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Muslim American News Briefs, June 27, 2007

June 2007 News Links

June 2007 News Photos

 June 2007 Opinion Editorial Links

* Verse: An Even Better Greeting
* DC: Conservative Leader to Speak on 'Islamophobia' Panel
            - OH: US Muslim Detained at Border for Fifth Time
            - NY: EEOC Claims Firm Discriminated Against Muslim (AP)
            - CAIR-CA: Girl Back at School with Scarf (MC Times)
* Report: Muslim Integration Crucial to U.S. (AP)
            - IL: Study Offers Ways to Build Bridges (Chicago Trib)
* CAIR-MN: File Federal Charge in Assault (St. Cloud Times)
            - CAIR-MN: Charges Filed After Man Attacked (AP)
            - MN: Man Charged in Assault Near Mosque (Star Trib)
* CAIR-TX: Backlog Leaves Immigrants in Limbo (Houston Chron)
* WA: Duty, Honor, Country and Islam (Herald)
* Producer Eyes Better TV, Film Roles for Muslims (Globe)
            - Muslim Chic: A New Kind of Style is Born (NY Post)

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VERSE OF THE DAY: AN EVEN BETTER GREETING - TOP

"When a (courteous) greeting is offered to you, answer with an even better greeting, or (at least) with a greeting of equal courtesy. God takes careful account of all things."

The Holy Quran, 4:86

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CONSERVATIVE LEADER TO SPEAK ON 'ISLAMOPHOBIA' PANEL - TOP

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/26/07) - On Tuesday, July 17, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will host a panel discussion at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., entitled "Attacking Islam: Implications for Social Cohesion and U.S. Relations with the Muslim World."

The panel will address the increasing anti-Muslim rhetoric within the conservative movement in the United States, focusing on the negative impact of such views on religious tolerance in America and on relations with the Muslim world.

Presenters:

* David Keene, President, American Conservative Union
* Parvez Ahmed, Chairman, Council on American-Islamic Relations

WHEN: Tuesday, July 17, 2007, 9:30 a.m. - 11 p.m.
WHERE: Holeman Lounge, National Press Club, Washington, D.C.

Refreshments will be served. Admission is free but seating is limited and reservations are required. Please RSVP via e-mail to events@cair.com or call 202-742-6409.

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 33 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: CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail: rahmed@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

SEE ALSO:

OH: MUSLIM AMERICAN DETAINED AT BORDER FOR FIFTH TIME - TOP
Agent Asks Him about Article at Progressive.org
Matthew Rothschild, Progressive, 6/25/07
http://www.progressive.org/mag_mc062507

Zakariya Muhammad Reed was coming back from Canada on June 17 when he was detained again for a couple of hours. This marks the fifth time in the last seven months that he has encountered difficulty.

On May 9, I reported on his troubles at www.progressive.org, "Muslim American Grilled at Border over Religion, Letter to the Editor".

This time, Reed was asked about that article. On a previous occasion, he was grilled about a letter to the editor he'd written to the Toledo Blade. In that letter, he criticized U.S. support for Israeli policies, as well as Bush's Iraq War.

Expecting to be hassled by now, Reed decided to cross over from Windsor, Ontario, by way of the Detroit-Windsor tunnel. "The detention area is bigger," he tells me, "so if I'm going to be there for several hours, I'd rather be in the bigger place."

Sure enough, when he got to the booth, he was not allowed to go through.

"There's something coming up on your license plate," the guard said, according to Reed. "It's a no read."

The guard took his ID and scanned it.

"Three other guys come out and surround the car and escort me to the detention center," Reed says. "After I got into main reception area, I talked to an immigration officer. And a guy comes around and says, 'You're the firefighter? From Ohio?' "

Still, they took him back into a detention area. (MORE)

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NY: EEOC CLAIMS MERRILL LYNCH DISCRIMINATED AGAINST IRANIAN - TOP
Associated Press, 6/26/07
http://www.silive.com/newsflash/metro/index.ssf?/base/business-0/118287625744530.xml&storylist=simetro

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Merrill Lynch on Tuesday over its treatment of an Iranian Muslim employee.

The worker, Majid Borumand, claims he was denied promotions and ultimately fired because of his ethnicity and faith.

A Merrill Lynch spokesman did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment on the lawsuit Tuesday.

Borumand worked as an analyst in Merrill Lynch's global markets and investment banking model development group. He was initially hired in 2002 under an immigration program that allows U.S. firms to recruit talented foreigners; Borumand has a doctorate in theoretical physics and a masters in mathematical finance.

While employed at the company, Borumand was subjected to "remarks that reflected animus toward his national origin and religion," the EEOC said in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

The EEOC said that on one occasion, Borumand was told that "the reason you are not allowed on the trading floor is because you are from a country which has a high risk factor and a threat."

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CAIR-SFBA: FAMILY SEEKS PUBLIC APOLOGY - TOP
Girl, 13, back at school, with scarf
Clarissa Aljentera, Monterey County Herald, 6/26/07
http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_6230661?nclick_check=1

Teenager Issra Omer said she feared for her safety when she returned to Seaside High School after she was confronted for wearing an Islamic head scarf on June 19.

The girl, 13, said she was yelled at by a campus supervisor for wearing a hajib, an Islamic head scarf during her second day of summer school.

"I've always worn a head scarf and no one asked me about it," said Issra, who will attend Marina High School in August.

Omer said the supervisor repeatedly told her she needed to remove the scarf or get a doctor's note for permission to wear one.

"I'm not going to take it off," said Issra, who is taking a summer algebra class at the school. "I'm Muslim."

The school has a policy against the wearing of hats, scarves and other head gear.

"Instead of yelling and screaming, she could have come to me outside and asked 'Why do you need to wear that?'" Issra said. . .

The San Francisco/Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, known as CAIR, called for a public apology days after the 13-year-old was yelled at.

"I think they have acknowledged a mistake was made," said Abiya Ahmed, media relations coordinator for the organization.

Ahmed said the group has offered the school diversity training.

"I'm hoping to work together and address the issue," she said.

Renwick said diversity training begins in July when faculty and staff return to school.

He said he couldn't comment on student diversity training.

"I'm surprised the supervisor didn't know it was a part of her faith," Ahmed said. "This highlights the need for more education and more awareness in that regard."

Ahmed said the confusion over a student wearing a head scarf for religious reasons is rare in schools. (MORE)

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REPORT: MUSLIM INTEGRATION CRUCIAL TO U.S. - TOP
Eric Gorski, Associated Press, 6/26/07
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Muslims_Security.html

[NOTE: For comments on this report, contact CAIR-Chicago Executive Director Ahmed Rehab at (847) 971-3963 or (312) 212-1520, or email: arehab@cair.com]

A better-integrated Muslim population would better serve the United States as it navigates critical domestic and foreign-policy challenges involving Muslim populations, a new report argues.

Sponsored by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the report released Tuesday says that greater U.S. Muslim involvement in the public square is crucial to the nation's security and well-being, and that Muslims are largely responsible for finding ways to make themselves heard.

The report by a 32-member nationwide task force culled from academia, politics and the business and nonprofit worlds largely avoids sensitive questions about attitudes toward U.S. foreign and security policy.

"This is a group that is half-Muslim, half non-Muslim that came together because we believe that America is losing by not having the appropriate involvement of Muslim Americans in the civil discourse of politics," said task force co-chair Lynn Martin, a former Republican congresswoman and secretary of labor in the George H.W. Bush administration. "This is not whiny. This is not about what's wrong. What it says is, here are some potential solutions."

Among them: expanded counterterrorism partnerships between Muslim Americans and law enforcement, development of a leadership network of prominent Muslim Americans to work with youth and serve as "community ambassadors," building stronger Muslim American institutions and working with coalitions on common concerns like immigration and health care. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

IL: MUSLIM STUDY OFFERS WAYS TO BUILD BRIDGES - TOP
E.A. Torriero, Chicago Tribune, 6/26/07
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/southsouthwest/chi-muslims_26jun26,1,2353990.story

Muslims in America must build better relationships with law enforcement, the media and fellow citizens in order to overcome negative stereotypes and a nagging post-Sept. 11 backlash, a national task force asserts in a new report by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Preparing for the paper to be released Tuesday, the council's Task Force on Muslim American Civic and Political Engagement met over 15 months and came to a consensus on many issues.

By collecting the recommendations into one document, the task force of 32 civic leaders, corporate executives, academics and Muslim advocates from around the U.S. hope to provide a blueprint for more comprehensive discussions, task force leaders said in interviews.

Among the non-binding recommendations, the task forces urged public and private partnerships to:

* "Expand and recognize Muslim American contributions to national security."
* "Improve media coverage and public understanding of Muslim Americans."
* "Increase civic engagement among Muslim Americans."
* "Build stronger Muslim American institutions."
* "Cultivate the next generation of Muslim American leaders."

"It helps shape the debate of what should take place," said Farooq Kathwari, a task force co-chair who is also president, chairman and CEO of Ethan Allen Interiors Inc.

Task force representatives are scheduled to appear this week before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs as it examines extremism in Europe.

"This is in our national interest," said Lynn Martin, a task force co-chair and former U.S. secretary of labor.

Martin, a non-Muslim who is also a former five-term congresswoman from Illinois, said that the task force offered a unique opportunity for leaders from across the American spectrum to come together and tackle the challenges of Muslims. (MORE)

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CAIR-MN: GROUP: FILE FEDERAL CHARGE IN ASSAULT - TOP
Kari Petrie, St. Cloud Times, 6/26/07
http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070626/NEWS01/106250093/1009

An Islamic civil liberties group called for a man to be charged with a federal civil rights crime for assaulting a St. Cloud man who is Muslim.

Omar Merhi, executive director for the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said such incidents should not be tolerated and that it is part of a growing pattern nationwide.

Phillip Joseph Massa, 33, was charged Monday in Stearns County court with obstructing the legal process and fourth-degree gross misdemeanor assault motivated by bias. Federal charges could still be filed, but Assistant Stearns County Attorney Shan Wang said he had not heard if that would happen.

Massa and another man approached a 26-year-old man Saturday afternoon and Massa accused him of being a Muslim terrorist, according to court documents. Massa threatened to kill the victim and then shoved him and elbowed him in the side of the head, causing the victim's glasses to fall off.

The man with Massa tried to stop him and the two ran away.

The victim was leaving a prayer mosque in the 600 block of Seventh Avenue South at the time of the attack. Wang said Massa and the victim did not know each other.

When police arrested Massa, he refused to walk, according to court documents. Massa broke free from officers and tried to hit them. Massa was subdued once officers threatened him with a Taser.

Massa does not have hate crimes on his record. He has prior convictions for domestic assault in 1999, disorderly conduct in 2003 and driving under the influence in 2006. He was in Stearns County Jail over the weekend but was released Monday. (MORE)

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CAIR-MN: CHARGES FILED AFTER MAN ATTACKED WHILE LEAVING ST. CLOUD MOSQUE - TOP
Associated Press, 6/26/07
http://www.in-forum.com/articles/rss.cfm?id=170053

A man was charged with assault Monday after allegedly attacking another man as he was leaving a prayer mosque in St. Cloud the day before.

Phillip Joseph Massa, 33, of Isanti, was charged in Stearns County District Court with obstructing the legal process and fourth-degree gross misdemeanor assault motivated by bias. Massa allegedly approached a 26-year-old St. Cloud man Sunday, accused him of being a Muslim terrorist and threw a punch that missed.

Police said Massa then shoved the man and elbowed him in the head, dislodging his glasses. The victim called 911, and Massa was caught about six blocks away. Massa also fought with officers at the Stearns County Jail in central Minnesota, police said.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations called on authorities to charge Massa with a federal civil rights violation. Omar Merhi, executive director for the group's Minnesota chapter, said the alleged incident was part of a growing pattern around the country.

Assistant Stearns County Attorney Shan Wang said he hadn't heard whether federal charges would be filed.

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MN: ISANTI MAN IS CHARGED IN ASSAULT NEAR A MOSQUE - TOP
Richard Meryhew, Star Tribune, 6/26/07
http://www.startribune.com/467/story/1268181.html

A 33-year-old man from Isanti, Minn., was charged Monday with a bias crime in connection with an alleged assault near a St. Cloud mosque Saturday afternoon.

Phillip Joseph Massa III also was charged in Stearns County District Court with obstructing the legal process after fighting with officers following his arrest.

Both charges are gross misdemeanors. If convicted, Massa could be fined, jailed or both.

Authorities said the incident occurred about 2:15 p.m. Saturday as Syed Fahad Hussain, 26, walked home from a mosque in St. Cloud.

According to a criminal complaint, Hussain was approached by two men who tried to block his path. One of the men, later identified as Massa, "got up into [Hussain's] face and asked [him] if he was a 'Muslim terrorist.' "

When Hussain did not answer, Massa threatened to kill him. He then pushed Hussain in the chest and swung at him. Massa's punch missed, but his elbow struck Hussain in the head and knocked his glasses to the ground. (MORE)

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CAIR-TX: BACKLOG LEAVES SOME IMMIGRANTS IN LIMBO - TOP
Lengthy wait to clear name checks by the FBI delays citizenship quest
Susan Carroll, Houston Chronicle, 6/26/07
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/4919922.html

Dr. Joseph Vadas, a legal immigrant from Hungary who has practiced medicine in Texas since 1978, seems like an unlikely national security threat.

The 73-year-old Woodlands physician wears an American flag tie on special occasions, has a framed picture of Ronald Reagan in his home study and boasts about delivering more than 1,400 Texas babies. "I've never lost a baby. I've never lost a momma," he says, grinning.

Yet, after 29 years as a physician in Texas and a legal permanent resident, and more than two years after filing his naturalization application, Vadas is still waiting for the FBI to finish his background check so he can become a U.S. citizen.

Like hundreds of thousands of other would-be citizens and green-card holders, Vadas' application has quietly stalled in the FBI's Name Check Program, a part of the immigration process U.S. officials say is critically important, yet remains understaffed nearly six years after 9/11.

Prakash Khatri, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ombudsman, said in his annual report this month to Congress that the FBI name checks "may be the single biggest obstacle to the timely and efficient delivery of immigration benefits." . . .

The FBI bottleneck has led to professional and personal frustration among legal immigrants. Foreign-born scientists have been unable to get federal grants to research a range of conditions, from osteoarthritis to AIDS, according to court filings. Immigrants with pending applications have endured travel restrictions, sometimes for years, as they wait for their applications to move through the system.

In some cases, families have been separated for extended periods of time because of the delay in adjusting from green card to citizenship status, which allows for a greater range of family reunification visas.

Some members of the Muslim community in Houston have grown increasingly concerned that they are being disproportionately delayed in the naturalization process, said Shariq Abdul Ghani, the director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Houston.

On Friday, CAIR launched an Immigration Delay Project to help people in Houston who have been waiting more than 120 days for their background check to clear after their naturalization interview. CAIR officials are reaching out to local Muslims through e-mails and at mosques, offering free legal advice, Ghani said.

"I want to protect borders and ensure the safety of this country just like everyone else," Ghani said. "But isn't it logical to have these background checks sped up, so you know if this guy's a terrorist, you can get rid of him quickly or detain him and put him in prison?

"In our opinion, these lengthy background checks only hurt national security," Ghani said. (MORE)

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WA: DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY AND ISLAM - TOP
Yoshiaki Nohara, Herald, 6/25/07
http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/07/06/25/100loc_a1bala001.cfm

Faraz Bala wore the gold ring on the third finger of his left hand.

Three words chiseled in the ring read: "Duty. Honor. Country."

That's the motto of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York, Bala said.

Bala, 22, of Snohomish earned the 2007 class ring with fewer than 1,000 graduates in May.

The ring is evidence of his hard work, struggle and achievement over the last four years. Bala, a Muslim, balanced his religion with the rigorous academic work at the Christian-dominated institution.

"The schedule is not based on Islamic schedule. You have to work your religion around your schedule," Bala said.

The ring is also a reminder of how far Bala, a Snohomish High School salutatorian, has come since joining some of the nation's top young people.

"Even four years later, I can see the difference that going to West Point has made in my life, rather than going to a different college," Bala said Thursday at his parents' restaurant in Marysville. . .

Bala said he was one of about 10 Muslim graduates in his class. His four years at West Point have been overlapped with the war in Iraq. (MORE)

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PRODUCER EYES BETTER TV, FILM ROLES FOR MUSLIMS - TOP
Omar Sacirbey, Boston Globe, 6/26/07
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2007/06/26/producer_eyes_better_tv_film_roles_for_muslims/

When Labid Aziz of Natick thinks about "Never Mind Nirvana," he sees a missed opportunity. A 2004 pilot for an NBC sitcom, it was centered on the travails of an Indian-American doctor, his pregnant white girlfriend, and his traditional parents, who move in. It was written by Indian-American novelist Ajay Sahgal, directed by "Friends" star David Schwimmer, and starred Kal Penn of "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle." But the show didn't make NBC's final cut, losing out that year to "The Office" and "Joey."

South Asians like Aziz, 32, a Bangladeshi-American Muslim and aspiring producer, saw in "Nirvana" a wellspring of roles that didn't involve playing a terrorist or convenience store clerk while portraying the South Asian community, or a slice of it, in a way that might inspire empathy rather than incite resentment. On this fall's schedule, Aziz has a second opportunity: The CW network is unveiling a new sitcom called "Aliens in America" about a Muslim exchange student from Pakistan.

In Aziz's view, Americans are ready for a prime-time television show featuring dignified South Asian characters. It's just that most television executives are too conservative to try it, he said.

"If they think a show with a certain cast is going to hinder viewers, why would they do it?" said Aziz. "But that's from their perspective. I think it can work." (MORE)

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MUSLIM CHIC: TWO CULTURES COLLIDE, AND A NEW KIND OF STYLE IS BORN - TOP
Vinnie Rotondaro, New York Post, 6/26/07
http://www.nypost.com/seven/06262007/entertainment/fashion/muslim_chic_fashion_vinnie_rotondaro.htm

When non-Muslims think of Islamic fashion, they usually imagine stark black dresses and plain white head scarves, or even burqas - uniform outfits that afford little room for originality.

But Saubia Arbab, like many of the city's young Muslims, defies stereotype, making the look her own with a unique blend of old and new.

Arbab, the daughter of immigrants from Pakistan, went to an orthodox Muslim high school in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and now majors in social work at New York University. The 21-year-old must balance the world of tradition, religion and family with the fashion-oriented world of American pop culture.

Because of this, Arbab faces criticism from both sides: from non-Muslims, who don't understand or fear her hijab (head scarf), to Muslims who believe she strays from tradition by, say, carrying a trendy bag. But Arbab said she agreed to talk to The Post in the hope it would help people understand her culture.

"My friends were worried for a number of different reasons," she says. "They thought this was going to make Islam look silly. There's a fear in the Muslim community that the world is out to get us."

But, Arbab adds, "not shying away from the larger culture is the best way to inform people." And "my family has always encouraged me to be open and do things like this."

In fact, Arbab's combination of clothing styles often invites discussion. "Totally! I mean, a girl sitting next to me in class might say, 'Hey, I really like that bag, or those shoes,' or whatever, and then we'll start talking about the hijab. Yeah, the fashion definitely serves as an icebreaker."

She even considers her unique mix of old and new to be a form of dawah (an Arabic term designating an invitation toward understanding Islam). "Dressing like this is in a very real sense dawah," she explained, "it opens up dialogue, it humanizes." (MORE)

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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@cair.com
URL: http://www.cair.com

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