In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
IMAMS FILE CIVIL RIGHTS SUIT AGAINST US AIRWAYS
Muslim leaders says removal from flight was based on race, religion
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/13/07) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today announced that six imams, or Islamic religious leaders, removed from a US Airways flight in Minneapolis last November have filed a lawsuit against the airline and Minnesota's Metropolitan Airports Commission alleging that their civil rights were violated.
The lawsuit, filed in United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, claims US Airways' alleged discriminatory actions were based on the imams' "perceived race, religion, color, ethnicity, alienage, ancestry, and/or national origin." It goes on to state: "Because of Defendants' discriminatory acts, Plaintiffs were denied the right to make and enforce a contract, subjected to unlawful discrimination by a recipient of federal financial assistance, denied equal treatment in a place of public accommodation, and falsely arrested and detained by law enforcement officers."
CAIR said the imams' legal complaint, which cites federal statutes, the Minnesota Human Rights Act and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, also alleges: "Defendants, with the intent to cause harm to Plaintiffs' reputation, maliciously, recklessly and without regard to their privacy and integrity, defamed and made false reports against Plaintiffs to justify their illegal action."
In documents filed with the court by the Law Firm of Omar T. Mohammedi, the six imams refute many of the allegations repeated in the media about the incident.
For example, in response to claims the imams made political statements before boarding the plane, the complaint states: "At no time did Plaintiffs discuss politics or refer to Saddam Hussein or President Bush."
According to the complaint: "This civil rights lawsuit is brought to ensure that the promise of equal treatment embodied in federal and state anti-discrimination laws does not become a meaningless guarantee for persons perceived to be Muslim and/or Arab and/or Middle Eastern."
The imams are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, and a legal injunction to prevent future unlawful discrimination by US Airways.
To read the full complaint, go to:
http://www.cair.com/pdf/usairwayscomplaint.pdf
"The decades-long movement to advance civil rights in this nation must not be sent into retreat because of post-9/11 fear and stereotyping," said CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad. "When anyone's rights are diminished, the rights of all Americans are threatened."
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.
- END -
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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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
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Arab-Americans Looking to Democrats / 300 Turn Out for CAIR-OH Banquet / CAIR-FL Rep Speaks at Sunday School
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/13/07
* Hadith: Be a Stranger or Traveler in This World
* CAIR Hosts Capitol Hill Panel on Global Opinion, U.S. Policy
- Arab-Americans, Once Pro-Bush, Now Looking to Democrats
* 300 Turn Out for CAIR-OH Banquet
* CAIR-FL: New Mosque Serves Growing Community (Sun-Sentinel)
* CAIR-CT: Student Gets Education in Islamophobia (Courant)
- NJ: Muslim Meeting Builds Bridges Despite Threat (Record)
* Video: CAIR-FL Rep Speaks at Sunday School
* CAIR-CA: Library Hosts Discussion on Women in Islam
* CAIR-MI: Rock a Reminder of Unsolved Mosque Attack (Free Press)
* Putting Faith in Islamic Mutual Funds
* US Muslim Teen Mag Melds Pop Culture, Quran (Variety)
* CA: Celebration of Abraham Fosters Trust Between Faiths
- LA: Muslim Conception of Jesus May Surprise You
* NY: Hundreds Mourn, Pray for Muslim Fire Victims (Newsday)
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HADITH OF THE DAY: A STRANGER OR TRAVELER - TOP
A companion of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "(The Prophet) took hold of my shoulder and said, 'Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveler.'"
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadith 425
VERSE OF THE DAY: SHALL I BE RAISED TO LIFE AGAIN?
"Man says: 'What! Once I am dead, shall I be raised to life again?' But does not man call to mind that We created him before out of nothing?"
The Holy Quran, 19:66-67
To learn more about the life and legacy of the Prophet Muhammad, visit: www.cair.com/Muhammad or obtain a FREE Quran at www.cair.com/explorethequran
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CAIR HOSTS CAPITOL HILL PANEL ON GLOBAL OPINION, U.S. POLICY - TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/13/07) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today hosted a panel discussion, called "Global Attitudes on Islam-West Relations: U.S. Policy Implications," on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Event attendees included a number congressional staffers, academics and journalists.
Panel participants will include Steven Kull, director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA), and CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.
Kull offered an analysis of global polls on relations between Muslims and the West. Awad focused on the importance of American Muslim engagement in the U.S. political process and discussed his participation in a recent Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting on Islam-West dialogue held in Turkey.
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
SEE ALSO:
ARAB AMERICANS, ONCE PRO-BUSH, ARE NOW LOOKING TO THE DEMOCRATS - TOP
Ron Kampeas, JTA, 3/13/07
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/ArabAmericansonce.html
The top Republican Party official got polite applause at a gathering of Arab American leaders, while his Democratic counterpart got a standing ovation.
What a difference four years - and a transforming national crisis - has made.
Bush, whose substantial Arab American support in 2000 helped him win swing states, has plummeted in Arab American polls.
"The community has changed. It was almost the other way around in 2000," said pollster John Zogby, himself an Arab American.
Democrats have taken note of the change, and eight of the nine Democratic candidates for president gave speeches last weekend at an Arab American Institute conference in Dearborn, Mich., which boasts a heavy concentration of Arab Americans.
It helped that some of the states with the heaviest Arab concentrations - including Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida and Pennsylvania - are considered up for grabs for Democrats or Republicans in 2004.
Candidates pitched their appeals to issues dear to the hearts of Arab Americans - including opposition to how Bush is conducting the post-war operation in Iraq and the perceived dangers to civil liberties of the USA Patriot Act - but artfully avoided one issue.
Most candidates tried to bypass saying anything substantive about the Israeli-Palestinian issue. But they were pressed to do so at times, and some of the most tense moments at the conference came when candidates were asked to comment on the security fence Israel is building in the West Bank.
Former Gov. Howard Dean´s appearance was most telling. He earned loud cheers for his condemnation of the war in Iraq and his endorsement of civil liberties, and got a standing ovation at the end of his speech. Dean had time for one question. It was about the barrier. (MORE)
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CAIR-OH FIFTH ANNUAL BANQUET A SUCCESS - TOP
(CINCINNATI, OH, 3/13/07) - Cincinnati office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Ohio chapter (CAIR-OH) held its fifth annual banquet Saturday with the theme "American Muslims: Connecting and Sharing."
Some 300 people attended the sold-out event, including public officials, members of the media, friends from other faith communities and civic organizations, and representatives from area Islamic centers.
The keynote address was given by Dr. Sulayman Nyang, an author and professor at Howard University. Other speakers included CAIR-Ohio's Cincinnati Executive Director Karen Dabdoub, CAIR-Ohio's Cincinnati Chairperson Zeinab Schwen, CAIR-Ohio's President Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin, CAIR Board Vice Chairman Dr. Ahmad Al-Akhras and CAIR Board Member Hadia Mubarak.
"This annual CAIR event is a chance for the Cincinnati community to celebrate its accomplishments in civil rights, interfaith relations and civic empowerment," said Cincinnati Chapter Executive Director Karen Dabdoub. "CAIR's successes are a direct result of the support and participation of the Muslim community."
CONTACT: Karen Dabdoub, 513-281-8200, E-mail: kdabdoub@cair.com; Zeinab Schwen, zschwen@fuse.net
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CAIR-FL: W. PALM MOSQUE LOOKS NORTH - TOP
New branch intends to serve county's growing Muslim community.
Lois K. Solomon, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 3/12/07
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pmosque12mar12,0,1637622.story
The Muslim community has opened Palm Beach County's seventh mosque, a northern branch of the bursting worship center in central West Palm Beach.
With a Muslim population in central and north county estimated at 8,000, up from about 2,500 a decade ago, Muslim leaders say the northern part of the county needed a new center to accommodate worshipers who live in Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Wellington and other western neighborhoods.
Tariq Iqbal is one of those western residents. He lives in The Acreage and had to travel 45 minutes to the mosque at 4893 Purdy Lane in West Palm Beach. The new mosque, which opened a month ago in a storefront near Military Trail and Northlake Boulevard in Palm Beach Gardens, is only 15 minutes from his home.
"It was not an easy ride," said Iqbal, 57, a systems administrator for the city of Riviera Beach. "Now I can easily go at lunchtime."
The Purdy Lane mosque, known as the Muslim Community of Palm Beach, attracts about 250 Sunni worshipers on a typical Friday, the day of congregational worship. It started in a rental home on the same property in 1988. The community expanded the property to about 11 acres and built a $600,000 mosque in 1996. Still, the property has only 60 parking spaces, creating a crunch on Fridays and during community events.
Although Palm Beach County's Muslim population is growing, it still trails Miami-Dade County, which has about 40,000 Muslims, and Broward County, with about 20,000, said Altaf Ali, Florida director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. About 10,000 Muslims live in Palm Beach County, Ali said. (MORE)
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CAIR-CT: BEHIND BURQA, STUDENT GETS AN EDUCATION IN BIGOTRY - TOP
Comments Directed At Muslims
Tracy Gordon Fox, Hartford Courant, 3/12/07
http://www.courant.com/news/education/hc-burqa0312.artmar12,0,3126355.story
Caitlin Dean was raised not to discriminate against others because of their race or religion. But as a white suburban teen of Italian and Irish descent, she often wondered what it would be like to be the target of such abuse.
She found out "behind the burqa."
The 15-year-old freshman volunteered with a few other students to wear traditional Muslim clothing to school for an entire day in February after a Middle Eastern Studies teacher at Bacon Academy announced that she was looking for students to promote her class by wearing the garb. Caitlin covered her slender frame and short brown hair with a periwinkle burqa, which concealed her face.
The hateful and abusive comments she endured that day horrified teachers, the teen and many of her classmates. The remarks underscored a persistent animosity toward American Muslims that is driven largely by the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But they also opened up an important dialogue that could help teenagers in Colchester and across the state view the Muslim culture differently.
"Hey, we rape your women!" one upperclassman said as he passed Caitlin in the hallway.
"I hope all of your people die," another sniped.
"You're probably going to kill us all" and "Why do they let people like this in the country?" were other remarks she heard on Feb. 1.
Caitlin's observations that day did not surprise those who work for the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which arrived in the state about three years ago in response to hate crimes and prejudice against Muslims.
Caitlin wrote down 50 comments and names she was called. She did not respond because "I am a freshman. I like to avoid making waves."
But when she saw a friend and a teacher who knew that Caitlin was the person under the burqa, she broke down in a classroom.
"I started crying," Caitlin said. "There is way too much prejudice."
The lack of understanding of Islam and of the many of the cultures that contribute to a worldwide population of more than 1 billion Muslims is something Rabia Chaudry, a spokeswoman for CAIR, planned to raise with the state Department of Education when she meets with officials in a few weeks.
Now she plans to use Colchester as a positive example in terms of discussing prejudice and raising awareness of the Muslim culture.
"I think what this teacher has done is exactly what schools should be doing," Chaudry said.
None of the students were singled out for discipline because no formal complaints were made.
"It's unacceptable," Superintendent Karen Loiselle said. "It's imperative students who are victims of those comments report them immediately and it will be taken very seriously. In this case, it has opened an important conversation."
Chaudry agreed and said her group would like to send representatives to meet with students in Colchester and other communities, to hold town meetings to talk about their feelings about Muslims, the war and terrorism. (MORE)
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NJ: MUSLIM MEETING BUILDS BRIDGES DESPITE THREAT - TOP
Soni Sangha, North Jersey Record, 3/12/07
The annual brunch sponsored by the American Muslim Union was delayed by 45 minutes because of a bomb threat. Weeks earlier, a key speaker -- a Muslim-Canadian scholar -- couldn't get his visa.
Ironically, these incidents coincided with the event titled "Peace, Justice and Liberty for All," held at the Teaneck Marriott at Glenpointe. Symbolically, they represent what the community is trying to overcome: the misperception that American Muslims are a fringe community, potentially sympathetic to terrorist factions.
So members reach out to community leaders, clergymen of many faiths and politicians on the local and state levels at gatherings such as this. The community maintains it is determined to be accepted, and members will accomplish their goal slowly but steadily, one handshake, one interfaith brunch, one political foray at a time.
"There's still a long way to go," said Waheed Khalid, the Bergen County chairman of the American Muslim Union. "Unfortunately, our community is not doing enough. How would the normal American know what we are and what we are not?"
Still, the community's progress is evident by the day's roster, which included some of New Jersey's political heavy hitters: Governor Corzine, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and Attorney General Stuart Rabner.
Local politicians included Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney, state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, and Assembly members Valerie Huttle and Gordon Johnson, both Englewood Democrats.
Those who spoke extended a hand to the community, saying they're doing their part to protect the group's civil liberties and to help them reach the American dream. (MORE)
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CAIR-FL REP SPEAKS AT SUNDAY SCHOOL - TOP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmnDS5xi_lE
CAIR Tampa Executive Director Ahmed Bedier sits down for a couple of minutes to speak to Sunday school children about discrimination during a visit to a Tampa area church. (more)
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CAIR-CA: PUBLIC LIBRARY HOSTS DISCUSSION ON WOMEN IN ISLAM - TOP
(TRACY, CA 3/13/2007) - The Sacramento Valley office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV), along with leaders from the Bay Area, recently delivered a talk on the topic of "Women in Islam" in the local public library in the City of Tracy. A lively question and answer session followed the talk.
The local library also made provided a list of resources that were available in the library, including materials that were part of CAIR's "Library Campaign" to provide a resource on Islam to fellow Americans.
"Public libraries provide a wonderful forum for the exchange of ideas and for having important discussions that are pertinent to our lives today," said the Communications Director of CAIR-SV Dina EL-Nakhal.
METHODIST CHURCH HOSTS SESSION ON CONTEMPORARY ISLAM
(DAVIS, CA 3/11/2007) - The Sacramento Valley office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV) recently delivered a talk on contemporary issues about Islam after the conclusion of a 3-week series of viewing the PBS produced film, "Islam: Empire of Faith" at the local United Methodist Church in Davis.
The discussion touched on issues ranging from the status of women in Islam to contemporary interpretations of the Qur'an and developing positive relations between the West and the Muslim world.
"Interfaith dialogues are an important remedy to misunderstanding and bigotry, which seem to plague our world today," said CAIR-SV President Dr. Hamza EL-Nakhal
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CAIR-MI: ROCK IS A REMINDER OF UNSOLVED ATTACKS - TOP
Muslim leaders dismayed no one has been arrested in a months-old string of vandalism
Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 3/13/07
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070313/NEWS05/703130405
Inside his office, Imam Husham Al-Husainy still has the rock that was hurled through the front window of his Dearborn mosque two months ago. It's there to remind him.
"I hope whoever did this gets caught," Al-Husainy, head of the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center, said Monday. "Who would do this?"
That question has hovered over metro Detroit's Muslim communities in recent weeks. But police and FBI agents don't know who was behind a string of attacks against mosques and Muslim-owned businesses in Dearborn and Detroit.
Police said they have probed a variety of possible motives -- from sectarian tensions to hatred of Muslims. But the attacks also "could have been just a random act of violence," Dearborn Police Sgt. David Robinson said Monday.
Detroit FBI Special Agent Dawn Clenney said the agency is still investigating.
Some Muslims said they worry about what might happen if the vandals are not brought to justice.
"If nothing happens, we're afraid something might happen again," said Saadie Obaidi, 57, of West Bloomfield.
Obaidi often attends the Imam Ali Islamic Center in Detroit, a mosque whose windows also were shattered by vandals.
"Those people should face the law, should face some punishment," he said.
The vandalism started in November, when Karbalaa center windows were broken after mosque members celebrated the death sentence of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Then in January, after a public celebration following the hanging of Hussein on Dec. 30, two Islamic centers and several businesses along Warren Avenue in Detroit, near Dearborn, were vandalized. Their windows and doors were shattered.
A couple of weeks later, the front window of the Karbalaa center was shattered with a rock. . .
One bright spot is that no vandalism has been directed at Muslim institutions in metro Detroit since January.
"We're grateful that no other incidents have happened since," said Dawud Walid, head of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "We're still hopeful that law enforcement will continue to investigate this case and hopefully catch someone." (MORE)
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PUTTING FAITH IN RELIGIOUS MUTUAL FUNDS - TOP
David Kathman, Yahoo.com, 3/13/07
http://biz.yahoo.com/ms/070313/188559.html?.v=1
Socially responsible investing has become increasingly popular in recent years, with lots of mutual funds available for investors who want to keep their portfolios in line with their ethical beliefs. Most such funds avoid alcohol and tobacco stocks, but what they do beyond that varies quite a bit from fund to fund. Probably the fastest-growing subset of SRI funds is religious mutual funds, most of which are tailored to members of a specific denomination or religion, and some of which are associated with organized churches. Such funds have grown from less than $500 million in total assets 10 years ago to more than $17 billion today.
Like the broader category of SRI mutual funds, religious funds vary quite a bit in the screening criteria they use, though there are some broad similarities. They can be divided into three main categories: Catholic funds, Protestant funds, and Islamic funds. These funds won't necessarily perform better than their mainstream peers, and they can be pricier to boot. But they can give peace of mind to those who prefer not to own investments that conflict with their religious beliefs. . .
Islamic Funds
Our final group of religiously oriented funds are those that invest according to Islamic principles. Some of these funds' screening criteria are similar to those used by many of the Christian funds we saw above, including prohibitions on alcohol, tobacco, gambling, and pornography. However, they also feature some restrictions based on Islamic law and not found in most Christian denominations, notably prohibitions against pork and paying or receiving interest. Avoiding companies involved in pork production is not too hard, but avoiding interest is harder, given its ubiquity in the world financial system. These funds generally avoid financial companies, where interest is central to the business, and try to minimize the importance of interest in the rest of their portfolios.
The largest and most successful Islamic mutual funds are Amana Trust Growth (NASDAQ:AMAGX - News) and Amana Income (NASDAQ:AMANX - News), whose combined asset base has risen from $37 million in 2002 to around $450 million today. Both funds are managed by Nick Kaiser of Saturna Capital, who is aided by assistant manager Monem Salam and a panel of Islamic scholars. Not only does Kaiser avoid financials, he also avoids companies that have too much debt on their balance sheet or that get more than 5% of their revenue from any of the forbidden activities noted above. He also doesn't trade much, partly because of his long-term investment perspective but also because excessive stock trading would be considered a form of gambling, which is forbidden by the Koran. None of this has hurt the funds' results; in fact, they have put up great numbers, with Amana Growth sporting one of the best records in the large-growth category over the trailing three-, five-, and 10-year periods. Kaiser was one of the finalists for Morningstar's Domestic-Stock Manager of the Year in 2006.
The Azzad funds--Azzad Ethical Mid Cap (NASDAQ:ADJEX - News) and the large-growth Azzad Ethical Income (NASDAQ:AEIFX - News)--are much smaller than the Amana funds, with only $4 million apiece in assets, but they are based on similar principles. Manager Omar Bassal uses proprietary software to screen out companies that get significant revenue from alcohol, tobacco, any meat products, gambling, pornography, interest, "unethical forms of entertainment," and weapons of mass destruction. The screens also explicitly eliminate all banks, financial services, and insurance, but the Ethical Income fund has a significant stake in real estate investment trusts, which Morningstar classifies as financials. Azzad also uses shareholder advocacy to advance its views and contributes to charities such as the Arab Orphan Committee and the Boston Police Relief Association.
Finally, the Dow Jones Islamic Fund (NASDAQ:IMANX - News) is advised by Allied Asset Advisors, a subsidiary of the North American Islamic Trust. At least 80% of the fund's assets are invested in stocks from the Dow Jones Islamic Market Index and the Dow Jones Islamic Market U.S. Index, with the rest chosen by manager Bassam Ossman from companies that are also compliant with Islamic principles. These indexes are determined by a Shariah Advisory Board using principles similar to what we have just seen: They eliminate companies whose primary business involves alcohol, tobacco, pork, interest, weapons, and all entertainment, including gambling, movies, hotels, and pornography.
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TEEN MAG MELDS POP CULTURE, QURAN - TOP
Steven Zeitchik, Variety, 3/12/07
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117960832.html
Teenage girls are preoccupied with a lot of things: "The Gilmore Girls." Makeup tips. Burqas.
At least that's the teenager Muslim Girl magazine, a bimonthly aimed at 12- to 19-year-old Muslim females, is targeting.
The glossy, published by Toronto-based Execugo, is the ultimate hybrid: a mag for and about both regular teenagers and one of the country's least covered minorities.
It's not every mag that offers a "Relationship Reality Check" alongside "Qur'an Notes" ("Girls talk about the small kindnesses in their lives"); a Web feature called "Girl Space" that asks readers to "write in and tell us how girl-friendly your mosque is," or a "hot list" of pop-cultural trends ("Smallville," "Veronica Mars," and, of course, those "Gilmore" ladies).
The mag, which has already pubbed two issues and is aiming for a circulation of 50,000, does contain more straightforward features, like one about a Muslim girls basketball team.
It's not that the mag's readers don't read Seventeen, says editor-in-chief Ausma Khan; they're just deprived of mags with Muslim content.
But is there a conflict between trying to blend, say, gushings about Justin Timberlake and the teachings of Mohammed?
"It's a challenge because we're conscious of a deeper mission," says Khan. "But we also want girls to be attracted to the magazine."
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CA: CELEBRATION FOSTERS TRUST BETWEEN FAITHS - TOP
Sarah Kingsbury, Chico Enterprise Record, 3/12/07
http://www.chicoer.com/newshome/ci_5415675
To an outsider, the chorus of about 200 voices at Faith Lutheran Church Sunday night would have seemed like an ordinary community worship service.
"This is our cry/this is our prayer/peace in the world/peace in the world." As the voices swelled inside the auditorium, it was impossible to discern between Jewish, Muslim and Christian tones.
And that didn't bother the Rev. Reg Schultz-Akerson a bit.
"As we're increasing more as a global society, we have to understand each other across global traditions," he said.
The third annual Celebration of Abraham, sponsored by the Chico Area Interfaith Council, used the shared acceptance of Abraham to promote tolerance and understanding between different faiths.
Judaism, Christianity and Islam are sometimes referred to as the "Abrahamic religions" because of Abraham's portrayal as a spiritual patriarch in their holy books.
Since 2005, the celebration has started with a vegetarian potluck followed by a worship service intermingling songs and scriptures from each of the three faiths.
"People have been sitting down breaking bread and sharing their lives," said council chair Rabbi Julie Hilton Danan. "They're finding out that their neighbor, who might be from a different religion, really isn't that different at all."
The service is not meant to be political, and Danan said participants are asked to leave their politics at home. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MUSLIM CONCEPTION OF JESUS MAY SURPRISE YOU - TOP
Shirien Elmasraya, Daily Reveille, 3/13/07
http://media.www.lsureveille.com/media/storage/paper868/news/2007/03/13/Opinion/Muslim.Conception.Of.Jesus.May.Surprise.You-2773779.shtml
I want to expand a little on what Muslims believe about Jesus; it's one of the fundamental concepts in Islam. First, to Muslims, he is one of the greatest of all prophets in Islam. Had the scriptures he brought not been changed and altered, we would still follow those scriptures today. The same applies to the Torah.
"He (Jesus) said: Verily! I am a slave of Allah, He has given me the Scripture and made me a Prophet; And He has made me blessed wheresoever I be, and has enjoined on me Salat (prayer), and Zakat, as long as I live. And dutiful to my mother, and made me not arrogant, unblest. And Salam (peace) be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive!" Qur'an (19: 30-33)
Muslims believe Jesus, the son of the Virgin Mary, is only a human being. He is a human being with a high status, but like we revere the prophet Muhammad and consider him a human being, the same applies to the other prophets. Muslims do not give people higher ranks than they deserve.
Muslims believe he came with the same message that all the other prophets came with: to worship God alone and to not prescribe anything to God in worship; i.e. a son, daughter, intermediaries, etc.
Allah tells us in the Qur'an what Jesus said to his people, which is also very similar to things found in the Old Testament.
"(Jesus said): "And verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So worship Him (Alone). That is the Straight Path." (Qur'an 19:36)
If one looks to a red lettered Bible, a Bible that highlights what are thought to be the words of Jesus, you will find a quote like, "Worship thy father alone."
We do believe Jesus had a miraculous birth. Muslims believe he was created without a father just as Adam was created without a father and mother.
But Muslims do not accept the concept of the trinity. God is far above being human or having a son. To Muslims, it is not befitting that God dies, eats, sleeps or uses the bathroom. These traits show a sense of dependency or weakness - a lack of perfection. (MORE)
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NY: HUNDREDS MOURN, PRAY FOR BRONX FIRE VICTIMS - TOP
Michael Frazier, Newsday, 3/13/07
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nyfune0313,0,2684780.story
Nine simple, wooden coffins were carried inside a mosque, one by one, Monday afternoon before hundreds along 166th Street in the Highbridge section.
The sight of the coffins of the Magassa and Soumare family members -- especially the tiny ones -- as they were carried into the Islamic Cultural Center prompted many in the crowd to shake their heads in sorrow.
Twin sisters, 7 months old, shared a coffin.
The funeral was closed to the public. Even mourners who knew the family were turned away at the packed mosque because there was no room. The hundreds of mourners, some carrying prayer mats, instead sat without shoes atop blue tarps on the city street.
"Brothers, we can pray on the backs of our brother," Sheikh Moussa Drammeh of the Islamic Leadership School said over a loudspeaker for those unable to enter the mosque.
One onlooker, who only identified himself as Guye, 21, a native of Mali, said he didn't know anyone who died, but said a shared faith in Islam binds strangers even in a big city.
In Africa, "if there is a loss, the community comes out in droves," he said. "It's always been like this. If someone dies in your neighborhood, everybody is going to show up, whether you know them or not."
According to mosque security guards, mourners came from the United States, Europe and Africa. They included Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), who visited with the families and spoke briefly at the service. (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
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/13/07
* Hadith: Be a Stranger or Traveler in This World
* CAIR Hosts Capitol Hill Panel on Global Opinion, U.S. Policy
- Arab-Americans, Once Pro-Bush, Now Looking to Democrats
* 300 Turn Out for CAIR-OH Banquet
* CAIR-FL: New Mosque Serves Growing Community (Sun-Sentinel)
* CAIR-CT: Student Gets Education in Islamophobia (Courant)
- NJ: Muslim Meeting Builds Bridges Despite Threat (Record)
* Video: CAIR-FL Rep Speaks at Sunday School
* CAIR-CA: Library Hosts Discussion on Women in Islam
* CAIR-MI: Rock a Reminder of Unsolved Mosque Attack (Free Press)
* Putting Faith in Islamic Mutual Funds
* US Muslim Teen Mag Melds Pop Culture, Quran (Variety)
* CA: Celebration of Abraham Fosters Trust Between Faiths
- LA: Muslim Conception of Jesus May Surprise You
* NY: Hundreds Mourn, Pray for Muslim Fire Victims (Newsday)
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HADITH OF THE DAY: A STRANGER OR TRAVELER - TOP
A companion of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "(The Prophet) took hold of my shoulder and said, 'Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveler.'"
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadith 425
VERSE OF THE DAY: SHALL I BE RAISED TO LIFE AGAIN?
"Man says: 'What! Once I am dead, shall I be raised to life again?' But does not man call to mind that We created him before out of nothing?"
The Holy Quran, 19:66-67
To learn more about the life and legacy of the Prophet Muhammad, visit: www.cair.com/Muhammad or obtain a FREE Quran at www.cair.com/explorethequran
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CAIR HOSTS CAPITOL HILL PANEL ON GLOBAL OPINION, U.S. POLICY - TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/13/07) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today hosted a panel discussion, called "Global Attitudes on Islam-West Relations: U.S. Policy Implications," on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Event attendees included a number congressional staffers, academics and journalists.
Panel participants will include Steven Kull, director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA), and CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad.
Kull offered an analysis of global polls on relations between Muslims and the West. Awad focused on the importance of American Muslim engagement in the U.S. political process and discussed his participation in a recent Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) meeting on Islam-West dialogue held in Turkey.
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
SEE ALSO:
ARAB AMERICANS, ONCE PRO-BUSH, ARE NOW LOOKING TO THE DEMOCRATS - TOP
Ron Kampeas, JTA, 3/13/07
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/ArabAmericansonce.html
The top Republican Party official got polite applause at a gathering of Arab American leaders, while his Democratic counterpart got a standing ovation.
What a difference four years - and a transforming national crisis - has made.
Bush, whose substantial Arab American support in 2000 helped him win swing states, has plummeted in Arab American polls.
"The community has changed. It was almost the other way around in 2000," said pollster John Zogby, himself an Arab American.
Democrats have taken note of the change, and eight of the nine Democratic candidates for president gave speeches last weekend at an Arab American Institute conference in Dearborn, Mich., which boasts a heavy concentration of Arab Americans.
It helped that some of the states with the heaviest Arab concentrations - including Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida and Pennsylvania - are considered up for grabs for Democrats or Republicans in 2004.
Candidates pitched their appeals to issues dear to the hearts of Arab Americans - including opposition to how Bush is conducting the post-war operation in Iraq and the perceived dangers to civil liberties of the USA Patriot Act - but artfully avoided one issue.
Most candidates tried to bypass saying anything substantive about the Israeli-Palestinian issue. But they were pressed to do so at times, and some of the most tense moments at the conference came when candidates were asked to comment on the security fence Israel is building in the West Bank.
Former Gov. Howard Dean´s appearance was most telling. He earned loud cheers for his condemnation of the war in Iraq and his endorsement of civil liberties, and got a standing ovation at the end of his speech. Dean had time for one question. It was about the barrier. (MORE)
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CAIR-OH FIFTH ANNUAL BANQUET A SUCCESS - TOP
(CINCINNATI, OH, 3/13/07) - Cincinnati office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Ohio chapter (CAIR-OH) held its fifth annual banquet Saturday with the theme "American Muslims: Connecting and Sharing."
Some 300 people attended the sold-out event, including public officials, members of the media, friends from other faith communities and civic organizations, and representatives from area Islamic centers.
The keynote address was given by Dr. Sulayman Nyang, an author and professor at Howard University. Other speakers included CAIR-Ohio's Cincinnati Executive Director Karen Dabdoub, CAIR-Ohio's Cincinnati Chairperson Zeinab Schwen, CAIR-Ohio's President Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin, CAIR Board Vice Chairman Dr. Ahmad Al-Akhras and CAIR Board Member Hadia Mubarak.
"This annual CAIR event is a chance for the Cincinnati community to celebrate its accomplishments in civil rights, interfaith relations and civic empowerment," said Cincinnati Chapter Executive Director Karen Dabdoub. "CAIR's successes are a direct result of the support and participation of the Muslim community."
CONTACT: Karen Dabdoub, 513-281-8200, E-mail: kdabdoub@cair.com; Zeinab Schwen, zschwen@fuse.net
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CAIR-FL: W. PALM MOSQUE LOOKS NORTH - TOP
New branch intends to serve county's growing Muslim community.
Lois K. Solomon, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 3/12/07
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-pmosque12mar12,0,1637622.story
The Muslim community has opened Palm Beach County's seventh mosque, a northern branch of the bursting worship center in central West Palm Beach.
With a Muslim population in central and north county estimated at 8,000, up from about 2,500 a decade ago, Muslim leaders say the northern part of the county needed a new center to accommodate worshipers who live in Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Wellington and other western neighborhoods.
Tariq Iqbal is one of those western residents. He lives in The Acreage and had to travel 45 minutes to the mosque at 4893 Purdy Lane in West Palm Beach. The new mosque, which opened a month ago in a storefront near Military Trail and Northlake Boulevard in Palm Beach Gardens, is only 15 minutes from his home.
"It was not an easy ride," said Iqbal, 57, a systems administrator for the city of Riviera Beach. "Now I can easily go at lunchtime."
The Purdy Lane mosque, known as the Muslim Community of Palm Beach, attracts about 250 Sunni worshipers on a typical Friday, the day of congregational worship. It started in a rental home on the same property in 1988. The community expanded the property to about 11 acres and built a $600,000 mosque in 1996. Still, the property has only 60 parking spaces, creating a crunch on Fridays and during community events.
Although Palm Beach County's Muslim population is growing, it still trails Miami-Dade County, which has about 40,000 Muslims, and Broward County, with about 20,000, said Altaf Ali, Florida director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. About 10,000 Muslims live in Palm Beach County, Ali said. (MORE)
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CAIR-CT: BEHIND BURQA, STUDENT GETS AN EDUCATION IN BIGOTRY - TOP
Comments Directed At Muslims
Tracy Gordon Fox, Hartford Courant, 3/12/07
http://www.courant.com/news/education/hc-burqa0312.artmar12,0,3126355.story
Caitlin Dean was raised not to discriminate against others because of their race or religion. But as a white suburban teen of Italian and Irish descent, she often wondered what it would be like to be the target of such abuse.
She found out "behind the burqa."
The 15-year-old freshman volunteered with a few other students to wear traditional Muslim clothing to school for an entire day in February after a Middle Eastern Studies teacher at Bacon Academy announced that she was looking for students to promote her class by wearing the garb. Caitlin covered her slender frame and short brown hair with a periwinkle burqa, which concealed her face.
The hateful and abusive comments she endured that day horrified teachers, the teen and many of her classmates. The remarks underscored a persistent animosity toward American Muslims that is driven largely by the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But they also opened up an important dialogue that could help teenagers in Colchester and across the state view the Muslim culture differently.
"Hey, we rape your women!" one upperclassman said as he passed Caitlin in the hallway.
"I hope all of your people die," another sniped.
"You're probably going to kill us all" and "Why do they let people like this in the country?" were other remarks she heard on Feb. 1.
Caitlin's observations that day did not surprise those who work for the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which arrived in the state about three years ago in response to hate crimes and prejudice against Muslims.
Caitlin wrote down 50 comments and names she was called. She did not respond because "I am a freshman. I like to avoid making waves."
But when she saw a friend and a teacher who knew that Caitlin was the person under the burqa, she broke down in a classroom.
"I started crying," Caitlin said. "There is way too much prejudice."
The lack of understanding of Islam and of the many of the cultures that contribute to a worldwide population of more than 1 billion Muslims is something Rabia Chaudry, a spokeswoman for CAIR, planned to raise with the state Department of Education when she meets with officials in a few weeks.
Now she plans to use Colchester as a positive example in terms of discussing prejudice and raising awareness of the Muslim culture.
"I think what this teacher has done is exactly what schools should be doing," Chaudry said.
None of the students were singled out for discipline because no formal complaints were made.
"It's unacceptable," Superintendent Karen Loiselle said. "It's imperative students who are victims of those comments report them immediately and it will be taken very seriously. In this case, it has opened an important conversation."
Chaudry agreed and said her group would like to send representatives to meet with students in Colchester and other communities, to hold town meetings to talk about their feelings about Muslims, the war and terrorism. (MORE)
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NJ: MUSLIM MEETING BUILDS BRIDGES DESPITE THREAT - TOP
Soni Sangha, North Jersey Record, 3/12/07
The annual brunch sponsored by the American Muslim Union was delayed by 45 minutes because of a bomb threat. Weeks earlier, a key speaker -- a Muslim-Canadian scholar -- couldn't get his visa.
Ironically, these incidents coincided with the event titled "Peace, Justice and Liberty for All," held at the Teaneck Marriott at Glenpointe. Symbolically, they represent what the community is trying to overcome: the misperception that American Muslims are a fringe community, potentially sympathetic to terrorist factions.
So members reach out to community leaders, clergymen of many faiths and politicians on the local and state levels at gatherings such as this. The community maintains it is determined to be accepted, and members will accomplish their goal slowly but steadily, one handshake, one interfaith brunch, one political foray at a time.
"There's still a long way to go," said Waheed Khalid, the Bergen County chairman of the American Muslim Union. "Unfortunately, our community is not doing enough. How would the normal American know what we are and what we are not?"
Still, the community's progress is evident by the day's roster, which included some of New Jersey's political heavy hitters: Governor Corzine, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and Attorney General Stuart Rabner.
Local politicians included Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney, state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, and Assembly members Valerie Huttle and Gordon Johnson, both Englewood Democrats.
Those who spoke extended a hand to the community, saying they're doing their part to protect the group's civil liberties and to help them reach the American dream. (MORE)
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CAIR-FL REP SPEAKS AT SUNDAY SCHOOL - TOP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmnDS5xi_lE
CAIR Tampa Executive Director Ahmed Bedier sits down for a couple of minutes to speak to Sunday school children about discrimination during a visit to a Tampa area church. (more)
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CAIR-CA: PUBLIC LIBRARY HOSTS DISCUSSION ON WOMEN IN ISLAM - TOP
(TRACY, CA 3/13/2007) - The Sacramento Valley office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV), along with leaders from the Bay Area, recently delivered a talk on the topic of "Women in Islam" in the local public library in the City of Tracy. A lively question and answer session followed the talk.
The local library also made provided a list of resources that were available in the library, including materials that were part of CAIR's "Library Campaign" to provide a resource on Islam to fellow Americans.
"Public libraries provide a wonderful forum for the exchange of ideas and for having important discussions that are pertinent to our lives today," said the Communications Director of CAIR-SV Dina EL-Nakhal.
METHODIST CHURCH HOSTS SESSION ON CONTEMPORARY ISLAM
(DAVIS, CA 3/11/2007) - The Sacramento Valley office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SV) recently delivered a talk on contemporary issues about Islam after the conclusion of a 3-week series of viewing the PBS produced film, "Islam: Empire of Faith" at the local United Methodist Church in Davis.
The discussion touched on issues ranging from the status of women in Islam to contemporary interpretations of the Qur'an and developing positive relations between the West and the Muslim world.
"Interfaith dialogues are an important remedy to misunderstanding and bigotry, which seem to plague our world today," said CAIR-SV President Dr. Hamza EL-Nakhal
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CAIR-MI: ROCK IS A REMINDER OF UNSOLVED ATTACKS - TOP
Muslim leaders dismayed no one has been arrested in a months-old string of vandalism
Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 3/13/07
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070313/NEWS05/703130405
Inside his office, Imam Husham Al-Husainy still has the rock that was hurled through the front window of his Dearborn mosque two months ago. It's there to remind him.
"I hope whoever did this gets caught," Al-Husainy, head of the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center, said Monday. "Who would do this?"
That question has hovered over metro Detroit's Muslim communities in recent weeks. But police and FBI agents don't know who was behind a string of attacks against mosques and Muslim-owned businesses in Dearborn and Detroit.
Police said they have probed a variety of possible motives -- from sectarian tensions to hatred of Muslims. But the attacks also "could have been just a random act of violence," Dearborn Police Sgt. David Robinson said Monday.
Detroit FBI Special Agent Dawn Clenney said the agency is still investigating.
Some Muslims said they worry about what might happen if the vandals are not brought to justice.
"If nothing happens, we're afraid something might happen again," said Saadie Obaidi, 57, of West Bloomfield.
Obaidi often attends the Imam Ali Islamic Center in Detroit, a mosque whose windows also were shattered by vandals.
"Those people should face the law, should face some punishment," he said.
The vandalism started in November, when Karbalaa center windows were broken after mosque members celebrated the death sentence of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Then in January, after a public celebration following the hanging of Hussein on Dec. 30, two Islamic centers and several businesses along Warren Avenue in Detroit, near Dearborn, were vandalized. Their windows and doors were shattered.
A couple of weeks later, the front window of the Karbalaa center was shattered with a rock. . .
One bright spot is that no vandalism has been directed at Muslim institutions in metro Detroit since January.
"We're grateful that no other incidents have happened since," said Dawud Walid, head of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "We're still hopeful that law enforcement will continue to investigate this case and hopefully catch someone." (MORE)
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PUTTING FAITH IN RELIGIOUS MUTUAL FUNDS - TOP
David Kathman, Yahoo.com, 3/13/07
http://biz.yahoo.com/ms/070313/188559.html?.v=1
Socially responsible investing has become increasingly popular in recent years, with lots of mutual funds available for investors who want to keep their portfolios in line with their ethical beliefs. Most such funds avoid alcohol and tobacco stocks, but what they do beyond that varies quite a bit from fund to fund. Probably the fastest-growing subset of SRI funds is religious mutual funds, most of which are tailored to members of a specific denomination or religion, and some of which are associated with organized churches. Such funds have grown from less than $500 million in total assets 10 years ago to more than $17 billion today.
Like the broader category of SRI mutual funds, religious funds vary quite a bit in the screening criteria they use, though there are some broad similarities. They can be divided into three main categories: Catholic funds, Protestant funds, and Islamic funds. These funds won't necessarily perform better than their mainstream peers, and they can be pricier to boot. But they can give peace of mind to those who prefer not to own investments that conflict with their religious beliefs. . .
Islamic Funds
Our final group of religiously oriented funds are those that invest according to Islamic principles. Some of these funds' screening criteria are similar to those used by many of the Christian funds we saw above, including prohibitions on alcohol, tobacco, gambling, and pornography. However, they also feature some restrictions based on Islamic law and not found in most Christian denominations, notably prohibitions against pork and paying or receiving interest. Avoiding companies involved in pork production is not too hard, but avoiding interest is harder, given its ubiquity in the world financial system. These funds generally avoid financial companies, where interest is central to the business, and try to minimize the importance of interest in the rest of their portfolios.
The largest and most successful Islamic mutual funds are Amana Trust Growth (NASDAQ:AMAGX - News) and Amana Income (NASDAQ:AMANX - News), whose combined asset base has risen from $37 million in 2002 to around $450 million today. Both funds are managed by Nick Kaiser of Saturna Capital, who is aided by assistant manager Monem Salam and a panel of Islamic scholars. Not only does Kaiser avoid financials, he also avoids companies that have too much debt on their balance sheet or that get more than 5% of their revenue from any of the forbidden activities noted above. He also doesn't trade much, partly because of his long-term investment perspective but also because excessive stock trading would be considered a form of gambling, which is forbidden by the Koran. None of this has hurt the funds' results; in fact, they have put up great numbers, with Amana Growth sporting one of the best records in the large-growth category over the trailing three-, five-, and 10-year periods. Kaiser was one of the finalists for Morningstar's Domestic-Stock Manager of the Year in 2006.
The Azzad funds--Azzad Ethical Mid Cap (NASDAQ:ADJEX - News) and the large-growth Azzad Ethical Income (NASDAQ:AEIFX - News)--are much smaller than the Amana funds, with only $4 million apiece in assets, but they are based on similar principles. Manager Omar Bassal uses proprietary software to screen out companies that get significant revenue from alcohol, tobacco, any meat products, gambling, pornography, interest, "unethical forms of entertainment," and weapons of mass destruction. The screens also explicitly eliminate all banks, financial services, and insurance, but the Ethical Income fund has a significant stake in real estate investment trusts, which Morningstar classifies as financials. Azzad also uses shareholder advocacy to advance its views and contributes to charities such as the Arab Orphan Committee and the Boston Police Relief Association.
Finally, the Dow Jones Islamic Fund (NASDAQ:IMANX - News) is advised by Allied Asset Advisors, a subsidiary of the North American Islamic Trust. At least 80% of the fund's assets are invested in stocks from the Dow Jones Islamic Market Index and the Dow Jones Islamic Market U.S. Index, with the rest chosen by manager Bassam Ossman from companies that are also compliant with Islamic principles. These indexes are determined by a Shariah Advisory Board using principles similar to what we have just seen: They eliminate companies whose primary business involves alcohol, tobacco, pork, interest, weapons, and all entertainment, including gambling, movies, hotels, and pornography.
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TEEN MAG MELDS POP CULTURE, QURAN - TOP
Steven Zeitchik, Variety, 3/12/07
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117960832.html
Teenage girls are preoccupied with a lot of things: "The Gilmore Girls." Makeup tips. Burqas.
At least that's the teenager Muslim Girl magazine, a bimonthly aimed at 12- to 19-year-old Muslim females, is targeting.
The glossy, published by Toronto-based Execugo, is the ultimate hybrid: a mag for and about both regular teenagers and one of the country's least covered minorities.
It's not every mag that offers a "Relationship Reality Check" alongside "Qur'an Notes" ("Girls talk about the small kindnesses in their lives"); a Web feature called "Girl Space" that asks readers to "write in and tell us how girl-friendly your mosque is," or a "hot list" of pop-cultural trends ("Smallville," "Veronica Mars," and, of course, those "Gilmore" ladies).
The mag, which has already pubbed two issues and is aiming for a circulation of 50,000, does contain more straightforward features, like one about a Muslim girls basketball team.
It's not that the mag's readers don't read Seventeen, says editor-in-chief Ausma Khan; they're just deprived of mags with Muslim content.
But is there a conflict between trying to blend, say, gushings about Justin Timberlake and the teachings of Mohammed?
"It's a challenge because we're conscious of a deeper mission," says Khan. "But we also want girls to be attracted to the magazine."
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CA: CELEBRATION FOSTERS TRUST BETWEEN FAITHS - TOP
Sarah Kingsbury, Chico Enterprise Record, 3/12/07
http://www.chicoer.com/newshome/ci_5415675
To an outsider, the chorus of about 200 voices at Faith Lutheran Church Sunday night would have seemed like an ordinary community worship service.
"This is our cry/this is our prayer/peace in the world/peace in the world." As the voices swelled inside the auditorium, it was impossible to discern between Jewish, Muslim and Christian tones.
And that didn't bother the Rev. Reg Schultz-Akerson a bit.
"As we're increasing more as a global society, we have to understand each other across global traditions," he said.
The third annual Celebration of Abraham, sponsored by the Chico Area Interfaith Council, used the shared acceptance of Abraham to promote tolerance and understanding between different faiths.
Judaism, Christianity and Islam are sometimes referred to as the "Abrahamic religions" because of Abraham's portrayal as a spiritual patriarch in their holy books.
Since 2005, the celebration has started with a vegetarian potluck followed by a worship service intermingling songs and scriptures from each of the three faiths.
"People have been sitting down breaking bread and sharing their lives," said council chair Rabbi Julie Hilton Danan. "They're finding out that their neighbor, who might be from a different religion, really isn't that different at all."
The service is not meant to be political, and Danan said participants are asked to leave their politics at home. (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
MUSLIM CONCEPTION OF JESUS MAY SURPRISE YOU - TOP
Shirien Elmasraya, Daily Reveille, 3/13/07
http://media.www.lsureveille.com/media/storage/paper868/news/2007/03/13/Opinion/Muslim.Conception.Of.Jesus.May.Surprise.You-2773779.shtml
I want to expand a little on what Muslims believe about Jesus; it's one of the fundamental concepts in Islam. First, to Muslims, he is one of the greatest of all prophets in Islam. Had the scriptures he brought not been changed and altered, we would still follow those scriptures today. The same applies to the Torah.
"He (Jesus) said: Verily! I am a slave of Allah, He has given me the Scripture and made me a Prophet; And He has made me blessed wheresoever I be, and has enjoined on me Salat (prayer), and Zakat, as long as I live. And dutiful to my mother, and made me not arrogant, unblest. And Salam (peace) be upon me the day I was born, and the day I die, and the day I shall be raised alive!" Qur'an (19: 30-33)
Muslims believe Jesus, the son of the Virgin Mary, is only a human being. He is a human being with a high status, but like we revere the prophet Muhammad and consider him a human being, the same applies to the other prophets. Muslims do not give people higher ranks than they deserve.
Muslims believe he came with the same message that all the other prophets came with: to worship God alone and to not prescribe anything to God in worship; i.e. a son, daughter, intermediaries, etc.
Allah tells us in the Qur'an what Jesus said to his people, which is also very similar to things found in the Old Testament.
"(Jesus said): "And verily Allah is my Lord and your Lord. So worship Him (Alone). That is the Straight Path." (Qur'an 19:36)
If one looks to a red lettered Bible, a Bible that highlights what are thought to be the words of Jesus, you will find a quote like, "Worship thy father alone."
We do believe Jesus had a miraculous birth. Muslims believe he was created without a father just as Adam was created without a father and mother.
But Muslims do not accept the concept of the trinity. God is far above being human or having a son. To Muslims, it is not befitting that God dies, eats, sleeps or uses the bathroom. These traits show a sense of dependency or weakness - a lack of perfection. (MORE)
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NY: HUNDREDS MOURN, PRAY FOR BRONX FIRE VICTIMS - TOP
Michael Frazier, Newsday, 3/13/07
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nyfune0313,0,2684780.story
Nine simple, wooden coffins were carried inside a mosque, one by one, Monday afternoon before hundreds along 166th Street in the Highbridge section.
The sight of the coffins of the Magassa and Soumare family members -- especially the tiny ones -- as they were carried into the Islamic Cultural Center prompted many in the crowd to shake their heads in sorrow.
Twin sisters, 7 months old, shared a coffin.
The funeral was closed to the public. Even mourners who knew the family were turned away at the packed mosque because there was no room. The hundreds of mourners, some carrying prayer mats, instead sat without shoes atop blue tarps on the city street.
"Brothers, we can pray on the backs of our brother," Sheikh Moussa Drammeh of the Islamic Leadership School said over a loudspeaker for those unable to enter the mosque.
One onlooker, who only identified himself as Guye, 21, a native of Mali, said he didn't know anyone who died, but said a shared faith in Islam binds strangers even in a big city.
In Africa, "if there is a loss, the community comes out in droves," he said. "It's always been like this. If someone dies in your neighborhood, everybody is going to show up, whether you know them or not."
According to mosque security guards, mourners came from the United States, Europe and Africa. They included Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), who visited with the families and spoke briefly at the service. (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
Saturday, March 10, 2007
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
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.
-----
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
-----
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)
-----
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
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Ellison Talks Up 'American Values' / MA Muslims Hear the Call to Chaplaincy
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/7/07
* Verse: Benefits of Perseverance
* NC: Al-Arian to be Force-Fed (AP)
* CAIR: Rep. Ellison Talks Up 'American Values' (AP)
* MA: Muslims Hear the Call to Chaplaincy (Boston Globe)
* CAIR-CAN: Muslims Upset at Soccer Hijab Ban (Reuters)
* CAIR-MI Banquet to Feature Robert Fisk
- CAIR-CT Annual Banquet on April 7
* CAIR Board Member Speaks at Brown University Event
* CAIR-CT: School Calls for Middle East Studies Next Year
* CAIR: Anti-Islam Talk at NC High School Prompts Action
- VA: We Should All Learn the Basics of Islam
* Turkey Hosts US Muslim Leader
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VERSE OF THE DAY: BENEFITS OF PERSEVERANCE - TOP
“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
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NC: FASTING INMATE TOLD OFFICIALS WILL SOON START FORCE-FEEDING - TOP
Mike Baker, Associated Press, 3/7/07
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/local/16853122.htm
A former university professor on a hunger strike for the past 44 days to protest the circumstances of his imprisonment could soon be force fed, his lawyer said Wednesday.
Sami al-Arian, a Palestinian who taught computer science at the University of South Florida, stopped eating on Jan. 22 to protest a judge's decision to hold him indefinitely after he refused to testify before a Virginia grand jury.
Nahla al-Arian said her husband has lost more than 40 pounds on the water-only diet and is so weak that he needs a wheelchair.
"His health is really deteriorating," she said. "We are really worried that there will be permanent damage."
Because of that, officials at the Federal Medical Facility in Butner have told al-Arian that they will begin force feeding if his condition worsens, said his lawyer, Peter Erlinder.
"It's an invasive procedure, and there's some danger of injury," Erlinder said. "We're hopeful that that there can be resolution before that. (U.S. Attorney General Alberto) Gonzales could end this all with a stroke of a pen."
Supporters of al-Arian have asked Gonzales to deport al-Arian before his scheduled release from prison in April. Prosecutors and al-Arian had agreed to deportation as a part of the plea deal. Erlinder declined to say where al-Arian would be deported.
During a six-month trial in 2005, prosecutors labeled al-Arian a leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which the United States calls a foreign terrorist organization. The trial ended in an acquittal on some counts and a hung jury on others. (MORE)
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CAIR: ELLISON TALKS UP 'AMERICAN VALUES' IN STATE DEPARTMENT OUTREACH - TOP
Frederic J. Frommer, Associated Press, 3/7/07
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/politics/16854050.htm
WASHINGTON - The State Department is turning to Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, to help burnish the country's image in the Muslim world - despite Ellison's outspoken criticism of the Bush administration's foreign policy.
"I plan to talk to people in the State Department and anywhere I can to help try to improve America's image in the Muslim world, make friends for our country," Ellison, a freshman Minnesota Democrat, said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "I want to help win friends for our country and to isolate true enemies."
In articles which included translations into Arabic and other languages, Ellison has been profiled by the State Department's Bureau of International Information Programs, which is distributed in foreign countries. He has meetings scheduled at the end of the month with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and with Karen Hughes, the State Department's undersecretary for public diplomacy; Ellison spoke with Hughes by phone a few weeks ago.
The State Department did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
Ellison, who has called for an immediate withdrawal of military forces from Iraq, said he didn't find it difficult to reconcile his criticism of the administration's foreign policy with his promotion of American values.
"Look, you know, administrations come and go," he said. "But the basic core message of this country - which is tolerance, human rights, opportunity - does not change, regardless of who happens to be the president."
"And just because sometimes administration policies don't clearly reflect that - as in the Iraq war - doesn't mean it's not still a core value of the American people," Ellison added.
Ellison's outreach with the State Department was first reported by McClatchy News Service.
Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an Islamic civil rights group, said that anything that can help the U.S. image in Muslim countries should be tried.
"I think Keith Ellison is in a unique position to demonstrate the true nature of religious diversity in the United States to the Muslim world," Hooper said. "I don't think the State Department will ask him to endorse foreign policy - it will be a more generic, pro-American endeavor."
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MA: MORE MUSLIMS HEAR THE CALL TO CHAPLAINCY AS A WAY TO SHARE THEIR FAITH YET MINISTER TO ALL - TOP
Vanessa E. Jones, Boston Globe, 3/7/07
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2007/03/07/a_study_in_comfort/
Imam Salih Yucel sits beside the hospital bed of Fazal Mabud, a 66-year-old native of Pakistan who lives in Brighton, and begins offering him spiritual guidance. Mabud had heart surgery six months before, but it was unsuccessful. The next morning he would go under the knife again.
"You are in good hands," Yucel, a Muslim chaplain at Brigham and Women's Hospital, reassures Mabud. Yucel counsels Mabud to say a prayer of supplication and repeat an Arabic word for God 100 times in preparation for the operation. Then the pair bend their heads, turn their open palms toward their faces, and begin to pray.
Mabud is one of about 11 patients Yucel will visit at the hospital on this day. His weekly schedule includes working two days at Brigham and Women's and two days at Children's Hospital Boston. He's also on call at the North Shore Medical Center.
One reason for his popularity could be this: Yucel is the only Muslim chaplain in the Boston area with clinical pastoral education, an interfaith training program that teaches spiritual leaders how to care for people in crisis, says Mary Robinson, director of Children's Hospital's Chaplaincy program. Because of this training, says Robinson, "if he were doing a preoperative visit, he's skilled in caring for a Roman Catholic or a Jew or a Protestant who would like to have prayer before their surgery."
CPE, as it's called, is one of the qualifications employers seek when they hire chaplains, but it's a rarity among imams, Robinson says. In fact, Robinson remembers that when the hospital hired its first Muslim chaplain 13 years ago it couldn't find an applicant with the CPE certification.
That situation is changing with the help of Connecticut's Hartford Seminary , which seven years ago established what remains the only degree program in the nation for Muslim chaplains -- religious leaders who do their work inside institutions such as prisons, colleges/universities, corporations, the military or, in Yucel's case, hospitals. Hartford Seminary offers a 48-credit master of arts degree in Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations, which takes two years to complete. There's also a one-year, 24-credit graduate certificate. Together the two degrees equal a master's of divinity, the basic requirement for many chaplaincy jobs. (MORE)
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CAIR-CAN: MUSLIMS GRUMBLE AT CANADA FOOTBALL HIJAB BAN - TOP
Scott Valentine, Reuters, 3/7/07
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=365822007
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian Muslims may launch a human rights complaint against football's governing body after a Quebec referee ordered an 11-year-old girl to quit a tournament for refusing to remove her hijab.
The Canadian Council on American-Islam Relations said the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was sending a mixed message on its rules, given that its own Web site includes pictures of women wearing the hijab, a scarf that covers the head and neck.
"If FIFA does not provide a clear position on the right of women to wear the hijab in competition we will look at the possibility of filing a human rights complaint on behalf of Muslim women who want to play football, and not be persecuted for practising their beliefs," said executive director Karl Nickner.
The 11-year-old girl, Asmahan Mansour, was ordered off the field by a Muslim referee during an indoor football tournament in the Montreal suburb of Laval, Quebec, on February 25 after refusing to remove her hijab.
FIFA spokesman Pekka Odriozola said it was up to regional and national associations to decide how to interpret football's Law 4, which says a player must not "use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself/herself or another player".
"But each match official must decide how to apply the rules," he added.
The law, as displayed on FIFA's Web site, also says "modern protective equipment such as headgear, facemasks, knee and arm protectors made of soft, lightweight, padded material are not considered to be dangerous and are therefore permitted,"
Odriozola could explain why the Web site included photos of players wearing the hijab.
"(The International Football Association Board) determined last weekend that anything related to players equipment is covered under Law 4 of the rules of the game," he said. "In official matches the laws of the game have to be applied."
That seems like foul play to Nickner of the Canadian Muslim group.
"FIFA backed the decision to support the Quebec referee in prohibiting a player from wearing the hijab," he said. "Yet the FIFA Web site shows pictures of women players wearing a hijab."
This is not the first incident involving football players ejected from a game for wearing religious headgear in Canada. (MORE)
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CAIR-MI ANNUAL BANQUET TO FEATURE ROBERT FISK - TOP
(SOUTHFIELD, MI (3/7/07) – The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) will hold its annual fundraising banquet on Sunday, March 25, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn. The event will feature world-renowned journalist Robert Fisk as the keynote speaker, with a book signing to take place after the dinner.
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-MI at 248.559.2247 or Suehaila Amen at 313.615.1515.
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-CT ANNUAL BANQUET ON APRIL 7 - TOP
(NEW LONDON, CT, 3/7/07) - The Connecticut chapter the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CT) will host its second annual banquet on Saturday, April 7, 2007 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Hartford, Connecticut.
The theme of the banquet is “Connecting and Sharing.” Registration will begin at 5 p.m. and the program will begin promptly at 6 p.m.
For more information or to purchase tickets call CAIR-CT at 860-442-2247 or email info@cair-ct.com. For more information please visit www.cair-ct.com.
CONTACT: Rabia Chaudry, Tel: 860-442-2247
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CAIR: WOMEN IN ISLAM - TOP
Brown Daily Herald, 3/7/07
http://media.www.browndailyherald.com/media/storage/paper472/news/2007/03/07/CampusNews/Women.In.Islam-2762061.shtml
Hadia Mubarak, the first female president of the national Muslim Students Association, spoke in Salomon 001 last night about "Women in Islam: Respect or Repression?" The event was presented by the Brown Muslim Students' Association as part of Islam Awareness Month.
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CAIR-CT: SCHOOL PANEL CALLS FOR MIDDLE EAST STUDIES NEXT YEAR - TOP
Luther Turmelle, New Haven Register, 3/07/07
http://www.nhregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18048186&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517514&rfi=6
A Board of Education committee has given its approval to launch a Middle Eastern studies course at the two high schools this fall.
The board’s Instructional Committee unanimously approved the course Tuesday night. If it is approved at the school board’s March 19 meeting, it will be offered at Lyman Hall and Sheehan high schools this fall, Martin Taylor, the district’s assistant superintendent for instruction, said Wednesday.
Taylor said the course will examine the geography of the region as well as the history, politics and cultures. "We think it will tie in well to some other courses we offer," Taylor said.
The course will replace a comparative cultures course that includes a segment on the Middle East, Taylor told the board on Tuesday.
"We’re getting a lot of feedback from colleges that our course should go deeper (in terms of subject matter), not wider," he said.
The comparative cultures course did not deal with the Middle East in depth and had seen low student enrollments, Taylor said. . .
Hamza Collins, the civil rights director with the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the school board’s action is encouraging.
"It’s a great thing," Collins said. "Our group is trying to reach out to boards of education so that members of our organizations can talk with classes in schools about Islam."
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CAIR: ANTI-ISLAM TALK AT DUKE-AREA HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS ACLU ACTION - TOP
Naureen Khan, Duke Chronicle, 3/6/07
http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2007/03/06/News/AntiIslam.Talk.Prompts.Aclu.Wake.School.Action-2759708.shtml
As part of an ongoing investigation, a Christian evangelist's appearance at a Duke University-area high school has now sparked reaction from the American Civil Liberties Union.
During his Feb. 15 appearance at Enloe High School, Kamil Solomon denounced Islam and distributed pamphlets titled "Do Not Marry A Muslim Man, Part I" and "Jesus Not Muhammad, Part I" to teacher Robert Escamilla's social studies classes.
Escamilla, suspended with pay last week, awaits an internal review of the matter by the Wake County, N.C., Public School System.
The case attracted the attention of the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation when the father of an Enloe student filed a complaint against the high school.
The ACLU said it believes the incident is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which forbids any government action that advances any one set of religious beliefs over another.
In a Feb. 22 letter to Enloe principal Beth Cochran, Azadeh Shahshahani, Muslim/Middle Eastern community outreach coordinator for the ACLU-NCLF, outlined the constitutional basis for the complaint.
"I am writing to ask that you provide us with a written assurance that such speakers engaging in unconstitutional conduct will never be invited again to Enloe High School," Shahshahani wrote.
In a brief response the next day, Adelphos Burns, superintendent of the WCPSS, wrote "appropriate actions" would be taken following a review of the incident.
"We are deeply disappointed by the manner in which the school has thus far handled these serious allegations," said Jennifer Rudinger, executive director of the ACLU-NCLF, in a Feb. 27 press release. "In the face of overwhelming evidence that proselytizing took place in this public school, school officials have insisted on miscasting this as a free speech issue." . . .
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national Muslim advocacy group that received complaints following Solomon's appearance, said it was not satisfied with the school district's response, especially after allegations that proselytization has occurred at Enloe before.
"Now we're hearing this wasn't an isolated incident and that this teacher has been involved in controversies before," said Ibrahim Hooper, communications director of CAIR. "This kind of hate-filled bigotry demands a strong response." (MORE)
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VA: WE SHOULD ALL LEARN THE BASICS OF ISLAM, AND ALL WORLD RELIGIONS - TOP
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 3/7/07
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2007/032007/03072007/263959
We should all learn the basics of Islam, and all world religions
I was appalled at the diatribe against Islam that Rep. Virgil Goode recently made on camera ["Goode goes bad," Jan. 4].
But worse, a survey taken showed that more than 60 percent of those asked agreed with him. This must end!
I know little about Islam, but I do know more than Mr. Goode.
Jesus is recognized as a prophet in the Quran. There is more about the Virgin Mary in the Quran than in the Bible.
I've read and heard talks by those who converted to Islam, including a young Catholic lady who explained why she converted. I also know that Jews were well treated in Spain when it was Muslim, and persecuted when it became Christian.
There is a critical need for us, especially our children, to learn the basics of Islam and other world faiths that are unfamiliar to most of us.
It should be mandatory in the schools. It must avoid any attempt to convert, but also must be thorough, and completely unbiased, focusing on tolerance and understanding.
There are extremists in every religion, but they are not typical of any, and their ideas are despised by most truly religious people.
If this were not true in every one of the major world religions, they would not have survived.
I believe unbiased and thorough teaching of world religions is absolutely essential to world peace.
Jim Parker
Madison
-----
TURKEY HOSTS U.S. MUSLIM LEADER - TOP
Turkish Daily News, 3/7/07
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=67717
Turkey is in search of cooperation with the U.S. Black Muslim leader Deen Mohammad to prevent the so-called clash of civilizations and to reinterpret Islam according to the needs of the 21st century while lobbying against Armenian genocide claims in the U.S. Congress.
Mohammad yesterday arrived to Ankara for a 3 days visit, as a guest of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). He started his visit at the Atatürk mausoleum. “I am not an imam. I am a businessman and I am also a community leader,” Mohammad told the Turkish Daily News yesterday.
He added that they are in search for cooperation with Turkey. Mohammed is known to be the leader of 2 million Muslims in United States.
In 1996 he met with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican and participated in the National Prayer Service Celebrating the second inauguration of then U.S. President Bill Clinton. Mohammad will meet with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül and Minister of Trade and Industry Ali Co?kun today.
He will also have talks with the head of religious affairs directorate Ali Bardako?lu and the Mufti of ?stanbul, Mustafa ?a?r?c?, about Islam and the situation of 1.5 billion Muslims all over the world. (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
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/7/07
* Verse: Benefits of Perseverance
* NC: Al-Arian to be Force-Fed (AP)
* CAIR: Rep. Ellison Talks Up 'American Values' (AP)
* MA: Muslims Hear the Call to Chaplaincy (Boston Globe)
* CAIR-CAN: Muslims Upset at Soccer Hijab Ban (Reuters)
* CAIR-MI Banquet to Feature Robert Fisk
- CAIR-CT Annual Banquet on April 7
* CAIR Board Member Speaks at Brown University Event
* CAIR-CT: School Calls for Middle East Studies Next Year
* CAIR: Anti-Islam Talk at NC High School Prompts Action
- VA: We Should All Learn the Basics of Islam
* Turkey Hosts US Muslim Leader
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VERSE OF THE DAY: BENEFITS OF PERSEVERANCE - TOP
“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
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NC: FASTING INMATE TOLD OFFICIALS WILL SOON START FORCE-FEEDING - TOP
Mike Baker, Associated Press, 3/7/07
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/news/local/16853122.htm
A former university professor on a hunger strike for the past 44 days to protest the circumstances of his imprisonment could soon be force fed, his lawyer said Wednesday.
Sami al-Arian, a Palestinian who taught computer science at the University of South Florida, stopped eating on Jan. 22 to protest a judge's decision to hold him indefinitely after he refused to testify before a Virginia grand jury.
Nahla al-Arian said her husband has lost more than 40 pounds on the water-only diet and is so weak that he needs a wheelchair.
"His health is really deteriorating," she said. "We are really worried that there will be permanent damage."
Because of that, officials at the Federal Medical Facility in Butner have told al-Arian that they will begin force feeding if his condition worsens, said his lawyer, Peter Erlinder.
"It's an invasive procedure, and there's some danger of injury," Erlinder said. "We're hopeful that that there can be resolution before that. (U.S. Attorney General Alberto) Gonzales could end this all with a stroke of a pen."
Supporters of al-Arian have asked Gonzales to deport al-Arian before his scheduled release from prison in April. Prosecutors and al-Arian had agreed to deportation as a part of the plea deal. Erlinder declined to say where al-Arian would be deported.
During a six-month trial in 2005, prosecutors labeled al-Arian a leader of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which the United States calls a foreign terrorist organization. The trial ended in an acquittal on some counts and a hung jury on others. (MORE)
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CAIR: ELLISON TALKS UP 'AMERICAN VALUES' IN STATE DEPARTMENT OUTREACH - TOP
Frederic J. Frommer, Associated Press, 3/7/07
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/politics/16854050.htm
WASHINGTON - The State Department is turning to Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, to help burnish the country's image in the Muslim world - despite Ellison's outspoken criticism of the Bush administration's foreign policy.
"I plan to talk to people in the State Department and anywhere I can to help try to improve America's image in the Muslim world, make friends for our country," Ellison, a freshman Minnesota Democrat, said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "I want to help win friends for our country and to isolate true enemies."
In articles which included translations into Arabic and other languages, Ellison has been profiled by the State Department's Bureau of International Information Programs, which is distributed in foreign countries. He has meetings scheduled at the end of the month with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and with Karen Hughes, the State Department's undersecretary for public diplomacy; Ellison spoke with Hughes by phone a few weeks ago.
The State Department did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
Ellison, who has called for an immediate withdrawal of military forces from Iraq, said he didn't find it difficult to reconcile his criticism of the administration's foreign policy with his promotion of American values.
"Look, you know, administrations come and go," he said. "But the basic core message of this country - which is tolerance, human rights, opportunity - does not change, regardless of who happens to be the president."
"And just because sometimes administration policies don't clearly reflect that - as in the Iraq war - doesn't mean it's not still a core value of the American people," Ellison added.
Ellison's outreach with the State Department was first reported by McClatchy News Service.
Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an Islamic civil rights group, said that anything that can help the U.S. image in Muslim countries should be tried.
"I think Keith Ellison is in a unique position to demonstrate the true nature of religious diversity in the United States to the Muslim world," Hooper said. "I don't think the State Department will ask him to endorse foreign policy - it will be a more generic, pro-American endeavor."
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MA: MORE MUSLIMS HEAR THE CALL TO CHAPLAINCY AS A WAY TO SHARE THEIR FAITH YET MINISTER TO ALL - TOP
Vanessa E. Jones, Boston Globe, 3/7/07
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2007/03/07/a_study_in_comfort/
Imam Salih Yucel sits beside the hospital bed of Fazal Mabud, a 66-year-old native of Pakistan who lives in Brighton, and begins offering him spiritual guidance. Mabud had heart surgery six months before, but it was unsuccessful. The next morning he would go under the knife again.
"You are in good hands," Yucel, a Muslim chaplain at Brigham and Women's Hospital, reassures Mabud. Yucel counsels Mabud to say a prayer of supplication and repeat an Arabic word for God 100 times in preparation for the operation. Then the pair bend their heads, turn their open palms toward their faces, and begin to pray.
Mabud is one of about 11 patients Yucel will visit at the hospital on this day. His weekly schedule includes working two days at Brigham and Women's and two days at Children's Hospital Boston. He's also on call at the North Shore Medical Center.
One reason for his popularity could be this: Yucel is the only Muslim chaplain in the Boston area with clinical pastoral education, an interfaith training program that teaches spiritual leaders how to care for people in crisis, says Mary Robinson, director of Children's Hospital's Chaplaincy program. Because of this training, says Robinson, "if he were doing a preoperative visit, he's skilled in caring for a Roman Catholic or a Jew or a Protestant who would like to have prayer before their surgery."
CPE, as it's called, is one of the qualifications employers seek when they hire chaplains, but it's a rarity among imams, Robinson says. In fact, Robinson remembers that when the hospital hired its first Muslim chaplain 13 years ago it couldn't find an applicant with the CPE certification.
That situation is changing with the help of Connecticut's Hartford Seminary , which seven years ago established what remains the only degree program in the nation for Muslim chaplains -- religious leaders who do their work inside institutions such as prisons, colleges/universities, corporations, the military or, in Yucel's case, hospitals. Hartford Seminary offers a 48-credit master of arts degree in Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations, which takes two years to complete. There's also a one-year, 24-credit graduate certificate. Together the two degrees equal a master's of divinity, the basic requirement for many chaplaincy jobs. (MORE)
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CAIR-CAN: MUSLIMS GRUMBLE AT CANADA FOOTBALL HIJAB BAN - TOP
Scott Valentine, Reuters, 3/7/07
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=365822007
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian Muslims may launch a human rights complaint against football's governing body after a Quebec referee ordered an 11-year-old girl to quit a tournament for refusing to remove her hijab.
The Canadian Council on American-Islam Relations said the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was sending a mixed message on its rules, given that its own Web site includes pictures of women wearing the hijab, a scarf that covers the head and neck.
"If FIFA does not provide a clear position on the right of women to wear the hijab in competition we will look at the possibility of filing a human rights complaint on behalf of Muslim women who want to play football, and not be persecuted for practising their beliefs," said executive director Karl Nickner.
The 11-year-old girl, Asmahan Mansour, was ordered off the field by a Muslim referee during an indoor football tournament in the Montreal suburb of Laval, Quebec, on February 25 after refusing to remove her hijab.
FIFA spokesman Pekka Odriozola said it was up to regional and national associations to decide how to interpret football's Law 4, which says a player must not "use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself/herself or another player".
"But each match official must decide how to apply the rules," he added.
The law, as displayed on FIFA's Web site, also says "modern protective equipment such as headgear, facemasks, knee and arm protectors made of soft, lightweight, padded material are not considered to be dangerous and are therefore permitted,"
Odriozola could explain why the Web site included photos of players wearing the hijab.
"(The International Football Association Board) determined last weekend that anything related to players equipment is covered under Law 4 of the rules of the game," he said. "In official matches the laws of the game have to be applied."
That seems like foul play to Nickner of the Canadian Muslim group.
"FIFA backed the decision to support the Quebec referee in prohibiting a player from wearing the hijab," he said. "Yet the FIFA Web site shows pictures of women players wearing a hijab."
This is not the first incident involving football players ejected from a game for wearing religious headgear in Canada. (MORE)
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CAIR-MI ANNUAL BANQUET TO FEATURE ROBERT FISK - TOP
(SOUTHFIELD, MI (3/7/07) – The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) will hold its annual fundraising banquet on Sunday, March 25, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn. The event will feature world-renowned journalist Robert Fisk as the keynote speaker, with a book signing to take place after the dinner.
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-MI at 248.559.2247 or Suehaila Amen at 313.615.1515.
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-CT ANNUAL BANQUET ON APRIL 7 - TOP
(NEW LONDON, CT, 3/7/07) - The Connecticut chapter the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CT) will host its second annual banquet on Saturday, April 7, 2007 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Hartford, Connecticut.
The theme of the banquet is “Connecting and Sharing.” Registration will begin at 5 p.m. and the program will begin promptly at 6 p.m.
For more information or to purchase tickets call CAIR-CT at 860-442-2247 or email info@cair-ct.com. For more information please visit www.cair-ct.com.
CONTACT: Rabia Chaudry, Tel: 860-442-2247
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CAIR: WOMEN IN ISLAM - TOP
Brown Daily Herald, 3/7/07
http://media.www.browndailyherald.com/media/storage/paper472/news/2007/03/07/CampusNews/Women.In.Islam-2762061.shtml
Hadia Mubarak, the first female president of the national Muslim Students Association, spoke in Salomon 001 last night about "Women in Islam: Respect or Repression?" The event was presented by the Brown Muslim Students' Association as part of Islam Awareness Month.
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CAIR-CT: SCHOOL PANEL CALLS FOR MIDDLE EAST STUDIES NEXT YEAR - TOP
Luther Turmelle, New Haven Register, 3/07/07
http://www.nhregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18048186&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517514&rfi=6
A Board of Education committee has given its approval to launch a Middle Eastern studies course at the two high schools this fall.
The board’s Instructional Committee unanimously approved the course Tuesday night. If it is approved at the school board’s March 19 meeting, it will be offered at Lyman Hall and Sheehan high schools this fall, Martin Taylor, the district’s assistant superintendent for instruction, said Wednesday.
Taylor said the course will examine the geography of the region as well as the history, politics and cultures. "We think it will tie in well to some other courses we offer," Taylor said.
The course will replace a comparative cultures course that includes a segment on the Middle East, Taylor told the board on Tuesday.
"We’re getting a lot of feedback from colleges that our course should go deeper (in terms of subject matter), not wider," he said.
The comparative cultures course did not deal with the Middle East in depth and had seen low student enrollments, Taylor said. . .
Hamza Collins, the civil rights director with the Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the school board’s action is encouraging.
"It’s a great thing," Collins said. "Our group is trying to reach out to boards of education so that members of our organizations can talk with classes in schools about Islam."
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CAIR: ANTI-ISLAM TALK AT DUKE-AREA HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS ACLU ACTION - TOP
Naureen Khan, Duke Chronicle, 3/6/07
http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2007/03/06/News/AntiIslam.Talk.Prompts.Aclu.Wake.School.Action-2759708.shtml
As part of an ongoing investigation, a Christian evangelist's appearance at a Duke University-area high school has now sparked reaction from the American Civil Liberties Union.
During his Feb. 15 appearance at Enloe High School, Kamil Solomon denounced Islam and distributed pamphlets titled "Do Not Marry A Muslim Man, Part I" and "Jesus Not Muhammad, Part I" to teacher Robert Escamilla's social studies classes.
Escamilla, suspended with pay last week, awaits an internal review of the matter by the Wake County, N.C., Public School System.
The case attracted the attention of the ACLU of North Carolina Legal Foundation when the father of an Enloe student filed a complaint against the high school.
The ACLU said it believes the incident is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which forbids any government action that advances any one set of religious beliefs over another.
In a Feb. 22 letter to Enloe principal Beth Cochran, Azadeh Shahshahani, Muslim/Middle Eastern community outreach coordinator for the ACLU-NCLF, outlined the constitutional basis for the complaint.
"I am writing to ask that you provide us with a written assurance that such speakers engaging in unconstitutional conduct will never be invited again to Enloe High School," Shahshahani wrote.
In a brief response the next day, Adelphos Burns, superintendent of the WCPSS, wrote "appropriate actions" would be taken following a review of the incident.
"We are deeply disappointed by the manner in which the school has thus far handled these serious allegations," said Jennifer Rudinger, executive director of the ACLU-NCLF, in a Feb. 27 press release. "In the face of overwhelming evidence that proselytizing took place in this public school, school officials have insisted on miscasting this as a free speech issue." . . .
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national Muslim advocacy group that received complaints following Solomon's appearance, said it was not satisfied with the school district's response, especially after allegations that proselytization has occurred at Enloe before.
"Now we're hearing this wasn't an isolated incident and that this teacher has been involved in controversies before," said Ibrahim Hooper, communications director of CAIR. "This kind of hate-filled bigotry demands a strong response." (MORE)
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VA: WE SHOULD ALL LEARN THE BASICS OF ISLAM, AND ALL WORLD RELIGIONS - TOP
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, 3/7/07
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2007/032007/03072007/263959
We should all learn the basics of Islam, and all world religions
I was appalled at the diatribe against Islam that Rep. Virgil Goode recently made on camera ["Goode goes bad," Jan. 4].
But worse, a survey taken showed that more than 60 percent of those asked agreed with him. This must end!
I know little about Islam, but I do know more than Mr. Goode.
Jesus is recognized as a prophet in the Quran. There is more about the Virgin Mary in the Quran than in the Bible.
I've read and heard talks by those who converted to Islam, including a young Catholic lady who explained why she converted. I also know that Jews were well treated in Spain when it was Muslim, and persecuted when it became Christian.
There is a critical need for us, especially our children, to learn the basics of Islam and other world faiths that are unfamiliar to most of us.
It should be mandatory in the schools. It must avoid any attempt to convert, but also must be thorough, and completely unbiased, focusing on tolerance and understanding.
There are extremists in every religion, but they are not typical of any, and their ideas are despised by most truly religious people.
If this were not true in every one of the major world religions, they would not have survived.
I believe unbiased and thorough teaching of world religions is absolutely essential to world peace.
Jim Parker
Madison
-----
TURKEY HOSTS U.S. MUSLIM LEADER - TOP
Turkish Daily News, 3/7/07
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=67717
Turkey is in search of cooperation with the U.S. Black Muslim leader Deen Mohammad to prevent the so-called clash of civilizations and to reinterpret Islam according to the needs of the 21st century while lobbying against Armenian genocide claims in the U.S. Congress.
Mohammad yesterday arrived to Ankara for a 3 days visit, as a guest of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). He started his visit at the Atatürk mausoleum. “I am not an imam. I am a businessman and I am also a community leader,” Mohammad told the Turkish Daily News yesterday.
He added that they are in search for cooperation with Turkey. Mohammed is known to be the leader of 2 million Muslims in United States.
In 1996 he met with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican and participated in the National Prayer Service Celebrating the second inauguration of then U.S. President Bill Clinton. Mohammad will meet with Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül and Minister of Trade and Industry Ali Co?kun today.
He will also have talks with the head of religious affairs directorate Ali Bardako?lu and the Mufti of ?stanbul, Mustafa ?a?r?c?, about Islam and the situation of 1.5 billion Muslims all over the world. (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
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
FL Paper Says 'Secular Islam Summit' Sponsor May Have Violated IRS Regs (SP Times)
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
BREAKING NEWS - 3/6/07
* Wafa Sultan: 'You Cannot be American and Muslim at the Same Time'
* CAIR Rep Slams 'Secular Islam Summit' (CNN's 'Glenn Beck Show')
* FL Paper Says 'Secular Islam Summit' Sponsor May Have Violated IRS Regs (SP Times)
- Intelligence Expert: 'This is Not a Mainstream Conference'
- Intelligence Organization 'Does Not Exist in IRS Records'
- Islam Expert: 'It's Everyone Known for Damning Islam'
- Contributor Denied Visa 'Because of Alleged Ties to the Russian Mafia'
- Konica Minolta: 'We Never Agreed to be a Part of It'
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: WAFA SULTAN SAYS 'YOU CANNOT BE AMERICAN AND MUSLIM AT THE SAME TIME' - TOP
CNN's 'Glenn Beck' Show, 3/5/07
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZXj2shOzkY
One of the main speakers at the so-called "Secular Islam Summit" last night told CNN's Glenn Beck that Islam cannot be reformed. Wafa Sultan told Beck: "Believe me, personally, I don`t believe Islam really can be reformed unless we recreate a totally new belief system...I don`t see any difference between radical Islam and regular Islam...You cannot be American and Muslim at the same time."
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CAIR REP SLAMS 'SECULAR ISLAM SUMMIT' - TOP
CNN's 'Glenn Beck' Show, 3/5/07
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUJErMA4d9Q
-----
INTELLIGENCE CONFERENCE DRAWS CRITICISM - TOP
Members of the former Holocaust Education Center worry its name is being misused.
MEG LAUGHLIN, 3/6/07
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/03/06/Southpinellas/Intelligence_conferen.shtml
John Loftus, a former federal prosecutor who is a hosting a three-day conference in downtown St. Petersburg on international intelligence and terrorism, says he "may know more intelligence secrets than anyone alive."
But Loftus' claims, which include allegations that the Bush administration concealed the discovery of large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, have been widely questioned by intelligence experts.
"This is not a mainstream conference with recognized names in the field," (TOP ) said Victoria Toensing, a Washington lawyer and former MSNBC legal analyst who established the terrorism unit for the Department of Justice during the Reagan administration.
"I've been in the intelligence and terrorism world a long time, and I would not suggest going to this conference for intelligence or terrorism information," she said.
Loftus, 57, has attracted about 400 people to the conference at the Hilton. But he has drawn criticism from former representatives of the International Holocaust Education Center, who are concerned that Loftus is using the name of the now-defunct educational arm of the museum to gather tax deductible contributions for his intelligence activities.
According to federal tax filings, Loftus is the registered agent of the International Holocaust Education Center, a tax-exempt charitable organization founded over 11 years ago in St. Petersburg. Its purpose was to educate the public about the Florida Holocaust Museum, of which Loftus is the vice chairman.
But by 2005 members of the board of directors of both organizations decided the job was being done sufficiently by the museum and the education center was no longer necessary.
Loftus, with the blessing of three board members of the Holocaust education center, was allowed to continue to use the center's name. This allowed him to preserve the center's tax-exempt status.
Walter Loebenberg, who founded the Holocaust education center and approved of turning the name over to Loftus in 2005 because of his high regard for him, says that he knew Loftus was doing intelligence work at the time. . .
Jay Snyder, who was the registered agent for the Holocaust Education Center until Loftus took over the name, says he holds Loftus in high esteem but is "surprised that John did not change the name of the organization in IRS filings to reflect the new intelligence direction."
"I didn't know he hadn't already done that," said Snyder.
Loftus abbreviated the full name of the International Holocaust Education Center to IHEC in the 2004-2005 tax filings. On the Web site for the Intelligence Summit, he said that IHEC stood for Intelligence and Homeland Security Education Center. But the intelligence organization does not exist in IRS records. (TOP)
"What's the difference?" asked Loftus. "Both organizations are charities fighting terrorism. Both are for the good of America."
IRS spokesperson Gloria Sutton says there's a big difference: "If a tax-exempt charitable organization changes the name, the purpose or the structure, it must let IRS know by corresponding with us. And, it must remain neutral and nonpartisan."
Florida IRS investigator Norm Meadows: "We are scrutinizing exempt charitable organizations because abuse is occurring that often has to do with charities misrepresenting their purpose."
The Intelligence Summit and the affiliated Secular Islam Summit are billed as "non-partisan, non-profit," forums that "use private charitable funds."
The Intelligence Summit, which costs $425 to attend for private citizens, continues through Wednesday. The Secular Islam Summit, which was covered by CNN commentator Glenn Beck, ended Monday. In promotional literature it claimed to "feature the courageous voices of those who stand against radical Islam and speak against the violence of Islamist jihad."
Experts on Islam question the summit's nonpartisan status.
"Legitimate scholars are horrified by the lineup. The speakers are extreme in their views. Basically, it's everyone known for damning Islam," said Yvonne Hadad, a Georgetown University professor who teaches "the history of Christians and Muslims.". . . (TOP)
According to IRS documents, the main donor to the International Holocaust Education Center from 2004 to 2005 was Michael Cherney, a Russian aluminum tycoon who gave the organization $100,000 that year. Loftus has not yet made the 2005-06 IRS records available to the St. Petersburg Times. He says they show that Cherney donated another $50,000 last year.
Cherney, who Loftus agrees was the summits' main contributor, was invited by Loftus to be the "distinguished guest of honor" at this year's event. But the United States has denied Cherney a visa since 1999 because of alleged ties to the Russian mafia. . . (TOP)
Konica Minolta was listed as a sponsor on the summit's Web site. That information was removed last week after Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations in Washington, D,C., asked the corporation why it was sponsoring "an event that is apparently linked to and hosting individuals who promote anti-Muslim bigotry and hatred."
A spokesperson for Konica Minolta told the St. Petersburg Times that it had never consented to being a sponsor. "We have never heard of this conference and never agreed to be a part of it," James Norberto said. (TOP) "We're not sure how we got pulled in." (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
BREAKING NEWS - 3/6/07
* Wafa Sultan: 'You Cannot be American and Muslim at the Same Time'
* CAIR Rep Slams 'Secular Islam Summit' (CNN's 'Glenn Beck Show')
* FL Paper Says 'Secular Islam Summit' Sponsor May Have Violated IRS Regs (SP Times)
- Intelligence Expert: 'This is Not a Mainstream Conference'
- Intelligence Organization 'Does Not Exist in IRS Records'
- Islam Expert: 'It's Everyone Known for Damning Islam'
- Contributor Denied Visa 'Because of Alleged Ties to the Russian Mafia'
- Konica Minolta: 'We Never Agreed to be a Part of It'
-----
INCITEMENT WATCH: WAFA SULTAN SAYS 'YOU CANNOT BE AMERICAN AND MUSLIM AT THE SAME TIME' - TOP
CNN's 'Glenn Beck' Show, 3/5/07
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZXj2shOzkY
One of the main speakers at the so-called "Secular Islam Summit" last night told CNN's Glenn Beck that Islam cannot be reformed. Wafa Sultan told Beck: "Believe me, personally, I don`t believe Islam really can be reformed unless we recreate a totally new belief system...I don`t see any difference between radical Islam and regular Islam...You cannot be American and Muslim at the same time."
-----
CAIR REP SLAMS 'SECULAR ISLAM SUMMIT' - TOP
CNN's 'Glenn Beck' Show, 3/5/07
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUJErMA4d9Q
-----
INTELLIGENCE CONFERENCE DRAWS CRITICISM - TOP
Members of the former Holocaust Education Center worry its name is being misused.
MEG LAUGHLIN, 3/6/07
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/03/06/Southpinellas/Intelligence_conferen.shtml
John Loftus, a former federal prosecutor who is a hosting a three-day conference in downtown St. Petersburg on international intelligence and terrorism, says he "may know more intelligence secrets than anyone alive."
But Loftus' claims, which include allegations that the Bush administration concealed the discovery of large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, have been widely questioned by intelligence experts.
"This is not a mainstream conference with recognized names in the field," (TOP ) said Victoria Toensing, a Washington lawyer and former MSNBC legal analyst who established the terrorism unit for the Department of Justice during the Reagan administration.
"I've been in the intelligence and terrorism world a long time, and I would not suggest going to this conference for intelligence or terrorism information," she said.
Loftus, 57, has attracted about 400 people to the conference at the Hilton. But he has drawn criticism from former representatives of the International Holocaust Education Center, who are concerned that Loftus is using the name of the now-defunct educational arm of the museum to gather tax deductible contributions for his intelligence activities.
According to federal tax filings, Loftus is the registered agent of the International Holocaust Education Center, a tax-exempt charitable organization founded over 11 years ago in St. Petersburg. Its purpose was to educate the public about the Florida Holocaust Museum, of which Loftus is the vice chairman.
But by 2005 members of the board of directors of both organizations decided the job was being done sufficiently by the museum and the education center was no longer necessary.
Loftus, with the blessing of three board members of the Holocaust education center, was allowed to continue to use the center's name. This allowed him to preserve the center's tax-exempt status.
Walter Loebenberg, who founded the Holocaust education center and approved of turning the name over to Loftus in 2005 because of his high regard for him, says that he knew Loftus was doing intelligence work at the time. . .
Jay Snyder, who was the registered agent for the Holocaust Education Center until Loftus took over the name, says he holds Loftus in high esteem but is "surprised that John did not change the name of the organization in IRS filings to reflect the new intelligence direction."
"I didn't know he hadn't already done that," said Snyder.
Loftus abbreviated the full name of the International Holocaust Education Center to IHEC in the 2004-2005 tax filings. On the Web site for the Intelligence Summit, he said that IHEC stood for Intelligence and Homeland Security Education Center. But the intelligence organization does not exist in IRS records. (TOP)
"What's the difference?" asked Loftus. "Both organizations are charities fighting terrorism. Both are for the good of America."
IRS spokesperson Gloria Sutton says there's a big difference: "If a tax-exempt charitable organization changes the name, the purpose or the structure, it must let IRS know by corresponding with us. And, it must remain neutral and nonpartisan."
Florida IRS investigator Norm Meadows: "We are scrutinizing exempt charitable organizations because abuse is occurring that often has to do with charities misrepresenting their purpose."
The Intelligence Summit and the affiliated Secular Islam Summit are billed as "non-partisan, non-profit," forums that "use private charitable funds."
The Intelligence Summit, which costs $425 to attend for private citizens, continues through Wednesday. The Secular Islam Summit, which was covered by CNN commentator Glenn Beck, ended Monday. In promotional literature it claimed to "feature the courageous voices of those who stand against radical Islam and speak against the violence of Islamist jihad."
Experts on Islam question the summit's nonpartisan status.
"Legitimate scholars are horrified by the lineup. The speakers are extreme in their views. Basically, it's everyone known for damning Islam," said Yvonne Hadad, a Georgetown University professor who teaches "the history of Christians and Muslims.". . . (TOP)
According to IRS documents, the main donor to the International Holocaust Education Center from 2004 to 2005 was Michael Cherney, a Russian aluminum tycoon who gave the organization $100,000 that year. Loftus has not yet made the 2005-06 IRS records available to the St. Petersburg Times. He says they show that Cherney donated another $50,000 last year.
Cherney, who Loftus agrees was the summits' main contributor, was invited by Loftus to be the "distinguished guest of honor" at this year's event. But the United States has denied Cherney a visa since 1999 because of alleged ties to the Russian mafia. . . (TOP)
Konica Minolta was listed as a sponsor on the summit's Web site. That information was removed last week after Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations in Washington, D,C., asked the corporation why it was sponsoring "an event that is apparently linked to and hosting individuals who promote anti-Muslim bigotry and hatred."
A spokesperson for Konica Minolta told the St. Petersburg Times that it had never consented to being a sponsor. "We have never heard of this conference and never agreed to be a part of it," James Norberto said. (TOP) "We're not sure how we got pulled in." (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
CAIR Condemns Attacks on Iraqi Pilgrims / MN Muslim Rep Joins Diplomacy Effort to Islamic World
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/6/07
* Hadith: A Polite Prophet
* CAIR Condemns Attacks on Iraqi Pilgrims
* Ad in Wash Post: Why is Sami Al-Arian Still in Prison?
* CAIR: MN Muslim Rep Joins Diplomacy Effort to Islamic World
* CAIR-OH Meets with British, State Officials
* CAIR-CAN: FIFA Must Take Stand on Hijab (Ottawa Citizen)
- CAIR-CAN: FIFA Hijab Ruling Deserves Red Card
* CAIR-CA: Refugees Denied Help by Patriot Act (Mercury News)
* NC: City Council Rejects Mosque Proposal (News-Argus)
* CA: Pipes Gets Silent Treatment at Cal-Poly Event
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HADITH OF THE DAY: A POLITE PROPHET - TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) "never criticized any food (presented to him), but he would eat it if he liked it; otherwise, he would leave it (without expressing his dislike)."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Hadith 764
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CAIR CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON IRAQI PILGRIMS - TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/6/07) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today condemned a series of attacks on Iraqi pilgrims that left more than 100 people dead and many more injured.
The pilgrims were heading to the city of Karbala to commemorate Arbain, the end of a 40-day mourning period since Ashura, which marks the death of the Prophet Mohammad's grandson in 680.
SEE: Attacks Kill 149 Shi'ite Pilgrims in Iraq (Reuters)
In a statement, the Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group said:
"We condemn these cowardly attacks on innocent pilgrims and demand that the perpetrators be apprehended and brought to justice. There can be no justification or excuse for these obvious attempts to divide the Iraqi people along sectarian lines.
"The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: 'A Muslim is the brother of (every other) Muslim. He neither oppresses him nor humiliates him nor looks down on him. . .All things of a (fellow) Muslim are inviolable for his brother in faith; his blood, his wealth and his honor.'
"We call on our brothers and sisters in Iraq to reach out to one another in a spirit of unity and mutual respect and to begin a process of national reconciliation."
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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WHY IS DR. SAMI AL-ARIAN STILL IN PRISON? - TOP
[NOTE: this letter ran as a quarter-page ad in yesterday's Washington Post.]
An Open Letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
Dear Attorney General Gonzales,
We the undersigned Americans - individuals and organizations - respectfully request that you support the immediate release of former Florida professor Dr. Sami Al-Arian so that he and his family may resume their lives in another country. Here are our reasons for seeking Prof. Al-Arian's release:
In December 2005, after 10 years of federal investigation and a six-month trial, a Florida jury refused to return a single guilty verdict against Dr. Al-Arian, rejecting the government's argument that he operated a cell for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
On May 1, 2006, the Justice Department agreed that Dr. Al Arian should be released within 30 days, and further agreed to assist in his voluntary departure from the country without other conditions, in exchange for a guilty plea to one non-violent offense.
In violation of their agreement, the Justice Department changed its position by attempting to force Dr. Al Arian to testify before a grand jury. Despite the plea agreement that freed him from further cooperation with the government, Dr. Al-Arian was recently given a sentence of up to 18 months in prison for refusing to testify before a grand jury in Virginia.
On January 21, Dr. Al-Arian began a hunger strike to protest the government's actions and the conditions of his imprisonment. Family members report that he collapsed after the 23rd day and has been moved from Virginia to a medical facility in North Carolina, where he is kept in solitary confinement, in effect under twenty-four hour lockdown.
Recently the respected human rights monitor Amnesty International sent you a letter expressing "concern about the treatment while in federal custody of Dr. Sami Al-Arian." Amnesty International communicated to you that his treatment in prison "is in breach of the USA's obligations under international standards and treaties, including Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which states that `all persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.'"
In criticizing the unacceptably punitive conditions of solitary confinement of Dr. Al-Arian, Amnesty International went on to express concern over the reports of the prosecutor leading the grand jury case in Virginia who has expressed anti-Islamic sentiments in discussions with counsel for Dr. Al-Arian. This raises the obvious question whether these proceedings are being used to punish him for his political profile rather than for constitutionally legitimate purposes.
In May 2006, your department had promised to end the case by ending all further business with Dr. Al-Arian and to assist in his immediate deportation. Now your department is responsible for locking him up potentially indefinitely.
You have not kept your promise. Today, people all over the world are urging you to keep your promise and release Dr. Sami Al-Arian as scheduled so that he and his family can build their lives elsewhere.
Signatories:
American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections
Citizen's Committee for Equal Justice
California Civil Rights Alliance
Friends of Human Rights
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
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CAIR: FIRST MUSLIM ELECTED TO CONGRESS WILL SHARE HIS STORY WITH THE WORLD - TOP
Kevin Diaz, McClatchy Newspapers, 3/6/07
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/politics/16845516.htm
WASHINGTON - Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, had little good to say about President Bush's foreign policy when he ran for office in 2006.
Now, two months into office, the Minnesota Democrat has plans to meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other top State Department officials to talk about showcasing his story as part of their public diplomacy efforts in the Muslim world.
"Hey, my country first. We can work out our political differences later," said Ellison, an outspoken critic of the Iraq war. "I've said I'm willing to do whatever I can to make some friends for America."
Building on the international cachet he's built since taking his oath of office on Thomas Jefferson's Quran, Ellison has been profiled three times by the State Department's overseas press bureau. On Monday he did a Voice of America interview from his office, where an American flag was placed conspicuously behind his desk for the cameras.
He's scheduled to follow up Thursday in a teleconference with Karen Hughes, the State Department's undersecretary for public diplomacy. The teleconference has been tasked by the White House to promote American values and confront ideological support for terrorism around the world.
Muslim commentators and administration officials say that, whatever controversy Ellison has engendered at home, he can help America's image abroad, especially in the Arab world.
"It's a very positive development," said Voice of America's Faiz Rehman, a Pakistani native and senior political producer. "He is the most famous freshman congressman in the world."
Ellison's swearing-in in January turned him into one of the hottest journalistic commodities on Capitol Hill, particularly for the foreign press, which had to be ushered out of his office after he took his oath of office to make room for home-state news crews.
Now the State Department's public diplomacy arm is swinging into the act.
Ellison has now been featured in a series of articles written for foreign dissemination by the Department's Bureau of International Information Programs. The most recent, published last month, highlighted the diversity of his constituents in Minnesota, ranging from Swedes and Norwegians to "the largest Somali immigrant community in America." . . .
Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American Islamic Relations, compared Ellison's overseas appeal to that of boxing icon Muhammad Ali, who refused to serve in Vietnam.
"Muslims around the world know that America has a tradition of religious tolerance," he said. "They'd like to see us live up to that tradition." (MORE)
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CAIR-OHIO MEETS WITH BRITISH, STATE OFFICIALS - TOP
(COLUMBUS, OH, 3/5/07) - Representatives of the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) recently held a roundtable discussion with officials from the British Consulate in Chicago, Governor Ted Strickland's advisor on International Affairs and Special Projects, and Senator George Voinovich's State Director.
The British delegation was led by Mark Carrol, Director of Faith, Race and Cohesion at the British Government's Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG). Carrol is a key figure in developing the British Government's policy in the area of community relations. He was accompanied by a colleague from the DCLG, Jenan Hasan, and by a member of the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., Tony Lord, who serves as First Secretary, Justice and Home Affairs in the Foreign & Security Policy Group. Additionally, Samantha Nugent, Vice Consul-Political, Press & Public Affairs was present.
This is the second time in two years that CAIR-Ohio has hosted a delegation from the British Consulate-General. The meeting was part of a continuing dialogue between Ohio's Muslim community and British Policy Advisors. This year the meeting was opened up to representatives of Ohio State offices.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for us to discuss the challenges that face the American Muslim and British Muslim communities," said CAIR-Ohio Executive Director Adnan Mirza. "It allows us to learn from each others' experiences and can demonstrate how CAIR gives the worldwide Muslim community a voice in global affairs."
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 32 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. The CAIR-Ohio Chapter has three offices - Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. 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: Adnan Mirza, 614-451-3232, E-Mail: amirza@cair.com.
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CAIR-CAN: SOCCER RULE-MAKERS MUST TAKE STAND ON HIJAB-WEARING PLAYERS, MUSLIM GROUP SAYS - TOP
Ambiguous position effectively bars millions of women
Bruce Ward, Ottawa Citizen, 3/5/07
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=62fb429d-30ba-4044-a643-4ece2c6b2c62&k=0
The hijab issue in soccer will not go away until the sport's governing body clarifies its position, says an Ottawa-based Muslim advocacy organization.
"I don't think crawling under the proverbial rug and hiding out until it's all over is going to work for FIFA," said Sarah Elgazzar, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN).
The International Football Association Board (IFAB), which consists of FIFA and the English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish soccer associations, sidestepped the issue last weekend when it decided not to rule specifically on whether players can wear the hijab in a game.
Ms. Elgazzar said a simple, creative solution would settle the hijab issue - if soccer's rule-makers were willing to show some leadership.
"It they were a little bit creative, they could say religious headgear is permissible as long as it is conceived for sports," she said Monday in a telephone interview from Montreal.
"There are sports hijabs everywhere in the world; they're very easy to make. It's a cotton tube. It's nothing more than a bandanna that's a little longer. I'm a soccer player and I'm not going to run out and wear a burqa-style headscarf. It's in my own interests to be comfortable, and to not hurt myself while I'm playing."
The issue hit the headlines in late February when 11-year old Asmahan "Azzy" Mansour was ordered to remove her hijab or leave the field during a tournament in Laval, Que. Her team - the Nepean Hotspurs Selects - walked off the pitch with her to protest the referee's ruling, which is backed by the Quebec Soccer Association.
"For decades, women have struggled to have equal opportunity and treatment on the playing field," Ms. Elgazzar said in a statement. "In remaining ambiguous on the question of hijab and backing the Quebec referee's decision, FIFA has effectively blocked millions of women from playing the sport.
Added Ms. Elgazzar: "On the one hand, FIFA promotes soccer amongst women by featuring hijab-clad women on their website; on the other, they have given free rein to individual referees to allow or prohibit the hijab. The situation is untenable." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-CAN: FIFA HIJAB RULING DESERVES RED CARD - TOP
Edmonton Journal, 3/6/07
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/opinion/story.html?id=59f06a4e-5043-4c33-b82a-acd43195b3e4
A group of 11-year-old soccer players demonstrated more wisdom than the adults officiating at their tournament last week near Montreal.
When Asmahan Mansour, 11, was suddenly told she couldn't play if she wore her Muslim headscarf, her young teammates walked off the floor in solidarity, and to show their dismay at the poor judgment of the referee.
The team from Ottawa, where there is no ban on the hijab, ultimately pulled out of the tournament rather than play without Mansour.
The rationale of the referee (who is also Muslim) was that the headscarf was a safety hazard, and soccer's international governing body, FIFA, has rules that players "must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player."
But this clashed with the fact that Mansour had already been allowed to play two matches earlier in the Laval tournament.
A closer examination also shows the Quebec ruling is clearly out of step with the rest of the provinces, including Alberta. Mario Charpentier, head of the Edmonton Minor Soccer Association, said Monday they've seen no evidence the hijab is a safety problem and allow girls to wear it on the field. Youngsters also play wearing sweat bands and small scarfs.
Canada's chief soccer referee, Joe Guest, was also surprised at the Quebec ruling because so far the hijab has not created any "on-field problems."
In Guest's view, FIFA rules mean that head gear is permitted, as long as it is safe.
"If you stick with Quebec's interpretation, players can't wear prescription eye- glasses. But they do," he told reporters.
When a religious obligation comes up against the rules of sport, the goal should be to find a way to be inclusive as possible. The alternative -- using rules to exclude a segment of the population for no practical reason -- is not appropriate and not in the spirit of Canada's multicultural society.
Sarah Elgazzar, who speaks for the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations, says she played soccer wearing a hijab for several years in Quebec. There maybe a perceived safety problem because the hijab is tied under the neck, she notes, but that can be resolved with Velcro fasteners. (MORE)
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CAIR-CA: FLEEING REFUGEES DENIED HELP BY ANTI-TERROR ACT - TOP
Event focuses on those forced to aid U.S. foes
Jessie Mangaliman, San Jose Mercury News, 3/6/07
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_valley/16843034.htm
Some provided rice and water to rebels. A kindergarten teacher in Afghanistan paid a bribe to the Taliban. A Sierra Leone woman had sex with her captors.
To the U.S. government, their actions raise the suspicion that they're a threat to national security.
But an event tonight at Santa Clara University will tell a different story: They are desperate refugees from around the world -- from Afghanistan, Burma, Cuba, Iraq and Tibet -- caught in a conundrum called "material support," a government label that deems them, in effect, supporters of terrorist groups and denies their entry into the United States as refugees.
Refugees and their advocates will read the stories of those who have fled their own countries after being forced -- under threat of injury and death -- by terror groups to serve as sexual slaves or pay bribes in countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The groups, some fighting for democracy in military-ruled regimes, have been designated terror groups by the Department of Homeland Security. . .
The provision in the USA Patriot Act of 2001 is meant to prevent terrorists and their supporters from entering the United States. But international refugee groups said that law, and its broad application by the government, has resulted in denying sanctuary to victims of terrorism such as the sister of Hashmatullah Rustam, a San Jose resident and a refugee from Afghanistan.
Rustam's sister, Foziya Rustam, 32, a kindergarten teacher, paid a bribe to Taliban officials in order to flee the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan almost seven years ago.
Now Foziya Rustam, her two children and her husband have been stuck in a refugee camp in Uzbekistan for almost seven years, unable to join her brother in San Jose because, in effect, she and her family have been designated by DHS as supporters of a terrorist group. . .
"This reflects the status of human rights in our country," said Abiya Ahmed, spokeswoman for the Bay Area Council on American-Islamic Relations. "That law is leaving behind the victims of terrorism, the victims who are most at risk." (MORE)
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NC: COUNCIL REJECTS MOSQUE PROPOSAL - TOP
Andrew Bell, Goldsboro News Argus, 3/6/07
http://www.newsargus.com/news/archives/2007/03/06/council_rejects_mosque_proposal/index.shtml
Goldsboro City Council unanimously voted Monday night to not allow the construction of a mosque in the northern part of the city.
All six councilmen and Mayor Al King agreed with the planning commission's recommendation that the building plan was too large for the proposed site off Wayne Memorial Drive and the facility would not provide the required number of parking spaces.
Dr. Waheed Akhtar asked City Council last month to rezone his property on the southeast corner of Best Avenue and Wayne Memorial Drive to allow for the construction of a mosque. Akhtar said the building was necessary because he and other Wayne County Muslims have to travel to Greenville or Raleigh to worship.
The plans called for a 2,050-square-foot facility that would only be open for a few hours on Fridays and Sundays to prevent traffic congestion along Wayne Memorial Drive.
During a public hearing on Feb. 19, some of those opposed to the mosque did cite traffic concerns, but others simply did not want a mosque in their neighborhood.
King said neither he nor the council made their decision based on any personal beliefs.
"No one has anything against a mosque or any religion," he said.
Instead, the planning commission's recommendation focused on the scope of the site plans compared to the amount of available land.
The commission decided during its Feb. 26 meeting that the proposed site is not large enough to support the facility's parking needs. The site plans requested 13 parking spaces, but the city requires 31 spaces for a building of this size.
Also, Wayne Memorial Drive is expected to be widened in the next several years so the road can feed into the proposed U.S. 70 Bypass north of the city. The project would more than double the road's existing right-of-way, which would further limit the amount of land available for construction.
Following a short presentation by Assistant City Planner James Rowe, council unanimously denied the rezoning request.
After the meeting, all of the councilmen agreed that they were not opposed to a mosque, but said that the plans for the structure were not acceptable.
"The size wasn't right, and it didn't fit the neighborhood," Councilman Jackie Warrick said.
Councilman Bob Waller also said the "size was not appropriate," but added that the council would approve the construction of a mosque if it was planned on sufficient land.
Rowe said Akhtar cannot submit another rezoning proposal for another six months. If he does, King said he hopes the new proposal can be approved by the council.
"I hope they find a suitable site. If they do, I believe we will approve it," he said.
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CA: SCHOLAR GETS SILENT TREATMENT - TOP
AnnMarie Cornejo, San Luis Obispo Tribune, 3/6/07
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/16844232.htm
A controversial Middle East scholar was greeted at Cal Poly on Monday night by a candlelight vigil as students and others opposed to his critical views of radical Islam stood in silent opposition.
Daniel Pipes' presentation, "Israel, America, and Middle East Threats," included discussion of Israel's longstanding conflict with the Palestinians and the United States' need to protect itself from Muslim extremists.
He was invited to the university by Cal Poly Hillel - an on-campus Jewish organization.
Pipes said that America is at war with radical Islam, which he likens to totalitarianism.
"Radical Islam is a new, utopian totalitarian version of Islam," Pipes said. "It is an aggressive form of Islam ... because of it, we as Americans face an external threat."
The solution is to defeat the enemy and ultimately denounce radical Islam as having a future, he said.
Pipes' views are considered controversial by some people because he is a strong and vocal critic of Muslim extremism.
He told the audience of about 150 on Monday that Palestinians should acknowledge that they have lost their battle against Israel.
"The Palestinian dream is that there be no more Israel, and the Israeli dream is to be accepted as a state," Pipes said.
"The way forward is not negotiations," he added.
"We must convince Palestinians to acknowledge it is over."
Some students at Monday's talk raised concerns that Pipes' often pro-war stance was heard without a counterargument.
"From what we know of his ideology, he is not promoting peace and tolerance, but instead fueling flames and spreading hatred," Poly student Naiyerah Kolkailah said.
She is a member of the Muslim Student Association and the Students for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, which along with the Progressive Student Alliance organized the candlelight vigil.
"He is not trying to connect different communities and increase our understanding of one another - and that is destructive to our efforts," Kolkailah said. (MORE)
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: info@cair.com
URL: http://www.cair.com
AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 3/6/07
* Hadith: A Polite Prophet
* CAIR Condemns Attacks on Iraqi Pilgrims
* Ad in Wash Post: Why is Sami Al-Arian Still in Prison?
* CAIR: MN Muslim Rep Joins Diplomacy Effort to Islamic World
* CAIR-OH Meets with British, State Officials
* CAIR-CAN: FIFA Must Take Stand on Hijab (Ottawa Citizen)
- CAIR-CAN: FIFA Hijab Ruling Deserves Red Card
* CAIR-CA: Refugees Denied Help by Patriot Act (Mercury News)
* NC: City Council Rejects Mosque Proposal (News-Argus)
* CA: Pipes Gets Silent Treatment at Cal-Poly Event
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: A POLITE PROPHET - TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) "never criticized any food (presented to him), but he would eat it if he liked it; otherwise, he would leave it (without expressing his dislike)."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Hadith 764
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CAIR CONDEMNS ATTACKS ON IRAQI PILGRIMS - TOP
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/6/07) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today condemned a series of attacks on Iraqi pilgrims that left more than 100 people dead and many more injured.
The pilgrims were heading to the city of Karbala to commemorate Arbain, the end of a 40-day mourning period since Ashura, which marks the death of the Prophet Mohammad's grandson in 680.
SEE: Attacks Kill 149 Shi'ite Pilgrims in Iraq (Reuters)
In a statement, the Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group said:
"We condemn these cowardly attacks on innocent pilgrims and demand that the perpetrators be apprehended and brought to justice. There can be no justification or excuse for these obvious attempts to divide the Iraqi people along sectarian lines.
"The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: 'A Muslim is the brother of (every other) Muslim. He neither oppresses him nor humiliates him nor looks down on him. . .All things of a (fellow) Muslim are inviolable for his brother in faith; his blood, his wealth and his honor.'
"We call on our brothers and sisters in Iraq to reach out to one another in a spirit of unity and mutual respect and to begin a process of national reconciliation."
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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WHY IS DR. SAMI AL-ARIAN STILL IN PRISON? - TOP
[NOTE: this letter ran as a quarter-page ad in yesterday's Washington Post.]
An Open Letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
Dear Attorney General Gonzales,
We the undersigned Americans - individuals and organizations - respectfully request that you support the immediate release of former Florida professor Dr. Sami Al-Arian so that he and his family may resume their lives in another country. Here are our reasons for seeking Prof. Al-Arian's release:
In December 2005, after 10 years of federal investigation and a six-month trial, a Florida jury refused to return a single guilty verdict against Dr. Al-Arian, rejecting the government's argument that he operated a cell for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
On May 1, 2006, the Justice Department agreed that Dr. Al Arian should be released within 30 days, and further agreed to assist in his voluntary departure from the country without other conditions, in exchange for a guilty plea to one non-violent offense.
In violation of their agreement, the Justice Department changed its position by attempting to force Dr. Al Arian to testify before a grand jury. Despite the plea agreement that freed him from further cooperation with the government, Dr. Al-Arian was recently given a sentence of up to 18 months in prison for refusing to testify before a grand jury in Virginia.
On January 21, Dr. Al-Arian began a hunger strike to protest the government's actions and the conditions of his imprisonment. Family members report that he collapsed after the 23rd day and has been moved from Virginia to a medical facility in North Carolina, where he is kept in solitary confinement, in effect under twenty-four hour lockdown.
Recently the respected human rights monitor Amnesty International sent you a letter expressing "concern about the treatment while in federal custody of Dr. Sami Al-Arian." Amnesty International communicated to you that his treatment in prison "is in breach of the USA's obligations under international standards and treaties, including Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which states that `all persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.'"
In criticizing the unacceptably punitive conditions of solitary confinement of Dr. Al-Arian, Amnesty International went on to express concern over the reports of the prosecutor leading the grand jury case in Virginia who has expressed anti-Islamic sentiments in discussions with counsel for Dr. Al-Arian. This raises the obvious question whether these proceedings are being used to punish him for his political profile rather than for constitutionally legitimate purposes.
In May 2006, your department had promised to end the case by ending all further business with Dr. Al-Arian and to assist in his immediate deportation. Now your department is responsible for locking him up potentially indefinitely.
You have not kept your promise. Today, people all over the world are urging you to keep your promise and release Dr. Sami Al-Arian as scheduled so that he and his family can build their lives elsewhere.
Signatories:
American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections
Citizen's Committee for Equal Justice
California Civil Rights Alliance
Friends of Human Rights
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
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CAIR: FIRST MUSLIM ELECTED TO CONGRESS WILL SHARE HIS STORY WITH THE WORLD - TOP
Kevin Diaz, McClatchy Newspapers, 3/6/07
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/politics/16845516.htm
WASHINGTON - Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, had little good to say about President Bush's foreign policy when he ran for office in 2006.
Now, two months into office, the Minnesota Democrat has plans to meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other top State Department officials to talk about showcasing his story as part of their public diplomacy efforts in the Muslim world.
"Hey, my country first. We can work out our political differences later," said Ellison, an outspoken critic of the Iraq war. "I've said I'm willing to do whatever I can to make some friends for America."
Building on the international cachet he's built since taking his oath of office on Thomas Jefferson's Quran, Ellison has been profiled three times by the State Department's overseas press bureau. On Monday he did a Voice of America interview from his office, where an American flag was placed conspicuously behind his desk for the cameras.
He's scheduled to follow up Thursday in a teleconference with Karen Hughes, the State Department's undersecretary for public diplomacy. The teleconference has been tasked by the White House to promote American values and confront ideological support for terrorism around the world.
Muslim commentators and administration officials say that, whatever controversy Ellison has engendered at home, he can help America's image abroad, especially in the Arab world.
"It's a very positive development," said Voice of America's Faiz Rehman, a Pakistani native and senior political producer. "He is the most famous freshman congressman in the world."
Ellison's swearing-in in January turned him into one of the hottest journalistic commodities on Capitol Hill, particularly for the foreign press, which had to be ushered out of his office after he took his oath of office to make room for home-state news crews.
Now the State Department's public diplomacy arm is swinging into the act.
Ellison has now been featured in a series of articles written for foreign dissemination by the Department's Bureau of International Information Programs. The most recent, published last month, highlighted the diversity of his constituents in Minnesota, ranging from Swedes and Norwegians to "the largest Somali immigrant community in America." . . .
Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American Islamic Relations, compared Ellison's overseas appeal to that of boxing icon Muhammad Ali, who refused to serve in Vietnam.
"Muslims around the world know that America has a tradition of religious tolerance," he said. "They'd like to see us live up to that tradition." (MORE)
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CAIR-OHIO MEETS WITH BRITISH, STATE OFFICIALS - TOP
(COLUMBUS, OH, 3/5/07) - Representatives of the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Ohio) recently held a roundtable discussion with officials from the British Consulate in Chicago, Governor Ted Strickland's advisor on International Affairs and Special Projects, and Senator George Voinovich's State Director.
The British delegation was led by Mark Carrol, Director of Faith, Race and Cohesion at the British Government's Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG). Carrol is a key figure in developing the British Government's policy in the area of community relations. He was accompanied by a colleague from the DCLG, Jenan Hasan, and by a member of the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., Tony Lord, who serves as First Secretary, Justice and Home Affairs in the Foreign & Security Policy Group. Additionally, Samantha Nugent, Vice Consul-Political, Press & Public Affairs was present.
This is the second time in two years that CAIR-Ohio has hosted a delegation from the British Consulate-General. The meeting was part of a continuing dialogue between Ohio's Muslim community and British Policy Advisors. This year the meeting was opened up to representatives of Ohio State offices.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for us to discuss the challenges that face the American Muslim and British Muslim communities," said CAIR-Ohio Executive Director Adnan Mirza. "It allows us to learn from each others' experiences and can demonstrate how CAIR gives the worldwide Muslim community a voice in global affairs."
CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 32 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. The CAIR-Ohio Chapter has three offices - Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. 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: Adnan Mirza, 614-451-3232, E-Mail: amirza@cair.com.
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CAIR-CAN: SOCCER RULE-MAKERS MUST TAKE STAND ON HIJAB-WEARING PLAYERS, MUSLIM GROUP SAYS - TOP
Ambiguous position effectively bars millions of women
Bruce Ward, Ottawa Citizen, 3/5/07
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=62fb429d-30ba-4044-a643-4ece2c6b2c62&k=0
The hijab issue in soccer will not go away until the sport's governing body clarifies its position, says an Ottawa-based Muslim advocacy organization.
"I don't think crawling under the proverbial rug and hiding out until it's all over is going to work for FIFA," said Sarah Elgazzar, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN).
The International Football Association Board (IFAB), which consists of FIFA and the English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish soccer associations, sidestepped the issue last weekend when it decided not to rule specifically on whether players can wear the hijab in a game.
Ms. Elgazzar said a simple, creative solution would settle the hijab issue - if soccer's rule-makers were willing to show some leadership.
"It they were a little bit creative, they could say religious headgear is permissible as long as it is conceived for sports," she said Monday in a telephone interview from Montreal.
"There are sports hijabs everywhere in the world; they're very easy to make. It's a cotton tube. It's nothing more than a bandanna that's a little longer. I'm a soccer player and I'm not going to run out and wear a burqa-style headscarf. It's in my own interests to be comfortable, and to not hurt myself while I'm playing."
The issue hit the headlines in late February when 11-year old Asmahan "Azzy" Mansour was ordered to remove her hijab or leave the field during a tournament in Laval, Que. Her team - the Nepean Hotspurs Selects - walked off the pitch with her to protest the referee's ruling, which is backed by the Quebec Soccer Association.
"For decades, women have struggled to have equal opportunity and treatment on the playing field," Ms. Elgazzar said in a statement. "In remaining ambiguous on the question of hijab and backing the Quebec referee's decision, FIFA has effectively blocked millions of women from playing the sport.
Added Ms. Elgazzar: "On the one hand, FIFA promotes soccer amongst women by featuring hijab-clad women on their website; on the other, they have given free rein to individual referees to allow or prohibit the hijab. The situation is untenable." (MORE)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-CAN: FIFA HIJAB RULING DESERVES RED CARD - TOP
Edmonton Journal, 3/6/07
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/opinion/story.html?id=59f06a4e-5043-4c33-b82a-acd43195b3e4
A group of 11-year-old soccer players demonstrated more wisdom than the adults officiating at their tournament last week near Montreal.
When Asmahan Mansour, 11, was suddenly told she couldn't play if she wore her Muslim headscarf, her young teammates walked off the floor in solidarity, and to show their dismay at the poor judgment of the referee.
The team from Ottawa, where there is no ban on the hijab, ultimately pulled out of the tournament rather than play without Mansour.
The rationale of the referee (who is also Muslim) was that the headscarf was a safety hazard, and soccer's international governing body, FIFA, has rules that players "must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player."
But this clashed with the fact that Mansour had already been allowed to play two matches earlier in the Laval tournament.
A closer examination also shows the Quebec ruling is clearly out of step with the rest of the provinces, including Alberta. Mario Charpentier, head of the Edmonton Minor Soccer Association, said Monday they've seen no evidence the hijab is a safety problem and allow girls to wear it on the field. Youngsters also play wearing sweat bands and small scarfs.
Canada's chief soccer referee, Joe Guest, was also surprised at the Quebec ruling because so far the hijab has not created any "on-field problems."
In Guest's view, FIFA rules mean that head gear is permitted, as long as it is safe.
"If you stick with Quebec's interpretation, players can't wear prescription eye- glasses. But they do," he told reporters.
When a religious obligation comes up against the rules of sport, the goal should be to find a way to be inclusive as possible. The alternative -- using rules to exclude a segment of the population for no practical reason -- is not appropriate and not in the spirit of Canada's multicultural society.
Sarah Elgazzar, who speaks for the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations, says she played soccer wearing a hijab for several years in Quebec. There maybe a perceived safety problem because the hijab is tied under the neck, she notes, but that can be resolved with Velcro fasteners. (MORE)
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CAIR-CA: FLEEING REFUGEES DENIED HELP BY ANTI-TERROR ACT - TOP
Event focuses on those forced to aid U.S. foes
Jessie Mangaliman, San Jose Mercury News, 3/6/07
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/the_valley/16843034.htm
Some provided rice and water to rebels. A kindergarten teacher in Afghanistan paid a bribe to the Taliban. A Sierra Leone woman had sex with her captors.
To the U.S. government, their actions raise the suspicion that they're a threat to national security.
But an event tonight at Santa Clara University will tell a different story: They are desperate refugees from around the world -- from Afghanistan, Burma, Cuba, Iraq and Tibet -- caught in a conundrum called "material support," a government label that deems them, in effect, supporters of terrorist groups and denies their entry into the United States as refugees.
Refugees and their advocates will read the stories of those who have fled their own countries after being forced -- under threat of injury and death -- by terror groups to serve as sexual slaves or pay bribes in countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The groups, some fighting for democracy in military-ruled regimes, have been designated terror groups by the Department of Homeland Security. . .
The provision in the USA Patriot Act of 2001 is meant to prevent terrorists and their supporters from entering the United States. But international refugee groups said that law, and its broad application by the government, has resulted in denying sanctuary to victims of terrorism such as the sister of Hashmatullah Rustam, a San Jose resident and a refugee from Afghanistan.
Rustam's sister, Foziya Rustam, 32, a kindergarten teacher, paid a bribe to Taliban officials in order to flee the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan almost seven years ago.
Now Foziya Rustam, her two children and her husband have been stuck in a refugee camp in Uzbekistan for almost seven years, unable to join her brother in San Jose because, in effect, she and her family have been designated by DHS as supporters of a terrorist group. . .
"This reflects the status of human rights in our country," said Abiya Ahmed, spokeswoman for the Bay Area Council on American-Islamic Relations. "That law is leaving behind the victims of terrorism, the victims who are most at risk." (MORE)
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NC: COUNCIL REJECTS MOSQUE PROPOSAL - TOP
Andrew Bell, Goldsboro News Argus, 3/6/07
http://www.newsargus.com/news/archives/2007/03/06/council_rejects_mosque_proposal/index.shtml
Goldsboro City Council unanimously voted Monday night to not allow the construction of a mosque in the northern part of the city.
All six councilmen and Mayor Al King agreed with the planning commission's recommendation that the building plan was too large for the proposed site off Wayne Memorial Drive and the facility would not provide the required number of parking spaces.
Dr. Waheed Akhtar asked City Council last month to rezone his property on the southeast corner of Best Avenue and Wayne Memorial Drive to allow for the construction of a mosque. Akhtar said the building was necessary because he and other Wayne County Muslims have to travel to Greenville or Raleigh to worship.
The plans called for a 2,050-square-foot facility that would only be open for a few hours on Fridays and Sundays to prevent traffic congestion along Wayne Memorial Drive.
During a public hearing on Feb. 19, some of those opposed to the mosque did cite traffic concerns, but others simply did not want a mosque in their neighborhood.
King said neither he nor the council made their decision based on any personal beliefs.
"No one has anything against a mosque or any religion," he said.
Instead, the planning commission's recommendation focused on the scope of the site plans compared to the amount of available land.
The commission decided during its Feb. 26 meeting that the proposed site is not large enough to support the facility's parking needs. The site plans requested 13 parking spaces, but the city requires 31 spaces for a building of this size.
Also, Wayne Memorial Drive is expected to be widened in the next several years so the road can feed into the proposed U.S. 70 Bypass north of the city. The project would more than double the road's existing right-of-way, which would further limit the amount of land available for construction.
Following a short presentation by Assistant City Planner James Rowe, council unanimously denied the rezoning request.
After the meeting, all of the councilmen agreed that they were not opposed to a mosque, but said that the plans for the structure were not acceptable.
"The size wasn't right, and it didn't fit the neighborhood," Councilman Jackie Warrick said.
Councilman Bob Waller also said the "size was not appropriate," but added that the council would approve the construction of a mosque if it was planned on sufficient land.
Rowe said Akhtar cannot submit another rezoning proposal for another six months. If he does, King said he hopes the new proposal can be approved by the council.
"I hope they find a suitable site. If they do, I believe we will approve it," he said.
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CA: SCHOLAR GETS SILENT TREATMENT - TOP
AnnMarie Cornejo, San Luis Obispo Tribune, 3/6/07
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/16844232.htm
A controversial Middle East scholar was greeted at Cal Poly on Monday night by a candlelight vigil as students and others opposed to his critical views of radical Islam stood in silent opposition.
Daniel Pipes' presentation, "Israel, America, and Middle East Threats," included discussion of Israel's longstanding conflict with the Palestinians and the United States' need to protect itself from Muslim extremists.
He was invited to the university by Cal Poly Hillel - an on-campus Jewish organization.
Pipes said that America is at war with radical Islam, which he likens to totalitarianism.
"Radical Islam is a new, utopian totalitarian version of Islam," Pipes said. "It is an aggressive form of Islam ... because of it, we as Americans face an external threat."
The solution is to defeat the enemy and ultimately denounce radical Islam as having a future, he said.
Pipes' views are considered controversial by some people because he is a strong and vocal critic of Muslim extremism.
He told the audience of about 150 on Monday that Palestinians should acknowledge that they have lost their battle against Israel.
"The Palestinian dream is that there be no more Israel, and the Israeli dream is to be accepted as a state," Pipes said.
"The way forward is not negotiations," he added.
"We must convince Palestinians to acknowledge it is over."
Some students at Monday's talk raised concerns that Pipes' often pro-war stance was heard without a counterargument.
"From what we know of his ideology, he is not promoting peace and tolerance, but instead fueling flames and spreading hatred," Poly student Naiyerah Kolkailah said.
She is a member of the Muslim Student Association and the Students for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, which along with the Progressive Student Alliance organized the candlelight vigil.
"He is not trying to connect different communities and increase our understanding of one another - and that is destructive to our efforts," Kolkailah said. (MORE)
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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: info@cair.com
URL: http://www.cair.com
Monday, March 5, 2007
Action - Ask FIFA to Clarify Hijab Stance
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CANADIAN MUSLIMS ASK FIFA TO CLARIFY HIJAB STANCE
CAIR-CAN says headscarf ban will drive Muslim women away from soccer
(Ottawa, Canada - Mar 5, 2007) - The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) today called on the International Football Association Board (FIFA), soccer's top decision-making body, to clarify its position on the right of women players to wear a religiously-mandated headscarf, or hijab.
Over the weekend, FIFA board members backed a Quebec referee's controversial decision to prevent an 11-year-old girl from taking part in a match while wearing hijab. Her team, and others in the tournament, walked out in protest. While the board backed the referee's decision, it stopped short of issuing a clear ruling on the issue of Muslim players wearing hijab.
SEE: Soccer Rulers Waffle on Hijab Issue (Toronto Star)
SEE ALSO: CAIR-CAN Applauds Support for Muslim Soccer Player
"By avoiding a clear ruling on this important issue, FIFA is creating a situation in which Muslim parents in Canada and worldwide may feel reluctant to have their daughters play soccer," said CAIR-CAN Executive Director Karl Nickner.
"For decades women have struggled to have equal opportunity and treatment on the playing field. In remaining ambiguous on the question of hijab and backing the Quebec referee's decision, FIFA has effectively blocked millions of women from playing the sport," said Sarah Elgazzar, CAIR-CAN spokeswoman.
"On the one hand, FIFA promotes soccer amongst women by featuring hijab-clad players on their website; on the other, they have given free rein to individual referees to allow or prohibit the hijab. This situation is untenable," she added.
Nickner said CAIR-CAN is available to help resolve any perceived safety issues related to hijab through creative solutions such as Velcro fasteners on the player's scarf.
CAIR-CAN is asking people of conscience around the world to contact FIFA and ask that the organization clarify its position on hijab.
CONTACT FIFA: (As always, be POLITE.)
SEE: http://www.fifa.com/en/contact.html
Federation Internationale de Football Association
FIFA-Strasse 20,
P.O. Box 8044 Zurich, Switzerland
Tel : +41-(0)43 222 7777
Fax : +41-(0)43 222 7878
E-MAIL: media@fifa.org, info@fifa.org, contact@fifa.org
COPY TO: info@cair.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CANADIAN MUSLIMS ASK FIFA TO CLARIFY HIJAB STANCE
CAIR-CAN says headscarf ban will drive Muslim women away from soccer
(Ottawa, Canada - Mar 5, 2007) - The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) today called on the International Football Association Board (FIFA), soccer's top decision-making body, to clarify its position on the right of women players to wear a religiously-mandated headscarf, or hijab.
Over the weekend, FIFA board members backed a Quebec referee's controversial decision to prevent an 11-year-old girl from taking part in a match while wearing hijab. Her team, and others in the tournament, walked out in protest. While the board backed the referee's decision, it stopped short of issuing a clear ruling on the issue of Muslim players wearing hijab.
SEE: Soccer Rulers Waffle on Hijab Issue (Toronto Star)
SEE ALSO: CAIR-CAN Applauds Support for Muslim Soccer Player
"By avoiding a clear ruling on this important issue, FIFA is creating a situation in which Muslim parents in Canada and worldwide may feel reluctant to have their daughters play soccer," said CAIR-CAN Executive Director Karl Nickner.
"For decades women have struggled to have equal opportunity and treatment on the playing field. In remaining ambiguous on the question of hijab and backing the Quebec referee's decision, FIFA has effectively blocked millions of women from playing the sport," said Sarah Elgazzar, CAIR-CAN spokeswoman.
"On the one hand, FIFA promotes soccer amongst women by featuring hijab-clad players on their website; on the other, they have given free rein to individual referees to allow or prohibit the hijab. This situation is untenable," she added.
Nickner said CAIR-CAN is available to help resolve any perceived safety issues related to hijab through creative solutions such as Velcro fasteners on the player's scarf.
CAIR-CAN is asking people of conscience around the world to contact FIFA and ask that the organization clarify its position on hijab.
CONTACT FIFA: (As always, be POLITE.)
SEE: http://www.fifa.com/en/contact.html
Federation Internationale de Football Association
FIFA-Strasse 20,
P.O. Box 8044 Zurich, Switzerland
Tel : +41-(0)43 222 7777
Fax : +41-(0)43 222 7878
E-MAIL: media@fifa.org, info@fifa.org, contact@fifa.org
COPY TO: info@cair.com
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