Community News (Volume 15 Issue 5)

Nabiha Syed appointed to Student Press Law Centre Board

Attorney Nabiha Syed has been appointed to the board of the Student Press Law Centre, Washington, D.C.-area non-profit whose mission is to advocate for free-press rights for high school and college journalists.  It provides legal information and attorney referral assistance at no charge to students and the educators who work with them. The Center is governed by a 15-member volunteer board whose members are drawn from law, journalism, education, business and philanthropy.

Nabiha Syed, an attorney based in New York with Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz, LLP, one of the nation’s leading media-law firms, which she joined after a fellowship in the legal counsel’s office for The New York Times. She is an Information Society Project Fellow at Yale Law School, where her research focuses on new media technologies, surveillance, and freedom of information laws. She is also a co-founder of the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School. She holds a J.D. from Yale Law School, and an M.St. in Comparative Media Law from Oxford University, which she attended as a Marshall Scholar.

Pulpit exchange strengthens bonds in Buffalo

BUFFALO,NY–In a unique effort three Muslim, Jewish and Christian religious leaders in Buffalo delivered their respective sermons in a different congregation in Buffalo. The effort termed ‘pulpit exchange’ by the press is part of an ongoing effort to foster interfaith understanding according the Buffalo News.

This year coinciding with the MLK Day observances Imam Nazim Mangera, Rev. Thomas Yorty and Rabbi Gary Pokras gave their sermons to a different congregation. All  three clergymen spoke on the same theme, “God’s Vision for Community,” while relying on their own scriptures and experiences.

Mangera  told the Buffalo News that around 100 people stayed following Friday afternoon prayer in Masjid An-Noor to hear  Rabbi Pokras speak.

“Our community really enjoyed it,” said Mangera. “The banquet hall was full with our congregation.”

On Sunday, Mangera used verses from the Quran, as well as sayings from the Muslim Prophet Muhammad (s), in explaining how important it is in Islamic tradition to work on behalf of others.
The exchange, said Mangera, “strengthens our attachment with each other and our connection to each other.”

Dallas Muslim, Jewish youth bring down barriers

DALLAS, TX–Last Sunday Muslim and Jewish students broke new ground in Dallas. They came together to learn and understand each other. The event was part of the Deen Institute of North America’s initiative to foster understanding between various groups. It brought twenty students from IANT Qur’anic Academy in Richardson to Levine Academy in Dallas. The latter is a private school which  houses the Academy of Torah in Greater Dallas, a Sunday morning program for Jewish 11th- and 12th-graders.

Participant Zarifa Barkatullah, a junior at IANT Qur’anic Academy, told the Dallas News that she thought the program was enlightening.

“I think this is the best way to bridge gaps — talking together instead of just hearing about it in a lecture,” she said.

After the Q&A, the students worked together in groups, stuffing gift bags for new homeowners in Habitat for Humanity’s Hickory Creek neighborhood in Dallas and making blankets for patients and their families at Plano Children’s Hospital.

Poughkeepsie fundraiser honors hajjis

FISKHILL,NY–The Mid-Hudson Islamic Association recently held its annual fundraising dinner which apart from collecting funds also honors hajjis from the area. Imran Younus, the president of the organization, said it’s inspiring and educational for the community to meet with neighbors who have visited Mecca.

“It’s an honor for the community,” said Younus, 42, of Wappingers Falls in an interview to the Poughkeepsie Journal . “Hajj is a major pillar in our faith.”

The free event was attended by 400 people and the funds raised would be utilised for operational costs of the mosque an official of the mosque told the newspaper.

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