Muslim Voice January 2012

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american-muslims Community Newspaper

Monthly Newspaper

Vol.17 Issue No.184

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January 2012 Muharram / Safar

1433H

U.S. Somalis Can’t Support Families During Famine, Thanks To Anti-Terror Laws

L

ike a lot of small countries on the wrong side of postcolonialism, Somalia’s GDP is deeply dependent on remittances, money sent back home from abroad by migrants who leave the country to find work. But unlike other countries, Somalia has spent twenty years with no government worth mentioning; as a result, Somalia has no banks to receive money transfers. Even predatory transfer centers like Western Union can’t set up shop. So, Somali innovators have created hawalas, money transfer companies that relay money through a midpoint in a neighboring country’s bank.

This system has worked well enough for years — but since 9/11, hawalas in the United States have come under increasing federal scrutiny and complex anti-terror laws, so much so that most American banks simply won’t work with them. Today, one of the few remaining banks that serves the Somali community in this way

Can I Still Immigrate if My U.S. Citizen Spouse Dies?

2

is Minneapolis’ Franklin Bank, part of Minnesota’s Sunrise Community Banks network. Because of the Twin Cities’ massive Somali community (and to the reticence of other banks), Franklin Bank has become a hub for hawalas across the country, overseeing hundreds of millions of dollars in smallamount transfers to family members back home, and helping Somalia deal with a horrific famine crisis.

Now, following the conviction of two Minneapolis women accused of using hawalas to finance Somali radicals alShabab, Franklin Bank has announced that it will be ending its hawala program in the next two weeks; although the bank has been an ally to the Somali community for years, the risk of inadvertently violating federal anti-terror laws is simply too great.

And while estimates vary as to how many hundreds of millions of dollars in remittances get sent from the U.S. to Somalia each year, nobody doubts that the economic results with have deadly consequences. Not to mention, of course, the golden opportunity this will represent for al-Shabab.

Atheists and Muslims: Possible Allies?

4

Poll:

Did the anti-terror regulations affect how you send money to your family back home?

Yes

No

Vote on www.azmuslimvoice.com

Last month’s results:

Do you believe more TV shows are needed to highlight the lifestyle of American-Muslims?

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Muslims Alternatives during Holiday Season

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No 50% Congress new terrorism rules leave open questions

9

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‫استمتعوا باألطباق البوسنية‬ ‫األصيلة يف جو مدينة سارييفو‬ ‫عىل استعداد لتلبية طلبات احلفالت واملناسبات اخلاصة‬

Turkey slams France over genocide bill

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CARTOON / LOCAL

January 2012

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Terms used in this paper Alhamdulilah: Praise God Allah: Arabic word for God Fatwa: Islamic decision based on Shari’a Hadith: Sayings of the Prophet Mohammad Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca Halal: Allowed in Islam Halaqa: Group study Haram: Prohibited in Islam Hijab: Head cover for women Hijra: Migration of the Prophet from Mecca to Madina Imam: Islamic scholar Iman: Faith Inshallah: God willing Madina: City near Mecca in Saudia Arabia Masjid: Place were Muslims gather for prayer and studies Mecca: City in Saudi Arabia where Prophet Mohammad was born Pbuh: Peace be upon him Quran: Islam’s Holy book Shahadah: Is saying “I accept Allah as the one God and Mohammad as his messenger” when someone accepts Islam.

Sharia’: Islamic law Shura: A council of Muslim scholars (SWT) Subhanahu Watala: Praise be to Allah Taqwa: God consciousness

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Deadlines for submission of letters is the 20th of every month, and for advertisements by the 25th. Only letters and articles submitted on disk or email will be accepted for review. The Publisher reserves the right to refuse any letters, articles or advertisement or any other material. The Publisher will not be liable for more than the advertisement cost in case of an error. The Muslim Voice is not responsible for the contents of advertisements or articles nor endorses them in any way or form.

Can I Still Immigrate if My U.S. Citizen Spouse Dies?

Muslim Voice

By Eric Bjotvedt

B

efore October 28, 2009, the surviving spouse of a deceased U.S. citizen, who were both married for less than two years at the time of the citizen’s death, could not adjustment status or immigrate as an immediate relative.

as immediate relatives under the INA and the FY2010 DHS Appropriations Act, but with approved I-130 petitions before the death of the U.S. citizen spouse and father, may request reinstatement of the revoked I-130 petition due to humanitarian reasons, under 8 C.F.R. § 205.1(a)(3)(i)(C)(2).

The USCIS exercises discretion in deciding the request for humanitarian reinstatement after considering the

last enter the United States lawfully or maintain continuous legal status, there may be a problem. Specifically, if the alien has accrued more than one year of unlawful presence in the United States, he or she will need to show that a qualifying relative will suffer an extreme hardship if the immigrant visa is denied. If the only qualifying relative is the deceased spouse, then the alien will not get the immigrant visa because he or she will be ineligible for the waiver of inadmissibility.

I invite you to share your thoughts about your experiences with immigration authorities in your case

But, on October 28, 2009, President.

Obama signed into law the FY2010 DHS Appropriations Act. The Act allows widows or widowers of U.S. citizens to qualify as immediate relatives no matter how long their marriages were. This Act removed the two year marriage requirement in Section 201(b)(2)(A)(i) of the INA. Also, when a widow or widower qualifies as an immediate relative of the deceased citizen, his or her unmarried minor children will automatically qualify for the same immediate relative status.

What this means is that any I-130 petitions pending as of October 28, 2009, filed on a widow or widower’s behalf before the death of the citizen spouse, will automatically convert to a Form I-360 petition, as long as the beneficiary qualified as an immediate relative on the date of the citizen spouse’s death. Also, any approved I-130 petitions, as of October 28, 2009, and before the U.S. citizen petitioner’s death, will automatically convert to an approved I-360. An unmarried minor child of the widow(er) who meets the definition for “child” under the INA will also be eligible for adjustment of status or immigrant visa based on the approved I-360.

Unfortunately, for now, if there was no pending I-130 petition as of October 28, 2009, filed by the deceased citizen who died before October 28, 2009, the alien had until October 28, 2011 to file the I-360 petition for himself or herself. But, if the citizen spouse died on or after October 28, 2009, without having filed an I-130 petition, the alien also has two years from the date of the death of the citizen spouse to file the I-360 petition with the Vermont Service Center.

Aliens and children who do not qualify

facts and humanitarian reasons in each case including hardships, medical problems, and family ties.

The only warning is that if the alien is required to go through consular processing because he or she did not

and ask any questions you may have by contacting me at eric@visitmylawyer. com. Or, you may reach my office to schedule a free consultation at 602.277.2156. All questions are kept confidential and all answers are free.

www.AZMuslimVoice.com

Word on the Street

January 2012

3

What do you think of the show All-American Muslim?

Muslim Voice By: Sumbal Akhter

A

fter 9/11, Muslims have been unfairly associated with the criminal actions of a handful of morons.

The show All American Muslim is a unique twist to the media. I’m glad there is finally a show that broadcasts the lives of Muslims although it’s rather annoying that the people who watch it have one set viewpoint on Muslims and after a while, people will start to think that our lifestyles are all similar when they are not. Like everything in life, there are pros and cons to this show and I cant say that I like it, I am actually completely repulsed by it, but I understand that the intentions of this show were to a create a so-called normal vision of Muslims but people need to understand that just by showing a couple of Muslim families on TV, it shouldn’t allow people to come to the conclusions that we’re all that way.”

–Noor Bhatti “I think TLC met its goal of representing Muslims as normal human beings, and I think that it has caused people to wake up and reevaluate their thoughts on Muslims as a whole (except for Lowe’s). I’m not complaining and I do appreciate the effort, everything takes time and I think we’re off to a good start in terms of getting more accepted in society. I think this show may be essential for people to feel more comfortable with Muslims, although I haven’t seen many episodes at all, I look forward to seeing how this show unfolds and how the image of Muslims changes.

-Momin Shakoor ”I haven’t really watched the show but I think anything that has to do with Muslims, creates awareness about our religion to people who are unfamiliar with it. Hopefully this show evolves into something great to educate the public about Islam.” -Hufsa Bhatti “I don’t think that All American Muslim represented the fact that Muslims were normal, because I feel that most Muslims

in America are a little different than most of the characters on the show. I don’t feel associated with anyone on the show, maybe it’s just me, but I really don’t feel anything like those on the show. I am, however appreciative of the fact that there is a show on Muslims and I do see it as a start. Maybe as the show progresses there will be a better representation of all the Muslims in America, because it’s a hard thing to do and with time I have faith that it will happen.” -Musa Shakoor “Although it has its flaws, All American Muslim does send an extremely important message. I see that the creators of that show are trying desperately to portray the fact that Muslims can be and are good and normal Americans. They try to show that Muslims are exactly the opposite of how the media depicts them, and I truly respect that. Yes, it isn’t everything us Muslims have hoped for in a television show, however it is a start, and Muslims need to realize that. One thing that I kind of have a problem with is the lack of diversity within the show. Most Muslims are not Arab, we are diverse body of people, a religion rather than a race, and we take pride in being a religion that highly encourages diversity.

Our population doesn’t discriminate, and I would like for All American Muslim to branch out and show all the different colors we come in. However, I really appreciate that All American Muslim shows the fact that there are Muslims who practice Islam to the T and there are Muslims who are more lenient in terms of faith, and that that’s okay. All in all, I think the show is extremely boring but that’s TLC for you, and that’s a good thing I suppose, because it does live up to reality television expectations so there you go, Muslims are normal.” -Aminah Shakoor “The show is extremely interesting when it comes to looking at the lifestyles of different Muslims from the Michigan area. The families they spotlight are very similar and there should be more diversity incorporated into the show. Not all Muslims are Arab and not all Arabs are Muslim. The show just started so hopefully it will be more representative of Muslims as time goes on.” -Noreen Akhter

Noor Bhatti

Momin Shakoor

Hufsa Bhatti

Aminah Shakoor

Noreen Akhter

Women’s Identity on Marriage in the Arab & Muslim World Muslim Voice By: Kalthoum Baiz

W

omen’s identity is defined as a person’s sense of identification with female sex, as expressed in appearance, behavior, and other aspects of a person’s life. Women’s identity in Islam differs from women’s identity in the Arab/Muslim culture. Women’s role in Islam states independence and equality, but the culture does not follow it even when the culture is “Muslim”.

They have the right to choose who they want to marry. These aspects shape up a woman and give her the right to of an identity in the public eye, but the culture does not give women these rights. During pre-Islam and Islam currently brave women have always played a role in the religion. Throughout the history there were women like Amena and Khadija, who were strong independent women.

Marriage in some Arab cultures is determined by the girl’s family and not by the girl herself. According to the movie, The Virgin Diary, Fatiha had pressure from her society to get married because of her age. Fatiha was 29 years old during the movie. In The Virgin Diary, the sheikh was teaching the young boys about women in their thirties and forties who are not yet married are considered sinning in god’s eyes. Khadija was forty years old when she asked Prophet Mohammad’s hands in marriage. Not only was she twenty years older than the Prophet, but she was also a successful business woman.

The culture thinks low of a woman

who chooses a career over a family, or when a woman reaches a certain age and is not yet married. Fatiha wanted to understand marriage and virginity better, but no educated religious leader wanted to answer her questions. Fatiha was judged by her society because she was not married.

According to the Islamic teaching, people do not have to marry until they find their match. “Corrupt women are for corrupt men and corrupt men are for corrupt women, Good women are for good men and good men are for good women. The latter are innocent of what they say. They will have forgiveness and generous provision” (the Holy Quran, 24:26). This is a quote taken out of the Holy Quran, and nowhere has it stated about unmarried older women being sinners. When it comes to marriage, men and women will choose the person that shares the same values as they do. Also regarding marriage the responsibilities and duties of a couple require equality.

The Holy Quran did not state to marry for money or power; it stated to find that person that is the most compatible with who you are. The culture judges women for being a certain age and not yet married, but the Holy Quran gives women the right to choose and the right to equality in marriage.

Women’s identity as seem in this paper is different from the religious views and the culture’s views. Women have the right to propose to men and also have the right to accept or deny men’s proposals.

The reason women are separated from the public is due to fear; the cultural leaders fear that a woman will have her own thoughts and the strength to stand up for her own beliefs. The Holy Quran is a balance of equality for genders. Women

have a voice, and they have an identity according to religion “Islam”, and if the culture implements the Holy Quran the way it should, than there would not be segregation that is seen today. In the Holy Quran it talks about worthy and unworthy women and men. Women are not blamed anywhere in the Holy Quran

for the falling of men, but “culture” will make jokes and blame women for the falling of men. An example of that are Adam and Eve. In the Quran they are both blamed for disobeying the divine, but people will say it was Eve who disobeyed.

4

opinion

January 2012

www.AZMuslimVoice.com

Atheists and Muslims: Possible Allies?

Muslim Voice

By Ahmad Daniels, M.Ed.

T

here are many who pride themselves in being objective, open minded, and respecting of differences. They view with incredulous eyes any individual or group displaying any and all signs of bigotry. They applaud themselves for possessing a “live and let live” attitude about life. Yet, with life being what it is, an opportunity seems to always present itself to challenge what many hope are unwavering stands on diversity and an appreciation thereof.

area chapter) www.meetup.com/ffrf-vsun.

Diversity

Diversity, the capacity for and practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs and practices of others, requires that one see the humanity in those whose views, opinions, and actions are different from one’s own. Believing that one’s own way is the only way is a shortcut to bigotry and discrimination which often lead to malicious deeds. The need for a Christian minister to incinerate a Qur’an in 2011 is an example of intolerance. And whereas he was only one individual, who can deny that the irreverent deed received far and wide support?

Hence the obvious need for the “Out of the Closet” billboard campaign sponsored by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (and its Phoenix-

many Islamic believers whose agenda poses a clear and present danger to liberties

One of the most troubling scenes occurred at the introduction of the program when a Muslim police officer stated ‘I really am American. No ifs and or buts about it.’ ”

If you live in the Valley you may have noticed smartly appointed billboards with a picture of a family in one case and individuals in others along with their profound words certain to have grabbed your attention. The family billboard read “Love + critical thinking = open minds” followed below by the family’s name, city, and the word “Freethinkers.” Another billboard shows a man who happens to be blind and describes himself as agnostic. His billboard read “Faith without reason is true blindness.” And then there’s the atheist who proudly proclaimed from his pictured billboard “Good for goodness sake---no gods required.”

The study, published in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, boldly proclaimed the only group those surveyed distrusted as much as atheists was rapist.

“…The show profiles only Muslims that appear to be ordinary folk while excluding

and traditional values that the majority of Americans cherish.

Out of the closet

Researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) concluded that the fear and prejudice against those that do not believe in God grows out of an intense sense of distrust. Their study, conducted among 351 American adults and 417 UBC students, reflected how participants saw atheists to be the most likely to commit crimes when compared with Muslims, Jews or others who belong to other religious faiths, homosexuals, or feminists. Who would have thought adherents of the three Abrahamic faiths would find themselves aligned, however loosely, with members of other religious groups, homosexuals and feminists?

existence of a Creator? “Too tough!” “Too difficult!”

“Impossible!” you say? If your idea of an honorable and dedicated Muslim closes your heart and mind to diversity at this level, then you fully understand and applaud the recent decision of the conservative Christian organization Florida Family Association (FFA) whose threat to organize a boycott of Loew’s resulted in the national chain pulling ads from TLC’s reality series All-American Muslim. In a letter to Lowe’s management, the FFA complained that:

Respond to fire or…

The fire has been raging at the house of neighbors for some time. In Arizona and other states, the immigration issue constitutes a “fire” at the neighbor’s house. The Occupy Wall Street movement and its concern for the way wealth is distributed is a “fire” at the neighbor’s house. Some of the fires receive national attention while others do not yet continue to burn locally.

It behooves Muslims to have a noticeable physical presence where there is a “fire.”

Muslims can ill-afford the luxury of isolation and nonengagement. To do so is to be reminded of a poem by Pastor Niemoller: There is a parable that reads, “The best time to put out a fire is when it is at your neighbor’s house.” By the time it is at your own front door may be a little too late.

Muslims who are secure enough in their faith to reach out and embrace atheists, agnostics, and freethinkers display a thorough understanding of and appreciation for diversity. By no means is the accepting of a belief system so contrary to Islamic doctrine easy or comes without a great deal of doubt or reservation. Indeed, how can a Muslim, one who gives full submission to the will of Allah, be expected to recognize and respect the beliefs and practices of a group that either questions or denies the very

HAJI BABA

First they came for the Socialist and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionist and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.

To your journey!

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Valley Organizations Offer Alternatives During Holiday Season Muslim Voice

By Hasana Abdul-Quadir

F

or Americans, the holiday season is often one of most stressful times of the year.

There are gifts to be bought, houses to be decorated, meals to be cooked, and guests to be entertained. And for Muslim Americans, specifically, this season may also bring stress, but for completely different reasons. When it comes to holidays, Muslims are often put in situations where they have to actively distinguish themselves from their NonMuslim peers. It is easy for Muslims to feel left out when all their co-workers are enjoying holiday parties, or when they have to decline invitations to their friends’ Christmas parties. In a time where holidays have become so commercialized, even some Jews and Hindus celebrate Christmas, making people wonder why Muslims cannot.

Determining how to deal with this season is a yearly struggle that Muslims must go through, and Muslims around the valley tackle the issue in different ways. While some succumb to the pressures around them by putting up Christmas trees or lights, others try to benefit from the things that they can participate in. “My brothers and I usually go Black Friday shopping. We buy gifts to take advantage of the sales, “ says high school senior, Renee Islam.

“But since it’s winter break, we usually have family come over from out of state.”

For children, especially, the holiday

season is a difficult time. To give them an alternative to celebrating un-Islamic holidays, organizations around the valley are providing other programs.

On Halloween, for example, the Muslim American Society (MAS) in Arizona held a “Night of Light” for youth and

accept and understand more about this, initiatives are being started to give them other options. The local sisters’ group, Al-Mu’minah, has been using everyone’s free Christmas Day schedules to bring them together for an annual family bowling event. Since

children. The program included dinner, educational and engaging Islamic lectures, and making s’mores over a fire.

At the event, many children asked why they could not go Trick-or-Treating, just to get candy. Their curiosity was an eyeopener as to their limited knowledge about why Muslims do not participate in such holidays.

all the lanes are available and many Muslims are not working, families and friends have a great time spending time together. This longstanding tradition has made for great memories for many in the community. “Growing up, I used to go bowling with Al-Mu’minah, says ASU student, Nadia Belgaied. “Now, I usually go see a movie since my parents have the day off.” In addition to that, this year, the youth group from the

To help Muslim youth and families

But even if there are no events to attend while others are celebrating their holidays, Sarah Syed, a senior at Arizona Cultural Academy and College Prep, offers a great solution. “I think that Muslims should make more of a big deal for Eid than we do now. We

shouldn’t be impressed or intimidated by Christmas decorations and celebrations.” If Muslims celebrated their own holidays the way they should, instead of going to school or work on Eid, than Muslims would not feel like they are missing out. And inshaAllah, with a greater understanding of our own faith, it will be easier for Muslims to do just that.

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Tempe Masjid, the Muslim Leaders of America (MLA), hosted a youth Qiyam on the night of Christmas. The program was designed to educate the youth about Prophet Jesus (A) since Christmas relates to him, so that they understand his significance in Islam.

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LOCAL / National

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Bosnian Serb war victim wants Jolie’s film banned Received by Newsfinder from AP

B

ANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) The head of a group for Serbs held prisoner during Bosnia’s 1992-95 war says Angelina Jolie’s movie ``In the Land of Blood and Honey’’ should be banned in the Serb-run part of the country.

Muslim Voice

O

ld Town Sarajevo a local Bosnian restaurant in Phoenix hosted last month an entertainment evening with Bosnian music preformed by famous musicians and singer from California. The evening was attended by number of local Bosnian community members at the restaurant that is located on Northern and 35th Ave. Few thousands of Bosnian Muslims have resided in Phoenix area since the nineties after they were removed from Bosnia after the civil war. They have their own local organization and an Islamic center where Jumma is preformed in Bosnia language as well.

Branislav Djukic of the Bosnian Serb Association of Camp Prisoners told the Associated Press on Tuesday that although he has seen only the trailer, he can already say the movie ``is showing lies’’ and portraying Serbs as the only ones who raped women during the war.

Jolie’s movie will be released in the U.S. on Dec. 23 and is a heavy drama about a Serb soldier who finds his ex-lover, a Muslim Bosnian woman, among sex slaves in a camp.

The movie was praised by a selected audience of 11 non-Serb war victim groups who saw it in Sarajevo earlier this month.

A device attempts to elevate the iPad’s keyboard

By RACHEL METZ AP Technology Writer

S

AN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Even if you love the iPad, you’re probably not keen to write your next novel using its on-screen virtual keyboard. You may not be thrilled to type up a lengthy email with it, either.

place.

Typing with it was fairly comfortable, though it would take some getting used to its squishy feel.

Not everyone is convinced, though, of the need for the new product.

Gartner Research analyst Ken Dulaney is skeptical that the TouchFire will appeal to the masses, saying it doesn’t really seem different from the scads of wireless keyboards already available for the tablet.

or exceed their goals, Kickstarter said.

This year, site visitors pledged about $79 million to projects that either succeeded, including Isaac’s, or were still in the process of soliciting funds.

Last September, he connected with Brad Melmon, an industrial designer who was also based in Seattle. The duo refined Isaac’s original idea and created the TouchFire company together.

Not long after the iPad came out in April 2010, Isaac started fashioning prototypes by cutting up transparent

A TouchFire prototype Isaac recently brought to The Associated Press’ San Francisco office looked deceptively

``I can tell you, you just need to go down the Apple Store to see how littered the market is for keyboards for iPads,’’

silicone laptop keyboard covers (the kind you use to protect a laptop’s keyboard from dirt) and thin sheets of silicone.

simple. On the surface, it appeared to be just a flexible keyboard cover with some rigid plastic on the sides.

he says.

He had a number of stipulations for the TouchFire: It should somehow work with the iPad’s existing on-screen keyboard and have springy ``keys’’ that you could actually feel. It had to be small, light and unobtrusive. It needed to respond to your finger taps, but, as on a hardware keyboard, be insensitive enough that you could rest your fingers on the keys without triggering the typing of random letters.

But a closer look revealed small bumps on the underside of the keypad’s silicone keys _ bumps that provide typing fingers with the proper amount of resistance.

Magnets on the sides and the bottom adhere it to the magnetic portions of the face of the iPad 2, allowing it to sit right on top of the on-screen virtual keyboard without sliding around. If you use the original iPad, a non-slip layer on the bottom of the TouchFire helps keep it in

Steve Isaac felt the same way. A Seattlebased software designer who worked on an early tablet at computing startup Go in the 1990s, Isaac was delighted when the iPad came out last year. He loved its svelteness, battery life and wireless connectivity. ``The iPad was amazing,’’ he says. ``It just did everything super, super well.’’

Well, almost everything. Though its touch-screen keyboard was way ahead of what he’d seen on past tablets, he felt it still wasn’t great for typing.

And wireless keyboards that work via Bluetooth seemed too bulky.

So Isaac got to work on a way to make the iPad easier to type on _ a stretchy silicone keyboard called the TouchFire that sits atop the tablet’s on-screen keyboard when the device is turned on its side.

Isaac isn’t unique in coming up with this type of device, but his invention has garnered an intense amount of support through Kickstarter _ a website where entrepreneurs and artists solicit funding for their projects and often give rewards in exchange, such as a limited-edition poster or first version of a product.

In Isaac’s case, he turned to the site to raise money to turn his prototype into a real device, offering the first run of TouchFires to Kickstarter backers. His effort raised $201,400 by the time it ended last week. That was more than 20 times the $10,000 that he and his business partner had hoped to snag.

The TouchFire’s birth as a consumer product shows the growing importance of sites such as Kickstarter. They offer a new way to finance bright ideas and usher them to the masses. Kickstarter visitors can search through a bevy of proposals for everything from graphic novels to consumer electronics, coming from creators who must meet their stated funding goal in a specified period of time in order to actually use the money.

About 45 percent of the projects meet

Indeed, there are tons of options available to iPad users, from cases with built-in keyboards to stand-alone keyboards that sit next to the iPad. Isaac is optimistic, though. He and Melmon are deciding on a manufacturer to make the device, and Isaac said they’re likely to ship the TouchFires to donors in January. After that, they hope to make the devices available for sale as soon as possible.

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National

Census shows 1 in 2 people are poor or low-income

By HOPE YEN

who need help, we wouldn’t have been able to survive.’’

Associated Press

About 97.3 million Americans fall into a low-income category, commonly defined as those earning between 100 and 199 percent of the poverty level, based on a new supplemental measure by the Census Bureau that is designed to provide a fuller picture of poverty. Together with the 49.1 million who fall below the poverty line and are counted as poor, they number 146.4 million, or 48 percent of the U.S. population. That’s up by 4 million from 2009, the earliest numbers for the newly developed poverty measure.

W

ASHINGTON (AP) _ Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans _ nearly 1 in 2 _ have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income.

The latest census data depict a middle class that’s shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government’s safety net frays. The new numbers follow years of stagnating wages for the middle class that have hurt millions of workers and families. ``Safety net programs such as food stamps and tax credits kept poverty from rising even higher in 2010, but for many low-income families with work-related and medical expenses, they are considered too `rich’ to qualify,’’ said Sheldon Danziger, a University of Michigan public policy professor who specializes in poverty. ``The reality is that prospects for the poor and the near poor are dismal,’’ he said. ``If Congress and the states make further cuts, we can expect the number of poor and low-income families to rise for the next several years.’’

The new measure of poverty takes into account medical, commuting and other living costs. Doing that helped push the number of people below 200 percent of the poverty level up from 104 million, or 1 in 3 Americans, that was officially reported in September.

States in the South and West had the highest shares of low-income families, including Arizona, New Mexico and South Carolina, which have cut back or eliminated aid programs for the needy. By raw numbers, such families were most numerous in California and Texas, each with more than 1 million.

Among low-income families, about one-third were considered poor while the remainder _ 6.9 million _ earned income just above the poverty line. Many states phase out eligibility for food stamps, Medicaid, tax credit and other government aid programs for low-income Americans as they approach 200 percent of the poverty level.

``We’re paying my mom $200 a month for rent, and after diapers and formula and gas for work, we barely have enough money to spend,’’ said Bechtol. ``If it weren’t for food stamps and other government money for families

The new survey of 29 cities points to a gloomy outlook for those on the lower end of the income scale.

Across the 29 cities, about 27 percent of people needing emergency food aid did not receive it. Mayor Michael McGinn in Seattle cited an unexpected spike in food requests from immigrants and refugees, particularly from Somalia, Burma and Bhutan.

Among those requesting emergency food assistance, 51 percent were in families, 26 percent were employed, 19 percent were elderly and 11 percent were homeless. ``People who never thought they would need food are in need of help,’’ said Mayor Sly James of Kansas City, Missouri, who co-chairs a mayors’ task force on hunger and homelessness.

Even by traditional measures, many working families are hurting.

Following the recession that began in late 2007, the share of working families who are low income has risen for three straight years to 31.2 percent, or 10.2 million.

That proportion is the highest in at least a decade, up from 27 percent in 2002, according to a new analysis by the Working Poor Families Project and the Population Reference Bureau, a nonprofit research group based in Washington.

7

just under $15,000, and earnings for the next 20 percent have remained flat at $37,000. In contrast, higher-income brackets had significant wage growth since 1979, with earnings for the top 5 percent of families climbing 64 percent to more than $313,000.

Broken down by age, children were most likely to be poor or low-income _ about 57 percent _ followed by seniors over 65. By race and ethnicity, Hispanics topped the list at 73 percent, followed by blacks, Asians and non-Hispanic whites.

In a U.S. Conference of Mayors survey being released Thursday, 29 cities say more than 1 in 4 people needing emergency food assistance did not receive it. Many middle-class Americans are dropping below the lowincome threshold _ roughly $45,000 for a family of four _ because of pay cuts, a forced reduction of work hours or a spouse losing a job. Housing and child-care costs are consuming up to half of a family’s income.

The struggling Americans include Zenobia Bechtol, 18, in Texas, who earns minimum wage as a part-time pizza delivery driver. Bechtol and her 7-month-old baby were recently evicted from their apartment after her boyfriend, an electrician, lost his job.

January 2012

The majority of low-income families _ 62 percent _ spent more than one-third of their earnings on housing, surpassing a common guideline for what is considered affordable. By some census surveys, child-care costs consume close to another one-fifth.

Paychecks for low-income families are shrinking. The inflation-adjusted average earnings for the bottom 20 percent of families have fallen from $16,788 in 1979 to

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January 2012

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Young and Old Protest in DC for Jobs, Unemployment Benefits

W

ASHINGTON, D.C.--Julia Lee hobbled on a cane in a crowd of marchers toward the Longworth House Office Building.

She last held a full-time job five years ago. Lee, who now receives disability payments, was injured in an accident and uses a cane due to a rejected knee replacement two years ago.

The grandmother of seven from Philadelphia traveled to Washington because, to her, something’s not right.

“All Americans have a right to a job and have a right to take care of their families, because that’s what this country is built on,” Lee said.

Young and old in mud-caked shoes marched toward the Capitol on Thursday calling for jobs and economic fairness. The marchers have convened in Washington from across the country, camping on Washington’s National Mall by day and sleeping in local churches by night.

They are part of an effort backed

by Our DC, a grassroots advocacy group focused on good jobs for District residents. It organized the encampment in collaboration with a coalition of union members and the unemployed. Thursday’s procession followed several days of action, including a march on K Street, known as the center of corporate lobbying, and sit-ins at congressional offices.

1.8 Million Would Lose Unemployment Benefits The mobilization is tied to Congress’s current focus on proposed extensions of the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits. If the payroll

tax cut is allowed to expire at the end of this month, an American family making $50,000 a year stands to pay an additional $1,000 in taxes next year, according to the White House.

DC. He helped to coordinate the fourday encampment on the National Mall, called Take Back the Capitol.

And if the unemployment extensions end, 1.8 million people will lose benefits, according to theNational Employment Law Project). The president has advocated vehemently for the two measures, arguing that both provided needed stimulus for the slowly recovering economy. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has said the benefits should not be extended without cuts in other areas. Progress on the measures has been glacial.

“We’re here to have them see us, hear us and feel us. Feel our pain,” he said.

The employment market is not without its bright spots. Markets rallied last week when the unemployment rate dropped below nine percent, its lowest point in two-and-a-half years. But the majority of that drop came from people giving up the job search. There are still 16 million Americans either without a job or looking for work, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

One of those who have given up looking is John Butler of Washington. The D.C. Metro area has been a standout during the recession, with an unemployment rate below the national average, but disparities abound. Within the city of Washington, 11 percent are unemployed. In the city’s poorest section, Ward 8, the rate is more than 26 percent, according to the D.C. Department of Employment Services.

It has been more than 20 percent since December 2008.

Butler has been unemployed for several years and now works with Our

‫بيت الطباعة‬

“The need is real,” Butler said. “We are hurting.”

Ashley Howard knows about economic pain. The Washington resident has been unemployed for a year, after being laid off from an administrative job at the Environmental Protection Agency.

Her unemployment benefits are set to expire next month. She has worked sparingly since then and participated in training programs, but she says it’s not enough. The 23-year-old mother of two lived in a shelter until recently moving in with a family member.

“When I get paid from unemployment, it’s like the money is gone as soon as it gets there,” Howard said.

Howard applied for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, but was denied because she was told she makes too much on unemployment. She’s worried she may have nothing to give her kids for Christmas. She wished those in Congress could imagine what it’s like to be in her shoes.

“Please stop being a coward,” said Howard, speaking to Congress. “You have the right and the position to do what you need to do to save other people.”

Job Creation, Not Deficit Reduction Barry Specter, a former teacher, said Congress should focus on job creation, not deficit reduction. At the state and federal levels, quests to balance budgets have dragged down employment.

e m p o w e r i n g

The public sector lost 20,000 jobs in October, while the private sector saw job growth, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Specter knows from experience the toll budget cuts can take. The 60-yearold from Pittsburgh was furloughed in July with 4,000 other teachers in Pennsylvania, in order to close a $4 billion shortfall.

“Being unemployed is a real blow, especially at my age. There aren’t a whole lot of places even willing to consider me,” Specter said.

Specter spent the bulk of his career in the private sector before moving into education 14 years ago. He fears another year without income will have a detrimental impact on calculating his pension.

While Specter expressed sympathy for his colleagues in education, he’s concerned about the impact of cuts on students. Nearly $1 billion in state education cuts caused Specter’s Steel Valley school district to lay off onethird of its workforce.

“It’s even worse for the students because they’ll never get that year back,” Specter said.

Back at the Longworth Office Building, the protestor from Philadelphia had to lean on a stone banister as her fellow demonstrators sat down in protest. Lee still chanted along in solidarity.

“I’m fighting for my grandchildren’s future,” she said.

This article is from the project, “What Went Wrong: The Betrayal of the American Dream,” a collaboration between Pulitzer Prize winners Donald Barlett and James Steele and the staff of the Investigative Reporting Workshop at the American University School of Communication.

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January 2012

9

Congress’ new terrorism rules leave open questions

By PETE YOST

with law enforcement.

Associated Press

W

ASHINGTON (AP) _ After a bruising battle in the U.S. Congress, the Obama administration retained the right to investigate and try suspected terrorists in civilian courts. But officials say newly enacted legislation raises a host of questions that will complicate and could harm the investigation of terrorism cases.

In a Nov. 28 letter to Congress, FBI Director Robert Mueller said the legislation will inhibit the bureau’s ability to persuade suspected terrorists to cooperate immediately and provide critical intelligence.

Mueller tried to make a similar point at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this past week, but got little sympathy from Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions. ``What I am focused on is what happens at the time of arrest,’’ the FBI director said.

During a struggle that began last May and ended this past week in a compromise defense bill, the administration waged an uphill fight against a majority of Republicans and some Democrats trying to expand the role of the military while reducing the role of civilian courts in the fight against terrorism.

``The second concern I have,’’ said Nardotti, ``is that the use of the words `associated forces’ in the legislation can be read as expanding the definition of who can be held indefinitely in military custody in an open-ended conflict.’’ That could become an important issue because the legislation will undoubtedly at some point _ or at many points _ undergo scrutiny by the courts.

The new law would require military custody for any suspect who is a member of al-Qaida or ``associated forces’’ and involved in planning or attempting to carry out an attack on the United States or its coalition partners.

The military custody requirement does not apply to U.S. citizens or to lawful U.S. residents.

But, Chesney added, ``this law does leave the president with flexibility’’ to have civilian trials ``and therefore the law is neither quite as bad as its opponents say nor as useful as its supporters think.’’

Weighing in heavily in the debate was the FBI, the frontline investigative agency that now must operate in a reordered environment in which the U.S. military will suddenly play a bigger role that is sometimes side by side

But that left open questions.

``If the detainees are in military custody and the military is responsible for their disposition and control, what role does the FBI have in that process and is the FBI going to be directed in some respects by the military on the use of the bureau’s investigative resources?’’ asked Nardotti.

In the end, the administration came away with one major victory. Gone from the defense bill during House-Senate negotiations was a provision that would have eliminated executive branch authority to use civilian courts for trying terrorism cases against foreign nationals.

The new law ``will ramp up the political costs’’ when the administration decides to hold a civilian criminal prosecution for a detainee, said University of Texas law professor Robert M. Chesney, who focused on detainee issues while serving at the Justice Department in 2009.

Pressure from the administration produced one late compromise section that says nothing in the bill may be ``construed to affect the existing criminal enforcement and national security authorities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation or any other domestic law enforcement agency with regard to a covered person, regardless whether such covered person is held in military custody.’’ ``I’m concerned with the lack of clarity about who is in charge of investigation and interrogation for detainees in military custody,’’ Michael J. Nardotti, the judge advocate general of the Army from 1993 to 1997, said of the legislation.

It was the latest effort by conservatives to keep open the U.S. military prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to place terrorism suspects in indefinite detention and to designate military commissions as the preferred alternative to civilian courts for meting out justice.

The president or a designated subordinate may waive the military custody requirement by certifying to Congress that such a move is in the interest of national security.

publicly about the matter, say that it won’t be easy working under a new set of rules that must be written in the next 60 days before the law goes into effect.

Gary Solis, a retired judge advocate who served 26 years in the Marine Corps, called the latest political venture into how best to battle terrorism ``a very bad idea.’’ ``Making the military the warders of every suspected terrorist goes far beyond the military’s legislatively assigned mission,’’ he said. ``Well, then you need to work this out with the Department of Defense, don’t you?’’ said Sessions, a former federal prosecutor and ex-Alabama attorney general.

Mueller also said it wasn’t clear how agents should operate if they arrest someone covered by the military custody requirement but the nearest military facility is hundreds of miles away.

And last month, Lisa Monaco, assistant attorney general for national security, said that ``agents and prosecutors should not have to spend their time worrying about citizenship status and whether and how to get a waiver in order to thwart an al-Qaida plot against the homeland.’’

Law enforcement officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak

``It appears to me to be an effort to assure that all suspected terrorists will be tried by military commission,’’ said Solis. ``Despite the fact that hundreds of terrorists have been tried in the federal courts, convicted and sentenced to long terms, for reasons that escape me Congress is unwilling to allow our courts to proceed with what they have demonstrably been so capable of doing.’’

Congress and the White House have been at odds over detention policy ever since President Barack Obama was sworn in.

Many lawmakers have resisted the administration’s efforts to close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay and have opposed trying terror suspects in federal courts in the United States rather than by military commission.

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www.AZMuslimVoice.com INTERNATIONAL 10 January 2012 Turkish mosque collapse kills 1, injures 9 Foreign officials urge Bosnia to form a government

Received by Newsfinder from AP

A

NKARA, Turkey (AP) _ The dome of a mosque under construction collapsed on Saturday, killing one worker and injuring nine others, who were pulled from the rubble by rescuers, an official said.

Received by Newsfinder from AP

S

ARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) _ International officials are urging Bosnia to finally form a government and pass a budget 14 months after it held elections.

A council made up of ambassadors of the world powers overseeing Bosnia’s peace expressed disappointment Tuesday with Bosnia’s political stagnation.

The six parties that are supposed to form a government can’t agree on who will run which ministry, and the lack of a budget is threatening the functioning of state agencies.

The lack of political will by the election winners to compromise and form a government has caused Bosnia’s credit rating to sink recently.

Bosnian Serb rhetoric about the dissolution of the country has also prevented the council from ending its international supervision over a strategic northern town.

The dome of the mosque being built at an industrial area in the central Turkish town of Acigol tumbled down during construction, trapping 10 workers under a pile of iron, Mayor Hasan Unver told NTV television.

Nine of the workers were rescued with injuries while the other was pulled out dead, he said.

State-run TRT television showed images of rescuers, some carrying a bright orange stretcher, scrambling to rescue one trapped worker amid a pile of rubble and iron rods.

The images were a mini-replay of a series of televised rescues in October after a pair of powerful earthquakes buried hundreds of

people in eastern Turkey.

enforcement has remained lax.

The cause of Saturday’s accident was under investigation.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan charged that shoddy construction contributed to the high casualty toll of October’s earthquakes and said Turkey had not learned lessons from past disasters.

Tough safety codes were approved a decade ago after earthquakes in western Turkey killed 18,000 people and prompted an outcry over the poor quality of construction, but

Egypt’s military clashes with protesters

By AYA BATRAWY Associated Press

instead of me and fell to the ground. I have his blood on my shirt and hands,’’ Mohammed said. The condition of the wounded man was not known.

AIRO (AP) _ Soldiers stormed an anti-military protest camp outside Egypt’s Cabinet building Friday, beating women with sticks and hurling chunks of concrete and glass onto protesters from the roof of the parliament in a resurgence of turmoil only a day after millions voted in parliamentary elections.

Sahar Abdel-Mohsen, a youth activist, said she saw the bodies of two slain protesters brought to a Cairo hospital, both with gunshot wounds. ``The blood is still dripping from the head of one of them,’’ a 22-year-old man, she told The Associated Press, adding that she accompanied the bodies to the morgue.

C

At least two protesters were shot to death in the clashes, an activist who saw their bodies said. The heavyhanded assault was an attempt to clear out protesters who have been camped out in front of the building for three weeks demanding the ruling military leave power.

A Health Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of he was not authorized to talk to the press, confirmed one death, a man in his 20s who was shot in the head with live ammunition. The ministry, cited by the state news agency, said at least 99 people were injured, including broken bones and gunshot wounds.

But the mayhem _ which came despite promises from the army-appointed prime minister that no one would try to clear the protesters by force _ threatened to spark a new round of violence after deadly clashes between youth revolutionaries and security forces in November that lasted for days and left more than 40 dead.

The assault was likely to re-ignite the tensions between revolutionaries and the military, which took power after the Feb. 11 resignation of Hosni Mubarak.

The youth activists who led the protests that ousted Mubarak accuse the military of acting in the same authoritarian way as the former president.

Several women protesters cowered on the pavement as military police beat them with truncheons and long sticks.

Another woman was seen bring dragged away by her hair by soldiers.

Plainclothes and uniformed security officers were seen throwing slabs of concrete and stones on protesters from atop the parliament building, according to state TV footage and videos and photos posted by protesters on social networking sites. Protesters threw fire bombs and rocks at the security officers, lighting a part of parliament on fire and chanting ``Down with the military.’’ ``It’s pretty ironic that the military is throwing rocks at protesters from the parliament building, where a sign is hanging that says democracy is the power of the people,’’ protester Mostafa Sheshtawy said.

Hours after sunset, the crowds of protesters had grown to hundreds and clashes continued, with youths hiding behind a makeshift barrier of metal sheets and an overturned car, throwing volleys of stones at military police lined up in the broad avenue in front of the parliament and Cabinet headquarters.

There were reports of live gunfire from the rooftops. One protester, Islam Mohammed, said a fellow protester pushed him aside and was hit by a bullet in the stomach. ``He took a bullet

One activist who won a parliament seat in the first round of elections on Nov. 2829, said military police beat him with sticks on his torso and arms. ``While beating me, an officer said, ‘Don’t imagine the parliament will protect you,’’’ the new MP, Ziad el-Oleimi, told The Associated Press. ``So long as Egyptians are being humiliated and beaten on the streets, that means the revolution has not reached its goals. Taking to the streets will continue,’’ el-Oleimi said. ``The people elected us so that we don’t get beaten in the streets. We will not accept this again.’’

The clashes took place as election officials were counting ballots from the second round of Egypt’s parliament elections, considered to be the freest and fairest vote in the country’s modern history. A third of Egypt’s provinces voted Wednesday and Thursday.

Election results from the first round of voting placed Islamist parties ahead of more liberal parties born out of the antiMubarak uprising.

The military touted the vote as a boost to its status, and state media depicted it as the country’s guardian, running images of troops protecting polling centers and soldiers carrying the elderly to the polls. Despite wide dissatisfaction with the way the military has handled the nation’s transition, the armed forces

retain support among many Egyptians who see it as the only entity able to run the country until presidential elections scheduled for next year.

showed people carrying the wounded man, his face and eyes bruised and swollen, his head wrapped in gauze and blood dripping from his nose.

But the new violence heavily strains the political tensions.

Protester threw rocks and firebombs at military police, who fired back with water cannons and stones from inside parliament. Several cars were set on fire.

Two members of a civilian advisory panel created by the military earlier this month announced their resignations to protest the army’s use of force. The military created the panel as a gesture to protesters, who say it has been making unilateral decisions. A number of newly elected lawmakers condemned the military for the violence.

The Muslim Brotherhood, the biggest winner in parliamentary elections so far, said in a statement that it rejects the assault on protesters and the use of the parliament building to attack people.

In a Tweet, leading reform figure and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei wrote, ``If the sit-in broke the law, isn’t the cruelty and brutality used to break it up a greater violation of all human rights laws? This is not how nations are managed.’’

The clashes erupted late Thursday when troops moved in on the protesters, who were peacefully camped out in front of the Cabinet building. Soldiers burned protesters’ tents and snatched one young man, taking him into the parliament building and beating him severely, witnesses said.

Hundreds of people rushed to join the protest after online video and photos

An American producer for Al Jazeera English, Evan Hill, was beaten by military police and his equipment confiscated, the network reported. Al Jazeera said he was not seriously hurt but said the network was ``appalled by this act of violence’’ and demanded the return of Hill’s camera, phone and U.S. passport.

A number of activists reported being briefly detained by military police.

It was unclear how many protesters remain in military police custody.

The military’s assault is also a potential embarrassment to Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri, who vowed last month that he would not use force to break up the sit-in.

The military said al-Ganzouri would have greater power than the preceding government, which stepped down amid the November protests amid criticism that it was simply a facade for the ruling generals. ``Who has power and who is responsible?’’ asked ElBaradei on his Twitter account.

INTERNATIONAL

www.AZMuslimVoice.com

January 2012

11

6 soldiers among dead; Syria weighing observers

By ZEINA KARAM

accept to have the monitors but then placed conditions that were rejected by the Arab League.

Associated Press

B

EIRUT (AP) _ Armed clashes erupted in Syria Sunday, killing at least 15 civilians and six government troops, activists said.

Isolated and faced with a possible civil war, Syria appeared to be bending toward allowing Arab League observers in as a step toward ending the conflict.

The Al-Arabiya TV channel said it had information from the Qatari prime minister that Syrian President Bashar Assad will sign an observer deal but gave no further details. Last month Syria agreed to an Arab League plan but balked at its implementation.

The Arab League has given Syria until Wednesday to sign a protocol to allow observers into the country, or else it will likely turn to the U.N. Security Council for action to try to end the deadly violence against regime opponents.

Syria’s state-run news agency SANA quoted Assad Sunday as saying in front of an Iraqi delegation that Syria has ``dealt positively with proposals presented because it’s in (Syria’s) interest for the world to know what is happening in Syria.’’

Syria has in the past said it would

The head of the Iraqi delegation met later Sunday with Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby in Cairo. He told reporters Iraq wished to play ``an active role in supporting Arab League efforts’’ on Syria which he described as the ``sole and appropriate framework’’ to solve the crisis in Syria.

Attacks by Syrian security forces and clashes with gunmen believed to be army defectors continued in Syria Sunday in the latest sign that the nation’s uprising may be deteriorating into civil war.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an army officer was among the six soldiers killed in the town of Qusair in Homs province, near the border with Lebanon. ``Three armored vehicles were destroyed, and those inside were killed and wounded,’’ according to the group, which relies on a network of activists inside the country. It said the clashes also resulted in the ``partial destruction of some homes.’’

Heavy gunbattles were also reported Sunday in several villages in the restive Jabal al-Zawiya region in the northern Idlib province near the Turkish border, where many defectors are believed to

be operating.

The Observatory and the Local Coordination Committees activist network said at least 15 civilians were killed in clashes and shootings by security forces toward civilian areas in the Homs region, as well as the Jabal al-Zawiya area and the town of Maaret al-Numan in the north.

Among the dead was a young man who was killed when security forces opened fire during a funeral of a man killed earlier in the eastern Deir el-Zour province.

The reports could not be confirmed independently, because Syria has banned most foreign correspondents and limited movement around the country.

Syria has seen a sharp escalation in armed clashes recently, raising concerns the country of 22 million is slipping toward civil war nine months into the uprising against Assad.

The Syrian revolt began in mid-March as protesters emboldened by uprisings across the Arab world took to the streets to demand an end to the Assad family’s more than 40-year rule. The regime responded with a bloody crackdown that the U.N. says has killed at least 5,000 people.

Speaking after an Arab ministerial

committee meeting in Doha Saturday, Qatar’s prime minister Sheik Hamad Bin Jassem Bin Jabr Al Thani said Arab foreign ministers will hold a ``decisive and important’’ meeting in Cairo on Wednesday to decide on the next step.

He said there is near unanimity on taking the Arab League’s plan to the Security Council in hopes the world body can press Damascus to accept it. Syria has demanded changes to the proposal, which calls for an end to the bloody crackdown.

The United Nations has been waiting for word from the Arab League before moving ahead with a resolution on Syria. A clear nod from Damascus’ Arab neighbors could ease Russian and Chinese opposition to sanctions.

Both nations have veto power at the Security Council.

The Arab League plan calls for Syria to halt its crackdown, hold talks with the opposition and allow in Arab observers to ensure compliance with the deal.

It does not call for foreign military intervention, as in Libya.

The 22-member League has also suspended Syria’s membership and imposed sanctions, but it has been divided over whether to seek the help of the wider international community beyond the Arab world.

Iran says its delayed news of US drone capture

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI

``Any decision-making about this issue rests with the Supreme National Security Council,’’ IRNA quoted Salehi as saying. The council is Iran’s highest security decision-making body and handles the country’s talks with the West over Iran’s disputed nuclear program.

Associated Press

T

EHRAN, Iran (AP) _ Iran deliberately delayed its announcement that it had captured an American surveillance drone to test U.S. reaction, the country’s foreign minister said Saturday.

Salehi said Iran won a complicated technological battle with the U.S. by intercepting and taking control of the plane with an electronic ambush.

Ali Akbar Salehi said Tehran finally went public with its possession of the RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drone to disprove contradictory statements from U.S. officials.

``Regardless of whether the U.S. believes it or not, the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran brought down the aircraft largely intact without assistance from any foreign country,’’ he said.

Iran, which put the aircraft on display last week, has tried to trumpet the downing of the drone as a feat of Iran’s military in a complicated technological and intelligence battle with the U.S. Tehran also has rejected a formal U.S. request to return the plane, calling it’s incursion an ``invasion’’ and a ``hostile act.’’ ``When our armed forces nicely brought down the stealth American surveillance drone, we didn’t announce it for several days to see what the other party (U.S.) says and to test their reaction,’’ Salehi told the official IRNA news agency. ``Days after Americans made contradictory statements, our friends at the

American officials have said that U.S. intelligence assessments indicate that Iran neither shot the drone down, nor used electronic or cybertechnology to force it from the sky. They contend the drone malfunctioned. armed forces put this drone on display.’’

Salehi said Iran’s position is not to return the drone, but he didn’t completely rule out the possibility of a deal.

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Iranian state media has said the unmanned spy aircraft was detected over the eastern town of Kashmar, some 140 miles (225 kilometers) from the border with Afghanistan.

for information please call 602-258-7770 or email us at inter@azmuslimvoice.com

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INTERNATIONAL

January 2012

www.AZMuslimVoice.com

Turkey slams France over genocide bill

By SUZAN FRASER Associated Press

A

NKARA, Turkey (AP) _ Turkey’s prime minister sharply criticized France for a bill to make it a crime to deny that the World War I-era mass killing of Armenians was genocide.

Saying France should investigate what he said was its own ``dirty and bloody history’’ in Algeria and Rwanda, Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted Turkey would respond ``through all kinds of diplomatic means.’’

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks as their Empire collapsed, an event many international experts regard as genocide and that France recognized as such in 2001.

Turkish leaders reject the term, arguing that the toll is inflated and that those killed were victims of civil

war and unrest.

On Dec. 22, the lower house of French Parliament will debate a proposal that would make denying that the massacre was genocide punishable by up to a year in prison and (euro) 45,000 ($58,500) in fines, putting it on par with Holocaust denial, which was banned in the country in 1990.

Erdogan lashed out at France during a joint news conference with Mustafa Abdul-Jalil _ the chairman of Libya’s National Transitional Council _ saying there were reports that France was responsible for the deaths of 45,000 people in Algeria in 1945 and for the massacre of up to 800,000 people in Rwanda in 1994. ``No historian, no politician can see genocide in our history,’’ Erdogan said. ``Those who do want to see genocide should turn around and look at their own dirty and bloody history.’’ ``The French National Assembly should shed light on Algeria, it should

shed light on Rwanda,’’ he said, in his first news conference since recovering from surgery three weeks ago.

France had troops in Rwanda, and Rwandan President Paul Kagame has accused the country of doing little to stop the country’s genocide.

Erdogan’s criticism comes a day after an official said the Turkish leader had written to French President Nicolas Sarkozy warning of grave consequences if the Armenian genocide bill is adopted.

A Turkish diplomat said Turkey would withdraw its ambassador to France is the law is passed. ``I hope that the (French Parliament) steps back from the error of misrepresenting history and of punishing those who deny the historic lies,’’ Erdogan said. ``Turkey will stand against this intentional, malicious, unjust and illegal attempt through all kinds of diplomatic means.’’

There was no immediate reaction from France. Ties between the two countries are already strained by Sarkozy’s opposition to Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.

Last US troops leave Iraq as war ends Last US troops leave Iraq as war ends

By REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press

K

HABARI CROSSING, Kuwait (AP) _ The last U.S. soldiers rolled out of Iraq across the border to neighboring Kuwait at daybreak Sunday, whooping, fist bumping and hugging each other in a burst of joy and relief. Their exit marked the end of a bitterly divisive war that raged for nearly nine years and left Iraq shattered, with troubling questions lingering over whether the Arab nation will remain a steadfast U.S. ally.

The mission cost nearly 4,500 American and well more than 100,000 Iraqi lives and $800 billion from the U.S. Treasury. The question of whether it was worth it all is yet unanswered.

Capt. Mark Askew, a 28-year-old from Tampa, Florida who was among the last soldiers to leave, said the answer to that question will depend on what type of country and government Iraq ends up with years from now, whether they are democratic, respect human rights and are considered an American ally. ``It depends on what Iraq does after we leave,’’ he said, speaking ahead of the exit. ``I don’t expect them to turn into South Korea or Japan overnight.’’

The war that began in a blaze of aerial bombardment meant to shock and awe the dictator Saddam Hussein and his loyalists ended quietly and with minimal fanfare.

U.S. officials acknowledged the cost in blood and dollars was high, but tried to paint a picture of victory _ for both the troops and the Iraqi people now freed of a dictator and on a path to democracy. But gnawing questions remain: Will Iraqis be able to forge their new government amid the still stubborn sectarian clashes.

And will Iraq be able to defend itself and remain independent in a region fraught with turmoil and still steeped in insurgent threats.

Many Iraqis, however, are nervous and uncertain about the future. Their relief at the end of Saddam, who was hanged on the last day of 2006, was tempered by a long and vicious war that was launched to find nonexistent weapons of mass destruction and nearly plunged the nation into full-scale sectarian civil war.

Some criticized the Americans for leaving behind a destroyed country with thousands of widows and orphans, a people deeply divided along sectarian lines and without rebuilding the devastated infrastructure.

Some Iraqis celebrated the exit of what they called American occupiers, neither invited nor welcome in a proud country.

Others said that while grateful for U.S. help ousting Saddam, the war went on too long. A majority of Americans would agree, according to opinion polls.

The low-key exit stood in sharp contrast to the high octane start of the war, which began before dawn on March 20, 2003, with an airstrike in southern Baghdad where Saddam was believed to be hiding.

U.S. and allied ground forces then stormed across the featureless Kuwaiti desert, accompanied by reporters, photographers and television crews embedded with the troops.

The final few thousand U.S. troops left Iraq in orderly caravans and tightly scheduled flights. They left at night

in hopes it would be more secure and got out in time for at least some of the troops to join families at home for the Christmas holidays.

The last convoy of MRAPs, heavily armored personnel carriers, arrived in Kuwait around 7:30 a.m. local time (0430GMT) Sunday. Soldiers standing just inside the crossing on the Kuwaiti side of the border waved and snapped photos as the final trucks crossed over.

Spc. Brittany Hampton, 21, was among the last soldiers to leave. ``Awesome. It is awesome. I am very proud of it,’’ she said.

The final troops completed the massive logistical challenge of shuttering hundreds of bases and combat outposts, and methodically moving more than 50,000 U.S. troops and their equipment out of Iraq over the last year _ while still conducting training, security assistance and counterterrorism battles.

As of Thursday, there were two U.S. bases and less than 4,000 U.S. troops in Iraq _ a dramatic drop from the roughly 500 military installations and as many as 170,000 troops during the surge ordered by President George W. Bush in 2007, when violence and raging sectarianism gripped the country. All U.S. troops were slated to be out of Iraq by the end of the year, but officials are likely to meet that goal a bit before then.

The total U.S. departure is a bit earlier than initially planned, and military leaders worry that it is a bit premature for the still maturing Iraqi security forces, who face continuing struggles to develop the logistics, air operations, surveillance and intelligence-sharing capabilities they will need in what has long been a difficult region.

Despite President Barack Obama’s earlier contention that all American troops would be home for Christmas,

at least 4,000 forces will remain in Kuwait for some months. The troops will be able to help finalize the move out of Iraq, but could also be used as a quick reaction force if needed.

Obama stopped short of calling the U.S. effort in Iraq a victory in an interview taped Thursday with ABC News’ Barbara Walters. ``I would describe our troops as having succeeded in the mission of giving to the Iraqis their country in a way that gives them a chance for a successful future,’’ Obama said.

The Iraq Body Count website says more than 100,000 Iraqis have been killed since the U.S. invasion. The vast majority were civilians.

The U.S. plans to keep a robust diplomatic presence in Iraq, foster a deep and lasting relationship with the nation and maintain a strong military force in the region.

U.S. officials were unable to reach an agreement with the Iraqis on legal issues and troop immunity that would have allowed a small training and counterterrorism force to remain. U.S. defense officials said they expect there will be no movement on that issue until sometime next year.

Obama met in Washington with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki last week, vowing to remain committed to Iraq as the two countries struggle to define their new relationship. Ending the war was an early goal of the Obama administration, and Thursday’s ceremony will allow the president to fulfill a crucial campaign promise during a politically opportune time. The 2012 presidential race is roiling and Republicans are in a ferocious battle to determine who will face off against Obama in the election.

Family / Islam

www.AZMuslimVoice.com

January 2012

Sisterhood: Let’s Embrace IT Muslim Voice

13

It is no secret that women rarely fit into one box; instead they have many identifiable characteristics that make it difficult to categorize them. Sisterhood is intended to blur these differences and bring these women close together. It is evident that we should ALL embrace the concept of sisterhood, proudly and move a step closer to complete unity!!!

Fathiyyah Bashshar “No two people who love one another for the sake of Allah, or for the sake of Islam, will let the first minor offence of either of them come between them.” [Bukhari]

O

n several occasions, I remember being told that other females were my “sisters”…whether they were related to me or not. As a youth, I always questioned exactly what this meant. It baffled me that a female that was not one of Mommy and Daddy’s daughters could be called my sister. Well I learned later on in life exactly what this concept meant and I strongly identify with it. Sisterhood is a concept that implies that all women are linked together by a strong bond, despite ANY differences they may have.

Despite their differences, whether big or small, they share the unchangeable fact that they are women. Ideally, being a woman comes first and is supposed to be a determining factor by which a woman governs her whole life. There is such a great emphasis placed on gender rather than any other group identifying factor. Gender is supposed to be one of the most powerful of uniting forces. It is a force that women, and men alike, are to feel a dominant connection to.

Theoretically, women are to embrace sisterhood and every component from which it is formed. However, we live in a far from ideal world and sisterhood does not necessarily apply to every woman nor does it have a universal definition. This is a huge problem since the concept of sisterhood is based on global unity and is supposed to break cultural, political, and social barriers.

Sisterhood is something that is absolutely necessary for the wellbeing of Muslim women, particularly here in the West where large extended families may not exist. As Allah says in His book; “Surely the believers are but brothers. So set things right between your two brothers, and be aware of Allah – perhaps you will obtain mercy” Surah Hujurat (Q49:10). Sisterhood among Muslim women cannot be more emphasized than in the present times when there is such an onslaught against Islam in general as well as Muslims in particular. Preserving the ties of sisterhood in the Muslim ummah at this point in time is necessary and in a sense vital not only for the strengthening of the community but for its very survival.

When carried out in its true essence i.e. in the way and manner in which it was described by and practiced by the prophet Muhammad (SAW), it would lead to increase in iman and our sense of identity leading to a genuine sense of belonging. As Muslim women there are certain rights, which we owe our fellow Muslim sister, and which we have been commanded to fulfill.

Meeting and Greeting Sisters – It is obligatory as Muslims for us to spread the greetings of salaam to one another wherever and whenever we meet. This spreads love and compassion between us. It’s also part of good manners and social etiquette; salaams should be initiated before talking or striking up a conversation. The Muslim who greets

first with the salaam is the one best in conduct. It is also recommended that we meet our Muslim sister with a cheerful countenance as this has a good effect on her.

distress on the Day of Judgment. May Almighty Allah make it easy for us all to increase ourselves in imam and in taqwa? And may He assist us in being woman of exemplary character.

As Muslim women we should be in the forefront in the race to attain good deeds and what better way to achieve this than to be in the company and service of our fellow Muslim sisters who may be less fortunate than us. For if we remove the distress of a fellow sister in this life; Allah (SWT) would remove our

You are not a true believer until you love for your sister what you love for yourself. We love for our sister to be in Paradise as much as we love to be there ourselves, and we strive to please Allah together, side by side in this beautiful relationship called Sisterhood.

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Food Recipes

Bosnian spinach pie (zeljanica)

1 package filo pastry 2 bags washed fresh spinach 2 eggs 1/4 cup sour cream 1/2 lb ricotta or cottage cheese olive oil 1 1/2teaspoons salt milk plain yogurt (optional) Direction Preheat oven to 350F. Wash and drain spinach. Chop spinach and put in a big glass bowl. Add salt and mix with hands.

Leave for about 10 minutes and then drain the excessive water. Mix together eggs and

sour cream and add to spinach. Add cheese to the mixture. Grease a baking pan. Take filo sheets and lay them on a dry surface.

(While adding the filling, you may wish to cover the sheets with a dry towel and then a damp one to keep it from drying out or flaking.) Place one sheet of pastry into the pan and cut away excess. Brush with oil, using either your hands or a pastry brush. Repeat for 6 or 7 layers. Add a skim of filling and spread evenly. Repeat until the pie reaches the top of the pan or you run out of ingredients, but make sure you finish with the pastry on top. Place pie in the oven, uncovered, for about 35 minutes.

Pour on top of the pie while it is baking, 1/4 cup sour cream blended with 0.125 cup of milk. Bake for another 15 minutes.

This dish can be served warm or room temperature. It is traditionally served with yogurt.

Cevapi - grilled lamb & beef meatballs

Ingredient

Direction

Cevapi are Bosnia ‘s snacks of choice. The combination of different meat gives it subtle and alluring flavour.

Heat the butter in a small frying pan and when it starts to foam add the onions and garlic. Fry stirring occasionally, until soft, for around 6 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the lamb, beef, egg and spices in a bowl. When ready, add the onion and garlic mixture. Mix well. Shape into small cylinders, approximately 1” x 2” and arrange in a plate. Cover with plastic wrap, wax paper or a towel and refrigerate for one hour or longer to let the flavours settle and the mixture become firm. Grill or pan fry in medium heat until done to your preference. Serve sprinkled with chopped onions and accompanied with pita bread.

1 tbsp butter 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1 lb lean lamb 1 lb lean beef 1 egg white, lightly beaten 1tbsp sweet paprika 2 tbsp onions, finely chopped

CALENDAR / ANNOUNCEMENTS

www.AZMuslimVoice.com

January 2012

Tucson Prayer Times

Phoenix Prayer Times

January 2012 • Muharram / Safar 1433 H

January 2012 • Muharram / Safar 1433 H

Directions to the Islamic Cultural Center Cemetery

ISLAMIC WEEKEND SCHOOLS Islamic Community Center of Phoenix:

Sunday at 9:45 am-1:20 pm.

Islamic Cultural Center:

Sunday at 10:00 am

Muslim Community Mosque:

Sunday at 10:00 am until 2:30 pm.

Masjid Omar

Saturday & Sunday from 10:00 am until 1:00 pm.

ICNEV Weekend Islamic School

Tel: (480) 346-2081Classes held on Sunday

From the Islamic Cultural Center (ICC):

Check our website for up to date information www.tempemasjid.com

15

1) Go South on Forest to University Drive. Turn right.

2) Go West on University to the I-10 highway.

Take I-10 East.

3) Proceed on I-10 East (~12 Miles). Exit at Queen Creek Rd. (EXIT #164).

4) Turn right on route 347 South. Proceed for about 14 miles.

5) Turn right on route 238 West. Proceed for about 8.7 miles.

6) Turn right on unnamed/unpaved street after you see the street sign which reads “36 miles” and proceed to the cemetery.

K thru’ grade 12 from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

ACA Weekend School

Sunday 10:00 am-1:15 pm. www.azacademy.org/weekend

Sultan Education in Chandler

Saturdays & Sundays - children/adults 480-593-7066

Greenway Islamic Academy

Tajweed, Islamic Studies, & Arabic Language 602-565-0500

IN CASE OF DEATH • Call Sandy at Angel’s Burial, at 480-962-6435 • Total cost is $1,800.00

COLORING CONTEST December Winner Samar Ehsan Send your coloring to the Muslim Voice to enter the drawing for the best picture.

Hint: If the paper is too thin to color, make a Xerox copy then color it.

Ages 3-12, please send a picture of yourself.

COLORING CONTEST FOR KIDS

ISLAMIC CENTERS IN ARIZONA

PHOENIX Arizona Cultural Academy 7810 S. 42nd Pl. • Phoenix 602-454-1222 Islamic Center of Arizona 9032 N. 9th St. • Phoenix

Islamic Center of N. Phoenix 13246 N. 23rd Ave. 85029 602-371-3440 Islamic Comnty Ctr of Phx 7516 N. Black Canyon Hwy. Phoenix • 602-249-0496 Muslim Community Mosque 1818 N. 32nd St. • Phoenix 602-306-4959 Masjid Al-Rahmah 2645 E. McDowell Rd. • Phoenix 602-275-5493 Masjid Muhammad Ibn Abdullah

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