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    Muslim American News Briefs, September 14, 2007

Opinion Editorials

News

News Photos

* Hadith: One Who Fasts Has Two Joys
* CAIR-NJ: Schools to Close for Ramadan This Year
* CAIR: Muslims Begin Month of Prayer, Fasting
            - CAIR-MI, CAIR-CA, CAIR-OH, CAIR-NJ
* CAIR-FL: Torched Mosque Re-Opens for Ramadan (SP Times)
* CAIR-PA: Peace is Key Message at Interfaith Event (Patriot News)
            - VA: Muslims Expand Interfaith Giving (Wash Post)
* CAIR-NY Urges Support of Anti-Torture Statement
* CAIR-NV Urges Muslims to Volunteer for Humanitarian Day
* KY: Muslim Cemetery for City Envisioned (Courier Journal)
            - IL: Muslim Lawyer Challenges Stereotypes (Sun-Times)
            - FL: Imams Shape Islamic Community (Miami Herald)
            - OR: High Expectations for New Muslim High School (Oregonian)
* IL: Muslim Players Face Challenge of Ramadan Fasting (Chicago Trib)
            - IL: Ramadan 'No Sweat' for Food Workers (Sun-Times)
* Official Statements on Ramadan: President Bush, Speaker Pelosi
            - Reps Introduce Resolution to Pay Tribute to Ramadan
* Giuliani Adviser Renews Call to 'Raze' Palestinian Villages
            - Muslim-Basher Joins Giuliani Campaign
            - Daniel Pipes Supports Internment of Japanese-Americans
            - Daniel Pipes Backs Convicted French Racist
            - Daniel Pipes: Muslim Enfranchisement Threatens Jews
* The 25th Anniversary of the Massacre at Sabra-Shatilla
* Italy: 'Pig Day' Against New Mosques

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HADITH OF THE DAY: ONE WHO FASTS HAS TWO JOYS - TOP

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) quoted God as saying: "Fasting is like a shield, and he who fasts has two joys: joy when he breaks his fast and joy when he meets his Lord."

Hadith Qudsi 10

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CAIR-NJ: CLIFFSIDE PARK SCHOOLS TO CLOSE FOR RAMADAN THIS YEAR - TOP
Shawna Ryan, NY1 News, 9/10/07
http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=244&aid=73523

Cliffside Park schools will be the first in Bergen County to close for a Muslim holiday this year. NY1's Shawna Ryan spoke to school officials and a Muslim group about the decision and filed the following report.

For the first time ever, Cliffside Park students will not have classes this October 11th.

That's because the school district is the first in Bergen County to observe the Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the conclusion to the Islamic holy month of fasting.

"We didn't know that we would be the first, we just felt with changing population this was the right thing to do," said Cliffside Park Superintendent Michael Romagnino.

Only a handful of school districts statewide close for Islamic celebrations, including Paterson and Prospect Park. Romagnino says school districts normally don't close unless a large number of students or staff are likely to be absent.

"We're just not always aware of what other beliefs are and what practices go on out there, and I think we realize now that we have to be more open-minded and realize, again, we are very diverse [with] a lot of different cultures, a lot of different backgrounds and beliefs."

School officials say 100 of the 1,000 students here at Cliffside Park High School actually took off from school last year for the end of Ramadan.

Representatives from the Council of American Islamic Relations say it's about time Muslim holidays were observed, and they hope other school districts follow suit.

"There is a significant Muslim population in the State of New Jersey and we really look forward to other school districts allowing Muslim students to exercise the Islamic faith just like their Christian and Jewish counterparts," said Afsheen Shamsi of the Council for American Islamic Relations. (MORE)

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CAIR-MI: AMERICAN MUSLIMS PREPARE FOR HOLY MONTH OF RAMADAN - TOP
Mohamed Elshinnawi, Voice of America, 9/12/07
http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-09-12-voa42.cfm

As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, Muslim Americans across the United States are gathering in mosques and homes just as Muslims do around the world. VOA's Mohamed Elshinnawi tells us how American Muslims are observing their holy month.

There are an estimated six to eight million Muslims in the United States, comprised mainly of immigrants from the Arab world, as well as converts to Islam. Regardless of their country of origin, American Muslims observe Ramadan with a set of traditional rituals. Families shop at Halal meat stores, prepare Iftar meals to break their fast with family and friends and pray together. Some Muslim Americans shop for special items such as dates and Ramadan sweets at specialty food stores.

Shala Haroun, an American Muslim from Kashmir, misses the big family gathering on Ramadan. "Ramadan back home is a lot more fun, there is a lot more family, a bigger Indian community and you get your whole family together, while here you are with just a couple of your family."

Islamic centers and mosques are thriving with Muslim American praying and reading the Koran. Imam Hassan Qazwini of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan says the center has a special program for Ramadan. "Every night, after the nightly prayers, the Islamic Center will hold a special session that consists of recitation of the holy Koran, the interpretation of the Koran, as well as some other lectures."

He says as many as 1,000 people go to daily evening prayers at the Islamic Center of America during Ramadan, and there will be a special program for American-born Muslim Americans.

"The English-speaking part of our congregation, we will have a special program for them. We believe that these will be the ambassadors of Islam to non-Muslims. They will be the ones who will carry the banner of Islam, therefore there will be a very specialized program catered to the youth."

For Muslim American groups, Ramadan has served as a means to educate the American public about the holidays of Muslims and the Islamic faith. Dawud Walid is the executive director in Michigan of the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations. "[The] Council on American Islamic Relations sends out information relating to Ramadan to our non-Muslim constituency and friends as well as we organize programs in which we speak about Ramadan. We do this in conjunction with not only Islamic centers but even with groups and interfaith groups as well, so this has been a highly successful campaign." (MORE)

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CAIR-CA: MUSLIMS BEGIN MONTH OF PRAYER, FASTING - TOP
Ramadan is time of spiritual renewal, prayer for peace
Andrea Bennett, Daily Bulletin, 9/13/07
http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_6878059

Tonight, Muslim families will break their first day of fasting for Ramadan.

The Islamic calendar is lunar and about 11 days shorter than the solar calendar, so the month-long observance of Ramadan is celebrated 11 days earlier each year, said Hussan Ayloush, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Greater Los Angeles area.

For Muslims like Ayloush, Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic-lunar calendar - known as "the blessed month" - and a time for spiritual rejuvenation.

For 29 to 30 days, Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset and increase prayers and charitable giving to the needy, said Ayloush, a Corona resident.

After sunset, the fast is broken with a dinner - or "iftar" - among friends and family, and special prayers are offered, he said.

Every evening between 7 and 9 p.m., Imam Shamshad A. Nasir said people will gather at Baitul Hameed Mosque in Chino for five prayers, the teachings of the Holy Quran and the prophet Muhammad, and feasts.

"Everyone is invited," he said. "Sometimes, our neighbors, our Christian friends and the needy and poor come to join us." (MORE)

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CAIR-OH: RAMADAN WILL PAIR FASTING, CHARITY - TOP
Cincinnati Enquirer, 9/13/07
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070913/NE

WS01/709130383/1056/COL02

For this year's Ramadan observance, local Muslims are not only fasting, but feeding the needy in Cincinnati.

Mosques in Clifton and Over-the-Rhine will feed people daily at sundown during this time.

A special event also will be held on Sept. 23 near the Al As-hab Mosque on Vine Street to give out 450 hot meals. It is being held by the Cincinnati chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati.

Ramadan starts today and continues for 30 days, through Oct. 12.

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CAIR-NJ: MUSLIMS START RAMADAN OBSERVANCE - TOP
Kim Mulford, Courier-Post, 9/13/07
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070913

/NEWS01/709130387/1006/news01

The holiest month on the Islamic calendar begins today for most area Muslims. The faithful mark Ramadan by fasting during daylight hours, giving to charity and assisting the poor.

Larger mosques conduct daily services and host iftars, or the meal to break the fast at sunset.

Since 9/11, more mosques have been hosting open houses and interfaith iftars, Afsheen Shamsi of the New Jersey Council on American-Islamic Relations said. Muslims realized they needed to tell others that "our religion is a religion of peace," she said.

Several interfaith iftars are planned in northern and central New Jersey where there is a larger Muslim population. Shamsi expects some mosques in South Jersey will start to do so, too, calling it "the next logical step" in local efforts to increase interfaith understanding.

"We think that it is really encouraging that Muslims are doing this outreach," Shamsi said. "We'd certainly like to see more mosques engage in similar activities." (MORE)

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CAIR-FL: TORCHED MOSQUE OPENS IN TIME FOR HOLY MONTH - TOP
Other faiths chipped in for the restoration.
Sherri Day, St. Petersburg Times, 9/13/07
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/09/13/Hillsborough/_Torched_mosque_opens.shtml

At the Islamic Education Center, the scent of fresh paint replaces the stench of acrid smoke. A new roof gleams in the afternoon sun. And a sparkling sign stands at its gates.

Inside, Dr. Akram Jawad worked feverishly Wednesday to put the final touches on the mosque, which burned in April at the hands of an arsonist.

Since July, Jawad, a retired pediatric surgeon who serves as the mosque's chairman, has kept a frenetic pace with a single goal in mind: to renovate the building in time for the first day of Ramadan, which began today at sunrise.

"Ramadan is a holy month," Jawad said of the period when Muslims around the world fast during daylight hours. "Every night we serve food for fasting people, and every night we have a program. We don't want to break the tradition. With the help of God, it was really completed at the right time."

Jawad has thought little of the arsonist who broke a window, threw gasoline inside and set fire to the building. Instead, he focused on rebuilding, aided by the kindness of strangers.

Mosque officials say they have spent about $48,000 so far to refurbish the building, which had smoke damage in every room. Two months ago, Jawad looked on as contractors ripped the burned ceiling from the main prayer room. On Wednesday, he proudly showed off the building's new textured ceiling, cushioned carpet and gleaming white walls.

Muslims, Christians, Jews and a host of others who contributed anonymously funded the restoration.

"Behind all the paint and the plaster, what's really impressive is that it was money from people in the community . . . people of all faiths that contributed to renovating this place," said Ahmed Bedier, executive director of the Tampa Chapter of the Council on American and Islamic Relations. "The people who worship there will never forget that." (MORE)

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CAIR-PA: PEACE IS KEY MESSAGE AT INTERFAITH EVENT - TOP
Mary Warner, Patriot-News, 9/12/07
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=11

BA134DEEF126A0&p_docnum=1

They stepped to the microphone outside the Steelton mosque one by one Tuesday night, commemorating 9/11 by wishing each other peace in the languages of their heritage.

"Peace be upon you," the said - in Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, Bengali, German, Russian, Nigerian, Portuguese, Persian, Swahili, English, Pennsylvania Dutch.

More than 100 people - Muslims, Jews, Christians of various stripes, Unitarians, a Baha'i and a couple of Wiccans _ attended the event marking the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The event was sponsored by the Interfaith Alliance of Pennsylvania as an opportunity "for people of faith and good will to mourn the acts of 9/11 and to seek ways of moving forward together."

The anniversary of the attacks "symbolizes one of the great conflicts of our day - the conflict for the soul of religion," said Rabbi Carl Choper, alliance chairman.

Samia Malik, spokeswoman for the local Council on American Islamic Relations, said people often ask her why Muslims don't condemn terrorism. "My question to them is, 'Why don't you hear us?'" she said.

Malik read aloud a religious edict called a fatwa - signed in 2005 by CAIR and more than 300 other Muslim groups and scholars - that declared "Islam's absolute condemnation of terrorists and religious extremists."

Suicide bombers are "criminals, not martyrs" and Muslims must cooperate with police to save lives, the fatwa stated.

In remembering those who died six years ago, Malik said, "we must also take stock of our nation's response to this unprecedented act of terror."

Muslim-Americans have been increasingly stigmatized since then, she said.

The Islamic Society of Greater Harrisburg opened its doors before Tuesday's gathering for an optional tour, including an opportunity to observe evening prayers. Afterward, the group made a candlelit procession around the mosque. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

VA: CHARITABLE TRADITION IN TRANSITION - TOP
With Ramadan beginning, many Muslims expand acts of kindness as a means of furthering interfaith understanding.
Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post, 9/13/07
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/12/A

R2007091202284.html

During Islam's sacred month of Ramadan, U.S. Muslims are stepping up holiday charity toward non-Muslims to counter anti-Islamic sentiment since the Sept. 11 attacks, experts said.

Key edicts of Ramadan, which began yesterday at sunset, are to fast and promote good conduct. The devil is said to be shackled, making it easier than during the rest of the year to perform good deeds and give charity.

Although some Muslims have always had a broad interpretation of these tenets, there has been a shift in recent years to look beyond the Muslim community for where one gives. This is the result both of a more mature Muslim American social service infrastructure and of a drive to counter anti-Muslim rhetoric since 2001, experts say.

"For decades, Muslims were internally focused, and I think September 11th accelerated the natural process of becoming more externally focused," said Ihsan Bagby, author of several studies of Muslim worship trends in the United States. "It's not like the impulse to do good is some new idea in Islam; concern for the poor, the weak is throughout the Koran. It's just that Muslims in this country hadn't implemented it very well. Now a wave is starting to form."

Community service events planned in the region during Ramadan include feeding day laborers, fundraising for city shelters and helping to organize nonviolence and interfaith projects. . .

When he was growing up, Joshua Salaam remembers, his demeanor would change during Ramadan. He would actively try to avoid gossip - "even joking about people," Salaam, 33, said of his teenage years in the Midwest and later in the Air Force.

Today he adds a bit to that basic dictate. Although he still experiences a mind-set change during Ramadan, a period when Muslims aim to deepen their spiritual practice, Salaam will also participate in an interfaith event, a walk designed to bring together people of different faiths.

Salaam, a youth leader for the All Dulles Area Mosque Society, a large community center known as ADAMS, said people are reacting to anti-Muslim sentiment since Sept. 11.

"Muslims were asking: How could a whole nation turn on us? The answer is because they didn't know us, they weren't familiar with Islam," he said. "We need to get back that aspect [of Islam] that is neighborly." (MORE)

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CAIR-NY URGES SUPPORT FOR ANTI-TORTURE STATEMENT - TOP

(NEW YORK, N.Y., 9/13/2007) - The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) is calling on all people of conscience to sign on to "Torture is a Moral Issue," a statement sponsored by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT).

In its mission to promote peace and tolerance, CAIR-NY supports the campaign's denouncement of torture, which "violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions, in their highest ideals, hold dear."

As the campaign's statement insists, torture does indeed "contradict our nation's most cherished ideals."

Immediate Action Requested:

Endorse the statement online by visiting, www.tortureisamoralissue.org, and help to notify our lawmakers that the United States abolish torture as a practice immediately and without exceptions.

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: CAIR-NY Community Affairs Director Faiza N. Ali, Tel: 212-870-2002, E-Mail: fail@cair.com

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CAIR-NV URGES MUSLIMS TO VOLUNTEER FOR HUMANITARIAN DAY 2007 - TOP

(LAS VEGAS, NV, 9/13/07) - The Nevada chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NV) is calling on local Muslims to take part in Humanitarian Day 2007.

Humanitarian Day is an event designed to help local communities in need, especially the homeless. Humanitarian Day was launched in 2002 in Los Angeles' downtown 'skid row.' Over the years the event has grown in scale and now occurs every Ramadan in partnership with local organizations.

"On Humanitarian Day we will serve and provide dignity to the homeless population," said Imam Fateem Seifullah of Masjid As-Sabur. "This year we should provide food to 25,000 people in 22 cities nationwide."

WHAT: VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY
WHERE: Masjid As-Sabur, 711 Morgan Avenue, Las Vegas, NV.
WHEN: Sunday, September 30, 2007, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
CONTACT: Imam Fateem Seifullah, 702-563-9134, E-Mail: vegasmasjid@aol.com; Diana Saleem, 702-265-0103, E-Mail: almaun@gmail.com

In addition to food donations, the needy will also be given blankets, clothing items, and free health screenings.

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 33 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to promote justice, enhance the understanding of Islam, and empower American Muslims.

CONTACT: CAIR-NV Executive Director Yasser Moten, Tel: 702-448-8601, E-Mail: ymoten@cair.com

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KY: MUSLIM CEMETERY FOR CITY ENVISIONED - TOP
Local group raising funds
Peter Smith, Courier-Journal, 9/13/07
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070913

NEWS01/709130426/1008/NEWS01

As Muslims today begin Ramadan, a month of fasting and prayer, one local group is hoping to raise funds for a Muslim cemetery.

The Bosniak-American Islamic Center, formed by Muslim refugees and immigrants from Bosnia-Herzegovina, hopes to raise the needed funds by the end of Ramadan, said its president, Semsudin Haseljic.

"That's our big project for the month," he said. "This is a key issue now in the community."

There are no Muslim burial grounds in Louisville, he said.

Several years ago, a doctor purchased about 50 plots for use by Muslims at the Walnut Ridge cemetery in Jeffersonville, Ind., but space is running out there, he said.

Other local Muslims have been buried in other cities or returned to their native countries for burial.

Muslims traditionally have separate burial grounds, with the graves aligned so that each body, placed on his or her right side, faces the pilgrimage city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Haseljic said he hopes other mosques and Muslim groups in the city will join in the effort, but the Bosnian group decided to take the lead on the project. He said the group recently opened its mosque on Six Mile Lane and is free of debt, while some other mosques are busy with building or renovation projects. (MORE)

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IL: MUSLIM LAWYER CHALLENGES STEREOTYPES - TOP
'I don't want to be the one who has to keep saying "I'm sorry'' '
Rummana Hussain, Chicago Sun-Times, 9/13/07
http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/555286,CST-EDT-Muslim13.article

Nikia Marie Bilal can almost read people's minds when they see her hijab. Kept woman. Uneducated. Foreigner.

Someone even slowed their pickup truck one Fourth of July holiday to yell: "Go back to your own country!"

The car had already sped away by the time Bilal thought of her stinging retort: "I'm sure my people have been here longer than yours!"

Her ancestors came from Africa, but Bilal's family has been in America for generations. She grew up in Chatham, where her parents were converts to Islam. She first began wearing the hijab at 14 at her mom's insistence. Back then, strangers saw her headdress and thought she was a Catholic nun.

As she got older and embraced her head scarf as part of her identity, she began to care less and less what people thought.

"When people see you, they think one thing, and then you open your mouth and you show what you know and what your abilities are, and you give a totally different impression," Bilal says.

Bilal's abilities are impressive. A general litigation attorney, Bilal is one of six women in a new all-woman Muslim law firm -- possibly the first of its kind in the Chicago area and perhaps the country.

"We feel pretty revolutionary," says Bilal, sitting in a plush brown chair at the conference table at the Amal Law Group, which opened last week in Palos Heights. "I think it's a stereotype smasher because you don't think Muslim woman and think attorney." (MORE)

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FL: IMAMS SHAPE ISLAMIC COMMUNITY - TOP
Born worlds apart, two mosque leaders are devoted to shaping Islam in South Florida.
Jaweed Kaleem, Miami Herald, 9/12/07
http://www.miamiherald.com/367/story/235739.html

Shafayat Mohamed has mastered the American way. He's a magazine editor and former local radio host, and he has his own line of DVDs.

And he's the leader of one of the largest mosques in South Florida.

Mohammed Zakaria Badat, a soft-spoken British transplant who favors the BBC for his news, came to the area two years ago with his wife and three young children. He's quickly building a congregation at his Kendall mosque, tapping into the American psyche -- though he hasn't yet converted to CNN.

"I like America and the American people," he said. But being new to the area, "you're learning new things about the community every day."

As imams, both are playing pivotal roles in shaping South Florida's burgeoning Islamic community, which today begins its observance of Ramadan, the holiest month in Islam. For the next 30 days, most of the region's approximately 70,000 Muslims will fast from sunrise to sunset and pray up to five times a day. They will read the Koran, the Islamic holy book, with the goal of finishing its 800-plus pages by the end of Ramadan.

"As the Muslim population grows, they're both influential in the community," said Sofian Abdelaziz Zakkout, director of the American Muslim Association of North America, which is based in Miami and in its 10th year. "They're spiritual leaders, and people come to them for advice."

While both men are devout Muslims, their experiences and styles are worlds, or more appropriately, continents apart. (MORE)

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OR: HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR A NEW MUSLIM HIGH SCHOOL - TOP
Region's first - Six students start at an extension of the growing Islamic School
Maya Blackmun, Oregonian, 9/13/07
http://www.oregonlive.com/metro/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/metro_southwest

_news/1189126517206400.xml&coll=7

Sitting under a large oak in the courtyard of the Muslim Educational Trust near Washington Square, Wajdi Said reflects on Khalil Gibran's words. As the trust's executive director, he's shared them over the summer with several students -- seedlings in the new Oregon Islamic Academy.

Last week, the academy welcomed its inaugural class of six students, their roots plucked from hills far from America, as the trust took a measured step toward providing a full Islamic high school education -- a first in the Northwest.

Said doesn't care about being first, but he does care deeply that the academy, an addition to the already established Islamic School, will last. The school is growing, with 16 teachers and 125 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, up from 89 students last year. He wants to learn from the missteps of other private schools, to keep from trying too much, too soon.

He wants to ensure that the school continues to prepare students who are not only accomplished and ready to excel in college, but also solid in their faith and primed to be stalwart U.S. citizens and leaders.

The school's 2-acre campus has three new buildings, which will serve the middle and high school students, with room for computer and science laboratories. The master plan calls for a two-story schoolhouse that also will house a library, says Sahar Bassyouni, a trust board member.

Simply starting the academy -- away from the temptations and troubles of public schools -- is "a dream come true for a lot of us," Bassyouni says.

The academy's faculty includes Jawad Khan, 29, who is in his seventh year as a teacher at the school and has a 4-year-old in the pre-kindergarten. Khan, who will teach language arts and history to sixth- and ninth-graders this year, sees the academy not as an isolated haven but more as a greenhouse where the students' Muslim beliefs can grow. (MORE)

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IL: MUSLIM PLAYERS FACE CHALLENGE OF RAMADAN FASTING - TOP
When Ramadan, football season coincide, no eating or drinking a test of faith -- and guts
Manya A. Brachear, Chicago Tribune, 9/13/07
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-ramadan_13sep13,1,2785915.story

For Omar Mukahhal and his other Muslim teammates on Stagg High School's varsity football team, the strength to endure the next 30 days of football season will demand mental and physical vigor. It will also be a spiritual test.

Not only is Mukahhal aiming for the playoffs, but starting Thursday, he will observe Ramadan, the ninth and holiest month of the Islamic calendar. During this period, Muslims are commanded to fast from dawn to dusk as a show of self-discipline, gratitude and piety.

Not eating or drinking in daylight hours during football season is a feat unfathomable to many of Mukahhal's teammates, who regularly guzzle Gatorade and water during practice and scarf down pasta a day before every game.

But Mukahhal insists it's all about willpower. "You can do it if you put your mind to it," the safety said after running defensive drills this week behind the Palos Hills high school.

In the Arab and Muslim world, Ramadan permeates day-to-day life. In some countries, workdays end earlier, and productivity drops without consequence. Families often stay up all night. But for many Muslims in the U.S., the annual ritual often coincides with other national pastimes and traditions. As more generations become acclimated to American life, they must learn to embrace their faith on such new frontiers as the 50-yard line. (MORE)

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IL: RAMADAN 'NO SWEAT' FOR FOOD WORKERS - TOP
Holy month means no eating until dark
Susan Hogan/Albach, Chicago Sun-Times, 9/13/07
http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/religion/555404,CST-NWS-Ramadan13.article

Imagine being on a diet and working at Dairy Queen.

Over the next month, Naseer Khan's life will be something like that.

He works in a restaurant and is undertaking a religious fast for Ramadan, the Islamic month of spiritual purification.

That means no food or drink goes into his mouth from dawn to sunset. Yet all day long, he'll be serving food and watching others eat.

No sweat, he says.

"You fast with joy," said Khan, 40, who works at Hyderabad House, 2225 W. Devon, a restaurant known for lamb and curry dishes.

"Ramadan is about surrendering yourself totally to the almighty," he added.

Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. Muslims believe that the first verses of the Quran, the Islamic holy book, were revealed to the prophet Muhammad during Ramadan.

Because Islam follows a lunar calendar, the start of Ramadan varies around the world. For many American Muslims, this is their first full fast day.

"God gives us this month to become better people," said Shakil Ahmed, 54, who runs Bismillah restaurant, 6301 N. Ridge.

Ramadan is a time of penitence and inner cleansing --body and soul, he said. But it's also a time of increased charity and prayer.

"Christians fast during Lent. Jews fast on Yom Kippur. Everybody does it, but in a different way," said Nudrat Ashraf, 21, who works at Bismillah.

She says fasting while working in a restaurant awakens her compassion for others.

"It makes me aware of what some people go through on a regular basis," she said.

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PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGE: RAMADAN, 2007 - TOP
White House News, 9/7/07
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/09/20070912-4.html

I send greetings to Muslims observing Ramadan in America and around the world.

Ramadan, the holiest days of the Islamic faith, begins with the first light of dawn and commemorates the revelation of the Qur'an to the prophet Muhammad. During the days of fasting, prayer, and worship, Muslims reflect and remember their dependence on God. Ramadan is also an occasion for Muslims to strengthen family and community ties and share God's gifts with those in need.

America is a land of many faiths, and our society is enriched by our Muslim citizens. May the holy days of Ramadan remind us all to seek a culture of compassion and serve others in charity.

Laura and I send our best wishes. Ramadan Mubarak.

GEORGE W. BUSH

SEE ALSO:

PELOSI STATEMENT ON RAMADAN - TOP
Office of the Speaker of the House, 9/12/07
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/

www/story/09-12-2007/0004661881&EDATE=

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today to commemorate the start of the
Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins at sundown tonight:

"Ramadan is a time for prayer, fasting, inner reflection, and charity for the more than 1 billion Muslims around the world. As Muslims observe this holy month, it is also a time for all Americans to remember and celebrate the many contributions of Muslim Americans to our country.

"The observance of Ramadan reminds us that our country is an impressive mosaic of faiths and creeds, and that America's religious tolerance and diversity is one of our nation's greatest strengths. Our tradition of religious freedom allows for the free exercise of all faiths and the observance of Ramadan offers Americans a chance to deepen their understanding of the remarkable traditions of Islam.

"To those preparing to observe Ramadan, may you and your family be blessed. Ramadan Mubarak!"

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CONGRESSWOMAN JOHNSON INTRODUCES A RESOLUTION TO PAY TRIBUTE TO RAMADAN - TOP
Co Authors Congressmen Gregory Meeks of New York and Keith Ellison of Minnesota highlight the Islamic Holy Month

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson introduced a resolution to recognize the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

"We are blessed to live in a nation that protects its citizens' right to religious freedom, communal worship, and interfaith dialogue and service," said Congresswoman Johnson.

September 13, 2007 marks the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a time of heightened spiritual awareness, family bonding, communal service and worship, and self renewal for Muslims everywhere.

"The Muslim American community contributes to the vibrant growth of American society and culture. Muslim Americans play a significant role in our nation's political process, economic growth, scientific development, free enterprise, religious tolerance, law enforcement, and homeland security. American pluralistic ideals, democratic institutions, and multiculturalism are expanded and strengthened by the contribution of Muslim American civic participation."

"We need to continue to work together towards a world where all faiths are respected; where people of different beliefs and ethnic backgrounds can live together in harmony. And it is my hope that this holy month will bring a new era of peace between all nations so people can emerge from the shadows of violence and extremism and make better lives for our children."

U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is Chairwoman of the House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee and the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation. She is a Senior Democratic Whip in the House Leadership Structure and a Member of Science and Technology Committee. She represents the 30th Congressional District, which includes Downtown Dallas; Northeast Dallas, East Oak Cliff, Pleasant Grove, Balch Springs, DeSoto, Lancaster, Hutchins, and parts of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Glen Heights, Wilmer and Ovilla.

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GIULIANI ADVISER URGES RAZING PALESTINIAN VILLAGES, CUTTING UTLILITES - TOP
Daniel Pipes, 9/6/07
http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/760

In a Jerusalem Post piece six years ago, Preventing war: Israel's options I called for shutting off utilities to the Palestinian Authority as well as a host of other measures, such as permitting no transportation in the PA of people or goods beyond basic necessities, implementing the death penalty against murderers, and razing villages from which attacks are launched.

Then and now, such responses have two benefits: First, they send a strong deterrent signal "Hit us and we will hit you back much harder" thereby reducing the number of attacks in the short term. Second, they impress Palestinians with the Israeli will to survive, and so bring closer their eventual acceptance of the Jewish state.

As for the inevitable objection that tough measures will generate ill-will toward Israel, the reply is easy: back when the IDF did deploy deterrent tactics, the country enjoyed a much higher standing internationally. Since 1993, its weakness has earned it not just scorn but also heightened hostility.

For now, however, a deterrent policy remains remote, as Prime Minister Olmert is said to oppose the shutting off of utilities as "collective punishment." And so will the Palestinian assaults continue.

SEE ALSO:

MUSLIM-BASHER JOINS GIULIANI CAMPAIGN - TOP

Pipes Joins Up With Giuliani
Ken Silverstein, Harper's, 8/28/07
http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/08/hbc-90001048

Add another neoconservative adviser on the Middle East to an already impressive roster-Daniel Pipes signed on with Rudy Giuliani's campaign today. I'd heard Pipes was advising Giuliani and asked him about it yesterday. He told me by e-mail that he had "close relations with several people in the campaign," but said that he did not have "official connection to it." He e-mailed back just now to say that, as of today, he has officially signed up with the campaign. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

DANIEL PIPES SUPPORTS INTERNMENT OF JAPANESE-AMERICANS - TOP

Daniel Pipes: "Yes, I do support the internment of Japanese Americans in World War II." (12/28/04, on his web site)

DANIEL PIPES BACKS CONVICTED FRENCH RACIST - TOP

Daniel Pipes backed French far-right racist Jean-Marie Le Pen. On his web site, Pipes said Le Pen's extremist views "represent an important outlook in the national debate over immigration and Islam." An appeals court in France upheld Le Pen's conviction for inciting anti-Muslim hatred in a newspaper interview. Le Pen has been convicted of racism or anti-Semitism at least six times in the past.

DANIEL PIPES SAYS ENFRANCHISEMENT OF U.S. MUSLIMS THREATENS JEWS - TOP

"I worry very much, from the Jewish point of view, that the presence, and increased stature, and affluence, and enfranchisement of American Muslims, because they are so much led by an Islamist leadership, that this will present true dangers to American Jews."

Daniel Pipes speaking before the convention of the American Jewish Congress, 10/21/2001

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THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MASSACRE AT SABRA-SHATILLA - TOP
Will anyone remember? Does anyone really care anymore?
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2007/09/the-25th-anniversary-of-the-massacre-at-sabra-shatilla/

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'PIG DAY' AGAINST NEW MOSQUES - TOP
http://www.agi.it/italy/news/200709131553-pol-ren0060-art.html

(AGI) - Rome, Sept. 13 - Northern League coordinator, Roberto Calderoli, has said: "We could organise the 'pig day' as to say competitions and shows dedicated to the most beautiful pigs to be hold in the places where somebody thinks to build not a centre for religious activities but the potential centre of recruitment of a terror cells". Calderoli announces protests against the building of a new mosque in Bologna. "The Bologna city council has given to go ahead to the building of a new big mosque, I put myself and my pig at disposal of the committee against the mosque for a walk on the ground where Muslims want to build their mosque" he said today. Calderoli claims the success of a similar initiative in Lodi where the mosque was not built after the ground was declared infected after the walk made by the pig.

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