CTION ALERT #627

ACTION: MUSLIMS' VOTES COULD BE DECIDING FACTOR ON NOV. 2 - TOP
CAIR urges American Muslim voters to go to the polls on Tuesday

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/1/10) -- CAIR is encouraging American Muslims voters to go to the polls on Tuesday and vote for the candidates of their choice.

American Muslim groups, including CAIR, have been encouraging voter registration and participation in the months and weeks leading up to tomorrow's election.

SEE: Muslim Teens Work to Get Out the Vote
CAIR-NY: Muslim Voters Face Difficult Choice in Tuesday's Election
Park 51 Debate Spurs New York's Muslims to go to the Polls

"In this election, there are many close races nationwide in which Muslims' votes could be the deciding factor," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "American Muslims, like all other citizens, will vote for those who address their concerns about the economy, health care, and other domestic and foreign policies."

Awad noted that CAIR recently issued voter guides for a number of states. The guides are designed to inform Muslim voters about polling times and locations, how to register to vote, how to cast an absentee ballot, and about voter rights in each state.

CAIR has also published a "Civic Participation Handbook" designed to provide best practices and step-by-step guides for everything from holding voter registration drives to making the most of a meeting with elected officials.

ACTIONS REQUESTED:

1. Make plans to go to the polls on Tuesday. If you have questions about how or where to vote, consult the CAIR Voter Guides or visit: http://www.vote411.org/

2. Encourage others to vote and help them to get to the polls.

3. Report any civil rights violations at the polls to the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice. To make a report, go to:http://www.justice.gov/crt/election2010contact.php

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CAIR-OH: RALLY TRIES TO BUILD BRIDGES - TOP
Silent marchers promote respect, awareness for all kinds of diversity
Frank Thomas, Columbus Dispatch, 11/1/10

They marched in silence, more than 150 of them.

Some were white; others, black. Some were Christian, and others were Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, agnostic or atheist.

They marched in yesterday's Rally for Inclusion, and they all sought the same goal: understanding and universal respect. ...

The rally began with a service at the First Congregational Church, 444 E Broad St., and continued with a march to the Statehouse about a half mile away. Leaders from many faiths and organizations attended.

"Aren't American Muslims entitled to belong to America?" asked Zeinab Schwen during the service. She's the state president of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

Hate speech and discrimination are aimed at minorities - the "others," she said. In the past, the "others" have included Irish, Italian, Jewish and African-American.

"Will we ever learn from history?" she asked the crowd. "If we are all others, who is an American?" (More)

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CAIR-MI REP SPEAKS ABOUT CIVIL RIGHTS TO SOMALI STUDENT GROUP - TOP

(SOUTHFIELD, MI 11/1/10) -- A representative of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) recently gave a lecture to a Somali-American student group about the importance of protecting civil rights of Americans in light of history and contemporary challenges at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich.

CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid gave a speech titled, "Civil Liberties, Muslim Americans, and the Movement for Social Justice," which drew parallels between the encroachment on civil rights and violation of privacy by law enforcement entities of African-Americans during the civil rights movement and current challenges faced by Somali-Americans and American Muslims in general.

The event was sponsored by the Somali Association of Michigan at Michigan State University.

"We welcome such opportunities to educate students about the need to be vigilant in ensuring national security without compromising civil liberties," said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid.

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-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid, 248-559-2248, E-Mail:dwalid@cair.com

SEE ALSO:

RESPECTING MUSLIM PATIENTS' NEEDS - TOP
By Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times, 11/1/10

A woman in her mid-30s wearing a hijab, the traditional Muslim head covering, comes to an urgent care center complaining of leg pain. The first thing she asks: “Are there any woman doctors around?"

She declines to be alone in an exam room with a male doctor. She does not want to be touched by a man who is not a family member, even as part of a medical examination.

It's a hypothetical situation, recounted in a new paper in The Journal of Medical Ethics, but the scenario neatly summarizes some of the dilemmas confronting health care workers in hospitals serving observant Muslim patients. When the traditional health care system cannot accommodate their needs, what are doctors and nurses to do?

Dr. Aasim I. Padela, an emergency room physician at the University of Michigan, has some ideas. In the new paper, published on Monday, he explains the basic tenets of Islamic medical ethics, with recommendations about accommodating Muslim sensitivities within the health care system. (More)

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MI: OBAMA ADVISER DECRIES ANTI-ISLAM SENTIMENTS - TOP
Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 10/31/10

Speaking to about 400 people in Livonia, President Barack Obama's envoy to the Muslim world said there is a "disturbing rise in anti-Islamic sentiment" that may be caused in part by the poor economy.

"The things you can say about Islam you can't say about any other faith," Rashad Hussain, Special Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, said Saturday night at the annual fund-raising dinner of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, a Muslim-founded think tank based in Clinton Township. "During tough economic times, groups that are seen to be the other ... the scapegoating can increase."

Hussain travels the world on behalf of the U.S. government to improve outreach to the Muslim world. Metro Detroit has a sizeable Muslim population.

Hussain said he's concerned about the increasing vitriol directed at Muslims, which he said may be due to their increasing visibility in the U.S.

It's a "reaction to a lot of progress made by Muslim communities," he said. (More)

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A SLAVE AND SCHOLAR, OMAR IBN SAID LED AN EXCEPTIONAL LIFE - TOP
By Michael Futch, Fayetteville Observer, 10/30/10

Omar Ibn Said spent much of his life as a slave on a Bladen County plantation, but some claimed he was reared as a Muslim prince in Africa.

The deeply religious man lived a life of celebrity, the subject of national newspaper and magazine stories despite his lowly status in the antebellum South.

Said (who last name also is spelled Sayyid, Saeed and Sa'id) is believed to have come to the United States in 1807, shortly before the foreign slave trade ceased. He would live deep into old age during the Civil War and died in 1863, before Congress passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution that abolished slavery.

Next Friday, the state will unveil a roadside historical marker honoring Said in front of the mosque named for him on Murchison Road. (More)