[WCUSP] Fw: 'Christian Zionists' Say Satan Is Behind Islam / CAIR-IL Rep Discusses Prayer Breaks at NE Factory

[Libby or Mort Frank]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: CAIR 
To: lmfrank1 at verizon.net 
Sent: Friday, July 27, 2007 6:02 PM
Subject: CAIR: 'Christian Zionists' Say Satan Is Behind Islam / CAIR-IL Rep Discusses Prayer Breaks at NE Factory


In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful


AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 7/27/07

* Hadith: Moderation in All Things
* CAIR-DC Now Accepting Applications for Fall Internship
* CAIR-IL Rep Discusses Prayer Breaks at NE Factory (FOX)
            - CA: Prayer OK at Lunch, Not Classes (Union-Trib)
* Video: Incitement: 'Christian Zionists' Say Satan Is Behind Islam
* CAIR-FL: School Bus Driver Fired for Cursing, Spitting (AP)
* Ellison: Born and Raised in the U.S.A. (Newsweek/Wash Post)
            - Queen Rania: Being Muslim 'Intrinsic' to Daily Life
            - Azizah Magazine a Voice of Muslim Women in US
            - Muslim Societies Rediscover Spirit of Scientific Inquiry
* CAIR: Newsday Corrects Reference to Plaintiffs in Imams' Suit

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HADITH OF THE DAY: MODERATION IN ALL THINGS - TOP

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) once asked a companion: "(Is it true) that you fast all day and stand in prayer all night?" The companion replied that the report was indeed true. The Prophet then said: "Do not do that! Observe the fast sometimes and also leave (it) at other times; stand up for prayer at night and also sleep at night. Your body has a right over you, your eyes have a right over you and your wife has a right over you."

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Hadith 127

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CAIR-DC NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR FALL INTERNSHIP - TOP 

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 7/27/07) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today announced that it is accepting applications for its fall 2007 internship program.

CAIR interns receive practical training in public and media relations, government relations, legal and civil rights, community outreach, research and leadership training. They work with skilled and dedicated mentors to gain first-hand experience in these fields.

WHAT: 10-week paid internship opportunity for high school graduates with America's largest Muslim civil liberties organization.
WHERE: CAIR National Headquarters on Capitol Hill.
WHEN: The fall internship program runs from October 1 to December 7, 2007. 

APPLICATION DEADLINE: August 31, 2007. You can download an application at http://www.cair.com/internship

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 32 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: Email: irahman at cair.com or Tel: 202-488-8787, ext. 6050.

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CAIR-CHICAGO REP DISCUSSES PRAYER BREAKS AT NE FACTORY ON 'ALAN COLMES SHOW' - TOP 
All Work and No Pray
FOX-News Radio, 7/24/07
http://www.cairchicago.org/inthenews.php?file=fox07242007

[NOTE: Rima Kapitan is staff attorney for the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.]

Host: Alan Colmes

Alan talks with Rima Kapitan, an attorney who is advocating for Somali Muslim workers that were fired for praying on the job.

TRANSCRIPT

ALAN: Tell me what's going on.

RIMA: Well basically, there are hundreds of workers at the Grand Island plant, and they're being denied the right to pray. They, the workers are given two breaks normally, however, at this time of year, because sunset is later in the day, the breaks do not coincide with the time for prayer, and so workers have requested just a short break to leave their production line and pray, and the company is denying them that.

ALAN: Apparently 44 workers who did sign a complaint.

RIMA: Actually, 44 workers have signed an agreement, signed a release for us to be able to represent them, but there are about ten now who are about to file a complaint, and that number could grow.

ALAN: Alright, now what are some of the accusations here, because one of them is claiming, Jama Mohamed is saying that he was fired from the production line to pray, people are claiming they had their prayer mats taken away from them, things like that.

RIMA: Right, there are all kinds of things happening like that because there are so many supervisors, and each worker has a unique complaint, but some workers are being harassed when they're in the restroom praying. One female worker complains that male supervisors are coming into the bathroom, sometimes supervisors are physically preventing workers from praying, even. A few have even been fired; we have three confirmations of workers being fired, but workers say that there are several others who have also -

ALAN: But what is the company saying, 'cause they won't - as you heard not too long ago - agree to permit themselves to come here, or talk with you and me, so what are they telling you?

RIMA: Right, well we're actually in the midst of negotiations with the company, so it's not over yet. There are two things going on: there are the individual complaints, and we haven't began the negotiations on those, but more broadly we're trying to negotiate for the rights of all the Muslim employees to be able to pray. And so two things we've suggested to the company, and we're still waiting for a response, our first is the breaks simply be shifted for all workers, in other words, instead of having a break at 6:30, how about moving it to 8, and as far as I can tell, that would still be in compliance with the union agreement. So, I don't see why that would be any kind of an inconvenience for the company, or any of the other workers.

ALAN: What about those who were fired, dismissed? I mean, what recourse do they have?

RIMA: Well, they can always file claims with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is what some of them are going to do. Three of them are about to do that. And, basically, it's a claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, that they've been discriminated against because of their religion.

ALAN: What about the accusations that a new contract is asking employees to sign something agreeing not to pray at that company?

RIMA: Yeah, as I understand it, the agreement says that workers are not supposed to pray at any time in the company. However, I haven't actually seen one of those agreements because the workers haven't been given copies. We're trying to get a copy of the agreement.

ALAN: Now, ask the audience if they want to participate. Our number is 1-877-FOR-ALAN, or 367-2526. Should these Muslims be given an accommodation by this or any other company for that matter? 'Cause this could set precedent, right?

RIMA: Right, and actually it's my understanding that there are other companies who have given - meatpacking companies, even Tyson - has apparently given Muslim workers the right to pray.

ALAN: And this issue is specifically significant because of the fact that it is Muslims, and I often hear a lot of anti-Muslim bigotry on our phone lines from our audience. I witness, I get a lot of hateful e-mail, people who believe that Muslims are terrorists, they should be thrown out of the country, all the mosques contain people conspiring to kill us. If you had a Christian group wanting to pray, I don't think you'd have this problem.

RIMA: Yeah, well I would hope not. There have been religious accommodation cases involving Christians as well, so sometimes there are conflicts that arise with Christians. The Christians are also protected under Title VII.

ALAN: Right, but I mean, is the attitude about this, I wonder, either by the company or by anybody else, different because it's Muslims, not Jews, not Christians, not those who are perceived as more mainstream, in spite of the fact that Islam is one of the fastest-growing religions including inside the United States.

RIMA: Absolutely, I mean I think that there's a lot of anti-Muslim sentiment, and Muslims are often viewed in this country as "The Other," Muslims are just like anybody else. They're people, and they should be viewed as such and treated just like everybody else. So yes, I think that is contributing here.

ALAN: How many Muslims work at Swift, do you know?

RIMA: I've heard a couple numbers, the workers say there are about 400.

ALAN: And now the others - are only a small percentage, about 44 plus complaining - what about the other hundreds of workers?

RIMA: It's simply a matter of getting in touch with them. There's a language barrier, and our intermediary lives in Omaha, which is still two hours away from Grand Island, so it's just a matter of getting in touch with everybody.

ALAN: Right, do you believe this is anti-Muslim bigotry on the part of the company?

RIMA: I do, I do.

ALAN: Let's go to Dave in Abilene, Texas. So, what do you say, Dave?

CALLER: Yeah, uh, I don't believe they should have a right to pray at work - there's a time to work and a time to pray. They keep their praying in their mosques and churches whether religions or Muslims. It's getting ridiculous.

ALAN: Well, what if you're a Jew? You know, Jews pray at certain times of the day, too. If you're an Orthodox Jew you pray at sundown. Should the same thing apply to Jews?

CALLER: That should apply to all religions. There's a time for work and a time to play. If we start accommodating all this religious stuff, then your prices of all your products and services are gonna keep going up, and it's gotta stop somewhere.

ALAN: Uh, what do you say, Rima? What do you say, counselor, to that?

RIMA: Well, I think that it's a very American thing to allow people to pray, our constitution guarantees freedom of expression of religion, and it's in the first amendment, which is, you know, arguably the most important amendment, so.

ALAN: Well, does the first amendment, though, say anything? It says the freedom. it says the government should not get involved in religion, and the government should be religion-neutral, but does it say anything in the first amendment about a right to pray in a job or in any other situation? This isn't a government-owned business, either. How would the constitution figure into this?

RIMA: Right, well, I'm simply making the point that it's a very American concept. The constitution actually isn't neutral on religion, it doesn't say that the government should be completely neutral, it guarantees the right to express religion.

SEE ALSO:

CA: PRAYER OK AT LUNCH, NOT CLASSES AT CARVER - TOP 
Helen Gao, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7/27/07
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/education/20070727-9999-1m27carver.html 

A San Diego school that drew international attention for setting aside time for Muslim students to pray in the classroom will no longer do so.

Instead, Carver Elementary's schedule will be reconfigured so students can say their required midday prayers during lunch. Courts have long upheld students' rights to pray on their own during lunch or recess.

Another controversial element of Carver's educational program geared toward Muslim students - single-gender classes - will be eliminated.

Superintendent Carl Cohn stressed in a July 18 memo that single-gender education is legal under federal law, but at Carver it "has become a serious distraction from learning rather than a vehicle to promote learning."

Carver added the single-gender classes and a daily 15-minute, in-class break for voluntary prayers last September after it absorbed a failed Arabic language charter school that served primarily Somali Muslims.

Since a substitute teacher publicly complained about Carver's practices in April, the San Diego Unified School District has been inundated by letters and phone calls from as far away as Europe and the United Arab Emirates.

Some alleged that the school was violating the separation of church and state by giving Muslims time to pray. The district maintained that it is legally required to approve students' request for religious accommodation. (MORE)

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Incitement: 'Christian Zionists' Say Satan Is Behind Islam - top 
Rapture Ready: The Unauthorized Christians United for Israel Tour 

VIDEO: http://vimeo.com/251385

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CAIR-FL: SCHOOL BUS DRIVER FIRED FOR CURSING, SPITTING - TOP 
Associated Press, 7/27/07
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?s=rss&storyid=59965 

Islamic leaders are praising a Panama City school district for firing a school bus driver accused of cursing and spitting at Muslim children.

Thomas Plaisted has pleaded not guilty to showing prejudice while committing an offense.

The 60-year-old Plaisted was arrested in May after he allegedly cursed and spit at the children in a Lynn Haven fast-food restaurant.

The Bay County School Board decided Wednesday not to renew Plaisted's contract for the upcoming school year. He has 21 day's to appeal the district's decision.

The Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations praised the school board for taking what it calls "appropriate action to ensure the safety and well-being of students."

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BORN AND RAISED IN THE U.S.A. - TOP 
Keith Ellison, Newsweek/Washington Post, 7/27/07
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/muslims_speak_out/2007/07/born_and_raised_in_the_us_a.html 

I didn't need to watch the PBS series "America at a Crossroads" or read the recent Pew Research Center survey on American Muslims, to know that the Muslim community is under intense scrutiny.

The day I won the Democratic Farmer Labor (DFL) endorsement for the Fifth Congressional District of Minnesota, it was the first question out of the shoot.

"Aren't you a Muslim?" "Will you be the first one in Congress if you win?" "Will you swear your oath on the Qur'an?" "Do you oppose terrorism?"

I've heard them all. But although I've been asked a few intrusive, repetitive, and even silly questions about my faith, life has been good. . .

While some Muslim friends and acquaintances have recounted shabby treatment in post 9/11 America, in the next breath they have told me about how they are opening up businesses, sending kids to college, or prospering in some other way. It's common for some bright young Muslim person to tell me about their own political ambitions. "You might have been first, but I'm gonna be in Congress too."

Some have pledged to get more politically engaged or to support candidates who have the backbone to speak up for civil and human rights for all. But every prescription I have heard has been solidly within the heartland of American civil redress and our democratic political process.

This should not be surprising, given that 71 percent of Muslim Americans report that they believe that you can make it in America if you work hard, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll. Only 64 percent of Americans on average reported the same level of confidence in American economic and social mobility. For Muslim Americans, the United States is the land of opportunity. . .

American Muslims are an asset to the country, not a threat. Unfair suspicion and profiling does not serve the national interest or honor our hard earned reputation as the beacon for civil and human rights around the world.

I can't speak for every Muslim, but I remain confident and hopeful about the prospects for America's Muslims because, in the end, America is about religious tolerance, inclusion, and fairness.

[Keith Ellison became the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress when he won the open seat for Minnesota's 5th congressional district in 2006.]

SEE ALSO:

QUEEN RANIA: THE TRUE MEANING OF ISLAM - TOP 
Queen Rania, Newsweek/Washington Post, 7/26/07
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/muslims_speak_out/2007/07/the_true_meaning_of_islam.html 

Let me start with the traditional greeting of Islam: peace be upon you.

I welcome the opportunity to engage in this conversation, and I am glad to think global readers are interested in Islam, a religion shared and cherished by millions of men and women around the world. I hope that this exercise challenges perceptions that Muslims are somehow different.strange.a breed apart. The other.

All faith, after all, is based on an intensely personal, private relationship with God. And I believe that if we are to build true understanding among and within our societies, we must approach each other as fellow human beings, not representatives of one religion or another.

Perhaps that is why I have never been preoccupied with defining "the true meaning" of Islam. To me, Islam is an amalgam of virtues that guides my interactions with the world. I know deep down, as I have read and been taught by the Holy Qur'an, the teachings of the Prophet (PBUH), that it is good to give, to empathize, to be patient, to be compassionate. These virtues do not have ineffable meaning, but offer a sense of morality - a way to be, and a way to behave, as a member of the human family.

Looking back, I learned how to be a Muslim at an early age - not as something separate from daily life, but as something intrinsic to it. I think of my parents' warmth and love; how they helped me, my brother and sister learn to share; and how they taught us to value honesty, humility, charity, and forgiveness. Now a mother myself, I know in my heart that meaning is being made when my children raise their arms for a hug; when we give of ourselves to those less fortunate; when we are reminded, during Ramadan, of the hunger and thirst of those in need.

I cherish these experiences not only because they make me a better Muslim, but because they make me a better person - more grateful, more connected, more aware. And yes, I offer my thanks to God on a prayer mat facing Mecca. But I hope that readers seeking to understand "the true meaning of Islam" will not only focus on how Muslims worship but also on who we are: mothers, fathers, spouses, students, neighbors, friends. People who smile with pride at their child's first step; laugh with friends over the old times; worry about exam results; cry at the sight of our children in pain. People just like you.

[Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a global advocate of inter-cultural dialogue. She is on the Board of Directors of several international organizations such as the World Economic Forum (WEF); the United Nations Foundation; International Youth Foundation (IYF); and the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA); and the GAVI Fund, a nonprofit organization that seeks to provide children in the poorest countries of the world with access to life-saving vaccines. She has also been appointed as WHO Patron for Violence Prevention in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and UNICEF's first Eminent Advocate for Children.]

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AZIZAH - VOICE OF MUSLIM WOMEN IN US - TOP
Kartika Rahman, Borneo Bulletin, 7/27/07
http://www.brudirect.com/DailyInfo/News/Archive/July07/270707/nite09.htm 

Bandar Seri Begawan - Responsibility to the truth is the epitome of Islam and journalism. This principle was recently the foundation of a roundtable discussion amongst members of the print media.

The roundtable discussion on `Islam and Responsible Journalism: The US Perspective' was lead by Tayyibah Taylor, publisher and editor-in-chief of 'Azizah,' a women's magazine in America.

Tayyibah Taylor spoke on the power a journalist holds.

"It's a powerful thing to be a journalist because you are influencing opinions. We have to be careful about the words we use, not just in terms of gender equity, but making sure that we are not perpetuating a stereotype... and make sure that we are telling a balanced story.

"As journalists and publicists we have to be very careful about the information we portray. We have to scrutinise the words that we are using, every single word, and make sure they are words that are not loaded or have some kind of bias. Neglecting to say something is also a statement," she said.

"To raise the bar of journalism you have to work to inspire people" she said, underlining this necessity by highlighting, "Now it is more important than ever because in America, journalists are not pushing themselves to excel in terms of really great stories... it is more about the money," she added.

Tayyibah Taylor is the founding editor-in-chief and publisher of Azizah Magazine.

Through Azizah, Tayyibah Taylor has realised her vision of providing a vehicle for the voice of Muslim women - a vehicle that portrays them accurately and shatters commonly held stereotypes. (MORE)

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MUSLIM SOCIETIES REDISCOVERING SPIRIT OF SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY - TOP 
Nature, 7/12/07
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v448/n7150/edsumm/e070712-03.html 

In a Commentary, Ziauddin Sardar poses a question: can Muslim societies rediscover the spirit of scientific inquiry that prevailed during the classical period, when Islamic science enjoyed a golden era? The answer, he says, is yes. But it is not just the approach to science that has changed for the worse, so has the practice of Islam. Sardar argues that reintroducing learning, knowledge and creativity into Muslim culture requires a revival of both. (MORE)

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CAIR: NEWSDAY CORRECTS REFERENCE TO PLAINTIFFS IN IMAMS' SUIT - TOP 
Newsday, 7/27/07

A story in Wednesday's edition incorrectly stated the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against US Airways. Six Imams thrown off a flight in November filed suit against the airline and passengers on the flight. The Council on American-Islamic Relations is not listed as a plaintiff.

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CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: info at cair.com
URL: http://www.cair.com

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