|
Chronology of Islam in America (2007)
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
October 2007
McCain: No Muslim president, U.S. better with Christian one
Oct 1: Arab and Muslim organizations have expressed dismay at the comments from Presidential hopeful Senator John McCain who said that the United States is a Christian nation and that his Christian faith is of better spiritual guidance than Islam. In response to a question from Beliefnet.com about the possibility of a Muslim presidential candidate, the Arizona senator said: "I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles, that's a decision the American people would have to make, but personally, I prefer someone who I know who has a solid grounding in my faith." After the interview was posted McCain clarified his remarks saying he would, "vote for a Muslim if he or she was the candidate best able to lead the country and defend our political values." (AMP Report)
Jews and Muslims join to oppose McCain remarks
Oct 1: Jewish groups lined up with Arab and Muslim organizations today to hammer Sen. John McCain for calling the U.S. a “Christian nation” that should have a Christian President. McCain’s remarks were “disappointing and disturbing to say the least,” said Abraham Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League. He called on the Arizona Republican to retract them. The American Jewish Committee also challenged McCain’s statements to the religion and faith Web site Beliefnet in which he said that while he wouldn’t rule out a non-Christian President, a Christian is preferable because, “I just feel that that’s an important part of our qualifications to lead.” James Zogby, head of the Arab American Institute, charged that McCain was following other GOP presidential hopefuls in pandering to the religious right. “They’re jumping all over each other to be the most Christian candidate,” Zogby said. He called McCain “Cheney without the nuance.” (New York Daily News)
U.S. House passes historic Ramadan resolution
Oct 2: The U.S. House of Representative, in a historic move, today passed a resolution commemorating Ramadan. The resolution, that marks a milestone in the history of Muslims in America, was introduced by Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and co-sponsored by 30 legislators, including Representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota. Ellison is the first Muslim to be elected to the U.S. Congress. The House of Representatives: (1) recognizes the Islamic faith as one of the great religions of the world;(2) expresses friendship and support for Muslims in the United States and worldwide; (3) acknowledges the onset of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and spiritual renewal, and conveys its respect to Muslims in the United States and throughout the world on this occasion; (4) rejects hatred, bigotry, and violence directed against Muslims, both in the United States and worldwide; and (5) commends Muslims in the United States and across the globe who have privately and publicly rejected interpretations and movements of Islam that justify and encourage hatred, violence, and terror. The resolution was approved by a vote of 376-0. 224 Democrats and 152 Republicans voted for the resolution. One Democrat, Mike McIntyre from North Carolina (NC-7) and 41 Republicans abstained from voting. (AMP Report)
Ramadan added to Illinois school's holidays
Oct 2: Dozens of parents said at an Oak Lawn school board (Illinois) meeting tonight that while they're happy to have a student body of varying religions, they want to keep celebrating what they say are traditional American holidays and customs. That doesn't mean they aren't open to observing other religions' holidays, the parents told the Ridgeland School District 122 board, which was looking at its policies concerning religious teachings and observances. At issue is whether Christian holidays, such as Christmas, should be celebrated now that Muslim children make up about 30 percent of district pupils. After meeting for 2 1/2 hours in a closed session, board members decided to keep the district's Christmas and Halloween parties and add a Ramadan celebration. (Chicago Tribune)
Building God's (Christian) Army: Are U.S. troops being force-fed Christianity?
Oct 4: The Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), a watchdog group alleges that improper evangelizing is occurring within the ranks. Last month, a soldier and the MRFF filed suit against Army Maj. Freddy Welborn and US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, charging violations of Hall's constitutional rights, including being forced to submit to a religious test to qualify as a soldier. The MRFF plans more lawsuits in coming weeks, says Michael "Mikey" Weinstein, who founded the military watchdog group in 2005. He charges that several incidents in recent years -- and more than 5,000 complaints his group has received from active-duty and retired military personnel -- point to a growing willingness inside the military to support a particular brand of Christianity and to permit improper evangelizing in the ranks. Weinstein insists that there are improper actions at high levels that not only infringe on soldiers' rights but, at a very dangerous time, also send the wrong message to people in the Middle East that those in the US military see themselves engaged in Christian warfare. For example, he says, Lt. Gen. William Boykin, who gave speeches at churches while in uniform that disparaged Islam and defined the war on terror in fundamentalist, "end times" terms, was not fired but promoted. (Speaking of a Muslim warlord he had pursued, Lt. Gen. Boykin said, "I knew my God was a real God and his was an idol." And our enemies "will only be defeated if we come against them in the name of Jesus.") (Christian Science Monitor)
ISNA’s first president Ilyas Ba-Yunus passed away
Oct 5: Dr. Ilyas Ba-Yunus (1932-2007), a pioneering Muslim American sociologist, a founding member of Muslim Students Association (MSA) and the first president of Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), passed away on Oct. 5 in Miami, Florida. Ba-Yunus, born in Aurangabad, Hyderabad, was a 1960 Fulbright scholar at the University of Minnesota, where he completed an MA in geography. He then went on to earn an MA in sociology (University of Illinois) and a Ph.D. in sociology (Oklahoma State University). Over the years, he established standards for studying Muslim Americans. In 1972, Ba-Yunus settled into his career, teaching at the State University of New York at Cortland as a tenured professor until his retirement in 2003. As ISNA’s first president (1983-85), he oversaw the organization’s earliest growth and formative periods while living at the headquarters in Plainfield, IN. Since then, he served on its Majlis al-Shura board in various capacities, most recently as the chairman of the Islamic Media Foundation (IMF). He also started the ISNA Matrimonial Referral Service, which emerged directly out of his research on divorce among the Muslim community in North America.(ISNA)
Jews, Muslims meet to discuss their faiths
Oct 5: Sometimes it takes a coincidence to spark a good idea. That's why a group of Jews and Muslims gathered this evening at the Ann Arbor (Michigan) home of Aaron and Aura Ahuvia to pray, break bread and learn about what their faiths have in common. The coincidence was the starting dates this year of one of the holiest days of the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashanah (or the Jewish New Year), and Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting and spiritual reflection. Ramadan started on Sept. 13. The celebration of Rosh Hashanah started on Sept. 12, followed by Yom Kippur Sept. 22. We wanted to jointly have something together since it's the peak spiritual season for both our faiths,'' said Dawud Walid of Detroit, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Michigan, who attended the gathering. Both groups offered prayers Friday, and Muslims at the gathering broke the fast they had been keeping since before sunrise. (Ann Arbor News)
Muslims seek 'safe' charities for giving
Oct 5: Recent heightened scrutiny of Islamic charities by federal officials is running headlong into the determination of Muslims to donate to causes that serve the neediest and to abide by their holy book, the Quran. As fears intensify, community leaders have called on the government to create guidelines for safe contributions. As for establishing charities that clearly do not benefit terrorists, many Muslims say they believe they have -- but the periodic raids have made donors leery. Two long-established organizations -- Al-Mabarrat and Life for Relief & Development -- were targets of federal raids in the past year. Until then, many Muslims had considered them highly reliable, and because neither charity is banned by the federal government, contributing to either of them remains legal. Nonetheless, many Muslims say they fear donating to them. Many Muslims, especially those of Arab descent, believe that people in Gaza, the West Bank and southern Lebanon are among those most in need of their assistance. But Hamas and Hezbollah -- declared terrorist groups by the United States -- dominate the government and social services in those regions, and charitable contributions are deemed far too risky -- even if local Muslims fly into the areas with cash and hand it to someone they know, as some do. Kenwah Dabajah (a Dearborn resident), once supported an orphan in the Middle East. "The name of the orphan was Rana al-Zarqawi, and I just thought: Oh, great!" said Dabajah, who stopped giving for fear of a perceived connection to the dead insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. (The Detroit News)
More districts closing on Muslim holidays in New Jersey
Oct 7: In Paterson, there has been no school on Rosh Hashana or Yom Kippur for years. But now the schools are also closed on the Muslim holidays of Eid al-Fitr (the end of the month of fasting for Ramadan) and Eid al-Adha (the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca). Prospect Park schools generally close for the first and last days of Ramadan and Eid al-Adha. Atlantic City added two Muslim holidays to its school calendar in the last three years. And this year, for the first time, Cliffside Park will close Thursday to observe the end of Ramadan. With significant demographic changes taking place in many communities, school officials struggle annually with the school calendar. The movement toward Muslim holidays is small but growing in New Jersey. The shift to Muslim holidays is not widespread in the region, despite sizable Muslim populations in some cities. The school board associations on Long Island and in Connecticut and Westchester said they knew of no districts that closed for Muslim holidays. But New Jersey, with a Muslim population estimated at 400,000, has been different. Districts like Paterson probably have thousands of Muslim students, said Hani Y. Awadallah, a chemistry professor at Montclair State University and president of the 10-year-old Arab American Civic Organization. “This is really a trend that is taking off,” Dr. Awadallah said of the school holidays. “I think you will see this across the country.” (New York Times)
4 CAIR clients gain citizenship following delays
Oct 8: The Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations announced today that four of its clients have recently been sworn in as citizens following lengthy delays. By law, the time between the final steps of the immigration process and naturalization should be no more than 120 days. However, even after successfully going through the standard process, an increasing number of cases are delayed for as long as three years. Government officials say that heightened security measures have led to a longer, more complex immigration and naturalization procedure. One of CAIR-Chicago's clients applied for citizenship in December 2004. Although he was a U.S. resident for six years and successfully completed the naturalization interview and passed the exam, his application was delayed for almost three years beyond the 120 day mark. In a similar case, about two years after successful completion of the citizenship exam in early 2004, another client turned to CAIR-Chicago. A case was filed on his behalf, followed by settlement negotiations with opposing council. The case was resolved on September 25, 2007. Soon after, on September 28, a third CAIR-Chicago client was sworn in after a similar delay of about two years. (CAIR Bulletin)
Carter says U.S. tortures prisoners
Oct 10: The United States tortures prisoners in violation of international law, former President Carter said today. "I don't think it. I know it," Carter told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "Our country for the first time in my life time has abandoned the basic principle of human rights," Carter said. "We've said that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to those people in Abu Ghraib prison and Guantanamo, and we've said we can torture prisoners and deprive them of an accusation of a crime to which they are accused." Carter also said President Bush creates his own definition of human rights. Carter's comments come on the heels of an October 4 article in The New York Times disclosing the existence of secret Justice Department memorandums supporting the use of "harsh interrogation techniques." These include "head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures," according to the Times. The White House last week confirmed the existence of the documents but would not make them public. Responding to the newspaper report Friday, Bush defended the techniques used, saying, "This government does not torture people." Asked about Bush's comments, Carter said, "That's not an accurate statement if you use the international norms of torture as has always been honored -- certainly in the last 60 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was promulgated. "But you can make your own definition of human rights and say we don't violate them, and you can make your own definition of torture and say we don't violate them." (CNN)
Continued on page II
|
