Houstonian Corner (V11-I5)

ISGH Organized MLK Day Program In A Distinctive Manner

As President-Elect Barack Obama called upon the nation to do positive action and render public service on Martin Luther King (MLK) Day, the Islamic Society of Greater Houston (ISGH) under the leadership of Dr. Aziz Ahmad Siddiqi, came up with an unique idea of opening the doors of ISGH Main Center and serve food to homeless and less fortunate in the society.

A very short notice was given for the event and was advertised on Mr. Obama’s National Website, resulting in many volunteers (Muslims and Non-Muslims) showing up. Some people came to avail this service at ISGH Main Center, while volunteers later on took boxes of food into various parts of Houston to distribute the food to needy.

Food was donated by four Muslim Community Restaurants: Fadis’; Kings’ Chicken; Mezban; and Shahnai.

For more information on various activities of ISGH, one can visit http://www.isgh.org/

Well Disciplined Rallies Organized By HCJPP

The recently formed Houston Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine (HCJPP) held this past Friday a Silent Protest in front of the Holocaust Museum and later on Sunday, a candlelight vigil at the Waterfall at Williams Tower, Galleria Area in Houston, to show solidarity with Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, who have endured deadly attacks by Israeli military forces over the past 22 days. Supporters reflected on the killings of 1,300+ Palestinians – over half of them women and children – and warned of the imminent starvation and death that indiscriminate Israeli attacks have caused so far. As President of the UN General Assembly Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann has warned, the staggering death and destruction caused by Israel’s attacks amounts to “genocide.”

HCJPP spokespersons have also shown their dismay that some local media outlets instead of focusing on the real humanitarian issues in Gaza, started a new subject that their group is Hamas supporter. Moral and legal steps are being considered to tackle this situation in Houston, where instead of creating animosity, media needs to focus on finding ways to resolve the crisis in Gaza.

In a Press Statement, Release, HCJPP said we will silently stand during the candle light vigil to remember the innocent lives of the Palestinian children, women and elderly who were brutally murdered by the Israeli military, and pray for all those, who suffer from acts of war anywhere in the world.

HCJPP statement further said: “What is genocide? The Holocaust Museum Houston defines genocide as “the deliberate and systematic mass murder of a national, racial, political, or religious group.” What is happening in Gaza today is genocide, and it has in fact been labeled genocide by the President of the UN General Assembly. If not genocide, what do we call confining 1.5 million people in the most populated strip of land on earth and then dropping bombs on them indiscriminately? If not genocide, what do we call the systematic bombing of hospitals, schools, and homes? If not genocide, what do we call the murder of 284 children and 100 women, all killed inside their own homes and schools? If not genocide, what do we call the deliberate blockade of humanitarian aid to a devastated population?

For more information, one can visit http://www.hcjpp.org/

11-5