DOMESTIC ABUSERS ‘SHOULD NOT SEEK REFUGE IN ISLAM’ - TOPBuffalo Killing Puts Spotlight on Domestic AbuseLiz Robbins, New York Times, 2/21/09
Muzzammil “Mo” Hassan, the Muslim-American television executive charged with murdering his wife Aasiya Zubair Hassan in suburban Buffalo 11 days ago, is still in the Erie County Holding Center without bail, awaiting a grand jury trial.
On Feb. 12, he told the Orchard Park police that his 37-year-old wife was dead and she was at the offices of Bridges TV, which he founded with his wife to counter Muslim stereotypes. When the police discovered Ms. Hassan’s body — which was separated from her head — they charged Mr. Hassan with second-degree murder.
The estate of Aasiya Hassan filed a lawsuit against Mr. Hassan and Bridges TV on Thursday in Erie County Supreme Court, requesting that the offices be kept closed and the judge granted the temporary relief.
Even as Mr. Hassan, 44, sits in jail under a suicide watch that has been considered only a precaution, said his attorney, James Harrington, the gruesome murder has provoked some soul-searching within the Muslim-American community about the role of women and domestic abuse within Islam…
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islam Relations, said that freedom and equality exist in Islam, but “there is a need of reform for Muslims,” Mr. Hooper said in an interview this week. “If someone mistreats women they should not seek refuge in Islam.” (MORE)
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NY: A HISTORY OF ABUSE PRECEDED ORCHARD PARK BEHEADING - TOPAasiya Hassan endured years of violence and controlling behavior from her husband while keeping up the facade of a stable marriageSandra Tan, Gene Warner and Fred O. Williams, Buffalo News, 2/22/09
The lives of Muzzammil and Aasiya Hassan were quite different from their public image in the local Muslim and broadcast communities.
In the public eye, they were a dynamic couple, building their — actually her — dream of a Muslim-lifestyle TV channel in the United States.
But police reports compiled for much of their marriage tell another story:
Their home life was a nightmare. Aasiya was repeatedly subjected to controlling and sometimes violent acts by her ambitious but troubled husband.
To protect herself, she went to the police in two states. Yet for years she stopped short of pressing charges — thus preserving Muzzammil’s reputation and the venture they built together. (MORE)
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MINNEAPOLIS MOSQUE TO HOST COMMUNITY DINNER - TOPNeighbors invited to interact and gain understanding about local Somali Muslims
(ST. PAUL, MN, 02/23/09) - On February 25, 2009, the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center will welcome neighborhood residents and organizations for a community dinner intended to increase understanding about the local Somali Muslim community and mosque.
The Wednesday event is free and open to the public.
WHAT: Community Open House and Dinner at Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic CenterWHEN: Wednesday, February 25, 5-8 p.m.WHERE: Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center, 2824 13th Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn.SPEAKERS: Dr. Hamdi Sawaf, Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center representatives and CAIR-MN Communications Director Jessica ZikriCONTACT: CAIR-MN Communications Director Jessica Zikri, 612-226-3289, E-Mail: jzikri@cair.com
Dinner guests, including commanders of local police precincts, will have an opportunity to observe an Islamic prayer at 6 p.m. before enjoying Middle Eastern and African foods. Speakers' presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer session.
CAIR-MN said the mosque has received an increasing number of hate calls and e-mails since several Somali youth left the Twin Cities area, sparking rumors they were going to Somalia to join warring militias.
"We invite our neighbors of all faiths to come and learn more about the Somali Islamic community and to see that Muslims share the same challenges and concerns as other Minnesotans," CAIR-MN Communications Director Jessica Zikri.
The open house and dinner are sponsored by the Abubakar As-Saddique Islamic Center, CAIR-MN and the Building Blocks of Islam.
CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties and advocacy 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.
CONTACT: CAIR-MN Communications Director Jessica Zikri, 612-226-3289, E-Mail: jzikri@cair.com; CAIR-MN Civil Rights Director Taneeza Islam, Esq., 651-587-4712, E-Mail: tislam@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202 488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com-----
CAIR: NC BANKS TO ‘CORDON OFF’ MUSLIM WOMEN CUSTOMERS - TOPCarolina Federal to make those in hats, hoods or sunglasses go to special teller to deter robbers.Clay Barbour, Charlotte Observer, 2/22/09
In an effort to deter bank robbers, an area credit union will become among the state's first financial institutions to restrict their customers from wearing hats, hoods or sunglasses.
Officials with the Carolina Federal Credit Union said last week that beginning March 2, it will institute new regulations requiring customers remove head coverings before entering their buildings.
Those who refuse will not be turned away, but won't be able to conduct business with the regular tellers. Instead, they will be monitored and served at a location near the front of the branch.
“This program will provide a safer environment for members and employees,” said Donna Beringer, CFCU president. “The simple act of removing hats, hoods, and sunglasses in the credit union will not only help deter would-be robbers, it makes it much easier to identify and capture anyone that chooses to perpetrate fraud.”
The policy's concession is aimed at customers who wear religious headgear, such as Jewish men wearing yarmulkes or Muslim women wearing hijabs. But they too would only be helped at the front.
“So we will be separate but equal,” said Rose Hamid, head of the Muslim Women of the Carolinas. “That is absolutely unacceptable. I would find that offensive and I would do everything I could to make sure it does not go through.”
Bank robberies are common. And according to experts, they tend to go up during times of economic hardship. Though, oddly, this year bank robberies have dropped.
Hundreds of banks and credit unions across the country have instituted the “No hats, no glasses, no hoods” policy, including agencies in California, Massachusetts, Missouri, Oklahoma and Florida.
This month, a Muslim woman was denied service at the Community Bank of the Bay in Oakland, Calif., where officials had recently instituted the policy. The ensuing controversy forced the bank to release an official apology.
“We understand what is behind this,” said Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “But this is such a broad and vague policy that it will inevitably lead to problems.”
The council, based in Washington, D.C., is the country's largest Muslim advocacy group. Hooper said officials there have just recently started hearing about the “no hats” policy. He said it fails to address several issues, such as what to do about cancer victims wearing scarves, nuns wearing habits or blind people wearing glasses.
“Will they cordon them all off,” he said. (MORE)
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NJ: MUSLIM BOY LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO PRAY - TOPAndrea Alexander, NorthJersey.com, 2/19/09
Rola Awwad wants a private space for her 10-year-old son at Albert Payson Terhune Elementary School to exercise his right to Muslim prayer.
The school district had offered to let him pray at recess — either outside or in a classroom while classmates are there. And that, says Awwad, is "unacceptable."
All students are constitutionally guaranteed the right to pray during the school day as long as it doesn't interfere with learning. But Wayne is struggling with what accommodations to make if a Muslim student requests privacy for prayer.
The answer in other North Jersey districts ranges from providing access to the principal's office, to providing a spare room. But school administrators in suburban Wayne have been weighing the question since fall, when Awwad asked the principal to allow her son, Adam, a few minutes of privacy each afternoon to pray.
The district says it's concerned about allowing a young pupil to be unsupervised, even for a short time, and Awwad said her request was met with resistance.
"Why can't he be on his own for five minutes praying?" said Awwad, a Palestinian who moved to the United States from Jordan 11 years ago.
She said it's important to her that her children go to public school and make diverse friends. But she also wants them to be able to practice their religion.
"All I want from the school is to let my son pray in a private place in a small room, say his prayer and go back to class," she said. (MORE)
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NC: NON-MUSLIM STUDENTS EXPERIENCE A DAY 'BEHIND THE VEIL' - TOPFemale students participating in social experiment discuss experiences with a panel of Muslim femalesMaggie Luckadoo, NCSU Technician, 2/1/09
As participants in "Behind the Veil," 28 non-Muslim female students learned about life as Muslim women as they wore head dresses, or hijabs, on Wednesday.
"Behind the Veil," an event Sara Yasin, a junior in textile and apparel management, said she thought up last summer, invited students to experience firsthand the life of Muslim women by mirroring their attire for a day, which includes covering their hair and entire bodies minus their faces and hands.
Yasin encouraged participants to abide by Muslim guidelines, such as not eating pork or drinking alcohol when wearing the hijab.
Wednesday evening, the organizers of the event along with a panel of female Muslim students sat to talk to the participants about past experiences and impressions from the day.
While one student said she participated "out of sheer curiosity," Meghan Witzke, a junior in graphic design, said she participated because she thought it was an interesting concept.
"I didn't get any kind of weird looks [while wearing the hijab]," she said.
Witzke said she sensed people were looking at her less than when her hair is uncovered, which she guessed was out of respect.
She said understanding the lives of Muslim women wearing hijabs on a daily basis could not be achieved without experiencing it firsthand.
"It doesn't feel like you're hiding yourself," she said. "It doesn't feel like you're ashamed. It feels like you're proud." (MORE)
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MI: FILMMAKERS FOCUS ON MUSLIM AMERICAN LIFE - TOPTanveer Ali, Detroit News, 2/22/09
Their films are short, falling just below four minutes long, but three young filmmakers hope their work sends a strong message about American Muslim life across the online world.
Ahmed Ghani and the brother-sister team of Akram and Arwa Alsamarae, all recent graduates of Fordson High School, are among the 29 finalists in the "One Nation, Many Voices" project, the brainchild of San Francisco-based Link TV, that looks to tell the stories about what its like to be a Muslim in America.
Kim Spencer, president of Link TV, said the contest is an opportunity to generate new voices about the religion and how it fits in American culture. By pushing that message on the Internet, where voices can spread virally and globally. (MORE)
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AMNESTY CALLS ON US TO SUSPEND ARMS SALES TO ISRAEL - TOPHellfire missiles and white phosphorus artillery shells among weapons used in 'indiscriminate' attacks on civilians, says human rights groupRory McCarthy, Jerusalem Post, 2/23/09
Detailed evidence has emerged of Israel's extensive use of US-made weaponry during its war in Gaza last month, including white phosphorus artillery shells, 500lb bombs and Hellfire missiles.
In a report released today, Amnesty International listed the weapons used and called for an immediate arms embargo on Israel and all Palestinian armed groups. It called on the US president, Barack Obama, to suspend military aid to Israel.
The human rights group said those arming both sides in the conflict "will have been well aware of a pattern of repeated misuse of weapons by both parties and must therefore take responsibility for the violations perpetrated".
The US has long been the largest arms supplier to Israel; under a 10-year agreement negotiated by the Bush administration the US will provide $30bn (£21bn) in military aid to Israel.
"As the major supplier of weapons to Israel, the USA has a particular obligation to stop any supply that contributes to gross violations of the laws of war and of human rights," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa programme director. "To a large extent, Israel's military offensive in Gaza was carried out with weapons, munitions and military equipment supplied by the USA and paid for with US taxpayers' money." (MORE