CAIR CONDEMNS CHURCH ATTACKS IN EGYPT, NIGERIA - TOP
U.S. Muslim group asks authorities to bring perpetrators to justice

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/3/11) -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today condemned both a New Year's Day attack on a church in Egypt and a series of attacks on churches in Nigeria.

SEE: Alexandria Church Bomb: Egypt Police on High Alert
Church Burned in Nigeria: Police

In a statement, CAIR said:

"We condemn the heinous attacks on churches in Egypt and Nigeria and repudiate the apparent motive of the perpetrators to harm long-term relations between Muslims and Christians. We offer sincere condolences to the loved ones of those killed or injured and call on authorities in both nations to bring the perpetrators to justice.

"The best response to these cowardly attacks is to redouble efforts to build bridges of understanding between faiths.

"Islamic principles mandate good relations with people of other faiths and encourage constructive interfaith dialogue. As the Quran, Islam's revealed text states: '(Rest assured that) those who believe (in the Quran), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians, and the Sabians - whoever believes in God and the last day and performs good deeds - will be rewarded by their Lord. They will have nothing to fear or to regret.' (The Holy Quran, 2:62)

"The Quran also states: 'Say: 'We believe in God and the revelation given to us and to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and it is to Him that we surrender ourselves.'" (The Holy Quran, 2:136)

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

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EAST MOUNTAIN TEA PARTY OFFICIALS AND ISLAM - TOP
John Weckerle, New Mexico Central, 12/30/10

As many of our readers may remember, we took issue some time back with what we considered to be anti-Islam positions officially expressed on the East Mountain Tea Party (EMTP) web site (our articles on the subject, along with others, are now collected under the category "Tea Party-gate.").

The EMTP post informed readers that key members of the EMTP (Therese Cooper, Char Tierney, Silvana Lupetti, and Felicia Wilson), including at least two of its co-founders, had submitted a letter to Congressman Martin Heinrich's demanding that he state his position with respect to a Muslim community center proposed for downtown New York.

We objected to the anonymously-posted EMTP article, and received a surprisingly vitriolic response indicating a clear anti-Muslim bias ... The fact remains, however, that the leaders of the EMTP are members of a religious faction that - in its own writings - equates Islam with evil and Islam's deity, Allah, with Satan, and appears to consider itself at war with Islam. The EMTP web site was used not only as a platform to publish a letter signed by these people and their spiritual leader and apparently sent to pressure a U.S. Congressman to oppose the rights of Muslims in New York to build a community center; it was also used to defend that position in the context of religious discrimination. At best, this would appear to be inappropriate conduct for leaders of a political organization, and we believe that the EMTP's members and supporters should give serious thought as to whether its leadership has acted in the organization's best interests in this regard. (More)

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CAIR REP DISCUSSES ANTI-MUSLIM 'WITCH HUNT' IN CONGRESS - TOP
The Sunday Show with Philip Maldari, KPFA, 1/2/11

CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper joins the Sunday Show with Philip Maldari to discuss Rep. Peter King's (R-NY) plans to investigate what he calls the "radicalization of the American Muslim community."

Listen to the show here.

SEE ALSO:

KING'S PLAN CAN ONLY INFLAME FEARS - TOP
Dorian Dale in a letter to the editor, Albany Times Union, 1/3/11

Rep. Peter King's plan to investigate the "radicalization of the American Muslim community and homegrown terrorism" is the knee-jerk reflex of a demagogue who has made a career out of inflaming people's fears.

In his previous stint as chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, he latched onto, among others, the proposed sale (supported by the Bush administration) of six U.S. ports to DP World, one of the world's largest port operators based in Dubai. A salient fact, to which Mr. King would have most certainly been privy, was that DP World operated three of eight terminals in Hong Kong that have U.S. Customs and Border Protection Green Lane status, conferred to importers who demonstrate strong security practices and exempting them from regular inspections. In practical terms, that means elements of DP World could have slipped a "dirty bomb" into this country long ago.

But whipping up public hysteria plays far better than enhancing public understanding. No doubt Mr. King, whose glossy constituent mailings show him spending much of his time surrounded by uniforms, has heard concerns from the law enforcement community that he wants to hear.

Far be it for Mr. King to engage in Rumsfeld ruminations about whether we are creating terrorists more quickly than we are getting rid of them.

The collateral damage of demeaning and subjecting an entire religious community to animus would seem to be of no greater concern to the incoming Homeland Security Committee chairman than the very real consequence that his actions will dangerously destabilize already unstable elements on the margins of these communities.

Dorian Dale
West Gilgo Beach

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HOMELAND BLATHER - TOP
New York Times editorial, 1/1/11

It is disturbing to listen to Representative Peter King, the incoming chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. He has announced plans to hold a hearing next month into what he calls the "radicalization of the American Muslim community." Mr. King, a New York Republican, is no stranger to bluster, but his sweeping slur on Muslim citizens is unacceptable.

The new chairman, of course, acknowledges "the great majority of Muslims in our country are hardworking, dedicated Americans." At the same time he claims, with no evidence, that the hearing is urgently needed because "law enforcement officials throughout the country told me they received little or -- in most cases -- no cooperation from Muslim leaders and imams" in tracking domestic threats, according to his essay in Newsday. (More)

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CAIR REP TO SPEAK AT EPIC PANEL ON TSA SECURITY PROCEDURES JAN. 6 - TOP

Details and registration here.

The Stripping of Freedom: A Careful Scan of TSA Security Procedures

January 6, 2011

The Carnegie Institute for Science
1530 P St., NW
Washington, DC

Featured Speakers:

• Ralph Nader
  
• Rep. Rush Holt (invited)
  
• Nadhira Al-Khalili
  
• David Greenfield
  
• Kate Hanni
  
• Chip Pitts
  
• Prof. Jeffrey Rosen
  
• Michael Roberts
  
• Bruce Schneier

This one-day public conference will be devoted to an assessment of the TSA airport security procedures and recommendations for reform. Experts in law, aviation security, and health safety, advocates for flyers rights, privacy protection, and religious freedom, as well as lawmakers and policy advisors will participate in the event. The event will also include a rich media display, with images from airport protests, YouTube videos, and campaign materials.

Advance registration is preferred.

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CAIR-MI REP TO JOIN 'DIFFERENCES WITHOUT DIVISIONS: ISLAM IN AMERICA' FORUM SET JAN. 17 - TOP
Sheila Pursglove, Heritage Newspapers, 1/2/11

Despite being a majority religion in about 50 countries, the Islamic faith remains a mystery to many Americans.

A group of local residents hopes to change that by hosting a forum, "Differences Without Divisions: Islam in America," set for 7 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Chelsea District Library, 221 S. Main St,. in Chelsea. The event helps to celebrate Martin Luther King Day.

"I think, on the whole, there's a lot of interest in the community in learning more about what it means to be Muslim in this area, and also an interest in a more balanced perspective on Islam and its practitioners," said organizer Micky Howe of Chelsea.

"We're hopeful that by having this forum, it will increase understanding and tolerance for people who believe and live differently than ourselves. I strongly believe that seeds of peace can be planted in our small towns and hopefully lead to a transformation in attitudes on a larger scale."

Last year, Howe's daughter made a number of Muslim friends at the University of Michigan and in her all-women student dorm. Howe and her husband, Ray, hosted about a dozen of these women for a "hallal" Thanksgiving dinner, and later the Howes enjoyed the hospitality of a Muslim family in Dearborn. ...

Three nationally known Islamic leaders will discuss contemporary issues for Muslims living in America; a place for Muslims in the world today; American media representations of Islam and its practitioners; Islam and youth; the role of women in Islam; Islam and humanitarian service; and the future of Islam and its role in America and the world.

Imam Sayid Hassan Al-Qazwini is a scholar and religious leader at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, and a past consultant to The White House, U.S. State Department and Defense Department on Muslim affairs.

Najah Bazzy is a nurse specializing in trans-cultural health care and is the founding chair and president of Zaman International, providing food, food assistance and holiday food boxes to those in need.

Dawud Walid is executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a chapter of America's largest advocacy and civil liberties organization for Muslims.

Walid, who served in the U.S. Navy and earned two U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medals, serves as assistant Imam at Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit, and as board trustee for the Metropolitan Detroit Interfaith Workers' Rights Committee.

He has spoken at many institutions of higher learning about Islam and interfaith dialogue, presented on prominent panel discussions and, in 2008, delivered the closing benediction at the 52nd Michigan Electoral College in the Michigan State Senate chambers. (More)

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CAIR-MI REP LECTURES MUSLIM YOUTH ON DANGERS OF EXTREMISM - TOP

(SOUTHFIELD, MI, 1/3/11) -- A representative from the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) recently gave a lecture discussing Islam's stance against violent extremism to some 150 young Muslims and their parents at Masjid As-Salam in Dearborn, Mich.

CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid discussed Islam's position regarding the sanctity of all human life, the imperative of respecting the rule of law within American society, as well as how to report those who promote extremist activities over the Internet.

SEE: Dangers of Extremism

Walid also discussed how to address legitimate concerns relating to American domestic and foreign policies within appropriate, lawful parameters.

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, 248-842-1418, E-Mail: dwalid@cair.com; CAIR-MI Outreach Coordinator Raheem Hanifa, 248-559-2247, E-Mail: rhanifa@cair.com

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CAIR-NY: SUFI MUSLIMS IN US EXPECT NO APOLOGY FOR CEMETERY FLAP - TOP
Sharmila Devi, The National, 1/3/11

NEW YORK // A Sufi Muslim community about 240 kilometres north of New York City is getting back to normal after being thrust into the spotlight when officials objected to its tiny graveyard at the height of controversy last year over a planned mosque near Ground Zero.

There is no connection between Feisal Abdul Rauf, the Sufi imam behind the proposed mosque and community centre in New York City, and the group of about 30 Sufis who live in Sidney in upstate New York. But they were all embroiled in the wave of anti-Muslim sentiment that reached its apex when the United States commemorated the ninth anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Hans Hass, a spokesman for the Sufi community in Sidney, said he had requested, but did not expect to get, an apology from local officials who had wrongly accused the Sufi order of lacking the proper permits for its cemetery, where two bodies are buried.

Mr Hass, who is a US-born convert to the Sufi Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani order, said he had been heartened by the support his community had received from non-Muslim Americans.

"We got calls from all over the country and lots of people visiting us and wanting to learn more about Islam," he said. "But I'm not expecting to get an apology when these officials don't even admit they did anything wrong."

The controversy started when Robert McCarthy, a supervisor of the town of Sidney, which has a population of 6,000, called the Sufi cemetery illegal and suggested that bodies might even have to be exhumed. "You can't just bury grandma under the picnic table," he said.

The story was picked up in the national media and Mr McCarthy was branded the "worst person in the world" by Keith Olbermann, a liberal host on the MSNBC cable television channel.

Mr Hass and his fellow Sufis fought back at town hall meetings by explaining they had all the proper permits.

"We believe that it is no coincidence that this group was being asked to exhume the remains of its deceased members from the cemetery at a time when anti-Muslim sentiment has spread across the nation," said Aliya Latif, the civil-rights director for the New York chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations, which has launched a department devoted to addressing the rise of Islamophobic sentiment in US society. (More)

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GOOD NEWS:

COMMUNITY HERO 2010: ABBAS AHMAD AND HIS WIFE HAVE SPENT DECADES AS FOSTER PARENTS - TOP
Robert L. Smith, The Plain Dealer, 1/3/11

RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The call from the county can come day or night. Sometimes it's urgent. Always, it presents a challenge.

Abbas Ahmad and his wife of 31 years, Eva Jean Wilson, are typically asked to take the hard-to-place children. Volatile teens. Children who have been abused.

Their answer, usually yes, begins another emotional saga of welcoming, loving and letting go. For Ahmad, foster parenting is only part of a larger quest to be true to his faith, which means sharing his abilities and his heart.

"I wouldn't feel right if I wasn't being of service," he says simply.

The 56-year-old Richmond Heights man is a shepherd of rare reach. Ahmad is the spiritual leader of Cleveland's oldest Muslim congregation, First Cleveland Mosque, which his grandfather founded in 1937. He's a chaplain to the Cleveland Police Department and an interfaith leader as comfortable with Catholic priests as Pentecostal ministers.

He taught and coached in Cleveland schools for 30 years before retiring in 2005. In addition to raising their own three children, he and his wife have cared for about 40 foster children, most of whom they still hear from. (More)

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BLIND UF GRAD STUDENT DETERMINED TO SUCCEED - TOP
Mona Minkara has a dedicated "team" that's helping her work on her doctorate in chemistry
By Nathan Crabbe, Gainesville Sun, 1/2/11

When Mona Minkara was a girl, a doctor said she was losing her sight and told her mother that it wasn't worth spending a penny on her education.

He was right about her vision, but wrong about the trajectory of her life.

Minkara, now 23 and legally blind, just finished her first semester as a University of Florida graduate student. She's seeking a doctorate in chemistry, a subject that includes equations and other visual material that pose a particular challenge.

"I really love the material," she said. "There's no way I would be able to do this if I didn't love it."

The equations require a high level of understanding to translate into words, complicating efforts to find people to assist her. Yet more than 20 UF faculty, staff and students -- who have dubbed themselves "Team Mona" -- have joined the effort to help her seek her degree. ...

The daughter of Lebanese immigrants, Minkara was raised in the Boston area. A devoted Muslim, she decided in the sixth grade to start wearing a hijab head cover. She said some people who are blind are angry about it, but she credits her faith with helping her overcome such feelings. (More)

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NEEDS OF A STRANGER: MUSLIMS SAVING JEWS DURING WORLD WAR II - TOP
By Shane Dixon Kavanaugh, Tribeca Trib, 1/1/11

For Norman H. Gershman, it seemed like an unimaginable story. Which was why he had to see it for himself.

"Muslims that saved Jews during World War II?" Gershman said in a recent interview from his home in Basalt, Colo., just south of Aspen. "Whoever heard of that?"

Decades as a portrait photographer has taken him around the world to places as varied as Cuba, Morocco and the former Soviet Union.

But the 78-year-old Gershman said the most important work of his life would come from the photos and stories he collected for five years among the Muslims of Albania and Kosovo whose families harbored thousands of Jewish refugees during the Nazi occupation.

Beginning Jan. 4, Tribeca's Soho Photo Gallery will exhibit many of these pictures. Titled "Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews During World War II," the show reveals what had been a virtually unknown story of courage, compassion and faith, which Gershman believes needs to be told now, more than ever.

"The paranoia that's sweeping the country regarding Muslims is absolutely nuts," he said. "These photographs show quite a different story."

That story begins with a single word: Besa. It is a code of honor that's been practiced among Albanian Muslims for centuries. Rooted in teachings from the Koran, Besa compels Muslim families to place a stranger's needs above all else.

Jews fleeing to Albania were welcomed into Muslim homes, not as refugees but as guests. Entire villages would protect them. (More)

Soho Photo Gallery, 15 White St. Wed-Sun 1-6 p.m. 212-226-8571, sohophoto.com. Norman Gershman will talk about his work on Jan. 21, 6-9 p.m.

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JACKSONVILLE IMAM'S INTERFAITH WORK HOOKS GOV.-ELECT RICK SCOTT - TOP
Enrique Rasheed will participate in Tuesday's inauguration day breakfast.
By Jeff Brumley, The Times-Union, 1/2/11

Jacksonville Imam Enrique Rasheed sees no spiritual or political contradictions in praying for and with conservative Christians and Republicans, many of whom are openly distrustful of Muslims these days.

And it's a good thing, since Rasheed has been invited to participate in a prayer breakfast that kicks off Gov.-elect Rick Scott's inauguration day on Tuesday in Tallahassee.

"In a lot of ways Muslims are a very conservative group, too," said Rasheed, spiritual leader of the Jacksonville Masjid of Al-Islam. Most Muslims, he said, oppose abortion, same-sex marriage and gambling, as do many of their evangelical Christian counterparts.

Not that political agreement led him to accept the invitation.

"Now it's a matter of us rallying around our new leader and giving him some support and praying for him to get the guidance he needs," Rasheed said. "We're all created by the same creator -- that's what he wants us to do."

In fact it was Rasheed's penchant for finding what unites faiths rather than divides them that got the governor-elect's attention, inauguration spokeswoman Erin Isaac said.

The imam will join Jewish, Catholic and Protestant ministers, including Jacksonville's Bishop Vaughn McLaughlin, on the podium Tuesday, according to the inauguration website. (More)

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WORKING TO BOOST SOCIAL ACTIVISM AMONG MUSLIMS - TOP
By Nomi Morris, Los Angeles Times, 1/1/11
'One of the solutions to Islamophobia is organizing around city-based issues,' says Naim Shah Jr., who has worked with Christian and Jewish activists across L.A. to push a 'responsible banking' ordinance.

For the first 15 years of his working life, Naim Shah Jr. was the personal assistant to the imam at Masjid Ibadallah, a mosque in Los Angeles. He helped with Friday sermons and religious classes and dealt primarily with his Muslim congregants.

But for the last six months, Shah has worked with Christian and Jewish activists across the city, drumming up support for the "responsible banking" ordinance, a law that would spur banks that do business with the city of Los Angeles to modify mortgages, increase loans to small businesses and invest in their neighborhoods.

What does community banking have to do with his commitment to Islam? Everything, says Shah, 41, who is also a professional accountant and a former director of Humanitarian Day, an American Muslim day of service to local communities, especially the homeless.

"One of the solutions to Islamophobia is organizing around city-based issues," he said. "Trying to deal with global issues can lead to entanglements. Uniting around local issues can broaden understanding."(More)

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