people
who visit the country. We're critical of the way it's being done," he
said.
"We're critical of mass arrests of people who are trying to follow all
the
rules…"
In the next phase of the program, about 7,200 male visa holders from 13
countries, including Afghanistan, Algeria, Lebanon and North Korea,
will be
required to register by Jan. 10. Males from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan
must
register by Feb. 21.
SEE ALSO:
GROUPS ASK U.S. COURT TO HALT DETENTION OF VISITORS BY INS
Jessie Mangaliman, San Jose Mercury News, 12/25/02
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/news/local/4811794.htm
"There's an issue of fundamental fairness," said Khurrum Wahid, a New
York
City lawyer representing the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a
national group that has offices in the Bay Area. "These are people who
followed the rules and they were still arrested…"
---
IS THIS A WAY TO EASE MUSLIM FEARS?
Reena K. Singh, ABCNEWS.com, 12/24/02
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/ins_detainess021224.html
Many who were taken into custody are angry over the treatment they
received. This resentment comes at a time when Washington is trying to
improve its image to Muslims worldwide…
-----
AMERICAN SAMOA BANS NATIONALS FROM 23 COUNTRIES
Sydney Morning Herald, 12/24/02
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/23/1040511009772.html
Citing a security threat, the US Pacific territory of American Samoa
has
banned nationals from 23 countries unless they have specific permission
to
visit, officials said.
American Samoa Governor Tauese Sunia said the step was taken after a
credible security threat, an official from his office said yesterday.
The territory's attorney general, Fiti Sunia, said nationals of the
banned
countries would now need approval from his office before being granted
entry permits.
The countries are: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Cuba, Fiji,
Indonesia,
Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan,
Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia,
United
Arab Emirates and Yemen.
They add to a smaller list of mainly Arab nations banned in August
after a
security scare led to the week-long closure of the US embassy in Apia
in
nearby Samoa…
-----
BANKS SHUT OF PTECH ACCOUNTS
Firm, 4 employees of Middle Eastern descent affected
Ross Kerber, Boston Globe, 12/24/2002
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/358/business/Banks_shut_of_Ptech_accounts+.shtml
Major banks have canceled two corporate accounts and plan to cancel the
personal accounts of four employees of Middle Eastern descent at Ptech
Inc., the Quincy software firm that was searched by federal authorities
Dec. 5 as part of a financial-crimes investigation, according to
company
officials and documents they provided.
Neither the company nor its employees have been charged with any
wrongdoing, and Ptech executives say they are assisting authorities…the
actions by the banks have touched off complaints in Quincy's large
Islamic
community that the company and its employees have been unfairly singled
out.
Ptech executives said the closures suggest racial profiling of its
Middle
Eastern employees.
"It's of great concern, because there seems to be a targeting of
individuals based on their backgrounds," said James Cerrato, Ptech's
cofounder and chief product officer. He said that the accounts of some
employees with Middle Eastern backgrounds remain open and that
employees
from other backgrounds report no problems…
People who have received these letters call them disconcerting. One
Ptech
employee, who asked not to be named, said even Fleet's own branch
managers
seemed surprised when he first told them of the letter. He hasn't been
involved in any illicit activities, he said.
Among his coworkers, he said, "The feeling is, this is just the
beginning.
Society is already alienating us as Muslim-Americans."
Others outside the company share his views. "I feel sad about this;
it's
part of the rush to profile, though some might disagree," said Imam
Talal
Eid, who leads the Islamic Center of New England in Quincy.
-----
CITIES URGE RESTRAINT IN FIGHT AGAINST TERROR
MICHAEL JANOFSKY, New York Times, 12/23/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/23/national/23PATR.html
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz., Dec. 20 - Nearly two dozen cities around the country
have
passed resolutions urging federal authorities to respect the civil
rights
of local citizens when fighting terrorism. Efforts to pass similar
measures
are under way in more than 60 other places.
While the resolutions are largely symbolic, many of them provide some
legal
justification for local authorities to resist cooperating in the
federal
war on terrorism when they deem civil liberties and Constitutional
rights
are being compromised.
SEE ALSO:
CROSSING SWORDS WITH GENERAL ASHCROFT
Nat Hentoff, Village Voice, 12/20/02
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0252/hentoff.php
I've been asked whether the growing number of Bill of Rights defense
committees defying the Bush-Ashcroft-Rumsfeld attacks on our
Constitutional
liberties aren't really only symbolic. What can town and city councils
across the country actually do to rein in the FBI, the CIA, and all the
other intelligence agencies now interconnected through the homeland
security act?
A useful way to answer this pivotal question was reported on November
26 in
the Eugene, Oregon, Register-Guard: "Eugene city councilors gave in to
a
stampede of constituents Monday night, surprising even themselves by
voting
unanimously at an impassioned meeting to make Eugene the 15th city in
the
United States and the first in Oregon to formally seek reform or repeal
of
the USA Patriot Act."
Said City Councilor Bonny Bettman: "We shouldn't stand by silently as
those
rights and freedoms are eroded. Our rights and freedoms really help
distinguish us from our enemies…"
-----
ANTIWAR VOICES RAPIDLY BECOMING A CHORUS
Sharon Schmickle, Star Tribune, 12/25/02
http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/3554338.html
One of the photos Steve Clemens carried home from the Middle East last
week
shows him on a busy street in Baghdad holding a placard that sums up
his
stance on the looming crisis: "No War!"
Not everyone who opposes going to war is ready to follow Clemens'
tracks
from Minneapolis to Iraq. But a growing number of Twin Citians are
echoing
the "No War" slogan…
-----
TWO CITIES, TWO IMMIGRANT LANDINGS
New York Times, 12/25/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/25/opinion/25WED2.html
The arrival of hundreds of poor immigrants, many without education or
English skills, caused great concern in Lewiston, Me., where old-line
Yankee residents worried about the town's capacity to absorb the
newcomers.
Tension was inevitable.
That was more than a century and a half ago, when Irish refugees from
the
potato famine came in search of work, quickly followed by a wave of
French
Canadians who were recruited by the mills to increase production…
Now the descendants of those immigrants are the community pillars,
facing
their own test of the American way. More than 1,000 black Muslim
refugees
from civil war, famine and disease in Somalia, many of them originally
resettled in the Atlanta area, began arriving in the town of 36,000,
unannounced, nearly two years ago. The women wear native dress, and the
men
gather at a makeshift mosque. Nonetheless, the Somalis have worked to
fit
into a community that is ambivalent about them. Mayor Laurier Raymond
Jr.
let the strain show when he used an open letter last fall to plead with
his
new Somali neighbors to stop the migration…
In this new wave, immigrants are finding opportunities away from large
cities. Their impact, especially in older, smaller towns, can be
enormous
and positive. Schenectady sees its future with the Guyanese. And while
immigrants like the Somalis need places like Lewiston, places like
Lewiston
can survive only with immigrants like the Somalis.
-----
CHRISTMAS BRINGS DIFFERENT EMOTIONS FOR JEWISH AND MUSLIM KIDS
Washington Post, 12/25/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35442-2002Dec24.html
Christmas is everywhere in this country, especially for kids. Santa's
helpers are at the shopping mall. Nativity scenes are on people's front
lawns. There's even a Christmas tree in the Great Hall at Hogwarts.
Turn on
the television, and there's Linus telling the story of Jesus's birth on
"A
Charlie Brown Christmas…"
Non-Christian kids, meanwhile, have some pretty important traditions of
their own to observe in December, but their classmates often know
little
about them.
Sarah Ismail, for instance, fasts as part of the month-long Muslim holy
time called Ramadan. When observing it, Muslims do not eat or drink
between
sunrise and sunset.
-----
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453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
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E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
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-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12/26/2002
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: A CURE FOR EVERY DISEASE
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* VANDAL SHATTERS GLASS AT ILLINOIS ISLAMIC CENTER (Sun-Times)
* U.S. USING "STRESS AND DURESS" DURING INTERROGATIONS (Wash.Post)
* IRANIAN MAN CHARGES FIRING WAS BIAS DRIVEN (Journal News)
* NEIGHBORS OPPOSE TOWER FOR MOSQUE (Atlanta Journal)
* EDITORIAL: BRAND AMERICA (Washington Post)
* ELECTED OFFICIALS CALL FOR SUSPENSION OF INS REGISTRATION
- Portal to Information on Special Registration (USDOJ)
* INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS STAY AT SCHOOL DURING BREAKS (AP)
* MUSLIM GATHERING PONDERS CONCERNS (Chicago Tribune)
* INVESTORS SOUGHT FOR AMERICAN MUSLIM TV CHANNEL
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: A CURE FOR EVERY DISEASE
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "There is no disease
that
God has created, except that He also created its cure."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Hadith 582
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
VANDAL SHATTERS GLASS AT SUBURBAN MUSLIM CENTER
ANNIE SWEENEY, Chicago Sun-Times, 12/24/02
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-muslim24.html
A Morton Grove Muslim center was vandalized over the weekend, an act
some
believe might be connected to recent tensions in the neighborhood about
parking and a proposed expansion.
Leaders of the Muslim Education Center, which is run by the Muslim
Community Center in Chicago, said that over the weekend someone threw a
large piece of cinder block through a glass entrance to the center,
which
is near Menard and Dempster in the north suburb.
Mohammed Kaiseruddin, president of the MCC, said the vandalism happened
sometime between Saturday night and dawn Sunday. He said a security
tape
shows someone on the grounds about 3:30 a.m. Sunday, although no face
is
visible.
Kaiseruddin said there has been concern among neighbors about the
number of
cars--close to 200--that typically arrive for Friday prayers. He said
the
center has worked with the village on the problem by providing a
parking
attendant and restricting overflow parking from its lot to one side of
the
street.
Still, some village meetings have drawn close to 100 people, he said.
Also,
the center's recent proposal to build a mosque on site has also been a
topic of concern.
"There's no way for me to tell if it's part of it or not," Kaiseruddin
said. "There has been a tense environment around there…Sometimes the
statements are a little emotional."
-----
U.S. DECRIES ABUSE BUT DEFENDS INTERROGATIONS
Dana Priest and Barton Gellman, Washington Post, 12/26/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37943-2002Dec25.html
Deep inside the forbidden zone at the U.S.-occupied Bagram air base in
Afghanistan, around the corner from the detention center and beyond the
segregated clandestine military units, sits a cluster of metal shipping
containers protected by a triple layer of concertina wire. The
containers
hold the most valuable prizes in the war on terrorism -- captured al
Qaeda
operatives and Taliban commanders.
Those who refuse to cooperate inside this secret CIA interrogation
center
are sometimes kept standing or kneeling for hours, in black hoods or
spray-painted goggles, according to intelligence specialists familiar
with
CIA interrogation methods. At times they are held in awkward, painful
positions and deprived of sleep with a 24-hour bombardment of lights --
subject to what are known as "stress and duress" techniques.
Those who cooperate are rewarded with creature comforts, interrogators
whose methods include feigned friendship, respect, cultural sensitivity
and, in some cases, money. Some who do not cooperate are turned over --
"rendered," in official parlance -- to foreign intelligence services
whose
practice of torture has been documented by the U.S. government and
human
rights organizations…
While the U.S. government publicly denounces the use of torture, each
of
the current national security officials interviewed for this article
defended the use of violence against captives as just and necessary.
They
expressed confidence that the American public would back their view.
The
CIA, which has primary responsibility for interrogations, declined to
comment…
U.S. officials oversee most of the interrogations, especially those of
the
most senior captives. In some cases, highly trained CIA officers
question
captives through interpreters. In others, the intelligence agency
undertakes a "false flag" operation using fake decor and disguises
meant to
deceive a captive into thinking he is imprisoned in a country with a
reputation for brutality, when, in reality, he is still in CIA hands.
Sometimes, female officers conduct interrogations, a psychologically
jarring experience for men reared in a conservative Muslim culture
where
women are never in control.
In other cases, usually involving lower-level captives, the CIA hands
them
to foreign intelligence services -- notably those of Jordan, Egypt and
Morocco -- with a list of questions the agency wants answered. These
"extraordinary renditions" are done without resort to legal process and
usually involve countries with security services known for using brutal
means…
The State Department's annual human rights report routinely denounces
sleep
deprivation as an interrogation method. In its 2001 report on Turkey,
Israel and Jordan, all U.S. allies, the department listed sleep
deprivation
among often-used alleged torture techniques…
Free from the scrutiny of military lawyers steeped in the international
laws of war, the CIA and its intelligence service allies have the
leeway to
exert physically and psychologically aggressive techniques, said
national
security officials and U.S. and European intelligence officers...
According to Americans with direct knowledge and others who have
witnessed
the treatment, captives are often "softened up" by MPs and U.S. Army
Special Forces troops who beat them up and confine them in tiny rooms.
The
alleged terrorists are commonly blindfolded and thrown into walls,
bound in
painful positions, subjected to loud noises and deprived of sleep. The
tone
of intimidation and fear is the beginning, they said, of a process of
piercing a prisoner's resistance.
The take-down teams often "package" prisoners for transport, fitting
them
with hoods and gags, and binding them to stretchers with duct tape…
-----
IRANIAN MAN CHARGES FIRING WAS BIAS DRIVEN
Suit alleges Yonkers company reacted to 9/11 attacks
Stacy Brown, Journal News, 12/24/02
http://www.thejournalnews.com/
An Iranian immigrant who said he was fired in the wake of the Sept. 11,
2001, terrorist attacks because of his ethnicity has filed suit against
a
Yonkers construction company.
Jalil Ershadi, who lives in White Plains, said management at Yonkers
Contracting Co. of Midland Avenue was incensed over the attacks and
lashed
out at him the day after Ershadi told a company official that the
situation
could best be settled through political policy rather than war.
Ershadi, 51, had worked for the company since May 14, 2001, and his
attorney, Julie Gaughran of Mount Kisco, told The Journal News
yesterday
that she was hopeful that the lawsuit could be resolved as early as
next
week. The 11-page lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in White
Plains, accused the company of wrongful termination by discrimination
based
upon race, color, ethnic background, national origin and religion. The
matter is being heard by U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon.
In court papers, Gaughran states that on Sept. 12, 2001, Ershadi, an
estimator, approached supervisor Dennis Capalino with a work-related
question and was told to speak with company Vice President Patrick
Muller.
Ershadi asked what Muller thought of the attacks, then Ershadi said he
thought the United States should resolve the conflict "through
political
policy."
Muller, who favored retaliatory bombings, became incensed, then asked
Ershadi about his place of birth, according to Ershadi's court papers.
After Ershadi told him he was originally from Iran and is a Muslim,
Muller
shouted, "You're a hostage-taker, get ... out of my office," according
to
the papers.
The suit says Muller had to be physically restrained after shouting
more
obscenities toward Ershadi, who was told to leave the building by Human
Resources Director Paul Gangami and owner Carl Petrillo.
Gangami told Ershadi that he was being terminated because he "had
created a
hostile environment" that would not be tolerated by the company,
Gaughran
charges in the court papers.
Capalino of Yonkers Contracting said yesterday: "It's not in our best
interest to comment on this. This (lawsuit) is being handled by our
human
resources department and Mr. Gangami…"
-----
NEIGHBORS OPPOSE TOWER FOR MOSQUE
PHILLIP TAYLOR, Atlanta Journal, 12/26/02
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/metro/cobb/1202/26mosque.html
Amjad Taufique hardly suspected the opposition that surfaced when the
Islamic Circle of North America sought city approval for a 70-foot
tower
for a proposed mosque on Powder Springs Road in Marietta.
But there they were, more than 100 of his neighbors, protesting the
plans
before the Marietta Board of Zoning Appeals at its Dec. 16 meeting. The
mosque needed the board's approval to build the minaret, which is 35
feet
higher than city rules allow.
Somewhat stunned, Taufique understood concerns about noise and traffic
and
had responses at the ready. But when a man approached him and rudely
suggested the mosque cut its losses and build elsewhere, he was not
sure
what to say. "That's when I felt, is this about the height of the
minaret,
or is it something else?" Taufique said. "You pray to God that it is
nothing but the height…"
-----
EDITORIAL: BRAND AMERICA
Washington Post, 12/26/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38308-2002Dec25.html
AS ANY GRADE school teacher will tell you, it's better to tell the
truth.
So it was unsettling to read that in its new propaganda war (known as
Info
Ops to the insiders), someone at the Pentagon had suggested planting
fake
stories with foreign journalists…
One of the first Beers products came with a kind of built-in
contradiction:
a slickly produced TV ad designed to convince Arab audiences that
America
was not all slick TV. The ad showed a Muslim teacher from Ohio wearing
her
headscarf, speaking in her appliance-filled kitchen about how she
"didn't
see any prejudice in her neighborhood after Sept. 11." But somehow that
seemed too good to be true. Egyptian officials balked at airing
"propaganda
from a foreign country." Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Jordan have still
not
agreed to show it. So far the four-part video series has aired only in
Indonesia…
-----
ELECTED OFFICIALS CALL FOR SUSPENSION OF INS REGISTRATION
December 23, 2002
The Honorable
John D. Ashcroft
Attorney General of the United States
U.S. Department of Justice
10th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Mr. Attorney General:
We write to urge you to suspend further implementation of the National
Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) by the U.S. Department
of
Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) until Congress and
the
Department conduct a complete and thorough review of this program. We
have
grave doubts about whether the INS's implementation of NSEERS has
struck
the proper balance between securing our borders on the one hand and
respecting the civil liberties of foreign students, businesspeople, and
visitors who have come to our nation legally on the other.
Rather, this special registration program appears to be a component of
a
second wave of roundups and detentions of Arab and Muslim males
disguised
as a perfunctory registration requirement. Reports indicate that
hundreds
of individuals who have voluntarily appeared to register at INS offices
around the country (but primarily in California) have been arrested and
detained without reasonable justification. According to news reports,
many
of those detained have applications pending for adjustment of status on
which the INS has not yet acted.
For example, according to a news report, a 16 year old boy who entered
the
country lawfully on a student visa was separated from his pregnant
mother,
even though he is seeking permanent residency to be able to join his
mother, who is a permanent resident, and stepfather, who is a US
citizen,
in America. According to another report, a successful Iranian Jewish
businessman, who had fled Iran and believed he could find freedom and
security in America, was arrested and jailed even though he has had an
application for permanent residency pending with the INS for five
years. It
is unjust to penalize and detain people who have a claim to lawful
status
when, in many cases, it is the INS processing backlog that has caused
the
delay in approving status-adjustment applications.
We are also concerned by reports that detainees have been denied access
to
counsel and are being held in deplorable conditions, including being
deprived of food for more than 24 hours and being forced to sleep on
cold
floors.
These reports are all the more troubling because this new program comes
one
year after the Department launched its first roundup and detention of
mostly Arab and Muslim men, the vast majority of whom were detained for
immigration violations and ultimately cleared of any involvement in
terrorist activity. You have so far failed to identify most of the
hundreds
of individuals arrested and detained in the wake of September 11 or
their
counsel. This pattern of targeting persons for arrest based on race,
religion, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on specific
evidence of
criminal activity or connections with terrorist organizations only
serves
to undermine the trust of the American people, especially the Arab and
Muslim American communities whose cooperation we need more than ever to
protect our nation.
Furthermore, we are concerned about the interview stage of the NSEERS
special registration program. We understand that information is sought
on
the individual's credit card, bank account, and video rental card
numbers,
and, for those on student visas, on affiliation with campus political
and
religious groups and names of roommates. These questions raise serious
privacy and constitutional concerns.
We request that you immediately provide to us and release publicly
information about implementation of NSEERS, including the following:
1. All policy directives or guidance issued to officials about
implementation of NSEERS, including the role of the FBI in conducting
national security background checks of registrants;
2. An explanation of why certain INS District Offices detained persons
with
pending status-adjustment applications;
3. All policy directives or guidance issued to officials about making
public statements or disclosures about these individuals; and
4. A full explanation of how information gathered during interviews of
registrants will be stored, used, or transmitted to other federal,
state,
or local agencies.
We further request that you release information about individuals taken
into custody as soon as possible, including the following:
5. The identity of each individual who attempted to register pursuant
to
NSEERS but was taken into custody, including the individual's name,
citizenship status, and place of birth;
6. The date of arrest of each detainee;
7. The date charges, if any, were brought against each detainee;
8. The charges brought, if any, against each detainee and, if no
charges
were brought, an explanation of why the individual was taken into
custody;
9. The basis for continuing to detain those individuals who have been
cleared of any connection with terrorism but are still in detention;
10. The identity of and contact information for any lawyer representing
any
detainee, including names, addresses, and phone numbers; and
11. The identity of any detainee who is not represented by counsel.
The Department of Justice should aggressively investigate and prevent
future terrorist attacks, but should at the same time act with
constitutional restraint. The Department of Justice has a
responsibility to
release sufficient information about the special registration program
and
the detainees to allow Congress and the American people to decide
whether
the Department has acted appropriately and consistent with the
Constitution.
In addition, we urge you to suspend further implementation of NSEERS
pending congressional review. It is imperative that you take steps to
reassure Congress and the American people that this special
registration
program is not a detention program falling just short of widespread
internment of Arabs and Muslims. We further urge you to take all
necessary
steps to ensure that the fundamental constitutional rights of
individuals
already detained are protected, including access to counsel.
Times of crisis are the true test of a democracy. Our nation still
bears
the scars of an earlier crisis when our government went too far by
detaining Japanese, German, and Italian Americans based on their race,
ethnicity, or national origin. We should not repeat these painful
mistakes.
We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Russell D. Feingold
U.S. SENATOR
Edward M. Kennedy
U.S. SENATOR
John Conyers, Jr.
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
SEE ALSO:
PORTAL TO INFORMATION ON SPECIAL REGISTRATION
http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/lawenfor/specialreg/index.htm
-----
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS STAY AT SCHOOL DURING BREAKS
Associated Press, 12/26/02
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - Many international students are spending their
holiday breaks on campus because they fear they won't be able to return
to
the United States if they go home.
Tim Huff, manager of Oklahoma State University international students
and
scholars, told students from primarily Arab and Middle Eastern
countries to
avoid leaving the country during the holiday break except for family
emergencies.
"Our recommendation is not to travel home over the Christmas break," he
said. "It's a different world than what we've seen in the past."
Huff said he has been advised that visa processing in some embassies
could
take three weeks or longer. Any delay of international students in
coming
back to school could affect their grades and threaten their student
visa
status in the United States…
While many of his friends and colleagues went home for the holidays,
graduate student Kashif Khan, a Pakistani national, worked at the OSU
library on the Stillwater campus.
He worried that if he left, U.S. immigration officials might not let
him
return to Stillwater where he has been a computer science student for 2
1/2
years. The same fear kept him here over the summer and caused him to
miss
his sister's wedding.
Next month, Khan will be photographed and fingerprinted as part of the
government's new anti-terrorism program. Nonimmigrant men from Pakistan
and
Saudi Arabia are the latest to be called up…
Khan, a 26-year-old student from Lahore, Pakistan, said he understands
that
the United States must be cautious "since most of the problems are
coming
from Muslim countries," but it still leaves him uneasy.
"I am so embarrassed," Khan said. "It is very upsetting. It makes me
feel
not very good."
His parents have cautioned him not to come home until he receives his
degree.
"My future is more important," he said. "I have to finish my studies
over
here."
-----
MUSLIM GATHERING PONDERS CONCERNS
Julia Lieblich, Chicago Tribune, 12/26/02
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0212260086dec26,1,2667300.story
For the second time in their histories--and for the second time in five
months--two diverse Muslim organizations will hold a joint U.S.
convention
to address the religious, political and social concerns of Muslims in a
country on the verge of war.
The three-day meeting in the Rosemont Convention Center, which starts
Thursday, will bring together the Islamic Circle of North America,
whose
members largely are South Asian, and the Muslim American Society, whose
constituency is predominantly Arab…
More than 50 speakers will address topics such as the possibility of
war in
Iraq, civil liberties, the media, education, schooling, the role of
Muslim
women and youth.
A session will be devoted to discussing Palestine and U.S. policy
toward
the Middle East; another will address the role of the U.S government in
South Asia.
Two youth sections will discuss the Islamic revival, a movement often
associated with support for Islamic states in predominantly Muslim
countries.
Civil rights likely will take on particular relevance after the recent
arrests of hundreds of Middle Eastern men and teenagers in Southern
California. They had voluntarily complied with a new federal
fingerprinting
and registration program for immigrants…
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination League, the Council on American
Islamic Organizations and other groups Tuesday filed a class-action
suit in
California against Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft and the Immigration and
Naturalization Service.
The suit charges that the INS unlawfully arrested people as they came
forward voluntarily. The groups are seeking an injunction before the
next
registration deadline to avoid another mass arrest.
-----
INVESTORS SOUGHT FOR AMERICAN MUSLIM TV CHANNEL
INVITATION TO BRIDGES TV PRESENTATION
The executives of Bridges TV - Where American Muslims Come Home - will
be
in Chicago on Saturday December 28th to make an investment
presentation.
This is an opportunity for qualified investors to learn more about this
very important community service project with a financial return on
investment.
You and a guest are invited to attend either one of the two Investment
Forums:
Time: 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Date: Saturday, December 28th, 2002
Room: Winchester, Mezzanine Level
Hotel: The DoubleTree Hotel, O'Hare-Rosemont
Address: 5460 North River Road, Rosemont, IL 60018
Across from Donald E. Stephens Convention Center
Phone: 847-292-9100
The investment presentation will outline the following:
1. Market Research on American Muslims by Cornell University
2. Television Industry Analysis
3. Business Plan
4. Financial Model
5. Management Team
6. Return on Investment
7. Endorsements from Community Leaders
8. Bridges TV Pilot Video
9. Question & Answers
10. Stock Subscription Agreement/SEC/FCC
To learn more about this major community project you may visit the
Bridges
TV web site at: www.bridges.tv
If you plan to attend, please reply to let us know which session (1pm
or
3pm) would you be attending. Please feel free to forward this
invitation to
qualified investors in your community. Thank you and we look forward to
seeing you on December 28th.
Muzzammil S. Hassan, MBA
Chief Executive Officer
Bridges TV
Tel: 716-578-1317
-----
TO BECOME A CAIR MEMBER, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
REPUBLICAN GROUP ASKED TO REMOVE ANTI-ISLAM LINK FROM WEBSITE
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/26/02) - A prominent national Islamic civil
rights
and advocacy group tonight called on a Republican group in North
Carolina
to remove a link to anti-Islam rhetoric from its website and apologize
to
Muslims in that state.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says the website of
the
Greensboro-based Guilford County Republican Party has a link to a site
called "Islam Exposed" that states: "This website was designed with 1
(sic)
objective in mind - to expose one of the greatest evils on our planet -
Islam. We have the evidence and materials to prove that this false
religion
is nothing more than a barbaric occult (sic) invented by savages for
savages."
SEE: http://www.guilfordgop.org/ Scroll halfway down the page on the
left side.
The party maintains the link to the anti-Islam site despite past
objections
from concerned American Muslims. The GOP website itself offers a
disclaimer
and states: "We have received a few emails from Muslims who indicate
that
this material misrepresents their religion."
"It is unconscionable that a political party claiming to represent all
Americans would associate itself with a site that expresses open hatred
for
the faith of millions of fellow citizens. The Guilford County
Republican
Party should remove this defamatory link and apologize to the Muslim
community of North Carolina," said CAIR Board Chairman Omar Ahmad.
Ahmad compared the controversy over the GOP link to that of Senator
Trent
Lott (R-MI), who was recently forced to resign from his post as Senate
Majority Leader over allegations that he was insensitive to the issue
of
racism in America. He added that recent attacks on Islam have come
almost
exclusively from the right-wing of the American political spectrum.
There are an estimated seven million Muslims in America and some 1.2
billion worldwide.
- END -
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE. Hostile comments can and will
be
used to further defame Islam and Muslims.)
Contact the Guilford County Republican Party to ask that they take down
the
defamatory link and apologize to Muslims.
Chairman Marcus Kindley
Guilford County Republican Party
P.O. Box 29136
Greensboro, N.C. 27249-9136
E-MAIL: marcusk136@intercarolina.net, nbbaob@yahoo.com,
phurley@aol.com,
wbenjamin@greensborolaw.com, editor@guilfordgop.org
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
-----
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive
news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to CAIR-NET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
-----
TO BECOME A CAIR MEMBER, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12/27/2002
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: ADOPT A MIDDLE COURSE
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* BREAKING NEWS: REPUBLICAN WEBSITE REMOVES ANTI-ISLAM LINK
* GOP LINK ON WEB DRAWING CRITICISM (News & Record)
- Islamic Group Wants Web Link Shut Down (AP)
* EDITORIAL: TORTURE IS NOT AN OPTION (Washington Post)
- A Secret CIA Assassination Policy for Citizens (Chicago Tribune)
* ROBERT NOVAK: SHARON'S WAR? (Townhall.com)
* MUSLIM DETAINEES PROTEST MASS ARRESTS (Village Voice)
- U.S. Lawyers Challenge Immigration Suit (AP)
- Muslim Charity Man Appeals Deportation (AP)
- Jailed in U.S. Snafu, Man Disillusioned (Globe and Mail)
* CLASH WITH FOSTER FAMILY SPLITS MUSLIM SIBLINGS (AP)
* CENTER TO INCLUDE STORY OF ALI'S LIFE (AP)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: ADOPT A MIDDLE COURSE
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Do good deeds properly,
sincerely and moderately…Always adopt a middle, moderate, regular
course,
whereby you will reach your target (Paradise)."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadith 470
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
BREAKING NEWS: REPUBLICAN WEBSITE REMOVES ANTI-ISLAM LINK
After receiving a flood of messages from concerned Muslims, the
Guilford
County (NC) Republican Party has removed an anti-Islam link from its
website. The GOP site now states: "We apologize for the link to this
website and have instituted safeguards against links to such sites in
the
future. There is no room for hate in our society." SEE:
http://www.guilfordgop.org/ Scroll down on left side of page.
SEE ALSO: REPUBLICAN GROUP ASKED TO REMOVE ANTI-ISLAM LINK FROM WEBSITE
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=997&page=NR
---
GOP LINK ON WEB DRAWING CRITICISM
DANIEL M. NONTE, News & Record, 12/27/02
http://www.news-record.com/news/local/gso/website27rk.htm
The Internet site of the Guilford County Republican Party has a link to
a
site that describes Islam as "one of the greatest evils on our planet."
When told by a reporter Thursday about the contents of the anti-Islam
site,
Marcus Kindley, chairman of the county GOP, said he would have the link
removed. He said that he had not visited the site.
Kindley said the link was added to educate people about Wahhabism, an
austere form of Islam that is the dominant faith in Saudi Arabia. Osama
bin
Laden and the Taliban represent a militant, extremist form of
Wahhabism.
The link was put on the Republican site about a month before the
November
election. It was not clear Thursday if the page had changed in the
intervening months. The home page of the anti-Islam site makes no
mention
of Wahhabism.
Local Muslims condemned the site and the link's presence on the
Republican
Web page. Simply removing the link is not enough, said Badi Ali,
president
of the Islamic Center of the Triad.
"This is ridiculous," Ali said. "These people are supposed to be
leading
the Republican Party. They should apologize."
A spokesman for a national Islamic group also blasted local
Republicans.
"It's ironic that a political party that's trying to show that it is
not
racist or bigoted would have such a link," said Ibrahim Hooper, a
spokesman
for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations. "Would
they
have a link to the KKK or anti-Semitic Web sites or other kinds of
outrageous materials? Of course not…"
Hooper said the link's very presence amounts to approval. "They're
endorsing it," he said. "Let's not mince words."
Goulder said he does not know much about the anti-Islam site and
learned of
it from the conservative news site WorldNetDaily.com…
SEE ALSO:
ISLAMIC GROUP WANTS WEB LINK SHUT DOWN
Associated Press, 12/27/02
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Islamic civil-rights organization has asked the
Guilford County Republican Party to remove a link to a Web site that it
says misrepresents the Islamic faith.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, also wants the
county's
Republican Party to apologize to Muslims in North Carolina. The Web
site,
IslamExposed.com, says that it was set up "with one objective in mind -
to
expose one of the greatest evils on our planet - Islam. We have the
evidence and materials to prove that this false religion is nothing
more
than a barbaric occult invented by savages for savages…
-----
EDITORIAL: TORTURE IS NOT AN OPTION
Washington Post, 12/27/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42024-2002Dec26.html
WHEN ISRAEL had a policy of applying what it euphemistically termed
"moderate physical pressure" to detainees suspected of terrorist links,
the
United States knew what to call it. "Israeli security forces abuse, and
in
some cases torture, Palestinians suspected of security offenses," reads
the
State Department's human rights report for 1998. Times have changed.
The
Israeli High Court of Justice in 1999 struck down the policy that the
State
Department had described as "often [leading] to excesses." But the
United
States -- suddenly engaged in a struggle against Islamic terrorism --
now
has detained thousands of suspected Islamic terrorists abroad. And
suddenly, practices that bear a striking resemblance to the old Israeli
policy are taking on an American face...
But there are certain things democracies don't do, even under duress,
and
torture is high on the list. Some of the alleged tactics, while
aggressive,
may be legitimate: deceptions, for example, or psychological pressure.
Others -- bright lights and lengthy interrogations that interfere with
sleep -- straddle the line between acceptable and unacceptable conduct.
Without knowing more about what exactly is happening, it's hard to
judge.
But beating prisoners is entirely out of bounds. The critical first
step is
for the administration to clarify what tactics it is using and which
are
still off limits. If administration officials have decided that
moderate
physical pressure -- once an abuse -- is now to be the norm in
terrorism
cases, the American people ought to know and ought to be able to
respond
through their representatives and through individual and organizational
voices. It shouldn't be the administration's unilateral call.
SEE ALSO:
A SECRET CIA ASSASSINATION POLICY FOR CITIZENS
Jonathan Turley, Chicago Tribune, 12/27/02
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/oped/chi-0212270378dec27,1,7636543.story
Jonathan Turley is a law professor at George Washington University Law
School.
In a season of lists, last week's disclosure of the assassination list
by
the Bush administration may be the ultimate gift idea for the agency
that
is close to having everything. After a post-Sept. 11 windfall of
expanded
budgets, personnel and power, it was inevitable that CIA officials
would
return to the one item that they have most coveted: the discretionary
use
of assassination. Not only does the CIA have a specific wish list of
two
dozen targets, it is not confined to this list for targets and even
citizens could be subject to this lethal form of agency action…
It is not clear whether the CIA will return to the use of car bombs,
which
has taken on a certain pejorative tint of late. However, it now has
authority to engage in a level of assassination that we have not seen
since
before Nixon...
The Bush administration has tied its assassination policy to its
controversial enemy combatant concept. U.S. Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft
claims
the right to unilaterally declare citizens to be enemy combatants,
strip
them of all constitutional rights, bar them from access to either
courts or
counsel and hold them indefinitely. He has done so with at least two
citizens and reportedly has considered the creation of a committee to
determine which citizens would be given this fatal label.
While it may seem a quaint concern to some, the president does not have
the
authority to intentionally kill citizens suspected of terrorism…
For many officials, suspicion is probably "close enough for Jazz" in
ordering a hit on a suspected terrorist. Sure they may be wrong, but
then
they may be right. If history is any measure, when it comes to
assassinations, the CIA relies on one law: the law of averages.
-----
ROBERT NOVAK: SHARON'S WAR?
Townhall.com, 12/26/02
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/robertnovak/rn20021226.shtml
WASHINGTON -- Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, having just
returned
from a week-long fact-finding trip to the Middle East, addressed the
Chicago Council of Foreign Relations Dec. 16 and said out loud what is
whispered on Capitol Hill: "The road to Arab-Israeli peace will not
likely
go through Baghdad, as some may claim."
The "some" are led by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. In private
conversation with Hagel and many other members of Congress, the former
general leaves no doubt that the greatest U.S. assistance to Israel
would
be to overthrow Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime. That view is widely
shared
inside the Bush administration, and is a major reason why U.S. forces
today
are assembling for war.
"Military force alone," Hagel told his Chicago audience, "will neither
assure a democratic transition in Iraq, bring peace to Israelis and
Palestinians, nor assure stability in the Middle East." Indeed, the
senator
returned from the Mideast more concerned than his prepared speech
indicates. As the U.S. gets ready for war, its standing in Islam --
even
among longtime allies -- stands low.
Yet, the Bush administration has tied itself firmly to Gen. Sharon and
his
policies…
The prime minister says astonishing things to U.S. visitors. He once
rejected hope for negotiations, contending that Arabs and Jews will
kill
each other for a hundred years. More recently, he promised to put a
Jewish
settlement on top of any high ground.
What is widely perceived as an indissoluble Bush-Sharon bond creates
tension throughout Islam -- including Turkey, long a faithful U.S. ally
and
even longer a secularized state…
On balance, war with Iraq may not be inevitable but is highly probable.
That it looks like Sharon's war disturbs Americans such as Chuck Hagel,
who
have no use for Saddam Hussein but worry about the background of an
attack
against him.
-----
MUSLIM DETAINEES PROTEST MASS ARRESTS
Chisun Lee, Village Voice, 12/31/02
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0252/lee.php
In a little-noticed showdown in Brooklyn federal court last Thursday,
the
Justice Department laid out a vigorous defense of its treatment of
Muslim
immigrants since September 11. The feds' central claim: Noncitizens are
not
entitled to the basic rights of liberty and equal treatment that
Americans
count on. The argument came in the only legal action so far to take on
the
post--September 11 detentions of Muslim immigrants as a group. The
class
action lawsuit, filed by the New York--based Center for Constitutional
Rights, claims that potentially hundreds of jailings add up to one case
of
unconstitutional government policy.
The complaint seeks monetary damages for detainees who say they
experienced
abusive treatment and prolonged imprisonment for noncriminal
violations.
Last week the federal government urged U.S. district court judge John
Gleeson to dismiss the suit. But to do so would mean ignoring claims of
mistreatment that Gleeson called "truly egregious." Along with charging
that detainees have been subjected to physical abuse, coerced to waive
their rights, and denied access to lawyers, the complaint alleges a
host of
petty torments, such as the withholding of soap and toilet paper for
weeks
on end and routine interruption of daily prayer. Some noncriminal
detainees
have been held in such conditions six months or longer after agreeing
to be
deported, CCR lawyers charge.
The battle over the lawsuit's survival seemed especially critical as
hundreds of Middle Eastern immigrants on the opposite coast were at
that
moment languishing in jail after showing up to comply with a mandatory
INS
registration program. In November U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft
had
set a schedule for males age 16 and older, with immigrant visas from 21
mostly Muslim countries and North Korea, to be fingerprinted,
photographed,
and interviewed or else face criminal charges or deportation. When
hundreds
reported to INS offices in Southern California to meet a December 16
deadline, they were handcuffed, whisked into custody, and in some cases
shipped to distant prisons for lack of local space.
The nationality-based registration program, originating in the USA
Patriot
Act, could be "a pretext for the mass detention of hundreds," the
American
Civil Liberties Union had warned earlier. By late last week, the
arrests
were evoking comparisons to the World War II--era internment of 120,000
ethnic Japanese on the West Coast…
SEE ALSO:
U.S. LAWYERS CHALLENGE IMMIGRATION SUIT
Associated Press, 12/26/02
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The government argued Thursday that a federal
district
court has no jurisdiction in a lawsuit seeking to halt immigration
rules
that allow the detention of Middle Eastern men.
The suit was filed Tuesday in Los Angeles by groups representing
Muslims,
Arab-Americans, Iranian-Americans and Pakistani-Americans, seeking to
block
future detentions under rules adopted in the aftermath of the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks. The suit also seeks class-action status.
At least 400 men were detained in Southern California for visa
violations
when immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sudan and Syria went to
Immigration and Naturalization Service offices last week to register as
required under the new policy.
In their response Thursday, Justice Department lawyers said the lawsuit
should be thrown out because the court lacks jurisdiction to review INS
decisions regarding detentions. That power is reserved for the U.S.
Supreme
Court, the lawyers said.
---
MUSLIM CHARITY MAN APPEALS DEPORTATION
JOHN PORRETTO, Associated Press, 12/27/02
DETROIT (AP) - The detained co-founder of an Islamic charity has
appealed
an order sending him and his family back to Lebanon, postponing their
deportation for at least a couple of months, his lawyer says.
Ashraf Nubani, attorney for Rabih Haddad, said Thursday he has filed a
notice of appeal with the federal Board of Immigration Appeals, part of
the
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Nubani said he hopes to argue Haddad's case before the board in the
next
couple of months. A spokesman for the Department of Justice confirmed
the
appeal but had no further comment.
Haddad, an Ann Arbor resident and Lebanese citizen, was arrested Dec.
14,
2001, the same day the suburban Chicago offices of the Global Relief
Foundation were raided. Haddad is co-founder of the charity, which
federal
authorities accuse of funneling money to al-Qaida.
In November, an immigration judge denied political asylum to Haddad,
his
wife and three of their children and ordered them removed from the
United
States. All are accused of overstaying their visas; only Haddad is
jailed…
Neither Haddad nor Global Relief has been charged with a terror-related
crime, and they've denied any links. Haddad has said the group is
strictly
a humanitarian organization...
---
JAILED IN U.S. SNAFU, MAN DISILLUSIONED
COLIN FREEZE, Globe and Mail, 12/26/02
http://www.globeandmail.com
Search using the term "snafu."
Faramarz Farahani walked into a California immigration office thinking
he
was about to do his civic duty. He ended up being handcuffed, then
flown to
a crowded jail at the other end of the state, where he tried to sleep
on a
concrete floor in a five-day ordeal that left him bewildered.
"What is the American dream? I don't know any more," Mr. Farahani said
in a
telephone interview a few hours after being released. "I couldn't have
imagined that in the United States anybody would be treated like this…"
Mr. Farahani was allowed one phone call to his family. Then he was
handcuffed, tossed into the back of a van, loaded onto a plane under
the
eye of a shotgun-toting guard and taken to a detention centre in San
Diego,
700 kilometres away. He slept in a crowded room on a concrete floor
where
guards woke the men up at 15-minute intervals, shouting questions.
He fought back tears as he wondered how he would explain the shame of
his
arrest to his two young sons. "Every time I talk to them I tell them
about
bad guys and good guys," Mr. Farahani said. "The bad guys are in jail.
How
do I tell them their father was in jail?"…
-----
CLASH WITH FOSTER FAMILY BLAMED FOR SPLITTING SIBLING REFUGEES
Associated Press, 12/26/02
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news-5/1040919379248830.xml
BELDING, Mich. (AP) - A teenage Afghan refugee says her foster parents
prohibited her from practicing her Islamic religion in their home and
unjustly forced her to leave, taking her away from her brother and two
sisters who still live there.
But her foster mother said she and her husband have provided a loving
home
for the children, and a Muslim teacher said the couple are committed to
the
children's religious traditions.
Rahima Mohammadullah, who will turn 18 on Tuesday, lives alone in an
apartment in the Grand Rapids suburb of Wyoming. She supports herself
with
a job at a Grand Rapids plastics factory, where she works the night
shift.
She attends English classes in the morning. Her younger siblings -
Diba,
13; Obaid, 9; and Tooba, 7 - remain in the care of foster parents Joe
and
Trisha Rebman, who live near Belding, about 23 miles northeast of Grand
Rapids.
A review hearing on the status of the foster-care arrangements will be
held
Feb. 21 before Kent County Family Court Judge Patrick Hillary.
Mohammadullah told The Grand Rapids Press for a story published
Thursday
that she and her siblings grew up in Afghanistan amid violence that
tore
that country apart during the 1990s. She said her family lived in
Kabul,
the nation's capital, until 1996, then made their way to Pakistan.
She said her mother died in Pakistan in 2000 of a stroke and her father
either disappeared or was killed.
After the four siblings arrived in western Michigan, Grand Rapids-based
Bethany Christian Services placed them with the Rebmans, and
Mohammadullah
was initially "very happy," she said.
But she started arguing with the Rebmans over her role in the family.
She
said at one point, they took away a prayer clock that served as the
daily
Islamic call to prayer. She also said they denied her the right to play
her
native music…
-----
CENTER TO INCLUDE STORY OF ALI'S LIFE
Associated Press, 12/27/02
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A two-floor exhibit at the Muhammad Ali Center
will
tell the story of the Louisville native's life, from childhood to
heavyweight boxing champion to international humanitarian.
"At each stop, you'll be able to learn something about Muhammad and
also
about yourself," said Mike Fox, president of the center, which is
expected
to open in downtown Louisville in late 2004.
The preliminary design of the journey line, titled "Lighting the Way,"
will
have six "portals," each spotlighting an Ali trait chosen by the team
designing the exhibits: giving, confidence, dedication, spiritual
centering, respect for others and conviction…
Near the end of the journey, visitors will learn how Ali has dealt with
Parkinson's disease, along with seeing the torch he used to light the
flame
at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
The Muhammad Ali Center will have about 93,000 square feet on six
levels.
The Ali Center's construction budget is $41 million. About $34 million
has
been raised or pledged.
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
RESOURCES: ISLAM AND HUMAN CLONING
-----
SCIENTIST TIED TO UFO-BASED RELIGIOUS GROUP CLAIMS TO CLONE HUMAN
MALCOLM RITTER, Associated Press, 12/27/02
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - A member of a sect that believes life on Earth was
created by extraterrestrials claimed Friday to have produced the
world's
first human clone, a baby girl.
The 7-pound baby was born Thursday by Caesarean section and will be
home in
three days, said Brigitte Boisselier, a chemist and CEO of a company
that
did the experiment. She wouldn't say where the baby was born; she did
say
the birth was at 11:55 a.m. local time.
Even before her news conference, other scientists expressed doubt that
her
group could clone a human. Boisselier said the baby, dubbed "Eve" by
the
scientists, is a clone of a 31-year-old American woman. The woman
donated
the DNA for the cloning process, had the resulting embryo implanted and
then gestated the baby, Boisselier said. If confirmed, that would make
the
child an exact genetic duplicate of her mother.
Boisselier, who wouldn't reveal any names, said the mother had resorted
to
cloning because her husband was infertile…
---
AMERICAN MUSLIMS OPPOSE HUMAN CLONING
According to a 2001 poll by the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR), 81 percent of 1008 Muslim respondents said they were opposed to
human cloning.
---
ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN CLONING
Dr. Abdulaziz Sachedina, University of Virginia
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~aas/article/article4.htm
http://www.people.virginia.edu/~aas/issues/cloning.htm
It is obvious that in light of the limited knowledge that we have about
who
would be harmed by cloning or whose rights would be violated, Muslim
legal
rulings are bound to reflect a cautious and even prohibitive attitude
to
the cloning beyond treatment of infertility or assessment of genetic or
other abnormalities in the embryo prior to implantation.
---
HUMAN CLONING: AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE
Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi
http://www.crescentlife.com/wellness/human_cloning_islamic_perspective.htm
However, cloning should not be used as an alternate way of human
production, even on a small scale. In my opinion, a full-fledged use of
cloning technology is haram [prohibited] because it may cause three
major
problems:
* It may cause danger to the human personality
* It may cause danger to human dignity and honor
* It may cause danger to human family and society
---
CLONING: ISLAMIC VIEW
IOMS, Recommendations of the 9th Fiqh-Medical Seminar
http://www.crescentlife.com/wellness/cloning_islamic_perspective2.htm
Ordinary human cloning, in which the nucleus of a living somatic cell
from
an individual is placed into the cytoplasm of an egg devoid of its
nucleus,
is not to be permitted. If exceptional cases emerge in the future, they
should be considered to verify compliance with the Shari'ah [Islamic
law].
---
CLONING: FRIEND OR FOE
Ayman Nawash, Islamonline.net
http://www.islamonline.net/iol-english/dowalia/techng-15-10/techng1b.asp
Regarding the question of permissibility, the majority of the council
members after discussion reached the conclusion that cloning is
permissible
in case of plants as well as in case of animals except human beings.
The
extension of cloning to human beings would create extremely complex and
intractable social and moral problems. Therefore cloning of human
beings
cannot be permitted.
---
ARGUMENTS FOR & AGAINST THE MANMADE GENESIS OF LIFE
Active-Islam.com
http://www.shianews.com/hi/articles/education/0000053.php
Some Arguments against Human Cloning
* God is the Creator not humans. We have no right to interfere with
God's
plan.
* Loss of Kinship - as the clone does not really have an identifiable
mother or father.
* Harmful to Society/nature - may have grave consequences if this
ability
was to create superior beings.
* May cause disruption in nature, due to possibilities of
overpopulation
and famine.
* Unnatural - a way of reproduction that is contrary to what God has
given
humans.
Arguments for Cloning
* Cloning is a form of creation that is created from materials we have,
rather than from nothing - which is Gods ability only.
* Islam encourages research and investigation.
* Cloning Technology can be used for good purposes - new cures for
diseases
and conditions.
---
LEGAL COMMITTEE IS TOLD OF EFFORTS TO REACH CONSENSUS IN FORMULATING
CONVENTION AGAINST HUMAN CLONING
M2 PRESSWIRE, 10/28/02
ELFATIH ERWA (Sudan), speaking for the Organization of the Islamic
Conference, said the inconclusive nature of scientific research into
cloning techniques raised serious concerns whether those techniques
could
be carried out successfully on a human being. Opposition to human
cloning
also stemmed from the underlying fears that the technique could fall
into
the hands of some unscrupulous elements who could abuse it for their
nefarious purposes.
The group of Islamic States felt that the Ad Hoc Committee should be
requested to proceed, as a matter of urgency, with the preparation of a
draft text on the subject. It believed that with the completion of the
draft, negotiations should continue to address the issues relating to
therapeutic cloning. The group strongly encouraged other cloning
techniques
to produce DNA molecules, organs, plant tissues and cells other than
human
embryos. It believed that such techniques should be permitted.
---
MALAYSIA'S ISLAMIC DECISION-MAKING BODY BANS HUMAN CLONING
JASBANT SINGH, Associated Press, 3/13/02
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Malaysia's highest religious decision-making
body
has banned human cloning, saying the procedure is "unnatural and
totally
against Islam."
Ismail Ibrahim, head of the Muslim clerical council with powers to
issue a
decree, or fatwa, said that the council held several discussions with
local
Islamic scholars before arriving at a unanimous decision. "Human
cloning
has generated a lot of interest around the world," Ismail told The
Associated Press on Tuesday. "We do not have problems with cloning of
animals or even food, but human beings are a completely different
issue…"
Islam forbids human cloning since it goes against the laws of natural
reproduction, Ismail said.
Verses in the Koran, Islam's holy book, "say that the creation of human
beings is brought through the reproductive seeds of a husband and
wife,"
Ismail said. "Any procedure that does not meet this criteria is
unnatural
and totally against Islam…"
---
TUNISIA CALLS FOR ARAB TREATY TO BAN HUMAN CLONING
Agence France Presse, 3/3/99
CAIRO - Tunisia called Wednesday for a treaty banning human cloning in
Arab
countries, the Arab League said. Tunisia's Health Minister el-Hadi
Mehanna
made the proposal during a meeting here of Arab League health
ministers,
who agreed to form a committee to draft such a treaty.
Leading clerics in Arab countries have denounced cloning as contrary to
Islam…
---
ARAB DOCTOR URGES MOSLEM COUNTRIES TO BAN HUMAN CLONING EXPERIMENTS
Agence France Presse, 1/10/98
DUBAI, - A medical professor from the United Arab Emirates has called
on
Moslem governments not to allow Western researchers to carry out human
cloning experiments banned in their own countries, newspapers reported
here
Saturday.
Governments "should ban any research organization or scientist, local
or
foreign, who seeks to use Islamic countries as an arena for carrying
out
illegal experiments on human cloning," said Maamun al-Shaqfa, professor
of
medicine at the medical faculty here. Shaqfa was speaking at a seminar
in
the UAE emirate of Sharjah organized in response to Chicago-based
scientist
Richard Seed's announcement Wednesday that he intended to pursue human
cloning in the United States or anywhere else in the world he was
allowed to.
"Islam is not opposed to scientific research, but authorization of any
experiment is not recommended unless the sharia (Islamic law)
pronounces on
its legality or illegality," Shaqfa said.
"Human cloning is inadmissible because it destroys the basic social
concepts of the family, married life and parenthood," said Mohammed
al-Morsi Zahra, doyen of the faculty of theology and law at the UAE
university…
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12/29/2002
HEADLINES:
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* WASH. POST CRITICIZES INS ARRESTS
- 100s of Muslims Detained in So. California (CKUT)
* RELIGIOUS LEADERS DENOUNCE HUMAN CLONING (AP)
* NO EXCUSES: APOLOGY FROM GOP OVERDUE (News & Record)
- GOP Apologizes After Muslim Group Complains (Journal)
- Party's Web Site Apologizes for Anti-Islam Link (NY Times)
* ISLAM ADDS VARIETY TO AREA (Atlanta Journal)
- Muslim Athlete Gets His Own Message (Washington Post)
- Interfaith Activist a Man with a Mission (Bradenton Herald)
* AN APOLOGY IS NOT IN ORDER (Tallahassee Democrat)
* COURT BACKS MUSLIM INMATES (Los Angeles Times)
* JOHNSON OK'S DOCUMENT OPPOSING MUSLIM CAMP (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
* NON-U.S. STUDENTS JAILED OVER CLASS LOAD (CNN)
* PROFESSORS SLAM DANIEL PIPES OVER FREEDOM OF SPEECH (LA Times)
* JESUS A REVERED FIGURE IN MUSLIM RELIGION, TOO (Pioneer Press)
* ISRAELI SOLDIERS KILL PALESTINIAN CHILD (AP)
- Americans to Man Israeli Defences (Guardian)
* BUSH PREPARES FINAL BUILD-UP FOR INVASION (Independent)
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
WASH. POST CRITICIZES INS ARRESTS
The Wrong Way
Washington Post, 12/29/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46171-2002Dec27.html
Yet a basic sympathy with the INS's "special registration" project does
not
redeem the counterproductive manner in which the INS handled the first
wave
of registrations. The initial deadline for registration -- for those
from
Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Sudan -- was Dec. 16. Hundreds of people
who
showed up to comply, many of them in Southern California, were
handcuffed
and detained on minor immigration charges. Some of these people seem to
have had merely technical problems and had already submitted paperwork
to
fix them. Somehow, a program intended to keep track of who was in the
United States turned into another dragnet for trivial immigration
matters
unrelated to terrorism.
The bait and switch, which punishes and humiliates those who tried to
follow the rules, can only undermine the purpose of the registration
program. It's hard to imagine that this action will not discourage
those
with technical visa problems from showing up on Jan. 10, the
registration
deadline for people from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea,
Lebanon,
Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, the United Arab
Emirates and Yemen. If the government plays "gotcha" with the
immigration
laws, it might score a few deportations, but it risks guaranteeing that
the
database it is assembling remains woefully incomplete. That's a bad
trade.
It also promises to further alienate the very communities whose aid in
the
domestic war on terrorism is most essential…Legitimate law enforcement
activity creates more than enough friction with Muslim communities,
which
understandably feel vulnerable in America after 9/11. Law enforcement
simply can't afford to exacerbate this problem gratuitously.
SEE ALSO:
100S OF MUSLIMS DETAINED IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
CKUT (Canada) Community News, 12/27/02
http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=6096
Summary: After being lead to comply with new rules forcing Arab and
Muslim
men over 16 to "voluntarily register" with the authorities - many spent
several days in crowded jails.
Featuring: Sarah Eltantawai (Muslim Public Affairs Council) and Sabiha
Khan
(spokesperson with the Council on American-Islamic Relations)
-----
RELIGIOUS LEADERS DENOUNCE HUMAN CLONING
Nicole Winfield, ASSOCIATED PRESS, 12/29/02
http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20021229-73756882.htm
VATICAN CITY - The Vatican joined leading Muslim clerics and Jewish
rabbis
yesterday in denouncing as immoral, "brutal" and unnatural the claim
that a
cloned baby had been born.
The reaction came a day after a cloning company whose leader believes
space
aliens created life on Earth announced that a baby girl, nicknamed Eve
by
doctors, had been born and was a clone of her mother…
In the Muslim world, clerics said cloning humans disrupted natural law
and
would create a "chaotic" future for humanity.
"Science must be regulated by firm laws to preserve humanity and its
dignity," said Ali Abu el-Hassan, a cleric from Egypt's al-Azhar
University, the top religious institution in the Muslim Sunni world.
Separately, a senior Saudi cleric, Ayed bin Ahmad al-Qurani, drew a
distinction between human cloning and cloning of plants or animals,
which
he said could serve humanity.
Human cloning is wrong "because it will cause an imbalance in the human
nature God has created" and it would lead to the spread of unknown
diseases, he said. In addition, it could replace marriage for the sake
of
reproduction through one gender without the need for the other, which
is
"sinful, sinful, sinful," he said…
-----
NO EXCUSES: APOLOGY FROM GOP OVERDUE
Greensboro News & Record, 12/28/02
http://www.news-record.com
The Guilford County Republican Party was right to remove from its Web
page
a link to a Web site condemning Islam as a religion of hate, terror and
war. And GOP county party chairman Marcus Kindley acted correctly in
apologizing to law-abiding Muslims who have complained about the
hate-mongering islamexposed.com link since its inception prior to the
November elections.
Both actions were long overdue…
An initial explanation that the site educates the public on extreme
forms
of Islam rang hollow. Apparently the idea was to shed light on
Wahhabism,
the extreme form of Islam practiced by Osama bin Laden and the 9/11
terrorists, but the site never mentions that sect. Instead, essays
abound
from controversial author Solomon Tulbure, infamous for calling the
Republican president a "moron" for saying Islam is a religion of peace.
Facts defer to faulty logic as biased broadsides are leveled against
the
world's 1.2 billion Muslims.
Nor was it convincing to say the listing was strictly for informational
purposes - in the interest of starting meaningful dialogue. If that was
the
goal, a counterbalance mainstream source such as the Council on
American-Islamic Relations should have been equally accessible. Of the
dozens of Internet offerings on Islam, the Guilford GOP chose perhaps
the
most virulent…
Tolerating inflammatory misinformation never is acceptable,
particularly as
the Republican Party exercises damage control for political fallout
from
former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott's racially insensitive
remarks. It
will not be easy for the party to repair a tarnished image. Religious
insensitivity certainly won't help…
SEE ALSO:
REPUBLICAN PARTY APOLOGIZES AFTER ISLAMIC CIVIL-RIGHTS GROUP COMPLAINS
Michelle Johnson JOURNAL REPORTER, Winston-Salem Journal, 12/28/02
http://www.journalnow.com/
The Guilford County Republican Party has removed from its Web site a
link
to an anti-Islamic Web site, a day after a national Islamic
civil-rights
group asked it to do so.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations alerted its members and the
media
to the link Thursday.
"It's obviously a good sign that they took it down, but it doesn't have
the
ring of sincerity to it," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the
Council
on American-Islamic Relations…
The Web site refers to Islam as "one of the greatest evils on our
planet
... nothing more than a barbaric occult (sic) invented by savages for
savages." Kindley said that the link came from WorldDailyNet.com, a
conservative news site.
But Hooper criticized the Republicans' handling of the incident,
calling it
"ham-handed." The link unfortunately reinforces a strain of
anti-Islamic
sentiment among some conservatives, he said.
"We're getting the impression that it's almost open season on Islam,"
he
said. "Franklin Graham ... broke the ice, and others followed.
Unfortunately, now that the ice is broken, people feel that they can
attack
Islam with impunity. Where once they just attacked Islamic radicals,
now
they attack the faith, as we suspected they always wanted to."
---
REPUBLICAN PARTY'S WEB SITE APOLOGIZES FOR ANTI-ISLAM LINK
New York Times, 12/28/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/28/politics/28REPU.html
WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 -- The Web site of a North Carolina county
Republican
organization today removed a link to another site with anti-Islamic
statements after receiving criticism from a Muslim group…
On Thursday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations urged its
members
and other Muslims to ask the Guilford County Republicans to remove the
link. Today, the county organization, based in Greensboro, N.C.,
complied
and posted an apology.
The Islamic-American council, which estimates that there are seven
million
Muslims in the United States, said removing the link was a step in the
right direction, but a spokesman, Ibrahim Hooper, said he did not
"sense a
great deal of contrition."
Omar Ahmad, the chairman of the council, said, "It is unconscionable
that a
political party claiming to represent all Americans would associate
itself
with a site that expresses open hatred for the faith of millions of
fellow
citizens."
-----
ISLAM ADDS VARIETY TO AREA SOUTHSIDE MORE THAN OLD SOUTH
Atlanta Journal - Constitution, 12/29/02
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/metro/fayette/1202/29islam.html
When Soumaya Khalifa and her husband, Mohamed, moved to Peachtree City
15
years ago, they joined a small group of Muslims on Atlanta's Southside.
Today, the Khalifas are part of an emerging Islamic community that has
gradually helped diversify metro Atlanta's Southside --- Fayette,
Coweta,
Clayton, Spalding and Henry counties…
Growth of the Muslim population in the United States is hard to gauge
since
few statistics exist before 2000. But the Religious Bodies study found
at
least 3,826 Muslims living in the five Southside counties out of the
32,469
active in mosques in metro Atlanta.
"I think that's very low," Soumaya Khalifa said. "Mosques don't keep
track
of who attends and who doesn't. Anybody can walk into a facility and
pray…"
Muslims are now like others who followed metro Atlanta's mushrooming
growth
into the southern suburbs.
The Muslim Community Center in Fayetteville has become the focal point
of
Southside activity for Muslims who don't want to drive into Atlanta to
attend a mosque.
"Muslims are practical people," said Imam Plemon El-Amin of the Atlanta
Masjid of Al-Islam. "And the Muslim community is not dependent on
corporate
America. There is economic independence. The Southside is where you're
going to find both those values."
There has been some Southside resistance.
The Rev. Bob Hudak's church --- the Episcopal Church of the Nativity in
Fayetteville --- hosted a joint service with area Muslims to mark the
anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but some of his members
refused to attend.
Several months ago, Fayetteville was abuzz after a local newspaper
published a letter to the editor that was critical of Muslims.
"The whole notion of living in a multicultural, diverse world is still
a
pretty new phenomenon for some people," Hudak said.
Soumaya Khalifa said most Muslims are treated well, but people are
often
intrigued and confused about the Islamic culture.
That's why Khalifa's speakers bureau provides Muslims who go into the
community and talk to people of different faiths…
SEE ALSO:
SPORTS: VA. TECH'S BAAQEE GETS HIS OWN MESSAGE
Angela Watts, Washington Post, 12/29/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48724-2002Dec28.html
The first message Mikal Baaqee posted for himself was a simple one: Be
calm. In the six years since he scribbled that initial note and
strategically placed it near his bathroom mirror to serve as a daily
reminder, the sentiments have evolved -- and even changed locations --
but
they have never gone away.
That's because the doubters never have, either, despite Baaqee's
emergence
this season as the most consistent player on No. 21 Virginia Tech's
nationally ranked defense that will battle Air Force and its
triple-option
threat on Dec. 31 in the inaugural San Francisco Bowl…
He also would pen longer-range goals for himself, which centered not
only
on football but also academics and his study of the Muslim faith. His
senior year at DeMatha he set a 4.0 grade point average as one of his
goals, and achieved it in his final semester…
Virginia Tech's own media guide had Baaqee's name improperly identified
in
its pronunciation guide. Throughout the season it ran as "meh-CALL
bah-KEY"
as opposed to the correct "meh-KELL" for his first name.
Mikal is the spelling used for Michael in the Koran, the Muslim holy
text,
for which he is named…
---
INTERFAITH ACTIVIST A MAN ON A MISSION
NARA SCHOENBERG, Bradenton Herald, 12/28/02
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/4827078.htm
He met with the Dalai Lama. He received advice from the world-renowned
spiritual leader.
And, oh, yeah, along the way he shot some hoops.
On a mist-covered basketball court in the foothills of the Himalayas,
Chicago interfaith activist Eboo Patel faced off against the bodyguards
of
the Dalai Lama, again and again, during his two-week stay at the exiled
Tibetan leader's guesthouse in Dharamsala, India…
So it goes in the strange world of Eboo Patel, a 27-year-old Rhodes
scholar
with a pierced tongue, a devout Muslim with a vision of interfaith
cooperation so bold that it recently landed him on a list of 30 "Young
Visionaries" under age 30 compiled by Utne Reader magazine, a digest of
alternative media.
Patel wants to bring together young people of different religions to
work
on social service projects and engage in meaningful dialogue about
their
beliefs. In the short term, he wants cooperation and good works. In the
long run, he wants religiously inspired activists from a wide range of
traditions to come together to solve problems such as failing schools
and
homelessness.
"My experience is an experience of pluralism," said Patel, who grew up
in
Glen Ellyn, Ill.
"My sources are diverse, right? Now, my main source is Islam, but I've
been
deeply influenced by Gandhi. I've been deeply influenced by (Martin
Luther)
King (Jr.). I've been deeply influenced by (Catholic activist) Dorothy
Day.
So why not try to bring all of that to the table?"…
-----
WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, AN APOLOGY IS NOT IN ORDER
Doug Marlette, Tallahassee Democrat, 12/29/02
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/opinion/4818952.htm
Last week, I drew a cartoon showing a man in Middle Eastern garb
driving a
Ryder truck hauling a nuke with the caption, "What Would Mohammed
Drive?"
The drawing was a takeoff on the recent controversy among Christian
evangelicals over the morality of driving gas-guzzling SUVs, "What
would
Jesus drive?..."
My cartoon has prompted a firestorm of reaction orchestrated by a
lobbying
group called CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations). This is not
the
first time my cartoons have prompted such organized attacks…
CAIR reprinted my cartoon in its newsletter and encouraged its
subscribers
to e-mail and call me, my newspaper and my syndicate to complain.
During
the past few days, we have received more than 5,500 emails and
counting,
all saying more or less the same thing about me and my drawing:
Blasphemy.
Ignorant. Bigoted. Disrespectful to our Prophet Mohammed. Hateful.
"Donkey"?...
SEE ALSO:
Mary Ann Lindley, EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR, Tallahassee Democrat, 12/29/02
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/columnists/mary_ann_lindley/4819049.htm
We end the year defending our Democrat cartoonist, Doug Marlette, for
lampooning fanatics who've hijacked and disgraced the Islamic religion.
How
easily some Muslims assume the all-American role of "victim," though.
At
least 90 percent of the nearly 5,000 Muslims worldwide who have
e-mailed me
in the past few days were personally insulted yet not willing to
personally
condemn the Taliban, Osama bin Laden or militant Islam and their reign
of
terrorism.
SEND POLITE COMMENTS TO:
Mary Ann Lindley
Editorial Page Editor
Tallahassee Democrat
277 N. Magnolia Drive
Tallahassee, FL 32301
TEL: (850) 599-2100
E-MAIL: mlindley@taldem.com, jwmiller@taldem.com,
inquiry@dougmarlette.com,
ddwilliams@tribune.com, wmahoney@tribune.com, mpope@taldem.com,
mlindley@taldem.com, tdedit@taldem.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
-----
COURT BACKS MUSLIM INMATES
Appellate panel says they can't be disciplined for attending prayer
service
and that beards grown for religious reasons can't be banned.
Henry Weinstein, Los Angeles Times, 12/28/02
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-moslem28dec28.story
California prison officials cannot discipline Muslim inmates for
attending
a Friday afternoon prayer service, a federal appeals court ruled Friday
in
a decision that also touches on the power of cities to restrict the
location of places of worship.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals also let stand a lower court
decision
that allows inmates to grow beards for religious reasons.
The 3-0 ruling was the first by a federal appeals court on the
constitutionality of a 2-year-old federal law that gives religious
groups
greater flexibility in dealing with zoning ordinances and also requires
prison officials to make reasonable accommodations to inmates'
religious
practices.
Friday's ruling benefits a group of Muslim inmates at the California
State
Prison, Solano, in Vacaville who filed a class-action lawsuit six years
ago, contending that prison officials were illegally burdening their
religious practices. The inmates challenged regulations that imposed
discipline on them for leaving prison jobs for the Friday noontime
Jumu'ah
religious service and that took away good-work credits for the entire
day
if an inmate attended the hourlong service.
Constitutional law professor Erwin Chemerinsky of the USC Law School
said
the ruling upholding the constitutionality of the law was significant,
with
ramifications outside of prisons.
For instance, he said, religious groups would now have a stronger
argument
if they were trying to erect a church or synagogue in an area zoned for
homes only, because a court might rule that the zoning law represented
an
unwarranted "substantial burden" on the free exercise of religion…
-----
JOHNSON OK'S DOCUMENT OPPOSING MUSLIM CAMP
Frank Gluck, Cedar Rapids Gazette, 12/27/02
http://www.crgazette.com/go_article/0,1336,48299%2D11,00.html?cks=0
IOWA CITY -- Johnson County officials Thursday formally greed to the
final
wording of an 11-page report challenging the merits of a proposed
Muslim
youth camp near North Liberty. The Board of Supervisors voted
unanimously
to send the document to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is
gathering public comment on the project. In its report, the county
argues
the project would overwhelm roads and put an unrealistic strain on
existing
public services…
Muslim Youth Camps of America is proposing a 106-acre camp north of
North
Liberty. The $2 million project would have the capacity for 136 campers
and
include 10 cabins, a conference center, a caretaker's residence and
paved
parking for 66 vehicles, a 36-foot prayer tower, a beach and boat
docks.
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers environmental assessment released Nov.
19
supports the youth camp and concludes it would have no negative
environmental impact on the area.
Some criticism has been fierce, and some say a few complaints have had
racist elements. "I have had some letters coming to me that have had
some
racial overtones," Neuzil said…
-----
NON-U.S. STUDENTS JAILED OVER CLASS LOAD
CNN.com, 12/27/02
http://www.cnn.com/2002/EDUCATION/12/27/foreign.students.ap/index.html
DENVER, Colorado (AP) -- At least six Middle Eastern students studying
in
Colorado have been jailed in the past 10 days for failing to take
enough
college classes as required by their student visas.
The students ran into trouble when they showed up to register with U.S.
immigration officials, as required by new rules to track foreign
students.
When they reported, they were jailed and required to post $5,000 bonds
for
enrolling in less than 12 hours of college credit.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service says the students are being
detained because under-enrollment is a violation of their student
visas.
The students are not suspected of any other offense.
"We're concerned about the heavy-handed nature of the enforcement and
their
lack of understanding of their own regulations," said Chris Johnson,
director of international education at the University of Colorado at
Denver. "Students are being detained unfairly and callously."
One University of Colorado at Denver student was jailed last week
because
he was one hour shy of a full load after receiving college permission
to
drop a course, Johnson said.
"I don't believe this is helping us with the war on terrorism," said
Mark
Hallett, director of international student services at Colorado State
University. "We're alienating people who could be our best friends and
ambassadors once they return to their countries…"
-----
PROFESSORS SLAM DANIEL PIPES OVER FREEDOM OF SPEECH
A FIGHT FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH DISSENT DOESN'T MEAN A LACK OF PATRIOTISM
Eric Foner and Glenda Gilmore, Los Angeles Times, 12/27/02
Eric Foner is a professor of history at Columbia University. Glenda
Gilmore
is a professor of history at Yale University.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-foner27dec27.story
We are two of the professors to whom Daniel Pipes refers when he asks:
"Why
do American academics so often despise their own country while finding
excuses for repressive and dangerous regimes?"
Pipes, a self-appointed arbiter of acceptable speech and founder of
Campus
Watch, recently included us in a list of six "Professors Who Hate
America"
in a New York publication. Using us as examples of professors who
relentlessly oppose their own government, he called for "outsiders"
(alumni, state legislators, parents of students and others) to "take
steps
to ... establish standards for media statements by faculty."
If Pipes were simply displaying a profound misunderstanding of academic
freedom, there would be no cause for alarm. But his screed is
symptomatic
of a broader trend among conservative commentators, who since Sept. 11
have
increasingly equated criticism of the Bush administration with lack of
patriotism…
Pipes' call for "outsiders" to police the statements of faculty
conjures up
memories of World War I and the McCarthy era, when critics of the
government were jailed and institutions of higher learning dismissed
antiwar or "subversive" professors. Historians today consider such
episodes
shameful anomalies in the history of civil liberties in the United
States.
In equating opposition to government policies with hatred of our
country,
Pipes displays a deep hostility to the essence of a democratic polity:
the
right to dissent...
-----
JESUS A REVERED FIGURE IN MUSLIM RELIGION, TOO
FEDWA WAZWAZ, Pioneer Press, 12/29/02
http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/opinion/4825224.htm
Jesus of Nazareth, a revered religious figure who is the bedrock of
Christianity, is also a venerated figure of Islam, a faith of over 1.2
billion Muslims.
The Prophet Muhammad said: "Both in this world and in the Hereafter, I
am
the nearest of all the people to Jesus, the son of Mary. The prophets
are
paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is
one."
Like Christians, Muslims believe in the virgin birth of Jesus and his
miracles. Jesus' life and mission is mentioned in eleven chapters of
the
Quran. A few of the chapters are titled: Maryam (Mary the mother of
Jesus);
Imran (noble family of Jesus), and Ma'ida (the Last Supper). Jesus is
glorified in the Quran and he is referred to as the "Messiah," "a Word
of
God," and "a Sign of God…"
The Quran calls Mary "the most honored woman among all nations."
When Mary matured, Archangel Gabriel came to her and said: "'O Mary!
God
giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him. His name will be Christ
Jesus,
the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter, and of
(the
company of) those nearest to God…'"
Like many prophets, who were empowered by miracles to suit their time
and
circumstances, Jesus was empowered by God to communicate divinity not
only
in words but by many miracles as well. He cured the blind and lepers,
brought the dead back to life and performed other miracles by God's
will...
Although there are differences between the Muslim and Christian view of
Jesus, the Quran repeatedly guides Muslims not to dispute with other
monotheists over matters of doctrine. People believe differently as a
part
of God's will.
-----
ISRAELI SOLDIERS KILL PALESTINIAN CHILD
Associated Press, 12/29/02
JERUSALEM, (AP) - Israeli soldiers killed an eight-year-old Palestinian
boy
Sunday in the West Bank town of Tulkarem during a stone-throwing clash,
Palestinian officials said.
The boy, Abdel Karim Salameh, died when Israeli troops fired at a group
of
school students who were hurling stones at the soldiers, Palestinian
security and hospital officials said. An 11-year-old boy was wounded,
they
said.
The army did not immediately comment.
The killing came a day after troops killed a nine-year-old Palestinian
girl
who was standing in front of her house in the Gaza Strip refugee camp
of
Khan Younis…
SEE ALSO:
AMERICANS TO MAN ISRAELI DEFENCES
Chris McGreal, The Guardian, 12/28/02
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,865750,00.html
The United States has sent the first of what is expected to be a
1,000-strong force to Israel to bolster defences against missile
attacks
ahead of a possible war in Iraq.
The deployment of the troops and a number of Patriot missile batteries
follows Ariel Sharon's threat to attack Iraq if his country is hit with
chemical or biological weapons…
Officially, the American troops are in Israel on an exercise called
Jennifer Cobra to integrate the Patriots with a new Israeli missile
system,
the Arrow. The manoeuvres begin next week and last a fortnight.
But once the exercise is over, the US soldiers will remain in Israel
until
the crisis over Iraq is resolved…
The Americans also plan to station a destroyer, USS Aegis, off the
Israeli
coast. Its long-range radar and short-range missiles would provide a
third
line of defence.
-----
BUSH PREPARES FINAL BUILD-UP FOR INVASION
Rupert Cornwell, Independent, 12/29/02
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=364951
The US has set in motion the final build-up of men and equipment for an
invasion of Iraq which now looks all but certain to happen some time in
February - whatever the UN inspectors inside the country unearth or
fail to
unearth.
Although Iraq sought to demonstrate its co-operation with the
inspectors
yesterday by handing over a list of 500 scientists, Donald Rumsfeld,
the
Secretary for Defense, has signed a 20-page Pentagon deployment order.
This
weekend the navy issued "prepare to deploy" instructions to two
aircraft
carrier groups, two amphibious assault groups and the 1,000-bed
hospital
ship USS Comfort, for them to be ready to go to the Gulf at 96 hours'
notice.
No specific date has been disclosed. But events in the region, on the
ground in Iraq and at US military bases around the world are unfolding
as
if choreographed - all pointing to a US-led attack to topple Saddam
Hussein
some six to eight weeks from now…
-----
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Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
-----
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1) Enter your e-mail address. 2) Click on "Subscribe." 3) Hit "Submit."
-----
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12/30/2002
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: REPENTANCE
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* CAIR CONDEMNS ATTACK ON U.S. MEDICAL PERSONNEL IN YEMEN
* RE-OPENING OF OHIO MOSQUE MARKED WITH OPEN HOUSE
- Christians, Jews and Muslims Celebrate Shared Roots (DMN)
* QUOTE OF THE DAY: IRAQ WAR FOR ISRAEL?
* U.S. HAD KEY ROLE IN IRAQ BUILDUP (Washington Post)
* DOONESBURY COMIC STRIP LOOKS AT DETENTIONS
- Americans Flee to Canada (Calgary Herald)
* ISRAEL TROOPS ACCUSED OF SHAVING PALESTINIANS' HAIR (Reuters)
- Palestinian Towns Wobbling on Last Legs (LA Times)
* BRITON TELLS OF ORDEAL IN BUSH'S TORTURE JAIL (Observer)
* A RELIGION OF PEACE? (Antiwar.com)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: REPENTANCE
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "God is more delighted
at
the repentance of His servant than a person (who finds a lost
possession)."
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1276
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Everyone who dies will
repent." He was then asked the nature of that repentance, and replied:
"If
someone did what was good, he will repent for not having done more, and
if
someone did evil, he will repent for not having restrained himself."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1457
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
CAIR CONDEMNS ATTACK ON U.S. MEDICAL PERSONNEL IN YEMEN
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 12/30/2002) - The Council on American-Islamic
Relations
(CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group,
today
condemned a shooting attack on American medical personnel in Yemen that
left three people dead.
In a statement, CAIR said:
"We condemn this heinous attack and all other attacks on innocent
civilians
by any individuals, groups or states. Today's attack is of particular
concern because it apparently targeted those engaged in meeting the
medical
needs of ordinary Yemenis."
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-MAIL -
cair@cair-net.org
-----
RE-OPENING OF OHIO MOSQUE MARKED WITH OPEN HOUSE
(COLUMBUS, OH --12/30/2002) - ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 4, the Islamic
Foundation of Central Ohio (IFCO) and the Columbus Muslim community
will
celebrate the re-opening of the Columbus Islamic Center with an open
house.
The Islamic Center closed last year after being attacked by vandals.
"The re-opening ceremony of the Islamic Center has an important meaning
for
people of all faiths. It sends the message that Muslims are an integral
part of our community and that the attack on their Mosque was an attack
on
everyone in our state," said Ahmad Al-Akhras, president of the Ohio
office
of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio).
"We are very proud of our Center. It has been an icon of the social and
religious fabric of Columbus for many years and it is here to stay,"
said
IFCO president M. Nabih Tarazi. "We are not going to allow the bigoted
acts
of tiny minority to create an atmosphere of apprehension and fear in
the
American Muslim community," added Tarazi.
Last year, vandals caused extensive damage to all three floors of the
center. Copies of the Quran, Islam's revealed text, were shredded,
water
pipes were ripped out of walls and broken in a way that caused maximum
damage to the center.
The attack was not the first against Ohio religious institutions.
Immediately after the September 11th terrorist attacks, the Greater
Cleveland Islamic Center was attacked by a drunk driver who smashed his
car
through a wall, knocked over three pillars, and landed atop a built-in
fountain in the mosque rotunda. The Islamic Center of Greater Toledo
was
targeted by a drive by shooting.
There are an estimated 30,000 Muslims in central Ohio, 130,000 in Ohio
and
seven million in America.
WHEN: Saturday, January 4, 2003, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
WHERE: Islamic Center, 1428 E Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio
PROGRAM: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. - Open House
12:30 p.m. - Zuhr (noon) Prayer
1 p.m. - Re-Opening Ceremony
1:30 p.m. - Tour of the Islamic Center
- END -
CONTACT: Jad Humeidan, 614-451-3232, Ohio@cair-net.org
SEE ALSO:
AREA CHRISTIANS, JEWS AND MUSLIMS CELEBRATE SHARED ROOTS
TANYA EISERER, Dallas Morning News, 12/30/02
http://www.dallasnews.com/localnews/stories/123002dnmetfriendship.c00d4.html
RICHARDSON - Muslims, Jews and Christians gathered at a Richardson
mosque on
Sunday to highlight shared history, rather than differences.
The third annual Interfaith Gathering at the Dallas Central Mosque
brought
together about 400 members of the three Abrahamic religious
traditions...
The program was sponsored by Friendship Among Faiths, an interfaith
group
sponsored by Thanks-Giving Square. The Friendship group formed in 2000
after the success of a New Year's Eve service that honored three
religious
holidays - Christmas, Hanukkah and Eid al-Fitr - that all fell within
the
same week for the first time in many decades…
Imam Yusuf Kavakci, head of the Dallas Central Mosque, added: "We are
all
created in the image of Allah - the same God...We are all people of the
book - people of the Scripture."
-----
QUOTE OF THE DAY: IRAQ WAR FOR ISRAEL?
QUESTIONS THAT BOTHER AND BEWILDER
William Raspberry, Washington Post, 12/30/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52361-2002Dec29.html
And by the way, how much of the commitment to rid the world of Saddam
Hussein is calculated to meet Israel's needs rather than our own?...But
if
we are willing to launch a war at least partly for Israel's sake,
shouldn't
we have a little more clout than we appear to have over such matters as
the
Israeli settlements in the occupied territories?...
-----
U.S. HAD KEY ROLE IN IRAQ BUILDUP
Trade in Chemical Arms Allowed Despite Their Use on Iranians, Kurds
Michael Dobbs, Washington Post, 12/30/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52241-2002Dec29.html
High on the Bush administration's list of justifications for war
against
Iraq are President Saddam Hussein's use of chemical weapons, nuclear
and
biological programs, and his contacts with international terrorists.
What
U.S. officials rarely acknowledge is that these offenses date back to a
period when Hussein was seen in Washington as a valued ally.
Among the people instrumental in tilting U.S. policy toward Baghdad
during
the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war was Donald H. Rumsfeld, now defense
secretary,
whose December 1983 meeting with Hussein as a special presidential
envoy
paved the way for normalization of U.S.-Iraqi relations. Declassified
documents show that Rumsfeld traveled to Baghdad at a time when Iraq
was
using chemical weapons on an "almost daily" basis in defiance of
international conventions.
The story of U.S. involvement with Saddam Hussein in the years before
his
1990 attack on Kuwait -- which included large-scale intelligence
sharing,
supply of cluster bombs through a Chilean front company, and
facilitating
Iraq's acquisition of chemical and biological precursors -- is a
topical
example of the underside of U.S. foreign policy. It is a world in which
deals can be struck with dictators, human rights violations sometimes
overlooked, and accommodations made with arms proliferators, all on the
principle that the "enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Throughout the 1980s, Hussein's Iraq was the sworn enemy of Iran, then
still in the throes of an Islamic revolution. U.S. officials saw
Baghdad as
a bulwark against militant Shiite extremism and the fall of
pro-American
states such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and even Jordan -- a Middle East
version of the "domino theory" in Southeast Asia. That was enough to
turn
Hussein into a strategic partner and for U.S. diplomats in Baghdad to
routinely refer to Iraqi forces as "the good guys," in contrast to the
Iranians, who were depicted as "the bad guys."
A review of thousands of declassified government documents and
interviews
with former policymakers shows that U.S. intelligence and logistical
support played a crucial role in shoring up Iraqi defenses against the
"human wave" attacks by suicidal Iranian troops. The administrations of
Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush authorized the sale to Iraq of
numerous
items that had both military and civilian applications, including
poisonous
chemicals and deadly biological viruses, such as anthrax and bubonic
plague...
-----
DOONESBURY COMIC STRIP LOOKS AT DETENTIONS
http://www.doonesbury.ucomics.com/strip/dailydose/index.htm
---
AMERICANS FLEE TO CANADA
Dene Moore, Calgary Herald, 12/30/02
http://www.canada.com/news/story.asp?id=8A3BFBE8-A235-4979-98E5-7C87AEBF6B16
VANCOUVER - The number of Americans making refugee claims in Canada has
skyrocketed since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to
statistics
from the Immigration and Refugee Board.
The number of Americans seeking refuge in Canada increased by 135 per
cent
before the end of October over the entire previous year. From January
to
the end of October this year, 191 filed refugee claims citing
persecution
in the U.S., compared to 81 in 2001.
In 2000, 85 had sought refugee status, already a huge jump from the 40
that
sought refuge in 1999.
The increase comes as no surprise to immigration lawyer David Matas.
"I expect that what we're seeing is a reflection of the change in due
process in the U.S. as a result of September 11," Matas said from
Winnipeg.
Residents of the United States are subject to more arbitrary policing
than
they were before the terrorist attacks in September 2001, Matas said.
Rights have eroded more in the U.S. than they have here, he said…
-----
ISRAEL TROOPS ACCUSED OF SHAVING PALESTINIANS' HAIR
Reuters, 12/30/02
JERUSALEM, Dec 30 (Reuters) - A prominent Israeli human rights group
accused Israeli troops on Monday of forcibly shaving the heads of two
Palestinians in a West Bank barber's shop and called for an army
investigation.
B'Tselem said four soldiers entered a barber's shop in Hebron early
this
month and found five Palestinian men apparently violating a military
curfew
imposed on the city.
It said the soldiers beat the men, aged 19 to 24, for an hour. The
troops
also used three of the men as human shields, firing over their
shoulders at
Palestinians throwing stones, and sheared the hair off two of them,
B'Tselem said.
"One of the soldiers inside told me to sit on the (barber's) chair and
didn't say why. When I sat down, he picked up an electric razor," a
B'Tselem statement quoted Bassem Maswadeh, 24, as saying.
"When the soldier put the machine in my hair, I grabbed his hand and
asked
him what he was doing. He slapped me and told me in Arabic to shut up.
The
soldier put the machine to my hair forcefully. It hurt. He cut my hair
in
random lines…"
SEE ALSO:
PALESTINIAN TOWNS WOBBLING ON LAST LEGS
Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 12/30/02
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-village30dec30,0,457910.story
DEIR ISTIYA, West Bank -- Fuad Awad rolls his own cigarettes these days
to
save the $3 that his two-pack-a-day habit demanded. With the extra
money,
he buys a little chicken for his children.
The house that Saeed Zeidan was building for his family sits
half-finished,
concrete blocks bare to the wet wind. No job, no money.
Nazmi abu Ali burns tree bark in a tin can to heat the rooms where his
two
toddlers sit most of the day, passing the time.
Across the West Bank, villages and towns like this one are dying a slow
death. More than two years of closures, curfews and the pressure of
Israeli
army tanks have ruined the livelihood, the economy, the agriculture,
the
education and in some cases the health of hundreds of thousands of
Palestinian men, women and children…
Israeli Physicians for Human Rights, after a survey in the West Bank,
concluded that stillbirths were up fivefold in rural Palestinian areas
and
vaccination programs depleted. Palestinians give even bleaker
statistics.
According to the World Bank, nearly three-quarters of Palestinians are
living below the poverty line, defined as $2 a day, unemployment has
soared
to more than half the population and Palestinian industry is on the
verge
of collapse. The Palestinian economy loses $7.6 million a day,
according to
the U.N…
Numerous villages that live on what they grow simply decided not to
plant
this season, he said. Unable to reach a market for their products, and
in
some cases unable to reach the fields themselves, residents decided it
wasn't worth it…
-----
BRITON TELLS OF ORDEAL IN BUSH'S TORTURE JAIL
Paul Harris and Burhan Wazir, Observer, 12/29/02
http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,866235,00.html
The letter contained only hints of what Moazzam Begg's interrogators
may
have done to him. He wrote of hunger and being kept awake by bright
lights.
'I still don't know what will happen with me,' he lamented to his wife
back
home in Birmingham.
Begg, 35, was writing from Bagram military base just outside Kabul. He
is
the only British prisoner inside a cluster of metal shipping containers
at
the heart of the United States army part of the base, which serves as a
'jail' for al-Qaeda suspects.
Now the camp is at the centre of a furious row over US behaviour in the
war
on terror. Evidence is growing that prisoners inside the containers are
being tortured by American soldiers and CIA agents. Begg may have
written
of more damaging details of his own treatment, but many of his previous
letters were never delivered.
It appears the US soldiers at Bagram have much to hide. Human rights
groups
are calling for an inquiry into the methods used by American
interrogators
at Bagram and other bases in Afghanistan.
US officials have admitted that suspects captured in the region are
'softened up' on their way to detention by brutal beatings from US
military
police and special forces soldiers. They are confined to tiny rooms,
blindfolded and thrown into walls. They are tied up in painful
positions,
subjected to loud noises and deprived of sleep by having lights shone
on
them all day and night. Sometimes they are forced to stand for long
periods
in black hoods or wearing goggles which have been spray-painted so as
to
render them blind...
'Pain control is a very subjective thing,' one US official said,
deadpan,
to the Washington Post last week.
Those who do not crack, or perhaps have nothing to tell, are often
handed
over to foreign intelligence services such as those of Morocco or Saudi
Arabia, where less sophisticated and bloodier torture techniques are
regularly employed…
In the case of Begg, who grew up in the Moseley area of Birmingham, the
Americans have been equally silent. Foreign Office officials admit that
after 11 months of asking they have still not been able to see him to
check
on his health. 'We are still pressing the Americans, but as yet we have
not
been allowed access,' said a spokesman.
Begg has not seen a lawyer, a Red Cross official or any member of his
family either since he was arrested in the Pakistani capital of
Islamabad
last February…
-----
A RELIGION OF PEACE?
Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, 12/30/02
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/justincol.html
One good aspect of the holiday season was that veteran Arab-hater James
Taranto, whose column "Best of the Web" runs on the Wall Street
Journal's
website, went on vacation, and the world was spared his unsparing
hatred
for all things Arab for a few blessed days. Not for long, however: he's
back at the same old stand, picking up little items from Memri about
the
innate evil of Muslims and always appending the same hateful headline:
"A
Religion of Peace?" But two can play that game…
The Washington Post reports that there's "tension at [the] Holy Land's
tombs," and the source of it is … well, let them report. You decide:
"In Bethlehem, Rachel's Tomb - which is also venerated by Muslims and
Christians - has been sealed inside a heavily fortified building. The
tomb
is no longer visible from the outside, and Palestinians are not allowed
access. Foreign tourists can visit, but only Jews are allowed to pray."
Imagine if the Post had titled its story "A Religion of Peace?" The
yelps
of outrage would have been deafening. Yet Taranto gets away with
precisely
this kind of hate-mongering five days a week…
As religious fundamentalism rises in Israel, threatening the last
vestiges
of moderation in the government, the U.S. has grown closer to Ariel
Sharon…
So let's cut out the cheap shots at Islam, and Christianity, for that
matter, while leaving the rest of the world's superstitions immune from
criticism. The rise of religious intolerance in Israel, and among that
country's vociferous supporters in the West, isn't the only clue to the
dangers posed by a misguided sensitivity. Hindu-fascism in India is the
latest fundamentalist threat to the peace of the world, as I have
warned in
this column before: does the world really need another nuclear-armed
fanatic who looks to God (or the gods, in the case of the Hindus) as
justification for repression and mass murder?
The emerging Israel-India alliance is all too logical, given the
fundamentalist trajectory of both countries. That the U.S. is funding
and
sponsoring this sinister convergence will reap us the kind of
"blowback" we
have rightly come to dread.
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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
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 12/31/2002
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: RESPECT COVENANTS
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: 4594 SPONSORSHIPS
* CAIR CO-SPONSORS INS REGISTRATION WEB SURVEY
- INS Detains Immigrants Who Comply with Rules *Mercury News)
- EDITORIAL: The Stakes for Liberty (Washington Post)
* COMMENT: OUR SISTER'S KEEPER (Globe and Mail)
* CARTOON DRAWS FIRE FROM MUSLIMS (Herald-Sun)
* SOMALI 'NATIONAL TOUR AGAINST HATE' BEGINS NEXT WEEK (Star Tribune)
* MOSQUE TO APPEAL REJECTION OF MINARET (Atlanta Journal)
* READERS SLAM DANIEL PIPES' STANCE ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM
* WITH MISSIONARIES SPREADING, MUSLIMS' ANGER IS FOLLOWING (NY Times)
- Missionaries Face Dangers (Chicago Tribune)
* HIJACKING INDIA'S HISTORY (New York Times)
* THEY CHOKE ON COKE, BUT SAVOR MECCA-COLA (New York Times)
* U.S. BOMBS HIT PAKISTAN TOWN AFTER BORDER CLASH (Reuters)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: RESPECT COVENANTS
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "There is no faith in he
who
is not trustworthy, and there is no religion in he who does not respect
his
covenant."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 4
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: 4594 SPONSORSHIPS
CAIR's Library Project has received 4594 sponsorships for $150 book and
tape packages on Islam to be placed in libraries across the country.
Take
part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library
package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
CAIR CO-SPONSORS INS REGISTRATION WEB SURVEY
Help Document Your Experience with Special Registration!
http://www.aila.org/specialreg.html
Special Registration Web Questionnaire
In response to the INS "Call-in Special Registration" program for males
from selected countries, we are trying to track people's experiences
with
the registration process. Your input regarding your experience or the
experience of a family member or client is very beneficial in
understanding
how the government is implementing the call- in registration process.
If you have registered, accompanied a family member to register, or
represented a client at registration under the INS "Call-in" Special
Registration please take the time to fill out the form below and share
your
experience with us.
This project is not affiliated with the government and is not a part of
any
INS effort. The sponsoring organizations are independent from the
government and work to ensure the rights of immigrants in the United
States. Your answers for this questionnaire will be used to assess
problems
and potential violations of rights in the registration process. We will
not
share identifying information with anyone without your permission…
Jointly sponsored by the The American Immigration Lawyers Association,
the
American Immigration Law Foundation, the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, The National Immigration Forum, and the American-Arab Anti
Discrimination Committee.
SEE ALSO:
INS DETAINS BAY AREA IMMIGRANTS WHO COMPLY WITH RULES
Matthai Chakko Kuruvila, Jessie Mangaliman, Mercury News, 12/31/02
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/news/breaking_news/4847793.htm
The number of Bay Area immigrants detained after complying with new INS
registration rules primarily designed for those from Muslim or Arab
countries has grown to nearly two dozen.
While the local figures pale compared to the hundreds of those detained
in
Southern California, at least nine of the 22 known Bay Area detainees
remain in jail in Yuba County or San Diego, attorney's representing the
men
say.
The government order to register and fingerprint men and boys from
certain
countries has roiled immigrant communities and infuriated civil rights
advocates, who allege that procedures are tantamount to a roundup of
Muslims and Arabs. Most immigrants were arrested for having expired
visas
or for registering after the Dec. 16 deadline, infractions attorneys
and
relatives say are being too heavily punished…
INS officials declined to comment about their cases or to confirm the
number of Bay Area immigrants who have been detained…
Advocates say the effort undermines the goals of the registration
process,
which was intended as a counterterrorism effort.
"Does the INS expect any others to report after the way they treated
those
who did go?," asked Shawn Matloob, a Berkeley attorney whose office
represents detained men from Saratoga and El Sobrante.
Groups calling for tighter restrictions on immigration believe that the
arrests simply enforce immigration laws that were rarely enforced
before
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Some of the Sept. 11 hijackers, for
example, had expired visas.
In some cases, the registration process ensnared those who have lived
in
this country for decades…
---
EDITORIAL: THE STAKES FOR LIBERTY
Washington Post, 12/31/02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56760-2002Dec30.html
THE PAST YEAR saw a continuing debate over how sweeping the
government's
powers to fight terrorism ought to be. The fight stretched from the
scope
of surveillance authority, to the power to detain citizens and
immigrants,
to the government's ability to keep information secret. And yet the
debate
has taken on a frustrating character. The administration too often acts
as
though there is no useful discussion to be had -- as though it is
merely
seeking isolated technical changes and the anxiety many people feel
reflects weakness in the face of evil…
The broad danger, in our view, is that a kind of alternative legal
system
has come into existence for an ill-defined category of offenses
involving
national security…
With Congress so far unwilling to get involved in defining reasoned
boundaries, the courts have been the only realistic check on the Bush
administration's unilateral assertions of power. This is a
far-too-passive
means of making law in such a fateful area. In the American system, the
national legislature is primarily responsible for determining what the
law
should be. If, through inaction, it effectively cedes that power to the
president, the new rules will reflect the presidency's interests at the
expense of all others. That's a dangerous prospect for civil liberties
and,
in the long run, for effective counterterrorism as well.
-----
COMMENT: OUR SISTER'S KEEPER
SHEEMA KHAN, Globe and Mail, 12/31/02
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20021231/COSHEEMA3/Headlines/headdex/headdexComment_temp/3/3/6/
Sheema Khan is chair of the Council on American-Islamic Relations,
Canada.
'Do you have to wear that thing on your head?"
This was the final question during my job interview for a research
position
at a Canadian university. Apparently, my PhD in chemical physics from
Harvard, research publications and postdoctoral research at MIT weren't
enough to convince my interviewer that I qualified for the job. It came
down to "that thing" on my head, the hijab -- the Islamic headscarf
that
forms part of my faith.
While at Harvard, I had undergone personal changes that reflected
spiritual
evolution, including a renewed commitment to Islam. For me, prayer,
modesty
and gratefulness filled a void. Wearing the hijab as stipulated in the
Koran is an act of worship -- not unlike the headcovering worn by an
Orthodox Jew or observant Sikh.
Trying to control my anger, I replied that the way I chose to dress was
irrelevant to my ability to do scientific research. If the interviewer
felt
I could do the job based on my track record, then he should hire me. If
not, then we should stop wasting each other's time. I also knew that,
if I
were turned down, my next step would be to go to the provincial Human
Rights Commission.
Then the interviewer confided that he had no problem but feared that
others
would. How ironic, I thought: Scientists claim to be rational but think
so
illogically about an individual's potential. (I got the job, and my
employer and I developed a good working relationship.)
But many Muslim women, who choose to abide by the hijab, aren't so
lucky in
Canada's most multicultural city. According to a government-funded
study,
"No Hijab Is Permitted Here," visible Muslim women faced clear
discrimination when applying for jobs at fast-food outlets, retail
stores
and factories in Toronto. Some were even told to remove their hijab as
a
prerequisite. The study's authors made 23 recommendations, including
educating Muslim women on their rights, and advising employers that
wearing
the hijab has no impact on a woman's ability to carry out her job…
Finally: Please don't feel sorry for us. Given the post-9/11 climate, a
Muslim woman who chooses to wear her hijab and participate fully in
society
has courage. Despite prevalent negative attitudes, she is secure in the
knowledge that God strengthens those who seek divine help. And isn't a
confident woman an excellent asset for our society?
-----
CARTOON DRAWS FIRE FROM MUSLIMS
Eric Ferreri, Herald-Sun, 12/31/02
http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-304268.html
HILLSBOROUGH -- Doug Marlette, the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial
cartoonist who creates his pointed vignettes from his Hillsborough
home, is
embroiled in controversy over a drawing of an Arab toting a nuclear
bomb.
The cartoon, which ran briefly last week on the Tallahassee (Fla.)
Democrat's Web site, has angered Muslim groups. In the cartoon, a man
who
appears to be Middle Eastern is driving a moving truck with a nuclear
bomb
in the back.
Marlette said its caption -- "What Would Mohammed Drive?" -- is a play
on a
recent Evangelical movement to link transportation issues and morality
that
uses the tag line, "What Would Jesus Drive?"
"I didn't set out to get a response," said Marlette, who joined the
Democrat staff earlier this year. "I still like the cartoon. I thought
it
was effective."
But Muslims have found the cartoon offensive because of the use of the
name
"Mohammed," which Muslims believe is a reference to the prophet of the
same
name.
In an explanation that ran in Sunday's Democrat, Marlette denied
singling
out the prophet…
But Muslim leaders don't buy his explanation.
"His reaction to our concerns is a bit disingenuous," said Ibrahim
Hooper,
a spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Council on American-Islamic
Relations. "The cartoon clearly indicates that the prophet Mohammed is
driving the truck. If he had put Osama bin Laden or an extremist
driving,
he wouldn't have gotten the complaints. But when you attack the prophet
Mohammed directly, Muslims get upset."
"Jesus represents Christianity, and Mohammed represents Islam," Hooper
continued. "It's a direct parallel…"
Marlette said he's received at least 4,000 e-mails, and said the
newspaper
had received about 6,000 as well. CAIR demanded an apology from
Marlette,
the newspaper, and Tribune Media Services, which syndicates Marlette's
cartoons…
While Marlette said readers shouldn't take the word "Mohammed" as a
literal
reference to the Islamic prophet, Muslim leaders believe the response
to
the cartoon indicates otherwise.
"It just shows the level of outrage," Hooper said. "I don't know how it
can
be read another way. If he wanted a different cartoon, he should have
done
a different cartoon…"
-----
SOMALI 'NATIONAL TOUR AGAINST HATE' BEGINS NEXT WEEK
Kavita Kumar, Star Tribune, 12/30/02
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3562134.html
A Somali advocacy group is branching out beyond the Twin Cities with
its
"National Tour Against Hate," aimed at raising awareness about the
struggles of Somali communities in Seattle and Lewiston, Maine.
Omar Jamal, executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center of
St.
Paul, will be leaving Jan. 6 for a journey on which he plans to meet
with
the new governor of Maine to discuss tensions between some white
residents
and Somalis in Lewiston, Maine's second largest city.
"There's been an increase of recent hate -- not only in Lewiston, but
also
what is going on in St. Cloud," where racist messages have been written
on
Somali businesses, Jamal said. "We're going into a new phase because
immigrants are being targeted by hate groups…"
-----
MOSQUE TO APPEAL REJECTION OF MINARET
PHILLIP TAYLOR, Atlanta Journal, 12/31/02
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/metro/cobb/1202/31mosque.html
A Marietta mosque that was denied permission to build a minaret plans
to
hold open houses in an effort to strengthen ties with neighbors before
reapplying.
Masjid Al-Hedaya director Amjad Taufique said Monday that the mosque
would
not sue the Marietta Board of Zoning Appeals over its Dec. 16 rejection
of
an application to build a 70-foot tower at the mosque.
"We are in no rush to make a decision about an appeal at this point,"
said
Taufique, whose mosque now holds services in a house on Powder Springs
Road. "We are trying to find ways of how to get involved with the
community
and let our neighbors know that they can be comfortable with us."
Taufique
said the mosque would reapply for the exemption in six months, as
allowed
under city rules. Members of the mosque will invite area residents to a
series of informational open houses to explain the group's plans and
activities at the mosque, Taufique said...
Taufique on Monday did not blame anti-Muslim sentiment for the panel's
decision, but said he hoped the open houses would allay concerns.
-----
READERS SLAM DANIEL PIPES' STANCE ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM
NO ONE SHOULD BE MUFFLED IN THE HALLS OF ACADEMIA
Los Angeles Times, 12/31/02
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/letters/la-le-magat31dec31,0,5752432.story
Re "From the Halls of Academia," Commentary, Dec. 27:
Daniel Pipes has designated himself to the position of the "thought
police." He wants us all to be on the same page, dancing to the same
music
played by the Bush administration.
Anyone with common sense can sniff out the truth of this relentless war
song. It is quite obvious that the first thing a big lie cannot stand
is
dissent. Why is that? Mr. Pipes, are you afraid of the truth coming
out?
Kit Magat
Gardena
*
Pipes pines for America's campuses to return to the good old days of a
"politically balanced environment, as it was before the 1960s." No
women;
few blacks; quotas on Jews: I nominate Pipes for the Trent Lott Chair
in
Social Philosophy.
Daryl G. Nickens
-----
WITH MISSIONARIES SPREADING, MUSLIMS' ANGER IS FOLLOWING
SUSAN SACHS, New York Times, 12/31/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/31/international/middleeast/31DANG.html
As evangelical Christian emissaries have spread throughout the Muslim
world, their presence has increasingly proved to be a lightning rod for
anti-American sentiment while provoking the anger of native Christian
sects
and Islamic clerics…
Rather than enrage local authorities and risk their own deaths or
expulsions, missionaries aimed for softer targets. American Protestant
missionaries in the 19th century, for example, built universities and
hospitals and tried to convert Coptic Christians in Egypt and Greek
Orthodox Christians in Lebanon.
The Orthodox and Coptic churches, which have lived among Muslims for
centuries, know how to cultivate their own flocks without threatening
the
political territory of Muslim rulers and clerics. The newly arrived
evangelical Christian groups, in the view of these older indigenous
churches, trample the unwritten rules.
In Lebanon, the Roman Catholic diocese and Muslim groups have accused
the
evangelical Christians of trying to convert Muslims. One bishop said
Bonnie
Penner Witherall, the missionary killed by a gunman last month,
combined
preaching about Christianity with the distribution of toys and food to
Muslim children…
The Mission Board's Web site also boasts of a record number of baptisms
--
395,773 so far this year -- as a result of its foreign missionary work.
"There is discussion on strategy changes, to become less institutional
and
to work primarily in church-planting and face-to-face evangelism," said
Jack Graham, a Texas pastor and current president of the Southern
Baptist
Convention. "When you're up close and personal with someone hopefully
they
will believe in you."
In accordance with that strategy, Pastor Graham said, the Baptists have
already decided to turn over their hospital in Yemen to a local Muslim
group and shift resources to mobile clinics that would bring
missionaries
into contact with more Yemenis…
SEE ALSO:
MISSIONARIES FACE DANGERS AS ANTI-AMERICANISM GROWS
Tim Jones, Chicago Tribune, 12/31/02
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0212310174dec31,1,5654366.story
American missionaries have worked overseas since the 19th Century,
often
facing the risks of disease and political upheaval in hostile
environments.
But the murders of three hospital workers in Yemen on Monday
underscored
the more recent threat to Americans in a post-Sept. 11 world, forcing
missionary agencies to move more cautiously, especially in Muslim
nations.
While the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board
vowed
Monday not to "let someone with a gun make us afraid to do what God
wants
us to do," others experienced in missionary work said that
determination is
being countered by the increasingly menacing specter of
anti-Americanism.
"Over the years we have seen the reservoir of goodwill toward Americans
dissipate because of our policies," said Harold Vogelaar, who served
for 26
years as a missionary in the Middle East.
"Whenever I talk to my Arab and Egyptian friends, there is goodwill
toward
Americans, but it is the American policies that they find abominable,"
said
Vogelaar, a professor of world religion and global missions at
Chicago's
Lutheran School of Theology…
-----
HIJACKING INDIA'S HISTORY
KAI FRIESE, New York Times, 12/30/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/30/opinion/30FRIE.html
NEW DELHI - Last month the National Council of Educational Research and
Training, the central government body that sets the national curriculum
and
oversees education for students up to the 12th grade, released the
first of
its new school textbooks for social sciences and history. Teachers and
academics protested loudly. The schoolbooks are notable for their
elision
of many awkward facts, like the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi by a
Hindu
nationalist in 1948.
The authors of the textbook have promised to make revisions to the
chapter
about Gandhi. But what is more remarkable is how they have added
several
novel chapters to Indian history.
Thus we have a new civilization, the "Indus-Saraswati civilization" in
place of the well-known Indus Valley civilization, which is generally
agreed to have appeared around 4600 B.C. and to have lasted for about
2,000
years. (The all-important addition of "Saraswati," an ancient river
central
to Hindu myth, is meant to show that Indus Valley civilization was
actually
part of Vedic civilization.) We have a chapter on "Vedic civilization"
-
the earliest recognizable "Hindu culture" in India and generally
acknowledged not to have appeared before about 1700 B.C. - that appears
without a single date.
The council has also promised to test the "S.Q.," or "Spiritual
Quotient,"
of gifted students in addition to their I.Q. Details of this plan are
not
elaborated upon; the council's National Curriculum Framework for School
Education says only that "a suitable mechanism for locating the
talented
and the gifted will have to be devised…"
The carefully nurtured sense of Hindu grievance has been nursed rather
than
sated by acts of mob violence: the destruction of the 15th-century
mosque
in Ayodhya, for instance, or the persecution of Christians in earlier
pogroms in Gujarat's Dangs district. The B.J.P., along with its
Hindu-supremacist cohorts, the R.S.S. (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and
the
V.H.P. (Vishwa Hindu Parishad), has a seemingly irresistible will to
power.
(The R.S.S. and the V.H.P. are not political parties but "social
service
organizations" that have served as springboards to power for B.J.P.
leaders
like Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat.)…
-----
THEY CHOKE ON COKE, BUT SAVOR MECCA-COLA
JOHN TAGLIABUE, New York Times, 12/31/02
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/31/international/europe/31FRAN.html
PARIS, Dec. 30 - The idea, says Tawfik Mathlouthi, who runs a radio
station
for France's Muslim minority, came to him in the shower: to create a
competing product to Coke that would satisfy the needs of Arab speakers
in
Europe and elsewhere for soft drinks, while providing jobs and economic
growth…
Now, orders for the liter-and-a-half bottles with labels whose bright
red
and sweeping white script evoke those of Coke are pouring in from
around
the world -- from Britain, Belgium and Germany -- together with bids
from
companies wanting to become local distributors…
In recent years, calls for Arab boycotts of American brands -- from
Coke to
McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken and even detergents by companies
like
Procter & Gamble -- have multiplied, as leaders across the Middle East
try
to protest American policies, most notably support of Israel against
the
Palestinians…
-----
U.S. BOMBS HIT PAKISTAN TOWN AFTER BORDER CLASH
Reuters, 12/31/02
BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Dec 31 (Reuters) - The U.S. military bombed an
abandoned religious school on Pakistani territory after a gunbattle
between
U.S. and Pakistani troops on the border with Afghanistan, Pakistan
officials said on Tuesday.
The U.S. military said that one of its soldiers had been wounded in
Afghanistan on Sunday in an exchange of gunfire with a Pakistani border
guard. A Pakistani official said two border guards were also injured…
The wounded American was part of a unit conducting a mission with
Pakistani
forces along the Afghan border when a disagreement appeared to break
out,
according to a statement released by the U.S. military at their Afghan
headquarters at Bagram air base.
"A Pakistani border scout opened fire with a G3 rifle after the U.S.
patrol
asked him to return to the Pakistan side of the border," the statement
said.
"That individual and several others retreated to a nearby structure,"
it
added. "Close air support was requested and one 500-lb bomb was dropped
on
the target area."
Mohammad Khurshied, a local official in Pakistan's South Waziristan
tribal
area close to the Afghan border, later told Reuters that a seminary in
the
Pakistani town of Angor Adda had been hit by U.S. warplanes.
A Pakistani intelligence official said two bombs were dropped on
Pakistani
soil, but he reported no injuries…
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
CAIR ACTION ALERT 358
-----
PROTEST THE RECENT INS DETENTIONS
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 4, Noon to 1 p.m.
WHERE: INS Los Angeles District Office, Federal Building, 300 N. Los
Angeles Street, Los Angeles, Ca. 90012
CONTACTS:
CAIR-LA - Hussam Ayloush or Ra'id Faraj, 714-776-1847
AIA - Babak Sotoodeh, 714-914-6663, 714-545-0505
ADC - Nader Abuljebain, 949-290-3486; Ban Al Wardi, 626-375-3644
NCPA - Khalid Pervaiz, 818 216-2360
SPONSORS:
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Alliance of Iranian Americans
Council on American-Islamic Relations
National Council of Pakistani Americans
-----
URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT INS REGISTRATION
Jan. 10th is the next deadline for the new INS registration program
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/2/03) - (NOTE: The following information does not
constitute legal advice.) - CAIR is calling on all local imams,
khatibs
and community leaders to make the announcement below after Friday
prayers
about the new Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) special
registration requirement for nonimmigrant visa holders from primarily
Muslim countries. This announcement should also be posted in a
prominent
public location in all mosques, Muslim schools and Islamic centers.
-- ANNOUNCEMENT --
JAN. 10TH IS THE NEXT DEADLINE FOR THE INS SPECIAL REGISTRATION PROGRAM
Male nonimmigrant aliens who are nationals or citizens of Afghanistan,
Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar,
Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, or Yemen, 16 years of age or
older,
and who entered the U.S. before September 30, 2002, must register with
the
INS by January 10, 2003.
CAIR urges all those who are potentially affected by this new
registration
requirement to consult an immigration lawyer as soon as possible.
Contact
your local CAIR chapter if you need assistance.
SEE: http://www.cair-net.org/asp/chapters.asp
CAIR strongly disagrees with the nature and implementation of this new
policy, but it is absolutely essential that those who meet the
registration
criteria visit the nearest INS center for registration before the
deadline.
Even if you are here legally, failure to register by the January 10th
deadline WILL MAKE YOU DEPORTABLE.
Although hundreds of people were detained during the last round of
registrations and many others reported mistreatment, hundreds more have
registered without serious incident and have thereby protected
themselves
from deportation proceedings.
It is very important that anybody who believes he must register with
the
INS talk to an immigration lawyer to determine both his immigration
status
and what may happen when he registers. If you are not sure of your
current
status, you must speak with a lawyer.
If you have overstayed your visa, the INS will start deportation
proceedings against you. This process should differ substantially from
post-9/11 deportation proceedings. Under the current program, you will
most
likely be let out on bail, allowed to speak with a lawyer, and provided
with an open hearing. But this is not guaranteed in all cases. CAIR
continues to work to suspend the registration process until current
problems are worked out.
CAIR has filed a lawsuit against the Attorney General and is organizing
demonstrations and other legal actions to protest the current method of
implementation. CAIR is also documenting cases of abuse and harassment
through an online form that is available at www.cair-net.org. In the
meantime, registration before the deadline remains obligatory. Visit
www.cair-net.org for Arabic, Pashtu and Farsi flyers and more
information.
Visit www.ins.gov/graphics/lawenfor/specialreg/index.htm and
www.aila.org
for detailed information about the registration program.
- PLEASE POST, COPY AND DISTRIBUTE -
-----
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To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT WRITER MOCKS ARABS, MUSLIMS
Journalist says Arabs "squat around the camel-dung fire…put their
bottoms
in the air"
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/2/03) - A senior writer for a Florida newspaper
that
caused an international controversy by portraying the Prophet Muhammad
as a
nuclear terrorist is being accused of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bias by
a
national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group.
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has
learned that in an e-mail discussion with a concerned Muslim,
Tallahassee
Democrat Senior Writer Bill Cotterell wrote: "Except for Jordan and
Egypt,
no Arab nation has a peace treaty with Israel. They've had 54 years to
get
over it. They choose not to. OK, they can squat around the camel-dung
fire
and grumble about it, or they can put their bottoms in the air five
times a
day and pray for deliverance; that's their business…And I don't give a
damn
if Israel kills a few in collateral damage while defending itself. So
be it."
"Islamophobia seems to be endemic at the Tallahassee Democrat. Any
journalist has a right to his or her political and religious views, but
when those views are expressed in such bigoted terms, it raises
questions
about a media outlet's journalistic balance and objectivity," said CAIR
Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.
Hooper called on the newspaper's management clarify its position on
Islamophobia and to ensure that Cotterell's views do not color coverage
of
issues related to Muslims, Arabs and the Middle East.
In December, CAIR called for an apology from the Tallahassee Democrat
for a
Doug Marlette syndicated editorial cartoon, headlined "What Would
Mohammed
Drive?" showing a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad driving a nuclear
bomb-laden truck similar to that used by Timothy McVeigh in the 1995
Oklahoma City bombing. (SEE:
http://www.cair-net.org/images/mohammeddrive.gif
The cartoon was apparently a play on a recent public debate over what
kind
of car Jesus would drive. Newspaper editors received thousands of
e-mails
from Muslims worldwide, but refused to apologize.
SEE: AN APOLOGY IS NOT IN ORDER, Doug Marlette, Tallahassee Democrat,
12/29/02
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/opinion/4818952.htm
CAIR's Florida office (CAIR-FL) has asked for a meeting with the
Tallahassee Democrat editorial board. The newspaper has not yet replied
to
that request.
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-MAIL:
cair@cair-net.org, CAIR-Fl, Parvez Ahmed, 904-476-2180, E-MAIL:
pahmed@cair-florida.org
ACTION REQUESTED: (Remember - Hostile comments can and WILL be used to
further defame Islam and Muslims.)
SEND POLITE COMMENTS TO:
Mr. John Winn Miller
Executive Editor
Tallahassee Democrat
277 N. Magnolia Drive
Tallahassee, FL 32301
TEL: (850) 599-2100
E-MAIL: bcotterell@taldem.com, mlindley@taldem.com,
jwmiller@taldem.com,
inquiry@dougmarlette.com, ddwilliams@tribune.com, wmahoney@tribune.com,
mpope@taldem.com, mlindley@taldem.com, tdedit@taldem.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
-----
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https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
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To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/2/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: BETTER TO FORGIVE THAN TO PUNISH
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT UPDATE: 4603 SPONSORSHIPS
* CAIR REP TO APPEAR ON MSNBC'S "NACHMAN"
* MUSLIMS, ARABS, PAKISTANIS, IRANIANS PROTEST INS DETENTIONS
* COURT UPHOLDS TERRORISM LAW SECRECY (LA Times)
- A Citizen Shorn Of All Rights (Village Voice)
- 9/11 Detainee Speaks Of Psychological Torture (AP)
* CANADIANS ALIENATED BY U.S. TRAVEL INDIGNITIES (Globe and Mail)
- Minnesota Forum on New INS Registration Policy
* MOSQUE HOSTS INTERFAITH PEACE RALLY (AP)
- Episcopal, Muslim Clerics Plan Relief (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
- U.S. Muslims Stand Up For Faith and Country (Kansas City Star)
* MISSIONARIES INCREASE ALONG WITH DANGERS (LA Times)
* HEBRON RESIDENTS DESCRIBE AN ISRAELI REIGN OF BEATINGS (NY Times)
- Israel's Human Shields Draw Fire (Guardian UK)
- Palestinians Subjected To 'The Lottery' (Arab News)
- Israel, U.S. To Open Talks on Aid Package (Reuters)
- Israeli Guards Clash with Palestinian Detainees (Reuters)
* U.S. MUSLIMS CONDEMN YEMEN ATTACK (UPI)
* NBC'S "LAW AND ORDER" RE-AIRS CONTROVERSIAL EPISODE
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: BETTER TO FORGIVE THAN TO PUNISH
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "It is better for a
leader
to make a mistake in forgiving than to make a mistake in punishing."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1011
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: 4603 SPONSORSHIPS
CAIR's Library Project has received 4603 sponsorships for $150 book and
tape packages on Islam to be placed in libraries across the country.
Take
part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library
package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
CAIR REP TO APPEAR ON MSNBC'S "NACHMAN"
http://www.msnbc.com/news/nachman_front.asp
CAIR Attorney Khurrum Wahid is scheduled to appear on MSNBC's "Nachman"
program today at 5 p.m. (Eastern).
-----
MUSLIMS, ARABS, PAKISTANIS, IRANIANS PROTEST INS DETENTIONS
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 4, Noon to 1 p.m.
WHERE: INS Los Angeles District Office, Federal Building, 300 N. Los
Angeles Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012
CONTACTS:
CAIR-LA - Hussam Ayloush or Ra'id Faraj, 714-776-1847
AIA - Babak Sotoodeh, 714-914-6663, 714-545-0505
ADC - Nader Abuljebain, 949-290-3486; Ban Al Wardi, 626-375-3644
NCPA - Khalid Pervaiz, 818 216-2360
SPONSORS:
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Alliance of Iranian Americans
Council on American-Islamic Relations
National Council of Pakistani Americans
-----
COURT UPHOLDS TERRORISM LAW SECRECY
Josh Meyer, Los Angeles Times, 1/1/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-na-terror1jan01001440.story
WASHINGTON - In a high-profile affirmation of the government's powerful
new
counter-terrorism laws, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that
authorities can freeze the assets of a U.S.-based global Islamic
charity
that it believes is linked to terrorism without providing its evidence
to
defense lawyers.
Justice Department officials and a lawyer for the charity described the
ruling as a precedent-setting case that upholds some aspects of the USA
Patriot Act and other counter-terrorism measures implemented after the
Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
"This is a very significant victory for the administration, [and] not
just
with regard to organizations accused of having terrorist ties," said
Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law expert at George Washington
University Law School who has defended many cases involving issues of
national security.
Specifically, the three-judge panel of the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of
Appeals, based in Chicago, sided with a lower court in finding that the
government had the right to freeze the assets of the Global Relief
Foundation in 2001 because of allegations that it was tied to terrorism
--
and to do so without presenting its evidence in a public forum. "The
statute is designed to give the president means to control assets that
could be used by enemy aliens," the circuit court panel ruled...
Roger Simmons, a lawyer for Global Relief, said the ruling was a
continuation of unfair U.S. actions against the group that have
effectively
shut down one of the largest Islamic charities in the world since the
Treasury Department first linked it to terrorism more than a year ago.
Simmons vowed to bring the case before the entire 7th Circuit court to
gain
a reversal and force the government to release Global Relief accounts
that
have been frozen, and to allow other government and business entities
to do
business with Global Relief.
"If I can't get a reversal there, I'm going to the Supreme Court,"
Simmons
said. "What's bad about this [ruling] is that the key issue in the case
is
the question of whether we supported terrorism and that the government
can
rely upon secret evidence to make its case. How do you go about proving
your innocence when the government can rely on secret evidence that you
can't even see?..."
SEE ALSO:
A CITIZEN SHORN OF ALL RIGHTS
Nat Hentoff, Village Voice, 12/27/02
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0301/hentoff.php
Yaser Esam Hamdi's name has become familiar and troubling to
constitutional
lawyers, but it has little resonance yet to Americans at large.
However,
what happens to him in our system of justice will signal how far the
courts-eventually the Supreme Court-will allow George W. Bush, John
Ashcroft, and Donald Rumsfeld to create what Charles Lane, the
Washington
Post's Supreme Court reporter, accurately calls "a parallel legal
system in
which terrorism suspects-U.S. citizens and noncitizens alike-may be
investigated, jailed, interrogated, held and punished without legal
protections guaranteed by the ordinary system."
If unchecked by the courts-and Congress-Bush's parallel legal system
will
push the Constitution aside and realize James Madison's prediction that
when all power is commanded by only one of the three branches of
government, those ensnared in that rogue system are powerless…
-----
INDIAN DETAINED AFTER SEPT. 11 TELLS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TORTURE
Omer Farooq, Associated Press, 1/2/03
HYDERABAD, India - An Indian man who was cleared of involvement in the
Sept. 11 U.S. terror attacks has returned home, alleging sleep
deprivation,
unhealthy food and solitary confinement during his 15 months of
detention
in New York.
Gul Mohammed Shah, 36, was one of two Muslim men from the southern
Indian
city of Hyderabad who were detained on Sept. 12 in Texas because they
were
carrying boxcutters, lots of cash and had been on a flight that was
grounded in the wake of the airplane attacks on the World Trade Center
and
Pentagon.
In an interview with The Associated Press at his home on Wednesday,
after
he was deported from the United States upon conviction of credit card
fraud, Shah said he had been kept in solitary confinement for 12 months
and
been subjected to psychological torture at the Metropolitan Detention
Center, in Brooklyn, New York City.
"There was all sorts of psychological torture," he said. "Every 10
minutes
a guard would come and bang the steel door of my cell with his baton to
ensure that I did not sleep. The light bulb was on 24 hours…"
Shah's fingers shook, his voice quivered, and he cast a blank eye in
the
air as he narrated the story of his detention. He started haltingly,
then
stopped mid-sentence. One moment he sounded happy and enthusiastic,
then
became sad and depressed.
"Nothing could be more painful and punishing than having to spend such
a
long time without any company or anything to do," Shah said of his
solitary
confinement. "The only thing which enabled me to come out with my
senses
intact was my faith in Allah. I regularly recited the Quran and offered
prayers in my cell during the period..."
-----
NEW CANADIANS ALIENATED BY U.S. TRAVEL INDIGNITIES
Gloria Galloway, Toronto Globe and Mail, 1/2/03
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20030102/UUSAAN/Front/frontpage/frontpage_temp/5/5/5/
Muzaffar Iqbal will not be fingerprinted and photographed by U.S.
immigration officials and he will not sign a registry before entering
the
United States.
He refuses to submit to what he considers indignities that are not
required
of all Canadians.
As a result, Mr. Iqbal -- Pakistani by birth, but Canadian by
citizenship
-- is denied entry to Canada's giant neighbour. That denial is in
effect
despite assurances from the Foreign Minister that Canadians would not
be
subjected to additional scrutiny on the basis of where they were born.
"The [U.S.] registration system is much more than the initial
fingerprinting," Mr. Iqbal said recently.
The chemist and leading Islamic scholar who lives in Edmonton was
speaking
after being turned back by the Americans as he tried to fly to
Washington
to attend a scientific conference.
"It is a complete code of apartheid based on race, religion and country
of
origin."
Mr. Iqbal is not alone. By mid-December, roughly 200 Canadians had
launched
protests with the Department of Foreign Affairs.
They allege they had been subjected to unfair probing by U.S.
immigration
officials on the basis of their country of birth.
Many of those complaints were lodged after the Americans promised to
stop
treating foreign-born Canadians differently from those born in Canada…
But Mr. Iqbal said the room in Toronto's Pearson International Airport
--
where he was detained by U.S. immigration officials for eight hours
before
he finally refused to submit to their new requirements -- tells another
tale.
"This was a terrible room where 10 or so people were sitting and the
officers were continuously coming in and out of their little cubbyholes
and
I saw people coming out in tears and people who were being
fingerprinted
and it was a shock to me," he said…
SEE ALSO:
MINNESOTA FORUM ON NEW INS REGISTRATION POLICY
WHAT: Muslim Community Center and Masjid Al-Rahman have arranged for 4
immigration attorneys to speak about the new laws and rules issued by
the INS.
This is a one-time must attend session for all Muslims in Minnesota.
Speakers: Julie M. Zimmer, Jeff A. Larson, Charles A. Roach, Caroline
E. Ostrom (Immigration Attorneys at Rider Bennett Egan & Arundel)
WHEN: Friday, January 10th at 1 P.M. (after jumah prayers)
WHERE: Muslim Community Center Al Rahman
8910 Old Cedar Ave S
Bloomington, MN 55425-2049
Topics include:
* New INS Registration Process
* H1-B Visa changes
* Green card & U.S. Citizenship Laws
* Deportation & Detention Process
* Rights under US laws for Immigrants
Ask your questions and find answers to your concerns. Seating is
limited to
250 people, so come early.
For more information, visit http://www.mccminnesota.org/ or call (952)
883-0044.
-----
MOSQUE HOSTS INTERFAITH PEACE RALLY
Associated Press, 1/2/03
DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. - Muslims, Jews and Christians and people of
diverse ethnic backgrounds have gathered at a suburban Detroit mosque
to
call for a future without war and conflict.
About 150 people attended the second-annual Day of Peace at the Islamic
House of Wisdom. U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, initiated the
event,
which focused on young people. "Children are not born to hate one
another.
They learn it from adults," said coordinator Brenda Rosenberg of the
American Jewish Committee.
"This is to start a dialogue so children can get to know each other and
celebrate their similarities, to break down the barriers and possible
misunderstandings," she told The Detroit News.
The program featured songs and poems of peace performed by children
from
elementary through high school and ended with refreshments to give
guests a
chance to meet.
"Communication is the key, and I plan to make new friends today and
learn
about different cultures because if we're all going to hate each other
this
world is going to come to ruin fast," said Abbas Alawieh, 11…
---
EPISCOPAL, MUSLIM CLERICS PLAN RELIEF
Add Seymour Jr., Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 1/2/03
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/metro/fayette/0103/02islam.html
The Rev. Bob Hudak wants to see Muslims working alongside other
religious
denominations in metro Atlanta.
Hudak, who leads the Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Fayetteville,
already practices what he preaches.
Hudak is working with Fayetteville's Muslim Community Center of Atlanta
and
the Christian Council of Metro Atlanta on a plan to help refugees
establish
new lives in Georgia. "We'll learn from each other, and we'll grow
together," he said.
It's just one relationship-building initiative Hudak and local Muslim
leaders are working on.
The Muslim Community Center has become a popular prayer and meeting
facility for Muslims on Atlanta's Southside. It's an anchor for a
thriving
Muslim community in Fayette that now numbers more than 500.
"I think that's becoming apparent because of the community center,"
said
Soumaya Khalifa, head of the Islamic Speakers Bureau and a Peachtree
City
resident. "I think that heightens the awareness of the population…"
---
U.S. MUSLIMS STAND UP FOR FAITH AND COUNTRY
Lewis W. Diuguid, Kansas City Star, 1/1/03
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/4850303.htm
Saeeda Safi looked beautiful Saturday when she and Mohammad Ali
Khezrian
were married in Lee's Summit.
The wedding made a powerful statement about the faith the newlyweds
have in
the new year and in America.
That same indomitable spirit filled Shalom House in Kansas City, Kan.,
on
Christmas Eve. Adults and children with the Crescent Peace Society and
the
American Muslim Council-Heartland Chapter donated and served holiday
dinners to men at the homeless shelter.
The wedding and community involvement show that many area Muslims are
standing up instead of hunkering down even as bigotry against them has
increased since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The FBI reported last month that hate crimes and similar acts against
Muslims and other immigrants from the Middle East have soared
nationwide
after the tragedy. Muslims in 2000 reported 28 hate crimes; this rose
to
481 in 2001.
The Jackson County Diversity Task Force in September reported similar
findings. "There can be no doubt that Kansas City's Muslim community
has
been the most vulnerable to deplorable acts of ignorance and hatred in
the
days since Sept. 11, 2001," the report said…
Jason Erb, director of government affairs with the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, said at least 30 percent of America's 7
million
Muslims today are African-Americans. They're "happy to be here and are
impressed by the general tolerance of American society," he said...
But their struggles against bigotry threaten to continue into the new
year
because of the U.S. war against terrorism and a possible war in Iraq.
Erb
said the hate was changing from physical and verbal abuse to cases of
discrimination and child custody disputes.
Muslims also face racial profiling and visa restrictions. In Los
Angeles
last month, thousands of people protested and filed suit against the
arrests of Middle Easterners who felt entrapped by the Immigration and
Naturalization Service. The men had voluntarily gone to register with
the
federal government under a new anti-terrorism program...
Also, several Middle Eastern students in Colorado were jailed recently
for
not taking enough college classes as required by their student visas.
Such endless incidents are causing many Muslims to withdraw because of
a
"sense of siege," Erb said. "There is an atmosphere of fear and
intimidation for a lot of people in terms of public activity."
Nevertheless, the council wants Muslims to go public to dispel myths
and
share their perspective about their faith. The council also is sending
books, DVDs and videotapes to 16,000 libraries to help educate people
about
Muslims.
"You can't hide from the problem," Erb said. "The only way is to
encourage
greater participation in public and civic life..."
-----
MISSIONARIES INCREASE ALONG WITH DANGERS
Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times, 1/1/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mission1jan01.story
WASHINGTON - Despite the dangers, the growing U.S. evangelical
community
has decided that the Middle East needs the benefits of Christian
teaching
more than anywhere else. And the missionaries insist they are staying
--
even though their proselytizing can ignite dangerous frictions.
The risks were demonstrated again Monday, when a gunman with a
concealed
rifle entered a U.S. missionary hospital in Jibla, Yemen, killing three
missionaries and seriously injuring a fourth. Even as the Southern
Baptist
Convention mourned the loss of its members, it vowed to remain in Jibla
as
long as the Yemeni government allows…
The most sensitive question missionaries face is how active they will
be in
trying to convert Muslims to Christianity...
Some Islamic groups complain that the missionaries are taking advantage
of
the Muslims' needs. "They go into poor areas, and they take advantage
of
their power," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights group in Washington. "They
hold
a blanket in one hand and a Bible in the other and say you can't get
one
without the other.... It's the deceit I don't like…"
-----
HEBRON RESIDENTS DESCRIBE AN ISRAELI REIGN OF BEATINGS
Dexter Filkins, New York Times, 1/2/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/02/international/middleeast/02MIDE.html
Almost any young man walking the streets of this gritty Palestinian
neighborhood on the eastern rim of the city can tell you the same
thing:
when the Israeli border police want to give someone a beating, they
take
him to the city's deserted industrial area after dark.
Imran Abu Hamdiya, a 17-year-old high school senior, was taken away by
four
police officers Monday night, residents here said in interviews, and he
never came back. Mr. Hamdiya's friends, assuming he might need a hand
after
receiving blows from a nightstick, went to the city's industrial zone
to
look for him. They found his body there, splayed in a pool of blood.
When
they carried their friend to a local hospital, a doctor delivered his
appraisal…
Israeli officials say they have begun an investigation. But Israeli
human
rights groups say the government's record in disciplining their own for
such abuses is not encouraging, and there is little evidence. Mr.
Hamdiya
was buried soon after he died, following Muslim custom, and the police
say
they did not have a chance to examine his body. His family members, who
say
they do not trust the Israelis, are reluctant to talk to the police or
allow them to exhume the body...
SEE ALSO:
ISRAEL'S HUMAN SHIELDS DRAW FIRE
Chris McGreal, Guardian UK, 1/2/03
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,867343,00.html
Basem Maswadeh knew he was in trouble when an Israeli soldier pushed
him
into the barber's chair and reached for the clippers.
The humiliation of a shaved head - or, more accurately, having chunks
of
hair ripped out by the brutal wielding of the shears - was the start of
an
ordeal that culminated with Mr Maswadeh and two friends standing in a
Hebron street as Israeli troops shot over their shoulders at
stone-throwing
Palestinians…
The soldiers fired dozens of plastic bullets, using the three
Palestinian
men as shields, before the crowd dispersed.
In May, as Israeli human rights groups sought a supreme court order
barring
soldiers from seeking protection behind human shields after their
widespread use during the army's assaults on Jenin and other West Bank
cities, the military admitted the policy was illegal and said it would
stop.
But human rights groups will return to court on Sunday to argue that
the
army has only ended such abuses selectively, and is in breach of court
orders.
"The method is the same each time," says Israel's most prominent human
rights group, B'Tselem. "Soldiers pick a civilian at random and force
him
to do dangerous tasks that put their lives at risk…"
---
PALESTINIANS SUBJECTED TO NEW ISRAELI TECHNIQUE CALLED 'THE LOTTERY'
John Ward Anderson, Arab News, 1/2/03
http://www.arabnews.com/Article.asp?ID=21621
HEBRON, West Bank, 2 January 2003 - A Palestinian high school student,
18,
who'd just finished prayers at a Hebron mosque was detained Monday
night by
Israeli Border Police in this bitterly divided West Bank town. Family
and
neighbors said Tuesday that his badly beaten body was found by friends
20
minutes later in the middle of a road half a mile away.
The killing of the youth, Amran Abu Hamediye, who Palestinian witnesses
said was beaten severely around his head, was part of what Hebron
residents
contend is a dramatic rise in assaults on Palestinians by Israeli
Border
Police since Nov. 15, when Palestinian gunmen killed 12 Israeli border
policemen, soldiers and settlement security guards an ambush near the
Tomb
of the Patriarchs, a religious shrine here that's uneasily shared by
Jews
and Muslims…
Several Hebron residents said that, although it's unclear how Abu
Hamediye
was killed, they and other Palestinians here recently have been
subjected
to a technique called "the lottery."
In the lottery, they said, border policemen order apprehended
Palestinians
to pick from folded pieces of paper that have different punishments
written
on them - such as "broken leg," "smashed hand" or "smashed head" - and
then
administer the chosen punishment…
---
ISRAEL, U.S. TO OPEN TALKS ON AID PACKAGE
Adam Entous, Reuters, 1/1/03
CRAWFORD, Texas - Israel is sending a delegation to Washington next
week to
open talks on a multibillion-dollar aid package, hoping to ease the
process
by agreeing not to use the funds for settlement activities in
Palestinian
territories, U.S. sources said on Wednesday.
The delegation, led by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's chief of staff,
Dov
Weisglass, will meet with top White House and Treasury officials
considering Israel's request for $4 billion in military assistance and
$8
billion to $10 billion in U.S.-backed loan guarantees.
"This is the just beginning of the process," one official said.
Congressional aides say it could take months to get a final package
through
Congress.
The Bush administration denies aid would be tied to Israeli cooperation
with any U.S. military campaign against Iraq. The United States wants
Israel to stay out of the possible conflict, as it did when Baghdad
fired
Scud missiles at Israeli targets in the 1991 Gulf War…
---
ISRAELI GUARDS CLASH WITH PALESTINIAN DETAINEES
Reuters, 1/2/03
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli guards fired tear gas and stun
grenades in a large West Bank detention camp Thursday to break up a
protest
by Palestinian prisoners over alleged mistreatment.
Israeli medics and Palestinian human rights workers said several dozen
Palestinians were suffering from tear gas inhalation at the camp next
to
the Israeli army's Ofer base near the West Bank city of Ramallah…
Khalida Jarrar, from the Palestinian human rights group al-Dameer, said
the
prisoners had declared a hunger strike Thursday morning to protest
alleged
beatings by camp guards when detainees are taken to a nearby military
court…
More than 1,000 Palestinians are being held under administrative
detention
without charge by Israeli authorities, about 100 of them at Ofer camp,
the
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem said Thursday.
-----
U.S. MUSLIMS CONDEMN YEMEN ATTACK
Anwar Iqbal, UPI, 12/31/02
U.S.-based Muslim advocacy groups and individuals Tuesday condemned the
attack on American medical workers in Yemen that left three people
dead.
They urged the Yemeni authorities to catch the culprits and give them
exemplary punishment.
"We condemn this heinous attack and all other attacks on innocent
civilians
by any individuals, groups or states," said a statement issued by the
Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington-based Islamic civil
rights and advocacy group. "This attack is of particular concern
because it
apparently targeted those engaged in meeting the medical needs of
ordinary
Yemenis," the statement said.
"This is very unfortunate. People should never take their vendetta
against
civilians," said Faiz Rehman, director communications for the American
Muslim Council, an umbrella organization with branches all over the
country. "These people were there for a noble cause. As Muslims we
condemn
such attacks."
Faiz said that Islam guarantees religious freedom for all, and in a
Muslim
country, it is the duty of the government to protect non-Muslim
minorities…
-----
NBC'S LAW AND ORDER RE-AIRS CONTROVERSIAL EPISODE ON MUSLIM CONVERT
http://www.nbc.com/Law_&_Order/index.html
Last night, NBC re-aired an episode of "Law and Order" in which an
American
convert to Islam is accused of murdering a women's rights activist for
religious reasons. Throughout the show, the character (in full Muslim
garb)
frequently launches into anti-American and anti-women tirades with
recitations from the Quran and exclamations of "Allahu Akbar." In one
scene, the Muslim defendant asks a prosecution witness, "As a Jew,
isn't it
your mission in life to destroy Muslims." In an analysis of the
defendant,
a psychiatrist asserts that due to the Muslim convert's fear of women
he
turned to militant Islam which "eases his anxiety by making women
subordinate to men."
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)
E-MAIL COMMENTS TO: LawOrder@nbc.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
WRITE TO:
NBC Viewer Relations
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
-----
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https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
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To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
CAIR GOOD NEWS ALERT #359
FLORIDA JOURNALIST SUSPENDED OVER BIASED COMMENTS
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/2/03) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) said tonight that a Florida journalist who made disparaging
remarks
about Arabs and Muslims in an e-mail message has been suspended without
pay
for one week. In a letter of apology CAIR, Tallahassee Democrat
Executive
Editor John W. Miller wrote:
"On behalf of the Tallahassee Democrat, I apologize to all of our
readers,
and most especially, to members of the Islamic faith everywhere, for
the
intemperate e-mail comments of political writer/columnist Bill
Cotterell.
They absolutely do not represent the views and sensitivities of this
newspaper. Worse, they run counter to many of the values we hold
dearest,
among them tolerance, diversity and inclusiveness.
"Bill spoke, via company e-mail, in anger and frustration to a reader.
Shortly after he sent the message, he realized his mistake, and he has
since apologized to all of his colleagues for the hurt and
embarrassment he
knows he caused.
"'I was wrong and I am sorry,' he said in an unsolicited statement to
his
editors. 'My remarks were grossly inappropriate and do not reflect my
views
toward Muslim people.
"'It would be bad enough if my comments reflected only on my own lack
of
judgment, but I realize that I have embarrassed the newspaper,'
Cotterell said.
"He said that he should have stopped to consider that people would
believe
he spoke for the Democrat 'rather than just for myself in an emotional
and
ill-considered moment.'
"Bill has been a valued and respected employee of the Democrat for
almost
20 years. But his actions - even though they were in a private
communication - cannot go unpunished. As of Friday, he is being
suspended
without pay for a week."
"We thank the Tallahassee Democrat for its swift action in response to
this
troubling issue. The newspaper's forthright apology goes a long way
toward
re-establishing its journalistic credibility with the Muslim and
Arab-American communities in Florida," said CAIR Board Chairman Omar
Ahmad.
Ahmad added that he hoped the Muslims in that state could now enter
into a
more constructive and reciprocal dialogue with the newspaper's
editorial
board.
"We will continue our strong support for the First Amendment right to
freedom of speech. But we also believe that with freedom, comes
responsibility," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. Awad also
thanked
all those who contacted the newspaper to express their concerns about
Cotterell's remarks. "We encourage people of conscience to stand up for
what is right and not to be discouraged by the rising tide of
Anti-Muslim
bigotry in our nation," said Awad.
In an e-mail to a concerned Muslim, Cotterell had written: "Except for
Jordan and Egypt, no Arab nation has a peace treaty with Israel.
They've
had 54 years to get over it. They choose not to. OK, they can squat
around
the camel-dung fire and grumble about it, or they can put their bottoms
in
the air five times a day and pray for deliverance; that's their
business…And I don't give a damn if Israel kills a few in collateral
damage
while defending itself. So be it."
SEND NOTES OF APPRECIATION TO:
Mr. John W. Miller
Executive Editor
Tallahassee Democrat
277 N. Magnolia Drive
Tallahassee, FL 32301
E-MAIL: jwmiller@taldem.com, bcotterell@taldem.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
- PLEASE POST, COPY AND DISTRIBUTE -
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
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To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/3/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: EMANCIPATION
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT UPDATE: 4611 SPONSORSHIPS
* HAJJ/UMRAH PACKAGES NOW AVAILABLE
* DEMOCRAT REPORTER SUSPENDED (Tallahassee Democrat)
- Fla. Reporter Suspended For Arab Comments (AP)
* $15 BILLION ASKED OF U.S. (Washington Times)
- Ariel Sharon's Shakedown (American Conservative)
- A Brutal Routine (Washington Post)
- U.S. Wants 'Broad Participation' In Israeli Vote (Reuters)
- Mossad Linked to Death of Canadian Scientist (NationaL Post)
- Israel Cost U.S. Taxpayers $1.6 Trillion (CS Monitor)
* N.J. SECRECY RULE KEEPS ARAB AMERICAN IN JAIL (Washington Post)
* TEXAS AREA WORKSHOPS ON NEW INS REGULATIONS
- VA "Know Your Rights" Session on Immigration
- NY Rally Against Civil Rights Abuses
- Doonesbury Cartoon Highlights Civil Liberties Issues
* CAIR NY OFFICIAL APPEARS ON MSNBC'S NACHMAN
* TV FILM SHEDS LIGHT ON MUSLIMS (Chicago Tribune)
- Jewish, Arab Communities Plan Dinner (Free Press)
- Muslim Group Starts Newspaper (St. Paul Pioneer Press)
- Muslim/Christian Dialogue Set (St. Petersburg Times)
* ARAB AMERICANS SCARED, ANGRY AT IDEA OF IRAQ WAR (Reuters)
* PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR PROPOSED MUSLIM YOUTH CAMP ENDS (AP)
* U.S. RESERVES RIGHT TO ENTER PAKISTAN (AP)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: EMANCIPATION
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "God has created nothing
on
the face of the earth dearer to Him than emancipation."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 969
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: 4611 SPONSORSHIPS
CAIR's Library Project has received 4603 sponsorships for $150 book and
tape packages on Islam to be placed in libraries across the country.
Take
part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library
package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
HAJJ/UMRAH PACKAGES NOW AVAILABLE
Going to Hajj this year? Check out the Special HAJJ and Umrah Packages
designed to meet your schedule and budget. Travel with the #1 and
trusted
Hajj Agency DAR EL-EIMAN Program will be closed in two week.
Call our hotline to make your reservations today at 1-866-369-8705 or
email
Hajj@imanlinc.com or visit us online by clicking on the link below:
http://www.imanlinc.com/c/travel/hajj-umrah/1102/exsp_a.html or visit
www.imanlinc.com and click on the Hajj banner.
Please note that proceeds from the packages will support CAIR programs
and
activities. This program brought to you in partnership with ImanLinc at
www.imanlinc.com
-----
DEMOCRAT REPORTER SUSPENDED FOLLOWING OFFENSIVE E-MAIL
Tallahassee Democrat, 1/3/03
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/4863117.htm
Political writer Bill Cotterell has been suspended from the Tallahassee
Democrat for offensive e-mail remarks to a reader, Executive Editor
John
Winn Miller announced Thursday.
The one-week suspension without pay lasts until next Friday, Miller
said.
In a statement, Miller said: "On behalf of the Tallahassee Democrat, I
apologize to all of our readers, and most especially, to readers and
members of the Islamic faith everywhere, for the intemperate e-mail
comments of political writer/columnist Bill Cotterell. They absolutely
do
not represent the views and sensitivities of this newspaper. Worse,
they
run counter to many of the values we hold dearest, among them
tolerance,
diversity and inclusiveness." Cotterell, a veteran reporter with 35
years
in the news business, also apologized, saying that his comments were
"grossly inappropriate."
Cotterell's e-mail responded to a reader upset with a cartoon by Doug
Marlette that many thought was insulting to Muslims. The cartoon
appeared
briefly on the Democrat's Web site but was not published in the paper.
In his response, Cotterell criticized most Arab nations for not
"getting
over" the creation of Israel and making peace.
"OK, they can squat around the camel-dung fire and grumble about it, or
they can put their bottoms in the air five times a day and pray for
deliverance; that's their business," Cotterell wrote in his e-mail.
"And I
don't give a damn if Israel kills a few in collateral damage while
defending itself. So be it."
His private e-mail was forwarded to the Washington-based Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and posted on its Web site. That
prompted
hundreds of e-mails and phone calls of protest to the Democrat about
his
remarks.
"Any journalist has a right to his or her political and religious
views,
but when those views are expressed in such bigoted terms, it raises
questions about a media outlet's journalistic balance and objectivity,"
CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper said in a statement posted
to
ISLAM-INFONET, an e-mail list-serv moderated by CAIR.
Cotterell said that although he was responding to a reader who had
offended
him with her comments, "I should not have used disrespectful and
insulting
language in responding to her. I should not have become personally
provoked."
SEE ALSO:
FLA. REPORTER SUSPENDED FOR ARAB COMMENTS
Brendan Farrington, Associated Press, 1/3/03
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Tallahassee Democrat has suspended a reporter
for
an e-mail he sent to a reader referring to Arabs squatting "around a
camel-dung fire" and putting "their bottoms in the air five times a
day" in
prayer.
Bill Cotterell, a political writer and columnist, was replying to an
e-mail
from a reader angry over a political cartoon that asked, "What would
Mohammed Drive?" and depicted a Middle Eastern-looking man driving a
Ryder
truck with a nuclear bomb in the back.
The e-mail exchange evolved into a discussion of Israel. Cotterell
wrote
that Arab nations have had 54 years to accept Israel. "They choose not
to.
OK, they can squat around the camel-dung fire and grumble about it, or
they
can put their bottoms in the air five times a day and pray for
deliverance;
that's their business."
Democrat Executive Editor John Winn Miller suspended Cotterell starting
Friday for one week without pay following complaints about the e-mail
from
a Washington-based Islamic advocacy group...
Miller said Cotterell, who has worked for the paper nearly 20 years,
immediately regretted the remarks after sending the message on his
company
e-mail account and apologized to his colleagues.
Council spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said Cotterell's suspension was fair.
"It will send a positive message to the Muslim community in Florida
that
this kind of bigotry will not be tolerated," he said.
The Democrat has received about 9,000 e-mail complaints about the
cartoon…
-----
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)
GO TO http://capwiz.com/cair/home/ to demand that your tax dollars not
be
sent to support Israel's brutal military occupation of the Palestinian
people.
$15 BILLION ASKED OF U.S.
Joshua Mitnick, Washington Times, 1/3/03
http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20030103-83943580.htm
JERUSALEM - Israel is putting the final touches on a $15 billion
special
aid request to the United States to bolster an economy under pressure
from
the Palestinian uprising and preparations for any attack by Iraq.
Israeli treasury officials, who have met with aides to Prime Minister
Ariel
Sharon and U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, are
preparing
to present the package to Bush administration officials in the coming
weeks.
The package, comprising about $5 billion in new military aid and $10
billion in loan guarantees, would be spread out over a three- to
five-year
period. It would be in addition to nearly $3 billion that Israel
receives
from the United States each year...
"It's very difficult funding the extra needs of defense. The burden is
made
more difficult because the economy has shrunk. We're asking the
Americans
to share part of the burden," Mr. Marani said…
SEE ALSO:
ARIEL SHARON'S SHAKEDOWN
Pat Buchanan, American Conservative, 1/3/03
http://amconmag.com/01_13_03/buchanan7.html
"Tough Love for United," exclaimed the Wall Street Journal, as it
congratulated Uncle Sam for stiffing United Airlines' plea for $1.8
billion
in loan guarantees. Rebuffed, the beloved old airline had to declare
its
bankruptcy.
It's all for the best, the Journal assures us, "maybe this tough love
rejection will start a new government precedent, or at least we can
dream."
Fine. May we now expect the Journal to call on Mr. Bush to reject the
$10
billion in loan guarantees demanded by Ariel Sharon? Don't bet on it.
Yet, Sharon's demand is astonishing in its audacity. California and New
York face huge budget shortfalls. The U.S. Treasury is running a
deficit
nearing $200 billion. Yet, Sharon, who ignored Bush when the president
publicly called on him to pull his army out of West Bank cities, is
demanding that U.S. taxpayers fork over $4 billion in new military aid
and
agree to pay off $10 billion Israel intends to borrow should Israel
decide
to default.
Why should we do this? What does America get out of this? What has all
the
$100 billion in aid we have shoveled out to Israel bought us, other
than
ingratitude and the enmity of the Arab world…?
---
A BRUTAL ROUTINE
Washington Post, 1/3/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3878-2003Jan2.html
There has been a lull recently in Palestinian attacks against Israelis;
a
shooting attack that killed four in a West Bank settlement last week
was
the first major incident in a month. But almost every day, Palestinian
civilians, including many children, are being killed by the Israeli
army
and police. An 18-year-old high school student named Amran Abu Hamediye
was
found beaten to death in the West Bank town of Hebron on Monday; family
and
neighbors say he had been detained by Israeli forces a few minutes
before.
On Sunday, an 11-year-old boy was shot and killed by troops in the town
of
Tulkarm...
Israeli explanations of this grinding carnage long ago acquired a
routine
quality. Youngsters are often accused of having thrown stones at
troops; in
other cases, soldiers are said to have been responding to sniper fire
in
the vicinity. Investigations are invariably said to be underway -- but
rarely are results reported. According to the Israeli human rights
group
B'Tselem, only one Israeli soldier has been convicted of brutality
since
the latest Palestinian uprising began 15 months ago. During that time,
some
2,000 Palestinians have been killed, compared with 700 Israelis…
Now running for reelection, Mr. Sharon is claiming success: Suicide
bombings are less frequent, and beleaguered Palestinian militants are
discussing the possibility of declaring an end to attacks inside
Israel.
Mr. Sharon recently promised that his tactics would lead to "victory"
over
the Palestinians. But he and his army cannot give Israelis real
security in
this way, only a relative respite -- and at a high cost in Palestinian
lives.
---
U.S. WANTS 'BROAD PARTICIPATION' IN ISRAELI VOTE
Reuters, 1/2/03
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N0226143
WASHINGTON - The United States said on Thursday it wanted to see broad
participation in this month's Israeli elections, implicitly criticizing
the
preliminary disqualification of some Arab-Israeli candidates.
"We're of course interested in broad participation in the political
process
in Israel, as we are elsewhere," State Department spokesman Richard
Boucher
told a daily briefing.
"I'm not commenting on the particular individuals or the parties or the
political aspects of this. I'm commenting on the question of the
broadest
possible participation in the political process," he added.
He was answering a request for comment on an election committee's
decision
to ban lawmaker Azmi Bishara and his Arab-Israeli party Balad and
Arab-Israeli parliamentarian Ahmed Tibi from the election, scheduled
for
Jan. 28.
Israel's Supreme Court will hear petitions on Tuesday asking it to
overrule
the committee's decisions.
If they stand, the rulings could deepen resentment among Israel's
minority
Arabs who complain of discrimination…
---
MOSSAD LINKED TO 1990 DEATH OF CANADIAN SCIENTIST
Tom Blackwell, National Post, 1/3/03
http://www.nationalpost.com/world/story.html?id=C0BD8684-C66A-4ED1-871E-B55B3D21CFA5
BRUSSELS - Belgian police say they have new evidence that a Canadian
scientist who designed a massive artillery gun for Iraq's Saddam
Hussein
was assassinated by Israeli agents, it was reported yesterday.
The clue is reportedly a piece of jewellery taken off the victim's body
and
seen on the killer years later.
Gerald Bull was shot execution-style outside his Brussels apartment in
1990. Observers have long speculated that the murder was the work of
Mossad, the feared Israeli spy service.
Until recently, there has been no hard evidence that the Israelis had
anything to do with Mr. Bull's demise. The CIA and Iranian intelligence
have also been suspected.
But the Brussels newspaper La Dernière Heure reported yesterday that
Belgian authorities had obtained information "originating from a former
British possession in Central America" -- possibly Belize -- that
pointed
the finger at a Mossad hit man…
---
ISRAEL COST U.S. TAXPAYERS $1.6 TRILLION SINCE 1973
ECONOMIST TALLIES SWELLING COST OF ISRAEL TO US
David R. Francis, Christian Science Monitor, 12/9/02
http://csmonitor.com/2002/1209/p16s01-wmgn.html
Since 1973, Israel has cost the United States about $1.6 trillion. If
divided by today's population, that is more than $5,700 per person.
-----
N.J. SECRECY RULE KEEPS ARAB AMERICAN IN JAIL AND IN THE DARK
Dale Russakoff, Washington Post, 1/3/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3628-2003Jan2.html
PATERSON, N.J. -- Five months have passed since a flamboyant county
sheriff
led a squadron of assault weapon-wielding deputies and television news
crews on a raid of a hole-in-the-wall travel services business here,
declaring he was hot on the trail of an Arab American businessman who
had
sold fake IDs to two of the Sept. 11 terrorists.
The raid made international headlines, but not for long. As it turned
out,
the FBI already had interrogated Mohamed Atriss and had concluded he
knew
nothing more about the hijackers than he did about thousands of other
mostly illegal immigrants who bought official-looking identification
documents at his office, located directly across the street from City
Hall…
Five months later, the alleged proprietor of a small-time document mill
is
at the center of what appears to be the only criminal case of its kind
in
the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks -- one in which
secret
evidence has been presented against the defendant. Atriss remains in
jail,
now on $500,000 bond -- an amount consistent with a murder charge --
but
prosecutors will not say why he poses such a serious risk or give him a
chance to respond…
-----
TEXAS AREA WORKSHOPS ON NEW INS REGULATIONS
WHAT: United for Peace and Justice and CAIR-DFW have arranged for three
immigration attorneys to speak about the new laws and rules issued by
the
INS. Come and find out if and how the new INS registration procedure
affects you.
SPEAKERS: Karen Pennington, John Wheat Gibson, and Ollie Jefferson
(Immigration Attorneys)
Workshop #1:
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 4th at 1:30 P.M.
WHERE: IANT Multipurpose Hall, 840 Abrams Road, Richardson, TX 75081
Workshop#2:
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 4th at 6:00 P.M.
WHERE: Irving Masjid, 245 E. Grauwyler Rd, Irving, TX 75061
Workshop #3:
WHEN: Sunday, Jan. 5th at 11:30 A.M.
Islamic Association of Tarrant County (Fort Worth Masjid),
4801 Fletcher Ave., Fort Worth, TX 76107
Topics include:
* New INS Registration Process
* Rights under US laws for Immigrants
Ask your questions and find answers to your concerns. For more
information
about the workshops, email info@cairdfw.org or call 214-636-6525.
SEE ALSO:
VA "KNOW YOUR RIGHTS" SESSION ON IMMIGRATION
WHAT: A special public awareness session on new INS policies with
immigration and civil rights attorney Ashraf Nubani.
WHEN: Friday, January 3, 8 P.M to 10 P.M.
WHERE: Dar al Hijrah Mosque, 3159 Row Street, Falls Church (703)
536-1030
---
NY RALLY AGAINST CIVIL RIGHTS ABUSES
WHAT: A peacefully rally in protest of the latest INS detention of
Muslim &
Arab-Americans, as they voluntarily attempted to comply with a federal
order to register with local INS offices. The rally will commence after
Friday congregational prayers.
WHEN: Friday, January 10 at 1 P.M.
WHERE: In front of 26 Federal Plaza, downtown New York. In case of
rain
or snow, prayers will be held at (Warren Street Mosque) Masjid
Manhattan,
located on Warren Street, between, Broadway & Church Streets, 2 blocks
from
26 Federal Plaza, N.Y.C.
ICNA is arranging for buses to leave from Queens & Brooklyn. For
further
details, please call Br. Tariq at ICNA, 718-658-7028.
---
DOONESBURY CARTOON HIGHLIGHTS CIVIL LIBERTIES ISSUES
http://www.doonesbury.ucomics.com/strip/dailydose/index.htm
-----
CAIR NY OFFICIAL APPEARS ON MSNBC'S NACHMAN
MSNBC, 1/2/02
Partial transcript:
NACHMAN: Terrorists may still be streaming through our borders. The FBI
is
expected to release the names and photos of an additional 14 foreigners
believed to have entered the US illegally from Canada. The FBI issued
an
extraordinary alert last Sunday for five men. It's believed they used
fake
passports to cross into upstate New York on or about Christmas Eve…
Evan Coleman is a terrorism expert with the research called The
Investigative Project. Steven Carmarota is director of the nonpartisan
Center for Immigration Studies in Washington. And Khurrum Wahid is an
attorney and legal adviser for the Council on American-Islamic
Relations…
NACHMAN: We certainly agree with your generalization, and I don't want
to
sustain the stereotype, but there's got to be a net, and some good fish
may
get caught with the bad fish. What would your remedy be?
WAHID: Well, I don't think it's acceptable that good fish get caught
with
the bad fish. I think what we need to do is reach out to the
Muslim-American and Arab-American communities through our law
enforcement
officers, not to detain or to scare them, as we've done in the last 12
months, but to reach out to them, because they want to be of help. No
one
feels worse about the September 11 incident and its aftermath than the
Muslim and Arab-American communities, because, quite frankly, they've
taken
the brunt of the effects of it…
-----
TV FILM SHEDS LIGHT ON MUSLIMS
Ron Grossman, Chicago Tribune, 1/3/03
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/printedition/chi-0301030142jan03,1,35548.story
Before Sept. 11, 2001, documentary filmmaker Michael Schwarz had a
worthy
project badly in need of a Daddy Warbucks: a biography of Muhammad, the
prophet who founded Islam, the fastest growing religious community in
the
United States.
The usual funding sources expressed polite interest in Schwarz's film,
but
they were stingy with grant money. Then came the terrorist attacks on
the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and people were desperate to know
something about Islam, whose name the airline hijackers had invoked and
a
faith mysterious to most non-Muslim Americans.
Suddenly the foundations were eager to support Schwarz's film, which
aired
last month as a two-hour special on the nation's public-broadcasting
stations. Videocassette and DVD versions of "Muhammad: Legacy of a
Prophet"
have been made available for purchase.
Yet as Schwarz is quick to note, the documentary might not have become
a
reality without the help of a Chicago physician, Shakeela Hassan.
"She got in touch with medical colleagues across the country and
persuaded
them to sponsor fundraising events that kept us going until the
foundations
came through," said the California-based Schwarz. "In all my years of
working in public television I've never seen such a grass-roots
fundraising
effort..."
"Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet" is available at
www.Unityproductions.info
or 888-786-0444.
---
JEWISH, ARAB COMMUNITIES PLAN DINNER TO PROMOTE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE
EAST
Jewel Gopwani, Detroit Free Press, 1/3/03
http://www.freep.com/news/religion/nsheik3_20030103.htm
For the first Sabbath of 2003, a Jewish congregation hopes to start a
new
tradition to promote peace.
Tonight, Congregation Chaye Olam will invite members of the Arab
community
for a Middle Eastern meal at the Sheik restaurant in Orchard Lake.
The dinner, said Cantor Stephen Dubov, will be a chance for people of
opposing viewpoints to agree on at least one thing. "We all desire
peace,"
he said.
Dubov expects about 100 people to attend the event, named Shabbat
Salaam.
Shabbat is Hebrew for Sabbath and salaam means peace in Arabic.
The Sept. 11 attacks and the reports of racial profiling that followed,
Dubov said, inspired him to open the dinner to the public.
"With all of the mean-spiritedness that exists in the world, we need to
find that solution that will bring us all and our children the ultimate
peace that exists in America," he said.
The Sheik owner Dean Hachem says the restaurant lost half of its
business
after a rumor circulated through e-mail that employees celebrated when
they
heard about the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks.
Business never entirely recovered, Hachem said.
Now he said he wants to focus on customers like Dubov and his family,
who
have been loyal during turbulent times.
"We have to look to the future," Hachem said…
---
MUSLIM GROUP STARTS NEWSPAPER
Hannah Allam, Saint Paul Pioneer Press, 1/3/03
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/4862904.htm
There's a new niche newspaper in the Twin Cities, but you're more
likely to
consult it for prayer times and baklava recipes than back-page
personals or
happy-hour coupons.
Minnesota Muslim debuted a few weeks ago during Ramadan, Islam's
holiest
month, with the next issue to be delivered to mosques and some
Muslim-owned
businesses later this month. The 75-cent publication was started by a
group
of Muslims to offer an alternative to mainstream coverage of their
communities and to provide a communication point for Islamic groups.
Rouf
Reshi, an editor in Inver Grove Heights, said he hopes non-Muslims read
the
paper, too.
"What they would get out of it is a look at the same issues from a
different point of view," Reshi said. "We want them to pick it up and
start
a dialogue, even if it's 'I don't agree with this' or 'I have
questions.'"
The Twin Cities metro area is home to an estimated 20,700 people whose
country of origin is predominantly Muslim, according to one analysis of
census data, although some estimates put the figure at 60,000 or more.
Whatever the number, Minnesota Muslim editors have a challenge in
serving a
readership that could include a Pakistani engineer, a Somali mother, a
Palestinian student or an African-American teacher…
Like most fledgling papers, Minnesota Muslim has to sort out funding
and
staffing. The monthly paper's first 4,000-copy run was paid for with
donations and advertising. But the ambition shows even in the slim
debut
issue, which tackles women's rights in Islam, Iraqi weapons inspectors,
healthy eating and information on Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. A
15-year-old contributor submitted an essay, "Growing up in America."
"In six months, we hope to have enough subscriptions to pay the writers
and
the workers," Reshi said. "Then I hope we can just let it grow."
The next issue of Minnesota Muslim will be available later this month.
For
more information, e-mail editor@mnmuslim.com
---
MUSLIM/CHRISTIAN DIALOGUE SET SATURDAY
St. Petersburg Times, 1/3/03
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/01/03/SouthPinellas/MuslimChristian_dialo.shtml
ST. PETERSBURG - The public is invited to bring their questions and
curiosity to a Muslim and Christian interfaith dialogue Saturday
afternoon
at Bethel Community Baptist Church in St. Petersburg. A panel
discussion is
scheduled for 1 p.m. at the church, 2901 54th Ave. S. The doors open at
noon. Lunch will be available for a small donation.
Bethel pastor Manuel Sykes and Imam Wilmore Sadiki will speak at the
event,
as will Rasul Muhammad, a top aide of Nation of Islam leader Louis
Farrakhan.
-----
ARAB AMERICANS SCARED, ANGRY AT IDEA OF IRAQ WAR
Alan Elsner, Reuters, 1/3/03
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N03140725
TOLEDO, Ohio - Arab-Americans in one of the country's oldest Arab
communities are looking ahead to the prospect of a U.S. war against
Iraq
with a mixture of fear and fury.
Members of the Arab-American community of Toledo interviewed on
Thursday
said they feared not only that a U.S. attack would produce heavy
civilian
casualties in Iraq, but that it would also stoke anti-American feeling
in
the Arab world to new heights.
"When we invade Iraq, we are going to create a million Osama bin
Ladens,"
said Nael Hamdi, an Iraqi-born American, referring to the man accused
by
the United States of masterminding the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, on
the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Hamdi, who calls his parents in Baghdad on the telephone every week and
reported they were terrified at the prospect of their city being bombed
once again, said he had little time for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
but
even less for U.S. President George W. Bush…
"Bush is much more of a threat to peace and stability than Saddam
Hussein,"
he said. "I voted for him in 2000 and now I regret it. Next time, I
would
vote for a bag lady living on the streets rather than for Bush."
"George Bush is willing to kill thousands of Iraqi children for cheap
oil,"
Hamdi added, echoing the views of several Arab-Americans interviewed.
This perceived aggression toward a Muslim Arab nation is for many
Arab-Americans compounded by decades of unwavering U.S. support for
Israel,
a source of deep bitterness.
"Bush is ready to start a war in Iraq but he is not ready to try to
stop
the war in Palestine," said retired businessman Yahia Shousher...
-----
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOR PROPOSED YOUTH CAMP ENDS
Associated Press, 1/3/03
NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa (AP) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will review
public comments before deciding whether to move forward with plans to
lease
land for a proposed Muslim Youth Camp.
The deadline for public comment on the project was Thursday and most of
the
letters and e-mails the corps of engineers received about the camp
voiced
opposition to the plan.
Muslim Youth Camps of America wants to build a $2 million camp that
would
include 10 cabins, a conference center, beach, boat docks, 36-foot
prayer
tower, caretaker's residence and paved parking for 66 vehicles. The
land,
about 106 acres, is about two miles northeast of North Liberty near
Coralville Lake and is managed by the corps.
The property served for decades as a summer retreat for Girl Scouts but
has
been vacant since a 1990 fire destroyed the camp's rustic lodge. The
road
to the property also serves private homes.
Most of the people who wrote letters in opposition to the camp are
worried
about noise, traffic, waste water, wells and zoning, said Karen
Hagerty,
corps of engineers project manager.
Others responding to the report said they do not want Muslims meeting
in
their back yards, she said.
"One gentleman said he didn't want to provide terrorists a hiding
place,"
she said.
Hagerty said the Corps is complying with all national security
requirements
and is not allowed to discriminate by race or religion.
Manzoor Ali, chairman of the board of directors of the camp
organization,
had previously said allegations that the camp was associated with
terrorists are unfounded.
County officials also filed documents opposing the project, saying it
would
put too much strain on unimproved county roads and emergency services.
Karen Hagerty, Corps of Engineers project manager, said the Corps would
review the comments and group them into categories before responding to
the
concerns. The corps will release a statement of findings, including all
comments and responses, by April, she said…
ACTION REQUESTED:
Send letters of support for the proposed youth camp to:
US Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District
Attention: Karen Hagerty, Project Manager
Clock Tower Building
P.O. Box 2004
Rock Island, Illinois 61204
Phone: (309) 794-5286
Fax: (309) 794-5157
-----
U.S. RESERVES RIGHT TO ENTER PAKISTAN
TODD PITMAN, Associated Press, 1/3/03
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The U.S. military said Friday it reserves the
right to pursue fleeing al-Qaida and Taliban fighters into Pakistan
after
an American soldier was wounded at the border earlier this week…
"We do reserve the right to go after them and pursue them and that is
something that Pakistan is aware of," said U.S. military spokesman Maj.
Stephen Clutter. "In hot pursuit, we're going to chase down the bad
guys."
Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmad Khan said his country
was
looking into the American military's statement, but had no immediate
comment…
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/4/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: ABUSE OF AUTHORITY PROHIBITED
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* PENN. ISLAMIC CENTER VANDALIZED (Erie Times-News)
- Fake Patriotism, Hateful Deeds (Erie Times-News)
* SOUTH CAROLINA SERGEANT ACCUSES GUARD OF PREJUDICE (The State)
* OKLAHOMA IRREGULARLY ENFORCES BAN ON ISLAMIC SCARF (AP)
* FEAR COULD KEEP VISITORS FROM REGISTERING (Mercury News)
- Who Has To Register
- Illegal U.S. Immigrants Turn Sights on Canada (Star)
- CAIR Co-Sponsors GMU "Know Your Rights" Workshop
* FLORIDA ARREST RENEWS DEBATE OVER MUSLIM CHARITIES (Wash. Post)
* AIRLINES TO GIVE DATA ON AMERICANS GOING OVERSEAS (NY Times)
* ANTI-ISLAM WRITER SAYS SOUTH SHOULD HAVE WON CIVIL WAR (CC Times)
* CONTRA COSTA MOSQUES PLAN FOR EXPANSIONS (Contra Costa Times)
* PAKISTAN DENIES U.S. 'HOT PURSUIT' CLAIM (AP)
- U.S. Asserts Right to Enter Pakistan (Washington Post)
* JORDAN TRIES TO KEEP A VERY BIG SECRET (Sydney Morning Herald)
* FIVE RULES SET BY THE KINGDOM OF THE SETTLEMENTS (Haaretz)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: ABUSE OF AUTHORITY PROHIBITED
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "One who treats badly
those
under his authority will not enter Paradise."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 977
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
ISLAMIC CULTURAL CENTER IN ERIE VANDALIZED
Erie Times-News, 1/2/03
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?SearchID=73121927588632&Avis=GE&Dato=20030102&Kategori=NEWS02&Lopenr=101020173&Ref=AR
Vandals broke windows, destroyed signs and kicked in doors at the
Islamic
Cultural Center, 9 E. 12th St., some time early Wednesday.
It's not the first time patrons of the center have arrived to find
vandalism, but Wednesday's was the worst, said Kathum Al-Tamimi, who
helped
to temporarily repair the damage Wednesday night.
Erie police investigated. Four front windows were broken, the side door
was
kicked in; a sign near the side door was removed and the main sign on
the
front of the building was cracked and bent.
Al-Tamimi, who was at the center Wednesday to pray, said the vandals
will
not destroy what goes on inside.
"It's not going to affect us. We will make repairs," Al-Tamimi said. He
said the center is prone to violence from people drinking at a nearby
bar.
"They throw things. We have problems from them. Fortunately, no one was
here when this happened," he said.
SEE ALSO:
FAKE PATRIOTISM, HATEFUL DEEDS
Erie Times-News, 1/4/03
http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?SearchID=73121927755171&Avis=GE&Dato=20030104&Kategori=OPINION01&Lopenr=101040157&Ref=AR
Cowardly vandals attacked the Islamic Cultural Center this week,
destroying
signs and kicking in doors. This is not the first time. Any decent
person
hopes it's the last time. The site is one of Erie's two mosques,
suggesting
pseudo-patriots targeted it, stupidly thinking of America's showdown
with
Iraq. Worse is the possibility this was a purely hateful act against
the
Cultural Center because Muslims pray and socialize there. If so, this
was
nothing more than an evil, spiteful hate crime. One attack on a
religious
site represents an attack on every religion…
-----
SERGEANT ACCUSES GUARD OF PREJUDICE
Veteran says he was booted out of Fort Jackson quarters because he is
Arab
JEFF WILKINSON, The State (Columbia, SC), 1/4/03
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/4872295.htm
Sgt. Majdi Tannous, a 20-year Army veteran, says he was thrown out of
his
S.C. Army National Guard dormitory because he is an Arab.
A Guard spokesman said Tannous was dismissed from the billet for a Dec.
6
confrontation with an officer, and was allowed to remain in military
housing until Dec. 30 as a courtesy.
The Guard is conducting an investigation into Tannous' complaints and
the
incident, said spokesman Lt. Col. Pete Brooks. The results of the
investigation should be available in about a week, he said. Tannous, a
full-time Guard helicopter technician, claims officers asked him to
leave
his McCrady Center billet at Fort Jackson because his phone calls in
Arabic
to family members "spooked" fellow soldiers.
"I've served my country faithfully. I've lived in the U.S. since 1968.
Why
am I being treated this way?" he said. "If I had been speaking Spanish,
would I have been treated differently?"
Tannous said he is living in a motel in Sumter. "I'm basically
homeless,"
he said.
Brooks said Tannous was asked to leave base housing after the Dec. 6
incident. Brooks would not release the details of that incident, saying
it
is considered a personnel issue. But he said Tannous "got belligerent"
with
an officer.
Tannous confirmed the confrontation. He said he reacted to being called
"a
black-haired, bushy-mustached, terrorist-looking thug, something of
that
nature…"
He said the two incidents are the latest in a string of discriminatory
acts
he has endured in the S.C. Guard since the terrorist attacks in New
York
and Washington, D.C., on Sept. 11, 2001.
Tannous said he shrugged off being called "raghead" and "camel jockey"
by
military peers before the attacks as good-natured teasing. "After 9/11,
it
become more mean-spirited," he said. "I detect more hatred, more
mistrust…"
Tannous also said he was questioned by state Sen. John Hawkins,
R-Spartanburg, after 9/11 about the mosque where he worships and
friends
who are Muslim. Tannous said those questions, which came during his
application for a security clearance, were offensive.
Hawkins was acting as an attorney with the 228th Signal Brigade
headquarters in Spartanburg. He declined to comment on Tannous'
complaint…
"I think if I speak out, maybe other soldiers from the Middle East will
step up, too," he said. "It's the way I look. It's my accent. This
nonsense
has got to stop..."
"I don't want to give the Guard a black eye," he said. "I'm proud to
serve
but I'm upset. My allegiance is to the Constitution of this country.
All I
want is fair treatment, not special treatment."
-----
STATE IRREGULARLY ENFORCES BAN ON HEAD COVERINGS FOR LICENSE PHOTOS
Associated Press, 1/4/03
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - A state law banning head coverings in driver's
license
pictures has caused confusion because it is irregularly enforced.
Kamlah Milad, a 19-year-old Muslim, was getting her license renewed and
was
told to remove her headscarf by a camera operator.
"She told me, `We had a meeting, and we were told that only nuns could
wear
a headscarf,"' Milad said. "I couldn't believe it." I'm not going to
take
my headscarf off. I'm not going to dishonor my religion."
The headscarf, or hijab, is worn by devout Muslim women worldwide, but
this
hasn't stopped it from being a regular source of contention across
North
America.
Clashes over the wearing of the hijab accounted for 28 percent of the
complaints of discrimination by Muslims in 2000, according to the
Council
on American-Islamic Relations. In 2001, they dropped to 23 percent of
the
total, according to Washington, D.C.-based CAIR.
In Oklahoma, irregular enforcement of state law on head coverings
creates
additional confusion.
According to state law, no head covering is allowed for a driver's
license
photo, and that includes nuns' habits, Muslim headscarves or a favorite
Stetson, said Lonnie Jarman, director of driver's licenses services for
the
Oklahoma Department of Public Safety.
"We have a very strict standard, but it's not always followed," Jarman
said. "Tag agents are supposed to follow the code."
The Oklahoma Administrative Code allows only the Public Safety
Commissioner
or his designee, in this case Jarman, to make an exception to the rule.
"Where I make an exception is for cancer patients, especially women,
without hair who are wearing a bandanna," Jarman said. "I have never
approved one for religious purposes…"
These rules aren't always enforced. Some tag agencies stay within the
rules
and others make up rules as they go along, Jarman said.
Milad found examples of the latter. Not only did her previous driver's
license have a photo of her with a headscarf, she was able to go to
another
tag agent and get the license renewed without a question being asked,
she
said, headscarf and all.
"We cannot police 280 tag agents," Jarman said. "Even if they do
violate
the rules - and some of them do - we can't take that photo machine away
from them.
"We are here to carry out public policy," Jarman said. "We're not
discriminating against Islamic women."
-----
FEAR OF DETENTION, DEPORTATION COULD KEEP VISITORS FROM REGISTERING
Jessie Mangaliman and Matthai Chakko Kuruvila, San Jose Mercury News,
1/4/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/4873223.htm
With a deadline less than a week away, immigrant community leaders say
they're worried that visitors from Afghanistan, Lebanon and 11 other
countries may not register as part of a new national security program
because they fear they'll be detained or deported.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service took hundreds of men from
five
Middle Eastern countries into custody following the first registration
deadline last month, primarily for overstaying their visas or
registering
late, infractions that rarely resulted in detention until Sept. 11,
2001.
The government has defended the crackdown, noting that three of the 19
Sept. 11 hijackers were in the U.S. on expired visitor's visas. Among
those
detained last month were a handful men with outstanding arrest warrants
and
a few convicted felons who face deportation because of their crimes.
But
Bay Area immigrant advocacy groups and others say even visitors who are
here legally on valid visas are nervous about the registration process
and
Friday's deadline, which applies to male visitors from 13 countries.
"This is going to stop people who are supposed to register because
they're
afraid to go," said Rahim Aurang, director of the Bay Area Immigrant
and
Refugee Services, a nonprofit group that works with mostly Afghan
refugees.
Worried about more detentions, immigrant advocacy groups have hastily
set
up a legal clinic in San Francisco this weekend. Beginning Monday, a
civil
rights group will track how many register and how many are detained. A
protest outside the INS office in San Francisco is scheduled for
Friday…
WHO HAS TO REGISTER
The national anti-terror, border security program requires visiting men
and
boys 16 years or older from certain countries to register at INS
offices if
they arrived in the United States before Sept. 30, 2002. Here are the
requirements:
Visitors from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria were required to
register
by Dec. 16.
Visitors from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco,
North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and
Yemen
must register by Jan 10.
Those from Pakistan or Saudi Arabia must register from Jan. 13 to Feb.
21.
Diplomats, permanent residents, legal refugees and those who sought
asylum
in the United States by specific deadlines do not need to register.
Source: Immigration and Naturalization Service
SEE ALSO:
ILLEGAL U.S. IMMIGRANTS TURN SIGHTS ON CANADA
Colin Nickerson, Toronto Star, 1/4/03
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1035776235949
Hundreds of undocumented Pakistanis and Arabs, many of whom have lived
in
the United States for years, have crowded Canadian border crossings in
recent days to seek asylum as America cracks down on illegal immigrants
as
part of its war against terrorism.
The surge at crossings in Quebec, Ontario and, to a lesser extent,
British
Columbia, appears to reflect mounting fear among foreigners without
legal
status in the United States, particularly those of Middle Eastern,
South
Asian, and North African origin, that they now face a greater risk of
being
deported from the United States.
"It's too dangerous to stay; I'm too frightened by the mood in the
U.S.,"
said Tariq Mohammed, 27, a Pakistani who said he had overstayed a
student
visa by seven years to take a succession of jobs - the last as
assistant
manager of a warehouse in Rhode Island. He arrived in Montreal
yesterday
and hopes Canada will grant him permanent asylum.
"Until 9/11, America had a tolerance for the people who work hard," he
said. "Even if (we) were technically breaking some law of immigration
or
legal residency, no one cared. But now, I am too afraid of arrest and
deportation. America is so full of hatred and vengeance toward Muslims.
So
I come to Canada, a more humanitarian place…"
---
CAIR CO-SPONSORS GMU "KNOW YOUR RIGHTS" WORKSHOP
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT SPECIAL REGISTRATION? Come to a workshop to
learn about your rights & responsibilities under this program.
This workshop includes information on special registration followed by
brief consultations with lawyers. Lawyer referrals will be made
available.
WHEN: MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 2003, 7:30 PM
WHERE: GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL, 3401 N. Fairfax Drive,
Arlington, VA Room 251 in the Original Building (red brick building)
SPONSORS:
National Lawyers Guild- DC, Immigration Committee
American Immigration Lawyers Association- DC Chapter
Council on American-Islamic Relations
DIRECTIONS
BY METRO: Take Orange Line to Virginia Square/GMU metro. Exit station.
Turn
around to face North Fairfax Drive. Cross street and walk toward the
FDIC
Building. The School of Law is located in the building on the corner of
North Fairfax Drive and Kirkwood Road.
-----
FLORIDA ARREST RENEWS DEBATE OVER MUSLIM CHARITIES
Manuel Roig-Franzia, Washington Post, 1/4/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8137-2003Jan3.html
ORLANDO - Prosecutors have not charged him with supporting terrorism,
but
they have brought up his alleged ties to violent groups in an
unsuccessful
attempt to have him held without bond on charges of executing an
elaborate,
$ 2.5 million money-laundering scheme that allegedly allowed him to
employ
more than 50 illegal immigrants through shell companies.
The charges frame the case as a straightforward illegal-labor
crackdown,
like those prosecuted almost every day in courtrooms throughout the
nation.
But many Muslim leaders believe something much bigger is happening
here.
What is really at stake, they say, is whether thousands of Muslims
nationwide -- Maali among them -- can be considered supporters of
terrorism
because they donated to charities that, after Sept. 11, 2001, were
designated as conduits to terrorists. The fears are compounded because
Islam requires its adherents to donate a portion of their annual income
to
charity -- a practice known as zakat.
The allusions to terrorism in the Maali case inflamed the sizable
Muslim
and Arab American communities here, leading to demonstrations and
impassioned assertions that Maali is being targeted because of a
hysterical
reaction to the Sept. 11 terror attacks…
"They wanted to make a splash," Maali said in a recent interview. "Here
now
I have to go out and prove I'm innocent. This is a new era. I hope
America
still stays America. I hope we are not going to be a police state…"
On the same day that Maali was arrested, federal prosecutors announced
in
court that he had "financial ties to Middle Eastern organizations who
advocate violence." They did not elaborate, but there was the promise
of
more to come at a bond hearing several days later.
As Maali sat in jail awaiting the hearing, tensions built outside. A
local
television station superimposed his face next to an image of Osama bin
Laden and dubbed the case "Tourism for Terrorism."
Mosques were abuzz. Muslim leaders complained about what they said was
a
discriminatory case. Maali's family held a traditional Ramadan feast
without him, an act resonant with emotional significance.
"It really shook our community," said Tariq Rashid, the imam of the
Jama'
Masjid spiritual center in south Orlando and a tutor to some of Maali's
children. "To tie him to terrorism without solid proof, this is wrong…"
By the time of Maali's bond hearing, the authorities were preparing for
pandemonium, blocking streets and diverting traffic from Orlando's
federal
courthouse. Outside, more than 200 people who couldn't get a seat
inside
marched in support of Maali. Several times during the day, dozens of
Muslims broke off from the crowd and knelt in the street to pray toward
Mecca…
During the bond hearing, FBI counterterrorism specialist Stephen John
Thomas outlined Maali's donations and said he collected $ 30,000 for
the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which the government has
listed as a terrorist organization.
Thomas also said Maali corresponded with another charity that allegedly
has
terrorist ties, Benevolence International Foundation. Like Holy Land,
Benevolence has denied supporting terrorism, but the disavowals by both
organizations have not swayed the federal judges who ordered their
assets
frozen.
Faced with the allegations about ties to groups thought to be aiding
terrorism, Maali's attorneys struck back aggressively. They came up
with
receipts to show that the $ 30,000 the FBI thought Maali was collecting
for
the Popular Front actually went to the Palestinian Aid Society, a group
that has not been accused of terrorist links. The correspondence with
Benevolence turned out to have been sent by one of Maali's employees...
-----
U.S. TO MAKE AIRLINES GIVE DATA ON AMERICANS GOING OVERSEAS
By DAVID JOHNSTON, New York Times, 1/4/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/04/politics/04TRAV.html
WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 - Americans traveling abroad would have to give the
government detailed personal information before leaving or returning
under
an antiterrorism rule that the Immigration and Naturalization Service
proposed today.
The rule would force airlines and shipping companies to collect and
submit
to the government the name, birth date, sex, passport number, home
country
and address of every passenger and crew member. The intent is to
provide
the authorities with more complete information about who enters and
leaves
the United States.
Currently, air and shipping lines are not required to provide such
information to the government about Americans. The proposed rule would
make
it mandatory for carriers to supply the information about American
citizens
and noncitizens, immigration officials said.
Much of the information is already collected from people entering the
country in an arrangement in which 80 percent of commercial carriers
voluntarily give personal information about their passengers to the
immigration service, the officials said. The added information would be
collected while the aircraft or vessel was en route to the United
States
and electronically transmitted to immigration officials on the ground
at
the port of entry.
The rule would also require carriers to provide information about
people
who are leaving the United States within 48 hours after the departure
of
their flight or vessel, the officials said.
The rule would take effect after a 30-day comment period. It would
apply to
passengers and crew members on airlines, cargo flights, cruise ships
and
other vessels. The information would be electronically checked against
watch lists and databases of people suspected of being involved in
terrorism or other criminal activity…
-----
ANTI-ISLAM WRITER SAYS SOUTH SHOULD HAVE WON CIVIL WAR
GOP'S STATE VICE CHAIRMAN IN HOT WATER
Daniel Borenstein, Contra Costa Times, 1/4/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/4873488.htm
A leading candidate in the upcoming race for chairman of the California
Republican Party distributed an article suggesting the nation would
have
been better off if the South had won the Civil War.
The article was included in a 1999 e-mail newsletter that state GOP
Vice
Chairman Bill Back sent to party members. It was written by Bill Lind,
director of the Center for Cultural Conservatism, an arm of the
right-wing
Free Congress Foundation.
"Given how bad things have gotten in the old U.S.A., it's not hard to
believe that history might have taken a better turn," Lind wrote.
"...The
real damage to race relations in the South came not from slavery, but
from
Reconstruction, which would not have occurred if the South had won…"
The Free Congress Foundation describes itself as politically and
culturally
conservative. "Our main focus is on the Culture War," the foundation
says
in its Web page description. "Will America return to the culture that
made
it great, our traditional, Judeo-Christian, Western culture? Or will we
continue the long slide into the cultural and moral decay of political
correctness? If we do, America, once the greatest nation on earth, will
become no less than a Third World country."
The group's Web site promotes an article written by Lind and the
group's
president, Paul Weyrick, titled "Why Islam Is a Threat to America and
the
West." According to the description, "This hard-hitting new paper
dissects
and devastates the notion that Islam is a 'peaceful, tolerant'
religion.
... Learn why and how Islam is making war on Christians everywhere --
and
what the West needs to do in response."
Pitney, the government professor who worked as a Republican staff
member on
Capitol Hill in the 1980s, says the group is "as far out on the right
as
you can be. It's the last stop before kookville."
-----
CONTRA COSTA MOSQUES PLAN FOR EXPANSIONS
Jack Chang, Contra Costa Times, 1/4/02
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/4873449.htm
CONCORD - Two of Central Contra Costa County's biggest mosques have
launched ambitious expansion plans and are considering joining a third
mosque to form a unified, major worship center serving the region's
booming
Muslim population.
The Islamic Center of Contra Costa on Clayton Road plans to buy a 2,500
square-foot former carpet store adjacent to its present location, which
would more than double the 200-member congregation's worship space.
That means being able to open a larger area for women's worship
services
and possibly starting religious classes, said member Ameer Ahmed who
has
participated in the mosque's expansion efforts. "The community has
grown,
and we want more space," Ahmed said. "It's very important for us
because
Muslims should pray five times a day, and you need a place of your own
to
do that."
Meanwhile, the older Darulislam Masjid center is raising money to build
a
new mosque on a 2.2-acre parcel that the mosque has already purchased
and
is paying off. For the past 12 years, the mosque's members have
worshipped
in a storefront tucked in a Concord Boulevard shopping center, next to
the
El Molino Tortilla Factory.
Plans for the site on Kirker Pass Road include a Muslim school and a
community center…
-----
PAKISTAN DENIES U.S. 'HOT PURSUIT' CLAIM
MUNIR AHMAD, Associated Press, 12/4/03
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan on Saturday vehemently denied the
claim
by a U.S. military official that it has granted American forces the
right
to chase fleeing Taliban and al-Qaida fighters into its territory from
neighboring Afghanistan.
Pakistan's information minister issued the denial a day after a
spokesman
for American forces said the nations agreed that U.S. troops could
cross
the border in "hot pursuit" of suspected Taliban or fighters from Osama
bin
Laden's al-Qaida network.
"Absolutely not, the Americans cannot cross the Pakistani border from
Afghanistan to chase what they say are vestiges of Taliban and
al-Qaida,"
Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told The Associated Press in
Islamabad, Pakistan's capital...
SEE ALSO:
U.S. ASSERTS RIGHT TO ENTER PAKISTAN
Marc Kaufman, Washington Post, 1/4/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8036-2003Jan3.html
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Jan. 3 -- With U.S. forces coming under
increasing fire along the Afghan-Pakistani border, a military spokesman
said today that the United States reserves the right to pursue Taliban
and
al Qaeda guerrillas into Pakistan.
"U.S. forces acknowledge the internationally recognized boundaries of
Afghanistan but may pursue attackers who attempt to escape into
Pakistan to
evade capture or retaliation," Maj. Stephen Clutter said here at the
military base that serves as headquarters for U.S. and allied troops in
Afghanistan.
His comment, made by e-mail to Reuters news service, articulated a
policy
that had not been publicly described before and sometimes has been
vigorously denied. Clutter said the U.S. military has had the right to
cross into Pakistan for some time and that "this is done with the
express
consent of the Pakistani government." But Pakistani leaders said today
that
there was no agreement for so-called hot pursuit and that they would
object
to uniformed American soldiers crossing into Pakistan.
-----
JORDAN TRIES TO KEEP A VERY BIG SECRET
Sarah Smiles, Sydney Morning Herald, 1/4/03
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/03/1041566229790.html
Jordan's King Abdullah II has gone to great lengths to save face with
Iraq,
denying a US presence in Jordan and publicly refusing the US access to
military bases. Jordanians living in the dusty truck-stop towns
alongside
the highway to Baghdad reflect their king's predicament - most locals
refuse to discuss the military build-up around their towns.
"We're not allowed to admit the Americans are here. It will get us into
big
trouble. It's a secret to Iraq, so you can't talk about it," says
Khalid,
30, from the town of Al-Azraq, 250 kilometres from the Iraqi border,
and
home to Muafaq al-Salti airbase…
As one of the key US regional allies, Jordan has been forced into an
uncomfortable position and stands to lose millions of dollars in trade
with
Iraq, absorbing another potentially destabilising wave of refugees.
"The Jordanian Government is horrified about the likely fallout of an
invasion of Iraq and has told the US so publicly," Professor Sadowski
says.
"Privately the US has been trying to assure King Abdullah that they
will
make sure he is protected, including compensation for the lack of oil
and
trade with Baghdad."
Professor Sadowski says Jordan has also asked the US to make Israel
promise
not to expel or "transfer" the West Bank Palestinians into Jordan
during a
possible war. The Government is worried the Israeli Prime Minister,
Ariel
Sharon, will use a US attack to deport a majority of the 1.8 million
Palestinians in the occupied territories, making Jordan their
substitute
homeland.
-----
FIVE RULES SET BY THE KINGDOM OF THE SETTLEMENTS
Amira Hass, Haaretz, 1/4/03
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=247157
Over there, in the Kingdom of the Settlements, the thresholds of shame
were
crossed long before the suicide bombings. There was the trickery and
legalistic manipulation that enabled the citizens of a state occupying
lands it doesn't own - and in violation of international law - to move
onto
those lands; the limited water quotas for Palestinians and the generous
quotas for Jew; the complex regulations that stripped tens thousands of
Palestinian natives of the West Bank and Gaza, and their children, of
their
residency; the "state lands" that were made available only to Jews, at
extremely low prices; the roads paved to serve Jews only, with the
strategic goal of isolating the enclaves of a Palestinian state.
But now the proposals to ban Arab MKs and Arab lists from the Knesset
and
prove that the lack of selection at cafes are only a vague echo of the
amputated civic democratic thinking, because the criteria for a
"Jewish-democratic state" now is obedience to the rules that were set
and
constituted in the Kingdom of the Settlements and its protectors - the
IDF
and Shin Bet…
-----
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-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/5/2003
HEADLINES:
* CAIR-FL TO SEEK SUSPENSION OF INS SPECIAL REGISTRATION
- Bay Area Mosques to Hold INS Forums (SF Chronicle)
- Some Way to Win Friends (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
- DC Area Pakistanis Wary Of Registration Law (Wash. Post)
- Some Cry Foul Over Disparity in INS Registration (Post-Dispatch)
-----
- MEDIA ADVISORY -
CAIR-FL TO SEEK SUSPENSION OF INS SPECIAL REGISTRATION
Congressional oversight needed to protect the innocent
(TALLAHASSEE AND DAVIE, FLORIDA, 1/3/2003) On Monday, January 6, the
Florida office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL),
in
coordination with Florida State University's Center for Advancement of
Human Rights, the American Civil-Liberties Union, the American
Immigration
Lawyers Association, the Florida Immigration Advocacy Center, the
Florida
Commission on Human Relations, and the South Florida Human Rights
Council,
will hold two news conferences, one in Tallahassee and Miami, to seek
suspension of the "special registration" program currently being
implemented by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
SEE: Portal to Information on Special Registration Procedures
http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/lawenfor/specialreg/index.htm
MIAMI NEWS CONFERENCE
WHERE: Front of the U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service, 7880
Biscayne Blvd. Miami, FL
WHEN: January 6, 2003
TIME: 4 PM
TALLAHASSEE NEWS CONFERENCE
WHERE: Capital Press Corps, 336 E. College Ave., Tallahassee, FL
WHEN: January 6, 2003
TIME: 11 AM
"Rather than strengthening ties with the Muslim and Arab communities to
gather information about potential terrorists, the Bush administration
is
using ethnic profiling to single out one group of immigrants based
solely
on their place of birth or religious affiliation. This is ineffective
and
discriminatory scheme will do little to increase safety." said Larry
Spalding, Legislative Staff Counsel of the ACLU of Florida.
"Florida Muslims support actions that will safeguard our state and
country.
However, the current INS program assumes Muslims to be guilty until
proven
innocent. We are calling upon our elected officials to critically
assess if
the Justice Department policies are really increasing the security of
the
country," said CAIR-FL Executive Director Altaf Ali.
"There is significant potential for backlash against innocent and
vulnerable Muslims (and other similarly situated individuals) who are
living, working or attending classes in Florida at a time when concerns
about security are high and perceptions about the threat of terrorism
are
easily influenced...there is consensus that reasonable steps must be
taken
to secure the people of Florida against the threat of terrorism;
however,
any such steps must respect basic civil rights and liberties." said
Mark
Schlakman, program director, Florida State University Center for the
Advancement of Human Rights.
Cheryl Little, Executive Director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy
Center
added, "Many law-abiding individuals who have attempted to comply with
the
latest registration requirements have been jailed and placed in
deportation
proceedings. Unfortunately, these overly broad requirements do not
increase
our nation's security. Rather, they target the very persons whose
cooperation is critical."
Jill Greenberg, Press Secretary for Senator Bob Graham had this to say,
"Senator Graham is concerned about the implementation and lack of
congressional input on this policy. Our office is in constant contact
with
the INS and initiated a meeting in December along with Senator
Kennedy's
office to discuss our concerns with the implementation of this policy."
- END -
CONTACT: Mr. Altaf Ali, CAIR-FL, 954-298-8214, E-MAIL:
altaf@cair-florida.org; Mr. Larry Spalding, ACLU, 850-425-1050, E-MAIL:
LarryACLU@aol.com; Mr. Mark Schlakman, CAHR, 850-644-4614, E-MAIL:
mschlackman@admin.fsu.edu; Ms. Cheryl Little, FIAC, 305-573-1106,
E-MAIL:
clittle@fiacfla.org
SEE ALSO:
MOSQUES TO HOLD FORUMS ON MANDATORY INS REGISTRY
Anastasia Hendrix, Meredith May, San Francisco Chronicle, 1/5/03
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/01/05/BA64029.DTL
Mosques around the Bay Area will begin holding forums to help men who
must
comply with federal mandates to register at Immigration and
Naturalization
Service offices better understand their rights and the process.
Immigration lawyers and activists are organizing the informational
session
to help residents in Northern California who are male, age 16 years and
older, entered the country before Oct. 1 and hold temporary visas, said
Helal Omeira, spokesman for the San Jose chapter of the Council on
American
Islamic Relations…
The policy has received widespread criticism from activists and
immigration
experts.
"I think the important thing is that these tactics belie any claim by
the
INS that the purpose of registration is legitimate information
gathering,"
said Lucas Guttentag, who heads the Oakland office of the American
Civil
Liberties Union's immigrant rights project.
"The program seems clearly to be designed to continue and expand the
arrests and deportation of Middle Eastern men and Muslims."
---
SOME WAY TO WIN FRIENDS
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 1/5/03
http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/jan03/107905.asp
As an example of stupid bureaucratic bungling, few government programs
rival the recent attempt by the Immigration and Naturalization Service
to
fingerprint and photograph, post-Sept. 11, Arab and Muslim men
temporarily
in the United States. In the much-abused name of national security, the
INS
has inflicted a real hardship on thousands of hard-working and
law-abiding
foreign visitors…
It may be too much to expect common sense from an organization that has
compiled a long record of incompetence. But that's what is needed from
the
INS in advance of the January and February deadlines. It's important to
enforce the law, but it's also important to remember that the vast
majority
of the Arab and Muslim men who show up have nothing to hide except
perhaps
their jitters.
---
AREA PAKISTANIS WARY OF REGISTRATION LAW
Arthur Santana, Washington Post, 1/5/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11623-2003Jan4.html
Members of the area's Pakistani community, faced with a requirement
that
they register with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service by
next
month, gathered with the Pakistani ambassador to air their concerns and
hear his advice…
At the meeting, concerns ranged from a sense of hurt pride that they
would
be required to register to fear that registration might result in
arrest --
a complaint that led to a recent lawsuit by a group of Iranian men in
Los
Angeles…
---
SOME CRY FOUL OVER DISPARITY IN IMMIGRATION REGISTRATION
Karen Branch-Brioso, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/news/C326D5349D9369A186256CA4007EEFF6?OpenDocument&highlight=2%2Cmartinez&headline=Some+cry+foul+over+disparity+in+immigration+registration
The scene played out over and over last month at immigration offices
from
Boston to San Diego. Men from five Muslim nations lined up to be
fingerprinted and photographed as part of a new anti- terrorism plan to
keep tabs on foreign visitors in the United States.
The consistency ended there. In Southern California, hundreds of men
were
detained for expired visas, even when the Immigration and
Naturalization
Service knew many had pending applications at the same office to become
permanent residents. In Detroit, no one was detained under the same
circumstances.
In San Francisco, two Canadian citizens born in Iran were told they
didn't
have to register. At the neighboring San Jose office, two other
Canadians
who were born in Iran showed up to register after the Dec. 16 deadline
-
and were incarcerated.
All the men provided passports and photo identification, but some
offices
wanted to see more, according to an American Immigration Lawyers
Association survey: bank account numbers, credit cards, ATM cards,
health
insurance, video-rental cards and library cards.
Justice Department spokesman Jorge Martinez said such information was
taken
only as a second form of I.D. "It won't be used for anything," he said.
But that hasn't reassured critics of the registration program unveiled
last
year by Attorney General John Ashcroft as part of a broad Justice
Department strategy to prevent terrorist attacks…
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/6/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: ENJOIN WHAT IS GOOD
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT UPDATE: 4617
* FROM MEXICO TO MECCA (San Francisco Chronicle)
- Muslim History Takes Root in South (Los Angeles Times)
- Christians, Muslims, Jews Work Together (CC Times)
- Muslims' Radio Message: We are Regular People (O Sentinel)
* "TOLERANCE" MUSEUM HEAD PUBLISHED ON ANTI-ISLAM SITE
* IMMIGRANTS WONDER WHETHER TO REGISTER (OC Register)
- Lawyers, Advocates Study INS Registration (Herald News)
- America's Muslims Never Had To Unite-Until Now (Wash. Post)
* NO EXCUSE FOR COMPLICITY IN TORTURE (Star Tribune)
- No To Torture (Washington Post)
- Double Standards in the War Against Terror (Independent)
* GEORGE W. BUSH'S CONSTITUTION (Village Voice)
* POISON PEN (Washington Post)
* UNDERCOVER WAR BEGINS AS FORCES ENTER IRAQ (Morning Herald)
- We've Seen This Plot Before (Montreal Gazette)
- UN Inspectors Fear Bush Will Ignore Them (Observer)
* ISRAEL CLOSES 3 PALESTINIAN UNIVERSITIES (AP)
- Israel Has Right to Defend Itself, U.S. Says (Reuters)
* MAYBE PIPES IS WRONG AND COLLEGES ARE RIGHT (LA Times)
* FLA. FACULTY PROTESTS BANNED PALESTINIAN (AP)
* DUTCH MOSQUE DAMAGED IN WEEKEND GRENADE ATTACK
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: ENJOIN WHAT IS GOOD
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Obedience (to someone's
orders) is required only when he enjoins what is good."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 5, Hadith 629
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: 4617 SPONSORSHIPS
CAIR's Library Project has received 4617 sponsorships for $150 book and
tape packages on Islam to be placed in libraries across the country.
Take
part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library
package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
FROM MEXICO TO MECCA
Ana Campoy, San Francisco Chronicle, 1/5/02
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/01/05/IN207622.DTL
When the doorbell rings, Daniel Denton rises from the couch.
"Ah, Martin!" he says, opening the door a crack. "Babe, Martin is
here," he
shouts to his wife, who rushes to get her veil and fits it around her
face
tightly, so none of her wiry black hair shows. The couple hasn't seen
Martin in months. He is Daniel's cousin and has just arrived in
Stockton
after a day's drive from Rosarito, Mexico…
Once upon a time, Daniel -- like Martin, like 93 percent of the Mexican
population -- was Catholic. Growing up in Tijuana, his mother taught
him to
go to church, but when he was 22 years old, Daniel walked away from the
Catholic doctrine and embraced a faith virtually unknown in his world.
For years, the Vatican has struggled to keep its Latin American sheep
from
dispersing into less "acceptable" folds of Christianity -- evangelical
Protestant sects, Mormonism and the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Islam, with its veiled women and monthlong fasting, has not even been
on
the priestly radar screen. But its numbers are growing.
Thousands of Hispanics -- estimates range from 50,000 to 75,000 -- now
attend mosques all over the United States, according to the American
Muslim
Council, an Islamic advocacy group…
Daniel's is the story of one man's conversion. It wouldn't have
happened in
Mexico, where Islam is virtually unknown, but his new country provides
the
freedom to pick and choose among diverse belief systems.
Being Muslim involves intensive juggling to meet secular and religious
obligations -- especially hard during Ramadan, when Muslims commemorate
the
revelation of the Koran to prophet Mohammed by setting aside from dawn
to
dusk all their worldly desires and wake up before 5 a.m. to eat.
Changing spiritual stations can be a challenge. As we shall see, it has
had
profound effects on Daniel's thinking, his family, his lifestyle, his
career and even his view of his heritage…
SEE ALSO:
MUSLIM HISTORY TAKES ROOT IN SOUTH
Ken Ellingwood, Los Angeles Times, 1/6/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-muslim6jan06001441,0,3811539.story
JACKSON, Miss. - The timing, it seemed, couldn't have been worse.
It was the summer of 2001, and the organizers of an exhibit about Islam
were weighing whether to turn it into a permanent museum. The temporary
display had drawn well enough to encourage museum boosters to think
bigger.
Then came Sept. 11 -- and eruptions of bias against Muslims nationwide.
On
the downtown Jackson street where the Islamic exhibit was housed in a
converted warehouse, the immediate response was just as ugly: Days
after
the terrorist attacks, a brick smashed into the plate-glass window…
But a surprising thing happened. The little storefront museum, with its
Moorish-style arches and colorfully tiled entrance, didn't wither. The
fund-raiser was a hit (the headliners showed up, after all). And the
museum
drew a stream of visitors -- school and university groups, tourists and
residents -- who suddenly had a thousand questions about Islam, and
about
the possible motivations of the Sept. 11 terrorists.
But the warm reception has inspired organizers to plan an expansion of
the
museum, which sits next to a closed tire store down the street from the
Mississippi Museum of Art. The Muslim museum has won praise and
financial
help from city and tourism officials, who say it reflects a cultural
diversity in Mississippi that is often not recognized by outsiders.
Rashid, now the museum's director, said underscoring the historical
contributions by Muslims in areas ranging from medicine to commerce may
help explain why, with the exception of the brick, harmony generally
prevailed in this city of 200,000 after the terrorist attacks inflamed
passions elsewhere…
---
CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS, JEWS WORK TOGETHER IN COALITIONS
Jack Chang, Contra Costa Times, 1/6/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/4883450.htm
As wind and rain lashed Richmond on a recent night, nine families who
had
lost their homes prepared for bed in a warm, cozy building adjacent to
a
downtown church.
Among them was Derrick Green and his teenage daughter Joycelyn, who had
been spending much of their days riding BART trains around the Bay Area
to
get some rest. Vrondia Clay and her three daughters took up a fleet of
single mattresses nearby. They had recently fled an abusive household
in El
Sobrante. And sitting at a table, chatting easily, were Elisabeth
Miller
and Ahmad Rasheed, whose efforts helped create this sanctuary.
The pair hail from the Greater Richmond Interfaith Program, a coalition
of
churches, synagogues and mosques that has led the way to feed, shelter
and
otherwise care for the region's homeless population.
Although the pair belong to faiths that have seen much recent conflict
--
Miller is Jewish and Rasheed is Muslim -- they were united in the
program's
cause.
"We get together and don't worry about the differences," said Miller, a
member of Temple Beth Hillel in Richmond. "We're all the same people.
We
just worship differently."
"We don't have geographic or political gain to fight over, because
that's
what they're fighting for around the world," said Rasheed, who is from
the
Muslim Peace Community in the same city. "Our object is to come
together
and work together."
Such coalitions represent not only a model for religious cooperation in
a
fractured world, but also a growing engine for social change throughout
the
Bay Area, which has dozens of interfaith coalitions big and small...
---
MUSLIMS' RADIO MESSAGE: WE ARE REGULAR PEOPLE
Mark I. Pinsky, Orlando Sentinel, 1/6/03
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/lifestyle/orl-liv-view010603,0,1182104.story
On Sunday mornings at 9, when Central Florida's airwaves are clogged
with
religious broadcasting, program coordinator Lauri Lott prepares to
elbow
her way into the minds of listeners by cueing up a song like "Peace
Train,"
by the 1970s recording artist Cat Stevens.
The song is a catchy, engaging -- and appropriate -- choice to kick off
the
radio show she helps put together, The American Muslim Hour, on 660 AM
(WORL). Stevens, born in England of Greek and Swedish parents, has
become
an energetic convert to Islam, taking the name Yusuf Islam.
The show is the only one of its kind airing in Central Florida, and one
of
the few radio voices of Islam outside major cities.
Lott is a Windermere homemaker and convert to the faith, and she knows
she
has a tough sell: explaining Islam -- post 9-11 -- to people in one of
the
most devotedly Christian parts of the United States.
"We want people to know that we're normal people," she says. "We're
letting
the American people know who we are -- in a good light…"
-----
"TOLERANCE" MUSEUM HEAD PUBLISHED ON ANTI-ISLAM SITE
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/6/02) - A prominent national Islamic civil rights
and
advocacy group today called for a clarification as to why an article
written by the head of the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center's
"Museum of Tolerance" recently appeared on a website known for its
rhetorical attacks on Islam and Muslims.
SEE: http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=5240
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said
the
article by Rabbi Marvin Hier, which outlined what he says is the
resurgence
of anti-Semitism worldwide, appeared on Frontpagemag.com, a web site
that
has published other articles with headlines such as "The Stupidity of
Dialogue With Islam," "Islam: A Defective Civilization?" "The Golden
Age of
Islam is a Myth," "Falwell Was Right [to call Muhammad a terrorist],"
and
"Do Moslems, Christians & Jews Believe in the Same God?"
"While we commend Rabbi Hier for challenging anti-Semitism, and we
condemn
that noxious phenomenon wherever it appears in the Muslim world, we
also
believe it is at best inappropriate and at worst hypocritical for him
to
publish an article on a website that regularly defames Islam and
Muslims,"
said CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. He noted that just
today,
Frontpagemag.com published an article headlined "Islam's Immigrant
Invasion
of Europe." Hooper called on Rabbi Hier to clarify how and why the
article
appeared on such a hate-filled site.
The Museum of Tolerance website says it was founded to "confront
bigotry
and racism."
SEE: http://www.museumoftolerance.com/mot/index.cfm
Two years ago, CAIR called on Rabbi Hier to back up his accusation that
the
Quran, Islam's revealed text, holds "extremist" views. Hier told CNN's
Larry King: "So if someone asks me straight: 'Are there any extremist
views
in the Quran?' I would say yes."
In 1998, CAIR, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and the Islamic
Shura Council of Southern California criticized the Museum of Tolerance
for
its lack of references to anti-Islamic bigotry, displays that could
raise
the existing level of intolerance toward Muslims and museum bookstore
materials that used intolerance to fight intolerance by blaming Muslims
and
Arabs for slavery.
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-MAIL:
cair@cair-net.org; Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787 or 703-861-7294,
E-MAIL:
hhassan@cair-net.org
-----
IMMIGRANTS WONDER WHETHER TO REGISTER OR FACE THREAT OF DEPORTATION
Jeff Rowe, Orange County Register, 1/6/03
http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/homepage.do
GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - Immigrants from Middle Eastern nations confront
a
tough choice this week: Do they appear as ordered before the
Immigration
and Naturalization Service and risk being detained or do they skip the
process and risk being deported?
Many will be severely tempted to skip the process if they listen to
Monir
Hawa's story. When he reported to federal authorities as required last
month, he was arrested, held for five days behind bars and, he said,
treated like a criminal. Hawa was one of about 50 immigrants who came
to a
legal clinic Saturday afternoon in Garden Grove, Calif., seeking advice
on
what do about a new federal program called the National Security Entry
Exit
Registration…
A Syrian immigrant, Hawa presented himself as ordered Dec. 16. Hawa and
his
wife, Halime Elsayes, run a Garden Grove restaurant called King Kabob.
Elsayes has permanent resident status and expects to become a citizen
in
two months; Hawa came to the United States on a visitor visa and
married
Elsayes.
Hawa says FBI agents at the INS office told him he had violated
immigration
rules. He was promptly handcuffed and taken to the Santa Ana jail,
where he
was strip-searched and carted off to the Westminster jail and then on
to
the Mira Loma Detention Center near Lancaster, Calif.
There, Hawa says he was strip-searched again, marched around in paper
slippers and told when his request for another blanket was denied that
"cold will kill germs."
Hawa now must post a $2,500 bond and doesn't know what to expect next…
---
LAWYERS, ADVOCATES STUDY INS REGISTRATION
Suzanne Travers, Herald News, 1/6/03
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?level_3_id=1&page=6191933
In Dallas, the interviews were "simple and courteous." In Los Angeles,
more
than 400 men were arrested and detained. Reports from lawyers around
the
country compiled by the American Immigration Lawyers Association
suggest
that the treatment of men complying with the INS special registration
program varies widely at INS offices across the United States...
The AILA and several national advocacy groups are now conducting a
joint
survey to track individuals' experiences with the registration and to
better understand the way the government is implementing it.
The groups hope to create a simple database that can provide a clear
picture of the numbers of arrests and detentions resulting from special
registration, said Jason Erb, director of government affairs for the
Council on American-Islamic relations, a co-sponsor of the survey.
After
Sept. 11, a number of organizations kept their own accounts of
detentions,
making it difficult to gather accurate and complete information and
resulting in some duplication…
Some men registering have reported that INS interviewers asked them to
name
family members, to empty their wallets and to turn over credit card and
video rental card numbers, according to the AILA.
"People are being asked questions entirely inappropriate to a
registration
system," said Erb of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "The
Justice Department is trying to mix a registration program with an
intelligence gathering program..."
---
AMERICA'S MUSLIMS NEVER HAD TO UNITE -- UNTIL NOW
Peter Skerry, Washington Post, 1/5/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9091-2003Jan4.html
Muslims and Arabs are a disparate lot, especially in this country.
Despite
our tendency to equate Arabs with Muslims, the fact is that most Arabs
in
the United States today are not Muslims -- they're Christians from
places
such as Lebanon. And most Muslims are not Arabs -- they're South Asians
or
African Americans. Muslims here are riven by national, linguistic and
sectarian divisions.
And many Middle Easterners (Iranians, Turks and Kurds among them) are
not
Arabs. The divide between Iranians and other Muslim immigrants is
particularly telling. Often identifying themselves as "Persians,"
Iranians
in this country have not been highly visible as Muslims. Despite their
wealth and great numbers in Southern California, they have built few
mosques here. This is now changing. All of these groups are beginning
to
identify with one another, in no small part because the U.S. government
and
many citizens are treating them as a more or less homogeneous group...
-----
NO EXCUSE FOR COMPLICITY IN TORTURE
Ruth Barrett Rendler, Minneapolis Star Tribune, 1/5/03
http://www.startribune.com/stories/1519/3570712.html
Fighting terrorism is a dirty business, but using torture is always
wrong.
There can be no justification for its use by any person, group or
government. It was wrong when Daniel Pearl was tortured and murdered in
Pakistan, it is wrong when Iraq tortures athletes and dissidents, and
it is
wrong when the U.S. government uses torture on suspected Al-Qaida and
Taliban members.
For almost 20 years at the Center for Victims of Torture we have been
treating survivors of some of the worst human rights violations this
world
has seen. Our clients are men, women and children from all corners of
the
world. And although the facts and circumstances surrounding each
individual
we care for may vary, two aspects of their torture are frighteningly
consistent: the secrecy of the act and the silence of the greater
public…
SEE ALSO:
NO TO TORTURE
Holly Burkhalter, Washington Post, 1/5/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8471-2003Jan3.html
Recent reports that U.S. intelligence operatives and military police
are
torturing captured al Qaeda and Taliban suspects are but the latest
evidence of the United States' disgraceful handling of detainees in its
war
on terrorism. For the past year we have known that U.S. Special Forces
in
Afghanistan turned over surrendered combatants to their local allies,
who
reportedly murdered hundreds of them in captivity.
Thousands of others who lay down their weapons were crammed into
freezing,
filthy, dilapidated cells at Shebergan prison. The United States
detains al
Qaeda and Taliban captives indefinitely without charge or trial, some
imprisoned in secret locations in foreign countries where security
services
that are known to use torture conduct interrogations on our behalf.
These
immoral and illegal practices are extremely costly to U.S. interests
and
ought to be stopped immediately…
---
DUBIOUS MORALITY AND DUPLICITY OF THIS FIGHT AGAINST TERROR
Robert Fisk, Independent UK, 1/4/03
http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=366199
But no American - or British - newspaper has dared to investigate
another,
almost equally dangerous, relationship that the present US
administration
is forging behind our backs: with the military-supported regime in
Algeria.
For 10 years now, one of the world's dirtiest wars has been fought out
in
this country, supposedly between "Islamists" and "security forces", in
which almost 200,000 people - mostly civilians - have been killed. But
over
the past five years there has been growing evidence that elements of
those
same security forces were involved in some of the bloodiest massacres,
including the throat-cutting of babies.
The Independent has published the most detailed reports of Algerian
police
torture and of the extrajudicial executions of women as well as men.
Yet
the US, as part of its obscene "war on terror", has cosied up to the
Algerian regime. It is helping to re-arm Algeria's army and promised
more
assistance. William Burns, the US Assistant Secretary of State for the
Middle East, announced that Washington "has much to learn from Algeria
on
ways to fight terrorism"...
-----
GEORGE W. BUSH'S CONSTITUTION
Nat Hentoff, Village Voice, 1/3/03
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0302/hentoff.php
The imprisonment of "enemy combatant" Yaser Esam Hamdi in a naval brig
in
the United States is not a matter of concern to most Americans, since
they
do not know of Mr. Hamdi's isolation from the Bill of Rights, and might
not
care if they did. But the Supreme Court will ultimately decide whether
George W. Bush's Constitution will replace-in significant parts-the
Constitution that most Americans are also not familiar with.
When Mr. Hamdi's case-though not Mr. Hamdi personally-came before
federal
judge Robert Doumar in Norfolk, Virginia, that veteran jurist,
appointed by
Ronald Reagan, was astonished at the sweep of the government's
declaration
that the president had the right to personally put Hamdi in the brig
and
strip him of all his constitutional rights after claiming that he was
an
"enemy combatant." It is also the government's contention that the
courts
have minimal jurisdiction over the commander in chief as he locks up
Americans he calls "enemy combatants" during our war against terrorism.
Nonetheless, Judge Doumar insisted that the government explain itself,
and
was handed a two-page sworn document, written by Michael Mobbs, a
Defense
Department official, justifying the president's totally depriving Hamdi
of
his freedom indefinitely-without his being charged with any crime.
Before getting to the judge's angry reaction to the Mobbs statement,
it's
necessary to note that just about every reference to Hamdi in the media
has
said-as printed in the November 1 New York Law Journal-that "Hamdi was
seized while fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan." How do we know
that
to be true? Don't you trust your source-your government?
As Katherine Seelye wrote in The New York Times (August 13, 2001) of
Judge
Doumar's response to the official Mobbs document giving the
government's
evidence: "He made very clear that he found the statement lacking in
nearly
every respect..."
I will follow this case through the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and
then, I expect, to the United States Supreme Court. Those nine men and
women will decide whether the essential liberties in the Framers'
Constitution have been removed by George W. Bush. It's a pity the
Democratic Party cares much less about civil liberties than about
Bush's
tax cuts.
-----
POISON PEN
Howard Kurtz, Washington Post, 1/6/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15113-2003Jan5.html
The Tallahassee Democrat's political writer has been suspended for
telling
a reader in an e-mail that he doesn't "give a damn" whether Israel
kills a
few Arabs.
"I was wrong and I am sorry," Bill Cotterell was quoted as saying after
being hit with the one-week suspension without pay. "My remarks were
grossly inappropriate and do not reflect my views toward Muslim
people."
Editor John Winn Miller, who apologized in print, says he "wasn't
happy"
with Cotterell's letter. "I needed to do something because it was done
on
company e-mail. I expect all readers and customers to be treated with
courtesy and respect. A message needed to be sent that this was not
acceptable…"
Cotterell, a 20-year veteran, was responding to a reader upset about a
Doug
Marlette cartoon that was briefly carried on the Democrat's Web site.
(Miller says he yanked the drawing from the site, where it was sent
automatically from Marlette's syndicate, and refused to publish it in
the
paper.) The cartoon showed an Arab driving a truck with a nuclear bomb,
with the caption: "What Would Mohammed Drive?"
In his letter, Cotterell criticized most Arab countries for not
"getting
over" the creation of Israel.
"OK, they can squat around the camel-dung fire and grumble about it, or
they can put their bottoms in the air five times a day and pray for
deliverance; that's their business," Cotterell wrote. "And I don't give
a
damn if Israel kills a few in collateral damage while defending itself.
So
be it."
The reader forwarded the letter to the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, whose online posting has prompted 10,000 e-mail complaints
to
the Democrat. "Any journalist has a right to his or her political and
religious views," CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper says in a statement,
"but
when those views are expressed in such bigoted terms, it raises
questions
about a media outlet's journalistic balance and objectivity."
-----
UNDERCOVER WAR BEGINS AS US FORCES ENTER IRAQ
John Donnelly and Tom Allard, Sydney Morning Herald, 1/6/03
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/05/1041566310159.html
About 100 United States special forces personnel and more than 50 CIA
officers have been inside Iraq for at least four months, looking for
missile-launchers, monitoring oil fields, marking minefields and
helping
their pilots target air-defence systems.
The operations, which are said to have included some Australian,
Jordanian
and British commandos, are seen as part of the opening phase of a war,
intelligence officials and military analysts say.
This is despite the Bush Administration agreeing to the schedule of
United
Nations weapons inspections...
The action by US and British special forces in Iraq breaches
international
law because it is not sanctioned by the UN.
But it also reflects the new warfare, which targets terrorists and
hidden
weapons and relies heavily on commando operations and pre-emptive
strikes…
"We're bombing practically every day as we patrol the no-fly zones,
taking
out air defence batteries, and there are all kinds of CIA and special
forces operations going on," said Timur Eads, a former US special
operations officer. "I would call it the beginning of a war..."
---
WE'VE SEEN THIS PLOT BEFORE
Riad Saloojee, Montreal Gazette, 1/6/03
http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/editorials/story.asp?id=969153CE-D33A-4EAB-8754-73B160D3DA9A
Once bitten. And now many are shy to believe that the Iraq
weapons-verification process headed by Hans Blix is anything except
redundant - immaterial, really - to whether Iraq will be in material
breach
of Security Council resolution 1441.
As we corner the curve to an imminent war, we run headlong into a story
attributed to St. Augustine. He is reported to tell the tale of a
pirate
who was brought before the emperor. "Why do you molest the seas?"
inquired
the emperor. Retorted the pirate: "When you molest the seas, they call
you
emperor; when I molest the seas, they call me a pirate."
St. Augustine alludes to the fact that retaining control of the seven
seas
is the reserve of realpolitik, that ultimate end-game of power whose
political tools are endless. They range from diplomatic sleight of hand
to
outright subterfuge. No one is the wiser, usually, until years later
when
brave souls like Daniel Ellsberg, the former marine who leaked the
Pentagon
Papers that exposed the duplicity of successive U.S. administrations
and
ultimately ended the Vietnam war, come forward and speak…
---
UN INSPECTORS FEAR BUSH WILL IGNORE THEM
Peter Beaumont and Ed Vulliamy, The Observer (UK), 1/5/03
http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,868839,00.html
UN weapons inspectors in Iraq fear their work - which has failed to
turn up
any evidence thus far of weapons of mass destruction - will still be
used
as an excuse to trigger a US-led invasion of Iraq.
Leaks from the inspections teams - and the two agencies in charge of
them,
Unmovic and the International Atomic Energy Agency - have fuelled an
increasingly frenetic diplomatic effort among opponents of the war.
The weapons inspection teams in Iraq have visited breweries and former
nuclear plants, and raided missile factories and pharmaceutical
production
lines. They have examined former weapons factories and interviewed
scientists and university technicians. As of yesterday they had checked
230
sites in all. If one is to believe the few inspectors who have been
prepared to be interviewed anonymously, they have found absolutely
nothing…
-----
ISRAEL CLOSES 3 PALESTINIAN UNIVERSITIES
Jason Keyser, Associated Press, 1/6/03
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20030106_844.html
Tel Aviv, Israel - In response to twin suicide bombings that killed 22
people, Israel decided Monday to close three Palestinian universities,
intensify raids against militants and bar Palestinian officials from
holding key meetings in the West Bank and abroad...
In the past, particularly deadly bombings have triggered large-scale
Israeli incursions in the West Bank, and hard-liners in Israel's
Cabinet
have called for expelling Arafat. However, with an Israeli election on
the
horizon, such a move was unlikely.
Instead, the security Cabinet decided Monday to close three Palestinian
universities as alleged hotbeds of incitement - a measure Israel last
took
during the first Palestinian uprising, which lasted from 1987 to 1993…
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told the British Broadcasting
Corp.
that the attacks emphasize the need for political dialogue. "I hope
very
much that the Israeli government will think again," he said…
-----
ISRAEL HAS RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF, U.S. SAYS
Reuters, 1/6/03
WASHINGTON - Israel has a right to defend itself in the wake of twin
suicide bombings that killed 22 people and wounded more than 100, the
White
House said on Monday.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer reiterated President George W.
Bush's
policy toward's Israel's retaliation for suicide bombings.
"The president's message to Israel is exactly as it's been before, that
Israel has a right to defend itself in a variety of ways. Israel always
needs to be mindful of the consequences of its right to self defense,"
Fleischer said.
Israel barred Palestinians from going to talks in London on Middle East
peace and leadership reforms in anger over the twin bombings.
Fleischer refused to criticize the decision, saying Bush's message was
one
of condemnation of the attack. "This was a huge attack on the Israeli
people," he said.
Fleischer also took a dim view of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's
praise
for Palestinians revolting against Israeli occupation.
Saddam on Monday said in a televised message: "We salute the heroic,
struggling people of Palestine and every free man and woman of
martyrdom
(suicide attacks) who respond to the Zionist aggression, disappointing
the
evil American administrations who allied themselves with this
disfigured
entity."
Fleischer said in response: "There's no excuse for suicide bombers. For
Saddam Hussein to publicly praise those who take innocent life is
horrific."
-----
MAYBE PIPES IS WRONG AND COLLEGES ARE RIGHT
Los Angeles Times, 1/5/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/orange/la-ed-oclettersb5.3jan05.story
Re "From the Halls of Academia," Dec. 27:
Daniel Pipes would have us think that there is a vast conspiracy
emanating
from our nation's colleges and universities, with the goal being to
brainwash our students into accepting liberal thought, or, heaven
forbid,
encourage them to consider that America has a few blemishes on its
often
whitewashed past.
Of course there is no conspiracy, but one might logically assume that
college history professors are by nature intelligent and studious, have
done a great deal of research in their field, and have an insight and
perspective that has been honed as a result of countless hours of
discourse, debate and discussion. In other words, maybe these college
professors whose views Mr. Pipes finds so objectionable and rails
against
might have actually nailed it.
Bill Tapp
San Diego
-----
FLA. FACULTY PROTESTS BANNED PALESTINIAN
RACHEL LA CORTE, Associated Press, 1/6/03
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - The faculty union at the University of South Florida
filed a grievance Monday on behalf of a Palestinian professor accused
of
terrorist ties, saying the school's president lacked just cause when
she
banned him from campus.
The grievance accuses USF President Judy Genshaft of violating the
union's
contract by disciplining computer science professor Sami Al-Arian.
It also says the school violated Al-Arian's right to academic freedom,
and
violated its policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of ethnicity and
religious affiliation…
Al-Arian and his brother-in-law, Mazen Al-Najjar, founded the World and
Islam Studies Enterprises, a now-defunct Islamic think tank at USF that
was
raided by the FBI in 1995. Al-Arian also founded the Islamic Concern
Project in 1988.
Al-Arian, who has lived in the United States since 1975, has never been
charged with a crime and has consistently denied any connection to
terrorists. In February, the U.S. attorney's office in Tampa said
Al-Arian
has been under federal investigation, but has refused to elaborate.
Genshaft placed Al-Arian on forced leave and banned him from campus
shortly
after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and his subsequent
appearance
on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor…"
The grievance demanded that Genshaft rescind Al-Arian's mandatory
administrative leave and banishment from campus and restore his rights
and
responsibilities as a faculty member.
-----
DUTCH MOSQUE DAMAGED IN WEEKEND GRENADE ATTACK
Reuters, 1/6/03
AMSTERDAM, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A Dutch mosque was damaged at the weekend
by a
hand grenade thrown through a window, police said on Monday.
The Amsterdam mosque, which was empty at the time, suffered minor
damage
after the grenade exploded in its washrooms in the early hours of
Saturday
morning. A witness saw two men speed away on a motorcycle after the
explosion, police said...
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
CAIR ACTION ALERT #360
STIMULATE AMERICA'S ECONOMY, NOT ISRAEL'S
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/7/03) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) today called on President Bush and Congress to reject Israel's
new
request for billions more in U.S. taxpayer-funded aid, and to instead
use
those funds to stimulate America's economy. CAIR says giving more
financial
aid to Israel drains much-needed funds from the economy and serves to
harm
American's image and interests.
The group's request comes as President Bush released a new economic
stimulus package designed to accelerate income tax rate cuts, wipe out
all
federal taxes on stock dividends and boost the child tax credit. The
announcement of the stimulus proposal coincides with meetings this week
between Israeli and administration officials to discuss a special aid
request of up to $14 billion in grants and loan guarantees.
SEE: "U.S. Hears Israel's Plea for Billions in Arms Aid"
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20030107-550893.htm
"It is time for elected officials to decide whether they serve the
interests of American taxpayers, or those of a foreign government
engaged
in a brutal military occupation. Sending more aid to Israel would not
only
deprive America's economy of much-needed funds at a time of economic
crisis, it would further damage our nation's interests in the Muslim
world
by again offering blind support for the oppression of the Palestinian
people," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. He added that despite
decades of American taxpayer support, Israel largely ignores American
interests and entreaties when denying the Palestinians their right to
freedom and justice.
Awad noted that Israel's aid request comes as a number of cash-strapped
states are asking for economic support and lawmakers nationwide are
seeking
funds for drought relief, education, job programs, transportation,
prescription drug benefits for seniors, environmental concerns, and law
enforcement. President Bush recently invoked emergency economic powers
to
limit the annual pay raise for federal workers.
SEE: "Lid Put on Domestic Spending"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14741-2003Jan5.html
Israel's latest aid request is in addition to the more than $3 billion
American taxpayer dollars that nation already receives annually.
(Israel is
the world's largest recipient of American aid. The Christian Science
Monitor recently reported that Israel has cost the United States $1.6
trillion since 1973.) Israeli officials say the additional aid would
help
defray the cost of dealing with the intifada and support their
recession-bound economy.
Media reports indicate that U.S. officials have asked that Israel keep
a
"low profile" during aid talks so as not to anger the Arab and Muslim
world
as the United States moves toward war with Iraq.
SEE: "US Urges Israel to Keep Low Profile on Aid Talks"
http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=649772&fid=942
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)
Contact the White House and Congress to ask that the
multi-billion-dollar
Israeli aid request be rejected.
1. Call the White House at: 202-456-1414 or 202-456-1111.
2. Contact your elected representative by calling the Capitol
Switchboard
at 202-224-3121. (Have your zip code ready.)
3. Go to http://capwiz.com/cair/home/ to e-mail the President and/or
your
elected representatives.
- PLEASE POST, COPY AND DISTRIBUTE -
-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/7/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: THE GREATEST SINS
* LIBRARIANS RESPOND POSITIVELY TO CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* INCITEMENT WATCH: COLUMNIST, CARTOONIST SEEK "PAYBACK"?
* WOMEN PREVENTED DENIED DRIVERS LICENSE ASKED TO CONTACT CAIR
* FLORIDA MUSLIMS WORRIED ABOUT POSSIBLE DETENTION (Sun Sentinel)
- Civil Rights Group Wants INS Program Delayed (AP)
- INS Policy to Register Muslims Under Attack (Miami Herald)
- Fear, Confusion in INS Registration Lines (CC Times)
- Looking Out For Immigrants (Mercury News)
- Let Your Voice Ring Out In Times of Fear (Mercury News)
- Muslim, Arab-American groups prepare for INS deadline (AP)
* COMPLAINTS DISMISSED AGAINST MEN ACCUSED OF MONEY TRANSFERS (AP)
- U.S. Drops Search for 5 Middle Eastern Men (Wash. Post)
* APPEALING TO FAITHFUL INVESTORS (Washington Post)
* U.N. SEES 500,000 IRAQI CASUALTIES AT START OF WAR (Reuters)
- Congress's Rollover on War (Washington Post)
* COMCAST TO ACCOMMODATE MUSLIM WORKERS (Warren Cable Monitor)
* MUSLIM LEADER SLAIN OUTSIDE HOME (National Post)
* US ADS MISS MARK, MUSLIMS SAY (Christian Science Monitor)
* MALCOLM X PAPERS TO N.Y. PUBLIC LIBRARY (AP)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: THE GREATEST SINS
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The greatest sins are
joining others as partners in worship with God, murdering a human
being,
being undutiful to one's parents, and offering false witness."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Hadith 10
-----
LIBRARIANS RESPOND POSITIVELY TO CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
The following is a selection of positive comments CAIR received from
librarians across the country who have received our Library Package:
"I can't thank you enough for the wonderful collection that you sent
us! I
had wanted to expand on the Islamic collection and you answered my
prayers." - Wixon, MI
"They just arrived - we are cataloging them immediately. Two patrons
have
showed interest already, we just opened the box one hour ago." -
Limerick, ME
"…will send them in to have book jackets, etc. put on immediately…The
materials look very interesting and attractive. I think they will
circulate
well and be useful to many of our patrons. Thank you very much indeed.
We
put gift labels on each one." - Orinda, CA
"We plan to catalog the books and put them on display. We appreciate
this
very generous donation. We would have liked to purchase some of these
books
but couldn't afford them. Thank you." - Sudbury, VT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: COLUMNIST, CARTOONIST SEEK "PAYBACK" AGAINST MUSLIMS?
(NOTE: Kathleen Parker, the columnist below, recently wrote a
commentary
headlined, "In Islamic Countries, Dogs Dream of America," in which she
wrote: "We Westerners are passionate dog lovers; our enemies are
passionate
dog haters…Those who despise and wish to destroy us are the nations of:
Oh,
boy, there's a cute little doggy. Let's kill it!..."
She received a flood of negative responses to the column from concerned
Muslims. Parker is also a supporter of Doug Marlette, the syndicated
cartoonist who received some 10,000 e-mails after distributing his
offensive "What Would Mohammed Drive?" cartoon.
The Tallahassee Democrat recently had to apologize for Islamophobic
comments made by one of its reporters. The reporter was suspended
without
pay for a week.)
YO, MOHAMMED, LIGHTEN UP: IT WAS A JOKE!
Kathleen Parker, Tallahassee Democrat, 1/7/03
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/news/opinion/4886629.htm
Hey, did you hear the one about Mohammed and…?
No? Me neither. And even if I did hear a good Mohammed joke, you can
bet I
wouldn't tell it. Not in an e-mail, not in a column, not no way, not no
how. Why? Because if you poke fun at the prophet of Islam - or even
suggest
anything that remotely smacks of irreverence - you will live (maybe) to
regret it...
So it goes in post-Sept. 11 America where Muslims have become the new
approved victim class. Here's how the knee-jerk drill goes: A
journalist
writes or otherwise depicts Muslims or their Prophet Mohammed in some
way
other than soft-focus, peach-toned Hallmark words or images, and
thousands
of American Muslims become like a battalion of whitewashers unleashed
on
urban graffiti.
Leading the charge is the special interest group CAIR (Council on
American-Islamic Relations), which runs a Muslim news Web site and
organizes letter-writing and e-mail campaigns. A recent fatwa against
political cartoonist Doug Marlette produced thousands of e-mails, many
of
them threatening to varying degrees…
Marlette's offense? A joke. A cartoon. A humorous image of a man
dressed in
Middle Eastern garb driving a Ryder truck with a nuke in back with the
caption: "What Would Mohammed Drive?" If you don't get it, go back to
sleep…
And so much for desired effect because immediately thereafter Marlette
drew
another cartoon in response to CAIR's onslaught. This one shows the
Statue
of Liberty wearing a burqa and balancing a Free Speech tablet on her
hip…
(SEE: http://www.dougmarlette.com/politicals/ If a new cartoon has
replaced
the one described above, click on "previous cartoons.")
ACTION REQUESTED: (Remember - Hostile comments can and WILL be used to
further defame Islam and Muslims.)
SEND POLITE COMMENTS TO:
Mr. John Winn Miller
Executive Editor
Tallahassee Democrat
277 N. Magnolia Drive
Tallahassee, FL 32301
TEL: (850) 599-2100
E-MAIL: inquiry@dougmarlette.com, kparker@orlandosentinel.com,
mlindley@taldem.com, jwmiller@taldem.com, ddwilliams@tribune.com,
wmahoney@tribune.com, mpope@taldem.com, tdedit@taldem.com,
insight@orlandosentinel.com, jhealy@orlandosentinel.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
-----
WOMEN PREVENTED DENIED DRIVERS LICENSE ASKED TO CONTACT CAIR
Muslim women who have experienced difficulty receiving a driver's
license
because of an Islamic head scarf should contact CAIR's Civil Rights
department at (202) 488-8787 x 3282 or email ljaghlit@cair-net.org.
-----
S. FLORIDA MUSLIMS WORRIED ABOUT POSSIBLE DETENTION BY INS
Tanya Weinberg, South Florida Sun Sentinel, 1/7/03
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-ssinsreg07jan07,0,557993.story
As local groups called for the suspension of a federal registration
program
affecting mostly Muslim and Arab foreigners, South Florida Pakistanis
are
nervously preparing to comply starting Monday.
"The uncertainty and not knowing what's going to happen to them when
they
go there is really getting people scared," said immigration attorney
Hina
Askari.
He is preparing to bring 200 Pakistani clients to the Immigration and
Naturalization Service's Miami office to be fingerprinted, photographed
and
interviewed in the third and largest phase of a new policy affecting
men
from 19 Muslim countries and North Korea…
On Monday, representatives from the Council on American-Islamic
Relations,
the American Civil Liberties Union and several community organizations
gathered at the INS Miami office to denounce the policy and call on
Florida
politicians to do the same…
Altaf Ali of the Council on American Islamic Relations urged Florida
senators to join Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., Sen. Russell
Feingold,
D-Wis., and Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., in their call for Attorney
General
John Ashcroft to suspend the registration program to allow for
congressional review…
SEE ALSO:
CIVIL RIGHTS GROUP WANTS IMMIGRATION REGISTRATION PROGRAM DELAYED
Associated Press, 1/6/03
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - An Islamic civil rights group urged the United
States
on Monday to delay a new anti-terrorism program requiring immigrants to
register with the federal government.
The Florida chapter of The Council on American-Islamic Relations said
the
National Security Entry-Exit Registration System is a flawed initiative
that has improperly detained immigrants, brought confusion and fear to
the
nation's Muslim community and failed to increase security.
"This program is painting everyone with a broad brush," said Parvez
Ahmed,
the group's Florida spokesman. Instead of doing a "real investigation"
into
possible terrorists, the government "is engaging in racial profiling
and
this program in its application is intimidating the Muslim and Arab
communities," he said…
---
INS POLICY TO REGISTER MUSLIMS IS UNDER ATTACK
Elaine De Valle, Miami Herald, 1/7/03
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/4888405.htm
Immigrant and civil rights advocates stood in front of the U.S.
Immigration
and Naturalization building on Biscayne Boulevard in Miami on Monday
afternoon and called on the federal government to stop its new,
controversial policy of registration of some Arabs.
Altaf Ali, executive director of the Florida chapter of the Council of
American-Islamic Relations, led the group in calling for an immediate
suspension of the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System,
which
only applies to men from Muslim countries.
"This policy, and its logic and its application, is intimidating the
Arab
community and incarcerating innocent individuals,'' Ali said. ``It is
threatening respectable and productive members of the community like
common
criminals."
U.S. Sens. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and
U.S.
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., have asked the Department of Justice to
suspend
the program until Congress can review it.
"This may be a pretext for a mass arrest and mass detention
operation,''
said Howard Simon, executive director of the Florida ACLU. ``This
program
indicates that we are still using religion and country of origin as a
substitute for suspicion. And it is wrong…"
---
FEAR, CONFUSION IN INS REGISTRATION LINES
Jack Chang, Contra Costa Times, 1/7/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/4890453.htm
With recent mass detentions prominent in his mind, Oakland resident
Ahmed
Alyosifi waited patiently outside the Immigration and Naturalization
Service office Monday morning to register with the authorities.
The native of Yemen who works as a delivery driver was hoping he would
not
end up like the hundreds of foreign visitors who last month entered INS
offices around the state to comply with a controversial visitor
registration program and ended up handcuffed and jailed, mainly for
overstaying their visas.
Just to be safe, Alyosifi brought along his best friend, Abdul
Alkhamri,
who is a U.S. citizen.
"I just came to make sure he's all right," Alkhamri said after waiting
with
his friend for about an hour in a line that snaked around the INS
office on
Sansome Street. "I'll see what will happen to him, and I'll call a
lawyer
if there's any trouble."
Such fear and uncertainty marked the moods of dozens of Middle Eastern
men
who showed up Monday to register and found endless lines to wait in,
sympathetic advocates reminding them of their rights and protesters on
the
street denouncing the registration program...
---
LOOKING OUT FOR IMMIGRANTS
Matthai Chakko Kuruvila, San Jose Mercury News, 1/7/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/4890263.htm
On a day when Bay Area activists began monitoring the detention of
immigrants who registered under a new national security program,
Mohamed
Harizi went to the San Francisco INS office ready to be jailed.
Harizi, 25, believed his expired student visa might deliver a fate
similar
to that of hundreds of other Muslim and Arab men who were detained
after
they complied with a government order for men and boys from mostly
Muslim
countries to be fingerprinted, photographed and interviewed.
He had heard the cells were cold, so Harizi wore thermal underwear and
a
turtle neck sweater. He had heard metal objects were prohibited in
jail, so
he didn't wear a belt or a watch. Instead, he brought two friends, who
had
instructions to pay bills, call his family in Tunisia and coordinate
with a
lawyer. But he wasn't detained. The Immigration and Naturalization
Service
(INS) asked him to return in a week with more paperwork.
Although Harizi fears deportation, the former Sonoma State University
student hopes for some way to remain in the United States legally.
"I don't know what will happen later," Harizi said...
---
LET YOUR VOICE RING OUT IN TIMES OF FEAR
L.A. Chung, San Jose Mercury News, 1/7/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/4890268.htm
Katy Dawson is upset that immigrants who did nothing wrong now fear
deportation.
Diane Sjogren is angry that foreign visitors were detained while
complying
with a new registration requirement. And David Jenks believes the
privacy
intrusions of some of the homeland security measures smack of Big
Brother.
These are South Bay folks who haven't made a career out of protest
marches
or getting arrested for the television cameras. None of them is from
the
targeted countries. And all of them consider themselves to be sensible,
practical people. But they are concerned…
How can one register one's growing misgivings?
For now, the only protests planned are in front of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS) building in San Francisco, not the one in
San
Jose. Groups like the San Jose Peace Center and the Council on American
Islamic Relations are advertising or endorsing a rally on Friday in San
Francisco's Financial district that caps a week of activities. But a
sizable population of people who come from the countries next up on the
special registration deadline live in the South Bay…
---
MUSLIM, ARAB-AMERICAN GROUPS PREPARE FOR INS DEADLINE
Deborah Kong, Associated Press, 1/7/03
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Trying to prevent mass arrests, several groups are
tracking citizens of 13 mostly Middle Eastern countries as they
register at
INS offices to meet a Friday deadline.
The Muslim, Arab-American and civil liberties groups want to prevent a
repeat of detentions that took place in Southern California last month
when
visitors from five other countries were required to register...
National groups such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations and
the
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee are generally advising men
to
register, but urging them to consult a lawyer before they go. Women are
not
required to register.
In Michigan, CAIR e-mailed mosques about the deadline, while the
Arab-American Family Support Center distributed fliers about the
registration and is sending attorneys, staff and volunteers to
translate
and provide legal advice at the INS office in New York City...
-----
COMPLAINTS DISMISSED AGAINST MEN ACCUSED OF ILLEGAL MONEY TRANSFERS
Associated Press, 1/7/03,
http://www.freep.com/news/latestnews/pm12533_20030107.htm
Criminal complaints against six metro Detroit area men accused of
taking
part in illegal money transfers to Yemen have been dismissed, officials
said.
The complaints -- which alleged that the men ran illegal operations
that
sent as much as $50 million a year to Yemen -- were dismissed Monday,
canceling preliminary examinations set for Tuesday, U.S. attorney's
office
spokeswoman Gina Balaya said.
"It doesn't mean the case is over, but the complaints have been
dismissed,"
she said.
SEE ALSO:
U.S. DROPS SEARCH FOR 5 MIDDLE EASTERN MEN
John Mintz, Washington Post, 1/7/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20400-2003Jan7.html
U.S. law enforcement authorities are no longer searching for five
Middle
Eastern men who they feared had entered the United States to commit
terrorist acts, in part because of doubts about the veracity of the
tipster
who told them of the supposed plot from a Canadian jail, government
officials said last night.
The U.S. officials declined to say why they had suspended the search.
But
other informed sources said it was partly because FBI agents had grown
skeptical of reports about the men's illegal entry into the United
States
that had been given by Michael John Hamdani, an accused immigrant
smuggler
who was in custody…
-----
APPEALING TO FAITHFUL INVESTORS
Martha McNeil Hamilton, Washington Post, 1/7/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19777-2003Jan6.html
The slide show and the pitch were fairly standard in many ways,
including
the admonishment that "ensuring that you'll have enough income for the
kind
of retirement you've always dreamed of will take some forethought and
effort."
But the setting, the Islamic Society of Annapolis, and the products
that
Bashar Qasem and three colleagues were there to discuss represent
growing
area for investment: mutual funds created to attract Muslims concerned
about keeping with Islamic law. That means steering clear of companies
whose products are off-limits -- no pork producers, for example, or
liquor
manufacturers or casinos -- as well as those whose reliance on
borrowing
puts them at odds with Islam…
Now he is president of Azzad Asset Management Inc., based in Falls
Church,
which offers two funds: the Azzad/Dow Jones Ethical Market Fund and the
Azzad Ethical Income Fund, founded in December 2000. Another, larger
fund,
the Dow Jones Islamic Index Fund, a family of funds, operated by Allied
Asset Advisors Inc. of Burr Ridge, Ill., was founded months before in
June
2000. The oldest Islamic investment company appears to be the Amana
Mutual
Funds Trust of Bellingham, Wash. Amana established its first investment
fund in 1986 and added another in 1994.
All three endeavors have targeted American Muslims as customers.
According
to a Cornell University study, there are 7 million American Muslims,
with
an annual population growth rate of 6 percent. And American Muslims are
an
affluent target group -- 26 percent of their households earning more
than
$100,000 a year…
-----
U.N. SEES 500,000 IRAQI CASUALTIES AT START OF WAR
Irwin Arieff, Reuters, 1/7/03
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=564&ncid=564&e=2&u=/nm/20030107/ts_nm/iraq_un_casualties_dc_1
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - As many as half a million Iraqis could
require
medical treatment as a result of serious injuries suffered in the early
stages of a war on Iraq, U.N. emergency planners said in a document
disclosed Tuesday.
The total includes some 100,000 expected to be injured as a direct
result
of combat and a further 400,000 wounded as an indirect result of the
devastation, according to estimates prepared by the World Health
Organization, the document said.
The confidential U.N. assessment was drafted a month ago but an edited
version was posted Tuesday on the Web site of a British group opposed
to
sanctions on Iraq
(http://www.cam.ac.uk/societies/casi/info/undocs/war021210.pdf)...
"The resultant devastation would undoubtedly be great," the U.N.
planners
concluded. The estimates were based on material from several different
U.N.
organizations…
U.N. officials had previously disclosed that as many as 4.5 million to
9.5
million of Iraq's 26.5 million people could quickly need outside food
to
survive once an attack began.
War would also produce a huge refugee problem, driving some 900,000
Iraqis
into neighboring countries, with about 100,000 of those requiring
immediate
assistance as soon as they arrived, according to the U.N. estimate…
SEE ALSO:
CONGRESS'S ROLLOVER ON WAR
William Raspberry, Washington Post, 1/6/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A15012-2003Jan5
A lot of us who have voiced bafflement and frustration about President
Bush's success in selling his logic for a war against Iraq have been
strangely silent about the constitutionality of such an undertaking.
We've
behaved as though the question of war is a matter of presidential
discretion.
Well, it isn't -- or at any rate, it shouldn't be. It's right there in
the
Constitution -- Article I, Section 8 -- that Congress, not the
president,
has the power to declare war. Nor do I find anything to suggest that
Congress may delegate its war-making authority to the president.
And yet the assumption is that the war on Iraq will begin when the
president wants it to begin -- perhaps with a heads-up to Congress that
it
has happened. Almost everyone I know assumes that it's the president's
call. The war hawks assume it, the latter-day peaceniks assume it,
Congress
itself assumes it. Which probably means that it is, at least in
practical
terms, a fact.
Not a particularly reassuring fact, however. Leaders of Congress are
old
enough to recall the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution that laid the (phony)
rationale for President Johnson's escalation of the conflict in Vietnam
--
another war Congress never got around to declaring. I suspect a few
Americans wish Congress hadn't been so quick to roll over for LBJ. Are
there no similar misgivings today…?
---
COMCAST AGREES TO ACCOMMODATE MUSLIM EMPLOYEES
Warren's Cable Regulation Monitor, 1/06/2003
Comcast said it would work with individual employees to make exceptions
from its dress codes for "religious beliefs or medical reasons."
Announcement came after Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
complained about 3 female Muslim workers in Comcast's New Castle, Del.,
office being told to remove their head scarves in Oct. when company
implemented new dress code. One of women was sent home for not being in
compliance with new policy, CAIR said. Comcast told women employees
they
would be allowed to wear their scarves if they provided written
documentation that head scarf was religious requirement, it said, and
following discussion with CAIR company agreed to provide religious
accommodation to employees.
Comcast said it didn't discriminate against any employee on basis of
race,
color or religion and that dress codes were in place to maintain "safe
and
professional work environment. The company will continue to work with
employees on an individual basis to make exceptions for religious
beliefs
or medical reasons." Comcast management had told 3 Muslim women
employees
that they would be exempted from dress code if they provided letter
from
religious leader or mosque "proving" that wearing of the head scarf was
religious duty, said Hassan Mirza, CAIR civil rights consultant: "What
Comcast is failing to recognize is that a religious belief is a
sincerely
held belief that is central and personal to each individual. The
obligation
to accommodate an employee's religious beliefs is not triggered by the
contents of a letter, but instead by the individual herself. If you are
an
employee with a sincerely held religious belief, you are a member of a
class that is protected within the purview of Title VII, Civil Rights
Act
of 1964."
-----
MUSLIM LEADER SLAIN OUTSIDE HOME
Ian Bailey, National Post, 1/7/03
http://www.nationalpost.com/national/story.html?id=0AF07C33-7AC3-4A05-8DC3-6F7C9D16ADF1
SURREY, B.C. - A prominent member of British Columbia's Pakistani
Muslim
community has been gunned down on the steps of his home in this
Vancouver
suburb, leaving police stumped by a lack of suspects or a possible
motive,
and his family horrified by the inexplicable crime.
The mysterious shooting killed 69-year-old Riasat Ali Khan, founder of
Western Canada's first mosque, opened in Vancouver in 1963. Mr. Khan, a
former corrections and probation officer, was also a president of the
Vancouver Multicultural Society and a spokesman for the Pakistan Canada
Association in Vancouver.
Yesterday, members of Mr. Khan's family gathered at his home, grappling
with their grief as police launched an investigation into the killing
in
this sprawling community southeast of central Vancouver…
-----
US ADS MISS MARK, MUSLIMS SAY
Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor, 1/7/03
http://www.christiansciencemonitor.com/2003/0107/p06s01-woap.html
JAKARTA, INDONESIA - The good news is in the view from the lawn of
Indonesia's National Islamic University: Clumps of students are decked
out
in Levis. Most of them say America is a tolerant society where Muslims
practice freely - echoing the message at the center of a $ 600 million
US
public-relations campaign since Sept. 11.
But the good news ends there. Ahmad Imron, a lanky economics student in
a
red Planet Hollywood T-shirt, says that while America's message is
getting
through loud and clear, it's the wrong one. "We know that there's
religious
freedom in America, and we like that," says Mr. Imron. "What we're
angry
about is the arrogant behavior of the US in the rest of the world."
On the street, the reaction is the same, from street peddlers to
US-trained
academics: The US media campaign isn't relevant to Muslims' concerns.
What
saps their support for America is not impressions of how Muslims are
treated inside the US, but their opinions about America's international
relations - particularly with Israel and Iraq. Moreover, analysts say,
if
the US proceeds with plans to invade Iraq, its standing among Muslims
will
only fall…
-----
MALCOLM X PAPERS TO N.Y. PUBLIC LIBRARY
Karen Matthews, Associated Press 1/07/03
NEW YORK (AP) - A collection of Malcolm X's papers that had been the
subject of an ownership dispute has been placed on long-term loan with
the
New York Public Library, officials said Tuesday.
The slain black leader's family members, who will own the documents,
approved their placement in the library's Schomburg Center for Research
in
Black Culture. The announcement comes 10 months after a lawsuit
prevented
the collection from going on the auction block.
"We don't mind sharing Malcolm. We're proud of Malcolm," his eldest
daughter, Attallah Shabazz, said at a news conference. The collection
includes handwritten speeches and journals kept during Malcolm X's
travels
to Africa and the Middle East in 1964, a year before his assassination…
-----
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-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS – 1/8/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: CHARITY
* LIBRARIAN PRAISES CAIR’S LIBRARY PROJECT
* ISRAEL WANTS MORE THAN TOTAL US AID BUDGET (Bloomberg)
- US Aid Likely To Be Faster Than Usual (Globes)
- Partners on a Suicidal Course (Inter. Herald Tribune)
- We Kill Our Rebels the Israeli Way (Morning Herald)
* LATINA MUSLIMS: THE CHOICES THEY MAKE (Catalina Magazine)
* MACY'S FACES NEW LAWSUIT FROM MUSLIM (San Jose Mercury News)
* REGISTRATION PLAN CAUSING FEAR, CONFUSION (Herald News)
- Ohio Emergency Community Meeting On INS Registration
- INS to Hold TX Forum on Special Registration
- Reminder: Registration Deadline - January 10th
- Volunteers Needed For "Monitor the INS" On January 10th
* TWO-THIRDS OF FRENCH OPPOSE IRAQ WAR - POLL (Reuters)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: CHARITY
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Enjoining good is an
act of
charity. Forbidding what is disreputable is (also) an act of charity.”
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 352
-----
LIBRARIAN PRAISES CAIR’S LIBRARY PROJECT
“I am delighted to have recommended information from reputable sources
about the Islamic faith. Our collection should reflect the
multicultural
backgrounds of our residents.” Farmington Hills, MI
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
ISRAEL WANTS MORE THAN TOTAL US FOREIGN AID BUDGET
James Tyson, Bloomberg, 1/8/03
http://afr.com/world/2003/01/08/FFX8IEGOMAD.html
Washington - A delegation from Israel, the largest recipient of US
foreign
aid, has sought $US12 billion ($21 billion) in assistance at a meeting
with
State Department and White House officials, Israeli officials said.
The request, covering the next three to five years, exceeds the total
$US11.6 billion budgeted last year by the US for all countries.
The request is to help Israel weather the Palestinian uprising and a
possible US war with Iraq…
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office said Israel was asking for $US4
billion in direct assistance and $US8 billion in loan guarantees. A US
official indicated before the meeting that the US was open to the
request.
"We always try to do what we can to help our friend and ally," the
official
told reporters. The meeting was intended to focus on "Israel's current
economic situation and Israel's expected request for supplemental
assistance", he said…
Israel received US loan guarantees in 1992 to help it finance the cost
of
absorbing hundreds of thousands of immigrants entering the country from
the
former Soviet Union.
SEE ALSO:
US AID LIKELY TO BE FASTER THAN USUAL
Ran Dagoni, Globes, 1/8/03
http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=650510&fid=942
“Approval of the US loan guarantees is likely to be faster than usual,
thanks to the administration’s great understanding of Israel’s economic
distress caused by the security situation and war against terrorism,”
Prime
Minister's Bureau director Dov Weissglass told “Globes” today.
“The negotiations with the US about Israel’s aid request have opened
well.
We have no reason not to be optimistic,” Ministry of Finance director
general Ohad Marani told “Globes” at the end of the first round of
talks
between the Israeli delegation and top US officials at the White House
yesterday.
The Israeli delegation presented Israel’s request for $4 billion in
direct
aid and $8 billion in loan guarantees to the Bush administration
officials
during the three-hour meeting…
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)
Contact the White House and Congress to ask that the
multi-billion-dollar
Israeli aid request be rejected.
1. Call the White House at: 202-456-1414 or 202-456-1111.
2. Contact your elected representative by calling the Capitol
Switchboard
at 202-224-3121. (Have your zip code ready.)
3. Go to http://capwiz.com/cair/home/ to e-mail the President and/or
your
elected representatives.
---
PARTNERS ON A SUICIDAL COURSE
Henry Siegman, International Herald Tribune, 1/7/03
http://www.iht.com/articles/82356.html
PARIS - There are those who believe that when Ariel Sharon assumes a
second
term as prime minister after the Jan. 28 election - a likelihood
predicted
by all polls and reinforced by the latest suicide bombings - he will
turn
his attention to peacemaking with the Palestinians…
Unfortunately, there is good reason to fear that the situation will
only
get worse if Sharon returns to power. Contrary to the image of
moderation
that he has so assiduously - and effectively - cultivated these past
two
years, he remains single-mindedly committed to preventing the emergence
of
a viable and independent Palestinian state. From the very outset of the
settler movement in the 1970s, Sharon's overriding goal has been to
assure
so extensive an expansion of Jewish settlements and their supporting
infrastructure - highways, power grids, water sources - as to make a
Palestinian state a political and physical impossibility…
In an unguarded moment, Omri Sharon recently told a group of Likud
faithful
not to lose any sleep over his father's support for a Palestinian
state. He
explained: "We are not living in a vacuum; there is an international
reality. But when you speak softly, you can wield a big stick. Today,
after
all, we are located in the Palestinian areas, we are violating
international agreements, but no one is saying anything. The United
States
is with us...
---
WE KILL OUR REBELS THE ISRAELI WAY, SAYS RUSSIA
Sydney Morning Herald, 1/7/03
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/06/1041566360680.html
The Russian army has switched tactics in combating Chechen separatist
rebels and is now using the "Israeli method" to eliminate them, the
Defence
Minister, Sergei Ivanov, said yesterday.
"The tactics of the federal forces have changed. It is now a precise
operation during which we kill those who ought to be killed," Mr Ivanov
was
quoted by Russian news agencies as saying.
"We use the wholly Israeli method when we know the exact composition of
a
cell, and we do not let go until the entire cell has been eliminated…
Russian forces have been accused by human rights groups of carrying out
arbitrary arrests and summary executions as troops try to stamp out
separatist resistance in Chechnya...
-----
LATINA MUSLIMS: THE CHOICES THEY MAKE
Ramin Ganeshram, Catalina Magazine, Nov-Dec 2002
http://www.catalinamagazine.com
You can say 27-year-old Zulayka Martinez was a typical Latina. As the
child
of a strictly religious family, she went to Catholic youth groups and
could
name all of her saints. She even dreamt of becoming a nun one day.
Then, at
age 22, while at a Catholic retreat, her life changed forever. She
converted to Islam.
"I brought a Quran that a Muslim coworker had given me to the retreat."
Martinez explains. "I read it during the times of silence and
reflection.
It spoke to my heart, which made me very confused about my faith in my
own
religion."
The anxious young woman did what good Catholic girls do: she confessed
to
her priest. He promptly told her, "I've read the Quran. I'm not saying
Muslims are bad people, but I'm assuring you that our faith is correct
and
theirs is not."
His response only fed her curiosity. She began to ask Muslim classmates
for
increasingly more information, while reading any material she could
find
about the religion. After a few more years of studying, she took the
plunge
and followed in the footsteps of thousands of Latinas. She took her
Shahada
- the Muslim oath of conversion.
Martinez's story may sound unusual, but it's not. Groups like Latino
American Dawah Organization (LADO), founded in 1997 to aid Islamic
conversion in Hispanic communities, and the Islamic Association of
North
America (ISNA) estimate the number of Latino Muslims in the United
States
at around 50,000. With mosques and missionary groups in almost every
Central and South American country, there is strong belief among
Muslims
that the number will rise substantially…
-----
MACY'S FACES NEW LAWSUIT FROM MUSLIM
Cecilia Kang, San Jose Mercury News, 1/8/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/4898587.htm
A second Muslim woman has filed a lawsuit against Macy's for alleged
discrimination that led to her termination soon after the Sept. 11
terrorist ttacks.
The suit by Hiam Yassine, a Palestinian, comes almost four months after
the
department store paid another Muslim salesclerk $125,000 to settle a
similar discrimination and wrongful termination suit.
The terminations sparked protests last year at the Westfield
Shoppingtown
Valley Fair store in San Jose, where both women worked. Demonstrators
demanded that the company rehire Yassine and co-worker Alia Atawneh,
who is
also of Palestinian descent.
“This is a very different suit from Atawneh's,” Julian Hubbard,
Yassine's
attorney, said Tuesday. “It doesn't involve just one discrete incident.
It
involves a pattern of behavior…”
“Hiam had been a member of Macy's most prestigious employee awards
three
years running,” Hubbard said. “And yet when it was determined that she
would be dismissed, they did it in a way that deeply offended and
touched
every honorable feeling she had had about her employment.”
-----
REGISTRATION PLAN CAUSING FEAR, CONFUSION
Suzanne Travers, Herald News, 1/8/03
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?level_3_id=1&page=6226984
With the second deadline for the Immigration and Naturalization
Service's
special registration days away, area lawyers report their clients are
confused and scared about the program.
Although its implementation in New Jersey has resulted in few if any
arrests or detentions, some men with pending green card applications
reporting to register at Newark INS offices have been summoned to
appear
for deportation hearings.
"I have lots of clients who are scared to death," said Anayancy R.
Houseman, an immigration attorney in Elizabeth…
"Things aren't as bad here as they are in a lot of places," said Jerry
Gavin, chairman of the New Jersey chapter of the American Immigration
Lawyers Association, which is conducting a survey to determine how
implementation of the program varies nationwide.
Still, Houseman said she has at least five clients who reported for
registration and were put in deportation proceedings, and others have
expressed concern in light of the arrests of 400 men reporting for
registration last month in Los Angeles. "They're asking, 'What will
happen
to me?'" she said…
SEE ALSO:
OHIO EMERGENCY COMMUNITY MEETING ON INS REGISTRATION POLICY
WHAT: The Ohio office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR-Ohio), in coordination with the Islamic Society of Greater
Columbus,
the Islamic Foundation of Central Ohio and the Arab Americans of
Central
Ohio are hosting an EMERGENCY COMMUNITY MEETING regarding the new INS
registration requirements.
WHEN: Thursday, January 9 at 7:45 P.M.
WHERE: Omar Mosque, 580 Riverview Drive, Columbus, Ohio
CONTACT: Jad Humeidan, CAIR-Ohio, (614) 451-3232
---
INS TO HOLD TX FORUM ON SPECIAL REGISTRATION
WHAT: INS Regional District Director Anne Estrada is holding an open
forum
with the Muslim community to address concerns and complaints regarding
the
special registration procedure, the treatment of registrants by INS
agents
or officials, and other related questions about the special
registration
process.
* Director Estrada has given assurance that all questions/comments will
be
absolutely confidential, and that she is coming only to provide a
community
service by addressing the questions and concerns of the community.
Admission is free, and anyone with questions/concerns about the special
registration process is encouraged to attend.
WHEN: Wednesday, January 8, 6:00 P.M.
WHERE: Dar El-Eman Mosque in Arlington (Arlington-South Masjid)
Address: 5511 Mansfield Dr., Arlington, TX 76017
Directions: From Dallas - Take I-20 West to Arlington, exit Cooper St.
and
head South on Cooper St. until Green Oaks. Take a right on Green Oaks,
then
an immediate left on Mansfield Dr. until 5511 Mansfield Dr.
For more information, contact: Dar El Eman at 817-466-0505, or
214-636-6525, or e-mail: info@cairdfw.org
-----
REMINDER: REGISTRATION DEADLINE - JANUARY 10th
JANUARY 10 is the deadline to register with the INS if:
* You are a national or citizen of Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain,
Eritrea,
Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United
Arab
Emirates, and Yemen and were inspected by the Immigration and
Naturalization Service and last admitted to the United States as a
nonimmigrant on or before September 30, 2002;
* If you are a male, born on or before December 2, 1986; and
* If you did not apply for asylum on or before November 22, 2002, or if
you
are otherwise exempt as described in the attached questions and
answers; and
* If you will be in the United States at least until January 10, 2003
FOR MORE INFORMATION, visit www.cairdfw.org or
http://www.ins.gov/graphics/lawenfor/specialreg/index.htm
---
TX WORKSHOP ON INS REGISTRATION FOR SAUDI/PAKISTANI CITIZENS
WHAT: Immigration Attorney Ollie Jefferson will conduct an INS workshop
for
Pakistani and Saudi citizens. The workshop will focus on who needs to
register, what documents to bring to the registration, and other issues
relating to the special registration procedure.
WHEN: Saturday, January 11 at 8 P.M.
WHERE: Momin Center, 1019 Perry Road, Irving, TX 75060)
For more information about the workshop, call 214-636-6525, or e-mail:
info@cairdfw.org.
-----
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR "MONITOR THE INS" ON JANUARY 10TH
In conjunction with the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) initiative
"Monitor the INS" program, CAIR-DFW is calling on concerned Americans
to
monitor January 10th's registration in Dallas.
TO BE A MONITOR, YOU MUST:
* Be available on January 10,
* Wear bright clothing that reads, "INS Monitor" that CAIR-DFW will
provide,
* Be a United States citizen,
* Register with CAIR-DFW by calling (214) 636-6525 between 8:30 A.M.-5
P.M. or by emailing info@cairdfw.org. Please register ASAP for this
important program.
Upon registering you will be given details about the training session
to be
held on Thursday evening detailing the monitoring procedure.
-----
TWO-THIRDS OF FRENCH OPPOSE IRAQ WAR - POLL
Reuters, 1/8/03
PARIS, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Two-thirds of French people are opposed to
military action against Iraq, according to a poll released on Wednesday
that suggested public opposition to a war is hardening in France.
Sixty-six percent of 1,002 adults interviewed for daily paper Le
Parisien
said they were against military intervention, compared to 58 percent
who
were asked the same question last August.
Twenty-four percent said they favoured a war, down from 32 percent in
August, while 10 percent gave no response in the survey, conducted by
telephone on January 7 by pollster CSA.
Just 15 percent wanted France to take part in any military campaign,
even
if it had the blessing of the United Nations...
-----
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https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
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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
-----
--------------------------------------------------------------------
mail2web - Check your email from the web at
http://mail2web.com/ .
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
CAIR ACTION ALERT #361
RELIEF SOUGHT FOR MUSLIM FAMILY FACING DEPORTATION
American-born children have life-threatening medical conditions
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/9/03) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) today called on the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)
to
grant humanitarian relief in the case of a Pakistani family in Delaware
whose American-born children could face death from congenital medical
conditions if a threatened deportation is carried out.
The Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group says the
children's father is currently being detained by the INS on an
eight-year-old deportation order. (The family's request for asylum was
denied at that time.) Two of his children are American citizens who
have
severe congenital conditions that require round-the-clock medical care.
One child suffers from beta-thalassemia major, a condition that
necessitates blood transfusions every few weeks and 12-hour iron
chelation
treatments almost every night. The other child, who is unable to speak
and
can only communicate through simple gestures, suffers from cerebral
palsy,
a seizure disorder, developmental delay, and micropolygyria.
The children's physicians say it would be unlikely that they would be
able
to obtain adequate long-term treatment or therapy for these conditions
if
their mother and father, who have been responsible for their care, are
deported to Pakistan. If the children remain in the United States
without
their parents, they would be forced into foster care or other state-run
residential placement.
In a letter to INS Acting District Director (Philadelphia) Theodoro
Nordmark, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad wrote: "The parents of
these
American citizens remained in this country to access medical and
educational resources that would not be available, or would be beyond
their
means, in Pakistan. If any case cries out for humanitarian
intervention, it
is this one. We are all bound by the law, but the law must be tempered
with
understanding and compassion."
Awad said it is within Nordmark's power to grant a humanitarian parole
to
the father so he may return to the family and resume caring for and
supporting his children.
ACTION REQUESTED:
Send a respectful and polite letter to the INS requesting a
humanitarian
parole to protect the health and well-being of two American children.
CONTACT:
Mr. Theodoro Nordmark
Acting District Director
USINS Philadelphia District Office
1600 Callowhill Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130
FAX: 215-656-7200
E-MAIL: niki.edwards@usdoj.gov
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
URL:
http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/fieldoffices/philadelphia/aboutus.htm
- PLEASE POST, COPY AND DISTRIBUTE -
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS 1/9/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: RESTRAIN YOUR ANGER
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* CAIR TO HOLD MUSLIM LEADERSHIP FORUM
* CAIR LEADERSHIP TRAINING CONFERENCE SCHEDULED FOR APRIL
* CASE AGAINST FL MUSLIM LOSES STING (Orlando Sentinel)
* CAIR-LA TO SUPPORT IMMIGRANTS AT INS OFFICES
- Donate To Detainee Family Fund
- 'Monitors' Target INS Registration (LA Times)
- INS Nabs 2 Under New Rules (Miami Herald)
- Immigrants' Deadline Is Tomorrow (Philadelphia Inquirer)
- Staff Boosted To Register Males From 13 Nations (Copley
News)
- INS Detainees to Seek Compensation
- Chicago Forum On Post-9/11 Immigrant Rights
- Baltimore March and Protest Against INS Registration
* JUDGES UPHOLD U.S. DETENTION OF HAMDI (Washington Post)
* SEPT. 11 VICTIMS' KIN PROTEST IN IRAQ (AP)
- Sponsors Outline Anti-War Protest Plan (AP)
* REVIEWER’S CHOICE: “TAKING BACK ISLAM” (Dallas Morning News)
- VA Book Signing: “Passion For Islam”
* MAINE DEMONSTRATION AGAINST HATE
* SENSE OF HUMOR? (Orlando Sentinel)
* MUSLIMS ORDERED TO TEAR DOWN MOSQUE (Orlando Sentinel)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: RESTRAIN YOUR ANGER
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "No one has swallowed
anything more excellent in the sight of God...than the anger he
restrains,
seeking to please God most high."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1324
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
More positive feedback from librarians who have received CAIR’s library
package:
“They just arrived we are cataloging them immediately. Two patrons
have
showed interest already, we just opened the box one hour ago.” -
Limerick, ME
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
CAIR TO HOLD MUSLIM LEADERSHIP FORUM
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) On January 26th, the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, a Washington, D.C.-based national Islamic civil rights and
advocacy group, will hold a one-day forum in New York City on
leadership
and organizational development in the Muslim non-profit community. The
forum, titled “Islamic Centers: Challenges and Opportunities” is
designed
to provide leaders of Islamic organizations and mosques with training
in
crisis management, post-9/11 legal rights, financial management, and
communications.
Workshop presenters include Muslim leaders, professional trainers,
representatives of national civil liberties organizations, media
professionals, and CAIR staffers. There will be an evening banquet
dinner
with a keynote address by CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.
-----
CAIR LEADERSHIP TRAINING CONFERENCE SCHEDULED FOR APRIL
Reserve the dates, April 24 to April 27, for CAIR’s Leadership Training
Conference. The conference will be held at the Sheraton Premiere in
Tysons
Corner. More details will be forthcoming as the conference nears.
-----
MAALI CASE LOSES STING AMID LIES, DUPLICITY
Henry Pierson Curtis and Pedro Ruz Gutierrez, Orlando Sentinel, 1/9/03
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-locmaali09010903jan09,0,7092807.story
A love triangle linked two young men accused of concocting wild tales
of
shootings and acid bombings in the federal immigration and
money-laundering
case against T-shirt tycoon Jesse Maali.
One, a high school dropout, sits in the Orange County Jail. The other
is
still on the run.
Their lives during the past two months raise questions about the U.S.
government's investigation of Maali and its use of informants to build
their case against the Palestinian-American millionaire.
"This case was unusual from the start," said Orlando lawyer David
Fussell,
president-elect of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
"The defendant has been able to show the informants were lying, and it
points out serious weaknesses in the way we prosecute cases in this
county
and this district."
Maali's nephew spent three days in jail, and other relatives were
branded
as thugs and drug dealers based on the unfounded allegations from John
Robert Reedy III and Christian Colburn…
The prosecution's failure to link Maali to Middle East violence was
seen in
legal circles as a public-relations disaster.
More embarrassment came Tuesday, when Orlando police concluded Colburn
and
Reedy lied about attacks against them. They made up a story about
Maali's
nephew Maali Fuad Maali, 22, holding Reedy at gunpoint, police said.
The
younger Maali was charged and spent three days in jail.
They also fabricated the story about acid-bomb attacks on their
apartment...
-----
CAIR-LA TO SUPPORT IMMIGRANTS AT INS OFFICES
WHAT: The Council on American-Islamic Relations-Southern California
(CAIR-LA) will set up booths outside INS offices in Los Angeles and
Orange
Counties to offer support to immigrants arriving for the Special
Call-in
Registration announced by the Department of Justice and Immigration and
Naturalization Service (INS). CAIR-LA will be providing support to calm
fears in the community in the form of: a pre-registration check-in
process
to track and follow-up on those who might be detained by the INS, free
legal advice through attorneys, and refreshments to those in line. A
press
conference and prayer service are also scheduled.
WHEN: Friday, January 10
Booths: Orange County - 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Los Angeles - 7 a.m. to 3
p.m.
Press conference (organized by "Refuse & Resist"): 9 a.m.
Prayer service: 1 p.m.
WHERE: Two locations: LA: INS LA District Office, Federal Building, 300
N.
Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012; ORANGE CO: 34 Civic Center
Plaza, Federal Building, Santa Ana, CA 92701
CONTACTS: CAIR - IN LOS ANGELES: Sabiha Khan (714) 776-1847, (714)
390-0334
(cell); IN ORANGE COUNTY - Hussam Ayloush (714) 776-1847, (714)
814-4444.
---
DONATE TO DETAINEE FAMILY FUND
In the wake of nation-wide detentions of Muslim immigrants seeking to
comply with INS registration requirements, CAIR urges Muslims to donate
to
the "Emergency Family Fund”. The fund, set up by the New York office of
the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), is designed to assist
uncharged detainees' families with legal fees, housing costs and living
expenses. Fund administrators will also make outside referrals for
counseling and other social services. (CAIR-NY is working in
cooperation
with ICNA Relief, the Association of Pakistani Physicians of North
America
and Muslim Community Support Services.)
ACTION REQUESTED: Contributions may be sent to:
Emergency Family Fund/CAIR
c/o 911 Relief Program/Adem
166-26 89 Avenue
Jamaica, NY 11432
Make checks payable to "Emergency Family Fund/CAIR." For information,
call
212-870-2002.
---
'MONITORS' TARGET INS REGISTRATION
Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times, 1/9/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-monitors9jan09,0,32247.story
When U.S. immigration officials reach the deadline Friday for Round Two
of
their controversial program that requires male citizens of 19 heavily
Muslim countries to register, they will encounter a jarring sight:
scores
of "human rights monitors" in fluorescent yellow shirts stationed
outside
INS offices throughout Southern California.
Prompted by widespread charges that people who registered last month,
during the first round of the program, were mistreated -- allegations
that
range from verbal harassment to unnecessary body cavity searches and
detentions -- a diverse group of people has volunteered to monitor INS
conduct. The monitors say they aim to document any abuses, as well as
count
the number of those who end up detained…
The idea of human rights monitors may be more familiar in dictatorial
regimes than the United States, but the concept has galvanized
volunteers,
who assert that the INS registration program amounts to a massive
violation
of human rights.
At All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena on Tuesday evening, about 75
people -- most of them non-Muslim -- attended a training session for
the
monitoring project.
Volunteers included people like Kathy Masaoka, a Japanese American
motivated by the memories of her community's World War II internment
experience, and Lyn Elliott, a retired public-school teacher who has
made
the monitoring project her first act of political activism since the
Vietnam War.
"The use of racial and religious profiling as a wedge to attack the
civil
liberties of immigrants is ... fascism, and we have to do something
about
it," said Bonnie Blustein, a community college math instructor and
member
of the Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church in Pasadena...
---
INS NABS 2 UNDER NEW RULES
Alfonso Chardy, Miami Herald, 1/9/03
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/4904580.htm
Kamel Bouhenguel and his son Issam heard that Algerians and certain
other
foreign nationals in the United States had been ordered to register
with
immigration authorities and decided to comply one day last week,
showing up
together at the Miami office of the Immigration and Naturalization
Service.
The two Algerians were promptly arrested for alleged immigration
violations. Now, the two Miami-Dade County residents are awaiting
deportation at the Krome detention center in West Miami-Dade.
The arrests are the first publicly acknowledged detentions by the INS
in
South Florida of people trying to register since the new regulations
involving foreign nationals from 20 countries were announced by the
Justice
Department in November. While hundreds have been arrested elsewhere in
the
country as part of the registration process, no arrests had been
reported
in Miami -- the site of one of the country's busiest INS district
offices
-- until this week when Ana Santiago, an INS spokeswoman, confirmed
that
the two Algerians were in custody…
Neither of the two detained Algerians could be interviewed, but a
relative
of the two men in North Lauderdale told The Herald that both were
devastated because the lives they had built in the United States were
now
disrupted.
“They worked hard, paid taxes, had Social Security numbers and were
simply
complying with the law to register, and now they are in detention at
Krome,” the relative said. “The day before they were arrested, they
were
living the American dream, and then it turned into an American
nightmare...”
---
IMMIGRANTS' DEADLINE IS TOMORROW
Thomas Ginsberg and Gaiutra Bahadur, Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/9/03
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/4904127.htm
A Syrian immigrant, Khattar Aizooky said he felt a chill while being
fingerprinted and questioned by the U.S. government last month, a
decade
after leaving his authoritarian homeland.
It reminded him of Syria.
"This is one of the most open and accepting societies," said the
33-year-old Pittsburgh physician. "We hate to see it changing for the
worse." Tomorrow is the next deadline for thousands more men from
selected
Middle Eastern, African and Asian countries - almost all of them Muslim
-
to undergo "special registration" by the Immigration and Naturalization
Service.
The fingerprinting, photographing and questioning, which started in
September at border crossings nationwide, is provoking outrage as it
expands to people already admitted into the country.
Immigration advocates are urging men to comply but also are fanning out
to
monitor the process at INS offices, including Philadelphia and Newark.
An
Arab American group has filed a class-action lawsuit to stop the
registration. Other Arab and Muslim groups and at least three members
of
Congress are demanding a halt. A protest network has called for actions
at
INS offices nationwide tomorrow...
---
INS STAFF BOOSTED TO REGISTER MALES FROM 13 NATIONS
Leonel Sanchez, Copley News, 1/9/03
SAN DIEGO - Staffing at Immigration and Naturalization Service offices
will
be increased Friday to expedite the mandatory registration of foreign
males
from 13 countries considered to be of national concern.
Those individuals have until Friday to comply with a U.S. Justice
Department order to check in at INS offices and have their fingerprints
and
photographs taken. They could face deportation and criminal charges if
they
fail to do so. The deadline comes just weeks after hundreds of Middle
Eastern males from five other countries were arrested at INS offices
while
trying to comply with the same order but an earlier deadline.
The arrests prompted cries of unfair treatment of Muslims and Arabs and
allegations of selective enforcement. Most of the arrests happened in
Southern California, including about 25 in San Diego…
Critics say the federal government failed to adequately publicize the
registration program and did not provide clear information on who it
affected.
Muslim, Arab, lawyer and other activist groups have called for an end
to
the registration program, saying it unfairly targets individuals based
on
their nationality and religion. The groups plan to monitor the
registration
process closely.
In San Diego, lawyers and other activists plan to set up a station
outside
the Federal Building tomorrow and encourage individuals who have to
register with the INS to check in with them first for advice and other
support. Group spokesman Ali Golchen, a San Diego immigration lawyer,
said
they want to make sure the INS doesn't hold people for lengthy periods
on
technical violations.
The arrests at INS offices in mid-December had a chilling effect in
Muslim
and Arab communities, he said.
"The fear is still there," he said…
---
INS DETAINEES TO SEEK COMPENSATION
A group of immigrants from designated Middle Eastern countries who were
required to "register" with the INS during the months of December and
January and were unlawfully arrested without required warrants and then
detained for periods ranging from several days to weeks will soon file
requests for compensation to the Department of Justice under the
Federal
Tort Claims Act (FTCA).
The registrants will seek fair and just compensation for unlawful
arrest
and false imprisonment. The claims will be submitted simultaneously
with a
cover letter and representation provided by the Center for Human Rights
and
Constitutional Law, assisted by counsel from the American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), the Council of American Islamic
Relations (CAIR), the Alliance of Iranian American (AIA), and the
National
Council of Pakistani Americans (NCPA).
To join the group seeking registration compensation, attorneys and/or
registrants may complete the form below and forward it by email or
facsimile to: Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, facsimile
(213) 388-8693, attention: Peter Schey & Carlos Holguin, or via email
to
pschey@centerforhumanrights.org, crholguin@centerforhumanrights.org
-----
CHICAGO FORUM ON POST 9/11 IMMIGRANT RIGHTS
WHAT: Workshop by the Midwest Immigrant and Human Rights Center (MIHRC)
on
immigrant rights and recent INS policy changes post 9/11. Immigration
lawyers will provide information on recent immigrant registration
policies
and detentions. All community members are invited to attend.
WHEN: Saturday, January 11, 12 P.M. to 3 P.M.
WHERE: Indo-American Center, 6328 N California Ave, Chicago IL 60659
Translation in Urdu will be provided.
For more information, contact Yasser at the Midwest Immigrant & Human
Rights Center (MIHRC) (312) 660-1356 or Faisal Hadi at the
Indo-American
Center (IAC) (773)973-4444 for more info.
-----
BALTIMORE MARCH AND PROTEST AGAINST INS REGISTRATION
WHAT: March and protest against the INS Special Registration program.
WHEN: Friday, January 10 at 12 P.M.
WHERE: Protesters will meet at the corner of Charles St. and Baltimore
St. March past the Garmatz Federal Courthouse to the INS office in the
Federal office building on Hopkins Plaza north of Lombard St. March
continues to the Baltimore Sun office at 501 N. Calvert St. to protest
the
lack of coverage this issue has received.
For more info, email baltimoresustain@yahoo.com or call 410
675-9016
-----
JUDGES UPHOLD U.S. DETENTION OF HAMDI
Tom Jackman, Washington Post, 1/9/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30337-2003Jan8.html
The government can jail a U.S. citizen captured overseas indefinitely
when
the military declares him an "enemy combatant," a federal appeals court
said yesterday, ruling that a Louisiana-born man has been held properly
in
a Navy brig without a lawyer or other constitutional rights.
The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in the
case
of Yaser Esam Hamdi, who was captured with Taliban forces in
Afghanistan,
rejected the Justice Department's argument that enemy combatants have
no
right to a judicial review of their detention and status. But because
the
Constitution affords the executive branch the responsibility to wage
war,
the courts must yield to the military in making such determinations,
the
three-judge panel said...
Federal Public Defender Frank W. Dunham Jr., Hamdi's lawyer, said that
the
case is "of national significance" and that it goes to the core of the
roles of the branches of government during wartime. "The Supreme Court
should be given an opportunity to address this issue if it wants to,"
he said.
Dunham added that the ruling holds that if the executive branch
presents
its reasons for an enemy detention, "you're not allowed to question
those
reasons. No other facts can be presented to the court," and therefore
meeting with a lawyer would be unnecessary, Dunham said…
In his oral argument, Deputy Solicitor General Paul D. Clement told the
three-judge panel, "It's important to give discretion to the executive
branch to handle detainees as it sees fit."
Dunham responded that Hamdi should at least be given a chance to see
the
Mobbs declaration. "He hasn't claimed anything," Dunham argued. "Nobody
knows what his version of the facts might be."
In fact, Hamdi's father sent a letter to Congress saying that Hamdi was
in
Afghanistan doing relief work, and was trapped there by the fighting.
"He
was caught up in a dragnet of non-Afghans," Esam F. Hamdi wrote…
-----
SEPT. 11 VICTIMS' KIN PROTEST IN IRAQ
Hamza Hendawi, Associated Press, 1/8/03
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20030108_1791.html
BAGHDAD, Iraq Grief turned Kristina Olsen into a peace activist after
her
sister died aboard the American Airlines flight that terrorists crashed
into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
Members of the September Eleventh Families For Peaceful Tomorrows hold
hands with citizens of Iraq during a vigil outside of Amariya Shelter
in
Baghdad January 8, 2003. Peaceful Tomorrows is a group of Americans who
lost close family members in September 11, 2001 attacks on the World
Trade
Center towers.
On Wednesday, she met Iraqis in Baghdad who also lost loved ones in an
attack but in 1991, when U.S. warplanes struck an Iraqi bomb shelter
during the Gulf War.
Olsen and three other American relatives of Sept. 11 victims traveled
to
Baghdad to protest a possible U.S. war with Iraq and to promote peace
through personal contacts with Iraqis.
The activists heard fear and anger that the United States would strike
again, talking for two hours with Iraqis such as Fikra'a Shaker, 46,
who
lost her parents and sister in the shelter bombing.
"They asked us what we wanted, and we said we wanted peace," Shaker
said
after meeting the Americans. "But if Bush attacks us, we are ready to
offer
more victims…"
---
SPONSORS OUTLINE ANTI-WAR PROTEST PLAN
Heather Greenfield, Associated Press, 1/9/03
WASHINGTON (AP) - The weekend of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday is a
perfect time for a big anti-war protest in Washington, sponsors said
Wednesday.
“The American people have very little time left to tell President Bush
that
they don't want the U.S. to be an aggressor nation and attack Iraq,”
said
former Attorney General Ramsey Clark, whose group International
A.N.S.W.E.R
(Act Now to Stop War and Racism) is organizing the Jan. 18 event.
Calling King a “drum major for peace and justice,” Mahdi Bray, the
executive director of the Muslim American Society, noted that King
spoke
out against the Vietnam War.
Actors Jessica Lange and Mike Farrell and demonstrators from religious
groups, labor organizations and schools are among those planning to
attend
the event.
Demonstrators plan a rally on the west side of the Capitol. They will
then
march to the Washington Navy Yard where they will ask to inspect
weapons of
mass destruction they say the government might have.
The march will travel through a relatively poor section of Washington.
Protesters say those residents will be hurt if the United States
diverts
money from social programs to pay for a war…
-----
REVIEWER’S CHOICE: “TAKING BACK ISLAM”
Jeffery Weiss, Dallas Morning News, 1/9/03
http://www.dallasnews.com/religion/arts/stories/010403dnrelchoice.3e5ab.html
"Taking Back Islam: American Muslims Reclaim Their Faith," edited by
Michael Wolfe (Rodale, 240 pages, $21.95)
Most of the post-Sept. 11 debate over Islam has been intensely
polarized
between President Bush's "Islam is a religion of peace" and the Rev.
Franklin Graham's assertion that Islam is implacably violent. Many
American
Muslims find themselves somewhere in the middle.
"I know _ and I suspect all honest Americans know _ that Muslims have
their
saintly souls and their zealots, just as every other tradition," writes
Omid Safi, a professor at Colgate University.
His is one of the moderate American voices found in this book of essays
compiled by beliefnet.com. Most of the 43 essays were written by
Muslims.
(Well-known religion scholar and best-selling author Karen Armstrong is
a
notable exception.) And many of those Muslims are American-born
converts.
The often eloquent essays are written both to non-Muslims, as an
explanation, and to Muslims, as an exhortation. As a primer for
non-Muslims, the book mostly succeeds. But some of the essays about the
experience of black Americans and Islam are not as clear as they could
be
about the profound differences between Islam and the non-Muslim Nation
of
Islam. The exhortation is for moderate Muslims to raise their voices
over
the extremists whose interpretation of their faith is now much better
known
_ and feared.
Some of the writers acknowledge that they are less about "taking back
Islam" than creating a new American flavor that is nonetheless
consistent
with Islam's traditions and theology. A redesigned Islam in an American
image that affects the rest of the world would follow a path that
American
Jews and Christians blazed long ago.
---
VA BOOK SIGNING: “PASSION FOR ISLAM”
WHAT: A book signing reception with Caryle Murphy, author of "Passion
for
Islam". Murphy is a journalist with the Washington Post.
WHEN: Saturday, January 25th, 12 P.M. 2 P.M.
WHERE: The Islamic Cultural Center, 1215 King Street, Alexandria, VA
For more information, call (703) 836-2000 or email:
IslamicCulturalC@aol.com
-----
MAINE DEMONSTRATION AGAINST HATE
WHAT: There will be a demonstration against hatred and in support of
people
from diverse backgrounds in Lewiston, Maine. Among the presenters at
the
rally will be state Attorney General Steve Rowe or Gov. John Baldacci,
local representatives of the Somali, Franco-American, Hispanic, Jewish,
Native American and gay/lesbian communities, Omar Jamal, executive
director
of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul, and Mark
Schlotterbeck,
leader of the Many & One Coalition, which has organized the event.
Former
Lewiston Mayor John Jenkins will serve as master of ceremonies.
The rally will open with prayers offered by half a dozen local
children,
each praying according to that child's faith tradition. Several musical
elements will also be featured.
WHEN: Saturday, January 11, 1 P.M. to 3 P.M.
WHERE: Merril Gymnasium, Bates College - Lewiston, Maine
For more info, contact Liz at (207) 775-0105 or visit
www.firefly.freewebsites.com/diversity.html
-----
SENSE OF HUMOR?
Orlando Sentinel, 1/9/03
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/orl-edple09010903jan09,0,3052657.story
Kathleen Parker needs to go back to sleep, because she just doesn't get
it.
In her Wednesday column she attacks Muslim "special-interest" groups
for
not having a sense of humor when a newspaper put a cartoon on its Web
site
(which it later removed) of a man dressed in Middle Eastern garb,
driving a
Ryder truck with a nuke in back with the caption: "What Would Mohammed
Drive?"
The newspaper insults the Muslim religion and she wants Muslims to
laugh
about it. Well, Christians should lead by example. Along with Parker's
next
column print a copy of a cartoon of President Bush smiling while he
rides a
U.S. missile targeted for Iraq, with the caption: "What Would Jesus
Fly?"
This would demonstrate Parker's sense of humor and give the Christian
and
conservative special-interest groups the chance to exhibit that "valued
and
uniquely American ability to laugh at oneself."
Brenda Grossnickle
Lake Mary, FL
-----
MUSLIMS ORDERED TO TEAR DOWN MOSQUE
Orlando Sentinel, 1/9/03
http://www.orlandosentinel.com
TAVARES -- Officials from the county code-enforcement board ordered a
growing Muslim community to tear down its makeshift mosque, forcing
about
30 families in south Lake County to find another place to worship or
risk
paying hundreds of dollars in fines. The decision, handed down at a
board
meeting Wednesday, drew little outcry from a sparse audience.
A lawyer for the Islamic Center of south Lake County argued little with
the
board's 7-0 vote and agreed his clients would raze the tarp-covered
structure within a month. Two members from the center also attended and
said they would not fight the board's decision. Instead, the group
would
concentrate on raising money to build a new mosque.
The community has been worshipping for more than a year in a roofless
set
of walls -- covered by a blue tarp -- along U.S. Highway 27 just north
of
downtown Minneola.
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
GOOD NEWS ALERT #362
INS GRANTS PAROLE TO DELAWARE MUSLIM WITH SICK CHILDREN
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/9/03) - (Alhamdulillah, praise be to God.) A
Delaware
Muslim held pending deportation to Pakistan has been granted a
humanitarian
parole by the INS. That move came on the same day that an Islamic civil
rights group requested the parole based on the medical needs of the
family's two American-born children.
A representative of the Immigration and Naturalization Service's
Philadelphia District Office called the Washington-based Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) late today to say the parole had been
granted and that concerned Muslims no longer need contact the office to
support the group's request. (Earlier in the day, CAIR issued an
"Action
Alert" to Muslims nationwide asking that they contact the INS District
Office about the case.)
The man granted parole had been detained by the INS on an
eight-year-old
deportation order. (The family's request for asylum was denied at that
time.) Two of his children are American citizens who have severe
congenital
conditions that require round-the-clock medical care.
The children's physicians say it is unlikely that they would be able to
obtain adequate long-term treatment or therapy for these conditions if
their mother and father, who have been responsible for their care, are
deported to Pakistan.
"We thank INS Acting District Director Theodoro Nordmark for
recognizing
that the law is not incompatible with mercy. His compassionate decision
will help two American children who are in desperate need of both
proper
medical care and their parent's support," said CAIR Communications
Director
Ibrahim Hooper.
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-MAIL:
cair@cair-net.org; Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787 or 703-861-7294,
E-MAIL:
hhassan@cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive
news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to CAIR-NET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
-----
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To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
-- MEDIA ADVISORY --
U.S. MUSLIMS GO ON HAJJ AS NATION HEADS TO WAR
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/10/2003) - In February, Muslims in America and
around
the world will take part in religious observances associated with the
annual Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. This year's Hajj takes place as
America heads to possible war with neighboring Iraq.
"It our fervent hope that there will be peace in the Middle East as
thousands of American Muslims carry out their religious obligations.
Any
attack on Iraq could lead to thousands of deaths, greater instability
in
that troubled region and increased hostility directed at our nation in
the
Arab and Muslim world," said CAIR Board Chairman Omar Ahmad. Ahmad said
up
to 10,000 American Muslims will take part in the Hajj. (That figure is
based on the number of Hajj visas issued in previous years.)
Hajj is one of the "five pillars" of the Islamic faith. (The other
pillars
include a declaration of faith, daily prayers, offering regular
charity,
and fasting during the month of Ramadan.) Pilgrimage is a
once-in-a-lifetime obligation for those who have the physical and
financial
ability to undertake the journey.
The obligatory and optional activities of Hajj include:
* Entrance into a state of self-control called ihram, during which
pilgrims
are forbidden to harm living creatures, even insects or plants, or
raise
the voice in anger. The state of ihram is signified (for men) by the
wearing of two pieces of unsewn white cloth. This clothing signifies
the
equality of all before God. No specific clothing is prescribed for
female
pilgrims.
* Circling of the Ka'aba (Tawaf), the stone building Muslims believe
was
originally built by Abraham and his son Ishmael. The Ka'aba is viewed
as
the first sanctuary on earth dedicated to the worship of the One God.
It is
a symbol of unity for Muslims because all prayers, wherever they are
performed, are oriented in the direction of the Ka'aba.
* The Sa'i, or "hastening" between two small hills near the Ka'aba, to
commemorate Hagar's search for water to offer her son Ishmael.
* The "Day of Arafah" on February 10.* Arafah is a mountain and its
surrounding empty plain near Mecca. On this day, the climax of the Hajj
season, pilgrims assemble for supplication to God.
* The stoning of three pillars representing Satan's temptation of
Abraham.
The stoning indicates the pilgrim's rejection of evil deeds.
* Cutting the hair to symbolize the completion of Hajj.
* Sacrifice of an animal to help the poor, and in remembrance Abraham's
willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael at God's command. The meat is
distributed to relatives and to the needy.
When the main portion of the pilgrimage is completed, Muslims worldwide
gather for communal prayers on the first day (February 11*) of Eid
ul-Adha
(eed-al-odd-ha), the second of the two major Muslim holidays.
The Quran, Islam's revealed text, states:
"Thus We settled Abraham at the site of the House (the Ka'aba)
[saying]:
'Do not associate anything with Me, and purify My house for those who
walk
around it, and those who stand there (praying), and those who bow down
on
their knees in worship. Proclaim the pilgrimage among mankind: They
will
come to you on foot and on every lean (beast of burden); Let them come
from
every deep ravine, to bear witness to the advantages they have, and to
mention God's name on appointed days..." Chapter 22, Verses 26-28
- END -
* Because the beginning of Islamic lunar months depends on the actual
sighting of the new moon, the start date for Hajj and Eid ul-Adha may
vary.
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-MAIL:
cair@cair-net.org; Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787 or 703-861-7294,
E-MAIL:
hhassan@cair-net.org
NOTE - CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive
news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to CAIR-NET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
-----
TO BECOME A CAIR MEMBER, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/10/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: HAJJ IS JIHAD
* POSITIVE FEEDBACK ON CAIR'S LIBRARY PROJECT
* REGISTRATION ONLINE FOR CAIR'S LEADERSHIP FORUM IN NY
* MUSLIM STOPS SYNAGOGUE TORCHING (NY Daily News)
* PAKISTANI DETAINEE LIVING NEAR NEWARK PAROLED (News Journal)
* REGISTRATION STIRS PANIC, WORRY (Washington Post)
- Protests Today At INS Office (San Francisco Chronicle)
- A Trap for Middle Eastern Visitors (Washington Post)
- INS Vows To Improve On Registration (LA Times)
- Fiasco in the Making (Washington Post)
* SO. CALIF. FORUM ON CIVIL LIBERTIES
- Northern VA Discussion on INS Regulations
* DETAINING 'ENEMY COMBATANTS' (NY Times)
* A YEAR LATER, GUANTANAMO PRISONERS STILL IN LIMBO (Reuters)
* A 'LONG NIGHT OF TERROR' AFTER 9/11 (Washington Post)
* PARIS AIRPORT SUSPECT 'WAS SET UP' (CNN)
* US WILL ATTACK IRAQ 'WITHOUT UN BACKING' (Telegraph UK)
- TX MLK Parade In Opposition To Possible War in Iraq
- Canadian Muslims Alarmed By DM's Statements on Iraq
* AMJ OFFERS RESOURCES TO CHALLENGE $12 BILLION AID REQUEST
* ISLAM LESSON LAWSUIT DISPUTED (Contra Costa Times)
* SEX DOES SELL -- EVEN WHEN IT'S UNDER A BURKA (Miami Herald)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: HAJJ IS JIHAD
A wife of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) asked him about
Jihad,
and he replied: "The best Jihad (for you) is (the performance of) Hajj
(the
pilgrimage to Mecca)."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Hadith 128
-----
POSITIVE FEEDBACK ON CAIR'S LIBRARY PROJECT
More positive feedback from librarians who have received CAIR's library
package:
"We are grateful for the books and videos, which will support our own
efforts in building our collection of Islamic materials…One of our
librarians also presented a program to other library professionals on
Islamic materials at a statewide conference." - Milwaukee, WI
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
REGISTRATION ONLINE FOR CAIR'S LEADERSHIP FORUM IN NY
To register for CAIR's January 26 Muslim Leadership Forum in New York,
go to:
http://www.cair-net.org/cad/
-----
MUSLIM STOPS SYNAGOGUE TORCHING
Melissa Grace, New York Daily News, 1/10/03
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/story/50363p-47251c.html
A Muslim gas station attendant was being hailed as a hero for saving a
Brooklyn synagogue yesterday from being torched by a man he described
as
"totally out of control."
Syed Ali, 35, was working at the Amoco station on Ocean Ave. in
Sheepshead
Bay at about 4 a.m. when he sold $2 worth of fuel to the alleged
would-be
arsonist.
The Pakistani immigrant said he watched in disbelief as Sead Jakup, 22,
took the canister across the street and began dousing the Young Israel
of
Kings Bay synagogue.
Ali quickly called 911, and cops arrived before Jakup, a Bosnian
Muslim,
could set the temple ablaze.
"Mr. Ali saved the shul [synagogue]," said Allen Popper, president of
the
synagogue. "He's a hero..."
Ali declined to accept the mantle of hero, saying he did only what any
responsible person would do. "It's a sacred place he was going to
destroy,"
Ali said…
-----
PAKISTANI DETAINEE LIVING NEAR NEWARK PAROLED
Sean O'Sullivan, News Journal, 1/10/03
http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2003/01/10pakistanidetain.html
A Pakistani father of three who has been living in Delaware and faced
imminent deportation was granted an unusual parole Thursday by the
Immigration and Naturalization Service.
The parole allows Masood Sadiq, 41, to return home to his family in
Delaware and care for two ailing children and his wife, who also is
ill.
Sadiq, who is in prison in York, Pa., provides the family's only means
of
support.
Sadiq had been working as an assistant manager of a Seasons Pizza near
Newark for the past four years. He was awakened and taken into custody
by
INS agents on Oct. 22, for overstaying his visa.
The family's legal status is not completely resolved by Thursday's
indefinite suspension of deportation proceedings. That's because Sadiq,
his
wife and oldest son still are not legal residents.
But it does solve their immediate crisis, one that faced Sadiq and his
wife, Shagufta Masood, 39, with a painfully difficult choice.
They could abandon two of their children, who are American citizens by
birth, in the hope the children could continue to get the medical
attention
they need. Or they could take all three children back to Pakistan,
which
could put the youngest children's lives in jeopardy because the medical
care they need is not available there.
"How can I leave my children?" Masood asked this week before the parole
was
granted. Masood took her husband's first name as the family's last
name, as
is tradition among some Pakistani families. She recently was diagnosed
with
Hepatitis C…
The announcement followed inquiries from the office of Sen. Joe Biden,
D-Del., calls from the press, and an appeal this week from a national
Islamic-rights group.
In a letter sent to the agency Thursday, and released nationally, the
Council on American-Islamic Relations, based in Washington D.C.,
pleaded
for Sadiq's release.
"If any case cries out for humanitarian intervention it is this one,"
the
group's executive director, Nihad Awad, wrote…
-----
REGISTRATION STIRS PANIC, WORRY
Dan Eggen and Nurith C. Aizenman, Washington Post, 1/10/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35545-2003Jan9.html
Thousands of nervous immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries,
many
risking arrest and deportation, have been flooding into U.S.
immigration
offices in advance of today's deadline to register for a controversial
program that has already resulted in more than 500 detentions
nationwide.
The "special registration" effort -- designed to register, fingerprint
and
question thousands of male foreign nationals from countries identified
as
terrorist harbors -- has caused widespread confusion and panic in
Muslim
immigrant communities across the United States, according to attorneys
and
advocacy groups...
Some prominent national security experts who otherwise support the Bush
administration's anti-terrorism campaign said the effort may do more
harm
than good.
"The pure accumulation of just massive amounts of data is not
necessarily
helpful, especially for an agency like the INS that already has
problems
keeping track of things," said Juliette Kayyem, a terrorism expert at
Harvard University. "Basically, what this has become is an immigration
sweep. The idea that this has anything to do with security, or is
something
the government can do to stop terrorism, is absurd…"
---
PROTESTS TODAY AT INS OFFICE
Anastasia Hendrix, San Francisco Chronicle, 1/10/03
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/01/10/BA103553.DTL
On the eve of the government's second deadline for the National
Security
Entry-Exit Registration System, advocacy groups stepped up efforts to
oppose the policy that requires men holding temporary visas from
countries
deemed high risk for terrorist activities to register with the
Immigration
and Naturalization Service.
Large protests are planned today in front of the San Francisco INS
office
on Washington Street, as well as those in Los Angeles and other major
cities. San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano and the Rev. Cecil
Williams of
Glide Memorial Church are among the speakers scheduled to appear at the
rally.
In a letter to President Bush delivered to the White House on Thursday,
63
immigrant, civil and human rights organizations called on him to
eliminate
the registration program on the grounds that it "appears to target
people
based on national origin, race and religion rather than intelligence
information..."
---
A TRAP FOR MIDDLE EASTERN VISITORS
Sadiq Reza, Washington Post, 1/10/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35859-2003Jan9.html
Look hard enough at a person and you're sure to find something he has
done
wrong. Focus on any group and you'll find wrongdoing among its members.
We
saw this last month with the arrests of hundreds of Middle Eastern
visitors
for routine immigration violations when they showed up to comply with a
new
regulation requiring them to register with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service.
Last month's arrests realized the worst fears of all who oppose the
government's focusing of its antiterrorism efforts on citizens and
immigrants of Middle Eastern origin or Muslim faith. But the arrests
also
undermined the law enforcement goal that spawned them. The purpose of
the
registration requirement is to get more information about Middle
Eastern
visitors -- and from these visitors -- for the domestic fight against
terrorism. But what man who has not yet registered and who might know
something about terrorist activity will come forward and share that
information now, when he knows he will be promptly arrested and
deported if
he has overstayed his visa or committed some other minor infraction…?
---
INS VOWS TO IMPROVE ON REGISTRATION
Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 1/10/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ins10jan10,0,7587093.story
Federal authorities in Los Angeles and across the nation are vowing to
be
better prepared today as a second group of foreign men -- mostly from
the
Middle East -- face a deadline to register with the U.S. Immigration
and
Naturalization Service.
"I think that it will go much, much smoother than the last time
around,"
said Ronald J. Smith, acting INS district director in Los Angeles. "I
feel
confident that we're ready..."
This time, "there will be a significant contrast with the first round,"
said Smith, an INS veteran who took over the Los Angeles post last
month.
He promised greater flexibility in handling cases of registrants who
are in
the process of seeking permanent resident status, signified by "green
cards."
Though promising more flexibility this time, authorities have pointedly
not
instituted a no-arrest policy. "Everything is on a case-by-case basis,"
said an INS official in Washington…
Immigrant advocates and others say word of last month's arrests may
have a
dampening effect on turnout, as foreign residents fear that they may be
detained or deported.
On the other hand, those who fail to appear are taking a major risk:
They
are subject to deportation and possible criminal prosecution.
"We're recommending that everybody who is subject to this contact an
attorney," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, a Washington-based advocacy group. "We
always
recommend that people abide by the law, but they should have somebody
to
defend their rights…"
---
FIASCO IN THE MAKING
Washington Post, 1/10/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35833-2003Jan9.html
This registration procedure is consistent with rules now applied to new
visa applicants from those countries. In the context of the war on
terrorism, it is not illegitimate to pay extra attention to citizens of
countries that may harbor terrorists…
Nevertheless, both the efficacy of the procedure -- what will the INS
learn
and how will the information be used? -- and the wisdom of treating
law-abiding and largely pro-American foreigners like criminals are
debatable, particularly since the precedents are not good. Indeed, the
INS
so comprehensively bungled the first round of registrations last month
--
for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria and Sudan -- that this time
around
its credibility as a legitimate player in the war on terrorism is at
stake…
-----
SO. CALIF. FORUM ON CIVIL LIBERTIES
WHAT: A forum on the USA Patriot Act with Professor David Cole of
Georgetown Law School, one of the most prominent constitutional experts
in
America. A representative of the US Attorney's office will present the
government's perspective. Omar Ahmad of CAIR, Yahya Basha of AMC, and
Agha
Saeed of AMA will also be making remarks at the forum. Dr. Maher
Hathout,
Chairman of AMPCC and Sr. Advisor to MPAC, will host the panel.
WHEN: Wednesday, January 22 at 7 P.M.
WHERE: Islamic Center of Southern California, 434 South Vermont
Avenue,
Los Angeles
The forum is sponsored by the American Muslim Political Coordinating
Council (AMPCC), comprised of the American Muslim Alliance (AMA),
American
Muslim Council (AMC), Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), and
the
Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC).
Please call MPAC at 213 383 3443 to register for this event. Deadline
for
registration is Monday, January 20, and seating is limited.
---
NORTHERN VA DISCUSSION ON INS REGULATIONS
WHAT: The Community Resilience Project announces a discussion on "The
INS
Regulations for Foreign Visitors"
Speakers:
* Ashraf Nubani, Immigration attorney
* Joshua Salaam, CAIR Civil Rights Department
* Jenna Evans, INS- Director of Community Relations (addressing U.S.
government concerns)
* ACLU Representative
WHEN: Saturday, January 11, from 10 A.M. - 12:30 P.M.
WHERE: New Adams Center, Sterling, VA
For more information on the INS Regulations or this discussion program,
contact the program organizers at (703) 220-7553.
-----
DETAINING 'ENEMY COMBATANTS'
New York Times, 1/10/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/10/opinion/10FRI2.html
A federal appeals court in Virginia ruled this week that Americans who
are
labeled "enemy combatants" can be held indefinitely without access to a
lawyer. The court is correct that soldiers on the battlefield do not
have
the same rights as ordinary criminal suspects. But this ruling, in the
case
of a man held on American soil for months, gives the government too
much
power to imprison citizens, and offers too few protections. The Supreme
Court should develop a better set of standards…
The court was too quick to accept the government's label of Mr. Hamdi
as an
enemy combatant. The government's evidence regarding his military role
is
sketchy. Now that he is on American soil, he should be given an
opportunity
to contest the government's conclusions.
The court also erred in deferring to the executive branch on when the
hostilities Mr. Hamdi engaged in ended. Unlike wars that begin with
declarations and conclude with treaties, America's "war on terror" may
become permanent if the White House so decides. Under the court's
ruling,
government could then hold prisoners like Mr. Hamdi incommunicado
forever.
Looming over this case is Jose Padilla, the so-called "dirty bomb"
suspect.
Although he was arrested in Chicago, he was designated an enemy
combatant
because the government believed he was plotting with terrorists
overseas.
If the rules laid down this week apply to him, the government could
round
up citizens on American soil and, on scant evidence, hold them
indefinitely
without access to the outside world. With or without the label of enemy
combatant, Americans are clearly entitled to more due process than
that.
-----
A YEAR LATER, GUANTANAMO PRISONERS STILL IN LIMBO
Jane Sutton, Reuters, 1/10/03
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N10183146
MIAMI - A year after the first prisoners from the war in Afghanistan
were
sent to the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, their fate is no
more
certain than when they arrived.
And human rights groups are turning up the pressure on the United
States to
charge them, try them, or let them go.
"The longer the time passes, it becomes more important from a
humanitarian
prospective at least, that the fate of the people is clarified in
Guantanamo," said Amanda Williamson, spokeswoman for the International
Committee of the Red Cross.
While the United States has pledged to respect the detainees' rights
under
the Geneva Convention, it has refused to declare them prisoners of war,
leaving them in a legal limbo in which foreign courts cannot interfere
and
U.S. courts have ruled they have no jurisdiction…
The first 20 prisoners arrived in Guantanamo on Jan. 11, 2002. Their
numbers have grown to about 620, from 40 nations...
Rights groups say, however, it is the indefinite detention itself that
raises the greatest concern and mocks U.S. claims to advance the cause
of
human rights around the world.
"No access to the courts, lawyers or relatives; the prospect of
indefinite
detention in small cells for up to 24 hours a day; the possibility of
trials by executive military commissions with the power to hand down
death
sentences and no right of appeal?" said Amnesty. "Is this how the USA
defends human rights and the rule of law?"
-----
A 'LONG NIGHT OF TERROR' AFTER 9/11
Rama Lakshmi, Washington Post, 1/10/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35295-2003Jan9.html
HYDERABAD, India - Nine years after he set out to chase the American
dream,
Ayub Ali Khan returned home with nothing more than a white mesh bag,
bearing his prison identification number, slung over his shoulder.
Pulled
off a train in Texas the day after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks,
Khan spent more than a year in U.S. jails -- an ordeal he calls "a long
night of terror."
Khan, 36, an Indian Muslim, was arrested and questioned about the
attacks
on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but eventually was ruled
out as
a suspect. Deported late last month after pleading guilty to credit
card
fraud and serving 13 months in prison, he sat last week in the cramped
living room of his home by the winding alleyways of Hyderabad's old
city,
100 miles northeast of Karachi, Pakistan, and spoke in detail about his
detention.
Grueling interrogation, solitary confinement and what seemed like
endless
mental torture, he said, left him "as good as a dead man…"
"The interrogation rounds terrorized me," he said. "Five to six men
would
pull me in different directions very roughly as they asked rapid-fire
questions…Then suddenly they would brutally throw me against the
wall..."
-----
PARIS AIRPORT SUSPECT 'WAS SET UP'
CNN, 1/10/03
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/01/10/france.arrest/index.html
PARIS, France --A baggage handler arrested at a Paris airport with an
alleged stash of guns and explosives was the victim of a set-up, police
said.
French state prosecutor Yves Bot said on Friday that a former soldier
in
the French Foreign Legion has acknowledged framing the baggage handler.
"This morning, during custody, the soldier who denounced him admitted
to
having taken part in a plot in liaison with the in-laws" of the
arrested
man, Bot told Reuters.
Abderazak Besseghir, a 27-year-old French citizen of Algerian origin,
was
arrested on December 28 after police found pistols and explosives in
the
back of his car parked at Charles de Gaulle international airport north
of
Paris.
Bot said the former soldier, Marcel Le Hir, admitted that he placed the
explosives in Besseghir's car in collusion with another man, Patrick
Pouchoulin, who was also being held in custody, Reuters reported.
Besseghir, who has no criminal record and no known links to radical
Islamic
movements, has said he is innocent and that he is the victim of a plot
by
his late wife's family to avenge her death in a house fire last year...
-----
US WILL ATTACK IRAQ 'WITHOUT UN BACKING'
Toby Harnden, Telegraph (UK), 1/10/03
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;$sessionid$GWSRUZIKZYYOPQFIQMFSFFOAVCBQ0IV0?xml=/news/2003/01/10/wirq110.xml
America will not delay a war with Iraq until the autumn and is prepared
to
launch military action against Saddam Hussein without further United
Nations authorisation, a senior Bush administration adviser said
yesterday.
Richard Perle, chairman of the Pentagon's Defence Policy Board and a
hawk
whose views carry considerable weight, rejected suggestions from
British
ministers and senior Foreign Office officials that plans for an early
war
should be put on hold.
Mr Perle, who is close to Donald Rumsfeld, the US defence secretary,
said
he did not expect the UN Security Council to reach agreement on the use
of
force but had little doubt that George W Bush, the US president, would
press ahead regardless and lead a coalition to victory…
---
TX MLK PARADE IN OPPOSITION TO POSSIBLE WAR IN IRAQ
WHAT: MLK parade and protest against looming war against Iraq. There
will
be a banner stating "Muslims Appreciate the African-American Struggle
for
Civil Rights," which Muslims and other people of conscience will walk
behind.
WHEN: Saturday, January 18, starts at 9 A.M.
WHERE Parade starts at Dallas City Hall. Parking information: It is
best to
park at Fair Park (MLK Blvd entrance), and take the city shuttle buses
to
City Hall. When you arrive at Dallas City Hall, look for the peace
signs
stating "No War in Iraq," etc. The parade ends at Fair Park.
The parade route is 2.9 miles, so please be prepared to walk
For more information contact Br. Hadi Jawad at (214)392-2939,
(214)636-6525, or email info@cairdfw.org.
---
CANADIAN MUSLIMS ALARMED BY DEFENSE MINISTER'S STATEMENTS ON IRAQ
(Ottawa, Canada - 10/1/03) - The Canadian office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) today reacted with alarm to
recent
statements made by Canada's Defense Minister John McCallum that Canada
might join the United States in a war against Iraq without any U.N.
authorization.
After a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, McCallum
said
that Canada would "reserve the right" to join the United States in a
war
against Iraq even in the absence of a new U.N. Security Council
resolution
authorizing such an attack. McCallum said Canada would "much prefer"
the
passage of a resolution authorizing force "but we may do it otherwise."
In a statement released today, CAIR-CAN wrote:
"The recent statements made by Defense Minister John McCallum
demonstrate a
radical tilt in Canada's policy on the Iraq crises. They compromise
Canada's good-standing in international relations as a country with a
tradition of sober and fair-minded diplomacy. War is not the solution.
An
attack on Iraq will only punish a civilian population already
devastated by
a decade-long sanctions policy.
CONTACT: Riad Saloojee at 613-254-9704; E-mail: Canada@cair-net.org
-----
AMJ OFFERS RESOURCES TO CHALLENGE $12 BILLION AID REQUEST
Press Release, American Muslims for Jerusalem, 1/10/03
Israel submitted its request for $12 billion in additional aid to the
Bush
Administration this week. The request, on top of the $3 billion already
allocated to Israel for this year, is for $4 billion in military aid
and $8
billion in loan guarantees…
AMJ has developed new materials for activists to use in generating
public
discussion about the wisdom of squandering $12 billion on Israel at
this
time. Surely, at this time of fiscal crisis, the money is needed more
at
home. Most Americans, however, are likely not aware of this
development,
nor of how much of our money Israel already collects.
1) Fact Sheet on Aid to Israel and American Fiscal Crisis
2) Townhall Meeting Toolkit
To request a packet email programs@amjerusalem.org (put "townhall
meeting"
in subject line of email) or call (202) 548-4200
-----
ISLAM LESSON LAWSUIT DISPUTED
Kelli A. Phillips, Contra Costa Times, 1/10/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/counties/contra_costa_county/cities_neighborhoods/brentwood/4915663.htm
A lawsuit filed by a Christian law firm against the Byron Union School
District won't go before a jury until late 2004, and the district's new
superintendent is calling it a political fund-raiser…
Tom Meyer, the Byron superintendent, updated the school board on the
status
of the case during its regular meeting on Tuesday night. "My personal
feeling is that this is a political fund-raiser idea for Thomas More
and
that once that is done with, this will quietly go away," he said.
The claim alleges the district violated the establishment clause of the
First Amendment concerning separation of church and state by supporting
the
teaching of Islam in a seventh-grade world history class at Excelsior
Middle School last fall…
The controversial world history lessons were taught during a three-week
period in October 2001 at Excelsior school. Seventh-graders were
reportedly
required to participate in simulation exercises, including selecting a
Muslim name, wearing traditional Muslim clothing, memorizing Islamic
prayers and playing a dice game, which acted out a "jihad," or holy
war.
The 1,150-student rural school district made national headlines as talk
radio and television shows and political and religious Web sites picked
up
the story last fall...
-----
SEX DOES SELL -- EVEN WHEN IT'S UNDER A BURKA-LIKE VEIL
David Ovalle, Miami Herald, 1/10/03
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/entertainment/weekend/4905877.htm
Picture a music diva on a magazine cover, wearing a nun's veil and
little
else. If that were to happen, it wouldn't take long for Christian
groups to
get their Bibles in a bunch.
Now picture Lil' Kim, the pint-size, quasi-pornographic rap star,
wearing a
burka-like veil and showing plenty of cleavage on the cover of a rap
mogul's fledgling magazine.
That did happen. And don't bet on angry Muslim groups getting an
official
apology anytime soon.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals can get more attention by
protesting the Green Bay Packers (duh, the name promotes violence
toward
cattle) than Muslim groups can with a legitimate slight toward their
religion.
In truth, the cover speaks to a deeper rooted ignorance of other
religions
in a Judeo-Christian society. Muslims are easy targets because we know,
and
care, so little about what makes them tick.
It is simple to decry burkas as products of an extremist system that
relegates women to second-class status. There is probably some truth to
that.
But wearing it is a religious right nonetheless…
-----
TO BECOME A CAIR MEMBER, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/12/2003
HEADLINES:
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* ISRAELI AT LOAN TALKS IMPLICATED IN MASSACRE (Independent)
- Attention Builds Over Slain Civilian (CS Monitor)
* AMERICANS ARE AGAINST UNILATERAL WAR IN IRAQ (Knight Ridder)
* SECOND MUSLIM SUES MACY'S, ALLEGES BIAS (Mercury News)
* MUSLIM SCOUTS BLAZING OWN TRAIL (Chicago Tribune)
* ISLAMIC GROUP ANSWERS QUESTIONS (Bradenton Herald)
* WHEN THE WAR ON TERRORISM HITS HOME (SF Chronicle)
* A HATE CRIME KILLING THREATENS NEW TRAGEDY (Phil. Inquirer)
- White Supremacists Plan Anti-Somali Rally (CNN)
* 'RACISM, INJUSTICE, HUMILIATION' (Washington Post)
- A Day to Wait, and Pray, (Washington Post)
* CITIES PASS CIVIL LIBERTIES RESOLUTIONS (AP)
* SHROUDING: A RITE ANCIENT AND MODERN (Atlanta Journal)
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
ISRAELI AT US LOAN TALKS IS IMPLICATED IN MASSACRE
Robert Fisk, Independent, 1/12/03
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=368490
Israel is asking the United States for $8bn (£5bn) in loan guarantees -
and
has sent to Washington one of the former army officers implicated in
the
1982 Sabra and Chatila massacre of Palestinian civilians to persuade
the
Bush administration to grant the money.
Amos Yaron, who is now director general of the Israeli Ministry of
Defence,
was the Israeli military commander in Beirut when Lebanese Phalangist
militiamen entered the refugee camps and slaughtered up to 1,700
Palestinian refugees. He ordered flares to be dropped over the camps,
at
the request of the Phalange, and Israeli soldiers blocked the exits to
prevent civilians from leaving the area…
The Israeli delegation to Washington is led by Dov Weissglass, from the
private office of the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, who was
found
"personally responsible" for the Sabra and Chatila massacre by the
Israeli
Kahan commission of inquiry in 1983. Mr Yaron was appointed to the post
of
Defence Ministry director by the former prime minister, Ehud Barak. The
two
men are accompanied to Washington by the Israeli Ministry of Finance
accountant general, Nir Gilad. The Israeli team is negotiating the new
loan
with Condoleezza Rice's National Security Council but little has
emerged
about their visit in the American press.
The US response is likely to be made public within a month - before the
expected invasion of Iraq. The State Department spokesman, Richard
Boucher,
has refused to talk about the negotiations, save for a passing remark
that
"we always try to help our friends and allies to the best of our
ability"...
Israeli officials accompanying the delegation said they believed the US
would respond favourably to their loan request when their country was
facing a global recession as well as "terrorism"…
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)
Contact the White House and Congress to ask that the
multi-billion-dollar
Israeli aid request be rejected.
1. Call the White House at: 202-456-1414 or 202-456-1111.
2. Contact your elected representative by calling the Capitol
Switchboard
at 202-224-3121. (Have your zip code ready.)
3. Go to http://capwiz.com/cair/home/ to e-mail the President and/or
your
elected representatives.
SEE ALSO:
ATTENTION BUILDS OVER A SLAIN CIVILIAN
A Palestinian grandmother's death tests Israel's justice system
Nicole Gaouette, Christian Science Monitor, 1/10/03
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0110/p01s04-wome.html
NABLUS, WEST BANK - The Israeli-Palestinian conflict cuts lives short
everyday, but Shaden abu Hijleh's death on Oct. 11 resonated beyond
family
and friends. A United Nations official highlighted her killing in a
Security Council briefing on Israeli-Palestinian violence; President
George
Bush raised her case with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon,
according to
an Israeli newspaper.
Ms. Abu Hijleh's story has drawn attention that eludes hundreds of
others
killed here, in part because she was a well-known peace activist, but
also
because her four children - all Iowa State graduates - have campaigned
for
her case.
An initial army inquiry blamed a stray bullet from a shoot-out. Later,
army
investigators would acknowledge that the neighborhood had been quiet.
An
examination of evidence at the scene and eyewitness accounts suggest
that
this was no accident.
Shaden's death has sharpened questions about the army's investigations
into
and punishments for civilian casualties. It has given added ballast to
those who charge that the army operates with impunity in the
Palestinian
territories.
-----
AMERICANS ARE AGAINST UNILATERAL WAR IN IRAQ
A Knight Ridder poll suggests that 83% of the country supports war - as
long as it is backed by the U.N.
Martin Merzer, Knight Ridder, 1/13/02
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/4925312.htm
With U.S. troops heading for the Persian Gulf, Americans say in
overwhelming numbers that they oppose unilateral U.S. military action
against Saddam Hussein's Iraq, according to a national Knight Ridder
poll.
A robust majority of Americans - 83 percent - would support going to
war if
the United Nations backed the action and it was carried out by a
multinational coalition. But without U.N. approval and allies, only
about a
third of the public would support a war with Iraq.
-----
SECOND MUSLIM SUES MACY'S, ALLEGES BIAS
Cecilia Kang, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/12/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/news/4930001.htm
SAN JOSE - A second Muslim woman has filed a lawsuit against Macy's for
alleged discrimination that led to her termination soon after the Sept.
11
terrorist attacks.
The suit by Hiam Yassine, a Palestinian, comes almost four months after
the
department store paid another Muslim salesclerk $125,000 to settle a
similar discrimination and wrongful termination suit.
The terminations sparked protests last year at the Westfield
Shoppingtown
Valley Fair store in San Jose where both women worked. Demonstrators
demanded that the company rehire Yassine and co-worker Alia Atawneh,
who is
also of Palestinian descent. "This is a very different suit from
Atawneh's," Julian Hubbard, Yassine's attorney, said last week. "It
doesn't
involve just one discrete incident. It involves a pattern of behavior…"
Yassine, who is a U.S. citizen and wears a head scarf, said her
termination
was the result of backlash against Muslims and Arabs. The four-year
Macy's
employee didn't dispute that she gave a customer a discount on a
handbag
without a manager's approval, but Hubbard said such practices are
common
among her fellow salespeople and Yassine was unfairly singled out…
-----
MUSLIM SCOUTS BLAZING OWN TRAIL
Jon Yates, Chicago Tribune, 1/12/03
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0301120339jan12,1,1946407.story
In a cramped Glendale Heights living room, amid talk of cookie sales
and
camping trips, Brownie Girl Scout Troop 1887 began its first meeting
with a
pledge and a prayer.
The pledge made the 13 giddy 2nd graders officially Scouts. The
prayer--the
opening verses of the Koran-- made them trailblazers.
Troop 1887 is, officials say, the first all-Muslim Scout troop, for
girls
or boys, in the Chicago area. But many more are on the way: Led by
parents
seeking both a connection to the larger community and a program that
adheres to their religious beliefs, more than a dozen new Muslim Boy
Scout
and Girl Scout troops are being organized throughout the area.
The new troops are, for some, a perfect fit. Many of the children
attend
private Islamic schools that lack gymnasiums or extracurricular
activities--outlets for social and athletic interaction that Scouting
can
provide.
Other kids have joined existing Scout troops but become uncomfortable
when
their heritage clashes with dress codes or prayers…
A drawing card for many parents is that their children will be able to
interact with other, non-Muslim Scout troops at jamborees and camping
trips
without being asked to compromise their core values. Muslim girls can
feel
comfortable wearing hijabs, or scarves, around their heads, and boys
and
girls can wear slacks when other Scouts are wearing shorts.
The coupling of Scouting and religion is not new. For decades,
churches,
synagogues and other religious organizations have sponsored troops, and
Boy
Scouts have been able to earn merit badges for religious-based
projects…
-----
ISLAMIC GROUP ANSWERS QUESTIONS
BRIAN HAAS, Bradenton Herald, 1/12/03
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/4927873.htm
SARASOTA - Many people left more informed, a few still had questions,
but
everyone who attended the Islamic Society of Sarasota and Bradenton's
open
house had the chance to "Discover Islam" Saturday.
Curious residents discussed, jihad, hijab and Islam at an open house.
Two
of the biggest questions on many people's minds at the event were about
Muslim women's rights and the connection between Islam and Middle
Eastern
countries. Ruta Jouniari, a former Catholic who converted to Islam,
said
Islam gives equal rights to women. She said the traditional hijab many
Muslim women wear on their heads, is often misunderstood. She said the
hijab, which covers the hair, is not the same as the Afghani burqa
depicted
under the Taliban regime. She said the burqa is a cultural and not an
Islamic tradition.
She wondered why the hijab is so foreign to Americans. As a Catholic,
she
remembers her mother being forced to cover her head before entering the
Vatican.
Kareema Serro said wearing the hijab in America is a source of pride,
devotion and modesty for Muslim women, not a sign of oppression.
"Dressing this way gives us a feeling of liberation, it makes us feel
like
liberated, intellectual women," Serro said…
-----
WHEN THE WAR ON TERRORISM HITS HOME
How the U.S. Department of Justice forced a man to leave the country,
his
wife and his two young children without proving he had any connection
to
terrorism
Seth Rosenfeld, San Francisco Chronicle, 1/12/02
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/01/12/CM200774.DTL
It was supposed to be a romantic road trip to revitalize their
marriage.
But the car Ali and Stephanie Mubarak bought in Texas had broken down
and,
as they were about to board an American Airlines flight home to
Northern
California from Dallas Fort Worth Airport, a clerk told them the
computer
had flagged Ali's name.
At first the couple made light of it - just another bureaucratic
inconvenience in the post-9/11 world. "'Honey, she's only doing her
job,'"
Stephanie Mubarak told her husband, a Pakistani native and small-plane
pilot who'd lived in Northern California 10 years. "It's nothing."
But the clerk called the police, the police called the FBI, and within
hours Ali Mubarak's life in America began to crash as he found himself
caught in the government's anti-terror sweep.
Many citizens of Corning, a rural community at the northern tip of the
Sacramento Valley, knew Mubarak as a hard-working family man who had
come
to the United States to learn to fly commercial airliners and fell in
love
with the country's freedoms, a charming wheeler-dealer who cut a few
corners in his pursuit of the American dream.
But FBI and Immigration and Naturalization Service agents took a more
sinister view as they searched his home and his shop and pored over his
business operations, religious practices and marital life. Along the
way,
they claimed he had engaged in marriage fraud, accused his wife of
infidelity and allegedly asserted that his San Francisco lawyer worked
for
terrorists. They suspected he "might" have helped select the World
Trade
Center for a 1993 bombing and more recently been planning a small-plane
attack on the Golden Gate Bridge…
-----
A HATE CRIME KILLING THREATENS NEW TRAGEDY
Gaiutra Bahadur, Philadelphia Inquirer, 11/12/03
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/local/4925345.htm
MILLTOWN, N.J. - He had done only "what every American wanted to do,"
Mark
Anthony Stroman said.
Four days after the World Trade Center collapsed, he walked into a
Dallas
convenience store and fired a bullet into the face of its Pakistani
owner,
killing him.
More than a year later and a thousand miles away, on a tree-lined block
in
the middle of New Jersey, the only house with an American flag hanging
outside belongs to the man shot in the face.
Waqar Hasan - the faithful son, the father of four, the one who paid
all
the bills - is gone. But the flag still stands, as if silently staking
a
claim to his adopted country for the family he left behind. His death
uprooted that claim. Hasan's wife, Durreshahwar, and teenage daughters
have
lived in their white, one-story frame house in a New Jersey suburb for
nearly a decade, their stay tied to his business visa.
Before he was shot, he applied for a green card, a gateway to U.S.
citizenship. He had moved to Texas to start a business. The family was
to
follow.
Now, his wife and children are without him.
And, when their temporary work permits expire in three months, they
could
be deported.
Congress soon will have an opportunity to intercede. Rep. Rush Holt
(D.,
N.J.) plans to introduce a special bill later this month to make the
Hasans
permanent residents of the United States.
Lawmakers have granted green cards to survivors of World Trade Center
victims - the wife of a British stockbroker from Chatham, N.J., and the
husband of a Russian computer specialist from New York.
But Holt's effort is the first on behalf of the family of a post-Sept.
11
hate crime victim…
SEE ALSO:
WHITE SUPREMACISTS PLAN ANTI-SOMALI RALLY
CNN.com, 1/11/03
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/01/11/maine.somalis.reut/index.html
LEWISTON, Maine (Reuters) -- A white supremacist group whose leader is
accused of trying to have a federal judge murdered said on Thursday it
will
proceed with plans to protest an "invasion" of this New England college
community by Somali immigrants.
A spokesman for the World Church of the Creator said the group, which
preaches hatred of Jews and blacks on its Web site, would stage a
two-hour
rally on Saturday in Lewiston, where it says the local white population
is
fed up with the influx of immigrants from the war-torn East African
nation.
The spokesman, the Rev. John King of Newport News, Virginia, said the
Lewiston protest would go ahead despite the arrest on Wednesday in
Chicago
of the Rev. Matt Hale on charges he tried to solicit the murder of U.S.
District Court Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow…
-----
'RACISM, INJUSTICE, HUMILIATION'
Hanna Rosin, Washington Post, 1/11/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40829-2003Jan10.html
For weeks, Kamal Nawash's clients were asking him: Should I do it or
not?
The Immigration and Naturalization Service has been requiring men who
are
not green-card holders and who came from countries regarded as
potential
sources of terrorists to come in and be registered, fingerprinted and
photographed.
But they'd heard rumors, of the kind that can easily scare a newcomer.
In
Southern California, hundreds of immigrants gamely showed up, only to
be
arrested and detained. There was talk of sleeping on concrete, and no
food
and water.
Well, all 10 of his clients came into the Arlington INS office
yesterday
and all 10 got arrested. They were not people suspected of having any
connections to terrorism. They hadn't committed a crime. In this case
they
were not even the classic case of immigrants who overstayed their
visas.
All of them had applications pending for a work permit and, ultimately,
a
green card. But because of Labor Department and INS backlogs, their
papers
hadn't been processed yet. So they, like dozens of other immigrants who
showed up at the Arlington office, left it in shackles…
What happened in Virginia this week, or in Chicago or in any of the INS
offices around the country, was not Los Angeles (where at least 200
Iranian
visitors were arrested last month). Dozens of people got arrested at
each
office, not hundreds. But if the numbers are smaller, the theory is
still
off. Dawn Lurie brought in a client this week who had registered under
the
2001 amnesty. He had a receipt from the INS and was a week away from
getting his work permit. Still, he was arrested because INS agents said
he
must have been working illegally all this time…
The attorneys there were all rage and justice. They compared this
fingerprinting to yellow stars, Japanese internment. "Racism,
injustice,
humiliation," said two protesters who had come to the waiting room to
hand
out bottles of water and apples…
SEE ALSO:
A DAY TO WAIT, AND PRAY
At the Immigration Service, Arab Men Face Their Uncertain Futures
Richard Leiby, Washington Post, 1/11/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40444-2003Jan10.html
Clutching their passports and other precious documentation, dozens of
Arab
men sit in silence on the fifth floor of the Immigration and
Naturalization
Service office in Arlington. In a collective gut-clench of anxiety,
they
await announcements from a bureaucrat wielding a sheaf of papers.
What will it be: Shackles, a night in jail, possible deportation? Or --
Allah willing -- an uneventful interrogation and a quick release
without bond?
Glasses perched on his forehead, an official in a GS-14-appropriate
suit
and tie enters and brusquely calls out names. Muhammad…Yusef…You're
going
to the first floor. Salman…Shadiq…You're going to the fourth floor.
"The fourth floor -- that's definitely not good news," whispers Denise
Ann
Maniscalco. She is an attorney guiding her nervous client, a Yemeni
passport holder named Abdo, through the government's new "special
registration" program for immigrants who come from predominantly Muslim
nations.
They will be interviewed, fingerprinted, photographed and, in most
cases,
released. But on the fourth floor the deportation and detention office
awaits. For immigrants classified in INS-speak as "out of status" --
who
have visa or work-permit violations -- there lies the abyss. Many fear
it's
the end to their hopes of staying in America.
Abdo, looking confident in a Ralph Lauren Chaps jacket, is a
41-year-old
airport shuttle driver from Virginia. He isn't expecting trouble: He
obeys
the law, pays his taxes and has filed the necessary paperwork for an
upcoming hearing on his expired visa. He's planning to depart for a
California vacation this week with his wife and child. He surveys the
unsettled faces of the men in the room.
"It looks like a communist country, a dictatorship," he says, recalling
how
he fled Ethiopia as a teenager, after a Marxist regime took over in
1974.
"That's why we came here, for freedom."
Will Abdo give his full name? His lawyer reminds him: "It's not like
you're
hiding -- you're here, doing what you're supposed to do. In the United
States we have freedom of the press and speech."
Abdo shakes his head. "For you, yes. But not for me…"
---
CITIES PASS CIVIL LIBERTIES RESOLUTIONS
BETH DeFALCO, Associated Press, 1/11/03
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030110/ap_on_re_us/rights_resolutions_1
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - Civil liberties groups are waging a city by city
campaign against anti-terror laws they consider threatening to civil
rights.
The groups have successfully pushed city councils nationwide to approve
resolutions criticizing the Patriot and Homeland Security Acts. Most of
the
participating municipalities are liberal strongholds.
"The purpose is to express a protest and send a message to Congress
that we
don't like what they're doing," said Norm Wallen, who brought the
resolution idea to the Flagstaff City Council last month as a member of
the
Flagstaff Justice and Peace Coalition, a chapter of the Bill of Rights
Defense Committee.
The committee has been one of the main groups behind the push for the
resolutions. It provides a template for anti-Patriot Act resolutions on
its
Web site.
So far, 22 cities and towns - representing nearly 3.5 million residents
-
have passed such resolutions. About 70 other cities spread from Texas
to
Hawaii have resolutions in the works, according to the Defense
Committee…
-----
SHROUDING: A RITE ANCIENT AND MODERN
NADIRAH Z. SABIR, Atlanta Journal, 1/11/03
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/editions/saturday/faith_values_e3f179be20ae817500af.html
Ameenah Rasheed-Shakoor of Decatur was devastated when her best friend,
Baheejah Hasan, died in 1995.
For more than two decades, "we were like the Three Musketeers,"
Rasheed-Shakoor, 54, said of her friendship with Hasan and another
woman,
Zaheerah Rasheed.
But when Hasan died, Rasheed-Shakoor discovered there were very few
Muslims
available to help her do a last act of friendship: Shroud the body.
So Rasheed-Shakoor decided to learn on her own, with the help of
Rasheed.
"It made me realize that we all have to return to Allah --- from the
physical body to the spiritual," she said. "And that body has to be
prepared --- not preserved --- to return to the earth." Seven years
later,
there are far more volunteers in Atlanta willing to help out with such
sacred tasks. As the city becomes larger and more diverse, its newest
citizens are demanding that ancient rites --- including shrouding ---
be
available.
And many communities are hearing their message.
In synagogues and mosques, formal classes on shrouding are offered. And
funeral home directors, interested in expanding their client base, are
reading up on the subject.
Shrouding may be an afterthought in a country that has an estimated $20
billion-a-year funeral industry. But for many, wrapping the deceased in
cloth remains a key component of a lifetime of religious identity.
Shrouding exists among many Jews; most Muslims; many Hindus; some
Asian,
African and indigenous American traditions; monks; and a few Orthodox
Christians…
-----
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-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/13/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: THE RULES OF WAR
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* CAIR-MN COSPONSORS PROJECT TO PROMOTE TOLERANCE
* CAIR OFFICIALS MEET WITH EEOC
* ANTIWAR ACTIVISTS PREPARE FOR PROTESTS (Wash. Post)
- U.S. Refuelling in Ireland Draws Protests (Reuters)
* COMPLYING, ANXIOUSLY, WITH AN I.N.S. ROUNDUP (New York Times)
* CITY WORKERS TO WITHHOLD HELP IN FEDERAL PROBES (SF Chronicle)
* 115 PALESTINIAN YOUTHS DIE IN '02 FIGHTS (AP)
- Wounded Palestinian Boy 'Here to Get Well' (Herald News)
* ISLAMIC GROUP SEEKS NEW STREET NAME (LA Times)
* CHARITY MEALS DEBATED IN L.A. (LA Times)
* CORRESPONDENCE SENT TO CORPS OPPOSES MUSLIM CAMP (AP)
* SCALIA DEFENDS PUBLIC EXPRESSION OF FAITH (Washington Post)
* NEWS THAT TRAVELS WELL (NY Times)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: THE RULES OF WAR
"During [a military expedition], a woman was found killed, so [the
Prophet
Muhammad] forbade the killing of women and children."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Hadith 258
A soldier who went on a military expedition said: "[A woman] began
screaming and I repeatedly raised my sword against her. Then I
remembered
the prohibition of the [Prophet Muhammad against killing women or
children]...so I stopped."
Al-Muwatta, Volume 21, Hadith 8
A prisoner of war without a shirt was brought to the Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him). The Prophet looked for a shirt to give him. It was
discovered that the shirt of one of the Prophet's companions would fit
the
prisoner, so the Prophet let him wear it. The Prophet then took off his
own
shirt and gave it to his companion [to replace the one given to the
prisoner].
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Hadith 252
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
"These are very good quality materials. We probably don't have many
things
about Islam. I hope they will help increase understanding." Librarian
in
Hopkins, Ill.
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
CAIR-MN COSPONSORS PROJECT TO PROMOTE TOLERANCE
On January 11, CAIR-MN, the Islamic Resource Group (IRG) and Taproot
Inc.,
sponsored a project for children promoting tolerance. Some 25 kids
gathered
in St. Joan of Arc Catholic church to learn about tolerance through
games,
arts and crafts. It was the second program in a series that started on
Oct.
26, 2002 as part of National Make a Difference Day project.
CONTACT: cair@cairminnesota.org
-----
CAIR OFFICIALS MEET WITH EEOC
CAIR officials attended a recent meeting between Muslim and
Arab-American
leaders and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Those
who
attended the meeting commended EEOC representatives for their positive
role
in challenging the backlash following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Recommendations resulting from the meeting included improving
dissemination
of EEOC materials through organizational web sites, setting up a
bilingual
communications department to translate EEOC materials into Arabic,
Spanish
and Asian languages, sponsoring joint training sessions or "town
meetings"
on EEOC issues, and participating in Muslim and Arab-American
conference.
-----
ANTIWAR ACTIVISTS FROM ACROSS U.S. PREPARING FOR WEEKEND OF PROTESTS
Manny Fernandez, Washington Post, 1/13/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47595-2003Jan12.html
Dallas lawyer Robert B. Dennis is headed to Washington this week, one
of
about 50 Texans willing to endure a 22-hour bus ride.
Amer Mirza, a Web developer from suburban Chicago, has been signing up
Muslims in his area for seats on a charter bus he plans to ride.
Casey Chapman, a senior at Catholic Central High School in Troy, N.Y.,
will
join a dozen other teenagers in a chaperone-driven van.
Dennis, Mirza and Chapman are a fraction of the thousands coming to
Washington for a national antiwar demonstration Saturday, a rally and
march
that they and organizers say will be their last chance for a massive
display of dissent before the United States goes to war with Iraq…
The rally is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on the Mall near Third
Street
and Constitution Avenue NW just beyond the west front of the Capitol.
Scheduled speakers include actress Jessica Lange, Vietnam veteran and
author Ron Kovic, former representative Cynthia A. McKinney (D-Ga.) and
others from labor, peace and Muslim organizations…
Mirza, 23, of Glendale Heights, Ill., said one 55-seat bus is almost
filled
with Muslims and supporters, and another might be needed. "There has
been a
lot of hate crimes in Chicago after 9/11. Now, the fear is they will
get
more extreme" if the United States wages war against Iraq, said Mirza,
a
founder of the Muslim League...
SEE: http://www.internationalanswer.org
SEE ALSO:
U.S. MILITARY REFUELLING IN IRELAND DRAWS PROTESTS
Stephen Cunningham, Reuters, 1/13/03
SHANNON, Ireland, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Anti-war protesters on Monday
accused
the Irish government of compromising its traditional neutrality by
allowing
Gulf-bound U.S. troops to use Shannon Airport as a trans-Atlantic
refuelling point...
Tents and banners -- bearing slogans like "No blood for oil" -- have
sprung
up at the peace camp where protesters maintain a round-the-clock vigil
to
monitor the latest landings of commercial and military aircraft used to
ferry U.S. troops to the Middle East…
As the prospect of an assault against Iraq mounts, the campaigners have
poured scorn on the Irish government's insistence that arms and
ammunition
are not being transported through Shannon.
Ireland, which is not a member of the NATO military alliance, maintains
neutrality in international conflicts but does provide soldiers for
U.N.
peacekeeping missions. Shannon's popularity as a refuelling point stems
from the fact that it has the longest runway in Ireland…
-----
COMPLYING, ANXIOUSLY, WITH AN I.N.S. ROUNDUP
Nick Madigan, New York Times, 1/13/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/13/national/13IMMI.html
Shoaib Muhammad, a 29-year-old computer engineer from Karachi,
Pakistan,
who has worked here for two years, says he is as far from being a
terrorist
as one could imagine.
But he is still afraid of being arrested when he shows up Monday at the
federal building downtown to register with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service under a program designed to root out terrorists.
The
program focuses on men from 20 countries, including Iraq, Iran, North
Korea, Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan and Libya. Since it began last month,
more
than 500 men have been detained, most for visa violations. On Friday
alone,
about 125 were arrested nationwide, an immigration official said today.
"I've never been involved in a crime, but I'm still worried," said Mr.
Muhammad, who holds a visa to work in the United States. "If they want
me
to go back, I will, but it's the way they're doing it, with handcuffs
and
detentions, that bothers me…"
In a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft on Friday, Dr. William F.
Schulz of Amnesty International U.S.A. wrote that singling out
individuals
on the basis of national origin "is tantamount to racial
discrimination."
Elyes ben Taleb, 28, said he had arrived from Tunisia five years ago
"for
the American dream."
"I love this country, but on a day like today, I don't feel like a part
of
America anymore," said Mr. ben Taleb, who lives in the Bronx and works
as a
marketing consultant. "Do they really think terrorists are going to
stand
on line for hours in the cold and turn themselves in?"
-----
S.F. CITY WORKERS TO WITHHOLD HELP IN SOME FEDERAL PROBES
Rachel Gordon, San Francisco Chronicle, 1/13/02
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/01/13/BA13225.DTL
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors will consider today joining a
growing number of cities condemning the USA Patriot Act and directing
city
employees to -- whenever legally possible -- not aid federal
authorities in
investigations that jeopardize a person's civil liberties.
The USA Patriot Act, put on the books six weeks after the Sept. 11,
2001,
terrorist attacks, along with other related executive orders, greatly
expands the federal government's surveillance and search powers and the
ability to detain noncitizens.
The sweeping new powers make it easier for federal authorities to gain
access to a person's library records, medical files and other sources
of
personal information. The intent is to help officials in the fight
against
terrorism.
Critics say the federal statutes go too far.
"It's important to send the message that the Bill of Rights is still
the
law of the land. There's nothing more unpatriotic than destroying our
civil
liberties," Supervisor Jake McGoldrick, chief sponsor of the San
Francisco
resolution, said Sunday…
Consideration of the San Francisco measure comes amid local and
national
protests against the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System
that
requires men holding visas from mainly Arab and Islamic countries to
register with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.
-----
115 PALESTINIAN YOUTHS DIE IN '02 FIGHTS
Slobodan Lekic, Associated Press, 1/13/03
NABLUS, West Bank (AP) - Jihad Faqueh, 11, had a dangerous obsession -
stoning Israeli jeeps and tanks. It finally proved fatal.
The sixth-grader was on his way home from school Nov. 25 when he joined
dozens of children and teens in throwing rocks at soldiers in two jeeps
in
downtown Nablus. The soldiers fired tear gas, rubber-coated steel
pellets
and live rounds. Jihad was hit in the chest and died.
He was one of 115 unarmed Palestinians younger than 18 who were killed
in
2002, an increase of more than 50 percent from the year before,
according
to an Associated Press count.
The toll underlines the military's failure to quell riots without
killing
civilians, particularly minors. Most of the youngsters killed in 2002
were
stonethrowers or bystanders hit by Israeli army fire…
SEE ALSO:
PALESTINIAN BOY SHOT IN CONFLICT 'HERE TO GET WELL'
Suzanne Travers, Herald News, 1/13/03
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?level_3_id=357&page=6286320
Deya Ali, a 15-year old Palestinian boy, enters a New Jersey hospital
today
to begin treatment of injuries he sustained when Israeli settlers shot
him
in the stomach nearly a year ago in the West Bank town of Nablus.
"Exhausted but in good spirits," Ali arrived at John F. Kennedy airport
Friday evening already under the wing of his host father, Denville
businessman Aref Assaf, who traveled with him from Jordan...
Ali is the latest child to receive free advanced medical care in the
United
States through the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, a nonprofit group
founded in 1991 that has offices in Clifton; Kent, Ohio; and the
Palestinian town of Ramallah. Through the fund, a network of doctors,
hospitals, host families and volunteer visitors will care for him while
he
embarks on surgery and recovery.
The bullets hit his abdomen, piercing his stomach, liver and pancreas
and
lodging near his spine. He'd been walking home from school with two
friends
and was shot without provocation, "because I'm an Arab," he said…
-----
ISLAMIC GROUP SEEKS NEW STREET NAME
Kimi Yoshino, Los Angeles Times, 1/13/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/orange/la-me-street13jan13,0,53049.story
Garden Grove officials are considering whether to change the name of a
small stretch of 13th Street to Al-Rahman Street at the request of a
local
Islamic group.
Most of the block on 13th west of Brookhurst Street is owned by the
Islamic
Society of Orange County, where thousands of Muslims congregate daily
for
prayers at the mosque or attend the Orange Crescent School. Al-Rahman,
which means "all merciful," is one of several Islamic names for God.
"It's
more respectful to have that as the name," said Garden Grove resident
Ali
Meer, who visits the mosque five times a day for prayers. "It sounds
better. It's a good name, and mostly Muslims come to this street, so it
will be easier to find."
Officials from the Islamic society have asked the city to consider
renaming
the street, which is also home to a small apartment complex and a
county-funded recovery home for drug and alcohol addicts.
City staff is researching what other cities have done and are expected
to
bring the matter back to the council for review.
"We are a multiethnic community," Garden Grove Mayor Bruce Broadwater
said.
"Everybody has a right to have a seat at the table. We have the largest
mosque in the U.S., and we have to give them some respect. If [the Rev.
Robert] Schuller [of the Crystal Cathedral] came to us and asked us to
change a street name, we'd look at it. So that's what we're doing,
we're
listening…"
-----
CHARITY MEALS DEBATED IN L.A.
Jocelyn Y. Stewart, Los Angeles Times, 1/13/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-nomeals13jan13001446,0,1062281.story
Opponents in this political debate look at a plate of food and see two
very
different things.
City officials view free food as part of the problem. They blame
outdoor
meals offered by charitable groups for attracting homeless people and a
slew of problems to their cities.
Advocates for the poor see the food handouts as humanitarianism at its
best, an effort by charitable groups to fulfill a responsibility to the
poor that governments have failed to meet…
Naim Shah Jr., whose ILM Foundation feeds once a month, said the group
already practices the standards that concern Perry. They hand out boxes
of
chicken or burgers prepared by donor restaurants.
As a Muslim, Shah sees helping as an obligation. "Whatever faith you
have
enforces basic principles of charity; these are maxims of religion," he
said.
In December, the ILM Foundation got a city permit, blocked off a street
and
fed more than 1,000 people in one day. It also gave away hygiene packs
with
towels and toothbrushes and brought in a mobile health clinic. Respect
for
those it serves is a given, Shah said.
"We have to do it with dignity," Shah said. "If it's void of respect,
the
food is of no value..."
-----
MOST CORRESPONDENCE SENT TO CORPS OPPOSES MUSLIM YOUTH CAMP
Associated Press, 1/13/03
NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa (AP) - Nearly all of the correspondence sent about
building the nation's first Muslim youth camp north of this eastern
Iowa
city opposed the project.
One hundred of the 107 letters sent to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
cited concerns about the proposed camp's size, noise, traffic, waste
water,
wells and zoning. Some writers also said the corps' environmental
assessment was inaccurate and contains outdated information, according
to a
review by The Gazette…
The comment period for the corps' environmental review of the proposed
106-acre camp on the shore of Coralville Lake ended Jan. 2. The $2
million
camp, with capacity for 136 campers, would have 10 cabins, a conference
center, beach, boat docks, a 36-foot prayer tower and paved parking for
66
vehicles.
Karen Hagerty, corps project manager, said specific concerns will be
addressed. It's not clear what weight they'll give more general
complaints
about the plan, she said.
"If your goal is to serve a regional area, you just don't look at the
neighbors," she said. "Though they are important…"
Manzoor Ali, chairman of the board of directors for Muslim Youth Camps
of
America, said the comments cover the same issues and protests that have
been raised before.
"The concept of MYCA was from the YMCA," Ali said. "It (the YMCA) is
not a
religious organization. Neither is the MYCA a religious organization;
it's
just a name. It will be open to all faiths, and no one will be rejected
on
the basis of religion."
Col. William Bayles, corps' district engineer, will decide as early as
April whether to move forward with lease negotiations, Hagerty said…
-----
SCALIA DEFENDS PUBLIC EXPRESSION OF FAITH
Jacqueline L. Salmon, Washington Post, 1/13/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47850-2003Jan12.html
A historic Virginia law and the constitutional amendment guaranteeing
freedom of religion did not intend to "exclude God from the public
forums
and from political life," Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said
yesterday.
In a short speech to about 150 people gathered in a small park in
Fredericksburg to commemorate a landmark Virginia statute that
ultimately
served as the blueprint for the First Amendment to the Constitution,
Scalia
criticized court decisions in recent years that have outlawed
expressions
of religious faith in public events.
He cited as an example a California federal court ruling last summer
that
the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance were a violation of
the
separation of church and state. Scalia spoke at a ceremony marking the
day
in 1777 when Thomas Jefferson, George Mason and other colonialists
gathered
in a Fredericksburg tavern to draft what became the Virginia Statute
for
Religious Freedom.
That legislation, ultimately enacted in 1786, became the blueprint for
the
constitutional guarantee of the right to religious freedom enshrined in
the
Bill of Rights, penned shortly after that.
In his 10-minute speech, Scalia launched a spirited defense of such
public
expressions of religious faith as coins stamped "In God We Trust,"
chaplains in the military services and in Congress and
nondenominational
prayers before high school graduations...
-----
NEWS THAT TRAVELS WELL
Jihad Fakhreddine, New York Times, 1/13/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/13/opinion/13JIHA.html
Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Washington is working on several efforts
to
circumvent what it perceives as Arab government censors and provide the
Arab public with direct access to American programming. The White House
and
Congress are considering creating a new satellite TV channel to reach
the
Arab states.
This new channel would complement the Washington-financed Radio Sawa,
which
in March started broadcasting a mix of Arab and Western music intended
for
young people, along with an hourly dose of news from the official
Washington perspective. There is even a former advertising executive
running a State Department campaign to "sell" America to Arabs through
print and television advertising, photography exhibitions and videos…
-----
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Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
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-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS 1/14/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: AN EASY DISPOSITION
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* RIGHTS ABUSES FEARED IN ANTI-TERROR WAR (AP)
- Tunisian Prisoner Starts Hunger Strike (Reuters)
- Fear and Trembling (Ha’aretz)
- Palestinian Village Faces Annihilation (WMREA)
- Hindus Attack Muslim Homes, Shops in India (Reuters)
* U.S. VICTORY IN IRAQ SEEN AIDING ISRAEL (Washington Times)
- Israel, U.S. Kick Off Liaison Ahead Of Iraq War (Ha’aretz)
- Israel Won't Let Us Reform (Washington Post)
* DEFIANT BLAIR SAYS UN HAS NO VETO ON WAR (Independent)
- British Muslims Fear Conflict for Generations (Guardian)
* PANEL HOLDS MEETING TO OPEN TALKS ON ISLAM (St. Petersburg Times)
* MUSLIMS CRAFT THEIR OWN CURRICULUM (Christian Science Monitor)
* MISSED INS REGISTRATION MEANS JAIL (St. Petersburg Times)
- Men Are Created Equal, But Only When Times Are Good
(Journal)
- Canadian Passport 'Meant Nothing' To U.S. Officials (CBC)
- Citizen or Combatant? (Pittsburg Post-Gazette)
- Penn. ACLU Providing Attorneys For Muslims Visited By FBI
* CREATIVE DIFFERENCES (LA Times)
* A SHAM REFERENDUM IN CHECHNYA (NY Times)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: AN EASY DISPOSITION
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Shall I tell you who is
kept away from Hell and from whom Hell is kept away? From everyone who
is
gentle and kindly, approachable and of an easy disposition."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1315
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
“They (the materials) will be added to the library collection and
circulated for homework or general interest.” Librarian in Agora
Hills, CA
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
RIGHTS ABUSES FEARED IN ANTI-TERROR WAR
Harry Dunphy, Associated Press, 1/14/03
WASHINGTON (AP) - Many countries resent or are reluctant to join the
U.S.
war on terrorism partly because of the government's tendency to ignore
human rights in its conduct of the war, Human Rights Watch said
Tuesday.
In several key countries involved in the campaign against terrorism,
such
as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the report said even rhetorical U.S.
support
for human rights has been rare. When the United States does try to
promote
human rights, its authority has been undermined by its refusal to be
bound
by the standards it preaches to others, said the annual survey.
“Washington's tendency to ignore human rights in fighting terrorism is
not
only disturbing in its own right,” the report said. “It is dangerously
counterproductive. The smoldering resentment it breeds risks generating
terrorist recruits, puts off potential anti-terrorism allies and
weakens
efforts to curb terrorist atrocities.”
For example, the United States is generating popular resentment in
Pakistan
by uncritically backing President Pervez Musharraf, who took power in a
1999 coup, Human Rights Watch said. In China, the Bush administration
has
played down the repression of Muslims in the Xinjiang province, which
the
Chinese government justifies as an anti-terrorism measure…
SEE: http://www.hrw.org/press/2003/01/wr2003.htm
SEE ALSO:
TUNISIAN ISLAMIST PRISONER STARTS HUNGER STRIKE
Reuters, 1/14/03
TUNIS - Leading Tunisian Islamist dissident Hammadi Jebali has started
a
hunger strike to protest the conditions of his imprisonment, his wife
and a
prisoners group said on Tuesday.
London-based Amnesty International and other human rights groups say
more
than 1,000 Islamists are held in Tunisian prisons. The Tunisian
government
bans Islamist parties but denies there are political activists in its
jails, saying all inmates were in prison on criminal charges.
Jebali, 54, was sentenced in 1992 to 16 years in prison for being a
leader
of the banned Islamist party, Nahda.
"My husband began a hunger strike on Monday to protest against his
solitary
confinement for eight years and to demand his release," Jebali's wife
Wahida told Reuters...
---
FEAR AND TREMBLING
Joseph Algazy, Ha'aretz, 1/13/03
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=251275&contrassID=2&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y&itemNo=251275
On December 18, 2002, the United Nations General Assembly approved by
majority vote the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture
and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The UN
announced
that representatives of 127 states, among them Israel, voted in favor
of
the protocol; four opposed it (the United States, the Marshall Islands,
Nigeria and Palau) and 42 abstained. The next day, Israel Radio
broadcast
this news, along with an interview with the advisor to the Public
Committee
Against Torture in Israel, Yuval Ginbar, who is pursuing a doctorate in
Britain in international law and human rights.
But two days later, Israel Radio broadcast that Israel's vote in favor
of
the Protocol had been "a mistake." A senior source at the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem explained that from the outset, Israel had
intended to vote against approving the resolution, but because of a
"human
technical error" it had voted in favor of it. When the error became
known,
the Israeli delegation hastened to inform the UN institutions of it and
the
latter undertook to correct it in their subsequent announcements…
---
PALESTINIAN VILLAGE FACES ANNIHILATION
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, 1/14/03
For Immediate Release:
Israeli bulldozers will destroy the entire village of Al-Daba' in the
Qalqilya district. The village consists of 250 Palestinians living in
42
houses. Sixty ton American made armored Caterpillar D-9 bulldozers will
make short work of 42 houses, 600-700 dunums of agricultural land, a
mosque, and an elementary school for 132 children.
The military order was issued 30 days ago and required the clearing of
50
meters of land next to the billion dollar wall (financed by the United
States) being built to separate Palestinian land from Israel in the
northern part of the West Bank. The clearing operation has exceeded its
orders and now the destruction will extend 500 meters into the West
Bank
and engulf the village of Al-Daba'…
The Al-Daba' land confiscation is just the latest outrage of land
stealing.
Thus far, since 1967, Israel has confiscated 750,000 acres of the 1.5
million acres of Palestinian land in the West Bank and Gaza. Ariel
Sharon
initiated land confiscation and settlement construction in 1967 as
Israel's
Minister of Housing...
Support the people of Al-Daba' and send messages to demand intervention
to
prevent its destruction.
American Consulate, Jerusalem Email: keenme@state.gov, Fax:
+972-(0)2-627-7230
European Union, Jerusalem, Email mailto@delwbg.cec.eu.int, Fax: +
972-(0)2-532 6249
UN Special Coordinator, Gaza, Email unsco@palnet.com, Fax:
+972-(0)8-282-0966
For further information, contact: Robert Younes, M.D.
Email: pr@wrmea.com
Phone (202) 939-6050
---
HINDUS ATTACK MUSLIM HOMES, SHOPS IN CENTRAL INDIA
Reuters, 1/14/03
BHOPAL, India - At least eight policemen were injured as religious
tension
flared in India's central state of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday after
hardline
Hindus attacked homes and burned shops belonging to Muslims, police
said.
Passions were aroused after villagers in Ganjbasoda in Vidisha
district,
about 80 km (50 miles) northeast of the state capital Bhopal, said they
had
found the body of a cow, which is sacred to Hindus, at the house of a
local
Muslim.
A state police official said eight constables were injured when they
tried
to stop the hardliners, from hardline group Vishwa Hindu Parishad and a
youth group, the Bajrang Dal.
"Activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal hurled
stones
at homes and burned shops belonging to Muslims and damaged about two
dozen
properties," he told Reuters, adding that the situation had been
brought
under control…
-----
U.S. VICTORY IN IRAQ SEEN AIDING COUNTRY
Joshua Mitnick, Washington Times, 1/14/03
http://www.washtimes.com/world/20030113-15065128.htm
TEL AVIV Israeli officials, looking ahead to a U.S. war with Iraq, say
a
victory for Washington would provide a side benefit by breaking a
2-year-old deadlock over Israeli-Palestinian violence…
And in Israel's back yard, a U.S. victory would weaken the financial
and
military lifeline for groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which
continue to attack Israel.
"I truly believe this will be a turning point. The changing of regime
in
Iraq will send a clear message throughout the Middle East," one Israeli
government official said…
SEE ALSO:
ISRAEL, U.S. KICK OFF LIAISON OPERATIONS AHEAD OF IRAQ WAR
Aluf Benn, Ha’aretz, 1/14/03
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=251633&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y
The first members of the American liaison team responsible for
coordinating
with the Israel Defense Forces in the event of a U.S. war against Iraq
arrived in Israel this weekend and moved into the U.S. Embassy in Tel
Aviv.
The newly-arrived unit is responsible for setting up the infrastructure
for
communication and coordination among the IDF, the Pentagon and any
American
forces in the area during the expected war with Iraq. For now, its stay
has
been defined as open-ended.
"As part of our contingency planning, the United States and Israel are
enhancing their already-strong liaison and communications channels," an
American source said. "As needed, a limited number of U.S. personnel
will
augment the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv to facilitate this objective..."
---
ISRAEL WON'T LET US REFORM
Yasser Abed Rabbo, Washington Post, 1/14/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52303-2003Jan13.html
RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Israel's most recent excuse for why it cannot
negotiate peace with the Palestinians is that the Palestinians have
been
unable to develop a fully democratic society while living under Israeli
occupation. This excuse is better known as "reform." And yet, when
Palestinians are invited to go to London to further the reform process,
the
government of Israel prevents us from doing so.
Yes, Palestinians are expected to reform, but no, we are not supposed
to
succeed at it. The truth is that Israel's purported interest in reform
is
merely an attempt to divert the world's attention from the crux of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Israel's 35-year occupation of
Palestinian
territory and the denial of Palestinian freedom.
Never mind the occupation. Never mind the assassinations, the home
demolitions, the continuing theft of Palestinian land and water
resources
and the "curfews" under which entire populations are held hostage in
their
homes by the threat of a bullet should they go in search of food or
medicine. Never mind the sadistic Israeli soldiers ordering civilians
at
gunpoint to strip naked or to beat their friends or to pick their fate
from
a "lottery" with tickets labeled "broken arm" or "broken leg." None of
this
is relevant to Middle East peace, goes the new Israeli narrative. All
that
is relevant is that the Palestinians reform their political
institutions…
----
DEFIANT BLAIR SAYS UN HAS NO VETO ON WAR
Andrew Grice, Independent UK, 1/14/03
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=368133
An uncompromising Tony Blair said yesterday he would refuse to allow
the
United Nations to veto military action to rid Iraq of its weapons of
mass
destruction.
The Prime Minister warned the public that Saddam Hussein's weapons
posed a
"direct threat" to Britain but angered his Labour critics by refusing
to
guarantee that any war in Iraq would have to win the approval of the
UN…
Although denying a cabinet split, his remarks contradicted those of
Clare
Short, the International Development Secretary, who said on Sunday that
the
"logic" of the Government's position was that it would not act without
UN
backing.
Mr Blair kept open the possibility that the United States and Britain
might
act in tandem if France, Russia or China, the other permanent UN
Security
Council members, vetoed a second resolution…
Some Labour MPs reacted angrily last night. Alan Simpson, MP for
Nottingham
South, warned: "If you choose to operate outside international law and
you
act in defiance of any democratic mandate from your own society, sooner
rather than later the mandate the Prime Minister has will be withdrawn
by
the British people…"
SEE ALSO:
BRITISH MUSLIMS FEAR CONFLICT FOR GENERATIONS
Jeevan Vasagar, Guardian UK, 1/14/03
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,874221,00.html
Britain's biggest Muslim organisation yesterday warned Tony Blair that
war
with Iraq would cause community relations to deteriorate and breed
"bitterness and conflict for generations to come".
Iqbal Sacranie, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain,
urged
the prime minister to use his influence to "avert the destruction of an
important Muslim country" and warned of deep cynicism among British
Muslims
about the motives for the war on terror.
In a letter to No 10, Mr Sacranie described the plans for war as a
"colonial policy".
"It is generally believed the real American objective behind such an
invasion is to change the political map of the Middle East, appropriate
its
oil wealth and appoint Israel as a regional superpower exercising total
hegemony over the entire Middle East and beyond," he wrote.
A war would worsen relations between communities and faiths in Britain
as
well as causing "lasting damage" to relations between the Muslim world
and
the west, Mr Sacranie added…
-----
PANEL HOLDS MEETING TO OPEN TALKS ON ISLAM
Joy Davis-Platt, St. Petersburg Times, 1/14/03
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/01/14/Hernando/Panel_holds_meeting_t.shtml
SPRING HILL - Sixteen-year-old Joe Falkowski came to research a report
on
world religions but came away with something more.
The Central High School student was one of about 30 people to attend
the
first meeting of the Crescent Cultural Society of Hernando County, a
diversity and ethnicity roundtable held Sunday evening at the Forest
Oaks
Civic Association building. "I've learned that you have to reach out to
people," said Joe, a Catholic. "If you don't, all kinds of
misconceptions
occur."
In the wake of terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Hernando County's
Muslim community was faced with attacks on businesses and a general
feeling
of isolation, organizers said.
Adel Eldin, a Brooksville cardiologist and secretary of the newly
formed
nonprofit group, said the society's mission includes education and
outreach
programs in churches and schools to benefit people just like Joe.
"If we can reach a younger generation, there is an opportunity to
foster an
environment of tolerance," he said.
Altaf Ali, president of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told
those gathered that the biggest problem facing Muslim-Americans is
being
held accountable for something they didn't do.
"The challenge is on the shoulders of the Muslim community," he said.
"Every ethnic community that has come to America has faced these
struggles.
Now it's our turn. But if Muslims don't get help from the community at
large, they will have a much harder time of it..."
-----
MUSLIMS CRAFT THEIR OWN CURRICULUM
Seth Stern, Christian Science Monitor, 1/14/03
http://www.christiansciencemonitor.com/2003/0114/p13s01-lecl.html
Every morning, Fatima Saleem's two children get up and go to school at
the
kitchen table in their Columbia, S.C., home.
In between math, social studies, and English, their mother - who
doubles as
their teacher - mixes in lessons in Arabic and Islamic studies.
The Saleem family is part of a small but growing number of American
Muslims
opting to teach their children at home. As do home schoolers of other
faiths, Ms. Saleem says teaching her children herself ensures they
absorb a
strong religious identity…
For religiously motivated homeschoolers of many faiths, conflicts
between
secular education and religious beliefs often surface during high
school.
Science classes emphasize evolution over creationism. Health classes
highlight safe sex.
"[Religious students'] special needs are not addressed in public school
systems," says Ibrahim Hooper, media director for The Council on
American
Islamic Relations in Washington. "[Their parents] want to keep them
away
from negative influences, negative peer pressure…"
SEE ALSO: http://www.muslimhomeschool.com/
-----
MISSED INS REGISTRATION MEANS JAIL
Saundra Amrhein, St. Petersburg Times, 1/14/03
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/01/14/TampaBay/Missed_INS_registrati.shtml
TAMPA BAY - A class project comes before an INS deadline, and now a USF
graduate could face deportation.
Two deadlines loomed for Abdullah Hatahet.
One was a class project to get his diploma from the University of South
Florida.
The other was to register with the Immigration and Naturalization
Service.
Hatahet pulled an all-nighter on Dec. 16 to meet the first deadline.
The
second, he figured, could wait.
"I was going to go (to INS) the day of registration, but I was
exhausted,"
Hatahet said Monday. "So I was going to go the next day."
The next day he was in jail - stripped of his jeans, car keys and the
silver ring given to him at the previous Saturday's graduation
ceremony. In
fact, Hatahet spent the next three days in jail and now faces the
possibility of being deported.
"I didn't know how serious this was until I was detained," said the
22-year-old Hatahet, a Syrian native who grew up in Saudi Arabia.
Free on bail, Hatahet goes to a hearing today in Bradenton, where an
immigration judge could dismiss the case or give Hatahet a few weeks to
pack his things and leave the country, according to immigration
attorneys…
SEE ALSO:
ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL -- BUT ONLY WHEN TIMES ARE GOOD
Paula Simons, Edmonton Journal, 1/14/03
http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/columnists/story.asp?id=81856F11-7452-4D56-922A-34C66B108D2C
Until Sept. 11, 2001, Suresh Mustapha never doubted his identity as a
Canadian, as a North American…
Mustapha was born in Edmonton 34 years ago and raised in Sherwood Park…
With his Canadian birthright, and his Harvard degree, he was a citizen
of
the world, a world where ethnicity and skin colour didn't matter.
Then came Sept. 11. Mustapha noticed that other passengers were looking
at
him strangely when he got on airplanes. Whenever there was a random
security check of passengers, he was inevitably one of those searched…
Last June, he was flying from Toronto to Washington, D.C. "I expected
maybe
there'd be a tougher time. I don't go anywhere with any illusions. I
just
assume I'm going to be searched."
As usual, he was selected to be searched. He boarded the plane and took
his
seat. The flight crew announced that they had to stop to unload some
suspicious luggage. He looked out the window to see his suitcase being
taken off the plane…
Mustapha says he was never one of those Canadians who liked to
Yankee-bash.
As a Harvard grad, working for a U.S. company, he always considered
himself
pro-American. It's his affection and respect for American ideals, he
says,
that makes the constant suspicion so hard to take.
"All men are created equal. That's all nice to speak about when times
are
good.
"But when times are tough, do you swing away from your values? The
United
States should stand for liberty and freedom. If you take people's
freedoms
away in order to protect your way of life, what you have left isn't
what
you started out to protect...”
---
CANADIAN PASSPORT 'MEANT NOTHING' TO U.S. IMMIGRATION OFFICIALS
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 1/13/03
http://cbc.ca/storyview/MSN/2003/01/13/farahani030113
SAN JOSE, CALIF. - Protests are growing in the United States over a new
anti-terrorism measure that requires all foreign nationals of Muslim
origin
to register and be fingerprinted.
Since December more than 500 people who showed up to register found
themselves detained for visa or other violations. Among those caught up
in
the anti-terrorism measures are Faramarz Farahani and his family.
The Farahanis, originally from Iran, moved to the U.S. from Toronto two
years ago, lured by a six-figure salary that Farahani was offered as
database manager for a big software firm.
But on Dec. 19, their comfortable life was shattered. "I decided to
register on my own. That was my decision," said Farahani.
On his way to work that day, Farahani decided to stop in at the local
office of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. He had heard
that foreign nationals with ties to the Middle East had already lined
up to
be registered and fingerprinted. And he wasn't sure whether, as a
Canadian,
he needed to join them.
When Farahani walked into the INS office in San Jose, Calif., he found
out
he was two days late registering. Within hours he was handcuffed and
shackled in leg irons.
"They ignored the fact that I am showing them a Canadian passport."
Farahani said being a Canadian "meant nothing to them…"
---
CITIZEN OR COMBATANT?
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1/14/03
http://www.post-gazette.com/forum/20030114eddetain0114enp3.asp
A second federal appeals court has upheld the Bush administration's
right
to detain indefinitely an "enemy combatant" who is also a U.S. citizen.
But, like the first decision, this new ruling leaves for another day
and
probably for the Supreme Court - - some important questions. The
Post-Gazette has been wary of the Bush administration's argument that a
U.S. citizen it deems an "enemy combatant" in the open-ended war
against
terrorism can be indefinitely jailed without charge and denied access
to a
lawyer…
But what is a "war effort" when the alleged enemy prisoner was not
involved
in actual combat? True, President Bush has depicted the post-Sept. 11
campaign against terrorism as a new kind of war; but the same could be
said
about the "war" on drugs. Could a U.S. citizen suspected of working for
an
international drug cartel also be arrested and held as an enemy
combatant?
As transforming as the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, were, they do
not
give the administration a blank check to deprive U.S. citizens of
constitutional rights. It falls to the federal judiciary to prevent the
administration from trying to cash such a check.
---
PENN. ACLU PROVIDING ATTORNEYS FOR MUSLIMS VISITED BY FBI
The ACLU of Pennslyvania has offered to provide free legal services to
members of the Muslim community who are continuously receiving visits
from
federal agents.
Contact the ACLU office at (412)681-7864
Community members are urged to send appreciation notes to ACLU at
aclu@aclupgh.org. Please send copy to pgh_media@attbi.com
-----
CREATIVE DIFFERENCES
Renee Tawa, Los Angeles Times, 1/14/03
http://www.calendarlive.com/printedition/calendar/cl-et-tawa14jan14.story
At first -- before the drumbeat of war -- the idea had appeared to be
the
kind that would draw no unfriendly fire at home. A month or so after
the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. State Department commissioned
poets,
novelists and nonfiction writers to contribute original essays on the
topic
of the American experience to be compiled into a free, stapled pamphlet
to
be distributed abroad.
The 15 writers who signed on, and received $2,499 paychecks for their
work
($2,500 would have required soliciting bids), include four Pulitzer
Prize
winners, Arab American poet Naomi Shihab Nye, U.S. poet laureate Billy
Collins and former poet laureate Robert Pinsky -- none of whom could
have
foreseen that their participation would be misconstrued as part of some
secretive, pro-war White House campaign.
Now a few of the contributors are distancing themselves from the
"Writers
on America" pamphlet, which is being distributed around the world,
coincidentally, officials say, as more than 120,000 troops have been
ordered to the Persian Gulf…
-----
A SHAM REFERENDUM IN CHECHNYA
New York Times, 1/14/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/14/opinion/14TUE2.html
The second Chechen war, now in its fourth year, is proving as
destructive
and futile as the first was in the early 1990's. Both sides have
routinely
violated human rights and let egregious crimes go unpunished. Russian
brutality has intensified since last year's hostage-taking by Chechen
terrorists in a Moscow theater and the deadly bombing of Russian
offices in
Chechnya last month…
It is in this context that the planned referendum must be judged. The
idea
that a fair test of Chechen opinion can be carried out in the present
climate of intimidation is ludicrous. Doubts about the real nature of
this
exercise have been reinforced by the news that the petition authorizing
the
referendum obtained the required number of signatures only by including
Russian soldiers stationed in Chechnya…
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
REPORT: WESTERN UNION BLOCKS FUNDS OVER NAME "MUHAMMAD"
African-American Muslim in New York allegedly asked to state country of
birth
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/15/03) - A national Islamic civil rights and
advocacy
group today called on Western Union to clarify its policy on racial and
religious profiling after receiving a report that the money transfer
service demands to know the national origin of any customer named
"Muhammad."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said a Muslim by that
name
recently attempted to send $80 to relatives in Connecticut from a
Western
Union site in Brooklyn, N.Y. After returning home, the African-American
customer says he received a call from Western Union's main office
demanding
that, because of his name, he must provide photo identification and
state
his country of birth, otherwise the funds would not be delivered. When
the
customer protested that policy and requested a refund, he was told that
the
funds would not be returned unless he met the company's demands.
"Western Union must clarify whether this incident truly reflects
company
policy or is merely the product of individual prejudice and
stereotyping.
To single out customers transferring funds within the United States
based
solely on a religiously-specific name, and then to demand that they
reveal
their national origin, violates basic principles of equality that all
Americans hold dear," said CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper
in a
letter faxed to Western Union President Michael Yerington.
A year ago, Western Union had to apologize for freezing the funds of a
Muslim family apparently based on religious and ethnic profiling. In
that
incident, an African-American Muslim was informed that the money his
family
sent him from Virginia was not in Western Union records. When his
mother
called to see what had happened to the funds she transferred, she
discovered that the money was frozen until her son provided further
documentation of his American citizenship.
There an estimated seven million Muslims in America and some 1.2
billion
worldwide.
- END -
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)
Contact Western Union to ask that the company clarify its policy on
racial
and religious profiling.
CONTACT:
Mr. Michael C. Yerington
President
Western Union North America
12500 East Belford Avenue
Englewood, CO 80112
FAX: 720-332-0614
E-MAIL: michael.yerington@firstdatacorp.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
-----
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https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/15/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: RULES OF WAR (cont.)
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* REMINDER: REGISTER FOR CAIR LEADERSHIP FORUM IN NY
* CHRISTIAN STATUES LEFT ON VA MUSLIM’S LAWN
* FIVE COUNTRIES ADDED TO INS “SPECIAL REGISTRATION” LIST
* DEPORTATIONS TO MUSLIM NATIONS SOAR (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
- Heading For The Border (Newsday)
- Visa Restrictions Rejected (JAMA)
- Muslim Detainees Begin Hunger Strike (AP)
* BUSH FACES INCREASING PRESSURE TO SLOW WAR MOMENTUM (Knight Ridder)
* - Iraqi Shi'ite Group Stays Away From White House (Reuters)
- Transportation Available To Antiwar Rallies In DC and SF
- School Nixes Iraq Care Packages (AP)
* UNIONISTS PROTEST AGAINST BUILDING OF ULSTER MOSQUE (Times UK)
* NY FUNDRAISING SCREENS 9/11 DOCUMENTARIES
* FRENCH OFFICIALS AND MUSLIMS CELEBRATE NEW ISLAMIC COUNCIL (NY Times)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: RULES OF WAR (cont.)
Abu Bakr, the Prophet Muhammad's (peace be upon him) successor, told a
military commander: "I advise you...Do not kill women, or children, or
an
elderly, infirm person. Do not cut down fruit-bearing trees. Do not
destroy
an inhabited place. Do not slaughter [animals] except for food. Do not
[harm] honey bees. Do not steal from the [spoils of war], and do not be
cowardly."
Al-Muwatta, Volume 21, Hadith 10
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
“Almost all will be added to our non-fiction collection. A couple will
be
placed on our audio, video and parent-teacher shelves. These are
beautiful
books and we look forward to having them available for the public’s
use.” -
Librarian in Webb City, MO
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
REMINDER: REGISTER FOR CAIR LEADERSHIP FORUM IN NY
WHAT: CAIR’s Leadership Forum -
Top trainers in their fields will offer workshops and lectures on:
Media Relations Community Outreach
Civil Rights Advocacy
Coalition Building
Political Empowerment
Legal issues facing Islamic Organizations
Accounting and Taxes for Islamic Organizations
Safety Measures for Islamic Organizations
There will also be a banquet dinner and lecture: The Future of Islam in
America
Speakers include:
Ibrahim Hooper, Communications Director, CAIR
Nihad Awad, Executive Director, CAIR
Kevin James, Director of Government Relations, CAIR
WHEN: January 26, 2003
WHERE: Marriott La-Guardia, New York, NY.
Online registration and more details are available at
http://www.cair-net.org/cad/
-----
CHRISTIAN STATUES LEFT ON VA MUSLIM’S LAWN
(Washington, D.C., 1/15/03) A Muslim woman has reported today to the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) that several statues of
Jesus
and the Virgin Mary were placed on her front lawn. The Fairfax, Va.
resident contacted CAIR, a national Islamic advocacy group, after
receiving
a call from a neighbor alerting her to the appearance of the statues.
Fairfax police were called to the scene and are investigating the
incident
as a possible bias-related crime.
“We urge community members to be vigilant in reporting any possible
bias-related incidents to their local law enforcement authorities, said
CAIR Civil Rights Department Manager Joshua Salaam.
CONTACT: Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-3146, E-MAIL:
hhassan@cair-net.org
-----
DOJ ADDS 5 COUNTRIES TO “SPECIAL REGISTRATION” LIST
CAIR has learned today that 4 countries were added to the list of
countries
whose nationals are required to register with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service(INS). Citizens or nationals from Bangladesh,
Egypt,
Indonesia, Kuwait, and Jordan will have to register with a local INS
office
between Feb. 24 and March 28.
In another development, male nationals from Group 1 (Iran, Iraq, Libya,
Sudan or Syria) and Group 2 (Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea,
Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United
Arab
Emirates and Yemen) may lawfully and timely register with the INS
between
January 27, 2003 to February 7, 2003.
CONTACT: Jason Erb, 202-488-8787 or 202-438-2080
-----
U.S. DEPORTATIONS TO MUSLIM NATIONS SOAR
Mark Blixer, Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 1/15/03
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/news/0103/15deport.html
The U.S. government dramatically increased the deportation of people
from
Muslim nations in the year after Sept. 11, 2001, even as it eased up on
illegal immigrants from Mexico and other countries.
The numbers of foreign nationals expelled to their native countries in
North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia multiplied faster than for
citizens of nearly all other nations from October 2001 to September
2002,
according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution computer analysis of
Immigration and Naturalization Service records. The analysis provides
the
first comprehensive look at the nationality of people deported since
the
terrorist attacks. The deportees include an Arab student in New York
who
was expelled for working seven hours a week beyond what his visa
allowed
and a Jordanian in New Jersey who violated terms of a tourist visa by
working at a Dunkin' Donuts...
The shift in focus by the INS strikes many as a logical response to the
threat posed by Islamic extremists, but critics say it has done little
to
secure America from the threat of terrorism.
"There's no evidence . . . that the selective enforcement has been an
effective response or has helped in any way to combat terrorism," said
Doris Meissner, who was INS commissioner from 1993 to 2000...
SEE ALSO:
HEADING FOR THE BORDER
Bart Jones, Newsday, 1/15/03
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lipaki153089093jan15,0,6603071.story
Since 1986, Hassan has lived in the United States, worked and paid his
taxes and raised two children who were born here.
This morning, the Elmhurst resident says, he plans to get on a train or
in
a car and try to flee to Canada, leaving behind his wife and children -
and
his own broken heart.
The reason is an INS crackdown on men from Arab and Muslim nations, the
latest salvo in the campaign against terrorism.
"This is total injustice and total callousness," said Hassan, a native
of
Pakistan who did not want his last name used. "It's a total mess." He
is
one of thousands of immigrants across the United States who community
leaders say are panicking - and in some cases packing their bags - this
week as the Immigration and Naturalization Service launches the third
stage
of a program to track immigrants from the Middle East and other
predominantly Muslim nations…
---
VISA RESTRICTIONS REJECTED
Brian Vastag, Journal of the American Medical Association, 1/15/03
http://jama.ama-assn.org/issues/v289n3/ffull/jha20013-3.html
Tightened restrictions on international visits to the United States are
crimping scientific and medical research, says an open letter from the
presidents of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of
Engineering, and Institute of Medicine.
In a strong statement, Bruce Alberts, PhD, William Wulf, PhD, and
Harvey
Fineberg, MD, PhD, implored the federal government to reverse the
situation. "[R]ecent efforts by our government to constrain the flow of
international visitors in the name of national security are having
serious
unintended consequences for American science, engineering, and
medicine,"
they wrote…
A "significant" number of scholars, professors, and foreign associates
of
the National Academies who were invited to conferences and universities
in
the United States have had their entry blocked, according to the
statement.
The injunctions have halted research projects, compromised
long-standing
international research agreements, and prevented a "large number" of
graduate and postdoctoral students from contributing to "the US
research
enterprise and our economy," wrote the presidents.
---
MUSLIM DETAINEES BEGIN HUNGER STRIKE
Wayne Parry, Associated Press, 1/15/03
NEWARK, N.J. - Five Muslim detainees being held in the Passaic County
Jail
began a hunger strike Tuesday to protest their continued captivity and
call
for immigration officials to be punished for mistreating them.
They include Farouk Abdel-Muhti, a Palestinian activist suing the
government for holding him too long and claiming he must be allowed to
remain in the U.S. because, as a stateless Palestinian, there is no
nation
to which he can be deported.
Through immigration advocates working for their release, the detainees
issued a statement decrying conditions at the jail.
“We denounce the gross violations of our human rights,” the statement
read.
“We are being held without adequate ventilation, in unclean and
unhealthy
quarters. We are being denied medical care, visitation, and Islamic
services. The food is completely inadequate and non-nutritious. We ask
all
people to defend our rights and to demand our freedom...”
---
FBI WILL CONTACT IRAQI NATIONALS LIVING IN THE U.S.
Gary Fields and Marjorie Valbrun, Wall Street Journal, 1/15/03
WASHINGTON -- The Federal Bureau of Investigation has begun visiting
Iraqi
nationals living in the U.S., and plans to visit many more if the U.S.
attacks Iraq, senior law-enforcement officials said.
The FBI has drawn up plans to send agents around the country to contact
"a
lot of Iraqi nationals in the U.S.," one official said. The agency is
looking to ferret out potential terrorists and gather intelligence that
could help in a war…
Dalia Hashad, an advocate with the ACLU, called the visits "an
incredibly
frightening expansion of a disturbing trend that's been ongoing for the
past year." The irony, she said, is that some in the Iraqi community
here
fled Iraq to get away from Saddam Hussein and support a war to topple
him
from power...
-----
BUSH FACES INCREASING PRESSURE TO SLOW DOWN WAR MOMENTUM
Warren P. Strobel, Knight Ridder, 1/15/03
WASHINGTON -- Even as U.S. troops and armor pour into the Persian Gulf,
President Bush faces rising pressures on multiple fronts to slow down
the
momentum toward war.
As recently as a few weeks ago, senior Bush administration officials
were
suggesting that a U.S. invasion to oust Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein
might
begin soon after a pivotal report from United Nations' weapons
inspectors
on Jan. 27.
Now, the target date appears to have slipped to late February or early
March at the soonest, U.S. officials and analysts say…
The rising political pressures against a swift invasion are all the
more
remarkable because they contrast with a rapidly expanding U.S. war
machine
in and around the Persian Gulf.
"The military track and the political track are really getting out of
whack
here," said Kenneth Pollack, a former CIA and White House expert on
Iraq
who consults with the Bush administration...
SEE ALSO:
IRAQI SHI'ITE GROUP STAYS AWAY FROM WHITE HOUSE
Jonathan Wright, Reuters, 1/15/03
WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - A major Iraqi opposition group stayed
away
from talks at the White House on Tuesday, saying the United States
should
have no role in an opposition conference meeting in Iraqi Kurdistan
this month.
The mainly Shi'ite Muslim Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in
Iraq (SCIRI) said it did not take part in talks with White House aide
Zalmay Khalilzad because it did not have a proper invitation and
because
the talks were unnecessary.
"We don't have to meet Khalilzad. The meeting in Salaheddin (in Iraqi
Kurdistan) is a meeting for the Iraqi opposition," SCIRI spokesman
Hamid
al-Bayati told Reuters…
---
TRANSPORTATION AVAILABLE TO ANTIWAR RALLIES IN DC AND SF
A.N.S.W.E.R, 1/15/03
There are now buses, vans and car caravans traveling from over 200
cities
in over 45 states to be in Washington DC and San Francisco on January
18.
Groups are traveling from as far South as Texas and Florida, as far
north
as North Dakota, Minnesota and Maine, from every state on the East
Coast,
and from all over the West Coast, to be in Washington DC.
The January 18 National March in Washington DC to Stop the War on Iraq
Before it Starts will begin at 11 am at 3rd St. on the Mall, which is
on
the West side of the Capitol Building. We will rally and then march to
the
Washington Navy Yard.
FOR BUSES TO DC & SF go to:
http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/j18/j18contacts.html
FOR ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS (bus drop off & pick up, bus/car/van
parking,
directions, metro maps, etc.) go to:
http://www.internationalanswer.org/campaigns/j18/logistics.html or call
our
Washington DC office at 202-544-3389
---
SCHOOL NIXES IRAQ CARE PACKAGES
Associated Press, 1/15/03
http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/01/14/school.iraq.ap/index.html
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A private girls school abandoned a
project to send soap, toothbrushes and other items to Iraq after
parents
accused the school of advancing an antiwar agenda.
The Baldwin School planned to send the care packages in a Martin Luther
King Jr. Day project organized by the American Friends Service
Committee, a
Quaker human-rights organization that opposes war with Iraq.
Instead, the packages will be sent to a local social services agency
that
helps families with young children, the school said Monday in a letter
to
parents.
"People were concerned that of all the countries in the world, why
would we
be sending items to Iraq when we're on the brink of war?" said Steve
Carter, whose daughter is a fourth-grader at the elite secular school
in
the wealthy Philadelphia suburb of Bryn Mawr.
Blair Stambaugh, head of the school, said Baldwin withdrew from the
Iraq
project because it didn't want students placed in the middle of a
political
argument among adults…
-----
UNIONISTS PROTEST AGAINST BUILDING OF ULSTER MOSQUE
David Lister, Times UK, 1/15/03
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,171-542149,00.html
The construction of Northern Ireland's first purpose-built mosque is
being
blocked by Unionist politicians who say that residents would be kept
awake
by "wailing" and that Muslims are plotting to destroy Christianity.
For years a small Muslim community near Portadown, Co Armagh, has
observed
the antics of Orangemen during the annual marching season in the
mid-Ulster
town. Blending into the most famously hardline Protestant area of
Northern
Ireland, a province that remains 99.15 per cent white, according to the
2001 census, was always going to be tricky for the two dozen Muslim
families who live here. Many of them work at the hospital or run
takeaway
food shops.
But after years of minding their own business, they have spoken out
after
Unionist councillors objected to their plan for a mosque in a field
outside
Portadown…
Mohammad Ashraf, a Pakistani whose family came to Northern Ireland 27
years
ago and who owns the land on which the mosque will be built, said: "We
don't want to fall out with anybody but we want the mosque. It will be
a
simple building that will blend in, with just one dome, not too many
minarets. They'll be no wailing, no call to prayer. Who is going to
listen
around here
anyway? Cows?"
-----
NY FUNDRAISING SCREENS 9/11 DOCUMENTARIES
WHAT: Justice For Detainees presents: An Evening of Film and
Fundraising.Brothers and Others, a documentary by Nicolas Rossier,
follows
the lives of Arab and South Asian families in New York City and across
the
country as they struggle with a suspicious public, government scrutiny,
arbitrary detentions, and their own fears for the future after
September 11.
Give Us the Names, a short video by Tracy Gross, documents the
demonstrations that took place at Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention
Center
from January to October 2002.
WHEN: Thursday, January 23, 7 P.M. to 9:30 P.M.
WHERE: Brooklyn Ethical Culture Society
53 Prospect Park West (between 1st & 2nd Sts.)
(Subways: 2/3 to Grand Army Plaza; F to 15th Street)
SUGGESTED DONATION AT THE DOOR: $10
(Additional donations gratefully accepted)
Proceeds from this fundraiser will be shared equally between the
CAIR-NY
Emergency Family Fund and Justice For Detainees.
CONTACT: CAIR NY at (212) 871-2002
-----
FRENCH OFFICIALS AND MUSLIMS CELEBRATE NEW ISLAMIC COUNCIL
Elaine Sciolino, New York Times, 1/15/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/15/international/europe/15FRAN.html
PARIS - It is an ambitious task, nothing less than the creation of an
official Islam for France.
Last month, pressed by the law-and-order Interior Minister Nicolas
Sarkozy,
the center-right government reached an important agreement with
France's
unwieldy and diverse community of five million Muslims that created a
national, elected council to represent them. Today, President Jacques
Chirac rewarded those Muslim leaders who chose to join, welcoming
nearly a
score of council members to Elysee Palace to offer New Year's "best
wishes"
over fruit juice and water -- but no wine...
-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FL RELIGIOUS LEADERS ASKED TO REPUDIATE ANTI-MUSLIM CHURCH SIGN
(MIAMI, FL, 1/16/03) - Florida's office of the Washington-based Council
on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) today called on religious leaders
in
that state to repudiate a Jacksonville Baptist church road-side display
that says, "Jesus Forbade Murder, Matthew 26 52, Muhammad Approved
Murder,
Surah 8 65."
To view a photograph of the marquee, go to:
http://www.cair-florida.org/church.htm
"All Americans must band together to condemn hate speech designed to
divide
our nation along religious and ethnic lines. Any attempt to marginalize
or
vilify one religious community is an attack on all people of faith,"
said
CAIR-FL Executive Director Altaf Ali. Ali added that CAIR-FL sought
dialogue with the church about the display, but that attempt at
outreach
was rebuffed with belligerent language.
Imam Zaid Malik, spiritual leader of Jacksonville's Islamic Center of
Northeast Florida added, "Misinformation must be rejected by all people
of
conscience." Imam Malik further added that the offensive sign was
brought
to his attention by a group of Christian friends. "This shows that the
vast
majority of Americans reject hate and seek a society where good
overcomes
the evil," said Imam Malik.
The verse in the Quran, Islam's revealed text, referred to in the
church
display states: "O Prophet [Muhammad]! Inspire the believers to conquer
all
fear of death when fighting, [so that] if there be twenty of you who
are
patient in adversity, they might overcome two hundred; and if there be
one
hundred of you, they might overcome one thousand of those who are bent
on
denying the truth, because they are people who cannot grasp it."
The verse indicates that those who believe and are steadfast in battle
will
overcome much larger armies. It is not an endorsement of murder.
The Prophet Muhammad condemned murder, saying: "The greatest sins are
to
join others as partners in worship with God [idolatry], to murder a
human
being, to be undutiful to one's parents, and to bear false witness."
(Sahih
Al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Hadith 10)
The Quran itself states: "...whoever murders a person...it will be as
if he
had killed all mankind, and whoever will save a life, shall be regarded
as
if he saved all mankind." (Chapter 5, Verse 32)
- END -
CONTACT: Altaf Ali, 954-298-8214, EMAIL: altaf@cair-florida.org; Ahmed
Bedier, CAIR-FL Communications Director, 813-731-9506, EMAIL:
abedier@cair-florida.org; Imam Zaid Malik, ICNEF, 904-534-3333, EMAIL:
zaid_malik@yahoo.com
CAIR-National: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-MAIL:
cair@cair-net.org; Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787 or 703-861-7294,
E-MAIL:
hhassan@cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive
news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to ISLAM-INFONET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/16/2003
HEADLINES:
* VERSE OF THE DAY: BENEFITS OF PERSEVERANCE
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* NEB. PRISON GUARD REPRIMANDED FOR HARASSMENT
* ISRAEL TO KILL IN U.S., ALLIED NATIONS (UPI)
* INS EXPANDS REACH OF REGISTRATION RULES (Atlanta Journal)
- More Foreign Visitors Asked To Report to INS (LA Times)
- 2nd Chance to Register Given (Washington Post)
- Court to Rule on Immigrant Detention (USA Today)
- Muslims Thrown In 'Hole'? (Herald News)
* USE OF SECRET EVIDENCE REJECTED (Washington Post)
* ACLU FEARS DOOR OPEN TO BIG BROTHER (Washington Times)
- Pentagon Database Plan Hits Snag on Hill (Business Week)
* LARGE MULTI-FAITH PRESENCE AT ANTI-WAR RALLY (Oregonian)
- Updated Tactics to Spread Antiwar Message (USA Today)
- Anti-War Organizers Claim Growing Support (Scripps Howard)
- City Panel Approves Anti-War Resolution (Chicago Tribune)
* UNIVERSITY WON'T APPEAL FEDERAL RULING (AP)
* U.S. SUSPENDS TV CAMPAIGN AIMED AT MUSLIMS (WS Journal)
* N. CALIF. PRE-REGISTRATION IMMIGRATION CLINIC
- Muslim Groups Create Hotline for Non-Immigrant Muslims
- Maryland Seminar on Legal Rights
* EEOC OFFERS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SEMINAR FOR BUSINESSES
* CALL FOR PAPERS: SYMPOSIUM ON RELIGION IN WORKPLACE
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: BENEFITS OF PERSEVERANCE
"O ye who believe! Seek help with patient perseverance and prayer. For
God
is with those who patiently persevere."
Holy Quran, Surah 2, Verse 153
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
"Thank you very much - this gift enables us to serve our patrons
better."
Librarian in Lebanon, PA
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
GOOD NEWS ALERT #363
NEB. PRISON GUARD REPRIMANDED FOR HARASSMENT
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/16/03) - A correctional officer in Nebraska has
been
reprimanded for allegedly harassing a Muslim inmate. The reprimand came
after the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) contacted state
officials on behalf of the inmate who alleged harassment and
discrimination
by an officer at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution.
According to the inmate, housed in solitary confinement, an officer at
the
institution announced to the inmate over an intercom: "This is God.
This is
Allah. You worship God, you worship me." When the inmate filed a
complaint
against the officer, he claimed the officer threatened him by saying,
"You
know Malcolm X? You know what happened to him can happen to you?"
After CAIR contacted the Governor of Nebraska and the Director of
Nebraska
Department of Correction with the inmate's allegation, the matter was
investigated and the officer involved was reprimanded. In addition,
steps
were taken to ensure the officer would not be assigned to the same
housing
unit as the Muslim inmate.
"Even in prison, one is expected to be treated in a humane manner. We
thank
the Nebraska state officials for sending a clear message that religious
discrimination of inmates will not be tolerated," said CAIR Civil
Rights
Coordinator Khadija Othman.
CONTACT: Khadija Othman, (202) 488-8787 x3226
-----
ISRAEL TO KILL IN U.S., ALLIED NATIONS
Richard Sale, United Press International, 1/16/03
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030115-035849-6156r
Israel is embarking upon a more aggressive approach to the war on
terror
that will include staging targeted killings in the United States and
other
friendly countries, former Israeli intelligence officials told United
Press
International.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has forbidden the practice until
now,
these sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Israeli statements were confirmed by more than a half dozen former
and
currently serving U.S. foreign policy and intelligence officials in
interviews with United Press International...
Since Sharon became Israeli prime minister, Tel Aviv has mainly limited
its
practice of targeted killings to the West Bank and Gaza because "no one
wanted such operations on their territory," a former Israeli
intelligence
official said…
ACTION REQUESTED: Go to http://capwiz.com/cair/home/ to e-mail the
President and/or your elected representatives.
-----
INS EXPANDS REACH OF REGISTRATION RULES
Mark Bixler, Atlanta Journal Constitution, 1/16/03
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/news/0103/16register.html
The U.S. Department of Justice is expanding a controversial initiative
that
requires men from several largely Muslim nations to be fingerprinted,
photographed and interviewed by the Immigration and Naturalization
Service.
Students, tourists and businessmen from Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia,
Jordan and Kuwait will join visa holders from 20 other countries
required
to register, according to documents to be published today in the
Federal
Register.
The government also is giving a second chance to foreign nationals,
mainly
from the Middle East, who missed recent deadlines to register. The
Justice
Department required male students, tourists and businessmen from five
Muslim countries to register by Dec. 16.
It set a Jan. 10 deadline for men from 13 other mostly Muslim nations,
but
advocates said the government did little to publicize the requirement…
SEE ALSO:
MORE FOREIGN VISITORS ASKED TO REPORT TO INS
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Los Angeles Times, 1/16/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ins16jan16.story
WASHINGTON -- Men from Arab and Muslim countries who missed recent
deadlines to register with immigration authorities will get a second
chance, but the controversial reporting requirement will be extended to
more nationalities, the Justice Department will announce today.
According to official notices readied for publication in the Federal
Register, men from Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan and Kuwait who
are
visiting the United States will now have to register with the
Immigration
and Naturalization Service…
A spokesman for the Egyptian Embassy in Washington criticized the
registration. "As much as we understand the reasons for enhancing
security
post-Sept. 11, we do not believe profiling on the basis of nationality,
faith or race is appropriate because it does not enhance security,"
Hashem
Elnakib said. "We see this as profiling." Egypt, Kuwait and Jordan are
among America's closest Arab allies…
---
2ND CHANCE TO REGISTER GIVEN
Dan Eggen, Washington Post, 1/16/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62929-2003Jan15.html
Thousands of foreign visitors from predominantly Muslim countries will
be
given a second chance to register with U.S. immigration authorities
because
the turnout for earlier deadlines was dampened by widespread fear and
confusion about the program, officials said yesterday.
At the same time, men from five more Middle Eastern and South Asian
countries will be required to register under the program, according to
rules scheduled to be published in the Federal Register today.
Males older than 16 from Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Kuwait and
Jordan
will be required to register with the Immigration and Naturalization
Service between Feb. 24 and March 28, officials said deportation.
The first two deadlines in the effort resulted in more than 600 arrests
of
immigrants who allegedly were in violation of immigration laws when
they
tried to enroll. Hundreds of registrants lined up for hours at INS
offices
around the nation, only to be turned away because the system was
overloaded. As the detentions and delays were publicized, advocates
said,
the program created panic in Arab immigrant communities...
---
COURT TO RULE ON IMMIGRANT DETENTION
Joan Biskupic, USA Today, 1/15/02
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=676&ncid=716&e=21&u=/usatoday/20030115/ts_usatoday/4780110
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court today will examine whether the
government
can lock up immigrants who face deportation because of a past crime,
without determining whether they are a public safety risk.
The case dates to the late 1990s and involves a long-standing dispute
over
immigration law. It has generated new interest in light of the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks and increased tension over the rights of foreigners
living in the USA and the government's concerns about public safety and
national security.
At issue is a group of foreigners who received "permanent resident"
status
-- immigrants admitted to the USA generally because they have relatives
here -- and also have a criminal conviction. A 1996 federal law says
they
must be jailed without bail while immigration officials decide whether
to
deport them...
---
MUSLIMS THROWN IN 'HOLE'?
Janon Fisher, Herald News, 1/16/03
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?level_3_id=357&page=6326492
PATERSON - Five Muslim hunger strikers detained by the immigration
service
in the Passaic County Jail said they were strip-searched Wednesday and
placed in "the hole," a small, windowless room used to isolate
prisoners,
because they complained about jail conditions and human rights issues
surrounding their detention.
But jail officials deny the claim, saying they were only placed in a
holding cell where prisoners can be more closely monitored by medical
and
corrections personnel, said John Comparetto, chief of the Sheriff's
Department.
"That's our policy whenever there is a hunger strike, for the safety
and
security of everyone in the jail," Comparetto said.
He added that the information he could release to the public was
limited
because the Immigration and Naturalization Service had asked the
department
not to discuss detainees.
Two of the protesters in the jail maintain that immediately following a
meeting with two INS officials - during which Farouk Abdel-Muhti, Salah
Hamza, Mohamad Seif, Ali Azhar, Sacko Kurov formally presented their
demands to end the strike - all of the men were strip-searched and
placed
in "the hole…"
-----
USE OF SECRET EVIDENCE REJECTED
Dale Russakoff, Washington Post, 1/16/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63259-2003Jan15.html
PATERSON, N.J. -- A state appellate court has ruled that a local judge
"lacked adequate basis" to allow prosecutors to present secret evidence
against an Arab American man who was accused of selling phony
identification documents to two of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers.
The ruling came late Tuesday in the case of Mohamed Atriss. It has
attracted national attention because of his apparently coincidental
link to
the hijackers, but more recently for prosecutors' use of secret
evidence.
Atriss, an Egyptian-born U.S. citizen, is apparently the only criminal
defendant since the terror attacks to be barred from confronting the
evidence against him -- a right guaranteed in the Constitution...
-----
ACLU FEARS DOOR OPEN TO BIG BROTHER
Ellen Sorokin, Washington Times, 1/16/03
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20030116-12697785.htm
The United States is at risk of turning into a full-fledged
surveillance
society where "Big Brother is watching you," says a report released
yesterday by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Sophisticated technology makes advanced surveillance simple, but the
erosion of constitutional protections in the wake of September 11
threatens
the legal safeguards protecting Americans from excessive government
snooping, the report concludes.
"Many people still do not grasp that Big Brother surveillance is no
longer
the stuff of books and movies," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the
ACLU's Technology and Liberty Program. He co-authored the report,
"Bigger
Monsters, Weaker Chains: The Growth of an American Surveillance
Society…"
ACLU analysts also criticized increasing surveillance in the private
sector, which compiles vast amounts of personal information for
marketing
and sales purposes. Much of the data end up in the wrong hands, they
said.
"From government watch lists to secret wiretaps, Americans are
unknowingly
becoming targets of government surveillance," said Dorothy Ehrlich,
executive director of the ACLU of Northern California. "It is dangerous
for
a democracy that government power goes unchecked, and for this reason
it is
imperative that our government be made accountable..."
SEE ALSO:
PENTAGON DATABASE PLAN HITS SNAG ON HILL
Business Week, 1/16/03
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/cnet/stories/980889.htm
WASHINGTON--A Pentagon antiterrorism plan to link databases of credit
card
companies, health insurers and others--creating what critics call a
"domestic surveillance apparatus"--is encountering growing opposition
on
Capitol Hill.
Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., is planning to introduce a bill on
Thursday to
halt the Pentagon's Total Information Awareness program. A
representative
said on Wednesday that if passed, the legislation would suspend the TIA
program until Congress can "review the data-mining issues…"
-----
WIDE MIX OF FAITH LEADERS TAKES CENTER STAGE IN ANTI-WAR RALLY
Shelby Oppel, Oregonian, 1/16/03
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/1042635434125500.xml
A mix of faith leaders and organizations -- with notable exceptions --
is
seizing a high profile in anti-war efforts.
Theologically diverse, the group stretches beyond Buddhists and Quakers
to
include Roman Catholic parishes and religious orders, Scientologists,
Muslims and broad-based coalitions such as Ecumenical Ministries of
Oregon.
And they aren't just showing up at marches and forums to oppose war
with
Iraq; they are also planning events and delivering speeches.
The faith-driven opposition has mobilized more quickly than it did in
the
1960s and '70s against the Vietnam War and represents a broader swath
of
religious leadership than those who protested the Persian Gulf War in
1991,
say longtime secular activists and their religious counterparts...
SEE ALSO:
PROTEST GROUPS USING UPDATED TACTICS TO SPREAD ANTIWAR MESSAGE
Lynette Clemetson, USA Today, 1/15/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/15/politics/15PROT.html
WASHINGTON - As the threat of war with Iraq heightens, leaders of the
antiwar movement are feeling an urgency to mobilize the masses. But in
contrast to the tactics of the 1960's, many organizers are trying to
sound
a note of patriotism and distance themselves from the stereotypical
images
of angry flag burners or scruffy anarchists.
Marches are still a crucial tool, and protest leaders are hoping that
tens
of thousands will turn out for an antiwar rally here on Saturday. But
organizers are also trying to spread their message through the Internet
and
enlist a diverse range of allies.
In recent weeks, groups representing labor, the environment and the
poor
have agreed to help raise money and commit bodies to local and national
protest efforts.
This week a group of Republican business executives organized by
movement
leaders published a full-page letter in The Wall Street Journal under
the
title "A Republican Dissent on Iraq," warning President Bush: "The
world
wants Saddam Hussein disarmed. But you must find a better way to do
it..."
---
ANTI-WAR ORGANIZERS CLAIM GROWING SUPPORT
Liz Fox, Scripps Howard News Service, 1/16/03
Some dress in all black, others in hot pink. But no matter their
clothes,
protesters who oppose a war with Iraq are popping up with greater
frequency, taking their anti-war message to busy intersections,
shopping
plazas and city halls across the nation.
Such local activism, coupled with massive anti-war protests in the past
10
months, is contributing to a burgeoning peace movement that organizers
say
is becoming a mainstream phenomenon. "We're not a fringe," said
Victoria
Cunningham, a volunteer for Code Pink in Washington, D.C. "It's a
growing
movement."
"There is a lot of energy around the issue here in Cincinnati, which is
a
conservative city," said Sister Alice Gerdeman of the Intercommunity
Justice and Peace Center, who helped coordinate the workshops. "There's
a
strong anti-war movement. It's not always public, but under the
surface....
People feel strongly."
Leaders of national peace organizations say the number of phone calls,
e-mails and donations is increasing. Mike Zmolek, founder of the
National
Network to End the War with Iraq, attributes the flurry of anti-war
activity in recent weeks to widespread fear that war is becoming
inevitable…
---
CITY PANEL APPROVES ANTI-WAR RESOLUTION
Gary Washburn, Chicago Tribune, 1/15/03
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-030115counciliraq,1,4730140.story
A committee of the Chicago City Council today approved a resolution
opposing a pre-emptive attack against Iraq "unless it is demonstrated
that
Iraq poses a real and imminent threat" to U.S. security.
More than a dozen speakers, from religious, government and labor
leaders to
ordinary citizens, testified in support of the measure. No one opposed
it.
After about two hours of testimony, members of the council's Committee
on
Human Relations overwhelmingly approved the resolution. Ald. James
Balcer
(11th) cast the only "no" vote, though he said he supported "95 percent
of
this resolution, (and) what I heard here was very, very compelling..."
"It will mean that Chicago is the largest city yet to weigh in on
this," he
said. "It will have a cumulative effect because, as more and more
cities,
towns and villages pass these resolutions, it is indicative of what
people
at the grassroots are thinking…"
-----
UNIVERSITY WON'T APPEAL FEDERAL RULING
Associated Press, 1/16/03
TAMPA, Fla. - University of South Florida attorneys say they will not
appeal a federal judge's decision not to get involved in the
university's
campaign to oust a Palestinian professor accused of having terrorist
ties.
University officials said they decided against appealing because it
would
have taken many months to resolve and would be too costly.
"It was the best thing not to do," said attorney Bruce Rogow. He would
not
comment further.
The university had wanted U.S. District Judge Susan Bucklew to rule
that
its plan to fire professor Sami Al-Arian would not violate his
constitutional rights.
But the judge said her involvement in the case "would not be a wise and
practical use of judicial resources…"
-----
U.S. SUSPENDS TV AD CAMPAIGN AIMED AT WINNING OVER MUSLIMS
Vanessa O'Connell, Wall Street Journal, 1/16/03
The U.S. government is abandoning a high-profile television campaign,
backed by President Bush and aimed at winning the hearts and minds of
the
world's Muslim and Arab populations, after meeting stiff resistance
from
some crucial allied nations.
The much-ballyhooed advertising drive, known as "Shared Values," was
developed by Charlotte Beers, a Madison Avenue veteran who is now a
State
Department official, and was the most controversial element of an
effort to
promote a positive image of the U.S. in parts of the globe where
American
interests and culture are frequently under attack…
Abdul-Raouf Hammuda, a Toledo, Ohio, bakery owner, who appeared in some
spots, said he was paid for his role in the campaign. Cameramen
followed
him and his family for 10 days to come up with the footage for the TV
spots. More recently, he and his wife visited Lebanon on a four-day
speaking tour at U.S. expense. "The reaction varied from those who were
supportive to the idea of building this campaign to others who were
suspicious and skeptical that life for Muslims in America was really
all
that good," said Mr. Hammuda, who is 45 years old.
-----
N. CALIF. PRE-REGISTRATION IMMIGRATION CLINIC
WHAT: Recent changes in policies have severely impacted immigrant
communities. Starting Jan.13th, 2003 to Feb. 21st, 2003. Certain
non-immigrant Male Nationals from PAKISTAN and SAUDI ARABIA who were
born
on or before January 13, 1987 are required to appear at INS and
register.
Meet immigration attorneys in person and find out about the recent
legal
changes and how to protect your rights.
WHEN: Sunday, January 26, 10 A.M. TO 4 P.M.
WHERE: South Asian Network, 18000 Pioneer Bl., Ste 10, Artesia, CA
90701
By Appointment Only -
PLEASE CALL TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT AT
(800) 281-8111 OR (562) 403-0488
Email: saninfo@southasiannetwork.org
---
AMA/PADF Commences Hotline for Non-Immigrant Muslims
Press Release, 1/12/03
(San Francisco January 12, 2003) The American Muslim Alliance and The
Pakistan American Democratic Forum (PADF), two leading organizations,
have
jointly installed a hotline for non-immigrants who may need help with
or
due to the INS Registration Process.
The toll free number 1-866-815-PADF or 1-866-815-7233 will be staffed
by a
number of volunteers who will be available for consultation and advice
from
6: 00 am to 10: 00 midnight. The hotline is a part of AMA and PADF's
nationwide effort to provide support for non-immigrant Muslims who are
required to register with the INS…
"We are here to listen, to provide basic information and legal
referrals to
those non-immigrant Muslims that might need it", the joint AMA/PADF
statement reads.
For more information call 1-866-815-7233 or contact ama@amaweb.org
---
MARYLAND SEMINAR ON LEGAL RIGHTS
WHAT: The Muslim Community Center, in cooperation with the Asian
Pacific
American Legal Resource Center (APALRC), will hold a "Know Your Rights"
seminar. Presenters, including immigration attorneys, will discuss
immigrant rights and issues relating to the recent registration
requirements as well as employment discrimination matters related to
immigration status and national origin.
WHEN: Sunday, January 26, 11 A.M. to 1 P.M.
WHERE: Muslim Community Center, 15200 New Hampshire Ave., Silver
Spring, MD
20905 Tel: 301-384-3454; http://mccmd.org; e-mail: mcc@mccmd.org
-----
EEOC OFFERS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SEMINAR FOR SMALL AND MID-SIZE
BUSINESSES
WHAT: Half-day, low-cost, live satellite Technical Assistance Program
Seminar (TAPS). Interactive television broadcast to highlight
mediation,
disability, national origin and immigration issues.
WHO: Small and mid-size employers invited to dialogue with panelists
from
EEOC (including Chair Cari M. Dominguez), the Department of Justice,
the
business community, the legal arena, and the Job Accommodation
Network. Moderated by Susan Meisinger, President and CEO, Society for
Human Resource Management.)
Agenda to Include:
o Overview of EEOC Enforcement and Litigation
o Mediation
o Hiring People with Disabilities and Creating Reasonable
Accommodations
o National Origin and Immigration Issues
WHEN: Tuesday, February 4, 12:30 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. EST* - National
Presentation Via Satellite
3:30 to 4:30 p.m. EST - Local Programs
WHERE: Participate from any of over 65 designated federal facilities
around
the country.
For a list of satellite locations and to register, visit EEOC's web
site at
www.eeoc.gov.
-----
CALL FOR PAPERS: SYMPOSIUM ON RELIGION IN WORKPLACE
Those interested in submitting a manuscript for a symposium titled,
"Religion and the Public Workplace", should contact:
James D. Slack
Professor and Chair
Department of Government and Public Service
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
U 238 1530 3rd Ave. South
Birmingham, Al 35294-3350
(205) 934-9680 -- department
(205) 934-9020 -- direct
(205) 975-5712 -- fax
www.uab.edu/gps
-----
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https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
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To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MUSLIMS ATTEND WHITE HOUSE BRIEFING ON INS REGISTRATION
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/16/03) - Representatives of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), along with leaders of other American
Muslim and minority organizations, met today with administration
officials
in a White House briefing on the controversial INS "special
registration"
program.
Under that program, non-immigrant male visa-holders age 16 and older
from
designated countries are required to appear at INS offices nationwide
to be
interviewed and fingerprinted. Civil libertarians say the policy
singles
out visitors from mainly Muslim countries and does little to protect
America from the threat of terrorism.
SEE: http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/lawenfor/specialreg/index.htm
At the late-afternoon briefing, White House, Justice Department and INS
officials outlined the government's position on special registration
and
listened to concerns about the implementation of the policy and the
negative perception it has acquired in the Muslim and immigrant
communities.
Government officials said today that males from Bangladesh, Egypt,
Indonesia, Jordan and Kuwait have been added to the list of foreign
nationals who must register. They also said citizens of the initial 18
countries covered under the program who missed the first deadline, will
have another chance to register.
"We appreciate the opportunity to let administration officials hear
directly from the communities targeted by the special registration
program.
The deadline extension indicates that they are listening to our
concerns.
More such meetings are needed," said CAIR Governmental Affairs Director
Jason Erb, who attended today's meeting along with CAIR Communications
Director Ibrahim Hooper.
CAIR offices throughout the country are providing legal referral
services
to those who require assistance (SEE
http://www.cair-net.org/asp/chapters.asp). The Islamic advocacy group
also
organized a number of "know-your-rights" seminars to educate the Muslim
community about the new policy.
There an estimated seven million Muslims in America and some 1.2
billion
worldwide.
- END -
CONTACT: Jason Erb, 202-438-2080, E-MAIL: jerb@cair-net.org; Ibrahim
Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-MAIL: cair@cair-net.org; Ms.
Hodan
Hassan, 202-488-8787 or 703-861-7294, E-MAIL: hhassan@cair-net.org
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to:
cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/17/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: REWARDS OF FAITH
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* ISLAMIC GROUP ASKS RELIGIOUS LEADERS TO REPUDIATE CHURCH SIGN (AP)
- Mandarin Church Sign Upsets Muslims (Florida Times Union)
- Florida Church Sign Is 'Hate Speech'-Islamic Group (Reuters)
- Letter To Jacksonville Church Urges Change Of Attitude
* U.S. PLANS INTERIM MILITARY RULE IN POSTWAR IRAQ (Washington Post)
- How To Spell American Empire: B-U-R-D-E-N (Newsday)
- Antiwar Group Mounts TV Campaign (LA Times)
- Bush Must Do More Convincing Before War (AP)
- A Wartime Role For Exiles May Be Two-Edged Sword (LA Times)
* U.S. DETAINS NEARLY 1,200 DURING REGISTRY
- Forgotten Detainees (Washington Post)
- Pakistan Wants Exemption From US Registration Plan (Reuters)
- Indonesians Urges Citizens Not To Travel To U.S. (Kyodo)
* WATCH YOUR BACK (Antiwar.com)
* AMPCC RESOLUTION ON THE IRAQI CRISIS
* CAIR N. CALIF. TO HOLD FORUM ON INS REGISTRATION
* PROJECT ISLAMIC H.O.P.E.'S FIFTH ANNIVERSARY AWARDS DINNER
* CHICAGO LECTURE ON MLK JR AND POST 9/11 CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: REWARDS OF FAITH
“Those who believe the Jews, the Christians, and the Sabaeans whoever
believes in God and the Last Day and does what is right- surely their
reward is with their Lord”
Holy Qu’ran, Surah 2, Verse 62
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
“Very good title selections suitable for a broad audience.” Librarian
in
Marquette, MI
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
ISLAMIC GROUP ASKS RELIGIOUS LEADERS TO REPUDIATE CHURCH SIGN
Associated Press, 1/17/03
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Council on American-Islamic Relations-Florida
is
calling on state religious leaders to repudiate a Jacksonville Baptist
church's roadside sign which it claims is anti-Muslim.
The sign outside the First Conservative Baptist Church in
Jacksonville's
Mandarin area reads: "Jesus Forbade Murder. Matthew 26:52. Muhammad
Approved Murder. Surah 8:65." Altaf Ali, executive director of the
Council
on American-Islamic Relations-Florida, said his organization attempted
to
talk to the Baptist church's officials about the sign, but was rebuffed
with belligerent language.
"All Americans must band together to condemn hate speech designed to
divide
our nation along religious and ethnic lines," Ali said. "Any attempt to
marginalize or vilify one religious community is an attack on all
people of
faith."
The church's pastor, the Rev. Gene Youngblood, who also leads the
Conservative Theological Society and Conservative Christian Academy,
said
he has been using the marquee-type sign to express the church's opinion
for
15 years and has no plans to remove the message...
SEE ALSO:
MANDARIN CHURCH SIGN UPSETS MUSLIMS
Steve Patterson, Florida Times Union, 1/17/03
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/011703/met_11497230.shtml
A Mandarin church has alarmed Muslims by posting a roadside message
that
said Islam's founder endorsed murder in the Quran.
The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations
yesterday
asked members of the clergy to speak against the message at the First
Conservative Baptist Church, 12021 St. Augustine Road.
A sign there reads: "Jesus Forbade Murder Matthew 26-52 Muhammad
Approved
Murder Surah 8-65." A surah is a chapter in the Quran, Islam's
scripture,
which Muslims believe to be God's word in Arabic…
"I don't know where they get this [interpretation]," said Ibrahim
Hooper, a
spokesman for the council's headquarters in Washington.
He said a number of churches have recently promoted anti-Muslim
messages,
calling it "a very disturbing trend" that followed statements by
nationally
prominent Christian evangelists. The pastor of Jacksonville's First
Baptist
Church was involved in a lengthy controversy last year after he called
Muhammad a "demon-possessed pedophile" during a Southern Baptist
gathering...
The leader of the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida said the Quran
forbids murder and said he phoned the church Monday to talk to the
pastor.
"I'm still waiting for his call if he wants to talk to me," said Zaid
Malik, the mosque's imam...
---
FLORIDA CHURCH SIGN IS 'HATE SPEECH'-ISLAMIC GROUP
Reuters, 1/17/03
Miami - An Islamic group asked state religious leaders on Thursday to
repudiate a sign outside a Florida Baptist church reading "Jesus
Forbade
Murder ... Muhammad Approved Murder," describing it as "hate speech."
The church pastor said the sign "speaks the truth."
The sign outside the First Conservative Baptist Church in Jacksonville
misrepresents the Koran, Islam's holy book, said the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, a Washington-based civil rights advocacy
group
with about 80,000 members.
"All Americans must band together to condemn hate speech designed to
divide
our nation along religious and ethnic lines," CAIR said in a news
release.
Gene Youngblood, pastor of First Conservative Baptist Church, said it
was
"political correctness" to describe Islam as a peaceful religion…
Muslim advocates in the United States have complained of increased
profiling since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States. An
anti-terrorism program that requires men from 20 largely Muslim and
Arab
countries to report to immigration authorities for fingerprinting and
photographing has spread panic in immigrant communities.
"I really call on religious leaders in Florida to condemn this," Ali
said
of the church's sign. "It just divides along religious and ethnic
lines."
---
LETTER TO JACKSONVILLE CHURCH URGES CHANGE OF ATTITUDE
The following is an excerpt of a letter sent to the First Conservative
Baptist Church in Jacksonville:
“We would like to comment on the message on your road-side sign…
If you want to post a corresponding quotation from the Qur'an, I would
suggest a very famous passage: Surah 5:32. It states: "...whoever
murders a
person...it will be as if he had killed all mankind, and whoever will
save
a life, shall be regarded as if he saved all mankind."
The U.S. is the most religiously diverse country in the world. It is
becoming more so, as the percentage of American adults who consider
themselves to be Christians is dropping by almost one percentage point
per
year. Meanwhile the membership of religious minorities is increasing.
There
are two responses to this increase in diversity: hatred or tolerance.
We
have seen where hate leads. Consider Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo,
Macedonia, Cyprus, Nigeria, Sudan, Middle East, Iraq/Iran, Afghanistan,
India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, etc. After 9-11 we can see what
religious
hatred can cause on North American soil. Your sign has made a
significant
contribution to religious hatred in Jacksonville. I hope that you will
reverse course and select tolerance in the future.
Regards
Bruce Robinson
ReligiousTolerance.org
-----
U.S. PLANS INTERIM MILITARY RULE IN POSTWAR IRAQ
Peter Slevin and Bradley Graham, Washington Post, 1/17/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3610-2003Jan16.html
U.S. military commanders will likely rule Iraq for at least several
months
in the aftermath of a U.S.-led ouster of President Saddam Hussein,
according to Bush administration blueprints for Iraq's future that
outline
a broad and protracted American role in managing the reconstruction of
the
country.
The administration's plans, which are nearing completion, envision
installing a civilian administration within months of a change of
government, U.S. officials said. But the officials said that even under
the
best of circumstances, U.S. forces likely would remain at full strength
in
Iraq for months after a war ended, with a continued role for thousands
of
U.S. troops there for years to come…
Iraqis relegated to advisory roles in the immediate postwar period
would
gradually be given a greater role, but they would not regain control of
their country for a year or more, according to current U.S. thinking…
Among the key roles for U.S. forces would be the preservation of Iraq's
borders against any sudden claims by neighbors and the defense of the
country's oil fields…
SEE ALSO:
HOW TO SPELL AMERICAN EMPIRE: B-U-R-D-E-N
James P. Pinkerton, Newsday, 1/17/03
http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/columnists/ny-vppin3087421jan14,0,4945237.column
Do you want America to be an imperial power? A colonial controller of
other
countries and their resources? Do you yearn to take up the white man's
burden? Some Americans do, and their voices are being heard in high
places.
And so, even if you're not white, get ready to take up some imperial
burden.
The Bush Doctrine - the idea of pre-emptive striking, of
nation-building
and re-building - which is about to be tried in Iraq, has been
germinating
for the past decade in think tanks and thin magazines. The
"neoconservatives" who dominate Bush foreign-policy making are, in
fact,
neocolonialists...
---
ANTIWAR GROUP MOUNTS TV CAMPAIGN
Johanna Neuman, Los Angeles Times, 1/16/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-antiwar16jan16.story
WASHINGTON - The TV ads begin airing today, raising the specter of
nuclear
war should the United States attack Iraq. They depict mushroom clouds,
images designed to stir controversy and galvanize public opinion.
With U.S. military forces poised for action in the Middle East, the
peace
movement has turned to a perennial show- stopper: the daisy ad. A
remake of
the commercial first broadcast during Lyndon Johnson's 1964
presidential
campaign against Republican Barry Goldwater, it shows a little girl
counting flower petals in a field of daisies. Her image is replaced by
a
nuclear explosion…
“When the stakes are this high ... running a controversial ad seems
like
the least that we can do to make sure our leaders are thinking about
the
consequences before they rush into it,” said Eli Pariser of MoveOn.org,
which sponsored the commercial…
To view ad, go to:
http://stream.realimpact.net/rihurl.ram?file=realimpact/moveon/DaisySS_gen.rm
---
BUSH MUST DO MORE CONVINCING BEFORE WAR
Will Lester, Associated Press, 1/17/03
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20030117_264.html
WASHINGTON - Despite months of effort, President Bush has not yet
convinced
most Americans there is justification for U.S. military action to
depose
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, polls show.
“I think a little more diplomacy would be in order,” said Creig
Crippen,
84, a retired Air Force veteran from Deland, Fla. “I don't like this
pre-emptive idea. That's imperial. That's not democratic.”
The public does not buy the administration's argument that Iraq must
prove
it does not have these weapons to avoid a U.S. attack. Almost
two-thirds,
63 percent, said Iraq's failure to prove it does not have weapons would
not
be a sufficient reason for a war…
---
A WARTIME ROLE FOR EXILES MAY BE TWO-EDGED SWORD
Sebastian Rotella, Los Angeles Times, 1/17/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-exiles17jan17001432.story
PARIS -- Leaders of the Iraqi opposition hope exile volunteers
preparing to
attend a U.S. training program in Hungary will serve as valuable
intermediaries for American troops during any invasion of their
homeland
and help build a new military if President Saddam Hussein falls.
But the plan has provoked predictable discord in the fractious exile
community and among Iraq-watchers, with some warning that the force
could
be viewed by ordinary Iraqis as a U.S. puppet.
Iraqi volunteers in the United States are reporting to a secret
location
for the final stages of screening by Defense Department personnel, who
will
then transport successful applicants to Taszar Air Base, a North
Atlantic
Treaty Organization facility in Hungary, according to U.S. officials.
Volunteers are also expected to gather soon in Europe and the Middle
East,
according to opposition groups…
-----
U.S. DETAINS NEARLY 1,200 DURING REGISTRY
Washington Post, 1/17/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3840-2003Jan16.html
U.S. officials said yesterday that they had detained nearly 1,200 men
during a special registration program for foreign visitors from 20
mostly
Middle Eastern nations, nearly twice as many as they had previously
acknowledged.
The 1,169 men detained, almost all for immigration violations, were
among
thousands of foreign nationals who heeded deadlines in December and
January
to register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Some were
held
for just a few hours, released and ordered to appear for deportation
hearings. Others were held overnight, and about 170 are still in
custody, a
senior Justice Department official said…
SEE ALSO:
FORGOTTEN DETAINEES
Washington Post, 1/17/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4027-2003Jan16.html
In truth there are hundreds and perhaps thousands of immigrants, mostly
Arabs and other Muslims, who would not be in detention but for Sept.
11,
and who are now wending their way through a capricious and choked-up
immigration system. Because they are not classified as "special
interest"
immigration cases, they receive no particular attention and aren't
counted
in the government's terrorism figures.
One such forgotten detainee is Ansar Mahmood, a Pakistani immigrant we
wrote about on this page nearly 10 months ago. Mr. Mahmood is not
counted
in the Justice Department numbers, though by any reasonable definition
he
is a Sept. 11 detainee. He was picked up on suspicion of tainting the
New
York water supply and then almost immediately cleared by the FBI, which
ultimately believed his story -- that he had only been photographing
the
scenic mountains near Rochester...
Maybe it's no big deal: one immigrant, or 100 immigrants, who ran into
bad
luck. All may have violated an INS regulation. But a message is sent by
keeping Mr. Mahmood in jail, and by continuing more than a year later
to
scrutinize growing lists of Muslim immigrants -- Pakistanis, Egyptians,
Kuwaitis, students. If the INS looks hard enough, it can find a
technical
violation by many if not most immigrants, particularly through the
ever-shifting prism of the immigration bureaucracy. When those rules
are
enforced with exceptional zeal for a selected group, the message
becomes:
Terrorist or not, even legal or not, we're better off without you. And
that's not true of people such as Mr. Mahmood.
---
PAKISTAN WANTS EXEMPTION FROM US REGISTRATION PLAN
David Brunnstrom, Reuters, 1/17/03
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL224090
ISLAMABAD, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Pakistan's foreign minister said on
Friday he
would ask Washington to take Pakistanis off the list of foreign
visitors
who must register and be fingerprinted under a controversial
anti-terrorism
programme...
"I will carry this message for the U.S. Congress and media that...even
if
you are applying this law to other countries, Pakistan should be
exempted
in the first place," Kasuri said on state-run Pakistan Television…
The regulations have been widely criticised in Pakistan, with
commentators
arguing the treatment is unfair given Pakistan's status as a key ally
in
the war on terror.
Advocacy groups say they believe at least 100,000 Pakistanis will have
to
report before a February 21 deadline...
---
INDONESIANS URGES CITIZENS NOT TO TRAVEL TO U.S.
Kyodo News Service, 1/17/03
JAKARTA - The government advised Indonesians on Friday to postpone
travel
to the United States following Washington's inclusion of Indonesia on a
list of countries whose men must register with the U.S. government.
“While the government of Indonesia is observing the implementation of
the
policy of the U.S., and to avoid unexpected difficulties, for the time
being Indonesian citizens are recommended to postpone their unnecessary
travel to the U.S.,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said…
-----
WATCH YOUR BACK
Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, 1/17/03
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/justincol.html
If the Israelis are now killing people on the soil of "friendly"
countries,
just think what they might do in enemy territory. To call this "a more
aggressive approach" is putting it mildly. What it amounts to is a
declared
strategy of international terrorism as an instrument of Israeli foreign
policy. It is, in effect, a declaration of war on the whole world. So
what
is the response of U.S. law enforcement agencies to this threat to
commit
mayhem on U.S. soil? UPI reports:
"'Mossad is definitely being beefed up,' a U.S. government official
said of
the Israeli agency's budget increase. He declined to comment on Tel
Aviv's
geographic expansion of targeted killings.
"An FBI spokesman also declined to comment, saying: 'This is a policy
matter. We only enforce federal laws.'"
So how about enforcing federal laws against murder? I suppose it's too
much
to expect the Keystone Kops of our FBI to protect us against any sort
of
terrorism, including the Israeli variety, given their record on this
score.
You would think that our politicians would at least make some pretense
at
protesting the declared intent of a foreign power to turn the U.S. into
their happy hunting ground…
-----
AMPCC RESOLUTION ON THE IRAQI CRISIS
The members of the American Muslim Political Coordination Council
(Muslim
Public Affairs Council, American Muslim Alliance, American Muslim
Council
and Council on American Islamic Relations), out of our belief in God,
our
love for our country and aspirations for peace and justice for all,
herby
resolve:
To call on the President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, to save the Iraqi
people
from further suffering and despair and to clear the image of Islam, a
religion incompatible with dictatorships, by resigning his position as
President and by calling on the United Nations and the Organization of
Islamic Countries to supervise free democratic elections in Iraq for
the
purpose of electing new leadership that can lead Iraq out of the
current
desperate situation.
To call on the President of the United States, George W. Bush, to
dismiss
initiating military action as a means to resolving the current crisis.
Initiating military action to resolve this crisis will:
a. Destabilize the region;
b. Radicalize the youth movement in Iraq and in neighboring countries;
c. Build support for terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden;
d. Fuel anti-American sentiments in the region and all over the world;
e. Place our military men and women in harms way for no convincing
reason;
f. Burden the conscience of Americans with the loss of many innocent
Iraqi
lives.
A copy of this statement will be sent to the following individuals:
George W. Bush, President of the United States
Kofi Anan, Secretary General of the United Nations
The head of the Iraqi Delegation at the United Nations
Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic States, OIS
Secretary General of the Arab League
-----
CAIR N. CALIF. TO HOLD FORUM ON INS REGISTRATION
WHAT: CAIR’s Northern California office will hold a “Know Your Rights”
forum on the INS’ Special Registration Program with immigration
attorney
Saad Ahmad.
WHEN: Monday January 20, 7 P.M. to 8 P.M.
WHERE: South Bay Islamic Association (SBIA), 325 N. Third St., San Jose
-
CA 95112
When: 2003, 7pm-8pm
CONTACT: (408) 986-9874
-----
SOUTHERN CAL MULTI-FAITH PRAYER BREAKFAST AND COMMUNITY DAY
WHAT: In an effort to build bridges between members of various faith
and
ethnic groups, CAIR is co-sponsoring the 8th Annual “United We Stand",
an
event by Sheriff Lee Baca and the LA County Sheriff's Department Clergy
Council. This year's Community Day is dedicated to strengthening and
uniting all people regardless of race, color, creed, age, or religion.
Community Day brings established entrepreneurs offering a myriad of
goods
and services including employment opportunities, health care and much
more.
WHEN: Saturday, January 18
Multi-Faith Breakfast, 8:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (Must pre-register)
Community Day activities 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. (no charge)
WHERE: Los Angeles Southwest College, 1600 W. Imperial Hwy, CA 90047
Speakers include Sheriff Leroy Baca, Celebrities, and Community
Leaders,
including Imam Saadiq Saafir (ILM Foundation) and Hussam Ayloush (CAIR)
Tickets & Registration: $15.00, call (323) 753 4673 or register online
at
www.clergycouncil.org
CONTACT: Sherrel Johnson (714) 776- 1847
-----
PROJECT ISLAMIC H.O.P.E.'S FIFTH ANNIVERSARY AWARDS DINNER
WHAT: Interfaith Fundraising Awards Dinner
WHEN:: Sunday, January 19, 2003 at 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: The Omar Ibn Al Khattab Foundation - Ismail Abu Dawood Hall,
1025
West Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007
Featuring Special Guest Speaker Imam W.D.Muhammad
For more information, call (323) 733-9938 or visit
http://www.projectislamichope.org/
Sponsored & Hosted By: The Omar Ibn Al Khattab Foundation,
http://omarfoundation.org/
-----
CHICAGO LECTURE ON MLK JR AND POST 9/11 CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Day Lecture for Muslims and Friends
WHAT: "Lessons that Muslim-Americans and Arab-Americans Can Learn From
Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement"
Presenters include Professor Azza Salama Layton, from the Political
Science
Department at DePaul University and Chris Varas, attorney from the
American
Civil Liberties Union
WHEN: Monday, January 20, 7 P.M.
WHERE: Muslim Community Center, 4380 N. Elston, Chicago, IL 60641
(773) 725-9047 (for directions)
For more information, call the Law Offices of Kamran Memon at (312)
961-2354.
Co-sponsored by Alim Khan, Blue Triangle Network; and CAIR-Chicago
-----
TO BECOME A CAIR MEMBER, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/19/2003
BREAKING NEWS - CAIR is currently engaged in discussions with Western
Union
over allegations that customers with common Muslim names are being
singled
out for special treatment. Please hold all e-mails, calls or faxes to
that
company pending the conclusion of those discussions.
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: LOVE ONE ANOTHER
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* CAIR-NGA TO HOLD FUNDRAISING DINNER IN ATLANTA
* FLORIDA CHURCH TO LAUNCH ANTI-MUSLIM WEB SITE (Times-Union)
- Baptist Group Urges Respect for Islam (RNS)
* FLORIDIANS APPRECIATE KING'S PASSION, SACRIFICE (Sun-Sentinel)
* THOUSANDS OPPOSE A RUSH TO WAR (Washington Post)
- Thousands in S.F. Demand Bush Abandon War (SF Chronicle)
- Poll: Americans in No Rush for Iraq War (AP/Newsweek)
- Drums of Peace? (Times-Dispatch)
- Wolfowitz: Focus on Settlements After War (Haaretz)
* NEARLY 24,000 FOREIGN MEN REGISTER IN U.S. (Los Angeles Times)
- Registration Requirement Troubling for Pakistanis (AJC)
* LA POLL FINDS ATTACK DIDN'T ALTER VIEWS OF ISLAM (Advocate)
* IN WEST BANK, LIVING NORMAL LIFE NO LONGER POSSIBLE (LA Times)
* WHAT ABOUT THOSE END TIMES, MR. PRESIDENT? (Hartford Advocate)
* ISRAEL'S SHARON DISMISSES MIDDLE EAST "QUARTET" (Reuters)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: LOVE ONE ANOTHER
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "No man loves another
for
God's sake without his Lord…honoring him."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1301
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
CAIR-NGA TO HOLD FUNDRAISING DINNER IN ATLANTA
WHAT: The Council on American-Islamic Relations North Georgia Chapter
(CAIR-NGA) will hold a fundraising dinner on Saturday January 25, 2003,
from 7 to 11:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Select, 4386 Chamblee Dunwoody
Rd.,
Atlanta, Ga.
COST: Tickets are $35 per person or $60 per couple. For information
call
Ibrahim Sherman at 404-414-7885 or 770-686-4421.
Council on America-Islamic Relations
North Georgia Chapter
3920 N Peachtree Rd. Suite 205
Atlanta GA, 30341
Tel: 770-282-0082
E-MAIL: cair-northgeorgia.org
-----
FLORIDA CHURCH TO LAUNCH ANTI-MUSLIM WEB SITE
CHURCH SIGN DEBATE TO MOVE ONLINE
Steve Patterson, Florida Times-Union, 1/19/03
http://www.jacksonville.com
(The article is not yet online.)
A Mandarin church pastor Saturday said he received dozens of supportive
calls and notes after posting a sign saying Islam's founder endorsed
murder
in the Quran. The Rev. Gene Youngblood said he is launching a Web site
to
show why he believes Islam is a violent religion.
A Muslim organization that condemned the sign as misrepresenting its
religion said it has been in touch with a Jacksonville interfaith group
and
also received support from some churches.
The sign at First Conservative Baptist Church read "Jesus Forbade
Murder
Matthew 26-52 Muhammad Approved Murder Surah 8-65." A surah is a
chapter of
the Quran, which Muslims believe to be God's word in Arabic.
Youngblood said he received about three dozen calls, notes and e-mails,
all
but five supporting him.
He said he is preparing a Web site with video, news and a section for
ordering books…
Members of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the sign
misrepresented Muslim teachings, and that the passage it mentioned was
about soldiers in war. The group's Florida chapter asked Thursday for
support from other religions.
The subject is expected to be discussed more this next week with
members of
the Interfaith Council of Jacksonville, an organization involving many
local churches, said Parvez Ahmed, a Council on American-Islamic
Relations
member in Jacksonville. He said some churches sent private messages of
support, along with a few dozen Muslims and Christians.
Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic
Relations,
said there already are Web sites like Youngblood plans.
"He'll join a hundred others that are out there," Hooper said. "It's
not
going to be something new that he's adding to the debate about Islam.
There's plenty of hate out there…"
TO VIEW A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE SIGN, GO TO:
FL RELIGIOUS LEADERS ASKED TO REPUDIATE ANTI-MUSLIM CHURCH SIGN
http://www.cair-florida.org/church.htm
FOR BACKGROUND, SEE: MANDARIN CHURCH SIGN UPSETS MUSLIMS
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/011703/met_11497230.shtml
SEE ALSO:
BAPTIST GROUP URGES RESPECT FOR ISLAM
Religion News Service, 1/18/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8958-2003Jan17.html
A group of Southern Baptist missionaries working in predominantly
Muslim
countries has issued a letter asking that Baptists refrain from
denouncing
Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.
"Comments by Christians in the West about Islam and Muhammad can and do
receive much attention in our cities and communities on local radio,
television and print sources," the group wrote, referring to
disparaging
remarks made in recent months by former Southern Baptist Convention
president Jerry Vines and evangelists Franklin Graham and Jerry
Falwell.
"These types of comments…can further the already heightened animosity
toward Christians, more so toward evangelicals, and even more so toward
Baptists," the letter writers said. For security reasons, they
identified
themselves only as "a Group of Southern Baptists serving in the Muslim
World" that included more than two dozen missionaries in the Middle
East,
North Africa, East Africa and South Asia…
-----
S. FLORIDIANS APPRECIATE KING'S PASSION, SACRIFICE
Gregory Lewis Staff Writer, Sun-Sentinel, 1/19/03
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-cking19jan19.story
As Americans of all ethnicities prepare to celebrate the 18th official
King
holiday, South Florida immigrants pay homage to King as a trailblazer
for
change…
Dr. Karlin Donegal, a Tamarac psychologist who came to the United
States
from Jamaica when she was 9, thinks King was "one of our greatest
leaders;
definitely ahead of his time. He was one of those leaders who
understood
that the ultimate change comes through transformation: nonviolent,
spiritual, transformation" practiced by Jesus Christ and Mahatma
Gandhi.
"He's an agent for change," said Donegal, who considers herself
Jamaican
and African-American. "There are forces that don't want to see him as a
national changing force. They want to make him a black hero. He's not
just
a black hero."
Donegal said King's nonviolence philosophy is a strong spiritual
influence
that "makes it hard for people to hate. The nonviolence philosophy
raises
people to a higher level."
Donegal always takes the King holiday off and attends ceremonies in
Coral
Springs. Zalamea will read King's words and meditate in tribute to the
civil rights leader who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
"I never work on the Martin Luther King holiday," Donegal said. "He
earned
that."
But as the winds of war with Iraq blow stronger and the war on
terrorism
after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks heats up, Guyana native Altaf Ali
of
the Council on American-Islamic Relations said Arabs and Muslims are
suffering now, much like blacks did during the civil rights movement
and
still do.
"I don't think we've moved very far," said Ali, citing the racial
profiling
of black and Arab-Americans and a recent study that said employers
respond
to and hire people with white-sounding names…
-----
THOUSANDS OPPOSE A RUSH TO WAR
Chill Doesn't Cool Fury Over U.S. Stand on Iraq
Manny Fernandez and Justin Blum, Washington Post, 1/19/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11722-2003Jan18.html
Tens of thousands of antiwar demonstrators converged on Washington
yesterday, making a thunderous presence in the bitter cold and
assembling
in the shadow of the Capitol dome to oppose a U.S. military strike
against
Iraq.
Throughout a morning rally on the Mall and an afternoon march to the
Washington Navy Yard in Southeast, activists criticized the Bush
administration for rushing into a war that they claimed would kill
thousands of Iraqi civilians, spell disaster for the national economy
and
set a dangerous and unjustified first-strike precedent for U.S. foreign
policy.
They delivered that message on a day when being outdoors tested
everyone's
endurance. Men, women and children fought off temperatures no higher
than
24 degrees in ski masks and goggles, stashes of hot soup in containers
in
their backpacks. Many sneaked away momentarily to warm up on an idling
bus
or to grab a cup of coffee...
Organizers of the demonstration, the activist coalition International
ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), said the protest was
larger
than one they sponsored in Washington in October. District police
officials
suggested then that about 100,000 attended, and although some
organizers
agreed, they have since put the number closer to 200,000. This time,
they
said, the turnout was 500,000. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey would not
provide an estimate but said it was bigger than October's. "It's one of
the
biggest ones we've had, certainly in recent times," he said...
SEE ALSO:
TENS OF THOUSANDS IN S.F. DEMAND BUSH ABANDON WAR PLANS
Suzanne Herel and Zachary Coile, San Francisco Chronicle, 1/19/03
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/gate/archive/2003/01/18/rally.DTL
In San Francisco, peace activists started their march up Market Street
at
11 a.m. and started arriving at City Hall at noon to listen to speeches
by
local and national luminaries.
Among them was Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, who has gained allies and
admirers since her vote on Sept. 14, 2001, as the lone dissenting voice
in
Congress against giving Bush open-ended authority to wage war against
terrorists.
She took the stage to chants of "Barbara! Barbara!"
"The silent minority has become the vocal majority because of you," she
told the cheering crowd.
The protest's organizers, a group called International ANSWER,
estimated
the crowd to number approximately 200,000. Police estimated the crowd
to
reach 55,000…
---
POLL: AMERICANS IN NO RUSH FOR IRAQ WAR
Associated Press, 1/18/03
Most Americans want the United States to take more time seeking a
peaceful
solution in Iraq rather than moving quickly into a military
confrontation,
a new poll says.
By 60 percent to 35 percent, people in the Newsweek poll released
Saturday
they would prefer that the Bush administration allow more time to find
an
alternative to war…
SEE: "Bush Loses Ground," http://www.msnbc.com/news/861124.asp?0cv=KB20
Half in the CNN-Time poll, 50 percent, said they approve Bush's
handling of
foreign policy, while 42 percent disapprove. In July, before the
administration began its public campaign about Iraq, 64 percent
approved
his handling of foreign policy.
People worry about the impact of the United States' taking military
action
against Iraq. More than half in the Newsweek poll, 54 percent, said
they
expect it would cause serious divisions with allies. And more than
two-thirds thought it would cause serious problems throughout the Arab
countries and would cause Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to use
biological
or chemical weapons against Israel.
---
DRUMS OF PEACE
JANET CAGGIANO, Times-Dispatch, 1/18/03
http://www.timesdispatch.com/frontpage/MGBM8BDX2BD.html
The Muslim Students Association at Virginia Commonwealth University
held
weekly vigils last semester and kicked off its Unveiling Ignorance
Lecture
Series in November with "War Beyond Saddam: Reality Beyond the
Rhetoric."
More lectures are planned. And in March, some will walk out of class as
part of Books Not Bombs, a national strike. College students across the
country plan to skip class one day to protest the possible war.
"There seems to be a growing consensus on campuses that war is not the
only
answer," said Sohaib Mohiuddin, president of the Muslim Students
Association at VCU. "We need to think about the repercussions, approach
this sensibly and listen to the world consensus…"
---
U.S. WILL FOCUS ON SETTLEMENTS AFTER WAR, WOLFOWITZ SAYS
Aluf Benn, Haaretz, 1/19/03
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=253422
In his first public comments regarding U.S. policy in the Middle East
on
the "day after" the anticipated war in Iraq, Deputy Secretary of
Defense
Paul Wolfowitz said the administration will intensify its focus on the
establishment of a Palestinian state.
In an interview in the Washington Post on Friday, Wolfowitz said, "Our
stake in pushing for a Palestinian state will grow" after the war, and
he
noted that he preferred "concrete steps, like dealing with the
settlements"
over the advancing of diplomatic issues as part of a "process."
Wolfowitz is the most senior Jewish member of the political and defense
branches of the current U.S. administration. He is considered to be the
architect behind the current closing in on Iraq, a clear supporter of
Israel, and a leading member of the Jewish right in Washington, which
includes Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Doug Feith, and the
National
Security Council adviser on the Middle East, Elliot Abrams.
Wolfowitz has family, including a sister, in Israel, and is
well-acquainted
with many members of the government, including Nathan Sharansky and
former
ambassador to Washington, David Ivry…
A senior government source surprised by Wolfowitz's comments on the
settlements, attributed them to his desire to rally Arab and European
support for the war against Iraq.
"There is no other way to explain it," he said, since the
administration
has yet to present Israel officially with its expectations on "the day
after."
The dominant opinion in Israel is that even after the war in Iraq, the
U.S.
administration will not rush to pressure Israel into making
concessions,
because there will be other priorities, and President George Bush will
be
facing an election year and will need the Jewish vote…
-----
NEARLY 24,000 FOREIGN MEN REGISTER IN U.S.
Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 1/19/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-register19jan19.story
The federal government's controversial new requirement that foreign men
from many, mostly Muslim, nations register with U.S. authorities has
thus
far drawn almost 24,000 men nationwide -- more than one in 10 of whom
face
possible deportation, according to Justice Department officials.
The program also has led to the detention of 1,169 foreign nationals.
The figures for detentions and deportations are considerably higher
than
those offered previously by government officials…
Critics say the program unfairly targets otherwise law-abiding men by
requiring them to register at INS offices and then ordering them
deported
for even minor visa irregularities.
"It's almost a setup for deportation," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman
for
the Council on American-Islamic Relations…
SEE ALSO:
REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT TROUBLING FOR PAKISTANIS
RICK BADIE, Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 1/19/03
http://www.timesdispatch.com/frontpage/MGBM8BDX2BD.html
They understand this new America --- a country concerned about the
threat
of a terrorist attack.
But many of metro Atlanta's Pakistani residents dislike the fact that
Pakistan is among the 20 terror-linked nations whose young men must be
fingerprinted, photographed and interviewed.
It's an effort by the U.S. government to better track Arabs and
Muslims.
The nearly 15,000 Pakistanis, mostly Gwinnett County residents, say
they
are scapegoats for an international crisis. They love all that is
America,
but charge that the U.S. Justice Department's registration requirement
is
illogical --- and discriminatory. "It's totally unnecessary," said
Farooq
G. Soomro, a director of the Pakistani American Community of Atlanta, a
Lawrenceville-based advocacy group that's telling people to adhere to
the law.
"Everyone is scared," the Alpharetta resident said. "They don't feel
comfortable even though they don't have anything to hide. They are
simply
here for a better life. It's scary…"
---
POLL FINDS ATTACK DIDN'T ALTER VIEWS OF MUSLIM RELIGION
JULIE KAY, The Advocate, 1/18/03
http://www.theadvocate.com/stories/011803/rel_islamnew001.shtml
A majority of Louisiana voters questioned in a recent survey said the
terrorist attacks did not affect their views of Islam and less than
half
said Muslims in America should receive special scrutiny.
The poll, conducted for The Advocate by Edward F. Renwick, asked 750
registered voters two questions pertaining to Islam and its followers:
o Has the terrorist attack in the United States affected your view of
Islam?
o Should the government give special scrutiny to Muslims in America?
Changing view of Islam?
Of the voters surveyed, 56 percent said the terrorist attack has not
affected their view of Islam, while 39 percent said it has. Five
percent
either refused to answer or did not know.
Imam Jehad Mahmoud, of the Islamic Center of Baton Rouge, said he is
encouraged that a good number said it did not affect their view of
Islam.
For those who were affected in a negative way, Mahmoud said, there must
be
more effort in the Muslim community to show the "real picture of
Islam…"
-----
IN THE WEST BANK, LIVING A NORMAL LIFE IS NO LONGER POSSIBLE
Lynn Cohen, Los Angeles Times, 1/19/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-op-cohen19jan19.story
NABLUS, West Bank - Some 20,000 people live in Balata camp, in a square
mile of cement apartment blocks built so close together you have to
turn
sideways to walk through many of its alleyways. In many homes you see
gaping holes in walls between apartments left by Israeli soldiers who
found
it safer to get from one home to another by blasting through walls
rather
than going back out on the street. Sheets and blankets have been hung
to
cover the holes, but neighbors can still smell the meals and hear the
conversations of their neighbors.
Daily life in the camps is exhausting. One day, leaving a checkpoint, I
share a cab with Awad, a 40-year-old floor maintenance contractor and
father of three who, like me, was trying to get back to Balata camp
from
Ramallah. The trip should take an hour: It takes us six. One checkpoint
is
relatively quick, half an hour, but others are said to be slower, so
the
cab goes far out of the way to avoid them.
At an impassable roadblock, we leave the cab behind. For a while we
hitch a
ride on a donkey cart going our way. Later, a passing truck lets us
ride in
the back. Then another cab. By the time we get to the hills near
Nablus, it
is dark, after curfew. No taxi is willing to risk going to Balata. So
we
walk the last mile, avoiding open roads and not talking, so as not to
call
attention to ourselves. "At home, we hike for fun," I whisper, and we
both
laugh. When we finally get to Balata, Awad takes me to his home to meet
his
family. His three young children throw themselves at him, grabbing his
legs. "Daddy's home! Alive! Not arrested!"
Education, which used to be a ladder out of poverty for bright and
ambitious Palestinians, is now an endurance test. At a Nablus
checkpoint,
where I serve one day as a monitor for the International Solidarity
Movement, I meet Dina and a group of other female students, all of whom
wear head coverings and long coats, on their way to classes at An Najah
University in Nablus. They have been waiting to pass, along with 34
Palestinian men, since 7 a.m. Now, at 11, they are late for classes.
Three
of them have exams. The papers of all those waiting were collected at
the
beginning of the day, but since then no one has been allowed through.
There
is no explanation other than that the soldiers must "check them."
The commanding soldier, Ariel, recognizes me. For the last few weeks,
I've
been coming to observe checkpoints like this one. Today it is raining.
I
ask him whether there is a way to provide shelter for the people
waiting.
He tells me not to worry about "these people." But I do worry. We wait
together until 6 that evening, when the soldiers agree to let everyone
pass
through. But it's too late. Most of those waiting return home.
Everyone has a story of what the Israelis have done. Halima, a single
mother of 10, says that when soldiers searched her house they took her
life
savings of 1,000 shekels ($207). She had been saving in hopes of
someday
being able to send at least one of her children to university. Her
once-tidy and pretty home is filled with the reminders of the
intrusion:
directional arrows spray painted on the wall, a Jewish star, broken
windows, splintered doors, tank shell holes in the walls…
-----
WHAT ABOUT THOSE END TIMES, MR. PRESIDENT?
Sen. Joe Lieberman announces his candidacy, but not his association
with
lunatic fringe of Biblical prophecy
Edward Ericson, Hartford Advocate, 1/16/03
http://hartfordadvocate.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:1232
The image is jarring: Sen. Joseph Lieberman, presidential candidate,
appears on an infomercial asking Evangelical Christians to donate money
to
"rescue a Jew." "'On Wings of Eagles' is a modern-day fulfillment of
Biblical prophesy," the voiceover in the infomercial says, over images
of
huddled Russian Jews at the airport, smiling as they presumably wait to
leave Russia for Israel.
The half-hour appeal aired on the afternoon of Jan. 2 on Paxson
Broadcasting (PAX) stations across the nation (locally on WHPX, channel
26), according to the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
(IFCJ), the Chicago-based nonprofit that paid for the spot. Alongside
Lieberman, testimonials come from stars of the Christian Right,
including
convicted Watergate felon Charles Colson, Christian Coalition founder
Pat
Robertson, and Moral Majority head Jerry Falwell.
Critics of the Christian Right say the IFCJ's appeal to "prophesy" in
their
infomercial is a thinly veiled reference to Armageddon, the Second
Coming
of Christ and the moment when nonbelievers -- Jews included -- will be
cast
into the lake of fire. Jewish critics of the IFCJ say the group demeans
the
dignity of Jews.
Yet from 1994 to 1999, Lieberman, who on Monday announced his bid for
the
presidency, served as co-chair of one of IFCJ's projects, the
Washington-based Center for Jewish and Christian Values…
-----
ISRAEL'S SHARON DISMISSES MIDDLE EAST "QUARTET"
Megan Goldin, Reuters, 1/19/03
JERUSALEM, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on
Sunday
dismissed as unimportant peace envoys representing Russia, the European
Union and the United Nations.
Sharon said in a statement released by his office that the only member
of
an international peace "quartet" whose views might ultimately lead to
an
end to Middle East violence was the fourth one -- the United States,
Israel's closest ally.
"Israel's view is that the United States and Israeli vision are the
only
practical interpretations which could lead to peace in the Middle
East,"
the statement said.
Sharon believed Israel and the United States saw eye-to-eye on a
programme
to end more than two years of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed "in
contrast to
the position of the other quartet members," his office said in the
statement.
The statement by Sharon's office followed an interview to the U.S.
magazine
Newsweek made public on Sunday in which Sharon responded to a question
about the quartet's peace blueprint by saying: "Oh, the quartet is
nothing!
Don't take it seriously! There is (another) plan that will work."
The quartet has been trying to devise a blueprint to end two years of
violence since a Palestinian uprising for statehood began in September
2000
shortly after peace treaty negotiations deadlocked.
There was no immediate comment from any of the four quartet members…
-----
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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
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-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/20/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: PARADISE IS AT THE FEET OF MOTHERS
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* W.VA. MOSQUE CRASH MAY BE BIAS-RELATED SAYS MUSLIM GROUP
- Car Crash into Mosque No Accident (Daily Athenaeum)
- Vehicle Hits Evansdale Mosque (Dominion Post)
* FLORIDA COUNCIL OF CHURCHES REPUDIATES ANTI-MUSLIM CHURCH SIGN
* A REGISTER OF IMMIGRANTS' FEARS (Washington Post)
- U.S.-Deported Pakistanis: Outcasts in Two Lands (NY Times)
- Role in Registration Worries Ethnic Media (Mercury News)
* US 'TOUGH LOVE' NEEDED TOWARD ISRAEL (Boston Globe)
- Sharon the Peacemaker? (Newsweek)
* MOSQUE DOCUMENTARY AIMS TO EXPLAIN ISLAM (AP)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: PARADISE IS AT THE FEET OF MOTHERS
When a man approached the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) asking
to
take part in a military expedition, the Prophet asked him if he had a
mother. When the man said his mother was still alive, the Prophet said:
"Stay with her, for Paradise is at her feet."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1275
A man came to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and asked what
act
of penitence he could perform for a sin he had committed. The Prophet
asked
the man if he had a mother. When the man replied that his mother had
died,
the Prophet asked if he had a maternal aunt. When the man replied that
he
had, the Prophet said: "Then be kind to her."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1274
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
W.VA. MOSQUE CRASH MAY BE BIAS-RELATED SAYS MUSLIM GROUP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/20/03) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) is calling on law enforcement authorities in West Virginia to
investigate a recent car crash into a mosque in that state as a
possible
bias-related incident.
The Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group reports
that a
car crashed into the Morgantown, W. Va., mosque on Wednesday of last
week.
Local media reports indicate that worshipers at the mosque believe the
crash may have been intentional.
"Perpetrators of hate crimes do not always leave a clear message as to
their intent. That is why when an incident of this type occurs, we urge
law
enforcement authorities to investigate religious or ethic hatred as a
possible motivation," said CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.
Hooper added that there have been several previous incidents in which
vehicles were intentionally crashed into mosques in Florida, Ohio and
Washington. He said hundreds of Islamophobic crimes were reported in
the
period immediately following the 9/11 attacks and that his group
continues
to receive reports of anti-Muslim incidents throughout the county.
According to the FBI, the number of post-9/11 crimes reported against
American Muslims, Arabs or those perceived to be Middle Eastern
increased
by 1600 percent.
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726
SEE ALSO:
STUDENT THINKS CAR CRASH INTO MOSQUE NO ACCIDENT
Sarah Nagem, Daily Athenaeum, 1/17/03
http://www.da.wvu.edu/news/022110,01,03.html
A West Virginia University Muslim student doesn't think Morgantown's
mosque
was damaged by accident. And his doctoral studies may make him
qualified to
say so.
The mosque, located near the Evansdale campus, was hit by a vehicle on
Wednesday.
Ahmed El-Sherbeeny, a mechanical engineering doctoral graduate research
and
teaching assistant, called the police before the 12:45 p.m. prayers. He
was
the first to see the damage.
El-Sherbeeny said tire marks showed that a vehicle went over the
concrete
slab of a parking space and then hit the mosque.
He also said two pairs of tracks show that the vehicle hit a shrub near
the
mosque, and then backed up to hit another shrub, indicating that the
driver
of the vehicle deliberately hit the building twice…
If the damage was accidental, El-Sherbeeny thinks someone would have
come
forward...
---
VEHICLE HITS EVANSDALE MOSQUE, POLICE INVESTIGATING
JIM BISSETT, Dominion Post, 1/16/03
http://www.dominionpost.com/a/news/2003/01/16/ac/
Was it an accident or an act of hatred?
Members of Morgantown's Muslim community were pondering just that
Wednesday
afternoon, when worshippers arriving for afternoon prayers at their
Evansdale mosque saw the damage.
A vehicle careened into the side of the mosque at 441 Harding Ave.,
just
off University Avenue.
Tire tracks in the patchy snow of the parking spaces that run alongside
the
building showed that the vehicle struck the side of the mosque in a
glancing blow.
Ahmed el-Sherbeeny, a mechanical engineering doctoral student from
Egypt
who regularly prays at the mosque, doesn't think it was an accident --
as
he pointed to tire tracks that he said show the vehicle backing up to
make
another go at the building.
"It looks deliberate," he said, "especially when you look at the angle
and
you see that it hit twice..."
The damage was a definite surprise, el-Sherbeeny said. He and his
fellow
worshippers left the mosque after the morning prayer at 7:30 a.m., and
when
they returned at 12:30 that afternoon for the second of the five
prayers
they do daily, they saw the aftermath of the crash.
The crash left a slight dent in the wall at the point of impact and
broke
some molding. Inside, the point of impact was at the mihrab, the
spiritual
center of the mosque where the imam leads the prayers…
The group is still strong in its faith and its fondness for Morgantown.
El-Sherbeeny didn't want to talk about the war clouds Washington is
seeding
over Iraq, an act that could again make things more tense for people of
Middle Eastern origin who live here.
He just said that if Tuesday's act was deliberate -- he prayed it
wouldn't
happen again.
"Morgantown is such a welcoming place," he said. "I mean, after Sept.
11 we
got a share of harassing phone calls and e-mails. The house of one of
brothers was sprayed with obscene graffiti. But the people have also
been
kind, and they've really accepted us."
-----
FLORIDA COUNCIL OF CHURCHES REPUDIATES ANTI-MUSLIM CHURCH SIGN
My dear brothers:
On behalf of the Florida Council of Churches…I want to repudiate in the
strongest terms possible the outrageous and hateful expressions of the
First Conservative Baptist Church in Jacksonville, as they accuse the
Prophet Muhammed of approving of murder. Please be assured of the
solidarity and support of the Florida Council of Churches and its
member
congregations. We are proud to regard Islam as our sister among the
Abrahamic religions, and, in any event, repudiate expressions of hatred
toward any person or group.
We pray for the spirit of unity in the Family of God to spread across
our
land and bind up the wounds of us all. Please know that we are with you
in
your anguish over such blatant expressions of hostility and hatred.
In love,
The Rev. Fred Morris
Executive Director
The Florida Council of Churches
214 Morton Lane
Winter Springs, FL 32708
Tel: 407-246-7376
Fax: 630-839-0114
E-Mail: fced@aol.com
SEE ALSO:
TO VIEW A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE OFFENSIVE SIGN, GO TO:
FL RELIGIOUS LEADERS ASKED TO REPUDIATE ANTI-MUSLIM CHURCH SIGN
http://www.cair-florida.org/church.htm
FOR BACKGROUND, SEE: MANDARIN CHURCH SIGN UPSETS MUSLIMS
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/011703/met_11497230.shtml
MEDIA CONTACT WITH CAIR-FLORIDA: Altaf Ali, 954-298-8214
-----
A REGISTER OF IMMIGRANTS' FEARS
For Many, Worries Over Deportation Clash With Anti-Terrorism Effort
Nurith C. Aizenman, Washington Post, 1/20/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15535-2003Jan19.html
Mohammed's relatives filed somberly into his sister-in-law's cramped
living
room, too distracted to pass around the Moroccan sweets they usually
enjoy
after family dinners.
They had come to help the 38-year-old limousine driver make a grim
choice:
obey a government order requiring men from countries deemed terrorist
havens to register with immigration authorities -- and risk being
swiftly
deported for overstaying his tourist visa three years ago -- or defy
that
command and potentially doom his pending effort to secure a green card.
Over the next five hours, family members took turns debating the
options as
Mohammed's wife wiped away tears. Finally, about 2 a.m., with the sun
just
hours from rising on the deadline day for Moroccans, Mohammed announced
his
conclusion: "I'm not going to register."
Immigration lawyers estimate that hundreds of immigrants across the
nation
have reached the same decision, consigning themselves and their
families to
an uncertain fate and substantially undermining a national security
program
whose aim is to account for tens of thousands of visitors in the United
States from 25 nations, including much of the Middle East and South
Asia…
SEE ALSO:
U.S.-DEPORTED PAKISTANIS: OUTCASTS IN TWO LANDS
By DAVID ROHDE, New York Times, 1/20/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/20/international/asia/20STAN.html
ARACHI, Pakistan - For weeks, his only source of information was the
shouts
of men in the cells around him. There were about 60 of them, according
to
the prisoners' own count. All were Muslims, he remembers. Many of them,
like himself, have since been quietly deported from the United States.
At his home in Pakistan, the former detainee, Anser Mehmood, a
42-year-old
truck driver and father of four who lived in Bayonne, N.J., described
"that
hell": a windowless solitary confinement cell where he spent four
months
last year at a federal detention center in Brooklyn.
There was no day and night, he said, only two overhead florescent
lights
switched on 24 hours a day. There was no outside world, only two
closed-circuit cameras that relayed his every move to an unseen guard.
There was also no interrogation that might explain why he was arrested
after the Sept. 11 attacks and treated as a dangerous terrorist.
"In that time, no official from the F.B.I. and I.N.S. came to interview
me," he said, referring to his four months in the cell. "They never
came to
ask me any questions."
Mr. Mehmood is one of six Pakistani men interviewed who were recently
deported from the United States for entering the country illegally or
overstaying visas. They say they now find themselves stranded between
countries and cultures, their lives upended, since being detained and
deported under a post-Sept. 11 crackdown. Back in Pakistan, which many
had
not seen for a decade or more, they are out of place. Many Pakistanis
see
them as victims of an anti-Muslim witch hunt. But others view them as
traitors in a country where anti-Americanism is on the rise.
Justice Department officials say the immigration sweep is intended to
thwart terrorist attacks and has produced valuable intelligence
information
in the campaign against terrorism. "In particular, we focus on
criminals,"
said William Strassberger, a spokesman for the Immigration and
Naturalization Service. "This is a way to get leads or locate those who
we
are trying to find."
The accounts of these men also suggest that the dragnet - one of the
largest in American history - has swept up the spouses of American
citizens, homeowners and businessmen who had lived in America for seven
years or more and were in the process of trying to legalize their
immigration status. All said they did not have criminal records…
---
ROLE IN REGISTRATION WORRIES ETHNIC MEDIA
Jessie Mangaliman, San Jose Mercury News, 1/20/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/news/local/4988576.htm
Editor Shahbaz Taheri believed he was being a dutiful citizen when he
published government information about the special security
registration
program for U.S. visitors from certain primarily Muslim countries in
his
magazine Pezhvak, a San Jose magazine for Iranians.
But noble duty turned into horror as he learned that hundreds of
Iranians
in Los Angeles, and a few dozen more in the Bay Area, were detained by
the
Immigration and Naturalization Service during the registration period
in
December.
"I felt very bad. I thought the government used us to get to those
people,"
said Taheri, an immigrant from Iran. His own readers have called to
accuse
him bitterly of being a government agent, and since then, Taheri and
other
Bay Area immigration advocates have been contemplating the role they
played
in getting the word out about the national security program.
Pained by the mass arrests, many are asking themselves: Did we lead
people
to jail? With new deadlines approaching, lawyers and community leaders
are
re-examining how they notify people and are carefully advising them
that
detention is a possibility…
-----
US 'TOUGH LOVE' NEEDED TOWARD ISRAEL
Edmund R. Hanauer, Boston Globe, 1/20/03
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/020/oped/US_tough_love_needed_toward_Israel+.shtml
RESIDENT GEORGE W. Bush's double standard on the cycle of Palestinian
and
Israeli violence and terror is clear: He says that Israeli Prime
Minister
Ariel Sharon is a "man of peace," while Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat
should be replaced by a "Palestinian leadership not compromised by
terror."
Bush's stance has strengthened extremists on both sides, undercut
moderates, and given Sharon a blank check to continue Israeli violence
and
settlement expansion. This makes it harder for Arafat to condemn, let
alone
prevent, Palestinian violence without appearing to be a collaborator
with
the Israeli occupation - especially since Sharon is unwilling to make
the
concessions Arafat needs to curb violence without bringing on civil war
among Palestinians.
While Bush denounces Palestinian terrorism and Saddam Hussein for
violating
the rights of Iraqis, his silence on Israeli violations of Palestinian
rights is deafening. According to B'Tselem, Israel's leading human
rights
group, Israel has violated 29 of the 30 articles of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights in its treatment of 3 million Palestinians
living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank, Gaza, and East
Jerusalem…
The Fourth Geneva Convention, which governs Israel's occupation of
Palestinian lands, is violated by numerous Israeli policies: exile,
torture
and beatings, collective punishment, seizure of land and water
resources,
the settling of hundreds of thousands of Jews on confiscated land, the
destruction of thousands of homes as well as olive and citrus trees,
and
denial of access to employment, medical care, education, water, and
food…
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and other human rights
groups
have determined that Israel, under both Labor and Likud parties, has
been
guilty of war crimes in its treatment of Palestinians and other Arabs…
Because US governmental support of $3 billion yearly enables Israel to
commit these crimes in violation of international law and scores of UN
resolutions, the United States is complicit in those crimes and
violations…
If the Bush administration opposes all, not some, terrorism, supports
human
rights, a strengthened UN, and international law, seeks to undermine,
not
increase, the appeal of anti-American terrorists, and wants to save
Israeli
lives by reconciling Israel with her Arab neighbors, then it is time
the
United States practiced "tough love" with Israel.
SEND COMMENTS TO: letter@globe.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
SEE ALSO:
SHARON THE PEACEMAKER?
Dan Ephron, Newsweek, 1/27/03
http://www.msnbc.com/news/861305.asp
The prime minister's associates say he wants peace. But there's very
little
evidence to support that assertion.
-----
MOSQUE DOCUMENTARY AIMS TO EXPLAIN ISLAM
Associated Press, 1/20/02
CINCINNATI - A documentary filmed in Cincinnati on Muslims in America
aims
to clear up misconceptions about Islam.
"A Visit to a Mosque in America: Understanding Islam and the American
Muslim Community" was shot at the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati
and
debuted there Sunday. The 40-minute film includes testimonials from
members
of the center, who discuss the importance of prayer, post-Sept. 11
fears
and how women are viewed. It also includes a tour of the center's
mosque,
academy and community center.
"It's not just about the center in Cincinnati, but about Muslims across
the
country," said center board member Danya Karram. "It has a universal
message. It talks about the commonalities of all people."
It also includes non-Muslims.
"I think Islam is one of the least understood religions in the United
States," said Derek vanAmerongen of suburban Evendale. vanAmerongen is
Catholic and has Muslim neighbors.
"There's lots and lots for people to learn about," vanAmerongen said.
"I
hope it reaches the people it needs to…"
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Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/21/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: TREAT ORPHANS WELL
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* BREAKING NEWS: FBI INVESTIGATES W.VA. MOSQUE CRASH
* FLORIDA'S CHRISTIAN LEADERS REJECT ANTI-ISLAM MESSAGE
* CAIR-MN PARTICIPATES IN MLK CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL DISCUSSION
* SUPPORT CAIR-NY DETAINEE FAMILIES SUPPORT FUND
* A STIRRING IN THE NATION (NY Times)
- France Vows to Block Resolution on Iraq War (Wash. Post)
- War Should be the Last Option (Miami Herald)
- ACLU to Sue Over Protest Waiting Period (Detroit Free Press)
- 'Axis of Evil' Rhetoric Said To Heighten Dangers (LA Times)
* FOREIGN STUDENTS FRET OVER NEW RULE (Austin American Statesmen)
- Maryland Training on INS Registration
- NY Seminars on INS Special Registration
- Materials on INS Registration Available in Indonesian
* ISRAELI FORCES DEMOLISH PALESTINIAN SHOPS (AP)
- Aiding Israel in Ending the Settlements (Washington Post)
* TROOPS OF ALL FAITHS HAVE PLACE AT FORT DIX CHAPEL (Phil. Inquirer)
* NEW OFFICE AIMS TO BOLSTER U.S. IMAGE (AP)
* EN ROUTE TO THE HAJJ, TRADITIONAL AND MODERN MEET (AP)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: TREAT ORPHANS WELL
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The best house…is one
that
contains an orphan who is well treated, and the worst house…is one that
contains an orphan who is badly treated."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1281
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
"I found the shipment to be a good balance of materials. We attempt to
offer information related to each of the major religions and your
materials
will help augment the materials on Islam that we already include."
Librarian in Euless, Texas
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
BREAKING NEWS: FBI INVESTIGATES W.VA. MOSQUE CRASH
CAIR has learned that the FBI is investigating a recent car crash into
a
West Virginia mosque as a possible bias-related incident. The car
crashed
into the Morgantown, W. Va., mosque on Wednesday of last week.
Special Agent Randall Kocsis told CAIR that his office will conduct an
investigation to determine whether any federal laws were violated.
Agent
Kocsis said the investigation will be coordinated with local police and
will involve interviews of potential witnesses in the area of the
mosque.
FOR BACKGROUND, SEE:
STUDENT THINKS CAR CRASH INTO MOSQUE NO ACCIDENT
Sarah Nagem, Daily Athenaeum, 1/17/03
http://www.da.wvu.edu/news/022110,01,03.html
VEHICLE HITS EVANSDALE MOSQUE, POLICE INVESTIGATING
JIM BISSETT, Dominion Post, 1/16/03
http://www.dominionpost.com/a/news/2003/01/16/ac/
-----
FLORIDA'S CHRISTIAN LEADERS REJECT ANTI-ISLAM MESSAGE
(MIAMI, FL, 1/21/03) - Florida's office of the Washington-based Council
on
American Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) reported today that it has
received
several messages of support from Christian leaders in that state
repudiating a Jacksonville Baptist church road-side display that
claimed
Islam's Prophet Muhammad approved of murder.
To view a photograph of the offensive sign, go to:
http://www.cair-florida.org/church.htm
In a letter addressed to CAIR-FL, Florida Council of Churches Executive
Director Rev. Fred Morris wrote: "I want to repudiate in the strongest
terms possible the outrageous and hateful expressions of the First
Conservative Baptist Church in Jacksonville, as they accuse the Prophet
Muhammed of approving of murder."
To view the full text of the letter, go to:
http://www.cair-florida.org/repudiate.htm
Rev. Kenneth Myers of the Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church in
Jacksonville
wrote: "Regarding the posted hate sign in Jacksonville, you are now
hearing
from one Baptist minister who does not endorse this in any way. And,
there
are other Baptists who do not endorse this hate message."
"As a Christian, I am disappointed at this unchristian effort to
disparage
Islam," said Interfaith Council of Jacksonville President Tom Borland.
"We are grateful for the supportive calls and letters from mainstream
Christian leaders in Florida. By rejecting hate speech, we help
strengthen
our communities and build bridges of understanding between faiths,"
said
CAIR-FL Executive Director Altaf Ali.
Imam Zaid Malik, spiritual leader of Jacksonville's Islamic Center of
Northeast Florida added: "In the Quran, God Almighty commands, 'The
good
deed and the evil deed are not alike. Repel the evil deed with one
which is
better,' (41:34). We will continue to stand up for good and reject
evil."
- END -
CONTACT: Altaf Ali TEL: 954-298-8214, EMAIL: altaf@cair-florida.org;
Ahmed
Bedier, Communications Director, CAIR-FL, TEL: 813-731-9506 EMAIL:
abedier@cair-florida.org; Imam Zaid Malik, ICNEF, TEL: 904-534-3333,
EMAIL:
zaid_malik@yahoo.com
-----
CAIR-MN PARTICIPATES IN MLK CIVIL RIGHTS PANEL DISCUSSION
CAIR Minnesota Executive Director Hany Atchan participated in a panel
discussion about the history and future of civil rights in America on
Sunday at the Islamic Center of Minnesota. The discussion was organized
to
commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr.'s commitment to civil rights and
included William Mitchell College of Law Professor Peter Erlander and
Imam
Makram Al-Amin.
Sponsors of the event were: CAIR Minnesota (CAIR MN), Islamic Center of
MN
(ICM), American Muslim Council (AMC-MN), Masjid As Salaam, Masjid
An-Nur,
Masjid al-Rahman (Muslim Community Center)
The Muslim community in Minnesota also joined other communities of
faith in
supporting an advertisement expressing their opposition to the
impending
war against Iraq. The ad, published on Monday in major Minnesota
newspapers, urged President Bush "not to attack Iraq but to seek a
peaceful
solution through the United Nations." In addition to CAIR, this effort
was
supported by dozens of churches and communities of faith.
For further information, contact CAIR-MN at: (612) 581-2101
-----
SUPPORT CAIR-NY DETAINEE FAMILIES SUPPORT FUND
CAIR-NY has setup a fund to support Muslim families in financial
distress
due to the detention of a family member after the 9/11 attacks.
Following
the attacks, hundreds of Muslim immigrants, often the sole wage-earners
for
their families, have been held without charge and in conditions that
have
drawn criticism from a number of civil liberties groups. The "Emergency
Family Fund," set up by the New York office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), is designed to assist uncharged
detainees' families with legal fees, housing costs and living expenses.
ACTION REQUESTED: Contributions may be sent to:
Emergency Family Fund/CAIR
c/o 911 Relief Program/Adem
166-26 89 Avenue
Jamaica, NY 11432
Make checks payable to "Emergency Family Fund/CAIR."
For information, call: 212-870-2002.
-----
A STIRRING IN THE NATION
New York Times, 1/21/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/20/opinion/20MON2.html
A largely missing ingredient in the nascent debate about invading Iraq
showed up on the streets of major cities over the weekend as crowds of
peaceable protesters marched in a demand to be heard. They represented
what
appears to be a large segment of the American public that remains
unconvinced that the Iraqi threat warrants the use of military force at
this juncture.
Denouncing the war plan as an administration idée fixe that will
undermine
America's standing in the world, stir unrest in the Mideast and damage
the
American economy, the protesters in Washington massed on Saturday for
what
police described as the largest antiwar rally at the Capitol since the
Vietnam era. It was impressive for the obvious mainstream roots of the
marchers - from young college students to grayheads with vivid protest
memories of the 60's…
Mr. Bush and his war cabinet would be wise to see the demonstrators as
a
clear sign that noticeable numbers of Americans no longer feel obliged
to
salute the administration's plans because of the shock of Sept. 11 and
that
many harbor serious doubts about his march toward war. The protesters
are
raising some nuanced questions in the name of patriotism about the
premises, cost and aftermath of the war the president is
contemplating...
SEE ALSO:
FRANCE VOWS TO BLOCK RESOLUTION ON IRAQ WAR
Glenn Kessler and Colum Lynch, Washington Post, 1/21/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19221-2003Jan20.html
UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 20 -- France suggested today it would wage a major
diplomatic fight, including possible use of its veto power, to prevent
the
U.N. Security Council from passing a resolution authorizing military
action
against Iraq.
France's opposition to a war, emphatically delivered here by Foreign
Minister Dominique de Villepin, is a major blow for the Bush
administration, which has begun pouring tens of thousands of troops
into
the Persian Gulf in preparation for a military conflict this spring…
But in a diplomatic version of an ambush, France and other countries
used a
high-level Security Council meeting on terrorism to lay down their
markers
for the debate that will commence next week on the inspectors' report.
Russia and China, which have veto power, and Germany, which will chair
the
Security Council in February, also signaled today they were willing to
let
the inspections continue for months...
---
FOR A JUST NATION, WAR SHOULD BE THE LAST OPTION
Robert Steinback, Miami Herald, 1/21/03
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/columnists/robert_steinback/4993122.htm
A cry for sanity has pierced President Bush's silent campaign to launch
a
war that no thoughtful person can justify.
A war that will disgrace the principles exemplified by visionaries from
Jefferson to Lincoln to Roosevelt to Kennedy to King.
A war in which the United States will shoot first.
Tens of thousands of Americans from every walk of life raised a united
noise Saturday in hopes of disturbing Bush's mad march toward
unprovoked
war. Yet the public silence that Bush has used to vindicate his war
plans
may be so entrenched that the weekend's protests could simply fall dead
like a dove pumped with buckshot…
---
ACLU TO SUE OVER PROTEST WAITING PERIOD
Group says Dearborn rule stifles free speech; city cites safety
DAVID ASHENFELTER, Detroit Free Press, 1/21/02
http://www.freep.com/news/locway/aclu21_20030121.htm
The Michigan ACLU said it plans to sue the City of Dearborn today to
overturn a city ordinance requiring a permit and a 30-day waiting
period
before political protests can be held.
The American Civil Liberties Union said the requirement stifles free
speech
and would force Arab Americans to wait to protest if the United States
invades Iraq.
"If we go to war, people will want to protest it, but not a month after
it
happens," Michigan ACLU spokeswoman Wendy Wagenheim said Monday.
She said the lawsuit, to be filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit,
will
allege that the ordinance stifles free speech and, thus, is
unconstitutional…
---
'AXIS OF EVIL' RHETORIC SAID TO HEIGHTEN DANGERS
Maura Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, 1/21/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-axis21jan21.story
WASHINGTON -- It was a catchy phrase. Perhaps too catchy.
A year after President Bush used the State of the Union address to
declare
Iraq, Iran and North Korea an "axis of evil," the phrase has taken on a
life of its own. With this year's address scheduled for Jan. 28 and the
U.S. on the cusp of war with Iraq, the legacy of the "axis of evil"
weighs
heavily on the speechwriters and policy-makers hard at work on Bush's
speech.
Even critics agree that the "axis of evil" was a clever piece of
rhetoric
in explaining the president's policies to the American people. But as
foreign policy, there is wide consensus that it exacerbated the dangers
it
attempted to contain. "It was a speechwriter's dream and a
policy-maker's
nightmare," said Warren Christopher, secretary of State under President
Clinton...
-----
FOREIGN STUDENTS FRET OVER NEW RULE
David Hafetz, Austin American Statesman, 1/20/03
http://www.austin360.com/statesman/editions/monday/metro_state_2.html
Kamran Bokhari gathered up his papers -- his Pakistani passport, a visa
and
a form to attend graduate school, and his proof that he lives in
Austin.
Then Bokhari, who is 34 and has lived in the United States on and off
for
20 years, said goodbye to his wife and young son.
Though his papers seemed in order, Bokhari couldn't help feeling
anxious.
After all these years, could he be detained or deported? Expect the
worst
and hope for the best, Bokhari told his wife before leaving...
Austin's chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations recently
tried to dispel confusion about the registration process by holding an
information session with two immigration lawyers. About 80 people
showed up
and asked questions for two hours.
"People don't understand what's going on," said Imad Ahmed, the
organization's vice president. "They're scared because they feel
targeted."
Many criticize the program because it singles out people from selected
nations.
Jacqueline Angel, a professor of social policy at the University of
Texas'
LBJ School of Public Affairs, said the government needs to do something
to
track immigrants. But Angel also said the registration policy is
contrary
to the idea of equal treatment for everyone.
"This is not a good articulation of what our basic, fundamental values
are
as a democracy," Angel said. "We've gone from basically nothing to
maybe
overcompensating…"
SEE ALSO:
MARYLAND TRAINING ON INS REGISTRATION
WHAT: An educational briefing and human rights monitor training session
aimed both at students who need to register with the INS as part of the
Special Registration, and those students who do not have to register
but
would like to volunteer in an effort to help monitor the INS as they
register people in Baltimore City.
WHEN: Tuesday, January 21, 6 to 8 P.M.
WHERE: Room 108 - University of Maryland
Law School, 500 W. Baltimore Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
CONTACT: atryanapoli@aol.com
---
NY SEMINARS ON INS SPECIAL REGISTRATION
WHAT: The New York Immigration Coalition in conjunction with CAIR-NY
present two community education events about the INS's special
registration
program
Session 1- WHEN: Sunday January 26th, 11 A.M. - 1 P.M.
WHERE: Islamic Center of Long Island (ICLI)
835 Brushhollow Road, Westbury, NY 11590
Tel: (516) 333-3495
icli.icli@verizon.net
Session 2 - WHEN: Tuesday 28th, 7 P.M. to 9 P.M.
WHERE: Muslim Center of New York, Flushing Queens
137-58 Geranium Ave., Flushing, NY 11355
718.445.2642
---
MATERIALS ON INS REGISTRATION GUIDELINES AVAILABLE IN INDONESIAN
INS Special Registration instruction leaflets in Indonesian are
available
in order to assist those who are required to register with the INS:
1. FAQ - Guide book in Indonesian
http://www.imaamnet.org/docs/INS-SR.pdf
2. Form I-877 Record of Sworn Statement
http://www.imaamnet.org/docs/copyofinsstatement.pdf
The leaflets were prepared by IMAAM, a Maryland religious organization
serving mainly Indonesian and Malaysian speaking Muslims living in DC,
MD,
VA, DE and PA areas.
For more information, go to www.imaamnet.org
-----
ISRAELI FORCES DEMOLISH PALESTINIAN SHOPS
Mohammed Daraghmeh, Associated Press, 1/21/03
NABLUS, West Bank - In the biggest demolition in the West Bank in
years,
Israel razed 62 shops and market stalls in a Palestinian village
Tuesday,
as troops clashed with protesters, residents said.
Israel says the shops were built illegally. The mayor of the village
accused Israel of waging war on the Palestinian economy.
Seven bulldozers, guarded by some 300 troops, began tearing down shops
in
the village of Nazlat Issa early Tuesday. By midmorning, 62 shops were
demolished, the mayor said.
Dozens of protesters threw stones at troops who fired tear gas and
rubber-coated steel pellets. Other demonstrators chanted "Down with the
occupation."
The village is on the edge of the West Bank, close to Israel. The
170-shop
market in Nazlat Issa drew many Israeli customers before the outbreak
of
fighting in September 2000. The market is a main source of income for
the
village's 2,500 residents, said the mayor, Ziad Salem, adding that
Israel
officials informed the shopowners that the entire market would be
demolished…
Israeli troops have demolished hundreds of Palestinian homes, many in
the
Gaza Strip, in the past 28 months of fighting. In Gaza alone, more than
5,700 Palestinians have been made homeless, according to Palestinian
officials…
SEE ALSO:
AIDING ISRAEL IN ENDING THE SETTLEMENTS
Debra DeLee, Washington Post, 1/21/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19636-2003Jan20.html
The past 26 months have been brutally violent and financially wrenching
for
the state of Israel. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has requested some $12
billion in new military and economic assistance from the United States
to
help Israel grapple with its national trauma. Yet he is unwilling to
consider stopping the flow of money being lavished on Jewish
settlements in
the West Bank and Gaza, a policy that squanders Israeli resources,
weakens
its military posture and threatens Israel's future as a Jewish,
democratic
state…
-----
TROOPS OF ALL FAITHS HAVE A PLACE AT THE FORT DIX CHAPEL
Edward Colimore, Philadelphia Inquirer, 1/21/03
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/living/religion/4992942.htm
FORT DIX - Leave it to the Army, a melting pot of many groups, to find
a
way of bringing diverse faiths together in one place - and do it with
military precision.
In the sanctuary of the Fort Dix Chapel, soldiers attend a traditional
Protestant service at 9 on Sunday mornings.
Fifteen minutes after it finishes, another group comes in for a
Catholic
Mass, and 15 minutes after the Mass ends, an African American-oriented
gospel service gets under way.
Down the hallway, Muslims have afternoon meetings Mondays through
Fridays
in a room with prayer rugs facing east, and a few feet away Jews hold
services in another room on the first and third Friday each month.
While
Christians, Jews and Muslims seem locked in struggles in other parts of
the
world, they share the fort's chapel in harmony, finding peace there
while
their units prepare for war, the chaplains say…
-----
NEW OFFICE AIMS TO BOLSTER U.S. IMAGE
Scott Lindlaw, Associated Press, 1/21/03
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush signed an executive order Tuesday
formalizing the role of the White House Office of Global
Communications,
which works to improve America's image abroad by better conveying U.S.
policies.
The office played a central role in a generating a document released
Tuesday that catalogues administration charges on how Iraq has long
tried
to deceive the international community.
The Office of Global Communications has been up and running for at
least
six months, quietly working with foreign news media outlets to get the
American message out…
The office produces a one-page fact sheet and sends it worldwide to
"disseminate key points and daily activities on global issues." It is
studying new ways to reach Muslim audiences directly through radio and
TV.
-----
EN ROUTE TO THE HAJJ...THE TRADITIONAL AND THE MODERN MEET
Ted Anthony, Associated Press, 1/21/03
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - The clean-shaven young Pakistani man in the
silk
tie and royal-blue oxford shirt, his laptop case on an adjoining seat,
is
reading an English newspaper intently when the crowd in the airport
departure lounge begins to swell.
Within minutes, as he takes in the scene, he finds himself surrounded
by a
dramatic example of one of his nation's striking visual paradoxes -
scores
of Pakistanis who seem straight from another era, yet are also his
fellow
countrymen.
Suddenly, everywhere are aging men with flowing white beards and
swirled
turbans of white, green, even plaid. And the women: either covered in
scarves with only faces exposed or veiled entirely aside from their
eyes.
Many are traveling across nations wearing only plastic flipflops.
This was Islamabad International Airport's departure lounge late one
recent
Sunday night in the run-up to boarding for Pakistan International
Airlines
Flight 1529 - a charter billed as the Jiddah Special, leaving for Saudi
Arabia at 1:15 a.m. Monday.
Like hundreds of thousands of faithful across the Islamic world, these
men
and women are en route to Mecca for the big event of Feb. 10 - the
Hajj,
Muslims' ancient, intricate pilgrimage to their religion's holiest
site…
-----
TO BECOME A CAIR MEMBER, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHRISTIAN COALITION FORUM ON ISLAM TO FEATURE "MUSLIM-BASHERS"
Islamic civil rights group calls for "accurate and balanced"
presentations
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/22/03) - A Prominent national civil rights and
advocacy group today called on the Christian Coalition of America to
offer
"accurate and balanced" presentations at its upcoming symposium on
Islam in
Washington, D.C. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
issued
that appeal after learning that the February 15th symposium, called
"Muslims & The Judeo-Christian World - Where to From Here?" will
feature
several speakers known for their hostility to Islam.
SEE: http://www.cc.org/becomeinformed/pressreleases011403.html
Those speakers include Daniel Pipes, a commentator who claims the
"increased stature, and affluence, and enfranchisement of American
Muslims...will present true dangers to American Jews." (Daniel Pipes'
speech before the convention of the American Jewish Congress,
10/21/2001) A
central theme of Pipes' commentary is that American Muslims are a
threat
because they have the goal of "transforming [the United States] into a
Moslem country." (Jewish World Review, 11/16/2000)
Another speaker, WorldNetDaily.com Editor Joseph Farah, publishes
almost
daily diatribes against Islam and Muslims. In a June 2002 column, Farah
claimed, "Islam has been at war with the West, with Christianity, with
Judaism…ever since the days of [the Prophet] Muhammad." He also
rejected
criticism of a Worldnetdaily.com article advocating that, "For every
[Israeli] civilian, 100 non-combatant Palestinian adults will be slain,
and
for every child, 1,000 adults," saying that he found the proposal to be
"a
very thoughtful and quite responsible contribution to the Middle East
debate."
Other editorials on WorldNetDaily.com called the Quran, Islam's
revealed
text, a "suicide playbook" and recommended air-lifting pigs into Afghan
mosques. A headline in today's WorldNetDaily.com reads: "Up Shiite
creek
without a policy."
A third speaker, Dr. Labib Mikhail, has written: "If one examines the
impact of Islam on the society Muhammad created by the dictates of his
Quran, one discovers a society full of corruption, bloodshed, lack of
individual freedom, and brutality." He also wrote: "It is clear that
the
Quran condones racism, violence, terrorism, and killing of Jews and
Christians, in the name of Allah." The latest edition of his book,
"Islam,
Muhammad and the Koran," has chapter titles such as "Islam is Not a
Religion of Peace" and "Islam is Not a Divine Religion."
A news release announcing the symposium quotes Christian Coalition of
America President Roberta Combs saying the conference will educate
Americans about "the true nature of Islam" and will discuss
"implications
for America of the growing Islamic population in the United States."
The
coalition claims to be "America's largest Christian grassroots
organization
with more than 2 million supporters."
"Left unrefuted, the bigoted views promoted by the listed speakers will
only serve to increase unthinking hatred directed at Islam and the
American
Muslim community. We call on symposium organizers to offer mainstream
Muslim leaders and scholars an opportunity to provide accurate and
balanced
information about Islam to program participants. Without such balance,
the
conference will be viewed as just another Islamophobic hate-fest,
further
harming our nation's image and interests worldwide," said CAIR
Executive
Director Nihad Awad. Awad said the conference seems to fit a pattern of
anti-Islam efforts in certain segments of the evangelical movement in
America. He cited recent anti-Muslim rhetoric by evangelical leaders
such
as Franklin Graham, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell.
Awad also noted that a group of Christian missionaries working in
Muslim
countries recently issued a letter asking that their co-religionists
refrain from denouncing Islam or the Prophet Muhammad. (Religion News
Service.) Today's Florida Times-Union reports that Christian groups in
that
state have repudiated an anti-Islam sign put up by a local church.
SEE: "Florida churches denounce Mandarin sign against Islam"
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/012203/met_11536731.shtml
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-MAIL:
cair@cair-net.org; Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787 or 703-861-7294,
E-MAIL:
hhassan@cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive
news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to CAIR-NET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
-----
TO BECOME A CAIR MEMBER, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/22/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: GOD'S SHADE
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* NJ DETAINEES' HUNGER STRIKE ENTERS 2ND WEEK (New York Times)
- From Terrorist Suspect to Illegal…to India (Star-Ledger)
* FLORIDA CHURCH GROUP DENOUNCES ANTI-MUSLIM SIGN (AP)
- Florida Churches Denounce Sign Against Islam (Times Union)
* FBI JOINS INVESTIGATION INTO CAR HITTING MOSQUE (Dominion Post)
* REGISTRATION AMNESTY FOR PAKISTANIS SOUGHT (Washington Post)
- Colleges Providing New Data to the INS (Star-Telegram)
- Information on INS Special Registration Requirements
- Maryland Workshop on INS Registration
- Baltimore Q&A on INS Special Registration
* ISRAELI POLICE BEAT AP PHOTOGRAPHER (AP)
* FBI MAY HAVE AIDED PENTAGON DATA PROJECT (AP)
- ACLU: Urge Congress to Stop TIA Program
* SUPPORT FOR A WAR WITH IRAQ WEAKENS (Washington Post)
- Arabs Shudder, Denounce U.S. as 'Bully' (Chicago Tribune)
- Worst Case Scenarios: Iraq (Salon.com)
- Not in Our Name (Mirror UK)
* TALKS TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT ISLAM (Star-Telegram)
* D.C. AREA DINNER TO EDUCATE ON ISLAM
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: GOD'S SHADE
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Seven (types) of people
will be shaded by God under His shade on the day (of resurrection)."
Among
the types of people mentioned by the Prophet were "a just ruler," "two
people who love each other only for God's sake," "a person who
practices
charity so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right
hand
has given," and "a person who remembers God in seclusion and his eyes
are
flooded with tears."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Hadith 504
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
HUNGER STRIKE BY 6 IMMIGRANTS ENTERS 2ND WEEK
Susan Sachs, New York Times, 1/22/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/22/nyregion/22STRI.html
A stalemate between immigrant detainees and immigration officials
entered
its second week yesterday, as six men continued a hunger strike to
protest
the conditions at a New Jersey jail.
The men, held for months on various immigration charges, have been
drinking
juice and water but have refused solid food since Jan. 14. Several of
the
detainees said they simply wanted the chance to hug their children
during
visits. At the Passaic County Jail in Paterson, where they are held, a
glass wall separates prisoners and visitors.
Officials at the Immigration and Naturalization Service district office
in
Newark acknowledged that their request could be met by transferring the
men
to one of the other New Jersey jails where the federal agency rents
space.
So far, they have refused to do so...
"I'm going to keep going until I'm dead or I see my daughter," vowed
Saleh
Hamza, a Lebanese man whose daughter was born after he was arrested 13
months ago on immigration charges.
The government has arrested hundreds of Muslim and Arab men since Sept.
11,
2001, and charged them with immigration violations that rarely caught
the
attention of federal officials before...
SEE ALSO:
FROM A TERRORIST SUSPECT TO AN ILLEGAL...TO INDIA
Brian Donohue, Star-Ledger, 1/22/03
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1043134308241270.xml
On Sept. 12, 2001, as the search widened for accomplices in the
previous
day's terrorist attacks, two Muslim men arrested on a Texas Amtrak
train
quickly became the top suspects.
Earlier, Mohammed Azmath, 39, and Ayub Ali Khan, 37, had begun their
day on
a flight from Newark International Airport, checking in within hours of
the
hijacking of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania.
Their plane took off but was grounded in St. Louis, so they got on a
passenger train bound for San Antonio.
When they were arrested near Fort Worth, authorities said, they had
shaved
their bodies and were carrying box cutters, hair dye and more than
$7,000
in cash.
The case soon fizzled, however, as investigators realized that Khan and
Azmath, who had been living in Jersey City, were little more than
illegal
immigrants and hapless small-time crooks, tripped up by a startling set
of
coincidences.
Today the saga ends. Azmath is scheduled to be deported, booked on a
flight
to his hometown of Hyderabad, India. There he will join Khan, also
known as
Gul Mohammed Shah, who was deported last month.
In his first U.S. interview yesterday, Azmath disputed official
accounts of
his arrest, saying he had no box cutter and was carrying only his lunch
when he was pulled off the Amtrak train by federal drug enforcement
agents.
Echoing complaints made by Khan and both men's attorneys, Azmath
described
a year spent in solitary confinement, interrupted by episodes of
physical
and mental abuse.
"They wanted to show the nation they were catching terrorists," said
Azmath, seated in a visitation booth at the Hudson County Correctional
Facility in Kearny. "They were not catching anyone -- they were
catching
people making sandwiches. I was arrested because I am a Muslim…"
-----
FLORIDA CHURCH GROUP DENOUNCES JACKSONVILLE CHURCH'S ANTI-MUSLIM SIGN
Associated Press, 1/22/03
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Some Florida church leaders, including the head of
a
group that represents 1.5 million worshippers, are denouncing a Baptist
church's decision to erect a roadside sign that asserts Islam approves
of
murder.
The sign outside the First Conservative Baptist Church in
Jacksonville's
Mandarin area reads: "Jesus Forbade Murder. Matthew 26:52. Muhammad
Approved Murder. Surah 8:65."
Muslims say the verse referenced in the sign says that those who
believe
and are steadfast in battle will overcome much larger armies, and is
not an
endorsement of murder.
On Monday, the Rev. Fred Morris, executive director of the Florida
Council
of Churches, which represents 3,500 congregations statewide, called
Islam a
sister religion and repudiated "expressions of hatred toward any person
or
group."
The Rev. Tom Borland, president of the Interfaith Council of
Jacksonville,
also rejected the sign's message.
"As a Christian, I am disappointed at this unchristian effort to
disparage
Islam," Borland said in statement. "Jesus never attacked other faiths."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations had called on religious
groups to
decry First Conservative Baptist's sign last week…
SEE ALSO:
FLORIDA CHURCHES DENOUNCE MANDARIN SIGN AGAINST ISLAM
Steve Patterson, Florida Times-Union, 1/22/03
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/012203/met_11536731.shtml
An umbrella group representing 3,500 Florida churches led a chorus of
denunciations yesterday aimed at a Jacksonville church sign saying
Islam's
founder approved of murder.
The executive director of the Florida Council of Churches, whose
congregations have an estimated 1.5 million members, said he quickly
received dozens of e-mails from Muslims as far away as the United
Kingdom
thanking him for repudiating an "outrageous and hateful" message posted
at
the First Conservative Baptist Church in Mandarin.
"It's very encouraging to get that kind of response. It's also very sad
to
see how isolated these good folks feel," said the Rev. Fred Morris, a
Methodist minister in Winter Springs.
Speaking for the council, Morris on Monday said he was "proud to regard
Islam as our sister among the Abramic religions and, in any event,
repudiate expressions of hatred toward any person or group…"
-----
FBI JOINS INVESTIGATION INTO CAR HITTING MOSQUE
Jim Bissett, Dominion Post, 1/22/03
http://www.dominionpost.com/a/news/2003/01/22/ab/
It's been a week since a Harding Avenue mosque used by members of
Morgantown's Muslim community was damaged by a hit-and-run driver.
On Tuesday, the FBI announced it was joining the investigation to
determine
whether the crash was an accident -- or a deliberate act of hatred. The
FBI
will now work with Morgantown police in the federal phase of the
investigation.
Special agent Randall Krocsis of the bureau's Clarksburg office said
the
FBI was steered to the case by last Thursday's account in The Dominion
Post.
Krocsis said he and his fellow agents see the case as a "possible act
of
intimidation." The vehicle veered off Harding and hit the side of the
building…
Ahmed el-Sherbeeny, a doctoral student and former president of WVU's
Muslim
Students Association, said FBI agents gathered evidence at the mosque
Friday and interviewed him for two hours.
Calls have also come in from the State Police, el-Sherbeeny said, and
the
Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington, D.C., outreach
group
that works to foster understanding of Muslim groups in the United
States…
"We're feeling pretty good about how the investigation is going,"
el-Sherbeeny said.
The evidence recovered from the mosque's parking lot has been sent off
to a
crime lab, Krocsis said, and could determine the make, model and paint
color of the vehicle involved.
"If it was an accident, we're hoping the people involved reach out for
us,"
he said. "But if it wasn't, the message we want to get out is that
racial
or religious intimidation will not be tolerated in West Virginia."
-----
REGISTRATION AMNESTY FOR PAKISTANIS SOUGHT
Colum Lynch, Washington Post, 1/22/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24784-2003Jan21.html
NEW YORK -- Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursid Mahmood Kasuri said
today
that he would appeal to the Bush administration next week to exempt
Pakistani residents of the United States from a program to register
thousands of foreign males from more than 20 Muslim countries suspected
of
harboring terrorists.
The move reflects the growing frustration at home and abroad with a new
Justice Department initiative to photograph and fingerprint male
citizens
of 25 countries, including Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Pakistan
and
Saudi Arabia…
Kasuri said that although he sympathized with U.S. efforts to prevent
terrorist attacks, he said the program should be applied with
"consideration and flexibility" to Pakistanis. "If they have been here
for
10 or 15 years and are peaceful citizens and they've got no criminal
record, then we would ask the American administration to grant some
sort of
amnesty…"
SEE ALSO:
COLLEGES PROVIDING NEW DATA TO THE INS
Diane Smith, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1/22/03
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/5003523.htm
The government's post-Sept. 11 plan to closely monitor foreign students
is
intensifying as schools and universities prepare to meet a Jan. 30
deadline
for providing information electronically to the INS. The information
will
be submitted to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System,
which
is now up and running and waiting for data, Immigration and
Naturalization
Service officials said.
Using the system, schools are required to report a foreign student's
physical address and mailing address when the two are different.
Schools
have to report students who drop out or never show up for class. "The
primary objective is to make sure that when someone enters the country
with
a particular intent, that's what they are doing," said Dotty Horton,
director of international advising at the University of North Texas in
Denton...
"We all went through 9-11. We all understand the government is trying
to
make sure they have accurate information about people coming here,"
said
Victor Johnson, spokesman for NAFSA: Association of International
Educators.
Still, Johnson and others said, the system makes universities do the
government's police work.
"It does take away from their traditional role as advisers," he said.
"They
are turned into people who have to report on students..."
---
INFORMATION ON INS SPECIAL REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS
Male, nonimmigrant aliens who are nationals or citizens of Iran, Iraq,
Libya, Syria or Sudan, and were required to register with INS between
November 15, 2002, and December 16, 2002, but did not do so, may
register
with the INS from January 27, 2003, to February 7, 2003. Male,
nonimmigrant
aliens who are nationals or citizens of Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain,
Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia,
United Arab Emirates, or Yemen, and were required to register with INS
between December 2, 2002, and January 10, 2003, but did not do so, may
register with the INS between from January 27, 2003, to February 7,
2003.
Lawful visitors who are maintaining valid immigration status must
register
to preserve their legal status. If you are required to register and do
not
do so during this period, you may be considered to be out of status and
may
be subject to arrest, detention, fines and/or removal from the United
States. Any future application for an immigration benefit from the
United
States may be adversely impacted. If you register after this period
and/or
are currently out of status, you may be subject to arrest, detention,
fines
and/or removal from the United States when you register. Decisions will
be
made on an individual basis, depending on the circumstances of each
case. You may wish to consult with an immigration attorney before
registering to determine your immigration status, whether you are
required
to register, and the consequences of not registering.
Please see below for more information on the reopening of the
registration
period for Groups 1 & 2. You can also find more information
at: www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/lawenfor/specialreg/index.htm.
http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/lawenfor/specialreg/CllIn_ExtGr1.pdf
---
MARYLAND WORKSHOP ON INS REGISTRATION
WHAT: The Muslim Community Center of Maryland is sponsoring a
presentation
and free clinic on immigrant rights, workplace discrimination, and post
9/11 immigration issues including special registration requirement.
Following the presentation, there will be a free walk-in legal clinic
at
2:00 PM where you can ask your legal questions regarding immigration
and
employment discrimination.
Speakers include:
Sarah DeCosse, Civil Rights Division, Dept. of Justice,
Shana Khan, Laher Law Group,
Rupal Kothari, Immigration Attorney
WHEN: Sunday, January 26, 11 A.M. to 1 P.M.
WHERE: Muslim Community Center, 15200 New Hampshire Ave., Silver
Spring, Md
20905 - Tel: 301-384-3454; http://mccmd.org; e-mail: mcc@mccmd.org
The MCC is holding this seminar in cooperation with the Asian Pacific
American Legal Resource Center (APALRC), a non-profit organization
dedicated to assisting Asian Pacific Americans access legal services in
the
DC metropolitan area. The APALRC operates a multilingual legal referral
hotline: 202-393-3572.
---
BALTIMORE Q&A ON INS SPECIAL REGISTRATION
WHAT: A question and answer session on INS Special Registration Program
WHEN: Friday, January 24 at 2 P.M.
WHERE: Al-Rahmah Gymnasium
Speakers include:
Jenna Evans, Director of INS East Coast
Mohamamd Sadiq, Embassy of Pakistan
Imran Ali Chaudhry, Embassy of Pakistan
Naima Said, Immigration Attorney
Sponsored by: The Islamic Society of Baltimore (ISB) and Pakistan
Business
Association (PABA)
-----
ISRAELI POLICE BEAT AP PHOTOGRAPHER
Mohammed Daraghmeh, Associated Press, 1/22/03
NABLUS, West - Photographers for The Associated Press and the French
news
agency AFP were beaten in the face by two Israeli border policemen as
they
tried to photograph the troops driving quickly down the street Tuesday
with
two Palestinian teens clinging to the hood of their jeep.
Nasser Ishtayeh, a Palestinian photographer for AP, was not seriously
injured, but he suffered bruises on one ear and side of his face and
visited a local clinic for examination.
AP complained to the Israeli army and demanded the incident be
investigated
and the soldiers punished. The Israeli military said it was looking
into
the incident…
Ishtayeh, who has worked for AP for nine years, had headed out with
Jafar
Ishtayeh, a photographer with AFP, to check out a report that youths
were
throwing stones at Israeli forces during a curfew…
Not far from the scene, the two saw a jeep driven by four Israeli
paramilitary border policemen speeding down the road with two teenage
Palestinian boys hanging from the hood of the vehicle, grabbing onto a
protective metal grate in front of the windshield to keep from falling
off.
The two were not tied to the jeep in any way, Nasser Ishtayeh said.
Ishtayeh said it appeared the policemen were using the boys as human
shields against a group of about 20 stone-hurling youths about 550
yards
down the road - which would be a violation of Israeli military orders
and a
Supreme Court ban of the practice…
-----
FBI MAY HAVE AIDED PENTAGON DATA PROJECT
Curt Anderson, Associated Press, 1/22/03
http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-data-mining0121jan21,0,4473868.story
WASHINGTON -- Possible FBI involvement in a high-tech Pentagon project
that
sifts through Americans' personal information raises new concerns about
privacy and civil liberties, Sen. Charles Grassley said Tuesday.
The Defense Department's inspector general, Joseph Schmitz, told
Grassley,
R-Iowa, in a letter that the FBI was working on a memorandum of
understanding with the Pentagon "for possible experimentation" with the
data-mining project.
Disclosure of FBI contacts regarding the Total Information Awareness
project "only heightens my concern about the blurring of lines between
domestic law enforcement and military security efforts," said Grassley,
chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and a frequent critic of the
FBI…
In his letter to Ashcroft, Grassley said the FBI and Justice Department
"may have been less than forthright" to the press and public about
potential law enforcement uses of data collected and analyzed under the
Pentagon project.
"We need to strike a balance between targeting terrorists with
everything
we've got and also protecting the rights and freedoms cherished by
Americans," Grassley said. "Military dollars shouldn't be spent on
domestic
law enforcement."
SEE ALSO:
ACLU ACTION ALERT: URGE CONGRESS TO STOP THE TOTAL INFORMATION
AWARENESS
PROGRAM
Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI) has introduced legislation that would
enact
a moratorium on the misguided Defense Department program called "Total
Information Awareness." This program would allow the government to
collect
personal information on every person in the USA. The system, which
includes
an advance form of "data-mining," would effectively provide government
officials with immediate access to our personal information including:
our
communications (phone calls, emails and web searches), financial
records,
purchases, prescriptions, school records, medical records and travel
history. Under the program, all aspects of our personal and
professional
lives could be catalogued and available to government officials. It is
critical that Congress cut funding for this invasive program.
Take Action! Urge your Senators to Support and Co-sponsor the
Data-Mining
Moratorium Act! Click here to get more information and to send a free
fax:
http://www.aclu.org/Privacy/Privacy.cfm?ID=11323&c=130
-----
SUPPORT FOR A WAR WITH IRAQ WEAKENS
Dana Milbank and Richard Morin, Washington Post, 1/22/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23564-2003Jan21.html
Seven in 10 Americans would give U.N. weapons inspectors months more to
pursue their arms search in Iraq, according to a new Washington
Post-ABC
News poll that found growing doubts about an attack on Iraqi President
Saddam Hussein.
In addition to the public's skepticism about military action against
Iraq,
the poll found that a majority of Americans disapproved of President
Bush's
handling of the economy for the first time in his presidency. The
number of
Americans who regard the economy as healthy has not been lower in the
past
nine years, and fewer than half supported the tax cut plan Bush has
proposed as a remedy….
SEE ALSO:
MODERATE ARABS SHUDDER, DENOUNCE U.S. AS GULF 'BULLY'
Evan Osnos, Chicago Tribune, 1/22/03
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0301220333jan22,1,7292775.story
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia - With a vacation home in California and three
degrees
from American universities, Saudi businessman Ghassan Al-Sulaiman might
seem the perfect voice to explain U.S. interests to an Arab world that
is
increasingly anti-American.
And that, says Al-Sulaiman, is what is so troubling. "Five years ago I
never would have imagined the U.S. acting like this, like a bully,"
said
Al-Sulaiman. "And if people like me feel this way, then you have to
imagine
how other Arabs are feeling."
There is perhaps no clearer gauge of the intensifying hostility
throughout
the Middle East to the U.S. and its threat of a war in Iraq than the
fierce
resentment from moderate Arabs...
"We believe that any military operation would have more negative than
positive results," said Prince Turki al Faisal, the former Saudi
minister
of intelligence.
"The breakup of Iraq would definitely have consequences on neighboring
countries. All of them: Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, the Kingdom [of
Saudi
Arabia], Kuwait, Egypt. The area will remain in turmoil for a long time
to
come," he said…
---
WORST-CASE SCENARIOS: IRAQ
Eric Boehlert, Salon.com, 1/22/03
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2003/01/22/iraq_doom/index_np.html
They are scenes of chaos from a paranoid's nightmare: The U.S. and its
allies attack Iraq and the country splinters into warring factions,
trapping the invaders in a quagmire. Hordes of refugees flee from the
carnage, toward closed and militarized borders. Rulers in neighboring
nations face mass unrest. Al-Qaida feeds off runaway anti-Western
sentiment
in the region and mounts new terrorist attacks. When it seems that
things
cannot get worse, perhaps Saddam launches a chemical or biological
attack.
Perhaps the U.S. goes nuclear.
We are drawn to worst-case scenarios, even as we know we should not
trust
them. In this case, however, the visions are sufficiently plausible
that
even sober, experienced analysts are discussing them openly. On paper,
the
pending war with Iraq looks like a walk -- certainly, that's how hawks
in
the Bush administration see it. Since the last battle with Iraq,
Saddam's
arsenal has shrunk while U.S. forces have expanded tenfold. But the
goal is
different this time, and the stakes for Saddam and others in the
conflict
are life and death…
---
NOT IN OUR NAME
David Pilditch, Mirror (UK), 1/21/03
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/page.cfm?objectid=12554273&method=full&siteid=50143
World unites against Iraq war; POLL LATEST: 81 % say NO to war, 10 %
say yes
Eighty-one per cent of people are against attacking Iraq without UN
approval. Just 10 per cent now agree military action should go ahead in
the
absence of a United Nations Security Council say-so.
An ICM poll for today's Guardian newspaper said overall support for a
strike on Baghdad has fallen to its lowest level yet.
-----
TALKS TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT ISLAM
John Gutierrez-Mier, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1/22/03
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/local/5003498.htm
With the prospect of war in Iraq looming closer, the Tarrant Area
Community
of Churches took a step Tuesday toward avoiding conflict at home
between
Muslim and non-Muslim Americans.
A public forum, called "Know Your Muslim Neighbor," attracted about 60
people to the Catholic Renewal Center adjacent to Nolan Catholic High
School.
"We know that after the Persian Gulf War, there was some backlash
against
Muslim Americans," said Dr. Basheer Ahmed, one of the organizers,
before
the forum. "We don't want that to happen again."
Ahmed, an Arlington psychiatrist and a member of the Interfaith Network
for
Peace and Justice, said the forum was first in a series of similar
events
planned for North Texas cities. The network was formed recently under
the
umbrella of the Tarrant Area of Community of Churches.
The forum was designed to give participants a quick lesson in Islam and
connect people of different faiths.
Dr. Yasmin Khan, a Colleyville internist, talked about the role of
Muslim
women.
"I'm an ordinary American Muslim and a physician and a mother who is
bringing up six American Muslim children," Khan said. "Islam has taught
that women should be venerated. Our children are taught not to abandon
women..."
-----
D.C. AREA DINNER TO EDUCATE ON ISLAM
WHAT: Muslim Students Association (MSA) at George Washington University
and
Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Washington unit are organizing
an
educational dinner on Islam designed for the general public.
WHEN: Saturday, February 1 at 5:30 P.M.
WHERE: Grand Ballroom, 3rd Floor Marvin Center, George Washington
University, 21st and I streets, NW, Washington, DC
Speakers include:
Dr. Jamal Badawi, Professor of Management & Religious Studies, St. Mary
s
University, Nova Scotia, Canada
Dr. Fatimah Jackson, Affiliate Professor, Department of Anthropology,
University of Maryland, College Park, MD
Dr. Zulfiqar Shah, President of ICNA and Ph.D. in Comparative Religion.
-----
OPEN HOUSE FOR ADAMS NEW LOCATION
WHAT: Formal opening ceremony for the new All Dulles Area Muslim
Society
(ADAMS) Center.
WHEN: Saturday, January 25
12 P.M. - Reception & Appetizers
12:45 P.M. - Speeches, Skits, Islamic Songs, Speeches by Government
Officials
3:45 pm: Food
WHERE: ADAMS Center, 46903 Sugarland Road, Sterling, VA 20164
There will also be Arts & Crafts and Fun for children.
Contact: 703-433-1325
URL: www.adamscenter.org
-----
TO BECOME A CAIR MEMBER, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/23/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: CHARITY
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* FBI: W.VA. MOSQUE CRASH AN ACCIDENT
* FL MUSLIM INMATES WIN RIGHT TO FRIDAY PRAYERS
* REMINDER: REGISTER FOR CAIR LEADERSHIP FORUM IN NY
* INCITEMENT WATCH: DANIEL PIPES-ALL MUSLIMS MUST BE WATCHED
- Pipes to Appear Today on MSNBC's "Nachman"
- Updated: Who is Daniel Pipes?
* THE INS RUNAROUND (Salon.com)
- NJ Detainees End Hunger Strike (AP)
- Public Access Granted to Deportation Hearing (Free Press)
- Philadelphia Forum on INS Special Registration
- Maryland Workshop on INS Registration
- Baltimore Q&A on INS Special Registration
- NY Session on INS Special Registration
* KHATIBS ASKED TO ANNOUNCE INS REGISTRATION DEADLINES
* WHAT MAKES WEST HATE ISLAMIC WORLD? (New Haven Register)
- Muslims Should Not Bear Blame (Kansas City Star)
* AMERICA DIDN'T SEEM TO MIND POISON GAS (Intl. Herald Tribune)
- Air Force Report Expects Many Civilian Deaths in Iraq (ABC)
* U.S., ISRAEL READYING CALL FOR PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD (Forward)
- Settlers: "Arabs to the Crematoria" (Ha'aretz)
- Bush Readies Aid for U.S. Allies Near Iraq (Reuters)
* 476 DAYS LATER, AL-ARIAN RETURNS (Oracle)
* VOLUNTEER INTERN OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE WITH DOJ
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: CHARITY
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) reported that God said: "Spend
(on
charity)...and I shall spend on you."
Hadith Qudsi, Number 11
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
FBI: W.VA. MOSQUE CRASH AN ACCIDENT
FBI officials in West Virginia tell CAIR that a recent car crash into a
mosque in that state was an accident. They say the person who hit the
Morgantown, W.Va., mosque came forward after learning that the FBI was
conducting an investigation of the incident as a possible hate crime.
"We appreciate the FBI's swift action on this case and are pleased that
the
incident was not bias-related," said CAIR Communications Coordinator
Hodan
Hassan.
-----
GOOD NEWS ALERT
FL MUSLIM INMATES WIN RIGHT TO FRIDAY PRAYERS
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/22/03) - Muslim prison inmates in Florida will now
be
allowed to assemble for congregational prayers following intervention
by a
Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says Orange County
Correctional Facility agreed to the prayer services and appointed a
liaison
with the prisoners in response to a letter CAIR sent to the Department
of
Justice.
An inmate at the Orlando, Fla., facility told CAIR that Muslims were
not
allowed to assemble for Friday prayers on a regular basis and that
correctional officers did not respond to requests for Qurans, Islam's
revealed text.
"The freedom to practice one's religion does not end at the prison
walls.
We thank the Department of Justice and the Orange County Correctional
Facility for their swift response to the inmates' concerns," said CAIR
Civil Rights Advisor Khadija Athman.
CONTACT: Khadija Athman, (202) 488-8787 x3226
-----
REMINDER: REGISTER FOR CAIR LEADERSHIP FORUM IN NY
WHAT: CAIR's Leadership Forum - Top trainers in their fields will offer
workshops and lectures on: Media Relations, Community Outreach, Civil
Rights Advocacy, Coalition Building, Political Empowerment, Accounting
and
Taxes for Islamic Organizations, and Safety Measures for Islamic
Institutions.
There will also be a banquet dinner and lecture: "The Future of Islam
in
America"
Speakers include:
Ibrahim Hooper, Communications Director, CAIR
Nihad Awad, Executive Director, CAIR
Kevin James, Director of Government Relations, CAIR-NY
WHEN: Sunday, January 26, 2003
WHERE: Marriott La-Guardia, New York, NY.
Online registration and more details are available at
http://www.cair-net.org/cad/
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: DANIEL PIPES SAYS ALL MUSLIMS MUST BE WATCHED
THE WAR'S MOST AGONIZING ISSUE
Daniel Pipes, Jerusalem Post, 1/22/03
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/A/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1043152787290
There is no escaping the unfortunate fact that Muslim government
employees
in law enforcement, the military, and the diplomatic corps need to be
watched for connections to terrorism, as do Muslim chaplains in prisons
and
the armed forces.
Muslim visitors and immigrants must undergo additional background
checks.
Mosques require a scrutiny beyond that applied to churches, synagogues
and
temples. Muslim schools require increased oversight to ascertain what
is
being taught to children…
SEE ALSO:
PIPES TO APPEAR TODAY ON MSNBC'S "NACHMAN"
http://www.msnbc.com/news/nachman_front.asp?0ct=-34i
ACTION REQUESTED: Contact the show to express disappointment at the
appearance of a person with such a long history of Muslim-bashing.
E-mail:
Nachman@MSNBC.com, cc: cair@cair-net.org
SEE: WHO IS DANIEL PIPES?
http://www.cair-net.org/misc/people/daniel_pipes.html
-----
THE INS RUNAROUND
Laura McClure, Salon.com, 1/23/03
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2003/01/23/registration/index_np.html
When the office computer at the Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS) crashed during Mohsen Hashemi's interview on the afternoon of
Dec.
16, 2002 -- two days after he'd first heard of a new program that, he
thought, required him to register with the agency -- he was annoyed but
unconcerned. He'd been a taxpaying Texan for the past 10 years, and he
was
not afraid to register. He was here legally, on "humanitarian parole"
from
Iran, and contributing to his community…
And although on his third visit the computer did not crash, everything
else
in his world did. On Dec. 23, the San Antonio INS office revoked his
humanitarian parole visa without explanation and led him away in
handcuffs.
That was the last his family heard of him for three days. He's been
shuffled between INS-rented Texas jails ever since, though no one will
tell
him or his family why...
Hashemi had gotten caught in the dragnet of the INS's Special
Registration
program -- a new initiative requiring foreign nationals from certain
countries to annually report their whereabouts. While the Bush
administration contends that the program is an essential tool in the
war on
terrorism, it has ignited yet another civil rights firestorm for the
Ashcroft Justice Department -- and critics argue it may not even be an
effective anti-terrorism tactic...
SEE ALSO:
NJ DETAINEES END HUNGER STRIKE
Wayne Parry, Associated Press, 1/23/03
NEWARK, N.J. - Six detainees who began a hunger strike last week to
protest
their continued detention ended their protest and began eating after
subsisting for eight days on just water.
Both the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization's Newark office, and
advocates
for the detainees said the six began eating again Tuesday night.
Supporters
of the detainees said the prisoners decided to end their protest to see
whether INS officials would make good on the possibility of
transferring
them to other facilities where detainees consider the conditions to be
better.
They said the detainees may stop eating again Friday morning if they
feel
the INS is not dealing with them in good faith.
The detainees generally view the Hudson Jail as preferable to the
Passaic
County Jail in Paterson, where a plexiglass wall separates them from
visitors.
"Transfer to Hudson County for its contact visitation is a basic and
very
simple demand for the INS to follow through on," said Namita Chad of
the
south-Asian advocacy group DRUM. "Clearly it is the INS District
Directors
office that is displaying `disruptive behavior…'"
---
COURT GIVES PUBLIC ACCESS TO DEPORTATION HEARING
David Ashenfelter and Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 1/23/03
http://www.freep.com/news/mich/ehaddad23_20030123.htm
A federal appeals court dealt the federal government another setback
Wednesday in its efforts to keep the public out of deportation hearings
for
people snared in the federal terrorism probe.
In an order Wednesday, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in
Cincinnati
rejected the Justice Department's request that the entire court review
last
year's decision by three of its judges allowing the press and the
public to
attend deportation hearings for jailed Muslim activist Rabih Haddad.
The ruling resulted from a lawsuit filed by the Free Press and other
Detroit-area newspapers seeking access to Haddad's hearings.
Haddad's lawyer, Noel Saleh of Detroit, praised the decision, saying
closed
hearings are bad for democracy…
---
PHILADELPHIA FORUM ON INS SPECIAL REGISTRATION
WHAT: The American Muslim Society of the Tri-state Area is sponsoring
an
information session to answer questions on the new INS Special
Registration
requirements. There will be two sessions, one conducted in Indonesian
and
the other in Arabic.
WHEN: Saturday, January 25 at 5:30 P.M.
WHERE: Nationalities Service Center- 1300 Spruce Street, Philadelphia,
PA 19107
215-893-8400
CONTACT: Iftekhar Hussain, American Muslim Society of the Tristate
Area,
(610) 864-9803
---
MARYLAND WORKSHOP ON INS REGISTRATION
WHAT: The Muslim Community Center of Maryland is sponsoring a
presentation
and free clinic on immigrant rights, workplace discrimination, and post
9/11 immigration issues including special registration requirement.
Following the presentation, there will be a free walk-in legal clinic
at
2:00 PM where you can ask your legal questions regarding immigration
and
employment discrimination.
Speakers include:
Sarah DeCosse, Civil Rights Division, Dept. of Justice,
Shana Khan, Laher Law Group,
Rupal Kothari, Immigration Attorney
WHEN: Sunday, January 26, 11 A.M. to 1 P.M.
WHERE: Muslim Community Center, 15200 New Hampshire Ave., Silver
Spring, Md
20905 - Tel: 301-384-3454; http://mccmd.org; e-mail: mcc@mccmd.org
The MCC is holding this seminar in cooperation with the Asian Pacific
American Legal Resource Center (APALRC), a non-profit organization
dedicated to assisting Asian Pacific Americans access legal services in
the
DC metropolitan area. The APALRC operates a multilingual legal referral
hotline: 202-393-3572.
---
BALTIMORE Q&A ON INS SPECIAL REGISTRATION
WHAT: A question and answer session on INS Special Registration Program
WHEN: Friday, January 24 at 2 P.M.
WHERE: Al-Rahmah Gymnasium
Speakers include:
Jenna Evans, Director of INS East Coast
Mohammad Sadiq, Embassy of Pakistan
Imran Ali Chaudhry, Embassy of Pakistan
Naima Said, Immigration Attorney
Sponsored by: The Islamic Society of Baltimore (ISB) and Pakistan
Business
Association (PABA)
---
NY SESSION ON INS SPECIAL REGISTRATION
WHAT: The Law Office of Amal Oummih and the American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination
Committee New York Chapter (ADC-NY) in conjunction with CAIR-NY present
a
community education event about INS Special Registration. The general
presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer period.
Speakers:
Amal Oummih, Esq. Law Office of Amal Oummih
Monica Palacio, Esq. Director of Weed & Seed Initiatives at the
National
Crime Prevention Council (NCPC)
WHEN: Friday, January 24, 1:20 P.M. - 2:20 P.M.
(Following Friday Prayers)
WHERE: Islamic Cultural Center of NY--Manhattan
1711 Third Avenue
96th Street and 3rd Avenue
Directions: #6 train to the 96th street station, 1 block east to 3rd
Avenue
M 96 cross-town bus to 3rd Avenue
CONTACT: CAIR-NY at (212)870-2002 or the ADC at (212)807-0995
-----
KHATIBS ASKED TO ANNOUNCE INS REGISTRATION DEADLINES
CAIR is calling on all local imams, khatibs and community leaders to
make
the announcement below after Friday prayers. This announcement should
also
be posted in a prominent public location in all mosques, Muslim schools
and
Islamic centers.
- ANNOUNCEMENT -
INS ADDS COUNTRIES TO SPECIAL REGISTRATION, EXTENDS DEADLINE FOR GROUPS
1 AND 2
Male nonimmigrant aliens who are nationals or citizens of Egypt,
Jordan,
Kuwait, Bangladesh and Indonesia 16 years of age or older, and who
entered
the U.S. before September 30, 2002, must now also register with the INS
by
March 28, 2003.
CAIR urges all those who are potentially affected by this new
registration
requirement to consult an immigration lawyer as soon as possible.
Contact
your local CAIR chapter if you need assistance or have questions about
special registration. (SEE: http://www.cair-net.org/asp/chapters.asp)
The INS has also opened a 12-day grace period for non-immigrant
nationals
and citizens of Syria, Libya, Iraq, Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan, Algeria,
Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia,
Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. If you are from one of these
18
countries you may register between January 27 and February 7. It is
highly
unlikely that there will be any other grace periods, so CAIR strongly
urges
those who have not registered to do so after consulting an immigration
attorney.
CAIR strongly disagrees with the nature and implementation of this new
policy, but it is absolutely essential that those who meet the
registration
criteria visit the nearest INS center for registration before the
deadline.
Even if you are here legally, failure to register by the deadline WILL
MAKE
YOU DEPORTABLE.
Although hundreds of people were detained during the first round of
registrations and many others reported mistreatment, thousands have
registered without serious incident and have thereby protected
themselves
from deportation proceedings.
It is very important that anybody who believes he must register with
the
INS talk to an immigration lawyer to determine both his immigration
status
and what may happen when he registers. If you are not sure of your
current
status, you must speak with a lawyer.
Visit http://www.aila.org and
http://www.ins.gov/graphics/lawenfor/specialreg/index.htm for detailed
information about the registration program.
Also, many CAIR chapters are organizing "know-your-rights" seminars.
Contact local chapters for more information.
Go to http://www.cair-net.org/asp/chapters.asp
-----
THOSE IN ISLAMIC WORLD WONDER WHAT MAKES WEST HATE THEM
Farid Laroussi, New Haven Register, 1/23/03
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6788270&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=7581&rfi=6
The power of misrepresentation and stereotyping that followed the
tragedy
in September of 2001 has transformed Muslims all over the world into a
symbol for intolerance, violence and fanaticism. Some people wrongly
call
the relationships between Judeo-Christian and Islamic worlds "a clash
of
civilizations." Let's be clear, it is not. It would not take an
unbearable
endeavor to demonstrate that while the Christian world was sinking into
the
Dark Ages, Islamic civilization was successfully bridging the
intellectual
and cultural gaps between the ancient world and what was to become
Western
modernity, i.e., the Renaissance.
The lingering question for Muslims throughout the world is: Why do they
hate us? What is it about Islam that makes it the enemy in the eyes of
Christian Westerners?
Some people, from both conservative think tanks and liberal
organizations,
argue that Islam relies on a defined code of behavior and on absolute
values, while this is an age of self-conscious individuality and
cultural
relativity.
But Islamic values are fundamentally the same as for the other
monotheistic
religions.
Or is it that Muslims are stigmatized because they are turning down the
double standards of Western imperialism? On the one hand it comes with
technology and the free market, but on the other it fails to deliver
its
promise for democracy…
On the eve of another war launched by the United States against a
Muslim
country, the choice for Muslims looks to be wholesale conversion to
Western
standards or the risk of annihilation. What makes the current state of
affairs so startling is Islam remains the fastest growing religion in
the
world.
SEE ALSO:
MUSLIMS SHOULD NOT BEAR BLAME
Vern Barnet, Kansas City Star, 1/22/03
http://www.kansascity.com
After the 9/11 attacks, two classmates of the 14-year-old son of Mahnaz
Shabbir called the youth a terrorist.
Mahnaz Shabbir, born in Philadelphia, born an American citizen, told
the
story last Saturday to the Kansas City Press Club. The Shabbirs are
Muslim.
She is vice president of the Crescent Peace
Society, one of many Muslim organizations in the area…
Shabbir wondered why Muslims appeared to be singled out. For example,
she
said, all Christians are not being held accountable for the actions of
local Christian ministers who have been arrested for allegedly killing
their 9-year-old son, Brian Edgar.
Even though leading Muslims locally and around the world have
repeatedly
condemned terrorism, whenever an individual Muslim makes an offensive
remark, or remarks are recycled, Muslims are asked to respond.
She is dismayed by what she sees as biased press coverage. She warned
the
Press Club about writers like Steve Emerson and Daniel Pipes who
"aggressively spread negative messages about Muslims…"
When people tell her, "If you don't like our government policies, go
back
to your own country," she responds proudly. "Excuse me, this is my
country."
-----
AMERICA DIDN'T SEEM TO MIND POISON GAS
Joost R. Hiltermann, International Herald Times, 1/17/03
http://www.iht.com/articles/83625.html
AMMAN, Jordan - In calling for regime change in Iraq, George W. Bush
has
accused Saddam Hussein of being a man who gassed his own people. Bush
is
right, of course. The public record shows that Saddam's regime
repeatedly
spread poisonous gases on Kurdish villages in 1987 and 1988 in an
attempt
to put down a persistent rebellion.
The biggest such attack was against Halabja in March 1988. According to
local organizations providing relief to the survivors, some 6,800 Kurds
were killed, the vast majority of them civilians.
It is a good thing that Bush has highlighted these atrocities by a
regime
that is more brutal than most. Yet it is cynical to use them as a
justification for American plans to terminate the regime. By any
measure,
the American record on Halabja is shameful.
Analysis of thousands of captured Iraqi secret police documents and
declassified U.S. government documents, as well as interviews with
scores
of Kurdish survivors, senior Iraqi defectors and retired U.S.
intelligence
officers, show (1) that Iraq carried out the attack on Halabja, and (2)
that the United States, fully aware it was Iraq, accused Iran, Iraq's
enemy
in a fierce war, of being partly responsible for the attack. The State
Department instructed its diplomats to say that Iran was partly to
blame.
The result of this stunning act of sophistry was that the international
community failed to muster the will to condemn Iraq strongly for an act
as
heinous as the terrorist strike on the World Trade Center...
SEE ALSO:
AIR FORCE REPORT EXPECTS NUMEROUS CIVILIAN DEATHS, DAMAGING PUBLICITY
ABCNEWS Investigative-Legal Unit
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/ITeamInsider.html
Jan. 23 - The Air Force is preparing to fly as many as 1,500 sorties a
day
if there is war with Iraq and is seriously concerned about the public
relations backlash from an expected high level of collateral damage,
according to a 104-page report, portions of which were obtained by
ABCNEWS.
-----
OFFICIALS: U.S., ISRAEL READYING CALL FOR PALESTINIAN STATEHOOD
Noga Tarnopolsky, Forward, 1/24/03
http://www.forward.com/issues/2003/03.01.24/news1.html
JERUSALEM - Israel and the United States are preparing a new joint
peace
initiative for possible release following Israel's January 28 general
election, the Forward has learned.
The initiative, details of which are still being ironed out in
high-level,
behind-the-scenes talks, would reportedly include a joint
American-Israeli
call for the establishment of a "demilitarized Palestinian state with
temporary borders," according to several sources familiar with the
talks. A
unilateral Israeli announcement of the establishment of such a
Palestinian
state is being considered. The new state reportedly would be led by an
appointed prime minister, with Yasser Arafat barred from playing any
role…
SEE ALSO:
SETTLERS: "ARABS TO THE CREMATORIA"
PEOPLE AND POLITICS
Akiva Eldar, Ha'aretz, 1/23/03
http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=255169&contrassID=2&subcontrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y&itemNo=255169
Even hardcore leftists had a problem when the God-fearing Yeshayahu
Leibowitz dubbed the settlers "Judeo-Nazis." Less than 30 years later,
the
professor's words were translated into reality in a graffiti scrawled
on a
wall in the Jewish enclave in Hebron. A few weeks ago photographer
Shabtai
Gold's lens caught the phrase "Arabs to the crematoria" beside a Magen
David on a wall in the enclave. Since then, someone blurred the
shocking
inscription. Not far from it, on another wall, someone wrote "Arabs -
sub-humans."
That kind of graffiti pops up often in the streets of Jerusalem.
Leftists
have found that the slurs remain on the walls a long time so to hasten
the
city's action against them, they've found a chilling, but effective way
to
get them removed - they paint a swastika beside it…
---
BUSH READIES AID FOR U.S. ALLIES NEAR IRAQ
Adam Entous, Reuters, 1/23/03
WASHINGTON - Promising to cushion the economic shock of a possible war
with
Iraq, the Bush administration is working to complete aid packages for
Israel, Turkey and Jordan that could total nearly $30 billion over
several
years, officials familiar with U.S. plans said on Thursday.
The administration has set up two "working groups" to examine Israel's
request for $4 billion in additional military assistance and $8 billion
in
U.S.-backed loan guarantees. The proceeds would be spread out over the
next
three years.
A deal could be reached as early as next month, although U.S. officials
were cautious about the timing.
-----
476 DAYS LATER, AL-ARIAN RETURNS
Rob Brannon, Oracle, 1/23/03
http://www.usforacle.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/01/23/3e2febe3447bb
Sami Al-Arian lives near USF. His wife and daughter have spent time on
campus.
The fact that Al-Arian often drives past USF has made the year and a
half
that has passed since he was forced to leave university property all
the
more frustrating.
And there are the little nuisances. Al-Arian said he cannot take a
usual
shortcut because it will take him through campus.
But, Al-Arian's near 480-day exile from USF will come to an end Friday
afternoon. The professor will come onto campus to participate in a
grievance hearing scheduled for Friday afternoon in Phyllis P. Marshall
Center, Room 129...
Al-Arian said he is "not very optimistic, but always hopeful" that the
university will rule in his favor. He said the main reason he does not
believe a surprising about-face will happen is because of USF President
Judy Genshaft. Al-Arian said he is unsure how the president, who has
never
met with him but has yet to officially fire him, will react during the
proceeding…
"I'm hopeful that this will be a happy ending to a very drawn-out
process
that was full of frustration for me and sadness in a way," Al-Arian
said.
"I'm hoping we're coming to an end to this sorrowful (time) in the
history
of USF."
-----
VOLUNTEER INTERN OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE WITH DOJ
Volunteer internship opportunities are currently available for law
students
in the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. The
application
deadline for summer internships is March 31, 2003, but applications are
considered on a rolling basis so interested students should apply as
soon
as possible.
For more information, go to:
http://www.usdoj.gov/oarm/fall2001/table_contents.htm
http://www.usdoj.gov/oarm/fall2001/civil_rights_various.htm
-----
TO BECOME A CAIR MEMBER, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/24/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: THE BEST AMONG YOU
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* "LIBERTY TASK FORCE" FORMED TO DEFEND ELASHI FAMILY
* INS ARRESTS 50 IN PRE-SUPER BOWL SWEEP (LA Times)
- Detainee Facing Deportation Summoned To Probe (LA Times)
- LA Area Workshops on INS Special Registration
- Maryland Seminar on INS Special Registration
* PATRIOT ACT CHILLS FIRST AMENDMENT (Casper Star-Tribune)
- Philadelphia Forum on USA Patriot Act
* THE RIGHT TO COUNSEL (NY Times)
* AL-ARIAN HEARING MOVED OFF CAMPUS (Oracle)
* SAUDI FAMILY IS BAFFLED BY FBI RAID (Miami Herald)
* ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT GROWS LOUDER, STRONGER (Detroit News)
- 'We're Being Used by the Americans' (Times UK)
- U.S. Claim on Iraqi Nuclear Program Questioned (Wash. Post)
* U.S. TO CONSIDER ISRAELI AID REQUEST (AP)
- Israel to Destroy 50 Stores in Palestinian Village (AFP)
- Palestinians Say Israel Bars Them From Hajj (Reuters)
- Israeli Missile Hits Hospital Chapel (CBS)
- Going Too Far: Israel Plans Killings on US Soil (Antiwar.com)
* INDONESIAN EDUCATORS PONDER LESSONS AFTER U.S. VISIT (NY Times)
* PIPES BANNED FROM CANADIAN UNIVERSITY (Canadian Press)
* DESPERATE POOR OF AFRICA MOVE WOLCOTT COUPLE (Republican-American)
* JEFF GOLDBLUM SEEKS THE TRUTH WITH `WAR STORIES' (AP)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: THE BEST AMONG YOU
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Shall I tell you who
are
the best among you?...The best of you are those who when seen are a
means
of God being brought to mind."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1302
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 24, 2003
News Release From the Liberty Task Force
"LIBERTY TASK FORCE" FORMED TO DEFEND ELASHI FAMILY
Group to coordinate community efforts to defend the Elashi family
against
"racial and religious scapegoating"
(DALLAS, TX, 1/24/03) - Several Dallas-area Muslim organizations, along
with other local civil and human rights groups in North Texas,
announced
today the formation of the Liberty Task Force to help coordinate
community
efforts aimed at ending what the group calls "racial and religious
scapegoating" involved in the current charges against the Elashi
brothers.
The charges are detailed in a 33 count indictment issued on December
16,
2002. Twelve of the counts allege that exports to Libya and Syria were
made
in violation of U.S. export control laws, and the remaining counts
allege
that financial transactions were made in violation of the International
Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). On the same day of the arrests,
Attorney General John Ashcroft held a news conference covered on live
national television to comment on the arrests.
SEE: http://www.bxa.doc.gov/press/2002/InfocomAshcroftRmks.html
The FBI also touted the indictment by stating, "Today's indictment
proves
once again that the FBI is committed to aggressively pursuing
terrorists
and disrupting terrorist networks across the United States. The
investigation out of Dallas relied upon an array of intelligence and
law
enforcement initiatives and tools that have characterized our post 9-11
prevention efforts."
SEE: http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel02/mueller121802.htm
In a statement released today, Liberty Task Force members said, "The
government's statements regarding the arrests are neither indicative
nor
proportional to the frivolous nature of the allegations detailed in the
indictment. It is clear from the indictment, and from the statements
made
by Attorney General Ashcroft, that the charges are exaggerated and
leave
one to wonder if the Justice Department is attempting to scapegoat the
Elashi brothers for the perceived government ineffectiveness in the war
on
terrorism. The Attorney General's statements are unwarranted and
inappropriate given the nature of the alleged trade violations (which
involve obsolete and out-dated computer equipment), therefore bringing
into
question the government's real motive behind the arrests of these men.
The statement continues, "Regardless of the government's rhetoric, the
Elashi brothers must be presumed innocent and have an opportunity to
present evidence of their innocence in a court of law. The government's
investigation and prosecution of these men have been conducted in a way
that violates the principles of fairness and due process that are
fundamental in the American judicial system."
"By supporting their defense, American Muslims, along with other people
of
conscience, are stating unequivocally that their love for this country
and
its security should not come at the expense of their civil rights or
due
process of law. Racial and religious scapegoating should never be
tolerated."
The Liberty Task Force says this case is the latest in a series of
initiatives by the Justice Department that target U.S. Muslims. The
Department of Justice recently launched four rounds of "Special
Registration" for citizens or nationals of several Muslim countries.
Civil
rights groups filed a lawsuit against the government challenging the
constitutionality of identifying people for "Special Registration"
based on
their countries of origin. The Elashi case is the latest high profile
legal battle for the defense of the civil rights of Muslims and all
Americans.
The task force is in the process of acquiring legal defense attorneys
for
this case. (Attorney referrals have been given by the law firm who
represented Dr. Wen Ho Lee, the former Los Alamos National Laboratory
scientist who was falsely accused by the government of passing nuclear
secrets to the Chinese.)
The following actions are encouraged by the task force for those
concerned
about issues raised by the Elashi case and other acts of racial and
religious scapegoating: 1) DONATE, 2) RESPOND, 3) EDUCATE.
1) DONATE to the Elashi Defense Fund to help defray the cost of the
family's legal expenses. Due to the detention of the four brothers, 32
children and an elderly mother have been left without their main source
of
income. Contributions may be made out to the "Elashi Case" and mailed
to
the following address:
The Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA)
2701 W. 15th St. Suite # 640
Plano, TX 75075
If you wish to donate using a credit card, please call 972-633-5888 or
1-866-MLFA-USA. To donate online, please visit:
http://www.muslimlegalfund.org
2) RESPOND to action alerts to be issued by the task force on a
periodic
basis. The task force will focus on mobilizing the community to educate
the
public about the serious negative impact that racial and religious
stereotyping has on our nation.
3) EDUCATE others about the information below regarding the Elashi
case:
The Elashi's have been in the United States since the late 1970's.
Their
life in America is similar to the lives of many Muslim and Arab
immigrants
who came to the U.S. in that time period. They finished their higher
education, and starting building their careers and families. Through
hard
work and commitment to family and community involvement, they earned
respect in the communities in which they lived, Los Angeles and Dallas.
Those Muslim Americans who immigrated to the U.S. in the late 1970's
would
find much in common with the Elashi family.
The Elashi's own a family business called InfoCom which provides
services,
in many instances without charge, to prominent Muslim organizations in
the
U.S., as well as several other non-Muslim clients. Due to one of their
cousins, Mrs. Nadia Elashi, being married to Mr. Mousa Abu Marzook, who
was
added to the U.S. government's specially designated terrorist list in
1995,
InfoCom came under scrutiny due to a completely legal and ordinary
investment made by Mrs. Nadia Elashi back in 1992-1993.
A copy of the indictment is located at:
http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/infocom/uselashi121702sind.pdf
Facts about the case:
1) Pertaining to counts 1 through 7, and 12:
CHARGE: Making a shipment of HP color laser printers and personal
computers
worth $28,000 to Libya in 1997.
FACTS: Evidence would show that InfoCom did not make any shipments to
Libya. InfoCom made the shipments to Malta, and the customer
instructed a
Malta based shipping company to forward the goods to Libya without
InfoCom's knowledge.
2) Pertaining to counts 8 through 12:
CHARGE: Making shipments of personal computer parts to Syria without a
proper license between 1998 and 2000.
FACTS: Evidence would show that at that time, InfoCom has relied on
shipping company documents that showed a license was not needed to ship
such parts to Syria. Evidence would show that InfoCom has made another
shipment of a digital telephone switch and obtained the proper export
license from the Department of Commerce.
3) Pertaining to counts 13 to 33:
CHARGE: In 1992-1993 the Elashi brothers conspired with their cousin
Mrs.
Nadia Elashi, the wife of Mousa Abu Marzook, to hide an investment for
$250,000 under her name.
FACTS: Evidence would show that Mrs. Nadia Elashi, not her husband,
invested the money with InfoCom. At that time, she and her husband were
permanent residents of the U.S. The government had knowledge of this
investment since 1995-1996. In 1996, InfoCom, based on a U.S. court
order,
handed to the government all documents and cancelled checks related to
her
investment. In 2001, the government froze a total of $105,000 from
InfoCom's bank account as an estimate of the amount of the return on
investment paid to Mrs. Nadia Elashi since her husband was added to
the
specially designated terrorist list issued by the U.S. government in
1996,
four years after the said investment deal started. Evidence would
show
that all the checks InfoCom paid Mrs. Elashi since the beginning of the
investment were deposited in her bank account in the U.S. Most of the
money deposited was spent by her son, Tarek, to help pay for his
tuition
and living expenses at the University of Virginia.
Who are the Elashi's?
Elashi family is a well known family in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area as
well
as throughout the United States of America. They are a very well
respected
family and devout Muslims.
Ghassan Elashi:
Ghassan came to the U.S. in 1978 and finished his Masters degree in
Professional Accounting from the University of Miami in 1981. He worked
as
a Financial Manager for Research Computer and Technology Corporation in
California from 1982-1986. He joined International Computer and
Communication, Inc. in California as International Sales Manager. He
then
joined InfoCom Corporation in Texas as the Marketing Director from
1992-present. In 1989, he co-founded the Holy Land Foundation and
served as
the chairman. Ghassan is married and has 6 children ages 2 through 17.
He
has been a U.S. citizen since 1992. Ghassan is 49 years of age.
Bayan Elashi:
Bayan came to the U.S. in 1977 and finished his Masters degree in
Computer
Science in 1980 from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He
served as the President and Chief Technology Director for Research
Computer
and Technology Inc. in California. He led the company to introduce the
first Arabic personal computer in the world called Alraed. He
incorporated
International Computer and Communications Inc. in California and served
as
its president from 1986-1992. Bayan has incorporated and served as the
president of InfoCom Corporation in Texas. He is married with 5
children
ages 4 through 17. Bayan is 48 years of age.
Basman Elashi:
Basman came to the U.S. in 1979 and completed his Bachelors degree in
Mechanical Engineering from Ohio University. He worked as a manager of
an
automotive service station in California from 1985-1988. He joined
International Computer and Communications Inc. in California as
Operations
Manager. He has served as the Operations Manager of InfoCom in Texas
since
1993. Basman is married with 3 children ages 3 through 18. U.S. Basman
is
46 years of age.
Hazim Elashi:
Hazim came to the U.S. in 1979 and finished his Bachelors degree in
Computer Engineering from Portland University in 1988. He joined
International Computer and Communications Inc. in California as Network
and
Personal Computer Manager from 1988-1992. He joined InfoCom Corporation
in
1992 and has served in the same position until 2000. Hazim is married
with
4 children. Hazim is 42 years of age.
For more information about this task force, or if you would like to
organize a fundraising event in your area: Please call 1-866-MLFA-USA
or
email cases@muslimlegalfund.org.
-----
INS ARRESTS 50 IN PRE-SUPER BOWL SWEEP
H.G. Reza, Los Angeles Times, 1/24/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-supersweep24jan24.story
SAN DIEGO - As the city readied for Sunday's Super Bowl game, federal
agents carried out their own preparations: a sweep that resulted in the
arrests of more than 50 immigrants suspected of living or working in
the
United States without proper documents…
The official, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution
for
speaking to the media, said that from 50 to 70 people had been arrested
in
the action, dubbed Operation Game Day.
"We're focusing mostly on security companies contracted for the event
and
on security guards who will have access to the stadium. No terrorists
that
I know of have been found, but the thinking was that it would be easy
for a
terrorist to be allowed into the stadium by an accomplice working as a
security guard," he said…
SEE ALSO:
DETAINEE FACING DEPORTATION SUMMONED TO PROBE
Greg Krikorian, Los Angeles Times, 1/24/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-detain24jan24,0,5841071.story
A former flight safety student in Arizona facing deportation to Lebanon
on
immigration violations has instead been summoned to testify before a
federal grand jury investigating terrorism.
Amid unusual secrecy, Zakaria Soubra, 26, is being held on a material
witness warrant issued under seal in the same Northern Virginia
courthouse
where a range of terrorist plots has been investigated, including the
case
of the so-called 20th skyjacker Zacarias Moussaoui…
Soubra's American-born wife, his former immigration attorney and
friends
dismiss the suggestion that he was involved in anything but fiery
rhetoric.
"They don't like him because he states his opinions," said Brandy
Chase,
18, who married Soubra in October in an Islamic ceremony. "If I was out
there doing what he was doing, they wouldn't look at me twice."
Immigration attorney Eric Bjotvedt also criticized the government's
actions, insisting that to date Soubra has been charged only with
violating
the requirement of his student visa that he take 12 units per semester.
"If
they had something on him, they would charge him with more than a visa
violation," he said…
---
LA AREA WORKSHOPS ON INS SPECIAL REGISTRATION
WHAT: The Los Angeles Consulate General of Pakistan is sponsoring a
free
legal workshop for the INS registration. There will be a question and
answer session with an INS representative as well as free consultation
with
immigration attorneys after the program
WHEN: Sunday, January 26, 2003, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
WHERE: Islamic Society of Orange County, 9752 W. 13th Street, Garden
Grove,
CA 92844
Speakers: Consul General of Pakistan, Representative from INS, and
attorneys with immigration backgrounds
CONTACT: Zaheer Babar, Consulate General of Pakistan (310) 446-6695
Seating is limited.
---
WHAT: Council of Pakistan American Affairs (COPAA) and the South Asian
Network (SAN) are sponsoring a Pre-registration Immigration Clinic.
Attendees will be able to meet with immigration attorneys and find out
about recent changes.
WHEN: Sunday, January 26, 2003, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (By appointment
only.)
WHERE: SAN, 18000 Pioneer Blvd., Suite 101, Artesia, CA 90701
CONTACT: 1(800) 281-8111 or (562) 403-0488 or e-mail
saninfo@southasiannetwork.org
---
MARYLAND SEMINAR ON INS SPECIAL REGISTRATION
WHAT: Immigration attorney Tariq Syed will present a seminar on new INS
policies and civil rights issues post-9/11.
WHEN: Friday January 24, 7:30 P.M.
WHERE: Islamic Society of the Washington Area, 2701 Briggs Chaney Road,
Silver Spring, MD 20905
CONTACT: (301) 879-0930
-----
PATRIOT ACT CHILLS FIRST AMENDMENT FREEDOMS
Charles Levendosky, Casper Star-Tribune, 1/22/03
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/abs_news_body.asp?section=Opinion&oid=14118
The US Department of Justice will not supply even the most general
information concerning the use of its new surveillance powers. This
attitude denies the American people basic information they need to
provide
meaningful guidance to the department.
President Bush signed the Patriot Act into law on October 26, 2001.
This
law gives sweeping new surveillance powers to both domestic law
enforcement
and international intelligence agencies while eliminating many checks
that
would give courts the authority to ensure these powers are not abused.
Under the Patriot Act, the FBI can force businesses and individuals to
turn
over their records on customers or clients. The government can go
through
citizens' financial records, medical histories, Internet usage,
commercial
transactions and purchasing records. The act permits the FBI to spy on
citizens' reading habits using library and bookstore records…
The Justice Department has erected a one-way mirror between itself and
the
American people -- department officials can look out, but Americans
can't
look in. The Bush administration aims to gather more and more
information
on American citizens, but intends to share less and less of it with
them…
SEE ALSO:
PHILADELPHIA FORUM ON USA PATRIOT ACT
WHAT: "Know Your Rights....Or What's Left Of Them" - A public forum
opposing the USA Patriot Act sponsored by American Muslim Society of
the
Tristate Area and Unite for Peace. Join other concerned citizens at one
of
Philadelphia's largest mosques to promote education for action in
defense
of civil rights
WHEN: Saturday, January 25th - Program Begins at 4:00pm
WHERE: Sister Clara Muhammad School / Philadelphia Masjid, 4700
Wyalusing
Ave...47th Street and Lancaster.
Speakers Include:
Imam Shamsud-Din Ali, Philadelphia Masjid
Mahdi Bray, Muslim American Freedom Foundation
Malia Blink, Coalition for the Defense of Civil Liberties Benjamin
Waxman, Unite for Peace
Moderated by: Imam Asim A. Rashid
Culture Performance by: Walidah Imarisha, AWOL Magazine
CONTACT: Unite for Peace at 215-241-7003 or visit
www.phillypeace.org/patriotact OR call American Muslim Society
(www.amstristate.com) at (610) 864-9803
-----
THE RIGHT TO COUNSEL
New York Times, 1/24/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/24/opinion/24FRI1.html
A federal judge in New York attacked the Bush administration recently
for
defying his order to allow Jose Padilla, who is accused of being part
of a
plot to set off a "dirty bomb," to meet with a lawyer. In case after
case,
the administration has taken the position that if it accuses someone of
being a terrorist, he can be prevented from communicating with a
lawyer.
The right to counsel is a cornerstone of the American legal system, and
the
administration must realize that it has not been repealed by the war on
terrorism…
Mr. Padilla is not the only terrorism suspect being deprived of a
lawyer.
Yasser Esam Hamdi, the other American citizen who has been designated
an
enemy combatant, is similarly being held in a military brig without
access
to counsel. The administration deprived suspects of lawyers on a far
greater scale during the roundups of suspected terrorists in the wake
of
Sept. 11, when hundreds of detainees were held in secret and denied
access
to lawyers and family members.
The administration is treating the right to counsel in these cases as
an
inconvenience and possible impediment to investigators. But under our
system of law, all defendants, even alleged terrorists, are innocent
until
proven guilty. Without access to a lawyer, people thrown in prison on
terrorism charges cannot protest their innocence, assert their
constitutional right to a speedy trial or otherwise challenge their
confinement…
-----
AL-ARIAN HEARING MOVED OFF CAMPUS
Rob Brannon, Oracle, 1/24/03
http://www.usforacle.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/01/24/3e3139e29498a
It's amazing how quickly things can change.
On Wednesday, Sami Al-Arian supporters were preparing to welcome the
professor back to USF after almost 480 days of exile. They had made
plans
for a triumphant "March for Justice" from USF's main Fowler Avenue
entrance
to the Phyllis P. Marshall Center, where his grievance hearing was
scheduled to be held.
But all of those plans were derailed Thursday afternoon following a
decisive move from the administration.
At about 2 p.m., university media relations sent out an announcement
that
Al-Arian's grievance proceeding had been moved to the Embassy Suites on
Fowler Avenue.
In addition, protesters who had planned to march throughout campus
would be
provided with a "designated area ... for those who wish to express
their
opinions." By all appearances, this area will be similar to the
controversial "free speech zones" set up outside the Sun Dome during
the
visit of President George W. Bush…
Al-Arian and faculty union president Roy Weatherford, who filed
grievances
for Al-Arian on Jan. 6, suggest the university had a more devious
reason
for the move.
"Once again, the USF administration fails the free speech test,"
Al-Arian
said. "It appears that the thought process of the decision-makers is
more
reminiscent of the behavior of a security apparatus than an academic
institution."
Al-Arian said the university called him Thursday and "warned" him not
to
come onto campus.
Weatherford said normally the grievance hearing is held in the
administration building. He said it's the right of everyone to have
that done.
Al-Arian said he regrets the university's decision.
"I think that they are the ones that need to answer ... why am I being
treated differently than anyone else. Does it have to do with my
ethnicity?
Does it have to do with my religion? Why am I being discriminated
against…?"
-----
SAUDI FAMILY IS BAFFLED BY FBI RAID
Manny Garcia, Jay Weaver and Curtis Morgan, Miami Herald, 1/24/03
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/5018552.htm
The Saudi family whose vacant Palm Beach County home was raided by
federal
agents wonders how an overgrown lawn and tardy homeowner dues could
cause
such a phenomenal fuss.
In an interview with The Herald, the eldest daughter of the Almasri
clan
said her family had been living back in Saudi Arabia since leaving
their
summer home 16 months ago and was baffled that they had suddenly been
tied
to terrorists.
"We owed the association and they called the FBI?," said Madawi
Almasri,
26, who teaches English to children in Jeddah, a city on the coast of
the
Red Sea.
She said an FBI agent already had called to apologize and promised to
repair damage caused by more than a dozen agents who swarmed the home
in a
gated community of Greenacres, dug craters all over the lawn and seized
a
car and trailer-load of belongings…
-----
ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT GROWS LOUDER, STRONGER
Kim Kozlowski, Detroit News, 1/23/03
http://www.detnews.com/2003/metro/0301/23/a01-67050.htm
FERNDALE -- Car horns were blaring at the corner of Nine Mile and
Woodward
this week as people drove past a group of activists carrying signs that
read: "War is not the Answer. Honk for Peace."
That sounded a new note in America's long standoff with Iraq. The
anti-war
movement in Metro Detroit, across America and around the world has been
re-energized by the prospect of another Middle Eastern war.
"The opposition is really jelling," said Al Fishman, who is on the
board of
directors of Peace Action of Michigan. "It does appear that the
president
is frustrated by his inability to go in and start the war, and I think
that's a reflection of the growing opposition."
"The tax money that this community will contribute to waging an
unnecessary
war could be better spent on health, education, environmental and
infrastructure agendas," Southfield resident Bill Opalickey recently
told
his elected officials when trying to get them to pass a resolution. "If
you
believe we are morally correct in attacking those who have not attacked
us,
be sure to mention that to the school children of Southfield. Tell them
it's OK to beat up someone because they might be a threat to our
future…"
SEE ALSO:
'WE'RE BEING USED BY THE AMERICANS'
Suna Erdem, Times UK, 1/24/03
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-553259,00.html
"NO WAR; discount yes!" An Istanbul clothes shop sums it up: Turks do
not
want the US to lead them to a war against Iraq. They know that if it
does
the economy will get into an even worse mess.
"We're being used by the Americans and won't be compensated," says
Hulya
Karaman, 29. She was instrumental in putting up the anti-war sale sign
in
the shop window. "Lots of people have congratulated us," she adds, as
three
passers-by point approvingly…
Turkey had little choice but to join that international coalition. This
time, many Turks think they are being taken for a ride by a Washington
hellbent on revenge for the September 11 attacks. According to the most
recent survey by A&G polls, only 4.9 per cent support a war.
Protest is taking many forms. Tomorrow representatives of 20
professions
and delegates from six religious communities congregate at an Istanbul
conference centre under the name "Parliament of the Hundreds for
Peace"…
---
U.S. CLAIM ON IRAQI NUCLEAR PROGRAM IS CALLED INTO QUESTION
Joby Warrick, Washington Post, 1/24/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35360-2003Jan23.html
When President Bush traveled to the United Nations in September to make
his
case against Iraq, he brought along a rare piece of evidence for what
he
called Iraq's "continued appetite" for nuclear bombs. The finding: Iraq
had
tried to buy thousands of high-strength aluminum tubes, which Bush said
were "used to enrich uranium for a nuclear weapon."
Bush cited the aluminum tubes in his speech before the U.N. General
Assembly and in documents presented to U.N. leaders. Vice President
Cheney
and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice both repeated the claim,
with Rice describing the tubes as "only really suited for nuclear
weapons
programs."
It was by far the most prominent, detailed assertion by the White House
of
recent Iraqi efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. But according to
government officials and weapons experts, the claim now appears to be
seriously in doubt…
-----
U.S. TO CONSIDER ISRAELI AID REQUEST
Associated Press, 1/24/03
WASHINGTON - Israel's request for $8 billion in loan guarantees and $4
billion in special assistance will be considered by U.S. and Israeli
officials in the coming weeks, the White House said Thursday.
The request is designed to offset the costs of conflict with the
Palestinians and preparations for possible attack by Iraq.
ACTION REQUESTED:
Go to http://capwiz.com/cair/home/ to oppose additional aid to Israel.
SEE ALSO:
ISRAEL TO DESTROY AT LEAST 53 MORE STORES IN WEST BANK MARKET VILLAGE
THURSDAY
Agence France Press, 1/24/03
Jenin, West Bank - Israel is to destroy at least 53 more shops in a
West
Bank village where its bulldozers have already smashed dozens of
stores,
Israeli and Palestinian officials said Thursday.
A spokeswoman for the civilian authorities in Israeli-administered
areas of
the West Bank said demolition orders had been issued for 53
constructions
in Nazlat Isa, where the army razed at least 28 buildings…
Many villagers in Nazlat Isa accuse Israel of wanting to drive them
out,
saying their village will be squeezed between a security fence the
Jewish
state is building just inside the West Bank to prevent attacks, and
another
they say will be built along the actual boundary.
---
PALESTINIANS SAY ISRAEL BARS THEM FROM MECCA HAJ
Nidal al-Mughrabi, Reuters, 1/23/03
RAFAH, Gaza Strip, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Israeli forces have blocked
hundreds
of Palestinians seeking solace after 28 months of conflict with Israel
from
making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Palestinian rights groups said
on
Friday.
Israeli forces imposed tight travel curbs early this month on
Palestinians
younger than 35 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, saying this was needed
to
stop attacks on Jewish settlements and Israel proper by militants
waging an
uprising for independence.
But the more than 10,000 Palestinians who registered to make this
year's
haj pilgrimage to Mecca, Islam's holiest site, in Saudi Arabia never
expected the blanket ban would also stifle acts of faith.
"What does the world have to say about this? They block our road to
worship
God!" cried Raafat al-Qidra after he was turned away by Israeli
authorities
from Gaza's Rafah crossing point to Egypt, a standard overland route to
Saudi Arabia…
---
ISRAELI MISSILE HITS HOSPITAL CHAPEL
CBS, 1/24/03
Israeli attack helicopters fired 11 missiles at Gaza City early Friday,
hitting a hospital chapel and several metal workshops. Islamic
militants
retaliated by firing three crude rockets at an Israeli desert town…
The missile attack on Gaza was launched hours after Palestinian gunmen
killed three Israeli soldiers in a West Bank ambush. One missile
overshot
the target and hit an Anglican church building. Four Palestinians were
wounded in the raids.
"This is an act of terrorism against our church," said Anglican Church
Bishop Riah Abu Assal. "Its location next to the hospital is well
known.
There is no room for mistakes, and they (Israeli military officials)
didn't
even bother to issue a statement to express their regret…"
---
GOING TOO FAR: ISRAEL PLANS KILLINGS ON US SOIL
Charles Sheehan-Miles, Antiwar.com, 1/24/03
http://www.antiwar.com/orig/miles1.html
In a development that probably shouldn't shock me, but does, Israel has
publicly announced plans to murder people on U.S. soil. The story
initially
surfaced in a January 15 report by United Press International
correspondent
Richard Sale. Sale reports not only the aggressive plan of Israel's
Mossad
intelligence agency to conduct targeted assassinations in other
countries,
but also the nonplussed reaction of U.S. officials. I can't decide if
Israel's new policy, or the American lack of outrage, is what disturbs
me
the most...
Israel is now citing the U.S. assassination in Yemen as justification
for
ramping up its own underground antiterror campaign, and they intend to
conduct operations within the United States. Richard Sale quotes a
former
Israeli government official as saying diplomatic constraints have
prevented
the Mossad from carrying out 'preventive operations' (targeted
killings) on
the soil of friendly countries until now."
"Until now," is an intriguing comment. What exactly is different? Are
diplomatic constraints no longer a concern, and if not, why not? Has
the
U.S. given some signal that it's acceptable to murder people within our
borders? If a carload of people are killed by a missile on an American
highway, will we shrug and say "Oh, well, it is the war on terrorism…"
-----
INDONESIAN EDUCATORS PONDER LESSONS AFTER U.S. VISIT
Jane Perlez, New York Times, 1/24/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/24/international/asia/24INDO.html
Solo, Indonesia - A treasured souvenir from Muhammad Ishom's trip to
America is a color photograph he snapped in an elementary school
classroom.
It shows, in pastel tones, a poster familiar to many American children:
"We
are each unique and special."
"This impressed me very much," said Mr. Ishom, 37, a teacher of
religion at
an Islamic boarding school here. "We would never say something like
this in
Indonesia. Sometimes we only take care of the group and forget the
individual." Mr. Ishom was one of 25 directors and teachers from
traditional Islamic schools who traveled to the East Coast last
September
for a monthlong trip organized by the State Department to show
skeptical
Indonesian Muslims that America is a land of tolerance and diversity.
In some respects, the tour for the educators, 23 men and 2 women,
appears
to have worked. In interviews on their campuses across Java, the main
island of Indonesia, several said they had come to appreciate that
within
the United States, Americans respected different religions…
But on matters that deeply concerned him -- knowledge of Islam, and the
policies of the American government -- Mr. Zarkasyi remained
distrustful.
After participating in open-air Friday prayers in Hartford, Conn., with
a
group of Muslims, Mr. Zarkasyi said an American told him, "You look as
though you are from Asia, why are you praying as a Muslim?" He was
astonished, Mr. Zarkasyi said, that an apparently educated American did
not
know that many Asians practice Islam…
-----
TORONTO'S YORK UNIVERSITY BANS PRO-ISRAELI SPEAKER
Canadian Press, 1/24/03
Toronto - A student-run centre at York University has blocked a
pro-Israeli
academic from speaking at its facility, fearing that it may lead to
Concordia University-style protests.
But the university administration said Thursday it is considering
whether
it can find another place on campus for Daniel Pipes, who has been
invited
by the Jewish Student Federation at York, to speak at an open event
next
week. Pipes, a Middle East expert and director of the Middle East
Forum, is
described in his biography as "one of the few analysts who understood
the
threat of militant Islam.''
He is the creator of Campus Watch, a controversial Web site that
details
what he calls pervasive anti-American and anti-Israeli sentiments on
college campuses across the United States.
The public lecture at York was to be held at the Student Centre's
restaurant on Tuesday. But a number of student groups met with
representatives of the centre this week, expressing concerns about
Pipes
speaking on campus.
"Our concern is the racism toward Middle Eastern students,'' said Ali
Hassan, president of the Middle Eastern Student Association at York…
"If he is allowed to speak on campus our concerns will remain…"
-----
DESPERATE POOR OF AFRICA MOVE WOLCOTT COUPLE
Mark Azzara, Republican-American, 1/23/03
http://www.rep-am.com/accent/4zd6.htm
Majeed Sharif of Wolcott knows what it's like to have a good life and,
as
an immigrant from Guyana, he's grateful for it.
But the good life hasn't been the same since 2001, and never will be
again,
for the Wolcott man. Not after the shock of seeing the gaunt bodies and
desperate faces of thousands of Africans living on the edge of
starvation.
In 1999 Sharif was invited to become the volunteer Northeast
representative
for the Islamic American Relief Agency, based in Columbia, Mo. He was
to
raise money and give lectures about poverty in Africa and also to visit
that continent occasionally to assess local needs on the agency's
behalf…
Sharif, the president of United Muslim Mosque in Waterbury, managed to
reorganize the projects during his three-week visit to Mali but "the
poverty really got to me," he said. "How can the world sit back and
watch
starvation? Seeing children eating one meal a day, wearing tattered
clothes
and living in a hut…?"
-----
JEFF GOLDBLUM SEEKS THE TRUTH WITH `WAR STORIES'
Bridget Byrne, Associated Press, 1/24/03
LOS ANGELES - After years of playing nerdy or neurotic characters in
such
films as "The Big Chill," "Jurassic Park" and "The Fly," Jeff Goldblum
was
ready for a leading action role. He was also ready for a return to the
more
regular schedule of series television.
He got the role, but not the series.
Goldblum plays intrepid newspaper reporter Ben Dansmore in the NBC
movie
"War Stories" (Wednesday, Jan. 29), about war correspondents covering a
fictional conflict in the Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan between
U.S.-supported government troops and al-Qaida-backed Islamic rebels.
The project was originally developed as a pilot for a potential series,
but
Goldblum says the network "felt it was too risky" as a weekly show.
Executive producer Keith Addis says the answer the network gave him was
it
"didn't think the American public was ready for material this serious
incorporated into their prime-time entertainment programs."
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/25/2003
HEADLINES:
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* MUSLIM LEADER KEPT FROM RETURN TO U.S. (Chicago Tribune)
- Deportations Halted for 3 Bay Area Men (Mercury News)
- Senate Votes to Halt INS Registration (Wash. Post)
- FBI Questions Iraqis in U.S. (AP)
- NJ Congressman Help Muslim Family Facing Deportation
* FBI TAPS CAMPUS POLICE IN ANTI-TERROR OPERATIONS (Wash. Post)
- Librarians See "Big Brother" in Patriot Act Monitoring (AP)
* DETAINEE ALLEGES TORTURE (AP)
* U.S. COALITION FOR WAR HAS FEW PARTNERS (Wash. Post)
- Saddam to Get "B" Report Card from Nuclear Agency (AP)
- Pentagon Eyes Mass Graves (Denver Post)
* CANADIAN UNIVERSITY WILL ALLOW DANIEL PIPES TO SPEAK (CP)
- Updated: Who is Daniel Pipes?
* ISLAM DOESN'T NEED MR. BUSH (Washington Post)
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
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TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
MUSLIM LEADER KEPT FROM RETURN TO U.S.
Laurie Cohen, Steve Franklin and Deborah Horan, Chicago Tribune,
1/25/03
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-0301250143jan25,1,2814097.story
An outspoken leader of Chicago's Muslim community who has helped run a
group allegedly connected to Palestinian militants has been barred from
returning to the United States after visiting relatives in his native
Jordan.
Sabri Samirah, who has lived in the U.S. since 1987 but is not a
naturalized citizen, was stopped by immigration officials at Shannon
Airport in Ireland and told he could not return to America because of
national security concerns. He then flew back to Jordan, he said in a
phone
interview from his parents' house in Amman…
Samirah has been a high-profile spokesman for Islamic causes,
lambasting
the government for alleged discrimination against Muslims, challenging
American policy in the Middle East and rallying fellow Muslims to vote.
When First Lady Laura Bush came to town in May 2001, he was selected as
the
Muslim community's representative to greet her at the airport.
Samirah said the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service had
approved
his plans to travel to Jordan, the first time he has been back since
1990.
He left on Dec. 28 and was on his way home Saturday when immigration
officials detained him in Ireland.
"They fingerprinted me, took my picture and in 10 minutes they said,
`We
are sorry. This is nothing personal. We received a fax yesterday from
Brian
Perryman,'" director of the INS in Chicago, revoking his permission to
leave the country…
Samirah blamed his problems on pro-Israeli and right-wing Christian
groups,
which he said want to prevent Muslims in America from being politically
active.
"They do not like to see Muslim groups growing and flourishing in the
U.S.," he said. "They believe that if down the road Muslims are
politically
powerful they will neutralize the American policy toward the Middle
East…"
SEE ALSO:
DEPORTATIONS ARE HALTED FOR 3 BAY AREA MEN
Jessie Mangaliman, San Jose Mercury News, 1/25/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/5029231.htm
Immigration officials will stop trying to deport three Bay Area
high-tech
workers who were arrested and jailed in December after they showed up
three
days late to register under a new anti-terrorism program for foreign
visitors…
The three men, who had valid visas, were arrested at the San Jose INS
office in December and shipped out on a 30-hour, six-stop flight before
authorities finally found a place to imprison them in San Diego. After
six
days in custody, the men were released in San Jose on Christmas Eve.
Their bizarre odyssey focused attention on the INS detentions, which
eventually included 1,200 people, most for overstaying their visas.
Dozens
from the Bay Area were among them…
Immigrant advocates and lawyers said a majority of those detained were
in
the United States legally, with families who are American citizens or
permanent residents, and waiting to adjust their visa status. They said
the
INS backlog had delayed their applications to renew visas.
"My fear is the red scare of the past is now the Middle Eastern and
Muslim
scare today," said immigration attorney Banafsheh Akhlaghi, who
represents
three dozen Bay Area men who were detained and are facing deportation
for
visa violations...
---
SENATE VOTES TO HALT INS REGISTRATION PROGRAM
Edward Walsh, Washington Post, 1/25/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40377-2003Jan24.html
The massive appropriations bill approved by the Senate late Thursday
includes a little-noticed amendment that would cut off funding for a
Justice Department program that requires male immigrants from two dozen
predominantly Muslim countries to register and be fingerprinted by the
Immigration and Naturalization Service.
The main purpose of the amendment was to restore funding for a
congressionally mandated program that by 2005 is designed to provide
information on the identity of all visitors to the United States and
track
when they enter and leave the country.
But the amendment also included language that bans the use of any of
the
money for the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System
(NSEERS), a
program targeted at male temporary visitors from countries the
government
considers to be terrorist harbors…
Congressional sources said the NSEERS funding cutoff was included in
the
amendment at the request of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.). James
Manley,
a Kennedy spokesman, said the amendment "cuts funding until Congress
has
the information it needs to assess whether this is the most effective
use
of tax dollars in the war on terrorism."
---
FBI QUESTIONS IRAQIS IN U.S.
Curt Anderson, Associated Press, 1/25/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/5029247.htm
The FBI is questioning as many as 50,000 Iraqis living in the United
States
in a search for potential terrorist cells, spies or people who might
provide information helpful to a U.S. war effort.
Agents have fanned out across the country to interview Iraqis in their
homes and where they work, study and worship. A senior government
official,
describing the program to the Associated Press on condition of
anonymity,
said the interviews began about six weeks ago and will last several
months…
About 300,000 people of Iraqi origin live in the United States,
according
to the Iraqi-American Council. There are large Iraqi communities in
California, Michigan, Texas, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
Abigail Price, immigration director of the International Rescue
Committee,
said she was visited recently by FBI agents, who said they were from
the
counterterror unit and were interested in various populations of
refugees
and where to find them.
Price said she spoke with some Iraqi Kurds in the Atlanta area who were
interviewed by FBI agents. Many were upset, she said…
---
NJ CONGRESSMAN HELPS MUSLIM FAMILY FACING DEPORTATION
A Life Lost, a Family in Jeopardy
http://holt.house.gov/display2.cfm?id=4037&type=Home
Waqar Hasan lost his life for no other reason than he was a Muslim with
a
"Middle Eastern" face. An angry young man walked into his convenience
store
in Dallas, Texas on the night of September 15, 2001, three days after
911,
ordered two hamburgers and then shot the 46-year-old father of four in
the
cheek with a .380 caliber handgun. Nothing was taken from the store.
When
asked by police why he shot Waqar, 32 year-old Mark Anthony Stroman
expressed no remorse. "I did it to retaliate on local Arab Americans
or
whatever you want to call them," he said. "I did what every American
wanted to do but didn't…"
Before his death, Waqar had taken steps to become an American citizen.
He
was in the United States on an immigrant visa, but he had filed a
petition
with the INS for green cards for him and his family so that they might
stay
and eventually become full-fledged Americans. When Waqar was brutally
killed, however, his family's American future was placed in
jeopardy. Their visas and green card applications were both dependent
upon
his visa. When he died, their visas and hope of American citizenship
died
with him. The Hasan family had lost their husband, father, and
breadwinner, and now they were also facing the threat of deportation.
At Waqar Hasan's funeral last October, Hasan's widow "Duri" approached
Rep.
Holt and asked him how something like this could happen in America.
For
the last year, Rep. Holt has been working with government agencies to
keep
the Hasan family in this country. Today, however, they remain in a
sort of
bureaucratic limbo. Although Rep. Holt helped them receive temporary
working permits from the INS, those permits expire this April and there
is
no guarantee they will be renewed…
Rep. Holt has pursued and exhausted every possible legal remedy to help
the
Hasan family stay in this country. On Tuesday, November 12 he took the
Hasan case directly to Congress. He introduced a private bill that
would
grant green card status specifically to the Hasan family. Private
bills
are passed by Congress in exceptional cases to benefit a particular
individual or family. Only four such bills passed in the 107th
Congress. Holt's bill is the Hasan family's last hope of attaining
legal
permanent residency in this country. Holt's bill is their last chance
to
fulfill the dream of Waqar Hasan.
Rep. Holt will reintroduce the bill when the 108th Congress convenes in
January.
ACTION REQUESTED:
Send a note of appreciation to Rep. Holt.
http://holt.house.gov/feedback.cfm?campaign=holt&type=Contact%20Rush
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
-----
FBI TAPS CAMPUS POLICE IN ANTI-TERROR OPERATIONS
Student, Faculty Groups Fear a Return of Spying Abuses Against
Activists,
Foreign Nationals
Dan Eggen, Washington Post, 1/25/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40281-2003Jan24.html
Federal authorities have begun enlisting campus police officers in the
domestic war on terror, renewing fears among some faculty and student
groups of overzealous FBI spying at colleges and universities that led
to
scandals in decades past.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the FBI has strengthened
or
established working relationships with hundreds of campus police
departments, in part to gain better access to insular communities of
Middle
Eastern students, government officials said.
On at least a dozen campuses, the FBI has included collegiate police
officers as members of local Joint Terrorism Task Forces, the regional
entities that oversee counterterrorism investigations nationwide.
Some officers have been given federal security clearance, which allows
them
access to classified information. Their supervisors often do not know
which
cases these officers are working on because details cannot be shared,
officials said…
SEE ALSO:
LIBRARIANS SEE 'BIG BROTHER' IN MONITORING OF LIBRARY PATRONS UNDER
PATRIOT
ACT
DAVID B. CARUSO, Associated Press, 1/25/03
PHILADELPHIA - A federal law aimed at catching terrorists has raised
the
hackles of many of the nation's librarians, who say it goes too far by
allowing law enforcement agencies to watch what some people are
reading.
The USA Patriot Act, passed after the Sept. 11 attacks, gave the FBI
new
powers to investigate terrorism, including the ability to look at
library
records and computer hard drives to see what books patrons have checked
out, what Web pages they've visited, and where they've sent e-mails…
But some librarians, who were meeting in Philadelphia for an American
Library Association convention, worry that the FBI has returned to
routinely checking on the reading habits of intellectuals, civil rights
leaders and other Americans. Those tactics, common in the 1950s and
1960s,
were occasionally used to brand people as Communists.
"Some of this stuff is pretty scary, and we are very concerned that
people's privacy is being violated," American Library Association
President
Maurice J. Freedman said…
Judith Krug, director of the group's Office of Intellectual Freedom,
said
routine government inquiries into library records could have a chilling
effect on patrons. For example, she said, some might be afraid to take
out
books on Islam out of fear that they might wind up on an FBI watch
list…
Freimut Duve of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
condemned the FBI and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service
for
monitoring library records and bookstore receipts under the Patriot
Act.
"This goes much too far," he said. "It may invite other governments to
do
the same…."
On the Net: American Library Association: http://www.ala.org/
-----
DETAINEE ALLEGES TORTURE DURING 16 MONTHS IN CUSTODY AS TERRORISM
SUSPECT
OMER FAROOQ, Associated Press, 1/25/03
HYDERABAD, India (AP) - The second of two Indian Muslim men freed after
a
year and a half in U.S. custody as Sept. 11 suspects said he was
tortured,
threatened with death and kept in solitary confinement for long
periods.
Mohammed Azmath, 37, who returned home on Friday, said he was forced to
remain outside in the cold, told he would die in prison, denied legal
assistance for three months, and kept in solitary confinement for a
year,
with lights and cameras on him 24 hours a day.
"I was made to stand in freezing temperature of 4 degrees Celsius for
four
to five hours a day to force me to confess a crime I had not
committed,"
Azmath told The Associated Press on Saturday.
He said he was most upset that his name and photograph were released to
the
media, without any strong evidence against him.
His family in the southern city of Hyderabad - worried that he might
have
been a victim of the Sept. 11 terror attacks because he was flying that
day
from Newark, N.J., to a new job in Texas - suddenly saw his picture on
television news, identified as a terror suspect.
Azmath said that he and his friend, Gul Mohammed Shah, 36 - who was
detained for 15 months and arrived back in Hyderabad on Dec. 30 - were
targeted because of their race and religion.
"We, like many others, were singled out on the basis of racial
profiling
and on the ground that we were Muslims," Azmath said.
Shah told the AP of similar treatment in prison when he returned…
-----
U.S. COALITION FOR WAR HAS FEW PARTNERS, TROOP PLEDGES
Glenn Kessler and Bradley Graham, Washington Post, 1/25/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40191-2003Jan24.html
The Bush administration has asked 53 countries to join the United
States in
a military campaign against Iraq, but so far the "coalition of the
willing," in President Bush's phrase, consists of a handful of
countries
and even fewer commitments of troops, officials and diplomats said
yesterday…
"The reality is that as of today, you are talking about two or three
countries, plus the gulf neighbors," said Ivo Daalder, a Brookings
Institution senior fellow who was a National Security Council staffer
in
the Clinton administration. "If that's the coalition of the willing,
it's a
remarkably thin coalition…"
SEE ALSO:
SADDAM TO GET `B' REPORT CARD FROM NUCLEAR AGENCY
WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press, 1/24/03
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030124/ap_wo_en_po/un_gen_nuclear_agency_iraq_6
VIENNA, Austria - Saddam Hussein will get a "B" on his report card from
nuclear inspectors who update the U.N. Security Council next week, and
the
United States is weighing the option of extended inspections to appease
anxious European allies, officials said Friday.
Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy
Agency, will tell the Security Council on Monday that his inspectors
have
gotten generally good cooperation from the Iraqis in their hunt for
weapons
of mass destruction, IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky said.
"Their report card will be a `B' - quite satisfactory," he told The
Associated Press...
---
PENTAGON EYES MASS GRAVES
Option would fight contamination after bioterror deaths
By Greg Seigle, Denver Post, 1/24/03
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%7E6439%7E1132683%7E,00.html
Friday, January 24, 2003 - WASHINGTON - The bodies of U.S. soldiers
killed by chemical or biological weapons in Iraq or future wars may be
bulldozed into mass graves and burned to save the lives of surviving
troops, under an option being considered by the Pentagon.
Since the Korean War, the U.S. military has taken great pride in
bringing
home its war dead, returning bodies to next of kin for flag-draped,
taps-sounding funerals complete with 21-gun salutes.
But the 53-year-old tradition could come to an abrupt halt if large
numbers
of soldiers are killed by chemical or biological agents, according to a
proposal quietly circulating through Pentagon corridors.
Army spokesmen said the option to bury or even burn bodies contaminated
by
chemical or biological weapons is being considered, along with the
possibility of placing contaminated corpses in airtight body bags and
sending them home for closed-casket funerals…
-----
CANADIAN UNIVERSITY WILL ALLOW DANIEL PIPES TO SPEAK
Toronto's York University lifts ban on controversial pro-Israel speaker
Canadian Press, 1/25/03
TORONTO (CP) _ Two days after a controversial pro-Israel academic was
barred from speaking at a student-run centre on the York University
campus,
the university's administration has agreed to host him elsewhere on
campus.
"York has a strong tradition of providing a venue for the free
expression
of a broad range of opinions on a whole range of topics, including this
one," Cim Nunn, the university's director of media relations, said
Friday.
"We are aware of some of the concerns students have but, that
notwithstanding, (Daniel Pipes) has a right to express his views as
long as
he doesn't break the law."
Pipes, an author and director of the Philadelphia-based Middle East
Forum,
is known for long-standing warnings on "the threat of militant Islam''
and
his creation of Campus Watch, a Web site that highlights academics on
campuses across North America whom he considers anti-American and
anti-Israel.
Pipes was invited by York's Jewish Federation of Students to give a
lecture
on "Barriers to Peace'' next Tuesday inside the York Student Centre,
and to
speak at a luncheon hosted by York's Centre for International and
Security
Studies, that same day.
But both centres cancelled this week, citing concerns about Pipes' Web
site
and some of his views on Muslims…
SEE ALSO:
UPDATED: WHO IS DANIEL PIPES?
http://www.cair-net.org/misc/people/daniel_pipes.html
-----
ISLAM DOESN'T NEED MR. BUSH
The Washington Post, 1/25/03
David Ignatius's Jan. 17 op-ed column, "The Read on Wolfowitz," showed
how
flawed Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz's views are on Islam.
As a Muslim, I can assure Mr. Wolfowitz that our religion does not need
transformation by the Bush administration -- certainly not through a
U.S.
invasion that could cause the deaths of thousands of Iraqis.
Contrary to what Mr. Wolfowitz advocates, a U.S. war with Iraq without
U.N.
Security Council approval would enrage Muslims and provide more
recruits to
organizations such as al Qaeda.
NIPUN RAHMAN
Washington
-----
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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
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-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
BREAKING NEWS - 1/26/2003
THE FBI SAYS, COUNT THE MOSQUES
Investigators: FBI Director Robert Mueller has launched a potentially
controversial initiative
Michael Isikoff, NEWSWEEK, 2/3/03
http://www.msnbc.com/news/864367.asp
Feb. 3 issue - Frustrated that his troops are still not aggressive
enough
in hunting down terrorists, FBI Director Robert Mueller has launched a
potentially controversial initiative aimed at making sure that field
agents
finally get the message-and are held accountable.
AS PART OF the effort, NEWSWEEK has learned, Mueller's top aides have
directed chiefs of the bureau's 56 field offices to develop
"demographic"
profiles of their localities-including tallying the number of mosques.
Those profiles are then being used, along with other factors, to set
specific numerical goals for counter terrorism investigations and
secret
national-security wiretaps in each region. Top bureau officials have
signaled that if field offices don't meet their pre-established goals,
they
may be subjected to special reviews by inspection teams from
headquarters.
Field offices learned of the new project earlier this month when they
received a six-page questionnaire that, in a section headlined
VULNERABILITY, asked about the number of mosques in their communities.
When
FBI executive assistant director Wilson Lowery Jr. briefed
congressional
staffers on the project last week, and explained that mosque tallies
would
be used to help set investigative goals, "there were a lot of eyebrows
that
went up," said one of those present. The approach raised concerns that
the
FBI was engaging in a new form of religious "profiling."
"It's frightening to hear that this is actual policy," said Ibrahim
Hooper,
spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "This just
shows
how they are viewing every Islamic community in the country with
suspicion…"
Mueller and his top deputies have been touring field offices and
telling
agents, in no uncertain terms, they need to focus more on terrorism
cases,
including developing undercover informants, and put aside less
important
cases such as drug and relatively minor white-collar fraud cases. "They
don't want to hear whether we've got a great bank-robbery program
going,"
said one top agent.
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TRAVEL ADVISORY ISSUED FOR U.S. MUSLIMS
Islamic civil rights group concerned pilgrims will be harassed
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/27/03) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) today issued a travel advisory for American Muslims who may face
harassment or denial of entry when returning to the United States from
travel abroad.
The Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group issued
that
advisory following an incident in which a Chicago-area Muslim activist
was
prevented from returning to this country after visiting his family in
Jordan. Sabri Samirah, president of the United Muslim Americans
Association
in Palos Hills, says he was barred from returning to Chicago last
weekend
when Irish officials cited an INS fax revoking his permission to leave
the
country. Samirah says he had been assured of his right to return by the
INS.
SEE: "U.S. Bars Leader of Chicago Muslim Group"
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Muslim-Leader.html
In a similar incident, the Hartford Courant reported yesterday that an
Iranian graduate student at a university in Connecticut has been
stranded
in Canada for months after he traveled there to visit relatives.
SEE: "UConn Student Picked the Wrong Time to Visit Relatives"
http://www.ctnow.com/hc-ali0126.artjan26.story
The advisory also comes at a time when thousands of American Muslims
are
traveling to Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca.
The
pilgrims will return in the second half of February, and may face
similar
treatment by immigration authorities. CAIR officials say they have
received
a number of complaints of ill-treatment of Muslims and Arabs entering
this
country following the implementation of the INS' so-called "special
registration" program that targets visitors from Islamic countries.
The group's travel advisory reads in part: "The Council on
American-Islamic
Relations (CAIR) reminds Muslims living in the United States who are
not
citizens or do not have permanent resident status that they are at risk
of
harsh and humiliating treatment by immigration authorities when
returning
to America from travel abroad. Muslim travelers are also at risk of
being
barred from entering the United States based on allegations or
suspicions
that need not be revealed by law enforcement authorities.
"It is recommended that all non-emergency travel abroad be postponed.
Anyone who must travel, and experiences what they believe to be harsh
or
discriminatory treatment by INS officials, should file an incident
report
with CAIR. Report forms are available for download at:
http://www.cair-net.org/ireport/Incident_Report.doc, or by calling
202-488-8787. Pilgrims returning from Hajj are advised to inform
friends
and relatives of their travel itinerary so that inquiries can be made
if an
incident occurs on the return leg of the journey."
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-MAIL:
cair@cair-net.org; Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441,
E-MAIL:
hhassan@cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive
news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to CAIR-NET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
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Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FBI URGED TO RESCIND MOSQUE TALLY POLICY
Counting mosques to set goals for investigations called "profiling"
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/27/03) - A Prominent national civil rights and
advocacy group is calling on the Department of Justice to rescind a new
policy directive that would have FBI field offices count local mosques
to
determine goals for counter terrorism investigations and secret
wiretaps.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) made that demand
following
the publication of an article in Newsweek magazine detailing the policy
instituted by FBI Director Robert Mueller earlier this month.
According to Newsweek, FBI field offices nationwide are to develop
demographic profiles of their regions, including the number of local
mosques. The profiles will then be used to set specific numerical goals
for
investigations and wiretaps in each area. If field offices do not meet
their goals, they may be subjected to special reviews by teams from FBI
headquarters.
SEE: http://www.msnbc.com/news/864367.asp
"This policy makes about as much sense as counting Catholic churches in
America in order to initiate an investigation of the Mafia, or as
claiming
the number of African Methodist Episcopal churches in a given area is
indicative of the level of criminal activity. It is religious profiling
of
the worst kind and must be rescinded if America is to maintain respect
for
religious freedom and for equal justice under the law," said CAIR
Executive
Director Nihad Awad.
He said that CAIR representatives have had a number of meetings with
FBI
officials to discuss issues related to anti-Muslim bias and that his
group
has encouraged American Muslims to do whatever they can to defend the
United States against terrorism.
Awad added that the mosque-counting policy comes in the midst of an INS
registration program under which hundreds of American Muslims have been
detained, and sometimes deported. Muslim community leaders and
immigration-rights activists say that program is also based on
religious
and ethnic profiling, a law enforcement tactic that is being heavily
promoted by right-wing pundits.
Just this past week, a right-wing pro-Israel commentator who many
American
Muslims regard as the nation's leading Islamophobe, suggested that all
Muslims in this country be placed under surveillance.
Daniel Pipes wrote in the Jerusalem Post: "Muslim government employees
in
law enforcement, the military, and the diplomatic corps need to be
watched
for connections to terrorism, as do Muslim chaplains in prisons and the
armed forces. Muslim visitors and immigrants must undergo additional
background checks. Mosques require a scrutiny beyond that applied to
churches, synagogues and temples."
SEE: "Who is Daniel Pipes?"
http://www.cair-net.org/misc/people/daniel_pipes.html
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-MAIL:
cair@cair-net.org; Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441,
E-MAIL:
hhassan@cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive
news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to ISLAM-INFONET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
-----
TO BECOME A CAIR MEMBER, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/28/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: MARRIAGE INCREASES LOVE
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* SCHWARZKOPF SKEPTICAL OF U.S. ACTION IN IRAQ (Wash. Post)
- U.S. Guilty of "Double Standards" on Iraq-Butler (Reuters)
- An Engineered Crisis (Guardian UK)
- Senator Decries Bush Handling of Iraq (AP)
* F.B.I. TELLS OFFICES TO COUNT MUSLIMS AND MOSQUES (NY Times)
- FBI Seeks Iraqis for Interviews (Newsday)
- FBI Wants To Speak To Thousands with Iraq Ties (USA Today)
* PAKISTAN SEEKS EXEMPTION FROM NEW U.S. REGISTRATION (Wash. Post)
- CAIR-LA Legal Workshops on INS Special Registration
* ANGER AND ISLAM RISE IN JORDAN (Washington Post)
* HALF A DEMOCRACY (Ha'aretz)
* US INTERROGATORS TURN TO 'TORTURE LITE' (Guardian UK)
* RIGHTS GROUPS ACCUSE RUSSIA OF VICTIMISING CHECHENS (Reuters)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: MARRIAGE INCREASES LOVE
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "You have seen nothing
like
marriage for increasing the love between two people."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 921
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
GEN. SCHWARZKOPF IS SKEPTICAL ABOUT U.S. ACTION IN IRAQ
Thomas E. Ricks, Washington Post, 1/28/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52450-2003Jan27.html
TAMPA - Norman Schwarzkopf wants to give peace a chance. The general
who
commanded U.S. forces in the 1991 Gulf War says he hasn't seen enough
evidence to convince him that his old comrades Dick Cheney, Colin
Powell
and Paul Wolfowitz are correct in moving toward a new war now. He
thinks
U.N. inspections are still the proper course to follow. He's worried
about
the cockiness of the U.S. war plan, and even more by the potential
human
and financial costs of occupying Iraq.
And don't get him started on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
"Candidly, I have gotten somewhat nervous at some of the pronouncements
Rumsfeld has made," says Schwarzkopf.
He contrasts Cheney's low profile as defense secretary during the Gulf
War
with Rumsfeld's frequent television appearances since Sept. 11, 2001.
"He
almost sometimes seems to be enjoying it." That, Schwarzkopf
admonishes, is
a sensation to be avoided when engaged in war…
SEE ALSO:
U.S. GUILTY OF "DOUBLE STANDARDS" ON IRAQ - BUTLER
Reuters, 1/28/03
SYDNEY - Former U.N. arms inspector Richard Butler said on Tuesday that
Washington was promoting "shocking double standards" in considering
taking
unilateral military action to rid Iraq of its weapons of mass
destruction...
"The spectacle of the United States, armed with its weapons of mass
destruction, acting without Security Council authority to invade a
country
in the heartland of Arabia and, if necessary, use its weapons of mass
destruction to win that battle, is something that will so deeply
violate
any notion of fairness in this world that I strongly suspect it could
set
loose forces that we would deeply live to regret," Butler said...
---
AN ENGINEERED CRISIS
Brian Whitaker, Guardian UK, 1/27/03
http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,883248,00.html
Those who say that oil lies at the root of it are right up to a point,
but
it is not simply a matter of grabbing Iraqi oil. The neo-conservatives
see
Iraqi oil as a political weapon which can be used to undermine Saudi
Arabia's influence and thus promote their grand design for reshaping
the
entire Middle East. Whether they will succeed in achieving their
broader
plans, even after an invasion of Iraq, is doubtful. But there is no
doubting the damage that will be done to the US in the meantime....
---
SENATOR DECRIES BUSH HANDLING OF IRAQ
BARRY SCHWEID, Associated Press, 1/28/03
WASHINGTON - Among European nations, though, there is a wide disbelief
that
diplomacy has run its course and that force is the way to gain Iraq's
disarmament. And in Congress, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del.,
criticized
President Bush's handling of the crisis.
In a Senate speech, Biden said 75,000 U.S. soldiers would be needed in
Iraq
for up to five years after a war. And the senior Democrat on the
Foreign
Relations Committee said Bush's "choice of words, and failure to
clearly
explain the choices we have and the basis for action when we do act,
has
been dangerous to our standing in the world..."
-----
F.B.I. TELLS OFFICES TO COUNT LOCAL MUSLIMS AND MOSQUES
Eric Lichtblau, New York Times, 1/28/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/28/politics/28MOSQ.html
WASHINGTON - The F.B.I. is ordering field supervisors to count the
number
of mosques and Muslims in their areas as part of the antiterrorism
effort.
Civil rights advocates and Arab-American leaders denounced the survey
as a
form of racial profiling. Bureau officials said, however, that the
results
would not be used to establish quotas for investigations. "Any
suggestion
that the number of mosques in a field division is being used to set
investigative goals for that division is wrong," an assistant director
of
the bureau, Cassandra Chandler, said in a statement…
Ms. Chandler's explanation differs markedly from the description of the
program that a senior bureau official gave Congressional staff members
last
week in a closed briefing. The official, Wilson Lowery Jr., executive
assistant director of the bureau, told the briefing that the bureau was
collecting information on mosques and Muslims in the 56 field offices,
according to a senior Congressional aide familiar with the
presentation…
Congressional officials were bothered because the survey would
apparently
lump all mosques in one category without distinguishing mosques that
have
reported extremist ties, the aide said.
"We need to ask a lot more questions before we know whether we're
really
bothered," the aide said. "On its face, it certainly sounds like the
F.B.I.
is pressuring agents to use a profile. It's beyond eyebrow-raising. It
seems like a bloody waste of law enforcement resources, and it's pure
profiling in its worst form."
Civil rights advocates and Arab-American groups called on the bureau
today
to revoke its directive.
"This is obviously an indication to F.B.I. field agents that they have
to
view every mosque and every Muslim as a potential terrorist," said
Ibrahim
Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an
advocacy group here.
Mr. Hooper said the F.B.I. should determine its investigative
priorities
based on criminal standards of probable cause, not on the number of
mosques
or Muslims in a particular area…
SEE ALSO:
FBI SEEKS IRAQIS FOR INTERVIEWS
Tom Brune, Newsday, 1/28/03
http://www.newsday.com
Washington - As the Bush administration gears up for war with Iraq, the
FBI
is stepping up its efforts to interview thousands of Iraqis in the
United
States to gather intelligence and to disrupt sleeper cells and
espionage,
the FBI said yesterday.
FBI agents across the country for the past six weeks have been seeking
out
Iraqis, asking them to voluntarily submit to interviews, while working
with
immigration officials to track Iraqis who are here illegally, officials
said.
"As we get closer to hostilities, we'll pump it up and be more
aggressive
in finding these people," said an FBI official yesterday. The search
comes
as FBI Director Robert Mueller once again seeks to kick-start the FBI
counterterrorism effort, this time with a controversial order requiring
the
agency's 56 field offices to create demographic profiles - including a
count of local mosques - to help set numerical goals for investigations
and
wiretaps...
But some Arab-American activists and the ACLU blasted the FBI's mosque
count. "This is blatant religious and ethnic profiling," said Dalia
Hashad,
the ACLU's Arab, Muslim and South Asian advocate.
"It's like, 'We're going to investigate the Mafia, so tell us how many
Catholic churches there are there,'" said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman
for
the Council on American-Islamic Relations…
---
FBI WANTS TO SPEAK TO THOUSANDS WITH IRAQ TIES
Kevin Johnson, USA Today, 1/28/03
http://www.usatoday.com
WASHINGTON - The FBI and authorities in several cities want to
interview up
to 5,000 Iraqi-Americans and immigrants to try to identify potential
targets for Iraqi retaliation attacks here if U.S. forces go to war in
Iraq, federal law enforcement officials say.
The FBI, which conducted similar interviews of U.S. citizens and
visitors
with ties to Iraq before the Persian Gulf War in 1991, says the effort
will
focus on Iraqi-Americans and immigrants who arrived in the USA during
the
past decade. Agents have begun questioning them about their views of a
possible war with Iraq, whether they know the whereabouts of possible
loyalists to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and whether they know of
anyone
who has taken a suspicious trip to the Middle East recently…
But Arab-American leaders, who have protested previous efforts by the
FBI
and immigration officials to interview thousands of Arab men across the
nation during terrorism investigations, call the latest round of
interviews
blatant ethnic profiling.
"What is happening here is not a good example for the people inside
Iraq,"
said Aziz Al-Taee, chairman of the Iraqi American Council. "Is this the
kind of treatment they can expect if they are liberated? They are
targeting
the wrong people. This ethnic profiling will lead to nothing but a
backlash
of bad feeling…"
"Anytime you single out people because of their ethnicity, we have a
problem," says Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations. "It seems to be acceptable only when it's
happening to Muslims and Arabs."
-----
PAKISTAN SEEKS EXEMPTION FROM NEW U.S. REGISTRATION
Dan Eggen, Washington Post, 1/28/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52592-2003Jan27.html
Pakistan's foreign minister warned yesterday that a special
registration
program for male visitors to the United States could destabilize the
Pakistani government and bolster the cause of radical extremists there.
Khurshid Kasuri, in a meeting with reporters and editors from The
Washington Post, said he would urge Secretary of State Colin L. Powell
and
other Bush administration officials to exempt Pakistan from an effort
to
register thousands of male visitors from 25 predominantly Muslim
nations
and North Korea.
At the very least, Kasuri said, U.S. officials must "use discretion" to
ensure that the registration effort does not result in a large number
of
Pakistani deportations. "If Pakistanis are deported in large numbers,
it
could create a big backlash, which would be unhelpful to our present,
moderate democratic government, and very helpful to the fundamentalist
parties," Kasuri said…
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-LA LEGAL WORKSHOPS ON INS SPECIAL REGISTRATION
WHAT: CAIR-LA is holding three legal workshops in Southern California
to
assist affected community members with INS Special Registration
Speakers: Attorneys with immigration background
WHERE:
Mosque of Riverside, 1038 W. Linden St., Riverside, CA
When: Friday, January 31, 2003, 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
King Fahad Mosque, 10980 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA
When: Saturday, February 1, 2003, 3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Masjid Al-Ansar, 1717 Brookhurst, Anaheim, CA
When: Saturday, February 8, 2003, 3:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.
For more information, call CAIR-LA at 714-776-1847.
-----
ANGER AND ISLAM RISE IN JORDAN
Anthony Shadid, Washington Post, 1/28/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52250-2003Jan27.html
BAQAA CAMP, Jordan -- In this warren of cinder blocks, cement and
corrugated tin roofs where 120,000 of Jordan's Palestinian refugees
live,
the slogans speak to the converted. Whitewashed graffiti along a muddy
alley declare, "Islam is the solution," and signs overhead exhort
residents
of the Middle East's largest refugee camp to remember God.
Fathi Barakat, glum, disillusioned and once again without work, says he
is
listening.
Standing along Jerusalem Street, near a five-room shack that houses his
family of 13, Barakat directs his anger at the United States and
Israel.
And in a reflection of sentiments heard more and more often across the
Middle East, he expresses thinly veiled disgust at what he sees as
impotence among the Arab world's own rulers in the face of U.S. and
Israeli
actions.
"The people drifted away from religion, and that's why we're in this
mess
now," he says. "You have to go back to God..."
-----
HALF A DEMOCRACY
Gideon Levy, Ha'aretz, 1/26/03
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=256023
What sort of democracy is this, if exactly half the state's residents
don't
benefit from it? Indeed, can the term "democratic" be applied to a
state in
which many of the residents live under a military regime or are
deprived of
civil rights? Can there be democracy without equality, with a lengthy
occupation and with foreign workers who have no rights? And what about
the
racism...?
We must not lightly let these phenomena pass by. We must not forget
that
the entire structure is wobbly. Once Israel became an occupying state,
it
ceased to be a democracy. There is no such thing: Israel's claims about
its
democratic character are empty boasts. Just as there is no such thing
as a
partial pregnancy, there is no such thing as a partial democracy,
either.
No democracy exists only as far as a particular territorial line within
the
country, and no democracy is reserved exclusively for a particular
religion
or nationality. In a truly democratic regime, everyone enjoys his
freedoms
and rights in equal measure. That is not the case in Israel…
-----
US INTERROGATORS TURN TO 'TORTURE LITE'
Duncan Campbell, Guardian UK, 1/25/03
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,882002,00.html
The United States is condoning the torture and illegal interrogation of
prisoners held in the wake of September 11, in defiance of
international
law and its own constitution, according to lawyers, former US
intelligence
officers and human rights groups.
They claim prisoners have been beaten, hooded and had painkillers
withheld.
Some prisoners inside American penal institutions and detention camps
have
been subjected to interrogation techniques which do not leave injuries,
but
which lawyers consider to be abusive. Others have been sent to
countries
where electric shocks and more conventional forms of torture have been
used, according to the claims.
Wayne Madsen, a former US navy intelligence officer, points to two
forms of
what he calls torture being practised by America or its partners in the
wake of September 11. The first consists of techniques such as sleep
deprivation and shining harsh lights at detainees which, Mr Madsen
labels
"torture lite". He says this is being practised on hundreds of inmates
held
by the US at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba for suspected Taliban and al-Qaida
connections.
The second, less subtle, kind of torture is being inflicted on
prisoners
taken by the US military to third-party countries with lax human-rights
records. Mr Madsen, now a commentator on intelligence-gathering, said
he
understood that prisoners who were believed to have information had
been
taken to countries including Egypt, Morocco and Syria where such
full-blown
torture techniques were used...
-----
RIGHTS GROUPS ACCUSE RUSSIA OF VICTIMISING CHECHENS
Maria Golovnina, Reuters, 1/28/03
MOSCOW - Russia's efforts to track separatists linked to the October
theatre siege in Moscow has developed into systematic persecution of
ethnic
Chechens living in the Russian capital, human rights activists said on
Tuesday.
Dozens of Chechens have complained of being picked up arbitrarily by
the
police and detained for hours, if not days, or subjected to police
threats
and discrimination, prominent Russian human rights group Memorial said.
"Are the police really combing Moscow for men linked to the
hostage-taking?
No, they have been specifically instructed to target Chechens, or any
men
from the Caucasus with dark hair, for that matter," said Memorial's
Svetlana Gannushkina.
"Some of these people have already left Moscow for Chechnya, where,
even
subject to incessant sweeping operations by Russian forces, they feel
more
at home than here," Gannushkina, who is also a member of a presidential
commission on human rights, told reporters...
Following the siege, city authorities ruled out a police crackdown on
the
100,000-strong Chechen diaspora in Moscow. Thousands of Chechens live
in
Moscow without legal registration.
"This is one of the faces of the ongoing genocide against the
Chechens,"
said Lyudmila Alekseyeva, head of the Moscow Helsinki Group.
"After the September 11 attacks (on the United States in 2001),
anti-Islamic feelings have been on the rise everywhere, not only in
Russia.
It's too tempting for governments not to use this tragic event to
justify
their human rights violations..."
-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATIONAL MUSLIM GROUP OPENS NEW OFFICE IN TEXAS
CAIR-Houston will promote civil rights and religious diversity
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/29/03) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) announced today that it has opened a new office in Houston,
Texas.
CAIR-Houston joins 15 other offices the Washington-based Islamic civil
rights and advocacy group has nationwide and in Canada.
The new CAIR-Houston office will assist the local Muslim community in
dealing with issues related to political participation, civil rights
and
interfaith dialogue. Upcoming events planned by the office include a
public
forum on new INS registration requirements for Muslim visa-holders and
a
voter registration drive at local mosques. There are existing CAIR
offices
in Austin and Dallas/Fort-Worth.
(The CAIR-Houston INS forum will take place February 11 at the
University
of Houston.)
"We will work to address the needs of a growing Muslim population and
will
promote tolerance and religious diversity in our community," said
CAIR-Houston President Tarik Hussein. Hussein said a recent
CAIR-Houston
fundraising event was sold out.
"The expansion of CAIR nationwide reflects a growing awareness in the
American Muslim community that civil liberties and religious freedom
can
only be maintained through active social and political participation at
the
local level," said CAIR Board Chairman Omar Ahmad. Ahmad added that
CAIR
plans to open four more offices around the country over the next few
months.
There are several hundred thousand Muslims in Texas, seven million in
America and some 1.2 billion worldwide. Islam is one of the fastest
growing
religions in this country and around the world. For background on the
American Muslim community, see "The Mosque in America: A National
Portrait," at: http://www.cair-net.org/mosquereport/
- END -
CONTACT: CAIR-Houston Communications Director Najat Elsayed,
713-838-2247
or 832-814-5554; CAIR-National, Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or
202-744-7726, E-MAIL: cair@cair-net.org; Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787
or
202-439-1441, E-MAIL: hhassan@cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive
news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to CAIR-NET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
-----
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https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
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To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/29/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: DIVORCE
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* ISRAELI GENERAL TO LECTURE CONGRESS ON "COMBAT ETHICS"
- An Ongoing Human Rights Crisis (AI)
- LAW to Investigate Killing (LAW)
* JEWISH GROUP URGES LINKAGE OF AID, SETTLEMENTS (JTA)
* IMMIGRATION STATUS: CITY EMPLOYEES CANNOT ASK (Seattle Times)
- Chicago Workshop on Immigrants Rights
- GA Town Hall Meeting With INS
* FBI DEFENDS NATIONAL MOSQUE TALLY (AP)
* U.N. FINDS NO PROOF OF NUCLEAR PROGRAM (Washington Post)
- Nuclear Retaliation Isn't Clear-Cut Issue (Wash. Post)
- Are We Heading Into A New Dark Age? (Toronto Star)
* PIPES GIVES PRO-ISRAELI MESSAGE TO STUDENTS (Toronto Star)
- Who is Daniel Pipes?
* NY FORUM ON WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION
* PROFESSOR OF ISLAMIC CULTURE DIES (Turkish Daily News)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: DIVORCE
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Of all lawful acts, the most
detestable to God is divorce."
Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith 894
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
ISRAELI GENERAL TO LECTURE CONGRESS ON "COMBAT ETHICS"
CAIR has learned that Rep. Jim Saxton (R-NJ) is sponsoring a January
30th
Capitol Hill lecture by Israeli Major General (Ret.) Jacob Amidror.
Gen.
Amidror will discuss "combat ethics training" received by Israeli
military
personnel.
In a "Dear Colleague" letter promoting the event, Saxton wrote: "There
is
much we can learn from individuals such as Maj. Gen. Amidror, not only
with
respect to the situation our ally Israel faces every day, but also with
respect to the challenges our own military may face in a post-September
11th world."
"It would be disastrous for America's image and interests worldwide if
our
armed forces adopted the kind of brutal methods employed by the Israeli
army against Palestinian civilians. We urge Representative Saxton to
add
another speaker from a group like Amnesty International who would be
able
to offer the Palestinian perspective on Israeli 'combat ethics,'" said
CAIR
Executive Director Nihad Awad.
Awad noted that just today, Amnesty International issued a statement on
the
human rights crisis in the Occupied Territories. The statement reads in
part:
"Some 1,800 Palestinians have been killed, most of them unlawfully, by
the
Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), who routinely use F16 fighter jets,
helicopter gunships and tanks to bomb and shell densely populated
Palestinian residential areas. The victims included more than 300
children
and some 80 individuals killed in targeted state assassinations."
SEE: ISRAEL AND THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES: AN ONGOING HUMAN RIGHTS
CRISIS
http://web.amnesty.org/web/web.nsf/pages/IOT_home
Gen. Amidror is currently a 2002 Ira Weiner fellow at the Pro-Israel
Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
SEE: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/senior/amidror.htm
Last year, Rep. Saxton was part of a controversial four-person
"solidarity"
delegation that flew to Israel in a $3,100 an hour government jet.
SEE: AT $3,100 AN HOUR, SOLIDARITY HAS WINGS
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37400-2002May5.html
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)
Contact Rep. Jim Saxton to urge that he add a speaker from a group like
Amnesty International who would offer the Palestinian perspective on
Israeli "combat ethics."
E-MAIL: Stephen.Thompson@mail.house.gov
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
TEL: 202-225-4765
FAX: 202-225-0778
URL: http://www.house.gov/saxton/
SEE ALSO:
LAW TO INVESTIGATE THE KILLING OF MAHER AL-JIZMAWI (17)
http://www.lawsociety.org/Press/Preleases/2003/jan/jan29.html
Maher's sister sneaked her brother's death certificate under her dress,
along with a paper showing he'd participated in Jewish-Arab friendship
meetings, and photos of his corpse. She was afraid they'd be taken by
Israeli soldiers at the checkpoint. The four and a half hour journey
from
Tulkarem to Jerusalem had distressed her and Maher's father, but they
wanted some kind of justice...
-----
JEWISH GROUP URGES LINKAGE OF LOAN GUARANTEES, SETTLEMENTS
Matthew E. Berger, Jewish Telegraph Agency, 1/27/03
http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?strwebhead=Linkage+urged+on+loan+guarantees&intcategoryid=3
WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (JTA) - A Jewish organization is publicly urging
the
Bush administration to link Israel's request for loan guarantees to a
freeze on Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
Americans for Peace Now is calling on the Bush administration to
withhold
the $8 billion in loan guarantees until there is a complete freeze on
settlement growth and a pledge to dismantle settlements constructed
since
Oct. 1999.
The group is also calling for 20 percent of the loan guarantee funds to
be
set aside for housing for settlers who want to relocate to homes inside
Israel proper…
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)
Contact the White House and Congress to ask that the
multi-billion-dollar
Israeli aid request be rejected.
1. Call the White House at: 202-456-1414 or 202-456-1111.
2. Contact your elected representative by calling the Capitol
Switchboard
at 202-224-3121. (Have your zip code ready.)
3. Go to http://capwiz.com/cair/home/ to e-mail the President and/or
your
elected representatives.
-----
IMMIGRATION STATUS: CITY EMPLOYEES CANNOT ASK
Jim Brunner, Seattle Times, 1/29/03
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134623203_immigration28m.html
To the cheers of immigrant-rights advocates, the Seattle City Council
yesterday adopted a "don't ask" policy prohibiting police and other
city
workers from asking about the immigration status of people they come in
contact with.
The ordinance, sponsored by City Councilman Nick Licata, was touted as
a
symbolic rejoinder to the Bush administration's war on terrorism, which
critics argue has eroded important civil liberties, especially for
recent
immigrants, both legal and illegal.
"It is just an incredibly frightening time," said City Councilwoman
Judy
Nicastro…
The measure is intended to reassure immigrants that they can call the
police or seek other city services without fear that they will be asked
to
prove their immigration status. It was applauded by dozens of
immigrant-rights activists who attended the council vote yesterday.
"In this climate of secret detentions and special registration, it's
clearly important to have a city council that takes a strong proactive
stance," said Anita Sinha, attorney with the Northwest Immigrant Rights
Project...
SEE ALSO:
CHICAGO WORKSHOP ON IMMIGRANTS RIGHTS
WHAT: An informational workshop for immigrants about homeland security.
Speakers include:
*Yaser Tabara of the Midwest Immigrant & Human Rights Center (MIHRC)
*Ruth Edwards of the DePaul Legal Clinic
*Jim Fennerty of the National Lawyers Guild
WHEN: Friday, January 31st, 7 P.M. - 9:30 P.M.
WHERE: The Mosque Foundation--7360 W. 93rd St. (just west of Harlem
Ave.)
in Bridgeview, IL
CONTACT: Hatem Abudayyeh at (773)476-3534 ext. 61 or Kevin Hogan at
(773)784-2900 ext. 132.
---
GA TOWN HALL MEETING WITH INS
WHAT: An informative forum sponsored by the American-Arab Anti
Discrimination Committee (ADC-GA), Pakistani American Community of
Atlanta
(PAK-Atlanta),
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Northern Georgia),
Grassroots
Effort and Masjid Al-Farooq
A representative from the INS and local immigration attorneys will be
present to answer questions related to INS Special Registration
program.
WHEN: Saturday, February 8th, 12:00 P.M. to 2:30 P.M.
WHERE: The Swanton Amphitheater in the Holiday Inn Select Decatur, 130
Clairemont Ave, Decatur, GA 30030 (404) 371 0204
CONTACT: (404) 846-0580 or email cairnga@cair-northgeorgia.org
-----
FBI DEFENDS NATIONAL MOSQUE TALLY
Curt Anderson, Associated Press, 1/28/03
WASHINGTON - The FBI on Tuesday defended its national tally of Muslim
mosques as only one part of a much broader effort to apply scarce
anti-terrorism resources and identify vulnerable sites.
Critics called it a form of ethnic and religious profiling.
The number of mosques was one of dozens of pieces of information FBI
Director Robert Mueller directed the 56 FBI field offices to find. The
survey is intended to establish a better picture of the demographics
and
possible terrorism targets in each region, FBI officials said. That
information, in turn, would be used to establish where to direct
counterterrorism resources and set goals for each of the offices as
part of
a larger overhaul of the FBI...
Civil liberties and Islamic groups, however, raised several concerns.
The
move follows other controversial efforts by the FBI to question up to
50,000 Iraqis living in the United States and a Justice Department
program
to photograph and fingerprint thousands of mostly Muslim men living
here
temporarily.
"This policy makes about as much sense as counting Catholic churches in
America in order to initiate an investigation of the Mafia," said Nihad
Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
"It
is religious profiling of the worst kind and must be rescinded."
The American Civil Liberties Union said the program raises fundamental
constitutional questions because it could lead to investigations of
individual mosques with no evidence of any wrongdoing…
-----
U.N. FINDS NO PROOF OF NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Colum Lynch, Washington Post, 1/29/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57632-2003Jan28.html
UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 28 -- The head of the International Atomic Energy
Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, said today that two months of inspections in
Iraq and interviews with Iraqi officials have yielded no evidence to
support Bush administration claims that Iraq is secretly trying to
revive
its nuclear weapons program.
ElBaradei said in an interview that "systematic" inspections of eight
facilities linked by U.S. and British authorities to a possible nuclear
weapons program have turned up no proof to support the claims. "I think
we
have ruled out . . . the buildings," he said. ElBaradei also cast
doubts on
U.S. claims that Iraq has sought to import uranium and high-strength
aluminum tubes destined for a nuclear weapons program.
ElBaradei's remarks, combined with a relatively upbeat assessment of
Iraq's
cooperation with U.N. weapons inspectors, delivered to the U.N.
Security
Council on Monday, have complicated Bush administration efforts to make
a
case for military action against Iraq…
SEE ALSO:
AS U.S. GIRDS FOR WORST IN IRAQ, RETALIATION ISN'T CLEAR-CUT ISSUE
Bradley Graham, Washington Post, 1/29/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57395-2003Jan28.html
On the one hand, U.S. authorities could be expected to feel a strong
desire
to exact punishment and set an example in the interest of deterring a
repeat attack by Iraq or the future use of nonconventional weapons by
other
adversaries. On the other hand, the United States would want to avoid a
response that appeared excessive and that risked large numbers of
civilian
casualties or extensive damage to Iraqi facilities that might be
helpful in
reconstituting the government and the economy after the war…
---
ARE WE HEADING INTO A NEW DARK AGE?
Ali Mekky, Toronto Star, 1/29/03
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1035777157497&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795
I wish the people in Iraq would be able to dream of a happy new year.
Unfortunately, thousands of them may soon be killed and thousands more
maimed by bombing if America decides to attack the country.
Americans have made undeniable contributions to world culture and
civilization. Among other things, they significantly contributed to the
advancement of science, literature and the entertainment industry. The
foreign policies of the U.S. government, however, have failed to a
large
extent to reflect the American people's values. Many Americans find it
hard
to relate to those policies. In fact, the harshest critics of U.S.
foreign
policies come from American citizens.
In his book 9-11, American author Noam Chomsky says: "We shouldn't
forget
that the U.S. itself is a leading terrorist state," adding the U.S. is
the
only country condemned for international terrorism by the World Court.
He
cites examples of U.S. attacks in Nicaragua, Beirut, Sudan, and Iraq
during
and after the 1991 Persian Gulf War…
-----
U.S. ACADEMIC DEFIES PROTESTS TO DELIVER PRO-ISRAELI MESSAGE TO
STUDENTS
Colin Perkel, Canadian Press, 1/29/03
TORONTO - An American foreign-policy analyst defied protests and
allegations of racism Tuesday to deliver a message to students that
Arab
rejection of Israel's right to exist is the root cause of violence in
the
Middle East.
But it was not Daniel Pipes' message that sparked the demonstrations
and
heavy police presence at York University as much as his four-month-old
Web
site, which he termed "adult supervision" of academics...
Critics argue the Web site, called Campus Watch, singles out those
academics who criticize Israel's treatment of Palestinians or
Washington's
pro-Israeli policies.
Those academics are then subject to harassment and threats, said
Malcolm
Blincow, an anthropology professor at York and member of the Coalition
for
Academic Freedom.
"Huge amounts of spam were sent to the e-mail sites of these people,
making
it impossible for them not only to function personally but
academically.
Their academic work was fundamentally undermined," said Blincow.
"There were also death threats…"
SEE ALSO:
WHO IS DANIEL PIPES?
http://www.cair-net.org/misc/people/daniel_pipes.html
-----
NY FORUM ON WORKPLACE DISCRIMINATION
WHAT: Forum on racial, religious and national origin discrimination.
Speakers include:
Mark W. Wong - Special Assistant, Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Spencer Lewis - District Director, EEOC, NY District Office
Moderator - Omar T. Mohammedi, Esq., President, New York Area Muslim
Bar
Association (NYAMBA)
WHEN: Friday, January 31st at 6 P.M.
WHERE: 475 Riverside Drive, NY, NY, Enter on Claremont Avenue between
119th
and 120th
CONTACT: CAIR-NY at (212)870-2002 or visit www.cair-ny.com
-----
PROFESSOR OF ISLAMIC CULTURE DIES
Turkish Daily News, 1/29/03
Famous German professor of Islam culture Annemarie Schimmel has died at
the
age of 80. According to information from the Muslims Central Council in
Germany, Schimmel established a bridge of friendship between East and
West.
Lecturing at universities in Ankara, Bonn, Harvard, New York and
London,
Schimmel was highly regarded by the Islamic world.
-----
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-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/30/2003
HEADLINES:
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* OKLAHOMA RESCINDS BAN ON HEAD-COVERINGS FOR PHOTO ID
- Penn. Prisoners Win Accommodation on Prayer Rugs
* INCITEMENT WATCH: MUSLIM-BASHERS TO SPEAK AT RIGHT-WING CONFERENCE
- Inhuman Enemy (ABC)
* VANDALS TARGET WESTERN MD. ISLAMIC GROUP (AFP)
* BROOKINGS SCHOLAR IS DETAINED BY INS (Washington Post)
- Pakistan Turned Down On US Immigration Opt-Out (AFP)
* CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS CALL FOR END TO FBI "MOSQUE COUNTING POLICY"
* PROFESSOR WAITS IN TURKEY TO RETURN (San Jose Mercury News)
* ANTI-TERRORISM LAWS RAISE CONCERN OF ARABS, MUSLIMS (Toronto Star)
* ANALYSTS: NO EVIDENCE OF IRAQ, AL-QAIDA COOPERATION (Knight Ridder)
- The Empire Strikes First (NY Times)
- Anti-War Protesters Announce 2/15 Rally for `Millions' (AP)
- The Wrong Words (NY Times)
- Less Than Half of Americans Know Language of Iraq (PR Newswire)
* PIPES SPEAKS FROM BOTH SIDES OF MOUTH (Toronto Star)
* SHARON FOLLOWS UP ELECTION WIN WITH HEBRON RAID (Reuters)
* ISLAMIC ACADEMY GIVEN GO-AHEAD TO BUILD (Washington Post)
* MISSIONARIES WORRY INTEMPERATE WORDS CAN HURT THEM (Star Telegram)
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
GOOD NEWS ALERT
OKLAHOMA RESCINDS BAN ON HEAD-COVERINGS FOR PHOTO ID
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/30/03) - State officials in Oklahoma have
rescinded a
law banning religious head coverings in driver's license photos. The
decision to change the policy came after a meeting between Department
of
Public Safety Commissioner Bob Ricks, CAIR, and other Muslim groups
that
viewed the ban as a violation of religious rights.
Oklahoma's ban on head-covering in driver IDs came to light when
several
Muslim women in that state said they were not allowed to take photos
with
their religiously-mandated headscarves.
SEE: "HEAD-COVERING BAN FOR IDS CRITICIZED"
http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=978082
In the past, departmental procedures have prohibited religious head
coverings, although exceptions were made for people suffering from
medical
conditions.
According to an agreement reached between Commissioner Ricks and
representatives from the Oklahoma Muslim groups, women who wear
religious
head coverings will now be able to take driver's license photos. The
new
rules are scheduled to be issued by the Department of Public Safety in
30 days.
---
PENN. PRISONERS WIN ACCOMMODATION ON PRAYER RUGS
(Washington D.C., 1/30/03) - The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
has
reversed a policy of a prison in Huntingdon County requiring all prayer
rugs to be flame resistant following intervention by a Washington-based
Islamic civil rights and advocacy group.
In a letter to the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Department
of Corrections, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) wrote
"It
is clear that the policy places a substantial burden on the Muslim
inmates
to practice their religion, since there are no fire resistant prayer
rugs
available in the market." The letter was prompted by a complaint CAIR
received from a Muslim inmate at the Huntingdon prison that he was not
allowed to acquire a prayer rug.
In a response to CAIR's letter, the Executive Assistant to the
Secretary
wrote, "The Superintendent informed me that your initial allegation was
correct. Due to your inquiry, the Superintendent investigated and
corrected
this matter."
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: MUSLIM-BASHERS TO SPEAK AT RIGHT-WING CONFERENCE
Farah to address Islam on C-SPAN
WorldNetDaily.com, 1/30/03
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=30757
Joseph Farah, editor of WorldNetDaily and author of the new book,
"Taking
America Back," will moderate a nationally televised panel discussion at
the
Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington this weekend on
the
subject, "Islam: Religion of Peace?" The broadcast is scheduled for 3
p.m.
Saturday on C-SPAN.
Joining Farah on the panel will be Daniel Pipes of the Middle East
Forum,
Serge Trifkovic, foreign affairs editor of Chronicles magazine and
author
of "The Sword and the Prophet," and Kenneth R. Timmerman, author and
senior
writer at Insight Magazine.
SEE: http://www.cpac.org/cpaccontents/schedule/index.shtml
---
THE SPEAKERS:
WorldNetDaily.com Editor JOSEPH FARAH publishes almost daily diatribes
against Islam and Muslims. In a June 2002 column, Farah claimed, "Islam
has
been at war with the West, with Christianity, with Judaism…ever since
the
days of [the Prophet] Muhammad." He also rejected criticism of a
Worldnetdaily.com article advocating that, "For every [Israeli]
civilian,
100 non-combatant Palestinian adults will be slain, and for every
child,
1,000 adults," saying that he found the proposal to be "a very
thoughtful
and quite responsible contribution to the Middle East debate." Other
editorials on WorldNetDaily.com called the Quran, Islam's revealed
text, a
"suicide playbook" and recommended air-lifting pigs into Afghan
mosques. A
recent WorldNetDaily.com headline read: "Up Shiite creek without a
policy."
DANIEL PIPES is a pro-Israel commentator who claims the "increased
stature,
and affluence, and enfranchisement of American Muslims...will present
true
dangers to American Jews." (Daniel Pipes' speech before the convention
of
the American Jewish Congress, 10/21/2001) A central theme of Pipes'
commentary is that American Muslims are a threat because they have the
goal
of "transforming [the United States] into a Moslem country." (Jewish
World
Review, 11/16/2000)
SEE ALSO: WHO IS DANIEL PIPES?
http://www.cair-net.org/misc/people/daniel_pipes.html
SERGE TRIFKOVIC is a frequent contributor to another web site,
Frontpagemag.com, known for its hostility to Islam and Muslims.
Headlines
for his commentaries include "The Golden Age of Islam is a Myth," "The
Stupidity of Dialogue with Islam," "Islam's Nazi Connections," and
"Islam's
Immigrant Invasion of Europe."
SEE ALSO:
INHUMAN ENEMY
Michael S. James, ABC News, 1/29/03
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/demonizing_enemy030129.html
During World War I, the German threat was depicted as a mad, marauding
gorilla with a bloody club.
Recently, an American political cartoon asked the question, "What Would
Mohammed Drive?" and answered it with a drawing of a man dressed in
Muslim
garb driving a rental truck with a missile hanging out the back.
"For most human beings, it takes an awful lot to allow them to kill
another
human being," said Anthony Pratkanis, a psychology professor at the
University of California, Santa Cruz. "The only way to do it is to
justify
the killing, to make the enemy look as evil as possible."
Propaganda, both by governments and the private media, has evolved over
the
years as media has evolved. But, some say, the principle remains the
same.
"The secret in propaganda is that when you demonize, you dehumanize,"
said
James Forsher, a film historian and documentary filmmaker who has
studied
propaganda films, and who is an assistant professor of mass
communications
at California State University, Hayward.
"When you dehumanize, it allows you to kill your enemy and no longer
feel
guilty about it," he said. "That is why during World War II, a lot of
caricatures became animals. … You can kill a monkey a lot more easily
than
you can kill a neighbor..."
"I think the demonization of Islam and the Arab world is identical to
what
happened 100 years ago," Winter said. "The Arab is now a stock figure,
a
caricature, a symbol of fanaticism, of infinite cruelty and no regard
for
human rights."
"If things turn nasty [with Iraq], God knows what's going to happen to
them," Forsher said. "It worries me. It worries me for the country and
for
Americans who have Middle Eastern ancestry..."
-----
VANDALS TARGET WESTERN MD. ISLAMIC GROUP
Associated Press, 1/30/03
HAGERSTOWN, Md. - An Islamic group targeted by vandals and threats is
offering $500 for information about the perpetrators, whose actions
some
local Christian and Jewish leaders have condemned.
The latest incident occurred Friday, when someone used a chain saw to
cut
down and steal a sign for the Islamic Society of Western Maryland's
mosque
on the city's southeastern edge, near an Interstate 70 exit.
It was the third time in seven months that the sign has been stolen,
police
said. The society's day-care center received an obscene telephone call
and
bomb threat in July that prompted an evacuation of nearly 20 children,
Greg
Alton, an investigator with the Washington County Sheriff's department,
said…
-----
BROOKINGS SCHOLAR IS DETAINED BY INS
George Lardner Jr., Washington Post, 1/30/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63596-2003Jan29.html
Ejaz Haider is an editor with Pakistan's most respected
English-language
newsweekly and a visiting research scholar at the Brookings
Institution,
one of Washington's most prominent think tanks.
A good friend of his country's foreign minister, Khurshid Mahmud
Kasuri, he
attended a conference Monday at Brookings Kasuri held as part of a
campaign
against relentless enforcement of U.S. immigration rules.
On Tuesday, however, Haider became one of the latest people detained in
the
government's registration program for temporary foreign visitors when
two
armed INS agents accosted him on the street and took him into custody.
"We were stunned. I never thought I'd see this in my own country:
people
grabbed on the street and taken away," said Stephen P. Cohen, head of
the
Brookings South Asia program for which Haider worked. "If he hadn't
come
into the building to show the agents some notes, it's not clear we
would
have known where he was..."
"For me," he added, "the personal irony of all this is that I have four
times over the last 25 years made calls to the Pakistani government to
release a Pakistani journalist from one of their prisons. I never
thought I
would be making a plea to our own government to release a Pakistani
journalist from one of our jails…"
SEE ALSO:
PAKISTAN TURNED DOWN ON REQUEST FOR US IMMIGRATION OPT-OUT
Stephen Collinson, Agence France Presse, 1/30/03
WASHINGTON - The United States on Wednesday politely rejected
Pakistan's
request for an exemption from new immigration rules imposed on citizens
of
more than 20 mainly Muslim states in an anti-terror crackdown.
But Pakistan's visiting Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri said he
had
been assured his countrymen would be treated with sensitivity by US
immigration authorities and felt mass deportations of Pakistanis were
unlikely.
"I've urged the secretary of state that Pakistan should be excluded
from
this list," Kasuri said after talks with the top US diplomat.
"Pakistani
nationals in the United States should be provided the necessary relief
and
flexibility under the law…
-----
CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS CALL FOR TERMINATION OF FBI "MOSQUE COUNTING
POLICY"
The following are excerpts from a letter by Congressmen Conyers, Nadler
and
Senator Feingold to Attorney General John Ashcroft:
Dear Mr. Attorney General:
We write to ask you to immediately terminate the Justice Department's
new
policy directing the fifty-six FBI field offices to count the number of
mosques and Muslims, as well as other community groups and religious
organizations, in their areas. We have written to you many times since
September 11, 2001, regarding our concern that the Department is
practicing
racial, ethnic and religious profiling in its attempts to fight the war
on
terrorism. The new policy concerning local Muslim populations and
mosques,
as well as other local ethnic and religious groups, is just the latest
episode in what seems to be an unconstitutional abuse of power.
According to published reports, it is our understanding that this
information is to be used to determine goals for counter terrorism
investigations and secret wiretaps. If this is indeed the case, we are
further troubled at not only your Department's apparent disregard for
the
constitutional guarantee of equal protection and religious freedom, but
also our citizens' fundamental right to privacy and due process of law…
But we cannot sanction the targeting of Muslim populations and mosques,
or
any other community group or institution, to gather intelligence
without
any suspicion or cause that a specific individual or group of
individuals,
or a particular mosque or religious organization, is engaging in
terrorist
activities. We urge you to follow the constitutionally prescribed
channels
of investigation to ensure that the rights of American citizens are not
violated...
It would be appreciated if we could receive a response to this letter
by
February 3, 2003, and we would also appreciate receiving a staff
briefing
on your rationale for the program and its constitutionality. Please
contact the House Judiciary Committee staff at 225-6504 to follow up on
this matter. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI)
Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
Senator Russell D. Feingold (D-WI)
-----
PROFESSOR WAITS IN TURKEY TO RETURN
T.T. Nhu, San Jose Mercury News, 1/30/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/counties/alameda_county/5064287.htm
A UC Berkeley math professor who visited his home in Turkey during the
winter break has been unable to return to the United States, apparently
because he shares the same name as a criminal.
Mehmet Burak Erdogan, who teaches harmonic analysis, traveled with his
wife
to Turkey on Dec. 23 and was scheduled to return to Berkeley before
classes
resumed Jan. 21.
"I came home for vacation for less than three weeks," Erdogan said
Wednesday by phone from Izmir, Turkey. "It has been more than a month,
and
I'm still stuck here." As soon as he landed in Turkey, he applied for a
re-entry visa, which he said would have been issued within hours before
the
Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The problem, he said, is that Mehmet
Erdogan is as common in Turkey as John Jones is in the United States,
and
he was informed that his visa was being held up because someone with
the
same name has a criminal record…
-----
ANTI-TERRORISM LAWS RAISE CONCERN OF ARABS, MUSLIMS
Jennifer Saltman and Rick Mofina, Ottawa Citizen, 1/30/03
http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=35524f7a-dc5b-400e-b9f9-3ae4fef60865
A looming war with Iraq makes it crucial for the Canadian government to
guard against abuses of the country's anti-terrorism laws, say Arab and
Muslim community leaders.
"It's been very critical since Sept. 11, and it's becoming more
critical as
time goes by with the ongoing war on terrorism and the upcoming war in
Iraq," said Raja G. Khouri, national president of the Canadian Arab
Federation.
Mr. Khouri was part of a delegation of Arab and Muslim groups, which
included representatives of the Pakistani and Afghan communities, that
met
yesterday with Solicitor General Wayne Easter to press their concerns.
The
groups say Arabs and Muslims have been targets of harassment by the
Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the RCMP and security officials
at
airports and other entry points to Canada.
They allege authorities make surprise visits to the homes of Arabs and
Muslims to conduct lengthy interviews and some have accused Arabs and
Muslims in Canada of behaving like terrorists. There are concerns that
harassment will worsen in the event of a war with Iraq.
"We'd like education for police across the country in terms of letting
them
know the anti-terrorism act is not a licence to harass and abuse people
and
it's not open season on Arabs and Muslims," Mr. Khouri said…
-----
ANALYSTS: NO EVIDENCE OF IRAQ, AL-QAIDA COOPERATION
Warren P. Strobel, Knight Ridder, 1/30/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/5052710.htm
WASHINGTON - President Bush invoked a grim and powerful image in his
State
of the Union address Tuesday night, asking Americans to imagine what
would
have happened if the Sept. 11 hijackers had been armed with poison gas
or
germs.
However, U.S. officials and private analysts said Bush's suggestion
that
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein might give such weapons to terrorists - and
the
implication that the risk of American retaliation can no longer deter
him -
stretches the analysis of U.S. intelligence agencies to, and perhaps
beyond, the limit…
SEE ALSO:
THE EMPIRE STRIKES FIRST
Maureen Dowd, New York Times, 1/29/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/29/opinion/29DOWD.html
The Bush team thinks the way to galvanize the public is with fear, by
coupling Saddam to 9/11 and building him up into a Hitler who could
threaten the world, as the White House chief of staff, Andy Card, told
Tim
Russert last Sunday, "with a holocaust."
But their reasons for war predate 9/11. The conservatives have wanted
Saddam's head for a dozen years.
Dick Cheney; his chief of staff, Scooter Libby; and the Pentagon
official
Paul Wolfowitz also think Saddam is the perfect lab rat on which to
test
their new pre-emptive "empire strikes first" national security
strategy,
which Mr. Wolfowitz and Mr. Libby first drafted back in 1992, during
the
Bush 41 administration, when Mr. Cheney was defense secretary…
After removing the super-rat, Mr. Wolfowitz, Mr. Libby and their fellow
hawk Richard Perle can turn his country into a laboratory for democracy
in
the Arab world ' creating a domino effect to give Israel more security.
Once they have planted Athenian democracy on Mesopotamian soil, they
envision orchestrating more freedom throughout the Middle East ' as
long as
the region plays ball with the new sheriff. They'll put pressure on
Syria
and Iran to abandon their support for terrorism. And then, with an
American
spigot, the oil will flow free ' except to the French, who will pay
dearly...
---
ANTI-WAR PROTESTERS ANNOUNCE FEB. 15 RALLY FOR `MILLIONS'
Amy Westfeldt, Associated Press, 1/29/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/5058881.htm
NEW YORK - Anti-war protesters on Wednesday predicted "literally
millions"
of people in New York, San Francisco and more than 30 international
cities
would march the weekend of Feb. 15 against war in Iraq.
A day after President Bush said in his State of the Union address that
he
was ready to disarm Saddam Hussein's Iraq, organizers brought
politicians,
church leaders and Oscar-winning filmmakers Jonathan Demme and Mercedes
Ruehl out to announce the protest.
"We can, when we stand up together, actually stop this war from
happening,"
said Leslie Cagan, a co-chairwoman of New York's United for Peace and
Justice chapter…
Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, NAACP chairman Julian Bond,
Martin
Luther King III and performers Harry Belafonte, Mos Def and Danny
Glover
will be among the speakers, Cagan said…
---
THE WRONG WORDS
Abdel Monem Said, New York Times, 1/30/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/30/opinion/30SAID.html
Probably no area of the world had a keener interest in President Bush's
address on Tuesday night than the Middle East. And probably nowhere
will
there be greater disappointment. People in moderate Arab states will
conclude that the president, in a number of significant ways, is
woefully
misguided in his approach to the region's troubles.
First, the American government seems to have divided the Middle East
into a
set of separate problems, each in its own little box: Iraq, Iran, the
Palestinians and the Israelis, Fundamentalism, Terrorism. To an Arab,
these
are all related issues. The United States should concentrate on the
problem
whose resolution would, ultimately, solve all the other problems.
That problem isn't Iraq. In fact, tackling Iraq will worsen the
situation
in the Middle East. It is the Palestinian question whose resolution has
the
best potential for a positive impact on the region and beyond.
Unfortunately, it received only a passing reference in the president's
speech…
---
WAR IS FARE FOR COMMENTATORS
Dave Astor, Editor and Publisher, 1/30/03
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/editorandpublisher/features_columns/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1806786
When columnists and cartoonists comment about a possible U.S. strike
against Iraq, there seems to be room for more diversity of opinion than
when these creators tried to express themselves in the months
immediately
following 9/11.
Back then, criticizing Bush-administration policies "was considered not
patriotic," said Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
spokeswoman
Hodan Hassan. But she praised newspaper editorial pages for offering "a
wider range of thought" in recent months -- and expects this to
continue if
war with Iraq breaks out.
Cal Thomas, whose Op-Ed feature runs in 550-plus papers via Tribune
Media
Services, said reader reaction to his columns has been "hugely
positive."
He noted: "The approach I've taken has been largely supportive of the
Bush
administration's policy to disarm and/or remove Saddam Hussein…"
But some of Thomas' commentary on Iraq and what he describes as "the
threat
to American values by radical Islam" has been criticized by groups such
as
CAIR. Thomas said these groups are "aggressively attempting to
intimidate
certain columnists by engaging in letter-writing campaigns to
newspapers
and personal visits with editors to persuade them to remove such voices
from the papers."
Hassan responded: "We've never tried to get people fired. We want
newspaper
editors and columnists to take the concerns of Muslims into account" --
and
to not stereotype or generalize about Muslims. "We're exercising our
First
Amendment rights just like they [editors and columnists] are exercising
their First Amendment rights," Hassan said, adding that other religious
and
ethnic groups do the same thing...
-----
SURVEY FINDS THAT LESS THAN HALF OF ALL AMERICANS KNOW WHAT THE
OFFICIAL
LANGUAGE OF IRAQ IS
PR Newswire, 1/30/03
NEW YORK - We've fought one war with Iraq and are inundated with media
stories about a second. One would think Americans know some pretty
basic
facts about the country. But surprisingly, in a recent survey only 49
percent of respondents could name Arabic as an official language of
Iraq.
In the survey of over 2500 people conducted for Living Language by the
NFO
WorldGroup, people were asked to choose Iraq's official language from
the
list of Arabic, Farsi, Iroquois, Armenian and Turkish. From this list
only
Arabic is an official language of Iraq. Kurdish is also recognized as
an
official language, although not offered as a choice in this survey.
Although 49 percent did choose Arabic, 18.3 percent chose Farsi, 2.2
percent chose Armenian, and 1.3 percent chose Turkish. A very small
percentage (0.6%) chose Iroquois, a Native American language. They
would
have been better off joining the 28.5 percent who simply answered
"don't know."
"Most Americans have traditionally known very little about Middle
Eastern
languages," says Christopher Warnasch, Editorial Director of Living
Language. "But that's begun to change, especially since September
11. Americans are curious or concerned about the Middle East, and they
are
starting to recognize that the best way to know a people is to know
their
language…"
-----
PIPES SPEAKS FROM BOTH SIDES OF MOUTH
Toronto Star, 1/30/03
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1035777202802&call_pageid=968332189003&col=968350116895
I was surprised to read that Daniel Pipes referred to protesters as
barbarians," given that he is the man behind the controversial,
McCarthy-style Campus Watch Web site. Critics say that Campus Watch
itself
has led to intimidation and limiting of free speech - university
professors
who have been singled out in Campus Watch's "dossiers," because of
their
supposedly anti-Israel views, reported resulting harassment,
threatening
phone calls and E-mail floods.
Pipes describes the key barrier to peace in the Middle East as
"on-going
Arab rejection of Israel." What about the brutal occupation and illegal
settlements? Common sense would dictate that any solution to the Middle
East conflict will only come from equal recognition and concern for the
tragic loss of life and suffering on both sides.
Nasser Chanda,
Mississauga
SEE ALSO: WHO IS DANIEL PIPES?
http://www.cair-net.org/misc/people/daniel_pipes.html
-----
SHARON FOLLOWS UP ELECTION WIN WITH HEBRON RAID
Mazen Dana, Reuters, 1/30/03
HEBRON, West Bank - Israeli soldiers searched Palestinian homes and
bulldozers wrecked a vegetable market in Hebron on Thursday after Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon rebuffed a post-election olive branch extended by
Yasser Arafat.
The sweep for militants in the flashpoint city was the first major
military
assault in the West Bank since Tuesday's election in Israel. The raid
followed the killing of three soldiers outside a Jewish settlement near
Hebron a week ago.
While Israeli tanks rumbled through the Palestinian-ruled sector of the
city, Sharon's pursuit of a broad coalition following his right-wing
Likud
party's resounding victory in the parliamentary poll was still in low
gear…
-----
ISLAMIC ACADEMY GIVEN GO-AHEAD TO BUILD
Barbara E. Martinez, Washington Post, 1/30/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60549-2003Jan29.html
The Islamic Saudi Academy has cleared the last legal hurdle to building
an
$ 80 million complex in Ashburn. But five years after the school won a
special zoning exception for the 100-acre tract, no date has been set
to
start construction.
"We wanted to make sure that there was not an uncertainty looming over
our
land development permits," said school spokesman Anthony Nozzoli. He
said
the school would "make the decision to move forward" when all aspects
of
the project came together…
Before the supervisors passed their sweeping revision to the county's
zoning ordinance Jan. 6, obtaining a zoning permit was considered
adequate
progress on a construction project to vest a special exception. The new
ordinance requires either a building permit and work on the project or
an
occupancy permit. Artman argued that baseball fields constitute a park,
which do not require zoning permits to build.
Three members of the appeals board -- E. Page Moffett, Nan M. Joseph
Forbes
and William S. Leach -- voted last Thursday to uphold the appeal. Board
Chairman E. Frank Meyers III voted to deny it.
"I agree that a school is made up of more than reading, writing and
arithmetic," Forbes said. The ballfields were "clearly a part of this
school," she said.
In addition to the baseball fields, the school built an access road to
them, widened Farmwell Road and paid half the cost of adding a
stoplight.
The school said that work cost more than $ 5 million.
It was that fact that persuaded Leach to uphold the appeal. "Wouldn't
you
concede that the expenditure of $ 5 million would demonstrate the
intention
to build a school?" he asked Artman…
None of the detractors spoke at last Thursday's meeting. Rather, a
parade
of community members spoke of the good that the school had already done
for
Ashburn. "They did use the little guys here in the county," said Tom
Berezoski, a contractor who helped build the ballfields.
Robert Young, treasurer of the Dulles Little League, said the community
could not afford to lose the fields, "especially ones as nice as these.
-----
YOUNG MISSIONARIES WORRY INTEMPERATE WORDS CAN HURT THEM
Jim Jones, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1/30/03
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/5029729.htm
The 27 student missionaries serving in 10 Muslim-dominated regions sent
a
letter urging Southern Baptists to moderate their criticism of Islam
and
its founder because it hurts Christian evangelism and endangers
missionaries.
The letter _ timely in light of the murders of three Baptist missionary
hospital workers in Yemen last month _ declares: "We are not sure if
you
are aware of the ramifications that comments that malign Islam and
Muhammad
have not only on the message of the Gospel but also on the lives of our
families as we are living in the midst of already tense times."
Missionaries did not mention any names. But many were dismayed last
June
when former Southern Baptist Convention President Jerry Vines called
Muhammad a "demon-possessed pedophile" at a national pastors'
conference in
St. Louis. Some Baptist leaders defended Vines. Vines, a Jacksonville,
Fla., pastor, said he was merely commenting on the dangers of pluralism
in
America and the growing assertion that one religion is as good as
another.
Also, Jerry Falwell and Franklin Graham have made widely publicized
derogatory comments about Islam...
-----
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https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ANTI-MUSLIM STICKERS SOLD AT CONSERVATIVE CONFERENCE
Islamic advocacy group calls on Republican leaders to repudiate hate
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/31/03) - A national Islamic civil rights and
advocacy
group today called on Republican leaders to repudiate anti-Islam
paraphernalia being sold at a right-wing conference kicked off by Vice
President Cheney.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) made that request
after
learning that "virulently anti-Muslim" bumper stickers with text such
as,
"No Muslims -- No Terrorism," are being sold from exhibition booths at
the
30th annual Conservative Political Action Conference
(http://www.cpac.org/)
in Washington, D.C. Another sticker offered for sale at the conference
replaces the letter "s" in "Islam" with a Nazi swastika.
The Islamophobic stickers were removed from view after the vice
president's
office received a complaint from the Washington-based Islamic
Institute,
but are still being sold under-the-table. The Washington Post reports
that
when asked about the anti-Muslim stickers, "a booth attendant smiled
and
reached behind a sheet, saying conference organizers had ordered her to
take them off display." The attendant then offered the stickers for
$2.75
each.
SEE: "Sticker Shock"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3956-2003Jan30.html
"Republican leaders, starting with Vice President Cheney, must once and
for
all repudiate the anti-Muslim bile being spewed by hate-mongers within
their ranks. Otherwise, the party will justifiably be viewed as a last
refuge for racism and religious intolerance," said CAIR Executive
Director
Nihad Awad.
Awad added that just yesterday, CAIR alerted the American Muslim
community
to a Saturday panel discussion at that same conference, titled "Islam:
Religion of Peace?" that will include a number of what the group says
are
"Muslim-bashers."
Panelists include a web site editor who claimed, "Islam has been at war
with the West, with Christianity, with Judaism…ever since the days of
[the
Prophet] Muhammad," a pro-Israel commentator who claims the "increased
stature, and affluence, and enfranchisement of American Muslims...will
present true dangers to American Jews," and a writer whose commentaries
include "The Stupidity of Dialogue with Islam" and "Islam's Nazi
Connections."
SEE: http://www.cpac.org/cpaccontents/schedule/index.shtml
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-MAIL:
cair@cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive
news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to CAIR-NET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
-----
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-----
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To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 2/2/2003
HEADLINES:
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* NEW: MUSLIM KID'S JOURNAL
* INCITEMENT WATCH: CBC CHALLENGES DANIEL PIPES ON ANTI-MUSLIM QUOTE
- Israeli Defender Holds Strange View (Edmonton Journal)
- Resources: Campus-Watch-Watch
- J.D.L. Member in Plea Accord on Bomb Plot (New York Times)
- Ex-JDL Official to Plead Guilty in Bombing Plot (LA Times)
- Two Oregon Guardsmen Held on Hate Crime (AP)
- Hotel Pulls Plug on Anti-Islam Show (Record)
- Probation for Making Threat to Islamic Group (Canadian Press)
* THE OTHER FACE OF FANATICISM (New York Times)
- Report: Israel to Train Indian Special Forces (AP)
- Israeli Army Demolishes West Bank Houses (AP)
* PRAYERS UNITE FAITHS AFTER SHUTTLE BREAKUP (AP)
* GETTING RELIGION ON AIDS (New York Times)
* SPLIT AT C.I.A. AND F.B.I. ON IRAQI TIES TO AL QAEDA (NY Times)
- Pakistani Christians Protest Against War on Iraq (AP)
- US is Misquoting My Iraq Report, Says Blix (Morning Herald)
* BUSH APPROVES NUCLEAR RESPONSE (Washington Times)
* I.N.S. SHREDDER ENDED WORK BACKLOG, U.S. SAYS (New York Times)
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
NEW: MUSLIM KID'S JOURNAL
http://www.mkjournal.com/
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: CBC CHALLENGES DANIEL PIPES ON ANTI-MUSLIM QUOTE
CBC Radio's "The Current" (http://cbc.ca/thecurrent/) host Anna Maria
Tremonti challenges Daniel Pipes for saying: "I worry very much…that
the
presence, and increased stature, and affluence, and enfranchisement of
American Muslims...will present true dangers to American Jews." (Daniel
Pipes' speech before the convention of the American Jewish Congress,
10/21/2001) In his reply, Pipes claims that "danger" is "a pretty
obvious
fact, am I not just calling a spade a spade."
GO TO:
http://media.cbc.ca:8080/ramgen/cbc.ca/thecurrent/media/200301/20030130thecurrent_sec2.rm
(Scroll ahead to minute 14:30)
SEE: WHO IS DANIEL PIPES?
http://www.cair-net.org/misc/people/daniel_pipes.html
SEE ALSO:
ISRAELI DEFENDER HOLDS STRANGE VIEW OF HISTORY
E.E. Daniel, Edmonton Journal, 2/2/03
Daniel Pipes contends that Arab rejection of Israel's right to exist is
the
root cause of violence in the Middle East.
This is a strange view of recent history. Israel has no hesitation in
using
its overwhelming military might to prevent the Palestinians from having
a
viable state. Moreover, Israel is backed by the world's most powerful
bully, the U.S. government. The Israeli government of Sharon ignored
the
offer a few months ago by the Arab League for full recognition of
Israel in
return for the evacuation of the territories occupied by Israel after
1967.
It is clear, too, that the Sharon government continues to promote the
takeover of Palestinian lands by Israeli settlers who constitute the
biggest obstacle to peace…
I would like Pipes to live as a Palestinian under Israeli occupation
for a
month and then see how his goal of "adult supervision" of academics
like me
who do not hold with his views would appear to him.
---
RESOURCES: CAMPUS-WATCH-WATCH
http://www.campus-watch-watch.com
---
J.D.L. MEMBER IN PLEA ACCORD ON BOMB PLOT
BARBARA WHITAKER, New York Times, 2/1/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/01/national/01JDL.html
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 31 - A longtime member of the Jewish Defense League
agreed to plead guilty to civil rights and explosives-related charges
today
in connection with a plot to blow up a mosque and a congressman's field
office.
The defendant, Earl L. Krugel, 60, was arrested in December 2001 along
with
Irv Rubin, who was then the leader of the Jewish Defense League, and
charged with planning to bomb the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City and
the
office of Representative Darrell Issa, a Republican of Lebanese
descent.
Mr. Krugel accepted the plea agreement in Federal District Court, said
his
lawyer, Mark Werksman, because the current political climate is not
favorable for a defendant in a domestic terrorism case and because the
deal
offered the prospect of release rather than a life sentence.
According to a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, Mr.
Krugel
directed a government informer in buying items needed to build a bomb
and
showed the informer other items, like bomb fuses, already in his
possession.
---
EX-JDL OFFICIAL TO PLEAD GUILTY IN BOMBING PLOT
Group's former No. 2 leader makes deal. He admits plan to attack
mosque,
office.
David Rosenzweig, Los Angeles Times, 2/1/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jdl1feb01.story
Rubin and Krugel were arrested on Dec. 11, 2001, after an FBI informant
delivered 5 pounds of explosives to Krugel's home in Reseda.
According to a statement accompanying Krugel's signed agreement filed
in
court Friday, Krugel and Rubin met with the informant on Oct. 19, 2001,
and
laid the groundwork for a bombing campaign against Arab American
targets.
Rubin, the statement said, wanted to target the Muslim Public Affairs
Council, which has offices in a Mid-Wilshire high-rise, and Krugel had
a
list of mosques throughout the Los Angeles area. Krugel acknowledged
saying
that Arabs needed a "wake-up call" and that the JDL needed to do
something
to one of the Arabs' "filthy mosques…"
---
TWO OREGON GUARDSMEN HELD ON HATE CRIME
Jeff Barnard, Associated Press, 2/1/03
MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - Two National Guardsmen who served as peacekeepers
in
the Middle East appeared in court Friday on charges they were involved
in a
racist attack on a motel owner and the beating of a homeless man.
A third Oregon guardsman involved in the attack on the motel owner and
linked to attacks on three homeless men shot and killed himself early
Thursday after running away from the motel, police said.
The two others told investigators they were "on a mission" to clean up
Medford, said police Lt. Mike Moran.
Police said Andrew Patterson, 23, and Aaron St. James, 25, waited in a
car
in the parking lot while Chad Ritchie, 21, went into the office and
assaulted the owner. Moran said the three targeted the man, who is from
India, mistakenly believing he was an Arab.
When police got to the motel, officers found Patterson and St. James
waiting in a car. Ritchie's body was discovered in the parking lot of a
nearby restaurant.
---
HOTEL PULLS PLUG ON ANTI-ISLAM SHOW
MIRKO PETRICEVIC, The Record, 2/1/03
http://www.therecord.com/news/news_03020184056.html
KITCHENER -- An evangelist who has been convicted of wilfully promoting
hatred against Muslims said he plans to hold an anti-Islam conference
in
downtown Kitchener today despite the decision of the hotel to ban him
from
the building.
"I've paid for a room," said Mark Harding, one of the conference
organizers
and one of four speakers on the program.
"Now I want to run my religious (conference) based on my constitutional
right as a Canadian and based on my religious convictions on Islam."
In 1998, Harding was convicted of wilfully promoting hatred against
Muslims
for writing and distributing anti-Islam leaflets around a Toronto high
school.
But the Walper Terrace Hotel, where the conference was to take place
this
afternoon, has cancelled the seminar, said Denise Strong, the hotel's
general manager…
Strong said she received about 70 e-mail messages and a dozen telephone
calls during the past week, nearly all of them from people opposed to
the
seminars...
The event has the potential to incite hatred against Muslims, Nagra
said,
because of a backlash against Muslims in North America since the 2001
terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington.
"We want to put out a clear message that we do not want to have this
kind
of hate-mongering happening in our community," she said.
---
PROBATION FOR MAKING THREAT TO ISLAMIC GROUP
Canadian Press, 1/31/03
ST. CATHARINES - A man who made threatening phone calls to a member of
an
Islamic organization after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was sentenced
yesterday to nine months of probation. Court heard Emat Karachi had her
home number printed in the phone book as an alternate number for the
Islamic Society of Niagara. At about 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, she
answered the phone and heard Robert Nichols's voice. "You should be
dead.
Muslims are the only ones who kill in the name of Islam. You should all
be
dead," crown attorney Alan Root read from a police report. After she
hung
up, Karachi checked her answering machine and found three messages
Nichols
had left that night. "You want to die in the name of Islam?" one of the
messages asked. "It may happen sooner than you think." Karachi read
Nichols's name off the call display, and police later matched his voice
with the one left on the tape. He later apologized.
-----
THE OTHER FACE OF FANATICISM
PANKAJ MISHRA, New York Times Magazine, 2/2/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/02/magazine/02HINDU.html
On the evening of Jan. 30, 1948, five months after the independence and
partition of India, Mohandas Gandhi was walking to a prayer meeting on
the
grounds of his temporary home in New Delhi when he was shot three times
in
the chest and abdomen…Millions of shocked Indians waited for more news
that
night. They feared unspeakable violence if Gandhi's murderer turned out
to
be a Muslim. There was much relief, also some puzzlement, when the
assassin
was revealed as Nathuram Godse, a Hindu Brahmin from western India, a
region relatively untouched by the brutal passions of the partition.
Godse had been an activist in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National
Volunteers Association, or R.S.S.), which was founded in the central
Indian
city of Nagpur in 1925 and was devoted to the creation of a militant
Hindu
state. During his trial, Godse made a long and eloquent speech claiming
that Gandhi's "constant and consistent pandering to the Muslims" had
left
him with no choice…Godse requested that no mercy be shown him at his
trial
and went cheerfully to the gallows in November 1949, singing paeans to
the
''living Motherland, the land of the Hindus.''
Now, more than half a century later, many Indians feel that the R.S.S.
has
never been closer to fulfilling its dream. Its political wing, the
Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian People's Party, B.J.P.), the most
important
among the ''Sangh Parivar'' -- the ''family'' of various Hindu
nationalist
groups supervised by the R.S.S. -- has dominated the coalition
government
in New Delhi since 1998. Both Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India's prime
minister,
and his hard-line deputy and likely heir, L.K. Advani, belong to the
R.S.S., and neither has ever repudiated its militant ideology.
In the last five years, the Hindu nationalists have conducted nuclear
tests
and challenged Pakistan to a fourth and final war with India. They have
taken a much harsher line than previous governments with the decadelong
insurgency in the Muslim majority state of Kashmir, which is backed by
radical Islamists in Pakistan. After a terrorist attack on the Indian
Parliament in December 2001, they mobilized hundreds of thousands of
troops
on India's border with Pakistan. The troops were partly withdrawn last
October, but a war with Pakistan -- one involving nuclear weapons --
remains a terrifying possibility and is in fact supported by powerful,
pro-Hindu nationalist sections of the Indian intelligentsia.
The Hindu nationalists' attempts to stoke Hindu fears about Muslims
also
appear to be succeeding among many of India's disaffected voters. In
December, the B.J.P. won elections in the western state of Gujarat,
despite
being blamed by many journalists and human rights organizations for the
vicious killings of more than 2,000 Muslims in Gujarat early last year.
According to a report by Human Rights Watch, the worst violence
occurred in
the commercial city of Ahmedabad: "Between Feb. 28 and March 2 the
attackers descended with militia-like precision on Ahmedabad by the
thousands, arriving in trucks and clad in saffron scarves and khaki
shorts,
the signature uniform of Hindu nationalist -- Hindutva -- groups.
Chanting
slogans of incitement to kill, they came armed with swords, trishuls
(three-pronged spears associated with Hindu mythology), sophisticated
explosives and gas cylinders. They were guided by computer printouts
listing the addresses of Muslim families and their properties…and
embarked
on a murderous rampage confident that the police was with them. In many
cases, the police led the charge, using gunfire to kill Muslims who got
in
the mobs' way…"
SEE ALSO:
REPORT: ISRAEL TO TRAIN INDIAN SPECIAL FORCES
Associated Press, 2/2/03
NEW DELHI, India, The Indian army will send thousands of special forces
troops to Israel for training to fight Islamic militants in troubled
Kashmir, and the two countries have signed a multimillion-dollar
weapons
deal, a news report said Sunday.
An Indian Defense Ministry delegation will visit Israel next week to
discuss anti-insurgency warfare training for its special forces, the
Press
Trust of India news agency quoted unidentified ministry officials as
saying. India and Israel have also signed a US$30 million agreement to
arm
special forces with advanced light weapons systems, the news agency
said.
Brig. Shrutikant, an Indian army spokesman, gave no immediate comment
on
the report. Shrutikant uses only one name.
Israel will train about 3,000 selected Indian soldiers in batches, the
news
agency said.
---
ISRAELI ARMY DEMOLISHES WEST BANK HOUSES
NASSER SHIYOUKHI, Associated Press, 2/2/03
HEBRON, West Bank (AP) - The Israeli army, citing a lack of building
permits, demolished nine houses belonging to Palestinians in the West
Bank
city of Hebron on Sunday, leaving dozens homeless.
Palestinian families hurriedly dragged refrigerators and sofas out of
the
houses before Israeli bulldozers, guarded by soldiers, began knocking
down
the walls. The families said they had received notices months ago that
the
houses would be demolished, but had not known when the work would
begin.
A total of 22 homes were to be destroyed Sunday, all because they
allegedly
were built without permits, said Talia Somech, a spokeswoman for the
army's
Civil Administration. Some had already been completed and others were
still
under construction, Palestinians in the area said.
Israel has been tearing down dozens of Palestinian homes in recent
months…
Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat said the demolitions were part
of
Sharon's "policy of expanding settlements and putting obstacles in the
way
of future peace."
Palestinians say Israel's stringent permit policy can make it virtually
impossible to build new houses…
The houses demolished Sunday were located not far from two recent
attacks
on Israelis. In one of them, on Nov. 15, a total of 12 security force
members were killed, and a Jewish settler was killed in the other one
last
month.
-----
PRAYERS UNITE FAITHS AFTER SHUTTLE BREAKUP
Associated Press, 2/2/03
The faithful in churches, synagogues and other houses of worship across
Texas gathered in prayer, searching for meaning after the sudden death
of
seven astronauts in the disintegration of the space shuttle Columbia…
Officials at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, where an estimated 40 percent
to
50 percent of the 3,000 members work for NASA or related space
industries,
said its three morning services Sunday would be dedicated as a time of
special prayers for the astronauts.
In Dallas, at the start of Saturday evening Mass at Holy Trinity
Catholic
Church, the Rev. John P. Cawley said, "Today we come together saddened
by
the news of the deaths of astronauts, literally right above us."
Zion Gospel Assembly also set aside time Saturday for prayers for the
astronauts, as did the New Life Seventh-day Adventist Church in Dallas.
At Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, more than 1,000 people heard
the
call to prayer of the Rev. Jack Graham, president of the Southern
Baptist
Convention.
Muslims at the Dallas Central Mosque in Richardson offered individual
prayers for the victims and their families.
-----
GETTING RELIGION ON AIDS
SHERYL GAY STOLBERG, New York Times, 2/2/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/02/weekinreview/02STOL.html
WASHINGTON -- AMERICA loves a moral crusade, which is precisely what
President Bush offered the nation last week with the announcement that
he
wants to triple American spending on global AIDS, to $15 billion over
the
next five years…
Conservatives have another reason to like Mr. Bush's approach: the
White
House says religious groups and faith-based organizations will be
eligible
for some of the money. That pleases Mr. Graham, who notes that a good
deal
of medical work in Africa is already done by church-related hospitals
and
clinics. ''The church,'' he says, ''should be on the front row of this
agenda.''
But this sets off alarms among some groups, including American Muslims,
who
were infuriated when Mr. Graham, more than once, denounced Islam as a
''very evil and wicked religion.''
"We are in favor of increased spending on AIDS drugs for those who
can't
afford them," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy group. "But we would be greatly
concerned if taxpayer money goes to a group headed by Franklin Graham,
who
has a long history of hostility toward Muslims and Islam."
-----
SPLIT AT C.I.A. AND F.B.I. ON IRAQI TIES TO AL QAEDA
JAMES RISEN and DAVID JOHNSTON, New York Times, 2/2/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/02/international/middleeast/02INTE.html
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 - The Bush administration's efforts to build a case
for
war against Iraq using intelligence to link it to Al Qaeda and the
development of prohibited weapons has created friction within United
States
intelligence agencies, government officials said.
Some analysts at the Central Intelligence Agency have complained that
senior administration officials have exaggerated the significance of
some
intelligence reports about Iraq, particularly about its possible links
to
terrorism, in order to strengthen their political argument for war,
government officials said.
At the Federal Bureau of Investigation, some investigators said they
were
baffled by the Bush administration's insistence on a solid link between
Iraq and Osama bin Laden's network. "We've been looking at this hard
for
more than a year and you know what, we just don't think it's there," a
government official said…
SEE ALSO:
MORE THAN 300 PAKISTANI CHRISTIANS PROTEST AGAINST U.S. WAR AGAINST
IRAQ
Associated Press, 2/2/03
MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) - Chanting slogans urging peace and expressing
solidarity with Iraq, more than 300 Pakistani Christians rallied in the
central city of Multan Sunday against a possible U.S. attack on
Baghdad.
Demonstrators marched down a busy street from Saint Mary's Cathedral
Church
in the center of the city, carrying banners reading: "We want peace"
and
"We condemn war."
"Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind,"
read
another large banner, carried by women and clergy members wearing their
vestments.
"There should be no war for oil. We will oppose it," said Bishop Victor
Mill, a Christian leader who spoke to the gathering in front of the
cathedral. "We will support our Muslim brothers in case America goes to
war…"
"We are with our Iraqi brothers. May God give them courage," some of
the
demonstrators said in prayers at the end of the rally.
---
US IS MISQUOTING MY IRAQ REPORT, SAYS BLIX
Judith Miller and Julia Preston, Sydney Morning Herald, 2/1/03
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/31/1043804520548.html
Days after delivering a broadly negative report on Iraq's cooperation
with
international inspectors, Hans Blix challenged several of the Bush
Administration's assertions about Iraqi cheating and the notion that
time
was running out for disarming Iraq through peaceful means.
In an interview on Wednesday, Dr Blix, the United Nations chief weapons
inspector, seemed determined to dispel any impression that his report
was
intended to support the United States' campaign to build world support
for
a war to disarm Saddam Hussein.
"Whatever we say will be used by some," Dr Blix said, adding that he
had
strived to be "as factual and conscientious" as possible. "I did not
tailor
my report to the political wishes or hopes in Baghdad or Washington or
any
other place."
Dr Blix took issue with what he said were US Secretary of State Colin
Powell's claims that the inspectors had found that Iraqi officials were
hiding and moving illicit materials within and outside of Iraq to
prevent
their discovery. He said that the inspectors had reported no such
incidents.
Similarly, he said, he had not seen convincing evidence that Iraq was
sending weapons scientists to other countries to prevent them from
being
interviewed.
Nor had he any reason to believe, as President George Bush charged in
his
State of the Union speech, that Iraqi agents were posing as scientists,
or
that his inspection agency had been penetrated by Iraqi agents and that
sensitive information might have been leaked to Baghdad.
Finally, he said, he had seen no persuasive indications of Iraqi ties
to
al-Qaeda. "There are other states where there appear to be stronger
links,"
such as Afghanistan, Dr Blix said. "It's bad enough that Iraq may have
weapons of mass destruction…"
-----
BUSH APPROVES NUCLEAR RESPONSE
Nicholas Kralev, Washington Times, 1/31/03
http://www.washtimes.com/world/20030131-27320419.htm
A classified document signed by President Bush specifically allows for
the
use of nuclear weapons in response to biological or chemical attacks,
apparently changing a decades-old U.S. policy of deliberate ambiguity,
it
was learned by The Washington Times.
"The United States will continue to make clear that it reserves the
right
to respond with overwhelming force - including potentially nuclear
weapons
- to the use of [weapons of mass destruction] against the United
States,
our forces abroad, and friends and allies," the document, National
Security
Presidential Directive 17, set out on Sept. 14 last year.
A similar statement is included in the public version of the directive,
which was released Dec. 11 as the National Strategy to Combat Weapons
of
Mass Destruction and closely parallels the classified document.
However,
instead of the phrase "including potentially nuclear weapons," the
public
text says, "including through resort to all of our options."
A White House spokesman declined to comment when asked about the
document
last night and neither confirmed nor denied its existence.
A senior administration official said, however, that using the words
"nuclear weapons" in the classified text gives the military and other
officials, who are the document's intended audience, "a little more of
an
instruction to prepare all sorts of options for the president," if need
be…
The official, nonetheless, insisted that ambiguity remains "the heart
and
soul of our nuclear policy..."
"This shows that there is a somewhat greater willingness in this
administration to use a nuclear response to other [non-nuclear weapons
of
mass destruction] attacks, although that's not a wholesale departure
from
previous administrations," one former senior official said.
-----
I.N.S. SHREDDER ENDED WORK BACKLOG, U.S. SAYS
JOHN M. BRODER, New York Times, 1/31/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/31/national/31FILE.html
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 30 - Tens of thousands of pieces of mail come into
the
huge Immigration and Naturalization Service data processing center in
Laguna Niguel, Calif., every day, and as at so many government
agencies, it
tends to pile up. One manager there had a system to get rid of the
vexing
backlog, federal officials say. This week the manager was charged with
illegally shredding as many as 90,000 documents.
Among the destroyed papers, federal officials charged, were American
and
foreign passports, applications for asylum, birth certificates and
other
documents supporting applications for citizenship, visas and work
permits.
The manager, Dawn Randall, 24, was indicted late Wednesday by a federal
grand jury, along with a supervisor working under her, Leonel Salazar,
34.
They are accused of ordering low-level workers to destroy thousands of
documents from last February to April to reduce a growing backlog of
unprocessed paperwork.
-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 2/3/2003
HEADLINES:
* VERSE OF THE DAY: TO GOD WE RETURN
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* U.S. MUSLIMS' GROWING VOICE (St. Petersburg Times)
* ON IRAQ, CHORUS OF CRITICISM IS LOUD, NOT CLEAR (Wash. Post)
- Commentary: Boxed in On Iraq (Washington Post)
- Bush Has Not Made the Case (Washington Post)
- What Do 'the Twin Menaces' Really Add Up To? (Independent)
- Only 10% of Canadians Support Strike Against Iraq: Poll (CP)
* AID TO ISRAEL: A $12 BILLION QUESTION (Newsweek)
- Use of Dart Shells Against Palestinians Condemned (Reuters)
* SHADOWS CAST OVER MECCA TRIPS (Newsday)
* ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT LATEST INS REGISTRATION DEADLINE (DOJ)
- Foreign Men Fear New INS Rule (Sun-Sentinel)
* CAIR-AZ "KNOW YOUR RIGHTS" SEMINAR
- CAIR-OHIO and MSA to Hold INS Registration Workshop
- CAIR-DFW Teachers Workshop
* AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION OPPOSES PATRIOT ACT
* BUSH SEEKS $30 MILLION FOR ARABIC TV STATION (Reuters)
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: TO GOD WE RETURN
"Be sure We shall test you with something of fear, and hunger, some
loss in
goods, or lives, or the fruits (of your toil). But give glad tidings to
those who patiently persevere. Who say when afflicted with calamity:
'To
God we belong and to Him is our return.'"
The Holy Quran, Chapter 2, Verses 155-156
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
MUSLIMS' GROWING VOICE
SHARON TUBBS, St. Petersburg Times, 2/3/03
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/02/03/Floridian/Muslims__growing_voic.shtml
CAIR, an 8-year-old grass roots organization that started out combating
Muslim stereotypes in movies and discrimination in the workplace, has
become the voice for Muslim rights.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, discrimination complaints have poured into its 21
chapters and liaison groups and its national office in Washington, D.C.
Membership and contributions more than doubled, to 15,000 and
$2.5-million,
respectively. Plans are under way to expand CAIR's presence in central
and
northern Florida.
But as its membership and budget prosper, so, too, do CAIR's
adversaries.
Some say the organization is trampling free speech rights and
belittling an
ongoing threat of terrorism by fanatic Muslims.
CAIR presses on, nonetheless.
In recent months, CAIR has taken on a Tallahassee newspaper columnist
and
an editorial cartoonist, a Baptist preacher in Jacksonville, Western
Union
and the Immigration and Naturalization Service...
Someone who saw Doug Marlette's political cartoon on the Internet
called
CAIR. Marlette, who works for the Tallahassee Democrat, had drawn a man
in
Muslim garb carting a missile in a Ryder truck, similar to the one used
by
1995 Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. "What would Mohammed drive?"
the
cartoon read. It was a play on the "What would Jesus drive?" movement
started by religious environmentalists who want to discourage people
from
buying gas-guzzling SUVs. The Democrat posted the cartoon on its Web
site
edition.
CAIR countered with an "action alert" on its Web site that petitioned
Muslims to protest with calls and e-mails to the paper. More than 4,500
did
over the next few days…
CAIR has grown steadily. It started with two paid employees and now has
35,
including lawyers and a paid communications staff…
Today CAIR is involved in other initiatives, some far-reaching.
For example, leaders are talking with Western Union about its policies.
Companies that transmit money are required to check the customers'
names
against a list issued by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of
Foreign
Assets Control. The list includes terrorists, narcotics traffickers and
other people with whom American businesses are generally forbidden from
dealing.
An African-American Muslim in New York named Muhammad Ali (not the
boxer)
recently tried to wire $80 to relatives. Ali's name matched one on the
list. Western Union asked him to provide photo identification and to
state
his country of birth. The company said it is required by law to make
sure
their customers are not the people on the list, so asking for
additional
identification was necessary. CAIR says the policy unfairly
discriminates
against Muslims.
CAIR leaders also are urging Muslims to contact President Bush and tell
him
not to give more tax money to Israel. It is organizing forums to
educate
Muslims about regulations that require males 16 and older on temporary
visas from certain countries, mostly in the Middle East and North
Africa,
to register with the INS. Abdullah Hatahet, a student at the University
of
South Florida, missed his registration deadline by one day and faced
deportation.
"The work is becoming overwhelming with these INS issues," Bedier said.
But
CAIR's work is necessary, he says. "If Muslims are going to be in
America,
then they have to get involved in the system."
-----
ON IRAQ, CHORUS OF CRITICISM IS LOUD BUT NOT CLEAR
U.S. Foreign Policy Establishment Remains Divided as Opposition to War
Grows
Michael Dobbs, Washington Post, 2/3/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16368-2003Feb2.html
As President Bush moves the nation closer to a military confrontation
to
force Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to give up his weapons of mass
destruction, an array of domestic opinion-makers have been raising
their
voices against war.
The past few days alone have seen a spate of critical speeches from
politicians of both parties, protests from religious leaders, peace
rallies
in Washington and other cities, and advertising campaigns attacking the
drift to war. A group of 40 American Nobel laureates, including several
Pentagon consultants, joined corporate chiefs, academics and former
military officials in issuing statements opposing a unilateral attack
on
Iraq by the United States.
The sound and fury on the streets and op-ed pages reflect deep
divisions
within the foreign policy establishment over the Bush administration's
choice of Iraq as the next target of its war on terrorism. So far,
however,
there is little sign that the protests will coalesce into a cohesive
antiwar movement with sufficient political power to force the
administration to reverse or even seriously rethink its Iraq strategy…
SEE ALSO:
COMMENTARY: BOXED IN ON IRAQ
William Raspberry, Washington Post, 2/3/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16722-2003Feb2.html
President Bush -- and, therefore, America -- is in a box from which
there
is no easy escape. If he attacks Iraq, either alone or with only the
skimpiest patchwork of "allies," the long-term cost is likely to far
outweigh the near-term benefits of "regime change." If he doesn't
attack,
the whole run-up to war will look like a colossal bluff, and no one --
including the hated Saddam Hussein -- will take any future threat
seriously.
That the box is of the president's own construction doesn't make the
dilemma any easier for the American people -- including those who think
the
threat of unilateral attack was a mistake from the start…
Now we have a relatively piddling enemy, whose "weapons of mass
destruction" are not nuclear warheads with ICBMs capable of delivering
them
to the American mainland but suspected supplies of chemicals and germs
that
would virtually have to be FedExed to reach here. And we're saying the
threat is so dangerous, and so imminent, that we must launch a
unilateral war…
---
BUSH HAS NOT MADE THE CASE
Bill Bradley, Washington Post, 2/2/03
The writer is the former Democratic senator from New Jersey.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13479-2003Feb2.html
The State of the Union address was President Bush's opportunity to make
the
case for a unilateral invasion of Iraq. He failed to do so in a
convincing
manner. How we get rid of Saddam Hussein is as important in the long
run as
just getting rid of him. If we do it the wrong way, our action could
seriously damage larger national interests.
Among the speech's failings:
1. The president did not demonstrate that a unilateral U.S. invasion of
Iraq will help in the fight against the ongoing, more serious,
distributed
threat of worldwide terrorism…
2. Bush did not acknowledge that a unilateral invasion risks
destabilizing
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan or Egypt -- any one of which would be a major
strategic loss for the United States…
3. The president minimized the importance of allies in a war against
Iraq,
as he has in many other areas…
4. Bush's strong remarks ignored the fact that military actions often
have
unpredictable consequences…
5. The president did not point out that the prospect of unilateral U.S.
invasion has caused Iraq's neighbors to put away traditional
animosities
and begin to consult on what it could mean for them…
---
SO WHAT DO 'THE TWIN MENACES' POSED BY IRAQ REALLY ADD UP TO?
Jeremy Binnie and Raymond Whitaker, Independent, 2/2/03
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=374794
So far, however, US attempts to demonstrate Iraq's evil intentions have
been ambiguous at best. The administration has repeatedly claimed, for
example - most recently in George Bush's State of the Union address -
that
Baghdad had bought aluminium tubes to restart its nuclear programme.
Not
only did nuclear scientists dispute the allegation that the tubes could
be
used for such a purpose, Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International
Atomic Energy Agency, thought they were more likely to be employed in
non-nuclear rockets, which Iraq is allowed to possess as long as they
do
not exceed a range of 150 kilometres, or just over 90 miles.
So how much of a threat does Iraq pose? From the report presented by
the
chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, on Monday and previous UN
inspections,
we can assume Iraq has tactical chemical weapons. The release of an
unauthenticated Iraqi document, detailing the regime's procurement of
protective suits and nerve agent antidote for its elite troops,
supports
this assertion and indicates that it will attempt to use them to defend
itself.
Iraq may also have longer-range Scud-type missiles that could deliver
chemical or biological weapons. We can assume that this strategic
capability is relatively limited, however, as Washington and London
would
not be proposing to attack Iraq if it had developed a credible
deterrent.
In that case, as with nuclear-armed North Korea, a more diplomatic
approach
would be adopted...
---
TEN PER CENT OF CANADIANS SUPPORT UNILATERAL STRIKE AGAINST IRAQ: POLL
DONALD MCKENZIE, Canadian Press, 2/2/03
MONTREAL (CP) _ Only 10 per cent of Canadians were in favour of
military
action by the United States and its allies against Iraq without the
backing
of the United Nations, a recent poll suggests.
Forty-six per cent of respondents in the Leger Marketing poll Jan.
22-26
said they supported UN-sanctioned military action against Iraq, while
36
per cent were opposed to any kind of strike, regardless of the
circumstances.
Eight per cent said they did not know or refused to answer. Quebecers,
at
49 per cent, were the most opposed to any kind of military action.
Other
regional breakdowns along the same lines were Ontario, 35 per cent; the
Atlantic provinces, 34; British Columbia, 28; and Alberta, Manitoba and
Saskatchewan, 27.
Sheema Khan, chair of the Canadian branch of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, said the poll numbers reflect the caution
Canadians feel about going to war.
"Canadians historically have always been a peacekeeping nation," Khan
said
from Ottawa…
-----
AID TO ISRAEL: A $12 BILLION QUESTION
Sharon wants a huge new aid package. Bush needs a viable
Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Can they make a deal?
Joshua Hammer, NEWSWEEK, 3/10/03
http://www.msnbc.com/news/867561.asp
Feb. 10 issue - A sense of urgency filled the meeting at the Old
Executive
Office Building in Washington, D.C. For four hours, a team of
high-ranking
Israeli officials sat with their counterparts from the State Department
last month, pleading for cash. Citing Israel's war-battered economy and
mounting security costs, the visiting delegation asked for a whopping
$4
billion in extra military assistance, plus $8 billion in
commercial-loan
guarantees.
THIS SUM WOULD be added to nearly $3 billion that Israel already
receives
each year, the biggest U.S. aid package provided to any country in the
world. The Americans made no promises. But according to a senior
government
official involved in the talks, "The impression we got was a good one."
That unprecedented request could give the White House a powerful lever.
The
administration has put the peace process on hold for months while
concentrating on the buildup to war with Iraq. Meanwhile the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict has continued, disrupting America's ties
with
the Arab world and keeping the whole region precariously off balance.
Washington intends to get the two sides talking again "on day one"
after a
war with Iraq, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said last month.
He
added that the administration will push Israel to accept at least a
vague
timetable for the establishment of a Palestinian state within five
years
and to "deal with" the Jewish settlements that are still springing up
in
the occupied territories. In return for the additional $12 billion
grant-and-loan package, Washington could demand that Israel quickly
freeze
or even dismantle some of the West Bank and Gaza's 145 settlements. But
will the Bush administration have the nerve?...
For now, the Bush administration won't likely demand more. The White
House
budget team can't really consider Israel's $12 billion request until
the
bills come in for the showdown with Saddam. "You have everybody-the
Turks,
Jordanians and Egyptians-suggesting their assistance would be made
easier
if money was forthcoming," says one senior Bush official. "Then our
folks
are just beside themselves trying to figure out what is going to happen
to
the price of oil." When the dust clears, however, Bush will have to
decide
whether to follow his father's example-or continue writing Sharon a
blank
check.
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)
Contact the White House and Congress to ask that the
multi-billion-dollar
Israeli aid request be rejected.
1. Call the White House at: 202-456-1414 or 202-456-1111.
2. Contact your elected representative by calling the Capitol
Switchboard
at 202-224-3121. (Have your zip code ready.)
3. Go to http://capwiz.com/cair/home/ to e-mail the President and/or
your
elected representatives.
SEE ALSO:
USE OF DART SHELLS AGAINST PALESTINIANS CONDEMNED
Nidal al-Mughrabi, Reuters, 2/3/03
JABALYA REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Israeli human rights
activists
Monday condemned the army's continued use of dart-spraying "flechette"
shells in a Palestinian revolt after two youths underwent complicated
surgery for liver wounds.
Israeli military sources said a tank Friday fired three flechette
rounds
toward what an army outpost in the Gaza Strip identified as "a group of
terrorists" about to fire homemade Qassam missiles into nearby Israel.
Palestinians said the area was on the edge of the sprawling Jabalya
refugee
camp and the flechettes hit a group of young Palestinians playing
volleyball, not Palestinian militants.
Nine lightly injured youths were released from Jabalya's al-Awda
hospital
Monday, but the two who took flechettes in their livers had to undergo
emergency surgery and will remain in hospital indefinitely, hospital
director Fadel Jouda said.
"We stopped the bleeding but there's no way to get them out," he said
of
the arrow-shaped darts inside Islam Sabbah, 12, and Bilal al-Arini, 17,
who
were in stable condition…
He showed Reuters two four-centimetre-long darts he said had been
extracted
from the bodies of several of the youths.
Israeli human rights group B'tselem said use of flechettes was not
generally banned by international law but were a violation if
casualties
were in an inhabited area and uninvolved in combat.
"(In this case) flechettes became a indiscriminatory weapon and that is
unlawful," B'tselem spokesman Lior Yavne said...
B'tselem's website said at least nine Gaza residents had been killed by
Israeli army flechettes between March 2001 and February 2002.
Palestinian
medics said the toll consisted of four women, two mentally-ill men --
one
of whom was apparently trying to infiltrate a Jewish settlement -- and
three minors.
B'tselem said a flechette round explodes in the air and flings
thousands of
small metal darts as far as 300 metres (1,000 feet) in all directions.
The Israeli army made considerable use of flechette shells during its
1978-2000 occupation of southern Lebanon.
-----
SHADOWS CAST OVER MECCA TRIPS
Ron Howell, Newsday, 2/3/02
http://www.newsday.com/mynews/ny-nyhajj033114737feb03.story
Stepped-up scrutiny of Muslim immigrants and the threat of war in Iraq
are
casting a shadow over one of Islam's holiest duties - the annual
pilgrimage, or hajj, to Mecca, some leaders say.
As many as 8,000 New Yorkers typically make the trip every year to the
Saudi Arabian capital, but Muslim spokesmen say the numbers may be
lower
this year than in the past.
In particular, they cite a fear that Muslim travelers, even U.S.
citizens
and legal residents, may be considered terrorist suspects and not
allowed
back into the country…
-----
IMPORTANT NEWS FOR CITIZENS OF BANGLADESH, EGYPT, INDONESIA, JORDAN, OR
KUWAIT IN AMERICA (SOURCE: DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE)
Certain male, nonimmigrant aliens who are nationals or citizens of
Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, or Kuwait, were born on or before
February 24, 1987, and entered the U.S. on or before September 30,
2002,
must register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service between
February 24, 2003, and March 28, 2003.
Lawful visitors who are maintaining valid immigration status must
register
to preserve their legal status. If you are required to register and do
not
do so before this deadline, you may be considered to be out of status
and
may be subject to arrest, detention, fines and/or removal from the
United
States. Any future application for an immigration benefit from the
United
States may be adversely impacted. If you register after the deadline
and/or
are currently out of status, you may be subject to arrest, detention,
fines
and/or removal from the United States when you register. Decisions will
be
made on an individual basis, depending on the circumstances of each
case.
You may wish to consult with an immigration attorney before registering
to
determine your immigration status, whether you are required to
register,
and the consequences of not registering.
You can find more information
at: www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/lawenfor/specialreg/index.htm
For the most up-to-date information regarding Special Registration
procedures, office hours, or designated ports for departure, please
consult
the INS web page at www.ins.usdoj.gov, or call the National Customer
Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.
SEE ALSO:
FOREIGN MEN FEAR NEW INS RULE
Tanya Weinberg, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 2/3/03
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-smuslims03feb03,0,4490148.story
Young Pakistani men in button-down shirts with neat haircuts and
worried
expressions listened Sunday to community leaders condemn an immigration
program poised to upturn their lives.
"It is a tragedy when someone is detained. We're all scrambling, I
know,"
said Mohammad Javed Qureshi, founder of the School of Islamic Studies
of
Broward.
Qureshi spoke of trying to raise bail of $7,500 for men detained when
they
complied with a federal requirement that visiting men from Muslim
countries
register at Immigration and Naturalization Service offices.
At the Renaissance Biscayne Bay Hotel in Miami, Qureshi and other
Asian-American and civil rights leaders spoke of the need for national
security, but also implored the government to respect hard-working
immigrants seeking to comply with the law and the current registration
program…
---
CAIR-AZ "KNOW YOUR RIGHTS" SEMINAR
Join CAIR-AZ along with Valley Attorneys for a "Know Your Rights
Seminar."
* Have you ever wondered...Do I have to register if I am Palestinian
carrying a courtesy Jordanian or Syrian passport?
* What are the consequences for not complying with "Special
Registration"?
* Can my credit rating affect my application for US Citizenship?
* If I have submitted an adjustment application, am I still out of
status?
* Can an employer refuse to let me wear hijab?
* Can the police stop me for no other reason than to ask for my
status/visa/passport?
* If I am not a citizen, can I participate in protests?
* If the Police/FBI come to my home/work, what are my rights?
Questions and answers will be discussed in an open forum. Participating
Attorneys include those from the areas of Immigration, Civil Rights and
Criminal Law.
WHEN: Wednesday, February 5, 2003, 6:00PM-9:00PM
WHERE: Phoenix Airport Marriott, 1101 N 44th St (just North of HWY
202),
Phoenix, AZ
GUEST SPEAKERS:
Deedra Abboud, Executive Director, CAIR-AZ
Joe Abodeely, Attorney, President, Arab American Cultural Association
Eleanor Eisenburg, Attorney, Executive Director, AzCLU
Judy C. Flanagan, Attorney, Chair, Arizona Immigration Law Executive
Council
For more information call 602-262-CAIR (2247)
CAIR-AZ
Council on American-Islamic Relations
Arizona Chapter
202 East Mc Dowell Road, Suite 170
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Tel: 602-262-CAIR (2247)
URL: http://www.cairaz.org
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-OHIO AND MSA TO HOLD INS REGISTRATION WORKSHOP
WHEN: Tuesday, February 4, 2003 starting at 8PM
WHERE: Schoenbaum Hall, Room 315 - OSU College of Business 210 W.
Woodruff
Ave.
WHY: To educate the community about the latest INS registration
requirements.
There will be representatives from a local law firm there to answer
your
questions regarding the INS registrations.
For Help With Special Registrations, Call CAIR-Ohio: 614-451-3232
---
CAIR-DFW TEACHER WORKSHOPS
http://www.cairdfw.org/tworkshop/register.html
-----
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION OPPOSES PATRIOT ACT
RESOLUTION ON THE USA PATRIOT ACT AND RELATED MEASURES THAT INFRINGE ON
THE
RIGHTS OF LIBRARY USERS
2002-2003 CD # 20.1
2003 ALA Midwinter Meeting
WHEREAS, the American Library Association affirms the responsibility of
the
leaders of the United States to protect and preserve the freedoms that
are
the foundation of our democracy; and
WHEREAS, libraries are a critical force for promoting the free flow and
unimpeded distribution of knowledge and information for individuals,
institutions, and communities; and
WHEREAS, the American Library Association holds that suppression of
ideas
undermines a democratic society; and
WHEREAS, privacy is essential to the exercise of free speech, free
thought,
and free association; and, in a library, the subject of users'
interests
should not be examined or scrutinized by others;
and
WHEREAS, certain provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, the revised
Attorney
General Guidelines to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other
related measures expand the authority of the federal government to
investigate citizens and non-citizens, to engage in surveillance, and
to
threaten civil rights and liberties guaranteed under the United States
Constitution and Bill of Rights; and
WHEREAS, the USA PATRIOT Act and other recently enacted laws,
regulations,
and guidelines increase the likelihood that the activities of library
users, including their use of computers to browse the Web or access
e-mail,
may be under government surveillance without their knowledge or
consent;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the American Library Association opposes any use of
governmental power to suppress the free and open exchange of knowledge
and
information or to intimidate individuals exercising free inquiry; and,
be
it further
RESOLVED, that the American Library Association encourages all
librarians,
library administrators, library governing bodies, and library advocates
to
educate their users, staff, and communities about the process for
compliance with the USA PATRIOT Act and other related measures and
about
the dangers to individual privacy and the confidentiality of library
records resulting from those measures; and, be it further
RESOLVED, that the American Library Association urges librarians
everywhere
to defend and support user privacy and free and open access to
knowledge
and information; and, be it further
RESOLVED, that the American Library Association will work with other
organizations, as appropriate, to protect the rights of inquiry and
free
expression; and, be it further
RESOLVED, that the American Library Association will take actions as
appropriate to obtain and publicize information about the surveillance
of
libraries and library users by law enforcement agencies and to assess
the
impact on library users and their communities; and, be it further
RESOLVED, that the American Library Association urges all libraries to
adopt and implement patron privacy and record retention policies that
affirm that "the collection of personally identifiable information
should
only be a matter of routine or policy when necessary for the
fulfillment of
the mission of the library" (ALA Privacy: An Interpretation of the
Library
Bill of Rights); and, be it further
RESOLVED, that the American Library Association considers that sections
of
the USA PATRIOT ACT are a present danger to the constitutional rights
and
privacy rights of library users and urges the United States Congress
to:
1) provide active oversight of the implementation of the USA PATRIOT
Act
and other related measures, and the revised Attorney General Guidelines
to
the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
2) hold hearings to determine the extent of the surveillance on library
users and their communities; and
3) amend or change the sections of these laws and the guidelines that
threaten or abridge the rights of inquiry and free expression; and, be
it
further
RESOLVED, that this resolution be forwarded to the President of the
United
States, to the Attorney General of the United States, to Members of
both
Houses of Congress, to the library community, and to others as
appropriate.
Initiated by: Committee on Legislation Cosponsored by: Committee on
Legislation and Intellectual Freedom Committee Endorsed by: OITP
Advisory
Committee, LITA, Intellectual Freedom Roundtable Endorsed in principle
by:
ACRL, ALTA Executive Board, ALSC, ASCLA, AASL Legislation Committee
-----
BUSH SEEKS $30 MILLION FOR ARABIC TV STATION
Reuters, 2/3/03
WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The Bush administration asked Congress on
Monday for $30 million in fiscal year 2004 to finance an
Arabic-language
television station broadcasting U.S. government propaganda by satellite
to
the Middle East.
The station, the Middle East Television Network, could "reach vast
audiences in the Middle East," the State Department said in budget
documents released on Monday.
It would be part of a State Department public diplomacy effort designed
to
"engage, inform and influence foreign publics," the documents said.
The television station, which would be under the control of the
Broadcasting Board of Governors, would also help overcome the problems
Washington has met in persuading Arab governments to run advertisements
on
their state television stations.
It would supplement the Washington-funded Radio Sawa radio station, set
up
after the attacks of September 2001 to give Arabs a mixture of Western
and
Arab music, interspersed with reports presenting the news from a U.S.
perspective…
In its explanation of the request, the State Department said that after
the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, "We realized that the U.S. government and its
people had become isolated from a large group of people who hold
different
views about our beliefs, values, policies and behavior…"
-----
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https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 2/4/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: BE MERCIFUL TO OTHERS
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* MUSLIMS PRAY FOR SHUTTLE CREW (Florida Times Union)
* SAMPLE EID UL-ADHA NEWS RELEASE FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES
* SPIES FORCE RETREAT ON 'AL-QA'EDA LINK' (Telegraph)
- Intelligence Agencies Doubt Al-Qa'ida Links (Independent)
- US Chooses Saddam's Successor (Sydney Morning Herald)
- Making Nuclear Bombs 'Usable' (LA Times)
- Hazy WMD Definitions (Washington Times)
- U.S. Muslim Leader to Take Group as 'Human Shields' (AP)
* INVENTING CRIMES (Counterpunch)
* INS POLICIES MUST BE FLEXIBLE (San Jose Mercury News)
* CHRISTIAN CHARITY TO HELP A MOSQUE (New York Times)
* JEWISH SETTLERS: POPULATION UP 12,000
* MUSLIM TEEN IN MICHIGAN WINS SERVICE AWARD
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: BE MERCIFUL TO OTHERS
When a dying child was brought to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him),
the Prophet began to cry. A companion asked why he was crying, and the
Prophet said: "It is mercy which God has lodged in the hearts of His
servants, and God is merciful only to those of His servants who are
merciful (to others)."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Hadith 373
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"Library Package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
MUSLIMS PRAY FOR SHUTTLE CREW
Nin-Hai Tseng, Florida Times Union, 2/4/03
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/020403/met_11654049.shtml
They held their arms out and closed their eyes in silent prayer just as
the
prophet Muhammad had taught them.
Spiritual leader Imam Zaid Malik of Jacksonville's Islamic Center of
Northeast Florida yesterday afternoon led about 80 Al-Furqan Academy
students in a short prayer, honoring the men and women who lost their
lives
in the Columbia space shuttle accident.
"The seven-member Columbia gave their lives in pursuit of endeavors
that
benefit all of humanity," Malik said, standing inside the center's
mosque.
"Their death is a tremendous loss for the human family."
The children, ranging from kindergartners to sixth-graders, looked up
as
Malik spoke.
Malik encouraged the students and members of the center to join "our
fellow
Americans" in mourning. The youths, he said, should be inspired by the
bravery set by those who died in Saturday's accident...
-----
SAMPLE EID UL-ADHA NEWS RELEASE FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES
The following sample news release, in the form of a media advisory, may
be
modified for use by local Muslim communities to publicize the upcoming
or
future Eids. Just fill in the bracketed items with information relevant
to
your area. Media advisories should be sent to local television news
assignment editors, newspaper city or metro editors, radio station news
directors, and local wire service (Associated Press) "Daybook" editors.
Call each media outlet to ask for contact information. Send CAIR: 1) a
copy
of your media advisory, and 2) hard copies of or web links to Hajj or
Eid
coverage in your area.
---
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
-- MEDIA ADVISORY --
LOCAL MUSLIMS MARK END OF HAJJ WITH PRAYERS, FESTIVAL
WHAT: On February [DATE], thousands of Muslims in the [CITY OR REGION]
area
will celebrate the end of the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, or Hajj, with
communal prayers and a multicultural festival in [CITY, STATE]. In
previous
years, more than [PAST ESTIMATE OF EID PARTICIPANTS] Muslims turned out
for
the daylong event.
The prayers, and the holiday that follows, are called Eid ul-Adha
(eed-al-ODD-ha), or "festival of the sacrifice." Eid ul-Adha
commemorates
the Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael at God's
command. The holiday is celebrated with the prayers, small gifts for
children, distribution of meat to the needy, and social gatherings.
The multicultural festival and bazaar will feature games and rides for
children, Islamic books and clothing, as well as foods from around the
Muslim world. The event is free and open to the public. People of all
faiths are encouraged to attend and sample the diversity of Islamic
culture
There are an estimated [NUMBER] Muslims in [CITY, STATE OR REGION] and
some
seven million nationwide.
WHEN: February [DATE], [TIME, LIST TIMES FOR MULTIPLE PRAYERS]
WHERE: [NAME AND ADDRESS OF LOCATION FOR EID PRAYERS. GIVE DIRECTIONS.]
CONTACT: [LIST NAMES AND PHONE NUMBERS (CELL PHONES ARE BEST) FOR
DESIGNATED CONTACT PEOPLE.]
PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: Each year, Muslims from America and many different
countries come to the prayers in colorful dress. The prayers themselves
are
quite visual, with worshipers arranged in neat rows and bowing in
prayer in
unison. Participants exchange embraces at the conclusion of the
prayers.
NOTE: Because this is a religious service, reporters and photographers
of
both sexes should dress modestly. That means no shorts for men or short
skirts for women. Some communities may ask female reporters and
photographers to put a scarf over their hair while in the actual prayer
area. Photographers should arrive early to get into position for the
best
shots. Photographers are also advised not to step directly in front of
worshipers and to seek permission for close-up shots. Shots of shoes
removed for prayer, and rear-angle shots of prostrating worshipers, are
considered inappropriate and clichéd.
SPONSORS: [LIST ALL SPONSORS FOR THE EID PRAYERS]
- END -
-----
SPIES FORCE RETREAT ON 'AL-QA'EDA LINK'
Michael Smith, Telegraph, 2/4/03
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/02/04/wirq04.xml
Colin Powell, the United States secretary of state, yesterday appeared
to
pull back from claims that he would show the United Nations a link
between
al-Qa'eda and Iraq, amid anger among Washington's spies over the way
intelligence was being distorted to prove the link existed.
There will be "no smoking gun" in the evidence he will present to the
Security Council tomorrow in an attempt to persuade it to back force
against Iraq, he said.
It will just be "a straightforward and compelling demonstration that
Saddam
is concealing evidence of weapons of mass destruction, while preserving
the
weapons."
He faces a tough task made far tougher by President George W Bush's
promise
in his State of the Union address last week that Mr Powell would prove
a
link between al-Qa'eda and Iraq that, intelligence officials say, does
not
exist.
The intelligence shows that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a leading member of
al-Qa'eda, was treated in hospital in Baghdad last spring but provides
absolutely no evidence of any contacts with Iraqi officials…
SEE ALSO:
INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES DOUBT AL-QA'IDA LINKS
Kim Sengupta, Independent, 2/4/03
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=375403
British and European security services are sceptical of the "evidence"
due
to be presented by Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, to link the
Iraqi regime with al-Qa'ida.
General Powell will, apparently, claim that links between Saddam
Hussein
and Osama bin Laden's organisation include terrorist training and
co-operation on chemical and biological weapons, the presence of an
Islamist group in northern Iraq and medical treatment for a senior
Islamist
operative in Baghdad.
But security sources in London said yesterday that both they and the
CIA
remained unconvinced by the material…
---
US CHOOSES SADDAM'S SUCCESSOR
Tom Allard, Sydney Morning Herald, 2/4/03
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/03/1044122320739.html
The United States has chosen a successor to Saddam Hussein from Iraq's
notoriously fractious opposition groups, according to a former Iraqi
diplomat who lives in Sydney.
Mohamed al-Jabiri, who has just returned from in talks with Washington,
said the White House has given its "blessing" to the head of the Iraqi
National Congress, Ahmed Chalabi, to lead a transitional coalition
government in Iraq once Saddam has been deposed.
Dr al-Jabiri, who talked to Mr Chalabi over the phone last month, said:
"He
told me that he would take over. He has the blessing of the White House
and
the State Department…"
---
MAKING NUCLEAR BOMBS 'USABLE'
Richard T. Cooper, Los Angeles Times, 2/4/03
http://www.latimes.com/la-na-nukes3feb03004428,0,6347310.story
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon has launched a fast-track program to develop
computers that would help decide when nuclear weapons might be used to
destroy deep underground bunkers harboring weapons of mass destruction
or
other critical targets, documents show.
The program, described in unpublished Pentagon documents obtained by
The
Times, seeks to design an array of high-speed computers that could take
in
structural and other data on a prospective underground target,
calculate
the amount of force needed to destroy it, then determine whether a
nuclear
"bunker buster" would be required…
Kucia, a critic of the administration's new initiatives, said nuclear
devices "have been reserved for decades as the absolute weapons of last
resort."
"To put them in the realm of usable weapons is to take on a whole new
definition that has never been explored and, frankly, should not be
explored," she added…
---
HAZY WMD DEFINITIONS
Alan Reynolds, Washington Times, 2/4/03
http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20030202-89423984.htm
Top officials of the Defense and State departments have been busy on
the
lecture circuit, trying to rationalize the urgency of war. But their
descriptions of "weapons of mass destruction" remain hazy. Secretary of
State Colin Powell alluded to missing artillery shells and bombs
"capable
of" carrying chemical agents, and growth material which might be used
to
make "biological agents," saying these "terrible weapons put millions
of
innocent people at risk."
But how could millions be killed by undiscovered warheads or surplus
growth
material?
Tiresome gripes about how impossible it is to find anything in a large
country - even huge missiles - are also inconsistent with satellite
photos
that the CIA reports showing supposedly suspicious factories (a castor
oil
plant might make poisonous ricin or brake fluid; a chlorine plant might
make deadly gas or ordinary bleach). Since the location of these
factories
is known, why not simply insist they be inspected…?
The administration may have painted itself into a tight corner. Defense
officials moved thousands of U.S. troops into the Middle East because
they
imagined such a "credible threat" would persuade Saddam to help
inspectors
find illicit weapons or go into exile. Unfortunately, those ambitious
objectives failed to allow for a graceful U.S. exit. The sheer presence
of
so many idle troops circling Iraq is what now makes it so difficult for
the
White House to be patient about inspections, or to decide against
invasion…
---
MUSLIM LEADERS PLANS TO TAKE GROUP TO SERVE AS 'HUMAN SHIELDS'
Associated Press, 2/4/03
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - A Muslim leader plans to take about 15 people
to
Iraq to serve as human shields for citizens endangered by a possible
U.S.
strike against Iraq.
Badi Ali, president of the Islamic Center of the Triad in Greensboro,
wants
to put Americans in strategic locations across Baghdad to prevent
attacks.
He said he's working with other peace groups and several Iraqi
nongovernmental agencies to arrange lodging. The group, which includes
people who aren't Muslim, plans to leave around the end of February and
remain for at least two weeks.
"We will likely stay at, or near, strategic locations such as
hospitals,
orphanages, shelters and power facilities," he said.
Ali, a native Palestinian and naturalized American citizen, said he
thought
of the human shield idea months ago. Since then, some European
opponents of
a U.S. war with Iraq also have mobilized to act as human shields…
-----
INVENTING CRIMES
Kurt Nimmo, Counterpunch, 2/1/03
http://www.counterpunch.org/nimmo02012003.html
A Minnesota man, Ilyas Ali, stands accused of selling a whole lot of
hashish and heroin so he might buy Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and
sell
them to the dreaded al-Qaeda who would, of course, take out 747s packed
with kindergarten children and grandmothers. Ali, a naturalized US
citizen
born in India, and two Pakistanis will be sent to San Diego to face
charges. Maybe a layover at Camp X-Ray is in order? Or maybe a side
trip to
one of those infamous interrogation dungeons in Jordan, Egypt, or
Morocco?
Sarcasm aside, Ali says he was set-up by FBI agents. It was a good
old-fashioned American ethic that ensnared the hapless Ali -- a greedy
and
unchecked desire for money. After $100,000 was stolen from his St.
Paul,
Minnesota, grocery store, Ali was befriended by two men he later
identified
as FBI agents; one claimed to be a drug dealer and the other a weapons
specialist. As the drugs-for-weapons plan matured, Ali told an AP
reporter
from a jail, the FBI agents paid to fly him twice to Pakistan and once
to
Hong Kong...
The case of Ali and the Pakistanis dovetails nicely with the propaganda
of
the Bushites (since terrorism and drugs are twin evils threatening the
good
people of America). John Ashcroft has characterized the case as a
reminder
"of the toxic combination of drugs and terrorism and the threats they
can
pose to our national security." It may eventually turn out to be a
"toxic
combination" dreamed up by scheming FBI agents and conniving
bureaucrats in
the Justice Department. Since there seems to be little if any al-Qaeda
activity threatening Our Way of Life presently -- even though we are
warned
every few weeks of imminent (and unsubstantiated) attack by tenebrous
doers
of evil -- the FBI may need to "stimulate" threats in lieu of the real
McCoy...
-----
TRACKING SOME VISITORS MAKES SENSE, BUT INS MUST BE FLEXIBLE WITH
OTHERS
San Jose Mercury News, 1/31/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/2003/01/31/news/opinion/5073303.htm
The INS bungled the first round of registering foreigners who are in
America on temporary visas. Its decision to halt deportation
proceedings
against three Silicon Valley high-tech workers is a tacit
acknowledgment of
that. The three, born in Iraq and Iran, were among hundreds who were
arrested and detained for days in December, the majority for minor visa
infractions. Two are Canadian citizens with green cards who work in the
valley.
They committed the sin of showing up a couple of days late for a
registration deadline that they weren't sure applied to them. They were
arrested on the spot and eventually imprisoned in San Diego, where they
spent six days before their release Christmas Eve. The cells were full
of
men who were similarly mistreated.
But right off the bat, the INS showed poor judgment. It didn't
publicize
the regulations widely and implemented the program punitively and
erratically. Some INS offices immediately arrested and detained
everyone
who had overstayed his visa, even when he posed no security threat,
wasn't
likely to flee or had a residency application pending…
-----
CHRISTIAN CHARITY TO HELP A MOSQUE
Daniel J. Wakin, New York Times, 2/4/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/04/nyregion/04MOSQ.html
In keeping with the spirit of religious togetherness after Sept. 11,
the
Episcopal Diocese of New York raised money along with New York Muslims
to
rebuild a mosque in Afghanistan.
The mosque will be dedicated on Feb. 12. But criticism from within the
church and a lukewarm response in the diocese show that it is not
always so
simple to do a good deed in the name of faith. The mosque is in the
Qarhabagh district, about an hour's drive north of Kabul. Villagers
claimed
that it had been occupied by Taliban fighters and that it was heavily
damaged by the American military during the campaign after the attack
on
the World Trade Center.
Bishop Mark S. Sisk of New York, who had the idea for the project, said
that rebuilding the mosque was a Christian duty, and a message that
pluralism is part of civilized society.
"All people are children of God, and the faith that I have is, we need
to
respect each other and respect other religions," he said. "From the
deepest
level, this is a conviction on my part. God loves the villagers of
Afghanistan…"
-----
JEWISH SETTLERS: POPULATION UP 12,000
Ian Deitch, Associated Press, 2/4/03
JERUSALEM - Jewish settlers said Monday their number grew by more than
12,000 last year, even though they often are targeted in Palestinian
attacks.
The Settlers Council said 226,028 Jews were living in the West Bank at
the
end of 2002, an increase of 12,356 - or 5.8 percent - from 213,672 a
year
earlier. The increase over the past two years is 11.3 percent, the
settlers
said.
In 28 months of violence, 137 settlers have been killed in Palestinian
attacks, out of a total of 720 on the Israeli side. On the Palestinian
side, 2,075 people have been killed.
The Israeli Interior Ministry said the 2002 figures were accurate, but
the
Central Bureau of Statistics said it did not yet have 2002 population
numbers for the settlements. At the end of 2001, the bureau said,
208,300
Israelis were living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
However, the higher population figures contain some Israelis who have
left
the settlements but have not changed their addresses officially because
settlers pay lower taxes, an Interior Ministry official said.
-----
MUSLIM TEEN IN MICHIGAN WINS SERVICE AWARD
HONORS ALSO BESTOWED ON OTHER TOP YOUTH VOLUNTEERS IN MICHIGAN
PR Newswire, 2/4/03
LANSING, Mich. -- Alex Hill, 15, of Grand Blanc and Elizabeth Foley,
14, of
Saline today were named Michigan's top two youth volunteers for 2003 by
The
Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring
young
people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now
in
its eighth year, is conducted by Prudential Financial, Inc. in
partnership
with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).
More
than 24,000 high school and middle level students submitted
applications
for this year's program...
In addition, the program judges recognized six other Michigan students
as
Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service
activities.
Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion:
Nadia Bazzy, 17, of Canton, a senior at Mercy High School in Farmington
Hills, helped found the "Young Muslim Association," an organization
dedicated to promoting understanding and respect for American Muslims
by
educating others about the faith of Islam.
-----
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https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
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http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
CAIR GOOD NEWS ALERT #362
EEOC SIDES WITH MUSLIM WORKERS IN CA AND IL
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/4/03) - Alhamdulillah (praise be to God), CAIR
announced today that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
has
issued "determinations" that Muslim workers in California and Illinois
faced discrimination because of their religion or ethnicity.
CAIR says the first case involves a Muslim pilot who was fired
following
the 9/11 terrorist attacks by Missouri-based Trans States Airlines.
According to the EEOC determination, the airlines "violated the Civil
Rights Act of 1964…by terminating the Charging Party, on the basis of
his
religion, race and national origin." (CAIR worked with the Muslim
employee
and with the EEOC on the case.)
The Muslim pilot, a native of Fiji who lives in the San Francisco Bay
area,
was fired based on anonymous accusations of impropriety and a call from
a
person claiming to be with the FBI seeking an interview with the
worker.
EEOC District Director Lynn Bruner determined that:
"The evidence reveals that no investigation was undertaken to verify
[the
allegation of impropriety]. Respondent admits that it did not inform
Charging Party of the allegations against him or ask for Charging
Party's
response to the accusations…Respondent took no action to determine that
the
telephone call was in fact from the FBI and did not know the reason why
the
caller wished to interview Charging Party."
In the second case, a Muslim woman employed by the Cook County Juvenile
Temporary Detention Center (JTDC) was denied the right to wear a
religiously-mandated Islamic head scarf and then allegedly harassed
because
of her request for religious accommodation. In his determination, EEOC
District Director John P. Rowe said: "…evidence obtained in the
investigation establishes reasonable cause to believe that Respondent
discriminated against Charging Party on the basis of her religion,
Islam…"
Just weeks before the discriminatory events took place at the JTDC, the
Cook County Sheriff's Department agreed to permit a Muslim and a Jewish
deputy to wear religious head coverings while on the job. That decision
came after concerned Muslims from across America contacted the
sheriff's
office to request reasonable religious accommodation for the two
officers.
"We appreciate the EEOC's efforts on behalf of these Muslim employees
and
encourage all those who face workplace discrimination to speak out and
defend their rights," said CAIR Civil Rights Consultant Hassan Mirza.
Mirza said CAIR publishes a booklet, called "An Employer's Guide to
Islamic
Religious Practices," designed to prevent religious discrimination in
the
workplace. The booklet is available for $3 by e-mailing:
publications@cair-net.org
ACTION REQUESTED: Become a CAIR member for just $10.
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 2/5/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: GOOD DEEDS
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* INCITEMENT WATCH: ANTI-ISLAM HATE PREACHED TO U.S. CHRISTIANS
- 700 Club Attacks Islam Again
- Muslims Explain Pain Caused by Islamophobic Rhetoric
* FLORIDIANS AGAIN ASKED TO REPUDIATE ANTI-ISLAM HATE
* N.C. CONGRESSMAN ASKED TO CLARIFY REMARKS ON INTERNMENT
* JEWISH MILITANT PLEADS GUILTY TO LA MOSQUE BOMB PLOT (Reuters)
* ARAB AMERICAN HELD ON SECRET EVIDENCE RELEASED (Wash. Post)
* WRONG MESSAGE TO THE MUSLIM WORLD (Washington Post)
- CAIR-N. Georgia Co-Sponsors Town Hall Meeting with INS
* FEDS: MUSLIM WOMAN DISCRIMINATED AGAINST (Chicago Sun Times)
- EEOC Believes Pilot Was Wronged (St. Louis Post Dispatch)
- EEOC Says Pilot Fired Because He Was Muslim (Mercury News)
- Muslim Pilot's Firing Found Illegal (San Francisco Chronicle)
* FORMER TOP IRAQI SCIENTIST SAYS IRAQ HAS NO NUKES (Reuters)
- Pentagon Adviser: France 'No Longer Ally' (UPI)
- British Told To Prepare For Iraq Occupation (ME Online)
- Powell Without Picasso (New York Times)
* ATLANTANS JOIN FAITHFUL AT HAJJ (Atlanta Journal Constitution)
- Pilgrims Make Holy Trek Despite Threat of War (Toronto Star)
* ISRAEL RAZES MILITANT'S HOUSE, WOMAN 'CRUSHED' (Reuters)
- Israel Won't Comment On Mandela Charges (AP)
- Lebanon Guards Border In Case Israel Expels Foes (Reuters)
* AMNESTY CALLS FOR INQUIRY INTO CRACKDOWN ON MUSLIMS IN CHINA
* AL-NAJJAR'S FAMILY JOINS HIM (TBCPJ)
* DOJ SUMMER INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: GOOD DEEDS
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Who among you has
fasted
today?...Who among you followed [a funeral procession] today?...Who
among
you fed a poor man today?...Who among you visited an invalid
today?...Anyone in whom (these good deeds) are combined will certainly
enter Paradise."
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 505
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: ANTI-ISLAM HATE PREACHED TO U.S. CHRISTIANS
EVANGELIST UPSETS MUSLIMS
Jamie Manfuso, Herald Tribune, 2/4/04
http://www.newscoast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Site=SH&Date=20030204&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=302040387&Ref=AR&Profile=1004&SectionCat=NEWS0103
PORT CHARLOTTE -- An evangelist told a church congregation here Sunday
that
the holy book of Islam instructs followers to kill nonbelievers.
Moody Adams upset some area Muslims and left them feeling misunderstood
after the all-day conference on terrorism at First Baptist Church.
Speaking to an estimated 1,600 people during four sessions, which
included
the church's two regular Sunday services, the 71-year-old Adams drew a
picture of Islam in stark contrast to the peace-loving image that the
local
Muslim community has encouraged since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"I believe in being nice to the (Muslim) people," said Adams, reached
Monday at his Baton Rouge, La., home. "I hate this book (the Koran). I
believe it is a barbaric book. I believe it is the cause of these
little
children killing themselves, the Palestinians."
Perhaps 20 Muslims, as well as members of the local Peace Coalition,
listened to Adams' lecture Sunday. The coalition has opposed the push
for
war against Iraq.
Hasan Hammami, a Muslim from Port Charlotte, referred to the event as
Islam-bashing day.
"It doesn't take much fear-mongering like this to whip people up into a
frenzy," Hammami said Monday. "I don't feel safer. I feel less safe
than I
felt the day before yesterday…"
Kathy Lyden, a Port Charlotte Muslim, said Adams and others take
passages
from the Koran out of their proper historical and social context.
She said the word "infidels" does not refer to Christians and Jews.
"It's referring to the Arab pagans that were persecuting the Muslims,"
she
said.
Lyden said she was moved to tears at the conference.
"This is the same kind of stuff that sets people up for persecution,"
she said.
The Islamic Community of Southwest Florida was a victim of vandalism
after
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Vandals set fire to a roadside planter
at
the center on Harborview Road in Port Charlotte and stole an American
flag…
SEE ALSO:
700 CLUB ATTACKS ISLAM AGAIN
Christian Broadcasting Network, 2/4/03
http://www.cbn.com/700club/profiles/craig_winn2.asp
"It pains God’s heart that a billion Muslims are trapped in a religion
that
keeps them in bondage. Muslims today are like many nations were under
communism – they have no freedom. 'Just as we take pride in helping to
free
the Eastern Europeans from communism, we need to take the same pride in
helping to free Muslims from the tyranny of Islam.'"
---
MUSLIMS EXPLAIN PAIN CAUSED BY ISLAMOPHOBIC RHETORIC
The following is an excerpt from an email sent to CAIR by a Florida
Muslim
present at the Moody Adams anti-Islam lectures:
"I listened to Moody Adams cry out to the hundreds of Baptists in the
audience, while holding up his publication that he put together, and
saying
this is the book Muslims believe in, and then following with, "Could
this
be a doctrine of God or a doctrine of the devil?" "The Devil!" members
shouted in response. He had whipped the congregation into a frenzy.
When he
compared Muslims with the Trojans and said we would do as they did,
sneak
in with the Trojan Horse and conquer this country, I was sickened. I
heard
people responding with fervor, "Jesus save us." He was playing his
audience
so well…
As he continued his tirade and spoke of how Muslims were instructed to
kill
the Christians and the Jews and that we were out to convert their
children,
takeover their financial institutions, and force everyone into
submission
to Islam. He counteracted anyone that might refute his lies by stating
that
the Quran even gives permission for Muslims to lie…
I asked him, "Do you believe Muslims should be put in concentration
camps?"
He responded with saying mosques around the country are recruiting
terrorists. He would not say "No."
After his 2nd service, I remember witnessing people hugging each other
and
leaving in tears. I felt the desperate need to appeal to these mislead
souls. With tears streaming down my face I went from person to person
as
they were leaving and grabbing their hands, holding them and saying, "I
don't worship the devil. Can't you see, my religion is not evil." Many
looked at me in disbelief…
One does not need to imagine what Nazi propaganda meetings were like
decades ago. We were able to see it first hand on Sunday.
---
E-MAIL RECEIVED FROM A COLORADO MUSLIM:
"I went to a Lutheran Church in Highlands Ranch this Sunday because
they
had advertised a talk on Islam and I was curious as too who was
speaking.
The speaker was an Egyptian Coptic Priest who was fluent in Arabic. He
was
giving a talk about the Prophet Mohammed, and passed out some notes
about
the Prophet which I also received. The speech was full of slander about
the
Prophet, his wives, and his companions that I would not talk about my
enemies in such a manner. After the speech I talked to the Church
Pastor
urging him to allow a Muslim to speak to his parish and offering my
name
and services."
-----
FLORIDIANS AGAIN ASKED TO REPUDIATE ANTI-ISLAM HATE
(MIAMI, FL, 2/5/03) - Florida's office of the Washington-based Council
on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) today called on religious and
political leaders in that state to repudiate remarks made at a
so-called
"conference on terrorism" held at a Port Charlotte Baptist church.
(CAIR-FL
recently called for similar action when a Jacksonville Baptist church
promoted anti-Muslim bigotry. SEE:
http://www.cair-florida.org/church.htm)
SEE:
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2003302040387
The featured speaker in that conference Moody Adams, a well-known
Islamophobe, said, "I hate this book (the Quran). I believe it is a
barbaric book."
"It is unfortunate that some Christian leaders are engaged in
deliberate
distortion of the Quran and Islamic beliefs. At a time when the nation
needs to stand united, messages of hate and divisiveness should be
rejected. We are calling on religious leaders of all denominations and
faiths to repudiate anti-Muslim hate in the same way we condemn
anti-Semitism or anti-Christian rhetoric," said CAIR-FL Executive
Director
Altaf Ali.
Summer Jarrah spokesperson for Islamic Community of Southwest Florida
in
Port Charlotte added, "The message of hate coming from some Christian
leaders can potentially harm the lives and livelihood of
American-Muslims."
Dr. Zulfikar Shah, leader of the School of Islamic Studies of Broward
added, "We invite our Christian and Jewish neighbors to attend a
conference
where such matters can be debated in a spirit of goodwill and
scholarship."
The Quran, Islam's revealed text, states: "Those who believe, and those
who
follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians, -
any
who believe in God and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have
their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they
grieve," (Chapter 2: Verse 62).
- END -
CONTACT: Altaf Ali, 954-298-8214, EMAIL: altaf@cair-florida.org; Ahmed
Bedier (Communications Director, CAIR-FL); 813-731-9506 - EMAI:
abedier@cair-florida.org; Imam Zulfikar Ali Shah, 954-658-2992, EMAIL:
zshaw@muslimaccess.com
-----
N.C. CONGRESSMAN ASKED TO CLARIFY REMARKS ON INTERNMENT
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/5/03) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) today called on Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC) to clarify remarks he
made
on a radio program agreeing with the internment of Japanese-Americans
in
WWII and implying that he would approve of similar treatment for
Arab-Americans.
Coble, who is chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime,
Terrorism
and Homeland Security, (http://www.house.gov/coble/) made the remarks
yesterday on a Greensboro, N.C., radio station when a caller said Arabs
in
the United States should be detained.
He didn't agree with the caller, but said he did agree with President
Franklin Roosevelt's treatment of Japanese-Americans. Coble said: "We
were
at war. They (Japanese-Americans) were an endangered species…For
many…it
wasn't safe for them to be on the street…Some probably were intent on
doing
harm to us…just as some of these Arab-Americans are probably intent on
doing harm to us." (Associated Press, 2/5/03)
"The clear implication is that, in Representative Coble's view,
Arab-Americans could legitimately be interned 'for their own safety' or
on
grounds of national security. The remarks are particularly disturbing,
coming as they did from an elected official who heads a homeland
security
subcommittee," said CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.
Hooper said Coble should clarify his remarks and pledge that he would
oppose any internment proposal for Muslims or Arab-Americans.
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-MAIL:
cair@cair-net.org; Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441,
E-MAIL:
hhassan@cair-net.org
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)
Contact Rep. Coble to ask that he clarify his remarks and pledge that
he
would oppose any internment proposal for Muslims or Arab-Americans.
Rep. Howard Coble
2468 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-3306
E-MAIL: howard.coble@mail.house.gov
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
TEL: 202.225.3065
FAX: 202.225.8611
-----
JEWISH MILITANT PLEADS GUILTY TO LA MOSQUE BOMB PLOT
Reuters, 2/4/05
LOS ANGELES - A Jewish Defense League militant pleaded guilty on
Tuesday to
taking part in a plot to bomb a Los Angeles mosque, in a case in which
a
co-defendant, JDL chief Irv Rubin, died after an apparent suicide bid.
Earl Krugel, 60, a member of the JDL, admitted his guilt just two
months
after Rubin died following an apparent suicide attempt while awaiting
trial
on the same charges.
Krugel will be sentenced in May and could face between 10 and 20 years
in
prison under a plea agreement with federal authorities...
Krugel admitted conspiracy and weapons charges stemming from the plot
to
bomb the mosque and the offices of Lebanese-American California
Republican
congressman Darrell Issa.
No bombs were ever placed either at the mosque or at Issa's office, but
Krugel and Rubin were arrested on information from an undercover
informant
in December 2001.
Investigators said at the time that there was no apparent connection
between the JDL plot and the Sept. 11 attacks on Washington and New
York,
although Krugel on Tuesday acknowledged calling mosques "filthy" and
saying
Arabs needed a "wake-up call..."
-----
ARAB AMERICAN HELD ON SECRET EVIDENCE RELEASED
Dale Russakoff, Washington Post, 2/5/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26518-2003Feb4.html
PATERSON, N.J. - An Arab American man jailed for months in a rare
secret-evidence case was freed today after local prosecutors dismissed
26
of 27 charges against him but declined to explain why they had
considered
him dangerous.
Mohamed Atriss, 46, who spent six months in the Passaic County Jail,
pleaded guilty to one felony count of selling false identification
documents, admitting through his attorney to selling the cards to
hundreds
of illegal immigrants. He also said he had sold them to two of the
hijackers in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks but said he had no idea who
they were.
"Never in my life did I have anything to do with any terrorist or group
of
terrorists," Atriss declared in Passaic County Superior Court. His
hands
cuffed in front of him, a shaken Atriss struggled several times during
the
hearing to wipe tears from his eyes.
Atriss's case drew national attention, first because of the apparently
coincidental connection to terrorists and later because a judge allowed
prosecutors to present secret evidence without Atriss or his attorney
present. The case marked the only use of secret evidence in a criminal
court since the attacks, according to civil liberties advocates…
-----
WRONG MESSAGE TO THE MUSLIM WORLD
Ejaz Haider, Washington Post, 2/5/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26876-2003Feb4.html
On Jan. 28, two agents from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization
Service
(INS) arrested me outside my office at the Brookings Institution. In a
matter of moments I was transformed from research scholar at a
venerable
Washington think tank to suspect, from a person with a name and a face
to a
"body," a non-person. I was put in a car, taken to a detention center,
locked in a cell, and stripped not just of my belt and shoelaces but of
my
pride and dignity -- all because of my nationality.
As a visiting scholar from Pakistan, where I am an editor, I had
visited
the State Department and attended functions with senior U.S. officials.
But
as far as the Justice Department was concerned, I was someone to be
stalked
and brought in by burly federal agents. I am only one of hundreds of
victims, from Pakistan and elsewhere, who have suffered such
indignities
under the absurd new policy that requires foreign nationals from
numerous
Muslim countries to register with the INS: the National Security
Entry-Exit
Registration System. Many have fared far worse than I...
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-N. GEORGIA CO-SPONSORS TOWN HALL MEETING WITH INS
WHAT: An informative forum sponsored by the American-Arab Anti
Discrimination Committee (ADC-GA), Pakistani American Community of
Atlanta
(PAK-Atlanta), Council on American-Islamic Relations Northern Georgia
(CAIR-N.GA), Grassroots Effort, and Masjid Al-Farooq. A representative
from
the INS and local immigration attorneys will be present to answer
questions
related to INS Special Registration program.
WHEN: Saturday, February 8th, 12:00 P.M. to 2:30 P.M.
WHERE: The Swanton Amphitheater in the Holiday Inn Select Decatur,
130 Clairemont Ave, Decatur, GA 30030 (404) 371 0204
CONTACT: (770) 220-0082 or email cair@cair-northgeorgia.org
-----
FEDS: MUSLIM WOMAN DISCRIMINATED AGAINST
Annie Sweeney, Chicago Sun Times, 2/5/03
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-muslim05.html
Federal authorities have ruled that a Muslim employee of a Cook County
juvenile detention center was discriminated against after her bosses
told
her not to wear a religious scarf to work.
It is at least the second time in just over a year that someone has
complained to the EEOC because county officials would not allow her to
wear
a hijab, which is worn by Muslim women as a sign of modesty.
In the most recent case, a woman who worked at the Cook County Juvenile
Temporary Detention Center at 1100 S. Hamilton claims that in July 2002
she
was told not to wear the scarf because a new dress policy prohibited
hats
or headwear, her attorney said.
The woman, an employee for two to three years, was sent home on about
three
different occasions and also took time off work because of the stress,
said
her attorney, Junaid Afeef. The woman, whom Afeef would not name, had
to
provide proof that the hijab had religious significance and then was
routinely questioned about it after she did, he said.
The Chicago woman filed her complaint in October. Last week, the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission issued a decision saying there was
reasonable cause to believe the woman was discriminated against based
on
her religion, Islam. Also, the EEOC asked both parties to try to reach
agreement over the issue…
SEE ALSO:
EEOC FINDS A REASON TO BELIEVE PILOT WAS WRONGED
Karen Branch-Brioso, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2/5/03
http://www.post-dispatch.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/Business/D55DDB2A7FB8F20B86256CC4001DD8B9?OpenDocument&Headline=EEOC+finds+a+reason+to+believe+pilot+was+wronged
WASHINGTON - The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found "reason
to
believe" that Trans States Airlines, based in Bridgeton, Mo., violated
a
pilot's civil rights when it fired the Muslim man a week after the
terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001…
Hussein, 28, of San Bruno, Calif., said he was called into the airline
flight manager's office on Sept. 18, 2001, and was handed a brief
letter
saying he was fired.
No reason was given, Hussein said, so he filed a workplace
discrimination
complaint later that year.
"I was fired exactly a week after 9-11," Hussein said in an interview.
"I
was called into the office, not even given a reason, as much as I
pleaded.
I knew it had to do something with my name or discrimination or what
was
going on at the time…"
Hussein said he wants to be reinstated with back pay and punitive
damages:
"This is a bad thing on my record. It's hard to get another job as a
pilot
with this on my record..."
But Hussein and the Council on Islamic American Relations are hopeful
the
EEOC will act, because the commission could have closed the case
already if
it had found the evidence failed to establish discrimination...
---
EEOC SAYS AIRLINES FIRED SAN BRUNO PILOT BECAUSE HE IS MUSLIM
Jessie Mangaliman, San Jose Mercury News, 2/4/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/5105521.htm
A federal agency has ruled that a Bay Area pilot was fired from his job
at
a Missouri-based airlines shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks because he
is
a Muslim.
The ruling by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in St. Louis,
Mo.
paves the way for the pilot, Mohammed Shanif Hussein, of San Bruno, to
file
a civil suit against the company in federal court.
Hussein, 28, who immigrated from Fiji to Northern California in 1994,
said
he will first seek to regain his job and back pay from Trans State
Airlines, Inc., in St. Louis.
"I will be satisfied once the airline takes me back, and I'm back in
the
air," Hussein said Tuesday. He now works as an airline business manager
in
San Francisco.
Trans State officials told federal investigators that an anonymous
pilot
saw Hussein drinking while in uniform, and said he was being sought for
questioning by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Neither allegation
was
investigated by the airline, and the EEOC ruled last week that the
airline
violated Hussein's civil rights based on his religion.
"Basically, there was problem here and it needs to be addressed in a
legal
setting," said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations in Washington, D.C…
--
MUSLIM PILOT'S FIRING FOUND ILLEGAL
Henry K. Lee, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/5/03
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/02/05/BA211087.DTL
A Missouri-based regional airline fired a San Bruno pilot a week after
the
Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks because he is Muslim, a federal
agency
has concluded.
Mohammed Shanif Hussein, 28, was wrongfully terminated by Trans States
Airlines Inc. on Sept. 18, 2001 based on his religion, according to a
finding by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The ruling allows Hussein to file a federal civil-rights suit against
the
airline should negotiations toward an agreement fail.
Hussein said Tuesday that he wants to be reinstated with back pay.
"I'm outraged," Hussein said. "What they did to me caused a lot of
suffering. I want them to apologize and pay all those things and get me
back flying."
Ibrahim Cooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic
Relations
in Washington, D.C., said the airline's decision to fire Hussein, a
seven-
month employee, was based on "the hysteria of the moment after 9/11..."
-----
FORMER TOP IRAQI SCIENTIST SAYS IRAQ HAS NO NUKES
Jeffrey Hodgson, Reuters, 2/5/03
TORONTO - A former high-level Iraqi nuclear scientist, now living in
Canada, said on Monday there is no way Iraq could possess nuclear
weapons
and the United States is exaggerating the potential threat for its own
purposes.
Dr. Imad Khadduri, who joined the Iraqi nuclear program in 1968 and was
part of a team trying to develop a nuclear bomb in the 1980s, said
Iraq's
weapons program fell into shambles after the Gulf War (news - web
sites)
and could not possibly have been resurrected.
"All we had after the war from that nuclear power program were ruins,
memoirs, and reports of what we had done...on the nuclear weapon side I
am
more than definitely sure nothing has been done," he told Reuters in an
interview…
SEE ALSO:
PENTAGON ADVISER: FRANCE 'NO LONGER ALLY'
Martin Walker, UPI, 2/4/03
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030204-031831-1626r
WASHINGTON - France is no longer an ally of the United States and the
NATO
alliance "must develop a strategy to contain our erstwhile ally or we
will
not be talking about a NATO alliance" the head of the Pentagon's top
advisory board said in Washington Tuesday.
Richard Perle, a former assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan
administration and now chairman of the Pentagon's Policy Advisory
Board,
condemned French and German policy on Iraq in the strongest terms at a
public seminar organized by a New York-based PR firm and attended by
Iraqi
exiles and American Middle East and security officials…
---
BRITISH COMMANDERS TOLD TO PREPARE FOR IRAQ OCCUPATION
Robert MacPherson, Middle East Online, 2/5/03
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=4213
LONDON - Senior officers in the British army have been told to prepare
for
an occupation of Iraq lasting up to three years in the event of war and
the
downfall of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's government, the BBC
reported
Tuesday.
It quoted Ministry of Defense sources as saying that many British
troops
being sent to Kuwait would probably be used for peacekeeping and
"rearguard" duties, rather than in combat at the front lines…
The country would be divided into sectors, with a different nation
responsible for each sector -- a format similar to that used by NATO
forces
when they deployed in Bosnia in December 1995 and Kosovo in June 1999…
---
POWELL WITHOUT PICASSO
Maureen Dowd, New York Times, 2/5/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/05/opinion/05DOWD.html
When Colin Powell goes to the United Nations today to make his case for
war
with Saddam, the U.N. plans to throw a blue cover over Picasso's
antiwar
masterpiece, "Guernica."
Too much of a mixed message, diplomats say. As final preparations for
the
secretary's presentation were being made last night, a U.N. spokesman
explained, "Tomorrow it will be covered and we will put the Security
Council flags in front of it."
Mr. Powell can't very well seduce the world into bombing Iraq
surrounded on
camera by shrieking and mutilated women, men, children, bulls and
horses...
After leading the charge for months that there were ties between Iraq
and
Al Qaeda, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld chastised the media
yesterday
for expecting dramatic, explicit evidence from Mr. Powell. "The
fixation on
a smoking gun is fascinating to me," he said impatiently, adding: "You
all
. . . have been watching `L.A. Law' or something too much…"
-----
ATLANTANS JOIN FAITHFUL AT HAJJ
Shelia M. Poole, Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2/5/03
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/editions/wednesday/atlanta_world_e3044ad1855e01961002.html
Muslims in metro Atlanta are joining millions of their fellow faithful
in
Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the annual hajj.
Neither the threat of a looming war with Iraq nor travel warnings from
the
State Department to Americans heading to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are
deterring them from fulfilling one of the five tenets of Islam.
"Politics will have nothing to do with this," said Yosef Abuneaj, who
grew
up in Lebanon and moved to Atlanta in 1991. He is making the journey
along
with his parents, Asla and Abdulghani Abuneaj. Already, more than 1.2
million Muslims from around the world have gathered in Mecca for the
hajj,
which begins Sunday. Last year, more than 2.5 million Muslims made the
three-day pilgrimage, including 12,000 from the United States, said an
embassy official. Mecca is home to the Kaaba, the most sacred site in
Islam, and the city is the birthplace of Islam's prophet, Muhammad.
Tarik Allagany, a spokesman for the Saudi Embassy in Washington, said
officials do not expect a decline in attendance. "People aren't afraid
to
come," he said. "I wouldn't think there would be any threat of violence
in
the holy city..."
Temporal concerns, however, are not enough to keep Mohammad and Zahra
Inamullah of Alpharetta from fulfilling what they see as an obligation
to God.
The couple left last week for Mecca with a group of six others, having
planned the journey for months.
"It's strongly suggested that you should do it sooner rather than
later,
when you're younger, more energetic and physically fit," said Mohammad
Inamullah, the 41-year-old senior vice president of a Norcross
telecommunications company…
SEE ALSO:
PILGRIMS MAKE HOLY TREK DESPITE THREAT OF IRAQ WAR
Leslie Scrivener, Toronto Star, 2/5/03
www.thestar.com
The pilgrimage to Mecca was once the adventure of a lifetime - it could
take a decade or more for devout Muslims to make the perilous journey
by
caravan and risk bandit attacks, sickness and too few supplies.
"They will come to you on foot and on every camel made lean by
travelling
deep, distant ravines," reads a poetic verse from the Qur'an.
Not so today. Within 20 hours, Canadian pilgrims suffering little more
than
jet lag can be at the Hajj terminal in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where more
than 1.5 million pilgrims have travelled from around the world, despite
the
threat of war in neighbouring Iraq. This year, Canadian pilgrims
avoided
travel through the United States because of increased security measures
-
the effects of the war on terrorism - and "overzealous" searches at the
U.S. border, said Wahida Valiante of the Canadian Islamic Congress.
Instead, they are making connecting flights in Europe.
"It's become very difficult for people of Arab or Muslim background.
The
treatment they receive is very humiliating, so travel to Hajj by
another
route is preferable..."
Riad Soolajee, 31, a lawyer who works for the Council on
American-Islamic
Relations (Canada) in Ottawa, said he has been longing to make his
first
pilgrimage since hearing a scholar describe the profound religious
experience the Hajj brings.
"Since then it has haunted me. They say the Ka'ba beckons you from afar
and
haunts you forever."
Muslims are required to make the pilgrimage once in their lives, as
soon as
they are financially and physically able, as one of the five "pillars"
or
duties of Islam...
-----
ISRAEL RAZES MILITANT'S HOUSE, WOMAN 'CRUSHED'
Nidal al-Mughrabi, Reuters, 2/5/03
GAZA - Israeli forces razed the home of a Palestinian militant in the
Gaza
Strip on Wednesday and his stepmother was crushed to death inside after
apparently not hearing warnings to leave, Palestinian security
officials said.
In the West Bank, troops killed a Palestinian policeman in a raid on
his
base in Qalqilya. Witnesses said the man was shot as he and others
fled.
According to Israeli military sources, he had refused orders to halt.
The overnight violence occurred hours after Palestinian security
officials
in Gaza said they were trying to rein in militants to forestall often
devastating Israeli strikes.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's tough line on a 28-month-old
Palestinian uprising for independence helped his right-wing Likud party
to
a resounding win in polls last month...
SEE ALSO:
ISRAEL WON'T COMMENT ON MANDELA CHARGES
Mark Lavie, Associated Press, 2/5/03
JERUSALEM - Israel refused to comment Tuesday on remarks by former
South
African President Nelson Mandela, who assailed the U.S. policy on Iraq
and
complained that Israel was not being forced to surrender weapons of
mass
destruction.
Mandela made his remarks Thursday at the International Women's Forum in
Johannesburg, South Africa.
The former South Africa president had repeatedly condemned U.S.
behavior
toward Iraq and demanded that President Bush respect the authority of
the
United Nations. But his comments last week were far more critical.
"One power with a president who has no foresight and cannot think
properly,
is now wanting to plunge the world into a holocaust," the Nobel Peace
Prize
laureate said.
"Why is the United States behaving so arrogantly?" he asked. "All that
(Bush) wants is Iraqi oil," he said.
Mandela, 84, also charged that while the Americans insist that Iraq rid
itself of weapons of mass destruction, "their friend Israel has got
weapons
of mass destruction, but because it's their ally, they won't ask the
United
Nations to get rid of them…"
---
LEBANON GUARDS BORDER IN CASE ISRAEL EXPELS FOES
Cynthia Johnston, Reuters, 2/5/03
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L05577489
BEIRUT, Lebanon (Reuters) - Lebanon has stepped up security on its
southern
border in case Israel tries to use the chaos of any U.S.-led war on
Iraq to
expel Palestinians, security sources and witnesses said Wednesday.
They said barbed wire and barriers had been installed along 10-15
possible
points of entry, running from near Lebanon's border with the Golan
Heights
west to the Mediterranean Sea. Security patrols were going on around
the clock.
A security official told Reuters the steps, which began three weeks
ago,
were "to prevent the transfer of Palestinians in case (Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel) Sharon does the transfer ... when the war against Iraq
starts."
-----
AMNESTY CALLS FOR INQUIRY INTO CRACKDOWN ON MUSLIM UPRISING IN CHINA
Agence France Presse, 2/5/03
BEIJING - Amnesty International on Wednesday called for an independent
inquiry into allegations of serious human rights violations during and
after a crackdown on a 1997 demonstration by ethnic Uighur minorities
in
western China.
The appeal comes on the sixth anniversary of the demonstration in
Yining
city in the restive, traditionally Muslim-dominated Xinjiang region.
The Chinese government has said 10 people were killed in the unrest but
Uighur sources at the time said about 100 died in the conflict. In a
statement Wednesday, Amnesty said dozens of people were killed or
injured
when Chinese security forces reportedly opened fire on Uighur
demonstrators
in Yining on February 5 and 6, 1997.
The initially peaceful demonstration on February 5 was followed by
several
days of sporadic rioting in which both civilians and members of the
security forces were killed or injured.
Thousands of people were detained as the security forces went
systematically through the streets, arresting suspected protestors and
supporters, including their relatives. Many of those detained were
reportedly tortured, Amnesty said...
-----
AL-NAJJAR'S FAMILY JOINS HIM
Press Release, Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace, 2/5/03
Today Mazen Al-Najjar's wife, Fedaa, and his three American-born
daughters
Yara (14), Sarah (12), and Safa (7) were reunited with Dr. Al-Najjar
after
more than 5 1/2 months since he left the US.
Since his departure from the US last August, Dr. Al-Najjar has been to
3
different countries hoping for a permanent residency, since as a
Palestinian refugee he is considered stateless. However, two weeks ago
Dr.
Al-Najjar was admitted to a US friendly Arab country, with the hope
that
his residency status would soon be adjusted…
Dr. Al-Najjar's family spokesman, Dr. Sami Al-Arian, said after
speaking
with the family today: "Dr. Al-Najjar and his family are very happy to
be
reunited after years of separation and unnecessary suffering.
Furthermore,
Dr. Al-Najjar reiterated during the call his gratitude and thanks to
the
many friends, supporters, and his excellent legal team for their
prayers,
support and work throughout his ordeal..."
-----
DOJ SUMMER INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE
The Civil Rights Division Department of Justice is accepting
applications
for students to work during the summer of 2003
The Civil Rights Division is responsible for enforcing federal statutes
and
executive orders that prohibit unlawful discrimination. The primary
work
of the Division involves civil litigation seeking injunctions, damages
and
penalties in federal court. Specialized units address investigation and
prosecution of civil rights crimes and administrative review of state
laws
affecting voting and coordination of anti-discrimination efforts by
federal
agencies.
POSITIONS: Clerks
CLOSING DATE: Opened Until Filled (Applications received by 2/28/03
will be
evaluated first.)
WHERE: Various Sections within the Civil Rights Division located in
Washington, D.C.
HOW TO APPLY: Either fax resumes to (202) 305-9667 or e-mail to
crd.vacancies@usdoj.gov: Attention: CRT Summer Program - Delicia Taylor
-----
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https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
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To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 2/6/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: A FRIENDLY WORD
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* INCITEMENT WATCH: MUSLIMS DON'T SHARE "AMERICAN HERITAGE"
* BUSH SEEKS ISRAELI ADVICE ON 'TARGETED KILLINGS' (Forward)
- Bedouin Outraged By Mosque Demolition (Ha'aretz)
- Palestinian Journalist to Speak in Virginia
* COBLE, MYRICK FACE HEAT FOR COMMENTS (Charlotte Observer)
- Lawmaker's Internment Comments Angers Rep. Honda (San Jose Mercury
News)
- Japanese American Group Condemns Internment Remarks (JACL)
- Coble Says Internment Remark Meant To Illustrate Segregation (AP)
* JAIL DROPS PRAYER POLICY AIDING CHRISTIANS ONLY (Orlando Sentinel)
* US CLAIM DISMISSED BY BLIX (Guardian)
- Evidence Remains Anecdotal (Washington Post)
- Nothing New in Powell Speech (Independent)
- Pope's Peace Man Says Powell Unconvincing (Reuters)
- Conyers, McDermott Make Plea to U.N. (Roll Call)
- Powell Sees Mideast Reshaped After Iraq War (Reuters)
* COURT DEALS U.S. DEFEAT IN ISLAMIC FUND CASE (Chicago Tribune)
* REGISTRATION FOR ARABS DRAWS FIRE (Christian Science Monitor)
- NY Workshops on INS Special Registration
* SPEAKERS REFUSE TO SHARE PODIUM WITH DANIEL PIPES (UPI)
* BAY AREA MUSLIMS HOST SUCCESSFUL INTERFAITH PROGRAM
- Christian Speaks Out Against Anti-Muslim Rhetoric
* SUPERMARKET CHAIN ACKNOWLEDGES EID AL ADHA
* CHICAGO SYMPOSIUM ON LIFE OF MALCOLM X
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: A FRIENDLY WORD
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "(O people!) Save
yourselves
from the Fire even if with one half of a date (given in charity), and
if
this is not available, then (save yourselves) by saying a friendly
word."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadith 52
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: MUSLIMS DON'T SHARE "AMERICAN HERITAGE"
CENSORSHIP CENTER STAGE WHEN MUSLIMS BLOCK PLAY
Kathleen Parker, Orlando Sentinel, 2/6/03
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/columnists/orl-edpparker05x020503feb05,0,500308.column
Simply put, Americans subscribe to and thrive in an environment of
openness
ratified by laws guaranteeing individual liberty and freedom of
expression.
Our nation was founded on such principles, and we've spent a couple of
centuries fine-tuning them. Apparently some Muslims in the United
States,
regardless of their testimonials to the contrary, do not yet share this
heritage.
Islam's authoritarian culture did not produce a Thomas Jefferson. Or a
Rousseau or a Locke or Hobbes. Islam's authoritarian culture did not
produce the geniuses who participated in the great freedom debates of
1776.
All Americans, regardless of their faith or political persuasion, get
to
inherit the freedoms that are permitted because of our beloved First
Amendment. Sadly, some Muslims apparently don't get it...They adopt
only as
much of American culture as suits their purposes -- our freedom to
protest,
for example -- without embracing what makes it possible...
NOTE: Kathleen Parker recently wrote another commentary headlined, "In
Islamic Countries, Dogs Dream of America," in which she wrote: "We
Westerners are passionate dog lovers; our enemies are passionate dog
haters…Those who despise and wish to destroy us are the nations of: Oh,
boy, there's a cute little doggy. Let's kill it!..."
Parker is also a supporter of Doug Marlette, the syndicated cartoonist
who
received some 10,000 e-mails after distributing his offensive "What
Would
Mohammed Drive?" cartoon showing the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him)
driving a nuke-laden truck.
In that commentary, headlined "Yo, Mohammed, Lighten Up: It Was a
Joke!"
Parker wrote:
"Hey, did you hear the one about Mohammed and…? No? Me neither. And
even if
I did hear a good Mohammed joke, you can bet I wouldn't tell it. Not in
an
e-mail, not in a column, not no way, not no how. Why? Because if you
poke
fun at the prophet of Islam - or even suggest anything that remotely
smacks
of irreverence - you will live (maybe) to regret it...So it goes in
post-Sept. 11 America where Muslims have become the new approved victim
class. Here's how the knee-jerk drill goes: A journalist writes or
otherwise depicts Muslims or their Prophet Mohammed in some way other
than
soft-focus, peach-toned Hallmark words or images, and thousands of
American
Muslims become like a battalion of whitewashers unleashed on urban
graffiti."
ACTION REQUESTED: (NOTE: As always, be POLITE. Parker is likely to use
hostile comments to further defame Islam and Muslims. This is a
syndicated
column.
Watch for its appearance in your local newspaper.)
Contact Parker to express your concerns about her apparent histility to
and
ignorance of Islam and the American Muslim community.
SEND COMMENTS TO: kparker@orlandosentinel.com,
insight@orlandosentinel.com,
jhealy@orlandosentinel.com, ekramer@orlandosentinel.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
-----
BUSH SEEKS ISRAELI ADVICE ON 'TARGETED KILLINGS'
Ori Nir, Forward, 2/7/03
http://www.forward.com/issues/2003/03.02.07/news5.html
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration has been seeking Israel's counsel
on
creating a legal justification for the assassination of terrorism
suspects,
the Forward has learned. Legal experts from the United States and
Israel
have met in recent months to discuss the issue, and are considering
widening the consultation circle to include representatives of
America's
closest allies in the war against terrorism.
Israeli sources who are intimately familiar with the talks said that
American representatives were anxious to learn details of the legal
work
that Israeli government jurists have done during the last two years to
tackle possible challenges - both domestic and international - to its
policy of "targeted killings" of terrorist suspects…
Last year, Israeli media reported that the American military and
Central
Intelligence Agency sought operation expertise from Israel's military
on
how to carry out such operations…
According to credible press reports quoting American officials,
however,
the Bush administration has resorted to such methods in pursuing
terrorism
suspects. Last November, a missile reportedly launched from an unmanned
drone over Yemen killed six suspected members of Osama bin Laden's Al
Qaeda
network, including Ali Qaed Senyan al-Harthi, whom the United States
has
linked to the attack on the warship USS Cole off Aden in October 2000.
Unnamed American officials confirmed to the press at the time that the
CIA
carried out the attack.
Last week, in his State of the Union address, President Bush came close
to
confirming the administration's involvement in such operations, saying
that
terrorism suspects who were not caught and brought to trial have been
"otherwise dealt with." All told, the president said, "more than 3,000
suspected terrorists have been arrested in many countries, and many
others
have met a different fate..."
SEE ALSO:
BEDOUIN OUTRAGED BY DEMOLITION OF MOSQUE IN UNRECOGNIZED NEGEV VILLAGE
Tsahar Rotem, Ha'aretz, 2/6/03
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=259974
The Bedouin of the Negev were in an uproar yesterday after Interior
Ministry inspectors demolished a mosque in the unrecognized village of
Til
al Malah.
United Arab List MK Talab A Sana warned the demolition "crossed a red
line.
This was very grave and dangerous, and could lead to a public
uprising," he
said.
The 100-square meter mosque was built with NIS 100,000 collected by the
3,000 villagers, and on Friday there were plans to hold communal
prayers
there. The unprecedented destruction of the mosque prompted the
villagers
to immediately begin construction of a new mosque on the site. Because
the
village is unrecognized by state authorities, no construction is
allowed in
it, and the building was declared illegal.
"This is the first incident of damage to a holy place and the dignity
of
Muslim residents of the Negev," said a Sana, himself a Bedouin.
Bedouin representatives said that they had planned to legally challenge
the
demolition orders, but that they did not have time to submit an appeal
because the inspectors arrived very early in the morning...
---
PALESTINIAN JOURNALIST TO SPEAK IN VIRGINIA
WHAT: Palestinian American journalist and editor of the Palestinian
Chronicle will speak on the on-going crisis in the Occupied
Terrorities.
WHEN: Monday, February 10 at 7 P.M.
WHERE: George Mason University - Johnson Center, Fairfax, VA
CONTACT: Toka Nusairat - tnusaira@gmu.edu
-----
COBLE, MYRICK FACE HEAT FOR COMMENTS
Jim Morrill, Charlotte Observer, 2/6/03
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/5117163.htm
POLL: Should Myrick, Coble apologize?
http://forums.prospero.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=kr-cltissues&msg=41.1&ctx=0
Two N.C. members of Congress came under fire Wednesday for comments
that
Islamic groups and others say they find insulting.
In remarks about domestic security threats, Rep. Sue Myrick of
Charlotte
said, "Look at who runs all the convenience stores across the country."
And Rep. Howard Coble of Greensboro defended World War II internment
camps,
saying some Japanese Americans "probably were intent on doing harm to
us,
just as some of these Arab Americans are probably intent on doing harm
to us."
Both Republicans said later their remarks were not intended to insult
any
ethnic or religious groups.
But Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington-based Council on
American-Islamic Relations, said such comments are part of "a very
disturbing trend" of bigotry.
"Now we've got people saying everybody who works at the 7-Eleven who
has a
swarthy complexion is a potential threat," he said…
SEE ALSO:
LAWMAKER'S DEFENSE OF INTERNMENT CALLED `PREPOSTEROUS' AND `IGNORANT'
Cecilia Kang, San Jose Mercury News, 2/6/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/5118768.htm
Comments by a North Carolina congressman that he agreed with the
internment
of Japanese-Americans during World War II sparked outrage Wednesday by
San
Jose Rep. Mike Honda and Bay Area Japanese and Arab Americans.
Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C., who heads a homeland security subcommittee,
made
the comments Tuesday on a radio call-in program when a listener
suggested
that Arabs in the United States be confined…
"The need for raising awareness of this shameful chapter in U.S.
history is
more apparent than ever," Honda said in a statement…
Japanese-American and Arab and Muslim groups demanded an apology and
explanation from Coble.
Helal Omeira, executive director of the Northern California chapter of
the
Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Coble's views are cause for
concern in light of recent events.
"These comments are obviously very ignorant and misinformed," Omeira
said
of Coble's comments. He said the internment of Japanese-Americans has
"already been deemed unconstitutional and un-American…"
San Jose resident Jimi Yamaichi said such views are dangerous and could
be
used against Arabs and Muslims in the United States.
"It's really scary to hear these kinds of comments because he can twist
people's arms into treating Muslims unfairly," said Yamaichi, 80, whose
family of 11 lived in the Heart Mountain, Wyo., relocation center and
Tule
Lake internment camp from 1942 to 1946…
---
JACL CONDEMNS REP. COBLE'S STATEMENT ENDORSING JAPANESE AMERICAN
INTERNMENT
U.S. Newswire, 2/5/03
WASHINGTON -- The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), the
nation's
oldest and largest Asian Pacific American civil rights organization,
condemns remarks made by Rep. Howard Coble, (R-NC-6) during a radio
call-in
program yesterday on WKZL-FM in North Carolina where he explicitly
supported President Roosevelt's decision to incarcerate the Japanese
American community during World War II.
FOX News and the Associated Press reported that Rep. Coble made the
comments in response to a suggestion that Arab Americans be similarly
incarcerated. Rep. Coble disagreed that the Arab American community
should
be interned, but asserted that, while the internment of Japanese
Americans
was for their own protection, "Some probably were intent on doing harm
to
us, just as some of these Arab-Americans are probably intent on doing
harm
to us."
Commented JACL National President Floyd Mori, "Rep. Coble's comments
are
outrageous and uneducated. To suggest that the government locked up
120,000 innocent people for their own protection is not only
patronizing
and offensive, but it is patently incorrect. The government has
recognized
and apologized for their error of sixty years ago, and we expect Rep.
Coble
to do so as well…"
---
COBLE SAYS INTERNMENT REMARK MEANT TO ILLUSTRATE SEGREGATION
Associated Press, 2/6/03
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/breaking_news/5116054.htm
HIGH POINT, N.C. - A North Carolina congressman who said he agreed with
internment of Japanese-Americans during Word War II was trying to make
a
point about segregation, his spokeswoman said Thursday.
Rep. Howard Coble, R-N.C., made the remark Tuesday during a radio
call-in
show when a caller suggested Arabs in the United States should be
confined.
Coble said he didn't agree that Arab-Americans should be confined.
Coble heads a homeland security subcommittee and his comment angered
both
advocates for Arab-American and Japanese-Americans.
"I think he was trying to make a comparison that 60 years ago we
weren't a
multicultural society," said Coble spokeswoman Missy Branson.
"We weren't as tolerant and understanding of other cultures as we are
today. He was trying to make the point that the internments were as
much
for the Japanese-Americans own safety as for national security...
ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)
Contact Rep. Coble to ask that he pledge to oppose any internment
proposal
for Muslims or Arab-Americans.
Rep. Howard Coble
2468 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-3306
E-MAIL: howard.coble@mail.house.gov
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
TEL: 202.225.3065
FAX: 202.225.8611
-----
JAIL DROPS PRAYER POLICY AIDING CHRISTIANS ONLY
Pedro Ruz Gutierrez, Orlando Sentinel, 2/6/03
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-locjailmuslim06020603feb06,0,2986026.story
The Orange County Jail has nixed a policy of rewarding inmates who
attended
religious services with time off their sentences because the rule did
not
apply to all prisoners.
The issue surfaced in part because of a Muslim inmate who complained
that
his Christian counterparts were getting days off their sentences while
Muslims were not.
"It's a valid criticism of the programming that was there," said Orange
County Corrections Chief Timothy Ryan. "It wasn't equitable in the
sense
that if you were Jewish or an atheist, you should have access to the
same
opportunities."
Todarian Rodriguez Harvey, a Muslim inmate, for months complained that
Christian inmates had ready access to chaplains and Bibles without
questions asked. Harvey said Muslim inmates did not have access to an
Islamic leader and the Quran, Islam's holy book, on a regular basis.
Several months after surrendering to authorities last June in a 1992
cocaine-trafficking case, Harvey wrote to a national Muslim advocacy
group.
In it, he decried the jail's "extra gain time" policy by which inmates
could deduct up to six days off a month if they took part in one of
several
Christian-based programs.
In turn, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations
contacted the U.S. Department of Justice's civil-rights division and
accused the county facility of religious discrimination. In a jail
survey
last fall of 2,500 inmates, 74 identified themselves as Muslims…
Last Saturday the jail officially put an end to a policy rooted in a
1989
county ordinance.
Ryan said the jail was exposing itself to a lawsuit if the practice
wasn't
stopped.
This week, the national Muslim group applauded the change and credited
Harvey for helping raise the issue.
"I'm glad they took a look at the policy because that was definitely
discriminatory," said Khadija Athman, the civil-rights adviser who
sought
the federal government's help. "The fact that they have repealed it is
good
news. At least the jail is trying to treat all inmates equally
irrespective
of their background or religious affiliation."
Conditions have improved recently, say Muslim inmates who acknowledge
their
concerns are being addressed. They can now meet on a regular basis,
hold
weekly prayer sessions and have access to a volunteer imam, or Islamic
leader.
"Things are getting better," Harvey said…
-----
US CLAIM DISMISSED BY BLIX
Dan Plesch, Guardian, 2/5/03
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,889135,00.html
The chief UN weapons inspector yesterday dismissed what has been billed
as
a central claim of the speech the US secretary of state, Colin Powell,
will
make today to the UN security council.
Hans Blix said there was no evidence of mobile biological weapons
laboratories or of Iraq trying to foil inspectors by moving equipment
before his teams arrived.
In a series of leaks or previews, the state department has said Mr
Powell
will allege that Iraq moved mobile biological weapons laboratories
ahead of
an inspection. Dr Blix said he had already inspected two alleged mobile
labs and found nothing: "Two food-testing trucks have been inspected
and
nothing has been found..."
He also contested the theory that the Iraqis knew in advance what sites
were to be inspected. He added that they expected to be bugged "by
several
nations" and took great care not to say anything Iraqis could overhear.
He said the choice for the UN was between continued containment and
invasion. Both strategies had problems, but an invasion required
250,000
troops and over $100bn while for containment the numbers were 250
inspectors and $80m.
SEE ALSO:
DESPITE DEFECTORS' ACCOUNTS, EVIDENCE REMAINS ANECDOTAL
Joby Warrick, Washington Post, 2/6/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31744-2003Feb5.html
U.N. officials have suspected since the late 1990s that Iraq possesses
mobile bioweapons facilities, some disguised as ordinary trucks to
shield
them from U.N. inspectors and spy satellites. But Secretary of State
Colin
L. Powell yesterday reached into the U.S. intelligence dossier and
disclosed for the first time significant details of what he called
"biological weapons factories on wheels."
But such anecdotes did not ring true with some weapons experts. Raymond
Zilinskas, a microbiologist and former U.N. weapons inspector, said a
24-hour production cycle was insufficient for creating significant
amounts
of pathogens such as anthrax. "You normally would require 36 to 48
hours
just to do the fermentation," said Zilinskas, director of Chemical and
Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program at the Monterey Institute
of
International Studies. "The short processing time seems suspicious to
me."
Zilinskas and other experts said the schematic presented by Powell as
an
example of Iraq's mobile labs was theoretically workable but that
turning
the diagram into a functioning laboratory posed enormous challenges --
such
as how to dispose of large quantities of highly toxic waste…
---
YOU WANTED TO BELIEVE HIM - BUT IT WAS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF BECKETT
Robert Fisk, Independent, 2/6/03
http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=375941
Sources, foreign intelligence sources, "our sources," defectors,
sources,
sources, sources. Colin Powell's terror talk to the United Nations
Security
Council yesterday sounded like one of those government-inspired reports
on
the front page of The New York Times - where it will most certainly be
treated with due reverence in this morning's edition. It was a bit like
heating up old soup. Haven't we heard most of this stuff before? Should
one
trust the man? General Powell, I mean, not Saddam.
Certainly we don't trust Saddam but Secretary of State Powell's
presentation was a mixture of awesomely funny recordings of Iraqi
Republican Guard telephone intercepts à la Samuel Beckett that just
might
have been some terrifying little proof that Saddam really is conning
the UN
inspectors again, and some ancient material on the Monster of Baghdad's
all
too well known record of beastliness. I am still waiting to hear the
Arabic
for the State Department's translation of "Okay Buddy" - "Consider it
done,
Sir" - this from the Republican Guard's "Captain Ibrahim", for heaven's
sake - and some dinky illustrations of mobile bio-labs whose lorries
and
railway trucks were in such perfect condition that they suggested the
Pentagon didn't have much idea of the dilapidated state of Saddam's
army...
---
POPE'S PEACE MAN SAYS POWELL EVIDENCE UNCONVINCING
Philip Pullella, Reuters, 2/6/03
VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II's point man for peace said Thursday an
attack on Iraq would unleash terrorism and kill civilians and called
the
latest evidence by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell unconvincing
and vague.
In an interview with Reuters, Archbishop Renato Martino, president of
the
Vatican's justice and peace department, said the pope was deeply
saddened
by the recent turn of events.
He also stressed the Vatican's stand that it could not consider any
U.S.-led action against Iraq a "just war" and that there were perhaps
economic reasons behind the conflict.
"I wonder why those who want to make war do not take into account the
serious consequences," Martino said…
Martino said the possibility of war had deeply hurt the elderly and
ailing
pope.
"The pope has said that war must always be a last resort. If there is a
war
we have to see if 3,000 bombs or missiles will strike only military
targets
without killing civilians, or if they hit power plants. Then hospitals
don't have electricity. The entire population will suffer, the sick,
the
poor, children," he said.
Martino said the West needed to address the causes of terrorism.
"It is possible to eliminate one, two or 1,000 terrorists but if you
don't
go to the cause of terrorism you will never eradicate this terrible
phenomenon. And the causes are political, economic and cultural," he
said.
"Not only the United States but the entire West should make an
examination
of conscience of how we oppress the rest of the world -- unkept
promises
(and) spreading ways of life that are not moral or acceptable to the
rest
of the world," he said.
---
CONYERS, MCDERMOTT MAKE PLEA TO U.N.
Ethan Wallison, Roll Call, 2/5/03
Two prominent Congressional foes of military action against Saddam
Hussein
journeyed to New York on Thursday to meet privately with United Nations
Secretary-General Kofi Annan in an effort to underscore Capitol Hill
opposition to the Bush administration's policy toward Iraq.
The visit from Democratic Reps. John Conyers (Mich.) and Jim McDermott
(Wash.) occurred as the international body awaited disclosure of new
evidence from the Bush administration of the Iraqi dictator's ongoing
efforts to evade inspections and produce weapons of mass destruction…
In fact, the precise substance of the lawmakers' discussions with Annan
was
not immediately clear. But in an interview Tuesday, Conyers said he
expressed the view that the United Nations "should bind us all, even
when
we're in disagreement," and suggested the world body was being
"devalued"
by the Bush administration's approach on Iraq.
"I wanted Kofi Annan to know that a considerable number of us [on
Capitol
Hill] think that in going it alone [the United States] may be
alienating
the same institution that we will need in the future, going forward,"
Conyers said…
---
POWELL SEES MIDEAST RESHAPED AFTER IRAQ WAR
Jonathan Wright, Reuters, 2/6/03
WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Thursday that
overthrowing the Iraqi government could reshape the Middle East in a
way
that enhances U.S. interests and helps end the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Powell told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that attacking Iraq
could cause "some difficulties" for the United States in other areas in
the
Middle East during the conflict and in the months immediately after a
war.
But he added, "I think there is also the possibility that success could
fundamentally reshape that region in a powerful, positive way that will
enhance U.S. interests, especially if in the aftermath of such a
conflict,
we are also able to achieve progress on the Middle East peace…"
-----
COURT DEALS U.S. DEFEAT IN ISLAMIC FUND CASE
Laurie Cohen and Kim Barker, Chicago Tribune, 2/6/03
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0302060311feb06,1,7129259.story
In a blow to prosecutors, a federal judge has tossed out a 101-page
document intended to prove that the head of a Palos Hills-based Islamic
charity helped orchestrate a conspiracy to funnel money to violent
groups
such as Al Qaeda.
The unusual decision by U.S. District Judge Suzanne Conlon means that
the
government is likely to have a hard time introducing certain key
evidence
at the trial of Enaam Arnaout, scheduled to start next week, legal
experts
said. Prosecutors allege in the document that Arnaout is connected to
members of Al Qaeda and that his charity provided support to Osama bin
Laden…
Conlon wrote that the government filing relies heavily on documents
with
dates and authors that can't always be identified. The proffer "is
devoid
of analysis linking proffered hearsay to a specific conspiracy," the
judge
wrote.
Citing the "insufficiency" of the government filing, she ruled that the
government hadn't shown "by a preponderance of the evidence" that
certain
statements could be linked to a specific conspiracy...
-----
REGISTRATION FOR ARABS DRAWS FIRE
Daniel B. Wood, Christian Science Monitor, 2/6/03
http://www.christiansciencemonitor.com/2003/0206/p03s01-usgn.html
LOS ANGELES - The sun may be glinting off the downtown federal
building,
but that doesn't make it any more inviting to Pakistani-born Saeed
Cheema.
Immigration authorities have requested that Mr. Cheema - a US resident
-
file paperwork and give a brief interview to immigration officials
inside.
But Cheema is hesitant. He's read press reports that, since
mid-December,
over 1,000 men from predominantly Muslim countries have been detained
after
registering with US authorities as required under a new law. "I just
want
to know, if I go into the building, will I come out?" Cheema asks
representatives from the Southeast Asia Network (SAN), who have set up
a
folding table in the building's shade to advise immigrants of their
rights.
Ominously, the organization's volunteers are taking down vital details
so
they can inform relatives if the men don't reappear through the
office's
imposing doors…
SEE ALSO:
NY WORKSHOPS ON INS SPECIAL REGISTRATION
WHAT: The New York Immigration Coalition is organizing two workshops on
new
INS registration requirements for nationals from select Muslim
countries.
WHEN: February 11, 6 P.M. to 8 P.M. and March 4, 6 P.M. to 8 P.M.
WHERE: 275 Seventh Avenue, 9th Floor, New York City
Admission is free. Space is limited.
Must pre-register by faxing request to attend to (212) 627-9314
-----
SPEAKERS REFUSE TO SHARE PODIUM WITH DANIEL PIPES
Capital Comment
United Press International, 2/4/03
www.upi.org
WASHINGTON - Tensions ran high at the just-completed 30th annual
Conservative Political Action Conference because of its tone concerning
Muslims and Arab-Americans. The first day of the conference was marred
by
the sale of virulently anti-Muslim paraphernalia on display in one
vendor's
booth in the exhibition hall. The items were taken down after
conference
organizers informed the vendor that the items or the entire booth had
to go.
But according to some reports, they continued to be sold under the
table.
Tempers again flared Saturday afternoon because of a panel titled,
"Islam:
Religion of Peace?" Moderated by WorldNetDaily.com editor Joseph
Farrah,
the panel was composed of remarks by the Middle East Institute's Daniel
Pipes, author Kenneth Timmerman and Serge Trifkovic, the foreign
affairs
editor of Chronicles magazine -- all of whom had little if anything
kind to
say about Islam while suggesting that permitting Muslims to immigrate
to
the United States posed a threat.
Particularly disturbing to some in the audience was Trifkovic's
assertion
that: "We must have the guts to call a religion of war by its proper
name."
The fact that no representatives of the Islamic faith were also on the
panel is an unfolding controversy…
The addition of Pipes, however, caused Saffuri and Zogby to reconsider
their participation. The Islamic Institute, a think tank headed by
Saffuri,
explained their withdrawal in a Friday e-mail to friends, supporters
and
the media.
"CPAC never announced their desire to invite Daniel Pipes to speak on
the
panel nor did they inform the panelists upon his acceptance to their
invite. For lack of confidence in Pipes' ability to intellectually
discuss
Islam, Saffuri and Zogby both rightfully declined from the panel upon
learning from CPAC's Web site that he was to appear on their panel,"
the
message said…
SEE: WHO IS DANIEL PIPES?
http://www.cair-net.org/misc/people/daniel_pipes.html
-----
BAY AREA MUSLIMS HOST SUCCESSFUL INTERFAITH PROGRAM
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and United Muslim of
America (UMA) Interfaith Alliance hosted a recent meeting of religious
leaders from the San Francisco Bay area. The event entitled "Building
Bridges Among People of Faith" was attended by 60 leaders representing
many
faiths…
At the event, Rev. Gerald O'Rourke, from the San Francisco Archdiocese,
stated, "We no longer have the luxury of not having a dialogue among
the
people of faith." Omar Ahmad, Chairman of CAIR said it is important
that
American Muslims actively participate in interfaith dialogue.
Cooperation
among communities of faith is the key to a harmonious and peaceful
society".
Faith leaders attending the event included Rt. Rev. William E. Swing,
Bishop (Episcopal Diocese of California), Rev. Amos Brown (Third
Baptist
Church), Bishop John Wester (Archdiocese of San Francisco), Swami
Vedananda
(Hindu), Rabbi Jay Miller (Director Peninsula Clergy Council), Rev Heng
Sure (Berkeley Buddhist Monastery) and many others.
SEE ALSO:
CHRISTIAN SPEAKS OUT AGAINST ANTI-MUSLIM RHETORIC
The following is an excerpt from a letter sent to CAIR by an Ohio
native:
"I am a Christian who is tired of having my religion hijacked by
right-wing
neo-cons who want an ideological war with Islam.
I know that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are sister faiths, with
common
roots in the Abrahamic tradition. We enjoy a protected status as
"people
of the book" in Islamic countries, but increasingly, we do not extend
similar goodwill toward Muslims in predominately Christian nations.
Please know that despite the loud voices of the anti-Islam "Christian"
fundamentalists, there are many of us who truly follow the universal
truths
of our faith. We want to live in harmony with Muslims, and deplore
these
assaults on Islam…"
-----
SUPERMARKET CHAIN ACKNOWLEDGES EID AL ADHA
The national supermarket chain Stop & Shop has included Eid greetings
to
the Muslim community in its weekly circular advertisement. More than
eight
million copies of this advertisement were distributed to hundreds of
Stop &
Shop stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and
Rhode
Island.
ACTION REQUESTED: Send a note of appreciation to:
EMAIL: barry.berman@stopandshop.com, cavallone@stopandshop.com COPY TO:
cair@cair-net.org, corp.communications@ahold.com
TEL: 781-380-8000
SNAIL MAIL TO:
Public Affairs Department
The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company
P.O. Box 1942
Boston, Massachusetts 02105
-----
CHICAGO SYMPOSIUM ON LIFE OF MALCOLM X
WHAT: In recognition of Black History Month, the Muslim Youth of
Chicago
(MYC) and the youth division of the Council of Islamic Organizations of
Greater Chicago are co-sponsoring a symposium on the life and legacy of
Malcolm X
Featured Speakers:
Jamil Kaba, Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN)
Capital D (Dawood), from the hip-hop group All Natural
WHEN: Friday, February 8 at 8 P.M.
WHERE: M.E.C., 8601 N. Menard Street, Morton Grove, Il 60053
CONTACT: Sofia Alam at (847)431-8659 or Sumiya Shamsuddin at
(847)867-7982
-----
TO BECOME A CAIR MEMBER, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARIZONA FBI ASKED TO INVESTIGATE ANTI-MUSLIM THREAT
E-mail threat says: "I hate all Muslims and will hurt you in some way!"
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/7/03) - The Arizona office of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-AZ) today asked that state's office of
the
FBI to investigate an Internet threat against Muslims.
The threat was received December 28, 2002, in an e-mail message to the
Washington, D.C., office of the Islamic civil rights and advocacy
group. In
that e-mail, the person who provided her full name and may live in
Arizona
wrote: (A person with the same name as the author of the threat
maintains a
personal web page on the Internet.)
"You [Muslims] just got off the friggin boat and you already are the
most
hated immigrants of all time----your ties to home are still thousands
of
times stronger then any ties you will ever have to REAL Americans! Like
I
said---you are unwanted SCUM---If you had any honor at all--you'd
leave!!!!!!! I still hate all Muslims and will hurt you in some way!"
In an
earlier message, the same person wrote: "You are a curse on the USA!
LEAVE!!! You dont even have enough honor to leave a country that you
are
destroying!! I HATE ALL Muslims!!"
CAIR-AZ sent the threat to the Phoenix office of the FBI requesting an
investigation. To date, and despite several follow-up messages, the
group
has only received an acknowledgement of its initial report.
"We hope threats against Muslims will be taken as seriously as threats
against any other Americans," said CAIR-AZ Executive Director Deedra
Abboud.
- END -
CONTACT: Deedra Abboud, 602-738-2482; Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or
202-744-7726, E-MAIL: cair@cair-net.org; Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787
or
202-439-1441, E-MAIL: hhassan@cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive
news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to CAIR-NET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
-----
TO BECOME A CAIR MEMBER, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
CAIR ACTION ALERT #363
CONTACT ELECTED OFFICIALS TO SUSPEND FUNDING FOR INS "SPECIAL
REGISTRATION"
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/7/03) - CAIR is calling on people of conscience to
contact their elected officials and voice support for suspending the
National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) special
registration call-in. Senate Amendment (SAMDT) 54 of the Omnibus
Appropriations bill, HJ Res 2, would temporarily suspend funding and
require further study of the controversial NSEERS program. At the same
time, SAMDT 54 reallocates NSEERS money for the development of a more
efficient and effective universal entry-exit registration system.
The appropriations bill passed the Senate unanimously, and is now being
considered by a joint committee of the House and Senate. The House
version
of this bill does not include a provision that suspends funding for
special
registration call in. The amendment that suspends funding of NSEERS may
be
taken out during committee negotiations, so it is imperative that you
encourage your elected officials to support SAMDT 54.
ACTION REQUESTED:
Contact your elected representatives by going to:
http://capwiz.com/cair/home/ A sample letter is provided. If your
member is
on the joint committee list below, it is particularly important that
you
contact him or her to encourage keeping SAMDT 54 in the Omnibus
Appropriations bill. If your member is not on this list, it is still
important to contact him or her to educate them about the issue.
Rep. Young (R-FL 10th)
Phone: (727) 893-3191
Fax: (202) 225-9764
Rep. Regula (R-OH 16th)
Phone: (330) 489-4414
Fax: (330) 489-4448
Rep. Rogers (R-KY 5th)
Phone: (606) 679-8346
Fax: (606) 678-4856
Rep. Wolf (R-VA 10th)
Phone: (703) 709-5800
Fax: (703) 709-5802
Rep. Kolbe (R-AZ 8th)
Phone: (520) 881-3588
Fax: (520) 322-9490
Rep. Walsh (R-NY 25th)
Phone: (315) 423-5657
Fax: (315) 423-5669
Rep. Taylor (R-NC 11th)
Phone: (828) 251-1988
Fax: (828) 251-0794
Rep. Hobson (R-OH 7th)
Phone: (937) 325-0474
Fax: (202) 225-1984
Rep. Istook (R-OK 5th)
Phone: (405) 942-3636
Fax: (405) 942-3792
Rep. Bonilla (R- TX 23rd)
Phone: (210) 697-9055
Fax: (210) 697-9185
Rep. Knollenberg (R-MI 9th)
Phone: (248) 851-1366
Fax: (248) 851-0418
Rep. Kingston (R-GA 1st)
Phone: (912) 352-0101
Fax: (912) 352-0105
Rep. Obey (D-WI 7th)
Phone: (715) 842-5606
Fax: (715) 842-4488
Rep. Murtha (D-PA 12th)
Phone: (814) 535-2642
Fax: (814) 539-6229
Rep. Dicks (D-WA 6th)
Phone: (253) 593-6536
Fax: (206) 593-6551
Rep. Sabo (D-MN 5th)
Phone: (612) 664-8000
Fax: (612) 664-8004
Rep. Mollohan (D-WV 1st)
Phone: (304) 292-3019
Fax: (304) 292-3027
Rep. Kaptur (D-OH 9th)
Phone: (419) 259-7500
Fax: (419) 255-9623
Rep. Visclosky (D-IN 1st)
Phone: (219) 795-1844
Fax: (219) 795-1850
Rep. Lowey (D-NY 18th)
Phone: (914) 428-1707
Fax: (914) 328-1505
Rep. Serrano (D-NY 16th)
Phone: (718) 538-5400
Fax: (718) 588-3652
Rep. Moran (D-VA 8th)
Phone: (703) 971-4700
Fax: (703) 922-9436
Sen. Stevens (R-AK)
Phone: (907) 271-5915
Fax: (907) 258-9305
Sen. Cochran (R-MS)
Phone: (601) 965-4459
Fax: (601) 965-4919
Sen. Specter (R-PA)
Phone: (215) 597-7200
Fax: (215) 597-0406
Sen. Domenici (R-NM)
Phone: (505) 346-6791
Fax: (505) 346-6720
Sen. Bond (R-MO)
Phone: (573) 634-2488
Fax: (573) 634-6005
Sen. McConnell (R-KY)
Phone: (502) 582-6304
Fax: (502) 582-5326
Sen. Burns (R-MT)
Phone: (406) 252-0550
Fax: (406) 252-7768
Sen. Shelby (R-AL)
Phone: (205) 759-5047
Fax: (205) 759-5067
Sen. Gregg (R-NH)
Phone: (603) 225-7115
Fax: (603) 224-0198
Sen. Bennett (R-UT)
Phone: (801) 524-5933
Fax: (801) 524-5730
Sen. Campbell (R-CO)
Phone: (303) 843-4100
Fax: (303) 843-4116
Sen. Craig (R-ID)
Phone: (208) 342-7985
Fax: (208) 343-2458
Sen. Hutchison (R-TX)
Phone: (214) 361-3500
Fax: (214) 361-3502
Sen. DeWine (R-OH)
Phone: (614) 469-5186
Fax: (614) 469-2982
Sen. Brownback (R-NH)
Phone: (785) 233-2503
Fax: (785) 233-2616
Sen. Byrd (D-WV)
Phone: (304) 342-5855
Fax: (304) 343-7144
Sen. Inouye (D-HI)
Phone: (808) 541-2542
Fax: (808) 541-2549
Sen. Hollings (D-SC)
Phone: (803) 765-5731
Fax: (803) 765-5742
Sen. Leahy (D-VT)
Phone: (802) 863-2525
Fax: (202) 224-3479
Sen. Harkin (D-IA)
Phone: (515) 284-4574
Fax: (515) 284-4937
Sen. Mikulski (D-MD)
Phone: (410) 962-4510
Fax: (410) 962-4760
Sen. Reid (D-NV)
Phone: (702) 388-5020
Fax: (702) 388-5030
Sen. Kohl (D-WI)
Phone: (414) 297-4451
Fax: (414) 297-4455
Sen. Murray (D-WA)
Phone: (206) 553-5545
Fax: (206) 553-0891
Sen. Dorgan (D-ND)
Phone: (701) 250-4618
Fax: (701) 250-4484
Sen. Feinstein (D-CA)
Phone: (415) 393-0707
Fax: (415) 989-3242
Sen. Durbin (D-IL)
Phone: (312) 353-4952
Fax: (312) 353-0150
Sen. Johnson (D-SD)
Phone: (605) 332-8896
Fax: (605) 332-2824
Sen. Landrieu (D-LA)
Phone: (504) 589-2427
Fax: (504) 589-4023
SAMPLE LETTER:
As your constituent, I strongly encourage you to support SAMDT 54 of HJ
Res
2, the Omnibus Appropriations bill. SAMDT 54 is a bipartisan amendment
that
suspends the controversial and counterproductive NSEERS special
registration program, and instead allocates $165 million to further
develop
a comprehensive entry-exit registration system mandated by Congress.
NSEERS is a flawed and ineffective means of registering and tracking
visitors to the United States. Due to the great expense of this
complicated registration system it is only being applied to a
relatively
small number of people on the basis of national origin.
The highly limited NSEERS program has only targeted those most likely
to
view the United States favorably, many of whom are on the path to
permanent
legal residency. Instead of increasing our security, NSEERS detains and
deports those who have encountered delays in processing their paperwork
due
to INS mishandling and inefficiency. For example, a New York Times
article
last week reported that an INS office in California shredded 90,000
documents, including passports, birth certificates and applications, in
order to overcome a backlog of paperwork. Many people are now out of
status
and may be deported because of this INS mishap.
NSEERS is a complex and inefficient registration system that was put in
place with an unrealistic timeline, and without sufficient funds to the
INS
for outreach or staff training. As a result, the INS has published
erroneous Arabic language flyers, INS employees often gave
contradictory or
false information, and significant numbers of people have been denied
access to their lawyers during interviews. As a result of this poor
planning, hundreds of well-meaning visitors may now be out of status,
thousands may still not know about the need to register and thousands
more
are too scared to register for fear of being unfairly detained.
A universal entry-exit system as mandated by Congress in the Enhanced
Border Security Act of 2002 would eliminate the problems inherent in
NSEERS
and replace it with a more effective and efficient universal
registration
system that protects the rights of those registering. Such a system
would
eliminate the civil rights abuses and humiliating border procedures of
NSEERS in favor of a more economical and accurate entry-exit system.
With all these problems, it is imperative that NSEERS be temporarily
suspended in a favor of an entry-exit system that builds on effective
existing border security systems, accurately records who is complying
with
the terms of their visas, applies equally to all visitors and is much
more
cost effective. I encourage you to do all you can to keep SAMDT 54 in
HJ
Res 2.
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453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
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Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
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In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 2/7/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: IGNORE WRONGS AND FORGIVE
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* INCITEMENT WATCH: TEXTBOOKS TOO 'SOFT' ON ISLAM
* CAIR-OHIO MEETS COLUMBUS SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT
* MEDIA REQUEST: CBS SEEKS MUSLIMS CONTEMPLATING MIGRATION
* CONSERVATIVE GROUP ASKED TO REJECT ANTI-MUSLIM BIGOTRY (Wash. Post)
* INS REGISTRATION RAISES FEAR IN COMMUNITY (Orlando Sentinel)
- Syrian Student Won't Be Deported (St. Petersburg Times)
- Pressure Builds for Review of Deportations (Mercury News)
* FBI'S MOSQUE-COUNTING WORRIES MUSLIMS (Orlando Sentinel)
- Civil Liberties Ad Campaign Slams Attorney General (AFP)
* UK'S BLAIR UNDER FIRE FOR PLAGIARIZED IRAQ DOSSIER (Reuters)
- Iraq Shows Off Missile Site to Rebut U.S. Charges (Reuters)
- Cries of Desperation (MSNBC)
* WEB MAGAZINE RETRACTS VIRUS ATTACK STORY (AP)
* ON THE HOLIEST MUSLIM VOYAGE (Montreal Gazette)
* NEWCOMERS GIVE OLD CITY A LOOK AT ITSELF (USA Today)
* EX-US TRADE REPS URGE TARIFF CUTS ON MUSLIM GOODS (Reuters)
* DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINTS RISE (Fort Worth Star Telegram)
* MARYLAND ORATORICAL COMPETITION TO FOCUS ON CIVIL LIBERTIES
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: IGNORE WRONGS AND FORGIVE
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "No one is wronged, and
ignores it for the sake of God...without God giving him great help. No
one
begins to give, intending thereby to (improve relations between
people),
without God providing him with much more because of it. And no one will
begin to beg, seeking thereby to gain abundance, without God giving him
still more (poverty) because of it."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1319
Ayesha, a wife of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), said:
"God's
Messenger...did not return evil for evil, but he would forgive and
pardon."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1528
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: TEXTBOOKS TOO 'SOFT' ON ISLAM
CLASSROOM JIHAD
John Miller, National Review, 2/7/03
http://www.nationalreview.com/miller/miller020703.asp
We're losing the war on terrorism in America's classrooms. That's the
sobering conclusion of the American Textbook Council, which Friday
releases
a report on how our schools' most popular world-history books fail to
grapple honestly with the problem of militant Islamism.
SEE ALSO:
TEXTBOOKS SAID TO 'HIDE' PROBLEMS WITH ISLAM
Larry Witham, Washington Times, 2/7/03
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20030207-69320890.htm
World history textbooks in U.S. classrooms sanitize the problems of
Islam
when compared to how they often treat Western civilization, a review of
seven widely used texts reported yesterday.
The study, released by the American Textbook Council, said a rosy
treatment
of Islam may arise from the lobbying of the Council on Islamic
Education on
national publishers.
"When any dark side [of Islam] surfaces, textbooks run and hide," said
the
report, "Islam and the Textbooks," by Gilbert Sewall, a former
professor
who directs the council…
-----
CAIR-OHIO MEETS COLUMBUS SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT
CAIR-Ohio President Ahmad Al-Akhras and Executive Director Jad Humeidan
met
recently with Dr. Gene Harris, Superintendent of Columbus Public
Schools,
to discuss issues of importance to Muslim students and parents.
"The discussion was very frank and open and Dr. Harris was very
receptive
to our concerns," said Al-Akhras. He said Friday prayers and
implementing a
uniform District-wide policy on religious accommodation was a major
point
of discussion.
Columbus Public Schools have a large number of recent immigrants who
are
Muslims. There are more than 30,000 Muslims in central Ohio.
-----
MEDIA REQUEST: CBS SEEKS MUSLIMS CONTEMPLATING MIGRATION
The US has set a Feb. 21 deadline for American residents of Pakistani
origin to register with the INS. These are people with legal status in
the
States long they've lived, studied, worked in the States, they must
register.
Many are balking at the idea ... they fear detention, or legal
complications or - especially - being sent back to Pakistan. They
don't
want to go back to Pakistan. They don't want to leave their lives in
the
States, but they also feel betrayed by this registration policy.
So some of them are heading to the Canadian border seeking refuge in
Canada. They are being housed in facilities normally inhabited by
Mexican
and Latin America refugee claimants, while their cases are being
processed.
The documentary hopes to address the specific reasons for this action,
what
these people are hoping for, American official reaction to this flight,
and
Canadian policy on these refugees.
If you're interested in speaking with the CBC, please either email
ronasyed@hotmail.com or telephone CBC at 416-205-7965.
-----
CONSERVATIVE GROUP ASKED TO REJECT ANTI-MUSLIM BIGOTRY
SEND IN THE PALM PILOTS
Al Kamen, Washington Post, 2/7/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38327-2003Feb6.html
Speaking of Infighting . . .
Conservative activist Grover Norquist says the American Conservative
Union
must take tougher action and ban a Florida vendor -- who sold
anti-Muslim
material at the group's Conservative Political Action Conference last
week
-- from future conventions.
Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, e-mailed fellow ACU
board
members this week, calling for a resolution apologizing "for the
discomfort
and insult that these offensive materials caused."
He also said a CPAC panelist, Frank J. Gaffney Jr. of the Center for
Security Policy, had impugned the patriotism of a Muslim who works at
the
White House, because of his religion. Gaffney was formally uninvited
from
Norquist's "center-right coalition meeting" Wednesday -- the weekly
lunch
for conservative A-listers…
-----
INS REGISTRATION RAISES FEAR IN COMMUNITY
Brian Kluepfel, Contra Costa Times, 2/7/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/5127961.htm
Since November, citizens of 25 Asian and African countries have been
ordered to register with the Immigration and Naturalization Services,
including many from the East Bay immigrant community.
The result has been an atmosphere of fear of deportation for many, and
interviews with the Voice were often granted only on the condition of
anonymity.
One Berkeley businessman, who also asked that his country of origin not
be
revealed, says he is in danger of being deported after living in the
United
States for more than half his life. Upon registering in December, he
was
asked to return for a second appointment. At that time he was arrested
and
spent two nights in a Yuba City jail. "I felt like a criminal," he
said. He
came to America on a student visa and feared returning home in the
early
'80s because his name had been put on a "black list," meaning he faced
death...
SEE ALSO:
SYRIAN STUDENT WON'T BE DEPORTED
Saundra Amrhein, St. Petersburg Times, 2/7/03
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/02/07/TampaBay/Syrian_student_won_t_.shtml
BRADENTON - Abdullah Hatahet awoke before dawn Thursday in the home he
shares with his aunt and uncle in Tampa. He placed his forehead and
palms
on his Muslim prayer rug, facing east.
"Oh, lord," Hatahet prayed, "help me with my case." Help arrived four
hours
later, when government attorney James Grim walked into a Bradenton
courtroom. There he announced that immigration officials will no longer
seek to deport Hatahet to Syria.
Hatahet ran afoul of the law when he missed by one day a deadline for
visitors from certain Arab and Muslim countries to register with the
Immigration and Naturalization Service. The engineering student's
excuse:
He had chosen to finish a class project so he could graduate from the
University of South Florida.
When he did show up on Dec. 17, he was arrested, detained for four days
and
threatened with deportation to Syria.
Hatahet, 22, emerged from the courtroom Thursday flashing a big grin.
"It was good news," he said wearing a dark blue suit. "It's been a hard
journey for me."
His attorney, John Ovink, showed a more dramatic flair.
"Yes!" Ovink yelled, throwing a fist in the air. "Justice has
prevailed."
The charges against him dropped, Hatahet's file now will be sent back
to
the Tampa INS office so his student status can be reinstated.
"He can go on with his life," said Ovink, who has criticized the
registration requirement. It discriminates against certain ethnic
groups,
he said, and won't catch terrorists…
---
PRESSURE BUILDS FOR REVIEW OF DEPORTATIONS
Jessie Mangaliman, San Jose Mercury News, 2/7/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/5127689.htm
Santa Clara County government officials, religious leaders and
immigrant
advocates Thursday joined a growing chorus of people who are putting
pressure on the INS to suspend deportation proceedings against hundreds
of
Korean immigrants who were issued fake green cards by a former INS
supervisor more than a decade ago.
At a news conference called by state Assemblyman Manny Diaz, D-San
Jose,
representatives of the groups said the Immigration and Naturalization
Service and Attorney General John Ashcroft should conduct individual
case
reviews of the 275 mostly Korean immigrants who may be forced to leave
the
country...
A series of articles in the Mercury News last month detailed the plight
of
the immigrants, who said they applied for green cards not knowing that
the
San Jose immigration consultants they hired were bribing an INS
official
who authorized the documents.
Leland Dwayne Sustaire, a former supervisor at the INS office in San
Jose,
was convicted in federal court of accepting $500,000 in bribes from the
consultants over a 12-year period. Sustaire received probation and the
four
consultants served jail time ranging from several months to three
years.
"Today, we stand side by side with the Korean-American community," said
Helal Omeira, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations in Santa Clara.
-----
FBI'S MOSQUE-COUNTING POLICY WORRIES NATION'S MUSLIMS
Kelly Brewington, Orlando Sentinel, 2/7/03
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/orl-asecmosques07020703feb07214518,0,5216371.story
Agents in the FBI's 56 field offices will begin taking their own census
of
Muslims and their places of worship as part of the nation's
antiterrorism
effort -- a mandate that has ratcheted up the fear level in Central
Florida's Muslim community.
The FBI said mosques are included in the survey to protect the Muslim
community from hate crimes. But civil-rights advocates in Central
Florida
and nationwide accused the government of profiling and said the FBI's
plans
are spreading fear throughout Muslim communities…
Muslim leaders complained that the policy is only the latest round of
scrutiny to disrupt their lives.
"It has been a fact of life for us," said Areej Zufari, a spokeswoman
for
the Islamic Society of Central Florida and a fourth-grade teacher at
the
organization's K-12 school. "It's something, unfortunately, we have
gotten
used to."
The FBI has been monitoring mosques for years, though inquiries
increased
after Sept. 11, 2001, Zufari said. She said FBI agents have asked how
the
Islamic Society spends its money, how children are educated in its
school
and the principles for which the community stands…
SEE ALSO:
US CIVIL LIBERTIES WATCHDOG SLAMS ATTORNEY GENERAL IN AD CAMPAIGN
Agence France Presse, 2/7/03
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said Thursday it
plans to step up its criticism of what it says is the US government's
assault on individual freedoms with a series of print ads attacking US
Attorney General John Ashcroft.
The advertisements paint Ashcroft as a zealous ideologue who has hacked
away at American civil liberties using post-September 11 concerns about
national security as a pretext.
The advertisement accuses Ashcroft of "shamelessly using the events of
September 11 as a subterfuge," to undermine the rights enshrined in the
US
Bill of Rights, such as freedom of speech and association. "Today, the
government can get a secret warrant to search your home without telling
you
until long afterwards," the advertisement reads.
"Today, the government can monitor your Internet use, read your emails,
examine your online purchases with minimal judicial oversight. Today,
you
can be detained without access to a lawyer, without being charged with
a
crime. "Today, John Ashcroft has authorized the FBI to monitor your
political activities, to send agents into your house of worship. We can
only guess what tomorrow will bring..."
-----
UK'S BLAIR UNDER FIRE FOR PLAGIARIZED IRAQ DOSSIER
Dominic Evans, Reuters, 2/7/03
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=586&e=3&cid=586&u=/nm/20030207/wl_nm/iraq_britain_dossier_dc
London - British Prime Minister Tony Blair was accused Friday of
playing
the same propaganda games as Saddam Hussein after chunks of an
"intelligence" dossier on Iraq turned out to have been plagiarized from
academic papers.
The dossier, published this week on a government Web site, said Iraq
had
mounted a massive campaign to deceive and intimidate U.N. inspectors
hunting for banned weapons.
The latest in a series of British documents focusing on the alleged
threat
from Saddam and rallying support for a possible U.S.-led war, it was
praised by Secretary of State Colin Powell in the U.N. Security Council
Wednesday.
It claimed to draw upon "a number of sources, including intelligence
material." But Friday, red-faced officials admitted whole swathes were
lifted word for word -- grammatical slips and all -- from a student
thesis.
Outraged politicians jumped on the revelation to accuse Blair of
misleading
the public and said it cast doubt on the credibility of his whole case
against Saddam…
SEE ALSO:
IRAQ SHOWS OFF MISSILE SITE TO REBUT U.S. CHARGES
Reuters, 2/7/03
BAGHDAD - Iraq took international journalists to a missile engine
testing
site north of Baghdad on Friday in an attempt to rebut U.S. charges
that it
was developing long-range missiles in violation of a U.N. ban.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, during a presentation to the U.N.
Security Council on Wednesday, produced a satellite picture of two
engine
test stands at Falluja. One of the stands, Powell said, was designed to
test engines of missiles with a range of 1,200 km (750 miles).
Under U.N. resolutions, Iraq is allowed to have missiles with a maximum
range of 150 km (95 miles). Iraq's Information Ministry took
journalists to
the site, run by the government's Al Rafah company.
Ali Jassem, an official at the site, said the facility was the first
visited by U.N. weapons inspectors when they resumed work in Iraq on
November 27.
"The inspectors visited this site and searched it. They found that
everything inside falls under permitted activities," Jassem said.
He said the inspectors had returned to the site several times since,
the
last of which was on February 4, a day before Powell's presentation…
---
KURDS PUZZLED BY REPORT OF TERROR CAMP
C. J. Chivers, New York Times, 2/6/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/06/international/middleeast/06ANSA.html
ERBIL, Iraq - Secretary of State Colin L. Powell's assertion today that
Islamic extremists were operating a poisons training camp and factory
in
northern Iraq appeared to surprise Kurdish officials, who greeted the
claim
with a mix of satisfaction and confusion.
The officials were pleased to hear an American effort to discredit
their
Islamist enemies, and to sense momentum toward war to unseat Saddam
Hussein. But some also wondered if the intelligence Mr. Powell
presented to
the United Nations Security Council was imprecise…
One senior Kurdish official, a member of the Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan
who is familiar with the intelligence on Ansar, said he had not heard
of
the laboratory Mr. Powell displayed.
"I don't know anything about this compound," he said.
Kurds also questioned whether Mr. Powell was mistaken, or had
mislabeled
the photograph. Khurmal, the village named on the photo, is controlled
not
by Ansar al-Islam but by Komala Islami Kurdistan, a more moderate
Islamic
group…
---
WAR AND WISDOM
Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times, 2/7/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/07/opinion/07KRIS.html
President Bush and Colin Powell have adroitly shown that Iraq is hiding
weapons, that Saddam Hussein is a lying scoundrel and that Iraqi
officials
should be less chatty on the telephone.
But they did not demonstrate that the solution is to invade Iraq.
If you've seen kids torn apart by machine-gun fire, you know that war
should be only a last resort. And we're not there yet. We still have a
better option: containment.
That's why in the Pentagon, civilian leaders are gung-ho but many in
uniform are leery. Former generals like Norman Schwarzkopf, Anthony
Zinni
and Wesley Clark have all expressed concern about the rush to war.
"Candidly, I have gotten somewhat nervous at some of the pronouncements
Rumsfeld has made," General Schwarzkopf told The Washington Post,
adding:
"I think it is very important for us to wait and see what the
inspectors
come up with..."
As for General Zinni, he said of the hawks: "I'm not sure which planet
they
live on, because it isn't the one that I travel." In an October speech
to
the Middle East Institute in Washington, he added: "[If] we intend to
solve
this through violent action, we're on the wrong course. First of all, I
don't see that that's necessary. Second of all, I think that war and
violence are a very last resort."
---
CRIES OF DESPERATION
Jill Nelson, MSNBC, 2/7/03
http://msnbc.com/news/869613.asp?0cv=CB20
Imagine a country ruled by a leader whose rise to power occurred under
deeply questionable circumstances. Imagine that this country appointed
itself the world's policeman, threatening another nation with a massive
military invasion if that nation did not accede to his demands.
The ruler of this country had few allies, and some of those he did have
were either threatened or bribed into supporting his demands. He
ignored
the needs of his own people - millions of whom lived in poverty, had no
work or health care and little hope. But the ruler ignored the domestic
crisis and cries of his own people, and simply beat the drums of war
louder
to drown out the voices of dissent.
Welcome to George W. Bush's America, 2003...
-----
WEB MAGAZINE RETRACTS VIRUS ATTACK STORY
Associated Press, 2/7/03
NEW YORK - In a bizarre case of one journalist deceiving another, an
Internet news site published - then embarrassingly retracted - a story
that
claimed a radical Islamic group was behind a virus-like attack that
clogged
the Internet.
The Web site of Computerworld magazine published on Wednesday an
article
penned by journalist Dan Verton that he based on an e-mail interview
with a
person he identified as "Abu Mujahid," a member of Pakistan-based
Harkat-ul-Mujahadeen.
Verton wrote that "Mujahid" claimed the group, believed linked to Osama
bin
Laden's al-Qaida network, had unleashed the destructive Jan. 25
Internet
worm attack.
A four-year staff writer for Computerworld and a former Marine
intelligence
analyst, Verton thought he had a scoop and wrote a splashy story that
said
Harkat had acknowledged releasing "the Slammer worm as part of a 'cyber
jihad' aimed at creating fear and uncertainty on the Internet." But
Mujahid
was really Brian McWilliams, 43, a free-lance journalist in Durham,
N.H.,
whose employers include Salon.com and Wired News.
McWilliams said he had duped Verton because he wanted to teach
reporters
"to be more skeptical of people who claim they're involved in
cyberterrorism..."
-----
ON THE HOLIEST MUSLIM VOYAGE
Kinda Jayoush, Montreal Gazette, 2/7/03
http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/story.asp?id=81B178D1-CF11-41E0-97E8-99301A38EC68
Ahmad Chaar has been living in Canada for 33 years, but his Islamic
faith
is so alive it is as if he never left the Middle East, the birthplace
of
Islam.
This week, he left for Saudi Arabia to perform one of the five pillars
of
Islam, the Hajj, which means pilgrimage, and in the process relive
crucial
moments in his religion.
Chaar said Hajj is the best way a Muslim can purify the soul because
all
one does is worship God, learn how to live in harmony and peace with
others
and adhere to the supreme values of Islam.
"I will come back with a beautiful gift of peace and serenity that will
keep me tolerant and willing to do good things for years and years,"
Chaar
said. "I will have the memory of being close to God, the goodness
itself,
vivid in my mind." Chaar, of Syrian origin, is the father of three, all
of
whom were born in Canada…
-----
NEWCOMERS GIVE OLD CITY A LOOK AT ITSELF
Charisse Jones, USA Today, 2/7/03
www.usatoday.com
LEWISTON, Maine - In this old New England city, shadowed by the specter
of
mostly abandoned mills, rumors about the newcomers seemed to carry on
the
wind.
Some locals grumbled that their new Somali immigrant neighbors were
getting
pushed to the front of the line for public housing. Or that they
received
vouchers to buy cars. Or that Somali children had seen so much killing
in
their war-torn homeland that they could tell what kind of weapon was
being
fired just by the sound.
The stories were untrue. But their lingering presence illustrates the
subtle tensions and challenges that can arise when a community grapples
with racial diversity for the first time. Lewiston, which is 96% white
and
predominantly Catholic, has become home to roughly 1,100 Somalis in the
past two years. Many longtime residents welcome the social change, but
others are bothered by the infusion of different customs…
"There has been a small, fairly steady exodus starting over the past
couple
months," says Mark Schlotterbeck, a missionary with the Calvary United
Methodist Church. "There has been genuine fear among Somali people
wondering . . . whether they would be safe in Lewiston."
For those who stayed, life in Lewiston means a million tiny
adjustments. A
Somali mother learns how to dress her children for the cold. A college
student encounters racial bigotry for the first time. A restaurateur
alters
his menu for Somali customers. A Catholic parishioner gets used to
seeing a
Muslim kneel on the winter ground to pray...
-----
EX-US TRADE REPS URGE TARIFF CUTS ON MUSLIM GOODS
Doug Palmer, Reuters, 2/7/03
WASHINGTON - Former top U.S. trade officials on Friday urged the Bush
administration to add an economic component to its war on terrorism by
seeking to eliminate import duties on a broad range of goods from
Muslim
countries. "I think we have to think about that," former U.S. Trade
Representative Carla Hills said. "The economic well-being of the Middle
Eastern countries have declined over the past 20 years and we have to
address that issue."
Earlier this week, the Progressive Policy Institute, a moderate
Democratic
think tank, released a study that said the Bush administration's trade
agenda was undermining its war on terrorism by essentially ignoring
Muslim
countries in the Middle East and other parts of the world.
At an event which brought together six former U.S. trade
representatives to
discuss trade issues, former U.S. Trade Representative Charlene
Barshefsky
called the Muslim Middle East the "blank spot" on the Bush
administration's
trade agenda…
-----
DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINTS RISE
Maria M. Perotin, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2/7/03
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/5128251.htm
Employment discrimination complaints climbed more than 4 percent last
year
to 84,442 filings, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported
Thursday.
The biggest increases for the 2002 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30,
came
from allegations of religious discrimination. They were up 21 percent
from
2001, to almost 2,600 complaints.
Age bias complaints also rose 14.5 percent to more than 19,900, while
charges of discrimination based on national origin rose 13 percent to
top
9,000.
"While race discrimination led all charge filings in 2002, the year's
largest increases occurred in the religion, age, and national origin
charge
categories," EEOC Chairwoman Cari M. Dominguez noted in a written
statement.
The agency's tally reflects reports from workers during the recent
recession.
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, some Muslim and Arab employees
have
reported encountering discrimination at work. And older workers have
reported being targeted for layoffs by cost-cutting employers and of
difficulties finding new jobs...
-----
MARYLAND ORATORICAL COMPETITION TO FOCUS ON CIVIL LIBERTIES POST 9/11
WHAT: The J. Franklyn Bourne Bar Association is sponsoring the 2003
High
School Oratorical Contest for high school students in the counties of
Prince Georges and Montgomery. The debate, titled "At What Price
'Homeland
Security'?", will focus on the issue of civil liberties in the post
9/11
period.
Judges include The Honorable Michele D. Hotten and Fox 5 Anchorwoman
Karen
Gray Houston
Other notable attendees include
Congressman Albert Wynn
WHEN: Saturday, February 22 at 10 A.M.
WHERE: Charles H. Flowers High School Auditorium
10001 Ardwick-Ardmore Road
Springdale, MD 20774
Come hear the best students in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties
debate:
For those students interested in participating in the oratorical
contest,
please follow up with your school principal and/or Jennifer
Lichtenfield at
e-mail njc20@co.pg.md.us
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DON'T LINK HAJJ TO TERRORISM SAY MUSLIMS
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/8/03) - A prominent national Islamic civil rights
and
advocacy group today expressed concern that Friday's announcement of a
rise
in the national terror alert from yellow to orange seemed to link the
Muslim religious observance of Hajj to terrorism.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said Hajj, or
pilgrimage
to the city of Mecca, is a once-in-a-lifetime journey of spiritual
purification, repentance and renewal, not an excuse for killing
innocent
people. Hajj is one of the "five pillars" of Islam. The other pillars
include a declaration of faith, daily prayers, offering regular
charity,
and fasting during the month of Ramadan.
In his news conference announcing the new terror alert, Attorney
General
John Ashcroft said the decision to increase the threat level was based
on
intelligence pointing to a possible attack timed to coincide with the
hajj.
"The unnecessary linkage of Hajj to terrorism merely serves to promote
the
growing perception in the Muslim world that the war on terrorism is in
reality an attack on Islam. That perception damages our nation's
interests
and could generate increased suspicion of and discrimination against
ordinary Muslims. Hajj has nothing to do with terrorism. To imply
otherwise
is an insult to the American Muslim community. Attorney General
Ashcroft
needs to clarify his position on this important issue," said CAIR
Executive
Director Nihad Awad.
Awad added that American Muslims support efforts to protect the United
States from terrorist attacks, but reject any suggestion that Islam and
terrorism are inextricably linked.
He said this is not the first time the administration has linked
Islamic
religious observances to terrorism. In the past, similar government
alerts
were issued during the month-long Ramadan fast.
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-MAIL:
cair@cair-net.org; Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441,
E-MAIL:
hhassan@cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive
news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to CAIR-NET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
-----
TO BECOME A CAIR MEMBER, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 2/8/2003
HEADLINES:
* LIBRARY PROJECT: MAINE LIBRARY GIVEN ISLAMIC MATERIALS
* CAIR-NY ASKS FOR REPORTS OF WESTERN UNION BLOCKING FUNDS
* U.S. MAY SEEK WIDER ANTI-TERROR POWERS (Washington Post)
- Expansion of Patriot Act Criticized (AP)
- Center Publishes Secret Draft of 'Patriot II' (PI)
- U.S. Considers New Anti-Terrorism Legislation (Reuters)
* PETITIONERS SAY SPEAKER IS ANTI-MUSLIM (Telegram & Gazette)
- Who is Daniel Pipes?
* REPUBLICAN LEADER DEFENDS MUSLIMS, SLAMS GAFFNEY (Fox News)
* A RAPPER'S SPIRITUAL JOURNEY (Los Angeles Times)
-----
LIBRARY PROJECT: MAINE LIBRARY GIVEN ISLAMIC MATERIALS
Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine), 2/7/03
http://www.bangornews.com/
PITTSFIELD - The Pittsfield Public Library has received a donation of
18
books and audiovisual materials as part of a yearlong campaign called
"Explore Islamic Civilization and Culture." This major educational
initiative was launched by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a
national civil rights and advocacy group, to educate the American
public
about Islam and to counter anti-Muslim bigotry. The materials received
include the PBS documentary "Islam: Empire of Faith," professor Jack
Shaheen's "Reel Bad Arabs" and "The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality?"
by
professor John Esposito of Georgetown University's Center for
Muslim-Christian Understanding.
Other books include a copy of the Quran, Islam's revealed text,
children's
books on Ramadan, "Teaching Islam in the Public School Classroom," and
a
book describing the experiences of African-Muslim slaves brought to
America. A complete list of materials donated by CAIR is available at
the
library.
---
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
CAIR-NY ASKS FOR REPORTS OF WESTERN UNION BLOCKING FUNDS
CAIR-NY is asking anyone who has tried sending money via Western Union,
but
has been denied or delayed because of a background or ID check, to call
212-870-2002 or e-mail cair-ny@cair-ny.com.
-----
U.S. MAY SEEK WIDER ANTI-TERROR POWERS
Charles Lane, Washington Post, 2/8/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42267-2003Feb7.html
The Justice Department is considering legislative proposals that would
significantly expand the federal government's power to investigate,
detain
and punish suspected terrorists in secret and without court
supervision,
according to a preliminary draft of the bill disclosed yesterday.
The draft, a potential successor to the Patriot Act that passed
Congress
after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, would authorize the Justice
Department
to conduct clandestine searches or eavesdrop on any suspected terrorist
or
foreign agent for 15 days after the beginning of a military conflict or
"national emergency," rather than after a formal declaration of war, as
current law provides. It would also permit wiretaps of U.S. citizens in
terrorism cases for longer periods and with less court oversight than
now
permitted; and allow the department to collect a DNA-sample database
from
both convicted and suspected terrorists.
Under the draft, the government could declare individuals, not just
groups,
"foreign powers" subject to clandestine surveillance under looser
standards
than would apply in criminal cases, and it would permit such
surveillance
against a U.S. citizen suspected of spying for a foreign power, even if
the
alleged suspicious conduct was not itself criminal.
Taken as a whole, the proposals would constitute a far-reaching
invitation
to Congress to ratify the Bush administration's get-tough legal
approach to
the war on terrorism. The Jan. 9 document, labeled "confidential -- not
for
distribution" and titled the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003,
was
posted on the Internet by the Center for Public Integrity, a
Washington-based nonprofit organization.
Civil liberties advocates immediately expressed alarm about the draft.
"There are some truly breathtaking provisions here. In some respects it
is
bolder even than the Patriot Act," said Jim Dempsey of the Center for
Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit organization based in Washington.
"It raises a wide range of very troubling questions that deserve a lot
of
thoughtful debate and attention," said David Cole, a Georgetown
University
law professor…
SEE ALSO:
EXPANSION OF PATRIOT ACT CRITICIZED
Associated Press, 2/7/03
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-2386060,00.html
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department is preparing to expand the
2001
Patriot Act to increase surveillance within the United States while
restricting access to information and limiting judicial review, a
nonprofit
government watchdog group asserted Friday.
The Center for Public Integrity said it obtained a copy of the draft
legislation from a government source. The document, labeled
"confidential,"
was posted Friday on the organization's Internet site along with an
analysis…
---
CENTER PUBLISHES SECRET DRAFT OF 'PATRIOT II' LEGISLATION
Charles Lewis and Adam Mayle, Public Integrity, 2/7/03
http://www.publicintegrity.org/dtaweb/report.asp?ReportID=502&L1=10&L2=10&L3=0&L4=0&L5=0
(WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2003) -- The Bush Administration is preparing a
bold,
comprehensive sequel to the USA Patriot Act passed in the wake of
September
11, 2001, which will give the government broad, sweeping new powers to
increase domestic intelligence-gathering, surveillance and law
enforcement
prerogatives, and simultaneously decrease judicial review and public
access
to information.
The Center for Public Integrity has obtained a draft, dated January 9,
2003, of this previously undisclosed legislation and is making it
available
in full text (12 MB). The bill, drafted by the staff of Attorney
General
John Ashcroft and entitled the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of
2003,
has not been officially released by the Department of Justice, although
rumors of its development have circulated around the Capitol for the
last
few months under the name of "the Patriot Act II" in legislative
parlance…
Some of the key provision of the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of
2003
include:
Section 201, "Prohibition of Disclosure of Terrorism Investigation
Detainee
Information": Safeguarding the dissemination of information related to
national security has been a hallmark of Ashcroft's first two years in
office, and the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 follows in
the
footsteps of his October 2001 directive to carefully consider such
interest
when granting Freedom of Information Act requests. While the October
memo
simply encouraged FOIA officers to take national security, "protecting
sensitive business information and, not least, preserving personal
privacy"
into account while deciding on requests, the proposed legislation would
enhance the department's ability to deny releasing material on
suspected
terrorists in government custody through FOIA.
Section 202, "Distribution of 'Worst Case Scenario' Information": This
would introduce new FOIA restrictions with regard to the Environmental
Protection Agency. As provided for in the Clean Air Act, the EPA
requires
private companies that use potentially dangerous chemicals must produce
a
"worst case scenario" report detailing the effect that the release of
these
controlled substances would have on the surrounding community. Section
202
of this Act would, however, restrict FOIA requests to these reports,
which
the bill's drafters refer to as "a roadmap for terrorists." By reducing
public access to "read-only" methods for only those persons "who live
and
work in the geographical area likely to be affected by a worst-case
scenario," this subtitle would obfuscate an established level of
transparency between private industry and the public.
Section 301-306, "Terrorist Identification Database": These sections
would
authorize creation of a DNA database on "suspected terrorists,"
expansively
defined to include association with suspected terrorist groups, and
noncitizens suspected of certain crimes or of having supported any
group
designated as terrorist.
Section 312, "Appropriate Remedies with Respect to Law Enforcement
Surveillance Activities": This section would terminate all state law
enforcement consent decrees before Sept. 11, 2001, not related to
racial
profiling or other civil rights violations, that limit such agencies
from
gathering information about individuals and organizations. The authors
of
this statute claim that these consent orders, which were passed as a
result
of police spying abuses, could impede current terrorism investigations.
It
would also place substantial restrictions on future court injunctions.
Section 405, "Presumption for Pretrial Detention in Cases Involving
Terrorism": While many people charged with drug offenses punishable by
prison terms of 10 years or more are held before their trial without
bail,
this provision would create a comparable statute for those suspected of
terrorist activity. The reasons for presumptively holding suspected
terrorists before trial, the Justice Department summary memo states,
are
clear. "This presumption is warranted because of the unparalleled
magnitude
of the danger to the United States and its people posed by acts of
terrorism, and because terrorism is typically engaged in by groups -
many
with international connections - that are often in a position to help
their
members flee or go into hiding."
Section 501, "Expatriation of Terrorists": This provision, the drafters
say, would establish that an American citizen could be expatriated "if,
with the intent to relinquish his nationality, he becomes a member of,
or
provides material support to, a group that the United Stated has
designated
as a 'terrorist organization'." But whereas a citizen formerly had to
state
his intent to relinquish his citizenship, the new law affirms that his
intent can be "inferred from conduct." Thus, engaging in the lawful
activities of a group designated as a "terrorist organization" by the
Attorney General could be presumptive grounds for expatriation.
---
U.S. CONSIDERS NEW ANTI-TERRORISM LEGISLATION
James Vicini, Reuters, 2/7/03
http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=2192053
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department, which won broad new
powers after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to eavesdrop and detain
immigrants, is drafting legislation that would authorize the creation
of a
terrorist identification database, department officials said on Friday.
They said the proposals, which already have been criticized by civil
liberties groups, also would limit the disclosure of certain
information
and allow pretrial detention of people suspected of terrorist activity
without bail.
The officials said the proposals, still in draft form and called the
Security Enhancement Act of 2003, would require congressional approval.
They said the proposals remain under active discussion, but final
measures
were not imminent.
The American Civil Liberties Union denounced the draft legislation,
warning
it would harm civil liberties.
"The initial USA Patriot Act undercut many of the traditional checks
and
balances on government power -- the new ... proposal threatens to
fundamentally alter the constitutional protections that allow us to be
both
safe and free," said Gregory Nojeim of the civil liberties group.
Justice Department spokeswoman Barbara Comstock said Justice Department
employees have not presented any final proposals to Attorney General
John
Ashcroft or to the White House.
"During our internal deliberations, many ideas are considered, some are
discarded and new ideas emerge in the process along with numerous
discussion drafts," she said.
"The department's deliberations are always undertaken with the
strongest
commitment to our Constitution and civil liberties," Comstock said in a
statement.
The draft legislation, first disclosed by the Washington-based Center
for
Public Integrity, includes the following provisions, according to the
officials:
-- further limit public disclosure of information relating to terrorism
investigations by enhancing the Justice Department's ability to deny
requests to get the data through the Freedom of Information Act;
-- set up a DNA database that would include people associated with
suspected terrorist groups and noncitizens suspected of certain crimes
or
who have supported "terrorist" groups;
-- terminate state law enforcement decrees -- originally put in place
to
stop police spying abuses -- that limit the amount of information
police
can gather about individuals and organizations;
-- Allow pretrial detention without bail for people suspected of
terrorist
activity;
-- Allow for the expatriation of American citizens who were proven to
have
wanted to relinquish their nationality and becomes a member of or
provides
material support to a group designated by the United States as a
"terrorist
organization."
Less than six weeks after the hijacked plane attacks, President Bush
signed
the Patriot Act of 2001. The bill enhances the ability of the federal
government to tap phones, share intelligence information, track
Internet
usage, e-mails and cell phones and protect U.S. borders.
-----
PETITIONERS SAY SPEAKER IS ANTI-MUSLIM
Emilie Astell, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE, 2/6/03
http://www.telegram.com
WORCESTER - Some area Muslims are upset about a speaker scheduled to
give a
lecture tonight at the College of the Holy Cross, saying he spreads
messages laced with anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic remarks.
The speaker is Daniel Pipes, director of the Philadelphia-based Middle
East
Forum. Peace activists and university faculty and students here have
signed
petitions protesting his statements and the forum's "Campus Watch" Web
site.
The petitions are circulating on city campuses and at Anna Maria
College in
Paxton. The petitions state that the Web site offers selective and
slanderous representations of various colleges and universities and
individual faculty members with the assumption that there is a correct
way
to represent a subject as complex as the Middle East. Petitioners did
not
ask that the invitation to Mr. Pipes be withdrawn, but that his
controversial Web site be brought to the public's attention…
Holy Cross senior Awais Ahsan, president of the Muslim Endeavor to
Create
Cultural Awareness -- or MECCA, for short -- said Mr. Pipes has written
some "very derogatory depictions of Muslims," including references to
what
he calls their strange-smelling foods and sense of hygiene.
Mr. Ahsan said Muslims are required by their religion to follow
"salat,"
the practice of prayer five times a day. They are also required to wash
themselves in a prescribed way, a ritual known as "wudu."
Cleansing oneself is done continually throughout a day, he said, which
is
contradictory to what Mr. Pipes implies...
Mr. Pipes' speaking engagement is sponsored by the college's Center for
Religion, Ethics and Culture, a campus Peace and Conflict Studies
Program,
the Wilmington, Del., educational foundation Intercollegiate Studies
Institute, and the Jewish Federation of Central Massachusetts in
Worcester.
Imrana Soofi, director of American Muslim Community Link in Worcester,
said
sponsorship by the Jewish federation was particularly upsetting,
considering that Muslims have attended numerous interfaith services
here to
promote communication between Jews and Muslims.
"The Jewish community has gone through experiences of being targeted,"
she
said. "Why sponsor a speaker who is going to suggest such things
regarding
another community?"…
The Muslim community is also concerned about the potential negative
impact
of Mr. Pipes' speech and the possibility that he will support
profiling,
targeting and monitoring Muslims. Such talk encourages harassment,
intimidation and causes schisms between the Muslim community and the
community at large, she said.
"We experience bad things by what he says," Ms. Soofi said.
Boston lawyer Imran Nasrullah, who lives in Ashland, said he objects to
Mr.
Pipes' strategy of hiding behind the war on terrorism to bash Muslims
and
their religion.
While Islamic fundamentalists have been identified as terrorists, not
all
those who follow the Islam faith are fundamentalists. An estimated 7
million Muslims live in this country.
"His is a collective grouping of Muslims of various shades and levels
of
belief," he said. "He never says what is the standard to declare a
person
an Islamist or a fundamentalist."
SEE ALSO:
WHO IS DANIEL PIPES?
http://www.cair-net.org/misc/people/daniel_pipes.html
-----
REPUBLICAN LEADER DEFENDS MUSLIMS, SLAMS GAFFNEY
Interview with Republican Activist Grover Norquist
Fox News: The Big Story with John Gibson, 2/7/03
http://www.foxnews.com/bigstory/index.html
GIBSON: Charges of racism are flying in some Republican circles over
who
should and who should not have access to the president. One camp of
Republicans says Muslim groups need to have a voice inside the White
House,
but another says too many dangerous radical Muslims have the
president's
ear. We'll hear from that camp in a minute. First, Republican activist
Grover Norquist on the side of inclusion. He joins me now from
Washington.
Now, Grover, you are fairly influential on which Muslims the president
gets
to hear from. So, who does he hear from?
GROVER NORQUIST, AMERICANS FOR TAX REFORM: Look, first of all, that's
not
true. That's something that people have been yelling for a while, but
it is
not true.
Here are the facts. We're about to go to war with a brutal dictatorship
in
Iraq. And the president has called for pulling everyone together. I'm
an
activist in the center-right coalition, the conservative movement, the
Republican Party. And, with President Bush's leadership, our party is
open
to people of all faiths, all religions, all peoples, all backgrounds.
The only people who aren't invited into our party in our conservative
movements are bigots and racists. And, sadly, what you're going to get
into
is a comment that Frank Gaffney made the other day on C-SPAN, in front
of
the whole world, where he attacked a young Muslim man who works at the
White House, a good, decent guy who works at the White House. And he
said
he was bringing bad people and terrorists and extremists into the White
House.
Now, that was a lie. It is not true. But, worse, it's a lie driven by
bigotry. And the reason, and why all your viewers can know this and why
everybody in the White House knows this, is that nobody gets into the
White
House who isn't vetted by the Secret Service and the FBI. So, the idea
that
one person or 12 people in the White House could bring a bad person in
and
get past the Secret Service is nonsense. It is the most protected area
in
the whole world.
If Frank Gaffney believed for a minute a bad person was invited to the
White House, he should be a patriot, pick up the phone, call the FBI,
and
tell them. The problem is that Frank Gaffney attacked this young
Muslim,
talked about his religion, and...
FRANK GAFFNEY, FORMER ASST. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: What has been
troubling
to me is that, on quite a number of occasions over the period
particularly
since September 11, the president's entirely understandable and I think
quite legitimate effort to reach out to members of the Muslim-American
community, most especially to impress upon them and, through them, the
world, that the war on terror is not a war against Islam, have been
exploited, I think, cynically, by some, perhaps, as vehicles for
actually
admitting people who are part of the problem in this war on terror, the
representatives of, apologists for, supporters of, what are known as
Islamists, the radical, violently anti-American sects within the world
of
Islam…
There is an effort to recruit on the campuses. There are some 500
Wahhabi
chapters of something called the Muslim Student Alliance doing
precisely
that every day. And, by some accounts, as I'm sure you know, as much as
80
percent of the mosques in this country are believed to have sources of
funding from Wahabist quarters. And this, in turn, translates into
recruitment opportunities, indoctrination and, in some cases, I'm
afraid,
actual institutional settings in which worse can happen, perhaps even
plotting of acts of terrorism.
We've seen that overseas. I think we have to be concerned about this
kind
of Wahabist or extremist Islamist activity in our own country as well…
NORQUIST: …Here is the challenge. Frank Gaffney says he's against
extremists. Very good. So are we all. We're against extremists of any
religion or any kind, certainly against any kind of violence. Here's
what
Frank has done, however. He doesn't attack extremists. He trashes, by
name,
young Muslims who work in the White House, who have a higher security
clearance than he ever will in the rest of his life, and goes after
them
and calls them names on things he knows aren't true.
A year ago, he did this to another Muslim. That's why people are
unhappy
with Frank and he has lost his reputation, because he smears people one
after another. A year ago, I was in a meeting with 120 conservative
leaders. And we had a wonderful meeting discussing President Bush's
leadership, and particularly on the war against terror and how he has
made
the case both that we have to fight the terrorists and not attack
American
Muslims and not declare war on entire religion or a people.
And there was right there a young Muslim man who had been attacked and
lied
about by Frank Gaffney and others. The White House had stood up for
him.
The president had stood up for him. Others had stood up for him. And
everyone in the room was praising this young man for the courage and
decency he had, praising the president; 119 people stood up to applaud
this
young man's courage and President Bush's leadership.
One person sat and scowled, Frank Gaffney. I'm sorry, but one can no
longer
consider him a serious commentator on Muslims. He has personal baggage.
I'm
sorry for him. We should all pray for him. But he is just a troubled
man
who has personalized his dislike of a religion. And, in America, we
can't
tolerate that...
I've worked with the Orthodox Jewish community in the conservative
movement, the Muslim community, the Filipino-American, the growing
Hindu
community. This is a country made up of all people of all faiths. And
President Bush is committed to a Republican Party that reflects that.
ACTION REQUESTED:
Send a note of appreciation to Grover Norquist at: friends@atr.org
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
Or write to:
Mr. Grover Norquist
Americans for Tax Reform
1920 L Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
TEL: (202) 785-0266
FAX: (202) 785-0261
-----
A RAPPER'S SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
William Lobdell, Los Angeles Times, 2/8/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mecca8feb08,1,5483113.story
Record producer Mikal Kamil recalls the first time he saw gangsta
rapper
Napoleon. Standing in a North Hollywood recording studio, the protege
of
the late Tupac Shakur held a Colt 45 malt liquor in one hand, a
marijuana
joint in the other, and was surrounded by about 15 members of his rowdy
posse.
During the introduction, Kamil was surprised to discover that
Napoleon's
given name, Mutah Wasin Shabazz Beale, was of Islamic origin.
"You a Muslim?" Kamil asked. The religion forbids drinking and smoking.
"Yeah," said Beale, encircled in a thick haze of marijuana smoke.
Two years later, Beale is one of the more unlikely Muslims making the
annual hajj, or pilgrimage, this month to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. An
estimated 2 million Muslims, including hundreds from Southern
California,
are expected to participate in the five-day observance that begins
today in
the birthplace of Muhammad, the preeminent prophet of Islam…
"He was a beast, a barbarian," Kamil said. "But he also impressed me as
a
leader who could get people to move in any direction -- he had 15 or 20
people doing exactly what he said at all times. If he became a true
Muslim,
he could easily bring in thousands and millions more to the faith…"
Kamil went to work on Beale's faith. He reminded Beale of his Muslim
roots,
gave him advice based on Islamic teachings, and fed him bits of
scripture
and prayers. Kamil said he was careful not to push. Instead, he tried
to be
an example of the serenity that Beale could have if he embraced Islam.
"I knew it was just a matter of time," Kamil said.
On the rapper's first trip to a mosque, about 20 friends tagged along.
"I think about 10 of them became Muslims that day," Kamil said. "That's
the
kind of leader Beale is."
Ramadan 2001 was a turning point. Beale decided to observe the
monthlong
Islamic holiday, which includes abstention from alcohol.
"That broke me," said Beale, who started learning prayers, reading
Islamic
books and attending mosque prayer services regularly. "I was still
doing
some wild stuff, but I was getting closer and closer to God. You feel
when
God wants you to do something."
Beale said he felt "the empty hole in my heart" filling up with God,
and
soon his anger became manageable. He says he hasn't had a drink since.
His friends noticed the change immediately…
-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 2/9/2003
HEADLINES:
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* CANADA BLOCKS PAKISTANIS SEEKING TO AVOID DETENTION (NPR)
- Ill Child Facing Deportation (Chicago Tribune)
* BUSH AND SHARON NEARLY IDENTICAL ON POLICY (Wash. Post)
- Sharon Wants Removal of Palestinian leadership (Reuters)
- The IDF's 'Permissiveness' in the Territories (Haaretz)
* BAY AREA MUSLIMS WORRIED ABOUT REPERCUSSIONS (Bay News 9)
- Muslims Urge US Not to Link Hajj and Terrorism (AFP)
- Students Re-Enact Mecca Pilgrimage (Seattle PI)
* SAYINGS OF JESUS AND MUHAMMAD COMPARED (AP)
* CHARITY CHIEF'S CASE MAY BE HARD SELL (Chicago Tribune)
* MEDIA TOUR ALLEGED 'POISON SITE' IN IRAQ (AP)
* MUSLIMS BACK BILL TO REGULATE ISLAMIC FOODS (American-Statesman)
* DC-AREA MUSLIMS MARK END OF HAJJ WITH PRAYERS, BAZAAR, FOOD DRIVE
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
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CANADA BLOCKS PAKISTANIS SEEKING TO AVOID INS REGISTRATION
NPR, All Things Considered, 2/8/03
http://www.npr.org/ramfiles/atc/20030208.atc.03.ram
Many Pakistani men are trying to leave the United States for Canada to
avoid a Feb. 21 deadline to register with the American INS. Some with
legal
papers say they fear being wrongly detained. But Canada is refusing
entry
to many. Hear North Country Public.
SEE ALSO:
ILL CHILD FACING DEPORTATION
Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Chicago Tribune, 2/8/03
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/health/chi-0302080144feb08,1,2130313.story
A Pakistani family who found medical help at Shriners Hospital in
Chicago
for their daughter with cerebral palsy is fighting the Tuesday deadline
immigration officials gave them to leave the country after discovering
they
overstayed their visa.
Eight-year-old Tooba Mujahid smiles wide, but she cannot talk, has
difficulty swallowing food, uses a wheelchair and occasionally has
seizures.
Doctors in Pakistan took months to discover what was wrong with her
when
she was a baby and then could do nothing to relieve her pain or treat
her
chronic pneumonia, said her parents, Abida Mujahid and Syed Mujahid
Jilani.
They said disabled children in their homeland are shunned.
So, the couple traveled to the United States in 1999 with Tooba and her
sister, Alina, 4, to find help. They say Shriners welcomed them and
paid
for Tooba's costly care.
But the family has been caught in the government's efforts to increase
security in the country and at the borders.
A rule, effective in November, required men from 18 countries to
register
at Immigration and Naturalization Service offices. Since then, seven
other
countries, including Pakistan, have been added. Individuals from dozens
of
nations also must register when they enter the U.S.
Fearing deportation, the family tried to flee to Canada, where
officials
say they are inundated with Pakistanis seeking refugee status. The
family
was told to return Tuesday for a meeting with Canadian officials, the
same
day U.S. immigration authorities said they must leave the country
because
they have overstayed their visas by almost two years…
-----
BUSH AND SHARON NEARLY IDENTICAL ON MIDEAST POLICY
Robert G. Kaiser, Washington Post, 2/9/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45652-2003Feb8.html
For the first time, a U.S. administration and a Likud government in
Israel
are pursuing nearly identical policies. Earlier U.S. administrations,
from
Jimmy Carter's through Bill Clinton's, held Likud and Sharon at arm's
length, distancing the United States from Likud's traditionally tough
approach to the Palestinians. But today, as Neumann noted, Israel and
the
United States share a common view on terrorism, peace with the
Palestinians, war with Iraq and more. Neumann and others said this
change
was made possible by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and their
aftermath.
The Bush administration's alignment with Sharon delights many of its
strongest supporters, especially evangelical Christians, and a large
part
of organized American Jewry, according to leaders in both groups, who
argue
that Palestinian terrorism pushed Bush to his new stance. But it has
led to
a freeze on diplomacy in the region that is criticized by Arab
countries
and their allies, and by many past and current officials who have
participated in the long-running, never-conclusive Middle East "peace
process…"
"The Likudniks are really in charge now," said a senior government
official, using a Yiddish term for supporters of Sharon's political
party.
Neumann agreed that Abrams's appointment was symbolically important,
not
least because Abrams's views were shared by his boss, national security
adviser Condoleezza Rice, by Vice President Cheney and by Defense
Secretary
Donald H. Rumsfeld. "It's a strong lineup," he said…
Some Middle East hands who disagree with these supporters of Israel
refer
to them as "a cabal," in the words of one former official. Members of
the
group do not hide their friendships and connections, or their loyalty
to
strong positions in support of Israel and Likud.
One of Abrams's mentors, Richard Perle, chairman of the Pentagon's
Defense
Policy Board, led a study group that proposed to Binyamin Netanyahu, a
Likud prime minister of Israel from 1996 to 1999, that he abandon the
Oslo
peace accords negotiated in 1993 and reject the basis for them -- the
idea
of trading "land for peace." Israel should insist on Arab recognition
of
its claim to the biblical land of Israel, the 1996 report suggested,
and
should "focus on removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq."
Besides Perle, the study group included David Wurmser, now a special
assistant to Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton, and Douglas J.
Feith,
now undersecretary of defense for policy. Feith has written
prolifically on
Israeli-Arab issues for years, arguing that Israel has as legitimate a
claim to the West Bank territories seized after the Six Day War as it
has
to the land that was part of the U.N.-mandated Israel created in 1948.
Perle, Feith and Abrams all declined to be interviewed for this
article…
An internal debate split the administration and invited the lobbying of
think tanks, Jewish organizations, evangelical Christians and others
who
take a fierce interest in the Middle East. While some groups including
Americans for Peace Now lined up against Sharon's tough policies and in
favor of negotiations, most of the organizations and individuals who
lobbied on these issues embraced a harder line, and supported Sharon.
Over
the past dozen years or more, supporters of Sharon's Likud Party have
moved
into leadership roles in most of the American Jewish organizations that
provide financial and political support for Israel.
Friends of Israel in Congress also lined up with Sharon. In November
2001,
89 of 100 senators signed a letter to Bush asking the administration
not to
try to restrain Israel from using "all [its] strength and might" in
response to Palestinian suicide bombings. Signers said they wanted to
persuade Bush to prevent Secretary of State Colin L. Powell from
pressuring
Sharon…
Politics have played a role, several sources said. Gary Bauer, an
evangelical Christian activist and Republican presidential candidate in
2000, said that he and like-minded evangelicals have campaigned
vigorously
in support of Israel and Sharon's tough policies. "I think we've had
some
impact," Bauer said.
Another conservative Republican with Christian ties who has made Israel
a
cause is House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.). Last April, speaking
to
a Jewish group in Washington, DeLay called Israel "the lone fountain of
liberty" in the Middle East, and endorsed Israeli retention of the
occupied
territories. He referred to West Bank by the biblical names, Judea and
Samaria, which are often used by Israelis who consider them part of
Israel...
SEE ALSO:
SHARON CALLS FOR REMOVAL OF PALESTINIAN LEADERSHIP
Reuters, 2/9/03
JERUSALEM, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, officially
accepting the task of forming Israel's next government, said on Sunday
it
would have to remove what he called the Palestinian "terrorist
leadership."
But he stopped short of threatening to expel Palestinian President
Yasser
Arafat, whom he accused of funding and leading a "coalition of terror"
in
the 28-month-old Palestinian uprising for statehood.
"The new government will have to complete the campaign against terror,
remove the terrorist leadership and create the conditions for the
emergence
of a new Palestinian leadership with which it will be possible to make
real
peace," Sharon said in televised remarks after President Moshe Katzav
asked
him to form a government…
---
THE IDF'S 'PERMISSIVENESS' IN THE TERRITORIES
Gideon Levy, Haaretz, 2/9/03
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=260738
A war in Iraq will soon break out, and with it a great darkness will
descend on events in the territories. As long as what goes on there
doesn't
affect the war's execution, no one in the world will take an interest,
no
one will so much as cast a glance, at the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
This is the time to caution us all that under the cover of that
darkness,
grave things may come to pass.
Not that there is much light there now, either: for some time, it has
seemed that anything goes in the war against the Palestinians. The fact
is
that there are no longer any voices of outrage over the situation in
the
territories. Not about flechette shells fired at a soccer field, not
about
innocent farmers who are shot to death, not about the demolition of
homes
at an appalling rate - 22 in one day - not about the destruction of an
entire outdoor market, or about the razing of the home of a wanted
individual who has not yet been apprehended, burying his tenant, Kamala
Abu-Said, 65, under the ruins. All these events took place in the
course of
last week.
Each passing day in the territories seems to bring with it increasingly
harsh acts that are intended to break the Palestinians, and also are
shattering what remains of our moral posture. Events that two years ago
would have caused an international furor are now part of the accepted
routine. Who would have believed that the Israel Defense Forces would
fire
flechette shells at a soccer field where children were playing,
wounding
nine people, including two children, without anyone protesting? In
fact,
the story was barely reported…
According to a letter sent by Physicians for Human Rights to the
military
advocate-general, soldiers in Nablus ordered the crews of five
ambulances
to act as shields between the troops and a group of stone throwers two
weeks ago. The soldiers applauded whenever stones struck one of the
ambulances, according to the testimony. The military advocate-general
has
yet to respond to the complaint.
The IDF's "permissiveness" is all-pervasive in the territories:
shooting at
stone throwers is now almost taken for granted. At the end of last
week,
two young hospital workers in Gaza were shot; the IDF admitted
immediately
that the victims had not been involved in terrorism. They were killed
as a
result of "deterrent fire" - another newly invented term that is
intended
to serve as an excuse for the unnecessary killing - in the form of
rockets
from helicopters. In the first intifada, soldiers needed authorization
from
an officer with the rank of major general to enter a mosque, whereas
now
they hurl smoke grenades into mosques as a matter of course.
All these developments are occuring even before the world's attention
shifts to other killing fields. Under cover of the war with Iraq, some
in
Israel will seek to exacerbate the current measures. That must not be
allowed to happen. In its war on terrorism, Israel has long since
exhausted
its arsenal of brute force and brutality against innocent civilians.
After
the war, it will quickly become clear that the result is nothing but
the
heightening of hatred and terrorism.
-----
BAY AREA MUSLIMS WORRIED ABOUT POSSIBLE REPERCUSSIONS
Bay News 9, 2/9/03
http://www.baynews9.com/NewsStory.cfm?storyid=13247
One reason for President Bush's decision to raise the country's terror
alert status is because of the Hajj.
The Hajj is an annual pilgrimage for Muslims and is considered one of
the
five pillars of Islam. Ahmed Bedier from the Florida Chapter of the
Council
on American Islamic relations spoke with Bay News 9 on Saturday.
He says it's unfortunate that America is linking terrorism to Hajj.
"It saddens us and is a disappointment that it's the reason for raising
the
alert," Bedier said. "It's really contradictory; the purpose of this
Hajj
and this pilgrimage is a peaceful and humbling experience and not one
for
aggression or violence."
Bedier added that he is worried about possible anti-Muslim sentiments…
The Florida Chapter on the Council on American Islamic relations is
asking
the federal government and local law enforcement agencies to assist in
protecting Muslim Americans.
SEE ALSO:
MUSLIMS URGE US NOT TO LINK HAJJ AND TERRORISM
Agence France Presse, 2/9/03
US Attorney General John Ashcroft did Islam an injustice by linking its
observances to terror threats, a prominent Muslim group said Saturday,
urging US officials not to suggest such a link…
"Hajj has nothing to do with terrorism," countered Nihad Awad,
executive
director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "To imply
otherwise
is an insult to the American Muslim community."
"Attorney General Ashcroft needs to clarify his position on this
important
issue," Awad added in a statement.
"The unnecessary linkage of hajj to terrorism merely serves to promote
the
growing perception in the Muslim world that the war on terrorism is in
reality an attack on Islam," he said.
---
STUDENTS RE-ENACT MECCA PILGRIMAGE
School opens ceremony to put American face on it
JOHN IWASAKI, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 2/8/03
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/107815_mecca08.shtml
A black-and-gold cloth draped over a box on the gymnasium floor became
the
Kabba, regarded by Muslims as God's first house on Earth.
Brown construction paper turned into the hills of Safa and Marwah.
Crumbled
paper represented stones to throw at the symbolic pillars of Jamarat.
The
stage rising at one end of the gym was Mount Arafat.
"I respond to your call, my Lord; I respond to you," chanted children
swathed mostly in white. "There is no deity, save you."
The Islamic School of Seattle created a mini-Mecca yesterday, with more
than 60 students and parents participating in a model hajj, the annual
pilgrimage to holy sites in Saudi Arabia…
-----
SAYINGS OF JESUS AND MUHAMMAD COMPARED
RICHARD N. OSTLING, ASSOCIATED PRESS, 2/9/03
Here's an unusual religious triple play: A Jewish writer compiles a
book
that compares the words of Jesus with those of Muhammad from six
centuries
later.
"Jesus and Muhammad: The Parallel Sayings" (Ulysses Press, $14) was
edited
by Joey Green, who also produced "Jesus and Moses: The Parallel
Sayings"
(Ulysses, $19).
As an added feature, he commissioned a foreword by Sayyid M. Syeed,
secretary general of the Islamic Society of North America.
Islam does not really regard the Quran as "sayings" of Muhammad, but
direct
words from God revealed through the prophet. In that sense, these words
are
properly parallel with sayings of Jesus, because Christianity regards
him
as God made man and his words as precisely those of God.
Some of Green's selections come from the Hadith, a collection of
authoritative traditions about Muhammad, rather than from the Quran,
and
are appropriately considered "sayings of Muhammad."
Green hopes "this book brings all humanity closer together" and
believes
that "in nearly every case, the ethical lessons Jesus preached - love,
compassion, peace, forgiveness and repentance - match the core values
revealed to Muhammad..."
-----
CHARITY CHIEF'S CASE MAY BE HARD SELL
Kim Barker and Laurie Cohen, Chicago Tribune, 2/9/03.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0302090477feb09,1,173260.story
Two years ago, former Al Qaeda member Jamal Ahmed Al-Fadl helped lawyer
Patrick J. Fitzgerald convict four men for bombing two U.S. embassies
in
Africa. On the witness stand, Al-Fadl told the Manhattan federal
prosecutor
how he smuggled weapons on camels and talked to Osama bin Laden about
jihad
in his front yard. He was the star witness.
Now, Fitzgerald will personally take on his first case since becoming
the
chief federal prosecutor for the Chicago area. The trial of Enaam
Arnaout,
40, accused of defrauding donors to his charity in Palos Hills and
helping
terrorists, is scheduled to start Monday in U.S. District Court and
expected to last two to three weeks…
But this case is likely to be a harder sell than the embassy bombings.
In
recent rulings, Judge Suzanne Conlon has indicated that she will be
tough
on prosecutors and could limit the evidence introduced at trial. She
could
grant a request by defense lawyers to bar Al Qaeda from being mentioned
at
all. It's not clear how much Al-Fadl will be allowed to say in his
testimony.
The trial is an important one in the post-Sept. 11 landscape. After the
attacks, the government launched an investigation into Islamic
charities
suspected of funneling donations toward terrorist causes. It closed
three
charities, including Arnaout's Benevolence International Foundation,
and it
is still investigating many others…
-----
MEDIA TOUR ALLEGED 'POISON SITE' IN IRAQ
BORZOU DARAGAHI, Associated Press, 2/9/03
SARGAT, Iraq (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell called the
camp in
northern Iraq a terrorist poison and explosives training center, a
deadly
link in a ``sinister nexus'' binding Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida.
But journalists who visited the site depicted in Powell's satellite
photo
found a half-built cinderblock compound filled with heavily armed
Kurdish
men, video equipment and children - but no obvious sign of chemical
weapons
manufacturing.
"You can search as you like," said Mohammad Hassan, a spokesman for the
Islamic militant group Ansar al-Islam, which controls the camp and the
surrounding village. "There are no chemical weapons here…"
A half-dozen children and some teenagers watched with curiosity as
Western
journalists arrived in a convoy of white SUVs. A couple of dozen
bearded
men in black turbans, heavily armed with Kalashnikovs and grenades,
watched
closely.
During his appearance before the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday,
Powell
displayed a satellite photo of this camp, which was identified as
"Terrorist Poison and Explosive Factory, Khurmal."
Powell said the camp was run by al-Qaida fugitives from Afghanistan who
were under the protection of Ansar al-Islam here in the autonomous
Kurdish
area of Iraq in a region beyond Saddam Hussein's control…
As evidence that the camp serves as a housing area, child-sized plastic
slippers could be seen in the doorways. A refrigerator had been turned
into
a closet and filled with colorful women's clothes. The most
sophisticated
equipment seen at the site was the video gear and makeshift television
studio Ansar says it uses to make its propaganda films…
-----
MUSLIMS BACK BILL TO REGULATE LABELING OF ISLAMIC FOODS
Eileen E. Flynn, Austin American Statesman, 2/8/03
http://www.austin360.com/coxnet/texas/legislature/0203/0208halal.html
Texas Muslims are heralding a bill introduced in the state Senate this
session that would regulate the sale of food identified as halal, which
must adhere to Islamic dietary laws.
Proponents say the bill would serve as a consumer protection measure.
Some,
however, worry that such a law, if passed, could blur the boundaries
separating church and state.
The bill, penned by Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, would make it a
misdemeanor
for restaurateurs or food vendors to falsely label Islamic food
products.
"It's nice to be able to trust the fact…that when you go out somewhere
and
somebody says they have halal food, that it's actually halal," said
Saleem
Shafi, chairman of the Austin chapter of the Council on American
Islamic
Relations.
Currently, no law in Texas protects Muslims from being misled. In
recent
years, Illinois and New Jersey have adopted the Halal Food Act, and
other
states are pushing for similar laws…
Preparing food to Islamic dietary standards
* Animals must be raised and slaughtered in a humane manner, and the
blood
must be drained from the animals. Pork is prohibited.
* The Quran states, 'Eat not of that on which Allah's name has not been
mentioned.' When slaughtering an animal intended for halal meat, the
person
must invoke the name of God.
* Meat is not the only food item that must adhere to Islamic law. Some
Muslims shun gelatin, lard and other foods that are considered haram,
the
opposite of halal.
-----
-- MEDIA ADVISORY--
DC-AREA MUSLIMS MARK END OF HAJJ WITH PRAYERS, BAZAAR, FOOD DRIVE
WHAT: On Tuesday Feb 11, 2003, thousands of Muslims in the Washington
metropolitan area will celebrate the end of Hajj, or pilgrimage to
Mecca,
with communal prayers and a multicultural festival. More than 20,000
people attended last year's celebrations.
A Canned food drive for the needy will also be held at the prayer. An
open
house for Churches, Synagogues, and other groups will be held from
2-5pm.
The prayers mark the beginning of the three day Eid ul-Adha
(eed-al-OD-ha)
holiday, in which Muslims exchange social visits and seek to strengthen
the
community feeling. During this holiday, Muslims greet each other by
saying
"Eid Mubarak" (eed-moo-BAR-ak), or "blessed Eid."
The multicultural festival bazaar will feature games and rides for
children, clown show, talent show, Islamic books and clothing, and
foods
from around the Muslim world. The bazaar is free and open to the
public.
People of all faiths are encouraged to attend and sample the diversity
of
Islamic culture
WHEN: On Tuesday Feb 11, 2003
1st prayer begins at 8:30 a.m.
2nd prayer begins at 9:45 a.m.
3rd prayer begins at 11 a.m.
The festival and bazaar begin at 9 a.m. and end at 6 p.m.
Open House for Churches, Synagogues, and other Religious groups 2-5pm
Blood Drive from 9:30am to 3:30pm
Food Drive Collection For the Needy - All day
WHERE: Prayer and Bazaar: DC Armory, 2001 E. Capitol St. Washington DC
20003. Next to RFK Stadium, Please check in at Media Desk
CONTACT: Primary Contact Yasir Syeed: 571-213-5966; Secondary Contact
Shad
Imam: 571-236-4279
MAIN SPONSORS: ADAMS, Dar Al-Hijrah, Masjid Muhammad, Manassas Mosque,
Dar
Al-Noor, Dar Ul-Salaam, and Southern MD Islamic Center
LOCAL CO-SPONSORS: Masjidush-Shura, Howard University Muslim Community,
Coordinating Council of Muslim Organizations of the Washington DC Metro
Area, DC Council of MSA's, Islamic Schools Council of Greater
Washington Area
NATIONAL CO-SPONSORS: CAIR, AMC, MPAC, AMS, MAS, MSA National
PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: Muslims from America and many different countries
come
to prayers in colorful and cultural clothing. The prayers themselves
are
quite visual, with worshippers arranged in neat rows and bowing in
prayer
in unison. Participants exchange embraces at the conclusion of the
prayers. Note: Because this is a religious service, reporters and
photographers both male and female should dress modestly. That means no
shorts for men or short skirts for women. Photographers should early
to
get into position for best shots. Photographers are advised not to step
directly in front of worshippers and to ask permission for close-up
shots.
-----
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453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
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-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 2/10/2003
HEADLINES:
* VERSE OF THE DAY: THE EARTH IS A RESTING PLACE
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* ABA MAY OPPOSE U.S. ON ENEMY COMBATANTS (AP)
* STATE'S MUSLIM LAWMAKERS WANT RELIGION TO BE NONISSUE (AP)
* LAWMAKERS UNDER FIRE FOR INSENSITIVE COMMENTS (Wash. Post)
* US WEIGHS TASK OF HOLDING IRAQ TOGETHER (Sydney Morning Herald)
- A Case for Powell, But Not War (Washington Post)
- Rumsfeld Family Tie Is First Victim of War (Telegraph UK)
- Germans Believe U.S. A Nation of Warmongers-Poll (Reuters)
- N. VA Town Hall on Iraq War to Feature Defense Official
* DEEP IN GAZA, A LOPSIDED BATTLE (Washington Post)
* SOUTHERN OREGON COPES WITH RACIST INCIDENT (AP)
-----
VERSE OF THE DAY: THE EARTH IS A RESTING PLACE
"It is God Who has made for you the earth as a resting place, and the
sky
as a canopy, and has given you shape--and made your shapes beautiful,
and
has provided for you Sustenance, of things pure and good."
Holy Qur'an, Surah 40, Verse 64
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
ABA MAY OPPOSE U.S. ON ENEMY COMBATANTS
Gina Holland, Associated Press, 2/10/03
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/aba_enemy_combatants
SEATTLE - The nation's largest lawyers group was taking a stand on the
legal rights of enemy combatants, with a public denouncement of the
Bush
administration's terrorism fighting strategy.
Final wording was still being worked out Monday, as the American Bar
Association prepared to endorse a resolution criticizing the government
for
locking up American combatants without access to lawyers.
The ABA also was expected to press for more openness about government
surveillance in the United States.
The war on terror has been a prominent subject at the association's
winter
meeting in Seattle. Enemy combatants, a type of wartime prisoner, are
held
without charge or trial and are not allowed to see lawyers.
Miami lawyer Neal Sonnett said it is un-American to deny legal rights
to
Americans or anyone else in the country when they are apprehended.
"You just don't do that in a democratic society," said Sonnett, an
architect of the ABA policy...
-----
STATE'S FIRST MUSLIM LAWMAKERS WANT RELIGION TO BE NONISSUE
ROBERT SANDLER, Associated Press, 2/10/03
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - For generations, the Missouri Legislature
was
dominated by white men. Eventually, people of color and women got
elected
and created a new balance.
Now, there is a new element in the diversity of legislators' professed
faiths. Two Muslim candidates won election in November to the House.
But Reps. Yaphett El-Amin and Rodney Hubbard, both Democrats from St.
Louis, say they don't want their religion to be an issue. They just
want to
be effective leaders, they said.
"Our desire to help people and move the state forward is the primary
focus,
not what mosque I go to or what church they go to," El-Amin, 31, said…
El-Amin says she tries to pray five times a day, but might not always
make
that goal. She uses a traditional Islamic prayer rug in her Capitol
office
and joins the weekly Thursday prayer breakfasts in a House committee
room,
where she is usually the only non-Christian.
She is distinctive in the Capitol for her personal style. She wears
modest
clothing and keeps her hair covered by hats or other wraps, signs of
respect for her faith…
Hubbard, who converted to Islam 15 years ago, said he comes from a
strong
religious family that includes about 15 Baptist ministers…
Hubbard grew up going to church three times a week and began to
investigate
other religions at the age of 13.
"When I was introduced to Islam, I was introduced to a religion that
made
me more submissive toward God, gave me a sense of belonging, a sense of
pride, and has given me a knowledge of self," he said. "I'm not saying
there's anything wrong with other religions, but that's the religion
that
really captivated my heart."
Both El-Amin and Hubbard say they follow the traditional tenets of
Islam,
eschewing alcohol, tobacco and pork.
El-Amin said she is disappointed that some people view Islam as
repressive
for women. When she was pregnant during a campaign for a Democratic
committee position in St. Louis, her husband knocked on doors for her.
His
grass-roots work helped her get elected, she said…
"Everybody wants a nice home, everybody wants safe streets, everybody
wants
education," Hubbard said.
El-Amin agreed, saying religion doesn't matter but that she wanted to
open
people's minds.
"Whatever they thought of me before, I hope I've changed that," she
said.
"Regardless of me being a Muslim and them being Christian or Jewish or
Buddhist, we can come together on like causes. And that's really the
beauty
of why we're here."
-----
LAWMAKERS UNDER FIRE FOR COMMENTS DEEMED INSENSITIVE
Brian Faler, Washington Post, 2/10/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49079-2003Feb9.html
Two Republican House members from North Carolina -- Howard Coble of
Greensboro and Sue Myrick of Charlotte -- drew fire recently after
making
comments deemed insensitive by some colleagues and minority groups.
On a radio talk show last week, Coble said he believes President
Franklin
D. Roosevelt was right to send Japanese Americans to internment camps
during World War II. Coble rejected a caller's suggestion that
President
Bush do the same with Arab Americans. But he said FDR's
now-controversial
decision helped protect Japanese Americans from a fearful, often
intolerant
public.
Although most Japanese Americans posed no threat at the time, Coble
said,
Roosevelt's decision helped ensure national security. "Some [Japanese
Americans] probably were intent on doing harm to us," Coble said,
according
to the Associated Press. "Just as some of these Arab Americans are
probably
intent on doing harm to us."
Floyd Mori, president of the Japanese American Citizens League, called
the
comments "outrageous" and "uneducated." "The government has recognized
and
apologized for their error of 60 years ago, and we expect
Representative
Coble to do so as well," he said.
In the late 1980s, the U.S. government apologized for the camps and
offered
compensation to about 60,000 survivors.
On Friday, three Asian American members of Congress -- Reps. Robert T.
Matsui (D-Calif.), Mike Honda (D-Calif.) and David Wu (D-Ore.) --
requested
a meeting with Coble…
Myrick, in a recent talk on domestic terrorism, referred to Arab
Americans
and said, "Look who runs all the convenience stores across the
country."
The Washington-based Council on Islamic-American Relations urged the
Republican Party to condemn both lawmakers' remarks about Arab
Americans.
Myrick and Coble later said they had not intended to insult any ethnic
group.
Myrick said she simply wanted to remind communities of the threat of
terrorism, including "the illegal trafficking of food stamps through
convenience stores for the purpose of laundering money to countries
known
to harbor terrorists."
-----
THE DAY AFTER: US WEIGHS TASK OF HOLDING IRAQ TOGETHER
Marian Wilkinson, Sydney Morning Herald, 2/10/03
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/09/1044725673677.html
On the eve of the Prime Minister, John Howard, arriving in Washington
on
Saturday, United States and Australian officials held talks on the
administration of post-war Iraq and the need for "stabilisation forces"
to
control the religious and ethnic conflicts expected to emerge if Saddam
Hussein is overthrown.
The US Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, said the talks
covered
the political, military and humanitarian challenges that would confront
the
coalition forces after the war. "I have made it clear that any
information
we have, that we've developed, we will share with our Australian
friends
and I know that some of the embassy folks pored over some of our
material,"
Mr Armitage said.
One of the most difficult "day after" problems is expected to be
thousands
of Kurdish refugees seeking to return to Iraq to claim land and homes
they
lost during ethnic cleansing campaigns in the 1980s and 1990s.
Large numbers of Shia Muslim refugees, now supported by Iran, will also
want to return. Iraq's ruling party is dominated by Sunni Muslims.
Mr Armitage said there were concerns that the Kurds "might move into
more
traditional lands". "There is equally fear that the Shia who have been
dominated by the Sunni for so long may want to even things up a bit.
And
then there are the Assyrians, the Chaldeans and the Turkmen who all
have
various bits and pieces of difficulties with each other and with some
of
their neighbours...
SEE ALSO:
A CASE FOR POWELL, BUT NOT WAR
William Raspberry, Washington Post, 2/10/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49609-2003Feb9.html
First, he fell short of convincing me that madman Hussein has either
the
intent or the near-term capability of attacking America -- although
that
was the implication of several of the exhibits, including the rather
strained attempt to link Hussein to al Qaeda and the 9/11 attacks. The
maps
showing which countries lie within range of Iraqi rockets drove home
again
what seems to be the unspoken element of our official concerns: the
damage
Hussein could do to Israel.
I'm not sure why we don't talk about this. Surely the case can be made
that
Israel is a sufficiently valuable ally that we would come to its aid
militarily if it were attacked. Do we fear that saying so would drive
Israel-hating Arabs into a frenzy? Or are we afraid that open
acknowledgment would reduce support for "regime change" here at
home?...
---
RUMSFELD FAMILY TIE IS FIRST VICTIM OF WAR
Tony Paterson, Telegraph UK, 2/10/03
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/02/09/wrums09.xml
The Rumsfelds of Weyhe-Sudweyhe, an unremarkable red-brick suburb of
Bremen, were once proud of their long-lost cousin, America's secretary
of
state for defence - but no longer.
Like many Germans, they are appalled by Donald Rumsfeld's hawkish
attitude
to military action against Saddam Hussein. About 18,000 anti-war
demonstrators marched through Munich yesterday to protest at his
presence
at an international security conference - chanting slogans such as "No
room
for Rumsfeld!"
"We think it is dreadful that Donald Rumsfeld is out there pushing for
a
war against Iraq," Karin Cecere (nee Rumsfeld), 59, said from her
two-up,
two-down home last week. "We are embarrassed to be related to him," she
told The Telegraph.
Margarete Rumsfeld, her 85-year-old mother, was equally dismissive: "We
don't have much to do with him anymore. Nowadays he's just the American
defence secretary to us, but for God's sake, he'd better not start a
war,"
she added...
---
GERMANS BELIEVE U.S. A NATION OF WARMONGERS-POLL
Reuters, 2/10/03
BERLIN - A majority of Germans believe the United States is a nation of
warmongers and only six percent think President George W. Bush is
interested in keeping the peace, according to a survey published on
Monday.
The poll by the respected Forsa institute, published in the Financial
Times
Deutschland newspaper, also found 97 percent of those questioned
believed
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was ready to go to war.
The survey found 57 percent agreed with the statement: "The United
States
is a nation of warmongers."
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has angered the Bush administration
with his outspoken opposition to a war in Iraq, a position that has
widespread backing in Germany where six million people were killed
during
World War Two.
Tens of thousands of Germans have taken part in anti-war rallies in
recent
weeks.
The survey of 1,843 Germans found 93 percent believed Bush was ready to
go
to war in pursuit of his interests, while 80 percent said the United
States
wanted war to boost its power...
---
PENTAGON OFFICIAL TO APPEAR AT N. VA TOWN HALL ON POTENTIAL WAR WITH
IRAQ
WHAT: Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) is holding a Town Hall meeting on the war
on
terrorism and a possible war with Iraq. Guest speakers include
Secretary of
Defense Donald Rumsfeld's spokesperson Assistant Secretary of Defense
for
Public Affairs Victoria Clarke and Major General Kevin Kuklok, Marine
Corps
Assistant Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies, and Operations.
WHEN: Monday, February 10, 7 P.M. to 9 P.M.
WHERE: Minnie Howard School, 3801 West Braddock Road, Alexandria (Near
the
intersection of King Street, Quaker Lane, and Braddock Road).
CONTACT: Dan Drummond at 202-225-4376
-----
DEEP IN GAZA, A LOPSIDED BATTLE
Molly Moore, Washington Post, 2/10/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49387-2003Feb9.html
GAZA CITY -- Mohammed Jibril, 13 years old and terrified, heard the
cannons
of 60-ton Merkava tanks booming from the bottom of the narrow lane that
runs past his house in the heart of Gaza City. Above him, he recalled,
AH-64 Apache helicopters spit missiles from the sky...
"Suddenly, I saw a tank missile hit a man in the head just in front of
me,"
the youngster said, his breath coming in gasps. "He was torn to pieces,
flying through the air. There was nothing left for the ambulance but
pieces
of meat."
By daybreak on Sunday, Jan. 26, after seven hours of street battles and
helicopter assaults, the casualty toll was 12 Palestinians dead,
including
Mohammed's brother, and 62 wounded, his father among them. A 13th
Palestinian man died of his injuries later in the week. Although
Israelis
and Palestinians described the fighting as one of the most intense
urban
battles in the Gaza Strip during the past 28 months of conflict, no
Israeli
soldiers died and none was injured.
That has been the consistent pattern of the grueling standoff between
Palestinians and Israelis: urban guerrillas armed with assault rifles
and
homemade explosives battling a military partially financed with U.S.
money
and equipped with some of the most lethal fighting machines in the
world.
The result is a startling imbalance in casualties...
-----
SOUTHERN OREGON COPES WITH RACIST INCIDENT
Associated Press, 2/10/03
MEDFORD, Ore. - Southern Oregon was home to the state's first branch of
the
Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s and more recently has a history as a hotbed
for
white supremacist groups, but the region's racist reputation had been
gradually fading.
Then came a recent spate of racially charged violence, which resulted
in
the arrest of two National Guardsmen and the suicide of a third. That's
deepened what many minorities in the community say is a growing racial
wound opened in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Motel owner Nick Patel said his race never seemed like a big deal until
the
terrorist attacks. "After Sept 11 people ask, 'Are you a Pakistani?'
And I
say, 'No. I'm an Indian.' They ask, 'Are you a Muslim?' And I say, 'No.
I'm
a Hindu,"' he said. Questions like those no longer surprise Ray Patel,
another local motel owner who has lived in the United States for 40
years.
Since moving to Medford in 1980, he says he's been mistaken for a
Mexican,
an Iranian, a Pakistani and an Afghan, and he expects to be
misidentified
as an Iraqi if the U.S. invades Iraq.
"Wherever the problem is with the U.S. and another country, we become
them.
We just have brown skin," said Patel, a distant relative of Nick Patel.
"I
think the people who are behind 9/11 accomplished their goal. You feel
it
when you're traveling and at the airport. They got into the American
psyche…"
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 2/11/2003
HEADLINES:
* EID MUBARAK
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* MEDIA REQUEST: MUSLIM HATE CRIME VICTIM
* CAIR-HOUSTON HOSTS INS REGISTRATION WORKSHOP
- CAIR-LA Urges Protest Against Iraq War
- CAIR-Chicago Endorses Rally Against War
* MONITORING MOSQUES A LOSS OF FREEDOM FOR ALL (Orlando Sentinel)
- Muslim Group Asks FBI to Investigate Threatening E-Mail (AP)
- FBI Questioning Stuns Muslim (Post-Dispatch)
- War on Terrorism Shadows Paterson's Mosques (Record)
- FBI Order Crosses Line to Profiling (Detroit Free Press)
* PALESTINIANS SUBJECTED TO PUNISHMENT 'LOTTERY' (Independent)
- U.S. Postpones Talks on Israeli Aid Package (Haaretz)
- U.S., Israel deal would Oust Arafat (Knight Ridder)
* STATEMENT OF ENAAM ARNAOUT
* U.S. ALLEGES DISCRIMINATION IN WHIRLPOOL CORP. HIRING (AP)
* UPCOMING INS SPECIAL REGISTRATION DEADLINE
* MUSLIMS TO KATHLEEN PARKER: BIGOTRY IS THE ISSUE (Orlando Sentinel)
-----
EID MUBARAK
CAIR's Board and staff wish you a joyous and blessed Eid ul-Adha. May
God
accept our deeds and those of Muslim pilgrims, and may they return
safely
to their families.
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
MEDIA REQUEST: MUSLIM HATE CRIME VICTIM
THE JOHN WALSH SHOW (John Walsh, host of America's Most Wanted) on NBC
in
New York is taping a show dealing with hate crimes on Thursday,
February
13th. We are looking for an Arab-American or Muslim young adult (or
teen)
who has been the victim of a hate crime as a result of the 9-11 tragedy
to
share his/her story on our show. Anyone interested should contact Kim
Wright (Producer) toll free at 1-866-459-2574 x5462 as soon as possible
for
more information.
E-Mail: Kim.Wright@nbc.com
-----
CAIR-HOUSTON HOSTS INS REGISTRATION WORKSHOP
The Houston Chronicle, 2/11/03
Arabs-Asians: Councilman Gordon Quan will lead a discussion on the new
INS
special registration laws for non-immigrants, which has so far focused
on
Arab and Asian communities, on Tuesday at a workshop hosted by the
Council
on American-Islamic Relations. The event starts at 7 p.m. at the
University
of Houston. Call Quan at 713-247-2013 for information and location.
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-LA URGES PROTEST AGAINST IRAQ WAR
The Council on American-Islamic Relations - Southern California
(CAIR-LA)
joins the International A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and
End
Racism) Los Angeles in urging the community to participate in the:
Mass March and Rally on Saturday, February 15, 2003
WHEN: Saturday, February 15, 2003
Assemble: Hollywood and Vine - 1 p.m. March to the armed forces
recruiting
station at Sunset & La Brea for a mass rally!
To volunteer or donate: www.answerla.org or call 213 487-2368. For a
list
of peace protests in Southern California cities, see:
http://www.kpfk.org/programs/program_MS.shtml#anti
CONTACT: CAIR-Southern California
Tel: (714) 776-1847
Fax: (714) 776-8340
E-mail: CAIR_SCA@cair-california.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
CAIR-CHICAGO ENDORSES RALLY AGAINST WAR
CAIR Chicago is one of the initial endorsers and organizers for a rally
in
Chicago against the war. In the largest Chicago anti-war coalition
effort
in several years, some 90 organizations are pooling their resources for
the
Saturday, February 15th protest against war on Iraq and attacks on
immigrants at home:
WHEN: 12 p.m., Saturday, February 15, 2003, 2200 W. Devon, Chicago
(Devon & Leavitt in the heart of Chicago's Pakistani community)
There is now a NEW WEBSITE for complete travel and other information
about
the protest as it becomes available:
http://www.ChicagoAntiWar.org/feb15mobilization
-----
MONITORING MOSQUES A LOSS OF FREEDOM FOR ALL
Myriam Marquez, Orlando Sentinel, 2/11/03
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/orl-edpmarquez11021103feb11,0,3034298.column
Life in code orange casts a wide net of contradictions. We're not to
worry,
America's homeland security chief tells us. Just be alert. Report what
might look suspicious.
Like everything?...
Sacrifice we must, in terms of money, to protect our nation. It's the
government's tactics, not the laudable goal of protecting us from
terrorism, that are trampling our most basic rights as Americans.
When we cast the net so wide and yet so tailored to a specific group
that
all we do is fence in innocent people because they practice a
particular
religion or dress a certain way or have names like Omar, Mali or
Mohammad,
then hysteria replaces prudent protection. And when it is our
government
that takes it upon itself to check out every Muslim mosque, and by
extension most every upstanding U.S. citizen of Middle-Eastern descent,
then we have lost all sense of what this war against terrorism is
supposed
to be about…
To target all mosques, as the FBI now has undertaken, would not be
tolerated by this nation's Christians. Imagine if the FBI had decided
to
check out every church after homegrown terrorist Timothy McVeigh, a
supposed Christian, blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City…
As fourth-grade teacher Areej Zufari, a spokeswoman for the Islamic
Society
of Central Florida, points out, such profiling has become a "fact of
life"
for Muslims in this country. The Bill of Rights -- a citizen's right to
be
secure from unfair government searches and seizures, to be innocent
unless
the government proves otherwise -- no longer stands as a testament to
this
country's greatness.
The Center for Public Integrity, a government watchdog group, contends
John
Ashcroft's InJustice Department is about to expand the already massive
attack on our civil liberties in the 2001 Patriot Act. U.S. government
officials say nothing has been decided as yet. If the nonprofit
watchdog
group is right, though, the government's proposal should frighten
anyone
who values America's freedom…
SEE ALSO:
ISLAMIC GROUP ASKS FBI TO INVESTIGATE THREATENING E-MAIL
Associated Press, 2/11/03
MESA, Ariz. - A national Islamic group has asked the FBI to investigate
a
threatening e-mail it received from a Yuma woman.
Deedra Abboud, of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said she
forwarded the e-mail to the FBI shortly after it was received Dec. 28
at
the organization's headquarters in Washington, D.C…
The e-mail included the name of a sender, and the council tracked the
name
through services that list Internet addresses, said Ibrahim Hooper,
national spokesman for the organization, an Islamic civil rights and
advocacy group.
"You just got off the friggin' boat and you already are the most hated
immigrants of all time," the e-mail states. "I still hate all Muslims
and
will hurt you in some way."
Susan Herskovitz, spokeswoman for the FBI in Phoenix, confirmed the
agency
received the complaint and is investigating.
"We are very interested in information like that," she said. "We don't
want
any community to feel threatened."
---
FBI QUESTIONING STUNS MUSLIM ARRESTED AT HIS HOME
Phillip O'Connor, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2/11/03
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/news/2FAB8779038BE4CA86256CCA00371B70
Police arrested an American-born Muslim in St. Louis early Sunday and
took
him to a police station where FBI agents questioned him about his
anti-war
activities and whether he was planning any attacks against the U.S.
government.
Bret Darren Lee, whose Muslim name is Umar ben-Livan, said Monday that
he
was stunned by the questions.
"I just looked at them," Lee said of his interrogators. "I didn't think
they'd asked me anything worth responding to."
Lee, 28, said he is active in Muslim and anti-war groups and
acknowledged
that he holds views that may be considered outside the political
mainstream. But Lee said he is far from a terrorist.
"I am very much an American," said Lee, who attended McCluer North High
School and converted to Islam 11 years ago. He works at a Blockbuster
store. "To insinuate that just because I'm a Muslim I'm a threat is an
insult to me, because I'm just as much an American as they are," he
said.
Lee, who calls himself Umar Lee for the sake of simplicity, blamed his
arrest on religious profiling and a shift in emphasis by the FBI and
local
law enforcement toward counter-terrorism.
"They have to do something to justify their budgets," he said…
The FBI and police declined to comment on Lee's arrest or
interrogation…
While Lee was still in custody, FBI agents returned to Lee's apartment
about noon Sunday and spent a half-hour questioning his wife about
whether
he was a terrorist, his thoughts about the Taliban, and whether he was
planning to take part in any more anti-war protests…
---
WAR ON TERRORISM STILL SHADOWS PATERSON'S MOSQUES
CHARLES AUSTIN, The Record, 2/11/03
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MzQwMDgy
In a former synagogue, hundreds of Muslims from all over the
Arabic-speaking world gather each weekend for traditional worship.
Dozens
more - mostly Palestinians - meet in a converted church on Getty
Avenue,
and a smaller number pray in an Albanian mosque on River Street.
Paterson's eight mosques represent the many types of Muslims in
America.
Many are longtime residents and American citizens. Others are recent
immigrants who cling together, still speaking the language of their
homeland and attempting to find their way in a land that is new and
strange
to them. Like Muslims across the United States, they come from nations
that
stretch from North Africa, through Egypt, Turkey, and the Middle East,
to
the Asian countries of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, and regions of
the
former Soviet Union…
The recent announcement that the FBI was beginning to compile a list of
mosques as part of the war against terrorism, and the implication that
some
mosques would be targeted for surveillance, have angered Muslims who
are
long-term residents and made new arrivals wary of outsiders.
On Feb. 4, Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-Paterson, wrote Attorney General John
Ashcroft to strongly protest the FBI policy regarding mosques, calling
it
an "unacceptable example of ethnic and religious monitoring." The
congressman asked Ashcroft to "put an end to this unconstitutional
abuse of
power and halt the mosque-counting program immediately."
At the Islamic Center of Passaic County, Nabil Abassi, president of the
mosque, called the FBI proposal "insulting to Muslims…"
---
FBI ORDER CROSSES LINE FROM SECURITY TO PROFILING
Detroit Free Press, 2/7/03
http://www.freep.com/voices/editorials/emosq7_20030207.htm
Despite President George W. Bush's repeated assurances that the war on
terrorism is not a war on Islam, it's easy to see why American Muslims
remain skeptical.
The latest volley in the administration's anti-terror probe is FBI
Director
William Mueller's order to count the number of mosques and Muslims in
the
United States…
No wonder the Muslim community and civil rights groups are worried
about
religious profiling. Clearly the number of investigations agents are
expected to do will relate somehow to the number of Muslims and mosques
in
their territory. As the ACLU suggests, instead of being asked to
justify
why they are investigating a particular mosque, agents may now have to
justify why they are not.
This latest affront fits the pattern of other administration
initiatives
following the terrorism of Sept. 11, including fingerprinting men from
Middle Eastern countries, and the INS registration program that led to
hundreds of American Muslims being detained and sometimes deported.
Assuming that every Muslim and mosque is a potential source of danger
reduces all Arabs and Muslims to the terrorist stereotype, taking
ethnic
profiling to a dangerous new low. Investigations should be conducted
based
on probable cause, not on religious affiliation.
-----
PALESTINIANS SAY THEY ARE BEING SUBJECTED TO PUNISHMENT 'LOTTERY'
Justin Huggler, Independent, 2/11/03
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=377302
Israeli security forces in Hebron have allegedly forced Palestinians to
submit to a macabre "lottery", in which the victim had to choose their
own
"punishment" by picking a slip of paper out of a pile. On the pieces of
paper were written various acts of violence, including having a hand or
leg
broken, and, Palestinians say, being beaten to death…
The Independent spoke to four independent Palestinian witnesses who all
claimed they were forced to take part in the "lottery". All four
identified
the Jeep used by the Israelis involved. They said it was marked with
the
number 113. All the alleged incidents took place in the Fahs
neighbourhood.
Three of them said one of the men involved had dark skin…
Fahid abu Isbeh, a young Palestinian, said he had been forced to take
part
in the "lottery". "I was in the main road," he said. "I saw Border
Police,
so I ran away, they followed me and caught me. I ran about 100 metres,
they
followed me in a Jeep. I stopped when I thought it was impossible for
me to
keep going. I'd heard about the lottery and I thought they'd do it to
me so
I kept running.
"One of them was carrying a box about 20 centimetres by 30 centimetres.
Written in Hebrew on the box was 'Earn and gain for free from the IDF
[Israeli army]'. They spoke to me and said, 'Come.' I went. They spoke
Arabic. One of them slapped me in the face twice. He said: 'Did you
hear
about the offer the IDF is running?'
"I said, 'No.' He said take a paper. I played dumb, I said I don't have
any
money for it. He said, 'It's for free. Take it.' Then I asked him what
the
prizes were inside. He said: 'Very poor prizes.' I said: 'Like what?'
He
said: 'Break your hand, break your skull, beat you to death, push you
out
of a Jeep at a 120km/h and good luck another time.'
"I refused. He said, 'I'll shoot you if you don't take it.' I had to
read
it out. It said, 'Break your hand.' They had a big stick, like the
shaft of
an axe. I saw blood on it. They hit me three times on the left hand. I
had
terrible pain…'
SEE ALSO:
U.S. POSTPONES TALKS ON AID PACKAGE TO NEXT WEEK
Moti Bassok and Aluf Benn, Haaretz, 2/11/03
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/261476.html
The discussions between the United States and senior Israeli officials
on
an aid package Israel is requesting from the U.S. were postponed by a
week
to next Thursday due to technical reasons, the Prime Minister's Office
said
in a statement Tuesday…
Israel has asked for $4 billion in defense aid and $8 billion in loan
guarantees over the next four years.
After several rounds of talks, estimates in Israel were that the matter
would be decided upon soon, with the U.S. responding positively to
Israel's
request and most of the funds arriving by the spring.
Before the cancelation, senior government officials in Jerusalem said
the
United States administration asked to hold the meeting now, since it
wanted
to submit the package to Congress for approval in the near future…
As with the loan guarantees that Israel received from the United States
in
1992, every dollar that Israel spends on the settlements will be
deducted
from that year's guarantees. But the government sources said these
deductions will be minimal, since currently there is nearly no
government
investment in the settlements. In the 1990s, there was a great deal of
investment over the Green Line, because about one-quarter of the new
immigrants who arrived during the decade chose to settle there,
according
to one of the sources. "But today, that doesn't exist," he said.
TO CONTACT YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES ABOUT SENDING EVEN MORE AID TO
ISRAEL, GO TO: http://capwiz.com/cair/home/
---
U.S., ISRAEL DEAL WOULD OUST ARAFAT, PAPER SAYS
Knight Ridder, 2/10/03
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0210arafat10.html
JERUSALEM - Israel and Washington have reached a secret agreement on
conditions for ousting Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat after the U.S.
topples Saddam Hussein in Iraq, a leading Israeli newspaper reported
Sunday.
Reached by Knight Ridder Newspapers, spokesmen for both Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon and the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv declined to either
confirm or
deny the report carried in the tabloid Yediot Aharanot under the
headline,
"After Saddam: It is Going to be Arafat's Turn…"
Sharon has dispatched trusted aide Dov Weisglass to Washington several
times in recent months and, according to the newspaper report, the U.S.
and
Israel now have a secret agreement in writing.
Weisglass told state-run Israel Radio over the weekend that, rather
than
exile the Palestinian leader, or kill him, Israel wants the
Palestinians to
create the position of a powerful prime minister, which would leave
Arafat
in a more ceremonial role as president.
If Arafat refuses the transfer of power, "we'll kick him out of here
with
American authorization," according to an unidentified "high-ranking
Israeli
official" quoted in the article.
-----
Press Statement from Joseph Duffy, Mr. Arnaout's criminal lawyer
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2003
CONTACTS: Joseph J. Duffy: 312.338.0204
William P. Ziegelmueller: 312.338.0211
STATEMENT OF ENAAM ARNAOUT
The criminal justice system, although at times flawed, is a
truth-seeking
process. Today, the truth about Enaam Arnaout and Benevolence
International
Foundation was finally revealed. The plea agreement entered into today
is
an acknowledgment by the government that neither Mr. Arnaout nor BIF
ever
provided any support to al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, or any other
terrorist
organization. The agreement further demonstrates that Mr. Arnaout and
BIF
never supported any activity that was contrary to the interests of the
United States.
In entering a plea today, Mr. Arnaout made a decision that he believes
is
in the best interest of his family, the charity, and the American
Muslim
community. For the last nine months, Mr. Arnaout has anxiously been
awaiting a trial which he believed would demonstrate beyond any
reasonable
doubt that he never supported any terrorist organization. However, as
the
trial date approached, Mr. Arnaout and his attorneys were acutely aware
of
the impact the horrific events of September 11 have had on all
Americans,
the never ending media frenzy about al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, the
recent raising of the nation's terrorist alert status, and the constant
drumbeat about a war with Iraq. Mr. Arnaout and his counsel greatly
appreciate Judge Conlon's efforts to ensure that he receive a fair
trial. In the end, however, one has to question whether a fair and
impartial jury could be found anywhere in America today that could sit
in
judgment of an Arab-American in a case involving allegations of
terrorism.
Mr. Arnaout has acknowledged today that he violated the law. It is
important that you understand exactly what conduct was involved. Mr.
Arnaout pleaded guilty to using BIF donations in providing boots,
tents,
uniforms, and an ambulance to units of the Bosnian army at a time when
Muslims in Bosnia were attempting to defend themselves against the
genocidal atrocities of the Serbian army. Mr. Arnaout also acknowledged
that he used BIF funds to provide, in the fall of 1995, hunting boots
to
civilians and fighters in Chechnya who faced a winter of war against
the
Russian army, which had invaded Chechnya in 1994.
Subsequently, Mr. Arnaout provided uniforms to the justice department
of
the Chechen government which was being formed in 1997. Mr. Arnaout
acknowledged today that BIF did not tell its donors that a very small
portion of the more than $20 million donated to BIF was spent on the
support provided to the Bosnian army and Chechen fighters.
Mr. Arnaout has been humbled by the outpouring of support he has
received
from the Muslim community. He regrets that the good works of BIF have
been
obscured by this process and hopes that the community will continue to
support the world's needy.
-----
U.S. ALLEGES DISCRIMINATION IN WHIRLPOOL CORP. HIRING
Associated Press, 2/11/03
The Department of Labor filed a complaint against Whirlpool Corp. on
Monday, alleging that the company discriminated against minority job
applicants at its manufacturing facility in Tulsa.
Labor Department spokeswoman Yvonne Ralsky said Benton Harbor,
Mich.-based
Whirlpool turned down at least 650 minority applicants based on their
performance during a multistep hiring process. Specifically, the
department
said a multiple choice test of basic skills was discriminatory because
it
screened out a higher proportion of minority applicants and asked
questions
that were not job-related…
Whirlpool has faced other discrimination claims in the last year.
Sixteen
Muslim employees filed a religious discrimination lawsuit in Tennessee
in May.
-----
UPCOMING INS SPECIAL REGISTRATION DEADLINE
Certain male, nonimmigrant aliens who are nationals or citizens of
Pakistan
or Saudi Arabia, were born on or before January 13, 1987, and entered
the
U.S. on or before September 30, 2002, must register with the
Immigration
and Naturalization Service by Friday, February 21, 2003.
Lawful visitors who are maintaining valid immigration status must
register
to preserve their legal status. If you are required to register and do
not
do so before this deadline, you may be considered to be out of status
and
may be subject to arrest, detention, fines and/or removal from the
United
States. Any future application for an immigration benefit from the
United
States may be adversely impacted. If you register after the deadline
and/or are currently out of status, you may be subject to arrest,
detention, fines and/or removal from the United States when you
register.
Decisions will be made on an individual basis, depending on the
circumstances of each case. You may wish to consult with an immigration
attorney before registering to determine your immigration status,
whether
you are required to register, and the consequences of not registering.
For more information, go
to: www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/lawenfor/specialreg/index.htm
-----
MUSLIMS RESPOND TO KATHLEEN PARKER
Orlando Sentinel, 2/11/03
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/orl-edple11021103feb11,0,5552195.story
Bigotry is issue
American Muslims don't have an issue with freedom of speech, but they
do
have an issue with bigotry and bashing. And that's what columnist
Kathleen
Parker and others don't seem to understand. American Muslims are not
sitting around being silent anymore; they have chosen to defend
themselves.
It is becoming more and more apparent that there is a large-scale
agenda
against Islam, which is clearly being attacked from all directions.
Freedom
of speech is not bigotry, propaganda and hatred, but instead it is
truth,
tolerance and understanding.
It is amazing how non-Muslims have become "teachers and experts" of
Islam,
teaching complete misinformation about Islam. If you want to learn
about
Islam, you must see a Muslim (with a minimum of knowledge).
Destruction is always easier than construction.
Riad Touati
ORLANDO
Contributions
We live in a society that is about to eclipse a divorce rate of 60
percent.
We have the highest spousal-abuse rate in the world, yet Kathleen
Parker's
most recent commentary claims some deluded moral high ground and
myopically
cites no Islamic contribution to history.
I could write a treatise on the contributions of the Muslim world to
modern
society. It was a Muslim mathematician, Al-Khwarizmi, in the 9th
century
who created the modern concept of an algorithm. This would become his
visionary work before he was attributed with the creation of algebra.
The development of efficient hospitals was an outstanding contribution
of
Islamic medicine in the 9th century, as well. For those who contend
Muslims
have not offered anything to the modern world, all we have to do is go
to
233 S. Wacker in downtown Chicago and look up 1,454 feet. A Muslim
designed
the support structure for the Sears Tower.
So before we go calling civilizations and cultures backward, perhaps we
should open a book and do a little research on these societies, and we
will
plainly see their contribution to humanity.
ARSALAN TARIQ IFTIKHAR
Midwest Communications Director
Council on American-Islamic Relations
ST. LOUIS, MO.
Achieving balance
Kathleen Parker's "Censorship center stage when Muslims block play": As
a
Muslim-American living here for the past 32 years, I am proud to agree
with
her view that "they adopt only as much of American culture as suits
their
purposes." To achieve that balance, we face a difficult uphill battle.
While we love a lot about America, we detest some aspects of American
culture, and find it hard to deal with on a daily basis.
We abhor promiscuity, we forbid illegitimate pregnancy, and have
maintained
a remarkably minuscule divorce rate. Our children do not leave home
until
they are married, and we pay for their college. We do not allow lewd
jokes
or bad language. If you are even a little bit open-minded, you will
have to
concede that we are, if anything, an asset to American society.
And yes, we will uphold the respect due to Muhammad, as well as Jesus,
Abraham and all prophets mentioned in the Quran and your Bible. When a
movie played here depicting Jesus as a gay man, there were more Muslims
protesting outside the theater than Christians. Because there is no
lack of
topics to deride, why pick on selfless, saintly, godly men of the holy
books?
Sroor Asaduddin
HOUSTON
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 2/12/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: VIRTUE AND VICE
* MI LIBRARIAN APPRECIATES CAIR LIBRARY PACKAGE
* INCITEMENT WATCH: N.R.B. CHIEF: ISLAM A 'PAGAN RELIGION'
- Christian Coalition to Host "Muslim Bashers" at DC Forum
- Canadian Newspaper Publishes Anti-Muslim Commentary
* NYPD SPYING POWER WIDENS (Newsday)
* GENOCIDE LAWSUIT AGAINST ARIEL SHARON GETS GO AHEAD (Reuters)
- Food Running Out in Gaza (Guardian)
- Jewish Leaders Sharon Message to Central Asia (Ha'aretz)
* AFGHANS SAY 17 CIVILIANS KILLED IN US-LED RAIDS (Reuters)
* WAR PROTESTS ECHO AT TOWN HALL MEETING (Washington Times)
- Shaker Heights Votes No on War (Plain Dealer)
- In Defence of France (Le Monde)
- Exile Group Leaders Fault Plan for Postwar Iraq (Wash. Post)
- Postwar Cleanup Likely To Challenge U.S. (AP)
- U.S. Plans for Two-Year Occupation of Iraq (Reuters)
- Pass the Duct Tape (NY Times)
- CAIR-AZ Endorses Rally Against War
* IMMIGRANTS LEAVE U.S. TO SEEK REFUGE IN CANADA (AP)
* PRAYING FOR PEACE (Atlanta Journal)
- Muslim Students Want Holy Days Off (Newsday)
- President Bush Sends Eid Greetings
- New Stamp Popular With Inland Muslims (Press Enterprise)
- Astoria's Mideast Accent (Newsday)
* BIN LADEN REEMERGENCE HAS U.S. MUSLIMS ON EDGE (The Record)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: VIRTUE AND VICE
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Virtue is a kind
disposition, and vice is what disturbs your heart and that you hope
people
will not come to know about."
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1162
-----
MI LIBRARIAN APPRECIATES CAIR LIBRARY PACKAGE
"I am writing to express my appreciation for your donation of 18 books
and
videos related to Islamic Studies…We are grateful to receive this
much-needed and timely donation that will no doubt aid our students for
years to come…" - Dearborn, Michigan
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: N.R.B. CHIEF: ISLAM A 'PAGAN RELIGION'
http://www.ktul.com/news/stories/0203/73477.html
Nashville, TN (AP) - As Muslims wrap up their annual pilgrimage, the
chairman of the National Religious Broadcasters has called Islam "a
pagan
religion."
At the N.R.B. convention in Nashville, Tennessee, chairman Glenn
Plummer
declared that the Bible says the only way people can reach God is
through
Jesus, "not Muhammad" and "not Allah."
Insisting he means no hostility, Plummer added that people can't get to
God
through Buddha, the Dalai Lama or Sun Myung Moon either.
The theme of this year's N.R.B. convention is "Changing World,
Unchanging
Message."
SEE ALSO:
REMINDER: CHRISTIAN COALITION TO HOST "MUSLIM-BASHERS" AT DC FORUM
The Christian Coalition of America will be holding a symposium on Islam
entitled: "Christian Coalition Symposium on Islam: Muslims & The
Judeo-Christian World - Where to From Here?" The event will be held in
the
Columbia Ballroom of The Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, located at 400
New
Jersey Avenue, NW in Washington, DC on Saturday, Feb. 15 from 9 a.m. to
12
p.m.
SEE: http://www.cc.org/becomeinformed/pressreleases011403.html
Speakers at the symposium include Daniel Pipes, a commentator who
claims
the "increased stature, and affluence, and enfranchisement of American
Muslims...will present true dangers to American Jews." (Daniel Pipes'
speech before the convention of the American Jewish Congress,
10/21/2001)
Another speaker, WorldNetDaily.com Editor Joseph Farah, publishes
almost
daily diatribes against Islam and Muslims.
A third speaker, Dr. Labib Mikhail, has written: "If one examines the
impact of Islam on the society Muhammad created by the dictates of his
Quran, one discovers a society full of corruption, bloodshed, lack of
individual freedom, and brutality." The latest edition of his book,
"Islam,
Muhammad and the Koran," has chapter titles such as "Islam is Not a
Religion of Peace" and "Islam is Not a Divine Religion."
-----
NYPD SPYING POWER WIDENS
Leonard Levitt, Newsday, 2/12/03
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nyhand123128019feb12,0,6598499.story
Citing security concerns since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a
federal
judge yesterday eliminated virtually all the restrictions of the Police
Department's Handschu commission, a body that limited the department in
conducting investigations into lawful political activity.
In his 39-page decision, Senior District Court Judge Charles Haight
agreed
with the Police Department that the Handschu guidelines, established in
1985, "limit the effective investigation of terrorism…"
Haight's ruling expands the Police Department's investigatory powers,
allowing all branches to investigate suspicious political activity.
Under
the Handschu guidelines, such investigations were limited to one unit,
the
Public Security Section…
Some such leads may even come from infiltrating places of worship.
Cohen
had pointed out that the seeds of terrorism were often suspected of
being
sown in Muslim mosques…
Franklin Siegel, an attorney who argued for keeping the guidelines,
said of
Haight's decision, "Our children will wonder how Congress and public
officials could so quickly dispose of fundamental protections."
-----
BELGIAN COURT RULES ON SHARON INVESTIGATION
Tom Miles, Reuters, 2/12/03
BRUSSELS, Belgium (Reuters) - Belgium's supreme appeals court ruled
Wednesday that a genocide lawsuit against Ariel Sharon could go ahead
once
he no longer enjoyed immunity as prime minister of Israel, the
plaintiffs'
lawyer said.
The ruling opened the way for survivors of a 1982 massacre of
Palestinian
refugees to press their case against the Israeli leader, whom they hold
responsible for the deaths of hundreds of their kin in Israeli-occupied
Beirut.
"This is a victory for international justice and for the victims," Luc
Walleyn, one of lawyers for the plaintiffs, told Reuters at the
courthouse…
The plaintiffs are using a Belgian human rights law which claims
universal
jurisdiction allowing the country's courts to try crimes against
humanity
and genocide, no matter where they were committed.
Sharon was defense minister at the time of the massacre. In 1983, an
Israeli commission found him indirectly responsible, but, Sharon was
never
prosecuted…
SEE ALSO:
FOOD RUNNING OUT IN GAZA AS AID APPEAL FAILS
Chris McGreal, Guardian, 2/11/03
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,893017,00.html
More than a million Palestinians, already suffering economic collapse,
growing unemployment and malnutrition levels comparable to those in
Congo,
are threatened with food shortages because western governments have
turned
their backs on a UN appeal for funds.
The UN Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa says its plea for about £60m to
feed 1.1m people in the occupied territories has fallen flat, even
though
the intifada and Israeli retaliation have driven Palestinians to new
depths
of poverty.
The people of Gaza, trapped behind barbed wire backed by Israeli guns,
are
the worst off. Unrwa says the warehouses will be empty within weeks.
Its commissioner general, Peter Hansen, said: "If we don't get money
coming
in soon we will have a rupture in the food distribution which will be
very
serious, as we already have malnutrition levels of 22% among children,
and
that is bound to rise if food aid stops…"
---
JEWISH LEADERS BRING SHARON MESSAGE TO CENTRAL ASIA
TOP U.S. JEWS HEAD TO CENTRAL ASIA TO MEET ISLAMIC LEADERS
David Landau, Haaretz, 2/12/03
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/262323.html
American Jewish leaders are to meet Thursday in Kazakhstan with leaders
of
that and neighboring central Asian republics.
"This is the place to build a firewall between Islamic fundamentalism"
and
moderate Islam, said Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice director of the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
Ronald Lauder, the former chairman of the Conference of Presidents and
a
prominent investor and philanthropist in the countries of the former
Soviet
Union, is leading the mission of some 50 American Jewish
representatives.
Among the regional statesmen they hope to meet with Thursday are
Nursultan
Nazarbayev, the president of Kazakhstan, the presidents of Tajikistan
and
Kajistan and senior ministers from Turkey, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan.
The Jewish group will be bringing messages of support from U.S.
President
George W. Bush and Secretary of State Powell, as well as from Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon…
-----
AFGHANS SAY 17 CIVILIANS KILLED IN US-LED RAIDS
Mirwais Afghan, Reuters, 2/12/03
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Provincial Afghan authorities said on Wednesday
at
least 17 civilians had been killed in bombing raids by U.S.-led forces
aimed at rooting out remnants of the Taliban.
Haji Mohammad Wali, spokesman for the government of Helmand province,
told
Reuters an official of its Baghran district had reported the civilian
deaths there after relatives came to the district headquarters.
"The people came crying, saying their relatives had died or were
missing,"
Wali said from Helmand's capital Lashkar Gah.
According to the reports, there were 17 deaths, mostly of women and
children, since coalition operations began on Sunday, he said. Another
senior official of the province said there could have been as many as
20
more wounded…
A spokesman for President Hamid Karzai said he did not have any details
of
casualties. However, he said the government had asked the coalition to
avoid bombing during the Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday, which began on
Tuesday
and runs through Thursday…
-----
WAR PROTESTS ECHO AT TOWN HALL MEETING
Matthew Cella, Washington Times, 2/11/03
http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20030211-29484208.htm
Northern Virginia residents last night turned a town hall meeting in
Alexandria with U.S. military representatives into a forum to vent
opposition to a possible war in Iraq. About 400 persons crammed the
auditorium of the Minnie Howard School, while an additional 100 or so
watched the event on a television monitor in the cafeteria.
The meeting was moderated by U.S. Rep. James P. Moran, who sits on the
House Appropriations defense subcommittee and whose district includes
Alexandria. Also on the stage were Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke
and
Maj. Gen. Kevin Kuklok, assistant deputy commandant for plans, policy
and
operations at the Marine Corps.
About a half-dozen Alexandria police officers carefully checked each
person
entering the auditorium. The crowd was overwhelmingly against a war
with
Iraq and heckled Mrs. Clarke and Gen. Kuklok as they attempted to
explain
the imminent threat Iraq poses to the United States…
SEE ALSO:
SHAKER HEIGHTS VOTES NO ON WAR
Scott Stephens, Plain Dealer, 2/11/03
http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/104495955065921.xml
Shaker Heights- France and Germany have already gone on record as
opposing
the use of military force in Iraq.
Last night, Shaker Heights weighed in.
Capping off more than an hour of passionate debate, council approved a
resolution urging President Bush to seek a peaceful resolution to his
standoff with Saddam Hussein.
A packed council chamber erupted in applause after the 4-2 vote. Many
residents either stood or sat on the floor of the room, which holds 130
people.
"I cannot think of any time in my 20 years here where such a gathering
has
come together," said Councilman Kenneth Kovach, who sponsored the
measure…
"It's a historical phenomenon," said Amy Quinn, co-director of the
initiative for the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Policy Studies.
"There has really been no historical precedent for municipalities
weighing
in on international issues…"
---
IN DEFENCE OF FRANCE
Le Monde, 2/12/03
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/PEstory/TGAM/20030212/UMONDN/Headlines/headdex/headdexInternational_temp/13/13/20/
To save time and avoid repeating ourselves, let's sum it up: We French
are
pusillanimous, "Munichized" to the bottom of our souls, habitually
venial,
reliably anti-Semitic, and, it goes without saying, relentlessly
anti-American. And let's not forget: we are also "old."
This, at any rate, is how a certain element of the American press sees
us.
One of the Washington Post's lead commentators writes that France has
cultivated only one kind of expertise since 1870, that of retreating
and
fleeing. The New York Post accuses France of an ignoble lack of
gratitude:
we have forgotten the GIs' sacrifices during the Second World War! On
its
opinion page, the Wall Street Journal permits British journalist
Christopher Hitchens to describe Jacques Chirac as a "rat that tried to
roar" by way of transforming France into "the procurer for Saddam."
And the crime that has inspired these denunciations? Paris has refused
to
submit itself to [the Bush's] administration's policy on Iraq…
In vain do we suggest that at least two elements of Paris's position
deserve at least a thoughtful discussion: 1) Iraq does not present a
danger
sufficient to justify war; and 2) A war against an Arab country is
exactly
what [terrorist leader] Osama bin Laden is hoping for.
There's a final observation to be made about the volley of disdain
directed
at France by the American press. At a time when information is being
globalized, when contacts of every description are multiplying, when
communication is instantaneous, whether through CNN or the Internet,
when
we have 24-hour news, stereotyping is not dead. On the contrary. In the
global village, the cliché is still king.
---
EXILE GROUP LEADERS FAULT U.S. PLAN FOR POSTWAR IRAQ
Karl Vick, Washington Post, 2/12/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59405-2003Feb11.html
SULAYMANIYAH, Iraq, Feb. 11 -- Iraqi exile leaders complained today
that a
U.S. plan to install a military governor for up to a year in postwar
Iraq,
as outlined by U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, risks leaving in place an
Iraqi
administration dominated by the country's Sunni Muslim minority and
veterans of President Saddam Hussein's Baath Party.
Leaders of the principal exile group, the Iraqi National Congress, said
the
administration plan, described by Khalilzad last week in Ankara,
Turkey,
seemed to reflect fears in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Egypt that
immediate
democracy in Iraq could be destabilizing. The complaints also
highlighted
concern that the exiles' role in postwar Iraq could turn out to be less
than they anticipated in months of lobbying against Hussein...
---
POSTWAR CLEANUP LIKELY TO CHALLENGE U.S.
Steven R. Hurst, Associated Press, 2/12/03
http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20030212-80068612.htm
CAIRO - The military outcome of a U.S.-led war to oust Iraqi leader
Saddam
Hussein may prove overwhelming and relatively quick, but the true
measure
of Washington's long-term success is likely to depend on how it copes
with
the delicate task of stitching Iraq back together.
In the event that U.S.-led forces take control of Iraqi cities and
towns,
soldiers could immediately encounter people begging for water, food,
medical care and shelter - all of which are likely to be scarce after
ground battles and air raids.
Perhaps more challenging would be the retribution killings expected to
sweep the country, settling scores after Saddam's brutal 33-year rule.
"The system of law and order will break down. ... There will be no
police
force, no justice system, no civil service and no accountability. In
this
confusion, people will be inclined to take justice into their own
hands,"
Rend Rahim Francke, Iraqi-born executive director of the
Washington-based
Iraqi Foundation, said in congressional testimony...
---
U.S. PLANS FOR TWO-YEAR OCCUPATION OF IRAQ
Jonathan Wright, Reuters, 2/12/03
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=564&ncid=564&e=3&u=/nm/20030211/ts_nm/iraq_usa_planning_dc_2
WASHINGTON - U.S. officials on Tuesday laid out plans for a two-year
military occupation of Iraq in the event of an invasion and told wary
senators that "enormous uncertainties" made it impossible to say
whether
troops might stay even longer or how much it would all cost.
Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith told the Senate Foreign
Relations
Committee that the military and civilian administrators after a U.S.
invasion would report to Gen. Tommy Franks, commander of U.S. forces in
the
Middle East.
Pressed for an idea of how long a military occupation would last before
Iraqis could take back the government of their country, his colleague
from
the State Department, Marc Grossman, said he would guess "two years..."
Feith, once part of a pro-Israeli lobbying group that has been pressing
for
the overthrow of Saddam for years, said a U.S. occupation could benefit
Israel and Middle East peace…
---
PASS THE DUCT TAPE
Maureen Dowd, New York Times, 2/12/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/12/opinion/12DOWD.html
WASHINGTON - Osama bin Laden came to the rescue of George W. Bush
yesterday.
The president and his secretary of state had been huffing and puffing
to
prove a link between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda. George Tenet, who
presides over a C.I.A. full of skepticism about the tie, did his best
for
the boss, playing up the link to the Senate. Ignoring all the blatant
Qaeda
hooks to Saudi Arabia, Syria, Yemen and Pakistan; ignoring the fact
that
Osama has never had any use for the drinking, smoking, womanizing,
secular
Saddam; ignoring the fact that Saddam has no proven record of sharing
weapons with Al Qaeda, the Bushies have been hellbent on making the
9/11
connection...
The administration and Al Qaeda both have a purpose for invading Iraq,
and
both want a regime change.
Both talk about "liberating" the Arab people, but Osama's vision is
apocalyptic. He wants the Middle East -- Israel and the Arab monarchies
--
to go up in flames. By Zionizing our battle with Iraq and promising an
anti-American theocracy, he hopes to radicalize recruits for a jihad
against an American occupation of Arab land.
Osama's own fanaticism was forged by foreign occupations -- the Soviet
Union's invasion of Afghanistan and American forces stationed in Saudi
Arabia…
---
CAIR-AZ ENDORSES RALLY AGAINST WAR
The Council on American-Islamic Relations of Arizona (CAIR-AZ) joins
Local
to Global Justice, The Arizona Alliance for Peaceful Justice (AAPJ) and
other groups involved in the peace movement in urging the community to
participate in a mass march and rally against war in Iraq.
WHEN: Saturday, February 15 at 10 A.M.
WHERE: Patriot's Square Park
CONTACT: Deedra Abboud 602-738-2482 or Kyrsten Sinema 602-570-7217
-----
IMMIGRANTS LEAVE U.S. TO SEEK REFUGE IN CANADA
IMMIGRANTS LOOK TO AVOID REGISTRATION
David Gram, Associated Press, 2/12/03
BURLINGTON, Vt. - Pakistani immigrants Rozina and Tajuddin Lakhani and
their 11-year-old daughter were spending their nights sleeping at the
Salvation Army, waiting to find out if there was a future for them in
Canada.
The Lakhanis told a harrowing tale of their attempt to enter the
country
from the United States, with Tajuddin nearly being thrown in a U.S.
jail
after swamped Canadian immigration workers turned them away at the
border
and told them to come back days later.
Like many immigrants in the United States, the Lakhanis decided to
relocate
to Canada after the implementation of a new U.S. anti-terrorism policy
requiring males from Pakistan and 24 other countries, most of them
predominantly Muslim, to register with immigration authorities.
Overwhelmed Canadian officials have been unable to process the
immigrants
right away, leaving them in limbo - and, some say, in danger of being
arrested. Community leaders say the new U.S. registration policy has
led to
fear and confusion among Arabs and Muslims across the country,
particularly
because those who fail to meet the deadlines may be subject to
detention...
-----
PRAYING FOR PEACE
Nadirah Z. Sabir, Atlanta Journal and Constitution
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/metro/0203/12eid.html
About 7,000 Muslims began celebrating Eid al-Adha on Tuesday at
Lakewood
Fairgrounds in Atlanta. Winter coats covered new, colorful clothes.
Gloves
warmed hands freshly dyed with henna.
Children eyed the nearby carnival. Masjid As Sunnah, on Elam Road in
Stone
Mountain, had pony rides. All around the city, Muslims gathered to
begin
the three-day Feast of Sacrifice.
While toddlers opened gifts and teens eyed the buffets, many adults
were
more contemplative.
Lemiya Alexander, 33, said this is a "transitional period" for Islam in
America. "There's more of a community feeling now than an inner
spiritual
path, as in times past," said Alexander, administrator at Al-Farooq
Masjid
of Atlanta. "A lot of people are gearing up to make it a more public
celebration, even those who don't visit the masjid a lot."
This year's celebration is certainly shadowed by the looming war in
Iraq.
This Eid al-Adha, "we're praying for peace," said Imam Plemon El-Amin,
acting head of the citywide Majlis al-Shura, a governing body of area
Muslim leaders…
SEE ALSO:
MUSLIM STUDENTS WANT HOLY DAYS OFF
John Hildebrand, Newsday, 2/12/03
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-limusl123127973feb12,0,7375710.story
For most members of Sharaara Rahman's family, Eid ul-Adha was a day
begun
with morning prayer at a mosque, then celebrated with feasting on
dishes of
korma and curried meats.
Sharaara, however, like many Muslim students enrolled in public
schools,
felt obliged to spend most of yesterday in class. The alternative would
have been to observe this major Islamic holy day, but then be counted
absent from school. "It's frustrating," said the Bangladesh-born
teenager,
a 10th-grade honor student at Central Islip High School. "Like,
everybody
else is home, and I have to be in school."
Sharaara, who is secretary of her class, and about 30 other students
have
petitioned their school, asking that Muslims be given consideration on
their major religious holidays similar to that already accorded
Christians
and Jews.
Central Islip school authorities are considering the request, and
Sharaara,
15, has published her views on the op-ed page of the student newspaper.
Administrators note that their high school is one of the most diverse
on
Long Island - a place where students speak 21 different languages, and
where Muslims constitute the second-largest religious group, after
Christians…
"We're not asking for anything extra," said Ghazi Khankan, director of
interfaith affairs for the Islamic Center of Long Island in Westbury.
"We're just asking for at least two days for students to go to prayers
in
the mosques. That's what it's all about…"
---
PRESIDENT BUSH SENDS EID GREETINGS
President Bush sends greetings to Muslims in the United States and
around
the world for the celebration of the Eid al-Adha holiday. The link to
the
President's message is displayed prominently on the White House web
site.
To go to the White House web site, please visit:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
To view the text of the message, please visit:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/02/20030211-12.html
---
NEW STAMP POPULAR WITH INLAND MUSLIMS
Sharyn Obsatz, Press-Enterprise, 2/11/03
www.pe.com
Muslims across the Inland area are buying thousands of the Eid Greeting
stamps they view as a badge of pride.
Several Inland-area post offices recently sold out of the Eid stamp,
issued
in recognition of this week's feast holiday and the festival held after
the
Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
"I'm really trying to use it and support it," Fontana resident Nur
Asadullah, 25, said. "Sometimes it's hard to get." Eid al-Adha, the
annual
"feast of the sacrifice," starts with early-morning prayers held at
Inland
mosques today or Wednesday.
The holiday honors the end of the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and
commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son at God's
command.
Abraham, the patriarch of Islam, Judaism and Christianity, is then
commanded to kill a ram instead of the boy…
American Muslims had campaigned to have the stamp issued. A 15-member
citizens panel screens 14,000 stamp requests a year and selects about
30 to
40 stamps to recommend to the U. S. Postal Service for issuance, postal
spokesman Mike Cannone said.
Through e-mails and mosques, advocates urged Muslims to buy the stamp
to
ensure it would be reissued when postage was increased last October to
37
cents, Corona resident Hussam Ayloush said.
"There were some people trying to undermine the whole thing," arguing
that
Eid spelled "die" in reverse, said Ayloush, who heads the Council on
American-Islamic Relations' Southern California chapter.
Several Inland residents said they proudly sent stamps home to their
families in the Middle East.
"It's our identity," Ayloush said. "We feel this is the first time this
government recognizes us as a true American minority, part of the
American
fabric…"
---
ASTORIA'S MIDEAST ACCENT
Kate Feld, Newsday, 2/12/03
http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/brooklyn/nyc-nyclos123127764feb12.story
Many New Yorkers associate Astoria with baklava and bouzouki music, the
province of Greek-Americans. But more and more these days, Astoria
residents hail not from Athens but from Cairo. And that change is
nowhere
more evident than in the neighborhood's houses of worship.
The Masjid Dar Aldaawah is the latest of eight mosques to open its
doors in
Astoria. As this mosque's members have broken away from orthodox
Islamic
practice, it is the community's first moderate Islamic house of
worship.
The new owners recently took the cross down from the spire and put up a
Muslim crescent over the building, wedged between row houses on 23rd
Avenue
near 36th Street, that was built as a Greek Orthodox church in 1951 and
later housed a Korean Presbyterian group.
Mosque director Ahmed Jamil, a city employee who is a working toward a
doctorate in political science from Brooklyn College, said Astoria was
a
different place when he arrived from Egypt in 1984.
"Then, it was Greek, Italian and white Americans," he said. But in the
years since, an influx of immigrants from other regions has transformed
Astoria into a complex patchwork of languages, religions and customs…
-----
BIN LADEN REEMERGENCE HAS U.S. MUSLIMS ON EDGE
JOHN CHADWICK, The Record, 2/12/03
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2MzQwNDU0
Muslims in North Jersey, already feeling angry and alienated over the
policies of the Bush administration, are now facing something even more
damaging: the return of Osama bin Laden.
"My first thought was, 'Oh my God, not again,'-" said Ali Erikenoglu of
Paterson. "This is definitely a source of anxiety." Bin Laden's taped
message urging Iraqis and other Muslims to battle the United States
emerged
Tuesday, on one of the most important Muslim holidays, Eid al-Adha,
which
marks the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
The holiday got off to a rocky start last week when Attorney General
John
Ashcroft cited the start of the pilgrimage, or hajj, as one reason for
elevating the national terror alert to its second-highest level.
"Most Muslims found that offensive," said Nadia Kahf of Totowa. "It
seems
this administration is desperately trying to connect terrorism with
Islam."
But with the reemergence of Bin Laden, Muslims say they are bracing for
a
new wave of mistrust and hostility…
Waheed Khalid, a Muslim community leader in Teaneck, said he, too,
dreads
the impact of Bin Laden on a community frequently questioned on their
patriotism.
"Here comes this guy who has caused us so many problems," said Khalid,
spokesman for the Dar-Al-Islah mosque in Teaneck. "I guess I expected
this
all along."
Tuesday morning, prior to the airing of the tape, prayer services
reflected
Muslim fears over the prospect of war and the detention of Muslim
immigrants.
In Teaneck, Khalid encouraged Muslims to protest the Bush
administration's
plans to invade Iraq. He also spoke of the scores of detainees in
American
jails. "The American government is arresting people for very minor
immigration infractions," Khalid said afterward. "It's very sad…"
Khalid's criticisms are echoed by Muslim groups across the nation.
In Washington, the Council on American-Islamic Relations last week
issued a
statement saying "Hajj has nothing to do with terrorism. To imply
otherwise
is an insult to the American Muslim community. Attorney General
Ashcroft
needs to clarify his position on this important issue…"
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
CAIR ACTION ALERT #364
CAIR LAUNCHES NATIONAL AD CAMPAIGN
Ads designed to foster understanding of Islam, American Muslims
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/13/03) - CAIR today announced it will launch a
year-long "Islam in America" advertising campaign designed to foster
greater understanding of Islam and to counter what the group says is a
rising tide of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the United States.
The campaign will kick off with an ad, headlined "We're All Americans,"
in
the New York Times editorial page on Sunday, February 16th. That ad
features images of an African-American girl, an Asian man and another
man
of European heritage, and asks the question: "Which one of us is a
Muslim?"
The response: "We all are...we're American Muslims."
CAIR's weekly ads, each explaining one aspect of Islam, will be
distributed
to Muslim communities around American for placement in local
newspapers. As
each ad is published in the New York Times, it will be available on a
web
site, www.americanmuslims.info, specifically designed to promote the
campaign.
"Without accurate and balanced information about mainstream Islam and
Muslims, ordinary Americans are vulnerable to the purveyors of hate, in
this country and around the world, who seek a perpetual religious and
civilizational conflict," said CAIR Board Chairman Omar Ahmad.
"American Muslims must take on the task of defining their faith.
Otherwise,
that definition will be left to those whose agenda serves religious and
political goals that are in conflict with our nation's long-term
interests," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. Awad cited the
Islamophobic rhetoric of evangelical and right-wing commentators, and
the
extremist views of some Muslims claiming to act in the name of Islam.
The text of Sunday's New York Times ad reads: "It's impossible to make
general assumptions about Muslims because we represent more than one
billion people from a vast range of races, nationalities and cultures -
from the South Pacific to the horn of Africa. Only about 18 percent of
Muslims live in the Arabic-speaking world. The largest Muslim community
is
in Indonesia. Substantial parts of Asia and most of Africa have Muslim
majority populations, while significant minorities are to be found in
the
countries of the former Soviet Union, China, North and South America,
and
Europe.
"American Muslims are an equally diverse group of people. We're
immigrants
from across the globe who came here seeking freedom and opportunity.
We're
the children of immigrant parents, and descendants of Africans who have
called America home for generations. We're converts of varied
nationalities
and ethnic backgrounds. We're doctors, lawyers, teachers, politicians,
civil rights activists, mothers, fathers, students...making our homes
and
raising our families in communities across America.
"What we all have in common is a shared faith and a shared commitment
to
our nation's safety and prosperity. We're Americans and we're Muslims."
ACTION REQUESTED:
The information below, and the latest ad is available at:
http://www.americanmuslims.info
1. Donate to support the campaign by using the form at the bottom of
this
alert.
2. Publish each weekly ad in your local community's newspaper. This is
a
year-long campaign, so you can get more favorable rates by agreeing to
publish a series of ads instead of just one.
HOW TO PUBLISH THE NY TIMES ADS IN YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER
1. Contact the Display or Business Advertising sales department of the
newspaper. (Not the classified ad dept.)
2. Most newspapers list the phone numbers for individual departments on
one
of the first few pages of Section A. If you can't find the number
there,
call the main phone number of the newspaper - most papers have a very
detailed message system with options for contacting specific
departments -
or visit the newspaper's web site.
3. Tell the account representative that you want to place a ¼-page,
black &
white (1/4-pg/BW) ad, and give them a specific date(s) that you want
the ad
to appear in the paper. You will also be asked if you want the ad to
appear
in a specific section or on a specific page of the newspaper. (Rates
will
vary based on day of the week and position)
4. Ask the account representative for the following information:
- Space deadline (the date on which you must confirm purchase of the ad
space; once you confirm the ad buy, you are committed to payment)
- Materials deadline (the date on which you must supply the paper with
files for the ad - most papers now accept digital files)
- Specifications for a ¼-pg/BW ad (dimensions) tell them that you have
a
hi-resolution file of a BW ad that is 6.25" x 10/5" (CAIR can provide
other
ad sizes, but at extra cost.)
5. Advertising rates will vary with each newspaper. Ask for the Net
Rate
for the size/day/position that you want
- Tell the Account Rep that you will not be using a media buyer, so the
15%
commission should not be included in the rate.
- Ask if there is a lower rate for non-profit organizations
- Ask if you can negotiate a lower rate, based on a commitment to place
several ads in the publication over a certain period of time
6. When you deliver the final ad to the newspaper, an Insertion Order
must
accompany the files. The following information must appear on the
Insertion
Order:
1. Name of advertiser
2. Date
3. Product
4. Name of the newspaper
5. Account representative name and phone numbers
6. Issue Date (The date the ad is scheduled to appear in the
newspaper.)
7. Materials deadline
8. Net Rate
9. Ad Size
10. Position requested
11. Special Instructions: Please send 5 tear sheets of the
publication
to: (Supply your name/address here.) *Tear sheets are complimentary
copies
of the newspaper on the day that the ad appears.
12. Send materials to: (Supply the name/title/phone number of the
account
representative, and the shipping address of the newspaper.)
If you have any questions, please call CAIR at 202-488-8787, or e-mail:
cair@cair-net.org
- PLEASE POST, COPY AND DISTRIBUTE -
--- CLIP AND MAIL/FAX/E-MAIL ---
YES, I would like to support CAIR's "Islam in America" ad campaign by
donating $___________. Enclosed is my check, payable to CAIR.
Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip:
TEL:
FAX:
E-MAIL:
Payment: ___Check ___VISA ___MasterCard ___Discover ___Money Order
Credit Card Number:
Exp. Date:
Name as on Card:
Signature: ________________________________________________
SEND TO: CAIR, 453 New Jersey Ave., S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003
FAX: 202-488-0833 E-MAIL: membership@cair-net.org
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 2/13/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: LIFE PROLONGED FOR GOODNESS
* ILLINOIS LIBRARIAN APPRECIATES CAIR LIBRARY MATERIALS
* CAIR "ISLAM IN AMERICA" NATIONAL AD CAMPAIGN
* INCITEMENT WATCH: INTERNMENT OF AMERICAN MUSLIMS?
* ASHCROFT'S ANTI-TERROR WAR STRIKE BLOW AT RIGHTS (LA Times)
- Orange Alert for Civil Rights (Pacific News Service)
- Congress Bars Using Pentagon Project on Americans (NY Times)
- How Stupid To Harass Our Islam Friends (Capital Times)
- Foreign Student Reaction to INS Rule Mixed (Atlanta Journal)
- Law Students Protest Bush Civil Rights Policies (SF Chronicle)
* U.S. MUSLIM LEADERS REJECT BIN LADEN CALL (Philadelphia Inquirer)
* 10 MILLION JOIN WORLD PROTEST RALLIES (Guardian)
- 90 U.S. Cities Pass Anti-War Resolutions (Reuters)
- Bin Laden-Hussein Link Hazy (Washington Post)
- Not All Conservatives on Board on Iraq (Washington Times)
- Anti-War Conservatives Bash Hawks (Pacific News Service)
- Split Over Post-Iraq Push For Middle East Peace (Forward)
* BRITON SAYS HE WAS KEPT IN DARKNESS FOR YEAR BY U.S. (Guardian)
* AFGHAN AMERICAN PLAINTIFFS ACCEPT THEATER'S APOLOGY (LA Times)
* FAITH Q&A: ARE SOME PEOPLE JUST BORN BAD? (Kansas City Star)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: LIFE PROLONGED FOR GOODNESS
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Do not ask for [death]
before it comes, for when one of you dies, he ceases (to do good)
deeds,
and the life of a believer is not prolonged but for goodness."
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1234
-----
ILLINOIS LIBRARIAN APPRECIATES CAIR LIBRARY MATERIALS
"I would like to thank you and the CAIR Library Project for arranging
the
donation…The material will be a valuable addition to our library
collection…for those who need to learn more about Islamic and Muslim
countries, culture, faith, and people." Librarian in Illinois
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
CAIR "ISLAM IN AMERICA" NATIONAL AD CAMPAIGN
CAIR has launched a year-long "Islam in America" advertising campaign
designed to foster greater understanding of Islam and to counter the
rising
tide of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the United States.
The campaign will kick off with an ad, headlined "We're All Americans,"
in
the New York Times editorial page on Sunday, February 16th. That ad
features images of an African-American girl, an Asian man and another
man
of European heritage, and asks the question: "Which one of us is a
Muslim?"
The response: "We all are...we're American Muslims."
CAIR's weekly ads, each explaining one aspect of Islam, will be
available
to Muslim communities around America for placement in local newspapers.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO: http://www.americanmuslims.info
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: INTERNMENT OF AMERICAN MUSLIMS?
MUSLIM LOYALTIES
Craige McMillan, WorldNetDaily.com, 2/13/03
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=31014
If bin Laden's latest audiotape is indeed the precursor to another
horrific
terror attack on the United States, then American Muslims had best
decide
quickly to whom and what they are loyal.
The first rule of wartime survival is to know your enemy. That's a
lesson
America learned the hard way at Pearl Harbor. To their credit, the
politicians of that day only needed one horrific lesson - the result,
regrettably, was Japanese internment camps:
"From 1942 to 1946, the United States government imprisoned more than
110,000 Japanese Americans, including more than 70,000 U.S. citizens,
in
camps called internment camps. The United States and Japan were at war,
and
U.S. officials believed, with little evidence, that Japanese Americans
threatened national security." - World Book Encyclopedia
Whether or not we agree with World Book's characterization, we should
all
note well the words "with little evidence." Mr. bin Laden's terror
missives
have repeatedly made it clear that Muslims worldwide - including those
living inside the United States - have a duty to overthrow violently
the
American government. Internationally, that is the goal of such warfare.
Domestically, it is the textbook definition of treason…
It is the next terror attack - whether in days, weeks, or months - that
will change everything. That is the point at which confusion will
coalesce
into anger. America's eyes will be opened and we will clearly see our
enemies.
Confusion about the World War II coalesced into anger at Pearl Harbor.
That
is what will happen in post 9-11 America…
NOTE: WorldNetDaily Editor Joseph Farah is scheduled to speak at this
weekend's Christian Coalition conference on Islam.
SEE: http://www.cc.org/becomeinformed/pressreleases011403.html
-----
SECRET PROPOSALS IN ASHCROFT'S ANTI-TERROR WAR STRIKE YET ANOTHER BLOW
AT
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS
Jack M. Balkin, Los Angeles Times, 2/13/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-balkin13feb13,1,6248077.story
Just as the Bush administration is preparing a preemptive strike on
Iraq,
its Justice Department has been preparing yet another preemptive strike
--
a new assault on our civil liberties.
For months, Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft and his staff have been secretly
drafting the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003, designed to
expand
even further the new government powers for domestic surveillance
created by
the 2001 USA Patriot Act…
Perhaps the most troubling section would strip U.S. citizenship from
anyone
who gives "material support" to any group that the attorney general
designates as a terrorist organization. Citizenship is the most basic
right
for all Americans, one from which other rights -- such as the right to
vote, to participate in politics and even to live in this country --
all
flow. Under our Constitution, Americans can't be deprived of their
citizenship, and the rights that go with it, unless they voluntarily
give
it up...
The McCarthy era demonstrated that the attorney general could wield
enormous power to harass innocent Americans by designating legal
organizations as subversive. The proposed act creates a similar danger:
Give a few dollars to a Muslim charity Ashcroft thinks is a terrorist
organization and you could be on the next plane out of this country...
SEE ALSO:
ORANGE ALERT FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES
Jeff Milchen, Pacific News Service, 2/11/03
http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=ee9bcb5402a56ec0d22a994e125c275d
A leaked copy of the Bush administration's proposed "Domestic Security
Enhancement Act of 2003" (DSEA) indicates that even after the 2001
Patriot
Act expanded federal police powers while curtailing privacy rights, the
Bush administration thinks Americans are still too free and government
too
small. Like the Patriot Act, the massive "Security Act" proposal
contains a
few measures that could help catch a terrorist, surrounded by many that
merely propel us further toward a secretive police state…
The DSEA contains many proposals disturbing for immigrants, including
increased punishments for violations of the Immigration and Nationality
Act
by aliens. But perhaps the most alarming proposal (Section 501) would
give
the Justice Dept. power to revoke a person's permanent resident alien
status or even U.S. citizenship for participating in, or "providing
material support to ... a terrorist organization."
Since the 2001 "Patriot Act" redefined "terrorist activity" so broadly
that
minor vandalism could qualify, donating to a nonprofit organization
that,
unknown to you, is on Ashcroft's hit list could end your life as an
American citizen and resident...
---
CONFEREES IN CONGRESS BAR USING A PENTAGON PROJECT ON AMERICANS
Adam Clymer, New York Times, 2/12/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/12/politics/12PRIV.html
WASHINGTON - House and Senate negotiators have agreed that a Pentagon
project intended to detect terrorists by monitoring Internet e-mail and
commercial databases for health, financial and travel information
cannot be
used against Americans.
The conferees also agreed to restrict further research on the program
without extensive consultation with Congress.
House leaders agreed with Senate fears about the threat to personal
privacy
in the Pentagon program, known as Total Information Awareness. So they
accepted a Senate provision in the omnibus spending bill passed last
month,
said Representative Jerry Lewis, the California Republican who heads
the
defense appropriations subcommittee.
Representative John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania, the senior Democrat on
the
subcommittee, said of the program, "Jerry's against it, and I'm against
it,
so we kept the Senate amendment." Of the Pentagon, he said, "They've
got
some crazy people over there..."
---
HOW STUPID TO HARASS OUR ISLAM FRIENDS
Rob Zaleski, Capital Times, 2/13/03
http://www.madison.com/captimes/opinion/column/zaleski/42536.php
Dr. Ahmed Ali doesn't want anyone to get an erroneous impression.
He has, the president of the Islamic Center of Madison says, nothing
but
contempt for the Sept. 11 terrorists and other fanatics who continue to
threaten mayhem against the United States.
And that feeling, he says, is shared by the vast majority of those who
worship at the center at 21 N. Orchard St. - and, he believes, by most
of
the 7 million Muslims who live in this country.
But Ali, a Beaver Dam physician who came here from India 32 years ago,
says
his thoughts are preoccupied with another terrorist-related
development:
the Bush administration's new program requiring that foreign men from
mostly Muslim nations living in the United States on visas register
with
the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Those who refuse risk being
arrested or, in some cases, deported. The program, which began in
December
and has drawn close to 25,000 men so far, is nothing less than blatant
discrimination and harassment, Ali says...
---
FOREIGN STUDENT REACTION TO TOUGH INS RULE MIXED
MARK BIXLER, Atlanta Journal, 2/13/02
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/editions/thursday/news_e3b4c475c60b027910a2.html
Schools and colleges in the United States have until Saturday to begin
using a computerized system to monitor foreign students.
The controversial initiative, designed to thwart terrorists, is causing
apprehension among international-student advisers. They are raising
questions about technical glitches and whether the system will actually
help tighten security.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service set the deadline for high
schools, colleges, universities and trade schools to use its Student
and
Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) to record and transmit
information on international students.
Schools not using the system after then will be unable to enroll
students
here on visas…
---
LAW STUDENTS PROTEST BUSH CIVIL RIGHTS POLICIES
Kelly St. John, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/13/02
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/02/13/MN21268.DTL
Three hundred law school students from across California took out a
full-page ad in today's New York Times charging that the Bush
administration has undermined constitutional and civil rights law with
its
war on terrorism.
The advertisement, which is running in the Times' western edition,
lists
the names of students from eight law schools across the state,
including UC
Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law, UC's Hastings College of the Law
in
San Francisco and Stanford Law School.
"Tomorrow's lawmakers shouldn't have to answer for today's misdeeds,"
the
ad reads. "As students of the law, we cannot stand behind a boundless
'War
on Terrorism' that has eroded civil liberties, undermined international
institutions, blurred the separation of governmental powers, and caused
havoc in the communities we serve both here and abroad…"
"The amount of time and effort that the students put into writing the
ad,
raising the money and collecting all the signatures from all over the
state
really demonstrates a depth of commitment and a level of concern that
reflects an ever increasing opposition to the Bush administration's
attack
on civil liberties," said Lucas Guttentag, a Boalt Hall professor and
director of the Immigrant Rights Project at the American Civil
Liberties
Union…
-----
U.S. MUSLIM LEADERS REJECT BIN LADEN CALL
Jim Remsen, Philadelphia Inquirer, 2/12/03
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/5168265.htm
Although most Muslims repudiate bin Laden, they have not been able to
escape his taint since the Sept. 11 attacks, noted Osman bin Bakar, a
scholar at Georgetown University's Center for Muslim-Christian
Understanding.
"Every time he opens his mouth, it puts Muslims in difficulty," Bakar
said.
"It puts pressure on the Muslims here to disassociate themselves from
what
he is saying."
Muslim leaders contacted yesterday emphatically distanced themselves
from
bin Laden and his latest call to suicide attacks and other terrorism.
"We're Americans. We don't go for that," said Marwan Kreidie, spokesman
for
the Al-Aqsa Islamic Society, a North Philadelphia mosque with many Arab
and
Arab American members…
Many Muslims disagree with U.S. foreign policy, "but that does not mean
they listen to a person who is an outlaw and is doing things totally
contrary to whatever Islam stands for," said Masood Ghaznavi, board
chairman of the American Muslim Society of the Tristate Area…
Such talk is "silly" and "only aggravates the situation," Kreidie said.
"We
don't need Osama bin Laden to tell us about the problems with what
Israel
and the United States are doing and the Palestinian rights to a
homeland.
"He is hijacking the religion and trying to hijack the Iraq situation,
just
like he hijacked the Palestinian situation before this."
-----
10 MILLION JOIN WORLD PROTEST RALLIES
John Vidal, Guardian, 2/13/03
http://www.guardian.co.uk/antiwar/story/0,12809,894460,00.html
Up to 10 million people on five continents are expected to demonstrate
against the probable war in Iraq on Saturday, in some of the largest
peace
marches ever known.
Yesterday, up to 400 cities in 60 countries, from Antarctica to Pacific
islands, confirmed that peace rallies, vigils and marches would take
place.
Of all major countries, only China is absent from the growing list
which
includes more than 300 cities in Europe and north America, 50 in Asia
and
Latin America, 10 in Africa and 20 in Australia and Oceania.
Many countries will witness the largest demonstrations against war they
have ever seen…
What is extraordinary, say the organisers, is the depth and breadth of
opposition that the US and Britain are meeting across the world before
a
war has even started.
"This is unprecedented. Demonstrations only got this large against the
Vietnam war at the height of the conflict, years after it started,"
said a
spokesman for Answer, a coalition of US peace groups which helped
organise
a march of 200,000 people last month in Washington…
SEE ALSO:
90 U.S. CITIES HAVE PASSED ANTI-WAR RESOLUTIONS
Alan Elsner, Reuters, 2/13/03
WASHINGTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Some 90 U.S. city councils have passed
resolutions opposing military actions against Iraq, with many arguing
that
such a war would devastate their economies, organizers of the campaign
said
on Thursday.
Representatives of many of these cities, which include Chicago and
Philadelphia among others, gathered in Washington to deliver their
resolutions to the White House.
"War will be financed by deficit spending and drastic cuts in domestic
spending. The sons and daughters of American cities will be recruited
to
fight and even die in that war," Chicago alderman Joe Moore said.
The city representatives told a news conference that resources in their
jurisdictions were already severely stretched and the country could not
afford a war.
"In my city, our homeless shelters are jammed. In fact we are turning
people away nightly," said Detroit councilwoman Maryann Mahaffey.
The campaign to pass city resolutions is organized by the Institute for
Policy Studies, a liberal think-tank and political action group. Its
organizer, Karen Dolan, said anti-war resolutions were pending in 100
more
towns and cities…
Cities that have passed anti-war resolutions include major urban
centers
like Baltimore and Atlanta, as well as university towns like Austin,
Texas,
Ann Arbor, Michigan and Berkeley, California, well known as liberal
enclaves.
They are concentrated on the East and West coasts and in the upper
Midwest,
mainly in states that did not support President George W. Bush in the
2000
presidential election…
---
BIN LADEN-HUSSEIN LINK HAZY
Dana Priest and Walter Pincus, Washington Post, 2/13/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A134-2003Feb12.html
In the past two days, administration officials have appeared to qualify
their case that Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein have paired up to
threaten the United States, a key argument for going to war against
Iraq.
CIA Director George J. Tenet twice told the Senate Armed Services
Committee
yesterday that Abu Musab Zarqawi, an al Qaeda associate who last year
sought medical care in Baghdad and then disappeared, is in the Iraqi
capital. But after the hearing, intelligence officials said they did
not
know where Zarqawi was because he moves around a lot…
Tenet said yesterday that the tape "is unprecedented in terms of the
way he
expresses solidarity with Baghdad." But he added, "whether he is
aligning
himself with the Iraqi government, as it appears, or he is speaking to
the
Iraqi people . . . I need a little more time to do a little bit more
work
on that…"
---
NOT ALL CONSERVATIVES ON BOARD ON IRAQ
Ralph Z. Hallow, Washington Times, 2/13/03
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030212-4554854.htm
Some conservatives remain wary - and are willing to say so publicly -
about
President Bush's threats of war against Iraq. Most regard Mr. Bush as
one
of their own, and support his stated aim of forcibly disarming Saddam
Hussein's regime, if necessary.
But some conservative critics are philosophically opposed to using the
U.S.
military as a force to transform dictatorships into democracies.
"It is a traditional conservative position not to want the United
States to
be the policeman of the world," said Rep. John J. "Jimmy" Duncan Jr.,
Tennessee Republican. "It is also conservative to favor smaller
government
that is closer to the people, rather than world government."
Rep. John Hostettler, Indiana Republican, says that while Iraq is a
threat,
"it does not pose an imminent threat that justifies a pre-emptive
military
strike…"
Conservative critics of the administration's Iraq policy argue that it
amounts to a form of imperialism that would require an ever-larger
federal
government to liberate foreign countries, watch over their
democratization
and protect the homeland against enemies made in the process - all at
the
cost of Americans' personal liberties...
---
ANTI-WAR CONSERVATIVES BASH HAWKS ON IRAQ
Rene P. Ciria-Cruz, Pacific News Service, 2/12/03
http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=7c6cf965ea3e8417bb4e8ec85a28b85a
Opposition to war in Iraq comes from the Right, too. In fact, writes
PNS
contributor Rene P. Ciria-Cruz, unlikely Left-Right alliances and fiery
denunciations of war in "paleocon" and libertarian media could further
fracture the American Right.
"Evil though they may be, Islamic killers are over here because we are
over
there," booms the essay, "Terror on American soil is the price of
American
empire."
Another anti-war liberal waxing rhetorical? No, it's former
presidential
hopeful Patrick Buchanan, editor of The American Conservative, bashing
President Bush's Mideast military buildup.
There are indeed anti-war conservatives. Moreover, these
big-government-hating, tax-loathing right-wingers reserve their
sharpest
barbs for the neoconservative" hawks in the Bush administration. Some
even
predict that war in Iraq will widen fissures within the Right and cost
the
Republican Party in the voting booth.
"Realists" like Brent Scowcroft, former national security adviser to
the
first President Bush, Lawrence Eagleburger, former secretary of state,
and
business leaders who ran "A Republican Dissent on Iraq" in the Wall
Street
Journal this January, drew attention with their warning that a hasty
war
could set the entire region on fire. Less well known are objections
from
conservatives driven by a strict reading of the Constitution and
distaste
for the "welfare-warfare state..."
---
BUSH CAMP SEEN SPLIT OVER A POST-IRAQ PUSH FOR MIDDLE EAST PEACE
Ori Nir, Forward, 2/14/03
http://www.forward.com/issues/2003/03.02.14/news1b.html
WASHINGTON - Bush administration officials are predicting a struggle
between the president's foreign affairs aides and his political
advisors
over whether and how fast to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts
following the resolution of the Iraq crisis.
"After Iraq, both the State Department and Defense will push for an
Israel-Palestine initiative, because they view [the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict] as an impediment to democratizing the Arab world," said an
administration official close to the Middle East policy-making process.
Bush's aides view democratization as something that could trigger a
"domino
effect," the official said, "and the Palestinian conflict may get in
the
way of the dominos falling."
Bush's political advisers, however, may thwart such an initiative, the
official said. They have indicated that they consider presidential
involvement in brokering Middle East peace to be severely risky, mainly
because it may alienate American Jews.
"The only way this could work is if it comes from Sharon," the official
said…
-----
BRITON SAYS HE WAS KEPT IN THE DARK FOR A YEAR BY AMERICANS
Vikram Dodd, Guardian, 2/13/03
www.guardian.co.uk
The father of a British man detained without trial by US forces in
Afghanistan said last weekend that he fears that his son may commit
suicide, amid allegations that he is being held in a windowless cell at
a
base where "torture" is used.
In a letter to his family, Moazzam Begg told how conditions were so
severe
he had "not seen the sun" in almost a year of captivity. He said he was
increasingly depressed and hopeless, and in previous letters has said
he is
kept hungry and subjected to bright artificial lights.
Mr Begg, 35, who is originally from Birmingham, was snatched in
Pakistan in
February 2002, bundled into a car boot and taken to Afghanistan. He is
being held at Bagram airbase outside Kabul where the CIA allegedly uses
sleep deprivation to break resistance. Some captives are placed in
metal
containers, and the US has banned any independent inspection of the
base.
Privately, US officials have reportedly admitted to "stress and duress"
techniques. Mr Begg, the son of a bank manager, does not know why he is
being held. In a letter last week he wrote: "I am in a state of
desperation
and am beginning to lose the fight against depression and hopelessness.
"Whilst I do not complain about my personal treatment, conditions are
such
that I have not seen the sun, sky, moon for nearly a year."
Mr Begg, who is married with two daughters and two sons, including one
he
has not seen since his birth, adds: "I believe now there has been a
gross
violation of my human rights. I don't know what crime I am supposed to
have
committed for which not only I, but my wife and children should
continually
suffer..."
-----
AFGHAN AMERICAN PLAINTIFFS ACCEPT THEATER CHAIN'S APOLOGY
Monte Morin, Los Angeles Times, 2/13/03
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-theater13feb13,1,2690380.story
Two Afghan American college students who contended they were thrown out
of
a movie theater in Orange because they were speaking a foreign language
and
looked "suspicious" agreed to dismiss their federal lawsuit this week
in
exchange for an apology, court documents show.
Cal State Fullerton undergraduates Mohammad Sayed and Omar Zazia filed
the
civil rights lawsuit against the AMC theater chain in August, alleging
that
they were unlawfully ejected by theater employees in May during a
showing
of "Deuces Wild" at the Block at Orange…
According to the settlement agreement, which was made public Wednesday,
no
money was paid as a result of the action and the movie theater denies
any
wrongdoing.
However, the settlement states that "defendants hereby apologize to
plaintiffs for their respective roles in the events giving rise to the
civil action…"
A local Afghan American activist as well as the Council on American
Islamic
Relations in Orange County said they have heard many complaints of
subtle
forms of discrimination at the workplace and public venues since the
Sept.
11 terrorist attacks. But they were not familiar with the AMC lawsuit.
"There must have been a misunderstanding," said Afghan American
activist
Fauzia Assifi of Laguna Niguel. "Somebody who speaks a different
language
shouldn't be thrown out and humiliated. The Afghan community is very
quiet
and hard-working. They're not looking for trouble, but they have been
scrutinized."
Sabiha Khan, spokeswoman for the Council on American Islamic Relations,
said her organization receives an average of one complaint of
discrimination a day. The cases can be difficult to prove in court
because
the offenses are often subtle, she said.
"The best thing to do is see how you can fix the problem out of court,"
Khan said…
-----
FAITH Q&A: ARE SOME PEOPLE JUST BORN BAD?
Kansas City Star, 2/13/03
www.kcstar.com
Reader's question: Do you believe that some people are just born bad?
Some
people, even as children, just seem to be bad.
Rushdy El-Ghussein, former president of the Islamic Society of Greater
Kansas City:
The Qur'an teaches, "Every person is responsible for his deeds"
(74:38).
Muslims believe that all human beings are created pure and obedient to
God,
and they are free to do what they want. Muslims do not believe in the
concept of original sin. Adam and Eve both sinned, and God forgave
them;
and we, as their descendants, are not responsible for their deeds, but
we
are only responsible for our own.
Culture, environment and life situations can have a big effect on
people
and their choices. Muslims believe that all human beings are brothers
and
sisters. Generally, brothers and sisters are similar in attitude and
outlooks, but the culture and environment that these brothers and
sisters
live in influence them to be this way or that way. People can be like
the
fruit of a tree. If the tree is healthy and nurtured, the fruit can
grow
nutritious and wholesome, but if the tree is neglected, the fruit is
open
to damage and disease.
True believers should seek guidance and help from God and do their
utmost
to obey and worship him so that his mercy will touch them and protect
them
from the evils that surround them. Although the environment influences
our
actions and deeds, ultimately we, as individuals, bear the
responsibility
for them.
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 2/14/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: BIRDS OF PARADISE
* POSITIVE FEEDBACK ON CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* CAIR "ISLAM IN AMERICA" NATIONAL AD CAMPAIGN
* CALGARY HERALD AGREES TO PUBLISH CAIR OP-ED
* CAIR-FL: MUSLIMS PAVED WAY FOR THE WEST (Sun Sentinel)
* A BUSH-SHARON DOCTRINE? (Washington Times)
* SCRUTINY AWAITS RETURNING MUSLIM PILGRIMS (Free Press)
- Profiling? Unfair To Muslims (Charleston Gazette)
- Patriot II: Second Act Even Worse (Charleston Gazette)
- INS Registration Spurs Muslim Activism (National Journal)
* ORANGE ALERT: FALSE ALARM? (ABC News)
* GROUP TO FILE SUIT CHALLENGING BUSH ON WAR (AP)
- Bush & Co. Racing Toward War (Chicago Tribune)
- Poll Finds Most Support Delaying a War (NY Times)
- Organizers Tout Global Anti-War Protest (AP)
- Flirting With Disaster (NY Times)
- CIA 'Sabotaged Inspections' (Independent)
- Rally Against Fear (Antiwar.com)
* FINANCING IS ARRANGED FOR OBSERVANT MUSLIMS (NY Times)
* VALLEY PAKISTANIS A POSITIVE FORCE (Arizona Republic)
* MAVERICK CLERIC IS A HIT ON ARAB TV (Washington Post)
* NEW ENGLAND CONFERENCE ON LIFE OF PROPHET MOHAMED
* WISCONSIN PRISON CHAPLAIN MAKES MUSLIM PILGRIMAGE (AP)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: BIRDS OF PARADISE
A man came to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) saying two of
his
children had died, and asked whether the Prophet could tell him
anything
that would soothe his heart. The Prophet said: "Small children are the
birds of Paradise. If one of them meets his father (or his parents) he
will
take hold of his clothing...and he (the child) will not let go until
God
causes his father to enter Paradise."
Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1212
-----
POSITIVE FEEDBACK ON CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
"The collection of books, videos and audio cassettes will certainly
enable
the members of our community to learn more about Islamic civilization
and
culture" - Librarian in Methune, MA
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
CAIR "ISLAM IN AMERICA" NATIONAL AD CAMPAIGN
CAIR has launched a year-long "Islam in America" advertising campaign
designed to foster greater understanding of Islam and to counter the
rising
tide of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the United States.
The campaign will kick off with an ad, headlined "We're All Americans,"
in
the New York Times editorial page on Sunday, February 16th.
CAIR's weekly ads, each explaining one aspect of Islam, will be
available
to Muslim communities around America for placement in local newspapers.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO: http://www.americanmuslims.info
-----
GOOD NEWS: CALGARY HERALD AGREES TO PUBLISH OP-ED REBUTTAL
(OTTAWA, CANADA) - Alhamdulillah (praise be to God),the Calgary Herald
newspaper has offered CAIR-CAN the opportunity to publish a rebuttal to
statements made by Michelle Stirling-Anosh in an commentary headlined
"Columbia's legacy one of hope, not hate" published on February 8,
2003.
The commentary claimed the shuttle tragedy "is a message to the
hate-filled
Arab Muslim street." (SEE:
http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/archives/ and search for
'Muslim' without quotes)
Hours after CAIR-CAN released an Action Alert urging people of
conscience
to write to the newspaper about the commentary, Peter Menzies, editor
in
chief of the Herald wrote to CAIR-CAN with an offer to write a rebuttal
commentary. Menzies stated, "We are always open to free debate and
rebuttal of any of our commentary on our pages. Consider the offer
personally extended."
CAIR-CAN Director of Operations, Naeem Saloojee said, "We wish to thank
everyone who wrote to the Herald. It is through this type of
grassroots
activism that we hope to ensure a just and equitable presentation of
Islam
and Muslims in the Media."
-----
MUSLIM CONTRIBUTIONS PAVED WAY FOR THE WEST
Parvez Ahmed, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 2/14/03
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-14forum14feb14,0,3809207.story
Parvez Ahmed, Ph.D., is chairman of the board for the Florida chapter
of
the Council on American-Islamic Relations. He is also a member of the
Independent Writers Syndicate.
Muslims are as much a part of the social and religious fabric of
Americana
as any other minority. Despite our shared past and future destinies,
some
writers try to marginalize the contributions made by Muslims in the
making
of America.
In consideration for brevity, one example will suffice. Syndicated
columnist Kathleen Parker recently wrote, "Apparently some Muslims in
the
United States, regardless of their testimonials to the contrary, do not
yet
share this heritage They adopt only as much of American culture as
suits
their purposes..."
The Muslim connection to America's past is well-documented. In Alex
Haley's
Roots, Kunta Kinte was a Muslim who came from the West African nation
of
Senegambia. Although the Islam brought by Kunta Kinte did not survive
the
social displacement caused by slavery, centuries later Kunta Kinte's
faith
has been resurrected in America. American Muslims with African heritage
now
number over 2 million…
Islam's Western roots trace back to Spain, where the Muslims preserved
and
enhanced the earlier Greek philosophies and sciences. Their effort
later
gave birth to the European Renaissance. Shortly after 9/11, Carly
Firoina,
CEO of Hewlett-Packard, had this to say, "Although we are often unaware
of
our indebtedness to this other (Islamic) civilization, its gifts are
very
much a part of our heritage. The technology industry would not exist
without the contributions of Arab mathematicians. Leaders like Suleiman
contributed to our notions of tolerance and civic leadership." A
portrait
of Suleiman "The Lawgiver" hangs in the U.S. Senate...
Azizah al-Hibri, a University of Richmond law professor, wrote that
important Islamic works were frequently read by many 18th-century
thinkers,
from Voltaire to Volney. Alexander Hamilton, citing Ottoman practices,
argued in favor of giving authority for taxation to local governments
and
not the federal government. The U.S. Constitution bears a striking
resemblance to the Charter of Madinah, the constitution of the first
Islamic government instituted by the Prophet Muhammad and co-signed by
all
Muslims and Jews living in Madinah…
-----
A BUSH-SHARON DOCTRINE?
Arnaud de Borchgrave, Washington Times, 2/14/03
http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20030214-98615336.htm
Israel is asking the U.S. for $4 billion in additional military
assistance
- in addition, that is, to the just under $3 billion a year a year it
receives automatically - plus $8 billion in commercial-loan guarantees.
The
$12 billion question about the $15 billion grant-and-loan package is
"What
is the quid pro quo?" Is it tied to a permanent solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conundrum? The beginning of a dismantlement of 145
Israeli settlements in Gaza and the West Bank? A freeze on new
settlements?
A timetable, however vague, for the establishment of a Palestinian
state
within five years?
None of the above. The strategic objectives of the U.S. and Israel in
the
Middle East have gradually merged into a now cohesive Bush-Sharon
Doctrine.
But this gets lost in the deafening cacophony of talking heads playing
armchair generals in the coming war to change regimes in Baghdad.
On Feb. 9, The Washington Post's Bob Kaiser finally broke through the
sound
barrier to document what has long been reported in encrypted diplomatic
e-mails from foreign embassies to dozens of foreign governments:
Washington's "Likudniks" - Ariel Sharon's powerful backers in the Bush
administration - have been in charge of U.S. policy in the Middle East
since President Bush was sworn into office…
-----
SCRUTINY AWAITS RETURNING MUSLIM PILGRIMS
Tamara Audi and Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 2/14/03
http://www.freep.com/news/metro/return14_20030214.htm
Thousands of Muslims returning from a religious pilgrimage to Mecca
will
face increased scrutiny at airports nationwide, with federal officials
putting a special emphasis on Arab centers like Detroit, Los Angeles
and
New York.
Federal officials said they are prepared to search and question
thousands
traveling from the Middle East who are expected to begin arriving
today.
They warn that wait times to get through U.S. Customs and Immigration
and
Naturalization Service inspections may increase. The end of the
pilgrimage,
or hajj, comes during unusually high tensions as the United States
moves
closer to war with Iraq and the Bush administration warns of the
increased
threat of terrorist attacks. The nation went to the second-highest
alert
status -- orange -- last Friday.
The timing has Arab community leaders and civil rights advocates
concerned
that people returning from holy days will be harassed, detained or
barred
entry.
Just before the hajj, the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued
a
travel advisory to American Muslims discouraging them from making the
pilgrimage and urging them not to travel outside the country unless
absolutely necessary, said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the
Washington-based civil rights and advocacy group.
Abed Ayoub, a law student from Dearborn who heads a Muslim youth group,
has
friends on hajj. He's worried some of them may be harassed.
Before his friends left, Ayoub gave them some tips: Don't make
sarcastic
comments to law enforcement officials, cooperate with them, make sure
your
paperwork is up to date, and take the names and phone numbers of
attorneys
in case you get in trouble.
Finally, he gave them something to pack for their trip home -- a
pamphlet
titled "Know your rights."
NOTE: The CAIR "Know Your Rights" wallet guide is available in bulk for
distribution at mosques and Islamic centers by e-mailing a request to:
publications@cair-net.org
ACTION REQUESTED: If anyone believes they were mistreated while
retuning
from Hajj, contact CAIR at 202-488-8787 or e-mail: cair@cair-net.org
SEE ALSO:
PROFILING? UNFAIR TO MUSLIMS
Charleston Gazette, 2/14/03
www.wvgazette.com
America has an estimated 5 million Muslims - more than Presbyterians,
Episcopalians and some other religious groups.
Fewer than 100 U.S. Muslims have been involved in terrorist actions
against
the United States. That's not even one-500th of 1 percent.
Therefore, it's absurdly unfair to suspect the entire Islamic community
because of the murderous actions of an extreme fringe. That's as
illogical
as blaming all fundamentalist churches because a rare few kill workers
at
abortion clinics.
Recently, as part of the war on terror, the FBI ordered its 56 field
offices to list all Islamic mosques in their regions. Muslim groups are
protesting. A spokesman for the Council on American Islamic Relations
remarked sourly:
"This just shows how they are viewing every Islamic community in the
country with suspicion."
The current Newsweek quotes an anonymous FBI official as saying a few
mosques led by fanatic mullahs "may be serving as cover for terrorist
activity.... It would be stupid not to look at this, given the number
of
criminal mosques that may be out there."
Well, it makes sense to keep tabs on any congregations preaching hate
and
violence - Muslim, Christian or whatever - but the investigation
shouldn't
blanket entire faiths.
---
PATRIOT II: SECOND ACT EVEN WORSE
Charleston Gazette, 2/13/03
http://www.wvgazette.com/news/Editorials/2003021213/
Passed in the panicky weeks following the 9/11 terrorist attack, the
USA
Patriot Act expanded police powers greatly, reduced civil liberties and
did
little to enhance American security.
That's nothing compared to the sequel. Long-rumored to be in the works,
a
draft of Patriot II recently was leaked to the Center for Public
Integrity.
Georgetown University law professor David Cole said the proposed law
"would
radically expand law enforcement and intelligence gathering
authorities,
reduce or eliminate judicial oversight over surveillance, authorize
secret
arrests, create a DNA database based on unchecked executive
'suspicion,'
create new death penalties, and even seek to take American citizenship
away
from persons who belong to or support disfavored political groups…"
One opponent would not be silenced, though. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.,
was
one of the few to stand up and oppose the original Patriot bill. His
words
still ring true:
"There is no doubt that if we lived in a police state, it would be
easier
to catch terrorists. If we lived in a country where the police were
allowed
to search your home at any time for any reason; if we lived in a
country
where the government was entitled to open your mail, eavesdrop on your
phone conversations, or intercept your e-mail communications ... the
government would probably discover and arrest more terrorists, or
would-be
terrorists. But that is not a country in which we would want to live…"
Patriot II is one sequel the United States should skip.
---
INS REGISTRATION SPURS MUSLIM ACTIVISM
Corine Hegland, National Journal, 2/15/03
http://nationaljournal.com/
As owner of a restaurant chain called James Coney Island and president
of a
large civic group in Texas, Ghulam Bombaywala could hardly be more
American. "I've been involved in mainstream politics for the last 20
years," said Bombaywala, who leads the Pakistani-American Association
of
Greater Houston, "and I always told all the Pakistanis, `You need to
get
involved in the mainstream.' Nobody was taking it seriously. Now,
they're
taking it very seriously."
"Now," in this case, means since December 18, when Pakistani students,
workers, visitors, and other temporary-visa holders-all men over age
16-were added to the growing list of Muslims in the United States who
are
required to register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
More
than 1,000 people from the Houston area showed up for a town hall
meeting
sponsored by the association, with the help of Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee,
D-Texas, to distribute information about the program that immigrant
groups
refer to as "special registration..."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations says that its caseload has
been
swamped by special registration. "Civil-rights issues have become a
major
common denominator among Muslim and Arab-American organizations," said
Executive Director Nihad Awad.
He interrupts the interview to field a call from Arizona, where a CAIR
representative is trying to help a woman find her husband, a student
who
was detained on January 10 for violating his visa by not taking enough
credits at school. Returning to the phone, Awad said, "These kinds of
policies are spreading fear among many innocent people, and giving a
signal
to the community that you are all considered suspects…"
-----
FALSE ALARM?
Brian Ross, ABC News, 2/14/03
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/US/terror030213_falsealarm.html
A key piece of the information leading to recent terror alerts was
fabricated, according to two senior law enforcement officials in
Washington
and New York.
The officials said that a claim made by a captured al Qaeda member that
Washington, New York or Florida would be hit by a "dirty bomb" sometime
this week had proven to be a product of his imagination.
The informant described a detailed plan that an al Qaeda cell operating
in
either Virginia or Detroit had developed a way to slip past airport
scanners with dirty bombs encased in shoes, suitcases, or laptops,
sources
told ABCNEWS. The informant reportedly cited specific targets of
government
buildings and Christian or clerical centers.
"This piece of that puzzle turns out to be fabricated and therefore the
reason for a lot of the alarm, particularly in Washington this week,
has
been dissipated after they found out that this information was not
true,"
said Vince Cannistraro, former CIA counter-terrorism chief and ABCNEWS
consultant.
-----
GROUP TO FILE SUIT CHALLENGING BUSH'S AUTHORITY TO DECLARE WAR
Bipasha Ray, Associated Press, 2/13/03
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--anti-warlawsuit0212feb12,0,7711601.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire
BOSTON -- President Bush does not have the authority to launch a
military
invasion of Iraq without a congressional declaration of war, according
to a
lawsuit expected to be filed in federal court in Boston on Thursday.
Six members of Congress, three U.S. servicemen and the parents of other
U.S. military personnel said on Wednesday they would file the lawsuit
that
claims any U.S. invasion of Iraq without congressional authority would
be
unconstitutional.
The plaintiffs, led by U.S. Reps. John Conyers, D-Mich., and Dennis
Kucinich, D-Ohio, claim that the congressional declaration on Iraq last
October did not specifically declare war and unlawfully gave Bush the
right
to make that decision, attorney John Bonifaz said.
The lawsuit will cite historical records, including the Constitutional
Convention and the Federalist papers, that show framers of the
constitution
wanted to retain war-declaring powers within the Congress, Bonifaz
said…
SEE ALSO:
BUSH & CO. RACING TOWARD WAR
Georgie Anne Geyer, Chicago Tribune, 2/14/03
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/oped/chi-0302140449feb14,1,4163127.story
WASHINGTON -- The war fever here is growing with such intensity, fed by
so
many eerie agendas, that serious analysts must stop day by day, and
sometimes hour by hour, to see what has happened now.
This has been an exceptionally busy week for the plotters and planners.
This week we saw the Bush administration's zealots carry us from
"reconfiguring" the Middle East to reconfiguring our relations with the
rest of our traditionally allied world. Last week, it was merely Iraq,
Iran
and all those hapless others in the Arab world. This week, it is
traditional Europe ("useless") and NATO ("irrelevant," the
administration's
neo-conservatives call one of the most successful political and
military
alliances in human history).
The struggle this week between Washington and France, Germany and
Belgium
has not, however, been only about differences over Iraq. It is more
about
the intention of the neo-conservatives around the White House and
Pentagon
to break off the United States from old allies. The new configuration
would
be a nexus no longer of the Atlantic alliance, but now of an aggressive
alliance roughly composed of the U.S., a "democratized" Iraq, Turkey,
possibly India, the formerly communist Eastern European countries now
in
NATO, and Israel as the West's predominant proconsul in the Middle
East...
---
POLL FINDS MOST IN U.S. SUPPORT DELAYING A WAR
Patrick E. Tyler and Janet Elder, New York Times, 2/14/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/14/politics/14POLL.html
Even after the administration's aggressive case for going to war soon
in
Iraq, a majority of Americans favor giving United Nations weapons
inspectors more time to complete their work so that any military
operation
wins the support of the Security Council, the latest New York Times/CBS
News Poll shows.
The public supports a war to remove Saddam Hussein. But Americans are
split
over whether the Bush administration and Secretary of State Colin L.
Powell
have made a convincing case for going to war right now, even though
much of
the public is inclined to believe that Iraq and Al Qaeda are connected
in
terrorism.
The poll found that while the economy still commands the greatest
concern
among Americans, the prospect of combat in Iraq, fear of terrorism and
the
North Korean nuclear standoff are stirring additional anxieties.
These worries may be taking a toll on Mr. Bush's support. His overall
job
approval rating is down to 54 percent from 64 percent just a month ago,
the
lowest level since the summer before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks…
---
ORGANIZERS TOUT GLOBAL ANTI-WAR PROTEST
SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI, Associated Press, 2/14/03
LONDON (AP) - With speeches, songs and poems, peace activists geared up
Friday for what they hope will be huge demonstrations against war in
Iraq.
Organizers of a march in London, who aim to blunt Prime Minister Tony
Blair's strong support for an aggressive U.S. policy, hoped that more
than
500,000 people would participate in one of the biggest protest
gatherings
planned around the world...
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected at protests around the
world.
Getting an early start, at least 150,000 people packed the streets of
Melbourne, Australia, on Friday to protest any war on Iraq, to which
Australia has already committed 2,000 troops.
An estimated 6,000 people joined a protest march Friday night in Tokyo,
and
a similar number marched to the U.S. Embassy in the Philippine capital,
Manila.
Up to 500 protesters demonstrated peacefully in Sarajevo, Bosnia's
shell-scarred capital. Carrying banners reading ``Disarm U.S.A!'' and
``OILympic Games!'' the protesters marched in the frigid winter air to
the
U.S. Embassy, where they stood quietly for half an hour.
The three main organizers of London's march - the Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament, the Stop the War Coalition and the Muslim Association of
Britain - predicted it would outstrip the anti-war march last autumn in
which 400,000 people took part…
---
FLIRTING WITH DISASTER
Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times, 2/14/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/14/opinion/14KRIS.html
Consider Israel. As the war begins, Saddam may well launch missiles
with
chemical warheads at Tel Aviv. One of the critical questions for the
Middle
East will be whether Israel shows the admirable restraint it did during
the
first gulf war or whether it acts more like, well, Ariel Sharon.
Do we really want to encourage Mr. Sharon to consider ordering a
nuclear
strike against Baghdad?
The equivocations are also unnerving because the Bush administration
seems
interested in "usable nuclear weapons." For example, it persuaded
Congress
to finance research this year into nuclear "bunker busters."
So suppose we discover that Saddam is cowering in a bunker in Baghdad,
or
we learn of a cache of anthrax in Tikrit. I asked Richard Garwin, a
veteran
nuclear scientist who helped design "Mike," the first U.S.
thermonuclear
explosion, in 1952, about the utility of tactical nuclear weapons as
bunker-busters.
"If the location of a shallow bunker were precisely known," Mr. Garwin
said, "a low-yield nuclear weapon could destroy the bunker. It would
not
likely destroy chemical warfare agents or [biological agents] in the
complex. And much of the intense radioactivity from the fission
explosion
would be spread over the immediate neighborhood - about one kilometer
or
so. In an urban environment, this could kill hundreds of thousands of
people…"
---
CIA 'SABOTAGED INSPECTIONS AND HID WEAPONS DETAILS'
Andrew Buncombe, Independent UK, 2/14/03
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/story.jsp?story=378163
Senior democrats have accused the CIA of sabotaging weapons inspections
in
Iraq by refusing to co-operate fully with the UN and withholding
crucial
information about Saddam Hussein's arsenal.
Led by Senator Carl Levin, the Democrats accused the CIA of making an
assessment that the inspections were unlikely to be a success and then
ensuring they would not be. They have accused the CIA director of lying
about what information on the suspected location of weapons of mass
destruction had been passed on…
The accusation of US sabotage emerged from a series of Senate hearings
on
Capitol Hill. On Tuesday, George Tenet, the CIA director, told the
armed
services committee panel that the agency had provided the UN inspectors
with all the information it had on "high" and "moderate" interest
locations
inside Iraq - those sites where there was a possibility of finding
banned
weapons. But Mr Tenet later told a different panel that he had been
mistaken and that there were in fact "a handful" of locations the UN
inspectors may not have known about.
Senator Levin, from Michigan, responded by saying the CIA director had
not
been telling the truth. Citing a number of classified letters he had
obtained from the agency, he said it was clear the CIA had not shared
information with the inspectors about a "large number of sites of
significant value".
He said the CIA had told him additional information would be passed to
the
inspectors within the next few days…
Mr Levin said later he believed the CIA had, in effect, taken the
decision
to undermine the inspections. "When they've taken the position that
inspections are useless, they are bound to fail," he told The
Washington
Post. "We have undermined the inspectors…"
-----
RALLY AGAINST FEAR
Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, 2/14/03
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/justincol.html
Too bad we can't find a substance impervious to war propaganda. That
duct
tape, in any case, is put to better use plugging up the speaking
orifices
of our public officials.
It is pure coincidence, of course, that all this hysteria is being
generated by the same governments that are ratcheting up the war
rhetoric.
At the very moment Colin Powell assures us that Al Qaeda and Iraq are
one
and the same, and the ghostly voice of Bin Laden rises out of the
ether, we
go to "code orange." Stampeded into war, we're too scared out of our
wits
to utter a bleat of protest. Or so they hope.
But Americans are not easily intimidated. Resentment against this
administration's rush to war has been building in the country for
months,
and this weekend's antiwar protest - Saturday in New York, Sunday in
San
Francisco - promises to be the largest and the loudest yet…
-----
FINANCING IS ARRANGED FOR OBSERVANT MUSLIMS
Edwin McDowell, New York Times, 2/14/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/14/nyregion/14REAL.html
Mortgages that conform with Islamic religious law, which forbids
payment or
receipt of interest, have been difficult to obtain in the New York area
until recently. That is changing, as financial institutions have found
ways
of designing mortgage-like financial instruments acceptable to
observant
Muslims.
Last March many of the more than 400 bank branches of HSBC in New York
began offering one such financing method. When Rushdi Siddiqui learned
of
it, he was one of HSBC's first customers. It did not cost more than a
conventional loan, he said, and "I also wanted to support HSBC, because
they took the risk with a niche market..."
---
VALLEY PAKISTANIS A POSITIVE FORCE
Daniel Gonzalez, Arizona Republic, 2/8/03
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0208pakistanis08.html
Four years ago some Pakistani Muslims living in the Phoenix area
started
serving meals at homeless shelters, building homes with Habitat for
Humanity and pitching in around the community wherever they could.
They saw it as a way to give back to their adopted country, a country
where
they have prospered. It was also a way to educate others about a
culture
and religion most Americans know little about.
But that changed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when,
they
say, ignorance turned into fear, suspicion and mistrust, feelings that
spike each time the government raises the national terrorism alert, as
it
did again Friday.
Members of the Pakistan Information and Culture Organization say their
work
has taken on a greater sense of urgency since the terrorist attacks. By
volunteering in the community, they hope to offset negative images
depicting Muslims as terrorists and Pakistan as a haven for Muslim
extremists.
"I think what 9/11 did is provide us an opportunity that we need to
educate
people about who we are as Pakistanis and of our religion, Islam. There
is
a lot of stereotyping where they paint you with a broad brush and look
at
you all the same way," said Arif Mahmood Kazmi, 51 of Chandler,
president
of PICO...
-----
MAVERICK CLERIC IS A HIT ON ARAB TV
Anthony Shadid, Washington Post, 2/14/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5496-2003Feb13.html
DOHA, Qatar -- His head draped in a white scarf in the tradition of the
prophet Muhammad and his body made soft by years of religious study,
Sheik
Yusuf Qaradawi spoke slowly, his words simple, measured and frank…
Qaradawi's appeal provides an insight into the religious currents
flowing
through the Middle East in the shadow of a war with Iraq. Despite the
Bush
administration's continuous insistence that terrorism is the enemy,
many in
this part of the world have interpreted the anti-terrorism campaign as
a
war against Islam. In this landscape, seething with resentment and
perceptions of injustice, the Egyptian cleric is seen as a voice of
moderation.
That might not seem obvious in the United States, given his views. But
taken as a whole, Arab analysts point out, Qaradawi's message gives
voice
to what many view as the Arab Muslim mainstream, embracing awe of the
United States, fear of its power, admiration of its democratic ideals
--
and loathing of the way those ideals are often put into practice.
Unlike
the views of Western-oriented reformers or secular activists, his
message
is heard around the region…
-----
NEW ENGLAND CONFERENCE FOCUSES ON LIFE OF PROPHET MOHAMED
WHAT: "Critical Islamic Reflections: Muhammad the Prophet in The
Academy" -
a conference that seeks to examine the place of the Prophet Mohamed in
Western scholarship. Speakers include Imam Zaid Shaker, Dr. Sherman
Jackson, and Marcia Hermansen.
WHEN: Saturday, April 5th
WHERE: Yale University, New Haven, CT
CONTACT: yalemsa@yahoo.com
-----
WISCONSIN PRISON CHAPLAIN MAKES ANNUAL MUSLIM PILGRIMAGE
Associated Press, 2/14/03
WAUPUN, Wis. (AP) - A Muslim prison chaplain fulfilled a 22-year-old
desire
this week to make the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
Imam Ronald Beyah was among the 2 million Muslims making the annual
hajj to
Mecca, a holy city considered the birthplace of Islam.
"I had the opportunity to go two years ago, but back surgery prevented
me
from traveling," Beyah said. "By making the pilgrimage, only then in my
heart and soul would I feel complete in my faith."
Beyah, a chaplain at the Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, was
raised Baptist but became interested in Islam after listening to a
Muslim
speaker in 1975. He became a Muslim in 1981…
-----
TO BECOME A CAIR MEMBER, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
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http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 2/16/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: SPEAK THE TRUTH
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* CAIR "ISLAM IN AMERICA" AD CAMPAIGN BEGINS TODAY
* QUOTE OF THE DAY: REP. DELAY URGES "LOYALTY" TO ISRAEL
* INCITEMENT WATCH: JACKIE MASON SAYS EXPEL PALESTINIANS
* PATRIOT II WOULD INFRINGE ON BASIC LIBERTIES (ACLU)
* MILLIONS JOIN GLOBAL PROTESTS AGAINST IRAQ WAR (Reuters)
- Millions Worldwide Protest Iraq War (Washington Post)
- 3,000 Rally in San Jose (San Jose Mercury News)
- Candid Rumsfeld Has Impeded Iraq Coalition (Wash. Post)
- Merci for the French Correction (Washington Post)
- Robert Fisk: The Case Against War (Independent)
* INS REGISTRATION DEADLINES EXTENDED (AP)
- Congress Funds Registration, Demands Details (Wash. Post)
- Canadian Humiliated by Immigration Staff (Toronto Star)
- Immigrants make Plans for Registry, Maybe Jail (Sentinel)
* AMERICAN MUSLIM PILGRIMS FIND TRANSFORMATION (New York Times)
* A MINORITY OF A MINORITY OF A MINORITY (Chicago Tribune)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: SPEAK THE TRUTH
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "If you guarantee me six
things on your part, I shall guarantee you Paradise. Speak the truth
when
you talk, keep a promise when you make it, when you are trusted with
something fulfill your trust, avoid sexual immorality, lower your gaze
(in
modesty), and restrain your hands from injustice."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1260
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
CAIR "ISLAM IN AMERICA" AD CAMPAIGN BEGINS TODAY
CAIR today launched a year-long "Islam in America" advertising campaign
designed to foster greater understanding of Islam and to counter the
rising
tide of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the United States.
The campaign kicked off with an ad, headlined "We're All Americans," on
today's New York Times editorial page.
CAIR's weekly ads, each explaining one aspect of Islam, will be
available
to Muslim communities around America for placement in local newspapers.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO: http://www.americanmuslims.info
-----
QUOTE OF THE DAY: REP. DELAY URGES "LOYALTY" TO ISRAEL
I May Not Know a Matzoh Ball From a Baseball...But I Know We Must
Support
Israel
Rep. Tom DeLay, House Majority Leader, Jewishpress.com, 2/12/03
http://www.jewishpress.com/news_article.asp?article=2084
"So, the question is not, 'How can America be so loyal to the Jewish
state?' No, the real question is, 'How could we be anything other than
loyal to the Jewish state?'"
Representative DeLay (R-TX) speaking to the Republican Jewish Coalition
in
Boca Raton, Florida, on the evening of Feb. 1.
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: JACKIE MASON SAYS EXPEL PALESTINIANS
Time to Threaten Arabs with Mass Eviction
JACKIE MASON and RAOUL FELDER, Jewishpress.com, 1/29/03
http://www.jewishpress.com/news_article.asp?article=2037
Jackie Mason is a well-known comedian. Raoul Felder is a prominent
Manhattan attorney.
We have paralyzed ourselves by our sickening fear of "World Opinion,"
which
is why we find it impossible to face one simple fact: We will never win
this war unless we immediately threaten to drive every Arab out of
Israel
if the killing doesn't stop…
Somehow, we have become intimidated into believing that we are
obligated to
give them a place to live, and that we have no right to throw them out
just
because they are killing our people…
-----
PATRIOT II WOULD INFRINGE ON BASIC LIBERTIES
http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=11817&c=206
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: media@dcaclu.org
WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union today said that new
Department of Justice "anti-terrorism" legislation goes further than
the
USA PATRIOT Act in eroding checks and balances on Presidential power
and
contains a number of measures that are of questionable effectiveness,
but
are sure to infringe on civil liberties.
For a detailed section-by-section analysis of the draft bill, go to:
http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=11835&c=206
"The new Ashcroft proposal threatens to fundamentally alter the
Constitutional protections that allow us to be both safe and free,"
said
Timothy H. Edgar, an ACLU Legislative Counsel. "If it becomes law, it
will
encourage police spying on political and religious activities, allow
the
government to wiretap without going to court and dramatically expand
the
death penalty under an overbroad definition of terrorism…"
Provisions in the Attorney General's bill would allow the government to
strip citizenship from any American who provides support for a group
designated by the federal government as a "terrorist organization"
(section
501). Significantly, the USA PATRIOT Act broadened the definition of
groups
that could be so designated to potentially include domestic protest
organizations such as Operation Rescue or People for the Ethical
Treatment
of Animals.
Also included are provisions permitting -- without court order and at
the
sole discretion of the Attorney General -- wiretapping of Americans for
15
days (sections 103, 104) without a declaration of war by Congress, if
the
Executive Branch decides unilaterally that an attack has created an
emergency. While the Justice Department would have to check in with a
judge
after the 15 days, the information gleaned during that period could
still
be retained and used against innocent Americans, the ACLU said.
Other contentious proposals in the draft legislation include statutory
authority for secret detentions and the termination of court-approved
limits on police spying…
These provisions are only a sampling of the civil liberties concerns in
the
Ashcroft proposal, the ACLU said. Specifically, the bill, if signed
into
law, would also:
* Make it easier for the government to initiate surveillance and
wiretapping of U.S. citizens under the shadowy, top-secret Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Court. (Sections 101, 102 and 107)
* Shelter federal agents engaged in illegal surveillance without a
court
order from criminal prosecution if they are following orders of high
Executive Branch officials. (Section 106)
* Authorize, in statute, the Department of Justice's campaign of secret
detentions by including a provision that would preempt federal
litigation
challenging non-disclosure of basic information about detainees.
(Section
201)
* Threaten public health by severely restricting access to crucial
information about environmental health risks posed by facilities that
use
dangerous chemicals. (Section 202)
* Harm Americans' ability to receive a fair trial by limiting defense
attorneys from challenging the use of secret evidence. (Section 204)
* Reduce the ability of grand jury witnesses in terrorism
investigations to
defend themselves against public accusations by gagging them from
discussing their testimony with the media or the general public.
(Section
206)
* Allow for the sampling and cataloguing of innocent Americans' genetic
information without court order and without consent. (Sections 301-306)
* Permit, without any connection to anti-terrorism efforts, sensitive
personal information about U.S. citizens to be shared with local and
state
law enforcement. (Section 311)
* Undercut trust between police departments and immigrant communities
by
opening sensitive visa files to local police for the enforcement of
complex
immigration laws. (Section 311)
* Terminate court-approved limits on police spying, which were
initially
put in place to prevent McCarthy-style law enforcement persecution
based on
political or religious affiliation. (Section 312)
* Provide an incentive for neighbor to spy on neighbor and pose
problems
similar to those inherent in Attorney General Ashcroft's "Operation
TIPS"
by granting blanket immunity to businesses that phone in false
terrorism
tips, even if their actions are taken with reckless disregard for the
truth. (Section 313)
* Further criminalize association -- without any intent to commit acts
of
terrorism -- with unpopular organizations labeled as terrorist by our
government. (Section 402)
* Under the pretext of fighting terrorism, unfairly target undocumented
workers with extended jail terms for common immigration offenses.
(Section
502)
* Provide for summary deportations without evidence of crime or
criminal
intent, even of lawful permanent residents, whom the Attorney General
says
are a threat to national security. (Section 503)
* Abolish fair hearings for lawful permanent residents convicted of
criminal offenses through an "expedited removal" procedure, and prevent
any
court from questioning the government's unlawful actions by explicitly
exempting these cases from habeas corpus. Congress has not exempted any
person from habeas corpus -- a protection guaranteed by the
Constitution --
since the Civil War. (Section 504)
-----
MILLIONS JOIN GLOBAL PROTESTS AGAINST IRAQ WAR
Ellen Wulfhorst and Paul Majendie, Reuters, 2/15/03
NEW YORK/LONDON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - More than six million protesters
took
to the streets around the globe on Saturday to send a passionate
message to
U.S. President George W. Bush not to invade Iraq and to give peace a
chance.
In a huge wave of demonstrations not seen since the Vietnam War era,
anti-war marchers in more than 600 towns and cities from Canberra to
Cape
Town to Chicago called on Bush to back off his hawkish stance toward
Iraq,
which his administration accuses of hiding weapons of mass destruction
that
pose a global threat.
"This war is solely about oil. George Bush has never given a damn about
human rights," said Mayor Ken Livingstone in London, where at least
half a
million people marched in the biggest peace demonstration in British
history creating a major headache for Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bush's
closest ally.
In New York, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu told demonstrators
outside the United Nations that the United States should allow U.N.
inspectors to finish their task of searching Iraq for illicit weapons.
"The just war says you have exhausted all possible and peaceful means,
and
the world says, 'No, we haven't,"' the Nobel Prize laureate said…
Saturday's protests kicked off in New Zealand and Australia, where tens
of
thousands of people poured on to the streets. The rallies then followed
the
dawning day to more than 600 towns and cities stretching to California.
In America, authorities first estimated the crowd in New York at
250,000
people, but police later put the number at 100,000. Nonetheless it was
the
largest U.S. anti-war protests that called on Bush not to invade Iraq…
Smaller U.S. protests of several thousand each were held in Chicago,
Philadelphia and Santa Fe, New Mexico, while in California, thousands
of
protesters demonstrated in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and
Sacramento.
In Mexico City, around 30,000 people took to the streets brandishing
placards and banners emblazoned with such messages as "Bush is an
assassin"
and "Yankee imperialism, murderers of the world…"
In Buenos Aires, thousands rallied against the war in pouring rain
downtown, where retired watchsmith Hector Rico said: "We may be a long
way
from the action, but U.S. warmongering is putting all our lives on the
line…"
The French Interior Ministry estimated at least 300,000 people turned
out
to protest across the country. In Berlin, some 500,000 people attended
a
rally, the biggest protest in Germany since the end of World War Two,
authorities said.
Some two million people turned out in Spain to rail against war,
including
nearly 1.3 million in Barcelona, making it the city's biggest protest
ever,
and 600,000 in Madrid, bringing the city center to a standstill.
In Rome about a million people marched through the ancient streets
under a
sea of rainbow peace banners.
There were rallies in as far-flung cities as Ankara, Moscow, Glasgow
and
Jakarta...
SEE ALSO:
MILLIONS WORLDWIDE PROTEST IRAQ WAR
Glenn Frankel, Washington Post, 2/16/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14319-2003Feb15.html
LONDON, Feb.15 -- Several million demonstrators took to the streets of
Europe and the rest of the world today in a vast wave of protest
against
the prospect of a U.S.-led war against Iraq.
The largest rallies were in London, Rome, Berlin and Paris -- the heart
of
Western Europe -- where the generally peaceful demonstrations
illustrated
the breadth of popular opposition to U.S. policies among traditional
allies. But there were also protests in dozens of other cities on five
continents, from Canberra to Oslo and from Cape Town to Damascus, in an
extraordinary display of global coordination…
---
3,000 RALLY IN S.J.
Lisa M. Krieger and Ken McLaughlin, San Jose Mercury News, 2/16/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/5194938.htm
Awakened and alarmed by America preparing for war, thousands of
chanting
demonstrators gathered in San Jose and Santa Cruz on Saturday, joining
an
increasingly visible movement against a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq…
Both events are considered a prelude to today's march in San Francisco,
which begins at 1 p.m. at Justin Hermann Plaza on Market Street and
ends at
Civic Center Plaza. The event is the third in a series of massive
demonstrations in the city against the war.
The San Jose rally is evidence that the anti-war movement is expanding
from
the usual hot spots of dissent. An estimated 350 protest rallies were
held
Saturday in places that have not held protests since the Vietnam War --
if
ever -- such as Fresno; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Spencer, W.Va.; Wilmington,
N.C.;
Watertown, N.Y.; St. Augustine, Fla.; Bisbee, Ariz.; Hilo, Hawaii;
Sitka,
Alaska; Fargo, N.D.; and Reno.
The San Jose turnout was as deeply diverse as the city, with many of
the
estimated 3,000 marchers from the Latino, Asian, black and Middle
Eastern
communities. As they marched down Santa Clara Street, Unitarians joined
Methodists; Jews walked with Palestinians. The Sierra Club turned out;
so
did members of Local 393 of the Plumbers, Steamfitters and
Refrigeration
Fitters Union…
Helal Omeira, 28, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic
Relations, said, "We're talking about human lives. The president needs
to
tell us why we're doing it…"
---
CRITICS FEAR CANDID RUMSFELD HAS IMPEDED IRAQ COALITION
Mike Allen and Vernon Loeb, Washington Post, 2/15/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10130-2003Feb14.html
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's cranky frankness made him a star
in
a bland administration, but now his periodic slaps at Europe are being
blamed by some for adding to the administration's difficulties in
recruiting a coalition to confront Iraq.
To the surprise of foreign policy specialists and even some White House
officials, Rumsfeld has become a leading administration voice on
diplomatic
matters -- and is widely viewed abroad as the official who most closely
reflects what President Bush really thinks.
So when Rumsfeld dismissed France and Germany as "old Europe" last
month,
and provocatively included Germany with Libya and Cuba as "three or
four
countries that have said they won't do anything" to assist in
reconstructing a postwar Iraq, his comments offered a measure of
vindication for Europeans who contend that Bush has no interest in
working
with officials who do not instantly agree with him…
---
MERCI FOR THE FRENCH CORRECTION
Justin Vaisse, Washington Post, 2/15/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10601-2003Feb14.html
As a Frenchman, I have certainly learned a lot about my country in
recent
weeks.
"How dare the French forget," read a headline in the New York Post on
Monday, on a page with a photograph of a military cemetery in Normandy.
I apologize for being so ungrateful. It's just that I learned in school
that France and Britain declared war on Nazi Germany in September 1939,
while the United States was enacting isolationist laws, and that
America
entered the war two years later, only after Japan attacked Pearl
Harbor.
But now I see that was just Gallic propaganda. How could I have
believed it?
I now know what really happened: Franklin D. Roosevelt felt that a
country
with more than 300 kinds of cheese was worth liberating, and for the
love
of France he came to our rescue. Joseph Stalin came to the same
conclusion,
but -- fortunately for us -- he was slower and had to stop in Berlin.
Meanwhile, Lafayette and Rochambeau were a different story altogether:
They
apparently came here not to help Americans gain their independence but
merely to execute the crass realpolitik maneuvers of Louis XVI.
I have also been interested to learn that my hesitation in endorsing
war in
Iraq is mainly a product of my nostalgia for France's past glory. As
Thomas
Friedman writes in the New York Times, being weak after being powerful
is a
terrible thing. Perhaps he is right. I had been deluded into thinking
that
my doubts about military intervention in Iraq had something to do with
fears of civilian casualties, the use of weapons of mass destruction,
increasing terrorism or Middle East instability. But apparently we
French
are really just longing for the time of Napoleon or Louis XIV…
---
ROBERT FISK: THE CASE AGAINST WAR
The Independent, 2/15/03
http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?story=378428
The men driving Bush to war are mostly former or still active
pro-Israeli
lobbyists. For years, they have advocated destroying the most powerful
Arab
nation. Richard Perle, one of Bush's most influential advisers, Douglas
Feith, Paul Wolfowitz, John Bolton and Donald Rumsfeld were all
campaigning
for the overthrow of Iraq long before George W Bush was elected if he
was
elected US President. And they weren't doing so for the benefit of
Americans or Britons.
A 1996 report, A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm
(http://www.israeleconomy.org/strat1.htm) called for war on Iraq. It
was
written not for the US but for the incoming Israeli Likud prime
minister
Binyamin Netanyahu and produced by a group headed by yes, Richard
Perle.
The destruction of Iraq will, of course, protect Israel's monopoly of
nuclear weapons and allow it to defeat the Palestinians and impose
whatever
colonial settlement Sharon has in store...
-----
INS REGISTRATION DEADLINES EXTENDED
CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press, 2/15/03
WASHINGTON (AP) - Deadlines for thousands of male visitors from seven
mainly Muslim countries to register with U.S. immigration authorities
were
extended one month Friday by the Justice Department.
About 15,000 males age 16 or older from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will
have
until March 21 to be fingerprinted, photographed and show certain
documents
at local Immigration and Naturalization Service offices. The previous
deadline was Feb. 21.
Another group of about 19,000 from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Egypt, Jordan
and
Kuwait will have from Feb. 24 to April 25 to register, four weeks
beyond
the original March 28 deadline…
Hodan Hassan, spokeswoman for the Council on American-Islamic
relations,
said large-scale detentions of visitors from these countries have not
occurred since December but that many Muslims still regard the program
as
discriminatory and ineffective in capturing terrorists.
"There's still a lot of confusion and uncertainty about who applies. It
still stigmatizes the American Muslim community," she said…
Deadlines have already passed for people from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan,
Syria - all considered by the United States to be state sponsors of
terrorism - as well as those from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain,
Eritrea,
Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United
Arab
Emirates and Yemen.
A grace period given to visitors from the 18 countries who missed an
earlier deadline expired Feb. 7. Martinez said an additional 1,850 men
and
boys registered in that period, during which no penalties were
assessed.
SEE: http://www.ins.usdoj.gov
SEE ALSO:
CONGRESS FUNDS INS REGISTRATION SYSTEM BUT DEMANDS DETAILS
George Lardner Jr., Washington Post, 2/15/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10197-2003Feb14.html
Congress has agreed to fund a controversial administration program
under
which male visitors from Muslim countries are registered and
fingerprinted,
but is demanding a detailed explanation of the program's origins, its
efficacy and the reasons for a large number of resulting detentions.
The registration program has stirred fears of deportation among
visiting
foreign nationals across the country and sharp criticism from Democrats
in
Congress, who say it has led to a wave of apparently unjustified
arrests
and incarcerations, especially in California…
The administration had asked for $362 million to cover the costs of the
special registration system for the fiscal year that began last Oct. 1.
The
program is administered by the Immigration and Naturalization Service
and
will soon be transferred, with INS, to the new Homeland Security
Department. The INS says it is needed to track the 35 million
non-immigrants who come to the United States each year as well as "some
non-immigrants already in the U.S."
Called the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS),
the
system imposed several requirements, including periodic in-person
interviews at INS offices and check-ins with INS officers at specially
designated exit points upon leaving the country.
The most controversial aspect of NSEERS is its application to males
older
than 16 from 25 countries, most of them predominantly Muslim, who were
already in the United States last Sept. 30. The requirement caused
widespread fear and confusion among foreign nationals, and hundreds
suspected of immigration violations were at least temporarily
detained...
---
CANADIAN HUMILIATED BY IMMIGRATION STAFF
JIM RANKIN, Toronto Star, 2/14/03
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1035777769334
A Toronto woman coming home from India says she was pulled aside at
Chicago's O'Hare Airport, accused of using a fake Canadian passport,
denied
consular assistance and threatened with jail.
In tears and desperate, Berna Cruz says she told U.S. Immigration and
Naturalization Services (INS) officers she didn't want to go to jail.
She
told them she had to get home to her two children and was expected to
be at
work the next day at a branch of a major Toronto bank where she works
as a
loan officer.
Instead of jailing her on Jan. 27, an INS officer cut the front page of
Cruz's passport and filled each page with "expedited removal" stamps,
rendering it useless.
She was photographed, fingerprinted, barred from re-entering the U.S.
for
five years and immediately "removed."
Not to Toronto, but to India, where she had just spent several weeks
visiting her parents.
It took four days, and help from Canadian officials in Dubai and a
Kuwaiti
Airlines pilot, to get her back home.
"It was a total abuse," Cruz said in an interview with the Star. "I
want to
see them punished for this and bring some justice."
This week, Cruz sent a letter, along with a sworn affidavit, and the
INS
removal documents to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Foreign Affairs
Minister Bill Graham…
Cruz says she wants the Prime Minister to speak out publicly about the
incident in the hope other Canadian citizens do not receive similar
treatment.
"It's horrible. It was humiliating," said Cruz. "What I felt was that
it
was total discrimination, racism."
---
IMMIGRANTS MAKE PLANS FOR REGISTRY, MAYBE JAIL
Kelly Brewington, Orlando Sentinel, 2/15/03
http://www.orlandosentinel.com
Yassine Lakhdar was prepared to be fingerprinted, interrogated and
photographed when he went to register with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service in Orlando.
But he didn't expect to be arrested and shipped to the Orange County
Jail
for a week -- especially as he was complying with a Justice Department
rule
requiring men from predominantly Muslim countries to step forward and
register. Lakhdar, free on $5,000 bail, could be deported to his native
Morocco for overstaying his student visa, even though he has applied
for a
green card and has never been arrested or convicted of a crime.
His story is one of many spreading fear through Muslim communities in
Central Florida and nationwide. Since the "special registration" began
in
December, the community is buzzing with stories of men being treated as
threats to national security -- grilled by INS officials, feeling
harassed
by local police and being hauled to local jails…
Many men think the American welcome mat has been yanked from beneath
them.
Some who have lived in the United States for more than a decade,
operating
businesses, rearing families and paying taxes, have decided to go back
to
their home countries because they feel like targets…
Civil-rights groups such as the Council on American Islamic Relations
complain the program does little to find terrorists and instead has
disrupted the lives of many good-intentioned immigrants.
"Someone was detained two weeks ago but we didn't find out until now
where
he was," said Altaf Ali, executive director for CAIR Florida. "What are
the
procedures? We have been trying to find out from INS, but they are so
unclear about things…
-----
MUSLIM PILGRIMS FIND TRANSFORMATION AT BOTH ENDS OF JOURNEY.
SUSAN SACHS, New York Times, 2/16/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/16/national/16PILG.html
NEW YORK - On the way home from the hajj, his emotion-laden pilgrimage
to
Islam's holy shrines in Saudi Arabia, Shamsul Quadir began to worry
that he
might get in trouble for coming back a changed man.
"I left clean-shaven and with a full head of hair, and now look at me,"
Quadir said after clearing the immigration and customs booths at
Kennedy
International Airport in New York on Friday.
Indeed, Quadir, a Pakistani-born shopkeeper from Louisiana, wore a
five-day
growth of dark beard, and when he shyly lifted his baseball cap he
revealed
a bare, shiny scalp. In the Muslim tradition, he had shaved his head as
a
sign of piety, and his appearance did not quite match his passport
photo.
"I was a little scared," he said, "with all the security issues."
So it was for many American Muslims on their homecoming from this
year's
annual pilgrimage to the birthplace of Islam, an event that would
normally
stand as an unalloyed religious high point.
They came back transformed, often physically and certainly spiritually.
They also arrived, with a jolt, back in a country on heightened alert
for
terrorists...
Many of the returning pilgrims, disconnected from daily news while
living
in vast tent cities in Mecca, learned only on their way home that the
national threat level had been raised because of fears that terror
attacks
would be timed to coincide with the end of the hajj.
Their journey brought more than a mood shift. Here, many Muslims have
felt
on edge since Sept. 11, 2001, and defensive about the image of Islam.
There, they said, even in a throng of nearly 2 million Muslims during a
solemn ceremony meant to erase such differences, they felt the
distinction
of being American.
This year's hajj drew more than 1.9 million Muslims to Mecca, according
to
Saudi authorities. All but about 500,000 of the pilgrims came from
outside
Saudi Arabia, with at least 10,000 of them from the United States.
Again and again in interviews, the first wave of returning pilgrims
spoke
of how Muslims from other countries made a point of probing whether
they
were truly comfortable living in the United States after the terrorist
attacks of Sept. 11...
-----
A MINORITY OF A MINORITY OF A MINORITY
David Blankenhorn, Chicago Tribune, 2/16/03
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/perspective/chi-0302160042feb16,1,1008290.story
As much as possible, we must seek to shrink the constituency for holy
war
in Muslim societies.
We can begin by describing what we oppose more precisely. There are
about
1.2 billion Muslims in the world--about 1 of every 5 inhabitants. Among
all
Muslims, probably a minority are Islamists, meaning that they view
Islam as
the defining feature of politics and want to ensure that Islam is the
state
religion.
Among Islamists, a significant minority that itself is hardly unified
can
be described as salafists, or revivalists, meaning they subscribe to a
past, unchanging model of Islamic law and practice based on the
experiences
of the Prophet Muhammad and his immediate successors.
Among that group, only a fraction, who typically call themselves
jihadis,
believe that the goal of establishing this timeless Islamic order is
justifiably pursued by violence. (Their appropriation and misuse of the
term "jihad" is tragic, because jihad is a classical Islamic term with
multiple meanings.) And even among jihadis, only a handful also are
takfiris, who believe that violence is justified against all people,
even
Muslims, who are not jihadis.
Osama bin Laden and his comrades, at least in practice, are
takfiris--one
fringe of a small fraction of a minority of a subgroup called
Islamists,
who probably are a minority of Muslims…
"Them" is a specific network of radically intolerant murderers and
their
sponsors. "Us," at least potentially, is all people of goodwill
everywhere
in the world.
But some Americans speak as if they are pursuing exactly the opposite
strategy. Columnist Ann Coulter wrote in the aftermath of the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks that "we should invade their countries, kill their
leaders and convert them to Christianity." Today, Coulter regularly
mocks
Islam in her columns…
Franklin Graham, the son and ministerial heir of famed evangelist Billy
Graham, said on national television that Islam is "a very evil and
wicked
religion." Jerry Vines, the former president of the Southern Baptist
Convention, the nation's largest Protestant denomination, said the
Prophet
Muhammad was "demon-possessed." Jerry Falwell, another evangelical
leader,
recently called the prophet "a terrorist."
These and similar comments are tailor-made for Al Qaeda's purposes
because
they seem to confirm that Americans hold Islam as a religion in
contempt
and view it as the enemy…
In a time of war and discussions of war, and in a world facing the grim
prospect of polarization of religions and even civilizations, few tasks
are
more important than reasoning together, in the hope of finding common
ground on the dignity of the human person and the basic conditions for
human flourishing.
-----
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-----
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-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 2/17/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: DUTY TO PARENTS
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* CAIR "ISLAM IN AMERICA" AD CAMPAIGN
- CNN Interview with CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad
- Which of us is a Muslim? (Times of London)
- Muslims Launch Media Campaign (NewsMax)
* MEDIA REQUEST: FRENCH REPORTER SEEKS NEW MUSLIMS
* WORD 'JIHAD' WAS USED INCORRECTLY (Columbus Dispatch)
* ELECTRONIC TRACKING SYSTEM MONITORS FOREIGN STUDENTS (NY Times)
* ENTHUSIASTIC ISRAELIS AWAIT WAR IN IRAQ (Haaretz)
- A New Power in the Streets (New York Times)
- Strategic Advice from the Public (New York Times)
* ROTC PROGRAM IS HAVEN FOR MUSLIM STUDENT (Sun-Sentinel)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: DUTY TO PARENTS
A man who traveled to be with the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
said
his parents were weeping when he departed. The Prophet told the man:
"Return to [your parents] and make them laugh as you made them weep."
Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith 1048
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
CAIR "ISLAM IN AMERICA" AD CAMPAIGN
CAIR has launched a year-long "Islam in America" advertising campaign
designed to foster greater understanding of Islam and to counter the
rising
tide of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the United States.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO: http://www.americanmuslims.info
SEE ALSO:
CNN INTERVIEW WITH CAIR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NIHAD AWAD
CNN: Sunday Morning, 2/16/03
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Since 9/11, the headlines about American
Muslims
often lead to misconceptions about millions of people.
An Islamic civil rights group hopes to set the record straight with a
year-long advertising campaign. It's called Islam in America.
The first ad, you'll see on the screen here, is in today's "New York
Times." It shows three faces and asks, which of these is a Muslim? The
answer, all of them.
O'BRIEN: How serious a problem is this? I mean, we're not talking about
the
interment of Japanese Americans in World War II. It's a little bit
harder
to pin this down. But give us a sense of how you can quantify it.
NIHAD AWAD, COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAN ISLAMIC RELATIONS: …I think the
misconceptions have shown that Islam has been attacked by every
quarter. TV
evangelists have been taking a hit on Islam in America.
And we believe that the picture has been obscured and we need to
clarify
misconceptions and we need to show that Muslims in America are a
mainstream
group, diverse.
If you look at the ad today in "The New York Times," you will see that,
as
you said in the beginning, these people are Americans, but the question
is
asking who is a Muslim? And you'll find out that all of them are
Muslims.
They come from European American backgrounds, African Americans, Asian
Americans, Middle Easterners and those who have been brought up and
born in
this country…
And Muslims in America are a vibrant and growing segment of the society
that I think should be told, and their story has to be told to the
Americans…
---
WHICH OF US IS A MUSLIM?
Bess Twiston-Davies, Times of London, 2/15/03
Muslims in America are launching a year-long advertising campaign this
weekend to counter anti-Islamic propaganda. The Islam in America
campaign
begins with an advertisement showing images of an African-American
woman,
an Asian and a white man. It is headlined "We are all Americans" and
the
people in the picture ask: "Which of us is a Muslim?" They reply: "We
are
all...we're American Muslims."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations plans to send the adverts to
Muslim communities across America, encouraging them to place the ads in
their local newspapers. Each advert in the series will explain a
different
aspect of Islam.
"Without accurate and balanced information about mainstream Islam and
Muslims, ordinary Americans are vulnerable to the purveyors of hate, in
this country and around the world, who seek a perpetual religious and
civilizational conflict," explained Omar Ahmad, the chairman of the
council.
---
MUSLIMS LAUNCH MEDIA CAMPAIGN
NewsMax Wires, 2/17/03
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/2/16/163209.shtml
WASHINGTON -- An Islamic advocacy group Sunday launched an advertising
campaign designed to counter a rising tide of anti-Muslim rhetoric in
the
United States.
Muslims say they have faced hate attacks after Sept. 11, 2001. Through
this
media campaign, they say, they want to present an accurate picture of
their
religion.
The "Islam in America" campaign, which was launched by the Council of
American-Islamic Relations, began with an advertisement in The New York
Times headlined "We're All Americans…"
-----
MEDIA REQUEST: FRENCH REPORTER SEEKS NEW MUSLIMS
I'm a French journalist for a news magazine, L'Express (which is the
same
that Newsweek, or Time magazine), and I'm working on an article about
Americans who convert to Islam. I would like to meet women and men in
this
situation in New York or Boston. If you speak French, it is better.
E-MAIL: mfestraets@lexpress.fr
-----
WORD 'JIHAD' WAS USED INCORRECTLY IN HEADLINE
Columbus Dispatch, 2/16/03
In its Feb. 5 "Judicial jihad'' editorial, The Dispatch was tactful in
evading what exactly was meant by this headline. When I first read the
editorial, I thought that the two judicial nominees, Jeffrey S. Sutton
and
Deborah Cook, were exercising some sort of jihad to face off against
those
special interests. On a second reading, it sounded as if the special
interests are targeting the judges with their vicious campaign and that
the
writer described this as "jihad."
I take this opportunity to present what the meaning of jihad is. It is
an
Arabic word, the root of which is jahada, which means to strive for a
better way of life. Jihad derives from the three-letter root j-h-d and
also
means "to exert oneself" or "to strive." Usually understood in terms of
personal betterment, jihad may also mean fighting to defend one's (or
another's) life, property and faith. Because jihad is a highly nuanced
concept, it should not be understood to mean holy war, a common
misrepresentation.
AHMAD AL-AKHRAS, President
Council on American-Islamic Relations of Ohio
Columbus
-----
ELECTRONIC TRACKING SYSTEM MONITORS FOREIGN STUDENTS
DIANA JEAN SCHEMO, New York Times, 2/17/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/17/national/17STUD.html
Mandated after terrorists first bombed the World Trade Center a decade
ago
and financed after they destroyed it, a vast new electronic tracking
system
became the central element on Saturday in the government's effort to
keep
tabs on nearly a million foreign students and scholars in this country.
Through the system, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information
System, or
Sevis, schools, colleges and universities will send the federal
government
the names, addresses, courses and majors of foreign students, as well
as
information on any disciplinary actions against them. Institutions that
the
government has not yet certified to log on to the system may no longer
enroll foreign students…
For directors of international programs, it means a daunting new role
as
government watchdogs. They worry that mistakes in advising foreign
students
or entering data, which might never have been discovered under the old
paper-based system, could have drastic consequences for students…
Larry Bell, director of international students and scholars at the
University of Colorado, got a first-hand look at this new world, after
local immigration agents detained a half-dozen Iranian students in
Colorado
during special registration. One of those students, Yashar Zendehdel,
had
fallen below the minimum course load for a full-time student when he
switched majors and dropped a course. The law allows foreign students
to do
that with university approval, but Mr. Bell said local immigration
officials appeared unfamiliar with the law, and threatened to deport
Mr.
Zendehdel.
"It's had a fairly chilling effect on students," Mr. Bell said.
Far from home, they take care to follow the rules, he said. "Then they
hear
of students who did everything right and still get the book thrown at
them," he said…
Mr. Zendehdel said that, for him, American policy boiled down to his 40
hours with immigration agents he saw as intent on forcing him out of
the
country. While he once urged his brother, sister and friends to study
in
the United States, he said, he now advises them to go elsewhere.
-----
ENTHUSIASTIC IDF AWAITS WAR IN IRAQ
Aluf Benn, Haaretz, 2/17/03
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=263522
The Prime Minister's Office ascribes little importance to the
diplomatic
hurdles America must overcome in the UN Security Council on the path to
a
war against Iraq. Israel estimates that the date of attack depends only
on
logistical considerations, when the deployment of U.S. troops is
complete,
and that the war will begin at the end of February or the beginning of
March. No delays or any kind of influence are expected from the
coalition
negotiations.
The military and political leadership yearns for war in Iraq, seeing it
as
an opportunity to win the war of attrition with the Palestinians.
According
to their approach removing Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat
from his position will signify Palestinian surrender…
Senior IDF officers and those close to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon,
such as
National Security Advisor Ephraim Halevy, paint a rosy picture of the
wonderful future Israel can expect after the war. They envision a
domino
effect, with the fall of Saddam Hussein followed by that of Israel's
other
enemies: Arafat, Hassan Nasrallah, Bashar Assad, the ayatollah in Iran
and
maybe even Muhammar Gadaffi. Along with these leaders, will disappear
terror and weapons of mass destruction.
There is also excitement in the IDF's planning department over the
standoff
between the U.S. and its NATO allies. A paper distributed to the army's
upper echelons even spoke of an opportunity to remove the
pro-Palestinian
Europeans from the Middle East. A senior source said Saturday that the
U.S.
will punish the Europeans for their back-stabbing on the road to
Baghdad,
and will no longer ask them for input regarding Israeli concessions…
SEE ALSO:
A NEW POWER IN THE STREETS
PATRICK E. TYLER, New York Times, 2/17/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/17/international/middleeast/17ASSE.html
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 - The fracturing of the Western alliance over Iraq
and
the huge antiwar demonstrations around the world this weekend are
reminders
that there may still be two superpowers on the planet: the United
States
and world public opinion.
In his campaign to disarm Iraq, by war if necessary, President Bush
appears
to be eyeball to eyeball with a tenacious new adversary: millions of
people
who flooded the streets of New York and dozens of other world cities to
say
they are against war based on the evidence at hand.
Mr. Bush's advisers are telling him to ignore them and forge ahead, as
are
some leading pro-war Republicans. Senator John McCain, for one, said
today
that it was "foolish" for people to protest on behalf of the Iraqi
people,
because the Iraqis live under Saddam Hussein "and they will be far, far
better off when they are liberated from his brutal, incredibly
oppressive
rule."
That may be true, but it fails to answer the question that France,
Germany
and other members of the Security Council have posed: What is the
urgent
rationale for war now if there is a chance that continued inspections
under
military pressure might accomplish the disarmament of Iraq
peacefully?...
---
STRATEGIC ADVICE FROM THE PUBLIC
BOB HERBERT, New York Times, 2/17/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/17/opinion/17HERB.html
President Bush and his hawkish advisers speak blithely about a U.S.-led
invasion leading to a garden of democracy blooming in the desert soil
of
Iraq. I wouldn't reach for my gardening tools too quickly. What the
administration has been unwilling to tell the public is the truth about
some of the implications of war with Iraq - first and foremost, the
bloody
horror of men, women and children being blown to smithereens in the
interest of peace, and then the myriad costs and dangers associated
with a
long-term U.S. military occupation…
-----
ROTC PROGRAM IS HAVEN FOR MUSLIM STUDENT
Liz Doup, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 2/17/03
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/printedition/search/sfl-limuslimfeb17.story
Her name is Sarah. Sarah Mohammed.
She's easy to identify at Boca Raton High because she dresses according
to
her Muslim faith.
Her body is covered. Her head is covered.
As President Bush talks to the country about war with Iraq, Sarah
struggles
through every day at school, looking different, feeling different.
But she's found a bit of acceptance in the school's ROTC program, of
all
places. Not because of its connection with military training, but
because
of the commander, a man with brown skin and accented English, a man who
knows what it's like to be an outsider, too.
He's retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Edwin Morales -- Chief
Morales
to the kids in the Navy Junior ROTC program he helps run…
Understand she's a Muslim from Trinidad, not the Middle East. But ever
since 19 terrorists on four planes changed history nearly 18 months
ago,
many Muslims have felt under attack.
That includes Sarah, whose parents kept her home for two months after
9-11
because they feared for her safety.
In the days and weeks that followed, she was spit on by a boy who
passed
her in the hall, had her hijab -- her head covering -- snatched off and
was
called a terrorist by other kids.
Now, with the specter of terrorism and the prospect of war, she's
bracing
for more. Students in ROTC rally around her but can't be with her every
minute. Just today, as she walked to class, a boy yelled at her,
"Freak!"…
It's a show of unity among the kids, even if they are oceans apart in
beliefs.
When it's Sarah's time to speak, her red-hot topic is the war between
Palestinians and Israelis. In a soft voice, she talks of land disputes,
broken promises and shattered dreams.
A girl asks about suicide bombers. And a boy says, "If it's about
religion,
then nothing's going to change, right? You can't tell people what they
should believe."
Morales lets the kids talk and Sarah respond, before he gets to the
most
important point:
"You don't have to agree with Miss Mohammed," he says. "But you need to
respect her. If we all don't listen to each other, how are we to learn?
How
are we to understand?"…
"As a Muslim, Sarah represents what so many people fear today because
they
don't know any better," he says. "I like to think these kids will grow
up
not being afraid and ignorant because they knew Sarah…"
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 2/18/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: THE GOLDEN RULE
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
* CAIR 'ISLAM IN AMERICA' AD CAMPAIGN
- Islamic Group's Ads Start Sunday (OC Register)
- Muslim Group Starts Ad Campaign (Hartford Courant)
- Campaign Seeks To Educate People About Muslims (KC Star)
* U.S. OFFICIAL SAYS SYRIA, IRAN WILL BE NEXT (Ha'aretz)
- War Planners Begin To Speak Of War's Risks (NY Times)
- Role of Pro-Israel Hawks a Hot Topic (Washington Post)
- American Jews Prepare to Help Israel (JTA)
- Buildup Strains Public Safety (LA Times)
* HAUNTING ECHOES OF JAPANESE INTERNMENT (San Francisco Chronicle)
* NEW WALL SHARPENS ARAB-ISRAEL DIVISIONS (NY Times)
- Israel to Split Christ's Birthplace (Reuters)
- Aid to Israel Shrinks $17 Million, Grows $12 Billion
(Ha'aretz)
* U.S. TROOPS TO HUNT FILIPINO MUSLIM REBELS (AFP)
* CHICAGO AREA CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCACY TRAINING
* U.N. REPORT SAYS ANTI-TERROR MOVES UNDERMINING RULE OF LAW (AP)
* OMAN ADVISES AGAINST NON-ESSENTIAL TRAVEL TO U.S. (Reuters)
* U.S. WARNS TURKEY AGAINST BLOCKING IRAQ PLANS (Reuters)
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: THE GOLDEN RULE
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) 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
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
CAIR "ISLAM IN AMERICA" AD CAMPAIGN
CAIR has launched a year-long "Islam in America" advertising campaign
designed to foster greater understanding of Islam and to counter the
rising
tide of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the United States.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO: http://www.americanmuslims.info
SEE ALSO:
ISLAMIC GROUP'S ADS START SUNDAY
Vik Jolly, Orange County Register, 2/15/03
http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=25583§ion=LOCAL&subsection=LOCAL&year=2003&month=2&day=15
Advertisements explaining aspects of Islam are expected to start
appearing
in local newspapers as early as this month as part of an Islamic
advocacy
group's yearlong campaign to foster greater understanding of the
religion.
The Council on American- Islamic Relations' first ad in the "Islam in
America" series appears Sunday in the New York Times.
"There's a concerted effort by right-wing extremists to take advantage
of
problems we're going through to paint Muslims in a bad light," said
Sabiha
Khan, spokeswoman for CAIR's Southern California chapter in Anaheim.
"This
is a proactive way to communicate to the American public directly from
American Muslims about who we are."
---
U.S. MUSLIM GROUP STARTS AD CAMPAIGN
Frances Grandy Taylor, Hartford Courant, 2/15/03
http://www.ctnow.com/hc-muslimads.artfeb15.story
Although there are about 7 million Muslims living in the United States,
many of them American-born, it's the face of Osama bin Laden that many
see
when they think about Muslims.
In the hope of fostering a better understanding of the many faces of
Islam
and of the faith, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will
launch a yearlong national newspaper ad campaign. The first ad will
appear
Sunday on the editorial page of the New York Times. "We're all
Americans,
but which one of us is a Muslim?" asks the ad, which shows photos of a
white man, a young African-American girl, and an Asian man.
The answer is that all three are American Muslims.
"In the last year, there has been a demonization of Muslims in
conservative
evangelical circles, and among right-wing politicians," said Hodan
Hassan,
a spokeswoman for Washington-based CAIR. She cited statements by the
Rev.
Jerry Falwell and the Rev. Franklin Graham, who have called Islam "a
violent elision," and referred to Muhammad as "a terrorist."
"At the same time, there are very few voices of American Muslims being
heard. Instead, there are tapes of the voice of bin Laden or pictures
of
foreign radicals on the evening news," she said. "An American who
doesn't
know much about Islam is either being bombarded by anti-Muslim rhetoric
or
by images of Muslim extremists who condemn everything American."
According to a 2000 study of Islam in America, which surveyed 1,209
mosques
in the U.S., about one-third of the members were South Asian, another
third
were African-American, and a quarter were Arab. About 30 percent of
mosque
participants were converts to Islam, and about 34 percent joined within
the
past five years.
The ads will highlight the ethnic and racial diversity of American
Muslims,
who are white, black, Asian or Hispanic, and come from different walks
of
life. The ads will profile individual Muslims, such as a doctor or a
bus
driver, Hassan said.
"The idea is to provide accurate information, so that people will have
a
greater appreciation for Islam, and a better understanding of their
American Muslim neighbors," she said.
---
CAMPAIGN SEEKS TO EDUCATE PEOPLE ABOUT MUSLIMS
Jennifer Mann, Kansas City Star, 2/18/03
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/5197081.htm
The Council on American-Islamic Relations on Sunday rolled out a
yearlong
advertising campaign in The New York Times. Its goals: to raise
awareness
of slam and stem the tide of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the United States.
The first ad, which will be available for publication in other
newspapers,
shows two men, one Asian and one European, and an African-American
girl.
The copy reads, "Which one of us is a Muslim?" The answer, of course:
"We
all are...we're American Muslims."
Council board Chairman Omar Ahmad says the goal of the campaign is to
educate people about what Muslims believe and stand for.
"Without accurate and balanced information about mainstream Islam and
Muslims, ordinary Americans are vulnerable to the purveyors of hate, in
this country and around the world, who seek a perpetual religious and
civilizational conflict."
Council Executive Director Nihad Awad, citing the anti-Islam rhetoric
of
evangelical and right-wing commentators, and the extremist views of
some
Muslims claiming to act in the name of Islam," said Muslims living in
the
United States must stand up.
"American Muslims must take on the task of defining their faith," Awad
said. Otherwise, that definition will be left to those whose agenda
serves
religious and political goals that are in conflict with our nation's
long-term interests."
-----
U.S. OFFICIAL SAYS SYRIA, IRAN WILL BE DEALT WITH AFTER IRAQ WAR
Ha'aretz, 2/18/03
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/263923.html
(Scroll to bottom.)
U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton said in meetings with Israeli
officials on Monday that he has no doubt America will attack Iraq, and
that
it will be necessary to deal with threats from Syria, Iran and North
Korea
afterwards.
Bolton, who is undersecretary for arms control and international
security,
is in Israel for meetings about preventing the spread of weapons of
mass
destruction.
In a meeting with Bolton on Monday, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said
that
Israel is concerned about the security threat posed by Iran. It's
important
to deal with Iran even while American attention is turned toward Iraq,
Sharon said.
Bolton also met with Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Housing
and
Construction Minister Natan Sharansky.
SEE ALSO:
WAR PLANNERS BEGIN TO SPEAK OF WAR'S RISKS
David E. Sanger and Thom Shanker, New York Times, 2/18/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/18/politics/18MILI.html
WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 - Senior Bush administration officials are for the
first time openly discussing a subject they have sidestepped during the
buildup of forces around Iraq: what could go wrong, and not only during
an
attack but also in the aftermath of an invasion.
Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld has a four- to five-page,
typewritten catalog of risks that senior aides say he keeps in his desk
drawer. He refers to it constantly, updating it with his own ideas and
suggestions from senior military commanders, and discussing it with
President Bush.
His list includes a "concern about Saddam Hussein using weapons of mass
destruction against his own people and blaming it on us, which would
fit a
pattern," Mr. Rumsfeld said. He said the document also noted "that he
could
do what he did to the Kuwaiti oil fields and explode them, detonate, in
a
way that lost that important revenue for the Iraqi people..."
A senior Bush administration official confirmed that a number of
uncertainties remained even after months of internal studies, advance
planning and the insertion of Central Intelligence Agency officers and
Special Operations forces into some corners of Iraq.
"We still do not know how U.S. forces will be received," the senior
official said. "Will it be cheers, jeers or shots? And the fact is, we
won't know until we get there..."
---
TOXIC TALK ON WAR
Lawrence F. Kaplan, Washington Post, 2/18/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23009-2003Feb17.html
Who is driving this rush to war in Iraq? A decade ago, on the eve of
the
last Persian Gulf War, conservative firebrand Pat Buchanan alleged that
Israel and its "amen corner" were to blame. A media firestorm ensued,
with
condemnations pouring in from across the political spectrum. Now, on
the
eve of yet another Gulf war, Buchanan has revived the claim. Only this
time
a chorus of voices from the left, right and center has emerged to echo
it.
From the musty precincts of the Old Right, the contention that Israel
and
a powerful "cabal" of its American supporters have manufactured the
present
crisis with Iraq has become canonical. Buchanan, who writes that
President
Bush has become a client of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the
"neoconservative war party," has transformed his new magazine, the
American
Conservative, into a regular forum for those who share this conviction.
One
of its contributors, University of Illinois history professor Paul W.
Schroeder, deems it self-evident that the plan for an invasion "is
being
promoted in the interests of Israel."
"Certainly it is being pushed very hard by a number of influential
supporters of Israel of the hawkish neoconservative stripe in and
outside
the administration (Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, William Kristol, and
others)," Schroeder writes.
Seconding this appraisal, conservative writer Georgie Anne Geyer, whose
column appears weekly in the Washington Times, reveals how "the fanatic
neoconservatives around the administration, the rabid Israel supporters
in
the White House and the Pentagon," plan to wage war in Iraq and then to
"democratize the entire Middle East, including Syria and Saudi Arabia,
if
necessary by military means, in order to secure Ariel Sharon's
Israel..."
SEE ALSO:
AMERICAN JEWS PREPARE TO HELP ISRAEL
Rachel Pomerance, Jewish Telegraph Agency, 2/17/03
http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?strwebhead=Helping+Israel+ready+for+Iraq+war&intcategoryid=5
NEW YORK, Feb. 17 (JTA) - Phillip Miller calls it his "hot war" list.
And in one week, he has enlisted seven American Jews to aid Israel at a
time of need.
The 75-year old New Jerseyan is recruiting volunteers to jet to Israel
if
an American war with Iraq brings an attack on the Jewish state.
"If a hot war breaks out and Iraq starts messing with Israel in any
way,
shape or form, then I and the others will probably be on the first
plane we
can get to Israel," Miller said. "The Israelis will probably need as
much
help as they can get, and we'll do our part to help them…"
In any case, many American Jews and American Jewish organizations are
responding to the threat of a U.S. war on Iraq by trying to fortify
Israel.
The efforts include shoring up Israel's blood supply, readying
volunteer
doctors and assembling gas masks...
---
BUILDUP STRAINS PUBLIC SAFETY
Faye Fiore, Los Angeles Times, 2/18/03
http://www.latimes.com/la-na-reserves17feb17,0,1247142.story
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. military buildup for a possible war with Iraq is
posing security concerns close to home as police forces, fire
departments
and emergency services across the nation find their ranks depleted by
overseas deployments of reservists.
A significant percentage of the reserve forces that make up half of the
national defense also work in their civilian lives as so-called
first-responders, protecting cities across America.
The overlap was not a problem in the past, when the military took the
citizen-soldiers it needed in infrequent call-ups; the numbers were
small
and the service period short. The Pentagon has never tracked how many
of
the nation's 1.3 million reservists wear a second hat in the vast
network
of local emergency services. And many employers were not even aware
that
some in their ranks were moonlighting as military reservists.
But with the federal government's terrorism alert moved up to "high
risk,"
all of that has changed. With conflicts brewing in Afghanistan, Iraq
and
North Korea, and peacekeepers posted in Kosovo and Bosnia, the need for
troops is vast and the terms of service open-ended, putting a strain on
families, businesses and communities at home...
With two of his hazardous material inspectors gone, Bennett said other
aspects of police work have given way. Response time to nonemergency
calls
is longer, and there is less time for the sort of community policing
designed to settle citizen disputes before they escalate.
"We get a guy who says I'm getting called up and three days later he's
gone," Bennett said. "We've got court appearances and schedules and all
that is out the window. There is no argument, no debate, no saying,
'How
about taking somebody else?' There is none of that..."
-----
HAUNTING ECHOES OF JAPANESE INTERNMENT
Annie Nakao, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/18/03
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/02/18/DD160333.DTL
Wednesday is the annual Day of Remembrance -- 61 years ago, Franklin
Delano
Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, putting 120,000 Japanese
Americans
behind barbed wire, solely because of their ancestry.
And Friday is the next deadline for foreign men from Pakistan and Saudi
Arabia to register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
I've been thinking a lot about these dates, especially since Rep.
Howard
Coble (R-N.C.) recently spoke on radio and justified the World War II
internment of Japanese Americans because -- get this -- "it wasn't safe
for
them to be on the street" at the time. To fill in more air time, Coble
went
on to say that "some probably were intent on doing harm to us, just as
some
of these Arab Americans are probably intent on doing harm to us."
Unbelievably, at least to me, Coble is chairman of the Judiciary
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. I called up
John
Tateishi, national executive director of the Japanese American Citizens
League. He was fielding calls about Coble's inane remarks, which have
since
sparked an Internet petition demanding he resign from the
subcommittee...
And being born and raised in Richmond as a Navy brat didn't keep Kawal
Ulanday, 38, a Filipino American community activist with no criminal
record
whatsoever, from being visited by an agent of the FBI Joint Terrorism
Task
Force.
The agent told Ulanday that the FBI got a "tip" about him, but wouldn't
say
what. He was asked: "Are you Muslim? Do you have any connection with
any
Muslim extremist groups connected to al Qaeda? Are you anti-American?"
All the answers were no. The agent left. Ulanday wasn't scared, just
angry,
because he felt the visit was "intimidation" for his vocal peace
activism.
But it could also have been his work advocating for Filipino airport
screeners. Or speaking out for Philippine sovereignty. Who's to know,
given
these times?
At least Ulanday wasn't an immigrant.
-----
NEW WALL SHARPENS ARAB-ISRAEL DIVISIONS
James Bennet, New York Times, 2/18/03
http://www.iht.com/articles/87056.html
BETHLEHEM - Claire Anastas, 34, spent most of the last week trying to
keep
her four children playing or studying while they were cooped up in
their
home here, under Israeli curfew.
Then, on Sunday, the army informed her that it would soon build a new
wall,
at least 7.5 meters (25 feet) high, outside her house. The wall will
separate her neighborhood from the rest of Bethlehem, and her children
from
their schools.
"This is a nightmare for us," Anastas said. "We're trapped."
Under the plan, Palestinians like Anastas will be left on the Israeli
side,
and they will have to pass through an army checkpoint in the wall to
reach
the rest of Palestinian Bethlehem...
The new wall is a segment of the barrier fence that Israel is building
in
what it calls an effort to separate Israelis from Palestinians. The
government says that the snaking path of the fence is being guided not
by
politics or religion but by security needs...
Bethlehem residents say it is they who are in danger, from Israeli
fire.
Having watched the army beef up its presence around the tomb and
repeatedly
seize control of Bethlehem over the last year, they accuse Israel of
now
grabbing the last relatively open spaces for Bethlehem to expand...
SEE ALSO:
ISRAEL TO SPLIT CHRIST'S BIRTHPLACE WITH "SECURITY WALL"
Mark Heinrich, Reuters, 2/18/03
BETHLEHEM, West Bank, Feb 18 (Reuters) - A senior Israeli army officer
told
Palestinians on Tuesday their neighbourhood in the town where Christ
was
born would be divided by a wall to safeguard Jews coming to pray at
biblical Rachel's Tomb.
A 7.5-metre (25-foot) high barrier will scoop part of the West Bank
town
revered by Christians as Jesus's birthplace into an expanded security
zone
being built around nearby Jerusalem to seal it off from Palestinian
suicide
bombers and gunmen.
Almost half of Bethlehem municipality's 140,000 people is Christian.
The
area around the tomb itself is mainly Christian.
On Sunday, the Israeli army sent notices to Palestinians living in the
vicinity of Rachel's Tomb telling them that large chunks of their
property
would be requisitioned for the wall…
Jad Issac, a Bethlehem research institute director, said: "Maybe no one
will be evicted but they will all suffocate economically and socially.
Bethlehem will be strangled, denied space for future development."
He showed reporters satellite pictures attesting to proliferating
Jewish
settlements and bypass roads hemming in Bethlehem and adjacent
Palestinian
villages.
"Eighteen thousand dunams (4,500 acres or 1,800 hectares) have been
confiscated around Bethlehem since 1967. The wall is part of this
(creeping) annexation," he said…
---
AID TO ISRAEL SHRINKS $17 MILLIONS, GROWS $12 BILLION
Nathan Guttman, Ha'aretz, 2/17/03
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=263580
WASHINGTON - Israel's military and civilian aid from the United States
will
be cut by 0.65 percent this year, according to the foreign aid bill
approved by the U.S. Congress last Thursday.
Congress enacted an across-the-board cut of 0.65 percent in every item
of
the budget, in an effort to cope with America's huge deficit, which is
expected to grow even further if the United States declares war on
Iraq.
Currently, Israel receives $2.7 billion a year from the United States -
$2.1 billion in military aid and $600 million in civilian aid. The cut
will
reduce this sum by about $17 million...
On Wednesday, an Israeli delegation will fly to Washington to discuss
Jerusalem's request for additional aid on top of its regular annual
package. Israel is requesting $4 billion in defense aid and $8 billion
in
loan guarantees over the next three years...
-----
US TROOPS TO ACCOMPANY PHILIPPINE SOLDIERS IN HUNT FOR MUSLIM REBELS
Agence France Presse, 2/18/03
MANILA - US troops are to join Filipino soldiers on Jolo Island this
year
to observe the hunt for a Muslim group linked to the al-Qaeda terror
network, Philippines officials said Tuesday...
The mayor of the Jolo town of Luuk, Abdurahman Arbison, has offered his
municipality "for the staging of this military exercise," Reyes told a
news
conference. Chief of Staff General Dionisio Santiago said the US troops
would train "light infantry companies" and later join them in the
bush...
But some residents of the impoverished and violence-torn mainly Muslim
region expressed apprehension at the public passions that could be
stirred
up by the presence of Western soldiers there...
"It (the US deployment) will bring more trouble," warned Limson Wahab,
the
dean of the Sulu State College in Jolo.
"They must justify their purpose in coming here," Jolo Vice Mayor Delma
Ynawat told AFP.
US troops were last in Jolo during the American colonial period, when
they
mounted a brutal pacification campaign against the Philippines'
rebellious
Muslim minority between 1899-1913...
-----
CHICAGO AREA CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCACY TRAINING
WHAT: The Muslim Civil Rights Center is sponsoring a training on civil
rights, the history of civil rights movements in the United States,
coalition building, and current challenges faced by Muslims in the post
9/11 period. Speakers include:
- Dr. Novak Williams (Professor of American History, University of
Chicago)
- William Yoshino (Japanese American Citizen League)
- Ed Yohnka (American Civil Liberties Union)
- Joshua Hoyt (Illinois Coalition for Immigrants & Refugee Rights)
- Dr. Seema Imam (Muslim Civil Rights Center)
WHEN: Saturday February 22, 10 A.M. - 6 P.M.
WHERE: DePaul University (Lincoln Park Campus), Levan Center - Room
304,
2322 N. Kenmore, Chicago, IL
CONTACT: 1-866-648-6272 to register or visit www.mcrcnet.org. This is a
FREE-OF-COST training program. Due to limited number of seats, it is
recommended that you pre-register.
-----
U.N. REPORT SAYS NORTH AMERICAN, EUROPEAN, ASIAN ANTI-TERROR MOVES RISK
UNDERMINING RULE OF LAW
ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS, Associated Press, 2/18/03
GENEVA (AP) - Anti-terrorism moves in North America, Europe and Asia
since
the Sept. 11 attacks undermine the rule of law because they
discriminate
against Muslims and Arabs, the U.N. anti-racism expert said Tuesday.
Doudou Diene, a former Senegalese diplomat, said in his report to the
53-nation U.N. Human Rights Commission, which meets next month, that
humanitarian organizations all recognize emergency measures may result
from
"very serious threats."
"But a sustained challenge to the basic principles of the universal
legal
order, particularly if it is discriminatory in that it deliberately
targets
certain populations identified above all by their appearance, would
undermine the foundations of society," said the 21-page report.
The threat to the rule of law stems both from the legislation adopted
and
the way it is enforced, Diene said.
In the months after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, a number
of
countries understandably strengthened anti-terrorist legislation and
regulations, he said.
"However, these measures, which were hastily adopted in a climate of
indignation and fear, may jeopardize the fundamental rights of
citizens,"
he said. "There is no escaping the fact that they systematically single
out
persons of Arab or Muslim origin and that the use of racial profiling
for
operational purposes is everyday practice…"
"If similar changes to legislation and regulations were to be made
around
the world, there would be a considerable decline in the rule of law at
the
international level," he said.
For example, he said, administrative detention for long periods was "in
clear violation" of a basic treaty guaranteeing any arrested person to
have
the right to prompt appearance before a judge and to a speedy trial…
He noted that U.S. President George W. Bush and other leaders have
opposed
discrimination against Arabs and Muslims.
"Unfortunately, the statements did not have the desired effect," Diene
said. "Muslims in all corners of the world suffered particularly from
all
kinds of stereotyping and verbal and physical harassment."
Men and women were often arrested solely because they looked like Arabs
or
Middle Easterners, Diene said.
In the United States, he said, "hundreds of arbitrary arrests for
'crimes
of appearance' have been reported all over the country, on grounds
totally
unrelated to any terrorist activity..."
-----
OMAN ADVISES AGAINST NON-ESSENTIAL TRAVEL TO U.S.
Reuters English, 2/18/03
MUSCAT, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The Gulf Arab state of Oman warned its
citizens
on Tuesday against non-essential travel to the United States because
they
may be offended by fingerprinting and interviews introduced as part of
new
anti-terror measures.
"Due to these measures, citizens may be subjected to discriminatory and
inappropriate treatment. They are advised not to travel to the United
States unless necessary," the foreign ministry said in a statement
carried
by the news agency ONA…
-----
U.S. WARNS TURKEY AGAINST BLOCKING IRAQ PLANS
Ayla Jean Yackley and Nadim Ladki, Reuters, 2/18/03
ANKARA, Turkey/BAGDDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. preparations for war with
Iraq suffered a new setback Tuesday when Turkey dug in its heels in
negotiations over its role as a launch pad for an invasion.
Washington, embroiled in a broader diplomatic battle at the United
Nations
over its war plans, indicated it had issued Ankara with an ultimatum
and
would do without it if necessary…
If Ankara continues to drag its feet, U.S. military planners could go
ahead
without a northern front. But an assault on Iraq from Turkey would
relieve
a main invasion from the south and could shorten any war and reduce
American casualties…
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the standoff with Turkey,
which is
demanding twice the $26 billion in economic aid offered by Washington
to
cushion its economy from the effects of a war, would end "one way or
another rather soon."
"We continue to work with Turkey as a friend. But it is decision time,"
Fleischer said in Washington.
Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said his government would ask
parliament to open military facilities to U.S. soldiers only when
Washington met Turkish demands.
"When conditions are fulfilled we are prepared to present it in the
shortest possible time," Yakis told reporters…
-----
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 2/19/2003
HEADLINES:
* HADITH OF THE DAY: PRAISE GOD IN ADVERSITY
* CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: TEXAS
* CAIR 'ISLAM IN AMERICA' AD CAMPAIGN
- CAIR Official Discusses Ad Campaign on MSNBC
* INCITEMENT WATCH: ISLAM SMEARED AT CHRISTIAN COALITION FORUM
* FL MAN FACES JAIL FOR ANTI-MUSLIM HATE CRIME (Sun Sentinel)
- MD Muslims Urge Inclusion of "Mosque" In Hate Crimes Bill
- "Islamaphobia" Strong and Expanding in Australia (AFP)
- Muslim-Basher Gets MSNBC Show (Salon.com)
* ACLU ASKS HIGH COURT TO SET SPY LIMITS (AP)
- Forum Underscores Threats to Civil Liberties (Mich. Daily)
- A Healthy Debate in U. City (St. Louis Post Dispatch)
* SHIN BET GRABS LAPTOP FROM PALESTINIAN'S U.S. LAWYER (Ha'aretz)
- Home No Refuge for Palestinians in Combat Zones (Reuters)
- A 'Toxic' Meme? (Antiwar.com)
- Resolution on Israeli Settlements Unlikely To Pass (JTA)
* MUSLIM INS REGISTRATION IS EXTENDED (Contra Costa Times)
* 'WHY WAR?' NEEDS ANSWER (Miami Herald)
- Why Unity Is Essential (Washington Post)
- America Paying a Price in Declining Prestige (AP)
- Anti-Bush T-shirt Banned at Michigan School (AP)
* HISTORY LESSONS NEEDED (Oakland Tribune)
* ARAB-AMERICAN WRITERS, UNEASY IN TWO WORLDS (New York Times)
* IOWA CONFERENCE ON ISLAM TO BRING NATIONAL SCHOLARS
----
HADITH OF THE DAY: PRAISE GOD IN ADVERSITY
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The first (people)
summoned
to Paradise on the Day of Resurrection will be those who praise God in
(both) prosperity and adversity."
Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 730
-----
CAIR LIBRARY PROJECT: TEXAS
"Thank you for donating these materials and supporting the Plano Public
Library System." - From a Librarian in Plano, Texas
Take part in this first-of-its-kind campaign by sponsoring an 18-item
"library package." Our goal is to, inshallah, send accurate and
objective
information about Islam to America's 16,000 public libraries.
TO SPONSOR A LIBRARY PACKAGE, GO TO: www.libraryproject.org
OR CALL: 1-800-392-7876, ext. 320
-----
CAIR 'ISLAM IN AMERICA' AD CAMPAIGN
CAIR has launched a year-long "Islam in America" advertising campaign
designed to foster greater understanding of Islam and to counter the
rising
tide of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the United States.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO: http://www.americanmuslims.info
SEE ALSO:
CAIR OFFICIAL DISCUSSES AD CAMPAIGN ON MSNBC
"Countdown Iraq", MSNBC, 2/17/08
HOST: Bob Kur
GUESTS: Ibrahim Hooper
KUR: As the U.S. draws closer to a possible war in the Persian Gulf,
the
Council on American Islamic Relations is launching an ad campaign in
response to what it calls "Islamaphobic Rhetoric from Evangelical and
Right-winged Commentators."
Now, the first ad appeared in yesterday's New York Times, it's aimed at
fostering greater understanding about Islam and the American community.
Joining us, live now from Washington, to talk more with this is Ibrahim
Hooper. He's Communications Director with the Council on American
Islamic
Relations. Good to have you with us, sir.
IBRAHIM HOOPER, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN ISLAMIC RELATIONS: Thanks for
having me.
KUR: Why is it that you think these ads are necessary? Are you really
seeing an increase in anti-Muslim sentiment here?
HOOPER: Well, unfortunately, that's the case we've seen over the past
few
months. Attacks on Islam, attacks on the Prophet Mohammed. We have
Jerry
Falwell calling the Prophet Mohammed a terrorist. You have Franklin
Graham
saying Islam is an evil faith. You have Pat Robertson saying the most
scurrilous things about Islam. And these are having an impact on
ordinary
Americans so, it's time for the American Muslim community to define
itself
and to define Islam…the World Trade Center attacks and the Pentagon
attacks, those are reality. But the reality for almost every Muslim who
will live and die on earth is that they will never come near an act of
violence or political instability. That's the reality we're trying to
reflect. The reality of American Muslim and Muslims around the world,
raising their family, going to work, paying taxes, being productive
citizens…
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: ISLAM SMEARED AT CHRISTIAN COALITION FORUM
On February 15, the Christian Coalition held a symposium on Islam in
Washington, D.C. Prior to the symposium, Muslim groups expressed
concerns
that the symposium's panel of "experts" lacked balance and objectivity.
The
excerpts below would seem to validate those concerns:
"Islam is a prison with no way out." - Panelist Labib Mikhail
"Islam is not a religion of peace. It is a religion, which throughout
its
1400 year history, has lent itself well to fanaticism, terrorism, mass
murder, oppression, and conversion by the sword…How does one
accommodate a
creed that elevates homicide to a religious obligation?" Panelist Don
Feder
-----
BOCA MAN FACES JAIL FOR BURNING MOSQUE SIGN
Jon Burstein, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 2/19/03
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pmosque19feb19,0,7930195.story
A Boca Raton construction company owner pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a
misdemeanor hate crime for setting fire to a wooden sign announcing the
new
site of an Islamic community center and mosque. George Aboujawdeh, 46,
faces up to a year in jail for torching the 4-by-8-foot sign on the
vacant
lot that is the future home of the Assalam Center. He is the first
person
in Palm Beach County to be prosecuted for a hate crime targeting
Muslims
since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Two Boca Raton police officers arrested Aboujawdeh after watching him
douse
the sign with lighter fluid and flee as it went up in flames. Police
had
been watching the sign for six weeks after it had been hacked with an
ax
and twice set on fire.
Police said Aboujawdeh told them he burned the sign on Sept. 4 because
he
wanted "to send them a message they're not liked here." Aboujawdeh has
denied vandalizing the sign before that night.
An attorney representing the center's board of directors said they want
Aboujawdeh to receive some jail time for instilling fear in the local
Muslim community...
SEE ALSO:
MD MUSLIMS URGE INCLUSION OF "MOSQUE" IN HATE CRIMES BILL
The following is an excerpt from a letter sent to Joseph Vallario,
Delegate
to the Maryland State Senate, regarding an upcoming bill on hate
crimes:
Honorable Chairman Vallario,
On behalf of my community, I want to commend you and the entire General
Assembly on taking this very important step in enhancing the Hate Crime
Laws of our great State…through HB 322. We, the citizens of Maryland,
have
every reason to feel pride in the knowledge that the political
leadership
of our State is in the hands of thoughtful and caring leaders like
you...
If you permit me, I would like to make a suggestion that should improve
the
effectiveness of this Law even further. In Section 10-302 (1) a church,
synagogue, or other place of worship, I would request that two more
words,
mosque and temple, be added, so that the subsection would then read as
follows;
10-302 (1) a church, synagogue, mosque, temple or other place of
worship;
This would render a proper and much needed recognition for a very large
number of Marylanders who are Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs...
Sabir A. Rahman
President, Board of Directors
Muslim Community Center, Silver Spring, MD
FOR BACKGROUND, SEE: http://mlis.state.md.us/2003rs/billfile/HB0322.htm
ACTION REQUESTED: Send letters requesting inclusion of "mosque" and
"temple" in the Maryland Hate Crimes bill to:
Honorable Chairman Joseph Vallario
Chairman, Judiciary Committee
House of Delegates
121 Lowe House Office Building
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
E-MAIL: joseph_vallario@house.state.md.us
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
---
"ISLAMAPHOBIA" STRONG AND EXPANDING IN AUSTRALIA, NEW REPORT FINDS
Agence France Presse, 2/19/03
SYDNEY - Islamaphobia is alive and thriving in Australia, according to
a
new study which has found 55 percent of Australians would be concerned
if a
relative married a Muslim.
The survey, one of the most extensive ever undertaken, shows while
there is
antipathy towards other minorities such as Asians, Jews and
Aboriginals,
Muslims are clearly seen as unable to fit into Australia's western
society.
"The results clearly indicate an expanding Islamaphobia, no doubt
linked to
recent geopolitical events, media representations of Muslims, and an
accumulating heritage of western antipathy to Islam," said its author,
Sydney academic Kevin Dunn. More than 5,000 residents of New South
Wales
and Queensland were interviewed for the study in late 2001, after the
September 11 attacks in the United States, but before the Bali bombings
in
which Islamic extremists are accused of killing more than 190 people,
88 of
them Australian.
Its conclusions will be detailed to a conference on immigration and
integration at Sydney University on Thursday by Dunn, a senior lecturer
in
geography at the University of New South Wales.
He said that while almost a quarter of Australians experience everyday
racism, 35 percent of non-English speaking migrants experience it in
the
workplace and 30 percent in education...
More than 80 percent acknowledged a problem of racism in Australia, but
only 12 percent admitted to being racist themselves.
---
MUSLIM-BASHER GETS MSNBC SHOW
(NOTE: Over the years, CAIR has received numerous complaints about
Michael
Savage's anti-Islamic rhetoric.)
SAVAGE WITH THE TRUTH
Ben Fritz, Salon.com, 2/19/03
http://www.salon.com/books/review/2003/02/19/savage/index_np.html
Conservative radio hosts have come to dominate the airwaves with
ferocious
rhetoric that's often filled with ad hominem attacks and blatant
untruths,
but Michael Savage is easily the worst of the bunch. Savage, who makes
Rush
Limbaugh look reasonable, isn't just a radio personality anymore. His
book
"The Savage Nation: Saving America From the Liberal Assault on Our
Borders,
Language and Culture" has reached the top of the New York Times
bestseller
list, and Savage has been rewarded with his own weekly MSNBC show as
part
of that struggling cable network's efforts to improve its ratings.
Criticizing the rhetoric on Savage's radio show, which has about 5
million
listeners and airs on over 300 stations, is a relatively easy task, as
evidenced last week when MSNBC announced Savage's new show. The liberal
media watchdog group FAIR, for instance, immediately responded with a
press
release pointing out that Savage often refers to Third World nations as
"turd world nations." In addition, Savage has said the U.S. "is being
taken
over by the freaks, the cripples, the perverts and the mental
defectives,"
and said of poor immigrants, "You open the door to them, and the next
thing
you know, they are defecating on your country and breeding out of
control..."
Unlike Hannity's "Let Freedom Ring," for example, which often reads
like a
collection of Republican talking points, "The Savage Nation" is an
almost
unreadable amalgamation of virulent attacks on liberals, feminism,
Islam
and gays. It wouldn't be much of a surprise if people like MSNBC
president
Erik Sorenson, who called Savage "brash, passionate and smart" in a
press
release, haven't actually opened the book...
SEND POLITE COMMENTS TO: erik.sorenson@msnbc.com
COPY TO: cair@cair-net.org
-----
ACLU ASKS HIGH COURT TO SET SPY LIMITS
Gina Holland, Associated Press, 2/19/03
WASHINGTON - Civil liberties groups are using an unusual legal maneuver
to
challenge the government's spying authority, filing a Supreme Court
appeal
on behalf of people who don't even know they're being monitored.
The court, however, could refuse to even consider the appeal, the first
post-Sept. 11 anti-terror case to reach the justices.
The American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations asked the
court
Tuesday to consider the boundaries of a law that gave the government
broader spying authority after the terrorist attacks.
The ACLU argued that a review court misinterpreted the Patriot Act,
making
it too easy for the government to get permission to listen to telephone
conversations, read e-mail or search private property, then use the
information in criminal cases...
SEE ALSO:
FORUM UNDERSCORES THREATS TO CIVIL LIBERTIES
Soojung Chang & Robyn Lukow, Michigan Daily, 2/18/03
http://www.michigandaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/02/18/3e51d601d8804?in_archive=1
Ann Arbor, Mich. - Concern about the state of civil liberties brought
together a broad coalition of groups Monday in the University of
Michigan
Union Ballroom to discuss the potential threat caused by recent
anti-terror
legislation.
The event, titled "Know Your Rights," featured Nabi Hayad from the
Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, Haaris Ahmad from the
Council
on American-Islamic Relations, Noel Saleh from the American Civil
Liberties
Union, Layla Hanna from the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and
Rackham
student and Graduate Employees Union member Alyssa Picard…
The panel opened with Ahmad, who outlined the effects of the USA
PATRIOT
Act of 2001, which gave law enforcement expanded intelligence abilities
and
surveillance of non-citizens.
"Under this act, immigrants are to be detained indefinitely for
extended
periods of time if they are viewed as a threat," Ahmad said. "This
wasn't
the case before…"
Ahmad also discussed the potential effects of the Domestic Security
Enhancement Act of 2003 or "Patriot II," which he said would further
increase surveillance powers of the federal government, take away
immigrants' rights and could give the government the ability to remove
citizenship from people because of their political affiliation.
"It's very scary to see that this could happen," Ahmad said about the
proposed bill that would allow the government to strip even native-born
citizens of their U.S. citizenship.
"We don't even do this to capital murderers," he added…
---
A HEALTHY DEBATE IN U. CITY
St. Louis Post Dispatch, 2/19/03
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/News/Editorial/D276CBAA23DA66CD86256CD2004ADDF4
Last week, the University City Council adopted a resolution criticizing
the
Patriot Act, the Homeland Security Act and the U.S. Attorney General's
guidelines on domestic surveillance as "infringing fundamental
liberties."
It instructed city employees to stop "participating in or assisting
with
investigations, interrogations, or arrest procedures" they think are
unconstitutional...
Mr. Gruender wrote his critique of the University City resolution with
approval from Washington. Like his boss, Attorney General John D.
Ashcroft,
Mr. Gruender gives short-shrift to the serious constitutional questions
raised here. Among them: Federal agents can get foreign intelligence
warrants without probable cause of a crime. Agents can spy on Americans
in
churches and synagogues again as they did during the abuses by FBI
chief J.
Edgar Hoover in the 1960s. Agents have locked up and questioned
thousands
of Arab immigrants, despite the government's claim that there is no
profiling.
University City is right not to close its eyes to these infringements
on
civil liberties that touch their city. No one is endangered if the
police
refuse to spy on fringe groups, or to profile Arab immigrants. Police
can
still cooperate with the FBI where there is evidence that a terrorist
cell
may pose a real threat. Nor is anyone endangered if the public library
insists that the FBI produce a subpoena for library records. That is an
appropriate way to protect the privacy of patrons...
-----
SHIN BET GRABS LAPTOP FROM PALESTINIAN'S U.S. LAWYER
Arnon Regular, Ha'aretz, 2/19/03
http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=264386
An American lawyer in Israel to collect testimony from Palestinians in
a
case against the Israeli government, had his personal computer
confiscated
yesterday at Ben-Gurion International Airport by members of the Shin
Bet
security service. The attorney, Stanley Cohen, represents U.S. citizens
of
Palestinian origin in claims submitted in American courts against the
Israeli government.
Cohen has spent the past two weeks gathering evidence in the
territories
for the purpose of submitting the material to a federal court in
Washington. The court will be hearing a claim submitted by Cohen and a
group of lawyers on behalf of 19 American Palestinians against Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon and members of the outgoing cabinet, Israel
Defense
Forces officers, U.S. President George W. Bush and American weapons
manufacturers that supply arms to the IDF. The claim was filed last
July
and the federal judge hearing the case is expected to decide soon on
whether to transfer the case to a jury hearing...
Cohen, who showed up early yesterday morning at Ben-Gurion
International
for his flight back to the U.S., said that a security guard who
introduced
himself as Aki Erlich had informed him that "for security reasons," he
would not be able to leave Israel with his personal computer, in which
a
large portion of the material he had collected was stored.
"All my efforts to clarify to the security guards that they were not
allowed to take my computer from me came to naught," Cohen said. "The
guard
said to me, `You can remain in Israel ... but you cannot take your
computer."
"The first thing I intend to do when I land in the U.S. is to submit a
complaint to the U.S. State Department and to lodge a complaint with
the
Israeli Embassy. This is a critical blow to attorney-client relations
and I
advise the Israeli authorities not to make any use of the data in the
computer against my clients. I intend to add myself to the claim I
filed in
Washington on behalf of the Palestinians..."
SEE ALSO:
HOME NO REFUGE FOR PALESTINIANS IN COMBAT ZONES
Nidal al-Mughrabi, Reuters, 2/19/03
GAZA - For Palestinians caught up in a clash between Israeli forces and
the
militants in their midst, the rules of fight or flight do not apply.
To fight means to risk quick death. And fleeing, especially if you are
a
fit young man, is no less likely to draw the eye of a jumpy Israeli
sniper
in the darkness and confusion of combat.
But as the al-Helo brothers discovered on Wednesday during a lightning
Israeli raid on their neighbourhood of Tufah in Gaza City, simply
staying
at home is no sure way of weathering the storm unscathed.
Saeed and Ala Helo, 21 and 26 years old, were killed as they cowered
under
the staircase of their home, crushed and impaled by metal girders in a
knock-on collapse caused by the Israeli army's dynamiting of the metal
workshop next door.
The workshop's owner was gone, having been evacuated by troops as a
gunbattle with militants raged outside, according to neighbours. But
his
son, 23-year-old Tamer al-Qata, apparently feared being detained for
questioning and hid along with the Helo brothers. He suffered the same
fate...
---
A 'TOXIC' MEME?
Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, 2/19/03
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/justincol.html
Who benefits from our rush to war? Forget the oil companies: Iraqi oil
is
being kept off the market by the draconian sanctions, and its postwar
release will drive the price down. That oil, in any case, will be
utilized
for the reconstruction of Iraq, and the profits will be used to outfit
the
new rulers with offices, cell phones, and palaces of their own. So,
back to
the question: who benefits in a geo-strategic sense?
The answer is clearly Israel. One has only to look at a map, and glance
casually at the headlines, to come to this conclusion... The American
conquest of Iraq will eliminate a threat to Israeli security, and pave
the
way for the extension of the war against Israel's other enemies in the
region, notably Syria…
This strategic perspective was clearly outlined in a 1996 paper
prepared
for the Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies' "Study
Group on a New Israeli Strategy Toward 2000," entitled "A Clean Break:
A
New Strategy for Securing the Realm…" The idea was to dissuade the
Israelis
from going along with the Oslo accord, and outline a new Israeli
strategic
vision that would not only rid them of their Palestinian problem, but
give
them "breathing space." And I quote:
"Israel can shape its strategic environment, in cooperation with Turkey
and
Jordan, by weakening, containing, and even rolling back Syria. This
effort
can focus on removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq - an important
Israeli strategic objective in its own right - as a means of foiling
Syria's regional ambitions. Jordan has challenged Syria's regional
ambitions recently by suggesting the restoration of the Hashemites in
Iraq…"
That American policy has become a giganticized replica of Israel's is
not a
development that could have passed unnoticed…
---
RESOLUTION ON ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS UNLIKELY TO PASS JEWISH POLICY FORUM
Matthew E. Berger, JTA, 2/18/09
http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?strwebhead=Group+likely+to+defeat+settlements+resolution&intcategoryid=3
WASHINGTON - Numerous Jewish organizations are lining up to defeat a
resolution to be debated next week at an American Jewish policy
conference
that calls on Israel to freeze settlements in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip.
The Reform movement has submitted a resolution on Israel for debate at
the
annual plenum of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, which is slated
to
be held early next week in Baltimore.
The JCPA is the umbrella organization of 13 national Jewish
organizations
and 123 local Jewish community relations councils.
As such, it is considered an important forum to get national and local
input - and consensus - on policy issues important to the organized
Jewish
community.
The resolution, which expresses solidarity with the State of Israel and
the
Israeli people, says Israel's policy of settlement expansion
"complicates"
the chances for Middle East peace and calls for a freeze on all
settlement
growth in the West Bank and Gaza...
-----
MUSLIM INS REGISTRATION IS EXTENDED
Jack Chang, Contra Costa Times, 2/19/03
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/news/5213602.htm
Male visitors to the United States from a group of Muslim countries
have
been allowed another month to comply with a controversial registration
program or face possible deportation, the Immigration and
Naturalization
Service announced Tuesday.
Men over 16 from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have until March 21 to
register
with their local INS office, a full month after the original deadline
this
Friday. U.S. citizens, permanent residents, refugees and asylum
applicants
and recipients are excluded from the requirement.
Men over 16 from Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan and Kuwait also
received a deadline extension. Originally required to check in with
authorities by March 28, nationals from those five countries can
register
between Feb. 24 and April 25. The registration requirement only applies
to
people who entered the United States before this past October…
-----
'WHY WAR?' NEEDS ANSWER
Robert Steinback, Miami Herald, 2/18/03
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/5203694.htm
Let's make clear what the impending war in Iraq is not.
It is not a war to liberate the Iraqi people.
More than a few hawks are putting forth this fiction to soothe the
sting of
what war really would be: History's first instance of America choosing
to
invade and occupy a sovereign nation that poses little discernible
threat
to this country or our allies.
The liberation hawks were inspired by President Bush, who, in his State
of
the Union message, referred to an America willing to make a "sacrifice
for
the liberty of strangers."
This is breathtaking sophistry. We're going to liberate a population by
killing them? How many Iraqi deaths have we decided are worth
sacrificing
for Iraq's freedom -- 500? 50,000? More…?
We've been told we're going to war to eliminate weapons of mass
destruction
we haven't located yet; to retaliate for links to al Qaeda that are
historically tenuous; to eliminate a man for actions he might take some
day; to liberate an oppressed people we didn't care about before Sept.
11.
Which is it? It doesn't matter to the Bush administration, as long as
you
accept any of the above...
SEE ALSO:
WHY UNITY IS ESSENTIAL
Zbigniew Brzezinski, Washington Post, 2/19/03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27771-2003Feb18.html
The manner in which the United States has reacted to European
reservations
regarding Iraq has created the impression that some U.S. leaders
confuse
NATO with the Warsaw Pact. Even worse, the glee in Washington over
European
division regarding the U.S. position has nurtured the European penchant
for
conspiracy theories. Not only is the United States suspected of
welcoming
European disunity; some Europeans are beginning to believe that the
United
States, largely under the influence of those policymakers most eager
for
war, is actually planning a grand strategic realignment. The Atlantic
alliance would be replaced by a coalition of non-European states, such
as
Russia, India and Israel, each with special hostility toward various
parts
of the Muslim world…
---
AMERICA PAYING A PRICE FOR POSSIBLE WAR OVER IRAQ -
IN DECLINING PRESTIGE WORLDWIDE
JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press, 2/19/03
In many corners of the globe, America's image is slipping. While the
current crisis is over Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, the United
States is on trial in the court of world public opinion for pushing
efforts
to disarm President Saddam Hussein by military force, rather than
through
slower but peaceful U.N. inspections.
Interviews by Associated Press reporters with dozens of ordinary people
in
nations as far-flung as France and China, Algeria and South Korea,
suggest
that goodwill and sympathy for the United States generated by the Sept.
11
terror attacks have evaporated.
For some, the United States is again - or always has been - the country
they love to hate: America the brutal, America the hypocrite, America
the
implacable ideological or religious foe…
But beyond the zealots and outside the Muslim world, many others are
torn
between admiration for Americans and things American - they cite
democracy,
technology, Hollywood movies - and the discomforting reality of America
the
sole superpower, able and willing to fight alone if need be, despite
international opposition…
No survey can capture the global range of emotions the United States
inspires. But there are common threads. No matter the language, words
used
these days to describe America are often the same: bent on war,
arrogant,
bullying, blind to the plight of the poor. At anti-war protests like
those
that brought millions onto streets worldwide this weekend, President
Bush
is lampooned as a bloodthirsty bandit or a cowboy…
A common argument in Europe, where tens of millions died in two world
wars
last century, is that U.S. leaders are ignorant of war's devastation
because they have not experienced conflict at home…
---
ANTI-BUSH T-SHIRT BANNED AT MICHIGAN SCHOOL
Associated Press, 2/19/03
School officials ordered a 16-year-old to either take off a T-shirt
emblazoned with the words "International Terrorist" and a picture of
President George W. Bush or go home, saying they worried it would
inflame
passions at the school where a majority of students are Arab-American.
The student, Bretton Barber, chose to go home. He said he wore the
shirt
Monday to express his anti-war position and for a class assignment in
which
he wrote a compare-contrast essay on Bush and Iraq President Saddam
Hussein.
Schools spokesman Dave Mustonen said students have the right to freedom
of
expression, but educators are sensitive to tensions caused by the
conflict
with Iraq…
Dearborn is the center of an Arab-American community of about 300,000
in
southeastern Michigan. About 55 percent of the district's 17,600
students
are Arab-American.
-----
HISTORY LESSONS NEEDED
Marjie Lundstrom, Oakland Tribune, 2/19/03
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1751~1189631,00.html
The last time I visited the remains of Manzanar, the World War II
relocation center in east-central California, my family walked alone
amid
the dusty ruins. It was a stark, desolate place, a barren stretch of
high
desert that meets the Sierra Nevada rising sharply to the west.
There was little left behind, as if to say: Never again.
But others are hearing a different refrain, a drumbeat of new voices --
however faint -- that seem to be saying that maybe this American
atrocity
wasn't so bad after all. That maybe, with today's buildup to war, the
rounding-up and forced internment of targeted groups is understandable.
The disturbing rhetoric is why two California congressmen, who gave up
pieces of their childhoods to these internment camps, are stepping
forward
to publicly challenge a colleague.
Just two months after Republican Sen. Trent Lott lost his leadership
post
for opining on the country's segregationist past, a prominent
Republican
congressman has infuriated Japanese Americans and Arab Americans and
countless others with his comments about another sorry chapter of
America's
past.
During a radio call-in show last week, North Carolina Rep. Howard Coble
said he believed President Franklin D. Roosevelt was right to send
Japanese
Americans to internment camps during World War II -- if only for their
own
safety...
"The Muslim community is very upset about this," said Ibrahim Hooper,
spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic
Relations.
"We're concerned to begin with that people have this (internment) in
the
back of their minds. When it's verbalized like this, it confirms our
worst
fears."
California Democratic Congressmen Robert Matsui and Mike Honda wrote to
Coble last week, denouncing his comments and requesting a face-to-face
meeting. The letter also was signed by Rep. David Wu, D-Ore.
"National security is our highest priority," they wrote. "However, it
is
also important to us to protect the fundamental principles of the
United
States Constitution...
-----
ARAB-AMERICAN WRITERS, UNEASY IN TWO WORLDS
Dinitia Smith, New York Times, 2/19/03
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/19/books/19WRIT.html
One of the hottest young hip-hop poets these days is Suheir Hammad, 29,
who
was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Amman, Jordan, and reared in
Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Six days a week Ms. Hammad stands onstage at the
Longacre Theater in "Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway,"
chanting
her heart out.
Her skin is olive, and despite the hip-hop setting, she is modestly
dressed
in a long-sleeved blouse and a long skirt, showing respect for her
Muslim
background. Ms. Hammad is one of the most visible of an increasingly
visible group of Arab-American writers who have emerged as a result of
the
ethnic identity movements of the past few decades. They feel a special
urgency now in the wake of the terrorist attacks, the continuing
conflicts
between Israelis and Palestinians, the possibility of war with Iraq and
what they see as the widespread labeling of Arab-Americans as
terrorists…
Above all, Ms. Hammad credits her parents' teaching of the Koran as the
inspiration for her work. She became a poet, she said, because of
"having
parents saying the way to live is through the music of this language."
Writing poetry, she added, "is my expressing myself as closely as
possible
to the original creation. For me creativity is a reflection of a higher
power."
-----
IOWA CONFERENCE ON ISLAM TO BRING NATIONAL SCHOLARS
WHAT: Third Annual Iowa Conference on Islam will include lectures,
workshops, interactive sessions, private consultations & questions
booth,
Quran recitations, movie showing, Islamic art gallery, a bazaar, and a
children's program.
Speakers include: Nihad Awad, Aminah Beverly McCloud, Siraj Wahhaj
(tentative), Zoubir Bouchikhi, Omar Khalidi, and Reem Hussein.
WHEN: Friday, March 7 to Sunday, March 9
WHERE: Maucker Union, University of Northern Iowa. Cedar Falls, Iowa
CONTACT: Iowa Muslims Association at (319) 621-6375,
email questions@IowaMuslims.org
REGISTER ONLINE at http://www.IowaMuslims.org
-----
TO BECOME A CAIR MEMBER, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FBI REQUEST FOR MOSQUE LIST CONDEMNED
Maryland Islamic society asked for membership list, demand later
rescinded
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/20/03) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR), a Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group,
today
called on FBI Director Robert Mueller to offer assurances that American
mosques are not being asked to turn over membership lists to local
agents.
The group said such demands are a violation of civil and religious
rights
that should be condemned by all Americans.
CAIR's request came following reports that FBI agents in Maryland
summoned
leaders of the Islamic Society of Frederick to the agency's local field
office. When calling for the meeting, the agents "mentioned casually"
they
would be asking for a list of the society's members. After the mosque's
leadership informed media outlets, interfaith partners and civil rights
groups, local FBI officials said they would not press for the list.
(Associated Press, 2/20/03)
"That the FBI is seeking lists of ordinary, law-abiding American
Muslims
only serves to confirm the Islamic community's worst fears of religious
and
ethnic profiling," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.
"Director Mueller needs to offer concrete assurances that this
disturbing
incident is not a reflection of actual FBI policy or the beginning of a
crack-down on Islam in America. Any such policy would contradict
President
Bush's repeated declarations that the war on terrorism is not an attack
on
Islam," said Awad.
Awad called on local Muslim communities to report any FBI demands for
membership lists by contacting CAIR. He added, "One has to wonder how
many
mosques have already been intimidated into turning over this kind of
information."
In January, CAIR called on the Department of Justice to rescind a new
policy directive that would have FBI field offices count local mosques
to
determine goals for counter terrorism investigations and secret
wiretaps.
Under that policy, if field offices do not meet their goals, they may
be
subjected to special reviews.
SEE: "The FBI Says, Count the Mosques,"
http://www.msnbc.com/news/864367.asp
The request for the membership list and the mosque-counting policy come
in
the midst of an INS registration program under which hundreds of
American
Muslims have been detained, and sometimes deported. Muslim community
leaders and immigration-rights activists say that program is also based
on
religious and ethnic profiling.
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-MAIL:
cair@cair-net.org; Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441,
E-MAIL:
hhassan@cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive
news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MUSLIMS CONCERNED OVER ARREST OF FLORIDA PROFESSOR
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/20/03) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) today expressed deep concern over the arrest of a Muslim
professor
in Florida who has been under investigation for a number of years
without
any evidence of wrongdoing being presented.
University of South Florida (USF) Professor Sami Al-Arian was arrested
under sealed indictment early Thursday and faces a court hearing this
afternoon.
Al-Arian has long been the target of those seeking to tie him to Middle
Eastern terrorism. He came under intense scrutiny after a 2001
appearance
on Fox New's "O'Reilly Factor." Following that appearance, USF sought
to
have him removed from his teaching position.
"We are very concerned that the government would bring charges after
investigating an individual for many years without offering any
evidence of
criminal activity. This action could leave the impression that
Al-Arian's
arrest is based on political considerations, not legitimate national
security concerns," said CAIR Board Chairman Omar Ahmad.
Ahmad said that if the government has a case against Al-Arian, it
should be
presented in open court and not hidden using secret evidence or closed
hearings.
- END -
CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-MAIL:
cair@cair-net.org; Ms. Hodan Hassan, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441,
E-MAIL:
hhassan@cair-net.org
NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a window to the
American
Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called CAIR-NET, receive
news
releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on
issues of importance to our society.
To SUBSCRIBE to CAIR-NET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
-----
TO BECOME A CAIR MEMBER, GO TO:
https://www.cair-net.org/asp/membership.asp
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: cair@cair-net.org
URL: http://www.cair-net.org
-----
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
CAIR ACTION ALERT #366
MUSLIM GIRL SCOUTS FEATURED IN NATIONAL AD CAMPAIGN
CAIR ads designed to foster understanding of Islam, American Muslims
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/21/03) - A Muslim Girl Scout troop in California
will
be featured in the second installment of a national advertising
campaign
designed to foster greater understanding of Islam and to counter the
rising
tide of anti-Muslim rhetoric in the United States. SEE:
www.americanmuslims.info
CAIR launched the year-long "Islam in America" campaign last Sunday
with an
ad on the New York Times editorial page. That ad featured images of an
African-American girl, an Asian man and another man of European
heritage,
and asked the question: "Which one of us is a Muslim?" The response:
"We
all are...we're American Muslims."
The text of the latest CAIR ad reads:
"The members of Santa Clara Muslim Girl Scout Troop #856 have made a
pledge
to serve their community, their country and God. The American values
that
we all cherish, like service, charity and tolerance, are the same
values
that Muslims are taught to uphold in our daily life.
"Muslim life and worship are structured around the Five Pillars of
Islam -
faith, prayer, helping the needy, fasting, and pilgrimage. The third
pillar
teaches that all things belong to God and are only held in trust by
humans,
so as Muslims we are expected to share a percentage of our wealth every
year to help the poor.
"Devotion to God and the teachings of Islam strengthen our commitment
to
community and country. Like Americans of all faiths, we use the
principles
of our religion to guide us in an ever-changing world, and we teach our
children to respect the values that make our country a secure place for
all
Americans."
The weekly CAIR ads, each explaining one aspect of Islam, are being
distributed to Muslim communities around America for placement in local
newspapers. A number of communities have already expressed interest in
taking part in the campaign. As each ad is published in the New York
Times,
it will be available at www.americanmuslims.info.
CAIR is one of America's largest Islamic civil liberties and advocacy
groups. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has 15 regional
offices nationwide and in Canada. Since its founding in 1994, CAIR has
defended the civil and religious rights of all Americans.
ACTION REQUESTED:
1. Publish each weekly ad in your local community's newspaper. This is
a
year-long campaign, so you can get more favorable rates by agreeing to
publish a series of ads instead of just one.
For a step-by-step guide to publishing the "Islam in America" ads in
your
local newspaper, go to:
http://www.americanmuslims.info/instructions.asp
2. Donate to support the campaign. To send a contribution, use the form
below, or go to:
https://secure42.softcomca.com/americanmuslims_info/donate.asp
- PLEASE POST, COPY AND DISTRIBUTE -
--- CLIP AND MAIL/FAX/E-MAIL ---
YES, I would like to support CAIR's "Islam in America" ad campaign by
donating $___________. Enclosed is my check, payable to "CAIR."
Name:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip:
TEL:
FAX:
E-MAIL:
Payment: ___Check ___VISA ___MasterCard ___Discover ___Money Order
Credit Card Number:
Exp. Date:
Name as on Card:
Signature: ________________________________________________
SEND TO: CAIR, 453 New Jersey Ave., S.E., Washington, D.C. 20003
FAX: 202-488-0833 E-MAIL: membership@cair-net.org
-----
To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to:
http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/
To reach the list moderator, send a message to: cair@cair-net.org
-----
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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