By Bob Considine TODAYShow.com contributor updated 7:42 a.m. PT, Wed., April. 23, 2008 Perhaps in Alia Sabur’s wildly advanced studies she came across a famous quote from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. “Knowing is not enough. We must apply,” the German writer once observed. That could serve as explanation for what prompted the 19-year-old to become […]
by Tariq Ramadan Mosque. Photo/Horst Rutsch The situation in our societies is becoming more and more difficult insofar as the increasing public expression of anti-Semitism and racism. We all know—Governments, official institutions, as well as citizens—that if we remain passive, the situation will worsen and drive us towards a new troubled era of racist and […]
By Michelle Boorstein Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, December 16, 2007; A09 Two major Jewish and Muslim organizations unveiled an interfaith dialogue curriculum yesterday and are urging their hundreds of thousands of members to use it. Both sides say it is the broadest Jewish-Muslim interfaith effort in the continent’s history. Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, president […]
Harvard University students are going to be studying Palos Heights this fall. A case study titled “A Mosque in Palos Heights,” based on real events in that city in 2000, has been developed by Harvard’s Pluralism Project, which studies America’s changing religious diversity to better understand its impact on society. In 2000, the Al Salam […]
By SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN New York Times Last Feb. 12, you may recall, New York education officials announced plans to open a minischool in September that would teach half its classes in Arabic and include study of Arab culture. The principal was to be a veteran teacher who was also a Muslim immigrant from Yemen, […]
by HUGH POPE, Wall Street Journal August 20, 2007 Istanbul When a half-century of convergence between Turkey and the European Union last floundered a decade ago, the Turks regrouped and forged forward and the EU met them halfway. The result was a revolutionary period of reform in Turkey. Last month, grateful for their most fruitful […]
Rick Hampson USA Today NEW YORK — What is it about Coney Island Avenue? That’s what Brooklyn College sociologist Jerry Krase wonders as he rides the B68 bus along this 5-mile commercial strip, which is populated at various stops by pockets of West Indians, Latinos, Pakistanis, Indians, Orthodox Jews, Chinese, Russians, Israelis and Ukrainians. How […]
Shaikh Azizur Rahman, SPECIAL TO THE STAR Toronto Star On a busy street in Calcutta’s business district, he runs a food stall called “Rajib’s Paratha” and is known as Rajib Mallick. Using the popular Hindu name, no one suspects he is Rajab Ali Mollah, a Muslim who has adopted a fictitious identity to blend in […]
Source: cair.com O’REILLY: “Personal story” segment tonight, more accommodations requested for American Muslims. The Council on American Islamic Relations, CAIR, wants a meat packing plant in Nebraska to give Muslim workers time to pray around sundown. The plan says that would interrupt the assembly line. Joining us now from Chicago, Ahmed Rehab, head of CAIR’s […]
Note from Rafik and Nadiah Beekun: Though some of the following information is available on other websites, we have reproduced it here because of its direct relevance to the issues covered by this blog. We have also added to the material available on the internet through our own research. We will explore the implications of Hijab […]
Susan Hogan/Albach, The Chicago Sun-Times, August 6, News, p. 16 Can a Muslim ever use medicine containing pork products? Terminate a pregnancy? Use fertility drugs? For American Muslims, there isn’t anything like a Catholic magisterium issuing definitive policies. So who decides? “Some patients turn to Muslim doctors; others turn to imams,” said Shiraz Malik of […]
By OMAR SINAN, Associated Press Writer One of Egypt’s most senior Muslim clerics has raised controversy by saying there is no worldly retribution for Muslims who abandon their religion, prompting an outcry from conservatives insisting Islamic law requires such apostates be killed. The editorial in The Washington Post came from Egypt’s Grand Mufti, Ali Gomaa, […]
Newsweek, July 30, 2007 issue What would you tell suicide bombers who invoke Islam to justify their actions? What are the rights of women in Islam? Is it permissible for a Muslim to convert to another faith? After September 11, many Americans asked whether Muslims living here at home were susceptible to the same extremist […]
Niall Crowley, The Irish Times, Opinion Section, July 21, 2007, p. 15 Reducing all Muslim people to a singular, all-encompassing unit justifies inequality and discrimination and does not serve the emergence of an integrated society, writes Niall Crowley. A man stands up in a Dublin bus, points at an Irish Muslim girl and shouts “terrorist”. […]
By Tim Townsend ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH A FAMILIAR STORY IN THE 1950s • Temple Israel bought land in Creve Coeur. The city amended its zoning to block the temple’s efforts to build. The case went to the Missouri Supreme Court, and Temple Israel prevailed. NOW • In Lemay, the Islamic Community Center bought 4.7 acres […]
Source: Aisha Aziz, Southern California Infocus WASHINGTON – Six imams, who were removed from a U.S. Airways flight last year, have filed a lawsuit for racial and religious discrimination, unleashing a fresh outcry from right-wing bloggers, columnists, and media, who commented extensively against the imams when they were first de-planed in November. Headlines such as […]
LOS ANGELES – A discrimination lawsuit filed by a Muslim Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee who was not allowed to renew his contract with the chain because of a refusal to sell pork products can proceed, a U.S. appeals court ruled Tuesday. The decision reversed an Illinois federal court judge’s 2004 ruling that rejected Walid Elkhatib’s argument […]
Sources: The Pew Research Org and Abiya Ahmed The first-ever, nationwide, random sample survey of Muslim Americans finds them to be largely assimilated, happy with their lives, and moderate with respect to many of the issues that have divided Muslims and Westerners around the world. The Pew Research Center conducted more than 55,000 interviews to […]
by Muhammad Mus`ad Yaqut The civilized world has recently paid attention to people with special needs. This started after it had cast aside corrupt, racist theories calling for neglecting them on the false grounds that people with special needs are not of any benefit to the society. A report issued by the United Nations International […]
Source: Detroit Free Press and Freep.com In order to accommodate its growing Muslim student population, the University of Michigan-Dearborn plans to install footbaths in its restrooms, officials said Monday. The move comes after an increasing number of students were found washing their feet in restroom sinks before prayers. Islamic tradition requires Muslims to wash their […]
By OSKAR GARCIA Associated Press Writer © 2007 The Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. — Dozens of Somali meatpacking workers who quit their jobs because they were not given enough time off for Muslim prayers have returned to work, but the issue could resurface as sundown inches later through the spring, a union official said Friday. […]
Source: KCET.online If you have access to a podcast program (such as Itunes), please listen to the following link within your podcasting program. Writer Irshad Manji joins Executive Director of the Progressive Muslim Union Ani Zonneveld and Executive Director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council Salam Al-Marayati in a conversation following a screening of the […]
[...] Hadji said that in late 2004, he reproached a customer for harassing a Tunisian waiter. Hadji said he asked the customer to leave after the diner said, “If you don’t like it, go back to your country,” and “I fought two wars to get rid of people like you.” The restaurant’s owners ordered Hadji […]
Source:atwork.settlement.org The issue of discrimination experienced by Muslim women who wear hijab when they apply for work was established in 2000 through consultations conducted by Women Working With Immigrant Women (WWIW) with Muslim serving organizations and through surveys of labour organizations and institutions such as the Ontario Human Rights Commission to find out what information […]
May 05, 2007 By Omar Sacirbey When the Assembly of Muslim Jurists of America convenes later this year, the few dozen Islamic scholars will try to hammer out an answer to a question vexing the North American Muslim community: How do Muslims reconcile the mandates of their faith with jobs that may require actions prohibited […]
Source: EEOC Anyone who believes that s/he has been subjected to discrimination in violation of Title VII may file a charge with the nearest field office of the EEOC. Persons who file a charge, oppose unlawful employment discrimination, participate in employment discrimination proceedings, or otherwise assert their rights under the laws enforced by the Commission […]
By Jen Haberkorn THE WASHINGTON TIMES Published March 29, 2007 Can a cashier or clerk wish a customer “Merry Christmas”? Must a pharmacist dispense birth control devices if his faith forbids it? Can a Muslim clerk refuse to touch a whisky or beer bottle, or a pork chop? Disputes between retailers and employees over religious […]
Source: New York Times Louise Story… [Read more…] Grocers and consumer product companies are considering ways to adapt their goods to Muslim rules, which forbid among other things, gelatin and pig fat, which is often used in cosmetics and cleaning products. Retailers are looking into providing more conservative skirts, even during the summer months, and mainstream […]
Source: nbc4.com ARLINGTON, Va. — Federal Officials said an Arlington man faces a slew of charges after he allegedly sent e-mails to family members threatening to kill Arab women and Latinos. The FBI arrested 57-year-old Charles Gerbino Thursday morning in his Arlington home. Video: Watch The Report Related: Excerpts From Threatening E-Mail (WARNING: Remarks May […]
Source: Abbie Vansickle, St Petersburg Times Someone deliberately set fire Thursday morning to the Islamic Education Center of Tampa,Florida, a mosque tucked into a neighborhood of tidy suburban homes in Town ‘N Country, according to Hillsborough Fire Rescue and the FBI. Whether hate fueled the fire remained under investigation, said FBI Special Agent Dave Couvertier. […]
Source: AWD Money Extra Lloyds TSB has announced the launch of a high street Islamic business account. The account, which complies with Islamic law (Shariah), is available across the bank’s 2,000 branches, and will be open to the UK’s estimated 100,000 Muslim firms. There are two separate accounts on offer. Businesses with a turnover of […]
Source: BIG April 2, 2007 The latest report of the International Development Select Committee regarding the Occupied Palestinian Territories (31 January 2007) makes for very distressing reading. In its section on trade, it refers to the ongoing restrictions in movements and access faced by the OPT, citing an OXFAM report which points out “that transaction […]
“What happened on 11 September was like a catalyst, you know. Things which they never thought of saying publicly, from one day to another, they say it publicly now. Before, there was a lot of ‘political correctness’ but after 11 September all political correctness went within seconds.” (Male, Germany) “I have heard it many times […]
by JEFF HEINRICH Source: The Gazette (Montreal), p. A3, News [In an Environics poll conducted recently], Canadians said they interact with blacks most – 69 per cent said they’re in contact with them often or occasionally. Chinese were next (65 per cent), then East Indians and Pakistanis (54 per cent), aboriginals (54 per cent), Jews […]
Source: The Globe and Mail (Canada) March 20, 2007 Tuesday The federal government must pressure U.S. border authorities to stop racial and religious profiling of Canadian Muslims and Arabs, the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations said yesterday. [more] “The livelihood and future of Canadian citizens cannot be halted without just cause.” Mahmoud Zeitoun, a student […]
Steve Karnowski, Associated Press, 3/19/07 Muslim cashiers at some Minneapolis Target stores who object to ringing up products that contain pork are being shifted to other positions where they don’t need to, the discount retailer said Saturday. The Star Tribune reported last week that some Muslim cashiers at local Targets had declined to scan pork […]
By Omar Sacirbey Religion News Service… [Read more…] “It can be a struggle growing up Muslim in America,” said Saleem, whose family emigrated from Pakistan shortly before he was born. “So when you see other Muslims doing and succeeding at the sports you love, that can’t help but give you a lift.” In their primes, Ali […]
Source: Arab News. Reprinted here with permission. Dr. Abd Al-Haleem Abu Shuqqah Note from Rafik Beekun: This article is reproduced here because of the increased interaction between men and women in the workplace, and the need for Muslims and Muslimahs to understand and abide by the Islamic etiquette of conduct among members of the opposite […]
By Marc Gunther, Fortune senior writer January 17 2007 NEW YORK (Fortune) —… [Read more…] [According to] David Miller, a minister, author and former business executive. Ford, American Express and Tyson Foods are among the better-known faith-friendly firms. Minister, author and former business executive David Miller is currently executive director of the Yale Center for Faith […]
By Amy Green | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor ORLANDO, FLA. – With her hijab and dark complexion, Catherine Garcia doesn’t look like an Orlando native or a Disney tourist. When people ask where she’s from, often they are surprised that it’s not the Middle East but Colombia. That’s because Ms. Garcia, a bookstore […]
Stuart Jeffries Monday February 26, 2007 The Guardian The American journalist HL Mencken once wrote: “We must accept the other fellow’s religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart.” In Britain today, such wry tolerance is diminishing. Today, it’s […]
BY SHANNON PRATHER Pioneer Press School bus driver Seham Nabry says her boss confiscated her prayer mats and complained that her ritual hand and feet washing messed up the office bathroom. She also says he blared Christian music and taunted Muslim workers as they prayed. Nabry said giving up her daily prayers — one of […]
Below, I have included only a sample of the hate crime incidents for which video clips are available. It is important to note that these incidents have occured over the last two years, and across several states in the USA. My intent is not to suggest that these incidents are connected; I simply aim to demonstrate that […]
VIEWS OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSLIM AND WESTERN CULTURES Can find common ground Violent conflict inevitable France 69% 23% Germany 49% 39% Great Britain 77% 15% India 35% 24% Indonesia 40% 51% Italy 78% 14% Kenya 46% 35% Lebanon 68% 26% Nigeria 53% 37% Turkey 49% 29% US 64% 31% By Roger Hardy BBC Islamic affairs […]
Source: Associated Press MACON, Ga. – Macon Mayor Jack Ellis has converted to Islam and is now working to legally change his name to Hakim Mansour Ellis. Ellis, who was raised Christian, said Thursday that he became a Sunni Muslim during a December ceremony in the west African nation of Senegal. Ellis said he has […]
by Sean Murphy Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY — A police officer in the small eastern Oklahoma town of Webbers Falls was fired and another was demoted after a Muslim woman claimed they harassed her about her religion during a traffic stop in November, a town official confirmed Thursday. The town’s council members agreed to fire […]
Note from Rafik Beekun: I am always moved by the sight of our sisters in Hijab. They are the ever courageous and visible standard bearers of Islam. In this video test taking place in the seaside town of Southampton, U.K., a non-Muslim woman dresses up in hijab to test the reactions of non-Muslims to her […]
January 26, 2007 By Keith Oppenheim CNN MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota… [Read more…] I stepped into the taxi depot that serves the Minneapolis – St. Paul International Airport, where drivers sit and wait for their next fare. In this crowded, noisy room, most of the cabbies are Muslims originally from Somalia. “We’re doing a story about the conflict […]
Source: News-Record.com On Monday, Jan 22, 2007, three Guilford College students, Michael Bates, Michael Robert Six, and Christopher Barnette, were arrested in connection with a group assault that occurred on campus, according to court documents. Police said Faris Khadar, Osama Sabbah and Omar Awartani (2 Muslim and 1 Christian Palestinian students) were victims of this attack. […]
Besides taking issue with Congressman Ellison about his use of the Qur’an for the swearing in ceremony, Senator Virgil Goode wants the diversity visa program to end. His rationale: immigration needs to be restricted so that more Muslims do not get elected to the US Congress. Way to go, Goode!!! Do you still believe in […]
"Let there be no compulsion in religion. Truth stands out clear from error; whoever rejects evil and believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold that never breaks. And God hears and knows all things." - (The Qur’an, Al-Baqarah, 2: 256)
April 23, 2008
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