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In the Name of God, the Merciful, the
Compassionate AMERICAN
MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS -
5/31/06* Hadith: Killing of Women and Children Forbidden * CAIR Calls on Rumsfeld to Resign Over Iraq Massacre - U.S. Troops Kill Pregnant Woman in Iraq (AP) * Government Must Reveal Monitoring (NY Times) - Librarians Break Silence in Records Case (NY Times) * UT: LDS Church, Muslims to Aid Indonesia Quake Victims * AZ: Judge Sides with Muslim in Ramadan Scarf Lawsuit * KY: Students Stage Unity Rally as KKK Protests - KKK Uses Prayer Flap as Recruiting Tool * Dow Jones to Launch Islamic Market China Offshore Index - China Detains Children of Muslim Activist (UPI) ----- HADITH OF THE DAY: KILLING OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN FORBIDDEN - TOP The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon) once saw the corpse of a woman who had been killed during a battle. He disapproved of it and forbade the killing of women and children. Al-Muwatta, Volume 21, Hadith 9 To learn more about the life and legacy of the Prophet Muhammad, go to: www.cair.com/Muhammad ----- CAIR CALLS ON RUMSFELD TO RESIGN OVER IRAQ MASSACRE - TOP U.S. Marines allegedly killed 24 Iraqi civilians in 2005 (WASHINGTON, D.C., 5/31/06) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over reports that U.S. Marines killed 24 Iraqi civilians last November in the city of Haditha. Survivors say American troops shot the men, women and children after a bombing killed a Marine on November 19. Media reports indicate that murder charges may be brought against some of the Marines involved in the incident. SEE: Bush Is Troubled by Haditha Reports In its statement, CAIR said: "Throughout history, leaders of military forces have accepted ultimate responsibility for the actions of those under their command. Given the seemingly unending stream of blunders, abuses and unjustified killings on Secretary Rumsfeld's watch, it is time for him to demonstrate in concrete terms that with power, comes accountability. "From the unrestrained post-invasion looting of Iraq, to the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal and the allegations of killings and torture at military detention facilities, Secretary Rumsfeld's flawed policies and lack of judgment have harmed our nation's image worldwide. "We believe Secretary Rumsfeld's resignation, and bringing those involved in the massacre to justice, would send a clear message that America will not tolerate or excuse the kind of atrocities that reportedly took place in Haditha. This stain must be removed from the reputation of America's military personnel." A number of retired generals have similarly called for Secretary Rumsfeld's resignation over his execution of the war in Iraq. Rep. John Murtha (D-PA), a former Marine, said U.S. troops "killed innocent civilians in cold blood" and has called the Haditha massacre a bigger setback to U.S. interests in Iraq than the Abu Ghraib scandal. CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 32 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding. CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] SEE ALSO: U.S. TROOPS KILL PREGNANT WOMAN IN IRAQ - TOP Kim Gamel, Associated Press, 5/31/06 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/3918038.html U.S. forces killed two Iraqi women one of them about to give birth when the troops shot at a car that failed to stop at an observation post in a city north of Baghdad, Iraqi officials and relatives said Wednesday. Nabiha Nisaif Jassim, 35, was being raced to the maternity hospital in Samarra by her brother when the shooting occurred Tuesday. Jassim, the mother of two children, and her 57-year-old cousin, Saliha Mohammed Hassan, were killed by the U.S. forces, according to police Capt. Laith Mohammed and witnesses. (MORE) ----- MAGISTRATE RULES THAT GOVERNMENT MUST REVEAL MONITORING - TOP Nina Bernstein, New York Times, 5/31/06 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/31/nyregion/31monitor.html A federal magistrate in Brooklyn yesterday insisted that government lawyers defending former Attorney General John Ashcroft and other top officials in a lawsuit brought by former immigrant detainees cannot dodge the plaintiffs' persistent and unwelcome question: Are members of the United States trial team and likely witnesses - including Mr. Ashcroft and Robert S. Mueller III, the F.B.I. director - aware of any secret government monitoring of communications between the plaintiffs and their lawyers? "Plaintiffs' effort to learn whether their conversations with their attorneys were monitored by the government is not a mere fishing expedition based on unfounded speculation," the magistrate, Judge Steven M. Gold, wrote in an 11-page decision. The order rejected the government's request that he reconsider a similar order that he made orally on March 7. He noted that "the government's electronic surveillance of individuals suspected of links to terrorism has received widespread publicity and has even been acknowledged by the president of the United States." And he cited findings by the inspector general that on more than 40 occasions, staff members of the Metropolitan Detention Center secretly video-recorded visits between lawyers and Muslim immigrants swept up and detained there after the Sept. 11 attacks, and later deported after being cleared of links to terrorism. (MORE) SEE ALSO: FOUR LIBRARIANS FINALLY BREAK SILENCE IN RECORDS CASE - TOP Alison Leigh Cowan, New York Times, 5/31/06 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/31/nyregion/31library.html Four Connecticut librarians who had been barred from revealing that they had received a request for patrons' records from the federal government spoke out yesterday, expressing frustration about the sweeping powers given to law enforcement authorities by the USA Patriot Act. The librarians took turns at the microphone at their lawyers' office and publicly identified themselves as the collective John Doe who had sued the United States attorney general after their organization received a confidential demand for patron records in a secret counterterrorism case. They had been ordered, under the threat of prosecution, not to talk about the request with anyone. The librarians, who all have leadership roles at a small consortium called Library Connection in Windsor, Conn., said they opposed allowing the government unchecked power to demand library records and were particularly incensed at having been subject to the open-ended nondisclosure order. "I'm John Doe, and if I had told you before today that the F.B.I. was requesting library records, I could have gone to jail," said one of the four, Peter Chase, a librarian from Plainville who is on the executive committee of Library Connection's board. The organization won part of its court fight last week, when a three-judge panel of the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan dismissed the government's appeal and allowed a lower court judge's revocation of the nondisclosure order to stand. But the four librarians say they remain concerned that other provisions of the Patriot Act could deter people from using libraries. (MORE) ----- LDS CHURCH TEAMS UP WITH MUSLIMS TO SEND AID TO INDONESIA QUAKE VICTIMS - TOP http://www.abc4.com/local_news/local_headlines/story.aspx?content_id=C0444678-5B34-42D9-8F3E-724B6E5A6134 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is teaming up with Muslims to get the much-needed medical supplies to earthquake victims in Indonesia. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints joined with Islamic Relief Worldwide, one of the leading humanitarian organizations in the Islamic world. "Good people, when they work together, can make a tremendous difference in this world," said Mokhtar Shawky of Islamic Relief Worldwide. "Were talking about 200,000 people who lost their homes. Were talking about over 5,000 people lost their lives," Shawky said, "The numbers are climbing by the minute." "It was great that we were able to do it so fast, and I'm sure this is going to save a lot of lives," said LDS church spokesperson Garry Flake. Government officials are calling Sundays quake one of the worst to ever hit Indonesia. The 6.3 magnitude quake killed thousands and left tens of thousands homeless. Now, the toughest barrier to overcome is that the victims need aid urgently. The LDS church has an ongoing warehouse of disaster relief goods-materials readily available for quick response. "What you see today going out is very, very critical first aid, essential items that are needed for the injured," said Flake. More than eight semi-trucks and a 747 cargo jet were loaded with items including first-aid supplies, ward clothing, canes, and hygiene kits. To contribute to the emergency response effort, visit www.ldsphilanthropies.com ----- JUDGE SIDES WITH MUSLIM IN RAMADAN SCARF LAWSUIT - TOP Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services, 5/31/06 http://www.azstarnet.com/business/131448 PHOENIX - A national car rental firm illegally discriminated against a Muslim woman in the wake of 9/11 by refusing to let her wear a scarf during the holy month of Ramadan, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver rejected arguments by Alamo Rent-A-Car that it could not exempt Bilan Nur from its corporate dress code. Silver said the company made no efforts to reasonably accommodate Nur's beliefs and failed to show that making any accommodations would have caused the company undue hardships. In fact, Silver noted that the company's regional manager admitted under questioning that the only hardship Alamo might suffer is the image that the firm has with customers. Nur's claim was among the first filed by EEOC dealing with anti-Muslim discrimination after the terrorist attacks. Silver's ruling means that the only issue to be determined is how much the company will need to pay the woman, who has since left Arizona. Mary Jo O'Neill, regional attorney for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which filed suit on Nur's behalf, said her agency is seeking lost pay, other compensatory damages and punitive damages. O'Neill said the commission is seeking a punitive award because the evidence shows that the decision to deny Nur the right to wear a head scarf was not made solely by the manager of the Phoenix office where she worked. O'Neill said this decision went to corporate offices as well as the firm's attorney. "They should have known" about the requirements of federal law, O'Neill said. A spokesman for Alamo refused to comment, saying the litigation is still an open issue. O'Neill said there is a link: She said Nur, who had worked for Alamo since 1999, had been allowed to wear a scarf during Ramadan in two prior years. It was only during Ramadan of 2001 -three months after the attacks - that Nur was told she could not wear a scarf while waiting on customers. O'Neill said Nur even offered to wear an Alamo scarf but was rebuffed. She eventually was fired. (MORE) ----- KY: STUDENTS STAGE UNITY RALLY AS KKK PROTESTS - TOP Incensed by Klan's Message, They Stand Up for Diversity Cassondra Kirby, Lexington Herald Leader, 5/31/06 http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/14703870.htm A community's effort to deal with the divisive issue of prayer at Shelby County High School's graduation later this week spilled into the streets yesterday after the Ku Klux Klan and a group of senior students held opposing protests. Although the student body has split over a Muslim student's complaint about traditional prayers originally scheduled for Friday's graduation, they united after a member of the KKK disparaged the student and the school's decision to have no official prayer. More than 40 seniors gathered across from the Shelby County courthouse to support diversity and togetherness. Earlier, some students cursed and yelled obscenities at Michael Hibbs, a member of the Louisville-based KKK Unit 1771, who stood just outside the high school while protesting. "These heathens come over here from whatever third-world country they come from and they've got the nerve to tell people how to live," said Hibbs, who answered each taunt with a Hitler salute. "If they want to come here and be free, they can come here and be free. But they aren't going to come here and tell us how to live." Hibbs said he hopes to intimidate Muslim students and others who are against the "Christian principles this country was founded on." He called the American Civil Liberties Union, which had threatened a lawsuit if the high school endorses prayer at the graduation, a joke. Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled in favor of an ACLU petition to block prayer at the Russell County High School graduation. The ACLU was representing an anonymous student. In Shelbyville, students are passionately divided on the issue of prayer, but many said they were appalled yesterday by Hibbs' presence and his message of hate. SEE ALSO: KKK USES PRAYER FLAP AS RECRUITING TOOL - TOP Mark Hebert, 5/30/06 http://www.whas11.com/topstories/stories/WHAS11_TOP_KKKSchoolPrayerFlap.3a370d37.html The Ku Klux Klan is using the graduation prayer controversy at Shelby County High School as an attempt to recruit new members. A single Klansman from Louisville showed up with a sign at the high school Tuesday. About two dozen Shelby County High School seniors chanted in front of the courthouse their message to the Ku Klux Klan. "A lot of people support being Christian but personally I don't think we agree with anything the KKK has to stand for," said Nadine Delarosa. The Klan's visible turnout in Shelby County Tuesday -- one Michael Hibbs of Louisville, who showed up in front of Shelby County High School, protesting the school board's decision to honor one student's request to ban organized prayer from the graduation ceremony. "Diversity is the god of Satan. That's what he worships. Anybody is welcome in his church. All false religions and homosexuals," said Hibbs. "I'm here to protest. This is a Christian nation. It was founded upon Christian principles. These people from these other countries come over here with their fake religions, their strapping bomb to theirself religions, they come here wanting freedom, they get to this country and what do they do? They wanna tell you and me how to live, people who've lived here our whole life for generations back." One woman stopped to ask Hibbs how he could hate and call himself a Christian. Another applauded him. Hibbs left as soon as our camera did, but stopped to put KKK fliers on windshields in Shelbyville: The Muslim student who successfully challenged the idea of a graduation prayer was pleased to see a group of classmates fighting back. "We all have different opinions on the graduation prayer issues but we're here united to say we believe in unity and we believe in tolerance and we're going to unify whether the KKK wants us to or not," said Arshiya Saiyed. (MORE) ----- DOW JONES INDEXES TO LAUNCH DOW JONES ISLAMIC MARKET CHINA OFFSHORE INDEX - TOP Primezone, 5/31/06 http://au.biz.yahoo.com/060531/21/qh4k.html NEW YORK, May 31, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, today announced that it will expand its Dow Jones Islamic Market Index series by launching the Dow Jones Islamic Market China Offshore Index. The Dow Jones Islamic Market China Offshore Index represents companies that have been screened for compliance with Islamic principles and whose primary operations are in mainland China but trade at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq or American Stock Exchange. Stocks included in the index are H shares, red chips, ADR/ADS and Chinese stocks listed in the U.S. The Dow Jones Islamic Market China Offshore Index is designed to serve as underlying for investment products such as mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other investable products. "The Dow Jones Islamic Market China Offshore Index offers market participants exposure to an investable and Shari'ah compliant index that follows the superior methodology of the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes," said Michael A. Petronella, president of Dow Jones Indexes. "While China has experienced tremendous growth, the local Chinese market offers only restricted access to foreign investors. Investing in China offshore stocks is an attractive alternative." The Dow Jones Islamic Market China Offshore Index is weighted by free-float market capitalization and will be reviewed quarterly in March, June, September and December. Historical index values are available daily back to Dec. 31, 2005. The base value of the index is set at 1,000 as of that date. (MORE) Further information about the Dow Jones Islamic Market China Offshore Index, as well as about the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes, is available at www.djindexes.com Journalists may e-mail questions regarding this press release to [EMAIL PROTECTED] or contact Dow Jones Indexes/STOXX press office: New York: +1-212-597-5720. SEE ALSO: CHINA DETAINS CHILDREN OF MUSLIM ACTIVIST - TOP United Press International, 5/31/06 http://news.monstersandcritics.com/asiapacific/article_1168264.php/China_detains_children_of_Muslim_activist Chinese Muslim activist Rebiya Kadeer, freed from prison and sent to the United States last year, said her three children have been arrested in China. Kadeer's two sons and her daughter, all adults, were taken into custody on Monday, the BBC reported Wednesday. The activist said they were detained to prevent them from speaking to a U.S. Congressional delegation that is visiting China's northwest province of Xinjiang, where most of China's Muslim Uighur minority live. Kadeer called for the immediate release of her children. Kadeer, a businesswoman once held up as a model for the Uighur minority, was jailed in 2000 for revealing "state secrets" after she sent newspaper clippings abroad. She was released after U.S. authorities intervened on her behalf. In the United States she has campaigned for the rights of the 8 million Uighurs still living in China's northwest. China has accused her of supporting separatists, as some Uighurs want to establish an independent Islamic state which they call East Turkestan. ----- CAIR Council on American-Islamic Relations 453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20003 Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726 Fax: 202-488-0833 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] URL: http://www.cair-net.org ----- To reach the list moderator, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/ __._,_.___ *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recommended: http://www.islamonline.net http://www.islam-guide.com http://www.prophetmuhammadforall.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest".
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