Archives April 2009

International News | US greets returning Muslims with interrogation

US federal agents harass Muslim, Arab travelers at borders
US greets returning Muslims with interrogation

Invasive interrogation

FBI/Muslim saga

Impact of NSEERS

Call to end racial profiling
Report reveals extent of U.S. border interrogations of American Muslims (Courtesy of Muslim Advocates)
Report reveals extent of U.S. border interrogations of American Muslims (Courtesy of Muslim Advocates)

CAIRO (Marwa Awad)

A Muslim legal advocacy group in the United States accused federal agents at borders and airports of routinely selecting Muslim-American travelers and those with ethnic backgrounds perceived as Muslim for searches and interrogations on the basis of race, religion and national origin without any “evidence or even suspicious wrongdoing.”

Muslim Advocates, a non-profit group of the National Association of Muslim Lawyers, said in a report released earlier this month that the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection agents committed “profound privacy intrusions” without cause against law-abiding Muslim, Arab and South Asian Americans returning home from overseas travel.

” These incidents from across the country suggest that the First and Fourth Amendment rights of innocent Americans are being violated “
Farhana Khera, Muslim Advocates president

The report “Unreasonable Intrusions: Investigating the Politics, Faith and Finances of Americans Returning Home,” charged that federal agents routinely questioned such individuals about their religious values, political views and civic associations as well as extensively searching their laptops, cell phones, digital cameras and photocopying private documents.

These extensive interrogations are done “without evidence or even suspicion that the travelers have engaged in wrongdoing,” stated the report, warning that such racial profiling does little to strengthen national security, generating false leads and wasting scarce government resources.

Racial profiling of Muslim Americans since Sept. 11 has tested the limits of democracy in America and the government’s ability to balance national security concerns with individual rights of its citizens.

“These incidents from across the country suggest that the First and Fourth Amendment rights of innocent Americans are being violated,” Farhana Khera president and executive director of Muslim Advocates said in a statement.
Top

Invasive interrogation
US Muslims are routinely interrogated, some harassed, at US borders

The increase of invasive interrogations has many Americans concerned about their freedom of movement.

“Delays and routine profiling have been a staple part of my travels,” 34-year-old Hussain Adley, a U.S. Muslim business consultant of Egyptian-Jordanian origin, told AlArabiya.net.

“I travel frequently and mostly for work and this makes the feds meticulous about searching my belongings,” he explained.

Adley said agents at the airport have downloaded documents from his laptop and questioned him about the addresses and livelihoods of people in photos on his camera and his relation to them, in addition to asking the routine questions on his religious and political beliefs.

David Evans, 26, a U.S. citizen and a Muslim convert, has experienced intrusive searches during his frequent travels between the U.S. and Egypt where he works as a translator.

” Those who travel frequently back and forth between the same set of destinations are grilled more vigorously “
David Evans, US Muslim living abroad

On his latest visit to the U.S., all his documents were photocopied at the airport including his personal diary and list of contacts. He was detained and questioned at length about why he resides in Egypt and what his religious views are.

Evans explained that travel patterns are used as a pretext for racial and religious profiling. “Those who travel frequently back and forth between the same destinations are grilled more vigorously,” he said.

The Muslim Advocates report listed numerous cases of U.S. citizens who have been interrogated – some even harassed – by federal agents who came from various educational and vocational backgrounds and different age groups, with the only common denominator their religion and travels to Muslim countries.

One such case was Fairuz Abdullah, a lawyer and civic leader who was wrongly forced into immigration processing and denied access of counsel despite her American citizenship.

In 2007 federal agents at the Miami International Airport “aggressively interrogated” Abdullah about her previous travels and private life after she returned from Peru. Agents continually harassed her, according to the report, threatening to confiscate her cell phone when she tried to call her lawyer and addressing her only in Spanish although she is a native English speaker.
Top

FBI/Muslim saga
” Constructive relations with any law enforcement agency must be based on mutual respect and trust. We hope that the FBI addresses these crucial issues so that trust can be restored and relations maintained “
Asma Hanif, CCMO

Years of strained relations between the FBI and Muslim Americans lately culminated in Muslim groups threatening to cease their post-Sept. 11, 2001 cooperation with the FBI after a series of revelations that the agency infiltrated mosques and coerced the faithful into becoming informants shored up the limits of Muslim Americans’ civil rights.

“Constructive relations with any law enforcement agency must be based on mutual respect and trust,” Asma Hanif Chair of the Coordinating Council of Muslim Organizations said in a statement. “We hope that the FBI addresses these crucial issues so that trust can be restored and relations maintained.”
Top

Impact of NSEERS
Muslim Advocates calls on the Obama administration to change FBI guidelines on border crossing

Besides targeting home comers, the government has also implemented the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS), a counterterrorism tool that tracks non-immigrants on temporary visas.

The program requires racially profiled non-immigrants to register themselves at ports of entry for finger-prints, photographs and lengthy interrogations.

According to a report issued in March, 80,000 males, mostly Muslim and Arab, were selected, 13,799 of whom were referred to further investigations and 2,870 detained. Charges against them were mainly immigration violations such as overstaying a visa.

The impact of NSEERS has been damaging for many individuals who did not have terrorism charges or criminal histories, said the report.
Top

Call to end racial profiling

Muslim Advocates called on the Obama administration to ban FBI guidelines issued in the Bush era which use racial and ethnic criteria as basis for investigations and to protect citizens who travel abroad and ensure that they are not subjected to unreasonable and coercive interrogations and searches without cause.

In order to “restore constitutional protections eroded by the status quo border security apparatus,” the group advised President Obama to start a Homeland Security review and reform CBP policies and practices that target Muslims, Arabs and South Asian Americans and to forward the review to congressional committees.
عودة للأعلى

First Published 2009-04-20


‘Born a Muslim and wishes to die a Muslim’

 
Church seeks to convert Obama grandma

 
Relatives of ‘Mama Sarah’ say she was surprised by Church baptism offer, declined to attend.

 
NAIROBI – A Protestant church in Kenya is trying to convert US President Barack Obama’s step-grandmother to Christianity against her will, a Muslim group said Monday, condemning the move as provocation.

The Seventh Day Adventist church in the western town of Kisumu had invited 87-year-old Sarah Obama — a Muslim — to a function on Saturday, where she was allegedly to be baptised.

According to relatives in her village of Kogelo, “Mama Sarah”, as she is popularly known in the US president’s paternal homeland, was surprised by the offer and declined to attend.

“I regret the attempt by the Christian religion to force her to convert,” said Sheikh Mohamed Khalifa, the organising secretary of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya.

“Why only her? Why not before Obama became president? Didn’t they see her before he became president?” he said.

Said Obama, a step-brother to the US president, said the church pastors had approached Sarah Obama with news that she could become a Christian.

“Mama (Sarah) was born a Muslim and wishes to die a Muslim. The issue of conversion is neither here not there,” he said.

Khalifa denounced the move as a “provocation.”

“They don’t have permission from Jesus to convert someone. I challenge them to quote a verse from the Bible allowing them to convert someone,” he said.

Sarah became a national celebrity when her grandson visited the country in 2006 and her modest homestead has become a tourist attraction since the former Illinois senator’s November 2008 election triumph.

The Kenyan government last month declared Kogelo a protected national heritage site.

alJazeera Magazine – U.S. military recruiting minors?

AMY GOODMAN: Two Northern California towns are finding themselves in a showdown with the Pentagon over a ban on recruiting minors for the military. Last November, residents of Eureka and Arcata passed a ballot initiative known as the Youth Protection Act. The measure bars the U.S. government from trying to enlist youths under the age of eighteen in any branch of the U.S. armed forces.

But just days after the laws went into effect, the Justice Department filed a suit seeking to overturn them. The Justice Department’s civil action says the initiatives are invalid because they conflict with federal law. Both towns are refusing to cave. They’ve hired lawyers, filed counter-claims challenging the federal government’s action.

I’m joined now by two guests involved with this local grassroots effort. David Meserve is a member of the Stop Recruiting Kids coalition, which spearheaded the successful ballot measure banning military recruitment of minors in Arcata and Eureka, former member of Arcata’s city council. Sharon Adams is also with us. She’s a San Francisco-based attorney with the Stop Recruiting Kids coalition, board member at large of the National Lawyers Guild Bay Area Chapter.

We welcome you both to Democracy Now!

DAVID MESERVE: Thank you.

AMY GOODMAN: When did you pass this, David?

DAVID MESERVE: We passed it last November as a ballot initiative.

AMY GOODMAN: And explain exactly what it says.

DAVID MESERVE: Well, what it actually says is that no person who is employed by or an agent of the United States government shall, within the city limits of Arcata, recruit, initiate contact with for the purpose of recruiting, or promote the future enlistment of anyone under the age of eighteen.

AMY GOODMAN: How much was this being done before? And how much is it continuing?

DAVID MESERVE: Well, it happens nationwide, that the recruiters target kids at increasingly younger ages, but certainly down to fourteen, fifteen and sixteen, not to actually enlist, but to encourage them to think about enlisting in the future and to portray the military life as something that would be a good choice for them.

AMY GOODMAN: What was the vote in Eureka and Arcata?

DAVID MESERVE: Well, in Arcata, it passed by 73 percent margin, and in Eureka, by 57 percent. And we were actually—we had kind of thought that it was going to pass in Arcata. Arcata is known as a fairly liberal town, has done things like this in the past. The really exciting thing was it passing in Eureka, which is much more of a kind of working-class town, logging, fishing, etc. And we felt that we had really succeeded in Eureka, because we intended this as a nonpartisan measure, as something that did not require being anti-military to pass it. All we were really saying is that it’s inappropriate to recruit kids into the military. And apparently that message rang true for the people of Eureka.

AMY GOODMAN: OK, so it hasn’t been implemented yet. The Justice Department is not pleased. Explain what they’re doing.

DAVID MESERVE: Well, the Justice Department immediately sued to invalidate the measure—

AMY GOODMAN: This was under President Bush?

DAVID MESERVE: This was under President Bush. There were those who encouraged us to delay things until President Obama was in office, but we don’t really think that there would have been much difference, and they certainly haven’t dropped the lawsuit since he’s been in office.

So, they are trying to invalidate the measure under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, and we are fighting back legally and saying that the government really needs to remember that the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution also includes the Bill of Rights and also includes treaties signed by the U.S. government.

AMY GOODMAN: We tried to have a representative from the Justice Department on the show today, but they did not get back to us. Sharon Adams, explain the significance of these two referendum that have been passed by these towns and the Justice Department taking them on.

SHARON ADAMS: Well, the Justice Department is saying that they violate the Supremacy Clause, as David said. And—

AMY GOODMAN: And explain exactly what that is.

SHARON ADAMS: The Supremacy Clause is an article in the Constitution that says that the laws of the United States are the supreme law of the land, but it also includes in there the treaties that the United States has signed. So, one of our arguments is that there’s a protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. That’s a treaty that the United States has signed. And in that treaty, it specifically discusses recruiting. And it specifically says, as far as the United States is concerned, that the United States will not recruit under the age of seventeen. And what we see over and over is that they are actually recruiting under the age of seventeen. So what we are saying is that there is no violation of the Supremacy Clause. What we’re saying is that the Supremacy Clause—the laws of the United States and this protocol are actually in—they’re in accord. And what’s happening is that the way that the recruiting is actually happening is not in accord with the existing laws in the United States and with the treaties.

AMY GOODMAN: So, what are you going to do now, David Meserve? You used to serve on the city council, but these laws are now not in effect.

DAVID MESERVE: Well, we’re moving ahead to defend them, and we’re also hoping that other cities want to follow suit. We’re encouraging other cities to think about ballot initiatives like this in the future, because it is a way for people to speak out from a grassroots level. And we’re also asking that they hold back a little bit and take a look at how the case turns out and whether there are any changes that would be advised for cities who will be doing this in the future, because we think it’s really important for cities and communities to be able to speak out and say that we believe that it’s wrong to recruit kids, and we believe that we have the power of the law on our side, as well as just the power of the right of what should be.

AMY GOODMAN: And what about the federal government saying it trumps what you want in your local town?

DAVID MESERVE: Well, we don’t think that the federal government does trump it, both because of the optional protocol and also because of the Ninth Amendment. And under the Ninth Amendment, there is the right to privacy, and we believe that intrinsic in that is the right to protect children from being approached by recruiters.

AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask you, Sharon Adams, about a different issue, maybe somewhat related. I was speaking at the Federal Reserve here at lunchtime in San Francisco yesterday, and a woman came up to me from the National Lawyers Guild, and she talked about the attempted impeachment of a judge here, Jay Bybee, talking about the torture memos. Can you talk about the efforts around these torture memos and what you’re doing?

SHARON ADAMS: Well, the National Lawyers Guild has filed in California a complaint with the State Bar of California against William Haynes. William Haynes was the attorney for Donald Rumsfeld and the Department of Defense, and William Haynes wrote a memo that basically recommended that Donald Rumsfeld approve certain enhanced interrogation techniques. And based on this recommendation by William Haynes, Donald Rumsfeld did do that. It was directly linked—it has been directly linked to the torture abuses that occurred at Abu Ghraib.

So, what we did with the Guild was we filed a complaint with the State Bar against William Haynes, who is regi
stered in-house counsel here in California, because he’s now working at Chevron Corporation in San Ramon. And we are seeking to have him disciplined for his actions in writing those—in making that recommendation that led to approval of basically torture techniques.

AMY GOODMAN: So, you have Jay Bybee, this impeachment effort?

SHARON ADAMS: Right. The impeachment effort is being done by a slightly different group, but they are trying to go through the Democratic Party and get an actual resolution trying to get Jay Bybee impeached, because the only way to get him removed from the bench right now is through Congress, through an impeachment action. So they’re trying to do a grassroots movement to begin that.

AMY GOODMAN: And John Yoo, who’s a professor here at UC Berkeley in Berkeley, California, though he’s teaching at Chapman Law School down in—

SHARON ADAMS: Right.

AMY GOODMAN: —near Los Angeles.?

SHARON ADAMS: He is not registered in California as an attorney. He teaches here, but he’s not a registered attorney here. His registration is in Pennsylvania. So the Guild is also trying to—is working on a complaint against him in Pennsylvania, as well.

AMY GOODMAN: And how does this relate to the latest news we have out of Spain? Scott Horton is reporting that the proceedings will move against a number of these men.

SHARON ADAMS: I think it’s just the tide is turning. I really do. I’m just—every time I hear some new little bit of news, I feel that maybe the world is waking up from slumber.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, I want to thank you very much for being with us, Sharon Adams and David Meserve, coming down from Northern California from Arcata and Eureka, of Stop Recruiting Kids coalition.
Source: Middle East Online

Muslims are listening, Mr. Obama!

Muslims are listening, Mr. Obama!
Aijaz Zaka Syed | Arab News

A perceptive colleague is tired of my endless adulation for Barack Obama. Every time I talk about him, she rolls her eyes to point out all that America’s new president has done is talk, talk and talk. There are no actions to back up his rhetoric. She accuses me of “betraying the cause” when she sees my repugnance of Bush give way to hopeless admiration for his successor.

And I ask her to pit Obama against W. and see the difference. Imagine the alternate scenario if the Americans had NOT voted for Obama. We would be stuck with John McCain today, the 72-year old warhorse who talked of staying in Iraq and Afghanistan forever and promise to “bomb-bomb” Iran.

Obama may not have produced any pigeons out of his hat yet. But look at what he has already set out to do. It gives you real hope about the “change we can.” Next week, he will be completing three months in office. These have been perhaps the most eventful twelve weeks of any leader in the US history with implications that go far beyond America’s borders.

During his long campaign for the most powerful office on the planet, the young African-American candidate would tell the Americans that if elected he would “hit the ground running” to put the country back on the track. Once elected, Obama wasted little time celebrating and savoring his historic victory. In any case, the wreckage left behind by his predecessor gave him little time or opportunity to celebrate.

True to his words, our hero has been busy from the word get-go, in his efforts to reinvent the ideals and values that once inspired the land of the free. Nobody ever thought bridging the gulf that the neocons spent eight long years digging up would be easy. But Obama is at least trying.

While the ever-deepening economic crisis keeps him busy at home, the new president has in the first three months in office taken steps that have forced the world to sit up and look at his nation with fresh eyes and new respect. It’s perhaps the most ambitious agenda any president has set himself.

And unlike his equally ambitious predecessors such as FD Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, Obama hasn’t mobilized the awesome military and economic power at America’s disposal to achieve those goals.

As someone who virtually talked and charmed his way to power against impossible odds, he certainly knows how to make use of America’s soft power and his own incredible charisma to push his agenda. While this president has demonstrated exceptional political maturity and farsighted pragmatism on all fronts, future historians might remember him for his role in reconfiguring the US relations with the Muslim world.

As promised in his inaugural address, this son of a Kenyan Muslim has steadfastly sought a “new way forward with the Muslim world based on mutual respect.”

The first executive order he issued was to get the Guantanamo Bay shut, a legacy of the Bush years that has been a source of anger and frustration in the Muslim world for many years. This was not just about closing an infamous prison but shutting the door on an era that has brought nothing but shame and disgrace to America.

And the first interview the new US leader decided to grant was to the Dubai-based Arabic television network Al Arabiya — a clear case of medium being as important as the message — honing his mantra of peace and reconciliation with the Arab and Muslim world.

The appointment of special envoys to the Middle East and Afghanistan-Pakistan is perhaps the second most important decision the new president made. George Mitchell and Richard Holbrooke were dispatched to tackle the two long-festering conflicts in the Muslim world even before Obama completed his first week in office.

Around the same time, he reached out to Iran offering it America’s “unclenched fist” in friendship after three decades of endless hostilities and perpetual fear mongering on both sides.

After initial shock and awe followed by confusion, Iranians seem to have concluded that Obama indeed means what he says. Regular, normal relations with the West after decades of isolation may not be so bad after all.

Ahmadinejad now agrees there are some “new and positive things” in the message from Washington, although Tehran is far from likely to scrap its nuclear program solely because of Obama’s noble intentions.

And now the US says enrichment or no enrichment, it is willing to hold direct talks with Iran, dropping a key demand that Tehran freeze nuclear enrichment before the two sides could come to the negotiating table.

More important, Obama says Iran has a right to pursue nuclear energy — if it’s peaceful. And President Ahmadinejad, who comes up with “good news for Iranian people” from time to time, would tell you it is indeed a “peaceful” nuclear program. Anyway, that’s another debate altogether.

What matter is these are extraordinary times and we are witnessing extraordinary changes. Changes that would be totally unthinkable even weeks ago. It’s amazing how much Bush’s America has changed under his successor. And how fast! This is why when Obama stood in Turkey’s Parliament to reassure the Muslim world that America “is not and never will be at war with Islam,” Muslims around the world were not only willing to listen to him but were prepared to take his word for it.

Of course, we are yet to see any significant changes on the ground. But we’ll get there, if America persists on the path chosen by its 44th president.

Obama’s real work lies ahead. The road ahead will be rough and treacherous, with pitfalls everywhere. The Middle East will be his real litmus test, just as it had been for many before him. It’s a tragedy that finally when we have a willing leader in the White House, the Israelis had to pick up Netanyahu and his even more batty deputy Lieberman. In any case, Israel’s fundamental policies seldom change, no matter who calls the shots in Tel Aviv.

If Obama is the honest and courageous leader that I believe he is, he just might pull it off, succeeding where all his predecessors failed. God knows enough innocent blood has been shed in the Holy Land. About time somebody told Israel enough is enough. The party is over. It’s time to behave and give up what doesn’t belong to you.

— Aijaz Zaka Syed is a Dubai-based commentator and can be reached at aijaz.syed@hotmail.com

My Private Casbah

Monday, April 13, 2009
ZOMG! Islam is so-oo-oo violent!
You know, this stuff really gets old. I can’t tell you how sick to death I am of people talking about how horrible Islam is towards women and girls. It’s not that I don’t think that people who are Muslim can be abusive towards women–of course they can. What I tire of is those who don’t really care about the abuse of women; they just want to use this as a means of proving how superior their religion is. Today, while reading the articles about Nour Hadid, I kept finding more of these sort of comments.

It has always amazed me how people who obviously have never read the entire Bible (or the Qu’ran) will actually have the audacity to try to claim what is and isn’t in it. For those who think that a few verses from the Qu’ran can define an entire religion, feel free to chew on these and tell me what they say about Christianity:

“Slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children, and women…” (Ezekiel 9:6)

“Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.” (Psalms 137: 9)

“Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him. And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly. Behold, there is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you; but unto this man do not so vile a thing. But the men would not hearken to him; so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them, and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning, and when the day began to spring, they let her go….and her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way, and behold the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold….and when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.” (Judges 19:22,29)

It should be noted that there are thousands of Christian religious leaders who adamantly proclaim that everything in the Bible is true and accurate and that following it is the only way to please God.
Posted by bint alshamsa at 5:28 PM
Labels: Ally-Work, Bigotry, Culture, Religion
3 comments:

GallingGalla said…

how about this:

transcript of this 15-second video: a teenage boy approaches the viewer, raises up and points a (presumably loaded) gun at the viewer’s face, cocks the gun and makes ready to pull the trigger. Towards the end, an adult male voices over: “if you don’t matter to god, you don’t matter to anyone”. The video closes with a frame showing the text: “1:1 answersingenesis.org – believing it. defending it. proclaiming it.”

right, sure, it’s only Muslims who are violent.
8:32 PM
Zan said…

ARG! GG, that’s EXACTLY the sort of attitude that lead to all my fucked up emotional trauma and baggage! This post was created from that kind of attitude. Yes, if GOD doesn’t want you, no one does! ARG!!!!!!
8:29 AM
BLESSD1 said…

Bint…this was a REALLY POWERFUL post, and with your permission, I will be using some of it’s finer points in future debates.
2:00 PM

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bint alshamsa
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Above all else, I am proof that having an incurable cancer doesn’t mean that your life is over. I am also the mother of a gifted child who has been an artist since she was born. We live in the southern part of the beautiful state of Louisiana. I’m a biology student on hiatus as I heal from treatment. Besides English, I can speak Arabic, a bit of French and Spanish and nothing more than a few phrases in German but I’m working on it. I love cats and plants even though I only have 2 of each. Some of my friends call me Tulip. You’re free to do the same.

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Who’s Mouthing Off In The Casbah?

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True, many of the comments are truly disquesting. However, I live in the area that this occured…(more)
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Bint…this was a REALLY POWERFUL post, and with your permission, I will be using some of it’s…(more)
* Eric Dondero on police force woman to take picture in
Bint, permission to reprint in its entirety and without edit at Libertarian Republican blog?If…(more)
* Zan on zomg islam is so oo oo violent
ARG! GG, that’s EXACTLY the sort of attitude that lead to all my fucked up emotional trauma and…(more)
* GallingGalla on zomg islam is so oo oo violent
how about this: transcript of this 15-second video: a teenage boy approaches the viewer, raises up…(more)
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Islam exposed to receptive audience

Some came from Bay Area to hear speaker’s informative discussion

BY Eman M. Shurbaji, contributing writer | Friday, Apr 10 2009 09:42 PM

Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Zenn Monzon, left, asks a question about Islam to Sheikh Yusuf Estes, right, who was a former Christian music minister before converting to Islam. Estes was the guest speaker of the annual Islam Exposed Conference put on by the Islamic Shoura Council of Bakersfield. Monzon says he has studied many religions and is a Christian.

What’s the difference between read and recite? What’s the true meaning of jihad? Do Muslim women really have to wear the hijab (headscarf)?
At the “Islam Exposed” conference last Saturday, Sheik Yusuf Estes spoke to a packed crowd at the Beale Memorial Library auditorium in an effort to answer some of these questions. He broke his talk down into simple lingo using scenarios based on the contexts and times in which the Prophet Muhammad lived.
For example, despite the ill-informed belief that the Prophet looted and stole from caravans, he was nicknamed “al-Sadiq,” which means “the trustworthy one” in Arabic. Furthermore, his honesty and sincerity in his transactions as a merchant led to a marriage proposal from his boss, Khadija.
The invitation of Estes to Bakersfield was part of an effort to allow for more dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims. Estes, a former Christian missionary, entered Islam through dialogue. A Texas native, he now lives in Virginia and travels throughout the country giving talks about Islam.
The afternoon conference began with an introduction and ended with a question and answer session. Sometimes, the sheik would refer people to one of several Web sites for further information.
Visitors were able to sign in as guests, pick up copies of the Quran and talk to volunteers from the Muslim community.
Sophia Bham, a volunteer at the information booth, said the turnout was, without a doubt, a success. “People were more interested and happy with the hospitality. They want to study more,” said Bham.
Some people even came to the event from out of town. A group of young Muslims — three women and one man — carpooled together from the Bay Area. They heard about the event on a sisters’ (what members of the Muslim community call fellow female members) event board on the internet.
One of them, Kim Tran, was happy to see some misconceptions cleared up. As a convert herself, she was yearning for an engaging talk about Islam. “The Bay Area is full of Muslims, but an event like this is worth driving hours for,” she said.
Still others were locals looking for answers about life in general. As Nathan Ellis, a student at San Joaquin Valley College, walked out of the conference room, he asked members of the Muslim community for their contact information so he could continue the discussion about Islam. “I think I just need to read more,” he said.
Betty Farmer, whose husband is a deacon with the Seventh-day Adventist church, remained long after the event as her husband conversed with Estes. “We have the same god, so we welcome discussion about beliefs,” said Farmer.
The event was organized by the Islamic Shoura Council of Bakersfield. Sheik Yusuf Estes remained in Bakersfield to give talks at the local Islamic centers over the weekend. Then, he was scheduled to visit the Fresno area. For further information about the Shoura Council or future events, please visit www.iscob.org.
Eman M. Shurbaji is a recent graduate of Cal State Bakersfield, where she studied communications. She is a member of the local Muslim Women’s Association.

Gmail – Muslims Fear FBI is Spying in Mosques / CAIR Seeks Release of Fla. Muslim Detained After Acquittal – mohamediqbalp@gmail.com

April 6, 2009 Forward to a Friend Support CAIR Contact Us Update Your Profile

* Hadith: Put Love in the Hearts of People
* Breaking: CAIR to Seek Release of FL Muslim Detained After Acquittal
* Muslims Fear FBI is Spying in Mosques (Buffalo News)
o CAIR: U.S. Muslims Debate How Much to Help FBI (SF Chron)
o Why U.S. Muslims Are Considering Suspending FBI Outreach Ties
* CAIR-OK: Bill Would Set Back the Clock on Civil Rights Progress
* Most Back Outreach to Muslim Nations, but Suspicion Persists (ABC News)
o Most in Poll Back Outreach to Muslims (Wash Post)
* TN Mosque Seeks ‘Buffer Zones’ from Restaurant Serving Alcohol

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HADITH OF THE DAY: PUT LOVE IN THE HEARTS OF PEOPLE – TOP

When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) entered a new town, he would say: “O God. . .put our love in the hearts of its people and put the love of its righteous people in our hearts.”

Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 4, Number 147

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BREAKING NEWS: CAIR TO SEEK RELEASE OF FL MUSLIM DETAINED AFTER ACQUITTAL – TOP

(TAMPA, FL, 4/6/09) – On Tuesday, April 7, the Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Tampa) will hold a news conference to call for the release of former USF student Youssef Megahed who was acquitted Friday of charges in federal court but was detained today by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Members of Megahed’s family will attend the news conference.

WHAT: Press Conference Calling for Release of Youssef Megahed
WHEN: Tuesday, April 7, 11 a.m. EST
WHERE: CAIR-Tampa Office, 8056 North 56th Street, Tampa, FL

SEE: Youssef Megahed Detained By Immigration Officials

CONTACT: CAIR-Tampa Executive Director Ramzy Kilic, Tel: 813-514-1414 or 813-486-2529, Email: rkilic@cair.com

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MUSLIMS FEAR FBI IS SPYING IN MOSQUES – TOP
Queries about moles bring no answers
Dan Herbeck, Buffalo News, 4/6/09

A coalition of Muslim-American groups claims the FBI has been planting counterterrorism spies in mosques in some U. S. cities.

Last month, 10 Muslim-American organizations threatened to stop working with the FBI on outreach efforts in the Muslim-American community.

Dr. Khalid J. Qazi, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council of Western New York, said he is concerned about the situation and hopes the FBI provides some answers soon.

“[Muslims] are asking questions, wondering if there are moles spying on mosques throughout the country,” Qazi told The Buffalo News. “People ask me about it, and I have to tell them the honest truth – that I don’t know if it’s happening.”

The controversy has been growing among Muslim-Americans since February, when an Irvine, Calif., fitness instructor named Craig Monteilh told reporters that the FBI paid him to infiltrate mosques in several communities in Southern California during an investigation conducted in 2006-07.

Monteilh, a former convict, told the Associated Press that FBI agents had picked him up every morning for two weeks and took him to a building in Los Angeles where he learned some Arabic and learned about Islam. After that, he said, he infiltrated several mosques as an FBI informer. (More)

SEE ALSO:

CAIR: U.S. MUSLIMS DEBATE HOW MUCH TO HELP FBI – TOP
Matthai Kuruvila, San Francisco Chronicle, 4/6/09

A petition organized by a Newark nonprofit urging Muslims to limit social outreach with the FBI has provoked a national debate within the Muslim community about how to deal with law enforcement.

The curb proposed by the petitioners – eliminating joint FBI town halls and other meet-and-greet events – is largely a response to the FBI’s restricting its work with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim civil rights group.

The petitioners say their stand on behalf of CAIR, which has an extensive presence around the country and in the Bay Area, has larger meaning for all Muslim institutions.

“We’re fighting against being relegated to second-class citizenship,” said Agha Saeed, chairman of the Newark-based American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections, the coalition of national Muslim organizations that issued the March 17 petition.

The tensions with the FBI come as the agency insists that it wants better relations with Muslims. (More)

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FBI MUSLIM OUTREACH HARMED BY ABUSIVE TACTICS – TOP
Dr. Agha Saeed, Special to InFocus News, 4/1/09

A recent statement by a coalition of major national Islamic organizations cited a number of incidents in which the government unfairly targeted American mosques and Muslim groups and said concern over those abuses could result in the suspension of long-standing community outreach initiatives with the FBI.

That statement, issued by the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections, is at its heart really a call for increased engagement and dialogue based on mutual respect and the preservation of constitutionally-protected civil and religious rights, not just on photo opportunities.

The essence of civic engagement, as practiced by Dr. Martin Luther King, is to create public awareness of unjust policies and tactics and to make it impossible for an oppressive status quo to be sustained.

American Muslim concerns are centered on four main factors: infiltration of mosques and systematic intimidation of religious leaders (Imams); use of agents provocateurs; use of the questionable category of unindicted co-conspirators to undermine major Muslim organizations, and denial of the First Amendment right to petition the government for a redress of grievances for organizations articulating a Muslim point of view on peace with justice in Palestine and elsewhere.

In its statement, AMT noted that “the FBI sent a convicted criminal to pose as an agent provocateur in several [California] mosques.” Muslims find these FBI-induced false conversions a profoundly hurtful violation of their religious freedoms. AMT also cited the FBI’s disengagement from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest and most respected Muslim civil rights organization, and the “unjustified” designation of some 300 groups and individuals as “unindicted co-conspirators” in conjunction with the Holy Land Foundation trial in Dallas, Texas. . .

Muslims are not considering severing all ties with law enforcement agencies, but would only suspend participation in public relations efforts such as town hall meetings, diversity training and participation in FBI citizens’ academies that came to be viewed as public relations cover for behind-the-scenes abuses. Reporting of suspected criminal activities or of anti-Muslim hate crimes would continue.

This effort is not a campaign of disengagement, but is instead designed to truly engage top Justice Department officials on these critical issues. It is also designed to help restore respect and equal rights for American Muslims after eight years of being treated as suspects rather than partners. (More)

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CAIR-OK: IGNORANCE IS THE ENEMY – TOP
House Bill 1645, authored by Rep. Wade Rousselot, D-Wagoner, seems harmless on its surface. However, it has an amendment that may set back the clock on the civil rights progress in America.
Razi Hashmi, Tulsa World, 4/4/09

[Razi Hashmi is the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Oklahoma, a grassroots civil rights advocacy group whose mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue
, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.]

When Rep. Rex Duncan, R-Sand Springs, heard about a Muslim woman re-taking her driver’s license photo at the Department of Public Safety after her civil rights were violated, he proposed an amendment that would take all Oklahomans’ civil rights away. This attack against Americans’ civil rights would affect others besides the Muslim community, and is not without unintended consequences.

The sponsors have tagged this legislation to another bill that is irrelevant to the case at hand, and if passed, it would prohibit religious minorities from wearing religiously-mandated head covering when taking photos for their driver’s licenses and other IDs.

Those affected would be Jewish men who wear yarmulkes, Catholic nuns who wear the habit, Indian Sikhs who wear turbans, Muslim women who wear the hijab (Islamic head scarf), and other religious groups who wear head coverings. If Mother Teresa were alive today and this proposed law were passed, she would not be able to get a driver’s license in the state of Oklahoma!

America has a long-standing history of religious pluralism and freedom. It goes against the founding principles of our country to prohibit one’s free practice of religion, protected by the U.S. Constitution.

The Oklahoma State Legislature needs to stop wasting time mixing religion and politics with pet projects such as placing the Ten Commandments on state property, and prohibiting religious head wear on driver’s licenses. Being in the buckle of the Bible belt, Oklahomans have a responsibility to uphold the separation of Church and State just like the rest of this country.

Locally, we cannot forget that we do have bigger issues to focus on, namely the economy. In these tough economic times, it is disconcerting to see our state legislators wasting precious taxpayer dollars by attempting to pass a law that violates our First Amendment rights. If the legislators believe that Oklahoma is recession-proof, then we clearly have not felt the effects of the state Capitol, which has and will continue to drive people out of the state and send labor to other states that will accept a diverse workforce with open arms. (More)

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MOST BACK OUTREACH TO MUSLIM NATIONS, BUT SUSPICION AND UNFAMILIARITY PERSIST – TOP
ABC News/Washington Post Poll: 48 Percent Hold Unfavorable Opinion of Islam
Gary Langer, ABC News, 4/5/09

With President Obama in Turkey for a two-day visit, an ABC News/Washington Post poll finds that Americans overwhelmingly support U.S. outreach to Muslim nations — but many also express continued suspicion of the world’s second-largest religion.

Americans by 48-41 percent hold an unfavorable opinion of Islam — its highest unfavorable rating in ABC/Post polls since 2001. And 29 percent express the belief that mainstream Islam encourages violence against non-Muslims — down slightly from its peak, but double what it was early in 2002.

Click here for PDF with charts and questions.

Unfamiliarity is a central factor in these views. Fifty-five percent of Americans concede that they lack a good basic understanding of Islam; about as many, 53 percent, don’t personally know a Muslim. People who profess an understanding of Islam, or know a Muslim, have much more positive views of the religion. (More)

SEE ALSO:

MOST IN POLL BACK OUTREACH TO MUSLIMS – TOP
Jon Cohen and Jennifer Agiesta, Washington Post, 4/6/09

Most Americans think President Obama’s pledge to “seek a new way forward” with the Muslim world is an important goal, even as nearly half hold negative views about Islam and a sizable number say that even mainstream adherents to the religion encourage violence against non-Muslims, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

There is still a broad lack of familiarity with the world’s second-largest religion — 55 percent of those polled said they are without a basic understanding of the teachings and beliefs of Islam, and most said they do not know anyone who is Muslim. While awareness has increased in recent years, underlying views have not improved.

About half, 48 percent, said they have an unfavorable view of Islam, the highest in polls since late 2001. Nearly three in 10, or 29 percent, said they see mainstream Islam as advocating violence against non-Muslims; although more, 58 percent, said it is a peaceful religion.

Muslims make up about 1 percent of all U.S. adults.

Majorities of Americans with sympathetic and unsympathetic views about Islam said it is important for the president to try to improve U.S. relations with Muslim nations, with those holding more positive views much more likely to call those moves “very important.” (More)

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TN: MOSQUE DOESN’T AGREE WITH RESTAURANT’S PLAN TO SERVE ALCOHOL – TOP
Jessie Pounds, Knoxville News Sentinel, 6/5/09

It’s a Fort Sanders clash of cultures and good intentions.

On one side of the disagreement is a Muslim mosque, and some of its worshippers are unhappy about plans for a new restaurant that will serve alcohol.

On the opposing end of the clash is a business owner who says he’s invested $1 million to upgrade a blighted building and has tried to accommodate Muslim worshippers during spiritual holidays.

The two entities – The Hill restaurant and the Anoor mosque – are a mere 191 feet apart.

Building owner Trevor Hill wants to offer alcoholic drinks along with home-cooking-style dinner and lunch menus, and he hopes to launch the eatery in about a week. He’ll keep the restaurant open as late at night as is still profitable in hope of appealing to the young residents of Fort Sanders, where the building is located.

The possibility that the restaurant could serve as a local drinking hangout bothers mosque attendees like board member Nadeem Sidiqqi.

Islam prohibits the consumption of alcohol, but Sidiqqi said the protest isn’t an attack on drinking in general, just a call for buffer zones for religious establishments. . .

Knoxville’s local beer ordinance establishes a 300-foot buffer zone around churches and other similar institutions for a beer permit but waives the requirement if the establishment is granted a liquor license by the state of Tennessee. (More)