www.ccun.org

    Muslim American News Briefs, September 6, 2007

Opinion Editorials

News

News Photos

* Verse: God is Ever Ready to Show Mercy
* Incitement: Cartoon Portrays Iranians as Roaches Fleeing Sewer
* FL: Born in Florida, Detained by Israel (SP Times)
            - Consulate: US Citizens May Be Treated as 'Palestinians'
* CAIR-MI: Feds Discuss Muslim Charity (Detroit News)
            - TX: Ex-U.S. Diplomat Testifies on Behalf of HLF (DM News)
* CAIR-CA: School's Arabic Program Subject of National Debate
            - Surge in Studying Arabic Outstrips Supply of Teachers (USA Today)
* CAIR-NV Fundraising Dinner on September 7
            - CAIR-NY: Support American Muslim Day Parade
            - CAIR-IL: Reclaiming the People's Voice in Politics
* Producer of PBS 'Islam' Doc Joins Rally Against NY Arabic School
            - NY: First Arabic School Opens Under Police Guard (AFP)
            - Fringe Catholic Leader on 'Off the Plane' Muslims (NY Observer)
* NY: Suspension for Anti-Islam Jail Chaplain (Journal News)
            - CA: Muslim Dentist Fills Cavities for Uninsured (Oakland Trib)
            - MN: Muslim School Expands (Star Tribune)
            - Network Previews 'Aliens in America' for Muslims (Variety)

-----

VERSE OF THE DAY: GOD IS EVER READY TO SHOW MERCY - TOP

"Then hymn the praises of thy Lord, and seek forgiveness of Him, for He is ever ready to show mercy."

The Holy Quran, 110:3

HADITH OF THE DAY: CELEBRATE GOD'S GLORY

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Whatever you say in celebration of God's glory, majesty and oneness, and all your words of praise for Him, gather around the Throne of God. These words resound like the buzzing of bees, and call God's attention to the person who uttered them. Don't you wish to have someone there in the presence of God who would call attention to you?"

Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 4, Number 99

-----

INCITEMENT: CARTOON PORTRAYS IRANIANS AS COCKROACHES LEAVING SEWER - TOP

SEE: http://www.cair.com/Iran_DispatchSep42007.gif

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED: (As always, be POLITE.)

Send polite comments about this Nazi-style cartoon depicting Iranians as roaches fleeing a sewer to: gsheller@dispatch.com, michael.ramirez@investors.com
COPY TO: info@cair.com

-----

FL: BORN IN LAKELAND; DETAINED BY ISRAEL - TOP
A family is told seven of their children cannot leave via Tel Aviv
Meg Laughlin, St. Petersburg Times, 9/5/07
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/09/05/State/Born_in_Lakeland_deta.shtml

A large Lakeland family has been split in two temporarily by complex Israeli travel restrictions that forced the mother to leave seven of her children behind when they attempted to fly home.

On Aug. 18, Wedad Yacoub and 10 of her children -- all U.S. citizens -- were returning from a family visit in the West Bank through Tel Aviv, the same airport through which they had arrived more than two months before.

Israeli officials initially tried to block the family from leaving, saying they had to go through Jordan, a travel restriction that applies to Palestinian residents of the West Bank. Officials finally permitted Wedad Yacoub and her three youngest children to fly home, but the other seven children are still in the West Bank, two weeks later with no resolution in sight.

"I can't believe that children who were born in Lakeland could have their American citizenship ignored by a country so friendly to the U.S," said Wedad.

Even Israeli officials couldn't readily explain it.

"American citizens born in America can't leave through Tel Aviv, where they came in?" asked Daniel Seaman, director of the Government Press Office in Israel. "This has to be inaccurate. This can't be."

Seaman says it will take some research to know what happened, which is what he, other Israeli officials, U.S. State Department officials and Florida congressmen are doing.

"We've called the State Department and we want to solve this, but we don't have answers yet," said Keith Rupp, a spokesman for Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow.

The journey began normally enough on June 4 when Wedad Yacoub and her 10 children entered Israel through Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, as they have done every summer for the past five years. After attending family weddings and visiting with family in the West Bank, she and the children returned on Aug. 18 to fly out of Tel Aviv.

But, to their surprise, they were stopped by Israeli security officers who said they had to exit through Jordan because of their father's Palestinian heritage. Steve Yacoub, 54, was born in the West Bank, but moved to the United States 30 years ago. He became a citizen shortly after.

"Our father's heritage can't erase that we're American citizens, born and raised in Lakeland, Fla.," 18-year old Ramy Yacoub says he told Israeli police. (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

US CONSULATE: US CITIZENS MAY BE CONSIDERED GAZA RESIDENTS - TOP
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1064.html

U.S. citizens who have a Palestinian Authority ID number or who the Government of Israel considers to have residency status in the West Bank or Gaza are advised to read very carefully the next section, entitled Palestinian-Americans.

Palestinian Americans: Israeli authorities may consider American citizens to be residents of the West Bank or Gaza if they were born there, lived there, or have a Palestinian Authority ID number. It is possible that an American citizen born in the United States whose parents were born or lived in the West Bank or Gaza would be considered a resident by Israeli authorities. (MORE)

---

MORE MONEY FOR ISRAEL?
They're richer than ever, and they don't need it - so why are we giving it?
Justin Raimondo, Antiwar.com, 9/5/07
http://antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=11554

American military aid to Israel has been increased yet again, which leads us to ask the inevitable question: What are we getting for our money?

Well, we're getting this, as well as this, and this - not to mention this.

The regularly quoted figure is $3.5 billion per year. John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt go with the figure of $3 billion in their new book, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, averring that this is "generous, but it is hardly the whole story." This "canonical" figure, they say, "omits a substantial number of other benefits." The authors cite former congressman Lee Hamilton as saying that Israel is one of three countries whose aid total "substantially exceeds the popularly quoted figures." The actual figure, said Hamilton, is more than $4.5 billion.

As Mearsheimer and Walt have pointed out, neither the practical nor the moral case for this extraordinary amount of material support is justified: our Israel-centered foreign policy has been a burden to us in our dealings with the other nations of the Middle East, and it is increasingly clear that U.S. and Israeli interests have diverged since the end of the Cold War. Contrary to the Lobby's assertion that 9/11 made their fight our fight, the exact opposite is the case. Anti-Americanism in the Muslim world is a deadly danger to our national security and a great boon to Osama bin Laden and his many imitators around the globe. This arming of the Israeli Sparta is a strategic and diplomatic liability that grows with each passing year.

This post by Matt Yglesias over at The Atlantic makes a lot of sense, as far as it goes. An argument made by the Amen Corner is that the Israelis are performing a valuable service by refining the technical expertise of the military-industrial complex: they're doing the research and development that is giving America the weapons of tomorrow. But "this doesn't really make sense," Yglesias writes, "since defense contractors - American, Israeli, French, whatever - get paid for their work as is, so it's not clear why the Israeli government would need extra payment." (MORE)

-----

CAIR-MI: FEDS DISCUSS CHARITY - TOP
Attorney's Office meets with Muslims to clarify donation policy.
Paul Egan, Detroit News, 9/5/07
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070905/METRO/709050383/1003

Area Muslim and Arab-Americans had a spirited exchange over charitable giving Tuesday night with two representatives of the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes.

The meeting in Dearborn was organized by the U.S. Attorney's Office and Muslim leaders to address questions and concerns in the lead-up to Ramadan, a Muslim holy month of fasting and charitable giving, which begins at dusk Sept. 12.

In the last year, the FBI and other federal agencies have raided three Detroit-area Muslim charities: Life for Relief and Development, Al-Mabarrat Charitable Organization and Goodwill Charitable Organization Inc.

Nobody from any of the charities has been charged with a crime, and only the Goodwill Charitable Organization -- which has no connection with Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit -- has been designated a terrorist front by the Treasury Department.

Audience members unsuccessfully sought absolute assurances they could not be prosecuted for giving to a charity that is legal today but could be deemed a terrorist front tomorrow. . .

Linda Mansour of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said most donors are average citizens who want their money to go for food and medicine but now fear prosecution.

Michael Rosen, a policy adviser with the Treasury Department, said the government wants to establish a safe and approved means of providing humanitarian aid but has not done so yet. Until then, "donors do have to do their due diligence," he said.

Though the meeting at Henry Ford Centennial Library was useful, "I don't think (it) is going to put the Muslim community's anxieties at rest," said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Michigan.

SEE ALSO:

TX: EX-U.S. DIPLOMAT TESTIFIES ON BEHALF OF HOLY LAND - TOP
Jason Trahan, Dallas Morning News, 9/5/07
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/090507

dnmetholyland.9f870791.html

A witness who was formerly the State Department's second-highest-ranking intelligence official testified Tuesday that he had no knowledge that the Palestinian charity committees the Holy Land Foundation is accused of illegally funding were controlled by Hamas.

But on cross-examination, Edward Abington, a retired U.S. consul general in Jerusalem, testified that he was not aware specifically who was in charge of the committees.

Mr. Abington, who also worked as a paid adviser for the Palestinian Authority, was the first defense witness to be called after the government rested its case last week.

He told jurors that while working as consul general in Jerusalem from 1993 to 1997, he observed the effects of the harsh Israeli military occupation on the Palestinian people, whom the Holy Land Foundation was trying to help.

The former Richardson charity and five of its former organizers are accused of sending millions of dollars to Palestinian charity committees, which government witnesses have testified are controlled by Hamas. The committees used the money to distribute humanitarian aid, but supporting Hamas in any way became illegal in 1995 when the U.S. declared the group a terrorist organization.

Countering government witnesses who say the charity committees are filled with Hamas operatives, Mr. Abington described them as being staffed by "pious Muslims."

He said that they gather religious contributions, known as zakat, and help the needy in various ways, including "buying a cow, setting up a small business or giving money so that people can buy food."

More than a quarter of the 3.5 million Palestinian refugees under Israeli military occupation are in need of food assistance, he testified.

Mr. Abington also testified about key chains and posters lauding Hamas suicide bombers that were found inside some zakat offices by the Israeli military. The government says the propaganda is evidence of the groups' terrorist affiliations.

Mr. Abington said that such propaganda is "plastered all over light posts and in people's offices" in the West Bank and Gaza. It does "not necessarily mean the person supported that political party," he said. "These are seen as signs of resistance to the Israeli occupation" in general, he said. (MORE)

-----

CAIR-SAN DIEGO: SCHOOL'S LANGUAGE PROGRAM SUBJECT OF NATIONAL DEBATE - TOP

An Arabic language program at Carver Elementary School was at the center of a heated debate. Now, changes are being made to the curriculum this school year.

VIDEO: http://www.10news.com/video/14045857/index.html?taf=sand

SEE ALSO:

SURGE IN STUDENTS STUDYING ARABIC OUTSTRIPS SUPPLY OF TEACHERS - TOP
Tali Yahalom, USA Today, 9/5/07
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2007-09-04-arabic-teachers_N.htm?csp=34

A shortage of Arabic-language teachers across the country is shedding light on a classic economics question: What happens when there is plenty of demand and not enough supply?

Since 9/11, the number of students interested in the Middle Eastern language has been skyrocketing. More than 20,000 people in the USA enrolled in an Arabic-language higher-education program in 2006, double the number who signed up from 1998 to 2002, according to projections from a study the Modern Language Association expects to release this fall.

"Other languages will show an increase (in the fall report), but the only language that might be as dramatic as Arabic might be Chinese," says association executive director Rosemary Feal.

Interest has also trickled down to the pre-collegiate level as secondary schools and summer language camps surface across the country.

But generating student interest and enrollment is not the problem.

"There's definitely more demand for courses than there are qualified instructors," Feal says. "There's no doubt."

Education experts agree that Arabic is a difficult language to learn, more so than French or Spanish, the traditional alternatives.

Not surprisingly, the student dropout rate is high.

"We estimate that 20,000 students are studying Arabic at the collegiate level, but not even 5% are likely to graduate with functional speaking proficiency," says R. Kirk Belnap, director of the National Resource Center at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

In an attempt to fix the problem, programs are sprouting to provide Arabic lessons to younger students. (MORE)

-----

CAIR-NV FUNDRAISING DINNER ON SEPTEMBER 7 - TOP

(LAS VEGAS, NV, 9/5/2007) - On Friday September 7th, the Nevada chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NV) will host its 1st fundraising dinner at the Omar Haikal Islamic Academy.

The theme of the fundraiser is "Planting the Seeds of Justice: Empowering Las Vegas Muslims."

WHEN: Friday, September 7, 2007, 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Omar Haikal Islamic Academy, 485 E. Eldorado Lane, Las Vegas, NV

Speakers will include:

* Atif Fareed, Chairman, Chairman, CAIR-Florida
* Ahmed Bedier, Executive Director, CAIR-Florida
* Yasser Moten, Executive Director, CAIR-NV

Entertainment and complimentary babysitting will be provided for children. The dinner is free and open to everyone.

"Like the city of Las Vegas, the Muslim community is dynamic and growing," said Mohammed Jadid, president of CAIR-NV. "The establishment of a CAIR chapter in Las Vegas will help serve the needs of Nevada Muslims."

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

CONTACT: CAIR-NV Executive Director Yasser Moten, 702-448-8601, 702-448-8601 or 702-824-3553, Email: ymoten@cair.com

SEE ALSO:

CAIR-NY: SUPPORT AMERICAN MUSLIM DAY PARADE - TOP

(NEW YORK, N.Y., 9/5/2007) - The New York chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) today called on Muslims and all New Yorkers who support diversity, tolerance and harmony to participate in the 22nd United American Muslim Day Parade scheduled for Sunday, September 9.

The parade is designed to bring together various ethnic and religious communities in promoting a better understanding of Islam and fostering interfaith cooperation.

"The United American Muslim Day Parade serves as recognition that New York treasures pluralism and freedom of religion," said CAIR-NY spokeswoman Faiza Ali.

Ali said a small group of Islamophobes are seeking to stop the parade.

"The rhetorical attacks on the parade are clearly an attempt to demonize and marginalize the American Muslim community," said CAIR-NY President Omar Mohammedi, Esq. "Our city prides itself on its diversity. Such bigoted attacks should not be tolerated."

The parade will begin at noon and runs along Madison Avenue from 41st Street to 23rd Street. Along with lectures by national leaders, a bazaar, and rides for children, the parade will feature an on-stage children's show and essay award presentation.

ACTION REQUESTED

1) PARTICIPATE in United American Muslim Day Parade.

WHAT: United American Muslim Day Parade
WHEN: Sunday, September 9, 2007, Noon
WHERE: Madison Avenue from 41st to 23rd St

2) CONTACT Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in support of the parade at 311 (or 212-NEW-YORK outside NYC), FAX (212) 788-8123, or E-Mail: http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html.

COPY ALL CORRESPONDENCE TO: CAIR-NY Civil Rights Director Aliya Latif, 212-870-2002, 732-429-4268, alatif@cair.com.

CAIR, America's largest Muslim civil liberties group, has 33 offices, chapters and affiliates 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.

---

COMMUNITY WORKSHOP: RECLAIMING THE PEOPLE'S VOICE IN AMERICAN POLITICS - TOP

The lack of answers to the very basic immigration questions that Americans have been asking have left us with many problems to fix on our own.

Many in the Muslim community have been waiting for years to become American citizens due to drawn out background checks. The Latino community is dealing with regular USCIS raids and deportations in a band-aid solution to the 12.5 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States. Americans of all backgrounds are sacrificing their civil rights and liberties as collateral for perceived security.

We can solve these problems by working with our Congressional representatives? We ask Congress to move forward and fix the problems we face as Americans.

How can the Muslim community take leadership and ownership of issues that are important not just to our community but to all Americans?

Come learn about different ways to help bring about change in our community! Come take part in a discussion about how we can demand that the system work for us as Americans!

WHAT: Reclaiming the People's Voice in American Politics
WHEN: Saturday, September 8, 2007, 1 p.m. (After Zuhr Prayer)
WHERE: Islamic Community Center of Des Plaines, 480 Potter Road Des Plaines, IL

CONTACT: Sadiya Ahmed, E-mail: gov.relations@cairchicago.org, Tel: 312-212-1520

-----

PRODUCER OF PBS DOC ON ISLAM JOINS RALLY AGAINST NY ARABIC SCHOOL - TOP

Frank Gaffney, a producer of the PBS documentary 'Islam vs. Islamists,' joined a rally yesterday against a new Arabic language school in New York. Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, was also present.

A report on the rally was posted on an anti-Muslim hate site.

SEE: http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2007/09/stop-the-ny-pub.html

SEE ALSO:

CAIR: RACIST GROUP LINKED TO PBS 'MODERATE MUSLIMS' DOCUMENTARY - TOP
CAIR calls on producers to repudiate group's 'hate-filled agenda'
http://www.cair.com/default.asp?Page=articleView&id=2808&theType=NR

CAIR: CRITIC OF NY ARABIC SCHOOL ACCUSED OF ANTI-SEMITISM
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/

story/08-27-2007/0004652053&EDATE=

---

NEW YORK'S FIRST ARABIC SCHOOL OPENS UNDER POLICE GUARD - TOP
Agence France Presse, 9/4/07
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gguNcON4AgCQ4Jf-KmUJANEYWbZQ

Under police guard, about 60 pupils at New York's first Arabic bilingual school turned up for classes on Tuesday amid accusations the institution is a potential breeding ground for Islamic extremists.

"This is absolutely not a religious school. The kids are here to be citizens of a school committed to excellence," Garth Harris, head of development for New York City's Education Department, told a crowd of reporters gathered outside the school building.

"There are 200 small schools in New York teaching Chinese, French or Russian," Harris said.

The students who arrived for opening day came from a range of ethnic and racial backgrounds, with some of the girls wearing headscarves. Outside, more than a dozen police were on hand to make sure reporters did not cross a yellow tape posted a few meters (yards) from the school building.

Principal Danielle Salzberg, named in mid-August, declined to speak to journalists. "She is with the children," Harris said.

The previous principal, Arabic speaker Debbie Almontaser, stepped down last month after she was criticized for refusing to condemn T-shirts inscribed with "Intifada NYC."

One pupil, 11-year-old Salima Abdulhassim, sporting a white headscarf, said she already spoke "some Arabic."

"My mother also speaks a little bit," she said, reluctant to say any more.

Harris said she was "disappointed with the controversy" surrounding the school, as she stood before a sign that read: "New Yorkers support the Khalil Gibran International Academy."

Supporters of the school, including a Jewish rabbi, were on hand with buttons that said, "Welcome." (MORE)

---

BILL DONOHUE ON 'OFF THE PLANE' MUSLIMS - TOP
Azi Paybarah, New York Observer, 9/4/07
http://www.nyobserver.com/2007/protesting-khalil-gibran-school

Here is Bill Donohue, one of the people on the steps of City Hall today protesting the city's first Arabic-themed public school on the grounds that it's affording some people more religious freedom than others.

In this clip, Donohue, a former public school teacher and president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, complains that "Muslims just got off the plane and they've got an opportunity to put up their religious symbol, the Islamic Star and Crescent."

-----

NY: RULING ON ROCKLAND CHAPLAIN CASE RECOMMENDS SUSPENSION, CREATION OF JAIL POLICY - TOP
Suzan Clarke, Journal News, 9/5/07
http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070905/NE

WS03/709050389/1019

An arbitrator has ruled that a Rockland County jail chaplain who was accused of passing out anti-Islam religious literature be suspended without pay for 30 days and face retraining.

The ruling released yesterday comes after three days of testimony during the summer. Arbitrator Paul Bailey also recommended that the jail form a policy for the distribution of religious material.

The Rev. Teresa Darden Clapp had been charged by the county with eight administrative counts of misconduct following complaints by prisoners that she passed out religious cartoon booklets in April that condemned Islam and contained derogatory depictions and descriptions of Allah and the Prophet Muhammad.

Clapp was suspended without pay in May. She could return to her post by next week and would not need to serve any additional suspension. Clapp will undergo training immediately upon return.

The distribution of the tracts raised an outcry in the local Muslim community, including calls for Clapp's termination.

Clapp could not be reached for comment yesterday. She was represented in the hearings by an attorney for her union, the Civil Service Employees Association.

Muslims who testified in the hearings expressed concern and disappointment at the arbitrator's decision.

"That's very bad," said Mohammed Ziaullah of Chestnut Ridge. "I was not expecting that type of decision. We were thinking that she most probably (would) be assigned some other duties. ... I don't want her to lose her job, it will be (a) hardship on her, but she should not be sent to the same position." (MORE)

SEE ALSO:

CA: MUSLIM DENTIST FILLS CAVITIES FOR UNINSURED - TOP
Helping the poor part of American spirit, Afghan immigrant says
Linh Tat, Oakland Tribune, 9/5/07
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_6805573

Lining the walls of the narrow blue waiting room are framed diplomas and certificates recognizing the merits of family dentist Mostafa "Mo" Barakzoy.

The documents paint a portrait of a man who attended college in the East Bay, moved south to start his medical career, then returned to the Bay Area.

What's missing are indicators of Barakzoy's earlier life in Afghanistan, the political asylum that brought him and his family to the United States, and his commitment to social welfare.

In Afghanistan, Barakzoy graduated at the top of his high school class and was among about 200 students out of

17,000 applicants who were accepted into Kabul University's medical school.

But he had studied there only five months before fleeing his homeland with his mother and brothers. His father - chief of staff for the national force under the King Zaher Shah - had been assassinated by the secret service of the communist regime.

"I have some cheerful memories of family gatherings - going on picnics close to rivers. There are a lot of beautiful places in Afghanistan. ... Then we left everything. My mom not only lost her husband; she lost her home. We just took the clothes on our back and moved on," Barakzoy said.

The family escaped to India, and eventually was granted political asylum by the U.S. government.

Barakzoy arrived in the United States in January 1983 speaking very little English. The 17-year-old took language courses at the Hayward Adult School, then enrolled as a biology student at what was then California State University, Hayward.

He went on to dental school at the University of California, Los Angeles, and completed his residency at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego. He served in the military for 14 years before he was honorably discharged as a lieutenant commander.

Although Barakzoy has traded his military life for civilian life, the first-generation immigrant remains committed to public service.

A veteran dentist with his own private practice, Barakzoy also works three days a week for the Tri-City Health Center, a nonprofit organization in Fremont that serves uninsured and low-income individuals. He's hoping to expand that work to five days. (MORE)

---

MN: FAITH PLUS KNOWLEDGE - TOP
An expanded Al-Amal School in Fridley provides room for academic and spiritual growth.
Lora Pabst, Star Tribune, 8/4/07
http://www.startribune.com/142/story/1394586.html

For years, students at Al-Amal School in Fridley had to use science labs at a school across the street. Some teachers had to teach out of carts instead of classrooms. Parents worried that the quality of high school education would suffer under such circumstances.

This year, all of that will be different. A 21,000-square-foot expansion at the state's only full-time, preschool-to-12th-grade Islamic school will give middle and high school students a new computer lab, chemistry and physics labs, brand new laptops and footbaths in the bathrooms.

"Parents want the best for their kids," said school board member and parent Zafar Siddiqui. "We don't just focus on the religious aspect. We want them to excel in everything."

Teachers, parents and staff were worried that without an updated building, Al-Amal would have a hard time retaining students as they entered higher grades. Students had to use labs at Totino-Grace High School, and 11th and 12th graders had to enroll in some college classes, such as chemistry, that Al-Amal couldn't offer. For the time being, 11th and 12th graders will still take some of their credits through colleges, but school officials are hoping the expansion will eventually allow them to keep all their students in the building.

Nestled up against a pond and wetlands, Al-Amal's expansion glistens with the shine of new floors and lockers. The addition consists of a wide hallway with a central office, meeting rooms, nine classrooms and three labs. (MORE)

---

CW PREVIEWS 'ALIENS' FOR MUSLIMS - TOP
Network to also screen sitcom for Brookings
Josef Adalian, Variety, 9/4/07
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117971327.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

It's not every day that the Brookings Institution screens a new network comedy, but the Washington think tank will do so next month when it previews the CW laffer "Aliens in America."

Skein -- about a Muslim student who ends up living with an American family -- is also skedded to be shown at another unusual venue: the Islamic Center of Southern California, where it will screen Thursday. Both presentations will be followed by panel discussions featuring the show's exec producers, Moses Port and David Guarascio.

Producer CBS Paramount Network Television says the screenings and discussions are designed to raise awareness of "Aliens," which despite its provocative premise is actually a sweet half-hour. It's a strategy endorsed by Guarascio.

"We just want as many people to hear about the show as possible, and we think (the screenings) make complete sense," he said, noting that he and Port have been talking to the Islamic Center about "Aliens" since the show was in the script stage. Early reaction has been positive.

"They were excited to have a show that was a comedy and where the Muslim character wasn't a terrorist," Guarascio said.

"Aliens" isn't a politically minded show a la "All in the Family" or "Maude," though an early episode has townfolk twittering when the Muslim student buys some explosives -- for a rocket-club assignment.

"We're not going out of our way to do it, but we'll naturally have some stories that touch upon (issues)," he said.

-----

CAIR
Council on American-Islamic Relations
453 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
Tel: 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726
Fax: 202-488-0833
E-mail: info@cair.com
URL: http://www.cair.com

Opinions expressed in various sections are the sole responsibility of their authors and they may not represent ccun.org.

editor@ccun.org