New mosque approved in Fontana

FONTANA, CA–The city of Fontana has approved the construction of a new mosque on a one acre lot near downtown. Muslims living and working in the city would no longer have to travel long distances. Currently, Fontana is the only city in San Bernardino County not to have mosque, said Hussam Ayloush of CAIR.

The mosque will be called Ar-Rahman Islamic Center and will have a 7,656 square feet of built up space. According to Imam Faiz Shah there are 45 Muslim families in the city.

He said the mosque will also serve Muslims who work in Fontana because they will no longer have to drive to neighboring cities to pray.

Shah said he expects the mosque will help bring the community together because Muslim families are scattered across the city.

Citing the free-clinic run by Muslim volunteers in San Bernardino, Ayloush said the presence of mosques has triggered Muslims to become more involved in their communities. The Quran mandates community service, and mosques aid in organizing that work, he said.

Sharia-compliant real estate finance program launched

WESTBURY, NY (Press Release)Zayan Finance has announced that it has launched a Shariah compliant commercial real estate finance program after successfully completing its pre-launch phase over the last six weeks. The company has launched a comprehensive website at www.zayanfinance.com which offers consumers, and third party referral sources, a wide range of information about Zayan Finance and its Shari’ah compliant commercial real estate program. The company also officially announces the opening of its Western region sales office in Los Angeles, CA and its Midwest region sales office in Chicago, IL. The opening of these offices enables Zayan Finance to extend its presence in markets across the United States.

Zayan Finance is a national provider of Shari’ah compliant commercial real estate financing. Its product is based on the Musharakah Mutanaqisa (diminishing partnership) model and is tailored to fund purchases/refinance transactions from $500 thousand to $25 million for multifamily, office, retail, medical office, warehouse/distribution and hotel/motel, properties.

Naveed Siddiqui, Chief Executive Officer of Zayan Finance, commented, “We are very pleased with our launch and with our ability to serve the needs of the American Muslim market. Our product has been extremely well received throughout the United States which underscores the strong yet unmet demand for quality, customer focused Shari’ah compliant financial services. Our new website is designed to offer our customers and referral partners access to comprehensive information about our services.”

Muslim women sues jail over scarf

SAN BERNARDINO, CA–A Muslim woman arrested for riding a commuter train without a valid ticket has filed a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles, claiming her religious freedom was violated when she was forced to remove her headscarf when she was taken to jail.

According to the suit, Jameelah Medina also says she was intimidated by a deputy who accused her of being a terrorist and called Islam an “evil” religion.

The suit, filed by the ACLU of Southern California, names the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and Deputy Craig Roberts of the LA County Sheriff’s Department.

After several hours, Medina’s attorney says she was released without being charged or fined.

The suit seeks unspecified damages and attorney fees.

Virginia Muslims assail ‘Payday Lending’ plan

WASHINGTON D.C (News Agencies)–Payday lending is a six billion dollar national industry, and a $1.2 billion annual business in the Commonwealth of Virginia. According to research, some 400,000 Virginians make use of – or are used by – some 3.5 million payday loans each year. But now, leaders from the northern Virginia Muslim community are joining the voices of members from the interfaith community in calling for the abolition of this particular form of excessive interest (also known as riba), that many believe imposes an unconscionable financial burden to mostly working class people, MASNET reported.

In cooperation with the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP), Muslims are adding their voices to the call for passage of proposed legislation (HB 12 the Virginia state legislative bill proposing a cap on payday loan interest rates), that would reduce the typical annual interest rate of payday loans from the current level of 390 percent to the level of 36 percent.

While acknowledging that any form of interest violates the prohibition of riba in Islamic law, this proposed limitation on high-interest, short-term loans will be a step forward in the overall goal of bringing a complete end to this form of commercial exploitation.

Imam Rasheed Lamptey, the host for press conference held Tuesday, December 11, 2007 in Manassas, Virginia, characterized payday lending as “exploitative and inhumane”, and further declared that this form of lending “impoverishes the poor and enriches the rich”, in a way totally contrary to the tenets of Islamic faith, which makes any form of usury unlawful.

Margaret Farhanahz Ellis, ADAMS Center Outreach Coordinator, called for what she termed, “legislative mercy” for borrowers who find themselves trapped in a cycle of repeated high-interest loan roll-overs and accumulated debt to the lenders.

MAS Freedom representative, Ahmed Lamptey, observed that this issue is an important one for the Latino community as well, and he urged the assembled activists to work for the inclusion of Latino leaders and organizations in the overall outreach necessary to build political support for anti-payday lending legislation.

VICPP Director, Reverend Doug Smith, indicated that the typical interest rate for a $500, two-week loan, is $75. But 99 per cent of payday loans in Virginia are extended for additional time, with each rollover accumulating more interest to the borrower. It is also estimated that each borrower will access, on average, nearly two lenders each year, and take out 11 to 12 individual loans.

Mukit Hossain, MAS Freedom Center for Electoral Empowerment (CEE) Director and a leading advocate for Muslim voter registration and mobilization in Virginia, noted that, “there is no ambiguity for Muslim voters in Virginia regarding the issue of payday loans. According to recent polls, some 87% of Muslim voters in the Commonwealth are totally opposed to payday lending.”

It was also noted, according to Hossain, that Muslim voters will be visit members of the Virginia General Assembly to voice concerns that this form of commerce is both immoral and financially destructive to working class consumers and people of color.

Characterizing the predatory lending practice, MAS Freedom Civil and Human Rights Director, Ibrahim Ramey, stated that payday loans are, “the financial equivalent of ‘Crack Cocaine’, and a part of the structural economic assault on poor and working class people that must be brought to a complete end.”

MAS Freedom has previously registered opposition to payday lending, and activists from the organization have participated in public actions and demonstrations that were, in part, responsible for positive payday lending legislation passed earlier this year by the City Council of Washington, D.C.

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By Syed Aslam

Al-Kindi, also known in west as Alkindus was born in Kufa, Iraq in the year 801 CE to a family of the Kinda tribe. His father was the governor of Kufa, where he received his preliminary education and went to complete his studies in Baghdad. Here he was patronized by the Abbasid Khalifa al- Ma’mun who appointed him to House of Wisdom, a recently established centre for learning. When al-Ma’mun died, his brother, al-Mu’tasim became Khalifa who appointed him as a tutor to his son. He died in Baghdad in 873 CE during the reign of Khalifa al Mutamid.

Al-Kindi was a philosopher, astronomer, chemist, mathematician musician, physician, physicist and a pioneer in cryptography. He was a master of many different areas of thought, although he would eventually be eclipsed by names such as al Baruni and ibn Sina, he is still regarded to be one of the greatest Islamic philosophers and scientist of his time. The Italian Renaissance scholar Geralomo Cardano (d 1575) considered him one of the twelve greatest minds of the middle Ages. He authored two hundred and sixty books, contributing heavily to geometry, medicine and philosophy, logic and physics. His influence in the fields of physics, mathematics, medicine, philosophy and music were far-reaching and lasted for several centuries.

His greatest contribution to the development of early Islamic philosophy was his efforts to make Greek and Hellenistic thought both accessible and acceptable to a Muslim intelligentsia. Al-Kindi carried out this mission from the House of Wisdom, an institute of translation and learning patronized by the Abbasid Khalifa, in Baghdad. He and the people of House of Wisdom translated many important texts, which become standard Arabic philosophical vocabulary. His work later produced philosophers like Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina. He believed revelation was a superior source of knowledge to reason because it guaranteed matters of faith that reason could not uncover.

As stated before al-Kindi was a genius who contributed in many branches of science. In the field of mathematics al-Kindi authored a number of important mathematical subjects, including arithmetic, geometry, the Indian numbers, the harmony of numbers, lines and multiplication with numbers, relative quantities, measuring proportion and time, and numerical procedures and cancellation. He also wrote four volumes, On the Use of the Indian Numerals (Ketab fi Isti’mal al-’Adad al-Hindi) which contributed greatly to propagate the Indian system of numeration in the Middle East and the West. In geometry, among other works, he wrote on the theory of parallels. Also related to geometry were two works on optics.

As an advanced chemist, al-Kindi was the first to oppose the practice of alchemy; he debunked the myth that simple base metals could be transformed into precious metals such as gold or silver. The isolation of ethanol (alcohol) as a relatively pure compound was first achieved by al-Kindi. He was the first to describe the production of pure alcohol from the distillation of wine.

Al-Kindi was very much advanced of his time, classical mechanists such Galileo, Descartes and Isaac Newton considered time, space and motion to be absolute, while al-Kindi suggest that all these properties are relative to each other and not independent or absolute. This can be considered as early concept of Theory of Relativity which was developed by Albert Einstein in twentieth century.

Al-Kindi is credited for developing the frequency analysis method where variation in the frequency of the occurrence of letters could be analyzed to break ciphers.

Recently a detailed text has been discovered in the archives of Ottoman Empire in Istanbul with title “Manuscript on Deciphering Cryptographic Messages”

This manuscript covers methods of cryptanalysis and statistical analysis of letters and letter combinations in Arabic. Thus he was the first person who pioneered the science of cryptology and cryptanalysis.

Al-Kindi demonstrated the application of mathematics in quantification to medicine, particularly in the field of pharmacology. He developed a mathematical scale to quantify the strength of a drug. He wrote thirty volumes on the subject of medicine and pharmacology.

Al-Kindi had a great interest in scent and perfume products and performed extensive research and experiment in this field. He extracted perfume from many plant and its flowers and compounded it to produce a variety of scent products.

Many of the plant products he extracted were very useful in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. He is considered as a pioneer and father of the science of perfumery.

Al-Kindi realized the therapeutic value of music and tried to cure a quadriplegic boy with musical therapy. He was the first great theoretician of music in the Islamic world.

He published fifteen treatises on the theory of music, proposed adding a fifth string to the ‘ud and discussed the cosmological connotations of music. He surpassed the achievement of the Greek musicians.

Al-Kindi is credited with being the first real Muslim philosopher who understood the Greek philosophy and incorporated it to the Islamic philosophy; he does appear to have borrowed ideas from other Hellenistic schools as well.

He makes many references to Aristotle in his writings, but these are often unwittingly re-interpreted in a Neo-Platonic framework.

During his life, al-Kindi was fortunate to enjoy the patronage of the khalifas al-Ma’mun and al-Mu’tasim, which meant he could carry out his philosophical speculations with relative ease. This would change significantly towards the end of his life.

Aslamsyed1@yahoo.com

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Text of Romney’s speech on religion
By The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 12/06/2007 10:12:26 AM MST

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Text of Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney’s speech Thursday on faith at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas.

ROMNEY: Thank you, Mr. President for your kind introduction.

It is an honor to be here today. This is an inspiring place because of you and the first lady and because of the film that’s exhibited across the way in the presidential library. For those who have not seen it, it shows the president as a young pilot, shot down during the Second World War, being rescued from his life raft by the crew of an American submarine. It’s a moving reminder that when America has faced challenge and peril, Americans rise to the occasion, willing to risk their very lives to defend freedom and preserve our nation. We’re in your debt, Mr. President. Thank you very, very much.

Mr. President, your generation rose to the occasion, first to defeat fascism and then to vanquish the Soviet Union. You left us, your children, a free and strong America. It is why we call yours the greatest generation. It’s now my generation’s turn. How we respond to today’s challenges will define our generation. And it will determine what kind of America we will leave our children, and theirs.

America faces a new generation of challenges. Radical violent Islam seeks to destroy us. An emerging China endeavors to surpass our economic leadership. And we’re troubled at home by government overspending, overuse of foreign oil, and the breakdown of the family.

Over the last year, we’ve embarked on a national debate on how best to preserve American leadership. Today, I wish to address a topic which I believe is fundamental to America’s greatness: our religious liberty. I’ll also offer perspectives on how my own faith would inform my presidency, if I were elected.

There are some who may feel that religion is not a matter to be seriously considered in the context of the weighty threats that face us. If so, they are at odds with the nation’s founders, for they, when our nation faced its greatest peril, sought the blessings of the Creator. And further, they discovered the essential connection between the survival of a free land and the protection of religious freedom. In John Adams’ words: “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. … Our Constitution,” he said, “was made for a moral and religious people.”

Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone.

Given our grand tradition of religious tolerance and liberty, some wonder whether there are any questions regarding an aspiring candidate’s religion that are appropriate. I believe there are. And I’ll answer them today.

Almost 50 years ago another candidate from Massachusetts explained that he was an American running for president, not a Catholic running for president. Like him, I am an American running for president. I do not define my candidacy by my religion. A person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith.

Let me assure you that no authorities of my church, or of any other church for that matter, will ever exert influence on presidential decisions. Their authority is theirs, within the province of church affairs, and it ends where the affairs of the nation begin.

As governor, I tried to do the right as best I knew it, serving the law and answering to the Constitution. I did not confuse the particular teachings of my church with the obligations of the office and of the Constitution—and of course, I would not do so as president. I will put no doctrine of any church above the plain duties of the office and the sovereign authority of the law.

As a young man, Lincoln described what he called America’s “political religion”—the commitment to defend the rule of law and the Constitution. When I place my hand on the Bible and take the oath of office, that oath becomes my highest promise to God. If I am fortunate to become your president, I will serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause and no one interest. A president must serve only the common cause of the people of the United States.

There are some for whom these commitments are not enough. They would prefer it if I would simply distance myself from my religion, say that it’s more a tradition than my personal conviction, or disavow one or another of its precepts. That I will not do. I believe in my Mormon faith and I endeavor to live by it. My faith is the faith of my fathers. I will be true to them and to my beliefs.

Some believe that such a confession of my faith will sink my candidacy. If they are right, so be it. But I think they underestimate the American people. Americans do not respect respecters—excuse me—believers of convenience.

Americans tire of those who would jettison their beliefs, even to gain the world. There is one fundamental question about which I often am asked. What do I believe about Jesus Christ? I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and the savior of mankind. My church’s beliefs about Christ may not all be the same as those of other faiths. Each religion has its own unique doctrines and history. These are not bases for criticism but rather a test of our tolerance. Religious tolerance would be a shallow principle indeed if it were reserved only for faiths with which we agree.

There are some who would have a presidential candidate describe and explain his church’s distinctive doctrines. To do so would enable the very religious test the founders prohibited in the Constitution. No candidate should become the spokesman for his faith. For if he becomes president he will need the prayers of the people of all faiths.

I believe that every faith I have encountered draws its adherents closer to God. And in every faith I have come to know, there are features I wish were in my own: I love the profound ceremony of the Catholic Mass, the approachability of God in the prayers of the evangelicals, the tenderness of spirit among the Pentecostals, the confident independence of the Lutherans, the ancient traditions of the Jews, unchanged through the ages, and the commitment to frequent prayer of the Muslims. As I travel across the country and see our towns and cities, I am always moved by the many houses of worship with their steeples, all pointing to heaven, reminding us of the source of life’s blessings.

It’s important to recognize that while differences in theology exist between the churches in America, we share a common creed of moral convictions. And where the affairs of our nation are concerned, it’s usually a sound rule to focus on the latter, on the great moral principles that urge us all on a common course. Whether it was the cause of abolition, or civil rights, or the right to life itself, no movement of conscience can succeed in America that cannot speak to the convictions of religious people.

We separate church and state affairs in this country, and for good reason. No religion should dictate to the state nor should the state interfere with the free practice of religion. But in recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God. Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life. It’s as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America—the religion of secularism. They are wrong.

The founders proscribed the establishment of a state religion, but they did not countenance the elimination of religion from the public square. We are a nation “under God” and in God, we do indeed trust.

We should acknowledge the Creator as did the Founders in ceremony and word. He should remain on our currency, in our pledge, in the teaching of our history, and during the holiday season, nativity scenes and menorahs should be welcome in our public places. Our greatness would not long endure without judges who respect the foundation of faith upon which our constitution rests. I will take care to separate the affairs of government from any religion, but I will not separate us from ‘the God who gave us liberty.’

Nor would I separate us from our religious heritage. Perhaps the most important question to ask a person of faith who seeks a political office, is this: Does he share these American values—the equality of human kind, the obligation to serve one another and a steadfast commitment to liberty?

They are not unique to any one denomination. They belong to the great moral inheritance we hold in common. They’re the firm ground on which Americans of different faiths meet and stand as a nation, united.

We believe that every single human being is a child of God—we’re all part of the human family. The conviction of the inherent and inalienable worth of every life is still the most revolutionary political proposition ever advanced. John Adams put it that we are “thrown into the world all equal and alike.”

The consequence of our common humanity is our responsibility to one another, to our fellow Americans foremost, but also to every child of God. It’s an obligation which is fulfilled by Americans every day, here and across the globe, without regard to creed or race or nationality.

Americans acknowledge that liberty is a gift of God, not an indulgence of government. No people in the—No people in the history of the world have sacrificed as much for liberty. The lives of hundreds of thousands of America’s sons and daughters were laid down during the last century to preserve freedom, for us and for freedom loving people throughout the world. America took nothing from that century’s terrible wars—no land from Germany or Japan or Korea, no treasure, no oath of fealty. America’s resolve in the defense of liberty has been tested time and again. It has not been found wanting, nor must it ever be. America must never falter in holding high the banner of freedom.

These American values, this great moral heritage, is shared and lived in my religion as it is in yours. I was taught in my home to honor God and love my neighbor. I saw my father march with Martin Luther King. I saw my parents provide compassionate care to others, in personal ways to people nearby, and in just as consequential ways in leading national volunteer movements. I am moved by the Lord’s words: “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat. I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink. I was a stranger, and ye took me in. Naked, and ye clothed me.”

My faith is grounded on these truths. You can witness them in Ann and my marriage and in our family. We’re a long way from perfect and we have surely stumbled along the way, but our aspirations, our values, are the self-same as those from the other faiths that stand upon this common foundation. And these convictions will indeed inform my presidency.

Today’s generations of Americans have always known religious liberty. Perhaps we forget the long and arduous path our nation’s forebears took to achieve it. They came here from England to seek freedom of religion. But upon finding it for themselves, they at first denied it to others. Because of their diverse beliefs, Ann Hutchinson was exiled from Massachusetts Bay, Roger Williams founded Rhode Island, and two centuries later, Brigham Young set out for the West. Americans were unable to accommodate their commitment to their own faith with an appreciation for the convictions of others to different faiths. In this, they were very much like those of the European nations they had left.

It was in Philadelphia that our founding fathers defined a revolutionary vision of liberty, grounded on self evident truths about the equality of all, and the inalienable rights with which each is endowed by his Creator.

We cherish these sacred rights, and secure them in our Constitutional order. Foremost do we protect religious liberty, not as a matter of policy but as a matter of right. There will be no established church, and we are guaranteed the free exercise of our religion.

I’m not sure that we fully appreciate the profound implications of our tradition of religious liberty. I’ve visited many of the magnificent cathedrals in Europe. They are so inspired, so grand and so empty. Raised up over generations, long ago, so many of the cathedrals now stand as the postcard backdrop to societies just too busy or too ‘enlightened’ to venture inside and kneel in prayer. The establishment of state religions in Europe did no favor to Europe’s churches. And though you will find many people of strong faith there, the churches themselves seem to be withering away.

Infinitely worse is the other extreme, the creed of conversion by conquest: violent jihad, murder as martyrdom, killing Christians, Jews, and Muslims with equal indifference. These radical Islamists do their preaching not by reason or example, but in the coercion of minds and the shedding of blood. We face no greater danger today than theocratic tyranny, and the boundless suffering these states and groups could inflict if given the chance.

The diversity of our cultural expression, and the vibrancy of our religious dialogue, has kept America in the forefront of civilized nations even as others regard religious freedom as something to be destroyed.

In such a world, we can be deeply thankful that we live in a land where reason and religion are friends and allies in the cause of liberty, joined against the evils and dangers of the day. And you can be—You can be certain of this: Any believer in religious freedom, any person who has knelt in prayer to the Almighty, has a friend and ally in me. And so it is for hundreds of millions of our countrymen: We do not insist on a single strain of religion—rather, we welcome our nation’s symphony of faith.

Recall the early days of the first Continental Congress in Philadelphia, during the fall of 1774. With Boston occupied by British troops, there were rumors of imminent hostilities and fears of an impending war. In this time of peril, someone suggested that they pray. But there were objections. “They were too divided in religious sentiment,” what with Episcopalians and Quakers, Anabaptists and Congregationalists, Presbyterians and Catholics.

Then Sam Adams rose, and said he would hear a prayer from anyone of piety and good character, as long as they were a patriot.

And so together they prayed, and together they fought, and together, by the grace of God, they founded this great nation.

And in that spirit, let us give thanks to the divine “author of liberty.” And together, let us pray that this land may always be blessed, “with freedom’s holy light.”

God bless this great land, the United States of America.M

By Ilyas Hasan Choudry, MMNS

Pakistan is entering into another crucial phase. There is this news roaming all over the world that the Military Jawans of Pakistan have given the send-out salute to General Pervez Musharraf.

There have been Army Chiefs in Pakistan, who have retired before: But if they were also President of Pakistan, may be Field Marshall Ayub Khan was the first Army Chief and President of the country to leave the post of Army Chief: General Retired Musharraf is the second one, since General Yahyah Khan and General Zia-ul-Haq had to leave in tragedies.

In the recent past, if a tussle had happened between the Army Chief and Civic Society, the Army Chief used to come out, as clear winner. Like General Retired Aslam Baig creating IJI to oust Benazir Bhutto. May be once, when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had altercations with General Retired Jehangir Karamat that the General decided to leave, in the larger interest of the country. But when it came to Sharif vs Musharraf, we all know where the Pakistanis have reached from then 1999 till now November 2007, with Musharraf continuing to rule.

Now Filed Marshall Ayub Khan was able to run the affairs of the country as President (without Uniform) for about seven years without any big threats from the Army: Will General Retired Pervez Musharraf get the same joy ride? Most likely not, since the war of terrorism is still on and several key decisions about this war are going to be made soon, which will haunt many.

All this remove Army Uniform thing started in December 2003, when the ruling Musharraf’s Muslim League and the six-religious-party alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) signed an agreement to resolve the constitutional crisis of Presidency. At that juncture, Musharraf told the whole nation on national and private media: “I have decided that I will shed my uniform in December 2004”.

Instead of the promised one year, it took Musharraf four years to shed his uniform and this delay means that morally, he lost much of his stature and his insistence of not leaving the position of Army means he feels susceptible without Uniform and that is what he will continue to sense from now onwards.

Two noteworthy parts of that December 2003 MMA aand Musharraf’s Muslim League Agreement, which actually gave the moral grounds that are now being used by the Judiciary in Pakistan. And that were the Legal Framework Order (LFO), where if President was to have the right to dismiss government and dissolve parliament, but then that dissolution of parliament would be subject to a review by the Supreme Court in 15 days. And most significantly, Musharraf had backed down from his earlier stance of giving three years extension to Supreme and High Court Judges, which was clearly seen as an attempt by the government to bribe the judges to back its stand.

Once MMA was able to stop that bribery, the doors became open for the Judiciary to show their Independence and this was well utilized by the bold and will-powered stance of the Chief Justice of Supreme Court and all the Judges with him.

When the history is written about the life of General Retired Pervez Musharraf, Wednesday – November 28 – 2007 will go down as the day, when the all powerful man of Pakistan despite imposing emergency rule himself a few weeks ago, left the post of Chief of Army Staff, to become some kind of a vulnerable President: Whether this was done under some sort of pressure from somewhere, fact will remain that he did this with his own hands. And the next episode is Elections 2008 resulting in the formation of a weaker government and a stalwart & vocal opposition: Meaning many more headaches, heartaches, issues and problems ahead of Pakistanis.

Let’s wait and see, if we can reach the stage, when the people of Pakistan will write on the walls just like it was written on the walls in the 1970s about the then President of Pakistan Fazal Elahi Chaudhary: “Please Release President Musharraf.”

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The US commander of International Security Assistance Force in the Andar district of Ghazni Province in Afghanistan has embraced Islam.

The commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) embraced Islam in the presence of 2,000 people on Thursday.

Cap. Cormier Michel – 45 – commands 300 ISAF troops in the Taliban-infested district. The Ghazni governor, district chief, provincial council members, local officials, elders, ISAF soldiers and students attended a ceremony marking the commander’s conversion to Islam.

The ceremony, which lasted well over three hours, concluded with chants of ‘Allah-o-Akbar.”

Cap. Michel, who changed his name to Abdul Wahed, started his brief speech with Bismillah (In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent and the most Merciful). During the last five years, Abdul Wahed pointed out, he had been studying Islamic books and he concluded that Islam is the first religion.

“Islam is a religion of peace and brotherhood, but terrorists and extremists are bringing a bad name to it,” he noted.

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By Sumayyah Meehan, MMNS

Growing up in the U.S., there was nothing more embarrassing than having a dirty and dusty car parked in your driveway. And our car was always dirty and dusty. The neighborhood kids found it entertaining to scribble messages in the dust with their fingers. They wrote stuff like, “I need a bath” or “Wash me”. Every day I would have to stuff myself under the dashboard while my mother drove me to school and crawl across the sidewalk to avoid the humiliation of being seen in that dirty car.

I have to wonder how the Kuwaiti people feel about their giant filthy “car” which is the Kuwait Towers located in Salmiya. Do they share a similar humiliation that I felt as a kid? Are other Kuwaittis outraged at the state of the towers? If it were my Statue of Liberty I would hit the roof!

Driving by the towers yesterday, I have to say I was completely and utterly appalled. The towers are dusty and discolored. They look rundown and downright “ghetto”. The towers have what appear to be a ‘trail of tears’ running down the sides of them in the form of streaks of rust. Not only do the towers need a fierce scrubbing but they also need a massive restoration. I recall reading in the newspaper this past summer that one of the circular tiles had fallen down and hit a car smashing the windshield to smithereens. That should have been a huge hint that all is not well with the beloved Kuwait towers and they are at risk of falling to pieces. Literally!

The Kuwait Towers are only about 27 years old but they look middle-aged to me! The towers were inaugurated in 1979. They are one of the most unique and distinctive landmarks from all over the Middle East. A Swedish Architectural firm headed by Sune Lindstrom and Malene Bjorn designed the towers. The first tower is 140 meters tall and holds a water-holding sphere. The second tower is 180 meters tall and boasts a restaurant and rotating observation deck. The third tower holds no sphere but rather has several lights running down the front of it.

The dirty towers should be an embarrassment to all the residents of Kuwait. They are the pride and joy of both Kuwaitis and expatriates alike. The towers represent the fact that no matter how small you are; you can still accomplish great things. Well actually, that is what they use to represent. Right now, they represent how dirt, dust, and pollution can ruin a perfect complexion! I shudder to think what tourists, coming to Kuwait for the very first time, think of the Kuwait Towers when they see them. I guarantee they are not saying, “Wow, what a sparkling feat of architecture and beauty!” More than likely they are saying, “Gee, don’t they sell Windex in Kuwait?”

Other great historical landmarks from across the World have also undergone restorations. So, the Kuwait Towers is not alone in requiring a ‘facelift’. The Statue of Liberty’s, New York City, USA, restoration was completed in 1986. Years of exposure to the salty air had riddled the copper surface with pockmarks that had to be filled in. It also had mass iron corrosion, rust stains, peeling paint, and structural concerns that had to be addressed. I can only imagine the damage to the Kuwait Towers given that the salty air of the seaside has probably damaged it. Another famous restoration takes us to France. The Eiffel Tower is restored every 7 years. Since it is made of cast iron it only requires a splash of anti-corrosive paint to keep it looking beautiful.

If only someone were able to scale the towers or even bungee down from the observation deck, to write in the dust, “Wash Me…Puh-leaze!” I am sure Ministry of Interior would stand up and take notice. But since that is highly unlikely, I guess we’ll have to wait for things to get worse before they get better. Perhaps visitors should start donning hard hats just in case and more tiles plummet to the ground!

If drastic measures are not taken soon to preserve the Kuwait Towers, they might be lost forever and future generations will lose out on witnessing the grandeur of them. The towers should be polished up and shine as they were meant to do.

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By Elder George

My name is Elder George and I take this opportunity to introduce myself and thank The Muslim Observer for the privilege of writing for them and for the opportunity to share my views with you. Some of you might remember my columns in Muslims Weekly and their internet edition dailymuslims.com. I had the good fortune to write for them for four years and also the opportunity to lecture at Mosques in the greater New York City area, to be interviewed on Radio Islam in Chicago, and on islamonline.net. I am grateful for the overwhelming support that I received from the Muslim community for my message, and I hope that this support will continue as I share my views with you.

I believe family serves as the natural focal point of society and that the tribe or extended family is the natural societal grouping. Patriarchy—the authority of men—provides the structure that enables the development of the extended family. Patriarchy is family. Patriarchal societies have lasted for millennia, but societies that do no practice patriarchy continually experiment with different forms of government, none of which endure.

The pressure to break down the patriarchal structure of the Muslim world is intense and began as a result of the response of Muslim women to the goals of the International Conference on women held in Beijing, China in 1995. The two major objectives of the conference were to remove all references to gender and all references to God from society. The only factor that kept that conference from being a complete route of familial and religious values was the presence of Islamic women, who said they were pleased to be wives, mothers, and worshippers of God.

Shortly after this conference American intervention in the cultural life of Islamic nations increased. Mavis Leno, wife of late night host Jay Leno, became Chairperson of the Feminist Majority’s Campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan. Publicity was given to Muslim writers such as Khalid Duran, whose writings attacked the very foundation of Islam. The United States set up a puppet government in Afghanistan that requires 20% of the governing body to be women. A similar quota has already been set up in Baghdad. Once patriarchy is destroyed, and gender differences eliminated, family will disappear, religion will become an empty ritual, and a strong socialist government will takeover (as we have here) as part of the overall plan to have a socialist one-world government.

Hillary Clinton attended the International Conference on women in Beijing, and supported its objectives. She is running for the office of President of the United States; the Republicans know of her involvement in that conference but are not using it as political ammunition because they too believe in its goals.

In future articles I will explain the spiritual basis of patriarchy and also show that Westernized governments have no understanding of this basis, with the result that their family structure has collapsed. The attack on you, your sons and daughters to adapt to the Western secular structure is intense. This attack is carried on in the classroom, socially, in the media, and in business. It is relentless. However, there are many in America, Europe, and other parts of the world who have begun to realize that society is imploding upon itself and recognize that the cause is gender oriented. They realize that to make change will require the participation of spiritually based people of various faiths, ethnicities, and races who understand the importance of family and are willing to do their utmost to restore it to the focal point of society.

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By Dr. Aslam Abdullah, MMNS

Writing about the Mideast Peace talks in the Wall Street Journal, the zionist Bernard Lewis, said that if the Annapolis summit is about the size of Israel, we might achieve something, if it is about the existence of Israel then it is doomed from the time it begins. Nothing substantial has emerged from the summit.

The right of the refugees to return to their land is rejected by Israel, the question of making Jerusalem, the capital of the proposed state of Palestine is un-welcomed by Zionists and Christian Zionists, the issue of tearing down settlements has unsettled many Israeli politicians, the demand to give unconditional recognition to the state of Israel is unacceptable to Palestinians close to Hamas, the idea of dismantling the nuclear arsenal of Israel was never an option and the defining of the borders of Israel was never brought up.

Other important issues such as water, transportation and the so called security wall could not find any serious discussion among the participants. The White House, on the other hand was optimistic and hopeful that by the end of next year a significant deal will be made. It is with this optimism that President Bush wants to sell to the Arab and Muslim world. Being a born again Christian, it is hard to conceive that President Bush or his Christian right friends in the state Department or Pentagon would abandon the ideology of a greater Israel essential for the return of Jesus. It is unthinkable that the US leader who spends hours and hours discussing the Middle East prophecies with his colleagues and Christian right religious leaders would promote a peace deal that would recognize the presence of the so called antichrist amidst “the pious believers.” The United States is not run on religious laws, but when it comes to the Middle East, President Bush appears more like a religious zealot eager to ensure that the will of God is done according to Biblical prophecies.

He has famously attributed his intervention in Iraq (trainwreck though it is) to God, who reportedly instructed him to do what was necessary to bring the world to an end so that the pious Christians could be raised up in heaven.

Why then has President Bush twisted the arms of many gulf leaders and greased the palms of others to conduct this Annapolis conference? The answer is clear. Before he leaves the Oval office, the President wants to decimate any potential nuclear capabilities of Iran and if possible of Pakistan.

Of those two countries, Pakistan can be dealt with more easily, since its leaders are effectively dependent on the US for their survival in their country.

Iran, however, is a tough nut to crack. The White House is fully aware that a unilateral attack would further destabilize the region impacting many Gulf countries. Without creating a broader coalition of the Middle Eastern countries, attacking Iran might become counter productive. The destruction of Iran’s nuclear capabilities is in the best interest of Israel as well as the monarchies of the Gulf.

Israel genuinely fears that a nuclear Iran would constantly threaten its existence and the monarchs fear that the idea of a people propelled government as practiced in Iran would weaken their hold over their people. Both Israel and the gulf rulers would gain something substantial from any campaign against Iran.

Iran, on the other hand, is trying to provoke the US into some sort of military action in order to further bleed the US economically. Iranian leadership apparently believes that a prolonged recession in the US would lead to major disasters causing the US to lose its influence on the world.

Iranians also believe that otehr Middle Eastern countries would rise against aggression by the US, ultimately weakening US interests worldwide.

What is obvious is that the Annapolis conference is a prelude to some other major events that might unfold in the near future.

The conference could have become meaningful if the US had invited Hamas, something Israel would never accept.

What they have failed to realize is that peace must be built by an honest broker–The Bush administration is not an honest broker and thus those it brought to a glorified lunch in Annapolis remain at odds.

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By Sadaf Ali, MMNS

Novi-December 1: Despite the inclement weather over 500 guests attended the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding’s (ISPU) annual fundraising dinner in Novi, Michigan.

This year’s topic was Social Responsibilities of Muslims in America and included keynote speaker Dr. Ebrahim Moosa, Professor of Islamic Studies at Duke University.

ISPU Fellow and Professor of History at Wayne State University, Saeed Khan says the Institute was create after the September 11th attacks as a “think-tank” committed to education and research on issues related to the American Muslim community.

“ISPU is a model for people who have that passion for social responsibility. We created ISPU out of nothing except that motivation that we needed something for the Muslim community,” said Khan.

Khan suggests that Muslims should get involved within their own communities, such as local Parent/Teacher Association, city councils and even book clubs.

“There’s the issue of visibility. It’s very important for Muslim Americans to be present and not only on those issues that have Islamic or Muslim banners attached to them,” he said.

The evening was not only dedicated to fundraising, but also to create an awareness of ISPU’s accomplishments and future projects, including the Muslim Education Project.

According to Fakhia Rashid, Director of Development, this project will focus on the demography of the nation’s Islamic schools and deflect some of the negative perceptions of an Islamic education.

“The hope is to shed light on the students that are produced from these schools and perhaps rectify some of the misconceptions in the D.C. policy arena that these schools are extremist or terrorist,” said Rashid.

Some of ISPU’s past accomplishments included the Detroit Mosque Study, which confronted the concern within the general public that mosques are becoming breeding grounds for terrorist organizations. In addition, ISPU worked with the PEW Research Center to conduct focus groups with Detroit Muslims on changing attitudes within this community.

However, the evening’s main attraction was the keynote speech by Moosa, where he highlighted the need for social responsibility as a fail safe.

“Social responsibility is that safety net to make sure justice is done when the system fails,” he said, “Each one of you is a Shepard and each one of you is responsible for your flock.”

Moosa also discussed the importance of interfaith communication and the need for tolerance for other religions.

“The idea that we are chosen is one of the most detrimental aspects of our society and we can go nowhere with that attitude.”

According to Moosa being socially responsible and humanity go hand in hand and charitable giving is the first step.

“Feeding people is the beginning of the restoration of human dignity.”

He also talked about how governments play a role and the need to have that fail safe mechanism in place.

“The art of government is not a perfect science. Even if you have a political system that is based on religion, it is the fallible human beings that apply the teachings of that religious system,” he said, “The system becomes a human system.”

The evening ended with a book signing of his award winning publication, Ghazali and the Poetics of Imagination.

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