CAIR-MI: SHARIA LAW NO THREAT TO THE U.S. - TOP
Millie Wright, Oakland Press, 7/10/11

[Millie Wright, Ann Arbor, is an Islamic Studies candidate at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and a CAIR-Michigan intern.]

Michigan, like all other states, is governed by the U.S. Constitution and its state constitution, which makes the idea of "creeping Sharia" a straw man argument that pundits and 2012 presidential hopefuls use to rabble rouse among voters.

Some have pointed to the recent controversies in Dearborn as proof of this trend: The arrest of a few Christian missionaries at a Dearborn festival for allegedly disturbing the peace last year and the latest Terry Jones episode. Jones, like the Act 17 Apologetics protesters, were arrested for allegedly breaching Michigan laws, not Islamic law.

Even if they felt wrongly accused, our legal system has mechanisms for rectifying this. Nonetheless, a growing number of states have gone so far as to propose a ban on the use of Sharia in state courts. This idea of "creeping Sharia" is really just a campaign of fear mongering.

The American public should be made aware of several things: First, for Muslims, the Sharia is the word for God's own idea of how humans should conduct themselves. Living according to the Sharia is to follow certain guidelines of properly maintaining one's relationships with God and with other people. (More)

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POST-9/11, SIKHS SAY THEY ARE MISTAKEN TARGETS - TOP
The Associated Press, 7/11/2011

Kamaljit Atwal's neighborhood seems like an unlikely place for a hate crime. His street in this Sacramento suburb seems a model of diversity.

Atwal and his family are one of two Sikh families on the block from India. On Atwal's street alone, there's a Vietnamese family, a Mexican family, a black woman and a white man.

But in March, Atwal's 78-year-old father Gurmej Atwal and his 67-year-old friend Surinder Singh were shot and killed while taking an afternoon stroll in the neighborhood.

Atwal and his fellow Sikhs in the area wonder if the same ugliness that has brought violence to other Sikhs is the reason why. ...

"When people look at me with a turban and beard, the first thing that comes to mind is, 'That guy looks like Osama bin Laden.' "

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Sikhs have reported a rise in bias attacks, both verbal and physical, against them. The backlash that hit Muslims across the country has expanded to include them and their faith as well, with some assuming the sight of a long beard and turbaned head can only mean one thing. (More)

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ANTI-ISLAM CAMPAIGN GALVANIZES U.S. MUSLIMS - TOP
OnIslam.com, 7/10/2011

CAIRO – Facing repeated attacks on their worship places and religious rituals by an anti-Islam group, Muslims in Nashville, the capital of the US state of Tennessee, are joining hands to face the growing intolerance in the United States.

"We are not afraid of this ACT [ACT! for America's] group," Rashed Fakhruddin, a member of the Islamic Center of Nashville, told The Tennessean on Sunday, July 10.

"But we are concerned about the climate of fear they are trying to create." (More)

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AK ANTI-MUSLIM FILM INFLAMMATORY - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - TOP
Rick Wicks, Anchorage Daily News, 7/10/2011

Last week I attended an Anchorage Tea Party meeting where the movie "Ground Zero Mosque" was shown. The movie makes every effort to stir up fear and anger toward Muslims -- but I have to say, I'm just not that afraid. Angry about 9/11, yes, of course -- but at the crazy fanatical "Muslims" who did it, not at all Muslims. (More)

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VIDEO: ALLOW HIJABS, SAY QUEBEC SOCCER PLAYERS - TOP
CBC News, 7/8/2011

A group of Montreal women gathered Thursday to protest a Quebec soccer association's decision to sack a referee because she wears a hijab.

The protestors also called for the end of a controversial policy that bans headscarfs during soccer games.

The demonstraters – who played a pickup game near Montreal's old port – said the association's position is unacceptable.

Headscarfs are also banned by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, which governs international soccer. (More)

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EX-FIREFIGHTER CAN'T SUE TO BAR MOSQUE NEAR GROUND ZERO - TOP
Colin Moynihan, The New York Times, 7/10/2011

A Manhattan judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a former New York City firefighter who is trying to stop the construction of an Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan.

The former firefighter, Timothy Brown, sought to overturn a decision by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to deny landmark status for a 150-year-old building on Park Place that would be demolished to make way for the center.

The building, which once housed a Burlington Coat Factory store, was damaged in the Sept. 11, 2001, attack that destroyed the World Trade Center two blocks away. Developers of the center, known as Park51, hope to erect a new building that would include a swimming pool, an auditorium and a mosque. (More)

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CT: NEW MOSQUE ON MAIN STREET HOPES TO UNIFY COMMUNITY - TOP
Stacy Davis, News Times, 7/7/2011

DANBURY -- On a Friday afternoon, as many as 100 people are in the parking lot of Baitul Mukarram Masjid of Greater Danbury, a mosque that opened last month at 339 Main St.

Some men and boys wear small white hats and long shirts, and all of the women and girls wear hijabs or head coverings.

One 6-year-old girl, Ammenah Syed, of Danbury, always wears her mom's black hijab that is laced with gold trim.

"It's the only one that fit me," she said.

The men and women greet each other outside in the parking lot and then proceed to a door, where a white sign with large red letters indicates the entrance of the mosque. (More)

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CHAIRS DISAPPEAR, RUMORS FLY AT VA. STARBUCKS THAT IS MUSLIM ENCLAVE -TOP
Tara Bahrampour, The Washington Post, 7/8/2011

The regulars showed up as usual at the Falls Church Starbucks one day in late June, ready to share coffee and conversation with fellow immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa.

But the men were stunned to find that the coffee chain, an integral part of their daily routine, had removed the outdoor seating that was central to their gatherings.

The disappearance of the tables and chairs came just days after a front-page article in The Washington Post on June 26 described how the Starbucks, located in a strip mall in an area known as Skyline, became such a draw that it is known in other countries.

A Fairfax County official said the store lacked the correct permitting for outdoor seating. A Starbucks representative said the store and mall are working to address the issue and hope to restore the outdoor seating within a month. (More)

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VT: COFFEE IN BURLINGTON HONORS VICTIMS OF BOSNIAN VIOLENCE - TOP
Matt Ryan, Burlington Free Press

Enver Sehovic watched Sunday from the steps of Burlington's City Hall as passers-by poured coffee into hundreds of white, porcelain cups arranged on the brick promenade. His daughter conceived the memorial to honor the 8,000 Muslim men and boys systematically killed 16 years ago in Srebrenica, a city in Sehovic's native Bosnia and Herzegovina. ...

Today, mourners will attend a funeral for 613 victims of the massacre, whose remains were found in mass graves and identified through DNA analysis.

Aida Sehovic, an artist and 2002 University of Vermont graduate, has organized similar displays throughout Europe, including in the Bosnian cities of Sarajevo and Tuzla.

She calls the memorial "Sto te nema?" which means "Why are you not here?" and "Where are you?" — a tribute to the women who poured coffee while waiting for the men and boys who never returned. (More)

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PHOENIX ISLAMIC CENTER HELPS BOSNIANS ADJUST TO U.S. - TOP
Betty Reid, The Arizona Republic, 7/6/2011

A center designed to help Bosnian refugees adjust to American life has opened in north Phoenix.

The Islamic Center of North Phoenix, 13246 N. 23rd Ave., is outfitted with a library, a place for worship, classrooms, a kitchen area and an outdoor recreation court. The center marks the 17th mosque or center that has opened in the Valley since 1995, when the area Bosnian population increased because many fled their war-torn country.

The center will benefit people who need help reading documents written in Bosnian and English. In addition, the location will serve as a social gathering site, a place for worship or a resource for helping people in need, said Sabahudin Ceman, the center's spiritual leader and director. (More)