8/30/2009

Volume 94, Ramadan 9, 1430
(30th August, 2009),Toronto, Canada
Editors: Haja Mohideen and Azra HM Yusuf


Emperor’s Islamophobia: Shah Rukh Khan at US airport
By Ram Puniyani


Shah Rukh Khan, one of the best known actors from Bollywood was detained for questioning in Newark airport in US (15th August). The actor who is a global icon of sorts was grilled by the US official as his name is a Muslim one, and the legendary actor felt humiliated with the treatment meted out to him. While the star actor was being questioned in this manner the Jet Airways staff vouched for him and many of his international fans were seeking his autographs, but the US official, drunk on the Imperial arrogance and infected by anti Muslim sentiments refused to recognize Khan. That any Google search on his name would have yielded infinite entries to establish his identity, is an elementary knowledge by now.

Just a few weeks ago, India’s ex-President, the scientist of repute, APJ Abdul Kalam was treated like a commoner by the US based Airlines staff. Irrfan Khan was also meted with similar treatment. Other actors, with non Muslim names, have also been given such humiliating treatment by US officials but the logic in these cases is different, Neil Nitin Mukesh for having a skin color fairer then his Hindu name and John Abram for having Afghanistan on his passport. In addition the senior ministers from India George Fernandez and Pranab Mukherjee have also been strip searched in the past.

Most of the channels and many eminent columnists criticized Shahrukh Khan and those voicing their protest on the grounds that it is these security checks which have saved US from another terrorist attack post 9/11 2001. The desirability or other wise of these checks apart, there are two basic questions. One is that can those having diplomatic passports and those listed in India’s list of people exempt from such checks be subjected to these ordeals? Secondly why secondary checks are more for those with Muslim names? These commentators realization of the tasks of US security officials notwithstanding the questions remain the double standards of the security check system.

While the major phenomenon visible here is that of US officials have imbibed the anti Islam and anti Muslim propaganda, post 9/11 2001, the additional factor is the inherent arrogance and superiority complex of this Imperial power since US emerged as the sole super power, after the decline of Soviet block in international political arena. The treatment which US officials are giving to Indian dignitaries and celebrities is in stark contrast to the treatment which Indian administration and people are giving to the US dignitaries. The visit of Hillary Clinton just a month ago demonstrates the reality. The US Secretary of State was not only given a red carpet welcome, Indian media also went gaga about her, starting from describing her smart dresses to the details of her smile at different occasions.

.It is after 9/11 2001, the collapse of WTC, and the accompanying statements of Osama bin Laden, which gave the pretext of launching a propaganda against Islam and Muslims. It was at that time that the word Islamic Terrorism was coined and the distorted version of core words, Jihad and Kafir were strongly popularized in the popular thinking. In a way it manufactured a hatred for Muslims and Islam. While Jihad stands for fighting against injustice, it was presented as killing of non Muslims. While Kafir is a concept totally invalid in current times, it was put across as denigrating non Muslims. The net result was that in the global thinking it came to be regarded that all Muslims are not terrorists, while all terrorists are Muslims. The US officials in general and immigration officials in particular stiffened their attitude towards Muslim immigrants to US. Globally also, particularly in our country the trend began where after every blast here and there scores of Muslim youth were apprehended and tortured, and at most of the times their careers were ruined.

We in India can feel hurt, insulted and angry to what is being meted out to Indian celebrities and leaders. It is in a way the attitude of US to humiliate ‘others’, to assert its superiority and hegemony. The commentators criticizing the protest against treatment being meted out to the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and Indian dignitaries have to realize that it is not just to uphold the differential status but to protest against the highhanded attitude of United States. The time has come to revive the global democratic equations where the hegemony of one country is not acceptable and people of all countries and religions are treated with equal respect.


'Islam is of the devil' shirt appears at elementary school
By Christopher Curry, gvillesun.com



A student at Talbot Elementary School wore a shirt bearing the message "Islam is of the devil" on the first day of school and was sent home for violation of the school district's dress code.

Asked about a report of the dress code violation, School District spokeswoman Jackie Johnson confirmed that a student did wear a shirt with the anti-Islam message and was sent to the school office until a parent could come. Johnson said the student's parent had the option of bringing another shirt for the child to change into or taking the child home and opted to take the child home.

The Dove World Outreach Center, a church in northwest Gainesville, began to draw protesters in July after posting a sign that read "Islam is of the devil" on its property. The Dove World Outreach Center is approximately one mile from the Talbot campus. School district officials would not comment on the identity of the student, or whether the child was a member of the Dove Outreach Center congregation, because of privacy issues.

The School Board recently toughened the district's dress code. But a condition banning clothing school officials deem to be "offensive" or "disruptive" was already in the code before the revision.
Reached by phone late Monday afternoon, Stephanie Sapp, secretary at the Dove Outreach Center, declined immediate comment, saying she did not have time to discuss the matter.

School district staff attorney Tom Wittmer said the shirts violated a district ban on clothing that may "disrupt the learning process" or cause other students to be "offended or distracted."

"Students have a right of free speech, and we have allowed students to come to school wearing clothes with messages," Wittmer said. "But this message is a divisive message that is likely to offend students. Principals, I feel reasonably, have deemed that a violation of the dress code."

Wittmer said the school district allows students to express their religious beliefs but also must protect other students, such as members of the Muslim faith, from discrimination based on their religious beliefs.

He said there also has to be equal treatment of different faiths.

"The next kid might show up with a shirt saying ‘Christianity is of the Devil,'" Wittmer said.

First Amendment scholars said the school district's policy is likely legal and constitutional. Ron Collins, a scholar with the nonprofit First Amendment Center in Washington D.C., said courts give public school officials a "significant amount of latitude" in regulating student dress that could disrupt the classroom or a school function.

"Here, it's not only a religious expression," Collins said. "It's a religious expression that is hostile to other forms of religious expression."

Collins did note that student speech is afforded more protection at the college or university level.
Catherine Cameron, a faculty member at the Stetson College of Law, said the school district "likely has a good leg to stand on from a First Amendment standpoint" because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in several cases that public schools may quash speech deemed disruptive "even if it steps on the other child's free speech rights."

On their front, the T-shirts had a verse from the Gospel of John: "Jesus answered I am the way and the truth and the life; no one goes to the Father except through me," and this statement, "I stand in trust with Dove Outreach Center." The message "Islam is of the Devil" is on the back of the shirt.

On Monday, a 10-year-old fifth-grader at Talbot Elementary was sent home because of the shirt. On Tuesday, two Eastside High students and one Gainesville High student were sent home and a student at Westwood Middle had to change clothes because of the shirt, according to members of the Dove congregation.

Dove Senior Pastor Terry Jones said no local company "had the guts" to print the shirts. Dove member Wayne Sapp said he then ordered the shirts over the Internet from a company that allows individuals to design their own shirts. His daughter, Faith Sapp , 10, was the Talbot Elementary student sent home Monday. She said she was allowed to wear the shirt to school on Tuesday -- with the Gospel message on the front visible but the anti-Islam message on the back covered.

Wayne Sapp's daughter, Emily Sapp, 15, was the student sent home from Gainesville High on Tuesday. Both Faith and Emily Sapp said it was their decision, not that of their parents, to wear the shirts to school in order to promote their Christian beliefs. Emily Sapp said the "Islam is of the Devil" statement was aimed at the religion's beliefs, not its members.

"The people are fine," she said. "The people are people. They can be saved like anyone else."

Wayne Sapp said he believed the school district's dress code allowed too much room for subjectivity when principals and school administrators determine what is offensive or distracting clothing.

He added that his children decided it was time to "stand up for what they believe instead of saying the rules might not let me do it" and said that society has grown "so tolerant of being tolerant" that free speech is eroding.

Jones said that, to him, spreading the church's message was "even more important than education itself."

All of the Dove members interviewed said that, while they would not like a student wearing a shirt with an anti-Christian message on it to school, they believed students have the right to do it.

Saeed R. Khan, president of the Muslim Association of North Central Florida, said the anti-Islam message should not be accepted when "schools are supposed to be teaching tolerance for others."
"It's pretty offensive, isn't it?" Khan said of the message on the back of the shirt. "Particularly in a school setting where you are trying to create an atmosphere where people are supposed to respect each other and live with each other, where we have people of every ethnicity and every religion."

Jones and Wayne Sapp said congregation members have not decided whether their children will be allowed to continue to go to school with "Islam is of the Devil" visible on their clothing because they want their children to get an education -- and that does not happen when they are sent home for violating the dress code.

Italy: Mourinho in Ramadan flap



Rome, (ANSA): Inter Milan coach Jose' Mourinho has spurred a fresh flap by suggesting that a Muslim midfielder had a poor game after drinking too little because of Ramadan.

Speaking after Sunday's lacklustre 1-1 draw with newly promoted Bari, the Portuguese coach said: ''(Sulley) Muntari had some problems related to Ramadan - perhaps with this heat it's not good for him to be doing this (fasting)''.

The suggestion did not go down well with Italy's Muslims. ''I think Mourinho should talk a bit less,'' said Mohamed Nour Dachan, head of one of the country's main Muslim associations, UCOII.

''There's no reason why a player who is religiously observant should perform less,'' said the UCOII chief, who claimed the faith of Christian, Jewish or Muslim players would boost their performances by making them more ''tranquil''.

Muntari, a Ghanaian international, was substituted after 30 minutes against Bari in a match the Italian champions were widely tipped to win.

Mourinho's theory that he might have been suffering from the Ramadan ban on daylight drinking held no water for the man who trains Muntari with the national squad, Milan university motor science professor Stefano Tirelli.

''Not all players react the same way to...Ramadan. Some have less energy in training and matches. But others have resources, in their character, emotions and genes, to put in adequate performances. Muntari is one of those''.

Tirelli said he had not heard from the player since the game but reckoned that the display against Bari was the result of ''a series of contributory factors, not a direct link to Ramadan''.

The personal trainer, who has also worked with the United Arab Emirates and Qatar national teams, said he was familiar with Mourinho from working with Muntari's countryman Michael Essien at Chelsea.

''I know Mourinho and I wouldn't be surprised if he plays him for 90 minutes next time out''. Ramadan is a religious month, which started Sunday, requiring Muslims to abstain from food, water, tobacco and sex from dawn to dusk.

Dawn is around 6.30am and sundown not until 8pm, meaning a Muslim has to fast for more than 13 hours.

Much of Italy is currently experiencing temperatures of 30-35 degrees.

US Muslim Author in Correcting Message
IslamOnline.net & Newspapers


“I think people have a lot of stereotypes about Islam and the community, and they don’t often really know the community that well, Mobin-Uddin said.

“I think people have a lot of stereotypes about Islam and the community, and they don’t often really know the community that well, Mobin-Uddin said.
CAIRO — Being a practicing Muslim and a professional author, Asma Mobin-Uddin is keen to share her experience in the holy fasting month of Ramadan with her American society.
“The story for me is kind of a metaphor of being Muslim in America,” Mobin-Uddin told the Press & Guide Heritage newspaper on Saturday, August 29.
“In that there’s lots of things you can’t do and can’t participate and enjoy.
“But also there are other alternatives that are very satisfying - like the faith and home and heart and family.”
The Muslim woman recalls being a child in American society, where she hardly found a book about a Muslim girl character.
“The whole time that I grew up in Ohio all the way through high school, I never once read a book with a Muslim girl character in it,” she said.
“Can you imagine, if you’re Christian, you grow up and never once read a book about Christmas?”
This motivated the American Muslim woman, a mother of three, to write books to share her experience as a Muslim woman with others.
Mobin-Uddin’s desire to share her faith with others led her to write her latest book, “A Party in Ramadan”, issued in 2009.
The book tells the story of Leena, a young girl who is very excited to be fasting for the first time with her family.
When Leena is invited to a friend’s party on Ramadan daytime, her appetite gets stirred up, watching her friends eating cake.
However, making up her mind to stay true to her fast, Leena decides not to eat.
Mobin-Uddin was granted the 2009 Parent’s Choice Award for the book.
“A Party in Ramadan” is not Mobin-Uddin’s first book as she published two books titled “My Name is Bilal”, in 2005 and “The Best Eid Ever” in 2007.
Misconceptions
The Muslim author says that her books are driven by her bittersweet story in the post-9/11 America.
“I think a lot of people don’t know about Islam and Muslims in general and, unfortunately with current events, people have kind of a negative view,” she said.
“I think people have a lot of stereotypes about Islam and the community, and they don’t often really know the community that well.”
Since the 9/11 attacks, American Muslims, estimated at between six to seven million, have become sensitized to an erosion of their civil rights.
Based on her experiences, Mobin-Uddin’s writings often include questions that were asked by other children and could make her feel different.
“I just remember some of the trauma of sitting in the lunch room during Ramadan and nobody knowing I’m fasting,” Mobin-Uddin said.
Such stories gained a rocketing fame, being published in Dearborn, home to the largest Arabic population outside of the Middle East.
It also spread swiftly targeting “the larger community because their friends and colleagues also need to know” about Ramadan.
Mobin-Uddin, a practicing pediatrician, believes that her medical profession also helps her to covey her message to children.
“I think pediatricians are kids at heart,” she said. “It’s that connection with the kid world that kind of drew me in.”


UK Author Apologizes for Qur’an Offense
IslamOnline.net & Newspapers


“I unreservedly apologize to anyone who does feel offended by comments offered in another context,” Faulks said. (Guardian photo)

CAIRO — Famed British novelist Sebastian Faulks apologized on Monday, August 24, for any offence he has caused Muslims with his remarks about the Noble Qur’an, insisting he was misquoted.
“I unreservedly apologize to anyone who does feel offended by comments offered in another context,” Faulks told The Guardian.
“[I offer] a simple but unqualified apology to my Muslim friends and readers for anything that has come out sounding crude or intolerant.”
This came a day after his interview with the Sunday Times stirred controversy after he reportedly described the Qur’an as a "depressing book".
“It’s just the rantings of a schizophrenic,” Faulks said in the interview.
“It’s very one-dimensional, and people talk about the beauty of the Arabic and so on, but the English translation I read was, from a literary point of view, very disappointing.”
Faulks, who said he read the Qur’an to help him write his latest novel which will be published next month, also claimed the Qur’an has “no ethical dimension” like the New Testament and “no new plan for life.”
But speaking to The Guardian Monday, the famed novelist insists that his answers during the Sunday Times interview were “overstated” and taken out of context “to make a silly season scandal.”
"If such an overstatement is taken out of its heavily nuanced context, then pulled out of the printed article and highlighted, it can have a badly distorting effect."
He said that after reading the Qur'an and several histories of Islam as part of his research, he "ended with a high regard for Islam, which seems to me more spiritually demanding than Judaism or Christianity.”

“People don't seem to understand the consequences of saying things like this could be quite severe,” says Masroor.
The apology came amid angry reactions from leaders of Britain’s more than to two million Muslims.
“This is a book which Muslims believe in,” Dr. Ghaysuddin Siddiqui, director of the Muslim Institute, an organization is committed to Muslims’ engagement in political, academic and public-relations arenas, told the UK Express.
He said that while Faulks is “entitled to his views” he should have taken into consideration that Qur’an is the holy book for more than 1.5 billion people.
Ajmal Masroor, an imam and spokesman for the Islamic Society of Britain, regretted increasing anti-Islam offenses by leading intellectuals in Britain.
“Attacks on Islam are nothing new.”
Just last year, Ian McEwan, one of Britain's few leading contemporary writers, launched a scathing attack on what he described as Islamism.
He made his bitter attack in defense of fellow novelist Martin Amis, who made a similar criticism late last year.
Masroor warned that said statements ran the risk of stirring religious hatred against Muslims.
“People don't seem to understand the consequences of saying things like this could be quite severe,” he said.
“History tells us it can encourage hatred.”

India: Burqa 'ban' rocks Hyderabad college

HYDERABAD, India, (Times of India): Trouble erupted in Muslim dominated Mehdipatnam after burqa-clad young girl students held a massive agitation outside Vani College (Junior and Degree) on Friday morning after the college principal, Y Annapurna, allegedly asked students not to wear burqa to class and shut the college gates on them.

The agitation soon degenerated into a stone pelting session with male students fron neigbouring colleges and parents of the girls joining in. The situation came under control only after the police - called in by the college management - resorted to a lathi charge.

The agitation came a day after a dharna by the students on Thursday protesting against what was termed by them as “the failure of the college management to react to the abduction of a girl student” from the institution earlier this week. The college management had looked the other way as they perceived that the girl had eloped with her boyfriend. In the event, the girl had returned by evening.

On Friday morning, the students charged that the principal had been berating them for wearing burqa for over a week saying that it did not comply with the uniform (salwar kameez) worn by other students. But the immediate trigger for the Friday trouble was the refusal of the principal to allow entry to late coming students, which soon degenerated into an argument about burqa, the month of Ramzaan and other matters like ‘promiscuity’ of girls.

“About 300 local youth joined the protesting girls and when police asked them to leave the place, some of them pelted stones at the police and college building,’’ deputy commissioner of police C Ravi Varma said. Eye witnesses said that male students of Gowtham Junior and Narayana Junior College who have their friends studying in Vani College joined in and started the bedlam.

“We were asked why are you wearing burqa when you are not particular about keeping our modesty. These comments are too much to bear,” a student from the college claimed. “The principal’s attitude irked us and hence we decided to take help from our parents,” a student of the college, Nadima Rahman told TOI.

The principal, Annapurna, however, told TOI, that she did not make any objectionable comment against the burqa. “The students were coming late for class and I had scolded them. They objected to this and staged a protest,” she said. The students, however, said that they were getting delayed because of the ongoing month of Ramzan and they had to offer Namaz before coming to college. They said, the college should not object to religious practices. “The college authorities blame us saying that we are spending more time in the mosque than with our books. This is objectionable,” a student said.

Analysts were amazed at the turn of events because the college has predominantly Muslims students. “I could understand such things happening in hardcore Hindu colleges and only with a few Muslim students. But not here,” said Salim Khan, a local resident. But an analyst - a Muslim—who does not want to be named said that “girls are girls, Hindu or Muslim. Their aspirations will be the same. Young girls will want to mingle with young boys, whether they wear burqa or not. Obviously, the principal is unable to appreciate this. She wants to say why are you friends with boys when you wear a burqa? This is the genesis of the trouble,” he added.


Oslo Allows “Burqini” Swimsuit
IslamOnline.net & News Agencies

Oslo City authorities have allowed Muslim women to use municipal swimming pools while wearing the burqini. (Google)

OSLO — Authorities in the Norwegian city of Oslo have allowed Muslim women to use municipal swimming pools while wearing a burqini, a swimsuit that covers most of the body.
"Some people say they need to cover up," Jan Zander, responsible for sports and recreation, told NRK radio on Friday, August 28, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Authorities said swimmers who cover their bodies for religious and cultural reasons will be allowed to municipal swimming pools.

They stipulated that swimmers to wear clean clothing designed specially for bathing.

"We think it is important that those who live in this city can bathe and use the pools," said Zander.

The burqini, derived from the words burqa (a head-to-ankle dress) and bikini, resembles a wetsuit with built-in hood.

The three-piece covers the whole body except for the feet, hands and face.

It is usually made from ultraviolet- and water-protected polyester.

The full-length lycra suit is not too figure hugging to embarrass, but is tight enough to allow its wearer to swim freely.

Hygienic Swimsuit

Zander ridiculed the claim that the burqini was necessarily unhygienic.

"Look at professional swimmers, they use all-over swimsuits,” he said.

“If the material can be used in the water, there is no problem.”

Earlier this month, a Paris swimming pool denied a Muslim woman access to the facility for wearing a burqini.

Officials cited hygiene rules, adding to tensions over Muslim dress in France and sparking a threat by the woman of a lawsuit.

The anti-immigration mayor of the northern Italian city of Varallo Sesia has also barred Muslim women from wearing the swimsuit, on pain of a fine of 500 euros (700 dollars) if spotted at swimming pools or riversides.

“The size of the costume should not be a criteria," said Zander.

Oslo is the cultural, scientific, economic and governmental centre of Norway. It is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping.

Nearly 25 percent of Oslo’s core population are immigrants, reflecting its cultural diversity.

The Muslim community in Norway is estimated at 150,000 out of the country's 4.5 million population.

The majority of Muslims are of Pakistan, Somali, Iraqi and Moroccan backgrounds.

for pix Oslo City authorities have allowed Muslim women to use municipal swimming pools while wearing the burqini. (Google)


Joint Chiefs chairman says US squandering Muslim good will

By ANNE GEARAN


"Each time we fail to live up to our values or don’t follow up on a promise, we look more and more like the arrogant Americans the enemy claims we are,” Mullen said.

WASHINGTON (AP): The U.S. military is bungling its outreach to the Muslim world and squandering good will by failing to live up to its promises, the nation's highest-ranking military officer wrote Friday.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said there is too much emphasis on telling the U.S. story and not enough on building trust and credibility.

"We hurt ourselves and the message we are trying to send when it appears we are doing something merely for the credit," Mullen wrote in an essay published in a military journal. "We hurt ourselves more when our words don't align with our actions."

Mullen said he dislikes the military's focus on "strategic communications," which he said has become a cottage industry where the shaping of a message eclipses what that message says.

"Most strategic communication problems are not communicatons problems at all," Mullen wrote. "They are policy and execution problems."

Efforts to reach out to the Middle East and elsewhere in the Muslim world is a main priority of the vast communications and public relations machinery of the Defense Department. Mullen suggested that much of the effort is wasted, or at least misdirected.

Public opinion in the Muslim world would seem to bear him out.

A survey of two dozen nations conducted this spring found that positive public attitudes toward the United States have surged in many parts of the world since President Barack Obama's election, but not in most of the Arab and Muslim world.

The poll registered continuing levels of profound distrust about U.S. influence and motives among Muslims, particularly in Turkey, Pakistan and the Palestinian territories. There, the report from the nonpartisan Pew Research Center said, animosity toward the United States "continues to run deep and unabated."

U.S. intelligence considers Pakistan, a nuclear-armed Muslim country that Mullen has made a priority with nearly a dozen visits over the past 18 months, among the most profoundly anti-American places on Earth.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates frequently remarks that the United States has let itself be "out-communicated by men living in caves," a wry reference to the skill with which al-Qaida uses the Internet to distribute its messages and capitalize on U.S. failings.

Mullen noted one of those failings, the abuse of Iraqi detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison, but he said the problem isn't the skill of the communicators.

"Our biggest problem isn't caves, it's credibility," Mullen wrote in the Joint Force Quarterly. "Our messages lack credibility because we haven't invested enough in building trust and relationships, and we haven't always delivered on promises."


Kashmir-based journalist nominated for ECO Award
By TwoCircles.net


New Delhi: Kashmir-based journalist, Syed Ali Safvi, has been nominated for
prestigious ECO Award for his reporting during Amarnath land row. The ECO Award is a global award given yearly by the British Columbia, Canada-based Global Community for achievements in several categories.

The only other person who has been nominated for the award for her reporting on Kashmir is the booker prize winner, Arundhati Roy.

The Award is a reward to both 'soft global activism' with relevant scientific efforts and balance journalism reporting in the different categories.


Blasphemy ban seen as return to Middle Ages
Kenyon Wallace Staff Reporter, Toronto Star


Photo by : LINDA BARNARD/TORONTO STAR
A ruined chapel sits among ancient and recent headstones in a graveyard overlooking the coast of Inishmore. While Ireland isn't the only country to invoke blasphemy laws, many western nations view their own blasphemy provisions as archaic and in contravention of freedom of speech rights.

Gosh darn it! If blasphemy comes too easily to your lips, it might be prudent to just put a sock in it before heading to Ireland this fall.




Under legislation to take effect this October, taking the Lord's name in vain could set you back a cool 25,000 euros (about $39,000).
The law – which has been approved by the Irish parliament and needs only the signature of Justice Minister Dermot Ahern – states that a person commits blasphemy if they publish or utter "matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters held sacred by any religion, thereby causing outrage among a substantial number of the adherents of that religion."
But so far, the only outrage has come from Irish worried their reputation as a pluralist liberal democracy is threatened by what they call a return to the Middle Ages.
"It's a backward and silly step," said Michael Nugent, chair of Atheist Ireland, a group that describes itself as an advocate for an ethical and secular Ireland. "The fact that there is a provision making it illegal under any circumstances to express opinions about religious beliefs is dangerous. We don't know how the courts will interpret it."
Blasphemy is punishable under Ireland's 1937 constitution. But there was no actual statute dealing with uttering or publishing religious insults so the Supreme Court said the constitution either had to be amended (forcing a national referendum) or a law could be created and passed in parliament.
While Ireland isn't the only country to invoke blasphemy laws, many western nations view their own blasphemy provisions as archaic and in contravention of freedom of speech rights. England abolished its blasphemy laws in 2008.
Canada's blasphemy laws can still be found in the Criminal Code, but are superseded by freedom of expression guarantees in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The Irish controversy stems from a decade-old case in which a satirical newspaper was taken to court over an "offensive" editorial cartoon. The Supreme Court of Ireland could not make a ruling under the 1937 constitution's provision – which states blasphemy is punishable in accordance with the law – because the country had no actual law against blasphemy.

8/22/2009

Volume 93, Ramadan 1, 1430
(24th August, 2009),Toronto, Canada
Editors: Haja Mohideen and Azra HM Yusuf

President Obama extends Ramadan Greetings
By: Rashad HussainIslamiCity

White House Briefing Room - As the new crescent moon
ushers in Ramadan, the President extends his best wishes to Muslim communities in the United States and around the world.Each Ramadan, the ninth month on the lunar calendar, Muslims fast daily from dawn to sunset for 29 or 30 days. Fasting is a tradition in many religious faiths and is meant to increase spirituality, discipline, thankfulness, and consciousness of God’s mercy.
Ramadan is also a time of giving and reaching out to those less fortunate, and this summer, American Muslims have joined their fellow citizens in serving communities across the country. Over the course of the month, we will highlight the perspectives of various faiths on fasting and profile faith-based organizations making real impacts in American cities and towns.This month is also a time of renewal and this marks the first Ramadan since the President outlined his vision for a new beginning between America and the Muslim world.
As a part of that new beginning, the President emphasizes that our relationship with Muslim communities cannot be based on political and security concerns alone. True partnerships also require cooperation in all areas - particularly those that can make a positive difference in peoplesÕ daily lives, including education, science and technology, health, and entrepreneurship - fields in which Muslim communities have helped play a pioneering role throughout history. The President’s message is part of an on-going dialogue with Muslim communities that began on inauguration day and has continued with his statement on Nowruz, during trips to Ankara and Cairo, and with interviews with media outlets such as Al Arabiya and Dawn TV.As this dialogue continues and leads to concrete actions, the President extends his greetings on behalf of the American people. Ramadan Kareem.Rashad Hussain is Deputy Associate White House Counsel.Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Ramadan message from Liberal Democrat Leader
Nick Clegg MP
Ramadan message sent to The Muslim News by Liberal Democrat Leader, Nick Clegg, MP. As Ramadan comes round once more, I’d like to wish all Muslims observing the month my very best wishes. I have learned from working with Muslim communities across the UK - and indeed from the many Lib Dem councillors and candidates who are practising Muslims - that the fasting and Qur’an reading during Ramadan provide spiritual renewal and enlightenment. As friends and family are brought together every night, we also reflect on all the millions of people around the world who still go without food and clean water every day. We in the Liberal Democrats have always championed religious tolerance, and we are proud of the diverse traditions in our country. We recognise the importance of the principle of Zakat to Muslims, especially at this time, and I deeply regret that Islam can be unfairly portrayed in many parts of the media especially when Muslim communities in this country do so much excellent charitable work. I congratulate Muslims for the volunteering and donations they make during the month of Ramadan and at other times, and, more broadly, to thank British Muslims for the enormous contribution they make to life in this country. Ramadan Mubarak!

Swedish paper accuses the Israeli Army of
killing Palestinians for their organs,
IMEMC & Agencies


A reporter writing for Aftonbladet Swedish newspaper said that Israeli soldiers kidnapped and killed Palestinian youths to trade their organs. Israel’s Foreign Ministry denied the report and said it is a clear example of the efforts to demonize Israel. The reporter, Donald Boström, said that Levy Rosenbaum, a resident of Brooklyn, is involved in the human organ trafficking. He stated that nearly half of kidney transplants conducted in Israel since 2000 were illegally purchased from Latin America, Turkey and Eastern Europe. The reporter also claimed that Israel’s Foreign Ministry is aware of the illegal trade but acted against it. Rosenbaum was arrested in July after he told an undercover FBI agent that he is a "match maker", the agent was taping him while posing as a customer. Later on, Rabbis and elected officials were arrested in New Jersey for human organ trafficking. Rosenbaum said that he buys bodies from poor families in Israel for $10.000 and would then sell the organs to patients in the United States for $160.000. In its report Aftonbladet claimed that Israel is the only Western state that does not condemn illegal organ trade, and fails to take any legal action against the doctors and persons involved in it. It added that several Palestinian youths were kidnapped from their villages and towns in the Middle of the night and that they were killed, dismembered and buried. The reporter added that he knew about the illegal trade from UN employees while he was conducting interviews for a book he was preparing in the occupied West Bank. Boström mentioned an incident in which a Palestinian from Nablus, in the northern part of the West Bank, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers apparently for hurling stones at their jeep. The Palestinian was shot by the soldiers in his chest, stomach and leg and was moved to an unknown location while he was in a serious condition. His body, wrapped with bandages, was returned to his family five days later with a visible scar from neck to stomach. Boström said in his report that several Palestinians stated that young men from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank were detained by the Israeli army, and were returned to their families at a later stage, dead and missing organs. The Israeli Foreign Minister, rejected the claims of Boström and called on the Swedish citizens ignore the "lies and inflammatory accusations". In July, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI, netted 40 well-known figures in New Jersey for money laundering and corruption, in a scheme that involved sales of Israeli kidneys in the US and other corruption rackets. Two members of the New Jersey state legislature and three mayors were among those captured in the raid. They are accused of running a complex network of corruption that spanned a period of decades. The FBI investigation of the money-laundering ring began ten years ago, as federal agents grew suspicious of potential international money laundering by a group of charities controlled by rabbis. Much of the laundered money originated in Israel, and was funneled through Swiss bank accounts before ending up in New Jersey. One of the schemes involved buying kidney from "vulnerable people" in Israel for $10,000, and then selling them on the US market for $160,000
Sweden summons Israeli ambassador
Israel’s ambassador to Sweden, Benny Dagan, has been summoned by Sweden’s foreign office to discuss the diplomatic discord following an article in a national newspaper claiming Israeli soldiers harvest the organs of dead Palestinians.

Malaysian Woman Wants Public Caning
IslamOnline.net & News Agencies


Malaysia — A Malaysian Muslim woman is calling for being caned in public for drinking alcohol, saying the punishment will deter other Muslims from serving the beverage. "I never cried when I was sentenced by the judge," Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno told Reuters."I told myself, alright then, let’s get on with it."Kartika, a 32-year-old mother of two, was arrested in a raid for drinking beer at a hotel lounge last year.She was sentenced to six lashes by a Shari`ah court in July in what was considered a warning to other Muslims to abide by religious laws.She also paid a 5,000 ringgit ($1,420) fine.The penalty has drawn fire from Amnesty International amid calls for the Malaysian government to revoke the sentence.Regretful Kartika said she does not plan to appeal the court verdict."Who am I to question the Islamic authorities’ laws? That is beyond me," she said.Islam takes an uncompromising stand in prohibiting intoxicants.The general rule in Islam is that any beverage that get people intoxicated when taken is unlawful, both in small and large quantities, whether it is alcohol, drugs, fermented raisin drink or something else.Muslim Malays form about 60 percent of the 26-million population of multiracial Malaysia.The multi-ethnic country applies Islamic Shari`ah law only to its Muslim population.Deterrent The Malaysian Muslim woman has requested to be caned in public to deter other youth from drinking alcohol."I want to respect the law," Kartika said.Malaysian authorities has rejected the woman’s request, insisting that the punishment be done in a women’s prison next week.Kartika said four close relatives, including her father and sister, have requested permission to witness her being caned in the prison.Officials have indicated that the request would be granted, she said.Kartikla will be the first Malaysian woman to be caned in a prison.Officials confirmed that they do not intend to hurt her, but she will be struck on the backside using a small thin cane and only with moderate force."Shari`ah whipping is more like caning naughty schoolboys," an unidentified "whipping officer" said."In Shari`ah the punishment is not in the force of the whipping but to bring shame."The whipping implement is supposed to be soft and supple, so as to inflict the least pain."Kartika’s father, Shukarno Abdul Muttalib, however, still insists that his daughter should be caned in public."As a Muslim, I agree with her punishment, but I don’t agree that it should be done in jail, she is not a prisoner," he told Bloomberg News."If the authorities want to use this as an example, then the caning should be done in public."

US releases Pakistani journalist WASHINGTON, (APP)


U.S. immigration officials have released a Pakistani journalist who reports for Voice of America’s Deewa Radio and whose home was destroyed by Taliban militants last month in northwestern Pakistan. Rahman Bunairee, 33, was freed Wednesday, more than one week after he arrived in the United States and was taken into custody at Dulles International Airport outside Washington. According to VOA, the Department of Homeland Security has refused to comment on his case, citing privacy reasons. Bunairee was let go after U.S. customs authorities apparently resolved questions about his visa, the VOA News reported on its website. The journalist’s ultimate legal status and right to remain in the U.S. will be determined at a future immigration hearing. The journalist is currently reviewing his legal options with his attorney. VOA’s parent agency, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, issued a statement welcoming Bunairee’s release, describing him as a man of extraordinary courage and dedication. The BBG said it expects Bunairee will in due course be able to undertake the assignment at VOA for which he has come to the United States. Bunairee traveled to Washington to help VOA develop its broadcasts to the troubled Afghanistan-Pakistan border region through the Radio Deewa service. Bunairee came to the United States after a group of militants came to his residence early last month in northwestern Pakistan’s Buner district and blew up his home. The reporter, who was not present at the time, said the militants allowed 11 members of his family to leave. No one was reported hurt in the blast, but the journalist said militants threatened to take further action if they found him.

Holocaust Not Prophet Cartoons Offensive
IslamOnline.net & News Agencies

Wilders, who is notorious for his rants against Islam and Muslims, put the offensive cartoons on his website.

THE HAGUE — Cartoons lampooning Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) are not offensive and publishing them is not punishable by law, but cartoons denying Holocaust are, Dutch prosecutors have declared. "The cartoons are about the Prophet Mohamed, but don’t say anything about Muslims," the Public Prosecution Office (OM) said in a statement cited by Agence France Presse. The OM received several complaints from Muslims against anti-Islam far-right MP Geert Wilders and a local TV channel over the reproduction of the anti-Prophet Danish cartoons. The 12 cartoons were commissioned and published by the Jyllands-Posten daily in 2005. They include drawings of a man described as Prophet Muhammad, including one wearing a bomb-shaped turban and another showing him as a knife-wielding nomad flanked by shrouded women. The prosecutors received many complaints after Wilders, notorious for his rants against Islam and Muslims, put the cartoons on his website and Nova channel showed them. But the OM concluded that neither Wilders nor the TV channel should be prosecuted. It insisted that the drawings, considered blasphemous under Islam, are not illegal and do they incite discrimination against Muslims. Not Holocaust In a separate case, the OM found that Holocaust-denying cartoons are offensive and punishable by law. "(The cartoons) insult Jews because of their race and/or religion," the prosecutors said. The OM had received complaints about two cartoons published on the website of the Arab-European League (AEL), including one said to show Jews denying the Holocaust. The prosecutors said the cartoons are offensive because they imply that Jews themselves invented or exaggerated the Holocaust. They threatened to punish the AEL unless it removed the cartoons. "If it complies, charges will be provisionally dropped." According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the Holocaust refers to "systematic state-sponsored killing of Jewish men, women, and children and others by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II." The commonly used figure for the number of Jewish victims is six million. But the figure has been questioned by many European historians and intellectuals, chiefly French author Roger Garaudy.

US missile attack toll mounts to 12, including women and children


MIRANSHAH,Pakistan, (The News): The death toll of US drone strike in Danday Darpa Khel reached to 12 as women and children are also among the dead. According to sources, a US drone fired missile at a house in Danday Darpa Khel area. Eyewitnesses said 12 bodies have been recovered from the rubble so far whereas several were injured, some of them reported in a critical condition. According to reports, all victims of the attack belonged to Afghanistan. Five houses were also demolished in the attack. Militants carried out synchronized attacks at a check post near Miranshah air force base; Ameen check post, Colony check post and Ghulam Khan Road check post after the missile strike. Security forces opened retaliatory fire, however, no loss of life was reported. On the other hand, political officials imposed indefinite curfew in tehsil Miranshah.

Obama’s Muslim Advisor
By Muhammed Qasim, IOL Correspondent


WASHINGTON - Dalia Mogahed, a hijab-clad American Muslim, has made history being the first Muslim woman appointed to a position in President Barack Obama’s administration. She sets on a newly-formed interfaith advisory board the administration hopes will improve relations with Muslims in the US and across the globe.The Egyptian-born American heads the Gallup American Center for Muslim Studies, a research center that produces studies on Muslim public opinion worldwide.

US Court Reverses Scholar Visa Ban Verdict
IslamOnline.net & Newspapers

"I am gratified that the court has found that my exclusion from the United States is without basis," Professor Ramadan said. (Google)

CAIRO — A US federal appeals court has overturned a previous verdict upholding a government decision to deny one of Europe’s leading Muslim intellectuals entry, reported The New York Times on Saturday, July 18. "I am gratified that the court has found that my exclusion from the United States is without basis," Professor Tariq Ramadan said in a statement. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit unanimously ruled Friday that the US administration has to confront Muslim scholar with the allegations against him. The three-judge panel said the consular officer who denied Ramadan the visa had not told the scholar of the reason why his visa was revoked or given him the chance to explain his point. "The record was unclear whether the consular officer had done so," the court said. Ramadan was invited to teach at the University of Notre Dame in 2004 but the Bush government revoked his visa, citing a statute that applies to those who have "endorsed or espoused" terrorism. In 2006, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit on behalf of the American Academy of Religion, the American Association of University Professors and PEN American Center challenging the decision. The administration then abandoned its claim Ramadan had endorsed terrorism, linking the ban to $1,336 he donated between 1998 and 2002 to a Swiss charity the US blacklisted in 2003. Friday’s ruling sent the case back to a lower court for further consideration and then give the Muslim scholar the chance to deny the government allegations. If that did not happen, the panel said, a new visa hearing should be held. Engagement ACLU said the court ruling proves the weak argument the government has cited to bar the Muslim scholar. "In this case the government simply has not offered a constitutionally adequate justification for its actions," said ACLU lawyer Jameel Jaffer. Yusill Scribner, a spokeswoman for the US attorney’s office in Manhattan, which argued the case for the government, declined to comment on the court ruling. The Muslim scholar said that the visa denial of his and his likes harm efforts to engage between the West and the Muslim world. "(I’m eager to) engage once again with Americans in the kinds of face-to-face exchanges that were crucial to bridging cultural divides," he said. "I hope to be able to come back to the States and resume my work with scholars," he added in an interview with the Times. "This is what I want." A Swiss citizen of Egyptian origin, Ramadan is one of Europe’s leading Muslim thinkers and has often condemned terrorism and extremism. The author of 20 books and 700 articles on Islam, he was named by Time magazine as one of 100 innovators of the 21st century for his work on creating an independent European Islam. His reputation in British and American academic circles is one of a moderate expert on Muslim affairs.

Muslim Woman on Africa Top Peak
By Mohammad Yahia, IOL Staff

Awady at the summit of Mount St. Catherine, as part of her training for the ascension up Mount Kilimanjaro
CAIRO —Dr. Nadia El-Awady, a hijab-clad Muslim woman and a former IOL staf member, has succeeded to reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. "I made it," Awady said in an SMS she sent to IslamOnline.net, confirming that she had successfully achieved her plan to reach the highest point of Kilimanjaro."Special greetings from the roof of Africa!"The mountain located in north-eastern Tanzania, stands with its highest peak, Uhuru, at 5,892 meters.Awady reached the Uhuru peak on Saturday, August 15, at 7:30 local time (4:30 GMT). This came after a five-day trek up the Marangu route along the mountain slope, one of six different trekking routes up Kilimanjaro.She is expected to return to her home country, Egypt, in a few days.Awady was a staff writer in IslamOnline.net from April 2000 until July 2008, writing many articles in English and Arabic on a variety of issues.She founded IslamOnline.net’s Health & Science Section in 2002 and ran the section until June 2006.Awady served as IOL deputy editor in chief from September 2005 until June 2006.She became Director of Outreach and Cooperation for Media International, which operates IslamOnline.net, in July 2006 and served in the post for two years.She was recently elected as the president of the World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ). She is the first Arab to head the prestigious worldwide organization.

Iraq’s Undercover Fashion
By Afif Sarhan, IOL Correspondent


Women buy the latest fashion trends but keep them from foreign eyes under the abaya. BAGHDAD — In war-torn Iraq, where women are being harassed and even attacked for not toeing the line on their attire, fashion is very alive but completely hidden from foreign eyes. "I’m always keen to buy the latest in fashion and try to go to the market as soon as the new season arrives," Ruba Khais al-Beidhan, a Baghdad resident, told IslamOnlione.net, dressed in a large, black abaya. The 25-year government employee says that, just like many Iraqi women, she sports fashionable clothing under the abaya. New Iraq…Oppressed Women "Every time I go out to buy some clothes, people start to show me what isn’t fashionable. As if I don’t have interest in wearing something that might bring some attention because I wear abaya and cover my hair with a headscarf. " Beidhan, studying for masters in pharmacy, added that while she covers up her body in the loose cloak on the streets, she enjoys showing her sense of fashion while among family members and girl friends. "I do have pleasure to show that although I’m wearing something without glamour from the outside, I can be as fashionable as other women underneath it." Shop owners affirm that many like Beidhan are attentive to the latest fashion trends and keep them under their traditional abayas. Fua’ad Ibraheem al-Samaraye, owner of a women clothing shop in Baghdad’s Mansour district, reports an ever-increasing number of customers looking for fashionable clothes. "Before I was having both men and women clothing, but as soon as I turned to sell only women’s, the number of clients increased by 80 percent." In his shop, abaya-wearing women make the majority of buyers once the new season collection arrives. "Many of them come with fashion magazines issued in Lebanon or Europe, and look for designs printed on them, being wore by models or actresses," says Samaraye. "This has showed me that like any other women; they care about their appearance, even if is to be used only for their families." Unfazed Suha Hayett, a Lebanese fashion designer who pays regular visits to Baghdad, affirms that Iraqi women are highly fashionistas despite the war. "Once I was speaking with a woman who had even her face covered and she was aware of all fashion updates from around the world," Hayett told IOL. "She said that she spends hours over the internet printing pictures of new style releases from all over the world and take them to her seamstress." Hayett is amazed to see such insistence on being fashionable despite the violent targeting of women who do not comply with the traditional dress codes. "There are still some of them who take the risk and go out showing their fashionable clothes but the majority prefers to keep it under abayas and show them when they have special events." Many women have been attacked for wearing Western clothing in public, rather than traditional dresses. The weapon of choice for attackers is corrosive acid, according to police and several survivors. In some cases, women who refused to shun Western clothes were forced to leave their jobs. "It is sad to know that you might get killed or burned with acid when you go out wearing fashionable clothes," says Latifiah Kareem, 31, an activist. She laments that before the 2003 US-led invasion, Iraqi women were the most fashionable in Middle East. "But years of war and oppression, have driven Iraq years back. "I want back the old Iraq, when we used to go out without concerns or fear."

8/14/2009


Volume 92, Sha`ban 24, 1430
(16th August, 2009),
Toronto, Canada


Editors: Haja Mohideen and Azra HM Yusuf


Italy Muslims Told to Break Fast or Lose Job
IslamOnline.net & News Agencies

Muslim farmers in the northern province of Mantua are ordered by a local farming committee to drink water during Ramadan or lose job.

Mantua, Italy — Muslim farmers in the northern Italian province of Mantua are being ordered by a local farming committee to drink water during the daylight of the fasting month of Ramadan or lose job.
"There is no work contract and no legal provision requiring us to drink during Ramadan," Ben Mansour, a representative of the Mantua Islamic community, told ANSA news agency late Thursday, August 13.

"If any Muslim worker is fired for this, then we will contest it."

The Farming Safety Committee has ordered all farm workers in Mantua to drink water while working for safety reasons.

It warned that Muslim farmhands who refuse to drink water will be temporarily suspended and would be fired if they insist not to drink water during daylight.

"We made the order because we want to safeguard the health of our workers as much as possible," Committee President Roberto Cagliari said.
"The refusal to drink water on the part of various farmhands in melon fields during Ramadan last year created considerable problems.”

The dawn-to-dusk fasting month is expected to start next week.

During Ramadan, adult Muslims, save the sick and those traveling, abstain during daylight hours from food, drink, smoking and sex between dawn and sunset.

Italy has a Muslim population of some 1.2 million, including 20,000 reverts, according to unofficial estimates.

Own Decision

Mansour, the Muslim representative, said that Islam allows the faithful to break fast if they feel ill.

"If a Muslim farmhand feels unwell, he can take a break," he said.

"If he then realizes that the feeling is not a passing one, he may take a drink."

Islam allows ill persons to break their fast by following the judgment of a doctor who is Muslim, well-versed, and trustworthy.

Forcing Muslims to not fast in Ramadan is against all divine and man-made laws that dictate freedom of belief for all people.

It also goes against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international law that guarantee minorities the right to freely observe their religious rituals and to be protected while doing so.

Mansour said that breaking the fast during daylight is a decision to be made by the Muslim himself.

"But that is his own decision and no one else should be able to force that on him."

Yale Rejects Prophet Cartoons Reprint

IslamOnline.net & Newspapers

"I never intended the book to become another demonstration for or against the cartoons,” says Klausen.
Donatich said reprinting the satirical cartoons would have been interpreted as “gratuitous”.


CAIRO – Yale University, America’s third-oldest higher education institution, has refused to reprint Danish cartoons lampooning Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) in a new book about the crisis.
“(The decision was) overwhelming and unanimous," John Donatich, Yale University Press Director, told The New York Times on Thursday, August 13.

He said reprinting the satirical cartoons in “The Cartoons That Shook the World” book would have been interpreted as “gratuitous”.

In 2005, Denmark's Jyllands-Posten daily commission and printed 12 drawings of a man described as Prophet Muhammad, including one wearing a bomb-shaped turban and another showing him as a knife-wielding nomad flanked by shrouded women.

Yale University had consulted diplomats and exports on Islam before making a decision about the inclusion of the 12 caricatures in book, due in November.

Muhammad and the message

"You can count on violence if any illustration of the prophet is published," Donatich quoted Ibrahim Gambari, special adviser to the UN chief and Nigeria’s former foreign minister, as saying.
"It will cause riots, I predict, from Indonesia to Nigeria."

The Danish cartoons had triggered massive demonstrations across the Muslim world and resulted in boycott of Danish products and interests.

The reprint of the controversial drawings, considered blasphemous under Islam, by European papers strained Muslim-West ties.

Message

"I never intended the book to become another demonstration for or against the cartoons,” says Klausen.
Author Jytte Klausen reluctantly accepted the Yale University’s decision not to include the satirical drawings in her new book.
“I can understand that a university is risk averse, and they will make that choice,” said Klausen, a Danish-born professor of politics at Brandeis University.

"I agreed to the press’s decision to not print the cartoons and other hitherto uncontroversial illustrations featuring images of the Muslim prophet, with sadness."

In her book, Klausen argues that the massive protests triggered by the cartoons were not a spontaneous reaction.

She insists that the caricatures were used as a pretext to mobilize dissent in the Muslim world.

"Muslim friends, leaders and activists thought that the incident was misunderstood.”

Klausen says her book is only meant to delve into the crisis.

"The book’s message is that we need to calm down and look at this carefully.

"I never intended the book to become another demonstration for or against the cartoons, and hope the book can still serve its intended purpose without illustrations.”


AN URGENT APPEAL:




(1) Holy Quran: Surah Ar Rum 30:21

“And among His wonders is this: He creates for you mates out of your own kind, so that you might include towards them, and He engenders love and tenderness between you: in this, behold, there are messages indeed for people who think”.

(2) Holy Quran: Surah Al Nisa: 4:1

“O Mankind, be conscious of your Sustainer, who has created you out of one living entity (nafs) and out of it created its mate, and out of the two spread abroad a multitude of men and women. And remain conscious of God, in whose name you demand your rights from one another, and of these ties of kinship, verily, GOD IS EVER WATCHFUL OVER YOU”.

WE HAVE HEARD A MILLION TIMES: “WE ARE ONE UMMAH”, BUT WHAT ARE WE PRACTICALLY DOING TO ASSIST THE DISTRESSED MUSLIMS, SPECIALLY THE ONES THAT LOST THEIR LOVED ONES .


NATIONALLY YOU MAY HAVE HEARD A LOT ABOUT “PUBLIC SERVICE”, BUT FROM A GLOBAL UMMAH’S PERSPECTIVE, HOW OFTEN HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT “UMMAH SERVICE” ?


DID YOU KNOW THAT MOST MUSLIMS HAVE A TREMENDOUS HIDDEN POTENTIAL TO CONTRIBUTE THEIR PART FOR THE ABOVE “UMMAH SERVICE” ?


HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED, WHAT COULD YOU DO TO ASSIST A DISTRESSED MEMBER OF OUR UMMAH ?


AS FOR ME AND MY LOCAL PROFESSIONAL MUSLIM BROTHERS AND SISTERS HERE IN ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, USA, AS PART OF OUR SERVICE TO UMMAH, WE ARE WILLING TO PROVIDE FREE ONLINE GRIEF COUNSELING TO FAMILY MEMBERS OF MUSLIM VICTIMS FROM ALL TERRORIST ACTIONS PERPETRATED INDIVIDUALLY, ORGANIZATIONALLY (TALIBAN, AL QUEIDA) OR STATE SPONSORED (ISRAEL) .


Everyday you hear innocent Muslims being killed in different parts of the world. Each of them has left a void in the life of their family members who may have been orphaned, widowed or lost their children.


True spirit of Ummah should be translated in actions. This appeal through the VOICE OF GLOBAL UMMAH is a small humble step to reach out to the global Ummah.


Below mentioned Muslim psychotherapist appeals to all like minded Muslim psychotherapists from around the world who are specialized in grief counseling to contact us below to volunteer in providing free ONLINE GRIEF COUNSELING services to innocent family members that have recently died in Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza, West Bank, Somalia et.c.


Attempts are already under way from our part to reach out to Humanitarian and other Global Social Service agencies who are already in the field helping the distressed families to assist the family members who have lost loved ones, by providing them the basic infrastructure – computer with internet and translator to contact us to receive FREE ONLINE GRIEF COUNSELING.


For more details see our website: http://www.islamiconlinecounseling.blogspot.com


Israel Killed White Flag Gazans

HRW IOL Staff
Israeli soldiers killed five women and four children who were in groups waving white flags

Israeli soldiers killed five women and four children who were in groups waving white flags. CAIRO — Israeli soldiers murdered unarmed Palestinian women and children who were waving white flags during its war on the Gaza Strip, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday, August 13, urging a swift investigation into the war crimes. “Israeli soldiers unlawfully shot and killed 11 Palestinian civilians, including five women and four children, who were in groups waving white flags to convey their civilian status,” the international rights group said in a new report obtained by IslamOnline.net.
The report is based on field investigations, including ballistic evidence found at the killing sites, medical records of victims and lengthy interviews with eyewitnesses.
Read the HRW's report "Dad, I'm Dying" "They Killed My Girls" Palestinian Holocaust Museum Israel has earlier admitted five white flag incidents but blamed that on Hamas fighters allegedly using civilians as human shields. "In the killings documented in this report, HRW found no evidence that the civilian victims were used by Palestinian fighters as human shields or were shot in the crossfire between opposing forces," insisted the new report.
“The civilians were in groups waving a white cloth, T-shirt or scarf, and no Palestinian fighters were in the area at the time."
The 63-page HRW report notedb that in each of the white flag cases, people were "in plain view and posed no apparent security threat” when they were shot.
"Israeli forces appeared in control, and Palestinian fighters had left the area in question."
More than 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, including 300 children and 115 women, were killed in 22 days of Israeli air, land and see attacks between December of last year and January of this year.
In Cold Blood
In one case, Iman al-Najjar saw her sister Rawiya get killed with a bullet shot directly to her head.
"Rawiya took a white flag with a group of women. When she reached the corner they fired at her immediately," Iman recalls.
"She was hit in the head and fell even though she was holding a white flag."
Souad Abed Rabbo, 54, witnessed the killing of her granddaughters, aged two and seven.
“We spent seven to nine minutes waving the flags, and our faces were looking at them," she remembers vividely.
"And suddenly they opened fire and the girls fell to the ground."
Souad’s third granddaughter, now aged four, was left paralyzed below the waist.
A recent booklet that collected Israeli soldiers’ testimonies revealed that the army had given the troops directives not to consider any Gazan as innocent.
The testimonies also quoted soldiers admitting firing at Gaza civilians out of frustration or boredom.
Joe Stork, HRW Middle East deputy director, asserted that Israel has long acted with impunity over the killing of Palestinian innocents.
“The Israel Defense Forces have for years permitted a pervasive culture of impunity regarding unlawful Palestinian deaths."
But Stork insisted that the Gaza white flag deaths deserve international prosecutions for those responsible.
“Under the laws of war, individuals who carry out or order deliberate attacks on civilians are responsible for war crimes.


France bars woman from pool for wearing

baggy Muslim swimsuit

Toronto Star


Sama Wareh walks along the sand dressed in swimwear designed for Muslim women, in Newport Beach, Calif., Feb. 15, 2007.


PARIS–A Muslim woman garbed in a head-to-toe swimsuit – dubbed a "burquini" – may have opened a new chapter in France's tussle between religious practices and its stern secular code.
Officials insisted yesterday they banned the woman's use of the Islam-friendly suit at a local pool because of France's pool hygiene standards – not out of hostility to overtly Muslim garb.
Under the policy, swimmers are not allowed in pools with baggy clothing, including surfer-style shorts. Only figure-hugging suits are permitted.
Nonetheless, the woman, a 35-year-old convert to Islam identified only as Carole, complained of religious discrimination after trying to go swimming in a burquini in the town of Emerainville, southeast of Paris. She was quoted as telling Le Parisien newspaper she had bought the burquini after deciding "it would allow me the pleasure of bathing without showing too much of myself, as Islam recommends."
"For me this is nothing but segregation," she said.
The issue of religious attire is a hot topic in France, where head-to-toe burqas or other full-body coverings worn by some Muslim fundamentalists are in official disfavour.
France is home to western Europe's largest Muslim population, estimated at 5 million, and Islam is the nation's second religion after Roman Catholicism.
A 2004 law banning the wearing of Muslim head scarves at public schools sparked fierce debate. That legislation also banned Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses in public classrooms.
French lawmakers recently revived the issue of Muslim dress with a proposal to ban the burqa and other voluminous attire.
The burquini covers the arms to the wrists and the legs to the ankle and has a hood to cover neck and hair. An official in charge of swimming pools for the Emerainville region, Daniel Guillaume, said the refusal to allow the local woman to swim in her burquini had nothing to do with religion and everything to do with public health standards.
"These clothes are used in public, so they can contain molecules, viruses, et cetera, which will go in the water and could be transmitted to other bathers," Guillaume said.
Guillaume said Carole had tried to file a complaint at a local police station, but her request was turned down as groundless.
Mouloud Aounit, head of the anti-racism group MRAP, said the decision to ban Carole from the pool appeared fair, since pool authorities were observing regulations.


A country that abandons its own


Toronto Star




Documents being prepared Nearly three months after Canadian Suaad Hagi Mohamud was falsely detained in Kenya, she's a step closer to returning home.


If Canadian citizen Suaad Hagi Mohamud were wealthy or politically connected or media savvy, she would never have been stripped of her passport and her rights while travelling through Kenya.
She might have been stopped at the airport in Nairobi. Initially, a Canadian consular official might even have supported her detention. When she presented her identification, the Canadian system would have rallied to her side.
Suaad Hagi Mohamud, however, is not rich. She's not a political insider. She's not a media darling.
She is a black Somali immigrant who had to live on charity once Canadian authorities sent her passport to Kenyan police and suggested they prosecute her for not really being one of us. She had produced a half-dozen forms of valid identification, but our bureaucrats closed their ears to her desperate pleas for help.
By cancelling her passport, they rendered her stateless. And rendered her to the Kenyans – the same Kenyans who had rendered another Canadian citizen, Bashir Makhtal, to an Ethiopian prison.
The default position of a powerful bureaucracy is control. But when its political protectors are unresponsive to principles or the people, bureaucratic control unconsciously, and without any obvious will, can become sadism.
Remarkably, the Canadian politician elected by the people to oversee the bureaucracy – and to help fellow Canadians in distress – failed in his highest obligation. Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon crushed her hope for quick justice with mistruths and irrelevancies. In demeaning and damaging language, he said she hadn't tried hard enough to prove she was a citizen.
What chance does a poor immigrant woman living on handouts away from her family have against that kind of power?
Back channels out of Ottawa are now whispering that we don't have the whole story, that things aren't what they seem in this case. But they have yet to come clean. We heard the same thing from back channels in the cases of Donald Marshall and David Milgaard, terrible examples of abuses of citizens by their government.
But what crime strips a Canadian of all their civil rights and even their human right to their identity?
None. These are excuses for failures of justice and humanity in our bureaucracy and at the highest levels of our government.
And as yesterday's Toronto Star pointed out, this is not an isolated incident. What do we learn from an examination of other cases?
Overwhelmingly, the victims are people of colour, they are immigrants, they are out of the political mainstream. Our government treats them as less than real citizens.
This incident demonstrates this government's flawed understanding of the true nature of today's Canada, and how through ignorance or malice it is frustrating Canadians' hopes for real justice.



UK MP Under Fire for Muslim Wedding Walkout
IslamOnline.net & Newspapers


"Jim Fitzpatrick’s actions look foolish and inappropriate," Michaels said.



CAIRO — British Minister of Food and Farming Jim Fitzpatrick is coming under fire over storming out and his wife of a Muslim wedding after being separated into male and female areas.
"Jim Fitzpatrick’s actions look foolish and inappropriate," Adrian Michaels, Group Foreign Editor at the Telegraph Media Group, writes in the Telegraph Blog on Friday, August 14.

Fitzpatrick, also a Labour MP, walked out of a Muslim wedding last weekend at the London Muslim Centre after he was allowed to sit in a different hall away from his wife.

He accused the Muslim centre and the Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE), which owns the place, of threatening the community cohesion in the heavily Muslim area of Whitechapel, East London.

"Barriers to integration are important to discuss, but I find Fitzpatrick’s actions incredible," Michaels writes.

"First, there seems to be some doubt whether rules on segregation have been imposed or were chosen by the bride and groom.

"Second, segregation of the sexes is common to many ceremonies of many religions."

The British editor also hit out at the government minister for offending the couples who invited him.

"And third, for goodness sake, it was someone’s wedding day," he said.

"Was Fitzpatrick an invited guest? In which case he seems happy to risk offending the wedding party.

"There is a time for scoring points, and another for sitting still, maybe even wishing the happy couple well,” he says.

"If he was not an invited guest, then what was he doing there anyway?”

Personal Choice

Muslim leaders also lambasted the British minister for his “offending” behaviour.

"‘We are saddened to read that Jim Fitzpatrick MP did not like the arrangements at a wedding he attended with his wife at the London Muslim Centre," the centre’s spokesman Mohammed Shakir told the Daily Mail.

"Segregated weddings have always been popular in the Muslim community; the London Muslim Centre has facilitated them for over five years."

Shakir said many communities, not just Muslims, separate between the two sexes in wedding parties.

"It is part of the attraction for Muslim families so they can celebrate their happy day in a religious atmosphere, a custom which is also found in other religious traditions represented in Britain.

"We have always allowed non-Muslim guests to be seated together without segregation, but this is entirely at the discretion of the families who have hired the halls."

IFE spokesman Tuhel Ahmed also criticized Fitzpatrick for blaming the Islamic Forum for the personal choice of the bride and the groom.

"How we influenced the private arrangements of this wedding is beyond me," Ahmed told the Mail.

"I cannot see what the link Mr Fitzpatrick is making here.

"This was a personal choice of the bride and groom. How they choose to seat people and conduct their wedding is entirely up to them."

Ahmed also lashed out at Fitzpatrick for accusing the IFE of threatening the community cohesion.

"This is the first time an MP has criticised us as an organization," he said.

“To suggest we are hardline and responsible for damaging community cohesion is utterly ridiculous.

"He is simply mistaken and silly to blame an organization for an individual’s wedding choices."

The Muslim spokesman said Fitzgerald is trying to win votes at the expense of Muslims.

"Labour is in complete disarray, maybe Mr Fitzgerald is worried about the election next year," he said.

UK Muslims, estimated at 2.4 millions, have been in the eye of the storm since the 7/7 London bombings in 2005, enduring a growing Islamophobic climate.

"It’s yet another case of “let’s just blame the Muslims”."


Jammu girl wins bronze in Asian martial art championship


By IANS,


Jammu: Gul-e-Surkhab, Jammu and Kashmir's ace martial arts champion, has won two bronze medals in the first Asian Martial Arts Games held in Bangkok.
Surkhab, the state's first woman black belt, became the first woman from India to get two bronze medals in individual events in the martial arts games organised by Olympic Council of Asia.
She won the bronze medals in duo women and jujitsu women events in 62 kg category.
She was selected by All India Jujitsu Olympic Association. About 45 countries participated in nine events at Bangkok Aug 1-9.
"For me martial arts is everything. I have given all of my time for the sport," Surkhab said after winning the feat.
"I am thankful to the Jujitu Olympic Association of India for giving me the chance to represent my country at the international level," she said.


Can we Apply Western Psychology to Muslim Populations? Syeda Tatheer Zahra Shamsi


When we think about applying traditional western psychology to Islamic populations, we immediately encounter difficulties, ideological as well as practical difficulties. Its not always possible to transfer these psychological notions to groups for whom the theories proposed don’t fit neatly within the framework they have been brought up in. We recognize that its very important for Muslim groups to have forums which will encourage individuals to express their problems and which will allow them to be comfortable, as their needs aren’t always catered for by the health services or social services here. And this often inhibits many from coming forward for psychological services. In fact there are a number of reasons for people covering up or attempting to hide psychological problems, or the emotional distress they’re experiencing. Unfortunately in the age where counseling services are so effectively used in western countries, all across Europe and North America, it’s still considered taboo in our communities to access these services. This issue of services not catering for our needs is now becoming widely recognized. And the good news is that there are many centers which are becoming established here in a multi-ethnic community because of equal opportunities policies and because of cross-cultural research; research with different cultures is showing that what may be an effective form of treatment for people from one culture may not be beneficial for people from another culture because a lot of the issues may not be relevant. The positive outcome here is that there is an increase in research to show us that peoples’ constructs, the ways in which they view the world, are different and can’t always be generalized. Just to give an example, there have been studies carried out with black African individuals who were diagnosed with a psychiatric ill-ness, schizophrenia; but when this same group of people was assessed by psychologists and psychiatrists from their own culture, they discovered that the behavior they were exhibiting which led to this diagnosis, was considered perfectly acceptable in their own cultures. So the con-sequence of such a diagnosis of course is that they would be receiving psychotropic medication, drugs for the treatment of mental disorders which they didn’t have, which have no organic basis. And this had in fact been found to be happening, a lot of research has uncovered this sort of practice. So as a consequence of these sorts of difficulties, many centers and organizations have arisen which are dealing with specific areas, such as bereavement, or care for the elderly, marital problems and many others. But they’re often isolated and working alone; and they’ve usually come about in response to cultural and lingual needs of particular communities, such as the Afro-Caribbean community, or the Asian community for example, which are considered homogenous groups so they’ve been put together on the basis of their ethnic back-grounds.But they’re not necessarily fulfilling the requirements of our faith, so its not an ideal situation. We can very briefly look at the psychological framework within which western practitioners are working. We know that psychology is basically considered to be the study of the human mind and behavior. Its a broad discipline which not only relates to how psychology is commonly portrayed in the media - as dealing with mental illness - but covers all sorts of other issues relating to human development, such as learning, and human distress, relationships, marital issues, the upbringing of children. Although its a relatively new western science, psychology has firmly established itself as a discipline with rigorous scientific, empirical support. Ironically, the literary definition of the word psychology, the origin of the word is, the discourse or the study of the soul or the spirit. Psychology is regarded as a natural science, involving the study of the laws of nature, of human spirituality, but is this really the case? Problems with Western Psychology Someone who has questioned this very fiercely and has attacked the very basis of western psychology is Dr Malik Badri he is an experienced Muslim psychotherapist and professor of psychology from Sudan. The following quote of his illustrates his views: “They will claim (he’s talking here about western psychologists) that their theories about human behavior are based purely on empirical, unbiased observation. They will even claim to take a neutral stand with respect to the existence of God and the place of religion and to apply an objective non-biased scientific approach in studying spiritual ”. Clearly when we’re talking about nature, about the nature of man, we can’t take him and study man, his problems, his needs, as a distinct entity, removed from his Creator. The great ‘alim Syed Mujtaba Musawi Lari has done a lot of work in this area and he emphasizes that man has spiritual needs in the same way that he has physical needs, and we need to consider them. Faith provides an individual with strength against despair and hopelessness. If we consider the example of depression, its a debilitating illness, and the majority of us would have experienced depression at some stage. But there are different types, and it can also be considered to be on a continuum with varying degrees of severity. In the most severe cases the ultimate end would be suicide or a suicidal attempt. Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq (AS) has said that a true believer can never commit suicide. We all experience psychological difficulties, but our faith provides us with a motivating force to help overcome them. That’s not to say that hoping and wishing that the situation will change is enough, we really need to take positive action too. Often we also need professional assistance. It’s essential especially with individuals diagnosed with serious clinical conditions, that they continue to receive professional help. For us there isn’t a dichotomy between faith - our religious convictions - and scientific study and scientific advance. This is where we as Muslims diverted from the traditional Judea – Christian notions of faith. For a Muslim, knowledge and science reinforce faith rather than oppose it. The result of this belief was the golden age of science and faith in Islamic civilization, in which science and knowledge made huge advances by Muslims reaffirming their belief through scientific discovery. In contrast, Psychology is regarded as a natural science, involving the study of the laws of nature, of human spirituality, but is this really the case ? by Muslim thinkers throughout history. Psychological Practice for Muslim Psychologists So coming back to the dilemma of the Muslim psychologist, can we effectively continue to use the principles of psychology in the treatment of our Muslim patients, given that psychological principles are based upon western research and ideals? How applicable is psychology to us? Well there are many schools of thought in psychology, many ways of explaining human behavior. They’re not all couched within an atheistic, materialistic frame-work; we can briefly look at an example: the humanistic school of thought is a fairly modern movement in psychology which started to emerge in the 1950s and 60s – the humanistic model features quite prominently now in psychotherapeutic intervention, its quite commonly used. The humanistic school focuses on a positive concept of human nature, and emphasizes the individual’s uniqueness. Humanistic psychologists take account of the individual’s self and subjective inner experiences, such as the concepts of values, faith and self-direction. And this is where it differs from other, more traditional schools of thought which are based on the belief that human beings are really the same and that their behaviour is determined, pre-determined by certain forces beyond their control. The humanistic view, just as its name suggests, looks at the person as an individual, as a human being; what is it that motivates this person, what are the things that makes this person unique? They take account of the individual’s personal goals, and their aims for achievement. And in this respect, the humanistic psychologists are the closest to encompassing the religious dimension--to working with the spiritual aspect of the person as well. As we’re growing in a multicultural society, we’re seeing a synthesis, this combining, of theories, to try to arrive at the most suitable model which will be relevant for most people from different backgrounds – although again the situation isn’t ideal because the paradigm or the framework within which we’re working isn’t Islamic. So I was really fortunate when I had the opportunity while I was in Iran to interview one of Iran’s leading psychologists Dr Parveen Debajnia, as I was interested in psychological practice in a country completely guided by Islamic principles. She was very proud of the modern teaching and research facilities that they had in the new university hospital in Qom and she discussed the therapeutic intervention, how they worked with patients, and advances they’d made based on scientific research within an Islamic framework. And you’ll find many examples of the type Dr Debajnia discussed with me in the practice of Malik Badri in Lebanon, in Sudan and in Saudi Arabia. Just to illustrate, he gives an example of one of his female patients who had been admitted for anxiety and depression, and she was experiencing phobias – displaying undue, irrational fears. She had been seen by other psychologists in the hospital but she wasn’t responding to any of the types therapy that they was using – nothing was effective. When Malik Badri began working with her he began reciting a relevant verse of the Qur’an, she immediately responded and broke down in tears – this led to the discovery of a lot of other problems which she had been hiding, she confessed to them straight away – and this was what had been hindering her recovery before, as the previous psychologists weren’t aware of these other really important underlying factors. So when these came to the fore Malik Badri was able to work on these issues effectively using traditional psychotherapeutic techniques, behavioural methods. And Alham-dulillah this patient made a very dramatic improvement. When he told his colleague how he had successfully treated her, he expressed his amazement and said, “I’ve kept a copy of the Holy Qur’an in my office for the last three years and it never once occurred to me to bring it down from the bookshelf and use it as part of my therapy”. So there we’ve got an inspirational example of how Islamic teachings can guide us in our scientific practice; and there are many other such examples. We’ve seen then in a very small way how Muslims are able to benefi t from modern psychology. Western psychological techniques are not always reconcilable with Islamic ideology as they have evolved traditionally emphasizing sound scientific practice without much regard for consideration of faith. However, by employing empirical research findings in the light of Islamic teachings there is strong evidence that Muslim psychologists can restore spiritual vigor to the essentially materialistic western psychology.


Muslim students show historic success in Medical-Engineering Entrance in Kerala, By Najiya O., TwoCircles.net,


Malappuram:The Kerala Medical Entrance tests have brought cheers to the Muslim community in the state. For the first time in history, Muslim students have bagged more than 25% of the top 1000 ranks this year. This counts to 254. The first 100 ranks saw 24 Muslims and the first 500 saw 131.
“In recent times, there is good advancement of Muslim students in the field of education, especially in the Malappuram district,” said Prof U Muhammed, former principal of Farooq College, Calicut. “Earlier Malappuram district as well as Muslims was backward in education matters. But it is happy to note that now they are coming forward. Earlier, there was representation of Muslims with regard to their population only in the primary and secondary levels, that is 27%. Muslim representation in colleges was below 10 per cent. But nowadays, this has changed. There is indeed an awakening in the field.”
He sees the increase in the number of good coaching centres as well as encouragement through various means like scholarships as the reasons for this change. “But we have to study and analyse factors like the ratio of boys and girls in the success, the achievements in each district etc for a continuous two-three years to understand the nature of this change. We have to know if this is only a change in a year or a real trend,” Prof Muhammed added.
Malabar has really done well in the medical and engineering entrance exams this year in the state. Kozhikode district tops the rank-holders’ list in the medical stream and is second in the engineering stream. The top 1000 list of medical entrance has about 146 candidates from the district. And in the engineering stream it amounts to 134 in the top 1000 list. The top 1000 list of medical stream finds 138 students from Malappuram; this is the second highest figure in a district. In engineering, 110 aspirants found their place in the top 1000 list.
“This is indeed encouraging, a positive sign,” said PM Pareethu Bava Khan, general secretary of Unity for Social Development. “He pointed out the significant role played by various organizations in the educational upliftment of the community.
The results clearly indicate what would be the result if the potentialities of Muslim students are provided with ample opportunities and encouragement. The medical and engineering entrance results in the state were announced on 15th June, 2009.




A program on Indian Muslims in the Massachusetts State House
TwoCircles.net staff reporter,



Boston: For the last few years, India and the US are coming closer but still not much is known in the US about Indian minorities and their status. Dr. Omar Khalidi, author of “Muslims in Indian Economy” talked about the condition of Indian Muslims in a program organized by the Indian Muslim Council-USA (IMC-USA) in Boston, Massachusetts.

The program about Indian Muslim was organized last Friday in Massachusetts State House, which is where state Senate, House of Representatives and Governor’s office are located. This is the first time that any program on Indian Muslims has been organized in any US state’s highest seat of power.

Dr. Omar Khalidi (right) adressing the audience

Seema Salim, president of IMC-Boston started the program by giving a brief introduction to IMC and its Boston chapter’s activities. Dr. Omar Khalidi of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) gave a brief but comprehensive account of the history and present condition of the Muslims of India.

Kashif-ul-Huda, Editor of news website TwoCircles.net talked about the idea behind launching a news website focusing on Indian Muslims. He discussed challenges and strategies for the community media.

Dr. Hyder Khan speaking at the Massachusetts State House

Dr. Hyder Khan, vice president and founder member of IMC-USA gave a detailed account of how IMC came into being and its advocacy activities on behalf of Muslims and other marginalized communities of India.

In its seven year short history IMC-USA has a number of achievements to its credit. Dr Hyder Khan said that three most successful stories of IMC are - denial of visa to Narendra Modi in 2005, removal of Sadhvi Rithambra from speaking from a municipal platform in Florida in 2007, and the successful campaign to have innocent Muslim youth released from police detention in Hyderabad in 2008/2009.

Saman Salim, a political science student and an intern at the State House hosted the event.

IMC-USA has chapters in ten US states and successful organization of this program in Boston, which is called ‘Cradle of Liberty’, shows the wide reach of IMC which has grown in influence from its inception in 2002.

Tom Alter as Maulana Azad with a section of the audience in Chicago

Boston has played important role in American Revolution and the US independence struggle. It was the site of the famous Boston Tea Party incident. Massachusetts is also home to the famous Keneddy family and Senator John Kerry who was the Democratic candidate for the US Presidential elections in 2004.

IMC-USA kicked off its Indian Independence related activities with the renown play based on the freedom fighter Maulana Abul Kalam Azad's autobiography in Chicago and Detroit. Following this educational event at the Massachusetts State House, IMC-USA is holding events in San Francisco Bay Area and in New Jersey and will particiapte in 62nd Indian Independence Day festivites in various cities. These diverse activities of IMC across the States shows the wide reach of IMC.