Friday, October 9, 2009

ACTION: LAST CHANCE TO GET A FREE QURAN - TOP

TODAY is the last day to receive a FREE QURAN by registering ONLINE for CAIR's 15th annual banquet on October 24 in Arlington, Va.

All those who register ONLINE by close of business (5 p.m. EST) on Friday, October 9, will receive a free high-quality copy of the Quran at the dinner.

(Only one copy of the Quran will be given for each registration transaction and household. No copies will be mailed. They must be picked up at the banquet on October 24.)

This is the same copy of the Quran that CAIR is sending (inshallah) to 100,000 American leaders through our “Share the Quran” initiative. (SEE: http://www.explorethequran.com/) REMEMBER, to receive your FREE QURAN at the dinner, you must register online by 5 p.m. on Friday, October 9.

To receive your FREE Quran at the dinner, register online TODAY by going to:
http://www.cair.com/banquet/

To make a reservation over the phone, call 202-488-8787, or you may e-mail: banquet@cair.com

If you cannot attend the dinner, but would like to receive a copy of the Quran by first sponsoring one for an American leader, go to: http://www.explorethequran.com/

CAIR 15th Annual Banquet: “Leading the Change: 15 Years of Service”

WHEN: Saturday, October 24, 2009
Registration begins at 5:30 p.m., Program begins at 7 p.m.
WHERE: Marriott Crystal Gateway, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA

The program will also feature the "2009 Rosa Parks Civil Liberties Award Recipient" and the "2009 Muslim Community Service Awards."

TICKETS: $65/person; $15/child babysitting (ages 6 months-12 years.)

If you are unable to attend the dinner, but would like to support CAIR’s important work, make a donation here.

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CAIR CONGRATULATES PRESIDENT ON PEACE PRIZE AWARD - TOP

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/9/09) - A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy group today congratulated President Obama for being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples.”

In a statement, Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said:

“We are pleased that our president has been awarded one of the highest honors for any world leader. Under president Obama’s leadership, our nation is beginning to restore its international image as a beacon of peace and justice. As the Nobel Committee stated, President Obama ‘has created a new international climate.’

“We hope this prestigious prize will strengthen the president’s ability to help bring an end to international conflicts through the ‘dialogue and negotiations’ mentioned by the Nobel Committee and to eliminate the threat nuclear weapons pose to all of humanity.

“CAIR and the American Muslim community stand ready to partner with President Obama in promoting the ‘mutual interest and mutual respect’ he mentioned in his inaugural address.”

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. 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 National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787 or 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

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CAIR-SEATTLE: AMERICAN MUSLIMS BECOMING A FORCE IN POLITICS - TOP

View the Video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cjh1ygu9o4w

"This is the constituency that candidates today really have to address," says Arsalan Bukhari who is the Seattle President for CAIR.

An estimated 30-50,000 Muslims live in the Puget Sound alone. Bukhari says the vast majority are registered voters, and he says several candidates - including Dow Constantine and Mike McGinn have Muslim volunteers on their staff.

"We just need to dust off the constitution and take a look. Everyone has the right to vote. There's no religious test for running for office or for voting." (More)

SEE ALSO:

ISLAM IN THE OZARKS: THE LOCAL MUSLIM VOTE - TOP
Jennifer Moore, KSMU, 10/5/09

This week, as part of our ongoing series looking at the area's lesser known religious communities, we're getting to know the Islamic community in southwest Missouri. Today, KSMU's Jennifer Moore talks with local Muslims about their views on American politics.

To see where local Muslims stand on American politics, we need to hit the rewind button, and go back nine years, to the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore.

It was then that an American Muslim political action committee decided that the Muslims should vote in a bloc for the first time, and that the candidate of choice would be George W. Bush.

“Well, at that time, there were a number of issues American Muslims were concerned about,” said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesperson for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, a Washington-based advocacy group.

“Candidate Bush made some reference to those issues, for instance, the use of secret evidence in trials, and other issues, whereas his challenger did not reach out to the Muslim community in any meaningful manner,” Hooper says.

And so nearly three-quarters of American Muslims voted Republican in 2000, according to a post-election survey by CAIR. (More)

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MUSLIMS PLAYING A MORE VISIBLE ROLE IN KC AREA - TOP
By DONALD BRADLEY, The Kansas City Star, 10/9/09

It was a few days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Kansas City’s Muslim community had hunkered down. They were scared…

Now eight years later, even as a new report says American Muslims are seen as facing more discrimination than any other religious group, Muslim groups collect coats for Community Services League. They visit nursing homes. The Muslim manager of an IHOP restaurant in Lee’s Summit sometimes invites customers to his home to talk.

And later this month, the Islamic Society of Greater Kansas City will hold an open house for the most tangible symbol of the post-9-11 outreach effort: a new $3 million community center behind the mosque on 99th Street just off James A. Reed Road. (More)

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FLA. GOP MEMBERS SHOOT MUSLIM TARGETS AT GUN RANGE - TOP
10/9/09

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. -- South Florida Republicans held a weekly meeting at a gun range, shooting at targets including cut-outs of a Muslim holding a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. (More)

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CAIR: UNIVERSITIES URGED TO INCREASE FOCUS ON ISLAMIC STUDIES PROGRAMS -TOP
Lauren E. Bohn, Medill Reports, 10/8/09

Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said Pew's demographic study dispels Islam as a monolith.

“Any major university should have a department covering Islam worldwide," he said. (More)

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HPD INVESTIGATING POSSIBLE HATE CRIME AT MOSQUE - TOP
LINDSAY WISE, Houston Chronicle, 10/9/09

The FBI and Houston police are investigating a possible hate crime after someone scrawled anti-Islamic remarks on the wall of a southwest Houston mosque.

About 4 p.m. Wednesday, an unidentified man entered the Turkish Center Mosque at 9301 W. Bellfort and wrote hateful phrases about Islam and Muslims on the wall, said Dr. Aziz Siddiqi, president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, a nonprofit representing 300,000 area Muslims.

Siddiqi characterized the phrases as “very derogatory,” but declined to repeat their exact wording…

Dr. Tarek Hussein, president of CAIR-Houston, said he's worried the incident will provoke anger in the Muslim community.

“It's very upsetting …, but this is not an individual act, this is a product of the media and this is the product of the extremists who smear Islam and hate Muslims,” Hussein said. “The problem has to be solved by reasonable people raising their voices and condemning this act.” (More)

SEE ALSO:

ANAHEIM CAIR OFFICE CONDEMNS NEO-NAZIS HARASSING JEWS, JOINS RIVERSIDE COUNTER-PROTEST - TOP
Matt Coker, OC Weekly, 10/8/09

The Anaheim-based Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) is jumping into the controversy involving neo-Nazis harassing worshipers at a Jewish synagogue in Riverside. (More)

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