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  ADITH OF THE DAY: JUST ONE GOOD DEED - TOP

  The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "(There was) a man whose only good deed was removing a thorny branch from the road (so travelers could pass unharmed) ... God accepted that good deed and brought (the man) into Paradise."

  Sunan of Abu-Dawood, Hadith 2503

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  MUSLIM VICTIM OF 9/11 HATE CRIME FIGHTS FOR HIS ATTACKER'S LIFE - TOP
  MSNBC, Kari Huus, 6/3/11
  

  Days after the 9/11 terror attacks, 31-year old laborer Mark Stroman went on a shooting spree in the Dallas area. In a drug-fueled mission of revenge, he killed two South Asian immigrants and shot another -- Rais Bhuiyan -- in the face at close range, blinding him in one eye.

  Shortly after his arrest, Stroman boasted of his role as "Arab Slayer."

  Now, as Stroman faces imminent execution in Texas, an unlikely champion is fighting to save his life: Bhuiyan, who spent years recovering from the wounds he suffered in the attack.

  "I've had many years to grow spiritually," said Bhuiyan, a Muslim who immigrated to the U.S. from Bangladesh and now works as technology professional in Dallas. "I'm trying to do my best not to allow the loss of another human life. I'll knock on every door possible."

  Bhuiyan began collecting signatures late last year on a petition asking the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to commute Stroman's death penalty sentence to life in prison without parole through his website "World without Hate." Now he is working systematically through legal and political channels save Stroman's life.

  "I'm getting a lot of support from all over the world ... even my home country, where the Internet is a luxury," Bhuiyan said.

  Among those supporting his cause are some relatives of the two victims who were killed. (More)

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  VA. SENATE CANDIDATE STICKS WITH CHURCH THAT ALLOWS MUSLIMS TO PRAY -TOP
  David Sherfinski, Washington Examiner, 6/2/11
  

  U.S. Senate candidate George Allen of Virginia is sticking with his Alexandria church despite rumblings within the congregation over the church's decision to allow Muslims to pray there on Fridays while a nearby Mosque is being renovated.

  A handful of people have left the Aldersgate United Methodist Church to protest use of the church by Muslims. But a church spokeswoman said the public response has been overwhelmingly positive and the move is in keeping with Christian values.

  Allen, though, must tread carefully to avoid an appearance of racial insensitivity. In his 2006 Senate campaign, Allen referred to an Indian-American volunteer for his opponent Jim Webb as "macaca," a perceived racial slur. Allen has repeatedly apologized for the remark.

  In a statement, Allen dismissed the matter as a side issue. (More)

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  CAIR: U.S. MUSLIM CITIZEN STUCK IN KUWAIT (AP) - TOP
  Matthew Barakat, The Associated Press, 6/2/11
  

  The words hit Aziz Nouhaili like a punch to the gut: After the U.S. Embassy in Kuwaitconfiscated his passport, an official told him he should no longer consider himself a U.S. citizen.

  Nouhaili, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Morocco, has been trying for nearly four months to get home from Kuwait, where he worked for several years as a military contractor. So far, U.S. officials have continued to keep him in Kuwait while they consider revoking his citizenship over a decades-old passport problem.

  "Being a U.S. citizen is a beautiful thing. It's something I'm not planning to give up that easily," Nouhaili, 47, said in a phone interview Thursday.

  On Thursday, Nouhaili's lawyer with the Council on American-Islamic Relations wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton requesting that Nouhaili be given his passport so he can return home. Kuwaiti officials have made clear they will allow Nouhaili to leave only if he has a valid U.S. passport.

  "American citizenship is too important to be subject to the whims of low level bureaucrats," the lawyer Gadeir Abbas, wrote. "If there are any concerns about my client's citizenship, he has the right to have those concerns addressed through the judicial process once he returns to the United States." (More)

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  TEXAS: MUSLIM YOUTH CARRY ON TRADITION OF ISLAMIC STUDY - TOP
  Safiya Ravat, Houston Chronicle, 6/3/11
  
  Standing in the pulpit at the Hamza mosque in Mission Bend, 19-year-old Hamzah Ghia made a plea to the more than 500 men and women who had gathered for the weekly khutbah, or sermon.

  "Shoot some hoops with your kids. Play tennis, football or even catch if they're into that," said Ghia, encouraging parents to help fight childhood obesity. "This body is a trust from God; we're not supposed to neglect it or abuse it as we please."

  Ghia is the youngest imam to deliver the Friday sermon at this mosque. Born in Houston, the Cy-Fair resident was 10 when he became a hafidh, or protector, a title given to Muslims who memorize the Quran. He believes it's important for young Muslim Americans to have a voice in the mosque, especially when it comes to their identity as contemporary Muslim Americans.

  The madrasa also offered Islamic studies classes in which students learned of prophets such as Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, Ghia said, and were taught to respect their classmates and help others. "But never were we taught about war or anything like that," he said .

  Ghia's words come in response to the recent equating of "madrasa" to a training ground for young terrorists. Rather, he said, students who study the Quran would know better than to commit suicide or kill innocent people, two crimes directly forbidden in the Quran.

  "Madrasa" is an Arabic term that means "school." (More)

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  ORE. MUSLIM GARDEN PLANTS SEEDS OF UNDERSTANDING - TOP
  Rebecca Koffman, The Oregonian, 6/3/11
  

  On a recent Saturday, a vacant lot on North Vancouver Avenue between Killingsworth and Emerson Streets is crowded with people. There’s a grill going and people load up their plates with food while others dig, carry top soil, and push heavy wheelbarrows.

  Meera Norris, a young woman wearing jeans and head scarf explains. The land is the future site of the Muslim Community Center of Portland. The Center is currently housed a short distance away in rented premises. The plan is eventually to build an expanded center here. Until then, the land will be used to grow food.

  Norris is the coordinator for the garden. It’s a Capstone Project for her Women’s Studies program at Portland State University. "This garden is open to the whole community," she says. "The idea is that it will be self-sustaining and promote health and wellness. It’s also about empowering women and families, promoting social justice and community engagement," she adds. (More)

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  REPORTS OF 'STONING' DEATH OF UKRAINIAN GIRL TURN OUT TO BE FALSE - TOP
  Farangis Najibullah, Radio Free Europe, 6/2/11
  

  The headlines were nothing short of chilling.

  "Aspiring 'Miss Ukraine' Killed Under Shari'a Laws In Crimea" warned Ukrainian online newspaper "Gazeta Po-Kievski."

  "Radical Islamists Murder Young Girl In Crimea," screamed Russia's "Svobodnaya Pressa."

  "Muslim Girl,19, Stoned To Death After Taking Part In Beauty Contest," was the headline on Britain's "Mail Online," the "Daily Mail" website.

  The circumstances around the death of Kateryna Korin, a 19-year-old Ukrainian student on the Crimean peninsula, appeared to point to a made-for-tabloid tragedy: a young beauty-pageant contestant brutally killed by her admirer, a radical Islamist who chose to stone her to death under an unforgiving interpretation of Islamic law.

  There was just one small problem: They weren't true.

  Law-enforcement officials in Crimea have responded to the reports of Korin's killing by saying the tragedy was an "absolutely routine crime" that involved neither stoning, Shari'a law, nor any religious motive.

  "The killing of the girl that took place in the Sovietskoye district of Crimea does not have any underlying reasons like religious, national, or interethnic motives," Olha Kondrashova, a spokeswoman for the Crimean division of Ukraine's Interior Ministry, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. "A young man has been detained as a suspect, and an investigation is under way." (More)