Muslim Voice September 2011

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Monthly Newspaper | Vol.15 Issue No.180 | September 2011 Ramadan / Shawwal 1432H

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A M E R I C A N - M U S L I M S C O M M U N I T Y N E W S P A P E R

Muslim TV Show Airs on Hispanic Network

Join our Facebook group to meet other Muslims in Phoenix

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32Hunger and Related Causes in Somalia

Honoring a Man of Peace and a Man of Color

What is it Like to Intern With Breek Media? 6

A Year On, States Draw Back from SB 1070 Legislation

Valley Youth Unite for a Night of Worship

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News Report

Zaineb Mohammed

Muslims in Arizona celebrated two momentous occasions - the beginning of Ramadan and the debut of the first Muslim community TV program in Phoenix. The hour-long variety program, Salam TV, is meant to, “put a human face on Islam,” according to executive producer Marwan Ahmad.

What makes Salam TV unique is that it airs on a largely Spanish-language network (Channel 44), and represents a groundbreaking partnership between the Muslim and Hispanic media in the city.

Both Muslim and Hispanic media outlets pointed to SB 1070, the law that Arizona governor Jan Brewer enacted about a year ago making it a state crime to be an undocumented immigrant, as the catalyst for crossing cultural boundaries.

“SB 1070 is really making us get closer together because we are all foreigners,” said Mariela Gomez, a consultant for Channel 44 who has been helping with Salam TV. “A lot of ethnicities are complaining and we realized that it’s not only against Hispanics.”

With approximately 120,000 Muslims in Phoenix, Ahmad said, “What happens in the immigration environment definitely affects Muslims. Arizona hasn’t been a very open state towards us.”

Gomez introduced Ahmad to many people in Latino media community.

Ahmad warned KPHE TV 44 General Manager John Troglia that having an Islamic show on his channel might be a headache, but Troglia was undeterred. “I was very excited that we could bring something to the Muslim community. It’s a beautiful, faith-based community,” said

Troglia.

Having not worked together before, Hispanic and Muslim media are finding the partnership eye opening. “The crew from Channel 44 that goes on-site to shoot the “Join us for Iftar” segment, which showcases how different Muslim families celebrate Ramadan, has been excited to go to people’s homes and learn about their culture,” observed Ahmad.

For Gomez, the experience has been especially life-changing. After traveling to Bahrain every year to produce documentaries about their Latino community, she became interested in converting to Islam and it was during her time working on Salam TV that she finally had the right opportunity.

While working on the segment “Join us for Iftar” Gomez was able to better understand the Islamic culture. “Getting to know all these families opened the door for me to go to the mosque and convert,” said Gomez. Gomez has encouraged many of her Latino friends to watch the show, and learning basic facts about Islam and Ramadan surprised them.

Broken into 15-minute segments, the show includes Islamic cartoons for kids, cooking shows, comedy segments, and interviews with local families about how they celebrate Ramadan. At the end, a local imam gives a short talk relating to Ramadan and the Adhan, or the call to prayer, is broadcast. Providing an English translation for passages recited from the Quran is one of many ways the show attempts to make Islam understandable to non-Muslims.

Educating the public about Islam is one of Salam TV’s main goals. While one segment of the show’s target audience is the large Muslim community in Phoenix, they also want to connect with non-Muslims. “We

want to show them a different side of Islam that they’ve never been introduced to,” said Ahmad, “we want to show that Muslims are like any other community. We like to eat, and entertain ourselves, and have fun. We’re no different, but at the same time we like to worship god in our own way.”

Public service announcements from local politicians help to create a positive impression of Muslims. “We wanted to reach politicians and tell them to give a message to the community to recognize us,” said Ahmad. After some initial hesitation, several have signed on, including the mayors of Scottsdale, Gilbert, and Mason and Democratic state Senator Kyrsten Sinema. The first show included a message from President Obama wishing the American Muslim community “Ramadan Kareem” and a blessed month.

Initially, attracting advertisers was a challenge. However, because Ahmad has been publishing his own newspaper locally for 16 years, he was able to package deals with advertisers between newspapers and the TV show.

Thus far, the responses have all been positive. Ahmad has heard many express the sentiment, “It’s the right time, we need our own program that gives our side of the story.” It is too early to tell how successful the show will end up being, but for now their website, which puts up the shows after they are broadcast, receives about 300 page views a day.

Ahmad’s brainchild has been a year in the making, and he plans to keep going after the month is over, “Our goal is to have our own network one day,” he said. Hopeful that the Hispanic-Muslim partnership will also continue, Troglia added, “I believe that we are going to be a part of that.”

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TERMS USED IN THIS PAPER

Alhamdulilah: Praise GodAllah: Arabic word for GodFatwa: Islamic decision based on Shari’aHadith: Sayings of the Prophet Moham-madHajj: Pilgrimage to MeccaHalal: Allowed in IslamHalaqa: Group studyHaram: Prohibited in IslamHijab: Head cover for womenHijra: Migration of the Prophet from Mecca to MadinaImam: Islamic scholarIman: FaithInshallah: God willingMadina: City near Mecca in Saudia ArabiaMasjid: Place were Muslims gather for prayer and studiesMecca: City in Saudi Arabia where Prophet Mohammad was bornPbuh: Peace be upon himQuran: Islam’s Holy bookShahadah: Is saying “I accept Allah as the one God and Mohammad as his messen-ger” when someone accepts Islam.Sharia’: Islamic lawShura: A council of Muslim scholars(SWT) Subhanahu Watala: Praise be to AllahTaqwa: God consciousness

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A Year On, States Draw Back from SB 1070 Legislation

New America Media, News Report, Valeria Fernandez

PHOENIX -- A year after SB 1070 took effect, states nationwide are turning away from similar bills, fearing the financial and political fallout seen in Arizona and the consequences that anti-immigrant legislation could have in their own backyards.

“Arizona was a wake up call for other states,” said Elena Lacayo, field coordinator with the Immigration Policy Project at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the nation’s largest advocacy group for Hispanics.

Lacayo, who has followed the effects of SB 1070-type legislation in other states, said that despite the far reaching nature of some of the bills, it was the economic backlash in Arizona after SB 1070 that helped other states realize the costly consequences of anti-immigrant laws.

Latinos across the country have naturally come out against “the new Jim Crow laws,” she added, because they feel threatened. The response has been aggressive, she said.

To date, five states have passed anti-immigrant legislation modeled on SB 1070: Alabama, Indiana, Utah, South Carolina and Georgia. While such moves have encouraged groups opposed to undocumented immigration, like the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the fact that 27 states opted against similar bills suggests a far greater reaction against it.

SB 1070 took partial effect in Arizona on July 29 after several controversial parts of the bill were enjoined by a federal judge, including provisions that would allow local police to check on the immigration status of individuals and requiring immigrants to carry their paperwork with them at all times.

Economic fallout

According to a report from the Center for American Progress, Arizona lost upwards of $140 million in revenue from conventions the state would have hosted due to a boycott against SB 1070. The state’s image abroad also took a serious hit, the report noted.

“They are starting to realize that when you create an inhospitable environment (for immigrants), there’s a ripple effect,” said Angela Kelley, vice president for Immigration Policy and Advocacy at the Center for American Progress, a non-partisan think-tank based in

Washington, D.C.

Kelley cited the example of Kentucky, which reversed efforts to pass its own version of SB 1070 after reviewing a fiscal-impact study that estimated it would cost $89 million per year to enforce.

In Arizona, Senate Republicans recently defeated five new anti-immigrant pieces of legislation, some aimed at denying birthright citizenship, after they received a letter from 60 CEOs in the business community cautioning

them about an already harmful boycott.

Even in states like Georgia, which passed a law that, among other things, requires employers to verify the immigration status of prospective employees via the federal E-Verify system, groups like the Georgia Farm Bureau argue the law will lead to a shortage of agricultural workers.

“I really think [SB 1070] pushed the debate to another level, given how extreme it is,” said Lacayo with NCLR. “It pushed a lot of folks that never speak out about immigration to come out of the woodwork,” she added.

The failure of anti-immigrant bills in states like Florida and Texas were also significant because of the political momentum they could have carried, she noted.

In Texas, a bill put forward by Republican Governor Rick Perry, who wanted to put an end to “sanctuary cities” -- localities that have policies preventing the police from questioning a person’s immigration status – was rejected during a special session earlier this month.

“We barely defeated it. If this was

so close to passing in Texas no state is immune,” said Democratic Texas Senator Leticia Van de Putte, who sees the narrow victory as a wakeup call for the business community to stand up in opposition against the bill.

States that did pass copycat legislation, meanwhile, faced strident challenges from civil rights coalitions and the federal court system. In Georgia, Indiana and Utah, federal judges blocked key provisions that came under fire from coalitions led by the American

Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the National Immigration Law Center (NILC).

“Judges are really understanding that what states are doing is encroaching in an area that is strictly the federal government’s,” said Andre Segura, an ACLU staff attorney at the Immigrant Rights Project in New York who is involved in the lawsuits.

¬Segura said that among the states that passed anti-immigrant legislation, Utah was a surprise because of the state’s support for the “Utah Compact,” a declaration of principles that emphasized the need for federal immigration reform. Utah’s law, which was blocked by a federal judge, included provisions that would have turned police officers into immigration agents, as well as one that created a state guest worker program.

Lacayo said that even the guest-worker program in the Utah bill was problematic because it was virtually unenforceable and could actually put undocumented immigrants more at risk by forcing them to come out of the shadows.

SEPTEMBER 2011www.AZMuslimVoice.com 3WORD ON THE STREET 3What Improvements Did You Make in Your

Lifestyle This Past Ramadan?Muslim Voice

By Hasana Abdul-Quadir

Shakira Wagner - I went into Ramadan thinking like, “Okay it takes only 21 days of repetition to form a habit, Ramadan is a whole month...”, so Ramadan is the perfect time to take advantage

of its many benefits and develop habits that can be implemented every day and not just during this Holy month. So for me, I’m focusing my attention on reading more Quran and all types of Islamic books. I was a convert at a pretty young age, but not so young that I couldn’t have searched for answers myself and unfortunately, I kind of thought everyone else was going to give me the information I needed. Now, I’ve realized I should just kind of start from scratch, and read the whole Quran, beginning to end, and inshaAllah move onto other Islamic books and learn things for myself, but still ask questions if I have them. So each day I’m trying to get into the habit of reading for about 10-30 minutes each night, and once I finish the Quran, then maybe move on to a book about hadith. But if, by the end of Ramadan, I’ve gotten myself into the habit of reading just before bed, then inshaAllah I don’t ever plan to stop trying to educate and better myself as a Muslim.

Abrahim Nurhssien - The main improvement I have made this Ramadan is to read the Quran every day after Fajr. In doing this, I have found that it is actually easier to function throughout the day. Also, I find that it is an easier way to preserve the Quran that I know. Another improvement is

that I am more punctual in my Salah. Both of these are connected. Before, I would go back to sleep right after Fajr. But now, since I wake up early and make an effort to stay awake, it makes it easer to practice Quran after. InshaAllah I plan to keep up this practice for the rest of my life!

Fitri Cortes - When this Ramadan started, I had two goals. About a week before Ramadan I heard a great lecture that inspired me to change things up a bit this year. My first goal that I set was to read 15 minutes of Quran everyday at Fajr time, and then at Isha time I would read the meaning of what I recited that morning. I thought that the times of day I chose is appropriate; because at Fajr and Isha, I’m using time that I would use for sleep (rather than homework or anything else). The second goal I set for myself was something I read on an iPhone app. Everyday, I try to say “subhan Allah wa bihamdihi” 100 times, which is honestly fun on to do on a pretty masbaha! This tasbeeh is specifically to have your sins forgiven. This Ramadan I discovered that Dhikr is my favorite form of worship; because I feel closest to God after. I hope that my goals are simple enough that I’ll be able to keep it up even after Ramadan; because God loves the deeds that are continuous.

Nada Elzayyat - An improvement I have made this Ramadan is that I have become more cautious on how I dress. I have realized that I am not as modest as I can be 24/7, and I do not want a chance where one of my outfits can be in the “gray area.” So I put away some of my questionable clothes and bought a whole new wardrobe. Another thing I have improved on this Ramadan is what kind of music I listen to. It has been long overdue, but I have deleted many songs on my iPod

that are probably considered Haram. Alhamduillah, it is a good feeling.

Anas Hlayhel - I think one of the key things that I have tried to do this Ramadan is to focus on making du’a. I put the extra effort to make a list of specific du’a that I customized to my own need. I did a serious review of the last year, between last Ramadan until this Ramadan. (As a side note, I think people should look at Ramadan as a time that a new year starts.) I sat down and thought about what happened last year in terms of accomplishments and shortcomings. Based on this review, I made a short list of du’a, of all the things I wanted from Allah (SWT), and I am focusing on those. It does not have to be a specific thing; it could be a quality I want to change. But at the same time, I think I had more time to improve on specific shortcomings and certain obstacles that I want to get over. Aside from du’a [itself], people do not take much action after they make du’a. They just assume that Allah will do everything for them. Take the initiative; walk toward the goal, and then Allah will help you to reach that goal. Du’a encourages me to work more towards my goals.

Anisa Abdul-Quadir - This year, I emphasized making this Ramadan a new beginning. From sorting out my priorities to renewing my intentions about many things in life, I made an effort to learn new things about the Deen or be reminded of essential aspects of Islam that we so often overlook or forget. The simplest things like watching MAS Arizona’s “Daily Dose” and Muhammad Alshareef’s “Taraweeh Truffles” served as great reminders. Throughout the year I plan to continue to periodically review myself to sustain what I have tried to accomplish this Ramadan.

Muslim Voice

By Hasana Abdul-Quadir

Over the years, I have picked up a habit that I practice at the beginning of each month. I walk into the masjid and grab a Muslim Voice newspaper from a freshly delivered stack. I flip through the headlines, read some articles, and maybe enter a contest or two. A few months ago, an ad in the paper caught my eye for an internship with the Muslim Voice’s publishing company, Breek Media. I made a mental note to apply for it, then promptly forgot about it--that is, until I found myself stuck at home with nothing to do all summer.

Instead of lazing away all summer long, I decided to be proactive and I applied for the internship position. The application was quite easy: a couple emails back and forth with the editor, an interview, and it was a done deal. I came in ready to write article after article (although how would I spend four hours per day doing that, I was not sure), but I was definitely surprised at what I got. Yes, I did end up writing approximately two to three articles per month, (and I still do), but most of my time was actually spent connecting with people I would never have thought I would have to contact.

Breek Media is a business. Yes, it provides great, free services to the community, but it takes a lot of work behind the scenes. Good marketing is one of the key elements that are necessary in any functioning business, so that is exactly what I had to learn to do. I found myself looking up all the possible Muslim businesses in the Valley in order to sell the advertisements that fund these services. When those lists were exhausted, I broadened my lists to include businesses in Texas, California, and even New York. Soon, I was calling corporations like Walmart, and local attractions like Castles n’ Coasters. And to top it all off, I even called elected

officials from here in Arizona all the way to Washington D.C.

But the internship was not just a marketing job; occasionally, we would have a break to take pictures or watch something get filmed for Salam TV. At other times, we would drive to meet clients at their offices. And yet, some of the time would be spent shooing the editor’s cat off my desk (don’t worry; the cat is gone home now).

Overall, the lessons that I learned from this internship can be condensed into some short points: 1) You need a lot of patience to deal with people politely and carefully over the phone. 2) Always be open to trying new things; you never know what kinds of experiences you may have. 3) Try the different jobs through programs such as internships; it could be an eye-opening experience as this was for me, as to what your abilities and limitations are and for what you might want to do career-wise. 4) Do the job for experience, not for the salary. 5) Even if the internship is nowhere near what you want to pursue in life, bring your own flair to the office so that your experience is enjoyable. (A homemade treat for the coworkers every once in a while doesn’t hurt). 6) If you ever want to take action politically, try contacting elected officials. You will be surprised at how easy it is to reach them. 7) Working with a Muslim business, especially a media business, is a great Da’wah opportunity. So, in essence, I recommend college students, especially those interested in business or journalism to try interning with Breek Media for the experience and the lessons to be learned.

And now, to answer the burning question that you have been wondering about through this entire article: did I get paid? Not by the hour, but I did get paid a commission for the advertisements and commercials that I sold. But do not do it for the money; that is what a real job is for (also, see lesson 4, above). And real job or not, work hard.

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By Roumen Bezergianov

Chess is a board game that originated in ancient India. It became popular in the Persian Empire and was later adopted widely in the Islamic world. It was brought to Europe during the Muslim rule in Spain. With universal appeal, chess has stood the test of time, evolved, and retained its relevance to the human condition as that condition has changed across time, clime, and culture. Today it is played almost everywhere in the world, offering an enjoyable way of socialization, competition, and brain exercise.

Chess requires us to use and develop certain mental abilities that are crucial for our survival and progress: concentration, analytical and critical thinking, reasoning, pattern recognition, creativity, etc. That is why chess also has a significant educational and developmental value. The literature on the benefits of chess for children is reviewed by Jim Celone in the article “Why Chess?” (www.edutechchess.com). He cites various studies that document the relationship between using chess in schools and improving student performance in math, science, and language arts. There are also several important books on the topic, emphasizing educational achievements, intellectual development, and life skills. The most notable are “Children and Chess” by Alexey W. Root, “Chess for Success” by the first African-American chess Grandmaster Maurice Ashley, and “Teaching Life Skills Through Chess” by Fernando Moreno, who was the first to write a book on chess as a counseling tool.

My intention with the current book is to add some new perspectives on the topic. Namely, in addition to the various benefits of teaching and playing chess, the game and its individual pieces can be interpreted to symbolize certain important aspects of life; we can use

chess as a platform to have conversations and discussions with our children about those aspects. What can be extracted from chess are not only analytical, logical and creative skills, but also clarification of values, a personal philosophy of life, and spirituality.

In counseling terms, the ideas in this book can be viewed as a method of Logotherapy, which is a meaning-centered psychotherapy originally developed by Viktor Frankl—one of the greatest psychologists of the 20th century. Very similar to our religious perspective, Frankl taught that there is potential meaning to be fulfilled in every situation in life, no matter how painful and difficult it may be. During World War II Viktor Frankl and his family were imprisoned in the Nazi death camps; his pregnant wife was murdered in the gas chambers and his parents died of starvation and illness. Frankl survived and after the war wrote about his experiences and conclusions in his book “Man’s Search for Meaning.”

I am presenting this method to be used by parents, educators, and all others in a position to help young people discover the meaning of the situations they face in their lives. This book is an invitation to use chess more in families and schools, to foster quality time, cohesiveness and discovery in those settings, and to help us all slow down, think, and observe. I need to emphasize that people should not feel intimidated by chess and they do not need to be good chess players in order to be helpful to young people. The rules of the game are very easy to learn and the rest is all about the process and the conversations that spring from it.

Roumen Bezergianov is a juvenile detention counselor, a life coach and an author. The following is an introduction to his book “Character Education with Chess,” published on www.amazon.com, Kindle. He leads a chess club at the Arizona Cultural Academy.

Muslim Voice

By Ahmad Daniels

While there may be some who profess that the election of an African American to the White House signals the ushering in of a post-racial period in America, many who witnessed the unveiling of the Dr. Martin Luther

King, Jr. National Memorial Sunday, August 28, 2011, know otherwise. The multitudes who stood on the National Mall book-ended by the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials know all too well that for many Blacks, other persons of color, and for the poor, Dr. King’s “Dream” had become a nightmare. More about that later.

In 1984, the African American fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha conceived of the memorial. It is worth noting Dr. King was also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha. When Congress authorized the memorial in 1996, no one knew what form the structure would take. Nor from where the needed money would come. In 1998, the Alphas set up a foundation to manage fundraising and design to the tune of 120 million dollars.

The wining design can be attributed to ROMA Design Company, a San Francisco-based architecture firm. The selected stone carver, Lei Yixin, was from China and, to say it gently, his receiving the commission was not very well received by many who felt an African American should have received the honor.

The memorial is based on a line from Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech in which he notes, “out of a mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” The design’s central idea is a boulder sliced into three parts. The two end parts represent despair. The center boulder is King’s 30 foot image (hope) positioned ahead and seen “breaking away”

from the other two boulders (despair).

Whether King was ever able to break away from despair is up for debate. The victories he achieved in the South were never realized in the North. Attempts to achieve equality in Chicago and Boston were met with ignominious defeat. Successes in small rural southern towns did little to prepare King and his cohorts for challenges posed by the large urban North.

To say that times are not better than they were in the 50s and 60s would be ludicrous.

Blacks have seen numerous gains in many areas of life. Yet, disparities continue to exist in health, education, economics etc. Studies compiled by the Pew Research Center in 2009 showed the annual median income for whites to be over $123,149, Hispanics $6, 325, and Blacks $5,677. Beginning to sound like a nightmare?

The presence of a memorial bearing the likeness of a Black man on the National Mall is worthy of the attention of any and all who strive to attain freedom, justice, and equality. Movements nationally and internationally have studied the tenets of the Civil Rights Movement in an effort to better understand the role such actions could play in their own struggle for liberation.

As persons from around the world flock to see the MLK Memorial in the months and years to come, they will bask in the aura of a man whose love for humanity transcended concern for his own safety and well-being. Whose words moved a nation to live up to what it says about its self on documents written by the Founding Fathers and the like. Dr. King illuminated a moral path for future generations to follow. And while a post-racial era continues to loom somewhere in the unforeseen future, the laudable deeds of Dr. King and those to whom his words resonated, are responsible for bringing that era that much closer to becoming a reality.

To your journey!

Character education with chess

Honoring a Man of Peace and a Man of Color

SEPTEMBER 2011www.AZMuslimVoice.com LOCAL 5

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Muslim Voice

By Mohamud Shalab

Somalia is currently experiencing what has been declared the worst drought that the region has ever come across in 60 years. Droughts are a natural phenomenon in Somalia. Unfortunately, the southern part of

the country is deeply revolved around farming, therefore it was these areas that were most affected by the drought. Somalis are nomads who depend on their livestock for everyday life so when rainfall hasn’t occurred in a period of time, they were well prepared for the consequences.

This crisis differs from past droughts as its effects are more prominent. 11 million civilians are in desperate need of help. There were reports claiming that in the last 90 days over 29,000 children under the age of 5 have died. As a result of the drought, there has also been an increase in food prices causing excess starvation as the civilians cannot afford to buy it.

On August 21, 2010, I wrote an article called ‘Al-Shabab, the Veiled Truth’. In this article I mentioned that the cities that were managed by the Shabab resulted in death caused by starvation and malnutrition. This fact is from a reliable source that was living on the grounds of a Shabab controlled region. Conditions are only worsening in the horn of Africa as the crisis wasn’t acknowledged early enough. It has been building for several months however the Transitional Federal government (TFG) was not alarmed about the situation. There was a large loss of life until the United Nations declared it a famine. As of today, there are many international donors, non-profit organizations, and

other countries providing aid to Somalia. So far an estimated 431 million has been donated this year. That being said, one would assume that the situation could only get better, but despite the generous donations there is still much more that needs to be done.

As many are well aware, Somalia has

been raging with civil war for a couple decades. Cities have been taken over by rebel militia and civilians were forced too flee their homes to refugee camps in search of safety. In addition to war, Somalia is also under a weak and corrupt Transitional Federal government and it plays the leading role in the repeated crisis that surrounds Somalia. Alliances such as Inter-Governmental Authority and Development (IGAD), and African Union peacekeeping troops are not enough to restore peace. After Shabab pulls back their soldiers, what they

need to do is recruit and train a large number of police force and military that derive from all regions of Somalia in order to construct an effective defense force. Nowadays, the Federal police and military force is solely made up of soldiers who originated from Mogadishu. It is against the Transitional Federal Charter not to have an inclusive military

that does not include soldiers from all 18 regions of Somalia. If this is done, it will be an excellent start for the government to regain power in their cities.

A Transitional Federal government has little to no ability to address this misfortune. There are two areas that are heavily controlled by the Al-Shabab, Bakool and lower Shabeel, and coincidently these are the main areas that the famine is unfolding in. It is in Somali culture that the stronger take advantage of the weak. In this case, the armed Al-Shabab militants are taking

advantage of the civilians living there.

The rebels are causing a great deal of distress and disaster. They are letting their pride get in the way of accepting help that they are offered by kicking out many western aid organizations. It is evident that they need this help but they see some of these people as threats. They want no part of western culture around them. Al-Shabab controlled regions do not allow the people living there to flee the city; in fact they’ve set up cantonment camps for those who have tried to escape. These camps hold several thousand of people who are given barely any food. They have even gone as far as blocking rivers from starving villages and directing them to farms that pay them taxes. Local agencies set up to provide aid are not reliable as the money is spent on weapons and the food is given to the soldiers. Other agencies and even civilians are robbed at gun point for what ever they have. It is crucial that the food supply is provided to those who need it most.

The fact that Somalia has been a red flagged zone for years does not help the situation. It is considered to be the most dangerous place in the world. In past years, it’s claimed the lives of many innocent Somalis, foreign peacekeepers, American soldiers, and aid workers. The battle in 1993, “Black Hawk Down”, has scared of many international sponsors, thus causing there to be less aid in the areas that are going through the most hardship. The only hope for the civilians living in Shabab controlled regions is that the rebel militants are removed from these cities as done in Mogadishu. Food aid and donations alone will not be effective in the long term. If it truly is in our interest to eradicate Somalia of piracy, the state of anarchy, terrorism, and starvation, we must establish political loyalty throughout the country in order to build a stable and functioning government and maintain long lasting peace.

Hunger and Related Causes in Somalia

SEPTEMBER 2011 www.AZMuslimVoice.com6 LOCAL

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Muslim Voice

By Yasmine Asfoor

It truly was a sight to see, all the adults leaving the masjid after taraweeh and groups of young people walking in to settle in. On a Saturday night in the beautiful month of Ramadan, over 300 young people

filled the prayer hall at the Islamic Community Center of Tempe for a night of ibada. Youth ages 16 and over were invited for a qiyam hosted by the Muslim Leaders of America (MLA), but the feeling in the masjid wasn’t one of visitors, it was one of friendship and unity all for the sake of Allah.

Representation of youth from every town and masjid came out to listen, pray and eat suhoor together. Regular attendees from ICEV, ICNEV, ACA, ICCP, and even Tuscon, came to gain some knowledge and spend time together. Haneen Odeh, an active young attendee of ICNEV, came to the qiyam with her brothers, she had never been to a qiyam before, citing that has her main reason for attending, but she also stated “I knew quite a few people who were planning on attending.”

What made this qiyam special was the plethora of passionate speakers and wonderful quran recitations that were all from youth in this community, sharing the knowledge they have acquired with everyone else. For Odeh, the greatest part of the night was “seeing the renewed sense of community; it was inspiring to see so many youth gathered in the masjid to pray and benefit from the speakers.”

The program started with Saiaf

Abdallah giving a brief synopsis of the story of Prophet Yousef (AS), setting the topic for the night. Next, was Amal Fayad who discussed the temptations Prophet Yousef (AS) had to overcome and how we can do the same following his example and having Allah’s guidance. Waseem Albasha then showed how patience

was one of the amazing attributes of Prophet Yousef (AS) and Prophet Yacoub (AS). Muath Shqeirat followed by giving a talk about the unlimited mercy Allah (SWT) shows us everyday. Shqeirat reminded everyone about the hadith of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) when he said that his beloved’s (his followers that come after him) actions are equal to 50 companions of the Prophet’s actions because of the struggle they will endure. He went on to explain that even though the companions lived and fought with the

Prophet, we are the Prophet’s beloved ones.

Ali Imran continued on to discuss how the love of Allah should impact our lives. Imran shared a story with everyone about two young siblings that he tutors and how he was teaching them about loving Allah. The younger sister told Imran that she

loves Allah so much that she would share with him her favorite Hannah Montana wig, but to outdo his sister, the older brother told Imran he would give Allah his favorite toy. Wrapping up the night, a panel consisting of Jamal Atalla, Wasan Awad, and Amal Fayad answered attendee’s questions. Prayer throughout the night was led by Al-Homam Awad, Muath Shqeirat, Ali Imran, Mohammad Mabrouk and Ayman Alhadheri, who completed the qiyam with a captivating duaa.

The topic of the night was Prophet

Yousef (AS) but the underlying tone was volunteerism for the sake of Allah. All around the masjid, brothers and sisters were working hard to help each other and make everyone’s qiyam enjoyable. The MLA executive board planned the program, recruited speakers and purchased all the food. But the unexpected volunteers were the attendees who helped serve a mid-night snack of nachos, cooked a buffet style breakfast of eggs, pancakes, turkey bacon and a variety of fruit and juices, and cleaned the masjid before leaving for the morning. Not to mention the volunteers that made an assortment of desserts including cupcakes, brownies and chocolate dipped strawberries. And roaming the prayer hall and courtyard were a photographer and videographer capturing the whole night.

The qiyam seemed to be a hit with all of its attendees, the next morning Facebook was bombarded with status updates about the amazing program, the great food and thank you’s to the MLA board and volunteers. Hina Imran posted “Great company, great event, great month… tonight was definitely amazing, best qiyam I went to!” Rawa Awad posts a thought of the day and posted “Day 13- I see many, many faces tonight at the masjid Alhamdillah.” Khalid Risha, President of MLA, also posted “A special thanks from the Muslim Leaders of America and Islamic Community Center of Tempe to everyone who came out today! You all are what keep us going and moving forward, you are our drive for success. We all wish you enjoyed the program, the food, the lectures, and recitations. You have no idea how much it meant to all of us, each and every single one of you coming out. Thank you so much, JazakAllah Khayr.”

Valley Youth Unite for a Night of Worship

Breek Media and Muslim Voice newspaper would like to thank

Hasana Abdul-QuadirFor her participation in the internship program during past summer. We are proud to have such committed and dedicated young Muslim in our

community and part of our team.Marwan Ahmad, president of Breek Media

SEPTEMBER 2011www.AZMuslimVoice.com 7LOCAL

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Muslim Voice

By Yasmine Asfoor

They call it a concrete jungle where dreams are made. And that’s exactly what it was. Buildings filled the sky and within the hustle and bustle everyone was running after their dreams, and so were we. An eclectic

group of aspiring change-makers, we descended upon New York City for the most unbelievable experience we ever expected.

It was the first ever Muslim Public Affair Council (MPAC)’s Media Summit and we were the pioneers: nineteen Muslim American college-students, recent graduates and young professionals who were eager to learn as much as we could in the next four days. The program promised an insight to the media industry, help us network with professionals and most importantly, build bonds with each other. As the red eye touched down in JFK, my emotions were a mixture of anxious, nervous and excited. Before I had a chance to catch my breath, we were off into the city…

The program was a combination of workshop sessions with the MPAC staff and meetings with industry professionals. Four days of meetings was very fast-paced and intense but extremely motivating. Many of the professionals we met with were Muslim that had varying Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian backgrounds. But all the professionals we met with were in one way or another invested in Muslim-American issues. The amazing list of speakers include: Nada Tawfik, BBC Producer; Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal Editorial Page Editor; Kiran Khalid, CNN Field Producer; Chuck Haddad, AC360 Producer; Dean Sree

Sreenivasan, Columbia Journalism School; Rabbi Marc Schneier, President and Co-Founder of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding; Laurie Goodstein, New York Times Religion Reporter; Lester Holt, NBC Nightly News Weekend Anchor; Sharaf Mowjood, NBC News Fellow; Moniza Khokhar, Elan Magazine Publisher; Nadia Mohammad, Elan Magazine Editor and Laila Al-Arian, Al Jazeera English Producer.

It was amazing to hear the stories of each professional and their personal struggle to achieve their success, but what we found most motivating was that each path was completely different. Some went to journalism school, some fought for justice and some just stumbled into new adventures. But all of the speakers were gracious enough to share with us their acquired wisdom and tips for success. I would like to pass some on to you as well:

We need to start with dialogue but then get to a higher point of standing up for each other: Muslims standing against anti-semtisim and Jews standing

against Islamaphobia.

-Rabbi Marc Shneier

If you are trying to have a career in reporting or news, avoid too much personal information on blogs and websites.

-Kiran Khalid

What you truly need to succeed as a journalist: historical knowledge and

a special topic of interest, not just a journalism degree.

-Bret Stephens

The tour I was looking forward to the most was the visit to Park 51, or as many know it, the Ground Zero masjid. I didn’t know what to expect, but walking in, I was completely shocked. The entrance was all broken, there was no sign indicating that it was a masjid, other than the two stationed police officers guarding the door. We walked into a makeshift lobby area where the flooring was once again broken. The prayer hall was nice and clean, but the bathrooms were on the third floor with

no lighting in the staircase, had no door and there was only one, for men and women to take turns. After prayer we met with Sharif El-Gamal, the developer and chairman of Park 51. He discussed how the media has twisted the basis of their project and called it “the most talked about project that hasn’t been built yet.” But as he went on to say, it’s not only Park 51 that was blown out of proportion, he sees it that “our Muslim identity was stolen and now we must write our narrative.” He is one of the many people working hard to raise funds to fix the masjid and continue building Park 51, and is always speaking to the media to get the true facts across.

One amazing aspect of the program MPAC never mentioned was the food! Every day we tasted New York’s amazing variety of cuisines and supported halal restaurants in the city. We enjoyed food from around the world but especially enjoyed eateries New York is famous for, including Max Brenner, Kabab King, Carnegie Deli, Nanking and the Halal Cart- as a great midnight snack while we walked through Times Square.

Over lunch and dinner was when we all got to know each other, learn about each other’s backgrounds and hear each other’s goals. Six states and Canada were represented from the delegates, adding to the unique viewpoints each carried. Each person brought new ideas and experiences to the table, adding an extra dimension to group discussions about the media, Islamic activism, cultural problems and masjid dilemmas that we are all very familiar with.

Want to experience this amazing adventure as well? MPAC hosts three summits each summer: Media in New York City, Government in Washington D.C. and Hollywood in Los Angeles. Visit www.mpac.org for information on all three of their Young Leaders National Summits.

iMPACting Muslim American Young Leaders in Media

SEPTEMBER 2011 www.AZMuslimVoice.com8 EID PHOTOS

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SAN FRANCISCO -- One in four California households with children reported food hardship, according to a new analysis of Gallup data released last Thursday by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC).

“It’s disturbing, but not surprising,” said Kelly Hardy, director of health policy at Children Now.

The report analyzed data gathered as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index project’s responses to the question: “Have there been times in the past 12 months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?”

“It sends a clear signal of economic distress, particularly for families with children,” noted James Weill, president of FRAC. “The answers to the question reveal there are times that these families are going without eating a meal, or the parents are skipping a meal for their children, or children are skipping meals.”

California had the second highest number of metropolitan areas with rates of food hardship in households with children in 2009-2010, according to the report.

According to Kidsdata.org, a project of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, which tracks the health and well being of children in

communities across the nation, 68.6 percent of students in schools in Fresno County and 65.6 percent in Los Angeles County were eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals in 2010.

But sadly, “California has one of the worst records of enrolling those eligible in federal food programs,” said Weill – an assertion borne out by a report by the California Food Policy Advocates, which talks about the dismal enrolment in CalFresh, the federal food program in the state. The finger-imaging requirement discourages many from participating in the program, the report says.

According to the FRAC’s findings, California has four of the top 20 metropolitan areas in the nation

facing food hardship. Fresno ranked fifth (32.6 percent) nationwide among large metropolitan cities in households with children facing food hardship. The Riverside-San Bernadino-Ontario area ranked eigth (30.4 percent), the

Bakersfield area ranked 11th (29.5 percent), and the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana area ranked 18th (28.3 percent).

And, according to Kidsdata.org, 59 percent and 62.3 percent of children living in the Fresno and Los Angeles County, respectively, are Latino.

Children’s healthcare advocates worry about the consequences of a lack of access to nutritious food.

“It will lead to development and health issues which affect performance

in school,” Hardy said. “A lack of nutritious food can also lead to poor oral health, which has been shown to lead to heart disease.”

Kelly noted that there is a connection between food deserts -- areas where there is a lack of easy access to affordable nutritious food – and obesity. These areas are often found in the inner-cities or rural areas such as Fresno and are often the cause for poor nutrition choices, she said.

California Association of Food Banks policy director Eric Manke worries that the newly setup federal Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, also known as the “Super Committee,” set up to further reduce federal spending by $1.5 trillion, might target federal food programs.

The Super Committee is set to hold its first meeting when Congress returns to Washington after its August recess. The California Association of Food Banks, along with FRAC and other non-profit food organizations, is urging Congress and the Super Committee to protect food programs for the low-income population.

“Our goal is to make sure they don’t target the federal food programs,” said Manke, noting, “Folks in Congress must understand that there is a great deal of need for these type of programs, and this is the opposite time to think about cutting programs that serve those with the most need.”

One in Four California Families Can’tAfford Food for Their Kids

By BRIAN BRUS

The Journal Record

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ An increase in consumers’ coupon redemption in central Oklahoma matches a nationwide trend and is likely attributable to the economy and the Internet, local grocers confirmed.

Nationally, the number of coupons redeemed reached 1.75 billion for the first half of the year, a 2.9-percent increase compared with the same period in 2010, according to publicly traded marketing services company Valassis. In total, consumers saved $2 billion in the first six months, a 17.6-percent increase from two years ago when marketers began marketing more coupons in response to the recession.

Valassis also reported that coupons were distributed in record numbers in both 2009 and 2010 and distribution

began to stabilize in the first half of 2011, marked by a 6.2-percent decline from the same period the prior year. Although year-to-date distribution is down in the first half of 2011, it remains comparatively strong versus recent years, the company reported.

Jeff Fulks at the Edmond-based Crest grocery chain said his company hasn’t needed to push coupon distribution because consumers have been seeking out more coupons anyway.

``We buy merchandise that has on-pack coupons, and we’ll display it with coupons, but we don’t advertise otherwise,’’ he said. `Ìf there’s a coupon attached, it’s going to be used.’’

Fulks said the coupon clearinghouse that Crest uses through the Oklahoma Grocers Association lately has increased efforts to confirm coupon volume.

``With the onslaught of coupons coming in, I guess it raised flags,’’ Fulks said. `Ìn the past year, the numbers have

gotten so big. . Everyone is becoming a `coupon queen.’’’

Kelly Epperson at the Homeland grocery chain said it’s not just a matter of increased activity among regular coupon-savers: `Ì think we’re seeing an increase in the number of customers that are using coupons,’’ she said.

Ron Edgmon, chief executive at the Oklahoma Grocers Association, confirmed increased coupon redemption for the last three years. He said manufacturers have been responding to that interest and offering more.

Distribution of so-called consumer packaged goods coupons, or CPG coupons, hit record numbers in 2009 and again in 2010, Valassis reported, with stabilization and a slight decline in the first half of this year.

Fulks also said about a year ago his company responded to increased interest in Internet coupons and

started accepting them at Crest stores. The company had been inundated with email complaints from customers, he said. The company’s primary reluctance in recognizing virtual coupons was the ease of computer fraud _ fake coupons were easier to spot and control when they were limited to newspapers and magazines, he said.

``We tried to weigh both sides, and it seemed that we were irritating more customers for not taking them,’’ he said. ``You have to give a little to get a little, I guess. Just accepting Internet coupons probably increased the total by about 10 percent.’’

Valassis reported that overall, CPG marketers continue to allocate the largest share of coupons, 89.6 percent, in free-standing inserts via newspapers and mail. Digital coupons, in both paper and paperless formats, continued to grow in the first six months of the year, a 15-percent increase compared with 2010.

Economy forces more consumers to use coupons

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By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY

Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) _ The European Union imposed sanctions Wednesday against the elite unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, saying the Quds Force is providing equipment and other support to help Syrian President Bashar Assad crush the 5-month-old uprising against him.

The sanctions broadened the international pressure against Syria by directly targeting its key ally Iran, which the U.S. and other nations have accused of aiding the crackdown.

The EU’s official journal, which published the statement, said the Quds Force ``has provided technical assistance, equipment and support to the Syrian security services to repress civilian protest movements.’’

Other new targets include several Syrian generals and close associates of Assad’s younger brother, Maher, who is believed to be in command of much of the crackdown. Hassan Turkmani, a former defense

minister and special envoy for Bashar Assad, also was named.

The EU blacklist on Syria now contains 50 people and nine entities who face asset freezes and travel bans as punishment for one of the deadliest government crackdowns of the Arab Spring. Syria already is under broad sanctions from the U.S. and European countries, but calls for stricter measures have been on the rise.

Human rights groups said Assad’s forces have killed more than 2,000 people since the uprising erupted in mid-March, touched off by the wave of revolutions sweeping the Arab world.

Assad has shrugged off international condemnation and calls for him to step down, insisting that armed gang and thugs are driving the violence, not true reform-seekers. Economic and other sanctions could slowly chip away at the regime, however. Longtime ally Iran has offered unwavering support for Damascus, and there has been speculation that Tehran is providing funds to cushion Assad’s government as it burns through the $17 billion in foreign reserves that the

government had at the start of the uprising.

But Iran cannot prop up the regime indefinitely.

On Wednesday, French Foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero called for stronger sanctions. Paris is also pushing the U.N. Security Council to adopt punishing measures against Syria.

``France is determined more than ever to do everything to stop Syrian blood from being spilled,’’ Valero said.

Despite the harsh words, the Syrian crackdown continued.

Tanks stormed the eastern city of Deir el-Zour and made sweeping arrests there Wednesday, according to Syrian activists. Deir el-Zour is an oil-rich but impoverished region known for its well-armed clans and tribes whose ties extend across eastern Syria and into Iraq.

On Tuesday, European nations and the U.S. circulated a draft U.N. Security Council resolution seeking an arms embargo and other sanctions.

Syria has banned foreign media and

restricted local coverage, making it impossible to independently confirm events on the ground. While widespread witness accounts and amateur video footage describe a brutal crackdown by security forces, Syria’s state-run news agency says security forces are the real victims of gunmen and extremists.

On Wednesday, the official news agency, SANA, released gruesome pictures of 14 decomposing corpses, saying ``armed terrorist groups’’ kidnapped and tortured them in recent days and dumped their bodies around Homs, a city in central Syria that has been a hotbed of protests.

Assad has exploited fears of chaos in Syria, with the regime portraying him as the only man who can guarantee peace in a country with a potentially volatile mix of religious groups.

The opposition, however, says the protest movement is free of sectarian overtones and is simply demanding freedom and democracy. The opposition took steps toward forming a national council Tuesday, but serious divisions have prevented them from presenting a unified front.

By MAGGIE MICHAEL and IAN DEITCH

Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) _ Egypt said early Saturday it will withdraw its ambassador from Israel to protest the deaths of five Egyptian security forces in what it called a breach of a peace treaty, sharply escalating tensions between the two countries after a cross-border ambush that killed eight Israelis.

The Egyptian troops were killed as Israeli soldiers pursued suspected militants from the Gaza Strip who crossed the border from the Sinai Peninsula into southern Israel, killing eight Israelis on Thursday. It was the deadliest attack on Israelis in three years.

There were conflicting statements about how the Egyptians were killed, but an Egyptian Cabinet statement said it held Israel ``politically and legally responsible for this incident,’’ which it deemed a breach of the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries. It demand an immediate investigation.

In strong language, it said Israel was to blame because lax security from its side allowed the ambush to take place.

``The Egyptian ambassador to Israel with be withdrawn until we are notified about the results of an investigation by the Israeli authorities, and receive an apology from its leadership over the sad and hasty remarks about Egypt,’’ the Cabinet statement said.

The decision came after Egypt’s official news agency blamed the Israelis for shooting and killing the five while chasing militants who killed eight Israelis in Thursday’s ambush across the border in southern Israel.

The Cabinet statement did not repeat that claim but accused Israel of trying to ``shirk responsibility for the recklessness of Israeli security forces in protecting the borders.’’

Israeli officials did not immediately comment on the decision.

Retaliatory violence between Israel and the Islamic militant group Hamas also escalated Friday in the aftermath of Thursday’s attack. Israeli airstrikes killed at least 12 Palestinians, most of them militants, in the Gaza Strip, and six Israelis were wounded when Palestinians fired rockets into southern Israel.

By SLOBODAN LEKIC

Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) _ NATO planners are drawing up options for a possible NATO role in Libya after the civil war in the North African nation ends, officials said Wednesday.

NATO’s governing body _ the North Atlantic Council _ has told its military staff to brainstorm ways to assist a future U.N. mission to stabilize the country.

``The council provided the NATO military authorities with a set of political guidelines for a possible future NATO supporting role in Libya ... in support of wider international efforts,’’ NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said.

Planners are expected to come up with options in the next week to present to the alliance’s political leadership.

NATO warplanes have flown nearly 20,000 sorties to Libya in the past five months, including about 7,500 strike attacks against Moammar Gadhafi’s forces. But the campaign has exposed deep fissures within the alliance, with only eight of its 28 members taking part in the military action.

Diplomats say a number of member states have been unhappy with the intervention in Libya, saying it was detracting attention and resources from NATO’s main mission in

Afghanistan, where the 10-year war against the Taliban has not been going well for the alliance.

As a result, any follow-on mission in Libya is expected to be of limited size and duration.

The U.N. has already made significant progress in planning for a post-conflict stabilization effort in Libya.

Lungescu said the North Atlantic Council had agreed that any possible future supporting role for NATO must ``satisfy the criteria of a demonstrable need, a sound legal basis and wide regional support.’’

Another condition was that NATO would not have any ``sustained’’ troop presence on the ground in Libya, officials said.

A senior NATO officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because the planning was still in its initial stages, said support for the U.N. mission could consist of air and sea deliveries of humanitarian aid as well as setting up training programs for Libyan security personnel in Europe.

The alliance claims to have unmatched experience in the reform of armed forces from authoritarian nations, based on its work with East European military and police forces after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Other assistance to the U.N. mission could consist of logistical support, or reconnaissance aircraft and unmanned drones to provide surveillance over Libya.

EU expands Syria sanctions to target Iranians

Egypt to withdraw ambassador to Israel over ambush

NATO considers options for a postwar role in Libya

SEPTEMBER 2011 www.AZMuslimVoice.com12 INTERNATIONAL

‘Die, Gadhafi’: Libya’s embassies abroad defect

Muslim nations to discuss Somalia famine

Pakistan says it doesn’t want to be used by others

By JIM GOMEZ

Associated Press

MANILA, Philippines (AP) _ Libyan diplomats and students smashed portraits of Moammar Gadhafi, shouted ``Game over!’’ and raised the rebel flag at their Manila embassy Wednesday as part of defections at missions worldwide underscoring the leader’s rapid fall.

As rebels stormed the Libyan capital and Gadhafi’s power and influence abroad crumbled, Libyan Consul Faraj Zarroug in the Philippine capital said about 85 percent of his country’s 165 diplomatic missions now recognized the interim rebel government, the National Transitional Council.

`Ìt’s game over for Mr. Gadhafi!’’ Zarroug told The Associated Press. ``Probably in a few days, everything will be over, hopefully. I’m very happy.’’

In London, opposition Libyan officials rolled out a new doormat Wednesday bearing Gadhafi’s image so that visitors to his rebel-held embassy could trample over his portrait as they entered the building.

Libyan diplomats abroad have been pledging allegiance to the rebels gradually after the rebellion erupted nearly six months ago, but defections surged this week as rebels entered Tripoli in a stunning breakthrough. While missions to Switzerland and Bangladesh, for example, switched early on, Libyan embassy officials in Japan and Ethiopia replaced the government flag with the rebel’s tricolor on Monday.

A spokesman for the rebels in Dubai, Edward Marques, said Wednesday the defections had turned into a ``cascade,’’ but declined to list the locations of rebel supporters. The Libyan government could no longer be reached for comment.

``The situation is very, very fluid,’’ Marques said.

At the Manila mission, diplomats in business suits pulled down Gadhafi’s green flag and raised the rebel one, while young expatriates rampaged through the compound.

AP journalists were invited in to watch and film them smashing glass portraits and ripping up copies of Gadhafi’s slogan-filled Green Book outlining his political philosophy.

Students spat on the ripped pages, and shouted ``Die,

Gadhafi, Die!’’ or ``Leave, Ghadafi, Leave!’’ or ``Game over!’’

``We can say what we want. No one can stop us!’’ said Mahmoud Binhafa, a 29-year-old student who was nearly breathless with excitement. `We want like, you know, freedom to be happy, to say whatever we want.’’

Asked how they wanted Gadhafi to be punished, Libyan Elyosa Fathi Elgadag said each family that suffered during the Libyan leader’s long oppressive rule should be allowed to ``do to him’’ what his regime did to many victims of human rights violations.

For decades, the world has only equated Libya with Gadhafi and not known anything about its people because his regime ``didn’t let any Libyan to open his mouth,’’ Elgadag said. Now, he said, all Libyans can speak out and proudly tell their nation’s story to the world.

Libya’s deputy U.N. ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi was among the first diplomats to renounce Gadhafi and support the rebels on Feb. 21 and four days later Ambassador Mohamed Shalgham also denounced the Libyan leader, a longtime friend. Gadhafi tried unsuccessfully to send supporters to replace them, and this week the red, green and black flag adopted by the opposition was prominently displayed next to the U.N. flag in the lobby of Libya’s U.N. Mission in New York.

Libya’s embassy in Argentina switched to the rebel side on Tuesday and replaced its flag. Ambassador Abdulkadir Eljer said embassy staff also burned pictures of Gadafi along with his famous Green Book. ``We’d like to know where he’s hiding,’’ Eljer added.

In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Libyan ambassador to the African Union, Ali Awidan, said he raised the new rebel flag Monday. `Ì was not serving Gadhafi, I have been serving Libya,’’ he said.

In the Zimbabwean capital Harare, singing and chanting Libyan protesters dragged down the green flag of Gadhafi’s regime hanging from an office building housing the embassy and replaced it with the rebel banner. The embassy in the southern African country has been closed for weeks.

Some impatient Libyans opposed to Gadhafi moved to force their embassies to switch sides.

A group of Libyans briefly took over their embassy in the Bosnian capital on Monday, raising the rebel flag and demanding that the ambassador resign before

police removed them peacefully. On Wednesday, Ambassador Salem Finnir told The AP that his embassy has gone to the rebel side.

`Ì ... put myself and the embassy at their disposal,’’ he said, referring to the interim rebel leadership.

`Ì hope that soon the bloodshed will be over and that peace, democracy and prosperity will rule our beloved country Libya,’’ he said, as his two sons raised the new flag on the embassy roof.

Rebel supporters barged into a Libyan consulate and adjoining school earlier this week in Athens, ripping up hundreds of posters of Gadhafi and hanging rebel flags. Police stood guard at the nearby Libyan Embassy, which had no flags and shuttered windows.

Britain, which had already expelled a number of Gadhafi diplomats suspected of intimidating dissidents, ordered the entire staff of Libya’s embassy to leave last month, turning the swank downtown building over to opposition officials. Protesters have demonstrated outside the building for several weeks, heckling pro-regime diplomats and waving rebel flags.

The Libyan ambassador to Turkey, Ziad Muntasser, told the country’s Cumhuriyet newspaper he had backed the rebels for six months but did not publicly reveal his defection because he feared for his family’s safety in Tripoli.

`Ì reject accusations that I am Gadhafi’s man,’’ he said. `Ì had a private reason: A large section of my family was living in Tripoli which was under Gadhafi’s control.’’

ISTANBUL (AP) _ Turkey’s prime minister on Wednesday urged rich Muslim nations to come to famine-hit Somalia’s aid, saying they bore some responsibility for the crisis for ignoring the poverty in the country.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the remarks in an opening speech of an emergency meeting of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation _ formerly known as the Islamic Conference _ to discuss the famine in Somalia and press for assistance for the wider Horn of Africa region.

Erdogan told a dozen foreign ministers and other officials present that Islam dictates ``that you do not go to bed full if your neighbor is hungry.’’

`Ìf we had fulfilled our responsibilities, would our brethren nation Somalia be in this situation?’’ he asked. ``This is not only a test for the Somali people, it is a test for all humanity.’’

`Òf course we cannot expect those who have throughout history exploited the resources of Somalia and of Africa, to show sensitivity to the tragedy,’’ he said in a swipe at Western nations.

More than 12 million people in the Horn of Africa need food aid, according to the United Nations.

But the situation has become far more grave in Somalia because al-Qaida-linked militants have banned many aid organizations from distributing food in the areas under their control. Members of al-Shabab have even killed people trying to flee southern Somalia, saying it is better to starve than accept help from the West.

The U.N. estimates that 2.8 million Somalis need food aid, and 2.2 million of them live outside the capital in areas controlled by the rebels.

Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed blamed the drought and al-Shahab for the crisis in his country.

`Àid organizations are trying to help, and they are doing their best, but we are facing terrorism,’’ he told delegates. Somalis are trying to save their lives, they are fleeing.’’

Turkey has collected some $110 million in public donations for Somalia so far and has flown several tons of food and medical aid.

Erdogan travels to the country on Thursday to visit refugee camps in the region and to formally open a Turkish camp and field hospital.

Besides Somalia, the drought has also hit Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti.

By GILLIAN WONG

Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) _ Pakistan does not want to be used as a base for militant groups and needs the world’s understanding as it tries to handle its problems, the foreign minister said Wednesday.

Hina Rabbani Khar also said after a two-day trip to Beijing that she wanted to further bolster ties with China, which has been Pakistan’s main supporter.

Chinese officials have blamed extremists trained in Pakistan for deadly attacks in the far west region of Xinjiang last month.

``Pakistan just seeks the world’s understanding for the current challenges that Pakistan is going through.... we are the ones and our people are the ones that are paying the price who are experiencing the brunt of it,’’ said Khar, who was named foreign minister about five weeks ago.

Khar, who held talks with her Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi and met Premier Wen Jiabao, said Pakistan did not want militant groups.

``We have made it clear to our neighbors and we make it clear again that Pakistan has no interest for its territory to be used by any non-state actors against any other country,’’ she said.

Islamabad is struggling to deal with the Pakistani Taliban and their affiliates,

which seek to topple Pakistan’s pro-Western government and install a hardline Islamist regime. Their anti-American rhetoric, combined with ineffective and corrupt government in Pakistan, means the militants have some support in the country.

Khar said Pakistan was increasing its counter-terrorism cooperation with China.

Last month about 20 people were killed in violence in the far western city of Kashgar in Xinjiang, and Chinese authorities said one attack was carried out by militants trained in weapons and bomb-making at camps run by the East Turkistan Islamic Movement in Pakistan. The government hasn’t disclosed evidence for that allegation.

Security has been tight across Xinjiang since 2009 when almost 200 people were killed in fighting between majority Han Chinese and the Uighur (pronounced WEE’-gur) ethnic group.

Uighurs say they face employment and religious discrimination. China says all ethnic groups are treated equally and government investment and aid have dramatically raised living standards.

Xinjiang is China’s Central Asian frontier, bordering Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia and other countries. Kashgar was an important hub on the ancient route through which Chinese silk and other goods reached Europe.

SEPTEMBER 2011www.AZMuslimVoice.com 13ISLAM

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And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with what is better than it, or (at least) return it equally.”(Qur’an, An-Nisa 4:86)

How many times have you been at the mall and

passed by your fellow Muslim brother or sister, whom you don’t know, without greeting them? Or better yet, you greet them and they do not return the greeting. For most of us this happens all the time. Why don’t we greet our Muslim brothers or sisters with the Salaams? Maybe it’s because we don’t know enough about the Islamic greeting and how important it is. What is meant by salaam is the greeting between people, which sows seeds of love and friendship in their hearts, as does giving food. There may be some weakness in the heart of one of them, which is dispelled when he is greeted, or there may be some hostility, which is turned to friendship by the greeting.” The recommended greeting of a Muslim is to say:”As-Salaamu Alaykum” (Peace be upon you).

“The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also explained the reward earned by the one who says salaam, as was reported by Buhkari.

Human interaction is an important facet of any society. In Islam, proper relationships are stressed at all phases of interaction and the common greeting holds a special place in Islamic manners. Too often, we take greetings for granted and attach minimal importance to them. In these verses, however, Allah reminds the Muslims that offering greetings and the manner of the greeting are of upmost importance. Similarly, in a Hadith narrated by Bukhari and Muslim, the

Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stressed the importance of greetings when he defined the rights of a Muslim: “The rights of a Muslim upon another are five: returning greetings, visiting the sick, following the funeral procession, responding to invitations and offering ‘Tashmeet’ for one who sneezes.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

THE VIRTUES OF SALAAM

Exchanging Salaams holds a high position in Islam. Not only is the Salaam equated with many other important deeds, but it

is one of the defining criteria of belief. We observe many Hadiths pertaining to the position of exchanging salaam in Islam. You will not enter paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another: ‘spread salaam’ (the greeting of peace) among you.” (Muslim) Here the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was urging the believers to soften their hearts. The best Islamic attitude is to love one another and greet one another, and this is achieved by words and deeds. So with these wonderful actions set and ordained; why is it that

Muslims still disregard this act that holds so many blessings? Initiating salaams is considered ‘Sunnah’ or optional, returning the salaams after it is offered is considered ‘wagib’ or obligatory, based on the first Qur’anic ayah mentioned. Islam also encourages people to offer the first greeting as mentioned in the Hadiths mentioned previously.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was asked about the most appropriate way to give salaams as shown in the following Hadiths: Anas

(may Allah be pleased with him) says that a man asked the Prophet:”O Messenger of Allah , when any one of us meets a Muslim brother or a friend then should he bow his head (as a sign of courtesy to him)?’ He said: ‘No.’ The man said: ‘Should he embrace him?’ He said: ‘No.’ The man then asked: ‘Should he clasp his hands?’ He said: ‘Yes.” (Tirmithi)

Love is one of the duties of Islam and one of the pillars of the Islamic system. One should give Salaams to those whom one knows and those whom one does not know, out of sincerity towards Allah; one

should not try to impress other people by giving Salaams only to those whom one knows and no-one else. This also entails an attitude of humility and spreading the symbols of this Ummah through the word of the Salaam.” You can see how important saying salaam is from all the evidence I have given. Allah is so, so merciful to us, and gives us many chances for rewards, yet we don’t go for those chances. Salaam increases love amongst Muslims. It bonds us together. No matter what nationality we are, we still have the same greeting. Go out there and greet those whom you don’t know. Say “As-Salaamu-Alaykum” to your friends at school. Be proud of who you are.

It is clear that it is obligatory to say salaam and return salaams, because by doing so a Muslim is giving you safety and you have to give him safety in return. It is as if he is saying to you, I am giving you safety and security, so you have to give him the same, so that he does not get suspicious or think that the one to whom he has given salaam is betraying him or ignoring him. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us that if Muslims are ignoring or forsaking one another, this will be put to an end when one of them gives salaam. Al-Bukhari (May Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: It is not permissible for a Muslim to forsake his brother for more than three days, each of them turning away from the other if they meet. The better of them is the first one to say salaam.

In conclusion:

The Prophet (SAW) said: “You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I not tell you about something which, if you do it, you will love one another? Spread salaam amongst yourselves”(Sahih Muslim 96).

As Salaamu Alaykum

The Importance of giving and returning the Salaams

SEPTEMBER 2011 www.AZMuslimVoice.com14 BAZAAR / CLASSIFIED

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Arabic BreadFood Recipes

Phyllo with minced beef

Method

• Preheat the oven to 450 °C.

• Mix flour, sugar, salt, yeast and milk powder.

• Add butter and stir well and then knead with water.

• Cut the dough into rounded pieces and spread.

• Bake in the preheated oven on a hot stone for 8 minutes until it rises.

The dough can be filled in many ways:

First

- Spread the dough and shape like a circle.

- Garnish the dough with yellow cheese, tomato, olive oil and thyme on a shape of a rose.

- Place in a preheated oven to 450 °C until it is baked then serve hot.

Second

- Cut the bread straight across into two

pieces, top and bottom.

- Put Mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, or layers of Mozzarella and chicken pieces and fold with the crust.

- Place on a hot greased pan and turn when browned.

- Wrap in aluminum foil and place in a medium oven until warm.

Third

- Garnish the bread with tomato rings, cheese, thyme and olive oil.

- Bake in a medium oven until done.

Ingredients

4 cups flour

1 Tbsp milk powder

1 Tbsp dry yeast

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp salt

2 Tbsps soft butter

1¾ cups water

Recipe by Chef Osama

Ingredients

3 Tbs olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 Garlic cloves, chopped

1 Kilo minced (ground) beef

Salt and pepper

¼ Tsp ground all spice

½ Cup parmesan cheese, grated

Butter, melted for brushing

Phyllo

2 Eggs, beaten

1 Cup milk

Method

- Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat, add onion and garlic, stir until soften.

- Add minced beef, sauté for 10 minutes, season with salt, pepper and spices and

stir frequently until well combined.

- Remove from heat, add cheese and stir. Set aside to cool.

- Preheat oven to 180°C.

- Butter a (9X11”) baking dish.

- Place about 3 sheets of phyllo pastry on the bottom of the dish, brush with butter (or spray). Repeat until having 4 layers of phyllo.

- Spread the beef mixture; add 4 dough of phyllo as previous.

- Repeat the same until having 3 layers of phyllo and beef.

- Trim edges of phyllo to fit the pan.

- Slice with a sharp knife to form squares or diamond shapes.

- Bake for 5 minutes; mix egg and milk, season and pour over the phyllo.

- Continue baking for 30 minutes or until golden.

- Serve with different sauces.

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Phoenix Prayer TimesSeptember 2011 • Ramadan / Shawwal 1432 H

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Muslim Voice September 2011

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Transcript of Muslim Voice September 2011