CAIR Alerts and Information

hmcq · January 10, 2002, 1:46am

I will be posting CAIR Alerts/news postings in this folder. Please discuss any issues related to these alerts outside of this folder. If you have any other concerns/suggestions regarding the posting of these news items please email me directly or or send me PM.

Mods please take note. Thanks

-Hmcq

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/9/2002

HEADLINES:

VERSE OF THE DAY: VARIATIONS IN LANGUAGE AND COLOR
MAGAZINE “REGRETS” MISQUOTE OF CAIR OFFICIAL (The New Republic)
CAIR DISCUSSES AIRPORT HIJAB CASE ON FOX’S O’REILLY FACTOR
- OTHER CAIR MEDIA APPEARANCES (ABC, CNN)
HAIR UNCOVERED, APOLOGY SOUGHT (Washington Post)
- SIKH MAN TO SUE AIRLINE, ISLIP FOR TURBAN INCIDENT (Newsday)
I.N.S. TO FOCUS ON MUSLIMS WHO EVADE DEPORTATION (New York Times)
- U.S. TARGETS ARAB, MUSLIM MEN IN SWEEP FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS (Wall
Street Journal)
COALITION CITES RIGHTS CONCERNS (Newsday)
DC RALLY FOR CIVIL RIGHTS 1/19/2002
CONYERS CONDEMNS DISCRIMINATORY INS DEPORTATION POLICY
EDITORIAL: HADDAD CASE SUSPICIOUSLY SECRET (Michigan Daily)
COMMUNITY FORUM ON DISCRIMINATORY BACKLASH
NEW BOOK: “TERRORISM AND THE CONSTITUTION”
JURY SELECTION IN AL-AMIN CASE SEEN AS LONG, TEDIOUS (Atlanta Journal)
POLICE SEEK LEADS IN VANDALISM CASE (Columbus Dispatch)
MUSLIM COMMUNITY WEIGHS IN FOR FOOD BANK (Calgary Herald)
CAIR CANADA JOINS FORUM ON FAITH AND THE MEDIA
A IS FOR ARABS (Salon.com)

VERSE OF THE DAY: VARIATIONS IN LANGUAGE AND COLOR

“And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the
variations in your languages and your colors: verily in that are Signs for
those who know.”

The Holy Quran, Chapter 30, Verse 22

MAGAZINE “REGRETS” MISQUOTE OF CAIR OFFICIAL

The New Republic, 1/14/2002

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS: A November 12 piece, “Fevered Pitch,” by
Franklin Foer, and a December 24 Notebook item, “Flopaganda,” both
incorrectly attributed a statement to the Council on American-Islamic
Relations’ executive director Nihad Awad. The statement, about the
involvement of Mossad and Egyptian intelligence in the 1993 World Trade
Center bombing, appeared in an unsigned editorial in the March 31, 1994,
issue of the Muslim World Monitor, where Awad was the contributing editor.
We regret the error.

[NOTE: We thank The New Republic for making this correction and hope other
media outlets that have used similar misquotations will follow suit.

CAIR and many other American Muslim organizations have recently been the
targets of a vicious smear campaign based on misquotations, distortions,
fabrications, outdated and out of context information, and guilt by
association.

This campaign relies on the amplification of prejudice and stereotyping
that resulted from the justifiable rage expressed by the American people,
including Muslims and Arab-Americans, following the World Trade Center and
Pentagon attacks. Every major American Muslim group and leader, without
exception, has been the target of these unjustified and politically
motivated smears.

We ask that journalists and policy-makers examine the agenda of those who
are making these false allegations and to refrain from assisting anyone who
would seek to silence the voice of an entire American religious minority or
to undermine the President’s assertions that we are engaged in a war on
terrorism, not against Islam or Muslims.]

FROM: “ISLAMOPHOBIC SMEAR CAMPAIGN” GOES PUBLIC http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?articleid=4&articletype=3

CAIR DISCUSSES AIRPORT HIJAB CASE ON FOX’S O’REILLY FACTOR
Fox News Network, January 8, 2002 Tuesday http://fn.emediamillworks.com/fox/

HOST: Bill O’Reilly

O’REILLY: In the “Personal Story” segment tonight, we told you in the
Talking Points memo that some security screeners at the airports are using
very poor judgment, to say the least.

Now comes a case from the Baltimore-Washington airport where a Northwest
Airlines screener forced a 17-year-old Muslim high school student to remove
her head covering. Joining us now from Washington is Ibrahim Hooper, the
communications director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

All right. So this high school student was wearing a head covering, which,
in the Muslim religion, is a sign of modesty, and these guys wanted to see
what was underneath it, right?

IBRAHIM HOOPER, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS: Yes. I – the point
isn’t so much that it was – that would – they asked her to remove it. If
they had taken her to a private area and asked – a female guard had been
there and asked her to check out the head scarf or whatever, that wouldn’t
have been a problem.

The problem was, a 17-year-old high school student being surrounded by
soldiers in camouflage uniforms with M-16s and being forced to remove what
we consider to be a religiously mandated head scarf…

OTHER CAIR MEDIA APPEARANCES:

CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad appeared last night on ABC’s “Nightline”

CAIR Civil Rights Coordinator Hodan Hassan appeared this morning on CNN’s
AMERICAN MORNING WITH PAULA ZAHN.

HOST: Hodan Hassan, do you view this incident as racial profiling?

HODAN HASSAN, AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS: Well, it could be racial
profiling. I think our issue with this particular incident is that rather
than have her have to take off her veil in public, this should have been
done in the privacy of a screening room, a room or maybe a screened off
area. This isn’t the first case. We’ve actually had at least 13 other cases
of women who have contacted CARE and said that they were forced to remove
their scarves in public.

HOST: I’m sorry. We had a case of a U.S. congressman in the last day or
two, John Dingle, who was forced to strip down to his shorts because an
artificial hip set off a metal detector. You know, there is heightened
security in this country in the wake of the events of 9-11. What would you
like to see happen as a result of this? Are you planning legal action? Do
you want an apology? What’ll it take to make this right?

HASSAN: Yes, there’s no, at this point, consideration of legal action. What
we’re asking, what our organization is asking on behalf of Mrs. Sarsour is
that first that there be an apology to her and her family, that there be an
investigation of this incident and more importantly that there be some
clear guidelines set as to how searches should be conducted, in this case
of Muslim women…

HAIR UNCOVERED, APOLOGY SOUGHT
BWI Screening Prompts Complaint From Muslim Teenager in Va.
By Katherine Shaver, The Washington Post, 1/9/2002 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16470-2002Jan8.html

Enaas Sansour began wearing a black head scarf a year ago as part of her
Muslim faith, so that no man outside her family would see her hair until
she married.

Her hair remained hidden, the Falls Church teenager said yesterday, until a
male airline security screener at Baltimore-Washington International
Airport forced her to remove her scarf last month. In front of strangers.
In front of men. Even though the metal detector, she said, never sounded.
“No guys are supposed to see my hair until my husband sees it when I get
married,” said Sansour, 17, a junior at the Islamic Saudi Academy in
Alexandria. “It was very humiliating with all those people staring at me
like I did something wrong…It was against my religion.”

On Monday, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations filed
a complaint on the teenager’s behalf, seeking apologies from the screener’s
employer, Globe Aviation Services, and Northwest and Delta airlines.
Sansour said the incident occurred when she, her father and two brothers
passed through BWI’s Pier C security checkpoint Dec. 18 before boarding a
Northwest flight to San Francisco. Delta Airlines contracts with Globe to
provide security for all airlines that use Pier C, including Northwest.

Hodan Hassan, the Islamic group’s civil rights coordinator, said requiring
Muslim women to remove their head scarves, or hijab, is tantamount to a
public strip search because it violates Muslim teachings about modesty.

Hassan said Sansour’s complaint is one of a dozen the group has received
from Muslim women forced to remove head scarves in public at airports under
heightened security since Sept. 11. The group has received about 160 other
complaints of racial or religious profiling at airports, officials said.

Hassan said the group does not object to Muslim women being asked to remove
their head scarves in a private area and in front of a female security
screener, as long as they are not singled out for extra scrutiny…

SEE ALSO:

U.S. TARGETS ARAB, MUSLIM MEN IN SWEEP FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS
By Nicholas Kulish and Gary Fields, The Wall Street Journal, 1/9/2002

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Justice Department is gearing up to locate Arab and
Muslim men who have overstayed their visas as part of a broader push to
crack down on illegal aliens in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks…

…The policy has raised concerns of undue racial profiling in the hunt for
terrorists. “We would ask for enforcement of the law across the board and
not just singling out people based on their religion or ethnicity,” said
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington-based Council on
American-Islamic Relations. “At some point due process and legal procedures
have to be followed…”

COALITION CITES RIGHTS CONCERNS
Detainees, wiretap surveillance top list
By Deborah Barfield Berry, Newsday (New York, NY), 1/9/2002 www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-uscivi092542849jan09.story

Washington - Fearing the impact of Justice officials’ sweeping new powers,
national civil rights groups and Arab and Muslim organizations have formed
a coalition to defend against practices they say violate people’s civil
liberties.

The coalition, which includes the American Civil Liberties Union, the Arab
American Institute and the Black Leadership Forum, is calling for more
congressional oversight, including hearings. It also is demanding that
Justice Department officials release more information about the 500
remaining detainees held for immigration violations and stop the
questioning of 5,000 young male foreigners, most of whom are from Middle
Eastern and Central Asian countries. The coalition will kick off its
campaign with a rally Jan. 19 in Washington in commemoration of Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.'s birthday.

“There’s a recognition among all these folks that we’re all in the same
boat and we can’t sit back while one group gets singled out and think it’s
not going to happen to another,” said Jason Erb, director of governmental
affairs for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which is also part
of the coalition.

The groups have raised concerns about legislation that expands Justice
Department powers, including the authority to detain indefinitely
noncitizens suspected of terrorism and to broaden wiretap surveillance…

DC RALLY FOR CIVIL RIGHTS 1/19/2002

A broad coalition of civil rights groups will hold a rally on January 19 at
12:00 to 2:30 p.m., at the Washington DC Convention Center to draw
attention to the damage done to civil liberties protections in the wake of
new anti-terrorism legislation.

The coalition, including the CAIR, ACLU, National Action Network, MPAC,
Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, AMC, People for the American Way, AAI,
Black Leadership Forum, Blacks in Government, and other organizations will
rally to remind Americans of the spirit of Martin Luther King.

“The civil rights gains of the 60s and 70s took place in the context of
immense social change and a foreign war,” said Jason Erb, Director of
Governmental Affairs. “Dr. King recognized that civil rights and national
security are not contradictory, but complimentary,” said Erb.

CONTACT: Jason C. Erb, 202-488-8787, [email protected]

CONYERS CONDEMNS DISCRIMINATORY INS DEPORTATION POLICY

Rep. John Conyers, Jr, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee,
issued the following statement in response to reports that the Justice
Department will focus on Middle Easterners who have not complied with
deportation orders:

"We must have a rational law enforcement policy to ensure that people who
are issued deportation orders actually leave the country. The fact that
there are over 300,000 people in the United States who have ignored
deportation orders is indicative of INS’s lack of resources to enforce our
immigration laws. However, it is un-American to single out individuals for
more aggressive law enforcement scrutiny on the basis of race, sex or
national origin without evidence of criminal behavior.

A policy that focuses on finding people based on their national origin is
short sighted as it will fail to meet its desired result - to protect
America from terrorism. The Justice Department should not be using racial
profiling; rather it should treat people in similar circumstances
equally. This decision by the Justice Department is just one more in a
long list of decisions that use race or ethnicity as a determinative factor
to guide law enforcement rather than focusing on specific evidence of
criminal behavior."

SEND NOTES OF APPRECIATION TO:

Representative John Conyers, Jr.
Michigan 14th district
2426 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

TEL: 202-225-5126
FAX: 202-225-0072
E-MAIL: [email protected]
COPY TO: [email protected]

EDITORIAL: HADDAD CASE SUSPICIOUSLY SECRET
The Michigan Daily, 1/9/2002 http://www.michigandaily.com/articles.php?uniqid=20020109e01

Rabih Haddad, a leader of the Ann Arbor Muslim community, was arrested on
Dec. 14 by the Immigration and Naturalization Service on charges of
overstaying his tourist visa. Since then he has been detained and has been
denied bond on two separate occasions, the latest reasons proferred by the
court being risk of flight and danger to society.

Haddad has visited the U.S. off and on for more then a decade and in that
time has founded the Global Relief Foundation, taught at a local Islamic
school, served as assistant to the leader of Ann Arbor’s mosque and applied
for permanent residency.

While it is within INS jurisdiction to arrest or detain visitors for
overstaying visas, the elements of secret evidence, racial profiling and
inconsistency indicate justice is not being served in this case…

…While the government warns that terrorism will undermine democracy and
freedom, it should take care to uphold the civil liberties that are
fundamental to those values.

COMMUNITY FORUM ON DISCRIMINATORY BACKLASH - 1/16/2002

WHEN: Wednesday, January 16, 2002, Doors Open at 6:30 p.m., Program Begins
at 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: George Mason University Law School (Room 329), 3401 North Fairfax
Drive, Arlington, VA, Orange Line Metro Stop - GMU/Virginia Square

Has your child been harassed by other students, teachers, or
administrators because of his or her race, national origin or religion?
Have you been fired from your job or harassed at work because of your
race, national origin, religion or citizenship status?
Have you faced discrimination in boarding a plane or during a flight
because of your race, national origin or religion?
Have you, a member of your family, or your property been physically
attacked because of your race, national origin or religion?

Since September 11, 2001, Arab, Muslim, South Asian and Sikh Americans, and
others perceived to be members of these groups have experienced incidents
of discrimination, including assaults, harassment and vandalism.

Please join staff from the Civil Rights Division and Community Relations
Service of the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S.
Department of Transportation for a discussion about your rights and how to
file a discrimination complaint with the appropriate agency. A question and
answer period will follow agency presentations. Materials will be
available, and staff will be present to receive complaints.

The law school is accessible. For further accommodations, please contact
Naheed Qureshi at (202) 514-3831 or at [email protected] by January
11, 2002.

NEW BOOK: “TERRORISM AND THE CONSTITUTION”

Join Jim Dempsey and David Cole for a discussion of the war on terrorism
and the future of civil liberties in conjunction with the publication of
their newly revised and expanded “Terrorism and the Constitution:
Sacrificing Civil Liberties in the Name of National Security” (First
Amendment Foundation, 2002).

WHEN: Thursday, January 17, 2002, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Politics and Prose Bookstore,
5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC

Dempsey and Cole’s book, originally published in 1999, discusses the
dangers of granting unchecked powers to the federal government in the war
on terrorism. This new edition is fully revised, including a new chapter on
the government’s domestic response to the events of September 11. It
argues that much of the government’s response is not only unconstitutional,
but likely to be counterproductive in the war on terrorism.

David Cole is a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, legal
affairs correspondent for The Nation, and a commentator on National Public
Radio’s All Things Considered. Jim Dempsey was former assistant counsel to
House Judiciary Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights and is now
deputy director of the Center for Democracy and Technology.

For more information about the book, contact Kit Gage at 202-529-4225.

JURY SELECTION IN AL-AMIN CASE SEEN AS LONG, TEDIOUS
STEVE VISSER, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 1/9/2002 http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/metro/alamin/010902.html

A population equivalent to a small town is expected to trudge through the
Fulton County courtroom during this week as lawyers begin picking jurors in
the high-profile trial of Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin.

A total of 1,500 people have been summoned for jury duty — a number
several lawyers said is the most they could remember being called for a
criminal case in Fulton County.

“I’ve been doing this for well over 20 years, and I’ve never seen this
number of jurors called before . . . not in Georgia,” said Michael Mears,
director of the Multi-County Public Defender Office. Al-Amin is on trial
for his life on charges of murdering a deputy sheriff. He was once known as
the 1960s militant H. Rap Brown — who sparked legions of admirers and
critics — and now is a prominent Muslim cleric. The case against Al-Amin
was scheduled for trial in September, but was postponed after the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks because of fears of a backlash…

POLICE SEEK LEADS IN VANDALISM CASE
By Felix Hoover, The Columbus Dispatch, 1/8/2002 http://www.columbusdispatch.com Search using the term “Islamic.”

Law-enforcement officials are turning to the community for leads in the
recent vandalism at the Islamic Center at 1428 E. Broad St.

Finding who caused the damage, which members discovered Dec. 30 when they
arrived at the mosque for morning prayer, “is going to hinge on someone
knowing something giving us a call,” said Columbus Police Cmdr. Paul
Denton. The FBI joined the investigation last week but has no comment about
it, said Brian W. Lynch, supervisory agent for the bureau’s Columbus office.

Damage to the mosque is estimated at $100,000. That includes torn Qurans
and extensive water damage that occurred after the vandals ripped plumbing
from a bathroom wall and stopped up a sink to flood the three-story building.

On Friday, Denton said, Muslim leaders told authorities about previous
threatening calls and hate mail received at the mosque.

Most came shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and
the Pentagon, but one typewritten letter arrived about three days before
the vandalism, said Jad Humeidan, executive director of the Ohio chapter of
the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The letter warned mosque members
to get out of the country…

…The Islamic Foundation, which manages the mosque, and the Islamic
Society of Greater Columbus are offering a $5,000 reward for information
about the vandalism. Columbus police are encouraging anyone with
information to call Crime Stoppers, 614-645-TIPS (8477).

MUSLIM COMMUNITY WEIGHS IN FOR FOOD BANK
By Brendan Richardson, Calgary Herald (Canada), 1/9/2002

The donation of 3,505 kilograms of food and $1,000 in cash Tuesday is a
sincere gesture aimed at helping the city’s less-fortunate, says a leader
of Calgary’s Muslim community.

In fact, the charity drive on behalf of the Calgary Inter-Faith Food Bank
is in its fifth year. “We want to show people that this is what Islam is
all about,” said Nagah Hage, chairman of the Muslim Council of Calgary.

“Islam is a religion of peace, caring, sharing and compassion. Our values
are to teach our children to be sympathetic towards the less-fortunate.”

Monica Brinck, community co-ordinator for the Calgary Inter-Faith Food
Bank, said: "We’re very grateful for the donations, and we’re extremely
pleased to be in a partnership with the Muslim community.

“When it comes to helping hungry Calgarians, the Muslim community has
always come through. This year is no different. They really are a part of
this community…”

CAIR CANADA JOINS FORUM ON FAITH AND THE MEDIA

On January 21, CAIR-CAN Executive Director Riad Saloojee will join a panel
of media professionals to discuss media coverage of faith after 9/11. The
event is sponsored by The Winnipeg Free Press and Department of Canadian
Heritage. Admission is free. For further Information, call 204-667-1419

WHAT: Media Coverage of Faith After 9/11
WHEN: Monday, January 21, 7-9 p.m.
WHERE: Jubilee Place, 180 Riverton Ave., Winnipeg, MB

PANELISTS:

Nick Hirst, Editor, Winnipeg Free Press
Riad Saloojee, Executive Director, CAIR-CAN
Kirk Lapointe, Senior VP, CTV News
Gord Legge, Director, Centre for Faith and the Media

Moderated by Donald Benham, CBC Radio One

CONTACT: [email protected]

A IS FOR ARABS
By George Rafael, Salon.com, 1/8/2002 http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2002/01/08/alphabet/index.html

From algebra and coffee to guitars, optics and universities – an
alphabetical reminder of what the West owes to the People of the Crescent
Moon.

To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/

To reach the list moderator, send a message to: [email protected]

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: [email protected]
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

hmcq · January 10, 2002, 2:02am

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/8/2002

HEADLINES:

HADITH/VERSE OF THE DAY: MODESTY
BWI GUARD FORCES MUSLIM TEEN TO REMOVE RELIGIOUS HEADSCARF (Washington Post)
COUNCIL SUPPORTS DETAINEE: RESOLUTION REQUESTS HEARINGS (Michigan Daily)
FLORIDA WITCH HUNT (Salon.com)
JUDGE WORRIED ABOUT JURY SELECTION SAYS NO LETTERS OR CALLS FROM JAIL
(Atlanta Journal)
- PHOTOS FROM IMAM JAMIL’S PRE-TRIAL HEARING
TEXAS: VISA ISSUED TO DETAINED MUSLIM (New York Times)
NEW JERSEY: HOTEL ACCUSED OF ANTI-MUSLIM BIAS (New York Times)
DEMAND GROWS FOR MUSLIM SCHOOLS (The Gazette)
KAREN ARMSTRONG DISCUSSES JERUSALEM AT LONG ISLAND MOSQUE

HADITH/VERSE OF THE DAY: MODESTY

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Modesty is part of faith.”

Al-Muwatta, 47:10

"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their
modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well
acquainted with all that they do.

“And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard
their modesty…”

The Holy Quran, Chapter 24, Verses 30-31

BWI GUARD FORCES MUSLIM TEEN TO REMOVE RELIGIOUS HEADSCARF Islamic advocacy group says action at airport amounts to “public strip search”

(WASHINGTON, DC - 1/8/2002) - A 17-year-old Muslim high school student from
Virginia says that she was intimidated into removing her religiously
mandated headscarf by a security guard at Baltimore/Washington
International Airport (BWI). The Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR), a prominent Washington-based Islamic advocacy group, said today
that the incident amounted to a “public strip search” and called for an
apology from airport, airline and security officials.

(A Muslim Secret Service agent was recently removed from a flight at BWI
because of what he says was racial and religious profiling.)

The teenage traveler told CAIR that after she went through a security
checkpoint on her way to a Northwest Airlines flight, a guard shouted, “Hey
you need to take that off,” referring to her headscarf. She responded by
asking, “Why do I have to take off my head cover?” The girl was then
surrounded by military personnel in camouflage uniform with combat rifles.
She became terrified and removed her headscarf immediately.

The student also said that a Muslim airport employee saw what was happening
and came to her assistance. The employee informed the guard that it was
wrong to force the student to remove her headscarf in public.

“For a Muslim woman, being forced to remove her headscarf in this manner is
equivalent to a public strip search,” said CAIR Civil Rights Coordinator
Hodan Hassan.

“This incident reaffirms the need for additional training on policies and
procedures that will improve airport security without violating civil
liberties and religious rights,” said Hassan. She added that CAIR provides
such training for corporations nationwide.

CAIR’s civil rights department has received more than 170 reports of
airport profiling of Muslims or those who are perceived to be “Middle
Eastern” since the terrorist attacks of September 11. The group is asking
for an investigation of the incident and an apology to the Muslim teen.
That request is being sent to BWI, Delta Airlines, Northwest Airlines and
Globe Aviation Services, the firm hired to screen passengers at that gate.

                                     - END -

CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-489-5108
E-MAIL - [email protected]

U.S. SEEKS THOUSANDS OF FUGITIVE DEPORTEES
Middle Eastern Men Are Focus of Search
By Dan Eggen and Cheryl W. Thompson, The Washington Post, 1/8/2002 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11180-2002Jan7.html

Authorities will soon begin searching for thousands of Middle Eastern men
in the United States who have disappeared after being ordered to leave the
country, according to officials familiar with the operation.

The Justice Department has identified about 6,000 young men from the Middle
East who have ignored deportation orders, and has decided to make the
arrest and removal of them the highest priority among efforts to locate
hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals who have defied such rulings,
authorities said.

The men hail from nations that U.S. authorities consider havens for members
of Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda terrorist network, and some have criminal
backgrounds, authorities said. U.S. officials declined to identify the
countries of origin or provide other details about the group.

The plan to give priority to a group of Arab and Muslim men over other
foreign nationals has raised concerns among some Arab American and
immigrant advocate groups that the Bush administration is practicing racial
profiling in its war on terrorism. The vast majority of people ignoring
deportation orders are Hispanics from Latin America…

COUNCIL SUPPORTS DETAINEE: RESOLUTION REQUESTS HEARINGS
By Jacquelyn Nixon, The Michigan Daily, 1/8/2002 http://www.michigandaily.com/articles.php?uniqid=20020108n01

Detained Ann Arbor Muslim leader Rabih Haddad gained the city’s support
yesterday evening after City Council members approved by a partisan 9-2
vote a resolution proposed by community members requesting due process and
open hearings for his case.

Haddad, co-founder of the Global Relief Foundation, an Islamic charity
suspected to have terrorist ties, was arrested Dec. 14 by the Immigration
and Naturalization Service for an expired visa and is being held at the
Monroe County Jail…

FLORIDA WITCH HUNT
When a tenured professor loses his job for vocally backing the Palestinian
cause, Jeb Bush applauds, Bill O’Reilly boos and academics say it’s the
worst threat to free speech since Sept. 11.
By Bruce Shapiro, Salon.com, 1/8/2002 http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2002/01/08/professor/index_np.html

Jan. 8, 2002 - When Sami Al-Arian, a computer science professor at the
University of South Florida and a local Muslim community leader, agreed to
go on Fox News’ popular “O’Reilly Factor” Sept. 28, he thought he’d be
discussing American Muslims’ reaction to Sept. 11. Instead he found himself
denounced by host Bill O’Reilly as a “terrorist” for his work supporting
Palestinian statehood, with O’Reilly quoting incendiary anti-Israel remarks
Al-Arian made 15 years ago.

Being lambasted on national television wasn’t the end of the professor’s
ordeal. His O’Reilly appearance triggered hundreds of phone calls and
e-mails (as well as death threats) from critics outraged that USF would
employ the supposed “terrorist.” Three days after his Fox appearance,
university president Judy Genshaft suspended Al-Arian with pay; just before
Christmas, she fired him. Genshaft made no pretext that Al-Arian’s academic
performance was at issue; he is both tenured and popular with his students.
Al-Arian was terminated, she said, for failing to make clear he was
speaking for himself and not the university, and thus making the university
the vortex of right-wing fury about his views. “We are experiencing a level
of disruption that no university anywhere is set up to deal with on an
ongoing basis.”

Al-Arian’s firing has made this community the storm center of the most
intense debate anywhere in the nation about academic freedom in the wake of
Sept. 11. The firestorm has pulled in Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who praised
Genshaft’s move, and Bill O’Reilly himself, who has defended the
Palestinian academic’s right to his views and denounced the university
president for firing him.

The firing has been criticized by the American Association of University
Professors and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. On
Thursday, Al-Arian will get a chance to defend himself to the university’s
administration in an appeal required under his union contract…

…the firing of a university professor for his views, past or present, has
its own profound and disturbing echoes of witch hunts past. The plight of
the Al-Arian family – one member jailed awaiting deportation, the other
fired from his teaching post – recalls the precise conditions that
inspired the creation of the American Civil Liberties Union during World
War I: on the one hand, roundups of immigrant radicals, and on the other
hand, the firing of antiwar academics like James McKeen Cattell, the
founder of Columbia’s psychology department, and political scientist Scott
Nearing, who after being fired from the Wharton School of Business,
achieved cult status for books on “Living the Good Life” in rural Vermont
and Maine.

The very institution of academic tenure was created to ensure that scholars
feel free to speak out on public controversies, whether in or outside their
official academic portfolio. What’s more, in a world haunted by terrorism,
the stakes in the Sami Al-Arian case go beyond civil libertarian
abstraction. If anything helps fuel terrorism, it is a sense that politics
cannot work. Sami Al-Arian may be a militant Palestinian nationalist – but
he is a militant who proved to himself, and to his communities both in the
US and abroad, that politics and democratic institutions like courts can
work, by clearing his name and freeing his brother-in-law. Firing Al-Arian
because of public hysteria over spurious charges turns the hiring and
firing at USF over to a gang of hecklers and telephone thugs. And like the
rearrest of his brother-in-law, it sends a disquieting worldwide message
that democracy will betray those most clamoring for it.

JUDGE WORRIED ABOUT JURY SELECTION SAYS NO LETTERS OR CALLS FROM JAIL By STEVE VISSER and LATEEF MUNGIN, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/8/2002 http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/metro/alamin/010802.html

A Superior Court judge ordered the Fulton County Jail to stop prisoner
Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin from making phone calls or mailing letters after he
spoke out about his high-profile murder case on the eve of the jury selection.

Judge Stephanie Manis cited Al-Amin, who faces the death penalty, for
contempt of court after a telephone interview with a New York Times
reporter and after the Muslim cleric answered written questions from WSB.

Manis barred Al-Amin from mailing letters, making or taking telephone calls
and meeting with visitors other than his lawyers. The judge said she would
reconsider the restrictions after a jury is chosen and sequestered…

PHOTOS FROM PRE-TRIAL HEARING http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/metro/alamin/photos/image1.html

TEXAS: VISA ISSUED TO DETAINED MUSLIM
By Jim Yardley, The New York Times, 1/8/2002

A Muslim doctor in San Antonio who was arrested after the Sept. 11 attacks
but later released was prohibited from re-entering the country last month
after a trip to Saudi Arabia. A State Department official said the doctor,
Al-Badr Al Hazmi, was issued a visa on Saturday and would be allowed to
return. Muslim leaders in San Antonio had expressed outrage over the
situation. On Sept. 12, Dr. Hazmi was handcuffed and dragged away from his
San Antonio home in his pajamas. After 12 days of questioning, he was
released.

NEW JERSEY: HOTEL ACCUSED OF ANTI-MUSLIM BIAS
By Steve Strunsky, The New York Times, 1/8/2002

A mosque in Bergen County has charged that a hotel discriminated against
its members by refusing to rent them a ballroom for their post-Ramadan
celebration. Waheed Khalid, president of the Dar-Ul-Islah Mosque in
Teaneck, said the Marriott at Glenpointe would not rent the ballroom to the
mosque on Dec. 15 or 16.

The hotel had previously allowed the mosque to rent the room, on Dec. 27,
2000, but that was for the first time since the mosque began asking in
1988, and only after it complained to government agencies. Mike Condrat,
general manager of the Marriot, denied the discrimination charge and said
the room had been booked already when the mosque wanted to rent it.

KAREN ARMSTRONG DISCUSSES JERUSALEM AT LONG ISLAND MOSQUE

TOPIC: The Holiness of Jerusalem: Some Lessons From the Past for the Future

WHEN: SUNDAY, JANUARY 20, 2002, 3:30 P.M. - 5:45 P.M.
WHERE: Islamic Center of Long Island, 835 Brush Hollow Road, Westbury, New
York 11590
CONTACT: (516) 333-3495
DIRECTIONS: Northern State Parkway Exit 34, left on Brush Hollow Road, ICLI
is half mile down on the right.

Ms. Armstrong’s best-selling books include: A History of God; Jerusalem:
One City, Three Faiths; In the Beginning: A New Interpretation of Genesis;
Islam: A Short History.

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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: [email protected]
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

hmcq · January 10, 2002, 2:08am

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/7/2002

HEADLINES:

HADITH OF THE DAY: TELLING SOMEONE YOU LOVE THEM
AL-AMIN HELD IN CONTEMPT FOR INTERVIEWS (Atlanta Journal)
PRESIDENT BUSH SAYS MUSLIM AGENT IS “HONORABLE FELLOW”
- WITNESSES: SECRET SERVICE AGENT DIDN’T ACT ANGRY (CNN)
TOUGHER PREFLIGHT QUESTIONS FOR AIRLINE PASSENGERS? (AP)
- INCREASED SAFETY NEED NOT COME AT THE EXPENSE OF CIVIL LIBERTIES
(ACLU)
MUSLIMS ASKED TO SHOW SUPPORT FOR FREE SPEECH AT USF SENATE MEETING
LETTERS: ATTACK ON LOCAL MOSQUE WAS AN ACT THAT HURT ALL (Columbus Dispatch)
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC RELEASES “THE WORLD OF ISLAM”
CAIR-MI SPEAKERS TRAINING PROGRAM
CAIR WRITERS SYNDICATE OFFERS MUSLIM VIEW OF ISSUES
CANADIAN NEWSPAPER APOLOGIZES TO MUSLIM CHARITY
DANIEL PIPES SAYS ISLAM GIVEN “SPECIAL PRIVILEGES” IN U.S. (CBN)
- GLOBE COLUMN SLAMS DANIEL PIPES FOR SMEARING U.S. MUSLIMS

HADITH OF THE DAY: TELLING SOMEONE YOU LOVE THEM

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “If one of you loves his
brother, he should tell him that he loves him.”

Imam Bukhari’s Book of Muslim Morals and Manners

AL-AMIN HELD IN CONTEMPT FOR INTERVIEWS
By LATEEF MUNGIN and ALAN JUDD, Atlanta Journal, 1/7/2002 http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/metro/alamin/010702.html

A Fulton Superior Court judge today found Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin in
contempt of court for interviews published in news outlets, including the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Judge Stephanie Manis said the Muslim cleric, who faces capital murder
charges in the death of a Fulton County deputy and the wounding of another
deputy nearly two years ago, would not be allowed to make telephone calls
from jail, mail any letters or have any visitors other than his lawyers
until jury selection is completed.

“I think the comments of the defendant may taint the jury pool,” the judge
said.

The New York Times on Sunday published portions of a telephone interview
with Al-Amin. In December, the Journal-Constitution published portions of a
letter Al-Amin had written to members of his mosque. In the letter, the
cleric proclaimed his innocence.

The judge said the timing of Al-Amin’s public statements appeared aimed at
prejudicing jurors.

“He can profess his innocence, but in the courtroom, not in the newspaper,”
the judge said.

In the Times interview, Al-Amin was quoted as strongly criticizing the
judge’s gag order and attributing charges against him to a government
conspiracy dating to his days as the 1960s black activist H. Rap Brown.

“I can’t even say I’m innocent,” Al-Amin complained in the telephone
interview with the Times, published in Sunday’s editions. “Do you know of
any other defendant who is not allowed to say he is innocent? It’s just
part of the same continual persecution and prosecution against me, just
part and parcel of the same thing…”

PRESIDENT BUSH SAYS MUSLIM AGENT IS “HONORABLE FELLOW”

REMARKS BY PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, WITH Q&A FOLLOWING, AT BEGINNING OF
MEETING WITH HIS ECONOMIC TEAM AND FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN ALAN GREENSPAN
LOCATION: CABINET ROOM, THE WHITE HOUSE, WASHINGTON, D.C. DATE:
MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2002

Q Mr. President, during the holidays you stood by your secret service
agent, and American Airlines has come out with a new statement today saying
that he was bitter and hostile. What are your thoughts about the situation
with your Arab-American agent now, as it pertains to him trying to protect you?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Well, I know there’s an investigation going on, and I look
forward to see the findings. But as I said, if he was mistreated because
of his ethnicity, I’m going to be plenty hot. That means angry. (Laughter.)
And I know the man. I am most appreciative of his service to me and my
wife. He is an honorable fellow, but I don’t know enough about the details
of this particular incident. But I know there’s an investigation going on,
and I look forward to seeing it. I would be surprised if he was hostile,
but I wasn’t there, so it’s hard for me to comment on something which I did
not see.

FOR BACKGROUND, SEE: WITNESSES: SECRET SERVICE AGENT DIDN’T ACT ANGRY From Jeanne Meserve, CNN Washington Bureau, 1/4/2002 http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/01/04/agent.passengers/index.html

TOUGHER PREFLIGHT QUESTIONS FOR AIRLINE PASSENGERS?
By DAVID CRARY, The Associated Press, 1/7/2002

NEW YORK - Did you pack your bags yourself? Have they been out of your
possession? The questions asked of airline passengers aren’t designed to
trip up a terrorist, and that raises another question: Should passenger
questioning be tougher?

Israel’s airline, El Al, routinely interrogates passengers boarding its
flights, often probing their background and travel plans. But its operation
is a tiny fraction of the U.S. aviation system, and El Al’s painstaking
security methods would not transfer easily to U.S. airlines.

Some aviation security experts say tougher questioning could be a valuable
tool in the United States, at least in theory. In practice, they admit, it
would be unfeasible to subject all U.S. passengers to such interrogation
and difficult to find an acceptable method of selecting a subset of
travelers to be grilled. Mary Schiavo, a former Transportation Department
inspector general and now a lawyer for victims of airline accidents, said
intensified questioning would be worth trying - but only after expert
profilers developed an effective set of questions.

“We’d like to see a more scientific basis,” she said. “Just delaying people
while we ask more inane questions won’t get us anywhere.”

She stressed that authorities would have to develop sound criteria for
selecting some passengers for thorough questioning.

“There’s no way in the United States that you can ever do it on the basis
of national origin or race,” she said. “We’re a melting pot.”

El Al has no compunctions about profiling - Arabs, even if Israeli
citizens, and some foreigners routinely come under closer scrutiny than
most Israeli Jews. While many passengers are asked only about their
luggage, others might be asked to explain their itinerary or past travels
recorded in their passports.

In the United States, Arab-Americans and civil liberties groups see
pitfalls in emulating El Al.

“I don’t know if that’s a road we want to go down - Israelizing our air
transportation system,” said Ibrahim Hooper of the Washington-based Council
on American-Islamic Relations. “We’ve always been in favor of heightened
security for everyone - not offering an illusion of security by singling
out people on the basis of ethnicity.”

SEE ALSO: INCREASED SAFETY NEED NOT COME AT THE EXPENSE OF CIVIL LIBERTIES http://www.aclu.org/safeandfree/facts-airport.html

MUSLIMS ASKED TO SHOW SUPPORT FOR FREE SPEECH AT USF SENATE MEETING

The Tampa Bay Coalition for Justice and Peace calls upon all supporters of
free speech to attend the USF Faculty Senate meeting concerning Dr. Sami
Al-Arian’s dismissal by USF president Genshaft and the issue of academic
freedom.

WHEN: Wednesday, January 9, 2002, 3 p.m.

WHERE: Florida Mental Health Institute (FMHI) Auditorium. (USF campus on
Bruce B. Down Blvd. between Fowler and Fletcher.)

FOR BACKGROUND, SEE: USF’S CHARADE http://sptimes.com/News/122101/Opinion/USF_s_charade.shtml

LETTERS: ATTACK ON LOCAL MOSQUE WAS AN ACT THAT HURT ALL William Lane, The Columbus Dispatch, 1/6/2002 http://www.dispatch.com/editorials-story.php?story=dispatch/news/editorials02/jan02/1017930.html

One of the most important lessons from the events of Sept. 11 is that our
freedom is precious and fragile. That freedom is clearly based on our
willingness to be subject to a rule of law and to have a deep respect for
the opinions and diversity of others. America is a haven and a melting pot
that continues to embrace people from all over the world.

The board of directors of the Rotary Club of Columbus writes to add its
voice to those who are deeply concerned by the vandalism of the Masjidka
Islamic Center on Broad Street. While the motives of the perpetrators are
still unknown, some of the consequences are very clear. Damaging and
desecrating any house of worship is itself a contemptible act. And vandals
have done more. They have created a threatening environment for some
members of our community.

We are all guaranteed by the laws and the core values of this country the
right to practice religion in peace and security. For a healthy community,
we must ensure that this intimidating action does not lead to a sense of
isolation for those who were victimized…

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC RELEASES “THE WORLD OF ISLAM”

WHAT: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC presents an event marking the release of the new
National Geographic book, The World of Islam, a collection of NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC stories and photographs on Islam, published from 1910 though
2001. The book was edited by NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC senior editor Don Belt.

The program will begin with a photographic retrospective narrated By Belt,
followed with presentations by NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC senior editor Michael
Edwards and former NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC writer Tom Abercrombie, who will
read and discuss excerpts from their own articles. Other excerpts will be
read by National Public Radio’s cultural issues reporter Susan Stamberg and
Neal Conan, host of NPR’s Talk of the Nation.

The evening will conclude with a panel discussion moderated by Belt.
Participants will include Edwards, who has traveled widely in Central Asia;
Abercrombie, a convert to Islam who made the pilgrimage to Mecca and wrote
about the experience for the Geographic’s readers; [CAIR Board Member]
Sulayman S. Nyang, professor of African Studies at Howard University and
author of Islam in the United States of America; Richard W. Murphy, a
former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State and currently director of Middle
East Studies for the Council on Foreign Relations; and Yvonne Haddad,
professor of the History of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at
Georgetown University and co-editor of the book Christian-Muslim
Encounters. Haddad writes extensively on Islam’s interaction with
Christianity and the west and also on the role of women in Islam.

WHEN: Monday, January 14 at 7 p.m.

WHERE: The Gilbert H. Grosvenor Auditorium, 1600 M Street, N.W.

COST: $8 for Society members, $10 for nonmembers

CONTACT: 202-857-7700, Lori Dynan, 202-857-7692; Rock Wheeler, 202-775-7885
(Press only)

CAIR-MI SPEAKERS TRAINING PROGRAM

The CAIR-MI Speakers Bureau is designed to establish a speaker’s program
geared towards disseminating and retrieving information about Islam to and
from the general public.

WHEN: JANUARY 12th -Program A: Basic Training
JANUARY 13th -Program B: Intermediate Training
9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Both Days

WHERE: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN - ANN ARBOR OR
THE ISLAMIC ASSOCIATION OF GREATER DETROIT
(IAGD MASJID)

(Donations Appreciated)

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Br. Jameel Syed at [email protected] CAIR-MI: 248-910-7396
Registration: [email protected]

CAIR-MI Speakers Bureau is a branch of the Education Department at CAIR-MI.
For more information about CAIR-MI Education email [email protected].

CAIR WRITERS SYNDICATE OFFERS AMERICAN MUSLIM VIEW OF ISSUES

CAIR’s “Independent Writers Syndicate” is designed to offer a Muslim
perspective on current political, social and religious issues. The service
distributes original commentaries to newspapers and web sites throughout
North America.

Commentaries are offered free-of-charge to one media outlet in each market
area. Permissions for publication will be granted on a
first-come-first-served basis.

Opinion page editors may also request columns on specific topics.

CONTACT: Riad Abdelkarim, [email protected] (Those wishing to have their
commentaries considered for distribution on the syndicate should contact
Mr. Abdelkarim.)

CANADIAN NEWSPAPER APOLOGIZES TO MUSLIM CHARITY

APOLOGY TO HUMAN CONCERN INTERNATIONAL
The Ottawa Citizen, 1/5/2002

An article in the Dec. 27, 2001 edition of the Citizen erroneously reported
that the Ottawa-based charity, Human Concern International, had its assets
frozen by the Canadian government two months earlier as part of an effort
to cut off suspected sources of terrorist financing around the world.

The Citizen further erroneously reported that Human Concern International
had been shut down as part of the FBI’s effort to starve terrorists of
funds ostensibly raised for charitable purposes. These statements are
incorrect. Human Concern International has never had its assets frozen or
otherwise been closed by Canadian or U.S. authorities.

The Citizen regrets the false impression that Human Concern International
was or is guilty of participating in terrorism or fundraising for terrorist
activities, and apologizes to Human Concern International, its board of
directors, volunteers and donors for any embarrassment or harm its errors
have caused.

DANIEL PIPES SAYS ISLAM GIVEN “SPECIAL PRIVILEGES” IN U.S. CBN.com, 1/2/2002 http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/news/020103d.asp

“Militant Islam is the enemy and we have just begun the fight against it.”

CBN.com - In this new year, the Middle East will continue to remain at the
center of concern in the war on terrorism. For new insights, Pat Robertson
spoke with Dr. Daniel Pipes, an expert on the Islamic world, and Chris
Mitchell, CBN News’ Middle East Bureau Chief.

ROBERTSON: You have written that the United States government, with
taxpayer dollars, has actually helped to spread Islam. Could you expand on
that a little bit?

PIPES: You are putting it a little more strongly than me. I wrote an
article recently showing that, if one takes the last 10 years, if one takes
President Clinton, and to a certain extent President Bush, and their aids,
one finds a constant pattern of promoting Islam, saying that this is a
wonderful religion and has nothing to do with terrorism, and Americans need
to know more about it, and it’s great that there are more Muslims. And this
is a striking contrast to the approach of the American government toward
other religions - in particular Christianity.

One finds over and over again that Islam is given special privileges. You
may have followed that in New York and in Philadelphia; the school systems
at the end of last year permitted Muslim students to use the schools as a
place of prayer. I don’t need to point out to your audience that that is
not something that Christians get to avail themselves of. So there is this
contrast, this special treatment of Islam that I think needs to be noted.
And, you know, the government needs to be much more cautious about this…

FOR BACKGROUND, SEE:
GLOBE COLUMN SLAMS DANIEL PIPES FOR SMEARING U.S. MUSLIMS http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?articleid=558&articletype=1

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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: [email protected]
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

hmcq · January 10, 2002, 2:21am

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/4/2002

HEADLINES:

HADITH OF THE DAY: KINDNESS TO NEIGHBORS
WITNESSES: SECRET SERVICE AGENT DIDN’T ACT ANGRY (CNN)
FLY THE UNFRIENDLY SKIES (San Francisco Chronicle)
ARAB-AMERICAN SECRET SERVICE AGENT, AIRLINE DISAGREE ON REASON FOR
REFUSAL (Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service)
U.S. JAILING OF CANADIAN MAN MAY BREACH CONSULAR TREATY (Globe and Mail)
MUSLIM MAN DENIED BAIL (Detroit News)
REP. CONYERS WRITES TO ASHCROFT ON DETENTION OF RABIH HADDAD
LIVING IN AMERICA: ARAB, SOUTH ASIAN, AND MUSLIM COMMUNITIES
QUOTE OF THE DAY: FIGHTING MUSLIM ACTIVITY ON U.S. COLLEGE CAMPUSES

HADITH OF THE DAY: KINDNESS TO NEIGHBORS

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said" “[The angel] Gabriel
continued to recommend that I treat neighbors kindly and politely so much
so that I thought he would order me to make them my heirs.”

Sahih Al-Bukhari, 8:43

The Prophet also said: “A believer will not eat his fill while his neighbor
is hungry.”

Imam Bukhari’s Book of Muslim Morals and Manners

WITNESSES: SECRET SERVICE AGENT DIDN’T ACT ANGRY
From Jeanne Meserve, CNN Washington Bureau, 1/4/2002 http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/01/04/agent.passengers/index.html

WASHINGTON (CNN) --Two people who claim to have witnessed events
surrounding the ejection of an Arab-American Secret Service agent from a
jetliner told CNN they never saw the agent act in an angry manner or become
confrontational during the incident…

…Mark Pueschel told CNN he was sitting in the same row as Shater. He said
a flight attendant twice patted down a leather jacket the agent had left
behind.

Pueschel said the flight attendant also examined a book about the Arab
world that Shater had left in the sleeve of the seat in front of him, and
when the attendant put it back, she made a hand gesture “like she was
grossed out.” This led him to believe that the flight attendant found the
book offensive, he said.

Pueschel said the flight attendant asked him if he found the agent
suspicious. He said he did not. At another point, Pueschel said, the flight
attendant asked him “to cover me, keep an eye out for me.” And after the
flight left the Baltimore Washington International Airport, Pueschel said
the attendant told him Shater had made the flight crew “uncomfortable.”

Pueschel described Shater as “well dressed” and “confident,” and said he
did not appear “uncomfortable or nervous or fidgeting.” He also said he saw
no angry behavior on the agent’s part.

Pueschel said he contacted the Council on American Islamic Relations after
reading about the incident. Both his parents are native German speakers,
and Pueschel said the thought of their being kicked off a plane because of
the way they talked prompted him to get involved.

CNN also spoke with Molly Reeve, who believes she saw and spoke to Shater
several times in the terminal Christmas night. She said she saw the agent
after the events on the airplane, and that even at that point, he appeared
calm.

Reeve also said she caught a glimpse at the disputed paperwork Shater
filled out to bring his gun on the flight. She described Shater as “very
nice and professional” and said she never “witnessed any yelling or hostile
behavior…”

FLY THE UNFRIENDLY SKIES
Profiling does more harm than good when airlines start expelling elected
officials and Secret Service agents
Riad Z. Abdelkarim, The San Francisco Chronicle, 1/4/2002 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/01/04/ED213035.DTL
(Riad Z. Abdelkarim is Western Region communications director for the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a grassroots American Muslim
civil rights and advocacy organization.)

THE EXPULSION of an Arab American Secret Service agent from an American
Airlines flight on Christmas Day has once again raised questions about the
use of ethnic, religious or racial profiling in security procedures after
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

This incident, as well as another which caused Rep. Darrell Issa,
R-Oceanside, to miss an international flight a few months ago, serve as
extreme examples of what can happen when profiling practices are carried
out to their logical conclusions.

Since Sept. 11, there have been numerous cases of airline profiling
resulting in the refusal of service to passengers who are (or merely appear
to be) of Arabic, South Asian or Muslim background.

In one case, a San Antonio businessman was expelled from the plane because
his presence made other passengers uncomfortable. In other cases, several
people traveling together have been removed from flights and in some cases
temporarily detained for lengthy questioning.

More than 160 incidents of airline profiling against American Muslims have
been reported to the Council on American-Islamic Relations since Sept. 11.
The actual number of occurrences is believed to be much higher, and even
non-Muslim South Asians and others have been targeted…

…This focus on safety, however, should not come at the cost of degrading
and humiliating Americans of certain race, ethnicity or faith. When the
odious net of profiling is being cast wide enough to ensnare a congressman
(elected by the people and entrusted with defending our nation’s
Constitution) and a Secret Service agent (entrusted with the responsibility
of guarding the president’s life), then something is seriously wrong.

ARAB-AMERICAN SECRET SERVICE AGENT, AIRLINE DISAGREE ON REASON FOR REFUSAL By Jack Hagel, Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, 1/4/2002

WASHINGTON _ Lawyers for an Arab-American Secret Service agent charged
Thursday that his ejection from an American Airlines flight Christmas Day
amounted to racial profiling. American Airlines backed its pilot’s decision.

“The only reason why he wasn’t allowed on that plane was because he is an
American of Arab descent,” said John P. Relman, managing director of
Washington-based civil rights law firm Relman & Associates. “Pure and
simple, this is a case of discrimination.” Officials from American Airlines
say the pilot was erring on the side of caution days after Briton Richard
Reid allegedly made it past security with plastic explosives in his shoes,
threatening an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami.

“Our captain acted correctly in not putting an angry man with a gun on an
airplane,” said Andrea Rader, an American Airlines spokeswoman. “Racial
profiling had nothing to do with it.”

The agent, whose name has not been released, was en route to Texas for duty
on the presidential security detail, of which he has been a member for two
years. President Bush said Dec. 28 that he would be “madder than heck” if
the agent had been barred from the flight solely because of his
Arab-American heritage.

In the pilot’s report, released by American Airlines and submitted to the
Secret Service, the pilot said one of the flight attendants was “concerned
about the actions of one of the (passengers).” The passenger _ the Secret
Service agent in question _ left the plane after boarding, according to the
pilot’s report, left his carry-on baggage on the plane, and told the
attendant not to let the flight leave without him.

While the agent was absent, the pilot wrote, a flight attendant “observed
books in the individual’s seat which were written in what she assessed was
Arabic-style print.”

Attorneys for the 33-year-old agent said the book was a college textbook in
English on Middle Eastern history, that the agent doesn’t read Arabic, and
that he bought the book on Amazon.com…

…Attorney Relman said the agent “cooperated at all times,” and that he
acted in a “cool and professional manner…”

“…I think it’s the airlines trying to reverse-engineer an excuse,” said
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman Council on American-Islamic Relations. “We don’t
think it would have happened at all had the guy’s name not been Arab or
Muslim or his appearance Middle Eastern…”

U.S. JAILING OF CANADIAN MAN MAY BREACH CONSULAR TREATY
By Colin Freeze, The Globe and Mail, 1/3/2002
See www.globeandmail.ca and search for “baloch.”

Shakir Baloch is among more than 1,000 people who were detained in the
United States after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. For most of the past
three months, he has been held in a Brooklyn jail, but even his lawyers
don’t know why.

Mr. Baloch, a doctor in his native Pakistan before coming to Toronto, was
arrested in the United States on Sept. 20, and his lawyers say he was not
told why.

Since the terrorist attacks, U.S. authorities have detained many mostly
Middle Eastern and Central Asian men for unexplained reasons, often saying
they are wanted for immigration violations.

Advocates say that Mr. Baloch has been unable to talk to his family, his
lawyers and consular officials until recent weeks. Under U.S. and
international law, prisoners must be allowed such contact with the outside
world.

Canadian officials are perturbed that it took months for them to find out
that Mr. Baloch was being held. Under the Vienna Convention on Consular
Relations, governments have a duty to notify one another of such arrests…

MUSLIM MAN DENIED BAIL
Ann Arbor community leader may be deported
By David Shepardson, The Detroit News, 1/3/2002 http://detnews.com/2002/metro/0201/03/d01-381167.htm

DETROIT – An immigration judge refused Wednesday to free an Ann Arbor Muslim community leader who co-founded an Islamic charity suspected of
supporting terrorist activities.

Judge Elizabeth Hacker ordered Rabih Haddad, 41, held without bond after a
closed-door, two-hour hearing…

…U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, tried to attend the hearing, but was
refused admittance.

“John Ashcroft has made a mockery of our criminal justice system. No public
hearing, no oversight, no charges,” Conyers said. “This sounds more like a
dictatorship than America.”

Carol Jenifer, head of the INS in Detroit, and U.S. Attorney Jeffrey
Collins declined to comment.

REP. CONYERS WRITES TO ASHCROFT ON DETENTION OF RABIH HADDAD

January 3, 2002

The Honorable John D. Ashcroft
Attorney General of the United States
U.S. Department of Justice
10th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable James W. Zigler
Commissioner
Immigration and Naturalization Services
425 I Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20536

Dear Mr. Attorney General and Mr. Commissioner:

I am writing to express my deep concern with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service’s detention of Pastor Rabih Haddad (A#74-546-461) in
general and the INS’s decision to close any hearings involving Pastor
Haddad to the public. These actions threaten to make a mockery of our
system of justice, and send a terrible signal to the international
communities regarding our treatment of foreign nationals.

Pastor Haddad is a prominent member of the Michigan Islamic Community.
Among other activities, in the aftermath of the September 11 attack, he was
an important participant in an Ann Arbor town hall meeting designed to
promote healing among faiths. Pastor Haddad has also received petitions of
support from thousands of friends from Michigan and Oregon. The
apprehension, detention and lack of due process afforded Pastor Haddad once
again highlights many of the concerns raised by our government’s treatment
of immigrants in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attack.

Why have the immigration proceedings regarding Pastor Haddad been held in
secret? On January 2, 2002, I went to a previously scheduled detention
hearing fully expecting to attend an open and fair judicial process. To my
amazement, I personally witnessed the closing of the detention hearing, a
highly unusual practice. When the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary
Committee - the committee having oversight responsibility for our
immigration laws and our courts – is not permitted to attend such a
hearing in our court system, it seems to me that something is very wrong
with the system of justice in America. Please describe in detail the
rational used to close these proceedings to the public.

Who was permitted to attend the January 2nd hearing and what was the
process and criteria for inclusion on the list of “permitted
attendees”? When I arrived at the hearing, there apparently was a secret
list of ‘permitted attendees’ - but I have no way of knowing who was on the
list or why. I do know that I was not one of the chosen few. Please inform
me of the method by which persons are included or excluded from such lists.
How is it possible for members of Congress to oversee our executive branch
if we are denied access to immigration hearings?
Why is Pastor Haddad being prohibited from being released on bond? As
you know, a person must be released on bond, unless he is considered a
flight risk or a danger to the community. In this case, it appears to me
that Pastor Haddad is neither. His passport has been taken, his family is
in the United States (including his son and brother who are both U.S.
Citizens), and he is a longstanding and prominent member of the Islamic
community. Further, the court has received a petition from 5,000 people
plus 60 personal letters and 6 affidavits from U.S. Citizens in support of
Pastor Haddad’s release. To suggest his ownership of a hunting rifle makes
him dangerous fails to take into the account that the rifle is licensed and
that he is an avid hunter.
Is Pastor Haddad’s detention linked in any manner to his involvement
with the Global Relief Foundation? According to press accounts, Pastor
Haddad’s involvement in this organization was in part the reason for the
denial of Pastor Haddad’s bond request and the unusual treatment he is
receiving. Please let me know if this is accurate and if so, what is the
legal rationale for linking such involvement with the status of his
case. Also, please inform me regarding any basis in fact or law for
linking the Global Relief Foundation to any alleged terrorist activity.
Does the Government intend to use classified evidence in Pastor Haddad’s
case or any other immigration case? As you know, President Bush has
previously stated that “secret evidence” will not be used in deportation
cases. The Judiciary Committee has also previously reported legislation
prohibiting the use of “secret evidence.” It would be helpful if you could
confirm that this is your policy and that “secret evidence” will not be
used in this or any other immigration case.

Please respond to the aforementioned questions as quickly as possible, and
by no later than January 10, as Pastor Haddad continues to be held in
detention. Please also contact me or my staff at 202-225-6504 if you have
any questions.
Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.
Ranking Member

ccs: The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
The Honorable Carol Jenifer, District Director
Immigration and Naturalization Service
The Honorable Daniel J. Bryant
Assistant Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
Joseph Karpinski, Director of Congressional Relations
and Public Affairs
Immigration and Naturalization Services

SEND NOTES OF APPRECIATION TO:

Representative John Conyers, Jr.
Michigan 14th district
2426 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Phone: 202-225-5126
Fax: 202-225-0072
E-MAIL: [email protected]
COPY TO: [email protected]

LIVING IN AMERICA: ARAB, SOUTH ASIAN, AND MUSLIM COMMUNITIES The American Museum of Natural History Department of Education January 12 & 13, January 19 & 20, and January 25, 26, & 27, 2002 http://www.amnh.org/education/jan2002/

QUOTE OF THE DAY: FIGHTING MUSLIM ACTIVITY ON U.S. COLLEGE CAMPUSES

TIFFS AT THE FAMILY TABLE
By Lily Galili, Haaretz, 1/4/2002 http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=113695&contrassID=2&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y&itemNo=113695

The 700 members of Hillel (The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life) who
participated last month in the General Assembly of the United Jewish
Communities (UJC) in Washington, D.C. wore on their lapels a blue-and-white
button bearing the slogan: “Israel. We’re family…”

The number of students who came to the GA in Washington this year from all
over the U.S. was the largest ever. They were swallowed up in the sea of
VIPs from the Jewish establishment, but it was clear to everyone that these
students constitute the special task force that now has a mission of great
political importance. THE GOAL: FIGHTING ARAB AND MUSLIM ACTIVITY ON U.S.
COLLEGE CAMPUSES…

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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: [email protected]
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

hmcq · January 10, 2002, 2:24am

ACTION ALERT 01-04-02

USA Today Reporter Writes Anti-Israel Story and needs Support.

Please View Jack Kelly’s article in USA Today.

Jack Kelley of USA Today wrote a cover story called “Vigilantes take up arms, vow to expel ‘Muslim filth’” . In it, he describes Israeli extermists and terrorists and their hatered of Muslims. It was one of the best and objective major cover stories exposing the Israeli terrorism agaisnt Palestinians. Unfortunately, Mr. Kelley received over 300 emails from Zionists all around the world condemning his story. He only received 5 positive emails.
Mr. Kelley is very upset because he is under tremendous and overwhelming pressure from the criticism pouring down on him from Zionists worldwide due to his truthful article. The article can be found at: http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20010904/3599125s.htm

Action Requested:

Email USA Today and Jack Kelley thanking them for their objective
insight into the terrorism committed by Israelis.

They can be reached:

[email protected]

(please cc our office at [email protected])

Forward this email to as many others as you can.

Council On American-Islamic Relations
475 Riverside Drive
Suite 246
New York, NY 10115
Phone: (212) 870-2002
Fax.: (212) 870-2020
E-Mail: [email protected]
Web: www.cair-ny.com

hmcq · January 10, 2002, 4:02am

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

CAIR TO APPEAR ON C-SPAN’S “WASHINGTON JOURNAL”

CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper is scheduled to appear Thursday
(1/10) morning on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” at 8 a.m. (Eastern) It is a
call-in program. SEE: http://www.c-span.org/journal/

You may also submit questions to: http://www.c-span.org/community/submitwj.asp

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To reach the list moderator, send a message to: [email protected]

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-489-5108
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: [email protected]
URL: http://www.cair-net.org

hmcq · January 10, 2002, 9:09pm

In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 1/10/2002

HEADLINES:

HADITH/VERSE OF THE DAY: DOING GOOD
QUOTE OF THE DAY: ANN COULTER ON PROFILING
CAIR’S IBRAHIM HOOPER DISCUSSES DEPORTATIONS ON C-SPAN
DC MAYOR VISITS MOSQUE TO LAUNCH FAITH-BASED INITIATIVE FOR EX-OFFENDERS
WIDOW OF FLIGHT 93 HERO GIVES BIRTH TO HEALTHY BABY GIRL (AP)
FACULTY LEADERS REFUSE TO BACK AL-ARIAN FIRING (St. Petersburg Times)
OTHER NATIONS FIND ‘TERRORIST’ LABEL USEFUL (Christian Science Monitor)
- MUSLIM IN AMERICA
IN SOUTH AFRICA, MANY BLACKS CONVERT TO ISLAM (Christian Science Monitor)
- ‘ALLAH CAME KNOCKING AT MY HEART’ (London Times)
ENFORCEMENT OR WITCH HUNT? (Newsday)
AL-HAZMI ABUSE TROUBLING TREND (Express-News)
FBI SAYS WOMAN MADE FALSE STATEMENTS (AP)
OHIO MAN WHO DROVE INTO MOSQUE SENTENCED (Reuters)
DON’T BLAME ISLAM (Charlotte Observer)
I AM AN AMERICAN MUSLIM WOMAN (Kansas City Star)

HADITH/VERSE OF THE DAY: DOING GOOD

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon hi) said: “Doing good is having good
manners. Doing evil is what troubles you inside and what you would not like
others to know about.”

Imam Bukhari’s Book of Muslim Morals and Manners

“Bad and good are not equal, even though the abundance of the bad may
dazzle you; so fear God, O people of understanding, that you may prosper!”

The Holy Quran, Chapter 5, Verse 100

QUOTE OF THE DAY: ANN COULTER ON PROFILING

IF THE PROFILE FITS…
Townhall.com, 1/10/2002 http://www.townhall.com/columnists/anncoulter/ac20020110.shtml

“There is no principled basis for opposition to using Arab appearance as a
factor in airport screening procedures.”

POLITE COMMENTS TO: (Hostile comments will be used to harm the image of
Muslims and Islam.)

CONTACT:

Lee Salem
Editorial Director
Universal Press Syndicate
4520 Main St, Ste 700
Kansas City, MO 64111-7701

E-MAIL: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected]
COPY TO: [email protected]

ANN COULTER’S BIO: http://www.uexpress.com/anncoulter/bio.cfm

CAIR’S IBRAHIM HOOPER DISCUSSES DEPORTATIONS ON C-SPAN http://www.c-span.org/journal/

DC MAYOR VISITS MOSQUE TO LAUNCH FAITH-BASED INITIATIVE FOR EX-OFFENDERS

Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony Williams is scheduled to speak January 11
at a local mosque to help launch “Re-Entry Weekend,” a program designed to
assist ex-offenders rejoin the community. Program sponsors have asked the
faith community to partner with this initiative. Mayor Williams will
address the mosque’s congregation following Friday prayers.

WHEN: Friday, January 11, 12:45 p.m.
WHERE: Masjid Muhammad, 1519 4th Street NW (4th and New Jersey Ave. NW),
Washington, D.C. (TEL: 202-483-8832)

CONTACT: Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency
TEL: 202-220-5320 or e-mail Gail Francois at [email protected]

WIDOW OF FLIGHT 93 HERO GIVES BIRTH TO HEALTHY BABY GIRL
The Associated Press, 1/10/2002

PRINCETON, New Jersey - Lisa Beamer, the widow of the man who confronted
hijackers on the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania Sept. 11, has given
birth to a healthy baby girl.

Morgan Kay Beamer was born Wednesday afternoon at Princeton Medical Center,
Diane Morrow, a spokeswoman for the Todd M. Beamer Foundation, said
Thursday. Morgan was Todd Beamer’s middle name…

…Todd Beamer, 32, was one of several passengers aboard United Flight 93
who made phone calls to relatives or authorities, alerting them that a
hijacking was taking place and saying they were making plans to fight back.

Beamer ended his conversation with a GTE operator by dropping his phone and
saying, “Let’s roll!” A short time later, the plane crashed into a field
near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing all 44 on board…

…Lisa Beamer set up the Beamer Foundation to assist other children who
lost parents on United Airlines Flight 93; her own family will not receive
assistance from the fund.

The foundation’s Web site asks that in lieu of baby gifts, those wanting to
can make a donation to either the foundation or to a children’s charity in
the baby’s honor.

ACTION REQUESTED:

Send donations to:

The Todd M. Beamer Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 32
Cranbury, NJ 08512
TEL: 1-866-BEAMER-23
FAX: 609-443-7912
E-MAIL: [email protected]
URL: http://www.beamerfoundation.org

FACULTY LEADERS REFUSE TO BACK AL-ARIAN FIRING
By BARRY KLEIN and BABITA PERSAUD, St. Petersburg Times, 1/10/2002 http://www.sptimes.com/2002/01/10/TampaBay/Faculty_leaders_refus.shtml

TAMPA - There were protestations, denunciations and arguments about the
difference between free speech and hate speech.

One University of South Florida professor delivered a pointed lecture on
the bad things that happen when universities fail to protect academic
freedom. Others rose to say that academic freedom should offer no
protection to Sami Al-Arian, the professor whose controversial statements
had brought them here in the first place. But after more than two hours of
debate Wednesday, a sizable majority of USF faculty leaders voted against a
motion that would have endorsed president Judy Genshaft’s recent move to
fire Al-Arian, a tenured professor at USF for 16 years.

Instead, the Faculty Senate approved a resolution calling for the creation
of a committee of professors to help deal with faculty discipline…

…Nancy Jane Tyson, a former president of the Faculty Senate, told members
she thinks the university has deliberately exaggerated the security
concerns generated by Al-Arian’s public statements.

As evidence, she offered a police report on a death threat against Al-Arian
called into USF’s computer science department one day after his appearance
on The O’Reilly Factor.

She said the university never disclosed that the caller phoned again about
a half-hour later to apologize for the threat…

OTHER NATIONS FIND ‘TERRORIST’ LABEL USEFUL
By Howard LaFranchi, The Christian Science Monitor, 1/10/2002 http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0110/p2s1-usgn.html

America’s zero-tolerance policy against terrorism is being adopted by other
countries confronting protracted internal or regional conflicts - sometimes
with negative consequences.

So far in Afghanistan, the US has demonstrated that blunt force can produce
results. Now, other countries are tracing the American template: They’re
defining their own conflicts with a much heavier emphasis on “terrorism,”
and - as the US did with Afghanistan’s Taliban regime - they’re issuing
ultimatums to adversaries to either topple “their” terrorists, or face war.

Israel, for example, lost little time after President Bush made the war on
terrorism his central priority before it began labeling Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat a “terrorist.” Russian President Vladimir Putin has made
clear that he expects greater international understanding now of his
country’s equation of Chechen separatists with terrorists.

And now, India is seeking an international label for rival neighbor
Pakistan - a key US ally in the war on terrorism - as a “terrorist state.”

India’s campaign in particular is forcing the US into a tricky diplomatic
dance - and raising questions about how broadly the war on terrorism should
be defined.

Just how the “terrorism” label is used could have far-reaching
consequences. In some cases, it could provide a cover for internal
crackdowns on dissident or minority groups. The label could also become the
first step in ratcheting up already-dangerous cross-border conflicts…

SEE ALSO: MUSLIM IN AMERICA http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0110/p15s1-lire.html

IN SOUTH AFRICA, MANY BLACKS CONVERT TO ISLAM
By Nicole Itano, The Christian Science Monitor, 1/10/2002 http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0110/p13s1-woaf.html

When Bilal Motsau converted to Islam in 1976, he was considered an oddity
in Soweto, a sprawling black township on the outskirts of Johannesburg that
was once the center of anti-apartheid activism. In the South Africa of that
period, Islam was practiced primarily by the country’s small South Asian
and Malay populations, and blacks considered it an “Indian” religion.

But these days, Mr. Motsau, who wears short, trimmed beard and a black and
white prayer shawl over dark, Western-style clothes, is being joined in his
faith by a growing number of South African blacks. Though still a small
force in black townships, Islam is gaining a foothold in many black
communities in this predominantly Christian country. The faith is
attracting both poor shantytown dwellers who appreciate Islam’s emphasis on
charity, and young intellectuals attracted by the faith’s focus on
lifestyle and social reform…