LOCAL FBI CHIEF REBUILDS TRUST WITH MUSLIM LEADERS - TOP
Stephen Magagnini, Sacramento Bee, 12/1/2008


For months, Sacramento's top FBI agent kept a Muslim prayer rug in his office. It was for Imam Mohamed Abdul Azeez, religious leader of the SALAM Islamic Center in Sacramento, who attended a citizens' academy with Drew Parenti at the FBI office.

Parenti hasn't converted to Islam. He's been trying to convert Muslim leaders who might be suspicious of his agency after 9/11 and the Lodi terrorism case.
And, after years of distrust, Azeez and other local Muslims believe they have found a friend in Parenti.

The local FBI chief has visited several of the area's 14 mosques, ready to answer tough questions. He also has recruited an Egyptian Muslim agent who is known to the community and worships regularly at SALAM (Sacramento Area League of Associated Muslims) and other local mosques…

What's different is the FBI interaction with the community, said Basim Elkarra, executive director of the Sacramento Valley chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group.

"We're receiving fewer complaints because the FBI's approaching community members with more respect," Elkarra said. "Things have gotten a lot better."
Today, said Sacramento CAIR founder Rashid Ahmad, his group trusts the FBI will follow up reported hate crimes or vandalism at mosques. (MORE)

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US MUSLIMS WORRY ABOUT NEW FEDERAL RULES - TOP
Associated Press, 11/30/08


Some Arab- and Muslim-Americans say new Justice Department guidelines that boost the FBI's power to investigate suspected terrorists could target innocent people.

The revised guidelines going into effect Monday will allow agents to use undercover sources to gather information, interview people without identifying themselves and spy on suspects without evidence of wrongdoing.

Critics say the rules will allow for abuses, including more racial and religious profiling. (MORE)

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SIKH MUSICIANS PROTEST ORDER TO LEAVE PLANE - TOP
Susan Ferriss, Sacramento Bee, 11/27/08


Three Sikh Indian musicians who were ordered off a plane at Sacramento International Airport on Nov. 15 have filed complaints of discrimination and racial profiling with federal transportation officials and US Airways. (MORE)

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HOLY LAND FIVE CONVICTIONS MARK SAD DAY FOR AMERICAN JUSTICE SYSTEM - TOP
Bob Ray Sanders, Star-Telegram, 11/30/08


On its face, the U.S. government won last week when a federal jury in Dallas convicted the Richardson-based charity Holy Land Foundation and five former leaders of providing financial aid to a foreign terrorist organization — Hamas.

But a Fort Worth defense attorney who has been involved in the case since 2005 called the prosecution shameful and compared the 42-day trial to some of the darkest days in American history.

Attorney Greg Westfall, one of eight lawyers on the case, sat in his downtown office Wednesday — two days after the guilty verdicts had been handed down on all 108 counts — and looked dejected.

After years of silence because of a gag order in the case, Westfall was ready to talk.

He began by pointing to a published story in which Richard Roper, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas, was quoted as saying, "This is a great day in the United States. We will not tolerate those who fund terrorism."

"A great day for the United States?" Westfall asked rhetorically and emphatically. "Yeah, like Dred Scott was a great day for the United States. Like the 'Red Scare’ was a great day in America."

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SO WHY DON'T OTHER MUSLIMS CONDEMN THE TERRORISTS? - TOP
Jeffrey Weiss, Dallas Morning News, 12/1/08


The question comes up every time there's an attack by terrorists who say they're acting in the name of Islam. "If all the other Muslims are so peaceful, why don't they condemn these attacks." As I've pointed out before: They do. But it doesn't generally get much play.

I was off last week (I hope your TG was a good one) during the main -- and horrible -- religion news from Mumbai. Amidst the hundreds of other terrible stories, that the killers managed to target what may have been the only concentration of Jews in thousands of miles had me thinking of an old Jewish joke that has a Jewish man dying and, once he gets to heaven, asking to see God. "Is it true the Jews are the Chosen People?" he asks the Almighty. "Yes," God replies. And the punchline: "Then would you mind choosing someone else for a while?"

Back to my point: My e-box includes condemnations of the latest killings from CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations), two networks of Indian-American Muslims, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, a lesser-known Muslim set, and an interfaith group that includes Muslim members. I'm sure that there are more such that didn't land in my box. (MORE)

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MUMBAI ATTACKS "SENSELESS AND INEXCUSABLE" - TOP
Times of India, 11/28/08


NEW YORK: An Islamic civil rights group in America has condemned the "senseless and inexcusable" terror attacks in Mumbai, while asking the Indian government to protect its citizens from possible retaliatory violence.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an advocacy group for Muslims, said the "cowardly attacks" were "senseless and inexcusable acts of violence against innocent civilians."

"American Muslims stand with our fellow citizens of all faith in repudiating acts of terror wherever they take place and whomever they target," CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said.

The Washington-based group, in a statement also asked the Indian government to protect its citizens from any retaliatory attacks that might take place following the incident. (MORE)

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AL-QAIDA'S NO. 2 LEADER DOESN'T SPEAK FOR MUSLIMS - TOP
Detroit News, 11/28/08


In the wake of Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri's speech against America and President-elect Barack Obama, I'd like to make it extremely clear that al-Qaida does not speak for Muslims ("Al-Qaida's No. 2 insults Obama," Nov. 20).

From Senegal to Indonesia, Muslims have celebrated Obama's victory. Moreover, American Muslims overwhelmingly supported the president-elect -- 90 percent, according to a post-election poll conducted by the American Muslim Taskforce.

It is quite evident that Al-Qaida is worried that its old talking points of painting America as a racist imperial power may not persuade a fringe pool of potential new recruits to wage terror against a nation that has elected a president who is the son of a Kenyan with the middle name of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson. Muslims around the globe view Obama's election as a clear sign that America has taken a big step toward the fulfillment of its principle of racial equality. Hopefully, this will translate into a more brotherly, not paternal, relationship between America and the so-called Third World.

Al-Zawahiri used the race card by calling Obama, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and current Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "house slaves," while twisting the words of civil rights leader El-Hajj Malik Shabazz -- also known as Malcolm X. Al-Zawahiri endorses the slaughter of women and children and suicide bombings of mosques in which fellow Muslims pray, so his usage of racial slurs is not surprising.

Malcolm X, who has been honored with a U.S. postage stamp, never endorsed the mass murder of civilians and attacks upon houses of worship, acts that Al-Qaida commits with frequency. In fact, at the end of his life, Malcolm X vigorously preached the Islamic teaching of racial equality and respect for the family of man.

Dawud Walid
Executive Director
Council on American Islamic Relations -- Michigan
Southfield

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WEARING RELIGIOUS ATTIRE IN THE WORKPLACE: IT'S YOUR RIGHT! - TOP
Zayda Rivera, Diversity Inc, 12/2/08

If your employer ever tells you that you can't wear religious attire at work, tell him or her about Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects people of all religious beliefs and requires employers to provide "reasonable accommodation" to allow employees to practice their religion.

Take, for example, the case of Bilan Nur, a refugee from Somalia who got a job at Alamo Car Rental in Phoenix and wore a hijab, or headscarf, during Ramadan. When met with resistance about wearing the hijab, after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Nur agreed to wear a company-approved scarf with the Alamo Car Rental logo on it. Still, eight days before Ramadan ended in December 2001, the company fired Nur and declared her ineligible for rehire. (MORE)