NJ: Mosque Draws Faithful of Many Backgrounds
Masjid Al-Nur Islamic Center is a mosque in a second-floor walk-up on Washington Street in Paterson. Its neighbors include a butcher shop, a fish market and a poultry store with white hens in stacked cages. The mosque attracts Muslims who are black, Lebanese, Palestinian, Jordanian, Indonesian, Albanian, Russian, Dominican and Puerto Rican. It has been […]
FL: University Sets Aside Oasis for Prayer
Across the sprawling University of South Florida campus, lawn mowers drone and sledgehammers pound. But inside the Serenity Room, the only sound is an air conditioner’s gentle whoosh. Students enter the tiny, half-moon-shaped alcove stressed. They leave calm, unburdened. USF officials say they incorporated the pale-green room into their design for the brand-new, 233,000-square-foot Marshall […]
CAIR: US Mega-Mosques a Muslim Tradition with US Convenience
As Islam makes inroads in the United States, American Muslims are setting up mega-mosques that combine religious tradition with typical American convenience.Modelled on the huge, non-Catholic churches that offer their congregations of at least 2,000 members several different sites for worship, US mega-mosques have become a necessity in some places.“Frequently, we have buildings designed for […]
PA: Muslim Scientist Asks Judge to Order Hearing
The nuclear scientist and Muslim prison chaplain who lost his security clearance and his job under a veil of secrecy wants a federal judge to order the government to explain its actions and to affirm his right to defend himself. Lawyers for Moniem El-Ganayni yesterday filed a motion for preliminary and permanent injunction against the […]
CO: Muslim Workers Seek Ramadan Break
Muslim workers, mainly from East Africa, and their employers, JBS Swift, appear to have reached at least a short-term compromise allowing some shift workers to observe the holy month of Ramadan after a brief show of strength from the workers Wednesday outside the Swift plant in north Greeley. As part of the religion, Muslims must […]
New Jersey Imam Gets to Stay
A prominent Muslim cleric whom federal authorities sought to link to a terrorist group has won his bid to call the United States his permanent home. Calling the government’s case “patently incomplete,” a federal immigration judge in Newark ruled today that Mohammad Qatanani, the spiritual leader of the Islamic Center of Passaic County, can remain […]
MD: Muslim Foundation Has ‘Best’ Food Drive
The Howard County Muslim Foundation donated 5,000 pounds of nonperishable food products to the Howard County Food Bank Aug. 24 following its seventh annual food drive. “This is perhaps the best year that we’ve had … not only in terms of the turnout but also the food that we collected,” foundation President Dr. Rashid Chotani […]
CAIR: Armey Calls Muslims ‘Great Threat’ (USA Today)
The “Bubba vote” and underlying racism will hurt Democrat Barack Obama in key battleground states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania, former House majority leader Dick Armey said Wednesday.“The Bubba vote is there, and it’s very real, and it is everywhere,” Armey told USA TODAY and Gannett News Service. “There’s an awful lot of people in […]
CAIR: No ‘Islamophobia,’ Please
As delegates to the Republican National Convention gear up for speeches by Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin, an Islamic civil liberties group is urging the GOP candidates to stay away from Muslim-bashing and extend an olive branch to members of the faith. “We urge Senator McCain and Governor Palin to offer inclusive speeches […]
CA: Convert to Islam Experiences First Ramadan Fast
Ashley Mountasir became curious about Islam when she watched her Muslim boyfriend Taha fast during the holy month of Ramadan two years ago. The 19-year-old Murrieta woman was Catholic at the time but in June she converted to Islam. On Monday, the first full day of Ramadan, she fasted with her now-husband Taha for the […]