The Muslim Link - January 21, 2011

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January 21st, 2011 - February 3rd, 2011

Popular Uprising Source of Happiness, Pride for Local Tunisians

By Muslim Link Staff The month long protests in Tunisia that toppled the government and sent the president into exile have also resonated with Tunisians living in the local area.

Closely following breaking news on satellite channels like Al-Jazeera and getting on the ground updates from family members over the phone, emails, and Facebook,

local Tunisians share both their compatriots’ excitement and hope of a new, free era, as well as their disgust at a ruling family seen as among the most corrupt in the world.

Deposed President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali took power in a coup in 1987 and has ruled ever since, suppressing criticism of his ruling party in the media, and silencing opposition groups with the harsh authoritarian

techniques – harassment, arrests, and torture – that are common place among most Arab regimes.

According to some reports, Bouzid had his bachelors certificate on display on his cart, highlighting not only the irony of his plight but also the desperation of the jobless and poor.

The recent protests started after an unemployed 26-year old man named Mohammed Bouazizi set himself on fire Over the next few weeks, on December 17, 2010 in the protests spread from Sidi town of Sidi Bouzid, upset Bouzid to most other major by police who ordered him cities in Tunis, resulting in to stop selling vegetables out of a street cart he had set-up without a permit. >> PRIDE Pg 6

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

ICM Interfaith Dinner Promotes Deep Discussion | pg 3 ADAMS Address Extremism in Muslim Community | pg 4

Over 120 Benefit From ADAMS Blood Donors | pg 4 Richmond Push To Improve Qur’anic Literacy | pg 5

Another Northern Virginia Youth Student Wearing Headscarf Barred From Re-Entering United States Held from Game | pg 6 CAIR Fights for the Right of Return in Court

By Rana Khan

Muslim Link Staff Writer The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday, January 18, 2011, against the Department of Justice and the FBI seeking a court order that would allow a 19 year old Virginia Muslim, Gulet Mohamed, being detained in Kuwait and placed on a US government “no-fly” list

to return to the United States.

The hour l o n g hearing, was held at 2 p.m. at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, Virginia. Judge Trenga presided over the hearing, in the presence of three

government attorneys and with CAIR’s Staff Attorney, Gadier Abbas, and CAIR’s National Legal Counsel, Nadhira Al-Khalili, representing Mohamed’s case. The lawsuit names the defendants as Attorney General Eric Holder, FBI Director Robert Mueller, Terrorist Screening Center Director Timothy Healy and their respective agencies.

Abbas said a few of

Mohamed’s brothers and sisters and his mother were also present at the hearing.

CAIR asked the court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction based on the government’s violation of Mohamed’s Fourteenth Amendment

Make Your Ordinary Deeds Extraordinary | pg 14 “Be in this world as if you are a stranger…” | pg 14 The Muslim Link

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January 21st - February 3rd, 2011

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January 21st - February 3rd, 2011

COMMUNITY NEWS |

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Community News More Than A Social Event, ICM Interfaith Dinner Promotes Deep Discussions

By Hiba Akhtar

sitting with a table of eager female inquisitors.

Over 50 members of area churches and synagogues spent the evening on Sunday, January 16, 2011 at the Islamic Center of Maryland, observing prayer, having dinner, and partaking in peaceful dialogue with members of the masjid community, all as part of ICM’s Interfaith Dinner.

“When I was driving to the event, I was praying for Allah to soften all of our hearts towards Islam,” said Shaikh. “When I started speaking to these women, I was surprised at how many questions they were asking and how much they genuinely seemed to want to know about Islam. It reminded me that Allah is merciful to all mankind, and especially merciful to the Muslims. I took the event as a sign of Allah’s mercy on the masjid visitors, and on the Muslims as well to learn more about Islam.”

Muslim Link Staff Writer

The event, attended by twice the number of people expected, was put together

by ICM’s Dawah Committee, headed

by Haytham Younis, a member of the Montgomery County Interfaith Council and cofounder of the Jewish-Islamic Dialog Society. Younis, who has been active with interfaith dialog projects for over two decades, led the congregational Isha prayer as non-Muslim guests watched.

During the prayer, he read passages of the Qur’an which would relate to the nonMuslim audience, such as verses about Prophets Ibraheem Ismail, and Isa (peace be upon them).

After prayers, dinner was served, allowing an opportunity for the masjid visitors to ask questions of the Muslim hosts and to start smaller, informal interfaith discussions. Najam Shaikh, a longtime ICM community member, found herself

secretary Sandra Lopez, who often attends interfaith events with the church, said “We all deserve the opportunity to express and work together for a better world, and for widespread justice and peace. We are called to protect the vulnerable, and the fact that there are others out there who share this goal makes us want to work with them and them with us.” Lopez says that most of the interfaith events she attends are under the direction of Father Jacek Orzechowski, the head of the justice and peace ministry at St. Camillus.

The event is one of the first co-sponsored by the Jewish-Islamic Dialog Society.

Daniel Spiro, cofounder for the organization, says that one of the fundamental roles JIDS has played is to foster a better understanding of one’s own religion by understanding the basic teachings of another. “I feel like a more inspired Jew because I have an understanding of the Qur’an and Islam,” he said. “I’m sure my Muslim friends feel similarly about the Jewish faith.”

St. Camillus was not the only religious institution whose members attended the event. Richard Lederman, a founding member of the Montgomery County Interfaith Council who serves on the Board of Directors of the Tikvat Israel synagogue in Rockville, Md., also attended with members of his synagogue.

According to Lederman, who has in the past orchestrated interfaith events at Tikvat Israel, the interfaith council serves as a response to a great collective interest and passion within people to get to know, understand, and gain empathy with other faith traditions.

Many of the visitors at the event were from the multicultural St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring, Md. Parish

“What took place on Sunday was more than just ‘let’s get together to talk and do social action,’” said Lederman. “There is

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a desire for an interfaith experience that goes beyond what takes place in other interfaith encounters. I’ve found that as the level of xenophobia rises, the level of peoples’ desires for ‘something else’ also increases. As the voices that separate us get louder and more shrill, the more of us who reject that voice want to project another voice. As the voices of enmity get louder, the desire for understanding grows among people who are opposed.”

Similar sentiments were echoed by Younis, who said that those who attend interfaith events are usually more determined to discuss faith and theological topics than topics of a political or media-fueled nature. Younis said he partook in a particularly deep conversation regarding original sin and salvation with Lederman and others during the dinner portion of the event.

Najam Shaikh said that many of the female visitors asked less about the Islam’s portrayal in the media and more about fundamental Islamic topics, such as the role of Jesus in Islam and what topics were taught in the masjid’s Sunday school.

>> INTERFAITH Pg 7

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January 21st - February 3rd, 2011

COMMUNITY NEWS

ADAMS Addresses Violent Extremism in the Muslim American Community

By Shad Imam

Muslim Link Contributing Writer Despite being advertised only days before, the Qurtuba Institute event “Curbing and Preventing Violent Extremism” had the ADAMS Main Center room filling up even before Isha prayers began. Lines of chairs had been set out for brothers and sisters, but the crowd quickly overflowed the available seats, and people began moving chairs out of the way to allow the audience to take seats on the floor.

By 7:30pm on Thursday, January 6, 2-11, there was standing room only when the assembled speakers took their seats.

Stressing the importance of engaging in long-lasting institution-building, Imams Zaid Shakir and Mohamed Magid opened the discussion and addressed the packed main hall of the ADAMS Center for the first in a series of provocative “Open Forum discussions”. The event was attended by hundreds of Muslims from around the metropolitan area, who willingly stayed for a discussion that lasted over 2 hours – and could have gone on longer.

The discussion was organized by the Qurtuba Institute, an ADAMS Center initiative that organizes nightly classes with local Islamic scholars, and which hosts special seminars on a variety of topics throughout the year. The two speakers opted to use a symbolic “Letter

to a Would-be Muhjahid” written by Imam Zaid and posted on his blog as the backdrop for the discussion. In the letter, Imam Zaid counsels and engages in a dialogue with a prototypical “would-be mujahid” to think long and hard about the ramifications of engaging in violent extremism, stressing the gravity and heinous sin of committing murder in Islam.

The event featured a relaxed talk-show style format, with the Imams sitting on a couch in front of the large crowd, and the discussion moderated by Shad Imam, current Member of the Board of Trustees at the ADAMS Center. The majority of questions were submitted prior to the event, with time for a few questions from the crowd towards the end of the night.

Unfortunately, although the dozens of hands in the air showed the intense level of interest in the topics raised and discussed, there was only enough time for a very few questions from the floor.

The event began with an impassioned Imam Zaid setting the tone by informing the crowd: “The hadith in which the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, told the man “La Taghdab” (Don’t be angry), does not mean ‘Never get angry’… instead, he was telling the man, don’t ACT out of anger…. We must act not out of anger, but out of reason, love and compassion.”

Imam Zaid encouraged the audience to be

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Imam Zaid Shakir (right) and ADAMS Imam Muhammad Magid answer questions on the causes and responses to violent extremism at a special event setup in a talk show style format. Photo courtesy of ADAMS Qurtuba Institute. the “positive, progressive polity” that will “work for the people of the world.” As an Ummah, he said, the Muslim community must avoid becoming another’s “pawn” when it does not use its “own intellect and education.” He also stressed the vital importance of Muslims refraining from insulting America, for that could lead to others insulting Islam and Muslims. To illustrate this point, he quoted a hadith in which the Prophet (Sall Allahu alayhi wasallam) told his Companions not to insult their own fathers by insulting someone else’s father – because that could lead to the latter insulting the fathers of the former. No one, he said, wants to insult his own father, so it is critical to do nothing that could lead to such a result.

Imam Magid also exhorted the capacity crowd that Muslims must ensure they do not put their energy nor express their

frustration in the wrong places. He also stressed the importance of learning “authentic Islam” and not just learning Islam from “shaykh Google “, a reference to Internet sources that lack any real authority and are often the views of bloggers and writers and not of formallytrained religious scholars. In order to counter violent extremist tendencies, Imam Magid stressed the importance of addressing the issues in three ways: to ideologically deconstruct and counter extremist arguments, to politically engage and speak out against domestic and foreign policies that may be ill-founded and damaging to both the Ummah and to America itself, and to effectively engage those Muslim youth who may be feeling disenfranchised and socially isolated in schools. >> ADAMS Pg 8

Mahdi Bray’s Condition Improving Slowly We are pleased to report to the community that Imam Mahdi Bray’s condition continues to improve Alhamdulillah.

He has moved out of the ICU into a private room. His speech and movement continue to improve. Brother Mahdi has begun physical therapy, and successfully moved his left hand yesterday. We are hopeful that over the next few weeks with more physical therapy, his condition will continue to improve insha’Allah. Please

keep him in your dua. He is still not accepting visitors at this point; we will continue to update the community on his condition. For continued information on Imam Mahdi’s condition, and to support MAS Freedom, please check http:// masfreedom.org/ Source: Hossam AlJabri, Executive Director, Muslim American Society

January 21st - February 3rd, 2011

COMMUNITY NEWS |

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Improving Relationship With Qur’an Starts With Fatiha Richmond area Muslims join effort to improve Qur’anic literacy

By Rana Khan

Muslim Link Staff Writer The Al-Fatihah Symposium was held at the Islamic Center of Virginia (ICVA) in Richmond on Saturday, January 15, 2011. The event, organized by the Central Virginia Qur’an Competition Committee and attended by about 300 area Muslims, is an initiative to raise the level of Qur’anic literacy and knowledge in the Muslim Community.

Organizers said it was the first of a series of programs planned for the year aimed at helping Muslims connect with the Qur’an through recitation, memorization, and understanding its message.

The Symposium consisted of a workshop segment in which more than 130 preregistered members, some as young as 5 years old and a few over 60 years old, had

the opportunity to have their recitation of Surah al-Fatihah heard and evaluated by qualified Qur’an instructors. They were then given detailed evaluation forms in which the feedback on their recitation was recorded, to help them understand their strengths and areas of improvement.

This opening chapter of the Qur’an and the most often recited verses, was selected due to its paramount importance in the daily prayers of every Muslim and its significance as being an all-encompassing message of the Qur’an.

“I think the workshop was a great idea. Surah Al-Fatihah is usually the first surah we learn and we may not realize when we are reciting it incorrectly,” said Tayya ba Syed, a senior Biomedical Engineering student at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). “Also, I think the workshop was a great starting point in learning ‘tajweed’. Everyone knows

this Surah so it can be used to help everyone with their pronunciation. I think everyone, old and young, benefited from the individual attention and will be interested in furthering their knowledge of the recitation of the Qur’an. “ Farida Yasmeen, a Qur’an teacher at the Iqra Academy of Virginia and one of the instructors in the workshop, said, “This kind of program will increase the awareness of reading the Qur’an correctly.

I think it is a good chance for sisters, who rarely get an opportunity to correct their problems (in recitation).”

After the workshop, Imam Ammar Amonette, Imam of ICVA, spoke about the importance of Al-Fatihah and its message in the Muslim’s life. “Surah al-Fatihah is about unity,” said Imam Ammar, referring to how every Muslim around the world recites this portion of

the Qur’an in their daily prayers. “May Surah Al-Fatihah be a beginning for us, in reuniting humanity in following its revelation...and the beginning of a lifetime of study.”

This was followed by a recitation of selected verses of the Qur’an, setting the stage for Imam Javid Bhaiyat’s - Imam of the Islamic Community Center of Laurel (ICCL) in Maryland - keynote address of the program. Imam Javid captured the audience’s attention with his interactive talk about the importance of the connection of mankind with the revelation of Allah. He introduced the talk by speaking about the four different kinds of creation of Allah that dwell upon the heavens and the earth; the animals, the jinn, the angels and mankind, and

>> FATIHA Pg 8

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January 21st - February 3rd, 2011

COMMUNITY NEWS

Student Wearing Headscarf Held from Game

By TIM PERSINKO NBC Washington January 18, 2011

A seventh grade student was held out for a portion of a girls’ basketball league game because she was wearing a headscarf.

After a discussion, the young woman was allowed to reenter the second half of a Mid-Maryland Girls Jr. Basketball Association game on Saturday.

The teenager, whose name league officials would not disclose, was playing for the Smithsburg team in Mount Airy. Teams in the league are not directly affiliated with public schools, but the rosters are made based on middle school sending districts.

The young woman was wearing a Muslim PRIDE

>> continued from pg 1 clashes with police and the death of over 70 protesters according to press accounts.

President Ben Ali tried curfews and strong arm tactics, but the situation became worse and anger grew. By the time he finally made promises to bring in radical social changes and to create hundreds of thousands of jobs, the situation had already spun out of control. He fled with his family on January 14, 2011, with rumors rampant that his wife took out 1.5 tonnes of gold and millions in cash from the central bank before fleeing.

French media reported the ousted family was denied entry to France by order of President Nicolas Sarkozy. The family was welcomed by Saudi Arabia.

Maryland resident Adurraouf Maaroufi, 43, came to the United States in 1998.

He told the Muslim Link that poverty and joblessness were common place in the southern and northern portions of the country as long as he can remember.

Education through the graduate collegiate level is basically free, something Maaroufi said was the “only good thing about the country.”

Tunisia, located at the northern-most point on the African continent, has a

headscarf called a hijab, the Frederick News-Post reported.

Before the game began, a referee ruled that the headscarf presented a potential injury risk and barred the girl from entering the game. The parents of the young woman contacted a league official, Jim Shannon, about the decision.

“It’s a safety issue,” Shannon said, who makes the league’s schedule and acts as a liaison with the referees. “The league plays the high school rules, and the referee just quoted the rules.”

Shannon said that he called the referee during halftime and asked for an exemption to be made for the young player. Shannon said that the girl had played other games earlier in the season wearing the headscarf without incident, but this was the first game the team had

population of about 10.3 million and provides free education to its citizens through the graduate collegiate level; this has resulted in a large supply of highly educated but unemployed young people.

This group made up most of the initial protesters, and Maaroufi believes it is “absolutely true” that what is being called the “Jasmine Revolution” – the jasmine is the national flower – is purely a people’s movement.

Maaroufi said “rashwa” or bribery had overtaken public services in recent years, to the extent that even to apply for a job a bribe would have to be paid. “It got to the point that [the people said] we’ve had enough and we want you out … this was the message to the president,” he said.

“In Tunis you cannot say anything against the president. We’ve been living like this for 65 years [since independence from France]. If you say something, you might disappear. [Now] the people want a new constitution to prevent lifetime terms for [the leaders], and they want the old party abolished,” explained Maaroufi, who made three visits to Tunis since moving to the United States. He added that young men who pray – especially fajr in the masjid – are often suspected by police of being involved in anti-government activities and are harassed. The hijab was banned from public buildings after Ben

played where Carroll County officials were officiating the game.

“These aren’t high school kids, they aren’t reaching up and dunking, and kids aren’t trying to pull them down,” Shannon said.

When the girl’s parents signed off on the potential safety risk of playing with the hijab, the referee allowed her to play in the second half.

“Nobody wants to step into the discrimination trap,” Shannon said, “and that is truly not the issue.”

The league was writing an exemption into their bylaws to address situations like this going forward, and were planning on spreading the word through their website.

Another adult who was not the girl’s parent had an angry confrontation with

Ali took power.

Personally, Maaroufi shares the views of most Tunisians in wanting a government open to all parties. But, as of this report, protesters took to the streets again, as the “new government” had several high ranking positions filled by the old ruling party.

“Everyone feels there is a game going on here to benefit the old government … they are trying to keep power … they know the dirty tricks to stay alive … and this what [the people] are fearing.”

Speaking to his family, Maaroufi learned that two days ago stores and banks reopened and most public services are available. But complacency is another fear for Maaroufi. “This is the real issue [we are afraid of], that this revolution will be stolen by many opportunists, especially the old party,” he said.

Washington DC resident Abdelkader Nsiri, who moved to the United States in 2001 from Tunis – he is from the Sidi Bouzid, the city where the uprising started – shares the excitement of the rapid changes.

“I’m glad that [change] has finally started,” he told the Muslim Link. “I agree with the demands of the [Tunisian] people

the referee after the game. The Girls Jr. Basketball Association asked that any parents who have problems with officiating direct their complaints to the league, not the refs.

Institutions around the region have made extra efforts to accommodate religious beliefs in athletic venues. Last fall, George Washington University instituted a special swim session for Muslim women, when a drape would be hung to cover a glass door to the pool.

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

… what makes [this] experience unique is this [revolution] hasn’t damaged the country like other revolutions.”

Nsiri speaks to his family almost daily, and they said it’s safe to go outside.

Members of the police loyal to the deposed president tried to “provoke disorder” in the country, but the military refused to take part in quelling protests, said Nsiri, who protested in DC along with over 50 other local Tunisians against the Tunisian government’s reaction to the unrest. At least three protests were organized by the Tunisian Movement in America, including one in front of the Saudi Embassy according to Nsiri.

He estimates there are a few hundred Tunisians living in the DC metro area.

“Muslims and especially Arabs have to learn from the Tunisian experience, that one person who stays in [power] for more than two terms is a dictator, and the people should not accept that. Leaders should be elected. To dictators, just say no,” said Nsiri. “It was a spontaneous civil revolution, there was no hidden agenda.

It was a pure, civilized revolution with the happy ending of kicking out a tyrant.”

Maaroufi from Maryland agreed. “It came late, but it came. Today I can say that I am proud to be a Tunisian,” he said.

January 21st - February 3rd, 2011

COMMUNITY NEWS |

Another Virginian Youth Barred From Re-Entering United States BARRED

>> continued from pg 1 right to reside in United States and to re-enter the country from abroad, which the suit terms “effective banishment.”

Gulet Mohamed, a naturalized American citizen born in Somalia, immigrated to the United States at the age of three and most recently lived in Alexandria, Virginia. The lawsuit details that Mohamed temporarily left the United States around May 2009 to study Arabic in Yemen, but departed from there after a few weeks out of concern for his safety, due to the instability of the country. He then traveled to Somalia and spent several months with relatives there before travelling to Kuwait, around August 2009, to continue with his Arabic studies. While in Kuwait, Mohamed was staying with an uncle.

On December 20, 2010, Mohamed went to Kuwait International Airport to renew his visa, just as he had done every three months since he arrived in Kuwait. After an abnormally long wait of several hours, Mohamed contacted his brother to update him on the process. The lawsuit continues by detailing that while Mohamed was at the airport, he was approached by two men in civilian clothing who handcuffed and blindfolded him before escorting him to a waiting SUV, and driving him to an undisclosed location. During Mohamed’s abduction, he was repeatedly beaten and tortured by his interrogators, being struck on the

INTERFAITH

>> continued from pg 3 As reflected by the response and attendance of this event, interfaith dialog is a growing trend among places of worship in the DC Metropolitan area. According to Younis, the Muslim community in the area should step up and demonstrate more involvement and

face and whipped on his feet and other parts of his body with sticks.

“The subject matter of the interrogators’ questioning - communicated in English and Arabic - indicates that Defendants facilitated Mr. Mohamed’s illegal detention, interrogation, and torture,” states the lawsuit. “Kuwaiti officials have since told members of Mr. Mohamed’s family that they are holding him at the behest of the United States government and are willing to release him back to the United States since they have no interest in keeping him in custody.”

On December 28, 2010, Mohamed’s interrogator’s transferred him to a deportation facility from where he was able to contact his family, using another prisoner’s cellphone, and was able to inform them of where he was and what had happened.

“A few days before Christmas, Mohamed’s brother had called CAIR and let us know that his brother had gone missing, “ says Mohamed’s attorney, Abbas. “For eight days, no one knew where he was.”

is the only place Kuwait can deport Mohamed, his inability to board a flight to the U.S. means he remains effectively banished from his country of citizenship.

“The United States is depriving Mr. Mohamed of perhaps the most basic prerogative of American citizenship: the right to be in the United States. This is patently unconstitutional, and it is up to this Court to bring Gulet Mohamed— an American citizen—back to his country,” states the lawsuit.

Abbas said that, at the hearing, the judge had given “clear indication” that Mohamed should be allowed to return to the United States and that the “U.S. government will take definitive steps to make sure he returns.”

“We have a judge that understands the very basic concept that a U.S. citizen has the right to return to his country, and I think that bodes well for Gulet’s return to the U.S.,” said Abbas. “The government actually gave indication to the court and myself that there are plans for Gulet to return by Thursday (Jan 20, 2010).”

On Sunday, January 16, 2010, Kuwaiti officials attempted to deport Mr. Mohamed via a United Airlines flight.

At the direction and insistence of Kuwaiti authorities, Mohamed’s family purchased him a ticket and delivered it to Kuwaiti authorities. However, when Kuwaiti authorities took Mohamed to the airport, they were unable to get him aboard the flight due to his placement on a no-fly list. Since the United States

When asked whether he thought that would actually happen by Thursday, Abbas said, “That’s not certain at this point...we are optimistic that things are moving forward and soon Gulet will be back home.”

interest in interfaith work.

being a representative of Islam and establishing positive relationships with those around you. Keep in touch with those you meet through interfaith the way you keep in touch with family, keep ties and connections. Be good to those who you meet - you may be putting a human face on Islam for someone who has never [met a Muslim].”

“As a Muslim community, we need to know that interfaith work is important,” said Younis. “It is not the work of a scholar standing up and convincing people to become Muslims. Interfaith is dawah - it is regular people getting to know each other while establishing and maintaining contacts. It’s not about being a scholar of Islam, but rather,

[For updates on this case, check www. muslimlinkpaper.com – TML]

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January 21st - February 3rd, 2011

COMMUNITY NEWS

FATIHA

>> continued from pg 5 discussed the rights and responsibilities bestowed upon each by their Creator.

He then quizzed the audience as to what distinguishes mankind from all the other creations. Many responses followed.

“Just as a lion is (distinguished in its inherent quality of being) a lion due to its characteristic of courage and pride, and a snake is a snake due to its venom, what makes man a man?” asked Imam Javid.

He explained that “what makes man a man is his connection with the revelation of Allah.” This connection elevates him to the highest of statuses and, conversely, the severing of this connection relegates him to the lowest of the low. The more connected a human being is to the revelation, the more honored he or she is, with the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) being the best of all mankind ADAMS

>> continued from pg 4 Both Imams stressed the need for our Muslim community to be as active and engaged as possible in all aspects of society to advance the cause of peace in America and overseas. They also stressed the need for Muslims to stand up and counter any efforts to tempt someone to act against the interests of society by committing evil acts. Imam Zaid emphasized that no one should fear “entrapment” if they follow the path of Islam and steadfastly refuse to even consider any inappropriate behavior. To illustrate his point, he stated, “If someone were to put drugs in front of me and I were to proceed to use those drugs, I can’t scream entrapment.”

The questions ranged on a variety of topics from how Muslims should address extremism to how to recognize signs of individuals who might consider violent extremism as Islamically legitimate.

There were also several questions about whether US Muslims should accept employment by governmental agencies like the CIA. Imam Zaid Shakir said Muslims should seek to make a positive difference, regardless of where they are employed. Imam Magid followed up by stating that many Muslims were already making beneficial contributions in the public sector and society at large, and were having a significant impact on the

and having received the greatest of Allah’s revelation - the Qur’an, explained Imam Javid.

Imam Javid also enumerated the tremendous rewards for those who memorize the Qur’an, encouraging the community to start a full-time Qur’an memorization program in order to produce these “bearers of the Qur’an.” He recounted the dedication and will-power of people he knew who had memorized the Qur’an at 60 and 70 years of age, as well as those who had undertaken this task while attending to demanding full-time jobs, and one young girl who had completed this effort in 4 months’ duration.

“Is there anything more blessed than the heart in which the entire ‘wahy’ (revelation) of Allah is contained?” asked Imam Javid. He reminded the audience of the great and unique honor given to the “hafidh” and his or her parents on the day discourse in the American government.

Asked how frustrated youth could be redirected more positively, Imam Zaid Shakir emphasized the importance of channeling that frustration by “correcting wrongs” in any myriad of ways: writing, blogging, peaceful rallying, using the Internet, etc.

“Our youth need to be out on the streets, in the schools and in other venues [with other just causes]…They have to join their courageous fellow American citizens who are taking a [positive] stand [to do what is right].” To achieve that end, both speakers repeatedly stressed that all Muslims – and especially young people - needed to engage in institution building and peaceful engagement with all levels of society, here and abroad.

“I think that such a discussion has been long-overdue – there are unfortunately fringe individuals in the Muslim community who think it may be acceptable to engage in acts of violence because of the transgressions committed by one side or another,” commented Owais Balti, one of the Qurtuba Institute organizers of the program. “This is wrong and completely against the teachings of Islam. But we need to address these issues head-on with the community at large and tell them that there is no place for that kind of violent rhetoric or thinking amongst Muslims or in Islam.”

The final questioner commented on the

of Judgment in front of all of humanity.

The message had such an impact on one young member of the audience, that he immediately picked up a copy of the Qur’an and started reading aloud from it. Many community members, men and women, were visibly moved by the message, and several expressed a renewed enthusiasm afterwards for supporting the initiation of a full-time memorization program for the benefit of the community.

“The Qur’an is our source of life and energy,” said Imam Javid. “The recitation of the Qur’an is a purifying of the heart, and a polish for it (to cleanse it of the effects of sin).” He ended with stressing the importance of seeking out qualified teachers from whom to obtain this knowledge.

“Knowledge is transmitted from heart to heart,” said Imam Javid. Just as every revelation from Allah came with a need for the American Muslim community to address issues such as domestic violence, socio-economic inequality, poverty and other domestic realities, and thanked the speakers, ADAMS and the Qurtuba Institute for arranging the program.

Islamic Community Center of Laurel President Hayder Qaadri was among the community leaders who attended the speech. “It was nice to be able to talk about ‘taboo’ subjects honestly in a free and open forum. The points were clear and direct, and firmly ascertained the fact that extremism has no place in Islam,” he commented.

The evening ended with Imam Zaid making dua for Br Mahdi Bray who had been admitted to hospital earlier that week,

messenger to expound it, one learning the Qur’an also needs a teacher for instruction and inspiration, he explained.

When asked to sum up his feelings about the the evening’s program, Bassel AlTinawi - an organizer of the event - quoted one of the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): “When you pass by the gardens of Paradise, avail yourselves of them.” The Companions asked, ‘What are the gardens of Paradise, O’Messenger of Allah?’ He (peace be upon him) replied, “The circles of dhikr (gatherings of knowledge).”

“Our goal is to make these gardens of Paradise available in our community by organizing and inviting an array of respected scholars to spread knowledge and increase spirituality among our children, youth and adults,” said Br. AlTinawi.

and emphasizing that all Muslims should have to courage to follow in his example and stand firm for truth and justice, even if against all odds. The Qurtuba Institute promised that this event would be the first in a series of discussions to address the important issue of violent extremism and what masajid can do to prevent it.

Organizers also said that one of Qurtuba’s aims is to hold more community forums in the future to discuss other provocative issues and provide opportunities for Muslims from different backgrounds and experiences to express their views.

-----------------------------------------------The writer works with Qurtbua Institute, the ADAMS education project which hosted the event.

January 21st - February 3rd, 2011

World Press

WORLD PRESS |

9

Ike’s Warning Of Militar y Expansion, 50 Years Later

By NPR STAFF January 17, 2011 On Jan. 17, 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower gave the nation a dire warning about what he described as a threat to democratic government. He called it the military-industrial complex, a formidable union of defense contractors and the armed forces.

Eisenhower, a retired five-star Army general, the man who led the allies on D-Day, made the remarks in his farewell speech from the White House.

As NPR’s Tom Bowman tells Morning Edition co-host Renee Montagne, Eisenhower used the speech to warn about “the immense military establishment” that had joined with “a large arms industry.”

Here’s an excerpt: “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist.”

Since then, the phrase has become a rallying cry for opponents of military expansion.

Eisenhower gave the address after completing two terms in office; it was just days before the new president, John F. Kennedy, would be sworn in.

Eisenhower was worried about the costs of an arms race with the Soviet Union, and the resources it would take from other areas — such as building hospitals and schools.

Bowman says that in the speech, Eisenhower also spoke as someone who had seen the horror and lingering sadness of war, saying that “we must learn how to compose differences not with arms, but with intellect and decent purpose.”

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist.”

Another concern, Bowman says, was the possibility that as the military and the arms industry gained power, they would be a threat to democracy, with civilians losing control of the military-industrial complex.

And that meant that weapons manufacturing became more specialized.

In his remarks, Eisenhower also explained how the situation had developed:

In an effort to control the expansion of the military-industrial complex, Eisenhower consistently sought to cut the Pentagon’s budget.

“Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry.

American makers of ploughshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions.”

The difference, Bowman says, is that before the late 1950s, companies such as Ford built everything from jeeps to bombers — then went back to building cars. But that changed after the Korean War. Bowman says that it’s important to note that during the Cold War, the U.S. military didn’t draw down its troops like it did after World War II. “It kept a large standing army after the Korean War,” he says.

America’s new reliance on sophisticated weapons technology also helped bring about what Bowman calls “a technology race with the Soviets.”

“So [for] a company like Ford, going from cars to jeeps is one thing; cars to missiles is quite another,” Bowman says.

The former general wanted a budget the country could afford, Bowman says. He upset all the military services with his budget cuts, especially the Air Force.

Citing another quote from Eisenhower — this one from another speech on military spending — Bowman says, “The jet plane that roars overhead costs three quarters of a million dollars. That’s more than a man will make in his lifetime. What world can afford this kind of thing for long?”

In today’s government, Eisenhower has a fan in his fellow Kansan Secretary of Defense Robert Gates — who keeps a portrait of the former general in his office at the Pentagon, Bowman says.

Speaking at the Eisenhower Library last year, Gates talked about America’s insatiable appetite for more and more weapons: “Does the number of warships we have, and are building, really put America at risk, when the U.S. battle fleet is larger

than the next 13 navies combined — 11 of which are our partners and allies?

Is it a dire threat that by 2020, the United States will have only 20 times more advanced stealth fighters than China?

These are the kinds of questions Eisenhower asked as commander-inchief. They are the kinds of questions I believe he would ask today.”

But, Bowman says, it has only become more difficult to control the size of the nation’s military industry.

First, “there are only a handful of defense giants,” he says, “which means you can’t shop around for a better price.”

And companies such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are also adept at both lobbying and marketing to promote their interests.

Bowman says, “they also spread the jobs around the country, to lock in political support.”

Gates has also discussed the difficulty of cutting military spending: “What it takes is the political will and willingness, as Eisenhower possessed, to make hard choices — choices that will displease powerful people both inside the Pentagon, and out.”

Bowman says that some industry observers believe that “the one thing that could create that political will is the nation’s huge deficit.” Only that might force cuts in the overall defense budget.

-----------------------------------------------In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

10 | OPINION

January 21st - February 3rd, 2011

Opinion What Makes Arizona’s Killer Just a Loner, Not a Terrorist?

By Mehdi Hasan

media. “Loner”? Yes. “Extremist”? Yes. Terrorist? No.

Jared Lee Loughner, the 22-year old accused of opening fire in an Arizona supermarket parking lot on Saturday, severely wounding Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and killing six onlookers

Perhaps, you might say, it’s because we have difficulty agreeing on a definition of terrorism, despite the Terrorist Tourette syndrome that so many of our politicians and commentators have suffered from in recent years. “Most of the time, if something looks like a terrorist and makes a noise like a terrorist, it’s a terrorist,” remarked the then British ambassador to the UN, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, in the wake of theSeptember 11 attacks. If only it were that simple. Terrorism has long been a contested and loaded term. A 2003 study for the US army quoted a source that counted 109 definitions of terrorism that covered 22 different definitional elements.

January 13, 2011

If the shooting had been carried out by a Muslim, we’d be deep in Islamist conspiracies now. So why the double standards?

Did you know that Jared Lee Loughner, the suspect in the Arizona shooting spree that left six dead and 14 wounded, including the US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, had speculated beforehand on YouTube whether he would be labelled a “terrorist”? He needn’t have worried.

Loughner has yet to be described in such terms by the authorities or the

Nonetheless, most would agree that the use of violence against civilians for political purposes is a form of terrorism.

And section 802 of the USA Patriot Act, passed by a Republican Congress the month after the attacks on the World Trade Centre, explicitly expanded the term “terrorism” to include domestic actions that are “dangerous to human life” and are intended to “intimidate or coerce a civilian population”, “influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion”, or “affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping”.

Isn’t the firing of a bullet into the head of an elected politician in a public place covered by any, or all, of those three criteria? Or does the suspect have to have an Arabic name to be classed as a terrorist these days? Imagine, for a moment, that the shooter outside the Tucson Safeway last Saturday had been a Muslim.

Does anyone doubt that accusations of homegrown terrorism, links to al-Qaida and vast Islamist conspiracies wouldn’t

have come thick and fast?

Compare and contrast the response to the shooting of Giffords to the stabbing of the Labour MP Stephen Timms in his constituency surgery last May. The investigation into his Muslim attacker, Roshonara Choudhry, was conducted

by Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command. The Guardian described the stabbing as “the first terrorist attack to injure someone on the UK mainland since 7 July 2005”.

There is a pattern here. The so-called war on terror began after Arab hijackers crashed airliners into the twin towers, killing thousands of civilians. On 18 February, a 53-year-old software engineer named Joseph Stack flew a light aircraft into an IRS building in Austin, Texas, >> LONER Pg 11

Why We Should Take Jared Loughner’s Politics Seriously

By Steve Striffler

Truth-Out.org Friday 14 January 2011 Jared Loughner, the 22-year-old accused of shooting Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others, apparently drew political ideas from the radical right and radical left, listing (fascist) Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” and (communist) Karl Marx’s “Communist Manifesto” among his favorite books. He was also attracted to conspiracy theories, thought we should be on a gold standard (because the government was trying to control us through currency), and at times just believed life was meaningless and nothing could be done.

Contrary to the prevailing wisdom, however, holding muddled political views does not in and of itself necessarily make Loughner mentally ill, unstable, crazy, or even particularly unusual. It makes

him American and peculiarly so. In the college classroom, at political events and in grassroots organizing meetings, it does not take long to find many young (and not so young) people who hold what many of us consider to be an oddly contradictory collection of political views. After more than a decade of teaching, I can say that very few of today’s college students have any sense of what “the left” or “the right” are or have traditionally stood for, what “liberal” and “conservative” have historically meant or where on the political spectrum we might place fascism and communism. When asked, most students - most Americans - “know” that Hitler and Marx are “bad,” but very few can articulate what they stood for politically and many often assume that Nazi and Communist are synonymous.

Like Loughner, a significant portion of young people are, for very good

reasons, profoundly anti-establishment, distrustful of anything they hear from the government or mainstream media. But this does not make them crazy anymore than it automatically leads them toward a coherent critique of the political system.

Rather, in a world where fragments of information come from so many sources, it often leads them to the odd place where any explanation of the world is as good as any other, where there is no conceptual rudder for judging one theory or idea against another. Hence, they draw from wildly opposing political ideologies and are attracted to conspiracy theories. And it often leaves them in a frustrated place where public figures cannot be trusted, and to the conclusion that nothing can be done to change the world (except perhaps something chaotic and dramatic). Hence, the tendency toward apathy and (after a philosophy class or two) nihilism.

How the hell could we expect otherwise?

It is bit ridiculous to ask why so few Americans are politically literate, much less hold politically coherent ideas, after we have gutted public education, turned schools into learning prisons and told young people over and over again they are consumers and not citizens. Political literacy, we learn, is no longer even a requirement for seeking political office, but is in fact seen as a drawback. And an important source of such political guidance, the left, has all but disappeared from mainstream life.

Within this context, it is amazing that any person in their twenties is able to develop anything resembling a coherent political framework for understanding the world, let alone acquire the tools to decipher >> POLITICS Pg 18

January 21st - February 3rd, 2011

OPINION | 11

It’s Hard to Remember the “Dream” When You’re Awake

By Khalilah Sabra No matter what hopes were stirred in America decades ago - no matter what progress evolved from civil rights legislation or where civil leadership sparked the moral will to act to end ageold prejudice and segregation - a different reality is now in place.

As Americans celebrate the principles embodied in a man who was one among several activists and young idealists, a portion of this nation’s people will find it difficult to connect the past to the present.

Dr. King is typically known to Americans as a decent but incredibly predictable and rather somber human being, who did a certain amount “good” for his own, adhered at all times to peaceful means, and never became impatient with white people. However, commemorations have historically fallen short of honoring the characteristics that make him genuinely great and worth our respect. One of these facts, for instance, is that King, while peaceful in his tactics and loyal

LONER

>> continued from pg 10 killing one other person and injuring 13. Despite posting an anti-government suicide note on the internet claiming, “Violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer”, the White House press spokesman did not describe the attack as an act of terrorism – and neither did the Austin police chief or the department of homeland security. He was a “loner”, a “lone wolf”, a “pilot” – or, in the words of his daughter and several conservative radio hosts, a “hero”.

On 9/11, hijackers also attacked the Pentagon, killing 125 people inside the building. They were rightly described as “terrorists”. On 4 March last year, a computer programmer critical of the government, named John Patrick Bedell, attacked the Pentagon, shooting two police officers. News reports described him only as a “gunman” and the “Pentagon shooter”. In 2003, the convictions of six Islamists living in Lackawanna,

to the principles of Gandhi and Tolstoy, was nonetheless a revolutionary and an unbending man who fought against enormous hostilities and broke unjust laws, spent months in jail to dramatize the limits of conventional efforts carried out under the law, and called on the rest of the nation to find the courage to do the same.

He encouraged our citizens to ask what it means to be a “free” or “unfree” person in a nation that revokes freedom to its most marginalized citizens. Biographies generally make reference to this work but then divert us to less actionable items, the part that makes his name important in the history of ideas and renders him an influential moral force in almost every comer of the earth.

Dr. King straightforwardly spoke his mind about the U. S. role in promoting unnecessary and inexcusable destruction in Vietnam and in other parts of Southeast Asia. He frequently expressed his moral outrage at the fact that President Lyndon Johnson lied -first to the nation, then to the entire world - as he spoke of peace while dropping bombs on innocent civilians. King was enraged by this

New York, prompted frenzied talk of “terrorist sleeper cells” inside the US; so too did the conviction of six Islamists for conspiring to stage an attack on US troops stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in 2008. Last April, nine members of the Michigan-based “Hutaree” (or “Christian Warriors”) group, arrested and charged with conspiring to kill local police officers using “weapons of mass destruction”, were described simply as members of a “militia”. The list goes on.

So why the double standards? I suspect it is because of the lazy and pernicious notion, peddled and popularised by neoconservatives and Islamophobes, that not all Muslims may be terrorists, but certainly all terrorists are Muslims. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

The authorities’ own data contradicts their public rhetoric. FBI figures show between 2002 and 2005 there were 24 acts of terrorism recorded in the US; 23 of those incidents were carried out by non-Muslim,”domestic terrorists”.

The picture is not dissimilar on this side

Our leaders would do well, this day and in this time, to share the profound convictions that were honest reflections of the character of Dr. King; not the sanitized version of a prize-winning preacher, but the story of a man who believed that exaggerated politics of identity should not prevent solidarity between people with different experiences; a man whose dream did not envision unhyphenated Americanism. The core of King’s noble vision was unity constructed by composing into a harmonious whole the best qualities that each contributing group has to offer.

American leaders and critics proclaimed him to be a brilliant peacemaker. It seems to be a rule of thumb in the United States, as in most other nations, that the only acceptable rebel, one whose greatness is most certain and untainted, is a dead one. But what about King’s dream? The unrelenting reminders of America’s racist past present a serious challenge to the hope that many hold for a nation that has yet to live out its most cherished values - liberty and justice for all - and to those who feel challenged forces in our society, today, who see no reason to regret a pattern of reversion to an older order of accepted bigotry of minorities and even find it possible to ridicule the notion that discrimination has a damaging effect upon the entire nation. Forces that have created the current wave of anti-mosque protests around the country and represent a new threat to the religious freedom of Muslims in America. Forces who hold the religion of 1.5 billion people responsible for the terrible deed of nineteen.

We pay King homage now but, like so many rebels, King was thoroughly detested by many of his fellow citizens. Once dead,

>> DREAM Pg 18

of the Atlantic. The EU’s little-noticed Terrorism Situation and Trend Report revealed that in 2009 there were “294 failed, foiled, or successfully executed attacks” in six European countries. The vast majority of these attacks – 237 – were carried out by separatist groups, such as the Basque Eta.

Islamist terrorism, to Europe or the US. There is a real and present danger from al-Qaida, its affiliates and self-radicalised fellow travellers such as Choudhry. And Islamist terrorists, unlike their separatist, far-right or anarchist counterparts, are bent on high-profile, mass-casualty “spectaculars”.

A further 40 terrorist incidents were by leftwing and anarchist groups, while rightwing terrorists were held responsible for four of the attacks. How many attacks were classed as having been committed

by Islamists? Just one. That is the same number of attacks as committed by the CAV (Comité d’action viticole), a French group that campaigns against the import of foreign wine. In 2008, again according to EU figures, there were no attacks by Islamists at all. In 2007, there were four Islamist attacks out of 583.

But terrorism is a tactic and, as such, is agnostic: those who murder civilians to make a political point are called Joseph as well as Muhammad. Supporters of the “war on terror” tend to argue that such definitional double standards are unavoidable – yet the result of inconsistency on the part of politicians, journalists and law-enforcement officials has been to empty the term virtually of all meaning, and render it useful only for crude propaganda purposes. The lesson of the Arizona shooting should be clear: either we use the term “terrorist” with consistency, or we don’t use it at all. There is no room for double standards.

country’s toleration of racial inequality and economic injustice and he defied the U.S. government in the most dramatic way he knew. “America,” said Dr. King, “is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.” He spoke these words on June 4, 1967. Ten months later, a sharpshooter in Memphis would prove his words correct by killing him.

Is it fair, then, to assume or pretend that terrorism is the sole or exclusive preserve of Muslims? Let’s be clear: it would be foolish and dangerous to dismiss or downplay the threat from

-----------------------------------------------Source: The Guardian

SPECIAL SECTION: NINE YEARS ON

12 | COMMUNITY NEWS

Justice Department Blockaded to Stop Torture, Shut Down Guantanamo Witness Against Torture

at risk today to bring this message to the public, they backed off.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sixty anti-torture activists blockaded the entrances to the Department of Justice for an hour and a half this afternoon. The action was to protest Washington’s failure to close the Guantánamo detention center and continued use of torture against detainees at Guantánamo and other prisons that comprise the “gulag” operated by the military and security agencies around the world.

The Day of Action extended beyond Washington, DC. Ten were arrested at the Federal Building in Chicago, Illinois this afternoon. And actions were also held in Miami, San Francisco, Pittsburgh and elsewhere.

January 11, 2011

“Sixty people blocked three entrances to the Justice Department,” said Matt Daloisio of Witness Against Torture, which organized the day of action against torture. No arrests were made. “Warnings were issued at one point, but the police appeared to change their plans and called off bringing buses to take away the blockaders. U.S. authorities have deeply disgraced this country by refusing to end torture and provide its War-on-Terror prisoners with speedy trials. Rather than call more attention to this fact by detaining activists who put themselves

“This first day of action was a significant success,” said Cooke. The actions kick off an 11-day Fast for Justice to end torture and close Guantánamo. Over 100 people around the country have signed up for the 11-day, liquid-only fast. Close to 50 fasters will be in Washington for the entire period, holding a vigil each day in front of the Justice Department.

The blockade followed a rally at the White House attended by more than 350 people and that included Witness Against Torture, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Amnesty International, and British journalist Andy Worthington, author of The Guantánamo Files and codirector of the documentary Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo.

N, GUANTANAMO STILL OPEN

COMMUNITY NEWS | 13

The Greatest Trick Obama Ever Pulled Was Convincing the World that Guantanamo Will Close

By Moazzam Begg The Guardian January 12, 2011

I’ve just returned from Paris where I spent the weekend with some former Guantánamo prisoners to mark the ninth anniversary since the opening of the Guantánamo Bay concentration camp – one of several such protest vigils, including outside the White House in Washington DC. One of the men in Paris, Sabir Lahmar, a Bosnian national of Algerian descent, was resettled in France last year after having spent eight years detained in Guantánamo without charge or trial.

His story is one of many that reflect the callous nature of the ordeal several returnees have had to face: continued isolation and enforced separation from their families. Lahmar and his wife and children, the youngest of whom he’s never seen – an all too familiar consequence of the Guantánamo experiment – continue to live apart, as he has no way of getting to Bosnia, nor they of coming to France.

Last month, I visited and interviewed Adel El-Gazzar, an Egyptian who was resettled in a small town in Slovakia, gain after eight years in Guantánamo. Like Lahmar, he’s getting to know his family by the only way available to him – internet chat and phone calls.

Images from the January 11, 2011 march and blockade protest at the Department of Justice in Washington DC organized by Witness Against Torture. All photos courtesy of Sarah K Hogarth.

left most of the Guantánamo men very sceptical about this. I had always found it hard to believe the place would close down, knowing they had just completed multimillion dollar state-of-the-art prison facilities to house the prisoners. Also, exactly how did Obama propose to shut down an entire American city, for the Guantánamo Bay detention facility comprises much more than prisons and the men inside them?

Nonetheless, as Sabir Lahmar confirmed again, Obama had given some hope back to the prisoners, and they began to allow themselves cautiously to hope for deliverance. Indeed, some of them were released.

What is even more disturbing about the effect of Obama’s grandstanding is the extent to which so many people assume that since the order was signed by the president to close the facility, Guantánamo actually isclosed – or will be imminently.

Not only has this belief permeated through the general public, but it has also helped to shape the focus of human rights groups, which once led the way in the fight against Guantánamo. Even in my own organisation, we began discussions about focusing on other important aspects of illegal practices of the global “war on terror”, like the Bagram detention facility and extrajudicial killings using drone strikes – the latter encapsulating Obama’s own excesses, as opposed to his predecessor’s extrajudicial detentions.

The first person to be released during the Obama era was Binyam Mohamed, who told me that, in many ways, things had worsened in Guantánamo since Obama came to power. He said that some of the more sadistic soldiers wanted to “get theirs in” against the prisoners before the place closed. The genius of the Obama statement on Guantánamo – two days after he took office in January 2009, when he declared, “Guantánamo will be closed no later than one year from now” – is that almost everyone believed him.

Yet, 173 men remain held in illegal detention in Guantánamo, despite 75 of them having been cleared for release, in conditions that still do not come close to matching those afforded to the worst of the convicted prisoners in the US. Over a period of seven years, George W Bush imprisoned a total of 779 men at Guantánamo. By the end of his presidential term, he had released around 550 of these men. Only 50 or so men have been released since Barack Obama took

Detention without trial and the systematic methods used to remove all hope had

>> GITMO Pg 17

14 | ISLAM

vzz

January 21st - February 3rd, 2011

Islam

Make Your Ordinar y Deeds Extraordinar y

By Sheikh `Umar al-Muqbil Islamtoday.net

When we consciously engage in any activity, even the most trivial daily task, we have an intention which brings us to do it. For an activity to truly be devoid of an intention, it has to be something carried out unconsciously or wholly by accident. Whenever we do something deliberately, we have an intention for doing it. However, we are often heedless of that intention.

This means that all deliberate actions are addressed by the famous words of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him): “Actions are according to their intentions, and a person will be recompensed only according to what he intended.” [Sahīh al-Bukhārī (1) and Sahīh Muslim (1)] This does not apply only to formal acts of worship. It applies also to the good deeds we do for others, the help and money we

provide, and the nice things that we say to people. Our kindnesses are worthy of Allah’s reward if we carry them out with an open heart. However, their reward is magnified if the intention behind our acts of kindness is to please our Lord.

Allah says: “There is no good in most of their secret counsels except for one who enjoins charity or kindness or reconciliation between people; and whoever does this seeking Allah’s pleasure, We will give him a mighty reward.” [Sūrah al-Nisā’: 114] The first half of this verse makes it clear that to “enjoin charity or kindness or reconciliation between people” is something “good” and presumably rewarded. However, for a person to earn “a mighty reward”, that same good act should be carried out with the express intention of “seeking Allah’s pleasure.”

Our intentions also affect how our deeds

will be blessed in their outcomes in this world. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever borrows people’s money with the intention of paying it back, Allah will pay it back for him, and whoever does so with the intention of wasting it, Allah will cause it to be wasted.” [Sahīh al-Bukhārī] We can see here how having a sincere intention to pay back the loan is a reason for attaining Allah’s provision in this world, so it will be easier to pay off the loan. By contrast, we can see how having a bad intention can lead to the borrower facing added financial hardship in life.

Up to now, we have been discussing everyday deeds which entail being kind or doing right by other people. However, our discussion regarding intentions also applies to the most commonplace permissible acts that concern nobody by the one who engages in them.

For instance, we must earn a living. As long as we fear Allah and do so in a lawful manner, we will be blessed. However, if we make our intention for earning a living and engaging in other worldly business that we do so in order to better fulfil our duty to Allah, then that intention turns those everyday acts devotional ones. In other words, our working, eating and drinking, and even our rest and sleep, are transformed by our intention into acts of worship.

In this way, all of our deeds will be doubly blessed by Allah, both in their worldly returns and in their effects on us in the Hereafter. If we forget this noble intention when we do these everyday lawful acts, those acts will still be lawful -- even blessed -- but we will miss out on so much more that those same deeds could bring us.

-----------------------------------------------

Source: http://en.islamtoday.net/artshow-4213918.htm The author is a professor at AlImâm University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

“Be In This World As If You Are A Stranger…”

By Sheikh Salman al-Oadah Islamtoday.net

any place for a long time, a stranger who is just passing through.

Ibn `Umar relates that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) placed his hand on his shoulder and said: “Be in the world as if you are a stranger or a wayfarer.”

The hadîth says that the believer in the world is like a traveler in a foreign country This simile is rich in meaning. There are at least three ways in which it can be understood

Thereafter, Ibn `Umar used to say: “When the night comes, do not wait for the day, and when the day comes, do not wait for the night. Take from your health for your sickness, and take from your life for your death.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (7/170)] The meaning of “stranger” in this hadîth is that of a person living as a foreigner in a foreign land. Here, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) likens the proper state of a pious believer to a foreigner who has no home to retire to and whose whole life is spent on the road, never staying in

About this hadîth, Ibn Battâl observes: A foreigner does not much enjoy the company of other people. He generally feels alienated from them, since he rarely happens upon a person he knows. He is a person in a weak position who needs to remain wary. The same goes for a wayfarer. Allah’s Messenger compared the believers to them to show their asceticism, taking from the world only their basic needs. [Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalânî, Fath al-Bârî (11/234)]

Ibn Battâl touches upon one of the meanings that is communicated by this hadîth in its comparing a believer to a stranger in a foreign land. This is the lower than normal desire such a person has for socializing with others in the locality and the discomfort that person feels in their company.

There is, though, another meaning expressed by this simile. A stranger who is determined to return to his own country rarely becomes attached to anything in the foreign country where he or she is staying.

That person’s heart is too fully attached to his or her homeland.

The same can be said for a believer whose heart does not become attached to anything in the world and who longs for the Hereafter which is the permanent abode and to which is the final return.

We can find a third meaning as well. A stranger is not tainted by the bad conduct that comes from mixing with people and socializing with them. Likewise, a true believer is not distracted from the Creator.

Such a person rarely harbors in his heart any envy, rancor, or hypocrisy. A true believer is not one to dispute with others, nor slander them nor expose their faults.

The hadîth also depicts the idea of spiritual advancement and progress. It follows the simile of a stranger with mention of a wayfarer, and a wayfarer is even less attached to the lands that he or she passes through than the stranger or foreign resident.

>> STRANGER Pg 18

January 21st - February 3rd, 2011

ISLAM | 15

When the Sunnah Is More Rewarding Than the Fardh Bismillah. Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that he passed by some children and greeted them. Then he said: “Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) used to do the same.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

So when you initiate the salaam to those you meet, you are gaining a lot of good from it, such as:

The sunnah is to give the salaam to everyone you meet, even if they are younger than you. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam) would begin with the salaam whenever he met someone while he was the most important person among the people.

2- this will be a way for you to spread a sunnah that has diminished greatly among Muslims. It is known that the reviving of a sunnah that has been forgotten receives two rewards - one for doing the deed, and one for reviving the sunnah.

1- following the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam.

3- You will be the reason for the response of the person to your greeting, and this response to the salaam is fardh (kifayah), so you will be the cause of this person completing an obligatory act.

So for these reasons the initiating of the salaam is greater than its response, even if the response is a fardh, because the fardh is dependent on the sunnah, so doing the sunnah is better than the fardh.

This is a topic that may cause some confusion as it has among some scholars because it is agreed upon than the

fardh(obligatory) is better than the sunnah - for example, the two raka’ahs of salatul fajr are better than the two sunnah ra’akahs before it because it is fardh while the other two are sunnah. In this case however, initiating the salaam is a sunnah and is better than responding to it because its response is dependent on its initiation.

-----------------------------------------------Shaykh ibn Uthaymeen (rahimahullah) Sharh Riyad as-Saliheen via http://www. tayyibaat.com

Salaah times for January 21st - February 3rd, 2011

If a person had a stream outside his door and he bathed in it fi ve times a day, do you think he would have any fi lth left on him?”

The people said, “No filth would remain on him whatsoever.”

The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said, “That is like the fi ve daily prayers: Allah wipes away the sins by them.”

---Hadith in Sahih al Bukhari and Muslim

Day Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu

Date Jan 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Feb 1 2 3

Hijri 17/2 18/2 19/2 20/2 21/2 22/2 23/2 24/2 25/2 26/2 27/2 28/2 29/2 30/2

Fajr 6:05 6:05 6:05 6:04 6:03 6:03 6:02 6:02 6:01 6:01 5:59 5:59 5:58 5:57

Sunrise 7:22 7:22 7:21 7:20 7:20 7:19 7:18 7:17 7:17 7:17 7:15 7:14 7:13 7:12

Dhuhr 12:20 12:20 12:20 12:21 12:21 12:21 12:21 12:21 12:22 12:22 12:22 12:22 12:22 12:22

Prayer times generated from www.islamicfinder.com for the WASHINGTON, DC area.

Asr 2:57 2:57 2:58 3:00 3:01 3:02 3:03 3:04 3:05 3:05 3:07 3:08 3:09 3:10

Maghrib 5:17 5:17 5:18 5:20 5:22 5:23 5:24 5:25 5:26 5:26 5:28 5:30 5:31 5:32

Isha 6:34 6:34 6:35 6:37 6:38 6:39 6:40 6:41 6:43 6:43 6:45 6:46 6:47 6:48

January 21st - February 3rd, 2011

16 | MASJID LOCATOR

MASJID LOCATOR ADAMS CENTER: 46903 Sugarland Rd, Sterling,VA 20164, Tel: 703-433-1325, www.adamscenter.org.

-------------------------------------------------------------ALL MUSLIM BROTHERS ASSOCIATION 3900 King Street Alexandria, VA 22302 703-647-0515 Jumma Prayer ONLY - 1:15 p.m -------------------------------------------------------------AVONDALE ISLAMIC CENTER: 4637 Eastern Ave., Hyattsville, MD, 20782, Tel: 301-779-9292.

-------------------------------------------------------------BADR COMMUNITY CENTER OF DUMFRIES (BCCD) 17794 Main Street Dumfries, VA 22026 Tel: 703-585-1689, 703-5547983. www.bccd.org E-mail: info@bccd.org -------------------------------------------------------------BAITUL MUKARRAM: 2116 S Nelson St., Arlington, VA, 22204, Tel: 703-778-1550.

-------------------------------------------------------------Bilal Dawah Center, Inc: 1935 Frederick Avenue Baltimore, MD 21223 Tel: 443-224-4423 -------------------------------------------------------------DAR AL HIJRAH: 3159 Rowe St., Falls Church, VA 22044, Tel: 703-536-1030, www.hijrah.org.

-------------------------------------------------------------DAR AL-NOOR (MUSLIM ASSOC. OF VA): 5404 Hoadly Rd., Manassas, VA 20112, Tel: 703-580-0808, Fax: 703221-8513, www.daralnoor.org.

-------------------------------------------------------------DAR AL-TAQWA: 10740 Rte. 108, Ellicott City, MD 21042, Tel: 410-997-5711, www.taqwa.net.

-------------------------------------------------------------DAR UL ULOOM, 6334 Dogwoood Rd, Baltimore, MD 21207, 410-493-0785 Email:darululoommd@aol.com -------------------------------------------------------------DAR UL-GHURABA (Masjid ur Rahmah): 155 Baker St., Emporia, VA 23487, -------------------------------------------------------------DAR-UL HUDA: 6666 Commerce St.,

Do you have additions, changes, or corrections to the event listings in the Muslim Link? Email us at events@muslimlinkpaper.com, or call us at 301-982-1020.

Springfield, VA 22150, Tel: 703-922-0111, www.darulhuda.org -------------------------------------------------------------DAR-US-SALAAM: 5301 Edgewood Rd. College Park, MD 20740, Tel: 301-982-9848, www.darussalaam.org.

-------------------------------------------------------------FIRST HIJRA MUSLIM COMM. CENTER: 4324 Georgia Ave, NW Washington, DC 20011 www.firsthijrah.org.

-------------------------------------------------------------ICNA VA CENTER: 2913 Woodlawn Trail, Alexandria, VA 22306.

703-660-1255 -------------------------------------------------------------IDARA DAWAT-O-IRSHAD: 4803 Valley St, Alexandria, VA 22312 703-256-8622, www.irshad.org.

-------------------------------------------------------------IRHSCA (ISLAMIC RESEARCH AND HUM. SERVICES CENTER OF AMERICA): Chambers Ave, Capitol Heights, MD Tel: 301-324-5040, www.irhsca.org.

-------------------------------------------------------------ISLAMIC CENTER OF LEXINGTON PARK 22583 - B Three Notch Road California, MD 20619 Tel: 240-538-7839 or 561-414-0994 www.iclpmd.org.

-------------------------------------------------------------ISLAMIC CENTER OF MARYLAND (ICM): 19411 Woodfield Rd. Gaithersburg,MD 20879 Tel:301-840-9440, www.icomd.org.

-------------------------------------------------------------ISLAMIC CENTER OF NORTHERN VA TRUST (ICNVT): 4420 Shirley Gate Road, Fairfax, VA, 22030 Tel: 703-941-6558, info@icnvt.org | www.icnvt.org -------------------------------------------------------------ISLAMIC COM. CENTER OF LAUREL (ICCL): 7306 Contee Rd., Laurel, MD 20707 Tel: 301-317-4584, www.icclmd.org -------------------------------------------------------------ISLAMIC FOUNDATION OF AMERICA 6606 Electronic Drive Springfield, VA 22151

Tel: 703-914-4982 -------------------------------------------------------------ISLAMIC HERITAGE CENTER (IHC): 262 A-3 Cedar Ln., Vienna, VA 22180 Tel: 703-206-9056.

-------------------------------------------------------------ISLAMIC SOC. OF ANNAPOLIS (ISA): 2635 Riva RdSuite 110 Annapolis, MD 21401 Tel: 410-266-6660 www.isamd.org, Email: info@islamannapolis.org -------------------------------------------------------------ISLAMIC SOC. OF FREDERICK (ISF): 1250 Key Parkway , Frederick,MD 21702 Tel: 301-682-6090, www.isfmd.org.

-------------------------------------------------------------ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF GERMANTOWN (ISG): 19900 Brandermill Rd., Germantown, MD 20876 Tel: (240)-277-7758, www.isgtown.org.

-------------------------------------------------------------ISLAMIC SOC. OF SOUTHERN PG COUNTY (ISSPGC): P O Box 99, Clinton, MD 20735 5410 Indian Head Hwy, Oxon Hill, MD 20745 Tel: 240 603 4618 -------------------------------------------------------------ISLAMIC SOC. OF THE WASHINGTON AREA (ISWA): 2701 Briggs Chaney Rd. Silver Spring, MD 20904 Tel: 301-879-0930, www.iswamd.org.

-------------------------------------------------------------ISLAMIC SOC. OF WESTERN MARYLAND: 2036 Day Rd., Hagerstown, MD 21740 Tel: 301-797-0922.

-------------------------------------------------------------IVY CITY MASJID: 2001 Galludet St. NE, Washington, DC 20002 Tel: 202-529-3100.

-------------------------------------------------------------LA PLATA MASJID: 111 Howard Street, La Plata, MD 20646 Tel: 301-609-8769.

-------------------------------------------------------------MAKKAH LEARNING CENTER (MLC): 814 Brandy Farms Ln Gambrills, MD 21054 Tel: 410-721-5880 www.isamd. org, Email: info@mlcmd.org

-------------------------------------------------------------MANASSAS MOSQUE: 12950 Center Entrance Ct, Manassas, VA Tel: 703-257-5537.

-------------------------------------------------------------MASJID AL-GHURABAA: 8220 Washington St., South, Laurel, MD 20724.

Tel: 301-604-3295.

-------------------------------------------------------------MASJID AL-HIKMAH: 11064 Livingston Road Unit L (101) Ft. Washington, MD 20744, Tel: 301 292-9009.

-------------------------------------------------------------MASJID UL-HAQ: 514 Islamic Way (Wilson St. ), Baltimore, MD 21217 Tel: 410-728-1363.

-------------------------------------------------------------MASJID AL-ISLAM: 4603 Benning Rd., SE, Washington, DC 20019 e-mail: imammusa@hotmail.com -------------------------------------------------------------MASJID AL-INSHIRAH: 7832 Fairbrook Road , Windsor Mill, MD 21244 Tel: 410-298-2977, Fax: 410298-0266, www.al-inshirahweb. net.

-------------------------------------------------------------MASJID AL-MUMINEEN: 2642 Harford Rd. Baltimore, MD 21218 Tel: 410-467-8798.

-------------------------------------------------------------MASJID JAMAAT ALMUSLIMEEN: 4624 York Rd., Baltimore, MD 21212 Tel. 410-891-8451 -------------------------------------------------------------MASJID MUHAMMAD: 1519 4th St. NW, Washington D.C. 20001 Tel: 202-483-8832.

-------------------------------------------------------------MASJID AN-NUR: 5418 Ebenezer Road, White Marsh, MD 21162 Tel: 410-663-9637, Fax: 410-663-9817.

-------------------------------------------------------------MASJID AL-RAHMAH/ISB: 6631 Johnny Cake Rd. Baltimore, MD 21244 Tel: 410-747-4869, www.isb.org -------------------------------------------------------------MASJID AS SAFFAT: 1335 W. North Ave. Baltimore, MD 21217 Tel: 410-669-0655.

-------------------------------------------------------------MASJID IBN TAYMIYYAH: 8000 MLK Highway, Glenarden MD

Tel: 301-461-9325.

-------------------------------------------------------------MASJID ZAMZAM 1510 Lynch Road, Dundalk, MD 21222 Phone: 410-284-2840 -------------------------------------------------------------MEDINA CENTER: 11600 Falls Road, Potomac MD 20854 www.medinacenter.net -------------------------------------------------------------MUSLIM COM. CENTER (MCC): 15200 New Hampshire Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20905 Tel: 301-384-3454, www.mccmd.org.

-------------------------------------------------------------MUSLIM SOC. OF WASHINGTON, D.C. (MSWDC): Howard Center, Room 805 (Above HU Bookstore) Tel: 202-328-3236, www.mswdc.org.

-------------------------------------------------------------MUSTAFA CENTER: 6844 Braddock Rd., Annandale, VA 22003.

-------------------------------------------------------------PRINCE GEORGES MUSLIM ASSOC. (PGMA): 9150 Lanham Severn Rd. Lanham, MD, 20706, Tel: 301-459-4942, www. pgmamd.org.

Imam’s Office: 301-459-1441, imam@pgmamd.org.

-------------------------------------------------------------RANDALLSTOWN ISLAMIC CENTER 9019 Marcella Ave. Randallstown, MD 21133 Tel: 410 971 4018 www.ricbaltimore.org -------------------------------------------------------------SOUTHERN MARYLAND ISLAMIC CENTER(SMIC): 1046 Solomons Island Rd, Huntingtown, MD, 20639.

Tel: 410- 535-0000 -------------------------------------------------------------THE ISLAMIC CENTER: 2551 Mass. Ave. NW Washington D.C. 20008 Tel: 202-332-8343 -------------------------------------------------------------TURKISH AMERICAN COMMUNITY CENTER 9704 Good Luck Road Lanham, Maryland 20706 Tel: 301-459-9589 www.taccenter.org --------------------------------------------------------------

January 21st - February 3rd, 2011

OBITS & UPCOMING EVENTS | 17

Request For Dua’s { To Allah We B e l o n g , a n d t o H i m i s O u r R e t u r n }

“Everyone is going to taste death, and We shall make a trial of you with evil and good, and to Us you will be returned.” (Surah Al-Anbiya:35)” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1-12-11 Inna Lillahi was inna Ilaihe Rajeoon. Brother Nazir Butt’s father-inlaw has passed away. May Allah forgive him, widen his grave, and grant him Jannah Firdous. And may Allah also give the courage, patience, and strength to his family to endure this great loss. The Janazah was held on January 12th, 2011 in Sterling, Virginia. (Source: ADAMS) 1-16-11 Truly, we are from Allah, and to Him we shall return. It is with great sadness and heavy heart that we inform you of the passing of Brother Abdul Aleem. Janazah prayer was on January 17, 2011 in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Please remember him in your Dua. We ask Allah (SWT) to shower him with His mercy, compassion and forgiveness, and to grant him the highest ranks in paradise, and give his family support and patience during this difficult and tragic times. (Source: Dar Al-Taqwa)

GITMO

>> continued from pg 13

office. Many of those, like Sabir Lahmar, have been resettled in Europe, although one man has been released this year and returned, against his wishes, to Algeria.

The case of Shaker Aamer reveals yet another story of broken promises, broken families and broken lives. After nine years of incarceration with no intention to prosecute him (even with the kangaroo court-like threshold of the military commissions), and having been cleared for transfer in 2007, Shaker Aamer is today close to losing his mind. Sabir Lahmar told me that he was in a cell next to Aamer just before he was released, and that it was clear to him that this once strong, resilient and gregarious prisoner – who had led, and helped to end, the mass hunger strikes – was now prone to periods of silence lasting for months on end.

This is what Guantánamo has done. Even when people like Aamer are eventually released, how is he expected to pick up the pieces with a family that barely knows him? I was separated from my family for only three years and it’s been hard enough getting to know kids you’ve

never seen before or who were too young to remember you. And how is his family, including four young children, supposed to deal with someone whose ordeal hardly anyone really understands?

Upcoming Events In Your Area Welcome Back Hujjaj Saturday, January 22 2011 Welcome Back Hujjaj Community Potluck. We ask that you join us in welcoming back all of our community members who performed Hajj this season. We can’t wait to see you at this social event hosted by MCC’s Social Committee. Location: Muslim Community Center; 15200 New Hampshire Ave; Silver Spring, MD 20905. Contact: For details, contact Anwar Goheer 301-879-4986 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AMP 2nd Annual Gaza Commemoration Event- Virginia Saturday, January 22 2011, 5:30pm - 7:30pm AMP 2nd Annual Gaza Commemoration Event- Virginia. Two years later, Besieged Gaza Still Standing Tall. Guest Speakers: Edward Peck, Sheikh Shaker ElSayed & Osama Abuirshaid. Cosponsored by Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center. Location: Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center; 3159 Row Street; Falls Church, VA 22044 Contact: For more information, please email info@ampalestine. org or call or 571.276.6030 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fairfax Institute Course: Writing for Muslim Media Tuesday, January 25 2011 Upcoming course at The Fairfax Institute, Writing for Muslim Media. This five-session course is intended to serve as an introduction to writing for Muslim (and/or mainstream) media for persons considering or seeking to pursue a career in journalism, reporting, television/radio broadcasting, film production, freelance writing, or book publication. Participants will also be entitled to a 30minute private consultation and coaching session with the instructor, Amina Cisse Muhammad.

Time: 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM. Course fee: $50. To register, http://www.formexperts.com/forms/ 958DDGSJ4SB9. Location: Lecture Room One, The Fairfax Institute; 500 Grove Street, Herndon, VA 20170 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I’ve been fighting for the release of Guantánamo prisoners for five years. I’ve been in discussions with governments in Europe about the resettlements – and even discovered a WikiLeaks reference to me – that acknowledged the fact. I’ve even, finally, met with senior British ministers who have given assurances that they are revitalising action on the case of Shaker Aamer to see him reunited with his family in London, and I feel a renewed sense of hope.

Citizens Hearing: The Loss of Civil Freedoms in America Saturday, January 29 2011, 1:00pm - 4:00pm

However, nine years since the day when pictures of him were beamed across the world wearing a facemask, blacked-out goggles, ear muffs and the signature orange jumpsuit, Shaker Aamer and 172 others remain in cages – because of our tacit approval. After all, the president of the United States said it’ll be closed soon, so isn’t it time to stop fretting about Gitmo already?

-----------------------------------------------Source: The Guardian. The writer is a former Guantanamo prisoner and now manages cageprisoners.com.

1454 Parsons Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20374. Tickets: $50, $25 Children (Purchase tickets at www.internationalsisters.synthasite.com before Feb 20, 2011 for discount) The Event will start at 1:00 pm. Contact: For further information, call 240-606-6122 The Event will start at 1:00 pm ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms (NCPCF) Presents: Citizens’ Hearing, The Loss of Civil Freedoms in America. A Response by Muslim and Civil Rights Organizations. Washington, D.C. 901 G St., NW- (Between 9th and G streets); Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library- Room A-5. Free and Public Event. Please arrive by 12:45PM. Contact: RSVP: CivilFreedoms@gmail.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

International Sisters Network: 15th Annual Fashion Show & Luncheon

Sunday, March 13 2011 International Sisters Network presents it’s 15th Annual Sisters Only Fashion Show & Luncheon. “Treasures of the East”. WHERE: Washington Navy Yard Catering & Conference Center;

4th Annual MW Qur’an Recitation Competition Sunday, April 03 2011 MW Quran Recitation- The Committee recognizes all who will enter this competition, for taking the time to learn the Qur’an. The Committee also congratulates the parents and the teachers of the children and youth for their commitment to teach them the Qur’an. The Committee encourages our precious children and youth to study Allah’s book by starting this contest. Competition is open to all Muslims between 5 years old and above. Registration is by Grade in their respective schools. Valuable prizes will be given to the winners in each age group. Volunteers are welcome.

Sponsored by: Together We Care. Other sponsors are welcome. Contact: Please contact Br Alameddine @ 703-856-7005 or email at mwqrc2011@yahoo.com

18 |

CONTINUED Editor-in-Chief: Minhaj Hasan Office Manager : Stephanie Benmoha News Desk: Rashad Mulla Layout & Design: Fadlullah Firman Staff Writers: Farkhunda Ali Farha Marfani Rashad Mulla Yaman Shalabi Sharia Advisors: Sheikh Salah as-Sawi Imam Safi Khan The Muslim Link (TML) is published every other week on Fridays and distributed throughout the Washington, Baltimore, and Northern Virginia Metropolitan Areas. TML is a non-profit publication and is based at Dar-us-Salaam in College Park, Maryland, USA. Staff and contributors are not necessarily affiliated with Dar-us-Salaam.

The views expressed in The Muslim Link do not necessarily reflect those of Dar-us-Salaam or TML management or their underwriters. Dar-usSalaam and TML are not responsible for the accuracy of information presented by advertisers, or for the religious compliance of events, products, or services published in TML. This publication contains the names of ALLAH (Subhanahu wa ta’ala). Please keep, recycle, or share it with others The Muslim Link 5301 Edgewood Road College Park, MD 20740 Phone : (301) 982-1020 Fax: 240-209-0702 editor@muslimlinkpaper.com Advertising: 301-982-1020 or email us at ads@muslimlinkpaper.com The Muslim Link. All Rights Reserved 2010

January 21st - February 3rd, 2011 POLITICS

>> continued from pg 10 between news and entertainment, to critically evaluate the fragments of information flying at them 24 hours a day from their TVs, computers and smart phones. Most do not have these tools by the time they arrive to college, and I long ago stopped expecting them to. But neither do I hold it against them, or dismiss their views simply because they are (from my perspective) muddled, incoherent and frequently go in completely opposite directions. I take them seriously both because it is my job as an educator and because I know a better future depends

DREAM

>> continued from pg 11 The circumstances surrounding that terrible event were, perhaps, beyond human control but the conduct that followed was within our own power.

Incidents of discrimination and bias aimed at Muslim Americans have been rising since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Anti-Muslim rhetoric, contrived to inflict

STRANGER

>> continued from pg 14 The way that strangeness is used in this particular hadith is a tangible one; it is the idea of being separated from one’s nation and people and dwelling among others. It does not depict the idea that the believer is regarded as odd or strange by others.

on equipping them with the ability to piece together a critical framework for understanding the world.

It is a bit ironic that at the same time as many commentators are urging us to listen more closely to our opponents’ ideas and resist the urge to demonize them, that we are dismissing Loughner’s political views without even so much as a real discussion. What he did is horrible, but the commentary has gone too quickly from “Loughner’s actions were politically motivated” to “it had nothing to do with politics.” We are now told that because his political views do not fall seamlessly into a neat box labeled “left” or “right” that they were irrelevant for understanding a biased system of justice - one that manipulates how we think about “those people” who are “not like us.”

Islamophobia allows threats that were once secret and unaccepted to be either open and socially acceptable or tolerated; either way, not sufficiently challenged or denounced.

Martin Luther King’s Dream has taken an ominous turn as a growing number of

That is another meaning of “stranger”: where a person is regarded by the majority to be strange or odd on account of his or her righteousness, adherence to what is best, and avoidance of sin. This is the idea of being in either partial or total nonconformity with one’s surroundings, of doing one thing while everyone else is doing another. They are worlds apart.

This other understanding of strangeness describes the believers at the end of time

events in Arizona and, by connection, for understanding the current political situation in the United States. We should take Loughner’s political views seriously.

His mental state may have led him down a particularly destructive path, but his political confusion is by no means unique.

-----------------------------------------------In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

political leaders have begun to denounce Muslim Americans who have been loyal and engaged citizens in the U.S. for generations. Now would be a good time for activists of conscience to speak out against anti-Muslim rhetoric and speak up for diversity, equality, religious freedom, and for a dream that has yet to become a reality for some.

-----------------------------------------------Khalilah Sabra is the Director of the Muslim American Society in North Carolina.

and is the meaning of the estrangement found in the hadîth: “Islam began strange, and it will become strange again just like it was at the beginning, so blessed are the strangers.” [Sahîh Muslim (1/131)] -----------------------------------------------Source: http://en.islamtoday.net/artshow428-3911.htm

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January 21st - February 3rd, 2011 CONVENIENT TO UMBC CAMPUS

Last order taken 15 minutes before clo sing

DINE-IN & CARRY-OUT

42-0891 Tel: 410-242-4342 | Fax: 410-2 pping Center) 5209 East Drive, Arbutus ( East Drive Sho

HOURS: Monday-Thursday 11:00am-10:00pm Friday & Saturday 11:00am-11:00pm Sunday 12:00pm-10:00pm

Our menu includes appetizers, pizza, strombolis, subs, sandwiches, hot dogs, pasta, platters, wraps, salads, wings, and desserts. Come try our HALAL diner! for detailed menu, go to:

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January 21st - February 3rd, 2011

BACK PAIN?

HEADACHES SHOULDER PAIN KNEE PAIN NECK PAIN LEG PAIN If you’ve been injured in a car accident or at work, relief is just one visit away ...

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LITTLE RIVER CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC Dr Ramin Afzaly 6601 Little River Turnpike, Suite 310, Alexandria, VA 22312 Call today for a FREE CONSULTATION 703.941.4464

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Now serving Frederick, Hagerstown and Eastern Shore, MD

January 21st - February 3rd, 2011

Classified Ads | 23

Place a personal classified ad. Call us at 301-982-1020 We invite you to place a classified on the web FREE of charge at www.muslimlinkpaper.com. Classifieds in the print edition of the Muslim Link newspaper are only $1 for every 3 words. All classifieds run for 3 issues in the Marketplace section. Get started by emailing your exact text to office@muslimlinkpaper.com and then call in your credit card payment to 301-982-1020 or send a check or money order payable to: The Muslim Link, 5301 Edgewood Rd, College Park MD 20740.

CHILDCARE EXCHANGE HOME AWAY FROM HOME IN MUSLIM ENVIRONMENT Licensed, operated by a pre-school teacher; Full-time, Part-time, Before and After Care; Weekends and Extended Hours; Breakfast, Lunch and Snacks Provided; Near MCC; Must See & Compare with Others; 301-570-4245 or www.ashtondaycare.com ----------------------------------------------ZOHAIB’S CHILD CARE Zohaib’s Child Care. 8:00AM to 6:00PM. Monday-Friday. Providing drink & snack. Age: Infant-12 yo. Starting in middle of January. 301-604-4939 or 301-247-5210.

----------------------------------------------PLACE AN AD WITH TML To place an ad in the Muslim Link call us at 301-982-1020 or email us at office@muslimlinkpaper.com

FOR RENT NICE TOWNHOUSE FOR RENT CLOSE TO ICM Townhouse, 5 BR, 3 1/2 BA, Walk out basement. New windows. At Montgomery Village, MD. Rent $1,450 not including utilities. 240-751-6563.

240-751-6568.

----------------------------------------------ROOM FOR RENT- COLLEGE PARK

Brothers ONLY. Room for rent at College Park for $400 plus shared utilities. less than 1 mile from Al-Huda School, 1.2 miles from Greenbelt Metro, 0.5 miles from MOMs Organic Market, 1.1 miles from Shoppers, - 0.3 miles to a MetroBus Stop. Contact Roy Caspari 202.903.6419, roycaspari@yahoo.com -----------------------------------------------ROOMS FOR RENT 2 separate rooms for rent in College Park close to Al Huda, University of MD, close to Greenbelt Metro. Call 240-2719552.

FOR SALE HALAL GROCERY STORE/ MEAT MARKET FOR SALE Asking Price: $115K, Sales: $324K, Net Profit: $60K (Alexandria, VA) Call Lou for additional information 202688-1303 Woodstel Capital Business Brokerage

-----------------------------------------------PLACE AN AD WITH TML

To place an ad in the Muslim Link call us at 301-982-1020 or email us at office@muslimlinkpaper.com

MATRIMONIAL BROTHER SEEKING WIFE Gentleman, 57, from Iran, no children.

Non-smoker, taxi driver. Seeking Muslim lady for marriage. For more information call Ali from 7am to 7pm, 7 days a week.

202-669-5699.

-----------------------------------------------MOROCCAN SISTER FOR MARRIAGE 36 yr old Moroccan Sister looking for Good Muslim man living in USA, homemaker, never married, will aid in translations if necessary, contact her Wali at mahdikm1@earthlink.net or 410-988-0705.

-----------------------------------------------AS SALAMU ALEIKUM As Salamu Aleikum Muslimahs’ and Muslimah Walis’ My name is Ron Eugene Neal #769053 (AKA) Mumin Aziz Jabbar. I’ve ask Allahuta’la to be my guide to my Muslima in Nikah. So go check out my FaceBook and My Space Page Websites. Jazak allah! Neal Unit, 9055 Spur 591, Amarillo, Texas 79107.

MISCELLANEOUS FREE TO GOOD HOME Free to a good home, 2 Yorkie puppies for adoption. If interested, contact me on rbradley987@gmail.com

----------------------------------------------PLACE AN AD WITH TML To place an ad in the Muslim Link call us at 301-982-1020 or email us at office@muslimlinkpaper.com

SERVICES

-----------------------------------------------HOME SERVICES Licensed contractor. Home Improvement work, interior/exterior painting, drywall install/repair, brick/concrete repair.

License #30385946 Estimates done.

Contact Br. Allen Scott at 410-467-1259 or 443-538-7643(cell)

FOR PLANTING We do landscape design, planting trees, shrubs, and flowers, garden maintenance and yard clean up. We do hauling and delivery of large, bulky items for the winter. We take care of your garden without chemicals or pesticides. We serve the Northern VA area and parts of Montgomery County. Evergreen Organic Landscapes, Annandale, VA call 571-277-6241 for a free estimate.

-----------------------------------------------PLACE AN AD WITH TML To place an ad in the Muslim Link call us at 301-982-1020 or email us at office@muslimlinkpaper.com

THE FALL IS A GOOD TIME

Rahma International Store Abayas Thoubs

Prayer Rugs Hijab

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Free Consultation for Ortho and Implant ������������� ��������������� ���������������������� ���������������� �������������� ������������������ ������������������ �������������������������� ������������������ ����������������������� ������������������ ���������������������� ����������������������� ��������������� ���������������������� ������������������� ����������������� ����������������������

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