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Independent – March 31, 2006
Blair lectured by pupils at Islamic school
By Andrew Grice
Tony Blair was warned the presence of British troops in Iraq was fuelling terrorism when he met moderate Muslim leaders on his visit to Indonesia.
The Prime Minister's plans to build bridges as he visited the most populous Muslim nation suffered when he was confronted about Iraq.
After talks in Jakarta, Din Syamsuddin, head of the 30 million-strong Muhammadiyah, Indonesia's second-biggest Muslim group, said the Islamic representatives told Mr Blair: "The British Government must pull its troops out of Iraq because Iraq's occupation will only stimulate radicalism, extremism and terrorism."
Azyumardi Azra, an Islamic scholar, said he told the Prime Minister "his foreign policies were not making the world any safer".
When Mr Blair visited an Islamic boarding-school, Rezar Rizky, 13, was cheered when he asked him: "Will you ask your best friend George Bush to stop the war in Iraq?" The Prime Minister replied: "I think we will not agree about Iraq and the decision to remove the government there."
He added: "Whatever we thought about the original decision to remove Saddam [Hussein], today we should work with the UN and with other countries to make sure Iraqi people get the same rights as we have in the UK and you have here."
Anissa At Muzir, 17, said she agreed with some of what Mr Blair said but disagreed with his views on Iraq. "His answer is not so satisfactory," she said. "Justice should be applied in a true sense."
Another student asked Mr Blair how he would feel if he were an Iraqi civilian who had had relatives killed in the conflict.
Mr Blair replied: "You feel very strongly that what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan was wrong. I understand that. But in those countries now people can vote and their government should decide what's right and what is wrong."….
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article354792.ece
Washington Times – March 31, 2006
CAIR defends itself
Ibrahim Hooper
In his commentary ("Cancer in its midst", Op-Ed, yesterday), M. Zuhdi Jasser states that he hopes and prays "for some counter-movement within my faith which will push back all this darkness" of terrorism, in apparent blissful ignorance of the fact that American Muslim groups have consistently and repeatedly condemned terrorism in all its forms.
It is particularly ironic that he believes this "counter-movement" will start with "what is most basic — the common truth that binds all religions: 'Do unto others, as you would have them do onto you.' The Golden Rule."
Just the day before publication of Mr. Jasser's commentary, the headline item on the Council on American-Islamic Relation's daily e-mail, distributed throughout North America and the Muslim world, was headlined "The Golden Rule." It offered several hadiths, or traditions of the prophet Muhammad, such as: "Whoever wishes to (enter Paradise) ... should treat people as he wishes to be treated by them."
Mr. Jasser also smears CAIR for "doing absolutely nothing about the most vile hate-speak and actions toward Jews and Christians in the Muslim world."
Perhaps he missed CAIR's: 1) condemnations of attacks on Christians in Yemen and Pakistan, 2) statements against suicide bombings in places such as Haifa and Jerusalem, 3) coordination of an Islamic religious ruling (fatwa) against terror and religious extremism, 4) distribution of public service announcements condemning terrorism, 5) online promotion of the "Not in the Name of Islam" petition drive, or 6) CAIR's recent condemnation of a plan by an Iranian newspaper to solicit cartoons denying the Nazi Holocaust.
In that condemnation, CAIR said: "The Holocaust, like all other acts of genocide, represents one of the lowest moments in human history and should not be the subject of derogatory cartoons. One cannot demand responsible behavior from others while at the same time acting irresponsibly."
Maybe he also missed CAIR's proactive educational campaigns designed to offer peaceful alternatives to violent responses prompted by recent controversies over allegations of Quran desecration in Guantanamo and the publication of offensive cartoons by a Danish newspaper.
Mr. Jasser should visit www.cair.com/Muhammad and www.explorethequran.org to educate himself about the reality of the American Muslim community's true response to violent events.
Mr. Jasser should practice what he preaches. The Web site for his own group is long on talk and short on the kind of positive actions and initiatives taken by CAIR.
(Ibrahim Hooper is national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20060330-085453-6556r.htm
IndyStar – March 29, 2006
ISNA goes to Washington
Robert King
The leader of a Plainfield-based Muslim organization with a national profile is moving to Washington to head an effort to improve interfaith cooperation and educate government officials about Muslim issues.
Sayyid Syeed will give up his post as secretary general of the Islamic Society of North America based in Plainfield to open the organization's first Washington office.
The move comes as Syeed and ISNA, which hosts the nation's largest Muslim convention each year in Chicago, have been trying to help American Muslims weather the storms following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Frequently, that task has kept Syeed flying between Indianapolis and Washington to meet with government officials and interfaith organizations. The Washington office should make the organization's mission easier, said Louay Safi, who directs ISNA's leadership development programs.
ISNA's headquarters will remain at its current location just off I-70 in Plainfield. A search to find a successor to Syeed should produce a new secretary general within a few months, Safi said. The post will be held on an interim basis by Ahmed El Hattab, who currently heads ISNA's development foundation.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060329/NEWS01/60329025/1006/NEWS01
Detroit Free Press – March 30, 2006
Michigan Muslims worked for Carroll's release
BY NIRAJ WARIKOO
DETROIT - From holding news conferences to making a hazardous trip to Baghdad, Iraq, Muslims in Michigan and across the United States launched an extraordinary campaign to help secure the release of kidnapped journalist Jill Carroll.
During the three months that she was held hostage, Muslims - with their words and their actions - organized for her freedom and condemned the kidnapping as un-Islamic. Some even worked their political and religious contacts inside Iraq. American Muslims have called for the freeing of hostages before. But this time, they went all out.
"We decided, `enough is enough,'" Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy group, said Thursday. "We had to go the extra mile."
It's unclear whether pressure from American Muslims - or other Muslim groups around the world - played a role in Carroll's release Thursday. But Walid and others say they hope their efforts showed the public that Muslims abhor terrorism and kidnapping.
"We were ecstatic when we heard the news this morning," Walid said. "We are truly grateful to God that our prayers have been answered."
In Michigan, local Muslims swung into action in the days after Carroll's kidnapping on Jan. 7. On Jan. 18, the Islamic Shura Council of Michigan - an umbrella group of more than 20 Muslim groups from across the state - said in a statement that "kidnapping and hurting innocent civilians will help no cause."
On Jan. 21, council officials Nihad Awad and Corey Saylor landed in Baghdad, where they called for Carroll's immediate release. The message was broadcast repeatedly on several Arabic-language TV stations, including Al-Jazeera. Numerous Muslim groups worldwide - including Hamas - called for her release.
Now that Carroll is free, Walid said, he hopes that Muslims "may have the opportunity to greet her and share in the celebration of her homecoming."…..
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/14226525.htm
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