the muslim link - october 22, 2010

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ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

Rising Islamophobia Discussed at UMCP | pg 6

Using Khutbas To Fight Flu Apathy | pg 8

CAIR: Defi ne Your Faith, Defend Your Rights | pg 6

Court of Appeals Tosses Chandia Sentence | pg 9

Gov. To Baltimore Muslims: Let’s Move Forward | pg 4

ISLAM | Dealing Wiith Worries and Stress | pg 17

>> SHAMELESS Pg 5

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Is This Man An American Muslim Leader?

By Amalia RehmanMuslim Link Staff Writer

The weekend of October 9th through 11th saw the 25th Weekend Anniversary Conference of Muslimat Al-Nisaa, the single Muslim women’s shelter. It was to be a weekend of exploration and education regarding the issue of domestic violence and abuse in the Muslim community: a look at the progress we are making in

awareness and provision of services to this segment of our community, an education regarding how abuse and h o m e l e s s n e s s e f f e c t s children, open discussions regarding the interpretation of women’s rights, etc. But, it turned out to be none of those things, because no one attended.

On the first day of the conference there were the speakers, the vendors and the

volunteers, but of the general public, there was only one attendee, a young woman who was a new convert to Islam only 4 months earlier. On the second day of the conference, speakers were canceled and notified not to bother traveling to the conference. The Anniversary Banquet, on the second evening of the conference, which was prepared for 300 attendees, had about 70 people attend.

Tha t i s inc lud ing the speakers and performers, the staff, the volunteers and the George Washington University Muslim Students Association representatives that helped organize and accommodate the event. Women were by far the majority of the attendees and contributors. Only $22,500.00 was pledged in

Shameless Lack of Support for Homeless Muslimahs Shows At Conference

>> ADAMS Pg 16

ADAMS, Disabled Muslims Call for Equal Access to Masajid

By Mariam Abu-AliMuslim Link Staff

When Abdullah bin Umm Maktum, a blind companion, c a m e t o t h e P r o p h e t Muhammad (peace be upon him) asking him to teach him, Allah’s messenger frowned and turned away. For once, the Messenger (peace be upon him) had the golden opportunity to speak to the leaders of Quraish in hopes that they would accept Islam,

and Abdullah could wait. Thereon, Allah revealed Surat Abasa. The blind man could not see the Prophet’s frown, but Allah reprimanded our beloved prophet for frowning nonetheless, and commanded him to refrain from singling anyone out.

On Sunday October 18th, Imam Magid reminded us

Some Muslim organizations don’t accommodate people with disabilities because they say there aren’t any disabled people in their communities. But Mohammed Yousuf, pictured above and founder of EquallyAble, a non-profi t organization that aids those with disabilities, says disabled members don’t participate because organizations aren’t inclusive. Photo by Mariam Abu-Ali.

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Community NewsO’Malley to Baltimore Muslims: Let’s Move Forward TogetherBy Rana KhanMuslim Link Staff

With the general election just a few weeks away, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley paid a visit to the Islamic Society of Baltimore, emphasizing his appreciation of Maryland’s Muslim community, and highlighting recent progress in involving the Muslim community in civic service.

The Governor – who is being challenged by former Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich who he defeated in 2006 – came with his Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown and other staff members to address the approximately 2,000 worshipers at the Friday prayer at ISB on October 15, 2010.

Starting with the Muslim greeting of peace, “Assalam alaikum”, O’Malley observed how “our country is facing a choice right now in critical times in the election of its public servants in the mid-terms, and it is a choice in a decision as old as history itself...and that is whether we move forward or whether we slip back.”

O’Malley spoke about the honor he felt in being able to serve the “good, diverse, hard-working and loving people of Maryland during these past four

years, through one of the toughest of times.” He said that one of the things he loves most about the people he has served is that “at times of adversity, we don’t make excuses, we make progress.”

O’Malley spoke about the appointment of 37 Muslims to State Boards and Commissions over the past four years, including Montgomery County’s Sayed Naved as the first Muslim to serve on the Maryland State Board of Education, as well as efforts to ensure that minority businesses programs include Middle-Eastern American businesses. O’Malley spoke about the honor he and is wife felt hosting an iftar dinner every Ramadan for the past four years.

“These are tough times for our country,”

observed O’Malley, “times when Americans seem to be spending a lot more energy on turning on one another than on turning towards the future. I don’t know any other way to overcome this fear that’s in the air that we might be the last great generation of Americans, I don’t know any other way to overcome the xenophobia and other things, other than to move through it, by making progress together, by realizing that we are all children of one God and that we are in a certain dignity as human beings. Whatever divides us culturally is not as strong as the things that unite us.”

O’Malley also spoke about other fields of progress, such as creating jobs “better this year than any year since 2000”, making college more affordable and improving schools so that “our children’s education [will not] become a casualty of the recession.”

Lt Governor Anthony Brown briefly reiterated O’Malley’s sentiments of pride and honor in serving the constituents of such a culturally rich and diverse state as Maryland. “I want to thank each and every one of you for the contribution you make to make Maryland one of the greatest states in the country,” said Brown.

We are all children of one God and that we are in a certain dignity as human beings. Whatever divides us culturally is not as strong as the things that unite us.” – Gov. Martin O’Malley

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There are often alcoholics, drug abusers and men at shelters. Shelters can be as unsafe as the streets.

>> SHAMELESS II Pg 15

Shameless Lack of Support for Homeless Muslimahs Shows At ConferenceDespite their groundbreaking social work, Muslimat Al-Nisaa’s 25th Anniversary program attract single digits

total at the banquet. This may sound like a good amount of money, but contrast that with the fact that to run the shelter, at the most basic level, costs about $250,000.00 per year.

oes that seem like too much? Well the shelter offers a safe, clean living environment, doesn’t kick people out during the daylight hours (like many shelters do), provides 3 warm meals a day, offers home economics training, Islamic education, vocational and occupational

training, referral to resource information for GED and diploma programs, access to information for further education, laundry facilities, clothing, counseling, a library, health & nutrition counseling, and access to medical services for 15 to 25 women and their children. No woman is accepted to the Muslim women’s shelter without a comprehensive plan to reach self-sufficiency. Each woman is given adequate time and services to reach her goal. In return these women participate in community activities where they are the contributors – a vital step in the rebuilding of the sense of self-worth.

Does it still seem like too much money?The fact that domestic violence exists in the Muslim community is generally an embarrassment for us. In actuality, the Muslim community has a slightly higher incidence of domestic violence than the general community, but keep in mind this is a statistic that documents only reported occurrences. Consider all those Muslim women suffering in silence thinking that they need only be “patient” and it will

pass, or women who stay because they do not want to disappoint their parents or disturb their children’s lives. Often, because it is hidden, many think of it as an issue that mostly plagues the African American Muslim community far more than the immigrant Muslim community. But, it is interesting to note that those that utilize the Muslim women’s shelter are more often immigrant Muslim women. This is a segment of our community that has limited English speaking ability and marketable skills with less understanding of the laws and the resources available in the community.

One of the speakers, Neimah Gaal,

Executive Director of Power in Sisters: Sisters Power, talked about her concern with this “disconnect” in the Muslim community regarding the issue of domestic violence and the sometimes view that it is more an African American Muslim issue than a general one.

“This disconnect is not Islamic. It is our responsibility to have a universal connectedness … It is a cultural disconnect. They exclude us because we do not share their culture… Instead of practicing Islam they are practicing their culture (Hislam and Herslam)… Our community is screaming out to you and you are not in the mood? Look in the mirror and ask yourself what have you done…Everyone is being diplomatic and not talking about it…We need to pull on each other’s coat tails and remind each other to be humble and serve. Ask yourself who is your Ilah. If Allah has blessed you with the capacity to help, then you are obligated,” said Gaal.

Despite the lack of participants, three

lectures were held on the first day. In attendance were a few of the vendors and volunteers, plus the one registered participant – audiences ranged from 6 to 12 women. Of particular interest was the lecture by Bonita McGee of the Islamic Social Services Association- USA, speaking about “Muslims and the Domestic Violence Movement – An Overview.” Ms McGee was quite enthusiastic and positive. She stated that over the last 15 years there have been dramatic changes in the way Muslim community organizations and imams have come to deal with the issue of domestic violence. Although she admits that the trickle down effect to the community may not be as effective as one would like, the awareness, willingness to talk about the issue, the knowledge of imams dealing with this issue have all grown tremendously from the denial and suppression our community used to have.

Ms. McGee attributes Jamal Badawi’s book, “Gender Equity in Islam” as a turning point in this movement. “His book started a whole new dialogue at a

time when no one was talking about this concept... The Muslim media [take this article for example] is more sophisticated and vocal on this issue of domestic abuse, ISNA holds regular lectures on this issue at its annual conferences...we now have Muslim social services organizations as well as non-Muslim social services

organizations working cooperatively and more openly with mosque organizations... we have imams that speak out on this issue and actively seek out training and better understanding of domestic violence,” explained McGee.

It would seem that not too long ago, a dialogue on this issue did not really exist and options for women victims of domestic violence were very few.

Ameedah Rashid, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, spoke about the acting out behaviors of young children who experience domestic violence. Ms. Rashid stressed the importance of a peaceful environment for children. A fact that helps to more clearly understand this point is that moving can be more traumatic for a young child than the death of a family member. She also noted that, unlike non-Muslim families, Muslims are aware of the obligations and rights involved in the relationship between parents and children. Muslims understand that there is a give and take in this relationship. “Our parenting goals are clear: to raise

our children knowing that life’s goal is about pleasing Allah… and to nurture that relationship.”

Mildred Mohammed, the wife of the

On the second day of the conference, speakers were canceled and notified not to bother traveling to the conference.

SHAMLESS>> continued from pg 1

it is interesting to note that those that utilize the Muslim women’s shelter are more often immigrant Muslim women.


By Rana KhanMuslim Link Staff

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) held its 16th Annual Banquet at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia, on Saturday, October 9, 2010. The sold-out event attracted about 900 attendees, including Muslim and interfaith leaders, activists and diplomats.

Several awards were presented during the course of the evening, including the Rosa Parks Scholarship Award to Baltimore’s Asma Hanif for her work in helping homeless Muslim women through the establishment of Muslimat Al-Nisaa. Hanif is currently pursuing a course in Islamic Chaplaincy with a goal of completing a doctorate in Islamic Studies, part of her effort to better serve those she helps.

The 2010 Outstanding Service Award was presented to CAIR’s New York Chapter for its efforts in defending the rights and liberties of American Muslims in the face of intense pressure over the Park 51 masjid, known in the media as the ‘ground zero mosque’. Also presented was the 2010 John Hancock Award to Sharif El-Gamal who is the developer for

the Park 51 project. This was followed by the presentation of the Peace and Justice Award to the Langley Hill Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. The Quaker group is active in working for peace in the Middle East, and protests the use of torture by the CIA.

Nihad Awad, co-founder of CAIR and its National Executive Director, briefed the audience on three public service announcements (PSAs) CAIR produced highlighting the roles of Muslim Americans as first responders in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks. This side of American Muslims

is not stressed nor appreciated enough by the larger American population, and the sincerity and dedication with which these people served those in need was only brought to light nine years later in response to the growing Islamophobia and anti-Muslim rhetoric in the country, explained Awad.

Two PSA’s entitled “9-11 Happened to Us All” showed the roles of American Muslims - Rudina Odeh-Ramadan, a clinical pharmacist, and Hisham Tawfiq, a New York City firefighter of 15 years, as they dealt with the challenges of helping the injured that day.

“There was chaos, there was a lot to be done. There were many firefighters, NYPD and first responders that needed help, so we did anything we could to help”, says Odeh-Ramadan in the PSA. “I wanted to help my fellow Americans and my fellow New Yorkers. That’s why I did it.” Tawfiq gave an emotional account of how the tragedy of that day really jolted him when he found out a good friend in the fire department had lost his life in the

The capacity crowd at the CAIR banquet in Arlington, VA. Photo courtesy of CAIR.

An audience member comments about rising Islamophobia at a town hall on the topic held at UMCP. Photo by the author.

>> CAIR Pg 14

CAIR: Define Your Faith, Defend Your Rights

Rising Islamophobia Discussed at UMCPBy Bilal SirajMuslim Link Contributing Writer

On September 22, 2010, UMCP’s Nyumburu Cultural Center hosted a town hall-type forum on Islamophobia.

Under the sponsorship of various campus organizations including The Black Male Initiative, Edgeofsports.com, the DC International Socialist Organization (DC ISO) and UM’s MSA & Muslim Women of Maryland, it was hoped that the event would serve as a springboard for discussing the increasing fear of Islam and Muslims in America.

Moderated by sports journalist Dave Zirin and Assistant Director of Student Involvement and Public Relations at

UMCP Solomon Comissiong, the program consisted of four panelists, all Muslims but from different backgrounds who presented their views on the expanding animosity towards Islam and possible solutions. Panelists included local radio host and Chair of MANA’s Social Justice Task Force Brother Hodari Abdul Ali, UMCP graduate and member of the DC ISO Rayyan Ghuma, and current UMCP students Omnia Joehar and Osama Eshera.

In the auditorium could be seen men in their late teens to early twenties with beards and kufis wearing MSA t-shirts; women could be seen with abayas and

>> ISLAMOPHOBIA Pg 16

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Muslim Health Group Using Khutbas To Fight Flu Apathy By Yaman ShalabiMuslim Link Staff

Every year, influenza outbreaks occur by late fall through early spring affecting thousands of people. Last year, a new flu virus, H1N1, caused the first flu pandemic in over 40 years and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention expects the H1N1 flu to return along with other influenza viruses.

Now, Amer ican Musl im Heal th Professionals (AMHP) is working with mosques and Islamic Centers to ask Muslims to get vaccinated, making the case that its their humanitarian and religious obligation to get vaccinated. The flu awareness campaign is set for this Friday, Oct 22. AMHP has asked Imams to incorporate the importance of the flu shot into their khutbas. It has also designed posters to be hung on the walls of Islamic organizations to reinforce their message and remind people to take the shot.

This year’s shot will protect against the H1N1 virus and two other strands.

Global health consultant and member of the AMHP, Khizer Husain of Alexandria, Va., said this new health initiative is unique in that khutbas have never been used as a distribution strategy and it is the first time AMHP is focusing on the seasonal flu. He said the vaccine is safe and halal with minimal side effects. Husain said the body is a trust. “We need to take it seriously,” he said. “God owns our bodies and we need to do our best to protect and preserve it.” It is very clear from the teachings of the Prophet Muhammd (peace be upon him), he said, that we need to protect one another and not spread the illness.

AMHP contacted about 20 mosques and Islamic centers, a majority located in Fairfax County, to get their commitment on this campaign. The All Dulles Area Muslim Society’s Friday khutba will focus on the flu. Saba Sharif, an allergy specialist will answer any questions and go over any concerns people may have about the flu shot. Zubair Saeed, from the Fairfax County Department of Health, will also be at ADAMS to talk about his work to raise awareness among Muslims in the area.

“The prophet and our religion stresses on being healthy,” said Khalid Iqbal, deputy director at ADAMS. “Our body is a gift that we take for granted. Unless something comes up do we realize how important it is.”

Masajid in South California and in Chicago will also offer a khutba on the flu this Friday.

“This is important because we have

thousands of deaths each year from the flu which can be minimized by vaccinations,” said Sharif. She thinks that there will be a good turnout at ADAMS because it will be the same time as Jummah prayer and many people are already there. She will also volunteer at the Mustafa Center in Annandale for their health fair Saturday Oct. 23.

“We understand that a lot of organizations are understaffed and busy,” said Husain.

“We are trying to be proactive and reach out to them to know if they are onboard. We want them to tell us that they are committed so that we may have a synchronized effort across the nation.” AMHP is trying to make it as easy as possible for the different masajid and organizations, said Husain. He is asking if Imams don’t want to structure an entire

>> FLU Pg 14


Girl Scouts Book Sale Raises Funds for Needy FamiliesK. CarringtonMuslim Link Contributing Writer

In order to raise money for families in need here in America and in Pakistan, Girl Scout Troop 8202 held a community wide book sale October 2, 2010 at Al Huda School in College Park, Maryland.

This event brought in over $1000.00 for families in need. Throughout the month of Ramadan, Troop 2802 collected approximately 4,000 books which had to be sorted by genre, priced and boxed for delivery to the location of the sale. Every scout had an opportunity to participate in creating collection boxes to be housed at different masajid in the area, sorting and pricing the books or taking part in one of the many roles during the book sale.

Cadette leader Faiza Coleman-Salako

along with a handful of girls and a few adults set up the tables displaying the books the night before. According to Sis. Faiza, girls were initially going to meet the morning of the book sale to set up the tables to display the books. But, a phone call from the delivery crew the night before alarmed her to get whatever help she could get to resort all the books and began putting them on display. “There is no way we would have been able to set up all this this morning,” she said. She was right! The girls were getting to a slow start because many of them had gotten back late the night before after participating on a hiking trip. But, by 8:45am the girls were moving and sorting books when their first customer arrived with a large blue storage bin ready to fill with books.

Unfortunately, he didn’t find anything

that sparked his interest but the next few customers did. Jean Stinchomb of Annapolis, MD made the drive to find good buys for her own growing book collection. “I like to read and I resale books online. I was also a Girl Scout”, she said. Mrs. Stinchomb looked at every single book on the eleven or so tables, pulled boxes from underneath the tables and sat on the floor going through the boxes while having conversations with some of the Girl Scouts. After approximately 2 hours she left with a couple of boxes, a few bags and a sweet treat from the bake sale.

The multipurpose room began to buzz as the room began to fill up with men, women, children and more girl scouts. Despite the 150 people who stopped by, one Girl Scout father said he wishes more community members would come out and

be more supportive. “Al Hamdullilah, I wish there were more people from the community. The girls put a lot of work into collecting the books, sorting the books and setting up.” You wouldn’t know how much work the girls put into everything because during the sale they appeared to be excited and enthused that people were just coming. There were scouts reading books to small children, some were assisting customers while others were stationed at the bake sale.

At the end of day the girls raised a total of $1142.92 from the book sale and $205.69 in total sales from the bake sale. After expenses, Girl Scout Troop 2802 will be able to give approximately $300 to each of the three preselected charities.

Court of Appeals Tosses Sentence for Ali Chandia AgainBy Muslim Link Staff

The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has for the second time vacated the sentence for Maryland youth Ali Asad Chandia, convicted in 2006 of providing material support to an organization fighting for Kashmiri independence from Indian occupation.

The government accused Chandia of assisting an operative of a Kashmir-based organization the US considers a “terrorist organization” by giving him rides, allowing him to use his home computer, and helping him ship paintballs to Pakistan.

The Court ruled that the District Court did not follow their instructions at an April 2008 resentencing, and has now ordered the trial judge to hold another resentencing.

After his trial in 2006, Chandia’s defense appealed both the conviction and the sentence. On the conviction, Chandia’s attorney argued among other things that the jury was prejudiced by the prosecution’s use of references to the

9/11 attacks, Usama Bin Laden, and other materials which had no relationship to the issue of Kashmir. The Court of Appeals rejected that argument and the guilty

verdict stood. However, the Court of Appeals found the defense’s complaint that the application of a “terrorism enhancement” on Chandia’s sentence – an enhancement which turned a normally 6 year sentence into a 15 year sentence – was not justified by the District Court. So, the Court of Appeals ordered the lower court to either justify the use of the terrorism enhancement on Chandia’s sentence, or re-sentence Chandia without using the terrorism enhancement.

At issue was whether Chandia provided material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba – the group fighting against the Indian occupation of Kashmir – with the intent to “influence the government’s conduct by intimidation or coercion.”

The Appeals Court stated in its judgment that “we are not comfortable holding that Chandia is a defendant who warrants harsh enhancement.”

Chandia, an elementary school teacher at the time of his arrest, was known as a youth activist and community work in the Muslim communities in Montgomery and Prince George’s County. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland

and had no prior criminal record before his indictment.

The lower court will again have to show that Ali Asad Chandia’s actions were intended to influence the government of India through “intimidation or coercion” and thus the terrorism sentencing enhancement is warranted. If the lower court cannot show this, the terrorism enhancement would not apply to Chandia, and he would have to be resentenced with a significantly lower prison time. If the judge ignores the instructions of the Appellate Court again, the higher court can remove the trial judge from the case and give it over to a different judge.

Ali Asad said he “remains optimistic that the justice will finally be served by the Judge of all judges.” He requested Muslims to pray for him and all the unjustly incarcerated Muslims. Currently Chandia is incarcerated at the Terre Haute, Indiana “CMU” - Communication Management Unit – a federal facilitiy set-up to house “terrorism” inmates, almost all of them Muslims. He will be brought back to Alexandria, Virginia for his resentencing.

A recent photo of Ali Asad Chandia who is serving a 15-year sentence for providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taibah, a group fighting the Indian occupation of Kashmir.


Al-Azhar Pencak Silat Represents at Baltimore TournamentBy Contributing Writers On Sunday, October 17, 2010, the Al-Azhar school of Martial competed in the 2010 Battle of Baltimore Martial Arts tournament. 25 members of the Al-Azhar Silat Team consisting of 13 competitors drove up from the Northern Virginia area to test their skills in one of the most well attended event in the recent history of the tournament. With attendance in the thousands coming from all over the DC area, competition was indeed great. The Silat team’s most recent tournament was at the 2010 Worldgate championships in Sterling, Virginia on September 18th. With a team of six students, Al-Azhar Silat school came back with two first-place trophies and close to a dozen second and third place trophies. As is the tradition with the Al-Azhar school, the team gathered at the Baltimore tournament and opened with dua (prayer) before the start of events. Although Pencak Silat (pronounced Pen-chak See-

lat) is a unique martial art developed by the Malay people with its own forms and rules, competitors in this open tournament completed with standard rules to be followed by all styles of martial arts. The Al-Azhar Silat team competed against students from different styles including Karate, Taekwondo, Kungfu, etc. Abdul-Malik Ahmad and Kak Terra Kurnia focused on coaching the Silat team as they competed in forms, weapons and sparring. The following students won first, second or third place trophies: Tahmeed Ullah, Urooba Khan, Taha Khan, Obaida Farid, Yusuf Farid, Julia Kurnia, Afra Nirar and Ameera Rasheed, Hameed Gheyaszada and Yunus Gheyaszada. Kak Terra Kurnia and Kak Abdul-Malik Ahmad also participated as judges for the tournament in multiple divisions. Senior instructor Kak Abdul-Malik Ahmad was also very happy to see a strong showing of Muslims at this tournament. “There were many Muslims there and I got a chance to meet instructors and

students from Aqabah martial arts school in College Park, Master Abdul-Muhsi and other students and instructors from across the East Coast”, states Ahmad. “I think it is very good to see more Muslims

involved in martial arts as it promotes fitness and good and focus and embodies principals of Islam such as disciple, self-control and peace.”

Aqabah Goes to Battle By Contributing Writers Aqabah Karate went to combat full force on Sunday, October 17, 2010 at Essex Community College in Essex, Maryland. The battlefield was set and the soldiers were readied, but there were no weapons involved; just fierce competition at the 28th annual Battle of Baltimore Martial Arts World Championships.

Last year only one competitor held the standard for Team Aqabah, but this time 14 students competed in the massive open tournament which hosts 232 Karate divisions along with 50 Kung Fu and Grappling divisions. Over 1000 people crammed the athletic center, including spectators, judges, and participants. Although the Aqabah Karate warriors were heavily outnumbered, they pulled through and managed to bring home a total of 9 trophies.

The majority of the Aqabah competitors were under 13 years old, yet their thirst for victory was unrivaled. As they sat waiting for their individual competitions to begin, their eyes were attentive, their minds

focused, and their bodies tense. When asked how he felt about competing for the first time in the 8-9 years beginner’s forms division, Rafi Sagoro, 8, simply said, “Very excited!” His father, Bayu Sagoro, admitted his son had worked hard in order to prepare for the tournament. Sagoro said, “He did this all by himself. He practiced every day.”

Another Aqabah student who was making his competition debut was Arif Kabir, and although he took 3rd place in both Karate forms and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, he expressed that the experience he gained was most valuable. He said, “It really helped me to reassess myself and understand what needs work and refinement.”

Aqabah parents cheered as they watched their children showcase their skills. Moira McGuire, whose children, Zakariya and Ayisha Korme, captured trophies in forms and sparring, brought her whole family to support the Aqabah Karate students. She said,

>> BATTLE Pg 11

The Al-Azhar Pencak Silat team, mainly composed of students from the ADAMS community in the Herndon, VA area, make a dua before each tournament. Here the group prays at the Battle of Baltimore. Photo courtesy of Al-Azhar School of Martial Arts.

Team Aqabah has some fun with their forms after the Battle of Baltimore, where they took home 9 trophies. Photo courtesy of Aqabah Karate.


“We want them to have the opportunity to compete and learn how to be good winners and also how to be good losers.” The Guadalupe family, parents of instructor Hernan Guadalupe, who also competed and won 2nd place in Kung Fu forms and

3rd in Karate forms, came all the way from New Jersey, just to cheer on their son and his students.

“We always support him in everything he does,” said Hernan’s father, Walter.

Both instructors, Muhib Rahman and Hernan were present to coach and encourage the students and their efforts

did not go unnoticed. Although the arena was congested with mobs at each post, Arif Kabir recalls seeing Instructor Muhib rushing through crowds to aid whichever competitor from Aqabah had reached their turn. He said, “SubhanAllah, it really made me reflect on how much care the instructors must have for us, that instead of having us run to their commands for once, they were rushing to cheer and

motivate us.”

Once the battle was over, the warriors packed their gear and their trophies, their indomitable spirit apparent on their joyous faces, and out of the sports arena they walked triumphantly into the radiant sunlit afternoon.

BATTLE>> continued from pg 10

Undefeated Baltimore Native Takes Third World TitleBy Contributing Writers

“You only fail when you give up, therefore I will always succeed because I will never give up.”

That is the personal motto of Shakim Shabazz, who won his third consecutive World Championship title at the Battle of Baltimore on October 17, 2010, one of the east coasts largest martial arts tournaments.

Shabazz, a member of the Bayt - Allah community in Baltimore City, defeated some of the nation’s top martial artists at the massive tournament, held this year in Essex, Maryland.

From 2007 to 2010 Shakim has been the defending champion with a undefeated point fighting record of 68 - 0.

“I have accomplished goals as an under belt that exceeded [my] expectations. With a new training regime from a ex-golden glove champion and a new sensi Master John Kellem of Dragon Tao I felt the outcome would go as planned. The match ended 6 – 0,” said Shabazz, who now has a sparring record of 69 – 0 with three world titles.

The long-time martial artist is preparing for the 2012 Olympic trials.

“With the mercy of Allah I will be going professional in 2011 and none of this could be possible without Allah and the support of my big sister Sandra,” said Shabazz.

The Baltimore native recently opened a training center in the city teaching

“Martial – Cation” – the study of martial arts through education. The program is Free from ages 5 - 80 yrs and covers

boxing and cardio kickboxing. For more information visit www.shabazzmartialarts.webs.com.

The Islamic Society of Baltimore held a forum for local and Congressional candidates on Saturday, October 16. Of over 30 invited candidates, almost 20 showed up representing the Maryland House of Delegates, Maryland Senate, Baltimore County Council, the Governor’s Office, the US Senate, and the US House of Representatives. Unfortunately, due to the large amount of candidates, just their opening remarks took over two hours, leaving no time for any questions or exchanges with the audience. At its peak, over 100 community members attended. Pictured above is the last candidate to give remarks, attorney Rick Martel who is running for State Senate. He said he uses the “ten commandments [from the Bible] to run” his life. His anti-incumbent message and disdain for political “business as usual” received the most applause from the audience. Little known libertarian party candidates, with their anti-war messages, also received appreciation from the ISB crowd. Photo by Muslim Link.

ISB Holds Candidate Forum

October 22nd - November 4th, 2010 12 | ADVERTISEMENT


Second Annual American Muslim Consumer Conference Set For NJBy Contributing Writers

The United States is the world’s largest economy made up of hundreds of healthy and robust sub-markets, some as large as some national economies. One of those markets is the American Muslim Consumers. Muslims in America are estimated at 6-8,000,000 with an annual spending of over $200Bln. The Muslim Market in the USA is both healthy and rapidly growing.

Muslim consumers average a high level of education and income above average, with a strong appreciation for family living. While the American Muslim consumers share many purchasing behaviors as other Americans, there are some distinct advantages of the American Muslim Market. Like other Americans, Muslim consumers are also sophisticated and discriminating with an above average capacity to purchase.

The American Muslim consumer

therefore provides a unique opportunity for companies in the USA. To highlight these opportunities, and to provide a platform where marketing professionals can exchange ideas and interact with key players in the Muslim marketplace, M-Link – a New Jersey based Muslim organization – launched an annual conference. This year the conference will be October 30 in New Jersey and will cover:

* American Muslim consumers – understanding who they are, where they are and their spending patterns.* Where is the market headed, Case Studies of major driving forces in food and finance * Selling to American Muslim Consumers. What and How?* Reaching the Muslim Consumers - Accessing the right media * Challenges and the Road Forward

Major Business Sectors:

* F inance / inves tments /banking/insurance* Home and business Financing* Retail and Consumables* Halal foods* Clothing and apparel* Education, schools, university, online* Tourism – vacation/entertainment/recreation* Charities* Technology Electronics* Media & Online* Health and body* Muslim religious products

Who will attend:

* Research executives who have studied and explored the American Muslim Market* Marketing and Advertising Executives of Companies that cater to American Muslims* Companies and executives who would like to access American Muslims* Companies and executives who would

like to learn about the American-Muslim Market* Marketing and advertising executives from corporate AmericaEntrepreneurs, investors and professionals interested in the American-Muslim Market

Some of the main speakers include P. Miles Young, CEO, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide; James A. Kocsi, District Director, U. S. Small Business Administration; Steven Pilchak, General Manager, Best Buy; Tariq Farid, Founder & CEO, Edible Arrangements International, Inc; Magali Rheault, Senior Analyst, Gallup Center for Muslim Studies; Dr. Mehmood Khan, Sr. Vice President & Chief Scientific Officer, PepsiCo, Inc; and Nausheena Hussain, Multicultural Marketing, Best Buy. For a complete speaker list, visit americanmuslimconsumer.com.

------------------------------------------------Source: M-Link

The Response: Scripting Reality at A Guantanamo Military TribunalBy Yaman ShalabiMuslim Link Staff

Hassan Ali Al-Aqar, chained to the ground in his orange jumpsuit, stood in front of three military officers, their name tags hidden under black tape. Was the prisoner an enemy fighting against the United States, or was he caught up in unfortunate circumstances?

Al-Aqar awaited the decision at his military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay.Though the scene could have been lifted from any current newspaper, its actually depicting actors in a fictional courtroom drama called The Response, a 30-minute movie focused on the struggles of these four people. The Response was recently screened at the Unitarian Universal Church of Rockville (UUCR) in Montgomery County, Maryland on Saturday, October 9, 2010.

Deborah Kahn, UUCR director of

religious education “hoped [the church] could be a meeting place for members of the community to come together that would allow open and respectful conversations.”

The film – produced in 2008 – stars Aasif Mandvi, a Middle East Correspondent’ on The Daily Show with John Stewart, who plays Hassan Ali Al-Aqar in the movie. The three officers are played by Kate Mulgrew, who played Captain Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager; Peter Riegert, who starred in Animal House; and Sigmond Libowitz, a lawyer and the producer and writer of the Response.

Libowitz got the idea of re-enacting the Guantanamo tribunals after taking a homeland security class at the University Of Maryland School Of Law. Before taking the class, Libowitz thought he had a well-rounded idea of what happens at Guantanamo. He was wrong.

“What electrified me to pursue this was that I didn’t know most of what was happening,” he said. “As I continued to read through military transcripts, I saw right off the bat that it would make for a compelling movie and I wanted to bring

it forward … the further into the layers of documents I went through, the more complex it got and I wanted to continue to dig deeper.”

Libowitz wanted The Response to take the audience inside the process at Guantanamo to see and hear for themselves what went on, and then have them decide the outcome.

“I don’t like that when you see a movie or read a book they tell you what to think. We thought let’s leave it to audience to decide. It’s a large issue in America; people should be able to decide for themselves,” he said.

The story of these characters is based on actual transcripts and documents of the Guantanamo tribunals, known as Combatant Status Review Tribunals or

>> TRIBUNAL Pg 15


rescue operations. “That’s really when it hit me, and I was like...this is real,” says Tawfiq in the PSA.

Both Odeh-Ramadan and Tawfiq were presented with CAIR’s 2010 American Hero Award.

Awad stressed the importance of these PSA’s, which were viewed by millions of people nationwide, in helping to counteract the negative image of American Muslims being pushed by individuals and organizations with a hate-mongering agenda.

Awad also announced a new “Islamophobia Department” in CAIR, which will organize conferences, educational programs and other events towards the goal of addressing this destructive sentiment in American society and encouraging dialogue, tolerance and mutual understanding. This department will also produce an annual Islamophobia report that will track incidents of attacks on Islam and Muslims. Awad said the first report would be published by the end of this year.

Imam Johari Abdul-Malik, Director of Community Outreach at Dar Al-Hijrah in Northern Virginia, conducted the fundraising portion of the program. With a strong start in which two donors contributed $50,000 each, the goal of $300,000 was met by the end of the evening.

Following dinner, CAIR presented its Lifetime Service Award to Helen Thomas, who has covered the White House from Presidents Kennedy to Obama, which included working 57 years for the United Press International, first as a correspondent, and later as White House bureau chief.

Over the last ten years, she was an opinion columnist for Hearst Newspapers, writing on national affairs. Thomas traveled the world with the presidents she covered, and has been one of the most notable Arab-Americans of her time. Thomas both took and left the stage to a long standing ovation from the audience.

Thomas expressed her sentiment that “war is hell” and leads to “so many lives lost in vain”. “No doubt, Muslims are politically demonized today,” she said. “We should get out of both Iraq and Afghanistan tomorrow...no, today.”

“In the last 10 years we’ve killed thousands. It’s too high a price for mindless revenge. For sanity’s sake, we should declare victory and come home. All we need is a conscience and courage,” said Thomas.

Dr. Robert Pape, author of the book “Cutting the Fuse”, introduced the audience to his research on the origins of suicide terrorism and how to stop it. In the book, about 2000 suicide attacks are examined. This covers every suicide attack worldwide from 1980 to 2009. Pape explained his conclusion, based on the vast data he had accumulated in his research, that the root cause of these attacks is not religion, as is commonly thought, but foreign military occupation. This triggers both secular and religious people to carry out such attacks.

“Tonight, I want you to join the growing movement...to make people reject any idea that Islam causes terrorism,” said Pape. “That can be done with highly reliable facts. On our website, we have 10,000 documents - about 4 per attack. That’s the kind of data that convinces skeptics.”

“95% of the suicide attacks have in common that they are a response to foreign occupation. Just as smoking causes lung cancer, occupation causes terrorism,” said Dr.Pape.

Dr.Pape encouraged every member of the audience to buy two copies of the book - one for themselves and one to give away - to help raise awareness of this research.

The keynote speaker for the evening was Dr.Tariq Ramadan, a professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University and a Senior Research Fellow at Doshisha University in Japan. A native of Switzerland and holding a PhD in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Geneva, Dr. Ramadan also obtained classical Islamic scholarship at Al-Azhar University in Egypt.

Dr. Ramadan requested the audience to avoid clapping during his talk, and instead engage their minds in what was being said. He explained how internal peace, which is attained through a deep and spiritual connection with the Creator and justice to one’s own self through maintaining and fortifying this connection, is a vital pre-requisite for a person to be able to be at peace with others and be able to interact in society with justice.

“Tawheed (believing in Allah) is the starting point of where we define our faith,” said Dr. Ramadan. “Being unjust to yourself means forgetting your heart. Being at peace means giving every aspect of your being its rights. You can go beyond fear if you are at peace with Allah.”

Dr. Ramadan reminded the audience that Muslims should be struggling against all injustice in society and not just for “Muslim rights”. “Everything is your problem,” said Ramadan, “Don’t just make alliances when you need them.”

He also stressed the importance of educating oneself and those in society in order to spread correct knowledge. “You will not get peace with your fellow citizens unless you are educating them,” said

Ramadan. “Faith is all about education and self-education. It needs to be a personal commitment to change those around you.”

Dr. Ramadan advised his listeners to “respect the fear of their fellow Americans”. He felt this fear was not surprising, given all the negative media about Islam that bombards them. “These people are the victims,” he said. “Don’t confuse the people with the politicians. The politicians know, the people don’t know. They need education. You don’t need to justify or apologize, just explain.”

Dr. Ramadan explained that Muslims needed to inculcate the “three L’s”; Law (abiding by the laws of the country), Language (including dimensions beyond the tongue, like understanding the culture, norms and customs of the society), and Loyalty (wanting the best for one’s country). He said just like African-Americans can claim the “common narrative” in this country, with no one questioning their “loyalty”, so, too, the Muslims must move beyond being viewed as the “other”, and become an unquestionable part of this country. Ramadan said Muslims must come up with the terms, the narrative and the phrases to use in the discussion on Islam and must not let others define those terms for them.

Dr. Ramadan reminded the audience that, just as Malcolm X understood the greater dimension of his struggle later in life, the Muslims must also understand that their struggle is one of justice against injustice and not one seeking justice for Islam and Muslims alone.

A CAIR leadership conference also took place at the venue earlier in the day, training Muslim activists on media engagement, political activism, and ways to respond to Islamophobic attacks.

CAIR>> continued from pg 6

khutba on the flu, a few bulleted points about the importance of the vaccine is sufficient. “A lot of members need to know the importance of the flu vaccine,” he said. “We could make it an annual effort if it gets attraction.”

Husain said the AMHP is trying to build a database of institutions to help get the

message out. “It’s about partnership, we can only do so much,” he said.

“We might have manpower to administer the drug,” said Husain. “That’s not the problem. The problem is getting people to understand how important it is.”

This was the case at the Islamic Community Center of Laurel last week at their flu shot event. With a low turnout, assistant to the director at ICCL Omar Khan said, “the flu shot service was not well attended

by the community. It was well set up as a service on our part, so we did our part inshallah.”

AMHP, along with other faith-based groups, was invited to the meet with administrators at the White House in September where they were asked to reach out to minority groups and explain the health care law. As part of this initiative, AMHP decided to contact Islamic organizations in the Washington D.C. area.

“We are trying to solidify our relationship with [the federal government],” said Husain. “We want them to see the impact of working with us.”

“We are blessed to be in a country where preventative measures are stressed upon, and we need to take advantage of that,” added Khalid Iqbal

FLU>> continued from pg 8


Write to us! Stop venting at dinner parties and in masjid parking lots. Cool down, get your points together, and send us a

letter to the editor or post a comment online. REACH US AT [email protected] http://www.muslimlinkpaper.com

SHAMELESS II>> continued from pg 5

executed “DC Sniper”, was the keynote speaker at the Banquet. She told a compelling story of intimidation and the fear under which she lived. Ms. Mohammad talked about going to her brother after her husband first threatened her. When he doubted her, she decided she would never go to him again for help. She brought to mind the point that battered and threatened women are often interrogated rather than defended: “Well, what did you do to make him do that?” or “Why do you stay?” Ms. Mohammad went on to say that, “… so much of domestic violence is often not physical.

There are no scars on the outside. Only about 20% of domestic violence and abuse is of the kind you can see… It is interesting to note that people will come running across the world to support a variety of physical ailments and diseases, but how many will come running for the cause of domestic violence?”

Domestic violence is unique in that its victims are often further victimized by society and the very organizations that profess to help them. Do we not consider child abusers, and abusers of the elderly or disabled, monsters? But it is not so with domestic abuse. These victims are often given inadequate help at social services. Many shelters only provide shelter for 30 to 90 days, often turning women out onto the streets, (hopefully to end up at

the doorstep of Muslimat Al-Nisaa). No meals are supplied. Some require the woman and her children not to be on the premises during the day. There are often alcoholics, drug abusers and men at shelters. Shelters can be as unsafe as the streets.

One should not forget the issue of faith. A Muslim woman may have issues with preparing food or eating food at a shelter, especially if she keeps halal. Often she is made to feel that her faith is what has kept her locked up as a victim and that her path to self-sufficiency is through leaving her faith behind. What effect does all this have on her children? Secular shelters can be as detrimental as faith based shelters that are ignorant of Islam and its true tenets.

As a community we should be incredibly proud of having a Muslim women’s shelter. Muslimat Al-Nisaa is so well known that even the American Consulate in Spain contacted Sister Asma in hopes of finding refuge for a Muslim woman in need. There are a number of communities that have Muslim social service organizations, but ours is the only one with a Muslim women’s shelter. It behooves us to support it financially and spiritually. Clearly, as a community, so far, we have failed in the later, as is evident by the lack of interest in its conference last weekend. Let us not fail in the former.

You may give your support through www.mnisaa.org.

CSRTs, which are non-public hearings conducted by three military officers to determine whether or not detainees at Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp are correctly categorized as illegal enemy combatants who pose a threat to the U.S. national security.

Accusations are brought against detainees; however, under CSRT rules, they are not allowed to see any classified information pertaining to their trial. Nor are they permitted to have an attorney. The government’s reasoning: classified information should not fall into the hands of a civilian attorney. CSRTs were first established July 7, 2004 by the order of the Department of Defense, just before the Supreme Court decisions in Rasul and Hamdi placed limits on President Bush’s power to hold people indefinitely without due process. Over 550 CSRTs were held within the next six months. “It is a story about these people that are thrust in these positions,” said Libowitz. “The power of movie is that it’s about

individuals. It’s not some guy in a jumpsuit and their not just people in military suits. Many officers are caught in the same web and are grappling with what to do. It’s completely different from what they were taught and what they are told. And I think we have to give credit for our current Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, who declassified a lot of documents, which is not the case with his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld.”

The Response was previously screened at the Pentagon, Department of Justice, Congress, West Point, Harvard, UCLA, and the U.N. Peace Operations and International Law Symposium. It was Shortlisted for the 2010 Academy Awards and won the 2009 ABA Silver Gavel Award. Libowitz said this movie allowed people to see the sides not considered and it has led to a lot of energetic debates, bickering and the pointing of fingers across the political response. He wanted to draw people in and allow for discussions about these matters.

“It’s a dramatic film which makes it much more interesting,” he said. “This affects people and we lose sight of that. And I don’t think you can talk about an issue

when you don’t know all the facts. We are taking complex issues and showing them in a human way like what you would see in court room dramas like Law and Order.”

“These are issues I care greatly about and I’ve done a lot of reading,” said Kahn. “It was presented so well and really put a human face on it. “The visual representation helped me know the complexities.”

After the screening at the church in Rockville, Libowitz opened up a discussion with a panel comprised of himself and two others: Chris Julka, a member at UUCR and the U.S. Navy Jags Corps who appeared as a private citizen, and Gordon Woodward, partner in the Washington D.C. office of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP who has represented five Guantanamo Detainees in habeas proceedings since 2005.

“People who should like this film are people who consider themselves patriots, even conservatives,” said Julka. It emphasizes the legal tradition of the United States. I found it restoring to my own faith in this country in that it

criticizes what we’ve done. It is faithful to traditional American legal values.”

“The film is excellent and it really rings true what hear talked about, both by the panel and by the detainee,” said Woodward. “It’s really what is said at the actual military tribunals. The language and phrasing to me, sounds like the actual dialogues or monologues that went on at the CSRT hearings. It is an extremely accurate representation and depiction of what went on. What is compelling, you can tell from the transcripts, is that a lot of the tribunal officers are grappling with the very issues they are grappling with in the movie.”

“This is an ideological war and I don’t think it’s going away,” said Libowitz. We need to consider how we want to move forward and figure out what we want to do.”

Libowitz is currently working on creating more dramas. “There are so many incredible stories to tell.”

For more information on The Response, visit: http://www.theresponsemovie.com/

TRIBUNAL>> continued from pg 13


of this beautiful message in the Quran at “Breaking Attitudinal Barriers.” The inaugural event for the newly formed ADAMS Accessibility Committee was held to address the needs of those with disabilities in our community and to explore ways to improve inclusion.

Dr. Tapan Banerjee, who is involved with several organizations addressing disability advocacy issues and a wheelchair user as a result of an injury, summarized the perception of disabilities in different cultures and religions. In India, for example, a disability is seen as bad karma. Likewise, in China when a child with a disability is born they are regarded as a burden and a shame to the family. In the Spanish speaking world where Catholicism is the predominant religion, a disability is regarded as a punishment from God. This often times leads the family to feel isolated and embarrassed by the community. Due to these myths and negative perceptions, these children receive little or no education.

Unfortunately, the Muslim community is far from free of these attitudes towards those with disabilities. We have neglected and mistreated those in our community with disabilities for far too long.

Mohammed Yousuf , founder o f EquallyAble, a non-profit organization that aids those with disabilities in

India and most recently in the US, stressed the importance of inclusion. Having grown up personally with a disability he spoke from his own experience about the challenges he faced: “Having lived with a disability most of my life, I am asked to bring the discussion on inclusion. When I was small I was so fragile, so weak, I’d go out in the street and would get called names. It is very difficult for people to accept those with a disability, especially where I was, in India. The first time I went to school, I was twelve years old.”

Yousuf recounted many stories and incidents in which Muslims lacked the understanding and empathy for those with disabilities, ranging from rejecting the idea of having a bathroom that is wheelchair accessible to behaving harshly with the disabled: “I once told a teacher to offer a lesson on inclusion to their students and she said we don’t need to because we don’t have any students with disabilities.” The reaction by Yousuf prompted him to ask the question: “Is that because there are no students with disabilities in the community or because your curriculum isn’t inclusive of them?”

In an interview, Yousuf spoke about the trend of parents with children with disabilities who keep their children from partaking in normal activities. He continued to point out that some people in the community discouraged those with disabilities from those activities, even from coming to the masjid. In once instance, a parent of a disabled child had been told not to bring their child to the

masjid because they said the wheelchair had najasat (impurities) on it. He said our community lacks sensitivity towards those with disabilities.

Imam Magid, the Imam of ADAMS Center in Dulles, VA, spoke about how the ADAMS community had answered the call for inclusion of those with disabilities and how the Muslim community as a whole should serve those with disabilities: “It is the people of faith that should open their door to every member of their community. We should not have the attitude of feeling sorry for people with disabilities. We should empower them and include them in our mosques and our committees. Every imam, priest, rabbi must do several seminars a year on how to include those with disabilities. Attitudes will not change until we include this in our daily teachings.”

Imam Magid continued to speak about the importance of educating Muslims about disabilities and providing literature on how the community can be more inclusive. From his personal experience Imam Magid mentioned that: “One of the greatest sheikhs who taught me Usool Al Fiqh (Fundamentals of Jurisprudence) was in a wheelchair…We should highlight the heroes in our religious communities who have disabilities.”

One example Imam Magid gave was how the ADAMS Center had encouraged those with disabilities to take on leadership positions and take a more active role. He mentioned how the ADAMS Center

would allow those with disabilities to deliver khutbas on Fridays. He stressed how this encouraged inclusion and allowed of those with disabilities to be allowed to take on larger roles in the community.

Sandra Chisolm, The Interfaith Liaison for the Faith Community in Action for Fairfax County, was present as well as Matt Barkly from the Fairfax Disability Services Planning & Development. They provided information on the services available to those with disabilities in Fairfax County. Speakers mentioned the great opportunity available to learn from other faiths.

According to Imam Magid, at least 10% of our community’s members have a disability. A positive community would go a long way in helping people with disabilities feel included. “We want to challenge people in our mosques to have people with disabilities to be full participants. By excluding them we lose a lot.”

On the other hand, there are some positive moves towards disabled access in the Muslim community. A few years ago, Dar Al-Hijrah gave an allowance for a sign-language interpreter to translate the khutbah every Friday to deaf juma’ attendees and this part Eid Al-Fitr, the Muslim American Society youth wing held a special Eid celebration for children with special needs in Northern Virginia.

ADAMS>> continued from pg 1

hijabs, some colorful, others in all black. Interspersed amongst them were students wearing white t-shirts emblazoned with a dome and a minaret; beneath and to the right of the design were the words “Anti-Racist/ Pro-Mosque”. Nearly 200 people attended the event – Muslims, non-Muslims, community members, and current and former students.

After watching news broadcasts discussing Qur’an burnings and hearing vitriolic comments about Islam, Zirin and Comissiong “realized [they] had to do something to counter this”.

Zirin told the audience they had to “be loud and proud… people of all faiths

need to stand against Islamophobia and [attacks against] Arabs. It’s a statement of principle that we are not going to be silent in the face of bigotry”.

On the panel, there was an unconscious theme that weaved its way through the discussion asking the audience not to blame Islam for the bad press but, to look more critically at those who have condemned the religion. “Challenge yourself to open your eyes, your hearts, your ears for the truth,” urged Omnia Joehar. “Not just the predigested information from the mainstream media.” The panelists made it clear that Muslims have to give the story of their religion in an uncompromising way and not allow the mainstream media to speak for them or the results would be unfavorable. Throughout, it could be felt that there was dissatisfaction with the way the image of

Islam has traditionally been handled by Muslims in the spotlight. “The discourse of Islamic leaders has been weak”, said Osama Eshera speaking passionately behind the podium. “We tell our fellow Americans Islam is not terrorism [but] we fail to tell them what Islam is. If we don’t stand up and establish our own identity then we risk being [disregarded]”. Also speaking on the perceived necessity to adjust the Islamic public relations model, Rayyan Ghuma commented that “Islamophobia is being used to justify occupation and oppression overseas and nobody needs to be apologetic in opposing that”.

While those in attendance were mainly Muslim, many others came together to support the cause of combating Is lamophobia including the two moderators. Comissiong is a Christian

and Zirin is Jewish. As Brother Hodari Abdul-Ali pointed out, “[Islamophobia] caused men and women, Christians and Jews, Socialists and social activists to come together. It caused all of us to come together…let’s give a hand to the haters for that”. Some however felt more needed to be done.

During the question and answer session, one student told of how “because I don’t look like I’m Muslim people would insult Islam in front of me.” Though she felt the program was a great effort, she hoped future programs would be directed at those who have had limited interactions with Muslims so those who “know nothing about Islam [could] come out to learn” about the religion and those who practiced.

ISLAMOPHOBIA>> continued from pg 6

17October 22nd - November 4th , 2010 ISLAM |

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Islam’s Treatment for Anxiety and WorryPraise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds, and Peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah, upon all his Family and Companions, and upon those who believe in his guidance and follow in his footsteps until the Day of Judgment.

It is the nature of this life that people will suffer from worries and stress, because this world is the place of disease, hardship and suffering. Hence among the things that distinguish Paradise from this world is the fact that there is no worry or stress there: “No sense of fatigue shall touch them, nor shall they (ever) be asked to leave.” [al-Hijr 15:48 – interpretation of the meaning]. Nothing ever upsets the people of Paradise, not even the slightest word: “No laghw (dirty, false, evil vain talk) will they hear therein, nor any sinful speech (like backbiting, etc.), but only the saying of Salaam! Salaam! (greetings with peace).” [al-Waaqi’ah 56:25-26 – interpretation of the meaning].

It is also the nature of this life that people have to put up with suffering and hardship for various reasons, as is indicated in the Qur’aan (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, We have created man in toil.” [al-Balad 90:4]. So people feel regret for what has happened in the past, anxious about what may happen in the future,

and worried about what is going on in the present.

Here are a few ways Islam offers to help deal with stress and worry.

Equipping oneself with eemaan (faith), accompanied by righteous deeds.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Whoever works righteousness, whether male or female, while he (or she) is a true believer, verily, to him We will give a good life (in this world, with respect, contentment and lawful provision), and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do (i.e., Paradise in the Hereafter).” [al-Nahl 16:97]

The reason for this is clear: the believers in Allaah whose faith is correct and motivates them to do righteous deeds that reform their hearts and characters, and change their status in this world and the next, have the basic principles according to which they deal with every kind of joy and grief that they may face. They receive blessings and joys with acceptance and thanksgiving, and put them to use in beneficial ways. When they do this, they feel happy and hope that it will last and will bring them reward for their gratitude, as well as other things that will supercede

the original goodness and blessings.

When faced with distress, harm, worries and anxieties, they try to resist them and reduce them as much as they can, and they react with befitting patience to the things in which they have no choice. They gain a lot of benefits as a result, such as: resilience and toughness as is appropriate; useful experience, strong willpower, patience, the hope of reward, and many other benefits which reduce the distress felt. Thus their anxiety is replaced with joy and the hope of blessings and reward from Allaah, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stated in the saheeh hadeeth: “How marvellous is the affair of the believer! Everything that happens to him is good, and this does not apply to anyone except the believer. If something good befalls him, he gives thanks for it, and that is good for him. If something bad befalls him, he bears it with patience, and that is good for him.” This is the way in which we may view calamities in a positive light. Another example is:

Thinking of how the Muslim may earn expiation for his sins, purify his heart and raise his status, when he is stricken with distress and worry in this life.

The Messenger of Allaah (peace and

blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Nothing of fatigue, illness, distress, worry, grief or harm befalls the Muslim, not even a prick from a thorn, but Allaah will accept it as expiation for some of his sins.”

According to a report narrated by Muslim: “No illness, fatigue, sickness or grief befalls the Muslim, not even worries, but it will be an expiation for some of his sins.”

The one who is distressed or worried should know that whatever psychological pain afflicts him is not wasted, but serves a purpose in increasing his hasanaat (good deeds) and expiating for his sayi’aat (bad deeds). The Muslim should realize that if it were not for disasters and afflictions, we would come empty-handed on the Day of Resurrection, as some of the salaf (early generations of Islam) pointed out, which is why they would rejoice when misfortune struck just as we rejoice at times of ease.

When a person understands how the disasters that befall him expiate for his sins, he will rejoice and be of good cheer, especially if that happens to him straight

>> ANXIETY Pg 18

October 22nd - November 4th, 2010 18 | ISLAM

The Muslim Link newspaper is looking for full and part-time candidates to fill upcoming staff writer positions.

The ideal candidates are committed Muslims who have a penchant for good writing, are involved in community work, have a strong work ethic, and believe in establishing Muslim media.

To join our team and start on a job which offers ground breaking opportunities and excitement, send your resume, cover letter, and a writing sample to the editor.

Start your involvement in Muslim media today! Email [email protected].

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after he has committed a sin, as happened to some of the Sahaabah, may Allaah be pleased with them. ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mughaffal (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that a man met a woman who had been a prostitute during the time of Jaahiliyyah. He started to joke with her, then he touched her. She told him, “Watch it! Allaah has destroyed shirk (once ‘Affaan said: has destroyed Jaahiliyyah) and has brought us Islam.” The man went

away, and walked into a wall, cutting his face. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came along, so the man told him what had happened, and he said: “You are a slave for whom Allah wishes good. When Allaah wishes good for His slave, He hastens the punishment for his sin; when He does not wish good for His slave, he withholds the punishment until the matter is settled on the Day of Resurrection, when all of his sins will be brought forth together.”

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When Allaah

wishes good for His slave, He hastens to bring about his punishment in this world, and if He does not wish good for him, He withholds the punishment until he is dealt with for his sin on the Day of Resurrection.”

Seeking refuge in prayer

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And seek help in patience and al-salaat (the prayer)…” [al-Baqarah 2:45].

Hudhayfah said: “Whenever the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was grieved by something, he used to pray.” When Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) heard about the death of his brother, he stopped at the side of the road – as he was on a journey – and prayed, following the command of Allaah.

------------------------------------------------Source: Excerpted with edits from “Dealing with Worries and Stress” by Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid

ANXIETY>> continued from pg 17

the falsehood and blasphemy! What laughable foolishness, but as it is said: the worst calamity is what makes you laugh.

Anyone who believes that a man called Fard Muhammad is Allah (God), and that Elijah Muhammad is a prophet, invalidates BOTH parts of the testimony of faith in Islam: “There is no god except Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.” This is far worse than the Qadiyani issue above. When the Shahadah (testimony of faith) is invalidated there is no Islam. “Nation of Islam” leader, Louis Farrakhan, up to this day, teaches the same doctrines as Elijah Muhammad his mentor and prophet. The evidence is ample in his writings and speeches, and in the official newspaper of the NOI, called the “Final Call”. On October 17, 2010, just over a month after Farrakhan appeared at the

Coalition of African-American Muslims (CAAM) press conference alongside some of the most prominent African-American Muslim leaders in the nation as reported in the Muslim Link newspaper’s September 24, 2010 issue, he gave a speech in Tampa, Florida covered by the “Final Call”:

“He talked about how injustice in America had reduced and injured Blacks to such a degree that God Himself would have to come, and has come, to deliver a suffering people and judge the mighty nation they were forced to serve.

“When a government gets so beyond the pale that humans cannot correct it, Divine intervention comes into play and God has intervened in America, appearing as the Great Mahdi, a powerful human being imbued with the power and wisdom of the Almighty, he said. That Mighty One, Master Fard Muhammad, taught and raised the Honorable Elijah Muhammad from a spiritually dead nation and raised him to the position of Christ, one anointed with power to crush the wicked, said

Min. Farrakhan.” – From “Farrakhan takes Tampa!”, the Final Call, published October 19, 2010 by Final Call staff writers

We need to emphasize the great danger we face, and that out continued effort to expose the great lies of Liars is needed. This is a core and “existential” danger for Islam in America. But an even a greater danger is that the leaders of CAAM, including some highly respected and well known local and national figures who are not ignorant about the lies of Elijah Muhammad and Louis Farrakhan, shared the spotlight with Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam to make a joint statement about the bigotry and Islamaphobia surrounding the “ground zero mosque” project in New York. Many gullible Muslims may think that Farrakhan is a legitimate leader by association with these respected leaders of CAAM. This is a terrible shame, and this

discredits all the Muslims in America. If these ‘leaders’ are ignorant about Elijah Muhammad and Farrakhan, we would have a big problem. That our leaders are aware of Farrakhan’s deception is an even worse danger. Farrakhan used this CAAM initiative to propagate his own legitimacy as an important ‘Muslim” leader, and our leaders went along with it. What Islam is he the leader of? Is this the Islam you want to be published and propagated? The Muslim leaders of CAAM are complicit in this dangerous deception. All the Muslim leaders who took part in the CAAM press conference, or signed the press release, should publicly disassociate Islam from Farrakhan, and should clearly state that he is not a Muslim, or a Muslim leader.

Abu Salman Deya ud-Deen EberleMaryland------------------------------------------------The writer is a student of knowledge and doctoral candidate at the Islamic University of Medina.

LIES>> continued from pg 19


OpinionOPINION |

>> MISTAKE Pg 20

By A. Idris Palmer

All praise is to Allah, and may prayers and peace be upon his final Messenger, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, and upon all those who strive upon his path until the Day of Judgement, ameen. To proceed:

I ask Allah to reward any Muslim for taking a stance against ‘bigotry and Islamophobia’ as they should be congratulated for showing integrity and courage in the face of this onslaught (See “African-American Muslim Leaders:

Opposition to Masjid Is Racism” in the September 24, 2010 issue of the Muslim Link) . I hope that Allah guides them in their endeavors. Yet as an independent researcher who has chronologized the near 90 year history of the Nation of Islam cult, and who quite frankly knows this group better than many members of the Nation themselves know, I was surprised to read about the CAAM meeting and their inclusion of Minister Louis Farrakhan.

Watching the CAAM broadcast, I could not help but notice that NOI dominated

the microphone. Thus I am obliged to reply by way of naseehah- for the sake of Allah, His Messenger, and the Ummah of believers.

Someone commented that, ‘globally the attempts to undermine Islam in Muslim lands will fall flat, as Islam is too firmly entrenched there; yet here in America, due to a weak foundation on the part of Muslims in issues of belief, along with a strong social undercurrent of secular humanism, Islam can be controlled, manipulated and changed.’

The CAAM meeting and press conference vividly displays how far issues of basic belief have now become a distant memory in much of North America. The participants appear to have placed the dead philosophy of secular interfaith politics above the vibrant and dynamic future of Islam.

Indeed, by allowing Nation of Islam

A Huge Mistake Aligning With Farrakhan

God Was Born and Lived in Detroit | The Lies of Louis Farrakhan By Abu Salman Eberle

The name Ghulam Ahmad Al-Qadiyani is usually not mentioned except along with the epitaph “the Liar” and “the False Prophet.”

This is to the great credit of the many Indo-Pakistanis who worked diligently for decades to expose the great lie of Ghulam Ahmad, the liar who claimed that he was a prophet who received revelation from Allah, and who maintained this great lie until his dishonorable death.

Anyone who believes that Ghulam Ahmad is a prophet invalidates the second part of the testimony of faith in Islam: “There is no god except Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of God.” It is to the credit of the Supreme Court of Pakistan that they realized this grave threat to Islam and they formally declared the avowed followers of Ghulam Ahmad to be non-Muslims. We American Muslims have not lived up to the challenge about two great American liars: the late Elijah Muhammad and his successor Louis Farrakhan. This is to our great shame and discredit, and it

perpetuates a danger that appears to be growing even stronger. These two great liars, especially the latter, have received the spotlight in the media and have done irreparable damage to the image of true Islam in America by their grand deceptions and shenanigans. Elijah Muhammad’s beliefs are know and documented , and the details are in his books “Message to the Blackman” and “The Fall Of America” and his speeches and other writings. His declared beliefs include, among others, that: the “Hereafter” is in the here and now, not

in a life after death and resurrection; there is no real Paradise and Hellfire; all black men are angels, and all white men are devils; Elijah Muhammad was the “Messenger of Allah” sent to teach and guide all black men and women and to save them; and “Allah” was a man named ‘Master’ Fard Muhammad who appeared in human form on the streets of Detroit, Michigan in July of 1930.

May Allah be Exalted High above

>> LIES Pg 18

October 22nd - November 4th, 2010 20 | CIVIL RIGHTS

Presidential Non-Answers: A Townhall With ObamaBy Azam Ikramullah

On October 14th, I had the privilege of attending a town hall with President Obama sponsored by BET, CMT and MTV. The town hall, entitled, “A conversation with President Obama,” aired live at 4 PM on all three networks. The studio audience was made up of 230 young students from all races, ethnicities and religions. This was not the only town hall Obama has held in the lead up to the November 2nd general elections, in order to enthuse the Democratic base and demystify the fear, uncertainty and doubt about Obama’s decisions the past two years.

President Obama took questions from the audience, which ranged widely from education to cyber-bullying to social security reform. Unfortunately, the scope

of questions tended to be exclusively domestic; neglecting the serious questions Obama has to answer for when it comes to his foreign policy. In addition, it seemed as though many of the questions were simply a regurgitation of questions asked every day. And, the questions that were unique were met with standard political jargon. After the event, one questioner was asked if they thought the President answered her question; her response was that after she got over the shock of actually conversing with Obama, she realized that he didn’t really answer her question. And I believe statements like that best describe the MTV event.One moment that stood out to me was the President’s response to a question regarding race relations by Kishor Nagula. After pointing out the controversy over Arizona’s immigration law, the Islamic

cultural center in Manhattan and other issues, Nagula asked the President, “What’s happened?” And, while Obama made a good point that race relations get worse during tough economic times, he ended by saying the “trend line” is looking good. I know a lot of Muslims around the country who don’t feel like the trend line is looking up for them. In fact, the trend line is starting to accelerate in the downward position. And while America isn’t banning Islamic dress like France, many Muslims are attacked physically or verbally every day in this country simply for believing in Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him).This event can best be described as a missed opportunity for the President and, indirectly, the Democratic Party. Instead of simply repeating old rhetoric, the President should have used this event as a

call to action, because if drastic measures are not taken, Democrats will lose many seats in both the House and Senate. And I don’t want that, and neither should you, because as bad as it may be, it will only be worse with Republicans in control. And while I didn’t have an opportunity to ask the President a question, I did have the privilege of shaking his hand after the show ended. As he was walking towards me, I debated what to say to him. I could have simply exchanged some pleasantries, but this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. So as we shook hands I said to him, “we have to help the Palestinians.” And as he was moving on, he said to me, “I’m working on it.”

Azam Ikramullah is majoring in Information Systems and Finance at The University of Maryland.

leader Louis Farrakhan to be a member of and the featured speaker for their coalition and moreover having his people dictate the venue, they have opened a Pandora’s box which they will discover is impossible to close. It is an issue much graver than taking a stand as Pakistan did years ago with the Qadianis. As American Muslims, we stand by the shore awaiting a tsunami. News travels quickly in the 21st century - do not think other groups have not taken notice of this meeting. The door is now wide open to accept not only the Qadianis but also the Ismailis, Bahais etc. as ‘brothers in faith’. This is not an outlandish possibility, since the NOI still advertises the Qadiani translation, tafseer and aqeedah on their website.

What some people do not realize, is that Farrakhan is not a Muslim, but rather he is a heterodox, esoteric Batini who for over 55 years has masqueraded as a Muslim. He publicly maintains the same pantheistic, esoteric doctrines as that of his teacher, Elijah Muhammad, and uses any opportunity he has to restate his conviction to Elijah’s teachings- including his speech before CAAM!

It was Elijah Muhammad, who declared up to his death in 1975, that he was, ‘the Messenger of Allah,’ and that Allah was a man. According to Elijah, Allah had a father named Alfonso and a Jewish mother named Baby Gee. Elijah said the Hereafter is now and all black men are angels. One of these angels he claimed, was named Allah, who appeared in human form on the streets of Detroit, Michigan in July of 1930. Farrakhan to this day, teaches this same doctrine- ‘Yacub’s History’ as is evidenced on pages 45-52 of his study guide on his website.

Elijah explained this concept in detail in his books, “Message to the Blackman” and “The Fall Of America.” He taught that blacks were originally “moon people” and that a UFO “mother wheel”, piloted by 13 youths perpetually orbited the earth, waiting to unleash global destruction on whites, while rescuing all blacks. The UFO inspiration doctrine even caught the eye of mainstream media. At the time of the 1995 Million Man March, Farrakhan alleged he had a, “vision of being swept into a UFO that took him to a larger mothership.” While in the UFO, he claimed to have spoken to the late Elijah Muhammad before being beamed back to earth. (The Washington Post, Sept. 18, 1995, p. D3). On nationally televised Meet the Press, Tim Russert questioned

Farrakhan about Yacub’s History and the UFO concept, to which Farrakhan replied, ‘I subscribe to every word the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us.’ (April 13, 1997)

Years ago a brother said, “Farrakhan’s ideology is the same as Pharaoh. This is not part of Islam, a form of Islam or anything which could move incrementally toward Islam. This is the din of Shaitaan. It is absolutely diametrically opposed to the very foundation of Islam. In fact, the Nation of Islam is the move on the part of the Kuffar against Islam ever developing a foothold in the US. You seriously underestimate your enemy. They are much deeper and more clever than most of us who react to events on a very shallow level without any understanding of the fundamentals of Tauhid on which all of Islam is based.”

It is thus impossible for anyone to try to make a distinction between Farrakhan and his UFO inspiration, or stand against bigotry while aligning oneself with Farrakhan. Neither Farrakhan nor his personnel make a distinction, why then should we Muslims make a distinction? Moreover, it is an error to oversimplify the issue by denouncing Farrakhan’s racist diatribes and playing down Farrakhan’s God-is-a-man and Prophet-after-Muhammad aqeedah. In fact, Farrakhan ignores the basic precept

of the shahada- that is, it is a NEGATION and THEN an affirmation. One must first NEGATE (LA ILAHA), before affirming belief (IL ALLAH). To invert this basic precept as some have done, is unheard of even among the most lax of the Muslims. Thus when he remarks in his opening CAAM address, ‘..we believe in all of His prophets, and make no distinction between them.’ Since Farrakhan is an esoteric Batini, he is by default INCLUDING Elijah AMONG those prophets. Only by ignoring the aforementioned principle can Farrakhan and his like slip by unnoticed and manage to camouflage themselves as Muslims.

In the end, bigotry and ‘Islamophobia’ have little to do with the issue. Surely, bigotry is contrary to Islamic principles and Islam rejects it. However, the deviation of Elijah Muhammad, Louis Farrakhan and those who follow them are MUCH more serious than racism. It is the sin which Allah DOES NOT forgive. “Inna Allah laa yaghfiru an yushraka bihi, wa yaghfiru maa duna dhalika li may yashaa” (Sura Nisa:116). If Farrakhan would leave his man-is-god and prophet-after-Muhammad aqeedah, but was still a raving racist, he would be much better off than the other way around! Let it be said very clearly, that there is NO ideology on the face of this earth which could be farther from Islam than that of Louis Farrakhan. NONE!

MISTAKE>> continued from pg 19


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Salaah times for October 22nd - November 4th, 2010Day Date Hijri Fajr Dhuhr Asr IshaFri 22 14/11 6:12 7:24 12:53 3:54 6:20 7:34Sat 23 15/11 6:13 7:25 12:53 3:53 6:19 7:33Sun 24 16/11 6:14 7:26 12:53 3:52 6:18 7:31Mon 25 17/11 6:15 7:27 12:53 3:51 6:17 7:30Tue 26 18/11 6:16 7:28 12:53 3:50 6:15 7:29Wed 27 19/11 6:17 7:29 12:52 3:49 6:14 7:28Thu 28 20/11 6:18 7:30 12:52 3:48 6:13 7:27Fri 29 21/11 6:19 7:32 12:52 3:47 6:12 7:26Sat 30 22/11 6:20 7:33 12:52 3:46 6:10 7:25Sun 31 23/11 6:21 7:34 12:52 3:45 6:09 7:24Mon 1 24/11 6:22 7:35 12:52 3:44 6:08 7:23Tue 2 25/11 6:23 7:36 12:52 3:44 6:07 7:22Wed 3 26/11 6:24 7:37 12:52 3:43 6:06 7:21Thu 4 27/11 6:25 7:38 12:52 3:42 6:05 7:20

Prayer times generated from www.islamicfi nder.com for the WASHINGTON, DC area.

If a person had a stream outside his door and he bathed in it fi ve times a day, do you think he would have any fi lth left on him?” The people said, “No filth would remain on him whatsoever.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said, “That is like the fi ve daily prayers: Allah wipes away the sins by them.”

---Hadith in Sahih al Bukhari and Muslim

SALAAH TIMES


ADAMS CENTER:46903 Sugarland Rd, Sterling,VA 20164, Tel: 703-433-1325, www.adamscenter.org.

ALL MUSLIM BROTHERS ASSOCIATION3900 King StreetAlexandria, VA 22302703-647-0515Jumma Prayer ONLY - 1:15 p.m

AVONDALE ISLAMIC CENTER:4637 Eastern Ave., Hyattsville, MD, 20782,Tel: 301-779-9292.

BADR COMMUNITY CENTER OF DUMFRIES (BCCD)17794 Main StreetDumfries, VA 22026Tel: 703-585-1689, 703-554-7983www.bccd.org E-mail: [email protected]

BAITUL MUKARRAM:2116 S Nelson St., Arlington, VA, 22204, Tel: 703-778-1550.

DAR AL HIJRAH:3159 Rowe St.,Falls Church, VA 22044, Tel: 703-536-1030, www.hijrah.org.

DAR AL-NOOR (MUSLIM ASSOC. OF VA): 5404 Hoadly Rd., Manassas, VA 20112, Tel: 703-580-0808, Fax: 703-221-8513, www.daralnoor.org.

DAR AL-TAQWA:10740 Rte. 108, Ellicott City, MD 21042, Tel: 410-997-5711, www.taqwa.net.

DAR UL ULOOM, 6334 Dogwoood Rd, Baltimore, MD 21207, 410-493-0785 Email:[email protected]

DAR UL-GHURABA (Masjid ur Rahmah):155 Baker St., Emporia, VA 23487,

DAR-UL HUDA:6666 Commerce St.,

Springfield, VA 22150, Tel: 703-922-0111, www.darulhuda.org

DAR-US-SALAAM:5301 Edgewood Rd. College Park, MD 20740,Tel: 301-982-9848, www.darussalaam.org.

FIRST HIJRA MUSLIM COMM. CENTER:4324 Georgia Ave, NW Washington, DC 20011www.firsthijrah.org.

ICNA VA CENTER:2913 Woodlawn Trail, Alexandria, VA 22306. 703-660-1255

IDARA DAWAT-O-IRSHAD:4803 Valley St, Alexandria, VA 22312703-256-8622, www.irshad.org.

IRHSCA (ISLAMIC RESEARCH AND HUM. SERVICES CENTER OF AMERICA):Chambers Ave, Capitol Heights, MDTel: 301-324-5040, www.irhsca.org.

ISLAMIC CENTER OF MARYLAND (ICM):19411 Woodfield Rd. Gaithersburg,MD 20879Tel:301-840-9440, www.icomd.org.

ISLAMIC CENTER OF NORTHERN VA TRUST (ICNVT):4420 Shirley Gate Road, Fairfax, VA, 22030 Tel: 703-941-6558, [email protected] | www.icnvt.org

ISLAMIC COM. CENTER OF LAUREL (ICCL):7306 Contee Rd., Laurel, MD 20707Tel: 301-317-4584, www.icclmd.org

ISLAMIC HERITAGE CENTER (IHC): 262 A-3 Cedar Ln., Vienna, VA 22180Tel: 703-206-9056.

ISLAMIC SOC. OF

ANNAPOLIS (ISA): 2635 Riva RdSuite 110Annapolis, MD 21401 Tel: 410-266-6660 www.isamd.org, Email: [email protected]

ISLAMIC SOC. OF FREDERICK (ISF):1250 Key Parkway , Frederick,MD 21702Tel: 301-682-6090, www.isfmd.org.

ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF GERMANTOWN (ISG):19900 Brandermill Rd., Germantown, MD 20876Tel: (301)-972-0765, www.isgtown.org.

ISLAMIC SOC. OF SOUTHERN PG COUNTY (ISSPGC): P O Box 99, Clinton, MD 207355410 Indian Head Hwy, Oxon Hill, MD 20745Tel: 240 603 4618

ISLAMIC SOC. OF THE WASHINGTON AREA (ISWA):2701 Briggs Chaney Rd. Silver Spring, MD 20904Tel: 301-879-0930, www.iswamd.org.

ISLAMIC SOC. OF WESTERN MARYLAND:2036 Day Rd., Hagerstown, MD 21740Tel: 301-797-0922.

IVY CITY MASJID: 2001 Galludet St. NE, Washington, DC 20002 Tel: 202-529-3100.

LA PLATA MASJID:111 Howard Street, La Plata, MD 20646Tel: 301-609-8769.

MAKKAH LEARNING CENTER (MLC):814 Brandy Farms Ln Gambrills, MD 21054Tel: 410-721-5880 www.isamd.org, Email: [email protected] MANASSAS MOSQUE: 12950 Center Entrance Ct, Manassas, VA

Tel: 703-257-5537.

MASJID AL-GHURABAA: 8220 Washington St., South, Laurel, MD 20724. Tel: 301-604-3295.

MASJID AL-HIKMAH:11064 Livingston Road Unit L (101) Ft. Washington, MD 20744, Tel: 301 292-9009.

MASJID UL-HAQ:514 Islamic Way (Wilson St. ), Baltimore, MD 21217Tel: 410-728-1363.

MASJID AL-ISLAM: 4603 Benning Rd., SE, Washington, DC 20019e-mail: [email protected]

MASJID AL-INSHIRAH: 7832 Fairbrook Road , Windsor Mill, MD 21244Tel: 410-298-2977, Fax: 410-298-0266, www.al-inshirahweb.net.

MASJID AL-MUMINEEN: 2642 Harford Rd. Baltimore, MD 21218Tel: 410-467-8798.

MASJID JAMAAT AL-MUSLIMEEN: 4624 York Rd., Baltimore, MD 21212Tel. 410-891-8451

MASJID MUHAMMAD: 1519 4th St. NW, Washington D.C. 20001Tel: 202-483-8832.

MASJID AN-NUR: 5418 Ebenezer Road, White Marsh, MD 21162Tel: 410-663-9637, Fax: 410-663-9817.

MASJID AL-RAHMAH/ISB: 6631 Johnny Cake Rd. Baltimore, MD 21244Tel: 410-747-4869, www.isb.org

MASJID AS SAFFAT: 1335 W. North Ave. Baltimore, MD 21217Tel: 410-669-0655.

MASJID BAIT-ALLAH: 1910 Frederick Avenue (2 Floor) Baltimore, MD 21223

Tel: 443-224-4423, E-mail:[email protected]. www.masjidbaitallah.org

MASJID IBN TAYMIYYAH: 8000 MLK Highway, Glenarden MDTel: 301-461-9325.

MASJID ZAMZAM1510 Lynch Road,Dundalk, MD 21222Phone: 410-284-2840

MEDINA CENTER:11600 Falls Road, Potomac MD 20854www.medinacenter.net

MUSLIM COM. CENTER (MCC): 15200 New Hampshire Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20905Tel: 301-384-3454,www.mccmd.org.

MUSLIM SOC. OF WASHINGTON, D.C. (MSWDC):Howard Center, Room 805 (Above HU Bookstore)Tel: 202-328-3236, www.mswdc.org.

MUSTAFA CENTER: 6844 Braddock Rd., Annandale, VA 22003.

PRINCE GEORGES MUSLIM ASSOC. (PGMA):9150 Lanham Severn Rd. Lanham, MD, 20706, Tel: 301-459-4942, www.pgmamd.org.Imam’s Office: 301-459-1441, [email protected].

RANDALLSTOWN ISLAMIC CENTER9019 Marcella Ave. Randallstown, MD 21133Tel: 410 971 4018www.ricbaltimore.org

SOUTHERN MARYLAND ISLAMIC CENTER(SMIC): 1046 Solomons Island Rd, Huntingtown, MD, 20639.Tel: 410- 535-0000

THE ISLAMIC CENTER:2551 Mass. Ave. NW Washington D.C. 20008Tel: 202-332-8343

Do you have additions, changes, or corrections to the event listings in the Muslim Link? Email us at [email protected], or call us at 301-982-1020.MASJID LOCATOR

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October 22nd - November 4th, 201024 |

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you will be returned.” (Surah Al-Anbiya:35)”

Upcoming Events In Your Area

Shaikh Yusuf Islahi Visits the Mid-Atlantic AreaFriday, October 22 2010Alhamdu Lillha, like past several years, Shaikh Yusuf Islahi is visiting the Mid Atlantic area from Friday, Oct 22nd to Sunday, Oct 24th insha Allah. Schedule: Salisbury, MD; Friday, Oct 22, 2010. Time: 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Islamic Society of Delmarva; 7843 Jersey Road; Salisbury MD 21801. For more info contact Dr. Mohsin Ansari at 410 845 1084 or Br.Waheed Aziz at 410 430 8500. Gaithersburg, MD; Saturday, Oct 23, 2010 Time: 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Islamic Center of Maryland; 9411 Woodfi eld Rd; Gaithersburg, MD 20879. For info call 301- 840-9440. Fairfax, VA; Saturday, Oct 23, 2010. Time: 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Islamic Center Northern Virginia Trust; 4420 Shirley Gate Rd; Fairfax, VA 22030. For info call Sadiq Hussain 703-338-7132. Harrisburg, PA; Sunday, Oct 24, 2010. Time: 12:00 noon to 2:00 pm. Islamic Society of Greater Harrisburg; 407 N. Front St.; Steelton, PA 17113. For Info contact Mohammed Murtuza Ali 717-599-0492. Laurel, MD; Sunday, Oct 24, 2010. Time: 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Islamic Community Center of Laurel; 7306 Contee Road; Laurel, Maryland 20707. For info call 301-317-4584.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ILIA Parenting Leadership Workshop - Communications SkillsSaturday, October 23 2010, 8:30am - 5:00pmMake the Click Bridge the Gap Inshaa Allah this 7 hr intensive workshop will provide insights into the lives of teens, and provide parents and educators with tools and approaches they can use to deal effectively with diffi cult situations. It is a mix of presentation, group activities, exercises, assessments and case study analysis from real situations in our Muslim communities in North America. When: Oct 23rd, 2010 Where: 500 Grove St, Herndon, VA Register online at : http://www.islamicleadership.org Workshop includes a 60 minute exam at the end of the day. All applicants who score 80% or higher receive (1) ILIA Educational Unit. Financial Aid available for eligible applicants: Complete form from www.islamicleadership.org and email prior to registration for a discount code.Location: Herndon, IIIT/Fair Fax Insittute Training Center Contact: Islamic Leadership Institute of America (ILIA)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mission Excellence-TutoringFrom Sunday, October 17 2010 - To Sunday, December 26 2010Open Enrollment: Email [email protected] for more information, or register online for a block of 2, 5 or 10 hours of tutoring. Ellicott City Address: 3565 A2, suite 202, Ellicott Mills Dr, Ellicott City, Maryland 21043-4544 College Park: University of Maryland, College Park NOW: SAT Prep Available: Tutor and guide young Muslims to become academically competitive in an Islamic environment while further fostering their leadership skills, and build a clear connection between their Islamic identity and their career and academic objectives. ILIA tutor’s will teach high school students (mostly those entering their junior/senior years) in the SAT to give them the best chance in increasingly competitive college admissions. Location: 3565 A2 Suite 202, Ellicott Mills Dr, Ellicott City, MD 21043 Contact: http://iliatutoring.eventbrite.com Register at http://www.islamicleadership.org---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOVA Candidate NightTuesday, October 26 2010, 6:00pm - 9:00pmCouncil of Muslim Organizations & NOVA Civic Coalition Presents NOVA Candidate Night. Hosted at Dar-Alnoor Islamic Community Center with support from: ADAMS, Dar Al-Hijrah, Darul Huda, Mustafa Center, and Islamic Center of Northern Virginia. All candidates for the 11th Congressional District of Virginia are invited to attend. Confi rmed: Congressman Gerry Connolly (D); Challengers: Keith Fimian (R) & David Dodson (Libertarian). Candidates will speak and take questions. All Welcome. Free Dinner served at 6:00 PM. For more info: Imam Johari Abdul-Malik 202-345-5233; Robert Marro 703-421-8045; Imam Zia 703-622-4411; Wasim Entabi 703-731-0753; Rafi Ahmed 571-334-3011; Anwar Haddam 703-623-9653; Zahid Hameedi 202-431-3099. www.ccmodc.orgLocation: Dar-Alnoor Islamic Community Center; 5404 Hoadly Rd., Woodbridge, VA 20112---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10-18-10 Sixty fi ve year old Kareem Ali has returned to Allah (SWT). Inna lillahe wa inna Ilaihe raajeoon. To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return (2:156). Kareem’s salatu-janaza was held on October 19, 2010 in Silver Spring, MD. May Allah (SWT) forgive Kareem’s sins, give his family patience, and enter him into Jannat ul Firdaus. Amen. (Source: ISWA)

10-11-10 Inna Lil’ahi Wa inna Elaihi Rajeoon. Our dear friend Br. Adel Sobh died and returned to Allah SWT. He survived by his wife Sr. Bella Sobh and his sons Amr and Khalid. His Janazah was on Monday, October 11, 2010 in Sterling, VA. May Allah SWT forgive all of his sins and enter him Jannah and give his family patience, Ameen. (Source: ADAMS)

10-10-10 Mujahid Taalibdin, a youth from the Dar-us-Salaam community and the second son of long-time Al-Huda School teacher Habibah Taalibdin, was shot and killed late Saturday night at a gas station in DC. His janaza was held Tuesday, 12 October at Dar-us-Salaam and he was buried at the Maryland National Memorial cemetery in Laurel. A $25,000 reward is being offered for any information leading to the arrests of the criminals, suspected to be two young men and two young women.

10-9-10 To Allah we belong and to Him is our return. With a fi rm belief in Allah’s written decree, we share with you the passing away of Meher Jahan mother of Sehar Jahan. Salaat ul Janaza was on October 10, 2010 in Sterling, VA. May Allah accept her in Jannat ul Firdaus and forgive her sins, Aameen. May Allah (swt) give her family patience and reward them in this diffi cult time. (Source: ICM)

OBITS & UPCOMING EVENTS


We missed some fasting super heroes from last issue’s list. We regret the errors ! So, here are the last -- but not the least -- fasting super stars of our community for Ramadhan 2010. -- TML

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Editor-in-Chief:Minhaj Hasan

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The Muslim Link (TML) is published on the fi rst Friday of every Islamic month (Hijri calendar) and distributed throughout the Washington, Baltimore, and Northern Virginia Metropolitan Areas. TML is a non-profi t publication and is based at Dar-us-Salaam in College Park, Maryland, USA. Staff and contributors are not necessarily affi liated with Dar-us-Salaam.

The views expressed in The Muslim Link do not necessarily refl ect those of Dar-us-Salaam or TML management or their underwriters. Dar-us-Salaam and TML are not responsible for the accuracy of information presented by advertisers, or for the religious compliance of events, products, or services published in TML.

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Presenting Your Ramadhan Super Heroes

Abdurrahman Chandia College Park, MD 11 days, 6 yrs

Anisah Bengharsa College Park, MD 20 days, 9 yrs

Hossam M Abdou Greenbelt, MD 20 days, 8 yrs

Aizah Rao Sterling, VA 2 days, 9 yrs

Hasan M. Hasan Alexandria, VA All days, 9 yrs

Humza Naeem Aslam Riyadh, KSA 20 days, 9 yrs

Naasir Jordan Cary, NC All days, 9 yrs

Bravo, Fasting Super Heroes !

I love all the Super Heroes and their sweet pictures. Although I’m not Muslim, I do try to fast along with my friends, and I know how diffi cult it was this past Ramadan. I can’t believe the numbers of days these little guys and gals fasted. Well done and congratulations.

J BoothCalifornia

CONTINUED |

SALAAH TIMES |

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