Hadith: Do Not Hate One Another

Video: Keith Olbermann Slams Racist NY Anti-Mosque Protesters

NY: 'Leaving Islam' Ads are Hate Disguised as Help

NY: Texas Radio Host Says 'Bomb that Mosque'

Backgrounder: Who's Behind NY's Anti-Islam Campaigns

Terrorism Against Florida Muslims Goes Under-Reported

CAIR: Detroit Muslims to Pray for End to Gulf Oil Spill

CAIR: Conn. Muslims to Pray for End to Gulf Oil Spill

CAIR Rallies Muslims to Pray Friday for End to Oil Spill

CAIR: Thousands Praying in Face of Oil Spill

CAIR Action: Contact Congress on Minn. Attorney Held in Rwanda

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HADITH OF THE DAY: DO NOT HATE ONE ANOTHER - TOP

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Beware of suspicion...and do not look for the faults of others. Do not spy, and do not be jealous of one another, and do not (sever your relations with) one another, and do not hate one another."

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Hadith 90

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VIDEO: KEITH OLBERMANN SLAMS RACIST NY ANTI-MOSQUE PROTESTERS - TOP MSNBC, 6/8/10

Watch the video here.

But our winner: Rupert Murdoch. His "New York Post" has been beating the drum of race hatred here in New York. A columnist inspired a protest of a Muslim county center in lower Manhattan which the newspaper has incorrectly described called the "ground zero mosque." Well, Rupert got what he wanted, 500 protesters showed up at our most hallowed ground as they hated Muslims as hard as they could hate them.

That's when they spotted two dark-skinned men who were speaking Arabic to each other. Part of the group surrounded the pair and witnesses report shouts of "get out" and "go home." Then as it bordered on true ugliness, New York's Finest stepped in and pulled the men out for their safety even as one of the men with an Egyptian shouted, half fearful, half startled, "I'm a Christian."

Both of them were. Joseph Nassralla and Karam El Masry, immigrants from Egypt to California where they work for a Christian satellite TV station. They are Egyptian Coptic Christians. "I flew nine hours in an airplane to come here," Nassralla said, "to protest the community center." He repeated, "I'm a Christian." The problem, sir, is not what you are, but what the rest of them are. They were brought there by Rupert Murdoch, today's "Worst Person in the World."

SEE ALSO:

'LEAVING ISLAM' ADS ARE PREJUDICE DISGUISED AS ASSISTANCE - TOP By Joyce Dubensky, New York Daily News, 6/9/2010

Is it free speech, subliminal stereotyping or hatemongering? It is all three. Last month, about 30 buses in New York City's fleet started running ads professing to assist individuals trying to leave Islam; they'll continue to run through the middle of next week. These are messages of hate masquerading as messages of help - and all New Yorkers who believe in peaceful coexistence should reject them. Sponsored by an organization called Stop the Islamization of America, led by Pamela Geller, the ads read like something aimed at battered women trying to escape abusive relationships: "Fatwa on your head? Is your community or family threatening you? Leaving Islam?" Readers are then directed to a Web site aimed at providing support as they "escape" their religion. The implication: Countless American Muslims are trapped in an oppressive and violent faith, dying to get out. And if they dare try, they could be injured or killed. These are lies, and offensive ones at that. We should be clear: Few of the 5 million to 7 million Muslims in America want to escape their faith - and those who do are free to do so. (More)

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CAIR: 'BOMB THAT MOSQUE!!' - TOP KTRH host hopes for violence By Richard Connelly, Houston Press, 6/10/10

Michael Berry, the former city councilman who hosts a talk show on KTRH each afternoon, has had a federal complaint filed against him by CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

For some reason, they don't like the fact that when a caller to Berry's show supported building a mosque near Ground Zero in New York, Berry responded: "No, no, Tony, you can't build a mosque at the site of 9/11. No, you can't. No, you can't. And I'll tell you this -- if you do build a mosque, I hope somebody blows it up...I hope the mosque isn't built, and if it is, I hope it's blown up, and I mean that." (More)

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BACKGROUNDER: WHO'S BEHIND NY'S ANTI-ISLAM BUS, MOSQUE CAMPAIGNS? - TOP

The anti-Islam New York bus ad campaign and the campaign to block construction of a mosque and Islamic community center in New York are both headed by an extremist Muslim-basher who claims that "Hitler and the Nazis were inspired by Islam."

Stop the Islamization of America (SIOA), the anti-Islam hate group behind both efforts, is led by Pamela Geller.

[NOTE: The United States Patent and Trademark Office recently refused to grant SOIA a trademark because: "The applied-for mark refers to Muslims in a disparaging manner because by definition it implies that conversion or conformity to Islam is something that needs to be stopped or caused to cease."] (More)

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TERRORISM AGAINST JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA ISLAMIC COMMUNITY GOES UNDER-REPORTED - TOP Jason Linkins, Huffington Post, 6/10/10

Hey, have you heard about all the terrorist attacks that have been going on down in the Jacksonville, Florida region? Probably not, actually, because the would-be victims of these attacks have been members of Florida's Islamic community, and I'm pretty sure they aren't deemed eligible by the media to be victims of terrorism. Which is too bad, because they are getting terrorized like the dickens!

Back in May, someone planted and detonated a pipe bomb at the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida while 60 people were inside. Fortunately nobody was hurt. But despite the fact that this bomber managed to do what Captain Crotchfire Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad couldn't do -- successfully explode a device -- the event failed to get as much media attention, for, you know, some reason. (More)

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DETROIT MUSLIMS TO PRAY FOR END TO GULF OIL SPILL - TOP

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/10/10) -- On Friday, June 11, Detroit Muslims will offer prayers for an end to the Gulf oil spill and the environmental disaster it is causing.

WHAT: Muslims Pray for end to Gulf Oil Spill WHEN: Friday, June 11, 2010, 1:40 p.m. WHERE: Muslim Community of Western Suburbs, 40440 Palmer Rd, Canton, MI CONTACT: CAIR-MI Executive Director Dawud Walid, 248-842-1418, E-mail: dwalid@cair.com

The prayers are part of an initiative by the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which is urging prayer leaders (imams) in the nation's more than 2,000 mosques to use sermons at congregational prayers this Friday to offer special supplications for a speedy end to the oil spill crisis.

Mosque officials are also being asked to encourage community members to volunteer to assist in Gulf Coast relief efforts as part of CAIR's ongoing "Muslims Care" volunteerism initiative.

Religious leaders of other faiths are being requested to offer similar prayers and supplications based on their own traditions.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. 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 National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

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CAIR: CONN. MUSLIMS TO PRAY FOR END TO GULF OIL SPILL - TOP

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 6/10/10) -- On Friday, June 11, Connecticut Muslims will offer prayers for an end to the Gulf oil spill and the environmental disaster it is causing.

WHAT: Muslims Pray for end to Gulf Oil Spill WHEN: Friday, June 11, 1 - 1:35 p.m. WHERE: Islamic Association of Greater Hartford, 1781 Berlin Turn Pike, Berlin, CT CONTACT: CAIR-CT Executive Director Mongi Dhaouadi (guest imam) (860) 514-8038

The prayers are part of an initiative by the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which is urging prayer leaders (imams) in the nation's more than 2,000 mosques to use sermons at congregational prayers this Friday to offer special supplications for a speedy end to the oil spill crisis.

Mosque officials are also being asked to encourage community members to volunteer to assist in Gulf Coast relief efforts as part of CAIR's ongoing "Muslims Care" volunteerism initiative.

Religious leaders of other faiths are being requested to offer similar prayers and supplications based on their own traditions.

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. 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 National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com; CAIR Communications Coordinator Amina Rubin, 202-488-8787, 202-341-4171, E-Mail: arubin@cair.com

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CAIR RALLIES MUSLIMS TO PRAY FRIDAY FOR END TO OIL SPILL - TOP Bridget Johnson, The Hill, 6/09/10 The Council on American-Islamic Relations put out a call Wednesday for Muslims to pray for an end to the BP Gulf oil spill.

CAIR asked imams across the country to use sermons this Friday to pray for a resolution to the oil crisis and ensuing environmental disaster.

Mosque officials are also being asked to rally community members to volunteer for Gulf Coast relief efforts as part of the group's "Muslims Care" initiative. (More) ---

CAIR: THOUSANDS PRAYING IN FACE OF OIL SPILL - TOP Bruce Nolan, The Times-Picayune, 6/9/2010

...Around southeast Louisiana, people who know nothing of the daily technical battle to stem the 52-day-old spill, including many who do not have family or friends yet affected, nonetheless say that concern about the oil spill has landed heavily in their interior lives, where they pray quietly in search of understanding or ask for comfort for themselves or others, according to the dictates of their faiths. ...

...And the Council on American-Islamic Relations asked Muslims around the country this week to include special prayers for oil spill relief in their Friday worship services. (More)

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ACTION: CONTACT CONGRESS ON MINN. ATTORNEY HELD IN RWANDA - TOP

(ST. PAUL, MN, 6/10/10) -- The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) today called on American Muslims and all people of conscience to contact their representatives in Congress and urge them to support H. Res. 1426.

The resolution, introduced by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), urges the Government of the Republic of Rwanda and President Paul Kagame to immediately release Minnesota human rights lawyer Professor Peter Erlinder from jail and allow him to return to the United States.

SEE: McCollum, Ellison Introduce Resolution for Erlinder's Release H. Res. 1426

Erlinder has been a vigorous advocate for civil and human rights, both internationally and locally. He has served as a lead defense attorney for the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania. Erlinder was in Rwanda to provide legal defense for opposition leader Victoire Ingabire and has been jailed there since May 28, 2010, on charges of "genocide ideology." On June 7, a Rwandan judge denied Erlinder's request for bail.

SEE: American Lawyer Denied Bail in Rwanda (New York Times)

"Attorneys around the world understand the principles of defending their clients zealously," said CAIR-MN Civil Rights Director Taneeza Islam. "Peter is jailed for his duties as a defense attorney and for his academic ideas." Ms. Islam added that Erlinder has played an active role in defending the legal rights of all individuals.

Last year, Erlinder provided "Know Your Rights" trainings and legal representation to the Minnesota Muslim community in the midst of a federal investigation into the possible link between a terrorist group and the disappearance of Somali men in the Twin Cities. Erlinder is scheduled to speak on a panel CAIR-MN is organizing for local attorneys who represent individuals in FBI interviews and grand jury hearings.

Members of the Muslim community are urged to contact their elected officials to ask them to support H. Res. 1426 and to request the immediate release of Peter Erlinder.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUESTED:

CONTACT elected representatives at:

HOUSE: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml SENATE: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm WHITE HOUSE: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. 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-MN Civil Rights Director Taneeza Islam, Esq., 651-587-4712, E-Mail: tislam@cair.com; CAIR-MN President Lori Saroya, 612-327-6700, E-Mail: lsaroya@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787, 202-744-7726, E-Mail: ihooper@cair.com