* Hadith: The Greatest Sins
* Fake 'Muslim' FBI Informant Has Change of Heart
* CAIR-CA: Mayor Urged to Sign Civil Rights Ordinance
* NY: Albanian Islamic Center Says NYPD Got It Wrong
* Columnist Slams Islamophobic 'Fearmonger' Steve Emerson
* CAIR-Chicago 2012 Primary Election Guide
* Video: Support CAIR-MI at Annual Banquet March 25
* Exercise Solutions for Muslim and Jewish Women (Wash. Post)
* CAIR: Egypt Mourns Passing of a Pope (Star Tribune)
* Poll: More than Half of Canadians Mistrust Muslims
-----
HADITH OF THE DAY: THE GREATEST SINS - TOP
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "The greatest sins are joining
others as partners in worship with God, murdering a human being, being
undutiful to one's parents, and offering false witness."
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Hadith 10
-----
FAKE 'MUSLIM' FBI INFORMANT HAS CHANGE OF HEART - TOP
Paul Harris, Guardian, 3/20/12
Craig Monteilh says he did not balk when his FBI handlers gave him the OK to
have sex with the Muslim women his undercover operation was targeting. Nor, at
the time, did he shy away from recording their pillow talk.
"They said, if it would enhance the intelligence, go ahead and have sex. So I
did," Monteilh told the Guardian as he described his year as a confidential FBI
informant sent on a secret mission to infiltrate southern Californian mosques.
It is an astonishing admission that goes that goes to the heart of the
intelligence surveillance of Muslim communities in America in the years after
9/11. While police and FBI leaders have insisted they are acting to defend
America from a terrorist attack, civil liberties groups have insisted they have
repeatedly gone too far and treated an entire religious group as suspicious.
Monteilh was involved in one of the most controversial tactics: the use of
"confidential informants" in so-called entrapment cases. This is when suspects
carry out or plot fake terrorist "attacks" at the request or under the close
supervision of an FBI undercover operation using secret informants. Often those
informants have serious criminal records or are supplied with a financial
motivation to net suspects.
In the case of the Newburgh Four – where four men were convicted for a fake
terror attack on Jewish targets in the Bronx – a confidential informant offered
$250,000, a free holiday and a car to one suspect for help with the attack.
(More)
SEE ALSO:
CAIR-CA: COALITION TO URGE MAYOR TO SIGN CIVIL RIGHTS ORDINANCE - TOP
(San Francisco, CA - 03/20/12) -- At a press conference today, the Coalition
for a Safe San Francisco and community leaders will gather to urge Mayor Ed Lee
to sign the Safe SF Civil Rights Ordinance. The Ordinance, seeks to restore
longstanding local control and civilian oversight over SFPD collaboration with
the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Joint Terrorism Task Force.
On March 13, a majority of the Board of Supervisors approved the Ordinance.
Those who voted in favor included Board of Supervisors President David Chiu.
This week it returns for a second vote and growing community support, with over
75 endorsing civil rights, bar associations, and community organizations.
Following the second vote, it will head to Mayor Lee's desk for a final
signature.
The Ordinance, if signed by Mayor Lee, will require that all local law
enforcement officers involved in intelligence-gathering be subject to local
control, civilian oversight and state restrictions. The proposed law would
prohibit members of the SFPD assigned to the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force
(JTTF) from collecting intelligence on San Franciscans unless there is
reasonable suspicion that they are involved in significant criminal activity.
(More)
---
NY: LEADERS OF ALBANIAN ISLAMIC CULTURAL CENTER SAY NYPD GOT IT WRONG - TOP
Maura Grunlund, Staten Island Advance, 3/20/12
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. --- Leaders of the Albanian Islamic Cultural Center in
Tompkinsville claim that their organization was inaccurately portrayed in a
report of NYPD secret surveillance of Muslims on Staten Island.
The "Albanian Locations of Concern" report listed the mosque and six businesses
that were targeted by the Demographics Unit of the NYPD Intelligence Division.
"The report has fictions, not facts," said Imam Dr. Tahir Kukiqi, a teacher at
the Miraj Islamic School at the center, as he and Imam Ferid Bedrolli,
secretary general of the center, met last week with an Advance reporter and
photographers.
"When I saw the report it was disappointing," Imam Kukiqi said.
"If we are doing something wrong, tell us. If decisions were made based on the
information, it's damaging the record of the NYPD and the reputation of the
AICC is tarnished." (More)
-----
COLUMNIST SLAMS ISLAMOPHOBIC 'FEARMONGER' STEVE EMERSON - TOP
John L. Smith, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 3/20/12
For Steve Emerson, the danger is very clear and very present: A surprising
number of American officials and institutions are in the tank to Islamic
extremists and their handmaidens.
Emerson accuses the Obama administration of being infiltrated by radical
followers of Islam inside our own country and throughout the world.
That's right. Infiltrated.
Emerson, the executive director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism,
spent an hour last week with the Review-Journal editorial board and was
accompanied by Elliot Karp, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Las
Vegas. In the short time Emerson spent at the newspaper, he managed to indict a
number of law enforcement institutions and officers as patsies for the Muslim
Brotherhood and the Islamic extremists in our midst. (More)
-----
CAIR-CHICAGO 2012 PRIMARY ELECTION GUIDE - TOP
Download a PDF of CAIR-Chicago's 2012 Primary Election Voter Guide
Why Vote? Empower Yourself, and Your Community
It is crucial for all U.S. citizens over the age of eighteen to participate
actively in the political process. Voting is a right that every citizen
possesses in order to make a difference in the political process and to help
their community.
Before the upcoming election you should make sure that you are registered to
vote. You can go to http://www.elections.il.gov/VotingInformation/Register.aspx
to check if you are registered and how you can get registered.
As part of an ongoing project toward empowering the American-Muslim community
and enabling it to solve its problems proactively, CAIR-Chicago has complied a
profile of the candidates running for major office throughout Illinois, and in
the U.S. Congress. We have made the effort to highlight the issues we think are
important not only to Muslims, but to all Americans.
The CAIR-Chicago Voter Education Guide for the General Primary Elections is
designed to make voting easier for you by informing you of your choices and the
backgrounds of candidates. We have also made an effort to connect you to the
candidate's personal website so that you may take a closer look at each
candidate.
This year voting is as important as it has ever been. The districts in Illinois
have been redrawn and established politicians will have new challengers. There
are major issues at all levels of government with the National Defense and
Authorization Act, End Racial Profiling Act, health care reform and anti-Sharia
legislation efforts. It is your job to educate yourself and others so that your
voice can be heard.
How to Use the Voter Guide
The 2012 Voter's Guide consists of information and links about primary
candidates for the Illinois House of Representatives, Illinois Senate, Illinois
judges, United States House of Representatives, and the Republican candidates
for the U.S. Presidency.
* Your Illinois Representative district will likely be different from
your Illinois Senate district and your U.S. Representative's district.
* Make sure to take into account that redistricting has just occurred
in Illinois.
* Click on the maps to enlarge them. If you are unsure of your
districts, click here and enter your address.
* Once you know your district for a specific primary, scroll to that
district. Each candidate will have a blue (Democrat) or red (Republican) border
around their picture.
* If you want to learn more about the the candidate than we provide,
click on the picture of the candidate. It will take you to the candidate's
campaign website or a website provided by the Illinois government.
Be informed and make your voice heard on Tuesday!
Download a PDF of the 2012 Primary Election Voter Guide
-----
VIDEO: SUPPORT CAIR-MI BY ATTENDING 12TH ANNUAL BANQUET MARCH 25 - TOP
CAIR-MI will be holding its 12th annual banquet at the Islamic Center of
America. Ford Rd. Dearborn, MI Sunday March 25th 1 p.m.
Visit http://www.cairmichigan.org/ to purchase tickets or go directly here.
Watch a short video testimonial here.
-----
THE CHALLENGES OF EXERCISING FOR MUSLIM AND JEWISH WOMEN - TOP
Lenny Bernstein, Washington Post, 3/8/12
In a small Falls Church community center, a dozen or so Muslim women remove
their head scarves and long abayahs as they prepare for an hour of vigorous
dancing to the salsa and merengue music of their Wednesday Zumba class.
At least, that's what they told me they were going to do. Before the start of
the 7:30 p.m. class, I was politely escorted to the Nur Center's door. No men
are allowed here during the five weekly Zumba classes, so these women, whose
faith requires the garb in the name of modesty around the opposite sex, can
work out without inhibition.
"A place like this is really helpful for all the women," says Hadil Alyamani,
the 21-year-old Zumba instructor, who also wears traditional Muslim clothing as
we chat before the class. "It's a real workout. And it's all women, so they're
very comfortable."
Among the more obvious obstacles to fitness -- time, money, willpower, injuries
-- the demands of faith don't often come to mind. But for the devout,
particularly women, issues such as modesty and traditional dress can limit an
exercise program if options such as the Nur Center are not available. (More)
-----
CAIR: EGYPT MOURNS PASSING OF A POPE - TOP
Susan Hogan, Star Tribune, 3/20/12
Today, as political unrest and religious tensions loom in Egypt, Coptic
Orthodox Christians there are mourning the death of their 88-year-old pope, who
died Saturday from illness. After a funeral at St. Mark's Cathedral in Cairo,
the pope will be buried at St. Bishoy monastery 40 miles west of the city,
where he was once exiled by former president Anwar Sadat. ...
Earlier this month, leaders of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood visited the ailing
pope, who suffered from lung cancer and diabetes. It served as a sign of the
respect Shenouda commanded, but also an avenue toward calming sectarian
tensions. Upon Shenouda's death, Muslim leaders were among the first to offer
condolences.
"Pope Shenouda was respected worldwide for his efforts to promote interfaith
harmony and for his positive outreach to Muslims," said a statement issued by
the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in Washington, D.C. "We offer
our sincere condolences to members of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church and to all
those who, like Pope Shenouda, devote their lives to seeking peace, justice and
reconciliation."
President Obama called the pope "an advocate for tolerance and religious
dialogue," who was committed to preserving Egypt's national unity. (More)
-----
POLL: MORE THAN HALF OF CANADIANS MISTRUST MUSLIMS - TOP
Randy Boswell, Postmedia News, 3/20/12
More than half of all Canadians believe Muslims can't be trusted and nearly as
many believe discrimination against Muslims is "mainly their fault," according
to the results of a new national survey released ahead of Wednesday's
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
The online poll of 1,522 Canadians, commissioned by the Montreal-based
Association for Canadian Studies and Toronto-based Canadian Race Relations
Foundation, also highlights how Canadians see the Internet as by far the
leading conduit for racism in the country, and that more than one-third of
respondents say they've "witnessed a racist incident" in the past year.
ACS executive director Jack Jedwab described the results as a "disturbing" sign
that racism not only remains a problem in the country but that many Canadians
feel comfortable holding transparently discriminatory views, then saying things
like: "If we feel this way about you, it's your fault." (More)
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