Poor Voter Turn-Out in the City of Houston Elections

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Only Around 118,000 People Came Out To Vote

800px-Election_MG_3455Out of the around 983,000 registered voters in the City of Houston, only about 118,000 showed up during the Mayoral & City of Houston Council Elections 2011 (about 12%). In some of the District Level Elections, the turn-out was even less than 10%. Many critics have said that this is not a good trend for a democracy.

In a race of six candidates, incumbent Mayor Annise Parker won the election, after getting only 59,920 votes (58,001 votes going to other five candidates) and barely avoiding a runoff, a signal that she lacks any sort of mandate heading into her second term.

“I want to thank the voters of Houston for giving me two more years in a job that I love,” she said. “I am still excited to go to work every day, absolutely thrilled.”
Ms. Parker ended up with 50 percent of the vote with 100 percent of the precincts reported. Of her five challengers, Jack O’Conner was the next closest, with 15 percent of the votes. Fernando Herrera came in third with 14 percent.

Recent media polls suggest that some voters haven’t been happy with Parker’s performance. Local TV Channel 11 Political Analyst Bob Stein has said the low voter turnout wasn’t exactly good news for Parker.

“It doesn’t help when the mandate she gets is less than 5-or-10 percent of the eligible registered voters here in the city,” said Stein. “It just doesn’t speak well when she has a difficult fight with some of the council members. True, they’re not getting many more voters either. But it’s hard to lead when very few people show up.”

In the Houston area just about 12% of the registered voters showed up at the polls, officials said. At the West Gray Multi-service Center in River Oak, traditionally one of the busiest polling places in Houston, the number of voters was at an all-time low. It was a far cry from Election Day two years ago when voter lines extended all the way around the building.
Incumbent City Council Member Jolanda Jones’ position was sought by three challengers. Jack Christie, a chiropractor and former Texas State Board of Education Chairman will be up against Ms. Jones on December 10th, 2011 run-off elections.

Another incumbent, Brenda Stardig of District A, finished second in a three-way race. The other two runoffs are for District B to replace term-limited Councilman Jarvis Johnson. His aide, Alvin Byrd and non-profit director Jerry Davis are in the runoff for that seat. And we won’t have the At-Large 2 seat filled until December 10th. It will be either Pastor Andrew Burks or former State Representative Kristi Thibaut, replacing outgoing Councilwoman Sue Lovell.

Nancy Sims, a political analyst with Pierpont Communications says the turnout for the regular election was dismal already, so bleak might be a better prediction for the run-off races.
“Traditionally when we’re in a non-mayoral election year we do tend to have lower voter turnout in the run-off because all people are coming out for is these council races. So there’s nothing else on the ballot to pull them out. But the district races will probably drive the bulk of the turnout.”

Sims is referring to the run-off races in Districts A and B which are likely to generate more activity at the polls, and therefore those voters are more likely to determine the outcome of the two at-large races on the ballot.

But Sims says all Houston voters should take this election seriously.

“I would encourage voters to pay close attention. This is an important race. You’ve got four members of council, that’s going to be a quarter of the new council, with run-offs and still picking that leadership. So it’s important and every Houstonian can vote in the at-large races.”

Houston’s run-off election will be held Saturday, December 10th, 2011. There are four city council races on the ballot.

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Community News (V13-I47)

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Howard gets women only swim times

HOWARD, MD–Women living in Maryland now have access to their own swim times at swimming pools. The accomodation was made after members of the Dar al Taqwa mosque in cooperation  faith-based county group, People Acting Together in Howard, met with the Columbia Association to create a twice-weekly, women-only swim time, a trial that is scheduled to be announced Tuesday.

The Columbia Association, which operates 23 pools in Howard, will join other communities that have made similar accommodations to create a more welcoming atmosphere for Muslims and other female swimmers.

The change has been welcomed not only by Muslim women but also others. Katlin Lampke, for instance, told the Baltimore Sun, “During puberty, my body was changing. I was getting made fun of or hit on,” she said. “It was very embarrassing.” She stopped going.

“She was really uncomfortable,” said her mother, Amy Lampke, 46. “We both love the water, but the experience changed. When this came up …, I thought, ‘What a great idea.’”

Ali Khademhosseini honored with presidential award

Using fish cells to generate artificial muscles, a Harvard University professor is aiming to create functional tissues that could one day help robots move like living creatures.
Dr. Ali Khademhosseini’s work for the Office of Naval Research (ONR) has earned him a spot among 94 scientists and engineers recently recognized by President Obama with the highest government award for young professionals on the cusp of promising independent research.

Coordinated by the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is conferred annually upon researchers who are nominated by 16 federal agencies and departments.

Khademhosseini was one of nine PECASE selectees contributing breakthrough advances to ONR-funded programs. They each received a citation, a plaque and an opportunity to meet with the president in a ceremony at the White House on Oct. 14. The award comes with a potential five-year grant worth $200,000 annually to continue their research efforts.
“The most amazing part was meeting the president and getting to shake hands with him, and spending a few minutes talking with him. It was a totally unbelievable and unforgettable experience,” Khademhosseini said.

Faisal Khan named Chicago city council’s new legislative inspector

CHICAGO,IL–Chicago’s City Council has chosen Faisal Khan as its new legislative inspector.

Khan, 37, spent four years as a senior investigator for the Big Apple’s version of the Independent Police Review Authority and seven more as an assistant district attorney in Queens County. He served as New York City’s inspector general until September 2010.

He was selected after a rigorous process which initially had 170 applicants. 44 passed muster with the Department of Human Resources and 30 candidates were interviewed by a blue-ribbon selection committee that subsequently settled on Khan.

“You’ll be very surprised by him. He’ll be a very independent inspector general,” Ald. Dick Mell said after introducing Khan’s appointment at last week’s City Council meeting.
Khan has a bachelors degree in criminology from the State University of New Jersey and a JD from Brooklyn Law School.

Saba Ahmed switches support to Republican Party

Saba Ahmed, who recently ran in the Democratic primary for Oregon’s 1st Congressional District, has switched her support to Republican Party. Explaining her switch on her facebook page she wrote:
“(M)y conservative Islamic values (pro-life, pro-family values, pro-business) made it very hard for me to defend myself as a Democrat. George Bush advocated water boarding torture just like Obama advocated drone missiles. Both parties treat Muslims badly, which is why American economy is going bankrupt fighting Islam. Inshallah, I look forward to helping foster a better understanding of our faith…

And yes I was banned from the Oregon Tea Party and Washington County Republicans earlier this year because of my Islamic beliefs, but I have to believe there is room for learning. I have to try and make a place for myself even if i’m unwelcomed. I know several tea party republicans hate me because they somehow blame me for 9/11. But I know once we talk to each other, get to know one another, we can all heal together. Inshallah!”

Students demand resignation of professor for alleged remarks

CALUMET,IN–Students at Purdue University Calumet are asking for the resignation of one of the faculty members for his alleged anti-Muslim remarks. According to published reports Maurice associate professor of political science Moshe Eisenstein posted comments attached with a link to a YouTube video on his Facebook page on Nov. 6, where he asked for justice for the killings of black Christians in Nigeria while lashing out towards Muslims.

The video link was found by another PUC professor, which then started a heated debate between Eisenstein and PUC students via Facebook. On one of Facebook comments,Eisenstein allegedly  wrote that “Muslims are barbarians and that they are nothing more to me than dogs.” He further wrote that Muslims are “out to kill him,” the Chronicle reports.

Eisenstein has taught at PUC since 1993 and received tenure in 2000.

Students have also complained that he has a history of making such remarks and complaints were filed in the past.

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Banks Promise Not to Commit Fraud … Until Next Time

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By John Reeves

As part of a settlement with the SEC last month, Citigroup (NYSE: C) promised it would never again, as The New York Times put it, “violate one of the main antifraud provisions of the nation’s securities laws.” That seems like a noble aim, and we’d love to believe that Citigroup means what it says.

Unfortunately, Citigroup made a similar pledge in July 2010, according to the Times. Oh, wait, and there were other agreements in May 2006, March 2005, and April 2000. When it comes to financial fraud, it seems, you can have five strikes, and still be up at the plate.

And Citi isn’t the only one. According to the Times’ study, during the last 15 years, there were “at least 51 cases in which 19 Wall Street firms had broken antifraud laws they had agreed never to breach.” Here is a complete list of 16 of those companies that declined to comment on the findings:

American International Group (NYSE: AIG)
Ameriprise
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC)
Bear Stearns
Columbia Management
Credit Suisse
Deutsche Asset Management
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS )
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM )
Merrill Lynch
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS )
Putnam Investments
RBC Dain Rauscher
Raymond James
UBS
Wells Fargo/Wachovia (NYSE: WFC )

This is pretty outrageous even by Wall Street standards, and it tells us a lot about our current regulatory system. If financial firms know that their promises to “not commit fraud” are meaningless, then we’ve created a culture where there is very little downside to unethical behavior and the aggressive pursuit of dubious new products.

The SEC seems to be saying, “Hey, our lawyers are overmatched vis-a-vis these big firms. The best we can do is try to squeeze out a token settlement every once in a while, and call it a day.” Surely our financial institutions know this, and probably view the occasional SEC wrist slap as the part of the price of doing business.

All hope is not lost, however. Just the other day a federal judge called into question the toothless practice of asking firms to make meaningless pledges to not break securities laws in the future. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff asked the SEC if these agreements were “just for show.” He also made it clear that he had very serious concerns about the settlement between the SEC and Citi. He has yet to decide whether or not to approve the deal.

One way or another, we need to ensure that in the future, financial fraud is treated like the serious crime that it is. Maybe the fines should include a few more zeroes at the end of them, and then double from there for future infractions. Remember the “zero tolerance” policy toward petty crime in New York City in the late 1980s and 1990s? Maybe we need “zero tolerance” for financial fraud on Wall Street in 2011 and beyond. Anything would be better than the current “zero effectiveness” approach. We can do better than this.

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Helping Detroit… Tree by Tree

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By Jumana Abusalah

Jumana AbusalahDetroit is slowly but surely changing for the better. There are many sites and organizations that have been created for the sole purpose of bettering Detroit. One such organization is titled “The Greening of Detroit”. It is a non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire and guide others to create a ‘greener’ Detroit through planting and environmental educational programs.  They work to benefit Detroit socially, economically, and environmentally.

On Sunday November 6th, Wayne State University’s Muslim Student Association (MSA) teamed up with The Greening of Detroit to plant trees along Dingeman Park. The group of volunteers was large and we succeeded in planting many trees. It was  a very fun experience, yet it was very inspirational. A person does not really think that a tree can make a difference, but after working hard digging and planting for hours, we looked at the end result and realized that that planting a single tree does make a difference! The entire street, once empty and vacant, was transformed into a beautiful landscape with colorful fall leaves and maple trees. 

Waking up the next day with aches and pains never felt better! Feeling that we did something to help the community and please Allah at the same time, left the entire MSA satisfied and eager for more. This experience inspired many students to care about their community and made them realize that when we work together, we can achieve great things!

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Huda Graduates, Onward and Upward

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By Adil James, TMO

PB150147
r-l:  Hossam Musa, Omar Mahmood, Abdelrahman Allam, Zac Saleh, Mohammad Rathur, Hassan Saleh, Moaz Sinan, Principal Azra Ali.

Huda School’s Class of 2008 are young Muslims with promising futures.  They are now in their senior years at local high schools and have been achieving academic excellence.  I interviewed six members of the 16-member class Tuesday night at Huda, and they recited their accomplishments.  Their ACT scores range from 26 to 35 (the maximum possible is 36), from the 86th percentile up to the 99th.  All except one have ACT scores above 30.  One has a GPA of 4.0, but that is not the highest GPA among them–one has a 4.2. 

They attend the best local secular private and public schools, such as the International Academy (IA), Detroit Country Day School (DCDS), and Lahser High School.  They hold leadership positions–one serves as the captain of his school’s basketball team.

One is a published poet. Two have received full scholarships at local universities.

All those I spoke with showed their love for friends and family through their familiarity with one another, and most by one telling decision. They mostly had a preference for attending university in Michigan–most of those present intended to attend the University of Michigan Ann Arbor–despite their all being likely successful candidates at very selective East coast or California universities.

Moaz Sinan, who earned a 32 on his ACT and attends the International Academy, expressed a desire to attend the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

Abdelrahman Allam received a 31 on his ACT, has a 4.0 at Lahser High School.  He would like to go to Stanford but also applied to Ann Arbor.

Zac Saleh has a 4.2 average at IA.  He applied to Ann Arbor, Michigan State, and Wayne State. He received a 31 on his ACT.

Mohammed Rathur received a 26 on his ACT (which gives him a score in the high 80s percentile), attends DCDS, and plans to attend either the University of Michigan Ann Arbor or Michigan State.

The character among the group was Hassan Saleh, a young man with a full ride at Wayne State University–he would not give his GPA but he said that the average full ride at Wayne is a 3.83 GPA and 30 ACT. He has published 2 poems.  His family moved here from Palestine in 1983.

One standout from the graduating class was not present.  Tariq Akeel, the son of prominent local attorney Shereef Akeel, is, in the words of one of his classmates “the best soccer player ever to come from Detroit Country Day School.”  He was recruited by many Ivy League colleges, including Princeton, Yale, and Brown.

The Huda class of 2008 was unique in that they were all together for at least six years, most since kindergarten but all from at least 2nd grade through 8th.  They remain close, as was evidenced during my visit with them–the six of them joked playfully with one another during the entirety of my time with them.

They spoke highly of their time at Huda, and again and again the students referred to the character education they had received there.

“I miss touch football during recess, exploring the forest and swamp next to the school, collecting frogs and bringing them back to the lab,” said one.

They all studied Arabic during their time at Huda, and Hossam Musa, a trained hafiz who serves as the head of Huda’s Qur`an, Arabic and Islamic Studies (QAIS) program, explained that the students learn half a juz of Qur`an every year.  Some Huda students even take a break to attend the Tawheed Center’s Hifz school until they finish memorizing Qur`an, then return to their classes at Huda.

After Huda, the students go on to the best local schools.  The students explain that “About a dozen students from Huda are at DCDS,” and “about 20 at IA.”

“The non-Muslim kids know Huda is good.”

Mr. Musa has so much belief in his students that you can almost feel his love for them in his words.  “All you guys are at the top of your class–insha`Allah this will continue at the national level.” 

He compares the students to Steve Jobs, or the CEO of Domino’s.  “Keep up whatever you did in high school–continue through college–whatever you do, stay on the same track.”

The principal of Huda for the past four years is Azra Ali, a very bright young woman originally from Hyderabad, whose well-behaved children also attended the meeting. 
She speaks with great pride about Huda’s prominence.  “Huda is the first Islamic IB school in the Midwest.” 

In fact, although she does not mention that fact herself, Mrs. Ali was the one to bring Huda the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. 

She speaks highly of the quality of the Huda education, and of its staff.  On the mandatory state exams, she explains, “98% of the students test  proficient if not advanced.”

“QAIS is strong as well.”  She speaks highly of the moral lessons learned at the school, which begin with a group du’a every morning. 

There are 10 major character themes that Huda inculcates, and she explains that “this month was compassion, last month friendship, the previous month respect.”

What seems unique and enlightened in her approach, however, is that Huda inculcates belief in Islam and patriotism at the same time.  Both she and Hossam Musa explain that Huda tries to teach the students to be “patriotic but at the same time have a Muslim identity.”

They cite a recent Veteran’s Day observance, where the students focused on the achievements of veterans, as evidence.

The school is very diverse.  There are students from the Middle East and from South Asia, and also recently more African American Muslims.  “All together under a Muslim umbrella,” as Mrs. Ali puts it.

In fact what was most remarkable about the students was that one of the few that I met, and one I did not meet, took the time to write short but heartfelt notes about what they felt Huda had given them:

Below is the note from Abdelrahman Allam:

“Huda School did prepare us very well academically. I noticed that immediately freshman year that it was an easy transition academically. Yes I have a high GPA, and yes I did well on my ACT, Alhamdullilah, but those are things that anyone can learn to do. There are plenty of people who didn’t go to Huda School who were able to accomplish these things. The one thing you’ll notice about our class, and this is due to the environment we were taught in, is the strength of our character. It has allowed us to continue to be leaders. Walk into any Senior or even Junior class at some of our high schools and ask people to tell you about myself, or Zac, or [one other student]. You will only hear great things. The social transition was not a breeze. But our high character made it easy to adjust and have people see us as role models and people they want to get to know. This is what will determine our future success, not how well we do in school, but how we respect and elicit respect from others. We learned to do that at Huda School.”

Another Huda grad who could not be present but who sent some biographical information was Uzair Khan, who received a 35 on his ACT.  Mr. Khan wrote a brief essay which again emphasized the character building he experienced at Huda.

Khan explained that “[t]he best part about Huda School is the small grade size.  It allowed for many of us to enjoy our times at Huda, from playing basketball to the end of the year field trips to Cedar Point.  To this day, many of us former Huda students remain very close friends and I am sure that those bonds will never break throughout our life.”

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Can We Stop Tradition Erosion?

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By Akif Abdulamir (Desert Classics)

I gave my children a choice where to eat when I decided to treat them. I knew the answer but I was hoping it would be some restaurant that served healthy traditional food.

Our children’s choice of eating at a famous fast food restaurant never surprises us. To them, burgers and chips never tasted so good. A plate of rice never has the same appeal since it is an old fashioned  tradition from our ancestors.

To our kids, anything that has been handed over from the past generations is backward. If they see it in  the movies or the Internet than it is “cool”, anything else is “rubbish.” The fear of losing one’s culture and customs has never been real. As we move on deep into the twenty-first century, we gradually but surely leave behind the richness of our heritage.

The truth is that very little is being done to stop the erosion. Don’t get me wrong. I am not blaming the West but the East for ignoring the basics. There is no doubt that we can still drive a car and surf the net but ignoring what is more important to life has dreadful consequences. I am very convinced we are fighting a losing battle because we welcome unreservedly a culture that has a few problems. Let me give you an example. One of my younger relatives chose to stay behind in UK to celebrate Christmas to be with his friends but flatly refused to join his family for Eid.

There was nothing his parents could do about it. Should they blame themselves for sending him abroad to study or the lack of firm upbringing? I don’t know but youngsters ignore the basics even at home. One youth told me that, “wearing a shirt and a pair of trousers does not mean I am a Westerner” when he went with me to a mosque on his friend’s wedding night.

I asked him what it meant not ever wearing the traditional clothing. He said that tradition had nothing to do with appearance but what was in his heart. I probed deeper and asked him what was in his heart. He thought about it and said, “I know who I am and my background, isn’t that enough?”

I dropped the subject seeing him getting agitated. Today’s youth are increasingly letting themselves get confused by a clash of cultures. For instance, more than half of the youth celebrate the New Year and stay out late. On face value, one would argue there that there is nothing wrong with that. On closer scrutiny, less than ten per cent of them ever notice the Islamic New Year let alone celebrate it. What has really gone wrong in the past thirty years or so? International integration of people cannot be blamed nor the fast pace of development. It is also not fair to point accusing fingers at Western education. We invited it because we need it to overcome many challenges otherwise we would have been left behind.

The ever decreasing number of traditionalists live in fear that the Gulf would soon fall under the hammer of whole-sale Westernisation. The auction is gathering momentum, so they say, and the highest bidders are examining prized exhibits.

I am not endorsing that theory nor opposing it but I would like to be an observer and write about it at a later date. To many, it is not about fast food restaurants or other external influences. It is about preserving an identity before the hammer falls down.

Akif Abdulamir is an Oman-based writer

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This Thanksgiving Be Grateful

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“It is He Who brought you forth from the wombs of wombs of your mothers when you knew nothing; and He gave you hearing and sight and intelligence and affections – that you may give thanks.”

Life in the United States is by far superior to most places in the world.  This is primarily because of the freedoms we enjoy here that most other places in the world are not aware of; and for this we should give thanks.  We should be thankful to live in a country that opens its doors to other cultures, ethnic groups, and religious persuasions and allows them to live and practice as they see fit – as long as the spirit of the law is adhered to.

This Thanksgiving season that is approaching gives us an excellent opportunity to show our gratitude to God for everything He has bestowed on us.  There have been so many extraordinary acts of kindness heaped on Muslims, Jews, Christians and other people of faith, who know and understand that good people abound in other faiths as they do in the faith they ascribe to.  So we should be proud and hold our heads high and thank God for His Beneficence to those who believe in Him

We had nothing, before God, in His infinite Mercy, gave us life from the womb.  But He didn’t stop there.  He didn’t just create man and leave him be.  He created man and gave him guidance, intelligence, and put love in his heart – so that man can be grateful and express that gratitude in the best manner – which is utilizing those gifts for His service.

There are also atrocities happening in the world that we might tend to look at in a negative way.  Some might wonder how to look for ways to be grateful in the wake of such chaos?   But the truth is Almighty God makes a way for the believers to gain something positive out of everything He sends to us or allows to happen to us.  And for this we should be grateful.

We must be enthusiastic, bold, and straightforward in presenting our religion in the best light.  Above all, we must not cringe and hide our identity for fear of being looked at unfavorably.  The true religion and Islamic character will bring people to you faster than you can imagine.  The Prophet (s) was the best example of all humanity and just to act like him puts you in an imitation of his position – and other faiths realize it.  And for this we should be grateful.

The Prophet (s) treated everyone with respect.  We should do the same.  Whether you realize it or not, people admire Muslims for not taking intoxicants or unclean food – even though they might partake of these substances themselves.  It is not necessary to shout our way of life to everyone we meet, but we should be enthusiastic in living these virtues.  People will notice.  And for this we should be grateful.

We must be enthusiastic in keeping our faith in God.  Be thankful for everything.  God–ALLAH will bless us immensely for recognizing His gifts and then being thankful for them.  It is said of gratitude, “as for those who only pay lip-service to gratitude, and do not give thanks with the rest of their faculties, they are like a man who has a garment and all he does with it is touch it, but he does not put it on: it will never protect him from heat, cold, snow, or rain.  Let us wear our “garment”.

And in the Holy Qur’an He says, “If you be grateful, I will give you more.”

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Syria Calls for Arab League Emergency Meeting

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By Martin Chulov in Beirut

Syria has called for an emergency meeting of the Arab League after the regional body announced it will suspend Damascus from its membership ranks on Wednesday and impose sanctions – a move that has sharply escalated tensions across the region.

The regime of President Bashar al-Assad wants the urgent meeting held before the suspension is due to take effect. Syrian officials made the demand after a night of apparently sponsored violence against the diplomatic missions of states that had voted to punish it because of a crackdown against demonstrators in defiance of an earlier understanding.

On Saturday night, protesters stormed the Saudi Arabian and Turkish embassies in Damascus and the Qatari mission in nearby Beirut, prompting Turkey and Saudi Arabia to withdraw non-essential diplomats and their families.

Turkey has also demanded compensation for damage to its embassy and warned its citizens against travelling across its southern border.

Last month, the US also withdrew its ambassador after the US embassy was twice stormed by a crowd.

The British Foreign Office minister, Alistair Burt, condemned the latest embassy attacks on Sunday. “By allowing these attacks to take place, the Syrian regime is demonstrating yet again that its first response is repression and intimidation,” he said. “This cycle of violence must stop now for the sake of the Syrian people and for those who support them.”

Turkey called on the international community to stop the bloodshed in Syria, a demand that appeared to leave open the possibility of some kind of intervention.

An unnamed Syrian official told the state news agency Sana on Sunday that Arab League monitors could travel to the country to assess the situation before the suspension is due to take effect on 16 November.

Such a concession had been a key demand of the body, which two weeks ago thought it had struck a broad deal with Damascus to end the violence.

However, clashes have intensified since then, with daily death tolls often of more than 20 people, meaning November – the eighth month of the Syrian uprising – is likely to be its bloodiest yet.

A large pro-regime rally saw thousands turn out in central Damascus on Sunday in what was cast as a spontaneous mass display of backing for Assad, whose support base remains stronger in the capital and in the commercial hub of Aleppo than in the third and fourth cities, Hama and Homs. Daily clashes there between troops and protesters underline a deepening divide with ever-sharpening sectarian dimensions.

Syria is ruled by the Assad clan, hailing from the Allawite sect, which has close ties to Shia Islam. The Allawites account for around 12% of all Syrians, but are deeply entwined into the establishment.
Other minorities include Christians, Druze and Kurds. However, the bulk of Syrians are Sunni Muslims, whom the regime fears have drawn strength from successful revolts in the Sunni states of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.

The effect of Syria’s suspension is not yet clear, and neither are the type of sanctions that the Arab League may impose. The organisation’s secretary general, Nabil al-Arabi, said on Sunday that he is “studying mechanisms” to protect Syrian people.

He left open the possibility of again referring Syria to the UN security council, where Syrian allies Russia and China last month blocked a move that had threatened to bring security council sanctions.
Arabi said the league did not have the means to act alone.

Despite its relative lack of clout, the Arab League move is significant on the global stage, where European and US policymakers had been struggling to craft a means of stopping the violence in Syria without causing a collapse in regional stability.

Without the cover from the Arab League that the US received in March, Barack Obama would have been much less likely to authorise the use of the US military in the early stages of the Libyan operation – an essential element of the ultimately succesful Nato operation.

The move against Syria – only the second of its kind in the history of the 22-state organisation – is likely to embolden states opposed to the regime but fearful of the knock-on effects of the fall of Assad.

Isolation is not sitting well with Assad or Syria’s key patron, Iran.

Both states have warned of “dire consequences” if more pressure is piled on the regime, and insisted that the relentless protests are foreign-backed and being led by militant Sunni Islamists.

Guardian.co.uk

AMP Dinner as a Community Gathering

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By Geoffrey Cook, TMO

Silicon Valley–Your reporter’s commentary on Lauren Booth’s stirring observations on Palestine during Ramadan was part of a community Ramadan Iftar banquet presented by the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) as a fund-rising dinner.

Now, shortly, after Eid al-Adha, as your writer writes, the nearby Occupy Oakland encampment is being brutally removed.  This week (last for you) Professors (several of your reporter’s friends are  Muslims employed within the organization)  plan to have a one day strike against the California State University (ies) system brought on by the collapse of this State’s finances.  Also, related to Sacramento’s woes was the violent repression of the student demonstration at U.C. Berkeley within the fortnight.   (Your correspondent has just heard an announcement of occupy-type campus actions across he American land.)  Curiously, the  American issues your Scribe has been mentioning do relate to the Arab “Spring” where the success of the Tunisian elections is one of the bright spots!
The Islamophobic repression of the Gaza show at the Children’s Museum in Oakland has been blunted by the placement of the Gazan child depictions of Operation Cast Lead gallery in that very same city whose owner, fortunately, was sympathetic to the Palestinian plight.  Thus, the report below:

Yours truly originally drafted this piece as part of his concentration on our Holy Land of the  Night Ride going to the United Nations (U.N.) to demand her right to be an independent entity within the world’s sovereign nation-states.  Well, that has happened but, as your reported predicted, it was referred to Committee as a delaying tactic, and now that it has emerged from that Committee with a mixed report-back.  Now, its chances of succeeding in the Security Council are being obfuscated.  President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority (P.A.) would accept nothing less than the status of full Statehood; therefore, the option of partial recognition with all its benefits is, at this time, rejected by the Arabs of the trans-Jordan.

Simultaneously, UNESCO (the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), an important sub-section of the U.N., has recognized Ramallah as an autonomous member.  This has encouraged Tel Aviv to punish Palestine by approving 2,000 new Settlements on Arab-speaking traditional land, and to refuse to reimburse the “Occupied” Territories the taxes they collected on their behalf to finance the P.A. itself!   In essence the Jews have stolen from their neighbors their rightful wealth!  At the same time, a Bill is going through the American Congress to punish the Levant’s oppressed even further.  Please, our readers, who are U.S. citizens or residents, ask your Representatives and Senators to oppose these moves, and the President, if it should appear on his desk, to veto it!

With the recent outrageous jet attacks upon (Palestinian) Gaza with Israel, further, killing five Egyptian soldiers as “collateral damage” leading to riots in Cairo’s streets.  Bi-lateral relations between the two nations (Egypt-Israel) have never been worse since the Camp David Accords  –  besides, it was not Hamas (the unfairly vilified rulers of Gaza) who were involved, but the most likely combatants were the Islamic Jihad (org).

Dr. Hatem Bazian was the spokesman at the AMP (American Muslims for Palestine) at the Banquet that night.  Bazian is the co-founder and primary chief organizer for that night’s Iftar fund-raising dinner. 

Further, he is the co-founder of Zaytuna College of Berkeley, the only accredited Islamic institute of higher education in the United States.   He is now serving as an Academic Chair there and at U.C. Berkeley.

Bazian’s doctoral training is in Philosophy and Islamic Studies at the University of California there in Berkeley.  For five years (2002-2007) he was an Adjunct Professor of Law at U.C.’s Boalt Hall (Law School).  Presently, he is a Lecturer in both the Departments of Near Eastern Studies Lecturer and in the Ethnic Studies

His central academic interests include Islamophobia and its de-constructing and the Othering of Islam – especially in the U.S. and secondarily in the West in general.

He has, also, served as a Visiting Professor at Saint Mary’s College (directly across the East Bay hills in the town of Moraga in Contra Costa County in what is known as the Outer Bay) in Religious Studies plus he is an advisor to the University of California’s Center on Religion, Politics and Globalization.

At Berkeley, he founded the Study and Documentation of Islamophobia, too.

Dr. Bazian, a Muslim Palestinian-American, has been a player in several local (S.F. Bay Area) human rights agendas including the defense of the Americans for Disability Act (ADA), the Anti-Apartheid Movement and the Anti-Globalization uprising, which, curiously, has influenced the current “Occupy Wall Street” Movement that has recently  sprung up not only here but all over the U.S.A. and elsewhere.

Bazian began his talk by stating that Muslim students within the community should be encouraged to move away from the traditional engineering and medical doctor’s degrees into broader liberal arts and other professions of direct visibility and leadership within American society.  (This is something this paper has advocated – especially in journalism.  To achieve agency, i.e., self-determination, Islam requires prominence within the greater society and a voice in public policy and politics and elsewhere in the U.S.)

One of the central goals of the AMP is to donate books to public libraries on Islam and especially Palestine to show that “I am Palestinian, and I love freedom, too!”  The AMP is attempting to put a human face on Palestine. They wish to “Bring awareness on Palestine from a Muslim perspective.”

The “Palestinian cause is a civil rights struggle.”  Hatem continues that “The Palestinian cause is a civil rights campaign!” (Your author ascertains at this point in the resistance in the Occupied Territories within the Fertile Crescent, it is a battle for Human Rights.  There is a difference between Civil Rights and Human Right that is often blurred, and your narrator would like to delineate it in greater detail at a future time.) Nonetheless, we are talking about Human Rights here, and it is much more pungently serious! 

Further, Hatem states, “Homo Sapiens are suffering by human hand…the AMP is educating Americans [on]what our (U.S.) government is doing [that] it doesn’t want us to know…You are changing one American at a time!”

Dr. Hatem Bazian got to his business of the night.  The AMP requires money for its upcoming grandiose plans for placards within buses in every major city in the United States to tell the story of the Palestinian plight et al.

In the following week, your author received a Facebook communication from the American Muslims for Palestine that it was changing its primary emphasis from an educational group to an organization to raise money to finance their educational efforts. 

(To be quite honest, your author cannot perceive the difference.  Their end goal is to educate Americans on the plight of Palestine.  They previously have depended upon the Zakat to finance their educational efforts.  This is what this dinner was about, and it was most certainly educational, too, with Lauren Booth’s witness upon which your columnist reported in a past issue.  Your writer believes what Hatem’s post was that the AMP would be making more of an effort to finance their very ambitious projects on education on the Palestine-Israel imbroglio to change “the hearts and minds” of Americans away from the prevalent Israeli propaganda.)

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A New Turn In Indo-Pak Commercial Ties

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By Nilofar Suhrawardy, TMO

NEW DELHI: Long viewed as permanent enemies, it is going to take a while before the world is convinced about India and Pakistan being keen to “normalize” their ties. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani met recently in Maldives on sidelines of the 17th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). They held delegation-level talks, followed by one-to-one meeting which lasted for around 45 minutes. Acknowledging that a lot still needs to be done, after their talks, both leaders expressed their desire for strengthening Indo-Pak relations on a positive note (November 10).

“We have wasted a lot of time in acrimonious debate in the past. The time has come to write a new chapter in relations between India and Pakistan,” Singh said. The next round of talks “should be far more productive and result-oriented and bring the two countries closer to each other,” Singh said. Similar sentiments were voiced by Gilani, who said: “We had a good meeting. I hope the next round of talks will be more constructive and open a new chapter in relations between the two countries.”

The stage for opening a new chapter in Indo-Pak ties was set when the Pakistan cabinet recently declared its decision to give India status of a Most Favored Nation (MFN) for increasing trade relations between the two countries. India had accorded Pakistan this status around 15 years ago in 1996. The decision of Pakistan was preceded by visit of Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Makhddoom Amin Fahim to India. This was the first visit of a Pakistani commerce minister to India in 35 years. Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma is expected to lead a trade delegation to Islamabad next February at invitation of his Pakistani counterpart Fahim. Besides, this week has been marked by two-day talks in New Delhi between commerce secretaries of the two countries, Rahul Khullar (India) and Zafar Mahmood (Pakistan).

Displaying optimism on the outcome of Indo-Pak talks, Mahmood said: “We will have interactions in the spirit of mutual cooperation and confidence so please have trust and faith in the process (as) times have changed and the world is coming closer. Through this meeting we want to create an atmosphere through which the composite dialogue can go forward.”

“Our business communities, our politicians and our citizens are looking to both our delegations to deliver a substantial breakthrough — not only for full normalisation of our trade relationship, but to go beyond and lay a strong foundation for preferential trading arrangements,” Khullar said.

At present, business between India and Pakistan amounts to less than $3 billion. During their talks, the two commerce ministers expressed their desire to increase this to $6 billion per year. Besides, it takes place through third countries via Dubai and Singapore. Once India is formally granted MFN status by Pakistan, it is expected to removal of many barriers and also lead to direct trade between the two countries, which would play a major role in cutting down the transportation costs.

It may take some time before Pakistan actually grants MFN status to India. The fact that Pakistan has voiced its decision to do so is by itself a major development. Not too long ago, Pakistan gave the impression of not even considering this till the two countries resolved their problems. Undeniably, India and Pakistan still seem to be a long way from reaching any agreement on certain major issues, including Kashmir. Against this backdrop, the decision of Pakistan to consider India as MFN is indeed a major development.

Once India and Pakistan reach the stage of exploiting their economic interaction “totally,” according to an American think tank, the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) gravity model, the Indo-Pak trade can “expand to as much as $42 billion.” One of the constraints in trade potential having not been exploited, according to PIIE, is that Pakistan has not yet granted MFN status to India. If India and Pakistan decide to pay greater attention to exploiting their trade potential, it is believed that the step would lead to lowering of tension between the countries. In this context, it may be noted that though Kashmir-issue may remains unresolved the two countries have implemented the agreement to open the controversial Line of Control (LoC) at a few points to facilitate trade and travel. They began the bus service in 2005, across the LoC between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, capital cities of Indian Jammu & Kashmir and Pakistani Kashmir, respectively. The Poonch-Rawalkot bus service began in 2008.

The strengthening of economic ties between India and Pakistan is also expected to play a major role in enhancing commercial interaction between members of SAARC. Indo-Pak tension has hampered economic interaction between SAARC members and has also prevented its development as an important regional organization. Critics have frequently raised the question as to why has SAARC not progressed as have other regional organizations, such as NATO and ASEAN.

Against this backdrop, India and Pakistan may perhaps never accept each other as close friends, but as latest developments suggest that now they have begun serious talks to facilitate economic interaction between them. And once Indo-Pak trade takes off, it is expected to have a major impact on South Asia as a whole and also convince the world that the two countries can no longer be viewed as permanent enemies!

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Kindness in Marriage and Divorce

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By Karin Friedemann, TMO

Live with them in kindness; even if you dislike them, perhaps you dislike something in which God has placed much good. (Quran 4:19)

marriage1There is almost nothing more damaging to the human psyche than trying hard to please someone who is trying hard to tolerate you. Whether it’s a child-parent relationship or a wife-husband relationship, conditional love creates a type of emotional violence which involves spiritual enslavement of the weaker party. The essential cause is dehumanization of the Other; when one person doesn’t view the other person as fully human. In the classic set-up, the weaker party is striving to be what the other person needs him or her to be, while the stronger party judges whether the other is good enough to merit approval. There are countless personality and relationship disorders that get passed down in this way from generation to generation; it’s like farming pain.

While laying down the financial groundwork for a marriage is important, once this is behind us, it becomes important to explore the hopes and dreams of each party involved, as well as their past. If a new spouse shows no interest in looking at the other’s old school yearbooks or handwritten poetry from days gone by, how can a couple face the future as one? Each party will come to the table with their own set of baggage. Some of this baggage contains real treasures. If the couple cannot discuss the past and explore why the other feels and reacts as they do, how will they ever relate?

In both arranged marriages and love marriages, there often comes a time when one or both partners may come to dislike one another. It is probably impossible to truly get to know anyone on earth without disliking something about them. A friendship or marriage must be sustained on the good will and trust about the intentions of the other party. There may be psychological or neurological reasons for their behavior. But as long as one party is actively disliking the other, there is no way for them to connect on a level of mutual respect and understanding. It is tragic how many cases of personal insecurity could get in the way of truly appreciating another human being.

One man married a certain woman in order to please his mother. She gave him a son, whom he truly loved, but he did not love his wife – perhaps because she was not beautiful enough, or perhaps just because he had not chosen her himself. But he had agreed to the marriage! So he is walking around feeling sorry for himself because he has no feelings for this woman who gave him a son, even though she had never showed him any unpleasantness nor gave him any reason for complaint. Even if they had not ever exchanged any words of tenderness by this point, which must have been at least two years, that woman already proved her dedication to the marriage by willingly and voluntarily subjecting herself to physical pain in order to provide offspring to his family!

What could cause a man to willingly and voluntarily subject himself to physical pain for someone else? Only the most heart-felt, deepest emotion. Even if those emotions were not available at the time, she went through the motions. She made the sacrifice for him. Is that not enough for her husband to feel deep gratitude and friendship? How would he feel towards a man who took a bullet for him? Would he not feel obligated to love and protect him for life?

The ability to find beauty in someone else should not be a huge task. We could easily find something to love about a stranger. Perhaps the angle between her eyes and her nose is very interesting. Perhaps he has a cute way of mispronouncing words. One thing I have come to realize is that the attributes that other people find most frustrating or annoying about me are my best qualities. It is harmful to me to constantly be around people who devalue or demean what I have to offer the world.

A divorce is only permissible twice: after that, the parties should either hold together on equitable terms, or separate with kindness. (Quran 2:229)

A lot of psychological research is being done these days on the effect of personality disorders on the spouse. A person who truly cannot see any good in a spouse who has done him or her no wrong, who blames excessively, who doesn’t live in the present but lives somewhere else, probably has some kind of personality disorder. Trying to merge lives with someone who has only their own interest in mind is not only frustrating but can be debilitating, especially in old age.

If you don’t like your spouse, and you cannot address your own personal issues that keep you from being able to like someone who is trying hard to be your life partner, it may be most merciful to let them go so they can find someone else. You should never stay married to someone out of pity or a sense of unwanted obligation, because this deprives your spouse of their humanity.

It is easier for a woman to raise children alone than to raise children while buffering extreme emotional negativity in her home. That point being made, if you leave a woman with children, financial support must be provided. While the state mandated child support amount is a must, it is more merciful to calculate the actual costs associated with raising a child. If you cannot imagine paying your ex-wife a check each week for her efforts, it is truly in your best interest to find something about her to like.

Karin Friedemann is a Boston-based freelance writer. karinfriedemann.blogspot.com

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Revisiting A Cultural Heritage

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By Sumayyah Meehan, TMO

sadu3The cultural heritage of Kuwait has a rich history of arts and handicrafts dating back centuries. The Bedouin Kuwaitis were famous for their brightly woven rugs, tapestries and calligraphy. However, with the discovery of oil in the late 1930’s the reliance upon handicrafts began to fade as the country morphed into an oil rich nation with newfound revenue to import products from all over the world. Today, the vast majority of Kuwaiti society is more interested in the latest fashions straight off the runways of New York and Milan than crafting.

World-renowned Kuwaits artists like Thuraya Al-Baqsami and Khazaal Al Qaffas have kept a flicker of hope for the Kuwaiti art scene burning brightly for decades. However, over the past few years a veritable art revival has been quietly taking place. A minority of Kuwaitis are increasingly becoming more interested in art and handicrafts. Over the past couple of years, hobby shops and art supply stores have started opening up at record pace. And business is booming.

The renewed interested in arts and handicrafts in Kuwait remains a mystery. In the USA and Europe, for example, a surge in interest for homemade handicrafts is often tied to a problematic economy as people try to save money by making things at home or even selling their wares to earn an income. The Kuwaiti economy has not only survived the years long economic turndown, but it has also flourished. The only discernable reason for the revival of arts and handicrafts is that many Kuwaitis are looking to get back to their creative roots.

Not only are there an abundance of arts and crafts suppliers in Kuwait, but there is also a wealth of handicraft classes complete with instructors now available to teach everything from jewelry making to painting. One of the most recent handicraft supply shops, LB o J’zazz – Beads and Things, also offers between 40-60 handicraft classes per year. Owners Lubna Seif Abbas and Bettina Al-Bakhit offer workshops complete with all the materials necessary to complete the crafting project from start to finish. In a recent interview, Abbas shared, “Each class is project-based. I think that everybody has creativity, it is just they need somebody to show them the basics, they need good tools, and time, and we have lots of time here in Kuwait. If anybody is bored, just let them come here. We will fill time with something useful and joyful to do at the same time. There is so much that we can do. People now seek to perform arts and crafts, and they look for some
thing deeper while enjoy doing it.”

The future looks bright for the handmade revolution in Kuwait as even members of the expatriate community are even getting in on the crafting. Abbas revealed that an increasing number of non-Kuwaitis are expressing interest in her courses and several are taking part.

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France Recalls Syria Envoy

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By Khaled Yacoub Oweis

AMMAN (Reuters) – France recalled its ambassador to Damascus and Syria’s suspension from the Arab League took effect on Wednesday, intensifying diplomatic pressure on President Bashar al-Assad to halt a violent eight-month-old crackdown on protests.

Syrian army defectors attacked an intelligence complex on the edge of Damascus in a high-profile assault that showed how close the popular uprising is to sliding into armed conflict.

Hours after the Arab League suspension took effect, Assad supporters threw stones and debris at the embassy of the United Arab Emirates and smeared its walls with graffiti, witnesses said. The embassy is in one of the most secure districts of the capital, near Assad’s home and offices.

Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said France was working with the Arab League on a draft resolution at the United Nations.

Last month Russia and China vetoed a Security Council resolution that would have condemned Damascus, but since then the normally cautious Arab League has suspended Syria for failing to implement an Arab peace plan.

“New violence is taking place and that has led to the closure of the missions in Aleppo and Latakia and to recall our ambassador to Paris,” Juppe said, referring to weekend attacks by pro-Assad demonstrators on French diplomatic premises, as well as Turkish and Saudi missions, in Syria.

Arab foreign ministers met in Rabat for an Arab-Turkish forum, where a Syrian flag was placed by an empty chair.

Turkey, now a fierce critic of its former ally, said Syria had failed to honor an Arab peace plan to halt the unrest.

Speaking through a translator, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu compared Syria with Libya, where rebels captured, humiliated and killed Muammar Gaddafi last month.

“The regime should meet the demands of its people,” he said. “The collective massacres in Syria and … the bloodshed cannot continue like this.”

IRAN DEFENDS SYRIA

In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi criticized the Arab League for “acting in a way that will hurt the security of the region.” He told the official news agency IRNA that Syria, an ally of Iran since 1980, had repeatedly pledged to meet legitimate popular demands and enact reforms.

“Unfortunately, some countries believe that they are outside the crisis … but they are mistaken because if a crisis happens they will be entangled by its consequences.”

Saudi Arabia, which is eager to loosen the ties between its regional rival Iran and Syria, said the Arab League was acting in Syria’s interest, not interfering in its affairs.

“What’s important is not about suspending or not suspending (Syria from the League), it’s stopping the bloodshed, starting the dialogue, and withdrawing troops from Syrian cities,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told Al Arabiya channel.

Western countries have tightened sanctions on Syria and on Monday Jordan’s King Abdullah became the first Arab head of state to urge Assad to quit after ensuring a smooth handover.

In the early months of the uprising, attempts by security forces to crush mainly peaceful protests accounted for most of the violence. But since August there has been a growing number of reports of army defectors and armed civilians fighting back.

Activists said Free Syrian Army fighters fired machineguns and rockets at a large Air Force Intelligence complex on the northern edge of the capital at about 7:30 p.m. EST.

A gunfight ensued and helicopters circled over the complex, on the Damascus-Aleppo highway. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Syrian state media did not mention the attack.

The U.S. State Department said it had few details and no direct confirmation of the incident, but blamed Assad’s crackdown on protesters.

“It’s not surprising that we are now seeing this kind of violence,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. “We don’t condone it in any way, shape or form. But let’s be very clear that it is the brutal tactics of Assad and his regime in dealing with what began as a non-violent movement is now taking Syria down a very dangerous path.”

“HUGELY SYMBOLIC”

A Western diplomat in Damascus described the assault as “hugely symbolic and tactically new,” saying that if the reported details were true it would be “much much more coordinated than anything we have seen before.”

“To actually attack a base like this is something else, and so close to Damascus as well,” said the diplomat, adding that fighting in recent weeks involving army deserters in the town of Rastan and the city of Homs resembled a localized civil war.

“It’s not a nationwide civil war, but in very specific locations, it is looking like that,” said the diplomat.

The Free Syrian Army was set up by deserters and is led by Colonel Riad al-Asaad, who is based in southern Turkey.

It announced this week that it had formed a “temporary military council” of nine defecting officers, led by Asaad.

The statement said the Syrian Free Army aimed to “bring down the regime and protect citizens from the repression … and prevent chaos as soon as the regime falls,” adding that it would form a military court to try “members of the regime who are proven to have been involved in killing operations.”

Syrian television showed thousands of Assad’s supporters rallying in Damascus and Latakia to mark the day his father Hafez al-Assad seized power in 1970. It said the crowds were also voicing their rejection of the Arab League’s decision.

“God, Syria, Bashar, that’s all!” demonstrators shouted in central Damascus after turning out in heavy rain to wave flags and posters of the president. Two large posters of Assad and his father hung from a building. “Neither rain nor sanctions will stop us expressing our nationalism,” they said, according to the television report.

The Arab League has stopped short of calling for Assad’s departure or proposing any Libya-style military intervention, but its ostracism of Syria is a blow to a country whose ruling Baath party puts Arab nationalism at the center of its credo.

Syrian authorities have banned most independent media. They blame the unrest on “armed terrorist gangs” and foreign-backed militants who they say have killed 1,100 soldiers and police.
Hundreds of people have been killed this month, one of the bloodiest periods of the revolt.

Syria says it remains committed to the Arab peace plan, which calls for the withdrawal of troops from urban areas, the release of prisoners and a dialogue with the opposition.

State media said more than 1,000 prisoners, including prominent dissident Kamal Labwani, were freed on Tuesday. But human rights campaigners say tens of thousands have been detained since anti-Assad protests began.

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Swiss Antagonist of Minarets Is Now Muslim

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By TMO Stringer Based on News Reports

daniel-streichRENOWNED Swiss politician Daniel Streich, who previously campaigned against Swiss minarets, embraced Islam a few years ago.

A member of the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) and a well-known politician, Daniel Streich was the first man who had launched a drive for imposition of ban on mosques minarets, and to lock the mosques in Switzerland. The proclamation of Streich’s conversion to Islam created a furor in Swiss politics, and caused a tremor for those who supported ban on construction of mosques minarets.

Streich had propagated his anti-Islamic movement far and wide in the country, sowed seeds of indignation and scorn for Islam among the people, and paved the way for public opinion against pulpits and minarets of mosques.

But now Streich has become a servant of Islam. His anti-Islam thoughts finally brought him so close to this religion that he embraced it.

He is ashamed of his past doings now, and desires to construct the most beautiful mosque of Europe in Switzerland.

The most interesting thing in this regard is that at present there are four mosques in Switzerland and Streich wants to lay the foundation for a fifth. He wishes to seek absolution of his sin of proliferating venom against Islam. He is thinking of a movement contrary to his previous one to promote religious tolerance and peaceful cooperative living, in spite of the fact that ban on mosques minarets has gained a legal status.

This is the greatest quality of Islam that it comes up with even greater vigour, when it is faced with confrontation.

Abdul Majeed Aldai, the president of OPI, an NGO, working for the welfare of Muslims, says that Europeans have a great desire to know about Islam. Some of them want to know about the relationship between Islam and terrorism; same was the case with Streich.

During his confrontation, Streich studied the Holy Quran and started understanding Islam.

He wished to be hard to Islam, but the outcome was otherwise. Aldai further says.

Later the question of the ban on minarets was put to a vote in Switzerland, wherein the Swiss nationals did ban minarets in the country.

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Nutrition

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tufail

A diagrammatic guide to daily eating (figure 27a). The food guide pyramid has been adopted by the US Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services to encourage people to eat healthily. Six major groups of food are arranged in a pyramid shape to indicate the number of recommended daily servings of each group: the food group with the highest number of recommended daily servings (bread, cereal, and pasta group) form the base of the pyramid; the group with the lowest recommended number of servings (fats, oils, and sweets) form the apex of the pyramid. The guidelines are for the average person. All active people should have at least the lowest number of servings recommended for each food group. Very active people, especially serious athletes and those in physically demanding jobs, may need more than the larger number of recommended servings.

In the UK an alternative diagrammatic guide to the food guide pyramid has been introduced. It is called the ‘plate model’ (figure 27b). This diagram takes the form of a plate divided into five sections representing the main food groups: bread, other cereals, and potatoes; milk and dairy foods; fatty and sugary foods; meat, fish, and alternatives; and fruit and vegetables. Market research found that the public preferred this approach to the pyramid.

The Pyramid includes five major food groups, each of which provides nutrients needed for good health. By making healthful choices within these food groups, like selecting low-fat and high-fiber foods, people can promote good health and reduce their risk of disease. The placement of foods within the Pyramid shows that foods of plant origin should supply most of the servings of food in the daily diet.

The Breads, Cereals, Rice, and Pasta Group forms the base of the Pyramid, with the largest number of servings recommended (six to eleven servings recommended daily). The next layer up includes the Fruit Group (two to four servings) and the Vegetable Group (three to five servings). At the third level are the Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese Group (two to three servings) and the Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts Group (two to three servings). At the tip of the Pyramid are Fats, Oils, and Sweets. These foods and food ingredients should be used “sparingly” to avoid excess calories and/or fat. It is not necessary to completely avoid foods such as salad dressing, butter, margarine, candy, soft drinks, and sweet desserts, but they should be consumed infrequently.

The Pyramid includes symbols that represent the fats and added sugars found in foods. These are most concentrated at the tip of the Pyramid, but are also found in foods from the five major food groups. This reveals that some foods within the five food groups are high in fat and/or sugar. People can limit their fat and sugar intake, as suggested by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, by selecting foods low in fat and added sugars most of the time.

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Emirates’ $18 Billion Boeing Order Kicks off Air Show

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By Praveen Menon and Tim Hepher

2011-11-14T075257Z_957579746_GM1E7BE186F01_RTRMADP_3_AIRSHOW-DUBAI

An Emirates Airlines Boeing 777-300 aircraft takes off during the second day of the Dubai Airshow November 14, 2011.

REUTERS/Nikhil Monteiro

DUBAI (Reuters) – Emirates airline placed a blockbuster order for 50 Boeing 777 jetliners at the Dubai Air Show on Sunday, underscoring the confidence brimming among fast-growing Gulf airlines despite growing fears of stalling global growth.

The Dubai government-owned carrier, expanding its role as the world’s largest operator of Boeing’s most profitable plane, said the deal was worth $18 billion, the largest commercial order by value in the U.S. planemaker’s history.

Reuters reported on Friday that Emirates, which has led efforts by Gulf-based carriers to challenge European and Asian carriers by establishing the region as a major East-West hub, would place an order of between 30 and 50 Boeing 777 aircraft.

“This order represents a milestone — it is the single largest dollar value (order) in the Boeing history,” Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum said at a press conference, before signing the deal with Boeing representatives as Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, looked on.

“(The) 777 has served Emirates very well in terms of seat costs … especially when we see the fuel price is quite high.”

Fuel costs took a big toll on the airline’s first half profits, sending them down 76 percent.

Emirates said it had adequate financing in place for 2012, and planned no new bond issue. Sheikh Ahmed said the airline, which launched a heavily oversubscribed $1 billion bond in June, would consider a bond if needed and if the timing was right, adding “we don’t have a push.”

Including options to buy 20 more of the twin-aisle aircraft and other agreements, the total deal is worth $26 billion, Emirates and Boeing said.

The airline planned to eye a mix of funding options for the order, including Islamic finance, he added. Delivery of the aircraft is slated to begin in 2015.

James Albaugh, chief of Boeing’s commercial division, said the order would sustain thousands of U.S. jobs.

Boeing delivered 127 commercial airplanes in the third quarter, including 100 of its best-selling 737 narrowbodies and 21 widebody 777s. The planemaker, which gets paid for its airplanes at delivery, set its commercial airplane delivery guidance for 2011 at about 480, down from previous guidance of 485 to 495.

GULF CARRIERS SPLASH OUT

Gulf airlines and lessors are set to splash out on Airbus and Boeing jets at the November 13-17 air show, underscoring the region’s role as the industry’s chief paymaster amid Europe’s worsening sovereign debt crisis.

Qatar Airways is expected to place a $6.5-billion order for 50 fuel-saving A320neo jets and five A380s from Airbus , and Kuwait lessor Alafco plans to boost a provisional order for 30 Airbus A320neos, industry sources said.

A muted air show two years ago came days before Dubai lurched into its own property and financial crisis in 2009, but the city state has been recovering after a bailout from neighboring Abu Dhabi.
Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed spent hours at the airshow, looking at commercial and military planes and touring the floor before taking a seat at the Emirates news conference, underscoring the keen interest that the emirate has in the success of its airline and ambitions for Dubai to become a major hub.

Demand for passenger aircraft has been remarkably robust led by rising numbers of middle classes in Asia and the Middle East and a shift of economic power from the West, but some analysts fear a contagion from Europe’s spiraling debt crisis.

“Nothing goes up forever but we really believe the demand for airplanes is driven by world GDP,” Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Jim Albaugh said on the eve of the show.

“It goes up by about one and a half times GDP, and while you have spikes .. the long-term direction is pretty positive.”

EUROFIGHTER CHALLENGE

Increasing competition to sell military hardware to Gulf states amid rising tensions over Iran’s nuclear activities also dominated the start of the show.

In a blow to France, an $11 billion contest to sell fighters to the UAE heated up on the eve of the event when the Eurofighter consortium disclosed it had been asked to present its Typhoon warplane to the country’s top military.

A spokesman for the consortium from Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain confirmed a report on the briefing in industry publication Flightglobal.com, but declined further comment.

The briefing by UK officials took place in October in response to a request from the UAE, which has held long-running talks with France over a purchase of up to 60 Dassault-built Rafale fighters.

The move injected unexpected drama into the military side of the Dubai Air Show, which will feature rival flying displays by both jets.

Dassault Aviation Chief Executive Charles Edelstenne shrugged off the assault by the Eurofighter club which France backed away from in the 1980s to concentrate on developing its own independent successor to the Mirage.

“That’s very good, I’m happy,” he told Reuters, walking briskly among displays of military U.S., European and Russian military hardware.

Asked if he was disappointed about the decision to bring in a potential new bidder, he said, “No.”

The UAE has been in talks with France since 2008 but discussions have been subjected to occasional disruption and the UAE has also enquired about the Boeing F/A18 Super Hornet.

President Nicolas Sarkozy has made it a priority to find a foreign buyer for the multi-role Rafale, billed as one of the most effective but also one of the most expensive fighter jets in the world.

Analysts say rising geopolitical tensions surrounding Iran could lead to a spike in defense orders.

(Additional reporting by Sitaraman Shankar and Nadia Saleem; Editing by Amran Abocar and Reed Stevenson)

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Suhail Raoof President of ACCP

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200912301441raoofNYM’s chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine, Dr. Suhail Raoof, was elected President of the prestigious American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP). Dr. Raoof  will  fill this role from October of 2011 through October of 2012. Over the next few years he will spend time with the current ACCP leadership, planning his future agenda.       

The ACCP constitutes the largest group of chest physicians in the world (pulmonary physicians, cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons and pediatric chest specialists) and is the premier source of education for chest physicians all around the globe. With a membership in excess of 16,000, representing almost 50 countries, the organization has evolved into the definitive resource for chest physicians worldwide. With board review courses, enduring educational products, and adherence to patient focused care, the College has put itself in a position of tremendous influence on the manner in which  pulmonary physicians practice their craft.     

To be president of this organization represents the pinnacle of  an academic career. The ACCP is celebrating its 75th year of existence, and prior presidents represent a veritable “Who’s Who” in pulmonary and critical care medicine.

In addition to being Chief, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and Program Director, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship at NYM, Dr. Raoof is professor of clinical medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University and is the author of numerous articles in the areas of pulmonary and critical care medicine, chest radiology and mechanical ventilation. 

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UnChristian & Unpatriotic

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By Dr. A S Nakadar, TMO CEO and Publisher

PglobeOn 11-11-11, the Ford Field in Detroit witnessed a highly publicized bigoted event.  The venue, Ford Field is where the Detroit Lions play and the area is near Dearborn that has a large Muslim population.

The organizer of this event was “TheCall” organization; a relatively unknown organization that has been in existence for about a decade. It claims to tackle issues such as economy, racial strife, same sex relationship, abortion and other such issues. But to many it appeared that the objective of this event was to gain cheap publicity by bashing Muslims and Islam. The organizers had said in their statements that they wanted to raise concerns against the growing Islamic popularity and Islamic renaissance in USA.

They heavily promoted their Detroit event on their website. According to “The Christian Post” they called it, “The Rising Tide of the Islamic Movement.” But after receiving complaints, perhaps, about the factuality and the phrase giving legitimacy to the prevailing situation, TheCall dropped the phrase from its web site.

The Pentecostal Minister, Engle, had announced that the program would start on Friday night (11-11-11) and would end the next day, Saturday morning. Their announcement also touted that they expected a crowd of more than 50,000. But most reports suggest the program was a flop in attendance. The stadium mostly remained empty and according to some reports the attendance was about less than tenth of their predicted number.

The reason given for the night vigil and night prayer, according to “The Christian Post”, quoting their minister Engler, “You got to pray all night long because it’s when the Muslims sleep.”

Looking at the thin attendance, he found out that Christians and others sleep during those hours too. 

Earlier this week and prior to the event, a group of Christian pastors gathered in Grand Circus Park, near the Ford Field venue, to denounce Lou Engle’s “The Call Detroit” rally at Ford Field as “un-Christian, “un-American,” and “idolatrous.”

This group counts Islam among the ills facing the nation. Some Muslims answered this by saying, “their heads needs to be examined” while others said, “I bet you they will say “Occupy Wall Street” movement is Muslim inspired;” others from the group said “I wish to bring to their attention the Muslim contribution to this great nation.” He went on to say: “More than 50% of the Muslims income bracket was over $50,000 as compared to nationwide average income of $47,000 and nearly 60% Muslims are college graduates as compared to 27% as a whole.”

The statement emphasized the great contributions Muslims have made in practically all fields, be it social, military, political, economic, medical, engineering, business, technology and you name it.

Most in the group agreed that we were here to strengthen the country. We want to see communities unified, and not divided. The action of “TheCall” group is divisive and needs to be condemned in strongest terms.

A true American would surely know that pluralism is the Achilles Heel of our society’s foundation.

Today our biggest concern and the concern of all of us should be the challenges that our pluralistic society and our country face.

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IPod

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diff 11-6-11iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle. iPod Classic models store media on an internal hard drive, while all other models use flash memory to enable their smaller size (the discontinued Mini used a Microdrive miniature hard drive). As with many other digital music players, iPods can also serve as external data storage devices. Storage capacity varies by model, ranging from 2 GB for the iPod Shuffle to 160 GB for the iPod Classic. The iPod line was announced by Apple on October 23, 2001, and released on November 10, 2001. All of the models have been redesigned multiple times since their introduction. The most recent iPod redesigns were introduced on September 1, 2010.

Apple’s iTunes software can be used to transfer music to the devices from computers using certain versions of Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows operating systems. For users who choose not to use iTunes or whose computers cannot run iTunes, several open source alternatives are available for the iPod. iTunes and its alternatives may also transfer photos, videos, games, contact information, e-mail settings, Web bookmarks, and calendars to iPod models supporting those features.

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