ISLAM DAY HONORS COMMONALITY - TOP
First festival of its kind in Hawaii draws at least 1,000 to McCoy Pavilion
Curtis Lum, Honolulu Advertiser, 9/25/09

When the Hawai'i Legislature approved a resolution declaring Sept. 24 "Islam Day," the measure set of a firestorm of debate because the day fell so close to the date of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

But yesterday, politics was set aside as hundreds of people packed the McCoy Pavilion at Ala Moana Beach Park to celebrate Hawai'i's first Islam Day.

By 5 p.m., about 1,000 people had walked through the pavilion's gates and event organizers expected more as people got off work and headed to the park.

"We expected 200 to 300, so we're very pleased with the turnout," said Hakim Ouansafi, president of the Muslim Association of Hawaii, which sponsored the event.

More than a dozen Honolulu police officers and private security personnel patrolled the pavilion grounds, but there were no protests or reports of trouble.

"It's a historic day. It's long overdue," Ouansafi said. "It's a day of celebrating our commonality, a day of people of faith and no faith to get together and talk story."

The Legislature approved the resolution last session to acknowledge the "rich religious, scientific, cultural and artistic contributions" of the Islamic world. Yesterday was selected because it marked the end of Ramadan, the month in which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset and make contributions to charities. (More)

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50,000 MUSLIMS TO PRAY ON CAPITOL HILL: GUESS WHO'S NOT HAPPY? - TOP
David Gibson, Politics Daily, 9/24/09

Ibrahim Hooper, chief spokesman for the Council on Islamic-American Relations, or CAIR, a leading Muslim advocacy group, said he sees the Friday event as an extension of other Islamic celebrations that have been going on in Washington and elsewhere for years.

"What is significant about this event is that it is being seized upon by a cottage industry of Internet hatemongers who want to disenfranchise the American Muslim community," said Hooper, who cannot attend the event because he will be traveling. "People shouldn't stop doing things based on the hatred and bigotry of others. The civil rights movement did not stop moving forward just because racists didn't like it." (More)

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CAIR-OK ANSWERS PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CALL TO COMMUNITY SERVICE - TOP

Click here to watch the video.

The Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK) recently joined with the NAACP, the Latino Community Development Agency and the Red Cross to mark National Service Week with Disaster Relief Response Training.

The training was a project of President Barack Obamas United We Serve campaign (www.serve.gov), CAIRs Muslim Care initiative and Muslim Americans Answer the Call (www.muslimserve.gov). Information about the training was entered in the Muslims Care database for submission to President Obamas United We Serve initiative.

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MUSLIM GROUPS HOPEFUL ON HIKERS' RELEASE FROM IRAN - TOP
AP, 9/24/09

UNITED NATIONS — Leaders of U.S. Muslim groups who met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad say they are "guardedly optimistic" that three American hikers held there would be released soon. (More)

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MUSLIM GROUP TO PUSH IRAN HEAD TO FREE 3 U.S. HIKERS - TOP
Michael Matza, Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/24/09

A delegation from a prominent U.S. Muslim group expects to meet today in New York with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to lobby for the release of three detained American hikers, including Joshua Fattal, 27, whose family lives in Elkins Park.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations bills itself as America's largest Muslim civil-liberties and advocacy organization.

"We hope that President Ahmadinejad," who addressed the United Nations yesterday, will "create a more positive atmosphere for constructive dialogue between our two nations" by releasing the detainees, CAIR board chairman Larry Shaw, also a North Carolina state senator, said in a statement…

CAIR leaders intend to ask Ahmadinejad to at least authorize contact between diplomatic envoys and the prisoners, and phone contact with their families, who haven't heard from them in more than 55 days and know nothing about their whereabouts or condition. (More)

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ACTION: VOTE IN TUESDAY’S RUNOFF ELECTION - TOP

(NEW YORK, NY, 09/24/09) - On Tuesday, September 29th, New York City (NYC) voters will head to the polls to participate in a runoff election between the top two democratic candidates for NYC Comptroller and Public Advocate. Councilmen John C. Liu and David Yassky will compete to be the next Chief Financial Officer while Bill De Blasio and Mark Green vie for the city’s ombudsman seat.

What is a runoff?

The September 15 primary resulted in a special election called a “runoff.” Under New York election law, a runoff is required “when no candidate for the office of mayor, public advocate or comptroller receives 40 percent or more of the votes cast by the members of a political party for such office in a city-wide primary election”. N.Y. ELN. LAW § 6-162.

ACTION REQUESTED:

1. Inform yourself BEFORE going to the poll. CAIR-NY’s Voter Guide 2009 contains voter information and highlights key issue positions of the candidates taking part in the runoff for both Public Advocate and Comptroller.

2. Vote! All registered democrats should case their vote on September 29th. To find your polling station, click here or call 1.866.VOTE.NYC. Polls are open from 6:00am to 9:00pm.

3. Share. Encourage others to go out and vote. Forward this alert to your friends and family.

VOTE NYC: Building Community, Building Country is a grassroots effort launched by CAIR-NY aimed to keep Muslim New Yorkers informed and engaged in the political process. For more information, contact CAIR-NY Community Affairs Director Faiza N. Ali at 212.870.2002, fali@cair.com.

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CAIR SAN DIEGO REP SPEAKS ON HATE CRIMES PANEL AT LOCAL UNIVERSITY - TOP

(SAN DIEGO, CA 9/24/09) - On September 23, a representative of the San Diego chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-San Diego) participated in a panel discussion on hate crimes at University of San Diego (USD).

CAIR-San Diego Public Relations Director Edgar Hopida gave a basic overview of hate crimes experienced by the American Muslim community and how Islamophobia encourages them. The panel discussion was part of USD’s “Hate Crimes Awareness Week.”

“We applaud University of San Diego’s proactive efforts in addressing the hate crimes problem affecting their university and community at large,” said Hopida.

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.

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CONTACT CAIR-San Diego Public Relations Director Edgar Hopida, 619-913-0719 or 858-278-4547, email: ehopida@cair.com

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MUSLIM GROUP PROTESTS VIDEO SHOWN IN SCHOOL - TOP
Joan Hellyer, Bucks County Courier Times, 9/25/09

The course that used the video about Islamic extremists was replaced this school year with a gender study course.

A Muslim civil liberties and advocacy group raised concerns recently that an anti-Islamic video was part of a Council Rock High School South elective.

The video, "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West," was produced by the Clarion Fund Inc. The New York City-based nonprofit organization, founded by Israeli-Canadian film producer Raphael Shore, says its efforts are geared toward informing the public about national security threats.

"Obsession," according to the Clarion Fund's Web site, gives an "insider's view" of the hatred Islamic extremists are teaching, "their incitement of global jihad, and their goal of world domination."

That's not the way the Council on American-Islamic Relations sees it, according to Marwa El-Turky, the group's civil rights director in Pennsylvania. (More)

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HER 'DUTY' IS HELPING MUSLIM WOMEN HEAL AFTER ABUSE - TOP
CNN, 9/24/09

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Toward the end of her marriage, Rabia Iqbal said she feared for her life.

Iqbal was born in New York to parents who had immigrated to the United States from the tribal areas of Pakistan. She had a strict Muslim upbringing and when she was 16, her parents arranged her marriage to a 38-year-old man. She claims her husband turned violent during their 10 years of marriage.

When she finally left him, she did not know where to turn. Going home wasn't an option, she said.

"My parents ... made clear that they would disown me," Iqbal said. "My father even said ... 'You're lucky you live in America because if you lived back home, you would have been dead by now.' "

She was hiding out in her office at work when a friend put her in touch with Robina Niaz, whose organization, Turning Point for Women and Families, helps female Muslim abuse victims.

"It was such a relief ... to speak about things that ... I thought no one would understand," said Iqbal, who has received counseling from Niaz for more than two years and calls Niaz her "savior."

"Robina understood the cultural nuances ... the religious issues," Iqbal said.

A devout Muslim, Niaz stresses that there is no evidence that domestic violence is more common among Muslim families.

"Abuse happens everywhere," said Niaz. "It cuts across barriers of race, religion, culture." (More)