By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

Young Pakistani cricket fans react while sitting below a screen along a roadside which was televising their national team’s match against India, in Karachi March 30, 2011. India kept alive a billion dreams after sinking Pakistan by 29 runs in their World Cup semi-final on Wednesday and set up an all-Asian final against Sri Lanka.    REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

In a match that was probably decided more by what was not done rather than what was accomplished, India defeated Pakistan by the slim margin of 29 runs in the semifinals of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. India batted first and put up a solid but unspectacular 260 runs. The first innings was highlighted by 85 runs from Man of the Match Sachin Tendulkar, on 115 balls, with a whopping 11 boundaries. However, the innings was lowlighted, if you will, by six dropped balls on the part of Pakistan. Their old bugaboo came back to haunt them once again.

The Pakistani bowlers did a reasonable job. Wahab Riaz was the surprise of this crew, with five wickets taken in 10 overs of work, and 46 runs given up. Saeed Ajmal also took two wickets for Pakistan. For India, Munaf Patel bowled 10 overs, giving up 40 runs, and taking two wickets. But it was Zaheer Khan who came in to close the door for India, bowling 9.5 overs, and taking two critical wickets. Khan also had nine runs and a boundary as a batsman.

The Pakistani batsmen were disappointing on this day, struggling to put up a modest total of 231 runs. Misbah-ul-Haq was a bright spot in the Pakistani batting lineup, with 56 runs on 76 balls, five boundaries, and one six. But, in the end, poor fielding once again did Pakistan in. And they will have time to think about their wicked ways in the field while India seeks greater glory, in the World Cup finals on Saturday against Sri Lanka.

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By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

Pakistan’s players applaud after India won their ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semi-final match in Mohali March 30, 2011.                     REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Passions have been running high for a week now, once everyone knew that intense rivals India and Pakistan would be playing each other in the semifinals of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. Fans began making late-night viewing plans upon Pakistan destroying the West Indies and India dumping Australia in their respective quarterfinal matches. But, is the rhetoric and the hype in advance of this match truly a good thing? On the surface it would appear to be simple fan excitement and bluster leading up to a sporting event. But not very far below the surface an ugly side emerges, and it brings to light one of the principal problems with the sport of cricket itself.

This matchup between the two south Asian countries is the latest that the two have played against each other in their World Cup histories. But even in earlier World Cup encounters between the two, fans were guilty of losing their cool. In the San Francisco bay area where I live, in a previous year a locally owned movie theater hosted a viewing of an India-Pakistan World Cup match. But the get-together quickly turned upside down as heated arguments and near-fights broke out between fans of the two sides. That particular theater has not offered the same viewing opportunity this time around. When I expressed my concern, somewhat jokingly, that tensions would be running high late on Tuesday night in areas of town where many Indians and Pakistanis live, a colleague said, “Sure, if there are a lot of Indians there.” Similarly, another acquaintance of mine described how his wife stayed up late to watch one of India’s matches saying, “She hates India so much, she wanted to make sure that they lost.” Back in India, a Mumbai politician threatened to not allow Pakistan into the city if the two squads had met in the finals.

Admittedly, it is not unusual for any rivalry in sports to have heated fans on both sides. Look at the disdain that Boston Red Sox fans and New York Yankees fans have for each other in Major League baseball. The Real Madrid-Barcelona rivalry divides the hearts of soccer fans in Spain. And the plethora of college football rivalries in the U.S. all stoke the fires of fandom. In soccer, the drum of nationalism is beaten every four years, but once the fervor dies down, so does the jingoism. Everyone goes back to playing for their professional club, and the angst goes from a bias against country or creed, to a simple bias against laundry.

These rivalries in other sports are not part of a larger societal rivalry the way cricket is. The citizens in India and in Pakistan respectively have been conditioned, by politicians and other extremists, to dislike each other. And this has led to an era of distrust and at times downright hostility between the two countries. So when this enmity is transferred over to the sport of cricket, it only adds fuel to the societal fire. It’s a shame, because these two countries, after all, share the same race, the same culture, and even the same conservative ideals. But the added wrinkle is the fact that much of the tension between the two nations gets funneled into a religious rivalry between Hindus and Muslims. Once these two groups stop hating each other on the World Cup pitch, they will resume the hatred on the Test Match pitch, and then onto the One Day International pitch. The vitriol just never ends. Because cricket has been designed to be a country-versus-country battle only. The Indian Premier League has made some inroads to being a unifying professional league, but the season only lasts about six weeks. And oh by the way, in recent years there have been no Pakistanis playing in the league.

It just so happens that many of the prominent cricket-playing nations are former British colonies. Perhaps this is just an ongoing plan to enable England to continue to divide and conquer. Whatever the reason, it is my firm opinion that as long as cricket remains a full-time exercise in nationalism, it will remain unhealthy for society. And now it looks like the result of the big match is in. And the winner is…no one.

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Chicago area man pleads guilty in scamming Muslim investors

CHICAGO,IL–Amjed Mahmood, a senior VP of construction and 10 percent owner of Sunrise Equities, has admitted to taking part in a scheme that bilked hundreds of Muslim investors out of $40 million. He  pleaded guilty this week to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud and bank fraud.

Mahmood and two other men were accused of cheating about 300 investors while claiming the investments complied with Islamic law. Prosecutors contend they engaged in a Ponzi scheme.

Mahmood admits he used investors’ money to bankroll a motorcycle parts maker in Pakistan and other companies in Illinois. He also says he paid his own mortgage with the cash.

Mahmood says he’s now working as a Chicago cab driver. He faces up to five years in prison when he’s sentenced. The other two men, Salman Ibrahim and Mohammad Akbar Zahid,  remain fugitives.

Fundraising event held for Libya and Egypt

MIDDLETOWN,CT–A fundraising event was held at the Wesleyan University to help the people of Libya and Egypt. It was organized by Islamic Relief USA in association with the Connecticut Muslim Student Association (MSA). The event was attended by around 200 people and raised $40,000.

Guest speakers included New York University (NYU) Chaplain Imam Khalid Latif and Northeast Regional Manager of IRUSA Yousef Abdallah. Spoken word artist Tahani Saleh delivered a moving performance.

The proceeds will provide funding for IRUSA humanitarian projects to aid Libyan and Egyptian families affected by the recent uprisings.

Muslims engage with other faith groups in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS,LA–More than 40 New Orleans Muslim, Jewish and Christian clergy from a spectrum of denominations and movements joined the convention of the world’s Reform rabbis to engage in a dialogue on potentially divisive texts, utilizing them as an avenue for exploring wider issues.

The goal of the event, which took place at the 122nd annual convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), was to renew mutual understanding and reach new insights about interreligious approaches to addressing societal problems and advancing civil society.

The New Orleans clergy sat in circles with attendees of the convention, which includes 500 Reform rabbis from all over North America. (CCAR is the professional organization of nearly 2,000 Reform rabbis, the world’s largest group of Jewish clergy.) The starting point of each discussion was a critical look at select texts, including Ecclesiastes 12 and 13, Galatians 3, Babylonian Talmud Berkhot 6b, Qur’An 9:5 (Repentance) and Qur’An 3:110 (Family of Imran).

Event leaders included Rabbi Robert H. Loewy of Congregation Gates of Prayer in Metairie, LA; Imam Omar Suleiman, Imam of Masjid Abu Bakr (Jefferson Muslim Association) in New Orleans; Reverend Don Frampton, Senior Pastor of St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church in New Orleans; Rabbi Denise L. Eger, Rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami in West Hollywood, CA.

Dupage County sued for refusing to grant approval to Islamic center

CHICAGO,IL–A lawsuit naming 18 DuPage County officials who declined to approve an Islamic worship center just east of Naperville will move ahead, but the 18 won’t be named, the Chicago Sun Times reports at press time.

In an opinion issued Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmyer denied the DuPage County state’s attorney’s request to have the case dismissed entirely, but she excused the 11 County Board and seven Zoning Board of Appeals members who voted against the Irshad Learning Center’s request for a conditional use permit. With Pallmyer’s decision that the appointed and elected officials enjoy “absolute quasi-judicial immunity,” the case will now pit Irshad directly against the county.

Filed last April by the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the 11-count complaint alleged that the denial of Irshad’s zoning request in January 2010 violated the organization’s equal-protection rights and the provisions of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.

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By Adil James, TMO

Dearborn–March 27–CAIR Michigan is continuing along its path of engaging the African American civil rights community in its efforts to work to reduce discrimination against Muslims.  Thus the CAIR board chose as its keynote speaker the Pulitzer prize winning Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr, who has in fact used his writing to stand as a champion against many forms of bigotry in United States culture and politics.

The broadening appeal of CAIR Michigan can be seen in the wide variety of political leadership present at CAIR’s most recent gala awards ceremony and fundraiser.  Present were many important local, state, and federal politicians, including Rep. John Dingell (D-15-MI), Rep. Andre Carson (D-7-IN), State Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-12-MI), and many judges and local politicians, not to mention approximately 1,000 guests.  Imam Johari of Darul Hijra in Northern Virginia served as fundraiser.

Executive Director Dawud Walid described CAIR-Michigan’s many efforts to protect Muslim civil rights.

The theme of Mr. Pitts’ argument was that no social progress happens automatically, rather it is through effort and sacrifice that social change happens–the simple fact of its being the 21st century does not make our culture more developed than what we were in the past.  He focused on the deep problems in this country of racial injustice, past and present, and bringing into this context the current deep and widespread American prejudice against Muslims.  He focused on an important point, the prejudices that are so deeply ingrained as to have sunk to the subconscious level of assumption–Pitts focused on several examples of prominent people making arguments based on assumptions that are intrinsically biased–this reflected Pitts’ deep belief that “this is not a Muslim problem, but an American problem, a paranoid, xenophobic,” panicked response to outsiders.  The ultimate focus of Pitts’ speech was that America has never been the land it has held itself out to be from the time of its founding, due to the discrimination that preexisted and that continued after the independence of this nation, in the form of racial discrimination against many different ethnic groups but particularly African Americans.

Rep. Andre Carson also spoke to those gathered.  He emphasized that CAIR was a necessary component of the Muslim community–because it stands up and fights for the Muslim community in a vocal way.  Carson emphasized that it is not necessary for every doctor or engineer to be as vocal as CAIR, but it is necessary to reach out and support (with money) those willing to be “bold,” and argue for Muslim rights.  On the other hand, he said, if the people are radicalized, CAIR must speak out as well against radicalization.

CAIR Michigan’s attorney Lena Masri also spoke on several legal initiatives by CAIR–this legal function has become an essential component of CAIR’s work, although the legal branch of CAIR is only a couple of years old.

This year’s gala fundraiser marked a new high for CAIR Michigan in the form of its friendships at all levels of politics, and marked a continuation of its strategy of reaching out to the African American civil rights community by choosing a prominent African American writer, vocal on civil rights issues, as its keynote speaker.  After this year’s event the question is how much progress CAIR will continue to make and what strategies and tactics they will use going forward. 

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By Geoffrey Cook, TMO

March 29th–Albany (Calif.)–Some time ago on these pages, I predicted if the Indo-Pakistani conflict were ever to be settled, Pakistan would look Westward toward Jerusalem.  At the moment the struggle for Arab Democracy in the west of Dar al Islam — partially successful so far in North Africa and the Maghreb.

Radical contemporary Jihadism actually arose in the Middle East, and emigrated to such South Asian regions (such as Afghanistan [which is in fact the bridge between Central, South Asia besides the Middle East], Pakistan, Bangladesh, (Islamic) India, the Maldives and the minority populations in Sri Lanka (formerly, Ceylon) and (even!) Tibet.  The Violent Jihadi (versus the original Arabic theological import of inter-struggle) — reasserted itself in the historically central terrain of the Muslim world as a reaction to the  repressive modern Post-Colonial governments of the region there. 

At first, the Revolutions from the Colonial oppressors of the Middle East, were highly influenced by the thinking of President Nasser of Egypt, which was Nationalistic and progressive sense in the Western sense, but did not give much respect to the Islamic religion itself. 

(In India, on the other hand, Nehru — a Hindu with definitely too little understanding of his contemporaneous (British) Indian Muslim aspirations was highly influenced by the British-generated Fabian Socialists and later by the Bloomsbury economist, John Keynes.  The most horrible conflict on the other side of the Muslim-dominated world,, the Maghreb,  was the Algerian civil war wherein between 150,000 through  200,000 people died are estimated to have died..  The great “bugaboo” is the “threat” of Islamism.  The danger is Tel Aviv’ rejection of Islamism.  The political philosophy of Islamism is slightly right-of-center.  The Muslim Brotherhood are a democratic party who have taken part in democratic contests for many years.  Jimmy Carter stated to your composer that the 2006 elections in Gaza, wherein Hamas soundly won, was the most free and fair he has ever seen.  Of course, Turkey has been lead by an Islamist party for several years.  The danger here is the reaction of Israel!

The real enemy to these fringe Arab groups — such as Al’Qaeda — were wrestling the very nations which now the democracy movements are sweeping.  During the last late Russian War (during the 1980s), many of these sub-national groups (“dissident revolutionaries“),  were recruited to fight Russian Empire by primarily the American C.I.A. (Central Intelligence Agency) and its Pakistani equivalent, I.S.I. (Inter-Services Intelligence) as these two countries‘ surrogate soldiers.

The grave mistake of the Americans (and the reason your researcher considers Reagan so lowly of Reagan as one of Washington’s worse leaders of modern times , for, after defeating the mighty Soviet Army; and, thereby, the U.S. President deserted these irregulars with the Taliban (rag-tag) army who accomplished the great victory for America instead of rebuilding the expanse of the Hindu Kush:  (Much like a mini-Marshall plan).   

Now, Kabul rules one of the poorest nations in the world, and instead of bolstering the people of homeland on the Mediterranean, we desert the deserving citizens which created a five-prong civil War.   The Taliban ([Islamic religious] students) drove the five factions of the civil War into a one corner of the desert-mountain landscape.

At first the populace were grateful to their “young” Afghani liberators, but their youth and unsophisticated understanding of Islam caused the residents of the Mountains and the whole world — except Saudi Arabia and Pakistan — to turn their backs on them in disgust.

Mullah Omar (the Chief of State)  during the Taliban ascendancy was furious at Osama bin-Laden, when he heard that the latter man, whom he was harboring out of tribal curtsey within his Republic was endangering his people, for the Afghans were no more than human shields for these Arab mercenaries, and the Taliban State did not have a chance against the initial overwhelming power of America.

Al Qaeda works similar to the old Communist Party.  So, an “Al Qaeda” was formed independently in Iraq to fight the West, and Al Qaeda of the Maghreb is a considerable force, but the Democratic revolts in the Arab homeland (especially Yemen on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula), makes the Jihadist less relevant in those regions because, if these nations can make the transition to an Arab democracy, the necessity to fight repression there will lessen;  and, thus, the Jihadi Movement will  have less of an attraction within the Middle East, but where will the mercenaries go if the democrats (and, incidentally, the Jihadi) raison d’etre is achieved?  Your scribe would like to consider this next week.

A Robert Kaplan reported in the March 7th in the Washington Post, “With the horrific carnage in Libya, the flaming of revolution in Bahrain, and the protest for political change in Jordan and Morocco…the highest priority (for the U.S. and E.U. [the European Union] should be) helping …[them] to democracy…” 

This should not be Jeffersonian Democracy or even West Minister Democracy, it should be an Arab and/or Islamic Democracy!

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Editor’s Note: “Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door” features the Muslim community of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where Matthew Miller has lived since age 15. CNN’s Soledad O’Brien chronicles the dramatic fight over the construction of a mosque in the heart of the Bible belt.

“Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door” aired Sunday, March 27 at 8 p.m. ET on CNN.

By Elizabeth M. Nunez, CNN

The actual conversion was brief. It only involved one sentence: “I bear witness that there is no God worthy of worship but God, I bear witness that Mohammed is the messenger of God.”
For 30-year-old Mathew Miller, those words represented the culmination of a long religious transformation from Christianity to Islam.

Miller is a digital media communications major at Middle Tennessee University and works part-time at a golf course. He was raised Christian in California, surfing and dreaming of being a radio DJ.

“My first interaction with Islam was this movie called ‘Not Without my Daughter.’ That was my first glimpse into what Western society believed was really going on in Islam,” he said.

“Not Without My Daughter” is a 1991 film in which Sally Field portrays an America woman who flees from Iran with her daughter. The movie, based on a true story detailed in a book by the same title, was faulted by critics for portraying a stereotypical view of Iranians and Islam.

But in questioning his own beliefs, and after a conversation with a Muslim friend, Miller’s interest in Islam was piqued.

“I think for the most part I was afraid, don’t really know of what,” he said.

Later, attending Friday prayers at a small Mosque in Murfreesboro, he began to learn more.

“When I put my head on the ground with them, it felt like I could say anything to God, and what I was asking for at the time was guidance. I wanted to know whether what I was doing was the right thing to do.”

His mother had long expected his change of religious faith. “I told my mother I was Muslim in Disneyland. She said ‘I don’t necessarily know if I feel good about it, but if it makes you happy and it’s what you feel is the right way, then there’s nothing I can do.’”

Now he regularly worships at the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro mosque.

Miller, a white convert in a diverse congregation, has heard comments about his faith – and the controversy surrounding his mosque. Once, an Iraqi war veteran told him that the new controversial Islamic Center of Murfreesboro should not be built because it could potentially harbor terrorists.

“I addressed his questions formally and it was funny because at the end of the conversation, he kind of started admitting, ‘Well you know, I don’t know anything about Islam.”

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By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

This is Pakistani national cricket team is on a mission. In past months it would have seemed that the mission was merely self-destruction. But this team, the team in the 2011 ICC World Cup, has its eyes on a much higher prize. They stormed out of the gates of this tournament winning their first three matches. But a humbling loss to New Zealand followed. And that loss could have sent this frequently-fractured squad into a tailspin. Dropped balls could have led to dropped matches. But instead, it just strengthened their collective resolve. The team came together in a way that has not been seen in at least a couple of years. And it led to the unthinkable occurring: a defeat of the vaunted Australian team at the end of the group stages.

That would have been enough to celebrate right there, but it brings us back to their mission. They continued it this week with a dominating victory over the West Indies in the tournament’s first quarterfinal match. The West Indies batsmen were limited to a measly 112 runs by the Pakistani bowlers. Pakistani team captain Shahid Afridi has really risen to the occasion in this tournament, taking four wickets in the match, to bring his total in the 2011 World Cup to 21. And it seemed mere minutes before the Pakistani batsmen had topped the West Indies total, without a single wicket falling. Now they await the determination of their semifinal opponent, which will be either India or Australia. But does it really matter who they play next? This team will not stop until its mission has been accomplished. And it is clear that the goal of this Pakistani cricket team is to win the whole darn thing, to win the world cup.

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By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

Mohamed Bin Hammam of Qatar, who is currently the president of the Asian Football Federation, has announced that he will challenge Sepp Blatter for the position of presidency of the top soccer governing body in the world, FIFA. The current FIFA president is Switzerland’s Sepp Blatter. Bin Hammam actually took the step of nominating himself for the position in order to promote his campaign. Elections will take place at the next FIFA Congress in Zurich on June 1st.

The 61-year-old Hammam, who was instrumental in securing the 2022 World Cup for Qatar, has been vocal in seeking what he describes as “greater transparency” within FIFA. He also aims to increase the size of the FIFA Executive Committee, a member of which he originally became in 1996. He has been president of the Asian Football Congress since 2002, and he has been credited with raising the standards of the game throughout the continent.

Blatter has been embroiled in controversy over the years, including an admitted affair with a FIFA staff member. There are also reports that Blatter had verbally agreed to step down as president to be succeeded by Bin Hammam, with Blatter reportedly subsequently reneging on that agreement. Blatter’s current plan is to retire in four years, after another term. But the 208 member nations of FIFA will have something to say about that in June. Bin Hammam will have to secure a two-thirds majority of those votes if he is to ascend to the presidency, an occurrence that would surely be a major milestone for Muslims in sports the world over.

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City Of Houston Launches New Arterial Travel Time Tool In West Houston

Houston Mayor Annise Parker and the City of Houston’s Department of Public Works & Engineering announced a new traffic management tool for Houston drivers using state-of-the-art Bluetooth technology. This probe-based travel time approach allows drivers to see real-time travel flow via the Houston TranStar web site using Bluetooth readers, placed at key locations in west Houston. Commuters in the area will now be able to navigate around potentially congested roadways, saving time and money.

It’s the largest known deployment of Bluetooth technology by a governmental agency nationwide.

“The nearly 250,000 people who live here, as well as the 12.7 million people who work in and travel through this area, will greatly benefit from this new technology,” said Mayor Annise Parker. “We know that west Houston is one of those areas experiencing increased growth.”

In the project’s early research stage, using previous technology with toll tag readers as the identifiers was priced at $90,000 per location. The newer, Bluetooth-based devices were deployed at a total cost of $50,000 along with the utilization traffic signals in the service area. The City’s total cost avoidance is approximately $4.5 million.

The Bluetooth Readers identify an anonymous identification (ID) addresses associated with Bluetooth devices such as cell phones, headsets and automobiles. Those addresses are then matched between intersections and the travel time is calculated. The anonymous Bluetooth ID number is deleted once a match has been made.

The 62-square-mile area is bounded by IH-10 (Katy Freeway) on the north, IH-610 (West Loop) on the east, the Westpark Tollway on the south and up to and including SH-6 on the west. Approximately 12.7 million vehicle miles travel daily through this corridor, covering four major employment centers: Uptown Houston, Westchase, Memorial City and the Energy Corridor.

Funded by the City of Houston, this Bluetooth-based AWAM (Anonymous Wireless Address Matching) sensor technology was researched and developed by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), a part of the Texas A&M University System. It is the first phase of a wider Intelligent Transportation Systems deployment that will include Pan-Tilt-Zoom Cameras and Dynamic Message Signs. The success of this project may lead to expanded coverage in other areas of the City.

The map can be viewed at www.houstontranstar.org

Community Strongly Condemns Fires at the Clear Lake Jamia Masjid

Clear Lake, Texas: Two fires broke out at the Jamia Masjid in Clear Lake near Houston on Wednesday, and Thursday, when the Musaleenz (worshippers) had gathered for prayers.

The back side of the Masjid, including library, kitchen, women’s prayer room, and back exit, has been badly damaged, while most fortunately no one got injured. People in the surrounding communities have shown concerns on these fires.

Jamia Masjid in Clear Lake, which is located at 16400 Sealark Drive, is under the helm of the AL-Noor Society of Greater Houston. Initially the Masjid Administration thought the fire was due to certain electric problems. But the second fire has raised the suspicion that it may be a serious case of arson.

Several members of the Muslim community either called in or visited the radio studios of “Baseerat Program” on 1090AM (Saturday 11am-1pm), which is done Akhtar Abdullah, one of the executives of AL-Noor Society of Greater Houston. Everyone strongly condemned this attack of Masjid.

Akhtar Abdullah, Mustafa Carroll of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Houston (CAIR-Houston), and Patrick Trahan of Houston Fire Department, have all said that questions resonance from the fact that fire breaks out in a Masjid twice in two days, when congregation is happening.

Several persons have said that the ongoing wave of Islamophobia created by some uninformed persons is not good for the pluralistic USA society: Majority of people in USA are open minded and open hearted persons, while the few ignorant are nice persons too and will learn their mistakes soon.

Special Agent Shauna Dunlap from FBI is working on the case, but until the filing of this report, FBI has not made any final determination.

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