CAIR-FL: Muslims Urge Involvement in Communities
South Florida’s Muslims have decided it’s time to raise their profile.For the first time, Muslim leaders from Broward, Palm Beach and other southern Florida counties will gather for a summit that will allow them to socialize, share safety concerns and find ways to make their voices heard in local civic life. Muslims from Miami, Homestead, […]
Filmmakers Compete to Show Muslim Life, Experience in the US
US filmmakers use experience to bridge the cross-cultural divide, and to breakdown stereotypes, by offering a unique window into the lives of American Muslims, and a chance to win USD 50,000 in prizes. The “One Nation, Many Voices” online film contest, which kicked off this month, asks filmmakers to create a short video that “reflects […]
Guilt by Association for US Muslims
The resignation of the Muslim-outreach coordinator for the presidential campaign of senator Barack Obama, Chicago attorney Mazen Asbahi, powerfully reflects two of the biggest obstacles hindering the political integration and empowerment of Arab and Muslim Americans. This affair demonstrates the external pressures of unfair guilt by association, while at the same time suggesting the internal […]
CO: Interfaith Elite Plan Gathering for DNC
The Democratic National Convention Committee on Friday announced the program for its first-ever interfaith gathering, which kicks off at 2 p.m. Aug. 24 at Wells Fargo Theater. Keynote speakers will include Bishop Charles E. Blake, presiding prelate of the Church of God in Christ Inc. and pastor at the West Angeles church; Dr. Ingrid Mattson, […]
IA: Somalis Fill Vacant Jobs at Meatpacking Plant
Nearly three months after a federal immigration raid uprooted almost 400 employees at a meatpacking plant in northeastern Iowa, dozens of Somali immigrants are slowly but steadily filling the depleted ranks left by the arrested workers. Along Postville’s main street, in a storefront that used to hold a mattress store, a dozen Somali men ate […]
UT: Quran Instructs Modest Clothing
Muslim women observe hijab, covering the head and the body “because Allah has told them to do so,” said Mary C. Ali, director of The Institute of Islamic Information and Education in Chicago. In the Quran, it says: “O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing women to draw their outer garments around […]
CA: Islamic Center Planning Roomy Mosque in Modesto
The Islamic Center of Modesto will be building a badly needed mosque on North Carpenter Road, although many neighbors of the center aren’t happy about it. The Stanislaus County Planning Commission unanimously approved the proposed two-story, 17,000-square-foot mosque at 1445 N. Carpenter Road on Thursday. It will replace three buildings on the site that total […]
TX: Local Mosque Opens Doors, Shares Islamic Traditions
The root of the word Ramadan means burning, or heat, said Shalim Islam, speaking at Masjid Bilal Ibn Ra’bah, a modest mosque on the city’s West Side. “And let me tell you, when you’re fasting, you can feel that heat in your body,” he said to the small crowd assembled in the mosque’s prayer room […]
WA: Mosque Get-Together Reaches Beyond Congregation
The idea of an annual Sunday get-together at a North Seattle mosque stemmed from an incident two days after the Sept. 11 attacks. A man splashed gasoline on cars in the Idriss Mosque parking lot and started to flee. When congregants followed him, he turned and fired shots into the ground. It was the first […]
NY: Mosque 21st Forum Heats Up
The Islamic Center of the Capital District in Colonie held a meet the candidates night for the five Democrats in the 21st Congressional district race Saturday night. Attendance was good, about 200 people, and the question and answer session was pretty standard – save for some of Joe Sullivan’s exchanges with the audience. Liaquat Husain, […]