There is perhaps no name better known in the American Muslim arena other than that of Imam Siraj. Almost every Muslim in this country is familiar with the fatherly face of the Imam standing before the crowd, captivating it with flowing wisdom. Unfortunately this very figure whose entire life of selfless work for the community has served as a glowing light for the Muslims has been associated with the all too familiar smears of terrorism and violence. What initially began as the inclusion of his name on the 1993 list of un-indicted co-conspirators to the World Trade Center bombing, along with over a hundred others, has only persisted to continuously taint the Imam’s honorable reputation. The fact that there was no evidence whatsoever linking him to the bombing, which is why he remains ‘un-indicted’, is not so innocently overlooked by those that seek to defame him.

In the latest episode of slander and insult, attempts are being made to prevent the most commendable of endeavors - that of informing others of our religion. What would otherwise be seen as a completely harmless effort is now being portrayed in the most negative of lights. Not surprisingly a campaign of its own has grown from the seeds of post-911 hysteria to bring the work to an end.

As you may have heard, the Islamic Circle of North America through its 877-WHY-ISLAM project has planned to sponsor 1000 ads in NYC subways during Ramadan. These ads serve to clear away common Islamic misconceptions and encourage them to learn about Islam from a direct and more reliable source. Imam Siraj has been of the most enthusiastic supporters of this project with the hope to benefit the larger community. Never would he imagine that his simple involvement in this project would be used to stir up such an uproar. Dramatic headlines such as “Jihad Train” and “Train-ing Day for Jihadists” of the NYPost, as well as others by Fox News have dominated the media limelight. YouTube bloggers such as mosquewatch have posted videos urging listeners to tear down the ads when they see them.

While leaders such as Imam Siraj and those involved with the ICNA continue to put their reputation on the line for projects such as these, it is imperative that we support them in the efforts that they undertake, as that is their greatest wish at the moment - to use this opportunity to gather as much support from the community as possible, not just verbally but also financially. After reading this, please make an extra effort to donate to these causes immediately and ask your friends to do the same. It is the least we can do with hopes that Allah includes us in His own list - the list of those who strive in His cause, and what a just and righteous cause it is!

Donate to the project today:
www.youdeservetoknow.org

Project Promo Video:

YouTube Direktvideo link

• Islam Subway ads cause stir in New York
• Promoting Islam To Appear In Subways Soon
• Promotional Islam Subway Ads Stir Controversy
• Radical Imam Promotes Pro-Islamic Ad Campaign to Run on New York Subways
• Mmm…(In)tolerance! The Post’s “Jihad Train”
• Pro-Muslim Subway Ads Linked to Controversial Imam
• MTA’S ISLAM AD FUROR
• TRAIN-ING DAY FOR JIHADISTS

Stop Bill C-50 from being passed!

Bill C-50 is an alarming piece of legislation that every Canadian who believes in fairness, openness and multiculturalism should oppose. The final date for the public to oppose this is Wednesday, June 4. Please send your Member of Parliament an email or faxed copy of the letter template enclosed below ASAP.

You can find your MP’s information:
Liberal Party: http://www.liberal.ca/members_e.aspx
Conservative Party: http://www.conservative.ca/?section_id=1051®ionId=32&submit.x=20&submit.y=4
New Democratic Party: http://www.ndp.ca/myriding/lookup

Click here for LETTER TEMPLATE (jazakAllah khair to brother Dawud Israel).

Additional Information for Community Members

Recently the Conservative government introduced a series of amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), buried in Bill c-50, a 136-page “budget implementation bill.” This fundamentally undemocratic move sneaks in critical changes to Canada’s immigration policy without proposing any of those changes before Parliament. By making it a matter of confidence, the government forces Opposition parties to either accept them or call an election.

This series of amendments places more arbitrary power in the hands of the Immigration Minister:

-Sec. 25 currently says that the Minister “shall” examine a Humanitarian and Compassionate application– this is changed to “shall” examine the H&C application if the applicant is in Canada, but only “may” examine the application if the applicant is outside Canada.

-Proposed s. 87.3 of the Act will allow the Minister to issue “instructions” setting quotas on the “category” of person that can enter Canada – including quotas based on country of origin.

-Ministerial power in deciding the order in which new applications are processed, regardless of when they were filed. This means prioritizing immigration applicants based on their ability to fulfill the needs of the Canadian job market, “whether it’s people to wash dishes and make sandwiches, or whether it’s the highly skilled engineers”, as stated by Minister Diane Finley. This is a profoundly dehumanizing and racist conception of immigrants as disposable commodities.

-New sections 87.3 (4) and (5) of the IRPA would allow the Minister to simply hold on to, return, or throw out a visa application and deny any opportunity to review that decision in Court.

For more information read:

http://www.thestar.com/article/415406
http://www.newsocialist.org/index.php?id=1570
http://www.rabble.ca/news_full_story.shtml?x=71224

The mere complaint is an unjust detainment by the Israelis in 1993 during a visit to his family in Palestine. Many other Palestinians like him were unjustly detained for no crime because this was a common practice by the Israelis whenever political turmoil arose in the area. Soon, he was released without any charges or any court summons.

Here are specific action items that we can all take:

1. First and foremost, MAKE DUAA’! There is no success in any cause without Allah!
2. Forward this message and cross-link/cross-post to this entry as much as possible.
3. Sign the online petition — http://www.petitiononline.com/qat5871/petition.html
4. If you have a Facebook account then join the following two groups:
   

   • Peaceful Support for Qatanani (hundreds of members and counting)
   • Friends of Qatanani (hundreds of members and counting)
     AND advertise the following Facebook event:
     “RALLY TO SUPPORT IMAM QATANANI”

5. Attend the rallies and encourage your family and friends to attend the rallies. Rally details and an image of the flyer can be found here: http://www.americans4qatanani.org/site/content/view/39/54/
6. 6. Last, and most important: MAKE DUAA’! I can’t stress this enough. Constantly and consistently pray to Allah to help us through this test, and all tests that we face every day! Duaa’ is our best resource, and it never runs out! For some duaa’ recorded in authentic narrations of the Prophet (S), you can visit — www.makedua.com

“Please forward my salaams to everyone & encourage them to keep me in their prayers. Things are winding up for me here in Alexandria and we might have a final decision in May, wAllahu a’lam. And our hope and trust remains with Allah ta’ala alone.”

I would urge all brothers and sisters to make your deepest dua’s for Dr. Ali, in hoping for justice and fairness. I also urge his supporters to write to him, because letters are a window to the world for prisoners. May Allah release him to his family and to all the Muslims.

Alexandria Detention Centre
2001 Mill Road
Alexandria, VA 22314

You can get more background information on his case from the following article in Atlantic Monthly.

Also see: 14 Year Flashback: Accusations of Terrorism (speech by Ali Timimi)

For some reason, halfdate.com has really caught my attention. Maybe it’s because their marketing machine is doing such a great job, masha’Allah… or perhaps there is just something different about them. I find their strategy of dedicating one whole month to a new cause, trying to achieve as much as they can within that time, quite refreshing; may Allah grant them success.

This month’s appeal was called “Care for Converts“, and as the name suggests, was aimed at helping out the newest members of our blessed community. The final event of the drive is a ’simulcast’ of a talk presented by a good friend of mine (well, I interviewed her once - *cough* listen to my podcast here *cough*), sister Na’ima B. Robert, author of the UK best selling book, From My Sisters’ Lips, and editor of SISTERS magazine. It takes place this Saturday, April 5th at 9:00pm GMT/UTC (5pm New York, 2 pm Los Angeles 2pm, use time converter for your local time.)

Please check it out, pass the word on, and make dua for our revert brothers and sisters. May Allah continue to guide us all, Ameen.

[Photo by Fairywren]

“I’ve seen with my own eyes a gentleman who’s had a tremendous positive influence in the community…he’s done nothing but good since he’s been in the US and many of us are ready to stand up and go to court to testify about him if need be.”

Bill Pascrell, US Congressman for NJ, referring to Dr. Imam Mohammad Qatanani

A Scholar in our Midst
Born in Palestine, Imam Dr. Imam Mohammad Qatanani immigrated to America in 1996 with his family. With a doctorate in Islamic Shariah, internationally known for specializing in Minority Fiqh, two ijazahs, and numerous of other impressive credentials, he was well qualified to lead the town of Paterson, home to the second largest population of Muslims in America.
Indeed, he had a colossal task awaiting him. Nevertheless, he confronted the issues of the community head-on, executing his duties with unsurpassed excellence. Whether it was the daily classes or even just the simple short talks after Fajr and Isha, his massive amount of knowledge left the audience gaping in awe. Truly, knowledge elevates the status of its carriers.

A Beacon of Inspiration (more…)

On the Tuesday night (2/26/08), ABC aired its primetime series entitled What Would You Do? (video below sleeve), in which a controversial scenario is staged with hidden cameras to see how the public would react to such a situation. Last Tuesday’s episode included a scenario in a popular bakery with one actor playing a female Muslim customer wearing hijab and another playing a bigoted store clerk who refused to serve her based on her being Muslim and insulted her with all kinds of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab discriminatory remarks.

The reaction of the public was disturbing to say the least, but unfortunately, not surprising. According to ABC News, the majority of bystanders witnessed the incident yet chose not to get involved, largely due to approval of the clerk’s actions. A minority did speak up… some in defense of the Muslim customer (expressing their disgust to the clerk and threatening to boycott the bakery). While others, unfortunately, actually spoke up in support of the bigoted clerk’s actions. The ABC News article states: (more…)