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VoiceMusliM VoiceMonthly Newspaper | Vol.15 Issue No.177 | June 2011 Jumada AL-Akirah / Rajab 1432H
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A M E R I C A N - M U S L I M S C O M M U N I T Y N E W S P A P E R
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American Psychiatrists Go Crazy Over Tutu
U.S. Attorney Pushes for Dialogue with Muslim Community
Muslims and American Politics: Do they mix?
Yes No
12Europe, Arizona and My Plumber
Obama’s Mother and Pakistan
12/4
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COMING THISRAMADAN
Associated Press
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will investigate a Muslim rights advocacy group’s complaints that border agents have harassed dozens of U.S. Muslims who were returning from Canada.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations got a letter from a Homeland Security official saying the agency takes such civil rights violation complaints “very seriously” and will investigate, the group said Wednesday in a statement from its Michigan office in the Detroit suburb of Southfield.
On March 24, the group filed complaints with the federal Homeland Security and Justice departments “seeking civil and potentially criminal investigations into dozens of reports from constituents who reported that (Customs and Border
Protection) agents pointed firearms at them, detained and handcuffed them without predication of crimes or charges, and questioned them about their worship habits,” the group said.
Homeland Security spokesman Chris Ortman said the department will investigate the complaints and take corrective action if needed.
The Department of Homeland Security “does not tolerate religious discrimination or abusive questioning — period,” Ortman said.
Council lawyer Lena Masri said her group welcomes the federal government’s decision to investigate the allegations of “civil rights violations and ethnic and religious profiling.”
Among other things, some people returning to the U.S. were asked how many times a day they pray, whether they pray in a mosque and who else prays with them, the group said.
By Lamis Andoni, Aljazeera
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu must have felt more at home speaking to the US Congress than when he addressed the Israeli parliament: Had he made the same speech at the Knesset, he would have been repeatedly cut off by members - Arabs and Jews alike - objecting to the extremist posi-tions and claims that could only appeal to the Israeli far right.But in the warm arms of the US Congress, he got away with alleging that Jewish settlers - living in illegal settlements - in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are not occupiers, that the West Bank (using the biblical Judea and Samaria) is not occupied territory, that a united Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Is-rael and that Israel should be recognized as «a Jewish state».In Israel, at least, a few of the Knesset mem-bers would have interrupted Netanyahu›s rhetorical hubris, reminding him that the West Bank and Gaza are under Israeli occu-pation, that settlers should leave the illegal settlements and that his talk about recogniz-ing Israel as a Jewish state was downright rac-ist. Sure enough, there was more criticism
of Netanyahu›s speech in the Is-raeli media than in any US newspaper.
But in Washington, Netanyahu was the un-challenged king of Capitol Hill. Members of the US Congress reacted to every utterance Netanyahu made with warm applause, if not standing ovation. The representatives of the people of the US are either ignorant to the facts or immune to notions of equality and justice that would have otherwise guided them to react with outrage at Netanyahu›s brazen declarations.It was shocking, almost surreal, watching the smiling faces of Congressmen and Sena-tors enthralled at Netanyahu›s glorification of the subjugation of another people under the yoke of military oppression. It was the equivalent of celebrating the war of exter-mination of Native Americans, slavery and racial segregation all at once.US president Barack Obama just loves to re-peatedly stress «the shared values» between the US and Israel that create «an ironclad» American commitment to Israel. Of course, by making such assertions, Obama is extol-ling the values of freedom, equality and jus-tice that he believes are part of the American heritage.But these are not the values that describe ei-ther US policy towards the Israeli-Arab con-
flict or the Israeli dispossession of the Pales-tinian people - let alone the joint US-Israeli military partnership to ensure the continuity of a deadly occupation. The «values» of this alliance are not rooted in the American war of independence or the civil rights move-ment but rather invoke the darker side of US history and present world policies.Yes, there are shared Israeli-American «val-ues» that Netanyahu understood so well when he was confidently making a speech that showed utter disdain to the humanity of the Palestinians. Netanyahu was invoking the imperial notions that led to the US wars in Korea and Vietnam, the war in Afghanistan and the invasion and occupation of Iraq - to list some American military misadventures.He was also appealing to the naked political ambition of members who want to ensure their re-election and to safeguard their seats on Capitol Hill. But the total disregard of the US Congress to the humanity of the Palestin-ians is not solely an indication of the influence the pro-Israeli lobby has in Washington.That was more than evident at the annual conference of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) - where all key leaders of the Senate and the Congress un-abashedly competed to prove their support for Israel. There is also no doubt that the last congressional elections produced some
Kindly remain seated
Continued on page 5
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TERMS USED IN THIS PAPER
Alhamdulilah: Praise GodAllah: Arabic word for GodFatwa: Islamic decision based on Shari’aHadith: Sayings of the Prophet Moham-madHajj: Pilgrimage to MeccaHalal: Allowed in IslamHalaqa: Group studyHaram: Prohibited in IslamHijab: Head cover for womenHijra: Migration of the Prophet from Mecca to MadinaImam: Islamic scholarIman: FaithInshallah: God willingMadina: City near Mecca in Saudia ArabiaMasjid: Place were Muslims gather for prayer and studiesMecca: City in Saudi Arabia where Prophet Mohammad was bornPbuh: Peace be upon himQuran: Islam’s Holy bookShahadah: Is saying “I accept Allah as the one God and Mohammad as his messen-ger” when someone accepts Islam.Sharia’: Islamic lawShura: A council of Muslim scholars(SWT) Subhanahu Watala: Praise be to AllahTaqwa: God consciousness
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Europe, Arizona and My PlumberNew America Media, Commentary,
Frank Viviano
Arizona, for Americans, has come to symbolize anti-immigrant hysteria codified into law. Under its highly controversial terms, anyone who simply “appears” to be foreign can be stopped by police and ordered to prove that they are U.S. citizens or legal residents.
In Europe, Arizona arrived a generation ago -- with hardly a ripple of organized protest.
Since the 1990s, heavily armed officers of the Compagnie Républicaine de Sécurité (CRS), France’s elite national riot troops, have been deployed at major transfer stations on Paris commuter lines and other public gathering places, waylaying hundreds of black African, Arab and Asian travelers every day in search of “sans papiers” -- undocumented immigrants.
“Not a single week passes without a cop asking me for my I.D.,” a West Africa-born Parisian says. “I have to build time for interrogation into my work schedule.”
In 2011, counterparts to the CRS patrol the streets of most European capitals, against a backdrop of escalating violence and surging anti-immigrant political parties.
Athens was rocked by three days of riots in mid-May, touched off by rumors that a “dark-skinned foreigner” had fatally mugged a Greek. More than 100 Africans and Asians were attacked by the rioters, and scores of immigrant-owned shops were looted.
In legislative elections on April 18, voters in Finland gave the “True Finns,” an extremist anti-immigrant party, one-fourth of their nation’s parliamentary seats. Similar parties have achieved prominence in such other liberal bastions as Denmark, Sweden and Holland, demanding harsh measures against “illegal intruders” and fortified borders to keep them out.
None of this will sound unfamiliar to Americans, who will hear echoes of the Tea Party in Europe’s xenophobic rhetoric. Yet the similarities are far from exact.
Europe is Not America
It means something quite specific, rooted in the collective DNA and thousands of years of history, to be French or German or Greek. In this respect, the European experience with substantial immigration, which dates back to the 1970s, turns the American controversy on its head.
Viewed strictly from a cultural perspective, Europeans have more in
common with Arizona Latinos than they do with the white legislators who pushed for that law.
Arizona has been populated by Native Americans for more than ten millennia and by Hispanics since the 16th century. It was part of Mexico until 1848, and remained predominantly Hispanic in culture and population long after it became a U.S. state a century ago. Only in the two last decades has massive migration from the northern rustbelt given Arizona a slim (and almost certainly temporary) white majority - the voting bloc behind the draconian bill that Governor Jan Brewer signed into law last year.
Like Hispanics across the U.S. Southwest, indigenous Europeans have seen their towns and cities overwhelmed by waves of recent arrivals who share neither their culture nor their longstanding attachment to the land.
The principal language spoken at home today in huge stretches of northern Paris and its adjacent suburbs is Arabic. On the city’s south side it is Chinese, in several dialects used by a quarter million residents from China and Southeast Asia. More than 10 million residents of France are immigrants or their children.
Almost 4 million Turks now live in Germany, some 250,000 of them in the capital, Berlin. Immigrants and their progeny in Rotterdam, the second largest urban center in the Netherlands and Europe’s busiest port, will comprise more than half the population by 2020. Already, the city has an immigrant mayor in Ahmed Aboutaleb, the son of a Moroccan imam.
The vast majority of Europe’s newcomers are Muslim - some 16-20 million people - and thus living reminders of the longest continuing conflict in world history. In cultural terms, Western Europe and Islam have been at odds, often bitterly, for 1,400 years.
This doesn’t mean that more than a tiny handful of Muslim immigrants are potential terrorists, or that more than a similarly tiny number of white Europeans are violent racists. It does mean that ancient tensions still run high on both sides of the cultural divide, and are no longer buffered by natural borders. The differences in beliefs, customs and attitudes are acute, and painfully evident when they involve the people next door rather than distant strangers across the sea or beyond a mountain chain.
Europe, after the cataclysmic horrors of Fascism and Stalinism, has constructed liberal, secular societies that are the envy of the modern world. By contrast,
many of its recent immigrants are deeply traditional and ill-at-ease with secular mores.
“Multiculturalism,” anti-immigrant European politicians declare, “is an American concept. It won’t work here.”
My Plumber’s Conundrum
The question is whether Europe really has a choice, notwithstanding the implications for its venerable cultures and contemporary fears.
It comes down to numbers, to blunt statistics and the phenomenon I think of as “my plumber’s conundrum.” The plumber to whom I refer is one of the most successful businessmen in the small town where I live in central Italy. Almost to a person, his apprentices and sub-contractors are immigrants. “I can’t find a young Italian to hire,” he says. “That’s the whole story.”
It’s the same story told by plumbers, electricians, bricklayers, masons and countless other tradespeople and industrialists across Italy and the continent.
In 1950, when Western Europe began its climb out of the ruins of World War II, its birth rate was almost 20 children per 1,000 inhabitants. In 2010, it was just over 10. Italy’s birthrate, at 9.1, was the second lowest among 227 countries surveyed by the United Nations IN 2010.
The current birthrates in West and North Africa, two of the main sources of immigrants to Europe, are respectively 38.5 and 23.
Put those sets of numbers together and you begin to understand my plumber’s workforce - and more, the crisis that Europe faces if it refuses to adjust to the challenges of a world in motion.
The liberal paradise of secular Western Europe, with its enviable health care, schools, transit systems and pension benefits, is a product of affluence, of economies fueled by a constant infusion of young workers and consumers. That entire structure totters on a cliff today, not because of a Muslim immigration wave but because of Europe’s own plummeting fertility and soaring retirement population.
In 1950, 10 percent of Western Europe was above the age of 65. The proportion will soon approach 30 percent, and not decline for the rest of the 21st century.
Who will support all those retirees? Who will keep Europe’s economies rolling? There is only one feasible answer at present: More immigration, rather than less. Multiculturalism, in some form, whatever the cultural cost.
JUNE 2011www.AZMuslimVoice.com 3LOCAL 3Muslims and American Politics: Do they mix?
Muslim Voice
By Fathiyyah Bashshar
The topic of Islam in America has been attracting increased scholarly and popular interest, with many new works appearing in recent years. Although the population of Muslims in America increased substantially by the 1970s because of massive immigration from the Middle East and
South Asia but the new Muslim immigrants showed little interest in domestic issues. Instead, their focus remained on their homelands and U.S. foreign policy issues affecting the Islamic world such as the Palestine-Israel conflict; U.S. sanctions against Iraq; and conflicts in Kashmir and Chechnya. Their community activities were confined to the building of mosques and Islamic centers. African American Muslims, on the other hand, generally tend to focus on domestic issues, such as urban development, education, and economic and racial justice. Given their disparate interests and priorities, formulating a united political platform between the two Muslim groups was not easy.
Politics’ in Islam have seemed to have a mix of oil and water, but for many Muslims here in America, politics are relevant and prevalent. In the 1980s, as the Muslim Americans began to take the initial steps toward political participation, some questioned whether Islam even permitted them to participate in the political life of a non-Muslim country. This concerned diminished as the majority of Muslim-Americans face the political reality that non-participation could lead to exclusion and denial of rights. In 1996 Bill Clinton (at least as compared with Bob Dole) had earned the vote of U.S. Muslims because he had gone further than any other president in U.S. history to give Islam some standing as an integral part of American society.
Under his watch, President Clinton recognized a major Islamic holidyday within the U.S. - the fast of Ramadan. He sent an open letter to believers wishing them a blessed fast. Under the Clinton watch, the White House for the first time ever celebrated Eid
El Fitra to mark the end of Ramadan at which the first lady recognized the increasing expansion of the Muslim community within the United States and wished Muslims well (On Being an American and a Muslim: Dilemmas of Politics and Culture by Ali A. Mazrui)
According to a John Zogby poll of 2000, 46 percent of Muslims said they are Democrats, compared with 39 percent of all Americans, and 16 percent said they are Republicans, compared to 34 percent of all Americans. The number of independent Muslims, at 26 percent was almost exactly the same as among all Americans. The liberal, moderate, conservative
and very conservative numbers, as well, mirrored the general American population.
Should Muslims delve in American Politics?
The dilemmas that confront American Muslim citizens regarding political participation -- identity, the if an how of participation, and the ability to influence American political and social life successfully, are not new dilemmas for religious or ethnic communities. Inside of each American Muslim community -- African American and immigrant, there is a divergence of opinion on political participation whether the concern is domestic or foreign.
Muslims put God, community, family and other interpersonal relationships at the top of the list. A web of obligations in Islam supports this worldview. Muslims have to look further than single issues, be more demanding of those in politics for explanations of positions, and most importantly decide for themselves what is important. Following the agenda of others is not the way politics is done in the United States. Political power emerges from collective action. For Muslims this means coming together about what matters to Muslims.
What do the scholars say?
Several scholars have deemed politics, elections and voting not permissible. Shaikh Al Allaamah Yahya ibn Ali Al Hajooree stated that “elections are as impermissible as other major sins that are obligatory (for us) to forbid”, while Shaykh Hatham Al-Haddad (Islamic Shari’a Council) is also of the opinion that voting and participating in the democratic political process is not haram or kufr.[Ibid]. He reiterated by stating “It is established so far, that the overwhelming majority of Muslim scholars have not only said that political participation is allowed but that it is to be encouraged”
The words of the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, that the Halal “permissible” is clear, and the haram “not permissible” is clear, and between them are issues which are obscure, meaning unclear or not well known, should not be taken to mean that anything has been left out of the deen, or that anything has been left unclear.
Conclusion:
Some Muslims will continue to debate the legitimacy of political participation forever. For those who see the necessity of this participation, a better way to expend energy is in strategies for effective advocacy. While the end product of effective advocacy may depend on favorable circumstances, leadership and increase outside antipathy toward the community, the movement toward thinking about strategies is a must. American history is one of grassroots movements than mobilize the masses. There are enough social issues to coalesce a movement around. Muslims should see themselves as capable of providing a clear voice in the face of chaos.
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By Amer Taleb
Muslim Voice / Tucson
The United States Attorney for the District of Arizona, Dennis K. Burke, spoke at the Islamic Center of Tucson on Friday 5/13 about the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
The “Matthew Shepard Act,” signed into law by President Barack Obama
on Oct. 28, 2009, expands the 1969 federal hate crime law to, among other things, reaffirm the importance of American citizens’ ability to practice their religion comfortably and to severely prosecute those who interfere with that process, Burke said.
Burke, who advises Attorney General Eric Holder on management, policy and operational issues as a member of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, told the crowd of more than 30 people that he wanted Muslim Americans to know “who we are, what we do and have a dialogue with us.”
The event was one of several that Burke’s office has held in Mosque’s around the state so that “you (Muslims) have the confidence to come forth with your concerns,” he said. Burke also said that initiating and maintaining a dialogue with the Muslim community “is part of our job” and that the “Islamaphobic statements that have unfortunately become acceptable in our society … personally bothers and concerns me very much.”
A report recently published by the Council on American-Islamic Relations cited a 2004 Pew Poll that said 4 in 10 Americans carry a negative view of Islam while nearly 50% believe “that Islam is more likely than other religions to encourage violence among its believers.” A separate 2009 report from CAIR said that while Anti-Muslim hate crime complaints fell 14 percent from 2007 to 2008, it did report increases in incidents occurring at Muslim institutions and schools.
Along with the U.S. Attorney, members of the Department of Justice were also on hand for the event. Karen Rolley, a civil rights attorney, told the crowd that the Act would absolutely not tolerate any form of “interference of religious activity.”
One of the Acts most recognizable features, she said, is that a criminal can now be charged with a hate crime, even if the victim is not who the criminal intended them to be. “Perception is enough,” she said.
Rolley also said that local agencies have been provided with more funding so that criminals may be tried to the full extent of the law.
She went on to echo a reminder that was made frequently throughout the event: Contact the authorities if you suspect a problem. “Don’t worry about processing the whole event. … Just pick up the phone and call. It doesn’t hurt.”
Here’s where I got the statistics from: http://www.cair.com/CivilRights/CivilRightsReports.aspx
h t t p : / / w w w. c a i r. c o m / I s s u e s / I s l a m o p h o b i a /Islamophobia.asp
Khaerannisa (Nisa) Cortes. 20 years old, and just graduated from ASU the Barrett’s Honors College.
In 4 years she obtained 2 degrees under Leadership Scholarship Program.
ASU has employed her as TA (Teaching Assistant)/SI (Supplemental Instructor) Leader until she graduated.
ASU had granted another scholarship to sponsor her to get her Master’s and PhD, insha Allah.
ASU sent her last month to Canada to present her thesis in an international conference over there. Her thesis is about bullying :-)
Graduating with 4.0 GPA Summa Cum Laude and Dean’s List.
Graduation message, contact Muslim Voice At
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U.S. Attorney Pushes for Dialogue with Muslim Community
JUNE 2011www.AZMuslimVoice.com LOCAL 5
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By Ahmad Daniels, M.Ed.
“Sometimes people have perceptions about us and our communities which may or may not be true. But they put those perceptions onto us, and then they do something that can be very devastating: They
make decisions about us not based on the truth but based on those perceptions. It was not sufficient to rail at these unjust perceptions. In the end, people themselves would have to assume responsibility for unmaking them (emphasis added). This was both a practical matter and in its own way, fair.”
The aforementioned quote sounds as if it was spouted by a Muslim who has a finger on the pulse of present day America and its current views of Islam. Well constructed sound bytes that last only seconds yet leave unfavorable opinions in the mind of the viewer is typical of how impression of many Muslims are decided. Yet these words came from CEO J.D. Hokoyama, President of Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics (LEAP) laying out the predicament of many Asians in the workplace. Asians, according to the stereotypes, excel in math, science, play the violin and by all accounts are overachievers. Yet they are not moving to assume leadership positions in major corporations. What LEAP does for Asians is to flatter them even as it teaches them to change behavior to suite white-America expectations all the while keeping your values and acquiring new skills while becoming “culturally competent” leaders. And there lies the answer, culturally competence which is, essentially, the capacity for and practice
of recognizing and respecting the beliefs and practices of others.
Muslim obligation
How does one go about “unmaking” false perceptions and is the onus on Muslims to do so in a society that currently sees Muslims as a problem? Turn on the television at any hour and hear dreaded accounts of how many have died in Syria or questions surrounding whether or not the Pakistani government knew Osama Bin Laden had been hiding in their own back yard for years. Osama Bin Laden may be dead but fear remains for how and when al-Qaeda will retaliate. Perhaps it was this fear that prompted an airline pilot to ask two Muslims to deplane who were en route to an Islamophobia conference in Charlotte, NC. It appears that fear of Muslims pervades almost every crack and crevice in the USA. What is one to do?
It behooves all of us, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, to learn as much as we can of ourselves and those that we may see daily but know very little of. To engage in non-threatening, non-finger pointing dialogue is to glean a clearer picture of the world we live in. Such an opportunity will be afforded to Muslims and others June 25, 2011 at the workshop entitled “From Muslim to American: How Difficult the Journey?” Muslims who attend will leave better acquainted with themselves, how they are perceived by others, and what they can do to impact life in the Valley and so much more.
In it but not of it
It is possible to be IN America but not OF America. One can get so wrapped up in faith that he or she becomes oblivious to the practicality of the surrounding world. Interpretations can be made of
scriptures that blind one to every day reality. Case in point would be Biblical scholars whose calculations predicted the world would come to an end May 21, 2011. The day came and went without the slightest sign of worldwide destruction.
The Qur’an has its own iyats that have many of all faiths scratching their heads. That it is okay to beat your wife “gently” (4:34) is certain to grab the attention of many. To those for whom the Qur’an is to be interpreted literally, the gentle beating of one’s wife is a sacred undertaking. To others, it is certain to raise an array of questions. And can Muslims befriend Jews and Christians? Not according to 5:51. The Qur’an is very clear that anyone that turns to them, is of them and that Allah guides not a people unjust.
To be OF America is to have the knowledge and skills that equip one with the means to comfortably navigate America’s cultures. It is an on going process that never ends. The
“From Muslim to American: How Difficult the Journey?” workshop scheduled for June 25, 2011, will equip all attendees with such skills as well as discuss why Muslims should aspire to achieve these and other tools for their tool box. Have you ever wondered why Dr. Jasser is in constant demand across the nation? He is on Foxx News so often he should have an assigned desk. His knowledge of American history, the Constitution, and how Americans, in general, think places him head and shoulders above many of his Muslim detractors. In the midst of so much negative press concerning Muslims, there exists an opportunity to make a difference. Make plans to attend.
To your journey!
From Muslim to American:How Difficult the Journey?
of the most pro-Israeli and at times blatantly right-wing members and leaders of the US Congress and Senate.Take, for example, Congressional major-ity leader Eric Cantor, who in his speech to AIPAC summarized the whole history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by blaming Arab cul-ture:Sadly it [Arab culture] is a culture infused with resentment and hatred. But it is this culture that underlies the Palestinians› and the broad-er Arab world›s refusal to accept Israel›s right to exist as a Jewish state. And this, this [re-peated for emphasis], is the root of the con-flict between Israel and the Palestinians, it is not about the ‹67 line.Needless to say, Cantor would not get away with such a blatantly racist statement about any other culture. Cantor does not only dis-miss the Palestinian people›s struggle for free-dom, but he is effectively asking the Palestin-ians to renounce their own rights and history. The Israeli stipulation to accept its right to exist - as a Jewish state, no less - is not based in international law, and is basically a demand that Palestinians negate themselves and sub-mit to their Israeli-determined fate.Support for such a demand to recognise Israel is only understandable if it is backed by overtly racist members of the US and the Congress. For such a pronouncement to be endorsed by at least the majority of the two houses is equivalent to declaring that the US should be recognized as a «white state».But the fact that a sitting African American president has enthusiastically adopted such a racist demand has made legitimate for all to accept - unquestioning its meaning or implica-tions.It seems, however, that Arabs are treated in a totally different category, where values of equality need not apply.Only in one of the illegal settlements in the West Bank or East Jerusalem could have Ne-tanyahu enjoyed such a love fest as the one that unfolded on Capitol Hill.Indeed, maybe the US Congress would feel more at home in one of those settlements, where they both share common American-Israeli values, such as a narrow and distorted world view that encourages intolerance.____________________________________Lamis Andoni is an analyst and commentator on Middle Eastern and Palestinian affairs.
Continued from page 1
JUNE 2011 www.AZMuslimVoice.com6 NATIONAL
La Opinión, News Report, Claudia Núñez, Translated by Liz Gonzalez
Knives, acid, fire and even surgery are some of the methods undocumented immigrants are using to erase their fingerprints and avoid incarceration. These desperate procedures, according to federal agencies and humanitarian activists, are increasing in the face of the advanced technology used to identify undocumented immigrants.
On Feb. 10, Dominican doctor Jose Elias Zaiter-Pou, 62, pleaded guilty to helping conceal the identity of undocumented immigrants by altering their fingerprints through surgical procedures. Zaiter-Pou charged $4,500 for the operation, in which he removed the ends of the fingertips, flipped them and sewed them back on, creating a new and unrecognizable print. He was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison, followed by three years probation.
According to court records, the surgeon performed the surgery on dozens of clients. But experts say the practice is not unique to criminals attempting to flee from the authorities; it is growing among the migrant population. For example, Yissel Sosa Nuñez, a Dominican mother who was impatient to join her son in New York, underwent an operation to remove tissue from her fingertips.
“There is a lot of desperation among migrants, especially among parents who want to reunite with their children and they are aware that they are already
on record. That’s why they are pushed more every time to take more desperate measures,” explained the Sean Carrel, a Jesuit priest and the director of Kino Border Initiative, based in Nogales, Mexico.
Sosa Nuñez, who was deported in 2008, had been arrested and deported in the past, so she knew beforehand that she
would face prison time if she crossed the border again.
Jean Curtit, chief operating officer of the International Association of Identification, said that there is no specific data on how many immigrants could be using these methods. “They resort to all available systems -- acid, knives, sandpaper; some pay
for expensive surgeries and they are procedures that are really very painful and in many cases are useless because with the current technology, sooner or later they are identified,” he said.
The practice of “erasing fingerprints” is not unique to immigrants in America. According to humanitarian groups in Europe -- where, as in the United States,
there is a national database that tracks fingerprint information of thousands of undocumented immigrants -- large numbers of migrants are trying to mutilate their fingerprints by cutting or scraping the skin.
Many immigrants in Europe are from the areas affected by wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa, and are
attempting to seek refuge and avoid deportation.
In the United States, the practice of mutilation to distort fingerprints is not widespread. However, data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and local police agencies indicate that it is a growing trend and that in the past four years, more cases are emerging throughout the country.
In 2007, after being detained by Border Patrol agents, Marc George revealed that a Mexican doctor had replaced the tissue of his hands with the tissue from his feet.
In March 2008 officers of the Lawrence Police Department in Massachusetts found a prisoner whose fingers had been sliced.
The detainee, who said his name was Edgardo Tirado, said he had had an altercation with someone who had mutilated his fingers with a knife. The investigators found that Tirado’s real name was Gerardo Perez, that he had been convicted of possession of narcotics in the past, and that he had undergone the procedure to avoid deportation.
According to reports by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), immigrants pay between $4,500 and $7,000 for the operation.
The Secure Communities program requires local police to send fingerprint data of all arrestees to a federal database that stores fingerprint information of undocumented immigrants. ICE plans to extend the program throughout the country by the year 2013.
The Muslim Observer, News Report, Karin Friedemann
In a surprise move by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Albany, New York’s Imam Yassin Aref, who was serving a ten year sentence inside the Communications Management Unit (CMU) in Marion, Illionois, has been moved to the general prison population. Aref stated in an email to his friends dated April 13, 2011:
“Finally and thankfully they accepted my request and agreed for me to come out of CMU. Now I am just a regular human – I mean regular prisoner! I am no longer in CMU, so if any of you come and visit me I promise I am going to hug him! Hopefully after six months they will transfer me to somewhere close to my family so I can see my children but as for why and how? Believe me I don’t know anything more than you! They just told me to pack up. 25 days before that I had a team review. I asked for transfer as usual and they told me they would do the recommendation for me but the decision its not theirs. When I called my son Salah, he told me, “Daddy how is it they let you out?
What has changed?” I told him I am still Yassin and they did not tell me anything. However, I am very thankful they allowed me to be in the regular general population.”
Aref was inside the CMU in Terre Haute, Indiana from May 2007 until March 2009, when he was transferred to the Marion CMU. As of April 10, 2011, Aref is in the same prison building but in a different unit. Now he has more space to walk and more recreational activities. He has more lenient social, visitor and phone call rights. There are some African American Muslim brothers in his new unit and they pray the Friday prayer together. Whenever he leaves his unit to dine, go to the yard or library, and to visit the chaplain, he walks by the door of the CMU. Imam Yassin describes his past experience:
“After spending about 20 Months in
total solitary confinement at a county jail, I arrived at CMU Terra Haute, Indiana to find a small Middle Eastern community where inmates from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt and Yemen among others were already there. In CMU, most inmates are Arab or Arabic speakers.
“We are separated because of our nationality and religion. Of course they deny that, but the reality in the CMU proves this segregation is the whole point of a CMU. Otherwise what did I do? Why am I classified as a high risk inmate? How can it be dangerous if they allow me to hug my children? Why do they need to limit my communication? Who I am going to call besides my family?
“All my life in Iraq I was treated as a second degree citizen and half human because I was Kurdish. I left my country to regain my humanity and live free, not to be targeted, imprisoned and placed in a CMU.
When I learned CMU prisoners don’t have the same rights like other prisoners in the BOP, and I found that 65 to 75 percent of the inmates in CMU are Muslim and another 8 to 15 percent are Spanish speakers, I became sad and it seemed like this country is going backward to the dark days of its history when Black people were slaves or treated like slaves. Many inmates in CMU are not criminals. They are political prisoners and victims who were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Some like me never committed any crime. Yet they treat us as the highest risk inmates!
“My youngest daughter is still a child and she was born while I was in jail. I never carried her or kissed her and I could never buy a candy for her. She doesn’t have any memory with me. Until she was four years old she used to think `daddy’ means the phone! That’s because whenever I used to call home, her brothers and sister would run to the phone saying “Daddy, daddy!” So, she thought daddy means phone!
Whenever anyone asks her, `Where is your daddy?’ she would point or run to the phone and say, `That is my daddy!’ It’s heart breaking but I am laughing. In Arabic they say the worst trial is the one which makes you laugh!
“Thank God with all of these unjustices still my heart is full of peace and Love.
My faith saved me from hate. I believe God allowed this to happen and that is why it happened. I look for His reward for all my pain and all of what my family going through.”
Aref is involved with a civil rights lawsuit which questions why Muslim
prisoners who are considered a low security risk are being put under high security communication restrictions without any legal recourse.
Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) Attorney Alexis Agathocleous told NPR, “Our clients were designated to the CMUs without due process
or oversight, even though they have no significant history of disciplinary infractions.”
However, Aref does not believe that his transfer has anything to do with the lawsuit.
Undocumented Immigrants Go Under the Knife to Erase Their Fingerprints
Imam Yassin Aref Transferred from CMU
JUNE 2011www.AZMuslimVoice.com 7 NATIONAL
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By LISA CORNWELL
Associated Press
CINCINNATI (AP) _ Macy’s CEO said Friday that there will be winners and losers among retailers going into the fall season amid inflation worries, but he feels the department store chain is in a good position.
CEO, President and Chairman Terry Lundgren gave a glowing report to shareholders meeting in Cincinnati, highlighting what he called ``an outstanding first quarter.’’ The Cincinnati-based company reported earnings last week that beat forecasts by 12 cents, with Macy’s reporting net income of $131 million, or 30 cents per share, on rising sales.
Meeting with reporters later, Lundgren said Macy’s broad assortment of products and brands means that plenty of its product categories won’t be affected by inflation.
``We feel very good about where we are at,’’ he said.
Some clothing retailers have started to pass along higher prices on certain goods as costs rose for commodities such as cotton. Those increases coming on top of higher prices for food and gasoline will mean that lower-income shoppers are ``going to be stressed,’’ Lundgren said.
``But our customers are spending with us,’’ he said. ``We are clearly capturing market share.’’
Macy’s has started to push some higher prices onto consumers _ although it has pulled back some _ and Lundgren said there will be no price increases in many parts of the company’s stores.
Some Macy’s vendors and suppliers are adding quality to their products with new details such as enhanced buttons or workmanship to give consumers with more reason for increases when prices do go up, Lundgren said. He highlighted vendors like Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein.
``If you are just selling simple basic T-shirts, I think that’s a problem,’’ he
said. ``I think those guys are going to have a hard time, because there’s no way to hide from a big increase in the price of the actual raw material.’’
Lundgren told shareholders that Macy’s strategy of tailoring merchandise to local markets, adding exclusive brands and filling gaps in its assortment _ such as in the young, contemporary area _ will provide momentum for continued improvement in sales, earnings and cash flows.
But Macy’s believes the key to success is ``blurring the line between our stores, the Internet and mobile technology to the point where we surround our customers and can respond to their needs no matter which way they prefer to shop,’’ Lundgren said.
VERENA DOBNIK
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) _ New York City is telling folks to butt out.
A new law went into effect Monday banning smoking in 43 square miles of parks, public plazas, beaches and boardwalks in the city.
The law, with a $50 fine attached, aims to protect New Yorkers from secondhand smoking in often elbow-to-elbow environments. But some health experts question whether the smoke poses a serious danger in open spaces, and critics say the city is trampling on civil liberties.
``People who smoke have the right to do it,’’ said Shirley Scott, an ex-smoker visiting New York on Monday with her husband, who goes through three packs a day.
``This is a real infringement of people’s rights _ it’s baloney!’’ she added, smiling at 68-year-old Mickey Scott as he puffed.
Cigarettes aren’t the only source of pollution, he pointed out.
``If there’s a law against smoking in Times Square, then there should be a law for no stinking cars in the city!’’ he said.
But when informed about the measure, the retired welder put out his cigarette and the couple from the small town of Shell Rock, Iowa, strolled toward a sidewalk, holding hands.
The New York City Council approved the ban in February. The first day it kicked in felt more like a public awareness campaign than a strictly enforced, punitive law.
Members of the NYPD patrolling the square alongside employees of the neighborhood business alliance went easy on smokers.
``I tell them, there’s a new law today _ and
they comply,’’ said David Moy, of the Times Square Alliance. He noted that smoking is allowed feet away on sidewalks.
On Monday, smoke kept rising in the off-limits zone, despite small anti-smoking signs posted in several spots. The city has said it plans to rely on signs and social pressure instead of active enforcement.
In front of Macy’s, Amanda Perez was smoking at a table on a pedestrians-only island, taking a break from her job at a nearby building.
``Really?’’ said the 21-year-old security guard when told it was illegal.
She was on her first of two daily cigarettes. She’s gradually cut down from a two-pack-a-day habit.
``This new law is a great idea,’’ she said.
A government ban on smoking is nothing new in New York. The city forbid smoking in restaurants, bars and other public indoor spaces already in 2002.
There’s little mercy for smokers who light up indoors. But outdoors, ``there are going to be violations,’’ said Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates, a nonprofit dedicated to improving urban parks and open spaces.
He accused Mayor Michael Bloomberg of playing politics by supporting a law that is not being strictly enforced.
``He’s trying to play both sides: He doesn’t want to be perceived as taking away people’s rights, and he wants to look good on the health side,’’ said Croft. ``But if you don’t enforce the law, you might as well not have a law.’’
Bloomberg spokesman Marc LaVorgna said that in New York bars and restaurants, ``we don’t have officers patrolling. And I don’t see people smoking.’’
Besides, he said, ``New Yorkers generally follow the law, and we don’t believe any crackdown is necessary.’’
Macy’s CEO: Not all prices in store are rising
Smoking ban in NYC parks takes effect
JUNE 2011 www.AZMuslimVoice.com8 NATIONAL
By LARRY NEUMEISTER
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) _ A jury convicted two prominent lawyers, the former head of a major accounting firm and an accountant of mail fraud charges in a massive multi-billion-dollar tax shelter prosecution, ending a trial that featured a parade of wealthy Americans who told how they dodged taxes through complex investment instruments.
The jury also exonerated one accountant in the 10-year scheme that the government said brought the defendants $130 million in illicit profits.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nanette Davis said in her closing argument to the jury that those who benefited from the tax shelters included some of the ``most well-heeled, richest investors in the world,’’ people like the late sports entrepreneur Lamar Hunt, trust fund recipients, inventors, a grandson of the late industrialist Armand Hammer, people who built fortunes on real estate or family businesses and one man she described as an ``accidental millionaire’’ because he was one of the earliest investors in Microsoft Corp.
Among those convicted was Paul M. Daugerdas, a 60-year-old lawyer who was described by prosecutors as the mastermind of the scheme. He was the former head of the Chicago office of the Jenkens & Gilchrist law firm and its tax practice. The other lawyer convicted at the trial was Donna M. Guerin, 50, who worked at the same office as Daugerdas.
Also convicted were Denis M. Field, 53, the former chief executive officer and chairman of the board of the accounting firm BDO Seidman and former head of its national tax practice, and David Parse, 49, a former Deutsche Bank broker. Acquitted in the scheme was Raymond Craig Brubaker, 55.
Sentencing was set for Oct. 14. All four faces sentences that could exceed 20 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said the tax fraud scheme ``was stunning in scope’’ and cheated the Internal Revenue Service out of millions of dollars in revenue.
Prosecutors said Daugerdas made $95
million through the sale of the shelters and then reduced his income from the shelters to less than $8,000 so he could evade paying taxes.
Defense lawyers argued during the trial that their clients did not think what they were doing was wrong.
Davis said the scheme relied on a pattern of lies, including false information about what the tax shelters were and how they worked, lies in formal opinion letters, backdated transactions, fake information in files prepared for the IRS, lies to the IRS during audits and the coaching of clients to lie to the IRS.
Davis said the defendants ``were confident that with all the bells and whistles they put on the tax shelters, with all the complexity to the transactions, with all the fly-by-night corporations and partnerships they set up and dissolved, with all the consulting agreements that they used to hide what they were doing, that the IRS would not figure out what
it was that they were doing and what exactly was going on.’’
But the defendants ``were dead wrong,’’ she said.
The trial featured testimony by 24 tax shelter clients and five former colleagues of the defendants, including four who had pleaded guilty in the case.
Davis blamed greed for the crimes, saying that Daugerdas would have had to pay more than $32 million in taxes on his $95 million in profits, but with the shelters managed to pay only a few thousand dollars in taxes.
By Newsfinder from AP
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ New safety guidelines have been issued for eating fish caught in San Francisco Bay, the first such update in 17 years.
The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is cautioning children and women of childbearing age to steer clear of eating perch, white sturgeon, shark or striped bass caught in the bay.
The fish contain unsafe levels of mercury and PCBs, toxins dangerous to human health, especially for children and pregnant women.
There was good news for striped bass lovers: people 45 and older can safely consume two servings per week. Previous warnings allowed only two servings per month.
The guidelines also warn against eating fish caught in the Lauritzen Channel in Richmond’s inner harbor because of very high levels of DDT, a pesticide now banned in the U.S.
4 convicted in NYC of helping wealthy dodge taxes
New fish consumption
guidelinesissued for SF
Bay
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JUNE 2011www.AZMuslimVoice.com 9NATIONAL
By Rachel Pfeffer,
This week in Honolulu Hawaii, 1984 Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu gave the William C. Menninger Memorial Convocation Lecture to the American Psychiatric Association despite the protests of 24 APA members. These members represent a small
and shrinking group who object to Desmond Tutu’s stance on the Israeli occupation and mistreatment of Palestinians.
\Why would anyone block or protest the prophetic words of Desmond Tutu who has dedicated himself to non-violent peace-making to end racism?
Are these shrinks crazy?
In 2007 the President of Catholic University of St. Thomas Minneapolis uninvited Archbishop Desmond Tutu from a lecture he was scheduled to give because the “quote” attributed to Bishop Tutu compared Israel to Hitler and Nazi Germany. This “quote” was completely fabricated by the Zionist Organization of America (which has a long history of smear campaigns) and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency printed it without fact-checking. This “quote” was used by the protesting psychiatrists, throwing facts out the window for a neurotic stab at an international treasure.
Archbishop Tutu stands out from most Christian leaders not only because of his support of self determination and human rights for Palestinians – a stance few Christians will support-- he is also a hero of the antiapartheid movement; and the leader of Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. There are few people in the world who have given more credibility and voice to fighting racial injustice.
In addition to the false “quote” APA members believe the Archbishop was not the right
speaker for the convocation because he supports a cultural boycott of Israel as a non-violent tactic bringing attention and pressure on Israeli Government to follow international human rights laws in their treatment of Palestinians. Boycott allows artists, writers, performers to determine a course of action that directly impacts the political arena. Artists all over the world are deciding to decline invitations to perform or publish in Israel. This non-violent act of resistance to a horrible injustice creates a critical mass of opposition without physically hurting anyone, without one drop of bloodshed.
As an American Jew, I support non-violent tactics to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine, like the recently held peaceful march organized by Palestinians to mark the founding of Israel and the simultaneous tragedy for Palestinians called the Nakba. In 1947, 500 Palestinian villages were destroyed and over 750,000 Palestinians were displaced during the founding.
I don’t want one more person, Israeli or Palestinian to be hurt, killed or imprisoned. I don’t want one more day when Palestinians go through checkpoints, not another day when ancient olive trees are destroyed, not another day where Palestinian land is taken and homes demolished, not another day when food is scarce and the lack of medical resources kills another Palestinian.
In fact I don’t object to the APA members boycott of Desmond Tutu. I support their boycott for exactly the same reason I support Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the hundreds of artists who have boycotted Israel. I do object to the APA members maligning Bishop Tutu with unfounded “quotes” and for using him as a proxy for their own pro-Israeli agenda.
There is no reason to object to Archbishop Tutu’s message of ending racial injustice unless you are involved in perpetrating racial injustice and you feel exposed. Is that’s what’s going on—are the psychiatrists projecting?
Korea Daily, News Report
ATLANTA – Civil and immigrants’ rights groups across Georgia have rallied against the governor’s signing of House Bill 87, a controversial new law that mirrors legislation passed in Arizona, reports the Korea Daily.
“For us the bill’s passage is lamentable, as it represents a direct assault in the rights of legal immigrants in the state,” said Jong-guk Eun, executive director of the Korean American Association of greater Atlanta.
State Governor Nathan Deal signed the Arizona-style bill into law last Friday. The bill grants local police and business owners the right to check the immigration status of individuals against the federal E-Verify database.
There are an estimated 480 thousand undocumented
immigrants in the state of Georgia, 20 thousand more are believed to reside in Arizona.
A number of local employers say the bill will have a negative impact on their businesses, particularly if it causes an outflow immigrant labor from the state. Insiders from the state’s agricultural sector say one of the results of House Bill 87 could be higher prices at the supermarket as businesses seek to compensate for lost labor.
Some Atlanta businesses are reportedly hanging sings in their storefronts that read “Immigrants Welcome Here.” One owner told CBS News that she planned to be non-compliant, and that the sign in her window was a reflection of her “disgust” with the new law.
Opposition groups say they plan to protest the bill when it goes into effect in July 1.
American Psychiatrists Go Crazy Over Tutu
Immigrant Rights Groups Speak Out
Against Georgia’s HB87
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JUNE 2011 www.AZMuslimVoice.com10 INTERNATIONAL
By JOSEF FEDERMAN
Associated Press
JERUSALEM (AP) _ U.S.-Israel tension over Barack Obama’s endorsement of Israel’s pre-1967 borders is obscuring a flip side of the Middle East coin: The past days’ speeches by the U.S. president contained difficult challenges for the Palestinians as well.
Addressing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Sunday, Obama reiterated his request that the Palestinians drop their plans to appeal for recognition at the United Nations this fall, and _ as he did in another Mideast speech Thursday _ raised tough questions about an emerging Palestinian unity government that is to include the Hamas militant group.
Most difficult for Palestinians is Obama’s call to recognize Israel as the Jewish homeland, essentially requiring the Palestinians to accept that most refugees will be denied the ``right of return’’ to what is now Israel.
Perhaps for this reason, the Palestinians have remained largely quiet about the substance of Obama’s speeches, seemingly content to watch Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clash with the U.S. administration over Israel’s future borders.
``It’s really premature to jump into any of these details,’’ said Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, when asked by The Associated Press about the demands Obama made of the Palestinians.
The fate of Palestinian refugees is one of the most emotional and explosive issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians either fled or were expelled during the war surrounding Israel’s creation in 1948. Today, the surviving refugees,
with their descendants, number several million people.
The Palestinians claim they have the right to return to their family’s lost properties. Israel rejects the principle, saying it would mean the end of the country as a Jewish democracy. Israeli leaders say the refugees should be entitled to compensation and resettled in a future Palestine to be established next to Israel, or absorbed where they now live.
In his speech last Thursday, Obama did not explicitly mention the refugees. But by saying a final peace deal must recognize ``Israel as a Jewish state and the homeland for the Jewish people,’’ he appeared to back the Israeli position.
The issue is so central to Palestinian policy and society that no Palestinian leader can be seen as abandoning the rights of the refugees, particularly at a time when peace efforts are at a standstill and so many other difficult issues, such as borders and the final status of Jerusalem, remain unresolved.
Nabil Shaath, a senior Palestinian official, said recognition of Israel as a Jewish state would sell out not only the refugees, but potentially open the door to Israel expelling its roughly 1.5 million Arab citizens as well. This idea has never been seriously raised in Israel.
He said the Palestinian recognition of Israel’s right to exist, without any reference to national character, should be sufficient.
``We recognize Israel as a state,’’ he said. ``It’s a recognition of a state to a state.’’
In his two recent speeches, Obama took aim at two other central planks of Palestinian policy: plans to ask the U.N. in September to recognize an independent Palestine, with or without a peace agreement; and a unity deal struck between President Mahmoud Abbas’
Fatah movement and the Iranian-backed Hamas militants.
In Thursday’s speech, Obama warned that ``symbolic actions to isolate Israel at the United Nations in September won’t create an independent state.’’ And referring to Hamas in Sunday’s address to AIPAC, a powerful pro-Israel lobby, Obama stated: ``No country can be expected to negotiate with a terrorist organization sworn to its destruction.’’
``We will hold the Palestinians accountable for their actions and their rhetoric,’’ Obama said.
Erekat insisted the world must embrace the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation, meant to end the split that has left rival governments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Palestinians claim both areas, along with east Jerusalem, for their future state, and Erekat said there can be no independence without reconciliation.
In any case, he said Abbas, and the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization, dominated by Fatah, are the parties to negotiate peace with Israel _ not the ``unity government’’ of the Palestinian Authority which would be backed by both parties.
Erekat, like other Palestinians officials, declined to discuss most of the specifics of Obama’s speech, including the issue of the Jewish state. For now, he says the border issue should be the focus of Mideast diplomacy.
The Palestinians demand a return to the pre-1967 lines, which would require an Israeli pullout from the West Bank and east Jerusalem, though they are open to Obama’s idea of agreed-upon modifications through land swaps _ as long as they are small.
Erekat said if Netanyahu accepts the 1967 lines he could raise any other matter in negotiations. ``Before I hear the prime minister of Israel saying that
he accepts this principle, I think it would be a waste of my time to discuss any other issue,’’ Erekat said.
Netanyahu says the 1967 lines are ``indefensible,’’ and his anger toward the U.S. president seemed palpable at a White House meeting Friday.
But even Obama’s reference to the 1967 lines may not be entirely to the Palestinians’ liking.
Clarifying his position Sunday, Obama said those lines should be the basis for a peace deal, but that the final borders could be adjusted to accommodate `new demographic realities.’’
That was seen as a recognition that Israel could keep at least some of the occupied area where it has settled Jews. Some 500,000 Israelis live in Jewish settlements, which are considered illegal by the Palestinians and the international community.
Obama also noted the 1967 lines have long been considered a basis for a final peace deal, most recently in previous negotiations that broke down in 2008. So his embrace of those borders is not revolutionary. ``What I did on Thursday was to say publicly what has long been acknowledged privately,’’ he said.
After initial shock and anger toward Obama, members of Netanyahu’s hard-line coalition have begun to soften their opposition.
Limor Livnat, a Cabinet minister in Netanyahu’s nationalist Likud Party, called Obama’s speech on Sunday ``excellent.’’ She praised his tough line against Hamas and support for Israel as a Jewish state.
``Following the prime minister’s words, the president sharpened his message and said things that he didn’t say clearly beforehand,’’ she told Channel 2 TV. ``These are important things.’’
Obama’s ‘Jewish state’ reference jars Palestinians
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INTERNATIONAL
By ANITA SNOW
Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS (AP) _ The U.N. General Assembly on Friday approved Kuwait as a replacement candidate for Syria on the Human Rights Council amid growing alarm over the Syrian security forces’ violent crackdown on protesters.
Kuwait was among 15 countries that the assembly approved Friday for rotating three-year terms on the U.N.’s top human rights body.
Kuwait was elected in secret balloting by most of the assembly’s 192 members. Syria received five votes, reflecting a strong campaign to keep it off the council.
U.N. officials including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.N. Hugh Commissioner for Human rights Navi Pillay have repeatedly called on Syria to stop the violence against peaceful demonstrators.
Kuwait announced Wednesday it was replacing Syria on the Asian slate for seats on the council amid widespread opposition to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s crackdown on opponents. Syrian human rights groups say more than 850 people have been killed by security forces since protests against Assad’s government began two months ago.
The other Asian candidates elected to the Geneva-based council were India, Indonesia and the Philippines.
The other new council members are Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Republic of Congo, Czech Republic, Romania, Austria, Italy, Peru, Costa Rica and Chile.
Two other candidates, Georgia and Nicaragua, failed to get enough votes.
A major problem in the election process is that candidates for the Human Rights Council, and for many other U.N. bodies, are selected by regional groups where there is a lot of internal horse-trading for seats and support. Regional groups often put up uncontested slates to ensure victory for all their candidates.
``Without competition for seats on the
Human Rights Council, the membership standards set by the General Assembly become meaningless,’’ said Peggy Hicks, global advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. ``Manufactured slates of candidates may be easier for states, but they are bad for the council.’’
``The standards set by the General Assembly for Human Rights Council membership need to be more than just words,’’ Hicks said. ``We need competitive elections, and a yearly audit of whether council members are cooperating with the council as they have promised.’’
UN Watch, an Geneva-based advocacy group, had campaigned against Syria’s membership on the council, but noted that Kuwait’s rights record was not much better.
By EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS (AP) _ Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon proposed a new U.N. mission for South Sudan after it becomes independent on July 9, requesting 7,000 troops to protect civilians and a mandate to help the new government prevent conflict and consolidate peace.
Ban’s proposal in a report to the Security Council was circulated Tuesday, as the U.N.’s most powerful body was visiting Sudan.
But it was written before serious fighting erupted last week in the disputed oil-rich Abyei region on the border between the Arab-dominated north and mainly ethnic African south. The clashes threaten to unravel a 2005 peace deal that ended more than two decades of civil war and re-
ignite the fighting.
The south voted overwhelmingly to secede from Sudan, Africa’s largest country, in a January referendum called for under the peace agreement. But key provisions of the 2005 agreement have not been resolved.
The secretary-general called the dispute over the future status of Abyei ``the greatest challenge’’ to implementing the peace accord.
By JAMAL HALABY
Associated Press
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) _ Jordan’s King Abdullah II urged U.S. businessmen visiting the kingdom Saturday to make bigger investments in Jordan, saying they should not be dissuaded by the popular uprisings that have unseated two Arab leaders and threatened others.
Abdullah said investing in Jordan allows them access to three continents, 350 million Arab consumers and a cheap, bilingual and skilled Jordanian labor force.
Some protests calling for political changes have been held in Jordan, but the country has not seen the kind of serious unrest that has hit other Arab nations.
Abdullah addressed American businessmen from companies including Hilton Hotels, Cisco Systems Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., Microsoft Corp.,
General Electric Co., Citigroup Inc., Raytheon Co. and Boeing Co.
One of the attending firms, the global entertainment organization Rubicon Group Holding, announced it will design and produce a 184-acre theme park in the Red Sea city of Aqaba at a projected cost of $1 billion.
Rubicon said in a statement that the Red Sea Astrarium will feature an attraction inspired by the 2009 movie ``Star Trek’’ and developed by Paramount Recreation.
The statement said the project, which is due for completion in 2014, will generate employment for more than 500 high-skilled workers in the local community and will incorporate renewable technologies throughout the facility.
Rubicon, which is specialized in digital content production for entertainment and education, is headquartered in Jordan with subsidiaries in Los Angeles and two other locations worldwide.
Kuwait approved over Syria on UN council
New UN mission proposed for South Sudan
Jordan’s king calls for investment
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Sec. of State Hillary Clinton Launches Global Diaspora Initiative
New America Media,
News Report, Anthony Advincula
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton last week announced that the state department was adding a fourth “D” to its toolbox of Diplomacy, Development and Defense: Diaspora.
Marking a historic shift in the agency’s view of global migrants, Clinton spoke at the opening of a three-day “Global Diaspora Forum” that drew over 300 invitees including a star-studded cast of international development experts, diplomats and representatives of different diaspora groups.
“You have the potential to be the most powerful people-to-people asset we can bring to the world’s table,” Clinton told a standing room only crowd at the State Department’s Loy Henderson Auditorium. “Because of your familiarity with cultural norms, your own motivations, your own special skills and leadership, you are, frankly, our Peace Corps, our USAID, our OPIC, our State Department rolled into one.”
Clinton highlighted the contributions of some 60 million Americans who last year sent over $48 billion in remittances to countries around the world. “It dwarfs any foreign aid that our government can give,” she noted.
Clinton also acknowledged that diaspora groups and individuals are the first to respond to natural disasters, economic stagnation, poverty or civil unrest overseas. “When an earthquake happens in Haiti or civil unrest begins in Tripoli or a multitude of disasters hit Japan, we hear from Americans who have roots, who have business connections, who want to know what they can do.”
Clinton was most passionate when it came to the intersection of diaspora communities and diplomacy. She pointed to the role of Irish Americans in bringing peace, at long last, to Northern Ireland. She recounted
the first time she and her husband, Bill Clinton, went to Belfast, where the hotel they stayed in “had been recently bombed and windows were still boarded up.” Because of the help of Irish Americans, the next time
she went back after the Good Friday Accords, “there was 98 percent occupancy.” She noted how conflicts de-escalate when women become engaged and find common ground as wives and mothers.
The state secretary also emphasized the leadership of American diaspora communities in helping home countries in their transition to democracy.
“Many don’t know the first thing about politics...and this is where many of you can come in. We need to just get into the basics of what it means to participate in the hard and sometimes frustrating work of politics. That’s the way you get to govern in a democracy.”
As the United States grapples with difficult global challenges - whether natural disaster, war, economic recession, or terrorism - it would be impossible for it to work alone, she concluded. These challenges will only be solved by partnership with the private sector, civil society, public institutions and diaspora communities.
To that end, Clinton announced the launching of the International Diaspora Engagement Alliance (IDEA). “We spend a lot of time in the State Department trying to think of how we can put words together so the first letter spells something,” she joked, but she added that IDEA would engage “the whole of government.”
She ended with a call to action: “I hope you will look back on this day and really see that we started something that has just spread across the world, improving the lives of so many people, giving them the same chance that all of us have had because of this country that we love and we call home,” Clinton said.
The conference — cosponsored by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) — featured the heads of the Export-Import Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the US Trade and Development Agency, the Millenium Challenge Corporation and the International Fund for Global Development, as well as dozens of Non-Governmental Organizations and grassroots organizations. New America Media ran a special workshop on diaspora communications which featured a panel of ethnic media leaders and reporters from the Haitian Times, Al Jazeera English, Sing Tao Daily, Indian Express and ImpreMedia.
New America Media, Commentary, Shirin Sadeghi
Young Barack Obama the Second was 25 years old when his mother traveled to Pakistan for her Ph.D. fieldwork. She was a unique woman, an American who married two Muslims from very different backgrounds, and learned languages most Americans have never heard of, including Urdu, the national language of Pakistan. Stanley Ann Dunham was a woman with compassion for the Pakistani people who had seen their troubles with her own eyes and studied ways that they could be helped.
She could never have imagined that her own son would one day be directly responsible for hurting the people she had worked so hard to help.
On May 1, as President Obama looked into the eyes of Americans and the world to announce the bizarre end to an even stranger manhunt, we looked back into his eyes and for the first time ever, there was no trace of Stanley Ann.
His gaze, glazed and haunting as it complemented the equally opaque proclamation of the assassination of a defunct enemy, sent shivers down our spines. It looked like Barack. It sounded like Barack. But it was of an ilk many Americans had thought they’d voted out of office in 2008.
Yes, his predecessor, George W. Bush, started the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Yes, his predecessor handed over billions of dollars in aid that go almost entirely into the hands of corrupt politicians and military officials in Pakistan, instead of
the people who need it. And yes, his predecessor explained these wars as a hunt for Osama bin Laden.
But Barack Obama upped the ante on every one of those fronts. He didn’t help Pakistan -- he made it worse. And while it is not exactly the job of the American president to help other countries -- even if being the world’s only superpower would suggest some responsibility on moral fronts -- it is at least the job of the American president not to put his public in danger, the kind of danger that arises out of perpetuating wars and further agitating religious extremists.
True, Obama hasn’t been all wrong on foreign policy. To his credit, he has so far avoided “bomb-bomb-bombing” Iran as McCain surely would have tried and the previous administration would have done if it hadn’t been bogged in the quagmire of myriad other disasters. He is making his way out of the Iraq war he once opposed. His administration has also been highly supportive of the Arab revolutions as a new method of transferring power in the region. And no one is surprised by his strategy in Afghanistan -- that war was extended under Obama as per his campaign promise.
But every war he has avoided has been replaced with another conflict, and his administration has even somehow managed to avoid calling them wars. He is now supporting a full-out war in Libya and what were once remote-controlled drone attacks in Pakistan have become ground operations by U.S. troops on Pakistani soil. The military operations taking place in Yemen and Bahrain,
and elsewhere among the Middle East uprisings have tacit U.S. approval, or in the case of the recent attempted assassination of U.S. citizen
Anwar al-Awlaki, direct U.S. military involvement.
Most people understand that the pressures of the top job and a need for re-election can be overwhelming. But very few of us accepted that the shady areas of political morality would be anything more than a sanctuary for the son of Stanley Ann.
She didn’t raise him in highfalutin Connecticut or on a sprawling family estate in Texas, after all. He was a little biracial boy whose mother was extraordinarily fascinated with the world beyond her borders and carried him in her journey to appreciate that world.
Her life was spent on fomenting understanding between cultures
and peoples, on learning and educating others about how civilians in all societies can help each other overcome the failures of their governments.
She was the primary influence on the mind and manner of a young boy whose father was not in the picture and whose grandparents were far away for many years.
Barack Obama is the first president of the United States who knows from experience what life is like in other countries and what life in the United States is like, not only for an ethnic minority but for an immigrant. According to a new biography of Stanley Ann by Janny Scott, Obama himself even visited Pakistan on his own in 1981, just before his 20th birthday, to meet with a friend of his from Occidental College.
In the days since the Bin Laden
announcement, as the official story has undergone several manifestations, more civilians have been killed in Pakistan following a U.S. drone attack,
the war in Libya has continued to escalate under America’s watch, and U.S. government officials have instigated plans for heightened security protocols that infringe on the free movement of Americans in their own country.
It seems clearer than ever that Barack Obama has either forgotten his own journey or decided to discard it for the sake of power.
Perhaps it is better, then, that Stanley Ann isn’t here to see.
Shirin Sadeghi is Host of New America Now. She is a Pakistan expert and weekly columnist for Pakistan’s national daily newspaper, Pakistan Today. Follow her on Twitter: twitter.com/ShirinSadeghi
Obama’s Mother and Pakistan
JUNE 2011www.AZMuslimVoice.com 13 ISLAM
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DISCUSSIONS AND DEBATES
If you have trouble understanding some of what has been said in a meeting, restrain yourself until the speaker finishes. Gently, politely, and with proper introduction, ask for clarification. Do not interrupt a person’s talk. This is contrary to the proper manner of listening, and stirs up contempt. However, this is not the rule if the meeting is for study and learning. In such a case, asking questions and initiating a discussion is desirable if conducted respectfully and tactfully and only after the speaker finishes. Caliph Al-Ma^mon said, ‘Discussion entrenches knowledge more than mere following.’
Al-Haitham bin Adi, a known scholar, and historian, and one of the entourage of the four Caliphs Abi Jafer Al-Mansour, Al-Mahdi, Al-Hadi, and Al-Rasheed, said: ‘The men of wisdom said it is an ill manner to overwhelm someone while speaking and to interrupt them before they end their speech.’
If a colleague did not understand a matter and asked a scholar or an elder to explain, you should listen to what is being said. From the repeated explanation you may gain additional benefits to what you already know. Never utter any word belittling your colleague, nor should your face betray any such emotion.
When an elder or a scholar speaks, you should listen attentively to them. Never busy yourself with a talk or discussion with other colleagues. Do not let your mind wander somewhere else. Keep it focused on what is being said. If you did not understand
something that was said, wait until the talk is finished. Then and only then, ask the speaker, with respect and politeness, to explain it. Never raise your voice with the question, or be blunt to draw attention to yourself.
Never interrupt a speaker.
Never rush to answer if you are not very confident of your answer. Never argue about something you do not know. Never argue for the sake of argument. Never show arrogance with your counterparts especially if they hold a different opinion. Do not switch the argument to belittle your opponent’s views. If their mistaken
understanding became evident, do not rebuke or scold them. Be modest and kind. A poet said,
Who could get me a person
When I offend him, his answer will
reflect calmness
Who would listen intently to what I have to say
When he knows it better than I.
SWEARING BY ALLAH
To confirm a statement, many resort to swearing by the name of Allah (SWT) or one of His attribute. This is a bad habit that should be resisted.
The name of Allah should not be used so lightly, and to swear by it is a very serious matter. Allah (SWT) in Sura Al-Nahil says ‘And do not take your oath to practice deception between yourselves, with the result that someone’s foot may slip after it was firmly planted’ Always remember the hadith of the Prophet reported by Bukhari and Muslim ‘ Whoever believe in Allah and the Last Day should say something good or remain silent.’
ANSWERING A QUESTION
If a colleague was asked about something that you know, do not rush to answer. Instead, you ought not to say anything until you are asked. This is a better manner, and a nobler attitude. It generates interest in what you say, while enhancing your respect.
The honourable follower Mujahid Ibn Jabr recalled that Luqman the Wise said to his son: ‘If another person was asked a question, never hasten to give the answer, as if you are going to gain booty or to win a precious prize. By doing so, you will belittle the one who was asked and will offend the inquirer and you will bring the attention of the obnoxious people to your stupidity and ill-manner.’
Sheikh Ibn Batta, a Hanbali scholar, said: ‘I was with Abu ‘Omar Al-Zahid Mohammed ibn ‘Abdul Wahed Al-Baghdadi – the Imam and linguist known also as Ghulam Th’alab. He was asked about an issue. I rushed and answered the inquirer. He turned toward me and asked: ‘Do you recognize an officious character?’ He suggested that I was a nosy person and made me feel very embarrassed.’
from the book ISLAMIC MANNERS
By Shaykh Abdul-Fattaah Abu Ghuddah (RA)
The Manners of Conversation
JUNE 2011 www.AZMuslimVoice.com14 BAZAAR / CLASSIFIED
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JUNE 2011www.AZMuslimVoice.com 15CALENDAR / ANNOUNCEMENTS
Phoenix Prayer TimesJune2011•Jumada Al-Akirah / Rajab 1432 H
ISLAMIC CENTERS IN ARIZONAISLAMIC CENTERS IN ARIZONACOLORING CONTEST FOR KIDS
Hint: If the paper is too thin to color, make a Xerox copy then color it.Ages 3-12, please send a picture of yourself.
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Name: Age: Phone: # June 2011
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Tucson Prayer TimesJune2011•Jumada Al-Akirah / Rajab 1432 H
ISLAMIC WEEKEND SCHOOLSIslamic Community Center of Phoenix: Sunday at 9:45 am-1:20 pm.Islamic Cultural Center: Sunday at 10:00 amMuslim Community Mosque: Sunday at 10:00 am until 2:30 pm.Masjid Omar Saturday & Sunday from 10:00 am until 1:00 pm.ICNEV Weekend Islamic School Tel: (480) 346-2081Classes held on Sunday K thru’ grade 12 from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.ACA Weekend School Sunday 10:00 am-1:15 pm. www.azacademy.org/weekend
Sultan Education in Chandler Saturdays & Sundays - children/adults 480-593-7066Greenway Islamic Academy Tajweed, Islamic Studies, & Arabic Language 602-565-0500
DIRECTIONS TO THE ISLAMIC CULTURALCENTER CEMETERY
IN CASE OF DEATH• Call Sandy at Angel’s Burial, at 480-962-6435
• Total cost is $1,800.00
FROM THE ISLAMIC CULTURAL CENTER (ICC):
1) Go South on Forest to University Drive. Turn right.2) Go West on University to the I-10 highway. Take I-10 East.3) Proceed on I-10 East (~12 Miles). Exit at Queen Creek Rd. (EXIT #164).4) Turn right on route 347 South. Proceed for about 14 miles.5) Turn right on route 238 West. Proceed for about 8.7 miles.6) Turn right on unnamed/unpaved street after you see the street sign which reads “36 miles” and proceed to the cemetery.
Check our website for up to date information
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PHOENIXArizona Cultural Academy 7810S.42ndPl.•Phoenix602-454-1222
Islamic Center of Arizona9032N.9thSt.•Phoenix
Islamic Center of N. Phoenix13246 N. 23rd Ave. 85029602-371-3440
Islamic Comnty Ctr of Phx7516 N. Black Canyon Hwy. Phoenix•602-249-0496
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Masjid Muhammad Ibn Abdullah5648 N. 15th ave.Phoenix,AZ85015602-413-5279
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MARICOPAMasjid Bilal Ibn Rabah44370 W. Arizona Ave. Maricopa Arizona 85138 contact# (602)312-7913
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The Mansion FurnitureThe Mansion Furniture
1727 E. Mc Dowell Rd • Phoenix, AZ 85006 www.themansionfurniture.com
Tel.: (602)253-4727Fax: (602)254-6889
2011
الدليل
for more information602-258-7770
Now you can view the entire directory online at www.myplink.com
2011NOW
Availablein local stores
Banquet Hall
We have Two Convenient Locations:1641 W. Glendale Ave., Suite B | Phoenix, AZ 85021
2210 S. Mill Ave., Suite 2 | Tempe, AZ 85282
(602) 864–6400w w w . D u r k i n O r t h o . c o m
DurkinOrthodontics
“Let us give you the perfect smile. It will open many doors and help change your life.”
Orthodontics for Adults & ChildrenWe also offer General Dentistry
• i-Braces (invisible braces)• Invisalign• Clear Braces• Teeth Whitening• Crowns• Root Canals• Tooth Colored Fillings• Implants• We offer 0% Financing• Payment Plans Available• Most Insurances Accepted• Evening and Saturday Appointments Available
Free Consults
We will match any orthodontic fee quote plus a 10% discount!
We also speak Dari, Hindi, Urdu, & Spanish!
Fazila Durkin, D.D.S., M.S.
3515 W. Thunderbird Rd. • Phoenix, AZ 85053602-942-1950
Mediterranean, European FoodsCulture Clothing - Accessories
Reasonable Prices
HALAL MEAT
11 /
7
11 /
6
Halal meat • Goat meat • Spices Pita • Iraqi breads
