Officials Say CAIR's Critics Guilty of 'McCarthyism' / Brother of VA Muslim Murdered in Iraq / CAIR Director Meets with Ethiopian President

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful


AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/14/07

* Hadith: Do Not Create Hatred
* Action: Help Support CAIR's Important Work
* Brother of Virginia Muslim Scholar Murdered in Iraq
* CAIR Director Meets with Ethiopian President
* Officials: CAIR's Critics Guilty of 'McCarthyism' (NY Times)
* CAIR-FL Rep Appointed to ACLU State Board
- CAIR-FL Rep to Join Interfaith Discussion (Sun-Sentinel)
* CAIR-CAN Says Firing of Muslim Officer 'Entirely Unnecessary'
* CAIR-MI: Talk by 'Former Terrorist' Under Fire (Detroit News)
* CAIR: Customer Service and Faith Clash at Registers (Star Trib)
* ID Senate Passes Rights Resolution After Mosque Vandalism (AP)
- CA: Planned Mosque Causing Quite a Stir
- CA: Catholics Reciprocate Muslims' Outreach (OC Register)
* UN: Israeli Excavation in Jerusalem Should Stop (CBC)

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HADITH OF THE DAY: DO NOT CREATE HATRED - TOP

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Make things easy and convenient and don't make them harsh and difficult. Give cheer and glad tidings and do not create hatred."

Riyadh us-Saleheen Volume 1:637

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ACTION: HELP SUPPORT CAIR'S IMPORTANT WORK - TOP

Become a member: https://www.cair.com/asp/membership.asp
Donate: https://www.cair.com/asp/default.asp
Subscribe to CAIR-NET: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

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BROTHER OF VIRGINIA MUSLIM SCHOLAR MURDERED IN IRAQ - TOP

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/14/07) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today offered its sincere condolences to the family of a prominent Muslim with relatives in the United States who was murdered in Iraq.

Family members reported to CAIR that Hamed Ali Al-Hanooti was kidnapped and murdered yesterday in Baghdad. Al-Hanooti was the brother of Sheikh Muhammad Al-Hanooti, a Muslim leader and scholar in the Washington, D.C. area.

Hamed Ali Al-Hanooti was the father of six children.

"To God we belong and to Him we return," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. "We offer our sincere condolences to the family of Hamed Ali Al-Hanooti and ask God to grant them patience in this time of adversity."

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CAIR DIRECTOR MEETS WITH ETHIOPIAN PRESIDENT - TOP

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/14/07) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations Executive Director Nihad Awad yesterday took part in a private roundtable discussion with President Girma Wolde-Giorgis of Ethiopia. A representative of the Ethiopian Muslim community also took part in the meeting.

The meeting was hosted by the Institute on Religion and Public Policy in coordination with the United States Institute of Peace and the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding, and focused on inter-cultural, interreligious, and fundamental rights issues.

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; CAIR Communications Coordinator Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail: rahmed@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

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FBI OFFICIAL: CAIR'S CRITICS GUILTY OF 'MCCARTHYISM' - TOP
Neil MacFarquhar, New York Times, 3/14/07
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/washington/14cair.html

A small band of critics have made a determined but unsuccessful effort to link [CAIR] to Hamas and Hezbollah. . .

CAIR and its supporters say its accusers are a small band of people who hate Muslims and deal in half-truths. Ms. Boxer's decision to revoke the Sacramento commendation provoked an outcry from organizations that vouch for the group's advocacy, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the California Council of Churches.

"They have been a leading organization that has advocated for civil rights and civil liberties in the face of fear and intolerance, in the face of religious and ethnic profiling," said Maya Harris, the executive director of the A.C.L.U. of Northern California.

Government officials in Washington said they were not aware of any criminal investigation of the group. More than one described the standards used by critics to link CAIR to terrorism as akin to McCarthyism, essentially guilt by association.

"Of all the groups, there is probably more suspicion about CAIR, but when you ask people for cold hard facts, you get blank stares," said Michael Rolince, a retired F.B.I. official who directed counterterrorism in the Washington field office from 2002 to 2005. . .

There were no charges linked to CAIR in any of the cases involved, and law enforcement officials said that in the current climate, any hint of suspicious behavior would have resulted in a racketeering charge.

Several federal officials said CAIR's Washington office frequently issued controversial statements that made it hard for senior government figures to be associated with the group, particularly since some pro-Israeli lobbyists have created what one official called a "cottage industry" of attacking the group and anyone dealing with it.

Last summer, the group urged a halt to weapons shipments to Israel as civilian casualties in Lebanon swelled. In September, it held a dinner for former President Mohamed Khatami of Iran at a time when much of official Washington had ostracized that Islamic republic. In November, the group sponsored a panel discussion by two prominent academics who argue that the pro-Israeli lobby exercises detrimental influence on United States policy on the Middle East.

"Traditionally within the government there is only one point of view that is acceptable, which is the pro-Israel line," said Nihad Awad, a founder of CAIR and its executive director. "Another enlightened perspective on the conflict is not there, and it causes some discomfort." . . .

Some Muslims, particularly the secular, find CAIR overly influenced by Saudi religious interpretations, criticizing it for stating in news releases, for example, that all Muslim women are required to veil their hair when the matter is openly debated.

But they still support its civil rights work and endorse the idea of anyone working to make American Islam a more integral part of society. One Arab-American advocate compared CAIR to "the tough cousin who curses at anyone who speaks badly about the family."

Some activists and academics view the controversy surrounding the group as typical of why Washington fails so often in the Middle East, while extremism mushrooms.

"How far are we going to keep going in this endless circle: 'You are a terrorist!' 'No, you are a terrorist!'?" said Souleiman Ghali, one of the founders of a moderate San Francisco mosque. "People are paying a price for that."

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CAIR-FL REP APPOINTED TO ACLU STATE BOARD - TOP

(MIAMI, FL, 3/14/07) - The Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) announced today that its South Florida executive director has been elected to the board of directors for the American Civil Liberties Union of in that state.

In his letter accepting the nomination to the state ACLU board, Altaf Ali wrote: "I strongly believe that we all have to support each other and work toward building a better America for our children and for the future generations to come."

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: Altaf Ali, Executive Director, Council on American-Islamic Relations-Florida, Tel: 954-272-0490, E-Mail: altaf@cair-florida.org

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CAIR-FL: INTERFAITH DISCUSSION'S TOPIC WILL BE 'RELIGIONS OF PEACE' - TOP
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 3/14/07
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-flbriefsb0314mar14,0,6212428.story

"Religions of Peace: An Interfaith Forum" is set for 6 p.m. Sunday at Royal Palm Christian Church, 9600 Royal Palm Blvd.

The forum will include presentations by Altaf Ali, executive director of the Florida chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, Rabbi Mark Gross from Temple Beth Orr, and the Rev. Craig Watts of Royal Palm Christian Church.

A question-and-answer session will follow. The event is free and open to the public.

Call 954-753-2383.

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CAIR-CAN SAYS FIRING OF MUSLIM OFFICER 'ENTIRELY UNNECESSARY' - TOP
Muslim civil rights group suggests use of Velcro-fastened hijab to ensure safety

(Ottawa, Canada � March 14, 2007) - The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) today said the firing of a Muslim correctional officer in Bordeaux, Quebec, who wished to wear a religiously-mandated headscarf, or hijab, was "entirely unnecessary."

The woman passed all preliminary tests and had completed more than a week of training without incident, but was then told her headscarf posed a safety risk. She was fired despite the fact that the Canadian Armed Forces and police departments in other cities, including Vancouver and Victoria, allow women to wearing the hijab on the front lines and in active duty.

SEE: Hijab Wearing Woman Fired
http://www.940news.com/local.php?news=5391

"Any safety issue could have been addressed through the use of a Velcro-fastened hijab, which would be removed quite easily in case of emergency," said CAIR-CAN spokeswoman Sarah Elgazzar. "The entirely unnecessary action taken against this officer is a clear violation of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, which prohibits religion-based discrimination in hiring."

Elgazzar questioned whether a correctional officer who wished to wear a headscarf because of hair loss due to chemotherapy would be treated in a similar manner.

CAIR-CAN Executive Director Karl Nickner said that CAIR-CAN is ready to meet with jail officials at Bordeaux jail and with Deputy Minister Jean Lartie to address the issue of hijab and safety.

CONTACT: Sarah Elgazzar, CAIR-CAN Spokeswoman at 514.776.6566, Sameer Zuberi, CAIR-CAN Communications Coordinator at 613.795.2012, or Karl Nickner, CAIR-CAN Executive Director at 613.254.9704 or 613.853.4111.

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CAIR-MI: TALK ON ISLAM UNDER FIRE - TOP
Speaker at Jewish center says he is former terrorist; he calls violent Islam 'a threat to our freedom.'
Gregg Krupa, Detroit News, 3/14/07
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070314/LIFESTYLE04/703140401/1041

Tawfik Hamid says he once was a terrorist. But some local Muslims wonder whether it is true.

If it is, they ask, why would anyone invite him to speak about Islam?

Hamid, a medical doctor, spoke at the Jewish Community Center on Tuesday under auspices of the Zionist Organization of America.

"The point is that his mission is just to tell people about Islam, about the dangers of the terrorists," said Maya Veprinsky, executive director of the Zionist Organization of America. "He understood the dangers and stepped out from them."

Hamid said Tuesday: "The most critical aspect of the phenomenon of violent Islam probably is not a terrorist act, it is the threat to our freedom, because if we let this teaching of violence and teaching of hatred grow and grow more than this, one day we will lose our freedom."

Hamid asserts that he once was a member of a banned terrorist organization, Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya -- The Islamic Group -- in Egypt and that he trained under Ayman al-Zawahiri, who now is considered the second-in-charge of al-Qaida.

Advocates for the civil rights of Muslims and Arab-Americans criticized giving Hamid a platform.

"The point is that it's not a question of Islam being reformed, as Dr. Hamid states," said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on Islamic Relations in Michigan.

"It is a question of some Muslims who need to be reformed."

Hamid also lacks the training to "just take it upon himself as an entrepreneur to criticize our holy texts, as he sees fit," he said. (MORE)

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CAIR: CUSTOMER SERVICE AND FAITH CLASH AT REGISTERS - TOP
Some Muslim cashiers at Target refuse to handle pork, setting off another debate over the place of religion in society.
Chris Serres and Matt McKinney, Minneapolis Star Tribune, 3/14/07
http://www.startribune.com/535/story/1052945.html

Beryl Dsouza was late and in no mood for delays when she stopped at a Target store after work two weeks ago for milk, bread and bacon.

So Dsouza was taken aback when the cashier -- who had on the traditional headscarf, or hijab, worn by many Muslim women -- refused to swipe the bacon through the checkout scanner.

"She made me scan the bacon. Then she opened the bag and made me put it in the bag," said Dsouza, 53, of Minneapolis. "It made me wonder why this person took a job as a cashier."

In the latest example of religious beliefs creating tension in the workplace, some Muslims in the Twin Cities are adhering to a strict interpretation of the Qur'an that prohibits the handling of pork products.

Instead of swiping the items themselves, they are asking non-Muslim employees or shoppers to do it for them.

It has set off a firestorm of comments -- more than 400, as of Tuesday evening -- on the Star Tribune's community blog, www.buzz.mn. People called the newspaper from as far as Tokyo to voice their opinion.

It remains unclear how many Muslim cashiers in the Twin Cities are declining to ring up pork sales. . .

Under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for a person's religious practices if it doesn't impose an undue hardship.

A customer's personal preferences is usually not a factor in deciding whether a religious practice is protected in the workplace, noted Khadija Athman, national civil rights manager for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington.

In most cases, a cashier should be able to call over another cashier who can scan a product and the shopper shouldn't be inconvenienced, Athman noted. "If the employee is rude and gasps at the sight of pork, then it's a different situation," she said. (MORE)

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ID SENATE PASSES RIGHTS RESOLUTION AFTER MOSQUE VANDALISM - TOP
Associated Press, 3/14/07

State senators have passed a symbolic measure highlighting Idaho's commitment to human rights, just days after an Islamic mosque in Boise was targeted by swastika stickers.

The chamber approved the measure by voice vote, after the House cleared it 59-9. It reaffirms the state's commitment to "freedom from discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex or national origin or disability."

Sen. Edgar Malepeai, D-Pocatello and sponsor, argued that passing the measure would send a message to racist or bigoted groups that Idaho doesn't tolerate hateful acts.

In the 1980s and '90s, meetings of the Aryan Nations in Hayden Lake in northern Idaho earned the state a reputation as a haven for racist groups. Now, police in Idaho's capital city are investigating the swastikas left last week on the Islamic Center of Boise, and Malepeai said he was concerned the incident could be a harbinger of renewed neo-Nazi activity.

"Idaho is beginning to feel that resurgence," Malepeai said. "We need to respond to this resurgence of hate, and a resolution is a necessary step."

Some House members had opposed the measure last month, arguing it was unnecessary and only brought back bad memories of the Aryan Nations that otherwise would disappear if people didn't always bring them up again. There was no similar debate in the Senate.

SEE ALSO:

CA: PLANNED MOSQUE CAUSING QUITE A STIR - TOP
Neighbors give chilly reception to blueprint for two-story domed building
Matt O'Brien, Daily Review, 3/14/07
http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/localnews/ci_5432719

The neighborhood surrounding Gading Road always has been known for its row of Christian churches, most of them built in the 1950s and 1960s to accommodate the rapid growth of nearby housing tracts.

But it has never seen the likes of a minaret before.

That could change now that a group of Fijian Muslims wants to build a domed mosque, capped with four minarets, on a narrow slice of land north of Glassbrook Elementary School.

Mohammed Khan, a longtime Hayward resident who owns the land and is president of the group, said he has spent years raising money and looking for the right spot to establish a local place to worship.

"We really need a place locally," said Khan, who regularly crosses the Bay with his family to attend a mosque in South San Francisco.

But neighbors are looking warily at the proposal, and several say they believe the mosque will decrease residential property values in their central Hayward neighborhood.

Khan introduced himself, his religious practices and his cultural and ethnic background Monday to a group of about 20 people who live near the property.

But he received a chilly reception when he began to show details of the planned 15,000-square-foot facility.

"Whoever drives down Ventura (Avenue) will see that," complained one resident, describing how visitors might react upon seeing the towering minarets. "This is going to be at the expense of a lot of us people who put a lot of equity in our homes."

The resident later declined to give his name, as did some others who are adamantly opposed to the mosque. A woman who answered the phone Tuesday at the Hayward-Seventh Day Adventist Church, next to Khan's property, said the mosque is "not going to happen" and hung up on the reporter who asked about it. (MORE)

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ABOUT 200 ORANGE COUNTY CATHOLICS WITH A HUNGER TO LEARN ABOUT ISLAM RECIPROCATE MUSLIMS' OUTREACH BY HOSTING A DINNER - TOP
Orange County Register, 3/11/07
http://blogs.ocregister.com/ocworld/2007/03/faith_and_food.html

Mark and Cori Ornelas went to dinner Saturday night with their five children to make friends. Muslim friends.

The couple from Tustin was among some 200 Catholics at Our Lady Queen of Angels Church in Newport Beach. They were joined by about 125 Muslims invited by the Catholic Diocese of Orange for the first such meal.

The overture by the diocese stemmed from a desire among Catholics to learn more about Muslims and as a continuation of the spirit of a 1965 Vatican declaration on relations with non-Christians, organizers said.

The document titled "Nostra Aetate," a Latin phrase that translates to "In our Time," pledged the modern Catholic Church's commitment to inter-religious dialogue and expanded relations with people of other faiths.

Cori Ornelas, who belongs to the parish at St. Cecilia Catholic Church in Tustin and knows few Muslims, signed up for the event the same day she heard about it.

"I would like to know about their culture and belief and just would like to have a friendly conversation and meet some new people," said Ornelas, 32, a homemaker. "I feel that there's a lot of stereotyping."

At the first opportunity before dinner, people began shaking hands and chatting.

Red cabbage, rice pilaf, chicken prepared by Catholic volunteers following strict Muslim dietary guidelines, French bread and cake were on the menu.

For Ilker Basaran (shown at left), a spokesman for the Irvine chapter of Global Cultural Connections, the meal symbolized an increased acceptance of Muslims by Catholics. The GCC is a largely Turkish group dedicated to fostering cultural understanding.

Leaders of both communities have met before, but the meal was designed to bring neighbors together.

"I think we don't know Islam," said Anthony Vultaggio, chairman of the diocese's Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Affairs Commission. "It went to the national stage with this horrible act (the 9/11 attacks on the United States) in a sense not in a good light. In some way folks have asked (Muslims) to define themselves."

Until Saturday night, Vultaggio (shown at right) had attended dinners hosted by GCC, which were part of a larger effort in the Muslim community after 9/11 to reach out to non-Muslims. On Saturday, the church reciprocated.

"To their credit (Muslims) have been stepping out," said Vultaggio, 35, a financial consultant from Coto de Caza. "They've been doing the work, and we've been receptive to hearing. Now we're saying we're opening the door more." (MORE)

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ISRAELI EXCAVATION IN JERUSALEM SHOULD STOP, UN SAYS - TOP
CBC News, 3/14/07
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/03/14/jerusalem-excavation.html

Israel should immediately cease work on an access path to a holy site in Jerusalem, the UN said Wednesday.

"Israel should at once stop excavations and consult on a final plan with Muslim religious authorities and other parties," a UN release said, based on a report by experts with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Israel began in February to work on a new walkway up to the compound that includes holy sites sacred to both Muslims and Jews.

Known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary, the work is intended to replace an old earthen ramp that partially collapsed in a snowstorm three years ago.

Israel said the work will cause no harm to Islam's holy site, which includes the Dome of the Rock shrine and the al-Aqsa mosque.

The UN agreed, saying "no work was being conducted inside the Haram al-Sharif area containing the mosque, one of Islam's holiest sites, and excavations ended 10 metres from the Western Wall, considered a holy site by the Jews." (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