Community News (V12-I39)

Prof. Sohail Anwar selected as editor-in-chief

ALTONA,PA–Sohail Anwar, associate professor of engineering at Penn State University, was recently selected by Taylor and Francis Group to serve as the editor-in-chief of the On-line Encyclopedia of Energy Engineering and Technology. The encyclopedia is a major ongoing publication project of the Taylor and Francis Group and contains information regarding state-of-the-art developments in the discipline of energy engineering and technology. This on-line publication is a dynamic resource that continues to grow as the time and knowledge progress. The encyclopedia is sponsored by the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE).

He is the chair of the Penn State system-wide EET Curriculum Committee. Since October 2002 he has served as a member of the Electronics Technology Faculty Committee of Excelsior College in Albany, New York. He has also served as a visiting professor of electrical engineering at the Université d’ Artois, France, since May 1996.

Dr. Anwar has been a program evaluator for the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. He has also served in a wide range of editorial positions for various professional publications. He has received awards for contributions in engineering and for teaching at Penn State.

Dr. Anwar has conducted numerous technical training programs for business and industry. He developed and delivered customized technical training programs for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Dr. Anwar has a B.S. and an M.S. in electrical engineering and a Ph.D. in industrial vocational education, with an emphasis on quality control and management. He is a member of the American Society of Engineering Education, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Pennsylvania Academy of Science, and the Electronics Technicians Association.

Setback for Del. Saqib Ali

MONTGOMERY, MD–Del. Saqib Ali lost his bid for the state senate in Maryland to incumbent Sen. Nancy King in the primaries, the Business Gazette reported.

With primary election day ballot results final and half of all absentee ballots counted, King leads the race by 249 votes, according to the most recent information available.

In District 39, some 554 absentee ballots remain uncounted and more may be turned in until 10 a.m. Wednesday. In the first round of absentee ballots counted, which included 210 voters from District 39, King widened her lead over Ali by 26 votes.

Ali called King before midnight on the night of the primary election to concede.

In what has been termed as the nastiest campaign in Montgomery County there were accusations of racism.

Ali said King’s negative campaign mailers – one of which featured a photo of Ali with darkened skin – did not help her gain ground with voters. Her campaign sent six negative mailers attacking Ali, according to the blog Maryland Politics Watch.

Dupage County mosque plans put on hold

CHICAGO,IL–The DuPage Zoning Board of Appeals has voted to restart the public hearing process for a proposed mosque. It says people who live near the proposed site were not given enough notice of a meeting on the matter.

The Muslim Educational Cultural Center of America (MECCA) wants to build a mosque, school and recreation center on 91st Street west of Illinois Route 83 in Willowbrook.

The board held a meeting on Tuesday, during which testimony in support of the planned facility took up 2 1/2 hours, the Chicago Tribune reported. MECCA president Abdulgany Hamadeh said approving the community center would help the cause of “encouraging mainstream Muslim organizations that promote tolerance (so) can we fight and defeat extremism,” the Tribune reported.

The group currently uses a storefront in a shopping center located on Plainfield Road east of Route 83, the Tribune reported.

Free Arabic classes offered at West Virginia U.

MORGANTOWN,WV–West Virginia University students interested in Muslim culture can participate in a free Arabic language and Islam religion class,the student newspaper reported.

The class is offered by the Muslim Student Association and aims to introduce a language and religion that is foreign to American students, said Sohail Chaudhry, professor of the class.

The class began eight years ago to help tear down some of the myths regarding Islam and Muslims that began after Sept. 11, 2001, he said.

The American media propagates and promotes these misconceptions, Chaudhry said. The Arabic and Islam class started as an effort to bring light and knowledge regarding Islam’s peaceful disposition.

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