CAIR: Mecca Conference Promotes Dialogue
Religious leaders and Islamic scholars from more than 50 countries gathered for an international conference in Mecca last week to address the challenges facing the Islamic world. The conference was part of a recently announced initiative by Saudi King Abdullah to promote dialogue between Muslims and followers of other monotheistic faiths.King Abdullah’s tone was one […]
CAIR: Religions’ Views Vary Widely on Life Off Earth
What various religions say about the possibility of extraterrestrial life: “How can we exclude that life has developed elsewhere?… Just as there is a multiplicity of creatures on Earth, there can be other beings, even intelligent, created by God. This is not in contrast with our faith because we can’t put limits on God’s creative […]
CAIR: Muslims May Face Workplace Bias
Fatuma Hassan has just enough rice in her near-empty cupboards to make it through the month. The anger she felt when she lost her job in May has given way to a dull, nagging hunger. Yet this soft-spoken 22-year-old became an unlikely hero within the Somali community when she and five of her Muslim co-workers […]
CAIR: Project to Compile Data on Mosques in America
With the Muslim community in America growing steadily, a coalition of Islamic groups have launched a nationwide project to collect comprehensive data about mosques in the country.The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) will conduct the study over the summer and fall and are expected to publish its […]
MN: Group Responds to Need for Muslim Cemetery
When Somali refugees began arriving in the St. Cloud area at the end of the last decade, many thought their stay would be temporary. But more than 20 area families have since had to make the most permanent of arrangements for loved ones who have died here, said Ismail Ali, chairman of the Somali Elders […]
CAIR: High Court Sides with Guantanamo Detainees
Rights groups lauded a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday that reinstated the principle of habeas corpus for detainees at the prison for terrorism suspects in the Guantanamo Bay U.S. naval base in Cuba.The latest in a series of setbacks to Pres. George W. Bush administration’s policies on terrorism suspects asserted that prisoners at Guantanamo can […]
Muslim Doctors to Open Free Clinic
It was about to rain Monday afternoon, and Dr. Husam Zarad had an exam table to move. With some help from deliverer Don Lambert, the 45-year-old internist unloaded the table from the back of Lambert’s pickup as the clouds darkened overhead. Wheeling it on a dolly, they maneuvered the large brown rectangle down a long, […]
Muslim Players’ Settlement Totals $165,000
A federal lawsuit charging that New Mexico State University head football coach Hal Mumme discriminated against four Muslim players was settled for a total of $165,000, court records show. The settlement was paid by the state’s risk management division. The suit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of former players Mu’Ammar Ali, […]
Muslim Actor Tries to Speak to Where the World is Going
For an actor who has spent his career mining material from the sweet spots where cultures collide, there is no better time for Aasif Mandvi to be where he is right now. Mandvi is sitting in the offices of “The Daily Show,” a sprawling, loft-like space with the offhand feel of a college dormitory lounge. […]
Muslim T-Shirt Designers Take a Smack at American Ignorance
“There are almost 1.2 billion Muslim people in the world. At least 15 of us are not terrorists,” quipped Obaida Abdel-Rahim, 28. “It could even be more than that. Maybe even a lot more.” The Calgary, Canada-born Abdel-Rahim owns the Muslim t-shirt business Phatwa Factory, one of several Middle Eastern-accented t-shirt businesses to spring up […]