CAIR-LA: ANOTHER U.S. MOSQUE FACES OPPOSITION - TOP
By Jeff Horseman, The Press-Enterprise, 7/11/10
Heated debate over the nature of Islam is overshadowing plans to build a mosque in northeast Temecula.
Critics, including the pastor of a church next to the mosque site, say the worship center is a bad fit for the area. They're also concerned with what they describe as Islam's extreme agenda of expansion.
The Islamic Center of Temecula Valley's imam, or prayer leader, said his group is peaceful and only seeks more room to serve its members. And the civil rights manager for a Muslim-American advocacy group said the mosque's critics are ignorant, if not bigoted . . .
"When churches decide to expand or build facilities, what's the purpose behind that?" asked Affad Sheikh, civil rights manager with the Greater Los Angeles Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "Why is this question being asked of the Muslim community?" (More)
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NY MOSQUE OPPOSITION CONTINUES - TOP
By Casey Seiler, Times Union, 7/11/10
. . . In a letter to his Democratic opponent, Lazio said that the people of New York need more answers about where the $100 million for the project was coming from, and noted that Rauf had passed up an opportunity to denounce the Palestinian group Hamas as a terrorist organization. Lazio also alluded to Rauf's involvement with the Perdana Global Peace Organization, a primary donor to the Free Gaza Movement, which has attempted to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians in violation of Israel's naval blockade.
Do any of the above constitute probable cause for an investigation? Only if you think the development of a mosque deserves greater law enforcement scrutiny than the construction of a church or synagogue, or if you think people who utilize their First Amendment rights should be barred from building things in Lower Manhattan. (More)
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GROUP PLANS TO COUNTER PROTEST IN SUPPORT OF 'RELIGIOUS FREEDOM' - TOP
The Daily News Journal, 7/10/10
A group formed in support of the rights of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro will rally on the Public Square as a way to counter a protest march against the center on Wednesday.
Middle Tennesseans for Religious Freedom is organizing the event in response to local resident Kevin Fisher's plans to lead a march on Main Street to the County Courthouse (More)
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CAIR VIDEO: U.S. MUSLIM TRAVELERS WARNED OF 'FORCED EXILE'? - TOP
By Rhonda Pence, Press TV, 7/10/10
The Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a travel advisory Friday warning American Muslims of the risk of "forced exile" when traveling overseas or attempting to return to the United States. (More)
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CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES ARRAIGNED - TOP
4 Missionaries Arrested For Handing Out Literature
WDIV, 7/12/10
DEARBORN, Mich. -- Four Christian missionaries who were arrested at Dearborn's Arab American Festival were arraigned Monday on misdemeanor charges of disturbing the peace.
Charged were Negeen Mayel, Dr. Nabeel Qureshi, Paul Rezkalla and David Wood Mayel, all members of a group called "Acts 17 Apologetics."
Negeen Mayel faces an additional charge of disobeying an officer.
They all pleaded not guilty.
The four were arrested on June 18 while handing out Christian literature and videotaping themselves.
The group said they were arrested over religion, but police insist that it's not true, and continue to stand behind their arrest. Dearborn Mayor Jack O'Reilly defends his police department's arrest, saying he saw the video police confiscated from them and he believes the missionaries came into town to cause trouble.
Reilly said the video shows the group's ulterior motive, which was to seek out Arabs in the crowd and try to rile them up by preaching to them.
"They look for a mark. They look for someone they know is going to be agitated with, for someone who is going to be engaged in a very heated way, and use that to draw a crowd," said Reilly.
Reilly said they use the videotape of the angry Arabs to solicit donations from other Christians to fund their missionary operation around the country. . .
Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the four were not arrested for religious reasons, but because they did not follow the festival's rules, which were that religious groups could only hand out material in designated areas after paying for booth space. (More)
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CAIR-OH: FORUM HOPES TO CHALLENGE MISCONCEPTIONS IN AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS - TOP
By Megan Milstead and Megan Weiland, Miami Student, 7/11/10
Hoping to connect Cincinnati to Israel and Detroit to Saudi Arabia, the "Middle East in the Midwest" forum Thursday brought race, religion and politics together in one room . . .
"There are many ways people can feel connected to a place that is millions of miles away," said Mark Peterson, assistant professor of anthropology and organizer of the speakers for the event . . .
Peterson said the media helps create those certain stereotypes.
"When the term Arab or Muslim is used, people have a very narrow range of what this means based on a handful of images repeated over and over again in the media," he said. "One thing I hope from this year is to broaden the kind of things our students recognize as being about the Middle East” . . .
The forum continued with peace activist and chair of the Cincinnati Committee of the Council of American-Islamic Relations for Ohio, Zeinab Schwen, speaking on "American Muslims Under Fire" and Father Marcos Ghali on Ohio's Coptic Community.
"Student involvement and education is crucial for faculty and country changes," Ghali said about the stereotypes often tacked on to people of Middle Eastern descent.
Stanley Toops, chair of the Middle East and Islamic studies program, reiterated that the Midwest is an important focus because of the growth of people with Middle Eastern descent in the area.
"I think that people will get a broader idea of the situation in specifically the Midwest," Toops said. "It could be people whose ancestors were from (the Middle East). There are quite a few Arabs in the Ohio/Michigan area and it's just a product of the immigration that has taken place. There are more people with that Arab heritage in the Midwest." (More)
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CAIR-CHICAGO: OAK BROOK HOTEL BACKS OUT ON MUSLIM GROUP'S CONFERENCE - TOP
By Manya A. Brachear, Chicago Tribune, 7/10/10
The controversial American arm of an international Islamic group has been bounced from the Marriott in Oak Brook, where organizers were set to host the group's second annual conference this Sunday.
Organizers of Hizb ut-Tahrir, Muslim activists who publicly advocate peaceful government reform, hope to find another venue for their meeting before the end of July.
Critics believe the conference, dedicated to reviving the prevailing system of rule that immediately followed the death of the Prophet Muhammad, is an effort to turn American Muslims against the U.S. government . . .
Mohamad Nasir, executive director of the Council for Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, said the group's audience pales compared with other Muslim organizations that traditionally meet in Chicago. Last year's Hizb ut-Tahrir gathering drew about 900 participants. On July 4 weekend, the Islamic Society of North America drew about 30,000 participants.
Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Council for American-Islamic Relations, said he doesn't agree with the principles of Hizb ut-Tahrir, but believes the group is entitled to freedom of speech and assembly like any other group in the U.S.
"They are a minority group among Muslims and their ideology is considered sensational by mainstream communities," Rehab said. "Despite their best efforts, they are neither persuasive nor effective." (More)
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CAIR-MN VIDEO: ST. CLOUD GRAFFITI MAY BE INVESTIGATED AS HATE CRIME - TOP
St. Cloud Times, 7/9/10
Early Thursday morning Hared Jabril arrived to open up his market in St. Cloud and discovered his business had been vandalized.
In bright red graffiti the words "Go Home" had been painted on the windows of Hormud Meat and Grocery.
"I don't know why," Jabril said Friday morning.
While Jabril was born and raised in Nairobi, he immigrated to the U.S. in 2001 and says has been a proud citizen of this country and St. Cloud ever since.
"Go home; this is my home," Jabril said. Thankfully, Jabril says he can laugh it off but it is most certainly not funny. Especially, since it happened in St. Cloud. A city that has over the years, been the stage for similar events.
"That it keeps happening is putting people on edge," Council on American-Islamic relations president Lori Saroya said Friday. (More)
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VIDEO: CAIR-TAMPA AT THE 2010 TEMPLE TERRACE 4TH OF JULY PARADE - TOP
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWefhLCjhZs
American Muslims from all over the greater Tampa Bay area participated in the 2010 Temple Terrace 4th of July parade. The theme of this year's float was "Many Faces, One Nation."
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MUSLIM WOMAN SUES SOMERSET MEDICAL CENTER FOR RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION - TOP
By Jennifer Golson, The Star-Ledger, 7/11/10
Rona Mohammedi went to Somerset Medical Center the night of Feb. 11 with severe chest pains. After hearing she would need an electrocardiogram, she asked for a female to conduct the test.
A Muslim, Mohammedi wears traditional garb, including the hijab, or head scarf. The Basking Ridge woman believes it is her religious duty to maintain modesty before strange men, and an EKG calls for wires to be applied to the chest, shoulders and wrists.
Instead of heeding her request, officials let her languish in the emergency room for five hours until 3:10 a.m., when her husband sought a transfer. She is suing the hospital for discrimination and violating the Patient Bill of Rights.
The complaint filed May 14 in Superior Court in Somerville raises the question of how far hospitals must go for religious accommodations. The rights listed in state statutes say patients can expect treatment without discrimination, and respectful care consistent with sound medical practices.
Mohammedi's lawyer, Tariq Hussain, said the hospital failed those basic tenets.
"According to the patients' bill of rights that exist in New Jersey, hospitals are required to make reasonable accommodations for patients for various reasons," he said. "Patients should not be denied service or discriminated against based on religion." (More)