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    Muslim American News Briefs, July 13, 2007

Opinion Editorials

News

News Photos

* Hadith: Praise God in All Circumstances
* CAIR Helps OH Muslims Obtain Driver Photos with Hijab
            - CAIR: Groups Review GA Court Hijab Ban (Times-Union)
* ISLAM-OPED: UK Doctors’ Plot a Betrayal of Faith, Profession
* Video: CAIR Rep Debates Muslim Prayers in School on CNN
            - CAIR Rep Debates Academic Bias with David Horowitz (CNN)
* CAIR-Chicago Comments on Salah Sentencing (Chicago Trib)
* CAIR-TX: Town Hall Meeting on Muslim Charity Trial (DM News)
            - CAIR-NY to Take Part in Peace Walk
            - CAIR MD/VA Offers Child Safety Education, Kits
            - CAIR-Seattle to Host Annual Banquet on July 14
            - CAIR-AZ Hosts FBI Informational Sessions
* TSA: Fears About ‘Middle Eastern’ Passenger Unfounded (CNN)
            - MA: Student Pleads Guilty to Sears Tower Bomb Hoax (AP)
* MA: Boston Mosque Rises Above the Fray (CS Monitor)
* 'A Dead Iraqi is Just Another Dead Iraqi' (Independent)
            - 27 Afghan Civilians Killed in NATO Strikes (AFP)

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HADITH OF THE DAY: PRAISE GOD IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES - TOP

When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) saw something good and pleasing, he would say: "Praise be to God with whose blessings all good deeds are perfected." And when he saw something displeasing, he would say: "Praise and thanks be to God in all circumstances."

Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 4, Number 125A

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CAIR HELPS OH MUSLIMS OBTAIN DRIVER PHOTOS WITH HIJAB - TOP

(CINCINNATI, OH, 7/12/2007) - The Cincinnati office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Ohio chapter (CAIR-Ohio) announced today that two Muslim women in that city were able to have driver's license photographs retaken with their Islamic headscarves, or hijab, after initially being asked to remove the scarves.

CAIR says Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) employees had insisted that the women remove their headscarves for their driver's license photographs despite regulations requiring an exemption for religious head coverings.

According to a 2004 CAIR study of such policies nationwide, Ohio grants exemptions for 1) wigs or hairpieces if customarily worn by the applicant, 2) a head covering worn for recognized religious purposes, or 3) a head covering worn in conjunction with recognized medical treatments.

SEE: Most States Allow Muslim Scarves in Driver Photos (CAIR)
http://www.cair.com/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=1361&theType=NR

CAIR-Ohio's Cincinnati office contacted the BMV and arranged for the photographs of the two women to be retaken free of charge. BMV authorities also sent a reminder to all deputy registrar offices about the exemption for religious head coverings.

"We thank BMV officials for handling this issue in a timely and professional manner," said Karen Dabdoub, executive director of CAIR-Ohio's Cincinnati office.

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties and advocacy group, has 33 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: Karen Dabdoub, Tel: 513-281-8200, E-Mail: kdabdoub@cair.com; Zeinab Schwen, E-Mail: zschwen@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, E-Mail: rahmed@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

SEE ALSO:

CAIR: DIVERSE GROUPS REVIEW VALDOSTA'S COURT BAN - TOP
A Muslim was denied entrance when she wouldn't remove her head scarf.
Carole Hawkins, Jacksonville Times-Union, 7/11/07
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/071207/geo_183883789.shtml

Valdosta has examined a rule that prevents people from wearing headgear in courtrooms Wednesday, but has not decided how to update it.

City and court officials met Wednesday with representatives of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, and the Georgia Association of Muslim Lawyers, or GAML, to discuss policies regarding the wearing of Islamic head scarves, or hijab, in courtrooms.

The meeting was prompted by a June incident in which a Muslim woman seeking to contest a speeding ticket was barred from a Valdosta courtroom when she refused to remove an Islamic head scarf.

Court officials cited homeland security reasons for denying entry to Aniisa Karim, 20, of Valdosta. CAIR and GAML asserted that Karim's rights to freedom of religion and equal protection under the law had been violated.

CAIR representatives termed Wednesday's meeting productive, but said more discussions are needed.

"We agreed that everyone should have the right to enter a public facility and should not be treated differently because of their religion," said Ahmed Bedier, executive director of CAIR's Tampa office, who participated in the meeting.

But, he said, participants were hung up on the actual policy and how courtroom security checks could be implemented for everyone equally. More talks will be held later this week or next week, he said.

Valdosta explained its policy and discussed in detail its interpretation and administration, the city said in a prepared release. The city called the meeting "professional and cordial." (MORE)

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CAIR: OFFICIALS MEET WITH MUSLIM GROUPS - TOP
Kelli Hernandez, Valdosta Daily Times, 7/11/07
http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/local/local_story_193115104.html

City officials met with representatives for the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Georgia Association of Muslim Lawyers Wednesday to discuss the city’s policy regarding the inspection and wearing of religious headscarves in local courtrooms.

A “spirit of cooperation” from all sides led to a productive meeting, according to Ahmed Bedier, executive director of CAIR's Tampa chapter.

“We made progress, and we are optimistic that the city and the court will do the right thing in this case,” Bedier said.

During the meeting, city officials explained their policy and discussed in detail the interpretation and administration of that policy. The city also reaffirmed that its officials acted in good faith and in accordance with the law, according to a statement released by the city’s public information office.

“The city of Valdosta Municipal Court will continue to conduct court proceedings based upon the policy and its interpretation as discussed today (Wednesday),” the statement said. “The city will always consider suggestions that respect courtroom safety, but will also accommodate, to the extent reasonably possible, the varying religious practices of our increasingly diverse community.”

Representing the city at the meeting were City Attorneys George Talley and Tim Tanner, Chief Superior Court Judge Arthur McLane and Municipal Court Judge Vernita Lee Bender.

CAIR requested the meeting with the city after being contacted by Aniisa Karim, who was denied access to the Municipal Courtroom in June to contest a speeding ticket because she was wearing a traditional Islamic headscarf even after explaining to security that she wears the garment for religious purposes. (MORE)

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ISLAM-OPED: A BETRAYAL OF OUR FAITH AND PROFESSION - TOP

ISLAM-OPED is a national syndication service of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) designed to offer an American Muslim perspective on current political, social and religious issues. ISLAM-OPED commentaries are offered free-of-charge to one media outlet in each market area. Permission for publication will be granted on a first-come-first-served basis.

CONTACT: Ibrahim Hooper, Email: ihooper@cair.com, Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726 (c)

Please consider the following commentary for publication.

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A BETRAYAL OF OUR FAITH AND PROFESSION
By Asma Mobin-Uddin, M.D.
WORD COUNT: 704

[Dr. Asma Mobin-Uddin is a pediatrician from Columbus and the board chairwoman for the Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). She may be contacted at: asma@cair-ohio.com]

The thought of physicians treating sick patients by the light of day while plotting to kill innocent people under the cover of darkness sickens and angers me on a very personal level.

If the UK terror plot accusations are true, they are the ultimate betrayal of the trust placed in physicians to use their hands for healing, their intellects for diagnosis and their demeanors to bring comfort to the sick. As a Muslim physician, I am following the London and Glasgow terror plot investigation with incredulity, anger and outrage.

Islam teaches me that the gifts I have been given are entrusted to me by God for the purpose of serving humanity. I know that God is witness to my actions and intentions and I will be accountable to Him. The Quranic verse that equates saving one life with saving the lives of all of humanity teaches me the sacredness of each and every life and inspires me to strive for professional excellence.

Any Muslim doctor who would plot terror betrays his or her faith, profession and the incredible legacy Muslim physicians have left in the field of medicine.

Historically, Muslim physicians from the 9th to the 14th centuries were pioneers in the development of many areas of medicine, including in anesthesia, surgery, ophthalmology, and pharmacology.

Muslim physicians were the first to systematically use inhalational anesthesia, sedating patients some 800 years ago in Islamic Spain by placing sponges soaked in narcotics over the patient's nose and mouth prior to surgery.

Muslim doctors introduced urinary catheters to the West, used cautery to stop bleeding, and ligated blood vessels using cat-gut suture in the 10th century.

They developed the hypodermic needle and used these hollow needles to suction out cataracts 1000 years before this practice was performed in the West.

Muslim pharmaceutical texts from this era explained the preparation, uses, doses, and side effects of medications and formed the basis for later European drug manuals.

Medical knowledge from the work of early Muslim physicians was translated from Arabic into Latin and channeled into Europe during the Crusades and afterwards. Muslim doctor Ibn Sina's (Avicenna's) Canon of Medicine was the premier medical textbook in Europe for more than 500 years. The wealth of knowledge introduced from the work of Muslim physicians into Europe sparked interest in medical scientific inquiry and fueled the Renaissance.

And lest we think that the contributions of Islam's physicians ended 500 years ago, we should remember the countless numbers of Muslim physicians in recent times who have served their patients in the West with the utmost of kindness, compassion and skill. Both of my parents were physicians from Pakistan who came to the United States and practiced here for decades.

While a faculty member at the University of Miami in the 1960s, my father, the late Dr. Kazi Mobin-Uddin, developed the first inferior vena caval filter that was implanted by a catheter and trapped blood clots going to the lungs. In 1969, Newsweek magazine reported that the Mobin-Uddin Umbrella Filter would save 50,000 lives a year.

The current director of the National Institutes of Health, America's primary federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research, is a Muslim physician. There are countless more examples of Muslim physicians' recent contributions to Medicine, whether recognized in the history of medicine or in the hearts of patients and families who have benefited from the kindness and skill of their Muslim doctor.

The stark contrast between my experiences and the news I am seeing helps explain the disbelief and outrage I feel when learning that Muslim doctors may be guilty of plotting terror. Such heinous actions would be a betrayal of their profession, their faith, and the incredible legacy of service to humanity they have inherited as Muslim physicians.

I know these suspects are an aberration - people gone wrong as human beings sometimes do. If they are guilty, they must be brought to justice. As with anyone accused of a crime, we must deal with them as individuals who chose evil on their own and not as representative of their faith or profession. The acts of these few suspected criminals should not cause us to forget the tremendous contribution of Muslim physicians to the field of Medicine.

SEE ALSO:

MD: TERROR PLOT VIOLATED PROFESSION, RELIGION - TOP
Javeed Akhter, Baltimore Sun, 7/12/07
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.terrordocs12jul12,0,7983140.story

The enormity of what happened in London and Glasgow, Scotland, dawned upon me slowly. First there were the two high-end cars filled with explosive materials, parked in the middle of London, that mercifully did not explode. Next, the bizarre report of two people in a burning SUV trying to crash into the main terminal of the Glasgow airport, filled with travelers.

Again, fortunately, no one, except the driver, was hurt. Next came the utterly devastating news that one of the people in the SUV was a doctor and both were Muslims. The passenger, Bilal Abdulla, was born in Britain but went to medical school in Iraq. Five other doctors or medical students and one spouse of a physician are being held.

How could those trained in the healing arts plan and carry out such an atrocity? Physicians see illness and pain often and witness the anguish of families at the finality of death. They are programmed to save lives. They take an oath to do so.

Similarly, a correct understanding of Islam should have been a deterrent. Even those who have a cursory knowledge of Islam would have heard the verse, "If you save one life, it is as if you have saved all mankind." This is a universal value shared by all faiths and traditions.

Dr. Abdulla had lived in the violence-filled crucible of Baghdad and may have been filled with hate toward Britain because of the Iraq war. News reports also mention that he may have been influenced by the rhetoric of a radical cleric in Iraq. This cleric would heap praise on suicide bombers and preach that this is a justifiable form of defense.

Such clerics pick and choose verses from the Quran to support their rhetoric. Most Islamic scholars have called this a lethal misinterpretation of the verses. Nevertheless, this tiny but loud fraction of clerics appears to be most influential among young Muslims. But killing innocent civilians is never warranted. (MORE)

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CAIR REPS DISCUSS MUSLIM PRAYERS IN SCHOOL ON CNN’S ‘PAULA ZAHN NOW’ - TOP

CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper and San Diego Director Edgar Hopida appear on CNN's "Paula Zahn Now" to discuss religion in public schools.

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0CiYl95HMg

SEE ALSO:

VIDEO: CAIR REP DEBATES ACADEMIC BIAS WITH DAVID HOROWITZ ON CNN - TOP

CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper debates David Horowitz on the question of political bias at universities.

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtqeXPvVspk

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CAIR-CHICAGO: 21-MONTH SENTENCE FOR SALAH - TOP
Businessman guilty of lying in Hamas case
Michael Higgins, Chicago Tribune, 7/12/07
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/nearwest/chi-salahjul12,1,1066117.story

In a case that riveted Chicago's Muslim community, a Bridgeview businessman accused of aiding terrorists was sentenced Wednesday to 21 months in prison for lying in a civil lawsuit.

Muhammad Salah, 54, spoke out afterward against the sentence as he tried to comfort his 6-year-old daughter, Sumayya, who had burst into tears when the prison term was announced.

"It's unfair," Salah said in a courtroom hallway. "It's just politics. ... You can't destroy a family just to please a bunch of zealots."

Salah, a U.S. citizen, had won a key victory in February when a federal jury acquitted him of conspiring to support Hamas extremists and found him guilty on a less serious charge of obstruction of justice.

But federal prosecutors argued that Salah's lies -- about his role in Hamas and, later, they said, about alleged torture by Israeli agents -- deserved a 10-year prison term.

U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve refused to accept the prosecutors' arguments, but neither would she spare Salah from prison. "Lying to a court is always serious," St. Eve said.

St. Eve also sentenced Salah to 100 hours of community service and ordered him to pay a $25,000 fine.

Salah may appeal, said his attorney, Michael Deutsch. He said that if the sentence stands, Salah would likely serve about 17 months, after deducting time served and time off for good behavior.

Salah is to report to prison Oct. 11.

Afterward, Salah's eyes welled with tears as he thanked dozens of supporters who packed the courtroom. His backers -- including family, friends and many area college students -- sent a staggering 650 letters to the court on his behalf. St. Eve said it was the most she had ever seen. . .

The indictment also charged that Salah lied under oath in written answers he gave in a civil suit filed by the family of David Boim, an American student killed in a Hamas shooting. In 2004, a federal jury awarded Boim's parents $156 million after finding that Salah provided support to Hamas.

"I think the fact that he's going to jail provides some justice for the Boim family," Steve Landes, attorney for the Boims, said Wednesday. "For society at large, it's an important victory for those of us seeking justice for victims of international terrorism."

Sentiments in the Muslim community could not be more different, Ahmed Rehab, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Chicago, said Wednesday.

The community viewed Salah as "a trustworthy person caught in a political drama at a time when it's difficult to be a Palestinian or a Muslim," Rehab said. "The feeling is this could happen to anyone."

The Salah matter has resounded like no other local court case, Rehab said. It compares to the case of Sami Al-Arian, a Florida professor whose terrorism trial ended in a hung jury on many counts, but who later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was ordered deported from the U.S.

In court, Deutsch asked St. Eve to consider what message a prison sentence would send to Muslim-Americans who wonder if they can expect justice in U.S. courts. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

VIDEO: CAIR-CHICAGO: 21 MONTHS FOR MAN ONCE ACCUSED OF FUNDING HAMAS - TOP
Muhammad Salah was convicted of lying in civil suit
CBS2, 7/11/07

VIDEO: http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_192143456.html

A Chicago medical van driver accused by the government of providing money to Hamas terrorists was sentenced Wednesday to 21 months in federal prison for lying under oath in a civil lawsuit.

Muhammad Salah, 54, was also fined $25,000 by U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service.

"Telling the truth is the bedrock of our judicial system and a slap on the wrist will not provide a deterrent," St. Eve said, turning down emotional appeals from the defense for probation instead of a prison term.

She gave Salah, a former grocer, until Oct. 11 to surrender.

As CBS 2’s Rafael Romo reports, Salah, who was acquitted in February of terrorism charges, was convicted of obstruction of justice, a lesser offense.

“If they're going to start prosecuting people for filing false interrogatories, there's going to be hundreds of parties and lawyers brought before the bar,” said defense attorney Michael Deutsch.

In the courtroom, Deutsch delivered a passionate plea for leniency. But in reading her sentence, U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve told Salah, “You have not taken any responsibility for the offense that you have committed and the court doesn't take that lightly.”

Salah was surrounded by members of his family and dozens of supporters from Chicago's Muslim community.

“It's a sad day for the Muslim community,” said Christina Abraham of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “They poured their hearts with support of this case. They wrote about 650 letters regarding this case. They packed the courtroom every day.” (MORE)

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CAIR-TX: TOWN HALL MEETING ON HOLY LAND FOUNDATION TRIAL - TOP
Dallas Morning News, 7/12/07
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/collin/stories/

DN-calendar_12cco.ART.North.Edition1.43367e6.html

Town hall meeting to discuss upcoming Holy Land Foundation trial 5 p.m. Sunday at Plano Centre, 2000 E. Spring Creek Parkway. Sponsored by Hungry for Justice Coalition and the D/FW chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Call 972-241-7233 or visit www.cairdfw.org.

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-NY TO TAKE PART IN PEACE WALK - TOP

(NEW YORK, NY 7/12/07) - The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today called on Muslim New Yorkers and all people of conscience to participate in a walk for peace. The walk, entitled “The Children of Abraham Peace Walk,” aims to unite area religious groups in denouncing violence.

“The peace walk is a meaningful opportunity to make public a shared interfaith and interracial commitment to peace,” said CAIR-NY Civil Rights Coordinator Aliya Latif. “Come join us in solidarity to dispel stereotypes and promote tolerance."

WHAT: The Children of Abraham Peace Walk
WHEN: Thursday, July 12, 2007, 6 p.m.
WHERE: 464 Third Avenue & 9th Street Brooklyn, NY

CO-SPONSORED BY: We Are All Brooklyn, Muslim Consultative Network, SABA, Fellowship of Reconciliation, The Dialogue Project, Brooklyn for Peace

Please note that this event is a walk and not a march, and thus welcomes individuals of all political orientations and commitments.

CAIR, America’s largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 33 offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

CONTACT: CAIR-NY Civil Rights Coordinator Aliya Latif, Tel: 212-870-2002, E-Mail: alatif@cair.com.

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CAIR-MD/VA OFFERS CHILD SAFETY EDUCATION, KITS - TOP

(HERNDON, VA, 7/12/07) – The Maryland and Virginia office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MD/VA) today announced that it is offering child safety education and child identification kits as a free service to the local community.

The identification kit includes fingerprints, footprints, and photos, and could be used to aid law enforcement officers if they ever have to search for a missing child. CAIR-MD/VA also offers a child safety brochure that gives parents tips for keeping their children safe as well as information on what to do if a child goes missing.

Walk-ins and appointments are welcomed on Mondays to Thursdays between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the CAIR MD/VA office, located at 585 Grove Street, Suite G10, Herndon, VA.

“Child safety is important to every family. We encourage parents to take advantage of this opportunity to help protect their children,” said CAIR MD/VA Civil Rights Manager Morris Jamil Days.

CONTACT: CAIR MD/VA Civil Rights Manager Morris Days or Summer Intern Ilana Alazzeh, Tel: 703-689-3100.

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CAIR-WA TO HOST ANNUAL BANQUET ON JULY 14 - TOP

(SEATTLE, WA, 7/12/07) - The Washington state chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-WA) will host its 2007 banquet this Saturday, July 14, at the Red Lion Hotel in Bellevue. The theme of the banquet is "American Muslims: Connecting and Sharing."

Speakers will include:

* Dr. Hatem Bazian: University of California-Berkley law professor & author of upcoming book, Virtual Internment: Arabs, Muslims, and South Asians, and the War on Terrorism.
* Edward Peck: Former U.S. ambassador to Iraq
* Dr. Parvez Ahmed: Chairman of Board, CAIR National

For more information or to purchase tickets, call CAIR-WA at 206-367-4081 or E-Mail: info@cairseattle.org

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CAIR-AZ HOSTS FBI INFORMATIONAL SESSIONS - TOP

CAIR-AZ hosted two FBI informational events on July 6th and 7th, 2007. Both were attended by the head of the Phoenix Field Office of the FBI, Special Agent in Charge John Lewis and Armando Fernandez, one of his three assistants.

Special Agent in Charge John Lewis outlined misinformation about the FBI and misperceptions of their jobs and the limit of their resources. Afterward, Armando Fernandez offered a quick run-through of the FBI's structure and what their respective jobs and roles entailed. They then opened the floor for questions.

The session at ICC was attended by more than 70 people and that at Al Rasool by around 40. The majority of questions evolved around the subject of immigration/ delayed citizenship. Others involved personal issues, such as discrimination and travel problems, and some others cleared up misconceptions and misunderstandings.

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TSA: FEARS ABOUT PASSENGER TAKEN OFF PLANE UNFOUNDED - TOP
CNN, 7/12/07
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/12/plane.diverted/index.html

The Transportation Security Administration said that a passenger taken off an international flight in an emergency stop on Thursday, because of a crew member's suspicions, had done nothing wrong and had posed no security threat.

The American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to London was diverted to New York early Thursday after a crew member became suspicious of the passenger, an airline spokeswoman said.

The crew member questioned the man, whom she believed she had seen bypassing security by riding on an employee-only shuttle bus from the parking lot to the LAX airport employee entrance, according to spokeswoman Sonja Whitemon.

"The passenger became cause for concern," American Airlines spokesman Ned Raynolds told CNN. "The pilot and crew made a decision to divert to JFK."

The plane, carrying 218 passengers and 14 crew members, landed at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport at about 2:45 a.m. ET.

Anthony Loynes, one of the 188 passengers aboard the flight, told CNN the pilot told passengers the plane was stopping at JFK because the plane did not have enough fuel to make it to London.

Shortly after landing, Loynes said, security officials boarded the plane and left with a man of "Middle Eastern descent." A woman sitting next to the man was also questioned, he added.

Everyone was subsequently taken off the plane and the cabin was scheduled to undergo a security sweep, the airlines spokeswoman said.

The passenger was detained and was interviewed by FBI agents Thursday morning, FBI officials in New York and Washington told CNN. The TSA later found the passenger had gone through proper security procedures.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller in Los Angeles said the man is a U.S. citizen, born in the United States.

According to Russ Knocke, with the Department of Homeland Security, American Airlines security officials identified the man as an executive platinum traveler with the airline who purchased his round-trip ticket on April 19. (MORE)

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MA: COLLEGE STUDENT PLEADS GUILTY TO HOAX ALLEGING BOMB THREAT ON CHICAGO'S SEARS TOWER - TOP
Associated Press, 7/12/07
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20070712-0846-bombthreathoax.html

A man who misled federal authorities into thinking that a Muslim student he met on a social networking Web site planned a terrorist attack on the Sears Tower in Chicago pleaded guilty to the hoax.

Adam Hart, 22, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Boston on Wednesday to one count of maliciously conveying false information. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 16, and could be ordered to serve up to 10 years in prison.

Hart was a student at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth in April 2006 when he sent an e-mail to the National Security Agency claiming that a University of Chicago student he met on Facebook Inc.'s popular online site was planning to detonate a bomb at the landmark skyscraper.

The hoax prompted increased security at the building and an investigation of the person Hart identified.

The investigation revealed that Hart had sent e-mails containing racial slurs to the man in the days before he contacted the NSA.

A call to Hart's lawyer was not immediately returned on Thursday.

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MA: BOSTON MOSQUE RISES ABOVE THE FRAY - TOP
Muslim and Jewish groups drop lengthy lawsuits, and a house of worship moves forward.
Jane Lampman, Christian Science Monitor, 7/12/07
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0712/p13s03-lire.html

More than 2,000 people gathered in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood last month for a highly symbolic moment - the capping of the minaret on a new mosque. A joyous occasion, the event sparked greater emotion than usual because construction of the Islamic Society of Boston's Mosque and Cultural Center had been stalled for more than two years - and had seemed in jeopardy.

Controversy over allegations that the mosque had ties to terrorism had mushroomed into lawsuits and poisoned relations among the city's Jewish and Muslim communities.

The lawsuits have now been settled, thanks in part to interfaith efforts for more than a year to bring the litigants together. Some in the Jewish community say, however, that difficult questions still stand in the way of restoring relations with the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB). Others see the opportunity for a fresh start to break down suspicions and distrust through renewed dialogue.

"This is an opportunity to take advantage of.... Being able to resolve this difficulty and to grow out of a sense of conflict into a more active, positive conversation has an importance not only for Boston, but beyond," says David Gordis, president of Hebrew College, in Newton, Mass.
The conflict reflects fears and insecurities felt since 9/11 by many Americans who worry about the potential for the kind of threats Britain is currently facing. For Jews and Muslims, it is even more challenging.

The success will depend, it seems, on the extent to which those in the local community dwell on deep concerns associated with the Middle East situation or focus on building local ties. Boston has a history of strong Christian-Jewish relations, and post-9/11, the conversations began to embrace Muslims, including the ISB.

But when the society took steps to build the largest mosque in New England, some people who see the Muslim presence itself as a threat and US Muslims as under suspicion mounted a challenge. (MORE)

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'A DEAD IRAQI IS JUST ANOTHER DEAD IRAQI... YOU KNOW, SO WHAT?' - TOP
Interviews with US veterans show for the first time the pattern of brutality in Iraq
Leonard Doyle, Independent, 7/12/07
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2758829.ece

It is an axiom of American political life that the actions of the US military are beyond criticism. Democrats and Republicans praise the men and women in uniform at every turn. Apart from the odd bad apple at Abu Ghraib, the US military in Iraq is deemed to be doing a heroic job under trying circumstances.

That perception will take a severe knock today with the publication in The Nation magazine of a series of in-depth interviews with 50 combat veterans of the Iraq war from across the US. In the interviews, veterans have described acts of violence in which US forces have abused or killed Iraqi men, women and children with impunity.

The report steers clear of widely reported atrocities, such as the massacre in Haditha in 2005, but instead unearths a pattern of human rights abuses. "It's not individual atrocity," Specialist Garett Reppenhagen, a sniper from the 263rd Armour Battalion, said. "It's the fact that the entire war is an atrocity."

A number of the troops have returned home bearing mental and physical scars from fighting a war in an environment in which the insurgents are supported by the population. Many of those interviewed have come to oppose the US military presence in Iraq, joining the groundswell of public opinion across the US that views the war as futile.

This view is echoed in Washington, where increasing numbers of Democrats and Republicans are openly calling for an early withdrawal from Iraq. And the Iraq quagmire has pushed President George Bush's poll ratings to an all-time low.

Journalists and human rights groups have published numerous reports drawing attention to the killing of Iraqi civilians by US forces. The Nation's investigation presents for the first time named military witnesses who back those assertions. Some participated themselves.

Through a combination of gung-ho recklessness and criminal behaviour born of panic, a narrative emerges of an army that frequently commits acts of cold-blooded violence. A number of interviewees revealed that the military will attempt to frame innocent bystanders as insurgents, often after panicked American troops have fired into groups of unarmed Iraqis. The veterans said the troops involved would round up any survivors and accuse them of being in the resistance while planting Kalashnikov AK47 rifles beside corpses to make it appear that they had died in combat. (MORE)

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27 AFGHAN CIVILIANS KILLED IN NATO STRIKES, LOCAL OFFICIALS SAY - TOP
Agence France Presse, 7/11/07
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070711/wl_sthasia_afp/afghanistanunrestnatocivilian

A local investigation has found 27 civilians were killed in NATO-led air strikes in northeast Afghanistan, a provincial governor said Wednesday.

The villagers were killed during last week's strikes in Kunar province that targeted suspected militants at a funeral and a house, governor Shalizai Didar said, citing the results of his local government probe.

Four health volunteers were also among those killed, health officials said.

"Four volunteers, for polio vaccination campaign were killed in the bombing. The campaign has been postponed in the area," an official with the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) told AFP.

They were volunteers, the official said but asked not to be named.

The local public health chief, Asadullah Fazli also confirmed the casualties but said only three volunteers were killed.

"Three volunteers were killed. They happened to be in the village when it was bombed," Fazli told AFP.

Didar said 37 Taliban-led militants were also killed in the strikes on Thursday and Friday in the restive province's Watapour district.

"We investigated the incident and found out that 27 civilians and 37 Taliban were killed," the governor told AFP. (MORE)

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