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TEACHER USED MUSLIM STUDENT AS TERRORIST EXAMPLE - TOP

CBS2, 9/11/08



VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go2nFbNnwmY



Mike Puccinelli CHICAGO (CBS) A Chicago teacher is under fire for singling out the only Muslim student in her class while talking about the Middle East. The teacher has now been reassigned to another school. However, the young boy's family is demanding answers.



CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports that the family met behind closed doors at Chicago Public Schools headquarters for two-and-a-half hours in a meeting presided over by a federal mediator. All sides have agreed to meet again next month.



The teacher in question is no longer working at the same school, but if the Pakistani-American family at the center of this story has their way, she might not be working much longer.



"He came home and before he even took his backpack off, he had tears in his eyes already," said Mohmmad Fahad Choudhary, victim's brother.



Mohmmad talks about the day his little brother came home from school saying his teacher had singled him out in front of his class as an example of a terrorist.



"She used the example of if Saleh were to go on to an airplane, put his backpack down and put two wires together and the plane were to blow up - and she didn't make a point," said Christina Abraham, Council on American-Islamic Relations.



Saleh Choudhary did not want to go on-camera to talk about the incident, which happened last April while he was a sixth-grader at Brentano Academy, but his brother says the 13-year-old's life hasn't been the same since.



"Everybody started teasing him and calling him a terrorist after the comments were made by the teacher," Mohmmad said. (MORE)



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CAIR VIDEO: FAMILY WANTS ACTION AFTER TEACHER ALLEGEDLY INSULTS BOY - TOP

John Garcia, WLS, 9/11/08



VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlyHs4ZSFuM



A Chicago public school student says his teacher used him as an example of a terrorist a class.



The child is an Arab-Muslim and says he was intimidated and isolated from classmates after the incident. On Thursday the boy, his family and Muslim leaders met with school officials about the complaint.



The incident happened last spring at the Brentano Math and Science Academy in the Logan Square community.



The teacher is no longer at the school. But the boy's family says school officials must do more to keep situations like this from happening again.



It was more than a year ago that his sixth grade teacher made the comment in class. But 13-year-old Saleh Choudhary's family is still pursuing a resolution.



It was in a history class at the Brentano Math and Science Academy in Logan Square that the teacher allegedly described a hypothetical situation in which Saleh would carry a bomb aboard a plane and blow it up.



"Saleh is the only Muslim, the only Arab in the classroom. And in using that example, she basically gave the go-ahead to all the students to begin harassing," said Christina Abraham, Council on American Islamic Relations. (MORE)



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CAIR-IL: TEACHER CALLED 6TH GRADER A TERRORIST, FEDERAL COMPLAINT SAYS - TOP

Family of Muslim student calls for instructor's firing at meeting with Chicago schools, mediator

Carlos Sadovi, Chicago Tribune, 9/12/08



The family of a 13-year-old Muslim student who claims that a former teacher singled him out as a "terrorist" during a 6th grade history class in the spring called for the woman's firing after meeting with Chicago Public Schools officials and a federal mediator for several hours Thursday.



School officials said they investigated the complaint against the unnamed teacher, and she now faces discipline ranging from suspension to dismissal.



But no resolution was reached Thursday between school officials and the family of Saleh Choudhary Jr., now a 7th grader at Brentano Math and Science Academy, 2723 N. Fairfield Ave., so the two sides will meet again Oct. 27.



In a complaint the Choudharys filed with federal education officials several months ago, they allege the boy's teacher singled him out during a discussion on ancient Mesopotamia, said Christina Abraham, civil rights director of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. (MORE)



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IL: IMAM LAID TO REST AMID OUTPOURING OF PRAISE - TOP

MIKE THOMAS, Sun-Times, 9/12/08



[NOTE: CAIR was represented at the funeral service by National Executive director Nihad Awad.]



They came together Thursday afternoon, thousands of them, on a vast and hilly lawn outside the Islamic Foundation of Villa Park to pay their respects and say their goodbyes to Imam Warith Deen Mohammed.



The widely influential Muslim leader and son of late Nation of Islam founder Elijah Muhammad died Tuesday at his Markham home of heart disease and diabetes. He was 74.



Words of remembrance and praise were spoken by Mohammed's wife, Khadija Mohammed, and the Quran was recited at the outdoor Janazah -- a Muslim prayer service. The imam lay nearby in a silver-gray casket. (MORE)





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CAIR: NOT YOUR EVERYDAY BREAKING OF BREAD - TOP

By Yonat Shimron, News & Observer, 9/12/08



On the face of it, it's no big deal: A group of students from Duke University will gather Monday after classes for a discussion and a meal.

Except that this type of gathering has never been tried before.



The event, billed as a "Jewish Iftar," brings together Muslim and Jewish students at Duke for a "break-fast" meal during the holiest month of the Muslim year -- Ramadan…



Iftar meals have become so popular, the Council on American-Islamic Relations has put out a guide for Muslims who would like to host such meals with the wider community. The guide, a kind of "how to," walks Muslims through the process -- from forming a committee, to sending out invitations to mailing thank-you notes.



"Everybody enjoys a good meal," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group. "It's an opportunity to reach out in a positive way." (MORE)



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CAIR-OH: TASTE OF ISLAM - TOP

Plain Dealer, 9/11/08



For area Muslims, the thirst and hunger pangs of a Ramadan fast melt blessedly away at the sunset iftar, a fast-breaking meal marked by prayers, smiles and hearty appetites.



Non-Muslims are invited to share the experience and learn more about Islam's holiest month at the fifth annual Sharing Ramadan Iftar Dinner, sponsored by the Cleveland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The free dinner program begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the Joseph Cole Center of Cleveland State University, 3100 Chester Ave. For reservations, call 216-830-2247.



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PALIN AND ALASKA'S MUSLIM POPULATION - TOP

Michael Isikoff, Newsweek, 9/11/08



Most Alaskans may seem excited about Gov. Sarah Palin’s selection as John McCain’s running mate. But there’s at least one group of her constituents that has had a more subdued reaction: the state’s Muslims.



There are only about 2,000 to 3,000 Muslims in Alaska, and, while there are no mosques, Anchorage (which is home to most of the state's Muslims) does have an Islamic Community Center, located in a rented office in a strip mall, where members pray on Fridays.



But Osama Obeida, the center’s vice president, said his group has never had any contacts at all with Alaska’s governor. No meetings, no invitations to state ceremonies, no pro forma letters commemorating the observance of Islamic holy days. “She has never taken the initiative,” Obeidi told NEWSWEEK. (MORE)