CAIR-LA CONDEMNS NEO-NAZI HARASSMENT OF JEWISH WORSHIPERS - TOP (ANAHEIM, CA, 10/8/09) - The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA), along with the Islamic Center of Riverside and the Islamic Society of Corona/Norco, today condemned the racist harassment of Jewish worshipers at Temple Beth El in Riverside. According to media reports, neo-Nazis recently displayed flags with Nazi swastikas to harass and intimidate worshippers attending services at Temple Beth El. CAIR-LA says it will join more than 20 other organizations that plan a counter-protest to a neo-Nazi rally on October 24. SEE: Groups Plan Rally Against Neo-Nazis (Press-Enterprise) “We condemn any attempts to intimidate or harass peaceful worshipers who were practicing their right to freely worship at Temple Beth El,” said Hussam Ayloush, CAIR-LA executive director. “We stand by our Jewish neighbors and reiterate our offer of sympathy, support and friendship.” Ayloush said Muslim community leaders and representatives also plan to visit Temple Beth El to show their support for the congregants. “The City of Riverside and its residents remain united in the face of such bigotry,” said Dr. Mustafa Kuko, religious director of the Islamic Center of Riverside. 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-LA Communications Manager Munira Syeda, 714-776-1847, 714-851-4851, E-Mail: info@losangeles.cair.com; 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, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com ----- CAIR CALLS FOR FBI PROBE OF HATE GRAFFITI AT TEXAS MOSQUE - TOP (WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/8/09) The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on the FBI to investigate bias-motivated vandalism of a Houston, Texas, mosque. CAIR said the Houston Police Department is investigating a Wednesday incident in which an unidentified man scrawled anti-Islamic remarks on the walls of the Turkish Center Mosque. SEE: HPD Investigating Possible Hate Crime at Mosque “This kind of disturbing incident will only become more frequent unless our nation’s leaders speak out against the rising level of anti-Muslim rhetoric in our society,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. “A strong response from national law enforcement authorities would send the message that hate crimes targeting the American Muslim community will not be tolerated.” Earlier this week, CAIR’s New York office welcomed hate crime charges brought against a man who allegedly used racist slurs during an attack in Queens, N.Y., on a Long Island Muslim woman. According to the alleged victim, who wears an Islamic head scarf, the perpetrator pulled alongside her vehicle on a local parkway, spat on it, and shouted, “Dumb f***ing Pakistani! Go back to your country!” The attacker was later arrested and will reportedly be charged with assault in the third degree, harassment in the first degree as a hate crime and harassment in the second degree. CAIR-NY is in contact with law enforcement authorities and will continue to monitor the case. Last month, CAIR expressed concern about a “spike” in reports of anti-Muslim incidents nationwide during or just prior to the month of Ramadan. SEE: CAIR Concerned by 'Spike' in Anti-Muslim Incidents in Ramadan 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 SEE ALSO: VIDEO: TEXAS MOSQUE VANDALISM INVESTIGATED AS HATE CRIME - TOP Click here to watch the video. ----- CAIR-NY: QUEENS MAN ARRESTED IN ANTI-MUSLIM HATE CRIME - TOP Kaitlyn Kilmetis, Queens Tribune, 10/8/09 On the evening of Sept. 7, on her way to break fast at an Astoria mosque in light of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Long Island resident Shareena Rahat said she was verbally attacked with racial slurs and physically confronted by a man on a Queens parkway, in front of her two young children, ages 8 and 11. According to a criminal complaint, the alleged perpetrator, Michael Doherty of 164-60 64th Ave., Fresh Meadows, is being charged with harassment in the first degree as a hate crime, assault in the third degree and harassment in the second degree. Doherty was later arrested and released without bail; he is expected to return to court Oct. 27… Aliya Latif, civil rights director for the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, has been in contact with Rahat. She said CAIR expressed concern about a “spike” in reports of anti-Muslim incidents nationwide during or just prior to the month of Ramadan. “Attacks motivated by racial or religious hatred must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law to serve as both a legal deterrent and a public repudiation of intolerance,” Latif said. “We welcome the prosecutor’s decision to address the apparent bias motive of the alleged attacker.” (More) ----- ACTION: ONE DAY LEFT TO GET A FREE QURAN AT CAIR’S BANQUET - TOP There is only one day left 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 at: https://secure.cair.com/site/Donation2?idb=1392306615&df_id=1180&1180.donation=form1 ----- ACTION: CAIR-NY URGES MUSLIM VOTER REGISTER BEFORE DEADLINE - TOP (NEW YORK, NY, 10/08/09) CAIR-NY is urging members of the Muslim community to participate in citywide elections by registering to vote before the October 9 deadline. New Yorkers will head to the polls on November 3 to elect the city’s next mayor, public advocate, and comptroller. ACTION REQUESTED: Register to vote by downloading a NYS Voter Registration Card here. Mail completed forms to: Board of Elections, 32 Broadway, 7th. Fl., New York, NY 10275-0067 Note: All forms must be postmarked by October 9 or dropped off at the Board of Elections office by midnight tomorrow. This initiative is part of VOTE NYC: Building Community, Building Country, 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. ----- CAIR-MI JOINS FORD MOTOR CORP INTERFAITH PROGRAM - TOP (SOUTHFIELD, MI, 10/8/09) - The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) yesterday participated in the Ford Interfaith Network's 9th Annual Muslim Group dinner in Dearborn. The keynote speech for this year's banquet, titled “Environment: An Islamic Perspective,” was given by Dr. Nadeem Siddiqi. Siddiqi discussed the importance in Islam of promoting wellness for all human beings and animals, and the Islamic mandate of respecting and protecting the environment. CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid moderated the discussion and answered questions from the audience members. Some 200 Ford Motor Corporation executives, engineers and their family members were in attendance. 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-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid, Tel: 248-559-2247, E-Mail: dwalid@cair.com ----- FORMER BOSS OF S.F. FEDERATION TO AID ARABIC NETWORK - TOP Richard Greenberg, Washington Jewish Week, 10/8/09 Tom Dine, the executive director of AIPAC from 1980 to 1993 and the CEO of the S.F.-based federation from 2005 to 2007, has been hired as a communications consultant by Middle East Broadcasting Networks, a U.S. governmentfunded nonprofit devoted to courting the region’s Arabs. MBN, which was created by an act of Congress in 2003, operates a television station, al-Hurra (Arabic for “the free one”), and a radio station, Radio Sawa. The two news outlets are would-be alternatives to Mideast broadcasting giants such as al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya, whose content is often regarded as biased against Israel and the West… Contacted earlier this week, Ibrahim Hooper, communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, questioned Dine’s appointment. “On its face, al-Hurra is trying to project an American viewpoint to the Arabic-speaking world, and I don’t know if that would be helped by hiring the former head of a pro-Israel lobbying group,” Hooper said. (More) ----- NEARLY 1 IN 4 PEOPLE WORLDWIDE IS MUSLIM, REPORT SAYS - TOP There are about 1.57 billion Muslims in the world, according to the report Richard Allen Greene, CNN, 10/8/09 (CNN) -- Nearly one in four people worldwide is Muslim -- and they are not necessarily where you might think, according to an extensive new study that aims to map the global Muslim population. India, a majority-Hindu country, has more Muslims than any country except for Indonesia and Pakistan, and more than twice as many as Egypt. China has more Muslims than Syria. Germany has more Muslims than Lebanon. And Russia has more Muslims than Jordan and Libya put together. Nearly two out of three of the world's Muslims are in Asia, stretching from Turkey to Indonesia. The Middle East and north Africa, which together are home to about one in five of the world's Muslims, trail a very distant second. There are about 1.57 billion Muslims in the world, according to the report, "Mapping the Global Muslim Population," by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. That represents about 23 percent of the total global population of 6.8 billion. (More)