December 8 2009

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December 8, 2009

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Hajj: The Journey of My SoulBy Faraz Khan - Also published in The HomeNews TribuneAs my wife and I were leaving for Haj, one ofmy coworkers asked, “Is Haj like a vacationtour?” I could not answer. Another friend asked,“What will you gain from it?” Flabbergasted, Itold him “well… it is a duty upon every Mus-lim”. My response lacked any insight. I wasembarking on a journey with my wife for threeweeks in Mecca and its surroundings for a heftyprice of over $10,000, with no cruise or beachactivities. They must have thought I was mad.Haj, or pilgrimage to Mecca is one of the funda-mentals of Islam. Every physically and finan-cially able Muslim is required once in a lifetimeto visit the Holy Mosque and perform the ritu-als of Haj as related by Abraham, the Patriarch

and Muhammad, the last messenger of God. Inhis last year, Prophet Muhammad performedHaj and resuscitated a direct relationship to Godby absolving all intermediaries – idolatry andclergy system that had enslaved the minds ofpeople. He preached a universal message of equal-ity and piety based on a direct relationship toGod.

Once we arrived in Mecca, I went through anemotional roller coaster. We had heard some bi-zarre stories about people losing family mem-bers or their luggage, or going through great physi-cal hardship to perform the rituals of Haj in a seaof over two million people. Initially, we enjoyedour stay in beautiful luxurious hotels and open

See page 12 for details.

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On a brisk November day, Zaid Kurdieh is busyensuring his chickens are comfortable. With tem-peratures well below freezing and snow on itsway, Kurdieh — an organic farmer in the up-state New York town of Norwich — is movinghis flock from open pasture to a heated green-house.

“They will simply collapse under the weight ofthe snow,” he says, with the concern of a wor-ried father.

Raised on organic feed supplemented with or-ganic vegetables, greens, and what they find scur-rying through the pasture, the chickens may missthe bountiful surroundings of warmer months.But with the icy spell and frozen ground, theyno doubt appreciate the toasty environment oftheir new home.

With the birds safe inside, Kurdieh turns to hisnext task. Tomorrow is market day, and he stillhas to prepare chickens for sale at the UnionSquare farmers' market in Manhattan. In theslaughtering facility on his 35-acre farm, Kurdiehlifts chickens collected by his workers the pre-vious day and places them into a series of metalcones. They hang upside down with their wingsfolded back, their heads and their necks exposed.One of Zaid Kurdieh’s free-roaming chickens.

Up till now, Kurdieh’s routine has been similarto those of other small-scale organic chicken farm-ers. But his next action sets him apart. With arazor-sharp knife, he slits the birds’ necks oneby one with a single, decisive cut, each time qui-etly reciting a blessing.

Kurdieh is Muslim, and the chickens he slaugh-ters are halal, or slaughtered according to Islamictenets. Meat sold as halal is permissible forMuslims to consume. If a meat product is freefrom pork, which the Koran forbids, and if it has

The Eco-Halal Revolution- Clean Food for Muslimsbeen ritually slaughtered in the zabihah way —a process governed by a set of precise rules setdown by Islamic law and tradition — it meetsthe basic criteria for being halal.

Most Muslims believe that consuming meat thatmeets this requirement fulfills the onus placedon them by their religion toward this part oftheir diet. Where the meat comes from and howit was reared is largely considered irrelevant.

But not for Kurdieh. He interprets Islam in away that renders the environment and the man-ner in which an animal is raised from birth untildeath paramount. For him, it’s not enough thatthe meat is emblazoned with a halal certificationstamp. He believes that food should be producedaccording to the the complex and often neglectedIslamic principle of tayyib, which he defines asmeaning “wholesome” and “pure.”

This concept, Kurdieh says, is the foundation

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By: Hasina Islam, Sarah Embabi, and MahaAkhtarOn the evening of Thursday, November, 19th,just before the Thanksgiving holiday recess, theMuslim Students Association at Queens Col-lege (QC MSA) warmly welcomed Imam SirajWahhaj to an event titled “How Islam PerfectedThanks Giving.” Thanks to the QC MSA team’seffort and hard work, the evening could not havebeen more organized. Due to profound advertis-ing on and off campus, the audience turnout wasremarkable. In addition, the event was co-spon-sored by Christians on Campus,the Guyanese Students Associa-tion, the Political Science Club, andQueens College Golden Key.Guests strolled in to be met withheavy security and a metal detec-tor. Extra security precautionswere taken by the campus due tonegative and biased press reportsabout the event and commentsagainst the students made by com-munity members. However, nei-ther the rain nor the securitystopped guests from attending,with over 300 people from allfaiths and backgrounds in atten-dance.

Imam Siraj Wahhaj is an African-American Mus-lim convert to Islam and public figure for Mus-lims today. He is the founder and imam of At-Taqwa mosque in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brook-lyn and the leader of The Muslim Alliance inNorth America (MANA). Praised as one of themost dynamic and charismatic Muslim leadersin the U.S., Imam Siraj travels widely, lecturingat various universities, conventions, andfundraisers.

As much as this Imam of America is one of themost positively influential, well-known Islamicleaders, there have been quite a number of unfor-tunate misconceptions about him. As a result ofa series of accusations by the media, Imam Sirajhas become known as a controversial characternationwide. Authorities have called him “anunindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 WorldTrade Center bombing,” when in reality, he wasmerely one of the 171 names that appeared on alist of those who were “unindicted persons whomay be alleged as co-conspirators.” Thankfully,before giving his short, yet moving talk, aboutbeing thankful, the Imam made it a point to clearup any misunderstandings during his visit toQueens College. “For the record, let me set itstraight: I have never plotted anything againstthe government,” Imam Siraj told his audience.He also told the audience that they must not begullible and believe everything they hear or read,but rather find out the truth for themselves. Hereminded the audience, “the honorable MartinLuther King Jr. was once on the FBI watch list.Do they still think he’s a terrorist?” Such re-minders helped generate a common understand-ing amongst the audience.

The program began with a beautiful Qur’an reci-tation by Mohammed Enamul Haque, Associa-tive Director of MAS Youth Queens and stu-dent of Sheikh Hassan Saleh. Zakir Ahmed, Presi-dent of the QC MSA, then called upon the Rabbiof the Queens College Hillel, Moshe Shur, togive a few words of wisdom. Due to the im-mense support that the administrative staff ofQueens College displayed towards the eventdespite the negative accusations by the press,staff members were then presented with certifi-cates of appreciation on behalf of the QC MSAby none other than Imam Siraj Wahhaj himself.Director of Student Life, John Andrejack, andVice President of Student Affairs, Joe Bertolino,shared a few words expressing their admiration

of the hard work and commitment the MSA ex-hibited. Mr. Andrejack said, “I was really im-pressed with the perseverance displayed by theMSA throughout the planning of thisevent...[The MSA] handled each new challengewith such professionalism and maturity, that [it]managed to raise the profile and the reputationof the MSA.”

After presenting the certificates, the diversecrowd listened to an inspiring, heartfelt talk abouthow one should be thankful to have all the op-

portunities and accessibilities that many othersaround the world are deprived of. Imam Sirajparticularly discussed the importance of wateras a vital resource many take for granted and donot even realize how much of it humans con-sume on a daily basis all across the country.Quoting directly from the UN Blue Book, hestated, “40 billion hours a year are spent search-ing for water in sub-Saharan Africa. And we [inAmerica] just turn on a faucet.” Following thissimple, yet significant, example, Imam Sirajquoted an ayah (verse) from the Holy Qur’anwhich reads, “And He gave you from all youasked of Him. And if you should count the favorof Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed,mankind is [generally] most unjust and ungrate-ful.”

Following the talk, audience members were en-couraged to ask questions they had directly tothe Imam. Most of the questions were from cu-rious non Muslims about opening dialogue be-tween Muslims and non Muslims on campus,which the Imam strongly encouraged. ZakirAhmed then presented the Imam with tokens ofgratitude: a beautiful fruit arrangement, decora-tive Qur’an, and a Thank You card signed by theMSA board members. The Imam, who recov-ered from cancer, has started to change hislifestyle by eating healthy, and the gift was anencouragement for him to continue on this path.Long after a dinner of turkey sandwiches andsnacks, much healthy, energetic dialogue ensuedbetween guests from various backgrounds andfaiths, including Muslims and Jews. As such,the MSA has always believed in fostering a com-munity at Queens College of respect, tolerance,and friendship towards people of all back-grounds.

Many who attended claimed this was “the bestMSA event yet” and that they could not wait toattend another. Joe Bertolino even consideredthis to be one of Queens College’s most success-ful events. One attendee revealed this was thefirst Islamic event they had ever attended, andthat he wholly enjoyed himself. The QC MSAhad dreamed to have Imam Siraj Wahaj speak attheir event as far back as July. The executiveboard spent months planning and perfecting ev-ery detail so that this event would run smoothly.They were not disappointed as they were show-ered with compliments from community mem-bers long after the event was over.

How Islam Perfected ThanksGiving - Imam Siraj Wahhaj at QC MSA

Clifton, NJ - ANT Bookstore of Clifton, NewJersey hosted its Grand Opening on Thursday,December 3 from 10:00am to 12:00pm. CliftonMayor James Anzaldi and local business leadersattended the special ribbon cutting ceremony.ANT Bookstore of Clifton, New Jersey, openedfor limited hours with limited inventory in Oc-tober. The new store intends to give strong sup-port to storytelling performances and book sign-ing events for local writers, in addition to thetraditional bookstore fare with a diverse inven-tory of local, national and international books.

Huseyin Senturk, General Manager, said theyare opening the store in order to rejuvenate theliterary activities in the Northern Jersey andGreater New York area, and offer hard to findselection of international books for academics,students and literary enthusiasts from all trades.The current selection at the ANT Bookstore in-cludes books primarily English and Turkish aswell as Spanish, Albanian, and Bosnian.

The store is designed with a café with interna-tional drink and snacks specialities, a specialchildren’s activities area, free wireless internetfor customers and audio/DVD selections both inEnglish and foreign languages. Store area is fur-nished with leather chairs and customized forcomfortable browsing of books. A modular con-ference room area will be available for eventslike book signings for local and national authors’and storytelling time. ANT Bookstore is lo-cated at 345 Clifton Avenue, Clifton, 07011NJ.

To receive a schedule of author future events orfor more information about the grand opening orother programs and activities at the ANT Book-store, call 1-877-995-4827 or visit http://www.antbookstore.com.

New JerseyMuslims getNew, ElegantBookstore

ANT Bookstore provides performances andworkshops for writers and storytellers, in addi-tion to the traditional bookstore fare with a di-verse inventory of books in English and foreignlanguages.

Category: Books, Entertainment, EducationTags: Bookstore, Books, author readingsEmail: [email protected]: 1-877-995-4827Address: 345 Clifton AvenueCity/Town: Clifton, 07011NJ

Forty Hadith No: 24

www.fortyhadith.iiu.edu.my

Abu Hurairah, radiyallahu 'anhu, reported that theMessenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said :

"On every person's joints or small bones (i.e. fingers andtoes), there is sadaqah (charity) every day the sun rises. Doing

justice between two people is sadaqah; assisting a man tomount his animal, or lifting up his belongings onto it is

sadaqah; a good word is sadaqah; every step you take towardsprayer is sadaqah; and removing harmful things from

pathways is sadaqah."

[Al-Bukhari & Muslim]


Tel: 718-554-7620 E-mail: [email protected]: www.tsmmedia.netMailing address: P.O. Box 5232, Kendall Park, NJ 08824

Please send Letters, Articles or ad requests [email protected]

Articles, letters, and comments expressed in the Tri-State are not necessarily shared by the Editor or thePublisher. All submissions are subject to editing for reasons of space and clarity. The Tri-State Muslim isdistributed FREE and is produced bi-weekly. It is a newspaper by, for and about Muslim in NY, NJ, PA, & CT.The magazine offers coverage of the ideas, issues, events and stories of concern to Muslims in the Tri-StateArea. All contents maybe reproduced with appropriate acknowledgement. TSM Media Reserves the right toreject ads and articles as deem necessary.

How is the Guidance Sharia Programdifferent from a conventional mortgage?

A conventional mortgage is a debt whereby the borrower is bound topay interest on the money owed, while the Guidance Declining BalanceCo-ownership Program is a shared investment in real estate. Thisprogram is not a loan; it is a partnership. In the unfortunate event ofnonpayment, a conventional mortgage lender may take your personalassets to satisfy the debt. However, the Guidance ResidentialDeclining Balance Co-ownership Program is a non-recourse agreement.This means that your other assets are not at risk.

Dr. Hisham Moharram’s parents owned a farmin Egypt and, since his childhood, he had alwayscared about the environment. But he never imag-ined that he would become the founder of anorganic farm in – of all places – a town calledNew Egypt, New Jersey. “I was studying hotelmanagement at University of Maryland-Blatimore,” said Dr. Moharram. “But I kept ask-ing myself, ‘When I look back one day and askwhat my life was worth, will I be able to saythat I helped to ease some of the world’s suffer-ing?’ It was out of that question that the inspira-tion came for Good Tree Farm.

GreenFaith is honoring Dr.Moharram and Good TreeFarm and two additional groupsat its Fourth Annual AwardsCelebration, on Saturday, No-vember 7 from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.at the Reformed Church ofHighland Park, New Jersey.“Good Tree Farm and Dr.Moharram are an importantexample of faith-based sustainable agriculture,”said the Rev. Fletcher Harper, GreenFaith’s Ex-ecutive Director. “We are proud to honor theirwork.” Tickets for the event are $100. For infor-mation or tickets, contact GreenFaith by calling732-565-7740 or by [email protected]

After completing a doctoral degree and post-doctoral fellowships in agricultural sciences, Dr.Moharram decided it was time to get his handsdirty. He approached 200 individuals and iden-tified a number of Muslim investors, and in 2007Good Tree Farm of New Egypt was born – a 55-acre organic farm in Ocean County growing or-ganic vegetables, herbs, field fruits and raisingpasture-fed sheep and goats. “Good Tree Farmembodies the value of caring for creation andproducing healthy food,” said Dr. Moharram.“As Muslims, we believe that this earth is en-trusted to us by The Creator and we need to carefor it wisely with proper stewardship. That’swhat the Prophet Mohammad admonishedMuslims to do.”

Good Tree Farm grows a range of organic cropsin both the summer and winter. They recentlyconstructed walk-through plastic tunnels to en-sure an earlier start in spring. The farm alsoraises livestock, which are slaughtered in accor-dance with Muslim Halal standards, ensuringthat animals are treated humanely. Good Treeadministers a Community Supported Agricul-ture (CSA) Project in which community mem-bers purchase a share of the farm’s harvest. “OurCSA customers come from the Muslim, Hindu,Jewish and Christian traditions,” said Dr.Moharram. “We also work to make our produceavailable to the needy in our state, by partici-pating in the State WIC and Seniors FarmersMarket Nutrition programs. We are a faith-driven farm because increasing tolerance andunderstanding promotes peace and social har-mony between people and can be achieved byhighlighting the core values we all agree on. Webelieve that producing healthy food while caringfor the earth and helping the poor represent someof those values.”

Not content solely with serving a New Jerseyaudience, Dr. Moharram is also approaching Is-lamic Relief, a leading Muslim American humani-

tarian organization (http://www.islamicreliefusa.org/home), to see if simi-lar projects can be started in developing coun-tries. “In countries where poverty, lack of edu-cation and healthcare drive a lot of injustices,”explains Hisham, “a project similar to Good TreeFarm is something that can provide income andfood to revive the community. It offers up acompelling vision of sustainable development.”

Dr. Moharram and Good Tree Farm will jointwo other Honorees at the GreenFaith Celebra-

tion, now in itsfourth year. St.Mary’s CatholicChurch in PomptonLakes has undertakennumerous environ-mental initiatives, in-cluding educationalprograms, an energyaudit which resultedin substantial churchenergy savings, advo-

cacy for global warming legislation, and a solarelectricity project. The New Jersey Environmen-tal Justice Alliance and two if its founders -Valorie Caffee and Dr. Nicky Sheats – are lead-ing advocates for environmental protections forthe State’s communities of color and poorestcommunities. “We’re impressed by our honor-ees’ leadership,” said Harper, “and we’re thrilledto celebrate their work.”

In keeping with GreenFaith’s tradition, the Cel-ebration will be a model “green” event, with lo-cally-grown organic food, and a tour ofGreenFaith’s new office facility – which will beLEED certified.

Founded in 1992, GreenFaith is an interfaithenvironmental coalition which educates, in-spires, equips and mobilizes people of diversespiritual backgrounds as environmental leaders.“The world’s great religious traditions commandus to be good stewards of the earth,” said Rev.Harper. “Care for the environment can bringpeople of diverse faiths together to create a fu-ture where the earth and all life flourish. Ourprograms make this happen every day.”

GreenFaith Honors Dr. Hisham Moharramand Good Tree Farm of New Egypt, NJ

The Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spiritualityand Equality (WISE) is a global program, socialnetwork and grassroots social justice movementled by Muslim women. WISE is empoweringMuslim women to fully participate in their com-munities and nations and amplifying their col-lective voices. Muslim women have enjoyed arich legacy of excellence in their roles as leaders,professionals, caregivers and activists, and Is-lamic history is an impressive record of theirremarkable contributions as teachers and schol-ars of sacred text and law. WISE represents anauthoritative Muslim women’s movement toreclaim this legacy.

WISE is a program of the American Society forMuslim Advancement (www.asmasociety.org),a non-profit organization based in New York,United States. Learn more about WISE atwww.wisemuslimwomen.org

PROGRAM ASSOCIATE ROLE OVERVIEW:Working with the WISE Program Director,ASMA’s WISE team, the WISE Steering Com-mittee, and members of the WISE network, theWISE Program Associate will work on the fol-lowing essential functions. Individuals in thisrole may not perform all of these duties, or mayperform additional, related duties not listed here.

1. Support the implementation of the WISE stra-tegic plan and vision that incorporates theprogram’s goals and objectives, including theWISE agenda of international, country-wide, andlocal priorities;2. Support the following WISE programs:a. WISE portal: content development and socialnetworking expansionb. Annual global conference and regional confer-ences: planning, implementation, follow upc. WISE chapters in strategic countries: forma-tion, support and oversightd. Shura Council: supplemental research and sup-port of global implementation plan includingMuftiyyah Training Program development andJihad Against Violence campaign3. Oversee the training and supervision of all

Women’s Islamic Initiative inSpirtuality and Equality (WISE)Program Associate

WISE program interns and volunteers;4. Serve as rapporteur for the WISE SteeringCommittee and Shura Council meetings/confer-ence calls;5. Help in obtaining formal commitments andcollaborating plans with key NGOs, academicinstitutions, private-public partnerships, fund-ing agencies, and other organizations;6. Assist with grant proposals/budgets/ reports,in collaboration with development staff;7. Assist in organizing various WISE forums inthe US, such as trainings, panel discussions, etc.8. Represent WISE at various community eventsand collaborative committees;9. Support the larger WISE network through pe-riodic meetings and monthly newsletters;10. Promote a work environment that facilitateshard work, cohesion, and creative solutions tofurther improve WISE Program and its outputs;

Additional Qualifications, Prerequisite Experi-ence, Skills, and Qualities:Candidates for this position should have the fol-lowing work experiences, skills and qualities:• Two years program or non-profit experience;• Advanced degree in relevant field i.e. Islamicand Middle Eastern Studies, Islam and genderstudies (preferred);• Knowledge of Arabic and/or additional relevantlanguages (preferred)• Experience working in activism for Muslimwomen;• Eagerness to work with a diverse spectrum ofcultures, nationalities, religions, and ideologies;• Basic familiarity with budgeting principles andgrant writing;• Technical skills in Microsoft Word, Excel, andPower Point (HTML preferred);• Online advocacy and social networking experi-ence (preferred);• Excellent organizational and communicationskills (verbal and written);• Strong interpersonal skills;• Self-motivated worker and team player;• Ability to manage multiple tasks/responsibili-

Find out more atwww.TriStateMuslims.com


Brooklyn, N.Y. – On October 24, 2009 over 140Muslims and non-Muslim martial arts practi-tioners gathered at Akbar Hall, located onBedford Avenue in Brooklyn New York, to at-tend a historical event. For the first time inhistory, The United Muslim Martial Artist As-sociation [U.M.M.A.A.], founded by Mu’allimNajee Hassan and his wife Ustadha RahmaHassan (also the founders of Sirat asSayf Mus-lim martial arts system),Muslim Masters of themartial arts came togetherunder one banner, to sharetheir skills.

The atmosphere wasfriendly and open. Mas-ters and students openlysharing their love for themartial arts. On this dayall egos and politics wereleft at the entrance to thehall. The theme of theday was “Vanguarding the Sunnah”. All Mus-lims in attendance were enlightened by a speechfrom Muhammad Yasin. A student of knowl-edge in Islam. He spoke about the importanceof keeping alive the ways and actions of ProphetMuhammad and how he lived his life in accor-dance to the Islamic faith.

In attendance was Professor Sayfullah Al-Amriykiy, founder of Warrior Within Dojo Inc.,from Philadelphia PA, who co-hosted this eventwith Mu’allim Najee Hassan and Ustadha RahmaHassan; Master Ali Abdul Karim from Way ofthe Wind Ninja System; Master Yusef AliAbdullah from the Staten Island Ninja Society;Dr.Wali Sharif, founder of Kente Ryu System;Sigung Cow Lee Lung from the 37 Chambers of

First Annual Muslim Martial ArtistBanquet-Seminar

Shaolin in Queens, NY.; Sensei Wali Islam fromConnecticut; Sigung Kamil Abdul Karim fromMoy Yat Wing Chun Kung Fu school in Jamaica,NY; Professor Shariyf, Sifu Jamal, and SifuKarim representing the SWAM Academy ofModern martial art school in Jamaica, NY.; SokeFelix Vasquez, of Circle of One Ninjutsu Sys-tem. The only non-Muslim who came and sharedhis talents with everyone.

Mu’allim NajeeHassan demon-strated his knifefighting skillstaken from a life-preservation sys-tem called Sirat asSayf (Arabic forThe Way of theSword). And hiswife demonstratedfor the women thehand to hand ap-

plications of close quarter fighting, along withsome stick fighting techniques.

After the Workshop-Seminar, everyone rushedto get dressed for the banquet award dinner.Awards were given out to some of the mostprominent Muslim martial arts who are livingstill. Instead of plaques and trophies, sword andknives were awarded to the recipients. Some ofthe recipients who received awards were: SijoAbdul Mutakabbir, Soke Haisan Kaleak, Prof.Sayfullah Al-Amriykiy, Soke Felix Vasquez,Master Yusef Ali Abdullah, Master Ali AbdulKarim, just to name a few. We ended the day inprayer and supplications to all in attendance andasked our Creator to bless us all with good healthand a prosperous future.

The highly anticipated phone call to AndalusiaSchool in Yonkers came from Jim Anderson atthe New York State Education Department’sOffice of Non-Public Schools. He informed thatthe new Commissioner of Education had justassumed his post and wanted to conduct a three-day three-city tour of public and non-publicschools. Dr. David Steiner wanted to visit anIslamic school on November 10th. “Is Andalusiaup for the visit?” asked Anderson. ”Why ofcourse,” the principal responded. “We would bedelighted. It would be an honor and a privilege tohost the Commissioner.” She hung up the phone with the NYSED. Anhonor and a privilege, yes; but a tadstressful. Andalusia would be the only Islamicschool on his three-day tour. Not only wouldAndalusia represent itself, it would representIslamic schools in New York State and Muslimsas a whole. How the Commissioner viewed theschool would impact his view on Islam andthe Ummah. “In shaAllaah,” she thought, “wewill show the Commis-sioner the best of our Adhaband Akhlaq. We will dem-onstrate the beauty, wis-dom and benefits of IslamicTarbiyah aligned with StateStandards.” She picked up the phone and called the Presi-dent of the School Board, who responded: “We’renot going to treat this as a visit. We’re going totreat it as an audit. I want the school cleanedfrom top to bottom. The Commissioner shouldsee the reflection of his face when he looks atthe walls.” She spoke to the Elementary StaffCoordinator, who responded calmly, “Don’tworry Sister. We’ll be ready, in sha Allaah.” An-other teacher added, “It is what it is. We shouldn’thave to do anything extra. We should all just beourselves. That is what being a good educator isall about. Doing our best and being ready at alltimes, regardless if the Commissioner is visitingor not.” Indeed, all the school needed was a good mili-tary cleaning top to bottom. The Commissionerand his delegation including: Dr. John King, Se-nior Deputy Commissioner for P-12 Education;Mr. Harry Phillips, Member of the NYS Boardof Regents; Mr. Tom Dunn, NYSED Communi-cations Director; and Mr. Bernard Pierorazio,Superintendent of Yonkers Public Schools, wouldbe given a tour of “business as usual” at AndalusiaSchool. Well, maybe with a few extra frills —like 13 Kindergarten children greeting them withbouquets of flowers and a sign spelling: “W E LC O M E.” The tour took place. A few Elementary, Middleand High School classrooms were visited. Sec-ond Grade was engaged in Math and had com-pleted its land forms displays, which were spreadout on the periphery of the classroom. Uponvisiting Third Grade, one of the guests askedabout student ethnicities and was told: “Arab,Southeast Asian, African, West Indian, Hispanic,

Eastern European and, oh yes, this boy hereis Irish.” In Chemistry Lab, 10th Graders con-ducted an experiment on molarity. High SchoolJuniors read Frankenstein discussing how it re-lated to ”Fortitude” as the ”Virtue of the Month.”Andalusia’s latest initiative is to systematicallyintegrate character development into itscurriculum. A 7th Grade student stood by poisedto read a remarkable poem about “Justice,” whichwas the “Virtue of the Month” for October.However, the delegation looked at their watchesand informed they needed to move on. Later,the Middle School English Teacher said, “Wewere so excited when we saw the Commissionerapproaching, but then our jaws dropped whenhe passed by our door and just kept going.” After a quick peak at the library, which Com-missioner Steiner described as “a beautifulspace,” and the large gym with a state-of the-artspringboard floor, the delegation proceeded to

the cafeteria for a focusgroup and continentalbreakfast with Andalusiastakeholders comprisingstudent government, par-ents, teachers, administra-tion and Muslim AmericanSociety of Upper New Yorkboard members.

Introductions were made and the delegation pro-ceeded to ask how the Department ofEducation could provide better service to NYSschools. Teachers responded that they struggleto provide instruction to students of differentEnglish-speaking abilities and would welcomethe provision of more English Language Learn-ers (ELL) and Reading Teachers from the State.The principal added that Yonkers has differentdemograhics and funding needs than the rest ofWestchester County as much of its populationis at or below poverty level. The Superinten-dent of Yonkers Public Schools concurred. The question, ”Why do you choose to go to anIslamic school?” was answered succinctly byOmar Momani in 8th Grade, who said, “Myfather assured me that if I went to Andalusia, Iwouldn’t get involved in drugs, gangs or pre-marital sex.” He informed that he commutes fromRockland County, where he used to attend apublic school. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhereelse,” he said. Other students in the focus group,who came from public schools in the Bronx andConnecticut, echoed that sentiment stating thatthey feel happier in an environment that offersboth quality education and the freedom to prayto God and learn about Islam. One parent, MaryAnnabi, said she is thrilled that her children canattend an Islamic school and learn to be proud oftheir religion. She hopes they will grow up to beactively involved public citizens who stand upfor peace and justice in the world. In concluding his visit, the Commissioner thankedeveryone for their hospitality and said, “I cantell you one thing. Of all the schools I’ve visited,none has made me feel more welcome thanAndalusia School.”

Andalusia School WelcomesNYS Education Commissioner


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(Plainfield, IN) The Islamic Society of NorthAmerica (ISNA) receives the news of the Swissban on the construction of minarets with graveconcern and sadness. ISNA is troubled that Swissvoters have succumbed to the intolerance andfear mongering of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP)by voting to ban mosque minarets. The decisionto ban mosque minarets is an act of religiousdiscrimination and intolerance, as it targets Is-lamic places of worship and denies Swiss Mus-lims the freedom to build their house of worshipusing their preferred architectural style.

The ban is a source of great concern for WesternMuslims as they see European commitment toreligious freedom and human rights unravel inthe face of extremist threats on one side andextremist fear mongering on the other. The Swissvote will undoubtedly invigorate the forces ofintolerance worldwide and will give the wrongsignals to countries struggling to build traditionsof civil rights.

The move will be also celebrated by extremistvoices in Muslim societies, who will use theincident to drive a wedge between Muslim and

By: Ruschell BooneThe issue of whether the media promotes nega-tive stereotypes of Islam or suffers from politi-cal correctness dividesmany New Yorkers.NY1's Ruschell Boonefiled the third part of herfive-part series on NewYork City's Muslimcommunity.

In the wake of severalrecent high-profile ter-rorism cases, some Mus-lims describe media cov-erage of their religion andtheir community as unfair and unbalanced.

"What happens is you have a lot of cases in themedia, a lot of times the whole entire Muslimcommunity is criminalized," says organizerMarjon Kashani of Desis Rising Up and Mov-ing.

They say the Islamic community in New YorkCity and the United States is extremely diverse,with many different points of view.

"Muslims are different. Everybody has their ownideology, their beliefs, their own goals and ambi-tion," says Mehwish Sarwari of Women for Af-ghan Women.

While Muslims complain the media is insensi-tive towards them, there is also a backlash frompeople who say they media is too soft on theMuslim community because of political correct-ness.

"I don't fear Muslims. I fear [political correct-ness], and it's called 'suicide by PC' because weare going to PC some real terrorist," says BobDoocey of Middle Village, Queens.

Doocey, a longtime community activist, ex-

Some Muslim In NYC Claim MediaPortrayal Of Islam Builds Distrust

presses what he says is a commonly-held viewamong his friends and neighbors. Yet he saysmany are reluctant to express such views pub-

licly for fear of being la-beled anti-Muslim.

"The terrorists who comehere are indeed Muslims.Again, they're not Irish,they're not English, theyare not Scandinavian,"says Doocey.

Fellow Middle Village ac-tivist Lorraine Sciulli is onthe same page.

"When you see pictures of the terrorists, andyou know that they are all Muslims, it's veryhard to not look at a Muslim and say, 'Is that aterrorist?'" says Sciulli. "It's not right, it's notthe American way, and I will admit that. But Ithink when that's all you see, if you have a nor-mal intelligence, you can't think another way."

Unlike some people, Sciulli isn't afraid to speakher mind.

"Anytime you see people walking around withtheir faces all covered and their bodies all cov-ered up in a place called America, it's a littlefrightening and it's a little new," says Sciulli. "DoI think everyone who is a Muslim is a terrorist?No."

Still, when many in the Muslim community hearopinions like that, it has them concerned.

"We are scared right now to walk on the streetwith the hijab [tradition women's headscarf] andthe Afghan clothes," says Shakila Hamidi ofWomen for Afghan Women.

Such fears seem to be growing each day betweenMuslims and non-Muslims.

ISNA Concerned and Saddened Bythe Ban on Minarets

Western countries. It will further complicate thetask of European Muslims who are working tobuild bridges and promote tolerance and under-standing, and will set back the efforts to developtolerance and respect for religious freedomthroughout the world.

It is vital that Western democracies do not cavein to violent threats by religious extremism, andcontinue to serve as models for protecting reli-gious freedom and civil rights. Their ability tointegrate Muslim minorities and treat them withdignity will set a good example to people all overthe world, including Muslim societies, to perse-vere in their pursuit of more open and inclusivesocieties.

It is now the time for leading voices of freedomand tolerance in Switzerland and European de-mocracies and the United States to challenge thisdiscriminatory law. We also call on human rightsorganizations and religious groups, includingEuropean Muslims, to challenge the law in Swissand European courts and make sure that thispalpable discrimination against the free exerciseof religion does not stand.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.,) - An annual reportreleased today by a prominent national Muslimcivil rights and advocacy organization shows anincrease in the total number of bias-related inci-dents, but a decrease in anti-Muslim hate crimesin 2008.

The report by the Washington-based Councilon American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), titled“Seeking Full Inclusion,” offers a summaryof incidents and experiences of anti-Muslim vio-lence, discrimination and harassment reportedto the group during the 2008 calendar year. Italso examines the use of Islamophobic rhetoricin the 2008 presidential election and highlights anumber of issues of concern to the AmericanMuslim community, including watch lists, sur-veillance of mosques and new FBI guidelinesthat allow religious and ethnic profiling.

The introduction to CAIR’s report, the onlyannual study of its kind, states:“In 2008, Muslims continued to face barriers totheir full and equal participation in Americansociety. Certain individuals and institutions per-sisted in profiting by smearing Islam. AmericanMuslims continued to fear profiling, surveillanceand undue scrutiny by law enforcement and otherauthorities.”

CAIR and its affiliate chapters nationwide pro-cessed a total of 2,728 incidents in 2008. Thatfigure represents a three percent increase in re-ported cases from 2007 (2,652 reports) and an11 percent increase over cases reported in 2006(2,467 reports). It is the highest number of civilrights cases ever recorded in CAIR’s annual re-port. (Note: The higher number of cases is duein part to inclusion of a new category of casesrelated to mailed, faxed and e-mailed threats andhate messages.)

According to CAIR’s study:· The occurrence of reported civil rights com-plaints increased at mosques and Muslim orga-nizations, rising from 564 cases in 2007 to 721cases in 2008. This represents a 28 percent in-crease from 2007 to 2008.

· There were 118 reported cases of discrimina-tion in schools in 2007 and 153 in 2008 — a 31percent increase.

CAIR: Jump in Anti-Muslim BiasIncidents, Decrease in Hate Crimes

· Anti-Muslim hate crime complaints fell by 14percent in 2008, decreasing from 135 total com-plaints in 2007 to 116 in 2008.

“The decline in reported hate crimes leads tocautious optimism, while the reported increasein incidents at Muslim institutions and at schoolsreminds us that continued vigilance and stepped-up community outreach efforts are necessary,”said CAIR Legislative Director Corey Saylor,one of the report’s authors.

Saylor said the report also offers recommenda-tions for action by the Obama administration,Congress and American Muslim institutions.The Obama administration is asked to 1) reviewand revise guidelines issued by then AttorneyGeneral Mukasey in late 2008 that allow racialand religious profiling, 2) to reduce the size ofthe watch lists, and 3) to implement effectivemeans by which travelers who believe they havebeen profiled may seek redress. President Obamais also asked to visit an American mosque.

CAIR is recommending that Congress pass theEnd Racial Profiling Act (ERPA) and the Fair,Accurate, Secure, and Timely Redress Act of2009 (FAST Redress Act of 2009), and not offera “legitimizing platform” to anti-Muslim bigots.

Recommendations for the American Muslimcommunity include timely reporting of anti-Muslim incidents, community empowermentthrough civic engagement and continued outreachto local and national law enforcement agencies.

Overall, nine states and the District of Columbiaaccounted for 79 percent of all incidents reportedto CAIR in 2008. These locations include: theDistrict of Columbia (27 percent), California (18percent), Illinois (9 percent), New York (5 per-cent), Florida (5 percent), Virginia (4 percent),Ohio (3 percent), Texas (3 percent), Minnesota(3 percent) and Pennsylvania (3 percent).

CAIR began documenting anti-Muslim incidentsfollowing the 1995 attack on the Murrah Fed-eral Building in Oklahoma City, when some com-mentators initially blamed Muslims for thebombing. Before the real perpetrators were iden-tified, Muslims nationwide were targeted in biasincidents.

Bridgeview, IL (11/30/09) On the first day ofEid ul-Adha, Zakat Foundation, a Muslim-runrelief and development organization based inBridgeview, began to slaughter and distribute freshmeat to impoverished families in over 30 coun-tries and did not forget struggling local commu-nities in the Chicagoland area, Indiana and Wash-ington DC. The hard economic times has seenmore families in need. Impoverished refugeefamilies from Burma, Palestine, Somalia and othertroubled nations face the trial of finding socialand economic stability in the United States.

With the help of certified Zabiha/Halal BarkaatFoods and Council of Islamic Organizations ofGreater Chicago (CIOGC), Zakat Foundation’sdistribution of fresh meat will benefit more than640 struggling families and needy people in theChicagoland area, Indiana and Washington DCduring the holidays. The distributions took place

Qurbani Distribution BenefitsMore than 640 Needy Families

at Zakat Foundation’s main office in Bridgeviewand at approximately ten local masjids and so-cial service organizations.

Zakat Foundation would like to thank CIOGC,Mosque Foundation and the other mosques andorganizations that took part in the collection anddistribution of Udhiya/Qurbani to our needyneighbors.

Since 2001, Zakat Foundation has distributedfresh meat to our local Chicago community dur-ing our Udhiya/Qurbani Program and has alsoincluded other cities across the United States,allowing those donors who choose to distributelocally to do so.Contact:Carolina Pfister - Zakat Foundation of AmericaP.O. Box 639, Worth, IL 60482Phone: 708.233.0555/ Fax: 708.233.0339


By Sheila Musaji From the American Muslim

My dear brother Jamal Badani received an emailletter entitled “MUSLIMS A PART OF OURHERITAGE.....ALWAYS......I THINK NOT”which was sent to him by someone calling him-self Mr. Sheldon. Jamal responded to him fromthe point of view of a Muslim in the U.S. mili-tary. (Both Mr. Sheldon’s original letter and JamalBaadani’s response are at the bottom of this ar-ticle.) I would also like to respond. I had previ-ously received this as an email quoting the sourceas Patriots for America, but have found the post-

ing on sites all over the web. So, we have yetanother of those viral emails that are really froman anonymous and therefore cowardly source.

This letter is yet another in a long list of bigotedpropoganda stating some “fact” that “everyoneknows” which is quite simply not a fact at all.The most commonly repeated claims aboutMuslims are that “everyone knows” that mostor all terrorists are Muslims, and there are noChristian and no Jewish terrorists (or terroristsof any other religious stripe). Everyone alsoknows that Muslims are not equivalent to realAmericans, that they are the enemy within, thatgood Muslims can’t be good Americans, that theyare all militant, that Islam is “of the devil”, andan ”evil encroaching on the United States”, andthis is a Christian nation, which everyone knowsthe Muslims are trying to take over, starting withgetting an Eid stamp which is the first step to-wards shariah law. Everyone knows that Mus-lims are given a pass by the elite media. It’s ”usversus them”, and even those Muslims who dospeak up or seem moderate are simply lying orpracticing taqiyyah. The problem is that what“everyone knows” is wrong. These self-righ-teous and incorrect statements are usually fol-lowed by a demand that the Muslim communitydo something about whatever is the false flag ofthe day or face the inevitable consequences.

There may not have been any Muslims whosigned the Declaration of Independence, the Con-stitution, or the Bill of Rights (as most Muslimsin America at that time were slaves) but Mus-lims are still defending those documents.

You can see a photograph of Malcolm X and Dr.Martin Luther King together here and read some-thing about their struggle for civil rights for Afri-can-Americans. You can go here to see a photo-graph of Dr. Martin Luther King giving his I havea dream speech, and see how many Muslims(the folks with the white hats) are immediatelysurrounding and protecting him. I am a prettyordinary person, but was in college in the 60’sand was a small part of the Civil Rights move-ment as were many other Muslims.

You can read an article by Dr. Shafeeq S. Shamsid-Deen which points out: “Did you know that in1492 an Afro-Spaniard named Pedro Alonzo Ninoaccompanied Christopher Columbus on his fistvoyage to the Americas? Did you know that in1522, Muslims were at the forefront of the free-dom struggle of slave’s throughout the Ameri-cas? Most of these revolts were unsuccessful asfar as freedom was concerned. These freedomfighters were ruthlessly crushed, hanged, burned

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)announced yesterday the launch of a special fundfor the benefit of the families of the victims ofthe senseless Ft. Hood attack that killed 13 sol-diers and injured many more. Recognizing theimportant sacrifices made by our soldiers andtheir families, we feel it is imperative for allAmericans to join hands in supporting those af-fected by this tragic incident.

ISNA is collaborating with various national Mus-lim and interfaith organizations on this humani-tarian initiative, and mosques throughout thecountry are expected to join fellow Americans incontributing to help the families of the soldierswho were killed during the attack.

American Muslims Launch SpecialFund for the Victims of Ft Hood

Support ISNA in its efforts to bring sanity andcompassion to an otherwise confusing and hor-rific situation, and to respond to the plight offamilies in distress. ISNA is asking Mosquesacross the country to encourage members to do-nate.

Please announce the new fund during yourJum’ah prayer and weekly gatherings. You shouldsend funds collected to:

Donation can also be made online. Please use thelink below to register and make a donation:http://www.forthoodfamilyfund.com

and even thrown in boiling oil.” So, a Muslimwas here before those Pilgrims first landed, andwere already engaged in a struggle for civil rights400 years before the civil rights movement ofthe 20th century, and 300 years before the CivilWar.

You might check out this collection of Muslimvoices denouncing terrorism, extremism, and vio-lence which absolutely shows your claim thatMuslims do not denounce terrorism, and didnot denounce 9/11 to be a lie.

You might read my article Muslims Who FoughtAgainst the ‘Real’ Fascists for some understand-ing of just how marginal the Mufti was (his viewslike those of Henry Ford did not represent themajority opinion). As I said in that article:

With the recent increase in the use of the mis-leading term Islamic Fascists it is important topoint out a few facts. There may have been afew Muslims who cooperated with the Nazis/Fascists during the Second World War, but theywere a small minority. Most Muslims followedthe Qur’anic injunction:

”Oh you who believe, stand up firmly for jus-tice, as witnesses to God, even if it be againstyourselves, or your parents, or your kin, andwhether it be against rich or poor; for God canbest protect both. Do not follow any passion,lest you not be just. And if you distort or de-cline to do justice, verily God is well-acquaintedwith all that you do” (Quran 4:135).

The bottom line is that all of those who partici-pate in, cooperate with, or do not speak outagainst evil (no matter what their religion) bringshame on the human race, and all of those whostand for justice and compassion give us all hope.

Bulgarian Christians and Muslims protectedJews from the Nazis. Albania was the onlyMuslim majority country in Europe. Albanianot only saved Albanian Jews from the Nazis,but, in fact, Albania was the only country inEurope that had a larger Jewish population atthe end of the war than before the war. Not oneAlbanian Jew or any other Jew who came toAlbania for protection was turned over to theNazis.

300,000 Moroccan Jews in Israel mourned thedeath of King Hassan of Jordan in 1999. Hisfather, Mohammed V, is widely credited withhaving saved Morocco’s Jews from deportationduring World War II, and Hassan continued thephilo-Semitic policies of his father. Althoughthere was an outbreak of anti-Jewish incidentsfollowing the establishment of the State of Is-rael in 1948, the Jewish community was gener-ally safe under the protection of bothMohammed and Hassan, who proudly consid-ered the Jews “Moroccans of Jewish origin.

Arabs and Jews once fought together under theBritish Flag against the Nazis in the PalestineRegiment. Noor Inayat Khan fought against theNazis and was killed at Dachau concentrationcamp.

The stories of Muslim rescuers of Jews arelargely unknown and unpublished. Only in thepast fifteen years have Holocaust researchersbrought a few to the public’s attention. YadVashem and other Holocaust memorial groupshave honored several Muslims (whose coura-geous stories we have been able to confirm) asRighteous Gentiles. The Muslim rescuers in-clude:

The Bosnian Dervis Korkut who not only hidseveral Jews from the local pro-Nazi regime,

MIST New York is recruiting high school teamsto compete in this year’s tournament. The year2010 is the start of a new decade and a time ofchange, that is why we want to see you, mean-ing high school students, to come out and com-pete against other schools.

What is MIST? MIST stands for MUSLIMINTER-SCHOLASTIC TOURNAMENT.MIST is a fun, educational, interactive programof competitions and workshops geared towardsbringing high school students together fromaround the nation to develop leadership, com-munication, and other creative skills while gain-ing a deeper understanding of Islam and Mus-lims!

We do this through regional and national tourna-ments that occur in different parts of the coun-try each year. This group is dedicated to the NYregion of MIST.

To learn more about the history of MIST, itsobjectives, whom MIST is for, and to see whatnew stuff we are working on now, check outwww.getmistified.com.

There are NUMEROUS competitions to com-pete in. The major tournament of the event isBasketball; MIST holds two tournaments to

MIST Recruiting High SchoolStudents From The Tri-State Area

accommodate both brothers and sisters. Besidesbasketball there are over 25 competitions suchas Web Design, Tajweed, Poetry, Speaking, De-bate, Math Olympics, Short Film and manymore!If you are in HIGH SCHOOL, REGISTER!If you are in COLLEGE, help ORGANIZE orVOLUNTEER!

This year MIST NY is holding an Eid Social atFlushing Muslim Center in NY, to celebrate Eidand to spread awareness of MIST. This event isalso to help high school students feel comfort-able and understand MIST. During the tourna-ments, there are many workshops, speakers, andmini events which help keep team players busyand entertained.

The MIST Tournament is a time and place whereyou can connect with many Muslim Studentsacross the state AND at the same time enjoy alife changing experience, along with AMAZINGfood and wining many trophies. Last year’s win-ner was the Bronx High School of Science…willthey still be victorious this year? Or who willbeat this team? We hope to see you there,Insha’Allah! Contact MIST NY for any moreinformation or call Sr. Saba Memon @347.944.2146.- Written By Brother Shamiyun Noor

On behalf of the Muslim community we offerour sympathies and sincere condolences toHossam Ahmed and Dr. Osman Ahmed and thesurviving members their family on the passingof your wife and daughter-in-law, Sister ButhinaSalih (ra) in Virginia on the Day of Nahar (EidUl- Adha). We are sad to hear that after an ex-tended struggle with cancer, she finally suc-cumbed to the disease. Sister Buthina (ra) is sur-vived by her devoted husband, Hossam Ahmed,son of Dr. Osman Ahmed a founding member ofthe Muslim Students Association -MSA of USAand Canada.

Brother Hossam Ahmed is a pioneering figure inIslamic youth work in America, in particular inthe greater New Jersey area where he was a driv-ing force behind the establishment of MuslimYouth of North America (MYNA) at the na-tional level, as well as a leader in the establish-ment of Muslim Youth Resident Summer Camp-ing programs. Sister Buthina (ra) is also survivedby her beloved children, Hajr, Adam and Mariam.Sister Buthina (rh), a devoted wife, dedicatedmother and teacher spent her final weeks on thisearth devoted to the reading and teaching of Quranto her Muslim Sisters in her community in Vir-ginia. Her death, though a great loss for all thosewho knew and loved her, taking place during

Passing of Sis. Buthina Salih (Ra)these final days of the blessed days of theAsharah of Dhul-Hijjah is a sign of her sincerefaith and piety.

May Allah(SWT) grant you and your familyMercy, patience and comfort during this diffi-cult and trying time. We also pray for her souland ask Allah (S.W.T.) to expand and enlightenher grave with His Noor and grant her Gennatu-Adnan - Ameen!

We remind ourselves, her surviving family mem-bers and friends of the Sunnah of the Prophet(AS) and reflect upon the words of condolenceand prayer that he (AS) used on such occasions:"Inna'lillahi-Wa'Inna Ilahi-rajioon -Inna-lillahi-ma-akhatha Walaho-ma-a-ta. Wakkollo-Shay'inindaho Bi ajalim-musamma - faltasbirWaltahtasib" - To Allah we belong and to Him isour return. Due to Allah that which He has takenaway and His is whatever He has given. WithHim, everything has an appointed term; so letus have patience and seek reward from Him -Ameen!

Condolences may be sent to Brother HossamAhmed at hammer_ahmed.yahoo.com and Dr.Osman Ahmed at [email protected]

American Muslim Heritage

There’s more, read it atwww.TriStateMuslims.com


By ERIC LUU - NBC New YorkWhat can $40 and a loaf of bread do for a man?Apparently it can turn a crook’s life around andhelp him get on track.

An ex-thug sent a thank-you note and a $50 billto the Long Island deli owner who spared his lifeand saved him from a life of crime.

Back in May, the letter-writerattempted to rob the deliwhen the owner, MohammedSohail, 47, pulled out a rifle.But after the ex-crookpleaded for his life, explain-ing he was only doing this be-cause his family was downon luck. Sohail spared thethief's life and gave him $40 and a loaf of bread.

"When you do good things for somebody, itcomes back to you. I gave him $40 and he sentme back $50. It was a good investment," Sohailsaid, laughing.

The anonymous writer apologized to Sohail, hisintended target. "First of all I would like to say Iam sorry at the time I had [no] money no foodon the table no job and nothing for my family,"the ex-crook wrote.

The letter went on to say he "was wrong but Ihad [no] choice. I needed to feed my family,"comments similar to those he made during theattempted robbery.

"When you had that gun to my head I was 100%that I was going to die," he wrote.

Robber Thanks Would-Be VictimFor Saving His LifeA deli owner gives a $40 and a loaf of bread to a manwho attempted to rob him.

"Now I have a new child and good job makegood money staying out of trouble and takingcare of my family. You gave me forty dollarsthank you for sparing my life. Because of thatyou change my life."

The letter-writer wrote that he initially said hewould convert to Islam only because he feared

for his life, but hehas since followedthrough, accordingto the letter.

The Islam convertsigned the letter:“Your MuslimBrother.”

"That's the same guy I gave $40 to," Sohail toldthe New York Post. He showcased the letter athis Shirley Express deli yesterday. The type-written letter had no return address and wasmailed on Long Island the week before Thanks-giving.

"I'm really thrilled," said Sohail. "I'm very happyfor that guy, because he is now doing good forthe community He has a job and he is a goodperson. I really feel great. Thank God he's doinggood. He's got a new baby and he's not in jail."

Suffolk County police turned down the Post’srequests for comment until they have reviewedthe letter. Detectives investigating the attemptedrobbery in were unable to track down the sus-pect after reviewing surveillance camera foot-age.


QUESTION: What to do with DONT DELETE! IF YOUARE A MUSLIM! PLEASE READ THIS emails?

This is true. From Madina Sheikh Ahmed hassent this news. On a Friday Sheikh Ahmed fellasleep reading the Quraan. Then he dreamt theProphet Muhammed (s.a.w) standing in front ofhim and saying that in one week seven thousandpeople died but not even one was a true Mus-lim.

None did what ALLAH wanted. He also saidnow is a bad time. These days Wives don’t lookafter their Husbands, Girls go round withoutbeing covered they do not respect parents orothers, Rich do not look after the poor, they donot give gifts or money or do not give fulfillzakaat.He also said to Sheikh Ahmed make people un-derstand to give zakaat, To do prayer and tokeep fast. The day of judgment is near. WhenThere is a single star in the sky, straight awaythe path of forgiveness will close.

The writing in The Quraan will disappear (van-ish). The Sun will lower itself with Earth.

The Prophet said whoever reads this news tosomeone else, 'I WILL ON THE DAY OFJUDGEMENT MAKE HIM A PLACE INPARADISE, AND IF SOMEONE DOES NOTBELIEVE THIS NEWS TO BE TRUE THEYWILL BE BANISHED FROM PARADISE '

If a poor person gives out this news to otherpeople his/her good wish Will come true. SheikhAhmed said if this is not true then my death willBe off a Non-Muslim. The Prophet said 'KEEPFAST, DO PRAYERS, GIVE ZAKAAT ANDGIVE KINDNESS TO THE POOR.'

Whoever Forwards this will get his/her rewardin three days. One Person Forward it to 40people he had 8,000 thousand, take prophet inhis Business. One Person did not believe thisnews and his son died. One kept Saying he willforward it today, tomorrow but never forwardthis News he died as well.

PLEASE DO NOT THINK THIS IS NOTTRUE. PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ASMANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE!”ANSWER

WaAlaikum AsSalam:AlHamdu Lillah, and peace and blessings be uponHis last and final messenger and prophet, hisfamily, his companions, those who came afterthem and all those who follow the correct guid-ance and refrain from the deliberate disobedi-ence of Allah.

I sincerely apologize for not being able to replyearlier, please ignore my shortcomings that arelargely due to my busy schedules. Thank youfor your question as it shows your care and con-cern about matters related to your Deen, mayAllah reward you for it.

Earlier I saw similar chain email forwarded byothers. A lot of things in the forwarded email aretotally “bogus” and some even against the basicteachings and practices of the prophet (peace beupon him). I advise you to not forward it toanyone, and please advise the source to refrainfrom forwarding similar articles in the future. It

is evident from the forwarded email that the origi-nator either has a serious lack of knowledge ofbasic beliefs of Islam or deliberately misguidinginnocent people.

Some of the reasons and logic behind my re-sponse are as follows:A) Whatever the prophet (peace be upon him)quoted to have said to this person is alreadymentioned in Qura’n and the authentic Sunnah.B) The holy prophet (peace be upon him) hasno authority to neither build anything for any-one in Jannah nor ban anyone from it.

C) Nobody can claim to have received guidanceor words from the prophet (peace be upon him),if those words do not appear in any authenticbook of hadith, contradictory to any orders ofAllah or the practices of the prophet (peace beupon him).

D) The only authority to send or ban anyonefrom any mercy of Allah is The Almighty Allahhimself.

E) Glorious Qura’n and many of the ahadithconfirm our firm belief and also contradict someof the contents of forwarded email.

Furthermore, to say that something bad will hap-pen or has already happened to someone whowould not forward or believe on this email isabsolutely bogus, and must be rejected. An ab-solute majority of Muslims never convinced,conveyed or practiced Islamic teachings, wordsof Allah and His prophet (peace be upon him) toothers and nothing happened to them. And, nowsomething bad will happen, if they do not for-ward this bogus email? How was it concludedthat any loss of life or financial profit was re-lated to forwarding or not frowarding this email?How about keep forwarding it and become fi-nancially independent or even better becomemortal and live happily ever after?

The email also says; “wives don’t look aftertheir husbands”, may I ask is it not a sign ofQiyamah and direct violation of Allah's ordersand prophet's sunnah that a lot of husbands areabusive towards their wives and deprive themof their rights? Allah and His prophet (peace beupon him) made, sent and left everything as aclear guidance and not subjected to somebody’sdreams regardless of where the person was sleep-ing, or what he was doing before he fell asleep.Saheeh Muslim recorded an authentic Hadith thatthe Prophet (peace be upon him) said; “He whocalls to a matter of guidance, will earn a rewardsimilar to the rewards of those who accept hiscall, until the Day of Resurrection, without de-creasing their rewards. Whoever calls to a her-esy, will carry a burden similar to the burdens ofthose who accept his call, until the Day of Res-urrection, without decreasing their own burdens.”I hope this answers some of your questions, Irequest you to please forward this reply to oth-ers as you see appropriate.

I seek Allah forgiveness for all of my sins, mis-takes and misunderstandings in all matters. I leaveyou and your loved ones in the mercy, guidanceand protection of Allah The Almighty.AND ONLY ALLAH KNOWS BEST.

Answered by Najam A. Najmi, JD, Principal - Arbitrator, Mediators.He can be contact at [email protected].

By Sharmeen Gangat - womensmediacenter.com

With the murders at Fort Hood, New York’sMuslim community, however unjustly, was onthe defensive. The author explains how Muslimwomen are reacting.

The New York premiere of Inside Islam: What aBillion Muslims Really Think—a documentarybased on the world’s first major opinion poll ofMuslims around the world—began on a sombernote: the condolatory silence in memory of 13victims who died in the shooting rampage at FortHood on November 5, 2009. The film, taking offfrom the Gallup survey of some 50,000 Mus-lims in more than 35 countries, expressed senti-ments on a variety of issues, including terror-ism—a vehicle for enhancing the voice of an en-tire Muslim community that had felt constrained,particularly in New York, in the aftermath of theSeptember 11, 2001 attack.

Now, a day before Veterans’ Day and a weekafter Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s shooting spree,the mostly Muslim audience attending the pre-miere mourned his victims while fearing theirfaith was once again under attack.

“It was a double tragedy for me as a Muslim,”said Ambreen Qureshi, the program director ofthe Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality andEquality (WISE) at the American Society forMuslim Advancement. “I immediately felt thatsame dreaded feeling I felt on September 11, thatmy religion as a whole was going to be blamedfor this senseless and un-Islamic act and thatthere could be a backlash against Muslim Ameri-cans.”

“But, he is not and cannot be one of us,” saidLena Al-Husseini, the executive director ofBrooklyn’s Arab-American Family SupportCenter. “One man cannot define our entire [Mus-lim] community.”

All Muslim organizations in the United Stateshave condemned Hasan’s actions. However, aYemen-based American Muslim cleric, Anwaral-Awlaki—whose sermons are said to have beenattended by Hasan—appears on the Internetpraising him as a hero” and “man of conscience.”

“The world is full of macho idiots—you don’tneed to be a Muslim for that. Anyone can shootoff his mouth, and nearly anyone can call him-self an imam,” said Rabia Harris, the founderand coordinator of the Muslim Peace Fellow-ship, in response to Anwar’s statement. “Peopleneed to understand that this is the world’s mostdisorganized major religion.”

Islam follows a decentralized structure, enhanc-ing an individual’s relationship with the Creator.Such a personal relationship, Islam teaches, re-moves any lingering doubt of lack of culpabilityfor one’s own actions. Thus, the religion eschewsthe need for institutional forms.

“There is no ‘one’ formal voice for the entireMuslim world—as there is one for the Catholiccommunity in the form of the Pope, for ex-ample,” said Azza Karam, writer and editor ofseveral books including Transnational PoliticalIslam. “This lack of a unified hierarchy to speakin the name of the entire Muslim communitycomplicates the representation of that commu-nity, especially in times of crisis when there areso many voices competing to speak in the nameof the faith.”

Speaking to an issue raised by reports that Hasanwas resisting deployment so as not to be forcedto kill other Muslims, Karam said, “There is noreligious war being fought here. … Your reli-gious identity should not clash with your na-tion-state identity because you cannot create ahomogeneous entity that serves a nation of suchdiversity.”

Rabia Harris has a different take. “I don’t be-lieve any member of the military should beobliged to engage in any conflict that he or shesincerely holds to be unjust. I believe in a uni-versal and continuous right to conscientious ob-jection without loss of honor,” she said. “I be-lieve that fundamental to democracy is the prin-ciple of loyal opposition, and that this principleneeds to be extended into the armed forces. If weallowed for conscientious alternative servicewithin the military, we would strengthen our-selves enormously.”

Hasan, a licensed U.S. Army psychiatrist, con-sulted Islamic leader and Gulf War veteran OsmanDanquah on what he should tell soldiers whoexpressed misgivings about fighting fellow Mus-lims. Danquah told The Associated Press thathe reminded Hasan that these soldiers had vol-unteered to fight, and that Muslims were fight-ing each other in Afghanistan, Pakistan and thePalestinian territories.

In addition to these conflicts, Muslims in Darfurare killing each other over land and grazing rights;in Algeria, the government and various Islamistrebel groups are involved in a civil war; in Yemen,Shia tribesmen are fighting Yemeni armed forces.

“All these countries have Muslim majorities.

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By Mohammed Khaku from the Mounring Call

History tells us that the earliest Pilgrim fatherswere engaged in a quest for asylum. So wasProphet Muhammad of Islam centuries earlierwhen he was forced to migrate from Mecca,where he was persecuted, to the city of Medina.This migration is called Hijrah. The Islamic cal-endar today does not begin when ProphetMuhammad was born or when he died, but whenProphet Muhammad first migrated from Meccain search of asylum -- 622 C.E. While Americansare heir to the legacy of Mayflower, Muslimsand Jews have the heritage of migration ofProphet Muhammad to Medina, and Moses toSinai.

Almost all Americans trace their ancestry to otherlands. The great and enduring strength of theUnited States is that it is an immigrant societyof rich and poor, black and white, Hispanic andAsian, Jews and Christian, Muslims and Hin-dus all who make up the American mosaic.

America is a haven from poverty, religious per-secution, oppressive government and tyrannicaldictators because of our constitution and thewisdom of our founders.

Thanksgiving, the most unique of all Americanholidays, is a homage to our history. SinceAbraham Lincoln issued a proclamation in 1863,Americans have celebrated the third Thursdayin November as a day of thanksgiving and praise.So should Muslims give thanks, praise the cre-ator and remember their past history.

My past began in East Africa (Kenya, Ugandaand Tanzania). I was born in Mombassa, Kenya,and my family has a long history of migrationfrom India to East Africa.

When my forefathers set off in dhows for a greenland of plenty from ports of India in late 19thcentury, they were leaving famine and economichardship. The first Asian immigrants from EastAfrica moved to the United States and Europefor better education and security.

Asians of East Africa made up 1 percent of thetotal population there and most originated fromthe Gujarat, Kutch and Kathiawarregions of western India.

In early 19th century, a large migra-tion of Indians moved from Indiaunder British rule to build the rail-way from Mombassa to LakeVictoria in Uganda. Many Asiansmigrants took jobs as civil servants,but most migrated as traders, shop-keepers (dukawalla) and merchants.

Asians were discriminated against infavor of the British, but were privi-leged compared to the indigenousAfricans.

The situation began to change afterthe independence of Uganda (1962),Kenya (1963) and Tanzania (1964).Many Asians began leaving EastAfrica during the Zanzibar Revolution (1964)and Arusha Declaration (Africanization policy)by President Nyerere in 1967, and this periodwas known as ''Asian Exodus'' or ''AsianDiaspora.''

The biggest exodus was in 1972 when Idi Amingave the country's 75,000 Asian (Muhindis) 90days to leave. Amin, a devout Muslim, said hewas acting on God's orders he received in a dream,to expel all Asian shopkeepers (dukavallas).

Amin's actions were built up over many years ofhatred, resentment and mutual distrust.

In some ways the attitudes were nurtured byAsians themselves, who claimed to be living onborrowed time there. We Asians of East Africanever thought of East Africa as our homeland.

The history of Indian migration from East Africa

to Lehigh Valley dates to 1972. Three families ofrefuges left Uganda amid the turmoil and eventu-ally relocated to the United States; the St. John'sLutheran Church in Allentown came to sponsorthem.

These three families established the tradition ofholding services (Majalises) and religious obser-vance in their homes, and at times held specialservices such as Eid-ul Fitr and Eid-ul Adha atSt. John's.

This continued for years even as the communitygrew with immigrants from East Africa, India,Pakistan and the Middle East. By 1980, thecommunity had grown large enough to be regis-tered as nonprofit organization. It purchased acenter at 1335 Chew Street, which had been aprayer hall for the Jehovah's Witness. The com-munity continued to grow.

As a leader of the community, I em-barked on the journey of building anew Islamic center in SouthWhitehall Township. It remindedme of the first immigrants whosome 25 years ago purchased andrenovated the Chew Street center.Although they had limited re-sources, their faith paved the wayto what is now a most vibrant andrespected Islamic institution. Withfaith in God and persistence we asa community were able to build anew place of worship, which standout as a symbol of our devotion,thanks and praise to Lord (Allah).

For Muslims of Lehigh Valley,Thanksgiving should also be the re-membrance of our heritage asAmerican Muslims. We thank the

Lutheran church that gave refuge to first immi-grants in Lehigh Valley and also remember theMuslims who arrived in America in the hulls ofslave ships.

Let's all remember our own shortcoming, andgive thanks for the infinite mercy, forgivenessand love of our creator.

Mohammed Khaku is past president of Al AhadIslamic Center in Allentown.

American Muslims should stand with Pilgrims

buffets that shielded us from poverty and pol-lution on the streets of Mecca. I thought tomyself that Haj is definitely a vacation.

Then the dreaded news came from New Jer-sey that my father had suffered a stroke andhe was in critical condition. I chewed my heartwhile hearing my mother weep on the phone.Like the mountains in Mecca, my brotherswere speechless. We were spiritually con-nected but thousands of miles apart. Lost forwords, I saw my earliest memories of my fa-ther – a man whose shade I grew under, playedback in a split second. I spent my days andnights in the Holy Mosque praying for hisrecovery and a revivial of my spiritual jour-ney to God.

At our hotel I met a pilgrim guide, a Pathan(ethnic people from Pakistan and Afghanistan)who had not slept for four days yet he wasalways smiling and busy with pilgrims. Whilemany guides would remain in the HolyMosque, this man stayed in the hotel to assistnew pilgrims. He rarely ventured out of thehotel. Once another guide taunted him, “Youguys stay in this hotel but I love to sit in theHoly Mosque lost in devotion to God”. Uponhearing the statement, the Pathan guide said,“You could gain paradise by worshipping Godbut you can only gain God by serving people”.I thought it was great advice for religiouspeople to consider.

In the mosque, I met an elderly Moroccanvillager (northwest Africa) who was sufferingfrom heat exhaustion and his feet had swollenfrom excessive walk. We conversed and I toldhim that I was from America. He then askedme how many kilometers it was from Rabat,

the capital city. I could only smile at his simplic-ity. The man told me that he had come for Hajand left his country and faced great hardshiponly to please God. I was humbled.

On the way out of the mosque as I rubbed shoul-ders with rich and poor, people of all localities.I could recognize Malaysian, Chinese, Bosnian,Turkish, Persian, Indian, and other pilgrims whowalked towards the Holy Mosque in a hurrybut always smiled on their way out. It was as ifthey had found what they were searching for.There, at the door I saw two very old couplesstanding, raising their hands and outpouring theirhearts. They spoke in Punjabi (regional languageof Pakistan) about their longing for this day andsearch for forgiveness and His pleasure. Peoplegathered around them. The old couples wereengrossed in their supplication and disconnectedfrom their surroundings; they spoke from theirhearts and melted the hearts of those in theirvicinity. As I watched their spiritual ecstasy, Ifelt ashamed of my own religiosity.

There were American students from the univer-sities of Medina and Mecca who lived by thetrademark, “What can I do for you?” They didnot get paid or asked for tips. In fact, they wereonly interested in one thing, “Ya Haj! (O pil-grim) remember me in your supplications toGod”. They viewed the pilgrims as guests ofGod and volunteered day and night. I asked themto pray for my sick father who was now recov-ering at home.

We stayed in the tent-city of Mina for threedays with other pilgrims while reciting theQur’an, performing prayers, and engrossed inconversations that often touched upon the ques-tion of our personal journey to God. Many pro-

claimed that they had come to start afresh andwere no longer interested in “running after theworld”. Interestingly, as required by Haj rites,we had to walk and run around the Kaba, a blackcubical building originally built by Abraham andhis son Ishmael. Afterward, we drank water fromthe spring of Zamzam.

Tradition notes that upon God’s commandAbraham left Hager and her son Ishmael in thedesert of Bakka (ancient name of Mecca), herprovision expired in a few days. She ran fromone mountain to another in search of water whilekeeping a constant watch on baby Ishmael. Godloved this act so much that He gushed a spring(Zamzam) under the feet of Ishmael. Today thisritual of running and drinking Zamzam is per-formed by all pilgrims in Mecca. The pilgrimsquench their spiritual thirst while running to-wards God. These ritualsaid the heart in recognizing another spiritual re-ality.

During Haj a question followed me that this hustleand bustle of strangers, my inadvertently run-ning into wheelchairs, losing my gaze in theglitter of shops, gaining appetite every hour,and yearning for my bed in exhaustion,how does all of this translate into some-thing spiritually tangible that I couldtake back home? We oftenget this idea of spiri-tual experi-ence in

meditation – deep reflections in isolation frompeople and close to nature but Haj was differ-ent.

Towards the end of my journey it hit me thatone had to seek God and remain loyal to Himdespite all the surrounding commotions. Hajexplained to me that our world is full of dis-tractions and one has to focus on this journeyto God. Our time is limited and we can onlyfind God while serving others. I believe thatspiritual experiences are not based in luxuryand entertainment due to extreme self-indul-gence of such habits. Rather, a spiritual jour-ney begins when we recognize our dependenceon God and commit to a life of sacrifice andpiety.

Faraz Khan is a social activist and a thinkerwho is a frequent speaker on Islam and Mus-lim-related conversations on college campusesin the tri-state area.

Hajj: The Journey of My Soul - from page 1


Every Friday afternoon, after the Jumat serviceat the Central Mosque (and shortly after Al-Usrah program), the Imam and his eleven yearold son would go out into their town and handout "PATH TO PARADISE" and other Islamicliterature. This particular and fortunate Fridayafternoon, as the time came for the Imam and hisson to go to the streets with their booklets, itwas very cold outside, as well as pouring rain.The boy bundled up in his warmest and driestclothes and said, 'OK, dad, I'm ready!'

His 'Mallam' dad asked, 'Ready for what' 'Dad,it's time we gather our tracts together and goout.'

Dad responds, 'Son, it's very cold outside andit's pouring rain.'

The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking,'But Dad, aren't people still going to hell, eventhough it's raining?'

Dad answers, 'Son, I am not going out in thisweather.'

Despondently, the boy asks, 'Dad, can I go Please'

His father hesitated for a moment then said, 'Son,you can go. Here are the booklets. Be carefulson.'

'Thanks, Dad!'

And with that, he was off and out into the rain.This eleven year old boy walked the streets ofthe town going door to door and handing ev-erybody he met in the street a pamphlet or abooklet.

After two hours of walking in the rain, he wassoaking, bone-chilled wet and down to his VERYLAST BOOKLET. He stopped on a corner andlooked for someone to hand a booklet to, but thestreets were totally deserted.

Then he turned toward the first home he sawand started up the sidewalk to the front doorand rang the door bell. He rang the bell, butnobody answered..

He rang it again and again, but still no one an-swered. He waited but still no answer.

Finally, this eleven year old da'wah-expert turnedto leave, but something stopped him.

Again, he turned to the door and rang the belland knocked loudly on the door with his fist. Hewaited, something holding him there on the frontporch! He rang again and this time the doorslowly opened.

Standing in the doorway was a very sad-lookingelderly lady. She softly asked, 'What can I do foryou, son?' With radiant eyes and a smile that litup her world, this little boy said, 'Ma'am, I'msorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tellyou that ALLAH REALLY LOVES ANDCARES FOR YOU and I came to give you myvery last booklet which will tell you all aboutGod, the real purpose of creation, and how toachieve His pleasure.'

With that, he handed her his last booklet andturned to leave. She called to him as he departed.'Thank you, son! And God Bless You!'

Well, the following Friday afternoon after Jumatservice (during which period they hold a weekly

Path to Paradise - An American Muslim Experience


program, Al-Usrah) the Imam was giving somelectures. As he concludes the lectures, he asked,'Does anybody have questions or want to sayanything?'

Slowly, in the back row among the ladies, anelderly voice was heard over the speaker. As thevoice went on, a hint of glorious gaiety andcontentment was plainly evident in it eventhough the wasn't to be seen, 'No one in thisgathering knows me. I've never been here be-fore. You see, before last Friday I was not aMuslim, and thought I could be. My husbandpassed on some time ago, leaving me totallyalone in this world.. Last Friday, being a particu-larly cold and rainy day, it was even more so inmy heart that I came to the end of the line whereI no longer had any hope or will to live.

So I took a rope and a chair and ascended thestairway into the attic of my home.. I fastenedthe rope securely to a rafter in the roof thenstood on the chair and fastened the other end ofthe rope around my neck. Standing on that chair,so lonely and broken-hearted I was about toleap off, when suddenly the loud ringing of mydoorbell downstairs startled me. I thought, I'llwait a minute, and whoever it is will go away.

I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbellseemed to get louder and more insistent, andthen the person ringing also started knockingloudly....

I thought to myself again, 'Who on earth couldthis be. Nobody ever rings my bell or comes tosee me.' I loosened the rope from my neck andstarted for the front door, all the while the bellrang louder and louder.

When I opened the door and looked I could hardlybelieve my eyes, for there on my front porchwas the most radiant and angelic little boy I hadever seen in my life. His SMILE, oh, I couldnever describe it to you! The words that camefrom his mouth caused my heart that had longbeen dead TO LEAP TO LIFE as he exclaimedwith a cherub-like voice, 'Ma'am, I just came totell you that ALLAH REALLY LOVES ANDCARES FOR YOU!'

Then he gave me this booklet, Path To Paradisethat I now hold in my hand. As the little angeldisappeared back out into the cold and rain, Iclosed my door and read slowly every word ofthis book. Then I went up to my attic to get myrope and chair. I wouldn't be needing them anymore.

You see? I am now a Happy Vicegerent of theOne True God. Since the address of your con-gregation was stamped on the back of this book-let, I have come here to personally say THANKYOU to God's little angel who came just in thenick of time and by so doing, spared my soulfrom an eternity in hell.'

There was not a dry eye in the mosque. And asshouts of TAKBIR..ALLAH AKBAR.. rentedthe air, even among the ladies, despite them-selves.

Imam-Dad descended from the pulpit to the frontrow where the little angel was seated.... He tookhis son in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

Probably no jama'at has had a more glorious


upon which he has constructed his ethos towardfood. That his chickens are fed on a purely natu-ral diet, allowed to grow at a healthy rate, andgiven bug-filled pastures to explore are as crucialfor him as the “Bismallah Allah-u-Akbar” hewhispers before that final cut.Advertisement

And Kurdieh is not alone. He is part of a grow-ing movement of Muslims seeking to revolu-tionize the production and supply of halal meatin the U.S. This drive for a more transparent andenvironmentally sound approach to halal meatreflects the natural juncture of Islamic dietaryprinciples and the increasingly popular but al-most entirely secular sustainable-food movementsweeping across the country.Halal goes industrial

Of the eight million Muslims in the United States,40 percent buy halal meat. But until the early1990s, it was still relatively difficult for thoseMuslims to buy halal meat commercially. To-day, however, the number of U.S. businessesthat supply Muslim grocers and even some non-Muslim supermarkets with mass-processed halalmeat products, such as chicken nuggets and hotdogs, is growing; according to industry experts,the halal market now is valued at $16 billion peryear.

Kurdieh argues that the meat products thesebusinesses retail to the Muslim community defythe natural order of life, directly contraveningthe wholesome and pure principles dictated bytayyib. He’s appalled, for example, by the factthat feed given to commercially raised chickenslegally contains animal byproducts such asground animal meal and dehydrated blood.

“Chickens are not vegetarian by nature,” he ad-mits. “Watch a group of chickens running around;if a mouse passes though them, they devour it.That’s natural. But it’s another thing to feed themother dead chickens, or pig flesh. A chicken isnot naturally going to find a pig and eat it!”

Certification boards have matched the growth ofthe American halal industry. The 80 or so cur-rent certification boards in the U.S. — such asthe Islamic Food and Nutrition Council ofAmerica (IFANCA) — charge companies feesto undertake audits of production facilities andinspect documentation on products and manu-facturing. The products of certified companiesbear a symbol meant to reassure Muslim con-sumers that these items fully comply with Is-lamic dietary laws.

IFANCA guarantees that the meat it certifiescomes from animals raised on “clean food” orvegetarian diets for the last part of their lives.(Before this period, there is no restriction onfeed containing animal byproducts.) Dr.Muhammad Chaudry, the president of IFANCA,says he’s satisfied that this final period of cleans-ing complies with the precepts of Islam. As evi-dence, he tells the story of an animal in Islamictradition that fed on filth but was consideredhalal and fit to eat after it had been purged overa period of time.Zaid Kurdieh. (Photo courtesy Leah Koenig)

Chaudry stresses that there are no mandates inIslam asking Muslims to abstain from commer-cially raised livestock. “My definition of tayyibmay be different from his definition,” he sayswhen presented with Kurdieh’s point of view.

Using any method other than intensive farming,says Chaudry, is unrealistic on a large scale.“There is no way that you can feed the sevenbillion people in the world by free range anymore,” he argues. “We would become vegetar-ians, and certainly we would then run out ofvegetables also.”

But Kurdieh thinks otherwise. He studied agri-culture and business at the universities of Wyo-ming and South Dakota and worked for CornellUniversity’s cooperative extension program,helping farmers set up business plans, beforestarting his own farm in 1998. Fifteen years ago,he became so disillusioned by the provenance ofcommercially available halal meat that he vowednot to feed himself or his family meat that hehad not sourced and slaughtered personally. Andin 2006, he decided to extend this service to hiscustomers and the wider Muslim community.

“When we thought about what livestock to raise,we decided on chicken, because it is the worsttype of meat you can buy,” he explains.One man’s meat

Meanwhile, a handful of other young, profes-sional American Muslims, equally frustrated bythe lack of transparency in the commercial halalmeat industry and by the intensive farming meth-ods these enterprises support, began trying tobuild an alternative halal food system based on alocal economy of farmers and growers.

In 2004, 34-year-old Yasir Syeed, who lives innorth Virginia and works as a sales and market-ing executive, started looking into where his foodwas coming from.

“It is not about just about eating what has beenslaughtered correctly,” he says. “God sets thebar much higher. It is also about eating what’sgood and pure.”

After seeing a video on factory farming, he de-cided that he no longer wanted to feed himself orhis young family meat raised in this way. Inpart, this decision was born out of concern fortheir own health. But more significantly, he wasappalled at the treatment of livestock in thatenvironment.

“I feel that every piece of meat has a story, andI’m the final chapter. I want that story wherethe animal had a life that was pleasurable at thevery least,” he says.

For Syeed, all this resonated strongly with theprinciples of Islam, particularly on the impor-tance of animal welfare, which he says is ad-dressed recurrently in the Koran and reflected inthe profound mercy extended by the Prophet

Mohammad toward animals in numerous in-stances.

Reading Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Di-lemma was pivotal for Syeed. He was particu-larly struck by how the increasingly commercialorganic-food industry seemed strikingly similarto factory farming in terms of how its livestockwas treated. So even when Syeed found organichalal meat in the freezer cabinets of local Mus-lim grocery stores, he didn’t feel satisfied that itmet his criteria of how meat should be raised.

So he called up several small-scalefarmers in Virginia whose opera-tions he had vetted online. He ex-plained that he would like to per-sonally hand-select livestock thathe would slaughter himself in thezabihah way and have the farmsbutcher the meat for him.

Some were more responsive thanothers. One farmer turned himdown definitively after discussingthe proposition with his pastor.“I told him I wasn’t going to bethrowing blood around or any-thing,” Syeed recalls with a laugh.Nonetheless, the farmer said thathe felt uncomfortable having some-one of a different religion carry outthe slaughter.

Syeed soon struck up a relation-ship with Polyface Farm inSwoope, Virginia. He went thereregularly and, on his return, doledout convenient packs of pre-cutmeat to friends and relatives.

Requests began to pile up. Twoyears ago, Syeed decided to part-ner with the farm, turning his ex-

peditions into a side business that, he hopes,will one day become a full-time enterprise. Heset up a website through which people couldplace their orders, and Green Zabiha was born.

Through word of mouth, recommendations fromfriends, and by sending out emails to the listservof an online community of young environmen-tally savvy Muslims in Washington, D.C., calledD.C. Green Muslims, Syeed has accumulatedabout 100 regular customers, many of whomplaced orders in September for free-range, or-ganic Thanksgiving turkeys.

In 2001, the Muslim arm of a Chicago-basedinterfaith organization, Faith in Place, whichworks with religious congregations to promotesustainable farming, formed a grassroots coop-erative. Local Muslim groups had been askingfor meat that was tayyib as well as halal andzabihah.

“Our products are tayyib because we ensurethat animals are treated with humanity, raised inrespectful environments, and fed a natural dietfree from antibiotics, hormones, and other suchadditives,” the organization promises on itswebsite.Turkeys at the Kurdieh farm.

Qaid Hassan, who now manages the coopera-tive, was a volunteer for the community-basedbusiness before he joined the staff. Unlike con-ventional co-ops, members don’t have to pay amembership fee; they simply order specific cutsof chicken, lamb, turkey, and beef from thewebsite or over the phone. The meat is thenshipped directly to individual members, or togroup drop-off sites.

Hassan sources the meat directly from a localfarmer about an hour south of Chicago, who

raises all his animals on open pasture. “Webrokered a good relationship because he was in-terested in reaching out to the Muslim commu-nity,” says Hassan. “He understood that therewere specific mandates embedded in Islamic lawabout the slaughter of meat, and he was commit-ted to re-setting the local food system.”A halal CSA

At the farmers’ market, as the last of his cus-tomers rifle through the remaining medley oforganic produce, Zaid Kurdieh receives a call onhis cell phone from a young Muslim woman hedoes not know. Candice Elam and her husbandlive in Union City, in northern New Jersey. Sincefinding out that she is expecting their first child,Elam has become increasingly concerned aboutthe quality and provenance of their food. Thoughthey already belong to a local cooperative thatdistributes organic, locally grown vegetables andfruits and cage-free organic eggs, Elam wants toensure that their meat is also raised and slaugh-tered according to the same sustainable prin-ciples. Having heard about Kurdieh’s organic halalchickens, Elam hopes they can work together tostart a CSA supplying her local Muslim com-munity with meat.

Kurdieh listens to her ambitious plans with in-terest; after all, he was already seriously consid-ering raising lamb, goat, and even cattle on hisfarm. But his reaction is not the one she hadexpected.

“The average Muslim is not interested in wheretheir meat comes from,” says Kurdieh, shrug-ging his shoulders. “They don’t know where itcomes from and they don’t want to know. Allthey care about is that it is cheap.”

And so his response to Elam was a cautious one,warning her that it would be difficult to con-vince local Muslims to pay more than three timesthe price of a standard chicken from the localhalal butcher.

Kurdieh isn’t pessimistic, just pragmatic. “It’sbetter that they are self-educated, because oth-erwise they question whether I’m telling themthe truth or simply pulling their legs to peddlesomething,” he says about trying to convincefellow Muslims to avoid industrial meat. Givenenough time and activist Muslims, he muses asdarkness slowly falls over Union Square, themainstream halal industry will eventually con-form to sustainable principles.A goat on Zaid Kurdieh’s farm.

The seed of such a transition is perhaps beingplanted not all that far away. In a converted ga-rage in nearby Queens, Imran Uddin, a 27-year-old Muslim who runs a popular halal slaughter-house, is putting the finishing touches on hisnew USDA-approved processing plant.

Three years ago, Uddin abandoned an advertis-ing career to take over his father’s slaughterhousein Ozone Park. Providing New Yorkers withpasture-raised, free-range halal goat, lamb,chicken, and such exotic poultry as pheasantand quail — all of which he slaughters on site —Uddin is uncompromising when it comes to up-holding the ethical standards he feels are set de-finitively by his faith. He frequently visits thefarms in Pennsylvania and Texas where hesources his poultry and livestock.

Up till now, Uddin’s business, Madani Halal,has only sold freshly slaughtered meat directlyto customers. But from his new $3 million pro-cessing facility, just steps away from his slaugh-terhouse, Uddin will slaughter, process, and pack-age halal chicken cuts for retail in halal stores

The Eco-Halal Revolution- Clean Food for Muslims



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show how fish oil fatty acids leave nobody out,studies show that children (and adults) with ADDand ADHD experience a greatly improved qual-ity of life. And those with dyslexia, dyspraxiaand compulsive disorders have gotten a new leaseon life thanks to omega 3 oils.

7. Reduction of Breast, Colon and Prostate Can-cer. And finally, omega 3 fish oil has been shownto help prevent three of the most common formsof cancer – breast, colon and prostate. Sciencetells us that omega 3s accomplish this in threeways. They stop the alteration from a normal

healthy cell to a cancerous mass,inhibiting unwanted cellulargrowth and causing apoptosis,or cellular death, of cancer cells.

So you can see why knowingthese benefits is the second mostimportant thing you can do foryour health. Can you guess whatnumber one is?

That's right! Now it's time toput your knowledge to work.Eat more cold water oily fishand start taking good qualitypure omega 3 fish oil supple-ments regularly.

Copyright by Michael Byrd. AllRights Reserved.Michael has nearly 20 years ex-perience and education in nutri-tion and physical therapy. Hispursuit of wellness has led himto understand the extraordinaryhealing power of natural wholefoods and the many fish oilhealth benefits.

To look younger, feel better andstay healthy, visit Michael at theomega 3 web site and requestyour Free CD on the omega 3industry secrets.

Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Byrd

7 Fish Oil Benefits Proven by Research

Use haddock, ti-lapia, roughy, orother similar fishfor this tasty friedfish recipe.

Ingredients: * 1 pound fish fil-lets, such as had-dock, tilapia, cod,etc. * oil for deep frying * 1/2 cup flour * salt and pepper to taste * 1/4 teaspoon paprika

Preparation:Pour 1 inch of oil in skillet; heat to 375°. Com-bine flour, salt, pepper, and paprika. Dip fish fil-lets into flour mixture. Fry fish for about 5 min-utes on each side; remove to a platter.Makes 3 to 4 servings.


By Andrew Chung (thestar.com)MONTREAL–First, a Muslim girl was barredfrom a soccer match for wearing a hijab. Then,five Muslim girls were ejected from a tae kwondo tournament for the same reason.

It was 2007, at a time when Quebecers werepreoccupied with how far they should go to "ac-commodate" the religious and cultural differencesof immigrants in a secular and multicultural soci-ety.

While soccer and martial arts officials cited safetyconcerns, many called the ejections racist, andthe incidents became part of the larger contro-versy.

Fast forward two years, and industrial designerElham Seyed Javad has taken up the cause.

"I was so distressed when I learned about it,"Seyed Javad said. "Your beliefs shouldn't pre-vent you from playing sports."

So, the 26-year-old University of Montrealgraduate designed a sleek sports hijab, whichfits tightly around the head and is part of a sportsshirt underneath.

They were tested by some Muslim athletes at amartial arts tournament last weekend and passedwith flying colours, Seyed Javad said.

Her innovation comes as the question of "rea-sonable accommodation" on the integration ofimmigrants into society is surging back into thepublic domain.

An Angus Reid Strategies poll from last monthsuggests the vast majority of Quebecers thinkthere is too much accommodation going on. Sev-enty-six per cent say the wearing of religioussymbols in school should be barred.

And yet, "accommodations" continue under theradar.

For example, at the all-girls public high schoolÉcole Marguerite-De Lajemmerais in eastMontreal, where all students must wear a uni-form, the school decided to provide a hijab, com-plete with the school's logo stitched into thefabric.

Montreal's French school board said it was look-ing to see if other schools were doing the same.

"We find it worrying," said Alain Perron, spokes-person for the Commission scolaire de Montréal.

The debate over "reasonable accommodation"exploded in 2007 when numerous reports cameto light of religious minorities making requestsranging from opting out of music classes to ob-scuring a fitness club's windows to hide the scant-ily-clad women inside.

Then the small town of Hérouxville stirred thingsup by publishing a "code" for new immigrants,reminding them that stoning or burning women

Montreal designercreates sleeksports hijab

was prohibited, and that veils weren't welcome,except on Halloween.

The problem of headscarves in sports is thatsometimes the ends come untucked, even thoughathletes try to pin them inside a shirt.

Seyed Javad, who is Muslim but doesn't wear ahijab herself, emphasizes that her "Resport" ismore than a hijab. It can be used by anyone,male or female, who needs to keep their hair incheck during their activities.

"Even men in American football," she explained."They sometimes have long hair."

The Resport is being shopped around to manu-facturers by Univalor, which commercializesUniversity of Montreal inventions. It "helps tointegrate, rather than exclude certain communi-ties in society," Seyed Javad said.

École Marguerite-De Lajemmerais principal

Alain Guillemette defended his school's hijabs,saying they conformed to the school's uniformsin colour and fabric.

"It's from the point of view of uniformity thatthis was put in place," he explained.

Salam Elmenyawi, president of the MuslimCouncil of Montreal, said he was surprised bythe school's actions in such a volatile atmosphere,but found it encouraging. "I think it's a normal-ization of wearing the hijab by having the insti-tution offer it," he said.

That very idea of normalization is what worriesLouise Mailloux, spokesperson for the CitizenCollective for Equality and Secularism, whichbelieves the hijab is inherently a symbol of in-equality, especially where women are pressuredto wear it.

"A secular school must be neutral," Maillouxargued.

Elham Seyed Javad models a hijab/sportsshirt that she designed for female Muslimathletes in Montreal. Pix by Peter Mccabe.

December 8 2009

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