The Muslim Link - Safar Issue - 01/30/09

One For the Love of Jesus Muslimah In How Muslims Revere this Great Search of Help Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him)

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ISRAELI BOMBS REACH DC

Over Twenty Thousand Protest Carnage in Gaza | PG 9

ALSO ON GAZA: • Emergency Meeting of the ADC Focuses on Media, Elected Officials | PG 4

Photo by Aamer Khan. Aamerk.com

• Baltimore Muslims Perform Funeral Pray for Gazans at Memorial | PG 4 • Over 800 Candles Lit at DC Event for Gaza | PG 5

Muslims and non-Muslims march past the Washington Post building in DC during their rally against the Israeli massacre of Gaza’s citizens. A separate protest event targeted the Post itself for not providing balanced coverage of the Gaza situation.

Local Gazans Lose Homes, Relatives to Israeli Terror

By Mariam Abu-Ali Muslim Link Contributing Writer

(Photo courtesy of Hosam Hijjee)

It has been one month since Israel launched its 22 day military offensive, Operation Cast Lead, on Gaza.

The remains of the family home of Hosam Hijjee a Virginia resident from Gaza. The home was shelled during Israeli’s war against Gaza’s civilian population; Hijji’s father and uncle died during the attacks.

During this brief time, at least 1300 Palestinians have been killed directly

by Israeli bombs or ground warfare and more than 4300 injured, many

of these with permanent and lifechanging damage . Operation Cast Lead may be over—at least for now-but the human toll is incalculable and the physical destruction will take years and significant amounts of money to repair. The loss of life, on the other hand, cannot be undone.

Within our very own Washington DC area community, two Americans, >> TERRORISM Pg 13

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• Howard County Muslims Teleconference with Sarbanes on Gaza | PG 5 • Eliyahu advocates carpet bombing Gaza | PG 24 • What You Don’t Know About Gaza | PG 25

Marketplace Your Guide to Products and Services for Your Muslim Lifestyle

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The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

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The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

CORRECTION

In our last issue, we incorrectly wrote that Israelis broke a recent ceasefire with Hamas on December 4, 2008 (“Thousands Protest in DC as Israeli Terrorism Continues”, January 2, 2009 issue).

The correct date when Israel broke the ceasefire is November 4, 2008. We regret the error. -- TML

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INDEX

INSIDE THIS ISSUE SAFAR 1430 | JAN 30 - FEB 26, 2009

04

Community News

14

National News

15

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Islam

17

Fataawa

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Civil Rights 703 556 6626 Fax: 703 556 6628 www.wanilaw.com wani@wanilaw.com

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World Press

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Opinion & Editorials

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Marketplace

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COMMUNITY NEWS

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

Community News Creating links through mutual understanding and cooperation

Emergency Meeting of the ADC Focuses on Media, Elected Officials

By Hytham Younis Muslim Link Contributing Writer On January 10, 2009 the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) held an emergency meeting to brainstorm with attendees about what might be done in response to the horrendous loss of life in Gaza as a result of Israeli attacks. The emergency meeting was attended by about seventy people, including Ralph Nader.

After a brief introduction by Kareem Shora, National Executive Director of the ADC, and a moment of silence for the victims of Gaza, the floor was opened up to comments from attendees as to what plan of action may be most effective. Ideas abounded and there was an atmosphere of urgency and anger over the slaughter of people in Gaza as well as the perceived bias of the American media in general with regards to the crisis. Everyone voiced their frustration with a controlled media and government which seem to regard everything done by Palestinians as suspicious or outright wrong, whereas anything done by Israel was, somehow, justifiable.

One of the first to speak was a representative of the Code Pink Women’s Alliance who spoke of the regularly scheduled protests

which had been organized to be held every Sunday between 5:30 and 6:30 pm in front of President Elect Obama’s offices.

Another woman then stood to express her desire to see more editorials submitted to newspapers in the area as well as mobilizing sympathetic persons across North America to send selected editorials to their local papers – citing that local newspapers are oftentimes more effective at reaching people. In general, the discussions which followed focused upon two areas: the media and the government.

With regards to the US government, a call has been put out in the form of emailings to encourage people to contact their representatives, the President’s office and President Elect Obama’s office. Pressure on government officials, according to all who attended, was crucial to getting the message home. Public figures are actually swayed by the opinions of their constituents – despite the overwhelming impact of lobby groups like AIPAC. Much of the commentary was oriented towards a desire to change the prejudiced perception which the average American has towards Muslims and Palestinians. So far, it was said, the US government and the Zionist lobby have had the spotlight in making an

impression and molding public opinion.

What is needed is a full public relations effort – by every individual who cares about the truth – to bring the American psyche to the light.

Ultimately, it was Ralph Nader’s turn to stand and add his comments. All eyes turned to this seasoned political figure as he spoke words which had a greater impact than any other heard that evening. Speaking with sincere compassion and much experience, Mr. Nader began by lambasting The Washington Post as a biased newspaper which has exhibited deep prejudice towards the Palestinians for a long time. According to him, The Post should be picketed – an action which has, since then, been done. He suggested, further, that people should contact the highest authority within The Post to protest their bias and to propose alternative editorial pieces to the typically prejudiced ones The Post always puts out.

Another thrust of Mr. Nader’s comments had to do with elected government officials. He cited that contacting an official by telephone in order to schedule a visit to his or her office by a group of concerned citizens – then actually taking that group of citizens to their office – is an effective way to get a message across. As a further way to communicate the

importance of understanding the true nature of the situation, he suggested that people from Israel who themselves are against the extremely aggressive practices of their government should be brought to America to speak out to the public. He noted that, in fact, many of these disaffected Israelis are former military and political personalities who have seen the folly of Israeli policies.

Finally, Ralph Nader had one piece of advice to anyone who would write an article for publication. His desire would be to see each and every article written about the plight of the Palestinians include within it’s text a quote from David Ben Gurion – the founder of Israel in the modern age – in which he asked one of his people: “Why should they want to make peace with us? We just stole their land from them”.

The American – Arab Anti – Discrimination Committee is a non-sectarian, non – partisan civil rights organization founded in 1980 by former Senator James Abourezk. It’s main office is located at 1732 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20007.

Baltimore Muslims Perform Funeral Pray for Gazans at Memorial The Stand by Palestine memorial, held Saturday, January 25, 2009 in the Islamic Society of Baltimore (ISB) gymnasium, drew about 250 attendees.

ISB President Elect Maqbool Patel welcomed attendees to the center and spoke on the peaceful nature of Islam, its diversity, and its tolerance towards other religions.

The event was organized by the Baltimore chapter of the American Arab AntiDiscrimination Committee (ADC) and other local organizations to educate the community on current events in Palestine.

The Gwyn Oak Islamic Community’s Ayyub Hanif offered a reminder about hope in Islam.

The event started at 6:10 PM. Muhammad Jameel, a member of the ISB and board member of the Baltimore County Muslim Council started the ceremonies with a recitation of the Quraan Kareem.

The third speaker, El-Hajj Mauri Saalakhan, Director of the Peace and Justice Foundation and author of “the Palestinian’s Holocaust” presented a short summary of the painful history of Palestine. He described Britain’s Balfur declaration of 1917 promising Palestine will be the homeland for European Jews. He also described the militant nature

of the Jewish immigrants entering Palestine before 1948. Palestinians were forced to leave their homes and farms by violent attacks and threats from these militant Jewish migrants.

Saalakhan also highlighted the nature of the conflict -- occupation by force and forced eviction.

Dr Bashar Pharoan of the ADC was the fourth speaker. Pharoan highlighted the massacre of the Palestinian civilians during the recent Gaza invasion. Homes, schools, mosques, hospital, news stations, one church and other institutions were attacked. Pharoan highlighted the hopeful nature of Palestinians, despite the steep hills they had to climb year after year, since the Nakba (“catastrophe”)

of 1948. Pharoan called for overcoming the fear of speaking up for justice, and for all religions to live in peace and mutual respect in Palestine. The final speaker was Imam Yahya Hendi, a lecturer at Georgetown University. He expressed the pains of growing up in occupied Palestine; he also preached the message of tolerance among Christians, Muslims and Jews. The memorial concluded with invocation and a Janaza prayer in absentia for all the Palestinians killed due to Israeli invasions.

This report is based on an ADC press release from Dr. Bashar Pharoan. To learn more about the ADC, visit http://adc.capwiz.com.

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Over 800 Candles Lit at DC Event for Gaza

By Amalia Rehman Muslim Link Staff Writer As the rage carried on in Gaza, the All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Washington DC held a candlelight vigil on January 10, 2009 as a memorial to those affected by the immense, man-made humanitarian crisis.

Among the speakers was Hani Almadhoun.

He spoke about his family in Gaza and how, at the time of the vigil, he had not spoken to any of his extended family for 48 hours. When He last spoke to them, they had told him the house next door was bombed. Sixty people had been in that house, half were now dead and the other half seriously wounded. Before closing their call, they asked Brother Hani to pray for them and to forgive them any sins they may have committed against him.

Souls Church event included both Israelis and Palestinians as well as Muslims, Jews and other diverse faiths and ethnic groups.

The main organizer of this event was the Coalition for Justice and Accountability, which is a lobbying organization committed to raising awareness about the United States’ support of Israel.

Sister Hazami Barmada, the main organizer behind this event and a consultant in cultural and public diplomacy, commented,

Eight-hundred and twenty candles were lit for those killed in Gaza, which included men, women, children and soldiers. It was an evening filled with prayers, lead by religious leaders of the three major faiths in Palestine, as well as personal accounts, poems and songs offered by attendees.

These included a personal account by Irene Nasser, a Palestinian, and a reading by Joshua Stephens of a reflection from a Palestinian child in Gaza.

“It was difficult to get Jewish Rabbis to attend. In part it was because, although they would like very much to participate in prayer for peace, they were concerned that some of their congregation would see it as an antiIsrael event.” stated Sister Barmada.

Brother Hani thanked the audience for praying for his family and explained that although it may seem odd to the non-Muslims in the audience that his family requested forgiveness from him, he explained that when Muslims anticipate death, they ask all those known to them to forgive them for any hard feelings or injustices they may have done to the other person. Soon after that call, all communication with Gaza was shut down.

Approximately 250 people attended the DC event – one of dozens of events in the local area organized by various Muslim and interfaith groups after the Gaza crisis. The All

“Organizing this event was incredibly difficult. I wanted this event to be nonpolitical and focus on the human aspect of this tragedy. The goal was to help organize and highlight the underlying themes of all religions and to honor human life which transcends all human barriers. People were encouraged to look at the lives of these individuals, their hobbies and their dreams and to ponder on the loss of their lives…I feel the event was very successful in allowing people to grieve and focus on life, not politics. My goal is to help nurture a world that has more understanding… evoking the idea of humanity and love and peace for everyone.”

“It was difficult to get Jewish Rabbis to attend. In part it was because, although they would like very much to participate in prayer for peace, they were concerned that some of their congregation would see it as an anti-Israel event.” stated Sister Barmada.

The evening was solemn and thought provoking. Some attendees wondered why in the United States diverse individuals can sit together and pray for their counterparts who are warring against each other in a far away land. “Being in the United States allows people to be a step away from the issues that those ‘back home’ have to live with everyday…here Palestinians feel they can work toward effecting change whereas in Gaza they are unable to do anything to effect change and have to live with those circumstances all the time,” explained Sister Barmada.

Howard County Muslims Teleconference with Sarbanes on Gaza Howard County Muslim Council (HCMC) President Doctor Rashid Chotani arranged a teleconference between Congressman John Sarbanes (D-MD) and leaders and activists from Maryland’s Muslim community.

The approximately one hour phone conference took place on Thursday, January 22, 2009.

Participants expressed their views that US foreign policy was biased against Arab and Islamic nations, especially with regard to Palestine. Some told Congressman Sarbanes that the US image abroad is largely tarnished and that negative image affects the nation, including its economy. The group asked the Congressman to rethink the issue and advocate a balanced policy towards the Middle and Far East. One speaker expressed concerns that Israel is accused of using depleted nuclear munitions in Gaza.

Dr. Bashar Pharoan told Sarbanes that while Congress and the White House are focused on Hamas rockets, they are forgetting the root cause of the Israeli Palestinian conflict is the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians in 1948 and 1967, and the continued occupation of Palestine defying UN resolutions 194 guaranteeing the right of return of all the Palestinian people, and resolution 242 demanding Israel return to the June 4, 1967 borders. Israel never complied or accepted those and another 27 UN resolutions against it, explained Pharoan. The Congressman promised to be open minded and continue hearing from the Muslim community.

This report is based on an ADC press release authored by Dr. Bashar Pharoan.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

DUS Girl Scout Troop 2802’s Empty Bowls fill Empty Stomachs Laurel, MD, December 20, 2008: Girl Scout Troop 2802, based out of Dar-UsSalaam, hosted an Empty Bowls charity event to raise funds for the needy in the College Park area. The event was attended

by Girl Scouts, their families, community members and representatives from Meals on Wheels, College Park. Many left satisfied with the homemade Minestrone soup filling their bellies, and a custom made bowl to keep as a souvenir. The Meals on Wheels representatives, who were also Girl Scouts, left with a $400 to support their efforts to feed

shut in seniors and those in need.

The girls in the troop started preparing for the event weeks before anyone sat down to enjoy a bowl of soup. The Junior Girl Scouts were responsible for researching local charities that could use the money and chose Meals on Wheels, while the Cadettes researched soup recipes. In early December, the troop visited The Pottery Studio at Fulton and hand-painted the soup bowls and mugs to be given to donors. The night before the event Cadettes, Juniors and a few Brownies

came together to cook up a few batches of homemade Minestrone soup. The girls had an excellent time slicing, dicing, stewing and enjoying each other’s company.

know that not only would the money they raised be used to feed the needy, but it would also provide a smiling face for someone who might be lonely.

Lisa Ealley, a fellow Girl Scout and the local Meals on Wheels representative expressed to the young ladies that their donations would be used to feed seniors who cannot go out to feed themselves, and that for many of them, the Meals on Wheels volunteer who delivers their food, may be the only person they see all day. The Girl Scouts were touched to

Troop 2802 hopes to participate in more community service activities to benefit the Meals on Wheels program and other local charities in the future.

This press release was provided by Sister Melissa Fleming of Girl Scout Troop 2802.

Al-Azhar Martial Arts School Ranked #3 On East Coast

By Rahima Ullah and Abdul-Malik Ahmad Muslim Link Contributing Writers In October of last year, Northern Virginia’s stand-out martial arts school – Al-Azhar Pencak Silat -- swept the Battle of Baltimore Martial Arts World Championships winning over 35 trophies and medals. Although the Baltimore tournament had fierce competition, the school was looking to further test its mettle.

On January 17, 2009, the Muslim martial artists competed in the John Chung World Cup Finals held at the Sheraton Hotel in Reston, Virginia. The John Chung World Cup tournament brought anew level of competition with experienced students from well-established martial arts schools such as Jeff Smith Karate, students of the promoter Master John Chung, and hundreds of students coming from as far as Florida for the elite tournament.

The Al-Azhar team consisted of 38 competitors including Kak Terra Kurnia and Kak Abdul-Malik Ahmad who are the instructors of the Virigina branch of Al-Azhar Pencak Silat. Although some of the students had participated in previous tournaments, there were many who would be competing for the first time. Three of the newest and youngest team members included Maryam Elkoshiri, Tahmeed Ullah, and Taha Khan.

Very enthusiastic about participating, they trained vigorously, attending extra classes as well as training at home daily leading up to the tournament.

As martial arts practitioners from various styles packed the hotel ballroom, it was clear that the competition would be intense.

Divisions separated by age, gender, and belt level had an average of a dozen competitors.

Al-Azhar students competed in forms, sparring, and breaking. Since it was an open tournament with many different styles of martial arts, judges analyzed each form

based on the focus, accuracy, speed, agility, and enthusiasm of the competitor. Most of the judges were instructors in Tae Kwon Do and Karate styles and were, at best, vaguely familiar with the art of Pencak Silat.

Pencak Silat (pronounced pen-chak-seelat) is a martial art developed by the Malay people in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and other countries in that region. Although the majority of Pencak Silat styles were developed by Muslims (including Al-Azhar Pencak Silat) students of all faiths are welcome to study the art.

The efforts of the students paid off, Alhamdulillah. The Al-Azhar school received around 30 trophies including the extreme breaking champion and first place trophy in traditional weapons won by Kak Terra Kurnia, as well as first place trophies won by the newest competitors Tahmeed, Maryam, and Taha. The other first place winners are Osama Elkoshiri, Nur Reda, and Amina Elkoshari.

Al-Azhar Pencak Silat school was ranked as #3 by a score of points won by the schools participating in the John Chung World Cup Tournament. The tournament was a learning experience for all the students who realized the importance of preparation and training for any competitive event. Some judges spoke highly of the discipline and respect displayed by the Pencak Silat students. Al-Azhar school hopes to continue competing in martial arts tournaments as well as organizing its own Silat tournaments with Pencak Silat rules and regulations, Insha’Allah.

Visit www.al-azharsilat.org/adams to learn more about Al-Azhar Pencak Silat.

The writers are affiliated with Al-Azhar Pencak Silat.

Al-Azhar Pencak Silat martial artists are getting used to posing with their trophies, masha’Allah. The team placed third in a highly competitive regional tournament this month, and placed first last October in a Baltimore tournament. Photo courtesy of Al-Azhar Pencak Silat.

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

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COMMUNITY NEWS

VA Muslimahs Clip Coupons for a Cause

By Laila Shaheen Muslim Link Contributing Writer During these tough economic times when a paycheck doesn’t seem to stretch as far as it once did, local Islamic activist organization SISTERS (Sisters In Solidarity To Educate Respond and Serve) hosted a timely seminar on couponing at Dar-al-Hijrah in Falls Church, Virginia on Saturday, January 3, 2009.

Women from across the region filled the room, eager to learn how they might save on their family’s grocery bill.

“Your savings will astound and inspire you and others,” declared Laurie Jaghlit who conducted the seminar. Using the example of a sister who was able to pay off her car early with the money she saved using coupons, Laurie highlighted some other benefits of couponing.

“I have been able to triple what I normally would be able to donate to food shelves using coupons,” stated Jaghlit. Her exuberance over her savings seemed to catch on with many of the ladies who asked questions about the strategies used to maximize savings.

The Blessings in Bargains Workshop was developed for two main reasons: To help sisters learn how to save money, and show the community how to use some of their savings to help others by donating to local food banks.

The workshop detailed how to start the couponing process and effectively continue it to where it would become second nature to the shopper. Coupons are found in newspapers, mailers, online, on packages and at the grocery store. If the Sunday paper has more than one manufacture coupon insert, you might even want to buy multiple papers.

Once you have collected all the coupons, the trick is to find a way to organize them in a way that works for you. Laurie showed how she stacks all the same coupons, staples them together, cuts them, and uses several accordion files to store them. Amina Rubin, another active coupon clipper, showed how she files, inserts, dates and then only cuts her coupons when she has matched them to a particular store or sale. Amina also explained how to shop at CVS and collect “extra care bucks” and shop with rebates at Rite Aid. She proudly held up her CVS receipt showing that through the course of last year she only spent

“These over 350 food items were purchased for just pennies or nothing at all by organizers of the ‘Blessings in Bargains’ workshop held at Dar Al-Hijrah. Photo courtesy of SISTERS.” $60 on over $1500 in purchases.

Once the coupons have been collected and organized, the next step is not just shop -- but to shop wisely.

“Coupons work best if you can tie them to another deal, such as sale items or when the grocery store is doubling or tripling the value of coupons,” explained Laurie.

She then pointed to the tables displaying food and toiletries. “Everything we have here was either purchased for just pennies or was free.” The over 350 items on the tables were collected by four couponing sisters during the last two weeks. Workshop attendees were asked to bring food donations that were added >> MUSLIMAHS Pg 11

Harford County Muslims Collect Funds for First Masjid

By Farha Marfani Muslim Link Staff Writer To most Marylanders, Harford County’s claim to fame is the county whose schools are always closed when it snows. The county is also home to one of the oldest army facilities, Aberdeen Proving Ground. It will soon also be known as the county that finally is home to a Masjid. Laying foundation for the inaugural Masjid was the goal of the first fundraiser for Masjid Al-Falaah held on Saturday, January 10th at the Islamic Society of Baltimore.

Approximately 250 people attended the fundraiser, which featured special guests Imam Siraj Wahhaj, Imam Johari Abdul Malik and Ustaz Omar Baloch, resident scholar of the Furqaan Institute of Quranic Education in Chicago. Approximately $111,000 was raised that night, far below the night’s goal of $300,000. A sum of $390,000 is needed

by January 29th to buy a 3-bedroom house with 5-acres of land, the future destination of Masjid Al-Falaah.

Masjid Al-Falaah, under the legal entity of Harford County Education Society (HCES), first came into existence on the first of

Ramadan 2007 in a garage in Edgewood, Maryland. Instead of commuting 25 minutes to Masjid Al-Noor and 45 minutes to Masjid Al-Rahmah, the small community was able to offer an entire Ramadan’s worth of Taraweeh prayers in a location close to their homes. They were also able to establish regular prayers as well as Jumuah prayers at this location.

Now the county’s Muslim community of approximately 100 families regularly convenes in a rented office suite in Bel Air, MD, and has become even more active at this location. Many families attend weekly family nights, with dinner and a lecture, and approximately fifty students regularly attend a fast-growing Sunday school. “Without a center, we don’t have a voice. We need to have a place of our own,” voiced Dr. Rehan Khan, one of the founding members of Masjid Al-Falaah. “To quote Allama Iqbal, ‘We should pray for a sun of our own. You can’t depend on borrowed rays of light.’”

Harford County Education Society has signed a contract for the 3-bedroom house and land in Abingdon, Maryland, about 7 miles from Bel Air and 12 miles from Havre de Grace.

Because the economy is suffering, the Society

Many local masajid communities started with a house. This house in rural Harford County, Maryland could be the counties first masjid if Allah grants success to the Masjid Al-Falaah community. A lot of money is still needed to complete the purchase of the property. (Photo courtesy of Rehan Khan) took advantage of reasonable land prices to purchase land central to Harford County’s Muslims. However, if the society is unable to pay the contract’s terms of $390,000, they will lose the contract. The future land of Masjid Al-Falaah is located 3 minutes away from exit 77B off of Interstate I-95, serving as the first Masjid located between Maryland and Delaware and also making it very convenient for travelers. Another unique feature of Masjid Al-Falaah is that it is the only Masjid serving Aberdeen Proving Grounds.

According to Khan, a base reassignment will bring at least 50-60 additional Muslim families to the area, making the need for a

bigger space even greater.

With events such as a Ravens football game and the march for Gaza in Washington, DC the same day as the fundraiser, the turnout could have been a little better. Money still needs to be raised to meet the terms of the contract. Thus, another fundraiser for Masjid Al-Falaah will be held on Sunday, January 25th at Shahi Grill in Baltimore, MD. Please support this growing Muslim community by making your checks payable to “HCES - 2107 Laurel Bush Road, Suite 101 Bel Air MD 21015.”

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COMMUNITY NEWS

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

Before March Tournament, A Lighter MIST

By Hena Shami Muslim Link Contributing Writer

crowd laughed and clapped as the show began to start.

With the DC region’s Muslim Inter-Scholastic Tournament (MIST) coming up in March, tournament organizers found a new way to raise not only awareness, but a few dollars for the competition.

For many years now, MIST (Muslim InterScholastic Tournament) has been an exciting and enthralling experience for high school students. Originating in Houston, Texas MIST provided high school aged kids from all races and backgrounds to come together to compete in a vibrant one-weekend tournament held annually.

“MIST Got Talent” was held at the University of Maryland at College Park on January 10, 2009 at 1:15 pm in place of a fundraising dinner. The event started off with a beautiful recitation of the Quran by Areeb Quasem followed by a du’a for Gaza by Omar Sabir.

“Big Steve,” also known as Adam Stephenson appeared on stage and greeted the crowd with a warm welcome as they enjoyed subs from Pizza Roma. Still waiting on the phenomenal DC MIST Man (Adam Kareem) and his sidekick, DC MIST Boy (Walee Khan), Stephenson was interrupted by some voices from behind the curtain.

“Assalamualaikum everyone! Get ready to get…MIST-ified!”

DC MIST Man (Kareem) in the MIST-official red superhero cape and mask appeared on stage with sidekick DC MIST Boy (Khan) in his white cape and still trying to grow a few beard hairs (according to DC MIST Man).

The two superheroes poked fun at MIST and cracked jokes to brighten up the mood. The

MIST is an exciting, educational and highly interactive program filled with competitions judged by highly qualified professionals as well as leadership and team-building workshops geared towards bringing together high school students from different schools and Masjids around the nation to provide them with skills in leadership, communication, and other creative methods of developing their Muslim identity.

Each year, MIST provides students with a different theme, each of which is focused on critical issues for Muslims living in the West upon which students base their projects and work. This year, MIST has expanded its reach to include not only an annual tournament but also a talent show fundraising event and a set of various community outreach projects that students will participate in as a way of giving back some of their time and efforts towards their local communities.

As “MIST Got Talent” continued through the afternoon, anyone could say that one of the most entertaining parts of the talent show were the three celebrity judges who used humor to capture the audience.

The first judge, Steve Irwin Jr. III was played

by Mustafa Abugideir, who pretended to be the famous “Crocodile Hunter” and began a dangerous mission to explore what he claimed to be the most detrimental of all creatures…the hungryaMuslim. The crowd was enthralled by his acting and Australian accent. The second celebrity judge was introduced as Bollywood star Mr. Desilicious FOB-nificient played

by Ismail Nicolas. Nicolas made his way to the stage with a grand entrance in Shalwar Kameez as he flashed his million-dollar shades at the crowd. The third celebrity judge who was tough competition for Big Steve (as he wanted so badly to be a judge) was “The Joker” of Gotham City who was played by Omar Elnabawi. Elnabawi dressed in a purple striped shirt and vest with green hair and intense makeup, impersonating the famous villain. The judges made funny comments and jokes throughout the performances for the talent show.

The first performer, Yunous Amireh of JEB Stuart High School sung a nasheed titled “Hijabi for Life” followed by Nudrat Siddiqui from Annandale Atoms MSA who recited her poem “I Too Have A Dream.” The third

performance was a short film “Forty-Nine Thirteen” from Darussalam. Soon afterwards, Team Rahmah performed their nasheed “The Diversity.” Deen Heroes/Damascus High School then presented a skit about diversity.

Amina Haleem from Springbrook High School recited her poem “I Stand” followed by a short film from the Riverhill MSA about diversity.

The last performance was a nasheed by Team Rahmah and JEB Stuart High School.

The event was an overall success. “We had great performances that really showed true talent in whatever skill it may be, from creating a short film, writing lyrics for a nasheed/ rap, or even planning a skit filled with laughter and wisdom,” organizer Sehrish Ameen remarked.

Judge Omar Elnabawi said, “Everything ran smoothly. It was truly a pleasure and extremely fun working with everyone in preparation for the event.” Anes Mehai from Deen Heroes/ Damascus High School also states, “[There was] lots of energy and jokes that made it funny and entertaining.”

“Everything was executed according to our plans, and it was a pleasure to work on the event with such fun and responsible brothers and sisters” said organizer Manaar Zuhurudeen.

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

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Over Twenty Thousand Protest Carnage in Gaza

By Farkhunda Ali Muslim Link Staff Reporter

New Delhi, Amman, Sarajevo, Ramallah, Stockholm, and Tokyo.

People all over the world are reacting with anger and distress to the current massacre of the unprotected Palestinian displaced population by the technologically advanced Israeli military equipment.

“This is a direct action non-violent demonstration campaign to protest our American tax dollars funding this war,” said Mahdi Bray, executive director of MAS Freedom.

More than twenty thousand people responded to a call for an “International Day of Emergency Action” in Washington, on Jan. 10th.

“The killings have to stop. We tried to do a peace treaty, but so far it has not worked,” said Inas Shnewer, 20, college student from New Jersey who arrived in Washington, DC on the morning of the rally.

MAS Freedom Foundation and ANSWER Coalition organized the demonstration to oppose the attacks on the Palestinians in Gaza.

Many other Arab, Muslim, and human rights organizations and individuals sponsored and attended the rally.

The speakers gave their presentation in Lafayette Park in the midst of the former President George Bush, and current President Barack Obama.

Series of demonstrations, rallies, and protests took place in major cities and countries all over the world. The International Day of Emergency Action brought supporters of the population [Palestinians] under siege.

“If George Bush Doe not act, and Obama does not act, we will act,” said Mara VerheydenHilliard during the protest. Hilliard is attorney and co-founder of the Partnership for Civil Rights.

Demonstrators showed their solidarity in London, Edinburgh, Cairo, Athens, Kuala Lumpur, Beirut, Seoul, Mexico City, Jakarta, Montreal, Paris, Barcelona, Marseilles, Lyon, Oslo Berlin, Bern, Karachi, Nablus,

The march led to Pennsylvania Avenue to Independence Avenue and passed by the Washington Post office, where protesters condemned the paper for its one-sided coverage of the violence and its apathy to

Many protesters called on then President-Elect Obama to speak up against the Israeli massacres of Gaza’s civilians; he did not do so. Photo by Farkhuda Ali denounce America’s involvement in this massacre.

“Israel pulls the trigger, but George Bush sends the bombs and the missiles,” said Brian Becker, national coordinator of ANSWER.

Becker said when “Palestine says it refuse do to die, let the world see Palestine will live forever.”

>> THOUSAND Pg 12

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The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

Somali Youth Convene in DC in Search of Identity

By Zaynab Aden Muslim Link Contributing Writer For Somali teenagers, struggles with cultural identity, assimilation and peer pressure have worried their parents since a Civil War caused a mass exodus of Somalis to seek refuge in the United States during the 1990’s. A network of parents in the Northern Virginia area has coalesced around a series of programs to address these concerns, as well as create a space for Somali youth to share their stories.

The first annual all day youth conference for young men on Saturday, January 10, 2009 was hosted at the Best Western Hotel in Falls Church, VA and attended by 80 young men from high school to college age. The conference was co-sponsored by a number of Somali organizations, Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center, and the Muslim American Society (DC).

Abdia Mohamed, who many organizers have described as “the brain” behind the conference, has been a resident of Virginia since 1981. She has watched the community grow and knows a thing or two about raising children in America, as she has six of her own. She noted that this problem is not unique to Somalis, as many immigrant groups have struggled with the balancing act of integrating into their new home while maintaining a sense of identity and culture.

“Our hope is to show the youth that it is possible to build a sustainable sense of self, and model citizenship without compromising their identity,” Mohamed says, “we have to show the youth that their Islam, and SomaliAmerican identity are compatible.”

Dr. Altaf Husain, one of the panelists, echoes Mrs. Mohamed’s sentiment, “Muslim adolescents face tremendous challenges and opportunities growing up in America.

Conferences such as this one organized for Somali teenagers in the Metropolitan Washington area provide a forum for the youth to interact with another and to learn about the best practices with regards to thriving as Muslims and as Somalis in America.”

The event featured a panel of long time community activists and motivational speakers such as local leaders Dr. Altaf Husain, who serves as an executive committee member

of the Muslim Alliance in North America and Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, the Outreach Director of Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center, as well as Abukar Arman of CAIR Ohio, and Mohamed Dini, the Executive Director of Somali Counseling and Consulting Services in Columbus, Ohio. The event was moderated

by Abdulkareem Jama, President of Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center. The topics ranged from “Maturing to a Faithful and Victorious Mindset” to “Leadership: the Prophetic Method” led by Mohamed Dini and Abukar Arman, respectively.

The most discussed topic was maintaining a sense of Islamic identity, while participating fully in society. Mohamed Dini, a popular speaker at many youth functions, addressed this topic, “the most prominent element is the need to attain a spiritual identity while recognizing the fact that our outset identity as Muslims doesn’t make us anyone’s enemy.

In line with the Quran, everything or everyone ( wild beasts, birds, humans, trees) is part of an ummah, so that should negate the mindset of isolation where one only looks after himself/herself or cuts self from the Jama’ah.” The idea of community and support was another common theme. Upon finishing his talk, Dini sat among the youth to listen to the rest of the speakers himself, “I must say that this was very organized

This young Somali-American boy is confronted with often opposing cultural pressures from American society and his Islamic and Somali traditions. The search for identity was a major theme at the Somali Youth Conference held this month in Northern Virginia.

Photo courtesy of conference organizers. examples of young leaders in Islam’s history that they could embrace as role models.

In his closing remarks, Arman summed up his points with a relevant analogy, “To prevent any chance of loosing his/her sense of direction, a coal miner would wear a lifeline—a rope anchored at the entrance of the mine that he or she wraps around his or her waste in order to feel their way back when its time to come out. The deen is to our youth

Somali youth have been able to adapt to the American environment faster than any community I have ever seen. The challenge is will they use the power of their adaptation to live to the standard of their historical legacy, or whether they will succumb as survivors of a refugee legacy?”

and a diverse pool of talent was showcased.

No matter what, there will always be better days, the light will never die off and the Mu’min must care deeply for the human family and those who are close to him/her even deeper.”

Arman’s talk on leadership and the example of the Prophet (SAW) was very fitting for the room full of young men. He discussed the special characteristics of good leaders highlighting sincerity, vision, self-policing and altruism. The participants were given

what the lifeline is to the miner. It is the only way to save their lives and to pull themselves out of the depths of darkness.”

Looking around the room, you could see the significance of this analogy wash over the youth.

Imam Johari led an incredibly interactive workshop, encouraging the boys to speak up as they listed the daily pressures they face, and ways to cope. Participants were apprehensive at first, but soon they were joking with each other and eager to chime in.

As the day moved swiftly along, participants only stopping for prayers and lunch, Imam Johari reflected on the deeper significance of the event, “Their greatest asset is their greatest challenge. As people who have a culture as nomads, the nomad has to be able to adapt to their environment. Somali youth have been able to adapt to the American environment faster than any community I have ever seen. The challenge is will they use the power of their adaptation to live to the standard of their historical legacy, or whether they will succumb as survivors of a refugee legacy?”

The conference ended at 6pm and as participants were picked up by their parents, the organizers were already assessing their impact and beginning to make plans for the next conference. For one of the participants, Abukar Arman, there was a sense of achievement.

“My hope was to find youth of all ages willing to listen and to take part of the messages conveyed to them during the course of the conference and apply on themselves.

And, judging from the feedback I received from some of the youth and their parents, I think we, in our own limited capacity, have succeeded in sowing a positive seed.”

The joining together as one to work towards a better community is an idea whose time is now. For anyone interested in joining the network, e-mail sadiaaden@gmail.com.

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

American Muslimahs Connect Online

By Farkhunda Ali Muslim Link Staff Writer The dynamic American Muslim woman is continuously searching for circles and groups to join to get assistance and advice in her daily life. Wanting an Islamic outlet to share experiences, seek advice, give opinions, and discuss common challenges of the American way of life, creative Muslim women have established organizations, email list groups, sisters’ Halaqah groups, playgroups, and internet blogs.

gain useful information. The website taught me how to deal with different stages of my child’s growth,” said Faiza Ali of Chantilly, Virginia, recently visited the website for Islamic guidance on parenting. Ali is a stay home mother who joined the mom’s group to learn tips on nursing.

Ezzedine said often times Muslim women in the west encounter challenges and face isolation with little support. “The community’s expectation is that the mothering role is instinctual and effortless,” she added.

They just need someone from their faith to share experiences.

Many viewers believe the website is an informative source. Some shared ways of improving the effectiveness of its purpose.

Whether is it information on instilling healthy eating habits in children, exercising for a boost of energy, Islamic perspectives on dealing with daily life issues, or tips on natural living, Muslim women are eager for interaction.

While it has some aspiring stories, Sumayyah Muhammad of Washington, DC, mother of five children said the website should include more resources from the Quran and Sunnah.

Enter five American Muslim women from Maryland, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Together, they created growmama.com – an online community of Western Muslim mothers and women.

The idea for GrowMama came in 2007.

Through the help of The Muslim American Society (MAS) Maryland Chapter, the idea was transformed into a non-profit website and online blog in January 2009.

This forum is currently assembled by a team of fifteen regular bloggers. The team invites women to participate in the forum and regularly visit to exchange information.

According to Maha Ezzedine, one of the initiators of GrowMama, “we hope GrowMamaGrow becomes a safe zone where women are passionate about self-growth but refreshingly honest about the frustrations they encounter on a daily basis.”

“It creates an avenue for new mothers to

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Muhammad said the online discussion will become more successful when the website cites resources to strengthen the origin of facts and opinions. She believes all information should be supported by professionals in a particular field as well as discussing how it relates to the Quran and the Islamic way of life.

In addition to personal stories, the website includes links to published articles to help women get a better understanding on raising a “Halal” family.

The bloggers uploaded articles on best “brain foods for children,” “walking as exercise,” breastfeeding tips, “establishing healthy eating habits for children,” and discussion on common every day obstacles of the Western Muslim woman.

“We are expected to work wonders for our families, but often have no help or resources.

When some women feel alone at times, www.growmama.com is a place where the experience of the American Muslim mother can be validated and empowered,” said

Ezzedine.

The multi-tasked American Muslim women are responsible for their own soul, their husband’s and children’s well-being, parents, extended family and community members.

While predominantly relying on the Quran, and the Sunnah, they need an additional outlet to be able to express their concerns and learn from other Muslims, said recent viewers of the site.

The ongoing activities and chores of the Muslim women do not stop when the children are sent to school after making the Morning Prayer and preparing breakfast. They still have to get ready and go to work or sometimes home school their children. While they are at home or when they return home with the children, many Muslim women said they help their children with their homework while preparing dinner and listening to the news online or on their cable televisions.

Viewers said they need an area to vent, socialize, talk, and learn.

The editors of this online forum and website are looking for feedback and involvement.

Anyone interested in writing, providing support, empowerment, and validation for the role of the Muslim mother is encouraged to participate.

MUSLIMAHS >> continued from pg 7 to the SISTERS’ tables, all of which were then donated to Dar al-Hijrah’s food bank.

The food bank has seen an approximate 50% increase in applicants of over the past year and the workshop made it clear that using coupons is an affordable and easy way to help stock local food shelves.

SISTERS has also set up a blog at http:// blessingsinbargains.blogspot.com to inform shoppers as to where the hot deals are in metro area. Anyone interested in receiving email alerts can sign up on the blog.

The enthusiasm of the sisters continued after the seminar when they decided to form a coupon club to swap coupons and advice.

“Savings will be my motivation,” promises Sister Khudija Ilyas a workshop participant.

“I feel like I’m paying too much these days for the same products, so I’ll give it a try.”

She says her first step will be to buy the Sunday paper. The newly formed coupon club will meet once a month at Dar al Hijrah and focus on saving money, and also serve as a continuing donation source for the food bank, insha’Allah.

If your community is interested in hosting the Blessings in Bargains Workshop or you would like to join SISTERS and the coupon club, please contact SISTERS at sistersinformation@gmail.com.

This new online venue will be advertised through different Masajid in the U.S., Canada, and other Western nations.

“We used the email listserves of some DC Metropolitan Islamic centers to get the word out,” said Fatima Abdallah, one of content editors and creator of the website.

This online forum is open to women of all ages, nationalities, and demographics. All are welcome although the discussion is related to issues of American Muslim women. When viewers log on, the only rule to be followed is “respect for all people.”

To Advertise in the Muslim Link Call

301-982-1020

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The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

Foundation Completes Annual Youth Essay Contest, Publishes First Collection

By Amina Haleem Muslim Link Contributing Writer On Sunday January 4, 2009, the seventh annual Essay/Panel Contest was held at Shady Grove Middle School in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

The annual writing and public speaking contest was organized by the Mafiq Foundation and sponsored by the Islamic Center of Maryland.

The goal of the EPC is to encourage and enable the youth to develop effective communication skills, both oral and written. It is also an important motivation to build a platform of capability for the youth and promote cooperation and collaboration among local Islamic centers and schools to achieve a common goal of empowerment.

The EPC was an all day event that started with registration around 9:30am and ended with the

THOUSANDS >> continued from pg 9

Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney also spoke to open the eyes of the Westerners to put an end to this plight in the Middle East.

Recently, McKinney went to the Middle East on a humanitarian relief mission to provide supplies to the people of Gaza. She had the first hand experience of the Israeli planned attacks against any aide brought to the Palestinians. While she was on her boat with supplies to deliver to Gaza, she was struck by an Israeli military ship.

Close to a thousand have died since the beginning of the killings and several thousands have been injured.

When the six-month ceasefire between Hamas and Israel ended, the world was looking forward to a cordial relationship in the Middle East. The Israeli bombing campaign took its course during the last week of December as soon as the agreement expired.

Neturei Karta, an Orthodox Jewish International organization against Zionism, handed their statement to the civil rights director of MAS Freedom. This group claims to be on the path of the original teachings of Judaism. Members of Neturei Karta said, “Zionism” is a trap for some Jews. This non-profit organization’s website www.nkusa. org warns the Zionists that Israel cannot be formed by setting up a capitalist national state on a basis of Judaism.

Other secular Jews have stood up against the recent carnage in Gaza.

awards ceremony at 6:15pm. The Contest is geared towards students in elementary and middle school and gives those contestants a chance to research a specific theme. The theme this year was Science in the Quran and the Signs of Allah. 64 children participated in this year’s contest in levels 1-5. 15 judges were available and at least 3 judges were assigned to each level. There are three categories in which to compete: essay, poster, and multi-media.

Mustabin Houssain, a fifteen year old contestant, entered in both the essay and poster contest and won honorable mention.

She was encouraged by her father to enter, and has participated for several years. “It’s unique in its own way. It’s nice to say [I’ve participated for] ‘a while’ instead of ‘my first time’. You get to welcome people and you are appreciated,” Houssain said of the EPC and her participation in the contest. When asked to describe the judging process, she replied, “The judges were pretty patient, and they were being

“I’m a Palestinian and I stand in front of the White House to saw Israel is guilty of a war crime,” said Paul Zulkowitz, an American Jew and member of the Jews Against the Occupation.

World Socialist Website states the United Nations “stopped vital supplies of food for the population of Gaza after its workers were deliberately targeted by the Israeli Army” on Jan. 8th.

“The Palestinians have been suffering for more than sixty years. The Arab nations have not said anything about it. The world has become entertainees of this violence. Because they are not trying to solve this problem, it is a very sad time in history,” said Umm Imran of Northern Virginia who attended the protest with her four children.

According to World Socialist Website, Egypt made sure its border with Gaza remained closed when the carnage began. This blockade prevents the only possible escape route for the surrounding Palestinians.

Umm Imran, an educator in Fairfax County, said the Palestinian-Israeli resolution is very clear. She said the Palestinian land is sacred to all people of Christian, Islamic and Judaic faiths.

“I don’t believe in bombs and grenades. We have to go into history and find a workable solution. Equal rights to resources should be given to all. Palestinians and Israelis need to learn how to get along and respect each other,” added Umm Imran.

Protesters held large banners with horrific images of the manslaughter of innocent victims including women and children. The Palestinian children and other Americans waived their flags in the air with the slogan,

really nice. They thought of things to help us improve.” The projects and poster boards were displayed in the hall while the group of about 50 guests prayed Salat-ul-Maghrib and then ate dinner as the multi-media power points were played. Areeb Quasem, 18, presented the prizes at the awards ceremony. “I wanted to help out the organization that helped me with communication and writing skills,” he said. Quasem participated in the EPC since middle school, but hadn’t been involved in the past 3 years.

The EPC book “Young Muslim Voices” is a collection of all winning essays from 20032005 and was launched in 2008. The cost was about $7,000 for publication and another several hundred dollars for the design and graphics. The second book which will include essays from 2006-2008 is ready for publication but the EPC is still in need of funds. For the coming years, the EPC is contemplating hiring an administrator to handle the event and take

“Let Gaza Live.”

“Israeli government many years ago drove the Palestinians out of the small Gaza strip. Occupation of Gaza is worse than the apartheid,” said Ralph Nader.

“We believe in justice. Just doesn’t come by hoping for it. In the Abrahamic faiths, you can’t have justice until people are regarded humanely,” Rev. Graylan Hagler, President of Ministers for Racial, Social and Economic Justice. “A child’s tear in Gaza is like my child’s tear.”

The more shocking question for the demonstrators is why the European and Arab nations are playing a more disguised but equally deceitful role?

The powerful nations of the world have yet to condemn the Israeli aggression. Instead, they have supported the actions of the Israelis as a legitimate.

“The world leaders need to sit down together and learn how to share, but they don’t want to do that because there is a [tremendous] power in the hands of the Zionists. I go to these demonstrations to bring little bit of light to the darkness of the information warfare,” said Dorie Southern, a regular protester, and human rights activist in Northern Virginia.

This violence is a “propaganda” war, said Southern.

Southern wonders why independent, Arab, and Muslim journalists are barred from Gaza for media coverage. Israel is using the Washington Post, who is giving us good information but that is only “propaganda,” she said.

An article published in the Arab American

it to the next level. Mostafiz Chaudhury, an organizer of EPC and the president of Mafiq Foundation.

“A future goal is to develop a national platform where winners from locally arranged competitions participate in a grand national EPC contest. We think that the contest has been beneficial to the youth in this community and could benefit other youth across the nation,” said Brother Mostafiz.

The Mafiq Foundation is a non-profit organization that uses public donations to serve the needy with the missions of reducing poverty, economic inequity and injustice within the framework of Islam.

Various donations and sponsorship support for the EPC came from local businesses like Simply Halal, Pizza Roma, and Amana Publications. The EPC is an independent forum that alternates between locations in Maryland and Virginia.

Institute Washington Watch on Jan. 12th

by Dr. James Zogby states, “As in the past Mideast conflicts, both the media story line and the political commentary here in the US has closely followed Israel’s talking points on the war. This has been an essential component in Israel’s early success and in its ability to prolong fighting without US pushback.”

This article titled “How Israel’s Propaganda Machine Works” available on wws. ifamericansknew.org states Israel recognized the importance of the “propaganda” war, and therefore “Israel fights on this front as vigorously and disproportionately as it engages on the battlefield.”

Critics of the media coverage object to the limiting access to American journalists in the war zone. They say this assures Israel the prospect to form every angle of the story while eliminating the possibility of independent investigation of the repulsive acts in Gaza.

“There will never be peace in the Middle East until the Palestinians get the right to self-determination and Israel ends its colonial and military occupation,” said Bray of MAS Freedom. “As long Palestine is occupied, there could never be a peace treaty.”

According to Crystal Kim, DC Branch Organizer of ANSWER, demonstrations will be held until the situation in Gaza will come to an end.

Kim said non-violent protests are the Americans’ most effective tool asking US Aid to Israel.

“Every progressive change has taken place from people demonstrating in the streets. We want people to see there is power within the people,” added Kim.

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

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Putting A Face On The Death Toll: Israeli Terror Extends To Families In the Dc Area TERRORISM >> continued from pg 1

Hosam Hijjee and Amer Shurab lost members of their families—a total of eight individuals from these two families alone. This is the story of these families and their loss. It is a harrowing tale.

Because the Israelis did not allow the media into Gaza, and because communications were largely shut down during the month of terror, it is important that these stories be told so that the Palestinians in Gaza have a voice that is not crying in the wilderness.

On December 27, 2008, the first day of the Operation, Hosam Hijjee’s uncle, Norman Hijii, left the Al Quds hospital to buy medicine for Hosam’s father, Salman, from a nearby pharmacy. He was killed by shrapnel from Israeli rocket fire embedded in his neck. The next day, on December 28, Salman passed away while all of Gaza was under full attack.

Several days later, on January 5th, 2009, Etra Hijii -- the widow of Norman Hijjee-- lived to tell a great horror. Etra Hijjee lives in a farming area on the outskirts of the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza, near the old Israeli

or water. We were extremely scared and crying. For 10 hours we were left like that” said Etra Hijjee.

After the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) interrogated some of the men, they took everyone out to the street and ordered them to leave. “They told us to go to Rafah. ‘Don’t go to Gaza’ they shouted.” They kept Etra’s stepson Nagy and his two cousins tied up.

Etra continued with the horror tale: “The Israelis started to leave and then stopped and shot Nagy in the leg. He fell, and we ran away as they pointed their guns at us.” The IOF had already killed at least four members of the family, including her brother-in-law Abu Ameen and his baby girl. The neighbors of the Hijjee family, the Arafat and the Samouni families, shared the same fate, they lost loved ones and were driven out of their homes. Now on foot, they began walking south where they had relatives. As they were walking, the IOF began firing at them. Seven of them were hit.

“We panicked, but took the ones we could with us and headed south towards Deir El Belah,” around 15 km away from Zeitoun.

Some were killed immediately and others were left behind to bleed to death. It took them all day to reach their destination, when they are finally taken in by relatives. When asked how she is feeling, Etra replied, crying and distraught “How can one feel anything?

They didn’t shoot at the engine, they didn’t shoot at the tires, they shot directly at the passengers and the shots were going through the windshield. The soldiers started to shout at them to get out of the car and said in broken Arabic “get out you SOB’s”” Settlement of Netzarim. She is in her 2nd trimester of pregnancy and has five children under the age of nine. Her voice is full of terror and breaks up as she recounts her story.

This is an improvement from the previous day’s conversation, when she was incoherent with shock and grief, says Shelly Marie, her sister in-law.

For three days, Etra Hijjee and the families of her brother-in-law’s Abu Nazeer, Abu Helmi, Abu Ameen, and Abu Nagy were trapped inside the house of Abu Nazeer. “At 2:00am (January 5), the Israelis took us from our beds. They tied us up, everyone, and blindfolded us. We were put into a bedroom and left there for 10 hours. There were about 40 of us: men, women, and children…no food

We walked like the dead, without feeling.”

I spoke with Hosam Hijjee and asked him about his family’s home. He told me that it was used by the IOF as a base, and is in utter shambles. He sent me pictures of what is left of his neighborhood. Of the few homes that remain standing, the furniture has been burned and the walls riddled with bullets.

The orange orchards and olive groves are completely wiped out. The animal pens flattened. In one photograph, I see the rubble where the neighborhood mosque once stood.

In Gaza City the scene is similar, if not worse.

The experience of the Hijjee family is not an anomaly. Random shooting at walking objects characterizes the methods employed

Virginia resident Hosam Hijjee sent this picture of his destroyed Gaza home to the Muslim Link. His father and uncle were killed during the Israeli attacks. Local Muslims heard from their families in Gaza that Israeli soldiers deliberately and often shot at civilians – including families with children. during Operation Cast Lead.

Another such case that hits home right here in D.C. occurred on January 16, 2009. Amer Shurab, who graduated from Middlebury College and lives in D.C lost his two brothers during the so called “lull” that is meant to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. Amer’s father, Mohammad Shurrab, and his two brothers, Kassab and Ibrahim, aged 28 and 17, were driving from their family farm in AlFukhara to their home in Khan Yunis during the hours of temporary ceasefire on Friday.

“They were driving on one of the main roads and they saw a tank, so my dad raised his hand in the air to indicate that he was a civilian, and they didn’t stop him and they allowed him to drive through. Then all of a sudden the soldiers opened fire with no warning. They didn’t shoot at the engine, they didn’t shoot at the tires, they shot directly at the passengers and the shots were going through the windshield. The soldiers started to shout at them to get out of the car and said in broken Arabic “get out you SOB’s”” Amer said. His brother Kassab was hit a total of 18 times including a bullet to his chest. He jumped out of the car, ran a few meters, and collapsed onto his face. “Ibrahim opened the door, he was sitting in the back seat. He was unharmed and got shot in the leg only after he got out of the car,” Amer continued. Their father was shot in his left arm and finally managed to get out of the car. They were ordered to lie down and not to move. Amer said that if “they attempted any movement the soldiers would start shooting around to

scare them.” They were all bleeding, but could not check on Kassab, who was several meters away, until four to five hours later. By then, Kassab had passed away. Mohammad used his cellphone to call the hospital over twenty times, but was told they needed permission from the Israeli army to send an ambulance. He called his brother who managed to get an ambulance dispatched, but it was turned back by Israeli tanks. Desperate for medical assistance, Mohammad contacted the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, and finally the media, including Aljazeera and BBC, who aired his personal appeal for help.

Amer found out about his family’s situation after “Aljazeera channel called my dad and told him “you are on air, tell your story”, so my brother in Saudi Arabia heard my dad’s plea and called me and told me that my dad and two brothers came under attack.” After 22 hours, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel were able to negotiate their transport to the hospital. By that time, it was too late for Ibrahim, who had bled to death “from a minor injury to his leg for eleven hours.”

Those two stories provide a small glimpse into the suffering of thousands of Palestinians, who each have an individual tale to tell, but all share the same loss and trajedy. They are doing what they can to tell their stories and the horror their families had to endure.

Amer finished by saying “Americans only hear the Israeli propaganda. They don’t get to hear our stories, they don’t get to see us as human beings, they don’t get to see us as families. The world must know.”

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The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

National News News from Muslim Communities from accross North America

Online Al-Maghrib Fundraiser Brings In Over $155K for Gaza

By Susan Smith Muslim Link Contributing Writer AlMaghrib Institute and Islamic Relief partnered to raise urgently needed money to support the people of Gaza with an online fundraiser on January 13, 2009.

AlMaghrib Institute, one of the world’s largest English based Islamic education projects with 12,000 students, rallied listeners from as far and wide as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Singapore to dig deep into their pockets. In less than three hours, online listeners raised $155,000 for Islamic Relief Worldwide, which has offices across the globe and operates many projects in Palestine.

While AlMaghrib regularly conducts on-line “Ilminars” (Islamic knowledge seminars), this was the first time the organization devoted cyberspace for the purpose of global fundraising.

“I was astonished by the impact of the Ilminar and on-line fundraising,” said Dr. Hany Al Banna, the founder of Islamic Relief. “Its speed and the power of communication between people in different parts of the world make it the new trend for this generation. Online technology is the new X factor, not only for fundraising but also awareness. “ Shaykh Muhammad AlShareef, the Intitute’s founder, kicked off the Ilminar by donating $10,000 and calling upon listeners to respond to the massacre with Hikmah (wisdom) and righteous action. “We can help the people of Gaza by developing our hearts, minds and souls to worship Allaah more thoroughly,” he said,

by employing powerful tools of self-change including making Taubah (repentance) and seeking Istighfaar (forgiveness). “Brothers and Sisters,” Alshareef implored, “Don’t belittle Dua’a (supplication). Sincere and consistent Dua’a is the foundation of the development of your soul.” He urged listeners to give of their wealth, reminding that the only wealth that truly belongs to us is that which we give in Sadaqah (charity); and Allaah subhanahu wa ta’ala increases it up to 700 times. He then pitted listeners (primarily college-age AlMaghrib students from the US, Canada and the UK) against each other through rival collections efforts.

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi, AlMaghrib’s Dean of Academic Affairs, continued the fundraiser by reinforcing the need to look within to solve the catastrophes besieging the Muslim community.

“I have been thinking so much about this problem,” he said, “but don’t know the final answer except that we know that our purpose in life is to please Allaah subhanahu wa ta’ala.”

Stating that the solution may not necessarily be a political victory, he reminded that each and every Muslim is faced with a different test and that our responses determine whether or not we gain His pleasure. “We are witnessing a great, grave Fitnah (strife) that makes our blood boil and go mad with grief,” he said, “and it is so difficult to act rationally.” Again, the solution of responding with Hikmah as opposed to emotion was raised. “The best thing I can do is better my life as a Muslim and to make sure I am a good Muslim.” He reiterated the power of righteous action and Dua’a. “…My servant continues to come nearer to Me through voluntary deeds until I love him, and when I love him, I become

his ears with which he hears; I become his sight with which he sees; I become his hands with which he strikes; I become his legs with which he strides. If he asks Me, I shall surely grant his request.”

Hadeeth Qudsi (Bukhari) Qadhi continued that Muslims in the West must take every opportunity to educate those around them about what is happening in Gaza, while guiding them to Islam. He urged listeners to give to Islamic Relief. His sentiments were echoed by another AlMaghrib instructor, Shaykh Yaser Birjas, who raised the bar of generosity with the message: “Now is not the time to give your excess wealth, but to give half your wealth.”

AlMaghrib’s Vice-President, Waleed Basyouni, contributed $5,000, reminding that people of all religions refuse to accept Israel’s barbaric killing of the innocent civilians of Gaza.

He hoped that the tragedy would galvanize Palestinians and all Muslim to unite in peace and harmony. “This tragedy is just the beginning, but the real ending is in the Akhira (afterlife) – the eternal Akhira. The winners, in the end, are those who are sincere in their worship of Allaah subhanhu wa ta’ala and stretch their hands out to their Brothers and Sisters.”

Dr. El Banna spoke at length about the brutal and inhumane suffering of the people of Gaza under the perpetual Israeli onslaught, and asked listeners to put themselves in the shoes of the Palestinians. “How does it feel to have bombs dropping on my head, to have body parts flying, to witness blood and agony, to lose my family, my house, my future, my dreams…to sleep in a crowded room with no food, without

proper water, no blankets, no shelter, no place to play?...I have been to many places all over the world, but have never seen what I’ve seen the last few days in Gaza,” he said. Islamic Relief, which has raised $3 million for Gaza in the last three weeks, operates with the help of the World Health Organization to provided food, medicine, blankets and infant formula.

Following the Ilminar, Dr. Al Bannah expressed his gratitude to AlMaghrib for the $155,000.

“We are very encouraged by the response of the students, who translated their feelings of agony and despair into positive action to serve humanity.” Playing off the “Yes We Can” slogan coined by President-elect Barak Obama, he said: “Our message to young people is ‘Yes We Will’…by thinking rationally and organizing yourselves to build institutions to end the suffering of your fellow citizens in different parts of the world – whether it be in Gaza, Chechnya, Latin America or elsewhere in the world.”

Shaykh Yasir Qadhi was pleasantly surprised at the amount raised, and said, “Most of our students are themselves struggling with paying their bills and college tuition, yet this amount shows where their hearts really are. I thank Allah that AlMaghrib continues to raise the bar and exceed the expectations of all.’”

To donate to Islamic Relief’s Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza Fund, go to www.islamic-relief. com. For more information on AlMaghrib Institute, visit www.almaghrib.org. To listen to a replay of the fundraiser, go to: www. ilminar.com.

The writer is a volunteer with Al-Maghrib Institute.

www.IslamicBookstore.com 2048 Lord Baltimore Dr, Baltimore, MD 21244-2501 USA | Tel: 410-265-0020 ext.15 | Fax: 410-265-1233

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

15

ISLAM

Islam

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

How We as Muslims Celebrate Christ (peace be upon him)

By Zayn al-Dîn al-Rikâbî| We as Muslims share with the Jewish and Christian communities many points of commonality. These include: belief in God, belief that He revealed scriptures to humanity and sent a succession of prophets. The Qur’an, we notice, addresses the Jews and

Muslims and Christians – and that is our reverence for Jesus and our recognition that he is the Messiah, the Christ. The Christian world has just recently finished celebrating the occasion of Christ’s birth. We as Muslims do not observe Christmas, but we nevertheless celebrate Christ in our lives in a complete way, with constancy and steadfast devotion. Our celebration of Christ is one of

If Christians understand our true beliefs about Jesus Christ (peace be upon him), it would lead them to respect the prophet of Islam, even if they do not go so far as to believe that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is indeed a prophet.

Christians from the vantage point of these points of agreement.

We are concerned in this article with a particular point of commonality between

faith, remembrance, and emulation.

Muslims honor Christ (peace be upon him) through their faith. What follows is stated in the Qur’an:

Is there any other faith group on Earth, outside of Christendom, who honor and celebrate the Gospel as an essential aspect of their faith besides the Muslims?

1. Faith in the miraculous conception of Christ. Jesus (peace be upon him) was born of a virgin. The Qur’an says [Surah Maryam: 16]: Relate in the Book (the story of) Mary, when she withdrew from her family to a place in the East. She placed a screen (to screen herself) from them; then We sent her our angel, and he appeared before her as a man in all respects. She said: “I seek refuge from you to (Allah) Most Gracious: (come not near) if you fear Allah.

is easy for Me. And (it will be) that We may make of him a revelation for humanity and a mercy from Us, and it is a thing ordained.”

2. Faith in the miracle of Christ’s birth and the miracles of his infancy. Allah says [Surah Maryam: 29]: At length she brought the (babe) to her people, carrying him (in her arms). They said: “O Mary! Truly you have brought an amazing thing! O sister of Aaron! Your father was not a man of evil, nor your mother an unchaste woman!”

He said: “Nay, I am only a messenger from your Lord, (to announce) to you the gift of a pure son.”

But she pointed to the babe. They said: “How can we talk to one who is a child in

He said: “So (it will be). Your Lord says: It

>> CELEBRATE Pg 16

Paying Zakah Early to Help People during a Crisis

By Sheikh `Abd Allah b. Wakîl al-Shaykh|

will explore both of these opinions along with the evidence that supports them.

by the Hanafî, Shâfi`î and Hanbalî schools of thought.

Zakâh on monetary savings is only due after it has remained in our possession fro a full year. However, the majority of scholars are of the opinion that we can pay the Zakâh on our savings before it becomes due. For instance, to benefit from the blessings of the month of Ramadan, it is common for people to pay Zakâh on all of their savings during that month, even on wealth that they have recently earned.

Opinion 1: Permissibility of Paying Zakâh Early

The following evidence is presented to support this claim:

When there is a crisis or disaster, and people are in desperate need of assistance, this is a time for Muslims to consider paying their Zakâh early, in order to provide that assistance when it is most acutely needed.

Scholars have differed as to the permissibility of paying Zakâh bepfre it becomes due.

Most scholars have permitted it. Others have regarded it as disallowed. In this article, we

From what preceded, it seems that the stronger point of view – with respect to the textual evidence as well as with respect to theoretical and legal considerations – is that it is permissible to pay one’s Zakâh before it becomes due.

by hadîth scholars, including al-Albânî.

This hadîth has been cited as evidence by the majority of scholars who permit paying Zakâh early.

In some narrations it even reads “Indeed, we have taken from al-`Abbâs last year the Zakâh of this year.” [Sunan al-Dâraqutnî (2/124)] However, al-Bayhaqî says about this narration: “There is a gap in transmission between Abû al-Bakhtarî and `Alî , but this meaning has been narrated by Abû Hurayrah in a hadîth that is established.”

This is the view of the majority. It was held by many of the earliest jurists, including `Atâ’, Sa`îd b. Jubayr, Ibrâhîm al-Nakha’î, al-Dahhâk, al-Hakam b. `Utaybah, Ibn Abî Laylâ, al-Hasan al-Basrî, al-Hasan b. Sâlih b. Hayy, al-Zuhrî, and al-Awzâ`î.

1. Alî relates that al-`Abbâs asked Allah’s Messenger whether the charity can be paid early, before it becomes due. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) gave him permission to do so. [Sunan al-Tirmidhî (614), Sunan Abî Dâwûd (1383) and Sunan al-Nasâ’î (1785)]

2. Abû Hurayrah relates that he Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “As for al-`Abbâs, it (his Zakâh) is upon me and the likes of it with it.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (1468) and Sahîh Muslim (983)]

The ruling of permissibility has been adopted

This is a good (hasan) hadîth, declared as such

>> ZAKAH Pg 16

16 ZAKAH >> continued from pg 15

This is the authentic narration that confirms what is mentioned above that al-`Abbâs paid double Zakâh (the likes of it with it), paying two years together.

3. Al-Nâfi`î relates that Ibn `Umar and others used to pay Zakâh al-Fitr two or three days before `Îd, though this Zakâh becomes due on `Îd morning. [Sahîh al-Bukhârî (1415)] Al-Shâfi`î argues that this establishes the permissibility of paying Zakâh before it becomes due.

This ruling is in conformity with a general axiom of Islamic Law, as explained by al-

CELEBRATE >> continued from pg 15 the cradle?”

He said: “I am indeed a servant of Allah: He has given me revelation and made me a prophet; and He has made me blessed wheresoever I be, and has enjoined on me prayer and charity as long as I live. He has made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable; So peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall raised back to life.”

3. Faith in the miracles that took place at Christ’s hands. Jesus Christ performed numerous miracles during the time of his preaching.

For instance, the Qur’an tells us [Surah Al `Imran: 49]: And (Allah) will make him a messenger to the Children of Israel, (with this message): “I have come to you, with a sign from your Lord, in that I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by Allah’s leave: And I heal those born blind, and the lepers, and I quicken the dead, by Allah’s leave; and I declare to you what ye eat, and what ye store in your houses. Surely therein is a sign for you if you did believe.”

Faith in Christ’s ascension. Muslims believe that Allah saved Jesus (peace be upon him) from the schemes of his enemies, by having Jesus ascend unto Him. We read in the Qur’an: “” [Surah al-Nisa’: 157] 5. Faith in the Gospel of Jesus. Muslims believe in the scripture that Allah revealed unto Jesus.

The following verses of the Qur’an attest to this: A. “It is He who sent down to you (O Muhammad), in truth, the scripture, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Torah and the Gospel before this, as a guide to humanity.” [Sûrah Al `Imran: 3]

ISLAM Sarakhsî and Ibn Rajab. The principle in operation here is that for acts of worship that have a prescribed time for them, a distinction is to be made between timeframes that are the cause of the act of worship becoming obligatory and those that are conditions for the act of worship being obligatory.

The times for prayer – like the arrival of dawn for the Fajr prayer – are the causes for those prayers becoming obligatory. Therefore, if someone offers the Fajr prayer before dawn, the prayer is invalid.

By contrast, the condition that savings must be in possession before Zakâh is due upn them is a condition for obligation. It is not the cause of Zakâh being obligatory. The cause of the obligation is having in one’s possession of sufficient wealth.

B. “And We caused Jesus, the son of Mary, to follow in their footsteps, confirming that which was (revealed) before him in the Torah, and We bestowed on him the Gospel wherein is guidance and a light, confirming that which was (revealed) before it in the Torah – a guidance and an admonition unto those who ward off (evil). “ [Sûrah al-Ma’idah: 46] C. “Then will Allah say: ‘O Jesus, the son of Mary! Recount My favor to you and to thy mother. Behold! I strengthened you with the holy spirit, so that thou didst speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. Behold!

I taught you the Book and wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel.” [Sûrah al-Ma’idah: 110] D. Allah describes the followers of Muhammad in terms of the Gospel, saying: “Their similitude in the Gospel is like a seed which sends forth its blade, then makes it strong; it then becomes thick, and it stands on its own stem, (filling) the sowers with wonder and delight.” [Sûrah al-Fath (48): 29] Our belief in the Gospel of Jesus is a tenet of faith for Muslims, in and of itself, that is part of the Muslim belief in the scriptures – which is one of the essential six pillars of the Islamic faith. Allah says in the Qur’an: “The messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers; they all believe in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers, saying: We make no difference between any of His messengers.” [Surah al-Baqarah: 285] This means that a Muslim’s belief in the Qur’an is not valid unless that Muslim also believes in the Gospel that was revealed to Jesus (peace be upon him). Why is this the case? This is because the Qur’an came confirming the Gospel as well as the Torah.

Allah says: “It is He who sent down to you (O Muhammad), in truth, the scripture, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Torah and the Gospel before this, as a guide to humanity.” [Sûrah Al `Imran: 3]

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

Also, Zakâh and its various legal rulings have been prescribed by Allah for the benefit of the poor, and in consideration of those who possess wealth as well. Permitting the payment of Zakâh before it becomes due provides added benefit for the poor while not bringing any injury to the interests of the rich who wish to pay early. In fact, the option to pay early can make things easier for wealthy people to more easily manage and account for their wealth.

Opinion 2: Prohibition of Paying Zakâh Early This opinion was narrated from al-Hasan and Rabî`ah. It is the ruling that has been adopted by the Mâlikî school of thought. It is also the opinion of such prominent jurists as Dâwûd al-Zâhirî and Ibn al-Mundhir.

Another reason why our faith in the book revealed to Jesus (peace be upon him) is essential is because we as Muslims are required to believe in all of the scriptures that Allah has revealed. Allah commands us: “Declare: I believe in what Allah has revealed of scriptures.” [Surah Shura: 15] We ask: Is there any other faith group on Earth, outside of Christendom, who honor and celebrate the Gospel as an essential aspect of their faith besides the Muslims?

This celebration of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) – including his conception, his birth, his miracles, his scripture, and his message – is not merely an idea; it is a lived reality for the Muslims, infused every day in the most essential practices of our faith and worship. When a Muslim recites the Qur’an – and especially the chapters entitled “Mary”, the “Family of Imran” and “The Table Spread” (which refers to the supper that Jesus – peace be upon him – had with the disciples) – this entails reciting the teachings about Christ as a form of worship. The verses honoring and praising Christ are also recited within our daily prayers. Belief in Christ is part of the essential Islamic beliefs that every Muslim is taught from earliest childhood.

All of this should encourage us, Muslims and Christians alike, to redouble our efforts at mutual understanding. It is not conducive to an atmosphere of understanding that many Christians around the world have the misconception that Muslims are hostile to Jesus (peace be upon him) or that we deny him – let alone their lack of awareness that we as Muslims revere Christ and love him from the depths of our hearts. Christian lack of awareness regarding our true beliefs is not only an error in knowledge, but an obstacle to the understanding between our two faiths that is needed to foster tolerance and dispel bigotry.

If Christians understand our true beliefs about Jesus Christ (peace be upon him), it would lead them to respect the prophet of Islam,

They argue that if someone pays Zakâh on monetary savings before a year passes, then it does not count as Zakâh and must be paid over again upon becoming due.

They present the following evidence to support this claim: 1. Ibn `Umar relates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “There is no Zakâh upon wealth before it remains in its owner’s possession for a year.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhî (572) and Sunan Ibn Mâjah (1292)] A similar narration is related by `Alî: “There is no Zakâh upon wealth before it a year passes.” [Sunan Abî Dâwûd (1573)] >> ZAKAH II Pg 19

even if they do not go so far as to believe that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is indeed a prophet. We are talking here about basic human respect as demanded by the dictates of reason and ethics, a respect that precludes the possibility of slander and abuse.

Think about it. If some major American or European corporations got together and mobilized massive financial and human resources for the purpose of “getting to know Christ”, depicting Jesus (peace be upon him) in the most beautiful possible manner as an absolutely free service to the public. What would Christians feel about such an effort and how would they describe it? They would certainly consider it to be a noble and positive endeavor.

This corporate effort described above is an imaginary scenario, but there is a reality that far surpasses it. We are talking about something that has taught people about Christ (peace be upon him) in the most noble and sublime of terms, taught people to believe in him, honor him, and love him. This reality is that Muhammad (peace be upon him), the prophet of Islam, came with a book that celebrates and honors Jesus Christ (peace be upon him), a book that all Muslims for the past 1,400 years and all of the world’s more than 1 billion Muslims living today accept to be the infallible word of God. This program of “getting to know Christ” was not a short-term effort. It has been constant in its success since the sixth century up to the present day.

What, then, should a discerning Christian feel about the prophet who taught literally billions of people all around the world to believe in, love, and honor Christ? At the very least, such a person would feel respect for that prophet who so loved Christ and taught his followers to do so as well, since it is natural to have respect for someone who reveres what you hold in high esteem.

Source: www.islamtoday.com/printmenice. cfm?cat_id=29&sub_cat_id=2066

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

Fataawa

FATAAWA

17

Questions about Islamic life and practice

Is Evil from Allah or from Ourselves?

Question: We read in the Qur’ân: “If a happy thing befalls them, they say: This is from Allah; and if an evil thing befalls them they say: This is because of you. Say: All is from Allah.” We read in the very next verse: “Whatever good happens to you, is from Allah; but whatever evil befalls you, is from youself.” How can it all be from Allah an at the same time the evil be from ourselves?

Answered by Sheikh Sa`ûd al-Funaysân, former professor at al-Imâm University Everything that happens, both the good and the evil of what happens, is from Allah in the sense that He is the Creator, originator, and determiner of all things. Nothing in creation can bring anything from non-existence into existence. Only Allah can create. He is the sole originator of everything. Allah says: “Allah is the Creator of all things, and He has charge over all affairs.” [Sûrah al-Zumar: 62] This is the meaning intended by the first verse you ask about, verse 78 0f Sûrah al-Nisâ: Wheresoever you may be, death will overtake you, even though you were in lofty towers.

Yet if a happy thing befalls them, they say: “This is from Allah”; and if an evil thing befalls them they say: “This is because of you (O Muhammad).” Say (unto them): “All is from Allah.” What is amiss with these people that they come not nigh to understand a happening?

The very next verse, which is verse 79 of Sûrah al-Nisâ’, tells us: Whatever good happens to you, is from Allah; but whatever evil befalls you, is from yourself.

This verse means that Allah is the one who makes good things easy for you and He makes you disposed to engage in what is good. As for evil things, even though Allah is the creator of those things as well, we as people fall into them by our own free choice.

We see in the choice of words of these two verses delicacy of speech. This passage of the Qur’ân teach us the etiquette we should observe when speaking about Allah. We do not attribute evil to Allah.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) expresses the same concept hen he says: “All goodness is in Your hand, and evil is not attributed to You.” [Sahîh Muslim (1290)] Abraham (peace be upon him) put this etiquette into practice when he said: “He

who created me and then guided me; He who nourishes me and quenches my thirst; and when I fall ill, He it is who restores my health.” [Sûrah al-Shu`arâ’: 80] We can see here how Abraham attributes his creation, guidance, nourishment, and recovery to Allah, but attributes falling ill to himself. This is simply a matter of etiquette, since Allah is the creator of all things.

In brief, Allah creates all things, including our actions. However, we have free will, and we choose for ourselves either what is good or what is evil. Therefore, we are held accountable for our choices. And Allah knows best.

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

I Did My Thikr, But My Purse Was Stolen!

Question: I recited all of my recommended morning remembrances – as is my daily habit – and did so sincerely and attentively, with full presence of mind. Then I went to the market to buy something, and my purse was stolen. On another occasion, a close friend of mine read her daily remembrances with sincerity and devotion, but nevertheless her purse was stolen while she was shopping later in the day. Is it not true that reciting our daily remembrances to Allah, if done with sincerity and concentration, protects us from harm throughout the day, as long as we have certain faith that Allah will protect us? So why did this happen?

Answered by Sheikh Sâmî al-Mâjid Our daily remembrances, in and of themselves, have no healing or protecting power. Those remembrances are neither physicians nor guardians. They are merely a reason for us to enjoy Allah’s protection and care. Allah is our protector and everything that happens takes place according to His decree. Allah indeed protects his devotees on account of their worship, devotion, supplications, penance and good deeds.

Our daily remembrances are just like our supplications. When we beseech Allah for something, and do so with sincerity, presence of mind, certainty of faith, and positive expectations, we know that Allah answers our prayers. However, Allah, in his wisdom may answer our supplications in different ways.

He may give us specifically what we ask for.

He may, instead, remove a harm from us that would otherwise have befallen us. He may

also postpone the answer to our supplication and give its benefit to us in the Hereafter, when we need it the most.

Rain clouds are merely a reason for precipitation and not a guarantee of rainfall whenever they pass overhead. If Allah wills, the clouds will bring rain. If He so wills they will pass over and drop their rain at some other time and place. In the same way, our supplications and remembrances are a reason for our attaining Allah’s protection and reward. It is Allah’s will when and how He will answer them.

It needs to be said that when a person beseeches Allah with a distracted mind or with a pessimistic attitude, the supplication might not be answered at all.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Allah does not accept the supplication of an inattentive and distracted heart.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhî] The same applies to our daily remembrances.

If we chant them ritualistically, without any presence of mind, we cannot expect to attain the full benefit of those remembrances. Our remembrances are essentially supplications.

They are a means by which we beseech Allah, invoke His name, and remember Him. Therefore, if we recite the words of our remembrances insincerely, or with heedlessness or negativity in our hearts, we might very well be deprives of the blessings of our recitation.

In short, our daily remembrances of Allah are merely a reason for our enjoying Allah’s blessings. They should not be regarded as incantations that have some intrinsic power to protect us or bring us benefit. Allah alone is our guardian and sustainer.

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

Is It Bad To Write Left-Handed?

Question: Is it permissible to write with the left hand? My 3-year-old daughter is naturally left-handed. We constantly encourage her to eat with her right hand, which she will do after being reminded.

However, she has recently become interested in writing and trying to form simple letter shapes- which she can accomplish well with her left hand. But when I try to prompt her to use the right hand, she becomes completely discouraged and gives up; as she struggles to hold even the pen properly.

Therefore, please could you tell me whether

it is imperative for us to make her write with her right hand.

Answered by the Fatwa Department Research Committee - chaired by Sheikh `Abd al-Wahhâb al-Turayrî There is nothing wrong with a person writing with his or her left hand if that is easier for the person. The same goes for any other activity that requires a high degree of manual dexterity.

It is Sunnah to give preference to the right hand in all everyday clean actions that do not require any extra degree of manual dexterity, like putting on one’s shoes and combing one’s hair. `Â’ishah relates that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to like to start with the right side when putting on his sandals, combing his hair, engaging in his ritual purifications, and in all of his activities. [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim] This, however, is a Sunnah and is not obligatory.

It is only obligatory for a Muslim to eat with his or her right hand. It is impermissible for the Muslim to eat with the left hand.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) saw a man eating with his left hand and ordered him to eat with his right hand. When the man said that that he could not do so, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “May you never do so.” From that time forward, the man lost the ability to raise his right hand. [Sahîh Muslim (2021)] The Prophet (peace be upon him) told a boy who was eating with him to eat with his right hand.

If the child is left-handed, that is perfectly alright. The child can write with his or her left hand without any problem. It is unnecessary to insist upon the child writing with his or her right hand or using the right hand when engaging in other activities requiring an extra degree of manual dexterity.

Forcing a left-handed child to use his or her right hand for such activities can have detrimental consequences for the child’s confidence, education, and self-esteem. And Allah knows best.

------------------Source: IslamToday.com fatawa archive

18

CIVIL RIGHTS

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

Civil Rights What you don’t know can hurt you

TSA Officials and JetBlue Pay $240K To Settle Discrimination Charges

Why File For Citizenship?

U.S. Resident Was Kept Off Plane For Shirt With Arabic Writing LEGALLY SPEAKING with Hassan Ahmad

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 5, 2009 CONTACT: Rachel Myers, (212) 549-2689 or 2666; media@aclu.org NEW YORK – In a victory for constitutional rights, two Transportation Security Authority (TSA) officials and JetBlue Airways have paid Raed Jarrar $240,000 to settle charges that they illegally discriminated against the U.S. resident based on his ethnicity and the Arabic writing on his t-shirt. TSA and JetBlue officials prevented Jarrar from boarding his August 2006 flight at New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport until he agreed to cover his shirt, which read “We Will Not Be Silent” in English and Arabic, and then forced him to sit at the back of the plane. The American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on Jarrar’s behalf in August 2007.

“The outcome of this case is a victory for free speech and a blow to the discriminatory practice of racial profiling,” said Aden Fine, senior staff attorney with the ACLU First Amendment Working Group and lead attorney on the case. “This settlement should send a clear message to all TSA officials and airlines that they cannot discriminate against passengers based on their race or the ethnic content of their speech.”

On August 12, 2006, Jarrar was waiting to board a JetBlue flight from New York to his home in Oakland, California, when he was approached by two TSA officials.

One of them told Jarrar that he needed to remove his shirt because other passengers were not comfortable with the Arabic script, telling him that wearing a shirt with Arabic writing on it to an airport was like “wearing a t-shirt at a bank stating, ‘I am a robber.’”

Jarrar asserted his First Amendment right to wear the shirt, but eventually relented to the pressure from the TSA officials and two JetBlue officials who surrounded Jarrar in the gate area and made it clear to him that he would not be able to get on the plane until he covered up his shirt. Terrified about what they would do to him, Jarrar reluctantly covered

Being an immigration lawyer has taught me at least one important lesson: it is far more difficult to clean up a mess than it is to prevent one. If you qualify, there is one relatively simple thing you can do that will help prevent many serious problems, and also provide multiple benefits to you.

It’s filing for US citizenship.

Popular wisdom says that the only difference between a green card holder and a citizen is the right to vote. It’s a lot more than that. up his shirt with a new t-shirt purchased for him by JetBlue. The lawsuit later revealed that JetBlue and the TSA officials did not consider Jarrar to be a security threat.

Nevertheless, even after he put the new shirt on, Jarrar was allowed to board the plane only after JetBlue changed his seat from the front of the plane to the very back.

“All people in this country have the right to be free of discrimination and to express their own opinions,” said Jarrar, who is currently employed with the American Friends Service Committee, an organization committed to peace and social justice. “With this outcome, I am hopeful that TSA and airlines officials will think twice before practicing illegal discrimination and that other travelers will be spared the treatment I endured.”

“As last week’s refusal by AirTran Airways to allow a Muslim family that posed no security risk to fly shows, what happened to Mr. Jarrar is not an isolated incident,” said Reggie Shuford, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Racial Justice Program. “Transportation officials have the important responsibility of ensuring that all flights are safe, but there is no reason that safety can’t be achieved while at the same time upholding the civil

>> DISCRIMINATION Pg 23

As lawyers, we know the immigration system, its pitfalls and its perils.

Citizenship fees are an insurance premium for a fantastic policy that keeps you from having to deal with that system.

Once you’re a citizen, there are no more worries about time spent outside the US, or filing green card renewals. And the policy comes with other perks, too. You get the right to petition for loved ones – spouses, children, parents, siblings.

You get the right to vote, giving you a voice in your community. You qualify for many more forms of government aid. Many government jobs require US citizenship – a major benefit for members of our Washington, DC metropolitan community.

But there is another benefit that is frequently overlooked, largely because most people are aware of this benefit until it’s too late. If you find yourself charged with a crime, being a citizen means you cannot be placed into removal (deportation) proceedings. The most common thing I hear in response to this is, “I am not a criminal, I have nothing to hide, and this doesn’t apply to me.”

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Many people commit technically criminal acts, which may not even be serious crimes, but for which the immigration consequences are disastrous. Laws are treated differently in immigration. For example, one law makes it illegal to help someone else send money overseas without a license. Thus, the old hawala system of money transfer is largely illegal under federal law. Most people do not consider sending money to their loved ones criminal activity, but it might be. Moreover, you could actually be placed in removal proceedings if you are convicted under this law and are not a US citizen. A conviction for domestic violence may also be enough to deport someone as well. Many members of our community have been approached by law enforcement and have given statements to them. If for whatever reason one such statement turns out to be false or misleading (as defined by the government) then the person faces a conviction, which also forms a basis for deportation.

It only matters when it matters, but when it does, it’s a big deal. You may never be charged with a crime. But everything you have worked for rides on your ability to remain in the United States. Protect your life’s work and your family by filing for citizenship. With all the other benefits it comes with, you have very little to lose.

Hassan Ahmad, Esq. is a practicing attorney and managing partner of Nubani & Ahmad, PC. He can be contacted at hahmad@nubaniahmad. com. For more information, see ads in this issue.

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009 ZAKAH II >> continued from pg 16

Zakâh early is no different than a person who offers the Zuhr prayer before the Sun begins to descend from its zenith.

The scholars who use this hadîth as evidence that it is incorrect to pay Zakâh early argue that the language of the Prophet’s statement negates Zakâh in its entirety.

Al-Hasan al-Basrî said the same thing: “Just like prayer has a time, Zakâh has a time. Whoever offers prayer before its time must repeat the prayer. Likewise, whoever pays Zakâh before its time must do so over again.”

However, this interpretation is questionable.

It is quiet easy to understand that the hadîth negates one’s obligation of paying Zakâh before the wealth remains in one’s possession for a full year. It does not negate the permissibility of doing so.

2. Mâlik also argues that the person who pays

19

CONTINUED

Essentially, they are making an analogy between prayer and Zakâh, since both are acts of worship. However, this analogy is questionable, since the comparison does not hold. Acts of worship like prayer and fasting deal exclusively with the right of Allah upon his worshippers. The timeframes appointed

for these acts of worship are therefore not discernable to our human intellects.

By contrast, paying Zakâh – though certainly an act of worship – also involves the rights of the poor and the welfare of the rich. It is permissible for a person to waive his own right to something in the interest of someone else. In this case, the wealthy person is waiving the right to retain the wealth and granting it to the poor early.

From what preceded, it seems that the stronger point of view – with respect to the textual evidence as well as with respect to theoretical and legal considerations – is that it is permissible to pay one’s Zakâh before it becomes due.

It is certainly permissible to pay one’s Zakâh early by up to a full year (by paying two years together), since this is the maximum time mentioned in the texts. None of the texts mention that paying a year in advance is a maximum limit, just that is what al`Abbâs did. Therefore, we would say that it is permissible to pay even more in advance, if there is a need for it, since once the principle of paying in advance is established as valid, then the matter of time is open, depending on the need and the circumstances. And Allah knows best.

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The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

SALAH TIMES

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

23

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

Salaah times for Safar 1430 Rabi Al-Awaal1430 Day Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu

Date Jan 30 31 Feb 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

DISCRIMINATION >> continued from pg 18 rights and liberties of all airline passengers.

We hope this lawsuit and its successful result will serve as a powerful reminder that discrimination is against the law.”

TSA and JetBlue agreed to settle the case for $240,000 late last month and

Hijri 4/2 5/2 6/2 7/2 8/2 9/2 10/2 11/2 12/2 13/2 14/2 15/2 16/2 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 1/3

Fajr 6:00 6:00 5:59 5:57 5:56 5:56 5:55 5:54 5:54 5:53 5:51 5:50 5:49 5:48 5:47 5:46 5:46 5:43 5:42 5:41 5:40 5:38 5:37 5:37 5:36 5:33 5:32 5:31

Sunrise 7:15 7:15 7:14 7:13 7:12 7:11 7:10 7:09 7:09 7:08 7:05 7:04 7:03 7:02 7:01 7:00 7:00 6:57 6:56 6:55 6:53 6:52 6:51 6:51 6:49 6:47 6:45 6:44

delivered the settlement to Jarrar on Friday.

In addition to Fine, attorneys in this case are Nusrat Choudhury of the ACLU Racial Justice Program and Palyn Hung of the NYCLU. Raed Jarrar is available to speak with members of the press. More information about the case, including a video featuring Jarrar, is online at:www.aclu.org/wewillnotbesilent

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

Asr 3:06 3:06 3:07 3:09 3:10 3:11 3:12 3:13 3:13 3:14 3:16 3:16 3:17 3:18 3:19 3:20 3:20 3:22 3:23 3:23 3:24 3:25 3:26 3:26 3:26 3:28 3:29 3:29

Maghrib 5:27 5:27 5:29 5:31 5:32 5:33 5:34 5:36 5:36 5:37 5:39 5:40 5:41 5:42 5:44 5:45 5:45 5:47 5:48 5:49 5:50 5:51 5:53 5:53 5:54 5:56 5:57 5:58

Isha 6:44 6:44 6:45 6:47 6:48 6:49 6:50 6:51 6:51 6:52 6:54 6:55 6:56 6:57 6:58 6:59 6:59 7:01 7:02 7:03 7:04 7:05 7:06 7:06 7:07 7:09 7:11 7:12

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WORLD PRESS

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

World Press

News you might have missed. News that might have missed you.

The ‘first true scientist’, al-Hassan Ibn al-Haytham

By Professor Jim Al-Khalili University of Surrey Source: BBC, January 4, 2009

typically suggest that no major scientific advances took place in between the ancient Greeks and the European Renaissance.

Isaac Newton is, as most will agree, the greatest physicist of all time.

But just because Western Europe languished in the Dark Ages, does not mean there was stagnation elsewhere. Indeed, the period between the 9th and 13th Centuries marked the Golden Age of Arabic science.

At the very least, he is the undisputed father of modern optics, or so we are told at school where our textbooks abound with his famous experiments with lenses and prisms, his study of the nature of light and its reflection, and the refraction and decomposition of light into the colours of the rainbow.

Yet, the truth is rather greyer; and I feel it important to point out that, certainly in the field of optics, Newton himself stood on the shoulders of a giant who lived 700 years earlier.

For, without doubt, another great physicist, who is worthy of ranking up alongside Newton, is a scientist born in AD 965 in what is now Iraq who went by the name of al-Hassan Ibn al-Haytham.

Most people in the West will never have even heard of him.

As a physicist myself, I am quite in awe of this man’s contribution to my field, but I was fortunate enough to have recently been given the opportunity to dig a little into his life and work through my recent filming of a three-part BBC Four series on medieval Islamic scientists.

Popular accounts of the history of science

Great advances were made in mathematics, astronomy, medicine, physics, chemistry and philosophy. Among the many geniuses of that period Ibn al-Haytham stands taller than all the others.

Ibn al-Haytham is regarded as the father of the modern scientific method.

As commonly defined, this is the approach to investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge, based on the gathering of data through observation and measurement, followed by the formulation and testing of hypotheses to explain the data.

This is how we do science today and is why I put my trust in the advances that have been made in science.

But it is often still claimed that the modern scientific method was not established until the early 17th Century by Francis Bacon and Rene Descartes. There is no doubt in my mind, however, that Ibn al-Haytham arrived there first. In fact, with his emphasis on experimental data and reproducibility of results, he is often referred to as the “world’s first true scientist”.

He was the first scientist to give a correct account of how we see objects. He proved experimentally, for instance, that the socalled emission theory (which stated that light from our eyes shines upon the objects we see), which was believed by great thinkers such as Plato, Euclid and Ptolemy, was wrong and established the modern idea that we see because light enters our eyes.

What he also did that no other scientist had tried before was to use mathematics to describe and prove this process. So he can be regarded as the very first theoretical physicist, too.

He is perhaps best known for his invention of the pinhole camera and should be credited with the discovery of the laws of refraction.

He also carried out the first experiments on the dispersion of light into its constituent colours and studied shadows, rainbows and eclipses; and by observing the way sunlight diffracted through the atmosphere, he was able to work out a rather good estimate for the height of the atmosphere, which he found to be around 100km.

In common with many modern Ibn-al Haytham badly needed and isolation to focus on writing treatises, including his great optics.

scholars, the time his many work on

He was given an unwelcome opportunity, however, when he was imprisoned in Egypt between 1011 and 1021, having failed a task set him by a caliph in Cairo to help solve

the problem of regulating the flooding of the Nile.

While still in Basra, Ibn al-Haytham had claimed that the Nile’s autumn flood waters could be held by a system of dykes and canals, thereby preserved as reservoirs until the summer’s droughts.

But on arrival in Cairo, he soon realised that his scheme was utterly impractical from an engineering perspective. Yet rather than admit his mistake to the dangerous and murderous caliph, Ibn-al Haytham instead decided to feign madness as a way to escape punishment. This promptly led to him being placed under house arrest, thereby granting him 10 years of seclusion in which to work.

He was only released after the caliph’s death.

He returned to Iraq where he composed a further 100 works on a range of subjects in physics and mathematics.

While travelling through the Middle East during my filming, I interviewed an expert in Alexandria who showed me recently discovered work by Ibn al-Haytham on astronomy. It seems he had developed what is called celestial mechanics, explaining the orbits of the planets, which was to lead to the eventual work of Europeans like Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton.

It is incredible that we are only now uncovering the debt that today’s physicists owe to an Arab who lived 1,000 years ago.

Professor Jim Al-Khalili presented Science and Islam on BBC during January 2009.

Eliyahu advocates carpet bombing Gaza 05.30.2007 | The Jerusalem Post By Matthew Wagner , THE JERUSALEM POST All civilians living in Gaza are collectively guilty for Kassam attacks on Sderot, former Sephardi chief rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu has written in a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Eliyahu ruled that there was absolutely no

moral prohibition against the indiscriminate killing of civilians during a potential massive military offensive on Gaza aimed at stopping the rocket launchings.

The letter, published in Olam Katan [Small World], a weekly pamphlet to be distributed in synagogues nationwide this Friday, cited the biblical story of the Shechem massacre (Genesis 34) and Maimonides’

commentary (Laws of Kings 9, 14) on the story as proof texts for his legal decision.

According to Jewish war ethics, wrote Eliyahu, an entire city holds collective responsibility for the immoral behavior of individuals. In Gaza, the entire populace is responsible because they do nothing to stop the firing of Kassam rockets.

The former chief rabbi also said it was forbidden to risk the lives of Jews in Sderot or the lives of IDF soldiers for fear of injuring or killing Palestinian noncombatants living in Gaza.

Eliyahu could not be reached for an interview.

However, Eliyahu’s son, Shmuel Eliyahu,

>> BOMBING Pg 26

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

25

WORLD PRESS

Window Opens to Arabic Web What You Don’t Know About Gaza Source: CNN, January 14, 2009 French president Nicolas Sarkozy recently called Arabic, “the language of the future, of science and of modernity,” according to the Brussels Journal. His comments coincide with the French government’s urging of Arabic language and civilization courses in French schools.

If you do speak Arabic or if you’re trying to learn like I am, then you know that it is an incredibly challenging language.

Those challenges extend to the Web where the possibility of finding news and information in standard Arabic script is overwhelming and often incomplete.

Enter Yamli.com. It is an Arabic transliteration search engine that allows visitors to use their Latin keyboards to search for any Arabic phrase they want. Professors at major universities, including UC Berkeley and Stanford, use Yamli in their Arabic language classes.

“We created the site to solve the everyday problem of typing Arabic,” says Yamli cofounder, Habib Haddad. “A lot of the content on the Web today exists in two forms: standard Arabic script or messy Latin variations.”

Haddad says most Arab newspapers and professional blogs write in Arabic script. But he adds that a majority of user-generated content and comments on social networking sites are written in adhoc Latin script, which he dubs “Arabizi” or “Arabish” (a portmanteau word).

For example, here is the name of the famous Egyptian singer Umm

Kulthoum ‫ﺃ‬ ‫ﻡ‬

written in Arabic: ‫ﻙ‬ ‫ﻝ‬ ‫ﺙ‬ ‫ﻭ‬ ‫ﻡ‬

Here are a few possible variations in Latin text: Umm, Om, Oum, Im, Um, Em Kulthoum, Koltoum, Kalthoum, Kolthom, Kalthoom, Kalthom, Kolthoum Since there is no proper or exact phonetic match from Arabic to English (Latin text), it creates a widespread problem on the Web because multiple variations exist for a single word.

“It creates a vicious cycle in the Arabic search space,” explains Haddad. “It starts with the difficulty of typing Arabic, which leads to less people searching for it, and less money for Arabic publishers.”

Yamli offers a solution in that it allows users to spell the Arabic word the way they think it would be spelled in English. It automatically provides matches from that spelling and other relevant matches from alternate spellings.

Along with text, Yamli offers image search powered through Microsoft’s Live Search API and video search from YouTube. The search results are instantly presented in two columns: one side in English, the other in Arabic.

“We think we’ve solved some of the fundamental problems in Arabic search that have not been addressed by the big guys such as Google or Microsoft,” says Haddad. “We are really excited to already see its positive impact on users and believe it will set a new standard for Arabic search.”

By Rashid Khalidi Source: New York Times, January 7, 2009

Strip have been slowly choked off, leading to life-threatening problems of sanitation, health, water supply and transportation.

NEARLY everything you’ve been led to believe about Gaza is wrong. Below are a few essential points that seem to be missing from the conversation, much of which has taken place in the press, about Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip.

The blockade has subjected many to unemployment, penury and malnutrition.

This amounts to the collective punishment — with the tacit support of the United States — of a civilian population for exercising its democratic rights.

THE GAZANS Most of the people living in Gaza are not there by choice. The majority of the 1.5 million people crammed into the roughly 140 square miles of the Gaza Strip belong to families that came from towns and villages outside Gaza like Ashkelon and Beersheba. They were driven to Gaza by the Israeli Army in 1948.

THE OCCUPATION The Gazans have lived under Israeli occupation since the Six-Day War in 1967. Israel is still widely considered to be an occupying power, even though it removed its troops and settlers from the strip in 2005. Israel still controls access to the area, imports and exports, and the movement of people in and out. Israel has control over Gaza’s air space and sea coast, and its forces enter the area at will. As the occupying power, Israel has the responsibility under the Fourth Geneva Convention to see to the welfare of the civilian population of the Gaza Strip.

THE CEASE-FIRE Lifting the blockade, along with a cessation of rocket fire, was one of the key terms of the June cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. This accord led to a reduction in rockets fired from Gaza from hundreds in May and June to a total of less than 20 in the subsequent four months (according to Israeli government figures).

The cease-fire broke down when Israeli forces launched major air and ground attacks in early November; six Hamas operatives were reported killed.

THE BLOCKADE Israel’s blockade of the strip, with the support of the United States and the European Union, has grown increasingly stringent since Hamas won the Palestinian Legislative Council elections in January 2006. Fuel, electricity, imports, exports and the movement of people in and out of the

WAR CRIMES The targeting of civilians, whether by Hamas or by Israel, is potentially a war crime. Every human life is precious.

But the numbers speak for themselves: Nearly 700 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed since the conflict broke out at the end of last year. In contrast, there have been around a dozen Israelis killed, many of them soldiers. Negotiation is a much more effective way to deal with rockets and other forms of violence. This might have been able to happen had Israel fulfilled the terms of the June cease-fire and lifted its blockade of the Gaza Strip.

>> GAZA Pg 26

Living on Borrowed Time in a Stolen Land

By Gilad Atzmon Source: OnlineJournal.com January 04, 2009 “Information Clearinghouse” -- Communicating with Israelis may leave one bewildered. Even now when the Israeli Air Force is practicing murder in broad daylight of hundreds of civilians, elderly persons, women and children, the Israeli people manage to convince themselves that they are the real victims in this violent saga.

Those who are familiar intimately with Israeli people realise that they are completely uninformed about the roots of the conflict that dominates their lives. Rather often Israelis manage to come up with some bizarre arguments that may make a lot of sense within the Israeli discourse, yet make no sense whatsoever outside of the Jewish street. Such an argument goes as follows:

‘those Palestinians, why do they insist upon living on our land (Israel), why can’t they just settle in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon or any other Arab country?’ Another Hebraic pearl of wisdom sounds like this: ‘what is wrong with these Palestinians? We gave them water, electricity, education and all they do is try to throw us to the sea’.

Astonishingly enough, the Israelis even within the so-called ‘left’ and even the educated ‘left’ fail to understand who the Palestinians are, where they come from and what they stand for. They fail to grasp that for the Palestinians, Palestine is home.

Miraculously, the Israelis manage to fail to grasp that Israel had been erected at the expense of the Palestinian people, on Palestinian land, on Palestinian villages, towns, fields and orchards. The Israelis do not realise that Palestinians in Gaza

and in refugee camps in the region are actually dispossessed people from Ber Shive, Yafo, Tel Kabir, Shekh Munis, Lod, Haifa, Jerusalem and many more towns and villages. If you wonder how come the Israelis don’t know their history, the answer is pretty simple, they have never been told.

The circumstances that led to the Israeli Palestinian conflict are well hidden within their culture. Traces of pre-1948 Palestinian civilisation on the land had been wiped out. Not only the Nakba, the 1948 ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Palestinians, is not part of the Israeli curriculum, it is not even mentioned or discussed in any Israeli official or academic forum.

In the very centre of almost every Israeli town one can a find a 1948 memorial statue displaying a very bizarre, almost abstract, pipe work. The plumbing feature is called

Davidka and it is actually a 1948 Israeli mortar cannon. Interestingly enough, the Davidka was an extremely ineffective weapon. Its shells wouldn’t reach more than 300 meters and would cause very limited damage. Though the Davidika would cause just minimal harm, it produced a lot of noise.

According to the Israeli official historical narrative, the Arabs i.e., Palestinians, simply ran away for their lives once they heard the Davidka from afar. According to the Israeli narrative, the Jews i.e., ‘new Israelis’ did a bit of fireworks and the ‘Arab cowards’ just ran off like idiots. In the Israeli official narrative there is no mention of the many orchestrated massacres conducted by the young IDF and the paramilitary units that preceded it. There >> BORROWED Pg 26

26 BORROWED >> continued from pg 25 is no mention also of the racist laws that stop Palestinians[1][1] from returning to their homes and lands.

The meaning of the above is pretty simple.

Israelis are totally unfamiliar with the Palestinian cause. Hence, they can only interpret the Palestinian struggle as a murderous irrational lunacy. Within the Israeli Judeo- centric solipsistic universe, the Israeli is an innocent victim and the Palestinian is no less than a savage murderer.

This grave situation that leaves the Israeli in the dark regarding his past demolishes any possibility of future reconciliation. Since the Israeli lacks the minimal comprehension of the conflict, he cannot contemplate any possible resolution except extermination or cleansing of the ‘enemy’. All the Israeli is entitled to know are various phantasmic narratives of Jewish suffering. Palestinian pain is completely foreign to his ears.

‘Palestinian right of return’ sounds to him like an amusing idea. Even the most advanced ‘Israeli humanists’ are not ready to share the land with its indigenous inhabitants. This doesn’t leave the Palestinians with many options but to liberate themselves against all odds. Clearly, there is no partner for peace on the Israel side.

This week we all learned more about the ballistic capability of Hamas. Evidently, Hamas was rather restrained with Israel for more than a long while. It refrained from escalating the conflict to the whole of southern Israel. It occurred to me that the barrages of Qassams that have been landing sporadically on Sderot and Ashkelon

GAZA >> continued from pg 25

This war on the people of Gaza isn’t really about rockets. Nor is it about “restoring Israel’s deterrence,” as the Israeli press might have you believe. Far more revealing are the words of Moshe Yaalon, then the Israeli

WORLD PRESS were actually nothing but a message from the imprisoned Palestinians. First it was a message to the stolen land, homes fields and orchards: ‘Our beloved soil, we didn’t forget, we are still here fighting for you, sooner rather than later, we will come back, we will start again where we had stopped’. But it was also a clear message to the Israelis. ‘You out there, in Sderot, Beer Sheva, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Tel Aviv and Haifa, whether you realise it or not, you are actually living on our stolen land. You better start to pack because your time is running out, you have exhausted our patience. We, the Palestinian people, have nothing to lose anymore’.

Let’s face it, realistically the situation in Israel is rather grave. Two years ago it was Hezbollah rockets that pounded northern Israel. This week the Hamas proved beyond doubt that it is capable of serving the South of Israel with some cocktail of ballistic vengeance. Both in the case of the Hezbollah and the case of the Hamas, Israel was left with no military answer. It can no doubt kill civilians but it fails to stop the rocket barrage.

The IDF lacks the means of protecting Israel unless covering Israel with a solid concrete roof is a viable solution. At the end of the day, they might be planning just that (link).

But this is far from the end of the story. In fact it is just the beginning. Every Middle East expert knows that Hamas can seize control of the West Bank within hours. In fact, PA and Fatah control in the West Bank is maintained by the IDF. Once Hamas takes the West Bank, the biggest Israeli population centre will be left to the mercy of Hamas. For those who fail to see, this would be the end of Jewish Israel.

It may happen later today, it may happen in three months or in five years, it isn’t matter of ‘if’ but rather matter of ‘when’. By that time, the whole of Israel will be within firing range

Defense Forces chief of staff, in 2002: “The Palestinians must be made to understand in the deepest recesses of their consciousness that they are a defeated people.”

Rashid Khalidi, a professor of Arab studies at Columbia, is the author of the forthcoming “Sowing Crisis: The Cold War and American Dominance in the Middle East.”

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

of Hamas and Hezbollah, Israeli society will collapse, its economy will be ruined. The price of a detached villa in Northern Tel Aviv would equal a shed in Kiryat Shmone or Sderot. By the time a single rocket hits Tel Aviv, the Zionist dream will be over.

The IDF generals know it, the Israeli leaders know it. This is why they stepped up the war against the Palestinian into extermination.

The Israelis do not plan upon invading Gaza.

They have lost nothing there. All they want is to finish the Nakba. They drop bombs on Palestinians in order to wipe them out. They want the Palestinians out of the region. It is obviously not going to work, Palestinians will stay. Not only they will they stay, their day of return to their land is coming closer as Israel has been exploiting its deadliest tactics.

This is exactly where Israeli escapism comes into play. Israel has passed the ‘point of no return’. Its doomed fate is deeply engraved in each bomb it drops on Palestinian civilians.

There is nothing Israel can do to save itself.

There is no exit strategy. It can’t negotiate its way out because neither the Israelis nor their leadership understand the elementary parameters involved in the conflict. Israel lacks the military power to conclude the battle. It may manage to kill Palestinian grassroots leaders, it has been doing it for years, yet Palestinian resistance and persistence is growing fierce rather than weakening. As an IDF intelligence general predicted already at the first Intifada. ‘In order to win, all Palestinians have to do is to survive’. They survive and they are indeed winning.

by shrinking into an intimate cosy Jewish ghetto. Nothing worked. It is Palestinian persistence in the shape of Hamas politics that defines the future of the region.

All that is left to Israelis is to cling to their blindness and escapism to evade their devastating grave fate that has become immanent already. All along their way down, the Israelis will sing their familiar various victim anthems. Being imbued in a selfcentred supremacist reality, they will be utterly involved in their own pain yet completely blind to the pain they inflict on others.

Uniquely enough, the Israelis are operating as a unified collective when dropping bombs on others, yet, once being slightly hurt, they all manage to become monads of vulnerable innocence. It is this discrepancy between the self-image and the way they are seen by the rest of us which turns the Israeli into a monstrous exterminator. It is this discrepancy that stops Israelis from grasping their own history, it is that discrepancy that stops them from comprehending the repeated numerous attempts to destroy their State. It is that discrepancy that stops Israelis from understanding the meaning of the Shoah so can they prevent the next one. It is this discrepancy that stops Israelis from being part of humanity.

Once again Jews will have to wander into an unknown fate. To a certain extent, I myself have started my journey a while ago.

Gilad Atzmon is an Israeli jazz musician, author and political activist.

Israeli leaders understand it all. Israel has already tried everything, unilateral withdrawal, starvation and now extermination.

It thought to evade the demographic danger

[1][1] Jews only law of return- http://www. mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/1950_1959/ Law of Return 5710-1950

BOMBING >> continued from pg 24

Eliyahu. “And if they do not stop after 1,000 then we must kill 10,000. If they still don’t stop we must kill 100,000, even a million.

Whatever it takes to make them stop.”

who is chief rabbi of Safed, said his father opposed a ground troop incursion into Gaza that would endanger IDF soldiers. Rather, he advocated carpet bombing the general area from which the Kassams were launched, regardless of the price in Palestinian life.

“If they don’t stop after we kill 100, then we must kill a thousand,” said Shmuel

In the letter, Eliyahu quoted from Psalms. “I will pursue my enemies and apprehend them and I will not desist until I have eradicated them.”

Eliyahu wrote that “This is a message to all leaders of the Jewish people not to be compassionate with those who shoot [rockets] at civilians in their houses.”

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The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

OPINION

27

The Condition of Charity in Our Community

By UM It took a long time for me to get up the guts to write this commentary. Basically, because I had to reveal too much of myself and my private affairs, but the continued frustration I feel as I see the condition of zakat in our community has worn a groove in my resistance and I feel compelled to share my concerns with the larger community, who I hope, are unaware of the situation.

I guess the final straw that committed me to this article was when, two days ago, I was parking my car at Wal Mart. A Muslim woman came up to my window and said salaam to me. I opened my window and greeted her back. She handed me an index card which stated, ‘Please help me. I have 4 children and have no money for rent or food.’ It was heart wrenching. Can you imagine what it takes for an aging woman to stand in a parking lot and beg. She told me she was to be evicted that month. I also asked her the proverbial question, “Did you go to the masjid?” She said yes she had, about a month earlier, but had received no response. She said she was new in the community and did not know many people. I took her name and number in hopes of helping her. I don’t know what possessed her, but she seems to have given me a wrong number.

completely ignored and no one even contacts them back.

It is also important to note that to apply for charity is not as simple as it may sound.

You will need to print off an application.

Generally this is available on a website; sometimes you can get a copy at the masjid.

You will have to supply copies of your check stubs for any earnings you have and you will need to identify/document any social service assistance that you may be getting. You will also need a copy of your lease agreement, and if you want rental assistance, you will need the contact information for you landlord and

personal references so that the committee can contact people regarding your situation. If you are not too ashamed, you should include the most prestigious people you know so the investigator will believe them. I use the term investigator, because that is what they do. In spite of all the documentation you provide, you still have to have references that are privy to your situation.

One organization called a friend I had listed as a reference and asked her where my husband was. This was in spite of the fact that I had already told them. My friend said she did not know and had not asked me. Then she

The masjid has become a condemning bureaucratic organization more concerned with documenting their accountability than completing the mission of giving zakat.

Last year, my husband and I separated and I found myself in a position where I had to support myself and my children on my own.

This situation was a surprise to me and I had no employment. Actually, for the past 15 years I had not really worked outside my home.

Here I was, almost 50 years old and having to support myself and my household.

So began the charity circuit. Now, I was unaware of this system, until I met a few helpful sisters, who themselves had been through this ringer and hoped to help me over my hump. This story will share some of their experiences as well as my own.

You should know, that when you send someone to a masjid for zakat, that the process will take at least 4 weeks if they are known to the masjid authorities and will most probably be denied if they are completely unknown to the community. Some may say that this occurs because we have so much need in our community during these hard times and that we need to take care of those we know for sure have hardship. But, I will remind you that one of the conditions of qualifying for charity is to soften the hearts of those inclined towards the Muslim community, who are not even Muslim. Here we are judging people and excluding them. Who knows what harm we do to the hearts of our Muslim brothers and sisters when we reject their applications for assistance? In some cases, the application is

“‘...The whole of a muslim for another muslim is inviolable: his blood, his property, and his honor’... I guess someone needs to remove the cobwebs from the hadeeth books...”

a letter from your landlord indicating that you are behind in your rent. You will need your tax returns for the last year and copies of your utility bills. All documents need to be up to date, within the past 30 days.

Now imagine how impossible these tasks are if you are homeless.

What if you are living in someone else’s home and all your stuff is in storage? What if your stuff in storage was sold because you could not pay for the storage?

But, there is more. You will need to provide

was asked how long she had known me. She indicated that she had known me for about one year. The investigator then insisted that she knew me well enough and that she must know about my husband. My friend responded that she did not know and felt that it was not her business to ask. She stated that I had not disclosed that private information to her, but she had been there when the landlord had come by and, in front of her, her two children and my children, had asked me to vacate the premises because my rent was very late. That organization gave me less than one-third of my $1450.00 rental fee.

That same organization once called me for a reference of another sister who also needed assistance. I guess we used each other as references so that we did not need to tell too many people about our situation. They asked me why she could not find a job. I told them I did not know why. They asked me the same thing over and over again. Finally I said, “Maybe the potential employers do a credit check and when they see her credit score they don’t want to hire her.” I guess that may have made sense to that investigator and they stopped asking.

There was one masjid that insisted I come in for an interview with their social services department in order to be considered for charity. Otherwise, they do not consider charity applications. I drove the 60 miles with my children in tow. (What does one do if they don’t have transportation?) While they played in the masjid, I waited in the office. I was left there for some time because the social services volunteer was helping someone else first. He was a young brother who was homeless. While sitting there, I read some of the posters on the board. Most of them had to do with social services that were state funded.

One had to do with the masjid protocol. Right there on the poster-board were several steps for the social services intake person to take while interviewing a prospective charity case.

I think it was number 7 or 8 on the list which stated, “Look for inconsistencies in their story.” I felt humiliated.

But that would not be all for that day. As I sat there waiting and reading, I heard the social services volunteer making calls for that young brother who needed housing. She asked a few people about whether their rooms for rent were still available. Her voice was loud and she was standing in the multi-purpose room of the masjid. There were a number of people there as well as students from the hifz program. “He has a daughter.”

Pause “Does your daughter live with you?”

Silence, perhaps he whispered the answer.

“No.” Pause “Does she come to stay with you?”

Silence again.

“No.” Pause “Where is she?”

Silence “She is in foster care.”…

My heart twisted and I cringed for this poor boy while he was made naked by an uncouth volunteer.

I waited for the pendulum to swing back onto me.

>> COMMUNITY Pg 28

28 COMMUNITY >> continued from pg 27 But, by Allah’s mercy, the woman came in and said that she needed to go to a meeting and I had to wait. I agreed. When she came back, she said that someone else would meet with me. Alhamullilah, the brother took me to a private office, looked through all my papers, made copies and interviewed me. I left there with my dignity intact. He was gracious and respectful. My application was approved in 3 days and then I waited 3 more weeks for the directors to come in and sign the check. I got a check for one month’s rent.

There were two places that I put an application for charity that never responded to me. I did follow through on a call to one of those two places. I was told that since I was asking for money from a mosque not in my immediate neighborhood, I would need a letter from the president of my mosque explaining why I was not receiving funds from my local mosque. I guess that is one way of saying no. I cried after hanging up from that call and never bothered with the other organization that did not have the courtesy to even recognize me enough to call me back and tell me they would not be helping me out.

Within my own community I had more clout.

I was a face that the doctors and engineers, who hold the keys to the masjid coffers, had to look at after Friday Prayer. I was there at all the events and functions. I waited outside their meetings for an answer to my applications. I emailed them personally and let them know how desperate I was. They helped me on three separate occasions. Each time I asked for assistance with my rent. The first time I got one full month’s rent. The second time, about 8 months later, I got two-thirds month’s rent and the third time I received less than a third of my rent. I guess this is their way of letting me know that the coffers are closed to me.

Throughout this past year I have depended on these people for charity, but I have also leaned on a few Muslim brothers and sisters whose generosity has kept me in my home, my car payments up to date and my electricity and water on. I have received $500.00 on four separate occasions from people who knew somehow that I was struggling. My children received $130.00 for Eid Al-Fitr from friends and there is one story I must share with you.

When I had first approached my mosque I had asked for much more than one month’s rent. Part of what I needed was my water bill paid. I included a disconnect notice. The committee basically did not address that issue.

I guess they thought the eviction notice was more important and that I would not notice the water being turned off. The night it was due I got enough money to pay the back due amount and dropped it into the night drop box.

The next week I got a bill for $250.00. When I saw it I cried and could not understand what was going on. When I called they explained it was a credit amount not an amount I owed. It

OPINION seems that my bill had been paid three times by three different people on the last day. Each person had come in on that day and paid the water bill anonymously. Obviously it was someone, or two, from the zakat committee that took it upon themselves to help me out without taking the credit. For 4 months I did not have to pay for any water bill. May Allah bless the hearts of those who do things for His sake and watch over the needs of those in their community.

It is hard to calculate, but I think that

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

children who are homeless, unemployed, or on the brink of homelessness? Personally, the efforts to get non-Muslims to see Muslims as “good people” does not take priority in my life over the needs of a Muslim sister, with 5 sons, who needs her gas and electricity turned back on; or, another family, with 5 children, who have been living month to month in homes that are under foreclosure. Their credit is so bad that these are the only homes anyone will rent to them. Every month or two they have to move.

I cried after hanging up from that call and never bothered with the other organization that did not have the courtesy to even recognize me enough to call me back and tell me they would not be helping me out. individuals in the community have given me almost $4000.00 dollars this past year. One sister, who has not seen me for 5 years, sent me a $500.00 dollar check when she heard of my predicament. Who would have thought she even remembered me. Surely Allah softens the hearts of people to love and care for each other.

While individuals in our community still recognize the importance of doing things for the pleasure of Allah without looking for any worldly profit, our organizations seem to function with a taciturn disposition of contempt and cynicism toward the poor and needy. The masjid has become a condemning bureaucratic organization more concerned with documenting their accountability than

I first felt compelled to write this commentary when I sat in a lecture by a visiting sheik and he explained that at the time of the Prophet (sws) zakat meant to cover the expenses a person could not cover for the next full year.

I was bowled over! Each month I have been tortured with worry about how to meet the expenses of my household, how to fill my children’s plates with food, how to replenish worn underwear, how to pay for class trips.

Oh for the days of the Prophet (sws)! For the times of integrity and honor! A baker would be supplied with a bakery so that he could earn his own living, a carpenter given tools for his craft, an elderly man, given his annual expenses. But that I did not have to live under the threat of eviction each month!

Let’s face it; we need to stop looking at doctors and engineers or their wives to do everything.

They are simply not qualified for this type of work, even if their hearts are good. completing the mission of giving zakat.

Not one single organization met the needs I clearly documented as necessary. I had to go to 3 different organizations to meet the needs of my family to cover less than two month’s expenses.

Headlines in the Muslim Link Newspaper highlight the meat distribution for Eid Al-Adha, but don’t point out that one organization did not distribute their meat until December 20th, along with gift baskets for needy families (not Muslims in their community) already identified by social service organizations within their county. This distribution of qurbani meat is more in line with the Christmas celebration than with Eid. I have no qualms with gift baskets to needy children, Muslim or not, but does this take precedence over Muslim women and their

Okay, so I am good at finding fault, but what solutions do I have? Well I have a few, so if you are involved in the charity committee at your masjid, please take note. The charity committees should consist of at least one part-time paid employee. It is the only way to insure a professional job as well as compensate someone who needs a job. Let’s face it; we need to stop looking at doctors and engineers or their wives to do everything.

They are simply not qualified for this type of work, even if their hearts are good. And, just because you financially support the masjid, does not mean that you understand the needs of struggling community members. The pocket books/wallets of the masjid need to relinquish some control for the greater good of efficacy.

Also, there should be three aspects to the

committee. The first is establishment of qualification and assessment of needs of the applications. This is the process of identifying the needs of an individual or family that needs help and sufficient help should be provided to actually change the situation, not just giving out a few hundred dollars to each applicant, which won’t help the situation and may only postpone shutting off the electricity for one month. The way charity is distributed now, it is basically ineffectual. A more holistic approach needs to be used to successfully help a struggling individual or family. This brings me to the second aspect of the charity committee.

The second aspect involves resource identification. This is where a committee member contacts as many of the community members as possible and asks them what they have to offer as sadaqa. For example, a new convert may need housing that will get them away from friends or family that don’t accept their conversion and have rejected them or kicked them out. This could be a basement room for free or sharing the costs of an apartment. A divorced woman may need help with transportation, otherwise she may not be able to get a job. An elderly couple may need rides to the grocery once a week.

Our community is full of people who would like to help, but may not be able to do so in a financial way. I know of a number of people who would love to invite a new convert for dinner once a week and let them see a Muslim family in action.

The third aspect has to do with training. So far, I have only seen training in our masajid for home health aid. This is basic menial work for the least skilled in our community.

This is important, but we can do more. A vocational consultant can identify employment opportunities with various companies in the area. For example, such a consultant can call employers like Kaiser Permanente, Lockheed Martin, etc. and identify when they are hiring, what types of jobs are available and what skills are needed. Don’t confuse this with what is available at the social services department. They do have some listings, but they do not search out such openings or make personal contacts. In conjunction with this, the consultant identifies training opportunities or even employers willing to offer on the job training opportunities to help unemployed community members find employment. There is also assisting with resume and cover letter writing, interview practice, and teaching people how to look for jobs themselves in the future.

All of these are very viable solutions that are practical and would not cost the masjid more than one salary. It is a way to set a new standard for that pillar of Islam that will work with today’s needs. Anyone interested in a more detailed explanation of these programs may contact the muslimlinkpaper.com for more info.

Sister UM (name withheld for privacy lives in Virginia).

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

EDITORS DESK

Readers Write AN AMERICAN RESPONSE

Editor-in-Chief: Minhaj Hasan

Staff Writers: Lensay Abadula Amina Ali Farkhunda Ali Fasiha Khan Farha Marfani Rashad Mulla Maryam bint DawudMussallihullah Sharia Advisors: Sheikh Salah as-Sawi Safi Khan The Muslim Link (TML) is published every other Friday on a Bi-Weekly Schedule and distributed throughout the Washington, Baltimore, and Northern Virginia Metropolitan Areas. TML is a non-profit publication and is based at Dar-us-Salaam in College Park, Maryland, USA. Staff and contributors are not necessarily affiliated with Dar-us-Salaam.

The views expressed in The Muslim Link do not necessarily reflect those of Dar-us-Salaam or TML management or their underwriters. Dar-us-Salaam 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 2009

Photo by Aamer Khan, aamerk.com

News Desk: Umm ‘Abdullah (Events)

Layout & Design: Fadlullah Firman

Thanks from ISWA Assalam-Alaikum. On behalf of the ISWA community, I want to thank you for your generosity (. It was a very informative and detailed article about the self- help approach this organization takes pride in...

I am always humbled when I am a part of this effort. I am sure ISWA will be here, in the future, to support all our Masjids and Islamic centers and I pray that we can achieve our target date for this coming Ramadan,Inshallah. Please visit us anytime..and I hope you call on us if there is anything we can do for you. Wa Salaam.

Office Manager : Jann McClary

Distribution: Elwaleed Elshowya

29

OPINION & EDITORIALS

Dr.Fazil Alie ISWA President

“Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light” - Dylan Thomas As the Israelis and their diaspora continue to wage their war against the Palestinians, I sit in my insulated apartment.

As the Israelis justify to the world taking a hundred lives for the loss of one of their own, I surf the Internet.

As the night descends across Palestine, bringing with it a new bomb to explode and thunder and shake the ground and rattle the glass every 20 minutes, my son falls to sleep.

I have only seen blood in syringes, or on a scraped knee.

I have only attended the funerals of the old and sick.

I have only smelt the burnt meat of cows and chickens.

How can we be here and they be there?

How can the borders remain closed?

How can we sleep at night?

And like a child, I ask, “What can I do?”

What can I do against decades of betrayal and cowardice?

What can I do against minds nursed on television and souls fattened to complacency?

What can I do when others show such tepid, bland concern?

What can I do against the lies, told over and over and over, till I struggle to remember the truth?

I hear an answer, as old as Noah: Pray. Pray. Stand and pray. Remember though others forget. Stand though others sleep. Pray and know your prayers are heard. Pray and know the shuhadaa rejoice. Pray and remember the children will be with Ibrahim. Pray for your own soul, pray for their pain.

Pray, pray, pray, because almost no one else is listening.

Abu Abdurrahman Maryland

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

We Need Culturally Aware Imams!

About 300-700 Muslims come to pray on Friday at each area mosque.

They are captive audience of the Imam and his speech (khutbah).

However, I notice usually the attendees tune out what Imam is saying in the first five minutes. The Imam usually tells them how bad they are in their practice of religion. He talks about Hijab for woman 90 percent of the time. However, he does not tell the men that things like beard is also Sunah and pronunce them as Kafirs. Imagine what will be the reaction of a young girl who takes time of work on Friday and hears this. She is likely to stop coming. She needs encouragement. I have found that woman start wearing Hijab on their own when they are ready and are not motivated by Khutbahs.

The Imam’s is usually a recent immigrant with poor command of English. It is almost impossible to undersatnd him. He thinks he knows it all about Fiqah and Sunnat. However, his knowledge is rudimentary. According to traditions of the prophet, the Khutbah should be shorter than the time it takes to pray. However, the average Imam holds the audience with his monlogue for 30 minutes instead of a schedule of 15 minutes. The audience are looking at their watches because they have to get back to work. He moves from subject to subject without any direction or coherence or central theme. If he was teaching a class at a university instead, all the students will drop out.

I have seen congregations aroused by a young Imam with English as his native tongue. I have seen how the word spreads and mosque gets very active. However, most of the mosques in USA are usually taken over by so called conservative immigrants and they do not like to part their authority. These trustees are usually no where to be seen when the mosque is being built by average muslims; however, they appear on the scene immedately after the infrastructure is complete. They throw out all those engineers and other workers who have toiled hard for years to get the mosque built and occupied.

This is serious problem for Muslims in USA. When I talk to young Muslims and women about not frequenting the mosque, Imam fatwahs and command of English is one of the major reason. To address this issue, we need is to encourage young bright Muslims to study religion here in United States universities and not in places like Saudi Arabia. We have to collect funds to award scholarships to these students. Furtermore we have to make the Imam’s salary attractive for these bright persons after they graduate.

Abdul Hai Sheikh Potomac, Maryland

30

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

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The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

restaurant review

AMINA THAI Find the Classic Flavors of Thailand in Rockville, MD

By Jann McClary Muslim Link Staff Writer It’s been a rough morning. Already the boss has called two times demanding that report.

You left your lunch bag on the metro, and your computer has abruptly shown you the blue screen of death while the phone rings with an insistence bordering on insanity.

The clock slogs towards noon as your stomach reminds you that the nice sandwich you packed headed towards the Genmont Avenue station hours ago. Shuffling through the papers on your desk you hand reaches a bright red and blue paper. It’s a menu. From Amina Thai Restaurant in Rockville. Your face brightens.

Over on Nicholson Avenue Amina Thai is the little restaurant that’s big on fresh ingredients, prompt service and a cleanliness that would make your mother jealous. If owner Amina Toopet ever decided to do away with her tables and chairs and spread a big mat over her gleaming wood floors, diners would be just as happy and satisfied. This little restaurant makes sure you feel welcomed, comfortable and relaxed from the minute you step through the door. Soft yellow and a soothing blue cover the walls, and the large front window lets the sunlight wash over everything with the feel of a just-finished August rain shower on the beaches of Pattaya. You forget all about your office as you settle down to pick from the authentic Thai dishes Amina’s chef, Hassan Toopet creates in the kitchen.

Take for example the Hoi Obb appetizer, a steamed mussel creation brought out to you in a neat little clay pot, all steamy with fat, juicy mussels bathing in a light broth fragrant with lemon grass, basil and lime juice. It’s arranged so beautifully you almost, almost don’t want to touch it. Well, take a picture and then dive in. It’s the kind of balanced dish a skilled chef creates that lets the lemon grass warm you on a cold day, but allows the basil to bring a cool, clean feeling your palate when it’s hot outside. A side dressing of lemon juice, garlic, special seasonings and chili for lightly sprinkling over the mussels adds a complex layer of flavor You may not be used to thinking of meat and peanuts on the same plate, but Lamb Mussamun is a particularly nice smooth and creamy combination of chunks of lamb in a mild curry with potatoes, onions, and roasted peanuts, which add a subtle flavor. Panang Curry pairs its peanuts with your choice of beef, chicken, shrimp or seafood, in a red curry sauce with coconut milk. Here, lime

leaves impart a slight citrus flavor and bring out the peanuts without allowing them to overpower the dish.

Green Curry with beef is especially satisfying and brings the classic flavors of Thailand together with chili paste, coconut milk and crunchy bamboo shoots, and eggplant.

Basil leaves give it a crisp, clean undertone that really enlivens your taste buds. Order it with either chicken, shrimp or seafood, and remember, it’s meant to be spicy, but the kitchen can adjust it, or any dish on the menu, to your request.

Hoi Obb - Steamed Mussels

Basil plays a quieter roll in Chicken Pad Kaprow with garlic, chili, and sweet red peppers. This is a colorful and cheery dish with its crisp peppers leading your eye, and the chili commanding your tongue. The jasmine rice that accompanies every entrée makes nice a foil to the heat of the chili.

Most selections on Amina Thai’s menu are below $8 for lunch and below $14 for dinner, exactly the reason why it has won Best Bargain by Washingtonian Magazine for the past three years in a row. With tastes that rival those of restaurants inside the Beltway, Amina’s is our own local halal treasure.

By the time you’ve finished one of her dishes, you’ve mellowed, you’re relaxed, and ready for something sweet to take you through the rest of the day. Amina Thai has dreamy selections like coconut with pineapple ice cream, mango with sweet, sticky rice, or a most delightful fried banana wrapped in a sheath of rice paper and quickly deep fried to a crispy gold, then drizzled with honey and chocolate syrup. What a way to smooth the day’s rough edges.

Amina Thai – 5065 Nicholson Ln., Rockville, MD 20852. (301) 770-9509 Open Monday – Tuesday 11am to 9:30pm; Wednesday – Friday 11am to 10pm; Saturday 12 noon to 10pm; Sunday 12 noon to 9pm. Closed daily between 2:30 to 5pm.

Red Curry Beef and Lamb Mussamun

33

34

MARKETPLACE: GROCERY & REAL ESTATE The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

Rahma’s Shop A taste of Dubai in the USA for all occasions ����������������������� Islamic clothing, Scarves, Pashmina Shawls, Lace Materials, Rugs, Bakhoor/Incense?Churai, Smokeless charcoal & Incense, Burners, Perfumes & Jells, Aqua sprays, 21 karat Gold jewelry, Abayas, Hijabs, Jallabiyas, African Gowns & Dresses and MORE...

TEL:240.305.6354/301.989.9231, FAX 301.384.2975 EMAIL rahmatg@hotmail.com

Lambco, LLC will donate a portion received from each lamb/goat to your mosque or charity. When at Lambco, LLC please provide us with the name of your mosque or charity. *)+)����(��,��"�#�����-�.��)

���������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������� ��������������������- Surah Al-Imran

Visit our website for new Pricing

�������������� Sales Associate/ Realtor® Business: (410) 730-8888 Direct: (410) 964-8844 Cell: (410) 967-6919 E-mail: smomayezi@htbrown.com www.htbrown.com H.T. Brown Real Estate, Inc. Buying or Selling a home, I can help with all your real estate needs!

6301 Stevens Forest Road #150 Columbia, MD 21046

443-527-2526

Email us at lambcomd@yahoo.com

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

35

MARKETPLACE: PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Introducing a unique association of independent service providers. We will help you or try to find someone who can!

1-888-387-7264 IMMIGRATION SOLUTIONS NATIONWIDE

Business visas, Family visas, Fiancé visas Investor visas, Removal proceedings and more...

BUSINESS & COMMERCIAL LEGAL SERVICES

Litigation, Agreements, Contracts, Business Law, Trusts, Wills, Land Deals, Commercial Complexes, Shopping Centers, Tax Representation, Residential Investments, Zoning help, Personal injury and more

COMMERCIAL BROKERAGE & BUSINESS CONSULTING SERVICES

We broker deals; acquire Franchises, prepare business plans, negotiate to buy or sell businesses, conduct audits, advise on financial restructurings and more...

Atty Laher is member of the NY & DC Bar; Atty since 1991; MBA; Laher Law Group, PLLC may associate with specialist attorneys/ service providers to assemble the right team for your case

WE WILL ONLY TAKE ON YOUR CASE IF WE BELIEVE WE CAN HELP YOU!!!

�

������������������������������� Mohammad Al-Suqi

Cell: 703-861-1625 Office: 703-752-3929 Fax: 703-914-0869 Email: Talsuqi@aol.com Address: 916 W. Broad St., Suite 203, Falls Church, VA 22046

Quality Service - LOW COST! Serving the Community since 1991

�����������������

������������������������������������������������������ ����������������������������������������� �������������������������������������� ������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������ ��������������������������

�������������������������� ������������� ����������������� ��������������������

36

CLASSIFIEDS

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

TML Classifieds

Place a personal classified ad. Call us at 301-982-1020 $1 per 3 words. You may place a classified on muslimlinkpaper.com free of charge. All classifieds run 3 months in the marketplace section. To place a classified, email office@muslimlinkpaper.com with the exact text of the classified, and send a check or money order payable to the Muslim Link to: The Muslim Link, 5301 Edgewood Rd, College Park MD 20740.

EMPLOYMENT SALES POSITION

Muslim with strong community ties for sales position, selling USDA certified Halal lamb and goat to restaurants and markets.

Please call 443-527-2526.

01-30-09 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

DOMESTIC HELP WANTED

Experienced house keeper, child care, cooking, live-in person for McLean, VA home. Tuesday-Saturday with flexibility.

Energetic, trustworthy, and gentle person with recent references.

English-speaking preferred. Driving a plus. Starting salary from $350 a week with extra consideration for experience and ability. Call 703-851-7979 12-12-08 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADMINISTRATIVE POSITION AVAILABLE

Initially, the engagement will be for four (4) hours daily, five days a week. This position will lead to a full–time spot at this well established and progressive institution.

Ideal candidate will be a person with some previous experience of working with faith based non-profit organizations with an inclination for community service and creative and organizational abilities. Good telephone manners, communication skills, fluency in English and use of computers are necessary requirements. Some book-keeping and accounting expertise is a plus. Candidate must be a US citizen or a Green Card holder.

Please mail or email your resume to: Muslim Community Center.

15200 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20905 Attention: Ishtiaq A. Chughtai E-mail: president@mccmd.org 09-12-08 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHILDCARE EXCHANGE TEDDY BEAR DAY CARE

Fairfax County permit-First Aid/CPR Certified.-Food ProgramMulti-child Discount-20 years caring.-Extensive Child Care training-Computer Skills & games-Near Pool & PlaygroundFull-Time Opening for Infants to Age 12 -Emphasis on Language Arts-Located in Annandale near by Littler River Trnpk. and John Marr Dr. Call Mrs. Lodhi(703)941-0944.

01-30-09

---------------------------------------------------CHILD CARE AND TEACHING IN MY HOME

I am available to babysit, teach Arabic and Qur’an in my Annandale, VA home. Children ages 0 and up. Call for information. 571-282-4404 or 703-627-6450 (cell).

11-14-08

---------------------------------------------------BABYSITTING IN MY HOME

I am available to babysit at my Silver Spring home. Children age 1 and up. Call for information. 301-593-4769.

11-14-08

---------------------------------------------------WANTED - NANNY/HOUSEKEEPER For two children, ages 1 yr and 6 yrs. In Reston, VA. Livein/out. Please call 703-629-7202 11-14-08

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

RENTAL LARGE TOWNHOUSE

Townhome at Mont. Vill. 5 bdrms, 3.5 baths. Walk-out basement. New windows, floor, toilets, stove. $1450 per month. Call 740-751-6563 or 240-751-6568 01-30-09

---------------------------------------------------ROOMS FOR RENT – DC

Three bedrooms one basement for rent in NE Washington, DC 20011. Conveniently located 2.1 miles from Masjid Ahlul Quran Wal Hadeeth, 1.3 miles from Avondale Islamic Center

and .4 miles from Fort Totten metro rail (red,green and yellow lines). Rooms range from $162.50-$250.00 per week including utilities. Please email brother Akil at akilalasim@gmail.com or call Mon-Sun (202)281-0046 01-09-30

17932 01-30-09

---------------------------------------------------ONE ROOM FOR IMMEDIATE RENT

Gentleman, 50, seeks wife, prefers widow from our unfortunate war in Iraq. Would like someone that is religious and educated.

Children no problem, but should be able to have children.

Will correspond anywhere in the world. Please contact me at rabah@hotmail.com 01-30-09

One room with attached bathroom, and washer/dryer at 5010 Edgewood Rd., College Park. Available immediately for rent. $650.00 per month including utilities.

Please call (301)236-0233.

12-19-08

---------------------------------------------------BASEMENT APT FOR RENT

Three rooms with living room basement. New kitchen and bathroom included. Plenty of storage spaces. Brand new carpet. Conveniently located near PGMA and University of Maryland. Asking for $1200, including ultilies. Please email b.rakey@yahoo.com or call cell monday-friday after 7pm or weekends. 11-14-08

---------------------------------------------------HOUSE FOR RENT

Single family home in Berwyn Heights, MD near Darrusalaam/ Al-Huda School: 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths, living room, and a finished basement. The basement has a family room, 4th bedroom and a laundry room with washer and dryer. Parking: Driveway, $1600/mo. Please refer any inquiries to (773)318-5300.

11-14-08

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

FOR SALE AD SPACE

Have something to sell? A TV? A Car? Books? HOUSE? try advertising in the Muslim Link classfied section!

Call 301-982-1020, or email us at ads@muslimlinkpaper.com Only 1 $ per 3 words!

SERVICES HOME REMODELING

Noon Construction Company. For all your home repair needs.

Basement finishing, drywall, kitchen and bathroom remodeling, windows, painting, doorways.

Call Ghulam Rasool 703-785-6055 01-30-09 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

HANDYMAN AVAILABLE

Assalamu’alaykum! My name is Varga Syahroni. I am an experienced technician in DC/MD/VA. I offer service and repair for cooling, heating, plumbing, refrigerator, dish washers, dryer machines and much more. Call me for reliable service! Free estimates (301) 792-1004 or email varga_syahroni@yahoo.com 11-14-08

---------------------------------------------------EVERGREEN ORGANIC LANDSCAPES

Pesticide/chemical-free landscaping. We offer these services: Plant trees, shrubs and flowers; leaf removal; prune small trees and shrubs; remove fallen trees; weed and grass removal; edging and mulching; privacy screens. We also do landscape design plans for a $50 fee. I am a professional with over 15 years gardening experience and a degree in Plant Studies.

We serve Northern VA, N.W. DC, and Montgomery County, MD. Remember, now is the best time to plant bulbs for spring flowers, and now is the best time to plant trees and shrubs. Call 571-277-6241 11-14-08

---------------------------------------------------LAWN MERCHANDISE FOR SALE

Outdoor garden plants, very cheap, $1 - $5. Shrubs, perennials, evergreen trees. Now is good time to plant! Annandale, VA 571-277-6241 11-14-08

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

MATRIMONIAL

SEEKING MUSLIMA

21-year old white Sunni Muslim, seeking Muslima, any race.

Write to Justin Kline, GS-5436, 301 Morea Rd. Frackville, PA

---------------------------------------------------------BROTHER SEEKS WIFE

---------------------------------------------------------SEEKING SISTER

76-year old Muslim man looking for sister 55 years old or older friend for (haleefah)to assist me in things I can do. If interested write to Br. Syed Hassan, PO Box 6861, Alexandria, VA 22306 01-30-09

---------------------------------------------------------MUSLIM BRIDE WANTED

Looking for a graduate Sunni Muslim girl, between 25 - 30 years, from Indian or Pakistani moderate Sunni family, for a 36 year-old Sunni Indian Muslim, working in Pharmaceutical medical research. Contact drasifhaque@yahoo.com 01-30-09 --------------------------------------------------------------------------

–

NEW in packaging – 10 “Alam Simsim” (SesameStreet) and 6 Bakkar (Season 5). $100 for set of 16. Free Shipping.

Contact: zubeidaa@gmail.com

--------------------------------------------------PEN PALS WANTED

I am a 20 year old Muslim convert serving the second half of a twenty year sentence in prison for a crime I’m not guilty of.

I have no outside friends and almost no family. I am college educated, I love the Qur’an, Arabic, poetry, art and sports.

I pray to Allah T’Ala to make this ad a source of many new Muslim friendships. If interested, please write to: Michael Coonce, #29197, U.S.P., P O Box 250, Draper, UT 84020 09-12-08

--------------------------------------------------PLACE YOUR PERSONAL AD

Interested in placing a classified ad ?? Stop waiting and call the Muslim Link now !! You can reach us at 301-982-1020 or email us at ads@muslimlinkpaper.com Only 1 $ per 3 words!

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

WWW.WORKHALAL.COM A job site for Muslims.

11-14-08

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

LOOKING FOR MUSLIM LADY

Pakistani Sunni Muslim male, age 40. Kind-hearted, funny and easy-going. Seeks female. Race/nationality is unimportant.

Please send photo/phone. Nadeem Khan, 227131, PO Box 860, Oakwood, VA 24631 01-30-09 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SEEKING MARRIAGE-MINDED WOMAN

I’m seeking a marriage-minded woman who’s friendly, supportive and has a great personality. Race, nationality, age is unimportant. I’m 39 years old, 6ft, 1in, 210 lbs, brown eyes and single. I’m drug- and disease-free, non-smoker. Dislikes: lies, drama, games. If interested, please contact me at: Kurt Miller, 98A6702, Sing Sing Correctional Facility, 354 Hunter St., Ossining, NY 10562 01-30-09

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

SEEKING MUSLIM GROOM

Indo Pakistani Sunni Muslim parents are inviting communication from a well educated, financially independent & secure, practicing Muslim for their 42year-old daughter. She is divorced, independent, self-motivated, attractive, charming, and well educated in US with a Masters degree; she has a 17 year old, highly disciplined son who will soon be independent.

Contact 301-221-3751, 301-704-6360 or matrimonials@shah.org 01-30-09 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

BROTHER SEEKING WIFE

Gentleman, 57, from Iran, no children. Non-smoker, taxi driver.

Seeking Muslim lady for marriage. For more information please call Ali from 7am to 7pm ,7 days a week. 202-669-5699 12-19-08 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SEEKING MUSLIM LADY

41, good-looking, educated, well-settled, easy-going, loving, athletic, US citizen, religious, Hajji, Sunni Indian guy seeking to marry a Muslim female of 35-42 age. Race and nationality unimportant. I have some physical intimacy issues. If you are interested, please contact me at yaarali786@yahoo.com 11-28-08

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

MISCELLANEOUS NEED TO CONTACT

Ummu-Zainab from Germantown, please call Nooruddin 410591-7930.Salaam.

01-30-09 --------------------------------------------------------------------------BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY Start your own VoIP or Calling Card Business! Investment begins at $ 5,000 Call Today 703-871-5273 bizop@ipsmarx. com 01-30-09 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

ARABIC DVDS CHILDREN’S ARABIC DVDS

Looking for a place for your ad?

Stop looking! try our classified section Call the muslim link now !

301.982.1020 Call Now . . . !

MASJID LOCATOR 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.

MASJID LOCATOR

8500 Hilltop Rd., Fairfax, VA 22031 Tel: 703-641-4890, www.iiasa.org

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

ISLAMIC CENTER OF MARYLAND (ICM): 19401 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, E-mail: 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.

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

AVONDALE ISLAMIC CENTER: 4637 Eastern Ave., Hyattsville, MD, 20782, Tel: 301-779-9292.

BAITUL MUKARRAM: 2116 S Nelson St., Arlington, VA, 22204, Tel: 703-778-1550.

DAR AL HIJRAH: 3159 Rowe St., Falls Church, VA 22044, Tel: 703-536-1030, www.hijrah.org.

DAR AL-SALAAM: 15250 Dumfries Rd., Mannassas,VA 20112.

DAR UL-GHURABA (Masjid ur Rahmah): 155 Baker St., Emporia, VA 23487, Tel. 434-348-786.

DAR-UL HUDA: 6666 Commerce St., Springfield, VA 22150, Tel: 703-922-0111, www.darulhuda.org

DAR AL-NOOR (MUSLIM ASSOC. OF VA): 5404 Hoadly Rd., Manassas, VA 20112, Tel: 703-580-0808, Fax: 703-221-8513, www.daralnoor.org.

DAR-US-SALAAM: 5301 Edgewood Rd. College Park, MD 20740, Tel: 301-982-9848, www.darussalaam.org.

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

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

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

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

INDONESIAN MUSLIM ASSOC. IN AMERICA (IMAAM): 1611 Veirs Mill Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20851 Tel: 240-453-0808, e-mail: fkadir@imaamnet.org.

INST.OF ISLAMIC AND ARABIC SCIENCES IN AMERICA (IIASA):

ISLAMIC FOUND. OF AMERICA (IFA): 6606 Electronic Dr., Springfield, VA 22151 Tel: 703-914-4982, www.ifa.ws.

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

ISLAMIC SOC. OF ANNAPOLIS (ISA): 2635 Riva RdSuite 110Annapolis, MD 21401 Tel: 410-266-6660 www.islamannapolis.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: (301)-972-0504, www.isgtown.org.

ISLAMIC SOC. OF SOUTHERN PG COUNTY (ISSPGC): PO Box 251 Upper Marlboro, MD 20773; 7400 Temple Hill Rd., Camp Springs, MD Tel: 301-627-5710.

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.mlcmd.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:

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 Tel: 202-581-1616, e-mail: imammusa@hotmail.com

MASJID AL-INSHIRAH: 7832 Fairbrook Road , Windsor Mill, MD 21244 Tel: 410-298-2977, Fax: 410-298-0266, www.al-inshirahweb.net.

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

MASJID JAMAAT AL-MUSLIMEEN: 4624 York Rd., Baltimore, MD 21212 Tel. 410-435-5000.

MASJID MUHAMMAD: 1519 4th St. NW, Washington D.C. 20001 Tel: 202-483-8832.

MASJID AL-NOOR: 10012 Harford Rd., Carney, MD 21234 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 BAIT-ALLAH: 1910 Frederick Avenue (2 Floor) Baltimore, MD 21223 Tel: 443-224-4423, E-mail:info@masjidbaitallah.org. www.masjidbaitallah.org

MASJID TAQWA ANNOOR: 8000 MLK Highway, Glenarden MD Tel: 301-772-5969.

MEDINA CENTER: 9426 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda MD 20814 www.medinacenter.net

MUSLIM COM. CENTER (MCC): 15200 New Hampshire Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20904 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.

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.

11064 Livingston Road Unit L (101) Ft. Washington,

The Prophet Sallallahu ‘alyhi wa sallam said: “”There are seven (types of persons) whom Allah will give protection with His Shade:… (one of them is) a person whose heart is attached to the masjid…” (Bukhari, Muslim)

38

MARKETPLACE

Request For Dua’s

{ To A l l a h We Belong, and to Him is Our Return } “Everyone is going to taste death, and We shall make a trial of you with evil and good, and to Us you will be returned.”

(Surah Al-Anbiya:35)” 12-31-08 Inna lilallahi wa inna illaihi rajioon. Rawda Yaghi died on December 31, 2008 at University of Maryland Medical Center. Her janazah was at Dar Al Hijra in Falls Church, VA. She was buried in Al Firdaus Cemetery in Frederick, MD. (Source: Jubran Khalil) 1-4-09 Inna wilallahi wa inna illaihi rajioon. Nur Abdullkari, originally from Somali, expired at Reston Hospital Center. His janazah was held at Dar Alhijra, then his body was taken for burial to AMAA Cemetery in Stafford,VA. (Source: Jubran Khalil) 1-4-09 Abdul Wahid Wahidi passed away from a natural death. His body was sent to Afghanistan for burial. (Source: Jubran Khalil) 1-4-09 Umar Hayat passed away. His body was sent to Pakistan for burial.

(Source: Jubran Khalil) 1-6-09 Our Brother Muhammad Majid Siddiqi, aged 41, of Woodbridge, VA passed away. He had come back from work, ate some food and played with his three children. Then he died suddenly at home. Inna lilallahi wa inna ulaihi rajioon. He was taken to Potomac Hospital where he was then transferred to the State Medical Examiner forensic lab. His janazah was held at Darul Noor in Manassas, VA. May Allah grant Allah(swt) grant him a place among His slaves in Paradise and grant sabr to his family and friends. (Source: Mohammad Mehboob and Jubran Khalil) 1-7-09 Arfan Sheikh, aged 72 and from Pakistan, passed away. His janazah prayer was held at Darul Noor, and he was buried at AMAA Cemetery in Stafford, VA. (Source: Ismail Laher) 1-17-09 Sr. Mariam Bibi, mother of Br. Khalid Mehmood (owner of Silver Spoon restaurant) passed away in Hagerstown, MD. May Allah swt forgive her sins and enter her into Jannat ul Firdaus. Ameen. The salaat ul janazah was prayed for her at ICM. (Source: ICM) 1-17-09 Br. Khalil Ahmed Siddiqi, a taxi driver, was found murdered over the weekend. Inna lilallahi Wa inna iliahi rajioon. Oh Allah, reward his family in this tragedy and replace with what is better. His janazah was prayed at Dar Al Huda, then he was buried at AMAA Cemetrey in Stafford, VA. (Source: Jubran Khalil) 1-20-09 Nasima Wara passed away. Her janazah and burial were held at AMAA Cemetery in Staafford, VA (Source: Jubran Khalil)

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

Upcoming Events In Your Area PURIFICATION OF THE SOUL FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 2009

Held at ADAMS Center. For more details please visit is at almadinainstitute.org

GUIDANCE FINANCIAL AT ICM SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2009

On Saturday February the 7th at 12:30pm, ICM is hosting a session that should be of interest to all of us whether we are aspiring home owners or current home owners.

Even with the current financial crises, Islamic finance continues to grow and our guest Guidance Residential – the leading provider of riba-free home financing – will be here to help educate us on how Islamic home financing works and how we can qualify for this promising alternative. This will be Saturday the 7th of February at 12 ...

Islamic Center of Maryland 19411 Woodfield Rd Gaithersburg, MD 20879 Tel: (301) 840-9440 or email hussam.qutub@guidanceresidential.com

CALLING TO THE WAY SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2009

A Dawah Workshop! Br. Yusha Evans gives this workshop detailing Our Obligation and Purpose. At MCC, 15200 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, MD. To register, please send an email to atif.sajid@gmail.com Contact: 571-436-3305

COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE AWARDS BANQUET SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2009

Elijah Mohammed II (Son of Elijah Muhammed and Brother of Imam W. Deen Mohammed) will be presentented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his 78 years of service and commitment to the Muslim Community by the New Africa Islamic Community Center of Washington D.C. (NAICCDC). For additional information, to support this event, and to purchase tickets on line visithttp://www. naiccdc.com Sultan M. Abdullah - 202-270-3754 Taalib-Din A. Uqdah - 202-2918696mrbilal_2000@yahoo.com

PRIMITIVE TECHNOLOGY DESIGN BUILD CHALLENGE SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2009

Compete as part of a team to design and build a small contraption that will carry a teammate through an obstacle course in the fastest time. No experience necessary.

Just bring your creativity, positive attitude, and competitive spirit. Ages: 12-16 Location: Makkah Learning Center 814 Brandy Farms Lane Gambrills, MD 21054 .NOMAD CAMPS admin@nomadcamps.com

1-22-09 Brando Dinro, aged 51, also known ad Br. Osama, passed away suddenly.

His janazah was held at Dar Al Hijrah. He was taken to AMAA Cemetery in Stafford, Va for burial. Members of his family flew in from Egypt to be in the funeral procession. The family would like to thank Br. Khalid Iqbal, Deputy Director of ADAMS Center, for his support in our time of need. Inna lilallahi wa inna lilaihi rajioon. (Source: Jubran Khalil) 1-22-09 The janazah prayer was held for the mother of Masood Asfer of Hanover, MD. Her janazah was held at Dar at Taqwa, then she was buried at Columbia Memorial Park. Please make duaa for the sister that Allah shower her with his mercy and accept her in the highest ranks of jannah, and may Allah give her family the patience during these difficult times. (Source: Abrar Lohani) 1-25-09 It is with great sadness we inform you that Mrs. Vohra, the mother of Nazir Vohra, Siraj Vohra, Rehana Manejwala, and Haseena Manejwala passed away yesterday. Inna lillahi wa innah ilaihi rajioon. (We belong to Allah and to Him we return). The salat ul-janazah was held at ICCL. May Allah SWT have mercy on her soul and grant her the highest levels of Paradise.

(Source: ISB) 1-26-09 Our young brother, Khaznadar Shahan, aged 15, died suddenly after an accident. Inna lilallahi wa inna ilaihi rajioon. He was buried at AAMA Cemetery in Stafford, VA. (Source: Jubran Khalil)

LIST YOUR EVENTS FOR FREE AT MUSLIMLINKPAPER.COM OR CALL 301-982-1020

The Muslim Link, Safar 1430 | Jan 30 - Feb 26, 2009

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Healing Power of Honey GUARANTEED by Qur’an ... And healing power of honey-based hair and skin products fully-guaranteed by Honeyderm, Inc. Every Muslim has read that the Prophet Sallallahu ‘alyhi wa sallam told his ummah about the wonderful nature of honey. In the Qur’an in Surah An-Nahl, Allah described honey as a “drink of varying color wherein is healing for men”.

Its no wonder that scientists are spending more and more resources examining, testing, and developing honey-based medical treatments. As early as December 26, 2007, the Associated Press ran a story titled “Honey makes medical comeback”.

One company that has believed in the restorative power of honey for a long time is HoneyDerm, Inc., a Lansing, Michigan based company that spent years bringing the healing power of honey to people suffering from hair loss, dandruff, and skin disease.

Their most famous product line is Hairback Lotion and Hairtonix Shampoo, that “helps stimulate new hair growth and thicken existing hair”. Honeyderm, Inc also claims the products solve dandruff and scalp psoriasis.

The Muslim Link requested access to some of Honeyderm’s customers, and Brother Mahmoud from Honeyderm gladly offered us some phone numbers.

Brother Hasan, in his late 30’s is from Maryland and suffers from the common skin disease eczema. “I’ve had eczema since high school, and it got worse as the years went on. I went to a dermatologist and he recommended a cortisone-type prescription cream.

It did stop the itch, but my skin was still dry and tight. I’ve tried lotions and shampoos from Aveeno, Lubiderm, Vaseline, and others. Alhumdulillah, I found Honeyderm’s Dermatonic-P, and it is really, really a blessing for people with Eczema or other skin illnesses. I no longer wake up sweating at night!

Allahu-Akbar!.”

We called Abdurihman Khalil from Chicago. He did not know we were going to call. Abdurihman started

losing his hair when he was about 28. He discovered the Hairback product line at a convention and decided to test its claims. “The hair loss stopped completely,” said Abdurihman. “It’s excellent, and I’ve been using it now for 6 years as my normal shampoo ... I recommend it to be friends and family always.”

We also called Brother Mustafa Al-Omary in Sterling Heights, Michigan. He decided to do something about his thinning hair at age 40 and tried the Hairback treatment. Asked how long it took for him to see results, he told us “Oh gosh, less than a week. My thin spots filled in,.” He said he would “absolutely” recommend the product to anyone. “It’s not a fly-bynight product, its awesome,” said Mustafa.

We also called Najeebudheen Appat, a 30-year old living in Los Angeles, CA. He’s had a severe dandruff problem for a long-time, and had been searching for a solution. “I tried so many different products like tonics and shampoos, I can’t even remember them all, until I found this product around 2002. My problem was solved completely, the entire thing is taken care of.

I even called [Honeyderm] with the great feedback,” recalled Najeebudheen. He told us that Allah creates shifa in many things, and Honeyderm’s products are a part of that. “For dandruff problems, this is the total solution,” he told us from his mobile phone.

“Alhumdulillah, I found Honeyderm’s Dermatonic-P, and it is really, really a blessing for people with Eczema or other skin illnesses. I no longer wake up sweating at night! Allahu-Akbar!.” - Br.Hasan, Maryland

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These are actual photos of Honeyderm customers. Many more pictures available at www. honeyderm.com

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On Honeyderm’s website, there are many more testimonials from Muslims and non-Muslims from around the nation and the world. There is also a gallery of “before and after” pictures of both hair loss treatments as well as skin treatments. And best of all, for those of us who’ve “tried it all”, there is a full money back guarantee.

Allah said honey heals. The Prophet Sallallahu’alyhi wa sallam said honey heals. The people we called said honey heals. With a money back guarantee, there is absolutely nothing to lose, and everything to gain – your hair and skin!

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Honey-Based Healing for:

Hair Products for Hair loss, Dandruff, Itching, Scalp Psoriasis Skin Products for Acne, Wrinkles, Psoriasis and Allergy related problems MONEY BACK GUARANTEE

HoneyDerm is very confident that its products will definitely help you. If for any reason you are not satisfied with the product, we offer you a full money back guarantee with the return of any remaining portion of the product in their original containers. See our website for time restrictions.

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