Friday, July 29, 2011

RAMADAN ETIQUETTE: A GUIDE TO YOUR MUSLIM NEIGHBOR'S HOLY MONTH - TOP
Asma Uddin and Shazia Kamal, The Washington Post, 7/29/2011

In the next few weeks, you may come into work and find your co-worker taking a power nap at 9:30am. At break time, you'll notice she is missing in the discussion about Harry Potter over at the water cooler. At the staff meeting, you will be shocked when she is offered coffee and cookies and refuses! By lunch time, your concern about her missing at the water cooler compels you to investigate the situation.

Then you remember what she had mentioned last week over a delicious Sushi lunch. Flooded with relief, you go up to her desk, and proclaim with much gusto, "Ramadan Mubarak (Moo-baa-rak)!" Ramadan's Blessings to you!

The month of Ramadan is a happy occasion; it is the month that the Muslim holy book, the Koran, was revealed to our Prophet Muhammad. Muslims are called by their religion to celebrate the month by coming together in worship, fasting each day for thirty days from dawn until sunset.

While this may seem like a tremendous feat, consider this: Fasting while working is an even greater endeavor. Make it a little easier on your Muslim colleague by following a couple of simple rules. (More)

CAIR APPLAUDS ACTIONS TO PREVENT ALLEGED FORT HOOD ATTACK - TOP

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/29/2011) -- A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization today applauded the actions of law enforcement officials and members of the public who prevented an alleged attack on soldiers stationed at the Fort Hood military base in Texas.

Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo was arrested Wednesday by police in Killeen, Texas, after allegedly buying bomb-making supplies. The arrest followed a tip by a gun store employee who said Abdo's behavior raised red flags. Abdo allegedly told investigators that his planned attack was an act of "revenge" for his treatment by the military.

In a statement, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said:

"We applaud the actions of local law enforcement authorities and members of the public in preventing the alleged plot to harm military personnel in Texas. While every individual has the right to the presumption of innocence, we condemn any plot to harm our nation's safety and security."

CAIR noted that the reported motive for the alleged plot was personal, not religious.

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, 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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RELIGIOUS LEADERS MARCH AGAINST VANDALISM AT CALIF. MOSQUE - TOP
Venusse Navid, Whittier Daily News, 7/28/2011

LA MIRADA - Members of the Jewish, Christian and Islamic faiths gathered in unison Sunday for a peace rally in light of recent vandalism targeting a Muslim mosque onImperial Highway.

The peace rally was organized by Rezaur Rahman, president of Muslim Community Services, Inc., in light of vandalism that took place July 18 at the mosque.

A brick or large rock was thrown through the mosque's rear glass doors.

"We feel great that different groups of faith wanted to support us during this successful peace rally," Rahman said Thursday.

About 100 people began a one-hour walk from the mosque, and proceeded through the streets of La Mirada in honor of religious peace in the community.

"While many of us were braced for any possible negative responses from passers-by, we received nothing but positive and encouraging words and gestures of support," said Interfaith Witnesses founder Vicki Tamoush. (More)

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WHOLE FOODS FIRST NATIONAL RETAIL CHAIN TO CELEBRATE RAMADAN - TOP
Neal Ungerleider, Fast Company, 7/28/2011

Whole Foods has become the first prominent supermarket chain to run a Ramadan marketing campaign--and they're hoping Muslim customers will return the favor as they break fast. Even though Muslims traditionally forego meals during the day, lavish evening Ramadan meals could mean big bucks for the natural foods giant ... as well as brand loyalty from a demographic not traditionally courted by megastore advertising.

Whole Foods is teaming up with Halal frozen entree brand Saffron Road (who sell a variety of Indian-, Thai-, and Moroccan-flavored dinners) to host several promoted blog items on Whole Foods' website along with sponsored giveaways of Saffron Road food and supermarket gift certificates. Additional content for the campaign is being added by Yvonne Maffei of the My Halal Kitchen blog. While it is a relatively small promotion, it also marks a new benchmark for the Muslim-American community: the first coordinated Ramadan promotion by a national supermarket chain.

No in-store promotions for the campaign are planned, instead, in an apparent attempt to test the waters, the promotion will start online. The "campaign focuses on reaching Muslim consumers online where they are already having conversations about halal foods, grocery shopping, and preparing for Ramadan," Saffron Road spokesperson Lisa Mabe tells Fast Company. Saffron Road maintains a heavy social media presence and an ongoing charitable relationship with Whole Foods' Whole Planet foundation, and hopes the promotion will further strengthen their brand awareness.

There are approximately 1.8 million Muslims living in the United States. Of these, Arab Muslims are a distinct minority; the bulk of the population consists of African-American converts to Islam and South Asian (Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan) Muslims. And 45% of Muslim immigrants report annual household income levels of $50,000 or higher--placing them squarely in Whole Foods' demographic. (More)

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REP. ALLEN WEST BRINGS ISLAMOPHOBIA TO CONGRESS – TOP
Sheila Musaji, The American Muslim, 7/29/2011

This week Rep. Allen West (R-FL) sponsored an event in the Rayburn House Office Building titled "Homegrown Jihad in the USA: Culmination of the Muslim Brotherhood's 50-year History of Infiltrating America," presented by Peter Leitner of Citizens for National Security (CFNS), located in Boca Raton, Florida.

Media Matters reported that According to its press release, CFNS' briefing, titled "Homegrown Jihad in the USA: Culmination of the Muslim Brotherhood's 50-year History of Infiltrating America," will present "an unprecedented list of individual members of the Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S., and the people and organizations with which they are associated." The report was compiled by the organization's "volunteer members". They noted that CFNS gives no indication as to the qualifications of those members or how the list was compiled. (More)

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ILL. STATE SENATOR SHOWS DISREGARD FOR MUSLIM CONSTITUENTS - TOP
Zahed A. Haseeb, Rockford Register Star, 7/29/2011

I applaud the Register Star editorial staff for the piece criticizing Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, for making a joke on his Facebook page in which he suggested he would cut off ties with his daughter if she were to bring home a Muslim ("Mohammed from Iran") boyfriend. ...

Politicians say dumb things that offend people all the time, but they almost always backtrack and produce apologies that can be characterized as anything from empty to genuinely contrite.

We can often abandon our cynicism and let the offending remark pass as just another gaffe.

But what does it mean when a politician refuses to apologize for offending and even alienating a section of his constituents?

By not showing any remorse for his comment, he displays an utter disregard for his Muslim constituents. If Sen. Syverson's punch line featured "Tyrone from the West Side," he'd have apologized and retracted his comment as soon as someone saw it and criticized it -- because, in his mind, he would have offended constituents who matter. (More)

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AMERICA'S RISING TIDE OF ISLAMOPHOBIA - TOP
Sarah Wildman, The Guardian, 7/28/2011

In the early hours of Friday's massacre in Oslo, the initial working assumption of news-watchers, journalists and bystanders was that this was likely the work of Islamic jihadists. That it was not took some time to trickle out: news reports published as late as Saturday included compiled condemnations of the attacks by Muslim leaders, and comparisons to other al-Qaida-type terrorist acts. That the attack was, in fact, masterminded by Anders Behring Breivik, a 32-year-old Norwegian with a murderous vendetta against multiculturalism, progressive government and a penchant for US Islamophobic blogs, reflects the strange distorting mirror of the current immigration and national identity debate going on in Europe and America.

What began, over a decade ago, as a far right assault on immigration policies of European countries from within (think Vlaams Belang in Belgium, the Front National in France, the FPO in Austria, to the rantings of Geert Wilders in Holland) has been exported to the United States where our ultra-conservative bloggers have handily repackaged that material. Though we in the US have not had the same economic conversations about immigration and Muslim communities – European concerns began with so-called "guest workers" who became permanent residents – the Oslo murders tragically expose a well-integrated transatlantic network of fear and hatemongering.

Among other references in his 1,500-page "manifesto", Breivik quotes favourably Robert Spencer, who runs the Jihad Watch website, Pamela Geller, who, via her Atlas Shrugged blog, was a key player in the controversy over the Cordoba House's "Ground Zero Mosque" in 2010, and Bruce Bawer, whose book While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West From Within warns of the intent of Muslim immigrants to Arabise Europe. (More)

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TX: PLAYGROUPS HELP MUSLIM MOMS TEACH CHILDREN ABOUT RAMADAN - TOP
Kate Shellnutt, The Houston Chronicle, 7/28/2011

When Shazia Ashraf was growing up, Muslim children were expected to be seen and not heard, a cultural holdout of their foreign-born parents.

Ashraf, now a mother of two living in Spring, wanted a different approach to teach her children Islamic traditions, such as observing the month of Ramadan, which starts at sundown on Monday.

For the past three years, they have met with a handful of other Muslim families for a playgroup focused on typical little-kid stuff -- manners, singalongs, circle time and field trips -- all incorporating Muslim values.

"There really aren't any Islamic activities for very young children at our masajid, and I wanted my children to learn about having a strong moral compass and build a relationship with God from an early age," said Ashraf, who grew up in the Houston area and works as a part-time math professor.

The kids in the playgroup may be too young to fast or read the Quran, central practices for Ramadan, but that doesn't keep them from celebrating and learning about their religion. They excitedly wait to sing songs and decorate their homes for the holiday, and like all parents, these Muslim mommies must respond to a constant refrain of "Why? Why? Why?" (More)

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QURAN GOES ON TWITTER FOR RAMADAN - TOP
Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA Today, 7/28/2011

Ramadan, which begins with a sunup-to-sundown fast Monday, calls on the Muslim faithful to immerse themselves in scripture -- ideally by reading the entire Quran.

In 2009, Hussein Rashid, a professor of Islamic Studies at Virginia Theological Seminary, noticed rabbis using Twitter to highlight snippets of Torah text to celebrate Shavuot, when Jews say Moses received God's word at Mount Sinai.

"I saw they were creating a virtual way to pray and study together, and I thought it would be fun to invite a few friends to tweet the Quran for Ramadan. By the next year we had hundreds posting at #Quran and it will be even bigger this year," he says.

The Quran is the 22-year record of what Muslims believe is Allah's revelations to the Prophet Mohammed. The goal of using Twitter is to engage Muslims and non-Muslims alike in exploring and discussing the text, Rashid says.

"What verses speak to you when you read the Quran this day? That's what we're looking for. The way we engage with scripture is always changing as our lives change. We can ask each other questions. We can explore parallels with other religions," he adds.

As next month's 10-year-anniversary of 9/11 nears, Wajahat Ali, a playwright and attorney based in San Francisco, expects many Muslims will share "our reflections and our resilient faith."

Ali says, "I expect lot of people will tweet from Chapter 49:13: 'Oh Ye who believe, we created you of different nations and tribes so that you may know one another.' It's very tweetable and it expresses a way of moving forward with different communities of faith. We share common values but retain our own unique values." (More)



Thursday, July 28, 2011

CAIR-MI ASKS DOJ TO PROBE BIAS IN DECISION ON ISLAMIC SCHOOL - TOP

(SOUTHFIELD, MI, 7/26/11) -- The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate whether local planning officials in that state are violating the religious rights of Muslims by denying a permit to build a school on property they own.

On June 16, the Michigan Islamic Academy (MIA) went before the Pittsfield Township Planning Commission for land usage approval on a newly-purchased property to be used for educational and religious purposes. The planning commission voted on a preliminary procedural motion to deny MIA's request after concerns of disruption of neighborhood harmony were raised and derogatory comments were made about the religious practices of Muslims. (A final vote will be taken at a commission meeting on August 4.)

SEE: Civil Rights Groups Asks Feds to Monitor Pittsfield Decision on Muslim School (Detroit News)

In a letter sent yesterday to the DOJ, CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid stated in part:

"In a number of instances across the nation, including the controversial Murfreesboro mosque case in Tennessee, organized anti-Muslim activists raise concerns such as traffic issues and neighborhood harmony with planning commissions and zoning boards to provide legal cover for denial of zoning for mosques and Islamic schools based upon prejudice. Our assessment is that this particular case is similar to such cases."

SEE: Letter to Department of Justice (DOJ)

"We ask the Department of Justice to monitor the upcoming vote of the Pittsfield Township Planning Commission and to probe the motion of denial of the Michigan Islamic Academy's land usage request as a potential violation of federal law," said Walid.

He noted that the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) prohibits local governments from imposing restrictions on land usage of religious institutions unless the governments provide compelling reasons for the restrictions.

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 Staff Attorney Lena Masri, 248-390-9784, E-Mail: lmasri@cair.com

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REP. ALLEN WEST'S (VERY, VERY) STEALTH JIHAD - TOP
Tim Murphy, Mother Jones, 7/26/2011

On Monday afternoon, as markets fretted over the possibility of the United States government running out of money to pay its creditors, Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) held a briefing on a crisis that could bring the nation to its knees. "This is about the protection of each and every American citizen who ever resides within our borders," West told the audience in the basement of Rayburn House Office Building.

West wasn't there to talk about Congress' apparent inability to raise the debt ceiling, though. He was there to introduce Peter Leitner of Citizens for National Security, an organization based in Boca Raton, Florida, that is dedicated to raising awareness of the threat of Islamic extremism in American communities. The group, which previously tried to ferret out perceived Islamic bias in Florida public-school textbooks, had been invited by West to present the findings of its latest report: "Homegrown Jihad in the USA: Muslim Brotherhood's Deliberate, Premediated Plan Now Reaching Maturity." CFNS claims to have a list of 6,000 members of the Muslim Brotherhood who are living in America and determined to "penetrate the United States and eventually erode its institutions, policies, and sense of self through the creation of a multifaceted Fifth Column movement within our borders." (More)

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ALLEN WEST-SPONSORED EVENT PAINTS THOUSANDS OF MUSLIMS AS TERRORISTS- TOP
Ryan J. Reilly, TPM Muckraker, 7/25/2011

A Florida-based "anti-terror" group took to the Capitol on Monday to warn Americans about "fifth column" Muslims who it said are pulling the strings of mainstream Muslim organizations and trying to take over the United States.

With assistance from line graphs and pie charts accentuated with bullets instead of arrows, the group painted the Muslim Brotherhood as behind a massive conspiracy with the long-term goal of absorbing America into an Islamic Caliphate. Not convinced? Well, the group helpfully compiled a list of nearly 6,000 people and 200 organizations it claims are in some way connected to the Muslim Brotherhood.

And thanks to help from Rep. Allen West (R-FL), Citizens for National Security was able to present its alarm of Islamic sedition in the basement of the Rayburn House office building.

As the audience feasted on beef, turkey and tuna sandwiches, group co-founder Peter Leitner walked through a long PowerPoint presentation that laid out a 49-year stealth Muslim Brotherhood plot to infiltrate the United States through a vast web of organizations, many of which have tenuous links at best to the actual Muslim Brotherhood. (More)

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FOX DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHO THEY'RE USING TO SMEAR MUSLIMS - TOP
Matt Gertz, Media Matters, 7/25/2011

Fox News' Islam problem has often led them to promote supposed experts who are in no way credible. Today was no different, as Fox News decided to promote an obscure organization's forthcoming briefing purporting to name "thousands" of U.S. members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The group, Citizens for National Security (CFNS), was previously best known for its declaration that Florida's textbooks are excessively pro-Islam.

According to its press release, CFNS' briefing, titled "Homegrown Jihad in the USA: Culmination of the Muslim Brotherhood's 50-year History of Infiltrating America," will present "an unprecedented list of individual members of the Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S., and the people and organizations with which they are associated." The report was compiled by the organization's "volunteer members"; CFNS gives no indication as to the qualifications of those members or how the list was compiled.

While Fox decided to devote a four-minute segment to the organization's report, neither anchor Bill Hemmer nor guest Erick Stakelbeck, a "terrorism analyst" for the Christian Broadcasting Network, seemed familiar with the organization... (Watch the video.)

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WASH. POST OP-ED SLAMS ISLAMOPHOBES CITED BY NORWAY TERRORIST - TOP
Eugene Robinson, Washington Post, 7/26/2011

The monster who admitted slaughtering at least 76 innocent victims in Norway was animated by the same blend of paranoia, xenophobia and alienation that fuels anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States. Yes, it could happen here.

One could argue that it already did, in Oklahoma City. The difference is that Timothy McVeigh's apocalyptic anger was diffuse and non-specific. Anders Behring Breivik -- who has acknowledged detonating a powerful fertilizer bomb in central Oslo and then killing scores of teenagers and young adults on a nearby resort island -- was focused like a laser beam on what he saw as the "threat" posed by Islam.

The judge who presided over Breivik's arraignment Monday said the accused mass murderer "believes that he needed to carry out these acts to save Norway [from] cultural Marxism and Muslim domination."

In a 1,500-page screed setting out his philosophy, Breivik referred favorably to the work of several well-known anti- Muslim polemicists in the United States -- zealots who usually boast of their influence but now, for some reason, seek to deny it.

Breivik quoted Robert Spencer, a writer who runs a Web site called Jihad Watch, more than 60 times. Spencer is the author of such books as "Stealth Jihad: How Radical Islam Is Subverting America without Guns or Bombs," "Religion of Peace?: Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't" and "The Truth about Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion."

On his Web site, Spencer responded Monday that "the Breivik murders are being used to discredit all resistance to the global jihad and Islamic supremacism." He sought to draw a parallel: "Charles Manson thought he heard instructions to kill in the Beatles song 'Helter Skelter,' and committed mass murder. There were no instructions to kill in the song." (More)

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ISLAMOPHOBES DISTANCE THEMSELVES FROM BREIVIK - TOP
Jim Lobe, Al-Jazeera, 7/26/2011

As Norway mourns the loss of at least 76 of its citizens in Friday's bombing of government buildings in Oslo and mass shootings at a Labour Party youth camp, attention here has focused on the US bloggers and groups whose Islamophobic message appears to have fuelled the alleged perpetrator's murderous rage.

Their identity was established through the online publication by the alleged terrorist, 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik, of a 1,500-page manifesto entitled "2083: A European Declaration of Independence" purportedly authored by an "Andrew Berwick".

All belong to what Toby Archer, a researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, referred to as a "transatlantic movement that often calls itself 'the counter-jihad'" in an article published Monday by foreignpolicy.com.

"As his writings indicate, Breivik is clearly a product of this predominantly web-based community of anti-Muslim, anti-government and anti-immigration bloggers, writers and activists," according to Archer.

He also noted that, in contrast to the traditional European right, this network tends to be philo-Semitic and supports the most extreme right-wing parties in Israel.

Particularly striking is the overlap between the US members of this network - all of whom are identified with the neo-conservative movement - with the leaders of last year's controversial campaign to prevent the construction of a Muslim community centre near the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan, the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque". ...

"As his writings indicate, Breivik is clearly a product of this predominantly web-based community of anti-Muslim, anti-government and anti-immigration bloggers, writers and activists."

Among other sources cited by the manifesto, the "Jihad Watch" blog and its author, Robert Spencer, is cited no less than 162 times, while Daniel Pipes and his Middle East Forum (MEF) gets 16 mentions, according to a tally by the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank here.

Another blogger, Pamela Geller, and her "Atlas Shrugs" blog is cited 12 times in the manifesto, while the Center for Security Policy (CSP), its president, Frank Gaffney, and CSP's senior fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs, Caroline Glick, appear a total of eight times.

All of them have sought to distance themselves both from Breivik and Friday's terrorist acts since his identity first became known Saturday, and have furiously protested suggestions in the media that they bore any responsibility for what took place in Norway Friday. (More)

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PAT ROBERTSON RESPONDS TO NORWAY TERROR WITH ATTACK ON ISLAM - TOP
Media Matters, 7/26/2011

(Watch the video.)

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CAIR: OHIO MUSLIMS ON HIGH ALERT (TOLEDO BLADE) - TOP
David Yonke, Toledo Blade, 7/26/2011

Although no threats have been made against Toledo-area mosques following the killings in Norway, local Muslims are on high alert at the urging of a national Islamic advocacy group.

The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations advised U.S. mosques Monday to "step up security following attacks by an anti-Muslim, right-wing terrorist in Norway that left more than 70 people dead."

Nihad Awad, the council's executive director, said in a statement that the suspect, Anders Behring Breivik, had written a 1,500-page manifesto "designed to inspire similar attacks" and that the suspect claimed "there are others who share his beliefs ready to strike."

Dr. Mahjabeen Islam, vice president of the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo, said the Perrysburg mosque is taking the advisory seriously.

"We have not received any threats, but we will stay on high alert because after any event like this there are copycat crimes," she said. (More)

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CAIR: OHIO MUSLIMS TO HOST RAMADAN OUTREACH EVENTS - TOP
Geoffrey Dobbins, Soapbox Media (Cincinnati), 7/26/2011

Apart from her colorful hijabs, or head scarves, Ramadan is the most visible expression of Amina Darwish's Muslim faith. The chemical engineering graduate student at the University of Cincinnati can't wait for the season of fasting and feasting, which she calls a sort of "spiritual bootcamp," to begin August 1.

When she talks about the holiday, she becomes even more animated and her large brown eyes widen with enthusiasm. "I am sad when (Ramadan) is ending and I miss it until the next year when it comes, because it's just so beautiful," says Darwish, an executive board member at the Clifton Mosque.

She is far from alone. As Cincinnati's population becomes more and more culturally diverse, a growing Muslim community will be observing the holy month in Cincinnati right along with her. According to Islamic tradition, Ramadan marks the month when the Muslim holy book, the Quran, was revealed to the prophet Muhammad. Muslims are required to fast -- which means to abstain from food, drink and sexual activity -- between sunrise and sunset for up to 30 days.

But to the community members that attend the Clifton Mosque, the fast is about far more than merely not eating. Darwish's friend, Karen Dabdoub, explains that Muslims are also encouraged to "fast" from spiritually harmful activities like gossiping, lying or being too short tempered.

"It's like Lent -- you're supposed to give something up," says Dabdoub, a smile quickly spreading over her ivory cheeks. "And it better be something more than chewing gum!"

Dabdoub is executive director of the local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations -- CAIR for short -- an organization dedicated to strengthening understanding between Muslim Americans and their neighbors. (More)

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BREIVIK INFLUENCED BY U.S. ISLAMOPHOBES BEHIND 'GROUND ZERO MOSQUE' HYSTERIA - TOP
Lee Fang, Think Progress, 7/25/2011

As the world struggles to make sense of the tragic attacks in Norway last week, it has become apparent that Anders Behring Breivik, the main suspect held by police, left a long trail of online comments, a YouTube video, and a manifesto outlining his political beliefs. The New York Times reports today, Breivik "endeavored to find common cause with xenophobic right-wing groups around the world, particularly in the United States" and his manifesto "quoted extensively from the anti-Islam writings of American bloggers."

In his manifesto, Breivik cites an assortment of right-wing figures, but a troubling theme is evident in the 1,500 page document. Breivik was directly influenced by the same cadre of American anti-Muslim activists that have gained a powerful following in the contemporary conservative movement in recent years. Many of the leading Islamophobes who inspired Breivik have also been responsible for a rising tide of hate campaigns, from the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque" hysteria to a disturbing trend of demonstrations against Muslim Americans across the country. (More)

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NORWAY ATTACKS ALLOW INTROSPECTION FOR THOSE WHO BASH MUSLIMS - TOP
Editorial Board, Los Angeles Times, 7/26/2011

With news that the man accused of slaughtering 76 people Friday in Norway was a right-wing extremist whose manifesto was littered with quotes from American anti-Muslim bloggers, conservative pundits were put on the defensive again. We say "again" because it's a scenario that played out six months ago when "tea party" conservatives were blamed for allegedly inspiring the shooting of Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson by popularizing anti-government views.

It was wrong then, and still is, to attack the purveyors of legitimate if extreme political views for the violent actions of deranged individuals. Yet while we'll strenuously defend the right even of bigots to express themselves, we do think the horrifying act of terrorism to which Norway's Anders Behring Breivik confessed Monday provides a welcome opportunity for introspection among Muslim-bashers.

Under particularly withering fire from critics is Robert Spencer, operator of the anti-Muslim website Jihad Watch, who was quoted 64 times in Breivik's screed. After fielding calls from reporters, Spencer complained on his blog that he felt the way the Beatles must have after Charles Manson said he was inspired by their song "Helter Skelter" to commit murder. Here's how Spencer distinguished between his writings and those of Muslims: "Islamic texts and teachings, and frequently imams, directly exhort their followers to commit acts of violence. I do not."

What Spencer failed to address is the fact that his site, and others cited by Breivik such as The Gates of Vienna, make a habit of blaming all Muslims for the actions of a minority of violent jihadists. As an example of Spencer's thinking, he wrote in November that the Transportation Security Administration should profile and give extra screening attention to Muslim males at airports, because this is the likeliest group to commit acts of terrorism. One could as easily argue that special attention should be paid to white males. In the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing, the Unabomber's reign of terror, the Tucson shootings and, now, the mass murder in Norway, this population also appears prone to terrorist violence. (More)

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COLBERT: NORWEGIAN MASS KILLER NOT MUSLIM, BUT STILL 'MUSL-ISH' (VIDEO) -TOP
David Taintor, TPM LiveWire, 7/26/2011

Stephen Colbert on Monday night forgave the news media for quickly jumping to the conclusion that Islamic terrorists were responsible for Friday's bombing and mass shooting in Norway.

The Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin, commenting on the attacks while they were still underway, wrote: "there is a specific jihadist connection here." Even the New York Times briefly reported that a group known as "Helpers Of Global Jihad" claimed responsibility.

But, as it turned out, a blond right-wing Norwegian man admitted to acting alone in carrying out the attacks.

"Some say these false reports of Muslim involvement were a widespread failure of the media," Colbert said. "But I say, by going with their guts, these journalists were able to get the story they wanted and scoop reality."

Rubin later offered a response to her post, saying the suspicions of a jihadist bombing plot in Norway "did not bear up." But she maintains "there are many more jihadists than blond Norwegians out to kill Americans."

"The point is, this monster may not be Muslim, but his heinous acts are indisputably Musl-ish," Colbert said. "And we must not let his Islam-esque atrocity divert our attention from the terrible people he reminds us of." (Watch the video.)

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ABERCROMBIE MIGHT HAVE TO GET USED TO HEAD SCARVES - TOP
Kristen Frasch, Human Resource Executive Online, 7/25/2011

Abercrombie & Fitch, doing business as Abercrombie Kids, was found in a July 13 ruling to have committed religious discrimination for refusing to hire a Muslim teen in 2008 because she was wearing a hijab head scarf when she interviewed at its store in Woodland Hills Mall, Tulsa, Okla.

A federal court in Tulsa granted summary judgment to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the ruling, charging that Samantha Elauf was turned down for a sales position in June of 2008 because she wore the head covering in keeping with her religious beliefs.

Abercrombie had argued in its rebuttal that the seriousness of Elauf's religious belief was questionable. The inquiry, the court stated in its ruling, is whether "the belief is held as a matter of conscience or instead animated by motives of deception and fraud." The court found there was no evidence of the latter. (More)

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US RAPPER SAYS CALL TO PRAYER LED TO HIS CONVERSION TO ISLAM - TOP
Essam Al Ghalib and Bana Qabbani, The National, 7/26/2011

DUBAI -- A US rap artist who converted to Islam after hearing the call to prayer in Dubai will discuss his spiritual journey in one of several events during Ramadan.

Amir Hawkins was part of P Diddy's Bad Boy Records, where he released an album under his stage name, Loon, and enjoyed other commercial successes, according to his Facebook fan page, which has more than 51,000 "likes".

Ramadan can be a great experience for everyone here So how does Ramadan mix with the office? They mix pretty well. Read article

Ramadan to begin on August 1, says astronomer Leading astronomer says crescent moon will not be visible before evening of July 31. Read article

Ramadan prayer times, August 1-7, 2011 Prayer times for Abu Dhabi during the expected first week of Ramadan. Read article

Baptised a Christian, Mr Hawkins now dedicates his life to giving Dawa, or preaching Islam, and will speak at the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) on August 12. (More)