CAIR-MI: ANTI-SHARIA BILL DRAWS CRITICISM FROM MUSLIM LEADERS - TOP
Sam Inglot, The Michigan Messenger, 8/15/11

Muslim leaders are saying a piece of legislation proposed by Rep. Dave Agema (R-Grandville) is actually an attack on Islam.

In June, Agema proposed legislation that would ban the implementation of foreign laws. While the language of the proposal does not say it directly, it would ban Sharia or Islamic law. Agema told the Detroit News that the law is intended to preserve American laws.

"No foreign law shall supersede federal laws or constitution or state laws or constitution," Agema said. "Our law is our law. I don't like foreign entities telling us what to do."

Sharia is a set of rules that govern personal conduct, family relationship and religious practices for Muslims. Twenty five other states have introduced legislation similar to that of Agema's. Under the legislation, Sharia law would not be recognized in Michigan courts.

Many in the Muslim community believe it is a direct attack on their religious beliefs and lifestyle.

"Agema ... is a reflection of a segment of the GOP that is openly xenophobic and Islamophobic," said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations' Michigan chapter.

State Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, plans to speak out about the bill during a press conference Tuesday in Midtown. Victor Begg, a prominent Republican and co-founder of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan, called the bill "appalling."

"Some in our party find it politically opportune to target my faith by sponsoring an innocuous sounding bill, knowing well that their intent is so-called ‘creeping Sharia,'" Begg said. (More)

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CAIR: INDIANA MOSQUE VANDALIZED - TOP

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 8/15/11) -- An official with the Islamic Center of Michigan City in Michigan City, Ind., reported to the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) that vandals smashed two windows in the mosque sometime last Thursday evening. CAIR will follow up with local and federal law enforcement authorities to seek an investigation of a possible bias motive for the vandalism.

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NY: CANDIDATE EXPLOITS 'GROUND ZERO MOSQUE' HYSTERIA TO GAIN VOTES - TOP
Colby Hamilton, WNYC, 8/15/11

The two candidates for the 9th Congressional District are releasing a flurry of campaign releases. Democratic Assemblyman David Weprin's campaign is out with a small business and job creation crib sheet. It's short on details–"Weprin will work to simplify the tax code, closing loopholes and lowering overall rates."–but points to the campaigns continued desire to make the race about the economy and federal entitlement protection. [See the campaign's one-sheeter after the jump.]

"Small businesses create the majority of Americas new jobs, employ about half of the nations private sector work force, and provide half of the nations nonfarm, private real gross domestic product (GDP), as well as a significant share of innovations. But small businesses have struggled to weather the economic downturn. Weprin believes that helping small businesses grow is essential to any comprehensive plan to improve the nation's economy," the campaign said in its statement. (More)

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REPORT: U.S. ISLAMOPHOBES EXPOSED BY U.K. ISLAMOPHOBES - TOP

The One Law for All Campaign was launched on 10 December 2008, International Human Rights Day, to call on the UK Government to recognise that Sharia and religious courts are arbitrary and discriminatory against women and children in particular and that citizenship and human rights are non-negotiable. The Campaign aims to end Sharia and all religious courts on the basis that they work against, and not for, equality and human rights.

View the report here.

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BILLBOARD BLITZ FOR 877-WHY-ISLAM INFO HOTLINE - TOP
By Liane Membis, CNN, 8/15/11

(CNN) – Want to learn more about Islam? There's a hotline for that. And, through the end of the month, lots of roadside billboards to get the word out about it.

Two 48 foot-tall billboards towering over the New Jersey Turnpike bear the messages "877-Why-Islam -- Get the Facts" and "Ramadan -- 1.57 Billion Celebrating. Find Out Why."

The signs are part of the Islamic Circle of North America's 1-877-Why-Islam outreach project, established in 1999 with an eye toward educating Americans about Islam and Muslims. (More)

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MUSLIM COMMUNITY EMBRACES SCOUTING - TOP
Holly Gilbert, CNN, 8/15/11

Sterling, Virginia (CNN)–Mohammad Adarf Ullah, 17 years old of Herndon, Virginia, has been observing the Muslim holy month of Ramadan since he was a young boy. Believed to purify the body and soul, the food and water fast from dusk until dawn for 30 days is part of the five tenets of Islam.

"Patience is one of the biggest things I've learned" said Ullah. "It reminds me how great God is, and you really have to be grateful to him for everything he gave you."

Such patience and reverence should help Ullah meet the requirements for his Eagle Scout badge, which he's set to earn in the coming months. The high school senior and Boy Scout participated in the annual Iftar dinner - or "breaking of the fast" meal - hosted by the All Dulles Area Muslim Society Scout program on Saturday night. (More)

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AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSLIMS STRUGGLING BUT OPTIMISTIC - TOP
Cord Jefferson, BET, 8/10/11

What many Americans know about Islam they've learned from horror stories on the news at night. They think all Muslims headscarves and beards, and harbor anti-American feelings like those of the late Osama bin Laden. They think they're all brown people with funny accents. They think Muslims are nothing like them and their families.

Obviously, nothing could be further from the truth. Muslims are everywhere in America, and their communities are just as diverse and rich as any you'd find in America. They've also got problems that are practically identical to those faced by other Americans. Sadly, one of those problems is racial disparity.

The Muslim American community is the most racially diverse religious group in the entire United States. And with that diversity comes stratification similar to what you'd find in other parts of the country. Blacks make up more than a third of the Muslims in America, much more than the American population in general, and yet their suffering is much like what you'd find in the general public:

"Only 23 percent of Black Muslims completed a college degree or higher, which is comparable to 24 percent of Black Americans but significantly different from Asian Muslims at 57 percent and white Muslims at 51 percent. (More)

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ILLINOIS MUSLIM'S FAST, RUNNING AIDING ORPHANS - TOP
Madhu Krishnamurthy, Daily Herald, 8/15/11

Hoffman Estates attorney Junaid Afeef discovered the secret to losing 70 pounds: running while fasting.

While the health benefits of weight loss are enormous, Afeef actually started running while fasting for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan last August to raise funds for flood-ravaged Pakistan.

Muslims are required to abstain from food and drink during daylight hours and urged to give generously for charity during the month.

This Ramadan, which began Aug. 1 and ends around Aug. 29, Afeef is running to raise funds to help orphans in India. His goal is to raise $3,000 while running 80 miles in 29 days. (More)

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VIDEO: WASHINGTON-D.C. AREA MOSQUE MARKS RAMADAN - TOP

Intro: As elsewhere around the world, Muslims in America are observing the holy month of Ramadan. Despite occasional tensions, Muslims living there say knowledge of Islamic practices is gradually spreading among Americans, and they often report that their non-Muslim neighbors are understanding and supportive during the fasting month.

You can watch the video here.

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INCITEMENT WATCH: 'I BELIEVE ALLAH IS A FALSE GOD WHO TEACHES MURDER AND DESTRUCTION' - TOP
Times Record News letters to the editor, 8/15/11

The road to destruction

What is jihad? "Fight those who have not faith in God, nor in the Hereafter, and who forbid not what God and his prophet have forbidden, and who are not committed to the religion of truth, but, to the 'Book,' until they pay tribute by hand and they are the 'low.' " (An infidel is a non Islamic believer, and a Kafir, one who rejects Islam.) This verse concerns the people of the Book, non-Muslims believing in their own Book, or Bible, like the Jews, Catholics and Christians. "It is the people of the Book, we (Muslims) are to fight, only those who have no faith in God, (Allah), or the Hereafter." This means all non-Islamic believers are wrong, only Islam contains the truth and all nonbelievers will be forced to pay tribute, or die.

The Imams and clerics teach this form of jihad, which is contained in the Quran. This means Muslims should kill all infidels, everyone who rejects Islam, i.e. Christians, Catholics and Jews. Jesus, the Son of God, teaches mercy and forgiveness; Allah teaches death to nonbelievers. What if the Pope declared all non-Catholics should be killed or Billy Graham taught all non-Christians should be murdered.

I believe Allah is a false god who teaches murder and destruction to further the cause of Islam.

In twenty years or less, Muslims will be electing our next president. We will cease to be a free nation at that point in time. Destruction of a nation starts from within.

James Mills
Wichita Falls

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