CAIR Asks FBI to Probe Nazi Vandalism of Idaho Mosque

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful


AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/10/07

* CAIR Asks FBI to Probe Nazi Vandalism of Idaho Mosque
- Boise Mosque Targeted with Swastika Stickers (Times-News)
* CAIR-FL Rep to Moderate Discussion of Islam at Church (SP Times)
- CAIR-PA: Panel Discussion on Middle East Issues
* NY: Aid for Families of Muslim Fire Victims Pours In (Newsday)
- CAIR-NY Urges Support for Survivors of Fatal Fire
* MD: Bill on Muslim Funeral Services Clears House of Delegates
* MN: Sunnis, Shias Find Ways to Get Along (Star Tribune)
* U.S. Soldiers Accused of Shooting Iraqi Civilians (NT Times)

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CAIR ASKS FBI TO PROBE NAZI VANDALISM OF IDAHO MOSQUE - TOP

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/10/07) - A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called on the FBI to investigate vandalism at an Idaho mosque as a possible hate crime.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said stickers bearing Nazi swastikas were recently plastered on the Islamic Center of Boise.

"Americans of all faiths should be concerned whenever a house of worship is targeted by hate," said CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. "We call on the FBI to add its resources to those of local law enforcement authorities so that the perpetrators of this apparent act of religious intimidation may be brought to justice."

Hooper said there have been a number of similar incidents of vandalism targeting mosques nationwide.

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 32 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com

SEE ALSO:

BOISE MOSQUE TARGETED WITH SWASTIKA STICKERS - TOP
REBECCA BOONE, Times-News, 3/10/07
http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2007/03/10/ap-state-id/d8np6gm02.txt

Police are investigating after swastika-emblazoned stickers promoting a neo-Nazi group were plastered on the Islamic Center of Boise.

The stickers peeled off easily, leaving no physical damage to the mosque, police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower said. But they left behind an emotional residue, with local Muslims wondering why they were targeted.

"These things don't pop up in Boise very often, but they're a cause for concern, especially when they show up on a mosque," Hightower said.

The stickers were discovered Sunday morning, as children arrived at the mosque for Sunday school, said Furqan Mehmood, the center's education director.

"We were concerned if this was targeted toward our children," said Mehmood.

But after questioning members of the mosque, officials learned the stickers were actually left Saturday afternoon. Somali refugees who came to the mosque to pray that afternoon noticed the stickers but didn't report them because they were unfamiliar with the swastika symbol and assumed they were from a delivery service or other benign source, Mehmood said. . .

During a service at the mosque Friday, Abdul Khaliq Yoonas encouraged the congregation to continue giving back to the Boise community despite facing harassment from others.

"Even in Idaho, as redneck as it gets at least, that's the reputation that it has two years ago a Muslim received the Idaho human rights award," Yoonas said. "Every one of us in our own way can make a contribution. ... You will hear all kinds of stuff about you as Muslims and your faith, but let's not let that affect us. You have to be steadfast in your belief system."

The stickers promoted Combat 18, a loosely organized neo-Nazi group that likely originated in Britain, officials said. (MORE)

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CAIR-FL REP TO MODERATE DISCUSSION OF ISLAM AT CHURCH - TOP
St. Petersburg Times, 3/10/07
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/03/10/Northpinellas/Religion_briefs.shtml

[NOTE: This event has been rescheduled for March 28.]

Religion briefs

Chapel-By-The-Sea Community Church, 54 Bay Esplanade, Clearwater Beach: The church's winter-spring adult education series concludes 7:30 to 9 p.m. Monday with "Foundations of Faith: Understanding True Islam and Our Muslim Neighbors." The program will be moderated by Ahmed Bedier, executive director of the central Florida office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations based in Washington, D.C. The council's mission is to promote an accurate image of Islam and Muslims in America. All are welcome. For information or for reservations, call 446-0430.

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CAIR-PA: PANEL DISCUSSION ON MIDDLE EAST ISSUES - TOP
News Journal
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070310/LIFE/703100302

Delaware Valley Muslim leaders will gather for a panel discussion at 4 p.m. March 18 in the Ruby R. Vale Courtroom at Widener University School of Law, 4601 Concord Pike in Brandywine Hundred.

The panel includes:

* Sofia Ali-Khan, a staff attorney at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia and a board member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Philadelphia.

* John Pavloff, an assistant district attorney in Chester County, Pa., for 19 years. He has been a board member, vice president and secretary of the Islamic Society of Chester County.

* Dr. Mazhar Rishi, chief of pathology at St. Francis Hospital. He is the director of interfaith programs for the Delaware Valley Council on American-Islamic Relations.

* Dr. James Stephenson, an occupational and travel medicine physician at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center. He is a former chairman of the board of the Islamic Society of Chester County.

The moderator will be Alan Garfield, a professor of law at Widener University School of Law.

A reception will follow. Call 477-2177.

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NY: AID FOR FAMILIES POURS IN - TOP
EMI ENDO, Newsday, 3/10/07
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nysupp105124544mar10,0,7220591.story

A group of Bronx businesses pooled $25,000.

Maria Cancel offered macaroni and cheese and sardines from a corner bodega.

The Yankees offered to pay for the funeral costs of the eight children and one woman who died in Wednesday night's deadly blaze in Highbridge.

More than a dozen area mosques each contributed $1,000 or more to the families.

Through many gestures, both small and grand, New Yorkers responded to the tragedy with an outpouring of prayers, stuffed animals and financial assistance.

Moussa Magassa lost five of his 11 children and Mamadou Soumare lost his wife and three of his four children.

Sheikh Moussa Drammeh, principal of the Islamic Cultural School, announced the formation of the Magassa-Soumare Family Fund, 371 E. 166th St., Bronx, N.Y. 10456. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-NY Urges Support for Survivors of Fatal Fire - TOP

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MD: BILL ON MUSLIM FUNERAL SERVICES CLEARS HOUSE OF DELEGATES - TOP
Washington Post, 3/10/07
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/09/AR2007030902009.html

A bill that acknowledges the growing political clout of Maryland's Muslim community cleared the House of Delegates unanimously yesterday and is headed to the Senate.

The bill addresses complaints from Muslim leaders that their community is served by just one licensed mortician in the Washington region, in the District.

Since Muslims do not practice embalming but perform a ritual cleansing of the body instead, they have not been able to break into the funeral home industry in Maryland. That's because anyone applying for a mortician's license must embalm and perform cosmetic work on at least 20 dead bodies as an apprentice, a practice banned by Islamic law.

The bill would open the industry to Muslims by exempting them from embalming as they learn the trade, creating two licensing tracks for morticians -- those who embalm and those who don't.

"I'm happy to say that this addresses a problem we heard about from many Muslims," said Del. Saqib Ali (D-Montgomery) who co-sponsored the measure with Del. Samuel I. Rosenberg (D-Baltimore).

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MINNESOTA MUSLIMS FIND WAYS TO GET ALONG - TOP
Sunnis and Shiites sometimes discuss and debate differences, but avoid rancor.
Pamela Miller, Star Tribune, 3/10/07
http://www.startribune.com/614/story/1045122.html

When friends Taqee Khaled and Hasan Hyder kick back at Coffman Union between University of Minnesota classes, they have plenty to talk about: classes, mutual friends, Muslim Student Association activities, life.

Khaled, 25, a graduate student in epidemiology, and Hyder, 21, a senior majoring in economics, also frequently pray together.

But there's one thing they have never felt the need to talk about -- who's Sunni and who's Shiite.

For the record, Khaled, who grew up in Minneapolis, is of Bangladesh Sunni heritage, and Hyder, who was born in India and moved to the United States several years ago, is Shiite.

Daily, the two are dismayed at the news from the Middle East, where Sunni-vs.-Shiite tensions have exploded into bloodbaths in Iraq and Lebanon, spawned incendiary talk in some Arab-language publications and turned Baghdad into a no-man's-land of dangerous, divided neighborhoods. This week has been especially bloody, with 340 Iraqis dying, most of them Shiite pilgrims on their way to a shrine in Karbala, south of Baghdad.

Such strife, Khaled and Hyder say, is the result not of ancient theological differences but rather of political and economic instability -- and of war. (MORE)

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U.S. SOLDIERS ACCUSED OF SHOOTING CIVILIANS IN SADR CITY - TOP
KIRK SEMPLE, New York Times, 3/10/07
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/10/world/middleeast/10iraq.html

BAGHDAD, March 9 - American soldiers were accused Friday of opening fire on a car carrying a family in the Baghdad district of Sadr City, killing a man and his two young daughters and wounding his son.

The allegations were made by the man's wife, who was in the car, and members of the Iraqi police, who were at the scene. The American military command said in a statement on Friday that it was investigating an episode in Sadr City involving "an escalation of force," but it could not confirm any details of the account given by the man's wife. (MORE)

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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: info@cair.com
URL: http://www.cair.com