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SUNDAY, MAY 16, 2010 14:01 ET

A troubling cultural gap

If today's young American Muslims can't relate to their imams, where will they turn?

Reuters

Imam Husham Al-Husainy talks to Muslim youth at the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center in Dearborn, Mich., in March.

BY FARAH AKBAR

Ishak Khan, 17, wants to know if it's OK to get a tattoo in his religion. He also wants to know if it's OK to write rap songs and if it's OK to have a Muslim girlfriend.

Like many of his Muslim American contemporaries, Ishak isn't quite sure how to balance his religion with American culture. He does talk to friends about these issues, but he'd really like to speak with an adult who understands both American culture and Islam. But he can't really talk to his parents because they're very traditional, and he's definitely not going to that imam "straight out of Bangladesh" who gives the boring sermons at the Queens, N.Y., mosque he attends once a month.

"I don't think I can connect or talk to him, because he's not from here," says Ishak, who was born here to Bangladeshi parents. "I can't even tell him that I write music, 'cause he's just gonna tell me that it's bad. And if I tell him about getting a tattoo, he's gonna tell me that it will look dirty." And about the girlfriend? "He's gonna say it's haram [forbidden]."

Says the aspiring rapper: "I just want a cool person who I can ask questions to and who can give me a reasonable response."

Ishak's dilemma is one familiar to many Muslim Americans of his generation. Going to a mosque to pray or to receive Islamic education is an integral part of their lives. Though not all young Muslims are mosque-goers, those who do go often look to their local imams for guidance, only to be turned off by the cultural gap that exists between them. This has caught the attention of some Muslim community members, who fear that too many young American Muslims are left feeling alienated and frustrated.

Some Muslims are voicing their opinions and calling for change. They would like imams, who tend to be older, male and "imported," to be able to connect with a generation of Muslims raised in America. They also want mosques, which have the potential to develop leadership and community-building skills among young Muslims, to make youth outreach a priority. Failing to address these issues, they fear, could sever the connection between a generation of American Muslims and their religion.

There may be another fear, too. Abdul Malik Mujahid, an imam and author, has written that young people who feel marginalized or alienated can constitute "a breeding ground for extremism."

A common frustration among young Muslim Americans is that many imams speak to their congregations in languages other than English, often to accommodate immigrants who are more comfortable with their native tongue. (Some imams themselves may be more comfortable speaking in their native tongues as well.) This can leave the younger generation, which often has limited or no knowledge of its parents' mother tongues, uninterested.

Muntasir Sattar, 30, who works with many Muslim youths as a program coordinator at the South Asian Youth Action organization in New York, has seen how this causes the imam's message to go right over the heads of younger congregants -- even when it's aimed straight at them.

"A lot of Khutbahs [sermons] on Fridays are about youth, about vices and virtues and the importance of staying on the right path," he says, "but from a youth's perspective, they're like, 'OK, that's great, but you're talking in Arabic, or Urdu or Bengali, and I don't speak that language!" he says.

Ishak admits that he's dozed off more than once during sermons, usually when they've been delivered in Bengali. "I speak Bengali, but it would be better if it was in English. I'd understand it better," he says. He does remember one time hearing a great sermon in English about how praying to Allah can make life less stressful during trying times. "I had exams and I was so worried. I prayed to Allah that I would pass them and I did," Ishak recalls. He would like sermons to be about issues closer to his life.

Tania Ahmed, a 17-year-old high school senior, agrees that language is an issue. (Tania is not her actual name, which she asked be withheld.) "I don't care where [the imam] comes from, as long as he can communicate," she says. If the imam cannot speak in English, it hurts the youth who are seeking answers about their faith, Tania says. And she feels that some imams are too judgmental. "I know that some of them would react in a certain preachy way if I were to ask them about personal issues," she says. "They might even just shun you," she says. "I wouldn't really go to anyone outside my circle of friends."

But many imams believe it's their job to provide a rigidly Islamic viewpoint on issues and that even stylistic concessions to American culture are out of the question. Ben Yahya Abdel-Ghani, the director of the Flushing Muslim Center in Queens, says that when young people ask him for his advice, he has to answer according to the rules of Islam. Abdel-Ghani, 45, is from Morocco and has been living in the United States since 1997. Should a young person ask about whether it was OK to drink alcohol, his answer would be swift. "All kids know that alcohol is wrong," he says in slightly accented English. "Alcohol is prohibited -- so the discussion is almost closed."

Abdel-Ghani admits that youth don't often go to him for advice about personal matters, but, for example, if a young person were to confide to him that he or she might be gay (a situation he says he's never encountered), he would reply that being gay in Islam is not accepted. "Youngsters know that the answer will be that it is wrong," he insists. "They have to find a way to solve the problem. I don't think they will have the urge to say it to someone who is older."

Another issue complicating youth outreach is financial, with many mosques struggling just to pay their rent. Immigrant mosques in New York, for instance, are often run by working-class individuals and limited funds tend to be an issue. Sattar, the SAYA program coordinator, understands this and empathizes with these mosque officials, but he stresses that mosques should try to find room for youth programs even in their tight budgets. "Youth need opportunities to be active in their religious institutions," he says. "They need those roles, those opportunities, to shape the world."

Dr. Mahbubur Rahman, a professor of political science at the City University of New York who teaches a course called Islam and Democracy, agrees. He thinks that this is a way young Muslims can steer clear of fringe Muslim groups that may have extremist agendas or whose teachings are not in line with mainstream Islam. For example, the "Lackawana Six," a group of young Muslim American men from Buffalo, ended up in a militant training camp in Afghanistan. They were apparently recruited by a man named Kamal Derwish, who preached a radical brand of Islam and who won them over through meetings in his apartment. (Derwish was ultimately killed in a CIA mission in Yemen.)

A symbol of hope for Muslim American reformers can be found in the heart of Manhattan's West Village, the home base of a man who epitomizes the kind of spiritual leadership that so many young American Muslims yearn for.

Khalid Latif, 27, serves as the first-ever Muslim chaplain at the school's Islamic Center, a place that he boasts of running on progressive values rooted in authentic Islamic sources. Latif graduated from New York University with degrees in political science and Middle Eastern studies and attended the Hartford Theological Seminary briefly, then became the executive director of the Islamic Center at 24. He is also the youngest chaplain ever hired by the New York Police Department, brought in to cater to the spiritual needs of Muslim officers and civilian employees.

Latif says he understands why some young people don't feel comfortable going to religious places. Born and raised in New Jersey, he doesn't have fond memories of the local mosque he attended as a teenager. Back then, he had long hair and no beard, a violation of Muslim tradition, and congregants would accuse him of attending services just to mingle with the girls. "People weren't very nice to me," he recalls.

Membership at NYU's Islamic Center has increased significantly since he took over. He is well-liked and popular among students. One Pakistani-American student named Raza, after finishing his afternoon prayers, wrote "I love the I.C." on a whiteboard near the center's entrance. Raza credits Latif for uniting Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims in prayer, something the student, who is of the Shia sect, had never experienced before. "It was really special," he says. "It was an incredible feeling."

Students come to Latif to seek his advice about any and all issues, including some that are traditionally deemed "haram," or forbidden, in Islam. They appreciate his easygoing attitude and feel comfortable enough to talk to him about sexuality, depression, mental-health issues, domestic violence, relationships and even experiences of rape.

So is Latif a rare breed of imam? "I'm not like Nemo, alone in this ocean of loneliness," he says. As the Muslim community begins to respond to the needs of its diverse members, he believes, more imams who espouse progressive values that are in line with Islamic teachings will emerge. "As needs have changed, as dynamics have changed, I think it's just a logical trend to a people who are well versed in how this society functions that they are going to be stepping into roles as community activists and leaders and specifically, at times, even imams," Latif says.

Sitting on the floor of the large prayer room located in the basement of a white church that serves as the Islamic Center, he says: "What it means to be an imam is contingent upon a community's needs at the time." He is wearing blue jeans, a blue button-down shirt, has a trimmed beard and is wearing a black skullcap called a "kufi." "In some Muslim countries and in immigrant mosques, the idea isn't that the imam will be a community leader," he adds. "He's expected to just lead the prayers."

Latif isn't sure if it matters whether an imam was raised in the U.S., or if he's young or old. "It's hard to create an archetype on what an individual needs to be like that can deal with the diversity of some 8 million Muslims [in the U.S.]," he says. "Different people have their own preferences."

If a student confides to Latif that he or she might be gay, he won't claim that homosexuality is permissible in Islam. "But, like, it doesn't change the fact that we have kids or adults who are homosexuals," he says. "An outright denial of its existence causes us to have more issues than solutions."

After listening to a student talk about his or her background, he encourages the student to understand what his or her "life choice" means. "Some people will be nice to you, some people will treat you like garbage," Latif might say.

"With any issue, it's about, 'Where do we go from here?'" he says. "In Islamic tradition, you see numerous instances with men and women going to the prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, about their sins. The relationship with the Prophet was such that you could speak with him and he wouldn't be judgmental. He would respond in a way that made the most sense for the person coming to him with the issue."

Being a young and progressive imam has its challenges, too. "Especially in religious communities, when somebody comes in and does it differently, you kind of have to legitimize yourself," says Latif. "You have to prove to people that they can take you seriously. Because you're dealing with religion. And if you're wrong, Muslims perceive that wrong means hell."

At first, he says, people thought that NYU's Islamic center was too liberal. But now he claims that those same people simply see the center as "accepting."

Young Muslims in America are clearly hungry for some spiritual guidance from the right people, and they're asking for some specific things. For one, they say, imams should be raised or should at least understand what it's like growing up in America. They also shouldn't be quite so judgmental. And being on the younger end, though not required, is desirable. They should also be able to speak English and be reasonably current with American culture and technology. Ishak, the 17-year-old aspiring rapper, says he's met another imam, a young, American man, who showed him some Islamic prayers on YouTube that he liked a lot. "I don't think my imam [from the Queens mosque] even knows what YouTube is," he notes.

Tania once heard Latif speak at a conference and she absolutely loved what he had to say. Latif spoke about peer pressure and about the challenges of being a Muslim teenager in America. Still, she doubts that she'd ever confide in any imam about her personal life. "Except," she says shyly, "maybe for Khalid Latif."

Gotham Gazette

School Holiday Issue Sends Muslims to City Hall

by Farah Akbar
Nov 2009

Isabel Bucaram of Astoria, Queens, didn’t want her 6-year-old daughter, Huyam, to miss her class trip to the Nutcracker ballet, but she could find no other alternative. The trip coincided with the Muslim holiday of Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the holiest days in Islam, and Bucaram wanted her daughter to participate in the day's religious festivities. "It was upsetting for her not to share in that field trip with her teachers and friends," Bucaram recalled.

Not wanting her daughter or any other Muslim child to miss out on a day of school because of a religious holiday ever again, Bucaram last winter become involved in the movement to have Muslim holidays recognized by the New York City Department of Education. Until then, Bucaram’s political knowledge had revolved mostly around national politics. But once she started working with the Coalition for Muslim School Holidays, a group of over 80 labor, community, faith, and civil rights organizations, she was meeting with City Council members James Gennaro and Peter Vallone Jr., and learning about what it takes to change policy.

Bucaram is not alone. More Muslims are getting involved in the political process than ever before, many spurred by the Muslim school holiday issue, according to Faiza Ali, community director for the Council on American Islamic Relations and a member of the coalition’s steering committee. "The issue of Muslim school holidays has mobilized the community in a great way," she said. "Across the five boroughs, community members have participated in the civic process testifying at hearings in City Hall and lobbying their elected officials, some for the first time, to support this cause."

Muslims in the Schools

The Muslim population in New York City numbers around 600,000 according to a study by Columbia University. Peter Awn, the dean of Columbia’s School of General Studies, characterizes Muslims as one of the fastest growing religious communities in New York City. Muslim New Yorkers hail from all parts of the globe, and an estimated 10 percent of the city's 1.1 million public school students are of the Muslim faith. Approximately 90 percent of Muslim children in the city attend public schools.

The movement to make the New York City Department of Education recognize the holidays of Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the month of Ramadan, and Eid-ul-Azha, which is the culmination of the yearly hajj to Mecca, began a few years ago when concerned parents like Bucaram decided that they should not have to choose between their children’s education or their religion.

This summer, the City Council's education committee voted overwhelmingly in favor of a non-binding resolution to close all public schools on Eid-ul-Azha and Eid-ul-Fitr. The full council approved the resolution in a voice vote.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, though, indicated his opposition to the proposal. "One of the problems you have with a diverse city is that if you close the schools for every single holiday, there won’t be any school," he said last summer.

The coalition’s Faiza Ali disagreed. "Giving days off for the Eids does not mean fewer days in school," she said. She maintains that recognition of the holidays would alter the school calendar only slightly since Muslims follow a lunar calendar. Thus, the holidays may fall on a weekend, on a school holiday or during a recess in any given year, as was the case this year when Eid-ul-Fitr fell on a Sunday.

Ali acknowledged that there will be instances when the Eids will fall on what would normally be school, but said the Department of Education has various methods to close for the two holidays and not decrease the overall amount of time in school.

In Ali's view, the benefits of observing the holidays outweigh any inconvenience to the school system. "Although incorporating the two Muslim holidays would have a minimal impact on the calendar, recognizing them would help foster a better understanding of Islam and reaffirm that Muslims are an integral part of this city," she said.

Fatima Shama, the city's commissioner of immigrant affairs, who is herself a Muslim, insists the administration is still considering the matter. "This is a complex issue, and we are not taking it lightly," she said. "We have sat with the Coalition of Muslim School holidays at least three times with Deputy Mayor [Dennis] Walcott, and we have never said no. It is an ongoing evolutionary process."

Shama said that the Bloomberg administration wants to review every aspect of how incorporating the two Muslim holidays into the school calendar would affect the school system and its 1.1 million students before making a decision. "We are not doing policy on the fly," she said. Shama says she "couldn't say" when a decision about this issue would be made.

Political Muscle

Muslims must be resolute in order to achieve victory on the holidays, according to Amy Sugimori of La Fuente, an organization that advocates for workers’ and immigrants’ rights. "They must demand an answer from Mayor Bloomberg," she said.

The New York Civic Participation Project, which works with La Fuente and other groups, played a major role in educating Muslims about voting and the political process. The project has organized voter registration drives in collaboration with neighborhood mosques in Queens and Brooklyn. Sugimori, who oversaw the voter registration drives, said Muslims "were really into the idea that they needed to be full participants in civic participation."

La Fuente's members, most of whom are of Latino descent, have shared their experiences with Muslims members. Sugimori believes that hearing the stories of how other communities overcame injustice "resonated with the Muslim community." "We have all fought to be able to vote," she said. "We all should exercise this right."

Prior to November's municipal election, the New York chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations held 10 voter registration drives to encourage Muslims to vote and fielded calls from community members asking for information on how to register to vote, the primaries, the candidates and elections.

Shamsi Ali, the director of the Jamaica Muslim Center in Queens, spiritual leader of the Islamic Cultural Center in Manhattan and a strong supporter of closing schools for Muslim holidays is optimistic that Bloomberg will eventually come around on this issue. If Muslims register and vote, then they will be valued by politicians even more," Ali said.

"This is what I tell my kids to do. If you see something that either needs to be changed or can be improved, work to make that change -- vote, write letters, speak with those elected," said Bucaram.

Second-grader Huyam sent Bloomberg an Eid card decorated with Hello Kitty stickers and on it excitedly told the mayor how glad she was that last Eid landed on a Sunday. "If that could happen more often, that would be great!" she wrote. Huyam, along with other members of New York's Muslim community eagerly await his response.

Gotham Gazette

Gotham Gazette - http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/civilrights/20100416/3/3242

New Yorker Accused of Helping al-Qaida About to Go on Trial
by Farah Akbar
16 Apr 2010

Photo (cc) 2010

New Yorker Syed "Fahad" Hashmi, an American citizen who has been held in solitary confinement for nearly two and half years at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, is finally set to go on trial April 28 in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska. The 30-year-old New Yorker -- the first terrorism suspect ever to be extradited from the United Kingdom to the U.S. -- stands accused by the federal government on four counts of providing material support to al-Qaida.
Hashmi's incarceration also has focused attention on the conditions under which some people suspected of terrorism are held in the United States. This extreme and extended form of solitary confinement, known as Special Administrative Measures, or SAMs, could come into wider use in New York if more people suspected of similar crimes are incarcerated in this area. In the meantime, Hashmi's supports and other human rights advocates see the conditions of his confinement as violating his rights and jeopardizing his ability to defend his case in court.
To law enforcement, notably the New York City Police Department and the FBI, Hashmi, as described in the controversial 2007 New York Police Department report Radicalization in the West: The Homegrown Threat, epitomizes a seemingly ordinary young Muslim man turned extremist who allegedly went on to participate in terrorist activities. On the other hand, his former professors and other supporters who have rallied behind Hashmi view him as a peaceful, devout Muslim being punished for his political and religious beliefs.

The Case

The government alleges that around February 2004, while Hashmi was living in London, he allowed an acquaintance, Junaid Babar, another New Yorker featured in the New York police report, to stay at his London apartment for two weeks. Babar allegedly stored raincoats, ponchos and waterproof socks there and then delivered them to the number three al-Qaida leader in Pakistan, Abdul Hadi Al-Iraqi, to be used against American, international and Northern Alliance forces. Hashmi also allegedly allowed Babar the use of his cell phone to make calls to other conspirators in terrorist plots.
On June 6, 2006, British police arrested Hashmi at Heathrow airport as he prepared to leave for Pakistan, reportedly with a substantial amount of cash. The police had a warrant issued by the U.S. government.
After his arrest, Hashmi spent one year in Britain's Belmarsh prison, labeled "Britain's Guantanamo Bay" by human rights activists, fighting extradition to the United States. Under the terms of a treaty enacted between the U.S. and Britain after Sept. 11, 2001, the British courts extradited Hashmi to the United States on May 25, 2007. If convicted, Hashmi faces up to 70 years in prison.
The FBI and the New York Police Department collaborated on the Hashmi case. In a press release issued the day after Hashmi arrived in New York, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said, "This arrest reinforces the fact that a terrorist may have roots in Queens and still betray us. Congratulations to the New York City detectives and FBI agents who understood this and kept Hashmi on our radar."
"If we are engaged in a war against terror -- and we most certainly are -- then Syed Hashmi aided the enemy by supplying military gear to al Qaeda," FBI Assistant Director Mark J. Mershon said in the release.
Hashmi denies that he was part of any plot to help al-Qaida. In a motion to dismiss the indictment, Hashmi's lawyer wrote, "Permitting a short-time visitor to keep possession of their own suitcase containing ordinary clothing items would not place a person of ordinary intelligence on notice that he or she could be 'providing' 'material' support or resources to a terrorist organization."

The Babar Connection

Babar forms the "centerpiece" of the case against Hashmi. He is expected to testify against Hashmi and under a plea deal, to receive a reduced sentence in return for his cooperation.
Babar went to Pakistan shortly following the U.S. led invasion of Afghanistan. The Joint Terrorism Task Force began investigating Babar after a filmed interview in which he told a Canadian reporter, in November 2001: "Yes, I'm willing to kill the American soldiers if they enter into Afghanistan with their ground troops."
In 2004, soon after he returned from Pakistan, Babar was arrested in Queens by a police sergeant, a detective and two agents, from the FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorist Task Force on his way to a taxi-driving school. He pleaded guilty to five counts of providing, and conspiring to provide, money and supplies to al-Qaida.
Babar has testified for the government in numerous other terrorism-related cases. In various news accounts, Babar is reported to have conspired in attempts to kill then Pakistani President Pervez Musharaff and said that he would have faced the death penalty in Pakistan if he had not agreed to collaborate with the FBI. According to news reports, Babar's family has entered into the witness protection program.
Hashmi and Babar were both featured in the New York police report, which was released after their arrests. Kelly wrote that the report, aimed at helping policymakers and law enforcement officials counter terrorism, describes how seemingly "unremarkable" individuals, such as Hashmi and Babar, apparently fell victim to radicalization. Muslim American groups criticized the report for casting too wide a net and viewing all Muslims as potential terrorists.
The police departments quietly added a statement of clarification in 2009, which said that the report "should not be read to characterize Muslims as intrinsically dangerous or intrinsically linked to terrorism" and "was not policy prescriptive." The portions on Hashmi and Babar, however, remained unchanged.

Out of Flushing

Hashmi's family emigrated from Pakistan and settled in Flushing, Queens when he was three. His father worked for the city as an accountant, and his mother was a housewife. Hashmi graduated from Brooklyn College in 2003 with a degree in political science. He wrote his senior seminar paper on the treatment of Muslim groups in the United States, highlighting what he saw as violations of many groups' civil rights and liberties.
Faisal Hashmi, his older brother, says that Fahad believed that many Muslims around the world were being oppressed and used to organize rallies around Muslim issues.
"What I always saw Fahad doing was reaching out to students of other ethnic backgrounds, and certainly other political beliefs. One of the sad things about this is that it's precisely those qualities that are now bringing Fahad under suspicion," Corey Robin, a former professor of Hashmi’s said in a short documentary film about Hashmi that can be seen on the Free Fahad website.
Hashmi then went to England and received a master's degree in international relations from London Metropolitan University in 2006.
At some point, Hashmi became affiliated with a group called Al-Muhajiroun (The Emigrants). The group, which has reportedly disbanded, was banned by the British government in January 2010. Al-Muhajiroun, which was never outlawed here reportedly held meetings and study sessions in a mosque in Jackson Heights, Queens.
The group aimed to spread Islam and establish an Islamic Caliphate. Some of its leaders in Britain are infamously remembered for a conference at which the Sept. 11 hijackers were hailed as the "Magnificent 19." While at an Al-Muhajiroun meeting at Brooklyn College in 2002, Hashmi said, according to CNN, "America is directly involved in exterminating Muslims. America is the biggest terrorist in the world."
Babar also was a member of the group.
Supporters of Hashmi say that affiliations, words and beliefs are constitutionally protected. In a court hearing, Hashmi's lawyer, Sean Maher, said Al-Muhajiroun did not engage in any criminal military behavior but gave out flyers, attended demonstrations and engaged people in debate about Islam.
"Are we a society that allows political discourse, or are we a society that is going to say if you say something outside of the spectrum of accepted speech, that you therefore have criminal intent," Maher told the court.

Locked Away

In explaining their decision to keep Hashmi in solitary confinement, even though he has not been convicted of any crime, law enforcement officials cite his involvement with Al-Muhajiroun, as well as the charges linking him to al-Qaida. The government also says that the Special Administrative Measures are necessary due to Hashmi’s "proclivity to violence." According to court documents, upon his arrest in London, Hashmi allegedly said that U.S. and British soldiers were going to be killed and that the arresting officers would "pay" for what they were doing to him. Hashmi has denied making these comments.
As of February 2009, according to an article in the New York Times, 46 federal inmates were being held under Special Administrative Measures and of those, 30 faced terrorism related charges. The Times article quoted a Justice Department spokesperson who said that six of the 46 were being held prior to trial, four of them on terrorism charges.
Although originally created in 1996, Special Administrative Measures were strengthened after the 2001 attacks. If the U.S. prison in Guantanamo is closed, experts have anticipated more terrorism suspects will be subjected to these procedures.
Oussama Kassir was kept under pre-trial SAMs before his trial in New York City in May 2009, where he was convicted of trying to help al-Qaida recruit members. The measures also have also been ordered on mobsters like Frank Calabrese, who was convicted of taking part in a racketeering conspiracy that included the murders of 18 people.
Hashmi has been under Special Administration Measures since Oct. 29, 2007 when they were put into effect by then Attorney General Michael Mukasey. Since then, they have been renewed by current Attorney General Eric Holder.

'Shoe of the Shoe'

In a court hearing, Hashmi's lawyer said that a lieutenant from Metropolitan Correctional Center referred to the unit where Hashmi is held as "the shoe of the shoe," the place where inmates who get into trouble while staying with the general prison population are sent. As part of the restrictive measures, he is under 24-hour surveillance -- even when on the toilet or while he showers. He can exercise for only one hour a day in what his lawyer describes as a cage. He may not speak out loud and is not allowed to talk to other prisoners at any time. He may write one letter a week of no more than three pages to a family member and can read selected newspaper articles that are at least 30 days old.
Hashmi can meet only one immediate family member every two weeks and a glass wall divides them, but even this is subject to revocation based on his behavior, or, as Faisal Hashmi, his older brother, says, "bureaucratic hang ups." Faisal says that his parents have been denied opportunities to visit their son for about a third of all of their allowed visits, one reason being that the government did not schedule interpreters for all the visits properly. In 2008, all of Hashmi's visits were suspended for three months when prison officials accused him of practicing martial arts. The "Slave of Allah," as Hashmi referred to himself in the incident report, said that he was merely exercising.
Over 500 academics including Henry Louis Gates and Noam Chomsky have signed a petition in Hashmi's support, urging the government to lift SAMS, which they deem are "draconian." In an affidavit regarding the likely effects of prolonged isolated confinement for Hashmi, Terry Kuper, a professor in the Graduate School of Psychology of the Wright Institute in Berkeley stated that prisoners isolated in this way tend to exhibit symptoms of "cognitive impairment, memory problems, an inability to concentrate, mounting rage, increasing paranoia and massive free floating anxiety. … Prolonged isolated confinement quite often and predictably results in a significant degree of incompetence to stand trial, whether or not the prisoner's mental state deteriorates to the point where he or she exhibits chronic serious mental illness."
In a posting on Truthdig, former New York Times reporter Chris Hedges wrote, "The extreme sensory deprivation used on Hashmi is a form of psychological torture, far more effective in breaking and disorienting detainees. It is torture as science."
Hashmi's lawyers have made 30 appeals related to his treatment under the Special Administrative Measures, with each one being rejected. Joshua Dratel, who has represented three defendants held under the measures, told the New York Times last year that the Southern District of New York applies the measures "reflexively" and judges seem reluctant to challenge them.
The Southern District Court has ruled that the restrictions do not infringe upon Hashmi's constitutional rights.
As the trial date approaches, the Muslim Justice Initiative hopes to get 500 Hashmi supporters to show up at the federal courthouse on Pearl Street. "The level playing field was lost a long time ago due to the actions of the government. We are trying to salvage justice," said Faisal Hashmi

Gotham Gazette

Gotham Gazette - http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/civilrights/20100104/3/3139

City's Muslims Report Harassment by Police
by Farah Akbar
04 Jan 2010

Photo (cc) threecee

Coming from a family with members who work in law enforcement, Yasmin Nasser used to look at police officers as honest, upstanding and there to protect all members of society. Today, though, Nasser said, she feels uneasy when she walks by cops and, for a brief period, tried staying away from them altogether.
The 20-year-old American citizen who resides in Saudi Arabia had come to New York City to visit family. Her trust in New York City's finest eroded the day she claims a police officer pulled her by the arm, told her to leave Rockefeller Center, where she had gone to see the Christmas tree, and called her a "terrorist." She was asked to provide identification to the officer, was subsequently accused of having phony identification and allegedly told, "Leave you terrorist, you shouldn't be here."
"It's so hard for me to believe that a cop could do this," said the Muslim woman who covers her head with the traditional headscarf (hijab) worn by some women who follow the Islamic faith. "I couldn’t get over it. I was in shock," she said.
Nasser has reported the matter to the Council of American Islamic Relations and plans on filing a report with the city Civilian Complaint Review Boardonce she returns to Saudi Arabia. She fears that making a complaint prior to her departure could disrupt her travel plans.
Advocates say that Nasser's story is not an isolated incident. Monami Maulik, executive director of Desis Rising Up And Moving (DRUM), an immigrants' rights organization in Jackson Heights, said that she has heard many similar stories. Several other organizations say police harassment of Muslims is a genuine problem.

Encounters with Police

The Council of American Islamic Relations analyzed civil rights cases in 2008 by circumstances of occurrence. The group found encounters with police ranked sixth, following schools and prison. "Underreporting of hate crimes and police misconduct cases remains a real issue with American Muslims," said the council's New York civil rights director Aliya Latif.
Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, law enforcement officials have worked on building a cooperative relationship with the American Muslim community in an effort to obtain valuable information related to terrorism and safety issues. Muslim groups worry that allegations of misconduct by law enforcement damage the fragile ties between the two groups. "We are concerned that incidents like these further alienate community members and contribute to an atmosphere of mistrust with law enforcement authorities," Latif said.
Edina Lekovic, communications director for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, agrees. "The evidence of any problem with law enforcement undermines any cooperation they may seek from Muslims," she said. "Even if there is a perception of harassment, it very naturally leads individuals to be cautious and reluctant to seek help from law enforcement, let alone report any suspicious activity."
A police officer, though, may see the situation differently. "Police officers may not always realize how they have come across to a civilian," said Graham Daw, a spokesperson for the Civilian Complaint Review Board, the all-civilian board that investigates civil complaints about alleged misconduct on the part of the New York City Police Department. "Civilians are not always aware of the pressures under which police officers work or the powers with which they are vested in order to do their job."
The New York City Police Department was contacted numerous times to comment on this issue but did not respond.
According to DRUM, many Muslims have complained about being randomly approached by members of law enforcement in their own neighborhoods and apartment buildings and being asked about their whereabouts and about what they did for a living.
Maulik said that her organization has received hundreds of accounts of cases regarding police misconduct since Sept. 11, many from blue-collar workers such as street vendors and taxi drivers. She also hears stories from youth.

Slurs and Questions

In 2006, DRUM and the Urban Justice Center Community Development Project surveyed 662 South Asian youths living in Queens, most of them Bangladeshi and Pakistani Muslims, about the impact of school safety policies on them. The report revealed that nearly a third of the youths reported having seen harassment by police officers or experienced harassment. The study defined harassment to include "verbal abuse or harassment such as racial slurs and names, yelling and cursing; physical abuse or harassment, including physical harm, grabbing, pushing, forcing to do something the person does not want to do; and intimidation, including asking for identification or calling over for no reason, threatening to report person or their family to immigration and bullying."
"Since 9/11, there are a lot more security agents and police," said one young person. "They treat us differently."
"There is more hatred against South Asians [post 9/11]. The police pay more attention to you; they think you are suspicious. They wait for you to screw up," said another.
DRUM received a report on one incident in which a teenage girl who wore a hijab on the streets of Times Square was allegedly asked by a police officer if she was a terrorist.
Ayesha Mahmooda, who works with DRUM, spoke to at least 100 South Asian families in Flushing during an outreach effort and found many reported experiencing harassment by law enforcement. She said that many South Asians described feeling scared while being questioned by officers. She mentioned the case of a Muslim man who was questioned by law enforcement officials inside his own apartment. They asked him numerous personal questions, such as where he was born, what his immigration status was and if he smelled anything funny in his building, an apparent reference to possible bomb-making activities.
An alarmed South Asian woman asking Mahmooda why her husband was stopped and questioned by law enforcement on his way home from working the late shift. "I told her that it was because of the color of his skin, he is not white. He is a person of color," Mahmooda said.

A Reluctance to Protest

Those questioned are often afraid to protest, according to DRUM. Latif of CAIR, though, urges Muslims to exercise their right to have a lawyer present if questioned by the FBI or police. "Refusing to answer questions without an attorney present cannot be held against you and does not imply that you have something to hide," she said.
Few Muslims take their cases to the Civilian Complaint Review Board. Of the 14 allegations of offensive language based on religion reported to the board in 2008, only two involved Muslims or Islam, and the board was unable to conduct a full investigation in either case. One complaint was withdrawn by the complainant, and the complainant in the other case did not respond to requests to be interviewed by board.
"100 percent of the cases that we've ever gotten, no one has ever called the CCRB," says Maulik. "We really don't have faith in the CCRB. It is not a mechanism that has worked for many years in New York, so for the most part, Muslim immigrants don't call the CCRB and file complaints.
People do not think the board will hold police accountable for harassment or profiling, she said adding that Muslims who are undocumented immigrants are particularly hesitant to report any instances of misconduct to the complaint board. Instead, she said, they live their lives in fear.
Daw said the board would be glad to make a presentation to the Muslim community to educate them about its work, but Monami has no plans of reaching out to them. She has been working on a project to create a formal complaint process with CUNY School of Law.
Lekovic of the Muslim Public Affairs Council encourages Muslims to report all instances of misconduct to whomever they feel comfortable with, whether it be to Muslim organizations or city agencies . "Without individuals sharing their experiences, we do not have leverage to make change," she said.
Meanwhile, Yasmin Nasser thinks about what happened to her on her most recent visit to New York. "People in Saudi Arabia ask if people discriminate in New York City, and I always say 'people are nice,'" said Yasmin Nasser. When she lands in Saudi Arabia this time, though, she may offer a different answer.

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Gotham Gazette - http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/civilrights/20100104/3/3139

Al-Ahram Weekly

Printed in 2003

Humanity, through animal care

In a city where life as an animal can be rough, organisations and individuals take on the burden of caring for beasts

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Click to view caption

Cairo is now home to a growing number of independently-run animal shelters

In Midan Ataba a shorthaired, homeless white dog had been laying motionless underneath a car for about 24 hours. She lingered in the pain of broken forelegs and an injured spine. The dog had been hit by a microbus and one witness said that someone dragged her by the tail away from the thoroughfare so the pathetic sight of her body would not disrupt the flow of traffic, Farah Akbar investigates.

Amidst the commotion of city life in Cairo, people often forget about the stray animals that wander the streets, some of which are thrown out of their homes by owners who decide that they no longer want to keep a pet. Some of us also fail to reprimand the owners of working animals who overwork and beat their beasts. Hectic lives, which often include unrelenting and unrewarding work, are reason enough for most of us not to bother caring for animals. Thus the helpless creatures continue to suffer despite the Qur'an and the Hadith (the sayings of the Prophet) which mention the necessity of respecting animals. Egyptian law also stipulates fines and punishments for hurting animals; for example, the law requires that anyone who purposely kills or harshly beats any domesticated animal may be jailed or fined. Such religious and legal obligations are rarely observed or enforced and so it falls upon private organisations and individuals to provide for the care of wayward or abused animals.

The Egyptian branch of the international Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is the oldest animal protection group in Egypt. It was established here over a century ago by British expatriates, though it is currently completely administered by Egyptians. In 1997, the Society successfully contributed to a ban on bullfighting, on the grounds that the sport is brutal and barbarous to animals, as well as in response to a fatwa given by Dr Nasr Farid Wassel, the former mufti of the republic, which declared that the game was un-Islamic. Promoting legal protection is not the only part of the Society's mandate, which includes sheltering animals.

According to Dr Ahmed Samir Salem, the head of the Egyptian branch of the Society, the Society's shelter in Sharabiya currently protects 32 animals, mostly donkeys, out of a total capacity of 150 animals. Salem says that many of the animals are picked up and brought in by government authorities on charges of cruelty before being returned to their owners, who are fined. Selem mentioned that the yearly budget of the shelter, quoted as 17,000 Egyptian pounds, is insufficient. With the Society's sheltering resources thus strained, three compassionate individuals have organised animal care programmes.

In Giza on Sakkara Road stands the only dog shelter in Cairo. Amina Abaza and her husband Raouf Miskriki founded this dog haven three years ago. Known as SPARE, The Society for the Protection of Animal Rights in Egypt, the shelter currently holds 32 dogs and is soon to open a cattery. It is run by a mixed paid and volunteer staff; financing comes through a boarding programme that cares for animals while their owners are away, as well as through the personal incomes of Abaza and her partners.

Abaza often distributes Hadith booklets that contain animal-friendly sayings to strangers. Her employment of these religious traditions in promoting care for dogs is evident in the story of Zuzu, a dog under Abaza's care.

Zuzu was found by a woman who saw a man beating the then pup with an iron rod in the Cairo district of Boulak. "A vicious man!" claimed Abaza, sweat trickling down from her face as she told the story and cared for her animals in the intense heat. The man was the owner of a textile shop and apparently did not appreciate the pup standing on the road in front of his store. After caring for the battered pup she returned to that same textile shop to confront the man. "Why did you hit this dog?" she remembered saying to him. "You are such a big man, this is haram!" she told him, suggesting that his behaviour was un-Islamic. She recalled the shocked expression on the man's face at her outburst and handed him a book of Hadith exhorting Muslims to be kind to animals.

She believes that religion is a powerful way of convincing the public about her cause. She refutes the often-voiced notions that dogs are unclean animals in Islam through citation of sayings in herHadith booklets in which the Prophet Mohamed stressed kind treatment of all animals.

All her animals are 'fixed' and she is in disagreement with the idea that spaying and neutering animals is against Islam, claiming that this act is merciful and prevents suffering.

Barbara Daber opened up her own cat shelter named Animal Friends in Maadi in 2001. The shelter currently holds 57 cats and she is proud to say that last year she had 300 animals adopted into good homes.

Daber says that she has had requests from people to have their cats "married", the owners believing that this will make their cats happier. When she asks them what they will do with the offspring of these feline matrimonies they often have no answer. She thus lamented that people often let their cats go when they become pregnant.

Daber says that she frequently hears comments about why she bothers helping animals instead of using that time and energy on human causes. "When they ask me this I ask them what is it that you have done to help people or animals? They are often silent," she said. She believes that if we treat small creatures with respect, then human beings will respect each other more.

Another animal rescuer, Suzy Tawfik, of Greek and Egyptian descent, used to rescue stray dogs and cats from the street and board them in her parent's home until she found suitable residences for them. When the situation became more than she and her family could cope with, Tawfik and her friend Sandra Gizis decided to open up an animal shelter. The Cairo Animal Inn in Old Maadi is the result of their endeavours. Inside the Inn, Liz, a crippled dog, greets each of us affectionately. Tawfik knows that the probability of Liz ever finding a home is slim, but she is willing to care for Liz even if no one ever adopts her. Not all recipients of Tawfik's aid are as amicable as Liz, however. She has been bitten about 20 times while trying to save dogs yet her resolve to help has not been weakened.

Tawfik has spoken at children's schools about the humane treatment of animals and says that her talks have left a positive impact on the children. She thinks that among the many lessons that a family pet can teach children are responsibility, mercy and compassion.

Dr Osama Safer Sayed, a veterinarian with the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals says that education starting from childhood is the key to changing the attitudes of people towards animals. Sayed also advocates a large spay and neutering programme which would help curb the rising population of Cairo's strays, which he estimates to be in the millions.

Abaza and volunteer members of her staff have also visited schools to discuss with children how treating animals with respect and caring for the environment work hand in hand.

Islamonline.net

Little Mosque Honored for Humanizing Muslims

By Farah Akbar, Islamonline.net Correspondent

Thu. Jun. 21, 2007

Nawaz, a broadcaster, freelance writer, filmmaker and mother of four, fights stereotypes using humor.

NEW YORK — In recognition of her efforts to help paint a down-to-earth and more accurate portrayal of Islam and Muslims, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) will honor Zarqa Nawaz at their annual Media Award gala On Friday, June 29, in Los Angeles.
"Little Mosque on the Prairie is the first of its kind," Edina Likovic, MPAC's Communications Director and a member of the nomination committee, told IslamOnline.net.
"Whenever Muslims exist in media, they are seen as one-dimensional, and 9 out of 10 times they’re the bad guy," she said.
In a post 9/11 world, linking Muslims with terrorism and fundamentalism seems to be the norm rather than the exception in Western media.
Nawaz, the creator of the hit Canadian sitcom, has an unorthodox way of fighting these stereotypes: using humor.
Nawaz, a hijab-clad broadcaster, freelance writer, filmmaker and mother of four, was inspired to create the show by her own experience, having visited mosques often while growing up and getting married in one.
After moving to a small town in Canada, the 39-year-ol practicing Muslim witnessed the close ties that congregants had with one another in the local mosque.
She decided to highlight these relationships with a comedic touch.
The scene is set in the fictional prairie town of Mercy, Saskatchewan, where a small community of Muslims set up a mosque and experience life’s pleasures and tribulations.
The show, which aired in January, was one of the most talked about sitcoms drawing an audience of about 2 million views during its pilot episode.
MPAC, a public service organization, works to protect civil liberties, counter Islamophobia and build bridges between Muslims and non-Muslims.
Since 1991, it has honored artists, producers, writers and actors for their contributions to helping promote these ideals, including tolerance and diversity.
Humanizing Muslims
Many believe the hit Canadian sitcom has helped "normalize" Muslims in the eyes of the other.
"I think the show has caused people to question their assumptions about Islam," said Likovic.
"It is an opportunity to see Muslims as having the same concerns as other people, like school, relationships and family life. I think it is surprising to people because it is so normalizing."
The show portrays the interactions between conservative Muslims and those on the more liberal end.
The character Baber, a conservative Pakistani-Canadian in his fifties, is an economics professor and father of a teenage daughter.
The relationship between him and his daughter depict the struggle that many first generation children have with their parents: balancing Islamic traditions with Western culture.
On one episode, an embarrassed Baber explains to a recent convert of Islam why his daughter does not wear the hijab, saying that the wind blew it off her head.
The scene continues as the daughter exclaims "Dad, for the nine zillionth time, I’m not wearing it!"
Baber then blames teenage hormones for his daughter’s apparent lack of faith.
Then there is the young and liberal Amaar Rashid.
After having a religious epiphany, he abandons his law practice and moves to Mercy to serve as the mosque’s imam.
In one episode, Amaar is arrested at the airport under suspicion of terrorist activities, prompting him to ask officials: "What’s the charge? Flying while Muslim?"
Another episode shows the congregants arguing about the sighting of the moon to determine the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
Baber insists that the moon be seen with the naked eye while others suggest using more advanced methods, such as a telescope or simply checking moon sighting times on the Internet.
Likovic, the MPAC official, believes that "Little Mosque" will have the same impact on Muslims just as the long-running comedy "The Cosby Show" did with humanizing the African-American experience with the rest of America.
"The Cosby Show," which ran in the 1980’s, was one of the most successful sitcoms on television.
It depicted a stable, upper-middle class African American family, unseen on TV before.
Just as "The Cosby Show" shattered many racial stereotypes about African Americans, Likovic hopes the same will happen with stereotypes about Muslims.
"It is a groundbreaking show," says Likovic. "I hope it continues to expand."

Islamonline.net

US `Eid Defies Recession

By Farah Akbar and Tanvir Raquib, IOL Correspondents

Despite the financial chill, American Muslims jam-packed the stores to shop for `eid. NEW YORK — Abdul Khalique somehow managed to keep the tradition of hosting festive luncheons and dinners for his family and friends during this year’s `Eid Al—Fitr. The Muslim New Yorker admits, however, it was no easy thing to do amid a severe financial chill gripping many households, including his own. "Before we used to go to people’s homes and always give them `Eid gifts, especially the young," he told IslamOnline.net. Abdul Khalique asserts that many Muslim Americans have felt the pain of the global recession that seems to sting a little more on the three-day `eid, which marks the end of the holy fasting month. "For the unemployed and retired, it’s very hard for them." But Abdul Khalique managed to throw the `Eid party which his children eagerly await every year to mingle with their many cousins and friends to celebrate Ramadan’s end. Many Muslim families also defied the financial meltdown to bring the spirit of `Eid to their homes. In Jackson Heights, Queens, Muslim shoppers jam-packed the shops of many supermarkets and clothing stores. They loaded their shopping carts with an array of vegetables, exotic spices and delicious lentils in preparation for the mouth-watering meals to be served the next day for friends and family. Though business owners could not deny that sales had dropped this year due to the recession, they did not appear shaken. "It’s not what it was last year," said one shopkeeper busily while she attended to customers. "But we were not expecting last year’s sales. Things are still pretty good." The US fell into the grip of the worst economic crisis since 1930s in September after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest investment bank, and the financial woes of a number of Wall Street giants. The fallout has developed into a full-fledged recession, threatening personal finances as home prices fall, retirement funds shrink and access to credit and jobs evaporate. Charity Despite the economic hard times, American Muslims were also keen not to let the recession woes derail their charitable giving. During Ramadan and `Eid Al-Fitr, many are determined to donate or volunteer to help the less-fortunate, and one example to that is Kity Khundkar and Mian Akbar’s charity project for which they held a fundraiser and an iftar party in their New York home. “We know that people are more giving during Ramadan,” says Khundkar, who sponsors along with her husband a non-profit hospital in Bangladesh that offers eye-sight restoration surgery to impoverished individuals. "That is why we chose to hold the fundraiser during this time.” Remarkably, the couple surpassed their fundraising goal for the hospital by over fifty percent. And though mosques too felt the pinch of the recession, the bleak financial outlook could not stop charity works. In Al-Amin Jame Masjid & Islamic Center in Long Island City, Queens, the collection of donations was only slightly lower compared to previous `eids. As nearly 2,000 people attended `eid prayers in the mosque, many worshippers were determined to contribute for charity as in previous years. One mosque official affirmed that imams have received significant financial aid from mosque-goers. “The community is strong,” the mosque official said. New York City is home to a fast-growing Muslim community of nearly 800,000. There are between six to seven million Muslims living in the entire United States.