.S. MUSLIMS TO MARK END OF HAJJ WITH PRAYERS - TOP
WHAT: On Tuesday, November 16, American Muslims will mark the end of the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, or Hajj, with communal prayers and celebrations at locations around the country.
The prayers and the holiday that follows are called Eid ul-Adha (EED-al-ODD-ha), or "festival of the sacrifice." Eid ul-Adha also commemorates the Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael at God's command. The holiday is celebrated with the prayers, small gifts for children, distribution of meat to the needy, and social gatherings. During this holiday, Muslims exchange the greeting "Eid Mubarak" or "blessed Eid." Each year, some two million Muslims, including thousands of American Muslims, go on Hajj.
WHEN: Tuesday, November 16 - The prayers are held in the morning. Many communities also hold day-long Eid festivals for families.
WHERE: The Eid prayers and festivals are held either in local mosques or in public facilities designed to accommodate large gatherings. Call local CAIR chapters or other Muslim organizations for details about Eid celebrations. CAIR chapters may be located at:http://www.cair.com/Chapters.aspx Local Islamic institutions may also be found at:http://www.islamicfinder.org/
PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: Each year, Muslims from America and many different countries come to the prayers in colorful dress. The prayers themselves are quite visual, with worshipers arranged in neat rows and bowing in prayer in unison. Participants exchange embraces at the conclusion of the prayers.
NOTE: Because this is a religious service, reporters and photographers of both sexes should dress modestly. Photographers should arrive early to get into position for the best shots. Photographers are also advised not to step directly in front of worshipers and to seek permission for close-up shots.
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, 202-744-7726, or 202-488-8787, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com
SEE ALSO:
12,000 AMERICAN MUSLIMS TO MAKE PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA - TOP
By Omar Sacirbey, Religion News Service, 11/11/10
Some 12,000 American Muslims are expected to join an estimated 2.5 million pilgrims in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca for the hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage that this year runs Sunday through Thursday.
The number of pilgrims expected is about the same as in recent years, said Nail Al-Jubeir, a spokesman for the Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington, D.C., which limits pilgrimage visits to once every five years.
Islam requires followers who are physically and financially capable to complete the hajj once in their lifetime. (More)
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CAIR: KANSAS LAWMAKER EQUATES U.S. MUSLIMS, KILLERS - TOP
Kansas lawmaker says he didn't mean to offend anyone
By Tim Carpenter, Topeka Capitol-Journal, 11/11/10
The Kansas Democratic Party requested Thursday that a Kansas House Republican retract his statements suggesting that Muslims can't be considered good Americans.
Rep. Joe Seiwert, a Pretty Prairie Republican re-elected this month to another two-year term, sent an e-mail recently to about 40 people indicating Muslims couldn't be considered U.S. patriots because they owed their allegiance to Islam.
He also said during an interview with The Hutchinson News that he stood by his belief regarding the loyalty of Muslims.
When asked about the Muslims living in Reno County, Seiwert said: "Sure, there's murderers. There's tax evasion people. There's all kinds of people" living in his district....
Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the message is "one of the more prominent anti-Muslim e-mails out there."
"Unfortunately, there are a lot of these anti-Muslim e-mails that have gone viral on the Internet," he said. "Obviously, it would trouble us anytime an elected official would promote anti-Islamic bigotry." (More)
SEE ALSO:
KAN. LEGISLATOR FORWARDS ANTI-MUSLIM E-MAIL - TOP
John Hanna, Associated Press, 11/11/10
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- A Kansas House member said Thursday that he didn't mean to offend anyone by forwarding a long-circulating e-mail message arguing that good Muslims can't be good Americans because their highest loyalty is to Islam. (More)
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HEARING OVER TENN. MOSQUE TURNS INTO 'CIRCUS' OF ATTACKS ON ISLAM, VAGUE RUMORS OF MUSLIM PLOT - TOP
Travis Loller, Associated Press, 11/11/10
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) -- Islam is suddenly on trial in a booming Nashville suburb, where opponents of a new mosque have spent six days in court trying to link it to what they claim is a conspiracy to take over America by imposing restrictive religious rule. (More)
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CAIR-SAN DIEGO: LETTER TO THE EDITOR: FAR FROM THE TRUTH: THE OBFUSCATION OF ISLAMOPHOBIA AND GETTING BEYOND IRRATIONAL FEARS - TOP
San Diego Daily Transcript, 11/11/10
Professor Kathryn Fehrman in her Oct. 27 opinion editorial "Juan Williams and the beiging of America," The Daily Transcript, Oct. 28, (sddt.com/Commentary/article.cfm?Commentary_ID=202&SourceCode=20101027tzd), addresses "politically correct America" citing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and "telling the truth" as valid reasons to profile Muslims on planes. She uses these reasons along with the memory of the tragedy of Sept. 11 to defend the obviously prejudiced remarks made by Juan Williams, who was recently fired from NPR because of them.
The problem with her analysis is that it only reinforces stereotyping and discrimination against the vast majority of Muslims, who are not extremists and who would never commit acts of terrorism. Fehrman regurgitated the claims that Juan Williams made on Fox about Muslims on a plane, "looking like the bad guys." Juan Williams though was very specific, saying Muslims "dressed in Muslim garb." When we look at the past and recent terrorist attacks both carried out and foiled in America however, none of them dressed in "Muslim garb."
Two examples come to mind to prove my point. The 9/11 hijackers wore western-style clothing and many of them were even clean-shaven. Fast-forward to the foiled "underwear bomber," Abdulmutalib was clean shaven, wore western clothes and if one were to just look at him based on appearance, one would generally think that he didn't "look" Muslim. If anything he could have passed as an African-American.
What is even more interesting is Juan Williams' response back in 1986 to Richard Cohen's article in the Washington Post Magazine that defended jewelry store owners who wouldn't buzz in young black men. His response appeared in the New Republic where he said, "Racism is a lazy man's substitute for using good judgment ... Common sense becomes racism when skin color becomes a formula for figuring out who is a danger to me." Apparently, Juan Williams failed to live up to his own standards.
A recent article from FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting) offers additional reflection on William's comments:
"... Williams needs to take a hard look at his comment about his fear of Muslims. If you feel fear every time you see someone getting on a plane in Muslim garb, then you have an irrational prejudice. Your worry about Muslim terrorists has extended to all Muslims in the same way that Americans during World War II distrusted all Japanese. Furthermore, it is irrational to believe that a Muslim terrorist would board an airplane looking Muslim at all. Williams is prejudiced against Muslims, and just can't see it. It doesn't matter that he went on to say that he's against any statements that would incite violence against Muslims. He's prejudiced and his comment offended Muslims."
So all this talk about "truth-telling" and accusing people of "political-correctness," when calling out prejudice, is but an obfuscation of the growing problem of Islamophobia in America. If we are to have an honest dialogue, it has to be without Islamophobic paranoia.
We should be cooling the fires of anti-Muslim sentiment in this country, not fueling it as Fehrman has done in defending Juan Williams.
-- Edgar Hopida, public relations director
Council on American-Islamic Relations, San Diego Chapter
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-NJ REP JOINS PANEL DISCUSSION ON ISLAMOPHOBIA - TOP
(South Plainfield, NJ, 11/11/10) -- The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ) yesterday participated in a panel discussion entitled "Islamphobia: Terrorism or Tragedy?" The student organized event was held at the Cook Campus Center of Rutgers University.
As the keynote, CAIR-NJ Executive Director James Yee spoke about the growing climate of hostility and fear toward Islam and Muslims, and how it impacts the community.
"The recent wave of hate-mongering targeting Islam and Muslims throughout the country is alarming, especially because we've seen a spate of hate crimes, several of which were quite violent," said James Yee. He further pointed to the importance of program events like this one to help create dialogue and foster mutual understanding.
Other panelists included a Rutgers University professor and Rutgers young professional graduate.
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties group. 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-NJ Executive Director James Yee, 908-938-5990, E-Mail: jyee@cair.com
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FL: ANTI-ISLAM RADIO HOST QUITS D.C. JOB - TOP
The Associated Press
Joyce Kaufman announced on her live show that she would not be Republican U.S. Rep.-elect Allen West's aide because she wanted to avoid any repercussions against him for her statements. Kaufman is known for making controversial pronouncements on her show and told a recent tea party rally that if "ballots don't work, bullets will." (More)
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MORE THAN 750 TURN OUT FOR CAIR-SFBA BANQUET - TOP
(SAN FRANCISCO, CA, 11/12/10) -- More than 750 people turned out Sunday for the 16th annual banquet of the San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA).
This year's banquet was moderated by CAIR-SFBA Vice President Athar Siddiqee. Opening remarks at the banquet were delivered by CAIR-CA Chairman Masoud Nassimi, who encouraged attendees to engage in CAIR's critical work.
Linda Moreno, defense attorney for Dr. Sami Al-Arian; Ambassador Attallah Shabazz, eldest daughter of Malcolm X; and Imam Siraj Wahhaj, Imam of At-Taqwa Mosque in New York gave powerful addresses on facing Islamophobic attacks with confidence and assertiveness and supporting civil rights advocacy work.
"Funding civil liberties work is in the finest and noblest traditions in this country, and we see when we look at the NAACP just what they've done. Seventy years ago black people had no equal voting rights. Couldn't intermarry. No due process. Some of that sound familiar? So, what they did and how that changed is they went to court. That's how that changed. And I want to tell you that's how it's going to change, from my perspective, as a trial lawyer, as an eye witness to what's going on. The unfinished business of civil liberties is in the court room," said Linda Moreno. She added, "Make the president do the right thing. Give to CAIR."
SEE: Transcript of Attorney Linda Moreno's Speech
This year has been particularly challenging for the American Muslim community, in terms of combating Islamophobia and upholding civil liberties as well as holding government agencies such as the FBI accountable for abusive and manipulative tactics against American Muslims. Additionally this year, the Muslim community was grateful for the tremendous support offered by members of the interfaith communities.
Four awards were given at Sunday's banquet to individuals and organizations who stood up for American Muslims' First Amendment rights, and individuals who refused to give up their basic civil liberties in the face of adversity. The 2010 awards were given in promoting justice, empowering American Muslims and enhancing understanding categories. An added highlight of the evening was CAIR-SFBA's engagement with Muslim youth, through the perspective of a Muslim Youth Leadership Program 2010 alumnus, Zayd Parrekh.
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-SFBA Executive Director Zahra Billoo, 626.252.0885, E-Mail: zbilloo@cair.com
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CAIR-NY ACTION: BE A PART OF THE GREEN MOVEMENT - TOP
CAIR-NY is calling on area Muslims and others who want to help take care of the environment to volunteer in an effort to clean up a community garden in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn and prepare it for winter this Saturday, November 13.
"Green Your Deen in the Garden" is an interfaith service project launched by Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, author of "Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet." Abdul-Matin has been featured on ABC News' "This Week with Christiane Amanpour," was interviewed by Scott Barbot of America.gov.
ACTION REQUESTED
1. Volunteer. To participate in "Green Your Deen in the Garden" on Saturday, November 13, RSVP here: http://on.fb.me/axO01w and email fali@cair.com.
2. Encourage others to get involved. Forward this alert to your friends and family.
To learn more about the Green Movement visit: http://www.greendeenbook.com/ or email greendeenbook@gmail.com.
What: "Green Your Deen in the Garden"
Where: 677 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY
When: Saturday, November 13, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
This event is co-sponsored by CAIR-NY, the Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals-NY, Green Thumb NYC, and World Faith.
CAIR-NY's participation in this activity is part of "Muslims Care," an ongoing program designed to encourage volunteerism in the American Muslim community.
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CAIR-NJ PARTICIPATES IN MEDICAL CONFERENCE - TOP
(SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ, 11/12/10) -- The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NJ) yesterday participated in the New Jersey Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NJHPCO) 2010 Annual Conference held in Eatontown, New Jersey.
CAIR-NJ Executive Director James Yee was invited to take part in a workshop entitled "What's Next: A Multi-Faith Discussion on Death & Dying."
Yee gave a presentation on the Islamic perspective of death and dying. The workshop organized by Atlantic Home Care & Hospice addressed an audience of hospice employees that included administrators, social workers, nurses, chaplain coordinators, and volunteers.
"We welcome the opportunity to familiarize those working in hospice care with Muslim beliefs, traditions and practices they may encounter in the field," said CAIR-NJ Executive Director James Yee. "By accommodating patients' religious practices, medical professionals can better provide a more holistic quality of care."
CAIR-NJ commends NJHPCO and Atlantic Home Care & Hospice for recognizing a growing American Muslim community when training to meet the needs of a diverse medical patient population.
Other presenters included clergy and educators from the Christian, Jewish and Buddhist communities.
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties group. 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-NJ Executive Director James Yee, 908-938-5990, E-Mail: jyee@cair.com
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