FL: DEAR REP. ADAM HASNER... - TOP
Thomas Francis, Broward Palm Beach New Post, 5/1/09

During this dramatic week in Tallahassee, Delray Beach Rep. Adam Hasner starred as either the House Majority Leader or an evil "robot," depending on your perspective. It's astonishing that during pressure-packed negotiations, an eminent statesman like Hasner found time to bolt back home to huddle with one of the Western world's most racially divisive politicians, Geert Wilders. A member of Dutch parliament, so far this year Wilders has been charged with hate speech in the Netherlands and barred entry to the U.K. where he'd planned to show his anti-Islam film, Fitna.

Surely, the elected official who represents hard-working, peace-loving Americans in Delray Beach and Boca Raton doesn't share Wilders' virulent strain of anti-Islam paranoia... does he? In the interest of relieving anxiety for some of the concerned constituents in his district, as well as the millions of Floridians affected by his politics, Juice submits to Hasner the open letter below:

Dear Rep. Hasner,

Seriously? Geert Wilders? I mean, I know you're term-limited in the House, but surely you've considered a run for senate, maybe Florida CFO? And yet by sharing a stage with Geert Wilders... well... it leaves one wondering whether you share his view that Muslim people are an inferior culture. Can you please clarify your positions on some of Wilders' most controversional statements and policies?

Click here to read the letter.

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SOME MUSLIMS RETHINK CLOSE TIES TO LAW ENFORCEMENT - TOP
Samantha Henry, Associated Press, 5/4/09

…A coalition of Muslim groups is calling for Muslims to stop cooperating with the FBI -- not on national security or safety issues but on community outreach.

The coalition is upset over what it says is increasing government surveillance in mosques, new Justice Department guidelines that the groups say encourage profiling, and the FBI's recent suspension of ties with the nation's largest Muslim civil rights group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

A petition that opposes FBI tactics is circulating in Muslim communities and has been gaining support, said coalition chairman Agha Saeed. The coalition, represented by the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections, has requested a meeting with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to discuss what it sees as the deteriorating relationship between the FBI and Muslim communities…

Afsheen Shamsi, a spokeswoman for CAIR's New Jersey chapter, dismissed the idea that the petition is retaliation. She said it reflects the concerns of Muslims who have grown tired of being stopped at airports, constant questioning and relentless scrutiny eight years after the attacks of Sept. 11.

"I believe the Muslim community is questioning whether the mosque visits and the handshakes are just a big show by the FBI, while behind the scenes, they continue to engage in questionable practices," she said. (More)

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OH: FEDERAL JUDGE HEARS ARGUMENTS INVOLVING MUSLIM CHARITY - TOP
Erica Blake, Toledo Blade, 5/1/09 

A federal judge in Toledo will decide whether the freezing of a local Muslim charity’s assets by the U.S. government violated the organization’s rights or if instead it was a proper response to a governmental investigation of a group who they claim has potential ties to terrorism.

U.S. District Court Judge James Carr heard arguments from both government attorneys and those on behalf of KindHearts for Charitable Humanitarian Development Inc. during a daylong hearing Friday. The oral arguments were a step in the process begun in October when KindHearts filed a lawsuit against the government challenging the methods used in designating organizations as terrorist groups. (More)

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NC: DVD SPREADS POSITIVE ISLAMIC IMAGE - TOP
Newspaper ad insert sidesteps controversy
Yonat Shimron, News & Observer, 5/2/09

Wake County residents in three ZIP codes will find a DVD about Islam bundled in their issues of The News & Observer today, as Muslim residents initiate a public relations effort to counteract a controversial DVD distributed in the paper in September.

Today's DVD, "The Fog is Lifting: Islam in Brief," was produced by an Egyptian nonprofit group intent on explaining Islam to non-Muslims. It offers an orthodox defense of Islamic precepts and theology without engaging in issues such as politics or terrorism.

"If the media keeps presenting a certain stereotype, people need to see the other side," said Mona Dakrouri, an Egyptian-American living in Cary, who was trained to speak to interfaith groups by the Bridges Foundation, which produced the DVD.

In September, The News & Observer, along with 70 other newspapers nationwide, accepted as paid advertising a DVD called "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West."

That DVD, which featured scenes of Muslim children being encouraged to become suicide bombers, interspersed with those of Nazi rallies, stirred anger among Muslims locally and across the nation.

Reaction was swift and overwhelmingly negative. Locally, members of Muslim groups met with The News & Observer's publisher and executive editor.

Today's distribution includes 20,000 copies of the DVD in an orange cardboard sleeve that reads, "A gift from your neighbor." The Raleigh chapter of the Muslim American Society took on the responsibility of distributing the DVD. (More)

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TX: WOMEN EXPLORE FAITH WITH ISLAM 101 - TOP
The North Austin Muslim Community Center class provides a forum for women to asks questions.
Jimmie Collins, Austin American-Statesman, 5/4/09

Jacquelyn Harper became a Muslim at the end of January. The 25-year-old said she has never before felt as close a bond with God.

"I started reading books (about Islam), and the books I was reading started to really make sense to me," said Harper, who converted from a conservative confessional branch of the Lutheran Church. "It shocked me. I said, 'This is how I feel. This is what I believe.' "

In her journey toward leading what she described as a more pure life, Harper recently finished an eight-week Islamic course for female converts and non-Muslim women at the North Austin Muslim Community Center. Organizers think it's the only one of its kind in the Austin area…

Harper became interested in Islam after she became very close friends with a Muslim. She said he never talked about his religion with her, but she became curious about how Muslims fit the stereotypes she had always heard.

"You hear a lot of bad things about Islam, and that was a lot of the reason I wanted to learn about it," she said. "When I started reading, I found that none of the stereotypes about the way women are treated were true." …

Amawi said the class is not limited to Muslims or converts, and the teachers encourage an interfaith dialogue. (More)

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CAIR-LA: HUNDREDS DESCEND ON MANZANAR TO HONOR INTERNEES, TAKE A STAND FOR THE FUTURE - TOP
Mike Bodine, Inyo Register, 4/28/09

Blustery winds, blowing dust and winter-like temperatures did little to stop nearly 1,500 people from attending the 40th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage on Saturday. In fact, more than one speaker described the humility pilgrims should feel for the internees who spent day after day, for years, in conditions like those experience this weekend…

The keynote speaker was Ron Wakabayashi, the regional director for the U.S. Department of Justice, Community Relations Service. He was also one of the original pilgrims from 1969. He spoke of the event being more than just an opportunity to pay homage to those former internees, but as also a way to raise awareness of civil rights violations and other forced imprisonments.

Since the 9/11 attacks, the Manzanar Committee has been working with the Council on American-Islamic Relations to counter the negative stereotypes and prejudice against Muslim Americans.

In fact, at the Interfaith Religious Ceremonies, the prayer offered by Christian ministers included the refrain, “No more Manzanar, no more Quatanamo, no more Abu Graib, no more prisoner renditions.” (More)

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CAIR: US MOSQUES LEAD SWINE FLU CAMPAIGN - TOP
Muhammed Qasim, Islam Online, 5/2/09

American Muslims are leaving no stone unturned in increasing their community's awareness about the swine flu virus that has been registered in several America states and is spreading globally.

"I think when we are facing challenges such as the health challenge of a pandemic, swine flu, that can become a very serious problem, we need to first brace ourselves and recognize [the problem]," Dr. Esam S. Omeish, a surgeon by profession, old IslamOnline.net.

Omeish, also the imam of Dar Al-Hijra Islamic Center, devoted his Friday sermon mainly to talk about pandemics…

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called on religious leaders and imams to use daily and Friday congregational prayers as a platform for providing information about preventing the spread of swine flu.

"In times of crisis, public health and safety takes precedence over normal actions and activities that could lead to the spread of infection," CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad told IOL.

"Imams, because of their access to those attending mosques every day, are well-placed to offer advice to community members based on input from public health authorities."

The prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy group wants imams, who lead daily and weekly congregational prayers in more than 2,000 mosques nationwide, to stay up-to-date on the spread of swine flu in their areas.

It stresses the possibility of temporarily avoiding cultural traditions such as handshakes, hugs and kisses during the health crisis.

Dr. Zubair Saeed, a pandemic influenza educator at Fairfax County Virginia, is delivering lectures on swine flu at different mosques. (More)

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CAIR: ST. LOUIS CHURCHES CONFRONT FIRST SWINE FLU WEEKEND - TOP
Tim Townsend, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5/2/09

It's called, alternately, the Kiss of Peace, the Holy Kiss, the Passing of the Peace, the Sign of Peace and even the Holy Howdy. A variety of churches feature some form of the practice within their liturgies, and its roots can be traced back to the earliest days of Christianity.

But the kiss of peace requires contact between humans, and such contact can lead to the exchange of bugs. On a normal Sunday, that risk worries few. But in the days of a potential pandemic, some churches are taking precautions.

The Archdiocese of St. Louis sent a letter to all its pastors Thursday recommending that they consider using "extra-precautionary measures ... to lessen the spread of this flu."…

The Council on American-Islamic Relations suggested that imams tell people to temporarily avoid handshakes or hugs of greeting during traditional communal prayers Friday.

"In times of crisis, public health and safety takes precedence over normal actions and activities that could lead to the spread of infection," Nihad Awad, CAIR's executive director said in a statement…

Rabbi Hyim Shafner of Bais Abraham Congregation in University City said he had no plans to alter this weekend's service but that "if there was really an epidemic, and we felt gathering was dangerous, we wouldn't do it." He said Jewish law would allow him to cancel the Sabbath worship if lives are in danger. (More)

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VIDEO: MILITARY OFFICIALS AT BAGRAM URGE U.S. SOLDIERS TO EVANGELIZE IN AFGHANISTAN - TOP
Jeremy Scahill, Rebel Reports, 5/4/09

A new report by Al Jazeera shows U.S. troops being told to "hunt people for Jesus ... so we get them into the kingdom."

Click here to watch the video from Al Jazeera English.

New video evidence has surfaced showing that U.S. military forces in Afghanistan have been instructed by the military’s top chaplain in the country to "hunt people for Jesus" as they spread Christianity to the overwhelmingly Muslim population. Soldiers also have imported bibles translated into Pashto and Dari, the two dominant languages of Afghanistan. What’s more, the center of this evangelical operation is at the huge U.S. base at Bagram, one of the main sites used by the U.S. military to torture and indefinitely detain prisoners.

In a video obtained by Al Jazeera and broadcast Monday, Lieutenant-Colonel Gary Hensley, the chief of the U.S. military chaplains in Afghanistan, is seen telling soldiers that as followers of Jesus Christ, they all have a responsibility "to be witnesses for him."

"The special forces guys -- they hunt men basically. We do the same things as Christians, we hunt people for Jesus. We do, we hunt them down," he says.

"Get the hound of heaven after them, so we get them into the kingdom. That’s what we do, that’s our business." (More)

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U.S. DENIES LETTING TROOPS CONVERT AFGHANS - TOP
By Peter Graff Peter Graff, Reuters, 5/4/09

KABUL (Reuters) The U.S. military denied Monday it has allowed soldiers to try to convert Afghans to Christianity, after a television network showed pictures of soldiers with bibles translated into local languages.

General Order Number 1 from the U.S. military's Central Command forbids active duty troops -- including all those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan -- from trying to convert people to their religion, considered a crime in many Muslim countries.

Qatar-based Al Jazeera television showed footage filmed last year of a church service at Bagram, the main U.S. base north of the Afghan capital Kabul, and a bible study class where soldiers had a stack of bibles in the local languages, Pashtu and Dari.