Broun recently circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter inviting fellow representatives and their staff to attend the briefing, titled “The Truth Behind Sharia/Islamic Finance,” on Thursday in the Rayburn House Office Building.

Rep. Broun’s invitation letter claims Islamic finance “violates U.S. laws” and “has supported Islamist extremists and sponsors of terrorism.” The afternoon briefing features two individuals known for their hostility to Islam and Muslims.

One of the presenters, David Yerushalmi, is the president and founder of the Society of Americans for National Existence (SANE), a group that has advocated imposing prison terms for “adherence to Islam” and questions whether women and African-Americans should be allowed to vote.

It saddens me more than it angers me that a man who is openly racist is taken seriously enough to be considered a source of credible knowledge by a US congressman. Have the noble efforts of Dr. King and his followers left no legacy?

On a personal note, my interaction with Mormons has been limited to a couple of people. At work, I was good friends with a Mormon manager, who I should also mention was a stellar guy. We especially got along well due to shared values: Mormons possess a strong family value system, and don’t drink alcohol (Note: they also don’t drink coffee or any other caffeine drink… amazing how my friend never looked sleepy!)

My other somewhat personal experience was with the right-wing loud-mouth radio host on Houston airwaves, Pat Gray, who was quite the obnoxious character (Bull O’Reilly wannabe). We communicated quite a bit via email and though he tried to be reasonable at times, it just wasn’t in his blood.

Of course, recently, the Mormons have been in the news quite a bit. On the negative front, we have Warren Jeffs, who heads a breakaway fundamentalist Mormon sect that still practices polygamy, and who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for being an accomplice to rape. While on a relatively positive front (from a Mormon perspective), we have Mitt Romney, who has a legitimate shot at the Presidency. Right behind Giuli-”911″-ani in what is pretty much a 2-way Republican race.

Let’s start with a brief primer on Mormons and their faith: (more…)

UPDATE 4 from Tariq: Some lunatic apparently inspired by slander posted by Mr Gaubatz threw stones through the window at Dar Al Hijrah last night. Also some idiot who apparently reads their trash called me a “sh*tskin” in the comments last night that I deleted afterwards.

Coming soon to a Masjid near you: the inSANE terrorists. How are they terrorists? Because their goal is two-fold: (1) Terrorize Americans about the Muslim ‘bogeyman’, and (2) Terrorize Muslims in America by spying on them, harrasing them, and by slandering them. See their press-release here.

A team of seasoned intelligence and counter-terrorism experts and Islamic scholars (Arabs, Christians and Jews), many fluent in Arabic, Urdu, and Farsi, will visit America’s 2,300-plus mosques and associated day schools and collect information that includes statements by their leaders, the literature they use, the level of orthodoxy in prayer and discussion.

I thought it would be a good idea for Muslims and those who are not, to know more about these inSANE folks and about their ‘mission’, so if one pops up virtually on your blog or physically at your Masjid (to spy) or Church/Synagogue (to recruit), (more…)

• Previous: Muslim Americans- Pew Survey & the Media Twist (Background, Update #1 and #2)
• Next: Analysis of Muslim Population in America- Methodology, Criticism and Other Sources. Update #4

Update-3:Religious Beliefs/Sects, Identity/Assimilation, Challenges, Political Values and Foreign Policies

Religious Beliefs/Sects

• As far as ‘religious beliefs’, 60% of Muslims stated they prayed daily, YET only 40% attended the mosque at least once a week. Sadly, his 40% figure represents less than church participation by US Christians. This is an important number to keep in mind when we look at the Muslim population question. Why this is sad is because Muslims do not only have one service per week, rather they have 35 services a week. So, we have 35 opportunities in the week to state an affirmative to the question, yet 60% of Muslims reported in the negative. I also wonder how it is that 60% prayed daily, yet 60% did not attend Jumuah (Friday) prayers?
• One encouraging piece of news was that nearly 40% Muslims reported praying 5 times a day, which is also equivalent to the number of people attending mosque at least once a week. So, there seems to be a very stark line of practice between three groups of Muslims: one that prays 5-times and attends the mosque at least weekly and the other 20% that prays only sometimes, and the balance 40% that is a mixture of ‘never-pray’, ‘eid-pray’, etc.
  • There is another important facet to this result: (more…)
    ]]> http://muslimmatters.org/2007/05/23/update3-pew-survey-muslims-democratic-socially-conservative-concerned-citizens/feed/ http://muslimmatters.org/2007/05/12/sarkozy-muslims-and-the-new-france/ http://muslimmatters.org/2007/05/12/sarkozy-muslims-and-the-new-france/#comments Sat, 12 May 2007 20:51:11 +0000 Musa Maguire http://muslimmatters.org/2007/05/12/sarkozy-muslims-and-the-new-france/ I was asked to write about the victory of Nicolas Sarkozy in the recent French presidential election. Not knowing too much about French politics, I was hesitant, and therefore decided to read Monsieur Sarkozy’s recent book Testimony: France in the Twenty-First Century (en anglais). For someone who is not well versed in French politics, it is a bit dangerous to get my information from this type of source. If Sarkozy has any competence as a politician, which he certainly does, this book should convince me that he is France’s noblest son and greatest hope. Yet as an American, I am somewhat familiar with this genre of writing—the politician’s self-promotional book that proves his ideas are more than slogans. Likewise, in this case, I am less sensitive to Sarkozy’s patriotic musings. Obama makes me weepy when he talks about baseball and civil rights. Sankozy has no such access to my emotions. Hopefully, this ill-informed objectivity will make my thoughts on the subject worthwhile.

    As a Muslim, I am troubled by the status of my co-religionists in France. The 2005 riots in the Paris banlieues and elsewhere illustrate the deep frustration felt by immigrant communities. As Interior Minister, Sarkozy’s reaction to the riots was criticized by many as brutal and even racist. At a wider level, I also wonder whether France has really atoned for its brutal colonial past, much of which involved the Muslim world. Does its current relationship with Algeria and Tunisia, for instance, really reflect a commitment to liberty and human rights? And of course there is the banning of hijab in French schools, a truly disgraceful policy for a nation that claims to protect individual freedom. In addition to the “Muslim issues,” it is also useful to consider Sarkozy in a broader context. What sort of political trend does he represent? What is his grand vision of government? How does he perceive the United States and his European neighbors? These are all important questions. (more…)

    ]]> http://muslimmatters.org/2007/05/12/sarkozy-muslims-and-the-new-france/feed/ http://muslimmatters.org/2007/04/06/thoughts-and-advice-on-interracial-marriages/ http://muslimmatters.org/2007/04/06/thoughts-and-advice-on-interracial-marriages/#comments Fri, 06 Apr 2007 05:04:34 +0000 ibnabeeomar http://muslimmatters.org/2007/04/06/thoughts-and-advice-on-interracial-marriages/ This is a post I have been thinking about writing for quite some time because I have a lot of thoughts on this issue (the reasons why may be obvious from the rest of this post) and I wanted to get them down and get some feedback from other Muslims. Here is how I want to focus this topic:
    1. Before Marriage - Stereotypes/Obstacles
    2. During Marriage - Culture Clash, Confused Kids, and Bewildered in-Laws
    3. Societal Ramifications (focus on living in the US)
    4. Parting Comments

    Before Marriage - Stereotypes and Obstacles

    No matter your background, an interracial marriage will be met with obstacles on both sides. It is especially the case for the generation of people whose parents were immigrants, and they themselves were raised here. To even broach the idea of an interracial marriage will spring forth 100 year old stereotypes of other cultures you never even knew existed. It is particularly sad when these are directed at other Muslim groups. For example, a Pakistani trying to marry an Arab will no doubt hear many “Arabs are this…” or “Arabs are that…” type of comments.

    Even those who marry within the race will often face problems in marrying outside the tribe, or people from a specific part of the same country, so much so that some people even consider these marriages to be against the norm.

    Muslims who are the first generation to be born and raised in the West face a unique dilemma. They must harmonize between (more…)

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