VERSE OF THE DAY: AVOID INJUSTICE - TOP
"All human beings that have done injustice would surely, if they possessed all that is on earth, offer it as ransom (to redeem themselves on Judgment Day)."
The Holy Quran, 10:54
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VIDEO: CAIR-MI REP SUPPORTS TEACHER FIRED OVER TRAYVON MARTIN FUNDRAISER - TOP
Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the Academy's decision was a "travesty" that would only hurt students.
"It taught the students who tried to organize and tried to raise their voice in terms of social justice that they will be repressed," Walid said at a news conference Tuesday morning at King Solomon Baptist that previewed a rally that evening at the Detroit church. "Instead of empowering our children ... the Pontiac Academy is actually teaching children to internalize oppression and internalize racism."
Watch the video.
TAMPA -- With a slip of paper and no vote, Hillsborough County school officials tried Tuesday to end a months-long controversy about guest speakers in the classrooms.
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David Caton's offer of a $2,000 reward for tips about any planned appearances by the Council on American Islamic Relations at Steinbrenner High School is a publicity stunt not worthy of an instant of anyone's time.
The school district has sensible guidelines on guest speakers, and there is no evidence that anything improper occurred during the session that incited Caton's ire.
A Steinbrenner High teacher late last year invited Hassan Shibly, executive director of CAIR's branch in Tampa, to speak to her world history class.
Caton, the executive director of the Florida Family Association, accuses the school system of allowing Shibly to indoctrinate Steinbrenner students about Shariah law.
Shibly, the son of Syrian immigrants who was raised in Buffalo, is an attorney as well as an imam. He answered students' questions about Islam and was one of a number of speakers, including a priest, the teacher lined up to speak about major religions. A rabbi already has appeared.
Now, with Caton attacking the school and demanding Christian conservatives be given equal time, school officials say some religious representatives are reluctant to get involved. (More)
(SACRAMENTO, CA, 4/10/12) On Wednesday, April 11th, California Assembly Member Mariko Yamada (D-Davis) and members of the interfaith community will participate in a news conference to announce the introduction of Assembly Bill (AB) 1964, which aims to strengthen protections against religious discrimination in the workplace.
"The landmark federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin in employment," Yamada said. "AB 1964 follows in its footsteps to make explicit in state law that no person can be discriminated against in the workplace based on their religious beliefs and practices. I am proud to have the interfaith community's support on this important piece of legislation."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, California chapter (CAIR-CA) has been working on the draft of the legislation with coalition members, led by the Sikh Coalition. AB 1964, among other things, seeks to eliminate ambiguity in state law, particularly around the definition of "undue hardship," and protect religious minorities from workplace discrimination. (More)
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CAIR: ROMNEY MIDEAST ADVISER LINKED TO GROUP BEHIND LEBANON MASSACRE -TOP
Cecily Hilleary, Middle East Voices, 4/10/12
CAIR: ROMNEY MIDEAST ADVISER LINKED TO GROUP BEHIND LEBANON MASSACRE -TOP
Cecily Hilleary, Middle East Voices, 4/10/12
Former Governor of the state of Massachusetts and U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney recently captured three big wins in local primary elections -- i.e. votes to determine which Republican candidate will end up running against President Barack Obama in the general election on November 6.
After his victories in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia, most political analysts now view Romney as the candidate most likely to win his party's nomination. Given the state of the U.S. economy, Americans are primarily focused on Romney's domestic policies. But at the same time they are also mindful of the link between the U.S. economy and national security, which often goes hand in hand with events and developments in the Middle East. Here's a rundown on the former Massachusetts governor's Middle East policy -- in particular, democratization, jihadism and the Middle East peace process. ...
But many American Muslims have expressed concern about Romney's choice of Walid Phares as an adviser (see Advisers, below), after the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in January republished an article from Lebanon's Daily Star, which said Phares had played a leading role in right-wing Christian militias during Lebanon's Civil War and had been an adviser to Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, the only Lebanese militia leader to have been imprisoned for crimes committed during the 15-year war. The Star quoted Warren David, president of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, as saying that Phares "leans toward being an Islamophobe." (More)
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[Mark Potok is director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project.]
The National Rifle Association (NRA) -- the powerful gun lobby that has called federal law enforcement agents "jack-booted thugs," accused President Obama of having secret plans to strip away Americans' guns, and been the main force behind the incredibly dangerous "Stand Your Ground" laws being used to justify the killing of Trayvon Martin -- is once again flaunting its political extremism.
This Sunday in St. Louis, the NRA plans to host retired Lt. Gen. William "Jerry" Boykin, a radical Islamophobe who has said there should be "no mosques in America," as keynote speaker of a prayer breakfast at its annual conference. Boykin has asserted that "Islam is evil" and "a totalitarian way of life" that "should not be protected under the First Amendment," among other things. This January, after controversy arose over statements such as these, Boykin withdrew from a speech he had been invited to make at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. (More)
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The attorney for the Quran-burning pastor who plans to protest this afternoon outside the biggest mosque in metro Detroit said that Islam and Dearborn are threats to Christians.
Speaking Friday on a Christian radio station, Richard Thompson, President of the Ann Arbor-based Thomas More Law Center, said that unless Islam is confronted "they will destroy Christianity and hold Christians to second-class citizenship."
Thompson is representing Terry Jones, a Florida pastor known for burning the holy book for Muslims, the Quran. Jones plans to protest today from 1 to 3 p.m. outside the Islamic Center of America, a Dearborn mosque. He tried to rally there last year, but was prevented by a Dearborn judge who banned him for three years. A Detroit judge later overturned that decision. ...
Meanwhile, the activist group By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) plans to hold a counter-protest today outside the mosque. Last year, members of the group disrupted a walk by Jones to the Arab festival.
But some Muslim leaders are urging people to stay away from the protest. Dawud Walid, head of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, is telling Muslims not to attend the rally. He said he opposes what BAMN is doing, calling both the Jones protest and counter-protest "mutual foolishness." (More)
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PHOTOS: MUSLIM DAY AT THE MINNESOTA CAPITOL (CAIR-MN) - TOP
Members of the Minnesota Muslim community gathered at the State Capitol in St. Paul for the 8th Annual "Muslim Day at the Capitol" on Thursday, April 5, 2012. You can see a selection of photos here.
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