Minaret of Freedom Weblog

“Many Muslim scholars say that America is the most shari’ah compliant nation in the world, because it has maintained the vision of its founders as a model of justice, even though the practice has not always reflected this vision”:

• Shari’ah Compliance In America (Musalman Times)

As Israel scornfully dismisses a U.N. report that it executed passengers on the Turkish relief ship, Jewish activists contradict Israeli claims that no violence was used against them when soldiers seized the catamaran Irene:

• Jewish boat activists: Israel treated us harshly (Washington Post)

An Indian court rules that “the disputed site is the birthplace of Lord Ram,” and that the demolished mosque had been “built against the tenets of Islam. Thus, it cannot have the character of a mosque”:

• Hindus, Muslims Must Divide Holy Site, Indian Court Rules (Washington Post)

Actions have consequences; Pakistani reacts against NATO raids into Pakistan with what the CIA calls Blowback:

• Pakistan Cuts Off Nato Supply Route (Al-Jazeera)

Exercising his freedom of speech, Glen Friedman hangs an Islamic banner (along with 8 others) in a window that “gazes directly down onto the ‘Ground Zero’ site”:

• In The Face Of Islamophobia (Al-Jazeera)

The founding of the University of Notre Dame and Brandeis University signaled a changing tide in public opinion for Catholics and Jews; can Zaytuna College do the same for the Muslim American community?

• Zaytuna College: a Sign of Hope For Islam (Washington Post)

A interview with the a GOP nominee for the House of Representatives in South Carolina demonstrates (too well) an entertaining combination of politics and ignorance:

• Anderson Cooper Takes On Anti-Mosque GOP Candidate (TPM)

In a 7-6 vote, a Texas body that influences the choice of textbooks around the nation “managed to undermine Christian-Muslim relations, hamper religious literacy and impose ignorance on our kids at a time when they need knowledge to live and work in a competitive and integrated world”:

• Ignorance, Not Islam, Is The Enemy (Musalman Times)

A conservative Muslim finds Americans can be very accommodating in the workplace if you are respectfully open about your religion:

• Common Workplace Dilemmas Facing Muslims (MuslimMatters)

“When asked what law prohibited the Muslims from having a burial site on their own land, [the mayor’s] response was: “I don’t know what the exact law is'”:

• Digging Up Muslim Graves (Huffington Post)

“We have as Americans a right to be here, and we also have a responsibility to build bridges of reconciliation with the families of those who died on 11 September” — Sharif El-Gamal, developer of Park51:

• Muslim Developer Defends NY Ground Zero Plan (BBC)

A clash between the West and the Muslim world serves “no one except extremists and those who hold perverted ideas on both sides” — Egypt’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit:

• At World Stage, Nations Warn West Against ‘Islamophobia’ (Hindustan Times)

The ugly underbelly of the military occupation shows itself in the reported premeditated murder of three Afghan civilians for sport:

• Tapes Describe U.S. Servicemen Killing For Sport In Afghanistan (CNN)

“We stand in the proud Jewish tradition of justice, of championing the rights of the downtrodden, of implacable opposition to prejudice and racism,” read a statement by European Jews for a Just Peace:

• Israel Seizes Gaza Aid Boat (Al-Jazeera)

“Independent experts have warned that both sides are building up their forces in anticipation of an outbreak of hostilities over the referendum”:

• Sudan Sets Conditions for South Independence Vote (AP / Washington Post)

“We must urgently reclaim the center and the moral high ground that has been usurped from us,” says Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak:

• Malaysia Calls For Creation Of A ‘Global Movement Of Moderates’ To Combat Extremists (LA Times)

“”I told the court during arguments that there was no chance of a settlement. The High Court should be allowed to pronounce its judgment” — Zaffaryab Jilani, a lawyer for the Sunni Waqf Board:

• Indian Court Rejects Deferral of Case on Holy Site (AP / WTOP)

Australia elects its first Muslim MP, who while downplaying his own faith, mentions the significance of his office to Australia’s Muslim minority …

• New MP Is First In Australia To Be Sworn In With Koran (The Australian)

… meanwhile Europeans are united by “hostility to foreigners, especially Muslims” and polls indicate “a right-leaning party could now receive up to 20 percent of the vote, which would put it in Parliament” …

• Right-Wing Sentiment, Ready to Burst Its Dam (LA Times)

A Ph.D. student explains the foreign policy establishment’s handicap in “forecasting religiously inspired events (the Iranian revolution), identifying hostile actors (al-Qaeda and its ilk), and developing constructive partnerships (Ayatollah Sistani in Iraq, among others). We need to understand and respect religion, as it forms the beating heart of the countries we are trying to engage”:

• Global Religious Freedom Is Crucial To All (Philadelphia Inquirer)

A teacher says the ban “attests primarily to narrow-mindedness and an unwillingness to explore new modes of thinking”:

• Education Ministry Bans Use Of Text Book That Offers Palestinian Narrative (Haaretz)

For 82-year-old Reuven Moskovitz it’s his a “sacred duty” as a [Holocaust] survivor “to protest against the persecution, the oppression and the imprisonment of so many people in Gaza, including more than 800,000 children”:

• Jewish Aid Ship Sails For Gaza (Al-Jazeera)

A superhero with a disability: “a Muslim boy who lost his legs in a landmine accident and later becomes the Silver Scorpion after discovering he has the power to control metal with his mind”:

• New Muslim Comic Book Superhero on the Way (AP /NPR)

“All groups — Sindhi, Pakhtun, Baloch, Seraiki and Punjabi – should get an equal share in [blame for] corruption,” says Abdul Qayum Jatoi, the now resigned Minister for Defense Production:

• Pakistan Minister Quits After Accusing Army Of Killing (BBC)

The election must proceed “without any coercion or diktat and in an atmosphere of integrity and transparency” — Vice President Ali Osman Taha

• Sudan Calls for World to Monitor Referendum (AP / Washington Post)

“Muslims fought imperial armies, not civilians, and were forbidden to harm non-combatants or destroy property”:

• Quran 9:5: Does Is Really Sanction Violence Against ‘Unbelievers’? (Musalman Times)

“Iran accused the US of human rights violations today over plans by the state of Virginia to execute a woman for the first time in nearly 100 years, despite claims that she has severe learning difficulties”:

• Iran Accuses US Of Double Standards Over Woman’s Execution (Guardian)

A poll “by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation [indicates]  no more than 5% of Turks are hardcore Islamists and 7% strident secularists. Most fall in the middle, presumably looking for common ground”:

• In Old Istanbul Quarter, Islamic And Secular Turks Grope Toward Coexistence (LA Times)

Is America threatened by “stealth jihad” or by open bigotry?

• Misplaced Furor over a Field Trip (Washington Post)

Both Republicans and Democrats “agree the group has the right to build the mosque, but … disagree on whether it’s appropriate to do so”:

• Poll: Voters Say Muslims Have Right to Build NYC Mosque (Wall Street Journal)

“When fools from two villages get into a silly spitting match, it eventually drags both villages into a bloody match if each gets offended by what the fools of the other village are saying”:

• Extremist Religious Views Are Comparable To Village Idiots (Daily Lobo)

In the face of what her sister calls the judge’s bias, Aafia Siqqiqui’s advice to supporters is: “Don’t get angry…. Forgive Judge Berman”:

• Pakistani Woman Gets 86 Yrs for U.S. Agent Clash (AP / CBS)

Religious studies in public primary and secondary education would increase cultural literacy, and may have a dampening effect on xenophobia from ignorance …

• Schools Should Teach Religion (Now More Than Ever) (Washington Post)

… however religious studies in public schools would only worsen turf battles and politics out of public school boards:

• Texas School Board To Consider Alleged ‘Pro-Islamic’ Bias In Textbooks (NPR)

In a country where “[s]ecurity forces – in full riot gear and plain clothes – always outnumber protestors,” even a small demonstration is big news that “some Egyptians at least, are not intimidated by the system anymore”:

• Egyptians Reject Inheritance Of Power (Al-Jazeera)

A rebel announcement that they would be satisfied with “a status similar to a U.S. state” bodes well for peace:

• Philippine Muslim Rebels Drop Independence Demand (AP / Washington Post)

As Obama continues to view the peace talks through rose-colored glasses,

• Palestinians Say Netanyahu Responsible for Silwan killing (Jerusalem Post)

“Some staunch supporters of the establishment have made no secret of their opinions, saying the party is finished”:

• Talk Of ‘Revolution’ In Pakistan (Al-Jazeera)

Woodward reports that U.S. intelligence diagnosed Karzai as a manic depressive” and Pakistan as a “dishonest partner,” and despite Obama’s insistence, the military never did come up with an exit plan:

• Bob Woodward Book Details Obama Battles with Advisers over Exit Plan for Afghan War (Washington Post)

“Hamas refuses to say who has been arrested, a policy that has sparked a furious rumor mill since the arrests began earlier in September”:

• Hamas Action to Catch Spies Spreads Panic in Gaza (AP / Washington Post)

French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi originally intended the Statue of Liberty (“New York’s most prominent Muslim”) to be placed at the entrance to the Suez Canal:

• Man and His Symbols (and Signs, and Public Spaces) (New York Times)

Seven employees of a uranium mine in the former French colony of “Niger run by French state-owned nuclear power giant Areva, were abducted by armed men”:

• Al-Qaeda Claims French Kidnappings (Al-Jazeera)

Calling “for a national week of dialogue starting around Oct. 22, when mosques will hold open houses … [to] “allay tensions caused by Park51 and to ‘build bridges of understanding that unite and strengthen our nation’ “:

• US Muslim Groups Unite, See Mosque Near Ground Zero As Test of Right (Christian Science Monitor)

“86.7% of Egyptian families who contribute to charity, 97% bestow part of their income to fulfill the zakat. The study adds that 75.3% of the spending came in the form of gifts, donations, iftar banquets during Ramadan”:

• Egypt: Islamic Charity Spending Is Also An Economic Pillar, Figures Show (LA Times)

With “the feel of a real mosque … in the epicenter of capitalism — New York City, the World Trade Center — … you had this island of spiritualism.” — Zafar Sareshwala, a financial executive for the Parsoli Corporation:

• Muslims and Islam Were Part of Twin Towers’ Life (NY Times)

The absence of an Islamic contract, which should be evidence the women were forced into marriage is instead used as an excuse to disqualify the victims’ children from Iraqi citizenship:

• Children of al-Qaeda in Iraq Pay for Sins of Their Fathers (Washington Post)

“If society inhibits women from whatever they want to wear, that is a problem,” says Silma Ihram of the Muslim Woman’s Network of Australia, stressing the importance of individual freedom of choice, whether it be to dye her hair orange or to wear a burqa …

• It’s Un-Australian … Rally Condemns Push To Ban Burqa (Sidney Morning Herald)

… while in the only province in Indonesia trying to enforce a Muslim dress code, women protest that the state is only trying to distract from more pressing issues, like the economy:

• Aceh Enforces Women Trouser Ban (Al-Jazeera)

Limited knowledge and experience of scholars, “the majority of [whom] haven’t gone outside their village”, explains the radicalization of small town mullahs; (trans-oceanic traveler Pastor Jones doesn’t have this excuse):

• Insurgents Still Using Quran Burning Furor To Raise Afghans’ Ire (Christian Science Monitor)

Khoji Akbar Turajonzoda says blaming Islamists for every problem “only makes heroes of those who bring no good;” the former supreme mufti seeks a “a secular, but not an anti-religious, Tajikistan” …

• Radical Islam Challenges Central Asian Leaders (Reuters)

… and “chronic poverty and a Soviet-style crackdown on religion is furthering the growth of radical Islam in Tajikistan”:

• Tajikistan Says 25 Troops Dead After Weekend Attack (Reuters)

“Mahdi Bray, a Muslim leader from MAS Freedom, said that he believes the Park51 Islamic center should be seen as “a symbol of reconciliation, a symbol of unity and a symbol of mutual respect”:

• New York Muslim-American Leaders Gather to Show Support for Park51 (CNN)

The quandary, even violence, that may be provoked by the ruling in the Babri mosque controversy underlines the difficulty of defending property rights in areas of emotionally charged communal conflict:

• Ghost of Communal Riots Haunts India Mosque Verdict (Reuters)

“We have to realize that God’s law is not an alternative to the human mind, nor is it supposed to put it out of action…. Openness is life, while being closed off and isolated is suicidal”:

• Fathi Osman, Scholar of Islam, Dies at 82 (NY Times)

“In the midst of worsening violence around the country, and with the second post-invasion parliamentary election on September 18, writer and comedian Hanif Hangam says his show is the only program exposing politicians’ corruption”:

• Afghan Satire Mocks Candidates (Al-Jazeera)

“I do not know any individuals or structures here that could be defined as Wahhabi. It is the attempt of political labeling and stigmatizing people who want reforms” — Ramadan Ramadani, imam of the Isa Beg mosque in Skopje:

• Radical Islam On Rise in Balkans, Raising Fears Of Security Threat To Europe (AP / LA Times)

Khamenei’s plea “what the Holy Koran has taught us is the opposite of what [some Americans allegedly] did … was ignored by his followers in Kashmir”:

• Iranian TV’s Role in Kashmir’s Deadly Protests (Time)

With over 4 million Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza and perhaps another one million part of Israel’s current  7.2 million people, “Annexation” would only hasten the arrival date of an Arab majority in an expanded Israel:

• Netanyahu’s ‘Catastrophic Success’ (Al-Jazeera)

The Guardian speculates that the sale of “84 new F-15 fighter jets, 70 upgraded F-15s, 70 Apaches, 72 Black Hawks and 36 ‘Little Birds,'” to Saudi  is a prelude to big arms sale to Israel:

• Saudi Splurges On Weapons … For What? (Al-Jazeera)

A brand-new shopping center, financed by Hamas, opens in the Gaza Strip, limited in its wares by the continuing Israeli embargo:

• Shopping Mall Opens in Gaza (Al-Jazeera)

The Muslim football star “embraced the attention as a way to share about his faith and perhaps shed some positive light on Islam”:

• Vikings’ Abdullah Says He Felt Great During Fast (AP)

“Arab peace-making is largely intended for the benefit of the Arab states involved in the negotiations not the Palestinian cause. The search just for peace is not enough. The search must be for just peace”:

• The Arab ‘Peace Troika‘ (Al-Jazeera)

“But the Irish narrative is also one of good cheer for the Muslims.” The fighting Irish … “were hardworking and industrious, and their natural genius flourished in the opportunities afforded them in a free and open society”:

• Amid Mosque Dispute, Muslims Can Look To Irish-Catholics For Hope (Christian Science Monitor)