JOIN IMAM SIRAJ WAHHAJ AT CAIR’S 15TH ANNUAL BANQUET - TOP

To register online or to purchase a table for the dinner, go to: http://www.cair.com/banquet/

If you need more information or would like to volunteer to help organize this important event, please e-mail: banquet@cair.com

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CAIR-SAN ANTONIO BANQUET AND FUND-RAISER - TOP
San Antonio Express-News, 10/3/09

The Council on American-Islamic Relations San Antonio Chapter will have a banquet and fund-raiser from 6 to 9 p.m. Oct. 11 at the Leon Valley Community Center, 6427 Evers Road. The speakers will be author and former Congressman Paul Findley and North Carolina State Sen. Larry Shaw, who is chairman of the national CAIR board, and Iman Siraj Wahaj. Tickets are $25 and $20 for students. For more information and to buy tickets, call (210) 495-1786 or (210) 373-3821.

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PROBES TEST TRUST THAT AUTHORITIES STROVE TO WIN FROM U.S. MUSLIMS - TOP
Carrie Johnson and Robin Shulman, Washington Post, 10/5/09

Investigators seeking to uncover terrorist plots for years have walked a fine line between keeping tabs on the Muslim community and alienating the same people who could serve as an early warning signal…

The civil liberties concerns resounded again after the FBI released its Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide on Sept. 25 as part of a lawsuit by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Muslim Advocates. The guidelines amount to a road map for agents who are conducting investigations, but some of the most sensitive material, about agents' undisclosed participation as informants stationed in mosques and churches, was blacked out in the report.

Nadhira al-Khalili, national legal counsel at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said in a statement that the guidelines could "inevitably lead to violations of the Constitution and the right of all Americans to practice their faith without fear of government intrusion or intimidation."

CAIR and the American Civil Liberties Union called upon the Justice Department and Congress to overhaul the guidelines to ensure that FBI agents are acting in line with the law. But supporters of the guidelines say they were developed in consultation with religious and civil liberties groups, and were the subject of three congressional hearings. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. made a point to visit a mosque during a trip to the Los Angeles area in July, where he emphasized the administration's desire to work with the Muslim community and protect civil liberties…

In July, CAIR blasted law enforcement agencies for allegedly engaging in deception to gain entry into the North Carolina home of Muslim convert Daniel P. Boyd, who is fighting charges of supporting terrorism overseas and unlawfully selling firearms.

Boyd's wife told local newspaper reporters in Raleigh that a man knocking on her door told her that her husband and sons were in a car crash and that she needed to accompany him to the hospital, where she was handcuffed and detained. CAIR officials wrote the Justice Department a letter calling the tactic a "cruel trick." (More)

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FIRED MUSLIM INSTRUCTOR SUES FOR DISCRIMINATION - TOP
CBS2, 10/5/09

A Palestinian Muslim instructor filed a federal discrimination lawsuit Monday against Columbia College Chicago, claiming she was terminated after a student falsely reported she made an anti-Semitic comment in class. (More)

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CAIR TAKES PART IN INTERNATIONAL INTERFAITH DIALOGUE - TOP

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 10/5/09) - Representatives of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) last week took part in an international interfaith conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

CAIR National Board Chairman State Senator Larry Shaw (N.C.) and CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad joined other international religious leaders at the two-day conference sponsored by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah and under the patronage of Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz.

“It is vitally important that religious leaders come together to help make our world a better place for people of all faiths,” said Sen. Shaw.

More than 150 religious leaders, academics and prominent personalities from around the world took part in the conference. Other American participants included Rabbi Steven Jacobs, Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Kol Tikvah in California.

The Geneva conference was the fourth such interfaith initiative resulting from the International Islamic Conference for Dialogue held in Mecca in 2008. Follow-up conferences and events were held in Spain, Austria and the United States.

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-SAN DIEGO CO-HOSTS MUSLIM COMMUNITY HEALTH FAIR - TOP

(SAN DIEGO, CA, 10/5/09) - On Saturday, October 3, the San Diego office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-San Diego), along with Logan Islamic Community Center (LICC), held a Community Health Fair at the LICC parking lot. The event was part of CAIR’s national “Muslims Care” campaign and of President Obama’s “United We Serve” initiative.

United We Serve is a nationwide service initiative that will help meet growing social needs resulting from the economic downturn.

Muslims Care, an ongoing CAIR program, is designed to encourage volunteerism in the American Muslim community. CAIR’s initiative is being coordinated with “Muslim Americans Answer the Call,” a nationwide grass-roots campaign to mobilize American Muslims to answer President Obama’s call to service.

The Health fair WAS part of the theme of Health Awareness.Health Awareness aims to raise public awareness of major health issues affecting our society, help those at risk to identify symptoms, encourage those with symptoms to seek help at an early stage, and campaign for access to the best treatments and services for all.

“Logan Islamic Community Center has always been an excellent partner in volunteerism and service to low-income communities in San Diego,” said CAIR-San Diego Public Relations Director Edgar Hopida, who was among the organizers of the Community Health Fair. “This is our second year of partnering with LICC in organizing community health fairs.”

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.

CONTACT: CAIR San Diego Public Relations Director Edgar Hopida, 619-913-0719, E-Mail: ehopida@cair.com

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CAIR-MI REP OFFERS INFO ON ISLAM TO JOURNALISM STUDENTS - TOP

(SOUTHFIELD, MI, 10/5/09) A representative of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) today gave a presentation about misconceptions about American Muslims to journalism students at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid discussed American Muslim demographics and mainstream Muslim organizations' records of encouraging civic engagement and condemning extremism.

“We welcome such opportunities to clarify common misconceptions about American Muslims and to answer basic questions about Islamic beliefs with our nation's future journalists,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid.

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, 248-559-2247 or e-mail: dwalid@cair.com

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CAIR-MI: MUSLIM PARENTS OBJECT TO BIBLE STUDY FORM GIVEN TO STUDENTS - TOP

View the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8BJENrolAs

ROSEVILLE, Mich. (WXYZ) - A religious flier is stirring controversy in one area school district.

Roseville Community Schools officials said it was a mistake to allow permission slips for a bible study class to be given to students.

"The mistake we made is we passed the slips out and the onus should be on parents to seek them out," said Michael LaFeve, assistant superintendent of instruction for the school district.

Officials say a meeting is planned for next week to discuss how the slips were distributed and how to avoid repeating the mistake.

The matter was brought to the attention of school personnel by a Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization based in Southfield. The group sent Roseville Schools a letter of complaint.

The group's primary concern is parents may interpret that the school advocates sending their children to the bible study class because the permission slips came from teachers.

State law makes it illegal for any public school to advocate a single religion or congregation.

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CAIR-GA: Prayers as Forsyth OKs Its First Mosque - TOP
Enmity marked June meeting on effort, but Muslims kept the faith.
Christopher Quinn, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10/3/09

Jack Hamilton, a Southern Baptist with an exotic look inherited from his Thai mother, discovered this summer what it was like to be a Muslim in Georgia.

Not all of it was pleasant.

Hamilton, an engineer, helped a group of Muslims win Forsyth County's approval Thursday to build the county's first mosque.

While helping run a county-mandated community meeting in June to explain to residents plans for the 12 acres Muslims bought, Hamilton, with his dark skin and black hair, became the target of ire and prejudice.

Someone asked in the meeting how many of the members were in the U.S. legally. Another asked where their money to build the mosque came from, and several people simply said, "We don't want you here," he recalled.

Hamilton was talking to people after the meeting when one of the neighbors walked up.

"Didn't I see you standing by the side of the road looking for a job?" the neighbor shot the engineer's way.

Another asked, "You are one of those Muslims, aren't you?"

Wendell Walls, who lives near the mosque, said in August that he has never heard a Muslim say anything against religious radicals in the faith, indicating that they should speak up if they are against extremists.

"To me that says a whole lot," he said.

Hamilton and others were relieved Thursday when the overtones of faith and fear disappeared when residents commented on the development in front of the commissioners.

The discussion stuck to concerns about trees cut down, traffic, environmental impacts and the effect on property values.

Tom Pappagallo, an opposition organizer, said he and others tried hard to make sure the discussion did not devolve into a religious battle...

Yusof Burke, a spokesman for the Council of American-Islamic Relations in Georgia, said mosques do get opposition for religious reasons, even though Muslims are no longer strangers to Georgia. The growth of Atlanta as an international city in recent decades has brought Muslims from around the world. There are about 37 mosques in metro Atlanta and an estimated 80,000 Muslims, he said. (More)

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ISLAM IN THE OZARKS: DIVERSITY WITHIN THE MOSQUE - TOP
Jennifer Moore, KSMU, 10/5/09

This week, we’re continuing our series looking into the landscape of religious communities in the Ozarks, in which we explore lesser known faith groups. Today, KSMU’s Jennifer Moore speaks with members of the Islamic community of southwest Missouri, and looks at the diversity within local mosques. (More)