South Asian Traditional Islam vs Western Islam

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Courtesy “Yursil”

After reading through a number of works discussing South Asian Islamic history, and also many of the references, I have thought a lot more deeply about the traditions of South Asian culture than my last series of posts on this subject. Every time I read the numerous moving stories, I marveled at how totally lost Muslim South Asians, especially expatriates and their children, have become from their traditional past. While the first Masjid in India was built in Kodungallur by Malik Bin Deenar(R), a Sahabi (during the Prophet’s (s) lifetime), it certainly seems that most of what occurred after that point has been forgotten by South Asian Muslims living abroad.

The Islam that I experienced in American South Asian dominated mosques and organizations was so utterly disconnected from the traditional understanding of Islam of India, that without being mentally prepared, I would certainly have considered what I was reading as pure fiction. The attraction of Muslim South Asians in America to various agenda-driven forms of Islam (and their lack of awareness as to their shifted reality by these agendas) has been complete and total. This has made the alien into the norm and the norm into the alien.

The sheer volume of information on the subject of the spirituality, plurality, tolerance and strength of South Asian Muslims, combined with the natural understanding as to how South Asian society flourished with Muslim and Hindu interaction for over the 1400 years, makes it clear that the fiction was that which I was sold most of my youth.

In fact, it was the desire and clearly defined curriculum of organizations such as ICNA and early administrations of the various masjids that I attended (dominated by South Asians at nearly all levels of organization) that Muslim youth study the life and works of Seyyid Qutb, Maududi, and Bilal Phillips.

This created an entire generation (including most of my friends) that had never heard the name of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti (R) much less the name of a single one of the countless saints buried in South Asia. The importance of knowing those names (and therefore, understanding and respecting their teachings) is vitally important for immigrant South Asian Muslims in the West for a proper return to the spiritually moving faith connected to the Prophet (S), as practiced by these holy people who carried Islam to us.

The difference between what has become ‘modern Islam’ and the traditional Islam of South Asia and other traditional Muslim communities is striking.

One is focused on a singular attempt at ‘authenticity’ and ‘purification’ of Islam using new understandings of Hadith and discussing their authenticity, the other is focused on the application of the immediate tradition for the purpose of bettering the soul.

One is focused on the political, absorbing worldly power and doing so with various levels of crassness, looking for religious and legal legitimacy the entire time, while the other has always been about building bridges between hearts with subtlety and care.

The Islam of South Asians in the West has mirrored that of converts. Many converts were in love of the faith of Islam primarily due to its claim of textual authenticity of the Quran (and hence the faith), which was unchanged for centuries. This was in stark comparison to the faiths of the West which suffered from deep questions of relevancy and authenticity, faiths which they had left for just those reasons. There is no doubt that the weight of the extreme desire for textual authenticity led to the ‘off’ switch of South Asian immigrants in examining the Islamic faith as understood by their families for generations.

The lack of textual information about Islam in South Asia certainly did not help. Modern South Asians were brought up appreciating the written word much more than that spoken word, a side effect of making education the largest priority in their lives (a means to escape poverty of the homeland). The idea of following a way of life which couldn’t be immediately checked, verified, and looked up for confirmation led most to the path of various forms of Wahabism.

Of course, most of groups eschewed the name ‘Wahabi’ itself, preferring to claim the title ‘Muslim’ for themselves. Interestingly enough their use of ‘Muslim’ was to the exclusion of their ‘grave worshipping’ ancestors or family members, which they considered to be misguided and confused. Most likely, however, the situation was actually tragically reversed, with modernized South Asians being extremely confused about their faith and the ‘ignorant’ visitors of graves seeing with a spiritual clarity.

Many South Asian parents had not bought into their own intellectual superiority, and hence many had not adopted the Wahabi ideal in order to critique the problems ‘back home’. These parents were quiet on the subjects of question (saints, graves, intercession, etc), and very few had the ability to respond back to the arguments presented by Wahabi philosophies from their children. Growing up their entire lives in that society, it was difficult for parents to forsake that which they had learned was de-facto Islam, an Islam which had run their lives and so many loved-ones lives could not easily be discarded… Saints, Milad, Naats, Qawaali, and all. Largely, they kept their distance from argument and supported the now adjusting faith of their children.

Interestingly enough, this comfortable nature of the different Islam between father and son, mother and daughter, in matters of practice of faith was a direct consequence of the open nature of the parents Islamic faith. It is this same South Asian pluralism which had created large periods of relative peace between Hindus and Muslims over a span of centuries, which now allowed children to look, dress, and act radically different from their parents, with hardly more than a word spoken.

This is not to say that parents did not fear the children would become ‘Christian’ in the West, indeed such fears existed and were a large part of growing up South Asian in the West. However, I would argue the fear towards Christianization was much more focused on the change in culture, and what that would mean for marriage, dress and social standings than what it meant to their soul. The pluralistic values of South Asia centered around a common culture, where often the weddings of the Muslim were not so dissimilar from that of the Hindu, in terms of dress and celebration. Exiting this culture was much more profound an issue than disagreements over details of faith.

After coming to terms with the reality of the rigid nature of a singular interpretation of Islam, the American convert experience, a struggle and challenge in its own right, seemed to need an understanding of how Islam survived with pluralistic flexibility in order to continue and progress in their faith. The first struggle for those espousing a return to the traditional understanding of Islam was to establish authenticity. This was done by focusing on the Madhabs, the schools of Islamic Law. Within these Madhabs lived the intellectual contribution of all Muslim legal scholars for centuries.

However, the reality was that the average South Asian Muslim had never heard of Madhabs in any Islamic sense. Since the overwhelming majority of their society was Hanafi, there was no need to even learn the names of other approaches in matter of form or externals. So, in fact, in American Masjids, it was those espousing “Madhabs” who ended up looking as if they were speaking of something new.

As a completely wayward path, the Wahabi agenda of puritanical groups looking to take over Islam in the West was rebuffed with this larger understanding of Islamic Law. The only escape for American converts from this type of Islam, was a broader understanding of the faith with multiple legal opinions. This has become to be known as “traditionalism”, espoused by famous converts and speakers such as Sh Hamza Yusuf, Imam Zaid Shakir, and Sh Nuh Keller.

However, this following of converts, with their own issues of reconciliation of culture cannot be followed by South Asians descendants who plan on keeping their own culture alive. It seems the South Asian child’s only two choices today are assimilation into three categories: the secular West, the Western Islamic discourse dominated by anti-traditionalists, or the Islamic discourse of Arabized traditionalists. As noted in my previous articles, it is clear that a traditional South Asian Islam has been ignored by the West. Revivalists of traditional sciences in the West have ignored the South Asian contribution for too long.

A focus on historical personalities and works of South Asian descent is a personal priority of mine. It is time the Milad, Ghazal, Naat, and Qawaali was understood and loved again, not simply analyzed through the lens of a protracted argument about good and bad “innovations”.

“That is so 90’s.” It’s time to move on.

10-18

The Moral Responsibility for Systematic Civilian Deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan

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By Geoffrey Cook, MMNS

Berkeley–At the end of last year the last year, Neta Crawford, an expert on the morality of modern warfare talked to several of us around a modest table on the “morality” of modern warfare. Of course, Saint Augustine set up the traditional Western norms of the conduct of War in Late Activity in the Fourth Century (CE), but after the Byzantine Empire was crumbling and there was a substantial Islamic presence on the Mediterranean, Muslim philosophers picked up from Augustine, and developed a philosophy that was a logical extension. Therefore, the historical basis for waging and the concept of conflict are similar in both the Christian and the Islamic Worlds!

Neta seemed to be working from the Anthropology of War. Her focus was on collateral damage. For her, accidents and inadvertent damage lead to deliberate deaths. The killings of noncombatants are all too common, but they are, also commonly denied! She began to speak about the frequent military atrocities that are appearing in America’s two concurrent “Colonial” Wars.”

Many of these civilian casualties are avoidable since they occur a considerable distance from the actual battlefield. Dr. Crawford quoted an officer speaking about these native residents of the land, “Each of [these people] are an individual investment” of their humanity.

Most of the deaths have been in combat been between allies! There are no “body counts” anymore as there were during the Vietnam era. So, it is hard to obtain even “ballpark” figures. Yet, is there a pattern in Iraq and Afghanistan? “Who is responsible for these deaths?” W. Bush “insisted on applying a ‘precision’ War upon an already defeated Army!” (This may be why the U.S. military is failing, by the way.) The current regime has applied precision on purpose!

Washington’s numbers of deceased combatants are inflated. Our false claims of insurrections have purposely put innocents in the line of fire! Of course, the United Nations (U.N) and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) on the ground deny the U.S.A.’s assertions. President Karzai of Kabaul has stated, “…This does not mean Afghan lives have no meaning.” These systematic atrocities are decided at the secretarial level – not by individuals. That means that martial torture, comes from a well thought out policy.

“War is a collective activity. Thus, it is outside [the state of] murder.” Therefore also, “We cannot put the blame upon individuals.” War merely follows the rules of engagement. (However, your author gravely disagrees with Ms, Neta’s position. There are War crimes and crimes against humanity, battle must only be fought when there is no other option, and it must be waged with the greatest restraint. This D.C. has failed to pursue with courageous honor through the first decade of the Twenty-first Century.)

If atrocity is normalized; then, it becomes systematic, and, consequently, structuralized. If it deteriorates further, the foundation of the Armed Services will collapse leading to defeat. That is the danger that District of Columbia finds itself at the moment because, as a strong country, it has decided to contest our martial competitors at their weakest moral level.

Fortified bureaucracies differ than other specialized orgs. An American General confessed to Neta Crawford, “We are own worst enemies.” Many tactics are more likely to cause Civilian casualties than others violating the Geneva Conventions. Lately, “…the United States of America’s divisions are showing improved [restrain] prospectively and retrospectively.”

Except for non-State phenomena like Al-Quaida, “State-run actors make War decisions,” and their “…institutions are made accountable for their ensuing aggression!” D.C. does not provide enough oversight over our Armed Forces or their Institutions within. Independent auditors should be hired, and brought into the Pentagon to produce a consistence and regular report for Congress.

Yet, there are no moves to reign in an almost rampant bellicose establishment. Any audit should promote reform within the ranks. Unfortunately, the public sphere cannot not function, for they cannot act effectively, however. Not all citizens can perform equally.

A politically charged public can force the State to proceed candidly. The Public should demand that the Army be under the command of the Nationally elected Civil Head of State. We see this evolve the Islamic Country of Pakistan, for instance.

The United Nations along with the International Court of Justice have been creating an International global Civil Society

Neta, in her conclusion, emphasized that an International Civil Society, will change to encourage the responsibility to find peace in the Middle East and the Hindu Kush heights.

10-18

Asthma

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Asthma is a chronic condition (generally associated with humans but also controversially being diagnosed in housepets such as cats) involving the respiratory system in which the airway occasionally constricts, becomes inflamed, and is lined with excessive amounts of mucus, often in response to one or more triggers. These episodes may be triggered by such things as exposure to an environmental stimulant (or allergen) such as cold air, warm air, perfume, moist air, exercise or exertion, or emotional stress. In children, the most common triggers are viral illnesses such as those that cause the common cold. This airway narrowing causes symptoms such as wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing. The airway constriction responds to bronchodilators. Between episodes, most patients feel well but can have mild symptoms and they may remain short of breath after exercise for longer periods of time than the unaffected individual. The symptoms of asthma, which can range from mild to life threatening, can usually be controlled with a combination of drugs and environmental changes.

Asthma is caused by a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors that researchers do not fully understand yet. These factors can also influence how severe a person’s asthma is and how well they respond to medication. As with other complex diseases, many genetic and environmental factors have been suggested as causes of asthma, but not all of them have been replicated. In addition, as researchers detangle the complex causes of asthma, it is becoming more evident that certain environmental and genetic factors may only affect asthma when combined.

The hygiene hypothesis is a theory about the cause of asthma and other allergic disease, and is supported by epidemiologic data for asthma. For example, asthma prevalence has been increasing in developed countries along with increased use of antibiotics, c-sections, and cleaning products. All of these things may negatively affect exposure to beneficial bacteria and other immune system modulators that are important during development, and thus may cause increased risk for asthma and allergy.

10-18

US Goes for the Jugular in Pakistan

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Courtesy Chidanand Rajghatta, TNN

WASHINGTON: Finally acknowledging that Pakistan represents a clear and present danger to American and world security, the Bush administration is trying to get a stranglehold on the country’s nuclear weapons.

In the latest move, Washington has sought direct access to Pakistan’s Nuclear Command Authority by posting an officer at the US embassy in Islamabad to liaise with the body that controls the country’s nuclear weapons.

The demand, first reported in Pakistani newspapers Jang and News , comes even as US president George Bush said in a TV interview on the weekend that a future 9/11 kind of attack would most likely emanate from Pakistan, not Afghanistan.

Bush and high-ranking US officials had previously glossed over Pakistan’s role as the hub of world terror while targeting Iraq.

Most major terror attacks in the world have emanated from Pakistan, and not from the usual US suspects like Iran, Iraq and Syria.

The US administration’s attempts to get a stranglehold on Pakistan’s nuclear weapons show that Washington now appears to have come out in the open about a country that has long been described by many analysts as the most dangerous place on earth and the ground zero of world terror.

Ironically, the change in the American thinking comes even as Pakistan’s vibrant civil society has forced a course correction by jettisoning a US-backed militaristic government in favour of a more democratic dispensation.

Although Washington appears to harbour more doubts about the new democratic government than about the previous military junta it allied with, its efforts to get a handle on Pakistan’s security predates the gradual transfer of power.

The latest attempt to get a fix on Pakistan’s nuclear assets is the 12th in a series of demands aimed at establishing greater US oversight on what many commentators see as a dangerously unstable country. Last month, Washington issued a set of 11 demands that shocked Pakistan’s security establishment, which described it as highly intrusive and untenable.

The demands included allowing US personnel to enter Pakistan on the basis of national identity (like driver’s licence) and forgoing visas; accepting US licences, including arms licences, in Pakistan; US personnel being allowed to bear arms and wear their uniforms in Pakistan; application of US criminal jurisdiction on American personnel in Pakistan etc.

Pakistan’s defence ministry, the foreign office and the law ministry were reported to have rejected the demands outright.

Pakistan’s security mavens have gone ballistic over the US security bear hug.

“The first step in dealing rationally with our indigenous terrorist problem holistically and credibly is to create space between ourselves and the US. As the US adage goes: ‘There is no free lunch.’ For Pakistan, lunching with the US has become unacceptably costly,” wrote Shireen Mazari, who heads the Pakistan Institute of Strategic Studies.

While Mazari wants Islamabad to punish the US by denying it access to Afghanistan, other analysts point out that Pakistan will be toast within weeks without US financial and institutional support.

According to reports from Pakistan, the new request for an NCA liaison was made through verbal contact via an assistant secretary-level official.

Elizabeth Colton, the US embassy spokesperson in Islamabad, did not deny outright the story but told the Pakistani media: “We are in touch with all elements of the Pakistan government all the time. But we do not publish or discuss details of our diplomatic discussions and assignments.”

10-17

Alcohol Fatwa Controversy

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Courtesy Frances Harrison, Religious affairs reporter, BBC News

A prominent Egyptian cleric has created controversy by issuing a fatwa that says tiny amounts of alcohol are permissible in Islam.

Yusuf al-Qaradawi’s fatwa says a level of 0.5% is allowed, whereas most Muslims would say alcohol of any quantity is banned.

Sheikh Qaradawi was recently refused entry to Britain as the UK government said his views could spark violence.

He issued his fatwa in response to a question about high energy drinks.

‘Distorted’

Sheikh Qaradawi is talking about tiny quantities of alcohol – equivalent to about one-eighth of a unit of alcohol.

He ruled there was no religious ban on consuming drinks with a minute amount of alcohol in them if it was formed naturally through the process of fermentation.

He quoted the rule derived from the sayings of the Prophet (s) that if drinking a lot of alcohol makes you intoxicated then drinking a little is also forbidden.

Sheikh Qaradawi argued that any person who consumed a large amount of high energy drink would not become intoxicated, therefore they were permissible, even though they contained tiny amounts of alcohol.

But this logic has not gone down well.

The editor of a newspaper in Qatar, where Sheikh Qaradawi lives, complained that the sheikh had just stirred up a controversy that everyone could have done without.

The editor said the fatwa from a cleric of the status of Sheikh Qaradawi would inevitably be misunderstood and distorted to suggest he was giving permission to Muslims to drink alcohol.

10-17

Hezbollah Turns to Iran for New Weapons Against Israel

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Courtesy Robert Fisk in Teir Dibba, south Lebanon

The Shia “martyrs” of this hill village are normally killed in the dangerous, stony landscape of southern Lebanon, in Israeli air raids or invasions or attacks from the sea. The Hezbollah duly honours them. But the body of the latest Shia fighter to be buried here – from the local Hashem family – was flown back to Lebanon last month from Iran.

He was hailed as a martyr in the village Husseiniya mosque but the Hezbollah would say no more. For when a Lebanese is killed in live firing exercises in the Islamic Republic, his death brings almost as many questions as mourners. Yet it is an open secret south of the Litani river that thousands of young men have been leaving their villages for military training in Iran. Up to 300 men are taken to Beirut en route to Tehran each month and the operation has been running since November of 2006; in all, as many as 4,500 Hezbollah members have been sent for three-month sessions of live-fire ammunition and rocket exercises to create a nucleus of Iranian-trained guerrillas for the “next” Israeli-Hezbollah war.

Whether this frightening conflict takes place will depend on President Bush’s behaviour. If America – or its proxy, Israel – bombs Iran, the response is likely to be swift and will come from the deep underground bunkers that the Hezbollah has been building in the fields and beside the roadways east and south of Jezzine.

For months, Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, has been warning Israel that his organisation has a “surprise” new weapon in its armoury and there are few in Lebanon who do not suspect that this is a new Iranian-developed ground-to-air missile – rockets which may at last challenge Israel’s air supremacy over Lebanon. For more than 30 years, Israel’s fighter-bombers have had the skies to themselves, losing only two aircraft – one to a primitive Palestinian SAM-7 shoulder-fired missile, the other to Syrian anti-aircraft guns – during and after its 1982 invasion.

After its 1980-88 war with Iraq, Iran introduced a new generation of weapons, one of which – a development of a Chinese sea-to-sea missile – almost sank an Israeli corvette in the last Hezbollah-Israeli war in 2006.

Can the Hezbollah shoot Israeli jets out of the sky in the event of another conflict? It is a question much discussed within the 13,000-strong United Nations force in southern Lebanon – essentially a Nato-led army, which contains French, Spanish and Italian troops as well as Chinese, Indian and sundry other contingents – which would find itself sandwiched between the two antagonists.

There are no armed Hezbollah fighters in their area of operations – Nasrallah respects the UN resolution which placed the peacekeepers between the Israeli border and the Litani in 2006 – but the UN mission, along with its soldiers, will be gravely endangered in the event of another war.

If its aircraft could no longer bomb at will over Lebanon without fear of being destroyed, would Israel stage another costly land invasion – highly unlikely after the bloodying its troops took in 2006 – or use its own ground-to-ground missiles on Lebanon? For if the latter option were chosen, it would bring a whole new dimension to Lebanon’s repeated wars. Long-range missiles have proved hopelessly inaccurate in Middle East conflicts and the Iran-Iraq war. But whatever political sins they still commit, the Lebanese – despite their current crisis – appear to have rejected any return to civil war. In such a war, no one could repeat the old lies about “pinpoint accuracy”.

The government of Fouad Siniora may be trapped in its own “Green Zone” in central Beirut – it even refused to attend the Arab League summit in Damascus – and parliament is suspended after 17 vain sessions to elect a president. A series of prominent Lebanese MPs and journalists have been murdered or attacked since 2005 but Syrian troops have left and the Lebanese army still manages to keep a form of order on the streets. However, the Syrian intelligence presence has been maintained in Lebanon – and Syria is Iran’s only ally in the Arab world. This does not mean that war is inevitable.

So the future of Lebanon remains – as it did in 2006 – in the hands of the United States and Iran. Just as the Israelis constantly warn of war, so the Hezbollah still promises revenge for the car-bomb murder of its former intelligence officer Imad Mougnieh in Damascus in February. Regularly, the Israelis warn that they will respond to attacks but that they will “choose the moment and the place and the means”.

And sure enough – following the Hezbollah’s pattern of using Israel’s own words – Nasrallah said on 24 March that the Hezbollah would “choose the moment and the place and the means” to retaliate for Mougnieh’s death.

And each month, the Hizballoh improves its new bunkers north of the Litani. Some now sprout aerials but they may be “dummies” for Israel’s pilots to attack. Deep underground telephone land-lines have been laid to those which are visible and to those others which are beneath the surface. The Hezbollah learned a lot from the 2006 war. Then its secret bunkers were air-conditioned with beds and kitchens attached. But when Israeli troops discovered a handful of them, they also found copies of their own Israeli air force reconnaissance photographs, complete with Hebrew markings.

The Hezbollah had obviously bribed or blackmailed Israeli border guards for the pictures – from which they could tell at once which bunkers the Israelis had identified and which remained unknown to them.

Which is how, in 2006, its guerrillas sat safely through days of air bombardment in the latter, while allowing the Israelis to blitz the “known” fortresses to their hearts’ content. Who knows if the Hezbollah has not since collected a new batch of photographs for the coming months?

10-17

Princeton Academic Received Guggenheim Fellowship

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Prof.Yacine Ait-Sahalia, an economist and a finance professor, at Princeton was granted the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship. Only 190 recipients were chosen from a pool of 2,600 applicants.
Ait-Sahalia will use his fellowship to study “the nature of randomness” behind financial returns. He will mostly stay at Princeton to conduct his research.
“The objective is to learn more about the finer characteristics of the financial returns,” he said.

10-17

Obama Launches Hebrew Blog

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Courtesy NDTV Active

Facing a mass email campaign branding him a secret anti-semite and a ‘’closet Muslim’’, Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has launched a Hebrew blog on his commitment to Israel’s security ahead of the crucial vote in Pennsylvania that has a large Jewish community.

An aide to Obama, Eric Lynn, was quoted by daily Ha’aretz as saying that these efforts will help the democratic party leader to strengthen his ties with the Israeli public.

The blog is meant to allay fears among Jews arising out of a mass email campaign, which had labelled Obama a secret anti-semite who allegedly took his official oath of office with his hand on the Koran instead of the Bible and a disciple of fiery Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

Obama has insisted he has never been a Muslim and is a committed Christian.

The blog, opened ahead of April 22 primaries in the key state of Pennsylvania, includes Obama’s speech to a pro-Israel lobby in March.

During a debate with rival candidate Hillary Clinton, Obama stressed his ‘’stalwart’’ support for Israel and his ties to American Jews.

He said he considers Israel to be one of the US’ ‘’most important allies in the region (Mideast)’’ adding, ‘’I think that their security is sacrosanct.’’

Obama currently leads in the delegate count 1,634-1,500.

Neither Democrat can reach the magical figure of 2,025 needed to win the nomination with the delegates left and the nominee is likely to be chosen by some 800 super delegates- elected officials and eminent partymen.

10-17

Arab World Sees U.S. in Poor Light: Poll

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By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Eight out of 10 Arabs have an unfavorable view of the United States and only six percent believe the U.S. troop build-up in Iraq in the last year has worked, said a poll of six Arab countries released on Monday.

The poll by the University of Maryland and Zogby International, also found most Arabs did not see U.S. foe Iran as a threat and they sympathized more with Hamas in the Palestinian Territories than U.S.-backed Fatah.

“There is a growing mistrust and lack of confidence in the United States,” said Shibley Telhami, a University of Maryland professor in charge of the annual poll.

The survey canvassed the opinions of about 4,000 people over the past month in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. It has a margin of error of about 1.6 percent.

Of those polled, 83 percent had an unfavorable view of the United States and 70 percent had no confidence in the superpower.

“You see this (mistrust) in the number of people who are more comfortable with the US withdrawal from Iraq,” said Telhami, noting that more people in this year’s annual survey wanted the United States to leave Iraq.

Last year, 44 percent believed Iraqis would find a way to bridge their differences if the United States pulled out but that figure rose to 61 percent this year.

Only six percent of the respondents believed the U.S. boost of troop levels in Iraq last year by 30,000 had worked to reduce the conflict and one in three mistrusted news reports that violence had declined at all.

Eight in 10 Arabs believed that Iraqis were worse off than they were before the U.S. invasion in March 2003, while 2 percent thought they were better off.

The biggest concern was that Iraq would remain unstable and spread instability in the region, with 59 percent voicing this worry over 42 percent last year.

In contrast to U.S. government views, most Arabs did not see Iran as a major threat and 67 percent considered Tehran had the right to a nuclear program.

Peace Doubts

Over 80 percent of respondents identified the Arab-Israeli conflict as a key issue but just over half — 55 percent — did not believe there would ever be a lasting peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians despite U.S. efforts to broker a deal between the two by the end of this year.

The United States has sought to isolate the militant Palestinian group Hamas, which took control of the Gaza strip last June, while U.S.-backed President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah movement control the West Bank.

In the conflict between Hamas and Fatah, only 8 percent said they sympathized most with Fatah and 18 percent were more partial to Hamas, while 37 percent said they backed both.

In the Lebanese conflict, only 9 percent expressed sympathy with the majority governing coalition supported by Washington while 30 percent backed the opposition led by the militant group Hezbollah, which the United States opposes.

Hezbollah’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s popularity grew as did Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Asked which world leader they disliked most, U.S. President George W. Bush was at the top of the unpopularity poll with 63 percent followed by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with 39 percent.

Looking ahead to the next U.S. president, 18 percent of respondents believed Democratic contender Barack Obama had the best chance of advancing peace in the Middle East followed by 13 percent who saw Hillary Clinton as their best hope.

Only 4 percent chose Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for this November’s U.S. presidential election. The remainder either U.S. policy would stay the same whoever won or they were not following election.

One in three respondents believed U.S. policy would remain the same, no matter who won the U.S. election and 20 percent said they were not following the U.S. election anyway.

(Editing by David Storey)

10-17

Kaaba Key Sets New Islamic Art Auction Record

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Courtesy World Bulletin

A 12 century key to the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest site in Islam, sold for 9.2 million pounds ($18.1 million) late on Wednesday, setting a new record for an Islamic work of art at auction.

The Abbasid period key, made of iron and measuring 37 cm long, sold at Sotheby’s in London for more than 18 times its pre-sale estimate and was bought anonymously. It is the only known example to remain in private hands.

The key is engraved with the words: “This is what was made for the Holy House of God during the time of the Imam son of Imam al-Muqtadi Abu Ja’far al-Mustansir Abu’l-Abbas 573.”

It was the highlight of the auctioneer’s Islamic sale, which realised 21.5 million pounds, in excess of the pre-sale high estimate of 13.1 million pounds and a new record for an Islamic art auction.

“Remarkably, the sale realised more than the Islamic department’s annual total in 2007, demonstrating beyond doubt the burgeoning and international demand for Islamic Art,” said Edward Gibbs, head of Sotheby’s Islamic art department.

The previous record for a work of Islamic art sold at auction is believed to be a bronze fountainhead in the form of a hind dating from mid-10th century Spain. It sold at Christie’s in 1997 for 3.6 million pounds.

On Tuesday, Christie’s held its own London Islamic sale which fetched 11.8 million pounds, including a leaf from a mid-seventh century copy of the Holy Koran sold for 2.5 million pounds versus a pre-sale estimate of 100-150,000 pounds.

It was a new world auction record for an Islamic manuscript, the company said.

In addition to the example sold at Sotheby’s this week, there are 58 recorded Kaaba keys, all of which are held in museums.

Most, 54, are in the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul, two are in the Nuhad Es-Said Collection, one is in the Louvre in Paris and one is in the Islamic Art Museum in Cairo.

Sotheby’s called the Kaaba key “arguably one of the most important symbols of Islam”. According to the auctioneer, the tradition of dedicating the key to each caliph appears to have originated with the Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad.

“As a physical object — the key to the holiest building of an entire religion — it demonstrates the authority of the caliph and is the ultimate emblem of power,” Sotheby’s said.

10-17

A Mother’s Crime

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By Sumayyah Meehan, MMNS

Walking back from the Mosque one afternoon, Shajahan Mohammad, a Bangladeshi laborer in Kuwait, stumbled upon a common scene. He saw two stray cats fighting over a piece of meat near a dumpster. However, deep in his gut Shajahan knew something was off as he moved in for a closer look. “The cats saw me and ran away in fear,” says Shajahan, “there was just something that seemed off about the meat they were fighting over. It did not look like anything I had seen before.” After further inspection, Shajahan came to the startling realization that his instincts were right and that the subject of the cat’s quarrel was not a piece of meat but rather the remains of a newborn human infant.

The phenomenon of babies being dumped in the Gulf region is nothing new and is certainly on the rise. Countries in the Middle East like Kuwait, Dubai and Bahrain have seen the cases of babies abandoned by their mothers shortly after birth swell to a level of at least 1 or 2 babies being found alive each month. There has also been a sharp increase in infanticide by mothers who give birth in secret. Such was the case recently in Bahrain when a Sri Lankan housemaid gave birth to a child unbeknownst to the family she lives with and cares for. Not wanting to keep the child she decided to put it in a bag and beat it on the floor until it ceased crying. Despite TMO’s attempts to track down relevant statistics, apparently no comprehensive data as to the number of babies killed in the GCC is currently made public.

The majority of mothers who either abandon or murder their infants are poor workers from Asian nations. They enter the Gulf countries and settle in one of those rich nations to serve as housemaids or nannies. Typically, they have illicit relations with their fellow male compatriots who work in the same households or areas in similar service fields. Some are impregnated by either consensual or non-consensual relations with their employers.

A minority of pregnancies the result of extramarital affairs between their mothers and a suitor. Not wanting her husband to find out about her extramarital relationship the mothers often hide the pregnancy and then dispose of the unwanted baby so that the husband will not find out and divorce her. Such was the case recently in Kuwait when an Arab woman had an affair with a man and became pregnant. She hid the pregnancy from her husband and gave birth by herself. She dumped the baby at a local science center where it was found alive by staff and taken to the nearest hospital. Her crime came to light after extensive DNA testing revealed her identity.

Quite often infants lucky enough to be found alive in GCC countries are left by their mothers on people’s doorsteps, at hospitals, local mosques or even in the backseats of cars. Some survive the wait to be found by a passerby. Others are unlikely to survive as they succumb to the blistering heat of the desert sun before anyone stumbles upon them. As for the babies who are killed by their mothers, they are often suffocated to death, drowned in a bucket of water or simply thrown in dumpsters like a piece of unwanted garbage.

In all the Islamic nations of the Gulf, adultery and sexual relations between unmarried persons is an offense that is punishable by stiff laws accompanied by prison time and ending with deportation. Regardless of the penalties, many men and women carry on their affairs in secret, and often without the use of contraception, thus resulting in unwanted pregnancies.

Once pregnant, the mother has little choice but to carry the fetus to term and then decide what to do with it. She could opt to leave the Gulf and head home to be a proper mother to her child. However, most women are too poor to feed themselves let alone a child and feel that getting rid of it at any cost is the best solution. Even if a mother did decide to do the right thing, getting past the authorities and on an airplane back to her homeland once noticeably pregnant and clearly unmarried is an obstacle in and of itself. She would be immediately arrested and thrown in jail upon detection.

Some women pregnant with unwanted babies look for other options than carrying the fetus to full-term. Abortion is not a legal option and is a crime punishable under the laws of GCC countries. There are not even established abortion clinics in the Gulf to facilitate in the abortion of unwanted pregnancies. However, there is an underground black market where abortions can be purchased for a price. Women who choose this option risk their own lives as an unlicensed doctor with inadequate and often non-sterilized tools often commits the deed.

A less invasive alternative to abortion is a copycat of the infamous ‘morning after’ pill, which has a growing market in the Gulf. The pill causes a pregnant women to miscarry the fetus she is carrying. However, the crude nature of the copycat version of the original pill often results in excruciating pain and extensive hemorrhaging. The woman who has taken the pill often requires the immediate care of a physician who can easily detect the presence of the illegal drug with a simple blood test.

Socially speaking, the main reason why a woman chooses to either abandon or kill her baby is because of poverty. In the Gulf, there is also the extenuating circumstance of the illicit affair, which is a crime under the law. Currently, there is not a viable social infrastructure in the Gulf to deal with the phenomenon of child abandonment and infanticide. As a result, women continue to kill or abandon their babies every day out of fear of abject poverty and the letter of the law.

10-17

Teenage Girls in Chaos

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By Elder George

I intended to follow up last week’s article on the Tyrant Mother Part Two with an article about the documentary The War on Boys, but certain events of more immediacy led me to postpone that article.

One of the events focused on the beating that six teenage girls gave another girl and filmed it and then posted it on Youtube. They knocked her unconscious in the process of beating her. Nice girls; maybe the victim needs kick boxing instruction or some other modern liberated activity to protect herself. The internet news focused on the right of Youtube to post the event. The moral issue received short shrift.

Another event referred to the activities of 13 year-old Melanie Bowers of Dallas, Texas whose school assignment required that she bring in a poster for or against some cause. Her poster read IF YOU LOVE OUR NATION STOP ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION.

Melanie’s Latino classmates took issue with her poster and she reported that one of them put her in a chokehold and banged her against the brick walls of the school. She told her parents that as many as 20 students accosted her and she had scratch marks on her arms and face and a slightly swollen jaw. Three of the Latino students received immediate suspensions, pending further inquiry by the school. The system of justice concerning males and females in America is the presumption of male guilt if a female lodges a complaint.

Unfortunately for Melanie, a school surveillance camera caught her self-inflicting the wounds; the event that she reported had never occurred. She lied. Her mother later made an apology to the school.

As I sat at my desk on Sunday morning reflecting on these events and wondering if I should write about them in this week’s column, I received a call from a young woman explaining why she could not attend a meeting with others and myself. Her 12 year-old niece had committed suicide by hanging, while living with her unwed mother. That phone call caused me to make the decision to forgo my planned article and substitute this one.

These three events concerned the conduct of modern American girls raised free and independent of the natural patriarchal structure. They beat each other up, make false accusations against their peers, and commit suicide. They have psyches devoid of propriety and have no behavioral parameters. These conditions lead to chaos, and not infrequently this chaos leads to bodily harm or death.

The removal of male authority results in chaos, and in the case of human behavior it results in the decadent behavior of women, which precedes the collapse of society. When men lost heir authority in ancient Rome debauchery prevailed. The same occurred in ancient Greece and before that in Israel during the time of Jeremiah. In all cases the licentious behavior of women preceded the decline.

Masculine authority regarding ethics and morals has disappeared. The government has taken over the function of societal behavior and does not concern itself with considerations of right and wrong—in fact it forbids it—and instead governs behavior by what is legal and illegal; yardsticks devoid of the morality and ethics that proceed from spiritual considerations and the propagation and preservation of the species

We live in the advanced stage of societal decline.

Elder George’s website is www.mensaction.net and he can be reached at 212-874-7900 ext. 1329.

10-17

Open Letter to President Bush

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By Dr. Aslam Abdullah, Editor-in-Chief of The Muslim Observer

Mr. President you have been misleading us for the past 90 months without any regard to human dignity and freedom. You have brought immense hardships to fellow Americans because of your mishandling of our domestic and foreign issues.

You have wasted some $600 billion on a war that did not serve any purpose to anyone in the world except helping your favorite companies to make big bucks.

You have caused thousands of innocent lives to perish at the alter of your ego. Not only, you are the worst president in the history of America but you are also the worst human beings in our living memory. you have caused unimaginable misery to millions of Americans who are struggling to earn their bread honestly.

But why should we blame you. We only have to blame ourselves for electing you as our leader. In year 2000, when you were running for the president, we, Muslims, were naive to believe what you promised to the nation.

We were so paranoid about the prospect of electing a Democratic candidate whose vice Presidential choice was Jewish that we ignored your real agenda. We as leaders of the Muslim community failed to read you, understand you and comprehend your agenda.

We knew you were more inclined to people like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, but we did not pay much attention. We knew that you had close links with the giants of the oil industry, but we ignored that. We knew that you were representing the big financial houses, but we turned our eyes from that. Everyone of us with the exception of those American American Muslim leaders who probably understood your agenda better than anyone of us, joined the chorus in your support.

Even in 2004, when your agenda was well known and you had pushed our country in a war that the majority of us never wanted, our leadership did not learn any lesson from your past.

They either remained neutral in the 2004 presidential elections or supported you with their money and resources. So why should we blame you, we never looked at the reality from a rational and objective perspective.

We either voted you in because many of us feared the names on the opposite ticket, or because we did not understand the electoral politics of this country.

We have not learned from our mistakes. We have hardly any effort going on in terms of organizing us for the forthcoming elections.

We have not heard anything concrete from our organizations and leaders about the presidential elections.

We probably think that through some magical wand we would be able to mobilize and educate the Muslim masses about the real issues that the country faces today.

Mr. President, we admit that we are an accomplice in what you have pushed our into during the last 90 months.

Most of did not even admit that we made a mistake in electing you.

Most of us did not even question or challenge you for what you have done to this country.

Hopefully, the disaster that you have imposed on our people will awaken them before you leave the office and we as a community will mobilize ourselves to ensure that we do not repeat the same mistake again.

We need leaders who can give us an objective analysis of the situation we face in this country and we need leaders who work hard to educate and inform us of the real challenges that we as Americans face.

Until then, we will continue to suffer your presence in our nation’s White House.

10-17

Too Extreme?

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By Bob Wood, MMNS

This article is a follow-up to one published in this space last September, regarding investing with an eye to what is happening with the U.S. economy. Since more has become clearer now, we can safely remove some of the conjecture from my premise to make better decisions about what lies ahead for our economy and stock market.

Investors are finding themselves with some mighty difficult tasks these days. The job for each of us is to weigh mountains of information that argue either for and against what we should be doing with our capital. Simply put, there are always reasons to do — but also reasons not to do — whatever we are considering at any given point in time.

Do we buy shares in Microsoft — or not? Do we buy large cap stocks — or small caps? Do we load up on domestic stocks — or international options? For each decision, we can find plenty of reasons to go either way — and both bullish and bearish opinions to consider.

And when we look at the overall economy and its effects on the stock and bond markets, the quandary grows. But our important decisions certainly should be affected heavily by the outlook for the economy as a whole. As usual, the Bulls and Bears fight it out over this topic daily.

Some prefer to think of Bulls as the optimists and Bears as pessimists. I think this is a great time to put that distinction to rest. While I have long been bearish on the domestic economy and stock market, I remain very optimistic about international economies and stock markets.

For most investors, the domestic markets are of prime importance. Many of you are most likely invested according to what is commonly accepted as ‘’conventional wisdom,’’ meaning you favor our home market over all others. However, the most important decision you can make is whether to be defensive or aggressive with your investments. In my way of thinking, this is where the Bears have it!

And I think they have it right now – and have generally had it right all along, or at least since the late 1990s. Remember the last days of that wonderful secular bull market when all we had to do is buy almost any stock mutual fund and sit back and watch our holdings grow in value?

The Bears tried warning us then that the free ride had gone too far and would end badly. Of course, the financial media had no trouble finding one promoter after another to expound on how everything was just fine and that stocks would go ever higher over time. We now know how well that worked out! The S&P 500 lost almost 50% of its value from the peak in early 2000, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 80% before the carnage ended.

A couple years ago the housing market was booming, and again the Bears tried to warn us that that, too, would end. Again, the bullish promoters assured that all would be well, that the worst we could expect was a ‘’soft landing’’ and that home prices wouldn’t fall, but, rather, just rise more slowly than they had previously. Even former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan was a calming influence, assuring us that an adjustable rate mortgage was a good deal — an opportunity to take advantage of some of the wonderful financial innovations brought to us by our benefactors on Wall Street.

As the housing market began to slow and we learned about esoteric mortgage instruments and their various derivatives, concern began to climb among investors. But again, we were assured that losses, if they were coming, would be small.

Yet bearish analysts warned that those losses could be substantial. One estimate saw those losses reaching the half billion dollar mark and was, again, scoffed at by those who are more bullish. It has always been too easy for the bullish side to simply wave away any legitimate concerns, offering nothing more substantial than bromides like ‘’stocks climb a wall of worry’’, ‘’don’t fight the Fed’’ and assorted other meaningless maxims.

This past week, a front page story in the Financial Times newspaper featured a leading financial authority showing how costs for these mortgage related losses could spike to over $1 trillion. By the way, the source of that discomforting news was none other than — the International Monetary Fund!

So again and again, the Bears have steered us in the right direction — or at least out of the path of the next train wreck. And now, even Greenspan himself says that our economy has entered a recession. And that comes from the guy who helped put us in this most unfortunate position!

So now, in the fullness of time, what should we expect to see in the coming months and years for our economy and the stock markets? Since, as we are fast learning, the Bears have been much more accurate in their assessments of where we’re headed, let’s look at what one of them is telling anyone who will listen, or at least anyone subscribing to his excellent service at www.shadowstats.com.

I am, of course, referring to economist John Williams, who has done great work in alerting us to the true state of our economy. He regularly provides actual statistics to show how the government manages and manipulates official statistics like the rate of inflation, the unemployment rate and growth in the supply of money.

Williams’ latest monthly report begins with this lively sentence. How’s this for an opening?

“The U.S. economy is in an intensifying inflationary recession that eventually will evolve into a hyperinflationary great depression’’.

How are you doing so far?

He forecasts that ‘’ hyperinflation could be experienced as early as 2010, if not before, and likely no more than a decade down the road.’’

And the next paragraph begins with a doozy, as well.

‘’The U.S. has no way of avoiding a financial Armageddon.’’

What follows are 22 more pages explaining why he thinks this way while too many in the financial media propose that we will skirt a recession and, at worst, see a one-quarter recession followed by a nice comeback in the second half of 2008.

Remember, the Bulls are the same people who assured us in 1999 that ‘’the only risk with tech stocks was not owning any of them.’’ More recently, they have assured us that housing prices never go down and, since the sub-prime mortgage market was a very small portion of the overall mortgage market, no lasting damage would come from its difficulties. Now we see that damage being felt around the world!

So what’s the final analysis about the back-and-forth predictions of what is to come? Let’s say the Bulls break from their recent record and are proven right this time: the economy rebounds in the second half of this year. What would you lose by being defensive for the balance of 2008 — just in case?

At worst, you would lose some opportunity to profit, but you will survive to fight another day. Now, what if the Bears like Williams (and me) are calling this right, and the economy is headed off a cliff? If it happens, and you sided with the Bulls, the damage could be enough to take you out of the game for good.

Are the Bears too extreme in their warnings? If we’re going to make a mistake, let it be on the side of caution, knowing that staying solvent is paramount to all other concerns. If the Bears are right, all is not lost. Bearish investors in hard assets like precious metals and other asset classes like foreign stocks and bonds should still do well. And don’t forget an allocation in bear market mutual funds. These would certainly be winners in a bear market. Let’s hope caution puts us among the winners!

Have a great week.
Bob

Bob Wood ChFC, CLU Yusuf Kadiwala. Registered Investment Advisors, KMA, Inc., invest@muslimobserver.com.

10-17

Arab American Democrats

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By Adil James and Masood Rab, MMNS

Dearborn–April 12–Ishmael Ahmed and the Arab American Democrats flexed their waxing political muscle this Saturday with the Obama and Clinton campaigns and with the Michigan Democratic National Committee.

At a spring retreat on Saturday, April 12 from 1 pm to 4 pm, at UM Dearborn, the “Arab American Democrats” held an organizing forum to break into committees and discuss means of maximizing the impact of the Arab American community in the upcoming elections. A part of this process was to interface with other related and sometimes overlapping groups like Muslims and Chaldeans, and IndoPak groups.

The goal of this meeting was to kick off 2008 election activities and organize in order to be effective in “what is shaping up to be one of the most critical elections of our generation” as the event flyer read.

Members of AMPEC joined the retreat to exchange ideas and to build bridges with other groups for a similar AMPEC forum planned for May 2, 2008.

Ishmael Ahmed, Director of Social Services, State of Michigan, and chair of the caucus opened the meeting and outlined the objectives of the caucus. “Ish,” as he is affectionately called by those prominent active members of the Arab community like Taleb Salhab and others, briefly noted the gains Arab Americans have made in the last two decades and pointed to the future – saying there is a long way to go. The caucus has no constitution and no elections. This format has worked well for the past twenty five years and has helped promote Arab Americans in the Democratic Party. The key to becoming effective in part politics, as Ishmael put it, is to run and become delegates for local, state and national conventions. The first step, he argued, is to run for a precinct delegate position and then move up to district and central committees.

Attendees were asked to volunteer for one of several committees, including campaign, membership, voter registration and outreach, Then, the committees broke out into discussion sessions to come up with a list of activities and plans of action to prepare for election. Each committee presented a report of its discussions to the group.

After the committee deliberations, Mark Brewer, Chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party, addressed the group and emphasized the importance of Democrats reuniting after the painful primary process, regardless of who wins. He emphasized the damage to the country caused by the current Republican Administration and continuation of the same if John McCain is not defeated in the 2008 Election.

He also listed some key local Michigan races that he hoped the Arab American Democrats could influence in a positive direction from US senate, congress and state senate and legislature races that are of keen interest to Democratic Party.

Representatives of the Obama and Clinton campaigns – Bert Johnson and Pam Byrnes, respectively, spoke about their candidates and their positions and took questions from the floor.

The representative of the Clinton campaign bravely faced determined resistance from the mostly pro-Obama crowd, and “Ish” graciously thanked her for coming and reminded everyone that neither representative was responsible for all of the the policy and campaign practices of the candidates they support.

10-17

Community News (V10-I17)

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Muslim run clinics recognized for serving underserved communities

CHICAGO, IL–The not-for-profit Institute for Social Policy and Understanding in a recent report recognized 10 Muslim health clinics across the nation that have improved the health of underserved community members, including blacks and Hispanics, the San Bernardino County Sun reports. The report, “Caring for Our Neighbors: How Muslim Community-Based Health Organizations are Bridging the Healthcare Gap in America,” outlines how Muslim community-based health organizations are providing a health safety net for underserved populations and “provides a deeper understanding of the motivations that drive American-Muslim health providers, the demographic makeup of the populations they serve and the clinics’ growing role in American public health and community building,” according to the ISPU.

Study author Lance Laird, an ISPU fellow and assistant professor of pediatrics at the Boston University School of Medicine, said, “The message I want to convey is these Muslim clinics represent a trend in what Muslim communities are doing to address fundamental problems in the U.S.” He adds, “When we think of faith-based groups, we shouldn’t think of Protestants, Catholics and Jews, but other minority organizations.”

The report featured 10 clinics in the Los Angeles, Detroit, Houston and Chicago area, including Muscoy, Calif.-based clinic Al-Shifa. The clinic, which serves mostly Hispanics and blacks, is open four days per week and offers medical, dental and eye care. Laird said, “Al-Shifa serves on the ground of a mosque, yet were very specific about saying ‘we don’t mention Islam.’ And saying, ‘We’re here to serve,’ yet all of their volunteers are Muslim and their board is Muslim.”

University of West Georgia holds lecture on Islam

The Muslim Student Association at University of West Georgia organized a lecture on the place of Prophet Isa (AS) in Islam. Invited Daoud Nassimi, vice-chairman of the council of Muslim organizations in Washington, D.C., to speak to a crowd of 150 on the beliefs of Muslims in general, and more specifically, about Jesus.

He began by relating the story of creation, one belief held by both Christians and Muslims alike. Continuing, he related the belief of Jesus’ immaculate conception by the Virgin Mary and the role of Jesus.

Nassimi explained that it is Muslim belief that Allah (translating from Arabic into “one true God”) sent Jesus as a messenger to “explain to humanity what life is all about and what they should be concerned about and what they should not be concerned about.”

Keith Ellison speaks at the Muslim Youth Leadership Symposium

CHICAGO, IL—Congressman Keith Ellison gave an inspiring speech to hundreds of students at the Muslim Youth Leadership Symposium held at the Mosque Foundation Community Center. The two day event was organized by the Chicago office of CAIR and was attended by students from throughout the Chicago area.

Ellison encouraged students to look within themselves and embrace the challenges they face as Muslims, even if those challenges seem unfair.

“You’ve been given a gift, an opportunity to face adversity with courage, with patience, with the assistance of prayer. And to come out on the other side of it more successful than you were before. Find out about things about yourself you didn’t know before,” he said.

Ellison told of the adversity he’s faced as a Muslim such as during his run for Congress when Robert Fine, brother of his opponent Alan Fine, called him a terrorist.

During such trying times, he received support from his family and friends during the campaign. He said it was his faith that helped carry him.

He said teachings in the Koran could help the racial divide in America. And he encouraged students to embrace and answer questions about their faith, even if those questions seem repetitive.

“Let’s use what we have, what our faith is all about, to help America get over the barrier of racial division and false barriers based on color,” he said.

U.S.Army tries to combat Arab-American suspicions

The billboard displays a phone number and only two English words: “Call Mona.” The rest is in Arabic. But if you can read it, the Army wants you, says a CBS report.

The sign, erected to help recruit translators from Detroit’s large Middle Eastern population, urges Arabic speakers to consider joining the military.

“In the land of different opportunities,” it says, “this is one you might not have heard before: job opportunities with the U.S. Army.”

Five years after the invasion of Iraq, the Army says it is meeting or exceeding its goals for recruiting Arabic translators. But despite growing acceptance of the military among Arab immigrants, recruiters acknowledge that much of the immigrant community remains deeply suspicious of the Army.

“At first, it was more hostile from the community. It was at the peak of the invasion,” said Mona Makki, a community liaison and language specialist with a company that helps the Army with recruitment. “They perceive us now in a positive way.”

Residents bring lawsuit to stop mosque

ROCKAWAY, NJ–Residents of Rockaway, New Jersey, have filed a lawsuit in an attempt to stop plans for the conversion of a building into a mosque. The suit was filed in Superior Court in Morristown late last month.

Residents claim in the suit that the zoning board’s 5-1 approval in January of plans by the Morris County Islamic Center was invalid because one of the panel members voted by phone.

Local press has supported the coming up of the mosque in the area. The site is a commercial area just off a major highway, Route 46, and the mosque is not envisioned to be all that large. Capacity will be 192.

Tasmiha Khan, runner up in state wide award

Bridgeview, IL–Tasmiha Khan, of Bridgeview, has been named one of the runners-up in the 2008 Prudential Spirit of Community Award in Illinois honoring outstanding community service.
Khan will receive an engraved bronze distinguished finalist medallion to commemorate this prestigious award. Tasmiha will also receive the President’s Volunteer Service Award, based on the number of hours she has volunteered.

Khan is a senior at Universal School. She teaches an education program that she created for children of participants in an adult program sponsored by the Muslim Ummah of North America. Khan volunteers for the adult program by organizing meetings, preparing meals, cleaning up, and helping with other tasks.

She is an active volunteer helping to raise $20,000 at Universal School for victims of the Tsunami in Southeast Asia. She is also involved in IMAN club activities, Inner-City Muslim Action Network, which holds several events a year in inner-city Chicago, promoting choices in inner-city schools that allow students to find their identity and avoid gangs and other violent activities that may affect their life negatively.

10-17

Houstonian Corner (V10-I17)

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Youth-oriented Approach in the Development of the Katy Center

“About 80% of the Americans feel that USA is going in the wrong directions”: These were the words of long-time Civil Rights Activist Imam Mahdi Bray, as he made his keynote presentation at fundraiser for Muslim American Society (MAS) Katy Center.

“Muslims have faith in God and a bright future because the true Muslims back their faith with action, which is beneficial to the human beings. Being right is not always easy, but eventually is the way to go, as can be seen from the example of Prophet Yousuf, who got into jail, then exonerated and from a slave became the king of the land. Today we see our government spend $3bn everyday bombing Iraq, while we recently learnt that a 9 years old child living near the White House in DC. died because his parents could not afford a $75 dental procedure and by the time he reached the hospital, it was too late. Now here in Katy Texas, the Muslim American Society (MAS) is building an institution to bring forward youth, who will be headlights rather than taillights and will be thermostats rather than thermometers. Institutions like this, which are being established for youth and where faith and positive action for the betterment of the society at-large will be taught, bring the necessary hope in all of us that Muslims will bring the answers to the problems of the world: In fact Muslims already have the answers: Institutions like this upcoming MAS Katy Center will facilitate this process.”

Before the ever moving speech of Imam Mahdi, all the attendees enjoyed a sumptuous five course dinner, which was followed by recitation of Quran by young Sarah Nasir Ali. That was followed by an excellent presentation by Dr. Main AL-Qudah of Islamic Dawah Center Downtown about the importance of sacrificing talents and monies for the sake of betterment of future generations.

Later Omar Mabsout, the founder and manager of Archi-Group Design & Development Consultants (www.archi-group.com), gave the blue-print of the project in the form of animation and simulation. He gave the vision of the institution to be of building a model Muslim community that is fully developed, committed to Islam, united and engaged in shaping a better society and healthier world.

Omar Mabsout informed that the project will be completed in Four Phases: First Phase will include growing trees around the property to appropriately demarcate it and then laying down all the infrastructure amenities like drinking water s sewerage and drainage systems (which will include a beautiful detention pound right at the entrance, which will enhance the looks of the place). Also during this phase, some basic attractions for youth like soccer field, tennis and basketball courts plus parking spots will be constructed. Cost of this Phase One is $600,000 off which about 30% were pledged or collected during the fundraiser. Omar Mabsout of the Archi-Group himself pledged $20,000.

Second Phase will include constructing Masjid for 600 persons and a covered Youth Center with basketball court, gym and other related things like showers, restrooms, lockers, etc. This Phase Two will cost $2.7M. Third Phase will include constructing a Community Center, enclosing daycare, classrooms for learning and teaching the youth, multi-purpose hall, administrative offices, library and much more. Cost for this Third Phase is $2.5M. Beyond this Phase Three, the area will have enough space for future development projects like home for elderly, shelter for abused, etc. (this development will decided by next generations).

In the end, famous fundraising personality Sheikh Abdel Raouf in his unique style raised the funds. The best part of his efforts has always been the way he asks donating persons’ name, then pray for the person based on the meaning of his or her name and then generally pray for everyone.

People can reach out to MAS Katy Center with their contributions at: P.O. Box 6242, Katy, Texas 77491, Phone: 281-829-0600.

10-17

McCain Even with Obama, Leads Clinton: Reuters poll

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By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican presidential candidate John McCain runs even with Democratic rival Barack Obama and narrowly leads Hillary Clinton in potential match-ups in November, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

McCain was seen as a better steward of the economy than either Democrat despite their repeated criticism of his economic credentials. He led Obama by 3 points and Clinton by 5 points on the question of who would best manage the economy.

In the Democratic race, Obama widened his national lead over Clinton to 51 percent to 38 percent, up from a 3-point edge in March, in polling taken before a controversy erupted over Obama’s comments about small-town residents.

The two Democrats, battling for the right to face McCain in November’s presidential election, both gained ground on the Arizona senator nationally in the last month although Obama fares slightly better in head-to-head match-ups.

Obama pulled into a statistical tie with McCain at 45 percent after trailing him by 6 points last month. Clinton trails McCain by 5 points, 46 percent to 41 percent, gaining slightly from an 8-point deficit last month.

“Obama still does better than Clinton against McCain, but it’s a very close race either way,” pollster John Zogby said. “Obama and Clinton hurt each other the longer their race drags on, and McCain is getting a free pass.”

Heading into the next Democratic contest in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Obama has been under heavy fire from Clinton and McCain for saying small-town residents are bitter about the ailing economy and cling to religion, guns and anti-immigrant bigotry in frustration.

The national poll, taken Thursday through Saturday, was nearly completed before the Obama controversy erupted when his April 6 comments at a private San Francisco fundraiser became public on Friday night. The furor’s impact on the Democratic race is unclear.

Cyclical Race

Obama had gained ground on Clinton in the last month after weathering a controversy over inflammatory statements by his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, while Clinton came under fire for falsely claiming to have faced sniper fire in Bosnia in 1996.

“Obama rebounded from the Reverend Wright situation and it was Clinton’s turn to get scrutinized,” Zogby said. “Now it’s back to Obama for the small-town comments. This race has been very cyclical.”

The poll found Obama made gains in the last month among at least two key national constituencies that have sustained Clinton’s bid. The Illinois senator led among women, 48 percent to 42 percent, and among whites, 46 percent to 41 percent.

Obama also held big leads among men, blacks, young voters and high-income voters. Clinton, a New York senator, led among the elderly, Hispanics and voters with less than a high-school education.

Obama has been steadily narrowing the gap on Clinton in Pennsylvania, where her sizable double-digit poll lead had dwindled to single digits in most recent polls.

An Obama win in Pennsylvania could knock Clinton out of the race, while she needs a big victory to make headway in her effort to overtake Obama in the popular vote cast in state contests and pledged delegates to the nominating convention.

With 10 contests remaining, Obama has a nearly unassailable lead in pledged delegates, but neither candidate is likely to gain enough delegates to win without help from nearly 800 Democratic Party officials and insiders who are free to back any candidate.

The poll also gauged potential head-to-head match-ups if independent Ralph Nader or possible Libertarian candidate Bob Barr, a former congressman, get on the ballot. Nader drew 3 percent and Barr 2 percent in both national match-ups.

McCain fared slightly worse against Obama with Barr and Nader in the race, but their presence did not change his margin over Clinton.

The national survey of 532 likely Democratic primary voters had a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points. The poll of the race between McCain and the two Democratic contenders surveyed 1,049 likely voters with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
(For more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters “Tales from the Trail: 2008” online at http://blogs.reuters.com/trail08/)

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Obama Would Ask AG to “Immediately Review” Potential Crimes in Bush White House

by

Courtesy Will Bunch, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Monday 14 April 2008

Tonight I had an opportunity to ask Barack Obama a question that is on the minds of many Americans, yet rarely rises to the surface in the great ruckus of the 2008 presidential race – and that is whether an Obama administration would seek to prosecute officials of a former Bush administration on the revelations that they greenlighted torture, or for other potential crimes that took place in the White House.

Obama said that as president he would indeed ask his new Attorney General and his deputies to “immediately review the information that’s already there” and determine if an inquiry is warranted – but he also tread carefully on the issue, in line with his reputation for seeking to bridge the partisan divide. He worried that such a probe could be spun as “a partisan witch hunt.” However, he said that equation changes if there was willful criminality, because “nobody is above the law.”

The question was inspired by a recent report by ABC News, confirmed by the Associated Press, that high-level officials including Vice President Dick Cheney and former Cabinet secretaries Colin Powell, John Ashcroft and Donald Rumsfeld, among others, met in the White House and discussed the use of waterboarding and other torture techniques on terrorism suspects.

I mentioned the report in my question, and said “I know you’ve talked about reconciliation and moving on, but there’s also the issue of justice, and a lot of people – certainly around the world and certainly within this country – feel that crimes were possibly committed” regarding torture, rendition, and illegal wiretapping. I wanted to know how whether his Justice Department “would aggressively go after and investigate whether crimes have been committed.”

Here’s his answer, in its entirety:

What I would want to do is to have my Justice Department and my Attorney General immediately review the information that’s already there and to find out are there inquiries that need to be pursued. I can’t prejudge that because we don’t have access to all the material right now. I think that you are right, if crimes have been committed, they should be investigated. You’re also right that I would not want my first term consumed by what was perceived on the part of Republicans as a partisan witch hunt because I think we’ve got too many problems we’ve got to solve.

So this is an area where I would want to exercise judgment – I would want to find out directly from my Attorney General – having pursued, having looked at what’s out there right now – are there possibilities of genuine crimes as opposed to really bad policies. And I think it’s important- one of the things we’ve got to figure out in our political culture generally is distinguishing between really dumb policies and policies that rise to the level of criminal activity. You know, I often get questions about impeachment at town hall meetings and I’ve said that is not something I think would be fruitful to pursue because I think that impeachment is something that should be reserved for exceptional circumstances. Now, if I found out that there were high officials who knowingly, consciously broke existing laws, engaged in coverups of those crimes with knowledge forefront, then I think a basic principle of our Constitution is nobody above the law – and I think that’s roughly how I would look at it.

The bottom line is that: Obama sent a clear signal that – unlike impeachment, which he’s ruled out and which now seems a practical impossibility – he is at the least open to the possibility of investigating potential high crimes in the Bush White House. To many, the information that waterboarding – which the United States has considered torture and a violation of law in the past – was openly planned out in the seat of American government is evidence enough to at least start asking some tough questions in January 2009.

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