SIKH COALITION GATHER INFO ON BIAS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS - TOP(NEW YORK, N.Y., 12/15/2008) The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), in conjunction with the Sikh Coalition, is urging New York City (NYC) public school students and their parents to fill out an online survey regarding bias-based bullying and harassment.The purpose of the survey is to assess the Department of Education’s handling of bias-motivated harassment in the face of Chancellor’s Regulation A-832, which established a procedure for addressing student-to-student bias-based harassment, intimidation and bullying.All surveys will remain confidential. Immediate Action Requested:NYC public students (KG-12th grade), educators and parents of students (KG-12th grade) who experience, know of or witness bias-based bullying or harassment are asked to fill out a survey here.For more information about students’ rights concerning harassment in public schools, click here.CAIR, America’s largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 35 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-NY Civil Rights Director Aliya Latif, 212.870.2002, 732.429.4268, E-Mail: alatif@cair.com; CAIR-NY Community Affairs Director Faiza N. Ali, 212.870.2002, 718.724.3041, E-Mail: fali@cair.com
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CAIR: AREA MUSLIMS HOST LUNCH FOR THE NEEDY - TOPSacramento Bee, 12/13/08
The Sacramento Valley Muslim community will sponsor a meal downtown on Sunday for an expected 500 needy people.
The lunch is scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. at The Grand, 1215 J St. The lunch for the homeless is being held on Eid Al-Adha.
Eid Al-Adha or "Festival of Sacrifice" is celebrated by Muslims commemorating the willingness of prophet Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God. However, God provided a ram in place once Ibrahim demonstrated his willingness to follow God's commands, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Sacramento Valley. (MORE)
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N.J. MUSLIMS IMPROVISE NETWORKS TO DISTRIBUTE THEIR HOLIDAY MEAT - TOPNyier Abdou, Star-Ledger, 12/15/08
On a chilly evening splashed with rain last week, Atif Nazir left his office at the Department of Health in Newark and drove to Oak Tree Road, in Woodbridge, where a strip of South Asian and Middle Eastern shops sell everything from jewelry and curry to saris and sweets. Nazir, who lives in Piscataway and volunteers with the Islamic Circle of North America in New Jersey, headed for the area's cluster of halal butchers, where he was eagerly expected.
For the last week, Nazir and some 80 ICNA volunteers around the state have been spending their evenings this way, collecting thousands of pounds of meat slaughtered during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha to distribute in underprivileged areas. (MORE)
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OH: MUSLIMS CELEBRATE EID, DONATE MEAT TO NEEDY - TOPDavid Yonke, Toledo Blade, 12/15/08
Toledo Muslims are donating more than 1,500 pounds of meat slaughtered for an Islamic holiday to the area's poor and needy.
"Fresh meat is something that is really missing in most food banks and shelter homes," Dr. M. Razi Rafeeq said.
The goats, sheep, lambs, and cows were slaughtered by butchers paid by Muslims in accordance with a ritual observance of the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of Sacrifice. The holiday commemorates God's sparing of the Prophet Abraham from having to sacrifice his son, Ismail.
The holiday was celebrated on Monday at the end of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina in which more than 2 million Muslims participate.
More than 700 Muslims celebrated the Eid with prayers followed by a community meal at the Masjid Saad in Sylvania, while 500 observed the holiday at the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo in Perrysburg Township.
Representatives of those two mosques joined with the Toledo Masjid of Al-Islam in the central city to found the Islamic Food Bank of Toledo. The food is given to anyone in need, not just Muslims, according to Yehia "John" Shousher, one of the food bank's founders.
"Donating meat to the poor and needy has been done before on the local level but only by individuals," Mr. Shousher said.
Dr. Rafeeq, president of the food bank, said donating the meat to the needy follows the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed, founder of Islam, and the Islamic holy book.
"The Qur'an repeatedly reminds Muslims of helping the poor, the hungry, the needy, and the orphans," he said.
"The Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, has said that a person is not a true Muslim if he goes to bed with a full stomach while his neighbor is hungry. So this is something we are obligated to do." (MORE)
-----CAIR: TWIN CITIES CONGRESSMAN MAKES PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA - TOPRep. Keith Ellison had planned the trip long before the lame-duck session was called to consider a bailout for U.S. automakers.Mitch Anderson, Star Tribune, 12/15/08
Back home he's one of the 535 most powerful lawmakers in America, but last week, on the holiest week in Islam's holiest city, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison was just one among the estimated 3 million travelers making the pilgrimage to Mecca.
"You forget who you are - black or white and American or African - and where you come from when you are before God circling the Kabba [the large masonry cubic structure near Mecca] in a two-piece unstitched garment," Ellison said in a CNN interview last week.
Continuing in his unofficial role as America's goodwill ambassador to the Middle East, Ellison, the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress also became the first sitting member to make the religious journey that all able-bodied Muslims are obligated to make once in their lifetime, otherwise known as Hajj. . .
Though he didn't embark to much fanfare, Ellison's travels didn't escape the attention of those back in the states.
"For our relations with the Muslim world, it can only help to see an American congressman going on Hajj and mingling with the millions of Muslims from all parts of the world in Mecca," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "And from a domestic perspective, it sends a really positive message of religious diversity and inclusion in our society." (MORE)
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MUSLIMS TAKE MESSAGE ON THE ROAD - TOPSherri Day, St. Petersburg Times, 12/14/08
The billboard sits along the eastbound side of Interstate 4, just west of McIntosh Road. But unlike other signs hawking fast food joints, gas stations or amusement parks, this one poses a spiritual query:
"Purpose of Life? 877-WHY-ISLAM?..."
If you call the number you'll reach an office in Somerset, N.J. run by the Islamic Circle of North America, a Muslim advocacy group based in Jamaica, N.Y. Once on the line, callers can ask just about anything.
The signs with catchy phrases and images is part of a national campaign by the nonprofit group to promote discussion about Islam and debunk stereotypes about Muslims. For Ramadan, they wrapped Chicago city buses with WhyIslam signs and put up ads on New York City subway cars, which sparked some controversy.
Last week, 24 billboards went up in 18 cities, including Orlando, Portland, Ore., and San Antonio, Texas. Many of them were in cities that do not have large Muslim populations.
"We felt, as American Muslims, our voice was not being heard," said Naeem Baig, the group's secretary general. "We have very limited access to the media, being a nonprofit without big pockets. We felt this was the best way to reach out to the general public." (MORE)
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NY: STAR AND CRESCENT JOINS CHRISTMAS TREE, MENORAH - TOPJim Fitzgerald, Associated Press, 12/13/08
When they light the town Christmas tree in Armonk on Sunday, there will be a Jewish menorah right alongside, as usual. There will also be something new this year — an Islamic crescent and star.
And if there are any Buddhists or Hindus in town who want to see their symbols, the town is welcoming applications.
The holiday display, sponsored by the town of North Castle, which includes the village of Armonk, is among a growing number around the country that include the symbol for Islam. (MORE)
---TX: RABBI AT TEMPLE SHALOM IN DALLAS EMERGES AS LEADER IN MUSLIM-JEWISH DIALOGUE - TOPSam Hodges, Dallas Morning News, 12/13/08
Rabbi Jeremy Schneider spends a lot of time talking to Muslims, and wants other Jews to do the same.
At age 32, the assistant rabbi at Dallas' Temple Shalom has emerged as a national leader in Jewish-Muslim dialogue.
"He has been in the forefront of strengthening relations between our two communities," said Rabbi Marc Schneider, president of the New York-based Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.
Rabbi Schneider whose office boasts not only diplomas but a neon University of Texas longhorn was one of 20 clergy who participated in last year's groundbreaking National Summit of Imams and Rabbis.
He was the only rabbi in a National Peace Foundation-sponsored delegation visiting the Muslim Middle East specifically Egypt and Syria last June.
At Temple Shalom, he preached against "Islamophobia" on Rosh Hashana, pointedly telling his congregation, "We must learn what Islam truly stands for, not from politicians, not from e-mail forwards, and not from the media, but from Muslims themselves by engaging in dialogue." (MORE)
-----MI: UNLIKELY UNION BUILDS POLITICAL WIN FOR RASHIDA TLAIB - TOPArab American to lead 12th DistrictNiraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 12/14/08
When Rashida Tlaib declared her candidacy in May for state representative, she heard grumblings from opponents who said the heavily Latino and black district in southwest Detroit wouldn't vote for an Arab American with a name they couldn't pronounce.
But Tlaib, a Palestinian American, won the seat with the strong backing of the district's term-limited incumbent, who happens to be Jewish. And on Jan. 1, she will become the first Muslim woman to serve in the Michigan Legislature.
It's a story of ethnic cooperation that reveals the complexities of racial and religious relationships in one of the most diverse districts in the region.
"They saw my work ethic, how I reached out" said the 32-year-old Tlaib (pronounced "ta-LEEB"). "I'm a product of southwest Detroit. ... I grew up in the community."
Her election also offers a glimpse into how politics may play out in an increasingly diverse metro Detroit and nation, where minority and immigrant groups typically have pushed for political power by demanding candidates of their particular ethnicity or race. The victories of Tlaib and President-elect Barack Obama show that model may be outdated as people increasingly mix and cross ethnic boundaries. (MORE)
-----NC: DUKE'S MUSLIM CHAPLAIN FACES CHALLENGES - TOPUniversity with Protestant roots now has a place for Islamic students to gatherYonat Shimron, News & Observer, 12/14/08
In September, during the month-long fast of Ramadan, Muslim chaplain Abdullah Antepli arranged nightly meals to break the daily fast for Duke University's estimated 500 Muslim students, faculty members and workers -- a feat never before tried at this Gothic-looking university founded by Methodists.
In December, on the last day of classes, he led Muslim students into a home of their own, a 1,400-square-foot bungalow on the central campus that will serve as the Center for Muslim Life, a place where students can pray, study and eat pizza late into the night.
The twin accomplishments, at the beginning and end of the semester, form an impressive arc for Duke's first full-time Muslim chaplain. But the Turkish-born imam who formerly served as associate director of Hartford Seminary's Islamic Chaplaincy Program, faces a host of challenges. (MORE)