The American public remains concerned about the rise of Islamic extremism in the United States and around the world, but a survey taken shortly after the shootings at Fort Hood shows only a modest increase in these concerns since 2007, according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Fifty-two percent of Americans say they are "very concerned" about the possible rise of Islamic extremism in the United States, according to a Pew survey of 1,003 adults conducted from Nov. 12 through 15.

That's up from 46 percent in April 2007. Meanwhile, the percentage who say they are "somewhat concerned" fell by a similar amount, from 32 percent in 2007 to 27 percent this month.

Forty-nine percent of Americans say they are "very concerned" about the possible rise of Islamic extremism around the world, up from 48 percent in 2007. The number who say they are "somewhat concerned" fell 33 pecent to 29 percent.

The survey began one week after the Nov. 5 shootings that left 13 dead an 30 wounded. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a Muslim of Palestinian heritage who is said to have been critical of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been charged with premeditated murder in the attacks.

Read the report at pewforum.org.

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Here’s an odd one. The Associated Press is reporting that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi invited some 200 young Italian women to a party in Rome over the weekend, but when they showed up, they were given a lecture on Islam and copies of the Quran.

The AP says a reporter for Italy's ANSA news agency went undercover with the women, who were hired for 50 Euros (about $75) by a modeling agency for the event Sunday evening. Journalist Paola Lo Mele said the women assembled at a hotel, where some were left behind because they were not tall enough or dressed modestly enough.

Those accepted were taken to a villa, where Gadhafi lectured them on women's rights and religion, and urged them to convert to Islam, according to the AP.

"All the girls expected a party with a gala dinner," Lo Mele told her agency. Instead, "he made a 45-minute speech on Islam and women's role in Islam. It was a bit of an indoctrination session."

Gadhafi was in Rome to attend a U.N. summit on world hunger.

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A mosque in Potomac is one of four targeted by federal prosecutors Thursday in what could prove to be one of the largest counterterrorism seizures in U.S. history, the Associated Press is reporting.

Prosecutors took steps Thursday to seize the four mosques and a Fifth Avenue skyscraper owned by the nonprofit Alavi Foundation, long suspected of being secretly controlled by the Iranian government.

In all, prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of more than $500 million in assets, including bank accounts, Islamic centers consisting of schools and mosques in New York City, Maryland, California and Houston, more than 100 acres in Virginia, and a 36-story glass office tower in New York.

John D. Winter, the Alavi Foundation's lawyer, told the AP that it intends to litigate the case and prevail. He said the foundation has been cooperating with the government's investigation for the better part of a year.

A spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations expressed concern. Spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said the move comes at a particularly bad time, as American Muslims are fearful of a backlash resulting from the recent shooting spree at Fort Hood in Texas.

“Whatever the details of the government’s case against the owners of the mosques, as a civil rights organization we are concerned that the seizure of American houses of worship could have a chilling effect on the religious freedom of citizens of all faiths and may send a negative message to Muslims worldwide,” he said.

Continue reading "Feds seek seizure of Potomac mosque" »

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Categories: International, Islam
        

Muslim organizations have condemned the shooting attack at Fort Hood last week by Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan, and some Muslims have worried that it could fuel negatives perceptions of Islam.

Add the Army chief of staff to those who are concerned.

“We have to be careful,” Gen. George Casey said Sunday on CNN. “Because we can't jump to conclusions now based on little snippets of information that come out. And frankly, I am worried – not worried, but I'm concerned that this increased speculation could cause a backlash against some of our Muslim soldiers. And I've asked our Army leaders to be on the lookout for that. It would be a shame, as great a tragedy as this was, it would be a shame if our diversity became a casualty as well.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a member of the Senate armed services committee, also counseled restraint.

“At the end of the day, maybe this is just about him,” the South Carolina Republican, a colonel in the Air Force Reserve, said Sunday on CBS. “It's certainly not about his religion, Islam. It's not about the Army; it's not about the war. At the end of the day, I think it's going to be about him.”

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Virtually every American Muslim or Arab that I asked on Friday about the shootings at Fort Hood said his or her first concern was for the victims and the survivors. Some said they were also concerned that the incident would feed negative perceptions of their community.

"I feel nervous when I see a Muslim name or an Arab name," Imam Awni Qudah, the spiritual leader of the Islamic Society of Annapolis said after Friday at the Makkah Learning Center in Gambrills. Qudah said he meets and speaks regularly with his Jewish and Christian counterparts

"What worries me is our neighbors, our reputation," he said. "Whenever something happens, everybody looks at us, and we do not want that barrier."

But others expressed confidence that Americans are unlikely to blame the alleged actions of shooting suspect Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan on his Palestinian roots or his Muslim faith.

"Maybe a few years ago, backlash would have been higher on my list, but the U.S. has really kind of matured on this point," Baltimore attorney and author Alia Malek said. "If there were ever a reason to brace ourselves for a really tremendous backlash, it was after 9/11. And, you know, it wasn't our greatest moment as Americans, but we've come through that with some more curiosity, more openness and more willingness to look at the different communities that make up the United States."

Continue reading "Muslims, Arabs express condolences, confidence" »

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National Muslim organizations are attempting to distance themselves from Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan, the officer accused in the shootings Thursday at Fort Hood, Texas, in which 13 were killed and dozens wounded.

They are also urging Muslims to protect themselves from a backlash, and asking law enforcement authorities to step up security outside mosques, community centers and schools.

Soldiers who witnessed the shootings say Hassan, identified in media reports as the Muslim son of Palestinian immigrants, shouted “Allahu Akbar” before opening fire, base commander Lt. Gen. Robert Cone said Friday. The phrase is Arabic for “God is great.”

Hassan, an Army psychiatrist, reportedly was critical of the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and had been harassed by fellow soldiers for being a Muslim, according to media reports.

Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, condemned what he called a “cowardly attack.”

“Right now, we call on all Americans to assist those who are responding to this atrocity,” Awad told reporters in Washington late Thursday. “We must ensure that the wounded are treated and the families of those who were murdered have an opportunity to mourn.

“No political or religious ideology could ever justify or excuse such wanton and indiscriminate violence. The attack was particularly heinous in that it targeted our nation’s all-volunteer army that includes thousands of Muslims in all services. We again offer our thoughts and prayers for the victims and sincere condolences for the families of those killed or injured.”

Mary Rose Oakar, president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, issued a similar statement.

Continue reading "Muslim organizations condemn Fort Hood attack" »

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We had a story in the newspaper Thursday about a project to digitze the Islamic manuscript collection at the Walters Art Museum and upload it to the World Wide Web, where documents dating back to the ninth century may be seen free of charge by anyone with an Internet connection.

Art historians at the Smithsonian and the British Museum praised the project, which they say puts the Walters at the forefront of a movement to increase online access to such holdings. they are hoping for an explosion in scholarship, as professionals, amateurs and students pore over the richly illuminated Qurans and lavishly illustrated volumes of poetry and history.

Read the story at baltimoresun.com.

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The New York Times has an interesting story this week about the apparently growing belief in creationism across the Muslim world. Kenneth Chang writes:

For many Muslims, even evolution and the notion that life flourished without the intervening hand of Allah is largely compatible with their religion. What many find unacceptable is human evolution, the idea that humans evolved from primitive primates. The Koran states that Allah created Adam, the first man, separately out of clay.

Pervez A. Hoodbhoy, a prominent atomic physicist at Quaid-e-Azam University in Pakistan, said that when he gave lectures covering the sweep of cosmological history from the Big Bang to the evolution of life on Earth, the audience listened without objection to most of it. “Everything is O.K. until the apes stand up,” Dr. Hoodbhoy said.

Mentioning human evolution led to near riots, and he had to be escorted out. “That’s the one thing that will never be possible to bridge,” he said. “Your lineage is what determines your worth.”

Participants in a conference last month at Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., said the rejection of evolution appears to be growing.

Chang quotes Truman State Univesity physicist Taner Edis as saying that he never encountered creationist undertones when he was growing up in Turkey in the 1970s: “I first noticed creationism when I came to America for graduate school,” he said.

Continue reading "Academics see rise of Muslim creationism" »

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We noted yesterday that the Council on American-Islamic Relations was condemning a shooting at an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Los Angeles. Now the most vocal of the Muslim advocacy groups is demanding that HBO apologize for an episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” in which the main character inadvertently splatters urine on a painting of Jesus.

That puts CAIR in the unusual position of seconding Bill Donohue’s Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, which condemned the episode earlier in the week. Muslims believe Jesus was a prophet, but do not believe, as Christians do, that he was the incarnation of God.

“It is beyond tasteless to insult the religious sensibilities of billions of people in America and around the world with such a cheap and vulgar publicity stunt,” CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad wrote in a letter to HBO CEO Bill Nelson. “Jesus, peace be upon him, is loved and revered by both Christians and Muslims. Muslims view him as one of God's greatest messengers to mankind.

“The Quran, Islam’s revealed text, states: ‘Behold! The angels said: ‘O Mary! God gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him. His name will be Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter and in (the company of) those nearest to God.’’ (The Holy Quran, 3:45)

“The Prophet Muhammad said: ‘Both in this world and in the hereafter, I am the nearest of all people to Jesus, the son of Mary. The prophets are paternal brothers; their mothers are different, but their religion is one.’

Continue reading "CAIR now siding with Catholic League" »

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The Los Angeles office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, an outfit best known for calling attention to attacks on Muslims in the United States, has condemned the shooting of two worshippers Thursday morning at a North Hollywood synagogue.

“We condemn this attack near the Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic Orthodox synagogue in the strongest possible terms and offer our prayers for the victims and their families,” CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said in a statement.

“No worshiper -- whether Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, or other -- should be made to feel unsafe or intimidated at a house of worship. We also appreciate the LAPD’s investigation and enhanced security in response to the attack.”

The two victims, each of whom was shot in the leg, were in good condition at local hospitals, according to Baltimore Sun sister The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Police are investigating the shooting as a hate crime.

The Times describes Adat Yeshurun as “the heart of the San Fernando Valley's Orthodox Jewish community,” within walking distance of kosher markets and other synagogues. Los Angeles police have alerted area synagogues about the shooting and stepped up patrols outside Jewish institutions, The Times reports.

Read more on the shooting at latimes.com.

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Shaukat Malik is a Muslim-American Certified Public Accountant from Potomac. He left his native Pakistan in 1972 and has been living in the United States since 1980.

As a Pakistani American, I feel obligated to serve the United States in fighting terrorism through development and institution building. Allow me to offer my suggestions on controlling the Taliban/Extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Taliban Background: Who are the Taliban?

They are a byproduct of the Soviet war thirty years ago and received their training in Pakistani madrassas. The Taliban are igniting nationalist passions amongst the uneducated citizens of Afghanistan to stand up and fight outsiders -- read the United States, NATO and the Pakistani and Afghan governments.

The Taliban and Muslim extremists share their ideology with the orthodox brand of Islam practiced today in Saudi Arabia. Sharia/Hadood laws are the backbone of Taliban Ideology. The enforcement of these laws and setting up a government with a spiritual head/Caliph/Khomeni is the goal of these mad zealots. They would like to go back 1400 years and eat “Manna” for dinner.

Supported by drug-money and thugs, the Taliban are not as simple and ordinary as they appear. They have taken a leaf from the Inquisition in Christianity and use fear and public humiliation at the end of a gun to enforce their brand of made-up Islam.

While controlling Swat, these crooks used Robin Hood tactics by seizing land from wealthy owners and giving it away to poor tenants. Of course, the land was never theirs to give away in the first place, but through this fraudulent move they were able to convince some locals.

Pakistan’s involvement in the Soviet war allowed Pakistan’s military dictator Zia-ul-Haq the room to Islamicize Pakistan through fake referendums and, in the process, destroyed Pakistan’s secular character. This Islamicization process has been allowed to continue to this day, notwithstanding General Musharaf’s fake enlightened moderation slogan.

Please note: A Taliban-controlled Afghanistan cannot survive without support from extremist sympathizers in Pakistan.

How do we counter this?

Continue reading "Guest Post: Getting rid of the Taliban cancer" »

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Categories: Guest Posts, International, Islam, Politics
        

More interesting, perhaps, then the fact that Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo is the first Jewish ambassador from the Persian Gulf state of Bahrain is that the 45-year-old diplomat rose to her post despite being one of only three dozen Jews in the Arab nation.

The Baltimore Jewish Times has a story about Nonoo’s visit this month with a group of Baltimoreans visiting Washington as part of the Jewish Muslim Dialogue coordinated by the Baltimore Jewish Council.

“We have a visible Jewish community in that we have 36 people and we are all related,” said the British-educated Nonoo, the Bahraini ambassador to the United States.

She says her family’s history in Bahrain goes back more than a century, when her grandfather arrived from Iraqi to start a financial business. She described a climate of relative harmony among Jews and Muslims.

“During the festivals, we go to each others houses and our non-Jewish friends come to wish l’shanah tova,” she said. “We wish them well and visit their houses on the Muslim Eid Festival, too.”

Bahrain does not recognize the State of Israel. Nonoo says her country’s role in resolving the conflict is limited.

“We are inviting Israeli journalists to Bahrain, but being a small country we can’t take that first step of making peace,” she said. “It’s going to take a long time.”

Read the rest of the story at jewishtimes.com.

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Over at Read Street, the Baltimore Sun books blog, they're giving away a copy of The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb.

The jacket copy describes the anatomically comprehensive work by the underground comic artist as "THE FIRST BOOK OF THE BIBLE GRAPHICALLY DEPICTED! NOTHING LEFT OUT!" And there's a warning on the cover: "ADULT SUPERVISION RECOMMENDED FOR MINORS."

Sun colleague Nancy Johnston says: "It's gorgeous, graphic and much more seriously handled than you might expect from the irreverent Crumb." Details on how to win are at Read Street.

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Categories: Christianity, Culture, Interfaith, Islam, Judaism, People
        

Muslim leaders in the Philippines are condemning the kidnapping of a Catholic priest, saying the act is contrary to the religious values of both Islam and Christianity, zenit.org is reporting.

The Rev. Michael Sinnott, a 79-year-old Columban father who moved from Ireland to the Philippines four decades ago, was abducted Oct. 11 from his home in Pagadian City, zenit.org reports. Sinnott has been frail and in need of medication since an open heart surgery he underwent in July.

The National Ulema Conference of the Philippines, a body of Muslim leaders, issued an appeal for the release of the priest, according to AsiaNews, stating that the act "contrary to the principles of Islam, Christianity and other religions.”

The Filipino government, meanwhile, has appealed to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a Muslim rebel group, for help in finding the kidnapped priest, zenit.org reports. Although there has been violent conflict between the two forces that resulted in hundreds of deaths only months ago, they agreed last week to work together to rescue Sinnott.

The Inquirer Mindanao has reported that the Moro Islamic forces are closing in on the location and identities of the kidnappers, zenit.org reports. The Muslim forces plan to surround the captors and cut off escape while allowing the government authorities to take the lead on the final confrontation.

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Israel's foreign minister declared Thursday that there is no chance of reaching a final accord with the Palestinians any time soon, and suggested instead that the two sides come up with a long-term interim arrangement that would ensure prosperity, security and stability, the Associated Press is reporting.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman recommended leaving the toughest issues — such as the status of disputed Jerusalem and a solution for Palestinian refugees who lost homes amid war — "to a much later stage." He did not elaborate or give a timeline.

"Anyone who says that within the next few years an agreement can be reached ending the conflict ... simply doesn't understand the situation and spreads delusions, ultimately leading to disappointments and an all-out confrontation here," Lieberman told Israel Radio.

Other conflicts have been defused with the sides making a "dramatic decision" to renounce violence and enter into a period of calm that would allow an accord, Lieberman said.

"People have learned to live with it," he said.

Read the Associated Press report here.

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Is Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Jewish?

If he is not, The Telegraph reports, the bitter critic of Israel clearly has Jewish roots. So the British newspaper has concluded from a photograph taken last year of Ahmadinejad holding up an identity document that shows that his surname was once Sabourjian, identified as a Jewish name meaning cloth weaver:

The short note scrawled on the card suggests his family changed its name to Ahmadinejad when they converted to embrace Islam after his birth.

The Sabourjians traditionally hail from Aradan, Mr Ahmadinejad's birthplace, and the name derives from "weaver of the Sabour", the name for the Jewish Tallit shawl in Persia. The name is even on the list of reserved names for Iranian Jews compiled by Iran's Ministry of the Interior.

Ahmadinejad has denied the Holocaust and threatened Israel. On his alleged Jewish heritage, the Telegraph quotes Ali Nourizadeh of the Centre for Arab and Iranian Studies as saying "This aspect of Mr Ahmadinejad's background explains a lot about him.

"Every family that converts into a different religion takes a new identity by condemning their old faith," Nourizadeh said.

"By making anti-Israeli statements he is trying to shed any suspicions about his Jewish connections. He feels vulnerable in a radical Shia society."

Nonsense, Meir Javedanfar writes in The Guardian. He quotes two sources as saying that Ahmadinejad's father was in fact a religious Shia who taught the Quran before and after the future president's birth and their move to Tehran, and that Ahmadinejad's mother is a Seyyede, a title given to women who are believed to be direct bloodline descendants of Muhammad.

Continue reading "Iran's Jewish president?" »

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Categories: International, Islam, Judaism, People, Politics
        

I've been away the last couple of days, and will be back to posting full-time on Thursday. In the meantime, we did have a couple of stories in the newspaper on Sunday that you might have missed.

In the first, a Muslim scholar told a Baltimore conference on Saturday that the use of Islam to justify killing is "an innovation" in the religion, and added: "Most innovations lead to hellfire."

"The Satan always has people that he will be able to deceive," Dr. Waleed Basyouni told hundreds at Ilm Fest 2009, an Islamic education conference making its first appearance in Baltimore. "The good news," he said during a presentation he called "Reclaiming Islam from the Jihadists," is that "the nature of the Muslim community is to fight terrorism. The nature of the Muslim community is to reject extremism."

Read the rest of the story at baltimoresun.com.

In the second, we reviewed preparations for H1N1 among different faith congregations. We were interested in the comments of the Rev. John Kingsbury, pastor of St. Mary's in Annapolis. He had taken precautions against the spread of the virus during Mass, but worried that the spiritual impact of the pandemic "has yet to be faced,"

"There will be less, probably, Communions to hospitals," he said. "I'm guessing the hospitals will begin to become stricter with people visiting if things become more serious.

"People dealing with mass suffering -- by which I mean, a lot of people sick -- are going to want spiritual comfort at the very time that it's going to be the most difficult to give it."

Read the rest of the story at baltimoresun.com.

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The United Nations' refugee agency is planning to include the Holocaust in a new human-rights curriculum for pupils in its Gaza secondary schools despite strident opposition to the idea from within Hamas, The Independent reports.

The director of operations in Gaza for The U.N. Relief and Works Agency told the British newspaper that he was "confident and determined" that the Holocaust would feature for the first time in a wide-ranging curriculum now being drafted.

"No human-rights curriculum is complete without the inclusion of the facts of the Holocaust, and its lessons," said John Ging, described as a "passionate advocate" for Palestinian civilians. More from the story:

The draft, to be completed within weeks and then put out for consultation with parents and the public, is built on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was agreed by the UN General Assembly in 1948 in the shadow of what it called the "barbarous acts" committed by the Nazis during the Second World War.

The one-time Irish Army officer has long been an outspoken critic of Israeli policy towards Gaza, including the conduct of last winter's lethal military offensive and what he described more than once in his interview as the "illegal siege".

Mr Ging said the curriculum would explain the genesis, and "inculcate the values" of the Universal Declaration which stipulates that "everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person". He pointed out that the UN General Assembly in 2005 unanimously urged "all countries to teach the lessons of the Holocaust to children so that we learn from history, so that we don't repeat history".

The Independent quotes religious leader Yunis al Astal, a Hamas member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, as saying that including the Holocaust in the curriculum would be "marketing a lie" and a "war crime."

Read the rest of the story at independent.co.uk.

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Hundreds of Muslims are expected Saturday and Sunday at the Baltimore Convention Center for Ilm Fest, an educational conference organized by the AlMaghrib Institute.

"Ilm" is Arabic for knowledge, and "Al Maghrib" is Arabic for the West. Organizers say the event has been set up to help young American Muslims live their faith in the United States.

We have a story in Saturday's Baltimore Sun.

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Adherents of the world's major religions are urging political leaders, businessmen and individuals to renounce short-term gains and greed, telling a U.N. climate conference in Bangkok that reversing global warming is a moral duty, the Associated Press reports.

"Stewardship and reverence for creation are central tenants of all faiths on Earth," said the Interfaith Declaration on Climate Change, endorsed by prominent adherents of Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism and handed to U.N.Climate Chief Yvo de Boer on Wednesday.

The declaration came as the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warned that global waming could cut food production in poor countries by 21 per cent by 2050, and the Asian Development Bank said it could lead to a surge of migration into the region's already crowded cities.

"The food and energy security of every Asian is threatened by climate change, but it's the poor - and especially poor women - who are most vulnerable and most likely to migrate as a consequence," Asian Developlment Bank Vice Pesident Ursula Schaefer Preuss said in a statement.

Negotiators from around the world at the two-week conference are working on a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012. They are working on an agreement for a major climate forum in Copenhagen in December.

Religious leaders chastised governments for placing national advantage ahead of preserving the human species and negotiators for lacking a sense of urgency.

Continue reading "Faith leaders urge U.N. action on climate change" »

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Robert Barnes has a story on the cover of Tuesday's Washington Post about a World War I memorial cross on federal land in California's Mojave National Preserve that will give the Superme Court under Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. its first major opportunity to interpret the constitutional separation of church and state.

The piece begins:

It would be easy to miss among the yucca and Joshua trees of this vast place -- a small plywood box, set back from a gentle curve in a lonesome desert road. It looks like nothing so much as a miniature billboard without a message.

But inside the box is a 6 1/2 -foot white cross, built to honor the war dead of World War I. And because its perch on a prominent outcropping of rock is on federal land, it has been judged to be an unconstitutional display of government favoritism of one religion over another.

Barnes goes on to describe what's at stake:

If the court reaches the constitutional issues at hand, all sides agree it could provide clarity to the court's blurry rules on church-and-state separations. It could also carry important implications for the fate of war memorials around the country that feature religious imagery -- the Argonne Cross in Arlington National Cemetery, for instance, or the Memorial Peace Cross in Bladensburg.

Defenders of the cross include veterans groups and the federal government. In an effort to protect it, Congress has designated the site as the country's only official memorial to the nation's World War I dead, which, as Barnes points out, elevates it to an exclusive group of national treasures that inlcudes the Washington Monument and Mount Rushmore.

Critics include Jewish and Muslim veterans and the American Civil Liberties Union, which says the congressional action "necessarily will reflect continued government association with the preeminent symbol of Christianity."

Read the story at washingtonpost.com.

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Some 3,000 Muslims attended a Juma prayer service on the grounds of the Capitol last week, The Washington Times reports, a gathering that participants called historic.

"Islam is part of America," Amina Haqq said. "It is not a Judeo-Christian society; it is a Judeo-Christian-Muslim society."

Rally organizer Abdul Malik praised American freedom.

"What we've done today, you couldn't do in any Muslim country," the Brooklyn imam said. "If you prayed on the palace lawn there, they'd lock you up."

The Washington Times story refers to "the taunts of Christian evangelists on the surrounding sidewalks" but provides no details; the comments section, though, has plenty.

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The Institute for Christian & Jewish Studies has announced what look to be several strong programs in October, including a local appearance by the renowned scholar of early Christianity Dr. Paula Fredrikson.

Fredrikson, the author most recently of “Augustine and the Jews: A Christian Defense of Jews and Judaism,” will deliver the 2009 Bernard Manekin Lecture at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 15 at Chizuk Amuno Congregation, 8100 Stevenson Road, Baltimore. Her topic: “God Was Not Odd To Choose the Jews: Augustine on the Jewishness of Jesus.” The event is free and open to the public; those interested in attending are asked to call 410-494-7161 to reserve seats.

Beth El Congregation Senior Rabbi Steven Schwartz and Dr. Christopher Leighton, executive director of the Institute of Christian & Jewish Studies, will present “Finding God as Jews and Christians” at 8 p.m. Oct. 8 at Beth El Congregation, 8101 Park Heights Ave., Baltimore. Again, free and open to the public; RSVP to 410-484-0411.

A succession of Jewish, Christian and Muslim clergy will present “Children of Abraham in the 21st Century” at 7 p.m. Wednesdays in October at St. James Episcopal Church, 1020 W. Lafayette Ave., Baltimore. According to the Institute’s Web site, Schwartz, Dr. Rosann M. Catalano and Imam Sulayman Nyang will discuss “what makes us more similar than different.”

Dinner, at a cost of $5, is served at 6 p.m.; lectures begin at 7 p.m. RSVP with the St. James Episcopal Church office at 410-523-4588.

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Representatives of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, scheduled to meet with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday, say they will seek the release of three Americans detained in Iran since July.

Shane Bauer, Joshua Fattal and Sarah Shourd apparently strayed into Iran while hiking in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. CAIR has been active in seeking their release.

“We hope that President Ahmadinejad will take this opportunity for a humanitarian gesture to create a more positive atmosphere for constructive dialogue between our two nations by releasing the American detainees,” CAIR National Board Chairman Larry Shaw said in a statement. “As an American organization, we must do what we can to help our nation’s citizens when they are swept up in international events.”

Ahmadinejad already has said he will seek leniency for the hikers, who are in their 20s and 30s.
"What I can ask is that the judiciary expedites the process and gives it its full attention, and to basically look at the case with maximum leniency," he said Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. "The judiciary has its own procedures to follow, but I'm hopeful.”

CAIR said it would give Ahmadinejad a letter from the families of the hikers, and also a letter from the family of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, who has been missing in Iran since 2007.

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We’ve been following with interest the different reactions to the decision of the Yale University Press, now preparing a scholarly work on the Danish cartoon depictions of Muhammad that inspired riots in 2005 and 2006, not to include the pictures themselves in the book. Yale reportedly consulted two dozen experts on the likelihood that their publication would lead to further violence before opting against it.

The decision has aroused concerns – which we share – about the power that it awards to the violent few to deny the free flow of information among the many. But one of the more interesting takes we’ve seen on it approaches the issue from a different angle: What it says about attitudes towards Muslims.

Entitled "Satanic or Silly: Does Yale Press Censorship of Cartoons Insult Muslims?" the piece by Daniel Martin Varisco over at Religion Dispatches reads in part:

The cautious reaction by Yale University Press is understandable, but I find the rationale troubling, as it assumes that Muslims extremists await any new pretext to spur violence and that “moderate” Muslims are at their mercy. Given the ongoing United States military presence in both Iraq and Afghanistan, drone bombings in Pakistan and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, there are far more relevant pretexts available than an Ivy League book that may not even warrant review in major newspapers. The peddlers of Islamophobia in the media, popular trade books, and blogs would have us believe that radical extremists are lurking everywhere just waiting for an excuse to promote violence. To suggest that deadly protest over these images can be rekindled by a book that attempts to explain the whole affair in academic prose is an insult to the vast majority of Muslims, especially those in the United States.

Continue reading "Is it the cartoons, or the censorship?" »

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Pope Benedict XVI has announced a special meeting of bishops next year to discuss Middle East peace efforts and the role of the Catholic Church in the region, the Associated Press is reporting.

We are reminded of the difficulties this pontiff has had with both Muslims (his decision in a 2006 address to quote a 14th century Byzantine emperor critical of Islam inspired riots) and Jews (who are wary of his interest in reinstating elements of the pre-Vatican II church), and wonder how receptive the region is likely to be to the Vatican’s counsel.

From the Associated Press:

Addressing bishops and patriarchs from Eastern rite churches, Benedict said Saturday that the meeting will take place Oct. 10-24, 2010, and will be titled "The Catholic Church in the Middle East: communion and testimony."

The meeting of bishops, called a synod, will gather church leaders from the Middle East and around the world.

The pope and the Vatican have long been active on the Middle East diplomatic front, seeking to protect Christians in the Holy Land and elsewhere in the region while supporting efforts to solve the Israel-Palestinian dispute.

Read the Associated Press story here.

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For attempting to rally employees to boycott a postage stamp that honors a Muslim holiday, the mayor of Clarksville, Tenn., has won: A free Quran.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said on Friday it would send copies of the Muslim text to Mayor John Piper and members of the Clarksville City Council. According to media reports, Piper forwarded an e-mail to friends, colleagues and employees urging “patriotic Americans” to protest the stamp.

From The Leaf Chronicle:

The e-mail asks readers to remember a series of what it calls “Muslim” terrorist attacks. For example, “Remember the MUSLIM bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993!”

After listing a series of similar comments, the e-mail concludes, “To use this stamp would be a slap in the face to all those AMERICANS who died at the hands of those whom this stamp honors.”

"I don't see any reason why it would be inappropriate," Piper told the newspaper, and added that he thought the e-mail was neither anti-Muslim or anti-Islamic.

Snopes.com has a thorough discussion of the e-mail, which has circulated since shortly after the U.S. Postal Service first issued the stamp in 2001. According to The Leaf-Chronicle, the version forwarded by Piper claims erroneously that the stamp was created at the order of President Barack Obama.

Continue reading "Give this man a Muslim holy book" »

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President Barack Obama continued his Ramadan-timed Muslim outreach with a White House dinner on Tuesday. But this time, he invited some prominent Israeli and Jewish leaders to join their Muslim counterparts at the fast-breaking meal called Iftar.

The guest list included Michael Oren, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Nathan Diament, director of public affairs of the Orthodox Union, and Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.

They joined diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and other Muslim countries and the chief of mission of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Also on hand were Reps. Keith Ellison and Andre Carson, the first Muslims to serve in Congress, and other prominent American Muslims.

"I want to welcome all the American Muslims from many walks of life who are here," Obama said. "This is just one part of our effort to celebrate Ramadan, and continues a long tradition of hosting iftars here at the White House.

"For well over a billion Muslims, Ramadan is a time of intense devotion and reflection. It's a time of service and support for those in need. And it is also a time for family and friends to come together in a celebration of their faith, their communities, and the common humanity that all of us share. It is in that spirit that I welcome each and every one of you to the White House.

"Tonight's iftar is a ritual that is also being carried out this Ramadan at kitchen tables and mosques in all 50 states. Islam, as we know, is part of America. And like the broader American citizenry, the American Muslim community is one of extraordinary dynamism and diversity -- with families that stretch back generations and more recent immigrants; with Muslims of countless races and ethnicities, and with roots in every corner of the world.

"Indeed, the contribution of Muslims to the United States are too long to catalog because Muslims are so interwoven into the fabric of our communities and our country. American Muslims are successful in business and entertainment; in the arts and athletics; in science and in medicine. Above all, they are successful parents, good neighbors, and active citizens.

"So on this occasion, we celebrate the Holy Month of Ramadan, and we also celebrate how much Muslims have enriched America and its culture -- in ways both large and small."

Following is the White House transcript of Obama's remarks.

Continue reading "Obama invites Jewish leaders to Ramadan dinner" »

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After attacks on Muslims in New York and California, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations is targeting what he says is “growing anti-Muslim rhetoric” on the Internet and talk radio.

CAIR is seeking federal hate crime charges in the attacks on a mother and daughter in Smithtown, N.Y., and a taxi driver in Pleasanton, Calif.

In the New York incident, which occurred on Aug. 20, a Long Island man has been charged with second-degree aggravated harassment after threatening to kill and attempting to rundown the mother and daughter, each of whom was wearing an abaya, a black robe that covers the head and body.

According to a report in Newsday by former Sun colleague Sumathi Reddy, the mother told police that she had been at a gas station when a man approached from behind and yelled, "Take that stuff off. What do you think it is, Halloween?"

The woman said the man "kept striking a match on a matchbook like if I was to start pumping the gas he would throw the match at me.”

The man said he had done nothing wrong, according to the Newsday report.

"They shouldn't be allowed to wear that around here," he said in a statement to police. "This is not Iraq. They should not be dressing like that here. Send them back to Iraq."

Continue reading "Muslim organization blames talk radio in attacks" »

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A Florida church that has made a ministry out of spreading messages against Islam has launched a new protest this week using children, The Gainesville Sun reports.

On the first day of the new school year Monday, a 10-year-old elementary school student was sent home after showing up wearing a t-shirt that read “Islam is of the Devil,” according to The Sun. On Tuesday, three more children wore the shirts.

The shirts, which also include the Gospel passage “Jesus answered I am the way and the truth and the life; no one goes to the Father except through me,” were produced by Dove World Outreach Center.

On its Web site, DWOC describes itself as “a New Testament, Charismatic, Non-Denominational Church that believes in the whole Bible and that we are to act in response to the word of God in order to change the times we are living in.”

The church has drawn protests in Gainesville with signs carrying what Muslims and others say are anti-Islam messages. Senior Pastor Terry Jones has described the effort as a “great act of love.”

Continue reading "Students taking anti-Islam message to school" »

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Categories: Fundamentalism, Islam
        

Local Muslims are planning to fulfill their Ramadan obligation to help the needy on Saturday by giving a hot meal, clothing, health screening, contacts for job training and other assistance to more than 1,000 homeless people in Baltimore.

Organized in 19 cities nationwide by Islamic Relief, the annual Day of Dignity will be hosted locally by Masjid Ul Haqq at 514 Islamic Way. Since coming to Baltimore in 2005, organizers say, the effort has served nearly 3,500 people.

Initiated in Los Angeles, the event is now held annually in New York, Washington, Philadelphia,Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Detroit and other cities.

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President Barack Obama is taking advantage of the start of Ramadan on Saturday to make another overture to the Muslim world. In a holiday message now on the White House Web site, he wishes Muslims Ramadan Kareem, and then details U.S. efforts to engage Muslims in much the same language that he used during his address in Cairo in June.

“Beyond America’s borders, we are … committed to keeping our responsibility to build a world that is more peaceful and secure,” Obama says in the new message. “That is why we are responsibly ending the war in Iraq. That is why we are isolating violent extremists while empowering the people in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan. That is why we are unyielding in our support for a two-state solution that recognizes the rights of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security. ...

“All of these efforts are a part of America’s commitment to engage Muslims and Muslim-majority nations on the basis of mutual interest and mutual respect. And at this time of renewal, I want to reiterate my commitment to a new beginning between America and Muslims around the world.”

The complete transcript follows, after the jump.

Continue reading "On Ramadan, more U.S. outreach to Muslims" »

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Shaukat Malik is a Muslim-American Certified Public Accountant from Potomac. He left his native Pakistan in 1972 and has been living in the United States since 1980.

Religous laws supporting Taliban ideology must be amended in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The so-called Hadood ordinance to enforce Sharia in Pakistan, and certain laws incorporated into the Afghanistan constitution -- especially those relating to family laws and women -- provide the Taliban the opportunity to use these laws as part of their manifesto for setting up an Islamic kingdom run by a caliph.

Sharia/Hadood laws in Pakistan, if fully enforced, are not very different from what the Taliban are prescribing. Both restrict minority and women's rights and are biased in favor of men when it involves matters concerning divorce & polygamy.

Religous and right-wing parties in Pakistan are sitting on the fence for political gain when it comes to dealing with extremists living in Madrassas all over Pakistan. Time has come for the Pakistan Peoples Party, which enjoys a majority in parliament, to repeal the Hadood ordinance promulgated under false pretence by a military dictator. This will have the powerful effect of forcing extremist/Taliban sympathizers to come out in the open, should they opt to oppose this legislation under the "Burqa" of 1,400-year old Sharia law.

Without doing this, the environment for viable economic activity cannot be created and the Taliban, as direct decedents of the "Mujahidin heroes" who fought the Soviet infidel, will continue to destroy humanity on both sides of the border.

Continue reading "Guest post: How to deafeat the Taliban, Part III" »

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Shaukat Malik is a Muslim-American Certified Public Accountant from Potomac. He left his native Pakistan in 1972 and has been living in the United States since 1980.

At last, the people of Pakistan are convinced that the Taliban are traitors and must be eliminated. Now Pakistan’s elected National Assembly must validate the military action by the Pakistan Army in support of U.S. action. Unless and until the voters' representatives are seen and heard condemning the Taliban by passing a resolution, all action against the Taliban will be seen by many Pakistanis as America's war against terror.

Many lawmakers, especially those from the religious parties and the right, are sitting on the fence when it comes to openly condemning the mad Taliban. They see the National Assembly as a rubber-stamp body that is under the president, a legacy of the dictatorship of Pervez Musharraf.

Powers usurped by military dictators must be restored to the "people's house" to win confidence of Pakistani voters. A bill should be passed in the elected National Assembly authorizing the monitoring of all Madrassas and the conversion of all Madrassas to regular schools with the help of regional school boards in Pakistan using U.S. aid dollars.

Madrassas should no longer be allowed to become recruiting grounds for suicide bombers, Taliban and murderers hiding behind the “Burqa” of Sharia.

Continue reading "Guest post: How to defeat the Taliban, Part II" »

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In an appearanced criticized by some of his fellow conservative Christians, megachurch Pastor Rick Warren told several thousand American Muslims over the weekend that "the two largest faiths on the planet" must work together to combat stereotypes and solve global problems, the Associated Press is reporting.

"Some problems are so big you have to team tackle them," Warren, author of The Purpose-Driven Life, told the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America. He said Muslims and Christians should be partners in working to end what he calls "the five global giants" of war, poverty, corruption, disease and illiteracy.

The Christian Post quoted Warren, the founder of Saddelback Church in Orange County, Calif., as saying he was "not interested in interfaith dialogue.

Continue reading "Warren to Muslims: Let's work together" »

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Categories: Christianity, Evangelicalsm, Interfaith, Islam
        

Claiming inspiration from President Barack Obama’s address earlier this month in Cairo, the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy group announced plans on Tuesday to give the Quran to 100,000 local, state and national leaders.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is asking American Muslims to sponsor the distribution of the Qurans to members of Congress, governors and state lawmakers, state attorneys general, local elected and public officials, teachers, law enforcement officials, media professionals, and others “who shape public opinion or determine policy,” according to a release.

“By quoting from the Quran in his Cairo address, President Obama generated renewed interest in what Islam’s revealed text has to say on topics such as the sanctity of human life, justice and diversity,” Nihad Awad, CAIR’s executive director, said in a statement. “This is not an effort to proselytize, but is instead intended to provide an educational resource for those who will shape the future direction of our nation.”

CAIR says its surveys show that only two percent of Americans say they are “very knowledgeable” about Islam, and nearly 60 percent say they are “not very knowledgeable” or “not at all knowledgeable” about the faith.

The organization describes the giveaway as phase two of its “Explore the Quran” campaign, in which tens of thousands of Americans requested and received Qurans. Awad said the campaign’s ultimate goal is “to put one million Qurans in the hands of ordinary Americans of all faiths” over the next decade.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 6:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Shaukat Malik is a Muslim-American Certified Public Accountant from Potomac. A native of Pakistan, he arrived in the United States in 1980.

Sharia laws are being used by terrorists to violate divine human rights.

Great Britain and France, as colonial powers, must share in the blame for not encouraging or allowing democracy to take root in Muslim countries. This is one reason why Sharia features so prominently in the legal systems of Muslim countries as the only acceptable form of justice. Autocratic rule, out-dated customs and lack of education prevented the judiciary in almost every Muslim country to develop a rule of law in which no one is above the law.

Almost every Muslim country except for Turkey has some form of Sharia incorporated into the constitution. Another reason for this inclusion is the legacy of a natural alliance between the clergy and a dictatorship. Both need each other for legitimacy. Even the Burmese military dictatorship had an understanding with the monks.

Through this alliance a dictatorship can suppress rights and freedoms taken for granted in democratic countries. A suffocating environment that stifles human development takes root, which is avoided by all prospective investors and visitors — unless they have no choice – leading to severe economic decline. Sharia is being enforced in Somalia today and the results are not very good.

Enforcers and supporters of Sharia say that things are economically bad because we are not following Sharia and God is angry. It is interesting to recall that some mullahs blamed the 2005 Earthquake in Pakistan on cable television.

Continue reading "Guest post: Reconsidering Sharia" »

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The Islamic tradition of generosity toward people fleeing persecution has had more influence on modern international refugee law than any other historical source, according to a study published Tuesday by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

“The international community should value this 14-century-old tradition of generosity and hospitality and recognize its contributions to modern law,” U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres writes in his forward to “The Right to Asylum Between Islamic Shari’ah and International Refugee Law: A Comparative Study.”

The report was commissioned by UNHCR in cooperation with Saudi Arabia’s Naif Arab University for Security Sciences and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. It was written by Ahmed Abu Al-Wafa, a professor and dean of the law faculty at Cairo University.

“Today, the majority of refugees worldwide are Muslims,” Guterres writes. “This fact occurs at a time when the level of extremism -- ethnic and religious -- is on the rise around the globe, even in the world’s most developed societies. Racism, xenophobia and populist fear-mongering manipulate public opinion and confuse refugees with illegal migrants and even terrorists.

“These attitudes have also contributed to misperceptions about Islam, and Muslim refugees have paid a heavy price. Let us be clear: refugees are not terrorists. They are first and foremost the victims of terrorism. This book reminds us of our duty to counter such attitudes.”

The Organization of the Islamic Conference stipulated every human being fleeing persecution has the right to seek asylum and receive protection in another country in its 1990 Declaration on Human Rights in Islam.

Continue reading "Islam is greatest contributor to refugee law: UNHCR" »

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Local Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim congregations are praying for an end to violence this weekend during a citywide Peace Sabbath.

Faith leaders agreed to the first event of its kind last month as part of three-point plant to promote peace in Baltimore this summer. The other points:

• To call on city leaders to keep parks, recreation centers, libraries and polls open during the summer months, when children are not in school and crime typically increases; and
• To encourage churches, synagogues and mosques to designate job sites for the city’s Youth Works program, and to host youth centers other programs to provide safe havens for kids.

The Archdiocese of Baltimore, one of organizations participating in the Peace Sabbath, is asking Catholics to bring a dollar to Mass this weekend to support the city’s Safe Streets initiative. The churches of St. Ann and St. Wenceslaus in East Baltimore and St. Veronica in Cherry Hill currently host Safe Streets programs.

According to the archdiocese, Cherry Hill saw a drop from 14 shootings in the eight months before the program started at St. Veronica to one shooting in the eight months after. Now funding for the program at St. Veronica is running out and additional revenue is needed to keep it going.

Local faith leaders warned last month that planned budget cuts were threatening their hope of a “summer of peace.” As Baltimore Sun colleague Peter Hermann reported, Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien called on Mayor Sheila Dixon to reverse course.

Continue reading "Congregations praying for peace" »

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Shaukat Malik is a Muslim-American Certified Public Accountant from Potomac. A native of Pakistan, he arrived in the United States in 1980.

In Pakistan, the religious schools called madrassas were created during the Afghan war as factories for producing future mujahedeen to fight the Soviet infidels. It was a win for all parties involved. They were financed by Middle East money and America’s acquiescence.

Today there are thousands of madrassas scattered all over Pakistan providing lodging and shelter to poor children, who have nowhere else to turn. Each madrassa is like an orphanage run by fascist clerics.

Madrassas today teach hatred of non-Muslims using an orthodox interpretation of the Quran taught by self-serving mullahs lacking formal education. Brainwashed children graduating as clerics are taught to believe that salvation is only possibly by establishing an Islamic kingdom governed under their interpretation of Sharia law.

All actions -- training suicide bombers, storing weapons, harassing local citizens, beheading, whipping and stoning -- are justifiable in this struggle. madrassas share the Taliban’s ideology and are their natural partners and allies.

Continue reading "Guest Post: How to defeat the Taliban" »

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President Barack Obama went to Egypt this month to create common ground between America and Islam. In the process, Morgan State University historian Lawrence A. Peskin says, he whitewashed America's early, troubled history with the Islamic world.

Writing Thursday at baltimoresun.com, Peskin takes issue with Obama’s version of events:

In his speech at Cairo University, the president noted that "Islam has always been a part of America's story." He cited Morocco's early recognition of American independence in 1778. He also reminded his audience of the U.S.-Tripoli treaty of 1796-97, which denied that the United States bore any "enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity" of Muslims.

In so doing, the president created a mythic tale of longstanding friendship and understanding on the part of Americans and Islamic North Africans. Although it may have diplomatic uses, this tale has little historical basis.

President Obama correctly stated that Morocco was the first nation to recognize American independence. However, he omitted the fact that shortly thereafter, Moroccans captured an American ship and its crew to force the United States to sign a pay-for-peace treaty with Morocco's ruler.

The payment did stop Morocco from capturing more Americans, but soon its next-door neighbor, Algeria, began capturing American ships. Ultimately it held more than 100 American crew members for ransom, some for a dozen years. Nor did a similar arrangement with Tripoli stop that country from capturing more Americans.

Read the rest of Peskin's piece at baltimoresun.com.

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Federal terrorism finance laws are interfering with the ability of American Muslims to give to charity as required by their faith, according to a report released Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Zakat, or alms giving, is one of the five pillars of Islam. But the ACLU says terrorism finance laws that were expanded after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to stop the flow of U.S. dollars to violent groups have made American Muslims afraid to give to any organization, lest it come under government suspicion and those who support it face criminal prosecution.

“Widespread intimidation of Muslim donors and the arbitrary blacklisting of charitable organizations trample on Muslims’ free exercise of religion through charitable giving and tarnish America’s reputation as a beacon of religious freedom,” said Jennifer Turner, who wrote the 164-page report, entitled “Blocking Faith, Freezing Charity.”

"Post-9/11 policies have created a climate of fear that prevents Muslims from practicing their religion, and unless the Obama administration takes action, this legacy of the Bush administration will persist."

The government has closed seven Muslim charities since Sept. 11, 2001, and two others have shut down after government raids on their offices, according to the Associated Press. In Dallas last month, a federal judge sentenced five members of the now-defunct Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development to prison after they were convicted of funneling money to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The defendants said they only gave much-needed aid to a volatile region.

Two other high-profile terrorism-financing trials, in Chicago and Florida, ended without convictions on the major counts.

Continue reading "Anti-terror laws interfering with Muslim charity: ACLU" »

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The president of the Baltimore chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee acknowledges that security guards might have a legitimate reason to ask people to remove facial coverings. But he is also urging respect in the wake of an opinion by Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler that deputy sheriffs can require visitors to remove such coverings before allowing them to enter a courthouse.

“This is really about personal identify and religious freedom,” Bash Pharoan tells Laura Smitherman in today’s Baltimore Sun. “A woman who wears the hijab is obeying the call of God.”

Gansler, responding to a request from the office of Prince George’s County Sheriff Michael Jackson, has opined that deputies could require a visitor to remove a mask, veil or other face covering “without regard to whether the individual claims a religious basis for remaining masked or veiled,” as long as the sheriff’s office has a “neutral and generally applicable policy of requiring removal of face coverings for security purposes.”

The opinion is not binding, but represents the “considered opinion” of the attorney general's office following research and review of the legal issues raised by the question, according to a spokeswoman. Jackson’s office had asked if a deputy sheriff assigned to court security could require an individual to remove a covering, whether it matters if the individual asserts a religious reason for remaining covered, and what procedures would be appropriate to enforce such a requirement while demonstrating respect for religious practice.

Gansler wrote that “it would be useful” if security details included both male and female officers and a private space were available for “those individuals whose religion discourages removal of a head covering in public.”

Continue reading "Muslim reaction to Gansler veil opinion" »

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Deputy sheriffs in Maryland may require visitors to remove veils or masks before allowing them to enter a courthouse, Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler has written in an opinion that could affect Muslims and others who wear such garments for religious or cultural reasons.

Responding to a request from the office of Prince George’s County Sheriff Michael Jackson, Gansler opined that deputies could require a visitor to remove a mask, veil or other face covering “without regard to whether the individual claims a religious basis for remaining masked or veiled,” as long as the sheriff’s office has a “neutral and generally applicable policy of requiring removal of face coverings for security purposes.”

The opinion signed last week by Gansler is not binding on any individual or agency, but represents the “considered opinion” of his office following research and review of the legal issues raised by the question. Jackson’s office had asked if a deputy sheriff assigned to court security could require an individual to remove a covering, whether it matters if the individual asserts a religious reason for remaining covered, and what procedures would be appropriate to enforce such a requirement while demonstrating respect for religious practice.

Gansler wrote that “it would be useful” if security details included both male and female officers and a private space were available for “those individuals whose religion discourages removal of a head covering in public.”

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On Wednesday, we mentioned the "Summer of Peace" announcement by local Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim leaders. Peter Hermann, our former Jerusalem correspondent and crime reporter extraordinaire, has a more complete report in today's Baltimore Sun:

The leaders of the city's Catholic, Jewish and Muslim faiths have a plan to turn Baltimore's summer into the "summer of peace."

But they complained Wednesday that the mayor is making their efforts difficult because of plans to close recreation centers and pools and curtail library hours.

Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien mentioned the issue in passing in his remarks after meeting with city officials on preventing youth crime, but when questioned he openly leaped into the political fray and called for the city's chief executive to reverse course.

Cutting money to youth programs, said the leader of a half-million worshipers of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, "will make it very difficult for us to follow through" on initiatives to save lives and save children.

His auxiliary, Bishop Denis J. Madden, said, "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that rec centers and pools are going to give kids something to do."

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Local Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim leaders announced a three-point plan on Wednesday to promote peace in Baltimore this summer.

In what participants said was the first interfaith gathering of local religious leaders to discuss violence, the group held a 90-minute meeting at St. Mary's Seminary and University, and then emerged to greet the press.

Members resolved:

   • To call on city leaders to keep parks, recreation centers, libraries and polls open during the summer months, when children are not in school and crime typically increases;

   • To encourage churches, synagogues and mosques to designate job sites for the city’s Youth Works program, and to host youth centers other programs to provide safe havens for kids; and

   • Designate the weekend of June 19 to 21 as a “Peace Sabbath,” during which all churches, synagogues and mosques will pray for peace. At Masses that weekend, Catholic churches will collect $1 per parishioner to support peace-promoting initiatives such as the city health department’s Safe Streets program.

The meeting was hosted by Catholic Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien. Attendees included Baltimore Jewish Council Executive Director Arthur Abramson, Imam Earl El-Amin of the Muslim Community Cultural Center of Baltimore, Deputy Police Commissioner Anthony Barksdale, interim City Health Commissioner Olivia Farrow, Tim Hanavan of the Central Maryland Ecumenical Council, Catholic Auxillary Bishop Denis Madden, Bishop Douglas Miles of Koinonia Baptist Church, Bishop John Raab of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland and Rev. Dr. Frank Reid III of Bethel AME Church.

The group agreed to continue meeting quarterly to discuss ongoing threats to peace in the city and to work together to promote peace.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 6:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Local Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders will come together on Wednesday to discuss a new plan to promote peace in the city this summer.

The group, to be hosted by Catholic Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien at St. Mary’s Seminary and University, will include Arthur Abramson of the Baltimore Jewish Council, Imam Earl El-Amin of the Muslim Community Cultural Center, Bishop John Rabb, suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, the Rev. Frank M. Reid, III, pastor of Bethel AME Church, and the Rev. Johnny Golden of New Unity Church Ministries and the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance.

The group plans to meet with interim Health Commissioner Olivia Farrow, and then hold a press conference to announce a summer peace initiative. Watch here for more details.

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