-----Original Message----- From: CAIR [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2004 5:19 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: CAIR-NET: Nader vs. the ADL/New Film May Stereotype Muslims In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful AMERICAN MUSLIM NEWS BRIEFS - 8/12/04 * VERSE OF THE DAY: INVITE TO GOD'S PATH WITH WISDOM * CAIR JOB OPENING: CIVIL RIGHTS COORDINATOR * NADER VS. THE ADL (Wash Post) * FILM ON CRUSADES MAY STEREOTYPE MUSLIMS (NY Times) - Film on Gaza: Land of Lost Lives (Wash Post) * IL: COALITION OFFERS MUSLIMS LEGAL ADVICE * TODAY IRAQ, TOMORROW IRAN (Salon.com) - U.S. on Sensitive Ground in Najaf (LA Times) - GIs In Iraq: Why Are We Here? (Boston Globe) - Bombing of Kut Kills 84 (Turkish Press) * MI: JUSTICE DISPUTES KEY TERROR CASE EVIDENCE (AP) - U.S. Nears Deal to Free Hamdi (Wash Post) - The Hamdi Back Flip (Wash Post) - Behind Media Reports on Al-Arian Case (WP) * FL OFFICIALS LEARN SENSITIVITY TO MUSLIMS, ARABS, SIKHS - Canadian Muslim Student Threatened (G&M) * PROFESSOR PUTS QURAN IN MODERN-DAY ENGLISH (AP) * MUSLIMS FACE PERSECUTION IN IVORY COAST (AP) ----- VERSE OF THE DAY: INVITE TO GOD'S PATH WITH WISDOM "Invite (all mankind) unto thy Sustainer's path with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and argue with them in the most kindly manner. For, behold, thy Sustainer knows best who strays from His path...Hence, if you have to respond to an attack (in argument), respond only to the extent of the attack leveled against you. But to bear yourselves with patience is indeed far better for (you, since God is with) those who are patient in adversity." The Holy Quran, 16:125-126 ----- CAIR JOB OPENING: CIVIL RIGHTS COORDINATOR CAIR has an immediate opening for an experienced dynamic person to fill the position of Civil Rights Coordinator. The position involves handling of civil rights cases, doing research on issues pertaining to civil and religious rights in America, maintaining a civil rights data base system, and generating reports, charts and graphs. Candidates should have a Bachelor degree in a related field with general knowledge of the US Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. All those interested and eligible to work in US (Citizens or proper work visa holders) are encouraged to apply in confidence via email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED], or by fax 202 488 0833. When applying via email please ensure to write the position title "Civil Rights Coordinator" in the subject of the email. Please send your application with cover letter and complete resume and references by August 27th, 2004. Absolutely no phone calls please. ----- NADER VS. THE ADL Brian Faler, Washington Post, 8/12/04 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58007-2004Aug11.html Ralph Nader, that master of controversy, has a new bete noire: the Anti-Defamation League. The independent presidential candidate has become embroiled in an ugly exchange with the Jewish organization, after he suggested that President Bush and Congress were "puppets" of the Israeli government. "The days when the chief Israeli puppeteer comes to the United States and meets with the puppet in the White House and then proceeds to Capitol Hill, where he meets with hundreds of other puppets, should be replaced," Nader said earlier this summer. That prompted an angry letter from the league, which complained that the "image of the Jewish state as a 'puppeteer,' controlling the powerful US Congress feeds into many age-old stereotypes which have no place in legitimate public discourse." Nader is not backing down. In a letter to the group that will be released today, he reiterated his arguments, challenged the league to cite a recent example of when American leaders have pursued a policy opposed by the Israeli government and pointed to Israeli peace groups that he said share his criticism of that country's leadership. "There is far more freedom in the media, in town squares and among citizens, soldiers, elected representatives and academicians in Israel to debate and discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than there is in the United States," Nader wrote� ----- FILM ON CRUSADES COULD BECOME HOLLYWOOD'S NEXT BATTLEGROUND Sharon Waxman, New York Times, 8/12/04 http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/12/movies/12crus.html LOS ANGELES - With bloody images of Muslims and Westerners battling in Iraq and elsewhere on the nightly news, it may seem like odd timing to unveil a big-budget Hollywood epic depicting the ferocious fight between Christians and Muslims over Jerusalem in the Crusade of the 12th century. But 20th Century Fox is planning a release next year for "Kingdom of Heaven," a $130 million production by the Oscar-nominated director Ridley Scott, shot in Morocco with hundreds of extras, horses and elaborate costumes. The script, by William Monahan, is based on real characters of the three-century Crusades, including Balian of Ibelin, a Crusader knight who led the defense of Jerusalem in 1187, and the Muslim leader Saladin, who defeated him. While the studio has tried to emphasize the romance and thrilling action, some religious scholars and interfaith activists who were provided a copy of the script by The New York Times questioned the wisdom of a big Hollywood movie about an ancient religious conflict when many people believe those conflicts have been reignited in a modern context� The Rev. George Dennis, a Jesuit priest and a history professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, who was one of five experts provided with the script for "Kingdom of Heaven," said he was impressed by its nuance and accuracy. "Historically I found it pretty accurate," he said. "I can't think of any objections from the Christian side. And I don't think Muslims should have any objections. There's nothing offensive to anyone in there, I don't think." But Khaled Abu el-Fadl, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who studies Islamic law, vehemently disagreed, calling the screenplay offensive and a replay of historic Hollywood stereotypes of Arabs and Muslims. "I believe this movie teaches people to hate Muslims," he said. "There is a stereotype of the Muslim as constantly stupid, retarded, backward, unable to think in complex forms. It's really annoying at an intellectual level, and it really misrepresents history on many levels." Mr. Fadl argued that the movie would reinforce negative attitudes toward Muslims in America. "In this climate how are people going to react to these images of Muslims attacking churches and tearing down the cross and mocking it?" he asked. ALSO SEE: GAZA, LAND OF LOST LIVES: AN UNBLINKING LOOK AT THE COST OF CONFLICT Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 8/12/04 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58408-2004Aug11.html On HBO tonight, you can watch a 14-year-old boy die. When we first see Salem al-Shaer, in the documentary "Death in Gaza," he is being taken from an ambulance, still conscious, still able to raise his head. In the hospital, doctors roll him over, revealing blood-soaked sheets, and find a bullet wound in his back. He was shot, we're told, after throwing stones at an Israeli bulldozer. "I can't bear it," he says, crying as the doctors implore him not to move. He dies six hours later and is buried, by hand, in a sandy grave in the Gaza Strip. His death is celebrated as another martyrdom in the resistance against Israeli occupation. It's a waste, an infuriating waste of a child, and an almost unbearable several minutes in this unbearably wrenching film. It might feel voyeuristic, a boy dying as cameraman James Miller moves in close to record it all -- the physical pain of the young man, the emotional pain of his mother, the exhaustion and tempered anger visible in the faces of the doctors -- but for one thing. Miller himself is killed shortly after he filmed this scene, also by an Israeli bullet, also in Gaza. Not showing Salem's death would have turned this into a movie about the movie maker, the risks he took and the consequences he suffered. Showing it, on the other hand, both justifies those risks and gives the title -- "Death in Gaza" -- a broader, sadder, more encompassing meaning� ----- AS FBI LAUNCHES NEW ROUND OF QUESTIONING, LEGAL COALITION MOBILIZES TO OFFER LEGAL ADVICE TO ARABS AND MUSLIMS CHICAGO -- A coalition of Chicago-area legal organizations today opened a telephone hotline for Arabs and Muslims designated for surveillance and questioning by federal law enforcement authorities in a new round of interviews underway across the country. FBI Director Robert Mueller and Attorney General John Ashcroft recently announced their intent to direct a series of dragnet-like interviews involving individuals from the Muslim and Arab community across the United States. Individuals designated for an interview by the FBI who wish to contact a volunteer lawyer can call the ACLU of Illinois hotline at 800-572-1092 or the Muslim Civil Rights Center hotline at 866-440-6272. The plan for questioning Muslims and Arabs is reminiscent of programs conducted by the Justice Department in late 2001 and 2002, in which the Department attempted to locate and interview eight thousand (8,000) Arabs and Muslims without any indication that these individuals had any information that might be helpful in the fight against terrorism. The series of interviews never resulted in a single arrest. Rather, the process created distrust and fear throughout immigrant communities. The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, the Chicago Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, the Muslim Bar Association and the Muslim Civil Rights Center announced that they would again join together to provide basic legal information and representation -- at no cost -- to any Muslim or Arab who requested such assistance in the Chicago area. "People targeted for investigation are undoubtedly in need of legal counsel," said Harvey Grossman, legal director for the ACLU of Illinois in announcing the formation of the coalition. "It is in the highest tradition of the American bar that these organizations and attorneys step forward and offer their services without compensation to these individuals. In so doing, these attorneys also fulfill our fundamental constitutional values." "MCRC's collaboration with the ACLU and other groups will greatly benefit the area Muslims and Arabs who are concerned about being approached by law enforcement agents and need legal representation during questioning," said MCRC President Rasheed Ahmed. The coalition will provide lawyers with a broad range of experience across the Chicago area who will offer legal services pro bono to persons contacted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or other law enforcement agencies acting on behalf of the federal government, in connection with the nationwide investigation CONTACT: Edwin C. Yohnka of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, 312-201-9740, ext. 305 or 847-687-1129 (cell), [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- TODAY IRAQ, TOMORROW IRAN Martin Sieff, Salon, 8/11/04 http://salon.com/opinion/feature/2004/08/11/iran/index.html These must be strange days to be a neoconservative: caught between exultant hope and wild terror; utterly discredited, yet still securely in power; proven totally wrong on Iraq, yet still determined to believe against all odds that one more wild throw of the dice will recoup all. To the casual observer, the neocons in the Bush administration and their impeccably drilled and regulated cheering section across the commanding heights of the U.S. broadcast and print media have been routed. Since the hand-over of power to the interim Iraqi government, the media have for the most part turned their sensitive faces away from Iraq, giving the public the false sense that it is becoming quiet there. The 138,000 U.S. troops still bogged down in Iraq know better, even if Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz can't recall before a congressional committee just how many Americans have died: Fifty-four were killed in July, a significant rise from the 42 who died in June, the month before the hand-over; and the total in August already looks as if it will exceed that in July. But the perception that the neocons -- including Wolfowitz, Richard Perle and Douglas Feith -- have been routed, or are in retreat, could not be further from the truth. They are as firmly in control of the levers of real power in the government as they were in the yearlong, synchronized buildup to their war in Iraq. Not a single National Security Council or Pentagon official who eagerly rode the bandwagon for the war has been fired. Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, and aide John Hannah continue to enjoy the full confidence of the vice president. In the media, it is the same story. Rupert Murdoch has not suffered a sudden fit of shame and forced William Kristol to relinquish control of the Weekly Standard. Time magazine and the Washington Post have not shown one iota of embarrassment that they continue to provide a platform for columnist Charles Krauthammer, whose histrionics have now ascended into a call for our next "preemptive" war -- this time with Iran. If that happens, of course, hundreds, probably many thousands, of young Americans will pay with their lives for a new wave of appalling bungles. And if the past is prologue, no neocon in government should ever expect to lose a job. None of these characters (like the president) has said as much as an "I am sorry" or "I was mistaken" over their major assumptions and assertions about Iraq, every one of which has been proved wrong. They have shown no capacity whatsoever for self-criticism, so it is not surprising that they do not seem interested in self-correction that might prevent a repeat of their policy catastrophes� ALSO SEE: WORLD'S SHIITES WARN THAT U.S. IS TREADING ON SENSITIVE GROUND Henry Chu and Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times, 8/12/04 http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/la-fg-mosque12aug12,1,392409.st ory BAGHDAD- With its twin minarets and glinting gold dome, the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf has been a beacon for the Muslim faithful for more than a thousand years. But with fighting raging around the Iraqi shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam is reprising a different historical role: rallying point against foreign forces. In 1920, rebels intent on kicking out British troops occupying the region gathered at the mosque and readied for revolt. Among their leaders was Sayyid Mohammed Sadr - the scion of a prominent Shiite family and a future prime minister. Eighty-four years later, cleric Muqtada Sadr, one of Sadr's descendants, wants the U.S. military out. All eyes are once again trained on the shrine, where a final showdown between Muqtada Sadr's militia and American troops may yet take place. "Keep fighting even if you see me detained or martyred," Sadr said Wednesday to his armed followers, many of whom are holed up in the shrine. "I thank the dear fighters all over Iraq for what they have done to set back injustice." With U.S. military officials saying they have received permission from Najaf's governor to strike the mosque if necessary, religious and political leaders from Iran to Los Angeles are voicing grave warnings that an American assault on the shrine could be catastrophic to the U.S. image in Iraq and the Muslim world. "The United States is slaughtering the people of one of the holiest Islamic cities, and the Muslim world and the Iraqi nation will not stand by," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of neighboring Iran, said in an address on Iranian state television. Three major American Muslim organizations also issued statements Wednesday calling for negotiations to end the conflict... --- GIS IN IRAQ ARE ASKING: WHY ARE WE HERE? Anne Barnard, Boston Globe, 8/12/04 http://www.iht.com/articles/533600.html RAMADI - Four months into their tour of duty at one of the most dangerous American bases in Iraq, young marines say the slow pace of progress is shaking their faith in their mission. Playing cards one recent evening while on call to respond to any sudden outburst of violence, Lance Corporal David Goward and the rest of his squad voiced two growing concerns: that the U.S. military would linger here indefinitely and that the troops' very presence was provoking the fighting it was meant to stop. They are ready for any battle, they said, but a pervasive sense that Iraqis do not want their help has killed their enthusiasm for the larger goals of introducing democracy and rebuilding the country. "I don't think any of us even care what happens to this country," Goward said, as a half-dozen marines, all stationed here in the capital of the restive Anbar Province, nodded in agreement. "I'm here to make sure these guys get home safely. And they're here to make sure I do." Senior Marine Corps and Army commanders in this Sunni Muslim region west of Baghdad, an area they say must be tamed for the new U.S.-$ backed Iraqi government to succeed, repeatedly cautioned a reporter that junior-level troops did not see the big picture. Grunts don't hear Anbar's governor asking the United States not to leave, the senior officers said. They don't see Iraqi officials shouldering new responsibilities; they don't see Iraqi police doing a better job on the outskirts of Ramadi, the provincial capital, than they do in the more anti-American downtown� --- US BOMBING OF IRAQI CITY OF KUT KILLS 84, WOUNDS 176: HOSPITAL Ali al-Alaak, Turkish Press, 8/12/04 http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpress/news.asp?ID=24333 KUT - Heavy overnight US bombing of Kut killed 84 people and wounded nearly 180 others, a day after clashes between Iraqi police and Shiite militiamen in the southern city, a hospital official said Thursday. "There were 84 people killed and 176 wounded," said Qassim al-Mayahi, head of Al-Zahra hospital in Kut, although the health ministry said earlier that 75 people were killed in the bombing and 148 wounded. Many of the dead and wounded were women and children, said another official at the hospital... ----- JUSTICE DISPUTES KEY TERROR CASE EVIDENCE Sarah Karush and John Solomon, Associated Press, 8/12/04 http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040811_2073.html The Bush administration's already troubled case against an accused terror cell in Detroit is being dealt another blow with revelations that a witness came forward after the trial to undercut a key piece of video evidence presented to jurors. Lawyers and Justice Department officials said Wednesday night that a man shown in a videotape of landmarks in New York, Las Vegas and California has told investigators the tape was an amateur film and not surveillance as prosecutors portrayed at the trial of four suspected terrorists. The witness interview was conducted in January, months after the trial in Detroit ended, and was turned over this summer to defense lawyers. It could deal a significant blow to the Bush administration's first major terror prosecution since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The Justice Department is nearing completion of a monthslong review of prosecutors' conduct during the case, and a judge will rule on a defense request to reverse the convictions of three men. ``During the course of this review, information has come to the government's attention that we were obligated to turn over the defense, and we did so,'' Justice spokesman Mark Corallo said Wednesday night. ``The review is ongoing and at the end of the day, the government will do the right thing based on the facts and the evidence.'' Though both sides have known about the witness interview for some time, they were precluded from disclosing it because of a judge's gag order. Both sides confirmed it Wednesday after the judge lifted the gag order because one of the original prosecutors in the case, Richard Convertino, granted an interview to The Associated Press this week� ALSO SEE: U.S. NEARS DEAL TO FREE ENEMY COMBATANT HAMDI Thomas E. Ricks and Jerry Markon, Washington Post, 08/12/04 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58002-2004Aug11.html The U.S. government, which has held Yaser Esam Hamdi incommunicado in a Navy brig for two years without charges, much of the time without a lawyer, indicated yesterday that it is nearing a deal that would free him altogether. The government is negotiating with Hamdi's lawyers about "terms and conditions acceptable to both parties that would allow Mr. Hamdi to be released from . . . custody," according to documents filed in federal court in Norfolk. The legal papers, submitted jointly by federal prosecutors and Hamdi's attorneys, asked the court to stay all proceedings for 21 days while negotiations continue. Terms of the release are still being hammered out but, according to people familiar with the situation, are likely to include that Hamdi renounce his U.S. citizenship, move to Saudi Arabia and accept some travel restrictions, as well as some monitoring by Saudi officials. In addition, he may have to agree not to sue the federal government over whether his civil rights were violated. U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar in Norfolk has yet to rule on the request for a stay. Hamdi was captured alongside pro-Taliban forces on the battlefield in northern Afghanistan in November 2001 and taken to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There he told investigators that he was born in Louisiana to Saudi parents. He subsequently spent most of his life in Saudi Arabia, but his family said he never renounced his U.S. citizenship. Hamdi was moved to the Navy jail at Charleston, S.C., in April 2002 and has been held there since as an enemy combatant. The government has not charged him. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that as a U.S. citizen, Hamdi must have access to the U.S. legal system. All of the justices except Clarence Thomas rejected the Bush administration's contention that the federal courts could exercise no supervision over such a case. "We have long since made clear that a state of war is not a blank check for the President when it comes to the rights of the Nation's citizens," Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote in a passage of the ruling that seemed to summarize the dominant view of the court. The indication that Hamdi might be released soon is "a huge embarrassment for the administration," said Michael Greenberger, a Justice Department official in the Clinton administration who is now a law professor at the University of Maryland� --- THE HAMDI BACK FLIP Washington Post, 8/12/04 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58314-2004Aug11.html Ever since the military brought Yaser Esam Hamdi to American shores 2 1/2 years ago, the government has argued that compelling national security interests required his detention without any semblance of normal legal protections. Mr. Hamdi was not charged with a crime, was not given an opportunity to challenge the government's claims against him and for most of his detention was denied access to his lawyer. Then, in June, the Supreme Court rightly declared this state of affairs unacceptable: Mr. Hamdi, an American citizen born in the United States to Saudi parents, cannot be held indefinitely with no meaningful chance to contest his designation as an "enemy combatant," the justices ruled. And since then the administration has done an adroit back flip. In a joint court filing with Mr. Hamdi's attorney, the government revealed yesterday that it was negotiating Mr. Hamdi's release and asked a federal judge in Virginia to freeze all proceedings in the case for 21 days so that these negotiations can continue. Far be it from us to second-guess the government when it works diligently to make reasonable arrangements for detainees. We have argued, to the contrary, that the government needs to do far more of this sort of work with respect to inmates at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. And Mr. Hamdi has always seemed -- at least from the outside -- like a prime candidate for a relatively swift disposition. Unlike the other U.S. citizen held as an enemy combatant -- Jose Padilla -- he has never been alleged to have been a particularly dangerous character. Even the military has claimed no more than that he was a Taliban foot soldier. And his intelligence value -- if he ever had any -- was exhausted months ago. The instinct to explore seriously whether the case can be resolved, as the joint motion puts it, "under terms and conditions acceptable to both parties that would allow Mr. Hamdi to be released from . . . custody" is certainly a laudable one� --- AFTER THE FACT: WHAT'S BEHIND MEDIA REPORTS ON THE AL-ARIAN CASE John F. Sugg, Weekly Planet, 8/12/04 http://www.weeklyplanet.com/news.html Nothing triggers the onset of media weak bladders in the Tampa Bay area faster than a discussion that involves Middle East politics. Example: As the Weekly Planet pointed out last week, a Jacksonville man named Harry Shapiro six years ago planted a bomb in a synagogue in an attempt to assassinate former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres. Shapiro, a radical right-wing opponent of peace initiatives between Israel and Palestine, had planned to blame the bombing on -- can you guess? -- Arab terrorists. In a telephone threat he claimed to be a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the group that Tampa's very own most famous Arab, Sami Al-Arian, is accused of supporting. The ostensible link to the Islamic Jihad is about the only similarity between Shapiro's and Al-Arian's cases. Shapiro actually tried to kill people, was jailed but offered the chance to post bail, and was "sentenced" to psychiatric evaluation by federal authorities. Al-Arian, whom the feddies concede never participated in any violent act, has not been allowed to bail out and, if convicted, he certainly won't get a cushy funny farm -- he'll serve a gazillion years of hard time. Oh, did I mention that 1,500 people attended the Peres event? We can be grateful Shapiro, a butcher (no joke intended) and gas station attendant by trade, was incompetent in the bomb-making department. Had he been a tad better at taping together explosives and connecting them to a detonator, then conceivably a crowd of people equal to half those slain on 9/11 in the World Trade Center could have been killed. I mention all of this as a public service because I'm quite certain you haven't read about the incident. It got one teensy-eensy 100-word mention in The Tampa Tribune's national briefs column in 1997 when Shapiro pleaded guilty. Nothing, nada, zilch in the St. Petersburg Times. Ever. People around the world read substantive stories about Shapiro in The New York Times, the Jerusalem Post, the Sydney, Australia Daily Telegraph, USA Today, The Chicago Tribune and many other publications. Just not those in the Tampa Bay area. Hmmm. While you're pondering why two puffed-up daily newspapers chose to ignore the attempted assassination of a world leader just a media stone's throw from their offices, let's take a look at another example: In March, Al-Arian won a stunning ruling from Federal District Judge James Moody, who said federal prosecutors would have to show that Al-Arian intended to commit a crime in order to convict him in his 50-count indictment. That's supposed to be the norm in American justice -- laws should clearly spell out what's illegal so that people will know when they're engaged in wrongdoing. The government is going to have a real, real hard time convicting Al-Arian and his three co-defendants now that Moody has ruled in favor of the U.S. Constitution. Which is why the federal prosecutors want desperately to overturn Moody's decision� ----- POLICE OFFICERS AND OTHER GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS PARTICIPATE IN ETHNIC SENSIBILITY TRAINING ABOUT ARABS, MUSLIMS AND SIKHS Amy Sherman, Miami Herald, 8/12/04 http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/brow ard_county/9377251.htm Police officers and other government officials gathered in Hollywood on Wednesday to learn about the Arab, Muslim and Sikh cultures. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the Community Relations Service of the U.S. Department of Justice has sponsored hundreds of forums to help law enforcement and communities work together. This was the first of its kind in Broward County. Law enforcement officials say as they work to protect the country from terrorism, they need the communities' help and can't trample on their civil rights. Police officers said they are now better equipped to do their job. ''Knowledge is power,'' said Collier County investigator Daniel Wheless, who said he learned that he shouldn't put anything on top of a Quran, the holy book for Muslims. ''Anything I can learn will help me do the job better.'' About 70 police officers and other government workers gathered at Hollywood Beach Community Cultural Center Wednesday, and many plan to take the lessons they learned back to their departments. Cosponsors included the Hollywood Police Department and the Asian-American Advisory Board of the Miami-Dade Community Relations Board. A repeated refrain at the seminar: If police officers aren't familiar with a community, they can't serve it. There are about 40,000 Muslims and 500 Sikh families in South Florida, according to advocates for the two groups. Presenters included Preetmohan Singh, national director for the Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force, and Lobna ''Luby'' Ismail, president of a company called Connecting Cultures Inc., both of the Washington, D.C., area... ALSO SEE: LEADER OF RYERSON'S MUSLIMS THREATENED Chris Lackner, Globe and Mail, 8/12/04 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040812.wxryerson0812/BN Story/National/ Only days after anti-Muslim flyers were discovered at Ryerson University, the Muslim Students' Association has received a letter threatening its leader's safety. The letter was found in the group's campus mailbox on Tuesday and turned over to police. ''[The note] said, ''Your president is next,' '' said Ahmed Arshi, who currently holds the position. ''It's sad and shameful that this is happening now.'' Campus security and the Toronto Police Service are investigating the anti-Muslim flyers -- typed on letter-sized paper -- that were posted on four campus bulletin boards last Thursday. One of the notices was signed "FBC Ridaz" and directly threatened Muslim students: "This incident is the first of many. We want to let them know that no Muslim student is safe and that security isn't going to stop us." The letter also claimed responsibility for a June 23 incident in which Ryerson's multifaith prayer room was defaced with anti-Muslim graffiti. Another notice, signed by a group calling itself the Full Blooded Israeli Brigades, contained more explicit threats. Police said yesterday it is impossible to determine whether the flyers were posted in conjunction with the delivery of Mr. Arshi's letter. Until Tuesday, Mr. Arshi had not checked the group's mailbox, which is open to the public, for close to a month. "I don't want to sound like an alarmist, but this isn't hate propaganda any more; this is a direct threat to an individual," Omar Alghabra, president of the Canadian Arab Federation, said yesterday� ----- PROFESSOR PUTS QURAN IN MODERN-DAY ENGLISH Richard N. Ostling, Associated Press, 8/12/04 http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/9383201.htm When M.A.S. Abdel Haleem was a youngster in Egypt all the boys in his school were required to memorize the entire Quran and were tested annually to make sure they maintained this knowledge. The veteran University of London professor of Islamic studies says he obeys a promise to his father to read the Quran daily and the childhood training means he doesn't need a printed text. "I can do this anytime, even when I am walking or riding the Underground." Haleem has put his lifelong immersion in the Quran and the Arabic language to good use the past seven years, working on a new Quran translation in English that appeared last month: "The Quran" (Oxford University Press). It's hard to overstate the importance of the Quran, which defines the belief and conduct of a billion-plus Muslims, including a growing number of immigrants in English-speaking nations. Unlike Christians with their Bibles, Muslims believe the Quran is Scripture only in Arabic because it existed in that form in heaven before it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. Only the Arabic is literally God's word and is always used in Quran quotations during rituals and sermons. In times past there were debates about whether it was even proper to translate the Scriptures. Early English versions came from non-Muslims (the subtitle of the very first, in 1649, called the Quran "the Turkish vanities"). No Muslim produced an English Quran till the 20th century. But nowadays even strict Muslims promote English editions to aid "dawah," Arabic for "call," meaning missionary work. Haleem says translations are essential so that Muslims in the West, including his own children and grandchildren, can remain knowledgeable. Georgetown University's Yvonne Haddad says most immigrants' children "cannot read the Quran in Arabic. They may recite it, but they don't understand it..." ----- MUSLIMS FACE PERSECUTION IN IVORY COAST Daniel Balint-Kurti, Associated Press, 8/12/04 http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apafrica_story.asp?category=1105&slug =Ivory%20Coast%20Cornered%20Muslims ABIDJAN- Strutting through a muddy labyrinth of market stalls, a paramilitary policeman in Ivory Coast's commercial capital heads toward a military truck with his latest catch - five Muslims rounded up after spot checks on their identity papers. Merchants at Abidjan's sprawling Adjame market say it's a daily ritual, and that they know what happens next: Those rounded up - almost always Muslim immigrants - are driven to a secluded area, stripped to their underwear and robbed, then forced to pay hefty bribes to be released. In the south of war-divided Ivory Coast, Muslims - from Ivory Coast's north, and from neighboring northern countries - say they are beaten and robbed day in, day out by security forces. The south is home to the Christian and animist ethnic groups that long have held power in Ivory Coast. The country is the world's largest cocoa-producer and until a 1999 coup, followed by a 2002-2003 civil war, was one of West Africa's most stable and prosperous nations. The millions of Muslims who migrated to southern Ivory Coast for jobs since its independence from France in 1960 now outnumber indigenous Christian and animist ethnic groups in many areas, triggering resentment and fear. Since rebels triggered the 9-month civil war with an unsuccessful September 2002 coup attempt, the repression has become worse, they say. Tensions turned especially deadly in March. Loyalist soldiers killed more than 100 people in a crackdown after an attempted opposition rally in the skyscraper-lined commercial capital, Abidjan. Most of those killed were Muslims, many in night raids on poor neighborhoods such as this� ----- To SUBSCRIBE to or UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/cair-net/ To reach the list moderator, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- 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 ----- --------------------------------------------------------------------- You are subscribed as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, e-mail: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or go to: http://cair.biglist.com/unsub.php/cair-net/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. 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