Community News (V11-I50)

Dr. Omar Ali develops cancer vaccine

CAMBRIDGE, MA–A team Harvard bioengineers and biologists have developed a cancer vaccine that eradicates melanoma tumors in mice and slows their reoccurrence. The study which was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, used a plastic disk implant carrying the vaccine to recognize and eliminate tumor cells, the Harvard Crimson reported.

The new vaccine specifically attacks cancerous cells, avoiding the collateral damage on healthy cells that other cancer treatments often cause. This approach may also build long-term resistance within the immune system, the researchers said.

Dr. Omar  A. Ali, a researcher at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is the co-author of this study.

He holds a Ph.D. in Engineering and Applied Sciences from Harvard University (2008). His research focuses on developing cell-instructive materials to study immune processes. His research has resulted in publications, patents and the foundation of a start-up company, InCytu, which aims to develop regenerative methods for vascular disease and vaccine delivery systems.

He has also contributed to the Encyclopedia of Islam in the United States published by the Greenwood Press.

Saving by cutting back on Halal food ?

DEARBORN, MI–The Dearborn school district has one of the largest concentration of Muslim students. The students have been offered the option of eating halal hot dogs and chicken nuggets for a number of years. But if the teacher’s union have their say the choice will no longer be made available.

The union had listed halal foods among the list it presented to the district which it said could lead to potential savings.

While most of the other items on the list had a value attached the union did not provide any such details for eliminating Halal foods from the lunch program.
However, better sense prevailed and the school district did not even consider the option. While this a relief it also brings into question the real intentions of the teacher’s union.

Hertz sued for accommodating Muslim employees

ATLANTA, A–Hertz Global Holdings Inc., the second-largest U.S. rental car company, was sued by former employees who say its policy of allowing Muslims to take daily prayer breaks discriminates against non-Muslim workers, according to press reports.

Katie Barkley and Shirley Harris, who worked as part-time drivers moving Hertz cars from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to other locations, claim Muslim employees were given as many as three paid, 15-minute prayer breaks each shift while non-Muslim employees were denied equal time off, according to the suit filed Nov. 30 in federal court in Atlanta.

Barkley and Harris lost their jobs in February when Hertz fired all 120 drivers at Hartsfield and replaced them with contract drivers, according to the lawsuit, which seeks class-action status as well as back pay and other damages.

A similar suit filed in 2007 is pending before the same court. In August, Hertz said in court documents filed in that case that it allows Muslim employees at the Atlanta airport to take prayer breaks and that they aren’t required to clock out. A non-Muslim worker “has no need for such an accommodation,” Park Ridge, N.J.-based Hertz said in the court documents.

Slaughterhouse proposal rejected

ALMA,TX–Ellis County commissioners last week rejected a proposal to build a halal slaughterhouse on a 200 acre property. The property is owned Shamsul Ahmed who runs a grazing ranch and wanted to build a 4,000 square-foot slaughterhouse for specialty processing.

The halal facility would have hired 20 people. Ahmed said it would be run according to the state and federal rules, as well as the Halal requirements, which adds up to cleanliness first. An estimated 25-30 steers or heifers a well, and up to 400 goats a week were to be slaughtered there.

The country commissioners rejected the plan by saying it wouldn’t fit into the growing residential area in southern Ellis County. Despite the refusal Ahmed is not giving up. He is hoping to locate his plant near    Interstate 45 since his primary customers will be businesses in North Dallas.

Texas has a growing Muslim population of more than 400,000 and their needs are not met by the current businesses which cater to them.

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