Mosques Seizure Shocks US Muslims

CAIRO – US government plans to seize four mosques and a skyscraper owned by a non-profit Muslim charity on claims of links to Iran is sending shockwaves across the Muslim minority.

“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,” Ibrahim Hooper, Communications Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said in a statement obtained by IslamOnline.net Friday, November 13.

“(It) may send a negative message to Muslims worldwide.”

Federal prosecutors filed a lawsuit Thursday to forfeit assets of the Alavi Foundation on claims of links to Iran.

The assets include Islamic centers housing mosques and schools in New York, Maryland, California and Houston and a skyscraper in Manhattan.

Federal prosecutors allege that the Foundation has been illegally funnelling funds to the Iranian government.

They claim that top Iranian officials, including former deputy prime minister Tahmasb Mazaheri and ambassadors to the United Nations, were involved in the foundation's business dealings.

"The Alavi Foundation has effectively been a front for the government of Iran," Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara said.

The seizure of the Muslim worship houses is an unprecedented move in US history due to freedom of religion rights enshrined in the Constitution.

The move comes a week after a deadly shooting by a Muslim army soldier at the Fort Hood military base in Texas, which killed 13 people and wounded 30.

Chilling

US Muslims fear that the mosques seizure would trigger a backlash against the Muslim minority.

"It's a rare move to seize a house of worship,” Basim Elkarra, executive director of Sacramento Valley CAIR chapter, told the Sacramento Bee daily.

“We're concerned about the chilling effect on First Amendment rights.”

The Muslim leader said that the seizure of the worship house comes at a “bad” time.

"American Muslims are concerned about a backlash over the Fort Hood shooting,” he said.

"And millions of Muslims are going to be gathering in Makkah for the pilgrimage and hearing about the government seizing mosques.”

More than three million Muslims will go to hajj, one of the pillars of Islam, this month.

Every able-bodied adult Muslim -- who can financially afford the trip -- must perform hajj once in their lifetime.

Hajj is expected to climax this year on November 26 when the faithful descend the Mount `Arafat.

American Muslims, estimated at between six to seven million, have been in the eye of storm since the 9/11 attacks, having their faith widely stereotyped and their civil rights eroded by anti-terror laws.

"Now our mosques are being seized," said Elkarra.

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Muslim Danes Ready for Polls

By Lene Kühle
The time for the local and regional elections in Denmark is coming. On November 17, there will be elections for the local governments of the 98 Danish municipalities. Voting is not obligatory in Denmark, but the poll turnouts tend to be relatively high in this country. In the parliamentary elections, the turnout is usually about 85 percent, while local elections have a somewhat lower turnout: often around 70 percent.

Muslims as a Potential Political Factor

Islam is the largest minority religion in Denmark. The presence of about 210,000 Muslims in Denmark is mostly due to immigration. About half of the Danish Muslim population consists of former guest workers (and their descendents) who arrived to Denmark in the late 1960s and 1970s mainly from Turkey, Pakistan, and former Yugoslavia. The other half consists of refugees (and their descendents) who came in the 1980s and 1990s from, for instance, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia, and Bosnia.

A growing number of Danish Muslims are born in Denmark, and many are Danish citizens. The number of Muslim voters is unknown, but Danes with an immigrant background, including the large Muslim group, are increasingly becoming a potential political factor that parties need to take into account and in some cases even cater to.

In the capital Copenhagen and in big cities like Aarhus and Odense, most major parties have candidates with a Muslim background, and this is also the case in most of the other municipalities with Muslim communities. However, it is believed to be less likely for Muslim Danes than other Danes to participate in the elections.


How Predictable Are Muslim Voters?

On a national scale, Muslims in Denmark tend to support left-wing parties. A recent survey among Danish Muslims gave the social Democrat-led opposition almost 90 percent of the votes. This is probably a reflection of the fact that the right-wing government is considered likely to enforce a strict immigration policy and perhaps in particular less supportive of Muslim practice than the opposition.

For example, the Danish Conservative People’s Party, one of the parties in government, recently proposed a ban on the wearing of burqa in public. Interestingly, the MP who made the suggestion, Naser Khader, is himself a Muslim. Although it is unlikely that the ban will be imposed, this kind of political action is seen by some Muslims as an indicator of anti-Muslim sentiments.

Muslims' vote in local and regional elections is less predictable and depends on the candidates available in the different municipalities.

Unlike the elections for the National Parliament where the main themes of the elections during the last decade have been immigration and integration, the local elections witness parties' agendas that tend to focus on welfare at the local level (quality of public schools, day-care centers, old-age homes, hospitals, etc.). Attempts to put discussions on immigration and integration on the political agenda before and during the election period have failed.

For example, in September, the right-wing, pro-government Danish People's Party launched a campaign demanding a referendum on the right to build grand mosques in Denmark. However, politicians from both the government and the opposition rejected the campaign, arguing that the Muslim minority has, like other religious minorities, a constitutionally guaranteed right to build mosques in Denmark. This means that Danish Muslims can for this time engage in the elections as active citizens without having to pay attention to the last debates on immigration and integration.

Dr. Lene Kühle is associate professor at the Department for the Study of Religion, Faculty of Theology, University of Aarhus. Her main research areas are religion, theology, society, and politics. Click here to see her list of publications.

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Muslims help Fort Hood victims

WASHINGTON – Eager to show that their religion is all about compassion and nothing about violence, American Muslims are reaching out to the families of the victims of the Fort Hood deadly shooting tragedy, setting up a fund to help them.

"We want to emphasize that Muslims care for those who go through tough times," Louay Safi, Director of Communications and Leadership Development at the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), told IslamOnline.net.

Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a Muslim army psychiatrist, is the sole suspect in last week’s shooting spree at Fort Hood army base in Texas which killed 13 soldiers and wounded more than 30 others.

Hasan has emerged from a coma after being wounded by police gunfire but remains hospitalized at an intensive care unit in guarded condition.

"Islam is about compassion not only with Muslims but with non-Muslims too," said Safi.

ISNA, a 40-year-old umbrella organization for Muslims in the United States and Canada, has launched the “Fort Hood Family Fund” in tandem with other Muslim organizations, including the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), and the American Muslims in the Armed Forces.

"The idea came to Muslim community leaders after the incident as they agreed that we need to practice what we preach," Safi explained.

Mosques across the country are encouraging their members to donate for this humanitarian initiative.

The ISNA official asserted that non-Muslims are also welcome to contribute to the fund.

* Appreciated

The Muslim groups hope to raise millions of dollars to help the victims’ families, like what they did for the Hurricane Katrina victims through a special ISNA fund.

"We are contacting people in the military and different soldiers’ organizations to know the best way to help the families with that fund," said Safi.

The army welcomed the Muslim initiative and said all American faiths groups can help victims.

"It is of good-nature," US Army spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Nathan Banks, told IOL.

Safi said the fund announcement was also very well received by the American media.

"There were very positive reactions from the community at large."

The ISNA official regretted, however, some negative reactions from certain Muslim-bashing groups.

"Some just seek to distort whatever you do."

Shortly after the tragedy, some right-wing commentators rushed to link the shooting to Islam as a religion although leading Muslim groups, including ISNA and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), had immediately condemned the murders as unjustified and un-Islamic.

"Many will seize Fort Hood to stereotype Islam and distort its image," Safi fears.

"We want to emphasize that this is not true. Islam was never about violence."
Source: IslamOnline

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Switzerland Joins Islamic Banking World

CAIRO – Switzerland became the latest Western country to join the booming Islamic finance system, offering a full range of Shari`ah-compliant banking products and services, reported Qatari daily The Peninsula on Friday, November 13. “We are proud to be the first Swiss private bank to offer such a holistic range of opportunities in Islamic finance to the (Middle East) region and on a global scale,” Fidelis M Goetz, Head of Banking Division at Bank Sarasin, told a press conference in the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha.

The bank would offer a full spectrum of Shari`ah-compliant banking products and services for clients.

This includes Murabaha “sale on profit”, Wakala “fiduciary agreement between two parties” and Maraya “an Islamic structured product that is based on Murabaha or a series of Murabaha transactions”.

“The launch of our Islamic wealth management offering reflects our commitment to serving the diverse needs of our clients,” said Goetz.

Islam forbids Muslims from usury, receiving or paying interest on loans.

Islamic Banks Weather Global Crisis Transactions by Islamic banks must be backed by real assets -- not shady repackaged subprime mortgages. Shari`ah-compliant financing deals resemble lease-to-own arrangements, layaway plans, joint purchase and sale agreements, or partnerships.

Investors have a right to know how their funds are being used, and the sector is overseen by dedicated supervisory boards as well as the usual national regulatory authorities.

Booming Market

The Swiss bank, a leading private bank with a broad international footprint, hopes to get a share of the booming Islamic finance market.

“We have perceived in the past couple of years that we have been in the region real interest for these services,” Goetz said.

Islamic finance is one of the fastest growing sectors in the global financial industry.

Starting almost three decades ago, the Islamic banking industry has made substantial growth and attracted the attention of investors and bankers across the world.

"We are extremely delighted that the global launch of our Islamic products is taking place in the Middle East,” said Rohit Walia, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, Bank Sarasin-Alpen Group, Middle East and South Asia.

Nearly 50 percent of the Islamic finance market is situated in the Gulf region.

“Islamic Finance is a fast growing concept in the region,” said Walia.

“Many of our clients have expressed interest in Islamic Wealth Management and we are very happy to offer the suite of Islamic products to meet their requirements.

“I am sure this will also add to our already strengthened position in the region."

A long list of international institutions, including Citigroup, HSBC and Deutsche Bank, are going into the Islamic banking business.

Currently, there are nearly 300 Islamic banks and financial institutions worldwide whose assets are predicted to grow to $1 trillion by 2013.

“Ultimately our aim is to operate on a global basis,” said Fares Mourad, Managing Director, Head of Islamic Finance at Bank Sarasin. “But what we are doing is a step by step approach.”

Source: IslamOnlinet

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Mosques Seizure Shocks US Muslims

CAIRO – US government plans to seize four mosques and a skyscraper owned by a non-profit Muslim charity on claims of links to Iran is sending shockwaves across the Muslim minority. “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,” Ibrahim Hooper, Communications Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said in a statement obtained by IslamOnline Friday, November 13.

“(It) may send a negative message to Muslims worldwide.”

Federal prosecutors filed a lawsuit Thursday to forfeit assets of the Alavi Foundation on claims of links to Iran.

The assets include Islamic centers housing mosques and schools in New York, Maryland, California and Houston and a skyscraper in Manhattan.

Federal prosecutors allege that the Foundation has been illegally funnelling funds to the Iranian government.

They claim that top Iranian officials, including former deputy prime minister Tahmasb Mazaheri and ambassadors to the United Nations, were involved in the foundation's business dealings.

"The Alavi Foundation has effectively been a front for the government of Iran," Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara said.

The seizure of the Muslim worship houses is an unprecedented move in US history due to freedom of religion rights enshrined in the Constitution.

The move comes a week after a deadly shooting by a Muslim army soldier at the Fort Hood military base in Texas, which killed 13 people and wounded 30.

Chilling

US Muslims fear that the mosques seizure would trigger a backlash against the Muslim minority.

"It's a rare move to seize a house of worship,” Basim Elkarra, executive director of Sacramento Valley CAIR chapter, told the Sacramento Bee daily.

“We're concerned about the chilling effect on First Amendment rights.”

The Muslim leader said that the seizure of the worship house comes at a “bad” time.

"American Muslims are concerned about a backlash over the Fort Hood shooting,” he said.

"And millions of Muslims are going to be gathering in Makkah for the pilgrimage and hearing about the government seizing mosques.”

More than three million Muslims will go to hajj, one of the pillars of Islam, this month.

Every able-bodied adult Muslim -- who can financially afford the trip -- must perform hajj once in their lifetime.

Hajj is expected to climax this year on November 26 when the faithful descend the Mount `Arafat.

American Muslims, estimated at between six to seven million, have been in the eye of storm since the 9/11 attacks, having their faith widely stereotyped and their civil rights eroded by anti-terror laws.

"Now our mosques are being seized," said Elkarra.

Source: IslamOnline

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