Courtesy Mike Mokrzycki

Muslims in America have a much more positive outlook on life than their counterparts in most predominantly Muslim countries and some other Western societies, according to a poll released Monday.

The Gallup Organization study found Muslim-Americans to be racially and ideologically diverse, extremely religious, and younger and more highly educated than the typical American.

Gallup asked respondents to evaluate their life situation by placing themselves on a ladder where the bottom step, zero, equals the worst possible life and 10 the best possible life. Gallup defined as “thriving” those who said they’re currently on at least step seven of that ladder and expect to be on step eight or higher about five years from now.

Muslim-Americans (41 percent) were slightly less likely than Americans overall (46 percent) to be thriving. Yet the proportion of Muslims thriving in the United States was among the highest of Western societies surveyed, Gallup found. For example, only 8 percent of Muslims in the United Kingdom and 23 percent in France were thriving.

One exception: 49 percent of Muslims were deemed thriving in Germany, which welcomed many immigrants from Turkey during labor shortages in the 1960s and 1970s.

In predominantly Muslim countries, only in Saudi Arabia were more Muslims — 51 percent — thriving than in America.

Gallup found only 11 percent of Muslims thriving in Indonesia and Pakistan, 13 percent in Egypt, in the high teens to 20 percent in Bangladesh, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, and 24 percent in Morocco. Gallup found the proportion “suffering” — answering 0 to 4 on both ladder questions — ranging from 20 to 26 percent in Turkey, Egypt and Lebanon and as high as 33 percent in Jordan and 45 percent in Pakistan.

In short, Muslim Americans look more like other Americans in their life outlook than they resemble Muslims in most predominantly Muslim nations.

The Gallup study painted an uncommon portrait of Muslims in a US and global context by combining interviews with 946 Muslims from polling of more than 300,000 Americans throughout 2008 and comparing them to Gallup surveys in more than 140 other countries. With Muslim-Americans probably making up only around 1 percent of the nation’s population, few sound surveys have targeted the group, despite interest after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

In an essay for the Gallup report, Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn. — the first Muslim elected to Congress — urged Muslim Americans to “step out of the shadows of your own world, and step forthrightly into a participatory America.”

“For too long — and particularly after 9/11 — Muslims have withdrawn into their own mosque-defined communities, denying themselves their rightful place in the fabric of America,” Ellison wrote. “’Being Muslim’ shouldn’t need to be explained, but rather be observed by how each of us lives our lives, and the values we espouse. However defined we are by our religion, we are equally defined by our nationalism; we are Americans.”

Download Gallup poll about Muslims

11-11

Dennis Ross and Iran

By Sasan Fayazmanesh

[Sasan Fayazmanesh is Professor of Economics at California State University, Fresno. He can be reached at: sasan.fayazmanesh@gmail.com]

In October 2008 I presented a paper, entitled What the Future has in Store for Iran, at a conference on Middle East Studies. The paper, which was subsequently posted at Payvand.com , examined what the US policy toward Iran might look like if either Barack Obama or John McCain came to office. The conclusion of my essay, stated in its last two lines, was: In the case of McCain, the war [waged against Iran] might come sooner than later. In Obama’s case, one might see a period of tough or aggressive diplomacy before hostilities begin.

My conclusion was based on the argument that the US foreign policy toward the Middle East has become institutionalized and it makes very little difference who is the president. The starting point of the argument was an analysis that appeared in The Jerusalem Post just before the Bush Administration took office, predicting that the US Middle East policy would be made more by the neoconservative forces within the new administration than anyone else. In one essay, on December 8, 2000, The Jerusalem Post wrote that both Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz are the type of candidates the pro-Israel lobby is pushing. In another article on January 19, 2001, entitled All the presidents Middle East men, The Jerusalem Post expressed how the Jewish and pro-Israel communities are jumping for joy, knowing that people like Wolfowitz will be in the new administration. The essay predicted: What you will have are two institutions grappling for control of policy. It then added: It is no secret in Washington or anywhere else for that matter that the policies will be determined less by Bush himself and more by his inner circle of advisers.

The message of the Israeli analysts was clear: the Middle East foreign policy of the US has become institutionalized; and rather than watching the US president, one has to watch the institutions that would make the policy. Given this message, my analysis of what the future has in store for Iran concentrated on a few neoconservative institutions and individuals. In particular, I predicted that if Obama were to be elected, the US policy on Iran would be made mostly by Dennis Ross, the consultant to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP or simply Washington Institute), a think tank affiliate of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). That prediction has now come true. On February 23, 2009, it became official that Dennis Ross is the Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for the Gulf and Southwest Asia. The title, as will be explained below, is not what Ross had hoped for, but he would still be in a position to influence the US policy toward Iran.

Who is Dennis Ross, what does he advocate, how was he positioned to become the adviser on Iran in the Obama Administration and what will he do to Iran if he gets the chance? Let me briefly review the case.

Dennis Ross is best known as the dishonest broker who led the so-called negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians during the Clinton Administration. He was Israel’s lawyer, to use Aaron David Miller’s apt description of the role that Ross’s negotiating team played in the Clinton era, particularly in 1999-2000.

Ross, along with Martin Indyk, who was Clintons national security advisor and the US Ambassador to Israel, is a cofounder of the Washington Institute. After leaving office in 2000, Ross became the director of the WINEP. Once the 2008 presidential election approached, Ross jockeyed for a position, left his directorship job and became a Consultant to the institute. Originally, Ross and Indyk represented one wing of the WINEP, a wing which appeared to be close to the Israeli Labor Party. Another wing, closer to the Likud Party, and particularly Benjamin Netanyahu, consisted of individuals such as Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz, individuals who played a pivotal role in planning the invasion of Iraq. The difference between the Likud and the Labor wing of the Washington Institute was mostly one of the means employed rather than the end sought. Both wings of the WINEP, similar to Kadima, strove toward a Greater Israel (Eretz Yisrael) that includes all or most of Judea and Samaria. They both saw Irans support for the Palestinian resistance as the biggest obstacle in achieving that goal. As such, the charge that Iran is developing nuclear weapons and posing an existential threat to Israel became a convenient tool for containing Iran and stopping its support for the Palestinians. What separated the two sides was that the Labor wing believed that sanctions will eventually bring Iran to its knees, cause either a popular uprising to overthrow the Iranian regime or make Iran ripe for a US invasion. The Likud wing, however, had very little patience for sanctions. It wanted an immediate result, a series of military attacks against Iran, replacing the Iranian regime with a US-Israeli friendly government, as was done in Iraq. With the emergence of the Kadima Party in Israel in 2005, which brought together the likes of the Likud Party member Ariel Sharon and Labor Party member Shimon Peres, the differences between the two wings of the Washington Institute has mostly disappeared. Clintons Middle East men, such as D ennis Ross, Martin Indyk and Richard Holbrooke, are hardly distinguishable from Bush’s men, such as Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith. But since the latter group is temporarily out of office, the former is filling in. Ross has become the designated senior Israeli lobby man in Obama’s Administration. He has no expertise when it comes to Iran. But he knows that for the cause of Eretz Yisrael Iran must be contained; and given this goal, he knows how to recite, ad nauseum, all the usual lines of Israel and its lobby groups against Iran.

After breaking the back of the Palestinians and pushing for the invasion of Iraq, the Israeli lobby groups concentrated their forces to contain Iran. Given the Iraq fiasco and the neoconservatives falling from grace, the Israeli lobby groups settled on Dennis Ross, Israel’s lawyer, to lead the task of containing Iran. Since Ross has no knowledge of Iran, other members of the lobby, particularly their Iran experts, have been assisting Ross in his new role. Among these is the ex-Trotskyite, neoconservative Patrick Clawson, WINEPs deputy director for research and an anti-Iran zealot who has been obsessed for decades with the containment of Iran and Iraq. Over the years, with the help of these individuals Ross has developed a strategy to contain Iran. The strategy consists of arguing that: 1) Iran is developing nuclear weapons; 2) Iran is a threat to the US and an existential threat to Israel, and Israel will not tolerate mullahs with nukes (Sydney Morning Herald, October 16, 2004); 3) nuclear deterrent rules that governed relations between the United States and the Soviet Union do not hold when it comes to Iran, since Iranians, especially their president, are irrational and believe in the coming of the 12th Imam (The Washington Post, May 1, 2006); 4) Iran’s nuclear ambitions will start a nuclear arms race in the Middle East; 5) the Bush Administrations policy of dealing with Iran did not work, because it did not have enough sticks or carrots; 6) the US should push for a direct, but tough or aggressive diplomacy to stop Iran from enriching uranium and supporting terrorism (Newsweek, December 8, 2008); 7) the aggressive diplomacy should include pressuring the Europeans, as well as the Chinese and Russians, to stop trading with Iran; 8) the prohibition of trade should include preventing Iran from importing refined oil products and, ultimately, blockading Iran; and 9) once this tough and aggressive diplomacy fails and Iran does not change its behavior, then the US could legitimately launch military attacks against Iran, arguing that the it did everything in its power to resolve the situation peacefully.

The above arguments were summarized on March 13, 2008, in a news report in The Jerusalem Post, entitled Visiting Obama Middle East adviser: He’d be great for Israel. According to this report, Mel Levine, a staunchly pro-Israel former congressman from Los Angeles and, along with Dennis Ross, one of Obama’s seven Middle East advisers, told The Jerusalem Post during a visit to Israel that Obama believes that the way to stop Iran was with a combination of carrots and sticks. Levine was further quoted as saying: He believes that if you use carrots and sticks and engage in multilateral aggressive diplomacy then if you need to use the military option or do anything that needs to be done you are much more likely to get support of allies, more international support and broader American support. Mr. Levin had cut to the chase and stated clearly what Dennis Ross had been advocating for years, but in a more convoluted and diplomatic language. The tough and aggressive diplomacy, as Mr. Levin had made clear, was nothing but a series of motions that would set the stage for military action against Iran.

Ross’s arguments are often devoid of any factual content, as I have shown in What the Future has in Store for Iran. For example, in June 2008 the Washington Institute published a Presidential Study Group Reports entitled Strengthening the Partnership: How to Deepen U.S.-Israel Cooperation on the Iranian Nuclear Challenge.  One of the two co-convenors of the report was Dennis Ross. Subsequently, the advisors to both presidential candidates endorsed the report. As I argued in my October essay, this 6-page WINEP report, which was funded by a foundation supporting neoconservative causes, and was drafted in consultation with the WINEPs Israeli counterparts, contains almost nothing factual and, indeed, in several places contains errors. For example, like much of Ross’s other writings, this report tries to give the reader the false impression that Iran is building nuclear weapons. Yet, anyone familiar with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s reports knows that after many years of inspection, the IAEA has been unable to show any evidence of diversion of nuclear material in Iran. Or the report claims that the UN Security Council resolutions calling on Iran to suspend its enrichment program have been unanimous. As I have stated in my essay, even a cursory look at the news would reveal that this claim is false. For example, the third UN Security Council resolution, Resolution1803, did not pass unanimously. Indonesia abstained during the vote. Furthermore, as most news sources pointed out, Libya, South Africa and Vietnam joined Indonesia in expressing reservations [about the resolution] (AFP, March 3, 2008). Ross’s arguments, as I have shown in my October essay, are also often quite illogical. It is, for example, not at all clear why Iran’s nuclear ambitions will start a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, while Israel’s decades-old possession of nuclear weapons has not led to such an arms race. Similarly, it is not clear why Iranians, who might have certain religious beliefs, are irrational, but Israelis, who justify the existence of Israel on religious grounds, are rational.

After the June 2008 Presidential Study Group Reports, which was endorsed by Obama’s and McCain’s advisors, Ross and company wrote the September 2008 report of an independent task force sponsored by the bipartisan policy center on U.S. policy toward Iranian Nuclear Development. In this report they put forward the same falsehoods and illogical arguments. At the same time a neoconservative campaign was launched, under the title United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), in which Ross played a prominent role as the Co-Founder and Co-Chairman. The Advisory Board of UANI included, beside Ross, such notable figures as the neoconservative Mark Wallace, the President of UANI, advisor to Sarah Palin and a John Bolton recruit for a position at the UN; R. James Woolsey the neoconservative and member of the advisory board of The Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs; Henry Sokolski the neoconservative signatory of the Project for the New American Century signatory; and Richard C. Holbrooke, another Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of UANI. The neoconservative campaign included a slick and scary video advertisement, which is still available on the web. The video started with the message Stop Terrorism, Stop Human Rights Abuses, Stop Nuclear Iran. Small prints at the bottom of the message read Paid for by the American Coalition Against Nuclear Iran, Inc.. Following the introduction six hands appeared, black and white, joining in a circle around a map of Iran. The viewer was asked to join the cause by clicking on the video. If followed, a note would appear that read: Send a message to the nation that Iran’s nuclear program is unacceptable. Join United Against Nuclear Iran today and receive news updates and event reminders. Then the viewer was asked for name and email address. This was followed by an ominous video about Iran’s alleged development of nuclear weapons, repeating the same falsehoods and illogical arguments put forward by Dennis Ross and company on behest of the Israeli lobby groups.

After President Obama took office, the media was filled with the news of the impending appointment of Dennis Ross as Iran envoy. Yet the appointment appeared to be postponed. Various explanations appeared in the media for the postponement. Some reasoned that the postponement was at least partly due to Ross’s close ties with Israel. For example, on February 3, 2009, Robert Naiman wrote in the Huffington Post that allegation of dual loyalty is being raised against Dennis Ross. He further mentioned that Ross is still chair of the board of the Jerusalem-based Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, as indicated by that organizations website. [17] Others emphasized the fact that as far as Iran is concerned Ross’s appointment might kill any chance of rapprochement between Iran and the US. For example, The Christian Science Monitor reported on February 5, 2009, that from an Iranian perspective Ross is the pioneer of the American-Zionist lobby and under his leadership during the Clinton years the US policy was not one millimeter different from Israeli policy. The report quoted a Western diplomat as saying: There is no doubt they [Iranians] are all going to look at Ross as an Israeli proxy.

Some of the explanations given for the postponement of Ross’s appointment also explain his vague and broad job title, Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for the Gulf and Southwest Asia. Before the end of the 2008 presidential election there were rumors that Ross might be considered for the position of the Secretary of State (Haaretz, October 24, 2008). Once Obama was elected, and Hilary Clinton became Secretary of State, Ross apparently hoped to become at least the special envoy to Iran. But given his close ties with Israel and the fact that his containment plans were well known to the Iranians, he had to settle for a less provocative title. Needless to say that the new title, Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for the Gulf and Southwest Asia, is still quite provocative as far as Iran is concerned, since changing the name of the Persian Gulf to simply Gulf is offensive to many Iranians.

Whatever the reason for the postponement of Ross’s appointment and change of title, one thing is clear: the sly fox is now guarding the chicken coop. As Mel Levine said about Ross: He’d be great for Israel. With the help of Richard Holbrooke, Stuart Levey, Bush’s Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, who is now in Obama’s Administration, and all the other presidents Middle East men, Dennis Ross might be able to finish the unfinished business of the neoconservatives, the containment of Iraq and Iran. The Israelis and pro-Israel communities must be jumping with joy once again!

11-11

By Dr. A. S. Nakadar, TMO Publisher and CEO

The Stimulus Package

Tell me honestly, would you have been happy to see a stimulus package of $786 billion rather than $787 billion?   

Since the approval of this stimulus package by both houses, we have heard endlessly from all the sides of the political aisle, from people of different hues and so called experts discussing its advantages and disadvantages. Republicans oppose it and Democrats favor it.

The plan provides for increased government spending. More funding for unemployment benefits, increases food assistance and increases health insurance for the poor. It also calls for higher taxes on people who earn more than $250,000/year. The package includes construction and repair of high ways and bridges. Reduction in homeowner’s mortgage payments to prevent foreclosures. Schools and children’s education funding have received a priority in the stimulus packages. Huge amounts will be spent on development of alternate energy sources, and so forth.

The Senate package also includes two costly but popular tax breaks not in the House bill, an $11.5 billion measure that would encourage the purchase of autos by allowing buyers a write-off for local sales taxes and interest on loans and a $35.5 billion measure creating new tax credits that would equal 10% of a primary-home purchase, up to $15,000.

The prevention of a prolonged recession–or even a depression–required the injection of huge amounts of money into the system. Inaction would have been the worst course of action.

The recession would have continued to spiral without an end in sight. Republicans suggested that cutting taxes would have been better. The situation is different. The people who paid the bulk of the taxes are either unemployed, or working on a lowered salary, or their assets have dwindled. There is nothing to gain by reducing capital gain taxes further, when there are very little gains but more losses. How many rich people pay taxes anyway? They have enough legal loopholes so as to avoid paying taxes.

Some argue that without the stimulus package the economy and the dollar would self-adjust and emerge strong; in all probability no action would wreck the economy further, with internal turmoil and havoc. It is anyone’s guess how long the economy would take to correct itself. Moreover, during this period of inaction, it could put the global economies at risk. And hence it could usher in an unbearable shift in world power.

The stimulus package will result in direct payments to individuals, through unemployment compensation or tax credits, and through purchases of goods and services by the Federal government or indirectly in the form of grants to states and local governments.

The stimulus package will take time to work its way through. Its effect may become visible by the end of this year or early next year. It is likely to create jobs, roads, bridges and other services, stabilize the housing price slide, and tax incentives may help reduce mortgage foreclosures by lowering mortgage payments and restructuring the loans and by easing the credit crunch by injecting money into the banks.

The primary movers of the economy are the banks, the housing industry, and the auto industry.

The bank, through its lending activities, keeps the economy moving. The “toxic” mortgages choked off its prime lending activity. It bought the economy to a standstill. To keep it functioning, the Bush administration approved $700 billion under  TARP (the “Troubled Asset Relief Program”), and this year the Obama administration asked for a $750 billion infusion into the banking system. Last year European governments put $2.3 trillion on the line in guarantees and other emergency measures to save their banking system.

Bailing out the banks, and bringing back confidence in the banking system, required infusions of huge amounts of capital. Hank Paulson, the former treasury secretary, initially started to buy banks (nationalization) but soon learn its enormous problem and advised to give money to the bank with relative bank ownership (short of nationalization).

The other most important factor in moving the economy is the housing market. A house, especially a new house, supports number of industries by providing demand for lumber, electrical services, plumbing services, carpeting services, household appliances and so forth; it also supports your district schools and other city services through city taxes, thus the collapse of the housing market is considered a most significant risk to the economy. Once the housing market starts moving, it will impact the total economy.

Similarly, the auto industry provides employment to hundreds of thousands of people through its manufacturing plants, and supports hundreds of other smaller industries that manufacture its various components.

Keeping the above factors in mind–how one can protect his asset or what is in store for the future? 

An infusion of money will effectively devalue the dollar. Prices of all commodities, utilities and goods and services will start rising after a year or so, especially after the dust settles.

During the period of recession, cash will be king. So remain liquid. Be prudent in your purchases. If you are in a stock market, a certain portion of your portfolio must be in a Bear fund or hedged funds (20-30% or more depending upon your strategy). Keep 20-30% in cash. Divide the rest of the money between domestic shares and the overseas market.

TMO columnist Bob Wood, who predicted this bear market and mess before anyone else did, thinks it is headed lower, maybe below the 5000 level or so.

Here is what he says, “An interesting item in Barron yesterday showed that the Dow has lost half of what it gained since the Depression. I can go that one better. The Dow has lost one half of its gains since 1900! The Dow began the last century at 66. It peaked in October of 2007 at about 14,300. It is now at under 7,100. What that means to us is that it took 107 years for the Dow to rise to over 14,000, and 16 months to give half of those gains away!” According to him, the PE ratio is still very high, about 25, and has to fall about 10 or lower, before the stock market will show life.

The housing market: There is surplus inventory of 13 months supply. This provides an excellent buy opportunity, especially for those who are looking for a house to live. Not only are the prices at bargain levels, but the mortgage financing is low and the tax incentives are great. The time for real estate investment, land, apartments, shopping centers, etc; is good too, but you must have a holding capacity of at least 3-4 years without any significant income coming from that property. 

Gold, silver, and other commodities: Gold prices and the U.S. Dollar are inversely proportional. If the value of the dollar goes down, gold prices will go up. Gold will soar higher because it is and has always been the world’s hard currency. The current price of gold is around $900-$930/oz. It may rise to $1500 in the near term, and may reach $2000 in the long term. Every portfolio must have at least 5-10% in gold, either in shares or in actual bullion, as an insurance against any monetary catastrophe.

Taxes: Individual taxes and capital gains tax will ultimately go up after 2010. The astronomical trillion dollar deficits have to be financed. This is important in future tax planning, especially for tax shelters.

No matter what you do, you must have an investment strategy based on your age and income. If you develop a sound strategy, you will be prepared for the eventualities.

This is the last article from a series.

By Adil James, MMNS

Rochester–March 1–The bad economy affects Muslims as well as non-Muslims, and the Muslims suffering under the new economy also need jobs.  To serve its congregants, IAGD sponsored a career services and preparation day on Sunday March 1st, featuring Worldlink Communications, which provides training in speaking and presentation to groups and individuals.

The seminar was a very serious attempt to help IAGD community members who are also suffering the effects of the downturn in the economy and particularly the auto industry. 

Jay Johnson of Worldlink spoke in the initial hour of the 5 hour program about nonverbal communication. 

In an engaging manner he showed the importance of non-verbal communication, saying for example that according to the researcher and anthropologist Ray Birdshistell, a person only engages in “10 to 12 minutes of speaking per day,” showing therefore the importance of all of the other forms of communication during that typical day.  Johnson showed the importance of handshakes, body positioning, the position of arms and hands, whether a person slouches or stands straight, and eye contact.

He advised dressing well, giving the example of a “pick a doctor” slide, in which a tattooed bald man and a bespectacled smiling bearded man with a suit were put side by side.  After everyone “chose a doctor,” Johson revealed that the man in the suit is a serial killer, Harold Shipman, while the bald man with tattoos is in fact a famous doctor, Dr. Dave Ores. 

Therefore don’t judge by appearance, but be aware that others do, including you!

Mr. Johnson pointed out ways to see the attitude and receptivity of a person to whom a speaker is speaking also, and described ways to deal with people who are either very receptive or very unreceptive, saying that if a person crosses his arms, crosses his legs, and slouches slightly, that is an indication that he is absolutely rejecting what the speaker is saying, and it might be time to ask that person “have I said anything that has offended you in any way.”

IAGD has called Worldlink to help with many of its programs.  The Worldlink founders, explains Partner Terry Fischer, began as debating team members at Wayne State University, and started offering instruction programs as a business.  They have several high profile clients, and have helped IAGD train its school debating team, and have helped instruct its teachers in order to acclimate them to American culture in school.

This Saturday program was the first career development program they have offered, but judging from the rapt attention of the audience, it will not be the last.

11-11

Columbia Teachers’ guide promotes understanding of Muslims

NEW YORK, NY–Faculty at Teachers College have developed a curriculum guide for public school teachers designed to enhance understanding of Islam and promote tolerance of Muslim students.

About one in 10 students in New York City public schools are Muslim—nearly 100,000 in all. “Yet, they remain one of the most misunderstood segments of the student population, especially after 9/11,” writes Louis Cristillo, a research assistant and lecturer at Teachers College who developed the guide.

The curriculum guide grew out of Cristillo’s study of Muslim youth in New York public schools, published in preliminary form last spring, and an oral history publication produced by Muslim students about their everyday lives, This is Where I Need to Be, which was published by the Teachers College Student Press Initiative last year. Cristillo’s study, “Religiosity, Education and Civic Belonging: Muslim Youth in New York City Public Schools,” found that, of more than 320 Muslim students surveyed, 85 percent said they felt safe in their schools, but 17 percent reported having been the object of bigotry, often in the form of teasing or offensive taunting about Islam or being called a “terrorist.”

The guide is designed to help sixth- through eighth-grade teachers bring to life the themes explored by Muslim students in the oral history:  the cultural diversity of the American Muslim communities in the United States; media bias and Islamophobia; negative stereotypes and the role of education in promoting tolerance; the role of American cultural and civic values shaping Muslim identity; and the impact of peer pressure on the lives and attitudes of American Muslim youth. It includes visual aids for teachers to reproduce and include in their lessons. For example, there are images of two masks with heavy, white beards, one with a Santa Claus hat and one with a turban. Students can use the masks as a springboard for a discussion on ethnic stereotypes. 

“As educators in the era of globalization, we need to ensure that students are learning about one another from one another—especially in one of the most diverse cities in the world. However, any teacher in a multicultural setting regardless of location could use these curricula and implement it easily into their classroom,” says Teachers College faculty member Erick Gordon, who directs the Student Press Initiative.

The curriculum guide features five lesson plans and companion materials that can be taught over the course of one or two sessions, a semester or a year. Students are prompted to research the lives of notable historical, political and cultural figures that happen to be Muslim; build their own “identity charts”; and analyze media coverage of stories related to Islam. The guide also has tips for students on how to write oral histories. Each lesson addresses the academic standards drawn from the Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning content guide and can be used in language arts, English, history and social studies classes.

Prof. relates Muslim identity to the African-American community

PITTSBURGH–University of Pittsburgh faculty member Arif Jamal spoke last week about the roots of Islam within the African-American community to help commemorate Black History Month at Carnegie Mellon.

The lecture was a collaborative effort between the Muslim Students Association (MSA) and the black awareness organization, SPIRIT. While an acknowledged presence of Muslim communities across the U.S. exists, “not many people are aware of the diversities among Muslims,” Jamal said. He also said that a large segment of the Muslim population in the U.S. is actually from the U.S.; that is, they are American Muslims.

“Islam is not a new religion, even in Africa,” Jamal said. Contrary to the popular belief that Islam was brought to the Africans by Arabs, it is a part of a very “early metaphysical declaration” in the African continent, Jamal said.

“Islam became intertwined with African culture, and was incorporated into the African society…. Archeologists have dug up Muslim sites in Western Africa,” he said, displaying photographs of African-style mosques and pyramids, some shaped like large beehives.

Somali senior killed in San Diego

SAN DIEG0– The tight knit Somali American community was tarumatized after one of its senior members was killed in a car accident on his way to mosque.
Mohamed Abdirahman Husien emigrated from Somalia about a decade ago to flee a civil war, family members said. A retired engine mechanic, Husien filled his days with prayers, reading books and listening to radio news.

He lived in the heart of San Diego’s Somalian community, two blocks from Masjid Alnasar, a mosque on Winona Avenue. Husien was crossing University Avenue about 5 a.m. on the way to morning prayer when he was hit, family members said. 

11-11

By Aslam Abdullah, TMO Editor-in-chief

Mr. Randy Porsley, a life long resident of Corona, California, was watching Israel’s murderous genocide in Gaza with mounting displeasure. Mr. Porsley sent a letter to his local newspaper (www.pe.com) questioning Israel’s genocide in Gaza. He further suggested US should stop supporting the numerous Israeli war crimes like bombing civilians with napalm/phosphorous bombs. The local news paper Press Enterprise ignored his letter as they did for almost all anti-Israel letters. After this letter Mr. Porsley put a sign up on his house equating Israeli war crimes and Nazi war crimes.

For this sign he was threatened by the Corona police department. A couple of police officers including a Lieutenant came and “asked” him to remove the sign. The sign was on his own house and small enough like numerous signs such as merry Christmas etc. The officers admitted the sign was legal but still suggested it is “better” for him to remove it anyway. So Mr. Porsley complied.

Then Corona city officials started trying to boycott and embargo his wife and daughter’s beauty salon business (Hair Trends and co, 140 Corona Mall, Corona, 92879, PH: 951-371-3522). This is an illegal and immoral action by city officials and possibly Corona chamber of commerce.

Mr. Porsley’s opinions are his right. Mr. Porsley’s perceptions of Israeli criminality are in fact true and correct. The city of Corona has no business trying to intimidate people and suppress their free expression. City of Corona has no business trying to censor people personal opinions. Lastly the city of Corona has no right to attack the business of some one’s wife and daughter because they don’t like his opinions. Please review Mr. Porsley’s letters to his local newspaper. This is a city sponsored intimidation tactic to prevent people from expressing their anger at Israeli war crimes. We would like to get all people of conscience, brothers and sisters from inter faith, move on and other groups to come on board in support of Mr. Porsley’s freedom of speech and expression.

In supporting Mr. Porsley freedom of speech and expression we are supporting our own freedom of speech and expression. In opposing the boycott and economic pressure directed against Mr. Porsley’s wife and daughter we are in fact defending our own wives and daughters. We request that all people of conscience call Mr. Porsley and give him support. Those who can please call his wife and daughter’s hair salon and get hair cuts or salon treatments so as to break the economic boycott being faced by Mr. Porsley and his wife and daughter.

Mr. Porsley’s Letter #1 to Press Enterprise the Local newspaper. I keep reading In the Op-eds and seeing on TV that Hamas started the latest atrocity in Gaza by firing small cheap rockets into Israel. Actually Israel broke the approximate 6 month cease fire with an incursion that killed 6 Palestine’s. That started the latest fight. After Israel pulled out the illegal settlers and the I.D.F they turned to Gaza into an open air prison of approximately 1.5 million men, women, and children.
This is a humanitarian tragedy. And Israel wonders why the Gazans shoot cheap firecracker rockets at Israel. The Israeli response? F-16, helicopters, gun ships, tanks, etc.

As of this writing to 1-9-9. 750 Palestinians dead and over 2,000 wounded. 13 Israeli dead. 4 of these by friendly fire. This is unbelievable. I don’t think history shows that Israel wants peace with Palestinians. All they want is the land. Check out the illegal settler movement in the western bank.

The United States is the only country that can rein in Israel. The illegal settlements and occupation must come to an end if peace is to come to the middle east.

Randy Porsley
Corona, Ca,
Randy’s Letter #2.

I guess my sign has upset some folks. I was and am extremely upset about the genocide Israel just did to the Palestinians in Gaza. Ok, I had the sign up for 3 days.
The coppers came up and asked if I would remove the sign because some people got their feelings hurt. When I took the sign down I figured it was all over. Well I guess it isn’t.

I believe Steve Kline, Mr. Talbert , the Mayor, and a few others at the city of Corona are trying to sabotage my wife and daughter’s beauty salon. So far this week five city employees said they would boycott the salon for what I put on the sign. This is absolutely incredible. The city of Corona trying to put a city business out of business, because of a political statement by me Randy Porsley on the absolute genocide in Gaza.

Now I am not a retaliatory type of person, but I am up to a good fight if need be. How would you people like it if I was to put up a bigger sign that reads: “Israel is Racist Apartheid Terrorist state”?

Randy Porsley 951-735-9208

PS: Bill of Rights 1st Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Ratified 1771.

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Courtesy Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz Correspondent

The Anti-Defamation League on Monday blasted Amnesty International as denying Israel the right to defend itself after the human rights organization urged a global freeze on arms sales to Israel.

“In calling for an arms embargo of Israel, Amnesty International is doing nothing short of denying Israel the right to self-defense, an internationally accepted right of every sovereign nation,” said ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman in a statement.

Amnesty called for the embargo in a report released Monday that claimed more than 20 countries sold Israel weapons and munitions whose use during its offensive in Gaza could constitute war crimes and might pose serious infractions of international law.

“Indeed, with this pernicious and biased report, Amnesty International has now become the research arm for and a proponent of the extremist anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions movement,” the Jewish-American organization’s statement said.

“The manner in which Amnesty’s ‘evidence’ is presented and the tone of the report convey an obvious agenda to vilify Israel.”

The Foreign Ministry also lambasted the report on Monday, calling it biased and stating that Amnesty ignored the fact that Hamas is a terror organization.

Israel has faced a spate of war crimes allegations following the offensive against Hamas, in which about 1300 Palestinians were killed, according to Gaza officials. 13 Israelis were also killed during the campaign, which Israel launched to combat cross-border rocket fire.

In the ADL statement, Foxman added: “The report omits any mention of Hamas’ use of civilian shields, or tactics of basing their operations in the midst of population centers, in mosques, hospitals, schools, and UN facilities.”

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By Geofrey Cook, MMNS

Camp Meeker (Calif.)–In his speech to the American Congress, President Obama (on February 25th) has publicly pledged the U.S. to do all within its power to rebuild the decimated infrastructure of the Strip.  As I have just gone through my e-mail, I have received a memo (Feb. 27th) that Barack Obama has instructed the District of Columbia’s Secretary of State Hilary Clinton (formerly a pro-Israeli Senator) and Washington’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, the (former) Senator George Mitchell, whose ancestry is half Arab, to relay to the Israelis the D.C. Administration’s demands to open up Gaza’s frontiers immediately to humanitarian aid.  The day before (Feb. 26th) the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) reported that the two major Palestinian political forces, Hamas and Fatah, had agreed in Cairo to reconcile; to exchange their mutual prisoners and to work towards a government of national unity, which is desperately required for the rehabilitation of the destruction done to modern Philistia, and to present a united front to the modern Israeli State as well as to potential donor countries and to NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations).

I am basing my column for this week on a conference call made with experts and activists from the (U.S.) Campaign to End the (Israeli) Occupation in January. 
Aljazeera conveyed on (Feb. 27th) that the “Centrist” Israeli Labor Party has refused to link with Rightwing Likud Party to form a government of national unity.  This should guarantee any lack of “moderating” constraint towards their Palestinian neighbors.

Speaking about U.N. Resolution 1860, which called for an immediate ceasefire–  but subsequently was disrespected by both sides during the “hot” battle over Gaza — the General Assembly had put pressure on the United Nations’ Security Council.  “It is [was] not a perfect document, but it was unanimous” except for the (then) Bush Administration’s abstention.  Curiously, the part played by the Nicaraguan Left-of-Center government and their (New York) Ambassador had much to do with bringing that Resolution forward.

Minuscule Israel has demonstrated a pattern of slapping its American “allies” — and the rest of the world as a whole — in the face.  During the recent hostilities, the bombing of the U.N. compound and their school were War crimes, and I recently sent a fax to every member of the General Assembly to set up a Special War Crimes Tribunal to investigate these outrages and the myriads more that have emerged.  Further, Amnesty International has called upon the U.S. to fully end any military aid to the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces).  The U.S. Campaign is not only pressuring the American authorities but the worldwide populace as well.

One of the expert presenters, compared Tel Aviv’ attack upon Gaza to their assault upon the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) in Lebanon leading up to the 1982 Sabra and Shatilla massacres. 

As I mentioned in previous articles on the crisis, the original truce between the Jewish State and Gaza City was broken by Samaria’s incursion on November 4th of last year, causing unacceptable Palestinian casualties — including  children.  The Gazans responded with inaccurate defensive rocket fire. 

On December 27, the Isralis invaded with American armaments directed at the civilian populations and passing over most military targets to compel the citizens to demand regime change from their Hamas-led government.  That politically backfired, and only strengthened Hamas’ hand over their territory.

Strangely, most of the governmental buildings in Gaza City were built by the EU, and their destruction has angered Brussels greatly.  Many nations withdrew their Ambassadors from Israel!  With this, worldwide boycotts against the state have been accelerated. 

Europe feels this incident has been an attack against all of Palestine!  Unfortunately, the Palestinian Authority has shown grave weakness, and resentment has developed on the West Bank and in the diaspora as well as the Gaza Strip against them and their Fatah leadership.  Instead of destroying or weakening the more radical Hamas, it has strengthened them within all the Palestinian enclaves.  The Israeli-Palestinians–Arabs living within the “Jewish” State, holding Israeli citizenship, who happen to make up a fifth of the Israeli population, demonstrated quite vociferously during the tragedy on the southern sea coast.  Yet, at the same, this gave ammunition to Tel Aviv’ right-wing, who wished to expel them and to grab their land, claiming that they were not loyal residents, and, thus, could not be trusted.  (In the debate over a one State or two a two State solution, in a one State solution Israel would no longer be a Jewish majority nation.)

The US Campaign is an advocacy group within the United States to end the US government’s unquestioning support of Israel.  The articles I have written in the past upon their positions and research is directed on how to create a more humane policy towards the Middle East from Washington. 

Josh Ruebner a staffer at the Campaign proclaimed, “We can’t stop our advocacy when the guns fall silent.  We must prevent the next War!” He encouraged them to organize at the local level. There have been some successes at the municipal level to pass resolutions against what has happened within Gaza.  This helps us to influence our Federal reps to counter the high powered propaganda from AIPAC (America Israel Public Affairs Committee).  The Obama government seems to be much more open handed, but the public must, also, be more pro-active by expressing our opinions and desires.  I might mention even the powerful previously pro-Israel California Senator Dianne Feinstein has been currently circulating an important letter advocating a much more even handed approach towards our Holiest of Lands.

Now, what is needed is the State Department to talk directly to Hamas!

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