The Muslim Link ~ 14 November 2008

FRIDAY, November 14, 2008 MD, VA, and DC. Metropolitan Area Bi-Weekly Newspaper | FREE

R e a d i t o n l i n e. w w w. m u s l i m l i n k p a p e r. co m

HEALTH CARE JOBS WIDE OPEN, SAY ISB PANELISTS

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Muharram . Safar . Rabi’ al-awwal . Rabi’ al-thani . Jumada Al-awwal . Jumada al-akhir . Rajab . Sha’aban . Ramadan . Shawwal . 16 DHU AL-QI’DAH . Dhu al-Hijjah . 1429 A.H.

EVENING FALL FESTIVAL AT ADAMS DRIVES AWAY HALLOWEEN SCARIES

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Voting for Obama, Muslims ‘Embody Mainstream’

But concerns grow after appointment of Israeli, Indian with ties to anti-Muslim terrorism

By Muslim Link Staff

During the fi rst 48 hours after the emotional electoral victory of President-Elect Barack Obama, news organizations and political commentators raced to analyze what poll results said about the American demographic.

Major Muslim American national organizations moved to make sure their community was not left out.

At a press conference on Friday, November 7, 2008, the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT) released the results

of a poll of over 600 Muslim voters.

AMT is an umbrella group representing several of the largest Muslim organizations in the nation including the

Muslim leaders speak about the results of a survey of Muslim American voters at the AMT press conference on November 7. From right, Mahdi Bray of the MAS Freedom Foundation, Nihad Awad of CAIR, and Agha Saeed of the American Muslim Taskforce. (Photo by Muslim Link)

By VIJAY PRASHAD

November 9, 2008Source: Counterpunch.org

Barack Obama has appointed John Podesta to run his transition. During the lean years of the Bush administration, Podesta, native of Chicago, ran a shadow cabinet for the Democrats. Since 2003, the home of this government-in-exile has been the Center for American Progress (CAP), a liberal think tank set-up to rival the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. The money, about $10 million per year, came from George Soros, Peter Lewis, Marion Sandler and Herb Sandler – the main liberal financiers. CAP has its set of fellows. Many of them worked in some capacity within the Clinton administration (where Podesta was Chief of Staff). There are hard-nosed people like Rudy deLeon (who went through every Defense secretariat in the Clinton years) and Jeanne Lambrew (who served as a health analyst in the National Economic Council during the waning years of the Clinton administration). But there are also the fresh faces, young people who came to Washington with glowing references from the Ivy League. Others marched over from the Hill, after serving various terms as staff members for the Democratic warhorses. They have been groomed to be part of the next Democratic administration. Their hibernation is over. Obama has called.

The likely suspects have picked up the phone and moved to the transition headquarters. Among them is a former CAP fellow and now Google employee, Sonal Shah. Shah is well known in the South Asian American community, and is a fixture in the Washington liberal circuit. The latter know her for her Democratic credentials, most of which seem to lie somewhere between neo-liberalism and welfare liberalism. The bleeding heart pauses, but then ticks again to the tune of pragmatism. This is perfect material for the CAP, which is hardly enthusiastic about the Democratic Leadership Council’s total commitment to triangulation (which

>> Mainstream Pg 6

>> Faces Pg 12

Vandalism at ICM Results In Outpouring of SupportBy Muslim Link Staff

The Islamic Center of Maryland in Gaithersburg makes a lot of effort to connect with their neighbors. Through open houses, interfaith events, and community service, the masjid has taken its place among the faith communities in Montgomery County.

So, after a vandalism incident at ICM on November 1, 2008, it was no surprise that the center was deluged with letters and emails of support from neighboring churches and faith groups.

“We’ve received many letters and also communication from [Montgomery County], from

rabbis and priests, the response has defi nitely been positive,” said Nadeem Ahmad from the ICM Board of Trustees.

The incident was described in an ICM community email: “Around 2 AM on November 1, a individual driving a sedan came inside the ICM property and drove around the Masjid while shooting paint balls at the property walls. The front and side walls were defaced with over 70 paint balls. As we understand, there was a brother present on the property who saw the incident but was unable to take note of the car tags or the description of the individual.”

ICM cameras were unable to >> Vandalism Pg 8

Obama’s IndianThe Many Faces of ‘Sonal Shah’

Several dozen paintballs were fi red at the ICM masjid building in the early hours of November 1. the vandalism prompted neighboring churches and faith groups to express words of support. ICM plans to upgrade its security camera system. (Photo courtesy of ICM)

ADVERTISEMENT The Muslim Link, November 14, 20082

INDEX

INSIDETHIS ISSUEFRIDAY NOVEMBER 14, 2008

04Community News

14Islam

703 556 6626Fax: 703 556 [email protected]

17Opinion & Editorials

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3The Muslim Link, November 14, 2008

16World Press

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Community NewsCreating links through mutual understanding and cooperation

The Muslim Link, November 14, 20084

Health Care Jobs Wide Open, Say ISB PanelistsBy Muslim Link Staff

With the nation’s jobless rate at a 14-year high, the Islamic Society of Baltimore (ISB) initiated the fi rst in a series of educational seminars aimed at helping community members navigate the shrinking job market.

On Sunday, November 9, 2008, ISB’s new project, the Employment and Career Counseling Service, offered a seminar entitled “Careers in the Health Care Industry”.

Two panelists working in different areas of the health care industry described the health care job market as vast, diverse, and most importantly, one of the only growing job markets in the country.

While the rest of the nation is losing several thousand jobs each month, the health care industry is adding about 10,000 positions per month, according to ISB President Bassam Sayad, one of the panelists and the director of business development for Johns Hopkins Medicine International’s Middle East and North Africa division .

The seminar opened with moderator Samer Atiya giving the small gathering – about 20 people attended – an overview of the ISB Employment and Career Counseling service.

“This [service] is for all people, and we

welcome our non-Muslim neighbors t o [ b e n e f i t ] from the talents a n d r e s o u r c e s available within the community,” said Atiya.

Brother Bassam b e g a n t h e discussion on health care by telling the audience how he started out in pathology but came to work in the executive arena of health care.

“When we think of careers in health care, we think of two jobs – doctors and nurses. But I want to drive home the point that there is a really wide array of [jobs] to get into,” he said.

Health care is the largest sector in the United States, with 14 million workers in 2006.

Asked how the health care industry is growing while all other job sectors are shrinking, Sayad responded health care is “mainly federally funded ... medicare and medicaid are the biggest payers for health care.”

“The other factor is baby boomers are aging ... they need more service, and [with advances in treatment] people are sick for longer periods of time,” he added.

Over 60% of health care workers are allied health care workers who support doctors and nurses and medical treatment. There are over 200 allied health care positions, said Sayad.

Sayyad said most positions in allied health care require less than a 4-year degree, and many have certifi cation tracks which can be completed in a few months.

Allied health positions include hygienists, therapists, radiology technologists, nutrition planners and dietitians, medical assistants, and home health care workers.

Sayad emphasized that the health care industry is so vast it accommodates virtually any proclivity or interest. For example, creatively minded people can work as medical illustrators or medical photographers. For people who enjoy investigating and research, a job as a pathologist, clinical associate, or lab technician might be a fi t. For people with good social skills, counseling or occupational therapy might be a good fi t.

“Of course, every health care fi eld has an [information technology] tie-in,” he said, alluding to the many jobs in health care related computer technology.

Health care also needs CEOs, CFOs, accountants, offi ce staff, legal staff, and even patient safety professionals.

The second panelist, Faisal AbdurRahman, the practice manager for Willoughby Beach Pediatrics which was a co-sponsor of the event, talked about the “front line of the health care fi eld.”

Front desk administrators and offi ce staff not only answer phone calls and schedule patients, but they also have to have knowledge about insurances and the billing process. A medical assistant might have to do some offi ce work as well as draw blood, take vitals from patients, and send samples to labs. These “primary care

While the rest of the nation is losing several thousand jobs each month, the health care industry is adding about 10,000 positions per month, according to ISB President Bassam Sayad.

>> Health Care Jobs Pg 7

DC Area Eid Committee Prepares 18th United Eid CelebrationInshaAllah, Our next DC Area Eid Celebration will be on Sunday Dec 7, 2008 or Monday Dec 8, 2008 at the Washington DC Convention Center Hall C, inshaAllah. We expect a gathering of 10,000 to 15,000 people for our prayers and 5,000 to 10,000 for the celebration. In the past seventeen combined celebrations since 1997 we have had anywhere from 12,000 to 25,000 Muslims attend. Please visit www.dceid.org for more information

We will have Four Prayers/Khutba Sessions at 7:30am, 8:30am, 9:45am and 11:00am. The Khutbas will focus on the Story of Prophet Abraham, Hajjar, Prophet Ismail (Peace Be Upon Them), and their Sacrifi ce and Commitment to Allah(SWT). We plan to continue to have a Blood Drive and Canned Food Drive to help those in need, inshaAllah. The celebration consists of over 10 rides and games for children including moonbounces, cotton candy, popcorn, arts & craft, and more.

We will have more than 40 vendors, ranging from small businesses to non-profi t groups to educational institutions, showcasing their goods and services. And the food vendor will sell a delicious variety of cuisine. It is truly a festive day!

Local and national media have realized this and our events have been covered by CNN, PBS, Newsweek, The Odyssey Channel, Voice of America, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, News Channel 8, Channel 4, Channel 9 , and The Herndon Observer. We have had Interfaith Leaders join us at the Celebration to meet and congratuate us on Eid. In fact, former Senator George Allen, former Congressman Tom Davis, Congressman Jim Moran, Virginia Delegate

>> Celebration Pg 13 The crowd of several thousand at a past DC Eid. (Photo courtesy of DC Eid Committee)

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Write to us! Stop venting at dinner parties and in masjid parking lots. Cool down, get your points together, and send us a letter to the editor or post a comment online.

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Small MSA Makes Big Impact this Winter

By Amalia RehmanMuslim Link Contributing Writer

The Woodbridge NVCC (Northern Virginia Community College) campus is a small, unimpressive campus with a few new buildings and a large parking lot.

But in spite of its modest dimensions a small group of committed students is making an impression and a difference that extends far

beyond their small neighborhood. They are the members of the Executive Committee of the MSA (Muslim Student Association) Organization.

“The MSA was founded by three freshmen girls, and soon became the most active organization at the NOVA campus. Our main goal is to better represent Muslims, and show a better image than what most have seen. We have had great success because of the will of Allah, and the many great staff at NOVA who have supported us from the start. It’s an organization that promotes diversity. We have so many non-Muslims that have been part of this because of the many

successful projects that are held toward uniting people of all faiths.” commented Sumaya Al-Hajeb, Vice President of the MSA at NVCC Woodbridge.

These committed members meet regularly and try to put together a project for each month. This month they are having a clothing drive for the Muslimat Al-Nisa Women’s Shelter in Maryland.

“The project was started in the beginning

of November and will continue through December. When we were talking to the women’s shelter, they told us that they needed personal grooming products… We had one brother go out and buy a lot of shampoo and conditioner and soap. Another person donated lots of hotel shampoos and soap products. We are getting so much stuff; we are considering giving some of it to a local homeless shelter called ACTS.”

“We also had a fast-a-thon last month where

>> Impact Pg 9

“Being considerate of others will take us a lot further in life than a college degree, we hope this can make a small difference within our world,” NVCC MSA Officers said in a collective statement.

Virginia Muslim Cemetery Offers Free PlotsBy Amalia Rehman

Muslim Link Contributing Writer

“Imam Siraj Wahaj stated in his speech at our fundraiser, ‘Some people send their children to Islamic school. Some people take their children to the masjid, but all of us will end up in the graveyard.’” stated Osman Javed, one of the Stafford community members that has struggled to purchase 80 acres of land for a Muslim cemetery.

Last month, on October 19, they raised $110,000 dollars at their fundraising dinner for the purchase of these 80 acres in Stafford, Virginia.

“What was vitally important was to purchase this land, while we are still able to do so. Who knows, with things the way they are going, whether we would be able to purchase land for a cemetery in the future,” said Mossadaq Chughtai, who has also been promoting the

Muslim cemetery in Stafford.

In 1996 several Muslims in the Stafford community realized the need for a Muslim cemetery. The only options available to Muslims was either to send their deceased family member back home, which was prohibitively expensive, or bury their family member in a non-Muslim cemetery.

Initially, 7.5 acres of land was purchased and this cemetery became the first Muslim cemetery to offer free land for any Muslim burial. With the successful purchase of the additional 80 acres, it has become America’s largest Muslim cemetery. The entire purchase cost $540,000 dollars, which required a small loan. Therefore, although the property has been purchased, donations are still necessary for paying off the loan and the maintenance of the land itself.

Both Brother Osman and Brother Mossadaq

believe this amount of land will serve the Muslim community in the area for the next two generations, 60 to 70 years. When asked how this 87.5 acres could serve a Muslim community estimated at 350,000 in the tri-state area, Brother Osman stated, “Some Muslims still prefer to send their family members back home to be buried. There are other Muslims who want to be able to bury their families together. Since this cemetery offers free land for burials, it is first-come-first-serve and we do not allot the land ahead of time. Therefore, some families prefer to buy family plots from non-Muslim cemeteries. Then there are situations where children are really not practicing anymore and when their parents die, they don’t know how to bury them Islamically. When a spouse of a deceased Muslim is not Muslim, they also sometimes don’t bother burying the Muslim spouse in a Muslim cemetery. Just recently, there was a Muslim man who died here and he had no family. The government was going

to cremate him. A Muslim brother heard about it, and some brothers got together and gave donations and we were able to bury him Islamically in the cemetery.”

Brother Mossadaq stated that in the future portions of the land might be used for other projects.

“In the future if we find we need an Islamic center or Islamic school, we can use this land. What was important was to get hold of it now.” Brother Osman stated, “Muslim communities in Gaithersburg, Frederick and Hagerstown are also trying to purchase land for Muslim cemeteries. The idea is growing and getting established.” [Editor’s note: A new Muslim cemetery, “Al-Firdaus Memorial Gardens” opened in Frederick, Maryland earlier this month. See Muslim Link issue, October 31, 2008]

Man claims self-defense in cab driver killingBy the Associated PressNovember 7, 2008

McLEAN, Va. - A man accused of killing a taxi driver in northern Virginia has told police he shot the driver in self-defense after the driver became angry over his inability to pay a $130 fare. Twenty-two-year-old Evan Gargiulo has been jailed since he surrendered to Fairfax Countypolice Tuesday in the

weekend slaying. A judge denied his request Thursday to be released on bond. T h e b o d y o f 4 9 - y e a r- o l d M a z h a r Nazi r, of Fa l l s Church , was found Sunday in the Tysons Corner area. Gargiulo’s lawyer, Steven Garver, says his client fired at the cab driver after the driver got angry and threatened Gargiulo over his inability to pay the fare.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), and the Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA), among others.

Releasing the survey results at the National Press Club in Washington DC, AMT Chairperson Dr. Agha Saeed said almost 90% of Muslims polled voted for Obama. “We are the embodiment of the American sentiment ... we have embodied the American mainstream,” said Saeed of the results.

Genesis Research Associates, an independent fi rm based in California, conducted the AMT commissioned survey. Six hundred and thirty-seven Muslim voters were randomly selected from a “large American Muslim voter database” of 32,696 names and interviewed over the phone November 6 and November 7, according to the AMT.

Saeed said Muslim Americans voted for issues rather than candidates, and their positions matched closely with the majority of Americans on key issues.

AMT produced what Saeed called a “score card of score cards” -- a summary of 12 key national issues like civil liberties and health care – that showed how national advocacy organizations viewed the candidates on specific issues. On civil liberties – a top priority for Muslim voters according to Saeed – the AMT scorecard showed the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) gave John McCain a 17% rating on civil liberties issues while Barack Obama received an 80% rating.

By voting for Obama, Saeed said Muslim

voters sided with most of the major national advocacy groups on their respective issues. For instance, the National Education Association gave President-elect Obama a 100% rating on education issues.

The AMT survey found the economy was the “most important issue” for Muslim voters, with 63% of the sample group saying it was the number one issue. Only 16% cited the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as the most important issue infl uencing their vote. Despite Saeed saying civil rights was the number one issue for the AMT, only 4% of the Muslim voters polled said it was the most infl uential factor in their vote.

CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad told the handful of news agencies present Obama’s election meant the “politics of fear and division was soundly defeated”, and Muslim-Americans took part in bringing about change.

Before discussing some survey particulars, Awad called on President-elect Obama to “restore American moral authority in the world”, to restore the “balance between security, civil liberties, and privacy”, to appoint “qualifi ed Muslims” to his administration, and to “cooperate with American Muslims” to better ties with the Muslim world, adding “we hope he would announce [such an initiative] from a mosque”.

Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation’s Mahdi Bray also addressed reporters at the press conference, opening by congratulating the President-elect and mentioning how signifi cant the victory is for America.

“In 1955 I was in my grandparents home when it was torched because [my grandparents] had registered to vote … this election is deeply personal and moving for me,” said Bray.

Led by Bray, MAS-Freedom Foundation spent much of this year working to register Muslim voters and to bring candidates in front of Muslim audiences through town hall meetings and candidate forums. MAS-Freedom Foundation’s strategy was to focus their manpower efforts, call banks, and mobilization resources on the battle ground states, especially Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, and Florida, explained Bray.

“We did a lot of different things to get the voters to the polls,” said Bray. Through their grassroots efforts, Bray said Muslim voter registration increased by 11% and Muslim participation will continue to increase.

“It was very disheartening to see all the Muslim bashing during this election … we say to the bashers --- enfranchisement means just that – for us second class citizenship is not an option … we have no party affi liations …we look at principles and issues, and we will not sit on the sidelines,” said Bray.

While the press conference showed the AMT coalition was optimistic about the increasing Muslim American participation in elections, a brief question and answer session revealed early concerns about an Obama administration.

Asked about the Muslim American reaction to Obama’s fi rst cabinet level appointment in democratic congressman Rahm Emmanuel, Nihad Awad said it was concerning.

“Who Obama appoints to his administration is a very important subject to the Muslim community. The fact that Emanuel has close ties to Israeli lobbies [is concerning]. Obama has to work closely with the American Muslim community … and [these voices] have to be included in any peace-making efforts for Palestine. The next days are very important. We are looking for inclusiveness … something Obama has stressed so much during his campaign. American Muslims

Voting for Obama, Muslims ‘Embody Mainstream’

“We are the embodiment of the American sentiment ... we have embodied the American mainstream,” said Agha Saeed

“In 1955 I was in my grandparents home when it was torched because [my grandparents] had registered to vote … this election is deeply personal and moving for me,” said Mahdi Bray.

The next days are very important. We are looking for inclusiveness … something Obama has stressed so much during his campaign. American Muslims [were] excluded in the decision making process during the Bush administration,” said Nihad Awad.

AMT-PAC Presidential ScorecardThe American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Election-Political Action Committee used data from votesmart.org to create a “scorecard” showing how major national advocacy groups scored Obama and McCain on key issues. Here are some of the scorecard items.

CIVIL LIBERTIESAmerican Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

80% for Obama100% for Obama

FOREIGN AID AND FOREIGN POLICYPeace Action 67% for ObamaNATIONAL SECURITYCenter for Policy Study 21% for ObamaGENDER EQUALITYNational Organization of Women (NOW) 91% for ObamaEDUCATION National Education Association (NEA) 100% for ObamaIMMIGRATIONMexican American Political Association 100% for ObamaLABORAmerican Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)

93% for Obama

FAMILY AND CHILDREN’S ISSUESChildren’s Defense Fund 60% for ObamaHEALTH CAREAmerican Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) 100% for Obama


continued >> Mainstream from pg 1

>> Mainstream II Pg 7

[were] excluded in the decision making process during the Bush administration,” said Awad.

Agha Saeed also expressed his concern about Emmanuel’s appointment.

“The appointment itself is a challenge to Obama’s world view … we hope [its not a case of] neo-cons coming in the guise of democrats,” said Saeed.

Saeed also said Muslims are looking for a restoration of due process, equal justice, and a halt to the application of ex post facto laws -- laws that can criminalize actions that were legal when committed. He also decried the use of secret evidence and said its use was “the defi nition of fascism”.

“We are not asking for special treatment, we are just asking for a restoration of the Constitution,” said Saeed. “[These things] are a litmus test to see if an Obama administration is really different than a Bush administration.”

AMT represents several of the largest Muslim organizations like the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Muslim Alliance of North America (MANA), Muslim American Society’s Freedom Foundation (MAS-FF), and the National Muslim Students Association (MAS National), among others. The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) are listed as “observers”. AMT’s political action is implemented by the AMT-PAC, and non-profi t members of AMT do not contribute to the PAC’s funding.

COMMUNITY NEWS

continued >> Mainstream II from pg 6

The AMT-PAC commission a survey of Muslim-American voters during the fi rst two days after the Obama victory. Over 600 voters were randomly selected from a database of 32,696 Muslim American voters and interviewed over the phone. Here are some of the results.

“Which presidential candidate did you vote for?”88.9% said Obama, 2.2% said McCain, .7% said Nader, .2% said McKinney

“Which of the following was the most important issue that affected your choice?” The economy (63.3%), The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (16.1%), Something Else (7.6%), Education (5%), Civil Rights (4.1%), National Security (3.8%)

“Do you consider yourself a Republican, a Democrat, an Independent, or What?”Democrat (63%), Independent (28.7%), Republican (4.1%), Declined (2.7%), Other (1.5%)

“Which of the following categories includes your household income?”Declined (21.2%), $50K-$75K (13.9%), $75K-$100K (12.9%), $100K-$200K (12.3%), $35K-$50K (12.1%),

Some Responses from the AMT Survey


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provider front line” workers can earn $22,000-$24,000 with a high school diploma and a few courses or demonstrated experience in offi ce work. Medical assistants typically need some coursework and can make signifi cantly more than an offi ce worker.

Audience members benefi ted from the seminar and found the information practical.

One sister – an accounting major – said she approached a college advisor for help in choosing a career path, and he asked her “what she wanted to do in life”. “That was too general and not useful, but this [seminar] was very specifi c and helpful,” she commented.

Riaz Hasan initiated the Employment and Career Counseling Service at ISB, hoped for a higher attendance but said it was a “good start” and was already planning the next seminar – exploring careers in the IT industry.

continued >> Health Care Jobs from pg 4

Evening Fall Festival at ADAMS Drives Away Halloween Scaries

Amina AliMuslim Link Contributing Writer

Sterling, VA October 31, 2008 -- The Fall Festival night at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society turned out to be a huge success as families gathered for an event catered towards the Muslim children in our community. What made so many families attend the event that night? Was it just because it was the start of another weekend or was there an important motive?

“It was an ingenious idea to bring the ADAMS community, especially the children, together to the masjid away from the insanity of Halloween night. It’s events like these that help foster an Islamic identity in children.” says Shazia Khan, a senior at GMU.

Muslims living in the West face the challenge of raising their children in a society where unIslamic holidays such as Valentine’s

Day, Easter, Christmas, and Halloween are publicized through television, radio, shopping malls, and neighborhoods! As part of the public schools’ curriculum, oftentimes children find themselves indulging in activities related to such unIslamic holidays. A typical case-scenario would be:

Mother: “What did you do at school today Ali?”

Child: “Our teacher asked us to draw a picture of what we wanted to be for Halloween. And I drew Spiderman!”

Mother: (perplexed)

What action do you think the mother should take? a) Compliment her son and justify her actions because he is too young to understand. b) Teach her son that Muslims do not celebrate Halloween.

Unfortunately, some parents do not understand the consequences of simply “letting go” of the matter, rather than teaching their children right from wrong at their earliest stage in life. The earlier you teach your children, the easier it is to control them when they get a little older.

If you let your children celebrate and take part in the unIslamic holidays during their elementary school years, then detaching them from continuing to do so during middle and high school will prove to be a stressful and aggravating process. Down the road, your children will appreciate your efforts in

making them aware of what being a Muslim is all about.

One of the most common mistakes that some parents tend to make is to take their children out for trick-o-treat, yet at the same time, claim that they are not “celebrating” Halloween. Their belief is that candy collecting is a harmless act and children do not understand the root of the paganistic ritual, so what’s the big deal?

“It was an ingenious idea to bring the ADAMS community, especially the children, together to the masjid away from the insanity of Halloween night. It’s events like these that help foster an Islamic identity in children.” says Shazia Khan, a senior at GMU.

COMMUNITY NEWS

ADAMS Boy Scouts were in full uniform for the evening Fall Fest, adding to the festivity of the evening. (Photo by Amina Ali).


>> Evening Pg 15

capture the license plate of the vehicle. Security cameras are fixed more on the perimeter of the

building than on the driveways and property entrances – something the ICM is already working on changing.

“At this point the investigation in still open. We don’t have enough evidence to identify the perpetrators,” said Ahmad. “We informed the neighboring churches soon after the

incident so they can protect their properties,” he added.

One silver lining in this incident is it could have been much worse.

“Everything came off by washing, all the paint, and no windows were broken, so it did

not cost us much,” explained Ahmad. A get together is planned soon at the ICM as a gesture of thanks for the outpouring of support from ICM well wishers and neighbors.

continued >> Vandalism from pg 8

“Both personally and on behalf of my congregation, I want to express our profound sadness on hearing of this disturbing act of hatred against a fellow community of faith, and express our solidarity with your community during this difficult time. Please pass these sentiments on to your congregation, as I hope this is an opportunity that brings us closer together, rather than an event which creates walls that divide us.

While such an act reminds us of the hatred and bigotry that are sometimes present in our society, this must instead become an opportunity to affirm the love and respect that is a shared part of our traditions and cultures.

Moreover, my own view is that such acts of prejudice are never justifiable and, in our community, in which we teach against stereotyping, I do not regard such an act as even “understandable.” Unfortunately, in Americansociety, the l ine between

“understandable” and “excusable” becomes all toohard to distinguish. I am appreciative of the deep soul searching that youdescribe among the Muslim community. It is crucial for every healthyreligious community and society, including my own Jewish community. But ourresponse as a civil society, and as communities of faith, must be to showopenness and acceptance at every turn to all faith communities. Such soulsearching and reaching towards peace can only be done in an atmosphere ofsecurity and acceptance.

This act against your community reminds us that the Jewish and Muslimcommunities share a common goal of encouraging a pluralistic and opensociety that respects and values all religious traditions, and I hope it isone that, contrary to the intentions of those who perpetrated it, will drawus closer together.

Warm regards, and with wishes for peace,

Rabbi Jacob BlumenthalShaare Torah CongregationGaithersburg

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Dear Sisters and Brothers at ICM:

Please allow me to extend to you my own sense of sharing your anger, regret and disappointment in the wake of the vandalism against the faithful people of ICM. On behalf of the County Executive, the Office of Community Partnerships, and the entire Montgomery County government, please know that we support your faith, deeply value your life and ministry among us, and stand with you in this difficult time.

As the pastor of a church that withstood similar acts of violence, hatred and ignorance in 2005, I know first hand the depth of the pain, the anger and resentment, and the frustration that comes as

your efforts at holiness and community-building are responded to by the ignorant, senseless acts of a few of the worst our community has to offer. We took comfort in knowing that God knew all about it, that the community at large decried the hate with us, and that God, through the pain of the situation, was making us stronger and building a stronger, more hopeful community. I pray that the same comfort would flood each soul in your congregation during this time.

I stand in solidarity with you, and I am available to you in whatever way you need me to be.

May God continue to bless you in all you do, and keep each of you in God’s peace.

Rev. Timothy B. WarnerCommunity Liaison for the African American and Faith CommunitiesMontgomery County Executive’s Office of Community Partnerships

Some of the letters of support ICM received :

COMMUNITY NEWS 9The Muslim Link, November 14, 2008

Are Muslim and American Identities Mutually Exclusive? By Sana Javed

Muslim Link Contributing Writer

According to Brother Mauri Saalakhan, Director of the Peace and Justice Foundation: No, they are not.

Brother Mauri Saalakhan elaborated upon this question and the parallels between Muslim and American identities in a lecture titled “Can I Be Muslim And American?” at the Muslim Community Center on November 2, 2008. Brother Saalakhan held this forum in hopes that it may “examine the sometimes volatile mix of identity politics, patriotism and religion, in a post 9/11 world.” From the beginning, parallels were drawn between Muslim and American identities. Br. Saalakhan established that “in order to be a good American, we must have the capacity and the courage to challenge our government to live up to the better part of itself, to challenge the people of this nation to live up to the better part of themselves.” He also added that, “the more conscientious we are as Muslims, the more committed and active we are Muslims, the better Americans we are going to be.” Br. Saalakhan expressed

how certain Muslims believe that “being American and Muslim is like oil and water, the two just do not mix.” He then replied that “…as someone who is born and raised in this country and whose roots go generations deep in the soil of this land I am here to say: you can. We must understand…that we can be Muslim and be American.”

The need for establishing a Muslim presence was a topic intertwined throughout the lecture and was echoed by audience members in the forum dialog as well. This presence demonstrates Muslims, “will not be cowed into fear and would not abandon their brothers.” Certain audience members reemphasized this by indicating they had run for public office or served in the military as Muslims. This forum and the discussions, which flourished from it, illustrate how both leaders and communities are imploring Muslim Americans to respectfully demonstrate their presence and to actively engage themselves in American society. Audience members also discussed how fields such as Political Science and Journalism lack strong Muslim voices and how the youth should equally be encouraged to pursue careers in these fields as much as Engineering or Medicine.

The forum later raised the issue of how members of the Muslim community are hesitant to criticize or only slightly criticize injustices committed by Muslim countries. Br. Saalakhan cited the observation of Sheikh Ibn Taymiyyah that, “Allah (swt) aids the just state, even if it is non-Muslim yet, He withholds His help from the oppressive state even if it is Muslim.” One member of the audience found this to be an important point and noted how “We of the Muslim community, whether we live here or in another country, tend to support policies and personalities of Muslims regardless if they meet our moral standards or not.” Br. Saalakhan added that “We, as Muslims, have to be just as conscientious about holding ourselves accountable, holding our leaders, holding our government accountable as much as we hold non-Muslim governments accountable.”

Additionally, Br. Saalakhan replied to the issue of the exclusion that the Muslim community has encountered, especially in this Presidential election year. “The isolation we have placed ourselves in for so many years and the way we have projected Islam in this country”

he said, has led to our exclusion and the misunderstanding of Islam. He gave examples of how Muslim organizations have projected Islam with a foreign voice and a foreign face, which reinforced the stereotypical belief that Muslims are a foreign threat. This perception of Islam as alien is commonplace among Americans whose only exposure to Muslims is from television or movies.

Earlier, Br. Saalakhan said, “This is Allah’s Earth and if He ordained that you or I be born in this part of the globe or travel to this part of the globe…then this is as much ours as it is anyone else’s.” In order to improve the state of Muslims in America, efforts are required both within and outside the community. Outside of the community, our presence needs to be demonstrated respectfully whether as conscientious objectors of political prisoners or as journalists. In our communities, though the challenge we face is more personal. We must eliminate the barriers between American and Muslim identities and shift from being simply Muslims in America to American Muslims.

about 150 people showed up. Al-Zaytuna restaurant (a local family-owned business in Woodbridge) donated more food than we could eat. The proceeds from that event were donated to Muslimat Al-Nisa Women’s Shelter,” added Sister Sumaya.

The spirit of these students is inspiring

“It feels great knowing I’ll be able to help keep someone warm this winter. It is doing small things like this that will help better our community as a whole, and strengthen the bond of unity with everyone around us. Not only are we doing something good for others, but it’s also a religious duty asked out of all of us. Even if we are in bad conditions, we should always remember that there are those out there that have it a lot worse than we do!” explained Sister Sumaya. Rahela Fazal, the Treasurer of the MSA at NVCC Woodbridge said da’wa was also a goal.

“Our overall goal is to portray a better image of Islam and Muslims. I think our activities have brought the Muslims on campus closer together and, at the same time, we have non-Muslims getting a better understanding and perspective on what Islam really is. I think we have gotten our point across and achieved our

goal… Last semester we coordinated a fast-a-thon. Our goal was to raise $300.00 dollars but we were very pleased when we raised $500.00 dollars. We’ve also been selling pizza this last week and the proceeds will also go to the Muslimat Al-Nisa Women’s Shelter.

Sami Ahmed, the Events Coordinator of the MSA at NVCC Woodbridge portrayed the quality of humility when he commented, “It was primarily Sumaya who had the idea to do a winter clothing drive. She was the one who suggested we do one for the women’s shelter in Baltimore… We advertised on campus by putting out collection bins on every level of the school and also advertised through Dar Al-Noor Mosque. We have had a great response. A student from the Loudon County campus of NVCC contacted the activities coordinator of our campus about collecting some donations from there.”

This handful of students, which also include Sabah Bashiruddin, the MSA President, and Galarza Luis, the MSA Secretary, are enthusiastic and driven by the tenets of Islam they grew up with in their homes. They have successfully pushed forward their agenda and have impacted not only those that they reached out to help, but the larger community of NVCC students who now have a glimpse of the promise that Islam has to offer America.

“Being considerate of others will take us a lot further in life than a college degree, we hope this can make a small difference within our world,” NVCC MSA Officers said in a collective statement.

continued >> Impact from pg 5

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Request For Dua’s{ To A l lah We Be long , and to Him i s Our Return }

“Everyone is going to taste death, and We shall make a trial of you with evil and good, and to Us you will be returned.” (Surah Al-Anbiya:35)”

10-16-08 - Sister Shaheen Sabazwari passed away in October. Her janazah was held on Sunday October 26, 2008 at Dar-alnoor Islamic Community Center. May Allah forgive her sins and admit her into paradise.

10-17-08 - Sister Mushira Mamdouh Mohamed, cousin and sister-in-law of Br. Hussein Afeefy passed away October 27, 2008 in Cairo, Egypt. May Allaah forgive her sins and enter her into Jannat ul Firdous and give sabr to the family to bear this loss. Ameen.

11-05-08 - It is with great sadness we inform you that Br. Shahid el Yunisi and Br. Robert Sutton have passed away. Inna lillahi wa innah ilayhi rajioon (We belong to Allah and to Him we return). The Salat ul-Janaza for both was held at ISB. May Allah have mercy on their souls and grant them the highest levels of Paradise. 11-07-08 - Br. Abdulai Nelson, a native of Africa, passed away Nov. 6, 2008 in a Montgomery County Hospice. Salaat ul Janazah for was held for him Nov. 7, 2008 at ICM. He was buried in the Al Firdaus Memorial Gardens in Frederick Maryland.

11-10-08 - Br. Shuib Kahin passed away on Monday, November 10, 2008. He was originally from Somalia. The janazah was held November 11, 2008 at Darul Hijrah.

11-10-08 - Asha Shire passed away on November 10, 2008. The deceased was originally from Somalia. The janazah was held November 11, 2008 at Darul Hijrah.


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COMMUNITY NEWS The Muslim Link, November 14, 200812

means capitulation to conservatism), but it is not averse to a little political calculus itself. Shah, a product of the University of Chicago, shined her corporate shoes at Anderson Consulting (who was Enron’s accountant), which probably made it easier for her to go into Clinton’s Treasury Department, where she helped Robert Rubin put a U. S. stamp on the post-1997 Asian economic recovery. The corporate side was balanced with an interest in the ideology of “giving back.” When Bush took office, Shah went to the Center for Global Development, and while there joined her brother Anand in forming Indicorps. Knowing full well the desire among many South Asian Americans to give back to their homeland, the Shahs created an organization to help them go and volunteer in India, to do for them what the Peacecorps did for young liberals in the 1960s. Shah left the CAP to work for Goldman Sachs, and then went to Google. Shah’s story is not unlike that of most of the CAP fellows, many of whom honed their dexterity at trying to reconcile the irreconcilable, capital and freedom, private accumulation and human needs. But there is a less typical side to the Shah story. Born in Gujarat, India, Shah came to the United States as a two-year old. Her father, a chemical engineer, first worked in New York before moving to Houston, and then moving away from his education toward the stock market. The Shahs remain active in Houston’s Indian community, not only in the ecumenical Gujarati Samaj (a society for people from Gujarat), but also in the far more cruel organizations of the Hindu Right, such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Overseas Friends of the BJP (the main political party of the Hindu Right) and the Ekal Vidyalaya. Shah’s parents, Ramesh

and Kokila, not only work as volunteers for these outfits, but they also held positions of authority in them. Their daughter was not far behind. She was an active member of the VHPA, the U. S. branch of the most virulently fascistic outfit within India. The VHP’s head, Ashok Singhal, believes that his organization should “inculcate a fear psychosis among [India’s] Muslim community.” This was Shah’s boss. Till 2001, Shah was the National Coordinator of the VHPA. In 2004, I ran into Shah at the South Asian

Awareness Network conference in Ann Arbor, Michigan. At an earlier panel I questioned her links to the Hindu Right, and so asked people to be wary about her organization, Indicorps. She was furious, and we had a bitter exchange in the Green Room. But at no point did she deny her active connections to the Hindu Right. Her brother, Anand, wrote to me not long after, concerned that Indicorps, which he runs full-time from India, would be tainted by our tussle. “I was curious about Sonal’s own personal relationship with the VHPA,” I wrote back, “That sparked some concern for me. Of course we are free to have our multiple associations, and there is no expectation that all our affiliations necessarily influence each other. That necessity is granted, although it is my understanding that the VHPA is a very disciplined organization that demands a lot from its members – notably congruence in all the work that they do. Which is why I raised the question.” And so I raise the quest ion again. Don’t Cry for her, Gujarat.Gujarat was once a tolerant society, made vibrant by its role in the Indian Ocean trade. People of all faiths lived there with the kind of pre-modern conviviality that did not always include respect for each other, but which did not at least dissolve into the kind of virulence on display in recent years. Certainly, oppressed castes bore the full brunt of an unequal social order, but even for them there was escape into Islam and there was a history of protest against the madness of caste rigidity. Gujarat gave us Gandhi, who went off to South Africa to learn his politics and returned to his state in 1915 to incubate the massive nation-wide movement he was to lead. In November 1917, Gandhi launched a major campaign among the Gujarati peasantry at the town of Godhra. He began his meeting there by tearing up the oath of loyalty to the King, making it clear that the new grammar of Indian politics did not require such obescience. From Godhra, charged Gandhian activists went into

the villages of Gujarat to organize the peasantry against the many abuses of colonialism. The uprising that resulted, historian David Hardiman points out, made the area “the strongest center of rural nationalism in India.” From Godhra, in 1917, went the quiet fury of freedom. In 2002, other elements came out of Godhra, showing us how different today’s Gujarat is from its own history. This time Godhra was the flashpoint not for rural protest against tyranny, but for the forces

of Hindu fascism. A disputed train fire that killed fifty-eight people (most of whom were activists of the Hindu Right) led to a massive pogrom against impoverished Muslim families and modestly well-off Muslim merchants. Even the normally reticent Human Rights Watch could not hold back, and its report’s title revealed not only the anger of the investigators but also their own principle finding, “We have no orders to save you” State Participation and Complicity in Communal Violence in Gujarat (April 2002). The Hindu Right let loose its warriors who

killed two thousand people and displaced several thousand more. The state apparatus either stood by or actively participated in the torment. Investigators who traced the line of violence routinely met people who told them, “They killed my whole family.” The carnage was ghastly. Historian Tanika Sarkar wrote of a “breathless climate of terror,” as people fled their homes for poorly managed relief camps,

afraid not only of the organized mob but also of the police. People couldn’t sleep, afraid that their tormentors would come again. Chief Minister Narendra Modi came to one area and told the terrified residents, “You will be taken care of.” The language chills: he might have meant that the state will protect them, or that it would punish them. His scowl and his brazen defense of his mobs was no comfort. Gujarat remains a manufacturing center, but in the 1970s the social basis of industry changed. From the 1910s to the 1970s, the textile factories hired large numbers of workers, most of whom were members of the Gandhian trade union, the Majoor Mahajan Sangh (MMS). They had their various grouses with the system, but most had grown accustomed to the rhythms of industrial society. When a major riot between Hindus and Muslims broke out in the Gujarati city of Ahmedabad in 1969, the police moved their headquarters to the MSS office, and the union and the state jointly helped to calm things down. But in the 1970s, the large textile factories snuffed their fires, sending their workers from the formal into the informal economy. The social infrastructure of the towns and cities collapsed. Workers went into the piecework economy, driving the economic fortunes of the big businessmen through the roof but at the cost of the workers’ health and social dignity. Globalization arrived in Gujarat. The disgruntled workers regrouped out of the MSS into the arms of the newly aggressive Hindu Right, which welcomed their grievances and reshaped their dignity around hatred of Muslims and oppressed castes. The riot of 1993 was a dress rehearsal for the pogrom of 2002. Lumpen-capitalism led to the social collapse of Gujarat. In mid-March 2002, a few weeks after the pogrom, sociologist Jan Breman went to meet MSS’s secretary general, who sorrowfully recounted his inability to reach the police during the killings. It is a sign of the eclipse of the Gandhian platform in favor of what has been called the Vedic Taliban. The Vedic Taliban includes not only the BJP, the party in power during the Gujarat killings, but also a host of organizations known as the Sangh Parivar. These include groups whose U. S. affiliate drew in Sonal Shah’s parents, and to which she also gave her time and energy. This is not in the distant past. In 2004, while

at the CAP, Sonal Shah gave the keynote address in Miami for the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of the USA. The Ekal Vidyalaya is an organization given over to “education” in tribal areas of India. It is the policy of the Ekal Vidyalaya to organize tribal peoples into the “Hindu community” and to eschew the Christianity and animism that many practice. The climate created by the Ekal Vidyalaya

and the VHP in the tribal areas of India led to the recent massacres of Indian Christians. Sonal Shah’s father Ramesh is in charge of the Ekal Vidyalaya in the U. S. She didn’t take the time in Miami to raise these concerns. Rather she ta lked about her Indicorps project, which has sent volunteers to work with groups like Ekal Vidyalaya. The

language of social justice and cultural r ights work well to cover over the fascism that is otherwise being promoted. In 2004, the hard Right government in Gujarat honored Shah with the Pride of Gujarat (Gujarat Garima) award. Sonal Shah could not attend, but her brother was there, to get the award from Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in the presence of the venomous Narendra Modi.

Hold It In Your Heart.Obama’s campaign was monumental. The energy unleashed within the country was something to behold. The small dissident wings of the anti-war and anti-free trade movements had not been able to cultivate such a massive wave, and even as many of us had our doubts about this or that element of the Democratic agenda, it was hard to be unmoved by the urgent enthusiasm of the people. Obama himself was super, a disciplined candidate who not only carried the weight of history lightly, but also made sure to remain unruffled by the riotous attacks of the Republicans. Coming to power with an incredibly efficient campaign, it is therefore all the more surprising that he had to turn to the likes of Podesta to form his governing team. But this is also no surprise. Podesta played a role in the mysterious Democracy Alliance, the group of high rollers around the Democratic Party who were frustrated with the Clinton theory of triangulation and wanted a more robust liberalism to command their party (it was for a time presided over by Rob McKay, the Taco Bell heir who gave some of his millions to finance the San Francisco living wage battle). The Democracy Alliance came together to bridge the gap between the two arguments that tore at the Democratic Party in the Bush years. The principled argument ran between those who pushed a more liberal strategy and those who wanted to take Clintonian pragmatism to its limit. The organizational argument took place between those who felt that the Democratic Party should compete in all fifty states (Howard Dean) and those who wanted to maintain the

continued >> Faces from pg 1

>> Faces II Pg 13

In 2004, the hard Right government in Gujarat honored Shah with the Pride of Gujarat (Gujarat Garima) award. Sonal Shah could not attend, but her brother was there, to get the award from Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in the presence of the venomous Narendra Modi.

The Shahs remain active in Houston’s Indian community, not only in the ecumenical Gujarati Samaj (a society for people from Gujarat), but also in the far more cruel organizations of the Hindu Right, such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Overseas Friends of the BJP (the main political party of the Hindu Right) and the Ekal Vidyalaya.

To Advertise With The Muslim Link Call

301.982.1020

COMMUNITY NEWS 13The Muslim Link, November 14, 2008

Tom Rust, Former Fairfax County Supervisor Chairperson Kate Hanley, Loudoun County Supervisor Eugene Delguadio, and more have joined our celebrations in the past!

This event is organized and sponsored by several of the key Muslim organizations in the Washington metropolitan area. These include the All Dulles Area Muslim Society(ADAMS) (Sterling, VA), Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center(Falls Church, VA), Masjid Muhammad(Washington, DC), Manassas Mosque(Manassas, VA), Muslim Association of Virginia(Woodbridge, VA and Manassas, VA). The event is co-sponsored

by many local and national organizations including the Coordinating Council of Muslim Organizations in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area(CCMO).

All members of the community from the DC Metropolitan Area and the Mid-Atlantic area are invited to Celebrate Eid Al-Adha together in Unity for the Sake of Allah(SWT).

To see a online video of Eid al-Adha please see Washington Post Article and Online Video: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/12/20/ST2007122000080.html?sid=ST2007122000080

Prepared By: Rizwan Jaka, Chair, DC Area Eid Committee. Printed as a community service announcement by the Muslim Link newspaper.

continued >> Celebration from pg 4

focus on the fourteen competitive states (Rahm Emanuel). This was a bitter battle. Podesta’s calmness usefully held these two sections together. His CAP, in fact, not only became a neutral ground for these two sections of the Democratic Party, but it also had ambitions to link the Party to the various progressive movements that lay on its outer rim and beyond. Many of the Centers’ ideas, however, strayed far from progressivism, keener to be bold against its base (such as teacher’s unions) than against the world of finance. A recent study complained about teacher absence in the public schools (ten days a year), something that disproportionately impacted students in low-income neighborhoods. But not a word about the ruin of social welfare by the Clinton White House that resulted in the lack of institutions to shore up parents, teachers and students in these neighborhoods. For our intrepid liberals it is far easier to utilize their calculus of triangulation to blame the teachers. On foreign policy, the champions of humanitarian interventionism based at the CAP remain confident, regardless of the failures in Afghanistan and Iraq. These are blamed on Bush’s incompetence rather than on the exhaustion of U. S. imperialism. To revive their interventionist fantasies, the CAP liberals use Darfur. It stiffens the spine. John Prendergast holds the reins here, running the ENOUGH project of the CAP. He is committed to the merits of doing something in Darfur, but has little sense of the role that “Darfur” plays within the U. S. in keeping the terminally ill concept of humanitarian interv entionism alive (for more on this, look for Mahmood Mamdani’s Survivors and Saviors, coming out in 2009). Right after Obama’s election, Predergast co-wrote a

letter to the president-elect asking Obama to “lead a concerted international peace surge for Sudan.” This letter went out just as violence increased in the Great Lakes region of Africa (ground-zero for the Cell-Phone Wars of our day; the region is the source of coltan, an essential element for cell-phones) and as Israel’s armies once more struck the civilian populations of Gaza. Not a word from CAP on this. Nor on the Gujarat violence, or the killing of the Christians by the Hindu Right. No humanitarian interventionism when this affects U. S. imperial interests. Which is why Shah’s own far Right commitments in India are not contradictory to those of the CAP liberals; many of them have similar commitments to the far Right in Israel or in other parts of the world. When asked to name his favorite books, Obama mentioned that one of them is Gandhi’s The Story of My Experiments with Truth. I encourage him to go to his edition (mine is the Beacon Press one from 1957) and turn to page 155. There he will find a simple sentence, “It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honored by the humiliation of their fellow-beings.” The Hindu Right thrives on the humiliation of Indian Muslims, Christians, and oppressed castes, and it derives its social power from those who are survivors of the failed experiment in globalization. Those millions, like myself, who feel a joy in snubbing the Bush dynamic and the entire history of social exclusion in the United States should demand that our hopes be held to a higher standard. Not to the howling dogs, but to the doves.

Vijay Prashad is the George and Martha Kellner Chair of South Asian History and Director of International Studies at Trinity College, Hartford, CT His new book is The Darker Nations: A People’s History of the Third World, New York: The New Press, 2007. He can be reached at: [email protected]

continued >> Faces II from pg 12

Upcoming Events In Your Area2008 URBAN MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE SYMPOSIUMSaturday, November 15, 2008Washington, DC, November 15, 2008 -The Aalia Group, Inc. in cooperation with Raising Expectations, Inc., a DC-based 501c3 youth arts enrichment organization, presents the 2008 Urban Mental HealthInitiative Symposium. This public event will be televised before a live studio audience at DCTV Studios, 901 Newton, St. NE, Washington, D.C. on November 15, 2008, from 2:00-5:00pm. The 2-hour program will present an educational dialogue that highlights approaches to mental health treatment within u ...For more information or to RSVP, please visit our website at: http://www.Aaliagrp.org and www.RaisingExpectationsDC.org.

Muslim Matrimonial eventSunday, November 16, 20085th Muslim Matrimonial on Sunday November 16th In the Washington area MillanUS.com, premier Muslim Matrimonial Event, the organization providing a platform to Muslim male and female selecting their life partner. * Get together with your own. * Meet one-on-one and socialize with Muslim singles. * Many participants have already found a life partner. * Chaperoned event with Islamic values. * Months of searching for spouse condensed into one day. www.MillanUS.com [email protected] [email protected] Jamil 516-840-0396 Zeba 516-612-3505 [email protected]

ISLAMIC WILLS SEMINARFriday, November 21, 2008Where Will Your Possessions Go After You Die? Complete your Islamic will in one hour. The seminar will be given by an Muslim estate planning lawyer and you will leave with your own legallly valid shari’ah-compliant will. Location: 9503 Fingerboard Rd., Urbana, MD 21754 ...301-874-9105 [email protected]

Muslim Heritage and the Contemporary Challenges in IndiaSaturday, November 22, 2008 The Maryland/Virginia Chapter of Indian Muslim Council-USA invites you to a lecture and presentation by noted scholars, Professor Akhtarul Wasey from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and Dr. Omar Khalidi from MIT, Boston. The program also includes a visual presentation on Islamic Architecture in India. (Tea/Snacks

will be served. The event is open to public, RSVP is requested.) ... Saleem Ahmed - (410) 369 6590 Shayaq Ahmed - (682) 551 4787 [email protected]

Islamic Relief - Building for the FutureSaturday, November 22, 2008 Afghanistan Facts: -Over half of Afghanistan’s 31 million people live below the poverty line -Over 1.5 million widows live in Afghanistan (90% unable to read & write) -Three decades of conflict have left over 2 million children orphaned Help Islamic Relief change thesestatistics and be a part of something bigger than yourself. Learn more about the situation, find out what Islamic Relief is trying to do, and learn how you can help. Saturday, November 22, 2008 6:00pm - 9:30pm Star L ...If anyone is interested in volunteering and/or selling tickets, pleasecontact Belkacem Nahi at 703-370-7202 or email him at [email protected] [email protected]

CAIR 14th Annual BanquetSunday, November 23, 2008American Muslims: Defining Ourselves Speakers: Congressman Keith Ellison Ambassador Edward Peck Debbie Almontaser Delegate Saqib Ali Imam Siraj Wahhaj with entertainment by Azhar Usman Sunday, November 23, 2008 Registration 5:00pm Program 6:30pm Marriott Crystal City Arlington Ballroom 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway Arlington, VA 22202 $70 person ... To RSVP please call 202.742.6447 or visit www.cair.com/banquet

November “Friend”-Raiser @ Masjid Al-IslamThursday, November 27, 2008Thursday, November 27, 2008 3:00 – 6:00 pm Featuring a special discussion on “Strategic Management under Conditions of Repression” The community of Masjid Al-Islam in DC has an Islamic group home-schooling program which they would like to expand. The students receive a well-rounded education in a healthy Islamic environment and they have consistently scored above DC public school averages in standardized testing. Also, the community wants to accommodate the needs of a growing number of ... [email protected] Sis. Bahiyah: 202.581.2800 [email protected]

Truthfulness

ISLAM

IslamThe way of life given to us by our Creator and practiced by our Messenger Sallallahu ‘alyhi wa sallam


Shaykh Salmaan al-’Awdah hafi dhahullaah

“O You who believe! Have taqwa with Allah, and be among the truthful.” (Surat al- Tawbah:119)

Many people understand truthfulness to mean truthfulness of the tongue through speech alone. In reality, truthfulness is a vast curriculum. It is as much one of the characteristics of the Muslim’s personality both outward and inward, as it is his speech and action. From it are the following:

A. Truthfulness in conveying the Religion: That is, one must profess the correct belief built upon truthfulness with Allah Azza wa Jall, not upon hypocrisy, deceit and patronization. This is why truthfulness is mentioned in the Qur’an as the opposite of hypocrisy. “That Allah may reward the truthful for their truth, and punish the hypocrites if He wills, or turn mercifully towards them...” (Surat al-Ahzaab:64). Therefore, it is necessary to posses the outward Islam with the inward Imaan; it is necessary to have the correct belief in Allah,

the Last Day, the Angels, the Books, and the Messengers. The outward guidance must conform to the inward guidance.

Here, is one of the hidden plots of shaytaan who inspires the daaìya to neglect some of the outward good deeds under the pretense that his inner reality is not the same. So he avoids this in order to avoid deceiving the people! This is a huge mistake. The good deed which you perform outwardly is so because of the righteousness and truthfulness in your heart as long as you do not do it for riyaa’ [show], reputation or in order to deceive the believers.

B. Truthfulness in speech: Truthfulness in speech expresses a dignified personality, manhood, insight and generosity. No one would resort to lies unless he has a wicked nature, a wicked nafs [self], and a weak personality. A good-natured individual denounces lie and rebukes it, which is why all of the [previous revelations] agreed upon the prohibition and admonition of lie. How about the daai’ya then, can you imagine him lying!? I believe not, inshaa Allah. Some of the daai’yas may come across ambiguously by making certain statements which some people

misunderstand, then later they may fi nd out the opposite of what they misunderstood. Then they accuse him of lying. Besides, ambiguity may lead to the acceptance of some minor lies under the pretense that it is helpful!! So be cautious!

If you are in a situation that would cause you to lie, avoid doing so, and remember the words of Abu Sufyaan before Heracles when he was asked about the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and he [latter narrated to Muhammad sallallahu àlaihi wa sallam], “I swear by Allah, if I was sure that they would not have transmitted a lie from me, I would have lied about you.” [Bukhari] This man, who was an idolater at the time, avoided lying out of fear that his lying would be transmitted, or that he would be insulted some day because of it. Re avoided lying even though he needed to do so We know that the honor of today’s duaat [pl. of daai iya] has become a target for a barrage of arrows, and this is why it is necessary for the daa’iya to close the door before the foul wind comes in, so that he can be safe!

C. Truthfulness in deeds: Meaning that a person’s deeds have to be purely for Allah Ta’ala without riyaa’ or seeking good reputation, “Whoever hopes to meet his Lord, he should do good deeds, and not join any one in the worship of His Lord.” and “...that He may try you; which of you is the best in deeds.” (Surat al Kahf:11 and Mulk 2) Fudail bin Ayaad commented that, “Which one of you is the best in deeds” means ‘most sincere and pertinent.’ He was asked, “O father of

Ah! What is most sincere and pertinent?” He said, “If the deed is sincere and not pertinent it won’t be accepted, and if it is pertinent and not sincere, it won’t be accepted. It will not be accepted until it is sincere and pertinent!” Included among the subject of truthfulness in deeds is, possessing clarity and avoiding obscurity or ambiguity. It was reported upon the authority of Abu Dawud and Nisaa’ee that after a confrontation with a man, when the companions refrained from standing up for him sallallahu àlaihi wa sallam he rebuked them, so they said, “O Messenger of Allah, we don’t know what is in your nafs, couldn’t you signal us with your eye?” He (peace be upon him) said, “It is not becoming of a Prophet that he have a deceiving eye!!” [Abu Dawud, Nisaa’ee, Hakim, Ahmad from the hadeeth of Anas in which it is, “A Prophet does not wink.”] Tirmidhi reported that ‘Abdullah bin Salaam, said “When the Prophet, came to Madina the people came out and said, ‘The Messenger of Allah has come! The Messenger of Allah has come! The Messenger of Allah has come!’ So I came forward among the people to look at him (peace be upon him), and when I beheld his face I knew that his face wasn’t the face of a liar. And the fi rst thing that he (peace be upon him) said was, “O People! Spread the salaam, and serve the food, and pray while the people are asleep, you will enter Jannah peacefully.” [Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.] The truthfulness of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon

From Moral Character of the Daa’iya

Imaam ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah rahimahullaah

Just as the heart may be described in terms of being alive or dead, it may also be regarded as belonging to one of three types; these are the healthy heart, the dead heart, and the sick heart.

The Healthy HeartOn the Day of Resurrection, only those who come to Allah with a healthy heart will be saved. Allah says:

“The day on which neither wealth nor sons will be of any use, except for whoever brings to Allah a sound heart.” (26:88-89)

In defi ning the healthy heart, the following has been said: “It is a heart cleansed from any passion that challenges what Allah commands, or disputes what He forbids. It is

free from any impulses which contradict His good. As a result, it is safeguarded against the worship of anything other than Him, and seeks the judgement of no other except that of His Messenger. Its services are exclusively reserved for Allah, willingly and lovingly, with total reliance, relating all matters to Him, in fear, hope and sincere dedication. When it loves, its love is in the way of Allah. If it detests, it detests in the light of what He detests. When it gives, it gives for Allah. If it withholds, it withholds for Allah. Nevertheless, all this will not suffi ce for its salvation until it is free from following, or taking as its guide, anyone other than His Messenger.”

A servant with a healthy heart must dedicate it to its journey’s end and not base his actions and speech on those of any other person except Allah’s Messenger. He must not give precedence to any other faith or words or deeds over those of Allah and His Messenger,

may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Allah says:

“Oh you who believe, do not put yourselves above Allah and His Messenger, but fear Allah, for Allah is Hearing, Knowing.” (49:1)

The Dead HeartThis is the opposite of the healthy heart. It does not know its Lord and does not worship Him as He commands, in the way which He likes, and with which He is pleased. It clings instead to its lusts and desires, even if these are likely to incur Allah’s displeasure and wrath. It worships things other than Allah, and its loves and its hatreds, and its giving and its withholding, arise from its whims, which are of paramount importance to it and preferred above the pleasure of Allah. Its whims are its imam. Its lust is its guide. Its ignorance is its leader. Its crude impulses are its impetus. It is immersed in its concern with worldly objectives. It is drunk with its own fancies and its love for hasty, fl eeting pleasures. It is called to Allah and the akhira from a distance but it does not respond to advice, and instead it follows any scheming, cunning Shaytaan. Life angers and pleases it, and passion makes

it deaf and blind (1) to anything except what is evil.

To associate and keep company with the owner of such a heart is to tempt illness: living with him is like taking poison, and befriending him means utter destruction.

The Sick HeartThis is a heart with life in it, as well as illness. The former sustains it at one moment, the latter at another, and it follows whichever one of the two manages to dominate it. It has love for Allah, faith in Him, sincerity towards Him, and reliance upon Him, and these are what give it life. It also has a craving for lust and pleasure, and prefers them and strives to experience them. It is full of self-admiration, which can lead to its own destruction. It listens to two callers: one calling it to Allah and His Prophet and the akhira; and the other calling it to the fl eeting pleasures of this world. It responds to whichever one of the two happens to have most infl uence over it at the time.The fi rst heart is alive, submitted to Allah, humble, sensitive and aware; the second is brittle and dead; the third wavers between either its safety or its ruin.

The Types of Heart

>> Truthfulness Pg 15

CONTINUED

For some families, the ADAMS evening event was not about proving a point that Muslims celebrate something else on Halloween night. Some families showed up simply because it was an event catered towards children, not because they sympathized with their children who could not participate in Halloween.

ADAMS does not organize similar events on Valentine’s Day, Christmas and Thanksgiving. Then why organize an event on Halloween? Perhaps, it attracts many more Muslim children than any other unIslamic holidays do. For other families, participating in anything related to Halloween was a big no-no and therefore, Muslims made the effort to attend the Fall Festival that night.

The masjid was jam-packed. Many said that they did not expect such a turnout, and many more suggested extending such events outdoors because it was very crowded. As families entered through the double-glass doors, others struggled to exit for fresh air. People were moving in all directions--some thronged the food area, while others crowded the main auditorium.

The atmosphere was a colorful delight that smelled of buttery popcorn, cotton candy, and spicy chaat. Homemade brownies and chocolate chip cookies were being sold for $1/piece at a booth dedicated to raising money for a playground at ADAMS. An eye-catching picture of a little girl swinging on the the stair rails of the masjid hung on the wall behind the booth.

There were a number of booths set up according to station numbers for children of all ages: An ADAMS community tree made out of brown paper was plastered on the wall and names of the Muslim community members were written on fall-colored leaves and taped onto the tree. The face-painting, playdough and arts and crafts stations were favorites for the youngsters, while the stations for henna and ready-made oriental-style garb from Modern Mary attracted many of the sisters present. A variety of children’s’ toys--light balls, water guns, yo-yos, etc--were an added delight for a lot of the young ones.

Besides the food booth from Spice Town and the popcorn and cotton candy, one station proved to be the most successful by the end of the night: the Balloon Sculptor. Lines began to form at the start of the event. It took up to two hours for some of the children to receive their balloons. They weren’t your ordinary every-day balloon--these were balloons that could be shaped into anything you desired. Many children chose the animal-shaped balloon where the sculptor would twist and turn the balloon into an extraordinary figure. Little girls walked around with colorful balloon crowns on their heads, while the little boys played sword fight with their sword-shaped balloons.

Local author Hina Khan read aloud to a group of eager children from her recently published holiday book about Eid called “Night of the Moon.” At the end of the story, questions were asked and whoever answered correctly was given a prize at the end of the night.

One of the onlookers commented that the best thing was the martial arts performance. Towards the end of the night, families gathered in the auditorium to watch a martial arts act by young students. Some parents stood with their children on their shoulders, while other children stood on tables because it was too crowded to see. Nonetheless, it was an intense and exciting show led by the professional instructors of ADAMS.

The event brought out a sense of awareness amongst the Muslim community. It instilled a feeling of unity that we all are coming together to maintain our Muslim identity even through the pressures we face from the culture around us.

Halloween is one of them. To protect our children, the organizers felt a sense of responsibility to set up an event that would help divert the attention of the children from ghosts, goblins, witches, and wizards. The best part about the Fall festival was that there were no traces of Halloween--the different stations did their utmost to prevent any of their activities from relating to paganistic ritual. The face painting and the balloons were anything BUT ghosts, goblins, witches, and wizards!

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is not an exaggeration to state that a fairly large percentage of them would be averse to the positive vision of change that Obama claims to want. And that is a scary thought, one that sobers us up the reality, and shows us that there is a lot of work to do ahead. As an American, I cannot help but feel a sense of joy, a sense of optimism for the future, and the work ahead for all of us. And as a Muslim, I sincerely pray that Allah wants good for this country, and that He places people in power that will bring about that good through them, and through all of us. The Obama campaign might have stopped now, but our campaign as Muslims,

in spreading the truth and calling for justice, never stops as long as we remain in this world. In this moment of elated happiness, when the nation itself seems swept away with the raw emotion of victory, let us remember that true victory is one’s spiritual victory in winning the pleasure of Allah. Let us keep in mind that leaders come and go, nations rise and fall, and one day, after having witnessed much happiness and sorrow, we too shall depart, leaving this world with only our deeds to show. May Allah make us all beacons of light, calling people to the truth, and being a shining example for others to follow. Yasir QadhiNew Haven, CT

him) spread from his heart to his tongue...to the extremities, it became manifest in his honorable face...(peace be upon him). Everyone who beheld his bright vision saw truthfulness and was assured that his face was absolutely not the face of a liar!! We are in need for the type of duaat who transmit truthfulness with their speech and deeds so much so that truthfulness becomes a natural disposition swimming through their veins, emerging through their outward behavior, so that when the people see them they say, “These are not the faces of liars!”We are also in need of duaat who are beautified with moral excellence, who stay away from selfishness and agitation, who persevere through their tranquility, who are moderate in their manner of speaking in all circumstances in such a way that the people are able to look at their characteristics and say, “These are the characteristics of Prophets! “Surely truthfulness in carrying our dawa is a cause for people to accept our religion, and we should not be like the actor on the stage who shows the people the opposite of what

he really is. In this case, the reality of such a daa’iya is quickly revealed and the people rush away from him.

It was reported that one of the Salaf [pious predecessors] used to affect people and bring them to tears while admonishing them, to the point that you could hear them crying loudly. Yet someone else may have given a better speech in the same gathering and may have been more knowledgeable, but he could not affect their hearts nor bring them to tears! So his son asked him about this one day and his response was, “The weeping of the mother who lost her beloved is not like the weeping of the one who is paid to do so.”

Therefore the first mean for the success of the daai’ya is: His truthfulness in carrying his dawa, his seriousness in it and truthfulness in words and deeds must be his method and characteristic of him. Elegant sweet words are not most important - even if they are required - more important is truthfulness, that he is in harmony with himself, and his speech comes from the heart.

Long ago it was said:“If a word comes from the heart it will land in the heart... and if it comes from the tongue it will not even pass the ears!!”

continued >> Truthfulness from pg 14

dollar from their direct trade relations, relying only on their own currencies.” “Why,” asks another Chinese publication, “should China help the US to issue debt without end in the belief that the national credit of the US can expand without limit?” The world has tired of American hegemony and had its fill of American arrogance.

America’s reputation is in tatters: the financial debacle, endless red ink, Abu Ghraib, Gitmo, rendition, torture, illegal wars based on lies and deception, disrespect for the sovereignty of other countries, war crimes, disregard for international law and the Geneva Conventions, the assault on habeas corpus and the separation of powers, a domestic police state, constant interference in the internal affairs of other countries, boundless hypocrisy. The change that is coming is the end of American empire. The hegemon has run out of money and influence. Obama as “America’s First Black President” will lift hopes and, thus, allow the act to be carried on a little

longer. But the New American Century is already over.

***

Paul Craig Roberts served as an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Administration earning fame as the “Father of Reaganomics”. He is a former editor and columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. In 1992 he received the Warren Brookes Award for Excellence in Journalism. In 1993 the Forbes Media Guide ranked him as one of the top seven journalists in the United States

continued >> Conned from pg 19

continued >> Optimistic from pg 18

continued >> Evening from pg 8

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The elder Emanuel, also not shy

Release Of Three Prisoners Highlights Failures Of GuantánamoBy Andy WorthingtonNovember 11, 2008

Guantánamo, it seems, is about to become a buzzword once more, as it is, in many ways, the most iconic symbol of Barack Obama’s challenge to undo the Bush administration’s zeal for unfettered executive power. Already, however, pundits are stepping forward to point out the diffi culties involved in dismantling the system, whining about the dangerous terrorists held there, and neglecting to note that, above all, Guantánamo is a brutal and failed experiment, in which hubris and torture are tangled up with, on the one hand, a small group of terrorist threats and, on the other, many more examples of prisoners seized and held as a result of bungled intelligence and pointlessly abusive interrogations.Behind the rhetoric, few commentators spare a thought for the victims of this sustained example of lawlessness, stupidity and cruelty, most of whom are still held in crushing isolation for 22 or 23 hours a day, despite never being charged or tried for any crime.On the eve of the Presidential election, three prisoners — one from Kazakhstan, one from Tajikistan and one from Somaliland — were released from Guantánamo, and their stories neatly encapsulate many of the chronic failures relating to the prisoners’ initial arrest and detention that still plague the prison as the new administration begins considering how to shut it down.

The teenager from KazakhstanThe last of four Kazakhs in Guantánamo, Abdulrahim Kerimbakiev was seized by Northern Alliance soldiers in a house raid in Kabul in December 2001, along with two compatriots from his home village. He was 18 years old at the time, as was one of his companions, Abdullah Magrupov, who had only been at the house for fi ve days, after studying at a madrassa in Karachi. At his tribunal in Guantánamo, Magrupov said that they were captured by a Northern Alliance commander, who held them in “some kind of huge container” and “a place like a barn,”

before transferring them to US custody.During his tribunal, Kerimbakiev explained that he had traveled to Afghanistan in 2000 with ten family members, including his grandmother, his mother, and his sisters and brothers, but what interested the US authorities was his alleged status as a cook for the Taliban. Kerimbakiev denied the allegations, saying that he lived a simple life in a house in Kabul, where he spent most of his time growing vegetables. This was diffi cult for his tribunal to accept, and prompted one of its members to say, “We’re trying to understand why you’re here. The United States wouldn’t detain someone for more than two years for simply growing vegetables. Can you help us understand?”Although it was quite possible to be imprisoned for growing vegetables, Kerimbakiev explained that the other man captured with him, Yakub Abahanov, “was a cook for the [Taliban] back-up forces,” and it seems likely, therefore, that Kerimbakiev was actually growing vegetables for the Taliban — although none of this explains why a teenager scraping a meager living from feeding the troops of the Afghan government should be transported halfway around the world to spend the next seven years of his life in a prison for terror suspects. Nevertheless, while Abdullah Magrupov and Yakub Abahanov were released in December 2006, Abdulrahim Kerimbakiev’s perceived lies led to him being held for another 23 months.

A 63-year old Somali refugeeThe story of Mohammed Hussein Abdallah, a father of eleven who was 57 years old when he was dragged from his house in Peshawar, Pakistan, and transported to Guantánamo, is no less shocking. If Abdulrahim Kerimbakiev’s experience indicates misplaced zeal on the part of the United States’ Afghan allies, Mohammed Abdallah’s demonstrates similar failings on the part of the Pakistani authorities and the US agents who were advising them.Mohammed Abdallah is one of dozens of Guantánamo prisoners seized in house raids in Pakistan — mostly between January and

July 2002 — who were working for Gulf-based charities, which, in the eyes of the US authorities, were fronts for terrorist activities. The pursuit of these organizations began after Paul O’Neill, the Secretary of the US Treasury, blacklisted two organizations: the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society (RIHS), a Kuwait-based NGO, with branches around the world, whose stated aim was “to improve the condition of the Muslim community and develop an awareness and understanding of Islam amongst the non-Muslim communities, by concentrating on youth and education,” and the Afghan Support Committee (ASC), which, according to the US Treasury, had been established by Osama bin Laden in the 1980s.

In a statement, Paul O’Neill claimed that personnel in both groups, including two alleged directors, Abu Bakr al-Jaziri and Abdul Muhsin al-Libi, “defrauded well-meaning contributors by diverting money donated for widows and orphans to al-Qaeda terrorists.” This may or may not have been the case, but al-Jaziri and al-Libi were never caught, and those who took the blame instead were the organizations’ innocent workers, who were responsible for the lion’s share of their charitable work, which included running schools and orphanages, drilling wells and building mosques.

On 27 May 2002, fi ve members of RIHS — one Jordanian and four Sudanese — were seized in house raids in Peshawar, and transported to Guantánamo. All were subsequently released (between November 2003 and December 2007), but one of them, Hamad Gadallah, an accountant who clearly impressed his tribunal with his descriptions of a competent and principled organization that “had nothing to do with any terrorist acts,” explained that his downstairs neighbour, Abu Mohammed — a teacher from Algeria who did not work for the RIHS — was arrested on the same day. This was indeed the case, but what Gadallah did not know was that two other teachers were also seized on the same

day: Menhal al-Henali (a Syrian, who was released in November 2003), and Mohammed Hussein Abdallah.

In Guantánamo, Abu Mohammed (who was released in November 2006, but was sent to Albania because of fears that he would be tortured in his home country) explained how the three men used to travel to work together in a bus that was provided for the teachers, and Abdallah expanded on the story during his tribunal.

Refuting an allegation that he was “arrested in a raid on suspected al-Qaeda residences and support facilities connected to the Afghan Support Committee,” he pointed out that he had lived in Peshawar under UN refugee status since 1993, had never worked for the ASC, and had spent the two years prior to his capture teaching orphans in a Red Crescent school. He said that he rented a house where he lived with one of his daughters and her family, and denied having anything to do with any kind of terrorist organization. “If there is anybody here that should be called a terrorist,” he said, “it should be the people that came to my house that took me at two o’clock in the morning in front of my children and grandchildren. The women were crying and the children were terrorized, crying and screaming.” Called as a witness during his hearing, Abu Mohammed described Abdallah as “basically a family man [who] just goes from home to work and does not really associate with people, period. Very rarely do you see him with other people.”

The taxi driver from TajikistanThe released Tajik, Zainulabidin Merozhev, was a relatively late arrival at Guantánamo. Seized by US forces in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif on July 3, 2003, when he was 25 years old, he was identifi ed as “Jumma Jan,” and was accused, in Guantánamo,

An interview with Rahm Emanuel’s father, reprinted in the Jerusalem Post:

In an interview with Ma’ariv, Emanuel’s father, Dr. Benjamin Emanuel, said he was convinced that his son’s appointment would be good for Israel. “Obviously he will infl uence the president to be pro-Israel,” he was quoted as saying. “Why

wouldn’t he be? What is he, an Arab? He’s not going to clean the fl oors of the White House.” For all the chatter in the campaign about worries about Obama from the hawkish pro-Israel right, his fi rst move is going to raise more alarms in Riyadh and Tehran than in Jerusalem.

>> World Press Pg 18

OPINION AND EDITORIALS

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The Muslim Link (TML) is published every other Friday on a Bi-Weekly Schedule and distributed throughout the Washington, Baltimore, and Northern Virginia Metropolitan Areas. TML is a non-profit publication and is based at Dar-us-Salaam in College Park, Maryland, USA. Staff and contributors are not necessarily affiliated with Dar-us-Salaam.

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As many of you know, the Muslim Link is a non-profit newspaper that has been serving the greater Washington and Baltimore metropolitan areas for the past 10 years.

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Congrats, and Get Ready to Rumble!Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahe Wa Barakatuhu MashAllah, it was great to read about Abdul Malik and his students’ awesome wins at the Battle of Baltimore (“Al-Azhar Martial Arts Sweeps Battle of Baltimore”, Muslim Link October 31, 2008). All of us from Aqabah

Karate congratulate them for this achievement. Insha-Allah, he has inspired us to compete next year. For those of you who don’t know, Abdul Malik taught Martial Arts at the home of our martial arts school in Darussalaam, College Park, way back in 1999. Aqabah Karate started at Darussalaam soon after.

So, dear Abdul Malik, your legacy still lives. It will be an honor, and loads of fun, to have our schools compete with and against each other :-). Muhib RahmanChief Instructor, Aqabah Karate College Park, Maryland

OPINION AND EDITORIALS The Muslim Link, November 14, 200818

Yasir Qadhi: Obama Win Reason to be OptimisticIndeed, all praise is due to Allah, and may peace and salutations be upon the prophets of Allah. When the Muslims were in Makkah, there was a major war raging in a nearby land; a war that was, relative to its time, of cataclysmic proportion. It was being fought out between the only two super-powers of the era. And even though the Muslims themselves had nothing at stake in that war, even though any win or loss to either side would cause no immediate change in their lives, the Muslims were emotionally attached to one side against the other.

Their spirits, their hopes, their optimism, all centered on the army of Heraclius, the emperor of Rome, as he fought against Kusrau Parvev, the King of Sassanid Persia. These early Muslims felt an affinity for the Christian Heraclius as he fought against the fire-worshiping Zoroastrians. So, when the news came that Heraclius had been defeated, the Muslims were in fact dejected, and the pagans of Makkah boasted to the Muslims that their ‘team’ had lost.

It was at this occasion that Allah revealed the first few verses of Surah al-Rum, which gave them the optimistic prophecy that even though Heraclius had lost this battle, he would win a future one, in a few years. Many years later, the Prophet wrote a letter to Heraclius, and Heraclius heard the message of Islam. While respectful of it, he did not convert. Throughout

this entire time, the Muslims were not reproached or reprimanded for their feelings of hope towards Heraclius and the Roman Empire. How much more so, then, are we deserving of feeling hope and optimism, when a candidate who WILL directly affect our lives and the lives of millions of people across the world has been elected. For those who wish to make Muslims even feel guilty for this hope, I say

that our religion is a religion of optimism and a religion of reality.

We should feel optimistic, at all times, and take the best from every situation. And between the two candidates that were running for the highest office in the most powerful country in the world today, it was clear in the eyes of many, which of these two was more inclined to peace, and which was more inclined to war. It was clear who was

able to inspire with hope and optimism, and who was more inclined to inspire through fear and hatred of ‘the other’. It was clear who had more intelligence and common sense, and who could not even think clearly enough to choose a qualified running mate. Make no mistake about it, though. Barack Obama is no messiah, and, as an American

political leader, he will inevitably do things that will enrage people around the world, and yes, sometimes even us. But looking at the alternative, in my opinion and the opinion of many in the know, the message was clear: he was the better candidate overall, at this time and place, for Muslims, for America, for the world. And if it so turns out that those who voted for Barack Obama were wrong, well, they can say, in full conscience and with no fear of reprimand, ‘O Allah, this is

what was apparent to us when we chose, and only You knew the future and what it held.’ Indeed, we thank Allah who will judge us for the sincerity of our intentions rather than the unintended consequences of our actions. It is indeed an historic moment for this country, when a black leader, with the middle name of Hussein, the son of an African visitor to this land, raised far away from the bastions of political power, can actually win the highest office. It is an historic moment, and I am proud to have witnessed it. But the election yesterday was not about supporting the persona of Barack Obama as much as it was about the scathing indictment of the previous administration. When people voted yesterday, they voted not for Barack, but against the current administration. Obama did not win because he was Obama, but rather because he was for change. And to me, that is huge reason to be optimistic about this country. There is much good in America, and we need to channel that good and help it overcome the bad. Keep in mind that while Obama won a resounding victory in the electoral votes, he only had a slight lead in the popular vote (52% to Obama, 46 % to McCain). And while it is overly simplistic and wrong to claim that all those who voted for McCain were supportive of the current administration’s policies, it

of being a high-ranking Taliban member, who “reportedly was assigned a mission in Tajikistan after 11 September 2001 as part of an al-Qaeda and Taliban operational plan.” It was also alleged that he had a “leadership role” in a rocket attack on US forces at the airfield in Mazar-e-Sharif, that he was “implicated” in an assassination attempt on General Dostum, one of the leaders of the Northern Alliance, and that he was a commander in Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin (HIG), a ferociously anti-American militia controlled by the warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (who, ironically, was one the major beneficiaries of US backing during the Afghan resistance to the Soviet occupation in the 1980s).

In response, Merozhev, who had probably been identified by opportunistic US allies, availing themselves of the substantial bounty rewards available for “al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects,” explained that he was not “Jumma Jan,” and was nothing more than refugee from

Tajikistan who had worked as a driver. He said that he had arrived in Afghanistan with his family as a refugee during the civil war in Tajikistan, when he was a teenager, and had then traveled to Pakistan, where he received an education.

Unfortunately, he then contracted tuberculosis, but when he tried to return to Tajikistan, he was befriended by an “Afghanistan gentleman” who provided him with a car, so that he could earn money as a taxi driver to pay for his medical treatment. He admitted that, during this period, at the end of the 1990s, he had also used the car to drive around a Taliban leader called Guli, a double amputee responsible for security, but he insisted that he only took the job because he needed the money to continue his treatment, and pointed out that before his capture he had spent several years driving a tractor and a bus.

The reality of Merozhev’s tuberculosis was apparently not in doubt, as he stated that he had received treatment in US custody — for four months at Bagram airbase, and for seven months in Guantánamo — where, he said, he

had spent 48 days in an isolation ward, but it remains unclear why he was held for so long. As he explained in a review board in 2005, “Since I have been here in Cuba, they have just interrogated me for less than twenty minutes, once, only once. I don’t know how these accusations have come about. I have been here for one and a half years and only one time have they interrogated me.”The fate that awaits Merozhev in Tajikistan is impossible to gauge. Although some of the eight Tajiks released from Guantánamo between November 2003 and March 2007 were freed without charge on their return home, two of the three prisoners released last March were subsequently put on trial and sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment in “high-security penal colonies” (labor camps) for “serving as mercenaries in Afghanistan” — where they were accused of aiding the Taliban by fighting for the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) — and for taking part in “illegal border crossing.” After passing sentence, the judge announced that both men had maintained their innocence, and added, “In their last words, they said they didn’t expect such consequences for acts they

committed.”

This was c lear ly someth ing of an understatement, but while the Pentagon has no doubt been using their sentences as part of an unprincipled attempt to justify its detention policies, other observers might be more tempted to conclude that they simply exchanged one form of arbitrary imprisonment for another, and to focus on the stories of Abdulrahim Kerimbakiev, Mohammed Hussein Abdallah and Zainulabidin Merozhev as more representative of caliber of prisoners swept up in one of the most ill-conceived dragnets ever launched by a democratic country.

Andy Worthington is the author of The Guantánamo Files: The Stories of the 774 Detainees in America’s Illegal Prison (published by Pluto Press/the University of Michigan Press, and available from Amazon here). This article, which draws on passages from The Guantánamo Files, was published exclusively on the website of the Future of Freedom Foundation.

continued >> World Press from pg 16

We should feel optimistic, at all times, and take the best from every situation. And between the two candidates that were running for the highest office in the most powerful country in the world today, it was clear in the eyes of many, which of these two was more inclined to peace, and which was more inclined to war.

>> Optimistic Pg 15

OPINION AND EDITORIALS 19The Muslim Link, November 14, 2008

By Paul Craig Roberts November 09 , 2008 “ In fo rma t ion Clearinghouse” -- If the change President-elect Obama has promised includes a halt to America’s wars of aggression and an end to the rip-off of taxpayers by powerful financial interests, what explains Obama’s choice of foreign and economic policy advisors? Indeed, Obama’s selection of Rahm Israel Emanuel as White House chief of staff is

a signal that change ended with Obama’s election. The only thing different about the new administration will be the faces. Rahm Israel Emanuel is a supporter of Bush’s invasion of Iraq. Emanuel rose to prominence in the Democratic Party as a result of his fundraising connections to AIPAC. A strong supporter of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, he comes from a terrorist family. His father was a member of Irgun, a Jewish terrorist organization that used violence to drive the British and Palestinians out of Palestine in order to create the Jewish state. During the 1991 Gulf War, Rahm Israel Emanuel volunteered to serve in the

Israel Defense Forces. He was a member of the Freddie Mac board of directors and received $231,655 in directors fees in 2001. According to Wikipedia, “during the time Emanuel spent on the board, Freddie Mac was plagued with scandals involving campaign contributions and accounting irregularities.” In “Hail to the Chief of Staff,” Alexander Cockburn describes Emanuel as “a super-Likudnik hawk,” who as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2006 “made great efforts to knock out antiwar Democratic candidates.” My despondent friends in the Israeli peace movement ask, “What is this man doing in Obama’s administration?”

Obama’s election was necessary as the only means Americans had to hold the Republicans accountable for their crimes against the Constitution and human rights, for their violations of US and international laws, for their lies and deceptions, and for their financial chicanery. As an editorial in Pravda put it, “Only Satan would have been worse than the Bush regime. Therefore it could be argued that the new administration in the USA could never be worse than the one which

divorced the hearts and minds of Americans from their brothers in the international community, which appalled the rest of the world with shock and awe tactics that included concentration camps, torture, mass murder and utter disrespect for international law.” But Obama’s advisers are drawn from the same gang of Washington thugs and Wall Street banksters as Bush’s. Richard Holbrooke, son of Russian and German Jews, was an assistant secretary of state and ambassador in the Clinton administration. He implemented the policy to enlarge NATO and to place the military alliance on Russia’s border in contravention of Reagan’s promise to

Gorbachev. Holbrooke is also associated with the Clinton administration’s illegal bombing of Serbia, a war crime that killed civilians and Chinese diplomats. If not a neocon himself, Holbrooke is closely allied with them. According to Wikipedia, Madeline Albright was born Marie Jana Korbelova in Prague to Jewish parents who had converted to Catholicism in order to escape persecution. She is the Clinton era secretary of state who told Leslie Stahl (60 Minutes) that the US policy of Iraq sanctions, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children, had goals important enough to justify the children’s deaths. Albright’s infamous words: “we think the price is worth it.” Wikipedia reports that this immoralist served on the board of directors of the New York

Stock Exchange at the time of Dick Grasso’s $187.5 million compensation scandal. Dennis Ross has long associations with the Israeli-Palestinian “peace negotiations.” A member of his Clinton era team, Aaron David Miller, wrote that during 1999-2000 the US negotiating team led by Ross acted as Israel’s lawyer: “we had to run everything by Israel first.” This “stripped our policy of the independence and flexibility required for serious peacemaking. If we couldn’t put proposals on the table without checking with the Israelis first, and refused to push back when they said no, how effective could our mediation be?” According to Wikipedia, Ross is “chairman of a new Jerusalem-based think tank, the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, funded and founded by the Jewish Agency.” Clearly, this is not a group of advisors that is going to halt America’s wars against Israel’s enemies or force the Israeli government to accept the necessary conditions for a real peace in the Middle East. Ralph Nader predicted as much. In his “Open Letter to Barack Obama (November 3, 2008), Nader pointed out to Obama that his “transformation from an articulate defender of Palestinian rights . . . to a dittoman for the hard-line AIPAC lobby” puts Obama at odds with “a majority of Jewish-Americans” and “64% of Israelis.” Nader quotes the Israeli writer and peace advocate Uri Avnery’s description of Obama’s appearance before AIPAC as an appearance that “broke all records for obsequiousness and fawning.” Nader damns Obama for his “utter lack of political courage [for] surrendering to demands of the hard-liners to prohibit former president Jimmy Carter from speaking at the Democratic National Convention.” Carter, who achieved the only meaningful peace agreement between Israel and the Arabs, has been demonized by the powerful AIPAC lobby for criticizing Israel’s policy of apartheid toward the Palestinians whose territory Israel forcibly occupies. Obama’s economic team is just as bad. Its star is Robert Rubin, the bankster who was secretary of the treasury in the Clinton administration. Rubin has responsibility for the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act and, thereby, responsibility for the current financial crisis. In his letter to Obama, Nader points out that Obama received unprecedented campaign contributions from corporate and Wall Street interests. “Never before has a Democratic nominee for President achieved this supremacy over his Republican counterpart.” Obama’s victory speech was magnificent. The TV cameras scanning faces in the audience showed the hope and belief that propelled

Obama into the presidency. But Obama cannot bring change to Washington. There is no one in the Washington crowd that he can appoint who is capable of bringing change. If Obama were to reach outside the usual crowd, anyone suspected of being a bringer of change could not get confirmed by the Senate. Powerful interest groups--AIPAC, the military-security complex, Wall Street--use their political influence to block unacceptable appointments. As Alexander Cockburn put it in his column, “Obama, the first-rate Republican,” “never has the dead hand of the past had a ‘reform’ candidate so firmly by the windpipe.” Obama confirmed Cockburn’s verdict in his first press conference as president-elect. Disregarding the unanimous US National Intelligence Estimate, which concluded that Iran stopped working on nuclear weapons five years ago, and ignoring the continued certification by the International Atomic Energy Agency that none of the nuclear material for Iran’s civilian nuclear reactor has been diverted to weapons use, Obama sallied forth with the Israel Lobby’s propaganda and accused Iran of “development of a nuclear weapon” and vowing “to prevent that from happening.” http://news.antiwar.com/2008/11/07/obama-hits-out-at-iran-closemouthed-on-tactics/ The change that is coming to America has nothing to do with Obama. Change is coming from the financial crisis brought on by Wall Street greed and irresponsibility, from the eroding role of the US dollar as reserve currency, from countless mortgage foreclosures, from the offshoring of millions of America’s best jobs, from a deepening recession, from pillars of American manufacturing--Ford and GM--begging the government for taxpayers’ money to stay alive, and from budget and trade deficits that are too large to be closed by normal means. Traditionally, the government relies on monetary and fiscal policy to lift the economy out of recession. But easy money is not working. Interest rates are already low and monetary growth is already high, yet unemployment is rising. The budget deficit is already huge--a world record--and the red ink is not stimulating the economy. Can even lower interest rates and even higher budget deficits help an economy that has moved offshore, leaving behind jobless consumers overburdened with debt? How much more can the government borrow? America’s foreign creditors are asking this question. An official organ of the Chinese ruling party recently called for Asian and European countries to “banish the US

>> Conned Pg 15

Conned Again Rahm Israel Emanuel is a supporter of Bush’s invasion of Iraq. Emanuel rose to prominence in the Democratic Party as a result of his fundraising connections to AIPAC. A strong supporter of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, he comes from a terrorist family.

But Obama’s advisers are drawn from the same gang of Washington thugs and Wall Street banksters as Bush’s.

But Obama cannot bring change to Washington. There is no one in the Washington crowd that he can appoint who is capable of bringing change. If Obama were to reach outside the usual crowd, anyone suspected of being a bringer of change could not get confirmed by the Senate. Powerful interest groups--AIPAC, the military-security complex, Wall Street--use their political influence to block unacceptable appointments.

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The Muslim Link ~ 14 November 2008