CAIR-CA Hosts Muslim Youth Leadership Conference at State Capitol

(SACRAMENTO, CA, 8/13/09) - Beginning today, the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA) will hold its fifth annual Muslim Youth Leadership Program in Sacramento.

WHEN: Thursday, August 13 - Sunday, August 16, 2009
WHERE: State Capitol, Sacramento, California

The conference will feature workshops on community organizing and advocacy, public speaking and media activism. A highlight of the conference will be a “Mock Legislature” session, during which participants will serve as legislators as they debate public policy issues and prepare bills to be presented on the floor of the State Senate.

“The purpose of this leadership program is to provide Muslim youth with the necessary leadership skills and mentorship, not only to become politically and civically engaged, but also to help them pursue professions that will positively impact the broader society,” said CAIR-CA Chairman Masoud Nassimi.

In the past four years, 140 young people from California participated in the Muslim youth leadership program and have moved on to become contributing members of society.

One of them is Noor Ahmed, who attended MYLP in 2005 and is currently a pre-med student at University of California, Los Angeles. Noor also is a volunteer project director at the UMMA Community Clinic in South Central Los Angeles.

“As a Muslim American, I feel that it is our duty to be at the forefront of volunteer efforts and fulfill our obligations to humanity. I believe that we can only begin to appreciate what we have been given, when we look at those who are less fortunate than us. MYLP opened my eyes up to the responsibility that Muslim Americans have towards correcting the image of Muslims and Islam in this country and abroad.”

Only 35 spaces were available to eligible juniors and seniors in high school all across California, but an additional 5 students have been accommodated, bringing the total number of participants this year to 40.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: Sacramento Valley- Basim Elkarra, (916) 441-6269, ext. 101#, E-Mail: info@sacval.cair.com, San Francisco Bay Area- San Rydhan, (408) 986-9874, E-Mail: info@sfba.cair.com, Southern California - Munira Syeda, (714) 776-1847, (714) 851-4851, E-Mail: info@losangeles.cair.com

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Source: CAIR

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Michigan Muslim to File Suit Over Judgeâs Hijab Ban

(SOUTHFIELD, MI, 8/25/09) - On August 26, the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) will hold a news conference in Southfield to announce the filing of a federal lawsuit against a Wayne County judge who demanded that a Muslim woman remove her religious headscarf (hijab) in court. The Muslim plaintiff felt so intimidated by the judge’s repeated demand that she eventually removed her headscarf.

WHAT: CAIR-MI Announces Lawsuit Over Judge’s Demand to Remove Hijab
WHEN: Wednesday, August 26, 2 p.m.
WHERE: CAIR-MI Office, 21700 Northwestern Highway, Suite 1199, Southfield, MI
CONTACT: CAIR-MI Attorney Melanie Elturk, 248-559-2247, 248-872-2168, E-Mail: melturk@cair.com; CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid, Tel: 248-842-1418, E-Mail: dwalid@cair.com

View video of the incident.

CAIR-MI is a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit being filed on behalf of the Michigan woman, who is a member of CAIR.

“The judge’s actions contradict both the constitutional right to freedom of religion and President Obama's recent statement in support of the right to wear hijab,” said CAIR-MI Attorney Melanie Elturk. “This judge targeted a Muslim woman’s religious attire, but he could just as easily have demanded the removal of a Sikh turban, Jewish yarmulke or a Catholic nun’s habit.”

In President Obama’s June address to Muslims worldwide, he stated: "[F]reedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one's religion…That is why the U.S. government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it."

The judge’s demand came one month after the Michigan Supreme Court voted to give judges full discretion over courtroom attire. At that time, CAIR called for clarification of the new administrative rule and said that, if broadly interpreted, it might allow judges to demand that witnesses remove religious head coverings during testimony.

SEE: Courtroom Judge Has Power to Ban Muslim Veil

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787 or 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com
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Source: CAIR

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Washington shifts focus on Jerusalem

CAIRO: Middle East peace talks must include the disputed city of Jerusalem, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Cairo on Wednesday, stressing Washington is determined to push for a Palestinian state.

“There is no doubt that moving toward a state that reflects the aspirations and the rights of the Palestinian people must include all of the issues that have been discussed and mentioned by President Barack Obama, and that includes Jerusalem,” she said.

“We want to assure you that our goal is a real state, with a real sovereignty,” she added at a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

“Nothing can interfere with our commitment and our resolve to move forward, and there are impediments, yes, but we cannot let anything deter us,” she said. Clinton extended a regional trip at the last minute to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak after creating a storm by praising an Israeli plan to restrict settlement construction on the occupied West Bank.

The secretary of state said on Wednesday that the settlements were illegitimate but again described the plan as “unprecedented.” “Our policy on settlement activity has not changed. We do not accept the legitimacy,” she said, adding that the Israeli offer, which would allow a limited expansion of the settlements, was “not what we prefer.”

But “what we have received from the Israelis ... is unprecedented,” she said. “It’s a positive movement ... just like the Palestinians made progress on security,” she said.

Aboul Gheit, who had said Cairo wanted Clinton to clarify her remarks on the settlements during her visit, described his and Mubarak’s meetings with her as “very useful.” He blamed Israel for stalling the peace process but appeared to suggest a softening of Egyptian support of the Palestinians’ refusal to resume talks in the absence of a settlement freeze. “Israel is putting conditions to start negotiations by continuing to hold on to settlement activity,” the foreign minister told reporters.
Source: Arab News

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Dar Al-Hijrah...US Oasis Mosque

VIRGINIA — One of the meanings of the word masjid (mosque) in Arabic is a place that brings people together. And Dar Al-Hijrah mosque in the multi-cultural Northern Virginia is a place that lives up to its name. "I would describe Dar al-Hijrah as the Muslim community’s center of life," Imam Shaker Elsayyed told IslamOnline during a visit to the place.

Nothing sums it up more than the Friday prayers in the place which has a capacity for 1000 worshippers.

The mosque officials strive to accommodate as many as 4000 worshippers by holding three consecutive prayers every Friday.

"The number of people who consistently come to the mosque evolved from initial 500-600 to one thousand, to more than one thousand, until we started to do more than one Friday prayer to accommodate the people," explains Elsayyed.

Oasis Mosque (Watch Gallery)

"So now we have three Friday prayers, and I believe if we do a forth prayer, we will have people coming."

The mosque officials take special pride in being the first mosque in America to translate the Friday prayer sermon in sign language for the deaf.

"This idea came to life nearly two years ago," notes imam Elsayyed.

"At that time we got our first interpreter, and now we have another one, who is a Mormon by faith, but she loves this community and thinks of it as her family."

Northern Virginia is home to a sizable Muslim community of some 350,000 people from all ethnicities and backgrounds.

Dar Al-Hijrah began in a small house which was used as a place for prayers by Muslims in Falls Church city.

"The journey started in 1983 with a group of students who used to study in different universities across the region," says imam Elsayyed.

"They all used to pray scattered in different places. So they got together and formed a group and started to think that ‘we need a place.’ So they purchased the old house, now on the premises of the mosque, and used it as their place of prayer."

Gradually the place became one of the largest and most influential mosques not only in Virginia but across America.

"People love this place. We have people who move with their families from other regions and come to that place only to be close to the mosque," says imam Elsayyed.

Like the majority of mosques across the US, Dar Al-Hijrah is not only a place for prayer.

"When people get in a dispute, we are the judge," imam Elsayyed said with a smile on his face.

"When people want to reconcile we are the meddlers, when some body wants to get married we are the mazzun, when people die we take care of the funeral."

The mosque also offers all sorts of educational services for the community, with classes running six days a week.

"We have almost all subjects covered in our programs," asserts the imam.

"We also sponsor the Washington Islamic Academy which accommodates our community because there was and still is a huge need for Islamic schools in the area."

Samir Abo-Issa, the mosque’s Administrative Director, says they serve people starting from age four until high school and university.

"We have three schools for children, Quran, Saturday and Sunday schools."

He added that other than educational programs there are several daily social and sports activities for the youth, children and adults alike, from karate to computer and yoga classes.

With the multiple and diverse services being offered, Dar Al-Hijrah is also not failing Muslim women.

"Women have been an integral part of this place from the beginning," asserts imam Elsayyed.

"When we were building the mosque, we made sure that they have their own prayer space."

The mosque administration extends all the activities and school classes they offer for women.

"We have yoga and computer programs for women."

Imam Elsayyed says women have their own entrance to feel the privacy of their place, lamenting that this is interpreted negatively by some non-Muslims.

"They call it ‘the inferior entrance in the back of the building’. They always misread everything that you do. But our sisters feel respected, accommodated and supported."

Women have a committee in Dar Al-Hijrah that looks after their needs, and there is also a social services office helping women in need and offering advising in many aspects.

"We are trying to offer women awareness from breast cancer," explains Mersada, one of the social workers in the office.

"We are also working on foster parenting for children who are just taken away and need to be put with Muslim families," she added.

"We act with Kids Peace to have a seminar for families on foster parenting and how can they deal with these children."

9/11 Mosque

Dar-Al-Hijrah also accords special attention to community outreach and interfaith activities.

"We like to partner with churches around the community here," says Imam Elsayyed.

"We are part of a new community organization here in Virginia called VOICE, or Virginians Organized For Interfaith Community Engagement."

The mosque also established a food bank to help the poor and needy.

"We have a clinic that we established along with a Catholic church, it is placed right outside our community."

The imam regrets that despite all this, Dar-Al-Hijrah was dubbed the "9/11 mosque" after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

"When 9/11 came, we closed three days after. It was that very bad at that time," he recalls.

The mosque leadership invited FBI officials to the mosque and challenged them to prove such a claim.

"They said ‘two of the hijackers put their driving license address as your mosque’. They made allegations based on this frivolous flimsy evidence."

Elsayyed added that despite the fact that the mosque challenged the label, it is always easy to make allegations but very difficult to take it away.

"When we shut down after 9/11, some of the neighbors came and stood out there with candles, flowers and asked us to open up," he remembers happily.

"We got 100 neighbors signing a pledge to stand guard 24/7 so that we can open the place."

The imam attributes this positive response from the local community to the fact that their mosque was never an obscure place of non-Muslims.

"We were one of the first mosques if not the first mosque to open up for non-Muslims, for Christmas and other occasions, for their children to come and play with our children, and for health care issues," he contends.

"We want this place to be for everybody."
Source: IslamOnline

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MCB report demonstrates long-standing British Muslim support for Armed Forces

Press Release 5 November 2009

Ahead of Remembrance Sunday, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) today publishes a special report highlighting the long-standing and continued support for the Armed Forces. Remembering the Brave: The Muslim Contribution to Britain’s Armed Forces outlines how Muslims have made a historic contribution to the defence of this nation. The document also covers the current contribution of British Muslims to the UK military.

Highlighting past polling data, the document suggests that British Muslims tend to take the sophisticated enough stand to support our troops while dissenting from the government’s decision to send those troops to controversial conflicts. An ICM-run survey in June of 500 British Muslims over the age of 16, found that 78% said they opposed Taliban attacks against UK and NATO soldiers in Afghanistan and three-quarters of those surveyed said it was wrong for the West to intervene militarily in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In this publication, the MCB acknowledges that the operations which the Armed Forces are engaged in today are deeply controversial. But that is not simply a concern amongst Muslims; it is shared by other British people also.

Marking the launch of the report, the Muslim Council of Britain's Secretary General Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari said: "Many Muslims will be joining fellow Britons this Sunday to remember those who made deep sacrifices for this country. This special report is a timely reminder to the Muslim community and to the general public that the Muslim contribution to the defence of this nation runs deep and it will continue".
Source: AJP

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Italy Convicts CIA Agents on Rendition

CAIRO – An Italian judge has convicted 23 CIA agents for the kidnapping and torturing of a Muslim scholar, in the first criminal prosecution of the controversial US practice of rendition, reported the Washington Post on Thursday, November 5. "This decision sends a clear message to all governments that even in the fight against terrorism you can't forsake the basic rights of our democracies," Milan deputy public prosecutor Armando Spataro said.

Judge Oscar Magi sentenced 22 CIA agents to five years in prison for kidnapping Egyptian scholar Hassan Osama Nasr from Italy in 2003 and sent him to Cairo where he was tortured.

The court also slapped an eight-year jail sentence on the CIA’s Milan station chief at the time, Robert Seldon Lady.

Two Italian secret agents were also given three-year prison terms over the kidnapping.

Three other Americans, including former Rome station chief for the CIA, were acquitted over their diplomatic immunity.

Nasr, the former imam of a Milan mosque, was abducted as he was walking from home to mosque and bundled into a white van.

He was then moved to the US military base at Aviano in northern Italy, and from there to an Egyptian jail, where he was repeatedly tortured.

Nasr, also known as Abu Omar, had political refugee status in Italy at the time of his abduction.

The ruling is the first criminal prosecution of the US "renditions", one of the most infamous controversial aspects of President George W. Bush's "war on terrorism".

The CIA has long kept details of rendition program, which allows the transfer of suspects to third countries without court approval, a closely guarded secret.

Since 9/11, the CIA has rendered more than 100 people from one country to another, usually with well-documented records of abuse, without legal proceedings.

Bush has strongly defended such transfers as "vital to the nation's defense."

The Obama administration has said it would continue the practice, but pledged to take steps to ensure that rendition targets are not tortured.

Victory

CIA agents blasted the US government following their conviction. "I am saddened, dismayed and angered that the government I served abandoned me completely,” Sabrina De Sousa, formerly a second secretary at the US Embassy in Rome, said in an e-mail.

"We are paying for the mistakes right now, whoever authorized and approved this," added Sabrina, who was convicted to five years in prison.

US authorities criticized the verdict, saying Italian courts have no jurisdiction to rule on the case.

"Our view is the Italian court has no jurisdiction over Lieutenant Colonel (Joseph) Romano and should have immediately dismissed the charges," said Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell.

"Now that they have not, we will, of course, explore what options we have going forward."

The CIA declined to comment.

"The CIA has not commented on any of the allegations surrounding Abu Omar," said spokesman George Little.

The trial of the CIA agents was delayed as successive Italian governments sought to have it thrown out as a threat to national security.

The landmark ruling drew praise from human rights groups.

"The Italian government was found responsible for collaborating with the CIA,” Joanne Mariner of Human Rights Watch told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“It was a brave ruling for an Italian court."
Source: IslamOnline

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Vande Matarm un-Islamic’

NEW DELHI: The Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Hind 30th annual convention at the world-renowned Dar-ul-Uloom seminary at Deoband called upon the terrorists and Maoists to lay down arms, so that the community could take up their cause.

At the gathering of 10,000 clerics, several resolutions were adopted. The principal resolution was against the singing of Vande Matarm, dubbing it as un-Islamic.

The Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Hind, founded in 1919 to lend the support of Muslim clergy to the anti-British movement, enjoys high reputation and status in the national life.

It was among the first organizations that stood firmly on the side of the nationalist forces and resolutely opposed the Two-Nation theory espoused by the Muslim League. After Independence, the Jamiat focused on the promotion of the social, religious and economic interests of the Muslim community.

In the past, Congress President Sonia Gandhi also shared the dais of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Hind. Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram, who addressed the annual convention, said the demolition of the Babri Masjid, he said, was a manifestation of religious fanaticism and an act of extreme prejudice.

Likewise, taking to the path of violence in the name of religion must also be deplored in unequivocal terms.

Chidambaram said, the advent of Islam in the Indian sub-continent may have occurred during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace be upon him). According to historians, the first ship bearing Muslim travelers was seen on the Indian coast as early as 630 A.D. The spread of Islam was largely due to the efforts of Sufis, who acted as missionaries and spread the message of Islam in a manner that the laity could understand.

India, which had always welcomed men imbued with high moral and spiritual ideas,thus became the most diverse multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-lingual society in human history. “That is a matter of pride, especially when we see some countries struggling to come to terms with their new-found diversity,” he said.
Source: Arab News

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Police clash with protesters in Iran

TEHRAN: Police clashed with supporters of Iran’s opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi in Tehran on Wednesday when a rally marking the 30th anniversary of the storming of the US Embassy turned violent.

Reformist website Mowjcamp said police opened fire on protesters at Haft-e-Tir Square, but there was no independent confirmation of the report. “Some people were injured,” Mowjcamp said, reporting other protests in the cities of Shiraz and Rasht.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and their allied Basij militia had warned the opposition not to try to hijack an annual anti-US rally to revive protests against the clerical establishment after June’s disputed presidential election.

“Police clashed with hundreds of protesters. Police used batons to disperse them,” a witness said.

Defeated presidential candidates Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi, who are committed to reform, had urged supporters to take to the streets on Wednesday to protest against the government despite warnings from the security forces about “illegal gatherings.”

Karoubi, who joined the protests on Wednesday, was attacked by plainclothes officers, his website Tagheer said. “One of his bodyguards was hospitalized.” There were no further details.

Police fired tear gas at the crowd and arrested at least five protesters, one witness said. Mobile phone networks were shut down to try to prevent protesters from organizing while Basij militia on motorbikes drove at crowds and used batons.

“Police and Basij militia are outnumbering the protesters,” one witness said. “Hundreds of police, riot police, Basij militia and plainclothes officers are in the main squares,” another said. ¬
Source: Arab News

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Muslims Sue Wales for Airport Profiling

CARDIFF – Seven Muslims of Pakistani origin are planning to lodge a lawsuit after having been racially profiled and held for interrogations while on their way to catch a flight to Glasgow to attend a friend’s wedding. "It was clear discrimination," Sajid Hussain, a 30-year-old garage owner, told Wales Online on Wednesday, November 4.

"We were the only Asians in the airport.

"We understand they have a job to do and have to pull some people over, but it’s just the fact that it was all seven of us."

The seven men, all brought up in Cardiff, say they were singled out by armed airport police on October 24 for their beards and Asian features.

"It was like they were saying to me, ‘You have got a beard, so you look like a terrorist’," fumes Hussain.

"I felt quite bad that, just because of my appearance, I am considered half way to becoming a terrorist."

Many Muslims have complained for being singled out for further airport checking and questions after 9/11 attacks only because of their Muslim names or dresses.

Scores of airport profiling accidents, largely dubbed as "flying while a Muslim", were reported all in US, British and other international airports.

Grilled

The Muslim men say they were unfairly rounded up, detained and humiliated over two hours.

"They called us over to the side and checked our passports," recalls Atif Shabir, a 27-year-old self-employed property developer.

"They also took our names, addresses and date of birth and asked us where we were going."

Nadeem Ashraf, 29, an accountant, said they were denied any information about the reason of the detention.

"I asked the police officer why we were being pulled aside and he basically said he was airport police and he could do what he wanted."

Taken to separate rooms, the seven were asked to empty their pockets, hand over their mobile phones and banks cards.

Over the next two hours, interrogation police questioned them about radical thoughts and whether they had ever been asked to carry out a terrorist attack.

"They asked me if, at the mosque, they were talking about the English Defence League and Welsh Defence League," recalled Naweed Akram.

"I said that at the mosque, they just teach us about religion."

Though being eventually released without charges, the experience changed the seven men's notion of freedom in the UK.

"We have gone to Afghanistan to promote our way of life – that is a very tolerant society that is very accepting," Hussain said.

"While here, the picture is different and is getting worse. It’s a very sad situation."

Source: IslamOnline

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Waziristan Kids Get Alternative Schools

DERA ISMAIL KHAN – Thousands of children who fled war-ravaged Waziristan with their parents are going to resume their education after the government decided to accommodate them in hundreds of state and private schools in nearby districts. "This is great news for me and my colleagues, who have been worried about their education," Haneef Khan, a ninth grader student, told IslamOnline after registering at a local school.

Khan is staying at a shelter camp in the suburbs of Dera Ismail Khan along with his 9-member family.

Around 250,000 people have fled South Waziristan and settled in nearby district since the army unleashed it onslaught on Taliban militants last month.

Thousands of students like Khan had to discontinue their schools and colleges as a result.

Pakistan's Future (Special Page)

Pakistan's Troubled Waziristan (Flash)

The government has issued directives to state and private schools to arrange evening shifts for the students so that they could continue their education.

Apart from government and private schools, some NGOs have set up makeshift schools where hundreds of affected students are being enrolled.

"We have informed the IDPs (internally displaced persons) to get their children registered at the registration centers or the nearby schools so that they could continue their studies, Abdul Khalique Khan, a regional director of the education department at Al-Khidmat Foundation, the country’s largest NGO, told IOL.

"I appeal to all the parents that instead of letting their children wander or stand in queues to get relief goods send them back to school," he pleaded.

"All the expenses, including tuition fees, books and stationary will be born out by the government."

Sigh of Relief

The displaced students are pleased by the government’s decision.

"It’s the only good news that I have heard in months," said a smiling Khan, who hails from Sararogha, a Taliban stronghold captured by the army earlier this week.

"I thought I would not be able to continue my education keeping the situation in my area in view. But thanks to Allah I'm going to resume my education."

Azam Khan Mehsud, an 8th grader, feels the same.

"This is a sigh of relief for us because we don’t know when we will go back to our areas and resume our studies in our schools."

Fighting is continuing between militants and troops in the streets of his Laddah area, another Taliban stronghold.

"I have no idea how long we will stay here. We and our parents were so much worried about our studies. I am so happy to go back to school."

Dr Mohammad Iqbal Khalil, the NWFP president of Al-Khidmat Foundation, says the resumption of schooling would keep the youths from falling prey to militancy.

"If they just wander or sit idle, they may be diverted to subversive activities," he told IOL.

Many have warned that unless immediate measures are taken to involve the tribal youths in educational and other healthy activities, they may fall prey to Taliban.

"We appeal to the people of Pakistan to help us send these youths to school in order to prevent them from drifting to extremism."

Source: IslamOnline

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U.S. pays Muslims for 9/11 abuses

CAIRO – The US government will pay $1.2 million to settle a lawsuit with five Muslim immigrants who were unfairly detained and abused following the 9/11 attacks.

"I believe a settlement of this size is a deterrent to the United States from ever again rounding up innocent non-citizens based only on suspicion about their race and religion," lawyer Rachel Meeropol told The New York Times on Tuesday, November 3.

The lawsuit was first filed as a class action in 2002 against then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert Mueller and other US official.

It maintained that the Muslim immigrants were unjustifiably detained for some nine months following 9/11 before being cleared of charges.

US authorities detained the five men following the 9/11 attacks and held them in high-security prisons where they were physically abused.

"These were guys called terrorists and treated as terrorists, shoved against the blood-spattered picture of the American flag and told, you’re never getting out of here alive," said Meeropol, a lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights, which represents the detainees.

He insisted that though the government has refused to admit liability in the terms of settlement, the paid amount speaks volumes about what the detainees suffered.

"And it’s a long way from that to where they are now."

Thousands of Muslims and Arabs were rounded up and questioned in the US in the weeks and months following the 9/11 attacks.

Several Muslims and Arabs who were randomly detained have sued the US government after their release for inhumane and degrading treatment.

A 2004 report by the US Senate Office Of Research admitted that Arab and Muslim Americans took the brunt of the Patriot Act and other federal powers rushed through Congress in the aftermath of 9/11.

* Priceless

Yasser Ebrahim, who had a website design business in Brooklyn, recalls how he and his younger brother were detained 19 days after 9/11.

They were designated "persons of interest" to terror investigators and sent to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

At the high-security facility, they were chained, shackled and slammed into a wall where an American-flag T-shirt had been taped.

The Muslim brothers were repeatedly cursed by their American jailors as terrorists and shoved into walls whenever they were taken from their cells.

The hellish experience also included having the jailors twisting their wrists and fingers and stepping on their leg chains.

After more than eight months of daily abuses, the two brothers were released without charges.

"Being held in that place for 249 days — $270,000 is not going to make up for that experience," said Ebrahim.
Source: IslamOnline

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Italy, Vatican Unite in Defending Crucifix

CAIRO – The Italian government and politicians joined hands with the Vatican in defending the display of crucifixes at classrooms across the European country after a European court dismissed it as a breach of human rights, the Guardian reported on Wednesday, November 4. "The European court has trodden on our rights, our culture, our history, our traditions and our values,'' said Roberto Calderoli, Minister without portfolio for Legislative Simplification.

"The presence of a crucifix in the classroom does not signify adherence to Roman Catholicism, it is a traditional symbol."

The European Court of Human Rights ruled on Tuesday, November 3, that the display of crucifixes at classrooms goes against educational pluralism, which was part of the European rights charters recognized by Italy.

"The presence of a crucifix in classrooms could also be disturbing for pupils who practiced other religions or were atheists, particularly if they belonged to religious minorities."

The ruling marked the end of an eight-year legal battle by Soile Lautsi, who opposed the display of crucifixes at the school where her two children were studying in north-east Italy.

She appealed to Strasbourg three years ago after her case was thrown out by Italy's constitutional court.

The opposition joined the government in protesting the ruling.

"Common sense has become a victim of the law," said Pierluigi Bersani, head of the main left wing opposition Democratic Party.

"An ancient tradition like the crucifix cannot be offensive to anyone."

The debate whether crucifixes should be allowed in public schools has been already raging in Spain, France and Britain.

The landmark ruling could prompt a Europe-wide review of the use of religious symbols in state-run schools.

Christian Identity

Several ministers insisted, however, that the crucifix were not a tradition, but rather a symbol of Italy's Christian identity.

"No one, and certainly not an ideological European court, will succeed in erasing our identity," thundered Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini.

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini echoed the same sentiment.

"At a time when we're trying to bring religions closer together, this is a blow to Christianity," he said during a visit to Morocco.

He insisted that Europe's roots lay in its "Christian identity," an argument shared by European Affairs Minister Andrea Ronchi.

"The court's verdict was a symptom, a worrying sign of anti-spirituality in Europe," he told one of the TV channels owned by Premier Silvio Berlusconi.

"The crucifix will never be taken away, not from any secular place nor from anywhere in our Italy," he said defiantly.

"I think the government should and will appeal this sentence."

The government's lawyer said he would seek leave to appeal to the Strasbourg court's 17-member Grand Chamber.

If his petition is rejected, or if an appeal is subsequently thrown out, then Italy would be obliged to comply with the ruling.

The Vatican, the religious authority and reference for some 1.1 billion Catholic adherents worldwide, strongly rejected the verdict.

"The ruling of the European court was received in the Vatican with shock and sadness," said Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi.

"A European court had no right intervening in such a profoundly Italian matter."

He insisted that the crucifix was a fundamental sign of the importance of religious values in Italian history and culture.

"It seems as if the court wanted to ignore the role of Christianity in forming Europe's identity, which was and remains essential."

Source: IslamOnline

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