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Gazette – Sept. 13, 2006
MD: Muslim candidate advances to general election
By JoAnn Grbach and Judith Hruz
In District 39, political newcomer Saqib Ali, a 30-year-old North Potomac resident, beat incumbent Del. Joan F. Stern by about 6 percent with 4,205 votes in the Democratic House primary.
Ali was behind incumbent delegates Charles E. Barkley of Germantown and Nancy J. King of Montgomery Village (Maryland). The top three vote-getters will advance to the general election in the House of Delegates race to face off against Republicans David Nichols, Gary Scott and Bill Witham, all of Gaithersburg.
Throughout the race Ali said he would invigorate the District 39 delegation, bringing energy and fresh ideas to Montgomery County and the state.
He repeated the message that what set him apart from his fellow candidates is at the same time what brings him closer to ''the face of Montgomery County."
''I'm in an interracial and interfaith marriage, I'm a professional, I'm sort of middle income and I live in a diverse world," he said during his campaign. ''I have feet in a lot of different worlds. I can be a bridge between different communities." …….
http://www.gazette.net/stories/091306/bethnew32010_31995.shtml
Associated Press - Sept. 13, 2006
In Minneapolis race, fresh attack on
Muslim candidate's past
By Martiga Lohn
ST. PAUL - One day after a Muslim state representative, Keith Ellison, captured the Democratic nomination for Congress, his Republican opponent on Wednesday unleashed a bitter attack on Ellison's past ties with Louis Farrakhan.
Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, has a history of harshly criticizing Jews.
Business professor Alan Fine, who's running an uphill race in Minnesota's bluest district, compared Ellison with former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, emphasizing the black Democrat's Muslim background with a series of pen names formerly used by Ellison.
"I'm extremely concerned about Keith Ellison. Keith Hakim. Keith X Ellison. Keith Ellison Muhammad," Fine, who is Jewish, said at a Capitol news conference. "I'm personally offended that this person is a candidate for U.S. Congress. He is unfit to represent the voters of the 5th District."
Fine added, "His selection is an embarrassment to our district, our state, our country and our world."
Ellison - who spent months explaining a mid-1990s association with Farrakhan's Nation of Islam during the primary contest - said in a statement that Fine's remarks weren't worth a response.
"To engage them is to be sullied by them," said Ellison, a 43-year-old criminal defense attorney who converted to Islam as a college student.
His statement added, "I intend to continue reaching out to the marginalized, to the disenfranchised, the dispossessed and inviting them in, to join us as we take our country back from those who would pander to our worst fears."
Fine's attack could backfire in a Minneapolis-area district where Democrats typically win by lopsided margins, said Larry Jacobs, a University of Minnesota political scientist. He noted that even in a competitive primary, Ellison's DFL opponents handled the issue gingerly.
"I'm just not sure how that's going to play with many voters in the 5th Congressional District," Jacobs said. "I think this is a risky proposition." …..
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/politics/15511611.htm
Michigan Daily – Sept. 14, 2006
MI: Political activities denounced
By Andrew Grossman
Republicans on campus and in Washington distanced themselves yesterday from controversial political activities discussed by an intern for the College Republican National Committee.
The intern, Morgan Wilkins, a sophomore at the University of Louisville, who is being paid to organize College Republicans throughout the state told The Michigan Daily on Sunday that she was considering organizing an event at campuses around the state that would have had participants shoot paintball or BB gun at cardboard cutouts of prominent Democrats like senators Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. She also said she might hold "Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day," where students would try and find a volunteer hidden on campus wearing a shirt that said "illegal immigrant" on it.
"We would never do those types of events or support them," College Republicans chair Robert Scott said. "First, because they're offensive to some members of our club. Second, because they undermine one of the goals of our organization, which is to include as many people as possible."
A Daily report published Tuesday describing these events sparked a minor national uproar. An editing error that misidentified Wilkins's employer as the Republican National Committee, not the CRNC caused much of the outcry. There is no official link between the RNC and the CRNC.
Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean sent a letter to his counterpart at the RNC, Ken Mehlman, demanding that he denounce the activities and put a stop to them. Mehlman called the events "reprehensible" in his reply to Dean. He also noted that Wilkins was not employed by the RNC, as was originally reported.
CRNC chair Paul Gourley said that while the group employs Wilkins, it had nothing to do with the proposed events.
"These particular projects were not anything that was ever discussed in our training for Morgan," he said. "It's not in any of our training materials that we send out to thousands of College Republicans around the country." ……
http://www.michigandaily.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&uStory_id=c14accc0-1718-40c0-9c87-41a70b2d98d0
CAIR Bulletin - August 13, 2006
Muslims ask GOP group to cancel 'racist' event
of University of Michigan
LATHRUP VILLAGE, MI - The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) today called on the College Republicans National Committee to cancel plans for a "Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day" event at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.
In an article published on September 12 in the Michigan Daily, an intern for the Republican group discussed the organization's plan to hold a contest where participants will hunt down a mock "illegal immigrant" at the University of Michigan.
Read: Republicans Plan 'Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day'
http://www.michigandaily.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&uStory_id=1f2ec614-4701-464b-a8fe-2b4d4cb4aa05
"It is disturbing that any group would promote such a divisive and racist event," said CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid. "We call on the College Republicans National Committee to cancel this event and instead work with students of all races, faiths and national origins to promote tolerance and mutual understanding."
CAIR Bulletin - August 13, 2006
IL Muslims condemn candidate's remarks on profiling
CHICAGO, IL - The Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Chicago) today condemned comments made by Andrea Zinga, a congressional candidate for the 17th district of Illinois.
"Profiling doesn't bother me," Zinga told the Associated Press, "if we are profiling. . .the people. . .who have caused the outrages against our Nation and caused the deaths of American citizens. We're talking about Middle Eastern men."
"We do know that the Islamic culture is bent on conquering and subjugating a great deal of the world, including us," she said.
Read: GOP house candidate says profiling on planes doesn't bother her:
http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/politics/15499310.htm
Ahmed Rehab, executive director of CAIR-Chicago called Zinga's remarks "misguided and misguiding."
"There is no excuse for a candidate seeking public office to not know the difference between the terrorist threat and the faith of Islam," Rehab said. "There is no justification for insinuating that the terms 'terrorists' and 'Middle Eastern men' are synonymous and interchangeable."
Rehab said Islamophobia is the last "acceptable form of bigotry in our society." He said recent polls show one in four Americans admitting harboring prejudices against Muslims. "Inflammatory remarks such as those made by Zinga contribute to this unfortunate climate of hate," said Rehab.
Detroit News – Sept. 13, 2006
Republican gubernatorial candidate
meets Arab Americans
By Christina Stolarz
In an effort to clear the air with the local Arab community, Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos initiated a last-minute meeting Monday night with Arab American Public Affairs Council President Osama Siblani, according to DeVos' campaign officials.
DeVos was in Dearborn to have dinner with Arab-American leaders and invited Siblani to talk about the recent "misunderstandings," DeVos spokesman John Truscott said Tuesday.
DeVos was on the political hot seat last week after bowing out of a scheduled dinner tonight sponsored by AAPAC. Truscott said DeVos canceled because he had a family conflict, but also had concerns about pro-Hezbollah comments made by Siblani.
"They aired their concerns both ways, and they're very comfortable with where they're at right now," Truscott said.
Siblani, who publishes the Arab American News, said the meeting went well and that it's time to move on.
"He explained that the campaign made mistakes," Siblani said.
No other political candidates have backed out of any AAPAC functions, he said…..
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060913/POLITICS01/609130373
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