The Muslim Link - December 6, 2013

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Dar-us-salaam's plan to raise $10,000,000?

Imams Urge Masajid to Avoid Calculations, Use Moon Sighting to Establish Islamic Dates

yaqeen. >> PG 34

>> PG 5

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Terror from the Skies: Anti-Drone Activists, Victims Convene In DC

By Hena Zubari

Muslim Link Staff Reporter

“Pregnant women lose their babies from the stress of the constant buzzing of drones... a 10-year-old girl died in a recent attack with her parents; she was holding on so tightly to her mother that the village people had to bury them together in one grave... our bombs are not smart....I am sorry .....We are creating

a model for other countries; we can kill people based on secret information...no more imperial crimes...Attorney General Eric Holder said drone strikes within US are unlawful by why not overseas?�-

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Eid Not Added to Montgomery School Calendar | pg 5 Anne Arundel Muslims Hope Fair First Step to Free Clinic | pg 6 Interview with Imam Ahmad Azzaari on Egypt | pg 8

These were some of the voices from the Global Drone

Introducing new Imam of the Indonesian Community | pg 10

>> activists Pg 12

Maryland Muslims Launch State Wide Coat Drive | pg 16

How Many Meals Did ISB Pack for the Hungry in About 2 Hours?

each scoop, each fold, and each wrap would make a difference and help them reach their goal.

By Muslim Link Staff

Allah describes their reasons in the Qur'an in Surah Insan: "We

20,000

For over 130 volunteers at the Islamic Soceity of Baltimore, it was easy to see that

Their goal was not merely to reach a target of packing twenty thousand -- yes, thousand -- it was something far greater than that.

>> See HUNGER Pg 36

NATION: Thanksgiving? Not for Native Americans | pg 30 The Muslim Link

Coupons PG 42

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

2 | COMMUNITY NEWS

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Mujtaba Yahya, DDS Aamir Sheikh, DDS, MS Seema Bateson, DDS

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

COMMUNITY NEWS

|5

Community News Imams Urge Masajid to Avoid Calculations, Use Moon Sighting to Establish Islamic Dates

By Rana Khan

Muslim Link Staff Reporter In a groundbreaking initiative to address one of the most hotly debated topics within the Muslim community, the Islamic Community Center of Laurel (ICCL) hosted a seminar on moonsighting, inviting the participation of imams and masajid in the Maryland, D.C. and Virginia area. More than 50 masajid were invited to the forum, from as far north as Baltimore and as far south as Richmond.

The seminar, held on Saturday, November 16, 2013, included perspectives by Imam Safi Khan from the Dar-us-Salaam community, Imam Ahmad Azzari from the PGMA community, Shaykh Adel Khan and Imam Javed Bhaiyat of ICCL and Imam Mikaeel Smith from the Makkah Learning Center in Gambrills, Maryland.

Every speaker at the forum emphasized the importance of adhering to the confirmed prophetic practice of physically sighting the moon, and shunned the method of determining the start of the Islamic lunar months using calculations.

As the first speaker, Imam Safi Khan, reminded the audience of the intention behind the gathering.

"We are not here to argue or to put someone down, but to cooperate on righteousness. In essence we are doing the "dhikr" (remembrance) of Allah. So as we go forward in talking about this issue - about moon-sighting, calculations, what do we do when the moon is sighted, do we do our own sighting - we must remember we are doing this for the pleasure of Allah,

>> moon Pg 22

Muslim Holidays Not Added to Montgomery School Calendar

By Lindsay A. Powers

school year calendar.

Gazette Staff Writer

Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr won’t be official school holidays next year, but some school board members say a change needs to be made in determining the basis for adding new holidays to the county schools’ calendar.

While the decision won’t affect the next school year, the Montgomery County school board didn’t amend the school calendar Tuesday to give students and staff in Montgomery County Public Schools the day off on two Muslim holidays.

Among other information, the board considered absenteeism data from Eid al-Adha, which fell on Oct. 15 this year, before voting to approve the 2014-15

School system officials have said the system needs a secular reason, such as high absenteeism rates from students and staff, to legally justify closing schools on a holiday.

Board members Michael Durso and Justin Kim voted against the calendar’s approval.

Before the vote, school board President Christopher S. Barclay said he thinks the public school system needs to develop “a realistic and fair measure” for determining when student and staff absenteeism on a holiday is high enough to justify closing schools.

In next school year’s calendar, the holidays — Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr

— would not have conflicted with classes.

The holidays change each year as they follow the Islam lunar calendar.

Eid al-Adha marks the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Eid al-Fitr celebrates the end of Ramadan.

The issue of closing schools on the holidays is at the heart of the Equality for Eid Coalition — sponsored by the Maryland chapter of the Council of American Islamic Relations — which has called for an amended school calendar.

The coalition also called for students and staff members to skip school on Oct. 15 and instead celebrate Eid al-Adha.

The school system recognizes both Muslim holidays by declaring them nontesting days and giving Muslim students

excused absences.

On the Oct. 15 holiday, and on several days around it, the school system tracked absenteeism.

According to a Nov. 7 letter from Superintendent Joshua P. Starr to County Councilman George Leventhal, about 5.6 percent of students and 5 percent of teachers were absent on Eid al-Adha this year compared to about 3.2 percent of students and 4.2 percent of teachers the same day the previous week.

The letter also said that about 5.5 percent of students and 6.3 percent of teachers were absent the day before the holiday (which was Columbus Day) and about

>> calendar Pg 20

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

6 | COMMUNITY NEWS

Anne Arundel Muslims Hope Health Fair First Step to Free Clinic

By Urooj Zulfiqar

But in the future, the whole goal is to setup a free clinic, inshaAllah, in the MLC as we have a lot of property.”

Muslim Link Contributing Writer Anne Arundel County Muslim Council (AACMC) held its first annual, successful health fair on November 16, 2013 at Makkah Learning Center (MLC); attended by not only the local doctors and physicians, but also by representatives from county health care facilities.

AACMC aims to start a free heath clinic at MLC.

AACMC aims to start the clinic in the next six months. “We will have everything available, not just [for our] community but also [for] other people who are unable to afford health insurance or health care benefits. We plan to have the clinic open for two days a week initially and then move to weekends, depending on how it is set up at that time.

The funding for the clinic will initially come from AACMC but then eventually we plan to get the county involve and set-up donation system from people,” explained Dr. Manjuawala , who has been practicing his field for 30 years and lives in Anne Arundel County for the past 25 years.

The goal of this health fair was to create awareness of local health facilities open to the community and to introduce the community to local doctors and medical specialists that the Muslim community of MLC can take advantage of.

Dr. Alif Manjuawala, one of the participating doctors and the chairperson of AACMC, informed The Muslim Link, “We held this health fair so people can learn more about the doctors and the services available in our community and country so people can take advantage of its benefits.”

“The advantage of this is that if someone is not able to go to a doctor or doesn’t want to go to them, they can get their general check-up here and we can recommend a proper follow-up in our

About 50-70 people attended the event and made it a memorable moment for the community; the first of its kind. Rudwan Abu-Rumman, the president of AACMC, was happy that it was able to generate the targeted number of audience for the Top, Annapolis Imam Mikaeel Smith greets a community member at the AACMC event’s first attempt, “Alhumdulilallah, health fair. Bottom, a doctor gives advice at the health fair. Photos by Urooj Zulfiqar. this is our first try to have the health fair and [for] a first attempt, it is great. The individual clinics, annouced Manjuawala, health care, they can come my office or “Right now if someone, who has no health any of the individual doctors’ office for >> first step Pg 27 care benefits or insurance or can’t afford their problem and we can treat them there.

PGMA Event Addresses Health Needs of Community

By Muslim Link Staff Reporters The Prince George’s Muslim Association located in Lanham, MD hosted its first ever Community Health and Wellness Fair on Saturday November 9, 2013.

This event was organized solely by the Sisters’ Committee of PGMA and volunteers within the PGMA community, The response was overwhelmingly positive, both from the attendees and from the providers. It was largely characterized as “very professional and greatly needed in the community.”

About 20 providers participated covering everything from doula consultation to cardiology. Most areas were well

....

received, however the Breast Clinic run

by Muslim Community Center appeared to be most visited based upon sign in sheets. Glucose Screens run by Greenway Endocrinology appeared to be a close second. “Not all clinics had sign-in sheets and were limited in the number of patients they could see due to the time; Adams Compassionate Healthcare Network who performed Blood Screens was an example of this. We also had a great many physicians providing curbside consultation and referrals for which, as with most of the services, there was no registration or fee,” shares Danya Forrester, Chair of the PGMA Sister’s Committee.

up in service to the community, some on very short notice. “In excess of 60 people (registered) were seen by the different clinics, many that would not have received care otherwise,” says Forrester.

PGMA wishes to thank all of the wonderful professionals and volunteers who showed

From lectures on Natural Herbal Remedies and Food in the Quran to massages, the

Dar us Salaam Clinic had a booth and Dr.Sufia Syed gave curbside diabetes checkups along with other physicians.

Reaching All HIV+ Muslims in America (RAHMA) provided free HIV screens and information.

Flu shots were offered $25 for those without insurance, or those whose insurance doesn't cover the cost.

health fair was diverse and members of the congregation were excited to receive services that they might never ventured out for, such as facials offered by Ayshah Salaam.

Free childcare was provided for the benefit of the attendees.

“Insha’Allah we hope to make this at least an annual event. According to Forrester, some of the doctors and organizations have expressed the desire to work with the PGMA community on future events like this, and “others who were not able to attend, or who were not aware of the event have expressed a desire to develop a relationship with PGMA to meet community needs.”

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

COMMUNITY NEWS

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Nigerian Scholar Finds Hope In American Muslim Community Imam of Lagos State University Visits Prince George's Muslim Association

By Hena Zuberi

Muslim Link Staff Reporter Recently, Professor Amidu Sanni visited from Nigeria and lectured at the Prince George’s Muslim Association in Lanham, MD. He is the Chief Imam of Lagos State University and a professor of Arabic.

Here is TML’s exclusive interview with him.

TML: Who were your teachers and what is your academic background, Islamic and secular?

AS: My first teacher was my late father Sheikh Yusuf Sanni (d. 2007) under whom I studied the Qur’an and rudimentary Islamic and Arabic sciences from

childhood, about 58 years ago. Then I studied Arabic Islamic sciences under my senior sister Haolat who was the first female teacher employed in my father’s Arabic-Islamic College (Madrasat alNahda al-‘Arabiyya, Ibadan, Nigeria.

The school celebrated her Golden Jubilee Anniversary in June 2013. I attended

Olubadan Primary School, Ibadan, Ahmadiyya Grammar School Eleyele, Ibadan, and University of Ibadan, Nigeria for my first degree where I came out with First Class in Arabic Language & Literature in 1980. I got my M.A. in Arabic and Islamic Studies also from the University of Ibadan and a PhD in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies from the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in 1989 as a British Commonwealth Scholar.

One comes across many teachers in secular and Islamic learning, and Sheikh Jum’at Kolawole Mustafa was one of my mentors, but Dr Sheikh Barihi Aremu Adetunji is my most influential tutor in Arabic and Islamic sciences. In the secular

training, Haj Ganiyu Mosuro, my Agric Science teacher in the secondary school was remarkable. But my most influential teachers at the university level were late Professors M. S. El-Garh, Musa O. A. Abdul and Professors Isaac Ogunbiyi and Ayo Bamgbose all at the University of Ibadan. Professors Owen Wright, Harry Norris, and late Wansbrough of SOAS were of great influence in shaping my scholarship, although Wansbrough didn’t impress me due to his sceptical approach to facts and Islam.

TML: Why did you choose to become an imam and can you tell us what being the

>> scholar Pg 26

Islamic Finance Expert Offers Workshops in DMV

By Muslim Link Staff Dr. Main Al-Qudah, a specialist in Islamic economics and finance, spoke in Maryland and Virginia the weekend of November 23, 2013, offering daylong Islamic Finance workshops for area Muslims.

Around 25 families gathered at Darus-Salam in College Park, MD to learn about applying Islamic principles to their financial lives.

Specializing in economics and finance, Dr. Al-Qudah is an Asst. Professor at Shariah Academy and a founding member of Al

Huda University. He obtained his Ph.D. in 2004 in the science and technology of Economics in Islam from the American Open University. His received his masters in Islamic Studies in 1996 from AlYarmook University, Jordan and his Bachelor of Arts in Economics, 1991 from Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.

Currently he is an assistant professor of Islamic studies in the American Open University. He was the acting academic dean and Assistant professor at Islamic American University. >> finance Pg 24

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

8 | COMMUNITY NEWS

Eyewitness to Egypt: An Interview with Imam Ahmad Azzaari

By Mauri Saalakhan

subway, taxis, and walked a lot as well.

Question: You actually have a subway?

Last September (2013), a special forum on the crisis in Egypt was held at the Women's Democratic Forum in Washington, DC. Unfortunately, the forum was far from a balanced discussion (it was heavily weighted in favor of the military coup); and while the organizers promised a follow-up forum to allow the other side to be heard, this has not yet occurred. With that said, the following interview provides an opportunity for a voice from the other side to be heard (in a non-demonstration format).

Imam Azzaari: Yes, we have a very good subway in Cairo. It was a gift from France.

Imam of the Prince George’s Muslim Association (PGMA) Ahmad Azzaari, a Washington area leader of Egyptian descent, recently returned from a visit to his native land. It was his first visit to Egypt since the so-called 25th of January Revolution (2011) – a "revolution" that would be rendered mute by the counterrevolution (aka, military coup) of July 3, 2013. It should be noted that General Sisi supporters also refer to the coup as the "30th of June revolution."

I asked the Imam if his observations (upon arrival) measured up to his expectations.

He said they did. He noted how anxious he was to assess what the conditions on the ground in Egypt were for himself, and described how he was able to comfortably mix with all strata of Egyptian society to get a good idea of how the people of Egypt (across the board) were thinking.

He noted how the imam is always looked on (in Egypt) as the person who is living and communicating with the "regular people... the poor people." But as a physician with a number of friends who are also physicians, and professors of medicine at the university, he had access to the well-educated as well as the regular folk (those who are often viewed as the "religious people").

Question: Which areas of Egypt did you visit, and how did you get around?

Imam Azzaari: I stayed in Cairo for three weeks; I visited many neighborhoods in Cairo. I mainly took public transportation because that is the best way to connect with the people and see everything on the ground. I took the public buses, the

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as Rab'ah Al-Adawiyyah Square in Nasr City in Cairo, and An-Nahdhah Square in Al-Geezah) when they killed over 3,000 protestors on the 14th of August (right after Eid Al-Fitr) – have made people very afraid to share their honest opinion.

The people with the louder voice, who are not afraid to express their opinion, are of course the people who are supporting the coup. If you publicly support the coup they will not touch you. If you publicly support Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood you will be put in jail.

Question: What are the social and political conditions in Egypt like today, in the wake of the coup?

Imam Azzaari: There is severe polarization in Egypt now... everywhere, from Alexandria in the north to Aswan in the south. The polarization has never before been this severe in Egypt's modern history. The divisions are not just restricted to friends, or co-workers, or

"There is severe polarization in Egypt now... everywhere, from Alexandria in the north to Aswan in the south.

The polarization has never before been this severe in Egypt." neighbors, or with people who you meet by chance in your travels, it now extends within the families – between a father and son, a brother and brother, brother and sister, mother and son; between other family relations, between uncles and aunts, grandparents – it's a big disruption

Imam Azzaari: We cannot make an accurate determination on this question for one reason. It would be easy to determine this question if we had democracy, because everyone would be able to express his or her opinion freely. But now people are very afraid that they would

"The party that supports Morsi and the Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood) says America is against us; and the party with Sisi and the coup also says America is against us – so America is condemned by everyone now." in the family life. There are even some people who were engaged to be married who ended up severing their relationships because of politics.

be taken to jail, or they could be shot, or lose their job, or a family member might be taken if they express their support for Morsi or the Muslim Brotherhood.

Question: Who has the majority of support in Egypt today... Morsi and the Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood, aka; MB), or Sisi and the military? And why?

In this atmosphere I don't think any poll would be accurate. The massacre – I would call it the genocide that happened in Rab'ah and An-Nahdhah (referred to

I will share with you an incident that happened to me. I went to one of the famous tourist attractions in Egypt that sells antiques; actually it's a religious and tourist site. It's called Al-Hussein Square; Al-Hussein (Radhiya Allahu Anhu, after whose name the famous square was named) is the grandson of the Prophet, Sallalaahu Alayhi Wa Sallam. There is a very big mosque right beside Al-Azhar Mosque; Al-Azhar Mosque is across the street from Al-Hussein Mosque. This square has all kinds of antiques and other things that tourists like to buy. Every year that I would visit Egypt I would always see several buses full of tourists – in one hour it could be six or seven hundred tourists in the same spot. This year I didn't see any buses; I didn't see any tourists that I could talk to in English or any other language. It's just the people from the area begging people to come inside.

I went inside to buy some antiques for my family. Here in America I am a member of one of the human rights organizations, one of the political organizations called the Egyptian Americans for Democracy and Human Rights; aka, EADHR). They were looking for the shirt of Rab'ah; the shirt has the sign of Rab'ah – extending the four fingers of one's hand and bending the thumb. I wanted to buy several dozens.

When I asked the shop keepers if they had the shirt of Rab'ah they didn't want to talk to me. They would turn away, 'we don't have it.' If you ask me to sell you drugs I will get you drugs, but I cannot sell you this shirt. My store will be shut down and I will be put in jail. He said this shirt is threatening the national security of Egypt now. It was like a joke and we started laughing with each other. >> egypt Pg 18

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10 |COMMUNITY NEWS

Getting to Know the New Imam of the Indonesian Muslim Association of America Ustadh Fahmi Zubir of IMAAM Speaks to the Muslim Link

By Dian Marissa

Muslim Link Contributing Writer

TML: Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Where are you from, and your educational background?

Ustadh Fahmi: Alhamdu lillah I went to an Islamic boarding school in Indonesia called "Pesantren Persatuan Islam".

Usually in Islamic boarding schools like this we have to do both the mandatory K-12 curriculum and the Islamic studies curriculum in tandem. So I did my K-12 education this way. Then I did my associate degree in foreign language studies at Borobodur University, Jakarta.

Then I continued my education in AlAzhar University in Egypt and got my bachelor's degree in Usooluddin, with a major in Aqidah. After I graduated from Al-Azhar, I applied in a master's program in "Jami'ah American Maftuhah" in Egypt, or what was known as "Open American University". Unfortunately due to administrative reason, I had to leave the program and return to Indonesia. I resided in Aceh, a province in the Sumatran Island, and finally got my master's degree in educational management from Syiah Kuala University in Aceh.

Before coming to the U.S., I taught as an adjunct professor in the same university, teaching Introductory Islamic Studies for undergraduates.

I think one of the biggest challenges is to bridge the intergenerational gap between the youth and their communities in general, and more specifically between the youth and their nuclear family.

TML: What's your favorite food?

Ustadh Fahmi: Anything that has coconut milk in it, and of course Rendang -the staple dish of West Sumatra, since I am originally from there. Alhamdu lillah the good thing is I don't have miss any of these foods here. We have a very generous Indonesian community who would happily send me good Indonesian food. Something to be thankful for. The caring of the Muslim community here and the sense of "ukhuwwah" (brotherhood/ community) far away from home.

TML: Tell us about your journey to America. How did you find out about the IMAAM Community and Rockville?

TML: What about your family? How many children, how old, and what grades are they?

Ustadh Fahmi: I have four children, three of them were born in Cairo and the little one was born in Aceh. The eldest is now in the 11th grade, the second in 9th grade, the third in 5th grade, and the fourth one is now 5 years old. Alhamdu lillah the eldest three are now studying in different Islamic boarding schools and currently memorizing the Qur'an (7, 11, 6, juuz respectively).

TML: What's your favorite past time?

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or so imaams travel to remote areas and small villages in Indonesia to invite the local communities to islam and create local programs and training for the communities. I was part of this initiative and was so privileged to share the beauty of our deen to these communities. In the process I began to enjoy the traveling aspect of it because I think there is so much to learn from this experience. It enriches you as a person and opens your horizons, to appreciate different people and different communities.

Top, the new Imam for the area Indonesian community meets other local leaders like Al-Huda School principal Haroon Baqai. Bottom, Al-Huda School students greet the imam after he delivered a talk at the school.

Ustadh Fahmi: I really enjoy traveling.

It started as a job, really, but as I travelled to different places I really began to enjoy the journey. When I lived in Aceh, I was often invited to give talks

and trainings to different communities across the province. In Indonesia, we have this national initiative called "Da'i Saudi" -a program sponsored by the Saudi Arabian government- where 100

Ustadh Fahmi: I actually found out about the opportunity from a friend of mine who forwarded the information that an Indonesian Muslim community in Washington DC area was looking for an imaam. I studied the requirements (job description) and decided to apply for the position. After a formal application and a Skype interview with their search committee, I was formally invited to work here for 6 months beginning in this past Ramadan. Because I wasn't teaching this semester in the university, I accepted the offer. The administrative process was a bit long due to the visa screening process in the U.S. embassy in Indonesia, but alhamdu lillah it went through and so

>> imaam Pg 24

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

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12 |COMMUNITY NEWS

Terror from the Skies: Anti-Drone Activists, Victims Convene In DC activists Chris Cole, who runs drone wars.net, spoke on a panel about proliferation issues along with Israeli researcher Dalit Baum of Who Profits?, German drone campaigner Elsa Rassbach and Noel Sharkey of ICRAC and the Killer Robots campaign. At the moment US, UK and Israel and 12 nations have seen drone strikes, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Libya, Mali, Philippines, Gaza, Egypt and the Sudan. 87 countries have drones and are in the process of weaponizing them. Israel is the the largest drone and related technology exporter, said Dalit Baum.

>> continued from pg 1 Summit held over the third weekend of November, 2013 in Washington D.C. About 400 people from across international boundaries gathered at this important drone summit that took place at the Georgetown Law School. The venue itself was a major accomplishment, organized by Women for Peace- CODEPINK and co-sponsored by the National Lawyers Guild and the Institute of Policy Studies, a progressive think tank.

“We were told that drones would only go to hit the bad guys” started Medea Benjamin, co founder of CODEPINK, who traveled to Pakistan a week after the bombing started, hoping to cross into Afghanistan, and saw civilian families from Afghanistan in the streets of Peshawar, Pakistan. Benjamin related that she met a young girl begging, Roya who took them to her home- targeted by mistake- where her brothers and mother were obliterated. “We could not tell my mother from my brothers. Her father, a candy man, lost his senses and at 13, she became the head of her household, escaping through the Khyber Pass with the rest of her family.

“When will it end it? It has been 11 years,” questioned Benjamin. CODEPINK demands accountability from Congress and when they don’t get meetings, the group arranges protests at military bases, and in front of manufacturers of weaponized drones.

Dr. Cornel West, professor and author, gave the keynote address on the relationship between Wall Street, the military and the integrity and moral ethos of the American people.

“Those babies who are killed in Pakistan and Yemen have exactly the same value as the white children who were killed in Newtown, Connecticut,” said West. “You can’t drop a drone on innocent people and pretend that it doesn’t effect your soul, your destiny, your sense of who you are, and this fragile experiment on democracy.”

Several legal myths were deconstructed during the legal panel of the summit. According to former President of the National Lawyers Guild, Marjorie Cohn, who moderated the panel, the U.S. is currently breaking the law

....

Photo courtesy of Codepink.

Yemeni representatives, privacy lawyers, scientists, activists, an opposition leader from Pakistan, former members of the armed forces, and artists met to hear stories, share latest research, plan and mentor grassroots activists. This was an action packed year for the anti-drone movement as public interest has grown; this year’s summit was about pushing policies towards a drone-free world, educating the public and strategizing.

with the use of drones strikes. The legality of drone strikes overseas and global war on terror was dissected by constitutional lawyer Mary Ann O'Connell. The law is being mangled by the use of drones, she said. “None of these countries have attacked the US; we don’t have an invitation to use [drones] as the current leader in Yemen does not have legitimacy.” Self-defense doesn’t justify strikes as the U.S. is not in an armed conflict, said O’Connell referring to Article 51 of Charter of the United Nations. None of the basic principles of legality are met to justify using drones: necessity-when negotiations and law enforcement have not worked, chance of success and proportionality.

Accountability of deaths was discussed by Pardiss Kebriaei, senior staff attorney at the Center of Constitutional Rights. She is the lead counsel for Al-Aulaqi family over the killing 16 year old Abdul Rahman Al-Aulaqi; seven people died in that drone attack including two children at a public restaurant. Based on her work with Guantanamo Bay detainees, Kebriaei asked activists to equally press for a deeper legal, and moral critique, along with transparency and judicial review.

Participants also heard from former U.S. military personnel previously involved in the drones program, including Daniel Hale, an intelligence analyst. He took the audience inside the bunker in the US, where young

drone operators are shown scenes of the 9-11 carnage on repeat, as they choose targets in Afghanistan based on data provided by analysts like Hale. Drones surveillance covers the breadth of the country down to a “3 inch blade of grass,” Hale apologized to the victims and their families. Thinking that he was part of an operation meant to protect Afghanistan, but when four innocent men died because of information he fed leading to a drone strike, Hale realized that he “was no longer part of something moral or sane or rational.” He had heard someone say that “terrorists are cowards” because they used IEDs. “What was different,” Hale asked, “between that and the little red joystick that pushes a button thousands of miles away?”

On Cyber Monday, news spread of Amazon announcing future drone delivery services, a service that the retailer would need Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) permission to fly the drones to customers, so is still a few years in the making; this was followed by the ‘leak’ of United Parcel Service (UPS) drone research. Investment writers call the commercial market for drone sales "the next blockbuster," the "most dynamic growth sector of the world aerospace market this decade," projecting $89 billion in sales, according to aerospace and intelligence analysts, the Teal Group.

Dr. Noel Sharkey, Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics presented concerns about the next step in technology: fully autonomous weapon systems.”Drones are not the only robots used in warfare, its not just in the sky.” The kill functions these weapons the ability to select their own target and kill them.

He showed images straight out of an autobot movie--of robots supposedly used for mine clearance equipped to bomb areas as a big as a city block. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) secretly developed fully autonomous 7 ton trucks called Crushers.

China, Russia, and Israel are all developing these; “everything is going autonomous, we can’t let it go to the next step.”

Sharkey’s concern was that these are indiscriminate weapons: “We have to draw a moral line somewhere, they cannot tell a civilian, wounded or surrendering soldier.” He said that they don’t that kind of judgement, and cannot be held accountable. Sharkey rescinded his citizenship when the UK refused to sign the world-wide moratorium on autonomous killer robots; working at the diplomatic level, meeting with United Nations delegates and educating them, he shared that the UN has announced a mandate for funded discussions to start next year to cheers from the crowd.

Drone technology is here and the regulations needed to keep up with the technology is far behind. The participants at the summit questioned surveillance and why there is no public access to who is allowed to fly domestic drones.

As use of hunter-killer drones overseas continue, use here in the U.S. is also expected to grow. Opening up of the U.S. Airspace for drones by 2015 was an electrifying concern for organizers; it would mean a 24 surveillance society by drones designed to be weaponized.

President Obama recently asked the FAA to make the US skies drone ready. Local governments have the power to restrict drone use within city limits. One of the concrete steps advocated by the drone summit was that ordinary people can work on a drone ban ordinance for their local towns, villages, cities, counties, and states.

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

COMMUNITY NEWS | 13

Yemen Drone Victims Come to DC Seeking Unlikely Accountability

By Hena Zuberi

program,” said Rep. Grayson about the secrecy. “It’s like a strange and extreme police action. There’s a reluctance on the part of the administration to acknowledge that attacks are happening at all.”

Muslim Link Staff Reporter “I came here to share with you my story and what happened to my family.

Who are the ones responsible for the deaths of my relatives? Will anyone be held accountable for their deaths?”

A day after his son’s wedding, Faisal bin Ali Jaber, a Yemeni civil engineer, mourned the death of his brother-inlaw, Salem bin Ali Jaber, an outspoken anti-extremist cleric, and his nephew, Waleed, a policeman, when they were killed without warning by a US drone strike on August 29, 2012.

Jaber testified at a Congressional briefing on November 19, 2013, hosted

by Representatives Barbara Lee, Alan Grayson, and Jan Schakowsky. These hearings give Congress an opportunity to listen to those people who have been directly impacted by US drone strikes in Yemen- the human cost of this war.

As he was speaking another drone

“I came here to share with you my story and what happened to my family. Who are the ones responsible for the deaths of my relatives? Will anyone be held accountable for their deaths?” attacked his home province of Hadramawt, killing three.

Only five Congressman attended the

hearing. They came seeking information as the drone program is classified. “It’s conducted by the CIA, which generally doesn’t acknowledge existence of this

According to Wired.com, the U.S. has two separate drone campaigns underway in Yemen — one run by the CIA, the other by the military’s Joint Special Operations Command. Together, they’ve conducted 43 strikes in two years, according to a Long War Journal tally, killing 274 people. Exactly how many of the 274 were militants is tough to tell; the U.S. “counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants,” the New York Times recently reported.

If someone acts like a terrorist— which is undefined— he could be taken out in a so-called “signature” strike. Only reliable way to know is by hearing direct testimony from the families affected. >> victims Pg 29

Physician Recounts Path from Lebanese Ghetto to Wilmer Eye Institute

By Greg Rienzi

It might be easy to classify Daoud as just your garden variety Johns Hopkins overachiever, but his passion comes from a different place. One quickly realizes Daoud is determined to extract all he can from a talent, a career, and good fortune that were anything but predetermined.

The JHU Gazette, November 1, 2013

Yassine Daoud, seated, with classmates in second-year economics at the UWC-USA. They're gathered for dinner at a faculty apartment on the college's campus in Montezuma, N.M. Moments before my first face-to-face meeting with Yassine Daoud is to begin, he politely asks if I can wait a few minutes as a young ophthalmology resident needs his counsel. "It will just be a few moments, thank you," he says with a smile so easy and genuine it could disarm an MMA fighter. His tall and lean body, which barely fills out his white lab coat, soon disappears into a side office.

Daoud, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the School of Medicine's Wilmer Eye Institute, has few moments, and little desire, to slow down.

On a typical week he will teach and mentor medical students and residents on

Born in Lebanon at the beginning of the country's civil war, Daoud spent his formative years surrounded by violence.

As an infant, he lost an uncle—a civilian living with his family—who got caught in the crossfire during the fiercest days of the fighting.

Mondays. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, he sees dozens of patients at his Columbia office. (He had seen 80 during just the past two days.) The rest of the week he will perform roughly 15 to 20 surgeries, mostly cataract removals and complex cornea transplants. He fills in his other time at the Wilmer Eye Institute conducting research, consulting with colleagues, and reading the latest medical and scientific journals.

Daoud, a boyish-looking 37, scoffs at the

notion of days off.

"There is no such thing," he says with a hearty laugh. "Days off will come later.

Someone just last week said to me, 'Dr. Daoud, where do you get all this energy?

When do you get a break and get some rest?' I [said] in 40 or 50 years there will be lots of rest. I'll have eternity to rest [laughs]."

With his family forced to move, Daoud spent the majority of his young life in a Palestinian refugee camp in the town of Baalbek, an ancient Phoenician city in the fertile Beqaa Valley known for its Roman ruins and burial sites of prophets.

In a 15-by-15-foot house, not much bigger

>> physician Pg 28

....

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

14 |COMMUNITY NEWS

Zumzum Pizzeria: With a Name Like This, Halal Is a Non-Question

By Hena Zuberi

City, MD.

Muslim Link Staff Reporter Eat a slice of gourmet pizza and help build wells in Africa sounds like a great deal; slice that pie right here in the Baltimore Metro area.

Born in Columbia, Haris Qudsi, a 22 year old Ellicott City man found himself unable to pay for another year at the University of Maryland Baltimore Campus (UMBC).

He decided to work and save money instead of taking student loans. And when you follow Allah’s path then Allah's help comes.

A young imam moved into town and his local masjid started a seminary. Just around this time a pizza store owner down the street from his home, where he lives with his family, was looking for a buyer.

Haris served in the Army reserves for three years and has a tech background; he approached his father and they both decided to invest their respective savings and take up the challenge. The man who owned the store was a friend of the family and offered a generous zero-interest monthly payment plan. Today Qudsi is a student at the Al Rahmah seminary in the morning and works at his new business after classes, ZumZum Pizzeria in Ellicott

Families in this city get to enjoy living in a community with a diverse population, reasonable housing costs, terrific schools, in one of the richest county in country. “Ellicott City has a different crowd, you have to focus on quality,” says Qudsi. Ellicott City is high end- homely and friendly says Qudsi. “In terms of food they are looking for solid quality ingredient, a clean atmosphere and a regular place to come to.”

More than price, a restaurateur has to focus on quality of the dining experience and the food even in a pizza joint, says Qudsi. “I want that [my customers] enjoy their meal one hundred percent; they decided to put their money in our hands,” delivers the young entrepreneur, who used to think that running a pizza shop was a piece of cake.

Fully Zabiha halal, Qudsi had planned some changes to the former Pizza & Wings; he is going to replace a counter to create more room for seating. The restaurant was originally a Pizza Hut. He has extended the shop timings by closing

later and opening earlier. “I like to make it better than people expect,” comments Qudsi.

ZumZum offers a pizza made with Sorrento all natural fresh mozzarella, zabiha meat products, whole tomatoes and fresh vegetables that ‘you can taste in the pie’. “We aren’t buying the cheapest kind of things,” mentions Qudsi.

ZumZum also offers a Gyro product and is the only pizza place which delivers paninis in the area.

“People get the idea that a pizza shop is easy money-that you just have to be at the store for a little bit. There is so much more to it from menu design to finding good employees; find the right people for the job,” says Qudsi.

Running a business is time-consuming; this Ravens fan had to give away tickets to a big game and sacrifice attending a friend’s wedding; he hopes to hire a manager some time in the future.

The shop is close to UMBC. Qudsi who was the Vice President of the UMBC Muslim Student’s Association maintains ties with the local MSAs. As he plans on becoming an imam, and is thinking of pursuing a counseling degree to assist in the family dynamics of his future

congregation- especially their marital and parenting issues.

The social initiative also appeals to the his clientele; the well project inspired the name change of the pizzeria. Along with the name change came the new simplified menu and signage. Qudsi hopes to build two wells in different countries and a percentage of the total tab is donated towards that goal. He plans to increase the percentage during Ramadan and other Islamic celebrations. “My goal to push it hard and make it a huge focal point- donating to help other people.” He fits right into the national trend- an Ernst and Young study reports that 70 percent of young entrepreneurs choose to give back while building their businesses and they give more than twice what big businesses give in the US. He looks at Pizza Roma as a great model of giving back to the community.

ZumZum Pizzeria recently catered the College Park campus United Muslim Relief non-musical benefit concert and hopes to support MIST. Islamic Society of Baltimore members get a special discount.

Qudsi is putting in a lot to make his dough the right way, and he's finding this is no pie in the sky.

Islam As My Major: Can My Career Benefit My Deen?

By Afia Ahsan and Nohaa Aqeel

took place the evening of November 20th, 2013 was a successful finale to conclude the Fall semester.

concluded with a nice dinner, followed by a summary of take-away messages from lSB’s Resident Scholar, Shaikh Yaseen.

The UMBC Muslim Students’Association (MSA) hosted an event entitled “Islam As My Major: Can My Career Benefit My Deen?” The purpose of the event was to offer deeper insights into how Deen remains an integral part of our lives, regardless of the path we take along the route to higher education or in our future careers. Alhamdulillah, the event which

With over 150 attendees, this was the largest event turnout in recent history of the UMBC MSA, a true accomplishment, which many people have benefitted from in’sha Allah. There were numerous presentations done by a very diverse group of experienced professionals, including an activist, doctor, lawyer, humanitarian, event stylist, psychologist, police officer, writer, engineer, and students. The event

We compiled the following list of takeaway points: 1) Always remember Allah.

Renew and purify your intentions. 2) Remember that Allah is always watching.

The main goal, even when working, is to please Allah. Remember that at the end, everything you do will be accounted for on Yawm al Qiyama. 3) We learned to use our talents for the sake of Allah. Deen is a way of life, so include it everywhere

Muslim Link Contributing Writers

....

even when you’re working. Always make time for Allah. Gain knowledge in order to gain understanding. 4) Don’t worry about the future; do your part and trust Allah.

Make time to help others, for it is in fact helping you. Don’t stop learning Islamic knowledge.

Afia Ahsan is the Secretary of the UMBC MSA. Nohaa Aqeel is a member of the UMBC MSA.

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

COMMUNITY NEWS | 15

Faith Leaders Sign Declaration Against Domestic Abuse of Women, Children

By Saman Quraeshi

citizens of our country, “ said Ahmed.

Muslim Link Contributing Writer About 100 people of different faith communities and backgrounds gathered at the ADAMS Center in Sterling, VA last October to discuss how to better serve domestic violence survivors and their children.

FAITH’s Domestic Violence Interfaith event was part of a month long national awareness campaign of domestic violence.

Ambreen Ahmed, executive director of FAITH, said that interfaith community collaboration is the only way to address the needs of domestic violence survivors.

“Whatever happens in my neighbor's home can affect me regardless of which religion my neighbor belongs to. We all need to hold hands and provide the safety net that the survivors and their children need to become strong contributing

To highlight the effects of domestic violence on children a short video titled, “Effects of Domestic Violence on Children” was shown at the event.

The imam of Adams Center, Imam Mohmmad Magid said that he found the clip to be both informative and important because it showed a different aspect of violence. Imam Majid went on to say that he wanted to continue to provide encouragement and support for FAITH and other organizations that are working in the area of domestic violence.

“We need to work on more educational programs for creating awareness, perhaps create a support group at the ADAMS center [in the future],” said Imam Majid.

Religious leaders from several faiths spoke about the dignity of human life and how each faith community needs

to take a serious step in reaching out to the survivors and the children of their respective communities.

Rev. Bruce Langwiser of the Faith Communities in Action Domestic Violence Task Force said that as a community we need to understand that the abuse victim has a sense of shame and fear and the best thing we can do is to be a friend.

“The conversation needs to begin with: it’s not your fault, we understand and we will be with you for anything you may need.”

The event ended with faith leaders and members of the community signing the declaration to address violence against women and children. It was an important event, said one of the domestic violence case workers from FAITH.

“The signing of this document signifies that faith leaders are serious about firstly acknowledging that there is a problem, and secondly that they are committed to working towards practical solution. For too long domestic violence has been pushed under the rug,” said the caseworker, who wishes to stay anonymous for the sake of her clients.

With faith communities in action, FAITH Social Services plans on taking this outreach to different places of worship and to begin a movement of faith leaders who are trained and ready to respond to challenges in their congregations.

“I envision that there will be awareness of domestic violence among our faith leaders and as a result the whole family unit will prosper. We will be able to stop the abuse as soon as it starts. Because we will be able to identify the signs of abuse,” said Ahmed.

....

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

16 |COMMUNITY NEWS

Maryland Muslims Launch State Wide Coat Drive “It was Black Friday, and this is the time where even the stores celebrate the consumer culture born out of [our] neocolonial economic system--with new window displays and in-store decorations and lay-outs. [I] walked past a store that had an especially elaborate and eyecatching window display, and there was a homeless man in a wheelchair a little ahead of us. He stopped pushing his wheelchair turned it towards the windowfront, and sat there full-on staring at the window. That takes ‘window shopping’ to a whole new level. I wonder when was the last time he even had a sweater without any holes in it, let alone in a hipster color with a hipster print,” says Meena Malik, a writer and college student.

She saw him amongst “people with arm fulls of shopping bags, cups of hot cocoa or coffee in their hands, scrolling through their cell phones or laughing with a loved one at their side.” The “sheer need and poverty of one, the wasteful indulgence of others. Existing side by side. Two different worlds, one walking past the other, having ignored that to the cusp of oblivion. The other stopped in his tracks, soaking in the dystopic mix of color, texture, advertising and marketing schemes, Black Friday craze, his situation of need,” brings her to her knees.

This scene is plays out across the country

....

• • • • • •

during the holiday season, and to do their part to provide some relief, Project Affinity will partner with CAIR-Maryland and the Islamic Society of Annapolis to launch the first annual statewide winter clothing drive on December 2, 2013 as part of a "Faith in Action" campaign. According to CAIR, this is the first large-scale initiative of its kind involving numerous masajid and Muslim organizations that have partnered to serve the less fortunate in Maryland.

Numerous participating area mosques will serve as drop-off locations. Items to be collected include new or gently-used

coats, sweaters, gloves, scarves, and hats.

Statistics show that approximately almost 2,500 people are homeless each night in Baltimore City. In Washington, D.C., that number triples to over 6,500 people. As cold weather sets in, they are unable to adequately protect themselves from the elements.

The drive will last from December 2, 2013 – December 23, 2013. The drop-off locations are: •

Islamic Society of Western Maryland, 2036 Day Rd.

•

•

Hagerstown, MD 21740 Islamic Society of Baltimore, 6631 Johnnycake Rd. Baltimore, MD 21244 Muslim Community Center, 15200 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20905 Dar at Taqwa, 10740 Maryland 108, Ellicott City, MD 21042 Islamic Society of Annapolis, 814 Brandy Farms Lane, Gambrills, MD 21054 Islamic Community Center of Laurel, 7306 Contee Road, Laurel, MD, 20707 Islamic Society of the Washington Area, 2701 Briggs Chaney Road, Silver Spring, MD 20905 Masjid Ibn Taymiyya, 8000 Martin Luther King Jr Highway, Glenarden, MD 20706 Masjid Mustafa, 3312 Hollins Ferry Road, Halethorpe, MD 21227

CONTACT: Zainab Chaudry, zchaudry@ cair.com, (410) 971-6062, Irfan Aziz, irfanmaziz@gmail.com Donations will be sorted and delivered to homeless shelters in Baltimore, Annapolis, and Washington, D.C. [Source: CAIR-MD]

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014 egypt II

>> continued from pg 18

him in jail, accusing him of supporting terrorism; an always-ready accusation against anyone who opposes the coup. In Egypt you have to be absent from your job without an acceptable excuse for at least 30 consecutive days, or for 60 nonconsecutive days, before you can be fired from your job. But on the eighth day they sent a letter to his wife telling her that your husband has been fired from his job because he has been absent from work.

Until now he is in jail, and this happened about two months ago.

Question: How long do you think the destabilization of Egypt will continue?

And what are some examples of that destabilization?

Imam Azzaari: First of all the curfew was just removed after being enforced for more than three consecutive months!

During the curfew you were not permitted to be in the street after seven o'clock on Friday – on other days after 1 AM. One day I was visiting my mother – and my mother is just 10 blocks away from my brother's residence. My mother's neighborhood was full of tanks, they stop you and ask you for identification – and this wasn't police, this was military. When you have a checkpoint of police it may be acceptable, but when you find the military establishing checkpoints it's really scary.

Many drivers were removed from their cars and taken to unknown places.

Alhamdulillah, they allowed me and my brother to proceed to our destination.

One day I wanted to go shopping and my brother was taking a nap. I decided to let him rest and I took a bus, but I wasn't mindful of it being Friday and the early curfew. At around six o'clock I noticed everyone running and buses starting to disappear; even the taxis didn't want to stop. In Egypt you wave the taxi down by hand and tell them where you want to go, if they don't want to go where you need to go they just drive off. At one point someone asked me if I was Egyptian, and I said yes, but I live abroad; they said the curfew is in 30 minutes. I called my brother and he was able to reach me five minutes before the curfew started. After learning that I was an Egyptian from America, two police officers ended up staying with me until my brother came, to protect me from possible surprises in the empty street.

While waiting for my brother I had a chance to speak to one of the police officers and he complained a lot. He said my salary is 470 Egyptian pounds, which would be equal to about $70 per month.

He's married with three children, and he's living outside of Cairo. He has to travel four hours every day to work, and he said our conditions in Egypt are very bad. I started to ask him some questions. You know that the minister of defense and other leaders of the army, and some police head-officers make $3,000,000 (three million Egyptian Pounds) per month; and he said, yes I know that. Egypt will never be in good shape again because of this corruption. He talked to me very freely when he knew that I was a temporary visitor in the country, and that I would soon leave.

Question: What are some of the things older Egyptians are saying about today's crisis in Egypt, as compared to other crises that have taken place in the past?

Imam Azzaari: The vast majority of the elders are against the coup because they have suffered a lot from something similar, during the time of [Gamal Abdel] Nasser. Nasser was a very bad dictator, he was a tyrant, and during his rule Egypt deteriorated in all areas of public life. He killed hundreds of innocent Egyptians – but at that time the media was not active like today, and he didn't do it in as shocking a way as Sisi did. He did it in a way that was sneaky and gradual; he used to take people for interrogation, people would disappear. But what Sisi did, and the people around him, they shoot people in the head while they were praying or protesting nonviolently. The estimates now are that about three thousand people were killed in about three or four months.

My father (a 76-year old retiree) says we are now trapped in a nightmare, even as compared to what we saw during Nasser's time. Sisi doesn't apologize or even attempt to offer condolences or an excuse for what he does. People are being killed and he's celebrating at parties in public with his military leaders, in the company of half-naked movie stars, actresses and singers!

One of the things I have seen in Egypt that is deepening this polarization is the media is serving as the "prostitute" of the event. The purpose of the governmentally controlled media in Egypt now, and before, is to lure people, deceive and

CONTINUED| 17 distract them away from the magnitude of what's going on, and to promote and beautify what's going on. So the media are in fact using renowned singers who the young people love, to make songs against Morsi and the "Islamists." For example there are two newly produced songs that have shocked everybody. One song goes: "You are people and we are different people, you have your own god and we have our own god."

This song is causing more division among people, number one. The other song is praising the military and the police for killing such a large number of people, so now the thing that broke the hearts of people – especially those who lost loved ones in the genocides of Rab'ah and AlNahdhah – is that they broadcast this song in the morning assembly in every school.

This goes against the very old and deeprooted customs and traditions that we as Egyptians were raised in. We were raised to salute the Egyptian flag and to listen with respect to the Egyptian anthem, followed with a short Qur'an recitation.

The Egyptian anthem is very dear to the hearts of every one of us. To broadcast this song instead of the anthem is very hurtful, and for the people who lost loved ones, it's traumatizing.

So the people – a few brave students and teachers – react by making the sign of Rab'ah (making the four fingered salute); and even the young kids when they do this are taken to jail to scare them and to scare their parents. Parents are told, after their children are held for four or five days, that you have to discipline your kids.

Discipline my kids for what? My kids are just expressing their opinion.

Question: What does the sign of Rab'ah symbolize?

Imam Azzaari: Rab'ah al-Adawiyyah was the name of a very renowned female Muslim scholar who lived in the second Hijri century in Basrah, Iraq. This scholar was so renowned that there are many schools and buildings named in her honor. One of the rich people of Egypt built a very big masjid in a square in Nasr City, in Cairo, called Masjid Rab'ah AlAdawiyyah. The word Rab'ah in Arabic means four (she was the fourth one among her siblings). The feminine is Rab'ah, the masculine is Rabi'. So the protestors in favor of Morsi surrounded this Masjid and protested for 60 continuous days, even during the month of Ramadan.

Imagine thirty to fifty thousand people in and around the masjid; they even turned the clinic inside the Masjid into a hospital to treat the wounded during the demonstrations.

The military shot people, and they reportedly went into the makeshift hospital and they found maybe 300 wounded, and they shot them in the head.

After they did this, with the need for autopsies to determine cause of death, they had to explain why they killed so many people, so they set the Masjid and hospital on fire. The fire was so intense that the walls of the masjid melted. The wealthy military has since repaired the masjid; but to this day there are about 58 charred bodies still in the famous morgue of Zeinhum – and they have to use DNA testing to identify who they are. So Rab'ah became the international symbol of resistance against the military coup, and this has become the most annoying and provocative sign that anyone can do.

I'm going to share with you a very interesting story. In Egypt the people like soccer very much. One of the most famous soccer teams in Egypt is called Al-Ahli. They beat a team in South Africa called the Orlando Pirates. The player who was most responsible for Al-Ahli's win was Ahmad Abdel Zhahir; and when he scored he made this sign [the Rab'ah sign]. While normally he would be given gifts and money for the victory – every player on the team would get something like $50,000.00 as a gift, while he would receive even more – they suspended him instead, froze all of his money, and then they put him up for sale. He was no longer welcome on the team just for making this sign.

Final Question: What in your opinion can people in other parts of the world do to help alleviate the situation in Egypt?

Imam Azzaari: First of all the people in the military coup are in a very difficult situation. The African Union has frozen Egypt's membership and refused to recognize the new coup administration.

If all the countries follow the example of the African Union – particularly, the United States, the European Union, and other "democracy" ruled countries – they will be in bad shape and they will have to go. But if the coup makers keep receiving

>> egypt III Pg 19

....

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

18 | CONTINUED egypt

>> continued from pg 8

But this is true. Even my mother expressed fear when she found out I was looking for the shirt. She said if they check your baggage in the airport before you leave, and they found this shirt, you would never go back to America. The other thing is the check points at the airport used to be easy; if you were an American citizen they had a separate line for you. People who were not American could suffer a lot, but if you were American they would make things easy for you. Nowadays if you are an American they make things more difficult for you. Things have changed a lot!

The party that supports Morsi and the Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood) says America is against us; and the party with Sisi and the coup also says America is against us – so America is condemned by everyone now. It's very weird; it's very polarized and both sides view America as being with the other side.

Question: You mentioned in your lecture after Fajr prayer a couple of days ago, how one of the prominent Imams in Egypt got arrested and lost his job as a result of something he did, or failed to do. Can you give the name and location of that Imam, and explain what happened?

Imam Azzaari: Yes, actually this Imam appears to be in his early 40s, and he didn't show any political affiliation. He's not even allowed to talk to the media without permission, and if he talks to the media by mistake his speech should be in favor of the coup. What happened was a group of about 200 people were protesting peacefully, and a group of police and thugs – from the government, military and National Security Forces; formerly known as State Security Investigations – with knives and small guns attacked them. So they ran and took shelter in the mosque – Al-Fat'h mosque in the midst of the very famous Ramsis square in downtown Cairo. They locked the doors of the mosque and took shelter the whole night in the mosque. The people on the outside who were trying to get in were supported by the police.

The people on the outside started throwing gas bombs [what we in America would call Molotov cocktails] in the mosque, and some people who had problems like asthma died. One of the young

....

women inside called Al-Jazeera from her cell phone, and Al-Jazeera began to broadcast live from inside the mosque through her iPhone's camera. People on the outside also called Al-Jazeera to say 'the reason why we have surrounded the mosque is because terrorists are inside the mosque.' It was like 16 terrible hours for everyone on the inside. Al-Jazeera cut all of their regular programming and just broadcasted live.

A claim was made by the instigators on the

outside that terrorists were firing weapons from the minaret of the mosque. This is one of the tallest minarets in Egypt; it's called Al-Fat'h Mosque. So the military, the police, and their thugs, supported by the [Egyptian] media wanted everyone to be on the same page with them... the Islamists or the terrorists have taken hostages and are firing upon the people in the street. And it's interesting that no single person was injured in the street; so it was fake bullets or propaganda. The [then] Imam of Masjid Al-Fat'h stated

to the media correctly that there were separate doors to the main hall where the people in the mosque were located, and the one that provided access to the minaret. The door to the minaret was on the outside, and you had to use an elevator to go up to the minaret.

Once they heard that the Imam was telling the truth about the situation, they put

>> egypt II Pg 17

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egypt III

>> continued from pg 17

support – directly or indirectly, secretly or publicly – at the level of governments, they will survive longer.

Because of that they are trying to market the coup. Marketing the coup actually happens by sending renowned public figures, like TV show hosts, singers, movie stars, and diplomatic convoys to talk to the Egyptians who are living in western countries. Egyptians who are against the coup go to these special events, these fundraising dinners and lectures, and make the sign of Rab'ah and force the lecturer to stop and sometimes to leave. This has proven to be very effective.

And lastly, the demonstrations. People in Egypt are considering a public strike, not going to work; others are refusing to pay for governmental services like electricity, phones, water and sewage, and they tell the government even if you cut this service we don't care. This represents a big loss for the government, because even the process of cutting the service involves loss. So there are many things that the people against the coup are doing now, but it's very difficult because all of their leaders are already in jail.

One of the supporters of the coup is my long-time best friend and classmate in medical school; he's an associate professor of internal medicine at one of the universities in Egypt. He told me something that I really didn't like. He said the current strategy that the coup leaders are following is causing the protestors to bleed. Bleeding here means that they are exhausting their energy and wasting their time, they're demonstrating without really achieving anything; while the supporters of Morsi believe that if the demonstrations continue they will win out in the end. So the polarization is escalating.

However, there are three facts on the ground right now that no one can deny or ignore. First, is that the SCAF (Supreme Council of Armed Forces) led by Sisi has succeeded very well in creating a very deep – and maybe permanent – rift or division within the entire Egyptian society. Second, is that a very large number of misled Egyptians – who assisted and supported Sisi in leading the coup and ousting the first democratically elected president in the history of Egypt

– are now waking up and realizing what disaster they have dragged their country into by their ignorance, laziness, blind submission and misjudgment. Third, is that the military coup happened at the appropriate time for the benefit of the Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood), when their popularity went down during the last months of their rule – due to the unfair, concentrated and targeted defamation campaigns against them by the SCAF and their intelligence, and facilitated by the unprofessional Egyptian media.

This campaign and its consequent fall have been cited by many political analysts as a favor to the MB, and as a trap and long-term threat to the whole military institution in Egypt. People in the West, including Egyptians living abroad, can help by continuing to demonstrate and giving a hard time to those who come into the west to market the coup; and also by encouraging western governments to consider boycotting the coup.

To Advertise in the Muslim Link Call

301-982-1020

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20 | CONTINUED calendar

>> continued from pg 5

3.9 percent of students and 4.6 percent of teachers were absent the day after the holiday.

School system officials have previously said the school system did not have the records showing how it came to its decision regarding the Jewish holidays.

But, school board Vice President Phil Kauffman said the school system recently located some of the files related to its decision to close on the Jewish holidays. A Nov. 5, 1973, memo, he said, shows the decision was made based on high absenteeism that hindered schools’ ability to teach students.

That memo, he said, looked at about five

....

years worth of data, and showed about 15 percent of both students and professional staff were absent on the first day of Rosh Hashanah.

The school system decided to close on the first day but not on the second day of Rosh Hashanah — when it found between 10 and 12 percent of students were absent and about 12 percent of professional staff were absent.

“Clearly we did make these decisions based on statistics back in 1973,” he said.

At this point, he said, it does not appear the school system has seen the amount of absenteeism necessary to justify closing schools on the Muslim holidays.

Durso said, however, that he thinks the school system might be applying different standards for the Jewish and

Muslim communities.

“I’m not sure 40-year old data still necessarily speaks to maybe what we’re dealing with in 2013,” Durso said.

Durso said there are other days during the school year when a significant number of people are absent.

“We have one coming up,” he said. “It’s called the day before Thanksgiving.”

Samira Hussein — a long-time advocate for school closures on the Muslim holidays and a family service worker for the school system — said the school system can continue to gather absenteeism data for the Eid holidays, but she doesn’t think it will be accurate, in part because the data doesn’t encompass absences from all types of school staff.

Hussein said she doesn’t think the 1973 memo is relevant anymore.

“If (Kauffman) wants to live 40 years ago, that’s his choice,” she said.

Leventhal, who has supported closing schools on the holidays, said he doesn’t understand “what’s magic about 15 percent” and that he thinks that the recent 5-percent absenteeism rate on Eid alAdha is significant.

“I think the inequity continues,” he said.

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

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

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different according to different localities.

>> continued from pg 5

to get close to Allah. We are soliciting the love of Allah. There is a condition to this love - that is to obey the Prophet.

Remember that whatever the Prophet told us was by inspiration. So we consider sunnah as revelation as well."

Citing numerous examples of the tribulations that will befall people when the sunnah is abandoned, Imam Safi highlighted the importance of submitting to Allah and understanding the importance of the sunnah of moon-sighting in the context of reverence for Allah and His Prophet.

"Not anyone can get up and say, 'I believe this and I believe that' ", said Imam Safi.

"This is about Allah and His Prophet. We ask questions (in order to) understand, but not to undermine the Prophet (Sallallahu 'alyhi wasallam)."

"People say, 'if we do calculations we can tell our workplace/ children's school ahead of time. It will be so easy'. Allah didn't forget that we will be living here in this time."

The next speaker, Imam Azzari, introduced his talk by clarifying the issues over which there was agreement of the scholars and others over which there was disagreement.

"We all agree we have to follow the Imam," said Imam Azzari as he concluded a narration of the Prophet (Sallallahu 'alyhi wasallam) in which the importance of following the imam was highlighted.

He said, "The 'imam' can "literally be taken as the imam of the masjid, but in its broader meaning can include the authority, king, president or governor (as long as they were following an authentic 'madhab')".

Quoting several hadith on this topic, Imam Azzari said, " The Prophet (Sallallahu 'alyhi wasallam) said, 'My ummah will never agree on misguidance'. When you find the vast majority agreeing on something, it is an indication that it is right."

Imam Azzari outlined that there are two methods of accepting moon-sighting.

Either that sighting would be unified among the ummah, or it would be

....

"Every two countries that are sharing the whole night or part of it should unify on moon-sighting," said Imam Azzari. "This is the principle we follow at PGMA." Imam Azzari related incidents he had

is as follows," explained Shaykh Adel "Some use calculations. (By that) they mean the birth of the new moon. Others use the North American conjunction or the Makkah conjunction. Others use maps of curvature, demonstrating the position of the moon in the world. Some follow Saudi announcements; some take all months

Every speaker at the forum emphasized the importance of adhering to the confirmed prophetic practice of physically sighting the moon, and shunned the method of determining the start of the Islamic lunar months using calculations. experienced regarding heated arguments over moon-sighting policies, in which it transpired that the person had a grudge against Saudi Arabia, and due to that was not willing to follow their moon-sighting declarations.

"We are not talking about politics, but about ulema," said Imam Azzari.

"The biggest unity at the time of the Prophet happened in hajj. We (all) agree that the unity of the ummah is much

and follow them, some only follow in Eid-ul-Adha."

"Then, there are those who take physical sighting. (These are of two opinions).

Those following local sighting use one of the following parameters; (a distance of) 133 kilometers (within which to accept a sighting); North America only; North America and the Caribbean; or North America and the Caribbean but excluding the West Coast. Those following global

Imam Javid concluded that as long as people are following moonsighting it is correct, whether it is local or global. more important than grudges against a government."

The next speaker, Shaykh Adel Khan, gave a scholarly overview of the current reality in North America and the different opinions people hold regarding moonsighting, as well as the standpoint of traditional Islamic scholars on this topic.

Shaykh Adel is an instructor at ICCL's "Alim" program for adults which has been ongoing since 2001, and holds a Masters degree in Islamic theology, Tafseer and Hadith and has studied under Mufti Rafi Uthmani in Pakistan.

"The current situation in North America

sighting either take any sighting from anywhere in the world, or they follow the announcement in their home country."

As he went over the positions of the four main schools of (Islamic legal) thought, Shaykh Adel said, "We will see in just this alone, how close they really are. Things are laid out so clearly."

He detailed that in all four schools, the start of the month is established (based on physically seeing the moon) in one of two ways. If the moon is seen on the 29th day (30th night), then the fast of Ramadan would start the next day. In the event that the moon is not seen that night, then the

30 days of fasting in the month would be completed. The slight differences among the schools of thought arise on the number of witnesses needed to confirm the sighting according to the conditions of the sky. In the Hanafi school, if the sky is very clear, then the sighting of one trustworthy Muslim is enough to establish the start of the month. If conditions are not clear, then at least 2 or 3 people's sighting would be needed. In the Maliki school, the moon must be seen by a lot of people when clear, or at least by 2 people when unclear. The Shafi'ee school requires just one witness regardless of the extent of cloud. The Hanbali school is close to the Shafi'ee ruling, except there is an extra stipulation out of cautiousness, that if the moon is not seen in cloudy skies, then it is considered "wajib" or mandatory to fast the following day.

Shaykh Adel said some of those who follow calculations claim that following moon-sighting takes one backwards in an age when everyone is using technology.

They also cite evidences from the Quran where the word "hisaab" is present and take that as the equivalent of calculations.

"People say we use 'hisaab' in prayer so why not in fasting? " said Shaykh Adel. "(They say) Do we go and check the zenith? Do you see the sun set below the horizon? We are relying on calculations (to determine these timings)."

He went on to explain that the timings of the daily prayers have been tied to the movements of the sun in the sky, but fasting has been attached to the sighting of the moon. He explained that even linguistically, the Arabic word 'hilal' refers to the raised voices of people upon seeing the moon.

"We should understand that the basis of all this is upon the sight of the moon and not upon the birth of the moon," said Shaykh Adel, as he explained the distinction between the two phenomena. "When the sun's light radiates on the moon, that's when you see it. The birth of the moon is based on what the astronomers have pinpointed. When the birth of the moon takes place in a certain night, we might see it or not see it. But fasting is based on seeing the 'hilal', not on the birth of the moon. If we base the beginning of the moon on the moon that is 'falaki'

>> moon II Pg 25

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facing Muslim communities in America?

>> continued from pg 10

here I am.

TML: What do you see as the role of imaams in American Muslim communities?

Ustadh Fahmi: One of my roles I think is to continue to nurture/strengthen the sense of "ukhuwwah" (brotherhood and community) among ourselves as Muslim. I believe that with this sense of "ukhuwwah" our hearts will be connected, our relationships are renewed, and our acceptance of and love for the teachings of Islam will be strengthened. But of course this is not an instant process. At least from my experience, we have to first get to know each other -or what we call the process of "ta'aruf". From knowing comes understanding, or "tafahum." In shaa Allah, and bi idhnilLlah, with this deeper understanding of each other there will be "takaful", or the act of helping each other in goodness. It is my belief that through this step-by-step approach, not only we -as community- will be able to give and take good advice from the teachings of our beloved Prophet Muhammad, sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam, but also to find sweetness in following it. Our hearts will become alive. So to come back to your question, the role of the imaams here is to be the driving force for this change.

TML: What are the biggest challenge

finance

>> continued from pg 7

He also serves as a scholar on AMJA (American Muslim Jurist Association).

AMJA conducts research, gives Islamic decrees and “also caters to the needs of Imams by dedicating an annual Imams Conference that allows them access to one-on-one interaction with scholars, network with other Imams throughout the US and Canada, and be exposed to novel and new research about contemporary fiqhi issues.”

Haroon Baqai, the principal of Al Huda School, welcomed the families gathered

....

Ustadh Fahmi: The challenge of the youth - In terms of the youth, I think one of the biggest challenges is to bridge the intergenerational/intercultural gap between the youth and their communities in general, and more specifically between the youth and their nuclear family -which is supposed to be their their primary source of "tarbiyyah" (education). I am really interested in getting to know more about how the local leadership here have dealt with this challenge. As we know the Muslim youth here are facing an unprecedented challenge to construct and negotiate their identities as Muslim as well as American. The society in which they live is without question very diverse, with different -and often time conflicting- values. Yet we also know that the youth is our asset, our future bearers of Islam. Therefore as a community we really need to invest our effort and energy to help our youth grow and embody their deen in their everyday lives, to be comfortable with it, and to help educate others about Islam. I think we need more initiatives on youth teaching/mentoring other youth to bridge this intergenerational/ intercultural gap that we have.

TML: What are the main differences between Muslim communities in America and Muslim communities in Indonesia?

Ustadh Fahmi: The similarity I think is very encouraging. I mean, it gives me a

and stated that Dar-us-Salaam benefited from Dr. Al-Qudah’s extensive research in Islamic Finance in making decisions for the non-profit.

“We known that riba is haram in Islam, make no mistake about that, but we often don’t realize the actual interest bearing transaction that are to be avoided,” Dr. Al-Qudah started the lecture on the premise of materializing the broad categories of riba into concrete examples from daily life.

Al-Qudah delved n the ramifications of partaking in riba on our souls. “If you are not willing to quit than you are waging a war against Allah.” The

certain level of comfort knowing that no matter where you are, whether you are in Indonesia or America, you will find the eagerness of your Muslim brothers and sisters to help out each other. Again, this "ukhuwwah" is very important.

In terms of the differences, one of the major differences I think is the rhythm of life here. I understand that our lives nowadays are generally fastpaced, regardless of whether you are in Indonesia or in America. We somehow are expected to work long hours, which sometimes lead to the difficulty on our part to find the work-life balance. I see this -at least as I observe it firsthand nowas a challenge for the communities here.

Another difference is the physical proximity to the masaajid. Like other Muslim countries, in Indonesia we are blessed with the opportunity to hear the adhan being called five times a day from almost every corner of the streets.

We have many masaajid (though not all are big), but I think this physical closeness to the masjid may serve as an advantage for those of us who live in a Muslim country because we feel more attached to it. There's always a place to go to to revive our imaan, and a comfort zone, whenever we face challenges in our lives. Here, some -if not many- of us have to travel far to have this safe haven. But alhamdu lillah, here we have the alternative of building this outside of the masaajid. For example in our Indonesian Muslim community, we try to do regular halaqah from home to home

severity of sin is so enormous that “Allah curses those who devours riba.”

“Some people think that this curse is only for financial abuser but even the one who writes down the transactions or witness them are included in the curse,” said Dr. Al-Qudah.

He discussed various scenarios such as student loans, late fee charges on credit card bills and mortgages. From leasing a car to 401K Islamic fiancé is a deep, layered field and learning about the impacts of our financial decisions was the major goal of his workshop.

“It is a capitalistic system and it is hard

for the community, so the people will in shaa Allah feel their imaan revived after meeting their brothers and sisters in Islam; and after hearing words of admonitions/glad tidings from Allah and His Prophet, sallAllahu alayhi wa salaam.

TML: You visited the Darussalaam community last week, tell us a little bit about this visit. What was your impression?

Ustadh Fahmi: My visit to Darussalaam and Al-Huda school was motivated first by the desire to get to know more about this community and to map out possible joint activities between IMAAM and Darussalaam/Al-Huda, in shaa Allah.

Some of our Indonesian community members here also put their children in Al-Huda school, so it makes sense to get to know more about their programs.

Mashaa Allah after the visit, I was very impressed with what the school and the community has accomplished in the last 15 years. I was especially inspired by the level of engagement of the youth in this community, and was thinking about possibility of having some members of Al-Huda youth to come to the IMAAM community; to share ideas/experiences and collaborate with the youth in IMAAM community. Again, this goes back to what I was saying before about the vision for our youth. We need more youth to participate in our community, and to lead our community.

to live [riba-free] but this is one of way to keep our Muslim identity – we cannot justify riba,” said the professor.

He explained that sometimes certain charges are called interest on our bills, but from a fiqh perspective it is not interest- whereas some penalties are riba.

The most important takeaway from the event was that a Muslim must make sure to pay his or her bills on time to avoid getting involved in the interest bearing transaction. If you have the money to pay your bills and you intentionally delay the payment that is a sin. Dr. Al-Qudah offers his workshops around the country.

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

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moon II

>> continued from pg 22

and not on the 'hilal' then we are moving away from the Quran, the sunnah and the 'ulema'."

The final speaker on the forum, Imam Javid, started his talk by reinforcing the concept that the "hilal" is something that must be seen. He referred to the Prophetic sunnah of saying a supplication upon sighting the "hilal". Towards the end of the supplication, the moon is directly addressed while saying, "Your Lord and our Lord is Allah."

"How can he (the Prophet) be addressing it (the moon) when it is not there?" asked Imam Javid.

"So many masajid follow calculations with the disguise of following moonsighting. (They will) announce after maghrib (to make it appear as such).

This is the extent of the disease," said Imam Javid. "Those masajid who follow calculations or follow calculations under disguise of moon-sighting should seek forgiveness (since) this is against the Quran and sunnah."

Imam Javid explained that there was a meeting held at the Muslim World League in Saudi Arabia in 2012 in which the most prominent Islamic scholars from around the world were invited to speak and discuss this very issue of moonsighting and calculations. The scholars were all given the ability to send in their notes and viewpoints beforehand to allow everyone ample time to think over each presentation.

"The most prominent 'ulema' of the world were there," said Imam Javid. "I have the hand written notes and minutes from the meeting. This meeting went on for days."

Imam Javid summarized that three possible options regarding this issue were presented before the scholars in the meeting. The first option involved using calculations. This was rejected by the majority of the gathering as not being a valid option. The second option was to make Saudi Arabia the criterion. It was decided that if this were to be done then countries east of Saudi Arabia would have a problem due to the time differences. The third option was to go with global sighting which conforms to the criteria outlined by

the shariah. The Muslim World League gathering came to the conclusion that this third option was the long term solution to this issue.

"This is the opinion that the majority of them lean towards," said Imam Javid.

"If the moon is sighted in any part of the world, and the sighting is authenticated and conforms with the criteria outlined by the shariah, then every country west of that should follow the decision of that country."

Imam Javid explained that the process of authenticating the sighting is dependent on many factors such as establishing the authenticity of the witnesses, the number of people who saw it, the different places it was sighted and several other guidelines. He said a body, such as a moon-sighting committee, would have to make sure that the criteria were being followed (as in the case of sightings in non-Muslim lands).

"People (who agree with calculations) say scholars have closed the doors of 'ijtihad', " explained Imam Javid. "When the Quran and sunnah are there, there is no room to do 'ijtihad'. 'Ijtihad' (on this issue) has been taken all the way up to the general body of ('ulema') of the world and it has been rejected. Once it is rejected it cannot be followed. The 'ulema' of this ummah cannot gather upon error."

>> moon III Pg 27

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>> continued from pg 7

Chief Imam of a major university entails?

AS: A Muslim doesn’t choose to be an Imam; he is appointed/selected, based on the approved criteria in Islam, namely, sound knowledge of the Qur’an and its related sciences, high moral standards, physical qualifications among others. When the Lagos State University came into being in 1984, the Muslim community leaders chose me to be the University Imam, and I have been so, Alhamdu li-llah since then. I must confess it is a great challenge. The University environment is by its nature very complex; it harbors students and adults with various orientations, backgrounds, focuses etc.

What I have since done as an Imam is to inject academic quality into the leadership of the community, and expand the circle of imamship through the creation of an Imam-in-Council which I chair. The council includes student leaders with sound religious and moral training. I have also ensured that we take interest in social aspects and personal needs of our community members. Alhamdu li-llah we are making progress.

TML: In your lecture you responded to a question about Boko Haram, we hear about them too; who are they and what does their movement mean to the people of Nigeria?

AS: The Boko Haram phenomenon is principally not a religious problem in Nigeria or a conflict between Muslims and Christians. The local and international media has ignorantly or mischievously painted the scenario all along, inaccurately.

Let me just say that the Boko Haram is another expression of social and economic deprivation in Nigeria where the country’s enormous wealth has now reduced poverty, poor infrastructures, corruption, youth unemployment among other socio-economic disequilibrium. A Western writer Jacob Zenn has published extensively about Boko Haram in CTC Sentinel over the past 4 years, and I would advise access to his write-ups. Nigerian Adam Higazi’s 2013 “Les origins et la transformation de l’insurrection de Boko Haram dans le nord du Nigeria [The origins and transformations of the Boko Haram Insurgency in Northern Nigeria], Politique Africaine, 130, pp. 137-164 recommends itself as well.

....

TML: We constantly hear stories of attacks on churches coming from Nigeria; how big is the divide between the Christians and Muslims? Are there any peace initiatives?

AS: Attacks have occured on churches and masajid by political and social malcontents. Even the United Nations office, State Police Headquarters, Muslim and Christian, and of course political and security leaders have not been spared of the violent expression of anger against deprivation, marginalization and denials which all Nigerians, Muslims and Christians, are currently suffering from: the culture of prebendalism, that is, using political positions to grant political and economic favours to cronies, oil cartels, and members of the corrupt estate of the realm. There are no [major] problems between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria at communal or individual levels. The Nigerian Interreligious Council among other interfaith initiatives is working very well to ensure harmony and peaceful cohabitation. What Nigeria is suffering from is poverty of leadership. How do you explain the closure of the entire university system for 4 months running and no one seems to care at the leadership level? I was talking with Ms. Inge Andersen, Vice President of the World Bank (Middle East and North Africa) earlier this week, and a strong point she made was the lack of trust and transparency in governance which I think is the major problem in Nigeria and indeed in many African states.

TML: What grassroots level work is being done to tackle corruption and other social ills that regular Nigerians have to deal with on a daily basis?

AS: The masjid in Islam is an all-embracing institution that takes care of not only the spiritual, but also the mundane. This is the traditional role of the masjid in Islam since the time of the Prophet when the masjid even promoted sport and social services.

So all masajid should be a one stop centre albeit without compromising its sanctity as the foremost spiritual port of call.

TML: What are the main attributes of a daae in the West?

AS: High moral standards with a sound Islamic training are the first requirements of a ‘professional’ propagator (da‘iya/daae), not only in the West but everywhere. I have qualified this with the term ‘professional’, since every Muslim is necessarily required to be a propagator of some sort, even within his own family circle (Qur’an 66:6; 26: 214). But those who take da‘wah as a vocation have greater challenges by virtue of their public exposure. The need for their lives to be a true mirror of what they propagate of values and precepts is more pressing (Qur’an 2: 44).

The special challenge in the West is the highly permissive nature of the society here and the strong non-Muslim (I won’t call it Christian as such) cultural profile.

For instance, issues like homosexuality, trans-sexuality and other forms of moral and religious perversions which are almost non-existent in non-Western Muslim or African societies are critical issues with which the Muslim (da‘iya/daae) has to contend here in the West, especially as they relate to the question of human rights.

Again, Muslim children young adults etc. would have to interact with people having such orientations in various public places.

AS: I have always been a strong advocate of the China option for corruption and corrupt public officers. Impunity is the norm rather than exception when it comes to corruption in Nigeria. If corrupt officials had been dealt with as being done in China (long prison sentences/execution), things would have been better. Jerry Rawlings of Ghana tried something similar in Ghana and the place is better for it now, which explains why Nigerians prefer to send their children to school in Ghana or do business there now.

The issue of violence arising from liberal possession of guns, Islamophobia, racial issues are some key issues which the Western da‘iya/daae have to address within the orthodox and tactical/strategic Islamic model of preaching as contained in Qur’an 16: 125, that is, through the employment of wisdom and hope-inspiring corrective preaching methods.

The greatest financiers of politics/ politicians are the corrupt war lords in Nigeria.

AS: I would advise them to please help in empowering indigent Muslims at home through scholarships that would be channelled through credible individuals or organisations. For example, in the Lagos State University, many indigent Muslim students, exceedingly brilliant for that

TML: What is the role of the masjid in Nigeria?

TML: What can Nigerian Americans who live in harmony here do for their ancestral country?

matter, have had to withdraw from the university because of inability to play school fees which now ranges between $1200 and $2000/ session, excluding living costs. So if PGMA and indeed North American Muslims in general can help us set up a fund to be administered by the Muslim community at the Lagos State University, we would be able to train more doctors, educationists, engineers etc.

In fact, I have been a strong advocate among Nigerian Muslim organizations that they should spend more on education and health, instead of sponsoring people for hajj or other individualistic programs.

So I want to extend the same call to you here in America to assist in education and health for indigent Nigerian Muslim children and adults.

TML: What advice would you give to American Muslims to counter the Islamophobia they face over events that occur overseas?

AS: The stereotypes against Islam and Muslims in America and indeed in the West can only be remedied when Muslims are equally empowered in the field of education, commerce, law, and the media.

Just as the Jewish lobby has been able to achieve over the years.

TML: What state do you find the American Muslims and their da'wah in?

AS: If what I have seen in PGMA here in Lanham, Maryland is anything to judge, I am very sure that by the next decade, the profile and status of Islam would have been further enhanced. I was at a reception ceremony in Maryland also for the new returnees from 2013 Hajj and I was quite impressed by the quality of leadership and followership, far removed from the flamboyancy and disorder we are used to seeing at home in Nigeria. I think with quality missioners and a better environment in which accountability and transparency prevails, the future of Islam in North America is very promising.

However, I want to advise very strongly that here in America, you need to involve the young ones more in your programs.

Create such events that will attract them to Islamic gatherings without losing the essence of Islam and take it upon yourselves to match-make among the young ones that are ripe for marriage so that you do not lose them to the torrents of perversion.

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014 moon III

>> continued from pg 25

"If we want to bring this moon-sighting to a conclusion (that is, to all masajid who go with the majority) we need to establish moon-sighting committees to the south of us and to the east of us, so if people sight the moon and give 'shahadah' according to the criteria of 'shahadah' , we can accept that sighting," explained Imam Javid.

During the question-answer session afterwards, Imam Mikaeel Smith explained the difference between unity and uniformity of the ummah on this issue. The Quran and the sunnah are what unite us as Muslims. However, seeking uniformity is something completely different. Imam Javid expounded on this afterwards with the Muslim Link.

first step

>> continued from pg 6

working team, especially the young volunteers who came forward to help out made this event successful with their exceptional work setting up. I am very thankful for all their help and participation.”

Despite best efforts, timing of the event, slow marketing and the weather contributed to the meagre audience.

Despite annoucements at every Jummah prayer or every class prior to the event, somehow it wasn’t enough.

Regardless, it was still a success according to Rudwan, it had the largest number of doctors, specialists and health care facilities attending compared to other community health fairs.

Among the attending doctors or specialists present where Dr. Iffat Chowdhury (Endocrinologist), Dr. Malik (Pediatrician), Dr. Rubina Niazi (Psychiatrist), Dr. Musara (Surgeon), Dr. Seema Siddiqui (Dentist), Dr. Yasir Hamad (Internist), Dr. Kamal Batcha (Pulmonary CAre), Dr. Syed Riaz

Imam Javid concluded that as long as people were following moon-sighting it was correct, whether it is local or global.

CONTINUED | 27 Adha"?"

"Where Allah wanted uniformity He addressed it, such as in Hajj and Arafah where we all stand as one with no distinction, or in salah where we stand in one row with no gaps. We know from the sahabah that they were united but not uniform. Where Allah has kept it simple, keep it simple," said Imam Javid. "If North America wanted to be uniform in matters of the moon, then the only way is to go with established global moonsighting."

Imam Javid addressed this question by saying, "There is an issue of 'amanah'. The board's duty is to acknowledge authentic voices of scholars. The imam is an alim of 'deen' and understands the shariah well.

They must let him voice his opinion and must not put pressure on him. This is haram. If such a committee is doing that, it is the duty of the public to put proper people in position. Calculations have no basis. This is 'dhulm', oppression which cannot be done. To impose this type of opinion on the imam or the community is betraying trust."

One of the questions that was asked by a member of the audience during the forum was, "What are the options for a community when the board of trustees follows calculations for Eid-ul-Fitr and the Saudi Announcement for Eid-ul-

The Muslim Link spoke with members of the audience after the forum. One member who lives in the Gaithersburg area of Maryland expressed frustration at the position of ISNA (the Islamic Society of North America) on this issue. "ISNA

(Internal Medicine), Dr. Muhammad Eyad Dughly (Neurologist), Dr. Alif Manejwuala (Gastroenteralogist), Dr. Homayara Aziz (Gynocealogist), Dr. Rascha Dughly (Psychiatry), Dr. Nabil Badro (Vascular Surgeon), Dr. Atiqe Rahman (Infection Diseases), Dr. Oqba Tujjar (Dentist), Dr. Reem Dughly (Dentist), Dr. Amir Monifar (Orthopedic Surgeon), Dr. Mateen Zar (Naturopath), and Dr. Ali Deyhim (Podiatric surgeon).

popcorn, and food available for the general public so no one felt left out.

People of all ages were welcome to the event.

The fair also attracted representatives from health care facilities such as Ms. Tahira Hussain from the Domestic Violence Agency, Anne Arundel County Health representatives on Breast and Cervical Cancer, Medicare and Medicaid representatives, State of Maryland Health representatives to help people sign up for the Affordable Care Act, a Anne Arundel Medical Center representative, and an Alzheimer’s Association representative. Representatives from Vemma were also present to talk about the halal, organic energy drink and juice.

The event also had activities for children, such as a moon bounce,

While Rudwan seemed a bit disappointed on the numbers of attendees, the Imam of Islamic Society of Annapolis, Sheikh Mikaeel Smith, was satisfied by the event’s status, “This health fair is a success, regardless of how many people show up. It is a success because it is the beginning; it’s setting the path to further programs like this and serving to give the community the services that it needs -free of charge. And also a sense of brotherhood is coming. So no matter how many people show up, it is a success and the reason being is that it is the first one. And InshaAllah, I hope for more such events in the future and we will continue to have annual health fairs.”

Attending community members were more than happy to have such an event finally held in the Anne Arundel Muslim community. One of them in particular is looking into a better future of such events, “On behalf of Makkah Learning

is following calculations and so many of our scholars go there (to the annual convention) to speak. Our scholars have to join together and convince ISNA to change, since many people blindly follow ISNA." Many audience members were positively excited that such a forum was organized to try to bring these issues to the forefront and attempt to resolve them through common discourse between the area masajid.

"Every journey of a thousand miles starts with one step," said Imam Javid in reference to this forum. "This is a big step.

First, you fix your house. When the house is fixed, then you fix the community. If we imams in Maryland come together, then we can go to the 'ulema' and imams in Virginia.

Center, I would like to say that this is a wonderful event, which brings people together in general and it [brought] our community together.

And it is something that is beneficial as well, so we can all take something positive from it. And inshaAllah, we will have something similar to its kind in the future as well and hopefully people will know about it and it continues to grow and spread awareness, inshaAllah.”

The AACMC members thanked not only people, who attended the health fair, but also the volunteers and organizational team that came out to help. They were very proud of the overall success of the event.

They hope to correct their mistakes in the future.

The event was also successful due to its organizational team as one attendee puts it, “It was very organized, it seems. Everyone worked hard to put it together. I just wish there were more people attending.”

....

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

28 | CONTINUED critical

>> continued from pg 13

than his office in East Baltimore, Daoud lived with his parents and eight brothers and sisters in a ghetto packed tightly with ramshackle one-story residences. A common pastime for the neighborhood's kids was to jump from roof to roof.

Daoud's own home consisted of walls made from mud and straw, a dirt floor, and a tin roof pocked with tiny holes.

"In winter, we used to love the music of the rain, until you got soaked as the water would leak through," he says. "We would have four or five buckets on the floor to collect the rain. You were lucky if you woke up in the morning and your mattress was not wet."

The single space served as bedroom, guest room, kitchen, dining room, and sitting room. At night, the kids slept back to back. The household joke was that if you went to sleep on your right side, you had to stay there.

He vividly recalls how his mother used a washcloth to scrub the hard floor, which often left her fingertips bleeding.

They had no running water, no refrigerator, and only intermittent electricity. During drought seasons, the family had to rely on water distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, a three-gallon ration a day.

And then there was the violence. Fighting was commonplace, although the level abated after the Syrian army somewhat stabilized the area. When he was in third grade, his school was bombed and he lost family members, teachers, and classmates; he was fortunate to be home at the time. Air raids, armored vehicles, and soldiers were ubiquitous, and in 1984 the violence got so bad his family had to flee to neighboring Syria for seven months.

"After coming back from Syria, things were relatively calm," he says. "However, that is by Lebanese standards and not American standards. Heavily armed soldiers were a constant presence, and violence could break out anytime."

But despite the conditions, Daoud considered himself lucky.

....

"I can't think of a day we could not afford food. By our neighbors' standards, we were considered wealthy because we always had a meal on the table," he says.

"My parents would often give me food to deliver to neighbors in need. They would cry and thank me, as it might be the first meal they had that day. That was the norm, not the exception."

All told, Daoud remembers his childhood with mostly fond memories. His friends would play soccer, hide-and-seek, marbles, and a game that involved knocking a stick out of the ground.

A popular Daoud pastime was the atlas game he and his brothers and sisters would play. Their father, who worked in a gas station before he started his own fuel delivery business, would challenge them to find a particular town or city.

"We each had our own atlas from school, and whoever found the location first got a penny or two pennies," he says. "Those were some of my fondest memories. And I got really good at geography."

Daoud excelled in school. With each A on a test, his father would buy him a book to satiate his love of reading. A friend of his parents started calling the young Daoud "Doc," saying the bright boy was destined to become a doctor.

By third grade, Daoud had accumulated enough books that he opened his own micro library, using a hollowed-out old TV as shelving. He would lend the books to area children. Some were returned, others weren't.

"Looking back, I didn't have the proper system of checks and balances [laughs].

But if I could help impart some knowledge to another, or send someone to a dreamy place, then it was all worth it."

Daoud, too, would let books transport him to magical lands of palaces and cities far from his own reality.

In 10th grade, Daoud scored very high on a national exam, and teachers made him aware of scholarships to study abroad. One such scholarship was to United World College–USA, a two-year residential school in Montezuma, N.M., that serves students ages 16 to 19 from 73 participating countries. The school offers a unique program that combines academic

challenge with an experiential hands-on and group approach to learning.

Daoud would not learn about this particular scholarship until the night before the deadline. With the clock ticking, he had to gather his teacher and the school's guardian to get access to his transcripts.

"I still recall us going through my transcripts by candlelight at the school, copying all my grades and other information for the application," he says.

"But that is the level of commitment the teachers had in my area. It wasn't just a job for them; it was a mission. And they cared for us. I quickly developed a level of respect for teachers that I have to this day."

Daoud was one of two Lebanese children selected for the scholarship (the other went to UWC-Canada), and a year later, after he finished 11th grade, he found himself on a plane bound for New Mexico.

Up until that point, "a vacation" had meant a 50-mile trip to see his aunt in the southern portion of Lebanon.

"I remember being very scared," he says.

"It was the first time I would go anywhere without my family, and to a place totally unknown to me. I think as the plane took off, I started shedding tears. The little kid in me starting thinking, This is real. In the beginning, you're excited. You got a scholarship. You are going places. Your dreams are coming true. Your future looks brighter. But the moment the plane takes off, you're leaving everything you know and you can't turn around. I thought, Will I ever see my parents again?"

Daoud arrived in New Mexico with only a rudimentary knowledge of English. In fact, his first visa application had been denied because he could not carry on a conversation in English with the consulate general at the American embassy in Damascus.

He was one of nearly 100 students in his class, and no two roommates could be from the same continent. Here was a true melting pot.

"My time at the UWC really colored my world view and shaped a lot of what I stand for. Here were kids from all over the world, from various backgrounds, some rich, some poor, all learning side by side," he says.

Ravindra Parashar, Daoud's economics instructor at UWC-USA, says the young man from Lebanon immediately impressed him. He described the teenage Daoud as always positive, smiling, and eager to learn, participate, and listen to all sides of an argument.

"He was good-natured and interested in everything. At first, he seemed awestruck by his new environment and the landscape.

But what really struck me was there was no bitterness to him. He came from such meager beginnings in an area of crisis, but he didn't let that color who he was in a negative way," Parashar says. "He looked at everything so positively, and he had this burning desire to learn and grow and do something for the world."

After earning a bilingual international baccalaureate diploma, Daoud applied to and was accepted on a full scholarship to Amherst College, where he majored in chemistry and neuroscience.

Following graduation, he took a year off for research and to earn money for medical school. He was accepted to Harvard with a $25,000 yearly scholarship but needed $21,000 more a year. A wealthy businessman who knew of his back story agreed to pay the rest of his expenses.

"I had others come forward who told me they wanted to support my medical education," he says. "America is a really incredible place. There's a lot of good will out there, and people who, if they believe in you, will invest in you. I guess they saw the passion I had to become a doctor."

After receiving his medical degree in 2005, Daoud came to Baltimore for his medical internship at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. He followed that with a three-year residency at the Duke University Eye Center.

But then Baltimore beckoned again, and he got accepted for a cornea and external disease fellowship at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Following his fellowship, several universities courted Daoud for their faculty, but he ultimately chose Johns Hopkins, in part because he and his wife, Laila El-Haddad—a journalist and author

>> DAOUD III Pg 29

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

CONTINUED | 29

victims

(Authorization of Military Force).

>> continued from pg 13

The briefing followed the Global Drone Summit that brought together people from around the world to discuss strategies to stop the proliferation of drones used for killing and spying. The conference was organized by the peace group CODEPINK, along with the Institute for Policy Studies, The Nation Magazine, Center for Constitutional Rights, and National Lawyers Guild (Georgetown Chapter).

Joined by Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK and Robert Naiman, Policy Director of Just Foreign Policy, explained why making the drone strike transparency provisions of the Senate intelligence authorization into law, would be a significant step forward in Congressional oversight of the policy. Naiman suggested that the House Intelligence Committee should introduce legislation to force the Obama administration to disclose civilian casualties from drone attacks and that Congress explore establishing a compensation fund.

Last May, Rep. Barbara Lee introduced the Drones Accountability Act (HR 2183) to place a moratorium on the use of drones “until all legal mechanism are in place” and to repeal the 2001 AUMF DAOUD

>> continued from pg 28

originally from Gaza whom he met at Harvard—and their young two children were already settled in the area. But perhaps what appealed to Daoud most were the friendly culture and international reach of Johns Hopkins, and its reputation nationally and overseas.

He officially joined Johns Hopkins in summer 2010. The first day, he says, was a mix of nerves and excitement.

"I think I had six consults that first day, half of them from cornea specialists who had at least 10 years of experience," he says. "But I was ready for it. I have been lucky enough to have very strong training."

In the past three years, Daoud has earned a growing reputation for his surgical skills.

He routinely sees patients from overseas

The delegation had gripping stories to tell about how drones have affected their families, their communities and their efforts to bring democracy to to the tough terrains of Yemen. Entesar al Qadhi is a female Yemeni politician from Mareb, a prominent location for US drone strikes.

She is “a leading voice in the revolution that overthrew dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh.”

“What can possibly justify terrorizing a

community of 250,000 just for the purpose of killing one person? It might be the right of the U.S. to protect itself, but that doesn’t mean it can terrorize entire communities,” she conveyed the message of thousands of Yemenis to Americans. Two members of Al Qaeda were in al Qadhi’s village, one of the most oil rich areas of Yemen, as villagers were negotiating with the two men. “A drone killed the chief negotiator, scuttling [deliberating sinking] negotiations,” according to drone critic, Professor of Law Marjorie Cohn, as they did recently in Pakistan.

The people of the area now feel that the “drones are for Al Qaeda, not against Al Qaeda,” said Al-Qadhi at the Global Drone Summit. She had a friendly warning for Americans that Yemenis may be the lab rats, as they were a poor, voice-less nation but this technology would eventually land on American shores.

The third member of the delegations was Baraa Shiban, project co-ordinator for the

and others who see him as their best or final chance to improve their sight. In one recent week, for example, he had two patients from Saudi Arabia and a doctor from Mexico who needed a cornea transplant.

to provide a medicine, drug, or vaccine that can treat or prevent the condition. In terms of surgery, he wants to improve and simplify the use of lasers in eye surgery to make it available to more patients overseas.

"Almost weekly, I'll have a patient come in where cataract surgery didn't go well, and they say, Can you fix it?" he says. "Those are the challenging ones, but those are also the ones that I enjoy the most. That is one of the things I love about being here. I see things that almost nobody else sees. By that I mean the level of complexity, the level of clinical pathology that we have is really unparalleled because Hopkins draws from just about everywhere."

"Nearly 30 million people are blind from cataracts," he says. "For a lot of those people, blindness can be prevented by what should be a safe procedure. We need more people trained in the surgery."

Daoud specializes in cataract and refractive surgery, as well as the diagnosis and treatment of corneal disorders, including Fuchs dystrophy and keratoconus. His research focuses on trying to better understand cataract formation in order

Walter J. Stark, the T. Boone Pickens Professor of Ophthalmology and director of the Stark-Mosher Center for Cataract and Corneal Diseases at the Wilmer Eye Institute, says that Daoud is one of the most gifted, enthusiastic, and energetic corneal transplant surgeons he's ever met.

"I knew he had excellent training at Harvard and Duke before he came here, but he has exceeded all expectations," Stark says. "He's great with patients and

legal group Reprieve. He has researched civilian victims of US air strikes and is a drone critic. He and Al Qadhi serve as youth representatives in Yemen's National Dialogue. He was detained at London’s Gatwick Airport in September under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act. Cory Crider, who heads Reprieve's Abuses in Counter-Terrorism team said of the incident: "if there were any doubt the UK was abusing its counter-terrorism powers to silence critics, this ends it."

Shiban was never a terror suspect. Glenn Greenwald, an esteemed journalist writes that top secret US government documents leaked by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden “characterize even the most basic political and legal opposition to drone attacks as part of "propaganda campaigns" from America's "adversaries".”

Jaber had requested a meeting with President Obama.

an excellent surgeon. And his research will hopefully lead to improved cataract surgery. We are very lucky to have him."

Stark says he remembers that when he first met Daoud, he was taken aback by his "microscopic" handwriting.

"I asked him, Why so small? I could barely read it, and he says it came from the fact he was given only one notebook a year in school, and he had to write so small so he didn't waste an inch on the page," Stark says.

Daoud could afford to write larger today, but now he's frugal with his time: He's not wasting a single minute.

Dr. Daoud serves as a mentor for the Johns Hopkins Graduate Muslim Students Association and leads weekly halaqas and is a regular khateeb on campus. – TML. Source: Johns Hopkins Univeristy Gazette, November 1, 2013

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

30 | NATIONAL NEWS

National News

Thanksgiving: A National Day of Mourning for Indians

By Moonanum James and Mahtowin Munro

arrived, the Native people fed them and welcomed them, the Indians promptly faded into the background, and everyone lived happily ever after.

Every year since 1970, United American Indians of New England have organized the National Day of Mourning observance in Plymouth at noon on Thanksgiving Day. Every year, hundreds of Native people and our supporters from all four directions join us. Every year, including this year, Native people from throughout the Americas will speak the truth about our history and about current issues and struggles we are involved in.

Why do hundreds of people stand out in the cold rather than sit home eating turkey and watching football? Do we have something against a harvest festival?

Of course not. But Thanksgiving in this country -- and in particular in Plymouth --is much more than a harvest home festival. It is a celebration of the pilgrim mythology.

The truth is a sharp contrast to that mythology.

The myth of Thanksgiving, served up with dollops of European superiority and manifest destiny, just does not work for many people in this country.

The pilgrims are glorified and mythologized because the circumstances of the first English-speaking colony in Jamestown were frankly too ugly (for example, they turned to cannibalism to survive) to hold up as an effective national myth. The pilgrims did not find an empty land any more than Columbus "discovered" anything. Every inch of this land is Indian land. The pilgrims (who did not even call themselves pilgrims) did not come here seeking religious freedom; they already had that in Holland.

They came here as part of a commercial venture. They introduced sexism, racism ...bigotry, jails, and the class system to >> indians Pg 31

According to this mythology, the pilgrims

The Suppressed 'Thanksgiving' Speech of a Wampanoag Indian at Plymouth, MA Two distinctly different cultures Three hundred fifty years after the Pilgrims began their invasion of the land of the Wampanoag, their "American" descendants planned an anniversary celebration. Still clinging to the white schoolbook myth of friendly relations between their forefathers and the Wampanoag, the anniversary planners thought it would be nice to have an Indian make an appreciative and complimentary speech at their state dinner. Frank James (Wamsutta) was asked to speak at the celebration. He accepted. The planners, however , asked to see his speech in advance of the occasion, and it turned out that Frank James' views — based on history rather than mythology — were not

....

what the Pilgrims' descendants wanted to hear. Frank James refused to deliver a speech written by a public relations person. Frank James did not speak at the 1970 anniversary celebration. If he had spoken, this is what he would have said: I speak to you as a man -- a Wampanoag Man. I am a proud man, proud of my ancestry, my accomplishments won by a strict parental direction ("You must succeed - your face is a different color in this small Cape Cod community!"). I am a product of poverty and discrimination from these two social and economic diseases. I, and my brothers and sisters, have painfully overcome, and to some

met. One thought they must control life; the other believed life was to be enjoyed, because nature decreed it. extent we have earned the respect of our community. We are Indians first - but we are termed "good citizens." Sometimes we are arrogant but only because society has pressured us to be so.

It is with mixed emotion that I stand here to share my thoughts. This is a time of celebration for you - celebrating an anniversary of a beginning for the white

man in America. A time of looking back, of reflection. It is with a heavy heart that I look back upon what happened to my People.

Even before the Pilgrims landed it was common practice for explorers to capture

>> speech Pg 31

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

NATIONAL NEWS| 31

indians

>> continued from pg 30

these shores. One of the very first things they did when they arrived on Cape Cod -- before they even made it to Plymouth -- was to rob Wampanoag graves at Corn Hill and steal as much of the Indians' winter provisions of corn and beans as they were able to carry. They were no better than any other group of Europeans when it came to their treatment of the Indigenous peoples here. And no, they did not even land at that sacred shrine called Plymouth Rock, a monument to racism and oppression which we are proud to say we buried in 1995.

The first official "Day of Thanksgiving" was proclaimed in 1637 by Governor Winthrop. He did so to celebrate the safe return of men from the Massachusetts Bay Colony who had gone to Mystic, Connecticut to participate in the massacre of over 700 Pequot women, children, and men.

About the only true thing in the whole mythology is that these pitiful European strangers would not have survived their first several years in "New England" were it not for the aid of Wampanoag people.

What Native people got in return for this help was genocide, theft of our lands, and never-ending repression. We are treated either as quaint relics from the past, or are, to most people, virtually invisible. speech

>> continued from pg 30

Indians, take them to Europe and sell them as slaves for 220 shillings apiece. The Pilgrims had hardly explored the shores of Cape Cod for four days before they had robbed the graves of my ancestors and stolen their corn and beans. Mourt's Relation describes a searching party of sixteen men. Mourt goes on to say that this party took as much of the Indians' winter provisions as they were able to carry.

Massasoit, the great Sachem of the Wampanoag, knew these facts, yet he and his People welcomed and befriended the settlers of the Plymouth Plantation.

Perhaps he did this because his Tribe had been depleted by an epidemic. Or his knowledge of the harsh oncoming winter was the reason for his peaceful acceptance

When we dare to stand up for our rights, we are considered unreasonable. When we speak the truth about the history of the European invasion, we are often told to "go back where we came from." Our roots are right here. They do not extend across any ocean.

National Day of Mourning began in 1970 when a Wampanoag man, Wamsutta Frank James, was asked to speak at a state dinner celebrating the 350th anniversary of the pilgrim landing. He refused to speak false words in praise of the white man for bringing civilization to us poor heathens. Native people from throughout the Americas came to Plymouth, where they mourned their forebears who had been sold into slavery, burned alive, massacred, cheated, and mistreated since the arrival of the Pilgrims in 1620.

But the commemoration of National Day of Mourning goes far beyond the circumstances of 1970.

Can we give thanks as we remember Native political prisoner Leonard Peltier, who was framed up by the FBI and has been falsely imprisoned since 1976? Despite mountains of evidence exonerating Peltier and the proven misconduct of federal prosecutors and the FBI, Peltier has been denied a new trial.

Bill Clinton apparently does not feel that particular pain and has refused to grant clemency to this innocent man. of these acts. This action by Massasoit was perhaps our biggest mistake. We, the Wampanoag, welcomed you, the white man, with open arms, little knowing that it was the beginning of the end; that before 50 years were to pass, the Wampanoag would no longer be a free people.

What happened in those short 50 years?

What has happened in the last 300 years?

History gives us facts and there were atrocities; there were broken promises - and most of these centered around land ownership. Among ourselves we understood that there were boundaries, but never before had we had to deal with fences and stone walls. But the white man had a need to prove his worth by the amount of land that he owned. Only ten years later, when the Puritans came, they treated the Wampanoag with even less kindness in converting the souls of the socalled "savages." Although the Puritans were harsh to members of their own

To Native people, the case of Peltier is one more ordeal in a litany of wrongdoings committed by the U.S. government against us. While the media in New England present images of the "Pequot miracle" in Connecticut, the vast majority of Native people continue to live in the most abysmal poverty.

Can we give thanks for the fact that, on many reservations, unemployment rates surpass fifty percent? Our life expectancies are much lower, our infant mortality and teen suicide rates much higher, than those of white Americans.

Racist stereotypes of Native people, such as those perpetuated by the Cleveland Indians, the Atlanta Braves, and countless local and national sports teams, persist.

Every single one of the more than 350 treaties that Native nations signed has been broken by the U.S. government.

The bipartisan budget cuts have severely reduced educational opportunities for Native youth and the development of new housing on reservations, and have caused cause deadly cutbacks in health-care and other necessary services.

Are we to give thanks for being treated as unwelcome in our own country?

Or perhaps we are expected to give thanks for the war that is being waged by the Mexican government against Indigenous peoples there, with the military aid of the U.S. in the form of helicopters and society, the Indian was pressed between stone slabs and hanged as quickly as any other "witch."

And so down through the years there is record after record of Indian lands taken and, in token, reservations set up for him upon which to live. The Indian, having been stripped of his power, could only stand by and watch while the white man took his land and used it for his personal gain. This the Indian could not understand; for to him, land was survival, to farm, to hunt, to be enjoyed. It was not to be abused. We see incident after incident, where the white man sought to tame the "savage" and convert him to the Christian ways of life. The early Pilgrim settlers led the Indian to believe that if he did not behave, they would dig up the ground and unleash the great epidemic again.

The white man used the Indian's nautical

other equipment? When the descendants of the Aztec, Maya, and Inca flee to the U.S., the descendants of the wash-ashore pilgrims term them 'illegal aliens" and hunt them down.

We object to the "Pilgrim Progress" parade and to what goes on in Plymouth because they are making millions of tourist dollars every year from the false pilgrim mythology. That money is being made off the backs of our slaughtered indigenous ancestors.

Increasing numbers of people are seeking alternatives to such holidays as Columbus Day and Thanksgiving. They are coming to the conclusion that, if we are ever to achieve some sense of community, we must first face the truth about the history of this country and the toll that history has taken on the lives of millions of Indigenous, Black, Latino, Asian, and poor and working class white people.

The myth of Thanksgiving, served up with dollops of European superiority and manifest destiny, just does not work for many people in this country. As Malcolm X once said about the African-American experience in America, "We did not land on Plymouth Rock. Plymouth Rock landed on us." Exactly.

M a h t o w i n M u n ro ( L a k o t a ) a n d Moonanum James (Wampanoag) are co-leaders of United American Indians of New England. Source: www.uaine.org skills and abilities. They let him be only a seaman -- but never a captain. Time and time again, in the white man's society, we Indians have been termed "low man on the totem pole."

Has the Wampanoag really disappeared?

There is still an aura of mystery. We know there was an epidemic that took many Indian lives - some Wampanoags moved west and joined the Cherokee and Cheyenne. They were forced to move. Some even went north to Canada!

Many Wampanoag put aside their Indian heritage and accepted the white man's way for their own survival. There are some Wampanoag who do not wish it known they are Indian for social or economic reasons.

What happened to those Wampanoags >> speech II Pg 36

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

32 | ARTS & FILM

Arts & Film Spreading Creative Works of Value to the Muslim Community.

Documentary Puts Focus On Survivors of Death from the Sky

By Sarah Khasawinah

Muslim Link Contributing Writer In Wounds of Waziristan, Saddam, a teenage survivor of drone attacks along the northwestern border of Pakistan, speaks: “I feel guilty about being alive... When I hear a drone attack, I feel ill all day.”

Saddam lost his brother, niece, and several friends to drones.

Wounds of Warzistan, a 25-minute documentary, featuring survivors of America’s drone warfare, screened at Johns Hopkins University on the evening of Thursday, November 14, 2013.

Madiha Tahir, the film director, participated in a panel afterwards and explained the focus of the documentary, to illustrate “What does it mean to be haunted by loss for these people [drone survivors]?” The film answered this question with stories from survivors, photographs of the late victims, and footage of the dead. Some of the images are not easy to stomach.

Picture another survivor, Karim’s, description of his family: “their coffins were lying next to each other in their home. Their bodies were covered in blood. Later, I found some of their fingers in the rubble.”’

Haunted is how I felt. One could hear this sentiment in the audience, too, with gasps of horror and tears of sadness. Harry Lang, a PhD student in Mathematics reflected on the film, “It presented a different side from everything that’s been in the media. It was well done and brought it alive.”

The atmosphere felt particularly haunted after the film when discussions surfaced a little known fact: The Johns Hopkins University contributes to drone warfare.

....

Kristina Hallez, a member of The Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), which organized the event explained that the film screening is a “part of a larger campaign about the ethical aspects of drone warfare and Hopkins’ role in the creation of drones. The university hasn’t had any discussion about our role in that endeavor.” Derek Denman, HRWG president emphasized that it’s about “consciousness raising since it’s not heavily advertised that Hopkins is doing this research.”

Much of the details about the drone research remain unknown—“It’s classified evidence,” Hallez explained, “Our university president isn’t even privy to the military contracts because he’s Canadian.”

Nevertheless, “according to APL (Applied Physics Laboratory) documents that are in the public domain,” Denman said, it is known that the university is working to “design automated drones.”

After awareness, the next goal of the HRG campaign is action. Paul Kohlery, another member of HRWG hopes to “demand cessation of such research until a discussion is had.” The discussion surrounding the film certainly raised awareness, and may contribute to drone research cessation, too.

A criticism of the film was that it did not discuss the politics of drone warfare.

A PhD student in Public Health who declined to be identified “for career reasons” highlighted the critique, “It only showed the human side, which is just a symptom.” Therefore much of the discussion afterwards dug into the complex politics of the region, and how it has been exploited over the past several decades. The film also touches on this theme in a narration of the history that concludes, “America, Pakistani security forces, and the insurgent they’ve created; they are linked and for decades, they’ve been destroying Waziristan together.”

Mira Haqqani, a freshman JHU student from Karachi reflected after the film, “If Pakistan could unite and not create factions within themselves, we could have a stronger voice in the world.”

In the politics of Washington D.C., Pakistan, and all of the other places who claim to have a stake, it is difficult to separate truth from falsehood. The narrator says in the film, “By the time the truth arrives, lies will have led to wasted villages.” Instead of waiting for bureaucrats to debate and decide, perhaps we ought to imagine a better world ourselves. For students at Johns Hopkins and in academia in general, consider Kohlery’s question, “Should a university be doing military research?”

We carry the burden of our actions.

Memories of dead among the living should haunt us more than they haunt our brothers and sisters in Waziristan.

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

HEALTH & FAMILY | 33

Study Suggests Elders Have More Control Over Their Emotions Than Other Adults

By Sarah Khasawinah

“to create a world where aging comes with opportunities.”

When a person shows hostility towards you, how do you respond? Islam teaches that the strongest among us refrain from showing anger in return. The Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him said:

As Muslims, we know that showing respect to the elderly is a part of faith.

Prophet Muhammad warned:

Muslim Link Contributing Writer

“He is not one of us who does not show tenderness to the young and who does not show respect to the elder.” [Hadith from at-Tirmidhi]

"The strong man is not the one who can wrestle, but the strong man is the one who can control himself at the time of anger."

The statement above applies to everyone from the young to the old. A new study presented at the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) 66th Annual Scientific Meeting found that older adults could be better at anger management. In the study, “Age Differences in Affective and Cardiovascular Responses to a Negative Social Interaction,” Dr. Gloria Luong, of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, reported that older adults react more calmly than younger adults when confronted with controlled hostility.

To test whether emotion regulation improves with age, Dr. Luong presented 79 older adults (ages 60-88 years) and 80 younger adults (ages 18-28 years) with a confederate, a negative stranger of the same age and gender, and tasked them to solve a dilemma together. For instance, the participants may have been asked “whether one would steal an antidote to save a family member's life if that was the only way to save that person,” and required to select a canned response such as “yes” or “no.” Study participants believed that the confederate was a peer participant, when in fact the investigators had instructed these peer individuals to cause problems in the group. The confederate had been trained to memorize and follow a specific code indicating when to disagree and how to act in a disagreeable and unfriendly manner.

Many study participants felt offended and disturbed by the confederate, and some responded reciprocally and worse. To quantify the extent of their disturbance, and compare the two age groups, the investigators took behavioral and physiological measurements after the negative social interaction. The investigators found that following the task, the older adults exhibited less negative affect, lower diastolic blood pressure, and lower pulse rate than the younger adults. Furthermore, the older adults exhibited a more pronounced recovery after the experience. These cardiovascular responses indicate that the older adults exhibited less reactivity in the first place and recovered faster after the experience.

Dr. Luong’s research builds off of a body of work aiming to understand emotional reactivity across the lifespan. Previous studies have found that older age is associated with less affective reactivity

(Birditt & Fingerman, 2003); however, the mechanism of this regulation is unknown. Do older adults’ surround themselves with people who treat them more kindly (Fingerman & Charles, 2010)? Or do older adults regulate their emotions better (Blanchard-Fields, 2007)? Dr. Luong’s findings suggest that older adults are better than younger adults at regulating their emotions in tense social settings.

This finding that emotion regulation could improve with age represents a sample of the work shared at the recent GSA Annual Meeting, held from November 20-24 in New Orleans. Each presentation related to the theme of the meeting, “Optimal Aging Through Research.” Dr. Lawrence Rubenstein, GSA President encouraged the 3,700+ gerontologists in attendance to “change how the world thinks of the second half of life.” Dr. Richard Allman, the Donald P. Kent Award recipient, further assigned the following challenge:

While they may be more vulnerable in terms of physical strength and some domains of cognition, Dr. Luong’s recent study shows that older adults are stronger in terms of emotions. Thus, in the sense that matters most, our elders may represent the strongest among us.

Nevertheless, we do not need to wait until we reach old ages to master our emotions.

The Prophet commanded us all to refrain from anger: “A man said to the Prophet, ‘Give me advice.’ The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, ‘Do not get angry.’ The man asked repeatedly and the Prophet answered each time, ‘Do not get angry.’” [Hadith from Bukhari and Muslim] Achieving the ultimate regulation of emotions could be achieved by turning to Allah at all ages. As we strive to emulate Prophet Muhammad in responding to hostility with kindness, we can also learn from the elders in our community. With their increased patience and wisdom, they have much to offer. As they grow old, let us continue to value the contributions of our elders and honor them with the highest positions of respect, like the Prophet commanded us.

Reference:

Luong, G and Charles, S. Age Differences in Affective and Cardiovascular Responses to a Negative Social Interaction [abstract].

In: The Gerontological Society of America 66th Annual Scientific Meeting; 2013 Nov 20-24; New Orleans, Louisiana.

....

34 | ISLAM

Islam

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

Moving Forward with Yaqeen Adapted from a khutbah by Safi Khan of Dar-us-Salaam Note: Imam Safi Khan of Dar-us-Salaam has been delivering talks and khutbas on 'yaqeen' – having confidence in Allah – throughout the DMV region over the last few months. The theme of Dar-us-Salaam's upcoming December 15, 2013 annual dinner is 'Yaqeen'. Dar-us-Salaam is working to raise $10 million to purchase and new property in Howard County, Maryland to be used as the new home of Al-Huda School. Besides a massive fundraising effort involving local, national, and international outreach, in-person and online solicitation, multiple events and methods, and institutional grant proposals, Dar-us-Salaam's message to the community is that they key to raising the $10 million is found in one word: yaqeen.

These days, because of the tremendous pressures on the ummah, many people seem to get down. As a whole, the Muslims in America and in our communities and families, it seems when we commit to Islam, things become tough for us. Many people buckle under this pressure. You hear people saying: “Its not practical to live an Islamic lifestyle.

How are we ever going to be able to build an Islamic community, it is simply not practical.”

Consider this ayah which is an answer to this attitude for the sincere hearts, those hearts that are filled with yaqeen – the confidence in Allah.

The Prophet Sallallahu 'alyhi wa sallam built a community, and so did the other prophets, and we can also.

....

Allah says in Surah Qasas talking about the situation of the Muslims under the Pharoah: Listen believers, we want to grace your lives with much blessings to those who are oppressed in the land. Allah says He wants to make them leaders, and wants you to inherit the lands.

SubhanAllah, this is a guarantee from Allah for us, so how can we let Shaytaan tell us that it can't happen. Allah says to those who don't have the resources that He will provide what they need, they just need to have the yaqeen – that confidence in Allah.

Allah put this type of yaqeen in the heart of people like Abu Bakr (Allah be pleased with him). Before the Prophet Sallallahu 'alyhi wa sallam passed

They tried to convince Abu Bakr that this was a wrong move, that the outlying Arab tribes were revolting, that the Muslims are still in sadness due to the passing of the Prophet Sallallahu 'alyhi wa sallam, and other reasons. Abu Bakr said: “The Prophet Sallallahu 'alyhi wa sallam said to do this, and you are telling me not to?” You see, Abu Bakr knew the ayaat of the Quran, where Allah said 'obey Allah and His Prophet, and He will have mercy on you.' So, regardless of the arguments, Abu Bakr's yaqeen said he had to order the army to continue. He gave some parting advice to the army, approaching on foot while Usama – a teenager – was on a camel. Abu Bakr ordered him to stay on the camel although Usama wanted his

Allah says to those who want to serve Him but who don't have the resources, that He will provide what they need, they just need to have the yaqeen – that confidence in Allah. away, he ordered that an army be sent to confront the Roman empire. This was unheard of at that time, to send a small army of hardly 3,000 to confront a 'super power' army of around 200,000.

So, the Prophet Sallallahu 'alyhi wa sallam appointed Usama (Allah be pleased with him) to lead this army just before he passed away. The army had not left yet, and the Prophet Sallallahu 'alyhi wa sallam passed away, and three days later Abu Bakr became the leader and ordered that the army go out as the Prophet Sallallahu 'alyhi wa sallam instructed and all the other companions – all of them, even Umar – disagreed with Abu Bakr's decision.

leader to get on the camel. “No, I also want my feet to get dirty in the way of Allah,” responded Abu Bakr. Although he was already one of the ten who was promised paradise, Abu Bakr still wanted to take some part in this struggle in the way of Allah.

Abu Bakr ordered the soldiers: Do not be treacherous. If there is a promise or truce, to do not violate it. Do not take anything for yourselves from the booty of war unless it is distributed to you. Do not deceive anyone during the battle. Do not mutilate any of the dead, and do not torture anyone. Do not kill children, elders, or women. You can

only fight those who are fighting you on the battlefield. In other words, you cannot kill civilians like some misguided Muslims do today. He also said do not destroy or burn the trees and crops, do not slaughter any sheep or livestock except for food. He also said you will pass by some people who have devoted themselves to worship in monasteries (Christian monks), so leave them alone to worship. You will also come across people who bring you food, so if you eat from that food, make sure you mention the name of Allah first. These are the rules of engagement Abu Bakr gave the army of Usamah.

Abu Bakr could have made exceptions to these rules, telling himself that the Muslims were few and lacked resources so they needed some tactical advantages, but this is not the way of the Muslims.

One time Khalid Ibn Waleed was on a campaign where he went into an area of Iraq, and he saw two people worshiping fire. He took out his sword and was about to strike them, but then he remembered the advice of the Prophet Sallallahu 'alyhi wa sallam and also the words of advice Abu Bakr gave the army of Usamah, so he put his sword away. Would you believe that those two people who were there worshiping the fire – one's name was Sirin, and one's name was Nafi' – would you believe that the son of Sirin became Ibn Sirin, one of the most famous scholars in Islam who wrote the famous book on the interpretation of dreams, and that Nafi' later on became the famous general who took the Muslims from Egypt all the way to Morocco. Nafi' is the one who famously addressed the Atlantic ocean and said 'O ocean, if I knew that there was land beyond you, I would go there and share the message of Allah.' >> see YAQEEN on page 37

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

ISLAM | 35

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

36 | CONTINUED speech II

>> continued from pg 31

who chose to remain and live among the early settlers? What kind of existence did they live as "civilized" people? True, living was not as complex as life today, but they dealt with the confusion and the change. Honesty, trust, concern, pride, and politics wove themselves in and out of their [the Wampanoags'] daily living.

Hence, he was termed crafty, cunning, rapacious, and dirty.

History wants us to believe that the Indian was a savage, illiterate, uncivilized animal. A history that was written by an organized, disciplined people, to expose us as an unorganized and undisciplined entity. Two distinctly different cultures met. One thought they must control life; the other believed life was to be enjoyed, because nature decreed it. Let us remember, the Indian is and was just as human as the white man. The Indian feels pain, gets hurt, and becomes defensive, has dreams, bears tragedy and failure, suffers from loneliness, needs to cry as well as laugh. He, too, is often

HUNGER

misunderstood.

The white man in the presence of the Indian is still mystified by his uncanny ability to make him feel uncomfortable.

This may be the image the white man has created of the Indian; his "savageness" has boomeranged and isn't a mystery; it is fear; fear of the Indian's temperament!

High on a hill, overlooking the famed Plymouth Rock, stands the statue of our great Sachem, Massasoit. Massasoit has stood there many years in silence. We the descendants of this great Sachem have been a silent people. The necessity of making a living in this materialistic society of the white man caused us to be silent. Today, I and many of my people are choosing to face the truth. We ARE Indians!

Although time has drained our culture, and our language is almost extinct, we the Wampanoags still walk the lands of Massachusetts. We may be fragmented, we may be confused. Many years have passed since we have been a people together. Our lands were invaded. We fought as hard to keep our land as you

the whites did to take our land away from us. We were conquered, we became the American prisoners of war in many cases, and wards of the United States Government, until only recently.

beginning. It was the beginning of a new life for the Pilgrims. Now, 350 years later it is a beginning of a new determination for the original American: the American Indian.

Our spirit refuses to die. Yesterday we walked the woodland paths and sandy trails. Today we must walk the macadam highways and roads. We are uniting We're standing not in our wigwams but in your concrete tent. We stand tall and proud, and before too many moons pass we'll right the wrongs we have allowed to happen to us.

There are some factors concerning the Wampanoags and other Indians across this vast nation. We now have 350 years of experience living amongst the white man. We can now speak his language.

We can now think as a white man thinks.

We can now compete with him for the top jobs. We're being heard; we are now being listened to. The important point is that along with these necessities of everyday living, we still have the spirit, we still have the unique culture, we still have the will and, most important of all, the determination to remain as Indians.

We are determined, and our presence here this evening is living testimony that this is only the beginning of the American Indian, particularly the Wampanoag, to regain the position in this country that is rightfully ours.

We forfeited our country. Our lands have fallen into the hands of the aggressor. We have allowed the white man to keep us on our knees. What has happened cannot be changed, but today we must work towards a more humane America, a more Indian America, where men and nature once again are important; where the Indian values of honor, truth, and brotherhood prevail.

You the white man are celebrating an anniversary. We the Wampanoags will help you celebrate in the concept of a

Wamsutta, September 10, 1970

convention.

>> continued from pg 1 feed you only for the countenance of Allah. We wish not from you reward or gratitude" So, when Al-Rahmah Sunday School manager Sister Nasrin Rahman attended the Islamic Society of North America's annual convention last September and was among hundreds of volunteers packing 50,000 meals for the hungry in only two hours, she wanted her students and community to not be left behnd in terms of seeking Allah's pleasure.

"I felt it was amazing how the whole thing was done and what a wonderful way to get families involved for a great cause," Sister Nasrin told the Muslim Link. "I could not stop but thinking what a excellent project it could be for our kids in Sunday School ... these are crucial times in the lives of [these kids] and we better find things valuable for them so as adults they take responsibility to serve humanity," she said. The Golden Age Committee was also invited to join us."

Sister Nasrin contacted ISNA's Muhammad Sanusi who worked with the nonprofit Stop Hunger Now to organize the 50,000 meal packing event at the ISNA

....

"This was our 50 year anniversary, so we wanted to mark it in a special way that serves humanity," explained Sanusi, who also attended the ISB meal packing event with his family.

Stop Hunger Now distributes free, nutrition filled meals to over 40 countries around the world. Using their huge purchasing power, they produce instant meal packs of rice, vegetables, beans, and spices for 25 cents per meal. They partner with volunteer groups to provide manpower and space to package the meals from dry ingredients in sealed plastic. Stop Hunger Now brings all needed packing supplies and the food items, paid for by charitbale donations.

For the December 1, 2013 event, ISB and ISNA split the cost of the food.

ISB volunteers from every segment of the community -- young and old, men and women, children and teenagers -used 42 bags of rice (2,100 lbs), 21 bags of soy (1,050 lbs) and 120 lbs of dehydrated vegetables and 20, 000 vitamin packages to prepare 20,000 meals, according to Sister Nasrin.

Above and right, photos from the ISB / ISNA Stop Hunger Now event. The ISB gym was like an efficient assembly line for a little over two hours, producing 20,000 meals for hungry people throughout the world. Photos by Muslim Link.

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

LETTER TO THE EDITOR | 37

Salaah times for December 6th, 2013 - January 2nd , 2014

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

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

Day Fri Sat

Date Dec 6 7

Hijri 3/2 4/2

Fajr 5:54 5:55

Sunrise 7:12 7:13

Dhuhr 12:00 12:00

Asr 2:28 2:28

Maghrib 4:46 4:46

Isha 6:05 6:05

Sun Mon

8 9

5/2 6/2

5:56 5:57

7:14 7:15

12:01 12:01

2:28 2:28

4:46 4:46

6:05 6:06

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

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 JAN 1 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 1/3

5:57 5:58 5:59 5:59 5:59 6:01 6:01 6:02 6:02 6:03 6:03 6:04 6:04 6:05 6:05 6:06 6:06 6:06 6:06 6:07 6:07 6:07 6:08 6:08

7:15 7:16 7:17 7:17 7:18 7:19 7:20 7:20 7:21 7:22 7:22 7:23 7:23 7:24 7:24 7:24 7:25 7:25 7:25 7:25 7:26 7:26 7:26 7:26

12:02 12:02 12:02 12:02 12:03 12:04 12:04 12:05 12:05 12:06 12:06 12:07 12:07 12:08 12:08 12:09 12:09 12:10 12:10 12:10 12:11 12:12 12:12 12:13

2:28 2:29 2:29 2:29 2:29 2:30 2:30 2:30 2:31 2:31 2:32 2:32 2:33 2:33 2:34 2:35 2:35 2:36 2:36 2:36 2:38 2:39 2:39 2:40

4:46 4:47 4:47 4:47 4:47 4:48 4:48 4:48 4:49 4:49 4:49 4:50 4:50 4:51 4:52 4:52 4:53 4:54 4:54 4:54 4:56 4:57 4:57 4:58

6:06 6:06 6:06 6:06 6:07 6:07 6:08 6:08 6:08 6:09 6:09 6:10 6:10 6:11 6:11 6:12 6:13 6:13 6:13 6:14 6:15 6:16 6:17 6:18

yaqeen

>> continued from pg 34

Today, we are on the other side of the Atlantic, in that land that 'Uqbah ibn Nafi' was talking about. This came about because of the yaqeen – the confidence – that the companions had in the guidance and guidelines of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Even though they did not have the material means, they had Allah on their side, and that was enough.

ISB council members also volunteered.

"I was quite pleased by the turnout and even more impressed how organized the event was. Packaging 20k meals in 2 1/2 hours can only be done with the help of Allah, enthusiastic volunteers and great attention to details. As a council we are exploring the possibility of continuing

this partnership with "Stop the Hunger" and making it an annual event. In addition we are also looking at other local opportunities to help better serve our surrounding communities," said Aijaz Hasan of the ISB Council.

If you have confidence in Allah, and you move forward in the face of challenges, Allah will grant you success, just like Allah gave success to Prophet Musa 'alyhissalaam when the Pharoah ordered his soldiers to kill all the male babies of the Muslims – the Bani Israel. So Allah inspired Musa's mother to throw him in a box into the river, and Allah promised that He will keep him safe, and make him a leader and messenger. If the mother of Musa did not

have yaqeen – the confidence in Allah – she would have argued, saying that throwing her baby in the river is just as bad as letting the Pharoah kill the baby. But she had yaqeen, so she put him in the swiftly running Nile river, and you know the rest of the story. Today, we aren't saying you need to throw your children in the river, we are just saying put them in an Islamic school, a Muslim community. Do we have the yaqeen to do that?

Remember, when Usama's army approached the Roman army, the Roman army fled and did not engage them.

When we put our confidence in Allah, nothing can deny us. Allah is watching, don't worry. Today, the future is ours, if we just have the yaqeen, that confidence in Allah.

....

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

38 | OBITS & EVENTS

Request For Dua’s

{ To Allah We Be l o n g , an d t o Hi m i s Ou r R e tu r n } “Everyone is going to taste death, and We shall make a trial of you with evil and good, and to Us you will be returned.” (Surah Al-Anbiya:35)” 10-11-2013 Br. Mateen Chida, owner of Halal Co in Falls Church, VA has passed away. May Allah(swt) shower his mercy on Br. Mateen and Grant him highest level in Jannat ul Firdous Ameen. May Allah(swt) Grant sabr to the Family to bear this loss Ameen. (Source: F. Syed)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11-11-2013 It is with heartfelt sorrow that Khalid Rashid, Maimoona’s husband, has passed away. Maimoona has been a very active member of HAWMA and by her side giving constant support was Khalid Bhai. The janazah was on November 13, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Source: M. Rashid)

Upcoming Events In Your Area Community Event at NOVA Friday, December 06 2013, 7:00pm - 9:30pm Egypt Freedom Foundation and Muslim Student Association at NOVA cordially Invites You to Attend a Discussion on Restoring Democracy and Freedom in Egypt. Featuring: Dalia Mogahed (Former Obama Adviser), Dr. Mohamed Elmasry (American University in Cairo), and Dr. Dalia Fahmy (Long Island University) Location: NOVA Community College, Ernst Cultural Center Theater, 8333 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA 22003 Contact: RSVP: Kindly send email stating attendance to: eff.listserve@gmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Special Needs - Special Deeds Sunday, December 08 2013, 1:30pm - 4:30pm

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11-16-2013 It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Baby Aly Kande, newborn son of Brother Ahmad Kande and his wife. The janazah salat for Baby Aly Kande was on November 16, 2013 in Lanham, Maryland. May Allah (SWT) grant him Jannatul Firdaus and may HE grant his parents ease. (Source: PGMA)

Please join us as we celebrate and support Kids with Special Needs and their families.

Activities will include Cookie Decorating, Craft Making, Games, and Parent workshop. Location: Dar Al Taqwa, 10740 Clarksville Pike, Ellicott City, Maryland 21042 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

11-16-2013 The Dar Al-Hijrah Board of Directors, Imam, Executive Director, the staff of Dar Al-Hijrah and the Muslim community in Northern Virginia extend its deepest condolences to Br. Bassam Alshammaa, his father has passed away. He is in the care of (Al Rahman) the Merciful one. (Source: Dar Al-Hijrah)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11-17-2013 Our elder brother Demisse Tebage (Mohammed), father of our dear brother and loyal supporter of FHF Abdullahi Barrow, has passed away. Salatul Janaza was on November 18, 2013 in Silver Spring, Maryland. May the Almighty Allah accept him in Janatal Firdous. (Source: First Hijrah Foundation)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11-17-2013 It is with great sadness and heavy heart that we inform you of the passing of Brother Maqbool Shaikh. Janaza was on November 18, 2013 in Ellicott City, Maryland. We ask Allah (SWT) to shower him with His mercy, compassion and forgiveness, and to grant him the highest ranks in paradise, and give her family support and patience during these difficult times. (Source: Dar Al Taqwa)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11-19-2013 Br. Cornell Williams has met his Lord. His funeral (janaza) prayer was on November 19, 2013 in Silver Spring, MD. (Source: MCC)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11-22-2013 It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Sr. Shamim Nasir, mother of Naumaan Nasir. The Salat ul Janaza was on November 22, 2013 in Baltimore, Maryland. We ask Allah (SWT) to shower her with His mercy, compassion and forgiveness, grant her the highest ranks in paradise and give her family support and patience during this difficult time. (Source: ISB)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11-24-2013 Br. Iqbal Paracha, father of Br. Muhammad Tahir Paracha and Tayyab Paracha, has passed away. His janazah was on November 24, 2013 in Manassas, Virginia. May Allah (SWT) grant him Jannah, accept him in His Mercy & Love and grant Sabr to his family and friends. (Source: Dar Alnoor)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11-26-2013 It is with immense sadness and a heavy heart we send this message of the passing of Dr. Hameed Naz, husband of Mrs. Safia Naz and father of Dr. Naveed Naz. The janazah prayer was on November 27, 2013 in Silver Spring, Maryland. May Allah(swt) shower his mercy on Dr. Hameed Naz and Grant him the highest level in Jannat ul Firdous - Ameen. May Allah(swt) Grant sabr to the Family to bear this loss - Ameen. (Source: MCC)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11-28-2013 Brother Yaqoob Sheha has passed away. His janaza prayer was on November 29, 2013 in Sterling, Virginia. May Allah forgive the brother for his sins and grant him jannat all firdous and give peace to his family and friends. (Source: A. Ahmad)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11-30-2013 It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of sister-in-law of Muhammad Yahya. We ask Allah SWT to forgive her, have mercy on her and give her Jannat ul-Firdous. We also ask Allah SWT to give patience to the family during this difficult times. (Source: ICCL)

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Breast Cancer Workshop Saturday, December 14 2013, 10:00am - 1:00pm 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes. Have your sisters, wives, and mothers attend this important workshop. Location: First Hijrah Foundation, 4324 Georgia Ave, NW, Washington DC ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Charitable Giving Banquet Saturday, December 14 2013, 4:00pm - 8:00pm Women’s Affairs of Al-Mumtahinah Home Inc. presents: A Night of Helping Build Lives. Guest Speaker: Shaykh Khalid Yasin. Tickets: Now until Nov. 15th($25/person,$45/couple); Nov. 16th-Dec 1st ($35/person, $65/couple); Dec. 2nd-date of the event($50/person, $90/couple). Sponsorship opportunities are highly encouraged.

Babysitting available- $10 for the 1st child, $5 each additional child. Come enjoy a night of Inspirational Guest Speakers, great food, networking with Baltimore's finest, and special individuals coming together for a common goal. We want to actively end homelessness and make this community better with a viable plan. Location: Johns Hopkins Campus-Charles Street Commons Contact: For more information and to reserve a space, go to www.almumtahinahhome. org and click on CharitableGivingBanquet ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Yaqeen - Moving from Vision to Reality Sunday, December 15 2013, 4:30pm - 11:00pm Dar-us-Salaam cordially presents their 2013 Fundraising Dinner and Family Night: Yaqeen- Moving from Vision to Reality. Featuring: Altaf Husain, Muhammad Adly, Siraj Wahhaj, and Safi Khan. Tickets: $35 (if purchased by Nov 30th), $45 (if purchased by Dec 14th), $60 (purchased by Dec 15th/at the door). Childcare: (ages 2-8) $10. Youthcare: (ages 9-12) $15. Location: Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda, MD 20852 Contact: To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.duscommunity.org or call 301-982-2061 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Importance of an Islamic Will Saturday, December 21 2013 Lecture on The Importance of an Islamic Will by Brother Mushfiqur Abdulrahman.

The class will be given after the Potluck at Masjid Hikma. Contact: Website: www. sami-pgc.org

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

MASJID LISTING

| 39

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.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------NORTHERN VIRGINIA ---------------------------------------------------------------All Muslim Brothers Association 3900 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22302 Tel: 703-647-0515 Jumma Prayer Only - 1:15 P.m ---------------------------------------------------------------Icna VA Center: 2913 Woodlawn Trail, Alexandria, VA 22306.

Tel: 703-660-1255 ---------------------------------------------------------------Idara Dawat-o-irshad: 4803 VAlley St, Alexandria, VA 22312 Tel: 703-256-8622 ww.irshad.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Mustafa Center: 6844 Braddock Rd., Annandale, VA 22003 Tel: 703-658-7134 www.mustafacenter.org E-mail: Mustafacenter@gmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------------Baitul Mukarram: 2116 S Nelson St., Arlington, VA, 22204, Tel: 703-778-1550 ---------------------------------------------------------------Zakaria Islamic Academy: Galesbury Lane, Chantilly, VA 20151 Tel: 571-969-2123 www.ziacademy.org E-mail: Contact@ziacademy.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Badr Community Center Of Dumfries: 17794 Main Street, Dumfries, VA 22026 Tel: 703-554-7983 www.bccd.org E-mail: Info@bccd.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Dar Ul-ghuraba (Masjid Ur Rahmah): 155 Baker St., Emporia, VA 23487 ---------------------------------------------------------------Dar Al Hijrah: 3159 Rowe St., Falls Church, VA 22044, Tel: 703-536-1030 www.hijrah.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Moroccan American community Organization Center 5613 Lessaburg Pike,#1 Falls Church,Va 22041 Info@macous.org Www.macous.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Islamic Center Of Northern VA Trust (Icnvt): 4420 Shirley Gate Road, Fairfax, VA, 22030 Tel: 703-591-0999 www.icnvt.org E-mail: Info@icnvt.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 ----------------------------------------------------------------Manassas Mosque: 12950 Center Entrance Ct, Manassas, VA Tel: 703-257-5537 ----------------------------------------------------------------

Islamic Center Of Virginia: 1241 Buford Rd., Richmond, VA 23235 Tel: 804-320-7333 www.icVA1.com ---------------------------------------------------------------Islamic Society Of Greater Richmond (Isgr): 6324 Rigsby Road, Richamond, VA 23226 Tel: 804-673-4177 www.isgr.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Masjid Al Rahman: 1305 Hull St., Richmond, VA 23224 Tel: 804-232-7640 --------------------------------------------------------------------------Masjidullah Of Richmond: 211 North Ave., Richmond, VA 23222 Tel: 804-321-8864/804-647-4297 ---------------------------------------------------------------Dar-ul Huda: 6666 Commerce St., Springfield, VA 22150, Tel: 703-922-0111 www.darulhuda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Islamic Foundation of America: 6606 Electronic Drive, Springfield, VA 22151 Tel: 703-914-4982 ---------------------------------------------------------------Masjid Noor: 8608 Pohick Rd, Springfield, VA 22153 Tel: 703-451-7615 ----------------------------------------------------------------Adams Center: 46903 Sugarland Rd, Sterling,VA 20164, Tel: 703-433-1325 www.adamscenter.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Islamic Heritage Center (Ihc): 262 A-3 Cedar Ln., Vienna, VA 22180 Tel: 703-206-9056 ---------------------------------------------------------------WASHINGTON D.C. ---------------------------------------------------------------First Hijra Muslim Comm. Center: 4324 Georgia Ave, NW Washington, D.C. 20011 www.firsthijrah.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Ivy City Masjid: 2001 Galludet St. NE, Washington, D.C. 20002 Tel: 202-904-9668 E-mail: masjidivycity@yahoo.com ---------------------------------------------------------------Masjid Al-islam: 4603 Benning Rd., SE, Washington, D.C. 20019 E-mail: Imammusa@hotmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------------Masjid Muhammad: 1519 4th St. NW, Washington D.C. 20001 Tel: 202-483-8832 | www. masjidmuhammad.com ---------------------------------------------------------------Muslim Society Of Washington, D.c.

(MswDC): Howard Center, Room 805 (Above Hu Bookstore) Tel: 202-328-3236 ---------------------------------------------------------------The Islamic Center: 2551 Massachusetts Avenue

NW Washington D.C. 20008 Tel: 202-332-8343 www.theislamiccenter.com ---------------------------------------------------------------MARYLAND ---------------------------------------------------------------Islamic Society Of Annapolis (Isa): 2635 Riva Rd. Suite 110, Annapolis, MD 21401 Tel: 410-266-6660 www.isamd.org Email: Info@islamannapolis.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Bait-Allah Masjid of Baltimore Inc 200 S. Calhoun Street Baltimore, MD 21223 Imam’s cell: 571-721-9938 email: baitallahmasjid@yahoo.com ---------------------------------------------------------------Bilal Dawah Center, Inc: 1910 Frederick Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21223 Tel: 410-945-1515 ---------------------------------------------------------------Dar ul Uloom: 6334 Dogwoood Rd, Baltimore, MD 21207, Tel: 410-493-0785 Email: Darululoommd@aol.com ---------------------------------------------------------------Masjid Ul-haq: 514 Islamic Way (Wilson St. ), Baltimore, MD 21217 Tel: 410-728-1363 ---------------------------------------------------------------Masjid Al-mumineen: 2642 Harford Rd., Baltimore, MD 21218 Tel: 410-467-8798 ---------------------------------------------------------------Masjid Jamaat Al-Muslimeen: 4624 York Rd., Baltimore, MD 21212 Tel: 443-438-7986 ---------------------------------------------------------------Masjid Al-rahmah/isb: 6631 Johnnycake 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 Fatima Address: 1928 Powers Lane Catonsville MD, 21228 Phone: 410 800 4880 Email: info@masjidfatima.com Website: http://www.masjidfatima. com ---------------------------------------------------------------Irhsca (Islamic Research And Hum. Services Center Of America): 1 Chambers Ave, Capitol Heights, MD Tel: 301-324-5040 www.irhsca.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Islamic Society Of Southern Pg County (Isspgc): P O Box 99, Clinton, MD 20735 5410 Indian Head Hwy, Oxon Hill, MD 20745 Tel: 240 603 4618 ---------------------------------------------------------------Dar-us-Salaam: 5301 Edgewood Rd., College Park, MD 20740, Tel: 301-982-9848 www.duscommunity.org

---------------------------------------------------------------Islamic Society Of Easton 126 Port Street Unit # 1 Easton, MD 21601 Tel: 410-829 7924 islamicsocietyofeastonmd.yolasite.com---------------------------------------------------------------Masjid Zamzam 1510 Lynch Road, Dundalk, MD 21222 Tel: 410-284-2840 www.masjidzamzam.com ---------------------------------------------------------------Dar al-Taqwa: 10740 Rte. 108, Ellicott City, MD 21042, Tel: 410-997-5711 www.taqwa.net ---------------------------------------------------------------Maryum Islamic Center (MIC) 3280 Pine Orchard Lane Suite A Ellicott City, MD 21042 Tel: 443-574-5188 www.maryumcenter.com ---------------------------------------------------------------Masjid Al-Hikmah: 11064 Livingston Road Unit L (101) Ft. Washington, MD 20744, Tel: 301 292-9009 ---------------------------------------------------------------Islamic Society Of Frederick (Isf): 1250 Key Parkway, Frederick,md 21702 Tel: 301-682-6090 www.isfmd.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Islamic Center Of Maryland (Icm): 19411 Woodfield Rd. Gaithersburg,md 20879 Tel:301-840-9440 www.icomd.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Makkah Learning Center (Mlc): 814 Brandy Farms Ln., Gambrills, MD 21054 Tel: 410-721-5880 www.isamd.org Email: Info@mlcmd.org----------------------------------------------------------------Islamic Society Of Germantown (Isg): 19900 Brandermill Rd., Germantown, MD 20876 Tel: (240)-277-7758 www.isgtown.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Masjid Ibn Taymiyyah: 8000 Mlk Highway, Glenarden MD Tel: 301-322-8105 ---------------------------------------------------------------Islamic Society of Western Maryland: 2036 Day Rd., Hagerstown, MD 21740 Tel: 301-797-0922 ---------------------------------------------------------------Southern Maryland Islamic Center (Smic): 1046 Solomons Island Rd, Huntingtown, MD, 20639 Tel: 410-535-0000 ---------------------------------------------------------------Avondale Islamic Center: 4637 Eastern Ave., Hyattsville, MD, 20782 Tel: 301-779-9292 ---------------------------------------------------------------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 E-mail: Imam@pgmamd.org.

---------------------------------------------------------------Turkish American Community Center 9704 Good Luck Rd, Lanham, MD 20706 Tel: 301-459-9589 www.taccenter.org ---------------------------------------------------------------La Plata Masjid: 111 Howard Street, La Plata, MD 20646 Tel: 301-609-8769 ---------------------------------------------------------------Islamic Com. Center Of Laurel (ICCL): 7306 Contee Rd., Laurel, MD 20707 Tel: 301-317-4584 www.icclmd.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Masjid Al-Ghurabaa: 8220 Washington St., South Laurel, MD 20724.

Tel: 301-604-3295 ---------------------------------------------------------------Islamic Center Of Lexington Park 22583 Three Notch Road, Lexington Park, MD 20619 Tel: 240-538-7839 or 561-414-0994 www.iclpmd.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Medina Center: 11600 Falls Road, Potomac MD 20854 www.medinacenter.net E-mail: Admin@medinacenter.net ---------------------------------------------------------------Randallstown Islamic Center 9019 Marcella Ave. Randallstown, MD 21133 Tel: 410-971-4018 www.ricbaltimore.org E-mail: Info@ricbaltimore.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Islamic Society Of The Washington Area (Iswa): 2701 Briggs Chaney Rd., Silver Spring, MD 20904 Tel: 301-879-0930 www.iswamd.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Islamic Education Society of Maryland 11504 Veirs Mills Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20902 Tel: 301- 933-3838 ---------------------------------------------------------------Muslim Community Center (MCC): 15200 New Hampshire Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20905 Tel: 301-384-3454 www.mccmd.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Imaam: (Jumuah Only) Jumuah: 12:50pm 3201 Randolph Rd, Wheaton, MD 20906 www.imaam.org Email: Fridayprayer@imaam.org ---------------------------------------------------------------Masjid An-nur: 5418 Ebenezer Road, White Marsh, MD 21162 Tel: 410-663-9637 Fax: 410-663-9817 ---------------------------------------------------------------Masjid Al-inshirah: 7832 Fairbrook Road, Windsor Mill, MD 21244 Tel: 410-298-2977

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

40 | CONTINUED

Editor-in-Chief: Minhaj Hasan Office Manager: Stephanie Benmoha Layout: Fadlullah Firman Staff Writers: Urooj Fatima Yaman Shalabi Fatimah Waseem Hena Zuberi Sharia Advisors: Sheikh Salah as-Sawi Imam Safi Khan The Muslim Link (TML) is published once a month on Fridays and distributed throughout the Washington, Baltimore, and Northern Virginia Metropolitan Areas. TML is a non-profit publication and is based at Dar-us-Salaam in College Park, Maryland, USA. Staff and contributors are not necessarily affiliated with Dar-us-Salaam.

The views expressed in The Muslim Link do not necessarily reflect those of Dar-us-Salaam or TML management or their underwriters. Dar-usSalaam and TML are not responsible for the accuracy of information presented by advertisers, or for the religious compliance of events, products, or services published in TML. This publication contains the names of ALLAH (Subhanahu wa ta’ala). Please keep, recycle, or share it with others The Muslim Link PO Box 596 College Park, MD 20741 Phone : (301) 982-1020 Fax: (240) 209-0702 editor@muslimlinkpaper.com Advertising: 301-982-1020 or email us at office@ muslimlinkpaper.com The Muslim Link.

All Rights Reserved 2013

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Animal Rights In Islam I want to thank you for your important article “Islamic teachings predate Modern Science on using animals for lab tests” by Sarah Khasawih (November 8, 2013 issue of the Muslim Link). It is rare in a Muslim publication to find any mention of animal rights, even though our Prophet (peace be upon him) emphasized the importance of kind treatment to animals.

Mrs. Khasawih seemed to be impressed by the convention held by the animal experimenters on October 27-31. In the convention, they gave pleasant-sounding speeches to justify their continued cruel, sadistic, and unnecessary experiments on millions of innocent animals each year.

Since the 1700s, countless poor, helpless animals have been cut open, mutilated, burned, drowned, and had dangerous chemicals injected in their eyes and skin. This has all been done in the name of human progress and improving human health. In the name of science, animals are suffering daily; they are being tortured and experimented on. For what sin and what crime are these animals being forced to endure such unimaginable suffering? No amount of pleasant words or rationalizations can ever justify such awful crimes against Allah’s creatures. It is sad that all too many people have been persuaded by the sweet sounding words and speeches of those who experiment on animals.

Mahair Sibay, Maryland Br Mahair – Assalamu'alykum and thanks for your letter. Our reporter Sarah Khasawinah actually devoted most of the article to covering the growing movement within the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science in support of using animals less in research. She also wrote about how Islam emphasizes the rights and kind treatment of animals, so we think both of you are on the same page. – TML

We Need Graveyards As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu.

As we all know the Muslim populations in the greater Washington DC area of Fairfax County, Loudon County, District of Columbia, Prince Georges County, Montgomery County, Howard County, Baltimore County & City, Frederick County keeps on increasing every year by great numbers. When we try to bury one of our community members, it has become troublesome for some and very costly for others. To solve the urgent needs some groups have already taken measures to buy portions of graveyards through a sharing arrangement.

This is a temporary solution which is not satisfactory to many.

I am therefore urging the areas of 2 dozen masjids to form groups -- 2, 3 or 4 clusters -- to buy large lots in the rural areas of Virginia and Maryland where the land prices are relatively cheaper and which have good highway access. I know there is already one such Islamic Graveyard (Jannatul Firdous) that is operational in Frederick County, Maryland.

With this issue in mind, I think three graveyard locations can serve the entire capital region: Waldorf/Upper Marlboro, Randallstown, and Loudon County, Virginia.

M. M. Ali, Maryland

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Profile In Courage [This letter to the editor was sent to New Trend, but also relates to the Muslim Link's coverage of the passing of Halalco owner Mateen Chida “Abdul-Mateen Chida Returns to Allah” from our November 8, 2013 issue.

– TML] Your article reminded me of those two years of bitter sweet struggle we endured in getting the International Graphics up and running.

Not only did Mateen Chida dedicate his unpaid time to the project, but so did Fazal Khan and his family. The MSA was being run by individuals who asked us to perform such dedication. I spent long hours driving back and forth to airports, with my children

sometimes sleeping in the back of the car, to pick up visitors coming to check on the project and connect with the MSA. These visitors had to be housed in my house and fed. We had to share the costs for the food as none of us had much money and food consisted of large pots of rice, beans and salad, mostly without meat.

In addition, Mamoona and I spent most of our lives at the International Graphics. Fazal stopped his job as well and so there was no income for us. I operated the Verityper for all the articles printed and I remember tending to my daughter Yasmin and infant son, Ahmad Ameen – sleeping on the floor of the shop, working during the day, and Mamoona and I taking turns running home to cook a meal and bring it back to the shop. It was a grueling two years done for the blessings of Allah. I’m sure you remember it well. Alhamdulilah.

In other ways many of the visitors have left fond memories in my heart to this day. I recall Mahmoud Saud, who said I reminded him of his daughter my age and who recited Quran endlessly. He was a highly educated individual who gave me strength at times and who chose the name for my son, Ahmad Ameen.

Another, who became Dean of King Abdulaziz University, was the individual who provided a teaching position for my husband overseas in Saudi and so enabled us to have the blessing of living there for many years and visiting Makkah on a weekly basis. There were many who wrote books that I hope exist to this day.

As you mentioned, the Jamat ul Tablique were active at the time and once created a lively topic of conversation for my neighbors when 24 of them drove up in an open truck to stay at my house for a few days.

The Muslim Link, in its article about Mateen, did indeed mention Fazal Khan as joining with Mateen to open the printing press. I was surprised to read that, since the information had to come from perhaps Maimoona or another person who was involved with us in those days.

I would like recognition to be shown for my husband who was a kind, dedicated man and who would be devastated by the incarceration of his middle son. Wassalam.

Sr. Bilquis, Maryland

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Monster 20”

14.99 16.99 18.99 1.99

$

Monster 20”

19.99

Olive oil, oregano, blend of provoone and american, mozzarella, cheese and garlic

Deluxe Classic White Pizza 8.24 12.49 14.49

16.49

22.99

14.49

16.49

20.49

14.49

16.49

20.49

18.99

22.99

Shrimp, Old Bay and extra cheese

Crab Pizza

Falafel Wrap

fresh made burger, pizza sauce, pizza cheese

Lettuce, tomato and onions with choice of sweet, cucumber or Buffalo sauce

Meat Lover’s 9.24 14.99

16.99

Cheese Steak Wrap

Lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, onions and American cheese

Eggplant

Lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise

Hot Dog Wrap

With chili, cheese and onion

Fish Filet or Tilapia Wrap Lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise

Chicken filet Eggplant Parmesan

Lettuce, tomatoes and mayonnaise

BLT Wrap

Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, ranch dressing

Meatball, pizza sauce, provolone cheese

Chicken Tikka Kabob Wrap

100% Real Turkey (Hot or cold) Ham & Cheese (Hot or cold) BBq Chicken Cheese Steak

Jumbo Shrimp Wrap

Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, ranch dressing Lettuce, tomatoes and mayonnaise

Crab Cake Wrap

Lettuce, tomato, onion, American cheese, bleu cheese and Buffalo sauce

Chicken BLT Wrap

Steak, mushrooms, green peppers and onions

Greek Pizza 9.24 14.99

Lettuce, tomato, onion, American cheese and creamy Caesar dressing

Spicy Chicken Wrap

18.99

22.99

Grilled Chicken Wrap Lettuce, tomato, onions and American cheese

Shish Kabob Pizza 9.24 14.99

Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mayonnaise and American cheese

16.99

18.99

Chicken Cheese Steak Wrap 22.99

chiken or beef, onions, green peppers

6.24

16.99

18.99

22.99

FRESH OVERSTUFFED SUBS & Available in white and whole wheat bread choice of free fixing: 8” 6.49 12” 10.49 20” 15.99 Philadelphia Steak Philadelphia Cheesesteak Italian Cheesesteak steak, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, pizza sauce, provolone cheese

Chicken Cheesesteak Italian Hot Cut Italian Cold Cut Fresh Hamburger 100% beef Fresh Cheeseburger 100% beef Pizza Sub Pizza Steak

Grilled Veggie Wrap

6.24 6.24 6.24

Mixed veggies with American cheese, mayonnaise and hot peppers

spicy chicken, green peppers and onions

Steak, Pizza sauce, pizza cheese

6.24

Smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, American cheese and mayonnaise

gyro meat (Chicken or beef), feta cheese, black olives, red onions, green peppers and exta cheese

Chicken Tikka Pizza 9.24 14.99

6.24

Lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, onions, hot peppers and American cheese

16.99

6.24 6.24 6.24 6.24

6.24 6.74 6.74

FRESH WRAPS $ Lettuce, tomatoes and mayonnaise. Fresh homemade crab cake Greek Wrap 6.24 Available in white and whole wheat flour Lettuce, tomato, feta cheese, green pepper, onions, Buffalo Chicken Wrap 6.24

Italian Steak 9.24 14.99

22.99

6.24

Chicken or Beef Shish Kabob Wrap 6.24

Italian Meatball

Grilled Chicken Caesar Wrap

18.99

6.24

Chicken or beef, gyro sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, oil and vinegar

Chicken fillet, pizza sauce, provolone cheese

Beef pepperoni, ground beef, sausage, Italian salami, beef bacon, turkey ham and double cheese

16.99

6.24

Gyro Wrap

Roast Beef (Hot or cold) Grilled Chicken Breast Fresh Chicken Salad Beef Gyro Sub Chicken Gyro Sub Fresh Seafood Salad Chicken of Beef Shish Kabob Chicken Tikka Kabob Chicken Parmesan

Chicken, BBQ Sauce

8.24 12.49

100% crabmeat, Old Bay and extra cheese

....

Fresh Pizza Burger 100% beef

Eggplant, pizza sauce, pizza cheese

Everything on white pizza plus feta cheese and red onion

Shrimp Pizza 8.24 12.49

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

Turkey Wrap

6.24

(Specify hot or cold) Lettuce, tomato, onion and ranch dressing

Tuna Wrap

All platters served with french fries or mashed potatoes. We use trans fat-free cooking oil

Chicken Nugget Platter (12) Hot Roast Beef with Gravy Hot Turkey with Gravy Popcorn Shrimp Clam Strips Tilapia Fish (2) Gyro Platter Beef or chicken with mini Greek salad

Jumbo Shrimp (7) Seafood Combo

1 Crab cake, 1 tilapia fish and 4 jumbo shrimp

Tandoori Chicken Platter

6.24

Chicken Shish Kabob, Beef Shish Kabob or Chicken Tikka Kabob Platter

Lettuce, toamtoes, onions and mayonnaise

Chicken Salad

FRESH PLATTERS

6.24

Lettuce, tomato, onion and mayonnaise

Seafood Salad Wrap

cucumber, banana pepper and black olives

6.24

Lettuce, tomatoes, onions and mayonnaise

$

8.49 8.49 8.49 8.49 8.49 9.24 9.24

11.24 11.24 8.99

Served with fresh bread and mini salad with choice of dressing

Served with fresh bread, mini salad and choice of dressing

8.99

BUFFALO OR BONELESS WINGS & Served with french fries and bleu cheese or ranch (Specify hot or cold} Ham, salami, provolone cheese, fire (very hot). Hot. Buffalo Atomic. lettuce, tomato, onion and mayonnaise Mild. BBQ Sauce. Honey BBQ, Honey Garlic, Ham & Cheese Wrap 6.24 Honey Mustard or Old Bay Style (Specify hot or cold) Lettuce, tomato, onion, American cheese and mayonnaise 5 Pieces 4.24 Roast Beef Wrap 6.24 10 Pieces 8.24 (Specify hot or cold) Lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise and onions 15 Pieces 11.24 Chili & Cheese Wrap 6.24 20 Pieces 14.24 Fresh in house made chili and American cheese 30 Pieces 18.24 Cheeseburger Wrap 6.24 Extra Blue Cheese, Extra Ranch or Celery .50 Italian Wrap

Lettuce, tomato, onions, mayonnaise and American cheese

6.24

(We used trans fat-free cooking oil)

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

HALAL MENUS

MP - ADVERTISEMENT | 53

Order Online

(2) 8� Subs, 2 Fries or Chips & 2 Cans of Soda

$15.99 + Tax

CONVENIENT TO UMBC CAMPUS Last order taken 15 minutes before closing

Our menu includes appetizers, pizza, strombolis, subs, sandwiches, hot dogs, pasta, platters, wraps, salads, wings, and desserts.

Come try our HALAL diner!

Special Discount for Catering Order

MINIMUM $11.00 ....

HALAL MENUS

54 | MP - Advertisements

APPETIZERS Buffalo Wings (Buffalo Hot, or RJ Recipe Barbecue sauce)

8pcs 14pcs 28pcs 54pcs 100pcs Vegetable Mini Samosa (6pcs) Mozzarella Cheese Sticks Beef Mini Samosa (6pcs) Chicken Tenders (4pcs) (8pcs) Garlic Bread (4pcs) Add Cheese Cheese Fries (Small/Large)

$6.99 $12.99 $24.99 $46 99 $89.99 $4.99 $3 49 $6.99 $4.99 $8.99 $3 99 $0 99 $3 99/$5.99

SOUPS, SALADS AND SIDES Salads Add 1.99 for extra chicken

Chef Salad

$7 99

Romaine, cheese, eggs, tomato, turkey, cucumber, onion, and carrots.

Greek Salad

$7.99

$6.99

Romaine, croutons, parmesan cheese, and carrots.

Garden Salad

$6.99

Iceberg Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and carrots.

Santa-fe grilled beef Salad

$10.99

Grilled beef, lettuce, diced tomatoes, diced onions, and diced green peppers.

SOUP Chicken Noodle Soup of the day Homemade Chilli SIDES Steak seasoned fries Small $2.59 Onion Rings Small $2.49 Baked Potato

Cup $4.99 $4.99 $5.99

Large $4.99 Large $3.49

Bowl $6.99 $6.99 $7.99

$2 99

--Add Sour Cream & Chives $0 50 --Add Turkey Bacon & Cheese $0 75

Steamed Broccoli Sauteed w/ Butter RJ’s Boardwalk Fries Small Large $1.79 $2.99 SUBS HOT SUBS 8” Philly Steak & Cheese $6.49 Philly Chicken Steak $6.49

....

$6.49 8” $6.49 $6.49 $5.99 $6.99 8” $7.99 $7.99 $7.99

$11.99 12” $11 99 $11.99 $10.99 $11.99 12” $12.99 $12.99 $12.99

8” $6.49 $6.49 $6.49 $6.49 $11.99

12” $11.99 $11.99 $11.99 $6.99 $11.99

$3.49

12” $11.99 $11.99

SANDWICHES RJ’s Swiss Cheeseburger Bacon Cheeseburger Hamburger Cheeseburger Chicken Club Classic Club Reuben Hot Pastrami & Swiss BLT Grilled Cheese SEAFOOD Grilled Salmon Sandwich w/Fries Cajun Tilapia Sandwich w/Fries Signature Crab Cake w/ Fries GYROS Lamb Gyro Lamb Gyro Platter w/ Fries Chicken Gyro Chicken Gyro Platter w/ Fries VEGETARIAN Deluxe Veggie Melt Grilled Vegetables Curried Chickpeas DESSERTS Triple Chocolate Cake Cheese Cake Red Velvet Carrot Cake Homemade Apple Crumbs - w/ Vanilla Ice Cream

CHEF SPECIALS Country Chicken Fried Steak w/ Mushroom Gravy

$16.99

Served with Mashed Potatoes and Grilled Vegetables

BBQ Beef Short Ribs

$16.99

Served with Mashed Potatoes and Grilled Ve etables

Grilled Lamb Chops

$16.99

Served with Basmati Rice, Salad and Yogurt Sauce

Beef Wellington

$24 99

Served with Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Green Beans

Rib Eye

$28.99

Served with Baked Potatoes or Steamed Broccoli

Cajun Rib Eye

$2899

Served with Mashed Potatoes or Steamed Broccoli

Hawaiian Rib Eye

$28.99

Served with Mashed Potatoes or Steamed Broccoli

Lamb Chop.Masala

$18.99

Served with Vegetable Biryani, Salad, Yogurt Sauce, and Na’an

$5.99 $5.99 $5.99 $5.99 $6.99 $6 .99

Chicken Cordon Bleu

$16.99

Served with Broccoli

Stuffed Lobster w/ Crabmeat

$28 99

Served with Broccoli and Baked Potatoes

- Cajun Chicken Filet on Jamaican Coco Bread

Romaine. feta cheese, black olives, diced tomato, red onion, and cucumber

Caesar Salad

Meatball Sub COLD SUBS Roast Beef Hoagie Tuna Honey Smoked Turkey SEAFOOD SUBS Blackened Cajun Catfish Buffalo Style Catfish Fish Sub CHICKEN HOT CHICKEN SUBS Grilled Chicken Tikka Chicken Steak Sub BBQ Chicken Breast Buffalo Chicken Style Montery Jack Chicken HOT CHICKEN SANDWICHES Breaded Chicken Filet Grilled Chicken w/Honey Mustard BBQ Chicken Filet Breaded Buffalo Chicken Chicken Quesadilla Chef Sandwich

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

$5.99 $4 49 $3.49 $399 $6.49 $6 49 $649 $6.49 $499 $2.99 $10.99 $10.99 $11.99 $6.49 $7.99 $6.49 $7.99 $5.99 $5.99 $5.99 $3.99 $3.59 $3 99 $3.99 $5.99

Grilled Cajun Rockfish, Flounder, or Salmon Fried or Szechuan

$26.99

Fried or Szechuan Style, Served with Basmati Rice and Grilled Vegetables

PIZZAS Cheese Pizza Meat Eaters

14” $10.99 $17 49

16” $11.99 $20.99

Sausage, Beef Pepperoni, Turkey Ham, Turkey Bacon

Veggie Pizza

$1749

$20.55

Green Peppers, Onions, Mushrooms, Black Olives, Tomatoes & Pepper Rings

Deluxe Pizza

$17.49

$21.99

Pepperoni, Green Peppers, Onion & Mushrooms

Supreme

$17.99

$2199

Beef, Turkey Ham, Pepperoni, Turkey Bacon, Onions, Black Olives, Green Peppers & Mushrooms

Chicken Tikka Supreme $1749 $20.99 Pizza Toppings Pepperoni Black Olives Ground Beef Green Peppers Turkey Sausage Jalapenos Turkey Ham Tomatoes Turkey Bacon Mushrooms Anchovies’ Extra Cheese 14” $1.99 16” $2.69 Extra Topping 14” $1.79 16” $2.29 BEVERAGES Mango Shake $3.49 Mango Lassi $3.49 Yogurt Lassi $2.99 Hot Tea $2.99 Spice Chai $2.99 Coffee Small 1.99 Large $1.49

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

HALAL MENUS

MP - ADVERTISEMENT | 55

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HALAL MENUS

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

Call in Your Order (301) 278.7053 , (301) 278.7082

We Deliver

Hours of Operation Monday-Saturday 7:30 AM - 7:00 PM Sunday Closed Serving Breakfast 7:30am to 11:00am 58 Ritchie Rd. Capitol Heights, MD 20743

Café Buffalo Wings

Breakfast Delights

Café Subs

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese on croissant -Pancake Special -- Waffles with Bacon, Egg and Cheese -- Home Fried Potatoes -Grits -- Salmon Burger on croissant with egg and cheese

HALF 8” 7.50 & WHOLE 12” 9.99 $1.00 extra for fries

PIKE PIZZA CHEESE

Small 8 Slices

Medium 10 Slices

Large 12 Slices

5.99

7.99

9.99

11.99

13.99

15.99

18.99

Pizza Sauce, Italian Spices, Mozzarella Cheese

MEAT LOVERS

Ground beef, Peppers, Turkey Sausage, Turkey Ham, Turkey Bacon, Meatballs

X-Large 14 Slices

12.99

14.99

16.99

BBQ CHICKEN

12.99

14.99

16.99

WHITE PIZZA

7.99

9.99

11.99

Mushrooms, Red Pepper, Green Pepper, Olives, Tomatoes, Onions

Steak & Cheese

Fish Fillet

Chicken Steak

Veggie

Turkey Breast

Tuna Salad

Turkey Ham & Cheese

Curry Chicken Salad

Chicken Parmesan

Grilled Chicken Club

Hamburger

Turkey Club

Cheeseburger

Roast Beef

*Salmon Burger $6.50

*Veggie Burger $6.50

Choice of: Lettuce, Tomato, Onions, Pickles,

VEGGIE

Sweet Peppers, Provolone or American Cheese

Classic Deli $6.50

Combo $7.50

Curry Chicken Salad $6.50

Combo $7.50

Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Garlic, Mozzarella, Provolone Cheese

Turkey Club

$6.50

Combo $7.50

PEPPERONI

12.99

14.99

16.99

Smoked Turkey

$6.50

Combo $7.50

NEW YORK STEAK

12.99

14.99

16.99

Grilled Chicken

$6.50

Combo $7.50

HAWAIIAN PIZZA

11.99

13.99

15.99

Grilled Chicken, BBQ Sauce, Red Onions, Turkey Bacon

Halal Beef Pepperoni, Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella Cheese

Philly Cheesesteak, Italian Spices, Red Peppers, Onions

Turkey Ham, Pineapple, Tomatoes, Mozzarella Cheese

Albacore Tuna

Pasta

Provolone Cheese, Pesto Mayonnaise, Pesto Mustard

Butter Croissant Wrap (Honey Wheat, Tomato Basil, or Spinach)

Salads Caesar Salad

$5.99

Lasagna with side salad

$7.95

Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad

$7.95

Spaghetti with meatballs and side salad

$7.95

Curry Chicken Salad

$7.95

Penne Portabella with side salad

$7.95

Tuna Salad

$7.95

Chicken Parmesan with Pasta

$9.95

Chef Salad

$7.95

Chicken Alfredo

$7.95

Garden Salad

$6.25

Pasta Salad

$3.75

Side Salad

$3.50

$1.00 extra for garlic bread.

5 Pieces (1 Blue Cheese or Ranch Dip)

$4.99

10 Pieces (2 Blue Cheese or Ranch Dip)

$8.99

15 Pieces (3 Blue Cheese or Ranch Dip)

$11.99

20 Pieces (4 Blue Cheese or Ranch Dip)

$15.50

30 Pieces (6 Blue Cheese or Ranch Dip)

$22.49

40 Pieces (8 Blue Cheese or Ranch Dip)

$27.99

50 Pieces (10 Blue Cheese or Ranch Dip)

$33.99

.35¢ for each additional dip

Whole Wings!

4 Wings

$5.99

8 Wings

$11.99

12 Wings

$15.99

20 Wings

$23.99

Fresh, Fried Whole

Chicken Tenders Served with Fries 4 Piece

8 Piece

11.49

(2 Blue Cheese or Honey Mustard)

20 Piece

19.99

(4 Blue Cheese or Honey Mustard)

Side Orders FRENCH FRIES

$1.79

SWEET POTATO FRIES

$2.49

ONION RINGS

$2.49

Rice

$2.50

Mac & Cheese

$3.25

POTATO CHIPS

$.59¢

DESSERTS

Exclusively From Sweet Tooth Cakes and Pastries

Sweet Potato & Bean Pie Banana & Bread Pudding Yellow Cake w/ Chocolate Buttercream Pineapple Coconut Cake, Strawberry Shortcake Carrot Cake, Triple Chocolate Lemon Cake w/ Lemon Filling, Lemon Buttercream And ….. Much, Much, More

Lettuce, Tomato, Green Peppers, Red Onions, Cucumbers

....

6.49

(1 Blue Cheese or Honey Mustard)

Chicken Wings!

Lettuce, Tomato, Pickles, Onions, Turkey Bacon,

Signature Breads

EXTRA TOPPINGS: Sm. .75 Med. 1.50 Lg. 2.00 X-Lg. 2.25 Pepperoni, Grilled Chicken, Italian Salami, Ground Beef, Mushroom, Feta Cheese, Jalapeno, Anchovies, Onions, Sausage, Hot Peppers, Green Peppers, Turkey Bacon, Pineapple, Garlic Spinach, Banana Peppers, Fresh Tomatoes, Turkey Ham, Black Olives, Extra Cheese

Fax Your Order (301) 808.7738

Thank you for choosing Sweet Tooth Cakes and Pastries New Cafe. 301-278-7053

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

HALAL MENUS

ADVERTISEMENT | 57

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HALAL MENUS

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

2013 - January, 2nd 2014 December MP6- thAdvertisements

HALAL MENUS

MP - ADVERTISEMENT | 59

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

Teppanyaki Grill & Sea Food Buffet

Zabiha Halal Buffet Over 100 items at

6901 Security Blvd, Windsor Mill, MD 21244 -- At Security Square Mall across from the AMC theater. 410-265-1088

Open 7 days 11AM to 10PM Coupons $10 off with purchase $90 , exp december 31, 2013 Coupons $5 off with purchase $45 , exp december 31, 2013 Coupons cannot be combined with any other offer.

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

HALAL MENUS

MP - ADVERTISEMENT | 61

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

Now Available At These Fine Stores

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Columbia Halal meat 6520 Old Waterloo Rd #J, Elkridge MD 21075

a - one GroCery & Halal meat 2919 Arlington Dr, Alexandria VA 22306

international Halal market 2100 12th St, Lynchburg VA24501

al - makkaH Halal meat 1724 Woodlawn Dr, Baltimore MD 21207

aditi sPiCe dePot 409 Maple Ave E, Vienna VA 22180

sHri krisHna GroCery 7033 Brookefield Plaza, Springfield VA 22150

Punjab GroCeries & Halal meat 345 East 33rd St, Baltimore MD 21218

aFGHan mini market 6566 Backlick Rd, Springfield VA 22150

taj Halal GroCery 8715 West Broad St, Suite B, Richmond VA 23294

indus Foods 15513 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring MD 20905

asia Halal Food & GroCery 5143 Lee Highway, Arlington VA 22207

aditi sPiCes Vienna VA 703 938 3400 Herndon VA 703 434 1100

sanGam sPiCe 13822 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring MD 20904

best desi bazaar 14455 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Woodbridge VA 22191

bombay sPiCes Centerville VA 703 803 8445

FrederiCk bazaar 54 N Waverly Dr, Frederick MD 21702

asian bazaar 7864 Richmond Hwy, Alexandria VA 22306

ansaF Global Halal Mannassas VA 703 361 6500

dana bazaar 128-29 Wisteia Dr, Germantown MD 20874

delHi bazaar 295 South Van Dorn, Alexandria VA 22046

indian bazaar 383 Muddy Branch Rd, Gaithesburg MD

GinGer & sPiCe market 6548A Little River Turnpike, Alexandria VA 22312

Fair PriCe Alexandria VA 703 751 0786 Herndon VA 703 435 2223 Woodbridge VA 703 680 1170

indus Foods 765 Rockville Pike, Rockville MD 20852

indian sPiCes GroCery 1067 B West Broad St, Falls Church VA 22046

bismillaH Halal meat 1401 University Blvd, Langley Park MD 20783

indo - Pak GroCery stores 8121 West Broad St, Richmond VA23294

lotte Plaza Chantilly VA, Ashburn VA & Catonsville MD Global Foods Ashburn VA, Mannassas Va & Woodbridge VA india bazaar Sterling VA 703 444 8851 Gaithersburg MD 301 963 7070

Germantown MD 301 515 5113 HalalCo Falls Church VA 703 532 3202 krisHna GroCery Springfield VA 703 569 6777 suPer Halal meat Springfield VA 703 866 2024 dana bazaar Germantown MD 301 916 8086 madina Halal meat Gaithersburg MD 301 977 5700 Patel brotHers Baltimore MD 410 719 2822 indus Foods Silver Spring MD 301 989 9448 Rockville MD 301 279 2121 Laurel MD 240 280 2340 Punjab GroCery Baltimore MD 410 662 7844 al madina Baltimore VA 410 265 8300 danisH Foods Catonsville MD 410 298 0960 GanesH GroCery Catonsville MD 410 206 2525 Food CravinGs Columbia MD 410 997 2121

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

MP - ADVERTISEMENT | 63

Mediteranean

Halal Food

Find our Food Cart at: * Next to Clarendon Metro Station in Arlington, VA 703-935-9023 * 2 Hopkins Plaza, Baltimore, MD 21201

443-889-5299

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Chicken Over Rice Only $5.99

TRY OUR GREAT

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CHICKEN GYRO ONLY $3.99

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

CHOOSING A LAWYER IS A BIG DECISION : Attorney Ismail Laher A t t o r n e y s

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Our Lawyers Defend Doctors Nationwide We assist and Defend Health Care Providers with issues regarding: ZPICS, RACS, Stark, Compliance, MACS, OSHA & MEDICARE Audits, HHS, HIPPA, ERP’s, Mergers, Buyouts and more. Please Call For Free Case Analysis.

Our Lawyers Handle Serious Cases

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We provide Independent Counsel Reviews, General Counsel Services and more.

Washington, DC Attorney

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Mr. Laher is with Liles Parker, PLLC. He is a Harvard and Georgetown University graduate and a former Jones Day lawyer.

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Modesty Boutik is an online store created by sisters. We provide chic, modern and modest clothes.

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

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HALAL MENUS

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

WE WON’T PLAY GAMES WITH YOUR RIGHTS. In these uncertain times you need aggressive representation to protect your interests. At Kemet & Hunt, we will move quickly to provide legal service with experience, compassion and commitment. When you need a firm with success and expertise in a variety of areas, choose Kemet & Hunt.

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Address: 4920 Niagara Rd, Ste 206, College Park, MD 20740

Attorney Sarah Malik Family Law Litigation, Mediation and Appeals Maryland and Washington, DC

phone: 301-775-0360 | email: sarah@MalikLawLLC.com website: www.MalikLawLLC.com

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

MP - ADVERTISEMENT | 69

PHD Salon Barber Shop Specializing in Natural Hair Care Braids, Twists, Locs, Press & Curl, Shampoo & Conditioner, Corn Rows, Weaves, Set-Roller Wrap, and much more...

For Sisters: Private Area on 2nd Floor Available by Appt. Only Call Sylist Cealia at 240.501.3985

For Men and Boys 1st Floor Level Walk Ins Welcome Phone # 301.604.6980

216 Main Street (Off Route-1) , Laurel, MD 20707

To Advertise in the Muslim Link Call

301-982-1020 or Email us at

office@muslimlinkpaper.com

Dynamic Family Dentistry 159 Hillwood Ave, Falls Church, VA 22046

Creating Beautiful Smiles with State of the Art Dental Care

Farida Khattak, d.d.s SPECIALIZING IN: • General Dentistry • Pediatric Dentistry • Endodontics • Orthodontics • Cosmetic Dentistry CONTACT US: Tel: 703 531 0010 Fax: 703 531 1330 www.dynamicfamilydentistry.com Dynamicdental1@hotmail.com Info@dynamicfamilydentistry.com ....

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

MP - ADVERTISEMENT | 71

DUS FAMILY MEDICAL PRACTICE WELCOMES ITS NEWEST PHYSICIAN DR. FARIHA KAMRAN, MD Board Certified Pediatrician and Pediatric Endocrinologist Accepting new patient consultation on childhood obesity, juvenile diabetes, annual physicals, vaccinations, growth problems, thyroid and bone disorders

RANA TAG AND TITLE

ARUMI TAG & TITLE INC.

Auto,Trailer & Motorcycle Tags, Renewal Stickers Duplicate Title/Registration, 30 Days Temporary Tags Title Transfer, Substitute Stickers/Plates Bay/Agriculture Tags, Tag Return

Auto,Trailer & Motorcycle Tags, Renewal Stickers Duplicate Title/Registration, 30 Days Temporary Tags Title Transfer, Substitute Stickers/Plates Bay/Agriculture Tags, Tag Return

10442 BALTIMORE AVE. BELTSVILLE, MD-20705 TEL: 301-931-RANA (7262)

ARUMI TAG AND TITLE INC. 6, N 2ND STREET, LAUREL, MD-20707, TEL: 301-725-4343

SERVICES INC.

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

MP - ADVERTISEMENT | 73

Aqiqahs, Eid, Or Any Occasion !

GRASS FED, NO HORMONES OR ANTIBIOTICS

WAGON WHEEL RANCH, 661 WEST WATERSVILLE ROAD, MOUNT AIRY, MARYLAND 21771 BRIAN 443 271-6850 PANCHO 443 257-5098

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

CONTINUED | 75

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

MP - ADVERTISEMENT | 77

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December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

December 6th 2013 - January, 2nd 2014

Classifieds | 79

Place a personal classified ad. Call us at 301-982-1020. Office@muslimlinkpaper.com We invite you to place a personal classified on the web FREE of charge at www.muslimlinkpaper.com. Classifieds in the print edition of the Muslim Link newspaper are only $1 for every 3 words. All classifieds run for a single monthly issue in the Marketplace section. Get started by emailing your exact text to office@muslimlinkpaper.com and then call in your credit card payment to 301-982-1020 or send a check or money order payable to: The Muslim Link, PO Box 596, College Park MD 20741.

Employment OPENING FOR OFFICE MANAGER Open position for full time Office Manager for local Construction/ Development Company in Greenbelt, MD. Must have excellent communication and organizational skills, and be proficient in Microsoft Office applications including Outlook, Word and Excel. Salary based on experience/capabilities, starting at $11$15/Hr. Email resumes to cmclp@mail. com

Matrimonial SEEKING WIFE Need a sunni Muslim wife 50's, religious, educated, personable for similar man.

Email kanchwalla@gmail.com

Rental HOUSE FOR RENT 3 BR, Full kitchen, Full bath, $1,450 per month plus utilities. 443-831-8962 -----------------------------------------------BASEMENT FOR RENT 2 BR, Full bath, Full kitchen, close to Al-Huda, $1,000 per month plus utlities.

443-831-8962.

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

License # 30385946 Estimates done.

Contact Br Allen Scott at 443-538-7643 (cell).

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LOVING HOME CARE Providing elder and child care you can trust and afford. Companionship, hygiene care, meal preparation, housekeeping, shopping, doctor appointments. Loving, dependable caregivers for Live-in, Full, Part time. Call: 301-490-1146 www. lovinghomecare.org.

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Place a personal classified ad.

Call us at 301-982-1020. email us at Office@muslimlinkpaper.com

CAREER COUNSELING/RESUME SERVICES Career Counseling Services offered by an experienced, well educated professional with tons of Corporate and U.S. Government Agency experience.

Will coach and support you during all phases of your job hunting campaign, including interviewing tips. Please review my website: http://ccvcs. whytheywonthireyou.com

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