Community News (V12-I35)

Cleveland Muslims support Cordoba Center

CLEVELAND,OH–The Shura Council of Cleveland has announced its support for the proposed Cordoba Center. In a media interaction member Khalid Samad said the debate revolves around hate against Islam and Muslims, and is being fueled by those who have political aspirations.

He says people shouldn’t be protesting against a mosque they should be worried about what else is near the site: a strip joint, porno store, and gambling facility.
Julia Shearson says the Muslim community is deeply saddened by what happened on 9/11, but it was the actions of 19 criminals who engaged in terrorism. A dark cloud should not be cast over the entire Muslim community.

The council agrees that building a mosque shouldn’t even be an issue because America was built on principles like freedom of religion.

Mayfield denies petition for mosque

MAYFIELD,KY–The City of Mayfield has denied a petition by a group of Somali Americans to open a new mosque in citing concerns about parking.

The building was already being used by a Muslim group for prayer, but they applied for a conditional use permit to use the building as a mosque.

Neighboring businesses argued that the surrounding area wouldn’t be able to handle the extra parking needed for the mosque.

The city board of adjustment voted on the petition after reviewing it Tuesday at city hall. Curiously, none of the mosque backers were present at a public hearing.

California interfaith leaders support Cordoba Center

LOS ANGELES,CA–More than 30 Southern California religious leaders gathered Friday in downtown Los Angeles to show their support for plans to build the proposed Cordoba Center in New York City.

They said growing “fear and hysteria” over the New York mosque is un-American and based on a distortion of the facts.

The letter was signed by 71 faith leaders, including Jews, Muslims, Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Baptists, Quakers, Universalists, Mormons and Sufis.

“This is un-American, what we are seeing and feeling today,” said Stephen Rohde, founder of Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace said Friday. “It must be rejected by people of reason, it must be rejected by people of faith.”

“Every faith here has been denied its right in one time and one place,” he said. “We have seen this before, we are seeing it now. Americans must speak with a united voice and we are speaking with that voice today.”

University of Montana accommodates for Ramadan

MISSOULA,MT–The University of Montana’s campus dining hall has changed its schedule and menu to accommodate to cater to the needs of Muslim students. After requests from the Muslim students the Food Zoo on campus had decided to make changes.

The Ramadan Dining Program allows students to order food during dining hours, then have it boxed and saved. Once the sun falls below the horizon, the Food Zoo reopens and allows the Muslim students to retrieve their meals and eat in the dining room, reports the Missoulian.

The Food Zoo reopens at a slightly different time each night based on the Ramadan 2010 prayer times schedule, which lists the time for “Iftar.”

In perhaps what is the first of its kind of marking system in the US, the menu item are tagged with info as to how they may or may not be halal. Pork based items are prominently marked as ‘haram.’

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