HOWARD COUNTY,MD–Taariq Mohammed, a senior at Howard County’s River Hill High Council, has achieved what very few can even dream about–a perfect score of 30 on the ACT test. In confirming his accomplishment the ACT wrote a later to him stating, ““Your achievement on the ACT is significant and rare…On overage, fewer than one-tenth of one percent of all test takers earns the top score. Among ACT-tested U.S. high school graduates in the class of 2011, only 704 of more than 1.6 million students earned a composite score of 36.â€
Apart from his academics Mohammed is an avid sportsmen. His wrestling team recently won the state championship. With such varied honors Taariq Mohammed is all set for a successful life ahead. For the immediate future he is planning to major in pre-med and engineering at John Hopkins
As election season near we would like to share with you an article written by ISNA Majlis-e-Shura member and former MSA president, Altaf Hussain, on the importance of civic engagement in general and voting in particular. We also, like to urge every American Muslim who is of voting age to register to vote and exercise his or her right to vote this November
Washington, DC – One trend to watch in the presidential elections will be whether Muslim American civic engagement will translate into votes in November 2012. While there has been a strong Muslim American voting contingent among African Americans, unresolved grievances rooted in race, rather than religion, have tended to be motivating factors for civic engagement among this group.
Muslims whose families have immigrated to the United States in recent generations have been slower to get involved, due in part to a prevailing opinion that political involvement is at least frowned upon, if not forbidden, by Islamic teachings. Such indecision stemmed mostly from a reliance on Muslim scholars overseas who promoted the idea that voting conveyed allegiance to a secular power rather than to God.
In the United States, this has changed over time as American-born scholars such as Dr. Sherman Jackson, King Faisal Chair in Islamic Thought and Culture at the University of Southern California, argued that in Islamic teachings there is no contradiction between practicing Islam and being civically engaged. Jackson emphasizes the need to vote to ensure that worldly needs such as employment, housing, healthcare and education are met.
In 2000, Muslim immigrants became energized and helped George W. Bush win in several swing states. It was the first time the Muslim vote had aligned over common interests. The 11 September 2001 attacks, the enactment of the PATRIOT Act and the subsequent wars against Afghanistan and Iraq further consolidated voting patterns. Motivated by what many perceived as a “war on Islamâ€, Muslim Americans became increasingly civically engaged and politically sophisticated as a great deal of their support shifted to the Democratic Party.
According to “Engaging American Muslimsâ€, a 2012 report by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, an independent, non-partisan think tank and research organization, voter registration and turnout has increased over the past decade and today 1.2 million Muslims are registered to vote. In addition, local Muslim leaders are promoting voter registration drives and encouraging Muslim communities to become more civically involved.
With a growing population, Muslim Americans present an opportunity for presidential candidates particularly in battleground states where no one candidate has overwhelming support – such as Florida, Michigan, Ohio and, increasingly, Virginia.
Inspired to serve, uphold social justice and promote tight-knit families and compassionate communities, Muslim Americans are engaged in contemporary debates on healthcare reform, immigration, education, the environment and the economic crisis.
For practicing Muslims, a fair and just resolution of these issues comprises a faith-inspired mandate. Houses of worship and Muslim non-profit organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Muslim Public Affairs Council are increasingly joining interfaith alliances and organizing programs to educate their membership about civic engagement, political involvement and voter registration. Muslim Americans who have lived in the country for generations are in a position to make the presidential candidates work hard to understand what is important to them and how to win their vote.
And they have already begun to do so.
The Michigan Muslim Community Council, which represents the diverse Michigan Muslim community, promotes civic engagement, community service and other forms of community empowerment, and is building relationships with local and state government officials to talk about issues of importance to the Muslim community.
The Islamic Center of Southern California’s voter registration drives date back to the late 1980s and the center has hosted presidential candidates such as Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr., a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988. While the center has faced criticism from within the community in the past, today it builds on a strong tradition of interfaith relations, organizes youth leadership and empowerment initiatives, and maintains strong ties with local and state government officials.
Muslimvotersusa.com, a site operated by the Chicago-based group American Muslim Caucus is another example of Muslim American civic engagement. The site’s sole purpose is to educate Muslims about the importance of voting and to facilitate voter registration, offering electronic voter registration kits, along with “do’s and don’ts†of political involvement designed for Muslim groups.
Civic engagement and concern for the well-being of all Americans is a cornerstone of Islamic teachings. As faith-inspired citizens, if Muslim Americans can build upon their emerging civic engagement, they appear poised to constitute a formidable voting block during the November 2012 elections.
Altaf Husain is an Assistant Professor at the Howard University School of Social Work, a research fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding and a member of the board of trustees of the Islamic Society of North America. This article is part of a series on religion and the US elections written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).
Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews); www.commongroundnews.org; Copyright permission is granted for publication.
The Muslim Unity Center (MUC) Seeking a qualified candidate for Saturday School Director (Upper middle and high grade levels):
POSITION REQUIREMENTS:
â— Strong skills in public relations, communications and networking skills. â— Proven Knowledge of the Quran and Islamic Studies â— Five years experience in the Education Profession and Administration. â— Fluency in English is a must; good proficiency in Arabic is highly preferred. â— Strong leadership skills; as well as teamwork abilities. â— Legal Resident Status.
POSITION SCOPE:
The Director is an employee of MUC and reports to MUC Board of Directors. Will work closely with MUC Educational Committee and Liaison to the MUC Board of Directors to ensure strong communication compatibility with MUC Bylaws; as well as continued School success.
â— Lead Educator and Administrator, responsible for the Management and Implementation of all Administrative Policies and Procedures supporting the Vision of MUC; as well as provide a healthy Islamic environment for the Student Body. â— Mentor as well as Supervisor of Staff members and all affairs related to them; i.e. Staff Evaluations, Participation, Replacement; as well as, Continued Education and Staff Development Opportunities. â— Developer and implementer of appropriate Curriculum, Scheduling and extra-curricular activities. â— Controller and Manager of the School Budget and its allocation. Upon the approval of the MUC Board Treasurer on a monthly and annual basis, as indicated. â— Lead Disciplinarian, develop and implement the School Disciplinary Policy.
Send Resume: By Mail: Muslim Unity Center 1830 W. Square Lake Road Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302 By Email: Sr. Souad Alchalabi souad_at_unity@yahoo.com
Note: we cannot verify that there were 3,000 converts on this one occasion, however it is clear that some people in this video are saying shahada to become Muslim.
The rocks you see around you – the mountains, canyons & riverbeds, are all made of minerals.
A rock is made up of 2 or more minerals. Think of a chocolate chip cookie as a rock. The cookie is made of flour, butter, sugar & chocolate.
The cookie is like a rock and the flour, butter, sugar & chocolate are like minerals.
You need minerals to make rocks, but you don’t need rocks to make minerals. All rocks are made of minerals.
Rocks are composed primarily of minerals and can be an amalgam of different minerals or can be composed of one mineral. Over 3500 minerals have been identified; most of these can be found in the earth’s crust. Some of the earth’s minerals are exceedingly popular – fewer than 20 minerals compose more than 95% of the earth’s crust.
There are three different ways rock can be created on earth and thus there are three main classifications of rock, based on the three processes – igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed from the molten liquid minerals that lie below the earth’s crust. They’re formed from magma that cools beneath the earth’s surface or from lava that cools upon the earth’s surface. These two methods of igneous rock formation are known as intrusive and extrusive, respectively.
Intrusive igneous formations can be forced to the surface of the earth where they can exist as masses of rock known as plutons. The largest types of exposed plutons are called batholiths. The Sierra Nevada mountains are a large batholith of igneous granite rock.
Slowly cooling igneous rock will usually contain larger mineral crystals than igneous rock that cools more quickly. The magma that forms igneous rock beneath the surface of the earth can take thousands of years to cool. Quickly cooling rock, often extrusive lava that comes from volcanoes or fissures in the earth’s surface has small crystals and may be quite smooth, such as the volcanic obsidian rock.
All rocks on earth were originally igneous as that’s the only method entirely new rock can be formed. Igneous rocks continue to form today under and above the earth’s surface as magma and lava cool to form new rock. The word igneous comes from Latin and means “fire formed.â€
Most of the rocks of the earth’s crust are igneous although sedimentary rocks usually cover them. Basalt is the most common type of igneous rock and it covers the ocean floor and thus, exists over two-thirds of the earth’s surface.
Sedimentary Rock
Sedimentary rocks are formed by the lithification (cementing, compacting, and hardening) of existing rock or the bones, shells, and pieces of formerly living things. Rocks are weathered and eroded into tiny particles which are then transported and deposited along with other pieces of rock called sediments.
Sediments are cemented together and compacted and hardened over time by the weight and pressure of up to thousands of feet of additional sediments above them. Eventually, the sediments are lithified and become solid sedimentary rock. These sediments that come together are known as clastic sediments. Sediments usually sort themselves by the size of the particles during the deposition process so sedimentary rocks tend to contain similarly sized sedimentary particles.
An alternative to clastic sediments are chemical sediments which are minerals in solution that harden. The most common chemical sedimentary rock is limestone, which is a biochemical product of calcium carbonate created by the parts of dead creatures.
Approximately three-quarters of the earth’s bedrock on the continents is sedimentary.
Metamorphic Rock
Metamorphic rock, which comes from the Greek to “change form,†is formed by applying great pressure and temperature to existing rock converting it into a new distinct type of rock. Igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, and even other metamorphic rocks and be modified into metamorphic rocks.
Metamorphic rocks are usually created when they come under extreme pressure such as under many thousands of feet of bedrock or through being crushed at the junction of tectonic plates. Sedimentary rocks can become metamorphic rocks if the thousands of feet of sediments above them apply enough heat and pressure to further change the structure of the sedimentary rock. Metamorphic rocks are harder than other types of rock so they’re more resistant to weathering and erosion. Rock always converts into the same type of metamorphic rock. For example, the sedimentary rocks limestone and shale become marble and slate, respectively, when metamorphosed.
The Rock Cycle
We know that all three rock types can be turned into metamorphic rocks but all three types can also be changed through the rock cycle. All rocks can be weathered and eroded into sediments, which can then form sedimentary rock. Rocks can also be completely melted into magma and become reincarnated as igneous rock.
PARIS (Reuters) – A French mayor has revoked the suspension of four Muslim camp counselors following an uproar after he said they could not work properly because they might be weakened by their all-day fasting for Ramadan.
Muslim groups threatened to sue the Paris suburb of Gennevilliers for discrimination for recalling the four after an inspector found on July 20 – the first day of the Muslim holy month – that they were not eating or drinking during the day.
Lawyers for the counselors, who had accompanied children from the suburb on a town-sponsored stay at a summer camp in southwestern France, said they might also take the issue to a labor court. Potential weakness due to Ramadan is also an issue at the London Olympics, where more than 3,000 Muslim athletes are competing. Some have delayed their fast until after the Games while others are fasting as they would any other year.
Muslim leaders presented the case as an issue of religious liberty, while the town’s Communist mayor Jacques Bourgoin insisted his concern was only for the safety of the campers.
“This is a discriminatory act,†said Abdallah Zekri of the French Muslim Council told BFM TV. “France has religious liberty, it is a fundamental freedom and it must be respected.â€
Bourgoin said he revoked the suspensions because the public uproar over the issue prevented the calm discussion of safety issues that he planned to take up again later in the year.
“This has been blown out of proportion and we can’t discuss it calmly,†he told Europe 1 radio on Wednesday. “Many people interpreted this as discriminatory, but we did not take this decision in that way.â€
Bourgoin said the town required that because two children were injured in a traffic accident two years ago when a fasting Muslim counselor fainted at the wheel of the minibus in which she was transporting them.
This requirement applied only to monitors on long trips with round-the-clock responsibility for children, he added.
France is home to about 5 million Muslims, Europe’s largest Islamic minority, and disputes between them and local officials trying to apply the country’s strict separation of religion and the public service sometimes lead to tensions.
France has banned full Muslim face veils from public spaces and prohibited schoolgirls from wearing headscarves.
The clause in the counselors’ contracts requiring regular meals does not mention Muslims, but it clearly applies to them because they are presumably the only ones who would fast now.
Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, said exceptions to the Ramadan fast would normally be made only for pregnant women and ailing persons.
Alameda (Calif.)–A Susannah Nachenberg of the class of 2010 at Santa Cruz sent me a an e-mail request from J-Street, the best Jewish-American civil society group proposing solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli impasse, asking my support on their petition to the University of California regents to reject the implementation of a report to limit free speech on the issue of Israel on the campuses and its satellites and, thereby, the National Labs. I signed on.
Susannah began in the name of J-Street to point out that the University of California system-wide just released a report on Jewish campus life that, in her words, conflates criticism of Israeli polices with anti-Jewish hatred, and, also, demands the repression of the free speech for those who support Palestinian rights!
Among the leading figures in resolving this conundrum within the US are Jewish people themselves, for, if Israel has any chance at all to survive in the long-run, internal reform within that nation itself must be instituted that will better integrate it with its non-Jewish neighbors in the region. I feel that a minority of young Jews on California campuses are conservatively Zionists, but, at the very least these younger Jews are, at the very least, are trying to redefine that term – if not out and out as counter to their concept of Judaism.
The second issue is the considerable Palestinian-American (mostly Christian) and the large number of Muslim students currently within these halls, who will react to this resolution by actively rebelling and demonstrating on the State’s campuses.
Further, this will discourage reconciliation between Jews and Muslims and those Christians of Palestinian heritage upon our campuses.
Therefore, I urge the regents of the UC system in the petition sent to Mark Yudof, the President over the ten campuses of those Golden State Institutes — plus the satellite campuses worldwide and the administrator of the National Laboratories to table this hateful and conservatively sectarian proposal that does not reflect the position of the majority of young Jews with whom I have worked over the years of my career, and, which can only destroy the free debate that the future actors who will resolve this dilemma can now commence at the University of California at this time!
Afghan firefighters spray water on burning NATO supply trucks in Samangan province, July 18, 2012. A bomb planted by the Taliban destroyed 22 NATO trucks carrying supplies to their forces in northern Afghanistan, the Taliban and police said on Wednesday.
REUTERS/Stringer
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — As the United States trumpeted its success in persuading Pakistan to end its seven-month blockade of supplies for NATO troops in Afghanistan, another group privately cheered its good fortune: the Taliban.
One of the Afghan war’s great ironies is that both NATO and the Taliban rely on the convoys to fuel their operations — a recipe for seemingly endless conflict.
The insurgents have earned millions of dollars from Afghan security firms that illegally paid them not to attack trucks making the perilous journey from Pakistan to coalition bases throughout Afghanistan — a practice the U.S. has tried to crack down on but admits likely still occurs.
Militants often target the convoys in Pakistan as well, but there have been far fewer reports of trucking companies paying off the insurgents, possibly because the route there is less vulnerable to attack.
Pakistan’s decision to close its border to NATO supplies in November in retaliation for U.S. airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani troops significantly reduced the flow of cash to militants operating in southern and eastern Afghanistan, where the convoys travel up from Pakistan, said Taliban commanders.
Pakistan reopened the supply route in early July after the U.S. apologized for the deaths of the soldiers. The two countries signed a formal agreement regulating the shipment of troop supplies to and from Afghanistan on Tuesday.
“Stopping these supplies caused us real trouble,†a Taliban commander who leads about 60 insurgents in eastern Ghazni province told The Associated Press in an interview. “Earnings dropped down pretty badly. Therefore the rebellion was not as strong as we had planned.â€
A second Taliban commander who controls several dozen fighters in southern Kandahar province said the money from security companies was a key source of financing for the insurgency, which uses it to pay fighters and buy weapons, ammunition and other supplies.
“We are able to make money in bundles,†the commander told the AP by telephone. “Therefore, the NATO supply is very important for us.â€
Both commanders spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being targeted by NATO or Afghan forces, and neither would specify exactly how much money they make off the convoys.
The U.S. military estimated last year that $360 million in U.S. tax dollars ended up in the hands of the Taliban, criminals and power brokers with ties to both. More than half the losses flowed through a $2.1 billion contract to truck huge amounts of food, water and fuel to American troops across Afghanistan.
The military said only a small percentage of the $360 million was funneled to the Taliban and other insurgent groups. But even a small percentage would mean millions of dollars, and the militants, who rely on crude weaponry, require relatively little money to operate.
The military investigated one power broker who owned a private security company and was known to supply weapons to the Taliban. The power broker, who was not named, received payments from a trucking contractor doing business with the U.S. Over more than two years, the power broker funneled $8.5 million to the owners of an unlicensed money exchange service used by insurgents.
A congressional report in 2010 called “Warlord, Inc.†said trucking contractors pay tens of millions of dollars annually to local warlords across Afghanistan in exchange for guarding their supply convoys, some of which are suspected of paying off the Taliban.
The military instituted a new, roughly $1 billion trucking contract last September with a different set of companies that it claims has reduced the flow of money to insurgents by providing greater visibility of which subcontractors those firms hire, said Maj. Gen. Richard Longo, head of a U.S. anti-corruption task force in Afghanistan.
But it’s very difficult to cut off the illegal transfers completely, he said.
“I think it would be naive on my part to suggest that no money is going to the enemy,†said Longo. “I think there is still money flowing to criminals, and I think that the nexus between criminals and the insurgency is there.â€
Rep. John Tierney, the Democrat from Massachusetts who led the Warlord, Inc. report, said the new contract has resulted in some increased contractor oversight and accountability, but “the Department of Defense must take more aggressive steps to keep our military personnel safe and to protect taxpayer dollars from going to our enemies in Afghanistan.†The U.S. pushed Pakistan hard to reopen the NATO supply line through the country because it had been forced to use a longer route that runs into northern Afghanistan through Central Asia and costs an additional $100 million per month.
The Taliban commanders interviewed by the AP said the northern route was less lucrative for them because fewer trucks passed through southern and eastern Afghanistan, and contractors seemed to have less money to direct toward the insurgents. It’s unclear if that is a result of the new trucking contract implemented by the military.
But the commanders said they were determined to get their cut as the flow of trucks resumes from Pakistan — a process that has been slowed by bureaucratic delays, disputes over compensation and concerns about security.
“We charge these trucks as they pass through every area, and they are forced to pay,†said the commander operating in Ghazni. “If they don’t, the supplies never arrive, or they face the consequence of heavy attacks.â€
Prior to the November attack, the U.S. and other NATO countries shipped about 30 percent of their nonlethal supplies from Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi through two main crossings on the Afghan border.
The route through Pakistan will become even more critical as the U.S. seeks to withdraw most of its combat troops by the end of 2014, a process that will require tens of thousands of containers carrying equipment and supplies.
“We have had to wait these past seven months for the supply lines to reopen and our income to start again,†said the Taliban commander in Ghazni. “Now work is back to normal.â€
Abbot reported from Islamabad and can be reached at https://twitter.com/sebabbot . Associated Press writer Richard Lardner contributed to this report from Washington.
South African cricketer Hashim Amla scored the first ever test triple century for South Africa, en route to their first ever test victory over England. Amla made 311 not out as South Africa made 2-637 declared, with a first innings lead of 252.England were 4-102 at the close, needing another 150 runs to avoid an innings defeat. The test series, however, came to a close, in South Africa’s favor, the very next day.
Amla and Jacques Kallis (182 not out) batted with relentless concentration and skill as they put on an unbeaten 377 for the third wicket, a record for any wicket in matches between England and South Africa. Whereas England had taken only one wicket in more than 13 hours of play between the early dismissal of Alviro Petersen on Friday and the tourists’ declaration at tea on Sunday, the hosts were almost immediately in trouble in their second innings.
First innings century-maker Alastair Cook was caught behind off Vernon Philander off the eighth ball of the innings without scoring – the third opening batsman in the match to be dismissed for a duck. Dale Steyn then produced a superb away swinger to have Jonathan Trott caught behind. Kevin Pietersen played some bold strokes, hitting three boundaries in an innings of 16 before he played down the wrong line against Morne Morkel and had his middle stump knocked out of the ground.
England captain Andrew Strauss battled for more than two hours, making 27, before he top-edged a sweep against leg-spinner Imran Tahir and was caught at square leg. Ian Bell and Ravi Bopara batted out the day but will resume on Monday with England still needing a big effort to avoid defeat in the first match of a three-match series.
South Africa’s previous highest score was 278 not out by AB de Villiers against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2010-11. Amla batted for a total of 13 hours and nine minutes, facing 529 balls and hitting 35 fours, and gave only one difficult chance, to Strauss at slip off Ravi Bopara on Friday afternoon, when he was on 40. Amla reached his double century off 392 balls and needed only another 123 deliveries to reach 300 with his 35th boundary.
England set ultra-defensive fields but could not halt the flow of runs. With Amla on 299, England captain Andrew Strauss brought the field up to stop a single but the batsman played a rare lofted drive for four over cover off Tim Bresnan to earn a prolonged standing ovation from the crowd. And Amla was subsequently applauded country-wide, as his accomplishment put him on the front pages of South African newspapers, ahead of even golfing countryman Ernie Els who had just won the British Open.
Qatari soccer official Mohamed Bin Hammam was once a candidate for international soccer’s highest post, before tumbling to the lowest of lows after the ignominy of a life-time ban from the sport. But Bin Hammamm is back on the saddle once again after winning his appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The CAS did, however, state that the decision did not amount to an “affirmative finding of innocence†for Bin Hammam, saying that FIFA’s investigation had not been through enough, and that the case could be re-opened with new evidence. Bin Hammam was originally banned after bribery allegations.
Qatari Bin Hammam remained suspended from the game after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), which he previously headed, opened a disciplinary case against their former boss over alleged financial wrongdong earlier this week. He was banned for 30 days, which was extended to a worldwide ban by FIFA just last week. “The CAS has upheld Bin Hammam’s appeal, annulled the decision rendered by the FIFA Appeal Committee and lifted the life ban imposed on Mr Bin Hammam,†the CAS statement read.
Bin Hammam, a former member of FIFA’s executive committee, challenged Sepp Blatter for the presidency of soccer’s world ruling body last year. Bin Hammam was also an instrumental figure in Qatar landing the rights to the 2022 soccer World Cup.
Malaysia’s contingent takes part in the athletes parade during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium July 27, 2012. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett
This year’s Olympics in London will mark the first time that the Summer Games will be held during the month of Ramadan since the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics. This has put Olympic athletes from many countries in a quandary as to how to handle the issue of fasting during such a rigorous athletic event. And numerous viewpoints have been taken of this situation.
One country that is grappling with this issue is Malaysia, with its significant Muslim population. A senior member of the National Fatwa Council, Malaysia’s top religious authority, stated that athletes can postpone their fast until after the Summer Games as they are competing at an international event for the nation’s honor. “They are going to the Olympics to bring fame for the country. They can fast when they return to Malaysia,†Mufti Harussani Zakaria, the top religious official for the Malaysian state of Perak, told newspapers this week. “The Quran says if you have a mission to complete, you can postpone the fasting but you must replace the number of days you did not fast.â€
Sieh Kok Chi, secretary of the Olympic Council of Malaysia, also said Olympic athletes should not fast while competing. “It is a once in their lifetime chance to participate in the Olympics. They should opt out from fasting for one or two days so that they stand a chance of winning a medal,†he told AFP.
Malaysia will compete in nine sports in London, with Muslims taking part in archery, cycling, shooting, sailing and track and field. Eleven out of the 30 Malaysian athletes going to London are Muslim. One of Malaysia’s top medal prospects, cyclist Azizulhasni Awang, who won a silver medal at the 2009 track cycling world championships, is among the athletes who will put off fasting, Malaysian media reported this week.
Shooter Nur Suryani Mohamad Taibi, who will compete in London despite being eight months pregnant, is excused from fasting since she is expecting, but said all Muslims should be excused from fasting during competition. “Islam is lenient. It is not a religion that forces people. Actually when we go to London we are termed as travelers. Islam allows us to postpone our fasting,†she said.
The British tabloid The Daily Mail reported in 2006 that the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission said the Olympics timing was insensitive while Turkey, Egypt and Morocco lobbied for it to be rescheduled. The International Olympic Committee, however, declined the requests, saying the Games were a secular event.
Islamic authorities in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, and Morocco have reportedly allowed their athletes to postpone their fasts despite disagreement from some Muslims. This is clearly a hot-button issue in the Muslim world. While individual Muslims may have strong views on this topic, the time should be taken to educate each other rather than to judge. The London Olympics begin on Friday July 27th.
Funds totaling $46 million to provide upgrades, modernizations in Texas
Approximately $46 million in federal funding is headed to Texas as part of Federal Transit Administration (FTA) programs aimed at modernizing and replacing aging transit facilities and vehicles. The Texas share is part of a total of $780 million distributed nationwide to help fund projects in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
One example of the funding coming to Texas is the $12 million the Dallas Area Rapid Transit will receive. DART will use the money to replace aging diesel and liquid natural gas buses with new cleaner burning compressed natural gas buses. The new buses will be low floor and wheel chair equipped and will improve fuel economy, save costs and reduce emissions.
This is the third round of funding that is part of the FTA’s State of Good Repair and Bus Livability program. For this round of funding, the FTA was inundated by 836 applications that together requested $4 billion in funding. For fiscal years 2010 and 2011, FTA awarded a total of more than $1.8 billion in grants for hundreds of projects relating to buses and bus facilities.
FTA officials said this new investment will allow those who depend on public transit to have a more reliable, safe mode of travel. Some of the projects funded in Texas include:
– City of Lubbock/Citibus Facility Rehabilitation – $875,000 – Citibus will use funds for the rehabilitation of its maintenance facility, which was originally built in 1932. The rehabilitation of the project will include the replacement of the HVAC, plumbing, carpet, roof, underground storage tanks, garage doors, as well as the reconstruction.
– Concho Valley Rural Transit District (San Angelo) – $860,800 – The Concho Valley Transit District will replace transit vehicles in its fleet that have met or exceeded their useful lives. Replacement of these vehicles will ensure continued safe, reliable transit operations and lower maintenance costs.
– Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority – $160,000 – Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority will replace a bus wash facility. The new facility features a water reclamation system, which will improve efficiency and reduce water consumption.
– Gulf Coast Center (Brazoria and Galveston counties) – $235,200 – Gulf Coast Center will install automated “smart card†fare collection technology on its transit vehicles, replacing an outdated fare collection method.
– Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County – $11,142,488 – To ensure continued dependable service to its customers, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County will replace and rehabilitate six bus operations facilities to deliver safer working conditions and improved service capabilities.
– Texas Department of Transportation – $12,412,999 – The Texas Department of Transportation will replace rural transit vehicles that have met or exceeded their useful lives. Replacement of these vehicles will ensure continued safe, reliable transit operations and lower maintenance costs.
– City of Tyler – $38,400 – City of Tyler will refurbish existing fareboxes to ensure that fares are collected properly and to ensure good service.
– VIA Metropolitan Transit (San Antonio) – $2.52 million – VIA Metropolitan Transit, the public transit provider in San Antonio and Bexar County, will replace transit vehicles in its fleet that have met or exceeded their useful life. This project will also allow for emissions reductions, as the new vehicles will contain a propane engine.
– City of Galveston – $2 million – The City of Galveston will improve transit and pedestrian amenities along Seawall Boulevard, impacted by Hurricane Ike. In addition to two new bus routes with connections to existing bus routes and trolleys, improvements include solar-powered lighting, benches and trash receptacles at bus shelters, and new ADA-compliant sidewalks.
– Fort Worth Transportation Authority – $941,728 – To further improve mobility and connectivity between popular destinations, the Fort Worth Transportation Authority (“The Tâ€) will implement the Fort Worth Livability Bike Sharing Program. Bike stations will be placed in areas that have dense neighborhoods with high activity and access to a variety of transit connections. Bike stations will also be placed at the intermodal hub in Ft. Worth.
– VIA Metropolitan Transit (San Antonio) – $1.416 million – These grants encourage transit agencies to develop and implement new or improved transit asset management systems and cost-effective ways to manage and maintain the condition of their systems.
Houston Lands Largest Passenger Aircraft in the World
Historic Flight is a First for Texas
George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is welcoming the largest passenger aircraft in the world to Texas. The Lufthansa A380 will make its first arrival at Intercontinental on Wednesday, August 1, and is inviting Houston to the “A380 Houston Party†to celebrate from noon – 2 p.m. at FM 1960, just east of Farrell Road, Houston, 77066.
Guests will have an unbeatable view of the A380 landing on the runway at IAH. Get your cameras ready, because the “A380 Houston Party†is in a gated area, not regularly open to the public and it is very close to the runway. Planespotters should be able to get great photos.
While guests are waiting for the A380 to arrive, Intercontinental has plenty of activities planned, including chances to win several prizes including two trips to Germany on the A380 – all guests have to do is participate in a couple of contests. For more information on how to register for the contests and eligibility, visit www.fly2houston.com/A380contests
Bloomfield Hills-July 29, 2012–Despite the dire need of Syrians at home in the war, the predominantly Syrian community of Bloomfield’s Muslim Unity Center put their best foot forward to support their mosque against its day to day operating costs, raising $407,000 toward that end.
The Unity Center held a fundraising iftar this past Sunday evening. Without hiring showy speakers from out of town, the mosque appealed to the medical community who form its financial core, who rose to the challenge, some giving tens of thousands of dollars to their mosque.
The event began immediately after iftar, in the basement conference room, with posh tables with rose bouquets on every table and fancy upholstery on all of the chairs, very fine food and desserts–all of this sponsored by a generous member of the Unity Center community.
The event began with recitation of Qur`an, followed by a brief introduction to the needs and budget of the mosque. The Unity Center has an operating budget of about $45,000 a month, of which $21,000 is covered by monthly donations–the purpose of the fundraiser was to cover the remaining deficit.
The fundraising began with scary stories of Muslim children from prominent local Michigan mosque families who cavort in their high schools, dating and engaging in promiscuity and sometimes losing their faith.
The fundraiser began with a plea to support the mosque as an alternative to the bad influences Muslim children face in the wider world.
Imam Masmari of the mosque made an impassioned personal plea which brought literally several hundred thousand dollars in donations.
To donate to Bloomfield’s Muslim Unity Center, please visit http://www.muslimunitycenter.org/index.php/donate/donate-to-unity-center/.
LONDON (Reuters) – With its lavish Olympic headquarters next to the iconic Savoy hotel in one of London’s poshest districts, Qatar is putting its money where its mouth in a bid to join the world’s leading sporting nations.
The tiny oil and gas-rich Gulf state has for the duration of the Games converted an engineering institute on a bank of the River Thames into an adobe-walled traditional Qatari home, complete with wrought-iron Arab lamps and plush furniture.
Luxury department store Harrods is the caterer for the venue, which is only a short distance from another symbol of Qatari ambition, the newly-built and Qatari-funded Shard tower, the tallest building in the European Union.
The largesse is in keeping with Qatari efforts to boost its global profile – on the diplomatic stage, where it punches far above its weight, in the business world, where it is a much courted investor, and in the sports arena.
It is in sports, from an international public relations perspective, that Qatar has won arguably the biggest prize of all – hosting the 2022 soccer World Cup. But Qatar is not happy to stop there, said the country’s Olympic Committee chief Saoud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, casually referring to his country’s plan to bid for the 2024 Olympics, as well as a raft of other sporting events.
“This all comes from our vision and our strategy. If you look to Qatar’s vision in sport, this is to become a leading nation in the world,†said Saoud, a member of the ruling Thani family, speaking in London on Tuesday.
“You cannot do this without having the infrastructure ready, without having big events, such as world championships, the Olympic Games, different regional games,†he told Reuters at the Qatari Olympic committee headquarters, which showcased Qatari culture and achievements in sport and other fields.
Some may be skeptical about Saoud’s bold ambition – only 250,000 of Qatar’s population of 1.7 million are citizens, and they are not known for their sporting history – but Thani’s vision stretches far beyond the confines of Qatar’s borders.
Qatar, a small peninsula adjoining Saudi Arabia, hopes to become a sports hub for the Middle East and North Africa, a part of the world that has generally not invested heavily in sport or cultivated much of a sporting tradition.
“Qatar has a very small population. But we are thinking about having such a centre for the whole Middle East and North Africa region,†Saoud said.
“There’s so many countries and athletes who would love to participate and train, but they don’t have the facilities,†he added.
It may surprise many but women are a key part of Qatar’s master plan to enter the sporting big leagues, and as if to the underline that ambition, a female athlete was Qatar’s main flag bearer at Friday’s Olympic opening ceremony.
Qatar plans to build a high performance training centre for female athletes by 2016.
“The high performance centre is one of the pieces we have in the master plan,†Saoud said.
He batted away reporters’ suggestions that his country’s four female athletes in this year’s Games – Qatar’s first female athletes at any Olympics – were a token gesture by a reticent conservative Islamic state to mollify Olympic authorities.
“Qatar hasn’t been asked to bring females to the Games. This is a misunderstanding. Qatar has been developing female sport since 2000. We’ve (Qatari women) been participating in different international competitions,†Saoud said.
“You can’t just send an athlete to the Olympic Games. This is the key point. You have to qualify. And we tried, but we did not succeed,†he added.
Saoud said he had no doubts Qatar would develop its female sporting talent quickly, before heading off to the Olympic stadium, which along with other venues he said he would study for sustainability tips for future Qatari sports events.
(Reporting by Mohammed Abbas; editing by Ken Ferris)
Rochester Hills, MI–For the first week of the Ramadan Series Project, we visited the Islamic Association of Greater Detroit (IAGD), located in Rochester Hills, MI.
While on the way to this mosque, we assumed it would be a smaller Muslim community, mainly because the Rochester Hills area is not known for having very many Muslims. But when we arrived to this center, we knew this assumption was wrong when we had trouble finding a space to park, even in the newer added lot.
Just from standing in the halls of the IAGD, I tried to get a feel for the community and their atmosphere. Within the first 15 minutes, hearing at least five different languages, I began to realize that this community, with all of their cultural and language differences, came together for prayer and to break fast together. Their commonality: religion. This was evident even in the dinner menu that consisted of tandoori chicken, fatoush, grape leaves, rice, pasta and much more.
When sitting to dinner, the first meal of the day, the energy was still there, not drawn from food, but from the excitement of the fellow dinner companions. Some tables had families dining together, while another looked like a table of high school girls sitting at the lunch table together exchanging photos and apps on their cell phones. One table however, was of all women who only make it to the mosque during Ramadan, and were dining together while catching up on family additions, work stories, and just life within the last year.
Ramadan tonight at the IAGD of Rochester Hills was more than just breaking their fast together, it was having a meal, and creating memories with friends that you would not have otherwise been able to dine with.
Stay tuned to The Muslim Observer’s print and web edition, as well as the weekly webcast for the continuation of the Ramadan Series Project. Week two’s visit will be at the Islamic Center of America’s Young Muslim Association, in Dearborn.
It is related from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “It is not permissible for any Muslim who has something to will to stay for two nights without having his last will and testament written and kept ready with him.†Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 51, No. 1
Astonishingly enough, despite the obligatory verses put upon all Muslims, more than half of the Muslims residing in America have yet to establish an estate plan. With the blessed month of Ramadan upon us, it is a perfect opportunity for Muslims to satisfy a simple, yet very important duty, and take the initiative to create their estate plan. One of the most common excuses I hear from people who have yet to establish a plan is that they don’t have the time. During this month, it should not be forgotten the importance of completing obligatory deeds, and if there is any month in which to perform and satisfy those deeds, it is now.
In addition to the religious benefit of setting up an estate plan, it can also serve as the blueprint for your financial life and your family’s financial future, as it is the process that helps you accumulate, conserve and give assets to your family. It further addresses your legal and financial concerns taking into account your goals and your tax considerations. The following are just some of the benefits a properly drafted estate plan can have:
1. Controls Distribution: Rather than letting the government dictate how your assets are to be distributed, take control and dictate it yourself. Your estate plan will make sure your wishes are met.
2. Reduce/Avoid Taxes: A well drafted estate plan can minimize or avoid estate taxes, income taxes and capital gains taxes.
3. Limit Liability Exposure: Estate plans often include a “no-contest†provision. Such an election can discourage challenges to your estate plan, giving you additional assurances that your wishes will be honored.
4. Assist Beneficiaries: Many individuals, especially those with limited financial experience, can make unwise decisions when given an inheritance. Most time they struggle at making responsible decisions when handed a large sum of money at once. A sound estate plan can help inexperienced beneficiaries do the right thing with their inheritance, such as getting a good education, purchasing a home, getting a safe car and making wise investments.
5. Special Needs: A good estate plan provides for special needs beneficiaries by ensuring that they can receive their inheritance without losing their government assistance.
6. Protected: A good estate plan can give you peace of mind knowing that your affairs are in order and your loved ones are protected and provided for.
If you are on the hinge of deciding whether to make time for your estate plan this month, keep the following in mind: The Prophet, (pbuh), said:“…Whoever draws nearer (to Allah) by performing any of the (optional) good deeds in (this month) shall receive the same reward as performing an obligatory deed at any other time, and whoever discharges an obligatory deed in (this month) shall receive the reward of performing seventy obligations at any other time… †[Narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah]
Adil Daudi is an Attorney at Joseph, Kroll & Yagalla, P.C., focusing primarily on Asset Protection for Physicians, Physician Contracts, Estate Planning, Shariah Estate Planning, Health Care Law, Business Litigation, and Corporate Formations. He can be contacted for any questions related to this article or other areas of law at adil@josephlaw.net or (517) 381-2663.
Mitt Romney picked a bad day to launch a blistering attack on Barack Obama’s foreign policy. As Romney was speaking to the annual gathering of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, charging Obama with weakness, betrayal and mendacity, NBC News and the Wall Street Journal released a new poll. It turns out that on “handling of foreign policy,†Americans prefer Obama to Romney by 15 points.
Romney’s principal charge against Obama is that he has angered America’s allies and emboldened its enemies. Again, it turns out that some recently released data contradict the claim. The Pew Foundation released one of its global surveys in June, soliciting opinions from several countries around the world. When asked if they have “some†or a “great deal of†trust in President Obama, the numbers are overwhelmingly positive. In Britain, for example, which is Romney’s first stop on his foreign tour, 80% of people trust Obama, compared with 16% who trusted George W. Bush. All countries surveyed have much higher approval ratings of America in 2012 than they did in 2008, when Bush was President. (It’s fair to note that the numbers have come down from their 2009 highs, just after Obama’s Inauguration, when expectations were soaring.)
In order to give substance to his claim that Obama has let down our allies, Romney dwells at length on a minor issue: the supposed humiliation of the Poles and Czechs over the building of an antimissile system. That is presumably why Romney chose to visit Poland, a country where he thinks attitudes toward Obama will be distinctly cool. That narrative is often repeated on the right. On July 23 the conservative commentator George Weigel of National Review argued that the Poles are extremely nervous about this election, worried that Obama might remain in the White House and continue his allegedly anti-Polish policies.
The Pew survey, however, gives us the numbers. Poles think Obama deserves a second term by a ratio of nearly 5 to 3. In the Czech Republic, the ratio is more than 6 to 1. It was so much easier to characterize whole countries’ attitudes in the old days, when nobody did polls in them!
There are parts of the world where approval rates for Obama have dropped significantly and where America is viewed with suspicion. They include Russia, China and the countries of the Arab world. This would suggest that Obama has not given these countries what they want, thus earning their disfavor. That is precisely what Romney seems to want in his speech–approval from allies and disapproval from adversaries.
And consider the reasons Obama’s ratings are low in the Arab world. The two strongest justifications given by people in every Arab country that was surveyed are, first, that he has not been fair in dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian issue, and second, that he has used drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan to go after terrorists. In other words, the reason Obama has lost some of his global popularity is that he is perceived as too pro-Israeli and too hawkish.
Romney has tried to dredge up the standard-issue Cold War Republican attack on Democrats: the world is dangerous, our enemies are growing strong, and Obama is weak. The problem is, most Americans recognize that none of this is true. The world is actually quite peaceful right now; our adversaries–like Iran–are weak and isolated. China is growing strong but has not used its power to contest America in national-security terms. The one enemy Americans recognize and worry about remains al-Qaeda and its affiliated Islamic terrorist groups, and Obama has been relentless in attacking them.
Mitt Romney is a smart man who has had much professional success. But even Republican insiders have admitted to me that he has been strangely amateurish on foreign policy. His campaign, they note, is not staffed by the obvious Republican foreign policy heavyweights–people like Robert Zoellick, Richard Armitage, Richard Haass and Stephen Hadley. As a result, he has blustered about Russia’s being our greatest geopolitical adversary (actually it is a second-rate power), seems willing to start a trade war with China, is vague yet belligerent about Syria and Iran and has gone back and forth on the timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Romney faces a tough problem. President Obama is the first Democrat in nearly 50 years to enter an election with a dramatic advantage in foreign policy. (The last time was Lyndon Johnson vs. Barry Goldwater in 1964.) Unless Romney can craft a smart, strategic alternative, that gap will only get wider.
Editor’s note: Haris Tarin is the director of the Washington office of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
By Haris Tarin
(CNN) — It is difficult being an American Muslim engaged in civic activities, let alone working in government or politics. We Muslims must always second-guess what we say, guard against people questioning our loyalty and make sure that nobody thinks we are trying to infiltrate the government to sabotage it from within and hand it over to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Most Americans would dismiss these accusations, especially the last one, as outrageous conspiracy theories written by loonies on their blogs. Yet American Muslim public servants are facing these charges from sitting members of Congress. The sad reality is that it has been happening for a decade, and has been met with complete indifference from the media and the public. Recently, Rep. Michele Bachmann, briefly the front-runner for GOP presidential candidate, sent letters to the State Department, Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security asking them to investigate American Muslim organizations, individuals and government employees to determine if they are infiltrating the government and sabotaging it from within. This week,Newt Gringrich wrote an op-ed defending Bachmann’s request.
Bachmann and her friends — Republican representatives Trent Franks of Arizona, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Tom Rooney of Florida and Lynn Westmoreland of Georgia — pulled out all the stops. They not only hurled these outrageous claims at our organization, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, and others like ours, but also accuse Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s deputy chief-of-staff of being part of the conspiracy.
Huma Abedin, married to former New York Rep. Anthony Weiner, has served Clinton since she was the first lady. The slurs against her are beyond malicious. They accuse Abedin’s late father and her family of being a part of an international conspiracy seeking to sabotage the United States.
This latest witch hunt comes as no surprise to those of us in public life. This is a natural next step for hate mongers. First, people who do not have mainstream political backing start the rumors. Next, if we take a page from Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s 1950s playbook, the rumors become accusations leveled by the most politically privileged. It’s simple — the more accusations thrown at American Muslims trying to serve their country, the harder it is for them to be hired and the more politicians shy away from engaging them.
For years, we have watched presidential candidates talking about their discomfort with appointing Muslims to senior positions in government. We have seen them sparring over our ethics and principles. Legislation against Sharia law has been introduced in 20 states, frightening residents into thinking Sharia is an imminent threat. President Obama still faces vicious and pointed accusations of being a Muslim, as though it were a slur.
These attacks are real and hurt people’s lives. Public servants have been forced out of jobs, with suspicion shadowing them. Very few public officials have had the courage to publicly condemn the escalating witch hunt. Will this latest absurdity finally force our politicians and policy-makers to not only defend someone like Huma Abedin, whose public service needs no defense, but also all American Muslims who serve this country every day?
A few Republicans have rallied to Abedin’s side. This week, Ed Rollins, Bachmann’s former campaign chief, denounced her in an op-ed on Fox News. Speaker of the House John Boehner defended Abedin’s character.
Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain felt compelled to stand on the floor of the Senate and denounce the accusations. “Ultimately, what is at stake in this matter is larger even than the reputation of one person. This is about who we are as a nation, and who we aspire to be,†he said.
The question is whether this incident will serve as a tipping point. Will our political and religious leaders and the media push back against Islamophobes whose clear agenda is to marginalize American Muslims? Will this wave of McCarthyism be exposed, condemned and made politically unacceptable? Will American Muslim public servants be able to serve their country without suspicion?
Every year, my organization brings 25 young American Muslim leaders to Washington to help them better understand policy making. The majority are inspired to develop careers in government and public service.
Yet every year I ask myself: Are these individuals better off in banking, medicine and less high-profile careers? Am I exposing them to a career that will be tarnished by the likes of Michele Bachmann? In the end, I still believe that the sacrifice to serve this nation and make America a better place is worth the headache, and heartache, of dealing with bigots — including those in Congress.
The Century 16 movie theater where 12 were killed and dozens injured on July 20, 2012, is pictured in Aurora July 26, 2012. Family and friends filed into a Denver church on Thursday for the funeral of a 23-year-old woman who was among the 12 people killed in a massacre at the opening of the new “Batman†movie, as investigators sought to piece together a possible motive for the shooting rampage.
REUTERS/Rick Wilking
Since Cain went nuts and whacked Abel, there have always been those humans who, for one reason or another, go temporarily or permanently insane and commit unspeakable acts of violence. There was the Roman Emperor Tiberius, who during the first century A.D. enjoyed throwing victims off a cliff on the Mediterranean island of Capri. Gilles de Rais, a French knight and ally of Joan of Arc during the middle ages, went cuckoo-for-Cocoa Puffs one day and ended up murdering hundreds of children. Just a few decades later Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for Dracula, was killing people in Transylvania in numberless horrifying ways.
In modern times, nearly every nation has had a psychopath or two commit a mass murder, regardless of how strict their gun laws are – the crazed white supremacist in Norway one year ago Sunday, the schoolyard butcher in Dunblane, Scotland, the École Polytechnique killer in Montreal, the mass murderer in Erfurt, Germany … the list seems endless.
And now the Aurora shooter last Friday. There have always been insane people, and there always will be.
But here’s the difference between the rest of the world and us: We have two Auroras that take place every single day of every single year! At least 24 Americans every day (8-9,000 a year) are killed by people with guns – and that doesn’t count the ones accidentally killed by guns or who commit suicide with a gun. Count them and you can triple that number to over 25,000.
That means the United States is responsible for over 80 percent of all the gun deaths in the 23 richest countries combined. Considering that the people of those countries, as human beings, are no better or worse than any of us, well, then, why us?
Both conservatives and liberals in America operate with firmly held beliefs as to “the why†of this problem. And the reason neither can find their way out of the box toward a real solution is because, in fact, they’re both half right.
The right believes that the Founding Fathers, through some sort of divine decree, have guaranteed them the absolute right to own as many guns as they desire. And they will ceaselessly remind you that a gun cannot fire itself – that “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.â€
Of course, they know they’re being intellectually dishonest (if I can use that word) when they say that about the Second Amendment because they know the men who wrote the constitution just wanted to make sure a militia could be quickly called up from amongst the farmers and merchants should the Brits decide to return and wreak some havoc.
But they are half right when they say “Guns don’t kill people.†I would just alter that slogan slightly to speak the real truth: “Guns don’t kill people, Americans kill people.â€
Because we’re the only ones in the first world who do this en masse. And you’ll hear all stripes of Americans come up with a host of reasons so that they don’t have to deal with what’s really behind all this murder and mayhem.
They’ll say it’s the violent movies and video games that are responsible. Last time I checked, the movies and video games in Japan are more violent than ours – and yet usually fewer than 20 people a year are killed there with guns – and in 2006 the number was two!
Others will say it’s the number of broken homes that lead to all this killing. I hate to break this to you, but there are almost as many single-parent homes in the U.K. as there are here – and yet, in Great Britain, there are usually fewer than 40 gun murders a year.
People like me will say this is all the result of the U.S. having a history and a culture of men with guns, “cowboys and Indians,†“shoot first and ask questions later.†And while it is true that the mass genocide of the Native Americans set a pretty ugly model to found a country on, I think it’s safe to say we’re not the only ones with a violent past or a penchant for genocide. Hello, Germany! That’s right I’m talking about you and your history, from the Huns to the Nazis, just loving a good slaughter (as did the Japanese, and the British who ruled the world for hundreds of years – and they didn’t achieve that through planting daisies). And yet in Germany, a nation of 80 million people, there are only around 200 gun murders a year.
So those countries (and many others) are just like us – except for the fact that more people here believe in God and go to church than any other Western nation.
My liberal compatriots will tell you if we just had less guns, there would be less gun deaths. And, mathematically, that would be true. If you have less arsenic in the water supply, it will kill less people. Less of anything bad – calories, smoking, reality TV – will kill far fewer people. And if we had strong gun laws that prohibited automatic and semi-automatic weapons and banned the sale of large magazines that can hold a gazillion bullets, well, then shooters like the man in Aurora would not be able to shoot so many people in just a few minutes.
But this, too, has a problem. There are plenty of guns in Canada (mostly hunting rifles) – and yet the annual gun murder count in Canada is around 200 deaths. In fact, because of its proximity, Canada’s culture is very similar to ours – the kids play the same violent video games, watch the same movies and TV shows, and yet they don’t grow up wanting to kill each other. Switzerland has the third-highest number of guns per capita on earth, but still a low murder rate.
So – why us?
I posed this question a decade ago in my film Bowling for Columbine, and this week, I have had little to say because I feel I said what I had to say 10 years ago – and it doesn’t seem to have done a whole lot of good other than to now look like it was actually a crystal ball posing as a movie.
This is what I said then, and it is what I will say again today:
1. We Americans are incredibly good killers. We believe in killing as a way of accomplishing our goals. Three-quarters of our states execute criminals, even though the states with the lower murder rates are generally the states with no death penalty.
Our killing is not just historical (the slaughter of Indians and slaves and each other in a “civil†war). It is our current way of resolving whatever it is we’re afraid of. It’s invasion as foreign policy. Sure there’s Iraq and Afghanistan – but we’ve been invaders since we “conquered the wild west†and now we’re hooked so bad we don’t even know where to invade (bin Laden wasn’t hiding in Afghanistan, he was in Pakistan) or what to invade for (Saddam had zero weapons of mass destruction and nothing to do with 9/11). We send our lower classes off to do the killing, and the rest of us who don’t have a loved one over there don’t spend a single minute of any given day thinking about the carnage. And now we send in remote pilotless planes to kill, planes that are being controlled by faceless men in a lush, air conditioned studio in suburban Las Vegas. It is madness.
2. We are an easily frightened people and it is easy to manipulate us with fear. What are we so afraid of that we need to have 300 million guns in our homes? Who do we think is going to hurt us? Why are most of these guns in white suburban and rural homes? Maybe we should fix our race problem and our poverty problem (again, number one in the industrialized world) and then maybe there would be fewer frustrated, frightened, angry people reaching for the gun in the drawer. Maybe we would take better care of each other.
Those are my thoughts about Aurora and the violent country I am a citizen of. Like I said, I spelled it all out (in the Bowling for Columbine movie, available now for free on Youtube) if you’d like to watch it or share it for free with others. All we’re lacking here, my friends, is the courage and the resolve. I’m in if you are.
