Arsalan Bukhari's Official Web Site

New mosques on Eastside to accommodate expanding Muslim community

2009-08-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

See Seattle Times article here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009702992_mosques21m.html

Please write a letter of thanks to Seattle Times reporter, Janet Tu, for such a well-researched and informative article. Ms. Tu's e-mail is: jtu@seattletimes.com

CAIR-WA Meets with DHS, CBP on Border Profiling

2009-08-21T11:36:00.001-07:00

CAIR-WA Meets with DHS, CBP on Border Profiling
Local Muslims testify to mistreatment when returning to U.S.

(SEATTLE, WA, 8/20/09) - A representative of the Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA) met yesterday with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials to discuss allegations of racial and religious profiling at border checkpoints.

To file a report of alleged border profiling, go to:
http://www.cair.com/FileACase/tabid/62/Default.aspx

During Wednesday's meeting, CAIR's representative outlined the Muslim community's concerns and five local Muslims told of being handcuffed, pinned to the ground, having guns pointed at them, hearing alarms sound when approaching a checkpoint, and reported anti-Muslim slurs from CBP agents.

"Numerous local Muslims who are U.S. citizens, professionals and active volunteers in their communities have reported disturbing treatment at the border when returning home," said CAIR-WA Executive Director Arsalan Bukhari.

Bukhari says reported treatment included being detained for up to eight hours, being handcuffed and kept in holding cells, having the contents of their wallets and purses photocopied, and having data from their electronic devices downloaded and retained by border officers.

"It is unconscionable that government officials treat upstanding citizens as if they are criminals," said Bukhari.

The officials taking part in the Wednesday meeting offered to continue the dialogue about community concerns relating to claims of racial and religious profiling by border security personnel.

Those taking part in the meeting also included representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), several congressional offices, the San Juan County Council, the Friday Harbor City Council, Colville Tribes, One America, Community to Community, and Jefferson County Democrats.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

- END -

"Mohammed Yunus: in respectful memory"

2008-08-29T20:19:00.000-07:00

The following was written by Jafar Siddiqui. I share his sentiments.

It grieves me to note the death of my friend Mohammed Yunus this afternoon in Lynnwood.

Yunus was high among the finest examples of what a good human being should be and a grand example of a Muslim.

He was open to all faiths and sects both, inside and outside of Islam, he had absolutely no biases that I was aware of and he lived his life literally in the service of his fellow humans and fellow Muslims.

Yunus and his wife Gulshan, have always had their doors of hospitality wide open to all, no matter what the time of day or week.

Yunus was a vet; he served honorably in the US Navy until he retired and then his services were always available to all who needed them. He worked with the Immigration office (INS/ICE) as a contract translator and tried to help people with bits of information and suggestions as relevant.

Yunus was a shining example of a Muslim who embraced people of all faiths and rejected none. He was the man most often seen helping people when others had failed them, he was the man who provided free services to help bathe those Muslims who had passed away...a most necessary job that few stepped forward to help with.

Yunus was from Quetta in Pakistan, he spoke with good memories of his days there. He would often regale us with stories of his youth and of the many famous people he met, from Hollywood stars to great politicians. He would tell us how he had friends who were Christians and Jews and Hindus and how they never saw the difference between people except from their thoughts and actions.

He was a man of most simple needs, spending more on his relatives than on himself.

When he was diagnosed with cancer, it was his wonderful wife Gulshan, who took care of him night and day and was the generous hostess when friends would come to visit. It is only just that Yunus should have been blessed during his lifetime, with such a caring, compassionate and supportive wife. Together they brought up three children who well reflect the compassion and care that his their family heritage.

I will miss Mohammed Yunus, his passage is a loss to humanity and Muslims are the poorer for it.

Our prayers are to God to accept him with His mercy and keep Yunus in the high place in Heaven that people like him deserve.

Our heartfelt condolences to his family members, with prayers for peace in their souls.

Prayers for Mohammed Yunus (namaze Janaza)

will be held after regular Friday prayers

at about 1:30 p.m. on August 29, 2008

at Omar Al-Farooq Mosque

5507, 238th Street SW
Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043

'Inna lilahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un' - Verily we belong to God and truly to Him shall we return.

Jafar Siddiqui
Cell: 206.228.5732
Torture hurts everyone; it must stop.

Seattle Muslims Urge Balance in Police Training on Islam

2008-08-10T15:48:00.000-07:00

Seattle Muslims Urge Balance in Police Training on Islam

'Former Muslim' will 'contextualize' Israeli experience for Port of Seattle
Police

SEATTLE, May 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Washington state chapter of the
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA) is calling on Port of Seattle
Police to ensure that a two-day training course that begins today, titled "The
Threat of Islamic Jihadists to the World," will offer a balanced perspective
on Islam and Muslims.

SEE: "The Threat of Islamic Jihadists to the World"
here

CAIR-WA said local Muslim leaders recently met with Chief of Port of Seattle
Police Colleen Wilson to express their concerns that the course, which is
being taught by a "former Muslim" and claims to be "based on Israeli
experience," will promote stereotypes and religious and ethnic profiling.

Among the course's advertised contents are non-terror-related topics such as:
Arab naming conventions, the five pillars of Islam, the "formative phases of
the Islamic religion," and the fast of Ramadan. The course is being taught by
a "former Muslim." Representatives from a number of law enforcement agencies
will attend the training.

SEE: Security Solutions International
here

SEE ALSO: Suicide Terror - Fire Fighters Response
here

Chief Wilson agreed to have Muslim officers attend the training and evaluate
the course for objectivity and balance.

"Linking any faith to violence and criminal activity creates the potential for
stereotyping and could lead to an increase in religious and ethnic profiling,"
said CAIR-WA President Arsalan Bukhari. "We urge Port of Seattle Police to
ensure that the course offers accurate and balanced information on Islam and
Muslims."

Bukhari said an incident in which apparently innocent travelers in the state
were profiled for their "Middle Eastern" appearance points to the need for
police training that deals with issues of profiling and bias.

SEE: FBI Says Men in Ferry Photo were Innocent Sightseers
here

He added that Muslims nationwide are concerned about the information law
enforcement authorities are receiving on the subject of Islam.

Last month, CAIR's chapter in Pennsylvania (CAIR-PA) called on police training
officials in that state to offer a Muslim perspective in a mandatory police
training class because of concerns that the class would present stereotypical
views of Islam and Muslims.

SEE: Penn. Muslims Seek 'Balance' in Police Training on Islam
here

Earlier this month, a spokesman for CAIR's Chicago office said an emergency
preparedness drill in Illinois, in which a fake "mosque" was stormed by law
enforcement authorities, sent the "wrong message" that all Islamic houses of
worship may be potential security threats. An official later apologized for
using the "mosque" in the drill.

SEE: IL Official Apologizes for Using Fake 'Mosque' in Drill
here

CAIR-WA representatives say they will continue to dialogue with the local law
enforcement community and to provide accurate information on Islam and Muslims
through on-going monthly Muslim-Sikh-Arab Advisory Council meetings.

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 35 offices and
chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding
of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American
Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: CAIR-WA President Arsalan Bukhari, 206-931-3655, E-Mail:
abukhari@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper,
202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications
Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com


SOURCE  Council on American-Islamic Relations

CAIR-WA President Arsalan Bukhari, +1-206-931-3655, abukhari@cair.com, CAIR
National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, +1-202-488-8787,
+1-202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com, or CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina
Rubin, +1-202-488-8787, arubin@cair.com

Wrong...Wrong...Wrong: Obama Lets Muslim Advisor Resign

2008-08-10T15:45:00.000-07:00

Wrong...Wrong...Wrong: Obama Lets Muslim Advisor Resign

Will anyone notice? Barack Obama's team just threw its key Muslim advisor under the bus.

Barack Obama needs to make a statement loudly, clearly, and with passion that he embraces Muslims as much as any other Americans of Christian, Buddhist, Jewish or other religious persuasions. It wouldn't hurt for him to embrace devout secularists like me for that matter.

But I'm irritated and saddened by news that Barack Obama's Muslim-outreach coordinator, Mazen Asbahi, has resigned "amid questions about his 'involvement' in an Islamic investment fund and various Islamic groups."

Let's tally up Obama's Muslim outreach record:

~ Obama campaign apparatchiks ask young Muslim women not to stand in photo with Obama because of head scarves (Obama campaign later apologizes).

~ Barack Obama gives AIPAC speech that manages to run to the right of President Bush and Israel Prime Minister Ohlmert in demanding that "Jerusalem must not be divided." (Obama later recants after the fact)

~ Barack Obama not only terminates Middle East advisor Robert Malley from his team because of Malley's views that Hamas should be engaged -- but his spokesman, Bill Burton, states that not only is Rob Malley no longer advising Obama "but will never advise Obama." That's running the bus over someone and then backing it up to make sure that Malley doesn't survive and has no chance in an Obama administration. I like to remind folks that Paul Volcker and Ted Sorensen signed the same letter Malley did but have thus far missed the campaign guillotine.

~ Barack Obama gives an inspirational speech to more than 200,000 Germans in Berlin calling for a "World Without Walls." But Obama is silent in Israel when it is the wall dividing Israelis and Palestinians that is becoming an increasingly worse and impactful global ulcer.

~ Barack Obama spends 30 plus hours in Israel and 45 minutes in Ramallah during his recent trip and meets many Iraelis who have been pro-settilement expansion, solidly violating international law and US policy. Some on Obama's advisory team turn a blind eye to Israel's expanding settlements and continue to be associated with and meet with settlement zealots -- but Obama keeps ALL of these people on his team.

~ Barack Obama accepts the resignation of a mainstream Arab-American lawyer from his advisory team because eight years ago, Mazen Asbahi served on a board "for a few weeks" that included a muslim fundamentalist imam from Illinois. Asbahi resigned from the board. . .eight years ago.

What? Wait? Obama has had a many years long relationship with Jeremiah Wright -- and sat on a board with William Ayers -- NEITHER of which I think are disqualifiers for Obama's candidacy... and yet Obama's political team and Obama himself did not demand from Asbahi that he stay on the team, stand his ground, and fight back against the vile right-wing hit on him and his credibility?!

I think that this is outrageous -- and those on the left who appreciate Obama and what he may mean for this country must become as tenaciously committed to what is right and what is good -- and fighting for that -- because those on the other side of these debates are trying to compel Obama to dilute himself.

Zalmay Khalilzad is an effective and popular MUSLIM Ambassador of the United States to the United Nations. We need more Muslims in our diplomatic corps. We need Muslims on the Supreme Court. We need more Muslims like Keith Ellison in the US Senate and House of Representatives.

Obama should say it. Convince the American public that he's not setting up a zero sum game between Muslims on one side and Christians and Jews on the other.

Obama is a Christian. I get that. I'm a secularist hard core -- but I won't stand by to watch more good people be flushed down the political drain because they are Muslims trying to work for a balanced and level playing field in America.

This resignation by Asbahi stinks -- and Obama and his team should immediately call him back and help him stand up to anti-Muslimism in America.

-- Steve Clemons publishes the popular political blog, The Washington Note

Lynnwood man may become one of first Muslim presidential electors in U.S.

2008-08-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

Source: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/373598_elector05.html
Lynnwood man may become one of first Muslim presidential electors in U.S.

Native of Pakistan among those chosen by state Democratic Party

Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Last updated August 6, 2008 12:11 p.m. PT

By GREGORY ROBERTS
P-I REPORTER

If Democrat Barack Obama carries Washington state and the nation to win the White House in November, he won't become the first Muslim president of the United States.

That's because, despite Internet rumors, he's not a Muslim.

But Jeff Siddiqui is – and an Obama victory in the state and nation would give Siddiqui a small but possibly historic role in choosing the next president.

Siddiqui, a real estate agent who lives in Lynnwood, is one of 11 presidential electors designated by the state Democratic Party.


	Andy Rogers / P-I
"My basic message is that Muslims are no different from Christians ... Jews, anyone," says Jeff Siddiqui.

If Obama wins Washington, those 11 – one for each of the nine congressional districts in the state, and one for each of the state's two seats in the U.S. Senate – will assemble to cast their ballots for Obama on Dec. 15, when the electors from each of the other states and the District of Columbia also will meet.

If Republican John McCain wins Washington, the state's 11 GOP electors will cast ballots instead.

Whoever gets the majority of the 538 electoral votes nationwide becomes president.

With Obama leading in the polls in Washington state, Siddiqui – along with Lesley Ahmed, a Democratic elector from Seattle who coverted to Islam in 1996 – are poised to join what is likely a limited group in the nation's history: Muslim presidential electors. For Siddiqui, his religion has played a key role in shaping his path to the Electoral College.

A native of Pakistan who gained U.S. citizenship in 1986, Siddiqui, 56, is a relatively high-profile representative of the Muslim community in and around Seattle, giving speeches at schools, churches and community organizations, writing Op-Ed pieces in newspapers and providing guest commentary on radio and TV. His mission is to counteract the image of Muslims as fanatical terrorists and extremists that, he believes, is propagated in the media, popular culture and even the government.

"My basic message is that Muslims are no different from Christians, atheists, Jews, anyone," he said last week. "We're human beings. We should be treated just the same."

Siddiqui never participated officially in the political system until this year, when – drawn partly by curiosity, and partly by his concerns about Muslim bashing and the war in Iraq – he showed up at his precinct's Democratic presidential caucus in February.

"I went there to cast my ballot initially" – for Obama, who, Siddiqui contends, was the only candidate in either party not engaged in demonizing Muslims. "I had no intention of being a delegate. And while I was there, I thought, 'This could be the first step toward making our opinions known.'

"I raised my hand to be a delegate, and the next thing I knew, I was a delegate."

That led to successive rounds of caucuses and ultimately to the state party convention in Spokane. There, the Democrats settled on their delegates to the national convention in Denver in August and also held votes to pick their presidential electors.

Elector was not a position Siddiqui had intended to seek, but again, he wound up doing just that.

"I stood up and said, 'I want to tell you: I will use every opportunity I can as an elector to bring attention to the hate and bigotry that are being promoted in this country, and to fight against it,' " he said. "To my surprise, they loved it, and they said, 'All right, you're an elector.' "

Siddiqui – whose given name is Jafar – grew up in a family headed by a military officer in Pakistan. He was taught by nuns in Catholic missionary schools – "I had to go to catechism every day and if I didn't, I'd get whacked with a cane, and they weren't gentle" – until seventh grade, when the government forbade Muslim children to attend Christian schools.

He came to the U.S. in the mid-1970s to earn a master's degree in engineering at the University of Washington.

While serving as executive director of the Foundation for International Understanding Through Students, a campus group that placed foreign students with host families during the students' first week in Seattle, he met a third-generation Washingtonian (and Christian) named Kathy who was on the organization's board. They recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary and are raising two teen-agers.

Kathy Siddiqui is still a Christian; as for the children, Jeff Siddiqui hopes they'll choose Islam, but he knows enough not to force the issue.

Siddiqui recognizes that his role as an elector is strictly functional – electors in Washington state are legally pledged to support their party's candidate, and cannot vote otherwise – but he is not oblivious to its wider implications.

"You're entering history when you're an elector," he said.

P-I reporter Gregory Roberts can be reached at 206-448-8022 or gregoryroberts@seattlepi.com.

To: Political Prisoner, Dr. Sami Al-Arian

2008-08-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

Hardcopy mailed to Dr. Sami Al-Arian.

This letter was written around July 30th, 2008, to Dr. Al-Arian by my good friend, Jafar Siddiqui.

----- Original Message -----

To:

Political Prisoner, Dr. Sami Al-Arian

Pamunkey Regional Jail

P.O. Box 485

Hanover, VA 23069

My dear Dr. Al-Arian,

It is with a very heavy heart that I write this letter to you today.

We live in a nation that has deliberately walked away from all of its glorified standards and abdicated its responsibility for the most basic of human values, such as equal justice for all, equal protection under the law, freedom of expression and a host of others.

America, our country for which we so desperately wish to be proud of, has relegated its constitution to cosmetic value only as the hysteria against "terror" conceals the "War!" against Islam, Arabs and Muslims. Our articles of the constitution have as much value as did so many other sacred-sounding constitutions of the former Communist nations...constitutions that we derided so often.

We Arabs and Muslims in this nation, are in disarray and cannot seem to organize ourselves out of a burning barn; like frogs in a slowly heating pot, we remain inside, pretending to be calm as we will surely perish.

It is such a climate that you have been hounded into prison and persecuted by people with great power, who wish to silence your opposition to the oppression of Palestinian people, your stance for the rights of the Palestinians and your support for their starving and deprived children.

The people against you are some of the most powerful among the many whom I would identify as the BLIND supporters of Israel; for these misguided people no sacrifice of others, is too great, in order to garner more support for Israel. It is to the shame of this nation, that those very people have the power over your liberty; opportunistic people like Fatherland Security chief, Michael Chertoff, your persecutor, US Attorney Gordon Kromberg and an array of others who mold public opinion through their control of press outlets, politicians and others who, in former Soviet nations, were dismissed by us as Apparatchiks.

The fact that you stand proud and defiant, helps us stand proud but it also grieves us because of the tremendous injustice that you and your family have suffered and are continuing to suffer.

If and when this nation returns to the course followed by its ideals, it will be because of people like you, who stand in spite of bigotry, injustice and values against humanity.

We pray that you will survive your seemingly endless ordeal and will come out vindicated and triumphant...and soon, InshaAllah!

In the meantime, know that there are millions of good people in this country, who also pray for your freedom and who also support you.

Live so that our own hearts may also live with you.

Allah Akbar (God is greatest)!

Jafar Siddiqui

American Muslims of Puget Sound

War Crimes Paradox, by Paul Craig Roberts

2008-07-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

Get Punished, Big Ones Don't

War Crimes Paradox

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS

National Public Radio has been spending much news time on Darfur in Western Sudan where a great deal of human suffering and death are occurring. The military conflict has been brought on in part by climate change, according to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Drought is forcing nomads in search of water into areas occupied by other claimants. No doubt the conflict is tribal and racial as well. The entire catastrophe is overseen by a government with few resources other than bullets.

Now an International Criminal Court prosecutor wants to bring charges against Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

I have no sympathy for people who make others suffer. Nevertheless, I wonder at the International Criminal Court's pick from the assortment of war criminals? Why al-Bashir?

Is it because Sudan is a powerless state, and the International Criminal Court hasn't the courage to name George W. Bush and Tony Blair as war criminals?

Bush and Blair's crimes against humanity in Iraq and Afghanistan dwarf, at least in the number of deaths and displaced persons, the terrible situation in Darfur. The highest estimate of Darfur casualties is 400,000, one-third the number of Iraqis who have died as a result of Bush's invasion. Moreover, the conflict in the Sudan is an internal one, whereas Bush illegally invaded two foreign countries, war crimes under the Nuremberg Standard. Bush's war crimes were enabled by the political leaders of the UK, Spain, Canada, and Australia. The leaders of every member of the "coalition of the willing to commit war crimes" are candidates for the dock.

But of course the Great Moral West does not commit war crimes. War crimes are charges fobbed off on people demonized by the Western media, such as the Serbian Milosovic and the Sudanese al-Bashir.

Every week the Israeli government evicts Palestinians from their homes, steals their land, and kills Palestinian women and children. These crimes against humanity have been going on for decades. Except for a few Israeli human rights organizations, no one complains about it. Palestinians are defined as "terrorists," and "terrorists" can be treated inhumanely without complaint.

Iraqis and Afghans suffer the same fate. Iraqis who resist US occupation of their country are "terrorists." Taliban is a demonized name. Every Afghan killed--even those attending wedding parties--is claimed to be Taliban by the US military. Iraqis and Afghans can be murdered at will by American and NATO troops without anyone raising human rights issues.

The International Criminal Court is a bureaucracy. It has a budget, and it needs to do something to justify its budget. Lacking teeth and courage, it goes after the petty war criminals and leaves the big ones alone.

Don't get me wrong. I'm for holding all governments accountable for their criminal actions. It is the hypocrisy to which I object. The West gives itself and Israel a pass while damning everyone else. Even human rights groups fall into the trap. Rights activists don't see the buffoonery in their complaint that President Bush, who has violated more human rights than any person alive, is letting China off the hook for human rights abuses by attending the Olympics hosted by China.

President Bush claims that the enormous destruction and death he has brought to Iraq and Afghanistan are necessary in order for Americans to be safe. If we are accepting excuses this feeble, Milosovic passed muster with his excuse that as the head of state he was obliged to try to preserve the state's territorial integrity. Is al-Bashir supposed to accept secession in the Sudan, something that Lincoln would not accept from the Confederacy? How long would al-Bashir last if he partitioned Sudan?

Last October the Atlanta Journal-Constitution had a photo on its front page above the fold of an elderly man with mikes shoved in his face. Paul Henss, 85 years old, is being deported from the US, where he has lived for 53 years, because Eli Rosenbaum, director the the US State Department's Nazi-hunting bureaucracy, declared him a war criminal for training guard dogs used at German concentration camps. Henss was 22 years old when World War II ended.

A kid who trained guard dogs is being deported as a war criminal, but the head of state who launched two wars of naked aggression, resulting in the deaths of more than 1.2 million people, and who has the entire world on edge awaiting his third war of aggression, this time against Iran, is received respectfully by foreign governments. Corporations and trade associations will pay him $100,000 per speech when he leaves office. He will make millions of dollars more from memoirs written by a ghostwriter.

Does no one see the paradox of deporting Henss while leaving the war criminal in the White House?

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions.He can be reached at: paulcraigroberts@yahoo.com

Op Ed: Stevens endorses book's prejudiced view of Muslims

2008-07-11T02:36:00.000-07:00

Source: http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/460519.html
LINDA KELLEN BIEGEL
COMMUNITY VOICES

(07/09/08 22:23:42)

A few years ago, I was applying for jobs in the Lower 48 when I came upon a particularly promising one. It was a live-in assistant to a wealthy retired couple. When it looked like the job might be a "go," I sent them a picture that was taken of me holding my 18-month-old daughter.

That evening, I received a glacial phone call saying they were no longer interested in my services. I was bewildered and kept pushing for an explanation. I was finally told that they could not hire "a traitor to the white race" as I had given birth to a black child. I was helping to increase "the mud people" and therefore was "a mud person" myself ... a term that white supremacists use to describe all people who are not white and Christian.

These folks were originally from the UK so it was my first introduction to European racism. After some research I discovered that there was a strong undercurrent of anti-immigration prejudice happening in the UK and the rest of Europe.

Enter UK-born Canadian Mark Steyn and his book "America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It." Steyn's skilled writing and sarcastic humor distract from the bigotry of his unscientifically-based assertions regarding a Muslim "breeding conspiracy." He discusses the birthrate decline in the "white" European population and the "danger" that poses.

UK journalist Johann Hari described the premise of the book this way:

"An unassimilated, culturally confident Muslim mass will slowly become the majority, and demand the demoralised multicultural 'natives' integrate with them. At times, Steyn implies this shift is the result of a conscious political conspiracy. Orianna Fallacci -- whose 'bravery' he praises -- said that Muslims 'have been told to come here and breed like rats.' "

Steyn writes: "Today, a fearless Muslim advance has penetrated far deeper into Europe than Abd al-Rahman ... There are three strategies Islam deploys against a dying West: first, demography; second, conversion; and third, the murky 'intertwining' of modern technology and ancient hatreds."

One would not expect such a book to be used as reference material.

However, Sen. Ted Stevens did so recently in a rant reminiscent of "Grandfather Abraham" from "The Simpsons" when asked about his supporting votes on Real ID and the Patriot Act. It was caught on video, available on the Daily News' Alaska Politics blog or YouTube:

"Read the book 'America Alone.' " Stevens said. "A lot of people complain about that book ... Look at the demographic concepts of that book and just think about what's going on in the world and decide whether we want to become Italy or we want to become France, in terms of our society and how it's impacted by those who are really against us."

It's bad enough that a sitting U.S. senator references a book that portrays fanatic jihad as the eventual goal of the religion of Islam, rather than the distortion of a small percentage of Muslims.

It's bad enough that a sitting U.S. senator recommends a book where the author states on page 5:

"In a democratic age, you can't buck demography -- except through civil war. The Serbs figured that out -- as other Continentals will in the years ahead: if you can't outbreed the enemy, cull 'em."

The most horrendous point is that Senate leader Ted Stevens promotes this devoid-of-scientific-research tripe as the influence behind his domestic security policy!

I've seen no story about this in the mainstream media.

U.S. Muslim leader Imam Zoubir Bouchikhi was in Anchorage this week meeting with the Alaska faithful and religious leaders. I had a chance to ask for his thoughts on Ted Stevens' comments during an interview on Cary Carrigan's morning show. Among them:

"There is a great deal of fear spread by politicians and we know why. I think that's a great disservice to the American people. To spread peace is the right thing."

Another disservice is when their elected leaders make incendiary statements and are not held accountable.

Linda Kellen Biegel is a local blogger who was chosen as Alaska's "state blogger" to the Democratic National Convention. To see the video of Sen. Stevens' remark, see the Daily News' Alaska Politics blog July 2 entry. It's in the second half of the first video posted there.

CAIR-WA Welcomes Police Memo on Religious, Ethnic Profiling

2008-07-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

CAIR-WA Welcomes Police Memo on Religious, Ethnic Profiling

(SEATTLE, WA, 7/7/2008) - The Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA) today welcomed an internal memorandum from Seattle’s police chief cautioning against the use of religious or ethnic profiling in training programs.

In his memo to department captains, Chief of Police R. Gil Kerlikowske wrote:

“The purpose of this message is to provide guidance to commands regarding assigning personnel to training courses. Recently there was some concerns expressed by community members regarding a training course. The Seattle Police Department has a commitment to unbiased policing and building trust with the community we serve. It is critical that training designed to detect illegal or possible illegal behavior serve a legitimate law enforcement function. Associating behavior with religious, racial, or ethnic affiliation will mislead law enforcement and cause us to spend time on what might not be a genuine threat. It is therefore, imperative that we carefully review the appropriateness of these courses prior to approving such training for our officers.”

Chief Kerlikowske’s memo comes after CAIR-WA called on Port of Seattle Police to ensure that a recent two-day training course, titled “The Threat of Islamic Jihadists to the World,” offered a balanced perspective on Islam and Muslims. Local Muslims leaders had expressed concerns that the course would promote stereotypes and religious and ethnic profiling.

SEE: Does Course on Islam Give Law Enforcers Wrong Idea? (Seattle Times)

"We thank Chief Kerlikowske for taking this positive step to ensure that police training is not based on religious or ethic stereotypes," said CAIR-WA President Arsalan Bukhari.

Bukhari said an incident in which apparently innocent travelers in the state were profiled for their "Middle Eastern" appearance points to the need for training that deals with issues of profiling and bias.

SEE: FBI Says Men in Ferry Photo were Innocent Sightseers

He added that Muslims nationwide are concerned about the information law enforcement authorities are receiving on the subject of Islam.

CAIR's chapter in Pennsylvania (CAIR-PA) recently called on police training officials in that state to offer a Muslim perspective in a mandatory police training class because of concerns that the class would present stereotypical views of Islam and Muslims.

SEE: Penn. Muslims Seek 'Balance' in Police Training on Islam

In May, a spokesman for CAIR's Chicago office said an emergency preparedness drill in Illinois, in which a fake "mosque" was stormed by law enforcement authorities, sent the "wrong message" that all Islamic houses of worship may be potential security threats. An official later apologized for using the "mosque" in the drill.

SEE: IL Official Apologizes for Using Fake 'Mosque' in Drill

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 35 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

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Stop blaming West for woes: Muslim scholar

2007-11-08T22:33:00.000-08:00

Source: http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=November2007&file=Local_News2007110734716.xml

Doha • “Islamism” and “political Islam” are not monolithic ideas and they are as diverse as other contemporary trends in the Islamic world, says a prominent Muslim scholar and intellectual from Europe.

“ After 9/11 and 7/7, terminologies like radicalism, Islamism and political Islam have been widely used in West. The so called terrorism experts tend to put all “Islamists” in one category,” said Dr Tariq Ramadan (pictured), President of the European Muslim Network (EMN) based in Brussels. He was delivering a lecture at the Education City yesterday on the topic “Understanding contemporary Islamic trends”.

H H Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, was present, along with students and faculty members from the Education City and other guests. The event was organised by the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar.

Ramadan urged Muslims to “stop blaming the West for all their problems” and develop critical thinking. Muslims should be confident and consistent and they should learn to deal with their own diversity. “ It is easy to have inter-faith dialogue but intra-faith dialogue is not that easy,” he said. He noted that women have become the leading force in the Islamic world. “Islam has no problems with women but Muslims have,” commented Ramadan.

The Muslim Brotherhood is not similar to Al Qaeda and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan cannot be equated with Osama bin Laden, said Ramadan. We hear terms like “good Muslims” and “bad Muslims”, “moderates” and “fundamentalists”. Such terminologies remind us of the colonial attitude — “all the good are with us and all the bad are resisting us.” He felt that such terminologies have posed a major challenge and Muslims are scared to deal with “political Islam”. “Passion and confusion are misleading all of us and we are not doing enough to explain the new trends,” said Ramadan. He also disagreed with western perceptions that “Islam is too complex” to understand and “there are Islams, not just one Islam”. The speech was followed by a question and answer session.

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Democrats' Options on Iraq War

2007-09-16T03:09:00.000-07:00

Source:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091407N.shtml

[My note: The Iraq War is a definition of the word "quagmire" and there are no easy options to exercise. Circumstances are such that a quick withdrawal is also a recipe for all out civil war while staying is resulting increasing casualties of our soldiers and innocent civilians.]

Media Misrepresent Democrats' Options on Iraq War
FAIR

Thursday 13 September 2007

Confusing "can't" and "won't."

Following a pattern set when Congress passed supplemental funding for the Iraq War last May (FAIR Media Advisory, 6/1/07), major media outlets continued to "explain" the politics of the war in incomplete and misleading ways.

The point made by these media outlets again and again is that the Democrats have little power to affect policy in Iraq because it would be difficult to pass legislation over a potential Republican filibuster, and even harder to pass a bill over a presidential veto. This sentiment is also voiced by many Democratic politicians, many of whom consider themselves opponents of the war. But passing a filibuster- or veto-proof bill is not their only option.

As the Washington Post's Shailagh Murray and Dan Balz (9/10/07) put it: "Because of a Senate rule requiring 60 votes to shut off debate and 67 votes to overturn a veto, [Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid faced an almost impossible challenge. Even if all his troops stood together, he started with just 49 votes."

Newsweek's Howard Fineman declared that the Democrats' powerlessness was built into the constitutional system on NBC's Chris Matthews Show (9/2/07):

Politically, what the president has been trying to do is to keep discipline among the Republicans because as long as he can keep most of the Republicans in the Senate, in the House with him, there's no way to overturn the policy because of the way the Constitution reads.... I hate to keep coming back to the Constitution. Sixty votes to stop a filibuster, 67 to overturn a presidential veto in the Senate.

This sort of analysis was used to explain the Democrats' need to compromise with Republicans, watering down a firm withdrawal date in the hopes of winning bipartisan support. "Senior Democrats now say they are willing to rethink their push to establish a withdrawal deadline of next spring if doing so will attract the 60 Senate votes needed to prevail," reported the New York Times' Carl Hulse (9/5/07). "Democrats would need to lure the 60 senators in order to cut off a likely Republican filibuster."

This approach was endorsed in an Associated Press report (9/11/07) by Matthew Lee:

If Republican support for the war holds, as it might for now, Democrats would have to soften their approach if they want to pass an anti-war proposal. But they remain under substantial pressure by voters and politically influential anti-war groups to settle for nothing less than ordering troop withdrawals or cutting off money for the war-legislation that has little chances of passing.

The problem with all these accounts is that Congress does not have to pass legislation to bring an end to the war in Iraq--it simply has to block passage of any bill that would continue to fund the war. This requires not 67 or 60 Senate votes, or even 51, but just 41--the number of senators needed to maintain a filibuster and prevent a bill from coming up for a vote. In other words, the Democrats have more than enough votes to end the Iraq War-if they choose to do so.

The Democratic leadership may believe rightly or wrongly that such a strategy would entail unacceptable political costs. But that's very different from being unable to affect policy. To insist, as many media outlets have, that the Constitution makes it impossible for Congress to stop the war obscures the actual choices facing the nation-by confusing "can't" with "won't."

Sharing Ramadan

2007-09-16T02:57:00.000-07:00

Source:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/331632_ramadan14.html

Non-Muslims to share Ramadan

Group issuing dinner invitations to better relations

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY AND JOHN IWASAKI
P-I REPORTERS

Arsalan Bukhari loves to visit Canada, but rarely does because he doesn't like waiting for hours while officers search his belongings. Some of his buddies with coveted jobs at Microsoft can't make connecting flights because airport security stops them for questioning.

"I personally feel violated when they go through my car and my backpack," said Bukhari, a Muslim. "We're painted against these crazy, angry guys living on the fringe."

Bukhari's sentiments come at a time of growing fear in the community of Arab-Americans, Muslim-Americans and people of South Asian heritage. That fear was stoked even more last month when federal authorities released photographs of two men, apparently of Middle Eastern descent, who authorities said were acting suspiciously aboard Washington State Ferries.

Now members of the community are fighting back -- with politeness.

Bukhari and others from the Council on American-Islamic Relations are hosting a traditional dinner on Wednesday at the Islamic School of Seattle, and have invited city and state leaders to try to increase understanding of Islam. The meal will break Muslims' fasting during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month that began Thursday.

Local FBI agents have said they'll attend. So have labor union representatives and members of the World Affairs Council. But Bukhari said people don't need a fancy title to be welcomed.

"We want to meet them, shake hands and have them realize that we're just normal people," he said.

Bukhari, 27, who graduated with a degree in finance from Seattle University, became Washington president of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. And according to a study by the national CAIR, Bukhari is among 62 percent of American Muslims who have obtained at least a bachelor's degree.

Several Muslims said that Americans have grown more knowledgeable about Ramadan, which includes fasting during daylight hours and a focus on charity, forgiveness and other virtues.

"In my younger days, I had to explain it to them," said Bellevue resident Rizwan Samad, 47, owner of a travel agency. "Now, especially since 9/11, there's been so much publicity."

His friends joke that President Bush has been good for Islam by bringing attention to their religion

"A lot more people are trying to learn what Islam is, because there's so much negative talk in the media," Samad said. "The good thing about American people is, they like to know. They like to study."

So do American Muslims, according to CAIR. A 2006 survey of Muslims showed 89 percent voted and about as many celebrate the Fourth of July. More than 40 percent said they volunteer for institutions serving the public, compared with 29 percent of all Americans in 2005, according to the council.

Many Muslims will celebrate nightly during Ramadan by going to a mosque, eating a communal meal with friends, then returning to the mosque.

Muslim students at the University of Washington plan to break their daily fast by meeting most weeknights for a community meal in the student union building. They usually eat pizza or "whatever somebody's mom makes," said Kiki Rizki, 21, a senior and an officer in the Muslim Student Association.

"Definitely, it's the best time of the year," said Khaled Abdel-Motagaly, 38, a Muslim and Boeing flight control engineer. "In many respects, it's getting close to Allah, getting close to Muslims and non-Muslims."

CAIR has also organized two other Ramadan dinners -- one Sept. 29 in Kirkland and another in Bellevue on Oct. 8. In touting the events, Bukhari cited a study saying 70 percent of non-Muslims develop a positive opinion after spending time with them.

"We think that will continue," he said.

And Bukhari, who has friends in Canada, said he hopes that efforts to show Muslims in a positive light will help them cross borders -- without holdups.

TRADITIONAL RAMADAN DINNERS

To register for one of the three Ramadan dinners organized by the Washington branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, call 206-367--4081 or e-mail: info@cairseattle.org

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