CAIR Seeks Title Change for Film
An Islamic civil rights group has asked Warner Brothers to change the title of the forthcoming movie “Towelhead,” Reuters reported. The Greater Los Angeles Area Office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said the title should be changed because the term is considered a “racial and religious slur.” The movie, directed by Alan Ball, above, […]
CAIR-AZ: Airport OKs Modified Uniform for Muslims
Some Muslim workers at Sky Harbor will be allowed to wear a modified uniform to accommodate their need for modest attire, a civil liberties group said on Tuesday.Before the change, janitorial contractor GCA Services Group, Inc., had a mandatory dress code that required employees to wear pants and a tucked-in shirt. After talks between the […]
Ramadan: Break Fast with Bite of Date
It’s a simple tradition centuries old and honored by millions: a bite of date taken at sundown. This Muslim ritual began with the Prophet Muhammad around the seventh century. Today, it often is used to end the daily fast during Ramadan, Islam’s holy month during which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. Ramadan begins Tuesday. […]
NYPD Beefs Up Mosque security for Ramadan
The NYPD Tuesday announced heightened security for the city’s mosques during the upcoming Islamic holy observance of Ramadan. Local precincts will dispatch more officers on foot patrol and in squad cars to patrol the areas surrounding the mosques during the month-long religious observance that begins on Monday. “Collaboration with the public is a vital ingredient […]
Oil, Islam, and Women (Salon.com)
Don’t blame Islam for the plight of women in the Middle East. Blame oil. That’s the message from UCLA political science professor Michael Ross, in “Oil, Islam, and Women,” published in the February 2008 American Political Science Review, and flagged as worth reading by the highly dependable Chris Blattman. Ross’ argument is fascinating. Here’s the […]
MN: Muslim Rep. Ellison Stresses Foreign Outreach
Freshman Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison has become a de facto American emissary, meeting with foreign policy makers both here and abroad to preach peace and democracy. Ellison, a Democrat, had already developed an international reputation when he took his oath of office on the Quran last year. In his first term in office, he’s built […]
Muslim Democrats Make Political Impact
The lilting sound of the Koran, sung in haunting Arabic, rang through the unlikely setting of a basement hotel conference room. A local imam intoned the verses, exhorting the audience of Muslim Democrats to reject Satan and give thanks to Allah. Then a troop of Boy Scouts strode onto stage carrying the American flag and […]
CAIR-LA: Know Your Rights as a Traveler
As travel season reaches its highpoint, more and more American travelers to international destinations are concerned with acquiring proper vaccinations, obtaining the right visas, and, not surprisingly, the potential for being “harassed” at the airport upon arrival back into the States. Many travelers have recently complained of their encounters with agents or officers as soon […]
CAIR-LA: ‘Towelhead’ Draws Protest
An Islamic civil rights and advocacy group has asked Warner Bros. to change the title of its upcoming film “Towelhead,” saying “the word is commonly used in a derogatory manner against people of the Muslim faith or Arab origin.”The studio said it plans to keep things as it is and stand by the filmmakers, who […]
CAIR-LA: Muslims Troubled by ‘Towelhead’ Title
Muslim leaders are urging movie executives at Warner Bros. to retitle their new movie TOWELHEAD because the word is “offensive and exploitative”.Los Angeles members of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) insist the derogatory term is offensive to American Muslims and Arab-Americans. They go so far as to state the term ‘towelhead’ as “a racial […]