CAIR-TV #1 MOST-VIEWED NON-PROFIT SITE ON YOUTUBE - TOP

Over the weekend, CAIRtv was the #1 most-viewed non-profit site on YouTube. To view all CAIR’s videos, go to: http://www.youtube.com/user/CAIRtv

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CAIR REPUDIATES PRAISE FOR FORT HOOD SHOOTER - TOP

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/9/09) The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today repudiated online remarks by a former Virginia imam praising Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who allegedly killed 13 people and wounded 29 others in a shooting spree last week at Fort Hood in Texas.

The posting on the web site of Anwar al-Awlaki called Hasan a “hero” and said American Muslim groups, like CAIR, that condemned the Fort Hood attack are “hypocrites” and traitors to Islam.

In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:

“As American Muslims said with one voice when this cowardly attack first occurred, no ideology could ever justify or excuse such violence. To call the alleged killer a ‘hero’ makes a mockery of every Islamic principle of justice. The twisted and misguided views in Anwar al-Awlaki’s posting are not those of American Muslims and do not reflect mainstream Islamic beliefs or sentiments.”

Immediately following the attack at Fort Hood, CAIR issued a strong condemnation of the deadly shootings and urged the nation to remain calm and unified.

SEE: U.S. Muslim Group Urges Calm, Unity After Fort Hood Shootings

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, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787 or 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

SEE ALSO:

VA. MOSQUE REPUDIATES PRAISE FOR FORT HOOD KILLINGS - TOP

(FALLS CHURCH, VA., 11/9/09) - Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Va., today repudiated hate-filled statements made by a former imam who praised the recent killings at Fort Hood in Texas.

In its statement, the mosque said:

"As we understand the teaching of the scriptures, our mission and method as Americans of faith is to enrich our society with service, wisdom and beautiful preaching of God's love and mercy to all of mankind.

"We openly denounce the statement of Mr. Al-Awlaki as posted on his website. During Mr. Al-Awlaki's short employment at our center, his public speech was consistent with the values of tolerance and cooperation. After returning to Yemen, Mr. Awlaki now claims that the American Muslims who have condemned the violent acts of Major Hasan have 'committed treason against the Muslim Umaah [community] and have fallen into hypocrisy.'

"With this reversal, Mr. Al-Awlaki has clearly set himself apart from Muslims in America. We continue to send our condolences and prayers for recovery of all the victims of this godless act."

Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center is one the largest and diverse Islamic Centers in the nation. We are committed to service the community as a place of worship, education and social service. Learn more at www.hijrah.org.

CONTACT: Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, Director of Outreach, (202) 345-5233

Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center
3159 Row Street NW
Falls Church, VA 22044
Tel: (703) 536-1030
Fax: (202) 536-1035
URL: http://www.hijrah.org
Email: dardirector@hijrah.org

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MUSLIM MAFIA AUTHOR: NOW IS THE TIME FOR A 'BACKLASH' AGAINST MUSLIMS - TOP
Justin Elliott, TPMMuckraker, 11/9/09

A conservative author whose book was touted just last month by four Republican members of Congress is explicitly calling for a "backlash" against American Muslims in the wake of the Fort Hood shootings.

Dave Gaubatz, author of Muslim Mafia: Inside the Secret Underworld that's Conspiring to Islamize America, made the comment in a semi-coherent interview with the group Family Security Matters.

In assigning collective blame for the Fort Hood killings, Gaubatz said:

"Politicians, Muslims, and law enforcement are concerned about a 'backlash' against Muslims. Now is the time for a professional and legal backlash against the Muslim community and their leaders." (More)

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VIDEO: CAIR DIRECTOR DISCUSSES FORT HOOD SHOOTING ON MSNBC’S ‘HARDBALL’ -TOP

CAIR National Director Nihad Awad discusses the Fort Hood shooting spree on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews.

Click here to watch the video.

SEE ALSO:

VIDEO: CAIR SPOKESMAN DISCUSSES MOTIVE FOR FORT HOOD SHOOTINGS - TOP

CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper appeared today on MSNBC's 'Morning Meeting' with Dylan Ratigan.

Click here to watch the video.

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CAIR: PRESIDENT, MILITARY ‘SETTING THE RIGHT TONE’ - TOP
USA Today, 11/9/09

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey and Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano on Sunday echoed weekend remarks by President Obama cautioning against saying that religion played a role in the attack or that it was "terrorism."

Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an American-born Muslim, is suspected of being the lone gunman in the attack Thursday that killed 13 and wounded 29.

"Speculation could potentially heighten a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers," Casey said. Added Napolitano: "This was an individual who does not represent the Muslim faith."

Obama lauded the armed services' diversity. "They are Americans of every race, faith and station. They are Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and non-believers," he said.

Muslim and Arab groups have reported a few threats of violence, plus angry phone calls and hateful e-mails. So far, the harsh words haven't turned to action.

"We haven't heard of anything violent, which is a good thing," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim advocacy group. "It shows our society has matured in how it responds to these incidents." He said the Obama administration and the military are setting the right tone.

Michael Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, disagreed, saying the response has been far too weak to protect Muslim military personnel. (More)

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CAIR: AFTER FORT HOOD SHOOTING: ATTENTION ON MUSLIMS IN US MILITARY - TOP
The alleged shooter last week at Fort Hood is Muslim. But the overall picture of Muslims in the military is hardly one of strife and fundamentalism.
Gordon Lubold, Christian Science Monitor, 11/8/09

Washington - The Army's top officer is concerned about a backlash against Muslims in the US military following the shootings at Fort Hood. But, he says, the military's tradition of accepting people from different faiths must never waver.

As investigators sifted through the aftermath of the shootings at the Texas Army base, allegedly carried out by a Muslim Army officer, Gen. George Casey warned against drawing broader conclusions about the Muslim community.

"Frankly, I'm ... concerned that this increased speculation could cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers," Casey, chief of staff of the Army, said on CNN's "State of the Union" program. "As great a tragedy as this was, it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well."

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, is suspected of a shooting rampage at Fort Hood last Thursday in which 13 people were killed and nearly 30 injured. The incident has sparked fear that Hasan was a religious fanatic, once again drawing attention to Muslims in the armed forces. But the overall picture that emerges about their service is hardly one of strife and fundamentalism.

At least 3,500 Muslims are known to be across the military. An additional 283,000 service members have not identified themselves with any religious preference, meaning there could be more Muslims who do not describe themselves that way for military records. Hasan's personnel files did not identify him as Muslim, for example.

In the years since 9/11, the military has made extraordinary efforts to encourage Muslims to join its ranks. Last year, the Army announced a program to pay $150,000 as a signing bonus to Arabic speakers, for instance…

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a civil rights and advocacy group in Washington, receives few complaints of harassment from members of the military, according to Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman. Most are limited to junior enlisted troops, he says.

"We get periodic reports, but it's not one of our larger areas," he says. "It does happen on occasion."

The use of the term "Haji" within the military is probably the most common form of harassment in the military. It has been used indiscriminately to describe any thing or person connected to Muslims. CAIR has worked to educate senior military leaders about the term and how, when used pejoratively or without understanding, it can send the wrong message. (More)

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COMPLICATIONS GROW FOR MUSLIMS SERVING IN U.S. MILITARY - TOP
Andrea Elliott, New York Times, 11/8/09

Abdi Akgun joined the Marines in August of 2000, fresh out of high school and eager to serve his country. As a Muslim, the attacks of Sept. 11 only steeled his resolve to fight terrorism.

But two years later, when Mr. Akgun was deployed to Iraq with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, the thought of confronting Muslims in battle gave him pause.

He was haunted by the possibility that he might end up killing innocent civilians.

“It’s kind of like the Civil War, where brothers fought each other across the Mason-Dixon line,” Mr. Akgun, 28, of Lindenhurst, N.Y., who returned from Iraq without ever pulling the trigger. “I don’t want to stain my faith, I don’t want to stain my fellow Muslims, and I also don’t want to stain my country’s flag.”

Thousands of Muslims have served in the United States military — a legacy that some trace to the First World War. But in the years since Sept. 11, 2001, as the United States has become mired in two wars on Muslim lands, the service of Muslim-Americans is more necessary and more complicated than ever before.

In the aftermath of the shootings at Fort Hood on Thursday by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan of the Army, a psychiatrist, many Muslim soldiers and their commanders say they fear that the relationship between the military and its Muslim service members will only grow more difficult….

Muslim leaders, advocates and military service members have taken pains to denounce the shooting and distance themselves from Major Hasan. They make the point that his violence is no more representative of them than it is of other groups to which he belongs, including Army psychiatrists.

“I don’t understand why the Muslim-American community has to take responsibility for him,” said Ingrid Mattson, the president of the Islamic Society of North America. “The Army has had at least as much time and opportunity to form and shape this person as the Muslim community.” …

Many Muslims are drawn to the military for the same reasons as other recruits. In interviews, they cited patriotism, a search for discipline and their dreams of attending college. Some Muslims said they had also enlisted to win new respect in a country where people of their faith have struggled for acceptance. (More)

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FORT HOOD: ARMY GAINS WITH MUSLIM SOLDIERS MAY BE LOST - TOP
Mark Thompson, Time, 11/9/09

Less than 1% of America's 1.4 million troops are Muslim - and that number is only the military's best guess, since just 4,000 troops have declared their faith in their service records. By all accounts, the percentage of Muslims who are outstanding, competent or misfit soldiers is proportional to that of every other ethnic group. But that logic is increasingly hard to hear in the aftermath of Major Nidal Hasan's killing spree at Fort Hood in Texas. (More)

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BACKLASH AGAINST MUSLIMS? - TOP
CNN, 11/9/09

Muslims worry about a backlash after the attack at Fort Hood. Carol Costello reports.

Click here to watch the video.

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VIDEO: CAIR CONDEMNS FORT HOOD SHOOTING - TOP
Kai Porter, KTSM News, 11/9/09

Days after a Muslim-American U.S. soldier allegedly went on a shooting spree at Fort Hood, the Council on American Islamic Relations is now condemning the shooting and has issued a warning to all Muslim Americans and their families.

Click here to watch the video.

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CAIR VIDEO: N.C. MOSQUE SEEKS FBI HELP AFTER VANDALISM - TOP

Click here to watch the video.

National Islamic leaders want a federal probe into the recent vandalism of a Durham mosque after the third recent incident at the Masjid Ibad ar-Rahman on Fayetteville Street.

Amr Dabour, the imam at Durham's largest mosque, says since the building has been on Fayetteville Street, he has never experienced such blatant disregard for the sanctity of the mosque as he did on Nov. 2 when thieves broke in.

"Not only these doors were completely broken, but I guess six or seven doors inside the building, almost all of the rooms and offices," Dabour said. "We have been feeling OK, no problem at all for years, but this was really very strange."

After local mosque leaders filed a police report with Durham authorities, the Council on American-Islamic Relations based in Washington, D.C., sought the help of federal officials.

"We've also contacted the FBI to see what they can do with the incident," Ibrahim Hooper, of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said.

The civil rights and advocacy group says they fear Muslims in recent headlines prompted the incident.

The police had already warned the mosque about potential backlash because of the recent terror arrests, Hooper said. "We believe that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident with the possibility of a bias motive in mind."

Anyone with information that may help police solve the case can contact Durham Crime Stoppers at (919) 683-1200.

U.S. Muslims Condemn Attack at Fort Hood
CAIR calls shootings cowardly and inexcusable

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/5/09) - A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy grouptonight condemned an attack on Fort Hood military base in Texas that left at least 12 people dead.

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

“We condemn this cowardly attack in the strongest terms possible and ask that the perpetrators be punished to the full extent of the law. No religious or political ideology could ever justify or excuse such wanton and indiscriminate violence. The attack was particularly heinous in that it targeted the all-volunteer army that protects our nation. American Muslims stand with our fellow citizens in offering both prayers for the victims and sincere condolences to the families of those killed or injured.”

Along with innumerable condemnations of terror, CAIR has in the past launched an online anti-terror petition drive called “Not in the Name of Islam,” initiated a television public service announcement (PSA) campaign against religious extremism and coordinated a “fatwa,” or Islamic religious ruling, against terrorism and extremism.

SEE: CAIR’s Anti-Terrorism Campaigns

Election Gives Muslims Strong Role in Mich. City
Seattle Muslim Students Speak Out Against Islam-Basher

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CAIR Calls for FBI Probe of N.C. Mosque Vandalism
Doors, windows smashed in third incident of vandalism targeting mosque

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/4/09) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on local law enforcement authorities and the FBI to investigate the possibility of a bias motive for vandalism of a Durham, N.C., mosque.

An official of the Jamaat Ibad Ar-Rahman mosque, the largest mosque in Durham, told CAIR that two reinforced glass doors on the exterior of the building were smashed sometime late Sunday or early Monday, as were a number of other doors and windows in the facility. The vandals also stole computers and printers.

Worshipers first noticed the vandalism when they arrived for morning prayers at the mosque on Monday.

SEE: Durham Mosque is Vandalized (News & Observer)

This was reportedly the third incident of vandalism targeting the mosque. Local police had asked mosque officials to alert them to any incidents that may be related to recent arrests of area Muslims on terrorism charges.

“Because of the severity of the damage to the mosque, the previous incidents of vandalism and the possibility of backlash from the recent arrests of local Muslims on terror-related charges, we believe it is only prudent to investigate a possible bias motive in this case,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.

He noted that CAIR recently called on the FBI to investigate the bias-motivated vandalism of a Houston, Texas, mosque in which anti-Islamic remarks were scrawled on the walls of the facility.

SEE: Southwest Houston Mosque Defaced

Hooper also said CAIR last month called on state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate a possible bias motive for vandalism of the home of a Muslim woman in California who was running for elected office.

SEE: Local Muslim Candidate's Home Vandalized

Also in October, CAIR’s New York office welcomed hate crime charges brought against a man who allegedly used racial slurs during an attack in Queens, N.Y., on a Long Island Muslim woman.

SEE: Racist Slurs Used During Attack on NY Muslim

In September, CAIR expressed concern about a spike in reports of anti-Muslim incidents nationwide during or just prior to the month of Ramadan.

SEE: CAIR Concerned by 'Spike' in Anti-Muslim Incidents in Ramadan

The Washington-based Muslim civil rights organization is urging American Muslim individuals and institutions to review advice on security procedures contained in its "Muslim Community Safety Kit."

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.

SUSPECTS' TALK BACK: MUSLIMS COMPLAIN TO FBI - TOP
Heather Appel, City Limits Weekly, November 2, 2009

Many Flushing residents object to their treatment in the wake of a terrorism investigation, and they're doing something about it.

Almost two months after a suspected terrorist visited New York, setting off a chain of law enforcement activities including police raids of homes in Queens, activists are methodically collecting and recording complaints from Queens residents who allege a spectrum of harassment by law enforcement from verbal abuse to home entry without a warrant. The complaints will be logged by CUNY School of Law and given to Joseph M. Demarest Jr., the assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York City office…

“An entire community and religion should not be profiled because of an investigation,” said Monami Maulik, executive director of the South Asian advocacy group DRUM (Desis Rising Up and Moving), which led a rally last month outside the Flushing branch of the Queens library. Yet some say this is exactly what has happened. In the weeks since the raids, staff from DRUM say they have spoken with more than 100 families in Flushing and have heard numerous stories of people being questioned on their way to or from work, and being asked for identification in their own homes, said organizer Ayesha Mahmooda...

Incidents like these have led DRUM to partner with the CUNY law school on creating a complaint database, and to submit a series of recommendations to the FBI which it believes could help safeguard civil liberties and promote a better relationship between law enforcement and the South Asian community.

The recommendations include creating policy change and accountability mechanisms beyond "diversity training," and ending the use of agent provocateurs in mosques, Muslim businesses, organizations, and other neighborhood sites. “This practice makes a racial and religious presumption of criminal activity that is biased,” DRUM's letter states and lower attendance at mosques in Flushing reflects the current climate of suspicion, some report…

Advocates say the latest series of raids and interviews has rekindled fears in the community that began in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Tensions escalated again in 2007 when the NYPD released a report titled “Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat,” which made sweeping generalizations about the city’s Muslim communities.

This September, the NYPD added a “statement of clarification” to the two-year-old report (on p. 11-12), which retracts the original report's statements linking the practice of Islam with terrorism, and states that increasing religiosity among Muslims "cannot be used as a signature of someone potentially becoming a terrorist." It also backs off from the conclusion that our area's Muslim communities have been "permeated" by radical ideologies.

Faiza N. Ali, community affairs director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), said the clarification was an important step, but additional measures should be taken in order to safeguard both civil liberties and national safety. They are laid out in a letter to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly from the Muslim American Civil Liberties Coalition, of which CAIR is part. "We remain concerned that the standing report sends mixed messages: the clarification decouples religion from terrorism but the core language continues to criminalize religious behaviors,” Ali said. “The NYPD report risks alienating mainstream Muslims, and if translated into policy, will only deepen mistrust between law enforcement and community members.” (More)

SEE ALSO:

TEAM TO REVIEW SHOOTING OF IMAM - TOP
Detroit Free Press, 11/3/09

Ron Scott, head of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality, called Monday for an independent investigation into the killing of Luqman Ameen Abdullah, a Muslim leader who headed the Masjid Al-Haqq mosque in Detroit. (More)

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U.S. TO PAY $1.2 MILLION TO 5 DETAINEES OVER ABUSE LAWSUIT - TOP
NINA BERNSTEIN, New York Times, 11/3/09

The federal government is paying $1.2 million to settle the cases of five Muslim immigrants who sued over their detention and treatment in a Brooklyn jail after 9/11, when hundreds of noncitizens were rounded up and held for months before being cleared of links to terrorism and deported.

The five were part of a larger lawsuit, Turkmen v. Ashcroft, which will continue to press the argument that the roundups and physical abuse they say they suffered were unconstitutional. (More)

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CAIR-LA TO GIVE ‘COURAGE IN MEDIA’ AWARD TO ZEITOUN AUTHOR, PULITZER NOMINEE DAVE EGGERS - TOP
13th annual banquet expected to draw 2,000 including public officials, community and interfaith leaders

(ANAHEIM, CA, 11/3/09) - The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) will present its 2009 "Courage in Media" Award to Zeitoun author and Pulitzer Prize nominee Dave Eggers. Eggers will accept the award at CAIR-LA’s 13th annual banquet on Saturday, November 7 at the Anaheim Hilton.

Zeitoun is about a Muslim American man who volunteers to help rescue victims of Hurricane Katrina but is mistaken for a terrorist, detained by FEMA and subjected to a series of humiliations and detention at the hands of his own government.

Eggers also wrote A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, for which he was the 2001 Pulitzer Prize finalist, and is a co-screenwriter for the box office hit Where the Wild Things Are, an adaptation of 1963 classic children’s book by Maurice Sendak.

SEE: A Muslim American Hero: A Conversation with Dave Eggers on “Zeitoun”

“Dave Eggers has made accessible a powerful story about the joys and tribulations of being an American Muslim in the wake of the Bush administration’s misguided policies in the War on Terror,” said Hussam Ayloush, executive director of CAIR-LA. “His work deserves recognition and thanks from American Muslims.”

Some 2,000 guests are expected to attend Saturday’s banquet and celebrate CAIR-LA and the Southern California Muslim community’s accomplishments.

The keynote speech will be delivered by Dr. Sherman Jackson, professor of Arabic & Islamic Studies and visiting professor of law at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. North Carolina State Senator and CAIR National Board Chairman Larry Shaw and Shaikh Alauddin El-Bakri, Imam of Saratoga mosque and co-founder of Inner City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) and editor of IQRA, will also speak.

WHAT: CAIR-LA 13th Annual Banquet
WHEN: Saturday, November 7, at 5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Anaheim Hilton, 777 Convention Way, Anaheim, CA. [Please park in the Hilton parking for your ticket to be validated. Media professionals must carry company-issued credentials]
CONTACT: Munira Syeda, CAIR-LA communications manager, phone: (714) 776-1847 or (714) 851-4851; E-mail: info@losangeles.cair.com

CAIR-LA also will present Rancho Palos Verde resident Atif Moon with the 2009 "Excellence in Leadership" award. The 24-year-old was born with neuroblastoma, a cancer of the spinal cord. Despite being paralyzed from waist down, Moon lives a full life. He co-founded the Center for Global Understanding (CFGU), an organization that encourages Muslim American youth to participate in the civic process. He is also a sports enthusiast and will be pursuing a master’s degree in sports management in spring 2010.

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-LA Communications Manager Munira Syeda, (714) 776-1847, (714) 851-4851 or E-Mail at info@losangeles.cair.com

SEE ALSO:

3RD ANNUAL CAIR-MN BANQUET - TOP

Saturday, November 7, 2009
5:30pm
Embassy Suites-Airport Hotel: 34th Ave S, Bloomington, MN 55425

The banquet program will include Dinner, a Silent Auction, CAIR-MN's Annual Report, Justice Works Awards, and a networking social with Ms. McKinney.

Tickets are $40 per person or $350 for a table of 10.
For tickets, please call 651-645-7102 or email info@mn.cair.com

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CAIR-SFBA 15TH ANNUAL BANQUET - TOP

Sunday, November 15, at 5 p.m.
Marriott Fremont, 46100 Landing Parkway, Fremont
“A New Era of Hope”

CAIR-SFBA 15th Annual Banquet
Speakers Include: Prof. David Cole and Dr. Jack Shaheen
To reserve your tickets, Call: 408.986.9875 or visit ca.cair.com

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7TH ANNUAL CAIR-SACRAMENTO VALLEY BANQUET - TOP

Saturday, November 21, 5 p.m.
Speaker: ACLU-Northern California Executive Director Abdi Soltani
http://www.ca.cair.com/sacval

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CAIR-CT TO HOLD ANNUAL BANQUET 11/21- TOP

WHERE: Crowne Plaza, Cromwell, CT
WHEN: Saturday November 21, 2009, Registration at 5 p.m.
SPEAKERS: Imam Mahdi Bray, Dr. Jimmy Jones and comedian Azhar Usman
CONTACT : (860)442-2247, E-Mail: info@cair-ct.com

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BE SENSITIVE TO AFGHANS - TOP
Detroit Free Press, 11/1/09

Afghan civilians have suffered high numbers of causalities in the past eight years. Also, Afghans have heard reports of detainees being tortured at the Bagram Detention Center right in their own backyard, a facility that has held far more detainees than Guantanamo with reportedly much worse conditions. And while some view us as liberating them from the Taliban regime, many view us as foreign occupiers not much differently from the Soviets, the British or as far back as Alexander the Great.

Perhaps more acknowledgement of the suffering and deaths of Afghans and greater transparency regarding prisoner abuse at Bagram may be more of a constructive step in gaining trust of Afghans than military escalation.

Dawud Walid
Executive Director
Council on American-Islamic Relations -- MI (CAIR-MI)
Southfield

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CAIR-OK OFFERS ‘KNOW YOUR RIGHTS,’ FLU INFO TO HAJJ TRAVELERS - TOP

(OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, 11/3/09) - The Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-OK) yesterday gave a “Know Your Rights” presentation to travelers who are about to make Hajj (pilgrimage) from the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City (ISGOC).

The presentation included information on how to request same-gender screening in private rooms instead of going through full-body screening machines and how to file complaints if a traveler believes he or she has been subjected to ethnic or religious profiling.

In 2007, a Hajj group from the Islamic Center of America was barred from boarding a Northwest Airline plane. Northwest Airlines later apologized and gave compensation to those who were barred.

SEE: Northwest Apologizes to ‘Bumped’ Hajis (Arab News)

CAIR-OK encourages all who plan on leaving for Hajj in November to review CAIR’s American Muslim Civic Pocket Guide.

CAIR-OK Executive Director Razi Hashmi also educated workshop participants about H1N1 (swine flu). CAIR encourages travelers to be aware of the H1N1 virus and to take the necessary health precautions.

SEE: Swine Flu Threatens Hajj Season (CNN)

CAIR advises Hajj travelers to bring hand sanitizers, facemasks, ibuprofen pain and fever reliever, and anti-viral medicine such as Tamiflu. Although difficult, CAIR urges Hajj participants to avoid as much physical contact as possible, and to wash hands frequently and receive the H1N1 vaccine before traveling.

SEE: Saudi FDA Approves H1N1 Vaccine Ahead of Hajj (Reuters)

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-OK Executive Director Razi Hashmi, 405-248-5853, E-Mail: rhashmi@cair.com; CAIR-OK Chair Michael Aziz Gipson, E-Mail: mgipson@cair.com; CAIR-OK Operations Coordinator Huda Abdul-Razzak, E-Mail: habdulrazzak@cair.com

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-MI GIVES DIVERSITY TRAINING TO UNIVERSITY COUNSELORS - TOP

(SOUTHFIELD, MI, 11/3/09) The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) today provided diversity training to mental health professionals at the Michigan State University (MSU) Counseling Center in East Lansing.

The training provided information about basic Islamic beliefs and answered questions relating to an array of issues that face Muslim college students.

“We are pleased that university officials are working to ensure a positive learning environment for all students,” said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid.

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, 248-559-2247, E-Mail: dwalid@cair.com

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LOONWATCH EXCLUSIVE: ROBERT SPENCER’S “F**KALLAH.COM” & “F**KISLAM.COM” -TOP
Zingel, Loonwatch.com, 11/3/09

Robert Spencer, a long discredited anti-Muslim hatemonger posing as an “Islam scholar” has shown his scholarly objective ways with the heinously named URL’s “f***allah.com” and “f***islam.com” redirecting to his cesspool of subjectivity, the David Horowitz funded hate blog, Jihadwatch.org.

In doing so, Robert Spencer may have been trying to actively market his hate material to like-minded audiences. It is a well known fact that keywords are a crucial factor in the popularity of a blog. This is damning evidence of the true gutter intent behind his little blog project which is to attract and further incite those with Islamophobic tendencies, his primary audience. (More)

Israel must investigate army's conduct in Operation Cast LeadB'Tselem is persistently advocating for Israel to implement the principal recommendation of the Goldstone report and mount an independent investigation into suspicions that Israeli forces breached international humanitarian law in Operation Cast Lead.

Suspicion: soldiers killed driver who did not endanger their livesOn 22 Sept. '09, soldiers shot and killed Rabi' a-Tawil some time after he entered Israel through the Mevo Beitar checkpoint. B'Tselem has found that a-Tawil submitted identifying documents near the checkpoint and did not pose a threat to the soldiers' lives.

Video: 2009 olive harvestIn several events documented by B'Tselem during October, settlers are seen stealing Palestinians' crops and hampering their olive harvest.

Suspicion: undercover police assault youth in East JerusalemAccording to a testimony by Firas al-Atrash, on 9 Oct. '09, Israeli policemen assaulted him in East Jerusalem. The policemen, who were pretending to be stone throwers, beat him severely, breaking his arm and nose.

Father of three deported to GazaIn her testimony, Alaa Abu Sultan relates how her husband was deported from the West Bank to Gaza two years ago, even though he had been living in Tulkarm since 1996. He has not seen his family since.

Israeli Supreme Court orders opening of road to PalestiniansThe justices did not nullify the policy prohibiting Palestinians to travel on some roads in the West Bank intended only for Israelis.

CAIRO (Reuters) – Rokaya Mohamed, an elementary school teacher, would rather die than take off her face veil, or niqab, thrusting her to the forefront of a battle by government-backed clerics to limit Islamism inEgypt.

Egypt's state-run religious establishment wants teachers like Mohamed to remove their veils in front of female students, sparking a backlash by Islamists who say women should be able to choose to cover their faces in line with their Islamic faith.

"I have put on the niqab because it is a Sunna (a tradition of the Muslim prophet Muhammad). It is something that brings me closer to religion and closer to the wives of the Prophet who used to wear it," she said.

"I know what makes God and his prophet love me, and no sheikh is going to convince me otherwise. I would rather die than take it off, even inside class," she added.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091102/lf_nm_life/us_egypt_niqab